Wine Fest '08 went off with a BANG!

This year's wine festival was on fire! Seriously! Well.... okay... the fire was just on the beach at Tuc-el-nuit lake in Oliver but, still ...... good times!
First up: our campsite ---> wa-bam! We camped at the Lakeside Resort, pretty much right on the beach AND a short walk away from the zillionth annual Oliver Festival of the Grape!
Somehow, between all that grape-stomping, we found time to visit a few wineries. By the way, Burrowing Owl now has guest suites, a pool, hot tub, restaurant ... paradise essentially.

Damned good wine, too!

And Oliver has much to boast for restaurants (luckily)! We ate ridiculous amounts of pakora and lentil and raita and butter chicken and BC wine at the fab "Best of India" restaurant (the waiter begged me to bellydance, too, but I was just too full to oblige!).....

And, we adopted a new member of the crew! Not only does she fit right in but .... 1) she reads tarot (hello!), 2) she practices reflexology (ya!) and 3) speaks french fluently (that's it!)

We also found THIS guy at the festival but .... we're pretty sure we've seen him somewhere before.... !

Weather was gorgeous, fires were brilliant, wine was scrumptious (we've found a new love-in winery, by the way: Thornhaven! good luck finding their wines tho....)

Oliver is quite the gem, we've decided (as is this Grape Stompin' festival).

Exquisite scenery, great location, lovely weather, crisp wine and camping galore. Suits us fine.

Everyone who is reading this blog is officially invited to join us for the 2009 Festival of the Grape in Oliver next year. Must go practice drinking wine NOW in preparation for these festivities!

Some September

This post is dedicated to all you "ex-pat" Kelownans, working and studying abroad or away, and missing this year's spectacular Okanagan September!

First photos are at Summerhill Winery during it's third annual "Okanagan Organic Festival" (whoopee.... clunk.)

Everyone from the see-and-be-seen crowd attended!
Everyone was conscientious and green and smug and .... (be nice, Supertutor!!)....

There were two or three people under the age of 60 who attended (somehow)!

This whistful female below is probably plotting my murder for having brought her to this ridiculous event (sigh).....

Next up ---> the Music Nurse & Supertutor spend a photo-day in Kelowna's City Park! Ducks came along (uninvited!)

We took pix of all the cool & cosmopolitan fashions on the mean streets of K-town!

We caught this dangerous duo thru a window reflection.

For those who've been away from the city for awhile, you'll be amazed at how urban and slick it has become.

Somehow, homeless dudes don't make it look any less lovely, tho.....

Buster's Solo Flight

So, after many years of aerial abstinence, Buster got on a plane & visited! Serious celebrations ensued!! Outdoor dinners around the ol' picnic table....

... there was the "Shaggy Tarot" night .... equipped with candlelight, french music and fine wine....

There was the Naramata Wine Touring Day --- which started off with a quick stop to the Bench Artisan Deli for a purchase of road snacks (crackers, sundried tomato spread and lemon-marinated artichokes... yeegads!!)

Conversation below: "You know... Winnipeg isn't reeeeeeally as bad as you all say.... bla bla bla.... I actually haven't ever vacationed before without my husband and four lovely children .... bla bla bla.... cried my eyes out when I left them ... bla bla bla... can I get another pour of that yummy wine? ... bla bla bla... you can call me "Buster"... ha ha .... bla bla bla .... you know Winnipeg reeeeeally doesn't deserve the reputation it has .... bla bla bla.... " (repeat, at every winery!!)

Winery above is LaFrenz and winery below is Lang Vineyards (we also visited Red Rooster Winery), all overlooking lovely Okanagan Lake !

When wine touring got a little exhausting (poor us!)... we took a break at the Naramata Heritage Inn & Spa by having an aromatherapy steam!

It was pretty darned good, compared to all the other numerous spas that we so frequently visit!

We ended the day with an outdoor gourmet dinner at the Cobblestone Wine Bar and Restaurant.

Conversation below: "Should I have the lemon & beet risotto or the sorrel tagliatelle? And... should I follow it up with a $1500 bottle of wine...???"

Buster kept insisting that we hang out in little cafes, sipping passionfruit lemonade and catching up on the latest "goings on" in world news. I gave in periodically.....

We also found a few decent wines at Mt.Boucherie Winery ==> which may have been a contributing factor toward the revelry (translation: "party") on the last evening of Buster's visit.....

Notice the overly-full wine glasses below? Who the heck poured those??

Luckily, we danced off those extra wine calories....

Plus, there was a little bit of kung-fu fighting....

Last minute herb-picking (below), calmed Buster's nerves before she boarded the plane to rejoin her lovely family. Come again!! And bring everyone next time!!

The Long Overdue Post

Last year, at precisely this time of year (September), these lovely people came to visit us during peek 'herb harvest' time!

We spent long afternoons down at the creek, looking at plants & birds & things and, in the evening, we had veeeeeeery entertaining (and inspiring!) dinners around the picnic table!

I think, too, that four young gardeners were created during that visit!

This year, these gardeners have grown their own flowers and herbs and vegetables, back in Manigatoga.......

Holy crow --- the hops plant (at right, below) has grown about fifty times bigger this year!

This beautiful picture (below) inspired me to place a new little fairy sculpture on the path (because it looks like a REAL little fairy in the photo below!)

This is the fairy when she's been caught by a gremlin! (the gremlin happens, also, to have grown about fifty times bigger this year!)