July 21 to 27, 2019

Sunday ; Sunny, hot, windy. Joanne roasted a boneless leg of lamb in the Sun Oven today. Good thing old folks like us can get those reverse mortgage things on our homes to pay for such indulgences. HA HA HA HA HA !

Again today I did preventive maintenance on the truck, draining the fuel / water separator at the bottom of the fuel filter. I removed the solar rope lights around our deck rail. Joanne sanded and stained the deck rail … while I napped with the animals. HA HA HA ! I updated our investment summary file and posted my weekly journal to my blog. And spent a whole lot of time searching for something that I was certain I had brought home from Yuma, but could not find. Eventually 

I found it !

Monday ; Sunny and hot.

This morning Joanne went into town by herself to run some errands. She picked up a prescription for me. She went to buy produce at Sanderson Farms and discovered … a fresh batch of Morel mushrooms, even better than last week’s batch ! WOO-HOO ! She found out from the owner of Sanderson Farms that a “local” is finding and picking the Morel mushrooms way up at Cathedral Lakes.

This afternoon Joanne spot sanded and stained the gazebo. I sanded the top and seats of our cedar picnic table. WHEW … tough work even with a powerful belt sander. I wonder how much cedar sawdust one can inhale before causing a respiratory problem ? ! ? HA HA HA !

Working as a team we made a superb supper. We started with an ear of corn 

I roasted on the barbecue. We ate that, then I roasted small potatoes while Joanne sauteed Morel mushrooms. I barbecued a thick, marinated steak while Joanne made cream sauce for the mushrooms and the potatoes. Corn, steak, creamed Morel mushrooms, creamed baby potatoes. Afterwards … I roasted fresh peaches on the barbecue, and Joanne made Peach Mint Julep with them, using fresh, home grown mint leaves.

Hang in there, coronary bypasses … you’ll be just fine. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm early in the day, severe thunderstorms late in the afternoon and evening. Heavy rain, thunder, lightening, brief power interruptions, frequent satellite TV interruptions.

This morning we did weekly Ozzie dental and ear care. In the afternoon we gave him a bath. I exercised our little generator. I cleaned the shower drain using a little drain cleaner tool. YUCK ! That must be mostly my hair clogging the shower drain, n’est-ce pas ?

We went to the swimming pool around 4 PM to exercise, but … there were too many other people … including a bunch of children. We left and came back round 6:30 PM. Had the place all to ourselves. In the evening we watched Amazing Race Canada. We certainly are eager for Dave and Irina to be eliminated ! What an obnoxious pair !

Wednesday ; Penticton

Sunny and hot. We spent the day in Penticton, running errands. While Joanne was at the pain clinic, having her first physiotherapy and acupuncture treatment for a sore shoulder I went to the cosmetology school and got a haircut and beard trim.

Thursday ; Sunny and hot. This afternoon I removed the expanding foam that 

I had recently installed around a plumbing pipe in a kitchen cupboard, and that the mice chewed through to regain access to that cupboard. I sealed around the pipe opening in the floor of the cupboard with RV weatherstripping putty. I hope that will solve the mice problem more effectively than the expanding foam did ! Wish me luck !

This afternoon we went to the swimming pool to do cardiac rehab exercises. We shared the pool with a brother and sister duo, she about twelve years old or so, he about ten years old or so. Probably grandchildren of a park resident. Their father, who should have been supervising the children in the pool, sat outside on a golf cart … and smoked cigarettes. I suspect he may have had one too many “cold ones” ! The unsupervised children were relatively well behaved, and the girl was trying to “supervise” her younger brother, but … ten year old boys are careless and use poor judgment. That’s why they need supervision ! ! ! And that’s how I got kicked in the abdomen as the boy swam past me. I’m pretty pissed off, but not at the boy. I’m pissed off at the lazy, irresponsible father on the golf cart ! ! ! Get your lazy ( perhaps drunk ) ass off the golf cart and keep an eye on your children in the pool … asshole ! I’m an old man with relatively recent open heart surgery and I don’t appreciate being kicked in the stomach ! ! !

Friday ; Sunny and hot. First Joanne cooked a stew in the Sun Oven, then when that was done she baked an apple and rhubarb crisp in the Sun Oven, using rhubarb from our garden, and Transparent Apples picked in our park’s orchard this morning.

I did a bit of maintenance on the truck and on my bicycle. Joanne went into town to refill our five gallon water jug and pick up the rest of my prescription refills at the pharmacy. I reconciled and paid our monthly MasterCard billing. We went to the swimming pool, but not to do cardiac exercising as we usually do. Today we did some exercises for Joanne’s painful shoulder. Back at home I began a review and purge of my “magician’s tool box”. I didn’t make much progress !

Saturday ; Sunny and hot.

With extreme reluctance I renewed our home insurance policy this morning. I was unable to find a suitable alternative because all insurance companies are currently unwilling to write new policies due to local wildfires. HMPH ! And the 69% premium increase on our current policy is in line with what all the other insurers are doing, claiming huge cost increases over the last few years due to wildfires in BC, and before that, in Fort McMurray, Alberta. HMPH !

This afternoon I reviewed and purged my “magic tool box”. In the box were two New Years’ Eve “poppers” that I had picked up many years ago and put into the box for potential use in magic. Today I decided to get rid of them. I “popped” one in the living room at Joanne as she was watching TV. YIKES ! ! ! It “exploded” with a loud bang, and spewed confetti all over Joanne … and the rest of the living room. She was NOT impressed. OOOOOPS … my bad ! HA HA HA HA HA !

Around supper time we went to the swimming pool and did cardiac rehab exercising.

This evening I listened to CBC Radio 1, streaming it on my laptop, listening to Randy Bachman’s Vinyl Tap followed by Saturday Night Blues.

DSK

July 14 to 20, 2019

Sunday ; Happy 98^th Birthday to our Oregon friend Eilene

Mostly cloudy, warm, a bit windy.

I went fly fishing today in the Similkameen River beside our community’s “beach access” area in the Crown Land beside our park. I wanted to assess how fast the river was flowing, and how cold the water temperature was. Wearing chest waders I walked out into the middle of the river. It’s still cold, and it’s still flowing fast, although the level has dropped to summer levels. I did not catch any fish in the half hour that I fished.

This afternoon I did some travel medical insurance comparison shopping. Still haven’t found a good alternative to MEDIPAC. I will continue to search.

Cooked blueberry pancakes this morning, with Aunt Lena’s sour milk pancake batter recipe made from scratch. Joanne made the batter, I cooked the pancakes. Cooked Morel mushroom omelettes for supper. My repertoire is small, but … I’m very good at what I do ! Both the pancakes and the omelettes were superb ! ! !

In the evening we watched the movie “Little Miss Sunshine”. For the third time ! HA HA HA !

Monday ; Mix of sun and clouds, a bit of rain around suppertime.

Did some preventive maintenance on the camper, truck and minivan this morning. This afternoon Joanne went into town to run some errands by herself. 

I worked on resealing the passenger side bedroom window on the camper. 

I removed all the old, dried, cracked caulking … a very difficult job … then applied new caulking.

For supper I pan fried and butter basted Cajun seasoned Cutthroat Trout fillets, caught by me a couple of weeks ago at Crooked River in Northern BC. They were excellent !

DARN ! We forgot to go to the swimming pool to do exercises today.

Tuesday ; Mix of sun and clouds, intermittent light rain.

Today was ear cleaning, teeth brushing, and nail trimming day for Ozzie, and just nail trimming day for Emma. This afternoon I removed the battery from the minivan. Tomorrow in Penticton I will buy a new battery. Late in the afternoon we went to the swimming pool and did aquatic exercises. I did more online research of travel medical insurance options. Today I found a couple of possibly viable options. In the evening we watched Amazing Race Canada … while eating my favourite dinner recipe. Thank you, my dear !

Wednesday ; Penticton

Mix of sun and clouds, warm, humid, intermittent light rain starting late afternoon.

We left home this morning at 10 AM heading for Penticton and my 11 AM appointment with my cardiologist. This was sort of my two year post-surgical checkup … twenty-one months after my surgery. My cardiologist was very optimistic and encouraging. His opinion was that my bypass surgery was / is very successful, with no ongoing angina, fibrillation, shortness of breath, exercise intolerance, edema / fluid build up, etc. No issues, just good news ! The radial artery from my left arm and both mammary arteries from my chest made excellent arterial grafts. The cardiothoracic surgeon suggested at my two month post-surgical checkup that my bypass grafts should have a twelve year life. My cardiologist today suggested that they should have a fifteen year life. So … I am now expecting to live to be 75 to 78 years old ! Remember … I come from a family of men that don’t live past seventy !

The arm and chest trauma of harvesting / ripping out arteries to be used as bypass grafts, and sawing the sternum apart to access the heart … well … 

< shrug > … that’s part of the “new reality” to live with. The residual discomforts will remain. Everything has healed as much as it is going to ! At least I’m alive !

We had a long, tiring day of errands in Penticton, not arriving back home until 7 PM.

Thursday ; Mostly sunny, warm, windy.

We had a meeting scheduled this afternoon with an insurance agent in Princeton, but this morning I returned a phone call she made yesterday, and she wanted to cancel our meeting this afternoon and deal with our business over the phone. And by e-mail. Okay ! She prepared two quotes for us, for home insurance. Neither was acceptable ! She’ll try again tomorrow.

Yesterday I purchased a new battery for the minivan. Today I installed it. I filleted a Steelhead Trout we purchased yesterday, freezing one large fillet and barbecuing the other one for supper tonight. Before supper we went to the swimming pool and exercised. I did yesterday’s credit card accounting. YIKES !

Friday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning I did some work on the truck, replacing the fuel filter. This afternoon I did a 6000 km. Inspection. And I had a lengthy chat in our gazebo with a neighbour. We mostly discussed recent park politics. In the evening I updated maintenance records for the truck and the minivan.

Saturday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne cooked Chicken & Zucchini Parmigiana in the Sun Oven today.

Went bicycling this morning. Should be doing that a lot more often ! Paid some bills online this afternoon. Around suppertime we went to the swimming pool to do cardiac exercises. We cut our session a bit short because … the pool became overwhelmed by two grandparent visiting families with … MANY children ! ! !

I got a free work bench vise today from a neighbour who was giving away some surplus work shop supplies. I installed it onto my work bench. Excellent !

Today I was offered an opportunity by a previous trailer towing client to transport two trailers from Edmonton to Vancouver. I declined that opportunity.

DSK

July 7 to 13,2019

Sunday ; Mostly cloudy and warm.

Spent much of today washing the truck and the front of the camper. YUCK ! 

Bugs ! Road grime !

For supper I barbecued the Arctic Grayling I caught recently. I’m not sure that the meat of the fish was all that great tasting, but … if smothered in enough mushroom dill à la king sauce … it was wonderful ! HA HA HA !

Monday ; Mostly sunny and warm. Joanne cooked a Swiss Steak dish in the Sun Oven today.

This morning I used expanding foam sealant to seal around the three plumbing pipes coming up into the kitchen cupboards. The route that the six mice that I have killed in the kitchen cupboards in the last week or so used to gain entry. We have lived in this home for seven years or so and have never had a mouse problem. Until we returned from our Cassiar Highway trip a bit more than a week ago ! Evidently while we were gone the neighbourhood mice found their way in. And every time I killed one … another arrived ! ! ! It was like playing “Whack A Mole” ! Except it was “Whack A Mouse” ! ! ! I have no motivation to keep killing mice ! Especially since two of them were not killed by the mouse trap. One was caught by its toes. And since its injuries seemed slight … I released it outdoors. Good luck, little mouse ! And one … < gulp > … was quite injured by the trap, but still alive when I found it in the morning. I took it out to our shed … and euthanized it ! YUCK ! How unpleasant !

I began using my new blood pressure machine today. My family doctor wants me to take blood pressure readings at various times of the day, using both arms. There are conflicting opinions about whether or not blood pressure readings are valid / accurate on the left arm when the radial artery has been harvested / removed from that arm. And I began the tiring annual process of travel medical insurance comparison shopping. MEDIPAC is probably still my best choice, but I am so extremely pissed off at them for what they did to me last year that I will be trying very hard to find an acceptable alternative.

In the evening I did monthly computer backups. And we watched “Saving Mr. Banks”, the story of Walt Disney wrangling the film rights to Mary Poppins from the author Pamela Travers.

Tuesday ; Mostly sunny and warm. Joanne cooked a sausage and beans casserole in the Sun Oven today.

This morning we went out into the Crown Land beside our park and searched for Saskatoons. We found bushes still bearing fruit, but … too late. The berries were already shrinking and drying. Oh, well … maybe next year. I took a look at the Similkameen River to assess depth and flow speed. Looks good … time to try fishing ! Maybe tomorrow !

This afternoon I finished washing the camper ; both sides and the rear. And I did some minor repairs on the camper. In the evening I did some Alaska Marine Highway trip planning … for next summer.

Wednesday ; Mix of sun and clouds, bit of rain in the afternoon, warm and humid.

This morning I phoned our insurance agent to tell him that I had no intention of renewing our home insurance policy … with a 69% increase in premium. Nobody in their right mind accepts a 69% cost increase from one year to the next ! ! ! This afternoon I did some minor work on the truck and the camper. Late in the afternoon we went to the pool and did an exercise session. In the evening I did some investment statement reconciling.

Thursday ; Mostly sunny, warm, humid.

Did some preventive maintenance and repair work on the camper today. On our recent Cassiar Highway trip we took the truck and camper down some Forest Service roads that were so rough … how rough were they, Dan ? … that a crack developed in the aluminum skin, the second such crack sustained by the camper. I repaired it today using Eternabond. Like cracks in the windshield, cracks in the aluminum skin of the camper are like war wounds, to be worn like a badge of honour. There are three or four such cracks in the fiberglass skin of our old fifth wheel trailer, now “retired” in Arizona. Those cracks on the fifth wheel trailer are from Mexico roads. Moral ; don’t hit topes ( pronounced “toepays” … Mexican speed bumps ) at 50 MPH ! HA HA HA !

Friday ; Mostly sunny and very warm, a few drops of rain around suppertime.

WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ! ! ! Joanne bought some Morel mushrooms today !

This morning I made some phone calls, setting up doctor’s appointments and insurance agent meeting appointments. I made a phone call to a potential trailer towing client, in order to satisfy a referral made to ( now defunct ) Similkameen Trailer Towing. I don’t really want to tow any more trailers, and this potential client sounded like a “tire kicker”, so … should be okay. HA HA HA !

This afternoon I did a messy and difficult cleaning job on the camper, cleaning the bathroom fan and underneath the MAXX AIR cover on the roof over the bathroom fan. A few years ago I installed this MAXX AIR cover in such a way as to not be able to remove it for cleaning. And today was the first time I have attempted to clean inside / under it since installing it. YUCK ! How does all that road dust collect under there ? ! ?

Joanne went into Keremeos to run some errands by herself. While shopping at Sanderson Farms, our fruit / produce stand of choice, she found that they had a small quantity of very rare, wild Morel mushrooms for sale. She bought a small basket. Together we cooked them for supper, adding them to a creamy pasta dish. MMMMM ! I want to go back to Sanderson’s tomorrow and buy more !

Around ( everybody else’s ) suppertime we went to the swimming pool and did cardiac ( and Joanne’s bursitis ) exercising. After supper we watched Downton Abbey.

Saturday ; Sunny and very warm.

This morning we drove into town ( Keremeos ) to buy another basket of Morel mushrooms at Sanderson Farms. MMMMM ! I have a plan to make Morel mushroom omelettes for supper tomorrow. Sanderson’s had fresh local peas today, so I bought a bag of those as well. Shelling them at the dining table reminded me of my days as a teenager working on my Aunt Lena’s farm near Broad Valley, Manitoba.

This afternoon Joanne and I reviewed and discussed the minutes of our community’s recent annual general meeting ...< sigh >. I also did a semi-annual archive / double backup of my computer document and photo files.

DSK

June 30 to July 6, 2019

Our recent Cassiar Highway trip was 27 days long, covering 4688 km. / 2930 miles.

Here are our wildlife sightings on that trip ;

• Bison = more than 50
• Porcupine = 1
• Beaver = 1
• Mountain Beaver = 1
• Mountain Sheep ; Thinhorn, Stone’s and Dall = more than 50
• Golden Eagle = 1
• Bald Eagle = a few
• Black Bears = 15
• Sandhill Cranes = 2
• Moose = 2
• Deer = 17
• Silver Fox = 3

Lowest diesel price was $1.189 per litre in Merritt, BC

Highest diesel price was $1.599 per litre in Toad River, BC

June 30 to July 6, 2019

Sunday ; Sunny and very warm.

When we took Ozzie for his lunch time long walk we visited with our neighbour / friend Jeanine. This afternoon I replaced the battery in Joanne’s watch. I disinfected and refilled the camper’s freshwater tank. I cleaned my shoes and sandals.

In the evening I paid our monthly MasterCard billing. YIKES ! I downloaded and processed the remaining pictures in my camera. After supper we watched the movie “About Schmidt”. What a depressing movie for a depressed old man like me to watch ! I did some month end banking and investment work. I downloaded my weekly blog entry.

AND … I successfully caught the mouse that appeared last night in one of our kitchen cupboards. Scared the dickens out of me late in the evening when I opened the cupboard door and the mouse scurried across the cupboard.

Monday ; CANADA DAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY / BONNE FÊTE CANADA !

Sunny and very warm. As usual, we had a pretty low key Canada Day. We watched the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill on TV in the evening.

I did some replenishment in the camper. We did gardening and yard work. We went to the swimming pool for our first aquatics exercise session in a month. I barbecued Rainbow Trout for supper, and created a new recipe for it, drenching the Cajun seasoned barbecued trout with a lemon dill sauce I created. It was very good ! After supper, while watching TV, I did some monthly accounting.

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm.

Our friend / neighbour Jeanine came over for a visit this afternoon. Our new next door neighbour Lorena asked me for some “home handyman” assistance this afternoon. In the evening we watched the series premiere of Amazing Race Canada.

HMPH ! ! ! All the Saskatoon berries on the two small bushes in our yard, and the large bush at the entrance to our RV park, have been eaten by birds ! No Saskatoons to harvest this year ! < pouting >

Wednesday ; Sunny and very warm. Joanne cooked a chicken cutlet parmigiana meal in the Sun Oven today.

I did some maintenance on the truck this morning. Joanne went by herself into Keremeos to run some errands. The priority errand was to refill our five gallon water jug. She left the empty jug at home when she went into town. < rolling my eyes >

I trimmed my beard. I did some “shoemaker” type patching work on the recently smashed windshield of the truck. Both the truck and the minivan now have significantly damaged windshields, but … I don’t consider windshield replacements to be a high priority. I consider damaged windshields to be “war wounds” to be worn with honour. HA HA HA ! We took the camper off the truck. Both the truck and camper are filthy and will require a lot of washing / cleaning. Before our park’s swimming pool closed at 6 PM for 24 hours of maintenance we went to the pool to do an exercise session. Since our neighbour / friend Bob died two weeks ago I consider my regular cardiac rehab exercise sessions to be an even higher priority ! I surely hope that I can get more life extension from my cardiac surgery than Bob’s seven years !

< whispering > Got twenty-one months so far ! As they say on Letterkenny … “pitter patter” !

In the evening I worked on monthly budgeting and bank statement reconciliations.

Thursday ; Sunny and very warm.

Today I worked on cleaning behind the gazebo’s screens, where Cottonwood fluff and other detritus collects, courtesy of our strong Similkameen winds. It’s an annual, tedious chore that I dislike. I also washed the very grimy Fast Gun camper turnbuckles. I phoned my gastroenterologist’s office to arrange for me to pick up my colonoscopy and biopsy pathology reports tomorrow in Penticton.

Today Joanne received mail confirmation of her eligibility to collect the Guaranteed Income Supplement to her Old Age Security pension, for the nine months from her 65^th birthday to mine. And retroactive payment for the past five months ! And … < sputter > … it only took me three submissions of application forms ! ! ! < more sarcasm >

Late in the evening we discovered that Ozzie has two small wounds in his mouth / on his gums. Don’t know if it’s “stab” wounds from my daily administering of a pill in peanut butter, or if they’re dry skin “cracks”. It was difficult to clean the wounds and apply an analgesic mouth cream ( Orajel ) to them. Poor Ozzie !

Friday ; Penticton

Sunny and warm until mid afternoon, then heavy rain for the rest of the day.

We were up early, to leave early for Penticton. We left home at 9 AM, and I dropped Joanne off at the hospital at 10 AM for her annual mammogram. I drove to a medical lab and had blood drawn for blood tests my family doctor ordered. Then I drove to my gastroenterologist’s office to pick up my colonoscopy biopsies pathology report. I returned to the hospital and picked Joanne up at 10:45 AM. We drove to JC Bottle Depot and dropped off a bunch of recycleables ; cans, glass jars, and old paint. Then to Value Village … < sigh >.

After Value Village it was Dollar Tree and Dollarama, then Cherry Lane Mall for lunch. After lunch, before leaving Cherry Lane Mall we shopped at London Drugs. I dropped Joanne off at Wal-Mart then went to an appointment with our family doctor. When I was finished at the doctor’s I returned to Wal-Mart. Joanne was finished shopping but I needed to go into the store for a few items, including a blood pressure machine that my doctor wants me to have and use.

By then ( around 3 PM ) it had begun to rain. We refilled the minivan with fuel at Mobil. I went to Lordco to buy a fuel filter for the truck. Finally, we went to Superstore to buy groceries. We left Penticton shortly before 5 PM and were home an hour later.

WHEW … long, tiring, expensive day.

Saturday ; Cloudy, warm, heavy rain in the afternoon. So … I napped ! HA HA HA !

This morning we helped our new next door neighbour move a large, heavy, decrepit wood planter to her yard from the yard of our friend / neighbour on the other side of the park, Jeanine. Some neighbours are more high maintenance than others, n’est-ce pas ?

This afternoon I did another review / sort / purge job, tackling half the drawers in my desk. We went to the swimming pool and did exercises. And met and chatted with new residents in the park, former residents of Ottawa, as are we.

In the evening I did the June month end update of our investment files. And we watched two movies ; Places In The Heart … and Ray, the story of Ray Charles.

DSK