Today, I Became A Cherry Picker!

June 28th at 9:00 am it was 29 degrees and climbing.

We drove up Green Ave., across South Main and then up, up, up an increasingly narrowing road to the U-Pick (cherries).

The farmer lady ushered us through a gate and into the orchard.  That step in was the first I've ever set into an orchard.  She gave us each a bucket (Dakota was with us) and directed us to where we could begin our pick and how not to break off the little brown stem from which the cherry stem grows from.  She also warned to watch for cherries with soft spots and little pinholes.  I didn't ask but I'm assuming worms were getting fill.

The ground was littered with squished fruit and every once in a while the air brought the scent of rotting fruit to your nostrils.

Blair left with a full belly of cherries.

1st I was a little worried about bugs jumping out at me (black widow spiders).  2nd I hadn't yet realized that the hook on the pail is to hang the bucket from a branch to make from easier picking.

Dakota's attempt at camouflage.

We each picked about 1/2 a bucket, which came to $21. 

The farmer gave us instruction on how to freeze them.  From there we went to Canadian Tire and bought an olive/cherry pitting tool and headed over to Dakota and Keaton's apartment to attack the juicy job.  We plan to use them for smoothies, fruit ice and to make cherry Coke!

Unfortunately for our friends who cherry picked last summer and arrive in less than a week, we're told cherry picking season will be over.  With the heat this spring the cherries are weeks ahead of schedule.  The farmer said that pickers came to pick what could be flown out but they were already a week too late for shipping.

Now I'm wishing we had a little freezer that we could fill with fruit and veggies, picked and prepared by our own hands.

I was going to object to going out on this little outing, because of the heat, but I'm glad I didn't.  I survived the heat and possible spider attack and came away with a fresh sense of further embracing a little more of what the Okanagan offer those who partake in it's bounty and beauty.  A reminder of why we want to live here.

Living Simple to Simply LIVE!

Too Dang HOT to Live In A Tin Can

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OMG!

It is HOT!

Our air conditioner has run non-stop all day.  We also have a ceiling fan, 2 little fans and our big TURBO fan running and still we're feeling like we're living in a sauna.  The air is so heavy outside that sitting in the shade is almost unbearable.  Better yet...We could hit 40 degrees this weekend!

After supper we headed to the ice cream shop for something cool and yummy...Even Z got a little cup of vanilla ice cream from the lady behind the counter.  We're crossing our fingers that we don't pay for this little indulgence Z partook in. 

Mads has been beach hopping this past week and yesterday she went standup paddle boarding for the first time.  She has earned her sun burnt back.  Lots of lotion and shade for the next few days.

Things have been all too quiet as far as the business start up.  He's frustrated, understandably.  Especially, as the campgrounds, hotels and beaches fill up with vacationers.

With caulking gun in hand, Blair has been kept busy combating the continually leaking shower.  Nearly every inch has been re-caulked and newly installed fixtures.  I thought I'd become "the one who saved the day", when I suggested there was a gap between the shower surround and where there is a large 'porthole' in the surround (used to check pipes and attachments).  So Blair caulked that too!  When I got home today a small, mysterious and constant drip appeared to run down the shower wall from somewhere on or around the newly installed hot/cold fixture.  Ahhhhh!  Blair finally claimed defeat and called in and RV Tech.

The RV Tech. came in looked at the shower and told Blair to remove the new hardware (which apparently we didn't need to buy and replace) and turn it upside down.  This puts the attachment for the shower hose facing the floor to keep water from building up and looking for an escape route.  Then he left.  So thankful that he didn't charge us for the 'house call'. 

So now we watch caulking dry again.  Madison whining for a nice cold shower to cool the heat radiating off her back.  Me thinking about how nice it would be to have a cool shower before bed to help me fall asleep.  Blair really hoping this is the end of the issue.

A few evenings back, I suggested to Blair that maybe God was helping him by keeping him distracted with seeking out solutions to fix the shower.  It could give him something else to think about beside the business needing business.  Blair's reply was that if God wanted to keep him busy He could make some orders happen.  I guess we better submit an order for some orders.

Our Tiny Home Fact:  We have a basement!  Yes we do.  The storage compartments under a 5th wheel or travel trailer is called a "basement".  Just like a big house basement it can be a little frightening to go into (just ask Keaton, when Blair made him wiggle into ours).  Unlike a big house basement if we thought we'd find a cool refuge for sleeping tonight, we'd be very wrong.

There's lots happening in The Pen over the weekend:
Elvis Fest
Beach City Cruise
Penticton Farmer's Market


Living Simple to Simply LIVE!

Poor Charlie Brown...

“Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them.”
― Steve Maraboli
  Life, the Truth, and Being Free 

I wonder if the feeling that we're camping will eventually, maybe without notice, awaken to the reality that this is it.  This is home.

Z is demonstrating stress and anxiety.  I think he's waiting to go back home and he's fearful that when we leave, we're going home without him.

This week we dug out some planters and garden ornaments.  I planted some strawberries, hens & chicks and a couple of palms (to mask our scooters stored under the RV).  I poked in a few solar lights in a few planters and the park beds. 

Friday Dakota and I gave Blair his Father's Day gift (propane fire bowl), hoping we could sit around a fire for the evening.  Unfortunately the wind picked up, so we set out across the park to the Beach House restaurant.  in my opinion they make the best deep fried pickles, we've had in town so far!  I had remembered to get some games from the boys and we played Skip Bo till I was so out of it that I was speaking gibberish.  

Saturday we entertained our first guests Scott & Julie and Dakota & Keaton (Julie, you make the best Greek salad!) this weekend.  The rain held off long enough to enough for us to enjoy our bbq dinner.  When the wind and rain came in, we made our way indoors and I was pleased to see that there was plenty of room for 6 adults, a teen and a dog.

As we were closing everything up for the night, Blair noticed a pool of water on the floor.  We began open cupboards to discover that it was likely coming from the bathroom.  Mads had just had a shower and Blair had some concern about the caulking around the shower base.  One of the joys of purchasing third-hand...We inherit the problems others didn't deal with.  

I did feel a twinge of defeat and thought, 'Oh, come on!  Can't we get a break already!'.  When Blair was having issues with the caulking this morning (his Father's Day), he wanted to "kick something".  I have to give Blair a ton of credit because it seems like we're faced every week with another RV living challenge, that he takes on with the help of the internet.

We'll be needing the shower this week ahead for sure and there will be no need for warm water.  The forecast is 40 degree weather till the end of the month.  I'm real excited (sarcasm) that the air conditioning doesn't seem to make to our bedroom in the RV.  I think we'll be heading up to the storage unit to dig out our Turbo fan.

We're counting down the days till our Alberta friends (Rick & Sue) arrive (July 4 & 5)!  Very sad that we won't have a much time as we've had the past 2 summers, but we're going to make the most of it!  Fruity ice drinks, stories, laughter and maybe even some karaoke (if Sue can control her sign language).

Going to sign off because my feet are no longer in the shade and they're burning!

Living Simple to Simply LIVE!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY BLAIR!!!

 

Breathing Room

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The moment we arrived it was like the anxiety that had been building up, drifted away with the gusty wind.  With the stabilizers firmly in place we could sense that now we are where we can begin to put down our roots.  We can take a deep breath and begin again...

At this very moment I'm listening to the chatter coming from the covey of quail right out side the window.  All day they and Killdeer have been scurrying about.  I love it!

Also love that the helicopter took a day off!  We're right beside the airport.

Our shelter, our own patch of green, our own parking, our home...

I think they've done a very nice job of sprucing up this once rundown trailer park.  A challenge for me will be backing in without hitting a post and wiping out these wonderful little rock gardens.  Did I mention I backed into Blair's truck last week?  Ugh!  Even with a backup camera and alarm...

There's quite a bit of room behind the RV and we're in discussion about possible a little deck, sunshade, or a place to sit around a fire bowl.  All of which will very likely get put on hold until next year.

This morning Blair's mission was to get a bar-b-q...And then put it together!  Keaton came over and we had our first home cooked meal in weeks.  Our poor girl will have to wait a little longer, she just got a mouth full of metal and feels like her teeth are all going to fall out.  Those pork chops, boiling potatoes and salad have never tasted so good!

Tents have been popping up on the center grounds all day.  Yet all remains peaceful.

Tomorrow we will hunt down the grounds manager and get ourselves one of the nice new picnic tables.  I might see if there's anything left for flowers in the garden centers and add some color and hominess to our lot.  We also need to dig through the storage unit and find the toaster, Magic Bullet, cutlery, beach towels...Our creature comforts.

Living Simple to Simply LIVE!

Hanging Out Our Dirty Laundry

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With a roll of Loonies and some quarters Blair tackled our ever-multiplying mountain of laundry.  No, I have not trained him well.  Blair does do laundry on occasion and sometimes out of necessity.  Yesterday he had a quiet day at home and he was tiered of tripping over the basket in the "hall way".

I did give stern instructions: "Do not throw everything together".

He has no regard for sorting lights and darks.  Our children have inherited this dingy whites gene from their father.  Finally something they can't blame on me!

I am pleased to report that Blair did heed my warning.

The light results were perfect.

Blair warned me that some of the clothes were still "damp".

As I began to pull clothes off the pile, they seemed to be getting damper and um...down right wet.

Trying to save time and Loonies, Blair piled all our darks into one washing machine and then of course, one drier.  Thus, the darks were "a little damp".

After a bar-b-q (so we can actually start cooking meals again) and a water cooler (which will be a drinking water), and skirting (on the RV before the winter) ... I think a portable washing machine and drying rack/s, could save us some coin and frustration (over the shared facilities during the warmer months).

I was checking out amazon and there are a number of different sizes, models and price points for portable washing machines.

Priced between $180 - $400

 A clothes drying rack at Walmart...

On Sale for $5 online.

By the way, I think I forgot to thank my awesome husband...Thank you Blair for doing the laundry.  I know it's a thankless, under appreciated and tedious task - Especially with a teenage daughter.  You are awesome and I love you!

Laundry air dried!

Living Simple to Simply LIVE!

The First Week

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."  Walt Disney 

 

The first week into tiny living has been full of emotions, fatigue, setting up, learning, decisions, and along the way memories that will become treasures.

 

As previously mentioned we began considering moving our RV after the fire which raised safety concerns for us.  Friday we signed and sealed a 1 yr. lease on a lot at the Barefoot Resort and we'll be having the RV moved into Penticton this coming Friday.  We discovered that Barefoot was introducing RV lots this year, while we were staying in a motel waiting for our RV.  We could have saved ourselves some stress and money if we'd a few extra days to change our plans.  Live and learn, as they say.

The resort offers a restaurant, yurt rental (looks really neat but I think they are quite expensive), tenting sites, washroom and laundry facilities.  Little shops:  hemp, ice-cream, swim suit and market.

Across the highway, directly on the beach is a gym, the above yurt, coffee shop yurt, water activity rentals, stage, fire pits and palapas.

Our lot will look like this.  Over 2000 sq. ft. of space.  Long enough for us to park the 5th wheel, my car and Blair's truck.  They offer free WiFi, cable, water and sewer hookup.

 

 I think Z will be most grateful for the green space.  His tender little tootsies on the gravel have been causing him some grief.  He walks across it like they're hot embers.  Poor baby.

 

 

It took some searching but we finally found a little counter top ice maker (Walmart $120).  Yes, it takes up valuable real-estate on the less than adequate counter space, but I love it!  We get little bullet shaped ice in about 6 minutes, that will supply our fruity drinks from Blair's margarita machine, this summer. 

 Laundry is an issue!  Yes there are facilities here but it's pay-as-you-go, of course.  It costs $3.25/load, OUCH!  Yesterday I was frustrated when I hauled a basket over in the nearly 40 degree heat, to arrive and have a lady tell me to "get in line".  3 washing machines and she was going to use all of them!  Grrr.  A man next to us told us to buy an RV washer and set up a drying line.  Something to consider.

 

News from the old abode...Wednesday we received an email letting us know of the memorial for the young lady next to us who struggled with an eating disorder.  She passed the day after we moved out (Friday).  I think she was 23 years old and was literally a walking skeleton.  Over the 2 years we lived there we tried to be very gracious because of her illness and in-capacities, but last summer we did have some conflict with her and her lifestyle of sleeping all day and awake all night.  We're very sad for her family.  I do know that one day we will meet her again and she will be glorious and complete.  Amen!

 

At church we chatted with the neighbors that were on the other side. On the Saturday after we left, the husband suffered a heart attack.  He'd had surgery and was looking great, considering.  The neat thing about this couple (for Blair and I) is that this winter we came to realize that we were running into them everywhere.  We could be in another town and we'd cross paths.  We've joked that we're stalking them or that we should be carpooling.  Now they are attending our church and I feel confident that God is working something out.

 

How is our girl doing with all of this?  Actually, quite well.  She's got the most space in the unit and true to her it's a disaster zone, most of the time - proving me wrong, that having less space would give her less room for 'stuff', adding up to less mess.  She's pleased that we'll be back in Penticton.  This weekend she realized that it's a little more difficult to convince your parents to drive you around when you're out of town.

 

Phew!  This seems like a really long post...

 

Blair is busy today running around doing tasks that need doing in-order to launch his online business this month.  Z and I are sitting outside in the shade, listening to the birds and the traffic, but we've now losing our shade and the tops of my feet are burning so I guess it's time to head in to the air conditioning (it was 33 degrees at 10 am).

 

Living Simple to Simply Live.

 

My drive to work.

 

 

 

Rude Awakening

I have to start off with making 2 statements...

1)  Blair is and always be my hero!  He fixed the hot water issue!  Tomorrow I can come into work without fear of chasing people away with the stink.

2)  I am extremely grateful for the downpour yesterday!  Nature's wrath can be a blessing.

“I finally figured out that not every crisis can be managed. As much as we want to keep ourselves safe, we can't protect ourselves from everything. If we want to embrace life, we also have to embrace chaos.” 
― Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Breathing Room

If there is an emergency situation you do not want me in charge.  As the smoke was clearing, literally and figuratively, Blair reminded me of the time the hose on the washing machine burst and he called home to see what the emergency was.  All he heard was "Call 911!" and "Click".  He made the 5 - 10 minute drive from Nisku, AB to Beaumont, AB in under a minute (well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration).  He was a little upset that he risked his life for a flooding basement.  

Around midnight last night something stirred me from my sleep.  When I opened my eyes I could see a flickering glare on the side of the 5th wheel.  I jumped out of bed and ran to the door, frantically trying to get out of the RV.  I couldn't get out!  Blair said I was yelling, "Fire!" and he had his earplugs in.  I fought with the lock and handle till the door finally opened to reveal awesome flames shooting up into the night sky.  An RV 2 rows over was engulfed.  People seemed to be jumping into action hosing down the other RVs, getting people out, grabbing propane tanks.  I was stunned for a minute and asked if anyone called 911.  No one answered and I tried to run back inside but slipped on the step and fell into the trailer (when Blair tells the story he'll include his own interpretation of my follies.  He says I provided the comedy relief).  Blair starts yelling at me to get in the house before I kill myself.  Still yelling "Fire!  Call 911!",  Blair gives me his phone to call but I can't figure out how to make the phone work.  Blair takes it back and dials, then hands it back to me.  I know we need fire and that we're in the Summerland RV Beach Resort, but I have no idea what my address is - duh!

Everyone is now standing on the street watching the burn and you here a few ask if anyone has called 911.  It seems like it took at least 15 - 20 minutes for the fire trucks to finally arrive.  It didn't take long for them to dose the fire and the show was over.  Time to head back to bed for our beauty sleep.

Someone said that it's been at least 2 years since there was a fire here, like it's something to be proud of.  WAIT...WHAT?!

We came in and realized we needed to make a fire plan right then and there.  Identify all the escape windows,  know how they work and assign a muster place.

I began to doubt our choice to take on this new adventure.  It suddenly felt too risky and dangerous.  We have our 15 year old daughter and Z to try and keep safe.

We've decided to inquire about a lot in Penticton.  It'll cost a little more and we'll have to forsake the nearly beach front perk.  Madison's opinion is that we should stay-put, because this could happen anywhere.  True.  But...I think it's near impossible to ignore the obvious issues and risks with piling RVs almost on top of one another.  At the point of moving in we were very disappointed to discover that we can't put our awning out because there is an incorrectly parked motorhome next door.  The other location offers more property between RV stalls.

As soon as we know if we're rolling on we'll let you know!


Living Simple to Simply LIVE!

Happy Campers!

“It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.” - Dave Barry


In the past many of our camping adventures have been cursed with stitches, pneumonia, driving home in the middle of the night, and rain-outs...

Here I sit typing this post in our new home, a 36 ft. 5th wheel, just beginning the adventure of camping 24/7 for at least 365 days...And, guess what?

We just had a tropical storm pass over!

Currently the humidity in here is about 100%.  Hot and sticky makes us the happiest of campers!

I guess we shouldn't be bothered that our hot water heater isn't producing. 

LOL...Blair was just showing me his reaction to his icy shower. 

I have to work tomorrow, so I might have to brave it.

The important things we need to remember are:

- We're here!  Together with a roof over our heads that isn't leaking (unlike every tent we've ever tried).
- Z is part of our family!  The poor guy is having the hardest time adjusting.  He whines, cries and wails when one of his pack even looks like their leaving.  We may have to look into doggy daycare till he adjusts, so he doesn't get us booted out.
- There are 4 places to watch TV!  No fights on rain days.
- Our home is on wheels!  Just hook up and go!

Living Simple to Simply LIVE!