We
finished loading everything up in Marg’s motor home – including the desk that
we cleaned out – and were on the road about 10.
As Terry was checking our rig after we hooked up, pulled in the slides
and drove off the leveling boards, he noticed that our spare tire was
gone!! The wind-up cable that secures
the tire was still all the way wound up so we have no idea how it came off or
where. I was very nervous about driving
without a spare so Terry agreed that we should see if we could get a new tire
in 100 Mile. Marg had a couple of
errands to run and ended up leaving town while we were still waiting for the
tire to be mounted on a rim. Of course,
we had a mag wheel on the spare just like the other tires and now have a plain
white rim. Marg & Aunt Jessie waited
for us at Hat Creek Ranch and then we followed them to a picnic area just out
of Lillooet for lunch.
There
wasn’t too much traffic on the Duffy Lake road but it is definitely winding
& hilly. I managed to get a picture
of the sign for a 13% grade but missed the sign for the 15% grade. We arrived at brother Bob’s farm in Pemberton
about 3:45, pulled in behind the root house and set up. Not long after, our brother Doug arrived from
Port McNeil on Vancouver Island and it was time for everyone to relax with a
drink. We were able to sit outside without too many mosquito bites.
Bob
is not a very good housekeeper so Aunt Jessie HAD to start cleaning while Marg
& I made dinner. We had just
finished eating when the minister, Dave, arrived for a meeting to discuss the
“Celebration of Life” for Dad. We all
decided that it would be very informal (and not religious) and had a hard time
trying to figure out Dave’s role. He
kept asking questions until we had a rough agenda. A good friend, Allan, was also there and will
give the eulogy so we had to help him with information and ended up with many
stories and actually lots of laughs.
June 7th – Fri
Bob
had eaten breakfast and fed his cows by the time we had coffee and headed to
the house. Marg waylaid us on the way
and asked if we would make her a cup of coffee while she got dressed. Aunt Jessie had eaten and was ready to start
cleaning again so after a bit I helped her clean the bathroom and part of the
kitchen. I put a big beef roast in the
crock pot for dinner.
We
had some shopping to do for the gathering
tomorrow so we, Marg & Aunt Jessie went to town in our truck and Doug rode
his bike – nearly 10 miles but it is all flat and he is used to a lot of
hills. We took a little detour through
some very nice houses on a hill above town, discovered that the liquor store
was not in the old spot and stopped at the hardware store to get a BBQ for
Bob. We found the liquor store and were
still figuring out what to buy when Doug joined us. Then we all traipsed over to the grocery
store and spent quite a bit of time getting what we needed there. It was 1:30 by now so we went to McDonalds
for lunch.
Back
at the farm we unloaded everything, Terry helped Bob put the BBQ together and I
loaded some music on the tablet before making gravy. Friends Toni & Micheal from 100 Mile
arrived with their little dog Poppy and we all sat outside to enjoy a drink. There are mosquitoes but luckily for me they
like other people better.
We
had a great dinner and others did the dishes – perfect again. Marg, Toni, Micheal, Jessie & Doug went
for a walk, Terry & Bob watched TV and I messed with the tablet before
joining a group in the house.
Showers
threatened this morning so Bob borrowed & set up a couple of pop-up
shelters just in case. We continued with
some cleaning, prepared plates of snacks and set up our picture boards. We had a late breakfast so we wouldn’t be too
hungry waiting until after the service to eat again. We just had time to change clothes before the
first people arrived when were still trying to get tables organized. The organized part of the afternoon was
supposed to start at 1:00 but it was a bit late as people were still arriving.
I
had a hard time recognizing people that I haven’t seen for anywhere from 10 to
30 years. Our Aunt Barbara Mitchell
arrived from Sardis with 2 of her sons – Russell and Andy (with his wife
Colleen). Another cousin Wayne Becker
and his wife Patti came from Chilliwack.
Our elementary school teacher (grade 1 for me) Norma Fraser also made a
long trip. Doug’s son Dennis, his wife
Nina and their 7 month old daughter Adele also came from Port McNeil. Marg’s
good friends Francis & Nicole came from 100 Mile and will stay overnight in
their camper. Marg managed a partial count and somewhere between 55 & 70
people were there to pay their respects.
The
weather co-operated and the sun broke through partway through the eulogy. Of course it was very emotional so it is a
good thing that Marg stocked up on Kleenex!
Lots
of people stuck around to eat the platters of food contributed by many
people. Naturally we provided a cooler
of beer and lots of wine. A few people
stuck around to join us for hamburgers for dinner cooked on Bob’s new BBQ.
June 9th – Sun
I
went to the house fairly early to get a rhubarb cake in the oven and then came
back to join Marg, Francis, Nicole, Terry & Toni for coffee. I decided to make breakfast burritos and Aunt
Jessie made a fruit salad for breakfast.
Toni & Micheal left for their trip home and we coordinated the rest
of “the group” for a drive up the valley to bury Dad’s ashes beside Mom in a
small cemetery. Nothing like the
informality of a small community!
At
the gravesite were us 4 “kids”; Terry; Dennis, Nina & Adele; Bob’s son
Trevor & girlfriend Sara; very good friends of Dad Don & Mary Millerd
who were unable to attend yesterday;
Francis & Nicole; and Aunt Jessie.
The cemetery custodian had marked the site boundaries with small stakes
and we actually buried the ashes and reset the headstone. He also allowed us to place one of Dad’s
metal flowers on the site as it could be removed and replaced easily for
mowing. This blog entry may seem a
little odd & morbid but although many tears were shed it was actually a
good ceremony.
Francis
& Nicole left for 100 Mile when we got back, Don & Mary came back with
us to visit and ended up staying for lunch.
They had to go back to their home in Horseshoe Bay today so left soon
after lunch. Terry, Marg & I made a
trip to town for some potatoes and also Cool Whip to go with the rhubarb
cake. We took the opportunity to take
down some of the posters that Bob put up in town. Doug took another ride on his bike, Aunt
Jessie had a well deserved nap and Bob worked on some farm equipment.
We
used up some leftovers to make Shepherd’s Pie for dinner and added a salad of
already mixed greens so it wasn’t too strenuous.
June 10th – Mon
The
remaining 6 of us showed up for breakfast about 8. We each did our own thing for the meal and
then started gathering up stuff that had to go with us and making sure that Bob
knew what was being left for him to use.
More tearful farewells – at least for Marg & I!! – and Terry & I
and Aunt Jessie pulled out at 9.
We
are taking Jessie home to Summerland and decided the best way with the 5th wheel would be back over the Duffy to Cache
Creek, then onto Hwy 5 just out of Kamloops, over the Connector from Merritt
and down Okanogan Lake to Summerland. We
stopped for diesel in Pemberton and dragged our bike rack on the steep slope
which put holes in our bike cover. We
had lunch in Cache Creek and got more fuel in Merritt. The 13% grades that we went down on Thursday
really sucked up the diesel today and we are trying very hard not to run our
tank so far down that we have to worry about where we will find a station.
We
arrived at Aunt Jessie’s at 4 and Terry backed into her downhill, side-ways
sloping driveway in one shot. It didn’t
take us long to set up and take our drinks inside to relax a bit. Aunt Jessie took her car to get a few
groceries and we went to find a car wash.
There were only a couple of basic, do-it-yourself washes so we just
stopped at A&W to pick up chicken for dinner. Yes, there is no Kentucky Fried here!!
After
eating, we all went for a walk around a long block with one uphill side. The weather was clear and the temperature
perfect. Aunt Jessie stopped to visit
with some neighbors while we continued on, put up the satellite dish and
plopped on the couch.
June 11th – Tues
Aunt
Jessie had been up for hours by the time we went inside with a cup of coffee
about 8:30. After a bite of breakfast, I
put in a load of laundry and Terry checked out the laundry tub which w are
going to replace. Then we went shopping
– first to the Home Hardware here in Summerland where there was a tub but it
was quite flimsy so we continued on to Penticton. We found a car wash to get most of the bugs
& dirt off the truck and then went to Home Hardware where they had a better
tub and taps and Aunt Jessie got some lawn fertilizer. We made another stop to get mushroom manure,
stopped at the grocery store back in Summerland and came home where I made
sandwiches for lunch.
Terry
didn’t have any problem putting in the new laundry tub – just the usual lack of
space to work behind it as it is sandwiched between the washer &
dryer. I finished the first load of
laundry and started another and then cut the old blooms off a lilac bush. Aunt Jessie was puttering around in the house
& garden so we spent some time in our rig watching TV and I wiped down a
lot of the woodwork.
My
cousin Kelly and his wife Sam joined us for dinner. Aunt Jessie made a pork roast and Yorkshire
pudding which was new for Terry – and very good. We chatted for a while after dinner so we
were all ready for bed when Kelly & Sam left around 9:30.
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