Bedtime story, outsourced

Wiley loves reading his sister her bed-time story!

Fly Fishing Lesson

Ed giving Wiley and expert fly-fishing lesson while we were in Colorado earlier this summer.

“Don’t step on any of our creations”

Portia's request as we tried to get them into bed tonight.

Kids by the Front Door

One last photo with Maren by the front door. You can really see how the kids have grown compared to a similar photo taken at Halloween last year.

A last few giggles

One of the last snuggles and giggles before Maren left on Wednesday.

Ready for home school!

We're all getting ready for home school. The front room (previously Mami's office, and before that a general purpose office and guest room) has now been turned into a school room - ready for virtual learning starting week after next. Wiley and Portia tested the new facilities with their German workbooks today.

Bye Maren!

Two days ago, a seven-and-half-year era in our family ended with Maren's departure back to Germany. (She arrived safely.) We are now again a family of five (plus Kiwi).

Baked on remnants of lasagne? No problem!

They are no match for our great household "pre-rinser!"

The evening fisherman

Rainbow!

The same day I caught the colourful sunset, we also had some pretty intense thunderstorms. In the middle of this one, the sun came out, and I caught this rainbow over the water.

Throwback Thursday

This is what the cabin looked like before I was born! It had a covered and screened porch that I (barely) remember.

Granddad enjoying the view

It doesn't matter how many times you've looked at it, the waterfall and all the swirling water below it are still mesmerizing.

One last good-bye

I took this selfie today, at GMM's request, right before I changed into my travel clothes and left for the airport. I spent all week at a distance and with a mask on when I was indoors (even though all the doors and windows were always open and if there was no breeze I created one with a fan!), but we didn't want to ruin the photo so I just held my breath while I was in close. So in the end it looks surprisingly "normal."

Beautiful Ste Em

Well, the week has come and gone. Thankfully passed my quarantine with no symptoms, and am headed back to the airport again tomorrow mid-day. After a rather stormy afternoon, the weather decided to give me a very colourful send-off this evening.

Woolly Water

Visiting Ste Em without the rest of the family is weird. I certainly miss them - stupid virus. But there are small silver linings, such as a peaceful morning doing just exactly as I please, needing to answer to nobody at all!

This morning I woke up early and had a cup of tea on the porch. I was impressed at the collection of little foam piles that slowly swirled around with the currents, almost like a herd of slightly dizzy sheep. As usual, it was mostly gone a few hours later but will probably re-form overnight.

Taking a break

Wiley and Portia were less than impressed with Graydon's skiing...