Author: Rae

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Another Day On the Construction Site

I slept in this morning, so I didn’t get to C&C’s until almost 10:00. Charles had already done some work, but Laura hadn’t arrived yet, so the workday was not yet in full swing. Even with a coffee break and then one for lunch, we got a lot of work done, finishing a whole 16′ wide section of floor. C&C and will likely start building walls this week.

The weather was the opposite of yesterday, very hot with a grueling sun. I came in and started not only the genny but the AC!!!

I had a project of my own to do this afternoon. The pipe strap holding up the exhaust on the genny had rusted through and snapped from the vibration of the genny running.

While putting some stuff away in C&C’s shop, I noticed a roll of the stuff on a workbench and asked Caroline for a 1′ section of it. When I got home, I used WD-40 to soak the bolt that held the original strap and had no trouble removing it a mere 10 minutes later. It was then a matter of five minutes to resecure the exhaust pipe.

It’s now almost 6:00 and I’m just about ready to crash for the evening. I’m glad I got a weekend outside as I am expected to be at my desk 8:00 to 4:00 each day for the rest of the month as I am covering for someone. We are expected to get good weather all week (FINALLY) so I will be sneaking away to get more work done on my pile of laundry. I won’t let it win! 🙂

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Tatanka

My current contract means that I have a ‘normal’ life this month. I have to work a full week, regular office hours, and then I get my weekends off (provided no emergency transcription comes in). I don’t really enjoy days off unless I know for sure that I have income coming in ahead of me. So this weekend is a real treat!

After spending so many hours fighting the Windows computer all week, I just wanted to be outside working with my hands. Thankfully, C&C still need tons of help with the construction of their addition, so I’ll be putting in a full weekend on that.

Today, we began to insulate the subfloor, so there was a lot of walking over the floor joists, sort of like hurdling in slow motion. It was rather tedious and exhausting. We broke for an excellent lunch (Caroline is a stellar cook) in early afternoon and then worked till past 6PM, tarping everything against potential rainfall. We got a lot done despite a rain storm late morning.

After work, we headed south to the tiny community of Fife Lake, between Rockglen and Coronach, known for its ‘grill your own’ steak pit. They were having a fundraiser, so for $15 you could get a steak and a bunch of sides.

Charles had mentioned that he usually has a bison steak when he goes there, so having enjoyed a bison burger recently, I asked if I could have a bison steak tonight instead of a beef steak. Yes, for an extra $3. I had no idea if I could even eat a whole bison steak, but I knew that I’d have plenty of other stuff to eat, so I decided to try it out.

The sides were really good, lots of salads, garlic bread, and baked potatoes. I’d ordered my steak (not words I ever expected to write) well done, but it wasn’t quite thawed when it got on the grill so the middle was very rare and not too appetizing. But the edges were a little charred and well cooked and absolutely delicious. I’d say I ate about 75% of the whole thing and that wasn’t because I was forcing myself. I actually enjoyed it! WOW. I’m eating red meat again! First steak in about 20 years!

Caroline suggested we bring the leftovers home for the dog they take care of and went off to get some tin foil. She came back and wrapped hers and Charles’ leftovers. I quickly said, “I’m not done with mine yet!” Caroline laughed and said she wouldn’t take it away from me. Yes, I really did enjoy most of my steak. 🙂

The bison steak was quite a bit bigger than the beef ones, so I got more meat for my money rather than just paying extra for the different meat. I still can’t believe what a good deal dinner was. The beer ware expensive ($4.50 for a bottle of Budweiser, plus a $1 tip), but that’s expected. I just got spoiled by the $1.50 Lonestars in Texas!

I think Fife Lake is one of those places you just have to know about. The town looks derelict and if I had read about their steaks and shown up there, I would have turned around thinking I’d made a mistake. But the hospitality was warm and the food excellent.

I know I won’t want a meal like that regularly, but I bet the next day I work really hard and am craving protein I’ll be thinking bison, not pork or chicken. As someone who struggles with anemia and has been told over and over again to have some red meat once in a while, discovering I like well cooked bison is really good news.

Well, I’m about to fall into a deep fresh air/exercise/beer/steak coma, probably the best kind!

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Now, Where’s That Bathtub?

Armed with more information than I had this morning, I went out to the water heater panel this afternoon, pulled some leads, cleaned, them, and reconnected everything. I now have HOT water again. YAAAAAY.

But a new thermostat and ECO thingamabob are in my future. They are cheap parts that are obviously about to fail, so I might as well switch them out.

(One of my favourite scenes in the movie Penny Serenade is when Roger and Julie’s friend Applejack arrives in California from New York. Their newspaper printing press is jammed and the bathtub is clogged. Applejack barely greets anyone before giving the printing press a kick, which starts it up, and then says, “Now, where’s that bathtub?” He is hailed as a miracle worker.)

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Getting the Ball Rolling

Today was a town day, so I popped into an insurance company to talk about proper insurance for Miranda so I can get started on transferring residency to Saskatchewan.

Aviva doesn’t have an Elite product for Saskatchewan, so I’m at square one for finding a company willing to insure me for living full-time in the rig. The added difficult is that SK has mandatory basic government insurance, so you have to start there then go to a secondary insurer.

I presented myself as a snowbirder who lives in the motorhome and will be parking it during the summer but wanting to keep it street legal and insured properly in case I need to take it for an emergency.

The gal I spoke with made a few calls and got told that I can’t live in my motorhome if I want to be insured by them. I had brought copies of my insurance policies, so she took copies of them and said she would pass them around and try to find someone willing to cobble together an insurance package for me.

That settled (well, not) she said that I am facing ‘additional difficulty.’ She pulled out the list of documents I will need to provide to prove that I am a resident of Saskatchewan and I laughed. This is the first time THAT’S not going to be an issue!

Once I get confirmation that insurance is a go, I will go talk to Kal-Tire about getting my out of province inspections done. I would rather have had those done closer to departure date, but my Alberta insurance runs out at the end of the month, so it would make sense to get this buttoned up before then. If I can get SK insurance, they will NOT insure Miranda if the OOPI and plate transfer from AB haven’t been done.

If I cannot get SK insurance, then I’m going into stealth mode. But it’s been my experience that with money, absolutely anything is possible. We shall see.

My Albert insurance dropped a whopping $250 between both policies this year. Nice to know I didn’t get penalized for a not at fault accident!

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Water Heater Gremlins Are Back

Well, I have no hot water again tonight. BUT I’m on to something. My water heats to only about 40F and then the water heater refuses to light again until the temperature has cooled several degrees.

I recently joined an RV forum where the folks in the tech section are actually helpful. I’ve narrowed down where I need to troubleshoot and I am likely in the market for a fixed temperature control thermostat or a thermal cut-off.

While I’m irked that things are starting to fall apart around here (tongue firmly in cheek), I am glad that this is coinciding with my having increased technical ability. Having to pay for a replacement part is a lot less daunting than having to pay for a part AND a tech.

I just got a rush work order, so I don’t have time to deal with this tonight, but I’ll get on it tomorrow before I go to town. I doubt I’ll be able to find what I need in Assiniboia, so I’ll likely be out of really hot water for a week. *sighs*