August 25, 26, 27, & 28, 2005

August 25, 26, 27, & 28, 2005

West Hawk Lake days 100, 101, 102, & 103 of 113

YEAR 2 DAYS 69, 70, 71, & 72

 

Thursday ; My pain level over night was severe. We headed for the Kenora Hospital first thing this morning. I sat around the emergency ward for a few hours before being examined by a physician. He ordered blood and urine tests, and a series of abdominal x-rays. By the time that was all done, it was late afternoon, and my pain level was excruciating. They administered an injection of morphine, and admitted me to the hospital overnight for observation, and a CT scan in the morning. Once admitted, an IV drip was started, and they administered antibiotics intravenously. I wasn't allowed to eat or drink. The morphine injection worked very well to suppress the pain, but it also left me feeling very "stoned" for 13 hours. At least I slept well ... from 3:00 P.M. until 4:00 A.M.. The preliminary diagnosis was diverticulitis, another colon disorder.

Friday ; This morning I asked at 6:30 A.M. to be allowed to use the shower. I wanted to shower before going for the CT scan. The nurse said she would set up the shower room for me soon. I asked again at 7:30. Same response. I asked again at 8:30. Same response. I asked again at 9:30. Same response. I don't think so ! Enough is enough ! I want a shower now ! As I undressed in the shower room, my IV drip ran out, and the IV machine started to beep loudly. DAMN ! I got sort of dressed, and went back out into the hall to find my nurse and have her change my IV bag. As she was doing that, the nursing station phone rang. I was required downstairs for my CT scan now. With gritted teeth, I stomped off for my CT scan, unwashed, teeth not brushed, feeling, looking, and smelling like ... well ... just like all the rest of the patients in Kenora Hospital, I guess. Those of you who know Kenora can read between the lines. I reported to the CT scan department, and sat around waiting for 45 minutes. I was pretty pissed off that they called for me 45 minutes before they wanted me. How long do they think it takes a patient to get from the third floor to the main floor ? I had my CT scan, went back upstairs, and had a shower. Without asking ! HEY ... I know where the shower room is, and I'm a big boy who doesn't need permission to shower ! I spent the rest of the day being visited every few hours by a young,female resident doctor who seemed to be assigned my case. She ordered more blood tests, and more urine tests. We discussed ulcerative colitis. I knew much more about it than she did. I guess that surprised me. I had her switch me to an oral pain killer to avoid being stoned on morphine. By mid-afternoon it was determined that I could eat and drink. Finally ! I had been without food and water for about 45 hours, since Wednesday supper. She switched me to oral antibiotics, and the IV was removed. They decided diverticulitis wasn't the problem. The pain persisted throughout the day. By midnight it was so severe, I succumbed, and requested another shot of morphine. Another night of good sleep, although I should have asked for it earlier, so I wouldn't still be stoned in the morning.

Saturday ; More x-rays, more blood tests, more urine tests. The diagnosis was an obstructed colon, caused by inflammation of the lining of the colon. That's right. I told you 2 days ago in the emergency ward that I have ulcerative colitis. For the first time in my 15 ( or so ) year history with colitis, the inflammation was severe enough to block the colon. My cute, young blonde doctor prescribed a heavy dosage of Pentasa, a colon anti-inflammatory, a medication I already take. Yesterday, she didn't know what Pentasa was. I taught her. She also kept me on antibiotics, and wanted to keep me in the hospital for one more day, because the pain was still severe. I had not had a bowel movement in many days. The grumbling sounds in my abdomen were loud ! She had me take an oral colonic acidifier and laxative. HELLLOOO ! KABOOM ! Well ... at least things are moving along now ! The pain was still severe. I asked for my nightly ass full of morphine at 10 P.M.. Slept well, yes sir !

Sunday ; Well, here I am back at "home", after 3 days in Lake Of The Woods District Hospital in Kenora. Things are moving along ... at a very rapid pace ! Wish I could find a "happy medium". Dr. Goldstein felt that the problem had been identified, my pain was diminishing, and treatment could continue at home. The ongoing pain in my lower abdomen and lower back is caused by the descending segment of the colon, swollen shut, so nothing can pass the inflammation. I showered, Joanne arrived to pick me up, we left the hospital and headed to the Wal-Mart pharmacy to pick up some prescription medications. We drove back to West Hawk. As we arrived, Joanne pointed out to me that on Thursday when she was in Kenora visiting me, the rest of our fire wood had been stolen. !)@(#*$&%^ ! ! !

I spent the afternoon resting, and reading. That's about the extent of my capabilities at the moment. I'm still pretty sick, and in pain. I phoned our sisters to let them I know I was out of the hospital. I chatted with Sharon for awhile. I worked on the computer, getting caught up on accounting and my journal.

I'm getting pretty tired of this pain, and feeling sick !

DSK

August 24, 2005

August 24, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 99 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 68

 

Today was mostly sunny and warm.

We woke up very early this morning to prepare to head for Winnipeg, for Joanne's uncle's funeral. My lower back pain was slightly diminished from yesterday, but still severe. While preparing, I had to assess whether or not to go, based on the severe pain in my back. With trepidation, I decided to go. Joanne drove to Winnipeg. The first mile from the campground to the Trans-Canada Highway was torture due to bumps in the road. By the time we had reached the highway, I was drenched in sweat, and just about ready to tell Joanne to turn around and take me back. Once we were on Trans-Canada Highway 1 the ride became smoother, but Dee-Dee could never be described as a smooth ride, especially when Harvey is not attached. We stopped at a pharmacy at Southdale, to buy some medication I needed, and pick up a Pharmacare application form. I drove from Southdale to Lorri's. We were picking up Lorri at 10 A.M., and taking her with us to Uncle Luc's funeral mass at St. Boniface Basilica. We attended Uncle Luc's service, a bilingual ( French / English ) Roman Catholic funeral mass in a formal cathedral. All that standing up and sitting back down was really painful. After the service, Joanne visited with some cousins downstairs at a luncheon. She hasn't seen most of these cousins in many years. Most were not aware of our lifestyle. It became obvious to me, as I watched and listened to Joanne explain our travel adventure, full time RV lifestyle to her relatives, that we are living some people's dream, other's nightmare. HA HA HA !

We drove Lorri back home, and stopped for just a few minutes to say hello to Madeleine and Amelia. We left Lorri's and stopped at the drapery shop that was supposed to have our bedroom shade repaired by yesterday. It was not ready. I wasn't impressed ! I think they understood that ! We drove out of the city, to Landmark, where I had a parts order to pick up at the GM dealer. I picked up a new speaker for the driver's door, and some door panel retainer clips. Joanne drove from Landmark back to West Hawk Lake. As soon as we got back to the trailer, I went to bed to pamper my sore back.

I'm glad I was able to tough it out for today's trip.

I got up to eat supper, then just lazed around all evening, trying, and failing, to find a comfortable position to sit in. I sure hope this back problem clears up soon. Today it was less painful than yesterday, which was less painful than the day before, but I'm still in a great deal of discomfort.

DSK

August 23, 2005

August 23, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 98 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 67

 

Today was sunny and warm.

I spent most of the day in bed, trying to rest and nurse this lower back pain. It's tolerable if I stay in bed, laying on a heating pad, but as soon as I get out of bed and start to move around, it increases in severity. When it gets worse, the pain radiates all the way around the front to the lower left abdomen. I still don't know if it's a strained muscle, or something else. I'm hoping a day of rest will resolve it, but as it is now 6:30 P.M., that doesn't seem likely.

DSK

August 22, 2005

August 22, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 97 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 66

 

Today was sunny and warm.

Last night was cool, so I decided to give the new bed warmer a try out. I did not know at the time that when I installed the control units on the walls beside the bed, I inadvertently mounted the control for Joanne's side of the bed on my wall, and vice versa. I crawled into bed, and turned the bed heater on. After a few minutes, I didn't detect any warmth, so I turned the control to its maximum. A few more minutes went by, and still I detected no warmth. I wondered why it was taking so long to heat up ? Perhaps the new bed heater was defective ? Suddenly, Joanne woke up with a start. She said "Hey ... my ass is hot". Oh, baby ... I've known that since 1972 ! HA HA HA HA HA < SNORT SNORT SNORT >. Tomorrow I guess I'll have to remount the controls on the correct sides.

I woke up early this morning, did my regular morning chores, then did regular preventive maintenance. I went down to the campground office to remind Reid to turn the sign to closed at the end of the day, so that late arriving campers know who to see, and where. I had a bunch of phone calls to make. I made some to toll free numbers, using the campground pay phone, and the rest I had to drive to the church parking lot at the park gate, and use the cell phone. First I called the GM dealer in Landmark to order a new speaker for the driver's door, and some door panel retaining clips. Then I phoned the pharmacy in Wal-Mart in Kenora to order a refill of Teddy's medication, and to inquire about the procedures for transferring some prescriptions from my old pharmacy in Ottawa. Then I called our old pharmacy in Ottawa, and arranged the transfer of my prescriptions to Wal-Mart in Kenora. Then I phoned Wal-Mart in Kenora again to confirm that everything was okay. I phoned the Cancer Centre in Ottawa to cancel an appointment Joanne had with her oncologist, for late September. She had all her screening tests done in Kenora this summer. She's good for a year ! I phoned C.S. Co-op in Ottawa to ask why they charged me $6.50 to close my account, and send me a cheque for the credit union share. They didn't have an answer, and were going to call me back. Then I phoned to inquire about the Manitoba Pharmacare program. When we recently received our Manitoba Health registration cards, and booklet explaining Manitoba Health benefits, etc., there was reference to the Manitoba Pharmacare program for Manitoba residents. I got the information I needed, and now we'll have to pick up a Manitoba Pharmacare application form at a Manitoba pharmacy. The 2005 deductible, based on 2003 income, is higher than our prescription costs will be for this year, but we should register now, for possible future benefit, especially since we are now "unemployed". Finally, I phoned the Ministry Of Transportation Of Ontario, to inquire again about the refunds owing on the 3 Ontario license plates I returned a year ago for cancellation and refunds. The last inquiry I made was 12 weeks ago. They said at that time that it would take them 8 or 10 weeks to investigate and resolve. Today they said they would check into the matter ( again ! ) and phone me back. I verified with them that they had my correct phone number.

I returned to the trailer, picked up the laptop, and drove to the Border Information Centre to get online, send and retrieve e-mail, update my blog, and retrieve the MasterCard billing statement. When I returned to the trailer, Joanne said my sister had phoned, but the connection was too poor for Joanne to understand Sharon. I drove to the park gate and phoned Sharon. Geez ... the incompetent at the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario phoned Sharon, despite the fact that I verified my phone number with them this morning. They must have had Sharon's phone number on file because I used it as our phone number for a very brief period 15 months ago. The message was that 2 of the 3 license plate refund cheques have been re-issued. They seem to have no clue about the third one. I don't really care. The amount of money involved is miniscule. I'm just hassling them because I'm annoyed at their ineptitude.

I returned to the trailer where Joanne had lunch waiting. We had lunch. I read, then napped briefly. We drained 2 of the holding tanks. Joanne left to do some laundry. The C.S. Co-op phoned back. They said the $6.50 charge was for issuing a refund of the $15 share that they have held for 17 years without paying interest. Nice deal. Give us $15 to purchase a credit union share. We’ll refund $8.50 in 17 years. I sat at the picnic table to do some work on the computer. I developed a severe pain in my lower left back. Over the course of an hour or so, it became so severe I was feeling nauseous and dizzy. I don't know if it was a muscle spasm, a severe colon cramp, or what ? About 6:00 P.M. I lay down in bed, a heating pad under my left lower back, trying to find a comfortable position, and some relief from the severe pain. I contemplated going to Kenora Hospital. I spent the evening lying in bed, trying to figure out what to do, waiting for the discomfort to diminish. Finally, about 10:00 P.M. the discomfort eased somewhat. I got out of bed and had a cup of soup.

DSK

August 21, 2005

August 21, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 96 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 65

 

Today started out cloudy and cool, but the sky cleared and it warmed up in the afternoon.

I slept in a bit this morning. I was awake until after 2:30 A.M. last night because of the bar noise. I had a slow, lazy start to the day, and by the time I had finished showering, it was almost time for lunch. I prepared fried eggs à la Dan, and toast, for Sunday brunch. After lunch, I read for awhile, until I fell asleep. I hadn't really intended to nap since I slept late, but ... oh, well. When I woke, I went and chatted with Reid in the campground office for awhile, then worked on regular daily preventive maintenance and inspections. I cleaned out all the fire pits in section H, which were filled with garbage from the weekend's campers. GRRRRR ! ! ! We took Bo for an obedience walk. It turned out very badly. While running from me to Joanne, responding to a "come" command, he diverted into the forest to chase something. It took us about 10 or 15 minutes of coaxing, and tramping through thick brush, to capture him. Bad dog ! It almost seems like he treats himself to disobedience every time we give him a taste of off leash freedom, like we did at Buffalo Bay a few days ago. We returned to the trailer, and I isolated him alone in the bedroom for half an hour as punishment. No attention for you, bad dog !

I dealt with a high maintenance late arriving camper, an elderly couple on their way from Newfoundland back to their home on Vancouver Island. They were high maintenance because they were tired, and had a bad day, blowing a tire on their large fifth wheel trailer. I spent time with them getting them settled into a site, then discussing with them their options for a tire purchase. They didn't want to go into Winnipeg, so I suggested Portage La Prairie, or Neepawa, where they're headed tomorrow. Joanne had an even better idea, suggesting Steinbach. We looked up the addresses and phone numbers of 3 tire shops in Steinbach, and I drew them a map. I took out the printer to print the investment data updates I downloaded Friday, and I installed a new ink cartridge we bought recently at Wal-Mart in Kenora. The new ink cartridge was defective. I hope it's not a hassle to return it for an exchange. We had supper, then I went outside to work on the computer at the picnic table. It was a nice evening. More late arriving campers while I was working at the picnic table. I worked on updating our investment files. HMPH ! Lost a whack of dough in the last 2 weeks !

We continued to have late arriving campers coming into the campground throughout the evening, wandering around lost because Reid forgot to flip the office open sign to closed. On the closed side is instructions to see the campground host in site B8. I spent the evening reviewing the corporate fiscal year end documents received from our accountant, and putting the finishing touches on the corporate income tax returns, federal and provincial.

DSK

August 20, 2005

August 20, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 95 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 64

 

Today started out sunny, warm, and windy. By late afternoon it became cloudy, with light rain.

I woke up early this morning, went to the bathroom, walked Bo, fed Teddy and Bo, showered, then went back to bed until noon. When I awoke, Joanne was gone to Falcon Lake to buy groceries and diesel. When she returned, we had lunch. Joanne's sister phoned to tell her that their mother's sister's ex-husband, Uncle Luc, died. He was a good guy. I guess we'll go to Winnipeg to attend his funeral, and pay our respects to Joanne's Aunt Elaine and cousins.

I did today's regular preventive maintenance and inspections, then worked on mounting the new bed heater's control units to the walls on each side of the bed. Then I sanded and varnished the top of the folding desk. There were some scratches on one corner, where Bo scratched it. He stands with his back paws on the sofa, and puts his front paws on the corner of the desk to get my attention when I'm working on the computer. I'm working on breaking him of that habit. BO, OFF < SMACK >. While I was working on my projects, Joanne cleaned the inside of the truck. I read the newspaper for awhile, then we took Bo for an obedience walk. I removed the driver's door panel, and removed the speaker out of the door. I don't know enough about electronics to know exactly what's wrong with the speaker, or even if the problem is the speaker, as opposed to a wiring problem, but the speaker looks pretty shabby. I'll assume the speaker itself is the problem, and order a new one from the Landmark GM dealer. Of course, the speaker is not an every day "off the shelf" design. It's a speaker obviously designed by, and for, GM. Can't just buy a cheap replacement at any electronics store !

It got cloudy, cool, windy, and began to rain lightly, so we came inside. I worked on today's accounting, and journal entry, then read the newspaper some more. We had supper. I checked with the campground office on tonight's site availability. I worked on the batch of incoming mail we picked up at Sharon's the other day.

DSK

August 19, 2005

August 19, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 94 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 63

 

It rained very heavily overnight. This morning was cloudy and still raining. The rain slowly tapered off, and by mid-afternoon the sky had cleared.

This morning I slept a little bit later than usual. Because of the rain, Bo wasn't too eager to be taken outside for a bathroom walk, and Teddy didn't seem as eager as he usually is for breakfast. After morning chores, and showering, I drove to the park entrance gate to make a couple of phone calls. I returned to the trailer, did my regular preventive maintenance and inspections, then picked up the computer, and drove to the Border Information Centre to get online, send and retrieve e-mail, and update my blog. I returned to the trailer and we had lunch. I began to read, planning to read until I fell asleep for a nap. Joanne went to shower. A couple of minutes after she left, Sharon and Terry, the campground hosts from Falcon Lake dropped by for a visit. We spent much of the afternoon visiting with them, comparing notes about our experiences as campground hosts, them at Falcon Lake for the second year, us at West Hawk Lake for the first year. There will not be a second year for us as Manitoba Provincial Park campground hosts, thank you !

When they finally left, we drained 2 of the holding tanks. Then we took Bo for an obedience session. I had a couple of maintenance projects I wanted to work on today, but didn’t get around to them because of the unexpected visitors. Maybe tomorrow. I briefly visited the campground office to see how things were shaping up for the campground tonight, then it was time to start supper. We had to barbecue a fairly large quantity of meat that has been marinating for 2 days, It had been intended for dinner Wednesday night with Elvira, who cancelled. We had to cook it tonight, eat some, and have some leftovers. The upside of Elvira cancelling was ... one less person I have to share Joanne’s freshly made blueberry cheesecake with. HA HA HA !

The Park Interpreters did not ask us to help promote tonight's Amphitheatre program by walking around the campground "pitching" their program, so we didn't do it tonight. We have done it every Friday since we've arrived here, but they always asked each week. This week ... no request ... no walk around. We attended the Amphitheatre program. HEY ... a "rerun". Tonight's presentation was about bears. The same presentation they did on the Victoria Day weekend, the first weekend we were here. Parkie Jonathon ... "Officer Jansen" ... was quite a hit with a gaggle of teenaged girls when he was demonstrating the bear trap.

DSK

August 18, 2005

August 18, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 93 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 62

 

Today was cloudy, and warm, with a bit of light drizzle in the morning. It rained heavily throughout the evening.

We headed out this morning for a day trip to Moose Lake Provincial Park and nearby Buffalo Bay on Lake Of The Woods. West on TCH 1 to Hwy. 308 at East Braintree, then south on Hwy. 308 to Moose Lake, down 60 km. of gravel road. I first went to Moose Lake to camp, and Buffalo Bay to fish, with my father when I was about 6 or 7 years old. We liked it, and it became a favourite camping and fishing place for our family. I think the last time I was there was with Joanne, probably 28 years ago. I remember that outing, because we had made an offer on our first house before we left for a weekend camping trip, and were too excited awaiting the response to our offer to last the weekend out at the lake. We came home early.

Today we drove to the campground at Moose Lake, and stopped to walk around, remember, and reminisce. The campground seems unchanged, although it looks a bit shabbier than I remember. I think it suffers the same as West Hawk Lake campground. A 50 year old campground in which the Province Of Manitoba is not investing enough in infrastructure maintenance and refurbishment. There is a lot of litter around, and I'm becoming convinced that that is a reflection of local attitudes. When we moved away from Manitoba 17 years ago, it wasn't a society of litter bugs as it seems to have become. The litter, along with the terribly shabby appearance of the "seasonal" camper units, makes Moose Lake campground look like something one might find in the hillbilly areas of the Ozark Mountains in Kentucky. I'm not very impressed with Manitoba's Provincial Park campgrounds ! Maybe the shabby, littered appearance of West Hawk and Moose Lake campgrounds is just a demographics issue. When we camped at Grand Beach Provincial Park a year ago there wasn’t a litter problem.

We wandered around Moose Lake campground for awhile, then got back into the truck to drive the 11 km. to Buffalo Bay On Lake Of The Woods. Buffalo Bay is the southwest corner of Lake Of The Woods. It doesn't look quite like the idyllic, island strewn area of Lake Of The Woods around Kenora. The prevailing winds on Lake Of The Woods always blow into Buffalo Bay, so it's a rugged, rough, rocky, windy shoreline. This is where we used to fish, while camped at Moose Lake. It looks completely different than it did when I was a child. There's a small camping area that didn't exist 30 to 40 years ago. There used to be a road that ran along the bay. The road doesn't exist any longer. It looks like shore line erosion has eliminated the road. We had a picnic lunch. We walked around for awhile, allowing Bo to be off leash since there was nobody else around. He really enjoyed the freedom of running around wildly, unrestrained. We played a hide and seek game with him, and a game of fetch the stick. He has an amazing amount of energy for running around off leash.

We drove back to Moose Lake, and around one side of the lake to see the cottages. A few of the cottages are still the original shacks from 50 years ago, but most have been rebuilt. At the end of the cottage road was a disabled youth camp that didn't exist there 30 to 40 years ago. We drove back down the gravel Hwy. 308 to TCH 1, then home to West Hawk Lake. The truck, which was washed 2 days ago by the GM dealer in Landmark, is coated with mud from today's trip down the wet gravel road.

Back at West Hawk, I assisted a high maintenance camper get their fifth wheel trailer positioned in their campsite, then took a nap. When I woke up, I downloaded a couple of photos out of the camera onto the computer. We had supper, then watched a bad CBC movie, shot in Gibson's Landing on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, where we had been a few months ago.

DSK

August 16 & 17, 2005

August 16 & 17, 2005

West Hawk Lake days 91 & 92 of 113

YEAR 2 DAYS 60 & 61

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and very warm.

Today was a long, tiring day of errands in and around Winnipeg. We left for Winnipeg first thing this morning. While fiddling with the radio as we drove, I discovered that the speaker in the driver's door is not working. I'll work on that in a few days. First stop was Sharon's in Lorette. We picked up her car, which we were borrowing for the day. From there Joanne drove Dee-Dee, and I drove Sharon's car, to the GM dealer in Landmark, about 10 miles from Sharon's. We dropped the truck off for brake service, then drove in Sharon's car to Winnipeg. First stop in Winnipeg was St. Vital Centre. We had lunch in the food court, then replenished supplies at Wal-Mart. From there we went to Singleton's, a nearby hair stylist shop, for Joanne to get a haircut. I waited in the car. Then we drove across town to Princess Auto. I wanted to shop for a torque wrench. I didn't buy one, but I did buy a special tool to allow me to remove automobile door trim panels. I'll need it to get at the speaker in the driver's door. I think I might return to Princess Auto the next time we're in Winnipeg, and buy a half inch drive 24 inch breaker bar, to make lug night tightening and removal easier. We left Winnipeg and drove to Landmark. They weren't quite finished replacing the truck's front brake pads and rotors, so we had to wait around for awhile. When they finished, they offered me a complimentary wash, so we waited some more while they washed the truck. Finally, about 5:30 we left the Landmark GM dealer and drove back to Lorette. Joanne drove Dee-Dee to Sharon's, while I stopped in Lorette to put some gas in the Danelak's car. We dropped off the car, and picked up the mail at Sharon's. There was a parcel pickup card in the mail, so we drove back into Lorette again, to pick up the parcel at the Post Office. It was our mattress warming pad, being returned from Sunbeam in Mississippi where I had shipped it for warranty repair. I guess it wasn't worth repairing. They just sent us a new one. We got back out onto TCH 1, and headed east towards West Hawk. We stopped at Richer, to buy some fresh produce, wild rice, and perogies. We stopped again at Falcon Lake to buy some groceries. We finally got back to the trailer at West Hawk about 8:00 P.M.. Bo had been left alone for over 10 hours, which I think is the longest we've left him alone in the trailer with Teddy. No accidents. Nothing chewed. Good dog, Bo.

We had the "take out" supper Sharon so generously provided. Thank you, Sharon. You're a good big sister. We took care of a couple of late arriving campers. We watched a TV show, then a bit of the imported BBC News. I was tired, and went to bed a little earlier then usual.

Wednesday ; Today was cloudy and cool, with light rain in the morning, turning into heavy rain by afternoon.

This morning when I walked into the shower building, the young, blonde woman from New Brunswick that was a late arriving camper last night was at the sink. I said good morning, then pointed out that she was in the men's washroom. She said she didn't know that, and asked how could she tell ? I said the urinal might be her first clue. I guess girls from New Brunswick don't get out much.

I made myself a cup of coffee, then began to work on yesterday's journal entry, and accounting. I was too tired last night to do them. Joanne went to shower. Debbie from Maintenance came by the trailer with a message from Elvira. Elvira wouldn't be able to make it over for dinner. She had family house guests that she expected were leaving today, but they decided to stay longer. Debbie was recuperating from her hysterectomy a couple of weeks ago. It's interesting to note that many of these seasonal employees of Manitoba Conservation decide to take paternity leave, have elective surgery, incur long term "injuries", develop long term "illness", etc., during the 4 or 5 months of the year that they actually have employment. They're healthy as horses during the 7 or 8 months of the year that they collect employment insurance.

We had lunch. I unpackaged and tested the new mattress warming pad, then we installed it on the bed. I napped while Joanne went to do some laundry at Crescent Beach Cottages, and buy some groceries at Falcon Lake. By the time I woke up, and Joanne had returned, it had stopped raining. We took Bo for an obedience session, then spent the balance of the afternoon and early evening reading the newspaper. We had a late supper, then I watched a bit of TV and did the newspaper Sudoku puzzle, while Joanne baked cookies.

DSK

August 15, 2005

August 15, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 90 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 59

 

Today was sunny and warm.

This morning after showering and morning chores, I did my regular preventive maintenance and inspections, and decided I needed a bit more air in one of the truck's rear tires. I drove to the nearby Esso station at Keystone Resort and put air in. From there I drove to the Manitoba Border Information Centre where I got online, retrieved e-mail, and updated my blog. I returned to the trailer, had a cup of coffee, then we set off for Falcon Lake. Just past Falcon Lake we stopped at our blueberry picking spot to see if there were any blueberries to pick. There weren't ! I guess the blueberry picking season is a fairly small window of opportunity lasting just a few weeks at most. We went back to Falcon Lake townsite. I dropped Joanne off at the grocery store then went to fill Dee-Dee with diesel. The price of fuel has just risen dramatically. I met Joanne back at the grocery store. We walked down to Falcon Lake Beach which we had not seen yet. While checking out the beach, we visited Odie the Macaw. Odie was sitting in the sun on a pole beside a business building. A teenaged girl working nearby seemed to be his owner. Odie was very sociable, crawling from his perch onto my arm, from one arm to another, then from my arm to Joanne's. I've never had an opportunity to interact with a Macaw before. He was very friendly.

We returned to West Hawk, had lunch, then I read and napped. While I was napping, Joanne was sitting outside reading. Sylvia from the campground office came by to visit Bo. Then Joanne visited with Elvira, the janitorial supervisor, for awhile, and invited her over for dinner on Wednesday. When I awoke, we drained two of the holding tanks. The doe with her two quickly growing fawns came by. I guess the campground is emptying out enough that they're comfortable coming out of the forest, into the campground. We haven't seen much wildlife during the last seven busy weeks. After draining the tanks, Joanne suggested we do some campground clean up. I joined her for a short time, but lacked motivation. I returned to the trailer to read while she spent quite a long time cleaning up section B. Good work, dear. Sorry I felt lazy. After thoroughly cleaning section B, she returned to the trailer hot and thirsty. She asked me to share a wine cooler with her. I wasn't thirsty, so she drank the whole cooler by herself. Quickly. On an empty stomach. HA HA HA ... instant drunk wife ! Poor Joanne. She had to lie down on the bed for awhile, munching on crackers until her head stopped spinning. HA HA HA ... dumb ass ! We took Bo for an obedience walk. He didn't do very well. I checked with the office on reservations not yet checked in, and available sites, etc.. We fed the animals, then prepared supper for ourselves.

After supper, we watched a movie on CBC. Old School. The worst movie I have seen in ... I don't know ... decades ! Then, to add insult to injury, there was no CBC News tonight, due to a labour dispute. They broadcast a feed of BBC World News. We watched the first news story, about the difficulty Israel's security forces are having getting their settlers out of the Gaza Strip. Hey ... just send in the West Hawk Parkies. They'd have them cleared out in no time. They're very good at evicting people who don't want to leave. HA HA HA HA HA !

DSK

August 14, 2005

August 14, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 89 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 58

 

Today was cloudy, warm, and humid.

I got up this morning, went to the bathroom for the first of many times, walked Bo, and went back to sleep until noon. When I got up at noon, I went to shower, then went to the campground office to see if they still wanted me to help move a pair of old ladies in a huge motorhome from G18 to A23. They came in yesterday, with a reservation for A23. They couldn't squeeze their rig into A23 without some help, so Kristin put them into G18 for last night, and said she would ask me to help move them today. By the time I got to the office shortly after noon, the ladies with the large motorhome had left in disgust, demanding a refund for the 5 nights they had prepaid. They couldn't fit into A23. They fit into G18 but couldn't extend their slides. They were full time RV'ers, so they just turned the key in the ignition and moved on. They had probably witnessed some of last night's shenanigans, and figured there's something wrong with this place. The R.C.M.P. were in here three times last night. The Parkies called them in three times to make arrests. Once on a gun charge. Some jerk waving around a hand gun. Once on a marijuana charge. And once on an open liquor and false identity charge. The Parkies routinely handle open liquor charges, but last night some drunk produced obviously false identification. That might even be somewhat understandable if he was an under age drinker, but this guy was close to 30 years old. As far as campgrounds go, there is something wrong with this place !

We had lunch, then took Bo for an obedience walk. He did good. We sat at the picnic table, and trimmed his claws, then did the same to Teddy. Inside the trailer, we administered their monthly doses of spot-on flea treatments, and Bo's heartworm medication. Three of the Parkies came by for a brief visit. Bo loves visiting his Parkie buddies. I spent the balance of the afternoon reading. I fell asleep for a short time, which I hadn't really intended to do since I slept until noon. I guess my body needs rest to get healthier.

We had supper, then I made a campfire, which I don't do often enough. The summer rush is over. For the first time in about seven weeks, the campground was mostly empty, and quiet. We sat by the campfire for awhile, listening to loons calling on the lake. We brought Teddy outsideto sit by the campfire with us for awhile. We took Bo for a short play session with a tennis ball at dusk. We sat around the campfire for awhile longer in the dark. The sky was clear. The air was calm. The moonlight was bright. It was a very pleasant evening.

DSK

August 13, 2005

August 13, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 88 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 57

 

Today was mostly cloudy, and cool.

I spent a lazy morning, drinking coffee, reading a book, and listening to CBC Radio programs. Just before lunch, I took Bo for a short ride over to the Keystone Resort, to buy a newspaper. The Keystone resort is within walking distance of the campground, but Bo wanted to go for a ride. He's been a bit bored and restless lately. I guess we haven't been active enough lately to burn off his energy. Maybe we're all getting a bit of hitch itch.

We had lunch. I read the newspaper until I fell asleep for an afternoon nap. It rained on and off during the afternoon. In between rains, we took Bo for a long walk, all the way to the boat launch at the far end of Crescent Beach. Dark clouds were approaching, so we walked back to our campsite, arriving just as the rain began again. Afterwards, there was a great rainbow. We spent the balance of the afternoon reading the newspaper, sipping tea. Joanne made pistolettes for supper. My appetite is still low. My trips to the bathroom are still frequent. We had a discussion about diet, and decided I need to eat a bland diet for awhile, until my colitis settles down once and for all. It's been flaring up, then beginning to settle down, then flaring up again, for too long.

After supper, the sky cleared, and it got quite cool in the evening. On one of my many trips to the bathroom, the doe with two fawns gambolled by. The fawns are growing very quickly.

We watched The Pianist, the last of the movies Sharon lent to us. Could they make a movie any more depressing ? Just before the office closed, I walked down there to get information on available electrical sites, reservations not yet arrived, etc.. There was some kind of kerfuffle going on, with RCMP all over the place. Not a good time for the campground host to be coming in for routine information.

DSK

August 12, 2005

August 12, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 87 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 56

 

Today started out sunny and cool, getting warmer in the afternoon. I guess the hot part of the summer is over.

I felt healthier today. This morning I did regular morning chores, preventive maintenance and inspections. I had a cup of coffee, played with the dog, and loved up the cat. I drove to the park gate and made some phone calls. I drained two of the holding tanks. I took Bo for an obedience session. My theory seems to be correct. He does much better earlier in the day. While I was doing my chores, Joanne went to shower, then prepared Jennifer's shoes for return by mail to Vancouver.

We had lunch. I read, then napped. Joanne went to do some laundry at Crescent Beach Cottages, then she drove to Falcon Lake for some groceries. I sat outside in a lawn chair reading. Late in the afternoon it became windy, and cool again. We barbecued supper, then went on our regular Friday night walk around sections A and B promoting tonight's Amphitheatre program.

We attended tonight's Amphitheatre program on the story of the boreal forest, which included those love struck Shakespearean characters, Conifero and Deciduette < rolling eyes >. After the Amphitheatre program, I went down to the campground office to get information on tonight's available electrical sites, reservations not yet arrived, etc.. Bud, the big ugly dog, has been reunited with his owner. On my way back to the trailer, I stopped for a few minutes to watch a nice display of Aurora Borealis in the northern sky. It's cold tonight !

DSK

August 11, 2005

August 11, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 86 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 55

 

Today was cloudy and cool, with occasional light drizzle.

This morning I took care of morning chores, showered, then while waiting for a cup of coffee to brew I fell asleep again, sleeping until noon. Joanne went to Falcon Lake to buy some groceries. When she returned, I got up ( again ) and we had lunch. We spent most of the afternoon reading today's newspaper, and snoozing. My illness leaves me feeling weak and tired, and frustrated. I worked on removing the pleated day / night shades from the window behind our bed. They had jammed in the down position, and I could see there was some sort of problem with the stringing. First I had to remove the upholstered side curtains, then the valance, and finally the shades. Yes, they need restringing. I checked the Kenora and Eastern Manitoba phone books, but there wasn't anybody in either book that advertises blind repairs. When we needed a pleated shade restrung in Ottawa, as we were selling our house, it was difficult to find somebody to do the repair, and that was in a large city. I hope we can find somebody in Winnipeg that can do blind restringing.

My next job was removing some spruce gum from the hardwood floor in the kitchen. Hmph ... not that easy ! After supper, while I was returning to the trailer from yet another trip to the bathroom, I bumped into Sylvia from the campground office who was walking a stray dog that had been rescued from one of the uninhabited islands in the lake. I suggested she name it Bud, for big, ugly dog. Bud it is ! I brought a container of Bo's food to the campground office for her to feed Bud. At the end of her shift, Bud will probably go to the Parkies' bunk house. Hopefully they will take care of Bud until he is reunited with his owner. It would help if people put collars and identification tags on their dogs !

We played a new board game tonight. Cranium. It was a birthday gift to Joanne from her sister. Well ... at least I didn't hate it as much as Humzinger.

DSK

August 10, 2005

August 10, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 85 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 54

 

Today was sunny and warm.

This morning after regular morning chores I wrote some outgoing e-mails, then drove over to the Manitoba Border Information Centre to get online. I sent and received e-mails and updated my blog, then returned to West Hawk. We had lunch, then drained two of the holding tanks. Joanne went off to do laundry at Crescent Beach Cottages. I read until I fell asleep. After napping, I took Bo for a long walk in advance of giving him a bath. We gave Bo a bath. He sure stinks like a dog before being bathed. He sure smells great after bathing.

I must have slept "funny" last night. I had a minor backache all day. It was worse when wrestling with the heavy waste tote while draining holding tanks, and again while bent over bathing Bo.

I found a portable barbecue discarded by the garbage shed. It was in better shape than ours. I took it back to our campsite, and cleaned it up to see if it's worth salvaging. It needs a new regulator. I was going to buy a new regulator for it, but Joanne doesn't think it's worthwhile, since the one we have is still in good condition, and we don't really want to be toting around a spare barbecue. I guess she's right. I was going to go fishing after supper for the first time in over a month, but decided I didn't want to be sitting on a little stool on the dock for an hour and a half with a sore back. Maybe tomorrow.

DSK

August 9, 2005

August 9, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 84 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 53

 

Today was sunny and very warm. It rained overnight, which was needed.

Today was the big day ! First thing this morning, we headed off to Kenora. Joanne had an appointment to review the results of all the cancer screening tests and procedures she has undergone over the last few months. I dropped her off at the hospital, then continued into town. First I stopped at the Bank Of Montreal to withdraw some cash. Then I went for a haircut and beard trim. The barber was very busy. I was third in line for a haircut. I went to the same barber I had been to earlier in the summer. He seems to be the barber of choice for all old men in Kenora. After my haircut and beard trim, I returned to the hospital to pick up Joanne. She approached the truck with a big smile. All tests were clear ! ! !

WOO-HOO ! WOO-HOO ! WOO-WOO-WOO-HOO ! ! ! ! !

We decided the good news was cause for celebration. We went to Kenora's finest restaurant for lunch. The Plaza is a family owned Greek restaurant. The only restaurant in Kenora listed in "Where To Eat In Canada". We had a very good meal. After lunch we headed to the new mall on the east edge of town. First stop was Mark's Work Warehouse to look for some clothes for me, then Wal-Mart for a large replenishment of groceries and supplies. I was purchasing $49.98 worth of clothing at Mark's Work Warehouse, and presented a coupon valid on purchases worth $50. They refused the coupon. I refused the purchase and walked out ! After Wal-Mart we drove back into the centre of town, stopping at a Dollar Store. Then to Kenora Shopper's Mall downtown, where Joanne went to Extra Foods for groceries, and I went to The Beer Store for, of course, beer. Wow ... beer is a lot more expensive in Ontario than Manitoba. Oh, well, I refuse to give any more business to the beer vendor at the bar at West Hawk Lake after witnessing that spectacle with the older woman customer and the profane sales clerk. Last stop in town was Safeway, for more groceries. Sometimes our days in Kenora or Winnipeg seem extremely expensive !

On the way back to West Hawk Lake I made a serious error in judgement passing a tractor trailer, and encountered an oncoming tractor trailer before I was finished passing. What a close call ! I scared and upset myself and Joanne immensely. Most likely both truck drivers as well. At the Manitoba border, I pulled into the truck weigh scale station, knowing that the truck I had passed had to pull in there as well. I parked, and as he drove over the weigh scales, I walked over to apologize to the driver. I may be a massive screw up from time to time, but at least I'm a decent enough human being to apologize.

Back at West Hawk, while Joanne put everything away, I flopped into bed for a nap. I was exhausted. The bar noise last night prevented us from falling asleep easily. I'm sick with colitis today. We've been entertaining visitors three days in a row. And the scare on the highway seemed to have left me feeling drained. When I awoke, it was time for another trip to the bathroom < sigh >. Joanne got tonight's site availability information from the office just before it closed, then left to phone her sister with the good news about her cancer screening tests. I became busy with late arrivals, one after another. There is still a staff shortage problem with the campground office, so they're still operating with only one shift per day instead of two. The office opens late, and closes early. That leaves us with more of the evening late arrivals to look after.

We had leftovers for supper. I was feeling ill and didn't have much of an appetite. The one TV show a week that we like to watch wasn't on tonight because of the World Track And Field Championships in Helsinki. We watched that for awhile, but most of the telecast was watching rain fall on a deserted track field. Way to go, CBC ! Good contingency planning !

DSK

August 8, 2005

August 8, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 83 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 52

 

Today was mostly sunny, very warm and humid.

I got up early this morning. We were expecting Dwight and Jennifer around 9:00 A.M., although they didn't show up until noon. After regular morning chores, and showering, I drove to the park gate to make a phone call. I made an appointment with the GM truck dealer in Landmark to have the front brake pads and rotors replaced next Tuesday. Back at the campsite, I did regular preventive maintenance and inspections, then took Bo for an obedience training session. He did exceptionally well. Hmmm ... I wonder if he does better in the morning when he's rested and alert ? Maybe that's why we send children to school in the mornings, not the evenings. I usually do his obedience training much later in the day. Maybe later in the day he's hot and tired, and unmotivated to focus and perform. Maybe I'll try working him earlier in the day. The point of obedience training is to produce a well behaved family pet, who will respond appropriately to commands in order to function well in society, and perhaps even to save his life. Any time of the day, not just when he's rested and alert. However, if he learns better earlier in the day, and his lessons are reinforced more effectively, I guess that increases the chances that he'll respond appropriately when needed, even if hot and tired and unmotivated and unfocused.

I took my second cup of coffee, and the computer, outside to the picnic table, and did some work. I set up a new spreadsheet to track our investment withdrawals, now that we've used up our first year's cash reserve, and are regularly pulling money out of investments to finance our lifestyle for this second year of travel adventure. I was walking to the campground office to get the key to the power breaker panel padlock when I got side tracked, and began a conversation with a camper. As I was chatting with her, Dwight and Jennifer drove by entering the campground. I finished my conversation with her, and returned to the trailer where Dwight and Jennifer were already visiting with Joanne.

We had a great day of visiting with Dwight and Jennifer. We had lunch, then went to hike the campground scenic trail. Today I remembered to bring along a trash bag and pick up litter along the trail. Dwight wins the award for finding the most bizarre piece of trash. He picked up a gate post, complete with hinges on one end, and a long piece of chain on the other. Why would someone have taken a large wooden piece of a gate up on a difficult hiking trail, then discard it ? After the hike, we changed into swim trunks and spent the rest of the afternoon cooling off in the lake at Miller Beach. Dwight found a Frisbee on the beach. The last time I played with a Frisbee was about 30 years ago. With Dwight. On a camping trip. In the dark. With a glow in the dark Frisbee. I got hit in the mouth with it. Haven't touched a Frisbee since !

We returned to the trailer, and slowly prepared supper. By then the campground office had closed, so we dealt with late arriving campers, and a variety of campground problems, as we prepared and ate supper, and visited. Dwight and Jennifer stayed until 9:30, then headed back to Winnipeg. They are flying back to Vancouver tomorrow. After they left, I took poor neglected Bo for a walk. He didn't get as much attention today as he would have liked. As I was walking him, a high maintenance late arrival came in. The late arrivals who come in after dark need more assistance finding a suitable campsite, and getting set up. Some more than others !

DSK

August 7, 2005

August 7, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 82 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 51

 

Today was sunny and hot again. The grass in the campground is beginning to turn brown, so I guess it would be good to have a bit of rain soon.

I woke early this morning. Ruth Ann and Tom were departing early. They had left their utility trailer on our campsite over night. They were in a back in campsite, so had to remove the utility trailer from behind the fifth wheel trailer. I think that a trailer behind a trailer is a bad idea, although we see it quite often, usually a boat behind a fifth wheel. I helped them hitch the utility trailer back onto the fifth wheel, and said my goodbyes to them, and Angus the dog. They are heading west to their new home base, their son's near Edmonton. They have sold their home in Southwestern Ontario, and are going full time RV'ing. They have RV'ed for many years, but not full time until now. They seem to have been inspired to make this change in their lives by the terminal illness of their daughter with cancer, and the recent drowning death of their grandson. After they left, I fed Teddy and Bo, then walked Bo. I drove Dee-Dee over to campsite H1 to give a jump start to a camper with a dead car battery, then went to shower. I did some minor repairs, fixing a sewer hose, and a dinette chair.

Darcy, Shirley, and Erik Johnson showed up around noon to visit for the day. They brought a picnic lunch for us all. After lunch, the adults sat around visiting, while Erik went to the picnic shelter adjacent to our campsite to participate in the Park Interpreters' bat house building workshop. When Erik returned with his completed bat house, we all went for a hike on the campground scenic hike up and over the granite bluff that the campground is built around. It's a really beautiful view of West Hawk Lake from the summit of the hike. After the hike, we changed into swim trunks, and spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the lake at Miller Beach, at the back of the campground.

For supper I barbecued Joanne's meat loaf and rice concoction, served with potato salad. Just before supper Darcy went to buy ice cream, so we could have ice cream and Joanne's freshly baked oatmeal and raisin cookies for dessert. As soon as supper was over, the Johnson's left for Caddy Lake to visit their daughter Sheryl. Sheryl is working for the summer at the Caddy Lake Girl Guide Camp. She had a free evening, starting at 6:30 P.M., and her family was spending the evening with her. At the same time as they left, Joanne left to rush to Falcon Lake to buy some groceries before the grocery store closed at 7:00 P.M.. Bo and I held down the fort, so to speak, both of us lazing in lawn chairs on a beautiful, warm evening.

Joanne and I were both pretty tired from a day of hot sun, hiking and playing in the lake. She did the after supper clean up, and washed dishes. I sat outside reading a book, taking care of the many late arrivals we had tonight. Then she went for a late shower, while I did today's accounting and journal entry.

DSK

August 6, 2005

August 6, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 81 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 50

 

A loud knock on the door at 3:20 A.M.. Uh-oh ... must be an emergency. Illness, injury, fire, bear ... ! I staggered out of bed, Bo barking furiously, and opened the door to find ... an egocentric with a sense of entitlement ... wanting to be assigned a campsite. At 3:20 A.M. ! ! ! What the hell is the matter with people nowadays ? ! ? My brain to mouth filter mechanism doesn't work well at the best of times, but at 3:20 A.M. it just doesn't work at all. I should have spared him the lecture, but ... ! It took me 2 hours to fall asleep again. The next knock on the door came at 7:50 A.M.. Another goofball wanting a campsite. 7:50 A.M. seems a bit more reasonable, but I had intended to sleep late because of the middle of the night interruption. By the time I was finished dealing with them, Teddy was ready to be fed his 8:00 A.M. meal. I gave Teddy his morning pill, I fed Teddy, I fed Bo, I walked Bo, I went to the bathroom. Well, gee ... I might as well stay up now ! I went to shower. When I returned, I was making myself a cup of coffee when I realized I gave the 7:50 A.M. campers a list of available sites that included sites available only last night. I'm typing this just before 9:00 A.M. contemplating whether or not to go and find them, and give them the bad news if they have already set up in a site that's reserved for tonight. DAMN ... here I go < sigh >.

Yeah ... shit ... they had set up on a site that had a reservation on it for tonight. I apologized profusely, then found them another site. They weren't very pleased with me. Understandable. What a lousy start to a beautiful day. Looks like today is going to be sunny and hot. As I was heading to the campground office to tell them that I assigned site D25 to the 7:50 arrival, Mrs. 7:50 was just leaving the office, fuming. She was told that the site she was on, D27, was not available, and she was livid ! No, no ... I didn't put you on D27, I put you on D25. I returned to the office with her, and sorted it out with Jill.

After my second cup of coffee, and as Joanne was leaving for Falcon Lake to buy groceries, I returned to bed, falling asleep almost instantly. No sooner had I fallen asleep, when ... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. A camper with a blown breaker. Again I returned to bed. RING RING. Hello ? The phone call was dropped. Call display indicated that it was from Lorri. I waited for about 10 minutes for her to call back. She didn't. I couldn't drive to the park entrance gate to call her, because Joanne was gone with the truck. Back to bed. RING RING. Shirley Johnson calling to tell me they were coming out tomorrow instead of today. Back to bed. Getting more sleep seemed to be hopeless. Joanne's return woke me up. Here's the phone, go phone your sister. Back to bed. Joanne's return again woke me up. I give up ... let's have lunch.

After lunch, the phone rang again. It was Dwight, who is in Winnipeg for his father's 90th birthday. We had a bad connection, so I told him I would call him back in a few minutes. I drove to the park entrance gate, and returned his call. While we were discussing his and Jennifer's plans to come visit us at West Hawk, I recognized a huge truck and fifth wheel rig that was pulling up to the park gate. It was Ruth Ann and Tom Huggard, Escapee friends of ours from Ontario. I waved them over to the side of the road, and finished up my call with Dwight.

How wonderful to see Tom and Ruth Ann. I escorted them to the campground, then got them settled into one of the last few remaining sites in the campground. Their fifth wheel is longer than ours, and getting a rig that size into a West Hawk campsite is quite a challenge. Tom and Ruth Ann, and their Scottish Terrier, Angus, spent the rest of the day visiting with us at our campsite. After barbecuing and eating supper, outside at the picnic table, we all walked over to Miller Beach. As usual, Bo charged into the lake. Angus did not. Angus is old, and docile, despite being a Terrier. I wonder if Bo will ever be that mellow ? We walked Tom and Ruth Ann and Angus back to their trailer, then returned to ours. Joanne cleaned up and washed dishes, while I resumed the computer work I had been doing much earlier in the afternoon when Dwight phoned. Late into the evening, I worked on updating our investment files. WOO-HOO ! ! ! The markets have performed admirably in the last few weeks.

DSK

August 5, 2005

August 5, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 80 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 49

 

Today was sunny and very warm.

I felt healthier today, at last.

Sheesh ! I have just returned from dealing with a "problem". I was at the campground office about 2 minutes after they received a complaint about a "problem dog running loose" around site B18. The campground office attendants were calling the Parkies to come deal with the problem, when I said I would go look into it. I wandered through B18 to the site behind it, C7, to find Trish. Trish is a lovely, friendly, docile, female Golden Retriever, ambling around her campsite, and it appears as if occasionally she steps a paw over the border between her site and B18. The occupants of B18 have occupied their site for a week now, and have generated so many petty complaints to the office that the staff have begun to refer to them as Mr. and Mrs. Special. Oh, I know the type well, from having been a retailer. Having now met Trish, it's hard to fathom how any one could actually complain about her !

This morning I did my regular preventive maintenance and inspections, then crawled under the truck to look for an oil leak. I thought I saw some oil drops on the ground under the truck. The only thing I could find was a bit of oil on one of the oil cooler lines, but that's been leaking ever so slightly since I bought the truck almost 2 years ago. WOW ... has it been that long ? The leak isn't worth worrying about. I drove over to the Border Information Centre, to get online. I sent and retrieved e-mail, updated my blog, retrieved a bank statement, and downloaded updated investment data. I returned to West Hawk. Joanne and I dumped two of the holding tanks. We have worked out a cycle of dumping 2 of the tanks weekly, and one of the tanks twice weekly, so twice a week we dump 2 tanks. We had lunch, I read, then napped. When I woke, Joanne went to shower, and I sat out at the picnic table reading some more. It was a lovely day for sitting around outside, reading, sipping on a cold drink. When she returned, we sat around discussing our travel plans for next summer.

I manned the barbecue while working on today's accounting, and this journal entry. Two of the Parkies came by and I told them that I have dealt with the "problem dog" in B18 < rolling eyes >. Two of the Park Interpreters came by to solicit us to do our regular weekly Amphitheatre promotion walk around. Certainly, we will ! Tonight's program is apparently their highlight program of the year. "Bears, bats and wolves". Green eyed blonde Ashley will be, of course, Goldilocks.

We got e-mails from Shirley and Darcy, and Dwight and Jennifer, about their planned visits this weekend to see us at West Hawk Lake. It's pleasing to note, that after more than 30 years of marriage, and many, many miles travelled, both literally and figuratively, by all concerned, Joanne's "Maid Of Honour" and my "Best Man" will both be here this weekend to visit with us. Some friendships endure time and distance.

We had a nice supper, borscht and a barbecued meat loaf and rice concoction. Then we did our regular Friday night Amphitheatre promotion walk around in sections A, B, and C. Bo loves these Friday night walk arounds. He gets to meet and greet many, many people ... and dogs. We attended the Amphitheatre program, a "musical" on bears, bats, and wolves. It was well attended, and was, I suppose, one of the better Interpretive presentations. After the "musical", there was supposed to be a movie, but the VCR projector malfunctioned, so no movie. We went to the campground office to check on site availability just before Sylvia closed the office for the night. Bo was excited to visit Sylvia. Bo is excited to visit anyone, any time, anywhere. We chatted with Sylvia for awhile, then I went to check on a couple of things in the campground for her, while Joanne went back to the trailer with Bo. Joanne washed supper dishes, while I watched the news and stuffed my face with milk and fresh cookies that Joanne baked this afternoon. My wife makes good cookies.

DSK

August 4, 2005

August 4, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 79 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 48

 

Today was sunny, windy, and cool.

I woke up feeling ill at 5:00 A.M.. I went to the bathroom, fed the animals, walked Bo, and went back to bed, sleeping until I had to get up for my telephone meeting with my accountant. I drove to the park gate and phoned Eric. We discussed Misty Venture's fiscal year end report and tax returns. Brilliant ! The trailer has been "sold" to us personally. The truck has been "sold" to us personally. Accumulated retained earnings have been distributed to us via dividends that are slightly below the personal income tax threshold for taxable dividends. The only asset left in the company is a small amount of money, and the remaining owners' equity / loan from shareholders still on the books slightly exceeds that amount. The company is therefore in a small deficit position, and the money it has is owed to us. The company has no Federal or Provincial Income Tax liabilities, and neither do either of us. Today's phone call to Eric reminds me why I've always been happy to pay his bill. After the phone call, I drove to the Ontario Border Information Centre to mail the Priority Post package to Eric. There was no mail drop box at the Border Information Centre. I drove back to West Hawk Lake, to Major's Service Centre, to exchange the Regional Priority Post envelope for a National Priority Post envelope. They didn't have any National envelopes. Mrs. Major said that Regional envelopes are all that Canada Post provides to them. Fine ... I mailed the documents back to Eric in the Regional envelope, and I'll hope that there's no problem.

Back at the trailer, I lay in bed reading for awhile, then got up and went to shower, while Joanne went to Falcon Lake for groceries. One of last night's late arrivals left a note and $12 on the trailer step, for last night's camping fee. We tell all late arrivals that if they are leaving the campground before the office is open, they will have a free night of camping courtesy of the taxpayers of the Province Of Manitoba, because the campground hosts have no ability to register campers and collect fees. Obviously some people feel compelled to pay anyways. I took the note and $12 to the campground office. They strongly resisted taking it from me. I more strongly insisted. They have a bureaucratic problem with having a camping fee, with no name, address, license plate no., etc. for the registration form. Too freakin' bad ! ! ! Revise your mismanaged systems and procedures ! I pointed out to them that they are losing approximately $100 a night in revenue because the campground host can't register campers, and there is no honour system drop box for campers to self register. They said they don't care. I said, that as a taxpayer, I did !

I spent most of the afternoon sleeping, feeling ill. I have become frustrated with how frequently I am feeling ill this summer. Ulcerative colitis is a chronic, unpredictable illness. It can flare up any time, with or without any apparent reason, and can last a few days, or a few months. Around 6:00 P.M. I decided a long walk might help me to feel better, so I took Bo and went for a long walk around the campground. Bo was restless, and in need of attention and exercise. After a long walk, he and I played with his tennis ball, but he was more interested in the doe and her 2 fawns than the tennis ball. The fawns are sure growing quickly. I found a pile of fresh bear scat behind the picnic shelter. Uh-oh ! Go away, little bear, or the Parkies will shoot you.

I took the computer out to the picnic table and worked on today's accounting and journal entry while I barbecued chicken and packets of carrots and yams for supper. After supper we watched a documentary on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima 60 years ago. I visited Hiroshima in 1971 when I was in Japan for the 13th World Boy Scout Jamboree, but I was too young and immature to fully understand and appreciate the significance.

DSK

August 3, 2005

August 3, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 78 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 47

 

Today started out sunny, hot and humid again, but it got cloudy, rained lightly for a few minutes, and cooled off, around supper time.

This morning after showering and morning chores, I read, and sipped coffee, until I fell asleep again, sleeping until noon. I am now reading East Of Eden by John Steinbeck. I wonder how a story so badly written became a "classic". After lunch I worked on repairing a broken day / night shade in the bedroom. Sometimes the jobs that appear to be the easiest turn out to be the hardest. I did some more review of Misty Venture's fiscal year end accounting, to prepare for my telephone meeting tomorrow morning.

Joanne went to do some laundry, then I drove over to Major's Service Centre to buy some stamps, and a Priority Post envelope to mail all the corporate fiscal year end documents back to Eric. The woman at the Post Office at Major's sold me the wrong envelope. It's a "regional" envelope, and I'm going to have to mail it in Ontario, since its destination is in Ontario. I sure hope there's a mail box at the Ontario Border Information Centre a few miles from here. We took Bo for an obedience training walk, but as soon as we got started, Joanne got distracted by a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers, then Bo wouldn't focus, then we got distracted by a late arriving camper. I gave up on obedience training, while Joanne went off to deal with the late arrival. I cleaned up the tennis courts while waiting for her. Every time I encounter copious litter, I get more irritated at the clientele of this campground. The litter problem here is gnawing at me like an ulcer. We have camped everywhere, from remote wilderness, to urban campgrounds in large cities. Never have we encountered litter like here. And it's not as a result of a lack of effort to keep it clean. It's as a result of a "society" of campers who seem to consider it quite acceptable to toss anything, anywhere. I don't know if that attitude prevails in Manitoba, or Winnipeg, or if it's a demographic / socio-economic issue. This campground is very inexpensive, and close to a large city. The only other place that we've seen as much littering was on Texas road sides, but not in campgrounds.

We had borscht and holuptsi ( cabbage rolls ) for supper. The borscht was made by my sister Sharon. It was very good. We purchased the holuptsi from a road side stand near Richer. They were tasteless ! After supper I went to the picnic shelter behind our campsite and forced the two teenaged boys in there to clean up the horrible mess they had made, crumbling a huge piece of styrofoam packing into little tiny bits, and tossing the mess all over the picnic shelter floor. Then I went over to the men's bathroom and fixed a broken faucet that wouldn't turn off. I have no way of contacting maintenance after hours, and it didn't seem sensible to just let the faucet run until tomorrow morning.

My colitis seems to have taken a serious turn for the worse tonight, or I've got stomach flu or food poisoning. I'm in a bad mood ! I wonder if there's a chicken and egg question there ?

DSK

August 2, 2005

August 2, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 77 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 46

 

Today was sunny, hot, and humid.

I spent the morning making phone calls, some on the cell phone out at the park entrance gate, and some on the pay phone in the campground. Whenever I need to make phone calls using toll free numbers, I use the pay phone. After doing my regular daily preventive maintenance and inspections, I phoned the C.S. Co-op, our personal bank in Ottawa, to request that they close my account. Finally, 14 months after leaving Ottawa, it's time to close our bank account there. Then I phoned Eric Pryor, our business accountant in Ottawa , to discuss Misty Venture's fiscal year end report and corporate tax returns which I just received in the mail from Eric. He wasn't in the office, so I set up a time Thursday morning for a telephone meeting. I knew before we left Ottawa that it would take Eric at least one corporate fiscal year, and perhaps even two fiscal years, to wrap up our company's business matters. Nonetheless, I was surprised at the complexity of the corporate fiscal year end accounting for a company which has been virtually inactive for the entire fiscal year. There was an accumulation of retained annual earnings which needed to be distributed to us as dividends, as well as the matter of corporate ownership of our vehicles to resolve. Last year we "sold" the trailer from the company to ourselves, and now we have to "sell" the truck to ourselves. I am choking on Eric's billing of fees for services. I can't afford him any more, now that the company is inactive. However, he has managed the fiscal year end accounting and corporate income tax returns for our three companies since we went into business 15 years ago. I can't afford to "divorce" him yet. He knows our personal and corporate "big pictures", where we've been, and where we're going, financially. I'm going to have to swallow hard, and pay his bill for at least this year, and probably one more.

WHEW ... I just spent the last hour dealing with eight late arrivals. Due to an ongoing staff shortage problem, the campground office is opening late, and closing early this week ... again ! There is one campground office attendant with poor work ethic, low productivity when she is here, and high absenteeism. She is "sick" before, during, and after every long weekend. So instead of being open 2 shifts per day, the campground office is open only 1 shift, a modified shift from 11:00 A.M. until 6:45 P.M.. That means all incoming late arrivals staying only one night, which is most of the late arrivals, arrive too late, and leave too early, to pay either the park entrance fee, or the camping fee. Welcome to Manitoba Provincial Parks. Enjoy your free stay ! What a mismanaged system !

Anyways ... back to this morning. After setting up a meeting with Eric, I phoned my investment broker in Ottawa. Roger is in Paris, France. HMPH ... must be making too much money off my investments < snicker >. I talked to Rhonda, his assistant, to have her sell some funds, and transfer some money to our bank account, so that I can pay Eric's bill. Then I called Autopac, Manitoba's government auto insurer, to ask some questions about the truck's annual safety certification, and ramifications of corporate versus personal ownership on our insurance premiums. The provincial sales tax liability of “selling” the truck to ourselves far outweighs the advantages of personal versus corporate ownership, from an insurance cost standpoint. For now the truck can remain owned by our company, at least as far as Autopac is concerned.

Joanne prepared a picnic lunch, and we set off for the McGillivray Falls hiking trail. We drove west on Hwy. 44 past Caddy Lake to the trail head. We hiked along McGillivray Falls, which is a stream tumbling down over rocks for quite a distance, flowing out of McGillivray Lake. Bo enjoyed splashing into little deep pools below little rapids, but was surprised a few times at the strong currents. We hiked about a quarter of the way along the trail leading to McGillivray Lake, then stopped on a high bluff overlooking the lake from a distance, to eat our picnic lunch. We decided after eating lunch to back track to the trail head and parking lot, instead of completing the long, difficult hike. It was too hot and humid.

We drove from McGillivray Falls back along Hwy. 44 to Hwy. 312, then down Hwy. 312 to Ingolf, Ontario. I wanted to show Elvira's place to Joanne. We got to Ingolf, I shifted Dee-Dee into 4 X 4 Low mode, we drove across the CP tracks, then through the bush to Elvira's cottage on Macara Lake. We walked round Elvira's cottage property, then headed back towards West Hawk. We stopped at a couple of likely looking places, looking for blueberries. There were none at the first place we stopped and looked. We found a blueberry patch at the second place, but the berries were few and small. I guess it's been a bit too hot and dry lately. The blueberries are past their prime. Aren't we all ? ! We picked a small amount of berries. Well ... Joanne picked a small amount. I goofed around with the dog. HEY ... Bo finds, and eats, blueberries on his own. Smart dog, Bo ! Joanne picked, Bo ate, I lay on moss. Life is good !

Back at the trailer, we all took a nap. When we woke, Joanne headed off to Falcon Lake to buy some groceries. I checked with Kristin in the office, just as she was closing, then immediately had to begin dealing with the steady stream of late arrivals. By the time we got them all settled in, it was after 8:00, and we began to work on preparing a late supper. I fired up the barbecue, while Joanne got the food ready, then I sat out at the picnic table manning the barbecue, and working on this journal entry.

We ate supper while watching Da Vinci's Inquest, the only weekly show on CBC worth watching. Our supper was interrupted a couple of times by late arriving campers, and campers with blown breakers. We finished our day by watching the special, extended newscast reporting the crash of the Air France plane at Pearson International in Toronto. Congratulations to the Air France crew for the outstanding job of getting over 300 people, unharmed, off a crashed, burning aircraft. BRAVO ! ! !

DSK

August 1, 2005

August 1, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 76 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 45

 

Today was sunny and hot.

When I went to shower this morning just after 8:00 A.M., I was fourth in a line of six waiting for an available shower. While I was waiting for an available shower, I wandered around the outside of the shower building, and adjacent parking lot, picking up an enormous amount of litter, hoping that my actions might somehow register on the people waiting in line. But I guess that's just tilting at windmills !

The entire section H of the campground was occupied this long weekend by a very large extended family group of Filipinos. Seems to be a grandma and grandpa, and all their offspring. Looks like they had many children, and each of their children had many children. Interesting family group. They had a sort of a church service in the picnic shelter yesterday morning. The children, from infants to older teenagers, were all very quiet, attentive, and very well behaved. Not just at their church service, but all weekend. Nice change !

I went to the Manitoba Border Information Centre to get online, retrieve e-mail, and update my blog. As I was leaving, a tourist was asking at the desk for information on the Whiteshell Provincial Park Petroforms. They didn't have any information, so I intervened. I had a Petroforms brochure and Whiteshell Provincial Park map in my truck. The tourist thought I was a hero !

I made blueberry pancakes for brunch. Pancakes are one of my few specialties in the kitchen. I make very good pancakes. I learned to make pancakes from my Aunt Lena, out on the farm, when I was a teenager. I read, then napped. When I woke, we drained the kitchen and bathroom grey water tanks. Then we walked around picking up litter in sections B and H. Section H didn't need much clean up, considering the size of the family group that was in there this weekend. The area along the fence between section B, and the bar, certainly needed a lot of clean up. Joanne went to pick wild raspberries in the forest behind the shower building. I took Bo for an obedience walk. He was much too hot, so we didn't stay out long. Joanne wasn't out long, either. The raspberries were pretty slim pickings.

We barbecued burgers for supper. While we were eating, Sylvia from the campground office came over for a short visit, more with Teddy and Bo than with us. We watched another Michael Moore film Sharon lent us, Fahrenheit 9/11.

DSK

July 31, 2005

July 31, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 75 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 44

 

Happy birthday to my brother, Russell.

Today was another sunny, very warm day.

Well ... colour me wrong ! I spent the morning sitting outside at the picnic table, drinking coffee, reading the captivating book Joanne bought for me yesterday. I didn't think I would like it, but now that I've started to read it, I can't put it down. It's the autobiography of Dr. David Suzuki. The early chapters are a fascinating retrospective on how the Canadian and British Columbia governments treated Japanese Canadians during and after the Second World War.

We had lunch, I read some more, then fell asleep for awhile. When I woke, I did my regular, daily preventive maintenance and inspections, then worked on disinfecting the fresh water holding tank. It's a task I do every three months, as a precaution, because we fill with water in so many different places as we travel. Who knows what evil lurks in some water supplies ?

Ooops ! I just spilled Diet Coke on my laptop. Lorri just phoned to ask how we weathered last night's storm. What storm ? All we had was a brilliant lightening display. There was such a severe storm last night in Winnipeg that Doug's return flight from Los Angeles was unable to land at Winnipeg, and was diverted to Grand Forks, North Dakota. He returned home today around noon, about 12 hours late.

I spent the rest of the afternoon continuing to read my new book. We barbecued steak for me, pork chop for Joanne, and butternut squash. After supper, we went for a long walk around the campground. Bo enjoyed a dip in the lake. We walked to the office to check on available sites. None ! Even the two "emergency" sites were filled. We sat around outside for awhile, doing some activities planning. As the "dog days of summer" settle upon us, and my colitis has been bothering me for a few weeks, we've become lethargic. I want to be more active. Maybe Bo isn't the only one getting hitch itch. We took Teddy outside for a short walk around. We played with Bo and his tennis ball. While we were playing with the tennis ball behind the picnic shelter, Bo squirmed out of his harness. Ooops ! Good thing he was hot and tired, and willingly came back to the trailer to get a drink of water. Sometimes when he "escapes", he's extremely difficult to catch.

We watched a movie, on DVD, lent to us by Sharon. Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine, a scathing commentary on American's "right to bear arms". We watched the video on the laptop, with the audio playing through the stereo's speakers. Worked very well !

At 12:30 A.M. I stepped outside the trailer to discover ... WHAT ? A group of 4 drunk, young adults pitching a tent on my campsite, on the other side of my truck. I asked them what they were doing ? Oh ... they were just going to camp beside my truck over night. I advised them that the campground was full, and they would have to leave. They wanted to discuss and debate the issue. I don't think so. Their plea was that they "had nowhere else to go". Yeah ? Well ... go tell someone who gives a rat's ass. Couldn't I "do them a favour" ? Yeah, sure ! I'll give you 10 minutes to get off my campsite and out of the campground before I have the R.C.M.P. come and toss you out ! How's that for a favour ?

DSK

July 30, 2005

July 30, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 74 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 43

 

Today was sunny and very warm.

It was a day of lazing doing around, not doing much of anything. When I returned from showering this morning, Joanne and Bo were still in bed, so I rejoined them. We lay around for most of the morning. I did regular preventive maintenance, then Joanne left to go to Falcon Lake for some groceries, and to shop at Falcon Lake's big, long weekend flea market. I began to read a Reader's Digest Condensed Book that I picked up at Sharon's. It was my parent's. It's over 50 years old, and the first story certainly shows its age. Joanne returned from Falcon Lake with a book she purchased for me, for 50 cents. Oh, well ... at least the price was right, considering it's a book I'm not interested in. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth ! HA !

We spent the afternoon reading today's newspaper. I napped. I did a bit of work on the incoming mail we picked up at Sharon's on Thursday. Joanne barbecued potatoes and vegetables while I cooked pickerel for supper. After supper, I went down to the campground office to check on available sites for tonight, etc.. Then we took Bo for a short obedience walk, followed by a pleasure walk around the campground. The campground looks very littered, which is typical for long weekends. I worked on backing up all my computer files, today's accounting, and today's journal entry.

DSK

July 29, 2005

July 29, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 73 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 42

 

Another sunny, warm day.

I slept poorly at the Carlson's last night. I tossed and turned, waking up during the night drenched in sweat. I opened some windows in the room. Lorri had closed all the windows earlier because the mosquito fogging truck was spraying on her street late in the evening. We had the door to Madeleine's room, where we were sleeping, closed to keep Teddy and Bo in with us. So it turned onto a bit of a sauna in the bedroom. And not to help matters at all, my colitis was bothering me during the night. When returning to the bedroom from using the bathroom, I guess I didn't shut the bedroom door properly, because shortly after, Bo left the room and went into Lorri's bedroom and woke her up. I woke up this morning feeling exhausted.

I made a bunch of phone calls this morning, getting quotes on the brake work the truck needs. Madeleine, Amelia, and I took Bo for a long walk around the neighbourhood. They seem to enjoy walking the dog ... and carrying the cat. Poor Teddy was frequently getting carried around the living room by the two of them. The girls and I played together in the back yard until lunch. We left shortly after lunch to drive back to West Hawk Lake. We stopped at three places along the highway looking for good quality, well priced wild rice. We decided who had the best deal, and we'll buy some next time we go to Winnipeg. We stopped at Falcon Lake to buy some milk and bread, and fill up Dee-Dee with diesel. When we got back to West Hawk, we unloaded and put away our over night stuff, then I took a nap. Whew ... I was so tired !

When I awoke, I installed the wiring that allows me to hook up either the computer, or the Walkman, through the stereo speakers. We listened to a CD in the trailer, for the first time in a long time. It was a nice change from CBC Radio. We barbecued burgers for supper, then did our regular Friday evening walk around the campground, promoting tonight's Amphitheatre program. Just before we set off, Beth and Samantha came by to inform us that tonight's special guest, Smokey The Bear, was unable to be at tonight's presentation as planned. Seems he was unavoidably detained in Quebec fighting a forest fire < rolling eyes > ! After our walk around, Bo decided he was going to bed. Okay ... we went to the Amphitheatre program without him. Poor little Bo. He can't keep up with Madeleine and Amelia. HA HA HA ! After the Amphitheatre program we wandered over to the campground office to see how registrations were going, etc., before the office closed for the evening. Most of tonight's incoming campers seemed to be arriving later than typical for a long weekend Friday. It's now almost 11:00 P.M. and there's still a half dozen campers, with reservations for tonight, not yet arrived.

DSK

July 28, 2005

July 28, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 72 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 41

 

Today was sunny and warm.

First thing this morning we headed off to Steinbach, Lorette, and Winnipeg. West on TCH 1 to Hwy. 12, then south on Hwy. 12 to Steinbach. As we were driving down the Trans-Canada, a bird hit the windshield. DAMN ! Goodbye, little bird. We stopped at Clearspring Mall where I bought the stereo wiring I needed, at Circuit City. Then it was over to South East Vet Clinic to buy a cat piller, and check if Teddy's blood test results were back from the lab yet. The piller is a syringe like device to administer pills to cats. Giving Teddy his new hyperthyroidism pills is becoming more difficult, as he becomes more resistant. His lab test results were indeed back, and I reviewed them with the vet. His T4 thyroid hormone level has dropped from 90 to 9. The pills are working ! And he can now go from 2 pills a day down to one. Hooray ! From there we drove down the back roads to Lorette. We dropped Teddy and Bo off at the Danelak's leaving them in the back yard gazebo. Sharon & Bud followed us back to Landmark, where I dropped off the truck for service at the GM dealer. Then they drove us back to Steinbach, where we went for lunch at the restaurant at the Dutch Connection Inn. Lunch was okay ... not spectacular, not terrible. After lunch we stopped at Canadian Tire, where Sharon needed to exchange a recent purchase, then they drove me back to the GM dealer in Landmark. Joanne went with Sharon and Bud back to their place, while I dealt with the truck. I looked a new one ton diesel dually on the dealer's lot, the 2005 version of Dee-Dee. YIKES ! ! ! $64,000 ! ! ! Guess we won't be parting with Dee-Dee just yet. I finished up at the dealership, then drove back to Sharon's & Bud's in Lorette, where Joanne, Teddy, and Bo were waiting for me. We had dessert, visited for awhile, and it was time to leave for the Carlson's, where we're spending the night.

Lorri invited us to visit, and spend the night, because Doug is gone to Los Angeles for a few days. He's allergic to Teddy and Bo, so staying for an over night visit, with the animals, was only possible when Doug was away. We drove into Winnipeg, to the Carlson's, arriving just as Lorri was leaving with Madeleine and Amelia, for their swimming lessons. Joanne went with them. I stayed in the house, along with Teddy and Bo, and I started getting caught up on myonline work. They returned from their swimming lessons. We had supper. Joanne and Lorri visited on the porch. The girls played with Bo and Teddy. Bo found, and chewed, the girls' little flute / recorder. I guess it looked just like a West Hawk Lake stick ! Stupid dog ! I continued getting caught up on a backlog of work I needed to do online. Lorri put the girls to bed, and while she and Joanne visited in the family room, I worked on today's accounting and journal entry. Joanne is complaining that I've spent too much time on the computer this evening.

DSK