Author: Rae

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Quick Supply Run

I was running low on gas this morning. Being more than 30KM from the nearest gas station, I didn’t want to worry about getting stuck! Mondays are usually a slow day for me, so I headed into Assinboia for gas and a few groceries to check out the grocery store.

Well, I am not impressed. They didn’t have a number of items I consider to be pantry staples, like cocoa. Prices were okay, though. I will have to do a Walmart run every few months after all.

Assiniboia felt FAR, but it’s really not. It take about 20 minutes to get there. There’s just a lot of big open country between the village and the town.

I think that once I get internet at home, I’ll feel more settled and okay with being so far out that going to Assinboia more than once or twice a week would be excessive.

The wonderful Andy Baird helped me figure out what I need to get online at home. It’s all available on Amazon, but none of it is shippable to Canada. I normally get around that by shipping to my friend in VA at no charge and then paying her to ship out to me. I decided to buy through Future Shop and have shipped here, which should be a little faster, although they say 10 to 25 days (!!!). It was also $180 out of pocket (OUCH). I did think about just driving up to Regina and getting what I need today, but then I would have had to add the gas expense as well. I’ll post details once I’m up and running. *all appendages crossed*

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Haven

It’s been a quiet day. I had about four hours of transcription to do, so I just powered through in order to be able to spend the afternoon out here in the field doing online stuff, including shopping for an amplifier. When I get home shortly, I look forward to making a giant batch of pita and falafel. I think I’ve had enough of adventure for a bit. 🙂

I walked around my property this morning and gasped at all the ruts I’ve made with Miranda and the truck. I thought, “Wow, someone is going to be really upset with me!” And then it finally hit me. This land on which I’m parked is mine. If I don’t care about ruts, no one else will. It is still completely surreal to me that I am a landowner. Sure, it’s nothing special, just a small boxed lot with no real view in a decrepit village, but it’s mine.

And it might not be what I would have wanted, but it’s what I need. And that’s key when you have limited means of making such purchases. Yes, a big open tract of prairie would have been lovely, but can you imagine the wind out there? What about driving to and onto the lot? I have decent paved roads into the village and a proper entrance onto my property. And if I do decide to bring in utilities, it’s not going to be complicated. It’s low maintenance, has low property taxes, and, for being out in the middle of nowhere, is well situated. It was a sensible purchase.

Now that I’ve spent a couple of days parked there, I know it’s going to work out just fine as an RV pad once I figure out the logistics of getting water in and trash out. Minor details.

I’m naming my property Haven, mostly in the sense of “an inlet providing shelter for ships or boats; a harbor”, but also in the sense of “a place of safety or refuge”, after yet another planet from the movie Serenity. And don’t anybody tell me it’s weird to have one planet parking on another; okay? This is my ‘Verse and it has its own logic. 🙂

Even nomads need a safe harbour. I’m glad I found mine.

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One Fleeting Bar

This afternoon, my Mifi beeped, indicating that it had locked onto a cell signal! It was much too weak to get online, but this told me that it would definitely be worth investing into a booster/amplifier! I have a lot of research to do and the budget limits me to what I can find on Amazon that is shippable to Canada. So getting a booster definitely won’t happen quickly, but it’s good to know the option is there.

As for Bell’s new and improved cell service and speeds? I am in field in the middle of nowhere, or just about, and I am currently experiencing the fast download speeds I have EVER experienced, and that includes with a hard wired connection. It’s not holding steady, but I just saw more than 1MBS! In San Antonio, I wasn’t able to download a 100MB file through my tethered phone, but I just downloaded a 400MB file through my Bell Mifi 2 in just a couple of minutes! HOLY MOLY!

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A Second’s Night Sleep On My Property

If I hadn’t see all of three people in the last sixteen hours or so (none of whom seemed the least bit curious about me) and if there wasn’t one guy who drives his big diesel truck too fast, I would swear that I live in a ghost village. The sounds last night were not unlike the sounds at my old homestead, birds and coyotes mostly. Very peaceful.

I am disappointed that I did not sleep well though. Too many numbers dancing in my head.  Thankfully, I am still working steadily and do have money coming in, but it’s not enough. I need a really big juicy contract to land in my lap. I’m at the point where enough comes in to pay the bills, but with nothing leftover for when calamity strikes repeatedly. I have had A LOT of help in the last few weeks, without which I would never have made it here (thank you again to everyone!) and which I thought was going to give me measure of peace of mind while I got settled here. This last blowout completely f***** me over. 🙁

Anyway, it’s a beautiful cold morning here on the prairie, but it’s warm in the sun in my truck. It sucks to have to drive 3.5KM to get online, but there is a big difference between driving to a public wifi location and driving to a quite turnout where you can use your own connection (which is FAST, wow!). I feel relaxed and that I can do what I need to do. This is going to be a double-edged sword for me. On the one hand, I am more productive when getting online is difficult. On the other, I need the internet to get and sometimes do work.

None of the Bell devices can take an antenna, even if I could get one high enough to get a signal (unlikely). I am going to call them and see what they have to say for themselves considering the village is most definitely dark blue on their coverage map. Of course, being Bell, they are difficult to reach. I miss Verizon.

As promised, some pictures:

The lot next to mine looks really wild, junky, and deserted, which makes me feel better about my lot being neglected last summer. I would like to rake up the leaves and trim some trees, but am loathe to invest in any tools until I can afford to put a small shed on the lot. Even better, I’d like to meet a neighbour who would be willing to rent tools, including a lawn mower, but considering how little of an impact my arrival made yesterday, I’m starting to doubt I’ll get to know anyone that well. For a mower, I’d like a little non-powered push type like I had at my house. But that kind of a purchase won’t happen until I can put a lockable storage building on the lot. I checked Canadian Tire and there are some small sheds available for under $500. I am going to keep my eye on the classifieds. I’d also like some pavers to use as a foundation.

I still have no idea what I’d have to do to get water on the lot, but with power lines running right over it, I think that getting electrical will be fairly straightforward. I checked out the Saskatchewan power site and they say it’s a two-step process. The first is to get a pole to your property and the next is to install a metre. I imagine I’d still need a pole, but that it would be way cheaper to install one where there are lines than it would be to bring lines in. Later this summer, I will ask for quote as there is no obligation for doing so.

But, really, power is my last concern. What I really need water. There is a hydrant on the corner which gives me the impression we are on ‘city’ not well water, but I need to confirm that as that would actually surprise me considering just how far out in the middle of nowhere we are. Sewer is not a concern since I can go for ages as long as I can leave my grey valve open.

I also need to call the municipality on Monday to see if I am eligible for Tuesday morning trash collection. My property taxes were only $19 last year, so I won’t be put upon if they say no. If that’s the case, then I’ll need to find the dump. Because of the cat litter, I do generate quite a bit of trash and can’t let it pile up. If am eligible for trash collection, then I need a garbage can, which, again, I can’t get till I have a place to store it. 🙂

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Wow, Bell Has Hired a Helpful Customer Service Rep!

I just got off the phone with, or, rather, my connection was disconnected from, Bell Mobility. I got a very helpful person who agreed that I should have coverage and was sad to inform me that there were no plans for more towers in the area. That said, we should have coverage but don’t because of topography, so the info is being sent to the technical team to see if a tower could be added in the valley to make the coverage map match with reality.

When the original Mifi came out, you could not get a booster for them. That is no longer the case with the Mifi 2! The thing is that an antenna is booster, not a signal creator. If you have zero bars, a booster isn’t going to help. Croft commented that I should try to get my device on the roof and see if that changes anything. I had the same thought last night! I’m heading home shortly and will get on the roof before I go back to work.