April 26th to May 2nd

April 26th - Thurs - Kamloops
Dad is doing OK. One foot seems to be still lacking some circulation as it is whiter and cooler than the other foot. Took him for a little walk around the ward.
Cousin Pat & Rick came to visit and have dinner with us. As we were preparing dinner, a friend of Marg’s drove by with her trailer to spend the night in the same RV park as us. So we invited her (Jane) and her daughter (Alisha) to join us for dinner.
Obviously we found somewhere to post our log. We went to the library and they had WiFi access. We also took the time to look for coordinates to set up our satellite dish. We have a zip code chart but not postal code chart. We set up the dish with some help from a neighbor and are now getting as many foreign (Japan, Australia, South Korea) channels as US channels! Could have watched a rousing cricket match if we had so desired.

April 27th - Friday - Kamloops and Logan Lake
After visiting Dad at the hospital, we went to Logan Lake (about 45 minutes from Kamloops) to see Pat & Rick. We viewed the house that they are currently renovating, saw my Aunt Adela’s house (Pat’s Mom) that she just purchased and saw Pat’s daughter’s (Morgan) house that they just moved into. Pat made us a great lunch.
Marg left for home from Logan Lake.

April 28th & 29th- Sat/Sun - Kamloops
Dad is doing great. We took him down the elevator and along a long hallway to go outside for a bit. He has been in the hospital for nearly 2 weeks so a breath of fresh air was a treat for him.
We added a couple of visits to the casino to our hospital visits. The first time we both won a bit. We ended up giving it all back but at least it gave us something different to do.

April 30th - Mon - Kamloops to 100 Mile House
Dad informed us yesterday evening that he was being discharged today. We packed up the rig and then picked Dad up at 9. Hooked up to the 5th wheel, dumped the tanks (no sewer hookup at the sites) and took “the back way” to 100 Mile. What I am calling “the back way” follows the Thompson River to Little Fort before joining Hwy 97 just south of 100 Mile. Pretty country and a lovely drive. Arrived in 100 Mile in time for lunch.
Marg had lit a small pile of branches on fire and it jumped to an old downed fir tree and was getting quite hot. So Terry & I ended up babysitting the fire and keeping it contained for several hours.

May 1st - Tues - 100 Mile
Marg had a large (200 lb) bag of wool and some loose wool from sheep shearing that she wanted to burn as there is no market for small amounts of non-premium wool. So we hauled it over to the burn pile, added some diesel and started another fire. Actually, we started with the loose wool and a load of sticks that we picked up. Then Marg harrowed a field while I tossed the bag of wool in a bit at a time. There was another bag of wool that Marg hadn’t decided if she was going to burn. Terry decided that it was going to get burned so he hauled it over. Then Terry & I collected two small wagon loads of sticks to add to the fire and get all the wool burned.
After lunch, Terry and I put grass seed on the field that Marg had harrowed while Marg took Dad to the local doctor to check on his medications. We had a hand crank seeder with a canvas bag that you fill with grass seed. Then I sat on the back of the 4-wheeler and cranked while Terry drove around the field. Yes, I know there are machines to do this!! We had a great start - Terry was in high gear and did not make a smooth start and dumped me off the back of the 4-wheeler. Since I was holding the seeder with both hands, I could not catch myself and have a couple of dandy bruises on my butt and thigh where I hit a platform on the 4-wheeler and a rock.
After Terry harrowed the seeded field again to cover the seed a bit, we went out to the field where Marg had fed hay to the cows all winter. In the field and between trees were mounds of cow sh*t that needed to be broken up and spread around a bit. This is done with the harrow. Pulling half the harrows behind the 4-wheeler allows you to get between the trees where you cannot go with the big tractor. I moved sticks and tossed cow stuff to areas where Terry could drive while Terry drove around the field and through the trees with the harrows. We did a fine job!
The sheep shearer called this evening to say that he could come tomorrow so Marg and I put all the sheep into barns in case it rains tonight. Nothing like shearing wet sheep.

May 2nd - Wed - 100 Mile
Friends Nicole, Allan and Cecile arrived to help us with shearing. This is the first time that I have seen or taken part in shearing and it was quite a production. We had everything organized and it went well. Terry was in charge of keeping a small pen full of sheep so the shearer could reach past a burlap curtain (manned by Allan) to grab the next sheep. Marg & Cecile each grabbed a front leg of the sheared sheep and with a push from the shearer pulled the sheep on its back to the hoof trimming “station”. Marg trimmed the front hooves while I did the back. Rolled them over and out the door. Meanwhile, Nicole was grabbing the fleece and dropping it onto a sheet of plywood on sawhorses where she picked out any big pieces of undesirable material (sh*t), folded the fleece and stacked them against the wall. She also kept the area swept clear of stray bits of wool trimmed from the belly.
Dad was busy sharpening knives for me and came out to “supervise” for a while.
Marg and I had mixed up a crock pot of chili and baked brownies last night and baked some corn bread this morning so we all had lunch after we finished the shearing about noon.
Not surprisingly, we all rested after lunch and Marg iced one of her new knees where she had been kicked by an unappreciative ewe. Marg and I then joined the ladies’ club for 9 holes of golf and dinner. We both kept noticing sore spots and muscles as we were golfing.