The Squamidian Report – Oct. 18 / 03

 

Also in this issue:

North Nova News

The Ontarion

 

Hi All,

 

Wow, when it rains here, it RAINS here. We can get waves of showers coming in off the open Pacific. Picture a fireman’s hose on the soaker setting. The rivers and streams are swollen. There are seasonal waterfalls all over the place, we can see many from the house here. Some are hundreds of feet high, cascading down the cliffs on the far side of the valley.

 

Thanksgiving Monday became was partly sunny and quite warm. The clouds would part giving great views of the new snow in the high country and the wild raging rivers running down the mountainsides. We decided to take a drive up to Whistler for lunch. There is a lot of fall colour starting to show in the trees and shrubs as well as on the rocks themselves. The moss and lichens that cover the rock turn interesting shades of yellow and gray.

 

There is a little pizza place in Whistler where you can get a fairly nice slice and a coke for about 5 bucks. That’s more than in normal areas but keep in mind we are talking Whistler. I’m always surprised that they don’t charge for the privilege of just looking around. Anyway, Glacier Pizza isn’t too bad.

 

The shops and stores in the village are open 7 days a week, all year round. Funny thing, it doesn’t matter how cold or hot out it is, their doors are always wide open. Even in mid winter, the doors are open. Once you get dragged inside one, the prices will be quite a jolt. Try about double compared to anywhere else for a comparable item. However, the one exception is when some place has stuff on sale. Due to the snob factor, once merchandise is out dated or considered old stock, it gets drastically reduced. Stuff ‘on sale’ can actually be a fairly good deal.

 

Whistler has done something quite clever. They have had a system in place for years where you can rent a mountain bike and take it up the gondola to the top with you. Then you bike back down. They have taken it a step further and created a mountain bike course with jumps, water traps, the whole bit. The adventurous types that tackle the course can be almost any age, they just have to be outfitted in all sorts of high tech protective gear and be willing to take a few spills. Its kind of fun to sit at the bottom of the run, which is right in the village and watch the bikes come down. The riders are covered in mud and exhausted. Some don’t make it down; they either give up or crash and have to be rescued.

 

A section of the highway between Squamish and Whistler has been under construction since last winter. It’s the area known as the canyon, from BOB (big orange bridge) on up to the sand barns. (That’s where they store the sand they spread on the road in the winter). Parts of the highway that is being widened has solid rock cliffs right out to the edge of the driving lane. It was very narrow and winding. This whole area is slowly turning into a much safer 3 or 4-lane road with much gentler inclines. It will be quite nice once finished. Right now the old pavement is pretty ruff from rocks landing on it when they blast.

 

By Wednesday we were back into major rain, even by west coast standards. Normally the ‘locals’ don’t even seem to notice when it’s raining. Life just goes on, kids play in the streets and people are out walking their dogs. This particular storm that blew in left us with a steady downpour right into the weekend. There have been numerous road and highway closures in the Vancouver area due to flooding and the Sea to Sky highway was closed just north of Horseshoe Bay due to a rockslide.

 

The reservoirs that serve the Vancouver area had been at critical low levels. They are now so full that the people in charge are letting water out. They have to; the levels are rising at over a foot an hour.

 

I went to the Eagle viewing place on the Squamish River yesterday. Some of you know where that is. When you stand on the dyke and look back at the cars and trucks going by on the roadway, their roofs are several feet below the level of the river water churning by. It’s absolutely wild. There are whole trees being washed down stream.

 

It is unheard of out here to be ‘rained out’ on a job site but it got so wet that we couldn’t get anything done. That meant I had a couple of days off. Unfortunately, if it’s too wet to work at work, it’s too wet to work on the deck project. So that left me with lots of time to muck around with the computers. Sue had this week off and wanted to go into the city shopping. It didn’t leave me that much spare time.

 

This is the first wild bizarre North Pacific Rain Storm that we have experienced since we moved here. It just keeps getting more interesting. By Saturday morning (today) we couldn’t go into Vancouver if we wanted to. There is a rockslide near Deek’s Creak and they have to stabilize the cliff face. That means that crews have to hang over the cliffs on cables and poke at all the rock to make sure it is not loose. If it is, they pry it out so it will fall under control.

 

Pemberton is completely cut off. The roads north of there are flooded. The bridge over Rutherford Creek has been washed out between Pemberton and Whistler so that section of 99 will be closed for a while. Daisy Lake south of Whistler is over flowing the dam. To add to the problem, they are concerned about the dam’s integrity and have had to open the gates to let off some pressure. That means the Checkamus River is in major flood. Highway 99 between Squamish and Whistler runs beside the Checkamus just north of the Canyon and is under water. Whistler is cut off from the outside world.

 

The Checkamus runs through Paradise Valley. The whole valley was evacuated yesterday. (That’s where Warren and Janice used to live). The Upper Squamish River Valley is flooded but the have not evacuated anyone because they can’t get out. Most of the homes up there where built on raised burms so they are high and sort of dry for now.

Lower Brackendale is in the process of being flooded. The pumps that lift the surface water over the dyke when the Squamish is high can’t keep up with the rising water. Government road is now under water by the eagle viewing place and the Eagle Run restaurant. The trailers in the trailer parks along there are starting to float. The Mamquam River is almost up to the railway bridge and highway overpasses.

 

We are about 800 ft above all the flooding so there is nothing to be concerned about up here. The Mashiter Creek runs behind the houses across the street from us but is in down in a steep canyon that has steep hundred foot walls.

 

There is so much water flowing over Shannon Falls that people standing in the rain on the viewing platform are getting splashed.

 

Now, if my Internet service would just come back up, I’d be able to send this addition. And Oh yeh, it is supposed to rain like this for another week yet.

 

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North Nova News

 Here it is Friday again and time for another news report.  I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving dinner.  I laughed out loud about the comment Uncle Wayne made concerning Carol’s upside down turkey.  We had our little brother, Zane and his mother over for dinner.  He always says his mother burns everything so I try real hard not to. Last year I actually burned the turkey and Zane said he felt right at home.  What is it about turkeys these days?  They cook twice as fast as they used to or I’m buying smaller turkeys!  Well I was on my toes this year and the dinner went very well. 

 For the past week we have been splitting wood and piling it into our woodshed.  We’ve been doing this for years but this is later than usual.  Peter was so busy with the boat the wood got neglected and I was starting to panic.  Spring was always the time for cutting, splitting and piling so the wood had time to dry out properly all summer long and then in the fall moving it into the woodshed.  We hired a man this year to cut it for us.  Next year I think we will buy it already cut and split.  I’ve even thought of putting shutters in the woodshed that open out so the wood could be piled in as it is delivered and the drying process would happen in there.  That would save a lot of work.  We are lucky our house only needs 4 cords to keep us warm which costs us about $300.00 a year for heat. 

Our  weather this fall has been incredible except for the odd hurricane.  Last weekend Peter and Zane and a friend of ours motored a sailboat all the way from Pictou to a place called Petit de Grat on Cape Breton Island where the boat will go under repairs caused from Hurricane Juan.  It took them 24 hours including a 6 hour sleepover in Port Hawkesbury. There was absolutely no wind and a big beautiful moon to sail by at night.  They saw dolphins and a big cruise ship left them bouncing in its wake.  Zane was sleeping in the bow when it went by.  He woke up with a start as he bumped his head.  A friend and I drove down the next day to pick them up.  The colours of fall were out in full force.  They hadn’t been hit by the hurricane so their leaves were brilliant.  Here in our area the poor stressed trees lost their green leaves during the hurricane so what was left looks dry and dull.  

Greg mentioned he would like to see more of our lovely town of Pictou.  Here is the website where you can find out all about the construction of the ship Hector and other interesting facts of this historic town.  www.townofpictou.com    The original ship Hector arrived in 1776 after a harrowing two month voyage across the Atlantic from Loch Broom, Scotland, carrying it’s brave souls to a new land.   It would be great to see some of our readers come visit and they would be most welcome to stay with us. 

Until next time

Sus

 

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THE ONTARION REPORT

 

October 17, 2003

 

Hello all! It’s time once again to think of such things as storing the patio furniture and tuning up the snow blower. I learned a long time ago not to put this stuff off til the last minute. Because, what you may think will be the last minute is usually one minute too late. You find yourself scrambling to get the patio furniture into the shed and making sure you have all the snow brushed off it at the same time. Not to mention the shed door is usually frozen shut to boot! It’s a lot easier to drain the oil out of the snow blower when the weather is still warm as well. Along with the pond work we did last week, we also started winterizing the outside of the house and yard. The only things we have left to put away are the two chairs and footstools on the front porch. We like to leave them out while there’s still a chance of a warm sunny afternoon to enjoy a cup of tea out there. I also cut the grass for what should be one of the final times as well. I’ve actually cut the grass as late as the 3rd week of November a number of years ago. Carole actually took a picture of me on the front lawn in shorts and a tee shirt, standing behind the snow blower. The lawn was bright green in colour and the date was January 11th. I can’t remember exactly how many years ago this was but I can say with certainty it was sometime in the mid 80’s. It was the afternoon of my birthday, the first and only GREEN birthday I’ve ever had. That year was one of strange weather for sure. We had a green Christmas and the temperature was hovering around 40 F right up to mid January. It was actually interesting to experience such a phenomenon! The only other Green Christmas that I can remember was the one that we spent in Florida. Friends of ours had the use of a large home on a golf course just north of Ft Meyers on the Gulf Coast. There were a total of 6 of us staying in the house. There was Paul and Barb and their daughter Paula as well as Carole, our son Adam and myself. Although we were in Florida, we were glad to have our winter coats with us when we woke up Christmas Day. We were lucky enough to be in Florida the year that they experienced the coldest Christmas Day in 90 some years. The temperature was 16 F on the land and 68 F in the water of the Gulf.

 

We drove over to Disney World that day and took our coats along just in case we needed them. As we drove along, the day was amazingly bright and sunny but cccccccold! We passed many orange and grapefruit groves that had the sprinkler systems straying water on the trees to coat the oranges with ice so they would be insulated from the freezing air. Apparently this works quite well. The growers also had fires going in what they call “smudge pots” these small fires are placed between the rows of trees and not only emit radiant heat to warm the trees but also produce huge amounts of smoke. The soot from the smoke coats the oranges and once again, insulates them from the cold air. Strange strategies eh? They said that the growers only lost about 20% of their crops in that freeze so I guess the strange strategies work! When we got to Disney World, the place was darned near empty! They had shut off all of the water supply to the park to prevent the pipes from freezing and bursting. This meant that any rides that used water could not operate until later in the day when things warmed up. The restaurants were only serving things like sandwiches. They didn’t offer anything that required water to prepare. It was quite weird to see this going on. Right in the middle of one of the “Town Squares” stood a 60’ high Christmas Tree made up entirely of Poine Settia plants. Beautiful bright RED plants that were all dead from the frost and were drooping over the edges of their containers like wet noodles. It was quite a sight to behold. We did take pictures of all of this but they are buried somewhere in the Payne family archives. We had the run of the park for most of the morning. None of the rides had lineups so we were the first ones and sometimes the only people on them. It was like having the whole park reserved just for us. Cool indeed! By noon hour, the weather was warming up considerably. We were able to take our coats off and store them in a locker until it was time to go home. The Christmas Parade that Disney World is famous for was an amazing success with the advent of the cold atmosphere. It seemed to bring the Christmas Spirit out in everyone that day. This made us realize how special Christmas at home truly is. We decided there and then that we would always spend Christmas at home. There’s just something special about a white Christmas that is beyond compare.

 

We’ve had an interesting few weeks here with regards to Adam’s “new” vehicle. I think I’ve told you all before about his new Mini Cooper that he purchased last spring. Well, he decided to store the Mini for the winter. This meant he has to find another vehicle to drive while the Mini’s away. He decided to shop for a small pickup truck. This would give him a handy vehicle to carry his tools around in as well as to drive for everyday use and work. He had been driving to work in the Cooper but decided it was too special a vehicle to be hauling tools etc in, not to mention driving onto filthy job sites. A small pickup truck would be just the ticket for such daily chores. He asked me to help him look around the area for a truck. We went on a few vehicle search day trips around the region but found nothing to his liking. We decided to venture closer to the Toronto area. One evening we found ourselves on Hwy #7 in Acton Ontario. There is a dealer there by the name of Sunny’s Car Sales. It’s run by Sanjit Mehta a fellow that clamed to be in the business for 15 years and bragged about his integrity and the quality of his vehicles. He told us that the Mazda B3000 (1995) extra cab pickup that we were looking at had been all done over mechanically under his watchful eye. He told us that he had installed a new clutch, new ball joints, all new brakes and done a tune up and oil change. We took the truck for a short ride and found it to be not a bad little vehicle. This was of course a cursory evaluation at best. He said he wanted $3900.00 and not a penny less. It was certified and E tested as required.

 

We told him that there seemed to be a vibration in the drive train and he agreed that it needed new universals but he would do that before Adam took delivery. He drew up the agreement that night the 20th of September and Adam and I went over to pick it up on the 23rd. On the way home through Guelph, Adam said he could feel something strange in the brakes. We pulled into a coffee shop parking lot and found that the left rear mag wheel was blistering hot. We tried to phone Sunny but could not get an answer. This was about 9:30 pm. We decided to drive it home anyway and call from there. Once we got home, we pulled the rear wheel off the truck and found that the brake linings were adjusted up tight against the drum, so we backed them off until the wheel would spin freely. We called Sunny and said that after the adjustment we would drive it for a day or so and keep him posted as to the result. Adam was not very happy with this situation.

 

He drove it to work the next day and I received a phone call at 5pm from Adam asking me to come tow him home from a few blocks away from our house. He said that the clutch had gone out of the truck. When we got home we checked under the truck and found antifreeze dripping off the bottom of the starter motor, something was leaking. We also knew at this point that the brake shoes that Sunny said had been replaced were not new. Adam called Sunny and told him about the problem and he said he would send a tow truck to haul it back to Acton but not until the next Monday. This was a Thursday evening. The following Monday the truck picked up the vehicle and towed it away to Acton. Sunny had the truck for another week and 2 days. Adam phoned to see what the holdup was and Sunny told him that he could pick the truck up on Thursday as he had to replace the wiper arm and relay as well. We drove to Acton the next day to get the truck with Sunny’s assurance that all had been fixed. He told me himself that he had personally installed the new rear brakes and that he had his mechanic repair the ABS brakes that had not been working as well. This was the second time, by the way that he had his mechanic fix the ABS at our request. Before we headed home, I noticed that the backup lights were not working. We were only across the street at Timmy’s having a coffee before leaving for home. So, back across the street to Sunny’s we went. He farted around with the fuses for about 20 minutes and then asked Adam to fix them himself the next day when it was light out. He said if you can’t get them working, bring it back next week and I’ll have my mechanic fix them while you wait. Adam was quite frustrated by then. He said ok, I just want to get home, it’s after 9pm. So, we headed for home. When we pulled in the drive at home, Adam told me that there was a strange feeling to the brakes again. He tried the emergency brake and it wouldn’t hold. I told him to step harder on the brake and that seemed to make it hold. When he released the parking brake and tried to drive forward, the rear wheel was seized tight. At this point, Adam was fit to be tied. He said that’s it, I want my money back! I said let’s pull the wheel off first and see if the brakes are new. Well, guess what, they were the same old shoes. We put the wheel back on and I asked if the ABS brakes were working alright on the way home. He said actually, I tried hammering them on and they locked up solid. ABS brakes are not supposed to lock up.

 

I asked Adam if the ABS light on the dash was coming on as he drove like it was before. He said no it hadn’t come on. I said turn the key on and see if the ABS light comes on before you start the engine. He turned the key on and …………..no ABS light. We reached up under the dash and discovered that the light bulb had been remover from the ABS indicator. I said, “this Sunny jerk must think we just fell off the turnip truck”! I said we have enough on this guy to cause him serious trouble with the ministry of transport if he won’t give your money back. We went in and phoned the “Jerk” and Adam told him what we had found and that he wanted his money back in full in cash or certified cheque. Sunny said he’d fix everything and Adam told him he’d already had 3 chances to fix everything and that time was up. Sunny said he’d call Adam the next morning to let him know what he would do for him. The next morning Adam was at work when Sunny called so I answered. He started to say that he’d bring a car over for Adam to drive while he got the mess straitened out but I cut him off in mid sentence. I told him that Adam and I had had enough and if he didn’t come up with a refund immediately we’d take our situation to the Ministry. He said I’ll call Adam at supper tonight and make arrangements to refund his money. What the heck next could this guy pull???  As it turned out, Adam had to call him until he finally answered his phone. He agreed to refund Adam’s money in full but not until Friday October 17th as he had over extended himself and didn’t have enough money at the moment. Adam agreed to wait. We talked about it after Sunny had hung up and figured that Sunny was just trying to put Adam off until after the 30 day legal limit for making any refund claim. I said if he’s willing to pay you back in full next Friday he should be willing to write you a post dated cheque for the amount before then. So, Saturday Adam and I went over to Acton and Adam told him that we had advice from the UCDA (Used Car Dealers Association) to ask for a post dated cheque. Well, you should have heard him back peddle then! He said “NO, I promise to give you a certified cheque in full next Friday so I won’t give you a personal post dated one now”! It didn’t look like he was going to cooperate so I suggested that if he was being truthful about the refund then he should be willing to give Adam a letter stating that he would refund the full amount on Oct 17th and sign the letter right there and then.

 

He agreed to do so and wrote the letter out for Adam. We walked out of his office with at least an admission by Sunny that he had made a commitment to refund Adam’s money. Needless to say, this week was a very slow week while wondering if he’d keep his word. Adam arrived home at noon and shortly there after the phone rang. It was Sunny asking for directions to our house from King and Weber Sts. Twenty minutes later he was standing at the door with a certified cheque in hand and a very insincere apology for Adam. He stood there and blamed everything on the mechanic that he paid to do the work that obviously wasn’t done. Whew!!!!!! What an episode this has been. Two minutes after Sunny pulled away from our driveway, dragging brake linings and all, Adam headed to the bank to deposit the cheque. At least it was certified and no problem at that point. We were all happy to have that nightmare over with. I know I’ve probably bored the heck out of most if not all of you with this lengthy tale but it’s a once in a lifetime experience that I thought worth relaying.

 

Just one more thing before I sign off for this week. Carole and I went for a lengthy drive last Thanksgiving Monday to see the fall leaves. I had my digital camera along and took a couple of “Fall” shots of the Grand River from the same vantage point that I took them last spring. I forwarded them to Doug to remind him of the beauty he had in his back yard right here in Kitchener. I hope he’ll see fit to post one or two on his website so you can all enjoy the view.

 

Thanks for your continued support of these compositions. It’s a lot of fun doing this each week. I really enjoy reading all of the submissions.

 

Talk to you all again next week. Until then, take care and stay safe.

GREG.

 

PS: Something to Think About<

Procrastination is the thief of time and opportunity.

 

 

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http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/

 

Have a good one..

the doug