Bearly Here...

Well, as many of you know by now, Paul did in fact make it home, body, soul, and trailer intact. What have we been doing, you ask? Let's see: Paul has done more repairs to the trailer (grrr...), making it much more road worthy. I've finished marking final papers and sent the lot off to Uvic today. We've organized the (1600 sq.ft) workshop (I can hear the Guys drooling from here) so we can move into it for the next 2-3 months while renovations are happening. My daughter Becca and son-in-law Dean are coming tomorrow morning to help heave heavy items from the house into the workshop (hey, didn't we just do the reverse in July??). The shop has a main large room where we can plug in the stove and fridge for meals. We'll use the kitchen cabinets that are being torn out of the house, and there's a bathroom, and three smaller rooms, one of which will be our 'bedroom' and another my 'office'. As soon as that's accomplished, Paul will begin serious demolition duty. Let's see, what else-- the building permit came through yesterday, hurray! And we spent a lovely Sunday afternoon with neighbours up the hill who renovated their Doukhabour home three years ago. Rebecca and Robin moved to Castlegar from Calgary-- Rebecca is a writer and Robin an anthropologist, and they're lovely, warm people. In fact, we're finding that everyone we meet here is terrific. I just met another neighbour on the way to the mailbox this morning, and was given a warm welcome to the 'hood and promises of introductions and plant-sharing-- yay!

People seem to know our house, and many have commented on what a special property it is. We've realized that none of the new houses being built on our street along the river can be positioned as close to the river as we are-- we're probably the closest on this whole stretch of the Columbia for miles. How lucky we are to step out the (future) dining room doors and sit literally on the bank! But more than that, the comments have been about the peace, tranquility, and spirit of the place.

And in that spirit, here are a few more pictures:

Paul brought all my potted herbs, tomatoes, and geraniums from Victoria, and they're adding some colour to the Banya.

One of the many apple trees... we met a woman today who told us where we can have our apples juiced if we want.

Plums are almost ripe... which leads to the next shot:

Yes, we have a Bear, as evidenced by his or her Doo-Doo. Huge Doo-Doo, at that. May signify a huge bear, or just one who is on a terrific fruit cleanse at the moment.
Apparently we'll be vying for the plum crop... stay Tuned.

Trailer Trash, or Will Paul Make it Home?

Thank you for your patience, dear readers. I realize it's been almost a Month since I last posted (hmm... reminds me of being Catholic: "bless me father, for I have sinned... it's been one month since my last confession."). Oy.

In truth, there hasn't been a lot to report on my end, and Paul was too busy to write. When we last left you, I was starting my month of Uvic summer teaching, living in our basement suite in Victoria. I'd spent just one brief, lovely week at Flying Leap Farm before driving back. My month was... busy and boring. Although I enjoyed being in the classroom, as always. Sitting marking papers was boring, though, and I missed Paul and Cassius something fierce.

As for Paul, he accomplished tons: mowed the whole dang three acres, which was knee-high in dry grass, with our New riding mower; trimmed some of the lower branches on various Trees; made contact with a Builder, got the Permit application process underway, met a few of our Neighbours, etc. etc. He also entertained house guests, who helped him begin Demolition of the back entrance.

Before we knew it, it was time for Paul to drive back to Victoria to do some minor Maintenance on the Chambers St. house that he hadn't got to earlier, and to pack me up and bring me home. Therein begins our current Adventure. Paul, being the Bargain Hunter he is-- and usually a fine one, at that-- thought that instead of renting a U-Haul again, he would buy a second-hand Trailer to use for the duration of the renovations as well as this last move. Brilliant idea. I accompanied him to the Trailer's location, and my first thought on seeing it was 'that is one Ugly trailer.' Then, (in the voice of Gandalf) 'Is it safe?' I demurred to Paul's decision in the purchase, however, trusting in his good sense.

Well. Two days later, after repair work to the electrical/driving lights system, he was Hitched up and on his way back to Chambers St., when... the hitch broke. Bouncing along with only the safety chains holding things together. More repairs involving a Welder, and sheets of Plywood for where the truck hitch had rammed into the front of the trailer after they had parted ways. Maintenance on the house now being replaced by maintenance on the Trailer. I finished teaching Friday the 19th, cleaned and packed Saturday, and left for Home on Sunday. Paul was to follow as Soon as he was able.

Which turns out to be... Not Yet. I give to you, for your amusement and perhaps alarm, the following Excerpt from Paul's email to me last night:

(10:49 pm)

"I'm at the beautiful Ponderosa Motel and Sushi Bar in Princeton, BC: home of a number of high-temperature records and only a single day's wait for new auto parts from the Lower Mainland. I got on the 7:00 ferry yesterday and noticed on the boat that one of the trailer tires seemed a little low, so I filled it at the first service station after Tsawassen and bought a tire pressure gauge and, for some reason, a small LED flashlight. I drove very carefully to Hope, then aimed for Princeton starting at 11. There were so few people on the road at that time, it seemed best to drive when there was little potential for conflict. I drove slowly, letting people pass.

The first trailer tire went thwappa-thwappa-thwappa at 1:45 a.m., just past Manning Park. The pickup's bolt wrench was the wrong size and the bolts were frozen, but I had tools packed and eventually hammered & torqued them loose. I'll need a new ratchet set; I didn't know I could bend one like that. Adjustable-jaw crecent wrenches worked better.

The spare tire had only 20 psi (though the guy who sold me the trailer had filled them all to 34) and the wheel it was mounted on didn't have any clearance from the frame, so I had to take it off again and reverse it. I did this with the little flashlight between my teeth, turning around often to check for bears or zombies. One driver stopped to say he couldn't stop. There was only about one vehicle every 15 minutes, mostly big rigs. I always stopped what I was doing and stepped away from the trailer when someone passed, remembering all those stories that start with "The victim was changing a tire at the side of the road" and end with "identified through dental records."

The second tire shredded after 20 minutes more of driving, just before 3 a.m. I was climbing much higher up in the mountains now so it was very cold and I'd used all my warm clothes to pack breakables. The second spare was completely flat. Fortunately, I realized I had packed a bike pump. It takes about 350 pumps to fill a car tire with one of those, which is warming. I also topped up the first spare, with the filler tube now on the inside of the wheel under the trailer.

The first spare started clunking about 5 km outside Princeton, around 4:45. As I had no more backup tires and didn't care about the ones I had, I kept going for a couple of clicks and until I got to the Husky station. To my surprise, the tire wasn't flat -- but four of the five bolts were sheared off and the last was holding on by the remaining nut, which was two-thirds off. I slept for a couple of hours, and when I woke up there was a flatbed tow-truck driver getting some coffee at the station. He worked for a tire place just up the hill. Perfect.

It turns out the previous owners had changed the axle without checking the tires for clearance. They were all Bridgestone T/As, wide performance car tires. They barely fit inside the fenders, but once the trailer was loaded (those watered plants are wicked heavy) they widened out and hit metal. Then one reversed spare tire couldn't hold it's centring, snapped the bolts and chewed almost through the hub. The guys at the shop had never seen the type of damage I had. I got the sense there were some bits they might be framing.

I moved the heaviest plants from the trailer into the pickup but the parts, including proper trailer tires, won't arrive until tomorrow. The trailer should drive and track much better after that, will last longer and be a lot safer.

Through all this I didn't find myself cursing or screaming -- it was more like "Really? Seriously?" And the whole thing's been some weird kind of fun, like one of those computer games where you have to figure out how to use the gear you've collected to complete the challenge. Collect little flashlight; use little flashlight. Tire gauge, wrenches... even two same-keyed padlocks I bought a couple of days ago -- they can't move the trailer inside to store it overnight because it has no wheels now, so I needed the locks to secure the contents. It's like everything I had a passing hunch I should get, I've needed.

What frightens me is, today I picked up some bear spray."

 

Will Paul make it home Safely? By how much will the Bargain Trailer have exceeded the cost of renting, and how much will Jo-Anne care? Will the repair costs be Deductible in the same way the Rent of a U-Haul would have been? Are any Revenue Canada employees reading this right now? And why are there no photographs with this post? Stay tuned, dear readers.  

Basement Suite Blues

People have been saying 'wasn't it torture having to come back so soon after moving?' But it's not that bad, really,as long as I don't think about fresh raspberries in the morning, the sound of the river, the smell of the meadow, magnificent thunder storms... and of course Paul and Cassius. I've been back in Victoria for 10 days, living in our basement suite so I can do my Uvic summer teaching gig. The first week was the worst, mainly because I was cramming all those chapters I hadn't got to while packing and moving. But being back in the classroom feels great-- well worth the prep. Right now I'm teaching Family Counselling to the masters students who are in their third and final summer of the program. This week I add Theories in Counselling, with the new cohort just starting. I love it, the students are great. AND I get to spend a little more time with my spiritual study group, which is terrific (I've written about it on my website, www.jo-annestoltz.com).

Back home on the farm, Paul is accomplishing tons: he's installed an electric fence around the bee yard, is waging righteous war on the wasps, has met and dined with various neighbours, and bought us a riding mower of our own so we don't have to beg and borrow. I accidently brought both cameras back with me (have mailed one back to him), so he's waiting for it before posting pics and comments here. I think he'll have lots to say.

We've also had two virtual meetings with architect intern Julie from Studio9, and I think the floor plans are pretty much done. Next step is for Paul to run it past the local powers to determine permits etc. One item we're nervous about is potential required changes to the septic system to accomodate additional bathrooms... could be costly if we have to relocate the whole thing. Will keep you posted.

In addition to my pedagogical duties, I've been busy here fixing up the basement suite at 2123 Chambers. I've done some 'deep' cleaning and painted the bedroom. It was previously dark green, so hopefully this soft yellow will be an improvement during those rainy glum Victoria winter days.

I've also weeded and tidied the back yard, and will do the same in front. The lavender and rosemary need pruning, and I'll try to find a place to hang and dry the cuttings to bring home for the winter. I'm used to being able to run outside and pick fresh herbs for cooking all year 'round here, but we'll have to make do with fresh dried until I get things set up at the farm. I'm thinking pots on the new deck that can be trundled into one of the workshop rooms for the winter...

Here's a shot of some roses I picked from the bush out front, with mint drying on the window sill.      

The upstairs tenants are really nice, and I've rented the basement suite to a lovely young couple for the end of August. The Master Plan is proceeding very well indeed, heh heh. But can Paul and Jo-Anne continue to confound the Twin Gods of Crisis and Disaster in their epic journey toward unbridled, unabashed Pastoral Bliss?? Stay tuned...

PS: Have you ever noticed in 19th century writing that certain words are Capitalized by the author for Emphasis? I like it, I think it will become my Style.