May 7, 2005

May 7, 2005

Dunmore, Alberta

DAY 324

 

Congratulations to Joanne on her 4th anniversary as a cancer survivor. Four years ago today she underwent her first cancer surgery, following a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. I will never forget the agony of driving her to the hospital that morning, listening to her phone call with her sister. As we were driving to the hospital, Lorri phoned from Winnipeg elated about the birth of Amelia two days earlier, eager to share her joy with her big sister, unaware of Joanne's cancer diagnosis, or surgery scheduled for that day. Joanne was struggling to put on a "happy face" for her sister's phone call, while she hid her fear, and belief ( at that time ) that she faced a death sentence.

Today was cloudy and cool, with a light wind. It was a good day for outdoor maintenance work. I spent the whole day doing maintenance chores, while Joanne spent the whole day cleaning. Every nook and cranny was covered in dust from the gravel road the other day, including the contents of each drawer and cupboard. She removed everything from each cupboard and drawer, washed it all, then washed the cupboard and drawer interiors. I did the regular preventive maintenance, then started on repairs. First I got up on the roof, and did the first application of rubber roof cement on two cracked areas on the roof edge. First the areas needed to be cleaned, then rasped, before the application of rubber roof cement and reinforcing screening. Then I removed the Max Air vent cover from the bathroom roof vent, and cleaned both the Max Air cover, and the roof vent underneath. Having the bathroom vent fan assembly out for rebuilding created a good opportunity to clean the roof vent and cover. Next I removed and replaced the city water inlet. The one I bought yesterday has a traditional backflow check valve, like the original one that was installed in the trailer. The replacement one I purchased and installed a couple of months ago in Bakersfield, California, had a different, more modern style of backflow check valve. I wasn't very impressed with how it blew up the other evening, so I switched back to the traditional design. Then came the biggest job of the day. I disassembled the bathroom vent fan assembly, and rebuilt it using cannibalized parts I was able to buy yesterday at Cactus RV in Medicine Hat. They took me upstairs into their used parts storage area, and helped me find the obscure parts I needed. They have an inventory of essentially brand new parts, like roof vents, that get removed from trailers when they install upgrades. It was a long, difficult job to disassemble, rebuild, and reinstall the bathroom vent fans, but I felt a sense of accomplishment when it was done.

I made perogies for supper. MMMMM ! ! !

DSK