Back where we started

Today we moved back into our old yard at Nipawin. We're here to pick up some stuff that we left here last fall. "Stuff" like some antiques, china, tools, sports gear, fishing equipment - stuff in other words.

Last week we moved to Saskatoon on Thursday and immediately picked up my internet truck. Last winter I bought a cube van off the internet. I knew it wouldn't be any particular prize but actually it was better than I had expected. We didn't even try to start it at the dealership until after I went and bought a pair of new batteries for it. It was still a very hard start and I'm not sure what that is all about but it is nothing more nor less than a storage shed on wheels. So it if takes a little sniff of ether first thing in the morning to get it rolling then that's what it takes and I'm not losing any sleep over the matter.

Today Marilyn headed for P.A. in the cube while I went off to watch RJ's final scrimmage at the Husky spring football camp. He had a really good camp this year. Years ago when he first started playing football I remember telling Marilyn that the only difference between him and me at his games was that he was closer to the ball and got a better view of the action. In the early years there wasn't much finesse to any of the players he played with. Occasionally somebody would get lucky and the team would score but they didn't make much happen. As he progressed through high school and finally to be a member of the powerhouse team when he was in Grade 12 the quality of the ball he played got steadily better. The Mohawk team when he was in Grade 12 actually took plays to their opponents and RJ was a big part of their offense.

It was like deja vu when RJ started practicing with the Huskies. Once again he was following the play and it was painful to watch. But not today. Today I saw glimmers of what I saw 4 years ago in Medicine Hat. I'm no football expert by any means. Anything I know I have learned watching my son play and I'm undoubtedly biased in my view. But today I could see that RJ was making his blocks, doing the work that he was supposed to be doing. So it was gratifying to me when he called me after his post game interview and told me that his coaches had told him more or less the same thing. He had a GREAT camp - he knows it - I know it - and apparently his coaches know it too. Time will tell what comes next but for now he deserves to be really proud of what he has accomplished.

About halfway through the scrimmage my phone rang. It was Marilyn who just wanted to tell me that the cube van had left her stranded in Hague. I asked her what it was doing and she said she would try starting it so I could hear what was happening. So she started it - I don't think that was quite what she had intended to demonstrate. I couldn't hear anything but she said it had started. That seemed like a good thing and there didn't seem to be any reason why she shouldn't keep on keeping on so that is she did. I talked to her a while later and it was burping and stalling outright occasionally but eventually it got her to Anne's place in P.A. From her description of the symptoms I was pretty sure it needed a cam position sensor so I stopped at Parts Source in Saskatoon and picked one up.

We met up in P.A. at the rental house and while Marilyn was powerwashing the old paint off the windows I put the new cam sensor in the truck. Apparently that was the problem because it ran flawlessly on the way back to Nipawin. Its still got some issues with the alternator - the voltage is fluctuating wildly. It appears to be charging but the voltage spikes will likely cause trouble eventually so I think its going to get a new alternator before we leave here.

Tomorrow I will pick up the generator that has lived at Super Uke's for over a year now. We've got a really heavy week here. I want to build a hush box around the genset and we have to get the stuff moved into the cube van. I'm getting new tires on the front of the bus and I have some work to do on the boat to get it ready to travel. Yesterday Marilyn bought another campground membership so we need to get ready to head west and start trying it out.