Restaurants

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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!

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A Day in WIllow Bunch

L might be leaving tomorrow ( 🙁 ) so we decided to spend one last day together exploring the environs as I’ve been working while he’s been puttering around and doing some landscaping.

Before we headed out, he made me open my awning. What a heavy sucker! But I did it!

We decided to go back to Willow Bunch to visit the thrift store, the museum, and then try the food at the pub.

The thrift store didn’t have much new stuff, but it’s so crammed full we still made discoveries. L found a gorgeous leather man’s coat that he refused to buy because the buttons were on the wrong side. And then he found another bomber-type leather jacket that fit me really well and he insisted on getting it for me. Wow, what a score! I also found a nice light jean coat/vest and a squeegee. When we went there the first time, L found a giant stuffed clownfish (‘Nemo’), so that was rather hard for him to beat. 😀

We then headed over to the museum, which occupies two floors of the old convent. It is much better than the Assiniboia museum as there are more informational placards. The French left something to be desired, so I left my contact info as I am willing to volunteer a few hours to improve the translations.

For lunch, we decided to try the Jolly Giant pub. It looks rather intimidating from outside, but the interior is cozy. We both had a really good grilled ham and cheese sandwich (fancy whole grain bread and real cheese). L had the tomato soup (obviously homemade) and I decided to take a chance on the fries. OMG, they were real French-Canadian fries, super well cooked and very dark and sweet! Yay, I can find real French fries around here!!!!!!! They could have used another minute in the deep fryer, but I’m just being picky. 🙂

We then took the back roads home. L says that the next time I’m in Kansas he wants to take me to the western part of the state as it apparently looks just like southern SK.

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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. 😀

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Generator Exhaust Repair

L and I went into Assiniboia today to try to find some flexible steel tubing to fix my generator exhaust. I also wanted to buy a 20lb propane tank that was on sale at Peavey Mart and L wanted to have a nice meal out.

Charles suggested we try the farm supply places for the tubing. John Deere had nothing. We went to Young’s Equipment where one of my neighbours works and he sent us to NAPA.

NAPA had exactly what we needed. YAY! L thought we were so lucky that I should ask if they might have an air filter, too. YES! We couldn’t believe it!

Feeling jubilant, we went to Peavey Mart and then across the street to the Co-Op to fill the propane tank. There, L and I both had the same notion that the sales discount hadn’t been applied to the tank. It hadn’t. We went back and it turns out the sale wasn’t till Friday. The cashier didn’t bat an eyelash and refunded me the $4 and tax knowing that that was cheaper than loser a customer. Smart girl.

We then went to Nash’s, a Greek restaurant, and had a good lunch. L had ‘New York cut’ steak and I had the chicken pita with homemade tzatziki sauce. We shared baklava for dessert. It was all very yummy and I would like to go back one evening to try their dinner menu.

It was about 3:00 when we got in and L had almost no difficulty in getting the flexible tubing in. And that’s when the flexible tubing on the other side of the muffler gave. CRAP. L looked at the bit and hemmed and hawed and considered MacGyvering it until I could get to an exhaust repair shop. Finally, he decided that the best course of action was to go back to NAPA and get more pipe and more clamps. So we did.

He’s under the rig now getting this new section in.

I can't believe we found a new air filter! The other one was just about black.

I can’t believe we found a new air filter! The other one was just about black.

This is what we replaced.

This is what we replaced.

Shiny new pipe before the muffler.

Shiny new pipe before the muffler.

This section after the muffler snapped while L was working on the other side.

This section after the muffler snapped while L was working on the other side.

Now, I know what y’all are wondering, how expensive has my generator repair been?

Oil: about $4 for a quart of it (a few weeks ago)

NAPA gave us a ‘preferred customer discount’ after L asked for a senior’s discount, so I am putting the full price in brackets after the price paid:

Flex tubing: $3.41/ft ($4.39) x 3 = $10.23
Clamps: $2.10 ($2.26) x 2 = $4.20
U-Bolts (they were out of clamps on the second trip): $1.46 ($1.46) x 2 = $2.92
Air filter: $7.05 ($15.46!!!)

Total before tax at NAPA: $25.86 ($26.84 with tax).

So counting the oil, I’m at just over $30.

The spark plug is good and there is absolutely no reason to replace it.

The only other issue is that the choke isn’t working automatically. I have to manually close it to start the genny and then release the catch so that it will open. Not a biggie.

L suggests that I run the genny regularly until the winter. If I have no issues with it, then I should look at having the brushes replaced. But he doesn’t want me to spend that money now since the genny has sat so long as it would suck for the motor to throw a rod or whatever a month down the road. Smart man.

Oh, and there is the issue of it not starting from the button in the kitchen, which is an electrical and possible electronic issue. I am not going to worry about that at this time since I don’t have an automatic transfer switch. Therefore, I have to go outside anyway to plug the shore power cable into the genny from the inverter or vice versa.

I am going to continue leaving the cable plugged into the inverter as being the default plug in condition. The genny will just be for charging or giving me a boost in grey weather. I look forward to seeing what its gas consumption is compared to the engine.

I’m still reeling from disbelief that my generator is working.

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Ever Wonder What a Miracle Sounds Like?

A miracle sounds something like this:

It took L about 10 minutes to get my generator going. He:

-removed the fuel line and blew in it to see if air was getting through (yes);

-sucked on the line till he got a mouthful of gasoline (the things this guy does for me);

-put in 25L of fuel to make sure I was well above the quarter tank mark;

-removed the cover from around the brushes (which I as not able to remove) and manually rotated the brushes to a clean spot that was not all gummed up;

– primed the carburetor by spraying fuel directly into it.

So this tells me that when I first noticed the genny wasn’t working in the spring of 2009, all I would have had to do was suck on the fuel line. The brushes were spinning back then and I knew to prime the carb and was doing so. *sighs*

But all is not copacetic as the exhaust pipe is missing a section. We are going to hit up the farm equipment suppliers tomorrow to see if we can find a replacement piece of flexible metal exhaust hose. We can then give the genny a good bit of exercise. I need to find a replacement air filter in the nearish future. When we meet up again in January, he will replace the spark plug.

I ran my AC for 10 minutes today and even nuked something in the microwave! COOL! 😀

We had a lovely day. He made a breakfast of pancakes with fresh blueberries in them and real maple syrup (what a treat for someone who’s been almost carb free for a while!). We went out in the morning and looked at the petroglyphs, then went to Willow Bunch for the fuel and to check out the thrift store. I came out with a few sweaters and a pink colander that matches my kitchen. 🙂

We had a late lunch of VERY expensive pizza at Willow Bunch’s Stagecoach restaurant (the toppings and sauce were 10/10 and the crust was a 4 or 5/10, but neither of us have had pizza in eons, so it hit the spot!). We came in, got the genny going, then I took him over to meet C&C. We came home to gab and then C&C came by a little while later for a longer chat.

Tomorrow should be pretty full with a trip to Assiniboia for parts and fixing the exhaust pipe, but things will get a little more sedate as I need to get some work done.

Having a guest arrive with their own house ROCKS. It really is very little hassle and disruption to the routine!