Rain is coming?! Rain is coming!?

'They who never get it right' tell us that there are heavy rains on the way in the coming days. Local oldtimers tell us that it often snows around the May 24 holiday... perhaps 'they' will get it right this time?!

Its been fairly good being here. The town has been fantastic, the meals are much welcome and the local shops are offering discounts to Evacuees - nice touch.

Joan and I went and did some much needed retail therapy. She is having trouble processing what is happening so I think the distraction helps her a lot.

Yesterday, we went to see our Dr about my foot (baby toe, specifically). While I didn't get a prescription for it, she did show me a picture of the sandals I need to get and Brad overheard the convo (which always helps when spending money on shoes). She is sending me for a bone scan because she thinks I may have a hairline crack in the small (Metatarsal) bone portion of my foot.

Today Joan and I are going to shop again for the sandals I tried on yesterday morning which were the very same ones the Dr told me to get (solid wrap around big toe instead of just the sticky-inny-bit that rubs)... go figure. Also there is a local farmer's market and we will throw in a load at the laundromat to do its thing while we shop.

Last night some other friends invited the 4 of us out to their RV park south of town for a game of cards, it was great fun!

Hoping that other than a little bit of shopping there will be no other running around to do and we can relax a little, distractions are good in times like this but its also tiring especially with the stress in the back of your mind.

So far our little community is doing well, fires appear to be diminishing according to the NASA website with satellite imaging, and with the rains on the way, we hope to be home early to mid next week.... fingers crossed.

Evacuation, Friends & Massage

In case you missed it, we have been evacuated from our community here in Alberta due to all of the wildfires. While the entire event has definitely been traumatic to say the least, the volunteers who are looking after us are absolutely amazing! 

We have been provided with a hotel (courtesy of our town), any incidentals we forgot our couldn't get to - as well as 3 meals a day.

The people in our temporary community have been friendly, welcoming and supportive. Even our mail has been redirected here.

Robbie has his favourite toys

3 incredible meals a day put on by volunteers

Some friends invited us to their RV park for the afternoon yesterday which then became dinner. We visited for several hours before heading back to our hotel. Note the Gazebo, it'll be important later.

Gazebo

Time to chill

The sun was setting on our way home... That is the red dot.

Same sun reflected in the window

Brad had a massage appointment set up for today but as we're evac'd that was out the window. Except yesterdays friends are also friends with our masseuse. She offered her gazebo which offers 4 sided curtains for privacy. 

It couldn't have worked out better. Brad had his massage and I had a massage and then our friend had one, however, her husband was called out to block the highways before he could get his massage... not fair, at all.

We even ordered Chinese take-away for lunch. 

Evacuation Massage Gazebo

After returning to our room another couple invited us to supper with them and we were off again.

We have just returned to our room and will get to relax for the evening.

Word is that it will be a few days at least before we are allowed to return home, hopefully we will still have one!

Evacuated in Alberta

Stacey left Saturday and we worked the weekend at a Casino for one of the town clubs we belong to, that was enlightening and incredibly boring. The club does the casino every 3 or 4 years as a good revenue maker which helps float the clubs activities for a few years. Next time, we will take plenty of 'things' to do to help pass the time.

Note: 

1. Our raised beds have been painted to blend into the fence. 

2. My potatoes are in the green bags.

3. My backyard herb garden has been built and filled with compost but didn't have time to get a pic.

This morning the air was thick with smoke and getting thicker by the hour. I let Brad sleep in and eventually went to wake him once it got damn thick, so he could be awake before any evacuation order - should there be one...

So I then sat down to write a post about being put under evacuation watch (last night). I hadn't finished writing it yet when the alarm went off... time to bug out!!

In the kerfuffle of loading the truck, my computer was shut off and I lost the post... 

We are now put up in a hotel, an hour from our home. There is a dinner tonight for all the displaced, of course there are more than just our town here as fires are everywhere... 

My lost post talked about being packed with clothes, papers and medicines as well as all of the dog stuff. I didn't think for a minute that we would actually be evacuated but as the smoke was ever increasing, I got us ready, just in case... and not a moment too soon.

A friend called to say the town was calling around notifying people of the evacuation order and so we quickly finished packing and were loading the truck when we got the call ourselves. 

All of my veg/herb/plant starts are still sitting in the house, waiting to be planted. Too smokey today to work outside, so.... at least I watered and fed them this early this am. Maybe......

No idea how long this is going to be. I know Drayton Valley was evac'd a couple of weeks ago and are still on evac. My plants won't live that long...

Also worth noting, we may have a house sitting gig for the winter. Nothing definitive as yet but we are in talks.

A new wardrobe

So anyone who knows me knows I have zero patience. Zip, Zero, Zilch.

Hence, shopping.... especially for clothes that are meant to make this body look presentable... Yeah, that's a hard NO....

Stacey took me shopping, I got a bunch of new clothes.. and a pair of sandals to suit it all too.

With all the moving we've done, selling our house, living in an RV for 2.5 years... my wardrobe sucked Bobo to say the least.

So she gave me a style, which I desperately needed and didn't have the gumption to do myself. Foofoo girlie stuff is not my forte - at all.

Now at least I will look presentable, I hope.... 

Just need the hair done now.

Computer fix

So the main reason I haven't been blogging much is honestly because my iMac was dragging soooo much it was really unusable. Just to open the internet took about 2 min, then each page change.... you know how it goes. 

I just assumed it was because its 6 years old and that 'they' were just screwing me out of a perfectly good computer so I'd have to buy another...

So for most of the winter, we had been watching the NHL on our TV connected through an HDMI to our laptop. We play the game (we pay for SportsNet) on the laptop and it comes through the HDMI cable to the TV and we have the game on big screen.

Well, all of a sudden it was so slow and stalling it became unwatchable so Brad had to watch the games in his office for the last month or so and I was just unable to watch at all, which didn't make me very happy but...

Yesterday, I decided to take a look at it as we couldn't remember why we stopped watching it through the laptop.

While trying to get the NHL playoffs to play on the TV again, I was fiddling with the laptop (we have a lot of compoopers) and discovered that McAfee (yes, the dreaded) was on the laptop and Norton was no where to be found. No idea how this happened. 

We pay a ridiculous fee every year for Norton but I guess somehow in the doing of compooper things (and I've caught it many times) it seems we allowed McAfee through and it was screwing up my computer, yet again. I've been through this a million times with McAfee, so I know.

Anyway, I uninstalled the McAfee and reinstalled the Norton. Voila, the game plays perfectly once again. Norton does so much more than McAfee (which I don't think does anything at all), including defragging (organizing files) and monitoring absolutely everything, etc.

Then I got to thinking about the iMac....

So it turns out it wasn't McAfee on the iMac but the Norton itself was outdated! Whodathunk?!

Anyway, I reinstalled the Norton and now my iMac is working perfectly once again!!!

So excited about this because I've missed my morning blog reading ritual and commenting and now it won't take me all day to write a post!

Staceys coming, Staceys coming!!!

Our Staceygirl is coming to visit. We will be driving in to Edmonton (YEG) to pick her up.. She is heading out East (by plane this time) to do some things for her Mum and gracing us with her presence for a few days on the way.

Robbie is super duper excited, he loves Stacey! She brings him toys and treats! He has been counting the sleeps for a couple of weeks already.

Some pics you may have seen already from the trip she and I took across the country in 2021... and then we moved away from Gabriola Island :( ..... and now we miss her lots and lots.

PS She's gonna kill me for posting these pics! HaHaHaHaHa

Backyard antics

Rapid growth has slowed but it seems to be doing well.

Garden beds were loaded

We had 8 totes of compost delivered

The driver was kind enough to place them in position for us with his forklift

Loaded

Took me 4 days to remove the grass from this new herb/flower garden area ( I was doing other stuff too, and it was HOT out).

We topped it up with some fresh compost

I discovered a niche

Even whilst everything else is going on, I came across a niche which only one other seems to have discovered to date.

I have been researching this niche and contemplating how to make it work. It could provide us with what they call 'passive income'.

Also, I've been enquiring into house sitting jobs (we had begun house sitting, doing it just a few times before Covid-19) for the winter in warmer locales. No specific plans, just snooping at what is available. Not even sure we would leave Canada at this point in time, but maybe somewhere in the islands... or we could just stay home.

Spring yard work

Our backyard is a little barren ...

...and the in-ground area just won't be enough...

Through a friend, we were able to get some wood at half the price - which is regular pre-Trudeau pricing. (sorry, but true).....

... and its time to make our raised beds, which will be our primary vegetable growing area at this property. Needless to say, my back is a wee bit tender today.

... And its time to begin hardening off my much prized growings for the season.

FYI, I grew all our edible/medicinal flowers and herbs along with a few tomatoes and peppers but we plan to purchase our veg starts this year.

Finally able to put out our chairs and enjoy the sunshine...

... the raised beds are built and levelled. We will be putting white rocks or some such along the front to block/hide the gaps where the beds were levelled, as our yard is 60 years old and has a few wrinkles. :D

Its windy again today and so I opted to put the plants on the front deck today, so that I could tie it on to ensure the safety of the plants and my sanity.

We have never done raised beds before but I know many people who have and they swear by them. Extra bonus is that they thaw much earlier than the ground in spring allowing for earlier planting next year.

With no access to rabbit manure this year, we are curious how this goes and super excited to get stuff in the ground.

We will also be putting all the flowers/herbs I grew in-ground at the front and rear of the property and that grass needs to be removed and soil added. That will be in an upcoming post.

See you then.