We have been living in the 5er just over 2 weeks now and life, as it usually does, has settled into a bit of a routine. The first 10 days or so were filled with hot days with oppressive humidity and warm humid nights. Not the most comfortable when living in a trailer. We do have 2 a\c units so keeping the place cool isn't the problem, its the noise from the damm units directly overhead. The last few days have been much more typical of the August’s I remember. Nice sunny days in the low to mid 20’s and cool nights in the mid teens with much lower humidity overall. Sometimes it seems we are never happy with the weather.
The house is coming along nicely with the framing almost complete. I expect the shingling to start this week so it should then be completely enclosed and the electricians and plumbers can get in and get to work.
We met with a firm called Accurate Technology this week and arranged for most of the wiring and hardware for a home theatre in the l/r with in-ceiling speakers and all the components housed in the basement. The hardware won’t go in till spring so I have the winter to pick a TV. A bit has changed since I purchased our last Panasonic 42” plasma for $3,000. The 42” was really much too small for the large l/r we had but at that time 42” was the largest I could afford. Should be able to get 60” for $1,500 or less now. So much has changed in the past 15 or so years. Plasma is old news and now its LCD or OLED with 4K and curved screens. From what I’ve read the curved screens are more fad than beneficial unless your up in the 70-80” range and not sure how long it will be before we see any 4K programming so not sure I want to pay for technology I’m not going to be able to see any time soon. Lots of time to do research and as with most technology purchases, by spring, the prices will have come down another 20%.
Was actually pleasantly surprised with the experience. I came away a little poorer but not broke and the guy didn't try to up sell me with bunch of tech that I don't really need.
As we prepare for our annual trek to Clear Lake Lori reminded me that is was 2 years ago that we got the phone call telling us that her father had died of a heart attack. Then yesterday we got another reminder that we should live in the moment as much as possible. Another of those phone calls telling us that a friend and former co-worker of Lori’s had passed away unexpectedly on Saturday morning. Lori had actually been out to visit her on Thursday and there was no indication that anything was amiss. I had also received an e-mail a few weeks ago letting me know that a former co-worker of mine had passed away. These things are getting much too close. Reminders perhaps that our decision to downsize and hit the road is the right decision.
This past week we managed to get to another 2 pavilions at Folklarama. For those readers from afar who may not be familiar with this event it is a celebration of many of the cultures that create the multicultural fabric that can be found in Manitoba. It was created in 1970 to be a one-time event to help celebrate Manitoba’s centennial. It started with 21 pavilions located at various cultural centres, halls, curling and hockey rinks throughout the city of Winnipeg. Running for 1 week in August the first year saw over 75,000 pavilion visits. Now in its 46th year it has expanded to 45 pavilions over a 2 week period with almost 500,000 visits. It has become quite the tourist draw with bus tours from Saskatchewan and Ontario as well as Minnesota and North Dakota. You can basically get exposed to the cultures of countries around the world without leaving Winnipeg including sampling some great food and drinks, including some really great beer. The pavilions are largely run by volunteers from the various cultural clubs including some great local dance and musical groups. Some import some pretty good talent from their home countries.
Monday morning we pack up and head to Clear Lake for 10 days and then its back to our spot at Town & Country RV park. Looking forward to visiting with friends at Clear Lake, some great hikes along the lake shore and of course the Cinnamon Buns at the Whitehouse Bakery.
Ain’t life grand.
Our campsite at Town&Country.
This place is much busier than I expected. Lots of work crews staying here long term with plenty of Alberta license plates.
One of the local dance troops at the UK pavilion.
The entertainment, food and beer were all top shelf. The dancers were local but they had imported a couple singers and Harpists from Wales. All very talented.
Lori with our translators for the evenings cultural exchange. Richard and Karen, our former neighbours, born and bred in England however now proud Canadian citizens.
Richard said they would be our interpreters and would show up Ship Shape in Bristol Fashion.
I had to google it to understand the Bristol Fashion part.
It wasn't bigger on the inside. Sooooo disappointed.
Always been a big Dr Who fan, well till this last Dr. The last season has been a bit disappointing.
Look its the Queen
A Harry Potter fan? Just a bit. Lori has actually read the most recently released book.
Big Ben not so big.
We actually managed to get pictures of us on the actual London Bridge 2 winters ago. Some rich Yank bought the bridge, disassembled it brick by brick, shipped it to Lake Havasu, Az and reassembled it. They even had to dredge a channel from the colorado river so that there would be water flowing under the bridge.
We also visited the Celtic Irish pavilion but for some reason my iPhone never made it out of my pocket so no pictures. Friends, Debbie and Don attended with us and had another great sampling of food and, need I say it, BEER. The dancing was again, superb with local dance troupes supplemented by an import from the Emerald Isle who is one of the professional dancers of River Dance fame. He was of course fantastic but the one that stole the show was the local little tykes, one of whom was no more than 6 or 7 with fiery red hair who could step dance with the best of them. His feet were just a blur.
No comments:
Post a Comment