I made up the tent and headed into the office to meet a client and was grateful that she took two big boxes of info back to store. My office was getting crowded. Next I was trying to tackle getting my government access back to a file that I need to file returns on. There was a mistiming that had my authorization revoked prematurely and it is proving to be a real botch. I admit I got angry and it is taking a lot more time that I need to be doing other things. I will deal with it again tomorrow. It only took two years to get the last access for a Society solved, I will fix it… eventually.
Ron Popoff, one of our city councilors came by my office to talk about the plans for Rotary Park and how it is used for Summer Sounds and Peak Fest. We sketched out an idea and he will come present it at our Board meeting next week so that it can become part of the October budget after the civic election.
I finished a lot more and then got a call from my guests that they were here. It was a bit frustrating as I had reached out yesterday to see when they were arriving but didn’t hear anything. It turns out they are an older couple and absolutely lovely folks. We had a good chat and then they headed off to their family reunion. She is from Nova Scotia and her family is meeting here from various provinces. Brian and Jeannine are absolutely thrilled with their accommodations and will be great guests through to Sunday morning.
My elder friend in Bella Bella called tonight as she had been thinking of me while watching the Queen’s service. They are sadly still searching for a guy who fell overboard on the weekend. His boat was found adrift and then the fall was found to have been caught in the cannery cameras apparently. How very sad.
The one really great part of the day was waking up remembering that Doug let me know we will be having VIMF next year! It will be my 15th and maybe my last. I shall make the most of it. Something to make a plan for now.
I had set my PVR to record the Queen’s funeral but woke up at 2:45 am and it was to start at 3. I turned it on and tucked back in. It was very moving and incredibly impressive. The pomp and circumstance was like nothing I have ever witnessed nor imagined. I was constantly aware of the precision of movement of thousands of military personnel and how perfectly timed it all was. Everyone must be completely exhausted tonight. There were so many touching moments and I was also filled with pride seeing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police holding a spot of honour in the procession. I was choked seeing the Queen’s pony watching her go by. It is all just so much to process and I am glad I was able to take as much time as needed to watch and feel a participant in respecting and honouring her legacy. It is still so odd to consider she is no longer. I wish I could hug my UK friends and family and care for them in this loss. I am sure I will be processing it for some time and I am glad I woke up as the recordings were only a small part of the entire thing and I am grateful to have seen it all.
Eventually I went to the office as I had several payroll to do and had hoped to finish off some other work but ran into obstacles. I took the time to go to Joseph Creek and put Mom’s deposit down, get a new tour, take some questions, fill out all the paperwork and get the keys. She is getting things sorted at her end, even so far as calling a junk remover to come and get her old couch. I am impressed. It seems she has actually embraced the idea.
Once back at the office I got a few years of filing sorted and boxed for a client and planned out my week. It was nice to work in peace and quiet. Fortunately others were working up front as a parcel I had been waiting for arrived.
I made my way home in time to say goodbye to Safwan and stripped the trailer while my dinner was in the oven. He had written a beautiful thank you note in my guest book which is especially nice as this was his first solo travel and I have only one more guest before I am done.
I probably should have gone to bed sooner but am waiting for the laundry to finish. I will make up the bed in the morning and be ready for the couple arriving although they have not reached out to my query about when they are expecting to get here. I’d just better be ready.
In making the rounds to feed George and the Stickbugs, I couldn’t help but notice there has been a baby boom in stickbug land. I am thinking of offering them to teachers to see if anyone wants them for a classroom. In the meantime I added lettuce to my grocery list to keep them fed. I need to clean their cage but have to make sure to put everything in a ziplock and add water to ensure there is none left to hatch as they are an invasive species.
I decided to pour a bath and watch shows when I got a message that Safwan made a mistake and needed to stay here tonight, not tomorrow. That actually worked better for me as I have guests coming to stay for a week starting Tuesday and that will give me tomorrow night to change it out.
I discovered I had not watched the final episodes of the Book of Boba Fett and so watched two of them. I was sitting outside watching the third when Safwan arrived. He offered to help me accomplish the things I wanted to outside today. I took him up on it! We moved the big ugly pile behind the trailer, I designed and he assisted in making a new gate which will keep out the deer and stand up to winter. I repurposed the arch way and am pretty darn happy with it, just have to add a little bolt lock to make it stay easily. NO MORE DEER!!! And no more crazy net hanging to keep them out. Safwan was a great help and we had many good laughs that his father would be amazed at what he was doing. He is the same age as Jake and I think similar in nature. It was fun to have a surrogate son for the day. The final thing we did was store my Kayak for the season. We had gone to pick up a few hardware items at Home Hardware and stopped at Superstore for dinner items. I made dinner to thank him and we watched the first 5 episodes available of She Hulk. It’s cute.
I made it to level 3000 of Candy Crash which is funny as there was a time when level 100 was a really big deal.
I have set to record the Queen’s funeral just in case but intend to try to watch as much of it live as possible. I’d best get some sleep!
Mom was up and off to Kimberley to meet with Rosie and drive their cars together to Blind Bay. Rosie’s back is bad and it is good they stick together in case she can’t drive farther. She left things here for when she moves in two weeks. I spent time reaching out for help from family and friends to drop her off boxes and help her pack. Greg booked the Uhaul and will have her up here for the beginning of the month.
Today was ABC zoom day but only Mike and Colleen and I were available. We ended up having a good visit and I hope to be able to pop down and see them in person in the near future. It was fun to talk about the places they have been recently that were near where they took me when I was there in the past. I really enjoyed our visit to Hood River. It is always more awesome to visit places with people who know the area as you get a special perspective. They are both so great at noticing and appreciating all the details around them.
I was done in after the past couple weeks and gave myself the luxury of a day of rest. I look forward to Mom being here and settled and then I will move on to making my plans and getting organized. I must get back to the Maritime plan.
Rae-Anne had a bunch of us over for a beautiful roast dinner eaten out in the yard. It was nice to spend time with Dee and Zach, and all the home stay students as well as the usual family. Only Roger and Deanne were missing, he for work and she for scrapbooking. After dinner many of us headed to the first exhibition hockey game which was against the Trail Smoke Eaters. There was no score in the first and third periods and we got 5 in the second to accomplish a shutout. It was lovely to have sweet Will sit with me. He is really feeling life changing as Lukas hangs out more with the older kids now. It can be tough to be the younger brother. I am sorry that Tracey couldn’t make it as she has pulled her back and is immobile. It was nice of her to give up her ticket to Jonas, one of the Guedes students.
I dropped Will at home and came home to relax again. I am catching up on my shows and chilling as tomorrow I will need to get things done outside. It is time to make a proper gate before winter arrives and store some of my summer things, ensuring it is all still nice for the last two bookings of my AirBnB next week.
Up and at it, not feeling one urge to get on the treadmill. Off to the office, much to do before taking mom for a tour of Kootenay Street Village. I worked getting payroll done under the pressure of may interruptions. We had the tour and were so pleased with Kyle, the manager. He was very thorough and answered all questions although more importantly, he asked the right ones. After dropping Mom off, I booted back to the office to finish more payroll and then came home to discuss all the pros and cons. Mom was open to the process and after calling my brother, and me talking to Landon, the superior at Golden Life, she actually wrote a cheque for the deposit which I will bring in on Monday to secure the suite she likes at Joseph Creek. I honestly think the deal maker for her was when she found out housekeeping was included. Also calling Greg, my brother was the clincher as he agreed to take care of organizing the move at that end. We heard he had it planned for the month end so mom will go home and get packing. I told her not to worry, get up here and we can help her get settled and get rid of anything she doesn’t need. This has been a decade in the making, her transition is a family celebration! We have had rum to celebrate and destress from the last couple days so I am going to leave it here and wish you all a goodnight.
Today, there was a BBQ at the workplace, much payroll to run, files to finish and tours to take. I picked up Mom for a 1 pm tour of Joseph Creek Seniors living. We went to the wrong entrance where Mom had her first Covid test ever! We passed, as she put it, and walked over to the independent living building where Rosie was waiting. We were given a tour of the facility including two available suites, a studio and a one bedroom. The studio was far too small and the other was wonderful as it was on the top floor relatively near the laundry and elevator, but you could hear neither. The menu for dinner was very enticing. I think Mom was very overwhelmed but I also think she is warming to the idea of moving here and she liked that apartment. It is $3250 per month including so many things. She would have to pay her cell and internet and buy groceries for breakfast and lunch only. Everything else is included. I hope she comes to the decision to take it. We have a tour tomorrow of Kootenay Street Village which is new by comparison and has underground parking which impresses her. It also has a waiting list and higher cost but we will go see it for comparison.
After, we stopped at Arby’s to see the girls and Roger also happened to stop in. I carried on back to work. Once I was done what I could handle today, I came home and made us dinner. We then watched the Finale and Results of America’s Got Talent and the performers I loved from the beginning won. Now we are watching a documentary about Queen Elizabeth II for an hour before heading to bed.
It was girl guide cookie day and we enjoyed some for dessert. Mint are my favourite.
Today held so many things that needed dealing with all at the same time. It feels like it went through in a blur to be honest. I am grateful to have gotten so many things with deadlines done.
The day started with Nikki and Sean picking up my brand new BBQ that I sold to the GroundFloor. Apparently ‘if you build it, they will come’ doesn’t work with family. I am not bitter about that, I just need to relieve myself of those things that I don’t use unless with a group. I had someone interested in my pool but her husband changed her mind. She did say I should be able to sell it though as I had it for such a good price, which is encouraging.
The overall goal though was to get a tour of the local Seniors Homes for Mom so that she will move up here. As it happens, when I called Golden Life, the voicemail I got was my friend Landons. He called back at 5 and laid out all the options, skipping the sales pitch and even responded to my text afterwards when I asked where he would put his Mom. We have a plan for tours of the two local spots tomorrow and he will let me know in the morning when. I have had a hard time convincing Mom to even entertain the idea that it would be best to move before she is infirm and has to. I did call my brothers and spoke with his wife to let her know I had made it clear to Mom that their life is not conducive to her living there.
I went to the Key City welcome back to volunteers night and thought it funny that I saw my face on a cake for the first time and even got the piece with it on it! For the evacuation training drill I was assigned as the wheelchair person and to be honest, it was stressful waiting to be last taken out. It definitely gave me a new perspective.
Once I got home I made sure the tent trailer was set and the heater was on to welcome Safwan. When I went out to meet him, he was being dropped off by Dave who I know from working at the GroundFloor Coworking Space. He assured Safwan that he was in good hands. He is here for the JCI conference in Kimberley and will be back to stay next Monday night before heading forme to Toronto.
Tomorrow will prove to be interesting at the least, so sleep I must
I can’t even believe that I found out Mom has never seen E.T.!! Of course as soon as we were both home from the day, we had to watch it. She is really loving it. I have forgotten most of it and am still impressed. It is timeless. So far there was only one little PC incorrect thing, the rest of it is amazing. For something made in 1982, it is timeless.
Tonight was the last night of me being officially on the Board of CCT. I now am trusted to still have keys, be the General Contractor for the final projects in the President’s absence for the next 3 months and will continue to do the books and make payments with signing authority. It really is the best for both worlds.
I sold my brand new BBQ to the GroundFloor and it is being picked up in the morning. First major step in my downsizing, working my way to the UK!
This morning I stopped and picked up my Bucks season tickets. First game is already on Saturday night, can it really be that summer is over?!
Tonight, after the AGM, I took my moment with Bud. RIP dear soul.
I took it easy getting going this morning and even took a client call while I folded my laundry. Once at the office I buckled down and got a great deal done, even taking time to eat my lunch with a couple of the ladies. It was nice to relax and catch up. Once I got home to Mom who had gone to Kimberley to inter Auntie’s ashes and visit her parents graves with her brothers, we made a plan to meet for dinner with my friends. Dave and Deb were in town from the coast for a few weeks, staying in their trailer and enjoying the golf and lakes around here. Deb was my best friend from up the street when we were in Kindergarten until her family moved away after grade 3. We stayed connected for many years but lost touch. Facebook reunited us a decade or so ago but I had never met her husband who she has been with for 39 years! We all met at the Firehall restaurant and had a fabulous visit. They have just joyful personalities and I really loved hearing about their kids. Autumn, who is about to graduate as a nurse and their twin boys Zach and Tate who are world class track stars going to school on full scholarships towards their PHDs in Physics as they keep winning races. They broke 27 year old records in BC, placing first and second. I was happy to hear they are considering places to retire to and love this area. It would be great to have them near.
The rain that was promised never arrived today which is too bad as I hoped it would take down the smoke in the air. It would be nice to see the mountains again.
Emmy woke up at 7 and we had a nice day until it was time to brush her teeth and she got cheeky and then a toy broke and then she had a full on meltdown and locked herself in the bathroom until her Mom get here. I was barely holding on to my temper. Once Malcolm and Danika and Gwen arrived she did calm down and ended up even laughing. I truly think it was a panic attack based on the broken toy. Danika and I have messaged about it and we are working out ways to talk her through these moments.
I was tired out after she left! Mom and I watched Thirteen Lives about the soccer team trapped in a cave in Thailand. It was directed by Ron Howard and really good. After that we went outside and mom read her book while I cleaned up the deer damage and cleared out one of my flowers beds. The hollyhocks have thousands of seeds. I will have to watch for where they sprout up. My guts were very unhappy with me. I am not used to white bread anymore and ate too much of it yesterday. It started to warm up outside and I was worn out so we came in and watched Outbreak Onboard about the Ruby Princess cruise ship that brought Covid19 to Australia and New Zealand. It was an interesting hour long documentary. Shameful the way it was all handled. Next was dinner and the newest Elvis movie. That one was for mom although I enjoyed it as well and Tom Hanks is really something as Colonel Tom Parker. Tonight I shall sleep deeply and be ready for the week ahead.
I was up early and readied to head to town to assist and oversee the set up at Rotary Park. I was shocked to see that something had gotten in and rampaged through my yard. I suspect it was at least one big Buck but it was a mess out there, I should probably check the scat in the morning. I am shocked that branches off the maple were ripped off and the cherry tree was destroyed. Both hammocks were also damaged.
Once downtown, I was happy to see Jim was set up for sound, people were all happy and I was able to wander down to the first part of the day. I live streamed the reveal of Bud’s Bench. Bud Abbott was one of the founding members of Cranbrook Community Theatre in 1964 and an avid volunteer in the community into his 97th year on the planet, leaving us the following year. The bench is amazing as it has a QR code that takes people to all the volunteer opportunities in Cranbrook.
I then headed to the park and took over the mic until Peter arrived with the coffee and I was happy to see Maureen was available to do the introductions in my absence. I was able to tell my Bud story and them headed for Kimberley.
Bud’s great-great grandchildren
I slipped into the church, grateful to find a seat. The pastor was still sermonizing and that was followed by a beautiful eulogy by Rosie and Mark and then a few people shared. I also got up to share my love of Auntie Ollie. I was ever so grateful to have made it and shared the time with everyone. We had a delicious church lady luncheon and then Danika dropped off Emmy and we all headed to the family home. SO MANY COUSINS! It was really wonderful to hang out with family from age 4 to 90 plus. They are my non-blood family as they are all related to my stepmom, Barb but are closer than blood, possibly as we choose to stay close. There is talk of a reunion next summer and I look forward to it already. We had so many good laughs, that is the legacy Auntie Ollie left behind, so much love over all the generations.
I picked up Emmy, who had gone with Ash to have dinner with the younger boys at Bill and Deannes for dinner and brought her home for a shower before bed. She loves attending Nana’s salon, and lets me brush out her hair and braid it with no complaints. She easily tucked into my bed and fell asleep. Mom and I watched The Con, this one being about an 18 year old who passed himself off as a Dr!
Today was productive in a relaxed way. I had my client from Victoria stop in for a great visit as he is up for a wedding, another client from Kimberley stopped in to discuss his file and I set him up more efficiently and then home to have Mom arrive. She came up for her Aunts memorial tomorrow and will stay with me for a week or so. We just hung out watching 2020 about the Queen, had some dinner and then had popcorn and watched a movie I had recorded. My thumb is super sore today and I can’t tell you how hard it was to do up my bra this morning!! Nice to just relax before the full day tomorrow.
The sad news of the day was the passing of Queen Elizabeth II
This woman has had quite the impact on my life. I attended Queen Elizabeth Elementary school in the neighbourhood of Queensborough in New Westminster, dubbed the Royal City. Her presence was ubiquitous. We sang God Save the Queen at every assembly, studied under her portrait on the wall and understood that she was special. It was only many years later that I truly understood what her service to the world entailed and what it likely cost her being in that position. She was 96 but the sadness is there, the deep loss. I feel for those all over the world who are mourning her, especially the citizens of the UK. It will be interesting to see how King Charles III rises to the position and if the structure of the monarchy will survive.
It was annoying to have people joke and run her down on the day of her death. It is not the time. I am grateful for the memory of her, of shaking her hand as a young child, to have grown up seeing her grace in the face of all things. I am sorry for her grandchildren the most.
In other local news, my friend ML received her birthday card today. It left Cranbrook on April 19th and made it to Salt Spring Island 4.5 months later! I could have walked it there. As i was wrapping up my day, the janitor brought me a parcel that had arrived. It was my inflatable furniture that I ordered off Indiegogo months ago. It was worth the wait as it is high quality, sturdy and comfortable and takes less than 5 minutes to self inflate. Only took a little longer to deflate as well. I love it.
I was very tired but made myself go to my Shield Maidens class, even wore my slippers. Wasn’t long in before I took a stick hard on my left thumb and had to ice it for the rest of class. I know it will be fine tomorrow but I am glad it wasn’t my dominant hand. Joel gifted me with a stick bag as I don’t want them rolling around in my car but I didn’t need the fancy one for sale. It is perfect!
It really is amusing what a difference having a plan forming for my future makes for my mood. The trick is to get working towards the goal but not be rash. I am refraining from taking new clients although they are reaching out weekly now. The best I can offer is training and set up of files. I will get everything tidied up that I can, start working more from home so that I am used to working on my laptop and second screen and make big lists in triage order. The home mode is to get outside things done first and then start at one end and move to the other, sorting, purging, painting and finishing details I have ignored. All of this gives me minor anxiety and tons of hope for adventure and opportunity. I am good to go to other places in the world without being reliant on anyone but also glad I have various friends and family in several areas of England for a connection. I also need to be careful about my recent use of gummies for sleep assistance as cannabis is very illegal still there. That is a risk that I will not take. It’s a shame though.
The hardest decision I made today was to bow out of emcee duty for the Bud’s Bench placement and celebration on Saturday. I am committed to being there early to help set up and do the initial stage manager duties but will leave just after it gets rolling at 11 in the park to head to Auntie Ollie’s Celebration of Life in Kimberley. I was ignoring how much it would mean to be there and Ashlée reminded me last night. Family first. I will not regret missing the gig and I will hear the stories and see the pictures. Being with family and remembering Auntie is more important.
I was so happy to get a what’s app pic from my friends in the UK showing me a sign. Well, they were sharing it as they saw Yoda in the sky today but I see it as a calling. The spot for you, this is.
I got to work and people were friendly and said they heard good things about the weekend. And then as I settled into my office I loudly hear a speaker call asking for coffee orders. It was made very clear they were going to get one for reception and I heard a friend ask if he should come ask me if I wanted one but there was sudden silence and no one did. I mean, I don’t actually need anyone to buy me a coffee. It was just fucking rude. I have asked on more than one occasion if there was something that needed to be fixed and assured no. So I am going to try to let it go, and let their toxicity poison them. It is making me consider giving my notice to a particular client so I will not have a need for an office there at all. It is my ultimate goal, and my contract just agrees to give notice so… sooner than later, I guess. Working from home for the winter wouldn’t be so bad anyway. Not much gets dropped off there anymore since the mere presence of my drop box in the store room seemed to be causing issues. Grumble grumble sigh.
I did get a few things done, including entering the income from the weekend and readying the deposit, paying the few invoices I was given and replying to insurance and payment questions. Tomorrow I have a meeting about a client that I requested be at my office space but it seems I must go to one of their offices. I know the two people I meet with flat rate bill so it would seem unreasonable for me to have to bill for travel time. I will go for a very specific length of time and see how it goes. People with two businesses I would like to support in Kimberley have reached out on a referral from an accounting firm to see if I could be their bookkeeper but I just don’t have the capacity. I am going to see if my friend would like to take them on as they are currently using Sage which she seems very familiar with.
After work I dropped off the chair bag Bill B couldn’t find when he finished his volunteer shift on Saturday night. I met his wife and she is just a huge breath of fresh air. I adore great natured older people, so inspiring.
Dinner was easy to make and tasty but I seriously want to snack the night away. I am going to have to make some low call snacks available like when I first started Noom. I have started seeing myself as slimmer in the mirror but it is the body image issue I have always had. I look relatively the same in the mirror whether skinny or fat. I only recognize my true shape in photos. I saw photos of myself that Murray took and I am way fatter than I think I am. I guess I’d better pare down the diet again and get off this plateau.
Hmmm, I am starting to think that I should transition to home as it will be more like what it would be living abroad.
Sawyer slept well, we got up and had breakfast, I made a coffee and we piled up the pillows against my headboard and watched a sweet movie called Oddball. It is a true story and I do love those. Definitely a family movie for all ages. We played a lot of Wii Fit, and Super Mario Bros before making some food and then watching another movie about dogs, but this one had Golden Retriever puppies and was a little bit lame but the dogs were cute. It was called Golden Winter and I think Sawyer liked it. We had a lot of good talks and got outside a bit as well. He tells some tall tales but also tells me the things he does that he shouldn’t and says I am the best Nana ever. It was nice to have him. Once he left I made some dinner and am planning to change the filters on my water softener, clean the fish bowl and put away some laundry.
Three years ago today was my first full day in the UK. The Hearndens took me to Brighton so I could put my feet in the English Channel . We played on the pier, had the top down on the car and explored lovely shops. I even made it to my first official Dr. Martens store. It truly was the beginning of things changing in my mind, that I am more suited to a vagabond life. Not a hundred percent, I think I need at least a base to store my treasures (Fluevogs) but I want to see more of the planet and if I could manifest Peru for my 50th I think British Isles for my 60th is looking promising. From the greater London area one can go in so many directions reasonably inexpensively and definitely in a short time compared to the need for a couple weeks minimum if one is to go to Europe from Canada on vacation. There is a part of me that wants to drive on the other side of the road, get a Triumph tattoo, and live simply. I was thinking a furnished flat but really, bringing personal items and scouring rummage sales and thrift stores, throwing in a new mattress… feels like taking back my youth and rediscovering my own style, not just the one I have ended up with. The dream continues. Next there shall be lists and I shall make do with what I have and start selling that which I have not used enough. I plan to sell off my whole pool set up as I did a lot of work to maintain it and it has only been used twice. I asked bear if he would be interested in a good deal for it all if they come and take it away. It is a good depth for the number and age of the kids. I am to let him know what I want for it. I have to be careful as I tend to feel empathy and practically give things away. I should check if he has any carpentry skills and maybe trade him for some labour around the property… hmmmm.
I am doing this early as I want to chill and go to bed early. This is the most of my day unless something extraordinary is still to come that I am unaware of.
I feel that I should clarify or create a disclaimer to make it clear that all ‘reviews’/opinions contained within this blog are purely mine. I may know of people who agree but I do not speak for anyone else, ever.
This was the shirt I bought from Tennyson King. I love it.
I didn’t crawl out of bed until noon and as I was having my coffee I texted Rae to see if they all could come for a pool party and bbq. Unfortunately she was working until 7 and suggested I call Roger. He already had plans to take the boys out to the cabin and go tubing. I admit I cried a little bit when I got off the phone. Roger did call back and say he could drop off Sawyer.
Sawyer and I had a perfectly lovely day together. He helped me hang the clothes and then bedding on the line, change out the tent, sweep after I mowed and pick up blown down branches.
I took the cover off the pool and he was in like a fish. He would get out once in a while and lay in the sun to warm up. At one point I came around a corner and he was standing on the pea gravel with a funny look on his face.
Me: hey sawyer, what’s up
S:
Me: Did you put rocks down your pants?
S:
Me: does that feel good?
S: nods
Me: okay, just don’t let any go up your butt, and get them out before you go back in the pool
That’s how this Nana rolls. We had fun in the pool together and then came in for showers where 4 rocks fell out of his trunks.
We watched The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl as we ate popcorn and cuddled on the couch. I am having sharp pains in my shoulder and can’t understand why. Sawyer offered to massage it and for 7, he has strong hands.
The only thing I worry about is that he said he can’t read and that they are not teaching him to at school. I suspect that can’t be true. He did teach me that tomatoes used to be called poison apples because people got sick from lead poisoning. He learned it from his Dad. I asked Google and it is true, the rich ate them off pewter plates and got very sick making people think it was the tomatoes that were the problem. He clearly retains interesting things and relays them correctly.
He is a little love bug and I am enjoying all the hugs and cuddles. I also like that he loves good healthy snacks and playing Little Big Planet with me.
I was up and met my guest this morning. She was very nice and appreciated her stay. Once I had confirmed the income from the day before and readied the float and myself, I headed to pick up ice at Arbys and made my way to the park. It turned out to be a very hot and heavy day. The crowds were smaller than usual even with the Saturday market but there were many families and a generally great atmosphere.
The first performer of the day was Matt Blais. I really enjoyed him as I love singer songwriters. The guys were whining that he should have talked less and sung more but I do disagree. He was a fabulous kickoff to the day.
Next was Brass Roots, a collection of 12 Professional Musicians from the East Kootenays conducted by Evan Bueckert. They drew their own following and were well received. Several of them, including Randy Marchi, took the time to tell me how well I was doing as emcee and they really appreciated my enthusiasm. It was a nice thread running through the day as I was told I have a real presence doing this. I’m glad. I hope I get more opportunity.
The next performer was one I was really looking forward to, Tennyson King. He is a Chinese Canadian bass player who had a keyboard player with him. I was not disappointed. He had a voice like butter and although I didn’t always love the heaviness of the bass beating against my chest on two songs, overall I was impressed and even bought one of his tank tops with his picture on it.
Next was Jon Burden and the Bleedin’ Hearts. They were a whole lot of fun and just as they were nearing the end of their set I saw the bass player trying to get my attention. His little girl was with him and he was motioning to see if I could take her to the loo. She was very sweet and I was happy to help the poor child. I shall always remember little Hazel and her sweet spirit.
Next up was Split/Shift. Although they got people up dancing, I was not entirely impressed with their attitudes and they brought beer out of the beer garden. One of the guys was highly unimpressed that he couldn’t drink his draft on stage… argh.
Black Diamond played next and it was a bit of a cluster as they insisted on using their own drum kit, had hired a film crew and well, just took up too much time so they started late and we are not too sure they were pleased that their time had to end as scheduled. We only allow 30 minutes between acts to allow for change overs and sound checks. It would have been more professional to stick with the contract we had and that is all I can say about that.
The final act of the night was Punch Drunk Cabaret. I loved them and had been looking forward to this group. They came down from Edmonton today and were road worn but gave us an amazing performance with a whole lot of style. I highly suggest checking them out online. They were also just really nice guys and I hope to see them again.
In between all the acts I talked up all things fest and sponsors, urged people to eat from our food trucks, introduced the demos from Rocky Mountain Martial Arts again and loved seeing people come donate to Josh and take pictures with him. I hope he does well in Wales next month.
I was glad I wore my favourite music patterned dress and wedge sandals. I felt pretty and confident and had my performer tank filled. As the ‘face’ I also got a lot of positive feedback for all we had accomplished there, a few complaints, found items and the occasional report of trouble. I couldn’t believe I was seeing three women walking into the middle of it all drinking Bud Lights. I do think they’d already had a few too many by that point. It was great to work with my fellow Board members and out volunteers to make something like this come together. Although the crowd was smaller for most of the day, as evening approached more and more came and I figure there were 5-600 at the peak of it. I was intrigued by how many older people also stayed to the end.
The music ended around 10:30 much to the chagrine of those still there and by that point I had changed into my flats, shorts and a tee to help with tear down. Jesse came to help and he was a great assist on the stage while I helped with other things. I had to wait so he and I could deliver the tents back to the GroundFloor. I was glad we had those sturdy tents as the wind had kicked up fierce at one point causing a bit of chaos for the other tents set up round the park. By the time we dropped off and I got home it was 12:30, a very full day indeed. It was worth it and I discovered artists I want to hear more of but it will be nice to rest tomorrow and NOT talk.
Up and off to the office to run a payroll and take care of a couple clients before it was off to set up the site for Peak Music Fest 2022 at Rotary Park. My neighbour Jessie met me at the office with his truck to pick up the two fabulous tents leant to us by Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies.
We all spent from 11:30 on setting up the whole site. We usually only use the front half of the park for Summer Sounds but we had everything set up beautifully using the whole area this time. At the back in the shade was our food truck vendor site with a bunch of picnic tables, one large area was used for Cranbrook Arts Council who had wood stacking chairs that had our logo on the backs and then people could donate and paint a chair to take home. Kya Dubois who designed our poster this year had a booth where she demonstrated her talent continuing to work on a painting she has been doing at our events all summer. The beer garden was in a new location allowing more people to see everything and opened up the shade under the big trees for more viewers who bring their lawn chairs and blankets. Key City Theatre was there to share their upcoming season as well.
Once I was done helping with set up I went to have something to eat and then stopped at home to change my shirt and get ready to Emcee the event.
The opening act was the Ka Kin Nana Drum Group, consisting of young cousins from our local First Nation, they were a fabulous start to the Festival. They taught me how to say their name correctly and put on a lovely show of the traditional drumming of their ancestors. It was very well received.
Next up was Doggone Brothers, a duo of Michael Hepher and Clayton Parsons. They were so much fun, guitar and banjo, old school uplifting music from these young men.
Alderbash was next, they got people out of their seats and moving to the music. It was so much fun to see all the young families out and so many kids dancing.
Garuda was very unusual, with their Indian style Sitar music and curious instruments. It was interesting to hear Ferdy playing something unique like this.
The night was wrapped up by Leather Apron Revival who brought their rock and roll to the stage leaving everyone feeling good.
In between acts, Rocky Mountain Martial Arts put on demonstrations that drew the crowd in. Josh Sutherland is a 16 year old from Cranbrook heading to the world kickboxing competition in Wales next month and the crowd loved him. I was so proud of Guru Joel and the crew and am so happy they agreed when I suggested they do this.
Another special booth was Ankors who are a local group specializing in harm reduction. They offered drug testing and Naloxone training. So great to have a safety program and to have them there to help take away the stigma.
I have to say, I had a fabulous day. I am exhausted and couldn’t seem to drink enough water. The smoke really rolled in and my lips were burning even though I drank Litres of water. The feedback was overwhelming. Seems I do pretty great as an emcee and being that person, I also had tourists and locals alike come up to tell be how much they were enjoying it all. I am proud of our little group of volunteers for putting this on.
At the end of the night, my friend Bear came with his friend Mike to be our paid overnight security. I was stunned to hear about the changes in Bear’s life. He is in his early 30s, has 5 kids with another one due any time and in July with no notice, his older brother died and he has custody of his 5 kids as well! That is a lot to take on. Apparently his bother had cancer but didn’t tell the family. I can’t even imagine going from 5 kids to 11 in a matter of months. He is making a plan to buy a property out of town and build to fit them all. It makes me glad I thought to reach out to offer him the job for tonight. If anyone needed a Go Fund Me, it’s him.
I have an Airbnb guest tonight and I just left the door open and the lights on, texted her to make herself at home and let her be. She has kept me in the loop and seems to have been fine. I missed seeing her tonight and am not sure I will in the morning which will be a first for me. She seems to have been comfortable with it all though.
The grandsons all showed up showed up down there tonight as well. Will was first and took great pride in being the Water Boy, emptying two full bottles as he went around with the cart. Sawyer and Lukas also showed up and then Gene, with many hugs to share. Later Gene and Lukas brought down their newest home stay student who arrived tonight as well. It was so great to see them all.
Must sleep, tomorrow is going to be very full! 7 acts!!!
triumphgal 