5C's Que Pasa

We feel like that is what we are doing.  In order to keep Carmeh from further injuring her back we have made some major modifications to our home.  I have already shown you the ramps the girls now use in order to go in and out to do their business.  Caeli of course can still do stairs but she is now on the same regime as Carmeh.

This is the ramp up to our bed where Carmeh prefers to spend the majority of her day. From here she can see down the street and watch any activity.

Caeli will do all the other ramps but refuses to use the one onto the bed 🙄   So when she wants to go up there she cries and then one of us lifts her up.  The ramp is barricaded on both sides so that is has to be used and the pink rope along the edge means that they can’t jump off the ramp before the bottom.  That black wire fencing goes all around the bed so that Carmeh does not jump off,  something she has done in the past.

The other inside ramp is up to the chesterfield.  We have cushions along the rest of the sofa plus the black fencing you can see on the right surrounding the open area of the sofa.

They like to come up here early in the morning when the sun is shining in this area or late afternoon.  Caeli gives a different type of cry when she wants to go up here and from wherever we are in the house we just tell her ” it’s okay, go up “. and she just goes up.  Carmeh uses all the ramps with no hesitation.  When she is tired she is very slow.  Needless to say if we are nearby we pick her up to go up or down in order to save her back.

Every chair is blocked by something so that Carmeh can’t jump up. Even the pink Victorian slipper chair in the background has something on it. I had forgotten this one and one day found Carmeh up there once she was feeling better.  She likes to be up on something.

Our house is no longer a home.  There is nowhere to just sit and relax.  Of course I can just move something and sit down but overall things no longer look inviting.  I had planned on doing a surprise party for Colin for his 65th next week but this just is not the time in our lives to have 40 or 50 people over.

We’ve even had to put carpet runners here and there and extra area carpets around as Carmeh’s back legs have trouble on the wood floor. She needs some traction to help her walk. Even with the carpets she still slips.

So for now or however long it takes we are living in a dog house.

I’ve meant to update you on the Frankenstein tree.  When it got very very hot a while back the tree started to fade and the leaves were falling off as if it were autumn. Walter, our lawn guy, suggested that after the sun went behind the hill each night, that we water it from above as if it were raining.  We did that for over two weeks and the tree has stopped shedding leaves.  Hopefully it has survived this heat wave but we know more are coming.  Sadly we have only had a further 20 minutes of rain in the past 4 days.  Other areas have had rain which has helped the fire situation but not us.  Firefighters from Australia arrived in Vancouver yesterday to help out.

Caeli whom we got to replace Channel likes to sit close to the small piece of art work we got in honor of Channel.  Channel loved birds and butterflies.

Colin went up the mountain again, to the same spot he saw the bear at 18 days ago.  He has to finish the shoot and he needed models for this final phase of the photo.  Because he was bringing along a family complete with 2 kids and 2 dogs he asked for an escort for safety.  He also had official bear spray and some sort of device made to scare off the bears.  Fortunately there were no bear encounters this time around.

I bought these cushions for the girls a few months ago but they would not use them. Finally today Carmeh did.

I can’t say that she is improving but she can walk with a funny gait and gets around on all fours more than less.  The vet told us to start letting her walk for about 5 – 10 minutes per day.  She loves it but is ready to get back in the stroller after a bit.  Hopefully we will be able to build her up to walk the beach this winter.  She is off all medications and other then being hungry all the time she seems very happy.  I wish I could feed her extra but the last thing she needs is extra weight for her back to carry around.

Saw this checking in the other day. Nice old truck.

There is much more noise on the street.  The park is full of children who ride their bikes, scooters, skateboards and rent low rider bikes and  go around and around all day long and they just make lots of noise.  Many more cars cruising past checking out all the sites.  The girls get agitated and bark at times at all the different sounds.  When the A/C is on they don’t hear the sounds as much.  Today we got warmer then was forecast and now at 5:30PM it is 88F inside but too late to turn the A/C on.  The temps will cool quickly once the sun goes behind the hill.  I love having the windows wide open but a bit of a breeze would be welcome.

I found a small amount of Chihuahua cheese in the freezer yesterday so I made pizza for dinner. Love that cheese. If you ever have a chance to try it you will be in for a treat.

Colin is doing another 14 hour day today which involves 3 different shoots as well as meetings with clients.  Us girls sure miss him when he is gone but I keep telling myself that this is what allows us to be in Mexico all winter.  He gets to do it all over again tomorrow.

For a few reasons my Dad’s will did not pass probate.  So it has to be redone.  Thank goodness I have a lawyer doing this.  I’m sure I would have made even more errors but I do resent having to pay to have it redone by a professional.  Of course I have to take it all to a notary/lawyer here in Kelowna to have an affidavit sworn once again and then courier it back to Edmonton.

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We had a rainbow the other night and I can’t believe that my small camera caught this shot.  The rainbow was more vivid to the eye.

In this area at least, we have not had any thunder showers in the last 48 hours, just a very few tiny rain showers that amounted to nothing and then last night a great downpour 😆   According to the authorities the rain has helped calmed the fires and only 48 new fires have started in B.C. in the last two days.

The cooler temps and breezes have been delightful. We are blessed.

This morning we awoke to no smoke to speak of.  We are hoping for another rain shower tonight. It was a good day without have to turn on our A/C.

Meanwhile the surprise I had mentioned a week ago finally came to be.

Our driveway has grown by one vehicle. Can you spot which it is?

Colin just received an early birthday gift.  Unexpected but fun and why not? He doesn’t turn 65 for another 10 days so he is just gently breaking in his new car until then.

The HHR will remain our toad to tow behind the RV to Mexico. For now it rests next to our RV, stored in front of our neighbors boat.

Fun times for the 5C’s.

We awoke this morning to clouds and cool temps around 72F.  I could smell rain in the air.  About an hour later….

The rain pelted down for about 20 minutes. It was wonderful.

Shortly thereafter the dark smoky sky resumed and the heat started to climb but the difference was the added 35 – 45 % humidity.  Don’t know how you folks in the East manage 😥  Forecast is for rain showers and  thundershowers.  So far today, we have had no thundershowers and we pray that we won’t.  Not only for the environment but also for Carmeh.  Yes I do have a Thunder Shirt for her but of late she struggles double hard to get out of it and because of her back issues we are not using it.

Contessa’s public service announcement.

The following is what makes me very sad….just found this online.

I also found this online and it is certainly worth you watching this video ( just under 2 minutes ) if it is the only one you watch this week.  It is narrated by Julia Roberts and gives another point of view as to what is happening on our earth in these trying times.  If you care about life and this world please watch this 2 minute video.

…it’s hot out there and it’s hot in here.  Yesterday we along with a number of other local cities broke some heat records and today we are going to do it once again.  We are at 100F when the norm should be 81F for this time of year.  Never before have we run our A/C from 8AM till 10PM.  And then we run the huge overhead fan over the bed at night as we restlessly try and sleep.

As you know we have more windows than walls. On days like these where we face the rising sun in the morning and then the afternoon southern sun followed by the setting western sun we get rather hot on the inside of the house.  Even with the A/C running.  Full sun 80% of the day is tough on any A/C unit.  On the side of the house where the furnace spews the cold air from our outside A/C unit we get down to 76F which is just fine.  However where our desks are and where we spend the day, even with the A/C running full out, it is 87F right now at 5:15PM.  Not the best of conditions to work in.

I’m tired of being kept inside,  of not being able to go for a walk or a bike ride. Forget about taking the girls for a ride in the golf cart, they are panting after 2 blocks and I am after about 4 blocks.  However if I go outside midday to take the girls out to do their business for five minutes and come back in, it seems blissfully cool.  I am not complaining about our home, we love it but right now things are at the extreme.  I’ve pretty much given up on my diet and am eating the wrong foods, my choice to cope with the situation.  Of course it is the wrong choice but as I said to Colin last night ” I am done” 😯

Don’t ever recall being so unsettled living here. It’s more that depressing.

A very special thank you to the 62 Mexican fire fighters who have arrived in Alberta to help.  Bienvenudos’.  Meanwhile not only one contingent of firefighters have arrived from Ontario but two delegations have arrived.  Thank you.  Their cool and wet weather have allowed them to come help us.  And then I hear from a reader, Ann in Indiana, I wish I could send you some of our rain. We have more than enough to put out all the fires. Crops drowned and houses flooded here in Indiana. Talk about extremes.

I just can’t get my head around the FACT that 2.6 million hectares have burned in Canada in the past few months.

According to one of the news reports today things are not improving.

10 of 18 new fires here in B.C. in the last 24 hours were human caused 🙁

Meanwhile back to our life.  Colin brought the RV in on Monday to a local RV shop, to have new slide rubbers ( which we already had ) replaced on the slides.  We have been having some wet carpet issues the last six months and as we already had the replacement rubbers ( ordered from Rexhall a few years ago ) we decided that this was the time.  However it was not to be.  Once the job was underway we received a phone call.  There was too much rust on the rails to reapply the new rubber and it would have to go to a body shop.  Colin was home doing photoshop and hopped in the car and was onsite within 15 minutes.  Not a big deal in his opinion.  There was only a 3 foot area of the entire slide that had rust ( likely rain seeping in ) but the RV dealer refused to deal with the situation.  Lazy….oops, did I really write that 🙄

So he asked them to simply put some goop in that area and reapply the existing slide out rubber seal to restore it.  He also asked them to replace the bulb seals on the flange.  When he went back to pick up our RV, the seals on the slide out looked better than ever.  Meanwhile we have contacted our wonderful RV tech, Eric from Manitoba/Mazatlan, who will replace the slide rubbers with no issues once we arrive on the Isla.  Of course he will grind the bit of rust off and we will be as good as new.  However Colin is confident that we are good for several more years now that he has seen the goop fix up and the new bulb seals.  We shall see how the trip south goes and then decide.

Once the RV was done with the dealership, Colin drove the RV to a Freightliner shop where the two air bag were replaced. As we already had the parts, the cost to us for labor was a mere $212.00.  Good deal.  Why do we carry the extra airbags and the slide out rubbers?  When we travel Mexico there are certain parts you can’t get and it behooves us to carry them.  Over the years we have suffered with no A/C way south in Acapulco.  Another time heading south the air bag came apart.  Thank goodness and Colin with his attention to detail figured it out.  Otherwise one of us would have had to stay in the RV at the side of the road while the other drove back to the USA to get the part.  We can’t carry it all but certain things we do as we know they are impossible to get in Mexico and especially if we suspect that the part needs replacing very soon.

Colin is doing photography in a home that is extremely chilled. The owner keeps asking if he should turn up the ‘heat’. Meanwhile Carmeh keeps her vigil out the bedroom window.