Shmooookin'

Well if you've been up on the news lately from BC, you probably know about the many severe wild fires that are burning right now. 

This is a pic from the shore of Tchesinkut Lake in Burns Lake.  That is smoke in the background with a plane doing fly-bys with water.

The smoke has been a horrible health issue in PG.  It's really bad for those who already have respiratory problems but for those who don't, sore throats, head aches, runny/stuffy noses, red/itchy eyes are the common side effects.

Here's another picture taken the same day at the same lake.  Looks gloomy yet nto so gloomy because of the blue sky, which we hadn't seen much in PG.

In the morning and evening the sun would shine bright pink or red.  That was because of the smoke and particles in the air in front of the sun.  Occasionally we wouldn't even see the sun.

The smoke prevents me (for example) from walking outside for exercise, driving because of the ash that flies into the car via the vents, and sitting outside.  My throat has been hurting for a few days now and I feel like I have a head cold because of the congestion.   Very gross.

This is a picture in the area of Fraser Lake, near PG.  I'm sure this plume of smoke has been part of the bad air quality in PG.

Just today I heard that Edmonton and even Saskatchewan has started to see/smell the BC smoke.  Doesn't smoke eventually dissipate eventually?

I heard from the radio that the smoke is supposed to die down by this next Monday.  The weather has partly to do with that...cooler temps, rain and little wind will bring the smoke to an end.

Let's all PRAY FOR RAIN....at least 1 hours worth.

I'm Probably Thinking/Dreaming Too Much For My Own Good

(Thinking of him) 

When will I get married?

When will I meet a guy to date?

How will this happen?

Will I know that I know he's the 'one' for me?

Will my family accept him?

Will he have the qualities I'm looking for, or the complete opposite?

These questions, plus many more, constantly float like in a whirl pool within my mind.  I'm 31, the oldest of siblings, and the last one to find a guy and to get married.  I was so sure, years ago, that I would be the one married first.  Why I thought that is beyond me because I really only have had 2 serious relationships.  Those odds weren't great for finding the 'one' for me.

One thing I hear often is, 'you'll find him when you're not looking or least bit expecting'.  Well that's a lame sentence.....when I haven't looked there's been NOBODY.  I lived in a town of about 3000 people and didn't expect to find a guy there, I was also hoping I wouldn't find one there either for a couple of reasons:

1. I marry the guy and I'd probably end up related to 1/2 the town

2. I might not move out of that town if the guy is from there and all his family is there.

I'm sure you can understand my logic there.  This town was quite 'hickish' and oppressing as well so am glad to have moved away.

About a week ago I had a dream that I was getting married and afterwards the guests were saying I should've married the best man.  Why they would say that is beyond me.  Also, when I got the wedding planner's bill, it was $824.00.  CHEAP!  Nevertheless, when I woke up I had the happy wedding feelings/thoughts/pictures in my mind that I wanted to plan my future wedding.  I purchased a hard cover, spiral bound, drawing book with black pages.  I bought one wedding magazine (as they are $$$) and thought I could 'browse' in it and cut out my ideas and likes and put them into the book.  Well today, a little while ago, I started surfing the web regarding wedding colour ideas and started getting bummed out.  Why was I looking at this stuff when I'm not close, at all, to getting married?  At first I thought it would be fun to make a 'dream' book for myself but now I just get bummed out.  So if I could return the book I would, but the label has been taken off and wrecked :(

So what do I do now?  I'm not an extrovert so being in larger than 4-5 people social settings is uncomfortable for me.  I haven't joined a club, exercised at the gym, etc for me to meet people.  I work on all Sat & Sundays so going to church doesn't happen anymore either.  During my bummed out times of thinking on this subject I can almost convince myself that I'll die a spinster.  I'd rather not be one but at this rate and my age (which isn't too old, but feels old) I don't see much time left to find the right guy.  It would be really nice if he found me.  I only had one guy pursue me and that was because he was an ex and he wanted me back while I was dating someone else.

I don't want to be the pursuer anymore....not much success in that, at least for me. WHERE ARE YOU??

My Next Project

These two flowers represent my grandma and I.  She's the yellow Rose and I'm the blue Tibetian Poppy.  Grandma enjoyed tending to her gardens for as long as I knew her.  She had tulips, dahlias, roses, a huge rhododendron, and many others.  I asked my mom if she knew Grandmas' favourite colour of rose, she thought it was yellow.  I like wild flowers as well as poppys.  I chose this particular poppy because it's blue. 

I've been thinking about what my next tattoo was going to be for quite a while now and my first thoughts were to add wild flowers and a vine to the bumble bee I already have on my left ankle area.  But just recently, a couple weeks ago, I thought about having a sort of memorial to my grandma tattooed on me.  It had to include a flower and a really nice, feminine font that said "Grandma".  So off to google I went to search for yellow roses....above is what I selected mainly because of the defined petals.  Then I thought about adding something that would represent me, so I also chose a flower and above is what I selected.  I was lucky to quickly find a nice, flourishing font to reflect who Grandma was.  It's called Scriptina.

This tattoo will be done on my wrist, not sure which one though....maybe my left one as it's less dominant and used less.  The two flowers will be beside each other with the word below and possibly in a rounded shape, not straight across like it is now.

Anyways, I don't have the money right now and some car repairs are needed to be done first.  I think this will look very pretty and it will probably be done in a tattoo shop in PG.

River Rafting BA-BY!!

Sunday July 18th at 6:00am, my friends Melissa and Nathan and I get in the car and drive to Lytton for our combo rafting trip.  It took us 2.5 hrs to get there so we were about 45 min early.  When the time came to sign-in, we gathered along with about 18 others to sign a waiver, receive instructions and get our gear.  We loaded into an old blue school bus and off we went; 30 min north of the base, up the Thompson river.  In the boats we went, about 10-11 per boat and off we motored.  Our guide was named "Wave Dave".  He was awesome and very entertaining.   

While in the boat we had to hold onto a rope that was along the inside of the tube we sat on. We had to hold onto it at all times, with at least one hand, and between our legs. That prevented our legs from being tossed backwards and into the river.  There was a bit of a history lesson included regarding the gold rush, the river gorge, the camel/sheep, rock formations and significant river levels.  The water looked to be very clean although would be filtered for best results and it was very refreshing.  The last rapid was called "eighteenth hole" and I was lucky to be at the front of the boat.  It was awesome! The wave was huge and super wet!!  I couldn't stop laughing during it all.

After the 2 hr ride, we went back to the base, had lunch and joined up with about 40 other people to do a paddle rafting ride.  So into the bus we went, drove up north and loaded into boats.  The power ride had 2 boats and the paddle ride had 7 boats.

The paddle ride was quite a bit different.  I think most people think it's a wilder, wetter ride but, really, it isn't.  The paddle boats can't go in the same rapids as the power boat because there is a lack of power.  The rafting guide told us about the paddle calls she would be yelling to us; so we practiced those before attempting the rapids.  Once again, I felt safe on the paddle boat.  Sure it looks like you're going to fall in but I didn't feel that way.  On one occassion, my side of the boat was lifted up and the girl behind me and I were tossed INTO the boat.  We had to stay in the boat until we were on calmer waters.   

After the ride, we went back to the base, got dried off and changed and the 3 of us split the purchase of a CD with trip pictures on it.  Hense the pics on this blog entry.

In summary, I felt the power ride was a lot more rougher, wetter and faster!  I loved it.  The paddle ride was slower and not so wet because that boat can't go through the same rapids as the power boat.

Another bucket item crossed off....

Oh Deer!!

Just this past Thursday (July 8th) I was driving my usual early morning route to V'hoof to work when all of a sudden a deer came up from the ditch beside me (driver's side), hopped towards me as I was driving 100 km/hr and crashed into my car. 

I was on a curve that went towards the left and the deer came up from the left side, hopped towards my car and while I had a short moment to slow down, it wasn't enough to save the deer (or my car).  He flew off my hood and into the ditch, somewhere, on the passenger side.  I pulled over off the highway, inspected the major dents on my car and was debating whether I should find the deer and see how it was doing.  Very quickly, a thought entered my mind of "what if it's still alive and suffering?"....I didn't want to see that so I got back into my car and drove off to work.

Nonetheless, I was upset.  I turned off my radio and drove in silence the rest of the way (1/2 hr longer).  I wasn't in the mood for tunage anymore.  I felt like a killer of an innocent being.  Poor Mr./Mrs. Deer....it's family will be wondering where they are.  Then again, why would a deer hop onto the highway when it saw me coming and hop in front of my car!!??

ICBC here I come.

Oh and one more thing.  A few days before this incident happened, I was driving the same highway but back to PG from V'hoof and an oncoming semi-truck flicked up a stone about the size of an open fist and it landed on my windshield!  I saw it coming towards me but I had NO way of avoiding it.  WOW!  What an expensive highway to drive!

Check out this article I found online...

DUTCH FARMERS TIP-TOE THRU THE TULIPS

www.dailymail.co.uk

At first glance, it looks like a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose upon the landscape.  Vivid stripes of purple, yellow, red, pink, orange and green make up a glorious technicolour patchwork. Yet far from being a child's sketchbook, this is, in fact, the northern Netherlands in the middle of the tulip season.

With more than 10,000 hectares devoted to the cultivation of these delicate flowers, the Dutch landscape in May is a kaleidoscope of giddy colours as the tulips burst into life.
The bulbs were planted in late October and early November, and these colourful creations are now ready to be picked and sold as bunches of cut flowers in florists and supermarkets.
More than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the U.S. and Germany.

Their dazzling colours are thanks to the years in the 17th century when Tulipmania swept the globe and the most eye-catching specimens changed hands for a small fortune.

But like a rainbow, this colourful landscape is a short-lived phenomenon.
When the flowers are gone, the land will be cultivated for a rather more mundane crop of vegetables.