5C's Que Pasa

Right now it is 84F at 8:30PM as I type this, cooled down from 88F inside.  Guess I should have turned on the A/C today.  I still managed to get my work done but I noticed the girls laying in their beds fairly lethargic from the heat.

Yesterday started out with a wonderful family swimming past.

Then about 8AM my golf cart came back.

In addition to 6 new batteries, a new dash, new carpet on the floor of the rumble seat, we had some much needed electronic work done and we can once again drive at night with lights and signals plus we had a few other things done.  It looks as good as new.

The girls love being driven around and so Colin took them around the block.

I actually took them to the dog park just before dinner tonight in the golf cart.  It was too hot to walk.  Then I had to drive them around a bit.  It is fun to have it.  After the golf cart arrived yesterday we did the long walk of the day.  We do two, usually a short one in the morning and a long one before dinner.  Sometimes they get a very short walk around 2 blocks before bedtime.  Yesterday we did the long walk early as it was supposed to get warm which it did but not as hot as today.

Back from the walk at 9:30AM Colin started to fix himself a muffin.  I asked if we could please install the new modem first so we could have faster internet.  I had quite a bit to do online and really wanted to get up to speed.  He had finally picked up the new modem the day prior.  I assured him that it would take just a few moments. Wrong, oh how very very wrong that turned out to be.

First he had to crawl on his stomach under his desk to switch out the modems.  As he completed that task I called the tech department at Shaw so we could get it hooked up.  We did have internet with the new modem but it was the slow speed.  Finally after 15 minutes of holding I got to speak with Jacob.  So he instructed me and I in turn did what he said except for the parts where you had to lay in the floor under the desk.  That was Colin’s job.  Meanwhile Colin was waiting for his muffin and wanted to get at his computer.  He had hours of photoshop to do.

Somehow we could not get online.  Back & forth, unplug this, reboot that, shut down the computer, unplug something else and restart the computer.  We had been at this for over an hour at this point.  Now we had no internet at all and Jacob had no idea what to do.  He also said they at Shaw did not know the Apple computer.  He could send out a tech but it would be a day or two.  What, no internet?  I got out manuals while he put me on hold while he checked with his colleagues.  No one knew what was wrong.  I should mention that we were going from the Shaw modem to our AirPort Express so we could both work wirelessly.  Jacob kept saying that it was our computer system that was the problem.  I explained that we were working just fine until he connected the new modem and back and forth we went.  He put us hold and came back with new ideas to try.

We were now approaching the two hour mark.  Colin was not happy.  Jacob was about to tell us there was nothing he could do.  At that point I wanted to go back to the old modem and at least have slow internet.  Meanwhile Colin went into the other room and with his cell called our computer geek here in Kelowna.  He could be here in an hour.  Meanwhile I had booted up my new MacBook Air and used my hot spot device with Rogers to start troubleshooting our problem.  I was actually figuring things out.  Just then I looked out the window and saw a Shaw truck parked 3 homes over.

I put Jacob on speaker phone and told him I was going over the see if the Shaw tech could come over to our place.  He was not very receptive but said he would come over when he was done but had no idea how long that was.  By now we were at the 2.5 hour mark.  So we left the phone line open, Jacob may have gone to the washroom and picked up a coffee.  Colin got his muffin and we all waited.  I kept doing research on the MacBookAir. Meanwhile we kept getting phone calls we could not answer, yes it turned out some were clients.  However there was no way I was going to hit flash and possibly disconnect from Jacob.

We had just gone over the 3 hour mark when the Shaw tech from the truck showed up.  He was very efficient and between him and Jacob decided that the problem was our computer system and not Shaw.  He was able to use the modem to get internet with his device.  At this point a motorcycle roared down the street and stopped in front of the house.  Our computer geek had arrived.  Actually quite amazing that this fellow could get here within an hour of the call.  He said that the computer business was quiet right now.  Lucky for us.  We filled him in quickly and he said he could fix it all.  Colin saw the Shaw tech out the door, gave him a cold drink and many thanks.  Meanwhile Jacob was still on the line just in case and the new guy started to do his thing.

We were going past the 3.5 hour of being on the phone with Jacob and I was feeling faint.  I had not yet eaten today.  I grabbed a banana.  Turns out that the new Shaw modem is also a wireless device and when placed in close proximity to the AirPort Express wifi device they stopped the signal from getting through.  I asked Jacob about it and he said he never thought of it.  Motorcycle geek said he really could fix our problem.  Besides he was already in our home and had a minimum $100.00 charge. Close to the 4 hour mark I said adios to Jacob.

Meanwhile Colin worked with our geek guy and things were resolved.  I paid the bill, he roared off on his bike about 2PM and Colin got to finally sit at his computer and do some work.  I was exhausted and very hungry with little incentive to get much done.  During the entire intense 4.5 hour episode I never thought to take a photo.

Next on the to do list was the installation of a new convection microwave.  We love the one we have in the RV  ( used for 14 years now ) but not so much the 2 year old one here in the house.  Colin took it upon himself to find a new one that was supposed to fit where our built in one was here in the house.  Vi the fellow we hired to do the exchange was supposed to be here at 3:30PM.  At 5PM Colin left to do a job just as Vi was arriving.  So now I was to deal with this.

First thing Vi said “it isn’t going to fit”.  Why I asked, he explained and gave a few options.  While I was calling Colin who was halfway to his job, Vi started to take the old one out.

He moved really fast. By now I was beyond exhausted, it was after 5:30PM and I really just wanted peace and a glass of wine.

Colin said we would come back and I said no.  He has been waiting 2 weeks for an evening like this to do these particular photos.  Vi took the microwave out and once again gave me options.  I wasn’t sure.  The new one would stick forward yet another inch and would cover an inch of my special back splash mural.  I called Colin yet again.  He told me he had turned around.  Vi said he couldn’t wait and was leaving.  I said that he could not leave me with no convection/ microwave and a huge mess.  I called Colin, he was 10 minutes away.  Vi needed a decision right now or he was leaving.  I made the decision and he started the install prep.  He had to fill in one inch from the back wall to install the new convection oven.

Thank goodness Colin arrived when he did. I really could not take much more tension or stress today. The girls were cuddling together on the bed obviously picking up on my unhappiness. I was beyond exhausted.

Vi convinced Colin to go with the way he wanted to install it.  While he was out at his truck cutting plywood Colin rethought it out.  I am so thankful he came back home.  However he was only there a short time as he had to get back for the second part of the shot with the sunset ( he would redo the first part another day ).  Our brains were on overload and it was beginning to be too much…period.

New plan was to remove my Durango ( from Mexico ) rope liner along the top of the mural. That would allow the new unit to be installed against the wall. At this point I don’t remember the dimension but the new unit was more than 1/4 ” higher only at the back end and so could not sit on top of the rope liner.

So Colin was off again to his job.  Vi did the install but first made a heck of mess with fine dust everywhere in the kitchen.  He finally left.  I fed the girls.  I poured some wine and close to tears began the cleanup.  I almost missed the ring of the phone because of the noise of vaccum cleaner.  It was Colin.  The clouds had come in and he was yet again coming back home.  But he was bringing home salmon teriyaki for a late dinner 😀

There is no way I ever want to relive a day like yesterday.  So now we have the new convection microwave installed although we still need some sort of 3/8th trim to go between the mural back splash and the bottom of the unit.  I finished cleaning everything today.  The new unit looks great but I haven’t had a chance to use it yet.  Poor Colin left at 4:30AM and won’t be back till about 11PM tonight, a really long day.  It is now 9:50PM and I haven’t had dinner.  I really wanted to do this post so I could purge yesterday from my mind.

Reflection on the lake of the sunset two nights ago.

Adios…..10PM….time for dinner.  Finally cooled down to 79.5F.  Blogging is a lot of work.  It took 1.5 hours to write this.  I had already prepared the photos.  Okay I am really signing off……