Penticton

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The Final Assault

Yesterday, I went to Penticton to pick up the one thing I was missing to finalize the library’s footprint. It was another case of being at exactly at the right place at the right time. I don’t want to say what it is because picture will make a bigger impact once I get the thing in here!

Today’s goal is to get the study emptied, prepped, and primed.  It’s going to be a huge job; I have to remove the valances and ugly light fixtures and find space for everything I’m moving out of here. But once that’s done, the rest of the work will come together. I’d like to get a first coat of paint on first thing tomorrow so that I can then work on the curtains. The toilet room only needed one coat of paint, so I’m hoping it will be the same with the study.

Then, I’ll get the rig prepped for my departure to make it easier for my cat sitter to do her tasks. When I come back from Montreal I will do the loft, then the kitchen. It’s funny how my original plan had me going the opposite way–kitchen, loft, study, but this new addition to the study makes it necessary to reverse the plan.

Here’s a quick before shot of a study valance, which will be undergoing a makeover instead of a removal for reasons that will soon be explained:

yuck

And here is one of the roller shades that is now in the dumpster. I have had to live with this monstrosity, tear and all, for two years:

ew

Getting this room DONE is going to be so awesome!

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Leaving on a Small Plane

I can’t believe that I’m flying east a week from tomorrow! I got an awesome deal on my tickets to Montreal from Penticton, but it’s going to be a bit of a circuitous route. To get there, I’ll be doing Penticton–>Vancouver–>Calgary–>Montreal. To get back, I’m doing Montreal–>Toronto–>Vancouver–>Penticton.

Flying directly from Vancouver to Montreal was several hundred dollars more and would have required very early morning flights. Funny how the longer route is cheaper and more convenient! I’m happy that I fly out of Penticton at 10AM (meaning I leave Osoyoos at a reasonable 8:30) and out of Montreal at 4:30PM. I’ll arrive at 11:30PM local time both ways. Long days, and jet lag’s a bitch, but this is the best flight itinerary I’ve ever put together.

Thankfully, I’ve been through all those airports except Penticton (which is tiny), so the trip should be easy. My layovers are all only just long enough to ensure that I’ll make my connection barring a huge delay, so I won’t have too much time to kill. I’ll have the iPod on me for entertainment.

I’m getting pretty excited about this trip and it will be very nice to see my family again after more than two years away!

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Adopting a New Grocery Chain

One of the things I found very difficult in my cross-country RV journey was figuring out which grocery stores to frequent. Grocery prices out here are a lot higher than they were in Gatineau/Ottawa and every grocery store I visited left me feeling rather ill with sticker shock. I learned very quickly that Safeway, a major chain out west, is the worst price offender and I now avoid it at all costs.

Oliver had two supermarkets, Supervalu which was neither super nor offered any value for the dollar, and Buy-Low, a discount store with decent prices (for a small town), if poor selection. It was in my infrequent trips to Penticton that I discovered Save-on-Foods. Their prices were also very high, but if you join their (free) discount club and shop wisely, you can get very, very good deals. Since I moved to south Surrey, I’ve been alternating between the nearest S-o-F and the Super Walmart, which has a huge grocery section. Walmart is the place to go to get basic groceries, but it’s at Save-on-Foods that I find the little luxury items that make grocery shopping so much fun:

Two of my favourite food groups in one (Guinness cheddar!!!)

Two of my favourite food groups in one (Guinness cheddar!!!)

On a recent shopping trip, the cashier took a moment to better explain the rewards program to me and let me know that there is a scanner near the door that prints out personalized coupons. The more you use your card and shop at Save-on-Foods, the better the coupon selector becomes at offering you bonuses you will use. Today, I got a handful of coupons for products I buy almost every week and which were on sale, offering me a double discount!

I like that the discount card can be used at other businesses, like Chevron gas.

Some RVers have written in their own blogs that one of the things they dislike about RVing is having to relearn how to grocery shop at every new town, but I find that half the fun of traveling is scoping out the local grocery store for products you don’t have ‘back home.’

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Still Slavin’ Away

I’ve now started my second week at the nursery. Between that and the park, I really don’t have any spare energy for things like blogging or updating my site. 🙁

My only day off last week was Saturday. I did my laundry and cleaned the rig, then decided that I’d earned a bit of fun. So, I drove to Penticton for a movie, dinner, and bigger grocery selection. The latter is important when you need to have a lunch every day! And quite the lunch, too. A basic PB and J with juice and an apple isn’t enough. I need snacks for both AM and PM and a hearty lunch because this job works up an appetite!

Sunday, we had our first social at the park (potluck) and I got to meet some of the neighbours, including someone who is just ten years older than me. Today, I met another woman who is close to my age. I have a feeling we’ll all be seeing each other socially this winter. 🙂

The nursery job continues to be mind numbingly dull. On Thursday, I got sent outside for the afternoon in a show of very bad management. I was put on a line with four guys. My job was to accept a 10-12lb box of trees from one guy and pass it to the next guy in the line. I kept up, but barely. On Friday, I was told to report to the fields and I said no. The shift supervisor was a bit taken aback by that, but I don’t care. I don’t want to completely burn myself out, thank you kindly. So, I got put on the assembly line, learning to bundle trees (tougher than it looks) and wrap the bundles. This was okay, but I really didn’t like being rushed. So, by Friday I knew that box making up duty really is the best job there, as the boxing supervisor had confided in me earlier in the week.

And that’s what I did today, make up boxes. For eight hours straight, until I couldn’t feel my thumbs anymore. I was grateful to be indoors because it has been raining non-stop for days now and will for the foreseeable future (with perhaps a break on Wednesday).

For this year on the road, I’d promised myself one month at a low-paying and physically exerting job. Once I’m through at the nursery, either from finding something else that would take me through to spring, or from being laid off at the end of the contract, I want something that pays more an hour so I can work fewer hours. My current schedule is insane! That said, I’m going to be quite buff again by the time I’m through working there. 🙂

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Pounding the Pavement

Whew.

This morning, I visited every single winery between Oliver and Osoyoos. While a few persons I spoke to were very friendly, most were snooty. I was told several times that I would not be considered for picking because they only hire teams of two. I left resumés at all of them and made it clear that I’m interested in any job, not just picking, so we’ll see what happens. I’m definitely not in Alberta anymore!

For the afternoon, I planned to visit a few RV parks between Oliver and Penticton. The first one I stopped at was so promising I decided it wasn’t worth my while to use more gas until I hear back from the manager tomorrow! I’m not saying more about that as I don’t want to jinx it. 🙂