Work

by

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!

by

Gremlins

When I got in the shower last night, I was surprised that the water was just a notch hotter than tepid. It was chilly in the rig, so I didn’t linger long. I checked the water temperature and it was just at 40C, my limit of tolerance for shower water on all but the very hottest days of the year.

I checked the water heater ignition button to make sure the water heater actually was on. I’ve had several incidents in the last few weeks where I’d turn the water heater on in the morning and it would get switched off during the day. I’m pretty sure that’s Neelix’s doing when he gets up on two paws by the kitchen sink.

Anyway, not only was the switch to on, it wasn’t doing anything. It was completely dead. I confirmed that there was 12V power going to it (stabbing myself well and good with a multimetre probe in the process, owwwwww) and that I didn’t have a blown fuse. The manual said that for these circumstances, I possibly had too high voltage, which I most absolutely did not. So I went to bed feeling rather put upon. Augh, I’ve officially reached the stage where living in a ’97 motorhome is WORK.

Even though I have more pressing things to do today, I decided to start with the water heater. I hit the on button just to see if the RV gremlins (or should I call them faery godmothers?) might have effected a repair overnight.

They did.

I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth, but GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Well, at least I can get straight to work. That humongous contract I’ve been dreaming of all summer has finally landed and it’ll be nose to the grindstone for the rest of the month.

by

Tired of This Weather

One of the reasons I was eager to buy in this part of the country is the climate, which is supposed to be hot, dry, and sunny at this time of year. And it usually is. I have this uncanny knack for showing up somewhere that the weather is completely off kilter. We’ve averaged cool, overcast, and frequently thunderstorming since I got here in May. Oh, we’ve had some really nice days, but they have been the exception.

I woke up to grey weather, yet again, and got to work (I got a HUGE project for August, yay!). Around 2:00, the sky had cleared and I thought, great, let’s take a break and do some laundry! I got one load washed and hung and was just about to put out the awning when massive grey clouds rolled in. I just managed to squeeze in another two loads (hanging them in the rig) before the sky started to grumble. It is about to pour. Seriously?!

by

Driving It Home

I got up early this morning to work on a transcription project, then I printed out some stuff for Laura and headed for her place. There, I helped her level her new fridge, a job that wound up being much hard than either one of us would have expected.

We then headed across the street to see if C&C needed our help. Not yet. We were asked to come back around 1:00. So I went home to do a load of laundry and continue with my transcription.

I returned to C&C’s promptly at 1:00 and got put to work. They had spent the morning laying out and leveling patio blocks that would serve as the foundation for their addition. The next step was to build the beams on which the floor joists will rest. Making their own beams would cost a fraction of buying them premade, plus the premade ones would have been too short anyway.

So the afternoon passed quickly to the sound of hammers pounding big spikes to connect three layers of wood. My wrists were already a little tender from yesterday’s hauling, so I ran out of steam in a couple of hours. No problem, that coincided with snack time. Caroline makes wonderful coffee and has it exactly the way I do, so a cup of her joe is always perfect. 🙂

It then took only an hour to do the remaining half of the job. I then earned a ginormous and delicious gin and tonic. Yuuuuuuum.

I’m feeling quite done for the day, but I still have a little transcription to do, so I’m trying not to crash. I’d rather finish it tonight so I can sleep in tomorrow before heading to Montana.

by

Visiting the Assiniboia and District Museum

I took the bulk of the day off from work. After breakfast, L and I headed into town for some supplies and to visit the Assiniboia and District Museum.

It’s quite small, but the exhibits are interesting, especially if you have a farm boy like L on hand who can further explain the farm equipment to you. I enjoyed the small exhibits showing early 20th century scenes like a barbershop, general store, and dentist’s office, but my favourite bit was the classic car display. For $5, the Assiniboia museum is a great way to kill an hour or two.

After the museum, we headed out to lunch. Caroline had warned us against going to 121 Steakhouse, but L wanted to form his own opinion so we went there. Service wasn’t great, but the food was good! L started with a French onion soup that was a 9/10, followed by fish ‘n chips. My chicken and bacon club with yam fries really hit the spot. I’d go there again.

We also did some window shopping at The Bargain Shop!, Fields, and the Sally Ann.

Not a very exciting day by big city standards, but it was plenty of fun for simple folks like us. 😀