May 06, 2014

Back to normal ???

That means that Colin worked a 13 hour day yesterday. For us that is normal but then you have to remember that we do get 6 months off every winter. It is a lifestyle that works for us. We are not retired and I’m not sure when that will happen, certainly not for several years.

This is the house that Colin photographed yesterday. Hard to tell but the walls are painted a deep violet and the walls in one of the bathrooms is hot pink. Lots of chandeliers with a modern kitchen and a glass stairway going upstairs. Not my taste but then we are all unique.

We were lucky to enjoy some sun this morning but are getting clouds this afternoon. Looks like a dismal forecast. Maybe we can plant our flowers on Thursday or Sunday. Sadly Wednesday already has a bunch of appointments booked.

Today is Carmeh’s first day off the Metacam and she seems to be doing alright.  I’m trying not to over analyze her every movement.  The next few days will give us a better idea of how she is doing.  I’m sure it takes a few days for the medication to clear her system.  I’m just a tad worried as she seems less inclined to jump and run today.  Both Colin and I can still feel the hotspot along her spine.

These hills at the front/street side of the house are a lush green right now but by July they will be a dried up brown.

While traveling through Arizona our jar of coconut oil was tipped onto it's side. It was liquid then and as we travelled North it solidified again. It hasn't been warm enough to clarify and level yet and sits at an angle in the jar.

 

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May 05, 2014

Sunday turned out to be an actual day of rest

Amazingly Sunday was a great day for us.  Colin was supposed to do a photo shot for an interior designer.  Normally we are always checking the forecast for sunny days regarding photography but this job, due to the wacky colors in the house, required a cloudy day.  It was all set for Sunday but the owner called late Saturday and asked to change it to Monday or the next cloudy day so we suddenly had a day free.

It was a cloudy day, the kind that ducks like to enjoy.

It rained till midday with a cool breeze.

Early afternoon saw a few sunny breaks. Yes this guy was wearing a wet suit. We didn't get that ambitious but we did get out in the yard for the hour or so of sun and puttered about. We even got a few things off the to do list but in a leisurely fashion.

I then suggested we make a trip to the nursery to get our bedding plants. This year we are going plain and simple. Just 3 plants in a pot., no trailing flowers or vines, just plain upright flowers in a pot. Not really my idea but what the heck, let's give the easy way a try. I do have my way in our garden in Mexico where I do most of the work or I pay Ishmael to do it for me. Sure wish he was here. The rain showers started as we left the nursery. Good timing. I have no idea when we will get around to planting these flowers but it will happen, eventually.

Colin surprised me and opened a bottle of our favorite red wine, a 2009 Tempranillo Garnacha from Navarra, Spain, 13.9% alcohol. It has such a smooth taste, almost like velvet. We only have 2 bottles left. Hopefully we can find more bottles. Something to add to the to do list.

One of our favorite sit down and relax meals.....tuna pot pie, that we bring in from Vancouver and caesar salad.

It really was a great day, so nice to actually have a day off to enjoy our new home.

 

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May 04, 2014

Colin saved the life of a bird

What to do on a dreary wet Saturday?

First just a tad of pruning on the maple we got last year.

This little guy had knocked himself rather hard against our windows. As I mentioned in a post recently we have these Audobon Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting around our yard and they never stop moving. As you know we have walls of glass and these birds keep flying into the windows. I think little one has a huge headache.

Colin picked it up and held it for a few moments and then very carefully placed it in a tree. He had to wrap the claws around the branch so it would stay on the branch and not fall to the ground.

It sat there for a good half hour, eyes closed, breathing heavily. Eventually it flew away.

Sadly today we found one that had hit the window but did not survive and again later in the day another that was knocked to the ground.  It was also carefully placed in the tree and also flew away after resting.  We never had this problem last year and hopefully it won’t last long.  The birds seems to come and go at various times of the day, never staying long.

Meanwhile Carmeh continues to improve.  Today we cut her meds down by 50% and will do the same tomorrow.  Hopefully she will be fine without them.

 

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May 03, 2014

Rainy days are here yet again & need cell phone input!

Todays wind, rain and cool high of 12C/53F certainly is a contrast from yesterdays summery high of 27C/81F.  It was so nice yesterday that I went for an early morning walk.

Spring is certainly here.

The park is alive with display after display of spring flowers.

An original idea to hide the tripod.

...and just around the corner the ugliest dish set up I have seen. This guy really doesn't want anyone knocking down his TV feed.

It didn't take long before my eyes found more beauty.

Then Colin walked the girls, well Carmeh was being carried in her shoulder bag. She really likes it. Colin let her out at the dog park to do her business but all she wanted was to get back into the bag.

Colin was out all day in meeting with clients and doing a few errands. I was having a productive day until he called me wanting to change his cell phone.

That required me to drop what I was doing and go through three files drawers to find the paperwork.  I did but the salesperson Colin was with had no idea what I was talking about.  I suggested to Colin to leave it for another day while I researched the situation.  Our existing cell phone contract is over which will allow Colin to get a new phone however there are complications as I discovered when I call the main office of the phone company.  Colin’s cell is a CMDA device which is so old that it is being phased be the end of August so he has to get another phone anyway.  The new phone will be on an HSTA system that has  SIM card and will have a better range.  While speaking to the agent on the phone she encouraged me to change our phone package.  In a nutshell, we get 500 free minutes per month but have to pay for long distance whereas the new package would give us the same 500 minutes monthly with free long distance within Canada.  We would also be saving $30.39 per month plus any long distance calls he makes on his cell.  A good deal I thought but wanted to discuss it with Colin.  As soon as I hung up I remembered that we have had this package since March 1993 and the best feature was that Colin could call me here at home which is also our office, 100 times per month at no charge.  Sometimes he calls and I am looking things up for him or relaying client messages and even sending emails for him all the while on the phone.  Those one hundred free call are invaluable to us business wise.  So I called back and spoke with another very understanding agent who put me on hold for over 40 minutes while she spoke with the ‘loyalty department’.  I never knew they had such a thing.  Bottom line she was able to provide me the same savings of $30.39 per month plus unlimited airtime 24/7 including the long distance calls etc.  Amazing.  Quite the bargain for $44.80 per month including tax.

So Colin gets to pick a new phone next week at no charge.  He gets to choose from the same old flip phone style he now has or from between the following two. We don’t text, don’t know how, but that might be a possibility down the road but quite unlikely especially now that he has unlimited airtime and long distance.

His second choice is the Huawei Ascend Y210.

His last choice is the Blackberry Curve 9320.

We can read up online about these choices but I was wondering if any of you have used one of these and has some pros and cons to offer.  We won’t be going online with the phone, just using it for phone calls and possibly texting.  Colin needs a phone that is easy to use.  Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Just hanging around on a damp Saturday.

Bonus, by the time I finished this post, a few of the clouds had cleared and we could see a tiny bit of sun.

UPDATE….one of my readers wants to know what the first phone choice was.

A basic flip phone.

LGF4 A341. This is similar to what Colin has now so he was thinking of updating the look to one of the two phones mentioned above.

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May 02, 2014

For Sale, etc.

Spring is in the air and we almost had summer.  It got up to 24C/75F yesterday and is supposed to get a tad warmer today and then right down to a daytime high of 9C/48F on Sunday so we have to enjoy it while we can.

View of the hillside from inside the house.

Same view zoomed in. Never noticed those wild flowers up there before. Love my new camera.

Autoformer Voltage Controller for sale for $350.00.

VC-50 dual transformer by Powermaster provides the proper corrective boost to the supply voltage, up to 12%. It also provides limited protection against transient voltage spikes and surges of up to 3,580 joules. More information can be found athttp://www.powermasterrv.com/images/VC3050UsersGuide.pdfand athttp://www.powermasterrv.com/products.html#VC50. Cost new was $670.00USD, great deal at $350.00CAD.
Carmeh is doing much better, in fact almost too good.  She found a frisbee somewhere in the house and trotted over with it to first Colin and then when he wouldn’t play she came over to me.  It is so hard to say no to her but we know it is for her own good.  She had only had 4 dose of Metacam which is so much better for a dog than Prednisone and all of it’s side effects.  I plan to check in with the vet later today to talk about decreasing her dose.  Much as Carmeh wants to she won’t be going for any walks or playing ball or frisbee for quite a while.  When Colin walked Caeli this morning he carried Carmeh in her carry bag so she could get out.
Lynne over at Winnie Views just posted an interesting blog for RVers with a link to an Amazon online site she created just for RV gear.  It is worth taking a look at.

 

 

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