Kate, The Blog Diva

Archive for the ‘Personal Stories’ Category

I can not believe it’s been one year since I started up the TheBlogDiva.com! I could never in a million years would have imagined that I would have so much fun running Kate, The Blog Diva, and all of the wonderful e-mails and comments that I have received over the past year from all of my fans. Without my fans there would be no Kate, The Blog Diva, so I’m sharing this one year birthday with all of you! – Happy 1st Birthday Kate, The Blog Diva, and all of it’s Wonderful Fans! Cake for EVERYONE!!

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Wishing everyone a safe and spooky Halloween from Kate, The Blog Diva!

Here is a cute haunted gingerbread house made by my brother and his wife. Cute or what?

Here is a picture of my pumpkin that I carved with lots love.

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Close to where I live there is a Nut Farm where you can pick, or purchase a variety of nuts. This particular nut farm (Gellatly Nut Farm) has been around since 1900, and some of the nuts were originally brought over from Europe. The owner of the nut farm crossed some of the nut species that he brought over with him (from Europe) with native growing nuts from Canada making many new nut varieties.

My fiance and I thought it would be an awesome idea to check out our local Fall Harvest Festival, and then later check out the Nut Farm just next to it. We had no idea that at that time they were letting people pick nuts. ..We didn’t even know what a nut tree was for that matter! LOL

I took some pictures of the nuts we picked.

This place is so beautiful and peaceful, that I’m going back to take some pictures when the leaves have fully changed.

These are all of the Hazelnuts (Big Red Filhazel’s) that we picked right off the tree. It takes 2-3 weeks to dry the hazelnuts and then you can crack them open and eat them. I love hazel nuts, especially around the holidays.

You can see that the hazelnuts grow on a small tree that looks like a tree from you backyard. When you harvest the nuts, it’s easiest if you just go under the tree and shake it like a monkey, then they just drop down to the ground. ..These hazelnuts were originally brought over from Europe and crossed with a Hazel Nut from Peace River, British Columbia.

As you can see from this picture the hazelnuts grow inside a husk, and you can shell the husk to get to the nut.

Here is a closer look at the hazel nuts.

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The other day my fiance and I decided that we would climb Mt. Boucherie. Mt. Boucherie is a dormant stratovolcano created nearly 60 million years ago. Mt. Boucherie is 417 meters tall that is 1368 feet.

I have never climbed a mountain before, and I’m telling you this was probably the hardest thing that I have done in my life. It was a very hot day, and we didn’t stick to any man made trails. We cut almost straight up it. There were lots of loose vulcanic rocks, so it made for a difficult climb. We had to take lots of breaks, the sun just zapped our energy.

I’m so happy that I did it though, the view was so beautiful from the top. Here are some pictures I took.

This was taken just as I came through the trees and stepped on top of Mt. Boucherie.

Look at how small the cars and buildings are. I could not believe how high I was until I looked over the valley and saw how small everything looked.

I felt like I was on top of the world, while I looked over everything.

This picture is taken at the highest point on Mt. Boucherie. The very top.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my pictures! =)

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Hardy Falls (near Peachland B.C.) is one of my favorite places to visit. We get people from all around the world visiting Hardy Falls to see the Kokanee spawn at this time of year. It’s a beautiful place, the scenery is amazing and waterfall is spectacular. I thought I’d take some pictures for all of you. Enjoy.

The park is named after this beautiful waterfall.

Here is another beautiful picture of Hardy Falls from a distance.

Hardy Falls park is just as beautiful in the Fall with all of the colorful leaves. I hope to take more pictures then.

I just love this picture. =-)

Everywhere I turned there were animals all around me. =-)

Here is a picture of Kokanee (a type of Salmon) spawning, and making their way to the place where they were born and to lay their eggs.

I was so excited to see a black bear while I was at Hardy Falls. The forest ranger told us that there were three black bears in the park that day (down from the mountains) looking to feast on this fish. He said that there were two females, and one GREAT BIG male black bear. I got this awesome picture of one of the smaller females making her way up the creek. I had to keep my distance, ..thank god for the zoom lens I had!

I hope you all enjoyed looking at my photos from Hardy Falls!

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It’s that time of the year again when the Kokanee are spawning. I went up to my favorite creek (that I visit every year) to watch the Kokanee swim up stream and spawn. It really is incredible to watch.

Kokanee live for about 3-4 years and then they swim back to the place where they were born to lay their eggs, and die.

Kokanee only turn crimson with a green to black head when they are spawning. You can see the crimson and green head of the Kokanee in this picture.

This the stream that the Kokanee will swim up and lay their eggs. You should see this stream in the fall, its just beautiful. I’m going to try and take some pictures of the leaves this year near the stream.

While I was taking pictures of the Kokanee, I was informed that there was a mother bear near by, and to be careful. This is the closest that I have ever been to a black bear in the wild. It looks like mamma bear was eating some yummy leaves, and Kokanee for dinner. Can you see her through the bushes?

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The other day my fiance and I stopped at our favorite beach noticing how high the waves were. We immediately agreed that we needed to jump in the lake and play in the waves. =-) ..I could not believe how high the waves were and how fast they were coming in.

I didn’t have my bathing suit handy, but that didn’t stop me. I wanted to get out into those waves, so I improvised a little. When I got in, I had THE BEST TIME EVER!! I have never had so much fun as I did the other day in the waves. If you never had a chance to swim in waves you are missing out. It’s ten times funner than when the water is calm!

These pictures do not do justice to how high the waves really were, but here they are.

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I just love nature and everything that there is to love about nature. I have three bird houses in my backyard and at-least one of them always has a family nesting in them.

I love sitting on my deck and watching mamma bird feed her little babies. It always brings a smile to my face. I’m telling you, these little guys sure do have some vocal cords. I can hear them chirping away when I am in the house, and they even wake me up in the morning, but it’s worth it. I’m not sure what the breed of bird they are, but I’m going to take a guess and say that they are Chickadee, but don’t take my word for it. They sure are cute though. =)

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My fiance and I decided to hit the beach yesterday seeing that it was SOOOO hot here. It has been in the high 30′s all week, and although that is not that hot for some of my American and International friends, it’s HOT for us here in Canada!!

I packed up a wonderful lunch, full of fresh fruit, veggies, coconut water, and our favorite floaty. We were then off to our favorite beach.  =-)

Normally our favorite beach is never this busy, but it sure was packed yesterday. All that hot weather brought people out in swarms.

As I was just getting ready to work on my tan, I looked over and noticed Mamma and her Ducklings swimming near the shoreline. I jumped up right away grabbed my camera. I only had mere minutes to snap this picture before Mamma steered her babies out into the lake. Aren’t these little duckling  just precious? I just love nature.

I never get tired of the view when I’m at the beach, its so beautiful and peaceful. I had to take a picture and share it with you all.

Ok, now don’t laugh too hard. ..Here’s a snap of my WHITE LEGS!!! *LOL * …I manged to get a tan on them before the day was done, so I’m feeling better about them now. *grin*

Here’s another picture of the of the beautiful scenery that I had to share with you. The sky was so blue that this picture does not do it justice. The  water was so crystal clear.

I hope you all enjoyed my pictures, I know I sure enjoyed my afternoon at the beach. I’m going to hate it when it starts getting cold here in a couple of months, so I’m going to get out there as often as I can over the next month.

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Blog Star: Hi I’m Kate, The Blog Diva!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my blog. I’m glad you came. =-) I have complied a mini bio about myself for you.

I’m a down to earth girl who loves life and wants to share my thoughts with all of you. I’m from the beautiful country of Canada. I also consider myself a huge movie buff. I love just about every kind of movie, for except very scary movies and Westerns. There is nothing better than curling up on the couch and watching a good movie. I like to lose myself in the movie and picture myself as the main character, it helps me to remember the movie better. I also LOVE video games! My favorite game is Halo. I have played through Halo 1, 2, and 3 start to finish more times than I can count. lol .. Nothing like kicking some Covenant ass! Last but not least, I love watching hockey. I’m a huge hockey fan, When I’m not reading and watching hockey, I love to workout and keep myself looking good. I love to dress in sexy clothes and look like a diva. I’m also a huge nut for shoes and purses, I have so many shoes and purses and I switch up my purses every month so I can use them all. I also love the color pink. I have almost everything I own in pink. I like dressing my kitty up in clothes a well. I like to dress her in cute outfits and even push her around in her pet stroller during the Summer months. I like to eat healthy, and I try to eat organic food as much as I can. I also try and use natural products in my house as well. I’m also a bit of a bargain hunter, I’m not one for spending a lot of money on clothes and other stuff, I like to shop at thrift stores. You can always find some nice clothes there and for half of what you would pay for in a retail store. *wink*

Well I hope you enjoyed learning about me and what I like to do for fun.

Happy Reading,
Kate, The Blog Diva

Here are 7 Random Facts About Kate, The Blog Diva:

1. I was born on my mother’s birthday
2. I love CHOCOLATE
3. My Favorite Flower is the Rose
5. I love the season Fall
5. I’m a mommy to four fur babies
6. I’m Irish, Scottish and Italian.
7. I absolutely love Halloween!

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June is Adopt A Cat Month

June is Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat month. I’m a mommy to a precious kitty named Priscilla, who I adopted from my local animal shelter about six years ago. She is the best fur baby that a mom could ever ask for. =-) If anyone has the inclination to adopt a cat, why not consider checking out your local animal shelter. There are lots of wonderful cats there looking for a great home.

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Last weekend I attended  my Cousin’s wedding, so I took some pictures to share with all of you. My cousin, and his now wife used the colors Lime Green and Beige for their color theme. Why anyone would use the colors Lime Green and Beige for wedding colors, I don’t know. For me I personally did not think that these two colors well together. Oh yeah, they also came up with the idea to incorporate green apples into everything. I guess they had a thing for green.

I had a great time at the wedding, I loved seeing family that I have not seen in years. I also loved the cupcakes they had. I’m also very happy for my Cousin and I hope he and his new wife have a very happy life together. Also the weather was absolutely amazing we had no rain just sunshine and blue sky.

Here are the pics:

This is the classic car that the Bride and Groom drove around town in when they finished getting married. Notice the lime green wedding decorations on the car. LOL… I think the car looks pretty cool. It really does bring a smile to your face.

This is the church that my cousin and his now wife were married in. This Church was built in 1892 and only seated ninety people. Some of the guests were standing in the back of the Church as there was no more room to sit. I really loved the old feeling of this Church. I was imaging all of the people of yester-year sitting there with their families, all dressed up in their Sunday best.

The only wedding decorations that the Church had were the plants… (weeds?)  in the picture. I wish they would have added a few more decorations to the Church, it would have really given this Church a romantic feeling. The Church is a historical site, so not much is allowed to be added.

Here is a picture of the reception area. Notice the lime green theme and apples every where. I love the Jones Soda bottles that they had done. They took one of their engagement pictures and had Jones Soda place it on one of their bottles. My Cousin also had jars of Jelly Belly’s on the table for everyone and I thought that was a nice touch. They also had a questionnaire of  “how well do you know the bride and groom” and a another questionnaire where you could give your thoughts on questions such as .. what do you think the bride and groom will drive,  what will their children look like, ..etc. The reception area had big beautiful windows that let so much light into the room, I just loved that.

Here is the picture of the wedding cake. I’m not sure about those ugly green berries on the cake. YUCK!! Sorry gotta be honest here with the cake. Everyone knows that the cake is the major attraction at a wedding. ..I do like the little colored decorations that the cake maker added to the cake and the stand looks very pretty.

Last but not least here is a picture of the cupcakes and wedding cake together. I love the cake stand with all of the greenery around it. There is also flowers mixed with the greenery, but you can’t really see it.

The cupcakes were to die for, I like the white cake cupcakes the best. That’s not like me, since I LOVE chocolate.

Overall the wedding was very nice and I’m so happy for my Cousin and his new wife. They are now off to Hawaii for their honeymoon for seven days of fun in the sun and fun in the hotel room as well. *wink*. I hope you all enjoyed my photos from my Cousin’s wedding.

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