Author: Rae

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Miranda’s Safety Inspection

Hammond: How did it go, Colonel?
Teal’c: It did not go well, General Hammond.
O’Neill: Ya think?

I got in with Miranda about 45 minutes ago. It was a VERY long morning. I was up at at ’em by the ridiculous hour of 5:30 (had a good sleep, though). By the time I had coffee made, my emails were checked, and the rig was repacked, it was about 7:30. A knock came from the owner who wanted me to move to a different location. I did that then hung out for another half our or so, going inside around 8:15.

It’s a good thing I had my iPad and internet as I didn’t get out of there until about 12:30.

Miranda failed her safety inspection.

First, the ‘good’ news:

The first failed items were ridiculous, like not having a hazard kit in the cab (I keep one in the truck) and having broken lenses (from the hail storm). The most idiotic reason for failing was that the windshield wipers don’t spray high enough! They have always sprayed to that height and it’s plenty. I can’t wait to see how much it’ll cost to modify that! *rolls eyes*

The not so bad news:

She needs two tires to pass and I think that will bring me to all recent tires, which would buy me time to get her reshoed properly. So the tires aren’t really the huge issue I expected them to be. I’m going to see if I can talk them into putting on good used ones.

The bad news:

She needs an alignment and the suspension needs what sounds like major work.

I am waiting on an estimate before saying anything more about how this may or may not affect my winter plans.

I’m glad I had the inspection done and do not resent the bulk of the findings. Once I get the repairs done, Miranda will be in great shape and will likely drive a hell of a lot of better. I’ll have peace of mind that she’s mechanically sound and will be able to focus on some of the house items that need attention.

That’s all I have to say about that at this time.

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A Very Full Day

Miranda, Neelix, and I are parked at Integra Tire in Assiniboia since Miranda’s out of province safety inspection is first thing tomorrow morning.

The day was quite a rush. I awoke to find more transcription in my in box than I had told my client I was available for. I touched base with him and he told me to do what I could. Thankfully, the job wound up being very easy, but it still ate up my morning and the latter part of the afternoon.

I headed to C&C’s at 1:00 to continue helping with the roof trusses (we’re building them ourselves). I helped yesterday, too, and got fed dinner for a second night in a row! We had roast beef and I LIKED IT!!! I’m turning into a real prairie gal! Today, I only put in about two hours.

When I got in around 3:30, I dumped, filled the fresh water holding tank, and finished squaring away the exterior.

I came in and continued to transcribe until another client requested a Skype meeting that took a half hour. Skype works great at Haven, by the way.

I wrapped up the transcription after that, finishing at just shy of 6:00. I got the inside all packed and pulled out just passed 6:00.

It was sloooooooow going on the road out, being that the pavement is in horrible shape, but I made good time once I hit highway 2.

My on board propane tank was just about empty, so I stopped at the Co-Op to fill up. I’ll get gas tomorrow when I have a better idea of my budget.

Integra was just a block up the street and the lot was empty, so I parked on a big almost level slab. There’s an outlet right there, so I plugged in to give my batteries a good soak.

By the time that was all done, it was about 7:30 and I was beyond ravenous. I hiked the few blocks to Andy’s restaurant and they were still open. There weren’t that many food choices at that hour, but everything was still fresh and I was even asked if I wanted such and such a dish or not. I was fine with what was there. I can’t believe the buffet is just $9.75!

I am incredibly stressed about the inspection and glad I held firm to my plan of spending the night here. I just know I’ll sleep better being on site.

I have to get on the roof in the morning. When I got propane, I noticed that I dragged what looks half a tree with me! I need to get some of my branches trimmed back. 🙂

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Walled In

Today’s weather was downright cool and perfect for doing more construction at C&C’s. I contributed one of my drills and a pair of sawhorses so that we could get the exterior plywood cladding up on the first half of the addition. We’re hoping to have the roof on within the week. It’s so exciting to be a part of this!

It’s so nice to be able to spend at least part the weekend outside working hard building something that will most likely outlive me. I can already imagine the number of evenings I am going to sit in that new living room enjoying a glass of home brewed white wine remembering how much fun we all had building the space.

I had a dinner planned for when I got in, but Caroline insisted on throwing together dinner and Laura always has a pie in her freezer so we all ate together. We also averaged 1 bottle of wine each. I think I only had two, maybe three, glasses total, but I suspect Charles might have topped up my glass a few times when I wasn’t looking … 🙂

I might be off the hook for construction tomorrow, which is fine since I need to finish prepping the exterior of the rig for pulling out Monday. It might be good to remember that my house has wheels!

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Applying for Saskatchewan Health Coverage

Since each province administers its own health care plan, applying for said plan varies immensely. Quebec has been the most onerous, Alberta the easiest.

Applying for Saskatchewan health coverage meant having to sign up for a Saskatchewan health online account and filling out an application, which included needing scanned PDF copies of a few of the same documents that I gave to SGI; passport, driver’s license (only this time SK, not AB), and water bill.

And then the waiting began. I applied on Tuesday. Today, two days later, I got an email from SK health updating me on the status of my application. Since a picture is worth a thousand words:

health cardIn case you can’t read that, my status is ELIGIBLE. 🙂 I only just got into iffy territory with the Alberta card so this is excellent news!

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Famous Last Words

Back in 2011, I said in an interview for the Vancouver Sun, “I don’t see myself ever going back to living in one place again.”

To some extent, that is still true. But in 2011, I had no idea that a place like Haven was even a possibility for me. My nest egg had grown too small to expect to be able to buy property, at least in the world that I knew. Accruing more debt to by land just wasn’t an option. I had no idea that within two years I would have seen enough of Canada to know for certain where in this country I’d be willing to put down some roots, much less that this location would enable me to own my property outright.

And that’s what’s changed everything for me. This land is mine. In exchange for very low annual property taxes, I have the security of knowing that I could travel the world for years, never setting foot in Canada in all that time, and still have a place to land when I grow weary of wandering.

With this property, I get another amazing luxury, the freedom to develop as I wish, without interference by building inspectors or local ordinances. I can build a small off the grid structure at my own pace, as funds and materials and labour present themselves, and know that I’ll be left alone to do it.

In 2011, I couldn’t fathom a future that included a paid-for stick house, even in the far off future. Now, that is almost a certainty. I might never live in that house, but knowing it is there just in case is even better than money in the bank.

I used to have two dreams for my life, that of the globetrotting nomad and that of the sedentary homesteader. I thought that RVing was the perfect compromise to both those dreams. I had no idea that it would be the key to fulfilling both of them because it enabled me to travel all over Canada until I found the most travel-friendly province in which to establish residency.

What was becoming clear in 2011 was how difficult it would be to be a true full-timer for any great length of time in Canada. I knew that one day all the lies and half-truths I had to tell to maintain my driving and health care privileges would catch up to me and that there would be hell to pay.

That burden grew heavier as the months marched on until the weight of it was unbearable. When I had the blowouts this spring that caused a lot of damage more than one person said I should go to my insurance company. I’ll say now what I couldn’t say then; I strongly suspected that I would have trouble with the claim having been out of Alberta for a full year by that time. I absolutely had to keep flying under the radar.

This morning, my life as a full-timer took a twist. I’m still bound by the six-month rule to maintain my health coverage, but that rule isn’t so onerous because I will be returning to a place I love that was of my own choosing and where I am a burden to no one. I’ve wandered enough in this country to be content with having a set summer camp.

But my driving privileges are finally unfettered. I can go south for the winter and even for trips outside the province with my truck during the summer without any problems. The government knows what I’m up to and considers that fine and dandy. I don’t even have to pay a supplement for the privilege.

All that to say that, for the cost of a $3 lamp (plus $9 to install it), my truck sailed through her out of province safety inspection this morning. An hour after pulling out of the shop, and thanks to my huge pile of well-organized paperwork and a not insignificant sum of money, I became a Saskatchewan resident.

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I’ve applied for my Saskatchewan health card and as long as all the paperwork is in order, I should have coverage here at the end of next month.

Next hurdle, Miranda’s out of province safety inspection. If the list for a motorhome is similar to that for a light vehicle, my only real concern is about her frame being bent from the accident and her possibly being out of alignment. I already know she’s missing a couple of fuses as the horn and radio don’t work. I’m thinking of rescheduling for the following week as I’ll have more funds then. I’ve gained permission from the shop to pull in after dinner the night before the inspection and sleep on site to save myself a crazy early morning.

I can’t wait for Miranda’s legal stuff to be squared away so I can start firming up my winter plans.

Is it too early to toast my officially becoming a resident of this gorgeous land of living skies? 😀