There’s hardly been a free weekend since June around our house. So on the one hand, the end of the summer stretch means not only leaves starting to turn (heads up people, it’s already happening!), it also means the return a slower pace for us, which is perhaps not necessarily a bad thing. Particularly for Sacha, I think, who is proving himself to be a happy homebody type of guy.
This summer may have been busy, but it was good-busy. Our garden has seen a bumper crop this year, for which we are ever thankful. Dad would be impressed with our carrots, no doubt about it. Aside from harvesting food and enjoying the bounty, we’ve been able to go to a few weddings as well. One wedding was enjoyed in a scenic vineyard in Duncan on Vancouver Island, and the most recent wedding-- which was for my very best friend Doug—was on the shore of Kalamalka Lake in Vernon. Both weddings were amazing settings and memorable occasions.
But as for Doug... Doug and I have known each other for—give or take—27, 28 years? We were first paired in a babysitting co-oop that our parents belonged to when we wuz juss knee-high to grasshoppers. Translation: babies.
To be able to stand up as his best man and watch him get married was nothing short of a life moment for me, and to be able to stand in front of a room full of friends and family to toast to his life and enduring friendship was a wonderful privilege.
I’m secretly hoping that he and his wife, Laura, will end up with at least one kid that turns out to be a similar age gap to that of Doug and I, and maybe, just maybe, we can watch our own friendship be re-done in the next generation.
Another exciting event for this summer came just last weekend when Kate’s side of the family took possession of a new lil’ lakeside vacation spot in Whistler. As the pictures can attest to, it’s a very nice place and Kate and I feel so lucky and absolutely spoiled rotten to be able to be in on it.
There’s a very good chance that we’ll be spending a ton of time here! Backpedalling, this house is actually the second lakeside house we got to stay in this summer, as there was another trip to the Okanagan at the tail end of July where the family met up at a friend’s house on Skaha lake for some “summer” fun.
I say “summer”, because for the few days I got to spend there, it was probably 70 per cent thunderstorms, clouds, and / or rain in stark contrast to the 36 degrees and sunshine that the rest of the family enjoyed before I got my days off work and joined them. Don't get me wrong, good times were had, but it all seemed terribly unfair given the fact that for week after week, B.C. was bathed in delicious summer heat, which I generally viewed out my office window, rather than experienced out and about in the world. It taunted me as I x'ed days off my calendar looking forward to the few days of summer sun I was going to enjoy in the Okanagan. Oh well, All the rain was good for the forest fire situation in B.C. As most are aware, this summer has been the most expensive season on record for fighting fires around here, as God bascially chose to turn the entire province into his personal marshmallow roasting pit.
Anyway, fast forwarding back to the present (you still with me?) and here we are, the last week of August. I'll be working out of Kamloops from Thursday to Tuesday, and maybe after that, it'll be time to chill out a bit! Sacha is glad to be done with all the running around. It may just give him time to work on... running around, ironically enough. He’s not figured out his land legs quite yet, but he’s almost there. I kinda get the feeling that once he figures out how to walk, any perceived “fall season downtime” will disappear quickly!
until next time then!
