A bit of this and that

Just when we thought the fires were calming down a storm went through the district and, poof, another 100 fires... when will it end? It seems the whole province is on fire and we really need some rain, and not just a day or two, but a hard 7 day rain with no lightning. The other night our sky looked like we were on another planet. Hubby and I drove down to Ruddocks and could see the smoke wasn't coming from the Intlpam fire. It must have been from the Stein fire and it was thick. Luckily it seemed to curl around the ranch and head for town and up to Fountain Valley so we could see it but we couldn't smell it or breath it in.

This picture was taken at 4:49 PM


Our sun, when visible, looked like this:



A bit earlier the sky didn't look too bad but the longer we stayed outside the worse it seemed to get. This picture was taken at 5:52 PM and things are much more "orange/red."


Hubby will be moving to another fire tomorrow. He's headed for West Pavilion up in Leon Creek. He's no longer needed at the Intlpam fire and got the word yesterday after returning to work for only one day. He just had two days off and was told if he didn't take the two days he would be fired. Hubby is not used to working like this. A meeting was called and the guys were told they were only allowed to work for 14 days and then it was mandatory to take two days off... he went to turn in his slips and realized he was on his 19th day. That's pretty common with Hubby and when you're a logger you work when you can because sometimes you're off for long stretches at a time. The Forestry sure runs things different than they do in the logging industry. Luckily we had someone to replace Hubby or we would have been scramblin' to find someone (thanks Billy).


The summer holidays are winding down and I had to take a trip to Kamloops to pick up the kids' school supplies. Sydney and I zipped over the other day. I stopped at the Lytton bridge and snapped some pics of the Osprey. The last time I took pictures they were just tiny little (albeit ugly) chicks. They are growing fast and look rather stunning now. We didn't see the Mama so maybe she's up and left the nest. The other Osprey chick was flying about while we were there.



While I was in Kamloops I picked out my kitchen counter. It will be three feet across and ten feet long. The sink will be in the centre (if I ever get my hands on the exact sink I want, darn'it) and the counter will have six drawers. A tip out tray in front of the sink and an electrical box on the end will complete it. The top will be laminate because I priced a piece of quartz and holy crap that stuff is darned expensive... like 3500 dollars! (I could buy a lot of camera gear for that money) Yeah I'll be skipping that for sure. So I'm just waiting on word from the cabinet guy as to whether or not the sink I've picked out will fit so I can order it and get this thing together. Then we need to have a wall removed, Lord where am I going to put all the "stuff" that hangs, sits, and hovers near the existing wall?? I really think I need a basement to hide stuff or maybe I should hire an organizer to come in and... well... organize :)

Another two weeks and three days and the kids are back in school! I wonder how many parents are counting down the days? Jevan and Sydney are getting excited about heading back, especially now that they have all their shiny new school supplies. Some days I feel like school time can't come quick enough, and other times I wish summer would last forever. With each year that school starts it seems my kids are growing up and don't, sometimes as parents, we want them to stay the way they are? Just the other night I came out of the shower wearing a summer dress (I don't often wear a dress) and as I entered the kitchen my youngest, Jevan 6, says "Hey beautiful." I thought that was the sweetest thing... until I realized he was standing in front of the stove, his hand sneaking a yorkshire cooling down waiting for the roast to be done.

If you'd like to see larger pictures, as well as the complete set, visit my flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansasa/