Meet my (our) friend, Christina

Truth be told, Christina is more Kathie’s friend than mine, though for the purposes of this blog I will claim her nonetheless. We first met at the Peach Orchard Dog Park. (Where else?) At the time she and husband Doug owned one border collie, Nik. Eventually they rounded out their flock adding Sky (called Sky Sky as she never comes on first call). Nik is now the same age as Juno, 6.5 years, and Sky Sky just over one year old. We call them “the  flying black and whites,” though Nik now flies slower than Sky Sky.

Christiana absolutely loves dogs. While there was a period of time they  didn’t have a dog “part of me was like, I feel like I’m cheating.” Before Nik, they went 10 years without a dog. They did not get another dog until Nik. This is hard for me to believe.

“It doesn’t matter what, dogs are just so in love with you. they’re just so happy to see you. And who wouldn’t want to wake up with little Sky Sky looking right in your eyes? “Ah, but how early in the morning?” I ask.

Dogs are not the only part of Christina and Doug’s life. They are both active members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance congregation here in Summerland. They both maintain a garden plot at the Community Garden where Christiana is a coordinator. Both retired, Doug was an industrial  electrician working in heavy industry. Christiana has done a bit of everything, including raising three boys, working for a time in the forest sector, and driving very, very large dump trucks. “By the time I finished with trucks I was able to back up.”

They both love the outdoors. Christina has lots of stories. “I remember when I was about seven or eight, my parents always would go and get firewood. Yeah. And they had cut trees up and bucked them up. Once, I found a little tree round of a tree, bark and all. It smelled soooooh good. I took it home and put it in one of those metal cookie tins with a tight-fitting lid. You could smell the fresh cut wood for a year.

At this point in our conversation, with Christina’s passion for dogs and gardening established, Kathie interrupted our conversation:

Kathie – Christina, it’s your half-birthday today.

Christina – Oh my gosh. Yeah. Here we are. It is.

Kathie – We saw this opportunity and thought you needed this.

(Kathie pulls a lovely shirt with stencilled images and text, wrapped beautifully in a bow and gives it to Christina.)

Christina – A half birthday. I love it. And it says? — What does it say? Wow! It says: “I just want to work in my garden and hang out with my dogs.  It’s me. I’m going to wear it today. I have an appointment to meet potential community gardeners today. I’ll wear it then. That way they know what they’re getting in to.

(Readers might enjoy pictures of Christina and Kathie at the Summerland Community Garden. Check it out; it’s an amazing place and a true gift to your little town of Summerland.)

I asked where Christina’s love of gardening came from:

“My grandmother was a big gardener. She had a three-acre strip of land which bordered on a tiny little house.  The entire back was full of fruit trees. And then she had this tiny postage-stamp, lush little sitting garden. The house had a huge kitchen and a proper little sitting room that the children were not allowed in. It was a little tiny formal spot with fancy uncomfortable chairs. The rest of the yard was garden. I remember playing in that garden thinking when I grow up, this is where I want to be.

Well, Christina now has her garden — actually gardens, plural. She has her two dogs; and her friends; and faith, hope, and love. Not a bad situation. Thanks Christiana, and Doug, for being friends with us. Friends . . . forever.

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