Kaslo - SS Moyie

Kaslo -SS Moyie

Today for our Sunday adventure we went to the small town of Kaslo about an hour NE of Nelson to see the SS Moyie. The Moyie was launched in 1898 and is the world's oldest intact passenger stern wheeler. It was quite interesting to imagine the ship's passengers traveling down Kootenay Lake. The Moyie connected rail passengers from Kootenay landing (near Creston) to Nelson. www.klhs.bc.ca/home.htm

Sinixt Barter Fair & Class BBQ

Sinixt-Kevin's BBQ

We went to the Sinixt Barter Fair about 30 minutes outside of Nelson in the Slocan Valley. Evidently the Canadian Government no longer recognizes them as a nation, I guess 2000 members isn't enough. The fair was full of organic-this and organic-that. We ate a bison burger and washed it down with a frozen raspberry juice. After the fair we went to my instructor's place, which was an old Doukhobor homestead. We played a bit in his shop and had a BBQ around a camp fire.

Drawing 101

Ok here are my attempts at drawing for drawing class.

Hippies Use Side Door

Sandon, BC.

Sandon - BC

Sunday, another local exploration day. We headed out first thing this morning with two classmates of Erick's. Our destination was Sandon, a ghost town located about an hour and a half north of Nelson. The weather was perfect, with the sun shining as we picked our way through old mining sites. There is a lot of history in this area, with dilapidated shacks and remnants of old machinery lurking around nearly every switchback.
Our experience was not limited to man-made things. We also saw animals, such as chipmunks, deer, and an extremely large dead rat. However, on our way back to Nelson we sighted a rather unusual bird standing by the roadside. There, in all its hideous glory, was a wild turkey. Totally unexpected. And unfortunately, totally not photographed. Please peruse the album for a visual record of our adventure. And yes, the fresh snow on the mountains did seem like it was close enough to touch. As you will see, the whole day was pretty darn fabulous.
www.slocanlake.com/sandon/

Smith'n'stuff

Smith'n'stuff

Michelle's Nelson Reading List

Douglas Coupland: never read him before, his books are so easy to devour in one sitting
All Families Are Psychotic
Hey Nostradamus!
Eleanor Rigby

Roddy Doyle: he's kind of like an Irish Coupland, very amusing and depressing all at the same time
A Star Called Henry
Paula Spencer

Edwidge Danticat: a little woo woo for my taste
The Farming of Bones

Neil Gaiman: like science fiction without being too geeky
American Gods

Alai (yes, just one name): if you've ever wondered what the life of a Tibetan chieftan was like, here's the book for you
Red Poppies

Sheri Reynolds: a very lovable main character, warts and all
A Gracious Plenty

I haven't had a public library card for years and I must say it is so enjoyable. Unlike when I'm buying books, I don't have to choose the epic length ones in order to get my money's worth.

Michelle's Weekend

Okay folks, I know our blog has been a bit neglected. My excuse is that I was busy with a workshop this past weekend. I spent Friday evening and all day Saturday and Sunday at an event hosted by Kootenay Restorative Justice. I traveled to picturesque Slocan, located in the beautiful Slocan Valley. It is only about an hour from our home in Nelson, and is a very peaceful and soothing drive.

This is where I spent the weekend, G. E. Graham Community School. The workshop was officially a Restorative/Community Justice Forum Facilitator training course. I will be receiving a certificate of participation soon, and after I have observed, co-facilitated, and facilitated at least 5 forums, I can apply for certification. Community Justice Forums (CJFs) are used all across the province and the country and can be used to deal with minor incidents involving vandalism all the way up to assaults. The trainer, Kay Medland, is based in Trail, where CJFs involving young offenders are conducted. CJFs can be used as an alternative to the traditional court system.
The model we were using is based on restorative justice (RJ) principles. For those of you who have not been indoctrinated by me, RJ views crime as a harm that is done to both victims and communities. Therefore, to repair the harm, offenders, victims, and communities must all work together. The aim of RJ is to hold offenders accountable for their actions while supporting victims and allowing offenders to make amends for their behaviour. Key to RJ is Braithwaite's theory of reintegrative shaming, that using shame to condemn an individual's actions while still offering support to the person will allow him to rejoin society instead of being excluded. That's it in a nutshell, I could go on much longer, but then I would have to charge you.
The content of the workshop was review for me, but it was a good opportunity to participate in some roleplays and meet new people. I stayed at the Lemon Creek Lodge on Friday night, and I would recommend it to anyone heading this way for an adventure. The restaurant is great and the beds are super comfortable.

Here is Erick's neglected garden. He waters, nurtures, fawns and tends with great love and care.

A mouse in our house!

Aside from the occasional spider, we were under the impression that our home was unoccupied when we moved in. However, as old houses are prone to have, there was a resident rodent who was just waiting to make our acquaintance. It must have been torture for him as he waited to raid our junk food cupboard with nervous anticipation. What a smorgasbord awaited him there! While we explored our new town, the mouse was busy at work. He gorged himself on potato chips, chocolate from Denman Island (that will teach Michelle to wait to enjoy a treat!), and finished off the feast with some healthy wraps. To add insult to injury, he managed to eat all the peanut butter off the traps left for him, going so far as to set one off without getting caught. The traps were reset with good old fashioned cheese, which ultimately did the trick. We're pretty sure we're the only ones living in the suite right now, and hopefully it stays that way.

The Spawning of the Salmon

We have decided that Sunday will be local exploration day. Today we set out for Kokanee Creek Park, which is only about 15 minutes from our house by car. It is on the north shore of Kootenay Lake and is home to the Kokanee salmon run. The Welcome Wagon lady, Edna, told Michelle about it when she visited last week. Unlike their coastal counterparts, the Kokanee salmon are unique in that they are landlocked. The salmon run channel was built 25 years ago in order to increase the salmon stock in the lake. Kootenay Lake has a sports fishing industry, and local flood control efforts had devastated the run. The artificial channel has succeeded in increasing the stock, and upwards of half a million salmon hatch every year. It is certainly a sight to behold, with all the crimson fish pushing upstream with all their might. They swim past fellow salmon who have given up the fight and have lost their dramatic colouring. Some areas of the creek are just a solid mass of squirming blood-red backs. Erick refers to these areas as salmon orgies; Michelle considers them to be eddies where the salmon are merely resting.

Tram Ride

We took a vintage tram ride along the Kootenay Lake waterfront complete with a run through the Wal-Mart parking lot!






Here is the shop that Erick managed to get my belt buckles into, it is owned by Michelle's cousin. Hopefully some will sell...

Nelson Road Kings

The Nelson Road Kings had a fairly large car show this weekend complete with burnout and flame shooting contest. The burnout was held on Friday night at the Nelson airstrip. The fire department, ambulance service and a slew of redneck teens turned out for the event. We left after a half dozen cars and missed the flame-show.









On Saturday the show and shine proceeded with Baker Street full of hundreds of amazing cars.

The Move

Erick and his dad drove up in Bob's Trooper towing Erick's little Subaru. The trip was very slow and very HOT! After 10 hours on the road they made it to Nelson, unloaded all the loot, went to bed and did the trip home in 8 hours.

Week One

We arrived in Nelson last Thursday evening after an uneventful road-trip. Our first weekend was spent in the heady environment of garage sales and thrift stores. We were in pursuit of the perfect couch to complete our cavernous living room. We found it in a Biltmore Chesterfield, which meandered its way across the country from Quebec starting sometime in the early '50s. Erick swears that it's brown; Michelle's more inclined to call it puce. We think house guests are needed to settle this debate. Thanks to Nicole's purchase of one of Erick's buckles, the purchase price was 88 cents. What a deal!





We have a small neglected vegetable patch outside our kitchen window with a few varieties of tomatoes, green peppers, pickle cukes, corn, carrots, broccoli, lettuce and some sort of bean. Erick has started to nurture it in the hopes to get a meager harvest. The first crop was a single yellow tomato, a small cucumber, green pepper and a midget carrot. We also have an overgrown grape vine out back!