Month: May 2016

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Drop-Ins

Six years and a couple of weeks ago in Prince George, BC, road weary and about to embark on the greatest adventure of my life to that point — my first drive up the Alaska Highway — blog reader Les invited me to recoup at his spread just outside of town. A couple of nights ago, he emailed saying he and his wife Linda were driving back to BC from Ontario and did I have room for their Roadtrek?

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After so many weeks and months of parking in other people’s yards, it is so good to finally be able to reciprocate! And to catch up with old friends, of course. Les was an RV tech, so he  drops me the odd note out of the blue if I’m struggling with something.

The three of us caught up over the course of the afternoon. Much beer was consumed. Les had a look at my door and had some suggestions. Like others who have stayed at Haven, he and Linda commented on how idyllic life is in the little hamlet. They met “Charles” and “Laura” and we made note of the other neighbours driving by, jokingly starting a countdown of how many more neighbours they had to meet (not many; our population shrank over the winter!).

Les and I finally had to call it a night around 9:30 as he’d had a very long driving day. Linda had already retired for the night by that point. When I came out this morning at 7:30, they were just ready to pull out so we said our goodbyes and they headed off on what will probably be their second to last leg of the long journey home. It took four nights just to get out of northern Ontario (which is 90 billion kilometres long), so they’re pretty road weary and ready to be home.

I really like this type of hosting, when people bring their house with them and give you beer! 🙂

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A Perfect Saturday At Haven

I awoke early to a pretty cold rig and turned on my mattress warmer, then dozed as my furnace kicked on and started to warm the rig to a more acceptable temperature. I had a warm spot that was just right and so no motivation at all to get up.  I read for ages and eventually got up around 7:30.

Then, I got right to work. I had my first assignment for a new client, so I spent the morning focused on that. Once I was satisfied with the file, I sent it off then went to Willow Bunch to visit the thrift store. There, I picked up good rain boots and a pair of barely used shoes for just $5, totally worth the drive down! I also visited the new food store, getting a really good deal on cereal. I’m glad Willow Bunch has a food store again after the Co-Op shut down the old one.

I got home around three and started to work on some translation for the Willow Bunch Museum (volunteer work) when the phone rang. It was my neighbour Caroline requesting assistance with their new-to-them fiver. I went over and showed them how to light the oven and stove (there had been air in the propane lines), work the fridge, and start the furnace. I’ll help with the water system next week when they dewinterize.

That earned me a glass of wine (okay, I stopped counting at three) and an invitation to stay for dinner! Caroline’s been curing meat, so she needed a test subject for her ham! We had that with apple sauce, Brussels sprouts (complete with a bread crumb topping), corn (complete with feta), and scalloped potatoes with cheese. Yum! Good thing I don’t eat like that every night!

I also got in loads of cuddling with their dog Brutus and one of their cats. I got lots of that yesterday, too, since Caroline and Charles were gone all day and they’d asked me to go in and try to coax Brutus out sometime in the afternoon. He was distraught that his humans were gone and it was only by sitting in a chair in the living room and cuddling with him for a long while that I was able to get him to go out — several hours later. He’s a stereotypical sweet old man stuck in his routine. I just adore him!

Today was also the first sunny day we’ve had since the weather turned on Tuesday. It’s been chilly, but since these are more seasonal temps, I can’t complain.

Perfect days at Haven are mundane and I wouldn’t have them any other way!

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I Can Get A Lot Done in a Morning

It was a cold night, just below freezing. I was grateful to be able to turn on my mattress warmer in the wee hours of the morning. Then, around 6:00, my furnace kicked on (thanks to my programmable thermostat) to warm up the rig to an acceptable temperature when I was finally ready to crawl out of my warm cocoon.

This awaited me outside!

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Notice, it’s just in the shade, but I still had snow on the truck when I left for town around nine.

First stop in town was the RCMP detachment to drop off my victim impact statement. Then, I went to a photography studio to have my passport picture taken. Might as well take advantage of my otherwise unnecessary trip into town and get my passport application sent off! I can’t buy a plane ticket until I have my new passport so this needed to be done ASAP.

I had my paperwork all filled out so I was able to go straight from the studio to the post office. $20 for the picture, $22 to XPress post the application to Canada, and something like $160 for a 10-year passport. Thank goodness we have a 10-year option now!!! And the renewal process is so easy. Nice to see one Government of Canada department improving its efficiency. My passport actually doesn’t expire till next March, so I’m kind of “wasting” nearly a year, but with most countries not granting entry unless your passport is good for at least six months beyond your entry, I would have been limited as to where I could go in Europe and forced to come back by March. Brr!

Then, I made a couple of stops. I went to The Bargain! Shop for household things — hand soap, dish soap, and laundry detergent, as well as to check out the clothes. I’m looking for a particular skirt style for my upcoming travels and they get out of season things from good brands, so it’s worth having a peek every now in then to see if they’re carrying any treasures.

I then went to the Salvation Army to do the same thing and also see if they’d brought their prices back down to more reasonable levels. Almost. Not as good as it used to be, but I would shop there again. They had tons of nice handbags and I caved and bought a gorgeous quilted tote with handy pockets in it. I just can’t resist a unique bag…

Next stop was the grocery store, where spent a whopping $20 on produce — a bag of onions, a bunch of bananas, four pink lady apples, two nectarines, a bag of satsumas, and a red pepper that was almost $3. Wow. The store was really chaotic and dusty as they’re laying down the flooring (tiles), with half the produce at one end of the store and the other half on the other side of the store. Most of the meat aisle was inaccessible. I can’t wait for them to be done, especially since I don’t see any real improvements being made. We didn’t need a shiny new store with new coolers. We needed more space…

Finally, I popped into the bakery for a coffee and bun to go because I was feeling a little faint. The bakery’s a little pricy, but it’s a nice treat now and then.

I got in just before twelve. Now, lunch and then I really need to get to work!

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Tuesday Was Memorable

Life at Haven tends to be rather idyllic. But the break-ins over the winter have really changed the atmosphere here, with doors getting locked even when folks are just wandering around the hamlet. My outbuildings are normally unlocked during the day when I’m here, but now I’m getting used to carrying my keys with me. It’s sad.

I awoke to lots of rain on Tuesday, which has turned to sleet today, Wednesday, a perfect day to power through the bit of work on my plate so that I could focus on looking for more today. I was making good inroads when the phone rang just shy of ten. “No number” came up on the display, but I still answered assuming it might be the RCMP calling me back. It was. I spoke to a kind-sounding constable who asked if he could come right down to Haven to take my statement about my attempted break-in. Yes, of course!

About 40 minutes later, the phone rang again. Wow, twice in one day. That has to be a record. It was Scotiabank doing a “courtesy call,” wanting to know how I like my account (a lot), more about my business, and curious about whether I’d consider changing to them as my main bank (not a chance in hell). It was a pleasant conversation and I didn’t mind answering the questions because most of my products are with CIBC right now and it would be good to have a backup. For example, if Scotiabank were to offer me a a credit card, might as well take it. Also, the woman wasn’t trying to sell me anything or convince me to move to Scotiabank. I was about to tell her I had to cut the conversation short as I was expecting a “visitor,” but, thankfully, she kept the call short.

Minutes after I rang off with her, there came a knock at my door. I checked that it was the constable and let him in. I’ve transcribed I don’t know how many statements over the years, so I knew the drill and he noticed that. He offered me victim counseling services (I’m not traumatised, so let’s leave the stretched thin resources to folks who need them) and to provide a victim impact statement. I accepted that because I knew that absolutely nothing was going to happen regarding my own break-in so I wanted something in her file about how she has destroyed the fabric of our community. The constable discovered he didn’t have the form on him but said he would “pick up” my neighbour and when he came back in a few hours to drop her off, he’d bring a form for me. I could then fill out the form and bring it into the detachment next time I was in town. Well, I hadn’t planned to be in town for a bit, so I’ll be doing a special trip for that as soon as the weather clears. Since I’m going through propane for heating, I’ll pretend it’s a propane filling trip not a “my neighbour sucks and is making me waste gas” trip. 🙂

He was back mid-afternoon and said that she denied everything, including stealing a pallet from my property, for which there was an eye witness. Unfortunately, rain destroyed any chance we might have had for fingerprints, which were a long shot anyway since the way the door is damaged makes it look like it was only touched with a tool. There’s no witness. The constable said that he knows she’s lying and that she did it, but he can’t do anything. He seemed incredibly relieved to be dealing with someone who knows the system and wasn’t expecting a miracle. I said to him that what I wanted to accomplish was done — she knows I won’t take her bullshit lying down. Apparently, she broke into some other neighbours’ places and they forgave her since she’s “sick.” Maybe she thought that would happen with me. Not a chance. The constable did say she is willing to take a polygraph, to his immense surprise. That’s not admissible in court, but sometimes the truth can come out in other ways that are admissible. He was surprised that I knew all of that. What can I say, I’ve transcribed the odd polygraph interview too.

I thanked him for his time and then came in to keep working since an unexpected job for Wednesday came in from a client I normally only work on weekends for.

And then, another email came in that really brightened my day.

There is a transcription firm I’ve wanted to work for since I started doing this five years ago. I had a chance to interview for them around that time and was deemed to need more experience. Just before I left Mexico, they emailed to give me a chance to interview again. Just like that, out of the blue. I did the test and then didn’t hear anything back… until yesterday. Soon as I get through my current workload, I’ll start with this new company on a probationary period. Too soon for exclamation marks, but I’m rather chuffed. They are another firm like an existing client of mine who would have as much work for me as I want as long as I meet their standards. I’ve had a run of bad luck with clients this year and I hope the tide is turning. We’ll see how the month goes with them. I’ll feel more comfortable leaving for Bulgaria if I feel I’m solidly in place with them.

The only progress I’ve made on Bulgaria is I’ve set up a price alert for airfare. Soon as I get something around 800CAD all-in (which I saw come up periodically over the winter) at the end of June or sometime in July, I’m buying a ticket. I haven’t decided yet where I want to settle in Bulgaria, but I’m narrowing it down based on the best places in the country to hike. I’ve been reading a lot about hiking in Bulgaria and am getting really excited about getting there!

So that was my Tuesday at Haven. Wednesday is starting off cold and snowy. Pretty strange after landing in summer weather! But things should start clearing up this afternoon and we’ll be back into the 20s by the weekend.

It’s still good to be home. 😀

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Water Day Is Always Exciting

Looks like the RM maintenance man saw I was home and turned on the water for me! He did that last year, so I checked the hydrant yesterday afternoon and this afternoon in case he did it again. Tonight, I hit the jackpot. Woohoo!

I made a rookie mistake while dewinterizing — I hooked up my hose to the RV without filling it with water first. That meant I got tons of air in my lines, which took forever to bleed. Otherwise, the water tank and heater filling was uneventful. Once both were full, I tested my system for leaks.

The tap in the dressing room is dripping, something I’ve avoided dealing with for a while because I don’t have room to work. It’s always corrected itself, so I hope that will happen again… This leak may explain why I have heaps of pressure in the dressing room and almost none in the kitchen. I haven’t found a leak in the lines, so I’m sure it’s that or that there’s still water in the lines leading to the kitchen. Usage will tell. At least, the shower appears to have good pressure!

Then came the fun part — lighting the water heater. Forget doing so from inside. I went out to the control panel and manually forced ignition. I actually got it to light in two tries, but it wouldn’t stay lit. I made some adjustments to the heat probe spacing and after a few more ignition attempts and corrections, I finally got the thing lit for real! Wow. That water heater is exhausting. The one on Isla wasn’t much more reliable, but being on a manual pilot system, I just had to turn on the gas every afternoon and apply a flame to it to ensure I had hot water for a shower. With Miranda’s decrepit water heater, I never know if I’ll be able to ignite the stupid thing from day to day.

I appreciate the irony that I got my water system going right after doing a huge mountain of dishes by hand, including hauling water and heating it on the stove!