Thursday, September 22 /2011

We were up and back on the road by 11:30 to make the final few miles to the jeep.  We were to meet the owner at 1:00 p.m.   We found the place with out any difficulty and I must say he certainly had a nice spot for his house.  It was in a new development outside of Spruce Grove.  It was on an acreage and was for sale for the sweet sum of $975,000.00!!!  Sorry, not interested!!
We took the jeep for a short run then John wheeled and dealed a bit more.  We then loaded it into the trailer and started the long trip back home.
We drove into Edmonton, filled up with diesel at the Flying J and headed back to Saskatchewan.  We stopped for the night at a community hall just off the highway and it was rural, peaceful and offered Hogan the opportunity to chase five deer away from the bus.  He is such an awesome protector!!  Why those pretty little deer where probably going to wreck havoc on us and the bus!!!  Take that,  you sneaky dastardly deer!!
There were a few more season premieres we had to watch on TV (because we have no life!!) and once that was done, it was time to head to bed.  More driving tomorrow but we will be back home in Leoville then.

Wednesday, September 21/2011

John has once again been wheeling and dealing on a jeep and so had decided that today is the day that we should make the trip to Edmonton to pick it up.  The price is right but the color is even better.  It is bumble bee yellow and oh so pretty.
He wants to leave by 1:00 p.m. and with some quick cleaning up and rearranging of the trailer, we left Leoville at 1:20 p.m. so that is no too bad.  I am a little rusty with getting the bus "road ready" and it wasn't too long after we started going down the road that I was up closing drawers that weren't latched properly and clicking the safety locks on the sliding doors.  That being done, the trip to Fort Saskatchewan was uneventful and good.
There were lots of farmers out combining their fields in a mad race against the weather - this being the age old dance between the weather gods and the farmers.  So far so good though.
We found a quiet spot in Fort Saskatchewan to park for the night  and the weather was actually warmer  in Alberta than it had been in Leoville.  Being that we had travelled for several hours, the heat from the engine of the bus had certainly warmed up the mattress and that was not so good for me!!  I had limited use of the fan as we were on bus power and not plugged into Gary's power!!  Oh well, I will survive.

Tuesday, September 20/2011

The sun is shining again this morning and Casey is up early to wash the quad .  Damage can not be assessed unless the mud is gone.  I walked over to Gary and asked for one of his wheels so that the damaged one can be removed and the quad taken to the carwash.  That being done,  the damage is quite clear and a new wheel will be needed.  There is no repair possible for this wheel.

Dave wandered over and said he had seen this kind of damage once before and it was from a rock being trapped inside the wheel and puncturing a hole in the wheel.  It was an accident!!

John phoned the dealership and ordered a new wheel but unfortunately, it won't be in till next week.  Gary offered the use of his wheels and tires as his quad remains in disrepair.  

With Gary's wheels and tires on the quad, Casey and Tori take it out again, hoping to be able to actually get in a ride today.   

The kids had their ride and came home with all parts intact and a ton of mud on them and the quad.  With another trip to the carwash, the quad was put into the trailer and out of harms way.

Tori trimmed Shirley's and my hair before they left.   With supper consumed, it was time for the kids to make the two hour drive home.  

We received a text that they had made it home and John and I spent the evening watching all the premieres for the various TV shows.  It is premiere week so we will be busy all week!!  (we have no life!!)

Monday, September 19/2011

There is a bit of a chill in the air this morning and I wonder if the kids were warm enough last night.  They slept in Jace's trailer and when I went to make  their bed yesterday noted that someone had been in there and had taken one of the big sleeping bags I had left on the bed.  Man that is rather maddening by I guess if you leave the door unlocked you should perhaps expect that to happen.
Tori was the first into the house and said  that she was warm all night.  Casey said that his nose was cold!!  Roxy apparently slept under the covers with them!!
It wasn't long before the sun was shining and the day was warming up nicely.  It should be a good day to fix the Sami.
John and Casey worked on the Sami for a while until they discovered that the brake shoes were probably not the proper ones.  Dave needed to replace the shoes on his Sami and Shirley has ordered them and they will be here on Thursday so they will compare those to the ones on the Sami and see what the issue is with ours.  Maybe they are the wrong ones all together.
The guys did get the rear axle back together so that is a good thing.
With the fixing at a standstill, Casey and Tori took the quad down to the "block" for a ride.  They were to be home in a couple of hours .....
John started a fire and Dave and Shirley came over.  It was long past the time for the kids to be back and we were starting to wonder where they were.  As the evening progressed and the light faded into darkness, the kids still had not arrived back home.  Eventually, they did arrive back at the bus but it was in a truck with the quad in the back!!  OMG - what the hell happened!!
Apparently the kids had just entered the trails when a rock became lodged in the inside of the rim and punched a hole through the aluminium wheel causing a flat that was impossible to fix.  This happened right beside "The Moose Caboose" (a hunting cabin at the start of the trails) and the kids waited there for help.  Someone was out hunting as his truck was parked at the cabin so the kids started a fire and waited.
The hunter came back to the cabin and the quad was loaded up and the wayward children were returned home.
We will think about the quad tomorrow.

Sunday, September 18/2011

The sun is shining this morning and it looks like it will be a nice day.  Casey and Tori will be coming today after she gets off work.  Tori bought a new car so I imagine she is real excited about that and I can't wait to see it.
The kids arrived around 9p.m.  We waited for them for supper and of course Casey is always hungry so we ate when they arrived.  We sat around and chatted for a bit eventually all heading off to bed and rest up for tomorrow.
It  was too dark for me to take a look at Tori's new car so I will save that for tomorrow.

Saturday, September 17/2011

Final day of work today.  I left a note for John before I left  requesting a campfire burning and a beverage poured by the time I get off shift.  It is well earned and I am glad my shifts are over.
My simple request was fulfilled and we sat around the fire for a few hours just relaxing and listening to the sounds of the town.

Friday, September 16/2011

It was quite pleasant walking to work this morning.  All that silly frost nonsense seems to have passed and we are now experiencing typical fall weather.  The combines are busy in the fields again as the farmers are eager to get the grain into the bins.
Third day down, one more to go then days off.

Thursday, September 15/2011

Working again today.  Almost getting back into gear!!  John and Hogan are enjoying their quiet time -  As if they could enjoy life without me!!
One of the girls called and asked if I could work her day shift on Saturday and since I have nothing penciled in on my schedule, I agreed to do it.  Here I go, working four shifts in a row again!!

Wednesday, September 14/2011

Holy Smokes - is there ever a heavy frost this morning.  It looks like there is snow on the grass and when I walked to work this morning, the grass crunched under my feet.  Anything that was left in the gardens last night would certainly be lost this morning.  The only things that could have survived that heavy frost would be the root vegetables.
One of the girls that I worked with today said she covered her flowers on her deck and they still froze.  She wished that she would have moved them into the garage.
I have not worked for close to two weeks so today was a rather long day and I was glad when it was finally over and I could get home and relax.   Two more to go, then I will see Casey and Tori  Sunday evening.
Casey has been working in northern Alberta on an oil rig and will fly out on Thursday.  It will be good to see him and listen to all the stories he will have to tell.
Off to bed as I will be up early again tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 13/2011

Shirley  came over early this morning to see how the cucumbers faired after the chilly night last night.  There definitely was frost last night as the sheets we had covering the plants were stiff!!  Fall, is certainly upon us. Since Shirley is off today, she has decided to pick all the cucumbers and the rest of the beets and do more pickles and perhaps put another batch of relish on.  The garden is certainly looking empty now.  All that remains are a few carrots and the potatoes.
I was supposed to work nights tonight but one of the girls needed a shift off so with some rearranging between three of us, I don't have to wok until day shift tomorrow!!  Woo Hoo - I really don't like working nights.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing, with John eventually stating a campfire and us enjoying the quiet of the evening.

Monday, September 12/2011

Since I spent yesterday watching football games and generally doing nothing (well I did wash the blinds on the windows - finally!!) I declared today the day to pick the tomatoes off the vines and clean up the garden a bit more.  With me working pretty steady for the next month, this won't give me much time to get all the things done that are needed to be done before John and I pull out of here for the winter.
It is cloudy today and there is a definite possibility of rain so I don't have the excuse of it being "too" hot to do anything!!
John and I were enumerated today so that we can vote in the next provincial election.  Unfortunately, we will not be here in November but we officially could vote in this constituency now.
Gary and Dave wandered over for coffee this morning and stayed for a couple of cups.  John, Gary and Dave chatted while I started picking tomatoes off the vines.  By the time I was finished, I had collected two boxes of tomatoes for Shirley!!  I kept a few for myself and gave a few to Gary but there were still two boxes for Shirley.
Dave brought some garbage bags over and collected all the vines for the deer.  He will take them out to his two stands when Shirley comes home.  While he was gone, I pulled up what was left of the lettuce as well so now the woodland creatures can have a variety of garden refuse - a salad of sorts!!
Jon started putting the Sami back together and I headed into the storage trailer to tidy it up and look for some stuff I wanted to take back down to Arizona with me.  I found what I needed and wouldn't you know it - but the time I was done,  it was "happy hour"!!
Dave came over and we sat around while the gasket thing set on the thing John was working on then Dave headed home to wait for Shirley so that they could deliver the garden booty to the deer, and the bears and the rabbits and the skunks and whoever else wanted to partake in the smorg!!
I made fish and chips for supper which were quite good - if I do say so myself!!
It started to rain and Shirley showed up with blanket so that we could cover the cucumbers.  It is going to be cold tonight and the risk of frost is a good possibility.

Sunday, September 11/2011

Hogan is  ready for the RIDER game

Today is Caelan's  birthday.  He is two years old today and has no idea the significance of his birth date.  Happy Birthday little man, you are truly a blessing.
Today is also the 10th Anniversary of the Terror attacks on the World Trade Center  and the Pentagon in the United States of America.  This was one of the worst terror attacks unleashed on American soil and gave not only Americans a sense of vulnerability but Canadians as well.   Canada is America's closest Allie and we too are considered a target simply because of this fact.  Over 2700 people (some Canadians) lost their lives in the collapse of the World Trade Center alone.  The attack on the Pentagon took 185 lives and then last but not least, the four hijacked airplanes carried 246 people.  There were no survivors from the planes.  This "terror" attack sparked off the War on Terror which, ten years later, continues.
Today, is a day that should be used to remember - remember what we had, what we lost and what we still have.  Today, we need to remember that as a People, who have friends and enemies, that we can persevere and survive a devastating blow and still walk through the rain and into the rainbows.  Lest We Forget.
It is cloudy and chilly this morning.  Yesterday, we were sweating our butts off and this morning, I have the heater on!!  Wow, what a crazy country we live in.  John told me that frost is in the forecast for next week so I really have to go and pick all the tomatoes off the vines before then.
I am scheduled to work starting Tuesday and will be working pretty steady up until the time we leave Leoville for Saskatoon.  We sill spend a couple of weeks in the city getting ready to head down to Arizona for the winter.  Man, has the summer ever flown by!!
Our Saskatchewan Roughriders play football today and as you can see by the picture, Hogan is ready to go!!  He too, cheers for the Riders.  As it turned out, the Riders won the game and now are on a two game winning streak!!  The question is ... can this streak continue?
Since there were two football games on today, the day was pretty much centered around them.  Before we knew it, it was supper time!!  Another day apparently shot to Hell!!

Saturday, September 10/2011

Today is John's Mom's birthday so happy birthday Mom!!  Hope this day is wonderful for you.
The sun is shining again and it certainly looks like we are in for yet another warm day.  I had better water the cucumbers today if I am wanting to get more off the vines.  That is the only job I have planned for today.  Life is tough!!
There is a football game that need to be watched today so I must save my energy just in case the boys need me to run a few yards for them!!
I did water the cucumbers and added water to the bus then settled in for a quiet day and evening.  It was too hot to cook again today but neither John nor I were really hungry.  We watched TV and I caught a 9/11 special which was quite interesting.  With the anniversary of this horrific event  almost upon us, there is a lot of TV coverage.

Friday, September 9/2011

Northern Lights

Full Moon

Fire God Looking Out!

The sun is shining again this morning and according to the weather man, it will be in the 30s again today.  I guess I will do the potato salad thing for supper tonight.
As I am sitting here today, I hear the elk whistling and a flock of geese has just flown over the bus.  Oh, the sounds of the changing season are in the air and I can't help but think how incredibly lucky I am to be able to witness such as event.  There is always a sense of anticipation with these changes - the wonder of things to come.
The neighbors huge maple trees are turning more yellow each day and that alone is interesting to watch.  The screeching of the blue jays is heard more frequently lately and I wonder why.  Could it be,  that they too,  are heralding the changing of the season?
I made three more pies today and finally am done with all the apples Gary brought me!!  It is truly a good thing that I do not have to cook them as it would be incredibly hot in this bus if the oven was on.  It is hot enough just with this temperature outside!!
Eventually, the day cooled and John and I sat around the campfire.  Tonight, we were blessed with the Northern Lights.  They were quite vivid and danced across the sky for a couple of hours.   John tried to take pics of them but I am not sure if the camera was able to pick them up.  I am afraid that our little camera has limitations and the Northern Lights just may be one of them!!.  It was a wonderful ending to an otherwise awesome evening.

Thursday, September 8/2011

Well I am up early again this morning and the sun is once again shining like crazy.  With coffee on the go, I quickly finish up the blog then get started on the pies.  I will have them done before John even gets out of bed!!
With the pies done (two for Gary and one for Shirley) I quickly did up some macaroni so that we could have a "cold" supper tonight.  Who is going to feel like cooking and eating something hot in this 32C heat?
I washed clothes today as it was was hot enough to have them dry out on the clothes line by the time the next  load was ready to hang!!
Gary came by for a quick visit.  He is more than pleased with the pies I have made for him.  I think I still have enough apples to make a few more!!  Dave stopped by while we were sitting with Gary.  He arrived on his quad with some garden refuse tied to the front rack.  He is on his way out to his deer stands with more bait and just wanted us to know he was going.  He said if he wasn't back in a couple of hours, to come looking for him.  It is always a good idea around here to give someone a heads up as to where you are going and when you are hoping to be back.  I see he carried his little "coach" gun with him - just in case he came across a "too friendly" bear!!
He was gone for nearly 2 hours and I had just asked John if his two hours were up when we heard him coming down the road.  He had squeaked in under the two hour time limit!!
Shirley arrived home from work shortly after Dave arrived so we all sat around in the shade and chatted about the day's activities.  Shirley is apparently off for the weekend so she is happy about that.  We will have to get out on the quads or go fishing on her days off.
John found a fishing boat for sale on Kijiji and it is in Saskatoon so Jace will have to go take a look at it this weekend.  He discussed it with Dave who also saw it and was thinking of buying it himself!!  He said it looked like a good deal and thinks he had one just like it previously and he loved it.  It has a "wide" body which apparently makes it quite stable in the water.  It would be totally awesome to have a fishing boat up here and available for fishing the lakes around here.

Wednesday, September 7/2011

OH My - it looks like it is going to be another scorcher of a day!!  The sun is shining this morning when I got up and decided that if I was going to make apple pies, I had better get it done before it got too hot.
I made three pies this morning and I must say, they looked awesome when I was finished with them.  I took them over to Gary's and he wasn't home!!  He had left the back door open so I simply left them on his counter.  He had not wanted them cooked and that was a blessing in disguise as it would have been brutal to bake pies in this heat!!
It wasn't too long before Gary was over thanking me for the pies and I told him I had apples enough for a few more so I think he was quite pleased about that.
Gina stopped by today with my Avon order.  I now have enough shampoo and conditioner to take down to Arizona again this year.
With the temperature well into the 30s today, I cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and relaxed for the rest of the day. The fans were running full speed and I even contemplated turning on the air conditioning in the bus - which I didn't bother doing because it would involve me actually getting up out of the chair to do it!!
Eventually, the day cooled down and we enjoyed a pleasant evening.  According to the weather man, it is supposed to be hot again tomorrow!!

Tuesday, September 6/2011

The sun is shining again this morning and I dare say it is already hot!!  Nice!!  I wonder what I should do today.....
As it turned out, I really did nothing!!  Shirley came over and I helped her get some beets so that she could pickle them.  She also mentioned something about trying some beet relish.
We also raided the cucumber patch and managed to get a big bowl of those as well.  She certainly has her work cut out for her today.  Shirley is a busy woman and is always on the go,  doing something!!
I watered the garden when she left as there are still all kinds of blossoms on the cucumber vines and we will likely have another batch of cucs for Shirley to make either pickles or relish if we keep the vines happy.
The tomatoes are awesome and I picked three ripe ones off the vines today and John and I enjoyed toasted tomato sandwiches. Mmmmm....
Gary brought over a bag of apples today that he had brought from his daughter's house and asked if I would make him some apple pies.  Since he hauls my butt around to the various lakes with him to fish, I am more than willing to make him a few pies.
The quad was still totally filthy from the weekend so I decided to take it to the carwash and give it a good cleaning.  By the time I was done, the quad was much cleaner but I was filthy!!  So much for scooting to the store and picking up a few things I needed for making the pies!!  Home I went to clean up then headed to the gas station to fill the tank and then to the store.
Once back at the bus, it was time to sit and relax in the shade.  It is just too hot to do anything else.
Gary came over for a while then it was time for him to head home for supper.
John started a campfire and we sat around it enjoying the quiet of the evening.  The elk are starting to whistle during the evening and into the night and it is yet another reminder of the changing season.

Monday, September 5/2011

I awoke to beautiful sunshine today.  Apparently it is to be in the high 20s this week and maybe even get into the low 30s.  This is truly harvest weather and the farmers are busy combining their crops and getting as much done as the weather will allow.  I took some awesome pics of a couple of the crops we saw yesterday.
Today, the kids and Dale are leaving.  The weekend is over and it is time for "real" life to once again rear its ugly head.  With breakfast cooked and eaten, the travelers are all on their way home.  Jace and Kim to Saskatoon and Dale to Regina.
There is peace and quiet once again in our yard.
Gary came over and asked if I wanted to go fishing later today and I agreed to go.  He wants to fish Miko Lake today.  After hearing about the huge fish the kids caught at Island, he is sure wishing he was able to get his boat down there however, the trail is simply not wide enough after the plow wind tore through the area.  He will have to settle for the other lakes around here.
Back from fishing and I managed to catch five jack while Gary managed to land only two.  I had better watch out of Gary will be kicking me out of his boat as well!!  All the fish were small so we simply did a catch and release today - there is always another day.   It was a beautiful day on the lake and I did notice that the fall colors were even more pronounced today - it is coming!!
Burgers for supper, a bit of TV then bed - life is good.

Sunday, September 4/2011

Wheat Crop

Beverage!

Dave

Shirley

Jeff

Hoppin Trees!

Dale

How do we get through here?

More lakes

Crossing a creek

Deer watching us watching them!

Jeff and Dale stuck

Suns going down

Made it home

Another great fire!

Jace and Kim have kicked me out of the boat today!!  I know it is because I caught the most fish yesterday and are being little cry babies now!!  Of course they totally deny this but I know the truth!!
Shirley is off today so we are planning a quad ride today.  Jeff (Dave's brother) leaves his quad up here all the time so the six of us will be heading down to the block for a while.  Dave's shoulder is sore and I know that John's leg is sore from two days of riding so, it is supposed to be a slow short ride.
The kids headed out fishing and we headed out to the trails.  It was a beautiful day for doing whatever one chose to do.  The sun was shining and there was a breeze blowing (kept the mosquitoes away).  The breeze was a bit more than what is ideal for fishing but the kids were gung-ho to show me up.  Good Luck with that!!!
We quadded a few trails, eventually ending up at the north end of Otter Lake where Leon has his barge tied to the shore.  We sat on it marvelling at the absolutely beautiful country we have chosen to retire to.    We even had a brief visit by a belted kingfisher - a bird I had not yet had the pleasure to see.  He was beautiful although I do not believe he was impressed by our intrusion.
As we were stopped at the cattle gate on our final refreshment break before leaving the block, we were blessed to see two deer come out of the bush a short distance from us.  They did not seem to mind us being there and actually hung around for several minutes checking us out and foraging for food.
On our way home, there was one final trail we needed to check out and in fact, if it was passable, would cut off several miles of road riding.  We would end up on the North Grid only 3 miles from town - bonus!!
As it turned out, the trail only had one nasty little spot in it that managed to trap three of us in mud up to our axles!!  Shirley and Dave were  the last in the group and managed to find a dry way around the mud so was able to winch Jeff out while Dale and John were winching themselves out!!  I guess it really would not be a good day unless somebody got stuck!!
We caught an awesome sunset while heading home and I know I got lots of nice pics. Gee, I wonder how Jace and Kim did on their fishing trip - will we be having a fish fry tonight?
Back at the bus, Jace and Kim had a campfire blazing.  They had arrived home about an hour earlier and had a very successful trip.  They had managed to catch several LARGE jack and were both smiling like a couple of fools!!  Jace said the fish were biting like crazy and they caught close to 25 fish choosing to bring home only seven - plenty for a fish fry.
Jace and I took the fish over to Dave so that he could fillet them (neither Jace nor myself are very good at that) and invited them over for a fish fry.   I quickly did up some potatoes, carrots, onions and celery, all mixed together with onion soup mix and dill and threw them on the BBQ then commenced to frying fish.  There was plenty to go around and it wasn't too long before everyone was full.  There was still enough fish left over for Jace and Kim to take two packages home for Kim's parents and leave us two packages as well.
All in All, it was a good day!!

Saturday, September 3/2011

Kimmy getting ready

Who catches a clam!  Marie does

Where's the big ones!

Jace should have brought lunch!

A awesome Sunset on the Lake

Fish stories!

All the fallen trees from the big wind storm

Happy Birthday to our oldest son Jace.  It is hard to believe that 28 years ago he was brought into this world kicking and screaming - somedays, he still does!!  What an incredible young man he has grown into and it is my pleasure to call him "mine".
I have decided to go fishing with Jace and Kim today.  John will quad with Dale.  Dave and his brother Jeff will also fish and we have decided to go to Island Lake.  Unfortunately, Shirley has to work today so that totally sucks for her.
Dave assured Jace that he could get into Island with Kim's new Lincoln truck (no scratches allowed) so off we went.  Jace towed the fishing boat he brought and Dave towed his fishing boat.  There were a few "tight" spots along the trail to the lake and Jace got out of the truck a couple of times with the chainsaw and made the trail a bit wider.  We made it down to the lake in time to see Dave put his boat in and apparently break something on the truck so that the four wheel drive mechanism no longer works.  Now that might be a little tricky come time to pull the boat out of the water.
The plow wind that went through this area took an incredibly wide swath in this area,  extending from the grid road all the way down to the lake's shore line.  I would use the term massive devastation to describe the area and I can certainly see why heavy equipment was needed to clear the trail.  I took pictures so I hope they were able to capture the enormity of the devastation.
Once in the boat and ready to fish,  Jace and Kim told me about the "fishing game" they play.  Something about getting Money for the first fish caught, the most fish caught and the biggest fish caught.    I was recruited into the game simply by being in the boat!!  No choices there!!  As it turned out - I WON and was $40.00 dollars richer by the end of the day (I even managed to hook a clam - not sure how I did that though)!!  Happy Birthday Jace - hand over the money!!  Of all the fish we caught, we only brought two home which we decided to keep until the next day.  Jace and Kim will be fishing again tomorrow and they may have better luck and we can then have a fish fry.
We arrived back in camp just before John and Dale arrived off the trails.  In fact, we actually passed them sitting at 8 mile corner (didn't know it was them though).
With everyone back in camp, it was time to cook supper (steak, baked potatoes and Caesar salad) then sit around the campfire and share the day's stories.  It was fun!!
PS -  We heard from Casey tonight while we were sitting around the campfire.  Apparently all is fine with him and he seems to be enjoying his job.  Hope it continues!!