christmas week (# 212 - 226 of 1000 gifts)

212. Ann's book on my Kindle app. (So very good to read the story behind 1000 Gifts, to discover the inner desperation that sparked Ann's search, and to have my eyes opened to the potential of habitual gratefulness.)

213. Christmas pies that leak sticky goodness all over the floor of my oven.

214. Tin foil on the bottom of that oven.

215. The person who invented tin foil.

216. The holiday smell of hubby's cabbage rolls.

217. Our peaceful, twinkly livingroom on late afternoons in December.

218. Teachers who learn from their students.

219.  My friend's words about Christmas:

Though it’s easy to see God as harsh and judgmental, even dangerous, in the Old Testament, think about Christmas.  What could be more tender than a baby? ...When God intervened in our messy world, he came as tender as tender can be.  He was handing us his baby.
(Read all of "That's Christmas" by Jill Hoskyn).

220.  Scent for me under the tree (Estee Lauder, I *heart* you!).

221. Hubby is liking his gift (but then, who wouldn't like an iPad).

222. A super-special gift to me from son (love that kid!!)

223. A safe drive through a mountain fairyland, to Christmas No.2.

224. Being part of a special act of worship -- the dedication of our grandbabies.

225. Christmas No. 2 with the two most handsome and lovable grandboys on earth.

226. A crystal-shiny and cold  walk this morning beside the North Thompson -- with my best friend.

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

Ann's book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are is releasing in January. But you can get the Kindle version -- even give it along with a gift card from Ann --  now!

soft

Guinea Pig (B. C. Wildlife Park, Kamloops)

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More 'soft' photos linked at Thursday Challenge

Next Week: HOME (House, Living Room, Kitchen, Bedroom, Nest, Hive,...)

mini-vacation

We got back late yesterday from a lovely mini-vacation, visiting the young ...

(Ah, a boy after grandma's own heart - he loves books!)

... the old (E's dad, surrounded by his kids and in-laws. We sang hymns for about 45 minutes and the old songs brought tears of emotion)

and loaded down with a bucket of goodies straight from the tree! (I'm sure the temptation fruit in the garden was the cherry.)

modern ghost town

The ghost town of Tranquille, just outside Kamloops is a source of never-ending fascination. My August 28/06 story about visiting there is my second most popular post.

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We got back yesterday from a great little weekend away. We drove to Kamloops Saturday morning to spend some time with this fun couple.



One of the things we fit in, on top of a little walking, a little TV watching, some great eating and an evening spent listening to music in Riverside Park...



was a trip to a modern ghost town.

Tranquille was, as the title of this book tells us, a whole little city by itself.

According to this article about Tranquille’s history, gold was discovered at the site where the buildings now sit around 1857 and the city came to life. Then in 1905 when the British Columbia anti-tuberculosis society began looking for a site to build a provincial hospital, Tranquille turned out to be an ideal location with its dry and mountainous climate.

The plot of land was bought from its original owners, the Fortune family, in 1907 for $57,000. It was used as a tuberculosis sanatorium for 51 years. The sanatorium was nearly self-sufficient, with its own dairy, gardens, water supply, even a newspaper. It only used Kamloops electricity. Underground tunnels connect many of the buildings with pipes in them to distribute the steam for heating.

In 1958 when treatments for TB had changed, the facility was closed as a sanatorium. In 1959 it was converted into a home for mentally handicapped people. At one point it employed up to 600 staff. That part of its history ended in 1985 when the B.C. Government’s policy became to disperse former patients throughout the community into group homes (and onto the streets!).

In 1991 it was bought by a company who planned to develop it into an Italian resort called Padova City. That never happened and today the entire city sits - empty. There are signs around its perimeter warning prospective trespassers that it is private property and guarded 24 hours.

We walked up a road that goes behind the property and I got a few shots of the backs of buildings.





A drive later took us to a vantage point from which we could see the whole spread. Kamloops lake is in the background.



A bit of digging online brought me to the site of “Wraiths” of some kind who have been on the property. Their description of exploring the grounds along with photos of the inside of these buildings was fascinating, but is no longer online.

There are a few more photos here and here.

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Updated May 17/09
YouTube that was formerly below was deleted, as it was "Removed by owner."

Updated October 28/07
Stale link removed..