5C's Que Pasa

Yesterday we were at the vet for the girls annual checkup and required shots.  Our vet suggested that the reason Caeli might be so very sluggish is because of a thyroid problem.  We both thought that it really was just who Caeli was.  However, being the good parents that we are, we went with the suggested blood work.  So $220.00 later we found out today that her blood work is 100%. The actual total vet bill was just over $660.00 😥

Oh well $220.00 on the dog and $1200.00 on my car 😯   Colin noticed that I was dripping oil ( not me but my BMW roadster ) on the driveway.  So he took it in.  Turns out I had an oil leak from the valve cover gasket and then once they repaired that they found I also had a warped valve gasket cover.  Apparently this is a common problem with the Z3.  Methinks we might be selling the mighty beast next summer.

Then today we picked up our RV.  Haven’t had a moment to tell you that we are having a few reno’s done.  First problem, the cost was 3 times the original quote.  Details and photos when I have more time.

Finally got the RV home today complete with mouse turds all over and dead bugs adding to the decor.  Rather then put it back in storage Colin called a friend and asked to use his site for the next two weeks.  We will pay for the use as well as the electricity.  It is just 1/2 block away from us  ( Chris & Juan stayed there last year ) and that was a great decision on Colin’s part as it is so close.

Once we got back here, it took both of us on two different phone lines, over two hours to deal with all the sudden business issues.  The jobs are still coming in and we have managed to give out two to our ‘apprentice’, say no to another and yes to two others.  Colin is off on a 10 hour shoot tomorrow in Enderby.  My job is to collect the outstanding receivables this week and that is not going too well  👿   Finally Colin had a moment to get back to the RV to check things out.  50% of the electrical plugs don’t work not to mention the generator, etc.  Fortunately we were able to get an RV tech to come out on Saturday to check things over.  So there is a huge amount of cleaning to be done as well as troubleshooting.  Still hoping to leave two weeks from today but……..

No worries, we will be heading south, hopefully on the 4th as expected.  On the positive side, at least we have an RV to travel in and we have a job that allows us the privilege to do so.  One day at a time.

Can’t believe it but for the first time in 27 years we are off to bed at 9PM…..exhausted.

First off we are busy with a capital B.  We have made 40% of our annual business income in the last 4 weeks 🙄 Still trying to get it all finished up.  Every year is different and for a variety of reasons, but I have to say I am worn out.

Every now and then I am able to carve out a few moments to get my to do lists going for our departure. Here I was working on special recipes and making sure that I had a list to buy specific ingredients that I can’t find in Mazatlan.

So glad the election is behind us.  Enough said.  The other day Colin picked up another tube of peanut butter flavored dog toothpaste.  He is in charge of teeth, we each have specific duties with the girls.  But I was shocked when I saw the Visa receipt.  $17.46 for 2.5 oz tube, way way overpriced.  Today was vet day for the girls.  They got their annual check up, shots, anal glands expressed and I picked up some extra medication that we might need on the Isla, just in case.  If something happens to Carmeh I want to be sure I can medicate her ‘right now’ so she does not suffer.  We also did bloodwork on Caeli as she is so very laid back that there was a question of a thyroid problem.  We also had the International Travel paper work completed.  The bill was just under $700.00 😯

A month or so ago I ordered two kits to make paw prints as a final momento.  Can’t remember which one this was for but I did put their name on it as well.  We have these for each of our other two who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Last Saturday was a perfect fall day and Colin spent several hours raking leaves, power washing the Weber to take to Mexico, cleaning up all our flower pots as well as storing our patio furniture for the winter.  I was inside chained to my desk when I would have loved to be outside.

Good choice of day as it rained on the Sunday.  Today the sun shone again and that is the forecast for the next week.  Only two weeks before D Day so I’m really hoping that the rain will stay away while we start loading the RV.

Caeli can’t get enough heat from the sun.

Each day that the sun shines there are one or two water skiers out on the lake.

We almost ran out of propane on Sunday.  We were down to 5% of our 300 liter propane tank.  They company we use usually checks every week and automatically fills us up.  The thing is we were filled last on September 2nd and that is a lot of propane to go through and I suspect that the fellow just assumed that we would be good for a while.  However we do use our propane fireplace a lot and we used the entire tank up.  They did an emergency fill first thing yesterday morning.  Then our landline telephone suddenly stopped working  late yesterday morning.  Thank goodness a repair tech came by this morning and sourced the problem.  You have no idea how much you rely on a phone until you don’t have one.

Someone was having a lovely paddle on a perfect fall day.  Those colors are as Nature painted them.  Quite the brightly colored kayak.

7:45PM Tuesday evening and time to start dinner…….

…certainly not the outcome we expected but still better than what could have been.

The following comes from a home my husband recently photographed.

The family room, note the piece of art at the top of the fireplace.

Yup, that is a cougar.

It is an actual real cougar.  Needless to say, been through the total taxidermy thing.

Needless to say, not my cup of tea.  But these folks have a beautiful home and they love nature.  I love my nature in a different way 🙁

Two nights ago our financial advisor had an appreciation evening for his clients.  We have only been with him for a year and a half and we are so happy to have made the change.

The event took place at the Kelowna Golf and Country Club.  Their flowers look wonderful for this time of  year.

Loved this piece of art, all done in wood.

It was my first time here and there were some beautiful grounds and fountains surrounding the dinner area but it was too dark to get any good photos.  Colin had come to a similar evening last October while I was in Edmonton with my father.

Rob Reid does a superb job of managing our money even during this recession.  Later in the evening we heard from one of the top fund managers.

Prior to dinner there were a few raffle draws. Guess who won a very very nice bottle of wine?

Dinner was a buffet with what I assume was a lovely piece of beef that was hand carved for each guest.  Despite the fact that we don’t eat meat we still found plenty of other foods to fill us.  Such a variety of tastes and textures.  The wine never stopped.  It was a fun date with my husband even though he was driving and didn’t partake in the vino.

I never asked the name of this dessert creation. Every bite was superb and I even ate those few bits of chocolate even though I am allergic to chocolate. Yummy.

We don’t get out much and as this was at the crux of our busy time it made the evening even more special.  We certainly appreciated it.