Shower?

Not the baby shower or wedding shower sort - I really don't like those.  But a good long hot shower is pretty darn special sometimes. 

Our trailer is quite nice but the shower stall is pretty small - ie, soap up the walls, turn around a few times and you are pretty much soaped down yourself and ready to rinse off.  I'm not complaining - because it works.  However, having a little space to stretch your arms a bit is also pretty nice. So that got us thinking, what can we do to have a shower with a little more space.

One of our neighbors up there who is living off the grid came up with an outdoor bathtub:

Nice contained fire pit, stump and some shimming on the right hand side.  Door on top to keep the heat in while the fire heats your water. 



Yes, that tub sits on the fire.  Once the water is warm, lift off the door and you are good to go.  I imagine it could be a bit awkward though when guests unexpectedly show up.  (Note: when I look at this picture it makes me think the bather should be wearing cowboy boots and hat.)

We figured a bath might be nice but I sure as heck wouldn't want to be second to bath EVER and I am pretty sure neither would Dan.  So he came up with the summertime outdoor shower:

Double doors, nice spa like floor for drainage and a rubber mat for the tender tootsies.  That black barrel on the right is our water holding tank.  Within that tank is a pump and two sets of hoses.  One hose circulates the water and one supplies the shower head.

Side view:



Four x eight feet (almost). Enough room to have a party in there - if you are into that sort of thing. 

The interior really is the best though:



A nice recycled CD rack to keep your soap, shampoo and face cloth on.  Hooks just inside the doors for your towels and clothes.  Seriously does it get any better than this?  Well, actually, yes.  We used the sun to heat the water last year, and that worked well when it was smoking hot.  Didn't work quite as well on a average day of about 25 degrees though.  Of course Dan thinks there is room for improvement everywhere and once again he was right (yup, I said it, he was right).  Off to the Co-op he went and came home with a heater that we will submerse in the barrel and we should be able to use this from May through September or at the very least June through August! 

It is pretty skookum.  The adjustable shower head helps for the shorter folk like me too:



(Just lean your head to the left as I cannot figure out how to rotate the picture.)

Google earth has some of the ladies who have been by a little concerned.  I however think it is better to smell good than worry about the satellites circling above! Besides, it's not like we are lounging in a bath tub for all the world to see :-)

I know, I know - it's been more than a year

And what a year it has been.  I am very sad to say that Brooke, who has been so often mentioned on this blog, passed away September 24, 2012.  She who had her humans wrapped around her paw is now only with us in memories.  She taught me (well, both Dan and I) a lot but most importantly she taught us patience and understanding due to her quirky ways with the world.  I am still missing our beach trips, park adventures and tracking classes.  She was a great companion and we miss her dearly.

Now, for some updates that don't make me so sad.

We had quite a productive year at the property.  We managed to get a roof over the fire pit, build a pump house, build an outdoor shower and gain a pack rat.  Of course none of this was easy and the pack rat was not invited - but I'm working on his eviction. 

The roof over the fire pit was a must as we spend nearly every waking minute outside when we are up there.  Here's what we started with and please note the weather in this picture - it is NOT raining.

So, the frame is good to go despite the one board that is winged out and not lined up.  That's okay though because you only really notice it if it is pointed out to you.  We went from what you saw above to this:

All in the pouring rain!  What really sucked about the whole job is not the fact that it stopped raining shortly after the work was done.  No, not at all.  The worst part was that I was the "helper".  As a helper, I stood out in the rain holding each roof panel up while Dan worked underneath screwing around the whole thing  together.  He was pretty much dry at the end of the job.  I, on the other hand, was soaking wet.  You see, the plan required me stand below the panel and hold it up on the frame until a few screws were installed.  Sounds like fun right?  Well, I guess so, if you like the feeling of a river running down your arms, to your arms pits and then down your torso.  Go ahead, put your arms up in the air slightly in front of you and pretend you are holding a metal sheet with a river running down it.  You get the idea now don't you!

Once the roof was up someone decided we should close in the ends up at the top.  Frame it up a bit better, make it sturdier he said.  This is the point where you picture me smiling and nodding on the outside and rolling my eyes on the inside because the first part of this project wasn't exactly fun for me.  Now that it is done though, I am glad he suggested it. 

We recycled old fence panels from our house on the coast.  The black panel on the left is what made me 'glad'.  I went out and bought a string of solar lights to go around (most of) the frame and that is the solar panel.  Now not only do we having a roof over our head so we can enjoy a fire in the rain, we also have mood lighting.



And, courtesy of some friends and a few cocktails, we have even named the joint:



I have to post again at another time as I cannot find the pictures of the outdoor shower and words alone do not do it justice.  It really is a rockin' redneck shower!

Two more sleeps

Two more sleeps before the big guy in the red suit shows up!  I'm very disorganized this year and so with a lot to do one would think I would be in a focussed and efficient mode.  Naah, that would make things flow too smoothly.  Instead I annoyed the dog by playing dress up:

Yessiree, that is the tree skirt - wrapped around the dog.  Brooke is vindictive though and while I was decorating the tree, she thought it would be a good idea to help rearrange decorations and spent 30 minutes removing any decorations she didn't like that were up to three feet high on the tree.  She would knock them off and I would rehang them, she would stick her head in the tree and knock several off and I would rehang them, she would rub on the tree to knock off a few and I would rehang them.  We finally agreed on what should go where and got the job done.

Merry Christmas to all.

Cue the marching band

Well, we survived Grey Cup weekend in our own city.  The result:

A great outcome.  Since you probably already knew that the Lions won, in their own city after starting the season 0 and 5 I will give you a sample of the festivities leading up to the game.

We did the usual party rooms.  Ian doesn't travel to any of these parties without his crash helmet, which inevitably everyone has on their head at some point during the night:

Yes, that's me getting kicked around and roughed up.

Dan had his turn and didn't get nearly as roughed up:

You're number one.

We attended the Grey Cup parade.  Typical Vancouver weather resulted in us standing around for two hours in these:

Like those orange toes you see, don't ya!

Lots more crazy stuff went on this weekend, which you won't see here.  I will however give you a peek of game day preparations.  Game day always seems to start to early due to late nights the night before.  However, the guys managed to get their make up done in time for us to head down for more fun before the game:

The pictures are a little out of focus (although the guy on the left looks like he's been added in after the fact!)

Once the boys had their war paint on, we headed out on transit for a ride downtown that got us a lot of odd looks.  That might be because the men looked like this:

How come nobody wants to sit with me?

And looked like this:

And, our Grey Cup virgin, who looked like this:

Once we got downtown it was all good.  They blended right in with the crowd.  No make up for me this game - my hand wasn't very steady that early in the day.

After some socializing with a great bunch of people, it was down to business.  Can you please stand and remove your hats for the singing of Canada's national anthem.

I won't say it was the outcome we all wanted.  Our Edmonton fan friend is still crying.  He's blaming it on a little bit of beer that got sprayed on his prized Ricky Ray jersey but we all know he can't get over the *ss kicking his team got in the western final.  GET OVER IT.

A very expensive but great weekend as a result of:

and

and the rest of the BC Lions.

Only seven months before next season starts.  That will give Edmonton lots of time to get over the spilled beer and their loss.

I am such a girl

Yeah, I know, I have been a girl for, well err, since day one.  However, I did not think I was that much of a girl.  You will see what I mean soon. 

Recently that lovely husband of mine and I went and got me that ATV that I've been wanting.  I did not go with his brand but got me a Yamaha - probably far too big and powerful for me.  That will change, at least I'm determined to prove that it is not too big and powerful for me. 

So, here's my new ride:

See, even the dog thinks it is far to mean to get close to!

So, we arrive at our wonderland in November and unload.  I take the beast out on the gravel road and think to myself  'hmm, this fun'.  Don't forget that I mentioned I was ON THE ROAD.  It is flat.  I return when I can't feel my fingers anymore (did I mention it was November) and Dan decides he would like to try the beast:




See ya all real soon.

 The next day we headed out on the bikes together and I'm thinking to myself 'gosh, this will be fun'.  Yeah, wake up lady - not so much.  This is where the 'girl' thing comes in.  We got out on the trail beside the property and it wasn't long before the husband started thinking to himself  'what have I gotten myself into'.  At the same time I was thinking 'what the HELL have I gotten MYSELF into'.  I don't want to mislead you into thinking the husband took me on some hard core trails.  We were on what most probably think were easy going trails.

I preferred this speed:

I could not adjust to the shifting sinking feeling - leftsidedipdown, rightsidedipdown, reallydeeptotheleft.  We rode for a bit (a short bit according to the husband) and I managed to get up and back down a hill that was iced up before husband says 'okay, come on, i will take you to an easy trail'. He was somewhat having fun and hoping to extend the ride:

I will end this part of the story on the trip by saying that the trail here looks nice - looks can be deceiving.  And the ride to our friend's place on the 'easy' trail resulted in "if I wanted to walk out in the bush I would have left the bike at home".  Yes, he who loves me most had to get off his bike, walk up a hill and ride mine down cuz I was a 'girl'.  Later that day I suggested to one of our neighbors that I should have gone out riding with her.  Her reply - just get on the damn thing and eff'ing ride it!  Yup, time to suck it up and stop being a girl.  The weather changed and we didn't get much riding in after that.

Back at a neighbor's one afternoon, we watched a storm move in. The day was beautiful but you could see the dark approaching.  We were by the lake and it was a good afternoon - for November:

That lake is starting to get iced over.  Fortunately, we were there for a fire.  Not a fire like us city folk build such as:

We have a good size fire pit according to city standards.  However, those that live in the 'boo have different ideas when it comes to a fire:

As you can see above, people were moving away from the heat.  It really makes the whole 'go big or go home' saying make sense.  It was just serious heat:

Brooke was happy to be invited over for the fire.  She got to see her Hwy 24 beau before his hair got messed up by the snow:

Shaggy is twice her size, and we don't live with a small dog!  He is a gentle giant.  However, the 'no fun police' dogs that were also present didn't allow them to play much.  Once the snow started falling, this is what the big dogs resorted to:




Honey, u still there?

 The snow started on day two of our trip.  By mid afternoon of day three I was starting to get worried because although it was not coming down hard, it had not stopped.

Then one morning I spied tracks in the driveway.  Very hard to get a picture of but oh so interesting to look at:

As I said, the snow wasn't stopping.  Then the power went out.  We are city folk - no power is NOT  a good thing.  We tried to wait it out but decided when the batteries on the trailer we starting to get low that we needed to drain water and winterize while we could.  When Dan was nearly done that project, the power came back - but the snow didn't stop:

I would really like to preserve that tree, in that state, bring it home and set it up in my living room for Christmas.

This might make you smile

Somebody sent this to me by email the other day.  It in no way reflects Dan and I.

"My husband, being unhappy wih my mood swings, bought me a mood ring the other day so he would be able to monitor my moods.

We've discovered that when I'm in a good mood it turns green.

When I'm in a bad mood it leaves a big red mark on his fucking forehead. 

Maybe next time he'll buy me a diamond."

:)

Getting away from it all

My sister recently passed away and after taking care of what was required on that front we packed up and escaped civilization.  Politics and/or family bullsh*t mean I will not comment further on my sister here other than to say she fought a long hard battle.

En route to our little piece of paradise we came across every driver's dream when they have a sleeping passenger:

Yes, that's a semi facing us head on.  Fortunately, Dan wasn't quite able to sneak up on it fast enough before I opened my eyes. 

We got to the property and it was a chilly day.  That did not last long though.  The balance of our trip was 30+ day time temperatures but it cooled down in the evenings, so much that a few mornings we had frost on the windshield.

Our neighbors stopped by one afternoon, and their dogs followed.  Everyone we've met are dog people.  So, meet Inky:

And Sunny:

Two pound Pom Sasha also came for a visit but did not want to hang out with the big dogs, so no photo of her. 

The kids (no pics of them either!) had ridden their bikes over so they got settled on the deck and I got them some water.  The dogs started milling about and I asked 'should I bring out cookies'.  At the time I asked my back was to the kids, whose eyes I understand lit up with delight.  It only took a second before the neighbor started laughing and pointed out that she thought I was talking to the dogs.  Much to the dismay of the kids, I WAS talking to the dogs.  And, I didn't even have any human cookies to offer the kids.  Though my dog biscuits are human grade food I didn't think it wise to offer them to the kids - not until they get to know us a bit better.

As I said it was H O T during the day.  We got footings(?) poured for when we extend the deck and then took the rest of the time to relax.  We headed to Crystal Lake which we are told is a great fishing lake.  There's a little forestry campsite on the edge of the lake, about ten minutes from us.  The place was nearly empty so we just parked in one of the campsites.  I enjoyed the view:

while Dan and Brooke enjoyed the water:

Dan swam and Brooke, well she's not a water dog AT ALL, so she waded:

After cooling off we all sat down to enjoy the quiet:

Until Brooke spied this:

Yeah, chipmunk/squirrel  (not sure which is which now) had helped himself to a freezer bag of bread from one of the campers.

He sat and ripped a small hole in the bag and had lunch.

I went a little closer and he/she was trying to roll up his stolen goods and take off.

We went to a party up the road one night and Dan took some serious ribbing from one of the locals about the 'no hunting' signs he posted on the property.  And there was some good teasing about which of the locals should be allowed to hunt on the property.  It was a great night with great people which resulted in Dan deciding to leave them with this:

Dan posted it on one of the trails on our property:

We checked with one of the locals, just to be sure of everyone's sense of humor.  She assured us that Dan had probably just opened the door to some serious pranking. 

Back to the rat race now but still thinking about the lake: