Dec. 17 to 20 - Deluge and Damages
Tuesday, December 17
Gah! Plumbing and heating problems at the trailer. Our nemeses. At some point we’ll hire something with “a big machine” for the plumbing problem; Dave of Continental RV has ordered a new fan motor for our heating system. Thankfully, these are small problems compared to the ones we can have at our house in Sudbury. More on this come Wednesday.
Rest of the day was low-key. Laur got lots of marking done and we got together with lots of new friends at our neighbour’s trailer – later in the afternoon. Then out for supper with Charlie and Donna – our immediate neighbours – to Florentino’s, which is within easy walking distance. http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/59/1420241/restaurant/Tucson/Florentinos-Green-Valley
Wednesday, December 18
Woo hoo! Wednesday hiking group! We went to a place called Box Canyon. http://www.gvnews.com/gallery/news/woman-rescued-from-box-canyon-sept/video_bb4d6606-190a-11e3-9e37-001a4bcf887a.html (Note: This person is not me.) This is a beautiful hike, though the road in and out is treacherous. My only misadventure was getting stung by a bee.
Laur and I spent some time chatting with a very interesting lad named Sam. He is one of the few black people in Green Valley – originally from Alabama, about 79 years old. He is ever aware that – as a black person – his life is more at risk than a white person. It gets very wearing because it’s every minute of every day of your life, you are seen negatively for something you have no control over.
When we got back we learned that a water pipe broke open again at our house in Sudbury. Thankfully Lindsay and Brian were able to turn off the water and call our plumber. I contacted our insurance company and the estimator warns me that if I file a claim in less than one year for the same problem, I will very likely experience difficulties with Cooperators – rates will go up substantially. So I expect we won’t make a claim and will have to hire a contractor to fix it. Double gah.
Thankfully we had potluck to put us out of our (first-world) misery. We made over five pounds of potato salad and it was so good. If I had put bacon in it, every last bit would have been gone. But of course, I didn’t, so we have just under half left. No worries. We like potatoes with everything! There are so many fun folks at these potlucks that even clean up is fun.
Watched a few more episodes of Damages. Very creepy, but makes having plumbing problems look like the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.
Thursday, December 19
I woke up a little grumpy this morning and suggested to Laurence that maybe when we move to St. Catharines we should just rent an apartment. Housing prices have gone up and neither of us is “handy.” Then I went on line to look at the price of renting an apartment and nearly gagged. Some days I think I’m just intent on making myself miserable! Pass the potato salad! It’s a fast starch high.
(Got an update from our plumber and our insurer. Plumbing is good to go, but we need an extra heat source in our laundry room. Damage isn’t as bad as last time but needs to be dealt with asap. Ka-ching!)
In the afternoon we sent to see The Hobbit at the local second run cinema. We did not realize that it was part two of three. Laur saw part one; I am definitely not going to part three. Perhaps it was rude of my to hum Monty Python songs during it... http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hobbit_the_desolation_of_smaug/ I think, as a way to avoid thinking about our repair challenge at home, we watched another movie – on Netflix. See http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackfish_2013/ I highly recommend it – these whales are very smart, social beings. And they fare much better in water than we do.
Friday, December 20
Woke up to a downpour of rain and a leak in our ceiling. Good heavens! Our RV guy says this won’t be hard to caulk – and Laur is willing to attempt it ... eventually. This is the “year of the flood” for us, it seems.
Senior Stretch at 9:15 – what’s not to like? I wish I knew what year this tape came out – certainly not before the 70s. We have so much fun. Quiet day for the rest of the day – resting for Karaoke. I sang two songs; Laur sang three including “Dayo” (the Banana Boat song. Definite water motif happening here.)
After this evening, we only have two more episodes of the first season of Damages. I am suggesting to Laurence that – given the video and life experiences of the past few days – we ought not to try to get work as whale trainers and lawyers. Now if one of us was a plumber/heater and the other was a renovator, we’d be laughing!
Gah! Plumbing and heating problems at the trailer. Our nemeses. At some point we’ll hire something with “a big machine” for the plumbing problem; Dave of Continental RV has ordered a new fan motor for our heating system. Thankfully, these are small problems compared to the ones we can have at our house in Sudbury. More on this come Wednesday.
Rest of the day was low-key. Laur got lots of marking done and we got together with lots of new friends at our neighbour’s trailer – later in the afternoon. Then out for supper with Charlie and Donna – our immediate neighbours – to Florentino’s, which is within easy walking distance. http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/59/1420241/restaurant/Tucson/Florentinos-Green-Valley
Wednesday, December 18
Woo hoo! Wednesday hiking group! We went to a place called Box Canyon. http://www.gvnews.com/gallery/news/woman-rescued-from-box-canyon-sept/video_bb4d6606-190a-11e3-9e37-001a4bcf887a.html (Note: This person is not me.) This is a beautiful hike, though the road in and out is treacherous. My only misadventure was getting stung by a bee.
Laur and I spent some time chatting with a very interesting lad named Sam. He is one of the few black people in Green Valley – originally from Alabama, about 79 years old. He is ever aware that – as a black person – his life is more at risk than a white person. It gets very wearing because it’s every minute of every day of your life, you are seen negatively for something you have no control over.
When we got back we learned that a water pipe broke open again at our house in Sudbury. Thankfully Lindsay and Brian were able to turn off the water and call our plumber. I contacted our insurance company and the estimator warns me that if I file a claim in less than one year for the same problem, I will very likely experience difficulties with Cooperators – rates will go up substantially. So I expect we won’t make a claim and will have to hire a contractor to fix it. Double gah.
Thankfully we had potluck to put us out of our (first-world) misery. We made over five pounds of potato salad and it was so good. If I had put bacon in it, every last bit would have been gone. But of course, I didn’t, so we have just under half left. No worries. We like potatoes with everything! There are so many fun folks at these potlucks that even clean up is fun.
Watched a few more episodes of Damages. Very creepy, but makes having plumbing problems look like the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.
Thursday, December 19
I woke up a little grumpy this morning and suggested to Laurence that maybe when we move to St. Catharines we should just rent an apartment. Housing prices have gone up and neither of us is “handy.” Then I went on line to look at the price of renting an apartment and nearly gagged. Some days I think I’m just intent on making myself miserable! Pass the potato salad! It’s a fast starch high.
(Got an update from our plumber and our insurer. Plumbing is good to go, but we need an extra heat source in our laundry room. Damage isn’t as bad as last time but needs to be dealt with asap. Ka-ching!)
In the afternoon we sent to see The Hobbit at the local second run cinema. We did not realize that it was part two of three. Laur saw part one; I am definitely not going to part three. Perhaps it was rude of my to hum Monty Python songs during it... http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hobbit_the_desolation_of_smaug/ I think, as a way to avoid thinking about our repair challenge at home, we watched another movie – on Netflix. See http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackfish_2013/ I highly recommend it – these whales are very smart, social beings. And they fare much better in water than we do.
Friday, December 20
Woke up to a downpour of rain and a leak in our ceiling. Good heavens! Our RV guy says this won’t be hard to caulk – and Laur is willing to attempt it ... eventually. This is the “year of the flood” for us, it seems.
Senior Stretch at 9:15 – what’s not to like? I wish I knew what year this tape came out – certainly not before the 70s. We have so much fun. Quiet day for the rest of the day – resting for Karaoke. I sang two songs; Laur sang three including “Dayo” (the Banana Boat song. Definite water motif happening here.)
After this evening, we only have two more episodes of the first season of Damages. I am suggesting to Laurence that – given the video and life experiences of the past few days – we ought not to try to get work as whale trainers and lawyers. Now if one of us was a plumber/heater and the other was a renovator, we’d be laughing!