In Memory of Rick Hunter

Sept 20, 1957 - Aug 30, 2012

Rick would often quote this song to me when I complained to him about my first-world problems. I'm going to miss him.

Review: L'Oreal Eversleek Reparative Smoothing Conditioner

L'Oreal Paris EverSleek Reparative Smoothing Conditioner

I picked up this conditioner as the companion to my Eversleek Reparative shampoo (reviewed here). It was on sale for $6.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart ($4 off) and I was running low on my Yes To Cucumbers conditioner (another great product I'll review later). I was excited to try the combo of both the shampoo and the conditioner together. I always get excited about little things like that. I liked the smell of the shampoo and the volume it gave my fine curls (although my boyfriend used it and hated the poof it made his hair into [he didn't use conditioner]). 

This conditioner is sulfate- and silicone-free and uses sunflower, argan, and olive oils to moisturize and condition.

I usually use up to a palmful of conditioner for my hair, but I decided to go for 2 quarter-sized amounts. It spread evenly and smoothly through my shoulder-length hair. I left it in for about 5 minutes as I went about my regular shower routine. It rinsed out clean and tangle-free. I followed up with my usual gel (Herbal Essences Set Me Up - a silicone-free gel), scrunched from underneath, and finger-styled my curls. 

My hair dried in shiny, manageable ringlets: frizz free and soft. I had to resist the temptation to run my fingers through my hair (lest I turn my perfect curls into a rats nest). 

I declare this conditioner a win!

Side note: I would not recommend this product to someone with oily hair. This is a rich conditioner and would weight it down, making it limp and oilier. My hair, although fine, is dry and loves to soak up moisture. 

"Meditation is my meditation" - But still, camping is pretty great!

Hi! I missed you. I've been gone for a while: camping for 8 days.

I'm totally listening to Enya right now and sitting in my pyjamas writing this blog post and thinking about meditation and the great camping trip I just got back from.

People often say that running is their meditation. Or knitting or yoga. Or whatever. Some of my friends in my meditation sitting group want to make a shirt that says "Meditation is my meditation". I don't correct people when they say then Zen out on kneading dough or getting a massage, but I prefer to keep my meditation separate from my other activities and just focus on mindfulness as actual meditation. I can see why people say working on their car is like sitting on the cushion - it's an all-encompassing task that requires all of your focus. So much, in fact, that you get lost in it and can think of nothing else. It can seem like a meditative state, especially if it keeps you calm. 

During sitting practice, lots of thoughts arise and fall away. The point, in insight meditation, is to observe them, the sensations in your body and around you, and the feeling tones of those thoughts and sensations. Some meditations feel clear and energizing. Others feel sluggish. Others, irritating. Not getting caught up in fantasies, memories, or planning is hard. Really hard. It's not about flicking this switch and your mind becomes this clear, boundless white space. I had that misconception when I first started sitting. 

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I've been trying my hand at a couple of different things: fishing and crocheting, and finding them "meditative". I'm not actually practising mindfulness during these activities, but I sure feel calm and focused. I never understood the appeal of fishing until I tried it. Same with crocheting. Many of my friends fish, knit (or crochet) and I've been happy to watch or tag along and read a book or chat. But when I finally decided to get a hobby or two and faced my fear of things being too hard and that I wouldn't be a pro the first time I tried it, I realized how awesome having something to focus on besides introspecting and thinking can be.

See, I've gone from this:

To this:

I had to start over 4 times. I tied knots or twisted the other ones. I've even done a few more rows since I took the second picture. 

Crocheting was a fun fireside activity, although I needed lots of lantern light to go by. It was relaxing in the evening after hot, long days in the sun. It feels nice to make something tangible, even if it's going to be the most oddly-shaped dish cloth in the world. 

On to the camping trip! I kept my phone off because there was no service and to preserve the battery (turning it on sucks half the juice). I took a few pictures.

First, we camped on my sister's lawn in Vernon from Saturday to Monday. We had barbeques, visited my best friend, went fishing at Mabel Lake (great for swimming, but not so great for fishing without a boat), at the dam at Shuswap Falls, and under this awesome bridge:

I think it's a panda!

My bro-in-law casting his line

After a couple of trips to Surplus Herbys to buy rods, tackle, and a fishing license for me, we set off for Keremeos. Traffic was bad going into Penticton, but we made it by mid-afternoon. We found the town surprisingly empty, especially after the infamous Sober Riders camp out on the weekend. There were a few trailers and tents scattered amongst the many camp sites and we were thrilled to find our favourite spot at the Buckhorn site empty. It's right on the edge of the camp site, very private and right on the river. It's also free! We fished at a couple of different spots and I caught a couple of little guys I threw back. Unfortunately, thunderstorms were in the forecast, so we only camped there 2 days before having to pack up in literally 10 minutes in the pouring rain. 

Here's the red bridge you go over to the road that leads up the Ashnola River:

After Keremeos, we drove into Princeton to stop for gas and ice. The attendant asked if I was from the area and I said we were looking for somewhere to camp and fish. She said Allison Lake was 18 kms north, toward Merrit. We drove up there and explored the site, which is $11 per night. It's all raked gravel and right off the highway. The lake and picnic area is on the other side of the road. We decided to stay the night after not finding anywhere else suitable to hunker down. We couldn't find the turnoff for Kump Lake and found Robertson Lake too remote and run down. There were 2 camp sites there that no one had maintained for a long while and a dishevelled, pieced-together boat launch. There was nowhere to fish from shore.

We fished in Allison Lake in the evening and caught many small trout. Luckily, the lake has a 10 hp limit on boats, so the fish don't get disturbed by the wake. The lake was warm and nice for swimming too. It was lovely fishing in the evenings before bed. You could see fish spotting and jumping all over the place. 

The campsite has cold tap water with a boil-water advisory, so we heated it to do dishes with but it was fine for bathing. It was nice to rinse off after the hot, dusty days up in Princeton. 

We packed up the next morning and headed for Chain, Link, and Osprey Lakes to find camping and fishing spots. These lakes are along the Princeton-Summerland Road, by the Kettle Valley Railway. Each lake had a small, but full camp site with what looked like boat-only fishing. The lake was too reedy to fish from the shore. The bugs were bad, too. We found one spot at Osprey Lake, but it was on a slope and where two trails converged right at the entrance to the camp site. Not a lot of privacy either. And it was $12! A dollar more than the nicely maintained camp site we had just stayed at. We headed back to Allison Lake and stayed 3 more nights. 

So what did we do besides sit in front of the camp fire and cook delicious meals (ribs, tandoori chicken, fajitas, french toast...etc.) on our camp grill? Well, we fished and swam as I already mentioned but we did some other cool stuff like rock hounding. We followed the guides and maps in Rick Hudson's Gold, Gemstones, and Mineral Sites of BC and found sites where we found agates, quartz, fossils, and different geodes and mineral deposits. It was pretty fun driving up old logging roads, following the vague instructions in the book. We explored all over and saw some beautiful views. 

We also found the ghost towns of Coalmont, Granite City, and the mining town of Blakeburn.

Old, collapsed building in Blakeburn

Blakeburn

Blakeburn Creek where we found agates and malachite

Coalmont's Welcome sign

Weird sign in Coalmont

Granite City Cemetery

Colourful grave in the Granite City Cemetery

Nature is pretty amazing and you can see that clearly in rocks and fossils and the way they form. I don't know a whole lot about them, but I'm learning and I love it. 

After 8 days of socializing, exploring, cooking fabulous meals, swimming, fishing, and driving all over hell's half acre, we headed back to the Lower Mainland.

The traffic was easy, until we hit Bridal Falls. There was an accident a couple kms west (flipped trailer), and we spent 1.5 hours in go and stop traffic. It was nice to finally get home, do laundry and take a hot shower.

I wish the trip lasted longer, but it's nice to get back to work and routine too. I'd do it all over again in a second. Maybe next time I'll take 2 weeks. I'd like to get my annual fishing license and try some rivers around here.

And I'll finish off with the song I'm listening to right now. My boyfriend showed me this last year when I started to play uke and it's one of my favourites. Enjoy!

Review: L'Oreal EverSleek Reparative Shampoo

L'Oreal EverSleek Reparative Smoothing Shampoo

I decided to try this shampoo after hearing quite the buzz about it on the NaturallyCurly forums. This entire line (EverSleek, EverPure, and EverStrong) is sulfate- and silicone-free. They are designed especially for colour-treated hair, as sulfates wash out colour, and silicone dries out hair. 

I don't use sulfates or silicones in my hair, and decided to give this shampoo a try after getting sick of the scent of my shampoo bar (lavender and patchouli). This shampoo is clear (the Intense version is creamy) and is supposed to fight frizz and smooth the hair cuticle. 

The shampoo is thinner in consistency than my occasional TreSemme Naturals and I only needed a quarter-sized amount to produce a rich, foamy lather. It distributed through my hair evenly and didn't stop sudsing. 

It rinsed out clean (but not squeaky-clean like my shampoo bar) and I finished with TreSemme Naturals conditioner. I used a little gel and hairspray and scrunched my hair. 

After letting it air dry, I was pleased to see this:

Soft, bouncy curls! Yay! My hair feels smooth, and is shiny and frizz-free.

I declare this shampoo a win!

White Pine: More Like White Fine!

Yesterday, we were blessed with some gorgeous sunny weather so my friends invited me to come along to the floating docks at White Pine Beach. It's on Sasamat Lake: green and serene. The beach is often very busy, but the floating docks across the lake are more of a well-kept secret. We arrived to find only a handful of people on each of the two docks. My friends don't want me to share the location of the docks so it stays less crowded. (EDIT: I got called out for the stealth tip I provided, so it looks like you'll have to find it yourself).

The water is cool and inviting; there's no beach so you dive right into the deep. After swimming you can sun yourself on the concrete dock (bring a blanket to protect your poor back and knees). 

We also played Anomia, a Mensa-approved card game. It get's its name from Anomic apashia: a severe inability to recall words or names. You flip cards from the middle deck away from you, and if your card matches another player's you quickly yell out the person, place, or thing on their card. For example, if my card says "Breakfast Food" and their card says "Business Mogul", I would try to yell out "Donald Trump!" before they shouted "waffles!" (when a music card came up, I shouted "baroque" and everyone was like, "niiiiiice". It was a proud moment for me.) There's wild cards too, making the game more complicated. It's really fun with 4 or more players. 

Here's some pictures of the scenery of White Pine. Lovely.