WE DIDN'T GET OUT OF TOWN IN TIME.

You never know when the real thing is going to arrive, but here we are still at home preparing and packing.  And the real thing has arrived.  




And it was a real accumulation of snow.  We were hoping to get on the road before this hit. But, as they say, "The best laid plays of mice and men etc., etc., etc."

Our youngest son and oldest daughter came out to visit us before we left, which was very nice, but it was a treacherous drive out here yesterday and it will be slow going back into town tonight. 

We have a few more chores and errands to see to before we drain the water system and shut the power off.  That will be  the final step before we lock the doors and leave on Friday morning.   

JUST CAN'T WAIT TO GET "ON THE ROAD AGAIN"

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

The Marina owners had a little Halloween Party for the boaters, in the lounge at Hanger 4 last night.  Dan didn't attend, (still grumbling around about the cold he's getting over).  I didn't dress up, but tagged along with our friends Gord and Ellie.

Neil and Sam, had great costumes befitting their "Arabian Nights" theme.    It was a fun evening. 

Meanwhile, our bathroom is completed, and my future kitchen is looking less like a construction sight.  

 

 And more like a freight loading depot. 

We have chosen November 10th as our departure date.  This sudden down turn in the weather has me second guessing that choice, but I still have lots to do before we go.  Six months of meds to order, shut down TV and Internet, cancel the Autopac on my car, back-up both my desk-top and lap-top to my external Hard Drive, so that everything goes with me, etc., etc., etc.  I keep remembering one more thing to add to the lists. 

I also try to plan out meals for the last couple of weeks here so that I use up all the food on hand and don't have to throw stuff away.     

SO THE COUNTDOWN IS ON.  

 

SWITCHING TO NEW LISTS AND NEW GOALS

In the last couple of weeks, our new shower stall has gone from this.  

To this.  I am pleased. 

 The bathroom is almost finished.  I just have a little more painting to do.  I have to get rid of that pine board look.  (that I hate)

Then it is time to start making new lists and setting new goals.  Lists of things we have to accomplish before we leave for Texas.  Things we have to remember to do, before we go.  Things we have to remember to pack.  I already have some bins, marked TX,  sitting in the construction zone that is to be our new kitchen.  I throw things in these bins from time to time as I remember them.  

We have done the doctors appointments and had our flu shots, now I have to order 6 months of medications to take with us.  There are also a number of Canadian products that I really miss when I'm in Texas, that I like to take with me, like tea.  You can't get good tea down in Texas.  I wish I could take enough bread for 6 months, but that's impossible.  

So this will be our focus for the next couple of weeks.  Collecting up and packing items that we need in Texas.  We have no real schedule, but are aiming to be on the road in early November.  

THEN IT'S TEXAS, HERE WE COME

THANKSGIVING NUMBER ONE DONE!

Last week I saw one of my favourite memes on Facebook.     I have always loved the second and third breakfast conversations from the Lord of the Rings movies.  But this one is particularly funny to any of us Canadians that go down to Texas each winter.  We always leave after our Canadian Thanksgiving and are there to enjoy the US Thanksgiving in November.  

I usually make it a point to go around and wish all our Canadian residents a "Happy Second Thanksgiving".  

I am certainly DONE with turkey for now.  We had a lovely traditional dinner last weekend, then there were leftovers the next day.  Toasted turkey sandwiches for breakfast one morning.  Then of course hot turkey sandwiches for dinner one other night.  And finally Dan just finished off the last of the turkey vegetable soup that I make from the turkey carcass.   


ONE DOWN ONE TO GO.  

PROGRESS CONTINUES

Today we made a trip to the hangar to drop off dock items we left behind when left the harbour.  (Bumpers etc.)

Plus picked up items that were left aboard Thunderbird at the end of the season.  

The marina is becoming deserted and the hangars are fast filling up.  

And now work continues, full time, on our renovation projects. The bathroom is nearing completion as we are down to the shower stall tiling.  Then some more painting and it will be finished.  

I'll be glad to see the end of this project and we won't start another until next spring when we get back from Texas.  

AS THE WEATHER GETS COLD WE ARE THINKING OF TEXAS

MY NEW BEACH HOUSE BATHROOM

We now have running hot and cold water and ........... a flushing toilet. I'm happy!!  The new bathroom in the beach house is coming together much faster now.  It's always the things that don't show (like the plumbing & electrical) that take all the time. 

I've painted the walls in certain areas and the toilet is in.

 

The vanity is installed and the medicine cabinet is hung. 

The final thing we just did was to build that missing wall where the old bathroom door used too be.  It was not exactly a private facility with that gaping hole.  Once the water was hooked up and the toilet was in, that was next on my list, and Dan, tired of hearing about it, was teasing me saying "Now you're just being spoiled.  You sound like Donald Trump.  I want a wall, build me a wall."  LOL
 

Tomorrow I will start staining and varnishing both the doors to the bathroom.  

 We still have the big tiling job to do in the shower stall.  And, the shower door to hang.  We should manage to finish that in the next week or so.  


IT'S GETTING THERE. 

THE END TO ANOTHER SUMMER SEASON

Today Lake Agassiz Marine pulled the Thunderbird, Gator, Loafhaven and 2 other boats out of the water and tucked them away for the winter. 

This end of season ritual actually started last week when John West decided to head back to RMYC to put the Gator away there.  They only got as far as the mouth of the Red River and had to turn back, as there is not enough water to get through.  

 

So, he decided to winter in Gimli with the rest of us.

 

We all headed out early this morning.  It was really cold, I had the stove going all the way to Gimli.  The trip was a little rough, certainly not the nicest trip to Gimli I have ever had, but certainly not the worst either.  We were first out, so we had to be there by 9:00am.   .  

We left the harbour with "Thunderbird" at 7:45 followed by John in the "Gator", also on the schedule for today.  Sharon and Casey had booked to have "Loafhaven" pulled out today as well.    

We all made it to Gimli by just short of 9:00 am when "Thunderbird' would be pulled and sure enough there was the trailer sitting in the water at the launch ramp all ready for us. 

This was a new experience for me as normally Dan would pull into a dock and await the trailer and when the trailer arrived I would get off the boat with the dog and wait on shore.  But today they were waiting for us so we just drove straight onto the trailer.  I must admit this made me nervous.    I covered my eyes as we got close and only peeked here and there.  I guess I could even get used to this.  Lets face it when we first bought the boat I was always too nervous to follow behind when they were taking it down to the harbour.  For some reason I always thought something bad was going to happen.  Now it doesn't bother me at all.   

SO ENDS THE SUMMER SEASON LIVING ABOARD THUNDERBIRD