Saturday & Sunday July 31 & August 1, 2010

Saturday

This morning was much cooler when I woke up 10C (50F) but it was lovely and sunny.

After breakfast we washed and waxed the car. I'm glad it's a small car! That was a lot of work for us. I expect we'll be sore tomorrow.

When we finished Gordon went to see the Railway Museum here in Smiths Falls. He's been wanting to go for some time and I had no desire to see it.

When he got back I headed out to get some groceries and other things. It's so much fun to drive the car! After over six years of driving the truck, it's a real treat to have a small car again. I also like the fact that it has a trunk area so groceries don't fall all over the place like in the truck when they're in the back seat. I'm very happy to have a little car again! It's so much fun to drive!

Sunday

Another bright sunny day for my walk. I walked to the industrial area this morning as there wasn't much traffic and there are no sidewalks. Too bad the Hershey plant moved out before we came to Smiths Falls. It's in walking distance! That would have been a very bad thing!

I thought I would be sore today but I was fine. I guess my muscles aren't as out of use as I thought.

After breakfast I got another loaf of bread in the breadmaker and also made some gluten-free cookies from a Judy's mix that I picked up at the health food store in town yesterday. I need to bring my own snack to the hospital for my cataract surgery on Wednesday since they don't have any gluten free goodies. I put some white chocolate chips and walnuts in them to make them special!

Our truck has all the bells and whistles being a top of the line Dodge Ram Laramie. Although our little Kia is also a top of the line vehicle it doesn't have an inside/outside thermometer, a compass, or all the calculations that the truck had - how many miles you could go to next fillup etc. so we went out today and picked up a thermometer and a compass. We also need to get a new disc to hold Miss Pinky. Apparently they have them at The Source (Radio Shack) but they weren't open today nor will they be open tomorrow because of the Civic Holiday up here.

That accomplished, we went for a little drive around some country roads.

Part of the Cataraqui Trail


A dead tree with a pretty sky background

Country road


Gordon wanted to fill the car up on our return so he did that and put 17.1 litres into it (compared to over 100 litres in the truck usually). The car tank was only half empty though.

I also have a line on a freezer for sale right here in Smiths Falls! I'd like to get that before Wednesday as I won't be able to lift anything over 40 lb. for about 6 weeks or more.

Thursday & Friday July 29 & 30, 2010

Thursday

The humidity is gone and our high today was 24C (75F)! Just a gorgeous sunny day. I did go on my morning walk and it was very enjoyable.

Today we went to Tranquil Acres to move the Titanium for the last time. The people that purchased it from us wanted a site by the river and the site opened up this week. We had agreed to keep the truck long enough to do the move. Now we can prep it for sale.

We spent a few minutes with Dave and Shonagh before we left to go to Ottawa. We had stopped at the Home Depot in Carleton Place to see if we could get our small sink for the bathroom but the sink is discontinued and they didn't have any. So off to Ottawa and we got the last one they had! Back at Carleton Place Home Depot we bought a French door for the office since it's a shorter distance home from there.

We have enough projects to see us through the winter!

Gordon found a better photo of the Kia Rio 5 EX Sport so I changed the photo on yesterday's blog.

Friday

Another bright sunshiny day but way cooler than it has been. I even wore a jacket for my walk as it was only 16C (62F).

Today's highlight was picking up our new car. We had gone to get the insurance this morning so that was all finished and we had gone to the dealer this morning and signed all the paperwork. The car was finally ready around 3:30 p.m. so away we went to pick it up. Our salesman went through the usual 'getting to know your car'. The only new things were blue tooth and a sun roof. We've never had a sun roof before. We got our cell phones hooked up to bluetooth and now have to figure out how to use it.

I got to drive it away from the dealership. I had to go to the library so went there before going home. Gordon took a photo of me with it when I arrived home. Then off for a short drive before dinner. I think another drive tonight might be happening.

Now we have to name it, any suggestions?

Wednesday July 28, 2010 - A New Car!

First of all, Happy Anniversary to Nick & Becky - four years already! Congratulations, guys!

The second exciting thing for today is that we bought a new car! It's coming close to the time when we're going to be selling the truck so to be sure that we would have a vehicle we decided to buy the car now. We first went to the Ford dealer as we hadn't looked at Fords yet. All they have is the Fiesta and they don't have any. It's also the first year for them so we weren't interested.

Across the street to the Kia dealer we went. Way back in early spring we looked at the Kia in Ottawa but we were nowhere near ready to buy then. Today was the test drive. We liked it, they were able to find us a silver Rio 5 EX Sport and we should have it by Friday.



In the meantime here's a photo off the internet. It's not a very good photo but I'll have one for you probably Friday. It's small and I can rod around again. The truck was something to do a job but I never enjoyed driving it.



When we got back this afternoon, I started painting doors. I do really hate painting but George wasn't doing a very good job. I figured I couldn't do any worse. He was painting right over the fuschia with the red. It didn't make for a very nice colour on the back door so when I moved to paint the front door I went out and got a grey primer. I'm just about to put the red over it. We'll see if that turns out nicer.

Monday & Tuesday July 26 & 27, 2010

Monday

What an absolutely beautiful day, bright, sunny, no humidity and about 28C (83F). George arrived this morning and put the back door back on. I'm not happy with the paint job at all. When he started to put the hardware back on he couldn't get the dead bolt installed so he went out to buy a new one. While he was gone, Gordon put it in. George is a very nice man but he's definitely getting too old to do some of these things. I think I'll be putting a coat of paint on the back door and do the front door. I think I can do a better job with a small roller and taping off the hardware.

George left early so we got ready and headed out for a drive. We were gone over six hours, driving back roads southwest of here. We ended up at Chaffey's Locks at the Opinicon Resort where we had dinner. We had an omelet and they were huge. Gordon thought it was great but my opinion was it was okay especially for the price charged.

Here is a blockhouse that was built along the canal. It is one of four that were built. To read about it, click here and here. It is not a house that people live in but was built to protect the canal from American attack. Remember this was 1833. This one is located at Newboro Lock southwest of us.

I thought these lawn chairs were quite pretty and colourful sitting on someone's dock.


This photo reminded me of Lake Martin, LA with all the green algae on the water.

A view at Frontenac Provincial Park
'Opinicon Resort - beautiful old building built in the 1800s.

The grounds are beautiful too with lots of trees.


We had a good time though and took lots of photos.

Tuesday

Today was more humid so it felt hotter but it wasn't too bad when I went out for my walk. At least there was a breeze then. Later in the day it disappeared.

I got ready to leave early today as the guy putting tar on the roof was supposed to be here first thing this morning. So I was gone by about 9:30 or so. I was looking for a plant pot for my front step. Didn't find what I wanted. I looked through about thirty wallpaper books and picked out some likely contenders for redoing the bathroom. I think I can handle wallpapering that small space. I made a few other stops and got home around 12:30. Hmmm...no tar smell. George didn't show up!

Gordon's photo was ready at the framers so we went over there and picked it up after lunch. It's one that we're keeping so it's hung over his chair in the living room.

When we got back I put another load of bread in the breadmaker. We're going through a lot of bread. The loaves are small so if we're both eating it it's gone in 2-3 days.

This afternoon I went out to the garage to get the trash ready for tomorrow's pickup. What a mess I found! This guy opened cans of paint and left them open with the paintbrushes in them. He had white paint spilled all inside my blue box, white paint on the rug that's just inside the garage door and just a general mess. Maybe that's why he didn't show up today! I think I managed to save the red paint, I put some plastic over it as who knows where the top is and since it's so hot the black paint didn't dry up either so I used it and the brush that was in it to paint some of the cupboard doors in the garage. Now, of course, I need more to finish it!

Methinks we'll have to find someone else to finish up the jobs we have. At least the deck looks good but he did get stain splatters on the white siding of the house from staining the deck. They aren't noticeable till you're up close but I doubt if there's anything that will take stain off siding. If there is, please let me know. He also got black paint all over the cement in front of the garage door. I tried TSP but that didn't work, any ideas for that?

Saturday & Sunday July 24 & 25, 2010

Saturday

The air was still this morning and it felt hot and humid so I stayed inside. No sense it getting overheated before the real heat sets in!

We discovered yesterday that we have a very ugly problem in the house. Without going into gory details, it is plumbing related and it is very, very yucky! We had called the plumber that did some work for us when we first moved in but he said he was unable to do it and gave us the name of someone else. He came this morning and was able to get the problem solved for a very reasonable price. We also found out that not only is he a licensed plumber, but also an electrician and gas fitter. A well rounded person to know!

Needless to say, we were not very happy with this problem but I guess you have to expect it in such an old house. We were just happy that the problem wasn't further out in the yard or on the street!

Sunday

It was cooler with a breeze this morning and also cloudy so it was a nice morning to walk. When I was cleaning out the basement I found more CDs so I had put them on my ipod so I had some new tunes to listen to!

While doing laundry today, I filled the big plastic bin that I purchased when I was out a couple of days ago so I now have all my linens and some winter clothes packed in it.

Today is my sister-in-law's birthday - Happy Birthday Carol!

The afternoon was beautiful today, no humidity and 24C (75F). We had some aging bananas so I decided to make banana bread. I got out all the ingredients and realized that I didn't have any baking powder so had to go out and buy some. While out we noticed there was a car show at Lower Reach Park so Gordon dropped me back at the house and I got my banana bread made. He headed out for the car show. Shortly after arriving he called and told me that I should be there as it was a good show in a scenic setting so after the banana bread was out of the oven we went over.

It was indeed a good car show set along the banks of the canal and a perfect day for it.

On our way to the car show we had to stop for the swing bridge to let the boats through the lock.


We parked near the locks and walked along the path to the car show.


The Car Show

A candy apple red Corvette

A row of cars

Really nice Studebaker!

An old Woody

Mustang Cobra with a tricked out paint job

1952 Chevy - we had one of these on the farm but it was blue

Loved this car! It looked like it should have machine guns sticking out of the windows - very low to the ground & a beautiful paint job - it looked purple or gold depending on the light

This truck was painted with Aultsville, Ontario on it - Aultsville is one of the lost villages now underwater since the Seaway went through in 1958

Beautiful setting for this car

Green on green

This vehicle had a sign that said "My 1946 PT Cruiser"

This Caddy had quite a paint job - Spiderman all over it

This paint job is flat black

And my car peels away!

It was a much better car show than the one we went to in Lombardy shortly after we moved here and it was free! We had a good time!

The banana bread turned out great as well. There's a couple of pieces missing as you can see.


George, the handyman/contractor showed up this afternoon and painted the back door.