TubaOrNotTuba

Some things are obvious. Summer like vacation does not last all year round. And we are at the end of another summer. Well, the weather is beautiful, not even cold enough to trigger leaf colours, we know but the time for camping is just about done. Today provincial park just up the road is welcoming its last guests of the season. Not us because we have a great driveway, but we did stop by. After all, with an RV you have to dump your tanks some point. And so, the hose was unrolled, and the gloves were donned and within a couple of minutes we were back to empty. Sure, the gauges don’t always say that, but we know. A comment card was completed suggesting at the parks stay open later in the winter excuse me fall because seasons have shifted. We could still camp with a little bit of warmth. Anyhow we can now look at the next task on the list which is winterization. Not as grim as it sounds. It simply means to dump out the last of the fresh water and replace it with some of that pink syrupy stuff that keeps everything from damage during the long winter months. Will I sleep out in the VR B tonight? I do not know. The option is always there, right? I have not yet tried deep winter camping but that is also a possibility once the storms start. Put on some socks unroll an extra blanket and pretend that nothing has changed in the weather. I did say that summer does not last all year, but I can pretend and so can you. You will notice I have no big plan to head South that is for others. You can always get in touch with me right here.

Out for a walk. Barefoot. In the grass. This is not a reference to an old movie. This is just me at home in the country at the end of the season. The only thing on the radar today was getting our paperwork filed to ask for a refund of our last trip. You know, with unexpected expenditures. I have no idea how long this will take. I was rather frustrated while trying to check the state of the battery charge in a small portable radio because I could not read the screen nor the markings on the sides and I apparently did not have the right cable. Is the battery dead? No idea. Another little mystery in my life. I do have other radios in case I get desperate to listen but for now this was just a chance to see if I could do it. Maybe with a flashlight. I cannot find that either. It turns out that the lot up the road has been cleared of trees in anticipation of a new home. Or a trailer. I do not know but I shall learn. I have someone who will tell me what’s going on. There are still birds around. I understand that some merlins are attacking something else below the house. There may even be photos if I wait long enough. I keep wondering if I should invest in a new hoodie. Apparently, the ads on YouTube are convinced that I need one. No cost given but I can have it at 60% off which is a little scary. If you can afford to give a 60% reduction the price is probably much higher than I would be willing to pay. Call me frugal. I do have a sweatshirt so a hoodie would be nothing but a luxury. I was thinking earlier. I bought my winter coat. We’re not there yet but it is only a matter of time. Then the ability to go barefoot in the grass will be nothing but a faint memory. It was a good summer.

Somewhere in the garage there was a forgotten bag. Of carrots. We can shut the bunnies out, but the fruit flies never missed their target. And it brought back memories from a long time ago when I was a student, and we were raising drosophila. The ones with red eyes, I think. You know little bugs that live in test tubes until you stun them and count them. And they’re very good at reproducing. No, we were not trying to re populate the earth. This was simply a student study in genetics. Thanks to doc Edwards our mentor we will come in each day get the bottle of ether and the tiny paintbrush and then count flies much more fun than it sounds. A way to become better attuned to the science and mathematics of reproducing bugs. Anyhow this time around it’s because we’re gonna vacation and the fruit flies had the house all to themselves. For the last 24 hours there have been a series of small traps containing I believe vinegar. Apple vinegar. Is there any other kind? The population explosion seems to be under control, and we will survive the infestation as such. Funny how things like carrots can get away from you. Also, our neighbourhood destroys gardens has come and gone. Nothing to do with rabbits. This is a mechanical tractor that was willing to remove our outdated flower beds or vegetable beds as you see fit, and we will decide what happens next after the winters come and gone

We had an early start today. Thanks in part to a municipal work crew that decided to do something really noisy just behind us under cover of darkness. We got the message and we moved along. This is a familiar road and so we just took it hour after hour with brief stops for fuel and food by the end of the afternoon we are on our way across the big bridge. There’s a real sense of relief that comes in getting back to the island. Protected by water on all sides this is home. At home nothing had really changed. The satellite dish was put back on its mount and Internet returned to service. I am now catching up on yesterday and today. With that our two-week road trip has ended much as anticipated. Was it a vacation? Not exactly. But the weather was good, and the vehicle worked most of the time and we’re now back ready to start the long descent into the winds of winter. There was even a coyote in the yard when we got home which shows that nobody has left the area. Tomorrow will catch up on all the little details like the mail and the lawn but tonight I’m going to go to bed in my own bed relieved. I will see how it goes on the next trip but this one shows me that I still can get around on my own two feet with help. I was able to do a 25 minutes walk to a dealership and to a few restaurants and even a few hotel rooms. It was an adventure. 

This morning we had no place to go and no way to go there. So, we watched TV. Morning programs are strange. Almost like amateur hour where are the hired hosts have little to say and no particular talent in doing so. However, around lunchtime we realized that the next move was up to us. So, we went for a walk. A fairly long one in the heart of the industrial city. Took us at least 1/2 hour. What I learned is that a big city may pay a lot of attention to the streets, but the sidewalks are a mess. There is no particular harmonization between curb heights and corners and crossings. In many ways it was a true exercise. Once at the dealership we were taken to their comfortable waiting room give him bottles of water and then allowed to wait patiently well they actually did the repairs. We could see them through the door, so it was real. I am not sure what this will actually cost because there was a complication. There is a huge labour strike in the automotive industry and as a result parts are not available in a timely manner. We are offered the other option of sourcing from an outside company and then submitting our vouchers for reimbursement. It sounds good and we’ll see how it comes to play in practice. Before the end of the working day, they had completed the repairs, and we were off for more road time. All the way to my son’s driveway where we did another night of camping. Quite comfortable despite the low temperature. Around 6 degrees, I think.

Today we got back on the road. We realized we could not camp indefinitely in a parking lot in the city. Eventually someone would notice us and so we packed up and get away before daylight give ourselves a chance to get further away quickly and spend the afternoon doing something else that’s not how it turned out of course. Sometime in late morning at the end of the coffee stop we stopped. No more go. And so, we did what anyone would do, we called for help. Such things are not immediate, and we spent the whole day in the parking lot, the new parking lot, you know ’cause we traveled. Anyhow getting towards the end of the working day our long-awaited tow truck arrived put us on board and realizing that getting a taxi might be tricky agreed that we could ride along. This doesn’t happen very often. The driver was good, and the truck was big and in no time at all we were dumped for the evening in yet another parking lot. This time at a designated dealership. We now have a motel room and we’ve been out to eat, and the Wi-Fi is fast and I’m going to take it it’s just all in a day’s travel. No sense stressing over things. I will go to bed and tomorrow morning apple fritter from Timmy ‘s. A travel luxury if you will. And I managed to remember the pin for my credit card. Received congratulations from the night manager at the desk ’cause he said that far too many people are unable to recall such a simple thing. I guess that’s a compliment.

I have raised three children not all at the same time. Today I was left with some little people who are similar in age and I realize that there is such a thing as a critical mass. That is where you put more than one in the same room and then wait for things to erupt. And they will. Not in a major sense just an ongoing what is going to happen next sort of atmosphere. When you assume that peace have been restored another conflict will arise. Again not major conflicts just tension. The children might be similar in size and similar in rearing but they’re not the same one to the other give them the chance and they will find something that is not right in their world and so it went for most of the afternoon no way to sleep. For them I mean. That would have been useful. Don’t small children do naps anymore. The whole group were about to set off on trips to their respective homes which means several hours in confinement in the back seat of a car. I have to hope that the motion of the car will calm their spirits and that they will soon be off for dreamland. As for me I’m worn out. I’m old. For anyone who is taking a chance on seeing whether or not I would be a good grandparent, please hold on because I am not ready yet. Check back in nine or ten months time and we’ll see if things have changed. We are at the end of our visit here in the Siri and I think that tomorrow we will be on the road towards home. How long will it take? Does that really matter?

The morning began with sunrise and gunfire. There are two stories about that. One says it was hunting the other says it was a celebration of the solstice. I don’t know. This was for me also a different day; we had a group meeting of the family at the local hospital where a doctor walked us through the steps of what happens with an ill aging parent no conclusions, just a presentation. Based on that meaning I was able to don full PPE for the first time and go up to see my mother. I do not know if when the next time will be. And with that done, we went to one of my sisters homes where we held a birthday celebration for her in her absence. Children grandchildren great grandchildren a full house with meal and the chance to catch up on news from people I had not seen in years and we stayed late. Late to the point where I was absolutely ready to go to bed. No I did not dance although, could have I suppose there was a chance to suggest songs for a playlist and I helped in that. Now I’m sitting waiting to get ready for bed because we’re that late in the day. Our going to the hospital early in the morning,  also involved a long walk on the sidewalk where I learned that as long as you don’t charge into traffic moving about with a white cane is possible. Tiring but possible. And with that I wish you a good night.

There are things I never thought I’d see myself doing. Today for example I walked up the Main Street in town with my fancy white king and tried to figure where I was based on very old memories. The streets haven’t changed that much but every store along the way has with possibly one exception. We ended up for whatever reason in a jewelry store which is where I had gone to buy my school ring I have century ago I considered asking if a replacement was still available but since the school is also gone I figured that would be pushing my luck. Tonight was a family meeting again with many new faces. Small faces. I was asked to shave so they would recognize me. Given that they’ve never seen me that was kind of a pipe dream little matter when we get back to the van tonight already to go to bed it was discovered that we had the wrong set of keys. Too many people and small place hanging things up for security sake and so she who is in charge of my life had to go back and get the right ones no big deal I just stayed outside pretending to be invisible because that’s what you do when you’re in a parking lot with bright lights go like a large animal and stay calm. I spent some time talking to my niece about how things have changed in terms of technology. 3D printing in the music classroom. Full mids instruments to do wind ensemble. Life is not as it used to be. And there’s not much I can add to that it was a beautiful fall day and I profited from it because that’s what you’re supposed to do with those kind of days. It could have been much worse right?

Today I spent a little while learning about the costs of senior housing. As in what does it cost when you leave your own home and go into an apartment run by the government. And it looks like a pretty good deal for them the math is simple they give you a place to live and you give them all your money. As you can see somebody wins and if you look at you no longer needing your own home you can declare it as surplus. Selling it off to the highest bidder. I’m not there yet but we did talk about it as a family group because we aren’t all the same age. As it turns out out of five children only two of us have to do our own lawns. What will that mean going forward? Well at some point each one of us will have to decide or have it decided for us that we are no longer able to live on our own at home and we will give up, but we spent a lifetime to accumulate and move into something that the government will consider as our almost final destination. Heavy thinking. It was of course the first time that all the siblings had been together in over four years. Something about a pandemic and a lot of kilometres. This time around we intend to spend the weekend as a group, and I think tomorrow I will get a hamburger and a hot dog and call it a good day. With that I’m wondering about all the noise outside. There seems to be a lot of unnecessary yelling over by the community centre. I hope they stay where they are for the night