Saturday 11 October 2008

A-OK!

We had another beautiful sunny day today and quite warm but I didn't think to look at the temperature so can't tell you what it was but somewhere around 19C (66F).

I didn't do much but read this morning and this afternoon we had to go into Ottawa to our doctor to get Gordon's blood test results. Everything is A-ok and she gave him a clean bill of health.

We had other errands to run including picking up prescriptions for 7 months so almost $1800 later we had all our prescriptions and it was off to Staples to photocopy the receipts and get them sent in to our insurance.

We were home just in time for me to get dinner ready.

I've also found out that my MacBook does have a built in camera but it only works with ichat and also only when we're on someone's wifi as we don't have enough bandwidth with our satellite so now hopefully I can do video on the odd occasion. Dee from Tumbleweed and I are going to try it before we leave this campground as the next couple of weeks we won't have any wifi access at the campgrounds where we'll be.

Today's photo is one Gordon took of one of the beavers that we have here in the Mississippi.

Friday 10 October 2008

Our Thanksgiving Dinner

It was another bright, sunny morning, not as warm as yesterday but at 14C (57F) quite respectable considering some mornings we've had lately. There are still lots and lots of noisy geese around. I wonder what makes them so noisy this time of year. Maybe they're celebrating the corn harvest and the leftovers that they get. I also saw this deer across the water when I was doing my exercises.



This morning I had to finish making Gordon's stuffing to take to my sister's tonight for her Thanksgiving dinner.

While I was taking a nap this afternoon I had the radio on and happened to hear that the Canadian dollar dropped 4 cents today against the U.S. dollar. If the U.S. economy is in such bad shape, I don't understand why the Canadian dollar is dropping against it. The Canadian economy isn't supposed to be in bad shape.....yet. It seems everything is going against us these days. When we first started RVing diesel prices went way up, now investments are tanking and the Canadian dollar is falling which means for every dollar we spend in the U.S. this winter if the dollar stays where it is or heaven forbid falls further we will spend a further 15 cents. This is, however, good for export businesses here in Canada which might make our investments worth something again.... maybe????

I really try not to dwell on it but it's terribly depressing nonetheless.

Flowers I took to my sister's house today.

The Geeks (Gordon and Danica)

We had a lovely turkey Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's tonight. Turkey is one of my favourite foods. I'm glad everyone could be there since we're soon leaving. My older sister, Betty called while we were eating to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving isn't actually until Monday but who says we can't have it early!

We got home late so I'm cutting this blog short tonight.

Thursday 9 October 2008

Mississippi Riverwalk Trail

I couldn't believe the temperature when I woke up this morning 17C (62F)! I guess this is our Indian Summer. I had a nice walk. The geese were out partaking of the leftover corn in the fields after it's been harvested.

Geese in the cornfield
The leaves are falling
Earthworm making his way along the road

My tree is losing its leaves



This morning I cooked and mashed some potatoes in preparation for making stuffing that Gordon can eat for Thanksgiving. Monday is Canada's Thanksgiving Day but we're celebrating it on Friday at my sister's house.

After that I made a couple of necklaces and read for a while.

Since the day was sunny with cloudy periods and we had some interesting clouds we went into Carleton Place to walk on the Mississippi Riverwalk Trail. It was a beautiful afternoon 20C (68F) but windy. The trail runs along the Mississippi River but you can only see the river in spots due to the dense trees and bushes. We walked there last year but this year we walked as far as the trail runs along the river then it takes a right turn away from the river where there was lots of construction going on. Carleton Place is a very happening kind of place, all kinds of homes and businesses are being built.

The trail

Trees along the Mississippi

A black squirrel runs across the trail

Lots of geese in the river

Someone with a sense of humour

Boardwalk through the swampy area

Autumn leaves

More trees along the river
A couple of nice looking folks along the trail


This is an apartment retirement home that's being built along the Mississippi

On our way back we drove onto Glen Isle which is right across the Mississippi from the campground and took a few photos there, then drove through the little town of Appleton on our way back to the campground.

Leaves in the water



When we got back I read some more and had a brief nap.

Tonight is Gray's Anatomy, one of my favourite nights for TV.

Wednesday 8 October 2008

Toes!

It was mostly cloudy today but a bit warmer. We actually got to 17C (63F). I didn't walk this morning as I didn't feel like taking the time to bundle up. I had to get ready and go in to Ottawa. I had made my pedicure appointment for today (thus the name of the blog) and I had other things to get done before I went.

I left the RV just before 11 a.m. and got my errands run arriving at The Spa at about 12:45 p.m. for my 1 p.m. appointment. Here's a photo of The Spa. It's in a really pretty old building that I think was a church at one time.

Here's the front door.


The girl who did my pedicure - pedicurist? was Heidi. She asked me if I had had a pedicure before and I informed her I was a pedicure virgin. It was a great experience and I'd like to thank Nick and Becky again for the gift card. She also cut out my ingrown toenails which was a bonus. The pedicure and foot and leg massage which is part of it took a whole hour and then you sit under the dryer for 1/2 hour till your nails dry. Nice colour, isn't it?



Their parking lot is quite small so I parked about a block away in a shopping mall parking lot and walked over so I also stopped and did some shopping in the mall after my pedicure. Then I was on my way back to Carleton Place!

The end of a great day!

Tuesday 7 October 2008

Lazy and Laundry

It was bright and beautiful today, a perfect Fall day. We reached 14C (58F) but it was cold this morning for my walk. I decided to walk along the main road as it is in sunshine while the side road has a lot of shade. I don't like walking on the main road as the shoulder is narrow and slants toward the ditch so when cars go by there isn't a very good place to walk. That's why I usually walk on the side road.

This morning after breakfast I was trying to get the urge to go and do laundry when Gordon went into the bedroom for a nap. Oh well, no laundry as that's where I usually get the laundry ready and I had to take the things off the bed. So I lay down to read and had a nap too.

Gordon was already up when I woke up so I immediately began getting the laundry ready as the rest of the week is busy except for Thursday and I don't like going to the laundromat on the weekend.

When I got there the Managers were both there doing their yearly maintenance. They take all the washers and dryers apart and clean and oil them, preventative maintenance they call it. I think I've mentioned before that this laundromat is very clean and well run. That is just an example.

After that I stopped at our local Giant Tiger (Canadian department store) which includes clothes, food and miscellaneous other things. I managed to get everything on my list except for water but we still have a couple of jugs so I'll get that another day as I wanted to get home. Doing laundry at a laundromat wears me out for some reason.

I joined a few groups on Facebook today that involve Rving. There are quite a few of them like Fulltime Rving Traveling the USA and Canada, Fulltime Rving, Rving and Camping and I'm sure there are others that I haven't found yet.

I didn't use my camera at all today so I borrowed one of Gordon's geese photos for my blog.

Monday 6 October 2008

Running Around Day

It was cold and windy this morning feeling much colder than the 3C (38F) registering on the thermometer. It was also cloudy when I went for my walk which didn't help. I was up earlier than usual as we had to go into Ottawa today.

As soon as I walked out the door this morning I saw this beautiful leaf on the ground.



Gordon had more bloodwork to be done and a prescription picked up, I needed groceries, a new watch battery and some stuff at GNC and I also wanted to vote. Election Day is actually October 14th but that's the day we're scheduled to leave here (although I think we'll be staying a few extra days) so I went to the advanced polls. There were lots of people there voting today. I was in line for about 10 minutes to get my ballot. So, I've done my civic duty.

Between getting the bloodwork done and picking up the prescription, we stopped at Andrew Haydon Park and took a few photos and walked around a bit. It was really chilly by the water! I see on Wikipedia, it's known as the 'geese park'. As you can see below, it's very true!



Pathways



The falls and the leaves in the water near the falls.




I went to three stores to get 1% lactose free milk. The first store still had lots of 2% and skim but no 1%. Most stores up here don't even carry 1%. I can't drink the 2% and I hate blue milk so I don't use skim. Finally I got it at the 3rd store.

Then Gordon wanted to stop at the camera store to see if they had a lens that he's interested in, they didn't so we headed back to the RV park.

I was pooped so I lay down to read and had a short nap.

The day did turn sunny but it was windy and even though we reached 13C (55F), it didn't really feel like it except when you were in the sun and out of the wind.

Sunday 5 October 2008

Planning

Today was another quiet day in Tranquil Acres land. I did my usual morning routine. It was cloudy and pretty cold at 3C (38F) just after 8 a.m. We eventually got to around 13C (56F) with it alternating between sun and cloud for the day.

I read, made 2 necklaces (photos below) and we talked with Dave about becoming seasonal here at the park. Seasonal is 76 days. There is a rate for that then if you stay longer than 76 days you pay $12/day. We're still thinking about it as we're not sure what we'll do next summer. If Gordon is feeling well enough we may go west to Lake Superior. He's been wanting to go there to take photos since our trek west in 2005. We really hate making plans written in stone as this lifestyle allows us to be flexible so we like to keep that option, however this park is limiting it's transients and heading more towards seasonal so if we want to stay here, that may be the only option.


We were also looking at parks to stay at in the Rockport area as well as our route to take as we head south from Ohio. Right now it looks like we will take I-71 to I-65 to I-20 to I-12 to I-10 where we plan to stay around Lake Martin, LA (Breaux Bridge area) for a while. From there we're only a couple of days to Rockport so we're talking about staying at League City, TX again on the way to Rockport for a day or so and maybe seeing if we can get over to Galveston if they're allowing people on the island at that time. The drive from Breaux Bridge, LA to Rockport, TX is over 400 miles. We could do that in a day but I'd rather we didn't. We'll see when the time comes.

Photos from around the park




Other than that, the day passed quickly. With the shorter days, it seems the days go fast. Not looking forward to the time change!