Plumber!

On Friday I had just finished rinsing a few dishes for the dishwasher when I noticed a puddle of water on the floor! I opened the cupboard and saw the drain pipe had come apart and when I touched it I could tell it was broken. Well, I had installed this drain when we had replaced the old enamel sink shortly after we bought the house 34 years ago (my god, how can it be that long!) and the black drain pipes had reached their half-life. I "could" do it myself, I have the required tools and talent but did I really want to? I have little problem getting down on the floor, it's the getting back up part that is the problem and the process would require many trips up and down and out to the workshop and hardware store. The fairly simple job would have left me in a semi-crippled state for a couple of days and wishing I had "farmed it out",

So, that's what I did. I called my plumber. It being a long weekend he could not make it until Tuesday unless I wanted to pay his emergency weekend and after hours rate (which I did not) so I simply started using the laundry room sink until he could get here. Tuesday arrived and the plumber showed up around noon. He advised replacing the whole mess of pipes instead of just the broken ones and I agreed. I also had him replace the ancient hot and cold water shut-offs as one of them was almost impossible to turn and I foresaw disaster in the future. Using the laundry sink I noticed the hot water tap was difficult to shut off completely so I had him replace the washers on those as well. I had originally estimated $150 and with the extra work the bill came to $250 ($200 labour and $50 parts). He was here for just under two hours so I consider that a very good deal.

So that was my (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend adventure!

Reunion!

 Last Sunday was my 60th High School Reunion! The entire Kitsalino High School 1963 grad class is 78 years old (give or take). I picked up Penny, (who was also my high school girlfriend) in Victoria and we went over to Vancouver on the ferry early Sunday Morning and got an early check-in at our hotel in Steveston, The reunion was at the posh Arbutus Club and consisted of a cocktail hour and a wonderful Buffet dinner followed by socializing. It started at 5:00 PM and by 9:30 or 10:00 it was winding down. I had kept contact with a couple of the people over the years and it was great catching up with them and many others but by 10:00 I had stood around and talked long enough and we were both ready to head back to the hotel.

Hotels in Vancouver have become ridiculously priced and we were very lucky to find one for under $500 a night, The Steveston Hotel is a very nice small, newly remodeled hotel in an old suburb of Vancouver very near the water and we found a room there for $230 a night with full breakfast included, a great deal for Vancouver! There are many neat old restaurants in the area and we had decided to stay an extra day. We spent Monday cruising around our old late 50's, early 60's stomping grounds and spent an hour in an old coffee house near the High School. We then drove back to the hotel and walked to a nice Greek restaurant just around the corner and had a very pleasant evening (like being back in high school but with enough money for a nice dinner out)!

 

Tuesday morning we headed for the ferry but made a detour to Point Roberts, Washington where we both stocked up on Tilamook cheddar cheese and butter (only available in the US). After exploring Point Roberts for a couple of hours, we re-entered Canada and boarded the ferry home. I hung around Penny's for a couple more days, stopped to see Brooks for his birthday, turning down his invitation to accompany him on his birthday adventure of skydiving and drove home on Friday. It was a very busy week and I am now in my "relax at home" mode!