Pocketful of Memory Cards

I really can't.  It's an obsession...an addiction perhaps.  I hope you haven't grown tired of photos of Okanagan Lake taken from the shores and bluffs of Cedar Creek beach, cause I'm not and I don't see the end of it any time soon!   Here's a few from yesterday morning.

No, it's not deja vu, I posted this photo yesterday on Wordless Wednesday.  I wanted to give you a closer look at the ingredients I gathered for the vanilla mahi mahi I made for dinner Saturday night.  I found the provenance of the ingredients to be very multi-cultural so in essence, Canadian!  I fear that those of you who are proponents of the 100 mile diet will be appalled by the distances driven, sailed across and flown over to allow me to make this tasty recipe, but if you're a regular you know what a fan I am of shopping for local products so I hope you'll allow me an occasional  indulgence. First of all, the recipe is based on a delicious  meal we had at Norbert and Thildi's pension  Tevahine Dream in Rangiroa,  French Polynesia.  (If you check out the link, fyi a "mosquito nest" is not one of their amenities, however they do have "mosquito nets".  I think the mosquito nests were on Huahine, but that's another story...)  Unfortu

No matter how many times I go to Cedar Creek Dog Park , I can't stop myself from taking at least 50 photos whether it's on my iPhone or with a DSLR.  Each time I visit, nature gives me a beautiful backdrop with which to compose my images.  The scenes are ever changing, depending on weather, light or who happens to be there.  Here's some of my favourites from this morning.

The south end of the Mission Ridge Trail. Try as I might, I could not come up with a new Gratitude Monday title today - no theme or pun for this post. This morning I am just grateful for the many blessings in my life, particularly: the return of the sun.  It's been a frosty week but the sun came back this weekend and rumour has it temperatures will reach 19 C on Easter weekend! my friend and writing buddy Anne Louise who despite being so very busy has been able to get together two weeks running.  She's a wise woman with great advice on writing and life's little challenges. Max and Pitou who force me to get out of the house and into the fresh air every day. the variety of places in Kelowna to take the dogs for a hike or a run off leash.  Last week we walked out to Paul's Tomb,  tramped around Mission Creek Park off Springfield, hiked up to Mission Ridge a couple of times, went to Cedar Creek Dog Park and hubby took them to Mission Dog Park near the CNC

The sun was bright but the air was cool as we set off for a mid morning hike up to Mission Ridge.  In this photo you see the edge of a flat grassy spot.  The top of the ridge is about 50 yards father back. The view on the way up the switchback.  Looking South from the flat.  The peak of the ridge.  Can you see the tiny bench at the top? A single click on the photo will help.

Besides a cookbook, I picked up a book called The Proust Questionnaire at Lakehouse this week.  I must admit I have never read anything by Marcel Proust, but I've heard people answer different versions of the Proust Questionnaire many times over in the past couple of years - mostly on the CBC Radio One program The Next Chapter . Inside the Actor's Studio gives a questionnaire to it's guests as well, and it finds its roots in the Proust, with a couple of twists.  I think you can tell alot about a person by their answer to the question "What is your favourite swear word."  Actually I don't think that at all, but I'm a typical analytical, introspective Virgo and this type of thing is very appealing to  me.   The book I purchased includes a reproduction of the original questionnaire, filled in by Mr. Proust in 1886 and a translation on the facing page. It does the same with Questionnaire # 2 completed 1890 - 1891. The majority of the book contains

You might be surprised to see that this post is not about a house on the lake that's stolen my heart.   Regular readers might also be shocked to see that it's a STORE that I've fallen in love with. I've told you I hate shopping, but as I look back on my blog posts I'm discovering that's not the whole truth.  My  aversion to shopping seems to be strongest when it comes to groceries or clothes.  And then there's the fact that I don't like parting with my money unless I really have to.  I don't like shopping in chain stores and I don't enjoy shopping in stores that carry the same items as every other big box store in the country. I do enjoy shopping in one-of-a-kind stores, stores that recycle and re-purpose items, stores that carry things that you don't see everywhere, stores with friendly, helpful staff.   I've visited Lakehouse twice in the last two weeks and discovered that this lovely shop at the corner of Bernard and Ellis mee