Wednesday, September 20, 2017

ROBBLOG #651



Wednesday Already?
How did that happen. Island Time seems different. Could be because I am retired...or not.


I haven't been blogging because we have been busy.
You see, we moved out of the RV Park.
30 days in beloved Priscilla was fine but it was time for a change- especially after we found our new-build was delayed until the middle of November.


It was time.
This new spot where we are currently living was a fluke. We decided not to stay at the Country Cottage and then this house on Cedar Avenue (how cute is that? Cedar Avenue?) became available through our real estate. We asked how high we would have to jump and could we afford to jump and it turned out we could jump, so we did.


It's taken two days to move our stuff from Priscilla and we still have Tom's lilies to move tomorrow.
Donna- our Landmistress (Landlord) is Fab You Luss. Call it an apartment, a granny suite or an in-law apartment, it is just right for us.
Behind the house looking out our kitchen window through Donna's English Garden- which is still in bloom, is a riding stable and school- Queen Margaret School. We hear the horses neighing, whinnying and then hoofing the sides of their stalls to grab attention from their keepers to be fed- perhaps by a strapping, well hung stable boy or two (That's for you Shane. Now Dream My Dear...)


Horse Stables at Queen Margaret School
I even took the time the first night here in our new abode to hang the "star" lights on the patio.
How nice! That's a Date Palm sitting on the table.


Patio, Palms and Starlight


No update on Doyle, our beautiful Orange Tabby missing since August 17th. Some days I swear his brother Dickens is shedding little puddy tears...


Dickens our lonely boy...
The week- so far, hasn't been all fun.
Our van- The Swissshmobile, had to go in for a safety check before we could get our BC plates.
It was not a happy story.
She didn't pass with flying colours!
Although cosmetically- both inside and out, she looks marvellous, we were told we would have to repair some of the "infrastructure" that supports the van. Plus the one front headlamp has moisture behind it- which is a recent addition to this page full of checks to be made here in British Columbia. We've replaced the headlamp at least three times- twice under warranty, yet the damn thing still collects moisture. However, the bigger problem is the metal underneath. so, do we go to a body shop for an estimate or do we retire the good old Swissshmobile and buy new. Our Ontario Insurance lapses September 30th.
There may not be time.
What to do...
This is not in our current budget. We are decision making.


Oh, Priscilla goes for the same vehicle plate check next week. I can only imagine how that will turn out. We need to sell the stalwart old broad.
$37,000.
Any takers out there? Ontarians, you could fly out here and take her home or fly out here and stay here. The choice is yours and at only 37 thousand- what a steal!!!


Finally, over the weekend we travelled an hour up island to Parksville. Tom and I had toured Parksville back in early February. I remember it being green and on the ocean.
It still is.
Plants are beautiful.
The Ocean breathtaking.
The boardwalk along the ocean is an absolute delight and a stroll along the wooden boards in the warm sunshine is even better. Here on the Island it doesn't feel like autumn and folks are still in shorts and flip flops. Over the weekend we had our second rainy night and day since we arrived on August 22nd but as we drove through the showers on the Island Highway past Nanaimo and on to Parksville on Sunday, the skies cleared and it really warmed up quite a bit. Enough to have a blizzard at the Parksville DQ facing onto the Ocean.


Palms on the Pacific Ocean
Here on Vancouver Island when it's rainy or if it's early in the morning, the scents make me believe I am in England in December. It just has that English Garden smell about it.


Same climate actually as southern England and with the smell of stables and the sound of horses nearby- it doesn't get much better.


Tally-Ho!