Campbell River

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Threading the Needle

The pattern holding, I awoke to a bright blue sky and warm temperatures today. Fortified by a pancake breakfast, courtesy of Croft, I set to work tackling the two biggest items on my to-do list: replacing some rocks in a retaining wall and then doing a bit of painting. Neither task was particularly onerous and I was done in about two hours.

A task Croft had to do that he didn’t mention in his latest post was to move the car they don’t take to Mexico into an out of the way spot. I couldn’t watch as he did this, even though I knew that the worst case scenario was that he would owe me a new paint job. 🙂

tight fit!!!

tight fit!!!

They should be leaving tomorrow and then I’ll be able to start my own projects. I’ve got some pretty grand ideas, but they all hinge on a tiny, not-so-insignificant detail: finding a job. 🙂

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The Pattern Continues

I’ve been in Campbell River for a week now and sunny days have consistently been followed by rainy ones. It’s almost uncanny!

Yesterday, I removed the caulking around the window I’ll be repainting and applied new. After that hard work, I went with Croft and Norma to their friends’ house for dinner. The daughter of the friend was there with her two week old baby, whom I got to hold for the better part of an hour. There’s nothing like the scent of a baby! There’s also nothing like being able to hand said baby back to the parents when it gets fussy. 🙂

I was hoping to paint the window today, but the stormy weather isn’t letting up. Other than meeting the other housesitter, who will actually be living in the house, and helping load Croft and Norma’s motorhome, it’s been a quiet, uneventful day.

And now for some random photographs:

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Wet Enough to Drown

It’s raining again. I think I’ll need to get used to this. 🙂

Yesterday, I dug a big hole and moved a bamboo tree from a planter to said hole. I have to say that working with bamboo felt rather… exotic. I remember seeing bamboo for the first time in the ‘wild’ when I was in San Francisco.

All this rain isn’t helping much with drying the caulking on the outdoor planters we tried to fix the other day, nor is it conducive to doing the paint job I promised would be completed by the time Croft and Norma get back from Mexico. All in good time!

Even with the weather having been the way it is, most of the outside jobs are done. Yesterday, I moved the last of the dirt from the trunk of Croft’s car to the garden planters and helped Norma spread it around. I have to say that bags of dirt get lighter the more you handle them. 🙂

Today, I’m just hanging out and catching up on my online stuff. I was going to go job hunting, but the universe decided that today is not a good day for doing so. I spent two hours troubleshooting my printer only to run out of both toner and paper before dropping (and breaking) my stapler!!!

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War on Cracks

Today, I showed off my caulking gun talent by helping Norma fill in some cracks in the foundation. I also moved (and spread) a ton of dirt. I then offered some suggestions for improving the aesthetics of the dryer vent and Norma was completely on board. Croft groveled, but mostly got out of our way. 🙂

Norma and I went down to the nearby RONA to get parts for the dryer vent project and she gave me a quick tour of the village within biking distance. I’m looking forward to exploring the boutiques, restaurants, and other businesses. This is definitely going to be a wonderful location to spend the winter!

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Not in the Yukon Any More

My time in the Yukon employment market has spoiled me. I’m no longer in a place where jobs can be had just for the asking!

I spent a good part of the day handing out resumés to various businesses and no one was officially hiring. Some even refused to take my resumé.

The focus today was to get feelers for a part-time retail job to just get some income in while I work the market for administrative contracts.

I’m not sure any of my leg work will pan out, but I did get to explore a little bit of Campbell River and find all the important businesses, like Save-on-Foods, the CIBC, Shopper’s Drugmart, Zellers, and Canadian Tire. I also handed out resumés to businesses within walking distance of my homebase and I have to say that pounding the pavement with the smell of the surf in your nostrils isn’t bad at all. 🙂

Today was another incredibly beautiful and non-Octobery day. I even sat outside with the laptop and job-search materials for a time, occasionally looking up to the sea for inspiration.