July 31 ; This morning we left home at 10:15 AM heading to Dugald, to receive the keys to our new condo suite at Dugald Estates, a 7.5 year old co-op seniors’ condo development. We have been on Dugald Estates’ waiting list for 4.5 years !
We received our keys and entered our suite for the first time. We had not seen inside this suite before. We had previously seen an identical suite on a higher floor, but had not seen this one before. We savoured looking around inside the suite and out. We are on the first floor, so instead of a balcony, we have a patio, leading onto the secluded park like grounds on the back side of the building, facing west.
We went for a long exercise walk around town, then ate the picnic lunch Joanne had prepared for us. We unloaded the full contents of the minivan.
By then (3 PM) it was time for a residents’ meeting in the community room. The meeting had just been scheduled earlier this morning. In attendance at the meeting was Mr. Ron Schuler, the long standing Manitoba MLA (member of the legislative assembly) for this electoral district. Keeping with the current government’s frantic spending of massive amounts of money recently, shortly before a provincial election (which in my opinion they are likely to lose), Mr. Schuler was here to throw 1.1 million dollars at us … <sputter> … for the planned aquatic centre to be built adjacent to this independent living seniors’ condo, along with the planned “phase 2” of this seniors’ housing development, a soon to be built assisted living facility. SHEESH … can you spell “vote buying” ?!?
August 2 ; “MOVING DAY”
While we started moving two days ago using our minivan, and we will continue for about another week, today was the day to have a large truck and two professional movers move everything that is too large for the minivan or too heavy for an old man.
I had requested the movers to arrive at 10 AM. The moving company owner advised us that due to his employees’ start time of 8:30 AM they would be arriving at our Steinbach condo at 9:15 AM. <shrug> So … when they had not yet arrived by 9:30 AM I began to worry and get angry. I made numerous phone calls to the moving company owner’s cell phone and office between 9:30 and 10 AM before he finally answered. I was livid and expressed that explicitly ! He was frazzled by “staffing issues”, and apologetic, assuring me that his truck and crew would be in Steinbach an hour later at 11 AM.
His truck and crew arrived at 11:15 AM. The owner was with the crew, to be an additional (and no charge) third mover. Wisely, he remained silent when I made it obvious I would also be participating as the “fourth mover”.
The owner worked loading the truck. His strong mover worked by himself in our suite getting all the furniture out of the suite and to the elevator. I worked with the young, inexperienced, (not brightest bulb in the chandelier) owner’s son, getting everything on and off the elevator and out to the truck. The young man benefited from my <ahem> “leadership” and motivation. The four of us got everything out of the suite and onto the truck in an hour and a quarter !
We drove in our minivan to Dugald and had a very quick lunch. The moving crew had a quick lunch in Steinbach. The three movers and I got everything off the truck and into our new suite in forty-five minutes. WOW ! One young man, two middle aged men, and one old man, setting new records for “quick move” ! HA HA HA !
<dripping sweat>
August 3 to 6 ; moving and cleaning ; Three days of hard work using the minivan to move, and one tough day of cleaning our Steinbach suite, and we were done. We dropped off the Steinbach condo suite’s keys in the lawyer’s office’s mail slot late Sunday afternoon. Farewell, Stone Creek Courts and Steinbach !
August 7 ; Folklorama ; About a month ago we had been invited by Dugald Estates to participate in two group outings to Folklorama, first outing tonight and another in a week. The bus trip outing to Folklorama had been organized by the “Over Fifty” club in Anola, a nearby small town. The bus picked us up outside Dugald Estates at 4:30 PM. We arrived at the first Folkorama pavillion around 6 PM.
At the India pavilion, we had a “cultural beverage” / beer from India, and a “cultural appetizer” / two Samosas on a bed of curried chick peas before watching the “cultural entertainment” show. As soon as the show was over we had to hustle out and onto the bus, without having any time to view the “cultural displays”. That was disappointing, and repeated at each of the remaining two pavilions.
While waiting for the show to begin, I noticed that the “special VIP guest” at the India pavilion tonight was Mr. Kelvin Goertzen, the long standing Manitoba MLA for the Steinbach electoral district, and the current Manitoba Attorney General and Minister of Justice. Since I met Mr. Schuler on our first day as homeowners in Dugald, I thought it appropriate to meet Mr. Goertzen on our final day as homeowners in Steinbach. I approached Mr. Goertzen and introduced myself. He was gracious in accepting my introduction, and generously chatted with me for awhile, until the show was about to begin. Mr. Goertzen and I do not share political idealogies, but … I’ve always thought that he is a decent man, both personally and politically.
Next pavilion was Ukraine. WOO-HOO … moya luda (my people). Cultural beverage was … (what else ?) … rye whiskey and diet cola. HA HA HA ! Cultural dinner was … (what else ?) … perogies, holuptsi, kolbassa, cole slaw and rye bread. HA HA HA ! The cultural entertainment was the Zoloto Ukainian Dance Ensemble. Outstanding !
After the show, once again we hustled onto the bus and moved on to the third pavilion. We were slightly disappointed by the Mexican pavilion. The “cultural desert” was … “run of the mill” cookies. Disappointing, given Mexico’s wonderful assortment of pan dulce. “Cultural beverage” was Diet Pepsi. <shrug> The “cultural entertainment” was a “Norteño” dance group, brought all the way from Mexico for Folklorama. But … they were disappointing. As soon as they were finished at 10 PM we were hustled back onto the bus, arriving back home at Dugald Estates at 11:30 PM.
August 8 ; Today was “closing day” on our Steinbach condo sale. We waited anxiously all day awaiting a phone call from the lawyer advising us that the deal was completed and our cheque was waiting for us. The call didn’t come until 3:30 PM. We were in Steinbach an hour later and picked up our cheque. Before leaving Steinbach we went to Harvest Insurance to have our address changed on our driver’s licenses and minivan registration. There is no BMO ( Bank of Montreal) in Steinbach so at 5 PM we left Steinbach heading for Winnipeg to deposit our large cheque at BMO.
By the time we arrived at BMO in Southdale the branch was closed and … <sputter> … the ATM would not accept that large a cheque for deposit. <sigh> We did some grocery shopping at the Southdale Co-op store, then headed home to Dugald.
Late in the evening, while I was cleaning up in the kitchen, Joanne began screaming in pain in the bedroom. I rushed in to find her staggering across the bedroom with her hands covering her face, screaming in pain. UH-OH !
While hanging up an article of clothing on a hanger with two spring loaded clips to hold the clothing, one of the spring loaded plastic clips shattered, sending broken shards of plastic into her right eye, the first one to receive a new lens implant, a couple of months ago. The left eye was done so recently that it’s still not completely healed yet and she still requires drops in that eye three times a day.
All I could do for the first minute or two was cradle her head and hold her until the pain subsided slightly, then I got her lying on the bed and attempted to examine the eye. It was very bloodshot, and inflamed, and she was unable to open her eyelid. I had to force it open. I used a sterile saline syringe to rinse her eye as best as I could, administered some antibiotic and anti-inflammatory eye drops, bandaged an eye patch on, and put her to bed.
August 9 ; In the morning Joanne’s eye pain had diminished somewhat. Upon examining her eye, I found a small shard of plastic floating around in a pool of mucous. I was able to remove it with a cotton swab, then administered drops. Her eye improved steadily throughout the day.
We headed for Winnipeg mid-morning, to the Kildonan Place / Crossroads / Regent shopping area. Priority was to get the cheque deposited at BMO. We impulsively celebrated that achievement by buying a decadent pastry at an Italian bakery near the bank. We spent the rest of the day running tiring shopping errands in the area. We went for lunch to a restaurant in Transcona that Joanne was interested in. Lunch was excellent !
As soon as we were back home I was eager to get on my computer and get many moneys transferred to our investment accounts and investment advisor in Penticton, BC. HMPH ! Stymied by BMO again ! Their system limits electronic fund transfers out of accounts to $50,000 per day. HMPH ! It’s going to take me four days to get money transferred before our investment advisor can get it invested ! ! !
August 10 ; Another $50,000 transferred first thing this morning !
At 3:30 PM we headed to the East St. Paul’s / Birds Hill Village office of Joanne’s Steinbach optometrist for her final post cataract surgery examination. AND … to have her injured eye examined and evaluated. Everything is well with her left eye cataract surgery and healing. And her right eye clothes hanger injury is healing well also. A few more days of antibiotic eye drops and anti-inflammatory eye drops, and everything should be OK.
On the way back home to Dugald we did some grocery shopping in Oakbank.
WOW ! <blink blink> That was quite a Blue Bombers game in Edmonton tonight, n’est-ce-pas ? ! ?
