Crowsnest and Back to The Big Smoke Blues: Thursday, July 12th!

That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (12 Jul 1817-1862) 

Image: Amazon

Hi Maggster, et al! Trust everyone is fine and your holiday is going well. Wonderful news here is that Chloë received the results of the Strata Management exam she wrote on Tuesday, at UBC, in Vancouver, and she passed! Pretty big deal for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is that she will receive a pretty hefty increase in salary as a result of now being a Licensed Manager with Pacific Quorum, her company. This is especially important as we are right in the middle of arranging the mortgage for her townhouse in Sendero Canyon and the higher her salary, the more the bank is inclined to award the mortgage. 

She if off to spend the weekend at Spirit Ridge, staying in our condo there, with four other very close girlfriends. We, ourselves are driving into Vancouver, later this morning, to spend the weekend at the Folk Fest. Back on Monday for the night. Close friends, Colleen and Al, from Vancouver, will drive up same day to spend the night with us in Penticton and then will join us at Spirit Ridge until Friday. Chloë and her girlfriends will leave condo on Monday. As these things go we have two wine club appreciation parties on Friday and Saturday, first at Poplar Grove and then day after, at Upper Bench. Both wineries put on fabulous events with scrumptious food and wine flowing freely. Poplar Grove will even have the same exciting band as last year so we are looking forward to hearing them again. 

Colleen and Al will drive back to Vancouver on Friday morning and we will return to Spirit Ridge on Sunday morning. Flamin' and Sarge, and extended family, will be there for the coming week so it will be fun to relax and wine-taste and have meals together. In the past I have always ridden to Osoyoos, about 60 km, and then ridden thereabouts over stay, but too, too soon to be back on a free-standing bike yet. However, there is a very good gym in complex so I plan to use ellipitcal machine and then soak myself in hot-tub!

Thanks very much for update on my bike. Who knows how long it will take for delivery. Just hope it arrives, at some point! Interestingly enough, before my European tour was sabotaged by Canadian subversives, funded by jealous Manitobans, you might recall I was going to leave my bike in Chabeuil, [where I collected it, initially], a tiny, tiny village, about half an hour south of Côtes du Rhône-Villages and about an hour north, on the toll road, of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, so more than wonderful tasting within a stone's throw. Closest TGV station is in Valence, about 20 minutes from Chabeuil, and we have used it a number of times in the past. This year, one of the Tour Stages, coming up, next week, will pass through Valence. However, even if all had gone as planned, I wouldn't have been able to see cyclistii as I was to fly home from Paris on July 10th! In 2013, when I was in the south of France, the next village from where I was staying, Roujan, was on Tour route and passed through it. However, I didn't arrive until beginning of September. Still, I did manage to ride over some of the roads the riders followed so that was a treat for me.

Must away as I need to start packing up the car for coming trip. Fondest from both Lady Dar and a relieved Chloë, to you and Hans, Maggie! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Pics: Stacked kindling and storage area along side of house.