Snowy Thanksgiving Weekend

Just finished my Saturday bacon-and-eggs breakfast. Snow outside is starting to melt — it may actually all melt and allow Tim to go golfing at his scheduled 1:30pm tee time today after all. The Dehnes (the German couple we met at Peggy’s Cove this summer) were here for Friday night — and have now arrived safely in Brandon. Our first grandson has still not made his official appearance — Tim and Alex were over for supper last night and that little schnerps is really testing Alexandra’s patience. But all is well and that’s what really matters. Ed and Val are coming over for supper tonight. Now I am going to go sit down in my (new) favorite chair and read the latest David Bergen book, Hope. Maybe I’ll tackle the New York Times crossword puzzle in the weekend edition of the Free Press (if it ever arrives — it’s 9:30 and there’s still no paper!). I’ve started up iTunes and today’s playlist is already going strong.

Nope, not going away for the weekend after all!

So Ingrid calls and tells me that she’s reading my blog. What? Really? Reading my blog?

Okay Ingrid, here’s an update:

NOT going to Park Rapids. We’re wimping out. But the upside is that I don’t have to miss week 3 of my Friday night ‘Neil Young’ course at McNally-Robinson. And on Sunday we’ll go celebrate a 60th birthday for some friends of ours. Plus, I hope to be able to watch a bit of NFL on Sunday.

And MAYBE I can squeeze in a game of golf in there somewhere. That is, unless I have to go visit the doctor or something else as exciting as that!

It’s almost Fall

It’s Monday. A beautiful fall day. Since we have our windows open at night, it was 19 degrees in our house this morning. Time to log into my ‘Nest’ thermostat and switch it to the ‘heat’ mode. In a few days the actual autumnal equinox will cause the sun to reflect its light directly west of the 2 upper windows in our bedroom — an alignment that we get to see only twice a year. I’ll have to stay in bed until at least 7:30 to witness it.

I’ve not written in my blog for quite some time. The last entry was the first of what was to be a regular update on our trip to the east coast — I guess I’ll have to remove that ‘Cabot Trail’ entry from my menu. It already seems like that happened a long time ago. I haven’t ridden my bike since the last day of the cycling trip. In fact, on Saturday I went to Bikes and Beyond in Winnipeg to pick up my bike — had the chain replaced so it will be ready for this weekend’s “Headwaters 100” ride in Park Rapids.

Saturday was also Tadeo’s second birthday; we took Mom and Dad in to Winnipeg with us and enjoyed a piece of birthday cake at Stan and Irmy’s. Then in the evening we had Dave and Lois over for dinner — celebrating Lois’s birthday. Yesterday Sue and I read in the morning and then got picked up by Tim and Alex to go golfing at the Fly-in for 3 o’clock. It was cool but fun. Alex rode the cart and froze. We had smokies and beer when we got home from golf and we watched Sunday Night Football.

Tonight Sue has book club in Winnipeg. And I’ll stay home and watch Monday Night Football. Maybe i’ll turn on the fireplace.

Packed and ready to go

It’s the evening before I leave. Tomorrow morning I’ll head to Winnipeg with my van all packed. I’ll add Walter’s bikes and camping gear to the load and the two Nikkel brothers will hit the road for Halifax. Tonight I think we will probably take the Canadian route east, and then return via the US route.

I feel a little bad about packing Walter’s Thule carrier completely full with MY stuff — but maybe we can sort that out tomorrow morning. My guess is that we will make it to Thunder Bay for tomorrow night — our first night of camping. I’ve got to try out our old Coleman tent which hasn’t been used for nearly 8 years.

Sue and Angie will be flying out to Halifax next week Monday; we’ll pick them up at the airport and head out to Port Hawkesbury, just across the causeway to Cape Breton, from where our 8-day bike tour will depart next Wednesday.

I’ve been getting regular email updates from Werner and Karen — they’re on the way from Vancouver to Calgary on bikes. Tonight they are in the Banff campground with 2 days of cycling still ahead of them. Hope our Cape Breton adventure goes as smoothly.

Hot as summer…

It’s been so hot for the last week. Tonight we’re sitting outside and the temperature is just perfect. Birds are singing. Frogs are croaking. The neighbour’s air conditioner finally switched off. Out in the distance you can hear a motorcycle rev up as it heads north on the number twelve highway. Sue is sitting in the lounger working on a crossword. I had a little snooze on the couch after supper. Soon it is time to go for an ice cream. Good as it gets.

Middle of June!

Hey, it’s the middle of June already! Mom’s 80th birthday celebration has come and gone. So has Linda, who came here for the party and whom I brought back to the airport today. And Alex is off on our ‘big event’ — an overnight with her grade 6 class at the museum in Winnipeg. And Tim is just finishing up the silicone on the new tub enclosure in the bathroom. And Sue and Rudy both missed their Wednesday night golf dates tonight.

But the lawn is mowed. Rain is in the forecast. WordPress is updated to version 3.4. All is well.

At the hospital

This morning I went to the hospital. No, not sick. My doctor ordered some routine blood tests for me. He advised me to fast, and to be at the hospital 15 minutes before the official 8:00 opening time. That way I wouldn’t have to wait so long.

Hmmm… not sure about that last part. I got up early, showered, did NOT make coffee, put on my rain jacket, and walked down to the Bethesda. Got there at quarter to eight. Check-in. Can I just go down to the lab? No, sit here and we’ll call you. So I join a throng of waiting patients hoping to get their tests early.

I don’t spend a lot of time at the hospital. Or at the doctor’s. So this is a bit of an eye-opening experience for me.

I recognize a few of the other waiting patients. I don’t really want to visit with anyone here. So I go sit in the last row of chairs and study the ‘donor’ wall of fame. Nope, the Nikkels are not on there. That’s weird. I thought we were sending in our annual cheques. There’s a few plaques for some of our friends, but no Rudy and Sue, no Nikkel Holdings, no Holiday Travel. i’ll check into that.

The waiting room seems to equalize the classes — there’s MF (or FM, as I like to call him). And Mrs GP. But there’s also a bunch of immigrants; moms with kids, speaking Spanish, speaking French, speaking another language I don’t recognize. And we’re all here together. and there’s nothing cool about this.

After hearing the nurse who has to find each patient’s file call out everyone I know and quite a few more, she finally calls for “Rudolf Nikkel”. It’s finally my turn to have my blood test. But no, not yet. I follow the yellow arrows on the floor and they lead me to another waiting room. Hmmm… I sit down. The lady across from me motions that I need to ‘take a number’ — she’s got number 9. I get number 10. And I wait some more.

Eventually, after alternately avoiding eye contact and staring at the two big guys sitting across from me, it’s time for number 10. I follow the girl into the room where 2 other patients are getting their arms poked.

She draws 3 vials from me and then hands me a cup to fill. I go into the big bathroom and pee into the cup. I park the warm cup on the counter and then stand there wondering what’s next. Oh, I have to also have a heart test. But the other lady is ahead of me so it’s back to the waiting room. The same two guys are still sitting in the same chairs, across from me.

Finally, about 2 hours after I left home for my early morning beat-the-rush blood test, I am in the heart test room. The woman tells me to remove my shirt and lie down on the bed. I can keep my shoes on. She sticks about a dozen stickers all over my chest, and then attaches probes to each sticker. Don’t move. I hear her printer spitting out a ream of paper. Then she rips off the probes, peels off the stickers, and tells me I’m done. I get dressed and walk out of the hospital. Done for today.

I march home in the mist. I am seriously late for my first cup of coffee. The fast is over.

Levon Helm, R.I.P.

Thursday: What did I do today? Looked longingly at the golf course while I ate my morning toast in the sunroom. Is it still too cold? Hmmm… I met Brian and Robert and Roger Loewen at Smitty’s for a morning coffee. I also stopped by Holiday Travel — the girls were having a meeting.

After lunch Dave came over with some nice drill bits and helped me install my new electronic keypad deadbolt in the front door. We celebrated that accomplishment with a beer. Meanwhile, Sue was wrecking her back outside, hoeing the weeds in all our plantings.

Levon HelmI read the news and learned that Levon Helm, lead singer of The Band, died of cancer today. Sad news. I pulled up my Levon Helm’s tunes on my computer and we listened to that for a while.

Sue and I watched the local news before I went out to barbecue hamburgers. Another evening of NHL playoff hockey tonight.

Getting home, the hard way

Sunday: Our last official day of this ‘holiday’. Okay, it’s not really a holiday — it’s our life. But the last day of this road trip, anyway.

We had breakfast in the Comfort Inn — and hit the road by 8:00am. Went straight north up into South Dakota. Lots of rain, and some serious headwinds. But the roads were mostly empty and I was hoping that once we turned east we would escape some of the rain. And that’s how it went. We were sailing along towards Sioux Falls. Roads were good. Heavy clouds moving all around us, but not much rain.

Wind and rain all the way home!Then once we got close to Sioux Falls it turned nasty. Huge winds. Hail! I stopped for a moment, but then decided that it was probably just as well for me to keep moving. We turned onto the I-29 and headed north. Wind was seriously pushing us from the west. I had to hang onto the steering wheel with both hands.

Driving conditions were horrible!We stopped at a McDonald’s for lunch. Sue offered to drive for a bit to give me a break. I was probably just as tense as she was for the next hour. Rain pounded us. Fields were already flooded. Every time we passed someone or they passed us, the wind shear caused the van to veer out of its lane. We traded positions again. By now I felt I had a better sense of control behind the wheel.

When we hit Fargo the worst of the weather was behind us. We turned off the I-29 near Drayton and headed for the Tolstoi border crossing. Sure enough, the line-up was only 3 or 4 vehicles ahead of us, no one behind. No one had to open their trunk. A short visit with the customs guy and they were through. Same with us. Didn’t really ask us anything about what we bought. The only hitch was when he asked us about alcohol — Sue volunteered that we had a ‘big’ bottle (1.75 litres) of gin. Oh, oh. What to do. Pour out half of it? Pay 78 cents per ounce over the limit (about $20)? No. It’s lots of paperwork to confiscate the booze. Promise you won’t do this again. And we’re through.

We arrived home at 7:30pm. It is FREEZING COLD here. Two degrees! Once again, it seems we are home too early in the season. The house is all good. Only a couple of burned out light bulbs this time! The kids have turned on the furnace and the water. Internet is connected. Sue calls Shaw Cable and in a couple of minutes the TV is working. A couple of cold beers in the fridge. No supper though. A few phone calls to parents and children. My mom invites us to come over for a late supper. We do that.

And that’s it. We’re right back at home, almost like we never left!

Avoiding Tornadoes!

Saturday: Woke up at 8. It’s rained, but it looks okay outside. Checked the weather channel. Sue got us coffee and yogurt and pastries from the breakfast buffet. No help from the front desk about the weather. We decided that rather than sit here in this dirty hotel room and watch TV all day, we might as well drive north and see how far we get. I checked the bra on the van — it’s been inflating and bulging out as we drive along — but couldn’t see any easy way to tighten it. We filled up gas and were off.

The road was good. The sky was partly cloudy. Warm. Sun. Lots of trucks on the road. Not enough 4 lane. We had opted to head for North Platte, Nebraska — hoping thereby to avoid the area to the east of it which is expected to get the serious dangerous weather.

Drove like that all morning. No problem. Listened to the rest of the Tina Fey audiobook on the car stereo.

Stopped for lunch just before 12 at a McDonalds in Liberal, Kansas. As we pulled into town the rain started to fall. As we exited the van it began to REALLY fall. POURED on us. We got into the restaurant soaking wet. Stood in front the hand dryer in the washroom for a while. Reminded me of the day we got caught in a downpour on our 2003 Cross-Canada cycling trip and spent much of the morning in a Tim Hortons washroom, trying to dry out.

After we ordered our lunch we sat and ate it and looked out the window at the lovely day. No more rain! If only we had just waited in the van for FIVE minutes. Oh well, it’s an experience. We have more clothes in the van. In fact, after lunch Sue got naked in the van and changed into her dirty clothes from yesterday. We draped our jackets and socks over the back seat of the van and headed back on the road. North. To Nebraska.

The heat in the van was on high. And it didn’t take long to dry out our shoes and socks. Our pants and shirts. And the rain was over!

Feed lotsThe drive continued to be enjoyable. Mostly 2-lane, but not so many trucks, and I was going about 70mph in the 65mph zones. But the clouds around us were definitely interesting! I kept looking for funnel clouds around us. Once we got into northwestern Kansas, and then into southwestern Nebraska, the rains began again. And lots of movement in the dark clouds all around us. We got to North Platte and decided to pull over and maybe wait this thing out. Sat on a Ramada Inn parking lot and looked out the window. But if a tornado hits us here, how is this better than driving along the road? So after a few minutes of that, we decided to keep going.

We were listening to the local radio now. And about 5 miles north of North Platte it started to pour again. I pulled over. A semi and 2 cars went by me. Okay, I’m going back on the road too. As we kept driving the guy on the radio starts warning everyone to take shelter. In North Platte. In the basement of your house. If you’re on the road, get off it. Huh? Yes, there is now marble-sized hail in North Platte. And a tornado has been sighted. And then another tornado is sighted. And this is all happening 10 minutes behind us! We keep driving. It’s not so bad! But the county we are entering has already been hit hard, according to the radio guy.

We kept on going. And although the skies continued to be dark and interesting, we really never had any trouble driving — no real downpours, no really high winds, no hail or tornado.

The Garmin was suggesting that hotels and restaurants would be no problem in Valentine, Nebraska, but if we opted to continue and go up Murdo, SD or on to Mitchell, SD (near Sioux Falls) we would be taking our chance with restaurants and fewer hotels. Okay, we’ll stop a little early today. We can drive a LONG day tomorrow, since we don’t have to worry about finding a place for tomorrow night.

So at 7:30 we pulled into Valentine, NE. Drive right by the little Drive-in where we stopped for a meal a year ago — and we can’t even remember when or why we would have driven through this town! Booked a room at the Comfort Inn. Then went to Peppermill, the local restaurant, and had supper.

Back in our room, Sue called Alex (who had read about the dangerous weather this afternoon and was worried about us) and let her know we were safe. She’s having a birthday party for herself at her house. We drank some wine and warmed up and watched the weather channel — looks like we avoided quite a few tornadoes and some serious weather today! Let’s hope it blows over and we’re in for a great final day of driving (11 hours from home here) tomorrow.