More visitors!

At the beginning of August, Richard Mackie (award-winning author of Island Timber) and his family visited. They were on their way to their summer cabin in the interior of BC; their VW van kept overheating on the way here, so they arrived hot and worn out. We had dinner at the Cedar Creek Cafe here in Winlaw and then everyone came home and crashed. Fortunately Richard and I found a mechanic the next morning who fixed the van and they continued on their way without further problems.

Jim's sister Judy and her husband Gordon visited us next and then Quin and Katherine Gordon arrived to work on their Slocan gardening book. It was Quin's birthday while he was here, and we invited all eight gardeners featured in the gardening book, to a potluck dinner. Everyone made delicious food from their gardens, and Quin was treated to an incredibly beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday".

On the last night of Quin and Katherine's visit, I was up reading at 4 a.m. and heard strange noises outside. Thinking it was a bear, I didn't think twice when Gus left my side to investigate, barking like crazy. Our front door slammed and Gus was now barking outside! Someone had let him out! Jim and I ran downstairs and found a note: "Gone visiting, Gus. Back soon." Our Gus was gone! We knew it had to be his previous owner who snuck into our house and took him. It was not a happy morning when we said goodbye to Quin and Katherine, without our beloved dog at our side. Fortunately the story has a happy ending: Gus is now home, safe and sound, and back to being the centre of our universe.