I’m slowly getting back into my at home routine. Most of my neighbours have been by to welcome me back. It’s nice to know I was thought about in my absence!
We had good weather on Tuesday and most of Wednesday, so I took care of outdoor chores, including most of the laundry, mowing the lawn, and nearly finishing the emptying of the truck. I got my exercise on Wednesday going back and forth to C&C’s every couple of hours to let out the dog and spend time with him and the cats. The dog’s dinner is a bit ‘complicated’, so Caroline had me over Tuesday night to show me how to put it together and I ended up being invited to stay for dinner!
It started to rain on Wednesday night and was cold last night. I set the furnace for 55F (after running it before bed to make sure it was working) and it kicked on around 4:00 this morning. I also ran my mattress pad warmer on low all night, so I was cozy.
Thankfully, we’re climbing out of this as we march into June. If we get a normal summer, this should be it for nasty weather. *all appendages crossed*
I’ve discovered that my roof is leaking worse than ever and have committed to a major assault of it this summer. Both Dicor and Eternabond have utterly failed me, so it’s time to look at household solutions. The big problem is that all the products recommended to me are not available locally, which explains in part why this project is going on so long.
At this point, I really don’t care about structural damage to the overhang (ie. weakened wood and delamination) because I’m not planning on moving Miranda again. Remember that she has an aluminum frame construction, so leaks get contained. I know the walls and roof are weak, but they’re fine for just sitting here. Once I know the roof is thoroughly sealed, I want to do some cosmetic work in the loft again to mask the water damage, but I don’t plan to take anything apart.
Work is picking up and May should end with enough money in the receivables for me to just scrape through June without dipping into savings. This includes a large amount of money outstanding from May that I only managed without in May thanks to everyone’s hospitality (I would have been sleeping in the truck in sub-zero weather otherwise!). It was an unexpected situation since both of those clients have always been reliable. One forgot to drop the cheque in the mail and the other nearly got stiffed by her client and only just managed to make them produce payment. In fact, that payment dropped into my PayPal as I was writing this! Yay!
The big personal project right now is putting together my grocery list for when I go to Moose Jaw next week. One of the unexpected realities of ‘maintaining two homes’ is that I have to start my pantry over each time I move from one to the other. I can’t keep food in Miranda over the winter and don’t want to have to ask C&C to store too much and I can’t store anything in Mexico because of the humid climate.
So I’m finding myself having to start over in both countries with condiments, spices, and other foods that normally don’t get replaced regularly. I brought some food to and from Mexico and it was a huge pain making sure nothing spilled. A lot of what I brought down in the fall got spoiled sitting in a hot truck for days on end. So I don’t plan on bringing much down this fall, unless I end up just doing the trip in a week.
I bought a freezer last summer, so my plan is to go to Moose Jaw and buy as much as I can to fill up the freezer and then do a little topping up in Assiniboia or Willow Bunch each week for fresh produce. Part of the shopping will involve cooking up tons of food over a couple of days so that I really don’t need to think about food for the rest of the summer. I don’t have any lucrative contracts lined up, so it will mean very long hours to make the money I need. Being able to just go to the grainery and pull a meatloaf or whatever out of the freezer at the end of a long day will be a blessing.
I wish I had a bigger budget for this shop (I think I can just squeeze in $400, maybe $500 if the exchange rate remains favourable, which really won’t go far), but if I put it off for July, a month will have passed and it really won’t be worth the effort. I really don’t want to do another substantial shop in Assiniboia either. That $80 really didn’t go far at all and I’m already wishing I could go back to town and buy more food for the weekend!
Another thing I dealt with this week was contacting SaskHealth to let them know I’m back so they can issue me a new health card. An email from them just dropped into my inbox informing me that the chance has been satisfactorily processed. I haven’t found anything on their site that says I can’t ask for an extension every year, so I’m going to try again in the fall. If I succeed, I can leave in October again and go spend some time in Utah before going to Mexico. Otherwise, I’ll have to leave in November and make a run for the borders.
So that’s all the big news out of Haven this week. 🙂 Now, I’m off to work. I did a full day yesterday and it should be full days from here on in… I keep telling myself that every dollar I make is about 12 pesos right now and 12 pesos goes waaaaaaay further than a dollar so I better hang on to my dollars and spend them as pesos! 😀
You are a pleasant person and fun to be around so I can see why people like to have you share their home (or RV) for short periods.
Moose Jaw has a Home Depot that sells Rustoleum Leak Seal. You might want to check their stock and try a can. You can order and pay online and that ensures they will keep a can of it for you.
Remember the leak is not necessarily above the drip. Water can travel quite a distance before it decides to drip down. But you know all that. 😉 Good luck. I hate chasing leaks and you have done your share of it.
Well, thank you. 🙂
Moose Jaw does not have a home depot, nor a decent home store. The nearest HD is in Regina. Assiniboia is actually better served than Moose Jaw, in my opinion, when it comes to home store supplies!
I know exactly where the leak is and for once, it is about the drip. Very lucky for that… 🙂
Can’t you order that from Amazon?
You can’t order stuff like that from amazon.com and have it shipped to Canada and even if you could, the shipping cost would be prohibitive. My last resort would be to have it shipped to Montana, but I’d have to put together quite a large order of stuff to make it worth the gas to drive down. Amazon.ca carries it, too, but at four times the cost, plus exorbitant shipping.
I had to check that. You are correct, no HD in MJ.
When you said there was, I got all excited thinking we got one while I was gone. *sighs*
With everything so expensive in Canada it makes me wonder why anybody wants to live there. LOL. And it must hit especially hard after spending several months in Mexico. Hope you can find something to seal Miranda up good and tight. Darn water can find its way in just about anywhere.
Some find that the high cost of living is offset by other advantages. Many don’t realise there are other options. I’m happy to be here to be in my own space. I would just enjoy it more if food wasn’t so bloody expensive here!
You are supposed to replace spices once a year because they lose their potency. Now you have an actual reason to do that. 🙂
I tend to go through my spices quickly because I cook a lot and don’t keep a lot of different ones on hand, but every six months is a little bit too often! 😀
Glad to hear you arrived back home to Haven safely. Hope you can get that leak fixed soon. Keeping the supplies low will help freshness as well as reduce spoilage; smart move. Have a great summer!
Thanks!
One of the best food items you might consider buying is a 8kg bag of rice. This will likely last you the year and can easily be stored in sealed jars without going off (any temperature). It is also easy to cook up a batch and make it last for 4-5 days. Cheap too – $18-22/8kg bag depending on the type of rice you like (I prefer jasmine). Rice is one of the staples of our diet and you can do so much with it on such a little budget. Unless you are cutting down on carbs 🙂 I can live without bread but not all carbs.
I used to eat TONS of rice, but now I’ve cut back on rice, pasta, and bread, so buying rice in bulk is no longer a good option for me. Plus rice carries a lot of bugs, so you can’t get it across the borders! I know lots of people who have tried to take rice *into* Mexico and had it confiscated and I specifically got asked about rice when I came into the States this spring. 🙁 My favourite rices are brown and sushi (well, any sticky rice will do!). Basmati and jasmine are nice for the odd treat, but not favourites. I have a rice cooker and used to make ginormous batches of rice at a time and then freeze in portion servings.
Just curious, can you place an order of what you need at your local hardware store? I think we used to be able to do this sort of things before the large home supply center days. They might charge a bit for delivery but it shouldn’t be too much if it comes with their regular shipment. People seem to be so accommodating where you live.
Good luck
Welcome home (northern division)!
Strangely enough Nancy & I were near Moose Jaw for a while last Sunday to Tuesday; & I was even listening to the Scobey radio station.
However, even if you hadn’t been super busy, we were at someone else’s mercy for transportation, so no trip via Willow Bunch area on our way home possible.
Someday, I hope we’ll actually meet in person. Grasslands NP is on the bucket list, so hopefully it will happen. Have a great summer!