Kootenay River Paddle

We went for an evening paddle...

 Up the River....

 It was the first time we had been on this river...

 If we paddle upstream...we know we can make it downstream:)

 It was the first evening paddle we've had!

A little sunset as we were finished our ride!

Cinnamon Toast.... Is there a 'Right Way'??

When I was a little girl....mom would often make Cinnamon Toast for a snack. She would toast the bread, butter it, spread it with brown sugar, then sprinkle it with cinnamon! A yummy treat.

When my children were growing up...it was usually Sunday's after having a big meal for lunch...we would make the kids Cinnamon Toast for supper! And we made it.. "toast, butter, sugar and sprinkled it with cinnamon".

Then today!!!! I found out that Mom and I had been doing it the wrong way.... THERE IS A RIGHT WAY TO MAKE CINNAMON TOAST! (click here for the right way_ Hubby made a fruit salad and I made the cinnamon toast.... and I did not use a toaster!

I didn't have soft butter so I had to slightly melt it.... then added the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla!

I watched it carefully so it did not burn...you'll notice one piece is missing...well it started to get done before the others.....so we tasted it!

Done!
Doesn't look the way the wrong cinnamon toast does...and it does taste delicious!!

T-shirt Quilt

My nephew had boxes of T-shirts... He wanted a T-shirt quilt made with them.....

I put my sister and nephew to work...cutting the T-shirt apart!!!

Then my work began... I cut the squares...

Then ironed the squares on interfacing... (no I did not iron on my cutting board:)

 Then cut the t-shirts from the interfacing...and gave each square another press...

Now the fun begins.... I started laying it out....

Okay!!! There were lots of T-shirt's with bigger Logo's than I had figured on...and I have a huge quilt ...not enough floor space to lay it out...

By the end of the day.... I think I'm ready to sew.... We'll see how it goes together!!

Walnuts...in the valley

Hubby was so excited when he found out we had a Walnut tree in our yard!!
This is our tree in May....

They haven't changed much in the last couple months.
I didn't know....you don't pick the walnuts off the trees....they fall off when they are ready.

Friends of ours had BAGS of walnuts from last year...and they gifted us a bag....

We spent an evening cracking them...

Then roasting them...(and eating them:)

They are delicious....We are looking forward to our walnuts this fall!!

We now call it....Turtle Town

There are many places in our area to kayak...Today we went to French Slough (hubby does not like that name... I like the way slough sounds....he thinks it should be canal... as the river does flow into it;) Anyways it is a beautiful spot to kayak...we have taken the French Slough north...but wanted to see what the south side looked like.

There is something so peaceful about being on the water....the quiet...the birds...the wind moving the trees...I love it!

It's fun to explore the little spots along the way....
Then we saw them...

Sunbathing turtles.... a couple logs with turtles sunbathing. Taking picture is not easy in a kayak...and I only take my phone!

After watching them I carried on a few feet...then I saw him... I heard him swim under my kayak...and then he was beside me....his head out of the water !

Can you see him? He blends in with the weeds! The area was filled with turtles!!

 It was a beautiful time...

This will become our Turtle Town ride....we will be back as we found a little beach for a picnic...and a few more areas to explore...

This sign is where we park our vehicle... I suppose they do cross the road now and then!

Downstairs Reno's

The downstairs was finished to a degree.... have a look for yourself of what it was like....

Main area

(The lights are white...not blue.)

Hallway

'Yellow Room'

Became my Sewing Room

'Pink Room'

Became the Guest Room

I have one more post with Reno's...

there were two rooms in the house.....

that I strongly disliked... 

so I kept them for a separate post...

Family Time

We had company!

The wonderful thing about living away from our family is that they come to visit...and I think it works out that we have MORE time with them than when we lived close.
Some times we just hung around...

Or sat around...

Went for lots of walks....a special one was to the river...

Hopefully the girls don't grow too fast....until we see them again!

Cherry Season

Cherry Season is in full swing in the Kootenays!1

Family was in town...they had never canned before...actually then didn't realize what Canned Cherries were....
We went to the Cherry Orchard and picked up our cherries.

Washed the cherries...

Because we left the pits in...we pierced both sides of the cherries...we had everyone doing it...even the grand!

We made two types of syrup...a light syrup...and half we used white grape juice..

Once the jars where filled we placed them in the canner..

After they were processed....let them cool.

All the lids popped!...

They are labelled and ready for the cold rooml

Then....we had to have a cherry pie for dessert...