Hot and dry

Its nice to see the sun for a change.  Pacific Northwet weather gets tiresome after a while so we’re appreciating the sunshine here just outside Boise, Idaho.  I’m wrapping up a project down here – I kind of forgot to post for a couple of weeks.  We made a hurry up trip east from the Island, stopped briefly in Buchanan and then headed back to Alberta and finally south through Bonner’s Ferry into Idaho.  I guess we were busy enough that I didn’t have much time on my hands to write a post.

Marilyn has been making good use of the dry weather by repairing the varnish job that she did last winter.  Evidently the wall was so wet when she refinished it that it actually molded behind the finish.  There were several sections in the bedroom that were quite disgusting when we got back this spring.  That was a big disappointment because she put in a lot of work last winter refinishing the bedroom.

Yesterday I hooked up a new to us satellite internet system.  I decided to leave the old system on the boat but we still needed a system for the bus so I cobbled together one out of used parts.  The guy that sold me the system is still in business but he’s a bit of an asshole about returning emails.  I contacted him about buying a new system, he responded right away and then he completely ignored me for 2 weeks.  By the time he finally got around to replying I had put together a system for about half what he wanted for a new one.  So I’m money ahead and he’s out a sale plus he will get my undying scorn whenever I have a chance to mention him.  The business to avoid is Tech Mobile Communications and the particular individual to avoid is Armand Lalonde. 

I had a full afternoon of grief getting all the pieces of the new system to talk to each other & I still have one modem that I couldn’t get to work but this posting is being done over the new system so the system definitely works.  Post-boat I have become much more obsessed with having spares for all our mission critical systems.  I include internet access in that list because both of us depend on that access almost as much as we depend on phone access – perhaps more so.  The result of that obsession with spares is that I now have 4 modems.  I can only have one commissioned at any one time but I should never be without a modem.  And on the subject of mission critical systems – the genset worked flawlessly on the way down.  I’m sure its just biding its time but while its working it is very pleasant.

Tomorrow I’ll go back out  one last time to pick up my tools and check the system.  Assuming everything is OK I’ll ship the tools  and we’ll be out of here Tuesday morning.  We’ve got some friends in Helena that we haven’t seen for a year so we’ll stop there on the way to Airdrie where we’ll pick up the Malibu and head east.  By the time we get it back to Buchanan, Goodspirit Lake should be warm enough for waterskiing.  I don’t know whether my old carcass remembers how to do a deep start but I’m going to find out before another month goes by.