Finding The Sweet Spot - How To Stay Occupied.

The Vancouver Island flag was approved by Queen Victoria in 1865, but remained relatively unknown until a Victoria resident asked The Flag shop to make a copy in 1988.  Since then, it has taken off again.

June, July, and August in Courtenay arrived and as quickly as it was upon us, it was gone. We have had a gorgeous summer, and to go along with that we have had the pleasure and the company of visitors from Calgary and Nevada.  It was so nice to see everyone again. 

As explained in our last blog, we have had water issues on the island but as September closed in the rain arrived that we badly needed and before we knew it, the watering restrictions were partially eased and lawns began to green up once again.   

We still need more rain to raise the levels of the rivers and reservoirs on the island and many locals are also calling for snow in the mountains too. 

The local Ski Resort on Mount Washington in Strathcona Provincial Park is desperate to get going this winter as last winter was a complete disaster with zero snow - resulting in the resort having to refund season ticket monies to all who had purchased them.  

With an El Niño being forecast for this winter and the Farmers Almanac just out, both calling for a cold dry winter here and a hot dry summer, this might not be good news for some of the local farmers who depend on precipitation to grow their crops.

Sept 16 - I dropped Donna at Comox airport for her flight back to Calgary to see the kids and the grandkids, gave her a big hug and sent her on her way. She would be gone for six days.  

Donna really enjoyed her time back in Calgary catching up with friends and family on local new items etc.
  

Donna with six of the eleven grandchildren.

Meanwhile, I remained in Courtenay. My five days were also productive. The night Donna left, I sat through the much anticipated US Republican debate which was not that informative but it did contain some interesting back and forth jibes and interaction between candidates. 

The rest of the time, I was doing my thing attempting to master some of my Indian Recipes such as home made Vegetable Samosas and a Lamb Biriyani. Donna does not eat lamb and as a result, I rarely get to taste it either.

By late September, it had cooled off considerably, but we still enjoyed temperatures on some days as low as 10C (50F) or up as high as 21C (70F). 

Although we still had flowers in pots outside, I completed an early fall cleanup, had the lawns over-seeded and added some badly needed top soil ready for the spring weather which arrives earlier on the island than in other places in Canada.

________________________

During the last week of September, we had two earthquakes off the coast of Vancouver Island west of Port Hardy (the most northerly city on the Island). 

The first, a 4.2 quake on the Richter Scale followed a day later by a 5.7 quake which occurred roughly 150 kms west of Port Hardy out in the Pacific which we did not feel in Courtenay. These quakes are considered light to moderate and occur on our planet about 30,000 times a year but cause little or no damage. 

Earthquakes in our neck of the woods are not considered an unusual occurrence as we are living on or close to The San Andreas Fault Line. 

As one drives to Port Alberni mid-Island, the expectation of what could happen becomes more noticeable as you drive by many signs warning of Tsunamis. It's a good reminder (lest we forget) that the narrow channels and deep valleys here and around Port Alberni are very similar to what you would find in Norway and if a tsunami did occur, the narrowing channels would force the incoming water to rise considerably.

 40 or 50 ft. would not be out of the question.

________________________

To Go Or Not To Go? - That Was The Question.

With the Canadian Dollar dipping below the 75 Cent mark for the first time in eleven years, we have decided that it's not the best time to head south again this winter even though the Canadian dollar has bounced back to 77 Cents to the US dollar. 

Another reason for not going south is that we would really like to experience a winter here as we have never done that before to that's the plan this year. Stay here and accrue some loot as they would say.

________________________________________

As sure as eggs are eggs, the one constant is that winter is on its way. We will not miss the white stuff for one moment.  Rarely does it snow here but even if it does, the locals tell us that it's gone the next day so we have not purchased a s**w shovel for the upcoming season yet! I just hope I am not being over optimistic as I have seen the odd snowblower advertised and appearing in the stores such as Home Depot and Canadian Tire. 

__________________________

Along with Winter, another issue rears it's head at this time of the year. That of tires - winter tires. Even on Vancouver Island at certain times of the year there are places you don't venture without winter tires. 

This is a "heads up" for those who may consider coming to Vancouver Island from Calgary or the mainland.

Anyone found driving on certain road stretches (the Malahat Highway on the Island or over the Coquihalla between Hope and Kamloops are two areas that immediately spring to mind) between October 1 and April 1 are required by law to have winter/snow tires. 

These restrictions are placed on all types of vehicles. if you are stopped and caught without the correct tires by the RCMP it's a $167 fine. Worse still it's something that not all BC or out-of-Province residents are aware of so when you are on the highways here, read the signs. They are enforced.

To solve this problem if we ever venture onto those roads, we will use the Truck which has the M+S (Mud and Snow) rated tires. Even as Canadian Residents,we only learned about this by looking at fairly non descript road signs on our way out to the island. We had driven this route many times but had never noticed this before. 

__________________________

Mid October - You Reap What You Sow!

Yes, we have to do this now if we are to enjoy a wonderful flowering yard in the spring, so I placed 60 bulbs of Narcissus and Daffodils into the yard in anticipation of a grand show of flowers early next year.

We have to be careful what we plant because the deer and rabbits eat the shoots of certain plants when they are on their way up and needless to say, there are lots of both species around.

Funnily enough, I found out from a local walking by our home one morning that in December, Home Depot sells off millions of bulbs really cheaply and many people wait until then for the bargains as it is that mild, we can still plant in December as the ground is rarely frozen. I will have to remember that for next year. I glean all this information as I talk to almost everyone who walks by.  Either I open up a conversation or they ask..."you're new here aren't you. Where did you come from"? Everyone is so chatty here......Just like back in Mesquite.

__________________________

Project Planning Time

Between the busy season of fall cleanup and Thanksgiving, I decided to make myself a workbench to be located in the garage.  I was very happy with the way it turned out.  It is secured to the wall and ain't going nowhere.

_____________________________

El who?

Having said earlier that El Niño (translation - The Boy) is almost upon us and that it would be a dry winter, October 7th saw the beginning of the approach of what meteorologists term "the Pineapple Express".

The Pineapple Express is the description given when very wet depressions or tropical storms move up from Hawaii across the Pacific and onto land in either NW Washington, Oregan, the coast of British Columbia, Canada and southern Alaska.

We have needed rain for sometime now so the dump of rain the Pineapple Express is expected to bring is welcome.

It probably won't be cold enough to turn the rain to snow at higher elevations but who knows.  We will have to wait and see.

Maybe it's already here. Today, Donna and I headed out to vote in the Canadian General Election and it was bucketing down. We commented on the volume of rain to a lady while we stood and waited to vote. 

Her reply was "Oh this is nothing, wait until November comes, then you'll really see the rain. I am told that the southeasters bring lots of moisture to Comox Valley during winter.

Canadian Thanksgiving is almost upon us (Mon Oct. 12) and US thanksgiving will take place November 26th. Our turkey is defrosting in the refrigerator and we are preparing a two person Thanksgiving Dinner which we normally cook on a Sunday. So we will be on our own this year. No big deal, at least the pressure will be off and we can have a more relaxed approach to Thanksgiving unlike many past years when we have been with friends or family and fed up to 14 people.

Before we leave you, not five minutes before I sent out this blog, we caught a glimpse of a Northern Goshawk in our back yard probably looking for rabbits. I never had time to get to my Camera with the telephoto lens on but I quickly snapped a picture to share with you.

There are about 300 breeding pairs on Vancouver Island and this one (although the picture is a little fuzzy) stood about 18 inches or 45 cms. tall.  So here he is hot off the press. Here it is perched in our Japanese Maple tree. Look at the talons on this magnificent bird.

In closing, we will cook the turkey on the Traegar again like we did last Christmas in Nevada and we will be thinking of you all on our respective Thanksgiving days. So to close out this blog Donna and I would like to say to you all;

Stay Safe and enjoy every minute you can. 

Ken and Donna

Want to see some great bargains on household goods?  CLICK ON THIS LINK BELOW

Home & Garden

Vancouver Island - The First Months.

After an almost sleepless night upon our arrival at the very comfortable Holiday Inn, Courtenay BC, June 1st - possession day finally arrived. 

It was over two years that we had been partially homeless and on the move. Now it was time to take possession and move in - put our suitcases down unpack, and finally relax. 

To recap for those of you who joined us on our retirement adventure recently. During the last two years we have travelled south to Ecuador in South America then onto Costa Rica and Panama two small countries in Central America where we stayed for four months in total. Our objective was to examine the possibilities of living there permanently.  We quickly decided NO to Ecuador as a final living destination despite all the ga ga you read in some of the on-line magazines. The people were marvellous but Ecuador was not us. for a few reasons.

Nevada Home Sells

After a four month stop off at our Nevada home and a subsequent winter back up in Alberta, we set out the following year for Costa Rica, spent two months there sampling the country and then continued on to Panama to spend two months in that country so we could compare the two countries and collect our thoughts.  

In the end, we both enjoyed Costa Rica and Panama, but we were not quite there yet to make the decision to move to Panama permanently. At least we weren't convinced enough to drop a whole bunch of cash on the table to buy a home when we knew precious little about either country.  It's just not possible to take in all the advantages and disadvantages and weigh things up intelligently in so short a period of time. 

We would need time to come to that decision and that would only come when we had visited and lived there for some time. In any case, we would rent there and still have property up in Canada to fall back on.


While thinking about all this, it prompted the question of the wisdom of continuing ownership of the lovely home we had brought and paid for in the US. These were going to be the closing years of our lives, so it is important we get it right.  

We asked ourselves did it make financial sense to tie up a large sum of cash on a home we could only occupy for 4 - 6 months of the year in the United States?

We designed a gorgeous back yard with lots of palms, astro-turf and patios

It was so private

Much as we loved our home and the wonderful neighbours and friends we had made and the sheer beauty of the desert, in the end and after a considerable amount of thought, we decided to let go and sell our US home which we did while we were in Costa Rica.

A word to the wise for those who own property in the US. During the sale process, we found out that there is a 10% withholding tax levied against non US citizens or as the US Government refers to us as non resident Aliens (I always feel like a spaceman when that term is used).  

If you own property anywhere in the US and decide to sell and the sale price exceeds $300,000 US dollars or if you sell your property to an investor who does not intend to occupy the home personally, the title company who conveys the deal holds back the 10% withholding tax.  

We were told that one can apply to the US Govt, or IRS for an exemption not to withhold but you have to fill in special forms and jump through hoops when the IRS will not necessarily grant that permission. So for us, it wasn't worth the effort. What we had to do is stay under the radar so to speak by selling below 300K.

There is lots on the Internet about this for those who are interested. Below are a couple of links to read up on if you own US property.

http://tinyurl.com/qye9qv6

http://tinyurl.com/ppwnsln

_____________________________________________________

So it was back to Canada and on to Vancouver Island we headed. We had been out of the Canadian real estate market for to long - almost two years. It was time to get back in.

During the searching process we checked out both Nanaimo and Courtenay as options. It turned out that the Comox Valley stole our hearts and in all of the homes we viewed in both places, we found only one that really had what we were looking for. 

Another pull was the fact that Comox Airport has direct flights to Calgary - just an hour and ten minutes flying time. This was a big factor for Donna and for lots of other Albertans who move here and either commute to the Alberta oilfields on a weekly basis or who simply retire here. 

Prior to our arrival in Courtenay, we had seen a home pop up on the Internet and luckily, the Realtor® we used, got the message that we were not just going to buy any old house.  We were going to be particular about this purchase, and luckily, she showed us that home first.  

Our new home in Courtenay, BC.

We knew right away this was the home for us after looking at a few more, we wrote up an offer. Unfortunately we had to compete as there was another offer on the table and likely a third on the way, so in an effort to secure the home, we removed all conditions and paid enough to get the seller's attention. It proved the right thing to do. We got the house we wanted.

Our home has a garage large enough for both our vehicles with room to spare.  It has a self contained Casita (detached smaller living accommodation seen front left as you look at the photo above with a very spacious living room with gas fireplace and TV, a spacious sleeping area and a full bathroom).

The whole house is a total of 2100 sq.ft. of living space on a lot 67 ft wide.  The driveway is over 40 ft. long, large enough to park a Large RV the size of a greyhound bus with room to spare before encroaching onto the sidewalk. The back yard is very private with Cedars over 8 ft. high on all sides.  The inside is wonderful.

We have a few things to do like change out the appliances to stainless steel and I will also reconfigure the shelving in the great room either side of the fireplace and add some concealed LED lighting and glass shelves for effect. 

We will also install Granite or Quartz countertops but these are projects that will take some time to achieve. I will build an arbour in the back yard maybe this fall or next summer after the rains have gone. After that, we shall do some more planning and those plans will include a look at where to go to next. Australia could be on the cards.

Our Great Room while we await our side tables.

This is a very bright open plan, east west facing so we get morning and evening sun in the house plus sun virtually all day in the back yard....... and better still.  No stairs.

We have stopped bleeding money to some extent now, as we have purchased most of what we will need over the years to come but we have some projects to complete too.

In June we went to city hall to pay our taxes for the year. It was a tiny City Hall, unlike the huge Calgary emporium that houses that City's Administration. 

Oh free parking! That's a bonus I thought as we pulled into City Hall.  We told the receptionist we were new here and had come to pay our taxes for the year.  She asked for my drivers license as ID and a copy of the title which we handed over.

She looked at my age and smiling, she said we would receive a $1034 discount off our property tax bill because I was a senior. Wow! it actually pays to be 65 years of age or older. I'll take it thank you. We were in and out in a heartbeat.

We have had a few visitors already. Two couples from Calgary and two couples from Mesquite, Nevada have visited so far.  

Jerry and Liane Glabe, our Nevada neighbours who spent five weeks with us in Panama this time last year spent two weeks here. Part of the time they parked in our driveway living out of their motor home then they spent seven days at an RV park just down the road from us, returning for the last four nights to our place before their trip back south to the US. It was great to see everyone again.

While Jerry and Liane were here, we visited the Famous "Goats On The Roof" store in Coombs near Parksville (where there are actually live goats on the roof as seen above). This store is world renown as It has absolutely every conceivable food type you could think of and it is huge and always very busy. 

At 6:00 am on July 23, we all set out for some Salmon Fishing.  We hired a guide and a fishing Charter boat to take us out and met the guide at 7:00am and without further ado, off we went.

Liane watching Donna reel in a Cod.

Jerry's first Chinook or Spring Salmon

Liane getting really excited with her Salmon

Me with a 17 pound Chinook Salmon

We threw some Cod back, plus a Dogfish and a Salmon that was not quite the 24.5 Inch minimum

We also visited Cathedral Grove, a fascinating area with Douglas Fir trees over 800 years old, the tops of which are so high, they cannot be seen.

The Douglas Firs in this area are over 800 years old.

A Few Things We Have Noticed Since Our Arrival.

• Q - Is gas more expensive here than in Alberta?
• A - It's a crap shoot. Three months ago the price of regular gas was 20 Cents a Litre more here than in Calgary (both at Costco outlets) however looking on Gas Buddy at the time of writing, gas is 2 Cents less here at Costco than it is in Calgary's Costco on Heritage Drive.
• fresh vegetables are here in abundance. The veggies look more colourful and are much fresher here than in Alberta and most of them are grown here in BC.
• had I filed income tax here instead of as a resident of  Alberta, I would have been $1200 better off had I lived in and filed the same income in BC (My Tax accountant compared the two scenarios for me).
• utilities and taxes are way less expensive here than in Calgary.
• it's overall warmer here so we don't have to heat the home which saves money. It has not dropped below 15 degrees here at night but our neighbour who just returned from visiting his daughter in Calgary said it was already down to 5C at night there when they left Calgary last week.
• the roads are in much nicer shape here due to less (if any) frost heaves here than in Alberta. 
• for the vehicles crossing busy highways here it is much safer as most are controlled by lights.
• Q - A flashing green traffic light here - What does that mean? 
• A - it is a light controlled by pedestrians not on a timer. It's a question  you are asked when you get your BC drivers license.
• good radio stations are harder to find here because the  communities are smaller for the most part. Yes we can get CBC Vancouver and The QR affiliated site CKNW and of course Victoria Radio but not as many stations as in Calgary.  
• water is a huge issue here on the Island.  The possibility or probability is high that there will be rationing.. More about that below.
• on open roads, the BC speed limit is 120 Kilometres per hour.
• the RCMP dresses up in all sorts of disguises from road workers to animals suits to catch people talking on the telephone or speeding. Don't do either here or your vehicle will be impounded if you are so much over the posted rate.  
• the fine for talking on the telephone or distracted driving starts at $167 automatically.

Since our arrival on the Island, we have learnt that water or the lack of it here is a BIG deal.

BC has four stages of rationing. Stage 1 the least or no restrictions up to stage 4 in some places. Stage 4 being the highest level of control. Currently Vancouver is so short of water they are on stage four rationing.

Here on the Island the Comox Valley is on Stage 3 which means NO watering of lawns at all. Our lawns have turned brown because of the watering restrictions but that's what happens when you live on an island where water becomes a much more valued resource.  

I gather that the people who don't follow the rules here and sneak water onto their lawns have the nickname of "grassholes" - an appropriate description for those who don't follow the rules. 

A friend of ours here (who also lived in Calgary until two years ago) told me that usually, it's Albertans with the green lawns.... I can believe that somehow, but don't get caught. It can get expensive because you will be written up.  

Also, there is zero filling or topping up of swimming pools or hot tubs.  Goodness knows how the city controls that because we don't have water meters installed here. The washing of vehicles is not allowed unless it is at an approved car-wash.  

The rivers have been closed down for fishing as the water is so low and there are real concerns that the Salmon will not be able to get up high enough to their spawning grounds which could spell disaster for the fishing industry. 

Salmon spawning in the rivers

We have worked hard and got everything in order now. Two months ago, I had most of the Rhododendrons in the back yard cut down and the root-balls taken out as they were beginning to impose on our yard space. I have replaced the Rhodo's with other plants that I can control more easily. The yard is slowly coming together. Next project is to build an Arbour.

We visited a garden centre not far from our home. Behind the actual plants and flowers the centre has put aside a large area and the locals have been invited to have allotments.  I have applied for one and will hopefully next year, be able to plant potatoes, beans, peas, peppers, and other veggies and fruit for the years enjoyment.  The cost is just $25 per year for a community allotment garden for us to grow what we want, veggies or flowers it makes no difference. 

We have tomatoes on the front patio. I believe one plant alone must have in excess of 250 small cherry tomatoes on it.  We have three tomato plants and a Pepper Plant.  

The other day, I was tempted to "test" the heat of the peppers. I bit into one and Wow, It was like riding on every ride at the Calgary Stampede all at the same time. Talk about head-rush. It was HOT. Don't think I will do that again for a while. I will stick to placing the peppers in Chili and the like.

One of the many beaches just down the road from where we live.

There is so much to see here. From the miles of beaches on the Pacific Rim National Park, the fishing villages of Tofino and Bamfield to the wonderful lakes and rivers with literally Millions of trout, salmon and if you go out a bit, huge halibut.

There is also the gorgeous and world famous Buchart Gardens just north of Victoria and miles upon miles of trails, lots of wineries, wildlife and much more. 

This is truly an amazing place to live. The locals refer to it as "the California of Canada" and now we know why.  Literally everywhere you turn there are English Ex Pats and thousands of Albertans. Many of the Albertans are now selling and moving out here. We now know why. 

We also visited the very famous Painter's Lodge one of the most famous of all fishing lodges in Canada which affords fishermen some of the best salmon fishing in the world.  

For $299, two of you can rent a boat called a Boston Whaler similar to the one above with guide for four hours fishing, with all equipment supplied, two seats in the boats and off you go.  You fish with down riggers that take your bait to over 270 ft down where the "biggies" swim in the colder waters below.  

The price also includes filleting your salmon, cleaning it and bagging it ready to place in your vehicle. When we were there, we saw a 33 lb salmon weighed in and many more over 20lb. 

It's customary to tip the guide say ten to fifteen percent as well.

61 1/2 Pound Tyee or Chinook Salmon

Purely for interest sake. The Tyee Club of BC is located at Painter's Lodge.  It is a very select gathering of people.  To become a member, one must:

• hook and retrieve a salmon weighing a minimum of 30 lbs
• it must be accomplished on 20 lb test (breaking strain line for UK readers) or less
• catch the salmon with a barbless hook (all hooks here must be barbless)
• bring it in fishing out of a rowing boat with no motor
• land the fish yourself with a net without any assistance from the guide who must witness the catch.

The fish will be weighed and equipment checked for breaches of the rules when you land at the lodge. Now there's the club I want to join.  

In preparation for all this, I have even found a beach where you can cast for Salmon.  Some have told me of 35 pounders being pulled out right by the shoreline and better still, it's only a six minute drive from home. I will be there lots hoping to catch my limit by the end of the year (which is 30 Salmon over twenty four and a half inches long) and a maximum of two salmon per day. I will report back.  

The Chain Saw Massacre

I am sure many of you saw the movie, but chain saws are used very differently here.  While on our discoveries in the Campbell River area, we came across a competition where artists were creating sculptures from pieces of wood or tree trunks. To say their creations are amazing is an understatement.  Pictures below. All done using a chain saw and some other woodworking equipment.  They have just four days to complete their work of art.

scarecrow with Pumpkin Head

Wolf in the water with the salmon below

Grizzly

Salmon

An Eagle, Bear and a Fish

Inuit Seal Hunter with spear, waiting for seal with her baby to show from beneath the ice 

Bald Eagle

There are so many fun things to do I could not put them all down here but life is going right along and we have not even begun to discover the rest of the island. We have lots to do if we are to discover the whole Island.

A little about Vancouver Island's Geography 

• Vancouver Island, with an area of 32,000sq km/19,884sq mi, is the largest island off the west coast of North America.
• At approximately 460km/286mi in length and 100km/62mi in breadth, Vancouver Island is comparable in size to the Netherlands and Taiwan.
• Strathcona Provincial Park's Della Falls is Canada's highest waterfalls and one of the ten highest waterfalls in the world, at 440m/1,452ft.
• Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park is home to some of the world’s largest spruce trees, reaching heights in excess of 95m/310ft. Additionally, the park is home to ancient, knotted cedars estimated to be more than 1,000 years old.

Vancouver Island Climate Facts

• The Vancouver Island region boasts the mildest climate in Canada. Summer is reliably warm and sunny, with frequent ocean breezes, while winter is relatively cool.
• Average maximum temperature (summer): mid 20C˚/70 - 80F˚
• Average maximum temperature (winter): 0C˚/32F˚

 Want to know more about this great place to live and the largest island in North America's Pacific region, go here 

http://tinyurl.com/o72b7eg

There is still so much to see and and do and now it seems, so little time to cram it all in while we have our good health. Yes, "time is of the essence". 

This month, we celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary here in Courtenay and also my 67th birthday (today Aug 20). This evening, we will celebrate it quietly, just Donna and myself. Just the way I like it.

Looking Forward 

Donna is flying back to Calgary, Sept. 16th until 22nd to visit with kids and grandkids and me.... Well, I'm.........

_________________________________________________________

Keep safe and active and enjoy the rest of the summer everyone.