in abundance.......


As my husband peruses a local townie classified list he came across an add for fruit pickers. Not just any pickers the best kind of pickers.....keep what you pick for FREE! (or almost free) Here in Revy there are tonnes of fruit trees of plums, pears and apples, this leaves lots of extra fruit that either falls and rots or that the bears get to eat to prepare for their wintry down time. Which sounds like a great win win situation just a little too close for comfort when it is your back door the bears are on. In my quest for all things canned to pave the path for self-sufficiency for this years dark season....I was in heaven! Pure jarred goodness heaven!

This particular Sunday morning we took a drive to check out what the almost free plum situation was and wow it was worth the drive! A step full of boxed plums, already picked for $8 bucks. The homeowner had already picked her share for homemade plum cider and all the canning and baking she had to do. I must say I did try to recipe share with her to get the cider recipe but it was her husbands handy craft at work and not hers for sharing.

I have been busy canning spiced plums, spicy plum dipping sauce, baking plum torts and handing out bags of plums. Sephora is loving all the plums and helping herself, which leads to me finding plum pits in the oddest places!





morning dew plums



plum torte

my lil plum lover....and her sneaky big brother:)



  

it seems like so long ago.......

It seems like so long ago that we came barreling through the Rockies searching for that perfect shade! I can't believe it is coming up to our 1 year anniversary of being here in Revy. I had some hind sight wishes of taking more time to see the Rockies, maybe travelling a little more before we chose this as "IT". With that being said we are packing up and heading back through the pass and into the heart of the Rockies and I couldn't be more excited. It only took just under a year to have the Itch to get out of the mountains, with excitement there is also the anxiety of how large the world is around us. I have gotten used to small community living of allowing your child to run and play not always being in eye sight, but always a holler away from home, riding your bike on the road knowing that people passing you and honking are people you know just saying hi! I am now preparing myself for the bigger community and my clutches of worrisome for my children and always having a holding hand. I am sure this will be ok for Caleb as he now has gained the understanding of part-time listening but Seph.....she is another story! Pretty sure she is not going to love being strapped in a stroller and not being able to meander herself down the street leisurely stopping at all the towny's and their dogs! Gearing up for our mini va-ca in Calgary I am looking forward to hanging out with just the four of us while playing in the hotel pool and lazing about a hotel room.....until grandad arrives!

The month of August holds some feature fun for the Andrews family......it will be our first mountain wild flower hikes, Seph's second birthday and our first anniversary of life in the mountains!

banff

summer......

Our communal garden plot has us busy with harvesting every couple of days and this week I am even offering up some fresh veggies to friends hand delivered in a basket! I am getting as much satisfaction out of my gardens as I hoped for, not alot of weeding and a whole lots of goodness. With saying that, I do know a few townies have stopped by to check up and put a hand in by pulling some weeds for fun! It has proven a gem of spot for the kids.... a few strawberries to eat on every time we go and if I go a the right time of day (just before lunch) I have even caught Caleb munching on some fresh rainbow chard!

Between swimming lessons, mother goose and a series of day camps I haven't had time to relax and bask in the sun...which is ok because the sun has bearly showed itself to us here in Revy. We have had a handful of sunny days but man o man when the sun is out it is HAWT! With the bustle of activities I was able to make it to our local watering hole and have a wonderful day with our two favorite girls and between drop offs I was able to hit the patio with my mommy friends for a bucket of beer......now I get as to why everyone bikes around here. The social aspect for us busy moms we gotta get it while we can and still make it for camp pick ups!

mt. begbie


Williamson's lake is a gem of a spot! I would of cringed of the thought to stay in such a camp area years ago but how the times have changed when raising kids. We have made it to the lake a couple times and had a blast as far as camping I am a fair weather mom mostly for everything and with such a wet season we are enjoying our own yard and campfire pit! And the view.......the view that is 360. As we are learning so much more about our mountains and trails and lakes here and around Rev we are looking forward to exploring in the years to come with the kids, as for now mini hikes, trail rides, hot spring dips and hopefully the odd canoe trip will have to do!

Andrea

Rollin into Revy

Writing this post has let me ponder the pictures I have taken and the road has been travelled. I remember wondering if Revelstoke was going to be where we stay and lay our bone for the winter or will this well travelled road lead us closer to the coast. Either way Golden is history and a distant memory and we are on route to Revelstoke.





Following the ole familiar uhaul that is leading us up mountains over glaciers and through tunnels rollin right into Revy. with grey skies over us the landscape show us deep shades of luscious green that is the most welcoming and rain forest like. The mighty pillars of this community is adorned with life like sculptures of the mighty grizzly which also welcome you to the town core. We GPS'ed our accommodations and found the lamplighter campground and were turned away due to no vacancies.

We were sent down the road a little further west on the Trans 1. Our first impression of high cliffs adorned with green foliage with mountain stone speckled throughout. Once we made pleasantries with the owner ( a fellow Ontarian actually a Hamiltonian) by pleasantries i mean a question and answer period as most people want to know about the folks with the two kids and uhaul. our who we are banter we had down pat and this time around it was quite fruitful.

our view from our campground

Our little lady getting in and out on her own now.....geeesh

Just so happens that this friendly stranger has many connections in Rev...one being her son, who hooked us with an apartment in town, work contacts....all within 4 hrs. We had a roof over our heads and employment and we were taking our trailer down as fast as we put it up.(thank goodness as it rained for the first 2-3 weeks)

This amazing feeling of being in the right place at the right time was present as well as our first of many rainbows, double rainbows at that. Writing this now as I am thinking back, the pattern for good things happening to this family upon a rainbow sighting is a pattern. Is Revelstoke for us.........I think so!

local pub! Which was our first stop here, and a place where Caleb loves to go as he gets to say Idiot.

Lovely outdoor area fenced with old ski's.

Such a quaint small town where Caleb's school is actually called Mountain View. We are tucked right between two ranges of the Monashee and the Selkirk. I love answering the question of "how close are the Mountains?" As they are in arms reach, I welcome the small drifts of clouds that join me throughout the day as I wonder around the town. We have only been here for a small amount of time our days have turned into weeks so fast and it feels good. As I have been enjoying my time with the kids, our time has been filled quickly with new friends, playdates, coffee chats, hot spring outings with new friends and evening out with great food and good drinks in the company of wonderful people. Even though it seems to a smooth start in Rev my thoughts float back to Huntsville often in the last few days. There is a price to live in these pristine conditions and you pay in realistate.....lol Our humble abode (meaning tiny apartment) is the feeling of old days of college but this time doing it with our kids and dog and cat. Which makes a backyard like our only more desirable to be in.

Our backyard has my handsome hubby on Mt. McPherson for the last few weekends mountain biking with some play hard types. The ones who enjoy that burn in the thigh and driving and chucking themselves up trails over trees and handle bars just for the thrill of going down....fast! The biking hazards can get severe as I have seen a smashed shins that have bruising all the way around. the sense of security came for Caleb this past weekend as his ski pass was ready and he got his picture taken with the standard thumbs up pose. The first looks as we walk out the back door each morning is to measure by eye how much snow is lieing atop Mt. Begbie and how far the line comes down.

In a community of kindness, happiness and peace it is not uncommon for strangers to smile at one another and say good day or soon to be giday...as the ozzies are coming as fast as the snowline appears. our friendly little man fits right in as his song is heard every morning while riding our bikes to school. And bless his honest little soul as I try to convince him to lock up his bike for safety. I look around and don't see a bike that has been locked. Could this be the perfect community where the patrons of this town rely on honesty as the best policy. In the mind of a 6 yr old his response to me is......."

I will just leave my helmet on the my bike, then someone will know it belongs to someone else"

Down town Market day!

The logic that this one old soul has showed me is what true kindness he is made of. We saw another rainbow today........more good things to come for this family:)

the Columbia river Sept 25 2010 most beautiful day for the new moon festival

Love this sign

A trip to Revelstoke Nat. Park a long and zigzaggy road....beautiful views!

A picture of a picture of Mt Revelstoke....lol

mmmmmm Local dry cider.

We saw the salmon run here in this creek.

Sephora walking in her new rain coat....she just loves it!

My sweet little man

This is our neighbour at the back of our apartment,
she does all her own gardening and landscaping and gave us some wine grapes....Caleb looks so thrilled until he tasted them....which we held off until we were down the road, as we knew his response would be of the dramatic sort....lol

RMR gondie, this picture was taken in October, it now shows lots of snow here....just waiting for opening day:)

Here AGAIN is Mt Begbie, one of mt favorite pictures with our Country's flag

Side note: The time between writing this blog and posting this blog has been about a month and lots new things have come our way.......first off on a not so good note ...Caleb's bike did get stolen from school hard lesson there, it was also returned to the school bent and broken.....grrrrr

Ending on a high note we bought a small abode to call our own....a good start to our new lives here and we move in Dec 1st........and I will try to keep my blogs closer together as it is hard to remember everything as time passes so fast..........and the holidays are around the corner.

Andrea