2020 Christmas Greetings from Maple Creek!
One year ago we could not have imagined where we are today!
But let’s go back and remember how we got here…
We enjoyed a rather mild January in Maple Creek including the
entire road trip to BC starting January 27. We spent 3 very enjoyable days with
Kathy’s brother Alan and his wife Joan in Kamloops. We took no photos. What’s
that all about?
We arrived in Parksville to check into a dog friendly unit
at Beach Acres. We spent our time walking the dogs on beaches and trails where
Kathy took her dogs when she last lived in Parksville.
Denise rode her bike, often being dropped off in Qualicum
for the ride back while Kathy walked the dogs at this favorite park. There were
many choices of locations and times for Tai Chi classes for Kathy. We were out
every day exploring grocery stores ( with WIDE selection of foods simply
unavailable in Maple Creek), hiking trails, beaches and more. We hosted
visitors including son Jeff and grandson Felix, son Matthew and Jocelyn, sister
Debra, daughter Sasha and friend Carole.
Kathy with Jeff and Felix in Nanaimo
Sasha at Butchart Gardens dining room. Then with me and the dogs at Cathedral park enroute to Tofino and Ucluelet
Left side Matt Kathy Sasha with Jocelyn and Denise at the
Black Goose Pub
At some point the news of the day was becoming more alarming
in regards to the spread of COVID. We elected to leave and go home early and
were very glad we did.
Here at home we quickly realized Maple Creek was WAY behind
with any proactive action in regards to keeping this virus at bay. I knew masks
were one of the answers so immediately started to make some with supplies from
my stash and gave them away. This led to meeting up with a local nurse Darlene
who did N95 fitting and training at our local hospital. Next thing you know we
had a team who went into full production. Linda, a friend of Darlene’s, managed
the donations of supplies and distribution of masks while I organized other sewers
and developed patterns that used the supplies we had on hand. The original
intention was to provide these at no cost but eventually we ran out of elastic
and we were also given fabric that may not have been cotton. People started
giving us financial donations and by November we called it quits as masks were
widely available from many sources. We donated the extras to the local food
bank along with about $1300. My contribution was producing about 1450 masks but
who is counting?
Here at home we filled our time with gardening and it was
terrific actually watching vegies grow on a day to day basis. We were chosen
for a first time vegetable garden tour in early August and were thrilled to
share our success and failures with about 20 people all safely distanced
throughout the morning. Irrigation ideas, vertical growing, beds, worms, bugs,
grapes and seed sources- it was all shared. We live in a warm belt influenced
at times by chinooks and freeze thaw cycles throughout the winter and spring.
This makes for extra challenges as can be seen by our attempt to save our apple
production.
tomato bed
The structure we built to swaddle with row cover as protection
for apple blossoms from frost had to be reinforced at midnight after Kathy
looked out the window to see the whole structure with a severe lean from the
wind. Nothing like looking for the 8 # sledge on a windy dark night while
wearing underwear……our reinforcement worked. We had a lovely crop of apples
after a barren 2019.
The yard changed a bit over the summer with a new fence and gate, new bed fences, grape arbor, metal shed roof over the bbq deck area.
I started to bike
ride with the goal of doing a 50 km ride back to Maple Creek from the kiosk at
the corner to Fort Walsh west block. I ended up doing the 50 km 5 times and
enjoyed it immensely.
Denise and Carole at the start and Carole at the end!
We hiked on our horse trails and did some trail maintenance.
From the late spring and early summer we did take off in
ARVY and travelled in Saskatchewan. In June we did a week long circle Fishing
Lake, Duck Mountain, Greenwater and Candle Lake.
Brother Scott at Fishing Lake
Candle Lake
Duck Mountain Damsel Fly Trail
Very few people out and about and we avoided anyone we came
upon.
In August I spent 10 days in Winnipeg building a deck with
Sasha and visited with Marisa and Claire one evening each at a distance. It was
a challenge not to cave and give them a hug. I had several excellent cycling
rides with Bev and Barb and saw parts of the city that had changed a lot since
1967 when I first lived there!
Beginning of September we did another circle tour this time
Douglas Park, Danielson and the Sandhills.
In mid-September we camped over at Margaret and Nelsons
where we rode our horses for the first time since their retirement.
A trip to Sask Landing was combined with a Mercedes
maintenance trip to Regina. Towards the end of September we drove north to
North Battleford, Meadow Lake, Waskesiu, Narrow Hills, Duck Mountain, and Moose
Mountain.
When winter approached I knew I needed something to do so
was happy when Kathy saw a shower unit for sale in our local coop flier. Sure
let’s order that.
Before
after
Well while we are waiting for that to be delivered let’s re
visit the idea of a gas range. We were told the cabinets above and near the
stove needed an 18” clearance and we did not have that. I took some painters
tape and marked out the area that needed to be removed and more or less decided
well I’d figure out how to do it somehow some way. Then I mentioned to Kathy
that I thought the dishwasher should be moved to the right of the sink instead
of remaining right of the stove. Yes that’s a good idea BUT being a portable it
would not fit as is under the counter. So we went out and came home with a new
dishwasher. I was quite concerned about the width and depth and that was
acceptable but the height? Well it should work.
Well it didn’t. A solution opportunity presented itself. The
counter was too low. Now what? Well let’s raise the counter so I did. Unscrewed
it all from the bottom and shimmed the entire 3 part counter with 1x4’s thus
gaining ¾”. In prep for this all the contents of all the cupboards moved to the
living room and the sink and taps were taken out. At some point I asked Kathy
to ‘grab that end’ and let’s pull the counter out. Well it was stuck at the
wall under the ceramic tiles. I simply said “Well we are getting new ceramic
tiles” and proceeded to remove them all.
With the counter now raised and the vent pipe removed from
the lower cabinet space the dishwasher was inserted into the space. Success!
And no bill from a plumber.
We chose a shaker green color for the lower cabinets and new
black pulls. I turned all the existing fronts into a shaker style by adding mdf
trim. A new cabinet was built to use the space where the old dishwasher used to
be and I topped it with a butcher block Kathy brought with her from Parksville
in 2013. I knew we’d use it someday! We were now able to organize utensils and
vessels because I could make partitions in several drawers.
By the time the plumber showed up again the stove had been
delivered and eventually was pushed into its spot and turned on. Renos
complete. Timeline start Oct 23- end Nov 26.
There was a lot of down time for me during that reno period
waiting for this or that, couldn’t do this until that was finished sort of
thing…so my ears perked up when Kathy reminded me about homemade beeswax wraps
as a possible gift for the kids. Well I was right on that leaving the house
immediately to buy a $5 wok from Sally Anne to melt the wax. Kathy had secured
the pine resin and jojoba oil and our honey man dropped off a pound of beeswax.
I was all in after watching you tube videos and creating a process that
satisfied me- ease of production, using up leftover cotton fabric on hand,
making something useful and sharing.
So how did we handle knowing COVID is out there? We used to
watch the CBC news every night at 9 or 10. That has decreased a lot especially
since there is a vaccine close at hand. We simply knew if we kept our distance,
wore a mask we’d be AOK. There were many days when we felt a Charlie Brown
cloud over our heads and I suspect this is a common feeling. After working with
folks who had dementia for 11 years I knew distraction is a clever tool to use
to get out of a slump so keeping me busy with projects is a lifesaver.
We had a HUGE dump of snow between Nov 8-10 and this
coincided with a discussion about getting a kitten. Macy had passed in January
and there was room for more cuddling. He was delivered in a 4 wheel drive truck
before all our streets were cleared!
Kathy and Macy January 2020
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Adding a little note from Kathy December 2020.....
Yes, this has been a year like no other! As an introvert I
was very content to embrace the "shelter in place" COVID-19
restrictions. One of the biggest downsides of restriction was that we had to
cancel our planned trips. We had booked flights and accommodations for a 2 week
trip to Newfoundland in June; and a 2 month late summer early fall trip across
Canada in Arvy ( our RV ). And now, in December, as cases continue to rise
across the country we have made the decision to cancel our 2 month stay in
Parksville during February and March. We have rebooked for the spring of 2022!
My personal journey this year included a plan to lose
weight. The combination of WW and Fitbit helped me shed more than 50 pounds so
I am quite chuffed to achieve this goal!
January 2020 my cat Macy went over the rainbow bridge. It
was very difficult living without a cat so after seeing a post about a stray
cat we decided to adopt Jasper.
He was delivered to us on November 10th in a 4 wheel drive truck after a 3 day blizzard. Jasper is a laid- back, cuddly fellow who has made himself right at home and right into our hearts
And now my final rant for this year
Keeping track of our lives this way triggers MORE memories
for us as we re read from past years. We remember Judy and Lee often, our
parents and I am quite frankly relieved they did not have to experience this
year. Our hearts go out to the many who have been deeply affected by this virus
on so many levels.
We realize we are so privileged with a home, a stable
income, a place to grow our own food, the ability to travel when the time is
right and more.
If my biggest challenge today is to find something to do …I
have no right to complain about anything. This is an opportunity to be more
creative than ever for ALL of us. We have seen extreme creativity with the
arts, crafts, gardens, science, politics, technology and communication. All of
this activity will make a huge difference globally.
The experience for us both losing our long time partners and
then finding each other reminds us daily how precious life is and how short
life can be.
Be bold be safe be loved
Denise and Kathy
