I'm a survivor!
Trip Start
Oct 09, 2008
1
11
16
Trip End
Apr 2009
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Thursday, December 4, 2008
We celebrated American Thanksgiving last week...I bribe my coworkers/friends into adopting Thanksgiving in November by cooking a huge Thanksgiving spread. Aunt Mavis, you would be so proud! I cooked for about 10/15 people (and yes I fit them all in my 450 sq ft house). I made a 5 kilogram turkey, mashed potatoes, fresh squash, green bean casserole, mac and cheese (the southern tradition), rolls, apple pie and chocolate martinis ( I never can spell chocolate without looking it up)! Oh and then Thanksgiving morning I panicked that I didn't have enough food - so I went out and bought a ham! ( I still am eating all of the above!) mmmm left overs. I even made gravy like Helen O'Donnell (my grandmother) used to make gravy. Thanks to the many family get togethers and sharing all the family secrets...my meal is still being raved about. Thanks to Juice for the southern recipe for mac and cheese - I'm cooking the second batch tonight as people are requesting their own leftovers!
Now as if cooking for 15 wasn't enough...I have recently overcome another obstacle...upon arriving in the great prairie of Saskatchewen I discovered the heater doesn't work...or blow in the Jeep. So I got a quote from the local Jeep dealership - they determined it was the blower motor and quoted me a price for the part alone of $300 CDN...being the experienced Ebayer I am I immediatly sought a cheaper solution with a year guarentee for $59.95 US and $30 shipping. Yes sir, so my blower motor arrived...I paid some friend of a friend a case of Labatt's Blue to replace it for me. Well my heater now blows but only on random intervals. The Labatt Blue guy determined it must be the blower control switch and directed me to a salvage yard...SGI (if you are ever in Canada and need a part...ask for Darcy)! So my blower control switch ($58) arrived today and I couldn't wait to tinker (I want to be a mechanic in my next life). So when I got home from work today..I grabbed my trusty tool box..thank you to Lance for the great tools...they have come in handy for so many things! So tonight I replaced the blower control switch. I have a picture and yes I took apart the dash and unplugged all those wires and fixed the darn blower...I have heat. I called mom right away cause I had to tell someone just how incredibly awesome I am. As I was rambling on and on, amazed I am still single blah blah blah...while sitting in the Jeep in the closed garage...I realized that it would not have been such an amazing story or great accomplishment if I mistakenly committed suicide. That still makes me laugh out loud!
So for those of you wondering...yes it is getting cold. Yes we have snow and no I don't expect the snow to melt until March or April. Not alot of snow yet but a dusting each day. My road is pretty iced over and packed with snow and I slide past my driveway almost everyday as I try to turn in. It's suppose to be 30 below tomorrow 0 mind this is celsius but it is still darn cold. I am not terribly home sick...do miss my friends a bit...and of course Sadie. When you have a dog you don't realize how much they help with the housework. She's always been good at picking up crumbs off the floor.
One last story for the night - for those that might be sending me care packages...please keep in mind that something happens during shipping. I suspect shipping from SC they might actually hurl things with a giant sling shot over the border. I received the traditional Aunt Mavis cookies and flat bread. I again will include a picture. The flat bread are now bite size pieces, the apricot pockets...one came intact and the rest in granola bite size peices and well I'm still not sure what the other bag is - but everything sure does taste good. I think we might be onto something - cookie crumble cereal. Directions: Ship cookies from US to Canada, open package and pour contents directly into cereal bowl, cover with milk or ice cream and enjoy! You heard it here first! I'm on my way to my first million...if cookie crumble cereal doesn't do it then my life as a blower control switch installer certainly will! Love to everyone!
Rachel
