On top of the world. Well, on top of Big White!
Sunday morning in West Kelowna was grey & foggy, but the webcams up at Big White were showing clear blue skies, so we packed up the car & headed up to the mountain. As we left Kelowna we drove through the low clouds & in to bright sunshine. It remained that way all day & it was a perfect days skiing.
The view from the top of the T-Bar lift at Big White
Views don't get much better than this!
Arriving back in to cloud covered Kelowna.
Hello again little blog! It’s been a while…
Everything in Canada is going well! The weather is gradually getting warmer (fingers crossed -29 stays away!), my job is going really well & my family will be here for their visit in less than 2 months!
Up in the clouds at Big White Ski Resort
When we’re not working (& I’m not ‘accidentally’ shopping…) we head up to the ski hill or go for snowy hikes in our local area. I’ve taken a few impressive tumbles up at Big White recently & have been attempting to go off a few jumps & off-piste between the trees, which has been great fun but has so far ended up with me looking like a giant snowball as I roll down the hill! James has made vast improvements with his snowboarding & he doesn’t fall half as much as I do!
That's a lot of snow!
A couple of weeks ago we took Belle for a snowy hike up in the mountains of Westbank, not far from Crystal Mountain. The snow was (by an English girl’s standard) SO deep! Belle loved it, but did disappear a few times!
As for my baking, I haven’t done that much lately but I have become slightly addicted to Betty Crocker brownies! I know it’s cheating to use a ready made mixture but it tastes SO good! I made some experimental cookies recently, using my regular cookie mix but threw in some cocoa powder & some mini marshmallows. They looked a bit odd when they came out the oven but they actually tasted pretty great! I’ll be sure to make some more very soon!
The snow didn’t decide to disappear overnight. Instead it decided to fall even heavier. Luckily on Thursday we all began work at similar times to I was able to be driven in to Kelowna by James’s parents & picked up by his sister. The snow seemed to hold off throughout the day on Thursday, but when we woke this morning we were greeted by a fresh blanket of snow, with 5-10cm more predicted to arrive during Friday. I decided to take advantage of my day off by snuggling under a blanket & catching up with the latest episode of Glee before wrapping up warm to take Belle out for a snowy walk. I took my camera with me to capture the first real snowfall in the Okanagan…
Our snowy road
Memories of summer...
Belle enjoying the snow!
Colours of Autumn hidden by Winter
Snow topped plants
With the average temperature for today at -1 celsius it looks like the snow is set to stay falling for the remainder of the day, but as long as the weather man is right we should be snow free until Tuesday, which is fine by me!
Autumn has always been a season I’m fond of (I love all the seasons to be honest!). I love the cold, sunny days & the crunching of the leaves underfoot.
We went for an Autumn walk on Sunday afternoon & decided to take some photos. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me, so I took a few on my phone, which only has a 2 megapixel camera. The pictures don’t do the scenery justice I’m afraid, but here are a few…
Wednesday was a tiring day! We wanted to make the most of the morning so that I could nap in the afternoon in preparation for the late night shift I was working, so we drove into Kelowna for a stroll along the waterfront & a drive up Knox Mountain.
Rotary Marsh, Downtown Kelowna
The view from the top of Knox Mountain, looking north to Vernon
Once we were home I snuggled down with a blanket on the sofa to try & nap before heading in to work. It wasn’t going well until my phone rang; it was my manager telling me they didn’t need me until 2 hours later than I was meant to be starting. This helped me calm down & I managed a good hours nap before waking up & eating my weight in shepherd’s pie!
So off I went to work, dressed casually & comfortably with a big bottle of water & bags of crisps (potato chips). I have to admit that despite being so tired by the end of the shift that I could barely stand I did enjoy it. We spent the shift setting up the new accessory shop in store, which was fun (& I picked out a few things that are very cute!). I was incredibly glad when my shift came to an end at 2.30am, & glad to be home!
I was woken up earlier than I would have liked on Thursday by Belle treading on me & sniffing my face, then barking very loudly at something out the window. However, when I saw the blue sky through the window blinds I didn’t mind so much. The thought of another hike made me want to curl back up & sleep, but with the weather as good as it was there was no way I was sitting out. I am so happy I didn’t! We headed south to Peachland, which is one of my favourite places locally. It has a parade of cute shops & lovely bakeries. We drove to the trailhead of Pincushion Mountain Park & set off on our hike. The trail climbed quite steeply up the mountainside but once we reached the summit the climb was absolutely worth it…
The northerly view from the summit of Pincushion Mountain
The southerly view from the summit of Pincushion Mountain
After our hike we headed back into Peachland to have a bite to eat & a drink at Bliss Bakery, which makes gorgeous sandwiches, croissants & pastries.
Once home from our outing, Emily (James’s sister) & I changed & headed off to the mall. I was after a new pair of winter boots (I couldn’t fit mine in the suitcase!) & I also planned on having a second piercing in my ear lobes. I found the boots I liked & we headed off for my piercing. I had my first piercing (just my ear lobes) done in Australia when I was travelling there aged 18 and it didn’t hurt as far as I remember. I then had my tragus pierced last summer & oh my goodness did that hurt! It was with that pain in mind that I squeezed Emily’s hand as the piercing gun shot through my lobe, but it was fine, barely painful at all! So that was it, I had added 2 more piercings (most probably my last) to my list.
I was glad to be pain-free as after our mall trip we headed out for dinner, then went to the nearby bowling alley. I wasn’t overly looking forward to this as I am a terrible bowler & no one would let me put the side guards up. Gutter ball after gutter ball I eventually knocked down 9 pins, an all time record! I finished last place, of course, but it was a fun evening.
This morning I was once again woken by my Belle alarm clock, as this time she nudged me out the way so she could sleep in my warm spot. How rude! We decided we’d like to spend the morning playing golf but couldn’t afford anywhere other than the driving range. Once again I wasn’t keen, I’m worse at golf than I am at bowling & that is saying something! We had a good hour’s worth of hitting & I managed to get a couple of shots past 50 yards.
I headed off to work a few hours later feeling full of a cold. I had a good shift but had to run to a chemist to buy some cold & flu tablets on my break. On the plus side I bought my first ever plaid shirt! It is the most Canadian thing I think I own & I absolutely love it!
So there we have my last few days. They have been full of great experiences & memories I won’t be forgetting.
bigstepsintinyshoes 