Very heavy rain during the early morning – at about 4 or so – but because of the magnificent job we’d done of staking out the fly-sheet to maximum capacity + then tying down the middle of the tent to stop it touching there, we stayed dry all night. And of course our storage extension was dry – that always has worked (touch wood.) However, we decided that the weather was too wet for immediate work, so, along with Rob, who seems a sucker for easy temptation, we drove into town to buy our shopping early rather than late. To be fair, we did try to work, but it was so cold that our hands just about dropped off, so we grabbed a couple of bagfuls each, + then quit. We must have looked a sorry pair, because as we went past the Kuipers, they offered to lend me a pair of short rubber boots for the season, while Mrs K told Val to buy a new pair of wellies – she’s buy them off her. Both offers gratefully received.
Then into Mission Park Shopping Plaza. We drank a couple of cups of coffee, did as much shopping as we had cash for (not much), then back to work. However, we didn’t work a very long day – it really looked as tho’ it was about to pour, + Val in particular was very cold. My welliettes made a big difference, but she hadn’t been able to buy her boots yet, + her bare feet in a pair of cold wet trainers didn’t help matters. As it turned out, it just drizzled for a bit + then turned into a beautiful evening, but it made a nice change to have time to not only do the necessary jobs but also sit + read. I was finally able to get the fire right… the fireplace, I mean. In a striving for perfection I’d dug + changed + modified, so that it ended up much worse than it had been in the first place. The final solution (if you’ll forgive the term) was a biggish shallow pit, surrounded by stones, with two firebricks resting in the middle with a grill across them. Fabulous meal – bangers, mash + peas, followed by fried bread + jam + cocoa.
Definitely going through changes in the weather, one day being bakingly hot, the next cold and wet. Quite important to get the fireplace right, for, despite the rain, the field was very dry, and any carelessness could have set the whole thing alight.
Lillian
As we read about your time at the apple farm, Steve and I are wondering what kind of apples you and Val were picking, and how they tasted? When leaving Hawaii at the end of a vacation, I wanted to give away apples we had purchased for snacks and didn’t manage to get through. Steve instead wanted to eat them on the way to the airport; we of course were not allowed to take fruit out of Hawaii. Steve ate five! He was soooo uncomfortable during our flight to Seattle. Thankfully Steve still enjoys apples and moderates his intake!
We’ve been to Kelowna a couple of times; our camper was built there. I’d easily dispense with my GF diet to eat at the tastiest French patisserie we’ve been to. Just thinking about it transports me to the remarkable experience of eating a flaky pear cheese open faced pastry that nothing else over the years has managed to come close to.
I do not recall if you have shared the name of the farm where you and Val worked? It would be fun to google it and see if it still exists.
A few years ago, Kelowna had serious flooding and the Northern Lite Company had to do extensive sand bagging to protect their business. If anyone has their eyes on a North American truck camper, we can vouch for the all season Northern Lite.
We enjoy reading your blog pretty much on a daily basis and hope all is well with you and Val as we haven’t yet seen today’s entry.