Let it snow......

Well, I didn't think in April I would still be going on about snow, but we woke on Sunday morning to snow and our yard covered in white. It didn't last long, though, but it has been a few weeks since we saw such snow and it was a bit of a surprise!! All those beautiful birds must have been shocked!! Speaking of which, we have lovely robins, jays (some which are blue!) and woodpeckers amongst others. They are very active in our garden which is nice.

Well, I had a number of comments about the food focus of my previous entry, so I will try to keep on track and not digress (or is that digest??) too much!

Phoebe and Liam on the swings at Riverside Park

We have had three weekends at home, which is a first! We were pretty tired after our LA trip and that combined with schoolwork for Frank and then illness have meant we have stayed close to home. Not at home, though!

at 'Hello Toast'.

We have been exploring Kamloops more. We visited the Courthouse Gallery which is where local artists have exhibitions and sell their wares. There were some great things there.We have also been to the Kamloops museum which is a lovely place, a good size and with a very friendly introduction to the town and its origins. It has a whole level just for kids and Liam LOVED playing there in the old furrier's hut and with the puppet theatre they have. Phoebe was impressed with the horse and buggy that were on display.



The moose cake.



Two weekends ago we were invited to Frank's carpooling buddy Joel's birthday. He and Leslie have a son who is 4 and a daughter a month younger than Phoebe. Their friends have kids of a similar age and we all had a great afternoon / evening. The kids had a great time together and we enjoyed good conversation, a great meal and good wine. Joel is a keen hunter and his brother made him a moose cake. "How cute!!" I said. "It has a bullet hole," they said. I was honored to be the recipient of 'the entry wound'! Those extra cherries were delicious!

 

Out the front of the Wildlife Park.

Liam had a day off school last Monday as it was a Professional Development Day. He, Phoebe and I went to the BC Wildlife Park which is in Kamloops. We had a great morning seeing porcupines, moose, bear, lynx, wolves, elk, cougar, owls, reptiles....it is a good spot!



Moooooose!



Liam, Phoebe and I have been swimming at the Canada Games Pool in town. It is a beautiful aquatic centre with a great kids' pool. We have been with two of Liam's friends from school which has been fun.



Cosmic - Mum won (this round!)



This past weekend we have spent shopping and on Sunday we went bowling. Another

new experience! The bowling here has 5 pins, each with a different value, uses small balls and you get 3 goes each turn! We all had success and a great afternoon. And it was COSMIC - my favourite kind!!

Updates on Liam and Phoebe to follow.......

LA Part 3 Santa Barbara

The final instalment....



The view at Rincon Point



Wednesday morning Pete arrived from Newcastle and in the late morning we headed north to the beach house at Rincon Point via lunch at a very nice Italian restaurant in Malibu. The landscape was beautiful with mountains close to the beach and everything so green and tropical-looking.



Marshmallows!



A beautiful house in a beautiful location. What more can I say? We enjoyed views of surfers and the Pacific Ocean from indoors as it was raining, but it was lovely. Another Dora mexican dinner of chicken enchiladas was great, washed down with some Californian red, including a local Santa Barbara Pinot Noir. Frank, Liam and I enjoyed toasted marshmallows done on the fire.



Breakfast!



Thursday morning we all set out to ihop (International House of Pancakes) in the nearby town of Carpentaria for a great brekkie. From there Pete, Frank, Liam, Phoebe and I set off for Santa Barbara, a very picturesque town with old buildings and palm trees. We visited the Santa Barbara Mission which was spectacular. Beautiful buildings and lovely gardens. This mission is where the first bishop of California lived. We then took in State St for some shopping before returning to the house.





Outside the Santa Barbara Mission.



We went to a local steak house for dinner, and it was a memorable evening. The steak house offers 'meals', so we enjoyed chowder, salad, steak and had to take away the homemade pie that was our dessert. Frank went for peach, and I had banana cream. They were spectacular!

Our last full day turned fine, and we enjoyed the drive back to Santa Monica in beautiful weather. We stopped off at an outlet shopping centre which was great, and we invested in a range of clothing. We were pretty pleased that we got to all the shops until we realised that there was an area twice the size of the one we had done!! Another time!



A courtyard inside the Mission.



We drove back to Santa Monica and enjoyed artichokes before heading out to La Scala for a chopped salad. Frank has talked about this salad since his LA visit in 2003, so it was good to be able to taste it myself! It was good!

St Francis and his cherub.



To bed for an early departure on Saturday morning. We left the house at 6am and flew home to Kamloops via Vancouver. Our kind neighbours Susan and Gary met us at the airport with our car. In our absence the snow had continued and the weather had been pretty bad, it seems. But now it seems that Spring is just about here, with warmer days and the tail end of the snow on nearby hills melting.







Frank and Phoebe enjoying the view.