The Excavator makes it annual appearance

Whoa, I think we are on the frequent flier ( no, 'digger') list for the Excavating company.  This machine has made an appearance by request at the lot every year for the past 3.  We better be done!  In anticipation of further building structures here, we have widened the upper driveway.  Well, since the machine is here, why not build new flower beds.  Well, since the machine is here, why not build some retaining walls. Well, since the machine is here, why not widen the other driveway. Starting to think we have rocks in our head, as well as buying them to put into the ground.  Who else but Canadians buy rock and dirt?

This is the 'before' picture, even though it was taken in the spring when we returned.  So, not much of the flowers and perennials had grown to any stage.

After we dug up the perennials and before the machine started the BIG DIG.

The start of the dig.  The dump truck is dropping boulders the size of my car.  See those plants next to the excavator treads? Yep, he picked those up with one shovel full and away they went into the side bush.  Ah, they'll live.  Plants seem like they grow on steriods here. hopefully.

How on earth is this ever going to look right?  Of course, the neighbourhood seems friendly because everyone has to drop by and see what the !@#$ you are doing. When he drops the load of rocks it kind of feels like an earthquake, so they all knew.

Donald said to get a picture of this.  When your Iris plants multiply, and they sure do, you have to pull them up and divide them and replant some elsewhere, or at least throw/give some away. This is what we call Extreme Transplanting. No mercy.

Stay tuned. Day 3 pictures tomorrow.

Australian/Saskatoon Visitors

Just when there seems to be nothing to write about, we are crazy around here in the Shuswap.  What fun to have the pleasure of hosting visitors from Adelaide, Australia who are touring Western Canada, cruising to Alaska and visiting the extended family clan with Don's sister and brother in law.  It's too bad that they were only able to stay a couple of nights because after getting to know them, they may not have wanted to miss what started here at the lot the day they left - more on that later!  The weather was hot and humid, but there was a slight chance of rain, so we made a coffee and tea 'station' under the fifth wheel hitch, and that worked quite well. Jeff looks like he is ready to supervise and he would have loved to have seen what is taking place at the lot now!!!  The girls visited the local winery to have a glass of white wine overlooking the lake, with a couple of heritage chickens cooing in the grass around our table.  Jeff wanted to check out the nearest hardware store ( something about tool withdrawal while on vacation ).

 

See the tree trunk behind Jeff? Yep, it was gone later in the day!!!! Stay tuned!!!!!!ARGG ARGGG. Big boy stuff.

Fun in the Shuswap

I have come to the conclusion that summertime will see only sporadic postings to the blog.  It is not that we are run off our feet, only that when we are in one spot, I never feel there is much to write about.  Our rainy weather left us and immediately turned to 35C temperatures and of course, we are not used to that and spent a few days melting.  Yesterday, we didn't put the rig air conditioner on till almost 3 pm, so we must be acclimated.

June was a month of travelling - both out to the island, south to Winfield and north to the Bulkley Valley.  Whew.  The warranty is now over with the 5th wheel, and hopefully we have found and managed to get all issues looked after.  The little blue building is completed on our Shuswap lot, and I have been back to happily quilting. The amount of insulation we had put into the building last fall, is paying off quite well, as it is warm when it needs to be and nice and cool in this weather.

There is no sitting around though = the excavator will be back, to rearrange our 2 driveway entrances, clean up the area in front of the blue studio, dig a flower bed, put rock retaining walls for that bed, and bring in a whole lot of 3/4" crush.  We hopefully will be moving the 5th to a new location on the lot this year. I have been moving large rocks from one side of a driveway entrance, and will be moving plants and more rocks. Fun. (not). I need to eat more spinach.

We are VERY excited to be getting some visitors: Donald's sister, husband,and friends from Australia will be here for 2 nights next week, and the first week of August will see all our little family here. Whoo Hoo! Fun with our grandson.The whole family together.  How many more sleeps???????

Ok, so our heads are screwed on straight

Have you ever heard that phrase? We had a clunk/creak/squeak noise in the lino flooring of the 5th wheel.  One trip to the dealer confirmed that, yes, they thought we might have a problem.  They sent us on our way, advising us that they would have to contact the manufacturer in regards to the floor. Well, Donald thought it was one type of problem, the dealer thought another, and the manufacturer yet another. Oh my.  So, we made our next appointment and do you think it would make that clunk noise before we left? Nope.  So, were we going all that distance for nothing? Whew!  We thought perhaps we were just hearing things! Yes, there was a problem and not a major one as it was just a bolt from the frame that did not have a nut and washer when it should have. Pictures taken and problem solved!!! We highly recommend Voyager RV in Winfield, BC. Always very polite, helpful and none of the employees seem like they want to just get you out the door ( whether your problem was solved or not ). I must send a thank you note.  I remember from my working days, the thank you notes received from customers were like precious gold!

Travelling back from Winfield, we took the old Hwy 97, through farms and quite a number of cattle guards. Lots of signs warning about livestock on the road. I think that's the first time I as the navigator got to yell " Cow" and then " More cows!"

Parking in the parking lot at Eagle Point Golf and Country Club is nice, but when we were hit by a golf ball, we moved a little down towards the Greenskeeper buildings.  The bonus? A beautiful view down the valley.  Today we enjoyed catching up with friends we haven't seen for about 10 -30 years, and a wonderful memorial golf tournament.  Donations to the Kamloops Food Bank were plentiful by all participants and the weather was beautiful. Awesome day.  Back to the lot tomorrow.

Catch up mid June

Maybe with summertime here in Canada, our posting should revert to once a week, like some bloggers do.  Seriously, where does the time go?  Our little blue dollhouse/studio building is just about complete and ready for me ( Kim ) to start quilting again.  Man, I think the last time that happened was in Yuma. Donald is fiddling with putting on a Victorian type screen door.  He had to apply brick molding before he could do so.  Of course, I was very confused as the building has no brick, but it turns out that it is just a type of thicker board around the outside of the door frame. That was today's task.

We made an extremely quick trip to Victoria last week, babysitting our little love on Friday, and running around Victoria on Thursday. Two days is not enough, but with a day each way for travelling and leaving the ancient cat back in the Shuswap's, that was all we could do. Next time, Rick and Paulette!

A couple of trips to Winfield and the RV dealer, and hopefully, this Monday will be our last trip there. Our floor is clunking/squeaking and they may tear things apart to get to the bottom of it.  Ouch. We'll see how that goes! 

On the way back after that, we are off to Eagle Point Golf and Country Club, just outside of Kamloops for a Memorial Golf Tournament.  There will be many retired and ex-railroaders there, with donations for the food bank and great memories of our close friends who have recently passed. Since we are travelling with the 5th, we can dry camp there. Handy!

And, just because that isn't enough travelling around, we hope to run up to Northern BC right after that. Maybe if we stayed put it would stop raining. Donald has constructed an awesome irrigation system here in the Shuswap lot for all our gardens and plants. Hah. It has been turned off for a couple of weeks due to the massive amounts of sky blessings. Now, isn't that a nice way to name the rain?