The next major international weather story WILL be FLOODING in Vancouver, BC.  The day was a wet as a day can get; it rained and rained and rained.  Rain on top of snow is NOT a good thing for several reasons.  One it makes the snow two to three times as heavy and then there is the flooding.  Roofs are caving in, creeks are rising and the rain keeps coming.  They are forecasting heavy rain until Friday.  Noah……What!

Our day started at ten calling tow truck companies looking for a four wheel drive tow truck.  I came across a helpful chap named Hal who had a neighbor with a tractor and backhoe.  He was only a “little” ways away so we went over to see if he could help.  Dave looked at the job but begged off and suggested we ask the guys using a couple of bobcats to clear a nearby church.  It turned out to be a good suggestion.  They charged me dearly and wanted only CASH but got the snow plowed AND pulled the trailer out of the field to a location where I can hookup in the morning.

When they arrived at the park it nearly caused a riot as the owner has been telling everyone he couldn’t get anyone to plow AND this has been going on for over a MONTH.  He tried to get them to stay but they refused.  The job is almost impossible as cars and trailers are close together with NO place to pile the snow.

I hired a young kid who said he’d shovel off the trailer roof in ten minutes which I knew was impossible.  He quoted me Twenty bucks.  He has been doing this in the park and knows the ropes; don’t fall, use a plastic shovel, etc.  After twenty minutes he was about a third done with quit written all over his face.  We renegotiated and he agreed to finish for a total of thirty which was TEN BUCKS less than I had figured it would cost in the first place.

I got back to the hotel at five thirty wetter than the day I was born.  It was a long cold rainy day but the job is done and we can head south tomorrow IF our escape route isn’t flooded.

This mess puts a monkey wrench in our travel/visit plans and rules out stopping at our friend Marie’s place in Stanwood.  We have an appointment for the trailer at Camping World near Portland at Eight thirty Thursday morning AND Judith has doctor appointments in the Bay Area starting Monday.  I sure will miss one of Marie’s good meals and, of course, a friendly game of Hand and Foot.  Assuming Camping World can get the work all done in one day we will start down the coast Friday morning.  Washington and Oregon are getting soaked and I want to stay as far away from the mountain passes as possible.

One thing for sure this is the LAST time I’ll do winter storage in Vancouver.  It is just too far NORTH.

When I woke up at Five forty five I wasn’t sure what the day would bring but it couldn’t have gotten much worse short of the plane falling out of the sky.  We left River House at six thirty and even with two stops pulled into the airport at seven fifteen.  Good thing I decided to turn in the rental car AFTER we checked into Hawk Air.  As we approached the check-in counter the attendant said “I’ll take you bags but the flight is delayed until eleven thirty.”  The flight couldn’t make it in last night was the cause for the delay.  Judith decided to stay in the car, with the heater running with Buddy out of her cage.  I stayed in the terminal and setup my computer and spread out my stuff. 

Job one was getting my Verizon wireless working which took almost an hour.  It seems they thought there was fraudulent activity and suspended my service until they could talk to me.  I told them I was an old fart and could barely log on let alone figure out creative ways to bilk my ISP.  They bought the story and reactivated my service.  I logged on to both the geothermal software and took a peak at the cameras.  I was able to do both and turned down the temperature in the house and fine tuned the cameras.  A big thank you to Darrell for making that all possible. 

The eleven thirty departure turned into two with an arrival time at Vancouver of three forty five.  I called the limo service several times but they still managed to make three trips for one pickup.  AND they showed up in one of those thirty foot stretch limos that hall kids to proms and guys with big egos around.  I prayed no one from Smithers saw us crawl in the damn thing.  There was SNOW everywhere AND MORE than we have in Smithers. 

Earlier in the day I called the RV Park which is owned by a Chinese family.  I wanted to let them know we might be arriving after the office closed.  I started my telling them we were coming to pick up the rig and would need a space for the night.  All the owner could say was “no come—too much snow—no come”!

We pulled up at Five fifteen and “no come” was a huge understatement!  The limo stopped in the middle of the street, unable to get into the park.  It hadn’t been plowed but once this year and they have had over thirty inches of snow.  Judith stepped out of the limo and fell into a snow bank.  I lugged the bags to the office and headed out to check out the truck and trailer.  Surprisingly the truck was accessible but the trailer may be here till SPRING!  I went back to the office got the truck keys and borrowed a shovel.  I pressed the remote start and the F-450 hummed to life.  Potential problem number one was out of the way.  I dug out the two feet of snow behind the rear wheels while the truck was warming up.  I started to hop in and realized there was TWO feet of snow on the hood and windshield.  THAT took some doing to get it cleaned off and the windshield wipers working.  When I tried to back out it was apparent that something was wrong with the four wheel drive and I immediately spun down into the snow.  The transmission started acting wacky; going forward in reverse and vice versa.  A nice young fellow pulled me out and put a little sunshine in an otherwise sunless day. 

The trailer has eighteen inches of VERY wet snow on the roof, is in an unplowed field with an abandoned car, buried in snow, partially blocking my access to the trailer.  While I was checking all this out Judith was on the phone and found a Ramada Inn close by that was cat friendly. 

At seven we called it a day and checked into the Ramada; wet, hungry and looking for a better tomorrow. 

It looks like I should have put “post blog” on my list of things to do for yesterday.  My head was already on the pillow when I realized it wasn’t done and it was already well after midnight.  Well, things balance out and I have plenty of time to do it here at the Smither’s airport while we wait THREE hours for our flight to Vancouver.  The plane never made it in last night, sooooooooo……………….

I broke the poker curse early yesterday with a 2^nd in a $22 SNG and pocketed $54.  Then I logged on to a 180 player MMT, paying $11 and finished 13^th and receiving $21.60.  THAT was my highest finish in a 180 MMT.  Progress. 

Judith was up about the time it started snowing around nine.  It was real fine and I had that feeling I’d be plowing one more time before leaving.

I grabbed my to do list and knocked off a half dozen items before logging on and playing the  Sunday 200K.  I played pretty well and got two thirds through the THIRTY THOUSAND player field but didn’t cash.

With my poker fix satisfied for the day I start back on the list and got everything in order. It was dark at four thirty about the time the snow stopped after depositing about five inches.  I had always heard people say it was easier plowing at night with the lights but I had my doubts.  I fired up the blazer and headed out and soon realized “they” were RIGHT!  There is no sun glare and you can see SO MUCH better.  I used the blazer to do the road and then switched to the Polaris for the parking areas at Louise’s, the shed and at River House.  It had warmed up to a balmy TWENTY and the plowing was a pleasant experience.

I was finished just in time to head up to Louise’s for dinner.  She offer to cook and we gladly accepted.  We drove the blazer with the intentions of leaving it there so Louise can plow the rest of the winter.  A nice quarter moon was out and we’ve been waiting for a warmer evening to take a moonlit stroll.

Louise had a nice chicken dinner with all the trimmings.  She fixed carrots and celery cooked to perfection which proved to be a VERY pleasant dish.  I’ve never had this combination before but it will become something I serve in the future.

We said out goodbyes around eight thirty and headed back to River House.  We didn’t have a flashlight and certainly didn’t need one; the moon reflecting on the snow provided the perfect amount of light for our final winter walk on this amazing piece of property.

I wasn’t standing on my chair clapping when Judith insisted on staying through Christmas but I really enjoy the time.  This valley is a beautiful place; THE winter wonderland.  We both realize how precious our time is and enjoy sharing River House with our Friends and Family.  God willing and the creek don’t rise will still be able, and willing, to do this for the foreseeable future!

My snoring drove Judith right out of our room last night.  She was curled up in the main guest room when I got up at eight and got my day started.  

It was a crisp five degrees this morning and didn’t get much warmer throughout the day.  The sun didn’t make an appearance today making it one of those blue-grey winter days.

I headed for my office with coffee in hand and logged onto PokerStars.  I wanted to play a 45 man MMT but had to settle for a $22 SNG.  I played pretty well but the cards were NOT kind and logged another loser.  Yuck, I’m still ZERO cashes for 2009!

We had a message on our machine last night from our Smither’s doctor inviting us for Dinner this evening.  I called back and accepted and we are looking forward to the evening.

Judith was up a little after nine and we discussed the day and then I headed up to Louise’s to set up the weather station we bought her for a Christmas and to install a driveway alert I picked up yesterday.  That was done by eleven and I headed for Telkwa to pick up a couple MANUAL timers for the router and modem.  The roads were pretty slick.  I’m looking forward to getting south and leaving the icy roads here in BC.

I was back by noon and after a quick lunch I got down to the tasks at hand starting with getting the Christmas out of the house and hauled away.  I drug them up to the lake where I’ll burn them later this spring.  I set up the timers and hopefully this will eliminate the need for resetting the routers and modems manually.  I also cleaned the bench in the equipment room and got the guns oiled and secured for the winter.

At five thirty we headed into Smither’s for our dinner Invitation.  Freddie Strauss is an internist by training but functions as a GP here in the Bulkley Valley.  He is from South Africa and has been practicing here in Smithers for the last seven years.  He just got remarried, to a woman from South Africa and she is spending her first winter here along with her teenage daughter and son.  They seem to really like the area and weather; a far cry from their homeland.  We had a wonderful dinner, some nice wine and a VERY pleasant evening.

We were back home by ten and have no more trips to town planned before Monday morning when we hop on the plane to Vancouver.

My new office mate………..

Thoughts of getting ready for our trip were rattling around in my head as I got up this morning.  Judith has been packing, weighing and repacking our two bags to try and take as much as we can.  Buddy hangs pretty close to her travel cage not wanting to be left behind.

I turned on Fox News and was hit between the eyes with the story about OUR government buying thousands upon thousands of alternative fuel vehicles for the last seven years, at outrageous prices, and only 7% have EVER used any type of ALTERNATIVE fuel!!  The Postal Service has purchased 37,000 of these vehicles and hasn’t used one OUNCE of ALTERNATIVE fuel.  How can this happen?  Is anybody watching the store? 

I logged on to PokerStars and I’m still ZERO cashes for 2009!  I’m kicking off the New Year with the longest dry spell I’ve ever experienced.  POKER!

We headed for town in the Jeep Cherokee; which happen to be a pretty sure footed little rig.  It must be full time four wheel drive because it hasn’t spun a single wheel and I can’t find anything that refers to putting it in 4-wheel drive.   I loaded up the garbage for one last run before we head out of here.  I stopped at the bank and got 117% for the exchange rate today.  Next was picking up a couple timers so I can reset the modem and router for our Internet Satellite system.  Of course the old mechanical style, inexpensive timers aren’t available any more so I had to buy the impossible to program, made in China, expensive ones. I’ve spent two hours trying to program the damn thing and tomorrow I’ll get to call customer support and talk to some guy in India…………… Yuck!

I met Steve at Boston Pizza at noon and had a great lunch discussing poker and drinking beer.  I lent him some more books from my poker library and got back the ones I loaned him several months ago.  He works his butt off all summer long at the golf course but does get two month off in the winter to ski and play poker.

We headed home at one thirty stopping to get some diesel for the tractor and picked up a couple things at the hardware store.  When we got back to River House our neighbor had just stopped in to see us.  We haven’t seen Birdy this year and got caught up on what is going on in her life over a cup of tea.  The economy hasn’t been kind to them this year and she was laid off from her job in May.  Her husband logs in the bush and she has been collecting pine cones from the newly fallen trees.  They are sent off to a processing plant to get the seeds and then sold to nurseries.  NOT an easy job for a sixty year old woman with a bum hip.  But for the grace of God……………..

Buddy is NOT too happy about this………………….

The beginning of something new is always exciting and fun and the beginning of a new year is no exception.  I always do a resolutions list and put in writing all those things I want to happen in the year just beginning.  I guess this comes under the heading of “aim at nothing—hit nothing”!  My Uncle Nick, who passed away this year at age 95, thought the key to a long and happy life was to always have something to look forward to.  Judith likes to say “something to do and someone to do it for”!  In recent years I’ve hung these resolutions behind the medicine cabinet mirror in the trailer so I can compare my progress as the year progresses.

Today was another crisp unbelievably beautiful winter day.  I NEVER got above ten but the sun came out and it was just a feast for the eyes. 

About the time I logged on for the Daily 30K the phone rang and it was my friend Tim with an offer I couldn’t refuse.  Tim is a really nice guy in his mid forties who has fished, trapped and hunted in this country all his life.  He has been out on my boat several times and we enjoy each other’s company.  He and his wife Sherry also own Heartstrings, a local Gift and Furniture store.  Anyway, when they got married several years ago most of Tim’s mounted animals took a back seat to the new marriage and where sent to the shed.  Tim offer to let me display them in my office and I jumped at the chance.  He brought over a lynx lunging at a ruffed grouse just taking flight and an otter standing over a freshly caught trout.  Buddy, our cat, is in shock and hasn’t been in the lower level but once all day long.  The otter is sitting on the window sill looking out into the aquarium pool and looks fantastic.  I wonder what the fish will think come spring?

Tim came by shortly after one and we drank a beer or two and played a little pool.  He left with a bag of VCRs and DVD to enjoy while we are spending our time south of the border. 

We followed Tim up the driveway on our daily walk.  It was a nippy ten degrees but we were bundled up and quite comfortable as we strolled through this winter wonderland.

I hope my luck hasn’t changed, along with the new year, in the poker part of my world.  I got killed today and didn’t cash in four tries.  I did do the best ever last month on the internet and had a whopping 58% ROI for the SEVENTY NINE games I played last month.  That averages out to about twenty hours a week which is just about right.  The pros always talk about playing 12-14 hours a day.  That just seem crazy to me.  Everything in moderation, my Daddy always said!

I set the grill up in the fireplace and cooked some fillets for dinner.  Wonderful.

Tomorrow will be a town day; I have a lunch date with Steve who runs the show at the Golf Course and is a poker buddy.  Judith is going along for the ride and to do a few last minute things before we head out Monday.

I’ve been checking the weather from Vancouver to San Francisco and it looks wet and windy but looks like we shouldn’t encounter any white stuff.  One can only hope!

A foot on new snow in the turn-a-round

Be careful what you dream for…………  I mentioned a couple of days ago I was disappointed that there wasn’t more snow to plow.  Well, this morning I woke up to a foot of the white fluffy stuff.

Job one was getting bundled up and sweeping the snow off the satellite dishes.  The snow was well over the top of my boots indicating that we have at least two foot of accumulated snow.  AND with temperatures above freezing nowhere in sight I’m sure I’ll be pushing the same snow around when we return in April.

I logged on to PokerStars and played a $22 SNG and finished 2^nd, pocketing $54. 

Judith was up at nine and talked about the day before I headed out the door to do some plowing.  The blazer hummed to life at the turn of the key and pushed the foot of snow as if it didn’t exist.  I worked on the section between the shed and River House getting that done before stopping in at Louise’s and having a cup of coffee.  I loaded her in the blazer and showed her how the plow controls work.  She’ll be in charge of plowing in another few days when we head to greener pastures. 

I finished the main road and made it back to River House by eleven to play in the Daily 30K.  I was doing swimmingly and almost in the money until some dummy with three games under his belt made a bad call and sucked out on the river to send me packing.  Poker!

After lunch I finished the plowing and at two Judith and I headed up the driveway to get our daily walk.  It was a brisk FOURTEEN degrees and the beauty was absolutely beyond description.  MOST ski areas in North America would kill for the type of powder we get right here in the Bulkley Valley.

Judith made husband’s delight for last night’s dinner and we had a late afternoon piece which eliminated the need for dinner.  We decided to take up residency in the home theater for the evening and bring in the New Year.  We switched between the news, Fox’s Time Square celebration and the Canadian Comedy channel. 

ANOTHER year has come and gone………..  2008 had the worse stock market performance in EIGHTY ONE years.  The housing market is in shambles and the financial markets aren’t far behind.  WE are bailing out whoever puts their hand out and OUR Government continues to print money and tries to spend “our” way out of this mess.  In twenty days President Elect Obama takes over and not a moment too soon.  This country needs LEADERSHIP.  I certainly hope he is up to the task. 

May 2009 bring you health, happiness and the good sense of humor it WILL take to make it to the other side of these difficult and uncertain times.

I was up at the crack of eight to an overcast day with the possibility of snow at any minute.  The temperature was a little above ten and the house was a warm as it has been all winter.  In fact our bedroom was about three or four degrees to warm.

I turned on Fox and listened to the problems in the Mid East.  Talk about Ground Hog Day!  I’ve seen this movie, over and over and over………….

The market was up; I guess “it” liked giving another FIVE Billion to GMAC so they can give loans to people who can’t make the payments.  Yuck!

I logged onto PokerStars and managed to break the curse and win a second in a $22 SNG.  With one day to go I am right at my goal for the month.  Somehow I’ve turned this into work; careful what you dream for!

Judith was up by eight thirty and I could hear her stomping around the kitchen.  She has things under control and just has the decorations to pack up before we head south.

I got a call from Peter around noon asking IF I was serious about the hasenpfeffer invitation.  When I asked how many were coming he replied “six” and quickly added Susanne would bring another dish.  We agreed on dinner at seven.

I played in the Daily 30K and didn’t do well, finishing about midfield.  I was done by noon; about the time the snow started falling a little harder.  It is one of those super fine snows that doesn’t look like much but keeps adding up hour after hour.

At six I started the hasenpfeffer and made a Hot German Potato Salad to boot.  They arrived at six thirty and Susanne took up residence in one end of the kitchen and I took the other end and dinner was on the table by seven thirty.  The hasenpfeffer seemed to be a hit with the only complaint being there wasn’t enough!  Susanne’s curry chicken dish came in real handy filling the void.

After dinner we played some poker and pool while the ladies played Pegs and Jokers.  Natasha watched a ski movie in the theater.  By eleven they headed home making their way through the four or five inches of new snow in the driveway.

I should bundle up and go plow!  NOT!  I’m hitting the hay and will deal with the snow in the morning.  I may regret this decision in the morning but drinking and plowing is probably not that highly recommended.

Decent temperatures and NO snow was the order of the day.  I thought much of my time would have been spent plowing snow and that just hasn’t happened. 

I was up a little before eight and got on the Sunday business show but it was just reruns for the most part.  I though the analysts on Fox apologizing for their POOR stock picks was interesting.

I should have quit poker for the month when I hit my goal around the twentieth.  I’m now in poker hell and all I can do is play my way through the poor cars and bad beats.  “They” say losing as little as possible when running bad is a VERY important part of the game.  Yuck!

It was twenty degrees when I headed out at one to cut and split some wood.  I cut down three dead popular by the gazebo, split them and hauled them down to the house.  With that done I TRIED to shovel off the flat deck but it turned out to be a sea of ice and I decided to just let in melt in the garage.  I backed the flat deck into the garage.  It fit with only a couple of inches to spare.  Next we jump started the T-Bird and moved it as far forward as we could barely making room for the Polaris Crew Cab.  With the exception of packing a couple of suite cases and taking down the Christmas TREES we are pretty much ready to GO!

After dinner we played the crib game and I won the game, month and the 2008 trophy!   The Movie of the night was The Longest Yard, a remake of the old Burt Reynolds movie.  Adam Sandler stared in the move and Burt was along for the ride.  I’ve seen worse.

The Market was down just thirty today.  It looks like the wild daily swings have calmed down.  I think it may be a LONG time before the sheeple will get that warm fuzzy feeling and start putting money back in the Market.  So I guess we have to decide between the poor real estate market, the stock market or put the money in a shaky bank at record low interest rates.  Life is full of choices. 

The day started for me at a little before eight when I decided to get up and get going.  It was PLUS eight this morning and the heating system was keeping the place toasty warm.  I’m down to about one hundred pieces left on the puzzle; unfortunately I left the hardest for last.  I stuck in a few pieces and then headed for my office to play some poker. 

I came up dry in to SNGs and decided to head up to the kitchen and prepare the brine for the hasenpfeffer.  I was doing great until I realized we didn’t have any pickling spices.  Judith suggested I call Louise.  Of course she had them so I went up picked them up and had another cup of coffee in the process.   The rabbit will soak in the brine for two days and will be cooked Tuesday evening. 

Today PokerStars was out to set the world record for most players in a poker tournament and make the Guinness Record Book.  I didn’t think there would be any problem of being one of the 35,000 contestants.  Wrong.  Two days ago I tried to register and it was full, sold out, no room at the inn……………..  Disappointing!  As a constellation prize I logged onto a 45 player MMT and finished 16^th.  NO cigar.

I opted to leave poker alone and turned my attention to the heating system software.  I learned a lot and MAY have discovered what is going on with the main floor guest bedroom.  I e-mailed my findings to Dennis, at Alpine, and I’m awaiting his reply.

At three thirty we headed to Peter’s to have moose sauerbraten before we picked up the rental car at seven.  Before dinner we got a tour of the house and they have made good progress in the last month.  Then plan to move into the lower level while they finish the upper levels as time and money allows.  The conversation and company was as good as the food and we really enjoyed the evening. 

At seven we headed to the airport to pick up the rental car.  Just before the airport a car found the ditch; a common occurrence around here this time of the year.  The girl at the desk smiled when she said “the good news was that the window was already cracked”.  The first time I rented a car here in Smithers the agent said “unfortunately the windshield isn’t cracked, it won’t cost you anything WHEN you return it cracked  BUT you’ll have to sign some paperwork”.  VERY few people get through the year without getting a rock in the windshield and then the super cold weather finishes the job within days resulting in a windshield that needs replacing.

I was a little nervous that Judith was going to drive on pretty slick roads.  I had her drive the flatdeck figuring IF something happened she’d have the best of it with all that iron around her.  I led the way and never went over fifty.  We were home by nine.  The truck will be tucked away tomorrow and we’ll have to rely on the roller-skate they rented us for transportation.

I won the evening card game and have all but put the 2008 trophy on the shelf.  If I win tomorrow it is OVER.  I wish some of the luck would find its way to my poker holdings.

One week from tomorrow we head SOUTH!!