Grandma goes to Canada to visit the Mullens

Destination: Steve and Tannis Mullen, Clearwater, B.C.
Start date: Saturday, May 14, 2011
Saturday, May 14th
8:00 a.m. took a taxi to Anchorage airport for Alaska Air flight leaving at 10:30 a.m. to Seattle. Arrived at 3:00 p.m. and had to transfer to Horizon flt to The flight was boarding at 3:05 with a departure scheduled for 3:35. The escort got me to the area just in time to board the plane. It was boarded by walking down the stairs to the tarmac and then up the stairs in to the seating area. The flight was smooth and lasted an hour. I got off the plane and retrieved the baggage and waited in line for the customs check and got my first validation in my passport…woohoo..
After I went through the doors I got a huge surprise. Instead of being greeted by my son and his wife and 2 youngest children, my granddaughter Brandi was there to pick me up and deliver me to Clearwater. She is 18 and is living in Nelson, B.C. now. She took a few days off from work so that she could surprise me and go to see the rest of her family and then spend a night with her Nana in Chase, B.C. before returning to Nelson on Tuesday. It was such a nice surprise. She had already driven several hours to get to the airport to get me and we had another 3 +/- hours to get to Clearwater. We made a stop in Kamloops to get her tank fueled up and get some grapes and a watermelon to take to the house with us. She had a rotisserie chicken that she shared with me since I had only had a cup of coffee, a can of ginger ale and a glass of orange juice for the day so far. We saw several mule deer along the Dunn Lake Road for the last 20 miles to the house. Wow, Max and Hayli have grown so much!! It is awful to live so far away from them. I haven’t seen them in four years.






Max was one the last time I saw him and he will five in a few days. They took me to show me the farm animals right away. They have several beef cattle that were chosen for their ability to survive and flourish in harsh environments and weather. They are Scottish Highland breed.

They are stocky and have long hair for cold weather and long horns that they are not afraid to use. They have been successful in driving away bears and cougars from the fenced areas in the past. They are named Poker (the bull), Lucy and Carrot are the cows and their calves are named Licker and Herbie.
This is the last year they will be raising them here. They are cutting back on the animals that require a lot of care during times that they might want to travel away from home and have a friend or neighbor take care of them for them. They are going to cut back to just the laying hens.

They also have a large black hog named Bobby. This is his last year too.
They have hens that they get eggs from and Max and Hayli go feed them in the mornings and get the eggs in the afternoons. They are good at gathering eggs. the picture was taken after the hens went flying out of the way and there were some feathers and straw flying around us. Steve is getting rid of some of his sled dogs and they will be keeping enough for the race season next winter. There are a lot of dogs to pet and feed at night and clean the poo often. Everyone gets in on the fun and the work. They are like pets since they have all been with them their entire lives. The breeding stock is from Alaska when they moved away in 1998. They have been used mainly for a tourism business for the intervening years.

It was a very full day and after telling and reading stories to Max and Hayli I spent the night sharing Hayli’s bed with her. I guess I was getting a ‘pay back’ from when I slept with my grandmother Leah Kernan and kicked her until I kicked her right out of her bed when I was about 9 or 10 years old. That was the end of my sleeping in grandma’s bed with her. This was also the last of my trying to sleep with Hayli, she kicks and tosses and flops and yells out in her sleep and her bed is like the one that ‘Mama Bear’ had in Goldilocks…too soft!
Brandi slept in the living room on the newest couch and Max and Hayli fell asleep trying to keep her company.

Sunday, May 15th
We all had blueberry pancakes and eggs (except Max who does not like eggs) for breakfast and then went outside to enjoy a nice morning. Tannis’ father and his wife came to Clearwater to treat all of us to a lunch at the restaurant called “the Painted Turtle” as a late Mother’s day tribute and an early birthday for Max and Hayli. Tannis’ brother Todd and his wife Georgina and their two sons were there too. It was a very nice gathering. After they left we went to a store and then back to the farm. Steve has been replacing the drain field for the grey water for the kitchen sink and it is requiring a lot of shovel work. Brandi helped for a bit but it was hot

Monday, May 16th
The day started with clouds while Steve was off to town for supplies and Brandi was packing her things to go to Chase to spend the night with her Nana and see a friend or two along the way. As the day progressed, so did the incoming weather pattern. We had rain and clouds that lasted all of the night and throughout the next day and night it alternated with cold rain and winds. I guess that is one way to force Steve to take a rest from shoveling gravel. It was sad to have Brandi leaving to go back to Nelson again.
Tuesday, May 17th
We Have another rainy day. Hayli and Max usually have soccer on Tuesdays and Thursday but it is coming down in buckets and it has turned in to nap and refresh the batteries.
Some times batteries of all ages need recharging and this time Daddy asked Max to rest with him. Of course, Max said, “okay, but I’m not going to sleep”. (famous last words of many little nappers)

Wednesday, May 18th
Hayli is off to school this morning and Max and I are doing a LOT of reading. He loves “the Collection of Curious George”. It is a rather thick book that belongs to big brother Jeff and was left behind in the upstairs bookcase. It seems to be the book of choice. It has a close following by several of the “Bernstein Bears” series. Grandma is definitely called upon often for the reading times. I love it!! Tonight Steve is going to go to adult soccer and Tannis to her drumming group so the kids and I are staying home to have some together time while Mom and Dad are gone.