Donated hand-crafted ornaments bring Christmas cheer to Okanagan families who lost homes to wildfires
Annick DeGooyer wasn't going to decorate for Christmas this year.
In August, the home where she and her firefighter husband Rob Baker had lived more than 20 years was reduced to ashes when a huge wildfire tore through their community of Traders Cove on the west side of Okanagan Lake.
The couple now rent in Kelowna and no longer have a treasure trove of decorations to pull out at this time of year.
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"When I opened the box, I didn't think it was going to hit me quite as hard as it did," said DeGooyer. "All the ornaments had a tag of the person who made them and so, as I opened the box, it was such a personal experience."
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"These ornaments can't go back in the box," she recalls telling her husband. "They are just beautiful."
more
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/christmas-love-for-the-okanagan-1.7056788
Very heartwarming and a great backstory, imo.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I am so sorry for the tragedy of those fires.
We were coming back from Alaska this last August and had planned to go thru Kelowna and spend a few days in Okanagan (Wine country) but got stuck in Kamloops when they closed the road due to the fires.
I hope they can rebuild and enjoy the area. It is one of our favorite parts of BC, and that's saying a lot. BC is spectacularly beautiful.
AND...I love our Canadian neighbors. They are wonderful.
