A holiday in Super natural BC – Jewel Lake

Posted on June 30, 2012 by dfolstad58

I am just returned from four nights of nature. My son and I travelled about 2 hours away to Jewel Lake, just outside of Greenwood, BC.

The road trip took us south of Penticton, over Anarchist mountain and through some beautiful rolling green hills, and meadows. We travelled through Rock Creek, Midway and of course, (don’t blink or you will miss it) Greenwood BC.

Along the way we said hello to the locals, who were decidedly not impressed by the city slickers that we obviously were.

Jewel lake is away. Away from tv, cell phones, supermarkets, coffee shops and malls. It is close to nature. We had our cabin across from a dock and from our little deck we could hear the loon calling. We enjoyed canoeing and being out in the water when a loon landed right beside us, and then swam beneath us and we loved it.

You won’t believe me but it’s true. Fish jump ALL the time in this lake. We saw fish jump nearly THREE feet out of the water.  Up a short hike we went to the mouth of closed gold mining shaft, the cold air was blasting out of there and we could see 4 feet of ice inside from the cold air; it was like the mountain was blowing cold air at us.  One morning we looked out of our little cabin and there was a young eagle perched a few feet outside our window on a fence.

A week of laughter, relaxing and fresh air and that lake was cold! So cold that 20 seconds was all it took for me to jump back out of the lake and back onto the dock.

Thank you to the resort owners Jim and Caroline at Jewel Lake Resort. These are two sincere people who show a real interest in their visitors. We will never forget the cute lambs chasing their dog Banjo, one for the heart strings certainly.

Will we go back? oh Yeah!

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Canadians love laughing at themselves

Posted on June 30, 2012 by dfolstad58

Canadians love laughing at themselves.  If you watch or listen to Canadian comedy usually the biggest laughs are when we laugh with each other at ourselves.

Across this wide, huge country of ours we embrace the differences from Victoria BC to Gander, Newfoundland.

Enjoy a chuckle with Russell Peters as he talks about his father and “how to be Canadian eh?”

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Canada Day – True Patriot Love

Posted on June 30, 2012 by dfolstad58

July 1, Canada Day.  All across Canada people in Canada celebrate July 1.  Some are celebrating because they get an extra day off work. Some are celebrating because of the special events in their cities and towns.

The big party, televised and with the most celebrities is of course in Ottawa. Ottawa, capital of Canada, biggest little city in Canada; city of embassies, museums, and one that enjoys a federally funded party every July 1 in front of the Peace Tower.

Parliament buildings of canada

Parliament buildings of canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We will wave our flag tomorrow, enjoy fireworks, beaches, and barbecue and for a few moments at least, offer a quiet thank you to the heavens that we are so blessed to live in the land of hockey, curling, poutine, and maple leaves.

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I have never heard of your little town

Posted on June 23, 2012 by dfolstad58
Okanagan Lake at Penticton (3)

Okanagan Lake at Penticton (3) (Photo credit: palestrina55)

I have already done one post on this theme. That previous post was https://dfolstad58.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/a-summer-day-where-i-live/

I am back with part two because my dear readers may live in another part of the world, or another part of Canada and so this tiny city of Penticton is unknown to them.  I describe the city as having a lake on both the north and south sides.  It is a quiet city where people enjoy walking night or day feeling safe. It is the kind of city where you smile often as you meet people you know or just recognize.  It is my home.

All year round this is a city of visitors who come for special events. Wine festival weekends, jazz weekends, Elvis, Peach Festival – the list goes on. This weekend is the Peach City Beach Cruise (that link takes you for more information); a very special weekend where cars, especially old cars lovingly restored are on display along lakeside road. These cars are so clean, and so interesting. The owners love to get together, have a parade, and enjoy the Elvis impersonators.

I hope you enjoy a peak into a variety of scenes from my little spot on the globe.

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Simple postures for people who sit | Yoga-Ace by AllThingsAce

Posted on June 23, 2012 by dfolstad58

Simple postures for people who sit | Yoga-Ace by AllThingsAce.

I went back to this page (see LINK above) for the inspiration. I sometimes feel so tight and moving is not smooth. Stretching is so healthy for us.

I shared this page because YOU can do this and it will make you feel GOOD. Really GOOD. See what I mean. I’d love to hear from you and find out what a  5 minute supported stretch felt like for you.

The picture is a great example of how to do the shared pose for the first time supported with a blanket.

I think everyone should start the childs pose in the supported format if you have not been doing much stretching and feel tight. You CAN build from there. 

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Thanks for Complaining!

Posted on June 20, 2012 by dfolstad58

Today I have nothing to complain about.  The idea for this post came from a remark I heard on the radio. The complaint doesn’t matter, the attitude of the person and company who received the “complaint” does.  On the radio the person who replied to the complaint thanked the “complainer” because his complaint notified him of a problem and resulted in a change. A change that improved the service this company provided; I believe it was a restaurant although that is insignificant.

This provoked my squeaky wheels that turn in my head. What a fabulous concept for business ~ Imagine if they had a sign on the wall that said “THANKS FOR COMPLAINING” or “WE WELCOME YOUR COMPLAINTS” . 

What do business want? They want your business of course, and they want you to be a loyal customer. What makes a loyal customer?  

Price? – Nope. You may buy because of price but does it inspire loyalty? As soon as someone else beats the price, you have lost that customer.

Service. Service. Service.  You will drive a mile out of your way, pay more, and stand in line with a smile if you get good service and feel appreciated and recognized for spending your money anywhere.

I went for lunch today in a new restaurant today in Penticton. The owner is friendly, he is establishing his place in the stomachs of the locals for certain. He is friendly, and his little shop is a jewel.  He also has a young lady helping him, and she hands out pita bread, halva, water etc  and he apparently has given her full reign to treat his customers, and even visitors to his little restaurant generously, graciously and welcoming.  How can he not be successful with service like that? The food was delicious too, yummy and spicy. mmmm.

On the other hand, about nine months ago I walked out of my way on my break to visit a new bakery/coffee shop that had handed out coupons for free coffee so that locals would venture out and check out his operation.  I doubt he will succeed. Sadly he had gone out of his way to offer this invitation but then the experience in his shop he was not gracious. He actually questioned the size of my pal’s coffee cup over the possibility of granting a few ounces of extra coffee. If there was any chance of selling strudel, it was gone!  My buddy and I have not returned.

What lesson have we learned?

#1 – If you have a business, you can win someone over as a loyal customer with these words “Thank you for complaining” followed by I want to make you happy.

#2 – Don’t be pennywise with your regular customers or new customers, the best advertising is a happy regular, and then you just save your advertising budget completely. Business are based on happy individuals, one at a time.

 

I’d love to hear your restaurant, or other business experience.  Thank you for stopping by and giving me some of your day. I really appreciate that. 

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