HOME!

I got up at 5:30 Monday morning and drove Brooks to the Nanaimo Airport for his 8:00 AM flight back to Fort McMurray Alberta where he is working as an electrician on the Tar Sands.

Brooks lucked into this trade in an unusual way. The job he was doing as a carpenter was rained out one day so instead of sitting in the bunkhouse all day watching TV like the rest of his crew, he grabbed a pickup and drove to the work site where the electricians were laying conduit inside the building he had just built and asked if he could help. The boss told him he had to have his electrical apprenticeship papers to do anything to do with electrical, even laying conduit. The boss, admiring his initiative, told him if he wanted to, to take the truck into Fort McMurray and fill out the papers at the Government Office. He drove the three hours each way and when he returned he was a Government certified electrical apprentice. Since then he has been working as an electrician, first laying conduit and now installing transformers, all the while collecting his journeyman carpenters wages which are higher than electrical apprentice wages. It was a very lucky break!

We said goodbye to LindaLee and drove up to Campbell River, parked in the driveway, unloaded the car and dolly, took the necessities of life into the house and relaxed. Dave and Doris left the house spotless and with everything working so there was nothing to do. Unloading the motorhome can wait for another day.

Today we will sort mail and start the tax preparation process. One tiny glitch was our TurboTax program was not waiting for me in the mail. I prepaid for the program and they were supposed to mail it in March but it is not here. I will have to go downtown and buy one and call TurboTax to get a refund.