Going Up!

20 Apr 21

21:30 hrs

     The big Rabbit Hutch development near the Wayward Inn is reaching for the sky. There is now a crane on site for setting the next two floors and the roof. This is just one of four buildings in this development and when completed I'll have to look for a different route to the Wayward Inn as the traffic will be heavy. Of course, all the town would have to do is add a left turn only signal at the nearest intersection. But, they won't. 

     The huge Vertical Rabbit Hutch being constructed across the bay is getting even bigger. One portion looks to be, dare I say it, FIVE STORIES TALL! Has city hall gone mad! Its probably an observation level for the senior citizens who will be living there and not actual living quarters and that's how the construction company got away with it.

22 Apr 21

19:30 hrs

     Today is the Sr. Sage's birthday. Eighty years young he is! He and his Lobster had dinner at a relatives place (they are all inside the same Beer Flu bubble). He recieved a number of phone calls and a whole bunch of cards full of well wishes. My Lobster and the Couch Monkeys call him as well.

     A co-worker went across the Strait with her Better Half early this morning. His liver has been failing for years and after a battle with some medical morons he was placed on the waiting list for a transplant. They got the call and headed for the ferry. At the hospital he was called in for the surgery prep but at the last minute it was determined that the liver was no longer viable. The trip wasn't a total loss as they now know what to expect the next time.

23 Apr 21

05:00 hrs

     Here in the Valley there are two main bridges that connect the two sides of the community. The older one is right downtown and it will be under going some maintenance for the next five or six months. As a result traffic will be down to a single snail's pace crawl.

11:00 hrs

     I happened to be cruising down the main drag - I was off work early - when I spotted another Rabbit Hutch in the process of being hatched. I don't know if it will be rentals or for purchase but seeing the building going up is a good sign. Lord knows we need more housing but please make it affordable for those who need it. If I owned a building I would charge the renters a rate that was a percentage of their pay. Say 25%. You make 50K after taxes. That's $12,500 per annum or 

$1,042 a month. You're making only 30K then you'll be paying $7,500 per year or $625 a month. Those making minimum wage - less than $20K - will only have a two bedroom place and each will be required to pay 12.5% or $208 a month. I think I would call the place "The Social Arms".

Another project!

09 Apr 21

05:15 hrs

     Before I begin Dear Readers I would like to note that His Royal Highness Prince Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh has passed away at the ripe old age of 99. As a cadet I had participated in the youth challenge program that he had started, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, finally being awarded the gold standard. May he rest in piece.

     If you have seen my social media page you will have seen that my Sr. Couch Monkey decided to try his hand at making his own batch of hot sauce. Here at the Wayward Inn we all enjoy the spicier things in our diet just a little bit and so we welcomed his attempt at the recipe, which was for a huge batch of sauce. He decided to reduce the size of his first batch to 1/4 of the recipe. Despite not having the correct equipment and despite never having attempted to make any kind of condiment or home preserve I am proud to say that his first batch is some pretty good stuff. Heavy garlic, kinda sweet with an early burn. I would like him to keep track of his recipes so he can repeat the successes and learn from the failures. My interest in my eldest's kitchen works has lead my Lobster to conclude that the home manufacture of hot sauce will become a competition. Maybe. Probably. I'm already looking to purchase the correct container for fermenting peppers and I'm devising my own recipes, which will be recorded. 

11 Apr 21

08:00 hrs

     A couple of days ago I had hauled out the smoker for the start of the season. That in itself is incorrect as here On the Rock there really isn't a time of year when you cannot use a smoker. If you were living anywhere on the Home Prairie it would be extremely difficult during the winter months to get it up to temp. Mind you there are some Prairie Die Hards who will fire up their Flame Pit within the shelter of the garage after donning the snow suit and cracking the door for ventilation. Anyways, for this first go I selected a pork loin roast and some mild Italian sausages. I also did a couple of onions and a block of non-meat stuff for my Jr. Loin Fruit. In the end, the onions could have cooked longer and Jr. stated the block of stuff turned out too smokey. Fair enough,  I won't have to trouble myself with that again.

     Speaking of the Jr. Couch Monkey, he did not pass his driver's exam. Don't get me wrong, he is a good driver but if anything he is too kind. He slowed down so someone could cross the street and a did couple of other nice things racking up too many demerits.

14 Apr 21

05:45 hrs

     Yesterday I had to pick up a 1/2" sheet of plywood for the new book house. Can you believe $65 for a sheet of plywood? A 3/4" sheet is $94 before taxes. Insane! It will take me some time to build but taking some lessons learned from the last one I hope to do a bang up job on this one. Kne thing for sure is this one will be simpler and bigger. Much bigger. 

     Well, Dear Readers this has gone on too long. If you live here in The Valley take a look around and you will see more unaffordable vertical rabbit hutches being built.

Working at things

24 Mar 21

05:30 hrs

     Hello Dear Readers, 

     What's shaking?

     Things are progressing along here at the Wayward Inn. Day by day, week by week we are marching steadily towards summer to the point where you will find my lazing outside with a nice Cuban rum on ice. Sounds delicious doesn't it. Now add the sound and smells of food on the Flame Pit. 

     Back in the Nation's Capital The Oma-nator lost a dear friend. She was 90+ years young. Her husband had passed away six months earlier. Both of them were living in a seniors facility that was right across the street (six lanes wide) from their home. Their son resides in the house and he is battling a resurgence of leukemia. Bad news all around.

     My Sister in-Law, The Sorceress of the Golden Horseshoe, has been thwarted. A local eye doc has provided me with a potion that blocks the sharp stabbing pains that I personally have attributed to the Voodoo Doll being used down east. Additionally, she and her Lobster are pulling up roots and heading farther down the lake front. Good on them. They've been in the place for a couple of decades and its time for something easier on the body. Something with less stairs! 

     Speaking of pulling up roots, my Lobster had me yank out a couple of bushes that were either under performing or not to her liking. She has a plan to put something else in their place. I'm looking for lots of ground cover to choke out the weeds.

30 Mar 21

05:30 hrs

     Good Morning Dear Readers!

     March had come in like a Lion and two days ago it was acting like a Lion again with hail and high winds. It sure took the Valley by surprise. Since then the sun has been shining but the winds have been out of the north. I guess I can't bitch. Our Redneck Province next door went from 15°C to a full blown blizzard that caused a seventy vehicle pile up. I buddy of mine is a long haul driver who is getting long in the tooth too. Eventhough he has a gazillion miles of safe driving under his belt I worry about him sometimes. 

06:45 hrs.

     I was on my way into work and there was a line of cars behind me. All of us were turning left. After the turn I checked my mirrors and noted three of the four cars behind me all took a second left into the coffee shop on the corner. I don't know if they were purchasing just a coffee or maybe it was a full blown breakfast.  Either way I can't imagine the amount of cash these people are going through every week or month or year. Just think of it. Ar $2 for just a coffee that's $10 for the week and $40 for the month and $520 for the year. Add a few bagels and you can easily top $1000 a year. And this is the cheap place. Think how much is spent when people go to a full blown barista joint wher the prices are tripled. Now, I enjoy my coffee. I think if you were to draw a pint from me it would come out as dark roast. When i was doing the patrol job I used to buy one extra large cup from the local coffee joint per day when I was on duty. So, fourteen cups a month. And, I would make it last all day. I'm an old line servicing rat so drinking cold coffee is nothing new to me. But now, I take one thermal cup and a thermos full and even then I may not finish it. Is that amount of coffee cheaper. Sure is when I'm buying a one kilo can for $8.

09:30 hrs.

     On the drive in this morning I also noticed that the walls on the development near the Wayward Inn are stating to go up. My Lobster and I have also learned that there will be four buildings all with underground parking, between the buildings there will be a green space with a dog run and solar panels on the roof (probably a grid-tied system). There will be twenty four condos and two hundred apartments. On the ground floor of one of the buildings will be commercial space. The price tag for these units are anyone's guess but I would imagine the condos will go for $600K and the apartments will tent for $1600 a month. It's just a guess but the new units by the BIG BOX STORE are $650K and that's partly because it has the  Tiara Island Estates develipment attached to its name. Cha-ching! This brings about the notion of what is affordable housing and when will truly affordable housing going to be built here in the Valley. Right now there is no way our Sr. Couch Monkey could afford to move into one of these places. Not when he's earning just above minimum wage and working just under full time hours. Sure, he could try to work two part time jobs but the stress would kill him. He could find a roomie to cover half the rent but I'm not sure that work either. 

31 Mar 21

09:00 hrs

     Last night my Lobster, the Oma-nator and I went out to run some errands. This included measuring a bookhouse for its dimensions as I have to construct a new one. On our way back to the Wayward Inn we were driving along the ocean when traffic started to slow. We had no idea what the hold up was. It was too late in the day for construction. Maybe an accident? We rounded the corner and witnessed the Penny Boys loading a house onto a barge.  The barge was being held against the shore by several small tugs. It already had two houses on board and besides the one being loadedtbere was room for the fourth one sitting on cribbing. How big were the houses. I don't know. Single storey, 40 x 40 feet or so. Maybe the powers that be have stated the houses can no longer be stored in that place prior to being sold. I don't know but it was really cool to see how they were being moved.

     One final note. My Sr. Loin Fruit has decided to make his own hot sauce. We go through a lot of hot sauces at the Wayward Inn so he decided to make some. Of course my Lobster said that it will end up in a competition. 

     And, it will.

Another one gone

13 Mar 21

19:30 hrs

     A couple of days ago I learned that one of my very first supervisors has passed away. He was a mentor and had even taught me how to play Beer Baseball. The last time I spoke to him in person was in 1988 when I was moving from The Rock to The Peg. Since then I had learned that he was back on The Rock and then actually living near The Sages. I tried to contact him but with no luck. On hearing of his death I contacted others who had worked with him, my Friend from Over the Hump was one, and gave them the sad news. The next time some of us get together we will certainly raise several glasses.

14 Mar 21

09:00 hrs

     Yesterday, we did a bunch of yard work at the Wayward Inn. Weeds were pulled, gates were re-hung and the front porch was pressure washed. While this was happening my Better Half saw someone and their child put some books into one of our book houses. Kids books into the Kids Book House. Great. Except that not all books are of the same size and not all books fit into the book house. But, L'il Johnny just has to put the book in! Full force! All the way to the back and then close the door blowing the back off of the book house. I was not informed of this until today and when I looked out I could see the back of the book house bent outwards with the rain going inwards. I ran outside and secured the books, retrieved the necessary tools and removed the broken book house. It is sitting in the shop awaiting my attention for repairs. My Better Half and I got into a heated - well, I wouldn't call it a discussion - shall we say a conflict of points of view. She forgot to tell me which is fine but I was pissed at the ineptitude of people trying to put a eight inch wide book in a book house that's only five inches deep. These are the same fungi for brains individuals who take up two parking spots with one vehicle. I now have to come up with a plan to secure the back of the book house - it's only press board - in such a manner to protect it from the cosmically stupid!

15 Mar 21

05:45 hrs

     Have you seen Interstellar on Netflix? It a space movie, obviously. But, it is unlike any space movie that I have seen. Matthew McConaughey stars in it. And, I have to warn you there is some scientific theories you will have to wrap your head around. 

21:00 hrs

     Oh, before I forget...today was the Ides of March. I remember a Canadian comedy pair - W & S - did a skit called Rinse the Blood off My Toga. It's about Big Julie's wife telling him not to go to the Senate, advice that he ignored and he got it in the back...and in the front...and in both sides. You can find it on YouTube and it's worth watching.

     Work on  repairing the broken book house has started. I should have it completed by the end of the week. I've also started building and shaping the electronics storage container for my gear when I'm Out in the Weeds. Bionic ear, audio recorders, trail cameras, radios, etc all in one spot and in a dry lockable case.

     My latest tome has been completed and the cover has been done as well - Who Let the Gouts Out! I have sent a digital copy to a friend of mine on the continent to get his opinion. If there is you of you Dear Readers would also like to preview the book send me a message. First one wins the race

     That's all folks. Take care of yourselves and each other. 

Road Trip!

06 Mar 21

11:45 hrs

     We took a road trip north to River City mainly because the weather was nice for the drive and it was good to get out from the Wayward Inn and because my Lobster wanted a bubble tea and there is a place in River City that supposedly has the best bubble tea around. I'll have a coffee thanks. Something that I dont have to chew to drink. The Oma-nator joined us on the drive spotting lots of houses she would want to live in because their so far out in the woods. She's so much fun.

     On the way up I spotted a lot of shithole properties. These are places you normally wouldn't see because of the foliage and as a driver I would have the time to stare deep into the woods along the side of the highway. As the passenger in the back of the Better Half's wheels I saw a lot of residences that would make a professional dumpster diver smile. Trucks, cars, RV's, freezers and all of them trashed nestled against collapsed buildings that people may still be living in. 

     In River City we noted the new road work past the apartment that the Travelling Relatives used to live in is pretty well completed including a new roundabout at the intersection with the road coming off of the hill. This was a smart play as drivers always found it difficult turning onto or off of that road. There are several new apartment blocks that have gone up. Some are quite nice and are more than the maximum height allowed by the Valley's moronic building codes. I had dashed into a sports shop to check on some archery stuff. Unfortunately, the staff member I needed to speak to was occupied with another person. I'll call him later. 

     On the way home we saw quite a few trumpeter swans in the fields. In the next couple of weeks they will be winging their way back north to their breeding grounds. I have to assist the Jr. Loin Fruit in putting the plates onto the Better Half's old car. We gifted it to him. Next week I'll show him how to change a tire. 

Here's a Question!

02 Mar 21

07:30 hrs

     Good Morning Dear Readers!

     And what lovely morning it is. Mid level overcast and 1°C. We could get some precip here in the Valley as well but the winds have dropped to next to nothing. I hope your day is shaping up well. Anyways, let's get right to it shall we?

     Foibles! Call it what you will but everyone knows of someone who has a quirk, a foible or some idiosyncrasy that makes that person interesting, or unique, or odd, or a pain in the ass. Many times these acts are simply a display of the person's (un)diagnosed mental condition  - Knock Knock Knock Penny. I'm not going to point out out any specific individual's foibles I just wanted to highlight the fact that I think all of us have something that makes us human.

03 Mar 21

06:30 hrs

     The sun is starting to come up and I can see we have some high overcast clouds. Yesterday my Sr. Couch Monkey picked up the sheath for the filet knife I gave him for Christmas. He had contacted a local leather worker and had commissioned the work. It's pretty nice and moreover I'm proud that he sourced out a local artist to have the work done. 

     The massive destruction/reconstruction project at CFB Lompoc continues. I think the work is still on schedule. It's hard to tell with all the road being torn up. I've talked to the head contractor a couple of times and he has assured me that there is a method to the madness. The issue is that despite the roads being torn up they still have to be passable so people can get to work.

     Here's another question - When will the local transportation engineers pull their heads out of their ass? As seen in the local cage liner some moron in the anni g department has decided to put a pedestrian crosswalk across a three lane road. Normally, this isn't a bad thing as it would allow pedestrians to cross a road more directly than walking a half mile in one direction before crossing the road at a controlled intersection before returning a half mile on the opposite side of the road. The problem is that the selected crosdi g point is at the top of a very long hill where all drivers, myself included, tend to increase their speed when going uphill until they may be doing 20km or more over the posted speed limit. And now some bookworm engineer will expect all that traffic to come to a screaming halt when someone pushes the crosswalk button. Mark my words somebody is going to get killed! Do they need a safe way to cross the road at the point? Sure, but what they should be building is a ramped overhead walkway. I heard the idea was investigated but the cost would be close to $10 million. Well, I would rather see the money spent on an overhead walkway than some stupid bridge across the river for cyclists and our Residentially Challenged persons when one already exists one block over.

20:15 hrs

     I just finished a podcast with Sheldon. I think it went pretty good. Look for Nicola Valley Bigfoot on your favourite podcast site. He's had his own interactions when Out in the Weeds and I mentioned to him that maybe we could arrange something on the Rock or if I came through on my way to the Sages I might stay over a couple of days and check out his research area.

The Latest

25 Feb 21

06:45 hrs

     I'm currently sitting at the worksite awaiting the contractors to arrive. Yesterday was the Oma-nator's eighty-eight birthday. Chef Blaine had prepped homemade Angus beef burgers on Tuesday so all he had to do was toss them on the Flame Pit. The Jr. Loin Fruit had his veggie patties. We dined, she opened her presents and we had three games of trouble. She won two and I took the last one. She must have thanked us a gazillion times for all that we have done for her. Trust me when I day that all that we do is nothing that we wouldn't do for anyone but I think that the Oma-nator is still not used to people looking after her or doing the little things that makes her life better. It's great when I can have her smile and laugh.

     We had an armed robbery her in the Valley. Some mook assaulted and robbed a lady working the night shift after she locked up. The good news is the Queens's Cowboys have a suspect in custody. Good on them.

     I was making my lunch for the day - in my opinion any guy who relies on his Better Half to make his lunch for work deserves to eat sardine and peanut butter sandwiches - and I was watching the comedian C. Rock. I had recorded it a while ago and since I have hearing aids I have a device that broadcasts the audio to my hearing aids and it doesn't disturb anyone's sleep. The program is about a dozen years old so some parts of his act are dated but overall it is some pretty funny stuff. 

     I just heard on the radio that the Great White North will be getting another Top Dog to run the military. Two months ago the Army Guy retired. No big deal as his time was done. A Wavey Navy guy was appointed - the Head Feds like to rotate the position between the three elements - and now he has announced that he is suddenly stepping down. It is know that the Army guy is now under investigation for possible sexual assault and it was hinted that the Wavey Navy guy may be under investigation by the military's investigative service for undisclosed crimes. Whatever they are the crimes must be sufficiently embarrassing or criminal in nature for him to step down. Our YESMAN, the MND, is now searching the upper ranks for the next CDS.

26 Feb 21

08:30 hrs

     I'm not out on the jobsite today. The contractors poured the concrete yesterday and is awaiting approval to push forward.  Monday will be the next start date. So, I'm home with the Oma-nator. I've been calling the Sages more often and it seems to have lifted their spirits. They had a dump of snow the other night and a neighbour came over to dig them out. He does the driveway and the Sages shovel the walkway to the back of the house. They've offered to pay the guy and he says he dies it for the exercise. 

     Do you have slow drivers in your neighborhood? Sometimes I think they are worse than speeders. What about the people who don't know or care if they have a headlight burned out? I've seen morons in the Valley driving around at night with just their daytime running lights on thinking that those are the headlights. The issue is when the daytime lights are on the vehicle's tail lights are not so what happens is a driver approaching from behind may not know that a vehicle is in front of him. Daytime running lights are standard in vehicles sold in the Great White North but not in the Hugh-ess.

21:00 hrs

     I learned today that one of my favourite comedy shows is returning after ending seventeen years ago. It is unclear if the main character, Frasier Crane, will be accompanied by any of his former actors. I always found the original show to be witty and fresh - it was nominated for 318 awards and received 112 including 37 Emmys. 

     I have successfully mounted the truck step in the tail gate. I did it while I was at work as all I was doing was watching the contractors dig holes in the ground. I did notice that the two rungs of the ladder portion should have angular supports to strengthen the center. I would really have it collapse when someone is on it, let alone me. I do know of a fabricator who does some pretty good work. His shop is up by the office we used when I was on Puppy Patrol.

27 Feb 21

13:15 hrs

     Where has the month gone? I know it's the shortest month of the year but bang zoom it's gone already. This morning I went to the Jam Lady and bought some jams for the Oma-nator who really likes her jams. It's all organic and its local and I'm proud to support her. When I got back to the Wayward Inn I grabbed the pruner and cleaned up the blueberry bushes, the variegated apple tree and the two Saskatoon berry bushes. I picked up some de-mossing stuff and fruit/berry plant fertilizer. I'll put that on next week. Maybe this year I'll get enough to make a Saskatoon berry pie. I know that I would enjoy it. L'il Sis says she can buy Saskatoon berries by the bagful in Cowtown and that there is a huge berry orchard just outside of town. That would be a sight to see. 

     Well Kidlettes,  this blurb is done. Enjoy and be safe. Things may get worse before they get better. So hang tough.