Prideaux Haven to Toba Inlet

Even though the weather was drizzly and grey we had a nice evening at Prideaux Haven. Here is a picture of me on the boat in the afternoon of Tuesday June 12th. I think I wore this sweater most of the time on the boat!




The next morning was much bright and we hauled up the anchor and headed north - up the Waddington Channel which is between West Redonda Island and East Redonda island. We ( Jim ) did most of the steering of the boat from the flybridge. There was a much better all around view from up there and most of the time the weather was nice enough to be up top and the binimi kept us fairly dry when it was raining.
We took a little side trip up Pendrell Sound.




This is the screen shot of the chart and the route we took on Wednesday.
After motoring up Pendrell sound we went Back to Waddington Channel and continued north towards the Wildernest Resort where we had planned to spend the night.
Walsh Cove - a little anchorage in Waddington Channel




A boat stern tied and anchored in Walsh Cove.




That was a very pretty little spot to anchor. It looked like they had been there for a while. There were some pictographs on the rocks in Walsh Cove so we went in for a closer look.
Coming out the gap between West and East Redonda islands.




Wildernest Resort is a small little spot that sits on the mainland just where Pryce Channel - Homfray Channel and Toba Inlet meet.




We were able to dock the boat - successfully!! And get off and go for a little walk. It was a lovely little spot with a beautiful waterfall that the owner had used to build his own little hydro plant.




It was almost hot and the sweater came off. The owner - Kyle and Jim and I were the only people there.




Walking up to the waterfall








Such a beautiful spot to spend the night.




And we had a visitor as we were cooking prawns for dinner on the boat.



We think it is a River Otter.


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Desolation Sound

It has been a very busy and eventful spring. I am still having a problem with my ankle - but that is a long story.

Jim and I have been taking some boating courses. We took the Canadian Power Squadron course in the fall and then in May we went to Boating University at Trawlerfest in Anacortes in Washington. I took a two day "Women and Boating" course from Captain Carol Cuddyer. Great course!! Carol was very encouraging and knowledgeable.

So ---- on June 10th we dipped our toes in the ocean ( so to speak ) and we rented a boat out of Comox B.C. and headed off to Desolation Sound.







The boat was a 40 foot boat called a Grand Mariner. We spent a few hours on Sunday getting orientated to the boat. I was lucky enough to snag the anchor on a cable on my very first time dropping the anchor. Luckily we were still in the harbour and help was close by. That was a bit of a concern but after that I figured it would only go up from there.



The first day - Monday - we motored off across the Straight of Georgia. It was a little scary at first but we were able to put all of our new found knowledge to use and realized we really could do this. Even though I had never EVER done anything like this in my life! Jim has spent a lot of time on fishing boat - although not in the captain's chair.

After we made it safely across the Comox Bar and the Straight of Georgia we spent our first night in Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island.





We anchored in the very calm and pretty little cove. The day was overcast and grey but not raining. We were able to drop the anchor and pull the anchor for the rest of the trip without incident. It is amazing to me that the anchor can hold the boat in a very confined area without having the boat float away. I would frequent check that we didn't move. Even during the night I would wake up and try to check our position. The first night after we got back home I would wake up and look out the sliding glass door and see the flashing light that marks a rock on Bowen Island and think " okay - good - the boat hasn't moved".

The following day - Tuesday - was a drizzly, wet and grey day. We decided to not do a long day of site seeing and motoring as the clouds were so low the visibility was very poor. We headed out late morning and went directly from Squirrel Cove to Prideaux Haven. A very popular and pretty anchorage.





This is a picture from the boat anchored in Prideaux Haven - looking out towards Melanie Cove. We were hoping to anchor in Melanie Cove but there were about 8 boats - mostly sailboats - already anchored there. We did about four loops around Prideaux Haven before we settled on a spot. I'm sure we provide a little afternoon entertainment for the rest of the inhabitants!

We had a very nice evening on the boat. We were beginning to get more comfortable. We used the little deck BBQ in the rain to cook up some Lamb sausage ( won't take lamb sausage again - very hard on the BBQ and Jim had to work hard to get all the lamb grease off it.).

I am going to end here and pick up on day three from the computer where I have most of the pictures. I needed a few pictures that I took with the IPhone.

Pam.


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Snowy Owl

I was a Guide leader when Jessica was in Girl Guildes and my name was Snowy Owl!


There has been a large number of Snowy Owls spending the winter in the Ladner B.C area so today we took a drive out there to see them. It was wonderful to see them! We saw about 12-15. We heard that last weekend there were 30-40 out there.



We got a few great pictures.  They were just sitting along the drift wood along the beach.  We think this is a female as she has a bit more grey/brown on her and the males are mostly white.  Isn't she beautiful - and they are quite large birds.  We also saw a couple of other brown owls - I think they were called Short eared owls.




This eagle was sitting on this pole when we got there - and was still on the pole when we were leaving.  I think she was finding all the activity quite entertaining!


There were hundreds of people out there!  It was amazing.  When Jim suggested we go out there - I thought it would be a lovely little walk along the dyke to see the owls - just the two of us!  Oh the people - and their cameras!  Oh my goodness.  Most of the people there had cameras with lenses the size of a small car!!  Good heavens.  Look at all the cars!!



Jim brought the spotting scope - which was nice to have.  The binoculars were good but you could get an even better look through the spotting scope.  Quite a few people stopped as we were looking and we let them look through the spotting scope as well. 




And here is a quick quilt picture.  I have finished it completely now and it is for the neighbours who had a baby girl (Charlie) in November.  Jim keeps telling them -- Pam has something for you!!  I had decided to do a little stitchery of a bird for the label - so typical me - I am slow!  I hope to get the label finished and sewn on this weekend.  I have never really done any embroidery - maybe one item as a young child.  So I decided to jump on the bandwagon - because I need another "something" to shop for!!

Last weekend we were at the boat show in Seattle.  That is a blog post in itself!  But those photos are on another camera. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I thought I should post some Christmas pictures –  "what we have been up to lately pictures" ......
I started off this Christmas Season getting my fabulous notions holder and a few extra goodies from Carole – Quilting Adventures. 




Then I spent a day making Biscotti – 25 dozen.





We put up a tree ---- a very nice little tree..............


Decked the halls – sort of………….




Eric and Darla came for Christmas Eve dinner.




Cadence the Grand dogter – has come to spend the Christmas holiday while her mummy and daddy get to spend Christmas in Hawaii.  Can you see the look on Jenny’s face – she is wondering when we are going to send this dog back home!

Christmas dinner --- Saddle of Lamb.
We have been watching  “Upstairs, Downstairs” – and they eat a lot of Saddle of Lamb – so Jim decided we needed to search that out – so…. here we have Christmas dinner of Saddle of Lamb – Gordon Ramsay style.




First you have to trim it off the bone.




Could I have a little bit there Jim?  Huh – just a little??






Then you add a few sage leaves…………






Then the spinach and mushroom stuffing.




Roll it and wrap it and bake it in the oven..





Ready to carve and enjoy for Christmas dinner.




Could we have a little there Jim…. just a taste??





Just the tiniest little taste?  Please…………

So on that note I thought I would add this picture of me - peering over my glasses at Jim - as I take a lot of pictures of Jim - peering over his glasses at me - it's only fair I guess. Merry Christmas.... to all - and Happy New Year!

After a year like this - its best to laugh out loud!! 

Christmas time

Christmas around here means a glass of port and a couple of home made biscotti.



















Maybe my New Years resolution should be I post a little more regularly!

I am slowly getting better - more mobile and getting ready to head back to work in January.

Merry Christmas to all! And to all a Good Night.

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Well - I am still alive!

And walking - more or less --- and pictures to prove it................... This picture is taken just outside the Burrowing Owl winery in Oliver B.C.





The weekend before Halloween Jim and I headed off to the sunny Okanogan to meet up with my mum and dad for a little get away.  So here I am with my mum and dad - standing on two feet - in shoes.  I am hiding my cane............. I am doing well - can't walk too far and limping a bit and whining a lot but I have been out of the boot for almost 3 weeks and now I need to try to take off the weight I put on while sitting on the deck and doing nothing for 2 months............and we go to spend the weekend going from winery to winery buying wine!!  Like that was a good idea!


Halloween has come and gone and Jim decided he needed to carve a pumpkin this year............






I have been doing a bit of quilting.  I am making a baby quilt for Vincia ( who got married a couple of years ago and I made the African Wedding quilt for - I will see if I can find a link for that.)  Here is the link -- African wedding quilt




Vincia gave me a Winnie the Pooh receiving blanket when she gave me the fabric she wanted in the wedding quilt.  So she phoned a few weeks ago to say she is expecting - so I can take a hint :)  It was hard to find fabric to match the colours in the receiving blanket but I found the green polka dot fabric in Armstrong BC on our little trip in October.  I have a plan to put a small narrow light yellow border between the quilt and the green border.  I had saved a picture a couple of years ago of a split nine patch with Winnie the Pooh fabric - this quilt is pretty much the same as the picture I had saved at the colours in the fabric are the same.  Vincia loves the original Winnie the Pooh - not the Disney Winnie the Pooh - I am not sure where she found the receiving blanket - I hope I have turned her little receiving blanket into a quilt she will be happy with in the end. 

I am off to a quilting retreat next weekend so I can finish the baby quilt and do a few more of the many Civil war blocks I am working on at the present!

But I am still alive :))

A (sewing) Room with a View

This is my favourite picture this week – although I am sure it is not Jim’s!  He decided he was going to make Thai prawn and salmon soup one day  after work this week and what a mess the kitchen was by the time he was finished!  I don’t think we ate dinner until 8:30 PM.  The soup was wonderful!  Jim is very devoted to get me through this darn broken ankle and he is doing a great job of it – although I think the soup was just a bit too much – even he admitted to that by about 7:45 PM.

I have been able to get out to a few of my usual stitching activities  thanks to quilting friends coming out to get me and Andrew driving out - in my car – which  he has gone off with – since I can’t drive you know…………no point in it just sitting there…

This weekend Jim asked if I was able to do all the quilting I had wanted while I was up on the deck.  I said that I wished I could work on the Barbara Brackman Civil War Block of the week but because my sewing room was downstairs and the patterns were all on the computer –which is on the deck it was something I just couldn’t do. 

 

So – off Jim went to Costco and bought a small table for $30……

 

Here is my new little sewing space –on the deck – on one condition  he says – once I can walk it has to go back downstairs.  I think he figured he had better make that condition because I think I would rather stay up here. 

 

The view from the ironing board!  I can sit on my rolling office chair and sew on the little featherweight and then easily iron.  It is a great set up. 

My ankle is getting much better – I could not have done this two weeks ago – it still would hurt if I had my foot down for any length of time but now the swelling is really going down and it hardly hurts at all. 

I have already completed a couple more since these pictures – I have 12/16 blocks completed.  I have also completed on Dear Jane block.

 

And just to finish off ----- the soup………..

I have a bunch of pictures of my ankle…………………..Nahhh