Sunday, September 30, 2018

September 23 to 29, 2018

Sunday ;  Cloudy, windy, cool.

I spent much of the afternoon doing preventive maintenance chores on the truck and the minivan.

Monday ;  home to Oroville, Washington to Fintry, BC to home

Mix of sun and clouds, a few minutes of rain while driving near Summerland in
mid-afternoon.

Long day of trailer towing.  Left home at 10 AM.  Arrived back home at 7:45 PM.  Just about schmucked a deer in the dark just before I got back home !

Left home at 10 AM.  Drove east on Hwy. 3 to and through Keremeos and Cawston and to Osoyoos.  Met client at Visitor Information Centre.  She got into my truck and we drove across the border to Oroville, Washington to pick up her fifth wheel trailer at a service station about half a mile from the border.  It had been sitting there for eight days, since an American trailer towing service left it there when he was not permitted to enter Canada.  He had towed the trailer from the seller's location in Bellingham, Washington, and was not aware that he lacked the proper credentials to cross the border into Canada with a trailer that he did not own.  Amateur !  The buyer of the trailer hired me to pick it up in Oroville and deliver it to her home in Fintry, BC, on the west side of Okanagan Lake, across the lake from Kelowna and Vernon.

We crossed the border into the United States uneventfully, picked up the trailer, and returned to the border.  We crossed back into Canada, and I waited while the client did the importation paperwork and paid the taxes owing.  I drove her back to the Visitor Information Centre where her car was parked, and we proceeded north on Hwy. 97.  We stopped in Oliver to have lunch at Tim Hortons.  Thank you for buying me lunch, Shelly !   We continued north on Hwy. 97.  I stopped in Okanagan Falls to walk Ozzie and feed him his lunch meal.  Past Kaleden to Penticton, then Summerland, Peachland, and Westbank.  We stopped at an insurance agency in Westbank for the client to do more paperwork.

At Westbank we got onto Westside Road, the difficult, narrow road following the west shore of Okanagan Lake.  Her home was near Fintry, a village ( and nearby provincial park ) about 35 km / 20 miles or so from Westbank.  We arrived at her home about
4 PM.  An hour later the trailer was positioned and unhitched, and I was leaving for the return trip home ... with a generous tip in my pocket.  Thank you !  The client appreciated how  good I am at what I do, and wants to hire me again for a small trailer towing job in a few weeks when her trailer needs to be taken back to Westbank for a CSA inspection and certification.  I gave her a quote, but ... I'm not sure I can make the logistics of that job work.

In Penticton I stopped at Rona to buy an item, then to Safeway to use the BMO ATM to deposit my job payment before refilling with diesel at Mobil.  Arrived back home at
7:45 PM.  Had leftovers for supper.  Upon our return home Ozzie immediately went to sleep.  HA HA HA ... trailer towing all day is tough work for an old dog !

All day long I have been suffering considerable chest pain.  My sternum ... sawn apart during bypass surgery ... and / or my pectoral muscles ... cut during bypass surgery ... may not yet be sufficiently healed ... and maybe never will be ... to allow me to lift the fifth wheel hitch ( 75 pounds ? ) high enough to get it into the bed of the truck, as I did yesterday !  OW !

Tuesday ;  Sunny and warm, a very nice fall day.  Too bad I was too sick to enjoy it !

I had an unpleasant night.  In addition to suffering from considerable chest pain due to some manner of self-inflicted injury to my sternum or pectoral muscles by lifting the fifth wheel hitch into the bed of the truck, I suffered overwhelming nausea due to
self -inflicted food poisoning ... again !  I was unable to eat much today, and spent too much time in the bathroom with cramps and diarrhea.

Note to self ; don't keep any Dolly Varden Trout caught in the future !

This afternoon I unloaded all the trailer towing equipment and supplies out of the truck, then recruited our neighbour Lyle to help me remove the fifth wheel hitch head out of the truck bed.  < sigh >  I must conclude that my heavy lifting days are over !  I thought that my sternum and pectoral muscles would be sufficiently healed a year after my bypass surgery to allow me to do heavy lifting, but ... apparently not !

Wednesday ;  Sunny and warm, no wind, a really lovely fall day.  Should go fishing for the last time this season !

So ... this afternoon that's what I did.  And set a new record for catching my limit of four Rainbow Trout.  Previous record was twenty-seven minutes.  Broke that record today by catching four Rainbow Trout in the first twenty-four minutes of fishing !  And then they stopped biting !  Fished for a total of seventy-five minutes, caught six Rainbows in total.  I returned home, cleaned the fish that I kept, gave two to my neighbour Betty.

Felt healthy today after a couple of days of illness.  Prepared a real supper.  Garden salad, baked Rainbow Trout, French fries, sautéed mushrooms, Key Lime pie.  Watched the season premiere of Survivor.

Thursday ;  Cloudy, mild.

While having lunch I watched a few minutes of the Kavanaugh / Ford spectacle. 
< rolling my eyes >  God Bless America ! ! !

This afternoon I did a "home improvement" project on the camper.  I installed a fresh air intake vent to provide an air supply to the WAVE 6 catalytic infrared heater.  I cut a hole in the wall of the camper near the heater and installed a ceiling register that can be opened ( and closed ) to allow fresh air in to feed the heater's need for oxygen.

Friday ;  Cloudy and mild.

I was awakened early this morning by a telephone call.  From Joanne !  Who apparently can not calculate time zone differences ! ! !  < scowl >

This afternoon I did laundry, not a chore I excel at !  I also refilled the freshwater tank in the camper, and installed the camper onto the truck.  Around supper time I went to the swimming pool and did a cardiac rehab aquatic exercise session.  After a late supper
I watched the Jack Reacher movie on TV.  It was great !  I'm a fan of the Jack Reacher novels.

Poor Emma seems to have an upper respiratory infection / kitty cat cold.  I began administering Mucotox, an upper respiratory infection medication that I purchase in Mexico, have used ever since the days of Teddy the cat, and seems to work effectively.  BUT ... Emma REALLY hates it !  My poor baby Emma.  It’s so difficult to intentionally cause them distress and discomfort !

Saturday ;  First anniversary of coronary artery bypass surgery

Cloudy and mild.

OW OW OW OW OW ! ! !  It hurts like hell to wash dishes ... with the severe burns I got on my right hand a few hours ago !

This afternoon I prepared for departure and travel tomorrow, to go to Abbotsford to pick Joanne up at the airport early Monday morning.  While making lunch ... a pot of soup
I was preparing boiled over.  After lunch, when I lifted the stove top to clean underneath ... YUCK !  Does my little wifey never clean underneath the stove top ? ! ?

I cleaned and washed underneath the stove top, then ... I had some difficulty getting the burners to light, after I had removed them, washed them, and reinstalled them. 
I fussed, and fiddled, and ... eventually ... burned the palm and little finger of my right hand !  They are at least second degree burns !  Hurts like hell !

I'm eager for Joanne's return.  I sustain far fewer injuries when she's here.  HA HA HA HA HA !

The Saturday Night Live opening skit featuring Matt Damon as Judge Brett Kavanaugh was hilarious !  And spot on !

DSK

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