Last week I shared some photos of the drive to Kamloops from Vancouver, BC. In this post we continue our journey with a peek at Kamloops from the lookout.
The lookout provides a very beautiful view but on this day the smoke from wildfires burning to the west, obscured the city below and across the river.
The smoke on most of the return trip was not as bad but I suspect it's worse now. More fires are burning and there has been a lot of fire destruction in several places to the west and the east of Kamloops. It's very sad. Firefighters have arrived from Mexico & I think Australia to help our firefighters fight the blazes.
Near the Fraser River at Hope, BC
Near Chilliwack, BC
Farming fields of Chilliwack, BC
Passing through Surrey, BC on the way to Vancouver
Approaching the Port Mann Bridge.
I'm always happy to get back home safe and sound. Thank you for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post.
Update: On Saturday, Premier David Eby declared a state of emergency in the province due to new, very fast moving wild fire situation.
B.C.'s wildfire service warns the conditions are explosive and unlike anything they've ever seen before.(Yahoo News August 8, 2026)
I hope you are all well and looking forward to the weekend. I don't know about you but even now that I'm retired, I always look forward to the weekend. I guess it's because I know I likely won't take or make any business type phone calls for a few days, lol.
Last week my brother and I went on a day trip to visit a family member for the day. We travelled from Vancouver to Kamloops, which is a distance of 354 kilometres or 220 miles. I'd been wanting to make this trip for many months but various things kept me busy at home.
Here are a few photos taken along the highway. The skies were mostly clear when we left Vancouver. But along the way and in Kamloops itself, the sky was very hazy due to the smoke from the wildfires burning several hours to the west of where we were. I was glad we travelled when we did. If we had left a day later we would have been sitting for hours on the highway due to road closures caused by a vehicle on fire.
In the last photo we are beginning our approach into the city of Kamloops. As you can see the smoke was pretty thick.
Thanks for coming along with us on this Skywatch Friday road trip.
Hello Friends.. welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. Just 4 questions each week. So glad you are joining in and the more the merrier!
Books.. TV.. Movies are the topic of the week.
1. A movie theme song will play every time you walk in the room.. what is it? (consider asking family or friends).
I misread the question earlier so I've deleted my original answer. I pick the theme from the movie, 'The Way We Were".
2. What movie are you eager to see... what book are you eager to read... what TV program are you interested in most?
I don't have any movies that I'm eager to see. It seems like the really great movies are no longer being made. If they're considered great by today's standards they are often about themes that are too dark and evil for my liking. I haven't even heard of many movies in the last few years that I'd really like to see. But at the moment, there is a new movie I'd like to see by director Christopher Nolan, called "The Odyssey". It's based on Homer's text of the same name. I might try to see it if the movie stays in theatres long enough. It's a long movie at almost 3 hours but I hear it's good. You've probably seen it talked about on television or read about it online.
I don't have one book in particular that I'm eager to read. I have a long list of books on my 'to read' list that I can choose from and I often just pick interesting sounding titles from the library shelves. I've just finished reading a book called, The Stolen Life of Collette Marceau by Kristen Harmel. I enjoyed it very much. Here is how one website describes it.
After the long-missing diamond bracelet connected to her family's World War II tragedy appears in a Boston museum, aging jewel thief Colette Marceau searches for answers. Her investigation reopens the story of her mother's Resistance work in occupied Paris and her sister's disappearance.
Currently I'm reading Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey. It's about four women who come together to save the summer camp that brought them together as friends and changed their lives. I'm loving it so far.
3. Is there a book/movie/TV program you often think about or that affects you in some way?
I'm a romantic at heart so I like and think about romantic movies. The issue with them is that they usually end in some kind of tragedy which I don't like but I guess that is what sells movies. I'm thinking in particular of Anna Karenina based on Leo Tolstoy's novel by the same name and Out of Africa based on several books by Karen Blixen writing under her pen name, Isak Dineson. I'm posting a clip here from Out of Africa where Karen reads a poem at the grave site of her lover Denys Finch-Hatton.
4. OK friend, it's your turn to organize our Blogger Movie Night where we get together as a group for snacks and movies! What movies have you planned for us tonight and what snacks are we going to have?
I think it will have to be a sleep over night because the movie, Gone With the Wind is very long, clocking in at 3 hours and 41 minutes. I'm thinking snacks with a southern flavour such as pimento cheese spread to have with crackers and celery, cheese sticks, perhaps some devilled eggs and some candied pecans. None of these are foods I typically eat in the north where I live but some of you are probably familiar with them. For drinks we can have iced tea. Hmm, maybe I need to make dinner instead or invite everyone to bring a dish to potluck dinner. I hope you'll come.
I hope this Friday finds you well and in good health. Hopefully you're not experiencing any extreme weather one way or the other.
I took a very quick road trip to Kamloops, BC which is 354 km (219 miles) northeast of where I live. It makes for a very long day to get to there and back to Vancouver as well as spend a few hours visiting in Kamloops. But I'm glad it's done for now and hopefully I'll go again soon if the weather cooperates.
I captured these scenes on the way back to Vancouver, BC. I'm getting a late start on the travel but I hope to make a few more road trips before the end of summer.
What about you dear reader. Have you made any road trips in 2026 or do you have any planned for the summer?
Welcome to Tuesday 4 which was started by Toni Taddeo and kept up in memory and honor of her.
How about talking about cosmetics and toiletries this week?
Let's jump right in, shall we?
1. What brand of shampoo do you think works best for you and what does it do for you?
L'Oreal Colour Radiance to help protect and maintain the hair colour.
2. Do you use cosmetics and if so what do you use?
Mascara (mostly Maybelline but also L'Oreal and a few others) and lip gloss (mostly Rimmel but I've used many others as well) but only when going out. I've only ever used mascara and lip gloss. No foundation, blush & all the other things women use.
3. Do you use a washcloth on your face?
No. I use small, very lightweight flannel squares made for washing the face.
4. Do you have an all time favorite perfume or scent that you wear? If you don't wear perfumes, is there a scent that you love in general?
Long ago I wore scent but I no longer do. We're restricted from using fragrance in most public places here and have been for many years. At home, a family member is highly allergic to fragrance. I even need to be careful about using scents in lotions so I mostly use unscented products.
When I wore perfume there were several I liked to alternate: Y by Yves St. Laurent, Aromatics Elixer by Clinique & Knowing by Estee Lauder. I also used Chanel No. 5 on occasion but I found the scent too heavy for my taste.
The Estee Lauder fragrance seemed to change over time so I dropped it long before I stopped wearing fragrance altogether. The Y fragrance became difficult to source in Canada several years before I stopped wearing fragrance. I think they still sell the Clinique perfume. Except for Chanel #5, I suppose mostly what I used was Eau de Toilette, not Eau de Parfum and I do love a clean, not too heavy scent.
That's it for today's 4 questions. Thank you for stopping by. Have a great week.
1. What special memories do you have about summer when you were younger?
I remember warmer weather because our summers were very short in the far north. We kids would play outside until midnight because it was so light outside. The sun didn't stay out all night but at midnight it still looked like twilight.
I also remember the annual trip to Bible Camp which I absolutely loved because there were lots of summer activities and lots of good food as well as good company and new friends from all around northern Alberta. I lived in British Columbia (BC) and the camp was in northern Alberta.
See the highway (SE) from Dawson Creek to Saskatoon Island Provincial Park
Each year my Sunday School teacher and her husband would drive one of my siblings and I to camp along with two of their children. It always seemed like a long drive in the hot sun but according to google it's only about a 1.25 hours drive southeast from Dawson Creek, BC. Camp was only a week long but it seemed much longer because we did so much in that one week. Specifically I remember lots of outdoor sports like softball and swimming. I loved singing around the campfire roasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate. We did a lot of church of course and Bible study along with crafting and other things. One summer my house mother was a missionary lady from Africa and that is when my interest in Africa began.
There was always a special church service on the last day and a nice luncheon to which the families of all the campers were invited. Then everyone headed for home to their different locations. It was always a sad day for us young people to part with our friends and fun activities.
2. What is the highest temperature you've experienced in summer? What about so far this summer? How do you weather the heat or humidity?
I'm not entirely sure but I think it was about 43 degrees Celsius or 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Some summers can be very hot here in Canada. In those summers we usually have a lot of wildfires all over the province where I live and often in other provinces as well. So far this summer it hasn't been too bad in BC. The hottest day I can recall so far is about 29.2 degrees Celsius or 84.5 Fahrenheit. Lytton, BC has been the hotspot of the province so far this year at 36.9 degrees Celsius or 98.4 Fahrenheit. Lytton is the town that burned to the ground due to heat and wildfires a few years ago. It still hasn't been rebuilt and right now there are wildfires in the area where the town is located.
When it's hot or humid I try to stay home. If I go out, it's usually late in the day. I also drink cold drinks and eat fruits like watermelon and cherries. I keep the fans on when I feel overly hot and will sometimes put an ice pack on my neck or back. We don't have air conditioning.
3. What's been on your menu so far this summer?
Usually in summer it's too hot to eat regular food so I keep the menu light with lots of salads and fruits like watermelon and cherries. We have lots of corn on the cob, peaches, nectarines and apricots and wild caught salmon from the ocean. The weather this summer has been much more bearable so far. It's almost the middle of July and our temperatures have been in the 22 - 26 Celsius range (71.6 - 78.8 Fahrenheit). Not too hot at all. Quite comfortable in fact. Right now (Sunday) it's overcast and has been for several days. It looks like rain but so far there is no shower in sight. July is usually a very hot month but this year the temperatures are several degrees cooler than usual. It seems like the very hot weather is being experienced in Eastern Canada this year and in Europe.
Given the nice temperatures we've been eating more or less the regular food we eat. However, because it's summer I'm also making an effort to make a few summer type meals. For example, on Thursday we had a delicious vegetable salad and a Chicken Bacon pie from frozen. Today I made BBQ ribs and a Penne Pasta Salad chock full of vegetables and feta cheese.
Chicken & Bacon Pie
BBQ Ribs & Penne Salad
Penne Pasta Salad. I was very generous with the feta cheese.
Another salad we like to have in summer is Potato and Egg and I plan to make it early in the week along with some hot dogs on buns.
4. What is on your reading list this summer... anything to recommend to us? What's on your TV this summer. Any music you're liking this summer?
There are a number of books on my reading list this summer:
I recommend Mansfield Park for Jane Austen fans.
I recommend both books. First one is set on a sheep farm in Australia, 2nd in NL., Canada.
I recommend if you like stories told through letters.
I recommend for insight into understanding how we spend money.
I recommend if you want to understand the immigrant experience.
I recommend if you like twisted mysteries.
I recommend The Hotel Nantucket if you like cosy reads set in beautiful places.
I recommend if you like spy stories where the spy is a woman.
On the television I have several streaming services and I usually select a spy movie. I just finished watching the series The Agency with a stellar cast including Michael Fassbender. I've also watched several series on Paramount Plus: The Marshals, The Madison & The Dutton Ranch. On Brit Box I've watched The Other Bennett Sister and I'm now watching A Woman of Substance. The latter is a series based on the novel by the same name which I read decades ago and which has stayed with me throughout the years. The content is perfectly captured in the title. A young woman rises from abject poverty to become extremely wealthy despite all the challenges along the way.
I also saw quite a good, long movie on my library streaming service over the weekend. It's called Tomiris, about the Queen of the Massagetae people on the steppes east of the Caspian Sea. I've been trying to find the exact location of the area where the Massagetae people lived but since historical records are scarce there isn't accurate information. I do believe that the people didn't actually live in Iran but in what is now Turkmenistan and in the other countries of Central Asia with the words ending in 'Stan". In the movie, Tomiris is depicted as a woman destined to protect her people and their lands from the encroachment of Cyrus the Great. Cyrus the Great hailed from Persis, an ancient region in southwestern Iran in what is now called the Fars Province. Click on the link below to enlarge the map of the Persian Empire.
If you can find it on a streaming service you use, I'd highly recommend it. Please note you'll need to turn on the subtitles. If you're in Europe I've read you can watch it on Amazon or Apple TV.
As for music, I'm not one to sit and listen to music though I really do love it. Recently though I heard this song on Instagram and I had to look up the singer. You might like him too. Dusty Rivers is an 80 year old blues and soul singer. He appears to be a real person with a real discography. It also appears that he uses AI to generate his image in the songs on his YouTube channel. Anyway I really love his voice and have listened to this song a few times. The content of the song no doubt has to do with the result of aging and no longer needing to strive so hard. Perhaps he has also a better appreciation for different things as he nears his last chapter.
I do spend more time listening to music on occasion and when I do I love to listen to gospel, especially the old hymns, the occasional contemporary gospel song and gospel songs in other languages. I also l love folk music and the music of the 1970s.
