April 12 to 18, 2020 ; Quarantined at home in Keremeos, BC

Sunday ; Easter

Sunny and cool.

HMPH ! It wasn’t very long ago that I was dreaming of having a wonderful Easter dinner at a casino buffet on our northward spring migration. Now … I’m in quarantine at home eating canned vegetables and canned potatoes ! HMPH !

Joanne finished unloading everything from the camper today. I did a bit of maintenance on the truck and the minivan. I did a bit of financial work online, and posted my weekly blog entry. After supper ... which included baked Coho Salmon smothered in Hollandaise sauce … we watched three “shorts” films from the Palm Springs International Film Festival. I recently received about a dozen “shorts” online from the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and that’s part of why I recently configured the laptop to the TV.

Monday ; Sunny, becoming cloudy late in the afternoon, mild.

Was able to reach Telus by phone this morning. Cell phone reactivation drama resolved ! Can’t understand why cell phone service providers make SIM cards disintegrate into tiny little pieces of useless cardboard after three months of inactivity when hundreds of thousands ( or more ) Snowbirds are out of country for six months each winter ! ! !

Worked on truck. Worked on camper. Worked on minivan. Worked on yard. Worked on March financial updates. Worked on annuity benefit payment revisions. Thank you, Government of Canada, for RRIF annual minimum withdrawal 25% reduction.

HEY ! Emma LOOOOOVES Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup ! HA HA HA HA HA ! Who knew ? ? ?

Tuesday ; Sunny and mild.

Today our neighbour and friend Jeanine went into town to buy something she needed at the hardware store. I asked her to pick up a plumbing part I needed. THANK YOU, JEANINE. So … this afternoon I was able to repair our broken shower faucet.

I sorted and stored the purchases I made over the winter, including clothing. 

I purged and recycled old income tax and credit card files. I printed and filed some 2019 year end investment data. I reconciled March investment statements.

Wednesday ; Cloudy and cool, a few drops of rain around noon, clearing in the afternoon.

Day 6 of quarantine. Still doing fine.

This past winter season the lowest price we paid for diesel fuel was $2.449 per gallon, a week ago in Oregon. The highest price was $3.849 in southern California on our way southbound to Yuma in November.

Before lunch I went outside to do some work but … BRRRRR … it was too cold … and raining lightly. I decided to defer outdoor work until a warmer day, probably tomorrow. After lunch and a nap I spent the afternoon reviewing and dealing with our winter batch of mail.

Thursday ; Sunny and mild.

This afternoon I installed a new string of solar rope lights around our garden border. And I installed a new string of hanging patio lights around our deck off the living room. I prepared my bicycle for use.

I cooked a wonderful Udon noodles stir fry for supper. In the evening I updated our GPS unit’s software. I did some RRIF planning. AND … < sputter > … Emma ate some of my tomatillo seedlings ! ****ing cat !

Friday ; Mostly cloudy and cool.

This morning I had a phone meeting with our investment advisor to discuss some investment options. I have some … < ahem > … “surplus” money, so to speak, and I want to invest it to take advantage of the recent economic downturn in the stock markets. You know … the rich get richer, etc.

This afternoon I installed a solar light rope on our parking spot border fence. And with Joanne’s help I removed the camper from the truck. When our quarantine ends in a week we will use the truck until May 1, then I’ll renew the minivan’s registration and license.

Late in the afternoon we did a new exercise session. We have been doing a YMCA online exercise session since we returned home a week ago. Today we switched to a new exercise routine. It’s quite different, and easier than the one we had been doing. Probably because we switched to one designed for seniors. DUH !

In the evening I did some banking reconciliation and online bill paying. And we watched a few French Film Festival short films. The last one was an animated horror movie. YIKES ! Weird !

Saturday ; Mix of sun and clouds, mild.

Had a bit of a slow day. Squabbled intermittently. < sigh > Worked on financial planning. Watched some French Film Festival short films. Did another online exercise session. After thirteen years without any changes, today we changed our satellite TV programming / channel choices. And I set up my laptop to work with our satellite TV service provider’s streaming service. WOO-HOO … we’re crawling into the 21^st century. HA HA HA !

DSK