September 20 to 26, 2020

 Sunday ; Sunny and warm, no wildfire smoke, a very nice fall day.

I went fishing this afternoon. I caught a large Rainbow Trout on my first cast. And … lost it just as I brought it to the net. <STOMP STOMP STOMP> DARN DARN DARN ! I fished for an hour and half and caught … <sigh> … nothing else ! My fishing success this summer has been pathetic !

Monday ; Overcast in the morning, sunny in the afternoon, warm.

I lost sleep last night thinking about “the one that got away”. So … I went fishing again today. I fished for two hours. I caught a small Rainbow Trout, but injured it removing the hook, so had to keep it. I caught a large Cutthroat Trout … WOO-HOO ! And I caught a large Mountain Whitefish, which I released.

Tuesday ; Mostly sunny and warm.

With rain expected to start tomorrow and last for about a week, I went fishing again today, third day in a row. Fishing has certainly been poor this year. Today I caught a Rainbow Trout and a Mountain Whitefish. I kept the Rainbow, released the Whitefish.

I “exercised” our small generator this afternoon. In the evening I did some obesity clinic homework. And prepared for the use of the sleep apnea test equipment I received from the sleep disorder clinic I was referred to by the obesity clinic.

On our early walk before lunch I had to stop Joanne from inadvertently stepping on a baby rattlesnake slithering across the road, probably seeking the warmth of the asphalt.  Joanne didn't see the baby rattlesnake on the road because she was looking at the dead mouse on the road.

Wednesday ; Gloomy, chilly, light rain starting in early afternoon. Goodbye, summer !

I did some fly fishing gear maintenance, since yesterday may be the last time this year that I go fly fishing in the Similkameen River. I did some preventive maintenance on the truck. From 5 PM to 6:30 PM I was on my first obesity clinic group Zoom meeting, a weekly activity for the next year, I think. The topic of tonight’s meeting, the first for all of the sixty participants, was “deciphering”/understanding our recent blood tests. Very informative ! Very educational !

Overnight I wore the sleep apnea test equipment. It was a bit bothersome, especially the too small finger pulse oximeter !

Thursday ; Mostly cloudy, cool, a bit windy.

Routine maintenance chores and preparation for fall. Obesity clinic homework. Paid some bills online. While on our late afternoon walk I had an opportunity to express my condolences to a neighbour whose husband died of pancreatic cancer a few days ago. In the evening, using Shaw Direct’s BlueCurve streaming service, we watched a couple of old episodes of 90 Day Fiance that we had not seen before.

Friday ; Mix of sun and clouds, cool, windy.

This is the second day in a row that we have gone to the swimming pool to do an exercise session and were unable to because of a pool “malfunction” (A.K.A. a maintenance staff error). Yesterday the pool was overflowing, with rivers of water running over the pool deck to the drains in the floor. Today the pool water was very cold, much too cold to go in.

This evening we watched some YouTube videos done by a “senior” single male RV’er (YouTube name Slim Potatohead) who travels in a Jeep towing a small trailer. He boondocks most of the time, and his travel (and life) philosophies are similar to ours.

Saturday ; Partially sunny, mild.

A somewhat lazy, unproductive, routine day. Played around with a forgotten old MP3 player I found at the back of a desk drawer.

DSK

September 13 to 19, 2020

 Sunday ; <COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH>

Joanne went to Penticton this morning and spent the day running shopping errands. I stayed home and did some routine chores, unpacked some stuff from the camper, napped with the cat, etc.

Monday ; <COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH>

Difficult to breathe ! Staying indoors with doors and windows closed.

Wore our face masks on our early walk. Substituted a pool exercise session for our late walk. Worked on planning details of a nine day camping / fishing / mushroom hunting / foodie buying trip next month. In the evening did some obesity clinic “homework”.

Tuesday ; Warm, humid, smoky.

Joanne went into Keremeos to run some errands. I worked on the camper, doing some preventive maintenance and replenishment.

Wednesday ; Warm, humid, smoky.

I missed my weekly Similkameen River Wednesday fishing outing last week because we were at Otter Lake. I was planning to go fishing today but … decided that it would be too unhealthy for me to trudge all the way to my secret fishing spot and back in such thick wildfire smoke.

Joanne went into Keremeos to the Post Office to send a small package to her sister. As a favour to me. I sent some pet medications to my sister-in-law. And dealing with our local Post Office aggravates me !

We did an early walk before lunch and a pool exercise session before supper. I did more obesity clinic homework, creating a food and exercise diary using an “app” recommended by them. I repaired our toilet. Again ! I did some maintenance work in the camper. I disinfected and refilled the camper’s freshwater tank. While Joanne was in town I trimmed Emma’s claws. By myself ! Living dangerously !

Thursday ; Warm, humid, smoky.

Early walk. Late pool exercises. Joanne did laundry. I tried an interesting new recipe for supper ; Ukrainian Syrniki cottage cheese pancakes. Not a keeper !

Friday ; Warm, still smoky.

Routine day. Visited with our neighbour/friend Jeanine for most of the afternoon.

Saturday ; Heavy rain overnight, cloudy today, but no smoke, cool.

Another routine day. First time I had to wear long pants in a few months ! Watched a movie in the evening ; Being Canadian.

DSK

August 6 to 12, 2020

Sunday ; Sunny and hot.

Around noon we took our old water heater to the Keremeos landfill site. And the water heater replacement project is now finished ! After we returned home Joanne did laundry. I did some routine maintenance on the camper. I did some investment file updating work. I posted my weekly journal to my blog. In the evening I did quite a bit of my obesity clinic “homework”.

Monday ; Sunny and very warm.

This morning I did some routine household maintenance chores including repairing our toilet. In the afternoon I did some truck maintenance, then loaded firewood and fishing gear into the camper in preparation for departure tomorrow.

I found an outdoors adventure company in Vernon that conducts fall mushroom hunting tours. Joanne told me to make a booking for us on the Thanksgiving / birthday / anniversary weekend in mid-October. Her birthday treat to me. THANK YOU !

We did a swimming pool exercise session before supper. And I did some banking information updating work. During and after supper I watched the Ozzy Osbourne biography on TV. What a fascinating piece of shit he is !

Tuesday ; home to Granite Creek BC Forest Service Recreation Site

Sunny and very warm.

This morning we finished packing and preparing for a four day camping trip, did our “early” exercise walk, and left home around noon, heading west on Crowsnest Highway 3. At Princeton we stopped at a credit union to buy some coinage for laundry, then continued northwest on the Coalmont/Tulameen Road. When we got to Coalmont we drove a few km. off the beaten path (as if we weren’t already off the beaten path !) to have lunch at Granite Creek BCFSRS on the Tulameen River (where Granite Creek flows into the Tulameen).

We had a very late lunch parked in a beautiful campsite right beside the Tulameen River. We liked the site so much we decided to stay overnight. I napped briefly then we hiked for exercise for half an hour, looping around the remote wilderness campground and surrounding area. I went fly fishing in the Tulameen River. It’s a slightly smaller river than the Similkameen. It flows into the Similkameen River at Princeton. I didn’t catch anything and … <sputter> … gave up after less than half an hour. Unlike the Similkameen which slowly warms all summer, the Tulameen was icy cold ! My toes were throbbing ! It was like standing in a bucket of ice !

I lit a campfire and cooked supper on it. Joanne packaged beef sausages, potatoes, carrots, and zucchini, all slathered in barbecue sauce, in foil packets. It was a very good meal ! We ate supper outside at the picnic table, then sat by the campfire until it was dark. At 8 PM ! ! !

Wednesday ; Granite Creek BCFSRS to Otter Lake Provincial Park

Sunny and warm.

This morning we left Granite Creek BCFSRS around 11:30 AM, drove back through the tiny village of Coalmont, drove about ten km. / six miles north to the tiny village of Tulameen, then about five km. / three miles further to Otter Lake Provincial Park. We refilled our freshwater tank and selected a campsite.

Before having lunch we went for a half hour exercise walk, twice around the campground. After lunch I napped. I did some trip planning work in the afternoon, then before supper we went for a hike through the forest for more than half an hour, our “late” exercise walk. HMPH … couldn’t find any wild mushrooms.

At 6 PM I lit a campfire and cooked supper on it ; foil packets of potatoes and onions, a foil packet of mushrooms, and a marinated sirloin steak. While I prepared the campfire Joanne prepared the food for cooking, and a garden salad. We’re a good meal preparation team ! After supper we sat around the campfire and chatted until it got dark at 8 PM.

Thursday ; Otter Lake Provincial Park

Sunny and warm.

We had a relaxing day. Early walk. Late walk. Nap. Fishing. Campfire. Supper cooked on the campfire. Life was good today !

Friday ; Otter Lake Provincial Park

Sunny and hot.

Really lazy day of relaxing ! Refilled freshwater. Dumped grey waste tank. Early walk. Made campfire, cooked lunch. Read book. Napped. Thanksgiving / birthday / anniversary camping trip planning. Massaged little wifey’s sore shoulder. Drank a beer ! Late walk. Made another campfire, cooked supper. After supper, sat around the campfire until well after dark, discussing … hopes and dreams.

Saturday ; Otter Lake Provincial Park to home

Sunny and very warm at Otter Lake, <cough cough> extremely smoky and hot at home.

We left Otter Lake at 11 AM, returning through Tulameen and Coalmont back to Princeton where we shopped for groceries at Save-On-Foods. HMPH ! Inefficient and rude cashier ! East on Crowsnest Hwy. 3, we stopped at Bromley Rock Provincial Park to go for a long exercise walk and have lunch. We arrived back home at 3 PM.

Emma was very glad to be back home. So … she and I napped. HA HA HA !

DSK

August 30 to September 5, 2020

 Sunday ; Cloudy and warm during the day, raining and chilly in the evening.

On our early walk around noon we took two picking pails and while walking through our park’s orchard we picked two pails full of plums.

I did my weekly update of our investments and posted my weekly journal to my blog. I bought a water heater for our home. It was an advertised special in this week’s Canadian Tire flyer, and I bought it online for pickup at the Penticton store. This was the final year that our home insurer would provide coverage for any losses incurred due to water heater malfunction due to its age. So … the water heater needs to be replaced before our policy must be renewed next spring.

Monday ; Cloudy, very warm.

After lunch we went into Keremeos and ran errands ; refill water jug, buy advertised specials at grocery store, etc.

I did some gardening work, harvesting lettuce and tomatoes, replanting lettuce, etc. In the evening I retrieved month end bank statements and investment updates.

Tuesday ; Penticton

Sunny and hot.

After lunch we headed to Penticton to pick up the water heater I ordered from Canadian Tire. We ran a few other errands while in Penticton, and after picking up the water heater at Canadian Tire we ordered and picked up a take-out dinner at a new barbecue restaurant.

We had ordered $20 (plus taxes) worth of food. Our bill was $25 (plus taxes). When Joanne brought the error to the attention of the restaurant manager (owner ?) the manager (owner ?) got pissy and claimed that their prices had increased today. Joanne pointed out that the price was $20 on their website this morning. The owner flipped a $5 bill at Joanne. Joanne decided it wasn’t worth pursuing the additional 25¢ tax error. HMPH … I would have !

We understand that the pandemic has taken its toll on small businesses, and many may not be able to survive. But as long as their doors remain open … please don’t take out your frustrations on your customers ! ! !

So … we decided before we had even eaten any of Smugglers Smokehouse’s food that this would be not only the first, but also the last, time we would order food from them. Good decision, because … their food was not good ! Their brisket was just overcooked roast beef with cold barbecue sauce served on the side. The potato salad was tasty, but extremely over salted. The cole slaw was tasteless, except for being extremely over peppered !

Wednesday ; Sunny, very warm, windy in the afternoon.

Joanne went to Penticton this morning and spent the day running shopping errands.

I had my first appointment (by video meeting) with the Medical Weight Management Clinic in the Vancouver area. The meeting lasted an hour and involved two doctors. So far, I’m impressed and encouraged. The primary doctor I dealt with was extremely impressed with the results of my 28 blood tests and ECG. He said that he has never had an old fat man enter their program that was in such good health as me. Especially one who has had triple bypass surgery. HA HA HA ! Again … must be all that clean living I did in the 70’s. HA HA HA <SNORT> HA HA !

This afternoon I did some routine household chores, and gardening, then began to prepare to go fishing. But … because of the wind I decided to postpone my fishing until tomorrow. Wind makes fly fishing difficult, especially for someone lacking in experience and skill like me.

Joanne was tired when she returned from her day of shopping in Penticton. So … I made supper. Beefsteak poutine ! Excellent ! HEY … why not ? My heart’s healthy ! HA HA HA ! And … following my obesity doctor’s first instruction/objective for me, I discarded the last 5% of my meal.

Thursday ; Sunny and hot.

After an early lunch we headed into Keremeos. I went for a haircut while Joanne went produce shopping. After my haircut we went to the grocery store to buy some advertised specials. WOO-HOO … more Coho Salmon !

Late in the afternoon I went fishing for an hour or so. HMPH … caught and released two large Mountain Whitefish. Rainbow Trout in abundance surface feeding on hatching bugs. BUT … would they take the dry fly lures I was offering ? NOOOOO ! ! !

Yesterday I was within spitting distance of reaching my investment target of 25% growth on the investment I made just over four months ago. So … this morning I sent my investment advisor/stock broker “sell” instructions. Then, while watching the noon news on TV while eating lunch, I discovered … NOOOOO … the stock markets were crashing ! F*** ! ! ! Story of my life ! ! !

Friday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked a peach pie in the Sun Oven this morning, and Moroccan Chicken in the Sun Oven this afternoon.

I spent the day replacing our water heater. All things considered, the job went reasonably well. A few days ago I purchased a new water heater at Canadian Tire. On sale, of course. I needed to get the water heater in our home replaced by next spring. As of next spring, our home’s original water heater would have reached the uninsurable age of fifteen years old. So I had been watching for a sale price on the right size of water heater.

Our water heater is behind a panel in our bedroom closet. So the bedroom closet contents, and the bed, and other things in the bedroom were repositioned/relocated to allow for the removal of the old water heater and the installation of the new water heater. That included the temporary relocation of Emma’s laundry basket bed <rolling my eyes>. The whole day while I was working on the water heater Emma was pacing around loudly vocalizing her displeasure. She is VERY unhappy about change ! Eventually, when she convinced herself that I wasn’t “listening”, she stomped over to her laundry basket bed in the kitchen, climbed in and … peed in it ! ****ing cat logic !

Saturday ; Sunny and hot. I made liquid smoked, maple syrup candied Coho Salmon in the Sun Oven today.

Before loading our old water heater into the back of our minivan to take it to the dump tomorrow I thought it would be good idea to cannibalize the two heating elements out of it. No sense throwing away perfectly good electrical elements, might as well keep them as spares. As a matter of fact, I felt that way about the entire water heater. The only reason I replaced it was because of insurance. I disassembled and removed the upper element. YIKES ! YUCK ! What a lot of mineral deposits and corrosion !  I reinstalled the upper element, then Joanne helped me load the water heater into the back of the minivan.

This afternoon I did some routine maintenance on the truck, then Joanne helped me load the camper onto the bed of the truck. I should have waited for a few hours. It was extremely hot in mid-afternoon, and working in heat and sun makes Joanne ill. <sigh> After installing the camper onto the truck we went to the swimming pool to do an exercise session. And cool down ! In the evening I did some work on my obesity clinic “homework”.

DSK