2-1/2 month Blog Hiatus ends with Windstorm

2017 has been a busy year.
My last post was on July 30th...wow, that's almost three months ago.

My Mom has now been at Coldstream Meadows for six months, and appears to be settling in comfortably with the assisted living routine.  She's luckily getting "the hang of it", although the early-Dementia diagnosis is likely accurate.  Mom isn't enthused "about the Canadian food", and has shed pounds...pounds that were unnecessary anyway.  I visit her twice a week and look after her personal shopping needs.  She seems to have forgotten that her house has been sold since the possession date mid-July, and occasionally asks for a mop or a ladder!

Since the golf course closed September 30th, I've again had a super-nice trip to my favourite shopping destination--Wenatchee, Washington state--during this Fall's mild October weather.  It was wonderful to point the truck South and just go!

This interesting man from Vancouver and his ride allowed a photo during a U.S. fuel-up.

The grandson is approaching 3-1/2 years old and now has a closet full of new clothes to fit his growing frame.  While the Canadian to U.S. exchange rate can be a challenge for our beleaguered loonie, I find the selection of children's clothing so much better in Washington state.  Add to that the U.S. fuel price of $2.89 a gallon--easily half what we Canadians pay for fuel; there's no sticker shock while fueling up--it remains worthwhile to shop down south.  Plus there's my "need" for a brief "escape".

This trip I noticed hotels were a tad pricier than other years, but maybe that was because of Canadians heading south the Thanksgiving weekend, having left for the U.S. on Thursday October 5th.  While the U.S. Thanksgiving isn't until November, our Thanksgiving was Monday, October 9th (by which time I was back) and we all enjoyed a wonderful turkey and ham dinner at our daughter's home.  She fed 24 people (including 6 toddlers) that evening!  Wow!  Sometimes I joke that she must be adopted as I wouldn't have been able to get through cooking for such a crowd as that at my home.  She just laughs it off.

Ah...the trip.  It was certainly worthwhile, and I managed to spend some "donut" time with golf pro Ed Paine in his retail golf shop, Golfer's Edge, in Wenatchee.  He has become a good friend over the years, advising me in golf-business matters when needed.  We generally meet twice a year...March and October if I'm lucky enough to go south twice.

Golfer's Edge golf shop owned by Ed Paine, golf professional, on Mission in Wenatchee, WA

Oh yes.
Back to the shopping for grandson.

Gettin' things organized in the hotel...

...and new boots

Some work on the house interior's ceilings had been planned.  Or at least I thought it was planned for completion by the time I arrived home.  Nope...a contractor's delay meant I was back home when this work was performed...aaaargh!  Messy!

Ceilings needed redoing after a contractor--7 years ago during the last renovations--screwed up by using the wrong paint, which was coming off 'in sheets'!

Husband and employee, Ian, had put the clubhouse and patio furniture to bed by the time I returned from the U.S., as well as having brought in all the benches and tee-box paraphernalia.  Men's nite manager, Denny Wallace had come out and winterized the big barbeque as well as removed the tee-box signs for his annual reapplication of marine (waterproof) stain.  And the new gazebo canopy is now safely stored (and nicely folded--thank you, Denny!) inside the clubhouse.

Backyard Pools and Spas were hired (spur of the moment...a good decision) to perform the winterizing work on our 16 x 32 inground swimming pool.  Twice-yearly (start-up and shut-down) work had previously done by another company.  We frankly had grown tired of the other company postponing our winter pool shutdown time and again.  Turns out the new company is a hell of a lot cheaper too!  And they listened to every request!

So now...finally to the windstorm.
I had driven a friend to a Kelowna medical appointment at noon on Tuesday, October 17th.  The day started out clear and sunny, but windy.  As we approached the new highway section just north of Lake Country--above Gatzke's orchard where the speed limit increases to 100 kph--a VERY strong gust of wind almost blew the Toyota truck into the right lane from the middle lane!  Wow.  Gripping the steering wheel more tightly, the wind blew and blew the rest of the way south, including while we attended her medical appointment.  Frequent heavy showers accompanied the racing clouds overhead.

Arriving safely back in Vernon, roads everywhere were littered with tree and ditch-debris. A child's plastic swimming pool was impaled on a fence post.  Plastic garbage cans, now without lids, sought new owners!

The golf course suffered wind consequences too.

The 55-foot poles on which the safety net is suspended at #8 tee-box and fairway took a wind-hit at the middle pole.  This is the second time that fastener has let go of the aircraft cable on which the net hangs.  One can only imagine the weight of that net, especially when wet with rain, on the eyebolt drilled through the top of the pole. 

 

Sean of Advanced Powerline was phoned, and they'll be here as soon as the second problem (next photo) is removed...because that's their big truck's only exit route after reattaching the net!  Seems to me the last time this occurred the invoice was $600.  Oh well.

The neighbour on the west's 50-foot fir tree gave out halfway up in the storm. 

Fortunately, the golf course was already closed and no-one was on #8 green when it crashed down.

The fallen branch was a lot larger than this photo appears to show...

Anyway, I've been "unwinding" from my six-months-with-no-days-off duties.

It's frankly very relaxing to be able to go into town and not have to race back to the course.

But I still haven't finished inside the house.  Pictures need to be re-hung and not all the furniture is back into the room(s).  

I'll soon be ready to look after the grandson again.

He is so very mature--for a 3 year old--that I'm amazed at his willingness to help set the table; indeed to watch "the machine" as we cook his favourite (grilled cheese sandwiches).

I'll close with a photo of grandson doing a great job vacuuming Mom's house to prepare it for sale this summer.

My daughter is clever to "train-em young"...

Here's hoping the nice Fall weather holds for at least a few more weeks.

"I would've licked the floor clean," Kia would've said.

September 23, 2017 was hard on regular golfers--and husband and myself--as that was the one year anniversary of Kia's passing.

Run with the clouds and Rest in peace, dear Kia. 

I still miss her.