FOMO

Yep, I was right - no flying today. So we're back at home and I can be online for the day, the day that we are supposed to turn our computers off. I DID have it off for several hours.

So why the title? I got to listen to a bit of GO on CBC Sat. a.m. radio, something I usually miss. This was a little quiz going on between two generations and the young person described not going to a party as FOMO. It means Fear Off Missing Out. A new word for me and it's probably how I'd have to describe a lot of my thinking over the past 50 years! Yeah, I've always looked to see how much greener the grass is over there. So I guess I suffer from FOMO. However, there's something about being in the mid 50's which seems to be beginning to effect a cure. One thing I know is that I'm not missing being in a helicopter in all this fog and rain. I plan to make the most of my day and hopefully catch all my British TV favourites this evening. Most important thing for the day is - KEEP DRY.

Kokanee Spring

Today we're having the torrential rains of the west coast. It's also our fly-in day for the Kokanee Cabin up at Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. Right now it doesn't appear anyone can fly anywhere in the Kootenays. We plan to spend a week up at the 'Chateau Trudeau' in the Park, within an arm's reach of the glacier. I plan to be chief cook and bottle washer and have my pack filled with my yoga mat, a bunch of paperbacks and my knitting. I am bringing a pair of snowshoes and if it gets sunny and warm, I'll be out there! No posts for at least another week.

The Car

I drove to Castlegar yesterday to pick up my car with a big wad of cash in an envelope. First I had to go to Kootenay Credit Union to cash one of my CSBs. I always thought a CSB was as good as cash. I called several banks in Nelson and they wouldn't cash it. They told me I'd have to go to my own bank. Another comment is that two banks did not allow me to talk to a REAL person after going through about 12 options. The problem with my bank is that it is located about another 80 min. drive past Nelson so it's not environmentally friendly. I do almost ALL my banking online these days but cash is actually used as a currency in the Kootenays. People like it here. The seller wanted cash. Hurrah for Kootenay CU who liked me 'cause I was a local.

So how did the "gentleman's agreement" work out? Well, when I called him back someone had offered him $200 more for the car and he wanted to sell to her. I told him I'd match that price. Then I thought about it some more - after all, I had expected to pay the $200 extra for the car because I expected that to be his counter offer on my offer. Then I called him back to check that he'd talked to the other buyer and that the price wouldn't be more the next day. I also reminded him about the "gentleman's agreement". Everything went smoothly at the insurance place and I bought a temporary permit to bring it home. I still have my big van but we need it for another month to get stuff home from my folks "downsizing" to a condo. So I don't plan to register this car for another month.

So have I made a good deal? Well, it seems to run really well and we took it around our curvy, rock strewn roads in a rain last night. So far, so good!

Blog Peekers

Yesterday was the day that I sent out my blog information to my email contacts and today I received several replies from people who have looked at my blog. I need to say thank you to all of you and I've enjoyed looking at your comments. I'm not sure how often I'll really make posts - it'll depend on what is happening in the world and in my life, I guess. I'm happy to be out there with an internet diary and it's fun to think of some people who know me, or don't know me, responding to my thoughts. As a big fan of email, letter writing and keeping in touch with people I think the blog is a good way to go. I'm encouraged by the responses I've received and I'm hoping to find more 50 plus bloggers.

The Federal Budget

So I finally got the news on the federal budget - I couldn't be bothered to listen to the finance minister on the radio yesterday - one thing about living in B.C. is you get this news early in the day. I find it a bit ironic that the only way this budget helps me, as a retired middle income earner, is that it allows me to spend more money in the US without having to stay as long. As a "border" resident now, it's very tempting to go to the US to now spend $800 every time we go in for 48 hours. I'm not sure how this helps the Canadian economy but I guess it could be a benefit to me if I know my prices. What do you think, Mr. Harper?

Buying Cars

Yesterday, I think I just negotiated the purchase of my second car - both have been second hand deals. In this particular instance, I have a "gentleman's agreement" - I'm not sure if there's a feminist equivalent of this - and plan to phone the owner in two days, agree to meet, pay him cash for the car, and drive away. The difficult thing, of course, is have I bought a lemon? In this case, I don't think so, but I wonder if it's close to its breaking point. I bought a Subaru and have never owned one. It's got 250,000 km on it and it looks great, seems to work well, but where is the breaking point with these cars? It's also 11 years old. Anyway, I love the colour and I only hope it will last as long as my last one has, which is still going strong as I write this. I'm also touching wood. It still has a couple of long, heavy hauls to make before we try to sell. I'm pleased to be NOT adding to the economy in buying new, especially after all the new items we've bought for our home. It'll be new to me. If I keep blogging I will update my thoughts on my new old car.

The 'Ides'

Here we sit in the middle of March - the famous Ides and of course it's a special day for me 'cause I turn 56 today. The weather cooperated very well today and we had clear and sunny skies although not too warm. Good for a bike ride to my 'stitch and bitch' where I was greeted with a cake and candles by my new friend, Anne. I spent most of the a.m. talking on the phone but did get an hour out in the proposed garden area getting the rocks out.

Middles of the month are always known as 'the ides', I believe, and in teaching it always felt like a bit of a down time - we weren't almost finished another month - there's something about being able to change that calendar that was so refreshing for me while in teaching. But that's 'cause I was always counting the days. Now I don't really notice it at all so 'the ides' are just there and on we go.

Our isolation has improved. It did take almost two days to get the road to Nelson open but we now have one lane of traffic open so it's slow, but doable. There's major rain in the forecast for the weekend once again so we'll see how the improvements do with a storm. Dave went to Calgary with no difficulty and all the roads were open.

Spring in the Kootenays has been pretty much like spring any place else I've lived. It just gets here earlier. The "yoyo effect" is certainly present, just like the prairies, but it's warmer. Hurrah for spring!

Spring Continues

Sunny, sunny skies and the road remains closed so instead of playing bridge I got to spend the day lugging wood around and burning things in a big fire. Dave took down a huge tree - one of about 15 we want to remove -and it was a perfect fall.

Why the Clothesline?

I'm new at blogging and posted this on Friday. Today I can't find it but I did find my post from yesterday. So I'm rewriting my previous post to see what happens.

I've always been a lover of laundry and using a clothesline. As a small girl I remember washing all my doll's clothes and hanging them outside and checking them frequently to see when they'd dry. My own babies were dressed in cloth diapers most of the time and those diapers were dried in fierce Saskatchewan sun and wind. Having a clothesline on a camping trip is always a priority. On Saturday, I dried clothes outside for the first time in 2007. In our new home in the Kootenays I haven't even hooked up the dryer. Through the winter and fall, I've been hanging the clothes in the basement and they are drying well because we have a woodstove in the basement. One thing I loved about living in Europe is that everyone uses clotheslines and it was always fun to view them from the top of a doubledecker bus.

Posting thoughts on the internet is a bit like using a clothesline - I'm hanging out my thoughts for the whole world to view.

Isolation

Yesterday I wrote about spring time in the Kootenays. It poured rain last night and today we are almost totally isolated! Roads are closed all over B.C. and we had planned a trip to Nelson but can't get there because highway 31 is closed north of Coffee Creek. There's debris all over the road. One reason we are isolated is that highway 1 is closed in several places and highway 93 through Radium is also closed. If we wanted to go to Alberta are only options are highway 3 or through the U.S. It makes one wonder if the best thing to do is just stay home, including not going over to Alberta this weekend. I've got everything I need in this area so I may as well enjoy the views. The skies are much brighter today. We even have sun in our forecast for Wednesday if it actually happens. I don't think I've ever seen a sun symbol in our forecast since last October.

Spring in the Kootenays

It must be spring in the Kootenays. We've been getting some sun from time to time and the snow is disappearing. Today it stayed at a steady plus 5 degrees and it rained all day. We couldn't see the lake today for most of the day. I went for a hike along the Kaslo River in mid-afternoon but it's still pretty icy and snowy. The river is looking muddy. It must be spring.

Another thing that was "springish" about today - the men's final in the Brier. Unfortunately, Ontario won once again - I was cheering for Manitoba who placed 3rd, but in the final, of course I wanted NL. They hung in there until the 9th end. A funny thing that happened is a friend called me to find out what happened in the Brier - I've become a bit of a sports expert here in Pine Ridge, I guess!

A good thing to do on a dreary day today is to bake a cake - I'm catching up with you Julie. I've tried lots of new recipes and today made a Buttermilk Apple Cake. I am about to try a taste of it as I watch more British tv - tonight is Doc Martin. Earlier tonight we enjoyed Foyle's War which is one of my favourites. In spite of the later dark time we stayed huddled in our basement, close to the fire to watch TV. With the time change and dark not arriving until after 7 p.m. it just has to be spring in the Kootenays.