New Addition to the Family

Her name is Peerless Gem and she's new around these here parts. It took 18 hours to get this paper cutter settled in from Calgary to Fernie and lots of hours discussing how we're going to take this 1000 lb, 100 year old paper cutter off the back of Rod's truck.

We woke up Sunday morning to this outside our window and kinda wanted to cry...


Rod and I looked at each other absolutely baffled and confused.

"HUN!"

Finally, we called a few strong bulls over to work with us as a team. It worked flawlessly, other than the 30 minutes where we couldn't find one of the wheels that Rod had mysteriously put down somewhere. We found it though, sneaky Rod!

And that's when the real excitement began. I've never seen twenty-something year olds SO excited about a paper cutter. It was like Christmas for them and all they were doing was cutting a phone book into many many pieces and then cheering...like a dog with newspaper.

OHHH I did loved their excitement! It made all the stress worth it. It's a fairly rusty machine at the moment but I'll be putting in some elbow grease time to transform it from a 1910 to a 2010 model. People will see it and be like "ohhh is that a new Peerless Gem? I didn't think they were making them anymore"

And I will smile inside.

Snowshoe Adventure to Island Lake Lodge

On Friday afternoon Marie invited me on her planned snowshoe excursion with her friends. For them it's just another day, going to work at Island Lake Lodge, but for me it was an ADVENTURE.

The 2 hour trip from the Mt Fernie Provincial Park parking lot to Island Lake Lodge, approximately 9 km, was fairly easy going for the first kilometer but the 2nd half was straight uphill. I haven't keeled over in pain like that since they forced us to do long distance running in high school. The pain didn't stop me though. It was like a personal goal to be able to make it to the top...and I did. Thank you. Thank you!

The group I went with were all fun and easy going, which made showing up in jeans and no mittens or poles or snow gear a non issue (i'm pretty sure)...as I am not an experienced backcountry girl...or even a winter girl, mind you. Once we got to the lodge we enjoyed a few sips of tea, slice of watermelon and raisin bread and I was soon whisked away in a huge red snowcat back to the parking lot. I left all the girls behind to start their shift, including Chinook, and got a ride home where I went back to work. Like it never happened! But it did and it was fun. Thanks, Marie!

Putting it out there: Prestige Tours

Moving to Fernie has opened a few doors for me, including a few new clients, and one of them is a snowmobile tours company. They promised me a free tour in the spring...so I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

This isn't a typical Brina design but sometimes you gotta do what the client wants...and the client wanted excitement for snowmobiling..so I tried!



If you're in the Fernie area and you're looking for a new adventure on a powerful machine that rips through the rocky mountain backcountry...Prestige Tours can show you a good time.

We are in the future!

And the future is all about video conferences!

This past Friday Albertine and I had our first experience of video conferencing (via Skype) for two meetings. I can't tell you how great it was to be able to sit in on meetings again...from Fernie! I felt a little bit like I was a fly on the wall, but at the same time, I was useful fly who could answer questions.

This was my view of our meeting with Lindsay and Harry. What a success!

What I have learned in Fernie...

7. How to be "bear aware":
• when out for a nice deep in the forest walk, make noise so you don't startle a bear, bring bear mace and bring a big and strong friend.
• when you approach a bear, talk calmly to it, do not turn and run (you will be chased,) do not climb a tree (they love climbing trees too,) try very hard not to hug and cuddle one of those adorable little cubs, puff up and make it look like you're bigger than you are, and in the unlikely chance that they attack, fight back with all your might.
• don't leave your food lying around to attract unwanted attention, try not to put on lotions that smell like berries or snacks
• it's good to remember bears are not to be feared, especially since they sense fear, but are to be respected as a survivor and an important part of our environment. Respect the bear.


8. Working ALL day at a desk isn't cool.
Now this may seem like common sense to most, but I really do enjoy my job and working at a computer is what I've been doing for many years...but since moving to Fernie, I have been surrounded by people doing jobs that involve no computer at all. WEIRD.Such as: carpenters, tilers, rafting guides, snowmobile guides, ski patrol, ski instructors, servers, landscapers, mr plows and so on and so on.

I still think I'm pretty cool.

9. The Fernie Mogul Smoker
A tradition held annually at the beginning of each winter to appease the snow gods and Griz (Griz is the legendary mountain man responsible for Fernie's incredible powder), the Mogul Smoker kicks off the ski season, Fernie-style.

A fire is lit and fueled by sacrificed skis and snowboards. People dress up, dance and proceed to party all night long.

http://www.mogulsmoker.ca/

Here are the listed Rules on their website:

• Bring 2 pieces of ID, You're in North America Eh!
• Shuttle service only to grounds.
• No BYO Alcohol
• No Glass
• No Fighting
• Bring good vibes. With each negative complaint stated out loud, you will receive one less powder day this season (the Griz hears all.)
• Dress Warm, it can be cold
• The fire can get pretty hot, watch your clothes
  

What I have learned in Fernie...

4. While driving along Highway 3 I noticed these strange electrical poles set up RIGHT beside an electrical pole with a big flat board at the top. This made no sense to my brain and then 2 miles down the road I saw another one with a huge nest on top. Rod then explained to me that the Hydro company sets up these poles because Eagles and Ospreys tend to build nests at the top of the electrical poles (they're so tall with 5 star views,) which makes it either hard to do repairs or is just a risk to the Eagles, so they give them a pole of their own. I thought that was really cool. Picture taken from this website.



5. Online Shopping. Although I haven't actually done this yet, when you're in Fernie, this is how most people do their shopping. The stores in Fernie are smaller and limited in stock so getting over a fear of online shopping is almost essential. The closest city is Cranbrook, an hour West, and Lethbridge, 2 hours East, which have way more options...if you can get there. This also means that every time you do go to Cranbrook, Lethbridge or Calgary, you tend to have a list of places you need to go to, so be prepared before you get on the road. Time is precious!!


6. Fernie, a town of 2,000 to 4,000 (depending on the time of year) has birthed a few names you may have heard of. Here are two Fernie celebrities...

Emily Brydon, much loved by everyone in Fernie, is on the Canadian Alpine Ski Team and a World Cup Bronze medalist. (photo from ourfernie.com)


Alex Lifeson, born in Fernie, was a guitartist for a little rock band called Rush.

What I have learned in Fernie...

1. There is this thing called the 20cm rule. If it snows 20cm over night, everybody gets the day off...to play at the hill. YEAH. This is real. In Fernie there are some companies don't enforce this snow law but there are some towns that literally do shut down following a good dump.

2. 0° is not cold. In Vancouver 0° is as cold as it gets and at this temperature everyone is bundled up like they're in Alaska IF they leave their home. At the same time, Fernie doesn't get as cold as Alaska either but I have to look forward to lots of snow and -20°. Hooray!

3. Just 40 minutes from Fernie there is a very interesting little town called Frank. On April 29th, 1903, 90 million tons of rocks fell from Turtle mountain burying the little town of Frank and the people in it. The aftermath is still on the ground today. It's a little morbid but they've managed to make a friendly little theme park out of it. Tragedy preserved.

* photo by Gary Hebert in 2006

pack, drive, unpack

We did it! I am now settled in Fernie, B.C, or as settled as you can be in 2 days, and I'm just starting to breathe a little and look around me. It's so beautiful here. Today I'll tell my moving story in pictures...

1. Packing. Thanks, Dana and Rod!! We're a good team.


2. The loading. For the first 6 hours, of the 15 hour road trip, we were terrified that the truck will tip over. After 6 stops at the side of the highway in the first 7 km, we decided to get the plastic wrap out and secure the tarp like real shippers would. Rod is so smart.


3. Driving across British Columbia. No problems at all, other than a terrible accident that happened just outside of Invermere, which had us sitting at the side of the road for almost an hour. That's not so much a problem for us as for the people involved in the accident. In the picture to the right you can see the shadow of our questionably loaded truck.


4. Unpacking. I basically unpacked the whole trailer and truck on my own. I am a MACHINE!


5. Living in Fernie. Chopping wood, gorgeous sun sets, photographing Fernie and working in my new fabulous office...

CH-CH-Changes

As the seasons change, so do the Days of our Lives at General Hospital...and by "change" I mean BIG changes. I, Brina L Schenk, am at this moment spending my last residential work day in Vancouver, BC. Starting Monday I will be working from my home in Fernie, BC. What impact does this have on you? Well, other than the fact that I won't be physically attending meetings (we're hoping for video conferencing though! FUN,) not much. I'll still be working full time on Blue Skies and Daisies and continuously creating cool and creative wedding stationery for those who want it. Blue Skies and Daisies will be the Blue Skies and Daisies we've always been; loving our jobs and moving full steam ahead.

What this means for Albertine and I is: less coffee dates, less hugging and more phone calls. Awe, that's sad. I'll be visiting Vancouver often to help out with production and give Albertine the support a co-owner needs, plus, I might need to get out of Fernie every so often to postpone my insanity.

What does this mean for Brina? This means I'll be living with my manfriend, Mr. Rodney Brink, who has been enduring a long distance relationship with me from it's inception (almost 2 years), I'll be living in a small mountain town (population 5000,) and getting used to snow again. It's gonna be great!

Teen's back: Did you miss me?

Blog Buddies!! It's Teenie here and as much as Beans been doing an awesome job maintaining our blog (sorry for the lack of participation, buddy), I think it's time to write my essay on "What I did during my summer break".

And BOY was it ever the best summer ever!

I don't really know how these past months transpired, but with the perfect timing of friends and family visits, mini-excursions and a long overdue trip back home, somehow I was able to relive those summers past. When life during the summer months meant my only responsibility was to keep myself busy and spend my disposable income until school started again. Man, those were the days.

So! Without further ado...

What I Did During My Summer Break (by teenie)

1. Luigi, Julie and little Adrienne visit!
Life was ho-humming a long just nicely, working away in our new (old) office digs, since we just moved back to our respective homes. Beans and I met up a few days in each week to talk about things (in person) and eat a meal...all good things. And then BOOM! My brother, his partner and their baby girl arrive to Vancouver for their annual trip out west. This is their 3rd annual trip in the last 4 years (they missed last year) and having them around was both fun and exhausting but more than anything, it felt really wonderful to have family close by.


The best part of their vacation was that I was the special person who was invited to take the place of a set of friends from NYC who didn't end up making the trip out West. What does this mean? WELL...Benny and I were invited to use the extra two tickets to see the Cirque du Soleil with the whole family (AWESOME!) and I got to join their trip to the Okanagan for five days, to taste wine, eat yummy food and pretty much live a life of leisure that I don't think I would ever be able to experience otherwise. Thank you to my family from Toronto, the family in Hong Kong & Shanghai and the family in Vancouver for allowing me to have the best start to the summer ever!



2. FERNIE, BC
I'll keep this part short and sweet because Beans did an awesome post already about how fantastic, fun and fancy free our trip was to Fernie, BC. Let me just note to all those out there who haven't explored our BC: DO IT. Not only was it so very beautiful driving through and across our province, but this little sleepy (and not so sleepy) valley town, nestled in the middle of the Rocky Mountain Trench is so beautiful and quaint and precious and fun! Brina and Rod were the perfect hosts, keeping us more than busy showing us around the town, planning summer activities and introducing us to some very fantastic people.

Next up: Winter in Fernie!!


3. A New Nephew, Parents Visit, Goodbye to Papa
As our funny universe is, with all good things in life we are balanced with the opposite. My brother (who is my remaining family left in the city) and his partner, Karen, welcomed a brand new edition to their family on July27th (see entry below). Braxton is beautiful and huge and has a full head of hair and a scowl just like his Dad. He's amazing and I feel so blessed to have my neice (his older sister) and nephew close by to share and participate in their life.


But like I said, the universe loves to balance and teach us things, doesn't it? As it was such a happy time for our family, we also had mixed feelings of sadness and anxiousness, as our Papa, my stepfather's dad, was sick in the hospital. We all thought that he was going to get better I mean, he was always a little spitfire of a man, strong and robust, he lived life with gusto from the time I met him. Sadly, on August 17th, Papa said his goodbyes and left this world for something better.

4. Toronto, ON
In between all this family happenings, I was able to finally make a trip back home to see the other half of my family who I haven't seen in over two years. Two years! There's a nephew I had yet to meet and win over for the first time ever! The trip was perfect and exactly the kind of family love injection I needed. I met up with my old buddies who I haven't seen in a while, spent a lot of quality time with my two nephews and nieces (sidebar: Lucas, my nephew in Toronto, started his first day of school ever the same day Brody did! BFFS!) and of course, made sure that I got lots of time in with my parents. I was even able to convince (twisting her rubber arm) my sister to fly up from New York for a weekend so that we can all go to the African Lion Safari. One word: FUUUUUUUUN!!!

Sigh. Family rules.

5. One more visit to round out the summer nicely
I've been back for a few weeks now, same as Beans, and it's definitely been challenging to get back to normal pre-summer life. Making things harder is our last out of town visitors hailing from London, UK.

Two very fantastic and close friends of mine are back in the city to spend their quality time with family and catch up with us friends. They've been busy and exhausted from travelling back and forth from the burbs, making it tricky for all of us to meet up, but we were able to squeeze a few visits in, including a full day out in False Creek for a kayaking excursion. This was my first time on a kayak and even though my arms a still a little sore from the memory of paddling against the current and wind, I had the best time out there! If I had more space in my apartment, I'd buy my own kayak and go out and do it every weekend. Fun! Fun! Fun!

(this is actually a photo from the vaults because we haven't really taken any photos this trip!)

They're leaving tomorrow for Seattle, which is where they're going to fly back home from. I'm hoping to get one more visit in with them before they leave, since their visit really marks the end of summer.

You know, if they just STAYED then summer would technically never end....

:)

So...what did YOU do for your summer?

I just had to share these photos...

These 2 photos are from my trip to Fernie that I just had to post. They are A. hilarious and B. hilarious.

The first is Rod and I (my bathing suit is not the most flattering) and the second is Rod's brother Steve and Mrs Jen Brink. Good times. These photos bring a smile to my face.

A Brief So Long

Fernie, British Columbia

Tomorrow I head out for Ontario for 7 days, where, hopefully - cross - my - fingers - hooray, I'll meet up with Albertine who is visiting her family for a couple weeks. I'll be saying "so long" to Fernie for a little while and "so long" to the blog for a week. I have been enjoying my morning blog these past few months but once I'm back in Vancouver, it will all be back to normal...as normal as normal can be.

My brother Trevor is getting married Friday night (I'm so excited,) and my good friends Layla, Linda, Lisa and Laura are all turning 30 on the 11th (I'm so excited,) plus, I'll have family and old friends to catch up with and some good home cooked meals to devour. I hope you enjoy the next week. If you need us, just email info@blueskiesanddaisies.com and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

To sign off, Ill leave you with this daily quote:

"Wherever you live is your temple if you treat it like one."

the highly anticipated photos

We did it!! I have our mini vacation photos nicely organized and instead of 1 photo per day, you get 3!! Hooray for you.

So to begin the trip, we have the road trip on Friday from Vancouver to Fernie, BC. It's supposed to be a 12 hour drive but ended up being a 16 hour adventure for 3.

The Okanagan Vineyards

Everything was going quite smoothly until some strange metal piece FLEW off our car. After a few cars drove over the run away part, we picked it up and tried to pretend we knew what we were doing and place it back where it was supposed to go. Without it we would be driving a loud bad ass Rav4 for 8 hours. We're not very bad ass.

Ben was the one who got it temp fixed so we could get to Rod's place before sunrise. Way to go Mr. Krich!!

Ben taping the Rav back together

On Saturday, our first mini mini trip was to Lake Kookanusa where we found our own private camp site with our own private Jamaican sand beach. We felt really special. In between patting ourselves on the back, we managed to relax, play FrizKnock in the water, speak Science by the fire and cook hot dogs.

Teenie and Ben enjoying the view

FrizKnock in the water and our fire

On Sunday we enjoyed more camping fun times.

Teenie and Ben floating.

Rod enjoying his new hammock

But the fun didn't end there. Monday consisted of White Water Rafting (thanks to Jared of Mountain High Rafting in Fernie), frizbee golf and hanging out in Fernie. We didn't end up getting rafting pictures...which is a shame because that was AMAZING.

Ben gracefully riding Brandon's mini bike.

Good form, Brina!

Tuesday was another day of new discoveries and brilliance. We all slept in (finally) and did a bit of shopping in town while Rod put a few hours in. When we all got together in the afternoon, Rod, Ben and some friends did a quick mountain bike ride in the backyard...but first you have to take the truck the mountain...and then the girls have to take the truck down to the house...and the mountain is STEEP...and I've never driven Rod's truck before. We didn't scream once!!

The boys all suited up for their meeting with destiny.

We prepared our sweaty feet for the ride down.

And Wednesday was the saddest day of all. It was packing and spend time in Cranbrook day. SIGH. All good things must come to an end. But we didn't waste any time, even near the end. We managed to witness an amazing waterfall in Marysville and then buy apple strudel in Kimberley. When Rod and I were driving back to Fernie we encountered a super bright rainbow to lead us all the way home. Anyone know how rainbows form? I think I might do a little research.

The waterfall of greatness.

Rainbow of greatness.