The Blog of Blues

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blues2cruise
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Re: The Blog of Blues

#1471 Unread post by blues2cruise »

roscow....your Goldwing is in excellent condition for being from 1987. Good find.
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blues2cruise
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Re: The Blog of Blues

#1472 Unread post by blues2cruise »

So...the continuing saga of being retired and being a house sitter. I am currently in Chilliwack BC looking after an empty house. The empty house part is not a problem because I have been carting around my life in my truck. I have enough dishes etc., to have a functional kitchen. I have a 6 inch foamy for a bed and a chair. :)
The owner pays heat and electricity and internet. So..with my 17 inch screen laptop and my phone I stay connected. I watch movies on Netflix and listen to music with the new portable speaker I have.
Those little speakers are quite impressive. I can stream the radio station via Bluetooth on the speaker. Or..I plug in the speaker to the laptop and I can nice solid sound.

The funny thing about being retired from work is suddenly how needy so many people seem to be. This past month I have been so busy it's crazy.
Anyway..back to this house in Chilliwack.

I will be back to continue...I'm getting a low battery warning. Must go find charger.
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blues2cruise
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Re: The Blog of Blues

#1473 Unread post by blues2cruise »

This is too good to pass up. I have been sick for a week so with time on my hands I have been going through photo files and deleting a lot of old and new bad pictures.
I came across this from 2003. drbar had taken me for a ride to Whistler BC. This was before I had learned to ride.
You can tell by my smile I was loving it.
Doug and Donna on his Virago at Whistler 2003.jpg
Doug and Donna on his Virago at Whistler 2003.jpg (118 KiB) Viewed 25597 times
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blues2cruise
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Re: The Blog of Blues

#1474 Unread post by blues2cruise »

The person who owns this house I'm looking after now lives in Osoyoos BC. He moved there over a year ago and rented out the house. Then he did a stupid thing...He decided to try to sell the house and got a realtor. Of course the tenant got nervous about suddenly finding himself with no place to live, so he gave notice and moved out... The tenant was a single Dad with 2 young kids.
So...homeowner asks me if I would be able to house sit until the end of October. I was in between things so why not..
He drove down to Chilliwack to assess the house and give me the rundown of the property etc.
The tenant left the house dirty. He was supposed to come back and clean up but something in the background between the homeowner and the tenant went bad. The tenant wanted his security deposit. The owner said no because the house got left dirty.
I met the tenant a few times...he was fine with me. He and the owner had words though. The owner phoned me in a quite frantic phone call about the tenant. The tenant basically made threats to him and said if he didn't get his money, he would go re-arrange his face for him and his house might just burn down.
I'm thinking...how did this suddenly become my problem? I told him to go to the police. He didn't want to, but I convinced him to make a report in case things escalated. The tenant also wanted extra money for some supposed repairs he had done.
I happened to have enough cash on me because I had just got paid from my painting job. I phoned the owner back and told him I could cover the money for now and to phone the tenant and tell him. He said he wasn't talking to him again. I said ok...I can do it and you can pay me back. (He did an email money transfer the same day to pay me back)
I texted the tenant and told him...he came over and I got him to sign a hand made receipt for the cash. He asked me if I knew what was said. I said I didn't know and I don't want to know. I told him if I get caught in the middle of something I'm out of here.
Friendship can go only so far. Anyway...I said to the tenant...I guess this means you're not coming back to clean? He said no. He said the owner was "dicking" him around so he didn't care to come and do it.
The homeowner seemed to think the tenant was a member of some criminal bike organization so was quite scared.
Tenant gone. House dirty. Yes..yours truly got to clean the house. It was for my benefit though. If I was to stay in the house for six weeks, I wanted it to be clean.
I scrubbed three bathrooms. They looked like they had not been cleaned for a very long time. I cleaned the fridge, the microwave, washed down surfaces, vacuumed the whole house, cleaned mirrors and windows, washed dirt off walls. The dishwasher does not work. The dryer does not work. The oven does not work. One of the garage door openers does not work so I put a bike lock on it for my own security.
The house still stank of old ashes from the fireplace. I took a look inside. Holy cow. I think the tenant used it for the year he was here and never cleaned it out. I got a big sheet of plastic and shoveled out the ashes. I'll find the picture to show you.
I did some work outside on the grounds pulling weeds and giving the house a better "curbside" appeal.

To add insult to injury...the neighbour who lives up the hill from this house wanted to better his view. So, while the owner was living out of town, he took it upon himself to top some trees and cut a couple of trees down...and left the whole unsightly mess. I cleared what I could, but most of it was too heavy to lift. Some of the round cuts, I rolled down the hill.
Last night I sent an email to the owner to remind him that this time next week I will be gone. He had forgotten. He said, "I thought you were there until end of November." I said, "You asked me to come until the end of October."
I have been available to meet with the realtors and have facilitated getting them keys and giving them access. I have shown them around the property explaining things. It's 1-1/3 acres, but not flat.
Prior to me coming here I already had a commitment to be in Vancouver for winter starting mid November. The owner knew that. Because he told me end of October, I made arrangements to go visit my mother up the coast. She is pushing 89. I'll be packing up my stuff and leaving on the 31st.
I think the owner though the house would sell quicker. It's nice enough, but outdated. It's also not walking distance to anything and there is no bus service in this area. The property is mostly on a hill. So a lot of the property is just bush and trees with a view. There is very little flat areas on the property. He lived here 15 years so he is thinking with his emotions rather than being pragmatic about it.
That is the short version. LOL
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blues2cruise
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Re: The Blog of Blues

#1475 Unread post by blues2cruise »

ashes.jpg
ashes.jpg (181.64 KiB) Viewed 25588 times
The pile of ashes....it was about three feet in diameter and almost 2 feet high. After I scooped all this out, I used the shop vac to finish. Then sprayed a liberal amount of Febreeze a few times.
It doesn't smell now. :D
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JackoftheGreen
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Re: The Blog of Blues

#1476 Unread post by JackoftheGreen »

What an amazing adventure, crazy stories too. Rubia and I don't intend to stay in the house we bought very long and once in a while I tinker with the idea of maybe renting it out instead of selling it -- your story absolutely makes me rethink that, LoL.

Can't believe that pile of ash! Good work, I thought you said you were retired though? You work harder than I ever do and I'm still full time. :)

Keep posting, hope to see you back on two wheels someday.

blues2cruise
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Re: The Blog of Blues

#1477 Unread post by blues2cruise »

I have been absent for a while due to a lot of factors. One of them being winter.

I have been house sitting in Vancouver and was busy with snow removal, constant rain, visiting an aging parent, child minding, vehicle trade-in, house hunting and house buying. And I just couldn't be bothered being on my computer very much.
I struggled through reading Game of Thrones book 1 and gave up halfway through book 2.
I have been helping a friend (who I consider to be a bit of a hoarder) to de-clutter her place. It was so bad there was no place to sit and no table at which to eat. I think living like that finally took its toll, so she asked me if I could help her. Phew. Big job.

I will be finished my house sitting here in Vancouver at the end of the month. I bought a little house in Merritt, BC. It is 3 hours from Vancouver....although I know other people who make it quicker. :)
I took possession of the house March 14 and put all my belongings from storage into the house. I'll head there with the rest of my things on the long weekend.


I traded in my truck and got a Dodge Journey. So far I like it. I still don't have another motorcycle because I didn't have my own place. Once I get moved and organized, I will start looking to see what is available. I won't be able to afford a new one this time. I count my blessings though. My two bikes I had were both new. The city of Kamloops is only an hour away from Merritt, and that is possibly where I will be able to find a bike. Not likely in Merritt. It's a small town of about 7500 people.

Some people question my sanity about moving away from Vancouver. I was born and raised here and lived and worked here. But now that I am on pensions, I cannot afford to stay here. The housing prices are ridiculously high and the rental situation is just as bad. Most rents now cost more than my income. A lot of people are moving to the Fraser Valley and commuting in. It is a bit more affordable than Vancouver, but it is slowly catching up. If anybody ever sees news reports about the housing crisis in Vancouver...it is true. About the only people who are happy are the real estate agents, the wealthy and folks who already own. Therefore....I'm moving. Merritt is still affordable. As lower mainland people start to retire, they are selling their very expensive houses and moving. They have money left over.
I will look for a part time job once I move. That way I can save for a bike. :mrgreen:
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ceemes
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Re: The Blog of Blues

#1478 Unread post by ceemes »

Good to hear you are still alive and kicking. Have you heard from DrBar at all?
Always ask why.

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blues2cruise
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Re: The Blog of Blues

#1479 Unread post by blues2cruise »

ceemes wrote: Sat Mar 24, 2018 9:21 pm Good to hear you are still alive and kicking. Have you heard from DrBar at all?
Yes. He is living in Hope in his RV. He still has his motorcycle, but waiting for better weather to put it on the road.
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blues2cruise
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Re: The Blog of Blues

#1480 Unread post by blues2cruise »

The saga...continued....

I will get to the ongoing saga..but first....true story.

The local Yamaha Power Sports dealer here had a red BMW 650 show up from a trade. I asked about it, but the person at the counter did not know anything about it. It had just come in the day before. So, I said I'll come in tomorrow.
I went back the next day to ask again. The other person who works there got the key and was able to tell me the year and mileage....but not the price. He called the manager and left a voice message. He took my name and number.
They did not call.
A couple of days later I went in again to ask again.
Their response....Oh, sorry...it got sold.
He knew I was not impressed. I told him I had inquired first and shook my head and walked out.
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