Monday, September 16, 2013

Counting the Days , Dog Ramp Built and RV Mods Done

 

We thought we were making pretty good progress getting everything that needed doing done. We started with a plan to get everything done  in the yard, by the end of Sept. Which left a week to pack up the motorhome and to do last moment things.

That plan  came to a screeching halt with a phone call from son number two, Stu has been looking at renting a house/apartment to rent, after the last two places fell through, he was wanting to stay here while we were away for the winter.

We are glad to help him out, but it has created a lot of work, the grandchildren will be here weekends, we have been emptying the dresser drawers so they could use our built in dressers….then we have to find a place for all the totes we are filling..

We have just had a week of wonderful weather, now the rain is supposed to come for a few days, the fog as been rolling in and out all day.It made the spider webs in the oak tree in front of our house stand out.

 

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Skip has finished  a few projects the last two weeks, he reroofed the little shed next to the house.

Last year Jake had problems getting  so he can get in the back of the Tracker, so Skip made him a ramp. It folds in the middle for storage, he made a leg that  folds down and gives extra support at the hinge.

 

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It has cross treads and is carpeted.

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Problem is so far when we tried it out he refused to walk up it, finally he just jumped into the back like he was a young pup.

His vet told us to give him two glucosamine  sulfate and one fish oil pill a day, and it has helped him quite a bit, he used to use his upper body and go up the stairs hopping like a rabbit, now most times he has a normal gait.

Earlier in the summer, Skip made a wooden rack to hold our maps and fastened it  to the wall behind the passenger seat. After  the mistake we made  going on the wrong road last year, we bought Benchmark Atlases, we still get a sick feeling when we think about how dangerous it was. I called that blog   Stupidity

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Because it had to be mounted so low on the wall, he made a solid front to keep dog hair and dust out.

He also built more shelves in what used to be a clothes closet, he did half the closet a few years ago, and we found it to be more usable space with shelves.

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We have just over three weeks  before we leave, and we are getting  pretty excited, hopefully the weather in Utah will hold, if not, plan B, which is Lone Pine, if it’s cold there we will make plan C.

I joined google+  because I couldn’t comment on some of the blogs I follow, and I still can’t comment. It’s a little frustrating but when I see Edd  our oldest son this week he will figure it out for me, ( I hope )

 

Jean

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Making Plans

 

The beginning of September and  our preparation for our winter trip south is gearing up. We had originally planned to leave Vancouver Island on September 4th and head for eastern Utah. Our plans changed when we began counting the days we would spend in the United States, we weren’t near the maximum allowed, but we decided to leave a month later, on October 8th.

We are glad we have the extra time to finish a few projects and to prepare the house and garden for the winter.We will still plan for Utah, if the weather doesn’t cooperate we have plan B.

 

August was a busy time for us, we camped with our family for seven days at English Man River Fall, we have been camping together for over 10 years. Not everyone camps for the whole week, some came for three days and some just for the weekend.

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Kianna and Brodey our niece  Jaimie;s childrenP1000904Granddaughter Sierra building an Inuksuk in the Little Qualicum River

P1000859We met Eric’s  girlfriend Ashley

We all had a really fun time, it’s important to all of us to spend some time together when we can.

Three days after we got home from camping, we had a wedding to attend, Our nephew David  was married to his girlfriend Andrea, at an outdoor ceremony at Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo.

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Skip, Stuart, jean, Edd

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Nephew Mark, and my sister Liz

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My brother Rod’s family, Ron,Kathy, Marty, Rod , the groom David, Lainie.

 

The dogs always go to the vet before we take them south, we took Jake last week, he had some lumps I wanted her to check, I was quite worried about one on his ankle,she drew some fluid from it and it tested positive for fat cells. Big sigh of relief ! He’s in  pretty good shape, he has arthritis but  everything else checked out good for a dog his age.

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Sophie and Louie go to the vets next week, and then the countdown starts !

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Jean