RVing

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Sick of Trim

I did most of the dressing room trim today and am not happy with a single piece of it, especially in the shower area, which had some wonky angles. I think some putty will cover a lot of the problems, but not all. Someone needs to invent flexible trim that is at least an inch deep. The only thing I truly felt I accomplished today was build up that little strip between the vanity and the shower.

It also needs a little bit of trim to finish it, but something much thinner than what I’m using on the floor. There is now no more carpet in the living area of Miranda. I can’t wait to get rid of the carpet in the cab!

All in all, today felt like a real waste of my energy. I’ve bought the rest of the trim I need to finish the rig and I will try to continue this week just because I have the miter saw handy, but it’s no longer a priority. I have a hand saw and miter box, so I can finish this part of the project later if need be. I think I’ve hit renovation burnout.

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Cheekiness

My friend whose parents live here in Campbell River told me that one thing I had to try out west was halibut, especially the cheeks. I had halibut a few times and understand now what the fuss is all about as it is a delicious fish, sweetly mild and fleshy, but the cheek thing eluded me. Well, tonight her parents had me over for a final meal and one of the dishes they served was halibut cheeks. They looked quite close to this:

They cooked the cheeks by dipping them in milk, dredging them in flour, and then cooking them in oil. There were no other seasonings. I thought they would taste and feel like fish, but my friend was right; they are a delicacy unlike any other. The only frame of reference that comes to mind would be that the taste is close to properly prepared squid and the texture is close to properly prepared scallops, but I’m not sure that does them justice. I had three pieces and the cheeks grew on me with every bite.

I love that my country is so huge and has such varied ecosystems and climates that there are foods in one region that are virtually unknown in another. Each time I discover one, I feel so proud and happy, like I’ve discovered a wonderful secret guarded by a few. I think the only thing that would be better than BC halibut cheeks would be BC halibut cheeks served with New Brunswick fiddle heads…

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North Island

What a difference three months makes… Back in January I was feeling blue about not doing any traveling or renovating this winter and here I sit in my nearly ready to go rig with a new layout and I have been from one end of the Island back, as well as across it. I have just returned from Port Hardy, the northernmost community on Vancouver Island.

I’ve been through every single Vancouver Island community highlighted on that map!

The point of today’s road trip was to pick up my friend’s daughter at the Port McNeill ferry terminal. We arrived there at 11:30 only to find out her daughter missed her ferry and that we would need to kill two hours. So, we turned back south to see the absolutely tiny community of Telegraph Cove and when we saw that we still had plenty of time on the clock we headed north 50km from Port McNeill to Port Hardy just so I could say that I’d been from one end of the Island to the other. I made sure to thank my daughter’s friend for missing the ferry. 😀

We had just had two beautiful sunny and hot days, so of course today was rainy, cold, and generally miserable, but it sure gave a lot of atmosphere to my pictures!

Sayward is a way's off the highway, but I thought the sign was pretty enough to photograph.

Sayward is a way’s off the highway, but I thought the sign was pretty enough to photograph.

Port McNeill: home of NHLer Willie Mitchell. (who?)

Port McNeill: home of NHLer Willie Mitchell. (who?)

the prettier Port McNeill sign

the prettier Port McNeill sign

rhododendrons outside the ferry terminal in Port McNeill

rhododendrons outside the ferry terminal in Port McNeill

the port of Port McNeill :)

the port of Port McNeill 🙂

Telegraph Cove general store (closed for the season)

Telegraph Cove general store (closed for the season)

close up of the sign

close up of the sign

Telegraph Cove

Telegraph Cove

overlooking Bear Cove (on the way from Telegraph Cove back to highway 19)

overlooking Bear Cove (on the way from Telegraph Cove back to highway 19)

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Bear Cove

Leaving Bear Cove we saw all this eagle activity in the sky! They were LOUD!

Leaving Bear Cove we saw all this eagle activity in the sky! They were LOUD!

eagles

eagles

entering Port Hardy

entering Port Hardy

Bear Cove Park in Port Hardy

Bear Cove Park in Port Hardy

Port Hardy (Bear Cove Park)

Port Hardy (Bear Cove Park)

Port Hardy, near the ferry terminal

Port Hardy, near the ferry terminal

sign downtown

sign downtown

Port Hardy is an important destination for Alaska-bound travelers as it is from this community that the Inside Passage ferry departs. I would have loved to have taken the ferry from there to Prince Rupert, but the total trip cost would have been double.

I really didn’t do much tourism today since the conditions weren’t right for it, but there really wasn’t anything to see and do at this time of year. I am satisfied with simply having gone and back. It gives me a sense of closure to my Vancouver Island winter, at least from a tourism point of view.

Tomorrow, I will continue to work on trim and finish my fight with the sawdust in the workshop to bring the renovating portion of the winter to a close.

I leave Campbell River a week from tomorrow. Where has the winter gone?!

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Study Window Coverings

The study has been in dire need of new window coverings since day one. It has pull down opaque roller shades. Great for a bedroom, not so great for a room where you want privacy and light. The shades were getting to be very brittle and the two on the side windows ripped, with the one on the passenger side being too far gone to salvage.

I really want blinds for this room, but they would have to be custom sized and would therefore be much too expensive for my current budget. I decided that I’d have to go with curtains for the time being. I thought of securing them to the bottom half of the window and having the top part attached with snaps or similar fasteners so I could fold it down. Not a bad idea, just needed to find fabric that would work with my design plans well enough for me to be able to live with the curtains as long as possible, but also be very cheap.

Which is how I found myself hauling home a load of really cheap stiff polyester sheets from Zellers today:

Not the nicest material in the universe, but the colours definitely work with my paint choices and the design is also suitably ‘cottagey.’

I brought home three double sheets and one twin sheet, all flat, all costing $4 each. I may exchange one package for a twin fitted to cover the ‘sofa.’ It’s not the best material for a sofa cover, but it would at least make things look unified enough until I get around to the decorating portion of the makeover.

I may even have enough blackout material to cover the bottom third of each curtain; I’ll need to dig it out and do some measuring.

This will probably end up being a summer project, but the fabric was too good a deal to pass up!

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Still Sorting It Out

Today, I’m working at making the study travel ready and decided that I might as well make one pass through all my storage boxes in the overhead cabinets. While they were all very neat and well labeled, I had a feeling that the contents wouldn’t be that useful. I was right. For example, I found lots of neat things in the box marked ‘hardware’ that I really don’t need in a motorhome like solder and incandescent 120V light bulbs!

I also found a box marked ‘decor’ that is filled with small pictures I aimed to frame and put up. I need to go find some frames! One particularly special picture was already framed and I wanted to give myself a huge kick for leaving it in a box so long:

This is my dad circa the mid to late 1950’s. I’ve put him up on the pop out wall in the study so he can look down on me while I work.

I also had a large basket filled with music cds that I inherited from him and which I have ‘been meaning to go through.’ It’s been three years (!), for pete’s sake, and I’ve already transferred over the stuff I know I like. So, the basket was added to my pile slated for donation. Done and dealt with, whee!

My friend was promised a grand tour tomorrow, so I’d better get back to work!