NEARLY FINISHED THE SHED

 Mitzy says Hi

 Steller's Jay

Jacquie called me one morning to come look out the window at all the Grosbeaks 

Kevin and I put in some pretty long days working on our new storage shed and we are finished except for the final trim.  Aileen and I started moving stuff in yesterday with Bev’s help.  We are sorting harder as we take stuff out of the old storage complex and gathering stuff for a garage sale this Saturday.  Our old storage was 12x16 feet and our new one is 10x16.  We want to have more space around things so since our last shed was stuffed to the ceiling, we need to purge more.

We’ve been having quite a bit of wet weather so the mud at our construction site has been a challenge.  On the other hand, the sun came out a couple of days and roasted us.  I have to say it has been an interesting experience as I thought I was done with any type of constructing.  Working with Kevin was fun too as he has different ideas on some techniques and he has a laid back approach.  Of course it was great to have him there to do the more difficult jobs.  His helper worked with us the day we did the roof shingles so I didn’t have to get up on the roof at all which was just fine with me; it isn’t a very big roof.

We drove down to Summerland a few days ago and picked up our new bedroom window.  Jim said he would help install it tomorrow morning.  Aileen went to the optometrist this morning and her eyesight has improved quite a bit.  In fact, so much that she needed a new prescription.  She said her vision was getting blurry and was thinking it was deteriorating so was pleased to hear the verdict this morning.

We keep waiting to get evicted from here as Jim has a contractor slated to arrive any day to start leveling the property so there won’t be a spot to park until he is finished.  We plan on moving into town

Thursday morning as Aileen had an appointment early Friday and we have arranged to have two more batteries added to the motor home, also on Friday morning.  That way we will be close to where we are having the yard sale Saturday morning.   Once again, when we move on down the road we are going to need a holiday!

WE’RE BUILDING A STORAGE SHED

 Balsam Root covers the hillsides in the semi desert dry belt north of Vernon, BC

 Looking down the Balmoral Valley toward Mt Ida and Salmon Arm.  This is less than two miles from where we are parked at Little White Lake

Our new storage shed under construction

Life continues to roar along for us with hardly a break it seems.  We have started building our storage shed with much help from son in law Kevin.  To get loose from the ongoing monthly storage fee, we made the decision to build a shed in Bev and Kevin’s back yard.  Kevin used his excavator to level a spot for it and that was fine the first two days but then it rained.  It turned into a mud bog quickly so yesterday was not a fun day with the mud balling up on our boots and creating lots of slip.  I’ve been using the air nailer, cut off saw, radial arm saw, table saw, cordless drills and the hand held jig type saw.  Lots of toys to play with. I decided to hold off on work today since the forecast is for much drier and warmer for the next few days.  I did go and buy roofing materials this afternoon.  Those bundles of asphalt shingles sure are a lot heavier than they used to be (back when I was younger!).

The weather sure has left a lot to be desired here.  We seem to get one decent day followed by blah or rainy days.  We didn’t even make 11C (52F) today but the forecast says 26C on Saturday.  It rained all night and this morning there is snow on many of the local mountains.  The road restrictions are still on which is far later than normal.  Many of the blogs I read have comments about how late Spring is in many parts of Canada and the USA. 

Sunview Windows in Summerland called today and said our new bedroom window is ready for pickup.  That’s a few days ahead of what they quoted.  We’ll have to try and slip down soon to get it as the cross ventilation it will provide will be nice when the temperatures warm up.  I will have a go at installing the window myself.  We still haven’t solved our oven issue but I do have a new oven control here to install which we hope solves the problem of why the pilot light won’t stay on.

Aileen’s back is still giving her trouble but slowly improving.  We hope she gets back to normal soon.   I’m having to think about my back when working on projects, too as it is easy to overdo things.  I have just about finished waxing the whole motor home which is a rather large venture.  Jim has ordered a gallon of ProtectAll which he used on his motor home and it goes on much faster since you don’t have the white film to wipe off after it dries.  He has offered to split the gallon with me.  I just have to come up with a spray bottle.   I’ve enjoyed several soaks in the hot tub but was in for a shock last night when I jumped in.  Kevin had turned off the breaker two days ago and forgotten to turn it back on so the water was far from warm.  I had lots of sore spots so was really looking forward to soaking.   I had to make do with a long shower but it’s just not the same as a whole body immersion. 

The pets both had a visit with the vet the other day.  Neither one thinks much of that but if they wish to live with us and go south then they need to keep their shots up.  Mitzy has lost half a pound since going off junk food.  Our daughter Bev, who is a groomer, and the vet have both said the junk food is very harmful.  Sophie the cat is still a fat cat but only gained .1kg since her last visit.  Mitzy needs to chase her around the motor home more.

Our internet is still very frustrating.  I had the air card into the Telus store the other day and she did an upgrade or two but it made no difference to our reception.  I think we will have to try getting an antenna and amplifier if I can find a cable for our air card.  Telus sells the air card but not the cable for it.

CLASSIC CARS AND DANDELIONS

 A flashy looking old Cadillac

 Did you guess an early TBird?  The view through the porthole

 1955 Chrysler Windsor

 I took these pictures this morning while Aileen was at church

I thought the first image was a little soft in the yellow so I added the poster edges filter

We’ve been back at White Lake several days and life is still rolling by at a fast rate.  We seem to be going to town nearly every day for one thing or another.  Nothing further happening to the property here since the road restrictions are still on and they can’t bring the excavator until that’s over.  We did fall a few more trees beside the house, that were right on the property line and Jim and I had a good fire getting rid of the debris.  Aileen was unable to come out and help as her back spasms are still continuing.  They are becoming a little more manageable but still very painful. 

Kevin and I have been making plans to build our storage shed in their backyard and I think we finally have nailed our plan down.  It will be fairly close to the size we currently have rented so we won’t have to dispose of as much as we were thinking we might, to make it more manageable.  We want the ability to sort through our belongings on an ongoing basis rather than having to do it all at once.

We saw several classic cars drive by this morning and since it was Mother’s Day, I guessed there was an event at the community center.  When I wandered that way after breakfast, I found it was the 30^th annual volunteer firemen’s pancake breakfast.  I grabbed a few shots of some of the cars but the location was lacking and the backgrounds were generally awful.  However, it was enjoyable looking the old cars over.  I met two of the guys I used to work with and caught up a bit on what they’ve been doing.  One retired recently but the other is still working.

I spent most of Monday morning washing the motor home.  It looks very nice.  I washed the car too but it already is dirty as I went to town and ran into heavy showers both going and returning.  I replaced the thermocouple in the oven but it didn’t fix the problem.  The oven was never used by the previous owner and I doubt we have used it six times but it won’t light.  I will try replacing the control next.  If that doesn’t fix it, I guess the extended warranty will pay for a visit to the shop. 

On Friday night Clarence and Grace, friends of Jacquie and Jim came by and the six of us played SkipBo.  The ladies won all four games shutting us guys out.  Tonight the four of us taught Maurice and Dian, my cousin Jeff’s inlaws, how to play SkipBo.  The six off us usually play Mexican Train which we haven’t played for several weeks now.

Yesterday I took Aileen to Kim’s (a lady Aileen has known for years) surprise birthday party.  She turned 45.  Aileen had good visit with several old friends.  I went to my Aunt Eleanor’s (and Ron) and showed Dad’s tribute video which they enjoyed.  I used my new HDMI cable to connect to their TV and it worked very well.  I showed various other pictures until Aileen called.  It turned out the party was running late since Kim decided to go for coffee even though no one else would go with her; it turned out they were all going to her place as a surprise, of course.  I did a couple errands and was going to sit and read in the car but got spotted and invited in.  I didn’t have any cake since both were chocolate but I did have some meat along with a few chips.  We had supper with Bev and Kev last night.  It was the Mother’s Day get together, I think.  Aileen had done a roast in the crockpot which we took half cooked and plugged in at Bev’s about noon.  Aileen used the tub and I soaked in the hot tub again. I had been earlier in the week to sit in the hot tub to help my sore joints.

We continue to get un Spring like weather for the most part although it got quite nice this afternoon.  We’ve had quite a bit of rain this week again.  The problem with these late Springs it that when it finally gets warm, it gets hot so fast you don’t get to acclimatize to it.  It’s looking like we will be remaining in this area for at least another month.  We will probably head back to Vancouver Island when we leave here.

OFF TO PENTICTON IN THE MOTOR HOME

 There are many vineyards in the Naramata area

 I found this vine covered shed to be interesting

 Some local artwork above Okanangan Lake

 Naramata is on the point of land, Penticton is beyond at the far end of the lake 

 At the 4000 foot level of Chute Lake Spring is late

 An old GMC work truck

One of the many wineries in the area

We have been keeping busy with burning debris etc at Jacquie and Jim’s.   We seem to have to make a trip to town most days which eats up lots of time.  I’ve made use of Bev and Kev’s hot tub a couple times and that sure feels nice.

We went to Penticton as planned on Thursday.  We had to stop in Salmon Arm to dump the holding tanks first and pick up a few last minute grocery items.   We only made it as far as Vernon when we got hungry so stopped for an early lunch at the visitors welcome sign.  Since it was such a raw day, soup went down well.

We stopped at Sunview Windows in Summerland and had them measure up a replacement window for the bedroom.  We need a window that opens to provide cross ventilation.  I had removed the valance and trim so he was able to make accurate measurements.  The window will be ready in about three weeks.

We managed to find our way to Karen and George’s driveway in Penticton; we were last here in late September 2010 so it was still reasonably familiar.  They had removed some large Ponderosa Pines which had become infected by the pine beetle so the driveway was a little easier to back in this time.  I had to do some major pruning last time.  We weren’t even setup yet when our good friends Bev and Carole came over so they sat and watched the process.   They stayed for supper and shared a wonderful lentil stew our daughter Bev, had prepared.  Everyone agreed it was very good!

On Friday night, Aileen cooked stir fries.  Carole and Bev with Bev’s mother Pearl joined us.  Pearl is well into her 80’s and a real character.  I showed pictures from our trip south last year and she was very interested.  Rather than just putting the show on auto play, I showed it manually and we were able to visit and discuss our way through.  It was much more interesting that way. 

On Saturday we had our photo council meeting.  We had a good turnout and some very good energy and ideas shared.  Of course, the potluck lunch was excellent, as always.   Later in the afternoon, Aileen began having severe back spasms.  These are not fun.  The only thing that seemed to help was heat.  We had planned on going out for supper with Bev and Carole but when we went to go in the restaurant chosen, found a large number of people waiting to be seated.  Not for us so we all went home.  Aileen went back to bed and I cooked myself bacon and eggs.  Aileen got up later for a bit of supper.

Bev had to go to a training session today as she is working at a couple of seniors polls tomorrow for the federal election.  Aileen decided she was okay on her own so Carole and I went off with our cameras for a few hours of photography.  We went to Naramata then up to Chute Lake where it was still snowy.   We had some fine weather and we both were shooting for HDR.   We were able to sit outside on folding chairs to have our lunch with a great view across Okanagan Lake to Summerland.  

Aileen was sitting outside with Karen when I returned home which was a good sign.  She and Bev had decided supper was at the girls’ apartment so I worked on today’s images until time to go eat.  Carole and I played around with our images for a bit after supper.  Carole has the software to do HDR but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

Tomorrow we intend to make our way back to White Lake.  The forecast doesn’t look very nice though as we are expected to have periods of rain beginning by noon.   I read April was third coldest in 75 years so hopefully May will improve.   

FINALLY IT’S SPRING IN THE SHUSWAP

Here are two images from White Sands that I have converted to black and white.  The colour versions were in the blog late last October.

It was a beautiful Spring day here with the temperature in the high teens (close to 70F).  We’ve been working our way through our list of things to do while we are in the Salmon Area.  Income tax is over and done for another year and we had to pay extra again.  With getting my old age pension for December this year but having an age credit for the whole year, I think perhaps they will owe us money next Spring.   Aileen has had her annual dentist visit but has to return on Tuesday for a filling.  Mitzy visited the vet for a shot and she and the cat both need to go for shots in mid May.  We also did some more major burning for Jacquie and Jim.  I fell several trees and cut them up into firewood lengths to give to a neighbour.  Aileen helped with falling some of them when I attached a long rope from the tree to a stump in the desired direction of fall.  Then I hooked another rope to the center of the first rope so Aileen could pull from the side to be well in the clear.  It also gave her more leverage.  One of the trees was close to one hundred feet tall.  Needless to say, I had some sore spots from all the chain sawing.  In fact we’ve both had some sore spots.

Aileen has managed to visit some of her friends and we had supper with our friends, the Havilands.  We had takeout Thai food at Bev’s for her birthday.  We had a good evening with her and Kevin.  I’ve managed a couple visits to their hot tub which certainly helps when I have sore muscles and joints.

The latest project has been trying to decide what to do about our stuff in storage.  I have investigated steel storage containers but the advertising doesn’t match the reality when you go and look at what is available.   Advertised as high end used turned out to be rusty and smelly.  The metal and plastic sheds just don’t look up to the job of protecting our belongings through adverse weather.  I have found a kit with precut wood that looks promising.  I haven’t fully costed it to see how much cheaper it would be to build from scratch but my tools are all buried somewhere in our current storage.  I don’t know if I could find them without emptying the whole locker.  We need to make a decision soon on which direction to go.  My aunt Eleanor has offered us to use their garage for their annual block garage sale on May 28 so we would want the new shed up and done before that so things could be sorted. 

We are moving camp down to Penticton this Thursday, I think.  We have another photo council meeting and we want to visit our friends in that area.  I think we’ll be gone three or four nights then it will be back here to get busy with what we have decided on the storage issue.  Bev and Kev have offered their backyard for the location of our shed as have Jacquie and Jim.  Another decision to make.

I spent part of an afternoon helping our friend Bill transfer pictures of his recent trip to Israel from one folder to another.  It was a learning experience for me too as he was using a program I was unfamiliar with.  We had to go to town to dump the motor home tanks last Tuesday and spent much of the day in town doing various errands.  I met my old (he’s six months older than me!) friend Dick in the mall and brought him out to visit with Aileen.  He was the personnel and safety officer at the mill and he and I worked together on safety for many years.  It was interesting to hear what he and Sandy have done since his retirement.  They had what sounded like a fabulous two and a half month trip to southeast Asia this past winter. 

We went to Caouette’s with Jordan’s one night for Mexican Train and introduced Jacquie and Jim to SkipBo another night.  They had read on the blog about us always playing SkipBo and when they came across a set, bought it.

I’ve been puttering away on my pictures from the trip south and have named quite a few with their location.  I have also selected 142 images as being representative of our trip down last fall to put together in a show and have edited them all.  Next, I must make my final selection and try to reduce the number that make the cut so the show isn’t so long that the viewers start dropping off to sleep.  The last thing will be to use my slide show software to add music and some titles.

We are still struggling with weak internet reception and I haven’t found a cheap enough solution yet.  One option I looked at was an antenna and amplifier which is about $400.  I have been getting messages from my provider (Telus) saying my volume limit is almost reached then that I had reached it and would incur extra charges if I continued to use it.  Surprisingly, Aileen didn’t get those messages when she was using the air card.  When I went online and checked my usage on their site, I was at .68GB and my package gives me 1GB.  I upped my package to 2GB but still get the same message.  We still have a year left on our contract and I don’t know what we will do after that but I’m pretty sure Telus won’t be part of it.  They charged us over $75 per month for the five months we were out of the country and not using any of their service.  They used to allow vacation shut off (when we took out the three year air card contract) but discontinued that a couple years ago.  For two cell phones which we own (no contract but we have to keep basic service to keep the same numbers), one at the most basic plan and one slightly higher and 2GB for the aircard is costing nearly $200 per month.  There has to be a better solution somewhere out there.  Perhaps we will stumble across it one day.  I managed to talk with James, a Telus employee, this afternoon and he was at a loss to explain my issue.

It’s been interesting following other blogs.  Some people have stayed down south later and are experiencing hotter than normal temperatures while others have been running into severe winter conditions way past normal times.  We were snowed on here a couple times last week but nothing like some I have read about. 

OFF THE ISLAND AND BURNING AGAIN!

A couple more pics from Chesterman Beach, this lady is Goin' Surfin' 

Monday morning was very nice with sun and warm, a nice change after the heavy rain on Sunday.  We pulled out of Chas’ at 10:30 then sat at the Duke Point terminal til catching the 12:45 boat.  We saved $43.70 by unhooking the car and driving it on separately – bloody ridiculous!  I figure I made $157 an hour as it only takes about ten minutes to unhook and rehook the car.

We dumped the tanks at the rest area past Chilliwack and Mitzy had her supper there.  We had pretty nice weather until almost Hope where it was 6C and raining with some sleet mixed in.  We went to our regular campsite only to find it closed.  Holiday Trails is taking over management for the city and they are doing some renos and plan to be open for Easter.  We backtracked a few kms to a Good Sam park, Hope Valley Campground.  It was raining well when we set up which only consisted of putting blocks under the jacks and plugging in to power.  Bev and Mitzy got wet on their walk before coming inside.

Aileen cooked us stirfries rather than going into town to try our luck at a restaurant.  We played two games of SkipBo, one for Bev and one for me.  Aileen and I went for showers, which weren’t far across the yard.  Lots of hot water but it took quite awhile to get it hot.

We had a fairly leisurely start to the day Tuesday.  It dawned reasonably nice so Bev took Mitzy for a walk and I took her later again.  We hit the road about 9:30 and stopped in Yale for propane.   We stopped at the rest area a little before Ashcroft for lunch at 11:50.  After about ½ hour we were on the road again and got to Jordan’s at White Lake sometime after 3 pm.  We parked on their lower road and got level very easily then dragged the patio board closer and made a more level path alongside the motor home past the only remaining snow bank.

After puttering about setting things up and reorganizing the basement, we took Bev home.  We stopped at DeMilles for Bev to get a few groceries.  I went to Bev’s mailbox then visited Kevin a few minutes before leaving.  We went to Boston Pizza for supper.  They now have gluten free pizza crust so we had two 8 inch with all different toppings then shared them.  We couldn’t decide which we liked better as they were both good.  I gave the car a dollar wash before heading home.  I sorted the mail, of which there didn’t seem to be much.

We were up early Wednesday, Aileen with her 6:30 alarm and me a little later.  I decided to go to town with her to pick up the truck.  Bev took Mitzy with her to bath and groom then Aileen picked her up later.  Aileen went to the lab, found it way too busy so went for a walk and let the rush get over.

I washed the filthy truck then went out to talk to the guy at the storage place where I got prices on smaller units.  I did a bit of grocery shopping at SaveOn then Safeway and finally at DeMilles on the way home.  I took our tax stuff to be processed. I was back to home about 11:30 and looked through some of the mail until Aileen came along just after 12 and we had lunch.   She had a good nap in the afternoon.  I filled out my old age pension application.  I find it hard to believe I’m old enough to be doing that.

We went for a walk up the road last night after supper but not too far, as the rain was coming from the south.  We aren’t having much success with the aircard here so much less time is being spent on the computers.  We played Mexican Train last night and Aileen went out 7 times before I did for my first time and she ended up with only 75 points to my 235.

We lay abed until nearly eight this morning then I got up to take Mitzy for her walk.  We left her home when we went to town this morning as she is complaining about the cool weather with her new haircut.   We made a quick stop at storage then picked up some parts for Jim at Rona.  Next was Windmill Meats then the vitamin store.  We filled up the car then went to the library for a book they didn’t have in the system.  We also found our favourite pancake mix at the health food store in the mall.  It’s made by Kinnikinnick out of Edmonton.

When we got home this morning, Aileen decided we should fire up Jim’s burn piles.  He provided us with a Tiger Torch which made it much easier to get the wet, loosely piled piles going.  All three piles are just a memory now.

CELEBRATIONS ARE OVER

The deep snow 

Yesterday was my Dad’s celebration of life and it went very well.  We got to see friends and relatives from far and wide and everything went according to plan.  I had spent some time over the past couple weeks selecting pictures.  I put up about 160 pictures on eight boards and people enjoyed reminiscing over them.  My brother Sam and I put together the tribute brochure.  Several people gave remembrances of Dad, some brought tears and others were very funny.  Our daughter came from Salmon Arm by bus on Friday and our son and granddaughter came by bus from Victoria Saturday morning.  Bev will ride back to Salmon Arm with us in the motor home and I will drive Richard and Georgia to Victoria this afternoon.  We are leaving Vancouver Island tomorrow going to Salmon Arm.  We have to get our income taxes done post haste and so far don’t have any plans other than doctor and dentist appointments.

The celebration for Sheila’s father was very well done by the family and lots of people attended.  One highlight was the local Old Time Fiddlers who came and played.  Al had been a member of the group and a faithful follower for many years.   We did luck out and get to enjoy several meals with Sheila’s family. 

Aileen and I have had several large fires out in the bush cleaning up forest debris.  I got to play on the backhoe several times.  We could burn for only another week but we just can’t spare the time.  I did the first lawn cutting Friday afternoon.  We’ve tried out a few gluten free restaurants with good success.

Beach goers

 Mitzy  in a pensive moment on the beach

We headed over to Long Beach Wednesday morning after breakfast.  Aileen drove to Alberni then I drove the rest of the day.  We found the spot offered us for parking the motorhome in August and the driveway may need some pruning before we can get in without scratching motor home.  The meadow where we are to park is mostly under water so not sure what it would be like if August is wet. 

            We’d eaten our lunch in a parking lot on Chesterman Beach Rd so we went back there after finding the property, for a walk on the beach.  The sun shone nicely while we walked on the sand.  Shortly after heading homeward, within a few kms of the junction there was snow along the road and there had been a serious accident where a small car took out a cement guard rail.  Along Cameron Lake we again found remnants of snow from earlier in the afternoon.   It was amazing how high the snow was piled up along the road at Taylor Arm.  It is just a couple hundred feet above sea level but tucked into the mountains.

The Above are what I call SandArt 

On Thursday, I went with Charlie and Sheila to Nanaimo to help them buy a new computer.  We took the motor home to the dump station after supper so we would have no issues over the weekend with our extra company.