5C's Que Pasa

I certainly did not know.  Had you told me that I would have made it through today I would have denied it.  I was totally stressed.

The day started with the most wonderful sunrise I have ever seen.

Up until 3:30PM I still thought it was not going to happen.  However here I sit at 9:40PM and my kitchen and cupboard contents have been not only transferred to the RV but also put into place.  Once I had everything packed in the house I just knew it was going to be a huge problem transferring but it wasn’t.

Honestly I am bringing much less.....

...it is true.....so those of you who are there, please don't expect any culinary delights this year.

Guess what?  The RV expanded.  It certainly did and not only is everything in place but I have some empty spaces  😯  How did that happen?  The only thing I forgot was the spice cabinet but it does have is own spot in the RV so that will happen in the morning.  I also still need to transfer the house fridge to the RV fridge and the should be just fine.  I even got the Christmas cards done for my Dad and Colin’s Mom and now dated to be mailed at certain intervals. Three each but I might pick up more tomorrow.  They love to get mail.

So I am eating and posting at the same time and then going to hit the sack ASAP.  I am beyond exhausted but am keeping the bigger picture in my mind as motivation. Colin moved the RV this morning about 7:30AM to just in front of our place.  We are allowed to keep an RV on our site for 3 days.  Well our RV is way too large for our site but we bring it in as close as possible and we have been told we are okay.  As long as a fire truck can get past we are good.  Shortly after parking it the snow started and then changed to rain.  Colin was off to do a variety of errands while I packed the kitchen.  Just before he got back the rain stopped and we were able to load it all up.  Once I came back inside for the night, after putting it all away, the rain started again.  Perfect timing I say.

The ice on the lake is melting and the geese are in full reign. Interesting how some tend to go to the edge and sit on the ice. I could never be bored here at anytime of the year. Nature always provides o much entertainment.

Things are not going as well as I would like in Edmonton but as I am not there I can’t complain or get upset about how things are happening.  Dad is doing as well as when I left him but the rest is not how I would do things but I do have to let it all go or I will be a basket case at the very least.  Besides right now I have no time to think.  I am a just a physical doer  😎  Don’t want to think about what is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Caeli, enjoying being buried under a pile of dog blankest just out of hot dryer.

Adios for tonight, tomorrow is full of to do’s and I must get some sleep.  Hasta manana.

Well I have been very busy.  The RV is more or less clean ( less, but we can do it there ) and ready to go.  Did my major grocery shop today and it is in the RV.  I love not having to go shopping when I am on the Isla other than fresh veggies and fruit off the daily truck.  I know that I can make a meal with minimal effort.  It is so worth the time I am taking now.  We only eat fish about 2 -3 times per week so having options ( a variety of soy products ) is handy.  Plus I will make a soup or a crock pot of something tasty at least once per week.  We always start the day with a veggie/fruit smoothie.  I have seeds to start kale, swiss chard and spinach but I might be too late this year to get a crop.  Time will tell.

Next will be the loading of my kitchen ( some pots, rice cooker, knives, etc. ) and what is left in my pantry and the transfer of the fridge.  I just can’t understand why the RV seems to shrink in size every year  😕  Still a few very last minute items to pick up.  Called the US border today and was told that most veggies if made in the US or Canada were alright to bring in.  Being as we are traveling during the US holidays I will be avoiding my usual nightly stops at Walmart for food and wine.

The water pump in the RV has been totally replaced and we do have a spare for the trip.  When traveling to Mexico a spare water pump is VIP as you can’t find one there.  The  RV furnace needed a new circuit board and a new blower and a new thermostat.  That cost us $850.00.  Oh well that is the cost of upkeep on our RV and we are happy to keep it in pristine condition.

Got up to 7C/44F yesterday and the lake started to thaw. Today there is quite a large body of water that the geese were hanging out in. Later in the day the open water was much larger. I really wanted to get a shot of the 300 or so geese sitting out front but it was way too cold at 7AM to head out in my nightie. Sorry folks but I do have limits.

We have had snow off and on over the last few days. Just stay up there in the hills please, until we leave.

Spoke to Dad last night, he is missing me big time.  He says he is just not feeling good overall.  However he is still walking a bit, not as much as when I was there but he is moving.  It is so hard not being there right now but I think he will come to terms with my being away.  Sadly only the one sister is spending time with him right now.  My brother gives Dad 4 hours per week.  I guess I spoilt him but he deserves it  😛

Time to have a hot bath to warm up, accompanied with some vino and 30 minutes reading my book followed by a late dinner and then off to bed.  Tomorrow promises to be a very long day.

Baby it’s cold out there.  Trying to think warm thoughts.

Forgot to mention in yesterdays post that part of my chaos was that I had totally deleted my inbox.  Just as I left Edmonton I was deleting things off of Dad’s computer before it went in to be recycled.  I know that they are supposed to wipe the hard drive first but I thought I would just do some deleting first.  Guess I did one thing wrong.  It has been an inconvenience but I am managing.  But if I was supposed to reply to someone and you don’t hear from me just remind me.

For the very first time ever we are seeing our lake in its normal winter condition.  Frozen.

Colin was here watching it happen bit by bit. Interesting how the waves formed in motion.

So now what do the geese do?

I didn’t know that geese stayed here all winter.  Maybe these are late travelers who got caught in the early onslaught of winter.  There are are over 200 geese staying  on the lake and most certainly on our bird island at night.  Throughout the day they come and go, all of them at once creating a huge cacophony of sound.  Truly a sight to behold.

As they land they ski to a stop using their wings as brakes.

Now what?

Not much to eat here.

They are spread out over a large part of the lake, this is just a small portion of them. I never counted but maybe they number over 300. Perhaps they are waiting for a break in the weather to head south. This was taken from inside hence the reflections.

Who knows, maybe we will all be heading south together.

It warmed up a tad yesterday and will again today with temps up to 6C/43F.  I expect we will see some of the ice melting and some very happy geese.  Sadly we heard some gunshots early this morning.  I suspect we have a few hunters out there in the hills  🙁  Well time to get back to work and make some major dents in my RV to do lists ( yes plural as in at least a dozen ).  Happy to say I totally have finished with the business other than a quick trip to the bank next week.

~ for once, check in, security and the flight home went well.  In fact the agent at check in chose to not charge me for my checked suitcase saving me $25.00 and tax plus the flight was just over 23 minutes early.  I was home just about the time I was supposed to land.  We live very close to the airport.  The girls were happy to see me.  After unpacking I put in a few hours at my desk, finally getting to be about midnight.

The great reunion.

~ however our fireplace had packed it in earlier in the day.  Yesterday we had someone come out to check it out and at first he was a bit overwhelmed with the size of the unit and wasn’t too sure how to start.  Fortunately Colin was still here and was able to get the guy going in an analytical fashion.  Turns out that something or other that ignites the gas was soot covered thus not lighting.  Easy fix but still the one hour minimum of $92.40.  No matter, now we know what to check for next time and we have heat again.

All I can say is then in the end he got the job done 🙂

~ Colin couldn’t stay as our car was having it’s pre trip check up, oil change, etc. and a good thing too as we needed a new battery.

~ sadly the RV furnace also packed it in the same day that the house fireplace did.  Colin has had the RV plugged in with a heater going and also the furnace for the past 11 days due to the arctic flow.   The furnace keeps our basement heated which keeps the pipes from freezing.  So our mobile RV tech came ( he is really good and also teaches at the college here ) and extracted the furnace from under the oven and took it with him.  At this time we have no idea the problem, the solution nor the cost nor the time frame.

~ the brand new water pump that was installed just as the cold snap started was not working.  We weren’t sure if our water tank was frozen ( and still don’t know ), however the RV tech did find that one particular crucial wire had not been connected.  Poor guy was working in the dark in minus celsius temperatures.  I assume that that will be rechecked when he returns the furnace.  Temperatures are moving to just above freezing at 3C today but with 30% snow in the forecast.

~ Colin has laryngitis, perhaps due to his doing so much out in the cold.

~ not sure if I had mentioned but our family doctor quit this past August and there is no replacement.  Actually there are 2 MD’s who quit and so our community is short of doctors as none seem to want to move here.  No one in this area or Kelowna or Vernon are taking new patients.  A few weeks ago we heard about someone who was taking patients but you had to go meet him as he likes to ‘interview’ his prospective patients.  The only day that worked was yesterday, half a day after getting home.  Instead of our usual 5 minute drive to our usual clinic this is a 30 minute drive to Vernon.  Long story short this guy has major attitude and seems extremely regimented with a huge ego.  He only does things his way and is not very open to discussion.  Thanks but no thanks, we will just take our chance at our walk in clinic until someone else shows up willing to take patients.

~ spent the rest of yesterday at my desk dealing with the usual but also dealing with a multitude of aggravating problems including  my .xls invoice program not working.  In the end I had to call in our mobile ‘Geeks on the Way’ guy who refused to come as he said it was a just a 10 second fix.  Well it took close to an hour as he tried to email/chat me thru it and that just wasn’t working as I had no idea what he was telling me.  I don’t speak geek.  In the end I told him to either call or just come as I needed to get er done.  He called and it was a two minute fix and he refused payment.  He got enough from us earlier this fall 🙄   Finally got to eat dinner, yeah Papa Murphy’s pizza, yup, I thought I deserved to go off diet.

~ hope to finish all the desk and paperwork today.  That leaves me 4.5 days to shop, pack, load and put it all away in the RV.  I honestly don’t think it is possible but I will try my very best.  A body can only do so much in a day.  We really want to leave as planned on the 27th due to a number of factors including traveling within our medical travel days that we have paid for and and appointments for further RV work in the US.  One step at a time.

I am crying as I write this.  I have no idea if this is the last time I will see you alive.  Yes sadly the time has come for me to say au revoir!  I am leaving at 7 PM tonight and heading back to Kelowna and my family.  I know that you have told me over and over to just go to Mexico and have a good time and relax but I still feel  so sad leaving you.    I love you so much and hope that I have done everything to make the months ahead smoother for you.  All of the staff on Unit 29 love you and would do anything for you.  Even Dr. O told me to just go as there was nothing more that I could do.  But you know me, I just want to be there for you 24/7.  Don’t worry I have a diary of when things are supposed to happen and I will be checking and make sure that they are being done. 

It was so special to be able to have that walk down the hallway with you yesterday ( Tuesday ), your first in over four weeks.  You are getting stronger and I pray and hope that I will see you once again in May.  So sorry that they had to chose the same day to drain your lung. Sorry I wasn’t there.  I had gone to check out the nursing home that you will be moving to eventually.  I think you will like it, lots of light, roomy and it seems that the people there are really nice.  I know it won’t be easy for you to adjust but you did manage when you moved from the cardiac unit to 29 M.  Hopefully you can do it one more time.  Just turn on that charm and huge smile you have and don’t forget the jokes.

I am my fathers daughter and will endeavor to do all you have instilled in me. It is just so darn hard to leave you.  I hope the rest of your kids come through for you and give you the love and respect that you deserve.  I promise to call often.  Don’t worry, you are not alone, I will continue to do all that I can for you while away.

Hasta Mayo.

Our final walk together