This morning, I did my rounds after feeding the yard cats (I counted 32 this morning), as usual. I even remembered to take pictures of the finished garden bed in the old kitchen garden.
Hopefully, the leaves will at least somewhat keep the cats from digging in it but, when I looked at the section of the wattle weave bed I cleaned up and covered, I noticed evidence that at least one cat had gone through it, leaving flattened patches behind.
And dug through to the soil in one spot. I did not see any “presents”, though, so it’s safe to click through to the next picture.😄
I headed out early to drop the truck off. Along with the keys, I gave them the printout from Canadian Tire that showed what they worked on. As I was heading out, I remembered the recommendation with the wires. It wasn’t in the printout, because I declined the work, so I headed back.
It’s so funny to bring something like that up with three mechanics in the room! I think one was actually a customer, but he clearly knew what he was talking about. When I mentioned that they recommended replacing the spark plug wires, all three of them started talking shop about why that might be. They agreed to check the wires, too.
I also asked them to replace my headlight, letting them know I’d bought a bulb and where it was. They were also going to look for the source of the oil leak while changing the oil. That there was oil on the spark plugs gave them an idea of where to look. My brother said it was likely a gasket, but I didn’t think to mention that at the time.
Then I headed out, first for a quick lunch, then to run errands. I stopped to take care of renewing my driver’s license in person, since the postal strike meant I hadn’t received the letter about it, yet. The vehicle insurances rolls over to monthly payments automatically, so she gave me a printout of what those would be. The cost to renew my driver’s license went up by $10, but my insurance went down by a couple of dollars per month.
Then I walked to the other end of town (about 5-6 blocks) to the dollar store to check out their craft section. I’ve made my decision on what I want to make for my annual hand made Christmas ornaments and wanted to look for Christmassy yarn, a sparkly contrasting yarn and maybe some little decorative embellishments.
There wasn’t anything.
Oh, they had their Christmas section up, but in the crafts area, there were no Christmassy materials. There was a time when, every year, these sections would get a whole bunch of items for Christmas; yarn in Christmas colours with metallic strands in them, baubles and beads, cordage, blank ornaments, etc. I haven’t seen anything like this in craft sections for years. Only Michaels, the only craft store franchise we have left in Canada (and I hear they might be closing down) had them and, being a specialty craft store, they have most of them year round, since it can take months to do some seasonal crafts.
In the end, all I got was a couple of skeins of yarn in green and red. I might have something in my stash that I can use as a contrasting edging, and I should be able to use some other things I can add. I think I still have some things in appropriate colours left I can use for hangers, too. It was pretty disappointing, though. That dollar store is pretty much the only place to get crafting materials of any kind, locally.
Once I was done there and making my way back towards the garage, I stopped at another store where I found some things my husband requested. Then I stopped at a bank machine to take out the cash I’ve budgeted for getting our septic tank emptied for the winter. The last stop on the way back to the garage was a hardware store, where I got copies cut of our new front door key. I still need to test them out.
By the time I got back to the garage, I was starting to have issues with my left hip. The truck was in one of their bays, so I dropped my bag off in the truck before going through to the office. The door was closed, though, as the manager was on the phone, so I stayed by the truck and chatted with the mechanic that was working on another car next to it.
It turned out the truck was done! He told me they did find the source of the oil leak, but that was something they would give me an estimate for before ordering in a part, so it was something to talk about once I was in the office.
First, we went over what they did do. That included replacing the headlight.
The bulb I had, though, was blown out! They couldn’t use it. He asked me where I got it from, and I told him – including that I had gotten it for “free” by using my Canadian Tire dollars. He was happy to hear that I didn’t pay for it. I didn’t take it back. He had gone ahead and used one of their own bulbs in inventory and replaced it, figuring I’d still want it done either way. He was right. Even with that, the final bill was under budget!
I asked about the wires that Cdn Tire had recommended I replace (which would have brought that bill to over $800, and that did not include the $150 or so they charged, just to look at it).
The wires were fine. Nothing wrong with them. They did not need replacing.
He made some guesses as to why they might have recommended replacing them, to which I added, “or it might just be Canadian Tire. We’ve been burned by them before.” I told him, if I had had any choice, I wouldn’t have gone there in the first place. He didn’t say anything overtly, but did agree with me.
After that bill was paid, we talked about the oil leak.
It was a gasket.
The oil cooler line seal, to be specific.
The part itself was only about $20, and they figured only half an hour in labour, so about $100 in total.
I booked the truck for next week to get that done.
When he told me it was a gasket, I mentioned that that was exactly what my brother was expecting.
It turns out the mechanic knows my brother! At least enough to ask a few polite questions about him. He clearly thought well of my brother. That was nice!
As for talking about trading in the truck, I brought that up when I dropped it off. This is a conversation to have with the owner, though, and the mechanics don’t do the car sales part of things. The mechanic/manager I was talking to, though, did understand why I would want to do that, even though the truck is perfect for our needs. In the end, it’s a conversation for another time.
The main thing is, the truck is running well now, and got the all clear. The only issue is the leak. I was told to check the oil every week until it was fixed, but I just booked the fix for next week, instead.
The only down side was when I tried to pay for the work using my Cdn Tire MC, which is what I will be using when we do our Costco trip, too.
It was declined.
It turns out that the payment I’d made against it is still “pending”. Which means I might not be doing the Costco trip tomorrow, after all. That’s where I put our budget (gotta build those Canadian Tire dollars back up).
I was still able to do a small grocery shopping trip after we were done, though. Just a few times to last us, in case the payment takes a while longer to be released.
By that time, my hip was really starting to hurt, not just feel unstable. Before heading home, I messaged to ask if someone could meet me at the garage to help me bring my shopping in, mentioning that my hip was giving out. I didn’t have enough to warrant parking by the house, but too much for me to carry in one trip.
When I got to our driveway, my daughter was waiting by the gate.
Surrounded by cats.
With more cats, all down the driveway!
She had probably 20 cats out, following her, with the more social ones around her feet, demanding attention! I had to actually drive carefully, because there were so many of them – and of course, one of them kept running ahead of my on the driveway, instead of going off to the side, like the others.
I got this picture after we’d brought everything to the house. I so want to snuggle this kitten! I’ve been able to sneak a pet, every once in a while at feeding time, but that’s it.
My start to the day was way earlier than intended, even with needing to get up earlier because I was going to my mother’s!
I’ve been keeping my bedroom door closed overnight, with just Butterscotch and Ginger, because they get bothered by other cats so much. When I can, I include Tiny, who also gets bullied by other cats. Unfortunately, that results in cats scratching at my door frequently during the night. This not only wakes me up, it’s damaging the door. In the time it takes me to get up and get to the door with a spray bottle, whatever cat is doing it is long gone.
This morning, when I found myself up at about 4:30 am, I decided to leave my door open as I tried going back to bed. As soon as the other cats came in, though, the fighting, growling, scratching (sometimes even on the scratch pad or tower), hairball horking, and jumping all over the place kicked right in!
I finally gave up and got up well before my alarm was due to go off. I topped up the cat food bowls in the dining room, mostly just making noise to get their attention, since they still had plenty of food, and managed to get most of them distracted from destruction in my room.
I headed outside next to feed the yard cats. I didn’t see Zipper anywhere which, after what happened with Kale, has me concerned, but then I didn’t see some of the other kittens, either. I find myself wondering if Caramel is trying to move her babies to the farm across the road from us. Yesterday, I caught her encouraging one of her kittens to follow hear, while heading in that direction. No one lives there permanently, but there is still the house, barn and many outbuildings. I picked up the kitten and brought it back to the sun room, just to be on the safe side. I will know better when I do the evening feeding, if we are missing some kitties.
Once the furballs were fed, I did the rest of my rounds, including checking the garden beds. They did not need watering this morning, which was good, since I didn’t have time to do it before leaving.
The transplants are still looking really rough, but that’s not stopping them from blooming! Especially the winter squash.
These are just one variety in the picture, but all three varieties in this bed have blossoms. Almost all are male flowers, though I did see one female flower bud. I should probably prune all these flowers off right now, which should send more energy to plant growth rather than flower blooming.
I was also very happy to have my first garlic scape harvest!
Just a few were ready for picking, but we will have more, soon! On the way back to the house, I grabbed a few chive blossoms, too. I included some of each in my breakfast. 😊
I headed back out later and harvested some rhubarb and lettuce to bring to my mother, before changing and heading out. Expecting today to be warmer, I decided to wear my new caftan style summer dress. It’s bright red with bold patterns in green, yellow, white and black. My mother has seen me in it before and laughed at me, saying it looked like I was wearing pajamas (she meant night gown, but I think she forgot the word in English). So I knew I’d get some sort of blowback for wearing it. I also wore my new shoes in matching red, and the sparkly gold hat my daughter bought for me, to add to my sparkly hat collection. I always wear a baseball style hat – I feel naked without one! – when I head outside, and have work hats and going out hats. The sparkly ones are my going out hats.
Before I left, I went over to my daughter as she was making herself breakfast, struck a pose and asked, how do I look? I pretty much never wear such bright colours or patterns, and wear dresses even less often. My daughter loved it, then laughed and said my mother would have things to say!
So, I did know at least some of what was coming.
The plan was to take my mother to the lab for her bloodwork when they opened at 9, or after her morning med assist. I seemed to remember that the morning home care worker came just before 9am, but I wasn’t sure. I had told my mother I would be there between 8:30 and 9. After the lab work, I would do her grocery shopping, then had my own errands to run.
I arrived shortly after 8:30 and delivered the rhubarb and lettuce. My mother was quite happy with that.
Then I settled at the table to get her lock box and remove the bloodwork form for this month. That’s when my mother noticed my bright red shoes.
She somehow managed to compliment me on the shoes, while laughing and insulting me for the dress, at the same time.
Then she started in on the hat, which I’ve already worn to her place, quite a few times. That style, she told me, was for men. Because it had a visor. Men’s hats have visors. I pointed out, it’s gold and sparkly, so it’s hardly a “men’s hat” (not that it couldn’t be, but my mother wouldn’t think so).
She then started to tell me, people dress so strangely these days!
😂😂
I told her, it’s just styles. They change.
All of this is pretty typical of my mother and pretty expected.
Meanwhile, I got the form out and she ordered me to give her her pills. I had already confirmed that the home care aide hadn’t arrived yet, so I told her no, the aid will be here soon. It’s not even 9:00 (it was coming up on 8:45 by then, so I’d been there for less than 10 minutes). She then started going on about the times and eventually mentioned that no one had shown up for Saturday morning, so that meant they weren’t going to come today.
????
This was the first I’d heard of this. I told her, if that happens, call me! If they haven’t shown up by 10, then she needs to call me so I can come in.
By 10? They’re supposed to be here at 8.
???
She was recently given a new 2 week schedule, and it was taped to her wall, so I checked it. The schedule includes both the days and dates, then the scheduled med assist times for each day. As I started looking at it, she berated me for looking at the wrong date, so obviously, she could see the schedule, even with her macular degeneration. I found the right date, then pointed out to her that all the scheduled visits for each day are at the same times. Mornings are from 9-9:10. Afternoons, 6:55-7. I forget the last one, but it was also a 5 minute visit. All the times were the same for the two weeks on the schedule, along with the names of who was supposed to do the visits.
My mother’s response was, they changed it?
She thought they were supposed to come at 8, even though she could see the schedule, taped to the wall right in front of where she sits at her dining table.
She still demanded I give her her medications. I said no. They have forms to fill out. I’m not going to mess with their system.
I was berated for wanting to follow the rules.
Once the lock box was set aside, we settled in to just chat while we waited, and I mentioned how hot and humid it was. She thought I meant outside, and I told her it’s hot and humid outside, too, but I had meant inside. My mother doesn’t feel the heat at all, these days.
She didn’t understand the word humid, though, and thought I meant the smoke. I told her there wasn’t any smoke visible when I came in, but that would just be because of the wind direction. The big fire across the lake was still burning out of control.
That’s when things went downhill, fast.
She started talking about how terrible it was that “they” were starting fires. And by “they”, my mother basically means not-white people. Sometimes she seems to mean Muslims, sometimes First Nations, sometimes just any of the recent imports. When I pointed out that not all of these fires are arson, and many are in isolated regions, where there are no roads and no people, she told me that “they” would still go there! If they can burn churches, they would burn forests, too.
Now, as an aside, we do have real problems with this. In past years, the RCMP have uncovered plots from people connected to Islamic terrorist groups that specifically included starting many forest fires. There is also the issue of imports (I will not insult genuine immigrants by calling the imports, immigrants). Canada’s federal government has allowed well over 800,000 imports in just the first 4 months of 2025. That’s roughly equivalent to the population of the city of Winnipeg. This while going on about how they’re going to cut back on how many people they let in because of the housing crisis. These are not people undergoing the requisite checks and balances normally required during the immigration process, and there is a much larger problem if human trafficking involved, but that’s a whole different topic.
There is also the real problem of churches being vandalized and burned. The number is well over 100 now, and this started after the mass graves hoax that our former Prime Dictator, T2, actually condoned, even as he condemned it. He literally did both in the same sentence. Many of these are blatant hate crimes, but they’re not being investigated. What my mother doesn’t understand is that many of these churches that were vandalized and burned because of the mass graves hoax are actually churches on reserves. A lot of Fist Nations people are Christian, and those churches are incredibly important to their communities.
My mother, however, can’t grasp that. In her mind, white people are Christian. Which makes me wonder what she really thinks about the very dark priest from India serving her church right now! Or the Filipino family with their delightful gaggle of children that attends her church.
So that’s a bit of the background on that.
I tried to tell my mother, she’s talking about two different things. Yes, the church burnings are a problem, but that is not connected to the wildfires. It’s fire season. Some fires are started by stupid people throwing their cigarette butts out the window, yes, there is sometimes arson, but mostly these are lightning strikes. There simply aren’t people around to start most of the fires where they are.
She then started to accuse me of “protecting” “them”, saying “I’m not stupid” (meaning, she knows what is REALLY going on, but I don’t) and that I was just like…
At that point she used a word I didn’t understand. It was one of her made up words that she comes up with, like referring to women doctors as “psheepshee”. I had to ask several times, what was she talking about, before she said she meant the home care worker she’d had an incident with before. This home care worker had made a request to not be assigned to my mother anymore because of my mother’s racist comments, so we were all surprised that she was back. My mother had acknowledged she did not behave properly, though I don’t know that she ever apologized directly to this woman. Clearly, based on what my mother was saying now, any apology she might have made was not at all genuine!
So there she was saying I was “protecting” people just like this… whatever the word was… home care worker. (Granted, I would also have a problem with someone who said she supported pro-terrorist protesters, but we don’t know exactly what went down, since they both have told different stories about the incident.) All for pointing out that she was talking about two different things, and not all fires are arson.
Then I guess my mother remembered that my husband is Metis, because she suddenly asked, “is there any white blood left in you?”
…
At that point I told her, flat out, she was being disgusting, and when did she get all this hate in her heart?
She then started crossing herself, and I called her out on that particular behaviour, too. That led to her questioning my faith and making some other inappropriate comments.
Which is when I told her, I was done.
I put the paperwork back in the lock box and left. I was not going to take her for her lab work, nor do her grocery shopping, after that.
While I put the form away, my mother just sat there, silently, with a very familiar smug smile on her face that she puts on when she is utterly convinced of her righteousness.
I was not going to put up with her abuse.
I was there for less than 15 minutes.
At some point, I’ll need to go back and get her to the lab and do her grocery shopping, but not today.
Once in the truck, I updated the family very briefly – both at home and in the group chat with my siblings. I then headed out to do what was supposed to be my afternoon errands, and went to the nearest Walmart.
I just got interrupted by a cat altercation that brings me to one of the things I found at Walmart to try. A “calm & content”, “liquid vet” solution. Chicken flavoured. It’s meant to be fed to a stressed out cat during meal time, with doses based on weight. We have several cats that seriously need to be de-stressed! It has a 100% money back guarantee, so we’ll see how it works. I also picked up a couple of sprayers for the hose; I only need one right now, but with how quickly they seem to break down, I got an extra. I did get what I hope are higher quality ones.
The shopping done and the truck loaded, I just started to leave the parking lot when my phone rang.
It was home care.
I shuddered to think they needed me to do the morning med assist. It well past 10 by then. It turned out that my mother had called them because no one had showed up for her morning med assist. The scheduler had checked and confirmed that the home care aid was running behind, and that she would be going to my mother’s next. I briefly let her know I’d been there earlier and had to leave because of my mother’s behaviour. Fair warning that she might not be at her best when the home care aid arrived. The scheduler appreciated the warning.
I was just glad I wasn’t going to have to go back to my mother’s today.
I could finally head home, which was an uneventful drive except…
Why was my oil pressure gauge on the low side like that?
It hasn’t been that long ago that a leaking gasket was discovered, and that’s why we had been losing oil. Because of where it was leaking, we never saw any oil under the truck, nor have we been seeing any lately. We had also still had issues with the MAF sensor, so we had that replaced, the engine cleaned and an oil change done, all at once. It’s been running fine, ever since.
I did confirm that, based on the mileage on the sticker, we are due for an oil change, though the onboard computer says we’re still good to go.
Once at home and the truck unloaded, I grabbed some paper towel and checked the oil level. Which is incredibly frustrating. I honestly can’t tell where the oil level is. It either looks all wet, or not at all. I do wish the dip stick could be a light colour, rather than basically the same colour as the oil! I eventually concluded it was a bit low and added my last half liter of oil that I had in the truck and checked again. I found it even harder to see the oil level at that point.
*sigh*
So I called the garage and told them what I was seeing. They couldn’t fit me in today, but I now have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. They’ll do an oil change and check for a leak.
Meanwhile I had a message from my daughter. The autobody place called about our insurance claim while I was gone, so I called them back.
The insurance company has agreed to the off-market box cover that would fit our truck, that the shop had managed to find. We would be paying the 30% “betterment” cost, on top of our deductible. The guy at the repair department needed to look over the truck, though. I now have an appointment for Thursday afternoon. He’ll look over the damage, including the broken tail light, so he knows exactly what parts he will need to order. The insurance company says they won’t cover the tail light because they don’t think it was caused by the box cover being ripped off the truck and twisting the frame in the process, and I have no way to prove otherwise. The autobody place might be able to find a cheaper off-market one for us, though. Otherwise, we could go to the garage and ask if they can find one from a scrap yard, instead. These things are pretty expensive, new.
Once the guy has the information he needs, they’ll be able to look it all up and give an exact cost to us, including the deductible. We can then decide whether to go ahead with the repair and replacement or not. Budget is very tight right now, but my older daughter has said she can help out.
All of this, and it was just past noon by the end of the call with the autobody place.
Well, it got figured out. Sort of. After trying all the usual rebooting and turning things off and on, my husband physically unplugged and re-plugged in all the physical connections. When he was done, we had internet again. How the power being shut off briefly would have caused that, I have no idea.
Speaking of having no idea, at some point yesterday, a cat walked on my keyboard. I have no idea what combinations of buttons got stepped on, but I now have every letter, space and punctuation I type showing up in boxes as the bottom of my screen, along with and “backspace” and “break”. This has happened before, and I figured out how to shut it off, but this time, I just can’t find how again. I’ll have to figure it out later. For now, I’ve got stuff to do!
First up, though, is some cuteness. I puttered around after feeding the outside cats for the evening and discovered two of them on top of the raised bed cover in the old kitchen garden!
One of them is more feral and ran off when I stopped to get my phone out, but Kohl is looking like she’s settling right down for a nap!
It’s a good thing this cover can support their weight, and the netting is secured snug enough that they don’t end up pushing it through the larger openings in the fence wire.
The ornamental apple trees are in full bloom right now, and just buzzing with polinators!
It’s such a gorgeous evening right now, I’m probably going to head out again, after I’m done writing this, even though it’s already past 8:30pm.
This morning was fairly routine, before I headed out to my mother’s. My daughter offered to do weed trimming and mowing for me while I was gone, so we walked about that for a while. She was happy when I suggested using the riding more first, as I knew for sure it had more gas in it. She wasn’t sure we had permission to use it.
I headed out early enough to get a bit of gas before heading to my mother’s, though it turned out to be too early to grab some fried chicken for my lunch, since my mother was getting her Meals on Wheels today. When I got to her place, she had been lying down in bed again, and was really struggling to get up and move around. She says her mobility is getting worse, which I can clearly see. Before she was settled, I offered to apply some of the Voltaren topical painkiller, and she quite happily agreed. Her morning med assist visit is supposed to offer to do that for her, but she doesn’t like the idea of the home care workers touching her like that. Fair enough!
That done, we were starting to settle down to go over her shopping list, when she commented that I was “hiding my beautiful hair”, because I didn’t take my hat off, like I usually do. I told her, yes, I’m hiding my “beautiful hair” because every time she sees my hair, she had something nasty to say about it (even when she compliments my hair, she does it in such a way that it’s actually an insult). Her response was to tell me that it’s because I braid my hair and only little girls wear braids. I reminded her that her mother always kept her very long hair in a braid. Oh, but she wore it rolled up on the back of her head all the time! I said no, not all the time. I remember her braid was so long, it reached her bum.
In the end, she basically said that having short hair is easier (for her), therefore older women should all have short hair like she does. I told her, I find it easier to have a braid. Oh, when you’re in your 90’s like me, you’ll feel different.
*facepalm*
At least she was not being actively nasty about it.
We went over her shopping list and added a few things she hadn’t thought of. She also had a list for things to pick up at the pharmacy, including more Voltaren. Now that she’s using it on her back as well as her knees, she’s going through it a faster, and she doesn’t want to run out. Which is a real switch for her. She usually waits until the last moment before replacing things or getting refills.
Since I was going to the pharmacy anyhow, I decided to go into her lock box and take out those bubble packs that have been driving her nuts. One of them had just a single bubble for her evening meds in it, while another had one bubble of morning meds and one of suppertime meds in it. The equivalent of 1 day’s worth of pills, but each bubble was in a different day of the week. The home care workers refusing to give them to her on the “wrong” day is what’s driving her absolutely bonkers. It’s like she goes into an instant rage. I told her I would take them to the pharmacy. She has about 1 1/2 weeks left in her current bubble packs, so she’ll be getting refills done next week. I told her I would give them to the pharmacist. She started telling me to make sure they knew she had already paid for these (which… of course they do. She wouldn’t have them, otherwise), so they don’t throw them away. I told her, I would explain it to them, and they will take care of things.
One thing I noticed and remembered to ask before I headed out; her Tuesday morning meds are still in their bubble. Today is Friday, and all the other bubbles in between are properly used. What happened on Tuesday?
Apparently, no one showed up to do her med assist on Tuesday morning. I did not get a call, and my mother didn’t call to tell me there was a problem, either.
*sigh*
Today is her day in the common laundry room, so we got that ready, too. My mother, of course, giving me detailed instructions on how to do the laundry, even though I’ve already done her laundry before and know how she likes it done. Then, when her Meals on Wheels arrived, I got her laundry started, then headed out to do her shopping while she enjoyed her lunch. It looked and smelled delicious!
I did remember to grab the bubble packs for the pharmacist and explained the situation. They can’t repackage them, but she did understand why I had to get them out! My mother was getting downright abusive about it.
My mother had only 4 things on her shopping list at the pharmacy, yet it still came out to just over $60. Ouch.
I did her grocery shopping next, and that came out to just under $60! She didn’t need a lot, but it was still quite a few items. On both lists there was an ‘if it’s in the budget’ item that I didn’t get. As it turned out, since I paid the small change myself so she get round numbers back, she had only a dollar left of the cash she gave me for her shopping – and even then, it was because I suggested she might not have enough, after looking at her pharmacy shopping list, so she added a bit more to her envelope of cash she gives me for her shopping.
When I got back, my mother as busily picking up rugs and bashing them with her cane to get the dust off, in preparation for me to sweep her floors. Not something she should have been doing, but she just couldn’t just sit there, waiting for me to come back and do it.
I know that feel.
I did get her to sit down on her comfy chair while I put her groceries away. Then I grabbed her water bottles that needed refilling (there’s a tap in the laundry room that has a water softener on it, that she uses for drinking and cooking water) and switched her laundry to the dryers. She had actually forgotten about her laundry! One machine was still going through its final spin, though, so the timing worked out.
That done, I got the sweeping done for her, then made sure everything was put back properly. I do wish she would get rid of her little rugs. They are such tripping hazards! But, the floor makes her feet cold, so she wants the rugs. 😔
Once everything was settled, I remembered to get out my mother’s blood pressure machine and get a reading. I try to remember to do that every time I’m at her place for any length of time. I got her pulse oximeter set up, too, but it has the hardest time getting a reading. Her fingers are so twisted from arthritis, it doesn’t have proper contact. I had to try three different fingers before we could get a reading!
Then we had a chance to just sit and visit for a bit. She even asked me how things went with my appointment for the truck yesterday. I told her how it went, and now the adjusted was trying to blame things on previous damage, and that I was expecting a call from the autobody shop some time today to get full information. I mentioned the potential issue with painting after they fix the bent box frame, because of the rust.
Mentioning rust turned out to be a distraction. I barely finished talking when she suddenly declared, “now let me tell you something about me!”
She then vaguely indicated towards her stove and was talking about this terrible problem of rust she has. She didn’t have the word for what she was talking about, but seemed to think I could read her mind and know what she meant! Her gestures were so vague that, even though she was verbally saying “stove”, she seemed to be indicating the counter… or the sink? I finally had to ask. That made her instantly furious as she got up and started trying to tear off an element to show me. I was able to get her to stop and before she broke something!
It turned out she was talking about the drip pan under the element.
I had to look up the name of it, just now! 😄
It was completely rusted out, to the point of having holes in it. Which is bizarre, because I know this stove was replaced after she moved here, so it’s less than 10 years old.
My talking about rust on the truck reminded her about her drip pan, and how she had asked the cleaning staff if she was responsible for replacing it, or the public housing department that owns the building. They didn’t know but said they would ask. My mother later got a two page letter explaining the things they did and didn’t cover… but nothing specifically about the drip pan, so she still doesn’t know!
I told her, I’d just replace it myself. I took a picture and passed it on to my siblings so that one of us could pick up a replacement for her, when we have the chance.
After a while, my mother sent me to check on the driers, and told me to take them out if they were dry, even if the machines weren’t done. They were on their cool down cycle, so that’s what I ended up doing.
Once I started folding and putting them away, my mother let me know she was done by sitting in her armchair and turning on her TV, really loud. 😄 When I was done, she barely acknowledged when I gave her a hug and a kiss goodbye. 😄
While all this as going on, I got messages from the family. While my daughter was out using the weed trimmer, which is electric, someone from the electric company came by to say they were going to be shutting off the power for about half an hour. My husband, sweetheart that he is, made sure my computer was shut down, first!
They still had just enough data signal to send text messages, so they could keep me up to date. My daughter saw them working on the main power pole, so she went out to ask about what they were doing. There was just a small part at the top that was getting replaced. She was told they will be increasing the voltage to the power grid, and had to replace parts so they could handle the increase. Which means they are going to every single farm and rural household to do this! That’s going to take a while!
Once the power was back up, the internet was still out. When I got home, I tried contacting the electric company, but they aren’t listed in the phone books we have (yes, we still have phone books!). I even tried calling 411, but only got a busy signal. Eventually, I went outside with my phone and logged into the electric company’s app, dug until I found a number I could call, and got through. After explaining things, he checked, and all was clear at his end. Which meant we had to contact our internet provider. Which is Starlink.
Which would require logging into their app. Which I couldn’t do, because my upgraded phone doesn’t have my husband’s computer generated, unhackable password stored in it – and after fighting with it while I was gone, my husband ended up having to medicate and go to bed for a couple of hours.
Meanwhile, the woman from the autobody shop had called, so I had time to call her back.
*sigh*
First, the insurance company will not cover the cost of the tail light. The damage is not consistent with the claim.
They will cover part of the cost of the painting that will be required, but we’ll be responsible for $140 of it.
We will have to pay 30% of the cover, on top of the $500 deductible. A cover could cost up to $2000, so we could be paying up to another $600 on top of everything else.
Part of the problem is, there’s not enough left of the cover for them to know what a similar replacement would be.
She asked me questions about it and said she would look for photos to send me, so I can see which one is most like what we already had. As for the tail light, I would have to talk directly to the adjuster about that.
Once I had the time, I started going back into my old photos to find pictures of the cover (turned out, there are none that show enough of the cover to be useful) and for proof of what I was saying about the tail light.
I might have to eat some crow.
I found the pictures I took of the truck when it was still in the lot. No crack in the tail light.
No dent under the tail light.
I thought that dent was already there, because I’ve never backed into anything that would cause that damage. The only time I’ve accidentally backed into something, it was the kibble house because I had the tailgate down and couldn’t see how close it was. The damage was to the kibble house, not the truck, and the paint is yellow, not white like what’s in the dent.
The only more recent picture I could find was taken the day I met the Cat Lady for the catio they donated to use. In there, you can see a bit of white paint above the tail light, no cracks in the tail light – but I was taking a picture of the load, not the truck, so the very bottom of the tail light is not in the frame. No proof that the dent was there, with an intact tail light.
Meanwhile, I’m now wondering how that dent got there and when. As for the crack itself, it’s large enough that I would have noticed it earlier. At least, I think I would have! Now I’m second guessing myself.
*sigh*
In the end, though, I have no way to prove that the tail light was intact before the cover was blown off, and nothing to show when that dent showed up.
Well, we’re not going to get any further ahead on this until after the weekend.
As much of a pain that it is, the main thing is to get that frame repaired and a new box cover, and my older daughter has said she will help us with paying for the cost above the deductible.
We’ll find out how much that is, once we figure out what type of cover is closest to what was lost.
Who know getting this taken care of would be such a pain???
I was able to register my mother’s car in my name, but it’s still her car. This means that, if she needs help to get to an appointment or go grocery shopping, I can use her car, instead of her struggling to climb up into our van. I will make sure to use it once in a while, just because it’s not good for vehicles to sit around. Today, I plan to take it in for a car wash! :-D
This morning, my husband and I went into town so that he could transfer his driver’s license, which was required in order to transfer our vehicle’s insurance and registration, to this province.
To recap some of the issues we’ve had so far;
I could not transfer my driver’s license because my married name did not match my birth certificate. I also had to prove I actually lived where I lived with a street address, instead of just a box number or the service location that is on our utility bills, when we live in an area that has no streets. Everyone now has drive way markers so the police, fire or ambulance can find people who live in the sticks like we do, but isn’t on any of our utility bills, because we don’t get mail delivery.  I got the physical location address by basically going to the bank and saying “hey, this is where we live, can you give me something with that on it?” And the bank did, which was accepted. For my name, I had to pay to get my marriage certificate. I had to get it to get my health care card, too.
So I finally got my temporary paper license, with my new license soon to come. However, in order to transfer our vehicle, I needed to get it safetied, which I couldn’t do until the end of April, which then required some costly work done (which is why I waited until pay came in). Safety in hand, I went to transfer the vehicle, but my husband is co-owner with me, so he had to be there. So that had to wait until after Easter.
My husband hasn’t transferred his driver’s license yet, simply because he’s been in too much pain to make the trip into town for something he doesn’t really use.
He was still in a lot of pain, but this morning, we went into town, anyways, making sure he had his birth certificate, his new health care card (with our box number on it) and a utility bill with our physical address on it (our internet bill, which we could put the physical address on, ourselves, then print out).
He couldn’t get his license.
His ID doesn’t match his birth certificate.
His birth certificate has his full name – his given name, two middle names, and his surname. In Acadian tradition, he has gone by his second name all his life. This became a slight issue when he was in the military, where they ended up simply reversing his first and second names on their documentation.
Everything has been with this second name.
Except, it turns out, the license he used to have in this province, when we lived here up until 2004. That one had only his first name; no initials.
Meanwhile, his current driver’s license has his second name, with the initial of his first name, like it was when he was in the military.
But his health care card?
After they required he resend a copy of his birth certificate in a more legible form, they chose to simply drop his first name. It has his second name and the middle initial. So even the ID he does have, doesn’t match his current driver’s license.
The woman at the counter phoned the public insurance company about it.
According to them, he can’t get a license with his first name, as was on his old license, because none of his documentation has that name. But he can’t use the name he actually uses, even though that name is also on his birth certificate, because it’s his second name, not his first name.
They say he has to get a legal name change.
Un. Be. Lievable!
Just to get his driver’s license. Which would also be the only photo ID he would have. Even if he let his driver’s license lapse and just wanted a photo ID, it has the same requirements. He wouldn’t be able to get that, either, because they won’t accept the name he has been using HIS ENTIRE LIFE.
This is even worse than my having to prove I’m married to get my driver’s license transferred!!
Unbelievable!
In the end, he had to sign a gifting form (using the name he always uses), which allowed them to use only my name in transferring the vehicle insurance and registration (the insurance just has the name he uses and his surname, no initials, while the registration has his name with the initial of his first name, as it is on his license).
So I was able to get that done, at least, and the new license plates.
But my husband can’t even prove he is who he is, to the satisfaction of the public insurance company.
It took so long to the the van transferred that my husband had to leave and sit at a coffee shop, because the chairs were too uncomfortable for his back.
This is getting beyond ridiculous.
Oh, and we couldn’t even get a new disabled parking permit. In our previous province, he only needed a prescription from the doctor, and it was done at the same place we registered our vehicle at. Not here. The woman who helped us went online, found and printed off an application form for us, which we’ll have to mail in to a completely different organization.
The woman behind the counter was so apologetic, but there is nothing she could do.
In conversation, she had mentioned that it’s been like this since 9/11, but also there is the problem of identity theft. Which I can understand, but in trying to improve security and combat identify theft, there is no room for common sense. And it’s the front line staff like her that has to deal with frustrated customers like us.
But… when it comes to the van, it was finally done! At least at their end.
Once at home, I called our insurance company to cancel our vehicle insurance tomorrow, giving us a bit of time to get the new plates on. I could have had it cancelled beginning today, but I couldn’t put the plates on yet. Because our previous province only required one plate in the back, there were no screws to attach the front plate – or even holes to screw into. So I would need to go back into town and try and find the right kind of screws for this. Odd that, with all the stuff around this place, including a wide range of screws, I’d have to do that. I suppose I could have gone to one of the cars lying around and see if any of them had screws, but I really didn’t feel up to tromping through the snow to do it, or hunting through sheds.
Interestingly, since ending this insurance meant I no longer have the car/home insurance bundle, my monthly content insurance payments will be going down, instead of up, as I expected it to – as did the agent I spoke to. Also, there was no cancellation fee.
Not that I’m complaining!
The next call was to the company we registered the van with.
Turns out, that one requires a letter that explains why we were cancelling it, among other details, including what we planned to do with our plate. It’s a veteran’s plate, so we’ll be keeping that for posterity.
That done, it was time to go back into town. Aside from hoping the hardware store would have the right screws, I needed to stop at the pharmacy. My younger daughter came along, so we could play some Pokemon Go.
Did I mention it was a chilly day today?
As we were driving in, I noticed the van wasn’t heating up. I’d sort of noticed that earlier, but hadn’t actually needed to turn up the heat, so I didn’t think much of it.
Odd.
We parked at the pharmacy and took advantage of the location to walk a block and do a raid and get some achievements in the game. This close to the lake, the breeze was freezing, so we were glad it was an easy fight, and we could rush back to the pharmacy and take care of things there.
Then it was back to the van, and we were going to do a bit more game playing before hitting the hardware store.
As we drove to our usual park, I tried to turn the heat on.
It was blowing cold air.
What’s going on?
We parked the van, and I decided to leave it running as we played the game.
I also fiddled with the heat settings. It was still blowing cold, so I shut the fan off completely.
Then I watched as the temperature gauge began surging up. And up. And… the engine is overheating? How? It hasn’t been on long enough to overheat!
I shut it off.
We caught a few Pokemon, then I started the engine to move to the other end of the parking lot, where more Pokemon would be.
Before I even got to the other end, the temperature gauge screamed up to overheat, warning lights started turning on, and my onboard computer started telling me the engine was overheating, and it was shutting off the A/C to protect the engine.
The A/C wasn’t on.
I shut off the engine and popped the hood.
The engine was cold. There was no sign of anything untoward.
Crud.
I started the engine.
It did it again.
I shut it off and called the garage, describing what happened.
Sounds like the thermostat. They could look at it for me, but they did have two appointments coming in. I told him I could be there within 10 minutes.
I started the engine.
The gauge was fine. In the middle, where it should be.
I start driving.
It goes up to about 3/4s, then drops down to below half. Then it settled.
Also, we had heat again.
What the heck?
I get to the garage and discuss it for a bit. Sounds like the thermostat got stuck, then unstuck. It might not happen again. They wouldn’t be able to do anything about it until tomorrow, anyhow. We’re driving to the city tomorrow. Should I be worried? Keep and eye on it; if it starts to go up, pull over and give it time to cool again. We talk some more, then my daughter and I start to head out. Before we do, I remember to ask about screws for the license plate. Would they have any?
Yes, they did. And the mechanic was even willing to put them on for me, but I didn’t have them with me. So they just have me the screws. :-) I asked, and it turns out a hardware store likely would not have had them. So there’s one positive, at least!
As we are leaving their parking lot, the temperature gauge starts going up. We have no heat again.
By the time I drove the quarter mile to the highway, it was high enough for a warning light, so I pulled over and shut off the engine.
I called the garage again and told him what was happening. We talked for a bit, but he was with a customer, so he asked if he could call back.
So my daughter and I wait. I start the engine. Still doing it. I shut it off.
I then figure, since I’m already so close, I’ll just drive over and talk to the guy in person.
Of course, once I was driving, the phone rang. My daughter answered. He told her that they could fit me in after an oil change they were doing. She told him we were already pulling into their parking lot!
So we go in and I talked to him again. They have a thermostat in stock and they’ll fit me in. We talk about what it might be if changing the thermostat isn’t enough. Then my daughter and I wait. And wait.
At one point, a mechanic comes by on his break and he comments on our need for a thermostat. We talk for a bit, and I tell him what the vehicle was doing. After his break, he comes for the keys and takes the van in.
It ends up taking an hour to replace the thermostat – a job I later learn is listed as a 2.4 hour task. After it’s changed, they start it up and rev the engine for a few minutes to test it out.
While this was happening, I started chatting with one of the mechanics behind the counter. He started asking how things were doing for us, and so on. I suddenly realize.
I recognize him. He grew up on the farm bordering ours. In fact, we’re distantly related. The other mechanic I’d seen before the weekend that recognized me is also a distant cousin. That’s two relatives, in one garage!
After that, the mechanic that worked on the van comes to me. It’s done and working, but there’s a leak.
I tell him I’m aware of the leak. Start talking about the power steering.
No, it turns out. Not that one; he’d noted that one in the safety papers. He brought me over to show me.
There’s a pipe where coolant is leaking, right at the join.
I knew there was a leak in that location; there was a stain on the underside of the hood above it, but I had never seen the leak itself. There were never any puddles or signs when I looked at it. I just assumed it was from the power steering leak. However, as he’d had to rev the engine for as long as he did, the engine was warm and the pressure was high, and now we could see the leak.
I had also been low on coolant, which he’d topped up for me. This leak would be why I was low on coolant.
The possible solution; replace the pipe. They’ve have to order one in, unless they could find a used one that was in good shape. Or he could try a couple of other things that we discussed.
How worried should I be about it?
I got instructions on keeping an eye on the coolant levels in the overflow reservoir. What to watch out for. What to do, until I could get it fixed.
I bought a gallon of coolant to keep in the van.
Final cost?
Almost $240.
The thermostat itself was really cheap. The gallon of coolant cost way more. The highest cost was the labour, of course.
I also got a quote for the other work. If they use a new part, it’ll cost another $200 +
*sigh*
In just the past 7 days, we’ve dropped over $1000 on the van. Money from the moving company to replace the power pole they broke, once the ground thaws. Money we’ll have to replace as soon as we can.
*sigh*
When we got the van home, I parked close to the house and got the license plates on – the front bumper didn’t have holes, but it did have marks for them. After moving the van to the garage, I popped the hood.
No sign of the coolant leak; any liquid had already dried, but the level in the overflow reservoir was down. The question is; is it down because of the leak, or down because the engine was now cold? Or both?
I topped it up, anyways, just a bit.
Tomorrow, we go to the city for our monthly bulk shopping. This is going to be the real test for the leak.
I had hoped that, after spending so much time needing to prove who I am and that I actually do live where I live, it would be done.
And in a way, it is. A major hurdle is now behind us.
Now it’s all about the van.
The parts I needed came in this morning, so I went back to the garage to get the work done to pass safety inspection.
This time, I brought my project bag so I could do some crochet while waiting. The garage isn’t in town, but along a major highway, so it’s not like I walk over to a coffee shop or something while I waited. ;-)
One of the things that needed to be done was replace the LED brake light above the rear windshield. That went well, and it looks great. The previous one had a bit crack in it.
Then there was the ABS issue.
Yesterday, they replaced the connector for the harness and hooked it up, and were getting erratic readings.
The brakes themselves are working fine. The next thing was to replace the bearings. Which they did.
That didn’t solve the problem. The indicator lights are still turning on, and their readings still come back as erratic.
They ended up basically doing the entire safety inspection, all over again, trying to trace the problem (at no extra charge). Mechanically, they can find no reason for my ABS light to be on.
Which means it could be a wiring problem, or the instrument cluster in the dash.
If it were the instrument cluster, there would probably be other things going off, too. So it’s likely the harness. So they went ahead and ordered a new one for me. It’ll cost about the same as that LED light bar for the rear brake light.
Now, of the bearings they changed, one set was really bad. The second was borderline. So because that one might not have needed to be changed, and changing it didn’t solve the problem, they are not going to charge me labour to put in the new harness; just the cost of the part. I’ll get a call in a couple of weeks, when it’s expected to come in. I probably won’t actually come in to get it replaced until the end of the month, when next pay comes in.
After talking about passing the safety inspection so I could transfer the vehicle registration and insurance to this province, and confirming that I was going to keep the vehicle, and wasn’t trying to sell it, they signed off on the inspection. At this point, there is no actual safety issue. Just a light that’s turning on, and they don’t know why.
I did mention that it took a week after getting a new gas cap that the “check gas cap” notification to stop turning on. Who knows. Maybe the same thing will happen with the ABS indicator.
Once I paid for the work and got my inspection sheets, I went into town to transfer our vehicle, while the office was still open. Yay!
I get there and give the woman at the desk the inspection form and the insurance and registration cards.
She starts going over them, so I wait.
And wait.
She kept looking back and forth.
Then back and forth again.
A perplexed expression began to form on her face.
Oh, dear. Now what?
After a while she tells me, the VIN numbers don’t match.
What?
The VIN on the insurance and registration cards had different numbers than on the inspection form. The letters at the beginning matched, but the numbers were completely different.
What???
I didn’t even think to double check. Why would I? Sure enough, the numbers were completely different.
Well, that meant going back to the garage. However, before I left, they asked me about my husband. His name is on the insurance and registration. He is the primary owner of the van, which allowed us to get a veteran’s plate.
Which meant he needed to be there.
Also, did he have his new license?
No. I explained that he doesn’t really drive anymore because of pain, and pain was why he hadn’t made it in to transfer his driver’s license.
After talking about options, including having his name taken off (would he have to fill out a gifting form?), but the easiest thing would be for him to come in, get his driver’s license transferred – they confirmed with me that he had all the necessary documentation! – then transfer the vehicle over at the same time.
Tomorrow being Good Friday, the office will be closed; that would mean coming in on Saturday, at the earliest. Otherwise, it would have to wait until after Easter.
I then asked about the time frame. Normally, there is 90 days to get all this done when moving to a new province. I’m over the 90 days.
After confirming that my insurance company was okay with it, they let me know that the provincial insurance would also be okay with it, since we are clearly at least TRYING to get it done! If we had simply not bothered for 6 months or something, that would be different. My file has notations for all of this, so there is documentation showing that it is actually being worked on.
So yes, I am indeed still driving legally!
When I went back to the vehicle, safety inspection form in hand, I went to look at the VIN on the dash, confirming that the one on the form did not match, while my insurance and registration cards did. Once in the vehicle, I phoned the garage and told them the numbers didn’t match. I was looking at the form as I called and realized that the year didn’t match, either. Instead of a 2005, it had 2007.
The guy at the garage was flabbergasted. How could that be? He went and checked on the computer, looking up the number that was on their copy of the form. Sure enough, it was coming back as a 2007 model. What the heck?
Then he remembered.
Didn’t I say something about getting a new door?
I had mentioned this to him only in passing, so I’m really impressed that he remembered. I didn’t even think of it. The mechanic must have taken the VIN from the door, instead of the dash, and that door frame is from another vehicle.
So I headed over to the garage to get a new form. When I parked, the guy (the owner, I think) came right out with one of the mechanics, and a new form. He’d filled everything else out already, and just had to take down the right VIN and confirm the year.
As the paperwork was being prepped, the mechanic looked at me and asked, “you’re (my younger brother)’s sister?” Yes, I am. “We went to school together!”
Turns out he’s from my home town and we’d both gone to the tiny little, two classroom school that was here (when the school closed, there were only 8 students from Kindergarten to grade 3!).
I admitted I didn’t remember him at all. After all these years, I barely remember anybody!
Still, it was cool to find that connection!
I now have the new safety inspection form, but that was it for the day. There was no way I could go home, pick up my husband, then come back before the office closed.
Ah, well.
Meanwhile, the family was visited by a whole bunch of deer while I was gone, and my daughter got some photos.
Hungry Girl and Barbecue had come by. Mama and the twins, as usual, chased away Hungry Girl and Barbecue, though both came back to continue feeding near them later.
None of them, however were willing to allow two others to join them.
It’s the deer with no tail again! My daughter got this picture through the dining room window. They kept looking into the bush, and towards the pile of stuff nearby. Likely there was a cat somewhere in the area.
After the other 5 left, these two did get to go over the the feeding station and get some nibbles.
Then, not long after I got home, another deer showed up, all by itself. Number 8!
I chose this picture because of the interesting colour changes along its jaw and neck. It doesn’t show in any other photos. We’re thinking there might be something from the house reflecting onto her. No idea what it might be. Especially at that angle.
Tomorrow, the main goal of the day is to prepare the Easter basket for blessing on Saturday. I still need to find out what time that’s happening!
Ah, a much more pleasant day today! Just the winds dying down makes a huge difference. There are blizzard warnings for later on, but not in our area. We’re just supposed to get a mix or rain and snow some time.
I’m still waiting for that last big blow-out before real spring (as opposed to calendar spring) arrives.
Interestingly, the better weather conditions did not translate into increased critter activity outside our window.
Nasty Crime Boy came to check out the birds.
Later, we saw Beep Beep climbing one of the trees. Rolando Moon came out to say hi when I brought the food out, and that was it for the outside cats.
As for the deer, we only saw Hungry Girl and Barbecue. My being in the window taking pictures seemed to make Hungry Girl very nervous, so I didn’t stay for long. I did get a couple of cute photos, though. Including my obligatory tongue shots! :-D I got both Hungry Girl…
… and Barbecue…
… just a peak of a tongue. :-D
It was a quiet day overall, which I’m quite enjoying. Visits with my mother tend to require a few days of recovery time. Seeing her every day for 5 days in a row? I’m going to need at least a week to de-stress! I did get a call from her today, and I was happy to learn she had booked an appointment with her local doctor for tomorrow – that was fast! She didn’t get her brace on, though tomorrow she is hoping to talk to some staff about getting the assistance. I don’t know how the process works in this province yet, but I’m hoping she will be able to get daily visits to put the brace on her, quickly.
I did get a quick trip into town to pick up some things for Easter that will need advance prep time, plus I got my van booked to get the safety done in a couple of days. I really don’t know what to expect with that. I’m hoping it’ll be inexpensive, but my paranoid side is thinking they’re going to find new, expensive problems in the process. Because it just always seems to happen that way! If all goes well, though, I’ll have the safety done in the morning, and by afternoon, I can get our registration and insurance transferred over. Then I’ll finally be driving with this province’s license plates! It’ll only be a month and a half past when it was supposed to get done. :-/
I just know it’s not going to be that simple. There’s going to be something to complicate things, right? :-D
I am so looking forward to this hassle being over and done with!
I finally have more progress on our saga with the movers.
A few days ago, I spent some time talking with a lawyer about our options. One of the things he mentioned was that, usually one would start an insurance claim, then let the insurance companies duke it out. The lawyer can send a letter to the moving company for me about it, if the moving company continues to give me grief about it. How the company responds to that would determine our next move.
Hopefully, we will never have to find out.
Making a claim on my mother’s property insurance was not really preferable. The deductible is a thousand dollars, so if the cost of replacing the pole is close to that, it’s almost not worth it. However, my brother thought to contact our provincial vehicle insurance company, since the damage was done by a vehicle. They said that yes, they do cover that sort of thing, so I called and started a claim. I spent some time talking to someone on the phone, then got an email address to send photos to.
As I prepared to send the email, I got an email from the moving company. This after 10 days of nothing from them at all.
It was pretty short. Basically, they wanted to know if I’d gotten an estimate on how much it would cost; if it was under $1000, they would cut me a check for it. If it was over $1000 (the amount of their deductible), they would give me the information for their insurance company, and I would file a claim there. (I’m paraphrasing a fair bit, since English is clearly not the first language of the person writing to me.)
Which really, the movers should be doing, not me. Except I think I’d rather deal with the insurance company than with the movers.
No word on the money they said they would pay for our damaged goods a while back, which is a separate issue from property damage.
So I included their email with my email to the vehicle insurance company. I was told it could take 2 or 3 days before I got a response, but I got one the next day. Turns out that, because no vehicles registered in this province was involved, it’s out of their jurisdiction. We would have to deal with the driver’s vehicle insurance company. And I have no way of knowing who that is, since in the province we moved from, it’s private insurance companies, not one provincial insurance company.
So after I got that response, I got a phone number of a local electrician. Someone I went to high school with, actually. He’s a year or two younger than me, but we took the same bus to school for many years. He has done work here on the farm for my brother before, and was highly recommended. Since he works in the city, I was given his home phone number, and I left a message for him there. Much to my surprise, not only did I get a call soon after (my timing was good, I guess; he came home from work shortly after my call), but he said he could come over right away!
He spent a fair bit of time checking things out, including making sure there was no damage to the cable itself. I will get an estimate from him emailed to me, and I’m pretty sure it’ll be over $1000, so it looks like I’ll be dealing with the insurance company.
One of the things he mentioned was that he likely wouldn’t be able to install a new pole until spring. The electric company has access to the machinery that can drill into frozen ground, but he doesn’t. It’s unlikely the electric company would be willing to come out for a customer owned pole to begin with – and we’d have to prune those trees for them to get into the yard!
Pruning is something that’s going to have to be a bit of a priority, it looks like! I’d like to get that done while the trees are still dormant, so February would be good. By March, it might be too late. Hard to know. We might have a late spring. Or an early one.
Anyhow, that’s where we are at now. I will wait on the estimate, then go from there – and will ask about the coverage for damage to our goods in the process. I’ll update my lawyer about how things are going, too.
The Re-Farmer 