5C's Que Pasa

For the first time ever, our RV got winterized on the last day of September. We purchased it new in 2001. It was a traumatic for it and for us as we are officially ( truly this time ) staying here for the winter. So our first winter in a long while here in Canada. As the RV is on storage insurance we had the local RV dealership come and do it on site. It only cost us an extra $30.00 which was a deal. October 1st we obtained a special one day permit and insurance to drive the RV. We were taking the coach to Enterprise RV. They specialize in hydraulics and we have a problem. The RV was great when we got back from Mexico except for a strange sound, the same sound as the last two years when putting the jacks down and the slides out. Colin mentioned it to our mobile RV tech back in June, who said it needed fluid and then overfilled it.  Next time Colin went to use the slides they did not work. So the tech tried this and that and would order a new part and so on. It still was not working.  We got in touch with our Mazatlan RV tech Eric who gave us some suggestions. Colin finally decided that before putting too much more money into repairs that he would take it to Enterprise RV, the specialists. Sort of let’s just get it done right for less money.

It was sad to leave her behind. No idea how long it will be before we pick it up. At least it is ready for winter.

I think it was last Wednesday, the 30th of September, that I noticed late in the afternoon how quiet it was. Suddenly I realized that I had not heard nor seen any geese all day. Where did they go? Just two days ago at dusk, it was hard to see but four flew in. Then yesterday another 14 flew in late morning.  They hung around and seemed to spend the day eating. Where these different geese that the ones we enjoyed all summer? Perhaps these were from further north slowly heading south.

Maybe this is where our geese went! I don’t recall them leaving so early nor all at once.

It has been getting cooler at night but during the day we are getting into the low 70’s.  The best part is that it has been sunny and for the most part will remain so for the next week. Perfect for Colin to get his photography complete. He has been very fortunate. However last week we did have a few smoky days and now just a bit of a haze.

Fortunately he was able to work around the smoke as it was not as bad as a few weeks ago. This week may be the end of his photography for the year.  A very short season for us.

For some unknown reason our lake came up again and our beach was disappearing so Colin got the neighbour help bring up the canoe.  You know it’s cooler out if Colin is wearing jacket. He was taking a break from the computer and doing some chores in the yard.

We have been rearranging the shed.  Usually it is full from top to bottom as that is where we store our patio furniture for the winter.  Not quite sure what we will do this year as we will need to use the shed for a number of things. Our very small ( 5 cu ft ) upright freezer will be full with many of our veggies and the tuna pot pies that we bring in from Vancouver twice per year. We are holding off on ordering those as Colin had been asked to do aerial photography for the City of Vancouver.  Very late in the year to do this, so it will depend on weather. If he gets to do that job then he can pick up the tuna pies on the way back. Heck I might even go with him and we can stay overnight in a hotel near the Abbotsford airport and perhaps have time to visit a few friends in the area. It would be lovely to do a drive through the mountains at this time of year and quite frankly I need a break.

Our garden keeps producing. I had no idea green beans could give so much. I think we picked the last three cucumbers for this season. However the tomatoes just keep growing but we are now having to pick them green in order to get them before the rats do. They only used to eat the red ones but I guess they are hungry.  Fortunately the tomatoes ripen very well on the window sill in the sun. We found two hidden zucchini under the large leaves and it looks like we have another two coming. My second crop of Swiss chard is as tall as my original crop. I am keeping an eye out for frost and will be sure to freeze some for the winter. Our second and third crop of carrots are doing very well as is our second crop of beets.

Just picked these yesterday and there are more to come. Plus I have at least 15 on my window sill already.

Last week I made a crockpot full of borscht with our beets of course, as well as a zucchini loaf. We have more tomatoes than we can eat and I think even the neighbours are tired of them.

No idea what this bird is.  It has black on the top of its head and some black on its back.  It was way far out on the lake and this was the best photo we could get. We have not seen it again.

I was able to figure it out with the help of my two bird books. It is a Western Grebe.  Perhaps it will stay here for the winter.

We continue to eat well. I made baked zucchini fries with a mayo/wasabi dip, the zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots were from our garden. Easy meal to prepare with a piece of quiche from Costco.

As long as I can get some sunsets I am going to be alright.

Sometimes it’s best to stay away from the daily news and to just take a break.

…finish off the month with the September calendar photo.

Some photos of our trip to Spain last year including Toledo, Cordoba, Granada and Seville. So much great food to eat in Spain not to mention the wines. We found each restaurant better than the last. If we were to revisit Spain it would be to Barcelona and Seville.  How we loved our time there and the most special Airbnb we stayed in. For certain we would spend at least a week back in Seville.

Will we ever be able to travel as we have in years past.  How long will it be before it is safe to travel?  Are you willing to get on a plane and fly to Europe?  I can’t see myself walking around Venice nor Seville wearing a mask.

Meanwhile we need to keep doing our part and wear masks and keep washing our hands.

Colin has been very busy the past two weeks and if he is not taking photos, he is sitting at the computer for hours and hours on end. Once the smoke cleared he had a few great days, then the rains came but now once again we have clear skies for at least a week.  Hopefully he will be caught up within the next ten days and we can get back to preparing for the North Pole. I kid you not!

It appears that this is a La Nina year. We are in the dark purple zone, just to the right of Vancouver. It is labeled “below normal”. Not just very cold temps but lots and lots of snow as well!  The Farmers Almanac confirms this forecast. Just today I read a news report stating that we may not have fall in our area, that we likely will be going from an extended summer directly to an early winter.

Well the photo says it all, 1.256 lbs. Certainly a handful. We have lost two of this size to rats. GRRRR.

This is another Grrr. We brought this fabric back from Mazatlan maybe in 2014 give or take a year. We had our dining room chair cushions recovered, as well as had four toss cushions made and covered our large window seat.  Over the years the fabric has faded quite a bit due to all the sun on the window seat as you can see but not so much in the other areas.

I had intended to do this particular blog around the 21st but life got in the way. Some of the stuff we were sorting through ended being resold on Facebook. It took time to photograph things and to list them and to sell a few. Only made $36.00 so far.

So Sunday the 20th Colin crawled under the house to see what we had stored re winter clothing. That is a lot of stuff.

He had to go low and deep, right to the other side of the house ( 22 feet ) and push those yellow bins out.  Turns our that we also have seven bins of Christmas stuff :)) way more that I remembered packing back in 2003 when we moved here. We had a 5,600 sq ft house back in Tsawwassen ( Vancouver ) and I decorated every inch, 4 four Christmas trees of which three were real. Looking forward to a real tree for the first time in many years.

This looks promising for the winter.  I need those nighties soon.  Hopefully next week we can get into those bins.

Colin found a white coat at the bottom and I think that red thing might be a coat for me.  So happy to see that we have lots of hats, mitts and scarves. Also happy that I had the foresight to label every bin.

I know that somewhere in there I have a white wool  long mid – calf coat that I got from Neiman Marcus in NYC. I’m pretty sure that it won’t fit me any longer 🙁

Our local online news does a poll every few days.  Looks like many aren’t ready to travel yet.

Taken nine nights ago on the 19th.  So happy to have a smoke free sky again. Now as the moon is getting bigger and bigger every night we get to see its reflection as it crosses from one side of the lake to the other. We are so happy to be living here.

I am going to stop it here for the night. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day starting with vein treatment on my right leg and after the required 30 minute walk, seven more stops. I realized the other morning when it was down to 42F/5C that I don’t own any closed toe shoes ( other than my new runners which I won’t wear with a dress/skirt ), when we had to go out for an appointment. It is much too cold to keep wearing Mephisto sandals. I have found both rain boots and winter boots ( not comfy nor very warm ) but I don’t have to go out into the snow unless I want to, which I likely will. Looking forward to watching the snow fall and the occasional walk in it. So I am looking for a slide in warm shoe/boot type of thing.  Remember, my feet are claustrophobic.

Something like this but not sure where to get them or what they are called.

We arrived back home from Mexico just six months ago on March 25th.  We haven’t been too far from home since then.  By now I would have most of our stuff ready for our fall journey to Mexico.  Instead I am working on prepping for winter. Yeah! I just got an email that something has sold for $15.00. Good for a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, all part of my winter prep 😀

As an RN, I have been a part of this and it is not pleasant. Wear a mask!!

A night at the opera – don’t worry, only for a few minutes, well worth the listen.

This beautiful two minute tongue in cheek rendition of Nessun Dorma, “Let no one sleep” is an aria from the final act of Puccini’s opera Turandot and one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. Performed Covid 19 style and in English.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do and my wonderful friend and blog reader Sandy.  Thank you ever so much for sharing this with me. I will listen again over and over when I am feeling the blues.

We spent a good part of the weekend moving things around and finding things as well as winter things. More on that in my next post.

Ta dah!  I found this unopened package of napkins hiding up in a top cupboard. My treasure.

Made in the USA so why are they not in stock anywhere?

The following was posted in the business section to the online news I read.

I read something similar in a US newsfeed.  Yesterday I asked Colin to stop at Costco on his way home to pick up a package of toilet paper. There was none to be found and just a few packages of Sponge Towels left. There also were no Kleenex to be found but there were two packages of a Kirkland brand of tissues. So he picked up two packages of paper towels and one of the tissues. I then went online to check the Costco site. I was able to fill my cart with toilet paper, the Bounty brand paper towels and a package of Ultra Soft Kleenex that I prefer. When I went to check out suddenly in big red letters it read that there were delays and  that they could not deliver to my address at this time. Strangely as just the day prior I ordered two items from Costco. Yesterday I received a delivery notice of October 2nd. It was delivered today 😯  Very strange.

So midday today, Colin had 90 minutes between jobs and decided to checkout Costco again. Looking for Kirkland toilet paper, the shelves were empty. On his way to customer service he discovered pallets of the Kirkland toilet paper in a section between freezers of frozen foods.  Colin said he could feel and see a sense of panic from the other shoppers. It was not pleasant. On our way back here from Mexico mid March we kept reading about stores with empty shelves due to hoarding. Did this one online news article create a new panic?

In other news our bank did a major upgrade to their system from 6PM Friday to 9PM yesterday. They did a great job of telling you what you needed to do to protect and change prior to Friday. I did a good job of following all the directives for both our personal and business accounts. So today when I went to log in with my previously obtained new temporary  code ( as recommend by the  bank), it failed me on both accounts. Today was the first full banking day and I really needed to do some important things online. I held for 90 minutes before I was able to speak to someone. Then she guided me through the sign in with yet another code and various passwords over and over and over again. It did not work. We tried a new virtual member account number and three different passwords that were generated and nothing worked.  She then told me that it was my computer that was broken.  No way 😈 I have been through this so many times. I told her that she could not get off the phone until this was sorted out. Long story short, after my insisting she contact her tech team, we eventually got it sorted out. I thanked her for sticking with me and she thanked me for teaching her something new – things she did not know about this new program.

Meanwhile an e-transfer that I was expecting did not come through and the guy says that the funds have not come back into his account and won’t resend the monies 😯 Why oh why does life have to be so complex? So after 2 hours and 45 minutes I was exhausted and rather tearful.  Three hours of my day ( and what was to be my walking time ) were wasted.

I really could have used this chair earlier. Thanks for sharing these two Nancy.