A couple of days before we left Valemount, my monitor, an 18” one we specifically bought with us because of its size, (the 32” curved one would’ve had to sit in the next campsite for me to be able to use it!) turned up its toes.
Two days after arriving here in Prince George, Mrs Widds’, laptop also turned up its toes, perhaps in solidarity. (I wouldn’t put it past ‘em to gang up on us ‘ommins like that)
Both of these issues are, or are in the process of being, resolved, thanks to a little computer shop called ‘Sarita’. Great service, reasonably priced, and open on Sundays!
The next ‘sideways’ has been with the brakes on our truck. We had the truck serviced at our regular dealership before we left on our Adventure, because that’s what responsible Adventurers do, and we asked them to check the brakes because we’d both noticed they were a little ‘grabby’.
Long story short: The service dept. said they checked them out and all was good – turns out they didn’t – we noticed the brakes being even more ‘grabby’ on the way here – called into the local dealership (here in Prince George) – discovered brakes are in need of some major work, (and you can guess at how much ‘major work’ is going to cost) that should’ve been done at the original dealership.
We are currently exchanging strongly worded emails with the dealership’s Head Office, who have, so far, said they take our concerns seriously, blah, blah, blah. (translates to that dismissive meme that was going around a while ago, KTHNXBY – short for ‘OK, thanks, bye’)
I intend to pursue the matter to the fullest extent of my vocabulary.
The result of all the above is that we’ve decided to stay put for the summer, look for work so we can pay down this recent insane level of expenditure, and once our little truck is roadworthy again, take occasional pootles about the countryside checking out the various ‘hoods’, towns’ and villages, and see what there is to see.
-oOo-
Because Spring and Summer have been so shy about showing up this year the snowpack that feeds all the rivers in British Columbia is reported to be 100%-265% above normal for this time of year. (‘normal’ late Spring/Summer temps would’ve already melted a good portion of it)
This means that the inevitable warm-up, which is starting now, will melt all that snow and bring it down into the watersheds of all the rivers as torrents of water, way faster than the land can cope with.
Last year, it was an ‘extreme weather event’, in Autumn that flooded great swathes of land where we lived, and as of last night, flood warnings are being posted for an even greater area.
That kind of flooding was part of what prompted us to leave Widder Island, (it’s actually called Hatzic Island – I can tell you now we’re no longer living there) when we did.
We feel for our neighbours, and in spite of our current challenges, (there’ll always be some, no matter where we go or what we do) we’re very glad to be well-clear of the sort of catastrophic flooding the poor Fraser Valley is about to undergo for the second time in a year.
-oOo-
On to other things.
This is the only shot I’ve managed to garner, so far, of our local vandal …
I don’t know who moved first, me or the skwrl. Either way it’s an interesting photographic effect
Mdme, or Msr, Skwrl, greeted us on our first day here by bouncing on to the folding table we have just outside our front door, thence leaping, with great expectations of being fed, onto the flyscreen, and clinging there, staring at us like a kitten with the zoomies that finds itself halfway up the curtains and not a clue as to how to get down.
After we made it clear we were not the sort of RVers who fed the local wildlife, (aka bowed down to threats of extortion by means of extreme cyootness) Mdme, or Msr, Skwrl, harrumphed off, climbed the nearest tree and laid in wait. Some time later, when were were innocently ensconced underneath said tree, sipping our afternoon beverages, the little bugger proceeded to pummel us with discarded bits of pinecones. Deliberately, or an accident of gravity? The jury’s out on that one.
-oOo-
And now, a bit of a video
Come to sunny Prince George, they said. It never rains here, they said. It’s rained just about every afternoon we’ve been here, and today, this happened …
Hail – through the flyscreen, taken after we’d run around like chooks with our heads cut off, packing everything away, ahead of pendulously looming, and very loud, stormclouds.
Never a dull moment around here.
May your hailstones be tiny, and your monitors never discover they have toes to turn up.
The Adventure continues.
Widdershins Worlds 
That’s outrageous that they didn’t properly fix your brakes! Makes me mad: so dangerous.
Sounds like a good choice to settle for a little while; very sad to hear about predictions re flooding- I so know that dread- poor folks, just waiting…
*sighs
The idea of the squirrel deliberately pelting you made me laugh though. Stay safe & have fun 🤩🌈
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When we figured out what happened, or rather didn’t happen, our fury was impressive.
We were on tenterhooks for weeks last year and I know that so many people who lost everything back there are holding their breaths. 😦
Yeah, bloody squirrels! 😀
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I put a ‘like’ on the post, but of course I’m not pleased about your discomforts, difficulties and disabled equipment. I appreciate the wish that our monitors won’t discover they have toes, and I think there may be a flash fiction story prompt in there somewhere for me. We’ll see… 😀 I hope you enjoy the summer (when it truly arrives) in your temporary town.
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Looking forward to summer, a gentle summer, mind you, arriving too. 😀 … will keep an eye out for a story about be-toed monitors. 😀
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Hmm… it may end up an absurdist poem. ‘be-toed’ prompted immediate wordplay into weirdness. 😀 But I also have a flash fiction seminar coming up, and it could make a fun theme for the 500 word story we’re to create by the end of it.
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😀
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If you use the full extent of your vocabulary, you should prevail!
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That’s the plan. Not that I expect them to do something honourable like pick up the tab, but a response from an actual human might be nice. 🙂
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It was deliberate. They know who to pelt.
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True that! 😀
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I lived in P.G. when I was a kid. It rained all the time in summer. Or maybe that’s just the way I remember it; didn’t like rain at all back then.
Wishing you well with the negligent dealership, and I hope the adventure improves!
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Oh dear. 😦 … I’m sure it’ll stop one of these days. 🙂 … we knew we were going to hit a bunch of bumps in the road, maybe they’re happening at the beginning so we get ’em out of the way. 😀
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That’s the spirit! And I was a kid in prehistoric times. Before climate change.
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Heh, me too. 🙂
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I have developed a cunning plan… why not capture that squirrel, package it carefully and post it to the original dealership for their massed personal surprise and delectation? Mark the package ‘Private and Personal’ for the attention of the manager.
Brakes on veehickels are a wonderful thing. Tis also a wonder to watch folk fresh to boats who imagine that “maximum revs in reverse” will achieve a similar effect (it doesn’t). Entering High Numpty Season hereabouts – imagine The Walking Dead, but in narrowboats.
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Imagine the squirrel poo that would accumulate by the time it reached its destination. 😀 …
We used to have High Numpty season on the lake too. Some people ought not to be let anywhere near floatation devices.
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Your humour is seeing you through
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I like to think of it as my Theater of the Absurd. 🙂
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🙂
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Oh no! They say it never rains but it pours, hopefully you have hit all possible problems at once.
I wish you a perfect conclusion to all your efforts, Widds…
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Thank’ee kindly. Me too. 🙂
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XX
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I can say, unequivocally, that those squirrels were targeting you. I know this because they have done it to me. I actually had to stand on a path and warn people. Those nuts hurt! I’m so sorry for everything you’re going through. Makes me think of Murphy’s Law! I will send good thoughts your way. Not that they can help much but maybe they can make you smile.
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Good thoughts always help. 🙂 … we used to get dive-bombed by crows when we lived in Vancouver, especially around nesting season, but never been on the receiving end of a squirrel’s righteous indignation. 😀
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[…] Worlds of two monitors turning up their toes, which in not so funny terms was one more thing Going Sideways on their adventures. At the end of the post, the well-wish: “May your hailstones be tiny, and […]
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I was right, I had it in me. Thanks for the fun inspiration from your not so fun monitoring problems. If you’d like to check out the nonsense I wrote in response, it’s here https://realitywithatwistbooks.wordpress.com/2022/06/14/the-tale-of-be-toed-monitors/ Hope they turn up soon and turn out well.
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You’re welcome! 😀 … loved it. 😀
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hehe! Cheers! 😀
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Ah, Widds. I’m so sorry to hear about /your/ tech woes. And of course, they came in threes. Why is that? Anyway, I think it’s a great idea to stay put for the summer. You’ll get to see so much more, and hopefully we’ll get to see more of the squirrel. I really like squirrels. 😀
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They’re adorable little vandals. 😀
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They are indeed! Diana says they love walnuts so maybe you could tempt them to perform for your camera with a few treats? lol Just in the interests of your viewing audience, of course.
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Diana? 🙂 …
Noooooooo! That leads to the dark side. Soon there’ll be lions and tigers and bears oh my, all lined up outside the door! 😀 …
Seriously, people feeding large wildlife, (or of any size really – but the big ones are heartbreaking) or not being responsible with their garbage, is a real problem.
It’s the same old story – humans encroach on the wild things territory, wild things stay in their territory, humans do idiot things, wild things either get habituated and/or attack, wild things are ‘destroyed’ to keep idiot humans safe from their own stupidity.
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gah! I wasn’t suggesting you feed the bears!!!!!!
Honestly, so long as the wild things are capable of finding their own food – i.e. don’t become totally dependant on humans, I see nothing wrong with giving them a treat every now and then. I know that’s not very PC, but my Mum conditioned me to feed the world and some habits you just can’t break. 😉
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You’re a rain magnet, aren’t you?
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Um … yes, it does appear that way! 😀
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What an adventure! Despite the hurdles with computers, brakes, skwrls, and hail, I’m a little jealous. Enjoy, enjoy the excitement of something new every day.
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Heh, 🙂 … I think I’d be a little jealous too. 🙂
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[…] – our favourite store! … and a Nissan dealership, which we desperately needed because of ongoing brake issues with our trusty steed. (the truck) That fix took longer than we anticipated, and along with other […]
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