At home in Terrace for the winter


Dec. 13, 2015
Yes I know I have been missing and that I should have posted long before this.  To be honest I just didn’t have the heart for it.  Apologies to all of you who read my blog and were wondering what had happened to us. 
Sad story.  Eric’s health has been ultra crummy (how’s that for a medical term!) and we could not travel south this winter.  I will not go into anything in detail but I will say that after many, many medical tests we still don’t know anything about what has been going on.  At this point we do know that he is allergic to some ingredient in steroid nasal sprays and that he is now waiting for a sinus operation that will likely not happen until spring. 
I was just starting to recover from my four year stint with polymyalgia rheumatica and temporal arteritis and then Eric was not well.  We have now been thoroughly reminded that if you don’t have your health you don’t have anything. 
We have not been home for the winter since 2007 so this has been a rude awakening. 

Yes this is lovely but….let’s face it, it’s not the beach!
We live about 20km out of town on a rural property that requires road clearing to get to the highway so it is all a bit complicated in the winter.   We spent 30 years of our life driving the highway in the dark, snow, wind and rain as we travelled back and forth to work and it really isn’t much fun.  At least now we can pick our times to travel and stay home if the weather is too bad. We have had a couple of feet of snow over the past month so it is a winter wonderland.



I will now back up to May when we came home and were both feeling really good.  Eric started the season at home by repairing the undercarriage of the RV (an ongoing nightmare) and then giving it a thorough wash and wax.
Next he tore down the the old goat barn that was next to the house.  One of the first buildings that he put up back in the late 70’s and it was starting to lean.  In addition it had a shake roof and was a fire hazard as it was very close to the house.  I raised and milked goats for almost 30 years and I must say they are the most intelligent of farm animals except for maybe pigs! 






There was a lot more to the building but the wood shed and back lean-to are already gone.  He is using a tiger saw to cut it up and then….
burn it.



 This in the gully beside the house where he can bury the nails when he’s done.



Relaxing.

Following this big project we were off to Sorrento, B.C. (not Italy) for a family wedding.  Nephew Spencer’s wedding(Eric’s sister Kathryn/Gary’s second oldest son).  All five Tycho siblings were in attendance and a great time was had by all.

















Ian, Eric, Kathryn, Brian and David.




The spouses Chiyoko-David, Linda-Ian, Gary-Kathryn, Kathy-Eric and Fran-Brian.





Spencer and Lindsae.







































and one last photo….the cutest of them all.

This is Aubrey our great niece.

 

Following the wedding we were on our way home.  We had been Jeep shopping on the way to Sorrento and now we were shopping on our way back.  You will remember my aversion to Jeeps from my posts last spring when we were in Kelowna.  But in the end this is what we bought….




We bought this 2015 Jeep Sport in Prince George and I didn’t find it as horrifying to drive as the ones I tried in Kelowna!  Something to do with an upgraded suspension which makes it a little bit more stable.

I drove it back from Prince George and was pretty used to it hopping all over the place by the time we got home.  Looks like a little yellow Tonka toy.  A good second vehicle and Eric set up to tow after we got home in case we ever buy a motor home.  For now it is our back and forth to town vehicle. 





June was the final dance recital for grand daughter Holly as she was graduating and off to UBC in Sept.  She has been dancing since was six and has stuck with it throughout the years.  A huge amount of work and dedication.  She also has a lovely voice and took voice lessons over the years which she added to her dance routines.

Holly in the dark costume.  It was really hard to get photos as flashes were not allowed.  This was held in our local REM Lee theatre.




Second from left with all her friends





The whole troupe.  The tiny ones were just darling and a hoot to watch twirling around.





The senior dance troupe. 
Over the winter months from 2008 to present I have missed most of Holly’s big productions.  A trade off for a winter in the sun.
June was also graduation month for our grand daughter Holly.





Holly and her Mom (Erika our younger daughter).  Holly is a brunette but decided to mix it up a bit for graduation.








Holly with Eric and I at graduation prom and dinner.





Eric and I with Abby (15) Holly’s younger but taller sister!  Why am I always the shortest one?





Holly with her Dad on diploma day.  It was casual for the audience and a scorcher of a day. 
So what else happened this summer well…









I watched Abby ride her horse Friesla at a couple of horse shows.  Abby is as dedicated and hard working with her riding as Holly was with her dance.






Daughter Erika on Eddy and Abby on Friesla.




Erika and Eddy are having a dressage lesson.

I spent the summer gardening and for the first time in 40 years did not have a vegetable garden.  I am revamping and streamlining much of the garden so it was a year without home grown vegetables except for the garlic which was planted last fall.  I didn’t plant any pots or buy any plants which is a first for me. 
Last Saturday I joined daughter Erika, grand daughter Abby and Erika’s niece Lauren for a trip to the Christmas tree farm.  Since we are home for Christmas I want to be involved in as many family experiences as possible.



Lauren, Erika and Abby.





Lots of trees to chose from.  Then the search begins for the perfect tree…not for me.




Success.  Now we just need one more for Lauren. 





Abby’s selfie.




Load er up! 





Still looking for a tree for Lauren.
In the end we got two nice trees and they cost $35. each which is a real bargain in my mind. 
There was hot chocolate, apple cider and donuts on our way out to pay so it was a really nice day.






A winter wonderland.





The RV in it’s winter home with the Jeep snugged in front. 





A Christmas card picture. 


So….from our house to yours Merry Christmas and Happy New Year where ever you are. 







P.S.  - I will make an occasional post if there is anything that I think you would like to see.  As we are on dial-up internet (no other choice except cell internet which is deadly expensive) posting must be done at our daughters.


Sorry this took so long but when I went to post Live Writer which is where I store my drafts was no longer connected to my blog.  It will take awhile to figure that out.  So....I copied the blog and pasted it into my blogger draft account but....it didn't bring the pictures so I had to drag and drop them all in which was a real pain.  Ah.....technology!