Campbell River

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Counter Installation, Part Two of ???

The first two loads I ran with the dishwasher set up below the counter were fine, but the two subsequent ones leaked slightly in the front of the unit. Danby countertop dishwashers are notorious for leaking from their doors, but I cannot be sure that this is the reason for the leak. I pulled the unit back out (grunt, grunt), set it up on the counter, and ran a load. No leak. Some other theories:

1) all the moving of the dishwasher jarred ‘something’, both negatively and positively;
2) the dishwasher wasn’t level in one of the positions;
3) the hoses are too low to drain properly

The leakage was really minor; I created more of a mess pulling the unit and having the hoses flail around. I know how to open up the dishwasher to fix the common Danby leak, but without being 100% sure that this is the problem, I don’t want to go through all of that. So, think, think, think and I believe I’ve come up with a solution that will also solve my hose storage problem. Thanks, Croft, for the inspiration!

I’ll do some more work on this tomorrow, provided that we get an hour or two without lashing winds and pouring rain that would soak me before I even got to the workshop.

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Discovery Fireweed Honey Ale

Back in early September, I posted a review of the mostly fabulous beers of the Yukon Brewing Company and when I left Yukon later that month, I made sure to stock up on their offerings, bringing south with me one six-pack each of Yukon Gold Pale Ale, Espresso Stout, and Discovery Fireweed Honey Ale, the latter of which I had not sampled yet.

Over the past two months, I’ve finished the pale ale and made a serious inroad into the stout and fireweed ale. The latter has turned out to be yet another incredible offering by the Yukon Brewing Company. It is strong and flavourful, with a hint of sweetness and a hoppy finish. I haven’t had a bad pairing yet with this beer, whether I’ve had it on its own, with a slice of pizza, in beer bread, or with popcorn (a risky pairing that paid off). The website claims that this beer tastes different from other honey ales and I have to agree. I’m pretty sure that I couldn’t tell in a blind taste test whether I was drinking a Belle Gueule, Rickard’s, or Sleeman, but I’d be able to recognize the YBC’s honey ale.

If you’re ever in Whitehorse, be sure to check out their free brewery tour. I haven’t done this yet but I look forward to doing so in the spring!

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So. Much. Rain.

If this weather keeps up, my stories of life in Campbell River are all going to start with “It was a dark and stormy night.”

There’s a lake about a foot deep just off the bottom of the driveway. Going to work in the dark this morning I just about fell in and then came this close to being swamped by a tidal wave brought up by someone driving way too fast through it (thank goodness for my reflexes).

It didn’t rain this morning and I actually saw the sunrise (work has an amazing view), but the rain started up again mid-afternoon and it’s now coming down again in full force, minus the winds we had yesterday.

Last night, the winds picked up so much that Miranda began to rock back and forth. With the water lashing at her from all sides, it really was like being on a boat. I’ve joked about that before, but this time it wasn’t funny and I worried about windows breaking. As it is, I’m pretty sure the picture window in the study leaks since I’ve been having to mop up water every day since I got to Campbell River as well as keep the mattresses away from the wall.

It apparently snowed between Nanaimo and here yesterday, but it’s still relatively warm here and I’m still not running the furnace. All is well!

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A Phenomenal Storm

It normally takes me 5 minutes to walk to work. This afternoon, it took me 10 minutes to get home. It is seriously stormy and windy out there. I walked right into the brunt of it and it was literally like forcing myself through a physical barricade of air and water. I was soaked to the bone, exhausted, and frozen solid when I got home.

The town of Courtenay, just 50km south of Campbell River, has declared a state of emergency because of severe flooding. One of my last customers of the day was a gal just a couple of years younger than me who was evacuated just in time to watch her trailer and all her worldly belongings float down a river, land on a bridge, and get demolished by the gale. She was in remarkably good spirits.

Last time I saw an ocean storm like this was on Gran Manan Island, in New Brunswick, during their unforgettable Labour Day storm of 1994 which just about wiped out the fishing industry. We had been scheduled to return to the mainland, but had to remain on the island because our tour bus could not be secured on the ferry. I remember standing on the pier watching our ferry nearly flounder in waves as high as it was. The passage over a few days later was incredibly rough and I was only one of a few who did not get seasick.

The road below the house is flooded in parts and I am glad to be sitting up high, but a little nervous that I don’t have an escape route for Miranda should water get all the way up here. I know the chances of that are incredibly remote, but like in Dawson this summer I am acutely aware that there is nowhere to go should the world go to hell.

Miranda is well buffered on all sides and is barely rocking. I am warm and cozy and have a fantastic view of the wipe caps rolling in. I’m going to sit here a while, snug as a bug, and enjoy one of the best views mother nature has to offer.