Last weekend was our annual Oroville work weekend. This year we decided that a few of us would go early to open the place as in the past it was always done by G & L and as a result few know what all is involved. G & L are aging and when they no longer travel, we will have to be able to do what they do. So, a month earlier than usual, we packed up the tools and some new beds and started out on a most beautiful day.
There was still snow in Manning Park, about as much as there usually is in May. This means that the snow pack this year is low and things will be dry. Even at the Lodge, where the altitude is high and it still looked very much like winter, the weather was balmy and the sun quite warm. The clear blue sky was fabulous!
As usual, we saw many Deer in the Princeton area. 
We were in no hurry, so a little detour off the beaten track revealed this old cabin on a rocky ledge off in the distance. Telephoto lenses do not respect "NO TRESPASSING" signs. 
The hills in the south Okanagan are bone dry all year, except for a few weeks in spring. Then there all manner of blossoms and colour. 
This valley just west of Osoyoos is one of my favourite places in all of BC. 
Oroville has its own Golf Course in the middle of the rocky desert. The contrasts are more stunning in the hot and dry summer months. 
Sagebrush, pine, and rocks. But the air is fresh and invigorating and the fragrance of Saskatoon Berry blossoms is intoxicating. 
The Samilkameen River east of Oroville. This is very interesting country with a rich history of agriculture, primitive transportation, irrigation, and mining. Here, in one photo, is a narrow dirt road, the river, and an old train road bed as it comes out of a tunnel under the mountain. 
The little white fluff balls on the hill are blooming Saskatoon Berry bushes. The berries are ripe in June. 
This is the road from the Nighthawk border station to Oroville. 
This is a junction just south of Nighthawk border station, going left takes one to the backside of Oroville and taking the right fork will take one to Chesaw Wa. The road eventually joins up with Highway 97 at Tenasket Wa. and is a most interesting drive. It is a motorbike rider's dream ride.
I have done much work on this street over the years and always admired this house as I drove by. Originally, it was beige with Tudor (very dark) Brown trim boards. I wondered for many years if I would ever have a chance to see the inside. It was vacant for a time, and the landscaping was neglected. Then it was sold to a Chinese fellow who owned a bowling alley. He painted the entire house pink, both the stucco and the trim, fortunately he did not paint the beautiful brick work. He never gave much consideration to the gardens either and they continued to deteriorate. Then I got the call. He needed some inside work done and would I come and take a look. I walked in the front door and was disappointed beyond belief. It was so poorly finished inside that I was sure a child had done it. It was falling apart and was pure ugliness. I did get the contract, to refinish the dilapidated oak kitchen cabinets, and the longer we worked there, the sooner I wanted to get out. From inside the house we could see the neglected and weed covered swimming pool. The garden was so overgrown with blackberry bushes that only a vague shape of its former glory was visible. The owner wanted more advice and more prices on various decorating options including wallpaper. It became clear that he had neither good taste, nor the budget to implement it. I walked away from it, disillusioned and sad. My dream house was a wreck. Now, just a year later, someone saw the potential and has fixed it up, at least on the outside. I would be afraid to walk in the front door lest the ugly, wobbly stair rail is still there, not to mention the dog smells and the Chinese wallpaper.
Quite frankly, I am surprised that there are blossoms lying randomly about on this lady's garden. It is out of character for her to have even one blade of grass out of place. This is a gorgeous house, inside and out, but it is a god. She is a cashier at a local grocery supermarket and her husband is a firefighter. Nothing is too good or too perfect for them. Knowing this, I took on the job with an attitude of utmost care and persnicketiness. (Her next door neighbour is a friend of mine, but that is not where she got my name. Friends do not do that to each other.) After using the best material and doing the best I knew how, I got a call back. Apparently, when the light was just right, and you stood in a certain position, and there was a full moon, and Jupiter was aligned with Mars, there was streaking showing up in the paint. I re-painted the wall in question and then walked away from the house, not wanting any more payment. I knew this was one I was not going to win. Very deep colours will streak because of the heavy pigment content and if the brushing and rolling are not all in the same direction, under certain circumstances there will be texture shading, but it goes away when the paint cures in about 5 weeks. I hope she found this out when she moved all her furniture away from the wall, the light was just right, she stood in the certain position, Jupiter ........ etc.
This is Paul's neighbour. He got my name from Paul. He and his wife are retired and their hobby is rescuing Grey Hound dogs from the race track. I do not like working in homes where there are dogs. Even if they are put out for the day, there is still the issue of odour and hair, everywhere. I was totally unfamiliar with Grey Hounds but got a really quick education. They are not the greatest pets so when the racing dogs are no longer good for the track, they are usually put down. There are those who have a soft spot for these kinds of dogs and rescue them, taking them home and trying to give them a good life. Grey Hounds are born and bred to run. It is their sole purpose in life. As a result, these folks bought this house with a long and narrow back yard on a Green Belt. They have it fenced high and strong and the dogs run in the yard, chewing it up with their high speed acceleration and claws. They are something to watch! When the lady of the house takes them for a walk, she has to be careful where she goes. When these dogs see something move quickly, even in their peripheral vision, they are off like a shot and there is no stopping them. Their owner has had two broken wrists and a separated shoulder when the dogs dragged her 25 yards down the forest path behind their property. Imagine what they are like inside the house. She keeps them upstairs and when the doorbell rings, they are off like a shot, down the steps, and eager to see if they can worm their way out of the door when the guests come in. It was during one such stampede down the stairs that one of the dogs wiped out and crashed head first into the wall. Many times. We could have the job if we knew how to repair that kind of damage. We did. I am sure there was similar damage the day after we left. Those dogs are crazy! But I really like these people.
Paul is the son of a wealthy businessman who owns Duty Free stores. I wanted to take a photo of his dad's house, which I painted, but they live in a very exclusive area of town on a private drive and I did not feel comfortable trespassing on the property without an invitation. Paul has become his dad's business partner and bought this house. Because I was his dad's decorator, Paul called me to do the painting in his 'new' home. It had been badly neglected and by the looks of it, it would be again, because Paul had a rather large dog which he kept inside. It was a Ridgeback Hound, one of those dogs that they train to hunt Lions in Africa. This was a BIG dog. The big challenge here was painting around the monster fish tank, but a few days after we had completed the work, we got a call to come and re-do the Family Room. It seems Paul had the veterinarian clip the dogs ears and somehow the dog had managed to strip the bandages off of his ears. The wound was fresh and it started bleeding. The dog had been shaking its head violently, as dogs do, to get rid of the dripping blood. The walls were splattered from top to bottom in bright red. Thank you, little doggy, for the extra income. I meet Paul at the local airport whenever we fly out of the country. He mans the temporary Duty Free store in the departure lounge. Nice guy.
In 1987 I had the privilege of getting to know a wonderful family who was new to our church. Ron is a dentist and his wife teaches piano. They have five wonderful children and needed a new home when they moved here from the big city. Ron called me one day and asked if I would come with him and his wife to see a house they were contemplating purchasing. It was sitting on of the nicest pieces of property in town, but the house was run down and had not been finished with a lot of quality. All that was needed was cosmetic changes and a new roof. I recommended he purchase it and a few weeks later they hired me to to do a complete makeover. I worked in that house for months and because the family had already moved in, I was shoulder to shoulder with them the whole time. We became family and today I am still getting my dentistry done at his clinic. His daughter, who was a teenager at the time, was my dentist for a time. When the house was completely finished, they had all the sub trades in for a recognition party. What a time we had, telling stories and recalling all the challenges we had fixing an old house. The family had written a song about each worker there and sang it around the grand piano in the beautifully finished living room. There was lots of food and plenty of laughter as Ron is a real comedian. I still have a soft spot for that family and for that old house. I did go back a time later when they did a grand renovation in the kitchen and laundry area. The memories came flooding back, and I am sure they will never leave me.
I announced a few days ago that I was going to undertake a new blog project and that was to post photos and a brief story of some of the houses I have worked in over the years. I have been a paint and wallpaper contractor in the area for 35 years. I actually got my start in Williams Lake but I have lived here since '72 and worked here all that time. I know my town well, as well as the surrounding communities. This list will by no means be comprehensive, but is meant to be a random sampling of what I have done. Because 98% of my work has been interior, you will not be able to see the actual work I did but only the exterior. I had fun driving around one day, taking the photos. Most of the houses were in quiet residential areas so I did not hold up traffic. All photos were taken out the open window of my truck as I slowly rolled by the property. This was the home of an executive of a large agricultural feed company. He and his wife are Dutch. I wallpapered most of the house in the days when wallpaper was very popular. Busylizzy was helping me at the time and we met a painter named Jack, who I never saw again. Because the house was being totally renovated, they asked me if I knew of someone who would want their Harvest Gold kitchen appliances. My sister and her husband were building a new home after coming home from the mission field so I was able to steer the appliances their way. Two years ago, they called me back to get some ideas on re-decorating yet again. As I walked through the house, I was amazed at how everything was in perfect condition. The paint and wallpaper were like new and I told them I honestly thought the house did not need re-decorating. The colours and patterns were classic so they did not date the house too badly. As it turned out, they sold the house as was and just a month ago called me to their new townhouse on Mill Lake to do some fine touch-up work. We renewed acquaintances and had some Dutch hot chocolate and biscuits while we reminisced about the good old days. I love that part of my work.
Back to last Monday's trip for a moment.
A leisurely drive home along the Chuckanut Drive from Anacortes to Bellingham. 
By this time the sun was out, and away from the wind, it was toasty warm.
I mentioned yesterday that we went to Lake Errock to do a job, site unseen. I rarely do this as I do not like surprises and I have learned over the years that the job is always made to sound easier than it really is. This was true again yesterday. The designer neglected to tell us that the walls were in really rough shape and that there were many raw patches that had not even been sanded, let alone primed. My "all eventualities" preparation paid off as we did bring a gallon of wall primer/size with us and we certainly did use it. I mentally prepared myself for a two day job as I knew that there were two rooms and 18 rolls of wallpaper. We got there just before 9 am after a 45 minute drive. We sanded, primed and hung wallpaper steady with a 45 minute break for lunch and were done by 4:30 pm. In spite of a bad start, we made record time and do not have to go back today. I had never wandered off the Lougheed Highway into the community of Lake Errock before. The lake itself is not very large, and the homes are rustic, some used all year round, but many only in the summer months. The home we worked in had a most beautiful setting. The wealthy lady who owned it had been there 10 months and had already done extensive renovations. It was quite the place, and definitely one of the nicer homes on the lake. I should have brought my camera to work. It would have been worth it. The photo above is a shot of Lake Errock but I borrowed it from the Internet.
Today we start fresh. It is a new week. I am grateful to have work and even though I have not seen the job we are going to tomorrow, nor have I met the client, I am trusting that the drive to Lake Errock will be worthwhile and productive. I am bringing every conceivable piece of equipment and tool with me to cover any and all eventualities. Last week I drove more than 100 km in one day to solve one little problem and ended up only working one hour. When on contract, this is not the way to operate. 
Yesterday was a busy day. We did our tour of service in church this morning, serving continental breakfast to more than 250 people, and it was a delightful time of renewing some old friendships and again bonding with our terrific team of volunteers. In the afternoon we celebrated my father-law's 82nd birthday. I saw some children of nephews and nieces that I had never seen before. We had a lot of good food and some good laughs. We did a bit of planning for our annual work party at the lake property, which will take place next weekend. From there we went straight to our Care group meeting which was again a relaxed time of learning, sharing and praying. Oh, and more eating. 
The tulips are over tomorrow. I promise. I think you have had enough, already.
It is not too late to go to Mt. Vernon and take in the Festival. It will be in the height of the late varieties now. 
Standing in a field of these is true sensory overload. For me, it is similar to seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. Your eyes see it, but your brain has a difficult time computing it. In the case of the canyon, the sheer width and depth, in the tulip field, the massive amount of bright colour.
I am of the opinion that it is almost impossible to take a bad photograph in a Tulip Garden. 
Tulips everywhere! You would think we were in Holland. The garden we choose was called Roozen Gaarde, about as Dutch as they come. 
Like roses, Tulips come in many varieties and colours. They prefer the cool weather and last longer in the cold days we are having this spring.
Last weekend was our annual Oroville work weekend. This year we decided that a few of us would go early to open the place as in the past it was always done by G & L and as a result few know what all is involved. G & L are aging and when they no longer travel, we will have to be able to do what they do. So, a month earlier than usual, we packed up the tools and some new beds and started out on a most beautiful day.
There was still snow in Manning Park, about as much as there usually is in May. This means that the snow pack this year is low and things will be dry. Even at the Lodge, where the altitude is high and it still looked very much like winter, the weather was balmy and the sun quite warm. The clear blue sky was fabulous!
As usual, we saw many Deer in the Princeton area. 
The hills in the south Okanagan are bone dry all year, except for a few weeks in spring. Then there all manner of blossoms and colour. 
This valley just west of Osoyoos is one of my favourite places in all of BC. 
Sagebrush, pine, and rocks. But the air is fresh and invigorating and the fragrance of Saskatoon Berry blossoms is intoxicating. 
The Samilkameen River east of Oroville. This is very interesting country with a rich history of agriculture, primitive transportation, irrigation, and mining. Here, in one photo, is a narrow dirt road, the river, and an old train road bed as it comes out of a tunnel under the mountain. 
The little white fluff balls on the hill are blooming Saskatoon Berry bushes. The berries are ripe in June. 
This is the road from the Nighthawk border station to Oroville. 
This is a junction just south of Nighthawk border station, going left takes one to the backside of Oroville and taking the right fork will take one to Chesaw Wa. The road eventually joins up with Highway 97 at Tenasket Wa. and is a most interesting drive. It is a motorbike rider's dream ride. 
Fresh spring blossoms among the cactus. This country is true desert and is part of the south Okanagan. 
A half mile south of the Nighthawk USA/Canada border station. This station is open from 8 - 5 daily and one gets very personalised attention here. We took a chance and won. Even though we were totally loaded down with new beds and tools, all the guards wanted to see was what was under the hood. He only found an engine and promptly informed me. I expressed relief that I still had one and they sent us on our way. 
These cattle get very curious when a motorist stops. I suppose it does not happen often. Tomorrow I will post the Oroville projects we got done this year. 
