5C's Que Pasa

It’s been drizzling wet stuff off and on all day.  Can’t do much outside so it was a day to tackle the inside.  Sadly my closet is full.  Last weekend I had a shock when I opened my closet in the RV and found it half full of my clothes. Mostly business suits and things I don’t wear any longer but obviously when we got back here last spring I ran out of space and I vaguely remember Colin taking the excess to the RV closet.  As you know from our arrival back here end of April to now I have been going full tilt.

Why was my closet full?  I have lost weight and purchased some new items.  However it is rather full because of what I keep in there.

I love this 2 piece teal sequin outfit but we don't do big New Year's Eve functions any longer.

I LOVE my gold and black ball gown complete with crinolines. I danced my best Viennese Waltz in this gown at the Hotel Vancouver many years ago. But it takes up so very very much space. It has been put into that blue bin you see and will go under the house marked evening clothes.

I have two bins under the house of fabulous dancing shoes.  We used to do cruises just to dance and then we attended so very many ballroom dance functions when we lived in Vancouver.  Not to mention all those wonderful evenings with Dal Richards and Orchestra.  Where have the years gone?  When you RV from November to the end of April you don’t do ballroom unless you hang out in Palm Springs.  We have fond memories of our earlier RV years in the RV.  Yes we travelled with ball gowns and tuxedos.  For the past ten years or more we have been spending our winters in Mexico.  My wardrobe and life has changed so very much.  I love my casual light and totally freeing wardrobe but I so mourn my other life.

I managed a fairly decent tango and rumba in this outfit.

So they have been put to rest for a few more years.  There is no way I could get rid of these clothes, they were purchased on our travels, mostly in New York, where we attended theatre, opera and dance clubs.  We had a different life pre RV.  Perhaps when our travelling days are over we can pull out our specials duds and carry on.

Tags: dance, travel

It’s totally true and I am exhausted.  It really is hard work saving so much money.  So let me share my tale over a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio.

But first it seems that a gremlin has been taking photos with my camera.

We had a late meal last night as I decided to wait for Colin to come home and he brought us a bake at home pizza, much better that a take out pizza. I don't like red wine but this one was fabulous, a nice smooth finish.

It seems that not long after the pizza ( good but not as great as my own homemade ) I fell asleep. Well it was after 10 PM!!! I was supposed to be reading while Colin went back to his computer.

Did he open this bottle? I haven't checked yet. I didn't have any.

But I will say that he is a sneaky bastard, certainly not fat  😕  I awoke at 1:00AM and found Colin sound asleep watching TV.  I took a few shots of him not knowing that he had taken the earlier shot of me sleeping in my lounger.  So now as I go to write this post I find new photos on my camera of me and discovered that he had deleted the ones I had taken of him sleeping.  So very not fair.

Ahhh!  I am back, just had to get a refill of my PInot Grigio.

So while I was still awake and reading last night my new glasses broke.  The left arm just fell off.  So now I have two pair of broken glasses, both with the left temple damaged.  I was not a happy camper this morning.  Then I remembered. It was the Grand Opening of my renamed hair salon, yes the one that made my hair turn grey!

Today only, they were offering free hair wash and blow dry, so why not?

First I dropped off my new ( and still unpaid ) glasses off for repair and then I went to get my hair done.  I had no say in who I got to blow dry my  hair and this gal, Nancy, I think, had her own style…she would use 3 to 4 roller brushes at a time and leave them in my hair.  Her theory was that it would give my hair more volume.  They also had a draw for a basket of hair products and lots of nice snacks.

Got my hair done at no charge to myself and then went to pick up my repaired glasses at no charge to me and then headed into Kelowna to to some very serious shopping.

First stop was to Natures Fare Market, our health food store, where I was able to pick up 6 months supply of flax oil, vitamins, calcium, herbal teas, not real coffee substitute, great granola bars, ear candling candles, shampoo, toothpaste and deodorant, etc. I had a 15% discount coupon.  The final bill came to $1058.65 but I saved $168.67.  Plus I received another two 15% off coupons for the future.

Next stop was at Save On Foods where I snagged some great deals like high protein cup a soups ( Natural Foods ) at $1.00 per serving vs the regular price of $2.50.  I also purchased what I call our RV toilet paper here.  They have a store brand that is 2 ply and sewer system rated. For $4.49 I got 12 rolls each having 360 sheets per roll ( double rolls that take less storage space in the RV ).  That is a great deal.  I used to buy RV TP from an RV dealer for $1.00 per roll. That was a rip off.  Now we buy 50/50 TP.  We use regular TP that goes into a basket for disposal and the other 50% TP is flushed.  I made two more brief stops to purchase a few items for the trip south.

Total savings on paper was $277.38.

Then there was the free hairdo that cost me ?.??!

All in all a close to $300.00 in savings day.  Yes those are my new glasses.  You can blame the red cheeks on the vino blanco.

Tags: Funny, money, travel, vino

We are so busy just working right now that I barely have time to blog.  Colin has been going day and night.  Today is his last scheduled photo shoot till mid next week.  But when he isn’t shooting, he is at the computer photoshopping and creating CD’s.  He probably has 60 hours to do on the computer.  I feel like I have been chained to my desk from when I get up till it is supper time.

Speaking of supper, I seem to be hungry all the time right now.  What is up with that?  I have to start watching what I put in my mouth or I might start gaining weight again.  Must be the fall weather and the dampness and the rain we have been getting.  Our fireplace has been on all day.

During a break in the weather today I took the girls for a walk.  This is a big thing. It is the first time I have walked them on my own for a very long time, maybe even since last summer.  I managed 2 blocks and I was tired.  Of course they wanted to go fast like when Colin walks them.  Instead I was concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other and not limping or falling for that matter.  Then I took them for a ride in the golf cart to get the mail. They love the ride but not the cool temps and were shivering.  So now they are laying next to the fireplace snoozing.

Got our travel medical insurance sorted out and paid for today.  We are paying for 15 days of insurance from here to the Isla and then another 15 days for the return in April.  There have been many new insurance rules put into effect this past summer and now we have to state the expected number of days we will be in the USA itself.  I said it would likely be 9 days but if we have a mechanical breakdown it might be longer.  So now I will have to call into the TIC Insurance company and let them know the extra number of days if that happens.  Just a formality.  Also this year it is now considered to be a US policy rather than an International policy ( ie Canada to Mexico and return ).  It makes no difference to us, just new rules.  The entire cost of our medical travel policies for the 2 of us, 15 days each way is just under $300.00.  Certainly well worth it.  I did price out travel insurance for the entire trip and it was over $1500.00 for the two of us.

A special thanks to John, who shall be joining us at Tres Amigos on the Isla, for reminding me about the FMCA Travel Medical Assistance Services.

Membership in FMCA is contingent on ownership of a qualifying motor coach: a Type/Class A, B or C motorhome, or a bus conversion, that contains all of the conveniences of home (including cooking, sleeping and permanent sanitary facilities).

Membership dues for a Full/Family membership are $50 for the first year and $40 per year thereafter.

One of the many benefits that FMCA offers is Travel Assistance and Medical Evacuation.  For a mere $105.00, good for one year, you can get Emergency Medical Evacuation/Repatriation, Emergency Medical Reunion where a member of your family will be flown to your bedside and then will accompany you back home on the plane, return of dependents, vehicle return and pet return along with a few other things.

So by adding this FMCA Travel Assistance program for $105.00 to the TIC travel medical insurance for $300.00 I feel that we are well covered for our trip south. I’d rather pay $405.00 than $1500.00.

We are on the road one month from today  😆

So looking forward to our 4 days in Quartzite, our R & R time before crossing the US/Mexico border.

Tags: emergency, health, insurance, Isla de la Piedra, medical, Mexico, Stone Island, The girls, Tres Amigos RV Park, USA

…unforeseen circumstances.  I tripped over one of our dogs the other night and broke my eye glasses.  I now have a swollen and red & blue left eye.  Very painful and I just can’t spend much time online right now.  I did not hurt my hip at all although I do have a bruise coming up in that area.

Fortunately I had already ordered a new pair of specs and they came in today.  As with any new lenses it takes a few days to get use to them.  Today I just can’t deal with the swollen eye and the new lenses so I am sorry but no post.

The Mexican news can keep for another day.

Colin is out working yet again and so I had to do a self portrait.

Trust me, it is worse than it looks.

Tags: emergency, health

There is something about the smell of the air early in the morning and late at night that tells you a new season is here.  Of course the 0C /32F morning will perk you up right fast.  I saw frost for the first time early this morning and….

.... the lake was putting on a spectacular performance. Better than the dancing waters in Vegas because it was right here in my own front yard. The mist rising off the lake is different every time.

Later the sun came out to show off more of the features of fall. Our new maple is going to look spectacular next year.

For two days now all I hear outside is, no it is not the sound of the geese, but rather the sound of hedge trimmers.  The sun is shining and everyone is trimming their cedars.  A most annoying sound.

Being a beautiful day yesterday Colin did his final aerial photography of the year.  As he had a job close by he flew over our home to get a perfect shot to add to the Tommie Award entries.

Hard to see but he is up there between the 'V' of the branches. Usually he flies in a float plane but they were all busy today so he was up in a Cesna 150, a small very slow 2 seater.

Later in the day we welcomed a visit by the publishers of the Okanagan Home magazine.  Colin has provided much photography for this magazine and our home will be featured in it sometime within the next 9 months.  After a tour of our home and some wine and appies they took us to the Italian restaurant, Ricardo’s, located here in Holiday Park.

I was just playing with my camera and came up with what I think is a great shot. I love the way the light plays through the glasses.

Thanks for a great dinner Christy and Justin. We look forward to watching our business grow.

I have more Mexico information coming tomorrow or the next day so be sure to check back.

Tags: 319, CJPS, Duck Lake, food, friends, Holiday Park, Mexico, Tommie awards, vino