Sunday, June 10/2012

It is still raining today when I get up but kids are determined to get John and I out onto the trails.  Today, we will take the jeep and stay dry.
I have to work night shift again tonight so must be back in time to rest up, get dressed and head out.
We load up the vehicles and head to the trails.  Not surprising, they are extremely muddy and the water holes are deep.  Oh I am so glad we are in the jeep.  The mud and wet do not seem to bother the boys at all!!
We head down 8 mile trail towards the gun range at Chitek Lake and I see one of the largest wolf prints ever.  Of course I have to stop and take a picture of it!!  Oh,  such a stark reminder that this is indeed a living, thriving forest.
When we stop for refreshments (I am back to vitamin water!!) we see two deer and I was quick enough to get a few pics of them while they were standing just down the trail watching us.  I bet they did not expect to see a couple of trail riders out and about today.  They were curious and were not in any real hurry to move on so we were able to watch then for a while.
As we continued down the trail, a logging operation has once again managed to obliterate the trail so it took us a while to pick our way through all the mess to eventually find the trail again.  It is a god thing that John has some sort of trail sense and sense of direction because I was totally lost and completely turned around!!  It was a good thing I am not the navigator!!
We eventually hit the Huard Lake trail and made it up to Vimy where the little creek was flowing even faster than a few days ago when we were here with Dave and Shirley.  Man, a little bit of rain sure makes a difference here in the forest.  The only good thing about this is now our forest is no longer at as big a risk for forest fires.
Continuing on, we crossed the grid and entered another trail that would eventually bring us back to the grid and then home.  It was decided that John and I would come home and Casey and Dylan would do one more trail then meet us back at the bus.
Before we hit the grid, Casey's quad once more broke a CV joint and that finished his fun.  He had to cancel the final trail and head back to the bus.  He is a sad panda and is now having to admit that perhaps those huge fancy tires he has put-on the quad are more trouble that they are worth - Hard lessons to learn when you don't listen to someone who knows.  Perhaps Kijiji will soon have an advertisement for some tires!!

Heading out to the trail

Gun Club Road 

Looks muddy

Large Wolf track

Beverage

Dylan and Casey

He's watching us watch him

Taking shelter from the rain

Tree down

Going around

Back on the trail

Lots of water

rain drops on the strawberry leaves

These rain drops looked like tiny jewels sitting on these tamarack needles.

Huard Lake

Huard Lake

Had to use the winch

Casey

Back at the bus, I am so tired but can't seem to rest.  Oh, how I hate working nights!!  Casey and Dylan soon head back to Saskatoon with his quad in the back and I head to work.  John and Hogan are the only ones that truly get to relax and that is so unfair!!  I hope they both suffer insomnia tonight!!

Saturday, June 9/2012

I am dead tired when I get home this morning.  This working night shift is for the birds.  I crawl into bed knowing that in a few hours I will be up and at it again.
It is currently raining (I walked home in it!!) so I am not sure if a ride is on today's agenda.  If if keeps raining like this, basements will be flooding!!  I guess I did not have to water the garden yesterday!!
I heard the boys come into the bus so decided to get up and cook them breakfast.  John and I will not be quadding today but Casey and Dylan are planning on heading out - Oh the joys of youth!!
Once they finished eating, they get into their rain gear and head out.
John and I take Casey's truck into Spiritwood where we plan on checking out prices for the wood for the "man cave".  It is still raining and the windshield wipers are making a rather funny noise.  Neither John nor I can really pinpoint what is causing it.  Perhaps one of the wipers is touching the edge, but, they are still working and that is a good thing.
In Spiritwood, we found the door locked at the lumber yard - WHAT - on a Saturday!!  Apparently, he closed early!!
After stopping for a few groceries (I was out of ketchup - not a good thing when Casey is here!!) we noticed Gary's truck sitting in front of the bar.  We decided to go in and have a drink with him.  We found both him and Arlene sitting at the VLTs gambling their money away!!
We stayed for two then headed back to Leoville.
It was still raining on the way back and once again the windshield wipers were needed - funny noise and all.  We were about 3 miles out of Spiritwood when the passenger wiper took flight and flew off its arm!! OH NO - we have broken Casey's truck!!  Not only that, we now have to drive in this rain back to Leoville with no wipers!!  Of course John's side of the truck still had a working wiper but every time it moved, my side sounded like it was scratching the glass so we used it only sparingly and were glad that the force of the rain had lessened.
Back at the yard,  John and I hauled the campfire in a can out and set it up in the man cave as this is where we would be hanging out tonight.  We got he chairs in there and hung a tarp across the centre on the room so that it would be warmer in there.
The kids made it home totally covered in mud - no surprise there and we sat inside around the campfire partying until it was time for supper and bed.  It has been a long day for me and I was more than ready to pour myself into bed!!  Tired and Tipsy is not a good combination!!

Friday, June 8/2012

I am working night shift tonight so that gives me plenty of time to get all my jobs done before I have to leave.
I must head over to the laundromat and do a load of laundry, then stop by the store for a few essentials - like steak and beer, get the beds ready for Casey and Dylan and water the garden.  I won't cut the grass as I am hoping Casey will do that while he is here.
I do indeed get all my jobs done and before the boys arrive, I am showered and ready for work.  Arlene and Gary are sitting in their back yard - Gary is swearing over his truck (which is now overheating) and says that he is "about to blow"!!  First the boat, then the quad and now his truck - Oh dear - how much can one guy take.  If Gary didn't have bad luck, he would have no luck at all!!
John and I join them for a few refreshments - well I had vitamin water and it was refreshing!!
Casey and Dylan showed up before I had to leave for the home and it was good to see that they arrived safe and sound.  I always worry when I know the kids are driving up.
Everyone settles in and I head to work.  Not fair but Oh well, I will party with them tomorrow.
Just as I am leaving, Casey and Dylan decide to go for a quick quad ride tonight - more worry!!  Now stop that Marie, they will be fine.

Thursday, June 7/2012

Once again,  I am off to work.  I really do enjoy working at the "old folk's" home.  It provides me some much needed relief from sitting doing nothing. It is an awesome distraction for me.
Back at the bus and another good day under my belt.  Tomorrow I work nights (not really looking forward to that!!) so will have to get all my work done before I go.
Casey and Dylan are coming up for the weekend so I am sure it will be a busy one!!

Wednesday, June 6/2012

I am off to work today so am up early getting ready.  Thank Heavens I ironed my uniforms!!   Hogan seems to know that I am not in my "walking" clothes because he has yet to get out of his chair.  He knows he isn't going for a walk today.
Back from work and I must say that it was a rather busy day.  I missed morning coffee break all together dealing with doctor's rounds, an admission and all sorts of silliness.  I finally got to relax during my lunch break,  then I was back at it until supper.
I am finally home and quite tired!!
Today's happy hour seems to have extended tonight and is still going on over in Gary's yard.  Once I sit and catch my breath from working, I wander over to see what every one's day was like.  Shirley had just headed home as she has to work in the morning but the rest of the troops were still partying on.
I guess John took Arlene for a jeep ride down into the block today.  Gary has been working for much of the time she has been here so John decided to take her for a jeep trip.  They went as far as Heart Lake and John says that Arlene really enjoyed the quiet solitude of the lake and made a comment that she could do some serious writing in this spot.  Apparently she is quite a writer and although she has yet to submit anything to be published, a few of her poems are framed and displayed in public.  One of her accomplishments is to have two of her poems displayed in a small tavern in Massachusetts.  This tavern is where the crew of the boat depicted in the movie  "A Perfect Storm" gathered and it is about this tragedy that Arlene wrote.  Now who would know that we have such a celebrity in our midst!!
Since I am scheduled to work again tomorrow,  it is early to bed for me.  John wandered in a short time later and it was lights out for both of us.

Tuesday, June 5/2012

It is rather dreary out this morning and it sure looks like it is going to rain.  If fact, it is trying real hard to do just that.  I can hear little sprinkles on the awning!!  Hopefully the weather straightens out by the time the weekend rolls around.  I am not sure if Casey is headed here for the weekend.  I guess that all depends on whether or not his quad is fixed.  Perhaps being without it for a few weekends just might make him a better rider.  Maybe he will actually think about what he is doing before he just dives in and gets rammy!!  Hmmm - not sure about that one!!
I am headed to work tomorrow, I have three shifts coming up so I must get three uniforms ironed and ready to go today.  I hate ironing them in the morning before I go - it is time consuming and I could spend that time reading and drinking my morning coffee, rather than ironing!!
I surprised myself and actually ironed all my uniforms so now I am ready for several days "at the office"!!
We really did not do anything to write about today.  We spent it quietly, saving our energy for the weekend!!

Monday, June 4/2012

Finally, the centre wall has been removed and the area is now open

Pic from the "green" room

Center wall had wood chips, cardboard, hay straw and shredded wood
for insulation

The sun is shining this morning when I woke up and it is indeed a most welcome sight.  With the garden nicely watered, it now needs sunshine and the warmth that it brings.  It will be up in no time.
We finally got the centre wall removed and now the space for the "man cave" is completely open.  It should be a good size for what we have planned for it.  the centre wall was insulated with wood chips, cardboard, hay, straw and shredded wood.  I guess that is what was used back in the "old" days.  It was quite a mess but it sure did burn nice in the fire place!!
Now all that needs to be done is get the panelling up and perhaps do something with the floor.  It is a bit of a mess but really, it is the man cave - a place to hang out and have a few beers and some laughs, out of the wind and the cold.  How fancy does one need to go?
The power company still has not shown up and the electrician has had all his work done for over a week now.  How slow can they be?  Power would be nice!!  We are still currently plugged into Gary for power and although that is good, I have to be careful with what I plug in and when because I have been known to blow his breaker a time or two and that is a pain the the arse!!  It will be nice when we can plug into our own power!!
With the destruction of the centre wall complete, we then measured for what material we would require to finish off the interior.  Happy Hour arrived just as we were finished with all the measuring so we timed that perfectly!!
Gary came over for a quick visit while John was cooking supper.  Once that was ready, he went home for his supper (Arlene was busy preparing it) and we ate and watched the second episode of The Hatfields and McCoys.  It is an awesome series.
TV concluded the rest of our evening then it was into bed and sleep.  One never knows what tomorrow may bring so we must get our rest while we can.