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Does anyone still read this?

Posted by on July 4, 2012

Well, it seems as though we have gone several months without a post and so it’s high time we get one done.

This year our plans are to do less and see more (of each other). In recent years we have been spending our whole vacation travelling and going and seeing and doing – No More! This years vacation we are heading west to the mountains and then taking it easy. So that’s what’s coming up, here is what’s happened since we last wrote.

Nothing.

We started making much bigger supper meals and portioning them into proper meal size portions that we freeze. This way we have good lunches to take to work and it keeps is from over eating at supper. It’s too tempting to “finish off” this or that – this way, when your done – Your done!

Kara has been finding time to get to the gym too and has lost a whole heap of weight since new years. I too have lost about 40 pounds to date. I would like to say that it is only due to the Traeger Grill, but I think that the more likely reason is Kara and Lincoln dragging me along for walks.

In more project related news, the trailer had some renovations this year. We decided that long-term Boondocking required additional power. We researched generators, but decided that solar was a better choice for us. I found a supplier of solar panels and charge controllers in Shenzhen that was willing to ship directly to me. We bought two 140 watt panels, and a MPPT charge controller.

When I went up on the roof to measure for the solar, I was saddened to find that the plywood had de-laminated in some areas. This required a complete roof overhaul which was hecticly fit in between spring rainstorms (thanks to good friends). We removed the thin Luan wood that was originally there, and reskinned the whole roof with 3/8 inch good one side plywood before a fresh sheet of EPDM rubber membrane. It feels much more solid to walk on now. While the roof was wide open, it was a perfect time to structurally reinforce for the solar and run the necessary wires. I also ran extra wires for the new power roof vents and other things. We opted to leave off the air conditioner, FM radio antenna and crank up TV antenna, we never use any of those anyway.

We managed to get the repairs all buttoned up before May long, just in time to go camping at Shell Lake with Tim, Crystal and Luke. We were glad to go somewhere we had not been before, it’s a nice lake – and it’s not too far from home.

This spring Kara took another photography course, she seems to be really enjoying it. She was flattered to be asked to take some grad pictures for a friend’s daughter. We went to the local camera shop to buy a light reflector and when we were there we saw the Canon 60D in the display case on consignment at a very good price. As you may have guessed, we picked it up and have been having a lot of fun with more advanced features of this camera. Anyway, Kara went out with Fay to practice, and then pretty much went through the same routine for the grad photos the next day. I will post some of the pictures below.

One of Kara’s coworkers offered to take us fishing at Lake Diefenbaker. After deep deliberation which lasted about three seconds, we jumped at the offer. Him and his wife graciously took us out on their pontoon boat for most of the day, and then fed us a wonderful supper. It was without a doubt the best fishing trip we have ever been on. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you very much Mr. unnamed coworker.

The navigator is out of commission for a couple of weeks, and so we can’t take the trailer anywhere. So for the July long weekend Kara pitched the idea to backpack into Trappers and see why it had been closed. I was very surprised to hear this, but gladly scrambled together enough gear that we could safely go. We applied for a random back-country permit and got a ride to the park with Jay. The hiking was easier than expected as the trail was in good condition, the only thing that slowed us down was 25 L of water. We don’t have a good filtration system yet, so we needed to haul in water.

The only reason we could find that Trappers would have been closed was that the culvert underneath the bridge was plugged with debris causing water to run over the bridge and road. Well, that and the dozens of massive jack pine trees that had been blown down a few days earlier. But that wasn’t the reason the area was closed. We were sure that we would be the only ones there that weekend, but we were surprised to be greeted by three other parties who biked in to see the condition of the campground.

We had a wonderful time together. It had been a long time since I’d backpacked anywhere, so I learnt a few things. Overall, we did very good in our preparation, a little bit too much food and a little bit too much water. Good problems to have.

This is getting a little bit long-winded, so I’m going to cut it off there. Enjoy the random photos that I dig up.

4 Responses to Does anyone still read this?

  1. Kyle Erickson

    Good to hear all is going well!

  2. Elsie

    Enjoyed reading your blog. Have a great summer

  3. James

    Great update! The trailer roof looked to be a pain but looks great plus the timing worked out well (to reinforce and accommodate the panels) a WIN WIN !

    Kara, the photos you took look amazing! Keep it up!

    Congrats on the weight reduction Jason – I know it’s hard to cut back (especially with the flavors that you have learned to make!) All hale the cook.

    Cheers

  4. Alice

    Good to see a new entry. Congratulations on your weight loss, you two. You look great enjoyed all the pictures you posted at the end. Very impressive! I especially enjoyed Lincoln with his red bow tie. Have a great summer!