Apr 26, 2015

4:40AM wake up call

A persistent honk, honk, honk, over and over.  I finally opened my eyes, 4:40AM 👿   Up I got and went to look at the lake.

Only he wasn't in the water but up on my neighbors roof.

Only he wasn’t in the water but up on my neighbors roof.

Finally he flew off and I eventually fell asleep. Shortly after 6:00AM is started all over again.  This time we both were awakened and Colin got up.  We just wanted to be sure they aren’t pooping all over our lawn.

This time it's two of them on the roof next door and the neighbor was up also and chased them off.

This time it’s two of them on the roof next door and the neighbor was up also and chased them off.

That was it.  Time to get up.  Spent the day catching up on non business things and doing a deep clean of the house.  After my walk I managed a glass of wine enjoyed with a novel.

Saw these two off in the distance on the lake today.

Saw these two off in the distance on the lake today.  They kept to themselves and are the only pair I have spotted on the lake.

A better photo off the internet of these Bufflehead ducks.

A better photo off the internet of these Bufflehead ducks.

Very different than the tufted duck I posted about on April 23rd.

Enjoy your Sunday evening whatever you do.  We are going enjoy a tuna pot pie with a huge Caesar salad and some TV in our lounge chairs.  I am pretty certain that I will be in bed early.

Comments(6)

Apr 25, 2015

Done..Done…DONE!!

Just finished our personal taxes, my Dad’s taxes and completed the paperwork on our year end.  Phew, I have dents in my fingers.  I do it all the old fashioned way with a pen and paper.  We even managed a telephone conference with our accountant today.  Yes a Saturday, he is working day and night until May 1st.  Once again he has already saved us a ton of money and that is before he sees the company records.  He has a way of weaving and creating figures that make us look good.

I ran out of desk space so covered the dinning room table with a flanellete sheet to do final synopsis.

I ran out of desk space so covered the dining room table with a flannelette sheet to work on the final synopsis.  I have to say that I balanced the entire year within $90.00.  I have been spot on most years but this is close enough for me considering the year I have had.

It has been nasty cold out there with a wicked wind.  7C is not much of a high especially compared to the temps of 24 – 26 C last week.  So far the rain seems to fall only at night.

The girls only agenda is to stay warm.

The girls only agenda is to stay warm.  They want to go out but when I open the door and they get that blast of cold air they run right back inside to snuggle in the warmth.  By the way if any of you know where to get floor pillows similar to these please let me know.  These need to be replaced and the girls don’t like anything I have come up with to date.

Colin is on a mission. He decided that today was the perfect day to rearrange the shed.

Colin is on a mission. He decided that today was the perfect day to rearrange the shed.

Colin finally walked the girls while I finished everything up.  The envelope with our cheques to the Revenue Canada is ready to go as is the larger pile of paperwork to send to the accountant via Fed Ex on Monday.  Dad would be happy to know that he gets a large refund 😆  I managed to take half an hour off and head out to get the insurance on my BMW.  We are now back to being a two car family.

Finally he takes a break to crack his back. Starting Monday Afternoon I have no idea when I well

Finally he takes a break to crack his back. Starting Monday afternoon I have no idea when I will see him.  The jobs are coming in which is amazing since we are gone half the year.

d

These are waiting to be recharged from El Sol.  Maybe tomorrow.

It has been a busy week and now at 5:40PM I am saying adios and cracking open a large bottle of vino blanco.  Last night Colin did a Tempura/Salmon Teriyaki take out for dinner as I was just going non stop at my desk.  He is also going full tilt but I guess he has tons more energy than I do.  That dinner by the way was very good and we will do it again sometime.  Tonight I plan to make us a homemade pizza for dinner and just enjoy the fact that the pressure is off.  Now I can just go day to day and deal with what needs to be accomplished but with no stress. Major for me.

Have to admit that I managed to drink a glass of vino on edit of the post.  The weight is off my shoulders.  Always so difficult the first 1 -2 weeks when we get back.  This is our life, Colin has no plans to retire until he is at least 90  🙄

 

Comments(12)

Apr 24, 2015

Even more que pasa & a baby Romina update

The apple orchards are in full bloom as are the lilacs.

The apple orchards are in full bloom as are the lilacs.

Colin had been going no stop since we got back. I don't recall getting somuch accomplished in one week.

Colin had been going non stop since we got back. I don’t recall getting so much accomplished in one week.  Here he is building dog ramps.

Caeli is his helper, I caught her mid roll.

Caeli is his helper, I caught her mid roll.

There is a ramp at the front steps and another at the back. Carmeh demonstrates how to ignore the ramp. Fortunately the steps here, unlike the RV, are very close together so it is easier on their backs.

There is a ramp at the front steps and another at the back. Carmeh demonstrates how to ignore the ramp. Fortunately the steps here, unlike the RV, are very close together so it is easier on their backs.

There is also a ramp going up to our bed and hers it the 4th, up to the sofa where they like to sit on that pile of pillows and blankets. Just a tad spoilt I think.

There is also a ramp going up to our bed and here it the 4th, up to the sofa where they like to sit on that pile of pillows and blankets. Just a tad spoiled I think.  They used to jump up on the brown stool and then the sofa, this is better for them.

s

This is the document that Romina’s family had been waiting for.  It should clear the way to them getting a travel Visa into the US.

s

I was impressed to see that they plan to keep treating Romina until she turns 15.

Colin has finishedpulling out all of our summer things fomr under the hourse

Colin has finished pulling out all of our summer things from under the house as well as power washing and cleaning spider guts off the siding as he is going here.  I get to pop up from my desk from time to time to take a photo, if I remember.

A quick and unfocused photo but all to the good, there are in fact, two geese families.

A quick and unfocused photo but all to the good, there are in fact, two geese families.

we didn't get snow but we got a lot of rain and quite the dusting of so

We didn’t get snow but we got a lot of rain overnight and quite the dusting of snow on the hills this morning.

If like me you are craving another Isla sunset, check it out here.  Thanks Rae.

 

Comments(8)

Apr 23, 2015

Que pasa

We haven’t even been home a week but it certainly feels like we have done at least 3 weeks of work.  I wish I could take time off to just recover from the journey, from the unloading and from the loss of my father.  I will do all of that soon ( I hope ) but honestly the first few weeks are needed to do personal taxes and this year, my father’s taxes, as well as our company year end and ensuing taxes.  This is the penalty we pay for taking time off and being in Mexico.  Things need our attention when we return.  At least all the mail and other problems have been dealt with.

Caeli doesn't care, she just relaxes where ever she is. That irrigation sprinkler head is her favorite toy and she only has two that she plays with.

Caeli doesn’t care, she just relaxes wherever she is. That irrigation sprinkler head is her favorite toy and she only has two that she plays with.  The other is a tiny 2 inch Santa hat, which I just realized is still in the RV.

Unloading and unpacking and putting things away in our tiny house, about 970 sq ft, means there is not one ounce of extra space.  Anything extra that comes in means that something has to go out and even then we are still over crowded.

s

These three large bags are full of clothing that is too large for me and it has now been donated to Goodwill.

I managed to get all our laundry done, only 13 loads but there are another 2 of  just my sundresses that need doing eventually.  Everything has been put away. Yeah.  Our personal taxes have been sent to the accountant.  Still working on the year end and I need to get that finished ASAP.  Still need to clean the house, it hasn’t been dusted since mid November 🙁

Colin has been working hard doing the physical stuff while I mostly sit at my desk.  Oh how I miss my long beach walks.  I did get out for a 30 minute walk today and felt like I was out of shape.  Could have something to do with all the clothes I have to wear including a heavy jacket and long pants.  We have been home a week today and the weather then was summer like with 26C temps.  Yesterday we had rain and wind and today wind and very cool.  Well cool for us @ 56F.  More rain tonight and showers for the next three days.

Colin left his inversion table at our storage facility on the Isla. It was getting rusty. So he ordered a new one on Amazon which we picked up at the RV Park in Yuma. This one is lighter and will stay here so no rust.

Colin left his inversion table at our storage facility on the Isla. It was getting rusty. So he ordered a new one on Amazon which we picked up at the RV Park in Yuma. This one is lighter and will stay here, so no rust.  Pretty posh eh, having an inversion table at both places.

For a while Caeli was in the box but settled on outside the box for her nap.

For a while Caeli was in the box but settled on outside the box for her nap.

These are a constant foursome on the lake. Strange mix.

These are a constant foursome on the lake right now.   Strange mix.  The black & white duck at the top right appears to be a tufted duck which do pass through this area.  Any other thoughts?

We are still awaiting our replacement window.

We are still awaiting our replacement window.

The golf cart was picked out and sent out for a checkup and tune up.

The golf cart was picked up and sent out for a checkup and a tune up.  We should have it back in about four weeks.

s

Our winter trek in a nutshell.

We drove a total of 5807 miles or 8822.4 km.  That is only 42 miles more that long time blog reader Sandy did back to their home in West Virginia.  Each letter of the alphabet stands for where we stopped either for the night or longer.  As always I will eventually do a post on expenses and all those interesting financial tidbits you folks like to read about.

I started this post yesterday and never got it completed in time.  More tomorrow I promise.  Stay tuned.

 

 

 

Comments(11)

Apr 21, 2015

This made me smile today

IMG_5406 I heard quite a bit of loud honking this morning and stood up at my desk to see what was happening. 🙂  I ran outside with my camera and caught them just as they had passed by.

Thanks for all of your comments and emails and thoughts and hugs.  It helped, a lot.

Sadly just at the end of the day we saw a similar family pass by with only 4 babies.  I am hoping that it was a different family.  Positive thoughts.

Comments(5)

« Prev - Next »