5C's Que Pasa

After a day of working in the RV yesterday, we….

...got some serious rain.

But then things cleared up in time for our first official dinner guests.

Gord came with his new girlfriend Carmeh.

So Colin made certain that Pat didn't feel left out.

I cooked and sampled the vino. In addition to pasta and caesar salad we had....

...the last of our Mazatlan shrimp that I found in the RV freezer. I had frozen it uncleaned and once thawed, cleaned and sauteed in butter, garlic and vino blanco it tasted as good as the day we bought it fresh last March. Time to buy more soon.

A good meal, great friends and lots of laughs. I believe I was asleep on the sofa when they left. Thanks to Colin for cleaning everything up last night. It seems so much easier to entertain in this house. I had a great time.

Tags: 319, food, friends, The girls, vino

It came together just at the right time.  We have had a weather change.

I don't think we will ever get tired of the view out our window. Early morning mist on the lake.

The morning the gasfitter came I was out and that is a good thing.  Otherwise we would likely still not have a working fireplace.  Remember it was to be a 3 week wait for the venting parts and I found them within 2 hours of here.  There were shipped directly to the Comfort Gas….

...who did not check the parts. Instead of getting the round vent they sent a square vent!!! The hole was cut while I was out.

What to do?  It is what it is.  Had I been here, I assure you that a square hole would not have been cut.  Colin thought it would be just fine once we paint the black to match the fireplace, etc.  I was not happy about it but it was a done deal so after some gripping I finally shut up.  I think Colin was relieved that I was not home at the moment of decision.

I have to say that they did a great job and the mess was kept to a minimum. So glad that we covered everything with old sheets. Made for a quick clean up. The pipe was centred but I still haven't a final set up photo.

I have had an unusual last few days with some stress.  Hopefully things will come be coming together in a positive manner at the beginning of the week.  I intend to keep busy working in the RV most of the weekend.

Carmeh loves the fireplace. When I got up this morning I turned the flame right up and it looks just like a real fire with a lovely yellow flame.

Tags: 319, Duck Lake, The girls

What a hectic last few days.  I think my mind is missing.

So busy that I missed a visit from BC Island friends Donna & Brent, no worries though as we will catch up to them on Stone Island, eventually.  Colin did manage a quick visit with them on 2 occasions.  I am always missing!  They were in town and staying at our RV park visiting family for the weekend.  Seems they had forgotten we live here.

I also missed the annual blowout of our irrigation system so no photos but it has been done.  Ready for another winter.

Looks like we missed out on the indoor storage of our golf cart and my BMW.  The place we have stored it for years is full with the original renters' new toys so no room at the inn for us this winter.  Back to the drawing board.

These critters will not be missed.  We are being infested with fruit flies.  Fortunately it is just not us.  Must be our great weather.

The facts about these critters are revolting, especially the part about them reproducing so quickly. Way worse than rabbits. They mate every 12 hours!

Google suggested apple cider vinegar covered with saran wrap with holes, the premise being that they will come thru the plastic into the vinegar and drown.  It worked to a certain degree.  I have found that they really prefer wine.  I can trap double the amount using wine.  That wine will be missed…..immensely!  But not so the critters, I will not miss them.

We are not missing the snow today in Edmonton or Calgary.  Fruit flies are way better to deal with.

What is missing, are our passports, my USD and my MXN pesos!!  I have looked everywhere.  Colin finally found them in the RV.  I guess I never had unloaded them in April.  My mind is missing!!

Who is gone and will be greatly missed is a fellow Canadian who lived on Stone Island.  “Chabela' died at the embarcadero on her way for help for complications with a pregnancy.  That is one of the sad things about the Isla, there is no medical help.  You have to cross by water taxi, a mere 10 minutes, where you will be met with an ambulance.

You will be missed by all who knew you on the Isla.

Tags: critters, friends, Funny, Isla de la Piedra, Mazatlan, Mexico, Stone Island, Wine

While doing the laundry yesterday I noticed that our new Frigidaire washer/dryer are now owned by Electrolux but manufactured in Mexico!  Our kitchen backsplash tiles are from Durango, Mexico.

I started a new book the other evening, a very interesting mystery.  It is called 'The Lost Years' by Mary Higgins Clark so I know it will be a great read. It was published in April of this year.

It is apple season and here in the Okanagan there are oodles of varieties.  I bought some Honeycrsip apples the other day and they are both sweet and a bit tart, a lovely new addition to my favorite fruits list.

Last evening Mother Nature treated us to a new vista!

Something to be very thankful over this holiday weekend.

We still have water skiers out on the lake today as we are setting new high temperature records for October.

Colin is off doing photography for a new client up at the ski resort, Silver Star.

New things make life interesting.  If we were doing the same thing today that we did last year on this date then our minds would be stagnating.  Life is to be enjoyed, to be explored and to be fully lived in to the best of our ability.

Tags: 319, sunsets

We have too much stuff in the RV.  I think I got rather tired toward the end of packing up in May and just threw stuff in the RV.  Likewise Colin took tons of things out of the RV and stored it all in bins so we would have stuff inside the RV.  Now we are reversing the process, he is putting stuff back in and I am taking stuff out.  Somehow it will all get sorted out.  The weather here continues to be sunny and reaches highs of  20C  ( 68F ) during the day, certainly not normal for this time of year but we are not complaining.  It certainly makes it easier to do all the back and forth stuff from the RV to the house.  We do get frost at night but as soon as the sun comes over the hill in the morning I have to open the windows.  I think we would really enjoy living here in the winter but that is still a long ways away.

I sure enjoyed my 5 hours in the RV yesterday, made me want to move in and get all cozy again.  We love this new house also, we are fortunate in what we have but have worked very hard for it all. Once all the repacking is completed we will do a deep clean of the RV including washing the carpets.  We are going to get it as ready to “go” as possible but we still don't have a departure date.  There are a few things happening in the background and we may not be leaving until as late as November 10th!  With a bit of positive thinking and some prayer that might change so we are going to be ready just in case.  Driving straight through from here to Mazatlan will take 9 days with 8 nights along the way.  Bottom line is that we are still going.

I haven't been taking photos lately so had to borrow these two from Colin.

Colin's job in Kamloops was taking photos of a new fire station for the architect.

You could say that he really got into the job!

Tags: CJPS, Funny, Mazatlan, travel