May 22 to 28, 2016

Sunday ; Cloudy, cool, windy.

My big challenge for today was to find the source of the leak in the camper bathroom sink drain plumbing. Well ... that took all of about thirty seconds ! Having found the location of the crack in the drain pipe, next challenge was ... cutting out the damaged section of plumbing. I cut through the drain pipe above the crack, underneath the bathroom sink. I cut through the drain pipe below the crack, through the outside access hatch I cut through the exterior wall of the camper yesterday. AND ... out came the damaged section. Sounds easier than it was ! On Tuesday in Penticton I will buy the necessary materials to repair / rebuild the drain pipe plumbing.

I had a lazy afternoon. I read. I napped. I walked the dog around the RV park. I did some online work on the computer. After supper we watched Downton Abbey.

Monday ; Victoria Day ( Canadian holiday )

Cloudy becoming sunny, mild.

This afternoon I fabricated and painted a wood panel to be the access hatch cover over the hole I cut in the camper to access the bathroom sink plumbing leak. I repaired a truck rear dually tire valve extender. I adjusted the air pressure in all of the truck and minivan tires. Joanne went into Keremeos to run some errands.

In the evening I did monthly computer file backup and maintenance. And I downloaded, printed, and reconciled our May MasterCard statement. < blink blink > YIKES !

Tuesday ; Mostly sunny, mild.

This morning I headed into Keremeos to buy some plumbing supplies for the truck camper bathroom sink drain pipe replacement project. The local hardware store did not have what I needed. I'll have to buy what I need tomorrow in Penticton.

This afternoon I ... YIPPEE ... managed to secure a reservation for a campsite in a municipally operated campground in Port Clements on Graham Island, the northern part of Haida Gwaii, during the Edge Of The World Music Festival. That's a huge "score" ! Port Clements is about a twenty minute drive from Tlell where the music festival takes place. That was the last piece of the planning puzzle for our summer trip to Haida Gwaii / Queen Charlotte Islands.

The ferry reservations are made. The music festival tickets are purchased. The campsite is reserved. We're good to go !

Wednesday ; Sunny and mild. Long, tough day for me in Penticton. Longer, tougher day for Joanne in both Kelowna and Penticton.

This morning Joanne left with our next door neighbours Gord and Marcie, in their car, to accompany them to a series of medical appointments for Gord at the Kelowna Hospital and Kelowna Cancer Centre. I picked her up at Marcie's parents in Penticton at 5:30 PM.

I left at lunch time and headed to Penticton for a day of running errands. Just as I was finishing all of the errands except grocery shopping, Joanne phoned me to pick her up at Marcie's parents. We did our grocery shopping at Superstore, then returned home, arriving home around 7:30 PM. While Joanne unloaded groceries, I walked Bo, then Ozzie, the next door neighbour's dog. While Gord and Marcie spend the night in Penticton, to facilitate their return to Kelowna tomorrow for more medical appointments, we will take care of Ozzie. He's not very happy about having to live with us overnight. Poor Ozzie !

Thursday ; Mostly cloudy and mild, becoming sunny and windy late in the afternoon.

My priority for today was to repair the windshield on the minivan. When I was driving into town on Tuesday a rock hit the windshield. By the time I returned home, I had forgotten about it and did not check to see if any damage was done. Yesterday while we were driving home from Penticton Joanne noticed a small crack line on the edge of the windshield. DARN ! The rock hit right at the edge of the windshield on the passenger side and made a "chip" right at the edge. Yesterday's trip to Penticton and back caused a small crack to "run" from the chip. DARN DARN DARN !

This morning I used a windshield repair kit that I carry in the truck. It certainly made a very nice "invisible" repair of the rock chip, but ... < sigh > ... there's nothing to be done about the six inch crack running from the rock chip. I'm certain that the crack will just keep running and running, until it's so long that we will have to replace the windshield.
If only I had remembered to check the windshield for damage when I returned home on Tuesday !   I would have immediately used the windshield repair kit and repaired the rock chip before the crack line started. DARN ! ! !

This afternoon I replaced the broken section of drain pipe underneath the camper's bathroom sink. It was a difficult job that took longer than I thought it would. BUT ... the drain pipe is replaced and the camper's bathroom sink is functional once again. Since last summer we have had a plastic container inside the bathroom sink. After using the bathroom sink we would empty the container into the shower stall. We could not allow water to drain out of the sink because of the leak in the drain pipe underneath the sink. All that is left to finish this difficult and complex repair is to install and caulk an access hatch panel that I fabricated and painted, to cover the hole that I had to cut in the exterior wall of the camper underneath the bathroom.

Gord and Marcie arrived back at home about 4 PM, after waiting three hours to see a radiation oncologist in Kelowna today. Ozzie was very glad to go home after spending about twenty-one hours living with us.

I personally think that there is something very wrong with B.C.'s health care system that allows and tolerates this systemic lack of respect for the value of patients' time. This
"I am God ... and you must wait one to three hours to see me" mentality that most doctors in B.C. seem to have is outrageous. And from my perspective ... unacceptable ! Which goes a long way to explain my current "family doctor" drama !

We had a slightly unusual ( for us ) supper tonight. Joanne made and I barbecued stuffed Portobello mushroom caps which we made into "burgers". Along with a salad made with barbecued Romaine lettuce, and fresh corn on the cob, it was a very tasty vegetarian meal.

Friday ; Mostly cloudy and cool, a few drops of rain.

This morning and afternoon I worked on the truck camper bathroom sink drain pipe replacement project. And finished it !  I installed the access hatch panel that I had fabricated and painted. And then I caulked around it. WOO-HOO ! Elsie's ready to go once again !

The method that I used to replace the broken drain pipe was something that I had seen when we were shopping for our truck camper two and a half years ago. One of the campers that we had looked at had experienced a similar stress fractured drain pipe problem, and the owner was quite proud of how he had replaced the broken pipe and reduced / eliminated the likelihood of a recurrence by using flexible rubber pipe couplers / connectors. I was impressed with his methodology and put it to use in repairing our camper.

While walking from the clubhouse to the dog park, across the lawn, I found a large mushroom. Joanne found a small mushroom. We picked them both and took them home to identify them using my Mushroom Hunter wild mushroom identification book. The small one found by Joanne was a Deadly Galerina. The larger one found by me was a Magic Mushroom. I made a spore print to help me confirm my identification of it. Technically ... I guess that one is edible, but ... !

Late this evening we had our weekly hot tub date night.

Saturday ; Mostly cloudy and mild, a few drops of rain.

My achievement for today was to install eavestroughing on our deck. That was more complicated than it sounds. I had to borrow and use a neighbour's ladder that
I nicknamed "the goofy ladder". It has four sections, and can be configured in a variety of different shapes and angles. The downspout section was quite a bit easier to install than the horizontal gutter section, mostly because I had to use "the goofy ladder" to reach the deck eave over the garden to install the gutter.

I received a trailer towing quote request today to tow a very large fifth wheel trailer from ... Las Vegas, Nevada to Kitimat, B.C. < blink blink > That's more than 3200 km. / 2000 miles ! I sent him a quote by e-mail, and his response suggests that he's willing to hire me. I will phone him tomorrow to discuss. Tonight I worked out a tentative plan ; routing, scheduling, etc. We're undecided whether I will do this alone, or if Joanne and Bo will accompany me.

P.S. ; upon phoning him Sunday ( tomorrow ) morning, he advised me that he has hired someone else.

DSK

May 15 to 21, 2016

Sunday ; Sunny and warm.

We had another lazy Sunday. I did quite a bit of research and planning for our summer trip to Haida Gwaii / Queen Charlotte Islands.

Monday ; Sunny and very warm.

This morning I drove into town for an 11:30 AM appointment at my new pharmacy. One of the two pharmacists ( not the one that is the owner ) had offered me a "medication review" meeting, a half hour meeting that I think is paid for by BC PharmaCare. I waited half an hour for my "appointment", then at noon I walked out. I'm inclined to rant in writing about that here, but ... perhaps I should just stifle myself.

I took the truck to the local auto repair facility and left it for a tire rotation. Joanne came into town in the minivan, picked me up there, and we returned home. At 3:30 PM we returned to town in the minivan and I went to see the Public Health Nurse for the last of a series of vaccinations I was getting at the Public Health Office, then we went to pick up the truck. When I returned home I noticed that ... yes, yes, once again ... the truck tires had not been rotated following the tire rotation diagram ( from the owner's manual ) that I had left with the owner of the auto repair facility. Needless to say, my attitude was rapidly deteriorating from bad to worse ! Perhaps I should again stifle myself here !

Tuesday ; Sunny and very warm.

We left home this morning at 10 AM heading to Penticton for a day of running errands ... and my annual spring time pilot proficiency "check ride". Our first stop was Total Pet where we went shopping for a new dog food for Bo. He's been having some late evening panting episodes that we think is digestion related. Next stop was Mark's Work Warehouse to take a look at a pair of Birkenstock clone sandals advertised on sale. I bought a pair.

We drove to the airport and I went flying. Joanne went shopping. Dan Air flight 421 was my first flight in nine months ! SO ... it's not surprising that I made a couple of mistakes. The first one was just an embarrassing "brain fart" when I turned the wrong way onto the taxiway heading for Runway 34. The second error was a poorly executed simulated short field landing. OOOPS ... too much flare right over the numbers ! Still ... not a "bad" short field landing according to Michelle, the CFI who conducted my check ride. She said I still used up less runway than many young pilots do on simulated short field landings.

Felt really great to be in the pilot's seat again !

Joanne picked me up at the airport and we continued our shopping errands. I bought a dozen toothbrushes at London Drugs. HEY ... that's a difficult "model" of toothbrush to find. London Drugs not only had them ... they were on sale. I bought their entire inventory. HA HA HA ! "At last" Joanne said ... "no more endless quest for G-U-M Technique Deep Clean toothbrushes". HA HA HA ! We had a late lunch in Cherry Lane Mall's food court.

After lunch I dropped Joanne off at Wal-Mart then I went shopping to Leisureland RV Centre, Canadian Tire, and Rona. I returned to Wal-Mart and joined Joanne inside the store to finish the Wal-Martin'. We went to an RV park on the north side of the city to get some rate information for a Similkameen Trailer Towing client, then went to Superstore to do a lot of grocery shopping, our final shopping chore of the day.

We arrived back home about 7 PM, tired and hungry.

Wednesday ; Mostly cloudy, a bit windy and cool.

I started the day by doing yesterday's credit card accounting. My goodness ... we certainly can spend a lot of money some days in Penticton ! This afternoon I torqued the lug nuts then reinstalled the valve extenders, wheel liners, and hub caps on the truck's wheels. I exercised our little generator. I planned an eavestroughing project.
I trimmed my beard. I repaired Joanne's curling iron. I did some online work, including paying bills.

This evening we watched the three hour season finale of Survivor.

Thursday ; Cloudy, chilly, intermittent light rain.

A bit too chilly to get much outdoor work done today. I repaired the truck's muffler.
I started the deck roof eavestroughing project, but did not get very far due to a lack of materials.

Joanne spent a considerable amount of time with the next door neighbours, sorting out their slightly confused and disorganized series of upcoming medical appointments. She made a number of phone calls to sort things out. < sigh > She will accompany them to Kelowna for medical appointments three times in the next week or so. Gord's mesothelioma symptoms are rapidly increasing !

I received a notification from Revenue Canada that my income tax return has been processed. They assessed me a late filing fee of approximately $25, then waived it.
Go figure ! As I reviewed the assessment I realized ... way too late ... that I made another mistake. DARN ! I neglected to apply prior years' capital losses to offset last year's capital gains. DARN, DARN, DARN ! It's been so long since I've owed income taxes that I sloppily forgot about previous years' capital losses being able to be applied to offset current year's capital gains. Oh, well ... < shrug > ... the losses can be carried forward. I'll use them next year !

At 9 PM we went to the pool building for our second weekly hot tub date night.

Friday ; Cloudy and mild becoming sunny in the late afternoon. BUT ... when I took Bo out at 11:45 PM it was raining.

I had quite a lazy, unproductive day. Joanne did laundry. We visited our neighbour / friend Jeanine. I started the truck camper bathroom plumbing modification project.
I paid some bills online. I worked on Haida Gwaii trip planning and making reservations for the ferries and buying tickets for the Edge Of The World Music Festival.

Saturday ; Cloudy and cool, a few drops of rain. Typical weather for the May long weekend !

I was much more productive today. We started the day by driving into Keremeos to see a roll top desk for sale at a yard sale. We did not buy it. It was too dark a colour to match our other living room furniture. On the way back home we detoured to Ashnola Road to go to another yard sale ... < rolling eyes and sighing >. Keeping the little wifey happy !

This afternoon while Joanne worked on ... and completed ... a yard shed maintenance job that I assigned to her and asked her to get done before August, I worked on the camper bathroom plumbing modification project. I started and completed the part of the job that I have been suffering anxiety about for a year !  I measured and cut through an outside wall to provide access to the plumbing that requires repair / replacement. Very careful "blind" measuring, "blind" drilling, then "blind" cutting out an access hatch. WHEW ! It went well. The plumbing is exposed and the "hole in the wall" access hatch is large enough for me to get my hands inside to work on the plumbing.

I also modified the eavestroughing work that I had done a couple of days ago, correcting some minor errors that I had made. HEY ... there's a learning curve !   I have never done eavestroughing before.

After supper we watched ... HA HA HA ... The Big Lebowski !

DSK

May 8 to 14, 2016

Sunday ; Partially sunny, mild, windy.

We had a slow, lazy start to the day, sleeping late. I made an indulgent lunch ; beef bacon, fried eggs with melted cheese on top, toast. I puttered around with some minor truck and camper maintenance. In the evening I did Joanne's income tax return. Now they're both completed, and need to be electronically filed. Maybe tomorrow evening. DARN ... we both owe income taxes, first time in twelve years ! That's due to us both opting to receive early Canada Pension Plan benefits, which started when we turned sixty. HMPH ! As soon as we received pensions, we owe income taxes ! That's going to really screw up our "below poverty line" income status with British Columbia's Medical Services Plan and PharmaCare. HA HA HA !

I cooked supper, "inventing" an orange infused barbecued sole recipe. Pretty darn good !

Monday ; Sunny and mild.

WHEW ! What a long, tiring day of errands and shopping and appointments / meetings in Penticton. With both vehicles ! Left home at 9:30 AM, returned home at 7 PM.

I left home at 9:30 AM in the truck for my 10:30 AM appointment with my gastroenterologist. Joanne left home in the minivan shortly after me. My gastroenterologist decided this morning that ; 1. I should NOT start Humira, as we had previously discussed and agreed, and ... 2. I do NOT need a colonoscopy this summer. WOO-HOO ! ! ! First summer in many years that I have NOT had a colonoscopy ! WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ! ! ! And ... I had recently decided on my own not to start taking Humira. SO ... she and I were on the same page in that regard.

From my gastroenterologist's office I drove to Parker Chrysler to drop off the truck for a recall service. The driver's side airbag ( in the steering wheel ) needed to be replaced. Joanne met me there. In the minivan we drove to Wal-Mart, and while Joanne did
Wal-Martin' I went to Leisureland RV Centre to buy a MaxxAir cover to replace the one that I cannibalized the other day. I was ... and still am ... stunned to find out that one of the two co-owners of Leisureland RV Centre, a man about my age ( five months younger, actually ), whom I have been dealing with for the last ten years ... died three weeks ago of a heart attack. WHAAAAAAT ? ! ?

< sigh > Rest in peace, Stu ! You were a good man !

I rejoined Joanne at Wal-Mart, then we went to have a picnic lunch at Skaha Lake Beach Park. I felt morose. About Stu's death, about Joe's heart attack, about Gord's lung cancer ... < sigh >. After lunch we bought seeds and plants at GardenWorks. We refilled the minivan with fuel, then returned to Parker Chrysler to pick up the truck. We left the truck parked at Superstore, then drove downtown in the minivan for a meeting with our financial advisor. All is as well as can be on the investment front ! We have had a good partnership with her for about seven years now. We returned to Superstore and shopped for groceries. After that Joanne headed for home in the minivan. I refilled the truck with diesel, then drove to Home Hardware to buy an item. On the way out of Penticton I stopped at Wright's Beach Camp RV Park to obtain some information for one of my Similkameen Trailer Towing clients.

MMMMM ! Perogies for supper !

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning Joanne left with our next door neighbours Gord and Marcie to accompany them to a video conference at the hospital in Oliver. Gord had a videoconference with a thoracic surgeon in Kelowna to discuss some upcoming procedures scheduled for Gord. They left at 10:30 AM and were not back until 3:30 PM.

I had a meeting this morning with a neighbour to "teach" her how to convert her free roaming cat into an indoor only or "restrained" outdoor kitty. HA HA HA ... just like "the good old days". Except now ... there's no money changing hands. HA HA HA ! She rescued a stray a year ago, and so far has not yet curtailed its free roaming ways. Her neighbours are complaining about cat waste in their flower beds and gardens. AND ... I'm one of those neighbours !   I offered ... and she accepted ... to teach her how to make the "conversion". I never have and never will accept the double standard that dogs must be controlled / restrained but cats can be allowed to roam freely !

I received multiple phone calls from a potential client today that resulted in a very small trailer relocation job on Thursday or Friday. HMPH ! I must be getting spoiled. I'm balking at driving an hour to Gallagher Lake and another hour to drive back home to earn a hundred bucks for about an hour or less of work.

Today I filed our income tax returns electronically. Been there, done that before. Moments before I hit the "send" button I realized that I had made a mistake. I corrected the mistake and ... our taxes owing dropped by about seven hundred dollars. HMPH ! Hard to find good help ! HA HA HA ! THEN ... I paid our income taxes owing by electronic funds transfer to Canada Revenue Agency. HMPH ! Have never done that before. Bit of a learning curve, n'est-ce pas ?

While Joanne did laundry I made and barbecued home made burgers tonight. Dan-O-Cheese-O-Mushroom-Burgers ! Too bad my little wifey was too crabby tonight to appreciate how good they were. Joanne was inexplicably crabby tonight. < shrug > Oh, well ... that's a rare occurrence.

Wednesday ; Cloudy, cool, a few moments of light rain early in the evening.

This afternoon I installed a new MaxxAir vent cover on the truck camper roof, on the kitchen's Fantastic Fan vent, replacing the MaxxAir vent cover I cannibalized for use on the bathroom fan's roof vent. I spent quite a bit of time on the phone, making appointments for medical services and vehicle services, etc. We fertilized and watered all our gardens and planters. We walked around the RV park with Bo for exercise. I did some online research on the Edge Of The World Music Festival on Haida Gwaii / Queen Charlotte Islands later this summer. We're planning to attend.

Thursday ; Started out cloudy and cool, cleared and warmed throughout the day.

This morning I waited around for a satellite dish service technician to show up at our next door neighbour's. Joe had asked me to "babysit" this service technician as he attempted to get Joe's satellite dish system functional again. The service technician showed up at 11 AM and was finished at 11:30 AM. He did indeed get Joe's satellite dish system functional again, but ... I disapprove of how he did it. To get the satellite dish system working in Joe's brand new trailer, the service technician completely disassembled and disabled the trailer manufacturer's television cabling system. NOW ... while Joe's satellite dish works, his roof top antenna won't, and if he ever has occasion to connect to an RV park's cable TV system, that won't work either ! HOWEVER ... the service technician's mandate was to make the satellite dish system functional and ... he did that !

As soon as the service technician was finished I was going to phone tomorrow's trailer towing client who wanted his trailer moved this afternoon if I was able to. BUT ... when
I went to use the phone there was a half hour old phone message from the client cancelling the job. HMPH ! Well ... I suppose I shouldn't be too indignant. I didn't want to do the job anyway. HA HA HA !

Instead of moving a trailer near Gallagher Lake we spent the afternoon washing the truck camper. YUCK ! Lots of Arizona to British Columbia road grime ... and bugs !

We had recently decided that Thursday evenings were going to be our "hot tub date nights". So ... tonight at 9 PM ... off to the pool building we went for a soak in the hot tub. Afterwards we watched a documentary movie on Janis Joplin. What an amazing talent ! What a loser !

Friday ; Sunny, warm, windy. Joanne cooked a sour cream cake in the Sun Oven today.

This afternoon I removed the truck's Fuel Injection Performance Kit / aftermarket high performance air intake system to clean and re-oil the "permanent" air filter. It's an annual chore that I dislike. Today I did it differently than I have done it in the past, and
I think today's method was easier and better than the way I used to do it in the past. After removing the system and cleaning the filter I left it on the picnic table overnight to dry. I will re-oil it and re-install it tomorrow.

I asked Joanne to make my favourite meal tonight, to eat while we watched the season finale of Amazing Race. Thank you, my dear.

Saturday ; Sunny and warm.

This afternoon I worked on truck maintenance. I oiled the "permanent" air filter then reinstalled the Fuel Injection Performance Kit on the truck. I checked fluid levels and air pressures on both the truck and the minivan. I removed the truck's hub caps, wheel liners, and valve extenders in preparation for a tire rotation service on Monday. Joanne washed the hub caps, wheel liners, and valve extenders.

When we took Bo for a long, leisurely walk around the RV park we ended up visiting our neighbour / friend Jeanine for quite awhile. Bo was SOOOOO excited. It was the first time this summer that he has visited his dog friend Charlie.

DSK 

May 1 to 7, 2016

Sunday ; Sunny and warm. Cooked a wonderful marinated roast in the Sun Oven today.

Had a bit of a lazy day. Made pancakes for brunch. Took care of some annual home maintenance chores. Joanne did gardening. Took Bo to the dog park. Napped ! Reconciled month end bank statements. Updated and analyzed investment files.

Monday ; Sunny and very warm. Joanne cooked a wonderful apple cake in the Sun Oven and partially cooked a spaghetti sauce in the Sun Oven. She mismanaged her cooking time a bit and ran out of sunlight before the spaghetti sauce was finished.

This morning we drove into town ( Keremeos ) to renew the registration and insurance on our minivan. Then we drove 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 fresh fruits and vegetables.

After lunch and a nap for me we took Bo to the dog park. Our next door neighbours and their remaining dog Ozzie joined us in the dog park. We spent the rest of the afternoon working on gardening. I planted my tomato plants and cucumber plants. Joanne planted herbs and flowers. We'll finish planting our vegetable garden on Wednesday perhaps.

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning we got our "wires crossed". While I was in the bathroom, showering, preparing for a day in Penticton, Joanne ... "disappeared". She went to water aerobics, having forgotten that I had a medical appointment in Penticton, and we were going to spend the rest of the day running errands in Penticton. Suffice to say that we had a long, angry evening !

I spent the day in Penticton by myself. First stop was OKAPED, a foot care medical facility. I had a gait assessment, to ascertain if how I walk contributes to my knee pain, and why I wear down the outsides of my shoe heels so severely. From there I refilled the minivan with fuel then took it to Great Canadian Oil Change for annual fluids and filters service. SO ... now ALL fluids and filters have been changed since we bought the minivan a year and a half ago. I strongly believe that preventive maintenance like that is a good investment. I had a late lunch in the food court at Cherry Lane Mall. I went to Staples to purchase an item and have a page laminated. I went to Lordco and bought a fog light bulb for the truck.

As I said ... it was an angry evening !

Wednesday ; Cool, intermittent cloudiness, light rain in the evening.

We gave Bo a bath. We planted our vegetable garden. I replaced a fog light bulb on the truck. We mounted solar operated dragonfly shaped lights on our deck off the living room. AND ... we bickered !

Thursday ; Happy 15th Birthday to Joanne's niece Amelia

Cloudy and raining. Joanne spent the day in Penticton running errands and grocery shopping. I did some truck maintenance work, some yard work, and some desk work, including doing our 2016 census online. I visited with our next door neighbours who only come out from the Lower Mainland / Vancouver area a few weekends a year. GEEEEEZ ... since I last saw Joe, he has had a heart attack, triple bypass surgery, and a pacemaker installed. He's two years younger than me, and today I unsuccessfully tried to convince him that his health issues this last winter should convince him to retire soon !

Friday ; Sunny and very warm. Joanne cooked a chicken dish in the Sun Oven today.
I love chicken dishes cooked in the Sun Oven. Chicken is so “fall off the bone” moist and tender when cooked in the Sun Oven.

This morning I chatted with one of the next door neighbours again, talking about retirement dreams in the context of his recent heart attack and bypass surgery and pacemaker installation. This afternoon Joanne chatted with the other next door neighbour, discussing his recent diagnosis of mesothelioma / lung cancer.

Joanne and I have much to be thankful for ! Especially good health ! ! ! Tomorrow ... well ... see the first paragraph !

Today I continued to have troubles with the South Similkameen Health Centre / Keremeos Clinic and their ongoing refusal to assign me to a new family physician because they refuse to acknowledge that I was a patient of the recently retired Dr. Biggs. I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. And the problem seems to be centred on a low level administrative clerk who has taken a strong dislike to me ... and my communication style, I presume. Too ****ing bad, sweetheart, you’re not being paid to like me, you’re being paid ... by my taxes, I might point out ... to provide service to the public. That includes me and everyone else that you don’t like. < taking deep breath > Calm down, Daniel !

We finished planting our vegetable gardens and herb gardens today. I did some minor maintenance on the truck today. And made quite a mess. I spilled some fluids.
I dropped the cap from a jug into the engine compartment ... twice ... and was unable to retrieve it the second time. It’s lost in there forever. Or until it finally vibrates out while driving, I suppose. I was really off my game today. I overfilled the power steering pump reservoir and had to siphon some excess fluid out. And I really made a mess of that !
< sigh >

I disinfected our five gallon water jug and pump. I sharpened kitchen knives. I sorted / purged / relined all my business cards, from one business card holder into two ; one for summer / BC, one for winter / Arizona and Mexico. And I finished installing solar operated rope lights that I had purchased last winter at Harbor Freight in Yuma.

We had supper while watching Amazing Race, then I finally began to work on preparing our income tax returns. The filing deadline was four days ago, so ... it’s about time that
I begin to work on our income tax returns. I think I’ve only filed on time once since 1988. HA HA HA !

Saturday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked a sausage dish in the Sun Oven today. It wasn't as good as yesterday's chicken dish.

If it was Amelia’s birthday two days ago, then today ... Joanne is a fifteen year cancer survivor !

SHIT !   I have just finished ( at 9:40 PM ) my 2015 income tax return and for the first time in twelve years, I owe money / have income tax payable !

This morning Joanne went into town by herself to refill our five gallon water jug, buy some groceries and ... go "yard sale" shopping. I refused to go !

As always, I had a daily plan of things to do, but ... today it got abandoned. I spent much of the day working on an unplanned project. I installed a MaxxAir cover on the camper roof over the bathroom fan vent. That was, until recently, not possible. But ... shortly before leaving Yuma at the end of March I had installed two Extreme Vents on the waste tank vent pipes on the camper roof. That necessitated cutting out a section of the roof top "luggage rack". That created the "maybe" possibility of what I accomplished today. Today I was inspired to give it a try. I had to "borrow" the MaxxAir cover from the kitchen's Fantastic Fan. And I had to do quite a bit of ... "modifying" ... to make it fit. BUT ... I did it !   AND ... the lack of a MaxxAir cover over the bathroom fan's roof vent has always seemed to be a "deficiency" of the camper, from my perspective. Well ... after two and a half years of owning this camper ... I resolved that deficiency today. Well done, Daniel !

Today was Riverside RV Park Resort's Annual General Meeting. As always, we did not attend. So our next door neighbours asked us to take their dog out in mid-afternoon while they were at the meeting. In the middle of the afternoon, needing a rest from working on the camper roof, we took Bo and the next door neighbours’ dog to the dog park. Ozzie was compliant, but confused. "HEY ... why are the neighbours taking me somewhere ?" His companion ... and father ... Dudley died recently. Ozzie is still a bit confused by Dudley's "disappearance".

DSK

April 24 to 30, 2016

Sunday ; Mostly cloudy, chilly, a few drops of rain.

This morning the lady from Prince George whose beach bag we found in Osoyoos yesterday arrived to reclaim her beach bag. She was grateful. It contained an expensive cell phone and expensive sunglasses.

I did some minor truck maintenance today. And I continued sorting / reviewing / storing our winter's purchases. I set up our Canadian cell phone online account and purchased some air time. I reviewed the package of information for the upcoming annual general meeting of Riverside RV Park Resort, and made my decisions on how to vote on each of the issues to be voted on at the meeting. We will not attend the meeting, but we can vote by ballot in advance, a welcome change from the past. Joanne did laundry. Yes, yes ... again. There was a lot of clothing and linens in Elsie the truck camper that required laundering.

In the evening I posted my weekly journal entry to my blog. I did some online travel planning and research on our planned summer trip to Haida Gwaii. We watched MasterChef Canada and I Am Cait on TV.

Monday ; Partially sunny, chilly, windy.

This morning we headed into town. We both had appointments at the South Similkameen Health Centre / Keremeos Clinic. Joanne went to the lab and had blood drawn. I went to the Public Health Nurse and had the first part of a TB skin test. From there we went to PharmaSave and I picked up some prescription refills, then over to a new pharmacy in town to ask some questions and get some information. While still in town ( where there is cell phone service ) I completed the reactivation of our Canadian cell phone. On the way out of town heading home we stopped at FasGas and I had our home propane tank refilled.

After lunch and a nap I did some maintenance work on our home composter. We took Bo to the dog park. I replenished toiletries and supplies in the truck camper. I went to see our friend / neighbour Jeanine to explain something about the pet medications we bought for her in Mexico.

After supper I worked on medication records keeping and accounting. More complicated than it sounds ... for us OCD types. HA HA HA !

Tuesday ; Partially sunny and mild.

Last August I submitted a renewal application for my aviation document booklet ( pilot's license ) which was due to expire on September 1, 2015. I was annoyed when it had not yet arrived in the mail by the time we departed on September 18. I was infuriated when we arrived back home on April 16 and it was not in the batch of mail that our neighbour had collected over the winter. I phoned Transport Canada and was told by recorded message that someone would return my call within two business days. Two business days later some low level bureaucrat left a message on my voicemail. I tried repeatedly for the next three days to contact him. He never answered his phone, and he never returned my calls. I left increasingly angrier messages frequently over the three days.

Finally, on the fourth day, I received an e-mail from some other low level bureaucrat advising me that the renewal application mailed last August had been processed ... wait for it ... yesterday ! ! ! The day before the e-mail was sent !  I was still livid, but at least my renewed pilot's license was on its way to me.

Today it arrived in the mail. AND ... < sputter > ... my IFR ( instrument flight rules ) rating, licensing me to fly in bad weather with no visual reference outside the aircraft, using only the dashboard instruments / avionics within the airplane ... "flying blind" ... which had expired on December 1, 1995, was now ... renewed and valid ! ! ! HA HA HA HA HA !

SO ... a "life or death" rating that requires an annual examination ... which I haven't had for 21 years ... is now back on my pilot's license !

Yes, yes ... our tax dollars at work. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

Joanne did some yard work today. I helped with taking yard waste to the park's burn pile area, and bringing back some leaves and grass cuttings for our composters and some wood chips for landscaping. I reviewed the park's annual general meeting documents, filled out the ballots to vote on all the issues to be voted on at the AGM, and submitted the voting package to the office. As always, we won't be attending the AGM. I did some accounting work, including reconciling this month's MasterCard statements. And I finished the planning and scheduling of this summer's trip to Haida Gwaii a.k.a. Queen Charlotte Islands off the northwest coast of British Columbia, in the "Inside Passage", south of the Alaskan islands.

I barbecued chicken thighs and "smashed potatoes" for supper. We ate supper watching an episode of Trailer Park Boys where Bubbles "rescues" a drug addicted mountain lion. HA HA HA HA HA !

Wednesday ; Mostly sunny, mild.

This morning I headed into Keremeos to have the Public Health Nurse at the South Similkameen Health Centre check the "TB skin test" on my forearm. WOO-HOO ...
I don't have tuberculosis ... < rolling my eyes >. HA HA HA ! Then she administered a series of vaccinations that are on the list of vaccinations required prior to commencing the use of the drug Humira. BUT ... not all the vaccinations. There is a question about the remaining two vaccinations. It's not clear whether my gastroenterologist wants me to have both ... or just one or the other. We are awaiting a return phone call from my gastroenterologist. While at the Keremeos Clinic I dropped off a ... < snicker > ... "sample" of Joanne's at the lab. And I made an appointment for a required chest x-ray.

After finishing at the clinic I went to the new pharmacy in town to drop off some new prescriptions to be filled, and to get some information. On the way home I refilled with diesel in town. I don't like buying diesel in Keremeos because it is so much more expensive than in Penticton. But I needed to refill before tomorrow's big trailer towing job. AND ... while I went inside to pay the $50 worth of diesel I requested, the pump attendant wandered away and began chatting with another customer. SO ... < fume > ... when I returned to my truck after paying the $50, the pump attendant was not there, and the pump was rolling through $58 ! ! !  I didn't mind the error / inattention of the young pump attendant so much as I disliked the smug smirk I got from the cash register attendant inside ( the elderly owners' a*****e of a son ) when I went back in to pay the additional $8 and change. "Smug Smirk" seems to be his permanent persona !

Back at home I had a late lunch and a brief nap. Then I phoned BC PharmaCare to find out why I had to pay the full amount of my prescription refills on Monday. The full amount exceeded my annual deductible by almost $200. I sat on hold for twenty-three ****ing minutes before I got an agent who took all of about thirty seconds to find the problem. PharmaSave in Keremeos had made a coding error. That pissed me off ! Because when I paid the bill at PharmaSave on Monday I asked the ( new ) owner why PharmaCare had not kicked in at what I believed was my deductible level. His answer was that I must be mistaken about what my deductible level is.

SO ... I was doubly pissed off when I phoned him today ... after having twenty-three minutes of my life wasted ... and pointed out his error that cost me close to $200, and his response was ... < sputter > ... no sort of apology at all, but a passing of the blame down to one of his pharmacy technicians. Well ... good thing I had already decided to give the new pharmacy in town a try, because ... goodbye, PharmaSave. I will have to return there to have them completely retract the previous prescription records with the coding errors, and have them create new prescription records to enter into the PharmaCare database, and then get a refund for the almost $200 overpayment.

As I was taking Bo to the dog park, my next door neighbour stopped me to give me his very bad news. He has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. < sigh > That's not good ! After I finished with Bo at the dog park he and his wife came over and sat with Joanne and me at our picnic table. He and I each had a strong glass of whiskey, and the four of us discussed his dilemma. Joanne and I tried to mostly listen. Joanne has good people skills and is very supportive of friends in their time of need. We will both try to be supportive friends during his ordeal.

Joanne cleaned inside the truck camper and I prepared for tomorrow's big trailer towing job. I polished shoes. We had supper and watched Survivor.

Thursday ; home to Osoyoos to Juniper Beach Provincial Park to home

Partially cloudy, mostly chilly, although fairly warm at Juniper Beach, intermittent light rain.

WHEW ! Now that was a long, tough day ! ! ! We left home at 8:30 AM. We arrived back home at 11 PM. We drove 778 km. / 486 miles. AND ... did a lot of very hard work in addition to driving !

We left home at 8:30 AM and headed east on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos. At 9:30 AM we were picking up the 6' X 10' utility trailer I had rented. We arrived at the client's house at 10 AM. The client was a man about our age in fairly poor health. He has had a stroke and has physical disabilities. He lives with his adult son who has intellectual challenges, but is very high functioning, optimistic, and eager. Our job was to move them, their large travel trailer, and way too much other stuff from Osoyoos to Juniper Beach Provincial Park. The son will be working as a maintenance assistant for five months in a provincial park campground, And then ... < sigh > ... they need to be brought back to Osoyoos.

We unhitched the rental utility trailer from our truck and began to load it with the client's stuff, including a deck and step assembly that weighed about four hundred pounds ! After loading the deck and step assembly there wasn't much room in the utility trailer for much else. We loaded as much as we could into the utility trailer then began loading the rest into the back of our truck. We filled up our truck with a couple of propane tanks, a bicycle, a small chest freezer, and a large generator. I strapped down everything in our truck then strapped down everything in the utility trailer. I hitched the utility trailer to the client's small pickup truck, then hitched up our truck to the client's large travel trailer. We pulled out of their RV park in Osoyoos about 11 AM, with me already feeling dehydrated and tired, drenched in sweat.

I led, the client followed. We headed north on Hwy. 97 through Oliver, Okanagan Falls, Penticton, Summerland, and Peachland. Between Peachland and West Kelowna / Westbank we turned west on Hwy 97C a.k.a. The Collector. We stopped to rest for a few minutes every hour. The client was anxious and frazzled. His old, small pickup truck struggled mightily to get up all the hills towing that utility trailer loaded with about five hundred pounds or so of stuff. The transmission was actually smoking ! When we reached Hwy. 5 a.k.a The Coquihalla a.k.a "The Highway Through Hell" ( on a TV reality show, I can't remember the network, maybe TLC ) we turned north towards Kamloops and then stopped in Merritt at 2 PM to refill with fuel and have a very late lunch.

The client was suffering physical discomfort from driving, and a lot of anxiety over his truck's struggles and ... everything else ! While Joanne and I ate our picnic lunch in our truck they had lunch inside their trailer. We refilled the trucks with fuel and ... back onto Hwy. 5 heading north at about 2:30 PM. About an hour later we reached Kamloops then turned west on Trans-Canada Hwy. 1. About an hour after that we arrived at Juniper Beach Provincial Park. The first words out of the client's mouth as he stepped out of his truck at Juniper Beach was ... "that was the worst day of my life !" HA HA HA !

Sorry ! I shouldn't laugh. He was really unhappy and in a lot of physical discomfort. While his son went looking his "bosses", the client wanted to talk about the return trip in October. He had already decided that this adventure was going to be a mistake. We tried to encourage him. It was obvious that his son did not share his pessimism.

We got their travel trailer situated and set up in their assigned campsite. It was gorgeous ! A waterfront site right on the lovely Thompson River with a million dollar view ! We unhitched our truck from the travel trailer, then unloaded the back of our truck, then unloaded the utility trailer. I removed the utility trailer from his truck and hitched it to my truck. WHEW ! We left Juniper Beach Provincial Park about 5:30 PM to begin the long drive home.

We followed the same route in reverse. When The Connector reached Hwy 97 between Westbank and Peachland we turned north / the wrong way to go into Westbank / West Kelowna to have a late supper and refill with diesel again. We arrived in Westbank at 8 PM and had supper at Swiss Chalet, then refilled with diesel at Superstore Fuel Bar. Joanne wanted to take advantage of being at Superstore, and go in to buy some groceries. We did that, but it just added to my already considerable fatigue.

We finished grocery shopping and left Westbank at 9:30 PM. heading south on Hwy. 97. I drove hard and fast ... in the dark ... in the rain ... towing the small utility trailer that I couldn't even see behind me ... to get home as soon as possible. Through Peachland, Summerland, Penticton. At Kaleden we turned southwest on Hwy. 3A towards Keremeos. Onto Hwy. 3 westbound at Keremeos, and we were back home at Riverside RV Park Resort a few minutes after 11 PM.

Friday ; home to Osoyoos and return

Mostly cloudy, chilly, light rain in the early evening.

We were up early again this morning and on the road at 8:30 AM again. We drove back to Osoyoos and dropped off the rental trailer at 9:30 AM. We stopped at the Bank of Montreal in Osoyoos and I used the ATM, then we headed back to Keremeos, arriving in town about 10 AM. I went to PharmaSave and rectified their screw up of a few days ago. Their attitude was ... lacking in accountability ... from my perspective, and I let them know it. Next stop was the new pharmacy in town, to pick up some new prescriptions there.

That's when I discovered my credit card was missing from my wallet. The last time I had seen it was when I was giving it to PharmaSave so that they could process a refund of almost $200 to correct their error. AND ... < sputter > ... I had to coach them through how to do a refund on their credit card terminal ! Similkameen Pharmacy ( the new pharmacy ) phoned PharmaSave to ask if they had my credit card. "No" they said ... they were certain they had seen me put it in my "purse" ( fanny pack ). I stomped out of Similkameen Pharmacy, drove over to PharmaSave and ... miracle of miracles ... as
I stomped into PharmaSave, they "found" my credit card. How ****ing convenient ! Goodbye ... for the last time ! ! !

I returned to Similkameen Pharmacy, picked up my new prescriptions, then went to South Similkameen Health Centre / Keremeos Clinic to have a chest x-ray. We refilled our five gallon water jug in town, and bought produce at Sanderson Farms before returning home. At home we had lunch, then I went to read and nap briefly. Joanne lay down on the bed to do some crosswords while I read, then while I napped ... she fell asleep ! She does not do "afternoon nap" very well at all. I nap most days, and wake up in thirty to sixty minutes, refreshed and ready to go. Not Joanne ! She "napped" from about 1:30 PM until after 7 PM, then woke up very groggy and very crabby. < rolling eyes >

In the evening I worked on accounting ; trailer delivery job accounting, credit card accounting, medication expense accounting, etc. We watched Amazing Race. My enthusiasm for Amazing Race is dwindling as this series progresses. I can't really get interested in these Internet / YouTube "star" contestants. They're too much "on", always "mugging" for the cameras.

It's now 12:20 AM ... and I'm falling asleep. Joanne and Bo have already gone to bed. Time to take Bo for a walk ... and go to sleep !

Saturday ; Sunny and warm. Used the ( northern ) Sun Oven for the first time this summer season. Joanne cooked rice pudding in the Sun Oven.

I slept late this morning. The last few early mornings tired me out. I phoned my ( new ) pharmacist this morning and we had another discussion about Humira, the immunosuppressant medication that my gastroenterologist suggests I try. The more
I research it, the more I lean towards ... “no”.

This afternoon I did some minor truck maintenance. I took some books back to the library in the clubhouse. I mowed the lawn inside the fenced dog park ... < fume > ... because apparently our paid maintenance people don’t feel it is necessary to do so !
I replenished medications inside the truck camper. I reviewed and replenished clothing inside the truck camper. Joanne did laundry.

I retrieved month end bank statements and investment updates. I did some online gift shopping. Got caught ! Joanne came back from doing laundry and walked in as I was on the phone. Hope she didn’t hear too much ! Had to interrupt my phone conversation and ask Joanne to go into the bedroom and close the door. < raising eyes to ceiling > It’s SOOOOO hard to buy “surprises”, n’est-ce pas ?

DSK