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| Weekly Call with Son Jeremy and Quinn, Andrea Off-Screen. In Brasilia, Brazil. |
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| Out for a Walk in Vernon, BC |
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| Helmuts for Lunch. Down the Hill from Our Airbnb in Vernon, BC |
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| Another Great Meal. Darrell Went With the Mennonite Sausage, Kraut and Slaw. |
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| Helmut's Ambiance |
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| Walking Back Up Hill to Our Airbnb in Vernon, BC. We Never Saw a Badger, but a First For a Sign Like This! lol |
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| Some Sheep Near Town. Vernon, BC |
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| Spring Flowers on a Tree. |
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| Blooming Tree. |
Saturday. 17. Caught up on my Blog through May 16th. Thinking about walking into town! Sunny day. Call from Jeremy, Andrea and Quinn in Brazil. We walked to town. It’s downhill all the way. It took 1 ¼ hour to walk downhill to Helmut’s Sausage Kitchen. We had some fabulous soup, slaw and sandwiches. Darrell got the Mennonite Sausage piled high with sauerkraut. I had the Turkey panini with artichoke hearts, spinach and pesto. I took some of my sandwich on the long walk uphill to our place. I reheated it for my dinner. We also got some sausages for our church lunch on Sunday. I also made a big salad and sliced up all the farmer’s market veggies that I could. Tomorrow we will check out after breakfast.
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| Murray, Local Preacher Giving a Great Lesson! Vernon Church of Christ. |
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| Driving to Penticton, BC is Mostly Next to Okanagan Lake! Wow! |
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| Bailey, Ollie and Allie at Our Penticton, BC Housesit.
Sunday. 18. Today was an easy get ready to go: pack up, clean up, load the truck. Darrell carried all of our crates, trunks and luggage up our outside stairs to our truck. I finished cleaning the apartment and wrapping up inside. We left around 9:30 and headed down the mountain to church on Pleasant Valley Road. We enjoyed a very good Bible lesson by Murray and then communion, singing and another lesson. Most everyone stayed around for the monthly lunch get-together. We were one of at least 3 couples who were visiting. We met Daniel and Sarah on Thursday night at Bible class. They are from Alaska and living in an RV headed back to Alaska. Another couple from Wales was Moses and Heather. We enjoyed talking to them about their 1 year of travel that they began last September. We have likely met them or some of their family members when we were in the UK in 2022. It’s so amazing to cross paths and meet nomads and travelers at church. We are surprised at who we meet at times. The Vernon church is an excellent place to meet up. Murray and his wife Naomi have an open door policy and are always up for visitors and growing friendships. After lunch and much visiting, we got on the road for our 2 hour drive to Penticton. Our host Heather was expecting us at her house around 5pm. Months ago, Darrell applied to housesit at Heather’s place with 3 cats. She selected us among several applicants. And we happily accepted this exchange with her. We arrived and got to meet in person. We had all evening to go around the house and get the care details for the cats and the property. Heather moved here after retiring in Edmonton. Her Dad lived here and they had some time to live close and share some time together. Heather had a house built, then she sold that one and built another one for herself next door to the first. She’s up on a hill that overlooks the town, both lakes and the mountains across the lakes. It’s a beautiful view with promises of ever changing skies and sunsets. We enjoyed visiting and having dinner together with Heather. She told us a lot about her trip to Ireland with a friend who had never been. Heather likes to travel at least 2 months a year. Hopefully she will enjoy having us sit for her and she’ll want to continue having house sitters when she travels. We are happy to be sitting still for a few weeks in this beautiful place.
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| Penticton Housesit Laundry Room with Litter Robot. A First for Us to Learn About! Love it! |
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| Cooking Dinner in Our Penticton Gourmet Kitchen. Mountain Views. |
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| Stirfry for Dinner. |
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| Master Bath at Penticton, BC Housesit |
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| On the Phone with Grandson Owen in Alabama. Brightens Our Day! |
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| With Esther in Alabama. |
Monday. 19. I slept really well. We have plenty of room for exercising in the morning. We thought of some more questions for Heather and got through them before she left the house at 10am. We enjoyed cooking in her beautiful kitchen and enjoying her fabulous spices and Italian oils, and more. She has collected artwork from her travels and it makes me want to get my watercolors out and paint some while I’m here. We have decided to stay inside all day. Tomorrow we are driving back to Kelowna for Darrell to fly to Seattle for his eye treatment. I’ll be here 2 nights on my own and then go back and get him on Thursday.
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| View of Okanagan Lake from Our Patio in Penticton, BC |
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| View from Our Patio in Penticton |
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| Skaha Lake Beach in Penticton |
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| Kids Water Playground at Skaha Lake Park |
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| Impressive Tacos for Penticton. The Cook is from Puerta Vallarta. Darrell and I Have Been on a Taco Tour in that Town. These Tacos are as Good as His Town, and We Let Him Know!! |
Tuesday. 20. I messed with the robot litter box this morning because the blue light was flashing and it had not dumped the mess. I ended up pushing buttons with abandon and Darrell was upstairs making breakfast. This got me anxious because I had still not gotten the machine into neutral to do its best job. I decided after breakfast that I would figure it out. I did by going online and watching a couple tutorials. I took several notes to remind myself if I was to need to refer to them again over the next month. I felt a bit anxious today, but I pushed through and was doing much better by noonish. A mid-morning call to Eric and their two littles gave me a big smile and interrupted my disruptive feelings. We listened to our 11am Bible class online. Darrell’s teaching it next week. It was hard to pay attention when Darrell decided to eat during the class and opened a can of tuna! Lol. The cats were sure that was meant for them. He stood to eat uncomfortably out of his can while trying to listen to class and have 3 cats pestering him for their taste! We were all ready to go by noon. We locked up the house and took off with the realization that we needed gasoline. It’s an hour and a half to Kelowna airport because the traffic is bumper to bumper in some places. It’s a rather crazy town to drive through with the main highway flowing right through it and the airport is on the far end. The airport is tiny though and easy to drive in and out of. After I left Darrell at the airport, I decided to take a couple of stops for two reasons. One for myself to relax and send Darrell a couple of notes. Two was just in case Darrell needed me to return to the airport with something he forgot or if his flight got canceled. I didn’t want to be all the way back to the house. On my second stop, I grocery shopped in Peachland, 40 minutes from Penticton. I got back to the house and greeted the kitties. I was able to make an egg casserole for my dinner that was very enjoyable and I have left overs. Darrell arrived in Seattle before I got back to Penticton!
Wednesday. 21. I enjoyed myself sleeping in. The kitties were waiting outside my door quietly like sitting by a giant mouse hole! Lol. They are fed wet food in the morning and they are ready to be served. I got through my morning routine and did a little housekeeping so it doesn’t build up to one day for everything. I have a plan to go into town and shop and see the closest beachside park for Skaha Lake. Heather told us about how nice it is. She speaks with love for this area and her home and friends here. She has a practice to elevate her thinking and words into positive and gracious speech. She was able to do this with tact and honesty while sharing some very hard losses of her loved ones in her life. I appreciate the renewal in her life to live life with enjoyment and friends while remembering the loved ones who have brought her to life and loved her into being! I also have a list of cooking to accomplish today. Cooking black beans in the instapot is my first order of business. I bought a pound of ground Venison to brown for tacos and chili. We also have two breakfasts worth of Darrell’s protein pancakes in the fridge. I have been very productive today sticking to my to-do list! Lol. I went and took a walk along Skaha lake beach then went to the Real Canadian Superstore to shop for groceries. I spent all the time I wanted perusing the aisles. It was satisfying and wonderful to be able to shop and have money to purchase so much good food for us. I’ve thought this many times throughout my life. I’m grateful for this freedom and ability. Darrell texted me to let me know that he was finished with his treatment and resting while he recovers.
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| Back of Our Penticton Housesit. |
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| Penticton Front Door. |
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| True Catio. lol. |
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| A Great Sunset in Penticton |
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| Mexican Lunch at Skaha Lake Park |
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| Deer A-Plenty
Thursday. 22. It is a beautiful day! I get up early and do an exercise routine, have breakfast after taking care of the pets. Somewhere and some time I have been triggered into anxiety. I’m not sure about the where’s or whys, but I’m feeling quite distracted by mid-morning. Around 1pm I go to Kelowna airport to get Darrell. He’s arrived and ready to be back and recover from his eye treatment and trip. He’s not feeling great so I drive him home. I really want to drive so that he can enjoy the spectacular scenery as we drive lakeside for a full hour to Penticton. We both begin to feel better together! Friday. 23. Nomad Notes. I’m tired. When I’m tired I get confused easily, I get more edgy and sensitive. Knowing these things helps me to see them and to get some extra rest. Arriving at Heather's place in Penticton became a welcome respite. Heather was above and beyond what a pet-sit host can do. She’s very down to earth. We arrived a day ahead of her leaving for Ireland, at her invitation. She made us dinner and familiarized us with her house, the cats, their care and many other details for our 1 month stay to care for her property and pets here. My mind was thinking this is a week-long stay, and then I remembered that we are here for a month! We are both happy to relax in this beautiful town and in Heather’s beautiful home she’s sharing with us. Reading back over my week’s entries, I’m realizing that I’m having a lot of anxiety this week. Hmmm…Here’s where I am thinking about my essential tasks and self-care for rest, prayer and study. My plan for my self-care includes: 1-2 daily walks or more, drinking water every hour, eating protein, fiber and good fat balanced meals, painting some, reading, napping, playing with the cats, everything to relax and reduce stress.
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