Monday, October 22/2012

John left the big heater going all night so it was not too chilly in the bus this morning.  That is a good thing as it was still -6C when I arose.  With the fan on the heater,  blowing the warm air around, Hogan had situated himself in such a manor that he had warm air blowing on him throughout the night.  He was sprawled across his chair looking rather content.  It is only supposed to go down to -2C tonight so it is getting warmer again.
This is our last week here in Saskatchewan as we are out of here on Friday - right after Kim's birthday.

snowing in the farm yard

snow "flowers"

It will be nice to get into the warmer temperatures next week (hopefully) although Montana can still be chilly this time of year.
This morning, I am planning on meeting Casey at the doctor's office so that I can get the news on how his back is doing and what the near future holds for him.  I suspect he will be off work for another couple of weeks.
I have only a bit more running to do in the city which includes getting medical insurance and a new phone.  The bus needs to have an oil change and then I think we are ready for the trip.
I arrived at the doctor's office and spoke with Dr. Popick and now I know the game plan as to how Casey is to be treated.   He is off work for another few months then it will be a back to work program for him and hopefully with in four to six months  he is back to his usual duties.
When we walked out of the clinic, it was snowing and the flakes that were coming down were huge - ones that I refer to as snow flowers.  Wow, it was absolutely gorgeous but gave me a stark reminder that we need to get the Hell out of Dodge as snow comes with icy roads and nasty driving conditions.
I stopped in at Jan's for a quick coffee, said my goodbyes to her and Erin and the boys.  Ronin gave me instructions as to what two cars I had to bring back for him and Caelan and I got quite a kick out of the way he was explaining it to me.  I promised that I would try to find them for him.
When I left, I headed over to Walmart and when I got there I decided that the truck engine sounded like it needed some oil.  Once I was done at Walmart, I headed across the road to the Coop gas station where I told the attendant to put in $40.00 of gas and to check the oil.  The truck did indeed need oil and while that was being put in, the gas pump stopped at $65.00!!!  Holy Shit Batman!!  I told the kid that it was a good thing I was paying with my credit card because he would be shit out of luck if it was cash!!
After I paid for the gas and oil, I climbed back into the truck and found the engine DEAD.  Ya, that 's right - DEAD - as in will not start!!  After an attempt at boosting the silly thing, we managed to push it to a parking spot where I left the heinous contraption and called Jan to come to my rescue.  While I waited for Jan, I thought that if this stupid truck needs to be towed somewhere, I had better get the license plate number for the tow truck.  Well, what to my wondering eyes do I see but EXPIRED TAGS!!!  OH MY GOD - I have been running around with expired plates since the 18th.  I am sooo going to kill Jace the next time I see him - He is DEAD TO ME!!    Please remember that all this time, it is snowing and right about now I was not too impressed with the "snow flowers" as they were getting me wet and cold....and really, did I dress for this stinking weather - not really.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I should be sitting in Arizona, not here in Saskatoon having to deal with a broken down old blue truck with expired plates.  OH MY SHATTERED NERVES!!
When I arrived back at Jan's I called John and lamented my distress and gave him a blow by blow description of my day and he said it could be the starter.  Oh Good, don't think the effin thing will be moving today!!   John called Jace (the truck's daddy) and he said that he just put a new starter in so it shouldn't be that.  I called Casey to come and pick me up at Jan's and take me back to the truck to get all my shopping bags out of it.  When we arrived back at the now hateful blue beast, Casey checked out the battery cables and found that one was very loose and needed to be tightened.  Once that was done, it started like a charm.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph - I am about to loose it!  Now I have to drive an unregistered truck back to the farm on icy roads.  Oh why can't i just teleport myself to a sandy warm beach somewhere???
Casey decided to follow me back to the farm and I was more than grateful for that as my nerves where rather frayed at this point and it was past happy hour!!  I won't think that he is only following me because he is hungry and there are leftovers from last night's turkey supper - no I choose to believe he loves his Mom enough to escort me to the safety of the farm!!  Ya, that is it!!
When we arrive at the farm I find that there is way more snow here.  John said that it snowed all day pretty steady and now there is at least 3 inches of the white stuff on the ground!!  Oh dear, we so should have left for Arizona last week!!  It is not so much the snow, it is the cold that is more troublesome and with the temperatures dropping even further, nothing good can come of this.
Gloria had yet to return from work so we ate without her.  She did contact Bernie and said she was going to play bingo and ended up winning some money so that was a good thing for her.  Now she has a bit more spending money for Las Vegas on Wednesday!!
I washed a load of laundry while we ate and since it was still snowing and now, with the drop in temperature,  Casey left for home soon after he finished eating.  He arrived back at his house safe and sound so that was a relief for me.
With the laundry done, John and I headed back to the bus and spent a quiet evening watching TV.  There is lots to do tomorrow in Saskatoon as the bus needs an oil change, I need to finish all the jobs that I was supposed to do yesterday but couldn't because of that stupid truck and now I have to drive that worse than stupid yellow jeep on the highway which I hate as it seems to have a mind of it's own and seems to weave and wobble all over the road on dry pavement let alone snow and ice.  OH MY GOD.......I think I am going to have nightmares tonight!!
Gosh, I haven't even left Saskatchewan and already I am praying to "the powers" (God, Buddha, Allah and the Gitchi Manitou) to save my arse!!  Gee, and I usually reserve them for the trip South!!