It’s cold. Minus degrees with a very strong wind chill factor.  The neighbourhood ‘fiords’ dump cold air down our channel during their ‘outflow’ moods and the temperature just plummets.  Locally these winds are referred to as a ‘Bute’.  We sit up on a rocky ledge on our beach so as to maximize the cooling effect – in summer.  In winter, we crank up the little stove til it’s a-hummin’ so as to minimize the cooling effect.  Aah, the yin and yang of life, eh?

It’s pretty nice here, tho.  Cosy.  Warm.  Very beautiful.  It’s good.  We have 8 coming for dinner tonight and Sal is trying to get six for lunch next Tuesday.  I am not as keen to entertain when it’s minus 10 and the guests have to come by boat but Sal has a ‘social accounting system’ to reckon with and so we all convene whether we want to or not.  Whoopee!  I asked her about the logic of this and she said, “It’s almost year-end.  We still have some payables!”

She may be missing the hospitality concept a smidge.

The problem for me is that the plumbing is frozen.  Or wants to be.  I have heat tape on it but I have to run the genset to keep it functioning and that seems a bit silly.  So, last night I drained the system.  Tonight, I’ll recharge it til everyone has gone home and then, in the dead of night, drain it again.  Heat tape and genset on while they are here.  Party preparations are different out here. 

Q-Hut is nearing completion.  Looking good.  Turnout for the work-party this week was excellent.  We’ll be done in three or four more sessions.  But, as you may recall, we don’t work in the rain.  We stopped work in the summer (everyone had personal projects to complete) and we are disinclined to work when it is really cold.  Projected completion date – sometime in 2011.  Maybe.  2012 for sure.  But we don’t care.  We like doing it and, if stretching the job is required to prolong the enjoyment, we will do just that.  This task may never get done!

Just for the record: the Liberal govt. is imploding in ways uniquely spectacular, don’t you think?  “Here a tax cut, there a tax cut, whoops, sorry, only kidding!” And – just for interest sake – the NDP are tripping and falling at the same time!  Carol James is struggling to remain upright what with all the daggers stuck in her back.

My God, there is such a dearth of style and poise let alone leadership in this pathetic province you have to wonder how and why all these people got to such a position.  It is no wonder that apathy reigns and disillusionment prevails amongst the electorate.

I’m going to encourage Sally to run.  I’d vote for her.  She’s right once in awhile (don’t tell her I said that!) and is really cute.  Way cuter than Carol Taylor.  That’s a better track record than most of our elected governments who, it seems to me, are wrong virtually all of the time (and look bad in the process).  Hell, on that basis, I’d vote for either one or both of our dogs!  I’d even vote for a ‘broken clock’ on the basis that is right at least twice a day!

Just before I quit this rant: The Liberals were likely the worst government we ever had (and we have had some really bad ones) – selling off our rivers, eviscerating BC Hydro, huge spending over-runs on the convention centre and now the Olympic village debacle – just to name a few (and there are many, many more, especially the criminal BC Rail/Basi/Virk issue).  But where was the opposition in all this?  The only voice of dissent I ever heard (other than the echoes of my mind) was Rafe Mair.  And Bill when-it-comes-to-a-buck VanderZalm.

Honestly, we really have to do better next time.