Wicked Weather

While we had a few nice days with temps around the low 70s, it all changed on Sunday. Temps dropped, wind was blowing like it wanted to blow the whole island over to the other side of the Atlantic, and today the big news was up to 6” snow in northwestern New Brunswick. People got their cars deposited in the ditches along the Trans-Canada Highway. Chaos along the roads. Who was asking for more precipitation? Well, hello we got it – except on Campobello – of course, what did you think? Well a few drops of rain here and there and a whole lot of dark clouds over the mainland was all we saw. But being outside required to pull out the Long Johns again. You know me…I can’t sit on the couch a single day without getting the work-itch. So I bundled up and got out my sander-grinder. This time I started on the North wall of the house. The red paint was sitting fairly loose and within 90 minutes I had done a good portion of the wall. By then my hands were so cold that I needed a warm-up. While I was sanding off this wall, a hummingbird came by drinking from the feeder. It wasn’t minding me working right beside. Tomorrow is May 17 and Norway’s National Day. So I have located our Norwegian flag and will hang it out come hell and high water.

“One Day In May…” Saturday Lighthouse Assignment

Weather forecast had spoken of rain today but it all stopped before 8am and the rest turned out to be a real nice spring day. So we could go ahead with the plan of going out to Head Harbour Lightstation. Low tide was going to be at 1pm so at 11am we were all gathered up at the headland ready to take the walk over the ocean floor. Morning fog still moving along. Everything in front of the Lighthouse is covered under 26ft. of water under high tide. Volunteers getting down one of two steel stairs to the ocean floor, making headway across slippery wet rocks. Of course the rocks were still wet after the rain and carrying stuff with both hands it was a precarious walk across seaweeds and rocks. But we all made it over without broken limbs. We were 6 people – all volunteers. The youngest being a nice female student from Ontario who was eager to write about the history of the oldest lighthouse (1829) on the coast of New Brunswick. So what was I going to do?  Well, see the whole in the wall shingles? Storm damage happens every winter, and just a few days ago I had painted a supply of shingles bright red. Once I had gotten out the ladder the job was done within 40 minutes. Finished job. Can you still see where I worked?  The new shingles are of a slightly lighter colour. But there was more to do. Winter storms had thrown a loose bench against the old boat house and damaged the lower wall shingles. These were white and I found lots of new-painted white shingles in the Foghorn house. But then we all gathered for lunch in the sunny lighthouse porch. Sandwiches were ready-made and coffee was in the kitchen. This lighthouse is no empty shell but has all comforts of today’s living. Nothing so wonderful than being with nice people in a setting way out at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Can I ever say thanks enough for finding this unbelievable beautiful place? I doubt it. This is truly paradise! Shortly before 3pm we all had to go back to the headland. Soon the high tide would wash above the gravel bench and cover it all with 26ft of water. A wonder of nature many don’t understand. What a great way to spend a sunny Saturday it was.   Home again I settled in a lawn chair enjoying a nice coffee and the great view across the water. Bacon burgers getting ready Supper was my business and I made small bacon burgers on the WEBER! (Hello George!) Put them on aluminum foil which keeps them from burning onto the grill. Cooked potatoes from Prince Edward Island and grated raw carrots --- yummy! Life is good!

It’s Time For Working Projects

Breakfast is always an important time of the day. In my entire life I have never started a day without breakfast. Even Molly has learned to appreciate it. No wonder, cause whenever we have cooked eggs she is eager to skim off the top of the egg.  Here is how that looks: When it comes to work projects on the home, NOW, rather than later is the way a home owner has to think. Later, I can be too busy with other things, or later the weather may turn bad. So with another warm and nice day today I threw myself at a project I have been planning since last year. Last summer a nice neighbour came with a load of windows he had replaced at his house. While the windows needed repairs they were still good thermo-pane windows and with a bit of work would stand for another 10 years or even more. The east gable of our house had still one window needing replacement and that was my plan today. I hauled the new window into our garage to start looking it over. The lower sill showed some rotting wood, so that would have to be repaired. However, it was only the last inch or so all along which was bad. So I cut it off and put fresh wood in its place. Then everything needed to be sanded, old paint removed and repainted. I love to putter around with a project like this. Now the window is ready to be put in. But I have to wait with this as rain is in the making for the weekend. Also I need new shingles as the new window is a tad narrower than the old one. Bea was helping a neighbour today, so I had to watch over the greenhouse. Took a couple of pics of the inside. Our tomato plants look really promising and I can’t wait until we can enjoy home-grown tomatoes. The watery stuff you can find at the store has no taste and I hate to buy them. It also hit me that I had promised a picture of the finished wooden bench. Here it is, just waiting for us to sit down and enjoy the view from our porch. While I still had some time this afternoon I hauled the garden hose down from Bea’s garden and washed our vehicles. Not that they were overly dirty but there is always some dust flying around. The white Buick and Chevrolet won’t show the dust as much as the red LTD does. Afterwards, I could not resist to take the LTD out for a little ride ending up at a neighbours house up the road where I had myself a chat. Another little project popped up after supper. The “Climbing Men” had taken down a few trees and there was wood to be taken home from the cemetery. When I got there I saw that the pieces were way to big and heavy to be lifted. So I took down the tailgate and rolled the chunks on to the trailer. Filled that trailer within 30 minutes got it home and finally called it  a day.

11 Months In Limbo, But Hey, Maybe There’s Light In The Tunnel

Nearing full pension age, in June 2015 I made out an application for pension from NORWAY, where I actually spent 25 years. Now, CANADA requires all foreign pension applications to be send through their “Service Canada International Operations office” in Ottawa. When I received my application forms in June 2015 they had already assigned me a client number. So I filled out the application and send it off to the great mighty government of Canada. What followed can best be described as utterly complete SILENCE. It was silent month after month after month. After 6 months I got a bit worried. Did they ever get my application, was it lost, denied or what the hell was going on?  Ottawa continued to stay silent just as before and now it is 11 months ago, that these papers were sent off. So this morning, which by the way was very beautiful with bright sunshine and promising 70F in the making, I decided to call the pension office in Norway. Found their number online and made the call through SKYPE. Of course, in my eagerness I had messed up the numbers and my call was answered by the “Rikshospitalet” (State Hospital) in Oslo. Yeah, some department for the mental ill or brain-dead, I think it was, which actually turned out quite befitting. The matter had really gone to my brain and that’s probably the reason why I messed up the phone number. OK, second try got me right to the pension office, International Affairs. The lady researched my case, but could not find any pension application. They simply never received it! CANADA! What had happened in Ottawa? In my beginning stages of rage I imagined a desk full of towering pension applications and mine had slipped off the table and was now hidden from view under the writing desk. Finding a phone number for Service Canada’s International Operation was the hard part.  The switch board operator gave me a 1-800-number which proved to be useless. Or would you enjoy talking to a machine and receiving non-relevant information about how the entire pension system is working? Me neither. So I called Mr.Operator again, and told him that I did not appreciate talking (or listening) to a machine squawk.  Now, this guy turned out to be really helpful and I am sure he is gonna be scolded for giving out this other number, for it got me right to the office of International Operations. I hope I didn’t wake this guy, but after I explained again why I was bugging him, he told me (did he smirk…?) that I simply had to wait another 20-some weeks for my application to be PROCESSED, as the deal they had made with Norway allowed for a total of 15 months processing time. At this time my face changed colour. Why are these bureaucrats processing an application that is actually directed to another country? Wouldn’t it be more than enough to f*****ng put these documents in the mail and off they would go to Norway? Nooo… they need to be “processed” and stored for 15 months in some dusty closet storage. The guy ended the conversation with making a quick calculation telling me that if Norway would not have logged my application by October 13, I was more than welcome to call him again. Oh thank you SOO MUCH, Sir! Even though these calls weren’t shining up my day, at least I now knew that Canada Post had not lost my mail in June 2015 and that I might hear from Norway by Christmas. After all it WOULD make a great Christmas gift.