Monday, September 23, 2013

Some Good....Some Bad....Some Fantastic!

It was a week of good news, really bad news and fantastically great news!  Where to begin?
Easton out for a walk with his Nana.  Every time there is a motorized machine anywhere in sight, he is curious to see it operate. He is such a treasure to be with. It's always good!
I will blog about this later but, after five (5) months at the RV repair facility, near our home, our 5th wheel came back home this Tuesday past.  Less than 24 hours later, it was back to the RV repair facility.  
I was concerned that the operator was going to rip one - or both - of our front legs off.  It came too close!!!
Repairs were required following a nasty tire explosion - last January - that occurred on I-5 in Southern California. Emergency repairs were done in Bakersfield, CA, and our insurance company promised that the balance of the repairs would be done once we were back home.
The metal work and paint job look good. The wiring looks fine too.....but.........
We hitched up and headed back for home.  To have one's RV away for 5 months, for basic repairs, seems ridiculous....! And it was!  
Back home, and backed onto our driveway, we opened the slides and I began testing all of the on-board systems.  Our water heater would not fire up on 110 V or 12 V with propane.  What's with that?  We had been told that the water heater mother board was fried and that a new one was required. Why was it not fixed?  SHEESH!!!! 

Stay tuned for the next blog and the awful experience lived with the insurance appraisers and the RV repair facility.  I guarantee you will find our story to be surrealistic....but true!
Easton is wondering what was up with that pink balloon.
Thursday was an important one on the home front.  Our daughter and her husband, Ginette & Trevor, were off to the medical facility for an ultrasound to learn the sex of their next child.  Yes, Ginette is pregnant and they are expecting a baby girl next February 14th - or thereabouts.  That is around Valentines!  Big brother to be, Easton, was wondering what all the fuss was about.  You see, Jeanette bought two floating balloons for the occasion; one blue for a boy and one pink for a girl.  Ginette and Trevor were to send us a photo of the balloon that would remain in their home.  It was a fantastic surprise to learn that we will be grand parents to another grand child; and a baby girl at that!

Deni, Jeanette's Mom, Mary and Courtney - in Edmonton - receiving their first baby blanket.
The other BIG NEWS - that we are now able to write about - is that our son and his wife, Deni and Courtney, are also expecting a baby for early in 2014.  In fact, Courtney's due date is for early January.  It could even be a New Year's baby!  They opted to forgo the ultrasound and to learn the sex of their first child at birth.

So......the fantastic news is now public!  Jeanette and I are expecting two new grandchildren in early 2014.   Yippee!!!!

Friday had my group back on the golf course.  We chose to play Swaneset Golf and Country Club in Pitt Meadows; north and over the Golden Ears Bridge from our area in south Langley and south Surrey.
The Clubhouse at Swaneset GC
Although the previous days were sunny and warm, the Friday golf round was forecast for rain and cloud.  The day before our round, the weather girl changed her mind and Friday proved to be a great weather day.
There are two golf courses here; the links course and the resort course.
We chose to play the resort course and, following our Tee shots on the first hole, we were surprised to see a huge black bear crossing directly in front of where our golf balls landed.  Whoa!  Before he/she scooted off into the woods and mountain side, it left a huge scat on the fairway. What's with that?????   Was it his/her opinion on the quality of our golf shots?????? 

This golf course brought back fond memories for me.  That fabulous clubhouse was where our daughter and son in law were married at and also where the dinner banquet was held. I had not played this golf course before Friday.  Nice!

L-R  Me, Denis and Rick.  The missing golfer was Fred.  He was not able to play that day.
Ginette and Easton came by on Friday afternoon.  Here she is opening a small gift of clothing - courtesy of Nana - for the new baby girl she is expecting.
Easton was out for a buggy ride and this lady - walking her three dogs - picked one up to show our little fella that it was a gentle and friendly pet. 
Playing in the park, Easton enjoyed the fun of running up, down and sideways.
Sliding is always fun.
Back at Nana's and Grand Papa's to enjoy some fresh fruit and snacks while playing with cars.
Sunday was an eventful meeting of the 'Open Mic' gang.  Although we didn't solve all of the world's problems, we did give it the old college try.  It was great fun; always is!  It was raining and cloudy and to get together with like minded friends is a gift.

Back home, after running several errands, I settled into watching the very last few holes of the PGA FED-EX Golf cup that was won by Henrik Stenson. He takes home two trophies and over $11 million in cash.  Not Bad!

Sweden's Henrik Stenson became the first European winner of both the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup titles - almost doubling his PGA Tour career earnings in one tournament.

I also caught the last quarter of the CFL (Canadian Football League) BC Lions clutch win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Making his first CFL start, the B.C. Lions quarterback threw two second-half touchdowns and helped set up Paul McCallum’s game-winning field goal with no time on the clock as the Lions took over second place in the West Division with a 24-22 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Where's the water heater?????

Back to the 5th wheel saga, I am putting the pieces together for the next blog.  Although not a rant, it may seem that way to some readers.  What you will learn though is how low some companies will go to discredit and cheat one out from its rightful dues.

So....till the next publishing, thanks for dropping by.










11 comments:

  1. That was a pretty eventful week. Congratulations to you and your kids on the upcoming babies.
    The RV saga is kinda ridiculous isn't it? Insurance companies sure don't seem to make things easy.

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  2. Fantastic news--two new grandbabies next year--you guys will want to stay home all winter!!

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  3. Unbelievable regarding your 5th Wheel, hope it is resolved quickly and to your satisfaction. Congratulations on the two new additions to your family, you are truly blessed!

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  4. Congratulations on the growing family.

    Our trailer was waylaid for three and a half months for repairs after a blowout in April. The manufacture wasn't in a hurry to ship parts to Canada. The repair shop finally had a friend in Michigan order the parts and a week later drove over and picked them up. Two weeks after getting the trailer back we blew another tire. We run tire monitors but they didn't work.

    This time we'll be taking it back to the dealer we bought it from so we'll have it back long before it's time to go south again. Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  5. Wow...congratulations to you all! It will be a busy winter!

    Too bad about the Trailer...hope it works out...

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  6. Congrats to Ginette and Trevor on the news they're expecting a little sister for Easton in the new year.

    Congrats too to Deni and Courtney on their as yet 'unknown' first child.

    And a huge congrats to the Grandma and Granpa as the grandkids come in bundles in the new year.

    It's going to be an exciting time for sure.

    Insurance companies? Don't trust them, never have and never will.

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  7. Congrats on the new grandbabies!..so exciting!
    as for the repairs and insurance companies?..what can I say?..hope it all gets fixed soon!!

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  8. oh wow how very very exciting. Two new Grand Babies. You must be over the Moon with joy!!!

    Yes the dreaded RV horror stories. I think we all have one or two.

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  9. Congratulations twice over on the grandchildren front! And on the RV repairs... Well, RV's are only second behind boats on convenient places to throw cash! I can only hope the fiver is ready for when you need it and that the repair facility leaves you with enough cash to buy some gas.

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  10. Five months for repairs, that would be tough as we live in our coach full time.
    Good luck with the insurance companies.

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  11. congrats on the newest additions..how exciting..now the RV news isn't exciting at all :( how sad...will be waiting for the next blog for sure...why does everything always have to be a run around...:(

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