A Couple of Hours Around Carleton Place

Pretty trees in downtown Carleton Place

No one was home when I knocked on the door of the RV next to us this morning so I went for a walk by myself. It was much cooler this morning and partly sunny but the weather soon warmed up and the sun came out. I read for a while and finished the book I was reading.

Around noon we both went into Carleton Place and I walked around the main street shops while Gordon took photos around town. It’s a shame to see so many downtown shops unoccupied in such a pretty downtown area.

The rest of the day was spent watching TV, napping and reading. Our high today was about 23C (73F).

Another Purchase

Last night was the second night that we got to sleep with the windows open and our Fantastik Fan on.

This morning was warm and partly sunny with a nice breeze for our walk. I say ‘our’ because Jean from next door accompanied me. The walk went very quickly as we were chatting the whole way.

This morning our UPS Backup system appeared to have crapped out on us so since we have three computers relying on it, we drove into Ottawa to get another one. The prices on these units have come down substantially since we bought ours when Gordon had his office in the house. I also looked in to replacing the battery in my laptop. It seems to last a little over a year and then its toast so in order to use it I have to keep it plugged in all the time. The guy at Cyber Computer in Bells Corners is calling me back with a price tomorrow. The last one I replaced was on warranty, this one isn’t.

We didn’t stay long in Ottawa as the skies were looking very dark rather like a thunderstorm was imminent. The weather forecaster on TV last night said that there was a 40% chance of rain this afternoon due to a cold front coming in. Since the thermometer in the truck registered 32C (90F), a cold front to lower the temperature a bit would be nice. Seems like just a few days ago I was complaining that it was too cold! We did have some thunder but nothing else materialized although it did cool down and the wind picked up a bit. Gordon had put the awning up when we got back from Ottawa.

The lilacs are really coming into bloom here!

A Hot Day!

A tulip in hiding

Views from my lawnchair

It was very warm and sunny this morning 22C (71F) just before 9:00 a.m. I took a different route this morning walking east on the side road all the way to the end. It took well over half an hour and my back was feeling it by the time I returned.

The grass was getting very long near our rig and around the satellite dish so I borrowed the campground lawnmower and mowed under our steps and as far under the slides as I could get as well as some of the area beside the rig. Dave can get fairly close with the tractor mower but not under the slides. Just when I finished, he came around on the tractor mower and mowed the rest of the yard as well as the rest of the campground so now we have a nice yard area, so nice in fact that I sat outside for over two hours under the shade of the big tree. There weren’t many mosquitoes around. I guess it was too hot. When I was out mowing this morning, I met the husband of our neighbour that I met last week, John. Jean (whom I had met last week) was also out and said she had seen me out walking in the mornings and wondered if I would like company. So, tomorrow, she’s going with me on my walk.

I’ve also made arrangements to go into my former office for lunch on June 13^th to see the folks there.

Gordon got some things done around the RV that needed doing – the valance on the kitchen window has been lose, we had a bulb out in the light above the sink and the handles on my pots and pans needed to be tightened – just niggly small stuff.

Our beautiful day turned into a heavy rain storm around 4:00 p.m. that lasted for about 10 minutes and brought the temperature down from 29C (85F) to 25C (78F) then the sun came out again and it kept raining. Anyway the sun came back, the rain went away and the temperature went up again to 28C (82F). More strange weather!

Back to Ottawa Again

This morning was sunny and warm, 16C (61F) but there were lots of mosquitoes especially on the river side of Appleton Side Road.

We had a chiropractor’s appointment for this afternoon so we got ready this morning, had an early lunch and went in to Ottawa a bit early as we had to stop for fuel. It cost us $112.52 to fill up today! That’s the most it’s ever cost at 93.5 cents/litre. We have paid 99.9 and 1.07.9 cents/litre but I guess our tank wasn’t as empty. We were early for our chiropractor’s appointment but we usually are. After that we stopped at Walmart to get a few items, Loblaws for water and some cereal that I like and Food Basics for other stuff. Since Hwy 7 is under construction in some parts especially from Stittsville to Ottawa we are taking a different route – Flewellyn Road. We can pick it up at Ashton Side Road which is the next road east of us or we can continue south from Appleton Side Road onto Cemetery Side Road, pick up 9^th Line Road into the little town of Ashton and get Flewellyn from there. It’s a much prettier route especially with the lilacs coming into bloom. They smelled really pretty.

We reached around 27C (80F) today and it was beautiful and sunny with a light breeze. Just a perfect day (except for the mosquitoes)!

Laundry and Relaxing

A lone pink tulip in the garden

Snowballs are coming into bloom

A robin has built a nest on the underside lip of our main slide

The weather is improving! This morning was sunny and 14C (58F). I did my usual walk north on Appleton Side Road to the Appleton turnoff and back. It’s only taking me about 20 minutes to do this now but the black flies were out this morning and kept getting between my eyes and my glasses. Nasty little things!

Just before noon I picked up all the dirty stuff and headed into Carleton Place to do the laundry. I find there are less people at the Laundromat at that time of day.

When I got back, after putting clothes away, I lay down on the couch and read for a while. Unfortunately although the weather is beautiful today, I’d get eaten alive if I tried to sit outside and read. That’s the joys of being in the country in the spring around here! We did reach a high of 21C (69F).

That’s it for today!

Road Trip

View of Mississippi River along Appleton Side Road on my morning walk

Cute little bridge over Paul's Creek west of Lanark

This morning was 12C (54F), sunny and windy. I walked north on Appleton Side Road as far as the turnoff to Appleton again. I did a bit of a jog a couple of times as I’ve heard that bursts of energy are good. It was quite windy walking north. Since I got back early because of the jog, I walked around the park. There weren’t any bugs out due to the wind.

After lunch we headed west and then north and drove around the Lanark area, stopping at Mal’s Camping to see what their campground was like. Still like Tranquil Acres best. After taking a few photos around the Lanark area, we headed south into Perth and had a look around there for a while then home on Hwy 7.

We reached a high of 18C (65F) on our drive and it remained sunny all day although the wind calmed down quite a bit during the day.

Very Strange Weather!

This is a photo Gordon took this morning of a lilac tree in the campground
just coming into bloom

It was cloudy, breezy and 12C (54F) this morning. I walked along the side road and back and met Shonagh (campground owner) on my way back and we stood and chatted for a while till Gordon phoned me thinking that I was being held prisoner by a skunk (as happened last year) when I was out walking with Bib. We just had to wait around until the skunk wandered off into the field. I had a nice chat with Shonagh and told her we’d probably be staying an extra month. Unfortunately the painting classes don’t start here until July so I guess I’ll miss them again this year.

The afternoon turned really windy and cold with rain here and there. There are a few tenters here are the park. Not nice for us but especially not nice for them!

I went out and did some grocery shopping and looked around the little mall in Carleton Place for a while this afternoon. The stores are closed tomorrow for Victoria Day.

The temperature (according to our wireless thermometer) dipped nearly 20 degrees this afternoon in the space of about an hour. I looked at it once, it was 19C (67F), next time I looked at it, it was 9C (48F). Go figure!