It's just life in the Puddle: 2014

Friday, November 14, 2014

The History of Agnus McVee


1871 Lodge Agnus McVee Diner is where Sean and I are having our 10th Anniversary Celebration Dinner

Agnus McVee was a Canadian serial killer. McVee ran a hotel and store at 108 Mile House

on the Cariboo Wagon Road from 1875 to 1885 during the Cariboo Gold Rush. Along

with her husband Jim McVee and her son-in-law Al Riley, she is said to have killed many

miners for their gold and kidnapped women for sale to miners as white slaves.

The story has achieved local prominence, but documentary evidence is absent.

Agnus McVee

The story goes that a miner, Jim MacDonald, wished to buy a young girl from the

McVees. Agnus agreed to sell MacDonald a seventeen-year-old girl.The next

morning Jim McVee followed MacDonald down the Cariboo Wagon Road.

McVee murdered MacDonald and took all his money. The next morning, Agnus

McVee poisoned her husband in retaliation for this murder. The girl, however, was able

to escape and to identify Jim McVee to the North West Mounted Police. Upon

investigation, the police found McVee, Al Riley (her brother-in-law), Jim McVee's body,

and eight young girls in the basement of the McVee's hotel.

Upon investigation, the police found McVee, Al Riley (her brother-in-law), Jim McVee's

body, and eight young girls in the basement of the McVee's hotel. The police arrested

McVee and Riley and the pair were taken to Fort Kamloops. They were charged and

convicted of murder and kidnapping. They were than transported to New Westminster

and incarcerated in the New Westminster jail. McVee committed suicide in 1885 while in

the jail by swallowing poison. Riley was hanged shortly after.

Friday, September 5, 2014

We tried to make this last of the summer vacation a memorable one. I was getting tired of the same summer vacation every year. It reminded me of the vacations we had growing up. This year I wanted to do something different. This was most likely the last summer holiday I would have with Mike (Sorry Kels - you didn't get to come). We had a great holiday earlier in the year by going to Disneyland, but there is something to be said about enjoying your own Province. So with that in mind, we decided we would travel through to the Kootenays. I kinda wanted to celebrate my Grandpa's 100th B-day (he passed away 3 years ago) by visiting some of the places I went with him when I was a kid. I also wanted to go to The Hot Springs that we went to to celebrate Grandpa's 90th Birthday. All though I didn't get to go to as many places as I wanted to, it was a great trip. Our first stop was in Salmon Arm.

We camped at Sandy Point Campground. We had camped there with grandpa before and the beach was really nice. I remembered that the beach was lit up so that you could go night swimming. The next day we went to The Enchanted Forest.

It was really cool. I was thinking the kids would feel too old to be there, but it was a great walk. Mike and Crystal were good sports about getting pictures taken. So that was really nice. It has changed a bit over the years, but it was like stepping back in time while we were there. It was one of my favorite places we visited on our holidays. Our next stop was Fort Steele. Dad said I was there when I was really young, but I don't remember that.

We enjoyed Fort Steele Heritage Site. Again the kids were really good sports about getting their pictures taken. We were very lucky to stay 1 night with our friend Stacey in Cranbrook. We had a fabulous time enjoying the pool at his house as well as the wonderful food and fellowship! On Stacey's suggestion we decided to go to Idaho- why not we have passports to get into USA and Couer D'Alene is just over 2 hrs drive from Cranbrook. We ended up going to Silverwood Theme Park and Boulder Beach Water Park. It was a super hot the day we were there. I enjoyed the water park, but didn't like the long line ups. We went a some pretty awesome tube rides there, then headed over to the theme park.

We enjoyed the River Raft Ride- we were all soaked afterwards, so we went on the log flume ride. It was great too. The log ride was faster than the one at Disneyland, but not as steep. I really enjoyed it. Mike and Sean did a bunch of roller coasters. I'm not into roller coasters so I just watched. They went on Tremors! It was really neat to watch because the roller coaster came right through the gift shop. I had to buy them a souvenir shirt from that ride! Crystal and I enjoyed the Mexican Hat Ride. It was similar to The Ferris Wheel, only it went a lot faster. I counted going around 16 times. We had an amazing dinner at The High Moon Saloon (yes they allowed kids in there). We also went on a train ride and there was a train robbery show.

We had the best seat on the train for the show, however when the water well was blown up with dynamite, we got soaked. Another fantastic memory for us all. They took an offering for Save the Children Fund instead of actually robbing us. Our last ride of the night at 9pm and it was starting to get dark was the bumper boats. Sean didn't want to get wet so he stayed on the dock to take pictures. I didn't know that the public on the streets has access to unending water squirters. So I got drenched because I ended up getting stuck in that area. But I'm not going to lie- it was sooooooo much fun! Crystal and Mike were squirting me too. We all had a blast. When I got back to our campsite, my money inside my money belt was drenched. I had to hang it out to dry. Which was funny when I went to Walmart and bought a few items with wet money that I thought was dry. After leaving Silverwood, we made our way back to Canada through Washington State. It was a long drive with lots of farmland. We drove through a small town and saw The Koolie Dam.

It was pretty amazing. We gassed up at a Chevron Station, where gas seemed so cheap. We filled up, just over 10 1/4 gallons for $40.50 = about 41L for $45 after the exchange rate. We came back into Canada at Osoyoos, then traveled to Kelowna to spend time with Sean's Aunt & Uncle. The following day we met up with Heather in Kelowna after we were done our shopping and had lunch and a quick visit before we headed to Vernon. We had a nice visit with my Uncle Dick and cousin David in Vernon and then went to the cemetery to visit my grandparents grave.

I found Butcher Boys store (Grandpa took us there a lot when we were young) so I was able to direct Sean on how to get out to the Hwy in Vernon.

Then back in the car on our way home to stopped in Westworld at Route 97 Dinner and had another fantastic meal.

We arrived home late Friday night, just in time to do a bit of laundry and then headed to Maple Ridge to visit my sister and her family then next day. Mike had the weekend off and really wanted to visit with his cousin Brian and Kelsey was making her way back to Nanaimo for school.

We went on a hike at Cliff Park. By this time the sun had gone and it was rainy, but we made the best of it. Came back on Labour Day so we could go to work on Tues. But Crystal does not have school yet because of the Teacher's Strike. It was a great way to end our summer!

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

100yrs Ago

Grandpa Knorr was born 100 years ago TODAY. I miss that farmer. When I was 11, he took my sister and I for the whole summer. We traveled between Vernon and Calgary and he took us to waterslides, camping, to Kananaskis Park, Waterton Pk, all through Banff. We went to all sorts of places. Met some interesting characters along the way. Those are fantastic memories. Our younger cousins were much too young to join us, and I think now that I wish they had those memories too. Grandpa was a great , kind, gentle soul. I love him dearly.

At the end of the summer my family is going camping. We are going to Sandy Point Campground in Salmon Arm. We spent lots of time there and Herold's Park when my oldest 2 kids were very young. After that we are traveling through Revelstoke and will stop at The Enchanted Forest ,3 Valley Cap and Rogers Pass. As we make our way through the Kootenays we remember our time at Halcyon Hot Springs for Grandpa's 90th birthday 10 years ago. It should be a fun trip. Thinking of grandpa lots lately and really missing him. Love you grandpa!

Monday, July 21, 2014

A Pebble in The Water

Drop a pebble in the water:
just a splash, and it is gone;
But there's half-a-hundred ripples
Circling on and on and on,
Spreading, spreading from the center,
flowing on out to the sea.
And there is no way of telling
where the end is going to be.

Drop a pebble in the water:
in a minute you forget,
But there's little waves a-flowing,
and there's ripples circling yet,
And those little waves a-flowing
to a great big wave have grown;
You've disturbed a mighty river
just by dropping in a stone.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness:
just a flash and it is gone;
But there's half-a-hundred ripples
circling on and on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort
on each splashing, dashing wave
Till you wouldn't believe the volume
of the one kind word you gave.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness:
in a minute you forget;
But there's gladness still a-swelling,
and there's joy circling yet,
And you've rolled a wave of comfort
whose sweet music can be heard
Over miles and miles of water
just by dropping one kind word.

~By James W. Foley~

Maryann was that pebble dropped into the water of our lives. The rings in the water touched our lives and we are forever changed and never the same.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

A Year of Changes

I am not a person that likes changes and I often struggle when forced to leave my comfort zone. This spring started with some changes. Diabetes runs in my family on both sides, so when my doctor told me my glucose level was getting close to the borderline of Diabetic I knew I needed to change my eating lifestyle. My first thought was how can my sugar level be that high. I rarely have sweets and I do not put sugar in my coffee or in my cereal etc. but it's those darn starchy foods that turn into sugars, like potato, pasta, and white bread. Changing my eating pattern wasn't all that hard, but I did find that it cost quite a bit more to make healthier food choices. Change #2. What??? My dentist retired after being my dentist for 40yrs. He's working for the new dentist until the end of the year, but I did not get to see him my last visit. Which I thought would be Ok since I have to get used to seeing the new dentist anyway. The new dentist is ok, but I really miss the relationship I have with the "retired" dentist. Luckily the hygienist is the same. Then I had a sensitive tooth issue and was back at the dentist again a week ago. I can't hear what he said and thought he said something else and now I feel awkward. Not a good start to a change in dentist for me....I wish my dentist that is retiring all the best in his new chapter of life. I'm sure he will enjoy retirement!
Another change is having my boy graduate and being away from me ( I blame getting his driver's liscence). Even though he lives at home and goes to University, he's become very independant. (Hmmm I wonder where he gets that from!). I miss having dinners together and watching TV together and camping etc. He spends a lot more time with his girlfriend now too.... What happened to him being the 40 Year Old Virgin living in my basement? OK, so that was my plan not his. His older sister we always knew would leave the nest and adventure on, but not my boy? Who is this kid who has grown up and matured into a lovely young man? I am very proud of him and wish him all the best in the new chapter in his life.
Now onto the third change. Did I tell you I have had the same hairdresser for 23yrs? She introduced me to Janelle. I started going to Janelle in the summer of 2005 for manicures with gel nail overlay because I had a nail bitting problem and Gel is hard to bite. Over the past 9yrs we have had some great times in her salon and laughed lots. We also had some times where we cried lots too. I've shared lots of my struggles with her and she always has some good advice. I reciprocated when she went through a few tough times as well. I had thought about stopping with the manicures, but told myself as long as Janelle is doing it, I will carry on. I have one nail on my left hand that is very soft and does not grow. That is the finger that I use the most (pointer finger) and I also have eczema really bad on that finger. If my natural nail ever grows long enough, Janelle and I are going to go out and party! Today I got the news that she has sold her salon. She put it up for sale a year ago and the sale fell through, so I didn't think much about it being for sale after that. As I am reading her post on facebook, a sigh of relief comes to me. She is going to stay on and work for the new owners until Spring 2015! Yay :) I was still feeling sad though, thinking about the conversations we've had over the past 9yrs and how that will probably come to an end next spring. But I wish her all the best in the new chapter of her life.
So I wonder what other changes are coming my way for the rest of the year. 3 is enough! I think.
Oh and I don't need any new chapters in my life-thanks! At least not any time soon. LOL!

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Baseball Club

Crystal is going to Baseball Club with the Boys and Girls Club. She went with her friend Winter yesterday and they had a very good time. Since the teacher's are on strike, it is nice for her to have something to do and hang out with other kids her age. I am very thankful for the community programs that are offered here. She is also going to Bike Club.