New Year 2011

Happy New Year to all! I am now visiting with son in Sorrento, B.C. They had a foot of snow here, no wind, snow just falls, it is wet and sticky, so snow blowers and shovels are busy. The next day heard this tump, tump, now it was falling of the roof. The deck had a 3 foot pile of it. So when family came home from work the task was to shovel it off the deck, otherwise it would freeze into one big iceberg which would be there till the warm weather comes.

Scenery here is lovely, winding roads, hills, lakes, spruce and cedar trees, and the faraway snow covered mountains. Must take pictures! Today Jan. 11th it was -12 below c. That is cold for here!

The above pictures are snow scenes from British Columbia. The top is a view from Karen 's window looking out on her street. The bottom pic is the view of David's back yard. Christmas and New Years were great! We are now awaiting the overdue arrival of my great grandchild, who will come when he or she are ready. Christine is working on a quilt for the baby, Winnie the Pooh, with Tigger, Eyor, and piglet in applique. She also has a ball of pink and one of blue wool and will knit a bonnet for he or she. Some people are so talented!

Cheers

Grandma Al

Port Townsend

We took a day trip to Port Townsend in Washington State. This is a 2 hour drive from Karen and Andrews in Mission B.C. A half hour ferry ride across Puget Sound and you are in a very turn of the century town. It was the hope of the then community that they would become the capital, and seaport of the State. Somehow Seattle got the seaport, and Olympia became the capital. It has languished over the years, for us to now enjoy its architure, and its victorian charm. Shops were full, great to browse through, did not buy anything. It was a fun day!

Lutefisk

Brother Ted serving the delicacy to Karen.

In Sweden they call it Lutfisk, In Denmark Ludefisk, in Norway Lutefisk!

What is it? It's Codfish, caught in the spring of the year, headed, cleaned of the insides and hung to dry in the fresh air of Norway, where the wind and the sun turn this fish into something resembling dry wood. Now, it can be reconstituted soaking it in water for weeks on end, this is done in Spain and Portugal, and made into a stew with tomatoes and potatoes, but trust the Vikings to discover something unique! They soak it, still not palatable, so they soak it for days in a 'Lye" or "Lut" solution , afterwhich it is rinsed and soaked repeatily til all the lye or lut solution is rinsed away. You are left with a spongy grey matter, when boiled, shakes like jelly and is served with melted butter and allspice, boiled potatoes and flat bread. Goes well with Aquavit!

Last Saturday we were treated to such a dinner by my brother, you either like it or abhor it. I like it!

Song for a winter night

Heard this song on CTV song by John McDermot, it is beautiful. so looked it up in the internet and found that the lyrics and music are by no other than Gordon Ligthtfoot and sung by Sarah McLachlan. Try downloading from the internet.

Winter here is rain, lots of it. Karen and I have both come down with colds, so our trip to the island is off. What does one do when feeling miserable? You make soup and watch TV. Last night the original 'White Christmas' with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney (she is the aunt of George Clooney). and 'Narnia, the witch and the wardrobe'. As well went to the movies to see 'Morning Glory' a comedy with Harrison Ford.

Dec. 9

RAIN


Karen and Andrew's back yard, which looks down into a gully, bears and coyotes are known to be seen. Bears go after seed in feeders. I took this picture from their balcony.

Tuesday attended Maple Ridge Secondary School's annual Christmas Concert. This is a fund raising for their Music Department. Apparently the province does not fund music programs in schools. The program included the orchestra and the junior and senior choirs. During intermission coffee and dainties were served. A silent auction of some 100 items all donated by local merchants took place. I bid on three items and came home with three items! I now have stocking stuffers and a gift certificate for The Keg! Karen and Andrew were also successful!

The west coast is now experiencing bad weather RAIN.

December 8th in Mission

The Lepp Market in Abbotsford. they make cold meats, sausages with no additives, breads, fresh vegetables and fruits, many from their own gardens. Deli foods, need quick dinner stop by, many choices, be it pasta, pizza , salads and even soup!

View of mountains! The big one is Mount Baker in the US. this was taken on Sunday, a beautiful sunny day!

Greetings from Mission!

When I arranged my flight plan to Abbotsford, (no direct flight to Abbotsford) I chose the Winnipeg, Edmonton Abbotsford route, as it had only a 30 minute wait in Edmonton , arrived Edmonton to hear my connecting flight was late, 2 hours to be exact. Arrived Abbotsford , one lost piece of luggage! which they found the next day, they gave me a nice reduction on my next flight with Westjet.
Daughter Karen and I attended the Leonard Cohen concert on Dec. 2nd. We left her house at 4:00 p.m. drove for 2 hours to the Lonsdale Quay, parked her car where she works. Had dinner, took the sea bus, then the sky train to the Rodgers Center and arrived in ample time for the show. The show was sold out, but why do some people arrive late for shows. Oh well, parking is difficult in downtown Vancouver. The show was awesome! This guy is 76 years old, he has a backup group of three women who are great harmonisers, plus guitar, sax, keyboard, drum, organ it was 3 hours of fabulous music Friday night we were in downtown Mission to watch the annual Candlelight Parade, one and a half hours long! Marching bands, floats were all lit up with lights, fire trucks, train, scouts, choirs, horses, nativity parade with real donkeys. Temperature was around 0 and no rain! Karen has been busy cramming for an exam she is writing on Tuesday, on Automobile Insurance. So Andrew and I disappeared so she could study. Yesterday went to IKEA, and then visited my brother in Burnaby. The sun was shining and we had a good view of Mount Baker, and the snow capped coast mountains
to the north I will send pictures later, writing this on Karen's computer.
Grandma Al