After waiting for what seems like quite a long time, Jan’s arrived in Canada and she and Luke are currently at Hall Road. Denis went to pick them up at the airport on Thursday, and they arrived here around 10:30 PM. They basically just went straight to bed, though Jan had a heap of presents on their bed to look at first.

Then on Friday, Jan’s first official day in Canada, I took her to the Oriental Market and down the Asian aisle at Superstore for supplies. She felt a lot better seeing familiar food items, and when we got home she made herself a nice Thai lunch.

She wanted to wash the dishes and Luke and I said no they’ll go into the dishwasher, and she said what’s that, as she’s never seen one. Turning on the stove was equally difficult, so there’s a lot to learn in a new culture and country.

Luke’s on crutches from a badly bruised foot so was lucky to get wheelchair service through the airports. Just like when I told you mom and I flew and she was in a wheelchair, he highly recommended it whether you need one or not. It’s just so fabulous to be pushed to the front of all lines.

However this is going to make driving his truck to Osoyoos too difficult, so Nicky’s volunteered to drive them. They want to get to the little pink house in the orchard so Jan can start her new life in Canada in their own little home.

We haven’t had a drop of rain and the ground is totally dry, so I guess I have to haul out the hoses and start to water a bit. I planted 72 zinnia seeds and some have already sprouted, so I’m very excited. I’ll put them into the greenhouse in a couple of weeks and then plant them out when it’s safe to do so. I always have such great hopes for these types of projects.

Another of these hopes is the plumeria stick I smuggled in from Hawaii. I’ve planted it and it says not to touch the pot, so I’ve pointed it out to everyone and said don’t even breathe near that thing. Apparently the roots are so delicate even if they do sprout, a knock on the pot might be the end of the project right there.

On Monday I’m ordering the cake for Jan and Luke’s wedding party on April 4th, and will start to buy the stuff I need for my menu. I just love doing events like that, so I’m pretty much ga ga with excitement over it. I’m thinking of going quite ethnic and spicy, and having things like curried chicken and Thai curried rice.

Freddie was fretting about how his children would have to leave the party early due to their toddlers needing to go to bed, as everyone’s staying at motels due to lack of space here. However he then came up with the brilliant idea of renting an RV and parking it on the property, so the partying can be hard and non-stop.

Last night Denis came for dinner, so it was the two of us, plus Jan and Luke, Haruka and Nicky. As mom says about the international flavour, “we’re Liberals.” However I explain it by saying I must’ve been such a traumatizing mother that they both had to right outside their race for mates.

Mom turned 90 on February 25th and we had a huge dinner party for 45 people on Saturday night, the 28th. Jerralynn and I made the food, and mom spent days prior to the event organizing furniture so all of the people could sit throughout the house if they wanted to.

Jerralynn made chicken drumsticks in teriyaki sauce, meatballs, spinach salad and a potato casserole. I made an asparagus salad and the salmon, and I’d bought buns and the cake from Costco. It looked nice, but tasted like a Costco cake would taste, IE, meh.

Stu Wells gave a lovely speech and we drank a toast to dear mom. Then I said I had a few words to say, and had written out a little speech. Basically I explained how I got Jean Chretien to send a beautiful note for mom’s birthday. I said I knew mom expected some type of surprise, and I had to come up with one.

About a week before her birthday I thought I’d better figure out how to get right to the top for a congratulatory letter. I recalled my old French Canadian boyfriend Gaby had told me his niece was a lawyer who worked in the same firm as Mr. Chretien. I e mailed him and said can you get her to ask Mr. Chretien to send a letter?

He forwarded her reply, which said she no longer worked there, but here is the office number. This was on the weekend, so I mulled that over, wondering what to do. But by Monday I thought what an they do, shoot me for asking, and dialled the number.

Mr. Chretien’s nice executive assistant answered, and said a whole bunch of words in French, none of which I could understand. I was expecting, “Hallo ici le bureau de Monsieur Chretien.” You know, grade 6 French taught at Osoyoos Elementary School.

I didn’t know what to do, so went for the Rube Alert, and replied, “Hallo! Hallo! I’m phoning from BC.” Denise Labelle instantly switched to English, listened to my stammered request, and was very kind. She said, “Well bien sur, Mr. Chretien will do that for you!” She gathered the contact info, and said a letter would be sent by Fed Ex.

She also sent me the letter by e mail, which was a good thing, as she’d given Fed Ex my address incorrectly, so it didn’t arrive on time. But now I have the signed copy all ready to hand over to mom when she visits later today. She’s driving Jerry Jr to the airport as he’s on his way back to Manhattan.

Besides Freddie and me, there were three grandchildren and three great grandchildren in attendance. Jerry took a group photo so I hope to have that soon to post on Facebook. The youngest person was one and the oldest was 90.

Louie also attended the party, and everyone just loved him so much. He adores little girls so he spent quite a bit of time with Journey and River, and they enjoyed playing with him. Sadly I left his stuffed donkey behind, and he’s been searching the house for it. Let’s just say he has a “special relationship” with the donkey and leave it at that.

So now with mom’s party done I can concentrate on Party #2, Luke and Jan’s reception.

I said to Luke several times, be sure to get a coat for Jan, she’ll need it when she gets off the plane in Vancouver. He said why would I get one here when I can buy one in Thailand for way less? As I could easily find one at thrift for under $10 I wondered how much less they’d be, as well, would they be down-filled, given their climate?

On the afternoon of his flight we were packing the suitcase with chocolate and gifts for “the village” which means the Bunyungs and extended family members. Luke suddenly said, “Did you get a coat for Jan?” I said I hadn’t as he told me many times not to buy one, or I would gladly have done that, but as he told me not to, I didn’t.

I can’t imagine what that’s going to be like, Jan having never been out of the tropics in her whole life, arriving in Vancouver mid-March with no damned coat. Oh well.

Last week I went to Freda Hesketh’s funeral at the legion in Osoyoos. It was great as mom and I got to sit in the family section, and so we should, given mom’s been friends with Freda for almost 70 years. Lynn gave a really nice eulogy, and then afterwards the nice women of the Legion had made those beautiful little sandwiches and squares I just go bananas over.

I nearly didn’t make it as I noticed a green coloured fluid dripping from the engine area of my car. I had the radiator replaced just a year or so ago, so asked Luke, Nicky and Denis, all of whom were lolling about my house messing it up, to go and diagnose the problem.

Luke quickly found a broken metal ring, and as we have Honda replacement parts by the dozen, he found an exact match and promptly fixed the problem. That kind of ingenuity saves me an awful lot of money.

He’s arrived safely in Thailand, and of course Jan met him at the airport. They were heading off to the wilds of Ubon Ratchathani with the suitcase filled with Belgian chocolate. I posted on Luke’s Facebook page: Are the Bunyungs bingeing on bon bons in the boonies?

I went door to door campaigning for the federal Liberals on Saturday, and it wasn’t too bad except my feet hurt as I was wearing the wrong shoes. I was unfortunately paired with a man who was one of the founding members of the BC Reform Party! Can you imagine? Now he’s a so-called Liberal, and I had to explain all manner of Liberal party philosophy to him.

We walked for two hours, and it was a sunny and lovely day. We talked to some nice people, quite a lot of Conservatives given we were in the Mission area of Kelowna, and at the end we had one bone fide crazy person. Always a good time to be had! I’ll be doing it again soon I’m sure, given the scuttle butt is the writ may be dropped earlier than October.

Today after the gym I plan to hit the Helping Hands thrift store as it’s 50% off for seniors on Tuesdays. I’m hoping to find a cute outfit to wear to Jan and Luke’s reception, which will be held in early April to introduce Jan to our world.

After a terrifying morning where all flights out of Kelowna were cancelled, I managed to get my flight to Vancouver after all. I was due to leave around 1:30, and after a three hour delay due to backed-up flights from the morning’s fog, we left for Vancouver and I caught my connecting flight to Honolulu.

Renate, now called Sam, met me at the suitcase carousel and put a fake lei around my neck, greeting me with “aloha!” and a hug. Even though it was 10:00 PM the temperature felt wonderful and warm.

We then spent a happy week of daily beach walking, site seeing and thrift store shopping. Because we were always out over lunch we’d find a nice restaurant. In the evenings we ate at home because Sam and Peter don’t like to go out, and by then I was exhausted from the sun and sea air.

One day we got up before dawn to beat the bus loads of tourists and headed to Hanauma Bay to snorkel. It’s a marine preserve, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed compared to the snorkelling on the Big Island. There weren’t any colourful urchins on the coral, which was bare.

But it was still great to be snorkelling, and I took an underwater disposable camera, thinking I’d be able to take photos. I forgot I can’t see a thing without reading glasses, and so putting the camera to my face did nothing for me. I had to point into a school of fish and hope for the best. I can just imagine how those 27 shots are going to turn out.

We took two day trips to the north end of Oahu which is rural and really lovely. I enjoyed being up there, stopping at fruit stands and speaking with eccentric locals. On our second drive we went all the way over to the historic town of Haleiwa, heading southward on the other side of the island. It’s a really cute spot to visit.

On the opposite end of the scale we also went to Honolulu and strolled along Waikiki Beach. I found it really beautiful too, even though stacked with tourists, whereas at Kailua Beach were we walked daily, there are only a handful of people.

We walked through the enchanting Royal Hawaiian Hotel, which is pink and was built in 1927. We had a drink in an adorable thatched roof themed bar and grill called Dukes. It was all very chi chi.

Then on top of the general happiness at being in Hawaii, and doing it all for a song as I was staying with someone and being chauffered around, I got a call from mom saying Luke and Jan found out Jan received her permanent visa to come to Canada! I was so happy for them, it made my holiday a complete dream.

The only fly in the ointment was Sam’s husband, who was a Canadian and became not only an American citizen, but a Republican. He explained to me Obama was born Barry, but changed his name to Barrack. I replied calmly I didn’t think that was right.

Fox News was on 24/7, praise was heaped on Bill O’Reilly, and you’d be really proud of me but I didn’t get into a single argument.

Tomorrow at noon Denis is coming to pick me up and driving me to the airport. First I fly to Vancouver, hang around the airport for three hours, and then at 5:30 PM my plane leaves for Honolulu. I’m really excited about it.

Due to my prior experiences, I plan on taking a couple of sandwiches with me. When Marilyn and I flew to Kauai in 2009 our plane left around the same time. The staff of our airline were kind enough to announce there was no food whatsoever on the flight, so if anyone wanted food, to please go to a vendor and get some.

Because I’m loathe to pay $12 for a tuna sandwich, I plan on making my own at home. I also have a couple of books ready to go, and will probably cause some sort of a sensation as I sit and read, turning pages, while every other human peers at a screen. The younger ones will come and ask me what it is I’m holding, and what I’m doing.

I finally got with the program, and attended a federal Liberal volunteer meeting on Wednesday night. There were perhaps 16 of us, with 4 party officials IE the riding president, campaign manager, and so on in attendance. I’m looking forward to the upcoming campaign.

Nicky was shocked when I told him I was leaving the house after dark and going to a meeting. His new Japanese girlfriend is surprised how neither he nor I leave this house. I said to her we have an expression that goes the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

I’m also going to re-visit beekeeping, despite my prior negative experience. You’ll recall my hive came infested with a fungus that killed the bees, and then in the spring a mother bear and her three cubs came and demolished the wooden hive.

This time I’m getting what are called nucs, or baby bees. Also, I’m getting a nice clean hive and I’m attending a workshop given by the vendor on May 16th. That way surely to God I’m finally going to achieve my goal of being a beekeeper.

I went to both my GP and chiropractor on Friday, still on my quest to solve the migraine problem. My GP ordered neck X rays as she thinks I may have arthritis in there, but as I said to the chiropractor afterwards, what will it mean if I do? What does a person do about it as there’s no cure for arthritis?

Mom pooh poohed arthritis and pointed out I have no neck pain, and I agreed, but said I have headaches and a grinding sound in my neck, so perhaps I do have it. If I do, all the sites say one has to do physical exercises to strengthen neck muscles. What the heck I’m doing at the gym four times a week I don’t know.

So in other words, no one knows why I have migraines, and I’m continuing to explore treatments on my own. Now I’m taking a supplement called tryptophan which is recommended for migraines, and also upping the vitamin B6 and water. This doesn’t bode well for the next few decades, does it?

But in the meantime, I have the opportunity to absorb one full week of vitamin D, so that should do this old carcass a lot of good. Aloha!

Honest to God, one day melts into the next, and I rarely know what day of the week it is.  I find the gym helpful that way, as I can usually recall whatever workout I’ve been at and then it helps me remember what day it is.  IE if I’ve done Denise’s class, it must be Tuesday.

On sunny days I can see how filthy the house is, so I’ve been cleaning things such as the China cabinets.  I took out all the items, cleaned them, dusted the shelves and cleaned the glass panels, and then put all of the dear things back.  A very small minority were culled.  It’s been a very satisfying activity.

When I was cleaning one of the cabinets I was reminded of the quail egg that exploded inside there last spring.  Though a tiny egg, its innards sure spread far inside that shelf.  There was dried egg yolk on many surfaces including my little antique clocks.

I was thrilled when I found that intact egg, as most are damaged from the fall.  This one was pristine, so I thought it’d look adorable among my antiques.

The sun shines in through the dining room window and streams into the cabinet, so of course one day due all of the heat, pow, the egg blew.  And it took days before I really looked over there and went what the heck’s up with that egg?  Then I looked at the shelf where it sat and saw the blown contents.

I thought I’d gotten rid of all of the egg yolk, but any forensics expert will tell you it’s pretty hard to get rid of all the evidence.  Which reminds me, I’ve been watching a series called Forensics which profiles a new murder in each episode and then shows how forensics helped solve the case.

This may or may not be overkill, but I bought two disposable underwater cameras for my trip to Hawaii.  That would be a lot of fish encounters at 54 shots.  But Renate and her husband are taking me to a marine reserve called Hanauma Bay to snorkel and the websites say the water’s teeming with fish.

I asked Renate if they like herring, and of course they do as she’s German and he’s Danish.  I said I plan to make my granny’s herring salad while there.  This is so ethnic, and if you don’t like herring, you’d really hate this.  But it’s just a mixture of chopped hard boiled eggs, cooked potatoes and beets, dill pickles and pickled herring, mixed with a good amount of mayonnaise.

Just like last Friday, today the nice chiropractor said to me, “So do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?”  As usual, I had to try and figure out where in the week we were so I could answer appropriately and quickly recalled it was Friday.

I said something to the effect of you must be joking, as I felt explaining feeling wild with excitement over a cleaning project would fall flat.

However next Friday when I see him I’m going to be able to answer, “Well yes actually I’m off to Hawaii to snorkel with crazy big groups of lovely fish.”

When Denis came over on Boxing Day, you’ll recall I’d made a pot roast.  The three of them like lashings of mashed potatoes and Yorkshire pudding covered in gravy.  They were sitting together at one of the table, which seats six, there were two empty chairs, and then I sat at the opposite end to Denis.  IE our old spots.

As soon as we started eating Wrecks jumped onto the table beside me, as is our custom, and I began giving him small bits of meat which he was eating on the tablecloth.  The three of them were screaming “ew” and making all sorts of disparaging remarks about my cat.  I replied calmly, “Why does it hurt you when my cat and I enjoy dining together?”

Even though Denis and Nicky hadn’t done a thing, Luke replied, “I don’t see any one of you three getting girlfriends or boyfriends any time soon.”  How insulting!  I said I already have two boyfriends, my dog and this cat.

It snowed for 24 hours, starting on Sunday and ending on Monday afternoon, causing a record snowfall.  It’s the most snow that’s fallen in that amount of time in 40 years.  It took me yesterday and today, shovelling in twenty minute increments, to be able to get my car out of the carport and onto the driveway.  Nicky did the long hill of the drieway, but it’s still coated in compact snow, so if it freezes it’ll be like a skating rink.

In a way it’s been great as I saved a bunch of money just by staying home.  I missed the gym, but then with two hours of shovelling I probably expended as many calories as I do in the classes.  And God knows our homes store enough food for months, never mind three days, so there hasn’t been any noticeable lack of anything.

But tomorrow I have the chiro at 10:40 so I simply have to get out of here.  I’m going to take my friend Phyllis’ advice and start seeing a chiro to work on the migraines.  She said try it, and certainly I want to do anything necessary to be rid of them.  When I was in Osoyoos Dr. Hamilton visited and said over time a lot of people just get too old for them and they seem to stop on their own.  Hallelujah!

Did I tell you I’m off to Hawaii for a week on January 26th?  I’m very excited as I’ve never been to Oahu before.  I’ll be staying with Renate and her husband Peter, as they’re based there for three years while he manages a golf course.  Otherwise they live in Palm Springs, and you’ll recall that was the site of our reunion last year.

Because I was in a bit of a funk, likely as a hangover from the flu, I started re-reading the Power of Now.  Have you read it?  You really should as it helps a person get a grip on stupid thoughts which none of us need to be having in the first place.  Why recall negative things as it does nothing except ruin your present, otherwise good moment?

I was glad I’d read the book about the 33 trapped Chilean miners just prior to this snowstorm.  I had read about their hellish 69 days in a scalding hot, humid, dark mine, and how they’d still work and dig at the rocks.  It helped me persevere shovel after shovel of snow when I wanted to pack it in entirely and just stay here until March.

Never mind, in less than three weeks I’ll be on the beach, not giving a whit about snow.  I sent a link about the snowstorm to Renate so she’ll understand my joy upon arrival.

It seems grossly unfair, doesn’t it?  I got every single person’s cookies made, gifts bought and sent, and then became horribly sick with the flu.  So I had to spend the days before, during and after Christmas feeling really bad.

Luckily we’d planned to spend it at mom’s, so I didn’t have to clean, as I wouldn’t have been able to.  Nicky drove my car to Osoyoos and I sat in the back with the dog, leaning my head back onto a comfy pillow.

We arrived at 1:00 on the 24th and I put the brisket into the oven by 2:00.  Mom’s house was filled with visitors all afternoon.  Nicky stayed at the pink house with Luke so they partied around up there to their heart’s content.

Mom, Luke, Nicky and I had a quiet Christmas Eve of opening a handful of gifts and then eating the brisket and roasted potatoes.  It was fine, though uneventful.  The kids were somewhat surprised no one had bought them anything!!  I said hey you said you didn’t want anything, and then I got sick right at the time I might have bought them something.

Too bad.  But they make many times more money than either mom or I, so they can just go and buy their own dreck.  I don’t know what they want anymore.  I made Luke buy me an ice cream maker and Nicky bought me an exercise bike, so that’s the main thing.

On Christmas Day mom had invited Hamiltons and Millers, and they arrived at 4:00 PM.  We ate a traditional turkey dinner but sadly the turkey made so little liquid there was a tiny amount of gravy.  I was quite traumatized by that.

I haven’t had a drop of alcohol since early November, so that’s been an interesting way to live.  I still have migraines about two days a month, so I’m still trying to figure out what the heck is causing them.  They’re so annoying you have no idea.

So even though Christmas Day used to mean a bad hangover in the past, hangovers are now over.  That helped, as a hangover plus the flu would’ve made the dinner preparation even more challenging than it already was.

Luke, Nicky and I drove home on Boxing Day and Denis came over for a pot roast dinner.  The kids would rather die than eat leftovers so I made a nice Tupperware container for him to take home as he adores them.

Because of this horrible flu I haven’t walked the poor dog in a week, and thought I might today.  However with this wet snow he arrives home dripping, and I have to carry him straight into the tub where I shower off his undercarriage as best I can.  Nicky says he’s like a small yak.  He’s a lot like a mop.

I sold all but 3 fruitcakes so that was a good year as I hate having a lot of inventory leftover.  Even though in theory fruitcakes improve with age, I really don’t like to have old ones around as to me the new ones are always better.

My New Year’s resolutions are to conquer these migraines, and also to stop catastrophizing the things I have to do anyway.  Just get busy and get them done.

I had often dreamed of owning an aquarium, as I thought it’d be very relaxing to watch the fish darting about.  Then I had the good fortune of babysitting my house painter’s fish tanks, and that cured me of any desire to ever own fish.  They’re filthy, stink, and are a lot of work.

The house painter’s one of those people who’s decided I’m one of his best friends, so asked if I’d watch the fish and frogs while he went to Banff for six weeks to paint a resort.  I said sure, thinking how much trouble can this be?

To clean the fish and frog crap from between the rocks I tried to use the stupid hand pump and hose, and soon had water all over my office’s wood floor.  I hadn’t realized the hose had come right out of the pail.  I swore mightily.

After six weeks of this I was ever so glad to see the back of the fish tanks.  I realize now aquarium ownership will never be something I yearn for again.  So in the end it was a handy learning experience.

Too bad it doesn’t work that way with babies.  One babysits and visits friends with kids, or sees their own siblings cope with them, and you go, “How hard can this be?”  But then you’re allowed to leave the hospital with a baby and you realize you haven’t got the faintest idea what to do with this thing.

Certainly in a food business one is very accustomed to people wanting to sample the product prior to making a commitment.  When my fruitcakes were in stores I’d give them samples for staff to hand out, or else sometimes I’d stand in a store for a couple of hours with samples.  But now that I’m selling soley on-line, there’s no opportunity for people to try them first.

Today someone e mailed me “Is there a place where I can sample your fruitcakes?”  I replied, “No there isn’t.  You just have to make a leap of faith.”  No reply.  I’m not interested in cutting up fruitcakes for people to try.

It’d be odd.  The prospective customer would have to drive over to my house, and then I’d watch them try a sample, and if they didn’t like it, would they say, “I don’t like it, good-bye?”  It seems easier in a store.

A couple of days ago I bought a fruitcake made by some young girl who was at the corner store with a table of baked goods.  She was trying to raise funds for her classmates and herself to get to an event in New York.  I saw her beautifully-iced round fruitcake, wrapped in cellophane and topped with a red bow, and I had to have it.  No samples were offered or requested.

Denis is going to pick me up on Saturday as I want to go to a Christmas tree farm and cut a live tree.  He has a pickup so offered to help me with this project.  Last weekend he put up my Christmas lights.  He’s an extremely helpful ex-husband, unlike many I hear about.

And finally, I’m finished with the season’s baking, so if I run out it’ll teach people a very valuable lesson.  I’ve had inquiries and have set aside cakes for those who ordered.  But for those who need to try it first, I’m afraid they’re likely going to be out of luck.

My dad befriended Harry Hesketh sometime in the 1940’s when he and Freda arrived in Osoyoos.  My dad had arrived in 1929 and bought 12 acres of land, which he cleared, and which became the orchard.  The land beside ours was for sale, so dad talked Harry into buying it.

Dad cleared the land for Harry, who was a returning war vet.  He and Freda then built a house there, and they and my mom and dad were fast friends for decades.  I grew up with the Hesketh kids and spent a lot of time riding horses with Bonnie, five years my senior, and playing with Laurie, one year my senior.  Freddie spent a lot of time hanging out with Gerry who is two years younger than him.

The Heskeths came to our house every single Christmas Eve, and every Christmas Day we were invited there for turkey dinner.  These are fantastic memories for me, because it was like having an extended family with whom to share traditions.

Our little family was just comprised of my granny and grampa, my parents, Freddie and me.  The same with the Heskeths, as it was just the five of them with no extended family here either.  When we combined the two families it became a huge event.

Bonnie and I owned horses, so we rode all over the mountains surrounding Osoyoos.  We explored far away lakes tucked into the hills, never seeing another soul for the entire day.

Imagine the beauty of that life.  There were no cell phones, and no one knew where we were, but just assumed we’d arrive home safely, as we always did.  No wonder my memories of growing up in Osoyoos are so idyllic.

Laurie and I would get into a lot of mischief.  For awhile the Heskths had cows and a barn, and there was a mammoth pulp shoot leading down to the corral.  One afternoon we decided it’d be fun to actually walk down the shoot!  I remember the thousands of slivers embedded into my arm from the rough pine as I’d slipped.

Another bit of fun was taking the lids off the Rist’s bee hives.  On that day, I remember stepping right into a pile of cactus, and seeing Laurie convulsed with laughter.  We then saw the hives, and I dared Laurie to take off the lid, which he did.  Moments later we were both running and screaming , getting stung all over from the angered bees.

I wasn’t allowed to ride the Hesketh’s crazy horse, Heidi, but did so anyway and of course was bucked off, got a bruised kidney, and had to go to the hospital for 10 days.  And who would I have been with for this bit of shenanigans?  Laurie, of course.

So when mom said there was going to be a bench dedication ceremony for Freda and Harry, both Freddie and I said we’d be there.  This was last Wednesday.  Members of the Legion were there in uniform, as Freda is huge in the Legion.

After the outdoor ceremony (quite chilly!) with Freda bundled up in her wheel chair, we went to the Legion for some cake.  Bonnie and Laurie were there, but Gerry was still picking grapes so couldn’t make it.  Imagine picking in that frigid temperature.

http://www.osoyoostimes.com/local-woman-earns-recognition-award/