We are home!

Wednesday May 9, 2012

We arrived home safe and sound on Sunday around 4:30 pm.  A couple of small trees on the road (2 inches) so no big problem to get in and Eric removed them with an axe.  Last year it took a chainsaw to get us in.  When we pulled into to the yard with the rig everything was A okay so that is a good thing.  Buildings all okay, house okay and no trees down on anything.  It was huge amount of snow this winter so we didn’t know what we would find when we got home.  We snuggled into the building that Eric built for the rig and hooked up to power and we were good for the night. 

It has been a bit hectic over the past few days but I think we are starting to see the light of day.  Okay, wait a minute, there isn’t much light because it is rainy, windy and cold….about 4C at 6pm….can you believe it!

We started the water back up on Monday and checked appliances, taps, etc. for leaks as we went.  All looked good until we heard a whooshing in the bathroom and saw water on the floor.  Yikes!  A burst pipe between the bathroom and the bedroom.  Our bedroom has diagonal cedar on the wall between it and the bathroom and not gyprock so that turned out to be a good thing as cutting a big hole in gyprock would really have made a mess.   Down with the diagonal cedar on the wall and there was the culprit….a burst pipe!  How that happened who knows as we had drained the water and blown out the pipes with a compressor.  Water is very sneaky!  Eric cut the pipe and capped it and we were back in business.  Stressful but no huge damage done so that is a good thing. 

I spend Tuesday and today unloading the rig and getting the house back in order while Eric dealt with unpacking the garage of the rig, recharging all the batteries for the machinery and restarting them. 

P.S. We are on dial up internet here at home so posting is a slow process.  Feel sorry for us…we can’t get high speed where we live and the internet sticks are too expensive so dial up is it.   I will try and post every week or so. 

Made it to Prince George.

Saturday May 5, 2012

We left Kelowna this morning at about 7:15am in hopes of making it as far as Prince George.  Depending on the weather we sometimes only make it to Quesnel  and the Wal-Mart parking lot which makes for a long second day on our way home.   Today there was not much traffic, not much wind and only a few rain showers so an easy but long days travel.  Tomorrow we will head for our home in Terrace but are likely to hit rain and wind on our way.  Oh well, one day out of two isn’t bad!  We are parked in the Bon Voyage parking lot at the west end of Prince George and it is a good deal.  $13 for power and water and a restaurant on the property so all is well.  Beer, food and bed. 

In Vancouver visiting Mom.

Thursday May 3, 2012

We left Kelowna on Monday morning and ran into 2C and snow over the connector from Kelowna to Merritt. Heading south on the Coquihalla there was a detour at Othello just north of Hope which took us off the Coquihalla and on a windy slow back road into Hope. Huge rain between Hope and Coquitlam on #7 the scenic route on the north side of the Fraser River on our way to visit Mom. So….not the best trip down. The trip back on Wednesday morning was better with no rain or snow. Journey done.

So the visit to see Eric’s Mom is done and we were relieved to find her well, happy, safe and busy.  Did she know us?  Maybe, maybe not,  but we are okay with that.  She is unable to have a conversation as she has lost the words that make a sentence.  Questions frustrate her as she can’t reply unless it is a short answer and not too complicated.  It is what it is and we are okay with that.  She is going to have her 90th birthday on May 31st.  The family especially Eric’s sister Kathryn has done a stellar job of looking after her and getting her placed in this facility.  A relief for them and us too.

Eric and his mother Doris.

We spent two nights at Joy and Wilbur's’ house (my youngest sister and her husband)  just up the hill from Mom’s care facility which is right next to Coquitlam centre.  We had a good visit and as I haven’t seen Joy in two years it was nice to catch up and have a good blab.  We were introduced to the new additions to her family….Kola the golden retriever and Buddy the Shiatsu x Australian silky terrier.

It didn’t take Buddy long to get himself onto Eric’s lap.

Kola and Buddy.  Isn’t she pretty!

She also has a cat (Sammy) who is not amused by the recent addition of Buddy to the family.

Sammy spends his time up on his perch complaining about Buddy!

Joy and I with the dogs.

Kola has been with them two years and as they have no children this menagerie is it!  Good animals and lots of fun.  Thanks Joy and Wilbur for the hospitality. 

We got back to Kelowna yesterday and will spend today and Friday getting ready to head home on Saturday.