I am a bit overdue for a blog but do not really have much in the way of ‘something new’. So, let’s do ‘tapas’, a blog made of appetizers, so to speak.
The dogs are great. Of course. But ‘great’ now also means BIGGER. Yep! Gus is 60+ and still in the uncoordinated puppy stage. That’s a picture. A rolling, stumbling, tripping, goof-ball that can take you out at the knees! But he’s getting better. Daisy is more athletic and has more ‘control’ over her body but Gus is getting there. They both get on and off the boat now with aplomb and, even tho it is often ungainly, they do not fall in. That’s good. When Daisy fell in at the grocery day-at-the-dock last week, it took Sal and another woman to haul her out. She was too heavy just for Sal. And Gus is at least 10 more pounds. Gus would need three women a-hauling.
They are still somewhat reticent to get in the car. They are not throwing up much anymore, tho. That’s good. But they still hate the trip.
The boat is almost ready to launch. It’s painted. Three cleats on. Two more to go. Plus I need to put on a keel shoe. My friend, SD, did some much needed wiring. Got the engine and bilge pumps running. Changed out the fuel filter. Here’s a weird thing….the builder put the steering in backwards. When you turn the wheel to go to port, the engine turns you to starboard. I am glad we discovered that while it was on land! I can live with that for one trip to get it home (SD read up on the system and is confident we can get it right – but it will need some time and our tools). I will just have to turn the helm against my natural instincts while at sea in a new vessel. Should be easy.
The season has finally arrived. People are booking ‘visits’ and we even have a W’fer scheduled in. We will definitely need some help getting in the firewood this year because we have virtually exhausted everything we had. The wood shed is empty but for the last row (#13) and so we gotta get the pile in so it can season properly.
Sal and I recently rebuilt the woodstove (kinda) by fixing a few things and putting in a new baffle. Man, that really made a difference. It is burning beautifully again.
The garden is nowhere. It’s a sensitive subject. ‘Nuff said.
The Philippines elected Marcos. Marcos and Duterte. Amazing. Truly mind-boggling.
Trump is visibly deteriorating more mentally (hard to fathom how much further he could go) and yet he is still news front-and-centre. Amazing. Truly mind-boggling.
Trudeau went to Ukraine. “I saw communities defending themselves.” Amazing. Truly mind-boggling.
Covid is still with us. I’d estimate at least 75%. Some not-so-close but still known (acquaintances) have died from it. Recently. The pandemic that just won’t quit.
Poor ol’ Sal…..she rose at 5:30 am today ’cause the dogs were awake (they rise with the sun). She did the dog-thing, packed up her quilting stuff and around 7:30 ish headed off to the neighbouring island to ‘do’ quilts with other women. What fun, eh? But then, when that is done, she has a pile of chores over there and will not likely get back home til 4:00 pm. And she’ll have a huge load to pack and carry when she gets to the boat.
It is noon. I have not moved off my chair after getting to it straight from rising around 7:30. I am a bit fatigued, I guess. But this ‘easy day’ will top up the tank and we’ll be ready to hit the boat-work tomorrow……well, I will be, anyway. Sal might be dragging her feet a bit.
Our Off the Grid Home 
So you have a “British” steering system.
Opposite to the rest of the world.
Nice.
You should leave it that way.
If someone tries to steal it….they won’t get far….
🙂
i guess training the dogs to swim to shore if they fall off the dock might be easier than dragging their wet furry butts out of the drink.
i hope you had dinner and wine ready for Sal when she got back or you’re in the doghouse with the rest of the crew.
I’m heading to Victoria tomorrow for the day for work.
3 hours on a big boat back and forth.
Ugh.
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Could not agree more. Taking the BIG ferry is getting more and more like taking an airplane. Ya gotta be there well in advance (even if you have a reservation) and then it takes forever to get there. I have a bad attitude regarding BCF but NOT the local ferry. The local guys ‘pack ’em in’ and they make an extra effort. It’s good to see. I like the local guys.
We have some dog training to do, that’s for sure but it just seems counter productive to try to train a pup. The poor goofballs are still growing into their bodies. Still, what I do NOT know about dog training would fill volumes. We usually just ‘wing it’ and the dogs just learn on their own. Meg and Fid may have had slightly higher IQs than Daisy and Gus but, then again, Gus and Daisy are not yet 6 months old and they are already 60% as ‘trained’ as were Meg and Fid. I guess time will tell…..another 6 months or so, I guess.
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I love your appetizer about Trudeau, when is the next election in Canada? And any better opponents or will he go (and be elected) for a second term? As for dog training, there are libraries full of books on how to train your dog. We have chosen to give our dog basic training, so pooping outside and basic commands so that at least we have the impression he is listening to us. I don’t like the “overtrained” dogs that don’t move more then an inch from your side when walking. A dog is still an animal and should use his or her basic instincts. And it works out fine for us….we kinda have the dog WE like as far as behaviour is concerned. Teaching the dogs to swim to shore might be a good idea as noncon suggests. There might be the occasion when one or both fall in, and there aren’t any “extra” women around to help Sal!
As for the inverse steering, might turn out to be more difficult then you think, especially for a single trip. I guess if you would leave it like that, your brain would get used to it.
Cutting and splitting a new stack of firewood must be a huge chore! I hope you found a super trained muscular Woofer!
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Sadly, no. The first Wf’er (M) to offer is 23, female, slim and German. But that is OK. Good attitude and pleasant demeanor is way more important than muscles. I will cut the logs into rounds and M will wheelbarrow them to Sal who will employ our little splitter. Then, as the bits pile up, now and then Sal and M will stack’ em. When I am done cutting, I will do the wheelbarrowing and the pace just picks up as soon as a splitter-person can work alone because the stacker-person is doing the stacking and keeping the flow moving.
Your ‘organic’ way of training dogs is similar to ours but real swimming lessons are definitely on the curriculum. And soon. House training seems handled but ‘coming’ when called every time is not yet reliable. And car-getting-in is really just ‘coming’ with-a-downside.
Trudeau is hard to bear, harder to listen to and does a poor job at just about everything save for ‘lookin’ good’. But, even on that score, he ain’t my type. The problem is that the Cons are all GOPs North. They are the usual bigots, racists, crooks and bullies. Rarely an option for me altho now and then a good one seems to show up – but then leaves or gets caught with his/her hand in the cookie jar. They keep getting caught at stuff!
Jagmeet Singh of the NDP is a nice guy. Naive but smart enough to learn fast. Ol’ Jag might be good but he would face constant opposition from the two MAJOR parties for his impudence should the NDP party ever win more votes than them. And…well….I hate to say it but I am pretty sure it is true: Canadians are not yet ready for a man of Indian descent who wears a turban as their PM. They SHOULD be but they are not. Too big a leap for most. He is not really a contender for PM. Not for awhile, anyway. And maybe never. Our GREENs took a suicidal leap off the top rail and all the progress they made they lost in an instant. It turns out the Greens went all silly on each other and split themselves into two groups – those obsessed with WOKE PC-ism and those whose agendas don’t seem to have even a token foot in the natural world. The GREENS forgot they were Green! The party of hope turned into the party of dopes.
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Similar here with the Greens (not on WOKE), but on Green subjects. They will lose big in the coming elections, but like everywhere in Europe, there is a tendency towards extreme left and right (which in my opinion is also not a good way to go. “Green” subjects have been pushed aside a bit with the war in Ukraine and the effects it has over supply of oil and gas. Before the war, 60% of the people were in favor of extending the life of the remaining nuclear power plants. Now more than 80% are in favor, so that is a major change in public opinion. Now we will have to see how the politics will handle this economic crisis
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Can’t wait for a ride in the new boat? Does she have a name yet?
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She does. In tribute to the new trend in transgenderism, she is called the John R.
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Pat or Kim are gender neutral
Or
you could name it
X32TOH
Which would intrigue anyone you are following with a rearview mirror.
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John R is my great friend next door, now deceased. Not yet a year. He wouldn’t mind the joke above. And he’d be pleased that the new boat was named after him. To really register with him, I have to go prawning. I have no doubt that he’d join me for the day. On the other hand, he may not yet be eligible for a day-pass from shovelling coal. So, we’ll see.
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He would be glad that you name the boat after him. What a world, after years splitting wood, there is coal to be shoveled in the afterlife??
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Depends. He may be eating Manna in heaven or shoveling coal in Hell. But, regardless of where he eventually ended up, I still miss him and regard him highly. I’d refer him to Heaven but I am not so sure I have much influence there. Probably could get him a better shovel, tho.
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