An Expensive Summer!

Wow, that was an expensive summer! We had the porch put on, the roof re-done and a new front door! Even with the HUGE "Brooks Discount" it still came to over $16,000 total. We managed to do it without dipping into the "Rainy Day Fund" but it was tough and I got a few glares from Norma when I told her we could not afford a few unnecessary expenses right now. But everything is done now and the house will last a few more years. The only things still outstanding is a new back door which will cost about $300 and I will install myself with the confidence I gained by closely watching what the front door installer did. We also have to add two gable end vents to the dormer above the porch. another DIY project.

So the decision to stay home this winter has several parts. One is certainly financial but that is not the most important factor. We could easily afford it if we dipped into the "Fund" for a few thousand. And yes, I agree that we are not getting any younger and should travel while we can.

The second reason is that we have not really been home for a winter or perhaps even more important, for a Christmas since 2002 when Norma retired. It is time to get together with family for the holidays.

Number three is our pending trip to Dublin, Ireland in July for our great nieces wedding. This has two parts. One is obviously financial as it only makes sense to stay in Europe for a while before or after the wedding and that will add to the bill. Maybe we will fly to one of the Greek Islands or to Malta and relax in the Mediterranean sun for a few weeks. Norma's dad is from the Isle Of Man which is just a ferry trip from Dublin so we will visit there as well. The other reason is Canada's rules about only being allowed to be away for seven months out of any twelve month period. If we are away longer than seven months we would lose our government subsidized health insurance.

Reason number four is TRUMP. I simply do not want to spend any money in the USA right now. I so disagree with everything this asshole does that I will not encourage him by adding to the US economy. US citizens, come to your senses!

So, there you have it. We will shiver in the cold this winter while giving Trump "the finger" from afar!

Door Done!

Norma finally got her new front door! She ordered it about a month ago and after several delays at the Windsor Plywood shop and trouble coordinating an installer, everything came together yesterday.

The installer picked it up and was here by about ten, expressing surprise that I had not taken the old door out already. I could have done that but to be honest, I expected another delay and did not want a hole in the house while we waited. As it turned out, everything came together!

He did a good job dealing with the old house where a level surface or square corner are very hard to find. It took him about four hours and his cost, including taking the old door to the dump was $320.

It's Happening!

Work got started at 9 AM and it is now 6 PM and they are still on the roof. They have about 2/3 of the roof done. Brooks says it is going faster than expected and will cost less than they estimated! That is great news.

I just got back from a dump run where I paid $180 to dump about one ton of old shingles. I will have another smaller load tomorrow. Juneau the Husky went with me and got a treat from the nice lady because he did not bark! She says most dogs go nuts from the bear smells up there but not Juneau so he got a treat! Good dog! Now if he could only stop shedding on Norma's floors!

Off With The Old

On With The New

Angie Taking A Well Deserved Break

Even Juneau Needed A Break

CJ The Roofer At Work

How Is The Footing There CJ?

Brooks Protecting His Inheritance

It's A Go!

The guys will be here sometime tonight and they are bringing the shingles with them. I rented an equipment lift to get the shingles up to the roof. It was delivered and set up a little while ago and I was given lessons in it's use. Much easier than carrying them up the ladder a bundle at a timed

The weather looks good with no rain scheduled until Sunday night but we will have a brand new roof by then!

The Gods are smiling on our little project!

Sick!

For the first time is several years, I am sick! Sore throat, headache, sore eyes and just feeling weak and "Blah".

I better smarten up quick or I will be of very limited help on the roofing job.

New Roof On The Weekend!!??

Brooks and the roofer have scheduled the new roof for Saturday and Sunday. I checked four weather sites and three of them are calling for rain while one of them (and the local news) is calling for clear.

This just sucks! If they come up and can't work I still have to pay for gas and some compensation for all the travel time. If we cancel and it turns out nice then that will suck just as much! Maybe more!

Victoria!

We spent a couple of days "Down Island". Norma's brother lives in Victoria and suffered a stroke a few months ago. He is now in a new nursing home and was having a small birthday party. Norma and I headed down, picking up our youngest granddaughter, Sierrah, along the way. We bought a couple of cakes, one regular and one ice cream, got to the residence and found Willea's room. It is a nice place if you have to be in such a place. His totally separate wing or "house" as they call it has twelve residents, each with their own room and a dining room. There are two male nurses dedicated to the wing and more support staff available when needed.

A bunch of Willea's friends as well as Norma's cousins, Al and Colleen from Nanaimo showed up for a piece of cake and some catching up. The leftover cake was taken by the nurses to the next wing to be shared. Happy 73rd, Willea!

We then went with Sierrah to the "Green Cuisine" vegan restaurant she works in on weekends for lunch. It was my first venture into a vegan sanctuary and was about as I expected. I had nut loaf, a couple of salads, kale, veggies and some other stuff I can't spell. It is "buffet style" where you take whatever you want, they weigh it and you pay by the weight. All three plates weighed $33, a good deal. Sierrah wanted to treat but Norma and I successfully wrestled the bill from the struggling part time working student!

We left Sierrah to meet up with her friends downtown and fled Victoria to face the "Calwood Crawl", the horrible, snail paced traffic mass leaving Victoria each day. An hour or two later we arrived at Brooks' home in Shawnigan Lake where we had a fun evening of pizza and couple of scotch.

We left early as they were getting ready for work and after I raided Brooks' burn pile, stopped at the Pioneer House for a delicious breakfast and got home before noon, exhausted!

New Roof Scheduled

When Brooks and his roofer friend CJ were up to build the new porch CJ reported that we needed a new roof. This is not the first time we had been told this as Mike, Norma' s grass cutter is a former roofer and told us the same thing when he went up there to install the roof vents. It is not an emergency but both said we would be lucky to get another year out of it.

Deciding to replace it when we had some control rather than in an emergency, we let Brooks and CJ schedule the job. CJ is bringing his worker up with him and Brooks and I will be here to help out where required. CJ is sure he can do it in two days which is good because he has a regular job to get back to.

CJ is driving up from Shawnigan Lake on Saturday to measure everything. He will order the material at his reduced rate and will arrange for rooftop delivery. They will be up on the weekend of Sept 23 to do the job. We are anxiously watching weather reports as there is rain forecast off and on for the next couple of weeks. So far it looks "OK" with light showers showing for the Saturday morning. We will hope for the best and hopefully the guys will have a "Plan B"

All's Well In Cuba!

Our son Brooks just got a phone call from our mutual friends Roly and Christy in Cuba! The Internet is not working but the phones are back up. They are fine. The eye passed close to them but offshore and the effects of the storm were much less than they had been told to expect. There was little damage in their area near Cardenas (near Veradero).

It was just a quick international call to report in, I am sure there will be more details from them in the next few days but it is a great relief to hear they are well!

On to Florida!

Gritting Our Teeth For Irma!

We have friends in Cuba, friends in Florida and friends in South Carolina. All are in the path of Irma and are keeping us on our toes watching the hurricane's progress.

Roly and Christy live near Varadero, Cuba in a single story house. We are concerned for them but Roly is a very resourceful guy and I am sure they will be OK. The hurricane is rght over them as we speak. We have not heard from them since the day before yesterday.

Cherie and Chris (Technomadia Blog) have left their live aboard boat to it's fate in Marathon, FL (on the Keys) and drove a borrowed truck up to north Florida where they picked up their bus and are safely heading west out of Irma's path.

Our deceased friends Paul and Dodi lived in Lakeland, FL where their family and grandchildren still live. We got to know them all during the couple of months we have spent parked at our friends full hookup in their yard. We hope everyone is OK! If any of you are reading this, let us know.

In South Carolina we have our friends Dee and Beach who live just outside Charleston and are planning on riding out whatever is left of the storm by the time it hits them. Their RV is standing by in case they have to find higher ground. Also in Charleston are Sean and Louise (Our Odyssey Blog) who are trapped in Charleston Harbour in their 60 foot trawler "Vector". They are carefully watching Irma's path and will either stay put or head up the Cooper River depending on forecasts.

So, we have a vested interest in this storm and are glued to the TV watching it's progress. It does not look good!