Sunday ; Mostly sunny and mild. Quite an eventful day !
Our friend / neighbour Paul died overnight. < heavy sigh > I wasn't quite ready for that. I thought he would live awhile longer. < another heavy sigh > Rest in peace, Paul. We're very sorry for your loss, Kolly.
That's two neighbours / friends dead in four days !
< extremely heavy sigh > AND ... < sputter > ... apparently we have inherited Ozzie, our next door neighbour ( Gord and ) Marcie's old, fat, infected ear Lhasa Apso ! Gord died last Wednesday. Today ... four days after his death ... his widow Marcie moved to the Lower Mainland to live with one of her two sons. AND ... < another extremely heavy sigh > ... Ozzie is now ours.
This morning and early afternoon were routine. We did some routine chores, then after an early lunch prepared to leave for Penticton. We had tickets to attend a play at Many Hats Theatre. As I walked Bo a few minutes before leaving for Penticton, Marcie's son Jeff came over to talk to me. He has been here for a few days "disposing" of Gord's and Marcie's possessions, and preparing to move his mother to his home in the Lower Mainland / Vancouver area ... < sputter > ... TODAY ! Yesterday we had told Gord's daughter Michelle that in an absolutely last hope, worst case scenario, we would accept ownership of Ozzie if no other reasonable option existed. < sigh > Jeff took us up on that offer. And that's okay ! Except ... I told him that because of circumstances, we could not and would not accept ownership of Ozzie until we returned from Kelowna on Wednesday following my angiogram and whatever else comes along with it ( balloon angioplasty and stent implantation probably ).
We drove to Penticton. We enjoyed the play "Real Estate". After the play we shopped for some "home improvement" materials at Rona. I bought the supplies needed to do a repair / refurbish job for neighbour / friend Jeanine. We had planned to have supper in Penticton, but I decided 5 PM was too early for supper, so we returned home. As soon as we returned home ... before we even got into our house we learned ... < sputter > ...
1. We were now the proud owners of an old, fat, Lhasa Apso ! ! ! ! !
2. Paul had died !
Jeff and his mother Marcie were already gone. < deep breath > I was angry and upset. Right now, and for the next few days, I need to focus on my own health issues, not ownership and care of Ozzie. Betty and some other neighbours are going to have to take care of Ozzie to the best of their abilities for a few days. Ozzie will stay in his own home until Wednesday, and Betty and other neighbours will have to ensure that he is being fed and walked.
Hang in there, Ozzie. I know that the last few days have been confusing and upsetting for you. And the next few days will be even more so. We'll be back Wednesday, and will begin to make life better for you then.
Monday ; home to Kelowna
Mix of sun and cloud, cool temperature.
This morning I took Ozzie for a long walk. His spirits lifted. Just 2½ more days, Ozzie, until we bring you to our home and a new phase of your life begins.
Our neighbour / friend Paul's new widow Kolly discovered something this morning that she told me about just before we left for Kelowna shortly after lunch. < sigh > She is the executor of Paul's estate. Their little truck is registered in Paul's name only. The truck's insurance is valid only for use of the truck by the executor, and only if the truck is being used for matters related to the settlement of the estate Ergo ... the truck would be uninsured if I were to use it for a trailer towing job, even though Paul had given me permission to do so before he died. < sigh > I had no choice but to advise my trailer towing client that I was cancelling my commitment to move her trailer next Sunday.
I found it extremely difficult to do that unpleasant task !
We had lunch, then took Bo over to Jeanine's to be "dog sat" for a few days, until we return from Kelowna Wednesday afternoon. We left home around 2:30 PM and were checking into our Kelowna motel ( near Kelowna Hospital ) shortly before 5 PM. We walked around the neighbourhood shopping mall, then bought some cooked chicken and a tub of potato salad at the nearby grocery store. Before eating supper in our motel room we drove to Kelowna Hospital to verify that we knew the route, and where to park. I don't want to have any surprises tomorrow morning at 7 AM !
We had supper in our motel room while watching episode 7 of the documentary on the Vietnam war.
Tuesday ; Kelowna
WELL ! F*** ! ! ! Didn't see THAT coming ! ! !
Sunny and mild ... I guess ! I wasn't outside long enough to know !
Awoke at 5:30 AM ( middle of the night, from my perspective ) in order to leave the motel at 7 AM for angiogram appointment at Kelowna General Hospital at 7:30 AM. Arrived at Cardiology Department about 7:15 AM. Immediately assigned to bed and prepared for angiogram procedure, then ... waited four ****ing hours for Interventional Cardiologist ( angiogram doctor ) consult at 11:35 AM. Joanne had accompanied me to hospital but left after two hours to run errands. I wasn't thrilled to find out that Interventional Cardiologist who was assigned to do my angiogram did not believe in use of anaesthetic for this procedure ... < SPUTTER > ! I have vivid memories of my father complaining about excruciating pain of angiograms.
Ten minutes after consult with doctor I was in angiogram room a.k.a. cardiac catheterization lab, at 11:45 AM. Procedure finished an hour later at 12:45 PM. Advised by doctor before leaving room that ... < SPUTTER > ... Left Main Artery of my heart was 80% blocked at top, 40% blocked about halfway further down ! Right Anterior Artery also blocked 80% ! Need triple bypass surgery. RIGHT F****ING NOW ! ! ! Problems are WAYYYYY beyond being able to be solved by balloon angioplasty and stent implantations !
Location of blockage at top of Left Main Artery is known in cardiac medical circles as "The Widow Maker". Risk of heart attack with 80% blockage at that location is too high to allow release from hospital ! HEART ATTACK AT THAT LOCATION IS NOT SURVIVABLE ! ! !
Well !
WELL ! ! !
Lay in recovery room from 12:45 PM to 2:45 PM. After two hours "sheath" in Femoral Artery was removed and I was allowed to get up to go to bathroom to urinate. AHHHHH ! Nurses, doctors, and assorted other medical personnel came and went from 2:45 to 5 PM to explain about pending CABG ( Coronary Artery Bypass Graft ) surgery. Joanne returned around 3 PM, just in time to join in the fun ! When bed was ready at 5 PM, admitted to coronary surgical unit. Spent a few hours being poked and prodded. Joanne went back to motel, retrieved my clothes and toiletries, and brought them back to me.
This has certainly thrown a monkey wrench into both short term and long term plans. Cardiologist advised that I / we will NOT be travelling south this winter. All cardiac surgeries for the next week will be scheduled during tomorrow regular Wednesday morning cardiac surgery scheduling meeting. Left Main Artery 80% blockage is high priority. My surgery will likely be scheduled between Thursday and Monday. Young, female Cardiac Surgeon advised that it really pisses her off when 80% blockage LMA patients have heart attacks and die while in the hospital waiting for surgery ! ! ! How reassuring ! ! !
I suppose I feel grateful to have "dodged a bullet" ! Doesn't preclude feeling pissed off about monkey wrench in plans !
Just before Joanne left my room around 7 PM to return to motel, I was musing aloud about "how the hell did I get HERE ? ! ?". Her response was ... "must have been all that clean livin' you did in the 70's". HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !
Wednesday ; Sunny. That's all I can ascertain from inside this hospital room.
Well ! What a busy place my room was from 5:30 AM onwards. When I wanted to be sleeping ! The flow of traffic in and out of my room began at 5:30 AM, and continued unabated until 11:30 AM. Nurses, doctors, X-ray technician, ECG technician, cleaning staff, food service staff bringing food, food service staff bringing menu selection form for tomorrow's breakfast, food service staff bringing survey, respiratory technicians, pharmacist, ... and on and on ! I had insomnia last night, so was awake until about 3:30 AM. So I wasn't really thrilled with the traffic flow starting at 5:30 AM.
Cardiac Surgeon visited this morning to discuss pending surgery, tentatively planned for Friday. This morning's nurse seems like a bit of a Nazi ... refuses to allow me to shower because of wireless ECG transmitter attached to me. All of a sudden ... I am being treated like heart attack and death are imminent ! Have wireless transmitter attached to me, in "kangaroo pouch" on front of gown, wires leading to electrodes on chest. Can't wander off small cardiac surgical ward. Can't shower ! One particular nurse does not refer to me by given name, calls me "Bud". I am extremely intolerant of that kind of disrespect. Next time she calls me Bud, I will respond by calling her Sweet Cheeks !
Nurses et al are treating me like fragile China doll, with fatal heart attack imminent, because of high risk associated with 80% blockage of Left Main Artery. HMPH ! I feel fine ! Cardiac Surgeon said it's not often they have patient with 80% blocked Left Main Artery that is otherwise so strong and healthy. SO ... think I ... get out of my way ! I've got places to go, people to see, things to do ! HA HA HA !
Joanne visited between 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM. Had my lunch while she was visiting.
I was slightly eager for her to get going home. I'm concerned about poor Ozzie, who "officially" becomes ours as soon as Joanne gets home. Around 2 PM I went for my shower. NYAH NYAH NYAH ! So there, Nurse J ! Around 3 PM sonographer came to do echocardiogram / heart ultrasound. He finished and left around 3:45 PM.
< whispering > I think I may have fallen asleep while he was doing echocardiogram.
At 4:50 PM I decided to succumb to drowsiness, and take a brief nap. Before my head hit the pillow ... < sputter > ... supper arrived ! Well ... thank you ! Can I let it sit there and grow bacteria until I really want it ? Which would be in three hours ! ? ! I napped for half an hour, then got up and reluctantly ate supper. HMPH ! Letting a hospital hot meal sit and cool down for half an hour does nothing to improve it ! HA HA HA !
The flow of traffic in and out of my room continued until after 10 PM. Including a fellow who seemed to me to be more of a cheerleader than anything else. I must admit ... this cardiac surgery ward is pretty morose. Lots of second and third generation visitors sitting around Grandpa's bed, wringing their hands, watching and waiting for him to die. < shrug > Not too many "younger" fellows ... like me. HA HA HA ! Doesn't seem to be any old women here in this eighteen bed cardiac surgery ward.
Around 10 PM I used Skype on my laptop to call Joanne, on the cell phone, at home. She has Ozzie, and he is doing as well as could be expected. That's a bit of a relief to me. One less thing to worry about.
Late in the evening Sweet Cheeks came into my room to take my bedtime vital signs and bring me my bedtime medications. We chatted for awhile. She's a nice young woman. When I told her that I had slept poorly last night she offered me a choice of a sleeping pill, ear plugs, or being tucked in with warmed blankets. Warmed blankets ? REALLY ? ALRIGHT ! ! ! I accepted the ear plugs and being tucked in with the warmed blankets.
Thursday ; Sunny and ...warm, I think. Who knows ? I'm stuck on this cardiac surgery ward !
Slept like a log last night. Until a nurse came in and woke me up at 5:30 AM to see if
I was still alive ! My telemetry unit ( wireless ECG transmitter ) had suddenly stopped working ! Either me or the batteries were dead. Fortunately ... it was the batteries. HA HA HA !
After the batteries were changed I went back to sleep until 7 AM when an ECG Technician showed up to take another ECG. WHAT ! ? ! AGAIN ? ! ? Why don't you people ever want an ECG at 3 PM or some other more civilized time than 7 AM ? ! ? And why can't you just take the data off my space cadet transmitter thingy ?
But ... I'm adapting. As I must. When I had not yet received my breakfast by 7:40 AM,
I was thinking ... you people should get your asses in gear ! ! ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! The morning was taken up with more people coming into my room to do more tests. Just before lunch I went and had another very quick shower, a privilege that was hard won for me. And ... as I found out at the pre-op class ... none of the other guys have.
As I was finishing my lunch at 12:45 PM, a woman came to get me to take me to the pre-operation class being held today for tomorrow's three cardiac surgical patients. Two guys much older than me, both have been here longer than a week, and ...
< sputter > ... apparently I'm "higher priority" than they are. I can't believe how "sick" I'm being treated, and how healthy I feel compared to my cardiac surgery ward compadres.
After the class ended, around 2 PM, my Nazi nurse brought me my lunch meal medication. You know ... the one that I must have immediately following the last bite of my meal ! The one that enables me to digest food properly ! The one that I took at 12:45 PM as I swallowed my last bite of lunch ! It’s a good thing I have my own supply of my own medications. Which ( some of ) the nurses seem rather displeased about. The hospital wants patients to use only the medications dispensed by the hospital pharmacy. OH ... except for the medication of mine that the hospital pharmacy doesn’t stock. In that case ... go ahead and use my own. < rolling my eyes >
The “cardiac blinders” that exist here are somewhat amusing to me. Everybody here ... nurses to doctors ... neither understands nor cares about such “trivial” matters as gastroenterology issues ... such as inflammatory bowel disease / Ulcerative Colitis. They act as if ... it’s not like the inability to shit like a normal human being is going to kill anyone ... like a bad heart can ! ! ! HA HA HA ! And there is some sort of a “school yard” pecking order between “regular, run of the mill, every day” Cardiologists, Interventional Cardiologists who do only angiograms, balloon angioplasty, and stents, and the Cardiac Surgeons, the “kings of the hill” who do CABG ... pronounced “cabbage” ... Cardiac Artery Bypass Graft surgery.
What an ignoramus ! Please forgive me ! I have just discovered that what I have been referring to as Cardiac Surgeons are actually ... Cardiothoracic Surgeons ! OOOOO ... quelle faux pas !
Around 4 PM a female sonographer showed up to do an ultrasound on the carotid arteries running up each side of my neck, from the heart to the brain. After Tuesday's "big surprise" I was afraid to ask her anything after she was finished. She volunteered the information that everything looked good. Shortly after she left my ... < ahem > ... Cardiothoracic Surgeon showed up to examine me and discuss tomorrow's procedure. As he walked out the door, in came my Anaesthesiologist.
OMIGAWD OMIGAWD OMIGAWD ! ! ! ! !
The anaesthesiologist wants my forty-one year old beard removed. SO ... after I eat tonight's supper, which has just arrived, I will ... shave my beard off ! I don't think I'm going to tell Joanne when I speak to her by phone tonight. She will not see me until the day after the surgery, when I'm in Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care, intubated, four chest tubes sticking out of me, tubes coming out of everywhere, sternum wired shut after being cracked open, stitches from wrist to elbow on the left arm where the doctor will remove an artery to use for a bypass, one of the three arteries he will require.
( He'll remove the other two out of my chest ). Maybe she won't notice the missing beard. HA HA HA HA HA !
Okay ! It's now 6:30 PM. I've eaten my "last supper". If I die tomorrow on the operating table, I'll go to my grave in a pissy mood ... because my last supper was lentil stew. HA HA HA ! I've used my antibiotic mouthwash. I smeared antibiotic ointment up my nostrils, as I've done twice daily for the last two days. And ... < sigh > ... I have shaved off my beard ! First time I've seen my face without either hair or acne ... since I've been twelve years old. Fifty years ! HA HA HA !
I phoned Joanne around 9 PM and we chatted briefly. At 10:15 PM I was taken by a male nurse / cardiac aide to shower with an antiseptic skin cleanser imbedded sponge. I will have to shower again early in the morning, just before surgery, with another antiseptic sponge.
It's now 11 PM. I'm preparing to put my personal stuff away, and go to bed. I don't think I will be in any shape to record anything more in my journal until Sunday. Wish me luck !
How nice ! Sweet Cheeks just brought me a warmed blanket, anticipating I would already be in bed. Since I'm still awake, and working on my computer, she draped it over my shoulders and back. Thank you.
Friday ; Cardiac Artery Bypass Graft Surgery
Saturday ; Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit
DSK
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Sunday, September 24, 2017
September 17 to 23, 2017
Sunday ; Thick smoke early in the day, thinning somewhat in the late afternoon after a bit of light rain.
This morning we drove to the local dump to get rid of our yard swing, now just scrap metal. After finishing at the dump we drove into town to buy an item at the pharmacy ... they didn't have what I needed ... and an item at the hardware store ... closed on Sundays. Oh, well ! We bought fresh produce at Sanderson Farms. Very nice tomatoes at this time of year ! And cheap !
This afternoon Joanne baked a plum pie with plums picked in our RV park's orchard. MMMMM ! I barbecued a marinated beef roast for supper. The original plan had been to cook it in the Sun Oven, but ... the Sun Oven hasn't been getting much use lately due to the ongoing wildfire smoke issue.
This afternoon Similkameen Trailer towing was hired to do a small trailer towing job in two weeks. Small job, not small trailer. HA HA HA ! I'm hopeful that this client is not as much of a flake as last week's "client" was. HMPH ! Hires me, then refuses to respond to e-mails or phone calls. How difficult would it have been for him to advise "sorry ... job is cancelled" ?
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning we did some yard work, including watering and turning our composters and watering our vegetable and tomato gardens. I did some outdoor cleaning, then power sanded the railings on the entry stairs. As I finished that job, and was about to go inside to have lunch, Marcie came over. She was upset, and obviously needed some compassion. Gord is near the end.
After lunch Joanne drove Marcie into town and they visited Gord. Joanne said her goodbye to Gord. I thought we both did that last week, but ... < shrug > ! After she returned home Joanne stained the railings that I sanded before lunch. The first attempt went poorly. We wiped the stain off and made another attempt with a different stain. That went better.
I did some refurbishment on the belt sander that I used today. It's a recent acquisition, and the cord needed repairs. I prepared a cheque and envelope to send for our Yuma, Arizona property tax. I prepared another trailer towing quote. Third quote request in four days ! I scheduled a small trailer towing job for Friday. I prepared a form to be dropped off at our investment advisor in Penticton tomorrow. As Joanne prepared supper I watched a documentary on what a cluster**** the Vietnam war was for the United States ! Too bad they didn't learn anything from it ! ! !
Tuesday ; Mostly cloudy and chilly, rain in the late afternoon as we finished our errands in Penticton and drove home.
Today was another long, hard day of running errands in Penticton. We left home around 11 AM. We stopped at an RV park in Kaleden at noon to check out a trailer that we are hired to relocate on October 1. We shopped and ran errands all afternoon in Penticton, leaving around 4:30 PM. On the way home we stopped in Olalla to check out a trailer that we are hired to relocate on Friday. We arrived home around 6 PM.
In my e-mail box was a request to do a trailer towing job ... tomorrow. UHHHH ... sorry ... no ! I offered the client a choice of Thursday or Saturday. He chose Thursday. DARN ... I would have preferred Saturday. Oh, well ! Looks like we'll be doing a difficult, all day job on Thursday, towing a large travel trailer from Salmon Arm to Penticton. And a small job on Friday in Olalla. Why am I getting so many requests for trailer towing quotes ... and jobs ... all of a sudden ?
I received an e-mail from an RCMP Sergeant in Hay River, Northwest Territories, regarding my complaint about use of excessive force by an officer in his detachment.
I expect he will be unhappy with the response I sent back. Stay tuned !
Wednesday ; Cloudy, chilly, raining. A good day to die, perhaps ?
Godspeed, Gord ! Our next door neighbour died overnight. We extend our sympathy to his widow Marcie. I am sorry for her loss. But I am glad that Gord's suffering has ended. His battle with mesothelioma ( lung cancer caused by asbestos ) lasted seventeen months.
This morning I had a phone call with the cardiology department at Kelowna General Hospital. I have an angiogram scheduled for early next Tuesday morning. They explained the process over the phone, then sent me more detailed information and instructions by e-mail. I will have to be in Kelowna for two nights. I will need to be there Monday overnight in order to be at the hospital early Tuesday morning. And I am not allowed to leave the vicinity of Kelowna Hospital until twenty-four hours after the procedure, so ... I must remain in Kelowna until Wednesday afternoon.
I did some research this afternoon on campgrounds / RV parks near the hospital, and hotels / motels near the hospital. We considered spending two nights in our camper near the hospital, but after comparing prices of RV parks versus hotels / motels, we decided to stay in a motel near the hospital for two nights. I made a reservation.
This afternoon I visited briefly with neighbours Kolly and Paul. I wanted to arrange a "rental" of Paul's truck, much smaller than my truck, but also equipped with a fifth wheel hitch. I think my truck will be too large / too high for two upcoming trailer towing jobs
I am hired to do. I negotiated a "rental" of Paul's truck for these two jobs, with payment for the truck "rental" with some truck and trailer maintenance services provided by me. Paul is in the advanced stages of lung cancer. < sigh > Late this afternoon he left here by ambulance. < sigh >
Around suppertime we visited with our neighbour / friend Jeanine who has just returned from a two week visit with her daughter in the Lower Mainland / Vancouver area. We wanted to invite her over for a Lake Winnipeg Pickerel dinner ... cooked by me, of course. And we wanted to ask her to care for Bo while we are in Kelowna for two days next week.
This afternoon I prepared our truck for a trailer towing job tomorrow, towing a large trailer from Salmon Arm to Penticton. BUT ... this evening I "postponed" the job, and am strongly inclined to just cancel it. The client has been feeding me little bits and pieces of information over the last few days, and the more "information" he feeds me, the more inclined I am to "fire" the client. Stay tuned !
P.S. ; Late in the evening Joanne convinced me that I need to focus on what is really important ( my health ) and I don't need the aggravation of this client. I sent him an e-mail advising him to find someone else to do his trailer towing job.
Thursday ; Mix of sun and clouds, mild temperature.
I'm glad I chose to "fire" the trailer towing client last night. It was the right decision. And resulted in a bit of a "free" day, since today had been allocated to that trailer towing job.
I put away the trailer towing materials and supplies loaded in the truck for today's cancelled ( travel ) trailer towing job, leaving in the truck the stuff needed for tomorrow's ( fifth wheel ) trailer towing job. Then I brought over Paul's truck that I have "rented" for tomorrow's job, and installed my fifth wheel hitch into his truck. I spent ( too much ) time visiting with our neighbour / friend Jeanine. I snoozed, and read, and watched TV.
Friday ; Mix of sun and clouds, mild temperature.
Immediately after an early ( for us ) lunch we left for a trailer towing job in nearby Olalla, Joanne driving our large truck, me driving our neighbour Paul's small truck. In Olalla we moved an old, small, fifth wheel trailer from one side of the client's yard to the other side. And as I expected, the job was much easier done with Paul's small truck than our large truck. I'm glad that we "rented" it for the afternoon. On the way back home Joanne stopped at Sanderson Farms to buy some produce, while I drove straight home to get myself a very much needed Gatorade. DARN ! We both have to remember to bring fluids for me to drink while working.
Good thing we got out of our driveway and got the job done fairly early. By
mid-afternoon the road behind our home ... the only access to our driveway ... turned into a parking lot. Only two days after Gord's death, many ... < ahem > ... "family members" and "friends" are showing up and carting away as much of Gord's possessions as will fit into their trucks ! ! ! Seems to be some sort of a "dead friend / dead family member" ghoul buffet going on. Pretty disgusting, from my perspective ! And I'm really irritated by these a**h***s parked in the middle of the road behind our vehicles, blocking our ability to get out of our own driveway !
Saturday ; Mostly sunny and mild.
This morning I did battery maintenance on the truck's and minivan's batteries.
I tightened the terminal clamp nuts, sprayed cleaner on the terminals, hosed it off, and after that dried I sprayed lubricant / protector on the terminals. While I was doing that, Gord's daughter from Saskatoon, Michelle, showed up. I expressed my condolences, and invited her over to visit briefly if she was so inclined. She said she would come over later in the day.
I went over to our neighbour / friend Jeanine's home to start a home repair job for her.
I cut the damaged threshold out of her entry doorway, and to do so had to remove a piece of quarter round moulding trim which I will also replace.
Mid-afternoon Michelle came over for a brief visit. Joanne expressed her condolences to Michelle, then the three of us chatted for awhile, reminiscing about pleasant memories of her father. It's too bad that she could not be here before Gord died, but ... she has made peace with her father's death, and was in reasonably good spirits, all things considered.
Jeanine ( and her little dog Charlie ) came over for supper. Joanne prepared a turnip and carrot salad, potatoes rosti, and a peach pie. I cooked one of my specialties ; Lake Winnipeg Pickerel, breaded and pan fried. MMMMMM ! Very good supper ! Jeanine spent the evening visiting with us.
DSK
This morning we drove to the local dump to get rid of our yard swing, now just scrap metal. After finishing at the dump we drove into town to buy an item at the pharmacy ... they didn't have what I needed ... and an item at the hardware store ... closed on Sundays. Oh, well ! We bought fresh produce at Sanderson Farms. Very nice tomatoes at this time of year ! And cheap !
This afternoon Joanne baked a plum pie with plums picked in our RV park's orchard. MMMMM ! I barbecued a marinated beef roast for supper. The original plan had been to cook it in the Sun Oven, but ... the Sun Oven hasn't been getting much use lately due to the ongoing wildfire smoke issue.
This afternoon Similkameen Trailer towing was hired to do a small trailer towing job in two weeks. Small job, not small trailer. HA HA HA ! I'm hopeful that this client is not as much of a flake as last week's "client" was. HMPH ! Hires me, then refuses to respond to e-mails or phone calls. How difficult would it have been for him to advise "sorry ... job is cancelled" ?
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning we did some yard work, including watering and turning our composters and watering our vegetable and tomato gardens. I did some outdoor cleaning, then power sanded the railings on the entry stairs. As I finished that job, and was about to go inside to have lunch, Marcie came over. She was upset, and obviously needed some compassion. Gord is near the end.
After lunch Joanne drove Marcie into town and they visited Gord. Joanne said her goodbye to Gord. I thought we both did that last week, but ... < shrug > ! After she returned home Joanne stained the railings that I sanded before lunch. The first attempt went poorly. We wiped the stain off and made another attempt with a different stain. That went better.
I did some refurbishment on the belt sander that I used today. It's a recent acquisition, and the cord needed repairs. I prepared a cheque and envelope to send for our Yuma, Arizona property tax. I prepared another trailer towing quote. Third quote request in four days ! I scheduled a small trailer towing job for Friday. I prepared a form to be dropped off at our investment advisor in Penticton tomorrow. As Joanne prepared supper I watched a documentary on what a cluster**** the Vietnam war was for the United States ! Too bad they didn't learn anything from it ! ! !
Tuesday ; Mostly cloudy and chilly, rain in the late afternoon as we finished our errands in Penticton and drove home.
Today was another long, hard day of running errands in Penticton. We left home around 11 AM. We stopped at an RV park in Kaleden at noon to check out a trailer that we are hired to relocate on October 1. We shopped and ran errands all afternoon in Penticton, leaving around 4:30 PM. On the way home we stopped in Olalla to check out a trailer that we are hired to relocate on Friday. We arrived home around 6 PM.
In my e-mail box was a request to do a trailer towing job ... tomorrow. UHHHH ... sorry ... no ! I offered the client a choice of Thursday or Saturday. He chose Thursday. DARN ... I would have preferred Saturday. Oh, well ! Looks like we'll be doing a difficult, all day job on Thursday, towing a large travel trailer from Salmon Arm to Penticton. And a small job on Friday in Olalla. Why am I getting so many requests for trailer towing quotes ... and jobs ... all of a sudden ?
I received an e-mail from an RCMP Sergeant in Hay River, Northwest Territories, regarding my complaint about use of excessive force by an officer in his detachment.
I expect he will be unhappy with the response I sent back. Stay tuned !
Wednesday ; Cloudy, chilly, raining. A good day to die, perhaps ?
Godspeed, Gord ! Our next door neighbour died overnight. We extend our sympathy to his widow Marcie. I am sorry for her loss. But I am glad that Gord's suffering has ended. His battle with mesothelioma ( lung cancer caused by asbestos ) lasted seventeen months.
This morning I had a phone call with the cardiology department at Kelowna General Hospital. I have an angiogram scheduled for early next Tuesday morning. They explained the process over the phone, then sent me more detailed information and instructions by e-mail. I will have to be in Kelowna for two nights. I will need to be there Monday overnight in order to be at the hospital early Tuesday morning. And I am not allowed to leave the vicinity of Kelowna Hospital until twenty-four hours after the procedure, so ... I must remain in Kelowna until Wednesday afternoon.
I did some research this afternoon on campgrounds / RV parks near the hospital, and hotels / motels near the hospital. We considered spending two nights in our camper near the hospital, but after comparing prices of RV parks versus hotels / motels, we decided to stay in a motel near the hospital for two nights. I made a reservation.
This afternoon I visited briefly with neighbours Kolly and Paul. I wanted to arrange a "rental" of Paul's truck, much smaller than my truck, but also equipped with a fifth wheel hitch. I think my truck will be too large / too high for two upcoming trailer towing jobs
I am hired to do. I negotiated a "rental" of Paul's truck for these two jobs, with payment for the truck "rental" with some truck and trailer maintenance services provided by me. Paul is in the advanced stages of lung cancer. < sigh > Late this afternoon he left here by ambulance. < sigh >
Around suppertime we visited with our neighbour / friend Jeanine who has just returned from a two week visit with her daughter in the Lower Mainland / Vancouver area. We wanted to invite her over for a Lake Winnipeg Pickerel dinner ... cooked by me, of course. And we wanted to ask her to care for Bo while we are in Kelowna for two days next week.
This afternoon I prepared our truck for a trailer towing job tomorrow, towing a large trailer from Salmon Arm to Penticton. BUT ... this evening I "postponed" the job, and am strongly inclined to just cancel it. The client has been feeding me little bits and pieces of information over the last few days, and the more "information" he feeds me, the more inclined I am to "fire" the client. Stay tuned !
P.S. ; Late in the evening Joanne convinced me that I need to focus on what is really important ( my health ) and I don't need the aggravation of this client. I sent him an e-mail advising him to find someone else to do his trailer towing job.
Thursday ; Mix of sun and clouds, mild temperature.
I'm glad I chose to "fire" the trailer towing client last night. It was the right decision. And resulted in a bit of a "free" day, since today had been allocated to that trailer towing job.
I put away the trailer towing materials and supplies loaded in the truck for today's cancelled ( travel ) trailer towing job, leaving in the truck the stuff needed for tomorrow's ( fifth wheel ) trailer towing job. Then I brought over Paul's truck that I have "rented" for tomorrow's job, and installed my fifth wheel hitch into his truck. I spent ( too much ) time visiting with our neighbour / friend Jeanine. I snoozed, and read, and watched TV.
Friday ; Mix of sun and clouds, mild temperature.
Immediately after an early ( for us ) lunch we left for a trailer towing job in nearby Olalla, Joanne driving our large truck, me driving our neighbour Paul's small truck. In Olalla we moved an old, small, fifth wheel trailer from one side of the client's yard to the other side. And as I expected, the job was much easier done with Paul's small truck than our large truck. I'm glad that we "rented" it for the afternoon. On the way back home Joanne stopped at Sanderson Farms to buy some produce, while I drove straight home to get myself a very much needed Gatorade. DARN ! We both have to remember to bring fluids for me to drink while working.
Good thing we got out of our driveway and got the job done fairly early. By
mid-afternoon the road behind our home ... the only access to our driveway ... turned into a parking lot. Only two days after Gord's death, many ... < ahem > ... "family members" and "friends" are showing up and carting away as much of Gord's possessions as will fit into their trucks ! ! ! Seems to be some sort of a "dead friend / dead family member" ghoul buffet going on. Pretty disgusting, from my perspective ! And I'm really irritated by these a**h***s parked in the middle of the road behind our vehicles, blocking our ability to get out of our own driveway !
Saturday ; Mostly sunny and mild.
This morning I did battery maintenance on the truck's and minivan's batteries.
I tightened the terminal clamp nuts, sprayed cleaner on the terminals, hosed it off, and after that dried I sprayed lubricant / protector on the terminals. While I was doing that, Gord's daughter from Saskatoon, Michelle, showed up. I expressed my condolences, and invited her over to visit briefly if she was so inclined. She said she would come over later in the day.
I went over to our neighbour / friend Jeanine's home to start a home repair job for her.
I cut the damaged threshold out of her entry doorway, and to do so had to remove a piece of quarter round moulding trim which I will also replace.
Mid-afternoon Michelle came over for a brief visit. Joanne expressed her condolences to Michelle, then the three of us chatted for awhile, reminiscing about pleasant memories of her father. It's too bad that she could not be here before Gord died, but ... she has made peace with her father's death, and was in reasonably good spirits, all things considered.
Jeanine ( and her little dog Charlie ) came over for supper. Joanne prepared a turnip and carrot salad, potatoes rosti, and a peach pie. I cooked one of my specialties ; Lake Winnipeg Pickerel, breaded and pan fried. MMMMMM ! Very good supper ! Jeanine spent the evening visiting with us.
DSK
Sunday, September 17, 2017
September 10 to 16, 2017
Sunday ; Sunny and warm, very nice early fall weather.
This morning I did some housecleaning, not usually my responsibility, but ... I was fed up with all the little bugs that had died around the lamps in the living room and bedroom. Dead bugs all over my desk, the coffee table and end table in the living room, and our bedside tables. YUCK !
I chopped more firewood. Our American friends left us some firewood last week before they crossed back into the United States. But ... it was large pieces, not chopped / split. I prefer to chop / split firewood in advance of going camping, if possible. I posted my weekly blog entry. I did some budget planning. I did some investment analysis.
Late in the afternoon I went fishing for an hour and a half. Caught four Rainbow Trout and two Rocky Mountain Whitefish, one very large ... for a river Whitefish. I kept three of the Rainbows. Finally ... now that the river water has cooled down the Rainbow Trout have come up from wherever they had been hiding while the river water had been warm.
Monday ; Sunny and warm, smoke creeping back in late in the afternoon.
This morning I made some phone calls, then went outside to clean up the fishing mess
I created and left last night. By the time I had finished cleaning the Rainbow Trout I had caught yesterday, it was dark. I left a mess on and around our picnic table, including a pail of water containing fish heads and guts.
I finished chopping and storing firewood. I had some left over large "rounds" of firewood that were proving too difficult for me to split, so I hauled them to our park's burn pile and discarded them. Joanne was unhappy about the debris I left in the minivan's rear storage area. Sorry !
I watered plants and gardens and composters. I sharpened knives. I cooked Rainbow Trout for supper. Joanne made tomato salsa and risotto as side dishes. Nice meal ! Young ( fairly small ) Rainbow Trout, caught less than twenty-four hours ago ... MMMMM ... very tasty !
Similkameen Trailer Towing got hired today to transport a fifth wheel trailer from Maple Ridge ( Vancouver area ) to Kamloops next Monday.
Tuesday ; Sunny and warm, thick smoke with falling ash rolling in around supper time.
This morning I drove into town for some medical tests. First stop was at Autumn Rain Hair Design to get an appointment for a haircut and beard trim later in the week. Then to Similkameen Pharmacy to pick up some prescription refills. Last stop, and the primary reason for the trip into town, was the South Similkameen Health Centre a.k.a. Keremeos Diagnostic & Treatment Centre. First stop in there was the X-Ray department for a chest x-ray, then the lab to have blood tests and an electrocardiogram done. All of these tests / procedures are in preparation for an upcoming angiogram.
On the way back into Riverside RV Park Resort I chatted briefly with neighbours / friends Kolly and Paul. Paul has lung cancer, and ... is not doing well. Back at home, after lunch, I cleaned and examined Bo's ears and Emma's ears, then did regular weekly dental care / teeth brushing on Bo. Joanne vacuumed the interior of the truck and the minivan, including the mess I made yesterday in the rear of the minivan with unwanted firewood I was taking to the burn pile. I removed all the blinds from the camper. They need cleaning / washing. Joanne and I cleaned / washed the kitchen blind, the one that was most in need of cleaning. One down, four to go !
After supper we watched the season finale of Amazing Race. I updated my prescription records keeping and medical expense accounting.
Wednesday ; Sunny and mild, chilly in the evening. Summer seems over, and fall seems to be here.
Joanne went to Penticton this morning for a day of running errands by herself. I phoned Medipac, our travel medical insurer, to advise them that I will be having an angiogram. I dismantled our yard swing. It has reached the end of its life. I will haul the dismantled components to the local dump this weekend. I reinstalled the camper window blind that we cleaned yesterday. I removed the soaker hose from our vegetable and tomato gardens. It too has reached the end of its useful life.
I chatted briefly with Marcie. Gord was moved from the hospice in Penticton to the hospice in Keremeos today. I hugged her while she cried. < sigh >
I reviewed the stress test echocardiogram report that my cardiologist posted yesterday to "My Health Portal", the personalized BC medical records website. It was difficult to interpret, but it helped me to understand that "angina" is the symptom, and "ischemia" is the cause.
I did some trip planning using Google Maps. I renewed my annual lottery subscription. I made two phone calls to the client whose trailer we are supposed to transport on Monday, but was unable to contact him. I reviewed our RV park's recent board meeting minutes. HA HA HA ! < snicker > ... Sorry ... perhaps that wasn't called for.
Thursday ; Sunny and cool in the morning, warm in the afternoon.
The "client" who hired me on Monday to transport a trailer next Monday has ignored my e-mails and telephone calls for the last three days so ... I shall consider the job cancelled. Isn't it a lot of fun to deal with flakes and a**h***s ? ? ? ! ! !
We went into town this morning. While I got a haircut and beard trim, Joanne went to fill our five gallon water jug and buy some produce. After my haircut and beard trim I went to Similkameen Pharmacy and picked up some paperwork. Then we went to Orchard Haven, the local seniors' care facility to visit Gord who is in a palliative care bed there. Marcie was there with Ozzie. I'm glad Gord was able to have an opportunity to say goodbye to Ozzie. We visited briefly, then we said our goodbyes. Our last goodbye,
I suspect. Back at home we had lunch, I napped briefly, then we worked on reinstalling the cleaned window blinds in the camper. We cleaned and treated Ozzie's ears.
This afternoon I went fly fishing. Set a new personal best. My limit of ( four ) Rainbow Trout caught in twenty-four minutes on the Similkameen River, beating my previous record by seven minutes. I fished for a total of an hour and a half, catching eight fish ; seven Rainbow Trout and one Whitefish. Another hot afternoon on the Similkameen !
Now ... the surprising thing is ... the previous paragraph was "cut and pasted" from my journal for the same date last year, with changes only to numbers. HMPH ! Will have to mark "GO FISHING" on September 14, 2018 on my calendar !
Friday ; Sunny and warm.
This morning I cleaned and did some maintenance on my fly fishing gear. This afternoon we gave Bo a bath. And we had visitors. Robbie and Christine, former neighbours, now living on Vancouver Island, came over to visit briefly with us in our gazebo. They were here to visit Gord ... for the last time.
We continued cleaning the window blinds from the camper. We finished cleaning the last one, and after letting it dry, we remounted it in the camper. So ... that project is finished. We removed the evaporative "swamp" cooler from our bedroom, took it outside, and drained it. Then ... we filled its spot in the bedroom with an oil filled space heater. HEY ... summer is over ... cool fall weather is coming !
MMMMM ... fresh Rainbow Trout fillets, coated in Parmesan cheese, then baked !
Saturday ; Sunny, but hazy with smoke. Again ! Causing me some angina distress !
I did some minor maintenance on the truck. I exercised our little generator. Joanne did a thorough cleaning of the kitchen. I helped by moving the fridge in and out of its space. And in and out. And in and out. < sigh >
I spent time on the computer. I paid some bills. I reconciled some monthly investment statements. I reconciled some monthly bank statements. I activated some new credit cards. I updated some financial records. We went for a long walk around the RV park with Bo. Which is when I had difficulty breathing, and experienced angina discomfort.
< cough cough >
DSK
This morning I did some housecleaning, not usually my responsibility, but ... I was fed up with all the little bugs that had died around the lamps in the living room and bedroom. Dead bugs all over my desk, the coffee table and end table in the living room, and our bedside tables. YUCK !
I chopped more firewood. Our American friends left us some firewood last week before they crossed back into the United States. But ... it was large pieces, not chopped / split. I prefer to chop / split firewood in advance of going camping, if possible. I posted my weekly blog entry. I did some budget planning. I did some investment analysis.
Late in the afternoon I went fishing for an hour and a half. Caught four Rainbow Trout and two Rocky Mountain Whitefish, one very large ... for a river Whitefish. I kept three of the Rainbows. Finally ... now that the river water has cooled down the Rainbow Trout have come up from wherever they had been hiding while the river water had been warm.
Monday ; Sunny and warm, smoke creeping back in late in the afternoon.
This morning I made some phone calls, then went outside to clean up the fishing mess
I created and left last night. By the time I had finished cleaning the Rainbow Trout I had caught yesterday, it was dark. I left a mess on and around our picnic table, including a pail of water containing fish heads and guts.
I finished chopping and storing firewood. I had some left over large "rounds" of firewood that were proving too difficult for me to split, so I hauled them to our park's burn pile and discarded them. Joanne was unhappy about the debris I left in the minivan's rear storage area. Sorry !
I watered plants and gardens and composters. I sharpened knives. I cooked Rainbow Trout for supper. Joanne made tomato salsa and risotto as side dishes. Nice meal ! Young ( fairly small ) Rainbow Trout, caught less than twenty-four hours ago ... MMMMM ... very tasty !
Similkameen Trailer Towing got hired today to transport a fifth wheel trailer from Maple Ridge ( Vancouver area ) to Kamloops next Monday.
Tuesday ; Sunny and warm, thick smoke with falling ash rolling in around supper time.
This morning I drove into town for some medical tests. First stop was at Autumn Rain Hair Design to get an appointment for a haircut and beard trim later in the week. Then to Similkameen Pharmacy to pick up some prescription refills. Last stop, and the primary reason for the trip into town, was the South Similkameen Health Centre a.k.a. Keremeos Diagnostic & Treatment Centre. First stop in there was the X-Ray department for a chest x-ray, then the lab to have blood tests and an electrocardiogram done. All of these tests / procedures are in preparation for an upcoming angiogram.
On the way back into Riverside RV Park Resort I chatted briefly with neighbours / friends Kolly and Paul. Paul has lung cancer, and ... is not doing well. Back at home, after lunch, I cleaned and examined Bo's ears and Emma's ears, then did regular weekly dental care / teeth brushing on Bo. Joanne vacuumed the interior of the truck and the minivan, including the mess I made yesterday in the rear of the minivan with unwanted firewood I was taking to the burn pile. I removed all the blinds from the camper. They need cleaning / washing. Joanne and I cleaned / washed the kitchen blind, the one that was most in need of cleaning. One down, four to go !
After supper we watched the season finale of Amazing Race. I updated my prescription records keeping and medical expense accounting.
Wednesday ; Sunny and mild, chilly in the evening. Summer seems over, and fall seems to be here.
Joanne went to Penticton this morning for a day of running errands by herself. I phoned Medipac, our travel medical insurer, to advise them that I will be having an angiogram. I dismantled our yard swing. It has reached the end of its life. I will haul the dismantled components to the local dump this weekend. I reinstalled the camper window blind that we cleaned yesterday. I removed the soaker hose from our vegetable and tomato gardens. It too has reached the end of its useful life.
I chatted briefly with Marcie. Gord was moved from the hospice in Penticton to the hospice in Keremeos today. I hugged her while she cried. < sigh >
I reviewed the stress test echocardiogram report that my cardiologist posted yesterday to "My Health Portal", the personalized BC medical records website. It was difficult to interpret, but it helped me to understand that "angina" is the symptom, and "ischemia" is the cause.
I did some trip planning using Google Maps. I renewed my annual lottery subscription. I made two phone calls to the client whose trailer we are supposed to transport on Monday, but was unable to contact him. I reviewed our RV park's recent board meeting minutes. HA HA HA ! < snicker > ... Sorry ... perhaps that wasn't called for.
Thursday ; Sunny and cool in the morning, warm in the afternoon.
The "client" who hired me on Monday to transport a trailer next Monday has ignored my e-mails and telephone calls for the last three days so ... I shall consider the job cancelled. Isn't it a lot of fun to deal with flakes and a**h***s ? ? ? ! ! !
We went into town this morning. While I got a haircut and beard trim, Joanne went to fill our five gallon water jug and buy some produce. After my haircut and beard trim I went to Similkameen Pharmacy and picked up some paperwork. Then we went to Orchard Haven, the local seniors' care facility to visit Gord who is in a palliative care bed there. Marcie was there with Ozzie. I'm glad Gord was able to have an opportunity to say goodbye to Ozzie. We visited briefly, then we said our goodbyes. Our last goodbye,
I suspect. Back at home we had lunch, I napped briefly, then we worked on reinstalling the cleaned window blinds in the camper. We cleaned and treated Ozzie's ears.
This afternoon I went fly fishing. Set a new personal best. My limit of ( four ) Rainbow Trout caught in twenty-four minutes on the Similkameen River, beating my previous record by seven minutes. I fished for a total of an hour and a half, catching eight fish ; seven Rainbow Trout and one Whitefish. Another hot afternoon on the Similkameen !
Now ... the surprising thing is ... the previous paragraph was "cut and pasted" from my journal for the same date last year, with changes only to numbers. HMPH ! Will have to mark "GO FISHING" on September 14, 2018 on my calendar !
Friday ; Sunny and warm.
This morning I cleaned and did some maintenance on my fly fishing gear. This afternoon we gave Bo a bath. And we had visitors. Robbie and Christine, former neighbours, now living on Vancouver Island, came over to visit briefly with us in our gazebo. They were here to visit Gord ... for the last time.
We continued cleaning the window blinds from the camper. We finished cleaning the last one, and after letting it dry, we remounted it in the camper. So ... that project is finished. We removed the evaporative "swamp" cooler from our bedroom, took it outside, and drained it. Then ... we filled its spot in the bedroom with an oil filled space heater. HEY ... summer is over ... cool fall weather is coming !
MMMMM ... fresh Rainbow Trout fillets, coated in Parmesan cheese, then baked !
Saturday ; Sunny, but hazy with smoke. Again ! Causing me some angina distress !
I did some minor maintenance on the truck. I exercised our little generator. Joanne did a thorough cleaning of the kitchen. I helped by moving the fridge in and out of its space. And in and out. And in and out. < sigh >
I spent time on the computer. I paid some bills. I reconciled some monthly investment statements. I reconciled some monthly bank statements. I activated some new credit cards. I updated some financial records. We went for a long walk around the RV park with Bo. Which is when I had difficulty breathing, and experienced angina discomfort.
< cough cough >
DSK
Sunday, September 10, 2017
September 3 to 9, 2017
Sunday ; Ucluelet to Tofino, back to Nanaimo, ferry to Vancouver, to Kelowna to home
Sunny and hot.
After a fitful night of sleep sharing a room with three other people, we awoke at 7 AM and were out of the Surf's Inn Hostel in Ucluelet by 8:15 AM. Suffice to say we're not hostel kind of people ! We drove to the Visitor Information Centre between Ucluelet and Tofino, and stopped there to eat our simple breakfast before continuing on to Tofino. We arrived at Crystal Cove Resort at 9:15 AM, and had the client's trailer hitched up and ready to go by 9:45 AM.
We drove about 40 km. back to Hwy. 4, then east on Hwy. 4 crossing Vancouver Island from west coast to east coast. We stopped for a bathroom break at a rest area and
I discovered that the very difficult road conditions had caused the trailer tongue coupler to jump up and off the hitch ball on the truck ! ! ! The weight of the trailer, and the equalizer / anti-sway bars, kept the closed coupler just resting there on top of the ball. What a disaster that would have been had it jumped off the hitch ball completely. The trailer riding with the closed coupler resting on top of the hitch ball caused the coupler mechanism to be jammed, but ... HEY ... solving those kind of problems is why I get paid the big ( although entirely insufficient ) bucks ! I quickly rectified those problems, and we were back on our way, relieved that a catastrophe had been averted !
We stopped at Wal-Mart in Port Alberni for another bathroom break, and to return a phone call to the client. We continued west on Hwy. 4 back to Qualicum Beach, then turned south on Hwy. 19 back to Nanaimo. We arrived at the Duke Point ferry terminal at 1:30 PM, checked in, and got parked in the correct ferry line up. We had a leisurely picnic lunch at a food court table inside the air conditioned ferry terminal.
The ferry departed Nanaimo on time at 3:15 PM, and arrived in Vancouver five minutes late at 5:20 PM. We drove through and out of Vancouver on Hwy. 17 / South Fraser Perimeter Road, then east on Trans-Canada Highway 1. Around 6:30 PM we stopped for a picnic supper at a lovely roadside rest area in the Abbotsford area. Around 8 PM we stopped at Flying J in Hope and refilled with diesel. From Hope we travelled northeast on the infamous Coquihalla Highway a.k.a. Highway Thru Hell to Merritt. WHEW ... extremely difficult section of climbing highway towing a big trailer, especially from the "snow shed" to the summit.
We endured thick fire smoke from Merritt all the way until we arrived home. At Merritt we turned east on Hwy. 97C, the Coquihalla Connector, and at Peachland we turned north on Hwy. 97 into the Okanagan Valley. Through Westbank and Kelowna, we arrived at the client's home at 11:30 PM. It took us about half an hour to detach the trailer and reinstall the bicycle rack that I had removed from the trailer's rear bumper when we picked up the trailer a couple of weeks ago.
Through Kelowna, then south on Hwy. 97 through Westbank and Peachland. We stopped to refill with diesel again in Summerland. After standing outside in the thick smoke while refilling diesel fuel, I suffered burning, itchy eyes. Through Penticton, then southwest on Hwy. 3A to Keremeos, then west on Hwy. 3 to home at Riverside RV Park Resort. We arrived home at 2:30 AM ! ! !
We started work at 8:15 AM. We finished at 2:30 AM. That's an 18¼ hour work day ! I'm too old ! I'm too affluent ! I don't need the money ! And I sure as hell don't need to work that hard ! ! ! Doing this job was a mistake that won't be repeated !
However ... I am very good at what I do ! And the client is satisfied !
Monday ; Sunny and hot. We slept late this morning. Well deserved !
This morning, after a late start, I did yesterday's credit card accounting, and wrote yesterday's journal entry. I unloaded stuff from the truck. Joanne did the same. Once everything was unloaded, and the truck was tidied up, we got it parked underneath the camper once again.
I visited with a neighbour who has hired me / us to do some inspections and winterization of their fifth wheel trailer this fall. We treated Ozzie's infected ear. It's improving nicely. I moved some loading ramps from the park's maintenance garage to our yard. The ramps belong to our next door neighbour, Gord. I had stored them for Gord in the maintenance garage a few years ago. Today I retrieved them. And "negotiated an acquisition deal" with Marcie.
I phoned the hostel in Ucluelet where we stayed Saturday night, and paid them by credit card for our one night stay. We had checked in very late, and checked out before their office opened Sunday morning, so I had not yet paid for our stay. I took a "thank you" card and gift to our neighbour Betty for caring for Bo on Saturday and Sunday.
I harvested tomatoes. Our vegetable gardening has gone poorly this summer. And
I think one of our two Saskatoon bushes may have died from heat and lack of watering this summer.
Tuesday ; Warm ... thick smoke ... ash falling !
This morning I drove into town, got appointments for a chest x-ray, blood tests, and an ECG next Tuesday at the South Similkameen Health Centre, refilled our five gallon water jug, and filled some new prescriptions at Similkameen Pharmacy.
This afternoon I did some preventive maintenance on the truck, watered our composters and gardens, and ... < cough cough > ... cleaned the camper's small barbecue. Hard to breathe outside because of the thick smoke !
In the evening we watched Amazing Race and I spent a lot of time spinning my wheels, trying to resolve a Windows 10 update problem. I eventually solved the problem, and got Windows Edge to work properly again, but ... it gobbled up a lot of time that I could have put to better use !
Wednesday ; Warm. Even thicker smoke than yesterday. Even more ash falling than yesterday.
Today ... again ... I tried to work indoors more than outside. I did a bit of outdoor work, but not much. I spent time chatting with a couple of neighbours who have become a bit more "involved" with helping our next door neighbours than they are comfortable with. Yeah .. been there ! Good luck !
Today I finally got around to filing a complaint of "use of excessive force" against an RCMP officer in Hay River, Northwest Territories. Bully ! ! ! I replenished medications and first aid supplies in the camper and truck. I did quite a bit of work on the computer.
Thursday ; Very warm ... smoke so thick the mountains across the highway and across the river are not visible ! I can't spend more than fifteen minutes outdoors before I experience angina discomfort. And once it starts, it persists.
This morning Joanne took Marcie to Penticton to visit Gord and run errands. They left about 10:30 AM and were back home about 5:30 PM. Gord has been moved from Penticton Hospital to Moog Hospice nearby. He's being cared for well, and is as happy as can be under the circumstances.
I walked Ozzie then treated his infected ear which is improving. I walked Bo. I chopped firewood for just a few minutes before I needed to head back indoors, where I stayed.
I spent the day reading, napping, and doing work on the computer. After Joanne returned home we took Bo for another walk, then I barbecued thick, juicy, marinated steak and baked potatoes for supper.
Friday ; Still smoky, not as bad as yesterday. Brief, heavy rainfall around suppertime.
Did some minor maintenance on the camper this afternoon. Disinfected and refilled the freshwater tank. Drained the water heater's pressure relief valve. Removed some dried out, cracked, old caulking and applied new silicone sealant. Adjusted the air pressure in my bicycle tires. AND ... reached my heart's limit of tolerance for the smoke in the air ! < cough cough ... angina pain >.
Read, napped, worked at my desk, took Bo to the dog park, returned a book to the library. < cough cough >
Saturday ; Mostly cloudy, warm, no more smoke.
I chopped some firewood. We picked two types of plums in our park's orchard. We washed / scrubbed the front of the camper. It was thick with baked on bugs from our Northwest Territories trip. I did the upper section, Joanne did the lower section. Late in the afternoon we went to the clubhouse to very briefly attend the 50th birthday party of a neighbour.
It was nice to be able to have the house windows open again !
DSK
Sunny and hot.
After a fitful night of sleep sharing a room with three other people, we awoke at 7 AM and were out of the Surf's Inn Hostel in Ucluelet by 8:15 AM. Suffice to say we're not hostel kind of people ! We drove to the Visitor Information Centre between Ucluelet and Tofino, and stopped there to eat our simple breakfast before continuing on to Tofino. We arrived at Crystal Cove Resort at 9:15 AM, and had the client's trailer hitched up and ready to go by 9:45 AM.
We drove about 40 km. back to Hwy. 4, then east on Hwy. 4 crossing Vancouver Island from west coast to east coast. We stopped for a bathroom break at a rest area and
I discovered that the very difficult road conditions had caused the trailer tongue coupler to jump up and off the hitch ball on the truck ! ! ! The weight of the trailer, and the equalizer / anti-sway bars, kept the closed coupler just resting there on top of the ball. What a disaster that would have been had it jumped off the hitch ball completely. The trailer riding with the closed coupler resting on top of the hitch ball caused the coupler mechanism to be jammed, but ... HEY ... solving those kind of problems is why I get paid the big ( although entirely insufficient ) bucks ! I quickly rectified those problems, and we were back on our way, relieved that a catastrophe had been averted !
We stopped at Wal-Mart in Port Alberni for another bathroom break, and to return a phone call to the client. We continued west on Hwy. 4 back to Qualicum Beach, then turned south on Hwy. 19 back to Nanaimo. We arrived at the Duke Point ferry terminal at 1:30 PM, checked in, and got parked in the correct ferry line up. We had a leisurely picnic lunch at a food court table inside the air conditioned ferry terminal.
The ferry departed Nanaimo on time at 3:15 PM, and arrived in Vancouver five minutes late at 5:20 PM. We drove through and out of Vancouver on Hwy. 17 / South Fraser Perimeter Road, then east on Trans-Canada Highway 1. Around 6:30 PM we stopped for a picnic supper at a lovely roadside rest area in the Abbotsford area. Around 8 PM we stopped at Flying J in Hope and refilled with diesel. From Hope we travelled northeast on the infamous Coquihalla Highway a.k.a. Highway Thru Hell to Merritt. WHEW ... extremely difficult section of climbing highway towing a big trailer, especially from the "snow shed" to the summit.
We endured thick fire smoke from Merritt all the way until we arrived home. At Merritt we turned east on Hwy. 97C, the Coquihalla Connector, and at Peachland we turned north on Hwy. 97 into the Okanagan Valley. Through Westbank and Kelowna, we arrived at the client's home at 11:30 PM. It took us about half an hour to detach the trailer and reinstall the bicycle rack that I had removed from the trailer's rear bumper when we picked up the trailer a couple of weeks ago.
Through Kelowna, then south on Hwy. 97 through Westbank and Peachland. We stopped to refill with diesel again in Summerland. After standing outside in the thick smoke while refilling diesel fuel, I suffered burning, itchy eyes. Through Penticton, then southwest on Hwy. 3A to Keremeos, then west on Hwy. 3 to home at Riverside RV Park Resort. We arrived home at 2:30 AM ! ! !
We started work at 8:15 AM. We finished at 2:30 AM. That's an 18¼ hour work day ! I'm too old ! I'm too affluent ! I don't need the money ! And I sure as hell don't need to work that hard ! ! ! Doing this job was a mistake that won't be repeated !
However ... I am very good at what I do ! And the client is satisfied !
Monday ; Sunny and hot. We slept late this morning. Well deserved !
This morning, after a late start, I did yesterday's credit card accounting, and wrote yesterday's journal entry. I unloaded stuff from the truck. Joanne did the same. Once everything was unloaded, and the truck was tidied up, we got it parked underneath the camper once again.
I visited with a neighbour who has hired me / us to do some inspections and winterization of their fifth wheel trailer this fall. We treated Ozzie's infected ear. It's improving nicely. I moved some loading ramps from the park's maintenance garage to our yard. The ramps belong to our next door neighbour, Gord. I had stored them for Gord in the maintenance garage a few years ago. Today I retrieved them. And "negotiated an acquisition deal" with Marcie.
I phoned the hostel in Ucluelet where we stayed Saturday night, and paid them by credit card for our one night stay. We had checked in very late, and checked out before their office opened Sunday morning, so I had not yet paid for our stay. I took a "thank you" card and gift to our neighbour Betty for caring for Bo on Saturday and Sunday.
I harvested tomatoes. Our vegetable gardening has gone poorly this summer. And
I think one of our two Saskatoon bushes may have died from heat and lack of watering this summer.
Tuesday ; Warm ... thick smoke ... ash falling !
This morning I drove into town, got appointments for a chest x-ray, blood tests, and an ECG next Tuesday at the South Similkameen Health Centre, refilled our five gallon water jug, and filled some new prescriptions at Similkameen Pharmacy.
This afternoon I did some preventive maintenance on the truck, watered our composters and gardens, and ... < cough cough > ... cleaned the camper's small barbecue. Hard to breathe outside because of the thick smoke !
In the evening we watched Amazing Race and I spent a lot of time spinning my wheels, trying to resolve a Windows 10 update problem. I eventually solved the problem, and got Windows Edge to work properly again, but ... it gobbled up a lot of time that I could have put to better use !
Wednesday ; Warm. Even thicker smoke than yesterday. Even more ash falling than yesterday.
Today ... again ... I tried to work indoors more than outside. I did a bit of outdoor work, but not much. I spent time chatting with a couple of neighbours who have become a bit more "involved" with helping our next door neighbours than they are comfortable with. Yeah .. been there ! Good luck !
Today I finally got around to filing a complaint of "use of excessive force" against an RCMP officer in Hay River, Northwest Territories. Bully ! ! ! I replenished medications and first aid supplies in the camper and truck. I did quite a bit of work on the computer.
Thursday ; Very warm ... smoke so thick the mountains across the highway and across the river are not visible ! I can't spend more than fifteen minutes outdoors before I experience angina discomfort. And once it starts, it persists.
This morning Joanne took Marcie to Penticton to visit Gord and run errands. They left about 10:30 AM and were back home about 5:30 PM. Gord has been moved from Penticton Hospital to Moog Hospice nearby. He's being cared for well, and is as happy as can be under the circumstances.
I walked Ozzie then treated his infected ear which is improving. I walked Bo. I chopped firewood for just a few minutes before I needed to head back indoors, where I stayed.
I spent the day reading, napping, and doing work on the computer. After Joanne returned home we took Bo for another walk, then I barbecued thick, juicy, marinated steak and baked potatoes for supper.
Friday ; Still smoky, not as bad as yesterday. Brief, heavy rainfall around suppertime.
Did some minor maintenance on the camper this afternoon. Disinfected and refilled the freshwater tank. Drained the water heater's pressure relief valve. Removed some dried out, cracked, old caulking and applied new silicone sealant. Adjusted the air pressure in my bicycle tires. AND ... reached my heart's limit of tolerance for the smoke in the air ! < cough cough ... angina pain >.
Read, napped, worked at my desk, took Bo to the dog park, returned a book to the library. < cough cough >
Saturday ; Mostly cloudy, warm, no more smoke.
I chopped some firewood. We picked two types of plums in our park's orchard. We washed / scrubbed the front of the camper. It was thick with baked on bugs from our Northwest Territories trip. I did the upper section, Joanne did the lower section. Late in the afternoon we went to the clubhouse to very briefly attend the 50th birthday party of a neighbour.
It was nice to be able to have the house windows open again !
DSK
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
August 27 to September 2, 2017
Sunday ; Sunny and hot.
This morning I went to see our neighbour Betty to ask her to care for Bo next weekend while we retrieve the client's trailer in Tofino and return it to Kelowna. I went to our RV park's dog park and did some maintenance on the signage I had made for the dog park about a year or so ago. I cleaned and polished shoes.
This afternoon I made some phone calls and sent some e-mails. Our American friends are on their way back from Alaska, and phoned today from Prince George, BC. We made arrangements to meet them Wednesday in Merritt and will take them to N'Kwala campground where I will take David fishing in the Nicola River for Rainbow Trout.
Joanne worked on camper interior cleaning, tough work on such a hot day.
< whispering > She's been really crabby all day today.
Monday ; Sunny and hot.
This morning at 11 AM I pulled the truck out from underneath the camper, our next door neighbour Marcy climbed into the rear seat, and we headed off to Penticton. I dropped Joanne and Marcy at Wal-Mart and I took the truck to Great Canadian Oil Change for an oil change and lubrication service. When that was done I ran the truck through their car wash. I returned to Wal-Mart, and picked up Joanne and Marcy. Next stop was real Canadian Fuel Bar to refill with diesel fuel, then Safeway for an advertised grocery special.
Around 1:30 PM we drove to Penticton Hospital and found a parking spot, a very difficult thing to do during the hospital's reconstruction. Joanne and Marcy went to visit Gord, and I went to the cardiology department. I had a cardiology stress test, including an echo-cardiogram before the treadmill test ( heart at rest ) and another one immediately after the end of the treadmill test ( heart under extreme stress / maximum tolerable angina ). WHEW ! The news was not great. But also not entirely unexpected.
My cardiologist will arrange for me to have an angiogram at Kelowna Hospital, hopefully within the next two months. The echo-cardiogram / ultrasound indicated some cardiac "abnormality", most likely coronary artery blockage. The angiogram will clarify whether more corrective measures will be required, probably balloon angioplasty and / or installation of a stent. < sigh > Thanks, Dad !
When I was finished at cardiology, I found my way to Gord's room, to retrieve Joanne and Marcy. Gord was whining about needing a fan, so ... off we went to Value Village to buy him a fan. Joanne and Marcy went into Value Village ... I waited in the truck ... and they bought Gord a fan. I drove them back to the hospital to deliver the fan while
I went to Lordco to buy a fuel filter for the truck, and Rona to buy some glue. I returned to the hospital, parked ( again ! ) and went to Gord's room ( again ! ) to get Joanne and Marcy ( again ! ).
We left Penticton about 5:30 PM and were home about an hour later. As we drove west of Keremeos on Hwy. 3, towards Riverside RV Park Resort, there was thick fire smoke coming out of the Ashnola Valley across the Similkameen River.
Tuesday ; Hot ! Thick smoke ... ash falling from the sky. I had difficulty breathing ... and angina discomfort ... for much of today.
First job for today was to mount Elsie the camper onto Lanoire the truck. Then ... we worked together to get the camper fridge drain hose cleaned. It was plugged. We always cleaned Harvey the fifth wheel trailer's fridge drain hose annually, but ... in the three and a half years we have owned Elsie the truck camper, we had never cleaned the fridge drain hose. And near the end of our recent trip to NWT and Manitoba, Joanne noticed that the fridge condensation tray was filling up with water, and not draining through the hose as it should. Today we used cotton swabs, bleach, CLR, and ... compressed air to clean out the dirty drain hose, plugged with mildew, desert dust, and ... who knows ?
In the afternoon we went to the clubhouse for a "celebration of life" memorial service for a neighbour who died recently. We trimmed Bo's dew claws. We cleaned and treated Ozzie's infected ear. Joanne went into town to refill our five gallon water jug and to buy some fresh produce. We took Bo to the dog park, which is when I realized how much the thick smoke in the air was bothering me.
At suppertime we closed all the doors and the windows in the house. My breathing improved and my angina discomfort diminished. After supper we watched Amazing Race Canada.
Wednesday ; home to Merritt to N'Kwala BC Forest Service Recreation Site to Granite Creek Forest Service Recreation Site
Sunny and very warm, a bit chilly in the evening.
This morning we left home about 9:30 AM, heading for Merritt where we were meeting friends at noon. West on Hwy. 3 to Princeton, then north on Hwy. 5A to Hwy. 97C / the Coquihalla Connector, then west again on Hwy. 97C to Hwy. 5, the Coquihalla, a.k.a. the Highway Thru Hell. A few miles north on the Coquihalla and we were in Merritt. We met David, Linda, and Jackie in the parking lot of Extra Foods about 11:45 AM.
After buying some steaks and pork chops we were on our way again by 12:15, Joanne and I in the lead, Jackie in her camper van behind us, David and Linda in their truck and trailer bringing up the rear. We headed through Merritt and then northwest on Hwy. 8 for about half an hour or so to N'Kwala BC Forest Service Recreation Site campground on the Nicola River. We got ourselves set up in a campsite, then I prepared to take David fishing in the Nicola River, the primary objective of this trip.
As we walked by a neighbouring campsite, the occupants saw us heading to the river with fishing gear and advised us that ... < SPUTTER > ... the Nicola River at that location at this time of year was closed to fishing ! ! ! WHAT ? ? ? He brought out the 2017 BC fishing regulations and proved it to me. WELL ... * * * * ! ! !
David and I returned to our campsite, and after a group discussion we decided to leave and head to another fishing spot, at Granite Creek BC Forest Service Recreation Site on the Tulameen River. We left N'Kwala, and drove back to Merritt where we all refilled with fuel at Extra Foods Fuel Bar. Then we drove back to Princeton where we turned northwest on the Coalmont - Tulameen Road and drove for about another half hour to the tiny village of Coalmont. On the outskirts of Coalmont, where Granite Creek pours into the Tulameen River, we set ourselves up in a lovely campsite right on the Tulameen River, in Granite Creek Forest Service Recreation Site campground. AHHHHH ... lovely ! With incredibly easy fishing access right at the back of our campsite.
While David and I prepared to go fishing, his wife Linda tripped on a campfire ring made of granite rocks, landing face first on a sharp edged granite rock. She sustained a large, deep gash to her left eyebrow. OUCH ! ! ! We did first aid as best as we could. By the time we got her cleaned up, and bandaged, her left eye was swollen and turning black and blue. We expect she will have a very black eye tomorrow. And cheek. The deep, ugly gash on her eyebrow took a long time to stop bleeding. It's a pretty severe, deep, mangled wound. < sigh > Linda was very stoic, claiming minimal pain, but ...
I think it hurt a lot worse than she let on. She went to lie down for awhile in their trailer before supper, while David and I fished.
< sigh > After half an hour ... no fish ! I set up our barbecue, and while Joanne boiled corn on the cob in our camper, I cooked pork chops for everyone else and a steak for me. Joanne also prepared "peachy tossed salad" ... with peaches, obviously. Supper was pretty darn good. We sat around for awhile chatting after supper, until it got dark and chilly.
Thursday ; Granite Creek BCFSRS to home
Sunny and very warm.
We spent the morning visiting with our American friends around the picnic table at our campsite. David barbecued wieners and sausages for hot dogs for lunch. After lunch we departed the Granite Creek BC Forest Service Recreation Site campground and headed back to Princeton. At Princeton we turned east on Hwy. 3 to Hedley. At Hedley we dropped our American friends off at Riverhaven RV Park. They decided they wanted to spend the night in a full service RV park, instead of boondocking on our neighbour's driveway as had been planned.
We continued home from Hedley. We dumped our camper's waste holding tanks in our RV park's sani-dump station, got parked in our driveway, unpacked food and some other priority items from the camper, then returned to Riverhaven RV Park in our minivan. David, Linda, and Jackie had invited us for a picnic dinner ; hamburgers, potato salad, corn on the cob, etc. While they prepared supper I fished in the Similkameen River at Riverhaven RV Park for half an hour. HMPH ! Caught nothing. Despite the Similkameen River there appearing to be an excellent location for trout fishing. HMPH !
We chatted with our friends until dark, then drove home. In my e-mail inbox was an e-mail from our trailer towing client confirming the pick up of his trailer in Tofino on Saturday morning. NO, SIR ! You hired me to pick up your trailer in Tofino on Sunday morning, two weeks after it had been delivered to Tofino on Sunday morning !
Stay tuned ! ! !
Friday ; Sunny and hot.
Early this morning I received a phone call from our trailer towing client, acknowledging his and his wife's confusion / miscommunication regarding their campground checkout date. Right ! See you Sunday morning !
First priority for today was to remove the camper off the truck and prepare the truck for our upcoming trailer towing job. Around lunch time a new neighbour couple came over to discuss some trailer maintenance chores and winterization they wanted to hire us to do. Reluctantly I agreed to do the work over the next two months, but I made it clear to them ( I hope ) that we were not looking for ongoing nickel and dime work.
This afternoon we prepared for this weekend's tough two day trailer towing job. We cleaned and treated Ozzie's infected ear. His ear is improving. Poor Ozzie. He's stoic as we hurt his ear plucking, and cleaning, and administering drops. I did some monthly budget work. I barbecued chicken to be part of the food we will be bringing with us this weekend.
Saturday ; home to Vancouver, ferry to Vancouver Island, Nanaimo to Ucluelet
Sunny and hot.
We were up at 7 AM this morning, very early for us. I took Bo over to our neighbour Betty at 9 AM, to be dog sat for two days. We were on the road at 9:10 AM. West on Hwy. 3 through Hedley, Princeton, Manning Provincial Park, to Hope by 11:30 AM. We refilled with ( expensive ) diesel fuel at Hope, decided it was too early for lunch, and continued west from Hope on Trans-Canada Hwy. 1 into the Vancouver suburbs, then onto Hwy. 17 / South Fraser Perimeter Road towards the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Shortly before reaching the ferry terminal we stopped at Tsawwassen Mills Mall, at 1:30 PM to run an errand.
We met our former next door neighbours, Joe and Lynn to deliver an item and some money to them, settling our accounts with them. I had agreed early in the spring, when they sold their lot next door to ours, to clean everything out of their shed, sell what could be sold, and split the proceeds with them. DONE ! Since we had not yet had lunch, we accepted their invitation to have lunch in the mall food court. BUT ... by the time we walked all the way through Bass Pro Shop, and halfway across the huge mall to the food court, and saw the line-ups at each restaurant, I decided we did not have sufficient time to stand in line, buy lunch, eat lunch, and be on time for our ferry. We visited with Joe and Lynn for less than half an hour, then left.
The traffic jam to get out of the mall was ... < blink blink > ... quite spectacular ! It served as another great reminder ... as if we needed one ...of how glad we are not to have to live near urban congestion ! We wrestled our way out of the parking lot and back onto the highway. The ferry terminal was only about fifteen minutes away, and we arrived at about 2: 30 PM for our 3:15 PM ferry. Perfect ! While we waited to board the ferry we ate lunch. Joanne had packed the fridge in our truck with enough food and drinks to ( probably ) last us for the entire two day journey.
The ferry arrived in Nanaimo about ten minutes late at 5:25 PM. We drove through Nanaimo and north on Hwy. 19 to Qualicum Beach, then turned west on Hwy. 4. We arrived in Port Alberni about 6:45 PM. We refilled with diesel at No Frills Fuel Bar then bought a large donair to share for supper. We had our donair picnic dinner at a picnic table underneath some big, old, cedar trees in a small park attached to a marina. We continued west on Hwy. 4, leaving Port Alberni just before 8 PM. We arrived in Ucluelet around 9:30 PM, refilled with diesel again at Petro-Canada, then found our way to the surfer's hostel where we are spending the night, sharing a room with three young surfers as our room mates ... < raising eyebrows >.
I am typing this at 10:35 PM at the dining room table in the hostel's communal kitchen. I'm exhausted and slightly crabby. I think Joanne has already gone to sleep in our room upstairs.
DSK
This morning I went to see our neighbour Betty to ask her to care for Bo next weekend while we retrieve the client's trailer in Tofino and return it to Kelowna. I went to our RV park's dog park and did some maintenance on the signage I had made for the dog park about a year or so ago. I cleaned and polished shoes.
This afternoon I made some phone calls and sent some e-mails. Our American friends are on their way back from Alaska, and phoned today from Prince George, BC. We made arrangements to meet them Wednesday in Merritt and will take them to N'Kwala campground where I will take David fishing in the Nicola River for Rainbow Trout.
Joanne worked on camper interior cleaning, tough work on such a hot day.
< whispering > She's been really crabby all day today.
Monday ; Sunny and hot.
This morning at 11 AM I pulled the truck out from underneath the camper, our next door neighbour Marcy climbed into the rear seat, and we headed off to Penticton. I dropped Joanne and Marcy at Wal-Mart and I took the truck to Great Canadian Oil Change for an oil change and lubrication service. When that was done I ran the truck through their car wash. I returned to Wal-Mart, and picked up Joanne and Marcy. Next stop was real Canadian Fuel Bar to refill with diesel fuel, then Safeway for an advertised grocery special.
Around 1:30 PM we drove to Penticton Hospital and found a parking spot, a very difficult thing to do during the hospital's reconstruction. Joanne and Marcy went to visit Gord, and I went to the cardiology department. I had a cardiology stress test, including an echo-cardiogram before the treadmill test ( heart at rest ) and another one immediately after the end of the treadmill test ( heart under extreme stress / maximum tolerable angina ). WHEW ! The news was not great. But also not entirely unexpected.
My cardiologist will arrange for me to have an angiogram at Kelowna Hospital, hopefully within the next two months. The echo-cardiogram / ultrasound indicated some cardiac "abnormality", most likely coronary artery blockage. The angiogram will clarify whether more corrective measures will be required, probably balloon angioplasty and / or installation of a stent. < sigh > Thanks, Dad !
When I was finished at cardiology, I found my way to Gord's room, to retrieve Joanne and Marcy. Gord was whining about needing a fan, so ... off we went to Value Village to buy him a fan. Joanne and Marcy went into Value Village ... I waited in the truck ... and they bought Gord a fan. I drove them back to the hospital to deliver the fan while
I went to Lordco to buy a fuel filter for the truck, and Rona to buy some glue. I returned to the hospital, parked ( again ! ) and went to Gord's room ( again ! ) to get Joanne and Marcy ( again ! ).
We left Penticton about 5:30 PM and were home about an hour later. As we drove west of Keremeos on Hwy. 3, towards Riverside RV Park Resort, there was thick fire smoke coming out of the Ashnola Valley across the Similkameen River.
Tuesday ; Hot ! Thick smoke ... ash falling from the sky. I had difficulty breathing ... and angina discomfort ... for much of today.
First job for today was to mount Elsie the camper onto Lanoire the truck. Then ... we worked together to get the camper fridge drain hose cleaned. It was plugged. We always cleaned Harvey the fifth wheel trailer's fridge drain hose annually, but ... in the three and a half years we have owned Elsie the truck camper, we had never cleaned the fridge drain hose. And near the end of our recent trip to NWT and Manitoba, Joanne noticed that the fridge condensation tray was filling up with water, and not draining through the hose as it should. Today we used cotton swabs, bleach, CLR, and ... compressed air to clean out the dirty drain hose, plugged with mildew, desert dust, and ... who knows ?
In the afternoon we went to the clubhouse for a "celebration of life" memorial service for a neighbour who died recently. We trimmed Bo's dew claws. We cleaned and treated Ozzie's infected ear. Joanne went into town to refill our five gallon water jug and to buy some fresh produce. We took Bo to the dog park, which is when I realized how much the thick smoke in the air was bothering me.
At suppertime we closed all the doors and the windows in the house. My breathing improved and my angina discomfort diminished. After supper we watched Amazing Race Canada.
Wednesday ; home to Merritt to N'Kwala BC Forest Service Recreation Site to Granite Creek Forest Service Recreation Site
Sunny and very warm, a bit chilly in the evening.
This morning we left home about 9:30 AM, heading for Merritt where we were meeting friends at noon. West on Hwy. 3 to Princeton, then north on Hwy. 5A to Hwy. 97C / the Coquihalla Connector, then west again on Hwy. 97C to Hwy. 5, the Coquihalla, a.k.a. the Highway Thru Hell. A few miles north on the Coquihalla and we were in Merritt. We met David, Linda, and Jackie in the parking lot of Extra Foods about 11:45 AM.
After buying some steaks and pork chops we were on our way again by 12:15, Joanne and I in the lead, Jackie in her camper van behind us, David and Linda in their truck and trailer bringing up the rear. We headed through Merritt and then northwest on Hwy. 8 for about half an hour or so to N'Kwala BC Forest Service Recreation Site campground on the Nicola River. We got ourselves set up in a campsite, then I prepared to take David fishing in the Nicola River, the primary objective of this trip.
As we walked by a neighbouring campsite, the occupants saw us heading to the river with fishing gear and advised us that ... < SPUTTER > ... the Nicola River at that location at this time of year was closed to fishing ! ! ! WHAT ? ? ? He brought out the 2017 BC fishing regulations and proved it to me. WELL ... * * * * ! ! !
David and I returned to our campsite, and after a group discussion we decided to leave and head to another fishing spot, at Granite Creek BC Forest Service Recreation Site on the Tulameen River. We left N'Kwala, and drove back to Merritt where we all refilled with fuel at Extra Foods Fuel Bar. Then we drove back to Princeton where we turned northwest on the Coalmont - Tulameen Road and drove for about another half hour to the tiny village of Coalmont. On the outskirts of Coalmont, where Granite Creek pours into the Tulameen River, we set ourselves up in a lovely campsite right on the Tulameen River, in Granite Creek Forest Service Recreation Site campground. AHHHHH ... lovely ! With incredibly easy fishing access right at the back of our campsite.
While David and I prepared to go fishing, his wife Linda tripped on a campfire ring made of granite rocks, landing face first on a sharp edged granite rock. She sustained a large, deep gash to her left eyebrow. OUCH ! ! ! We did first aid as best as we could. By the time we got her cleaned up, and bandaged, her left eye was swollen and turning black and blue. We expect she will have a very black eye tomorrow. And cheek. The deep, ugly gash on her eyebrow took a long time to stop bleeding. It's a pretty severe, deep, mangled wound. < sigh > Linda was very stoic, claiming minimal pain, but ...
I think it hurt a lot worse than she let on. She went to lie down for awhile in their trailer before supper, while David and I fished.
< sigh > After half an hour ... no fish ! I set up our barbecue, and while Joanne boiled corn on the cob in our camper, I cooked pork chops for everyone else and a steak for me. Joanne also prepared "peachy tossed salad" ... with peaches, obviously. Supper was pretty darn good. We sat around for awhile chatting after supper, until it got dark and chilly.
Thursday ; Granite Creek BCFSRS to home
Sunny and very warm.
We spent the morning visiting with our American friends around the picnic table at our campsite. David barbecued wieners and sausages for hot dogs for lunch. After lunch we departed the Granite Creek BC Forest Service Recreation Site campground and headed back to Princeton. At Princeton we turned east on Hwy. 3 to Hedley. At Hedley we dropped our American friends off at Riverhaven RV Park. They decided they wanted to spend the night in a full service RV park, instead of boondocking on our neighbour's driveway as had been planned.
We continued home from Hedley. We dumped our camper's waste holding tanks in our RV park's sani-dump station, got parked in our driveway, unpacked food and some other priority items from the camper, then returned to Riverhaven RV Park in our minivan. David, Linda, and Jackie had invited us for a picnic dinner ; hamburgers, potato salad, corn on the cob, etc. While they prepared supper I fished in the Similkameen River at Riverhaven RV Park for half an hour. HMPH ! Caught nothing. Despite the Similkameen River there appearing to be an excellent location for trout fishing. HMPH !
We chatted with our friends until dark, then drove home. In my e-mail inbox was an e-mail from our trailer towing client confirming the pick up of his trailer in Tofino on Saturday morning. NO, SIR ! You hired me to pick up your trailer in Tofino on Sunday morning, two weeks after it had been delivered to Tofino on Sunday morning !
Stay tuned ! ! !
Friday ; Sunny and hot.
Early this morning I received a phone call from our trailer towing client, acknowledging his and his wife's confusion / miscommunication regarding their campground checkout date. Right ! See you Sunday morning !
First priority for today was to remove the camper off the truck and prepare the truck for our upcoming trailer towing job. Around lunch time a new neighbour couple came over to discuss some trailer maintenance chores and winterization they wanted to hire us to do. Reluctantly I agreed to do the work over the next two months, but I made it clear to them ( I hope ) that we were not looking for ongoing nickel and dime work.
This afternoon we prepared for this weekend's tough two day trailer towing job. We cleaned and treated Ozzie's infected ear. His ear is improving. Poor Ozzie. He's stoic as we hurt his ear plucking, and cleaning, and administering drops. I did some monthly budget work. I barbecued chicken to be part of the food we will be bringing with us this weekend.
Saturday ; home to Vancouver, ferry to Vancouver Island, Nanaimo to Ucluelet
Sunny and hot.
We were up at 7 AM this morning, very early for us. I took Bo over to our neighbour Betty at 9 AM, to be dog sat for two days. We were on the road at 9:10 AM. West on Hwy. 3 through Hedley, Princeton, Manning Provincial Park, to Hope by 11:30 AM. We refilled with ( expensive ) diesel fuel at Hope, decided it was too early for lunch, and continued west from Hope on Trans-Canada Hwy. 1 into the Vancouver suburbs, then onto Hwy. 17 / South Fraser Perimeter Road towards the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Shortly before reaching the ferry terminal we stopped at Tsawwassen Mills Mall, at 1:30 PM to run an errand.
We met our former next door neighbours, Joe and Lynn to deliver an item and some money to them, settling our accounts with them. I had agreed early in the spring, when they sold their lot next door to ours, to clean everything out of their shed, sell what could be sold, and split the proceeds with them. DONE ! Since we had not yet had lunch, we accepted their invitation to have lunch in the mall food court. BUT ... by the time we walked all the way through Bass Pro Shop, and halfway across the huge mall to the food court, and saw the line-ups at each restaurant, I decided we did not have sufficient time to stand in line, buy lunch, eat lunch, and be on time for our ferry. We visited with Joe and Lynn for less than half an hour, then left.
The traffic jam to get out of the mall was ... < blink blink > ... quite spectacular ! It served as another great reminder ... as if we needed one ...of how glad we are not to have to live near urban congestion ! We wrestled our way out of the parking lot and back onto the highway. The ferry terminal was only about fifteen minutes away, and we arrived at about 2: 30 PM for our 3:15 PM ferry. Perfect ! While we waited to board the ferry we ate lunch. Joanne had packed the fridge in our truck with enough food and drinks to ( probably ) last us for the entire two day journey.
The ferry arrived in Nanaimo about ten minutes late at 5:25 PM. We drove through Nanaimo and north on Hwy. 19 to Qualicum Beach, then turned west on Hwy. 4. We arrived in Port Alberni about 6:45 PM. We refilled with diesel at No Frills Fuel Bar then bought a large donair to share for supper. We had our donair picnic dinner at a picnic table underneath some big, old, cedar trees in a small park attached to a marina. We continued west on Hwy. 4, leaving Port Alberni just before 8 PM. We arrived in Ucluelet around 9:30 PM, refilled with diesel again at Petro-Canada, then found our way to the surfer's hostel where we are spending the night, sharing a room with three young surfers as our room mates ... < raising eyebrows >.
I am typing this at 10:35 PM at the dining room table in the hostel's communal kitchen. I'm exhausted and slightly crabby. I think Joanne has already gone to sleep in our room upstairs.
DSK
Sunday, August 27, 2017
August 20 to 26, 2017
Sunday ; Port Alberni to Tofino to Ucluelet to Nanaimo, ferry to Vancouver, to home near Keremeos, British Columbia
Today started out cloudy and mild, becoming sunny and very warm.
Once again I feel as if I have severely undercharged for a trailer towing job. I am typing this at 7:05 PM, at the Nanaimo ferry terminal. We missed the 3:15 ferry that I had a reservation for. When we arrived at the ferry terminal at 5:30 PM, the 5:45 PM ferry was full and just about to depart. At that time, the 8:15 PM ferry was full, and we are in the "standby" wait line for 8:15 PM, definitely on the 10:45 PM ferry. < heavy sigh >
We were up this morning at 7 AM and left the motel in Port Alberni at 9 AM. We continued west on Hwy. 4. The 100 km. stretch of Hwy. 19 from Port Alberni to the Pacific coast / west side of Vancouver Island was brutally difficult with a 38 foot trailer in tow. At the Pacific coast we turned north for the last 35 km. to Tofino.
We arrived at Crystal Cove Resort exactly at 11 AM, as planned, as that is their check out time and we could not check in with the client's trailer before that time. Access to the client's reserved campsite was ... ( what else ? ) ... exceptionally difficult ! < another heavy sigh > Getting the trailer situated in the site, and set up ... slides, electricity, water, sewer, unload bicycles from inside the trailer, etc. took two hours. "Normal" set up time is one hour, so ... we were an hour late by the time we were leaving the campground at 1 PM. We knew by then that we would not be able to get to the ferry terminal for the 3:15 PM ferry. SO ... Joanne wanted to make a short side trip to visit Ucluelet. We drove south to Ucluelet, then through the village to look around. I bought $20 worth of diesel fuel in Ucluelet just to ensure that I had enough fuel to make it back to Port Alberni where I wanted to refuel at Extra Foods Fuel Bar. We returned north to Hwy. 4 and headed east back towards Port Alberni and Nanaimo.
Halfway back to Port Alberni we stopped in a rest area to have a very late picnic lunch. We chatted briefly with a family of four from Germany. At Port Alberni I refilled with diesel fuel. KA-CHING ... another $110 ! At Coombs we turned south on Hwy. 4A and followed it to Parksville where we got onto Hwy. 19 and continued south back to the ferry terminal at Nanaimo, arriving at 5:30 PM. And that was possible only because
I travelled all of Hwy. 4A and Hwy. 19 at 130 km./hr., 40 km./ hr. over the speed limit !
It’s now 7:35 PM. The ferry from Vancouver is arriving, ten minutes early. Joanne is extremely crabby ! What fun we’re having ! ! !
8:10 PM. On the ferry. About to depart. About to eat supper. Wife still crabby ! Will be arriving in Vancouver at 10:15 PM. Five hours to drive home ... in the dark ... should mean we’ll be home at ... about 3:15 AM ! < sigh > Five hours later than planned !
I really got to start charging more money for my trailer towing services ! Especially the long haul jobs that involve ferry crossings.
Off ferry in Vancouver on time at 10:15 PM. With no stops for meals, fuel, or puking puppies ... made it home in four hours, arriving home at 2:15 AM ! Might have exceeded the speed limit a bit ... < cough > !
Monday ; Sunny and warm.
What eclipse ? Must have slept through it !
Actually, I didn't, but Joanne did. I awoke at 9:30 AM and went immediately to get Bo at our friend / neighbour / mail collector / dog sitter Jeanine. After showering, etc. I spent the rest of the morning doing trip accounting, retrieving electronic payments, etc.
This afternoon we visited with Jeanine to find out how her two days of dog sitting Bo went, and to retrieve Bo's leash and food. Back at home we unloaded all the trailer towing equipment and supplies, and returned Lanoire the truck to its parking spot underneath Elsie the camper. We watered our composters and gardens. I tried to glue repair a soapstone brooch that I bought in the Northwest Territories, that broke during travel. < sigh > The glue repair did not work.
Bo survived his two days with Jeanine. He was a bit morose. Emma survived her forty hours alone, quite well, it seems. Joanne survived our two day trip to Vancouver Island and back, but does not want me to accept any more trailer towing jobs over to Vancouver Island. Well ... we have another one in two weeks when we have to bring back the trailer we just delivered.
Tuesday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked a Saskatoon cake and a sweet & sour chicken cutlet, pineapple, and rice dish in the Sun Oven today.
Spent the morning working on "administrative" chores at my desk. In the afternoon I did some preventive maintenance on the truck and minivan, and a small refurbishment project on the camper. Both of us spent time on the computer trying to make a motel reservation more conveniently located to Tofino than the one we already have in Port Alberni, for the return trip in two weeks on the Labour Day weekend. I finally managed to get a reservation at a hostel in Ucluelet. Never been to a hostel before. We have a reservation for a double bed in a room with four beds. In a house with two bathrooms for eighteen guests ! Hope it works out okay. The hostel specializes in surfers and offers surfing lessons. < blink blink >
When we took Bo for a walk around supper time we walked down to our RV park's orchard and Joanne harvested plums and peaches.
Wednesday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked Swiss Steak in the Sun Oven today.
This morning we removed the rear seat from the minivan and loaded our four pieces of artwork in the minivan to take them to Penticton tomorrow. This afternoon while Joanne went into Keremeos to refill our five gallon water jug I went fishing. I fished for about an hour and a half, and caught four, large ... Rocky Mountain Whitefish. HMPH ! Don't want 'em ! Too full of bones ! Released 'em ! BUT ... they're spunky ! Fun to catch !
Last week I kept a large Whitefish. Made ( liquid ) "smoked", ( maple syrup glazed ) "candied" Whitefish in the Sun Oven. Yeah ... tasted fine ... but ... still full of bones !
Thursday ; Penticton
Sunny and very warm during the day, cool and windy during the evening.
This morning at 11 AM we headed for Penticton, for a noon meeting with the owner of a fine art gallery, to discuss the sale of our three Group of Seven limited edition, numbered prints, and our very large Italian tapestry, purchased on Joanne's 40th birthday in January, 1994, in Florence, Italy. We unloaded the four pieces of art from our minivan, took them into her gallery, unpacked them, and left them with her for a few hours to assess them with the assistance of a colleague of hers who was not there yet.
We had lunch at Tim Horton's. We went to Service Canada and submitted our passport renewal applications. We went to my gastroenterologist's office and picked up the colonoscopy pathology report from my colonoscopy in May. We refilled the minivan with fuel. We went to Total Pet and bought some blade wash. We went to PetsMart and bought some dog food. We returned to the art gallery and had a discussion / negotiation with her about selling our four art pieces on a contingency basis. The discussion / negotiation was a bit disappointing, but ... life goes on !
We shopped at Wal-Mart, mostly for groceries. We shopped at Superstore for groceries. We finished and left Penticton about 6:30 PM. We arrived home about an hour later. I barbecued Dan-O-Cheese-Dogs for dinner. We watched Saturday Night Live's summer replacement show, Weekend Update ; Summer Edition, followed by a reality show documenting the emergency department of Vancouver General Hospital.
Friday ; Mostly overcast ... maybe smoke haze ... warm.
This afternoon we reinstalled the rear seat on the minivan, and did some rearranging of emergency equipment and supplies in the rear. I went to the park's burn pile and scavenged a couple of long pieces of 2" x 8" lumber. I took them to the woodworking shop and used a radial arm saw to cut one of them into blocks to be used under the truck's tires when we need to level the camper when we're parked somewhere that is not level, and a four foot section to be used as a levelling board under trailer tires when needed on trailer towing jobs. I disinfected and refilled the camper's freshwater tank.
I replenished toiletries and bathroom supplies in the camper.
Late this afternoon Marcie came over to ask for help. Gord had tumbled backwards off the top / fifth step leading into their house, landing on his head, shoulder and elbow. Joanne and I rushed over, Gord was lying on the pavement at the base of the steps, moaning in pain, bleeding from the elbow. We picked him up, got him into the house and settled into his living room plush chair. Joanne and Marcie tended to his bleeding elbow.
Gord is in the final stages of life. He has been suffering from mesothelioma / asbestos caused lung cancer for about sixteen months, and is expected to live only a few months more. He's very frail.
A couple of hours later Marcie was back to ask for help again. While she was outside for a few minutes, Gord tried, but failed, to make it from the living room to the bathroom. I found him sitting in a kitchen chair, urine all over the kitchen floor. He wanted an ambulance to be called. Good decision ! He used the "Lifeline" emergency call device strapped to his wrist. A Lifeline agent opened communications from a speaker phone on their kitchen counter. I explained the situation, and Lifeline called for an ambulance.
Impatient after a forty-five minute wait, I told Gord to press the Lifeline button again. A Lifeline agent again opened communications through the speaker phone device on the kitchen counter. I expressed my impatience. The Lifeline agent called again for an ambulance, then came back on the line to advise me that their records indicated that they had called an ambulance forty-five minutes earlier, but that BC ambulance dispatch had no record of that. < SPUTTER > I was dumbstruck ! But ... that was not the time for me to throw a hissy fit.
Fifteen minutes later an ambulance arrived. They got Gord assessed, and loaded into the ambulance. HMPH ... easier said than done ! They took him into the Keremeos clinic to have the doctor on emergency call assess Gord further. About half an hour later they phoned me back to advise that Gord was being taken to, and admitted to, Penticton Hospital. Great ! He's much too ill to be taken care of at home by Marcie any longer !
Joanne went next door and arranged to take Marcie to Penticton Hospital tomorrow morning.
Saturday ; Sunny and very warm.
Joanne left at 10 AM this morning to take Marcie to Penticton hospital. I sliced Roma tomatoes thinly and placed three racks of them into the Sun Oven, dehydrating them all day to make sun dried tomatoes. The top rack was finished by the end of the day, but the lower two racks will require more time in the Sun Oven tomorrow.
Around noon I walked Bo, then Ozzie. After walking Ozzie, I examined his ears.
I spent all last summer battling Ozzie's severe ear infections. In May when I examined his ears, they were fine. Today ... YUCK ! One ear was fine, and one ear was more severely infected than I have ever seen. < sigh > Poor Ozzie ! The ear was inflamed, plugged with pus, and extremely smelly. YUCK ! ! ! I cleaned the ear as best as I could without anybody else to help, and I applied antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic ear drops. < sigh > Looks like Ozzie and I will be seeing one another every three days or so for the next little while. Poor Ozzie ! It must take a lot of courage for a little dog to trust someone while they are doing something that hurts as much as the ear cleaning obviously did.
I was napping when Joanne came home from Penticton with Marcie around 4:30 PM. She got our dirty laundry ready for laundering, and while it was in the washers and dryers in our park's laundromat, we visited with our neighbour / friend Jeanine whose home is near the park's laundromat. In the evening I downloaded, printed, reconciled, and paid our monthly MasterCard billing. WOW ! Expensive trip to Northwest Territories and Manitoba !
DSK
Today started out cloudy and mild, becoming sunny and very warm.
Once again I feel as if I have severely undercharged for a trailer towing job. I am typing this at 7:05 PM, at the Nanaimo ferry terminal. We missed the 3:15 ferry that I had a reservation for. When we arrived at the ferry terminal at 5:30 PM, the 5:45 PM ferry was full and just about to depart. At that time, the 8:15 PM ferry was full, and we are in the "standby" wait line for 8:15 PM, definitely on the 10:45 PM ferry. < heavy sigh >
We were up this morning at 7 AM and left the motel in Port Alberni at 9 AM. We continued west on Hwy. 4. The 100 km. stretch of Hwy. 19 from Port Alberni to the Pacific coast / west side of Vancouver Island was brutally difficult with a 38 foot trailer in tow. At the Pacific coast we turned north for the last 35 km. to Tofino.
We arrived at Crystal Cove Resort exactly at 11 AM, as planned, as that is their check out time and we could not check in with the client's trailer before that time. Access to the client's reserved campsite was ... ( what else ? ) ... exceptionally difficult ! < another heavy sigh > Getting the trailer situated in the site, and set up ... slides, electricity, water, sewer, unload bicycles from inside the trailer, etc. took two hours. "Normal" set up time is one hour, so ... we were an hour late by the time we were leaving the campground at 1 PM. We knew by then that we would not be able to get to the ferry terminal for the 3:15 PM ferry. SO ... Joanne wanted to make a short side trip to visit Ucluelet. We drove south to Ucluelet, then through the village to look around. I bought $20 worth of diesel fuel in Ucluelet just to ensure that I had enough fuel to make it back to Port Alberni where I wanted to refuel at Extra Foods Fuel Bar. We returned north to Hwy. 4 and headed east back towards Port Alberni and Nanaimo.
Halfway back to Port Alberni we stopped in a rest area to have a very late picnic lunch. We chatted briefly with a family of four from Germany. At Port Alberni I refilled with diesel fuel. KA-CHING ... another $110 ! At Coombs we turned south on Hwy. 4A and followed it to Parksville where we got onto Hwy. 19 and continued south back to the ferry terminal at Nanaimo, arriving at 5:30 PM. And that was possible only because
I travelled all of Hwy. 4A and Hwy. 19 at 130 km./hr., 40 km./ hr. over the speed limit !
It’s now 7:35 PM. The ferry from Vancouver is arriving, ten minutes early. Joanne is extremely crabby ! What fun we’re having ! ! !
8:10 PM. On the ferry. About to depart. About to eat supper. Wife still crabby ! Will be arriving in Vancouver at 10:15 PM. Five hours to drive home ... in the dark ... should mean we’ll be home at ... about 3:15 AM ! < sigh > Five hours later than planned !
I really got to start charging more money for my trailer towing services ! Especially the long haul jobs that involve ferry crossings.
Off ferry in Vancouver on time at 10:15 PM. With no stops for meals, fuel, or puking puppies ... made it home in four hours, arriving home at 2:15 AM ! Might have exceeded the speed limit a bit ... < cough > !
Monday ; Sunny and warm.
What eclipse ? Must have slept through it !
Actually, I didn't, but Joanne did. I awoke at 9:30 AM and went immediately to get Bo at our friend / neighbour / mail collector / dog sitter Jeanine. After showering, etc. I spent the rest of the morning doing trip accounting, retrieving electronic payments, etc.
This afternoon we visited with Jeanine to find out how her two days of dog sitting Bo went, and to retrieve Bo's leash and food. Back at home we unloaded all the trailer towing equipment and supplies, and returned Lanoire the truck to its parking spot underneath Elsie the camper. We watered our composters and gardens. I tried to glue repair a soapstone brooch that I bought in the Northwest Territories, that broke during travel. < sigh > The glue repair did not work.
Bo survived his two days with Jeanine. He was a bit morose. Emma survived her forty hours alone, quite well, it seems. Joanne survived our two day trip to Vancouver Island and back, but does not want me to accept any more trailer towing jobs over to Vancouver Island. Well ... we have another one in two weeks when we have to bring back the trailer we just delivered.
Tuesday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked a Saskatoon cake and a sweet & sour chicken cutlet, pineapple, and rice dish in the Sun Oven today.
Spent the morning working on "administrative" chores at my desk. In the afternoon I did some preventive maintenance on the truck and minivan, and a small refurbishment project on the camper. Both of us spent time on the computer trying to make a motel reservation more conveniently located to Tofino than the one we already have in Port Alberni, for the return trip in two weeks on the Labour Day weekend. I finally managed to get a reservation at a hostel in Ucluelet. Never been to a hostel before. We have a reservation for a double bed in a room with four beds. In a house with two bathrooms for eighteen guests ! Hope it works out okay. The hostel specializes in surfers and offers surfing lessons. < blink blink >
When we took Bo for a walk around supper time we walked down to our RV park's orchard and Joanne harvested plums and peaches.
Wednesday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked Swiss Steak in the Sun Oven today.
This morning we removed the rear seat from the minivan and loaded our four pieces of artwork in the minivan to take them to Penticton tomorrow. This afternoon while Joanne went into Keremeos to refill our five gallon water jug I went fishing. I fished for about an hour and a half, and caught four, large ... Rocky Mountain Whitefish. HMPH ! Don't want 'em ! Too full of bones ! Released 'em ! BUT ... they're spunky ! Fun to catch !
Last week I kept a large Whitefish. Made ( liquid ) "smoked", ( maple syrup glazed ) "candied" Whitefish in the Sun Oven. Yeah ... tasted fine ... but ... still full of bones !
Thursday ; Penticton
Sunny and very warm during the day, cool and windy during the evening.
This morning at 11 AM we headed for Penticton, for a noon meeting with the owner of a fine art gallery, to discuss the sale of our three Group of Seven limited edition, numbered prints, and our very large Italian tapestry, purchased on Joanne's 40th birthday in January, 1994, in Florence, Italy. We unloaded the four pieces of art from our minivan, took them into her gallery, unpacked them, and left them with her for a few hours to assess them with the assistance of a colleague of hers who was not there yet.
We had lunch at Tim Horton's. We went to Service Canada and submitted our passport renewal applications. We went to my gastroenterologist's office and picked up the colonoscopy pathology report from my colonoscopy in May. We refilled the minivan with fuel. We went to Total Pet and bought some blade wash. We went to PetsMart and bought some dog food. We returned to the art gallery and had a discussion / negotiation with her about selling our four art pieces on a contingency basis. The discussion / negotiation was a bit disappointing, but ... life goes on !
We shopped at Wal-Mart, mostly for groceries. We shopped at Superstore for groceries. We finished and left Penticton about 6:30 PM. We arrived home about an hour later. I barbecued Dan-O-Cheese-Dogs for dinner. We watched Saturday Night Live's summer replacement show, Weekend Update ; Summer Edition, followed by a reality show documenting the emergency department of Vancouver General Hospital.
Friday ; Mostly overcast ... maybe smoke haze ... warm.
This afternoon we reinstalled the rear seat on the minivan, and did some rearranging of emergency equipment and supplies in the rear. I went to the park's burn pile and scavenged a couple of long pieces of 2" x 8" lumber. I took them to the woodworking shop and used a radial arm saw to cut one of them into blocks to be used under the truck's tires when we need to level the camper when we're parked somewhere that is not level, and a four foot section to be used as a levelling board under trailer tires when needed on trailer towing jobs. I disinfected and refilled the camper's freshwater tank.
I replenished toiletries and bathroom supplies in the camper.
Late this afternoon Marcie came over to ask for help. Gord had tumbled backwards off the top / fifth step leading into their house, landing on his head, shoulder and elbow. Joanne and I rushed over, Gord was lying on the pavement at the base of the steps, moaning in pain, bleeding from the elbow. We picked him up, got him into the house and settled into his living room plush chair. Joanne and Marcie tended to his bleeding elbow.
Gord is in the final stages of life. He has been suffering from mesothelioma / asbestos caused lung cancer for about sixteen months, and is expected to live only a few months more. He's very frail.
A couple of hours later Marcie was back to ask for help again. While she was outside for a few minutes, Gord tried, but failed, to make it from the living room to the bathroom. I found him sitting in a kitchen chair, urine all over the kitchen floor. He wanted an ambulance to be called. Good decision ! He used the "Lifeline" emergency call device strapped to his wrist. A Lifeline agent opened communications from a speaker phone on their kitchen counter. I explained the situation, and Lifeline called for an ambulance.
Impatient after a forty-five minute wait, I told Gord to press the Lifeline button again. A Lifeline agent again opened communications through the speaker phone device on the kitchen counter. I expressed my impatience. The Lifeline agent called again for an ambulance, then came back on the line to advise me that their records indicated that they had called an ambulance forty-five minutes earlier, but that BC ambulance dispatch had no record of that. < SPUTTER > I was dumbstruck ! But ... that was not the time for me to throw a hissy fit.
Fifteen minutes later an ambulance arrived. They got Gord assessed, and loaded into the ambulance. HMPH ... easier said than done ! They took him into the Keremeos clinic to have the doctor on emergency call assess Gord further. About half an hour later they phoned me back to advise that Gord was being taken to, and admitted to, Penticton Hospital. Great ! He's much too ill to be taken care of at home by Marcie any longer !
Joanne went next door and arranged to take Marcie to Penticton Hospital tomorrow morning.
Saturday ; Sunny and very warm.
Joanne left at 10 AM this morning to take Marcie to Penticton hospital. I sliced Roma tomatoes thinly and placed three racks of them into the Sun Oven, dehydrating them all day to make sun dried tomatoes. The top rack was finished by the end of the day, but the lower two racks will require more time in the Sun Oven tomorrow.
Around noon I walked Bo, then Ozzie. After walking Ozzie, I examined his ears.
I spent all last summer battling Ozzie's severe ear infections. In May when I examined his ears, they were fine. Today ... YUCK ! One ear was fine, and one ear was more severely infected than I have ever seen. < sigh > Poor Ozzie ! The ear was inflamed, plugged with pus, and extremely smelly. YUCK ! ! ! I cleaned the ear as best as I could without anybody else to help, and I applied antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic ear drops. < sigh > Looks like Ozzie and I will be seeing one another every three days or so for the next little while. Poor Ozzie ! It must take a lot of courage for a little dog to trust someone while they are doing something that hurts as much as the ear cleaning obviously did.
I was napping when Joanne came home from Penticton with Marcie around 4:30 PM. She got our dirty laundry ready for laundering, and while it was in the washers and dryers in our park's laundromat, we visited with our neighbour / friend Jeanine whose home is near the park's laundromat. In the evening I downloaded, printed, reconciled, and paid our monthly MasterCard billing. WOW ! Expensive trip to Northwest Territories and Manitoba !
DSK
Monday, August 21, 2017
August 13 to 19, 2017 ; Lost Creek Rest Area near Salmo to Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos, Britsh Columbia ... then ... home to Kelowna to home to Vancouver Island
Sunday ; Lost Creek Rest Area near Salmo to Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos, British Columbia
Cool and raining until early afternoon, then partially sunny and very warm, windy in the evening at home.
When we settled into the rest area to boondock overnight last night we did not know that we were very near the site of the Shambhala Music Festival being held this weekend. Nor did we know that there was a wild fire in the vicinity that forced the cancellation and evacuation of the music festival late last night. Car loads of young people arrived at the rest area in the middle of the night, some sleeping in their cars, some sleeping in tents beside their cars. Shortly after we left the rest area this morning we encountered a law enforcement roadside checkpoint, stopping all eastbound cars heading out of the nearby festival site, creating a huge traffic jam. Fortunately for us ... we were westbound.
At Castlegar we stopped at the Doukhobor Museum to pick wild Porcini mushrooms in their picnic area, as we have done before. HMPH ... no mushrooms today ! We stopped to have lunch at another rest area. We stopped in Grand Forks to shop for groceries at Extra Foods, refill with diesel at Extra Foods Fuel Bar, then shop again for groceries at Overwaitea. At Osoyoos we stopped to give Bo an opportunity to visit his favourite park, located on Lake Osoyoos waterfront. I don't know what its name is, we've always called it Bo's PP Park. We arrived home at Riverside RV Park Resort west of Keremeos around 7 PM.
Six weeks, 9530 km. / 5956 miles. Whew ... I'm tired ! British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia. The four day trip home from Lorette / Winnipeg was 2134 km. / 1334 miles. Most expensive diesel was in Fort Nelson, BC ; $1.289 / litre. Cheapest diesel was in Winnipeg, Manitoba ; $0.929 / litre. Why is diesel fuel in Northern BC more expensive than anywhere in the Northwest Territories ? ! ?
Monday ; Sunny and hot. A busy day of "return home" chores.
Our gardens needed a lot of attention. There was some produce to harvest, but mostly everything was overgrown and / or dried out. I watered our composters and herb garden. I trimmed my beard. We gave Bo a haircut. We gave Bo a bath. We did a lot of unpacking from the camper. I removed the three "Group of Seven" pieces of artwork that we retrieved from Winnipeg / Lorette. I removed the large, crated Italian tapestry that Bud and I had secured to the ceiling of the camper, and lowered it onto the bed. Joanne will help me remove it from the camper tomorrow, I hope.
I bid on a U-Ship job to transport a puppy from Keremeos to the Vancouver area this weekend, in conjunction with the trailer towing job I have to Vancouver Island. The shipper accepted my bid, so ... Bear the Australian Shepherd puppy will be making the trip with me on Saturday.
Tuesday ; Sunny and hot.
This morning we carefully removed the boxed tapestry from the camper and stored it temporarily in our shed. I am very grateful to my brother-in-law Bud for the creative problem solving he used to help me get the tapestry mounted up against the ceiling of the camper for transport from Lorette to here.
After an early lunch we went into Keremeos to run errands. I dropped Joanne off at Sanderson Farms to buy produce while I went to Similkameen Agencies to renew the registration and insurance on the minivan and renew our home insurance. I picked Joanne up at Sanderson Farms and then she went to Valu-Plus to buy some groceries while I went to Valley First Credit Union to make changes to our monthly maintenance fee payment to Riverside RV Park Resort. From there we drove to 3 Winds Farm to make arrangements regarding the puppy delivery we are doing on Saturday.
No one was home at 3 Winds Farm, but ... we did get greeted by a whole lot of "guard" dogs, some Border Collies and some Australian Shepherds. And one curious, sociable horse in a corral. The puppy we will be transporting on Saturday to Vancouver is an Australian Shepherd. We returned to town, to FasGas. We washed the truck and camper, refilled a propane tank, and bought fishing worms.
Back at home I napped briefly before we removed the camper from the truck. Joanne worked on unloading and cleaning the camper. I worked on maintenance on the camper, reinstalling a cupboard door and remounting our TV, both removed for the tapestry transport. Our satellite TV service resumed today after being put on "vacation break", so we watched Amazing Race Canada while eating supper, our first TV viewing in six weeks.
After supper I phoned our puppy delivery client and discussed arrangements.
Wednesday ; Sunny and hot, a bit windy early in the evening while I was fly fishing on the Similkameen River.
I finalized arrangements for the pickup of a large travel trailer in Kelowna on Friday evening. We will deliver it to Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island on Sunday morning. I finalized the arrangements for the pickup of a puppy in Keremeos on Saturday morning. We will deliver him to Vancouver Saturday afternoon. I paid some bills owing to our RV park. I went to our park's woodworking shop, found some scrap plywood, and used a radial arm saw in the woodworking shop to cut it to size for a project.
We visited our neighbour / friend Jeanine to pick our mail that she has been collecting from our mail box for the six weeks that we've been away, and to arrange for her to care for Bo while we are away this weekend on the trailer delivery job. At supper time I went fishing on the Similkameen River for the first time this summer. I fished for an hour and a half. The conditions were not great for fly fishing. It was windy and the water was flowing faster than I expected it would be at this time of the year. I caught two small Rainbow Trout and a large Whitefish. I released the smaller of the two Rainbows.
I cleaned the larger Rainbow and gave it to Jeanine. It was too small for us. It was what I call "widow size". I filleted the Whitefish to try an experiment with it. I am going to "smoke" it in the Sun Oven, like making "smoked, candied" salmon in the Sun Oven.
Thursday ; Sunny and very hot. As planned yesterday, I did make ( liquid ) smoked,
( maple syrup glazed ) candied Whitefish in the Sun Oven today.
I made phone calls this morning ; to the motel I have booked in Port Alberni regarding late arrival check in procedures, to the owner of the art gallery in Penticton that I am hopeful will handle the sale of our artwork, to set up a meeting with her next week, and to a potential purchaser of one of the neighbour's shed items that I have advertised for sale on Kijiji.
This afternoon I prepared the truck for trailer towing, loading all the necessary equipment and supplies. I assembled a pet carrier to use to transport Bear the puppy to Vancouver. I exercised and did annual maintenance on our little generator.
I fertilized our gardens. And most importantly, Joanne and I uncrated and inspected our large tapestry which has been crated and in storage at my sister's for the last thirteen years. It's in perfect condition and as beautiful as ever.
I barbecued chicken to take on our weekend trailer towing and puppy delivery trip. Joanne prepared potato salad to go with the chicken, and she made a large pot of spaghetti and meat sauce for the trip as well. I baked potatoes and barbecued a thick, juicy, marinated steak for supper which we ate while watching Saturday Night Live ; Weekend Update Summer Edition.
This afternoon while working on preparing the truck for trailer towing, loading equipment and supplies, I repeatedly experienced angina while working hard, in the sun, on a very hot day. I kept resting and rehydrating, but eventually it became so severe I had to come indoors, lie down on the bed, and use Nitroglycerin spray, only the second time
I have done so. Yes, yes ... it works ! Quite well, and quite quickly ... leaving a headache afterwards.
Friday ; home to Penticton to Kelowna to home
Sunny and very warm.
We left home at noon and headed to Penticton. First errand was to sell our next door neighbour's baby playpen. KA-CHING ! Mrs. Buyer was pissed off at my delivery charge. HEY ... read the ad more carefully next time ! You don't want to pay my delivery charge to your front door ... drive to my home and buy it !
We shopped at Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree, then left Penticton and headed north on
Hwy. 97 through Summerland and Peachland to Westbank / West Kelowna. Nobody calls Westbank by its "new" name West Kelowna. We had an extremely late lunch or extremely early supper at Swiss Chalet. The service was horrible ! We won't be returning. Swiss Chalet has lost a customer after thirty years, because one bimbo does her job poorly ! AND ... their chickens seem to have shrunk to the size of Cornish game hens ! No problem ... many other establishments will be happy to receive my money.
We refilled with diesel at Superstore Fuel Bar then went into Superstore to complete our weekly grocery shopping ... which had been started at Wal-Mart in Penticton. From there we drove into Kelowna ... ( I hate Kelowna ! ) ... and arrived at our trailer towing client's home half an hour early, at 5:30 PM. Good thing we were a bit early. The trailer pick up was a bit more complicated and took a bit longer than expected. We left the client's home at 7 PM, drove through Kelowna back to Hwy. 97, south through Westbank, Peachland, Summerland, and Penticton, returning to Keremeos on Hwy. 3A, then to Riverside RV Park Resort on Hwy. 3. It was dark before 9 PM. We arrived home around 9:30 PM, had a light, late supper or bedtime snack, then finished preparing for departure tomorrow morning. Joanne prepared meals to go, I packed clothes, medications, and toiletries.
Saturday ; home to Vancouver, ferry to Vancouver Island, Nanaimo to Port Alberni
Sunny and very warm.
This morning as Joanne took Bo over to Jeanine's to be "dog sat" for a few days,
I drove into town ( Keremeos ) in the minivan to pick up Bear the 7½ week old Australian Shepherd puppy. At 10 AM I picked Bear up at the restaurant in town owned by his < cough > breeder, then returned home with him. We loaded him into the truck, with the client's large trailer attached, and off we went, headed west on Hwy. 3 towards Vancouver. We left home at 10:30 AM. Emma will be spending two days in our house by herself, with lots of food and water, and multiple litter boxes. Wish us all luck !
The highway from home to Princeton is difficult, curving and hilly. The road from Princeton to Hope is even more so ! About an hour and half after leaving, Bear became ill and vomited ( a lot ! ) in the pet carrier. HMPH ! Maybe ... just maybe ... he should have had food withheld for twelve or more hours before travelling ? ! ? Especially since this was his first time in a vehicle ? ! ? < fume >
We stopped at Flying J in Hope at about 1 PM. We tried ... unsuccessfully ... to walk Bear. HMPH ! He had never been on a leash before. You'd think that maybe ... just maybe ... oh, never mind ! We had lunch, refilled with diesel, and were back on the road by 2 PM. From Hope we travelled west on Trans-Canada Hwy. 1 to the Lower Mainland / Vancouver area. We got onto the beginning of Hwy. 17 / South Fraser Perimeter Road and followed it to its end at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Just before we reached the shopping mall where we were delivering him, Bear was very ill again.
< sigh >
Just a few miles before reaching the ferry terminal we stopped at Tsawwassen Mills Mall, an extremely large shopping mall, with an extremely large parking lot, to deliver Bear to his new owner / family. The female buyer of Bear, and her teenage daughter were already at the mall, eagerly awaiting our arrival with their new family member. They were thrilled to meet ( and take possession of ) Bear. Thank you very much Rhea, for arranging to meet us at a large shopping mall with a large parking lot, in consideration of the large trailer we were towing. We delivered Bear at 3:45 PM, about fifteen minutes late.
We arrived at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal about 4:30 PM, to wait for our 5:45 PM ferry departure to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. I have written this journal entry so far while on the ferry.
We arrived at the Nanaimo ferry terminal on Vancouver Island on time at 7:45 PM. We drove north on the island's main north / south road, Hwy. 19 to Qualicum, then turned west on Hwy. 4. We arrived at Port Alberni at 9 PM just as it became dark. We checked into the Timberlodge Motel & RV Campground, and ate a very late supper in our room.
WHEW ... tired !
DSK
Cool and raining until early afternoon, then partially sunny and very warm, windy in the evening at home.
When we settled into the rest area to boondock overnight last night we did not know that we were very near the site of the Shambhala Music Festival being held this weekend. Nor did we know that there was a wild fire in the vicinity that forced the cancellation and evacuation of the music festival late last night. Car loads of young people arrived at the rest area in the middle of the night, some sleeping in their cars, some sleeping in tents beside their cars. Shortly after we left the rest area this morning we encountered a law enforcement roadside checkpoint, stopping all eastbound cars heading out of the nearby festival site, creating a huge traffic jam. Fortunately for us ... we were westbound.
At Castlegar we stopped at the Doukhobor Museum to pick wild Porcini mushrooms in their picnic area, as we have done before. HMPH ... no mushrooms today ! We stopped to have lunch at another rest area. We stopped in Grand Forks to shop for groceries at Extra Foods, refill with diesel at Extra Foods Fuel Bar, then shop again for groceries at Overwaitea. At Osoyoos we stopped to give Bo an opportunity to visit his favourite park, located on Lake Osoyoos waterfront. I don't know what its name is, we've always called it Bo's PP Park. We arrived home at Riverside RV Park Resort west of Keremeos around 7 PM.
Six weeks, 9530 km. / 5956 miles. Whew ... I'm tired ! British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia. The four day trip home from Lorette / Winnipeg was 2134 km. / 1334 miles. Most expensive diesel was in Fort Nelson, BC ; $1.289 / litre. Cheapest diesel was in Winnipeg, Manitoba ; $0.929 / litre. Why is diesel fuel in Northern BC more expensive than anywhere in the Northwest Territories ? ! ?
Monday ; Sunny and hot. A busy day of "return home" chores.
Our gardens needed a lot of attention. There was some produce to harvest, but mostly everything was overgrown and / or dried out. I watered our composters and herb garden. I trimmed my beard. We gave Bo a haircut. We gave Bo a bath. We did a lot of unpacking from the camper. I removed the three "Group of Seven" pieces of artwork that we retrieved from Winnipeg / Lorette. I removed the large, crated Italian tapestry that Bud and I had secured to the ceiling of the camper, and lowered it onto the bed. Joanne will help me remove it from the camper tomorrow, I hope.
I bid on a U-Ship job to transport a puppy from Keremeos to the Vancouver area this weekend, in conjunction with the trailer towing job I have to Vancouver Island. The shipper accepted my bid, so ... Bear the Australian Shepherd puppy will be making the trip with me on Saturday.
Tuesday ; Sunny and hot.
This morning we carefully removed the boxed tapestry from the camper and stored it temporarily in our shed. I am very grateful to my brother-in-law Bud for the creative problem solving he used to help me get the tapestry mounted up against the ceiling of the camper for transport from Lorette to here.
After an early lunch we went into Keremeos to run errands. I dropped Joanne off at Sanderson Farms to buy produce while I went to Similkameen Agencies to renew the registration and insurance on the minivan and renew our home insurance. I picked Joanne up at Sanderson Farms and then she went to Valu-Plus to buy some groceries while I went to Valley First Credit Union to make changes to our monthly maintenance fee payment to Riverside RV Park Resort. From there we drove to 3 Winds Farm to make arrangements regarding the puppy delivery we are doing on Saturday.
No one was home at 3 Winds Farm, but ... we did get greeted by a whole lot of "guard" dogs, some Border Collies and some Australian Shepherds. And one curious, sociable horse in a corral. The puppy we will be transporting on Saturday to Vancouver is an Australian Shepherd. We returned to town, to FasGas. We washed the truck and camper, refilled a propane tank, and bought fishing worms.
Back at home I napped briefly before we removed the camper from the truck. Joanne worked on unloading and cleaning the camper. I worked on maintenance on the camper, reinstalling a cupboard door and remounting our TV, both removed for the tapestry transport. Our satellite TV service resumed today after being put on "vacation break", so we watched Amazing Race Canada while eating supper, our first TV viewing in six weeks.
After supper I phoned our puppy delivery client and discussed arrangements.
Wednesday ; Sunny and hot, a bit windy early in the evening while I was fly fishing on the Similkameen River.
I finalized arrangements for the pickup of a large travel trailer in Kelowna on Friday evening. We will deliver it to Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island on Sunday morning. I finalized the arrangements for the pickup of a puppy in Keremeos on Saturday morning. We will deliver him to Vancouver Saturday afternoon. I paid some bills owing to our RV park. I went to our park's woodworking shop, found some scrap plywood, and used a radial arm saw in the woodworking shop to cut it to size for a project.
We visited our neighbour / friend Jeanine to pick our mail that she has been collecting from our mail box for the six weeks that we've been away, and to arrange for her to care for Bo while we are away this weekend on the trailer delivery job. At supper time I went fishing on the Similkameen River for the first time this summer. I fished for an hour and a half. The conditions were not great for fly fishing. It was windy and the water was flowing faster than I expected it would be at this time of the year. I caught two small Rainbow Trout and a large Whitefish. I released the smaller of the two Rainbows.
I cleaned the larger Rainbow and gave it to Jeanine. It was too small for us. It was what I call "widow size". I filleted the Whitefish to try an experiment with it. I am going to "smoke" it in the Sun Oven, like making "smoked, candied" salmon in the Sun Oven.
Thursday ; Sunny and very hot. As planned yesterday, I did make ( liquid ) smoked,
( maple syrup glazed ) candied Whitefish in the Sun Oven today.
I made phone calls this morning ; to the motel I have booked in Port Alberni regarding late arrival check in procedures, to the owner of the art gallery in Penticton that I am hopeful will handle the sale of our artwork, to set up a meeting with her next week, and to a potential purchaser of one of the neighbour's shed items that I have advertised for sale on Kijiji.
This afternoon I prepared the truck for trailer towing, loading all the necessary equipment and supplies. I assembled a pet carrier to use to transport Bear the puppy to Vancouver. I exercised and did annual maintenance on our little generator.
I fertilized our gardens. And most importantly, Joanne and I uncrated and inspected our large tapestry which has been crated and in storage at my sister's for the last thirteen years. It's in perfect condition and as beautiful as ever.
I barbecued chicken to take on our weekend trailer towing and puppy delivery trip. Joanne prepared potato salad to go with the chicken, and she made a large pot of spaghetti and meat sauce for the trip as well. I baked potatoes and barbecued a thick, juicy, marinated steak for supper which we ate while watching Saturday Night Live ; Weekend Update Summer Edition.
This afternoon while working on preparing the truck for trailer towing, loading equipment and supplies, I repeatedly experienced angina while working hard, in the sun, on a very hot day. I kept resting and rehydrating, but eventually it became so severe I had to come indoors, lie down on the bed, and use Nitroglycerin spray, only the second time
I have done so. Yes, yes ... it works ! Quite well, and quite quickly ... leaving a headache afterwards.
Friday ; home to Penticton to Kelowna to home
Sunny and very warm.
We left home at noon and headed to Penticton. First errand was to sell our next door neighbour's baby playpen. KA-CHING ! Mrs. Buyer was pissed off at my delivery charge. HEY ... read the ad more carefully next time ! You don't want to pay my delivery charge to your front door ... drive to my home and buy it !
We shopped at Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree, then left Penticton and headed north on
Hwy. 97 through Summerland and Peachland to Westbank / West Kelowna. Nobody calls Westbank by its "new" name West Kelowna. We had an extremely late lunch or extremely early supper at Swiss Chalet. The service was horrible ! We won't be returning. Swiss Chalet has lost a customer after thirty years, because one bimbo does her job poorly ! AND ... their chickens seem to have shrunk to the size of Cornish game hens ! No problem ... many other establishments will be happy to receive my money.
We refilled with diesel at Superstore Fuel Bar then went into Superstore to complete our weekly grocery shopping ... which had been started at Wal-Mart in Penticton. From there we drove into Kelowna ... ( I hate Kelowna ! ) ... and arrived at our trailer towing client's home half an hour early, at 5:30 PM. Good thing we were a bit early. The trailer pick up was a bit more complicated and took a bit longer than expected. We left the client's home at 7 PM, drove through Kelowna back to Hwy. 97, south through Westbank, Peachland, Summerland, and Penticton, returning to Keremeos on Hwy. 3A, then to Riverside RV Park Resort on Hwy. 3. It was dark before 9 PM. We arrived home around 9:30 PM, had a light, late supper or bedtime snack, then finished preparing for departure tomorrow morning. Joanne prepared meals to go, I packed clothes, medications, and toiletries.
Saturday ; home to Vancouver, ferry to Vancouver Island, Nanaimo to Port Alberni
Sunny and very warm.
This morning as Joanne took Bo over to Jeanine's to be "dog sat" for a few days,
I drove into town ( Keremeos ) in the minivan to pick up Bear the 7½ week old Australian Shepherd puppy. At 10 AM I picked Bear up at the restaurant in town owned by his < cough > breeder, then returned home with him. We loaded him into the truck, with the client's large trailer attached, and off we went, headed west on Hwy. 3 towards Vancouver. We left home at 10:30 AM. Emma will be spending two days in our house by herself, with lots of food and water, and multiple litter boxes. Wish us all luck !
The highway from home to Princeton is difficult, curving and hilly. The road from Princeton to Hope is even more so ! About an hour and half after leaving, Bear became ill and vomited ( a lot ! ) in the pet carrier. HMPH ! Maybe ... just maybe ... he should have had food withheld for twelve or more hours before travelling ? ! ? Especially since this was his first time in a vehicle ? ! ? < fume >
We stopped at Flying J in Hope at about 1 PM. We tried ... unsuccessfully ... to walk Bear. HMPH ! He had never been on a leash before. You'd think that maybe ... just maybe ... oh, never mind ! We had lunch, refilled with diesel, and were back on the road by 2 PM. From Hope we travelled west on Trans-Canada Hwy. 1 to the Lower Mainland / Vancouver area. We got onto the beginning of Hwy. 17 / South Fraser Perimeter Road and followed it to its end at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Just before we reached the shopping mall where we were delivering him, Bear was very ill again.
< sigh >
Just a few miles before reaching the ferry terminal we stopped at Tsawwassen Mills Mall, an extremely large shopping mall, with an extremely large parking lot, to deliver Bear to his new owner / family. The female buyer of Bear, and her teenage daughter were already at the mall, eagerly awaiting our arrival with their new family member. They were thrilled to meet ( and take possession of ) Bear. Thank you very much Rhea, for arranging to meet us at a large shopping mall with a large parking lot, in consideration of the large trailer we were towing. We delivered Bear at 3:45 PM, about fifteen minutes late.
We arrived at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal about 4:30 PM, to wait for our 5:45 PM ferry departure to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. I have written this journal entry so far while on the ferry.
We arrived at the Nanaimo ferry terminal on Vancouver Island on time at 7:45 PM. We drove north on the island's main north / south road, Hwy. 19 to Qualicum, then turned west on Hwy. 4. We arrived at Port Alberni at 9 PM just as it became dark. We checked into the Timberlodge Motel & RV Campground, and ate a very late supper in our room.
WHEW ... tired !
DSK
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