Walk the Talk

I work for a really incredible company, and I've honestly felt that way for years. In this day and age of cutbacks in the name of corporate preservation, my employer has been understandably cautious but remains generous, both with their staff and with the community in which the plant thrives.

On Sunday, I spent a couple of hours meandering around the latest contribution to the Nova Chemicals Joffre Site neighborhood - a 220 acre plot of land which has been turned into a lovely network of walking paths that wind through a beautiful wildlife and wetlands preservation area.

The awesome trail system will be maintained by Nova, and it is available for anyone who wishes to get out and enjoy it. Hopefully users will respect and help look after this beauty of a gift!

Again, not a day goes by that I do not fully appreciate my good fortune to be employed by this world-class, not to mention just plain classy, organization. I'm a lucky girl!!

Cheers!

Best Season Ever!

Mmmmmm, fall..... Hands-down the most beautiful of the seasons..... This year, we've been particularly lucky with the weather, and yesterday did not disappoint - I got out for an afternoon stroll with the girls and enjoyed the crisp, fresh air and gorgeous views.

Too bad all of the leaves are gone!

Classic Bower Ponds view!


My fingers are crossed that this loveliness continues! Mmmmm, fall!

Cheers!

Artsy fartsy......

Today, I learned that I am NOT an artist. But it sure was fun to try!

Seven girlfriends and I spent the afternoon at a cool little art studio downtown, with an absolutely amazing painter who tried her darnedest to teach us a thing or two about oil painting. The lesson was not completely lost on the group however, but I think most of us did leave there happy to have a day job.... LOL!



Arty Party - great fun!

Sam brought snacks! Kathy brought wine!!

A private party is the way to go.... notice how
Kathy is enjoying wine, while the rest of us are hard at it!

My version of 'Hydrangeas'. Oy.

Nice work ladies!

All in all, it was a super fun couple of hours and I would definitely love to do it again!

Cheers!

Rocks and Renos

"Everybody's workin' for the weekend...." That Loverboy tune is playing in my head while I write this, as I am thinking about how to describe what we did during this past Thanksgiving long weekend!

Chris and I made the trek out to Shuswap Lake, where several of the Cooke boys gathered and put their renovating skills to good use. The medium cabin needed new flooring, and as per how these types of projects usually go, it required way more effort than originally anticipated. Fortunately, many helping hands made the work go smoothly, and the end result was fabulous!

Under protest, Chris stopped the truck
on the drive out so we could stretch our
legs at a place called the Rockgarden.

I think he actually ended up enjoying the 15 minute stroll!

There were some very cool random boulders.

The whole area was really neat!

Now, the fun begins!

Everything was moved out of the cabin, onto the deck, and the
boys geared up for the demolition job.

By the end of day one, the three layers of linoleum
and rotten sub-floor are almost gone!

Day two sees the new sub-floor being put in - looking good!

Well-deserved beer break!
(We took many of these - LOL!)

Can you tell who the supervisor is in this group? Haha!

Isn't he just the cutest, most smiley helper around!

By the end of day two, we have the finished product!

Fifty years of flooring.

My job was to destroy the evidence....

Let me clarify: We only burnt the garbage
wood, NOT the old lino!

 I love playing with fire.... from a distance that is!

Whew! That was a lot of work! Now for some chill time....

.....and story time.

Look at this little sweetheart!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A view that never gets old!

The time finally came for all of us to pile into the
boat and head back to the real world.

It's always much easier leaving on a rainy day,
rather than on a sunny one!

So the turkey-lurkey weekend project was a success! And amongst all of the hard work, we had so many laughs and enjoyed such great company. Now the cabin is closed up for the winter, and it's ready to rock for next season - I can't wait to get back there!

Thanks again for the fun (as always!) Sandy & Larry, Lorelee & Randy, Lynne & Shane, and of course little Alex and Evelyn. Good times!

Cheers.