Work

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Making the Best of a Forced Internet Sabbatical

After I hung up with Bell on Tuesday, I used Caroline’s computer to email some clients to let them know that I’d be out of touch for a few days. Then, I went home, tidied up the whole rig, rearranged my pantry, and made a nice dinner.

Then, I spent the evening searching for the lagoon where I can go dump my holding tanks (I took my Blue Boy once to the dump station in Assiniboia, but that was a hassle). Well, I finally found said lagoon, but accessing it requires four-wheel drive. So I will go there every few days with a partially filled (ie. not too heavy) Blue Boy that I can slip into and out of the truck and drag up the hill to the lagoon by foot. Not ideal, but cheaper than going to the dump station.

I called my mother on Wednesday morning and learned that she had work for me to do. Even though driving to Assiniboia to use the library wifi would cut into my profit, I needed the work experience, so loaded up my PC and headed into town. The very nice librarian gave me the wifi password and I spent about three hours getting the work done.

Even though I knew there was no hope in hell that my package from Bell had arrived, I checked in with the post office and they got my info and promised to be on the lookout for it.

I came home and just wilted. Caroline was doing the lawns, so I got my yard cleaned up. My yard didn’t get done, so I had dinner then went out to whack some weeds. Before long, Charles was back with the mower to do my lawn (and by that I mean jungle of weeds). I got the water hose and antenna wire out of the way for him. I had been sleepy all afternoon. So that done, I went to bed at 8:30, and slept to 8:30 Thursday morning!!!

Thursday morning, I headed up the hill with the booster and cell phone to call the post office. They don’t pick up, so you have to leave a message and wait for a call back. Hence why I decided to use my own phone rather than wait at C&C’s. I brought my iPad to pass the time… but the call back came in minutes! No Mifi. 🙁

So I called Bell to make sure the order had gone out. I’m glad I speak French as the rep I got had only very basic English skills and I have no idea why she was put on an English line. Anyway, no skin off my nose. She had a hard time finding confirmation that my order had gone out, but she eventually figured it out and got me a tracking number. I thanked her and headed to C&C’s to check my email and the status of my shipment.

C&C had started work on their addition so I arrived in a construction zone, but Caroline dropped everything to get me online (bless her) then left me to do what I had to do. I knew my modem wasn’t going to arrive that day so I went outside and asked if they needed help. YES. So I went home to change into grubbies and work boots, grabbing a pair of gloves and my hammer on the way out.

I spent the day pounding nails out of 2X6″es that had covered the old deck. Like me, C&C are big on recycling, so there was no way that good lumber was going to waste. It was hard work, but I was fed a nice lunch AND a snack, and there was lots of cold water. I even got a gin and tonic with lime with my snack. 🙂

Reading took up the better part of my evening, I went to bed at a more normal hour, had another good night, and woke up ready to face yet another day without internet. So imagine my surprise when I learned at C&C’s that my Mifi had landed!!!

I didn’t head straight to town, but rather helped Caroline pack away some fragile items ahead of the day’s grand event: jacking up their house to make it more level. That done, I got a tiny shopping list from Caroline and then headed to town.

After I got the Purolator thing sorted out, I continued a few blocks to Subways, Fridays being my treat (not cheat) day. I made healthier choices than I normally do there and enjoyed my sandwich (bread, oh bread I have missed thee) immensely. I headed back up Centre Street to the Co-Op, got Caroline’s groceries, and then went back to the post office to get my truck.

When I got in, I immediately headed over to C&C’s, put the groceries away, and went to help with the jacking up the house. They had thought they wouldn’t need help, but I’m pretty sure I was helpful, if only in using the sledge hammer (that thing was HEAVY) to wedge 2×4’s between the foundation and the house.

It was really impressive to see the house corner lift a full three inches! I didn’t go inside after, but apparently the ski hill in the kitchen and living room is gone. Water on the counter would always run to the northwest corner of the house and now it just sits where it’s spilled. What an improvement! Now that the house is reasonably level, they can build the addition.

Now, I’m trying to catch up on an unplanned week offline and trying to figure out how I’m going to make up for the income shortfall.

In happier news, my friend L is incoming and should be here next week! Other blog readers are in Montana and might be landing the first week of Augustish! I am SO pleased to be able to return some hospitality.

Finally, wow is the Yagi antenna sensitive. My connection just slowed to a crawl (not dropped) and I looked out to see that the pole had turned a couple of inches, dropping my connection to -105 and one bar. A small turn and a couple of wedges later, I have -96 and three bars. Let’s hope that my internet woes are over!

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Haven Has Improved Water and Internet Access!

I decided to hook myself up to city water, something I haven’t done in YEARS, because I’m tired of having to fill the holding tank every couple of days. Major bleaching of the city water intake ensued. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough water pressure with which to take a shower, so I still have to use the holding tank and water pump for that. Oh, well. At least I have running water!

I added a ‘quick connect’ to the water intake to make it easier to disconnect. It’s an awkward space and always leaks, so I wanted to only have to screw in and leak-proof once. I can now easily separate the hose and connect it to my fancy new sprayer. I also added another 50′ of hose to give me a little bit of play. The hose was cheap, less than $8, and I’m kicking myself for only getting 50′ of it.

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I used my fancy new sprayer and extra 50′ of hose to wash my truck yesterday! The water pressure was awful, so I had to give it several passes, but it was nice to get all the grime and bugs off. I even gave Moya a good hand waxing after, which made Caroline scoff. Yeah, it’s rather pointless to clean your truck when you’re going to be on dirt roads most of the time, but a coat of wax does protect the finish. Anyway, it was wonderful to be able to do wash the truck without worrying about using up someone’s water. The 50′ of hose wasn’t enough, so I wound up driving the truck around back of Miranda since I had just enough space to squeeze around her.

I’m going to order some Poliglow and spiff up Miranda sometime in August.

I was also going to add a quick connect to the water tank intake hose, but decided that instead, it’s high time I properly repair it and put the quick connect money towards repairs. All in due time. 🙂

As for internet, I had a ‘you have a package’ notification in my mailbox Friday. I was very tempted to ring for the postmaster, but prefer to respect her work hours since I have no reason to contact her outside of them. So I waited patiently all weekend with no internet to speak of after I got a great connection on Friday (hence the earlier than expected post).

I have had NO internet since about dinnertime yesterday. I got in and half-assedly hooked up my new Yagi-type antenna because, being the idiot that I am, I forgot to pick up a telescoping pole in Moose Jaw. By half-assedly, I mean I installed it on a pole that I leaned against the ladder like so:

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That’s all I did. I haven’t even tried to point it in the direction of the tower or move it up and down or try different locations around the property. This was still enough to give me a strong steady signal. The blog loads immediately and I’m now downloading a 60MB file. It’s going more slowly than up the hill, but the speed is satisfactory (it has ended up taking about 13 minutes).

Imagine when I actually get this thing pointed the right way?! Once my download is complete, I will see if I can get a phone signal. All appendages crossed that I’ve FINALLY found the solution!

I bought my antenna from the Wilson Amplifier Store based out of Laguna Hills, CA, and was very pleased with their service, albeit a little confused at first.

I saw my package go from Utah to California and the status change to ‘complete.’ I emailed customer service asking what was up with that. They replied promptly that their Utah warehouse can’t ship to Canada, so all orders go to Laguna Hills where they are forwarded on to Canada. They gave me a new tracking number and I was gratified to see that the package had already hit Canadian customs! Shipping was expensive, almost $40, but even with the two-step process, the package arrived here very quickly.

The reason I went with a US supplier is that the Wilson Amplifier Store offered a complete package. I didn’t have to cobble together the antenna, cable, and mounting hardware. I did need an adapter to fit the antenna with my Sleek booster, but the adapter I used with my bigger whip antenna does the trick.

Well, I’d better get to work. It’s nice to have a full plate of it upon return from vacation. I have a lot to make up for, what with all the time off I’ve taken this summer!

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Baked Under a Prairie Sky

aSummer is in full force in southern Saskatchewan!

This morning, I heard some commotion at the front door and found this cheeky little fellow taunting my boy:

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He was not timid! I opened the door and he just hopped down a step. I had to grab Neelix by the scruff of his neck as he was ready to bound out after his prize!

After finishing my work for the day, I headed to Willow Bunch to get some produce, more gas for Miranda’s tank, and also to check in with the RM office about getting garbage pickup and a water tap.

It was a bad day to be on the road east since they were grading. Thank goodness I have a truck!

The gals at the RM office recognized me quickly from my emails. They will bill me for garbage and water until November 15th. As long as I can find a trash barrel, I can put my trash at the curb for pickup next week!

As for water, they said that they will send someone over tomorrow to talk to me about it. *all appendages crossed that he shows up*

The Willow Bunch Co-Op had some really nice produce, so I was quite pleased and filled my basket to the brim with the best of summer’s bounty.

I stopped at C&C’s on the way home to pick up some lettuce and green onions from their garden, and then went to work on the generator.

It would not spark again as it did the other day. I am so frustrated with manufacturers who don’t consider maintenance work. I went through the troubleshooting guidebook I got from Onan at the seminar and traced the non-spark to a section that is not accessible without pulling the entire genset unit. It has a two-part cover that is bolted and screwed in areas that you can’t get out with standard sized tools.

I am so irked to have gotten that far: oil good, fuel line clean, carb spic and span, air filter clean, 12V power getting to the unit and to not be able to clean and tighten some leads near the brushes!

I may tackle that bolts and such again tomorrow. By the time I realised how much elbow grease was going to be needed, it was way past dinnertime and I was getting the shakes.

When I saw a doctor in Lethbridge way back in the summer of 2012, I got the first full workup of my life and still the doctor could not figure out why I was just plain exhausted all the time and had been for years, which meant stress wasn’t the answer. He suggested that as soon as I had a two-week window of time with no social commitments, I should go on an elimination diet of no wheat, soy, dairy, yeast, and eggs to rule out a potential allergy that could be sapping my energy.

Well, the summer of 2012 at my mother’s was no place to try such a diet. Nor was fall and early winter in Hampton Roads, what with the holiday season. And neither was later winter and early spring of 2013, what with all my social commitments! I finally got a window of time after my Kelowna expedition.

So birthday cake on Friday notwithstanding (and this wasn’t a gooey sort of cake, but rather a lemon bundt), I have been off not only wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, and yeast for a solid week, but also all carbs except fruit, and no caffeine either. And I haven’t felt this good EVER. I’ve had no bad days at all and no withdrawal symptoms, and I haven’t had this much energy in all my life! I never ever thought I would get on the low-carb bandwagon, but something in my diet had to change and apparently that was it.

All that to say, I was thinking the other night about what to put in a tuna salad to make it creamy without using dairy and the answer came to me quickly: avocado. So tonight I whipped up some guacamole (with a Willow Bunch-purchased avocado), mixed in a can of tuna, and served a scoop of this over C&C’s lettuce and some delicious cherry tomatoes:

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Dinner was as tasty as it looks! I make my guac with lots of lime juice and garlic, so it is very flavourful and a perfect complement to the bland tuna.

Later, I will treat myself to a bowl of fresh local raspberries!

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Meanwhile, Back at Haven I’m Dealing With Weeds and Rust

I can’t believe I’ve been back at Haven for five days now! I’ve been getting internet in snatches long enough to check email and sometimes do a little surfing, but updating the blog is always difficult on this connection and I’ve frankly had more important things to do up the hill.

Let’s backup a little bit to Wednesday, which was a little hazy since I got so little sleep and got up so late (about 10:00). I started by emptying out the truck and putting things away, then I cursed the internet connection for a bit before going up the hill for a spell. I was able to pick up Neelix mid afternoon and he was happy to see me! I couldn’t believe it! He came running when I entered C&C’s house and cuddled for a long spell, then followed me around the rig.

I had bought shrimp in Medicine Hat, so I treated myself to a shrimp boil for dinner, then went to bed crazy early.

Thursday, I had transcription work to do, but it had a generous deadline, so I just picked away at it and really didn’t get much done. I don’t remember anything else about Thursday, except that I spent some time up the hill.

Friday, I had to do some updates on the Windows computer and the internet fairly cooperated, so I was saved a trip up the hill. I continued with my transcription until 7:00 and then it was time to head over to Laura’s for canasta.

It was so nice to catch up with her and then C&C when they arrived, quite late but bearing cake, so all was forgiven. Charles and I were a team and lost three of four rounds, but did so well on the fourth that we won the game overall! I love Friday night canasta. 🙂

I got up early this morning to finish up my transcription since more came in for the weekend. Also, I wanted to go into Assiniboia for propane and gas for Miranda’s tank since I didn’t know if the Co-Op would be open on Sunday and Monday (turns out yes).

I left for town around 12:30, got to city limits, and realised I had left my wallet on the desk!!! I had come home to a just about empty on board propane tank (good thing I got home earlier than planned or the fridge would have been off!), so not getting propane today wasn’t an option. I turned around, got the wallet, and retraced my steps.

My first stop was Peavey Mart, a store I had never been into before. It’s basically Alibaba’s cave as you can find EVERYTHING in there, from clothes to cow ear tags.

I picked up:

-a 25L jerry can (I already had a 20L one and wanted to bring back a decent quantity of gas)

-a 7 gallon (okay, I’m being bilingual on my measurements) water container (I plan to have running water soon, but this will be useful for my upcoming excursion)

-a cherry tomato plant

-a weedwhacker-type thing (more on that below)

I then got the fuel and propane, picked up some veggies and fruit at the Co-Op grocery store, and headed home, stopping at C&C’s first for water.

After hooking up the propane, I added the fuel to Miranda’s gas tank. I had bought a siphon thing at Canadian Tire for 15 dollars, a length of clear hose with a ‘pump’, that was well worth its money as it emptied the jerry cans quickly and with no fuss at all.

Then, it was time to attack my lawn. Charles has been doing a great job mowing it (THANK YOU) with a tractor, but the edges were really tall and my boardwalk had disappeared under a cover of grass. A weedwhacker was in order.

The weedwhacker-type thing I found  is a ‘grass whip.’ You use it like a golf club. I was looking for something cheap and the least costly powered option was $99. I had never heard of a lawn whip, but could understand how it would work and it was just $15. But surprise at the till, it was on sale for $11!

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Here is the boardwalk after the first pass with the lawn whip.

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And here it is after:

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After dinner, I went out to put some fuel stabilizer in Miranda’s tank and apply some carb cleaner to the genset. I only had a quarter tank of fuel on board, so I knew there was no hope in starting it, but hope springs eternal. I hit the start button and it sparked then tried to turn over. There is life in it! I am going to Willow Bunch on Tuesday to deal with getting water and garbage collection and I will get more gas so that I can try the start exercise again after cleaning the fuel line. I am probably being too optimistic, but I have a good troubleshooting manual and the confidence that if this generator is salvageable, I can fix it myself, thanks to the Onan dealer at the seminar thinking this.

Today, I had some transcription to do and I also wanted to tackle the rust on my truck. A guy came up to me at the RV seminar to tell me that he does body work and that the rust on my truck had to be deal with NOW. He is not the first person to tell me this in the last year… He said to go to Canadian Tire or Walmart and get some Tremclad for rust. I could apply that directly to the truck to seal in the rust, but the caveat is that I wouldn’t be able to get a colour to match my finish, nor could I apply automotive paint over top. This is the worst of the rust:

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I got as much of the loose material off as I could, sanded, and then wiped it down. Next step was taping off the area I did not want to paint:

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Here’s the Tremclad. I knew the green would be too Christmasy for my truck, but hoped it would dry a little darker than this. It didn’t. *spoiler* It dried lighter. I wish I had left the rusty look and just gone with a clear coat.

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You can really see the difference in colour here:

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I applied three light coats of colour, then two clear coats. Don’t laugh at the result. It’s better than rust!

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I could not see myself applying any more of that awful colour to my beautiful Moya, so I blasted all her other rusty spots with just the clear coat. These are the worst of them:

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So it’s been a productive few days. If I have no transcription tomorrow, I will likely tackle the driver’s side rear wheel well (damaged in the last blowout, sorry the connection’s too slow to load the blog to get back links). Tuesday, I want to go pay for garbage delivery and find out who to call to get a water spigot put on the property. I want water by the time I get back from camping next week!!!!!!

That’s the scoop. I’m off to see if my spaghetti squash is ready. 🙂

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Stettler Weekend

It’s been a lovely weekend with Ken and Donna!

Saturday, Donna and I headed to their RV property to finish emptying and cleaning ‘the trailer’ as the Ark 2.0 is now being called. It was a full day of hauling and cleaning, with the goal being to make the place sale ready ASAP. I was rewarded with a Blue Boy, a foot rest for my patio, and a good metal spatula. 🙂

We got home feeling rather knackered, so we put together a quick dinner then settled down with Ken to watch a few movies. Their new dog, Roxy, and I bonded and spent some time cuddling. She’s a sweet but neurotic/skittish girl.

I wound up accepting quite a bit of work for the week (why can’t it pour like this at times when I’m at home twiddling my thumbs?), so I started on that this morning because Donna was going to church in the morning and Ken was having a down day since he has a cold. I put in about three hours then quit since Donna is working the next couple of days and we wanted to spend more time together.

We lounged around for the rest of the afternoon, then I cobbled together dinner with the meagre offerings in the pantry and some leftovers. Ken is going grocery shopping tomorrow. 🙂

I’m hoping to put in a full day tomorrow and get the project done so I can finish preparing the seminar on Tuesday and also get the truck ready. I’m not really in any hurry to leave Wednesday, so it’s okay if some prep leaks over from Tuesday. I just want to get some mileage under me so I don’t get to Kelowna too late on Thursday.

Visiting Donna and Ken is just like being at home, except there’s dogs and a gentleman makes my morning toast and coffee. 🙂 I look forward to a time when I will be set up to reciprocate their warm hospitality.