Norma's Buddy

Here is the six point buck who is responsible for all the young deer who love to snack on Norma's flowers. He came down to visit me but Norma caught him and chased him back into the bush out back.

I'm Being Audited!

I just got a letter from Revenue Canada or whatever they call themselves now informing me I am being audited for last year's taxes. At least the medical expense part. Norma had many thousands of dollars worth of dental work done which required several trips to Victoria to her specialist. His fees as well as all travel expenses for both of us are deductible. On top of this were glasses bought in Mexico and my drugs. We will have receipts for 95% of all this but some of my drugs bought in Mexico might be a problem. Small pharmacies do not give receipts and the drugs purchased in grocery store pharmacies are mixed up with the same receipt as the groceries and I know I did not save many (if any) of those.

We have 30 days to send in receipts. Crap!

Weekend Visitors

Brooks and Linda were up for the weekend. They were meeting the caterer for the wedding to check out the cooking facilities at the beach front resort down the beach where the wedding will be held. Everyone stayed here at the house on Saturday night. It was a good time.

Brooks made a deal with our widow neighbour, Pauline a couple of years ago where Pauline gave Brooks her hot tub which she no longer used and in return Brooks agreed to do house maintenance and minor repairs for her as the need arises. This trip she had him replace a flag pole that had blown down last winter and add some lighting in front of the house. The time before it was to build some steps from her garden up to our driveway and to repair a fence. It is all simple stuff and the deal works out well for both of them. It is a top of the line hot tub with waterfalls and flashing LED's and it gets a lot of use at Brooks and Linda's. Pauline is a very good neighbour and always sweetens the pot with some much appreciated baking she sends up periodically.

On Sunday Brooks, Linda, the caterer and his wife stopped at the resort where the wedding will be held and inspected the kitchen and facilities. Everything passed muster and they are looking forward to the party on September 8th.

Les' Motorhome For Sale

Our friend Les is selling "Ramona", his 2006 23 foot Winnebago Aspect motorhome, complete with a 2009 49cc Yamaha Scooter on a hitch rack. I know Les has taken good care of this rig and I have helped him with a couple of minor modifications from time to time. The unique thing about this rig is THE TOILET HAS NEVER BEEN USED! Yes, I know but it is a phobia of Les' and it allows him to pass it on with a pristine toilet!

Les is moving to Mexico and has decided everywhere else he wants to explore is on the other side of the world and the time has come for him and "Ramona" to part company. If you are interested in more details contact me by email (croftsmexico at gmail dot com) or in the comments section and I will send you the package Les has given me and I will put you in touch with Les who is presently relaxing and exploring in the Greek sunshine. The motorhome was originally purchased in the USA and imported into Canada. It is presently located in Nanaimo, BC and is available for viewing by appointment.

Here is Les' sales pitch:

"Ramona is a 2006 23D model that I purchased new in July 2007…….the mileage is high (80,000). I know, but they were good miles!!!!!  The 7 tires are 14 months old and the three batteries brand new just installed in May 2012……I had a 80 watt solar panel installed three years ago and I have also taken out the main console TV and made that into a cupboard space and the unit comes with a 22inch flat screen TV/DVD player.  I am also including in the package the trailer hitch and the 49cc Yamaha scooter…3 years old with 9000km.

The Motor home has had one driver, non smoker and no pets.  The bathroom has never been used(could never get my head around driving around with a tank of pee).  Ramona is my best friend and I am parting with her because of lifestyle changes.  She is fully loaded and is a beautiful lady.  The chasis is the Ford E450 with the V10 engine.  Ramona also has Sirius radio package.

The price I am asking for the whole package is $41,000 dollars."

Nothing To Look At Here...

We are well and have been using the latest sunny days to do some outside work. I have spent three days pressure washing the front, back and side concrete patios as well as the retaining wall in the back. I am using a cheap Stanley pressure washer that does the job but not very quickly. I still have a day or so to go so that will keep me busy today. The pressure washer was not designed for 6'3" people so I am having to bend down as I work. This is not good for my back and requires periodic breaks.

The weather forecast is for rain starting tomorrow and continuing for the foreseeable future!

We volunteered to supply the wine for Brooks and Linda Lee's wedding so we ordered three batches from "Wine With Us" the local U-Brew wine store. It will be ready a week or so before the wedding. Now to see if custom labels can be ordered at a reasonable price and to start rounding up bottles.

Great Day For a Drive

It was a beautiful day here in Campbell River! I finished off my dolly fender repair and bolted one fender back on. The other will have to stay off until Brooks and Linda come up with their MIG welder to do a small repair on the frame for the other fender.

Norma was working in the garden and I was reading some Blogs. I saw that Rick, of Rick and Paulette’s RV Travels was camped with his family at Pacific Playgrounds RV Park, just a short drive down the road. I knew they were hikers and might not be around but I took a chance and drove down. It did not take long to find their Big Country 5’er and a knock on the door brought Rick (and the dogs) out. We sat outside and had a nice conversation. Paulette and the “kids” had gone into Campbell River for shopping so there was just the two of us. Rick and Paulette spent last winter around Desert Hot Springs area near Palm Springs so we talked about that, Mexico and some other Bloggers. It was a good time. They live just a short distance from Brooks and Linda so I am sure we will meet again. We agree on our politics so we will always have something to talk about!

Rick and Paulette (Photo stolen from his Blog):

More Dolly Repairs

If you recall last winter in Mexico one dolly fender got shaken apart on a very rough section of toll road. The fender broke into three pieces so we stopped at a small repair shop and he glued it back together and added some metal straps for strength. That repair lasted almost all the rest of the winter but it was starting to fail on the way home. The second fender was holding together but had developed some cracks so it was just a matter of time until it failed as well.

Yesterday I went down and bought some pieces of plastic material and a tube of marine grade adhesive. My plan was to cut out two pieces to fit over the outside of the fender and glue it in place. The bolts that hold the fender on would then hold everything together. It worked out pretty well I think. I added a few straps on the inside of the broken fender for strength. put it back together like a jigsaw puzzle and glued the new piece over the top. Time will tell how good it is.

Simple Job!

I had a couple of simple jobs to do today. One was to manufacture some pins for the car dolly to keep the platform in place when traveling. This platform tilts down to allow the car to be driven on and off. It is held in place by a pin. The dolly came with one when we bought it but it got left behind in some RV park the first year. I could not find an easy replacement so I decided to make my own. I found a 5/8 X 6” bolt, drilled a hole in it for the safety pin and I was set. It worked fine until I lost it as well.

Today I drove down to the hardware store and bought three more bolts, washers and pins. I was assured they were not hardened metal (they were) and set about drilling the holes. Three should keep me supplied for a year or two.

This is what I wanted:

This is what I ended up with. Just what I need:

These are the bits I broke trying to drill through those &%^$# bolts:

It was a good thing I had lots of bits!

Job Two:
Next on the list was to mount a Starchoice (I still can’t get around to calling it Shaw Direct) dish on the end of the garden shed for use in the motorhome when it is parked. We use the motorhome as a motel room when we have guests and it would be nice for them to be able to watch TV out there. I had an old dish in the shop. It was the one that got blown over and broken in Zacatecas, Mexico several years ago. I fixed it by cementing a block of wood to the back of it to reinforce the broken pieces. It looks ugly but works fine. The job went without a hitch. I am actually getting a better signal there than we are getting in the house.

I had an audience while I worked. Mom and one of her brand new babies. Norma did not notice them (luckily for them):

Things Are Getting A Little Wierd

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
- Hamlet (Shakespeare)


BAB's Story:


I was just reading a Blog post by Big Ass Belle. She was telling the story of her mother who walked out of the house a few days before Christmas 1969, drove off in the family car and vanished from the face of the earth. The family have been troubled ever since. The car was never found, all nearby rivers and lakes were dredged and she remained on Oklahoma's missing persons list ever since. The police quit looking as they always thought her father (now 95 and still living) had something to do with it even though he passed all the lie detector tests. She had simply vanished. 43 years later the family has no closure. Is she alive? Is she dead? If so where is she buried?


A while ago BAB's sister happened across a psychic medium in Florida and decided to give her a go at the family mystery. They had nothing to loose and you just never know. She sat down across from the medium and before she could tell her story the medium told her that someone wanted to talk to her. In fact this woman was pushing everyone aside to get to talk. It was her mother. She had family details that no one else could have and explained the whole story including the fact that she had died in 1993.


No one in the family had ever lived in this part of Florida where the medium lived and she had no way of knowing the story. Dozens of proofs that it was her came up in the conversation and the medium did not know beforehand that the sister was coming. She just dropped in on a whim and without an appointment.


My Story:


My story is nowhere near as dramatic but it does involve my mother. Back in the 60's my mother developed a balance problem. She could not walk without having to touch a wall as she moved or holding someone's arm. Doctors had no explanation and the condition did not improve over the next few years. 


She had read about the psychic surgeons in the Philippians and eventually decided she would try them. She had nothing to loose. She made arrangements to travel with a woman friend who had her own problems she wanted dealt with and off they went.


She made an appointment with one of these "surgeons' and explained her problem. He passed his hands over her head and told her she had a "growth" near her inner ear. He pressed his fingers on the side of her head and she could feel his fingers enter her head. He pulled his hand out and in his fingers was a bloody mass of tissue. Her head was bleeding slightly but he wiped the blood away, passed his hand over the area and the bleeding stopped. The wound was closed. As she was thanking him and getting ready to leave the treatment room he said, "Just a moment. I sense a problem in your stomach". Mom had digestion problems going back for years so she laid back down as he investigated further. He told her that there was a cancerous growth in her stomach. This time he pressed his fingers against her belly and she could feel his hands inside her. He twisted his hands and pulled out another mass of tissue. That wound was treated the same way. He passed his hands over it and the bleeding stopped and the wound was healed.


He charged her $200 USA for his services (probably a good week's pay in those days) and she walked away from him without having to hold her friend's arm. In fact, she could walk without assistance for many years after. Her digestion problem, although it never completely dissapeared, was probably 90% improved.


Conclusion?:


Yes, I know. The skeptic in me says both these stories are ridiculous. Any sane person knows it is not possible to talk to the dead or to heal in this manner. The psychic mediums take clues from what you say and have people madly searching the Internet as they are drawing information from you into hidden microphones and telling the medium what to say through hidden earphones. It is all fake. Everyone knows the "tissue" the "surgeons" pull out of you are chicken parts and the "blood" is fake. We all know this.


BUT... my mother was able to walk away without assistance. She had not been able to do this for years. Her stomach problems almost dissapeared. Was this all in her head? Maybe, but so what? It worked.


BAB's family is now able to rest much easier knowing what had happened to their wife and mother and why she left. They have the complete story and, although they are not willing to publicly share the story right now, are at last at peace.


Maybe it is all fake. Maybe everyone was taken in by fast talking snake oil salesmen. But even if that is so, two families benefited from it. In our case it cost $200 plus a plane ticket to improve mom's quality of life for the rest of her life.


It was worth it. Plus, she got to see the Philippines.

Weather Looking Better

30 C by Sunday! I can wring out my socks!