Nicky on August 31st, 2010

We had a lovely birthday party for the girls. I thought it might be a bit chaotic, but the weather was good, we were outside the whole time, the kids were happy, the adults were well fed, and a good time seemed to be had by all.
 
Last birthday, we had a quiet celebration with my [...]

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Nicky on August 29th, 2010

The girls, my mom, my sister and I had a wonderful time hiking at Lake O’Hara. It’s just such an amazing, wonderful place… even if we did have rain for the first day and a half.  But us ladies are no strangers to roughing it, so we packed warm and had lots of fun.
 
 
It’s an [...]

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Nicky on August 29th, 2010

All the time I am amazed at who reads our blog… Here are some of the places people have said hello to “Sugar and Spice” and I: stores, the park, the beach, adoption gatherings, a funeral, a wedding, friends’ houses, Ethiopian hotel, on the phone, on-line discussion groups.
Even though we in no way still get the [...]

Continue reading about Still lots of people visiting!

Nicky on August 23rd, 2010

With three computers simultaneously freshing refreshing at 7am in the morning, we (J & C and us) by some miracle of fate, managed to secure two campsites for the weekend at Haines Point in Osoyoos. It’s only BC’s busiest campground! But there’s a reason. The small campsite is gorgeously situated in the middle of a lake [...]

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Nicky on August 21st, 2010

Since we got married, my husband has cheerfully allowed me to drag him up and down a few mountains. But as a prairie boy, it isn’t really his thing. It’s my thing. So I figure, if I want my girls to experience the Canadian wilderness the way I have experienced it, it’s up to me.
So [...]

Continue reading about Off hiking in the alpine

Nicky on August 17th, 2010

Everybody has a different lifestyle and living experience. These snapshots from the last couple of weeks does give a hint of ours, anyway. Busy busy busy! but with lots of time for the improtant things, such as play and gardening, fmaily and friends.
BTW: You will see some pics of Sugar and Spice’s friend Tigger.  Guess [...]

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Nicky on August 15th, 2010

Last time I showed pictures of my garden, it was for my friend L in Calgary. But this time is for a very nice Iranian gramma, whose baking I had the pleasure to sample (and SO enjoyed!)
We’re in full harvest mode, as you can see… there are veggies every day and we give a lot [...]

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Nicky on August 10th, 2010

Of all the strange places in the world, I finally bought my very own injera pan in… wait for it… New Norway, Alberta. Look it up on google maps and you’ll know why I was surprised. 
Jrock and I were taking a round-about way home, wandering through the secondary highways looking for antiques, when we pulled [...]

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Nicky on August 9th, 2010

Continuing our eastward journey… we spent several days in Saskatchewan, visiting Jrock’s family and some dear friends.  He grew up in that area, and we also lived together for 5 years in the neighborhood. 
So it was lovely to reconnect with our Best Nextdoor Neighbors Ever S and R… who now hae a little tike.  As [...]

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Nicky on August 3rd, 2010

We always enjoy going to visit our friends and family in Calgary - we just never seem to have enough time!  But this time, in two days, we crammed in an Ethiopian lunch with Nona and Auntie ; Butterfield Acres and a splash park with our hosts K, L and Leo (as well as more [...]

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Nicky on July 25th, 2010

I was worried as summer approached - what hair could I do that would stand up to the sun, days at the beach, sprinklers, etc?
Well, I decided that the swimming would just happen, and not to worry. But I did start making their braids smaller and using more of my secret hair elixer. (Secret told [...]

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Nicky on July 23rd, 2010

Well it isn’t the Naramata Bench if you don’t do a little wine tasting, now is it?
We did slip away to see a few wineries… our favourite that we tasted at was La Frenz - everything was good. Somebody there obviously knows what they are doing.  And the prices were great. Kettle Valley had respectable wines… I [...]

Continue reading about Harambee: exploring Naramata wineries

Nicky on July 20th, 2010

Harambee was a chance for the girls to spend some time with their new and old friends… I found they did more socializing than I did - maybe in future years I’ll get a chance to relax a bit more. But it was neat to see.

Sugar, in typical fashion, hung out with her Swazi friend [...]

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Nicky on July 18th, 2010

My sister came into town last night, (and thanks to my awesome friend T!), we got to go out to see Elton John. This concert sold out in 4 minutes and I was one of the frustrated people who didn’t get tickets… but somehow T did. And she sold them to me at the last [...]

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Nicky on July 17th, 2010

I thought I would break up the pictures from our week at Harambee thematically, instead of by day or something. After all, it was a jam-packed week of activities, friends, learning and winetasting!
For those of you who don’t know, Harambee is a family camp in its 16th year, for families with children of African heritage. [...]

Continue reading about Harambee: drumming, dancing and storytelling