Sunday ; Cloudy and cool with intermittent rain ( and thunder and lightning ) throughout the day.
This morning Joanne went to town to run errands. I did an agility session with Bo and some routine vehicle maintenance. This afternoon I repaired the minivan's windshield wipers which had malfunctioned while Joanne was driving in the rain. I reviewed and revised my inventory of clothing in Elsie ( the truck camper ). I began the project of installing a pure sine wave inverter ( 12V DC to 120V AC ) in the camper. I barbecued chicken for supper then downloaded, printed, and reconciled another MasterCard statement while we watched the season finale of MasterChef Canada followed by Catfish.
Monday ; Sunny and warm.
We spent the morning giving Bo a haircut. It's quite surprising how much his hair grows in six months. It's quite surprising how much dirt can be embedded underneath all that hair ! I spent much of the afternoon working on the installation of the inverter in the camper. It's a complicated project. In the evening we watched The Bachelorette while having dinner. Joanne prepared a recipe she acquired from a date farm in Yuma. It's a pasta dish with dates and spinach and crumbled cheese. As soon as we were finished eating supper I threw the recipe into the recycle bin ! With encouragement from Joanne !
Tuesday ; A mix of sun and clouds, mild temperature.
Today was a day of running errands in Penticton, and seeing two doctors, one in Penticton, one in Okanagan Falls. I don't understand, and certainly don't appreciate, why doctors think it's perfectly acceptable to make their patients wait ... every day ... all the time ! I waited thirty minutes for my first doctor, and fifty minutes for my second doctor.
This morning we headed to Penticton. I shopped for some hardware I require for the inverter installation project before heading to my gastroenterologist's office for my 1 PM appointment. I was seated in her examining room at 1 PM. She entered the examining room precisely at 1:30 PM ! We discussed my ulcerative colitis medications, and my upcoming annual colonoscopy < sigh >. Afterwards Joanne and I drove to Skaha Lake Beach Park and quickly ate our picnic lunch. We ran more errands, including refilling the minivan with fuel, and finished our errands in Penticton with grocery shopping at Superstore.
We drove from Penticton to Okanagan Falls where I had an appointment with my family doctor at 4:45 PM. He walked into the examining room at 5:35 PM < fume >. I wonder if he remembers that I asked him only seven months ago to accept me as a new patient because I was unwilling to tolerate my then family physician's chronic long wait times any longer ? Today I was there to have a skin tag growth removed from my thigh
< OUCH >, have a prescription refilled, and discuss ... < ahem > ... < whispering > ... angina. HEY ... I'm fat, I'm old, I have a family history of heart disease ... < shrug > !
I was not eager to have that discussion with him. BUT ... after some nagging by my dear little wifey I promised her I would. Looks like I'll be seeing a cardiologist this summer !
Wednesday ; A mix of sun and clouds, mild temperature. Same as yesterday.
This morning I did an obedience session with Bo ... well done, Bo, good dog ... then polished shoes.
Immediately after lunch we headed into Keremeos. Joanne went to the health clinic to see her family doctor to get her annual cancer screening procedures started. I went to the lab to select appointment times ( new procedure ... hope it's better than the old procedure of first come first served ... wait forever ) for blood tests and an ECG, then to the health clinic desk to get an appointment time for a chest x-ray. I drove over to PharmaSave to order an old prescription refilled and some new prescriptions filled.
I returned to the health clinic and waited for Joanne to be finished, then we returned home.
I spent the rest of the afternoon continuing to work on the installation of the 12V DC to 120V AC pure sine wave inverter in the truck camper. And I completed the basic installation. And tested the inverter function. Works fine ! Well done, Daniel ! It was a complicated project. I still need to "finish" the job by clamping wires and cables, caulking holes drilled for cables, and other "tidying up loose ends" work. You know ... the kind of anal retentive stuff that paid professionals never do ... that drives me crazy !
Early in the evening we went for a brisk exercise walk. We stopped to visit briefly with our neighbour / friend Jeanine. We had a late supper of barbecued
Dan-O-Cheeseburgers while watching MasterChef.
Thursday ; A mix of sun and clouds, warm temperature, intermittent light rain throughout the day.
This afternoon I completely finished the inverter installation. Split cable wrap on the cables and wires, all out of the way and clamped down, holes through the walls of the battery box all caulked, and most importantly ... I ensured that the inverter would charge the battery in my laptop. WOO-HOO ! My laptop requires "clean" power ... pure sine wave ... to recharge the battery. Having the ability to recharge the laptop battery while travelling and / or boondocking was the principal motivation to undertake this complicated and expensive project.
Watched a documentary on Omar Khadr tonight. I already have had an extremely strong opinion about Guantanamo Bay for many years. Watching this documentary just reinforced my disgust and disdain.
Friday ; Mixed weather, sometimes sunny and warm, sometimes cloudy, cool, and raining.
This morning I drove into town to have a chest x-ray done at the health clinic. When
I was finished there I drove over to PharmaSave to pick up my prescriptions. Which weren't ready ! Because ... my gastroenterologist had prescribed a new medication for me, and ... it doesn't exist any longer. HUH ? The pharmacist is awaiting a response to the fax message she sent to my gastroenterologist. < rolling eyes > I bought some Ambrosia apples on the way home. Joanne baked an apple pie this afternoon.
WOO-HOO !
We trimmed Bo's claws. I assisted Joanne while she removed and washed window blinds. I had a somewhat odd phone conversation with the fellow from Yuma County Public Works who is responsible for their Adopt-A-Road program. The section of road that we ( Kofa Ko-op ) have "adopted" for clean up is changing from being a county responsibility to a city responsibility. < rolling eyes again >
We visited our neighbour / friend Jeanine to offer moral support. She has just received confirmation of her preliminary diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Saturday ; FIVE YEARS AS A NON-SMOKER !
Congratulations, Daniel ... well done !
Sunny nad very warm, a bit humid. ***K ! ! ! Typed "nad" again !
Around noon we left for Penticton. Stopped in Keremeos to buy an advertised item at the local hardware store. Next stop was Wal-Mart in Penticton to buy a couple of items. In violation of my "no Wal-Martin' on weekends" rule ! Found our way to the Shatford Center at the Okanagan School For The Arts to attend a live theatre performance entitled Cake Walk.
The play was written in Montreal in the mid-80's. It was ... Canadian ... and funny. Because one of the actresses in the play was a high school friend of the author / playwright, the author / playwright was in attendance today. How unusual ! AND ... she drew the winning door prize ticket, and awarded the prize to the winner. ME ! ! !
The door prize was an apron with the name of the play ... CAKE WALK ... and the year ... and the school name and logo embroidered on it. She signed it and personalized it to me. She was a nice lady !
After the play we went for an early supper to a Chinese buffet restaurant. After returning home we removed the camper from the truck and installed the fifth wheel hitch into the truck bed in preparation for an all day trailer delivery job tomorrow.
DSK
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Sunday, May 24, 2015
May 17 to 23, 2015
Sunday ; Cloudy and raining overnight and in the morning, slowly clearing in the afternoon.
After a week long visit Bill and Lynne ( and Windsor the Pomeranian ) left this morning to continue their adventure journey to Alaska. We had a great week with them. Drive safely and enjoy the adventure, Bill and Lynne.
The weather wasn't great and I had a lot of financial "catch up" work to do so I spent much of the afternoon at my desk. Around ( everybody else's ) supper time we went for a brisk exercise walk then for some swimming pool and hot tub time. We returned home and I barbecued Dan-o-burgers for supper.
Monday ; Victoria Day ( Canadian holiday )
Mostly sunny and warm. It rained briefly late in the afternoon.
Now that our visitors have left our lives have returned to a more leisurely pace, and more routine. I puttered around with miscellaneous maintenance chores today. Joanne started a large, tedious project of staining all the lower skirting ( from the bottom of the building to the ground ) on our manufactured home.
Tuesday ; Sunny, warm, humid.
This morning we went to visit our neighbour / friend Jeanine. We made arrangements to pick her up at the Penticton Hospital Friday afternoon. We also visited with our neighbour / friend Kolly. I helped her with her 2014 IRS 8840 form.
In the afternoon I designed and printed a form to help Kolly collect the information she needs to record monthly to easily fill out her IRS 8840 form annually. Currently her records keeping is a bit ... < ahem > ... weaker than ideal. Joanne continued working on staining our home's skirting panels. I removed Elsie ( the truck camper ) from Lanoire ( the truck ). We need to take both the truck and minivan to Penticton tomorrow ... again !
I trimmed my beard. I look ( slightly ) civilized again. I went bicycling. We took Bo to the dog park, then for a walk around the RV park. Enough exercise for today ! In the evening I worked on Churchill trip planning.
Wednesday ; Sunny and very warm ! ! ! Hellooooo, summer !
Late this morning we headed to Penticton with both the truck and the minivan. First stop was to drop off the minivan for service. Next stop was to wash the truck then refill it with diesel. Joanne needed a gallon of wood stain at Home Hardware. Okay. Home Hardware. WHAT ? ! ? Sixty bucks for a gallon of wood stain ? ? ? < blink blink >
We had lunch at Tim Hortons, then went to Cherry Lane Mall. Joanne went to buy some groceries at Save-On-Foods while I ran other errands in the mall. Last stop was
Wal-Mart.
When we arrived back at home I phoned Westech Automotive to get the estimate on the minivan repairs. KA-CHING ! Another seven hundred and twenty three bucks !
< sigh > We had supper while watching the start of the three hour season finale of Survivor.
Thursday ; Sunny and warm. This morning I set up the Sun Oven and Joanne cooked an Apple Kuchen in it. This afternoon she slow cooked a marinated roast in the Sun Oven to make "pulled" / shredded beef for supper tonight and tomorrow.
Joanne finished staining all the skirting on the house today. I removed, cleaned, oiled, and reinstalled the truck's "permanent" air filter. It's a difficult, dirty job that needs to be done annually. While I was reinstalling the air filter ambient air temperature sensor ... it broke. It broke a few years ago, and at that time I was so astounded at the cost of a replacement part that I glued the broken one back together. It's a small piece of electronics housed in a piece of plastic. Intense heat from the diesel engine turns the plastic brittle. It cannot be glue repaired a second time so I will have to buy one tomorrow in Penticton. It will probably cost close to two hundred dollars. < sigh >
In the evening I downloaded, printed and reconciled our May MasterCard statements.
< sigh >
Friday ; Sunny and warm. Had to slow down and type that carefully !
After lunch we headed to Penticton ... in our neighbour / friend Jeanine's car. First stop was Lordco Auto Parts where I bought the teensy little sensor for the truck. As expected ... one hundred and ninety six bucks ! ! ! We stopped at Safeway and deposited a cheque in the BMO ATM, then drove to Westech Automotive to pay for the repairs to the minivan. We left Jeanine's car there and drove to the hospital in our minivan.
Jeanine had been brought to the hospital early in the morning by another neighbour. She required a day in the hospital for a medical procedure. We picked her up at the end of the day. We returned to Westech Automotive to pick up Jeanine's car that we had just left there, I drove Jeanine's car home, and Joanne drove our minivan home with Jeanine as her passenger. Good deed #1 for the day.
On the way back home I stopped to offer assistance to an elderly woman standing on the side of the road with the hood of her vehicle raised. I couldn't solve her problem but I did drive her home to Olalla where she could get a family member in another vehicle to go back to her disabled car and solve the problem. Good deed #2 for the day.
As I arrived back home and drove through the gates of Riverside RV Park Resort I was following a 1--800--RV--4--RENT rental motorhome. I suspected ... correctly ... that they were foreign tourists looking for a rental RV site for the night. Sorry, folks, but not in this park. I welcomed them to Canada, chatted with them briefly ... they were from Munich, Germany ... been there ... and sent them down the road to Stemwinder Provincial Park near Hedley. Good deed #3 for the day.
Joanne had supper prepared in advance to feed us and Jeanine. Joanne had been expecting to spend overnight at Jeanine's home, but Jeanine was feeling better than expected, so she cancelled Joanne's overnight "babysitting".
Saturday ; Sunny and warm, becoming cloudy and windy late in the day.
This morning I installed the new $196 air filter ambient air temperature sensor in the truck. This afternoon Joanne did laundry. When it was time to walk back to the laundry room to fold clean laundry, she "persuaded" me to walk down there with her. Once there she "persuaded" me to go work out in the fitness room while she folded laundry. WOW .. .is she ever good ! I got snookered ! HA HA HA !
I paid a lot of bills online this evening. GEEEZZZ ... we have spent an astounding amount of money in the last month. We started a Saturday night "movie date" but by the time the classic movie "Three Coins In The Fountain" was half over we were ready to switch channels to watch Catfish. HA HA HA !
DSK
After a week long visit Bill and Lynne ( and Windsor the Pomeranian ) left this morning to continue their adventure journey to Alaska. We had a great week with them. Drive safely and enjoy the adventure, Bill and Lynne.
The weather wasn't great and I had a lot of financial "catch up" work to do so I spent much of the afternoon at my desk. Around ( everybody else's ) supper time we went for a brisk exercise walk then for some swimming pool and hot tub time. We returned home and I barbecued Dan-o-burgers for supper.
Monday ; Victoria Day ( Canadian holiday )
Mostly sunny and warm. It rained briefly late in the afternoon.
Now that our visitors have left our lives have returned to a more leisurely pace, and more routine. I puttered around with miscellaneous maintenance chores today. Joanne started a large, tedious project of staining all the lower skirting ( from the bottom of the building to the ground ) on our manufactured home.
Tuesday ; Sunny, warm, humid.
This morning we went to visit our neighbour / friend Jeanine. We made arrangements to pick her up at the Penticton Hospital Friday afternoon. We also visited with our neighbour / friend Kolly. I helped her with her 2014 IRS 8840 form.
In the afternoon I designed and printed a form to help Kolly collect the information she needs to record monthly to easily fill out her IRS 8840 form annually. Currently her records keeping is a bit ... < ahem > ... weaker than ideal. Joanne continued working on staining our home's skirting panels. I removed Elsie ( the truck camper ) from Lanoire ( the truck ). We need to take both the truck and minivan to Penticton tomorrow ... again !
I trimmed my beard. I look ( slightly ) civilized again. I went bicycling. We took Bo to the dog park, then for a walk around the RV park. Enough exercise for today ! In the evening I worked on Churchill trip planning.
Wednesday ; Sunny and very warm ! ! ! Hellooooo, summer !
Late this morning we headed to Penticton with both the truck and the minivan. First stop was to drop off the minivan for service. Next stop was to wash the truck then refill it with diesel. Joanne needed a gallon of wood stain at Home Hardware. Okay. Home Hardware. WHAT ? ! ? Sixty bucks for a gallon of wood stain ? ? ? < blink blink >
We had lunch at Tim Hortons, then went to Cherry Lane Mall. Joanne went to buy some groceries at Save-On-Foods while I ran other errands in the mall. Last stop was
Wal-Mart.
When we arrived back at home I phoned Westech Automotive to get the estimate on the minivan repairs. KA-CHING ! Another seven hundred and twenty three bucks !
< sigh > We had supper while watching the start of the three hour season finale of Survivor.
Thursday ; Sunny and warm. This morning I set up the Sun Oven and Joanne cooked an Apple Kuchen in it. This afternoon she slow cooked a marinated roast in the Sun Oven to make "pulled" / shredded beef for supper tonight and tomorrow.
Joanne finished staining all the skirting on the house today. I removed, cleaned, oiled, and reinstalled the truck's "permanent" air filter. It's a difficult, dirty job that needs to be done annually. While I was reinstalling the air filter ambient air temperature sensor ... it broke. It broke a few years ago, and at that time I was so astounded at the cost of a replacement part that I glued the broken one back together. It's a small piece of electronics housed in a piece of plastic. Intense heat from the diesel engine turns the plastic brittle. It cannot be glue repaired a second time so I will have to buy one tomorrow in Penticton. It will probably cost close to two hundred dollars. < sigh >
In the evening I downloaded, printed and reconciled our May MasterCard statements.
< sigh >
Friday ; Sunny and warm. Had to slow down and type that carefully !
After lunch we headed to Penticton ... in our neighbour / friend Jeanine's car. First stop was Lordco Auto Parts where I bought the teensy little sensor for the truck. As expected ... one hundred and ninety six bucks ! ! ! We stopped at Safeway and deposited a cheque in the BMO ATM, then drove to Westech Automotive to pay for the repairs to the minivan. We left Jeanine's car there and drove to the hospital in our minivan.
Jeanine had been brought to the hospital early in the morning by another neighbour. She required a day in the hospital for a medical procedure. We picked her up at the end of the day. We returned to Westech Automotive to pick up Jeanine's car that we had just left there, I drove Jeanine's car home, and Joanne drove our minivan home with Jeanine as her passenger. Good deed #1 for the day.
On the way back home I stopped to offer assistance to an elderly woman standing on the side of the road with the hood of her vehicle raised. I couldn't solve her problem but I did drive her home to Olalla where she could get a family member in another vehicle to go back to her disabled car and solve the problem. Good deed #2 for the day.
As I arrived back home and drove through the gates of Riverside RV Park Resort I was following a 1--800--RV--4--RENT rental motorhome. I suspected ... correctly ... that they were foreign tourists looking for a rental RV site for the night. Sorry, folks, but not in this park. I welcomed them to Canada, chatted with them briefly ... they were from Munich, Germany ... been there ... and sent them down the road to Stemwinder Provincial Park near Hedley. Good deed #3 for the day.
Joanne had supper prepared in advance to feed us and Jeanine. Joanne had been expecting to spend overnight at Jeanine's home, but Jeanine was feeling better than expected, so she cancelled Joanne's overnight "babysitting".
Saturday ; Sunny and warm, becoming cloudy and windy late in the day.
This morning I installed the new $196 air filter ambient air temperature sensor in the truck. This afternoon Joanne did laundry. When it was time to walk back to the laundry room to fold clean laundry, she "persuaded" me to walk down there with her. Once there she "persuaded" me to go work out in the fitness room while she folded laundry. WOW .. .is she ever good ! I got snookered ! HA HA HA !
I paid a lot of bills online this evening. GEEEZZZ ... we have spent an astounding amount of money in the last month. We started a Saturday night "movie date" but by the time the classic movie "Three Coins In The Fountain" was half over we were ready to switch channels to watch Catfish. HA HA HA !
DSK
Sunday, May 17, 2015
May 10 to 16, 2015
Sunday ; Sunny nad warm. Hard to believe I just did that again !
At 1 PM our Connecticut friends Bill and Lynne, and their little Pomeranian dog Windsor, arrived for a week long visit on their way to Alaska. We are thrilled that they have come to visit us. We spent the rest of the day visiting and chatting with them.
Monday ; Sunny and warm. Day two of our visit with our Escapee friends Bill and Lynne.
I woke up very early this morning with the excruciating pain of gout between the heel and ankle of my right foot. I ate 60 mg. of Prednisone for breakfast. The pain ( agonizingly ) slowly dissipated throughout the day. BUT ... as the pain subsided,
I became more and more "Arnold Schwarzenegger" until going to bed at 2 AM, feeling "wired", and with insomnia ... AFTER an evening of aggressively debating U.S. military history and U.S. health care issues with Bill and Lynne all evening. Who was that obnoxious Canadian sitting beside Bill on the sofa ? ? ? What's his problem ? ? ? Did he eat too much steroids for breakfast ? ? ?
Oh, goody ... only two more days that I have to eat that much steroids for breakfast ! ! !
This morning I drove into Keremeos and had a minor adjustment done at K Mountain Auto Repair to the truck's tire rotation job. This afternoon we took Bill and Lynne for a four wheel drive scenic adventure up a steep, winding gravel trail on the backside of Nickel Plate Mountain. Lynne is uncomfortable with heights so ... she can be proud of herself for enduring ... and enjoying ... the experience. Before returning home we visited the village of Hedley.
Back at home I baked bannock and barbecued salmon for supper. Bill, Lynne, and Joanne seemed to enjoy the meal. My harshest critic, however, was dismayed that the salmon was overcooked and consequently dry, and the bannock was over baked.
Tuesday ; Sunny and warm again. Woke up after only four hours of sleep ... wired and "manic". Oh, goody ... let's go have more steroids for breakfast, Dan ! Maybe tonight
I can initiate a discussion with Bill and Lynne about gun control issues in the United States. What a barrel of laughs that would be. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !
This morning we took Bill and Lynne up the Ashnola River Valley to Ewart Creek for a picnic in rugged Canadian wilderness. On the way we dropped off a propane tank in Keremeos to be refilled and we picked it up again on our way back home in the afternoon.
We drove over Red Bridge and along Ashnola River Road, stopping at a couple of the BC Forest Service campgrounds on the Ashnola River. We turned onto the rugged dirt trail leading to the Ewart Creek Trailhead where the hiking trail leading to remote Cathedral Lakes Provincial Park starts. Two days of uphill hiking to reach Cathedral Lakes. Not for us old folks. We wandered around enjoying the wilderness. We crossed a rickety old foot bridge over Ewart Creek, which is really a pretty fast moving river at this time of year. "Come on, Bo, you can do it ... good dog, well done !" "Come on, Lynne, you can do it ... good girl, well done !" HA HA HA !
After exploring for awhile we had our picnic lunch and relaxed. When a few drops of rain began to fall we climbed back into the truck and resumed exploring by road. Back near Keremeos we drove by the rodeo fairgrounds, over White Bridge, and around the orchards and vineyards surrounding Keremeos before picking up our refilled propane tank and heading home to Riverside RV Park Resort.
Back at home Joanne and I reinstalled Elsie the truck camper onto Lanoire the truck, then Bill and Lynne joined us for a swimming pool and hot tub session. Afterwards Joanne and I went to visit our friend Jeanine to see if she had received the results of yesterday's medical tests. Yes ... she had.
Wednesday ; Cloudy, windy, cold, a few drops of rain.
Our initial plan for today was to take Bill and Lynne to Penticton to run some errands and have a DanAir sightseeing flight. It was too cold, too windy, and too cloudy for pleasant flying, so I rescheduled the airplane rental booking and we didn't go to Penticton today.
Joanne went with Bill and Lynne to do some grocery shopping. Joanne and Lynne did laundry this afternoon. In the evening Bill and Lynne came over, we had Lynne's turkey chili for dinner and we all watched Survivor.
Thursday ; Mostly sunny nad warm. < sigh >
This morning we prepared a special picnic lunch and headed out with Bill and Lynne. We stopped in Keremeos to refill our five gallon water jug and pick up a batch of Bill's and Lynne's mail that was waiting for them at the Keremeos Post Office. We headed east on Hwy. 3 through Cawston towards Osoyoos. Our destination was Forbidden Fruit Winery where Bill, Lynne, and Joanne sampled some wines and selected one for our picnic lunch. I refrained from drinking anything today because I'm flying tomorrow. We bought the chosen bottle of wine and had an amazing picnic at a picnic table on Forbidden Fruit Winery's luscious lawn overlooking the Similkameen River, surrounded by apple trees. What a lovely setting !
Both before and after lunch we wandered around Forbidden Fruit's orchards. After we left Forbidden Fruit we continued east on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos. We stopped to view Spotted Lake. We stopped at the Visitor Information Centre where Bill and Lynne stocked up on a lot of travel information for their journey to Alaska. On our way back home we stopped in Keremeos to buy some fuel for the minivan. Back home at Riverside RV Park Resort we took Bo and Windsor to the dog park for awhile, then we all went to float around ( for too long ) in the swimming pool. Consequently, supper was pretty late, around 9 PM.
Friday ; Mostly sunny and warm.
At 11 AM we left, with Bill and Lynne, for a day in Penticton. As soon as we arrived in Penticton we went to Tim Horton's for lunch, a true Canadian experience Bill wanted to have. HA HA HA ! After lunch we drove to the airport. Joanne sat patiently at a picnic table while Bill and Lynne observed my airplane inspection and preparation procedures of Cessna 172 C-GHBM ( Hotel Bravo Mike ), then Joanne took Lynne thrift shopping while Bill and I went flying.
DanAir flight 421 took off from Penticton and headed south over Skaha Lake, passing over Okanagan Falls and Oliver en route to Osoyoos. Bill had his first taste of flying a small airplane, handling the yoke / "stick" / "steering wheel" from Oliver to near Osoyoos. At Osoyoos I did a touch and go landing and takeoff then headed for the main attraction, Spotted Lake. While I flew "low and slow" around Spotted Lake, Bill took photographs. We climbed up into the steep mountains of the Similkameen Valley, took a look at Forbidden Fruit Winery and Vineglass Winery, and flew through the Similkameen Valley to Keremeos, slowly climbing the entire way. Once at Keremeos
I crossed over Fairview Mountain at an altitude of 9000 feet, barely above the mountain top. I turned north and flew over Okanagan Falls and descended over Skaha Lake back to Penticton.
Joanne and Lynne were parked beside the airport fence watching for us. As
I approached, they climbed out of our minivan and waved furiously at us. I waggled the airplane's wings back at them. I guess that was the "final straw" for Bill. As I completed my landing roll out on Penticton runway 34 he made good use of the airsickness bag he had brought along. Sorry, Bill !
Joanne and Lynne met us back at Hotel Bravo Mike's parking spot at BP Aviation. We went to run a few more errands in Penticton, including grocery shopping. We returned home to share a late supper of pizza while watching the season finale of Amazing Race.
Saturday ; Mostly sunny and warm again, with just a minute or two of very light rain drops while we were at the rodeo.
This morning Bill and Lynne came over at 10 AM and I prepared pancake brunch for all of us. Even Windsor and Bo got some pancakes with maple syrup. We chatted until noon, walked the dogs, then left for the Keremeos Rodeo, held annually on the Victoria Day / May long weekend. This was Bill's and Lynne's first time at a rodeo. HA HA HA !
The Keremeos Rodeo is a three day event, and this year, for the first time, the first day was entirely dedicated to two events ; barrel racing and team roping. In barrel racing, a women's event, each rider races their horse around three barrels, slowing down and turning as quickly as possible around each barrel, then racing as fast as possible to the next barrel. As I had predicted to Bill and Lynne, by the time we had watched a couple of dozen barrel racers' rides, Bill could estimate the rider's time to within a fraction of a second before the announcer would announce the official electronically measured time. Bill would say "oh ... that was an 18 second run" and it would turn out to be between 17.8 and 18.2 seconds.
The team roping event is two riders on horses trying to rope a bull calf, one cowboy roping the head, and one cowboy roping the hind legs, an extremely difficult task. Today's winning team had a time of just under six seconds. SHEEEEESH ! ! ! ! ! An enormous amount of skill, and an enormous amount of luck, as well.
On the way home from the rodeo we stopped in town to buy some produce. Back at home Bill and Lynne went to our RV park's pool building to shower while Joanne read and I napped briefly. At 6:30 PM we went back into town to have our final dinner with Bill and Lynne. They treated us to dinner at Benja Thai Restaurant in Keremeos. It was excellent ! Another first for Bill and Lynne, their first Thai meal.
We spent the remainder of the evening chatting on our deck at home. Bill and Lynne will be leaving tomorrow morning to continue their journey to Alaska.
DSK
At 1 PM our Connecticut friends Bill and Lynne, and their little Pomeranian dog Windsor, arrived for a week long visit on their way to Alaska. We are thrilled that they have come to visit us. We spent the rest of the day visiting and chatting with them.
Monday ; Sunny and warm. Day two of our visit with our Escapee friends Bill and Lynne.
I woke up very early this morning with the excruciating pain of gout between the heel and ankle of my right foot. I ate 60 mg. of Prednisone for breakfast. The pain ( agonizingly ) slowly dissipated throughout the day. BUT ... as the pain subsided,
I became more and more "Arnold Schwarzenegger" until going to bed at 2 AM, feeling "wired", and with insomnia ... AFTER an evening of aggressively debating U.S. military history and U.S. health care issues with Bill and Lynne all evening. Who was that obnoxious Canadian sitting beside Bill on the sofa ? ? ? What's his problem ? ? ? Did he eat too much steroids for breakfast ? ? ?
Oh, goody ... only two more days that I have to eat that much steroids for breakfast ! ! !
This morning I drove into Keremeos and had a minor adjustment done at K Mountain Auto Repair to the truck's tire rotation job. This afternoon we took Bill and Lynne for a four wheel drive scenic adventure up a steep, winding gravel trail on the backside of Nickel Plate Mountain. Lynne is uncomfortable with heights so ... she can be proud of herself for enduring ... and enjoying ... the experience. Before returning home we visited the village of Hedley.
Back at home I baked bannock and barbecued salmon for supper. Bill, Lynne, and Joanne seemed to enjoy the meal. My harshest critic, however, was dismayed that the salmon was overcooked and consequently dry, and the bannock was over baked.
Tuesday ; Sunny and warm again. Woke up after only four hours of sleep ... wired and "manic". Oh, goody ... let's go have more steroids for breakfast, Dan ! Maybe tonight
I can initiate a discussion with Bill and Lynne about gun control issues in the United States. What a barrel of laughs that would be. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !
This morning we took Bill and Lynne up the Ashnola River Valley to Ewart Creek for a picnic in rugged Canadian wilderness. On the way we dropped off a propane tank in Keremeos to be refilled and we picked it up again on our way back home in the afternoon.
We drove over Red Bridge and along Ashnola River Road, stopping at a couple of the BC Forest Service campgrounds on the Ashnola River. We turned onto the rugged dirt trail leading to the Ewart Creek Trailhead where the hiking trail leading to remote Cathedral Lakes Provincial Park starts. Two days of uphill hiking to reach Cathedral Lakes. Not for us old folks. We wandered around enjoying the wilderness. We crossed a rickety old foot bridge over Ewart Creek, which is really a pretty fast moving river at this time of year. "Come on, Bo, you can do it ... good dog, well done !" "Come on, Lynne, you can do it ... good girl, well done !" HA HA HA !
After exploring for awhile we had our picnic lunch and relaxed. When a few drops of rain began to fall we climbed back into the truck and resumed exploring by road. Back near Keremeos we drove by the rodeo fairgrounds, over White Bridge, and around the orchards and vineyards surrounding Keremeos before picking up our refilled propane tank and heading home to Riverside RV Park Resort.
Back at home Joanne and I reinstalled Elsie the truck camper onto Lanoire the truck, then Bill and Lynne joined us for a swimming pool and hot tub session. Afterwards Joanne and I went to visit our friend Jeanine to see if she had received the results of yesterday's medical tests. Yes ... she had.
Wednesday ; Cloudy, windy, cold, a few drops of rain.
Our initial plan for today was to take Bill and Lynne to Penticton to run some errands and have a DanAir sightseeing flight. It was too cold, too windy, and too cloudy for pleasant flying, so I rescheduled the airplane rental booking and we didn't go to Penticton today.
Joanne went with Bill and Lynne to do some grocery shopping. Joanne and Lynne did laundry this afternoon. In the evening Bill and Lynne came over, we had Lynne's turkey chili for dinner and we all watched Survivor.
Thursday ; Mostly sunny nad warm. < sigh >
This morning we prepared a special picnic lunch and headed out with Bill and Lynne. We stopped in Keremeos to refill our five gallon water jug and pick up a batch of Bill's and Lynne's mail that was waiting for them at the Keremeos Post Office. We headed east on Hwy. 3 through Cawston towards Osoyoos. Our destination was Forbidden Fruit Winery where Bill, Lynne, and Joanne sampled some wines and selected one for our picnic lunch. I refrained from drinking anything today because I'm flying tomorrow. We bought the chosen bottle of wine and had an amazing picnic at a picnic table on Forbidden Fruit Winery's luscious lawn overlooking the Similkameen River, surrounded by apple trees. What a lovely setting !
Both before and after lunch we wandered around Forbidden Fruit's orchards. After we left Forbidden Fruit we continued east on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos. We stopped to view Spotted Lake. We stopped at the Visitor Information Centre where Bill and Lynne stocked up on a lot of travel information for their journey to Alaska. On our way back home we stopped in Keremeos to buy some fuel for the minivan. Back home at Riverside RV Park Resort we took Bo and Windsor to the dog park for awhile, then we all went to float around ( for too long ) in the swimming pool. Consequently, supper was pretty late, around 9 PM.
Friday ; Mostly sunny and warm.
At 11 AM we left, with Bill and Lynne, for a day in Penticton. As soon as we arrived in Penticton we went to Tim Horton's for lunch, a true Canadian experience Bill wanted to have. HA HA HA ! After lunch we drove to the airport. Joanne sat patiently at a picnic table while Bill and Lynne observed my airplane inspection and preparation procedures of Cessna 172 C-GHBM ( Hotel Bravo Mike ), then Joanne took Lynne thrift shopping while Bill and I went flying.
DanAir flight 421 took off from Penticton and headed south over Skaha Lake, passing over Okanagan Falls and Oliver en route to Osoyoos. Bill had his first taste of flying a small airplane, handling the yoke / "stick" / "steering wheel" from Oliver to near Osoyoos. At Osoyoos I did a touch and go landing and takeoff then headed for the main attraction, Spotted Lake. While I flew "low and slow" around Spotted Lake, Bill took photographs. We climbed up into the steep mountains of the Similkameen Valley, took a look at Forbidden Fruit Winery and Vineglass Winery, and flew through the Similkameen Valley to Keremeos, slowly climbing the entire way. Once at Keremeos
I crossed over Fairview Mountain at an altitude of 9000 feet, barely above the mountain top. I turned north and flew over Okanagan Falls and descended over Skaha Lake back to Penticton.
Joanne and Lynne were parked beside the airport fence watching for us. As
I approached, they climbed out of our minivan and waved furiously at us. I waggled the airplane's wings back at them. I guess that was the "final straw" for Bill. As I completed my landing roll out on Penticton runway 34 he made good use of the airsickness bag he had brought along. Sorry, Bill !
Joanne and Lynne met us back at Hotel Bravo Mike's parking spot at BP Aviation. We went to run a few more errands in Penticton, including grocery shopping. We returned home to share a late supper of pizza while watching the season finale of Amazing Race.
Saturday ; Mostly sunny and warm again, with just a minute or two of very light rain drops while we were at the rodeo.
This morning Bill and Lynne came over at 10 AM and I prepared pancake brunch for all of us. Even Windsor and Bo got some pancakes with maple syrup. We chatted until noon, walked the dogs, then left for the Keremeos Rodeo, held annually on the Victoria Day / May long weekend. This was Bill's and Lynne's first time at a rodeo. HA HA HA !
The Keremeos Rodeo is a three day event, and this year, for the first time, the first day was entirely dedicated to two events ; barrel racing and team roping. In barrel racing, a women's event, each rider races their horse around three barrels, slowing down and turning as quickly as possible around each barrel, then racing as fast as possible to the next barrel. As I had predicted to Bill and Lynne, by the time we had watched a couple of dozen barrel racers' rides, Bill could estimate the rider's time to within a fraction of a second before the announcer would announce the official electronically measured time. Bill would say "oh ... that was an 18 second run" and it would turn out to be between 17.8 and 18.2 seconds.
The team roping event is two riders on horses trying to rope a bull calf, one cowboy roping the head, and one cowboy roping the hind legs, an extremely difficult task. Today's winning team had a time of just under six seconds. SHEEEEESH ! ! ! ! ! An enormous amount of skill, and an enormous amount of luck, as well.
On the way home from the rodeo we stopped in town to buy some produce. Back at home Bill and Lynne went to our RV park's pool building to shower while Joanne read and I napped briefly. At 6:30 PM we went back into town to have our final dinner with Bill and Lynne. They treated us to dinner at Benja Thai Restaurant in Keremeos. It was excellent ! Another first for Bill and Lynne, their first Thai meal.
We spent the remainder of the evening chatting on our deck at home. Bill and Lynne will be leaving tomorrow morning to continue their journey to Alaska.
DSK
Sunday, May 10, 2015
May 3 to 9, 2015
Sunday ; Sunny and warm, a bit windy at times. Joanne used the Sun Oven for the first time this spring / summer season to cook Ratatouille. HEY ... how come there's no okra in there ? I think Ratatouille should have okra. Joanne disagrees.
We planted our vegetable garden this afternoon. I did some routine preventive maintenance on both the truck and the minivan. I used a headlamp restoration kit on one of the minivan's headlights. It didn't produce any better results than it did when
I used it on the truck's headlights last November when I purchased it in California.
For the last few days I have been working on our income tax returns about an hour per evening. Tonight I finished them. Tomorrow I hope to electronically file our income tax returns. If I accomplish that, and considering this year's five day extension on the filing deadline ( to May 5 ), this will be the first time in twenty-five years (since 1990 when we went into business for ourselves ) that I file our income taxes on time. HA HA HA !
Monday ; Sunny, then cloudy, then sunny again, warm, windy. Joanne started baking an apple and rhubarb crisp in the Sun Oven, but had to move it to the indoor oven when the sun disappeared behind cloud.
< big sigh > I spent a lot of time online today, completing and filing our income taxes, paying bills, and making Churchill polar bear viewing trip arrangements.
Tuesday ; Happy 14th Birthday to Joanne's niece Amelia
SHEEEEESH ! From sunny and mild to cloudy and cold to ... ice pellet blizzard !
This afternoon I removed the valve extenders, hub caps, and wheel liners from the truck in preparation for taking it in for tire rotation and brake service tomorrow.
With some "persuasion" from Joanne, today was the first day of us going to our park's pool building at supper time and doing exercises on the equipment in our fitness room.
I concede the merit of it, I just ... don't really want to do it. But ... I'll try !
Wednesday ; Mostly sunny, cool.
Late this morning we drove both vehicles to Keremeos. I left the truck at K Mountain Auto Repair to have the tires rotated and the brakes inspected. I'm certain that the brakes are in need of replacement. In the minivan we continued on to Penticton where we had another long and expensive day of shopping and errands, including having a wheel alignment done on the minivan.
Back home by early evening we had supper while watching Survivor, then we watched Catfish, our regular Wednesday evening ritual.
Thursday ; Sunny and warm.
So ... if the day before yesterday was Amelia's 14th birthday, then today ... Joanne is a 14 year cancer survivor ! And ... < sigh > ... I'm an eternally thankful husband !
It's somewhat too bad that the weather was so nice today, on a day when I had a workload that kept me indoors most of the day. Finishing and filing our income tax file folders. Shredding the contents of our 2007 income tax return files. Continuing to work on our Churchill trip plans, reservations, and payments. I spent a lot of time, and did a lot of work, on annual financial planning, because it's almost time to deal with annual RRIF minimum withdrawals.
We walked Bo. We went to exercise in the swimming pool building's fitness room, followed by some pool and hot tub time.
Friday ; Sunny and warm.
This afternoon we drove into town and while Joanne went to the grocery store to buy some groceries I went to K Mountain Auto Repair to pick up the truck after having the brakes serviced and the tires rotated. And I discovered after returning home that ... as is often the case when I have the truck's tires rotated ... the tire rotation was not done to my satisfaction. Which is hard to appreciate ... since I provided detailed written instructions on what I wanted done and how ! ! ! AND ... < sputter > ... I even provided the necessary deep wall socket necessary to do what I wanted, the way I wanted it done. To say that I'm a dissatisfied customer / in a pissy mood at the moment would be an understatement !
And I'm feeling pretty much the same way about Virgin Mobile after the difficulties I've been having for three days ... online, in Penticton, and online again ... getting our Canadian cell phone service reactivated !
At least the weather was really nice today !
Saturday ; Sunny and warm, another fine day.
This morning I drove to Keremeos to make a purchase at PharmaSave and to finish reactivating our Canadian cell phone.
In the afternoon we did some outdoor chores, including a large, messy glue job in our gazebo. It's a long story ! We took Bo for his daily romp in our RV park's small fenced dog park. We went for a brisk exercise walk. We chatted for awhile with our neighbour and friend Jeanine about the Riverside RV Park's annual general meeting held this afternoon, which Joanne and I did not attend ! We have not attended the AGM here for about five years or so.
In the evening we had a "movie date" watching Transamerica, a movie Joanne was interested in seeing. < blink blink > Odd story !
DSK
We planted our vegetable garden this afternoon. I did some routine preventive maintenance on both the truck and the minivan. I used a headlamp restoration kit on one of the minivan's headlights. It didn't produce any better results than it did when
I used it on the truck's headlights last November when I purchased it in California.
For the last few days I have been working on our income tax returns about an hour per evening. Tonight I finished them. Tomorrow I hope to electronically file our income tax returns. If I accomplish that, and considering this year's five day extension on the filing deadline ( to May 5 ), this will be the first time in twenty-five years (since 1990 when we went into business for ourselves ) that I file our income taxes on time. HA HA HA !
Monday ; Sunny, then cloudy, then sunny again, warm, windy. Joanne started baking an apple and rhubarb crisp in the Sun Oven, but had to move it to the indoor oven when the sun disappeared behind cloud.
< big sigh > I spent a lot of time online today, completing and filing our income taxes, paying bills, and making Churchill polar bear viewing trip arrangements.
Tuesday ; Happy 14th Birthday to Joanne's niece Amelia
SHEEEEESH ! From sunny and mild to cloudy and cold to ... ice pellet blizzard !
This afternoon I removed the valve extenders, hub caps, and wheel liners from the truck in preparation for taking it in for tire rotation and brake service tomorrow.
With some "persuasion" from Joanne, today was the first day of us going to our park's pool building at supper time and doing exercises on the equipment in our fitness room.
I concede the merit of it, I just ... don't really want to do it. But ... I'll try !
Wednesday ; Mostly sunny, cool.
Late this morning we drove both vehicles to Keremeos. I left the truck at K Mountain Auto Repair to have the tires rotated and the brakes inspected. I'm certain that the brakes are in need of replacement. In the minivan we continued on to Penticton where we had another long and expensive day of shopping and errands, including having a wheel alignment done on the minivan.
Back home by early evening we had supper while watching Survivor, then we watched Catfish, our regular Wednesday evening ritual.
Thursday ; Sunny and warm.
So ... if the day before yesterday was Amelia's 14th birthday, then today ... Joanne is a 14 year cancer survivor ! And ... < sigh > ... I'm an eternally thankful husband !
It's somewhat too bad that the weather was so nice today, on a day when I had a workload that kept me indoors most of the day. Finishing and filing our income tax file folders. Shredding the contents of our 2007 income tax return files. Continuing to work on our Churchill trip plans, reservations, and payments. I spent a lot of time, and did a lot of work, on annual financial planning, because it's almost time to deal with annual RRIF minimum withdrawals.
We walked Bo. We went to exercise in the swimming pool building's fitness room, followed by some pool and hot tub time.
Friday ; Sunny and warm.
This afternoon we drove into town and while Joanne went to the grocery store to buy some groceries I went to K Mountain Auto Repair to pick up the truck after having the brakes serviced and the tires rotated. And I discovered after returning home that ... as is often the case when I have the truck's tires rotated ... the tire rotation was not done to my satisfaction. Which is hard to appreciate ... since I provided detailed written instructions on what I wanted done and how ! ! ! AND ... < sputter > ... I even provided the necessary deep wall socket necessary to do what I wanted, the way I wanted it done. To say that I'm a dissatisfied customer / in a pissy mood at the moment would be an understatement !
And I'm feeling pretty much the same way about Virgin Mobile after the difficulties I've been having for three days ... online, in Penticton, and online again ... getting our Canadian cell phone service reactivated !
At least the weather was really nice today !
Saturday ; Sunny and warm, another fine day.
This morning I drove to Keremeos to make a purchase at PharmaSave and to finish reactivating our Canadian cell phone.
In the afternoon we did some outdoor chores, including a large, messy glue job in our gazebo. It's a long story ! We took Bo for his daily romp in our RV park's small fenced dog park. We went for a brisk exercise walk. We chatted for awhile with our neighbour and friend Jeanine about the Riverside RV Park's annual general meeting held this afternoon, which Joanne and I did not attend ! We have not attended the AGM here for about five years or so.
In the evening we had a "movie date" watching Transamerica, a movie Joanne was interested in seeing. < blink blink > Odd story !
DSK
Sunday, May 3, 2015
April 26 to May 2, 2015
Sunday ; Sunny and mild.
Another day of "return home" chores. Joanne cleaned the camper interior. I'm still unloading my stuff out of the camper, mostly purchases I made, mostly for myself, but also some for neighbours. I delivered stuff I purchased for neighbours. I installed stuff
I bought for the minivan.
In December I purchased some items for our minivan, including some filters, at Pep Boys in Yuma. Well ... the dyslexic clerk who served me picked the wrong cabin air filter from the stock room, transposing a couple of item numbers. SO ... I have a cabin air filter that isn't for our vehicle, and we won't be back in Yuma until more than a year after I made the purchase. I wonder how much of a battle I'm going to have on my hands when I try to get a refund ?
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
Vicious squabble this afternoon. What a waste of our time and energy ! ! ! ! !
Tuesday ; Sunny nad very warm. < shaking head in despair > I had actually typed it correctly, but my computer was set on CAPS LOCK. So ... I backspaced, cancelled CAPS LOCK, and ... nad ! < sigh >
What a very long ( 12 hour ) and very expensive ( over $2400 ) day of running errands in Penticton. We drove both vehicles to Penticton, so that we could still have one to drive while the other was being serviced. While Joanne drove the minivan to Penticton
I stopped in Keremeos to pick up prescription refills. First refill of the year, so PharmaCare deductibles and co-pays had to be dealt with. This batch of prescription refills cost me over $400.
When I arrived in Penticton I took the truck to Great Canadian Oil Change for its spring fluids service. < sigh > Another eight hundred bucks ! Joanne picked me up there and we went for lunch. After lunch she dropped me off at the airport for DanAir flight 420, my annual pilot proficiency / Cessna 172 recurrency check ride. KA-CHING ... a hundred and sixty bucks ! Joanne picked me up after the flight, we ran a few errands, then went to pick up the truck and leave the minivan for fluids service. Because I have no service history on the minivan, I had most of the fluids changed. Five hundred and fifty bucks !
Lots more shopping for groceries and gardening supplies including plants. We arrived home about 10 PM, very tired and hungry.
Wednesday ; Sunny and warm.
Spent much of today dealing with yesterday's purchases, unloading both vehicles, putting things away, doing credit card accounting, updating vehicle maintenance records, updating medication records, updating pilot records, etc. Joanne did laundry. We visited with our neighbour and friend Jeanine. In the evening we watched Survivor and Catfish.
Thursday ; Overcast and chilly.
Felt ill intermittently today with a mild flare up of ulcerative colitis, only about the third or fourth minor flare up in the last ten months or so, since my gastroenterologist changed my medication regimen.
Did some work on planning a polar bear viewing trip to Churchill, Manitoba ( on Hudson Bay ) next fall after attending my niece's wedding in Winnipeg. Absolutely outrageous prices for accommodations and Tundra Buggy day tours and everything else in Churchill for October and November, the annual polar bear season. HMMMMM ... certainly would like to try dog sledding !
Friday ; Sunny, warm, intermittently windy.
Joanne spent much of the day doing gardening. Working on our rock covered, steeply sloped "front yard" is difficult. I washed the truck camper. Lots of bugs, diesel soot, and road grime to scrub off. First I had to remove the truck's tailgate that was tied down onto the camper's roof. NOT an easy job to do by myself ! I should have asked for help !
I cooked ( superb ) omelettes for supper, one of my specialties. I could get a job as an omelette chef in a casino buffet. HA HA HA ! We watched Survivor, then ... Blues Brothers. My favourite movie, yes indeed !
Saturday ; Sunny and warm.
Went into Keremeos this morning for the garden club's annual plant sale, then over to Cawston to buy some bedding plants at Little Bushy's Greenhouse. On the way back through Keremeos we stopped at Sanderson's Farms to buy some produce.
Spent much of the afternoon working on gardening. We're preparing gardens and planting earlier than usual this year because we'll be leaving here in mid-September instead of November 1, our usual departure date. Our gardens will have to be harvested and removed by mid-September.
Gave Bo a bath tonight. Stinky little dog !
DSK
Another day of "return home" chores. Joanne cleaned the camper interior. I'm still unloading my stuff out of the camper, mostly purchases I made, mostly for myself, but also some for neighbours. I delivered stuff I purchased for neighbours. I installed stuff
I bought for the minivan.
In December I purchased some items for our minivan, including some filters, at Pep Boys in Yuma. Well ... the dyslexic clerk who served me picked the wrong cabin air filter from the stock room, transposing a couple of item numbers. SO ... I have a cabin air filter that isn't for our vehicle, and we won't be back in Yuma until more than a year after I made the purchase. I wonder how much of a battle I'm going to have on my hands when I try to get a refund ?
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
Vicious squabble this afternoon. What a waste of our time and energy ! ! ! ! !
Tuesday ; Sunny nad very warm. < shaking head in despair > I had actually typed it correctly, but my computer was set on CAPS LOCK. So ... I backspaced, cancelled CAPS LOCK, and ... nad ! < sigh >
What a very long ( 12 hour ) and very expensive ( over $2400 ) day of running errands in Penticton. We drove both vehicles to Penticton, so that we could still have one to drive while the other was being serviced. While Joanne drove the minivan to Penticton
I stopped in Keremeos to pick up prescription refills. First refill of the year, so PharmaCare deductibles and co-pays had to be dealt with. This batch of prescription refills cost me over $400.
When I arrived in Penticton I took the truck to Great Canadian Oil Change for its spring fluids service. < sigh > Another eight hundred bucks ! Joanne picked me up there and we went for lunch. After lunch she dropped me off at the airport for DanAir flight 420, my annual pilot proficiency / Cessna 172 recurrency check ride. KA-CHING ... a hundred and sixty bucks ! Joanne picked me up after the flight, we ran a few errands, then went to pick up the truck and leave the minivan for fluids service. Because I have no service history on the minivan, I had most of the fluids changed. Five hundred and fifty bucks !
Lots more shopping for groceries and gardening supplies including plants. We arrived home about 10 PM, very tired and hungry.
Wednesday ; Sunny and warm.
Spent much of today dealing with yesterday's purchases, unloading both vehicles, putting things away, doing credit card accounting, updating vehicle maintenance records, updating medication records, updating pilot records, etc. Joanne did laundry. We visited with our neighbour and friend Jeanine. In the evening we watched Survivor and Catfish.
Thursday ; Overcast and chilly.
Felt ill intermittently today with a mild flare up of ulcerative colitis, only about the third or fourth minor flare up in the last ten months or so, since my gastroenterologist changed my medication regimen.
Did some work on planning a polar bear viewing trip to Churchill, Manitoba ( on Hudson Bay ) next fall after attending my niece's wedding in Winnipeg. Absolutely outrageous prices for accommodations and Tundra Buggy day tours and everything else in Churchill for October and November, the annual polar bear season. HMMMMM ... certainly would like to try dog sledding !
Friday ; Sunny, warm, intermittently windy.
Joanne spent much of the day doing gardening. Working on our rock covered, steeply sloped "front yard" is difficult. I washed the truck camper. Lots of bugs, diesel soot, and road grime to scrub off. First I had to remove the truck's tailgate that was tied down onto the camper's roof. NOT an easy job to do by myself ! I should have asked for help !
I cooked ( superb ) omelettes for supper, one of my specialties. I could get a job as an omelette chef in a casino buffet. HA HA HA ! We watched Survivor, then ... Blues Brothers. My favourite movie, yes indeed !
Saturday ; Sunny and warm.
Went into Keremeos this morning for the garden club's annual plant sale, then over to Cawston to buy some bedding plants at Little Bushy's Greenhouse. On the way back through Keremeos we stopped at Sanderson's Farms to buy some produce.
Spent much of the afternoon working on gardening. We're preparing gardens and planting earlier than usual this year because we'll be leaving here in mid-September instead of November 1, our usual departure date. Our gardens will have to be harvested and removed by mid-September.
Gave Bo a bath tonight. Stinky little dog !
DSK
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