I'm just about done!

12 Apr 19
19:00 hrs

     What the hell is wrong with these people who insist on eating supper late in the evening? I'm not saying that I have to eat at a specific time but anything after 1800 is bullshit.

14 Apr 19
10:00 hrs

     My Lobster has started brunch. I've been up for four hours already. In that time I have played World of Tanks and worked on my new book.

     As an update, all of our dining room chairs have now been recovered. It's a wacky pattern of material but it is not the industrial contractor beige that permeates the Wayward Inn.

     Yesterday saw the first of a whole bunch of realtor open house showings next door. We - my Better Half, the Jr. Couch Monkey and I - are done with trying to clean out that house. Since October we have been involved and now that the house is empty - after three dump runs, a half dozen trips to the local thrift shops, organizing the sale of furniture, et al - and now it is up to the family and the real estate pimps to handle the rest of the articles left behind.

      Last night the Onion taught us a new card game. It may have been lost in translation but the name of the game came out as Cod Piece. The Onion confirmed that this was the title but it was pronounced differently. Cod Piece is funnier.

15 Apr 19
22:00 hrs

     The mobile Wayward Inn has been certified for travel. All that is left for us to do is make the bed, stock the provisions and load the Ram. Friday morning we are out of here. I think I'll take my carving tools along as well. In fact a lot of stuff loaded for the this trip will probably remain in the Ram as I'll be needing it on the Road Trip next month. The only thing I won't toss in now are the coolers, the BAT and my sleeping bag.

     I found my second Halon 1211 firex. I can't find the mount for it but it does fit nicely in a cup holder in the rear seat. I would prefer the proper mount but this will have to do.

     Last night we went out diiner to support a local school - fundraiser - to send their students to the BC Couch Monkey festival. The students performed five songs from their repertoire. They were not vocal songs but percussion instrumental pieces banged out on various sizes of commercial containers from garbage cans to shop pots. My Lobster calls it Tub Thumping.

     I think I have a broken toe. I'm blaming it on the Jr. Couch Monkey but I think it's a case of me hitting him. Its black/ blue and it hurts a lot.

Looking forward not back

04 Apr 19
05:05 hrs

     Today is my youngest Loin Fruit's birthday. He is 19 now and I am very proud of him. He has accomplished so much in the past year and I know that he will go on to bigger and better things. We had a quick celebration for him last night as his Thor's Day schedule is packed. Practical gifts were bestowed upon him. Books, a thermal tea cup from the Onion - they really do look good together, just wishing - , new work gloves and some futuristic - Fallout - currency. We are booked into a local posh seaside restaurant for his Bday meal who's patrons must be 19 or over.

     I have started inspecting the Mobile Wayward Inn for this upcoming season. Since I am no longer doing Animal Control  my weekends are free, so to speak. My Better Half and I plan on making better use of the trailer. Should be fun.

     Everything is greening here in the Valley. Lawns are being mowed, bushes are being trimmed, boats are being prepped for the fishing season and yet people are still getting in a few last runs on the ski hill while planning on doing the back nine in the afternoon. The Valley is a magical place. And no Bugs! Call us spoiled.

11:55 hrs

    

 Sales for my new book are slow. I've donated or gifted as many as I have sold. Hopefully, it will pick up. The copy that I sent to my Member of Parliament was received. Her EA sent a reply stating that the MP would be contacting me after she reads it and that the copies for the PM and MND would be forwarded on to them. Stirring the pot. I have another couple of titles in the works, one of which is a cook book.

17:45 hrs

     The week is done. We have some chores for the weekend but for now the pizza dough is in the bread maker, the Free State of Jones is on Netflix and there's a fine Merlot in my glass.

06 Apr 19
07:45 hrs

     

Its finally raining here in the Valley. We really need the rain as this spring has been one of the driest on record. The lakes are extremely low and with the summer approaching there was concern already that the forest fire season would be a bad one. I heard the provincial government had increased the funding to combat forest fires. It's about time. After a really bad fire in the Okanagan the concept of educating home owners to keep forest fuels - pine needles, dead branches, leaves - free and clear for 50 meters or more from their houses. Wow, what a concept.

The Results are not yet Clear

25 Mar 19
18:00 hrs

     The results of the two year probe into the Tangerine Tyrant's wrong doings have shown NO COLLUSION! This by no means says the big dick is off the hook. It just means that, although it is quite obvious to anyone with half a bloody brain, the investigators could not find a direct link between Russia and the presidential campaign. Time will tell when the investigations being conducted by New York City DA into the Trump Organization are completed. Unlike the federal probes the Tangerine Tyrant has no control over these ones.

26 Mar 19
0600 hrs

     Here in the Valley some crazed Whackadoo decided to torch some buildings. A hostel, a mini-mall and a bridge were hit all on the same night. The hostel is probably a write off, the bridge may be unusable and the mini-mall was undamaged. The good news is the most likely suspect was caught. I have not heard if the individual has been before a judge or if he has retained counsel. I believe that he is still in custody. A friend of ours was driving through the area of the hostel fire and saw a gas can in the middle of the road.

     A major project at the Wayward Inn has been completed. The fence between us an the Albertans has been repaired and replaced. And none too soon either as I was getting tired if finding landmines left in our yard by their chow hound. All that's left is for a bracing rod to be placed on one post and to put the fence decorations back where they belong.

     Some sad news. Kne of the Sages called to tell me that the grandson of a friend of ours has decided to take himself out of the BIG GAME. I have no clue as to why and realistically speaking no one but the deceased will ever know the true reason. What is true is the surviving family members are the victims. My heart goes out to them. The only silver lining is that he had signed his organ donor card and the medics were able to keep the body alive long enough for all the organs to be harvested.

27 Mar 19
06:15 hrs

     My Better Half had noticed that a local small golf course has been swallowed up by a larger one. Last year the smaller one had been up for sale but there were no takers. Yesterday she told me that there is a new sign proclaiming that the larger one is the new owner. I doubt if the new owners will want to operate two separate set of links and it will probably remove the course in favour of building a new gated community within its enclave. The larger course is fast approaching the size of a small town with much more property yet to develop.

     Arrangements have been made for Elric the Stalwart and his Lobster to attend to the Wayward Inn this weekend. The Onion will be instructing the Lobsters and Elric on how to make tamarind rice. Naturally, there will be a salad as well but I am going to doing some baby backs in the Flame Pit.

     I have decided to attempt to make my own chef's knife roll to take with me to the Helgeson Hilton in May. I'll have to go through my scrap material bin to see if I have any heavy cotton cloth. Wish me luck.

It's been a week.

17 Mar 18
08:00 hrs

     It has been a week since the Onion moved into the Wayward Inn. There has been some adjustments, obviously but by all accounts she is much happier in her new digs. Where we gained one, we lost another. Our foster cat, Yanni - aka Knuckles, Mittens, Tripper, Ivan - was finally adopted out. It was a shame really because of all the rental cats we had this one fit in the best and we we planning on keeping him.

     There is plenty of building going on in the Valley. The new pub next to the Church Street bakery is so big the bakery could be placed inside. The new apartment complex on a main street is an imposing four stories and is built right to the edge of the sidewalk. Those houses across the street will probably have to wait an extra half hour to see the sun rise.
Another Rabbit Warren is planned for the corner lot at a major intersection. There will be twenty-four units going in on a plot of land occupied by a single dwelling on upper Royston.

     My Lobster will be going on an extended trip with the Oma-nator this summer. That will leave the Loin Fruits and myself to fend for ourselves. As if that's an issue.

19 Mar 19
    
     The weather here in the Valley has been exceptional but we have had no rain.  Despite being warm the snow pack has not really started to recede which would fill all of the lakes. Especially the one we get our drinking water from where the water level is so low the fish are having a hard time finding a place to crap.

     We are still assisting our neighbour's daughter in emptying out the house for sale. There is only one piece of furniture left inside and we - my Better Half - have been selling off the stuff in the garage for cheap. Hopefully it will be gone soon.

Stepping up and Out!

27 Feb 19
16:45 hrs

     Once again things are changing at the Wayward Inn. We still have our rental cat from KCP and we have no plans of adopting this aged gentle fur ball. As much as he is really nice the last thing we - meaning I - need is another permanent pet. Two is enough.

     The fence is still down at the Wayward Inn. The weather has not been to cooperative of late with below freezing temperatures. It all makes it a bit difficult to remove concrete out of the ground. On a good note the days are getting longer so I may be able to work on fixing it after I'm done my day job. I know my Better Half wants it done as soon as possible so I had better get my ass in gear.

     L'il Sis has rooked me into a road trip to the Sages place for Mother's Day. I'm going to couple that with a road trip to the Helgeson Hilton. The proprietor is hoping that a few of the Olde Boyz will be able to come out to enjoy the annual feast produced in a 8 x 8 foot smoker and you can bet your canine teeth that there will be no cruciferous vegetables being served.

     Our Jr. Couch Monkey's hard work has produced a 3.80 GPA for his first term in college. That's straight A's folks. We are very proud of him. He's done very well and I believe his success can be partially attributed to the anchor of support he has at home. That being said, a fellow classmate is being turfed out of her residence. The Onion, is a foreign national student who is not only going to college but holds down a steady job as well. In fact, there are quite a few foreign students at the local college and who work in a host of positions that our local kids wouldn't touch.

     The Onion, was informed that she will have vacate her residence - she's renting a suite in a house - as the owners now want a friend of theirs to move in. It's not just her but the other two foreign students as well. The school year ends in two months. This is bull shit. Nope. Thirty days notice. Less is better.

     So, being who we are and what we do. We have informed the Onion that for the end of the school year she can move into the Wayward Inn. We did this thinking she would be going back to her homeland at the end of the year. Nope. Only for three weeks and the she will be back for more studies. In order to give her som stability we, meaning my Better Half, said she could stay until the start of the new school year. We're placing her up in the bonus room so it will work out.

02 Mar 19
07:15 hrs

     My Lobster and I ran away. Not far. Just to the Sunshine Coast for a little R&R. We stayed at a delightful place called Secret Beach in Gibsons. While on the coast we dined at the Olde Boot Eatery where Fred is still the chef. It was great to see him again. He's a little bit more grey than the last time I saw him. We also will be seeing Molly's Reach and the Persephone. If you don't know what they are they you've never been a Canadian.

06 Mar 19
15:15 hrs

     I forgot to mention that my new book has been donated to the library in Gibsons  and in Sechelt.  I sold a few too. I'm classifying the trip as a book tour. While we in Sechelt we went to see the Muffin Man and his Better Half. It was great to see them too. They are looking pretty good. They should be considered the original Sages.

    

It's done!

18 Feb 19
21:55 hrs

     It is finally done.
     My second book is now on Amazon and Kindle. Mind you the Kindle version looks a little different because I uploaded it myself. That's right, I uploaded the print copy to KDP - Amazon's printing division - all by myself. I learned a few tricks along the way in regards to formatting and the like. There's no stopping me now. I have at least three more on the back burner. If I tried hard I could probably have at least one of them done by the fall. I don't think that I'll put any more out on Kindle but I do believe that may create a bit of a following. I'll know in a couple of weeks how this one is doing because I will be able to see the sales reports. Did I mention that one of the books will be a cooking guide? Some practical cooking advice for the bachelor.

     As this latest book did not cost me anything to format - the first one cost me a shitload - I believe that I may have some shekels available for some online advertising. Up until now all of my sales promotion has been through word of mouth and shared interests on Facebook. But, for a few dollars Amazon will push forward towards on their suggested list.

19 Feb 19
05:55 hrs

     Up early again. In fact I've been up for two hours already. Dad's alarm clock. Today is the first day of the Sr. Couch Monkey's early shift and someone in the household asked for me to make sure that he was up and ready to go. No problem says I. Now that I'm up and not awake I think I'll make some Monkey Buns with the Sage's recipe. Later on today I have to have the oil changed in the Ram, hit Crappy Tire and go see The Brit. Tomorrow I have to attend a First Aid course out in the Wild Wild West.

     I have the LDR hanging from the gazebo covering the Flame Pit. I hope I have the settings correct. I'm testing the battery duration and the recording settings. I have to make sure I know what the hell I'm doing before this thing goes Out in the Weeds. I would hate to put this unit out, come back two or three weeks later just to discover it wasn't programmed correctly.

21 Feb 19
06:15 hrs

     Many employers require their busy worker bees to hold a first aid certification of some kind. I have been taking first aid courses every three years or less since 1979. I have yet to fail a course except an instructors level course. For some reason I couldn't get past teaching infant CPR. I made the grade on this course. Barely.

22 Feb 19
16:15 hrs

     My Lobster and I are planning on a little road trip. Sans Couch Monkeys. We're going to be travelling in a big circle which means we'll be going no where fast. But will stop in to see the Muffin Man and his Better Half.  This coming Wednesday the will have been married for 65 years. That's impressive for all the right reasons. Hopefully, I'll have some copies of my new book. If I do, I'll give them one.

Work Site Observations

05 Feb 19
19:15 hrs

     For the past few days I have been working on a major building project. Offices, two flight simulators, offices, class rooms and a hangar all in one massive building. Now the vast majority of the tradesmen are well experienced individuals who have a vast amount of knowledge and skills. I'm actually quite impressed with their drive and stamina to work in all forms of weather that we experience here on the Left Coast.

     This doesn't mean that all of the tradesmen are in this group. I said the vast majority. Just like at any other jobsite there are those who make you want to shake your head in wonder. This young Puppychow shows up on the jobsite wearing a Tshirt, a goody his Hi-Viz vest, hard hat, boots and that's it. No outer layer and no gloves.  In -9C with the wind howling.

     "Do you have any gloves you can lend me?"

     There's only one answer to that question: One man, one kit!

     And then there's the time wasted standing about jabbering like a parliament of baboons with Puppychow saying that he didn't know what he was doing here as his work mate wasn't on site. Well then pick up a broom and lend a hand. Just don't stand around with your finger up your hoop because you can do that at home.

06 Feb 19
09:45 hrs

     Another day on site. The lead hand cobbled my Kidlettes with the Pros from Dover in an attempt to light a fire under their ass. The plan worked! There are steel studded walls and densglass walls going up like mad. A good call by the lead hand.

     On another note today is a dear family friend's birthday.  So, a big Happy Birthday  to the Muffin Man on the Sunshine Coast. He's a ripe old age. Older than the Sages too. He and his Better Half used to live across the street from us with their five Couch Monkeys. And boy, were they a handful. He used to work for EGG. That's short for Everybody's Got Gas! The company bounced him from the Prairies to the Left Coast lake country to the Island and finally to the Sunshine Coast where he pulled the pin. The Muffin Man is a great guy with a hearty handshake and love for a good joke. Have a great day. You earned it.

21:30 hrs

     I talked to Li'l Sis this evening. She has some whackadoo idea of me flying out to Cowtown and then going on a road trip with her. Nothing doing. I'm scared when she's behind the wheel.

     I see that my youngest uncle has finally retired. He's three years my senior and his Lobster is a year older than that. I know that I'll be working for a few more years to get ahead of the curve before I can retire. My Better Half has said that I cannot fully retire until she does. All I want is for the damn house to be paid off then the rest is gravy. Hell, if we're free of that big ball and chain then she could pull the pin and I could still do the odd shift just to make life interesting.

     Well Kidlettes, the day is done. Time to rack out and get ready for another fun filled day.