5C's Que Pasa

Why are people so stupid?  It’s 100F at 6:00PM and climbing.  Yes everyone,our A/C is on and has been since 10:00AM.  We really didn’t need it yesterday but we will for the next few days.  I have so many rants today that I don’t even know where to start.

We’ve all read in the news about the fellow in Georgia whose son, a mere toddler, was left in a car and died in the heat.  I’m not going into the details or the reasons behind this incident on July 3rd other than to say it was headline news here in Canada as well as in the US.  Did you also read about the three year old in South Carolina who was missing for only an hour and was found trapped, on the hottest day of the year, in the family car?  He died a few days later from heatstroke.  So why would a stupid father leave his two sons in a hot car on July 11th.  The boxes to the left show how the car interior can heat up in less than 13 minutes from 31.6C/97F to 45C/113F.  Idiot!  His children should be taken away from him.

This happened right here in Kelowna where I live just a few days ago.

This is our normal view, well actually the snow was finally melted by July 2nd.

This is our view today.

That is smoke you are seeing blocking our view.  Yesterday I mentioned that we awoke to 2 new fires.  Today we found out that one had been started by an abandoned campfire.  It was left unattended after midnight.  Do people no long have any brain matter?  A friend mentioned to me that the smoke is so bad in Jasper, one of the most beautiful spots in Alberta, that people are avoiding the area and going elsewhere.  People travel from all over the world to go to Jasper in the summer as well as to here in the Okanagan 👿    Sadly it gets worse.

Another two new fires.

The Mount Boucherie fire is just off of Hwy 97, the main highway coming into Kelowna on the West Side.  It is on the side of a mountain and will be difficult to deal with.  However the RCMP are having to deal with motorists who are stopping on the Hwy to take photos, creating even more problems.  Then there was the announcement  to boaters to please stay away from the helicopters dipping their buckets into the lake to pour on the fire. Is it not logical to stay aware so as to not impede putting out the fire?  Water is our one great commodity around here.  Colin & I have often said that we would just go into the lake if we were threatened.

Actually since I took that last shot, another fire has just been announced.  This one is near the Apex Mountain Guest Ranch, only 1 kilometre away. It is aggressive and moving quickly.  How many water tankers are available and helicopters with water buckets?  The province doesn’t have an unlimited amount, not to mention feet on the ground.  Who has started these fires?  Grrr!!!!!  Update, before I even finish this post….the fire has been deemed to be human caused and is still burning aggressively.  Other than lightening strikes ( which we don’t have right now ), all of these fires have to be caused by the stupidity of man.

OMG!! I just checked my online news and yet another fire.  Folks that is three fires within 2 hours.  Unbelievable!!  Is everything around us going to burn up.  This last fire is just off the Coquihalla Highway near the old toll booths.  It is over 40 hectares and is very aggressive, moving fast and too dangerous to fight. Direct from Castanet.net….

Fire Information Officer Melissa Klassen says a repel crew initially attended the fire in addition to air tankers and helicopters but they have now pulled all crews from the area as the fire was no longer safe for crews.

The Wildfire Management Branch is now keeping eyes on the fire from the sky.

“We are seeing aggressive fire behaviour, up to rank five. That means a rapidly spreading wildfire with a organized flame front creeping up into the trees, candling, and with a high flame height,” says Klassen.

All of this means that Colin will no longer be able to do any jobs until the smoke clears.  That is likely to be weeks and weeks unless we get a miracle and lots of rain.  As I type this we are thinking that this is the worst summer since the great fire of 2003, the year we moved here and had to evacuate the next day.

If you look at the second news line above, it mentions a fatal crash near Duck Lake. This photo taken from our patio shows how the traffic has been affected.

The three car crash occurred less than 1/2 mile to the right of this photo.  We can see the flashing red lights from the emergency vehicles attending not to mention hearing the many many sirens.  This is a stretch of highway that scares me to drive.  I turn right in less than a mile to come home.  Even though I drive the speed limit I am constantly being passed and honked at for diving too slow.  So what happened less than 90 minutes ago that one person died and five others were taken to hospital?  Were they site seeing and not paying attention to the road or was someone else speeding?  We will find out in the days to come.  Crazy drivers, always in a rush to get 2 seconds ahead of the next guy.  Sadly this incident has closed the highway in both directions for at least 4 hours, likely longer.  That means that if we had to go somewhere we are trapped here in our home. As a matter of fact, I only returned home less than 40 minutes before this accident occurred.  No way in, no way out.  Hopefully none of the over 1000 residents in this park will not need emergency care not to mention the over 1000 residents on the other side of the street.  How many people will not be able to get to our international airport to make their flights?  Folks are sitting in their vehicles with their cars running to keep the A/C going in our over 100F temperatures.   Can you imagine the firefighters with boots on the ground working in these inferno conditions?

It gets even worse.  People are going to loose their homes tonight.  An update on the last fire, the one off the Coquihalla Highway, again from Castanet news.

An evacuation alert has now been issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District for all residents near Murray Lake.

An aggressive over 45-hectare fire is just kilometres from Murray Lake and the wildfire poses an imminent threat to people and property.

Due to the potential danger to life and health, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District has issued an Evacuation Alert for the areas referred to in map below.

An evacuation alert has been issued to prepare you to evacuate your premises and property should it be found necessary.

"My whole yard was pink last night" she wrote. Thanks for sharing. I bet you didn't know that your photo would be the highlight of my day.

 

UPDATE….very very heartbroken to report that three people were killed in the car crash just across the lake from us and there are several others with unknown injuries.

What is a supermoon?  This year we are fortunate to have three in a row.  The first was last Saturday and if you missed it be sure to check it out on August 10th and again on September 9th.

As written by Andrew Watt.

Supermoon events occur when the full moon coincides with it reaching the closest point to the Earth in its elliptical orbit – known as the perigee.

When in perigee, the Moon is just 360,000km away from Earth, and around 50,000km closer then when it is at its apogee, the furthest it gets away from us.

The term ‘supermoon’ was coined in 1979 by astrologer Nichard Nolle and according to Nasa scientist James Barvin, “It is called a supermoon because this is a very noticeable alignment that, at first glance, would seem to have an effect. The ‘super’ in supermoon is really just the appearance of it being closer.”

The Moon will be closest to Earth at 11:25pm this Saturday evening when it will be 358,258km away.

If you miss tonight’s event, don’t worry because there will be another on the 10th August when it will be 1,362km closer than it is tonight. This will be the brightest it will appear all year.

A third supermoon will occur on the 9th September when it will be 358,387km away.

Hand held with my shaky paws. Can you image what a tripod would do?

This was taken 2 days prior to the full moon.

We woke up to 2 news fires this morning.

The Sugar Lake one is the oldest.

We did not see any blue sky nor sunshine this morning. Just a lot of smoke. Fortunately it rained and then drizzled a bit. Hopefully this will help our tinder dry forest.

We did have a spectacular sunset last evening. It was almost Arizona like in that it was 360 degrees.

But it did not cool down for hours.  For the first time ever in this house we slept with our bedroom ceiling fan on.

Yesterday was hot with about 1% humidity.

Now today at 5PM we have a high of 89.6F including a humidity of 45%. Almost like the folks back East.  It certainly is feeling close.  No A/C today, as we usually don’t turn it on until it reaches 88F  and with several more degrees to come.  The thermometer only shows 86.9F not including the humidity. However we have finally resorted to turning on a few fans.

I find it rather funny that we are getting our heat from the USA.

Meanwhile the USA is getting cold temps from Canada. Global warming anyone? Taken from online news.

Let me get this straight, the US is responsible for our heat wave while Canada is responsible for the cold south of the border. Also taken from online news.

I give up.  It is what it is.  Thanks for stopping by.

~my eye is still a problem which is why I’m post so infrequently.  I see the eye doctor again on Saturday.  I find editing my photos difficult.  This post will be in bits and pieces so that I can come & go from the computer.  I’ll see if that helps.

~I’m still attending Weight Watchers and have lost 12.4 lbs since we’ve returned from Mexico.  Only about 4 more to go to get to where I was last fall.  However I’m going to keep going and hope to loss at least an extra 5 lbs or so.

We had some wobbly pavers and have been waiting a long time for our landscaper to add some sand underneath them. It was a big job as the 24" x 24" slabs each weigh 100 lbs. It wasn't easy to pull them up and add the sand and put them back in place.

~Dad remains frail and seems to have no energy.  He was assessed last Wednesday at home with my sister there.  A few things came up and we are going to get some changes implemented which should make his daily life easier thus not using up too much energy in just the day to day things.  Right now he is having trouble cooking, doing laundry, getting out to appointments and shopping.  Fortunately I have three siblings living in Edmonton whom I’m in constant contact with and things are being done that need doing.  I am spending a lot of time online finding things out and doing research in general.  That and Colin’s work are my priorities right now.

~our A/C is still working fortunately.

~we are going through a heat wave right now with temps between 10 -12C above normal.  I can’t imagine not having air conditioning.

Yesterday we noticed that the leaves at the very top of the maple we planted last year were curling. We gave it a good soak. Many of my flowers are dying. First it was too much water and now the heat is just too much for them.

~the weather has been great for Colin to get caught up.  He’s been working from 7:30AM till midnight for the past 6 days.

~I am feeling so much better and am doing everything I used to do around the house.  I have no idea how Colin managed to work last summer as well as care for me after my hip surgery, never mind walk the dogs, water the plants, grocery shop, feed me and keep the house clean, etc.  It is so nice to be able to do all of those things once again and remain pain free.

~sadly the heat has led to forest fires resulting in haze and now smoke.  This happens year after year.  We get the perfect window for just a few days.  Colin still needs two perfectly clear evenings to complete jobs promised.  Who knows when and if that will happen?  Last summer we battled smoke from the Alaska fires.

This helicopter came by the other day, picked up a bucket of water and never came back. I think he was just practicing.

I was walking past when Carmeh caught my attention. She was stretched out, more asleep than awake and her back legs were both lifted in the air.

Today marks the first anniversary of my Mom’s death.  I think it has hit me harder than I expected, likely because I could not be with her at the end.  I was just 10 days into recovery from hip surgery and was unable to travel.

But where has the year gone?  What have I done or accomplished in these last 365 days?  Am I a better person than I was a year ago?  Have I grown as an individual?  Would Mom be happy with the way I’ve lived my life since she passed?  These are but a few of the many questions I ask myself.

I miss her.  I miss being able to pick up the phone to ask her opinion about something. I find myself talking to her in my mind from time to time.  I become very sad and teary when I think that she is no longer with me in this world.

Tomorrow is another day.  I shall endeavor to continue to try and be a better person day by day.

What is it with us and air conditioning?  If you remember on our way back from Mexico this spring and while in Arizona with temperatures hovering at 104F we lost both our RV dash air as well as our overhead air.  It took a few days and mucho pesos to get those two areas repaired.

Now we are having A/C problems here at home in Kelowna.  This little tidbit was just released.

The definition of a heat wave is five days in a row of temperatures reaching five degrees or more above average, that’s according to the World Meteorological Organization, and that is what the Okanagan could be in for.

“Wednesday and Thursday we will cool back down to the high 20s or early 30s and that is the cold days, and then the ridge builds back with real strength towards the weekend,” he explains.

“We are expecting day time highs to get into the mid, and in some parts of the southern interior, the high 30s.”

With those temperatures expected to climb, Interior Health is now warning the public to be vigilant when going outside. They fear many could fall victim to dehydration or sun stroke.

Locally here where we live in the Okanagan that means a low of 31C/88F with highs of 35C/95F plus during the heat wave.

We have lived here in our new home for less than two years and so the A/C unit is less than 2 years old. Last summer was the first time we used it and I’m certain that was less than 14 days total. Mostly because it wasn’t this hot and I certainly would remember as I had my hip replaced June 28th last summer.  Usually here on the lake we have a wee breeze. Well we haven’t  even had a whiff of air lately and it is downright hot.  This is our very first spell of sun, blue sky and heat since we have been back in Canada.  It’s great for Colin to get all the jobs done that we have on the books but is is h*ll for me and the dogs to be inside.  If I wasn’t working I wouldn’t mind so much, I could just veg outside in the heat in the shade.  I’m okay inside until it reaches 87-88 F and then I need to cool down.

So my story begins the end of June while we were dealing with temps in the low 30C’s.  We decided to turn on the A/C just to be certain all was right with the system.  It wasn’t.  So we called in Greg, a fellow we have used extensively regarding our propane  fireplace.  Before I explain about Greg, I have to go back to September of 2012 when our A/C unit was installed by George as well as our fireplace.  As far as we know George did a good job ( now we wonder ) on the A/C part but if you recall he did not do well with our fireplace install. Just to keep it clear, we did not find George, he was recommended by our builder. So when it was time for George to set up our fireplace he blew it. He was out of his realm and finally he agreed with us that it was time to say adios.  We paid him for his time and off he went.  Then we found Greg ( it took a few weeks before he was free to come ) and he came to the rescue and got our fireplace installed and working, despite the wrong hole in our ceiling.

So over the last year we have used Greg for any fireplace issues. So naturally it was Greg we called to come and check on the A/C issue.  Why was the house not getting cooler?  He came last Friday, July 4th, and basically thought that we were down on refrigerant and added 3 lbs.  It seemed that that was that and we paid him and off he went.  We never used the A/C again until today, four days later.

It was too warm ( I say hot ) last night to eat dinner inside so we dined alfresco. Colin had worked all day was going to do yet another 4 hour stint.

Using the 20X zoom on my camera we noted that someone had pulled a picnic table into the water next to the golf course. I guess they wanted to dangle their toes in the lake to cool down.

The only folks enjoying the heat were Mamma and her brood.

Are you still with me???

So today when we went to turn on the A/C, it did not get cool, it actually got 2 degrees warmer.  So we called Greg.  He can’t come until next Monday.  No way  will I be able to endure 35C plus with no A/C and the sun coming through our floor to ceiling windows.  Colin had the idea to call George.  George arrived and threw a hissy fit to put it mildly when he saw Greg’s company sticker on the A/C unit.  I had no idea that Greg had put his company stickers on it.

George

So after he calmed down a tad he told us that our warranty was no longer in effect as we had someone else tamper with his installation and that they had likely created a problem.  We asked him to please try and solve the problem as he was already here.  After 2 hours he could not find a leak nor a problem.  We still had no cool air. So only after George added 3lbs and 12 oz of refrigerant ( and 2 hours later ) did the A/C start to spew cool air.

It was warm inside at 93F and 34C/93.2F outside. George would not allow us to open the windows as he worked. I think he was punishing us.

So after adding the refrigerant it did start to cool, a bit.  In fairness it was very hot inside. Even now, 3 hours later it has only cooled to 85F.

George maintains that the temperature from this grill ( intake ) should be 18 - 21 C degrees lower that the cool air spewing out of a floor vent.

Finally he was done, Colin had already left for yet another evening ( 5- 11 PM ) of photography.  Not sure when I will see Colin again in the evening.  So I was dreading the bill  😥  I have to say that George was very fair and admitted that he could not find a problem nor a leak and that the unit was only working because he had added more refrigerant, which is what Greg had done only four days ago.  So George said that if we were not getting cool air 7 days from now, we would not have to pay his bill.  More than fair I think, but if we lose more coolant, than what?  Somehow I don’t believe that we have resolved the issue.

Meanwhile I am happy to report that for the first time since leaving Mexico, my coconut oil is once again liquid  😆