Shocking house work

Monday is massage day around here so Brad went off to Nanaimo and I stayed home to help Robbie get a few chores done around the house. He is a very handy dog.

1st we went to the local hardware store for some bleach and thumb tacks.

Once home we poured 5 Gallons of bleach (calculated amount) into the cistern to 'shock' it. It is preferable to do this whilst it is raining but alas, it was not. So I grabbed a garden hose (already put away for the season - of course), connected it to the outside tap and put the other end into the cistern rain pipe and turned the tap on while I poured the bleach in through 4 different pipes around the property which all lead to the cistern. This ensures the bleach is not concentrated in one area of the cistern and with the tap simulating rain to circulate the water below it kept the water moving and it all went well. 5 min job, okay maybe 10.

While in town, I ran over to a different hardware shop to get 1 piece of fiberglass insulation. The chimney (insulated pipe) is a round peg in a square hole which is cut in the roof. There was daylight and cold air coming in through there and I wanted to seal it so we don't lose too much heat over the winter. I had the neighbour come over to hold the ladder while I stuffed the box in the ceiling. We had this situation at our own home out east so I was familiar with what to do and just grateful that I didn't have to buy a whole bag of insulation.

Next, Robbie mentioned that because he is so damn hairy and drops that *$!^&$ everywhere - with the new 'baby' sitting under the open back stairs that we should sew something to stop his hair from falling all over the new machine. I chose red, because its my favourite colour, its almost Xmas and it was handy - not necessarily in that order. I then used the thumbtacks to attach it to the underside of the staircase with a mallet, because that wood is very hard.

I also washed a couple of quilts and put a more Thanksgiving/Xmas coloured one on the living room couch (again to control dog hair and also to keep the dog scent off the furniture) yes, we spoil him and allow him on the couch - well, on the washable quilt anyway.

Don't know what I was so busy with yesterday but Sunday is my housework day and I didn't get around to the bathrooms so that was another thing on my list that was done.

Our neighbour has an elderly friend who really enjoys Brad's lasagna and he has asked Brad to make her a few as they are very busy downsizing her from a 3 storey home to a 2 bedroom condo. We popped over on the first day of their garage sale and Brad noted how anxious and overwhelmed she seemed so we ran home and returned with a lasagna for her. She was so appreciative of the quick, easy meal that they would like a few more to help her get through the next few weeks while everything is being dealt with.

So Brad asked that I cook up a large package of ground beef that we had thawing in the fridge so that it would be ready to turn into lasagna when he returned from Nanaimo. I did and I believe he said he made 5 lasagnas from that batch.

In case you missed it: Today, Tuesday Oct 6 is delivery day.... no idea what time, but the 'new baby' is due. Hopefully the courier doesn't have a delay, the tracker tells us it is in Nanaimo, so.... fingers crossed.

Growth and RV Changes

Having a look around to see how things are growing:

Beginner grapes

 About halfway to full size grapes

Beginner peach

About half way peach

Years ago Brad learned to make lasagna. He used to make tons at a time and give them away to our neighbours. Lately he has been making 12-15 and selling them with the profits going to the local food bank.

Veggie prep

The concoction

This is at the Nanaimo ferry harbour, some interesting facts in the right corner, click on the pic to enlarge.

Our lower deck - we have tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, dill and romaine going here. The veggie condoms are working fantastic!!! Also, we spray coffee on the vegetable garden and plants that the slugs love, it absolutely works, its cheap (no name coffee brand) and no pesticides. I assume the coffee covers the smell of the vegetables and therefore the slugs are not attracted. We spray every night but certainly must be sprayed after each rain.

In this container off the deck, we have purple and yellow onions, green onion, 1 carrot and 2 garlic. As we use lettuce or celery, the cut off is placed in this starter greenhouse to regrow and replant. Once the garden begins to 'fruit', we will just cut them off at the base, never removing them from the soil.

The tomatoe plants in the garden are quite large bushes

L-R: Celery, Green onion, Carrots, Peppers, Potatoes, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Lettuce and more Potatoes

The Broccoli was being devastated by slugs but we started using the coffee before they got to the heart of them and so while they still look terrible, they are alive and growing.

Lettuce doing well with coffee

Squash and Cucumber

One of two Broccoli devastated by snails

We lost an entire section of Romaine (save for one) before starting the coffee routine so these were planted later.

Dill almost 3ft tall

I was cleaning out a drawer and found a few different seeds we hadn't planted yet, so I got them going in a starter - probably too late, but worth the try.

This eagle was literally hovering over us, no wind down here but he was clearly riding something up there. Sat there for at least 3 minutes.

Freighter

We were having a crow problem at the cherry tree, Brad went down to 'fix' it but couldn't get a good shot off. A gathering of crows was circling above him and I was concerned they would attack him but instead, they obviously cottoned on and haven't been back for days now. Interesting.

I over pruned the tomatoe vine on the deck but we have plenty of new growth coming up and the main vine is doing very well, plenty of clusters on this beauty.

We have put our RV up for sale recently, I haven't posted about it yet because another blogger has also recently posted theirs for sale and as we are in no hurry, I chose to wait awhile. We have 6 people waiting to view her at the moment but Brad wanted to shine her up as she oxidized significantly while at the campground, in the end we chose to send it to someone to have it done. Today we will pick it up, clean it out and likely begin showing her tomorrow.

As we are no longer fulltime in her, and with Brad fed up with the tick tick, she is just sitting in a storage yard and I'm concerned about mice getting in. We've done all the bounce sheets/irish spring things which have worked in fields in Saskatchewan very well but long term they could get in and its such a fanatastic RV that someone should be using her. So, we decided to sell her and will likely get something small like a popup or boler for short camping trips. Presumably, we will be able to travel places sooner or later.

Ace has been a great investment for us and after 2.5 years, she certainly doesn't owe us anything. More on the sale later.

Lasagna Night

Several years ago Brad learned how to make Lasagna and has perfected his recipe over the years. Back at our house, he would make Lasagna and distribute it to several of our friends in the Harbour. Everyone loved it.


So when he got a hankerin' a few days back, we decided to have a Lasagna Night. We were expecting 16 people so he made 4 large batches. Some neighbours brought Salads, others brought Desserts and we had Garlic Bread, of course. Thankfully, everyone we expected showed up but we still have a good amount left over.

With the help of friends, we managed to create a table long enough to sit everyone at and after dinner we all sat around the fire pits chit chatting.

FL-FR: Dave, Cooper, Karen, Brent, Ken, Marla, Richard, Terry, Brad, Bill, Jane, Dwayne, Patty, Lisa, Bob, Barb

The pieces were massive and the Gut-Bashing Trophy goes to:>>> BOB! He ate 2 pieces!! Although the pieces were massive, when we cleared the plates, they were all empty. A sure sign everyone enjoyed it.

Getting to know each other

Enjoying the marshmallow pit, without marshmallows

Brad replaced the old rusted parts in the in-ground fire-pit which we intend to use for marshmallows - I had marshmallows but no sticks last night..... Anyway, everyone seemed to be having a good time and that's what gatherings are for.

Robbie relaxing after everyone had left.

Time to put our feet up and relax after a long, successful day.

We love that we can bring different people from all around the park (there are 600 sites, so it's quite big), who would not necessarily ever meet and expand social circles. It has been so long since we were able to bring a bunch of friends together and we have missed that more than we knew.