Jan 21 - and on to plan C ...

I know, you didn't even realize that there was a plan B !

I did go in to Parry Sound and do the banking then to Canadian Tire then to Jim & Bonnie's for an oh-so-brief visit.

The banking took a while because the CIBC wasn't being cooperative.  Long story short, I have moved some of the money myself through Interac e-transfers and the balance is being moved through an account transfer that is initiated at the TD.  Whatever.

As I was doing some of this, it occurred to me that since it's so bloody cold, the X5 doesn't really need a fan, at least for a short while.  Why not drive the X5 north that night, pack up and leave in the morning, drive to Barrie and pick up the parts with the X5, back to Parry Sound and then south.  That would mean that I could get some things out of the way that day and shorten Tuesday's exit from Canada ... hmmm.  Plan A had me driving back to the cottage so this was better.

When I mentioned this to Jim & Bonnie, they also suggested that Sandy stay in Barrie once I'm down there ... excellent suggestion !  Jim wanted to help somehow, drive one of the cars back, but I'd still then have to get Jim back to Parry Sound.  So I headed north.

Still thinking about all this, it then occurred to me that if Jim drove up with his car and drove me back, Sandy could stay and complete her organizational tasks and, more importantly, nurse her cold which has now become a chest cold.   Her first task in Florida might be to see the doctor, depending on how this goes.

Anyway, I called Jim and he was quite happy to assist, heading out about a half-hour after me and getting to our place in that time.  He'd had a sandwich on the way; I'd had mine here.  He went over to his place and picked up the mail that Art had left there, checked things out and then picked me up and we were on our way back to Parry Sound.

The weather turned a bit nasty as we got closer and the roads were getting messier.  Regardless, he dropped me off at Canadian Tire in good time and I headed north with the X5.  As I suspected, overheating wasn't an issue.  This is the time of year when you see trucks with fabric in front of their grills to stop the air going through ... overheating isn't a problem !

The roads were messy and the vis bad but that trip was soon over and I was onto the next task -- swapping tires.  That took about an hour, always does, and I did some other car-organizational things.  Sandy's car is now away for the rest of the winter, hopefully, and the X5 ready to roll.  I'll leave here around 5am and drive to Barrie, drop off Sandy and Abby at David's, pick up the parts, back to Parry Sound, install and then head back south. 

Why not simply let BMW do the installation ?  Well, that would cost a lot more.  Canadian Tire is stepping up and covering more than half the cost of the parts and all of the installation.  $150 vs more than $600 ... I'll drive the extra miles.

We had stuffed rainbow trout; I had my two conference calls, the evening whipped by.  Sandy's got everything ready to go, stuff is piled by the back door.  I've got to load the car, which of course is up in the barn.  Hopefully we won't have any trouble getting out of the driveway with the all-season tires on. 

It's warmer today, now at -11F. 

It's time to close up the computer and get things rolling ...