Thanks for your expressions of concern regarding my burned hand. Well, it turned out to be of minor importance as the spot seem to be healing much faster than I had expected. I will spare you for a photo though. A rather unexpected consequence of the burn was that my physical “fit-for-job” testing was stopped in its tracks as one had concerns of looming infections. Of course quite ridiculous, but there is really nothing to do. Whether there will be further consequences on my job start date is still unclear. And I am sorry that I did not remember to take pictures of the barber shop, it just didn’t occur to me at the moment. It has gotten truly busy at the RV dealership. Most 30 RVs have been parked here now and more are coming from different storage sites around the area. Pictures of that will follow, but I am again limited to Mc.Donalds for internet. I CAN use the internet through my smart phone, however, the monthly limit is too narrow to make a whole lot of use of it. And there is really nothing wrong with McCafe and Company. In fact the coffee is a whole lot cheaper than at Tim Hortons and I like it. My newest discovery are Mc.Donalds Blueberry Muffins. When you can get them fresh from the oven they are downright delicious. I do stay away from their burgers and such. They are way too messy. Alright, it’s still early in the morning and not a whole lot has happened yet. Let’s hope it stays that way. Thanks again for stopping by. |
Thursday, June 26, 2014
And Just How Did It Go?
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
After Thirty Years…..
I have been in need for a haircut for quite a while, and since I’m no good at doing my own hair (Oh gawd…) and Bea, who’s done it for almost 30 years, is just about 5000kms away, I had to do something. When I had an errand in Spruce Grove with buying propane, I happened to drive by a very small barbershop. It looked like a place out of the sixties or seventies. It was looking so delightful unambitious that I dared to walk inside Gary’s Barbershop. I was not disappointed. Even though the place had recently undergone some interior refreshments, like new flooring, and some paint, it still had the inherent style of the founding year. The chair, was the most dominating. There was only one to choose from and I’m sure it had seen thousands of customers. My guess was that most of the shop’s clients were of an advanced age, even more advanced than myself. The master of the shop turned out to be what I call a typical barber. Before he even had started, he was chatting away about all kind of topics. It was just like time travel. I never knew his kind could still be found. But here he was, Gary the barber been there on this intersection for 20 some years. And even though his price was not of the sixties, it wasn’t big-city-style either. When I left I met the next customer at the door. He was about 75yrs. and just another friendly guy. I might go back there. Having been at the barber I couldn’t but remember my very, very first visit at my hometown’s barber shop. Mother had brought me there and I might have been just 3 or 4 years old. Somehow, I was scared to death, comparable to be led to the electric chair. So, I refused to walk through the door and started screaming like a wild pig. It must have upset half of the town and I’m sure in today’s world it would have caused child services to pop up. |
Monday, June 23, 2014
We Had A Situation
It was one of the warmest days this year, Winds were calm, sun was shining all day long and I even had my breakfast outside, which is a first this season. So far – so good. During late afternoon, my host decided to try out a wood chipper. Being curious about that kind of equipment I joined in to help. Seeing the branches disappear in the machine just to come out again all chipped up was kind of fun. That is as long as it lasted. When one of the branches stopped I bend over to push it down. During that attempt I kind of lost balance and supported myself by putting my left hand on the hot, hot exhaust muffler. I was quicker than quick to undo this, but the damage was done. My skin was sizzling and expanded enough to throw up a little wrinkle. Knowing that only immediate ice or cold water could limit the damage I ran as fast as I could to my trailer and stuck my hand in the freezer – which was painful enough. Then running cold water, then freezer again than running water. I figured I needed a trip to the E.R. GPS gave me directions but it was a few miles off. Arriving there I just had a look into the waiting area and turned around. It would take all evening to get to a doc. So I decided next best solution was a pharmacy. But it seems that pharmacies are closed on Sundays, so my last resort was Wally World on Stony Plain Road. I was lucky enough to find they were still in business. Got myself some gauze pads, medical tape and polysporin against infections. Running back on Stony Plain Rd. I discovered that Police had barricaded the ramp up to Winterburn Rd. 4 cruisers were blocking the ramp and even more were on top of Winterburn Rd. What the heck was going on here? I knew about a possible detour and when I finally was home again the word was that a hostage situation was going on in a camper parked about 300meters from our place. Geez…. It lasted several hours before police was gone. Aah…..big city life. What a pleasure. |
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Midsummer
It’s The longest day of the year. It’s called midsummer or summer solstice or (in Norway) St.Hans Aften. People are celebrating this evening, this long day. I remember many of those evenings in Norway. The sun would be above the horizon until 11pm and it would re-appear at around 2am. For those among us who need darkness to sleep, it was a difficult time. Some people hung dark curtains over the windows. I never felt that way. I still can sleep in broad daylight. It doesn’t bother me a bit. Bea always had an eye cover. Having a bonfire is what most people do on St.Hans Aften. Unfortunately, many times it had started raining around midsummer night and then it was damp or downright pouring. Bugs were always plentiful and if one didn’t have a repellent one would look like a German Streusel Cake the day after. Many times, we did spend the evening inside, were simply forced to. Tonight I have no fire and no guests hanging around. But I will be sitting up a bit longer than usual and remember by-gone years. Today I also remembered our friend Earl, who left this world about a year ago after a year of battling cancer. It was a very sad time for us. I called his wife Carol today and we talked about Earl. It still hurts. |
Monday, June 16, 2014
Is It Really A Good Reason To Celebrate?
House Delivery
Friday, June 13, 2014
Friday The 13th. But The Furnace Was Fixed
One of these rare Fridays have passed over us again and nothing really bad happened, that is if you don’t think of the threat of gas prices increasing again tomorrow. Our wonderful oil companies have again plotted a new excuse for sending oil prices to heaven. Well, it MUST be heaven for them. “Give me my daily military conflict and I will raise the gas price tomorrow and forgive me for my wrong doing…..” and so on. You know it. Well, I am just cutting down on my driving again. Right along with oil companies are insurance companies who are masters in increasing their premiums for no good reason. But let’s focus of the positive things in life. Otherwise you’ll tell me you saw the news already and don’t need it coughed up again. Right so! At about 2:30pm the RV technician was pulling in. And I mean PULLING, as he had his shop trailer right with him. Dave had everything ready for testing my furnace and was pleased to see that he wouldn’t have to crawl underneath the sink to remove it first. He slid the thing out of its shroud and quickly found the culprit. Not any surprise there, it was the circuit board. I made the call to Suburban and they gave me the phone number of their Canadian Rep. Company in Calgary where I can submit the bill for refund. The total came to $388.50 – not cheap but then nothing is cheap in an RV and especially not in Alberta. Furnace works again, but now it’s been so warm that I don’t need it. But if I’m not mistaken temps are gonna take a dip for a few days tomorrow and Sunday. Dave runs his own company (Mike and Dave RV Inc.) together with a partner and this young outfit deserves positive mentioning. First, of all he came when he said he would be coming, second, he knew his stuff and didn’t have to fool around first and third, he was friendly and customer service oriented. In stark contrast, this was the reception I got when I was first contacting a local RV-dealer with the same issue: “Our first available date for a repair is July 02. No, we can’t pull any mechanic from existing work, not even to have a quick look, unless you have purchased your RV with us”. So let me back up a bit: IF the RV would have been sold by them THEN there would have been time available???? A very strange policy and one which invariably would lead me to seek out a different place to buy my next RV. A good example of non-existing customer service. How would YOU like to be met with this attitude if you were just passing through and had a pressing issue with your RV? I bet you have met something similar once in your years as an RVer. Anyway, we are at the end for today. Have a great weekend and see ya’ll later. |
My New Digs And The Big City Life
Sunday, June 8, 2014
No More Camp Fees For Me, But Lots Of Memories
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Leaving The National Park
In spite the very beautiful area of the National Park I have decided to pull the plug. And it’s got nothing to do with the area but everything with tourism. The hospitality industry is known to pay the lowest possible wages and if that pairs up with a low number of hours really worked and the fact that living costs tend to be astronomical then it doesn’t make much sense to keep it going. An additional problem I faced, was the need to constantly move my trailer every 2 weeks as all public parks have a policy of not accepting seasonal residents. And the very few private parks are even more expensive. When I received a phone call from an Edmonton-based company offering work in and around the big city I really had no choice other than accepting the offer. It is part of Canada’s biggest bus company with thousands of buses around the country. So today I left the National Park, and hopefully I will find suitable accommodations for my trailer. A promising appointment with a business owner in the city is scheduled for tomorrow, and I might end up being a property watch-dog in my spare time. Meanwhile, I found “a home” at Wally World, at least for one night. |
Friday, June 6, 2014
It Can Happen Anywhere
A Canadian City has been under hard stress and fear for the security of their citizens. The hunt for the perpetrator is over. Moncton, New Brunswick is drawing a breath of relief but is also marked of sorrow over the tragic death of three RCMP-officers. What happened in my own province can surly happen anywhere. It has happened in Mayerthorpe, Alberta before. And at about the same time a campus shooting happened in Seattle,WA. One of many in the U.S. Canada has only about a 3rd. of the U.S. population and we do not have the same numbers of tragic mass shootings as in the U.S. Nevertheless, or just because of it, we are shocked as much as people are in the U.S. when such mindless acts happen in our middle. And we SHOULD be shocked and never, never accept such terrible acts as being part of normal daily media headlines. My thoughts are now in New Brunswick and with the families who have lost their loved ones. |
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Taking A Ride North
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Mechanic Sunday And A Great View Of Banff
A Bear, A Chipmunk, A Canyon And A Few Lakes
All this happened just over the last 3 days, and most of it today. We had a trip with some Chinese folks coming from +100F Shanghai and a few from Beijing. (looks odd the 3 dots there…) Went up to Lake Louise which was still under ice though it has gotten thinner now. Our path was partially covered in thick snow so they all had to balance themselves across. Moraine Lake was even worse. More snow and more ice and I missed the beautiful deep turquois color of these mountain lakes. Oh well, a few more weeks maybe. Then today I was in Lake Louise again. From Chinese to Japanese… it goes all in a heartbeat. While my passengers were enjoying themselves elsewhere I had an hour to kill and went into the information centre. Last time I had been here was in 2004 with Mother. But nothing much had changed. Well, I didn’t remember the Grizzly looking up to me. SCARY! From Lake Louise we had gone up to Emerald Lake and the Natural Bridge at Yoho Nat’l Park. Today Last week Remember my last visit there just about a week ago. It was pouring then and people were considering to buy rain gear. Not so today. We were all blessed with the bluest of all blue skies. Above: Avalanche underway… The colors are almost indescribable. It is just so pure beautiful. Deep blue sky, snow-white mountain tops, spring green trees and yellow flowers. Marvelous! No ice on Emerald Lake any longer! And the Natural bridge looked great in the bright sunshine. Next stop was Marble Canyon at Kootenay Nat’l Park. Boy oh boy, mother earth sure got a big crack in the surface. That canyon is super narrow and super deep. All around on the top are the remnants of the big 2003 forest fire. The area has recovered nicely over the last 10-11 years and new tree growth is standing in between the old burnt ones. It’s something nature has done over and over and over again. The 2003 fire was caused by lightning. Nat’l Park Fire Fighters managed to stop the fire before it was spreading into the busy Bow River Valley. While walking along the canyon trail I noticed a few chipmunks playing around between the rocks. Aren’t they cute? Yeah I had 3 busy days and with all there is to see one gets tired when it is all done. It is good to come back to the quiet neighbourhood in the Campground and listen to nature. Thanks again for stopping by. |
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