The Squamidian Report – Feb. 18 / 06
Also in this issue:
Nova Scotia, Mexico and Back
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Well, unless things have gotten way screwed up somewhere, I’m not here, I’m there right now. So needles to say, I’ve had a guest editor stand in for me. So if you got your copy, thank Sue.
*
There are some frustrating things about living in small town Squamish, but customer service, make that the lack of customer service has to be the biggest thing. We are big believers in shopping local. Give your business to the local shops, stores and services. Everyone here is constantly complaining that everyone heads into the city to shop, and they are right. A lot of people are doing their shopping for merchandise and services in the city. But with good reason. You can’t get any service here. We have tried and tried. The local shops and services can’t even be bothered to return our phone calls. They just seem interested in providing their services in the higher paying more lucrative Whistler market.
When we had all our doors and windows replaced, we gave any local company who might do that kind of thing first crack at it. Couldn’t get a returned phone call. Nothing. So we had Home Depot in Burnaby do the job. They did a great job at a competitive rate. We had all the carpeting though out the house replace. Again, not one local place could be bothered to come out and do and estimate or even return our call. So again, we had Home Depot do the job. Actually, they sell the materials and arrange a service company who does their work to do the job. And again, they did a great job at a competitive rate.
We went into the local stove and fireplace store to inquire about gas fireplaces. He wouldn’t even give us the time of day. It was like we were intruding or something.
Now we need to have our automatic garage door openers replaced. We can’t get either of the two local overhead door companies to show any interest. The one prefers to work up in Whistler where he can charge through the nose (and won’t return our calls) and the other has shut down for a month while the boss goes on vacation. So again, we have called Home Depot in the city and they are more than happy for our business. We will have the work done in a few weeks once we can schedule it.
Kind of makes you wonder why everyone is so upset that Wal-Mart, Home Depot and a few other big stores are coming to Squamish. Everyone seems to think they will kill the local businesses. Can’t happen, the local businesses are either already dead, or are trying their best to commit suicide. There are some exceptions, the local tire places seem to try. And there is a small start-up music store that while selling over priced cheap musical stuff is at least trying. And the local computer store is pretty good although alarmingly laid back.
*
I was scanning the snowfields across the valley and spotted an area where large crevices had formed in the snow. I continued to scan further around and then came back to that spot. A large section had broken away while I was looking at other areas, so I missed watching the avalanche come down. However, the section that broke away left a clean scar right down to the rock slope it had been hiding. It also left a vertical cliff of a snow face. Where I am looking is perhaps 10 miles or so away, but that vertical cliff of snow is perhaps 4 times higher than the trees are on the ridges that are only half that distance away. The snow-depth up there is incredible. If you could get up there (which you can’t) and if you could sink down through the snow (which you wouldn’t) it would take a hundred years of Global Warming before anyone would ever find what was left of you.
*
For anyone interested, Warren and I took a drive up into the Elaho Valley a few days ago. I took some pictures of the rugged, pristine wilderness there.
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b2/Elaho/elaho.htm
doug
****
In my father (Howard’s) words:
The results from the CAT scan and x-rays
were coming in and it didn’t look good, cancer on the brain and lungs. A short life ahead for me. I have a son who winters in Mexico who
somehow hooked onto a large Adobe house, large enough for me and other members
of my family to come and visit for a last nostalgic good time. Apparently my memory is as good or bad as my
health according to my kids, I was a great father. Of course as emotions cooled I wasn’t all that great.
Dec. 29/05
Rose up at 2:00am to head for the airport. Zane had stayed overnight to keep Peter
company on the drive back home. The
night was clear so we arrived in plenty of time to have a bagel at Tim Horton’s
before checking in the luggage. By
5:30am I said my goodbyes. My journey
to Mexico had begun. Dad, Ward and Mae
left a week earlier. Dad was so anxious
to get away after learning of his illness.
His doctor insisted on five radiation treatments on his head to shrink a
critical tumor that was causing his left arm and leg to go limp so he had spent
a week in Halifax. That just made him
want a trip more. I felt the urgency to
join them as soon as possible.
Halifax to Newark went well. I
love those smaller jets. It took awhile
for our gate to become available. I had
a two hour stop over but became anxious since in that time I had to do
immigration, customs, collect my baggage, change terminals, re-check baggage,
do security and then find my new gate for my flight on America West to
Phoenix. Whew, it made me tired just
typing that! As I was doing just that, I noticed many signs saying
“defibulator”. I’m sure they get
used. One of my baggages was Ward’s
guitar, that he had planned to take with him, but with all the work of looking
after Dad’s needs (clothes, pills, doctor’s papers etc.) he forgot the
guitar. Ward never forgets his guitar! So I lugged it along with my own stuff
through Newark. It actually made things
easier at customs when the officer seemed more interested in whether I played
professionally or just for fun. I
didn’t tell him it wasn’t even mine.
Finally I found my gate with only 10 minutes to spare. Then another wait on the runway for 20 to 25
planes ahead of us to take off. As it
turned out we gained time on the flight and arrived in Phoenix right on
schedule. My sister Michelle and her son
Seth were there ahead of me as their flight from Vancouver arrived much earlier. It was great to see their smiling
faces. Our plans had worked out so well
being able to coincide flights to meet in Phoenix and then fly into Mexico
together. The wait was short. This time
we had to go outside on the tarmac.
Walking past smaller propeller planes made my stomach start to
tighten. This will be interesting. We asked a pilot and he said step right up
we are going to Guaymas. With only 9
passengers aboard they distributed our weight near the back of the plane. My guess it only took maybe 30 passengers in
all. As we took off my nerves settled
and we enjoyed the amazing view of mountains and desert with the odd round
green field scattered here and there. Mostly
the landscape was brown except for these green patches where farmers were irrigating
their land. Descending into Guaymas
bothered my ears but it sure felt good to step onto Mexican soil. Going through customs was neat. They have a big button that you press. If it goes green you’re good to go, red you
get searched. We all got the green
light. We were already having fun.
While waiting in the parking lot for our family to show up we had many
offers from Mexicans to drive us somewhere.
The problem was we had no idea where we were going.
Finally we saw some familiar faces
driving up. Dad in the front seat with
Dennis, Ward and Mae in the back of the Ford explorer. They were shocked we arrived early,
apparently that never happens. We
crammed into the vehicle and headed straight for a pub called Froggys in the
town of San Carlos where all new arrivals get initiated into Mexico with
Marguerites and Mexican beer. Dad
looked right at home with his big hat and fancy shirt. He was so happy to have us all there. He moved slowly and carefully but managed
not too badly. His left arm had become
limp again. After some celebrating we
headed out to Dennis’s hacienda. The
house is situated in the middle of a deserted subdivision surrounded by mountains. There are roads and street signs but no
other houses only one other abandoned building that was used for an
office. The doors are wide open and
cattle roam through it.
The house itself is beautiful with huge
rooms, tile floors and wide halls. The
roof was used for entertaining. At one
corner was an adobe oven, a barbeque and sink.
Another area the family had built a palappa, which is a shade structure
made of bamboo poles and palm frawns.
Ward and Mae had another corner for their bed and spent every night
sleeping on the roof. Seth erected a
tent up there for his lodging. Also the
view of the mountains and looking out to San Carlos on the sea was
incredible. On the main floor Dad had
his own room with a large bathroom adjoining.
Michelle and I slept in the largest bedroom on two Mexican cots that we
kept close together because the room was so empty and lonely. The cots were fairly comfortable and were
like hammocks in a frame. They were
lacking a mattress and were a little hard on the hips. In the center of the
house were a toilet room, shower room and a separate area with two sinks. The
living room went on forever. Only the
kitchen was small. What furniture we
had was scrounged or purchased by Dennis.
Dennis and his two dogs, Swarti and Parleine, slept in their trailer
parked in the yard.
Dennis and Ward have done amazing things
with the house in a short time. We have
3 lights and a TV operating from solar panels on the roof. For hot water there is a large black
container on the roof that heats up in the sun. Every few days from a huge open
well on another property, Dennis uses a generator to pump water into another
container in the back of his truck.
Then he drives the truck over to the house and pumps it into the roof
container to keep us supplied with water for showers, 2 toilets and
washing. A few drops of iodine are
added to dishwater to kill bacteria and we drink only bottled water. For refrigeration they found a large cooler with sliding doors and a large block of
ice was placed inside. A pot had to put
under to catch the melting ice and that water was not wasted but used for
washing or flushing a toilet.
Dec. 30/05
Morning came early after a chilly night.
We didn’t bring enough warm clothes. The temperatures are around 75 to 80
degrees F. in the daytime but at night it drops to a cool 60 to 65. Finally when the sun made its appearance
over the mountains and it became nice and warm we piled in the vehicle and went
to the beach. Dad enjoyed putting his
feet in the sand and watching the pelicans dive for fish. We all slicked ourselves with sunscreen but
soon found the sun’s rays were not that strong and the water was quite cold for
swimming. Dennis and Seth ventured in
but the rest of us just enjoyed walking and laying on the white sand looking
out at the sparkling water. On the way
home we picked up some pesos at the bank.
$2500 pesos equals approx. $250.00.
We took turns paying for groceries.
The shopping was slow having to read labels in Spanish to identify food
but we improved as time went by.
Dec. 31/05
Every morning we have a big breakfast and no
one seems hungry again until evening.
Dennis came back today with oranges and grapefruits picked fresh from a
friend’s yard. They were delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever had fruits so
fresh. The Mexicans are not good about
recycling. We have a compost bucket
that gets buried regularly so as not to attract flies or coyotes that sound
very close at night. Our paper and
Kleenex waste get burned in a barrel on the property. All other garbage is taken into San Carlos and put in their
street containers. Beer bottles can be
refunded when buying a new supply. For
New Year’s Eve we had a party with a few guests; Dennis’s girlfriend, Lourdes,
and a couple from Calgary. We sang some
tunes and had a barbecue on the roof.
At 9:00pm we celebrated Nova Scotia’s New Years. We would have had to stay up to 1:00am for
Vancouvers. The nights get cool so we
headed for bed much before that. Dad
didn’t make it past 7:00pm. He has always been an early to bed person. A tree had been decorated for Christmas on
the roof so it was all very festive. It
is hard to believe this is December with every day sunshine and warmth. The locals freeze and wear sweaters and
jackets because it is winter. They
don’t go near the beaches so they are empty at this time of year. It’s also too cold for the scorpions and
rattlesnakes, thank-goodness!!
Stay tuned for part 2
****
Hello
everyone!
Well, I
guess it’s almost tax time and everybody’s scrambling to get the paperwork in order
for the filing. We go through this every year and it seems that there are a lot
of people that smile at the fact they are getting money out of the government.
I guess some folks still don’t realize that the money they are getting for a
refund is just that, a REFUND. It’s not governmental money in that cheque, it’s
your money in the first place. I know it’s nice to get that cheque at this time
of year but when you think about it, wouldn’t it be better to have that money
in your pocket in the first place and not have to let the government use it to
line their coffers with investment interest in the first place? I’ve always
thought that the less you send Ottawa in the form of income tax the better. I
guess some people think of it as a form of saving that money where they can’t
touch it for a year at a time. There are many ways of putting a little extra
money away that are more beneficial to you than lending it to the government. I
guess it’s just easier for most people to do it this way. I’ve always been one
to have my deductions set as close to accurate as possible. Although there were
a few years when I got back a sizable chunk and to tell the truth, it was a
nice feeling at the time. Oh well, to each his own!
*
I’ve been
contemplating buying a new snow blower for a few weeks now and today I went out
and did just that. My 10hp has been working faithfully but is one heck of a
brute to maneuver around on my small driveway and sidewalk. I have about a 30’
x 30’ driveway and 50’ of sidewalk in the front of my house. If I take an urge
to blow the snow off the sidewalk beside our house (we live on a corner) that’s
another 120’ stretch. The city has been plowing that side walkway for the past
few years so I really don’t have to do it with my blower. It’s just fun to get
on a breakaway once in a while and do it too. I guess it may be that I’m
getting a little weaker in my old age but the 10 hp blower seems to be so
darned heavy and cumbersome. It weighs around 275 lbs and has a mouth on it
like the Grand Canyon. It’s a 32” wide opening and it sure takes a big bight
out of the snow. However, the size of the auger seems to be too much for the
smaller impeller that throws the snow out the chute. When the snow is light and
dry, the blower throws it about 15’ max. When the snow is less than ideal, it
only travels about 5’ from the spout or it clogs the chute altogether and
throws it nowhere! I find myself having to lift the back end of the big monster
to make turns and I’m just tired of all the heavy lifting. I started looking at
the different makes on the market. My aunt has a 6 hp Honda blower and it’s
only a 22” opening on the auger. This little machine throws snow of any
consistency an amazing distance. I looked on the Honda website and they
guarantee that it will throw the snow up to 45’ when ideal and 15’ to 25’ when
it’s wet and heavy. She tells me that it does exactly what they advertise. I
also checked out the new Toro 8hp blower and found that it is rated the #1
machine on the market. Of course the Honda people claim that distinction as
well. I found out by talking to owners of both that each one is as good as the
other when you compare distance and amount of snow it will handle and also the
reliability of each machine is top notch. I was leaning toward the Honda 6hp
unit but I found out that the price of it is a tad steep. The Honda lists for
$1769.00 for that model. So with tax that rounds out to about $2100.00.
Hmmmmmm….. that’s a lot of cash to clear your snow. The Toro lists at $1499.00
so there’s a few hundred less for this unit than the Honda. Adam and I happened
to be in Waterloo a couple of days ago and went into the Home Depot to look
around. Here didn’t they have the Toro 8hp 26” unit on sale. They had 3 of them
sitting on the floor with huge price tags on them of $1124.00 . I went to the
Honda dealer yesterday and asked if they had any sales coming up for the spring
and was told that only one model goes on sale each year and that they wouldn’t
be putting the model I wanted on sale at all. They seem to have a “That’s the
price, take it or leave it!” attitude. There was one advantage to talking to
the Honda dealer and that was that he told me that Honda and TORO are the two
top snow blowers on the market and it’s a toss up which one is better. They
both have their distinct features that are excellent and he can’t fault Toro.
That pretty much made up my mind. I decided to hop over to Home Depot in
Kitchener on Ottawa St near my home and pick up the Toro machine. When I went
over last night I found that they were priced $200.00 more than in HD in
Waterloo. So I waited until this afternoon and Adam and I went back to Waterloo
HD and sure enough the price was an “In Store” special for Waterloo only. I
talked to the salesman for the blower section and he was very knowledgeable
about his product. This surprised me since most times the Home Depot employees
don’t know shit from apple butter! He told me that the Toro is rated #1 in both
price and reliability in North America and that it comes with a 2 year parts
and labour warranty and they’ll even pick the snow blower up at your home and
deliver it back to you when it’s fixed if anything ever goes wrong within that
2 year period. I was sold for sure! Adam and I wheeled it out to his truck and
loaded her in the back. When we got home, I took time to read the manual for
the blower and then went out after supper to check it out. It turned out that
there was nothing to do but put gas in the tank and push the button. It’s even
got a halogen headlight and electric start. I pumped the primer 3 times and
pushed the button and away she went! Purring like a kitten and the light lit up
the whole driveway. This little beauty has 6 forward speeds and 2 reverse
speeds. The drive and sidewalks are clean so I drove it up into the snow on the
boulevard. I was amazed that I was able to blow the slightly wet/heavy snow
right across the street and onto the sidewalk on the other side. That’s got to
be 50’ if it’s an inch. I even managed to chomp my way through the big frozen
chunks of stuff that the plow left on the side of the road last week. The Toro
has notches on the auger blade that really eat into the hard snow. I was amazed
at how well it performed. I told Carole earlier that one way to make sure that
we don’t get any more snow this winter was to purchase a new snow blower. Well,
I just looked out the window and sure enough it’s 3am and snowing like crazy
out there! I guess I’ll be able to give the new TORO a workout in the morning.
Yippee! I’ll maybe take some pictures to commemorate the occasion.
The next
thing I have to do is clean up the old 10 hp unit and put ‘er up for sale on
the front driveway. I’m going to paint the auger housing and she’ll look like a
million bucks. Well, she’ll look like 3 or 4 hundred bucks anyway. It still
works ok but it needs a home that has a lot more area to clear than what we
have. I’m sure someone will snap it up pretty quickly. Most times when someone
puts something on their curbside with a for sale sign on it around here, it’s
gone in no time. I have to make sure I do this in a timely manner, we’re
running out of space in the garage! LOL! I’ve got Adam’s Mini, the MGB, two
motorcycles, two snow blowers and a lawn mower in there and it’s a little
congested right now. I’m amazed that we still have room to walk through that
group without banging a shin or something. LOL!
When I
look at the collection we have in there, I start to think I might be a little
spoiled in my old age. But then again, you know what they say. “He who has the
most toys when he dies wins!” I just hope that all my toys are rusted old
antiques by the time that comes true! Hahahahaaa….!
Well,
it’s getting late and I wanted to finish this weeks Ontarion a couple of days
early so I could get it sent to Doug before he leaves for Ontario on Friday.
Looks like I made it! It’s Wednesday night (actually 3:26am Thursday) and I’ll
send it off and head into bed. I promised to pick Doug up at the airport on
Friday afternoon so I hope the snow lets up by then. I may just have to take
the new blower along in the back of the Jeep so I can blow my way down the 401
if things get too much for the 4 wheel drive! LOL! On second thought, I’d
better leave the Toro at home so I have enough cargo space for all that luggage
that Doug usually brings with him. I’m looking forward to seeing Digger again.
It’s only been a year (well, not quite) but it’s always great to spend some
time with him when he visits “home”. I’m sure you all agree with me on that!
Let’s hope he isn’t bringing his rainy west coast weather along with him this
time. I still prefer the snow, don’t you?
Thanks
for tuning in everyone and I look forward to talking to you all again next time
in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for
now and we’ll see you all at Vivyan and Lorne’s next week.
Later…. Greg.
PS:
Something To Think About>
The first
thing Eskimo kids learn …. Not to eat yellow snow!
Remember:
“Semper Ubi Sub Ubi”
****
The Family and the Squamidian sites:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/ and http://www.thedougsite.ca
Have a good one..
the
doug
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