Peaceful in P.A.

Its hard to believe we have been here a whole week. We spent the weekend and the first part of the week painting trim on the rental house. It has easily been our best investment over the last 10 years so we need to look after it. When Weyerhauser closed their P.A. pulp mill we thought it was all over and we had missed our chance to ever sell the house. Its still a great mystery to me why that wasn't the case but it certainly hasn't turned out that way. Property values have climbed along with the Saskaboom and don't appear to be levelling off. Marilyn attributes it to the mill filling up with workers close to 40 years ago and most of those workers now being ready to retire and willing to stay in P.A. She may be right - whatever the reason we aren't in any rush to get rid of the house. Right now we're doubly blessed because we have property appreciation happening and excellent tenants in the house. That hasn't always been the case but it sure is nice while it lasts.

This week I went out to Shellbrook for a visit with Ken, Meriam and Reg Miners. I've often described a trip to the Miners farm as a trip back in time. I don't think anybody is milking there since Ken's mother died but otherwise life goes on much as it did forty years ago when we still lived in Shellbrook. And the life that the family lived in 1970 wasn't a whole lot different than what the Harsneys had lived since they settled there after the first world war. There's a few concessions to modernity - I saw some empty 5020 canola bags lying on the shop floor but Ken clearly thought that his brother was wasting his money on that stuff.

Late in the week I went down to Saskatoon for a meeting with a client. Marilyn has some meetings here in P.A. early this coming week and then we are going to move first to Saskatoon and then to Regina. On Monday we'll drive to Regina for an appointment with father's social worker. Apparently they have figured out where they are going to warehouse house father. It sounds like he is going to be stored at the Pasqua hospital until somebody dies at one of the facilities and then we will have the option of moving him to the open room or waiting until a more acceptable facility comes open. Not surprisingly there are big differences in the quality of care between the various facilities.

So once again we'll be moving father. Years ago I remember him telling me about visiting Ted Eide who was living in a care home in Saskatoon. I don't remember all the details but Ted had lived out in the hills east of Kenaston. He told father that moving from the farm into Kenaston wasn't too bad because at least he wasn't living in Saskatoon. Then when he moved from Kenaston into an apartment in Saskatoon it could have been worse because at least he wasn't in a care home. But when he finally moved into the care home he told father that was the worst because there was only one move left from there. That story had a profound effect on father and I'm sure it is weighing on his mind now.