Lisa's Blog

Yesterday we went out on the boat in the late afternoon hours. It was Jeff's birthday and the weather was unbelievable!

Here are some photos:

Here you go Brian, here is our house from the lake:

Here is Jeff setting up his fish finder:

Here is the first fish of the season! We both got little nibbles on our line at the same time, but only Jeff was the successful fisherman!!
(No Brian, we didn't BBQ him, Jeff tossed him back)

Short sleeves on the water on April 3rd!!

Time to head home. Here is Jeff pulling up the anchor.

While I took photos of myself.

Oh my! Look what he caught!

Here is a neat old log cabin cottage on the only island in the lake.

We might need a dock soon. We put the boat in the lake about 3 kms down the road, and the good fishing spot is a km or so in the other direction of our house. The little 8hp motor we have means we have some travel time, but that is okay

The is our wireless internet tower just around the curve from our house.

Awwww life is good.

And I'm recovering from an ear infection so I put on a head set while we screamed travelled down the lake to keep the wind out of my ears.

Why, in spring, as soon as it gets warm, do 92,342,344,234,652 flies hatch in our yard?

Walking across the grass, the entire lawn is buzzing.

Our house is completely covered in house flies, front and back.

Our windows are wooden, and several of them find a way in to buzz in the inside of the windows.

Sally, our cat, loves to chase and eat them, but I think even she has had enough, since Jeff found a couple regurgitated flies on the floor yesterday morning.

Is this normal?

What can we do?

Here's a few quick photos from our back porch:

Day off work, and Jeff was up at 5 o'clock eager to fish.

I delayed him until closer to 9 and we went for a ride! It was cold and foggy but we set out on the lake for the first time. Here are some photos:

3 layers, a fleece toque, and 2 hoods!

Thanks to Brian and Leanne for the waterproof bag they got us for Christmas! We put the camera, binoculars, and fishing licenses in it.

Jeff set up his fish finder. The lake is all about 150 feet deep with a few fish at the very bottom.

We're planning to go back out this afternoon when the sun comes out!

Boat pick-up time was 10am.

Boat location was 15 minutes away.

Round trip time: 5 hours.

Five hours you ask?

Well yes, she did offer us a coffee while she was signing over the boat ownership and Jeff was signing our cheque, but no - we couldn't have been at her place for longer than 15 minutes.

One of the trailer tires on the boat was a little low.  They had warned us earlier, so Jeff brought his air compressor and we pumped it back up.  We hooked the trailer to the truck, drove out her driveway, pulled onto the road and...

POP!

Ahhh no, the tire blew.

No problem Jeff said - we'll just go slow and drive it on the back gravel road to get home.  It's flat but the rubber is still there.

You want me to get out and look at it Jeff?

No, you don't want to see it.

By the time we were well into the middle of nowhere on the back gravel road, the tire had completely shredded and was flapping all over.

This isn't good, says Jeff.  We can't take it on the highway like this.

Uhm... says Lisa.   I guess we should have bought new tires before we picked up?

Well we can't leave it here in the middle of nowhere.  We haven't switched the ownership yet and the boat isn't insured yet.  You think I can wrap the rubber up in robe and form some sort of tire Lisa?

No, I think it's too far gone.  Okay Jeff, I'll stay here with the boat, it's no problem, give me a coat from the truck, and you go find something to get us home.

OK, If I don't find a better idea, I will empty the truck and take the topper off - then we could put the boat in the back and slide the trailer on top.  Okay stay here Lisa. I'll be right back.

And there I was.  On the side of the road, with a boat, surrounded by trees.  It was sunny.  I had my cell phone out so I send a couple tweets out to the world.  And snap a candid picture of the problem:

Soon a big truck pulled up and the driver rolled down his window to see what was up.

True to form for a local, he wasn't satisfied just talking to me, he had to place me into the fabric of his landscape.  Within 4 minutes, he knew where I lived, what house, who we bought it from, who our neighbour was, where I went to school, where I worked, who my husband was, where he worked, that we just bought the boat, that it wasn't insured yet, who we bought the boat from, where we came from in Ontario, and even who build our house originally.  Normal conversation when you chat with a local.  I assured him I would be okay and that Jeff would figure something out.  He was off to look at a stand of timber he was going to cut (he was a logger) so off he went.

I walked down the road a bit where I saw a big block of a freshly cut log. It must have fallen off a truck of firewood or something.  I carried it back to the boat and sat myself down.

Jeff was back in no time.  He had some tools to take off the tire, but couldn't think or find anything that would work as a make shift tire.

Unfortunately the nuts on the tire were really sunk in and the normal ratchet wasn't long enough.  Jeff sent me back to the house in the truck for supplies.  If he could get the tire off, then I could go to town and find a replacement.

From home I grabbed more tools, a wind up radio, crackers, some chips, cheese sticks, a container of water, and a lawn chair for him.  Oh yeah and a knife in case it turned ugly out there.

It took two of us to get the really seized nuts loose so the tire could come off.  Just as we walked over to see if we could see a size number on the other tire, a car came along the dirt road and stopped beside us.  The engine turned off.

I had been bent over looking at the tire.  When I looked up and into the car I saw a man on the passenger side and the shadow of a man at the drivers side.  They stopped to see what the problem was.  The passenger man smiled his big grin and all I could see was the three remaining teeth he had clustered together on his bottom jaw.  If he had any other teeth, they weren't visible.

Over the course of the next 3 cigarettes he smoked, they asked us all about the fishing around here, and what each lake was like.  The driver offered Jeff a beer.  Jeff passed, and the passenger was glad, because they only had 2 left. We learned how the passenger had spent some time in jail because he over fished and refused to pay his fine.  They bashed the government and cops a little bit and I was getting uneasy they were about to ask what Jeff did for a living.

Eventually they mosied on.  Jeff gave me all the info I need to know to get the right tire from Canadian Tire and off I went, leaving him there on the side of the road.

I stopped at home to get a measuring tape to measure the diameter of the rim on the shredded tire. I quickly switched from the truck to the car too because I prefer driving my little car (even with the annoying studded tires on).  I zipped into Antigonish and headed straight for the Canadian Tire.  It doesn't open until noon on a Sunday but it was well past that by that time.

I scurried around looking for trailer tires and came up with nothing.  A couple of people were lingering by the automotive desk so I joined the crowd. The auto desk wasn't open on a Sunday, but eventually I got a young man's attention.  He tried looking on the computer to see if they had any 13 inch diameter trailer tires with 4 holes for the bolts.  He said, are you sure its a 13 inch and not a 12?  Well I did measure, but the tire is in the car.  Well bring it in if you can and we'll match it up.

Off I go back through the mall entrance back to the car to fetch the shredded tire.  I also fetched a glove because you'd be surprised how sharp a shredded tire is!

As I walked back into the mall towards Canadian Tire, everyone was noticing the tire and wincing.  You'd be surprised at the sympathetic looks when you are carrying such a mess.  Even more so when I reached the automotive counter and explained my husband was still on the side of the road so I would appreciate any tire they had that matched.

Luckily they did.

So I asked for two.

It really didn't matter the price at that point.

After 10 more minutes of waiting for an employee to find the tires in the back, and then waiting for the kind man to find a cart for them both, I was back on my mission.

Almost.

Wait ma'am. Would you like to keep this one?  If you sand down the rim you'd have yourself a good rim for a spare!

OK, I'll take it.

Off I went, to the cash, catching a couple more sympathetic ewwww's and winces.  I paid the bill and headed out to load them in the back of the car.

Then my cell phone rang.  It was Jeff calling from his lawn chair on the side of the road.   He told me to stop at home and pick up the jerry can because he thought the truck was at risk of running out of gas.  Good thing I took the car!  I'll see you in 30 minutes I said.

Zoom! I zipped back home, grabbed the jerry can of gas, moved the tires into the truck, and headed off to find my husband.

When I pulled up, Jeff was checking his watch.

3 and a half minutes he said.

Pardon?

I gave you an hour an a half and you beat it by 3 and a half minutes.

Well done I thought.

I folded up his lawn chair and asked how many friends he met.  Only two people stopped after I left, and two just sped on by.

It didn't take too long to put the new tire on and we were back in business!

It didn't even matter that the shredded tire had smashed off the rear trailer light, because the wires were all damaged and in pieces so we didn't have legal trailer lights anyway.  It was just supposed to be a quick drive home!

Now, let me present to you......

Our new boat  :

New tire!

The motor is shiny and looks brand new inside.  The previous owner had the boat for at least 10 years, but it was used very rarely.  He just wanted to fish with his grandson.

I'm sure you would like to see the old tire!

We headed out early yesterday for the Outdoor and RV Show in Halifax.  It was a decent sized show.  I didn't see any freebies, but there were draws everywhere, and  many RVs indoors for us to dream about our retirement years after our lottery win, travelling around the continent with our dog and two cats

Today is Sunday and if you ask Jeff he will tell you exactly how many minutes are left until we go pick up the used 14 foot aluminum boat we're buying!  He is really excited.  He was up before the sunrise both days this weekend - I don't think he can sleep from all the excitement!

Of course, in a few hours we will own a boat, but most of the lake is still covered in ICE!

Anyway, we enjoyed the outdoor show, and after the show we had lots of time to shop in Halifax.  Our shopping choices are very limited in our rural area of the province where costs are high, incomes are low, and selection is limited. We hit Home Depot, Linens and Things (well, I peaked in the window to see they have closed up shop), Homesense, Home Outfitters, and Costco!

I am not good at spending money, but I did finally find a shower curtain! I've used and rewashed the awful green fabric one that came with this house for 2.5 years now, but now I have a brand new liner and lacy curtain.  Now I am inspired to repaint and decorate the main bathroom!

I've wanted to redo our kitchen for awhile too.  But new kitchen cupboards are really out of our spending limit, so we picked out new hardware for the cabinet doors and drawers.  What a difference!!  It is true - you can change the entire look of your kitchen with new hardware!  Some hardware is steep - but we found some that were just over $4 a piece.  Next in the plan is a new countertop and some paint and I think I'd like to tile a backsplash.  Someday this house will feel like it's really ours, and done in our style!

We had a gift certificate for Montana's restaurant so we had a delicious lunch in the city.  I ordered the sizzling chicken fajitas.  When you orders those, you get a huge spread and get to make your own! They bring a sizzling hot pan with chicken, peppers, and onions, and you also get a dish of cheese, lettuce, tomato, and of course a little dish each of salsa, sour cream, and guacamole!  I ate like a queen and filled those tortillas full of flavour and even defied gravity and didn't get any on my white shirt ! 

The temperature hit 18°C on the way back from Halifax.  It was sunny but dusty and smokey.  It was a dry winter, and an early spring.  People Idiots everywhere are lighting up grass fires, either intentionally or accidentally.  The Halifax municipality has already put on a fire ban.  Perhaps the rest of the province should have done the same.

This morning I can see that the raccoons were back over night. Two of my bird feeders were tilted, empty, and one had a couple of the plastic panels knocked out.  Hungry buggers.  Too bad the bird feeder poles aren't a bit longer so the fat raccoons would have to jump higher.