RainDrops

catching the tiny magical moments of life

A bummer of a summer

Summer was a bit of a downer this year, as the threat of job loss has loomed large for me since July. We tried to make the most of the sun, though, with plenty of outdoor treats and visits and experiences.

  • Despite poor weather, my June craft fair went well: 7 dolls, 7 sock animals, and 1 sock snowman found homes this year.
  • We hosted a variety of lovely company in our backyard patio, including an extra special post-honeymoon visit from Becky and husband Nate!
  • We travelled to see family in Washington (for Shane’s mom’s 70th birthday) and Minnesota (for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary).
  • We made local visits to Cypress Mountain, Fort Langley, and the PNE Fair.
  • Tilly got practice meeting many new four-legged friends with visits to a “dog ranch” in south Richmond.
  • We remulched the big garden area in our front yard.

Now we’re preparing for a mid-October trip overseas to see figure skating in France and a play in London. We’d be happy to hear any travel advice you might have!

(Hopefully I will continue to survive in my job until then.)

Final friends for the fair

I finished four more sock dolls and three more dollies before returning to the Scandinavian craft fair in June. Here they are!

Polka the elephant
Locke the Sock Ness Monster
Meep and Mallow the Peep bunnies
Annabelle

Annabelle is an imaginative girl who is always pretending to be fun things, from a race car driver to a hungry bunny or grazing cow. And Annabelle loves birthdays! She keeps a detailed calendar of the dates for all her friends and can’t wait to write cards and wrap presents for everyone. Of course, Annabelle also enjoys birthdays because of the yummy CAKE. Chocolate is her favourite flavour—with lots of sprinkles please!

Karina

Karina is a super fashionable gal who enjoys dressing up both her human and dolly friends. She can help you pick out a great outfit for any occasion. Karina is a talented hair stylist as well. She can do all kinds of buns, braids, and fancy up-dos—although be warned she also thinks it’s funny to do up-don’ts! Karina also loves sundaes, suntanning, and scrambled eggs. She is just starting to learn square dancing.

June

June is an inspirational little lady who loves to do lots of healthy things like exercising, eating tasty salads, and even solving math equations! June also adores being outdoors, particularly in summertime. She enjoys picking plants to make flower crowns to wear. June is the perfect picnic companion. She’ll find a pretty location, pack a nutritious lunch, and amuse you with funny songs and stories about bears!

A summery winter wonderland

Our non-running adventure on our recent trip to Whistler was visiting the snow walls. In late spring / early summer, the resort clears a path near the top of Whistler Mountain along Pika’s Traverse so people can comfortably hike surrounded by snow.

With the unseasonably warm weather this year, we didn’t hit the peak (harhar) of the snow walls; they had melted quite a bit by the time we took the gondola up. They were still taller than us in several spots, though. And with the clear weather creating amazing landscape views all around, we had nothing to complain about (other than tired race legs)!

View on the ascent
Arriving on Whistler Mountain
Starting the snow wall hike
There’s Shane in the center
…and closer up
I did snow angels on the wall
View looking toward Blackcomb Mountain
The shade from the walls was welcome with such bright sun!
Although the path continued, our legs demanded we turn around here
Heading back down
Such spectacular scenery!
I could not stop taking pictures
It really was a perfect day for a hike
Although we were surprised how much more tiring (and slippery) it was going down
What a great rugged sharpness to these peaks
I made a mini snowman at the end of the trail
Then it was time to take the gondola down
But not without one last lovely overlook (ahh)
« Older posts

© 2025 RainDrops

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑