July 19, 2010 by Rae

Cheap(er) Gas in Dawson City

AFD (Alberta Fuel Distribution) has opened up a cardlock station in Dawson’s Callison subdivision. Its prices beat that of the other cardlock station, Mackenzie, by a lot. Today, gas at Mackenzie was 1.33/litre. I paid 1.16/litre at AFD. My 35 litres would have cost me $46.55 at Mackenzie and only cost me $40.60 at AFD, for a savings of $5.95! Imagine if I’d been filling Miranda’s 200L tank!

Since a cardlock station is unmanned, there are a few hoops to go through. At AFD, I had to pull up to the gas pump and then go inside to the control panel. There, I swiped my credit card and had to read several screens worth of safety information. That done, the machine spit out a receipt with a code on it. This code will enable me to by-pass the safety information spiel next time. I then had to reswipe my card to activate the pump then head to the car. There, I put the nozzle in the tank, pulled a button, and fueled up. The pumps are fast! I then shut off the pump, went back inside, swiped my card a third time, and got a receipt (optional step).

The savings definitely made all the hoops worth jumping through!

July 19, 2010 by Rae

Priming the Toilet Room

After I got in with Oz, I was too wired to sit down and work or watch a movie. There were a million more urgent things I could have done, but I decided to start work on decorating the toilet room!

It might seem odd to start with that room, but it’s the only one I can finish in its entirety as I have all the decorating materials I need for it. It is also the smallest and therefore less daunting space, and it will tell me just how many litres of paint the other rooms are going to take.

After removing the curtain and toilet paper holder, I sanded the walls lightly to remove some of their slickness. Then, I primed:

Ew. White is even worse than turquoise-spackled paneling. 😀

I’ll have to live with that ugliness for a few days while the primer (water-based Kilz) sets and then I’ll move on to paint!

Meanwhile, I will fight with fabric and make a new curtain. Should be interesting 🙂

July 19, 2010 by Rae

Down By the Creek With Oz

I haven’t spent nearly enough time with Oz this summer, but his owner’s and my schedule are at odds. So, when I found out that he was being left on the property tonight, I eagerly leashed him up and took him down to Bonanza creek.