72ish Hours in the Okanagan: Vernon

We left Kamloops (click here to see my blog about Kamloops) and headed to Vernon to visit my Grandma, Aunt, Uncle and Cousins.

It was the first time Coen met this part of my family. We had a nice visit with my grandma then went to my cousin and her husband’s house. They cooked us a delicious dinner! My aunt, uncle and another cousin came over for dessert and a visit. I had taken a pie from my favourite orchard in Vernon! I visit Davison Orchards every time I’m in Vernon. We went back the next day to pick up a few things to bring home with us.

I just love it there. I adore the market with all its fresh produce, jams, syrups and all kinds of other tasty treats, gifts and baked goods. The fresh pressed apple juice is to die for as is the PEACH PIE! It’s my absolute favourite pie…ever!

Before that second visit to Davison Orchards and heading on to Kelowna, we went to Silverstar Mountain Resort. I hadn’t been since I was a kid (also in the summer) so thought we would check it out. It’s super easy to get to and since it was summer we we had no problems finding a parking spot in the first lot. The resort is small but there were a few places to grab a bite to eat and tons of trails for hikers and cyclists. They also have a gondola that you can take up the mountain. Visibility was limited because of forest fire smoke so we didn’t go on it.

We went on a bit of a hike – nothing too strenuous before the bugs really started driving us crazy. We’ll remember to pack bugspray next time!

We decided to grab some lunch before heading back into town. We popped into the Bulldog Grand Cafe.

We didn’t realize it but it’s an extension of the Bulldog Amsterdam! Very fitting. We ended up ordering Bitterballen to start – how could we not!?!

We enjoyed our lunch and our couple of days in Vernon! 💜

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Orange Shirt Day

September 30th is Orange Shirt Day. If you’re unfamiliar with it, I’ve copied this directly from the Orange Shirt Day website as the organization explained it better than I ever could:

“Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake, BC, Canada, in the spring of 2013. It grew out of Phyllis’ story of having her shiny new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the Mission, and it has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually.
The date was chosen because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to residential schools, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the coming school year. It also gives teachers time to plan events that will include children, as we want to ensure that we are passing the story and learning on to the next generations.

Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.”

Yesterday we donned our Orange Shirts at school. Residential schools can be a difficult topic to discuss with young students. This year I followed the lead of one of my colleagues. We started off by reading The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. We focused on having students make connections between Chester and their first day of school.

After this we read When I Was Eight by Christy Jordan-Fenton. The thoughts and questions this book brings out in my little guys (grade 1/2 this year) always amazes me. We had a wonderful discussion about how unfair it was to send First Nations children to Residential Schools. My students talked about how they would feel if it had them. Questions arose about why this happened and why it didn’t happen to other children. I tried to answer these questions the best I could. Students drew hearts that they coloured orange and wrote a message – something they would say to Oulemon (the girl in the story) or other children who had to go to a Residential School. I wish I had remembered to take a picture!

The next book we read was Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell. This book tells the sorry of Shi-shi-etko, who is counting down the days until she must leave to attend residential school. During this time, her family helps her to collect memories to take with her.

In order to help my students relate we thought about how we would feel if we had to leave our school to go to another. Students thought about what memories they would take with them. I gave each student a Ziploc bag and we went outside to collect memories. Students chose things like bits of gravel from the field because they loved to play soccer, feathers to remember the birds, wood chips so they wouldn’t forget the playground and so much more. Some drew pictures of things as well. The playground, the swings, puddles. My students were so engaged and the thought and conversations that came out of this were fantastic.

I will definitely do this again next year.

Please check out the Orange Shirt Day website for more information about this important day.💜

A Gift For Your Senses: Pelindaba Lavender Gourmet Coffee

It’s not often, maybe even never, that I write about a particular product. But today, I’ve got one that is absolutely worth recommending.

Pelindaba Lavender is a lavendar farm located in Friday Harbor, Washington. I first learned about it when I popped into their store while in Portland, Oregon in March 2017. When I saw their brochure on the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor I immediately told Coen I needed to go. I’m pretty much obsessed with all things lavender! Unfortunately we didn’t have time to visit the actual farm (I’ll definitely go a other time.)

Their store was full of all kinds of wonderful lavender things. From soaps to cleaning products to food. They even had lavender ice cream sandwiches in a cooler! I picked up a few things but the Lavender Gourmet Coffee is what I’m here to review.

According to the woman I spoke to in the shop, Pelindaba Lavender is sent to a local coffee company where they grind the lavender with their beans. When I first opened the bag, I could smell hints of lavender blended with the aroma of coffee. Two of my favourite scents together – I was in heaven! Looking closely I could see small bits of lavender blended with the ground coffee.

I was worried the lavender scent would dissipate once the coffee was brewed but I didn’t need to worry. The fragrance wasn’t overpowering but it was definitely still there. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I drank it (I added a little sugar and cream.) I’d only ever had lavender baked goods. I have to admit that with that first sip I wasn’t too sure about it. The coffee itself had a great flavour but then I was hit with a herb taste, but almost like a herb I couldn’t really place. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad taste by any means. My second sip hit the nail on the head. There was that lavender taste I was looking for! It was glorious; like a mini-explosion of lavender. Delicious!

This coffee won’t be for everyone and if you’re not sure I think you should try a cookie, scone or loaf made with culinary lavender. If you don’t like the taste of lavender I don’t think you would like this coffee. Saying that, if you enjoy the taste, I highly recommend this coffee! You won’t be disappointed! Time for me to go enjoy cup number two.💜

72ish Hours in the Okanagan: Kamloops

Trying to plan a mini-trip to visit multiple people in multiple cities, albeit close to one another, can be nearly impossible especially in the summer. After days of trying to coordinate schedules Coen and I decided to spend one night with my brother and his family in Kamloops before moving on. We had a chance to check out a restaurant as a family called The Noble Pig.

There was a bit of a wait but we managed to get a table on the patio of this cool Brewhouse. It was a beautiful night – until the rain rolled in! Luckily we were just finishing up.

The menu was a pretty perfect size; not too big, not too small and there seemed to be something for everyone. My 2.5 year old nephew was just as content as everyone else! I had a hard time deciding what to order. I ordered a Sun Kissed Grapefruit Radler which was delicious – so refreshing!

I also decided on Crispy Pickles and Cheesy Pepperoni Pretzel Bread to share and the Southwest Pulled Pork Sandwich for my meal.

Crispy Pickles

I usually enjoy moderately spicy foods, but although these were cooked well (the pickles were still nice and crunchy) I found these to be just a little too much on the spicy-side. I wish the breading wasn’t Cajun seasoned. I think they would be appealing to more palates if they had a different breading and maybe came with a spicy dip for an added kick. I wouldn’t order them again.

Cheesy Pepperoni Pretzel Bread

These were good but nothing special. It was basically a cheese stick with a stick of pepperoni inside. I can buy essentially the same thing from the deli at several local grocery stores. It’s not that I wouldn’t order it again, but I would likely try something different instead.

Southwest Pulled Pork Sandwich

After the Crispy Pickles I was a little worried about the Jalapeno Coleslaw on my sandwich but thankfully I think they seeded the jalapenos! This sandwich was pretty good. The BBQ sauce was tasty and the slice of Rainer back bacon nestled under the pulled pork was an added bonus. I would recommend ordering this!

The service was a little slow but we weren’t in a huge rush and we got some great quality family time in. Overall I enjoyed the The Noble Pig and would return!

Aside from dinner we mostly just spent some time altogether. I hope to explore more next time. Stay tuned!💜

Alaska: The Last Frontier

I just got back from a two week Alaskan cruise with my aunt on the Golden Princess. Actually we did back-to-back 7-day cruises. We started off cruising from Vancouver, BC to Whittier, AK then stayed on the ship to cruise back to Vancouver. We did the same thing six years ago on the Island Princess and this time was even better! I also cruised the Inside Passage in 2003 on the Mercury (Celebrity.)

We had incredible weather on our Northbound journey. It was so hot that I even went swimming two days because it was too hot reading at the pool. I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to posting about each individual port so I’ll include one photo from each in this post.

Our first stop was Ketchikan. We were only there until 2pm so all I did was walk to Safeway because there was a Starbucks inside. I needed to get the Alaska Been There Series mug. I got the last one!

Out next port was Juneau. I spent a few hours browsing around shops and grabbed a coffee from Heritage Coffee, a local chain.

We were in Skagway on July 4th and there were tons of things going on. I met up with a few of the Assistant Cruise Directors from the ship and we wandered for a bit. Aleks, one of them, and I decided to continue walking around and pop into a few of the shops instead of getting lunch with the rest of them.

We visited Glacier Bay the following Day which was spectacular. The weather was amazing and we saw some pretty incredible calving.

The weather was also fabulous in College Fjord the next day.

We arrived in Whittier just before midnight and it was still light out. I love that! I didn’t get off the ship the next day because there isn’t really anything there and I’d been off last time I was there. I enjoyed the quietness of the ship – at one point it was only us, the crew and a few others who were also doing B2B cruises. We met a couple from my city! It turns out they live down the street from the school I teach at. Small world.

The weather for the return trip wasn’t great so I was thankful for the sun the previous week! It wasn’t cold but it was cloudy and rainy at times.

We were at Hubbard Glacier First.

We were back at Glacier Bay next. I think my pictures actually look kind of neat with the fog.

I wandered around Skagway a little more and went into some stores I hadn’t visited the previous week.

I began my day in Juneau walking away from the touristy area near the cruise ship terminal. I kept walking until I ran into a woman we had chatted to at breakfast the day before. She told me there was a whale fountain that was worth seeing. She was right! On my way back towards the stores I decided to walk up the 107 stairs it took to get me to the State Capitol. I had a look around inside for a few minutes. It wasn’t anything special. I liked going in Sacramento much more!

Our last port day on the way home was Ketchikan. This time I headed to Creek Street first, which I love. Then I browsed in some stores picking up a few last minute gifts.

The two weeks were fantastic. I met some great people and have some amazing memories. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep in touch with a few. One couple we sat with at dinner the first week live outside of Seattle which really isn’t too far. It would be nice to see them again!

If you’ve never cruised Alaska before I would highly recommend it!💜

Day 16: Gratitude Challenge

I’m a day late with this one…it’s report card writing time!

What public service or organization are you grateful for (ie. The library or Fire Department)?

Well, obviously I’m grateful for the Fire Department and Police Department for keeping my community safe but I’m also grateful for the library!

I used to visit the Terry Fox Library pretty often growing up but then got away from it when I started buying books. Finally I decided I was “wasting” a crazy amount of money on books I would read within a few days. I returned to the library!

I’m someone who likes to hold a real book in my hands. E-Books do NOT work for me! I’m thankful the Fraser Valley Regional Library network has pretty much every book you could ever want and I appreciate being able to put myself on waitlists for highly coveted books.

I’m currently deciding which book to crack open tonight before bed!

Happy Reading!💜

Day 15: Gratitude Challenge

How are you able to help others?

By listening…

I like to think I’m a pretty good listener. I’m a good person to bounce ideas off of or to tell how you’re feeling. I don’t always have advice to give or even an opinion, but sometimes that’s not what people are after. Sometimes people just need someone to “shut up and listen” and I can be that person!💜