Month: December 2009

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Requiste Maudlin End of the Decade Post

Tonight, I’ve been having flashbacks to this night in 1999 and am boggled by how much life I’ve been able to squeeze into those years. I was a university student then, living in a ‘charming’ studio apartment in Ottawa. Little did I know that by that night a year later I would be living a completely different life in a town I didn’t even know about yet. I did that several times over the past decade; throwing away an old life for a new one in an attempt to find one that would fit and that I could stick with. I think I got it right, finally, in the big upheaval of 2008. 😀

I traveled more than 50,000km over the past decade, crisscrossing the North American continent several times. I moved six times, including the move into Miranda; held eleven jobs, including the positions I’ve taken since hitting the road; and lived in ten places for at least three months, four of them pre-RVing.

While the past decade had me passing many milestones and living through some notable historic events, the defining moment of the decade for me occurred at 11:05AM on February 5, 2007 in Greenfield Park, Quebec when my dad died. We were both prepared and had had long talks in his lucid moments about death and what I was going to do with the rest of my life. RVing wasn’t even on my radar at that point, but big changes were in the making and he gave me his blessing, and the means, to do whatever would make me happy. I dedicate this phase of my life to him.

I don’t do the party thing on New Year’s and I’m working at 10 tomorrow, so I’m having a quiet, reflective, evening at home. I just finished the most amazing dinner I have made in months; my crazy schedule has had me pretty much just snacking throughout the day. Brussels sprouts just happened to be on sale today, so I decided to recreate the ones my friend’s mom made on Christmas, which I shall henceforth call ‘Brussels Sprouts Navidad.’ Behold!

CIMG0001

CIMG0002

I did them exactly the way she did, except that I substituted sunflower seeds for almonds. I thought they would be a lot of work, but they came together very easily and tasted divine. I can’t believe that I thought I liked Brussels sprouts before when I now know that they are supposed to taste like nirvana on a plate.

(my making the Brussels sprouts also goes to show that you can cook the exact same thing in an RV as in a stick house 😀 )

Happy New Year to all my readers!

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Fresh Water Hose Repair/Upgrade

It’s hard to find a good fresh water hose with fittings that won’t give over time. I know there are online sources for ones with brass fittings, but they get you with the shipping. A good way to make a cheap hose last longer is to replace the standard fitting with a brass one.

Project cost: $4-6 depending on prices at your local hardware store

Difficulty: super easy

Materials:

  • one water hose with crappy fittings
  • one 1/2″ female to male brass adapter
  • one 3/4″ pressure fitting (you might be able to find a kit that has both the adapter and the fitting together)
  • a sharp knife
  • a flat head screw driver
  • teflon
  • a rainsuit (optional but useful on a typical day in Campbell River)

Simply cut off the crappy fitting from the fresh water hose. Slip on the pressure fitting. Twist in the brass adapter. Tighten the pressure fitting. Wrap teflon around the male adapter on your water pressure regulator (or the threads on the water outlet if you’re foolish enough to not use a pressure regulator). Screw on the water hose. Turn on the water and check for leaks. Adjust the tightness of the pressure fitting (sometimes you need to loosen, not tighten, to fix leaks).

Total time:  five minutes, not counting running to the hardware store and back

typical fresh water hose fitting

typical fresh water hose fitting

Notice that the fitting is in two parts, which flex. It starts to leak when the two parts have flexed so much as to no longer fit tightly.

Notice that the fitting is in two parts, which flex. It starts to leak when the two parts have flexed so much as to no longer fit tightly.

all-in-one replacement fitting for a garden or fresh water hose

all-in-one replacement fitting for a garden or fresh water hose

teflon wrapped around the water pressure regulator threads

teflon wrapped around the water pressure regulator threads

old fitting removed, pressure fitting added

old fitting removed, pressure fitting added

end result; no leaks!

end result; no leaks!

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Still Making Pizza

I do cook other things besides pizza (really!), but I have to say it’s my new favourite thing to make now. From start to finish, I can whip up a tasty pizza in less time than it would take to call for take out, and a fraction of the cost. The extra counterspace makes suuuuch a difference in the prep!

The covered bowl holds a water/yeast/sugar mixture, the little bowl was about to hold those scrumptious onions, all the ingredients for the dough were out, and I STILL HAD SPACE LEFT!!!

The covered bowl holds a water/yeast/sugar mixture, the little bowl was about to hold those scrumptious onions, all the ingredients for the dough were out, and I STILL HAD SPACE LEFT!!!

Crust, tomato sauce, roasted red peppers, sautéd onions, garlic cheese 'cream' sauce, grated cheddar

Crust, tomato sauce, roasted red peppers, sautéd onions, garlic cheese ‘cream’ sauce, grated cheddar

yuuuuuuuuuuummy

yuuuuuuuuuuummy

This time, I put a bit too much oil in the crust by accident, so I had to add extra flour to compensate. The result was more of a biscuit than a traditional pizza crust. It was awesome! I wouldn’t want it every time I have pizza, but for tonight it was a nice change. I also didn’t have any stretchy mozzarella, which is normally a pizza-must, but, again, tonight’s cheddary topping was perfect.

I’m all out of fireweed ale, so I had white wine with dinner. It was a great pairing.

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Up in Arms About Border Crossings

There is a thread going on right now on an RVing forum about bringing handguns into Canada.

Handguns aren’t permitted, it’s as simple as that. Many members of the forum apparently travel with handguns and were quick to link to Canadian legislation on the topic. There were a lot of ignorant responses like ‘Canadians aren’t allowed to protect themselves’ (actually, we have at least as many firearms per capita as do Americans, only in the form of rifles) and ‘there’s nothing worth seeing in Canada anyway’ (your loss).

I’ve never understood the American zealousness towards their handguns, but I will say that I’ve been equally motivated lately to not enter the United States, especially by air. Frankly, I find it insulting that I would have to be patted down, never mind how I feel about having to check my laptop.

During my brief stint in the intelligence field my suspicions were confirmed: the ridiculous airline security policies put in place since 9/11 only exist to put the mind of travelers at ease. Yes, they do scare off the less serious criminals, but they won’t trap those who are truly motivated. Case in point, the Christmas-day 2009 attempt.

I’ve been working hard at putting together a plan that might enable me to spend at least part of next winter in the southern US seeing as my Canadian snowbirding options have all been explored. But with the amount of suspicion between both countries and the uncertainty at the border, I’m loathe to make any firm decisions.

So much for the longest undefended border in the world.

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Siren’s Call

I remember staying at a friend’s apartment in San Francisco’s Russian Hill and being unable to sleep because of the fog horns. Tonight is my first foggy night in Campbell River and a fog horn has been going off every few minutes. It’s very loud and it’s irritating the cats, but I’m hardly bothered by it and know it won’t stop me from getting a good night’s sleep.

RVing has really enabled me to block out and even sleep through noises and lights that I never used to be able to before. I’ve stayed in such a variety of locations, from loud and brightly lit Walmarts to pitch black quiet highway turnouts. I find it amazing that I’ve been able to adapt to such a variety of circumstances, but am still unable to become a morning person!