Wasting Energy: How Penticton Celebrates Earth Day

Posted April 22, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under At Home

It is Earth Day and I am appalled and disgusted by the complete lack of regard that the both the City of Penticton and a local baseball league has for both the environment and city taxpayers.

The rest of this post has moved to http://rosology.com/wasting-energy-how-penticton-celebrates-earth-day.

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Snowy April Day in Penticton

Posted April 19, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under At Home

I woke up to a delightful sight at 4AM this morning — 2 inches of snow on the ground and it was still coming down!

Yeah! OK, I LIKE unusual weather occurences. Besides, it might have been the last opportunity to jump out of the hot tub and have a good roll in the snow. Maybe that’s a Canadian thing.

By 6:30AM there was about 3 inches on the ground and my spring tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths weren’t looking too happy.

Here is what the terrace looked like this morning:

There are more pictures of droopy daffodils and tulips here on Flickr.

Penticton: Fire Destroys Hamlets Project

Posted April 7, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under At Home

As Ed and I were leaving the IGA on Government Street yesterday we saw a massive plume of black smoke arising from what appeared to be the Safeway. Ever inquisitive, we parked several blocks away and although it did appear that the Safeway was going up, we saw that it was the new Hamlets project - an assisted living facility currently under development - that was being consumed by flames.

While watching the fire, my appreciation for what firefighters do increased immeasurably. From where we stood across the street from the Safeway was HOT… and those guys were working directly next to the inferno. How they managed to keep the Safeway from turning into the biggest barbeque and weiner roast this town has ever seen was absolutely amazing.

I’ve uploaded a set of 24 pictures to our Flickr account in which you can see how the fire progressed over the course of 20 minutes — from the roof being ablaze to there being almost nothing left of the first building.

Our hearts go out to all those affected by this huge loss - everyone from the workers and contractors involved in the project, to the workers who were to be employed at the facility and those who were to have made the facility their home.

Technorati Tags: Penticton, fire, Hamlets

Penticton: Google Earth Images Outdated

Posted March 22, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under At Home

After hearing how Nanaimo has been crowned â€œGoogle Capital of the Worldâ€, I decided to check and see whether the images of Penticton, B.C. had been updated on Google Earth.

Up until recently, the resolution was absolutely terrible, so I was pleased when I zoomed in on Penticton and could see individual houses.

Naturally, I had to zoom in on my own.

Hmmm… weird. What I saw was a picture of the house that was clearly taken prior to the time I bought it in June 2004, as I recognize the previous owner’s white truck sitting in the driveway. Moreover, my pool, which was built in 2005, isn’t shown in the backyard!

Somewhat misleading, don’t ya think?

Technorati Tags: Penticton, Google Earth

Snowbound in Toronto?

Posted March 8, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under At Home

Yes, I do go on about how nice the weather is here in the Okanagan.

Well, look left. Yes, it’s 73 degrees fahrenheit (23 degrees Celcius) on the deck this afternoon and it’s an absolutely beautiful day.

We’ve been outside working on the yard (again) and even took a little break to soak up the rays from the lounge chairs. Even the tulips are coming up. This is happening in Penticton, while Toronto gets pummeled this afternoon by yet another 40 - 50 cm dump of snow.

So, are ya tired of it yet?

Ready to move to the Okanagan?

Hot Tub Maintenance

Posted February 18, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under At Home

Well, as you can see from the following video we learned another lesson about hot tub maintenance this weekend…

That was… use the Swirl Away (pipe cleaner) every time you drain the tub.

Technorati Tags: hot tub, clean, maintenance

Getting Ready to Quit Smoking

Posted February 9, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under At Home

I promised my niece and nephew that I would quit smoking before their first kid was born.

Well, that didn’t exactly happen.

Gavin was born on November 27th, 2007, about 2 weeks before his first due date of December 12th, 2007… so it’s his fault that I didn’t quit.

Excuses, excuses…

The kid is almost 2 months old, and we’re meeting up with Carol, Andrew and Gavin in Kamloops around the end of February, so there’s no more time for excuses.

I decided to try Champix (called Chantix in the States) which I heard a few people raving about when I was at the PPC Classroom Live conference in Las Vegas in early December. So, when I got home, I scheduled an appointment with the doc, got a prescription and set the date… February 4th.

Why wait so long, you may wonder? Well, one doesn’t want to even try quitting during a period that is forecast to be more stressful than normal - which definitely ruled out the Christmas holidays which we were spending with my mother. ‘Nuff said?

So, when you quit smoking with Champix, you set a quit date between 8 and 12 days after you start to take the drug. I started taking in on January 24th and wanted to milk out every last moment, so picked the 12th day, which was February 4th.

Despite desperately wanting to quit smoking, I didn’t feel entirely sure that I could quit smoking — even with the Champix.

I’d quit a few times before, once for as long as 2.5 years (with the help of Zyban), but every effort since I’d started smoking again full-time in September 2004 had been a serious bust. Since becoming allergic to Zyban, I was very concerned that there was nothing I could do to quit smoking, and doubted even the Champix.

Fortunately, I was wrong. From the first day that I started the Champix, my cravings disappeared completely. I smoked only because I wanted to — not because I was craving smokes. Knowing that much certainly boosted my confidence.

After 11 days on Champix, I had convinced myself that it would be EASY to quit smoking… which was exactly what I’d told myself when I quit before using Zyban. Hmmm.. so far, so good.

Now you’ll have to wait and see what happened on February 4th.

Technorati Tags: quit smoking, cigarettes, Champix, Chantix, Zyban

OMG, We’re GodParents

Posted December 21, 2007 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under At Home

I managed to avoid any semblance of motherhood for 48 years — until December 21st that is, when Carol and Andrew asked Ed and I whether we would be Gavin’s godparents.

Ed immediately replied with an enthusiastic ‘YES!’ … while I stammered and stuttered as all the possible ramifications of what that meant went through my head. God forbid anything should ever happen to Gavin’s parents. Bad enough that he ended up with Auntie Ros and Uncle Ed, child corruption specialists — but godparenting, well, we’re going to have to escalate our endeavours.

Mu ha ha hah.

And as you can see, I wore my special red hat when we met Gavin for the first time. At 3.5 weeks old, he wasn’t focusing too well, but you should have seen his eyes open wide and stare at that hat!

Good plan, kiddo… keep your eyes wide open. You just never know what Auntie Ros will throw at you next.

Mu ha ha hah.

OK, I’m thrilled. You can see some more pictures of our first meeting with Gavin here.

Technorati Tags: Gavin Gubisi, Rosalind Gardner, Ed Szajniak, godparents

Windstorm: Powerless in Penticton

Posted November 15, 2007 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under At Home

We arrived home from our trip to New York and Toronto in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

Although Don, our housesitter, had phoned us in Toronto to tell us about the Penticton windstorm and downed trees in our yard (see the pictures), it wasn’t until the next morning that we became fully aware of how much damage the 100 kilometer per hour winds had caused, particularly in our neighbourhood and down at Skaha Park on the beach.

After seeing the destruction first hand, I was amazed that there were no injuries or deaths caused by falling trees during the storm considering the number of trees that crashed into houses and cars. I was more amazed still after hearing our neighbours talk about being outside and watching the ground heave as the trees swayed wildly in the wind.

Thirteen big trees on our street of only 14 houses were dropped by the wind. We lost 5 trees in total, including a huge blue spruce that took out a big maple which fell into the hydro lines and caused the power pole to collapse. The lines fell around our neighbour’s truck and actually melted a piece of his driveway. The top portion of a poplar in the backyard snapped off and landed on a hawthorne splitting it in half. Lastly, a spruce in the back yard was sheared off about 8 feet above the ground, lifted upwards and then sideways clearing the fence and another landscaped part of the side yard, before it landed in the street.

Our weather station (shown top left) clocked the top wind speed at 80 kilometers per hour, and down the street another friend with a weather station showed top speeds of 101 kilometers per hour.

We were SO lucky not to have sustained any damage to the house, unlike so many others who need to have windows replaced and are looking at roof truss replacement in the spring.

Although I thought we were properly prepared with our emergency kit for a lengthy power failure (this one lasted 2 and a half days) with both gas and wood fireplaces, a gas stove and water heater, the Grundig emergency radio this event proved that we still have more work to do.

Although we had tons of emergency candles and crank flashlights (that don’t require batteries), one of the essential elements we were missing was a couple of really bright lights, like this 10 Million Powerâ„¢ Series Spotlight or better yet, a ColemanÂ® fluorescent lantern such as the one pictured left and available online at the HurricaneStore.com. We picked up 3 of them yesterday, and just one provides ample lighting in any large room.

Because I hate having to throw out food and would like the house to stay warmer than 12.9 degrees celsius, our next investment will be a generator large enough to power both the fridge and the furnace.

And last but not least, and although it is completely unecessary, I want a little TV for those really long power outages.

Technorati Tags: Penticton, windstorm, skaha, trees

It’s Time to Break Out the Patio Heaters!

Posted September 24, 2007 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under At Home

With temperatures now dipping to between 5 and 7 Celcius (41 to 44.6F) and forecast as low as 2C (35.6F) next Saturday it was time to break out the patio heater at Rosalind’s Resort, aka my house.

Patio heaters used to be a luxury item that you would only see at high-end restaurants and hotel patio bars, yet today they are becoming commonplace to patios, screened in porches and decks at homes and cottages.

Having used and researched multiple brands of patio heaters it became obvious when I was searching for a new patio heater last year, that Yardiac.com was the best online supplier of industry-leading Endless Summer Line of patio heaters.

With vast knowledge and experience of propane gas tanks, not to mention style, performance and price, these full size heaters can be warm up to 20
foot radius, and provide the right atmosphere for outdoor gatherings at anytime of the year.

Features & Benefits of all Endless Summer Patio Heaters:

Safety Tilt Switch. (gas automatically shuts off if heater leans more than
18 degrees)
40,000BTU/Hr (Except for table top version)
AGA and CGA Approved.
Ideal for patio, restaurant, swimming pool, outdoor entertainment, etc.
18′ to 25′ circle of sun-like radiant heat.
Raises temperatures 10-30Â° F.
No electrical connections needed.
Low maintenance - weather resistant construction.
Will operate 10 hours from common 20 lb barbecue type propane tank. (tank
not included)
Multiple heaters may be used to heat large areas.
Propane tank is hidden inside patio heaters base.
Assembles in less than 2 hours with common household tools!

Industry Rated #1 –Here’s Why:

Endless
Summer Vs. The Competition

Competition

Endless Summer

Endless Summer Advantage

$499 - $1,000	$239*(Only at Yardiac.com) and up	More features, style, durability and performance for less money. Plus you get a $20 mail in rebate offer on any model.
Vertical emitter	Angled emitter	Directs heat output down for better efficiency and improves overall aesthetics.
Single emitter screen	2 heavy gauge emitters	Solid inside emitter adds structural strength, amplifies burner output, reduces wind blowout and reduces heat loss through center. Heavy duty outside emitter enhances performance and retains good look longer.
—	Ceramic cone insulator	Provides a more consistent output over 360 degrees, improves output by reducing heat loss through center, helps heater warm up faster & stay hot longer.
Standard stainless	High temperature stainless	Increases engine and burner life expectancy, improves appearance, efficiency and safety.
—	Whisper quiet burner	Runs quietly even in the wind to enhance atmosphere.
Solid engine housing	Engine body with access door	Provides easy access to engine components for maintenance and repairs.
Lightweight dome	Heavy gauge aluminum dome	Retains good looks longer and is designed for easy removal for storage and transport.
Sheet metal structure	Structural frame system	Makes assembly easier and faster, retains perpendicularity longer, makes cleaning easier and saves carton space.
Sheet metal base	Steel Base & Counterweight	Heavy weight base plate improves safety by reducing wobble & tilt.
—	Trimmed base edge	Protects wooden decks from scratches, makes moving easier and quiet.
—	Tilt control	Increases safety by shutting off gas flow in the event that the unit is tilted more than 35 Â° .
Removable cylinder door	Sliding cylinder cover	Provides quickest and easiest access to cylinder for changes without damaging finishes and ensures the cover is not misplaced.
—	Cylinder access slot	Allows easy access to cylinder valve to encourage complete shutdown after every use.
Single large carton	2 carton system	Allows single person carry, fits in almost any size vehicle, reduces packaging scrap.
—	Quick & easy assembly	Assembles in less than 1 hour with common household tools.
—	User friendly owner?s manual	Informative illustrations with easy to understand instructions make assembly, maintenance, repairs and trouble shooting easy.