5C's Que Pasa

…..what a busy week it has been. We got back home from Vancouver sometime after nine pm last Monday. Colin left at 7:00AM Tuesday to drive to Armstrong, about 50 minutes away, to pick up the RV. It was having an oil change and check up. This place is is supposed to have a lower rate per hour and are very good with diesel pushers. From there he had an appointment to get the RV windshield replaced.

Colin has had to trim this tree for the second time in six weeks.

We got a rock chip on the drivers half of the windshield on our return from Mexico in April. We then found out that even though we had asked for glass coverage on the RV insurance that we did not have it. It took over two months to get that sorted out with the insurance company. In the end we did not have it even though we had it in emails that we had asked for it. Finally the office that we had purchased the insurance with agreed to pay for the window ( in the end it cost us $18.00 to add it specifically to our policy ) after much much back and forth. The cost is around $2800.00 for one half of the windshield. Then we had to wait a few weeks for it to come in. So Colin left early one morning sometime the beginning of August to Vernon, about a thirty minute drive. While they put the window in he was doing some cleaning in the RV. They were almost finished when they cracked the new window 8-O.

Our garden tomatoes are doing better this year than our patio tomatoes. I wonder if that might have something to with Carlie helping herself.

So the window had to be ordered once again. And it was this past Tuesday, the 23rd that it was supposed to be installed. Colin had it all organized, pick up the RV early in the morning and get the window installed for the second time. We even had carpet and upholstery cleaners booked for the next day. However the RV was not ready ( even though we had been told the Friday before we went to Vancouver that it would be ) so he left Armstrong and cancelled the windshield instalment and the carpet cleaners. Now we have to wait until mid September to get that done.

Enjoying the heat of the patio a few days ago.

Tomorrow is the do over day. Colin will pick up the RV from Armstrong and drive it with the Jeep attached to Vernon to get the windshield replaced. Fingers crossed that all goes well. They say that the third time is the charm 🙄

I washed all of the dog blankets, three loads worth.

We both had our teeth cleaned this week. I had my second kinesiology appointment and that went well and I have some new exercises to do as well as some from the first visit. My body has been sore, using different muscles and pushing others. I even had a mammogram which was no fun with my still sore right sided ribs. But I am getting better and doing much more, just a few twinges depending on what I do during the day. This past Friday we received a lengthy call from a good friend whom we have not seen for several years. Amazing how an hour flies past when you are catching up.

Lots of thunderstorms every afternoon this past week, not much rain. Surprised at how many berries we have on the Mountain Ash.

The weather has cooled down and we haven’t had the A/C on since the sun went behind the mountain Friday. We had all the windows open and were enjoying the fresh air and slight breeze and had started to watch a movie on TV when a rogue gust of wind came through. It was so windy that it blew the TV off the table and of course it fell and broke. We just sat there with our mouths open, in shock. So yesterday Colin spent the day TV shopping and today he started to set it up. We had a 40″ and now have a 43″ TV. Our TV table is custom for the area and we wanted to be able to fit the new TV into the same spot. That has been a wee challenge, more on that another day.

Nice dent in the top left corner.

We are still trying to find lifejackets that fit our long but large barrelled chest doxies. Colin thought we could try this one out in the dog pool!  Umm not enough water. We will try the tub but haven’t had a free moment. This is the 4th jacket we have tried.

So cool yesterday that they had two heavy blankets on them.

Yesterday morning we flew to Vancouver to attend Katie’s memorial service. Our good friend Inger came and stayed with the girls the entire time.

Due to staff shortages at airports as well as all over the world it was recommended to get to security two hours before departure. We did so and were immediately put thru to the head of the line. Why? Perhaps because we were dressed up, Colin had long pants ( yes he did ) and a jacket or perhaps because I was a WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard member. We had lots of time to relax however my issue with claustrophobia and wearing a mask was wearing on me a bit.

I did some wandering around and found this right next to the washrooms. An area especially for service dogs to relieve themselves or small pets traveling in under the seat carriers. Gramma Katie would have definitely approved of this. There even was a dog dish for water.

Colin took this lovely photo of Mount Baker as we approached Vancouver. That is the Fraser River working its way to the ocean.

I asked Colin who was sitting by the window to take a closer shot of Mount Baker. He said that the plane was vibrating too much. So I took his new SE ( special edition ) Second Generation from his hands and snapped this!

I had rented an Alamo car for our short time in Vancouver. First we waited in a line for 40 minutes – there were only two staff members working as they were short staffed. I also noticed while we waited that those who had already gone through the line were sitting and impatiently waiting for their car rental to a actually appear, the one that they had paid for. Some waited as long as had been in line, perhaps longer. So when it was finally our turn, I made a point of mentioning that we were in Vancouver for a special memorial service and that we were short of time. The lady was very sympathetic and said she would put us ahead of everyone else. She called the supervisor and then asked if we would take a pick-up truck, ummm no!!  Within five minutes we got a lovely medium size car. It appears that there is not enough staff to check in the returns and get them ready for the next customer. Our car had a huge dent in the front right fender and inside damage on the passenger door. Colin took photos just in case.

None of the above happened. The windshield was dirty and there was bird poop on a few windows. This was our first time flying since before Covid and I was was ready. We had new fresh masks and dozens of Sani wipes. So when it became apparent that this rental car had not been cleaned never mind sanitized as promised I started to sanitize all the surfaces including the key fob and inside handles to open the doors.

We finally got out of the airport, so much traffic. It has been a long time since we were in that area of Vancouver/Tsawwassen/Ladner and there were many changes including all new roads, new homes being built and new off ramps, etc. We loved living there when we did but with all the changes we are happy to remain in our tranquil home on the lake.

We arrived at the church rather early so we waited a bit before we went inside. A very lovely church that we had never seen before. Katie was born in Yugoslavia and met Louie in 1948 after WW11 in a refugee camp in Austria. They met at a dance, I love that, something I never knew. As an aside they got married in 1953, the year I was born. The Lutheran Church sponsored Katie’s parents and they immigrated to Ohio. Katie and Louie kept up their long distance romance alive with almost daily letters. Eventually Katie moved to Calgary, Alberta and they married. From there they moved to Tsawwassen, BC. There is a reason that I am sharing this story.

A very very special thank you to Karoline, Katie’s daughter for sending me ( unasked ) this photo. While we waited in the sanctuary we both noticed this exceptional stained glass window and were drawn to it. I really wanted to take a photo of  it but thought that it might be disrespectful, so when I received this photo I was elated. Most especially  because during Karoline’s eulogy she mentioned how important the Lutheran Church was to the family. Gramma Katie’s mother had donated this spectacular window to the church. Katie spoke to us at the church yesterday.

The service was lovely and the three hymns sung reached deep into my heart. Of course I cried and cried even more. Katie had planned every word of her service and even the reception. Karoline’s eulogy was the exception and she shared some special moments of Katie’s life. Karoline, you did a fabulous job of honouring your mother. Thank you Katie for the wine at the reception. Oh how Katie and I loved our wine. It was so heartfelt to spend time with Louie but he had so many others to speak with. We had moments with each of the family members and we learned even a few more things about Katie. Kim told us that our girls rated above us in the love department. I agree and that was as it should be. Barry told me a few things that I didn’t know, things that Katie had shared with him about us. All so very special. And then Karoline gifted us with a keepsake that keeps Katie in our heart in our home. More on that another time. Not ready to share yet. Suddenly Louie was alone and we got some precious time with him. We love him so much. He asked us to kiss the girls for Katie when we got home last evening. I told him that we would but also we would kiss them for him. The most difficult thing we did was to leave Louie and leave for the airport. I am crying as I write this. Gary thank you for the advice about the tunnel.

The tunnel was our downfall. Even though we had lived in Tsawwassen and knew the area we both had forgotten about the dreaded tunnel which goes under the Fraser River to Vancouver. Gary, Kim, Barry, all told us to use the HOV lane but cautioned us that it might take an hour or more to get to the airport. The minutes were passing swiftly, we were so happy to get an extra 10 -15 minutes alone with Louie. Louie thought that we were spending the night and was surprised that we were leaving so quickly. We had a baby sitter at home looking after our girls. Leaving was the most difficult part of the day. We had no choice.

Eight lanes converging into one heading toward the airport and Vancouver. Another new to us approach to the highway heading to the airport. We were in the HOV lane and suddenly it disappeared. I think that we were supposed to take the Ladner exit which would have diverted us back into the HOV  lane via the overpass. Honestly I never saw any signage. So we were in one of the eight merging lines as we watched the HOV lane zoom past. But it also eventually merged with our solitary lane. We lost some precious moments.

Colin is a great driver and we got to the airport. However we had to stop and fill the rental car tank ( $10.00 ) at the airport Petro Can. Line up in all the lanes. Finally Colin moved ahead and backed into a pump. Done. Off to return our rental. The fellow checking us in only cared about the fact that we had filled the fuel tank. He told us how busy and short staffed they were, especially on a Monday. He was rushing our car to the next person in line for a car. No cleaning of course.

Rush, rush to security, again we were sent to the front of the line. Did we look that old or was it our clothing? Only two people ahead of us. We needed a second tray for the keepsake that we had been given. Interesting system at Vancouver Airport ( YVR ). You put all your things in a bin and as the person doing the X-ray screening watches, they have the choice to send your bin to an off chute line for special inspection.

There was a long delay and the conveyor belt stopped for over eight minutes. They went through every corner of this suitcase in detail, including holding up the dirty underwear for all to see. Finally it was our turn. The keepsake package had been wrapped with love and care. We told the agent that it was a very special keepsake and she said that she had to open it. She cut the string and the tape. I refused to look as I did not really know what the keepsake was. I knew what I hoped it was. So fifteen minutes later we were finally free to go.

Through our Scotiabank Visa card we have Premium Lounge privileges, six per year each. We have a personal Visa card and a business card. We certainly enjoyed those while we traveled Europe the two years before Covid. Of course traveling business class added to our adventures. So glad that we used up all of our points. Swiss Air and Turkish airlines are the very best. So here we are in the Vancouver Lounge. We scored with some fabulous vegetarian pasta and some excellent Pinot Grigio for me  and Merlot for Colin. All top BC wines of course. We left the lounge with 20 minutes to the flight closing. We had been told that it was only five minutes away. Perhaps for a much much younger person, this was my first time out since my fall. Until yesterday I had barely put three thousand steps on my pedometer since July 26th. Yesterday I did 7567 steps. It seems that airports are all about walking and walking.

Colin took this shortly before we landed, interesting lighting.

Turns out that we had been flying into a red alert thunderstorm warning. Shortly after landing we coasted  to a stop. Because of the red alert we could not move anywhere. The pilot shut down the engines and we sat in a hot plane for about thirty minutes. Hmmm, so there we were, in a metal box in the middle of a runaway. Colin fell asleep  😯  He was hot in his heavy clothes. Meanwhile I was texting Inger who was at our place with the twins, telling me how bad the storm was. Turns out we had over 1.03 inches or rain in a very short period of time.

These are photos taken by the public while were were sitting on the runway.

We were relieved to finally get to the gate. The highway home was full of water and lots of hydroplaning. A bit tense driving those ten minutes home.

The girls were  beyond happy to see us. Inger told us that they had been very good pups while we were away. The longest we have left them was 3.5 hours. They were with Inger whom they love, for just over 13 hours.

I leave you with something the minister shared with us that had been said at the Queen Mother’s funeral in 2002. So very perfect and intensely felt.

April 1, 2009.

Why oh why is my life so full of drama?  Ken do you remember Margot asking me that time after time? The week ahead is going to be crazy busy. We are flying to Vancouver tomorrow for Gramma Katies memorial service. The girls will be left in the care of our very good friend Inger.  First time that we have left them for over 3 hours. We will be gone 14 hours.

So I think this is a good time to put these spectacular sunset photos into my blog. Mostly to calm me down. They were taken August 11th.  I think this is the most special sunset that we have enjoyed here in Kelowna this year.

The colours remind me of the spectacular sunsets that we see on the Isla, night after night.

The girls are being very clingy tonight. It appears that they have figured out that something is going to happen.

We often eat our dinner watching something that we taped on TV.  They girls sit in their beds waiting until we are done and then demand to come sit with us. They are very good and do not beg at all.

Someones new baby here in Kelowna. So very very sweet. We actually discussed getting a third. You can’t have too many chocolates.

Can you believe that we are leaving for Mexico two months from today? It is coming too fast but I am excited to get back to the Isla.

We are getting our beach back ever so slowly. But it is much too hot to be outside most of the day. Certainly not the Isla beach but still a beach.

Our internet provider ( Shaw ) called in June with a promotion for something called Fibre Plus. No it’s not a new cereal 😆 At that time we were on Internet 30 which meant that we had 15 upload and 300 download. The Fibre Plus internet package/value plus gave us the option of 100 upload and a choice of up to 300 ( $95.00 ) or 500 ($100.00 ) or 1500 ($105.00 ) download plus tax. Well it was a no brainer to choose the 1500 download speed. We still get to put our internet on vacation for up to 180 days per year where we only have to pay $10.00 per month, such as when we are in Mexico. They also sent us a new modem and gave us an additional $5.00 off per month as we are loyal customers. We were paying $95.00 per month before taxes but that was increasing to $114.00 per month plus taxes on September 8th, 2022. The Fibre Plus promotion is good until June of 2024. Our total monthly fee is now $105.00 plus taxes. Great deal for us and we are definitely loving the faster upload and download speeds. Of course I had to spend over an hour on the phone to compare apples to apples and making sure that all the T’s were crossed.

Before.

After.

The city we live in is legally Kelowna, however we are only one or two blocks from the District of Lake Country. Up until perhaps 8 – 10 months ago our ambulance and fire service came from Lake Country. That has changed to receiving those services from Kelowna where we pay taxes. I was told recently that the City of Kelowna used to pay the District of Lake Country to serve us but that changed last year to save Kelowna money. Essentially it means that the closest Fire Station to us is now in Glenmore, about 16KM/10miles away and at least a 15 minute drive.  This is for both fire and ambulance.

Up until this huge change we were serviced by the Lake Country Fire Department. We have no fire hydrants here in the park where we live but we have some standpipes and that along with that fact that the local Lake Country Fire hall is only 8KM/5miles away, our home insurance was rated semi covered for fire. Because of the change and the distance to the nearest fire department we are now rated not protected. More details by clicking the link.

FUS – 415 Commonwealth Road – Unprotected

Our home insurance was due August 7th and in renewing it we found out about all of the changes. We were supposed to pay $1552.00 and instead we were quoted $3000.00 because of the lack of fire protection. We have been with this insurance company since 2003 and because of that they are giving us a special rate for this year only of $2116.00. Quite the unexpected increase and of course next year will be worse.

Starting to eat veggies from the garden. I have not been there since I fell so I have to rely on Colin to pick and sort it all out. Fresh veggies taste so much better that store bought.

My ribs are feeling better but still very tender on the right side and I still at times have difficulty taking a full breath. I had planned close to two months ago to start doing Kinesiology to help me get my body back to a new normal after all the trials I have been through in the past years. “Kinesiologists use evidence-based research to treat and prevent injury and disease, and to improve movement and performance. Kinesiologists work with people of all ages and physical abilities in many settings to help them achieve their health and wellness goals and improve quality of life.”   Of course I had my fall on July 26th which had great affected me but I felt I just had to start with this new form of treatment. Massages helped with the pain but I needed a new way to stabilize my body and find a new way to live my life. I did not want to wait until I was fully healed as I want some progress for Mexico and to also having a program to work with when I am there.

We are currently experiencing some smoke from the Oregon and Washington state fires.

I had an assessment on August 10th and was given my first program of exercises on the 16th, just a few days ago. Oh my!! Lots of homework for me so between using new muscles to me and my current rib injury I am in some discomfort. Colin worked out for me that I have a total of 200 reps twice per day 😯 This is a huge change in my life. But if I want to become active again, travel the world and just to enjoy life to the fullest, then I need to to this or simply give up and be content with two or three small walks per week.

I now need afternoon naps to rebuild my energy. Ciela seldom leaves my side.

Lots more changes happening, some small and others more significant but I think that this is enough for tonight.The girls continue to be such special chocolate doxies. Sadly I stepped on Ciela’s tail a few days ago. She gave out some blood curdling screams. It took hours before she let us touch her. Fortunately with time she appears to have no pain. We did call the vet and he said that there was nothing he could do. Of course I goggled the que pasa of stepping on a dogs tail and it wasn’t not good. She may or may not have a tiny kink in her tail from the accident ( I did not do it on purpose ).

I still clean up pretty good. I was off to the parks leaseholders AGM last Saturday.