The Eternal Hunt for Firewood

Last week, while everyone in town was rushing all over hell's half acre bucking up logs and filling trailers with cords of wood, Jordie and I took the opportunity to go swimming in Kootenay Lake. We'd brought our wetsuits from the city, booties and all-how cold could it be? I'm never cold in the water in Tofino, even in the winter, with my wetsuit on. I got in the water, felt an icy drip of water down my back, and decided this would be more of a 'wading' day. Jordie went for a brave little swim. Ten strokes, more or less.

So proud.

Remember the community apple pressing day we had in Kaslo a couple months ago? The fruits of our labour turned into this single, shining bottle of apple cider. I thought it tasted just great the way it was, straight out of a giant jar, but Jordie insisted on putting it in something fancier, and also added some slices of apple to 'make it ferment more.' I didn't argue with him about secondary fermentation (he's the kombucha, beer and kefir expert at our house), but it was plenty boozy enough for me. Boozy enough that when my nephew asked if he could have some juice, I confidently told him I couldn't give him any. I'm still waiting to crack this puppy-will update you on how amazing it was next week.

Two Jordie pictures in a row-he's quite nice to look at with his shining cider and flowing locks.

Last week was also Remembrance Day, which in Kaslo means you go down to the Legion, march to the cenotaph a block away with the big crowd, observe the ceremony there, and then go back to the Legion for a ceremony and lunch. I was really impressed by the whole day. For the march, there was a man playing bagpipes (this always makes me emotional-it reminds me of my Grandpa Gidney's funeral service-he was a veteran), a couple of RCMP officers in uniform, several people in military uniforms, and Kaslo's Search and Rescue team in their uniforms too. As the cenotaph ceremony came to an end, the whole crowd that had gathered shared a minute of silence. There were numerous kids in the crowd, all quietly and patiently standing in the big circle of community members there to honour the veterans. Back at the Legion, the Ladies Auxiliary hosted a lovely lunch for the whole crowd (must have been about 150 people). I went over to one of the ladies to say thank you, ended up signing up to be a member of the Ladies Auxiliary, went to their meeting the next day, cleaned the Legion for two hours, and registered to volunteer for about 6 events between now and next Wednesday. These gals do a TON of community service work in this town, mostly feeding people, baking, cleaning up, fundraising, and putting all the money they make back into the community. And I think there are only about 5 of them (plus me-better put my apron on!) Actually, they gave me a specific apron to wear.

That same evening, I went to the Lantern Walk, which is a DARLING little event that involves a ton of kids, paper lanterns with candles in them, and walking around Kaslo at night in kind of a lit-up procession, everyone singing songs about light and lanterns (except me-I didn't know the words). Was there some kind of a practice for this? I must have missed the memo. As we did the loop of downtown Kaslo, I chatted with a few people, mostly about firewood, still not realizing the seriousness of this "getting your firewood before the snow comes" business. The moon appeared over the mountains, maybe trying a little too hard to make this the most poetic evening ever. And the kids chimed on, "la, la, la, la, la, lanterns, lights, la, la," or something like that.

Not a very impressive photo, but I was really excited about the first snow that stuck! Still blissfully unaware that those 20 pieces of firewood in the yard would not, in fact, last until the end of March.

We had Jordie's brother and his family come to visit for a few days, and made another trip out to that wild bowling alley up the lake (this is a Kasloism, meaning any place north of here). I introduced them to nutritional yeast. It was a great time!

Other things I don't want to forget:

1. The Kaslo Concert Society had a cellist/piano combo come to town, and they played a show at the United Church. I volunteered to man the tea station (your ticket to the show includes refreshments and tea/coffee at the break..score!) I found myself alone in the kitchen after the hoardes of hungry concert-goers went back into the sanctuary to listen to the second half. While I was cleaning up, the performers came into the kitchen and started plunking away (well, not "plunking"-they are world-class musicians), practicing. A private little concert just for me. I finished cleaning about an hour before the show ended, so I sat on the floor in the kitchen and listened to the music coming from the other room. I really had to pee (too much tea), but I was afraid the sound of the toilet flushing would not 'go well' with the classical tunes.

2. The Kaslo hospital had a "Health Fair" (now I've heard of everything), where they did a little showcase of the different health services available in town. It was great! And again, there was free coffee and baked goods. I looked around for the mammogram truck, but no dice. Maybe it's privately owned. I wasn't planning on getting a flu shot, but I basically walked right into the flu shot table, so I thought it couldn't hurt. They also had an instant HIV test thingy (just a little finger prick and then they tell you the results in 60 seconds) I thought, why not, I think these are recommended every year now, and then started seeing black spots after the nurse pricked my finger and then told me I was a "major bleeder." I had to lie down on the floor so I didn't pass out.

3. The United Church also had a women's clothing swap (these churches in town are real hotspots for community events!), and I totally cleaned up. New cardigans! New t-shirts! New backpack! Free coffee! Refreshments! Guys, get into clothing swaps. They're the best. I recommend getting the city of Kaslo to organize-maybe provide a light lunch.

A beautiful day down at the beach, collecting Oregon grapes. They are great in muffins if you don't mind a LOT of seeds. And they're sour, so you have to mix them with sweeter fruit. But they're free...just make sure you have a couple hours to separate them from their prickly leaves!

Ah, the difference between how I imagined this picture would turn out, and this picture in reality.

And now, the Kaslo history portion. You wouldn't believe how many of these photos, in the notes on the archive website, said something about the photo being taken after 'the fire' or 'the flood.' Did every town have a massive fire/flood combo that destroyed everything in the late 1800's? Think about it.

Ah, the Bluebelle. Best pesto potatoes around. Also home to my art show! In its 126 years (at least) on Front Street, this place has seen it all.

The Kootenaian Building today.

Just a casual gal, casually relaxing in a mossy forest. A really mossy forest.

And last on my list this week: the Langham. We went to see a documentary movie about a guy who paraglided over the Rockies. Tea, refreshments, yadda yadda. Just kidding-I never get sick of this. I also just got the keys the other day to my art studio (I'm on the third floor with a view of town...one of those little cute dormer windows). It's amazing. And also sometimes a bit of a sombre space, because right across the hall from my studio is a preserved Japanese-internment-era bedroom. You can't go in, but you can see all the luggage and clothing and stuff that the people interned there had. On the walls of the Langham, there are loads of photos of the residents who were held there against their will. Sometimes when I'm in the studio, I'm just working away on my art pieces, and then sometimes I stop and think how strange it is that my studio, which is about 100 square feet, was probably at one time a room that held several internees. And the other weird thing is that, because Kaslo has so many of the same buildings that were here during internment, the view out my studio window probably hasn't changed that much.

That's all for this time. Thanks for reading! Hi Jeremy!

Oops, forgot something. Finally found firewood! Three hundred bucks, dead standing larch and fir, split and delivered (this isn't necessarily a Kasloism, but I can't count the number of times I've heard the term 'dead standing' since I moved here...also, 'harvest'-don't even get me started on this word). Anyways, guess I've got some stacking to do!