SEASON’S GREETINGS 2011

We spent last Christmas at the cabin at Moyie and despite a rough start (a broken water line when we re-energized the cabin) a fun time was had by all. Mom went out to test out her new snow shoes and as we went by the shore, the sun was shining, neighbours were making an igloo with the snow that had fallen off their roof onto the deck, and as we looked out to the lake there were two people kayaking in the open part of the bay. Utterly Fantastic!

If you remember, last year Dad was whining about not getting south of the Mason Dixon Line for a whole year … well, I think he made up for it this year. In March, he and Keith (Lisa’s husband from Creston) went on a Southern Cultural/Historical Tour and spent a couple of weeks enjoying all of the “finer” things that the South had to offer (with slight detours through Arches / Grand Canyon / Carlsbad Caverns / and traversing about ½ of old Route 66). While in the South – they visited Civil War sites (Vicksburg, Shiloh, Chattanooga, Chickamauga), did some Bourbon and Jack Daniels tasting; attended NASCAR in Bristol (where the church and the people that Pat met two years ago welcomed them back); visited Floyd Garrett’s Muscle Car Museum; drove by Buford Pusser’s home; Loretta Lynn’s Restaurant and Ranch; tracked down a few of Keith’s ancestors (both living and deceased) and capped it off with tours of Mt. Rushmore and Little Big Horn. Their trip was highlighted by rules of not spending more than $50 for a motel and only limiting the number of nights of sleeping in the car to one. They must have enjoyed it as they seem to be scheming about a trip in the near future – however commitments at Pat’s work mean that he cannot leave during his usual Bristol time period – so we will have to see.

In May, Pat and Deb left the boys behind and headed to Memphis to look at property. We had been looking at a number of properties on-line at Chisholm Lake in Tennessee. These cabins were built upon 15 foot pylons, as the lake is part of the old Mississippi River flood plain and experiences seasonal flooding. We booked our flight with air miles and if you remember, this was the year of the 100+ year flood on the Mississippi – and apparently 15 feet pylons are not enough, and all of the houses were significantly damaged. However, since the flight was non-refundable, we decided to go anyhow – and ended up renting a car and travelling through Tennessee and Kentucky looking at properties. After many miles and multiple viewing – (including some by local hillbillies) – we ended up buying a small one bedroom cabin outside of Cadiz, KY.

The cabin is small, low maintenance and located in a rural area about 250 meters from Lake Barkley. Across the water is the Land Between The Lakes (LBL) Recreational area with everything from planetariums to golf courses, archery and shooting ranges, interpretive sites and lots of trails and camping. The lakes are man-made and are part of the Tennessee River, which means that you have many barges travelling up and down the lake. There are 4 state parks at each corner of the area – and all have big marinas; campgrounds and convention centers. Being that it is a major recreational area – there are some fairly significant homes in the neighbourhood – ours is not one of them … but then what would you expect for $20,000 on a ½ acre lot.

In July, Deb and the boys headed up for their annual Loon Lake camping trip. We had additional luxury with Arlene and Ross’s tent trailer. We had some great weather, good beach time, a bit of golf and lots and lots of great food and visiting with relatives. Keelan’s favourite memory of this year is his Aunt Joan’s Thai chicken, mushroom, tomato soup and although mom has tried, it just doesn’t compare.

Deb went ‘luxury’ on her annual girls kayaking weekend – staying in a chalet on Kootenay Lake and doing day trips. It was a little difficult getting isolated enough for our favourite activity of skinny dipping, but we managed. It was very relaxing to get back together with the girls and time well spent.

Just before leaving on our summer holidays – the government restructured again – and the job that Pat was placed in last year was eliminated and he left on holidays without knowing what his new job would be. When he returned he was placed into a regional strategic planning position. This was another difficult transition given all the time he had put in to make the other job work and it was just starting to pay off.

In early August we loaded the car, along with a utility trailer with some essentials and started out for Cadiz. We had approximately 4 week’s worth of time, and were looking at a nice slow trip (relative to Pat’s usual style), down south and to spend some time settling in to and scouting around the cabin. Unfortunately, we did not make it very far. On Friday of the long weekend, just outside of Maple Creek, the Passat lost power. To make an agonizing long story short – we spent 5 excruciating days in Medicine Hat – waiting for the Volkswagen dealership to open and have the part flown in from Vancouver. So finally, Wednesday at noon we were able to get farther than 500 km from home. From there we drove to Regina and had supper with Ray, Wanda, Tara and Sammy (Pat’s aunt and uncle, cousin and her son). After supper, Pat politely but firmly told the rest of us to get into the car – and we left Regina at 10:00 pm and drove… arriving in a Rest Area about an hour and a half out of Cadiz on Friday morning.

We spent most of Friday getting keys, and getting utilities and bank accounts set up. This proved to be a bit tricky as they are not used to having foreign land owners in this part of rural Kentucky – and did not really know how to deal with us not having a US social insurance number. Suffice it to say that by the time it was over, a lot of the town seemed to know that there were new Canadians in town. However, once set up, they seem to provide good service – in early December we received a phone message in Cranbrook from Fortis Gas letting us know that they would have a truck in our area and asking if we needed a propane fill-up yet !!!

Cadiz is an interesting little area in Western Kentucky. It is about 90 minutes out of Nashville, and close to Paducah (site of the first US commercial Uranium Enrichment plant, as well as the American Quilter’s Museum), Metropolis, Il (complete with Superman statues), Paris, TN (complete with a scaled down version of the Eiffel Tower), Murray State University, and Fort Campbell home of the US Air Assault Division (some amazing helicopters flying around the area). Cadiz itself is a quaint little town with a historic downtown area that boosts the lowest crime rate in Kentucky. It is known for its traditional country cured hams and there are painted pig statues all over town. (The one in front of the sheriffs’ office dressed in a police uniform is only slightly ironic).

We spent about a week doing some maintenance and renovations around the Cadiz cabin (railings on the decks – for insurance purposes; paintings and restoring furniture, etc.). Being August it was a wee bit hot – and you had to do outdoor tasks early in the morning. Pat hand scythed the lawn – and discovered some very big spiders, and a small nest of baby snakes (ah being close to nature). We developed a relationship with the couple across the street and they not only gave us an orientation to the area – but also now have a key to the cabin and keep an eye on it for us too.
The rest of the summer trip was filled with some exciting adventures: tubing down the river in the Smokey Mountains and just missing being caught in a severe rainstorm; walking through the Worlds Largest Tree House (standing over 10 stories high); spending a great evening eating and listening to music at BB King’s place on Beale Street in Memphis; spending the afternoon listening to Jazz in New Orleans at 42 C temperatures; the family falling in love with Boudin from Dave’s Specialty Meats in Lafayette (6 pounds was just not enough), visiting the Museum of Nuclear Science in Albuquerque; having a phenomenal brunch at the Route 66 Casino; being disappointed that as a result of the spring wildfire there were no plants / insects and consequently very few bats at Carlsbad Caverns; touring the ruins and picking up some local artwork from the Natives at Canyon de Chilly; and finding a soprano sax for Mick (his third sax) in Idaho Falls after visiting with extended family there.

While we were gone on our holidays – Damon was being looked after by the daughter of a lady that Pat works with. They have several dogs (all with the exception of one are big sled dogs) and with Damon being as timid as he is we were not sure how he was going to make out. Turns out that we did not need to worry – as the family fell in love with him and the dogs made him a welcome member of the “pack”.

Earlier in the year we lost Abby (one of Keelan’s ferrets). Although Harry (the remaining ferret) still gets plenty of attention – Deb was feeling lonely so in September she went out and got a polydactyl kitten. This little guy has two extra toes on each foot – and has massive feet as a result. After some debate we settled on Merlin as a name although Pat has added “many-toes” to it. Needless to say he is a very agile climber – prefers to be on top of anything or anyone and loves terrorizing everyone including the dog, when he is in hyper-mode.

The boys have been busy in their various activities – with both going to Rockridge Canyon camp and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Both do well in school and are largely self- motivated to do so (less so when it comes to household chores though).

Keelan made the school Basketball and Volleyball teams, and went to Disneyland with the school band. He finally found people brave enough to go on California Screaming (meaning not his family) and it was everything he hoped for. He really got into snowboarding last year with a record making snow year and has purchased a season’s pass for this year so hopes for snow. He has also spent the fall getting ready and trying out for the BC Winter Games in Archery – he shoots a bare recurve bow so it is much more instinctive than technical. He has made the team and will travel to Vernon in February for the Games.

Mickey continues to be involved with the concert and Jazz bands through the school and they went to perform at an international music festival in Whistler in the spring winning gold standards. They are planning a music trip to New York in the spring of 2012 – and Mickey is excited about that. He continues to practice and play with the Noteables – a Swing Band and they have done a couple of paying gigs over the year. In early December Mickey underwent Nasal Reconstructive Surgery in order to assist him with his breathing. He came through it well – but does not like the effects of the codeine pain killers (and that’s a good thing).

We are heading to Okotoks for Christmas this year and look forward to family, food, fun and this year all the decorations – as we have forgone them at our house due to the antics of Merlin Many Toes.…

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND ALL THE BEST IN 2012

Pat, Deb, Mick Keelan, Damon, Harry & Merlin