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