5C's Que Pasa

…..well at least if you live in B.C.!!  Our cost for a six month Mexican Insurance policy for the RV last year ( with Mexico Bob aka San Xavier Mexico Insurance ) was $745.23 and this was the maximum insurance we could get on our coach.  The cost for our toad, the HHR, was $273.55.  When you live in B.C. Canada and are in Mexico for 30 days or longer you may apply for a refund for the number of days you are in Mexico and had already paid for with your B.C. insurance. So after providing the necessary documentation we received a refund of $779.00 on the motorhome and a refund of $468.00 on the car.  Total cost of the six month Mexican insurance $1018.78.  Total refund by our B.C. Insurance company $1247.00.  A profit of $228.22!!! The tolls from Nogales to Mazatlan return cost us $319.00.  Therefore the cost to us for tolls and insurance was a grand total of $91.00. To me that means it does pay to travel to Mexico!  What say you?  Actually I do believe that Ontario may have a similar program.  Not sure about elsewhere in Canada or the USA.  Let me know folks!

From day one of our computer existence we have been Apple people.  We actually have no idea how to use a PC.  This story starts the end of June when we realized that our G5 with Tiger might not be quite adequate to sustain some of the new photoshop programs Colin wanted to use.  We could have waited a year or so but upon reflection and much encouragement by the Apple ‘people’ we decided to upgrade the MacBook Pro (laptop) to Snow Leopard and to upgrade the G5 to the very latest and best iMac.  We got a 27″ 2.66GHz Quad Core of which I have no idea what that all means other than it is big. With the new Adobe CS5 Photoshop Extended for Mac the final tally came in at $4464.64.  The good news is that we waited till July 9 to actually purchase the computer in order to avoid paying tax because as a company expense we would get the 12% HST back.

I believe that the new iMac has been in for repair three times before we went to Vancouver & Point Roberts mid July and has been in since once.  Last Wednesday it died.  Yup…the machine just upped and died.  Brought it back to Simply Computing, the Apple Store here in Kelowna and got the diagnosis.  It actually had died, the hard drive that is.  At this point I am on the phone to Simply Computing, to Apple and to Apple Care Support (we paid 199.99 for a three year warranty) but no one can help.  After 8 hours of back and forth I finally gave up!  Okay no new computer cuz it’s not covered despite the fact that it appears to be a very sour lemon!!  But they agree to replace the dead hard drive at no cost and to do it within a week instead of three weeks because we are greatly inconvenienced, not to mention that Colin needs this thing to make us some money. So now the call comes, your machine is ready to pick up but by the way it is a blank canvas!  Huh!  Bottom line nothing was able to be retrieved from the original hard drive.  That means….no emails not yet replied to, no address book, none of my bookmarks, none of my invoicing for 2010, none of my extremely special emails that I have kept from times of crisis or joy, none of my research into various things, etc.  I am certain that as the weeks go by I will find more that I am unable to live without including all the photos input onto iPhoto and now deleted from my camera.  So Colin has gone to pick up this piece of virgin canvas that we have to reprogram from scratch…..no further comment.

Yes George I know you are going to ask about Time Machine….well Colin has always backed up and double backed up his photos but NEVER my stuff.  Guess what…things are going to change.

Colin hasn’t got back yet so if I drink enough vino I might, just might hang in there!!!

Muy triste!

Summers end or so it seems.  We have used the furnace the last two mornings to combat the 6C temps. The girls are in shock and shivering. Nasty!  It has been a hectic last few days. The dogs found this ugly huge caterpillar on the lawn, I assume it will eventually become some disgusting moth or perhaps something beautiful.

Colin got through the huge wedding (12 in the wedding party) last Friday despite a sinus cold and clouds, showers and wind.  It was as an outdoor event at a winery.  I also discovered that the renters on an RV site here that I am managing flew the coup!!  No notice!  My mom was interviewed on CTV in Edmonton about a bear wandering around the river valley because they had a similar incident 8 years ago in their yard but the bear was shot.  Dad is adjusting well to the hip rehab hospital but is worried about his leg being ‘twice the size of a football’.  I am concerned also and hope his body is not rejecting the new hip.  My sister and her partner visited briefly on Saturday.  They were on vacation (from Edmonton) and gave us 15 minutes notice before arriving on our doorstep.  We had a 4 hour visit before they had to press on.

Contessa, Denise & Randy

Our flowers beds are starting to look sad.  They need serious deadheading and lots of fertilizer but I almost think its not worth the effort so late in the season.  We are enjoying our tomatoes and will definitely plant some again next spring.  Last night I found paradise in the freezer.  One bag of  peeled and cleaned extra large shrimp just waiting to be thawed and sauteed in garlic, wine and butter.  Yum…and I also found one last bag of shrimp that is still in the shell and needs cleaning but promises another delicious Mazatlan dinner.

The icewines a gift from Denise & Randy, mucho gracias!

How often have non RV friends and family tried to talk you out of heading into Mexico for the winter?  Over and over!  The violence, drug cartels and vehicle stealing is not limited to south of the US border.  On August 1st, a Wisconsin couple who were on a 5 year cross continent trip had their motorhome stolen in Vancouver, B.C.!  It was found five days later in another part of the Lower Mainland. This was their first stop in Canada.  I wonder what they think of Canada now?  Will they ever return? The next week there was a shoot out in the city and someone died.  On July 12th and and again on the 14th there was gunfire exchanged between drug gangs. A 17 year old was executed in Surrey, B.C. on the 14th. Earlier in July an Alberta couple went missing and are still missing and presumed kidnapped or worse.  Their burnt out Class A motorhome was was discovered in Edson and later in the week ,their tow car was found in another part of Alberta. Today we read about shoot outs in Toronto and now terrorists being arrested.  Who says that Canada is safer than Mexico?

Missing Alberta couples burnt RV!!

Sorry I haven’t been posting too much or  about anything exciting.  It’s a slow news week….we did move back to the house from the RV on Tuesday (after 6 blissful weeks in the RV).  The site next to us (in the house) was sold and for the first time in 7 years we have permanent neighbours…they moved in on Tuesday.  The good news is that they have three times more flowers than me and even more lawn furniture…hard to believe, eh!  The noisy neighbours behind us returned Tuesday so we are back to well…no comment!!!!!!!

My Dad had a cortisone shot in his non operated hip today and was also moved to a rehab facility.  They say it will take about 2-3 days for the cortisone to have an affect.  They moved him from the hospital to Grandview via ambulance.  He rates the hospital as a 1 star out of 5 and the new place a 5 out of 5.  His roommate is a French Canadian who played cards all afternoon with a friend of his which reminded Dad of his father – in – law who played cards a great deal.  The two Frenchies decided to skip the dining room and ordered in wine and pizza for dinner!!  Classy joint I think!  Dad is still in hospital attire and wants his personal duds ASAP.  No one in the family seems free to do this till the weekend so I said to my Mom earlier tonite (I do luv ya Ma but really>>>???!!!)  just spend the taxi fare of $40.00 each way and bring him his clothes tomorrow….pronto!  Actually I guess she could just send the clothes one way via cab….HHHMMMMMMMMM…..no I think Dad would be mucho feliz to see her.  Besides it will be good for her to get out and about for a change.

I am barely hanging in there.  Colin has a raspy voice and sort of sore throat.  He thinks he talked too much (more like shouted a lot in Winnipeg..his Mom has no hearing aid) with his Mom.  Actually she has a sore throat also.

It is 9:15PM local time and we have yet to have dinner…no lunch today but we did get breakfast at 1:00 PM!  Colin is shooting a huge wedding on Friday and tonight is prep night so I best be off to get some protein into the poor guy!!  Oh yeah….does anyone want to come and walk the girls….they haven’t had a walk in 24 hours…bad Mom..I know!

Here is a photo taken by Robert, a great and wonderful neighbour, of a heron on our beach one sunset a few days ago.

Photo de Robert; edit by Contessa

Ultra Allergen Free

I guess if you have designer dogs (that’s what my 96 year old mother in law calls them) you have to buy designer dog food!  This 8 LB bag cost us $50.13CAD.  The very same bag can be purchased in the USA for $26.00!!!  A very big difference which is why we pick it up heading south and again in March before our return to Canada.  This time we miscalculated and got caught short.  This particular kibble is made in the US but has to be purchased from a vet which is why I guess the huge mark up when you buy it in Canada.

Lots and lots of phones calls the last two days.  Colin is having a wonderful visit with his Mom and they even managed a great & fun visit with one brother. I had a massage Friday afternoon and I wasn’t here when Colin called.  For some reason he was worried & got his time zones confused and thought that I was out late!!!!  So he called a friend down the street  to come check on me and even called my Mom in Edmonton to check on my Dad and to see if she had heard from me.  Sweet guy…..you bet!

Dad’s hip surgery went well but his blood pressure was so low that he could not be given any pain medication and he was suffering a great deal according to my Mom.  Poor guy.  Finally late in the evening when his pressure decreased even more they brought in a specialist who was able to order some pain medication.  Saturday it was discovered that his hemoglobin was extremely low so was was started on the first of three bags of blood.  At this point all I can say is that it has been very difficult for an 80 year old but he is definitely hanging in there.

My mother is most unhappy with the smoke in Alberta, it is affecting her breathing.  So very sorry Ma!  Colin is now complaining of the smoke in downtown Winnipeg.  I am just waiting to hear from my friends in Ontario.  Here there is no smoke but we do have cloudy skies and a forecast of rain for tomorrow which should make everyone happy again.

Just got an email from Colin today re his 96 year old Mom….cute..

“The OL Gal has lots of life still even though she is making arrangements for her end. She has been giving away things for the last 20 years because the end is near. One day she will be standing naked in her living room with nothing to sit on. Never hungry she says; last night she had, smoked salmon on bread, a vegetable roll, Gewitztraminar wine, glass of Kahlua and cheesecake.”

This has been the way I have tried to live my life.  Today it was brought to my attention in a forceful manner.  A neighbour was talking with his wife at breakfast when he suddenly slumped over and died.  Perhaps it is in getting older that one realizes you can’t wait for tomorrow, do it today, call a friend, send flowers to a loved one or just send out positive thoughts to the universe because tomorrow may never come.

A little history here….

Carpe diem

Meaning

Usually translated from the Latin as ’seize the day’, or sometimes as ‘enjoy the day, pluck the day when it is ripe’.

Origin

The origin source for the Latin phrase is Horace – in Odes Book I:

Dum loquimur, fugerit invida
Aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero

which translates as:

While we’re talking, envious time is fleeing: seize the day, put no trust in the future

Lord Byron was the first to integrate it into English in his 1817 ‘Letters’, which was published in 1830 by T. Moore:

“I never anticipate, – carpe diem – the past at least is one’s own, which is one reason for making sure of the present.”

Yes it is a very big day.  Colin left at 7:40 Am for Winnipeg to see his 96 year young Mom!  Strange though that he has to fly West to Vancouver in order to head East to Winnipeg.  At least when I navigate heading South we go as directly as possible!

Also today My Dad is having his hip replaced.  It has been an extremely long and painful wait.  As he is 80 it is not necessarily an easy surgery.  All healing & positive thoughts as well as prayers are welcome. He will be arriving at the hospital about 6:45AM and we expect surgery about 2 -3 hours later.

Sorry to all you Albertans emailing me re the smoke….really it isn’t my fault.  I did not set those forest fires, but  you now have an idea of what we go through to get our job done here…tough to do outdoor photos in a fog of smoke.

…to the doggie park in the golf cart…yes says the two girls!

….out driving around town in the sun…yes says Colin!

…..take the motorhome straight south to Mexico….YES says me…..hey it’s my blog!!!