Dec 25, 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL. MAY YOUR CHRISTMAS BE FULL OF MEMORIES TO CHERISH.

Nov 15-Dec 04, 2009

ITS A GIRL!! Signe Deborah was born on November 24 at 2:16 am via C-section. Melissa and Signe are doing well. She gave her mother a hard time trying to get out but she made it. She was one day early from her due date. We are happy, happy grandparents. I was in Edmonton from November 23 to December 1 to help Melissa. I thoroughly enjoyed my little granddaughter.
Doug is thrilled and so are all our other neighbors. It will be nice to have a baby in the bay again they say. Signe is a Norwegian name (as Darren's family is Norwegian) and Deborah is George's sister.

November weather has been absolutely horrible this year. We were certainly getting tired of the rain. We had puddles all over the yard. There was ice in the bay on Wednesday and yesterday. With all the rain, the rivers and creeks are overflowing so there is quite abit of fresh water in the bay to freeze.

The water is crystal clear and the air is fresh. The sun is shining and it is brisk. Everything smells so clean and new. It is getting ready for a new year.

We will be in Alberta again for Christmas at Mother Mary's. George is anxious to meet his granddaughter. He says he will be teaching her to run a boat and to fish, but not for a few years yet.

We are still busy gathering wood and George has been busy fixing the end of the barge. It was slow going with all the rain and wind. George will be going to Masset in the Queen Charlottes to look at a boat we are thinking of buying. It will make it easier to get around.

Sept 23-Nov 14, 2009

Time sure goes by fast. I did not realize that the last entry was on Sept 22!! Not much has happened since then. George had gone back to Alberta to spend time at our True Value store there. Our manager is on extended sick leave and we have to travel back and forth. I also spent a week there. It also allowed me to see Debe and Gary, as I stayed at mother Mary's. I am sorry that I did not get to see Terry and Maureen, but we were all busy. I spent the weekend in Edmonton and was able to see our daughter Christine, as I had not seen her since March and Melissa and Darren. Melissa is getting quite large and is patiently waiting until the end of this month. Darren is busy with school. We all went to Ikea and did some baby shopping. It was so much fun!! I am just waiting till after the baby is born and then I will have a lot more fun.
The "door to nowhere" now goes somewhere. George has been busy fixing the last end of the barge. He has put up a top floor and will be framing in walls soon. We plan on extending the kitchen part of the restaurant to allow for more seating space. Underneath this will be the new laundry and shower/washroom.
Coastal Missions were here again on October 8 and 9th. It was really nice seeing them again. Too bad that George was gone this year. This is when he went back to Alberta. Roy, Gloria and Petunia are doing well and were amazed at the amount of work that had been done since their last visit. Everything was still a shell and we were still working on the dock and barge. Doug and I had supper on the Coastal Messenger.
The weather has been up and down. Lately we have been getting typical November weather which is wind and rain. Our well is overflowing at the moment which is a good sign and our cistern is full. If only it would last longer but water must be used at times. We would smell horribly otherwise.
November 6 was Carl's 70th birthday and we had him and Doug over for supper. I think Carl liked his chocolate cake and homemade ice cream. Yard work is getting done and the garden is almost put away. Jam and relish are being processed and I hope to sell some next year.
We have a resident heron staying on the dock. He has made it his home and the 6 geese are prowling around. There were 4 swans at the head of the estuary last week, but lately there has only been one. I feel sorry for this lonely swan as all he does is swim around the bay, honking for his fellow swans. I hope he finds them. They are such beautiful birds. Juncos, Varied Thrushes, Flickers, Stellar Jays, Robins, Chickadees and Sparrows have frequented the lawn, especially after the rain. There is a feeder out but is not being used.
This is the time of year for really high tides during the day. Its a good thing we made the walkway so high!

Doug and I heard a pack of wolves in October. They were in the trees between our two places. We have not heard them since and I hope we do not. There is nothing here for them.
The three otters are having fun on the end of the dock. They especially like it when there is frost on the dock and they can slide around. Trees still have leaves, some green but mostly yellow, pink, orange and red. The wild cherry, red currant and big leaf maple are especially lovely.

Aug 31- Sept 22, 2009

The season seems to be over. We had one boat on Sunday and we thoroughly enjoyed their visit. A boat called yesterday morning from Port McNeill but did not get here. They called again and mentioned that they only got as far as Telegraph Cove.

Melissa left on the 7th. She will be missed. I enjoyed her company. We have not spent so much time together since she was in high school. Soon she will be a mom too and we will be grandparents. Joy, Joy.

George and I had a great time with Mother Mary. She was quite impressed with all that had been done since her last visit in October. She even helped with a couple of pizzas that were made. Her plan was to help me when George was gone for his check up (which went really well by the way). Mary and I went on the mail run with Doug and then Mary went by herself on the mail run. She had a good time. We cleaned out the fridge in the store and sorted things in the restaurant. We picked the plums from Doug's tree as the bear would not stay away, but now it likes the apples on our tree. These apples are not eating apples as they are quite tart and bitter, but the bear likes them.

Plum jam and zucchini relish were made much to the delight of Mary and Doug. They both liked both.

George and I are now getting down to business of getting ready for next year. We are amazed at how many boats we had considering advertising was only by word of mouth.

Kate and Joel have left. We enjoyed the times we had with them and look forward to next year. It is fairly quiet in the bay now. I am looking forward to getting yard work done and spring flowers planted. 80 tulips will be going in soon. I hope to have more lilys next year as they are my favorite and easier to grow. The weather has been cooperating as it is quite hot right now. I hope it stays for awhile.

George is busy constructing the end of the barge (the one with the door to nowhere). The floor is done and soon he will be putting up walls. His plan is to extend the kitchen upstairs to make more room. We found it to be a little cramped at times this year, especially when we had a house full.

More projects will be started and finished by spring.

August 14-30, 2009

The last two weeks have been hectic to say the least. It has slowed down abit now and we will still be having boats in September. Darren has returned to Edmonton as he starts University soon and Melissa will be leaving before the 7th. George's mom - Mother Mary will be here on the 7th.

We have had quite a few returning boats and we were glad to see them and hope they had a wonderful summer up north. There are still a few that have just started out. Fall cruising can be quite nice. We get quite excited when we see returning boats, its like seeing friends again after a long time. The boaters are wonderful people and we enjoy their visits. A few have stayed for several days, and they are special to us. They know who they are.

We were all able to attend the annual Port Harvey Pot Luck. It was held at Kate and Joel's this year and may be held here next year. It was nice to see all the neighbors, from Lagoon Cove to Burial Cove and Soderman Cove and of course from Port Harvey itself. A great time was had be all. Last year it was held at John and Nancy's.

The days are getting shorter and the nights are longer. It is still quite warm and we have very little rain. The blackberries have been abundant and there were even some huckleberries which are quite good. Time to make jam now. Melissa wants some before she leaves.

Have lots of zucchini as well and plan on making relish which was George's dads favorite. The flowers have died, but that was expected with no moisture and not being able to water. Can't believe that the garden survived, all except the potatoes. The tomatoes are going to be plentiful, if they ripen. May have to force them to.

We are looking forward to fall and cooler weather. Logs need to be gathered and split for the winter and the garden has to be put away. We will be busy this winter making more dock, the showers and washrooms, laundry etc.

July 02-August 13, 2009

WOW is all we can say. It has been a very busy busy month and a few weeks. We had no idea how everything would take off. On July 7th, Melissa, Darren and myself went to Campbell River. As we were crossing Johnstone Strait we were right in the middle of a flotilla of boats. I mentioned jokingly that they were probably going to tie up at our dock. Melissa and Darren were catching a flight back to Grande Prairie for a wedding and I had to pick up the truck in Campbell River. George and Doug had brought Big Bro home. I was in such a frizzle went I left home that I forgot my cell phone and had to use Melissa's. I was trying to phone home to tell George to phone her phone to get ahold of me. I did a couple of stops in Campbell River when I looked at the phone and realized that it was on silent. When I turned it on, Melissa phoned me and told me George was trying to get ahold of me. I guess my earlier joke was not a joke. I was in Campbell River for only an hour and George wanted me to come back as there were 13 boats at the dock and several moored out. Low and behold the 8 boats from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club showed up (we were told that morning that they were at least 2 days behind) and a few others. George was up to his elbows in Sticky bun dough and we also had 4 suppers to make. This was the beginning of a very, very busy week. We did quite a few pizza's and we are now known for the Port Harvey Pizza, or so we have been told.

Bob Hale from the Wagoneer was here twice and gave us a nice review. Marianne Scott from Salty Tales was here and well as Bob Lane from the Passagemaker (twice). Many boats that were here in June and early July have stopped in on their way home. We want to thank all those people on all those boats that have been excited for us and have been helping to "spread the word". You know who you are and the boats you have sent also know who you are. We have met some wonderful, wonderful people and have been thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

Melissa and Darren have had appointments to go to and it seems that everytime they leave - WE GET BUSY and fill up. Somedays, it is 14 boats (with one tied behind the barge) and other days it is 8 boats and we are full. Then there are the days that we have only one or two, which we do not mind as it allows us to rejuvenate abit and to work on getting the kinks out.

The store is getting great reviews. We now have some produce (some from the garden) and some dairy products and eggs, bacon and hotdogs (to go with the buns from the bakery). The restaurant is busy most nights and the bakery is busy baking (Melissa and George of course, with Darren once in awhile). I do not seem to have good success in the bakery department so do not do much. I concentrate on the store and the yard, garden and the books of course.

Since I kept breaking the lawn tractor, George broke down and got a new one. Doug needed one as well so we had two new tractors to play with. I was under strict instructions from Doug that I was not allowed to mow any of the lawn until he did his. His was quite out of control and quite tall. As a result of not being able to mow the mosquitoes became alittle out of control. The garlic wore off and the propane tanks were empty. We have not had time to spray garlic but the machines are up and running again and are making a little dent in the population. We suggest to customers to use the repellant that we have on a table on the dock, when they go for a walk. The little buzzers are bad at the back of the house and towards the well, which is of course the way to the trails.

The three C's were here for a week. Clint, Chelsea and Cael (Melissa and Darren are god parents to Cael and George and I are god-grandparents of sorts). It was fun having them here. They stayed on Big Bro and were a big, big help to all of us. Thank you Sooo sooo much to the CCCP's. Bevan and Val were here for a day and of course it was a day that Melissa and Darren had to go for an appointment (baby stuff). Were we ever busy!! We wish that it was a different day, because we could not spend as much time with them as we would have liked. I was able to take them on a short walk on the trails (this is when I realized that I had to mow or you could not find the trails) I had not been down the trails for almost two months and was surprised at how overgrown they were becoming. On the logging road, we were walking with a bear biologist and she was quite informative and I learnt a few things that I did not already know. We came across what we believe to be wolf scat and Doug has mentioned that we have timber wolves here now. We do not know how big the pack is but they were heard one night (along with a bunch of kids imitating them).

There is a cougar over at Mike's but so far has not tried to venture over here. Doug saw it once, but he chased it away. Doug has a little puppy now for Racer to train. We do not have anything here that would interest a cougar. Mike and Linda have chickens and a few other critters, so it is tempting for the cat. We have not seen many bears lately, but I surmise that they are coming out at night as the days have been quite hot lately.

We ran out of water as we had not had rain since the beginning of July. George tried to pump from the creek, but it was low so he moved the pipe to the pond we found. It was just trickling into the well, so he decided to get some water from Len. Len fills his landing barge up with water and then we just pump it right into the cistern. We did find out that the cistern only holds 5000 gallons and not the 10000 that we were told. It explains why we ran out of water a few times when we thought we had quite a bit more than we did.

Our pictures are on Melissa and Darren's computer and as soon as I get them I will put some on here. I will try to post again soon when there is time. August has been very busy so far and we suspect it will remain this way.

The baby bump is getting bigger and everything is as it should be so far. We are soo looking forward to November!!

June 31-July 01, 2009

Happy Canada Day. It has been a busy 10 days. The restaurant is ready for meals. The menu is simple but delicious. Melissa is a very good cook. Baking is being done and a few boats have bought bread and sticky buns. We had quite a few boats in June which is good and the word is being passed around. Posters have been sent with one of the boats and we are getting to be known on the coast.

There were about 20 dolphins in the bay for about 5 hours the other day. They were having quite a feed and are unusual to see so close. It was low tide as well so there was not much water for them. The fish must have been hiding in the shallows to get away from them, but they kept feeding. It was quite a sight to see in our quiet bay.

We had our very first really big boat on July 1, 2009. 150 ft it was. Because the NW wind was gusting quite badly it decided not to stay overnight. It was tied up for about an hour allowing some of the people on board to browse the store and restaurant. One gentleman even bought a sticky bun to take back to the boat. We were quite excited to have this boat here and to meet the person that owned it.

We had a nice Canada Day visiting with Carl and Doug on the top deck. Melissa made a lovely chili and bisquit supper. There was one other boat tied up but they did not partake and the REALLY big yacht was not here yet.

We suspect that July will be busier. We have had quite a few requests and inquiries via e-mail. Keep them coming folks!!

June 18-20, 2009

I have put our e-mail on our profile and if a comment is made with questions, please leave a return e-mail address for us to reply to. Thank you for all the wonderful comments and we look forward to seeing anyone who wishes to drop by.

It has been a busy few days. The deck on the roof is almost complete, the stairway to the deck on the roof is now complete and the restaurant now has propane connected to the stove and power for the fridge. What Excitement!!. We have had a few boats at the dock in the last week which is really nice. Bob Hale from The Waggoneer stopped in for a visit yesterday and will be updating his website with news of our adventure. The Second Love (Chris and Sharon) is moored at the dock tonight along with Lootas (Keith and Donna, fellow former Albertans). Chris has been telling everyone he knows about our new venture and he is quite excited for us.

Dave and Merle (Ocean Child) have been helping us on the dock and in the yard. Their help is greatly appreciated. The weather has been wonderful, the garden is growing and we even had radishes tonight. We did not get any radishes last year, just radish seed. The hummingbirds are still aflitter and the odd bear has been seen across the estuary. We are looking forward to a nice summer, which starts tomorrow.

June 06-17, 2009

It has been a busy couple of weeks. We have had a few boats at the dock and a few that have visited. The weather has been nice and we finally had rain yesterday and last night. It was getting quite dry and the garden and flowers were starting to suffer. George had seen a few deer which is nice and we have sighted some black bears across the estuary.

There is now a link to e-mail on our profile.

May 07-June 05, 2009

WE ARE NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Hurray!! Even though we still do not have coolers for fresh produce, we have dry goods and hardware items. The docks are in place and the walkway to shore is secure. Life could not get any better, so they say. George has a clean bill of health and I am missing two wisdom teeth. (I still have some wisdom left however, with one tooth remaining). Melissa and Darren are getting ready to open. Their fridge, stove and oven were lifted onto the top floor this morning. Just have to hook up the propane and power and Sticky buns for everyone. Doug has been especially patient for sticky buns. Dave and Merle have been keeping themselves busy. Dave finished the walkway to the ramp and Merle has been keeping the yard up to snuff.

It has been really hot the last week which is very welcome. The spring so far had been cold and windy and we thought we would have a repeat of last year. The garden is even growing this year and has only been planted for a week and a half. Even the hummingbirds think it is going to be a good summer. There are dozens around the 5 feeders that are out.

We have had boats tied up to the dock and neighbors have been shopping in the store. We are hoping for a busy summer.

April 17-May 06, 2009

What to say. George's surgery went well. It was a little more extensive than previously thought but all is okay. George came home on April 24 and I was glad to see him. It was a very long week and a half that he was gone. I did not get much done as it was cold and windy. I did get some of the pricing done and the shelving finished.

Melissa and Darren came on the 26th of April and have been busy ever since. They put the store together for me by stocking the shelves and finishing the pricing. They did a very good job as they both had a very good eye at to where items should go.

On April 29 to May 2 the pile driver was here and we have piles. So exciting to be able to accommodate boats. The store is basically open, we are still sourcing out product but will have most by the end of the month. Melissa and Darren have been busy painting and fixing the upstairs to get it ready for the bakery/pub/restaurant.

Flowers are blooming and the hummingbirds are a-humming. The grass needs mowing badly, hopefully the new blades are in. Darn those rocks and witness pins!! They do tend to sneak up on a mower and jump out at it. There are not too many mosquitoes yet, but I believe it is because it had been quite cold. I think my rose tree has suffered from the cold as only a few leaves have emerged.

We had a visitor on the 27th. The San Souci called and wanted to tie up for the night. Because it was 120 ton and our piles were not in, we suggested that they anchor out. Ken and his wife are on their way to Japan, via Alaska. Check out his blog: http://www.kensblog.com/ .

We are basically open for business, just have to put up the banners.

Apr 01-16, 2009

Sooo much has gone on in the last two weeks. Terry has come and gone. Both he and George accomplished quite abit while he was here. The top deck is ready to be built and the boards have been nailed onto the 16ft dock section, wood has been split and stacked. We even took time out to go on an adventure. We took the lawn tractor, wagon and bobcat back behind the house to the creek and to find the gravel pit. The skunk cabbage was coming out by the creek which means the bears were going to be waking up soon. The trek to the gravel pit was well worth it. The road is almost clear of trees. We came across quite a few spurs going off to the left. We came across an old very large beaver pond which looks like it could be a nice swimming hole! I was excited when we saw that. The pond has been there for quite some time as the trees are all dead that are in it. Doug says that the wolves got the beavers years ago. We have not seen any evidence of recent beavers. We did not find the road to the gravel pit right away, even though we could see the pit from the top. Terry found it as it was overgrown with small trees and a bit swampy on the side, so we did not think it was the road, BUT it was. It was actually quite a beautiful mountain plateau that the gravel pit was on and a bit of a surprise.

George, Doug and I all went to Campbell River for a day as I had a dentist appointment. Doug took us to the Ideal cafe, which was quite a unique place. The food was Great!! When we all got back to Eve River after my appointment the wind was soo bad and the sea soo rough that we did not try to cross, even though Doug is a very good captain and knows what he is doing. We stayed at the Fisherbouy in Sayward. It is a very unique place as well. We were able to get home the next morning. While we were in Campbell River, George had taken the cube van and I the truck. George went to Qualicum to get our first order for the store.


Len came and brought the cube van back to the barge, where George unloaded it and it went back to Eve River the next day (which is the day Terry came in). It was a very hectic couple of days. While Terry and George were doing their thing I was still putting shelves together and trying to price the groceries. It is hard to price when the price tickets are not the right size for the gun. It went very slowly. I now have the proper tickets (even tho they are bright green, Staples did not have white) and the pricing is going quite quickly. George and I figured out how we were going to lay out the shelves and attached some to one wall.


George is in Edmonton right now and is having surgery on Friday. Part of the back of his tongue and one tonsil will be lasered out. That should take care of the cancer even though the doctor figures most was taken out with the biopsies that were done. The lesion was in-situ, which means on the surface.


While George is gone it is just me and Bear (the dog), even though the day before George left (Tuesday) we saw a big black across the estuary. The skunk cabbage is out at the head of the estuary and that is where he will be. I have my air horn just in case. Blackies do not like that!

I have been busy putting shelves together and pricing. I have also put the baseboards up on two walls so when George gets back we can attach the shelves to the wall. I have enjoyed watching the hummingbirds fighting over the feeders. They are such a comical bird to watch. One sits on the rose tree and watches two feeders until another shows up and then Bam it swoops in an chases the other one away. I have a feeder in the window this year so I can watch from inside. I don't sit outside much (especially since it is so windy) since we both quit smoking, hurray!!

I think spring has finally sprung as the tulips have started to bloom, grape hyacinths have been going strong since the middle of March and the primroses are an array of color. I love spring, which brings new birth to everything. The leaves will be sprouting any day now. Now we just need more sun and heat.

The Pile Driver will be here on April 22, 2009!!!! We are sooo excited for that. It means we will be able to offer moorage!! Dave and Merle will be helping us this summer which is also exciting. It has turned out to be a good year so far, especially since it did not start out so well.

Feb 08-Mar 31, 2009

It has been a very busy time on the island. Our daughter Melissa and her husband Darren were here during reading week to help get the top of the barge ready. They will be running a small bakery and grill/pub. It was quite a workout stripping all the walls etc from the top of the barge. Melissa stayed an extra week and helped put the new floor in. I rode home with her to Edmonton to keep her company.

Everything has been ripped out and only the shell remains to get ready for the grill/bakery. I painted the floor of the main barge while the upstairs was being done. It was quite a job as I did not have the proper roller and the cement is quite pocked in places. It is done now and ready for stocking. I have also been putting the shelves together.

George had a doctor's appointment in Edmonton on March 23 and he is scheduled for laser surgery on April 17. The piles should be in by then as there will be a new pile driver in the area and he is quite eager to put in our piles. Yeah!! It would only be fine tuning then and we should be open for busy by the end of April.

We have been patiently waiting for spring to arrive. Old man winter just does not want to go away this year. The tulips and daffodils started to poke out in the beginning of March and the primroses were in bloom.

Some mystery flowers appeared, which I found out were Snow Drops. Very pretty flowers.

The sun does decide to poke its nose out once in awhile, and the birds and us really enjoy the warmth it has to offer. George even saw a hummingbird on Saturday, so I rushed to put out the feeders as there are no wildflowers yet. Soon the daffodils will be blooming. Hummingbirds do eat small insects and small spiders, so there is some food for them. The ground seems to be alive with robins and the geese are really trying to nest close to the house but we will not have that. They can graze along the estuary by not by the house. Geese are messy, messy birds. Tomorrow is the 1st of April and George's birthday. A cake is being made and maybe Doug will come and enjoy cake and coffee after he drops off the mail tomorrow.

Brother-in-law Terry is arriving on Sunday and will be staying for a few days. He has not been here for about a year and half and he may notice a difference. He has not seen the barge yet, so may be in for a surprise. Hope he is ready to work, as George can be a slave driver at times.

Feb 04-07, 2009

Well- the truck is done and the tests are over. We can go home now as everything is good. Can't wait to see everything. Two months is too long to be gone from home. Besides, I have to take the Christmas tree down. We are anxious to see if the primroses are starting to bloom. The daffodils will be budding out and the tulips will be poking out of the ground. We are also quite curious to see how everything survived during December as the weather was not nice. Doug had mentioned that there was about a foot of snow at one time and it got as cold as minus 8.

It will be interesting to see what the spring has to offer, especially since there are no cows to contend with. What scavengers these funny looking creatures were. Scottish Highlanders tend to eat everything in site, even rope. We are quite curious to see what else the land has to offer now that it is not being eaten down to the ground.

We will miss all our family and friends but know that we have lots of exciting things happening in the spring. Darren and Melissa will be home shortly - by the end of the week, and lots will be done. Shelves and tables were picked up at Ikea along with a commercial convention oven. How everyone will enjoy the home baked bread. Yum.

Dec 31-Feb 02, 2009

What to say! It has been quite a journey this last month. After being broadsided in the IGA parking lot on Dec 23 we still to not have our truck back. (it is supposed to be done tomorrow, inshahala). Young people should slow down and pay attention when driving on ice!

George has been undergoing medical tests . The last one is on the 5th and we should be able to go home after that. Doug is taking care of everything for us while we are gone and he is such a wonderful friend. George talks to him about twice a week and Doug has been informing us of the weather and things going on. We miss him and being home, especially during the minus 40 weather that Peace River was receiving for quite some time. TALK ABOUT COLD!!

While in Peace River, we have enjoyed visiting with family and friends. We were able to see Kory and Samantha and the kids as well as Chelsea, Clint and baby Cael. We are enjoying the Jets hockey, as George used to coach the team and Ryan plays for them. This is something we both miss at home. I would say we are Ryan's biggest fans! George has re-aquainted with old friends Harold, Bob and John. He goes for coffee and enjoys their friendship. George has also been enjoying his "breakfast" out, usually a MacDonald's breakfast burrito but sometimes with Gary at Smitty's.

Reading week will be quite eventful for us as the kids are coming to help get the top of the barge ready for the pub/restaurant. Since Melissa and Darren are going to be running the pub/restaurant they decided to help get it ready. They were quite helpful in getting the main barge gutted. We are soo looking forward to them being home with us. What do we call the pub/restaurant? Any suggestions?

Quite a bit has to be done in order to be open for business in May. The floor is ready for painting and we will be purchasing shelving at Ikea. We had hoped to have the floor painted before we left for Christmas but the weather did not cooperate. Our order is ready to be sent for the groceries and we just have to order the hardware and gift items.

We should have a pile driver available when we get home. Yee Ha - a busy time getting the docks in place. What excitement!! The weather will be wonderful as well. We Can't Wait!!