Aug 12, 2017
Changes
In the last 24 hours I have had to send a photo to a client via my iPhone. I had to call Inger for help on how to do the first one but I just managed the second one on my own. Thanks for your help Inger. Interesting how this smart phone is fitting in with things.
Also re the heron in my photo, in the last post, it is a stained glass window as Sandy suspected. As you can see from this post from back in 2012 we have had herons in our lives for a bit, click here for that post.
Here it is from the bathroom side. The heron is a window between our dining room and the bathroom. It is the only window in our bathroom along with a solar tube. you really don’t realize that there is no natural light.
And here is the full window from the other side.
Good news, the RV battery situation is back to normal or so we hope. We will be monitoring it closely. However we have a new glitch, the RV stairs will not come down. Likely a loose wire, well hopefully that is all it is. We will have it checked out next week. Colin had contacted a wood working fellow a while back and he came by today to pick up our dining table as well the coffee table that rises up to make a proper dining table. He says that he can refinish the wood for $250.00. Now that is a deal indeed.
No matter the smoke, folks around here are getting on with their lives. Girlfriends on the lake. One on a board.
We have actually seen these vehicles in Mazatlan. I have to say that I am shocked that Culiacan only has four ambulances. Now I understand why Colin had to drive Heriberto to the hospital in the back of the HHR a few years ago.
What a brilliant idea. Now that is a super way to recycle.
Meanwhile the international US vs Korea vs China has hit our local online news. How would you vote?
This morning is the first time in weeks that I have been able to see the larger hill over the low rise above the lake. Progress indeed.
Just an hour ago I glimpsed a bit of blue and clouds. Strangely only directly above us. Towards Kelowna, to the right, it remains smokey.
I took this last evening, perhaps and hopefully it will be the last time we see so much smoke over our lake.
There may be hope, the wind had increased. The smoke has lifted ever so slightly. Sadly the wind also fans the flames and we have had new fires today as well as more evacuations on the really big one, Elephant Hill, which remains out of control. Just checked the latest news update and the wind is a major concern to the firefighters. Such a sad state of affairs. We are beginning to wonder if this will be our new normal 🙁
On the positive side of things, today was my 31st day in a row of doing 10,000 or steps per day. A major milestone for me.
UPDATE
Well there you go, yet another huge change. About five minutes after publishing this post I hear fire engines and more and more. Turns out that the main Hwy has been closed due to a fire, just two miles from us. No details yet.
From social media.
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Contessa, have they caught the arson-causing person ( the one with torch in hand ) ?
My regards, Lucy.
Last I heard Lucy is that he is being evaluated for mental health issues.
Contessa, in the North Korea poll, my “hope” (not “worry”) is that, of course, the war does not happen at all. I know it is an easy thing to say, but I believe that worrying is an unproductive activity. I believe both Trump and North Korea will back down. My reasons are somewhat subtle and are as follows:
1) Trump has already said that he will not “act” on threats from a North Korean general, which presently is the conduit through which North Korea’s threats are made. Trump says he will act only if he hears such threats from the North Korean dictator himself. This dictator always uses his general as his messenger.
2) The North Korean dictator via his general says that he will be shooting four ICBMs into the shipping lanes just off the island of Guam on Tues., August 15. Well, that is not going to happen. My God, who gives away their game plan. I think that was just a threat.
3) China is suppose to be playing “good cop” in this situation, and Trump hopes to push China in a corner so that they will settle this situation through diplomacy with North Korea’s ICBMs on the table for discussion. China really doesn’t want to play this part, but knows it is necessary, otherwise if the US took out North Korea, the Chinese would have a border bumping up next to a brand new US border. They like us for trade, but certainly not as their soul mates. I really think the Chinese are going to settle all of this. However, the Chinese have communicated that if the US shoots first, they will side with North Korea. If the North Korean’s shoot first, the Chinese will remain neutral.
Presently, there are 7,000 US personnel residing on Guam. When the US starts loading up dependents and children onto US ships for evacuation, then that will be the time to elevate your senses; action like that doesn’t happen unless the US intelligence agencies have found solid information from North Korea or the US has exhausted all diplomatic measures through China to solve the problem. I never thought that I would ever feel sorry for the Chinese, but I do in this situation. Everything is riding on them.
Of course we all hope that the situation does not escalate. Great mini essay on the situation. I especially like your last paragraph. Logical!
That’s all you need now a fire so close.
Fortunately is was under control by 11PM. all we know so far is that it was started in a shed and was human caused. One household had to be put up by Emergency Service for the night as they lost their power.
Hoping the fire so close to you is controlled quickly. We finally got a heavy downpour of rain yesterday morning then a few hours of steady light rain last night. Most of our smoke issue is gone, so nice to see blue in the sky again and it feels fresh outside. Our hot weather is finally laying off and it feels good. I am concerned about what is coming out of the orange man’s mouth, antagonizing N Korea, both leaders are off their rockers and Nuclear war is closer than ever. I had a nightmare about it the other night.
living, you got that right! They ARE both off their rockers, to state it mildly. They are both bullies, but regardless as to what comes out of their mouths, bullies are not as brave as you might think they are.
As you guessed Cheap Chick the fire was eventually controlled but the highway remained closed for a long while. We had some rain but not a lot like you did however it was enough to clear the smoke, thank goodness.
Trump says he wants to end all nuclear weapons. He’d better think about starting at home first. The U.S. is the only country to have ever deployed such weapons and is the holder of the largest arsenal.
Kim is playing the game. Who is to say he is the evil one when no other country has used nuclear weapons and killed so many hundreds of thousands in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
I say, lay off of Kim, his bark is worse than his bite. Although he must have a pretty good group of scientists and engineers to be able to produce what is said to be the world’s smallest warhead to fit in a missile. With that, maybe countries should become good friends with Kim in hopes that he wises up and joins the rest of the world.
Maybe they could bring him and North Korea into the fold of world peace.
Chris, now I know why I love you so much because you are an eternal optimist even though I have not met you except through your writings. Since you have dual citizenship, how I wish you would run for President of the US. Seriously! However, I keep having these nagging thoughts. We can get rid of our US bully by simply impeaching him (once Special Counsel Mueller has concluded his investigation) or by not re-electing him in a little over three years (since he has now shown his true colors). Solving the North Korean matter will be more difficult; walking up to Kim with a bouquet of flowers, a box of candy, and a kiss on the cheek (killing him with kindness) I don’t think will work. His past precedes him, and he is only in his 30s. For example, he has already murdered his uncle and recently murdered his brother in a Maylasia airport. There has been so many ICBM testings in a sort period of time, more than his father or grandfather ever did in such period of time. In fact, in those tests, recently he came within a hair’s breath of shooting down an Air Franc passenger jet flying from Tokyo to Paris carrying 320 people. In years past, the Lutheran Church representatives have been allowed by his now deceased father to cross the border to bring supplies of food to his starving people; the money available was spent on a military weapons build up, not for feeding the North Korean people. Do you still think he’s redeemable?
You’re right on all fronts. However, why aren’t we taking out Maduro in Venezuela who is also a threat and starving his people. Only because he doesn’t have nuclear weapons. Middle East leaders do the same with their family members and sub-leaders, off with their heads. Dead people are dead people no matter what they die from.
Kim knows he’s the cat’s meow in his own country. Everywhere else he’s not and with one strike on his part he’s a goner along with all he and his family represent. He’s too smart for that. He’s like a terrorist knowing he is breeding fear in North America. JMTC
Chris, I know very little about the current situation in Venezuela except to say that our US Congress and military are not on the same page with Trump. In fact, they were greatly surprised at his Venezuelan comment. What I do know is that a number of people from non-profit organizations from the US, Canada, Mexico and representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS) are risking their lives in Venezuela to attempt to solve the food crisis. Colombia is accepting a lot of the burden because of its proximity to Venezuela. Since you have visited Colombia and so have Ruth and Kevin, any contacts there you may have will inform you (and us) of what is truly going on in real time rather than our reliance solely on the newspapers. If you have some reliable information from your contacts, maybe you wouldn’t mind providing that information on your blog because I feel as though I have hijacked Contessa’s blog here.
No worries Dee and Chris, carry on. Most interesting.