Wedding bells!
Our youngest daughter, Cassie, and the latest contender for favorite son in law, Art, tied the knot this month, earlier than originally planned. The gods were surely smiling upon them when they held their event in full sunshine on their property by the shore of the Columbia River in Astoria Oregon at a time of the year when rain, cold and clouds are the norm.
The newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Clark have blended their families with a total of 5 children.
I flew up to Oregon for two weeks to help the newlyweds with a few projects they had going. Not all our time was spent working on house renovations as it was necessary to carve out a block of time with my fellow scientists creating experiments such as making chewing gum from its basic ingredients. YUM!
And root for my little All-star
Getting a little "air time"
In the week since I have arrived, we did manage to come a long way in re doing a porch entry and install 460 feet (140M) of floor, door and window trim throughout the house, with an easy 150' + (45M) more to go.
Before
I even had my own cheering section
(Click on the arrow, give it 10 seconds then click on the arrow again)
And one more makes 97
My very favorite mother in law turned 97 late last month and we were here to take her out to lunch at the renowned Madonna Inn. To keep fit, she swims every day and we have often mentioned that when we grow up, we want to be just like her.
Finally
Well, we completed the circle of life this month from weddings to birthdays to a funeral when my mother passed on April 5th in the hospital in Montreal. She had been ill for some time and the outcome was expected. She leaves 2 siblings, 4 children, 10 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren whom she has never met.
The month in review
I know that most often we only have good news to share but that is because most often we only have good news to share. It would be misleading though for anyone to think that we only have good news. Take this past month. Nothing earth shattering but a few challenges, as they say.
The month started off great with the car "check engine" light on the dash lighting up. We took it in to Honda and they said that for the 3rd time in 7 weeks, mice got in and ate the wiring harness in the engine compartment. Latest repair: $3,200 ($500 deductible) This gets added to the previous $11,000 they had already spent ... now go rent a car as this will not be fixed for weeks as the supply chain for parts is a mess.
Turns out that Honda and Toyota are notorious for using a soy based rubber compound on the plastic coating on the wires and mice LOVE it. The insurance company says that they get a ton of claims every year. We got it fixed and we will sell the car before we leave for Canada in May.
Speaking of which... Janice has been told that she cannot see a doctor when we go to Canada to simply fill out a prescription for her chemo meds. Not to receive any treatment but merely to fill out a prescription. She was told "Unless you are in the emergency room, we only treat Canadians". That was a few minutes after we heard on the news that the US sent 1.5 million Covid vaccines to help our Canadian neighbors who have no ability to produce their own. Hmmmmmm......
OK, ready for one more? I had a problem with my little John Deere ride on mower so I loaded it up on a small trailer I have to take it in for servicing. I got a few miles down the road when a tire on the trailer blew and was shredded (probably rot). I pulled over in the emergency lane, unhitched it and went to get a new tire. When I returned an hour later with the tire, the trailer and mower on it were gone. As in gone, gone. The whole enchilada stolen, gone.
With less than zero chances of ever seeing either again (not covered on any insurance) I started ordering new. Before it was delivered, I got a call from the California Highway Patrol. They found my trailer and mower abandoned in front of some guys place out in the country. I went there to retrieve it and the thief had put a new wheel on the trailer. (!) He had apparently tried to fix the mower but the repair was above his pay grade so he abandoned everything. How many people have their stuff stolen and come out ahead? (New wheel on the trailer)
Finally, we bought a 5th home and hired a full time property manager to stay during our upcoming absence while we are in Canada and hopefully then on to Europe. OK, it's my story and I am sticking to it. Our granddaughter, Maddie, who has been living with us for the past few months while taking online classes and working part time as a night manager of a local boutique hotel, will live in a 25 foot travel trailer we just acquired and brought to our property. She will be in charge of keeping up with the landscaping and keeping a distant eye on our guests to avoid any tomfoolery. The moment she finishes school, the Taj-Ma-Trailer will be for sale. What? You think we are made of money and can hire staff?
This month's project
One of the things we had planned for this season was to put a new hot tub in place. Years ago we had one that we purchased used, and sunk it into the ground. After 20 years, it rotted out and abject poverty prevented us from replacing it, so I just covered the hole for the day when we would finally win the lottery.
Our Redwood hot tub, back in the day.
This was the original hole I made years ago to have the sunken Redwood hot tub.
When the tub rotted out decades later, I "temporarily" covered the hole so no one would fall in.
As has been frequently the case, "temporary" can last several years.
This was the foundation for the new tub which
because of a different pump design had to be at 'ground level'.
So, 5 months ago we ordered one from China. No, not made in China and purchased here, but us importing it directly from China ourselves. We did our due diligence and research but admittedly were a little nervous as this was a first for us, but the price was 50% of the identical product here. I know some will turn their nose at the thought but the irony is that a hot tub purchased locally is imported from China also. It is Western Red Cedar and included the pump, heater and filter.
We had a broker navigate the Michael and Janice import company through the process and the fee including customs and shipping was reflected in the price we paid. The downside? It took 4 months to get it to the port of Long Beach where we picked it up. We are clearly wet behind the ears novices with this process but having run the gauntlet we would not hesitate to order something else in the same way. Obviously, the delay has to be acceptable and the item has to have enough value to make it worthwhile.
It still gnaws at me not to buy 'American', but it frustrates me that we cannot produce so many products competitively. I hardly see the point of buying something relatively expensive for us poor people that was imported from China and then pay 50% more just to keep some guy in business here. I now know that I can do the same and save the 50%.
When we went to pick up the crate the hot tub parts were in (some assembly required) , I tried to rent a smaller trailer as I expected the crate to be 1/3 this size. Since a smaller trailer was not available, I had to get a larger one than I wanted. Good thing, as there was less than an inch (2 cm) of clearance in the trailer once the beast was loaded.
The deed is done while finishing up on the platform stairs
