Feb 19, 2021
So many things happening
Tuesday morning I discovered that our landline was not working. This happens a few times per year. Usually it is something to do with our wiring located in a cistern two lots over. Often it is filled with water and creates our phone problem. Thursday was the first day that they could come, between 5 – 7 PM. Long story short the cistern is full of ice. The tech really had no idea what to do and said someone would be out Friday or Saturday.
We were doing our final errands in Kelowna today and were home by 2 PM only to find Telus waiting for us. We had no idea that someone was coming. Basically he said that our phone wire is deteriorating and that we are now on the third “something” but there is a loud buzz while on the phone. There is a fourth “something” and that it is disintegrating. The first and second “thing” have been destroyed. The park says it is Telus’s responsibly and Telus says that it is the park’s responsibility. Park management told us to get a cell phone as the rest of the world is doing. Telus told us to call Shaw and to get one of their landlines. The landline number is attached to our business and we had have it a very long time. The Shaw land line cost is more that double what we are paying with Telus. We do use Shaw internet but that is not enough to create a cheaper bundle. They count our Shaw satellite dish as something different. Even if Colin were to switch his cell to Shaw it would not work as that also is a different department. We ended our conversation with the Shaw lady saying she would check one thing out and call us back. Four hours later we are still waiting.
BTW I did ask about simply running a new phone line across our rocks from the cistern over looking the lake. They would connect it but not lay the conduit, etc. It is not a big deal, at least we don’t think so. Croft?
Wednesday we found out that the part for my computer repair would not be in before next Monday the 22nd. Nothing we can do about that. It will have to wait a few weeks now as we will be busy with the twins. We did get to find out more about Zoom at happy hour Wednesday.
We had an entertaining Zoom call with friends. It actually was fun. The only other Zoom experience we had was a short business meeting in early November. Not fun and we would rather talk on the phone than Zoom. So this is huge progress for us. Good to get out of our comfort zone.
I got up from the call to take this sunset shot. We haven’t had many lately.
Colin brought the Jeep into the dealership in Vernon Thursday morning and it was just as we suspected. Yes it was condensation in the airlines. Nothing to do about it but we at least know that the car is safe to travel and that we can indeed drive it that way should it freeze up again. We do appreciate your blog comment Frank about the exact same experience with your Jeep. Had we not been traveling on Monday to pick up the dogs we would have let it slide. But driving through the mountains we just needed to have it checked. We paid $182.00 for peace of mind. Not a good a design. Even our RV air suspension has an air dryer to take the moisture out of the air.
Before I forget, sunrise on Thursday morning. Wow!
Colin took these for me. They are lovely.
Shortly after Colin got back from the Jeep dealership we returned to Vernon, yet again. I somehow managed to damage my eyeglasses Wednesday evening and needed them re adjusted. I forgot to mention that we had been to Vernon on Wednesday to see the chiropractor so this made our third trip in two days. We had heard that gas prices were going up ten cents per litre. Using Gas Buddy I found a Petro Station in Vernon that was selling gas for 120.9 🙂 We have a Petro Canada card that gives us an additional 3 cents off plus we have a bonus 5 cent card off. So we should have paid that tank of fuel for 112.9/litre. Most stations were now selling fuel at 134.9/litre. However that extra 8 cents off only works if you use a Mastercard linked to Petro Canada. It was then that I realized that I had neither my Mastercard, nor my Visa and not my Costco card. Quite the panic. Colin paid with his Visa and off we went. I did eventually find those cards in my puff jacket that I had worn last Saturday. Next stop Superstore where Colin could not find his Visa ( he had put it in a pocket after paying for the gas ) so he used the company Visa. Very strange day. Final stop was to get my glasses adjusted. It had started to snow, rather heavily. I had to wait 30 minutes for my appointment. Colin had to wait in the car and the snow was adding up.
Just coming out of Vernon we followed a snow plow and sander for bit. This actually was the first time we we have driven in a snow storm this winter.
I really was very slick. The speed was reduced to 50 – 60 kph ( 31 – 37 mph ). A long, slow but safe drive home.
Once home we met the Thursday Telus repair guy who was early 😯 At this time I was ready to give up on all this stuff that has been happening. We did realize that our windshield wipers were not doing a good job. Colin had just had them changed a few months ago. So that bring us to today. Colin was driving me into town for my appointment and of course the road was full of melting water and dirty slush. While waiting for me he checked the wiper blades and they were replaced. He called the dealership in Vernon and discovered that they had not installed them nor had they charged us for them. Good news in that he did not have to drive to Vernon yet again. Instead on the way home he stopped at the Kelowna dealership and got new ones. $86.00 🙄 So now the car is ready for our road trip.
I won’t have my computer done for a while now, we have no idea how long our landline will last. We definitely have to make some landline changes but it can wait a bit. My glasses are in perfect condition yet again and we had a wonderful visit with friends. The car is as ready as it can be with the air ride suspension supposedly working, the tire pressures have been checked and we have new wipers. I felt like this was a lot to deal with in the past few days but writing this has helped me settle. The next few days will be spent preparing for our new puppies.
We did enjoy the snowfall last evening ( ? 3-4 inches) as well as the winter wonderland this morning not to mention the sunshine.
This week we have had three friends diagnosed with Covid and one passed yesterday. Another very special friend has now moved on to palliative care. Just a few months ago he was 100%. His many new cancers have almost become too much to bear. Prayers to ease his pain are welcomed. The following is meant to bring a smile to everyone. 
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As a old retired tel tech,I can tell you that placing a run of buried armored wire on the ground between your home and Telus connection point will work for you until the spring thaw and then you can simply trench it in the spring 12 inches deep…no conduit needed.
Welcome to the comment section of my blog. We will look into your suggestion. Many thanks.
Our Zoom call was so much fun! We were also out grocery shopping on Thursday and the roads were slick around town, we came across the ambulance accident just after it happened and decided it was a good time to head home.
So sad about your friends, we are sending prayers their way.
It was a fun call and we will do it again. Maybe the twins will say hi! Good decision on your part to go home. Thanks for the prayers.
Dealing with technological issues is always a pain but an easy fix. The Phone Connections should be in an above ground junction box not in a cistern where water gathers. Telus can fish a new line to your place by Tying a new wire to the old and pull.
A private garage could easily install an Air Dryer in the Jeep.
You are lucky they use Sand on the roads in your area. They use Salt here.
Sorry to read of all your friends. We’ll definitely be praying for them all especially the one with Cancer.
Be Safe on your trip and Enjoy the puppies.
It’s about time.
Thanks for your input. This park opened 38 years ago and things were done in different ways. Remember how they dug up out front area after the fence was put it. No one knows all the details of how or why certain things were done. The telephone wire are simply buried in the dirt all over the park so it wold be impossible to pull a wire through but it is a good idea. There are five hundred sites here and the junction boxes are everywhere with no reason. Ours seems to be the one that gets wet. Telus refuses to do anything about it nor will the park. Although we did leave a message yesterday asking in they will run a conduit and we will pay for the rest.
Appreciate the prayers.
Hate to say it, but Croft knows nothing about residential wiring. I worked in a number of Mobile Home parks over the years and they were usually a Nightmare. Having your line under water is not all that unusual in a 40 year old installation. Even if the terminal is above ground, the old cable under the water table is likely very deteriorated. Most suggestions to patch something together will likely be temporary, and trenching a line along the beach will likely be a non starter both for Holiday Park and the Environment Police.
TELUS is correct, everything past the pole on Commonwealth Rd is Holiday Park’s responsibility. That’s why they suggest a Cell phone, they can’t afford the cost of permanent repair or replacement of the ‘Plant’ as it is referred to. I would call Shaw and start a negotiation. They always want your business and will probably make cost accommodations if you sign a multi year contract. That’s what our Strata did for our Entrance gate phone and got a great deal.
Otherwise, If you already have a Cell and want to keep your Landline Number just get the Number ‘ported’ to your cell plan. That’s what we did with our home landline several years ago and one more bill just went away.
Call if you have any questions.
The Telus guy did say that they would connect the line one more time with the new wiring ( that we pay for and trench in ) but that was it and they would not support it after that. We are quite shocked at Shaw’s attitude and costs. But we have been with Telus since 1986 and have been given many loyalty discounts. But Shaw says that we need internet, a landline and cable to get a deal. We use Shaw Satellite as we take that to Mexico with us. We actually offered to change Colin’s cell to Shaw but no go. Right now with us leaving on Monday to pick up the dogs, it is not the time to get down to serious negotiation. The thing is that we need use of the landline for the business as well as the home line. Two different rings on the one line. We had it great with Telus. We still have our Telus email address and if someone calls our landline the message would actually be forwarded to that email address. It really was a win win situation for us. I am not fond of change. We will contact you once we get sorted out in the next week or two.
I am so sorry about your friends passing and those who have covid. We had a friend pass last week due to a rare genetic disease, she was only 60. Hopefully your jeep holds up to bring the girls home. When it rains (or snows) it pours doesn’t it?
We are confident that the Jeep will get us there. However the highway has been closed between Revelstoke and Golden since 6AM. Lots of snow overnight and an accident. So sorry about the loss of your friend.
Hi Contessa, just another comment following the one sent via email yesterday on computer issues. We had a Bell landline and I got tired of all the extras they charged us. I went with a Vonage Canada VOIP phone, it is cheaper and an additional benefit is that it has “extensions” for your smart phone, allows you to call using your Vonage home phone number over the net, we use it in the US and it probably would work in Mexico as well (free calls!). The unit plugs into your internet modem and connects to your standard home phone. We leave the internet on when we are away to monitor temp conditions etc. The payback was about 8 months, saved $$ after that. You should check if Vonage can move your phone number, we couldn’t because of the rural system in our area, formerly a non-Bell system.
I will pass this onto Colin to sort out. Always looking for a good idea. Thank yo for this and your long email re the computer issue.
Haha, those kids things are funny and apt!!!
Can’t wait to see pics of u both with new family!!!!
We are very excited.
We have not had a land line for over 17 years. We were moving to a new house and were probably going have to get a new number anyway. I had opened a business 3 years prior and gotten cell phones for business use. The business had its own land lines, but I needed to stay in touch, order things, emails etc. The only concern you might have is your business. Just port the business number to a cell phone. Also, I changed my email account to Gmail. Best thing I ever did, because sending emails remotely from my home internet was always a pain.
I will NEVER have a landline again. I can solve any phone problem now in one day.
Sorry, I am behind on my Blog reading. No, Telus is not allowed to run conduit on the ground for a number of reasons including if someone trips over it, they are liable. They did have a plan where they would convert your landline to Cellular, keeping the same number. I don’t know if this would be suitable for you. Here it is: Grrr.. no pasting into your Blog! Google Telus Wireless Home Phone