It’s not ‘goodbye,’ It’s: ‘Until NEXT TIME’

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Abbotsford, B.C., Clayburn Village Bed and Breakfast, hardscape brick path abbotsford, homemade apple butter, homemade raisin scones, mosaic tile brick path

Me and Mariko enjoying our time off work (she was my ‘partner in crime’ at the Clayburn Village B&B. I got sooooo lucky!)

Yesterday, I left Abbotsford, B.C. and headed to Vancouver.

(This was probably the last time to ever see the wonderful friend I made from Germany — and my wonderful hosts at the Clayburn Village B&B. I thought I wouldn’t get emotional over it, but I did.)

Something REALLY HAPPENED there for me — and it was this amazingly BEAUTIFUL thing — that was produced from people really working together. Really collaborating and supporting each other 🙂

Mariko and I were there for over two weeks hosted by the most kind people I think I’ve met in a while — Leslie and Ramsey Oren, owners of the Clayburn Village B&B (in Abbotsford, BC).

Scones were made almost every morning. (Now I know best ones come straight from the oven and into one’s mouth.)

I will miss Leslie’s EPIC scones fresh from the oven. I will miss walking into her kitchen to smell the apple butter cooking in the crockpot. I will miss being called to a dinner that is fully complementary to the hard work that day. (Add on top of it Leslie’s apple crunch, or her banana cocoa ice cream, and it just feels like ‘mom’s love.’)

Leslie made apple butter in the crock pot — using apples picked from her trees. (Guess who got lucky enough to take some back to Texas??)

I will miss my German friend Mariko for her youthful exuberance — and what I kept referring to as her German ‘efficiency.’ I will miss having to share a bathroom with her. (She kinda felt like my little sister.)

We thought we wouldn’t have a chance to lay the pavers on this side of the path…but we worked long hours and got it done…so we were happy to set up the framework for the ‘finishing sand’ stage. (Yep, that’s me crouched over placing pebbles with mortar.)

I will miss watching Mariko get excited about something they don’t have back home. (I will miss desperately trying to find something on tv we can both understand…preferably something in ‘SLOW ENGLISH.’).

We also rebuilt this brick wall surrounding a drainage pipe. For Leslie, it’s a new planting area.

As we left the house yesterday I hugged Ramsey and we both told Mariko we would be seeing her famous buildings one day (as she has not only a creative mind but the determination to sell her visions/ideas.)

On the last two nights ‘Bek’ from New Zealand showed up. (She’ll be finishing the path — and came just in time … Bek had this great idea to use colored pieces for some detail work. It’ll look amazing once the finishing sand goes on.)

(Mariko, my German friend, I truly, truly enjoyed getting to know you and being the other half of our team. I know you are just as proud of the work we accomplished. CHEERS!!!)

More path detail (of the area we ‘finished off’ with polymeric sand.)

I love the path so much I had to take this one.

Funny…the ants like the path too…see that little mound of dirt by the middle of the picture — those guys took up shop! The audacity!!

Cascade Falls Regional Park: A Canadian ‘swimmin hole’

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Abbotsford, B.C., B.C. to Cascade Falls, Cascade Falls Regional Park B.C., joe fortes vancouver ca, the Sandbar restaurant Granville Island, Thrifty Foods quality fish Victoria B.C., Vancouver, View of Mount Baker from Abbotsford

Cascade Falls Regional Park (in Beautiful B.C.)

We worked very hard this morning so we decided we deserved a trip to the local swimming hole (about 32 minutes by car.)

It’s called Cascade Falls Regional Park (you just head north from the bed and breakfast in Clayburn).

As far as swimming holes go, the scenery is beyond spectacular. For the locals I talked to, this is the spot among all others they choose.

There she is …Mariko my German friend … not afraid of frigid water.

By Texas standards, the water was frigid cold. But my German friend was not swayed, and was determined to jump from the many perches into the crystal blue water. (I told her she was crazy and belonged to the polar bear club.)

So I did not go diving off big boulders singing COWWWWAAAAABBBBBUNNNGGGGAAAA.

In fact, I hung out on the rocky shore, laying on my beach towel, soaking in the sun, and taking pictures. (After schlepping granite earlier in the day, this is exactly what I needed.)

So as I’m HANGING, I get to talking to a group of locals and they find out I’m from Texas and spending my last days in Vancouver before I fly back home. (They said for fish at Granville Island — the Sandbar restaurant does it just right.)

Then they said for a Vancouver institution …  it’s Joe Fortes. (I dare you to look at their website and refrain from walking to your fridge. ha!)

As we talked about fish, I realized I hadn’t published my picture of fish from the grocery in Victoria.

This is just part of the seafood department inside the Thrifty Foods grocery store in Victoria, B.C. (Incredible!! And look at that pink, pink salmon. YUM!)

This piece of fish cost me only about $4 (Canadian). Back in the states, it would have cost at least $7 — I’m thinking Whole Foods would be the only place close with such quality.

Now, on the way back from Cascade Falls today we had to stop to take a picture of Mount Baker — because it seems like such an imposing figure over everything in these parts.

Mount Baker as seen from Abbotsford, B.C. Just spectacular!!

This map gives you an idea of how close we are to the American border and Mount Baker.

Locking in a design for the brick path

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Abbotsford, architecture student Germany, B.C., design for brick path, fun part of building brick path, spreading granite brick path

Mariko is a graduate of architecture school in Germany — and lucky for me — my partner in working on this brick path at the B&B. (How fabulous is she — putting together this sketch for the design.)

We got super excited today because we can see the end of the beginning — that is — we’ve extracted almost 90% of the earth that needs to go. We even started on the ‘fun part’ — the design part — which was quite a boost!!

While we still have dirt to remove (on one part) — we are also beginning to spread granite as the very base layer (at another part). (That’s Mariko at the end of the path.)

To give you an idea of how long this path is — we counted 30 trips to dump the wheelbarrow that we loaded with excavated dirt. (That was just today. In total, there have been about 60 trips. We figure we have 10 more trips tomorrow.)

This is my ‘work on paper’ today…I know, compared to Mariko’s, I clearly add no value lol!!! (And with the Perrier, you’d think I’d been on vacation in Ibiza lol!!)

Week ends with ‘Beautiful B.C.’ sunset

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Abbotsford, apple butter, apple crunch, apple harvest B.C., apple waldorf, B.C., building brick path B.C. Canada, Clayburn Village B&B, tasty cherry tomatoes, watermelon growing B.C.

Tonight there was a beautiful sunset best captured from the tree house at the Clayburn Village B&B (Abbotsford, B.C.).

The grounds of the Clayburn Village B&B where I’m staying (in THE COTTAGE). Every bit of the day something always going on — you have the guests who come from all over Canada and the United States — then you have the neighbors in the village stopping by to say hi and chat. (Plus, we usually eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together in the main house.)

I’m working on a brick path and in exchange I stay at The Cottage for FREE (meals included). We’ve excavated about eight inches of earth — all which we hauled away.

We are reusing old historic bricks from the village — and right now are trying to make sure we have enough pieces for our design.

If I need a little snack while working I just walk over to the cherry tomatoes…oh goodness they are tasty!!

You gotta remember to ‘stop and smell the roses.’

We are all awaiting the harvest of this ‘bad boy’ watermelon. Oh this is gonna be tasty.

The big problem here is what to do with the abundance of apples (so far, I’ve had the best apple crunch of my life — and Apple Waldorf. (Our host even pulled out a crock pot recipe for apple butter … next time I’ll show you how that turned out. YUM!!)

Clayburn Village B&B: In Fraser Valley, B.C.

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Abbotsford, B.C., Clayburn Village B&B, travel in Fraser Valley

Clayburn Village B&B, Fraser Valley, B.C. (This is my lovely home for the next three weeks.)

The entrance to the cottage at the Clayburn Village B&B (Abbotsford, Fraser Valley, B.C.)

About a week ago I landed in Vancouver — and just yesterday arrived at the B&B here in Clayburn Village (right outside Abbotsford, B.C.).

Right down the street from the B&B is a ‘sweet shop.’ (But they decided they would close up for Sept. … was super bummed about that.)

Too bad the ‘sweet shop’ is closed. I imagined myself sitting there drinking tea and reading a good book.

Side entrance to the ‘sweet shop.’

The ‘old church,’ which dates back to 1908, I believe.

How cute is this…take a fresh cut flower, or two, or three, and pay on the ‘honour’ system.

Way cute house (neighbors to the B&B).

I knew I would get an ‘old red barn’ in here somewhere 🙂

This village is old — 1905 – 2005

This is a zen garden at the B&B, right next to THE COTTAGE where I’m ‘hanging my hat.’