V.A. Olney - Art Work - For Sale

This West Coast Native artwork is by V.A. Olney. For a short time, inspired by love, he signed his work V+V Olney, for himself and his beloved Vi. This is one of the very rare V+V Olney pieces. Framed.
$100 each plus shipping.

Wolf

.

 Whale

Wolf Family

Music and Meditation

My dear friend, Chris Madsen has his own music studio in his home as he is a musician, and a writer of his own songs which he records.  Chris has several great CDs out.  I really love listening to him play his guitar.  He recently decided he wanted to have a Sanctuary in his home, a place for our Spiritual Group to go to meditate, a quiet place specifically dedicated.  He decided to make move all of his musical equipment and recording equipment down to a room in his basement and make his Music Studio into our Sanctuary.  He moved his classic Vox Amps, guitars, drums, all his various other instruments and recording equipment down the stairs into his new Music Room that he had created for this purpose.  He then set up a wonderful space with lots of electric candles, many cushions of all sizes for sitting on and leaning against, and one of his guitars so he can play us into and/or out of meditations.  It is so awesome!!!

Happy 100th Birthday, Smithers, BC

"In 1913 a new community was in design. Surveyors working for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad were laying out the streets that we in Smithers walk and drive upon today! January 1, 2013 we will begin our centennial celebration."

In 1913, John & Anna Lapadat, formerly of Romania, Oregon, Vancouver, moved to Smithers, BC. John, a brick layer by trade, had been hired to help build the Round House for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, thus the reason for moving to this new town. When the job was done, it was usual for John to pack up his family and move to the next job in the next town, but not this time.  This time the Lapadats decided to put down roots in the beautiful Bulkley Valley. This time, they decided to become farmers in the Smithers area.

As the years passed, John & Anna added to their family of 4 that had moved to Smithers.  The first child they had in this new home was a boy who was the first white boy, possibly the first white baby, born in Smithers, though a little girl was also born around that time and it is uncertain, at least to my knowledge, which was born first. This baby boy was named George Smithers Lapadat.

In 1923, already having several children, Anna gave birth to another girl, naming this one Annie.  This little girl was to grow up and marry a man named Jesse James (Jim) Price.  This little girl was to become the mother of 6 children, though sadly only raising 5 of them. This little girl was to see both of her parents and her first born son (second born child) buried in the Smithers Cemetery. 

In 1968, Annie & Jim, having sold their farm just west of Smithers, packed up the 4 children still living at home and moved south, to the small community of Mara, BC where they lived for 2 years before moving to Enderby where Jim's ashes are buried in the Enderby Cemetery and Annie, at 89 years young, still lives on her own in a nice little condo.

This post did not start out to be this long.... yet it flowed through the fingers on the keyboard.  It could be longer, so you can be grateful, haha.  Yes, this is the story of my roots.  I still have relatives that live in Smithers, 100 years after our grandparents settled there.  Sadly, my uncle, John Lapadat, passed away in January 2001, yet his loving wife Lois and 2 of their 4 children, Ron and Tony are still "Smithereens".

I hope to make it up to Smithers this summer, August 2nd to 10th, for the Centennial Celebration that is planned.  Since I have pets, it will depend on me having someone to care for them while I am gone. I don't know anyone there anymore, other than my relatives, yet it would be fun to go back again. Who knows, maybe someone I used to know will also go back, or someone I am supposed to meet will be there.  I know that if I am meant to be there, all will come into place and I will go. 

 The Sleeping Beauty atop the Kathlyn Glacier on the Hudson Bay Mountain, over looking the town of Smithers, and surrounding area, including the farm I was raised on.

Railway Station.  

My Dad worked here, for the Canadian National Railroad, 

so this building holds a lot of memories for me.

(Photos from Google Images)

I Got A Bike

On December 8th, just one week ago, I posted that I had looked at a 'new' motorcycle, a 1991 Yamaha Venture Royale that I felt was good in many ways, yet not for me.  I continued to look at Kijiji through all of BC, looking each day to see what new posts had been made selling motorcycles.  I was looking for the 'right and perfect' motorcycle for me to trike. I saw nothing on Kijiji that suited me or my needs, though in the past I have seen many that would have done very well.  A friend of mine heard about a 1987 Honda Goldwing or sale and it sounded like a good deal... until we saw it.  It was in fairly rough shape and had been sitting unstarted for 10 years. I may have been tempted to buy it if I could get it for a couple hundred dollars, but he was asking a lot more than that. By the sound of it we may have been able to talk him down to $800 to $1000, but with all that would need to be done on it, that was too much. Also, when I sat on it and held on to the handle bars I was leaning forward just enough that it would be impossible for me to ride as my back would be in such pain I would not be able to function.

Then I got a call from my friend Rozi. You see, the Yamaha I had looked at belonged to a friend of hers and she was trying to sell it for him. When she told him I had been over and looked at the bike, and that I was a friend of hers wanting to build a trike, he told her he would drop the already good price by $800.  I went back and looked at it again, and I bought it!  So now I own the bike which is still sitting outside at Rozi's place as there has been a LOT of snow falling in our area in that time and there is no way I can bring it home just now.  I don't think it will fit into the back of my truck for me to bring it home; I would need 2 or 3 strong men to help load it into the truck if I measured and found it would fit; my driveway is so steep and so snowed in that I'm not sure I could back the truck up the hill and into the front of the carport which is the only place I have to store the bike and my current trike is in the carport so there is no room for the new bigger motorcycle. Rozi has a carport and will let me put the motorcycle in there for the winter as soon as some other stuff is moved out of the carport.  I can park it beside her ex-boyfriend's Harley that is still sitting there.  I still will need to get a couple guys to come over and help move it as it is too big for me to move, too big for me to ride as a 2 wheeler since I can't touch the ground with my feet when sitting on it.  I think getting a couple friends to move it should be no problem.

This is what it looks like now.... I look forward to being able to show off photos of what it will look like when the work is done and it is converted to a trike.

My Guitar Story

I've been trying to clean my home and downsize on all the 'stuff' I have and don't use.  This is a monumental job!!!  One day recently, I was in the back room that used to be the master bedroom and is now just a junk storage room, and on the wall I noticed the acoustic guitar my cousin Vern gave to me one time when Mom, Dad & I went to visit Vern and his family.  Seeing it reminded me that when I was around 13 - 14 years old I wanted a guitar and lessons, so or Christmas that year, I got the guitar, a nice little acoustic perfect for a first time player, and over the next year or so I took lessons from one of our neighbors that was a music teacher.  I wasn't very good at it, but I did like to play my guitar.  A few years later, I got married and my husband would not allow me to play the guitar, though he did play it himself.  Yes, he was better at it than I was, but he would have had to learn at some point too, and it was MY guitar.  However, he was my husband and his word was my command.  Needless to say, the marriage did not last a long time as I was not happy being someones property, someones slave, doing as I was ordered.

Some time after the marriage ended, I met and fell in love with a base guitar player and we decided to move in together.  He was helping me move my stuff in his car from where I lived about 45 minutes away from where we were to live.  Since the car and trunk were full and when we stopped to visit Mom she gave me something else to take, he took some things out of the trunk, putting them on the ground, and rearranged the things, putting them back into the trunk.  Unfortunately, somehow the guitar (which he had never heard me play) got left on the ground instead of being put back into the trunk of the car, and as we backed out of my parent's driveway, there was an awful crunching sound.  Yes, my guitar had been run over and it, along with its case, were totally destroyed!!!  Though it saddened me to loose my instrument, I still loved him, we still lived together, and after a few months he ended our relationship.

It was many years later when we visited cousin Vern and his wife Helen, and hearing the story he gave me an old guitar they had kicking around their home.  I had carpel tunnel problems at that time, so was not able to play it and just hung it on the wall of my bedroom, thinking that some day I would take it up again.  I never have and doubt that I ever will.  Maybe I will give it away on Freecycle... it might make someone a nice Christmas gift!!

Today I am remembering this and sharing this story with you because I was surfing the net as I often do, and I ended up looking at a  cool Fender Blacktop at Musicians friend. Of course, it brought this all back into my mind and I decided to share it.  I sometimes wonder, if my husband had allowed me to continue playing my guitar, would I still be playing one now? Would I have gotten good at playing? There is no way I will ever know the answers to these or other questions I could ask, like "if he had allowed me to play the guitar, would he have not been so strict and controlling and therefor would we still be married".  He passed away in June of 1999, so I would now be a widow... or maybe had he lived differently he might have lived longer.  These are all "what came first, the chicken or the egg" questions.

My Heart is Singing a Song of Joy

My home is such a mess and I found out yesterday I am getting company for the weekend. A very dear, long time friend is coming to visit.  I am so blessed that he comes to see, not my home, yet I so want him to see this place clean and tidy for once, not the horrid mess it has become.  His home is always clean and fairly much organized.

I am still very weak from being so sick the last while, and still have the Sinusitis & Bronchitis, though am starting to improve.  I saw my doctor yesterday and he can hear noise in my left lung so sent me to have chest x-rays done today.  I have another 5 days on the antibiotics and sure hope all is well by then as I don't want to have a second round of these drugs.

I am so tired after 2 busy days on top of the illness, all I want to do is go to sleep, yet I know I can't yet.  I have dishes soaking in the sink and a load of laundry washing which I will have to hang up as my dryer is not working. I have so much work to do before Mark gets here tomorrow and I know that there is no way I can do everything I want to have done.

Meanwhile, my cat, Mewsic, is trying to get me to let her curl up on my chest, to just hold her and love her while she naps.... and one of my birds, my male cockatiel, Tiki, has been making a lot of noise.  All my birds are usually quiet or make low volume sounds, but occasionally the 'tiel does make loud noise.  Oh well, he's not as bad as a couple male 'tiels I used to have.  They sounded like they were using those mackie loudspeakers that some of my musician friends use. When a musician turns up the loudspeaker to better share his/her music with an audience it sounds great, you can dance and enjoy the music to the fullest. However, when a bird squawks that loud in a small, enclosed area it is not nearly as nice. I know if I took Tiki and his buddy Friday the Parrotlet out of the cage to play on me they would be happy and quiet right down, though at this moment I just don't have to time or energy to play with any of my wonderful animals.

Guess I will get to bed early tonight and get a good sleep, then up early tomorrow morning, crank the stereo up and listen to some good, energizing music while I work at cleaning this house.... until I get the call from Mark that he's on his way over.  He lives in the Kootenay area of BC, I live in the Okanagan Valley, so it's a few hours drive to get here.  Tonight he is at his daughter's home in town, just minutes from my home. I'm excited to see him tomorrow, as I always am. My Heart is Singing a Song of Joy

Canadian Coins

Canada used to have paper bills for $1 and $2 amounts, then with plans to save money,  the powers that be decided to replace these bills with coins that last longer than bills.

First brought out was the gold colored 1 dollar coin, nicknamed the Loonie for the waterfowl emblazoned one one side of it. The other side has an image of Queen Elizabeth II, as do all Canadian coins. The Loonie was released to the public June 30, 1987.

Wow, it is so hard to believe it has already been 25 years!!

 The Canadian 2 dollar coin, commonly called Toonie, was introduced on February 19, 1996. It is a bi-metal coin with the reverse side showing an image of a Polar Bear floating on an ice flow.

Recently I found I had a Toonie that was different than any I remember seeing before.  It has not just 1 Polar Bear, but 3 of them! A mother bear and 2 cubs.

I was very excited to find this coin and I set it aside in my wallet to save it.  I have a friend who is a coin collector so knows much about rare coins, uncirculated coins, valuable coins, etc., and if he does not have the information he has connections with people who can tell him what he needs to know.  One day I was talking to George at the funeral of a mutual friend of ours, and I took the opportunity to mention my coin to him.  He said it is a common coin, though I thought it would be a rare one.  I have kept my eyes open, checking all the Toonies I get, and yet have still not seen another one with the family on it.

Sadly, I lost my coin that I had planned to keep and to even turn into a necklace to wear around my neck each day. I hope I find my coin again, or another one like it.  I guess if that is meant to be, it will be.

Carfirmations

I have a very dear friend that is a very talented musician and likes to record albums of the songs he writes. So far as I know, he has a recording studio in his own home.  I don't know what kind of equipment he uses for this, but he may have gotten some Sennheiser studio headphones at musicians friend.  I have some of his CDs which I greatly enjoy listening to, and currently in the CD player in my truck I have one of his CDs which is called Carfirmations. On this CD he plays his guitar while saying many different positive and inspirational affirmations; he also signs some of the songs he wrote himself.  The reason this CD is named Carfirmations is that it is meant to be listened to in your vehicle while you drive. Another friend recently gave me this CD which I treasure.

BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 5 and final

I have been sharing photos I took of trikes at the Brother's of the Third Wheel (BTW) Trike-in this July.
BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 1
BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 2
BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 3
BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 4

These Trike-ins, or get togethers of members of this world wide triker organization, are a lot of fun.  We get to visit and to ride with other trike riders, to talk trikes and generally have fun. One of the things we do is to ride in a Poker Run.  Since ours is held in a town not far from where I live, I know the area very well which the others don't as they live further away in various parts of British Columbia and Alberta. The first time I went on this run with BTW I was new to the group and not yet a member of the club, so I was riding near the back of the group of trikes. We rode from Sicamous to Vernon on our way to Cherryville when the leader pulled into a gas station and had a talk with a few other members... then I was asked if I knew the way to the Gold Panner Cafe past Cherryville.  Of course I do, and I knew they were lost as they didn't take the 27th Street turn off the highway. I told them I knew the way, was asked if I would lead, said 'sure' and off we went.  This year, I am a member of BTW and I was asked to lead the entire route as the president of the BC Chapter couldn't get his trike started.  Since I was the leader I got to take them on a wee bit of a side trip, lol.  I took them to say HI to my Mom... not sure what the other old folks thought when all those trikes came into the condo complex, but a few came out to look.

I just realized that some of you likely already know the trike in some of these photos that I have not talked about, and some of you many not know about it.  This 1983 Yamaha 650 Maxim motorcycle trike is mine, a one of a kind trike converted from 2 wheels to 3 just for me.  Here are a couple other photos of it:

BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 4

I have been sharing photos I took of trikes at the Brother's of the Third Wheel (BTW) Trike-in this July.
BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 1
BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 2
BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 3

This trike has a motorcycle front end, though the motor is not in the motorcycle frame, it is in the back.

This is his steering dampner.  I have one on my trike too.  It stops the front wheel from going into wheel wobble which is a very dangerous thing to have happen when you are riding. Thankfully, mine only went into wheel wobbles at lower speeds, 40-60 kph, while some bikes do it at higher speeds. I sure am grateful I now have a dampner in place.

Brothers of the Third Wheel

BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 3

Did you see the photos in BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 1 and BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 2? Here are some more for you to enjoy:

Many trikes are made using the running gear of the old Volks Wagon car, engine in the back.  I believe the photos here are of VW Trikes.

Here is a closer look at the flag he flies on the back of his trike:

Brothers of the Third Wheel

BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 2

In an earlier post, BTW Trike-in 2012 ... Part 1, I shared some photos of some 2 of the trikes at this year's Brother's of the Third Wheel (BTW) Trike-in.  Here are some more: 

3-Wheelers.com tells us some about this beautiful and rare vehicle: 
The Trihawk was first manufactured in 1982 by Design Lab, Inc. at a facility in Mokena, Illinois. After completing a preproduction run of 10-12 units, manufacturing and sales were moved to a new facility in Dana Point, California under the new moniker of Hawk Vehicles, Inc. where full production began in 1983. Production ceased at the end of 1985, after company interests were purchased by Harley Davidson. Between 90 and 100 units were produced.

If you would like to read more check out their Trihawk page, and  When Hawgs Could Fly: The Harley-Davidson Tri-Hawk.

I forget how many of these Jerry said came into Canada, but I know it wasn't many.  I think he said this is one of just two that are still in Canada.... or something like that.