Saturday - A Slow Day

Today was a slow day. It started out with me not wanting to get up, I still wanted to sleep but I got up and did my walk and exercises.

From there it was reading, a brief nap and looking at how dirty the RV has gotten. I think it's because the roof is dirty but Gordon isn't up to getting up there and washing it and I'm afraid of heights. I'm wondering if I get up there if I would be okay doing it on my hands and knees with a bucket of water then he can go up and hose it down after I'm done. I'd really like to get it cleaned up and get a shine back on the nose but I don't know at this age if I can overcome it. I'm also not as steady as I used to be and my back is just starting to improve. I'm embarrassed to take it into the dealer on Friday the way it is though.

Last night after dinner since it was a lovely evening we decided to go to the Chapman Mills Conservation Area which is about 3 miles south of us. We've been there before this year but it runs along the river and it's quite pretty. There is a lot of purple strife (photo below) there now. It seems to be taking over. We walked part way along the trail and the boardwalk but didn't go to the end as thunder clouds were appearing. Here are some photos.

Path at the Conservation Area


Swampy area
Woodpecker


Large cloud building

When we got back to the truck there were some pretty clouds. We drove around a bit to try and find a place to take some photos. I took some from the truck but we decided to just come home. It's nice to go out after dinner. You can sure tell the days are getting shorter already though.

This afternoon I got to continue my nap and listen to the rain on the roof. I ate pineapple last night and it didn't agree with my reflux disease so today hasn't been one of my best.

More Errands and A Bug

This morning proceeded as normal. The skies were mostly cloudy for my morning walk. I've been doing back, waist and abs exercises daily as well as my walk/run.

The pharmacist called this morning and said that he can't get the new medication here. The doctor had suggested that we go with the original antifungal called Difluan rather than the generic. It costs twice as much as the generic but since they can't get that large a quantity here we're sticking with the generic so I went and picked that up today and did some other errands which included sending the receipts for the prescription in to the insurance. I have to pay it up front and get reimbursed. They didn't have enough of the prescription so I have to go back on Tuesday to get the rest.

I picked up a few items on my list however I did forget to buy a lottery ticket. I was going to get a 'Cash for Life' ticket. If you win they usually pay you $1000/wk for life however it's doubled right now so it's $2000/wk for life. I can dream can't I? Someone has to win it and it's for sure you won't win if you don't buy a ticket. That would be so great!

I also stopped to see my sister and her husband and pick up the mail. Her holidays are winding down. She goes back to work on Tuesday. It's nice to drop by during the day and she's at home. When I was working she was at home and now we have role reversal. While I was there, my niece, Danica came home so got to see her as well.

I arrived back at the RV park around 4 p.m. having left at around 10:30 a.m.

We were supposed to get rain and thunderstorms today however this afternoon it turned sunny but hot and humid although the thermometer is only registering 26C (79F).

This weekend is a long weekend here in Ontario. It's called a Civic holiday so all the working folks get Monday off. Just another day for us!

I don't have a photo today so I'm posting the Cicada that the campground manager brought to me yesterday to see if I knew what it was. Thanks to Dee of Tumbleweed for identifying it for me. I also put it on Bugguide.net and have had a couple of people identify it there as well.

A reader asked me if we use gas or diesel as he thought the price we paid for it yesterday was too low for diesel and too high for gas. It is diesel and the station, Foster Motors is at Merivale and Cleopatra in Nepean.

End of July Expenses and Our Thursday

July Expenses

Considering we had double insurance payments for both the truck and the RV this month as well as a final bill from our previous insurer, we did very well. The grocery category is too high especially since Gordon is not drinking wine while he's on the medication for Valley Fever so we haven't bought any of that since we've been in Canada. But I did clean out the freezer and start from scratch on buying meat. We also traveled further this month so our fuel bill is quite a bit higher than last month. All in all, not a bad total.

We had an early doctor's appointment for Gordon this morning so I was up early. She's changing his medication again. Then we went to the chiropractor for me. From there we stopped at Remic Rapids on the Ottawa River Parkway and took photos of the rock sculptures. They weren't up the last time we were there. There is a sign that says not to touch them as they are all balanced. Here are some photos.

A closeup of a few of them


Ducks swimming around the rocks


Two other stops on the way home, one to pick up some milk and to fill up the truck (1.32/litre).

I sat outside and had my lunch then noticed our neighbours, John and Jan were outside so I sat and chatted with them for most of the afternoon while Gordon had a nap. He came over and got me when he got up and it was nearly 4 p.m. by then.

Today was fairly nice. We had a lot of cloud and quite a bit of sun with a nice breeze and 27C (80F).

My Wednesday

We had some sun this morning but by just after noon the rain started. Luckily I got all my work accomplished early.

After my walk, exercise and breakfast I changed the bed and got the laundry ready. I got the washers going, then came back and put a pork roast with potatoes and carrots in the crockpot. Then the clothes went in the dryer and I did some exercises for my back and abs. It asn't time for the clothes to be ready so I went back to reading my book outside. There was a breeze blowing but it felt damp. I got the clothes folded and put away, the sheets back on the bed, had lunch and went back to my book which I finished.

Not much was accomplished this afternoon, just reading and surfing!

I didn't take any photos today so I'm featuring one that I took when we were in Tucson this winter, the pathway into the desert.

Last Night and Today

Last night after having breakfast for dinner we decided that since it was such a nice evening we should go out. So we drove to Bate Island on the Ottawa River. There were some beautiful fluffy clouds last night. We took photos along the river and also fed one of the groundhogs some of my leftover bread. Max didn't seem to be around. He's the one I took the movie of a few weeks ago but another one that I've named 'Tubbo' although a bit skittish could be coaxed out of his den for some bread as you see in the photo below. He took the bread very daintily right from my hand.


There was also a goose that was begging but I named him 'Slow and Stupid' as when I'd throw the bread even though it landed right in front of him, the seagulls snapped it up before he could get to it.

A young fellow was playing his guitar sitting by the river.

The rapids

There were a lot of people learning to canoe and also some kayakers. Behind the kayakers is a downtown view of Gatineau, Quebec and Ottawa, Ontario.

Behind the canoeists is the province of Quebec.

Sun behind a cloud


On our way back home we stopped and took some photos in the Central Experimental Farm. The Experimental Farm is in the middle of west end Ottawa of which the Ornamental Gardens and the Arboretum is part. Canada is the only country that has a working farm in the heart of its capital city. It is also a National Historic Site.

Here's a photo of one of the barns in golden light with lots of shadows.

And one of the roads through the Farm.

The bike/walking path runs through the Experimental Farm as well.

Pretty clouds over the Farm

I woke up to a sunny morning, perfect for my morning exercise. I've added some waist exercises to my morning routine. We'll see how that pans out!

After breakfast I called and made a chiropractic appointment. On the way I stopped at Michael's and picked up a couple of beading needles and some red beads. I need to get back at making some bracelets. It's been a while. Then off to the chiropractor. I was going to do some more running around but decided to come home instead so I made it home in time for lunch.

This afternoon I sat outside reading. It was sunny with cloudy periods all afternoon and a temperature of 23C (74F). I got a burst of steam and did the vacuuming, cleaned the bathroom and washed the floors except for the kitchen. That will wait for another day.

Errands and Standing in Line

Today started off as being a nice day but late this afternoon we got some rain. We'd actually gone a couple of days without rain. Amazing!

I've been putting off going out for groceries and doing some errands and today I couldn't put it off any longer so left around 10 a.m. I didn't get back till nearly 2 p.m. and I didn't even stop for lunch!

I stood in line twice at Walmart to get some photos processed. They really need more machines but I'm told they don't have room for any more at that store. There were only two in line this morning but I decided to go to the grocery store to see if they had a line up. Their machine wasn't able to print 4x6 photos today so I continued on with my errands thinking I'd find somewhere else to get it done but everywhere I stopped either had to send out for the photos or didn't have a machine at all. So back to Walmart. Now there were 6 people in line and I think one guy was processing every photo that he's ever taken. I was in line for about 1/2 hour. The lady in front of me had never done it before so I helped her until it was my turn. All that and I only wanted to process two photos! Oh well, I'm retired, I've got nothing else to do, right?

At least I know now that I can upload the photo to Walmart's web site and then just go in and pick it up. Saves all that hassle!

Bruce Pit

It was a beautiful morning with clear blue skies and bright sunshine so I had a nice walk. Mid-morning I decided we needed to go out as it was supposed to turn rainy and stormy this afternoon. We hadn't been to Bruce Pit this year so that's where we went. Bruce Pit is very close to where our house was.

Bruce Pit has lots of trails but is most known as the place to walk your dog. It has areas where dogs can run off leash. Here's a photo of a really big dog that we saw today.

We walked on a trail that I hadn't been on before that goes around the Bruce Pit quarry. Here's the trail when we started out and another part of it farther along.

And here's an artist doing a painting of the trail and the trees.

We saw this beautiful dragonfly. It just kept flitting around and landing on the fence.

This was a pretty area with lots of Queen Anne's lace.

And a forest of sumacs

This pretty little bridge runs over Graham Creek.

Here is two views of Bruce Pit.


And a pretty tiger lily

Other than reading today that was about it. We didn't get any rain this afternoon although we did have some cloud but mostly it was sunny and a bit windy.

Another Relaxing Day!

Photo is of the Rideau River.

Today started off sunny with cloudy periods and when I went out for my walk I felt a few sprinkles of rain even with the sun shining.

Not a whole lot got accomplished again today. I sat outside and read even though we had some light rain. With the awning up I didn't get rained on! Other than getting showers this morning was pretty uneventful.

We had some rain off and on and hear some thunder so generally an 'unsettled' day weatherwise.

I tried to find out how to share my own photo puzzles on jigzone with 'my buddies' and even though I mark them as shared, people still can't find them. Maybe the only way they can see them is on the Buddy Solve Page after I've done one. The only other alternative is to send out the actual link to each photo.

A nap, reading, internet surfing and not much else today!

Spending Time at Home

When I woke up it was cloudy and windy but no rain although it did rain some overnight. So my walk was under mostly cloudy skies. As the day progressed the sun came out but it was still windy. I was determined not to do much today so spent a lot of the day sitting outside in my chair reading. I had picked up some brochures on Social Security and Medicare yesterday so read them to familiarize myself with the U.S. systems.

We also realized yesterday that Gordon's Permanent Resident Card is set to expire in March 2009 which will be before we come back to Canada in the spring so he downloaded the form that he needs to complete. The Permanent Resident Cards have a five year expiry and he needs this to come back into the country or he will have to go to a Canadian Embassy and get some sort of travel document to come back into the country. Presently it's taking 81 days to process a new or replacement card so we're cutting the time rather close if we want to leave at the end of October. Just something else to foil our plans this year!

No photos today so here are more flower photos that I took at the Ornamental Gardens the other day. Other than the lilies, I'm not sure what the flowers are. Kelly, a member of the Bayfield Bunch that we met near Ajo, AZ this winter identified the flower that I posted on Wednesday as Blanket Flower so maybe she can help me out on these too!










Gordon decided to go out this afternoon to find something to photograph but I elected to stay home and veg. Yesterday was enough for me for at least one day. I had planned to go out and get some fruit today but it can wait!

Happy birthday today to my Aunt Ruth and to my sister-in-law, Carol!

Visiting my Aunt, Applying for Social Security, Lots of Rain

I was up early this morning and got things together so we could leave for Ogdensburg, NY fairly early. Gordon had made an appointment last week to go down to file for his Social Security. We pulled out at 9:30 a.m. and arrived there about 10:30 or so. We had a lot of very heavy rain on the way south. It took us a while to find the Social Security office. Miss Pinky didn't do a very good job of getting us there sending us to a building that wasn' t the right one. We finally stopped at Fedex, figuring they should know where everything in the area is and we were right! Once we found the place we drove around Ogdensburg. It's not a nice looking town but it is in a beautiful location right on the St. Lawrence River.

Here's a photo of the bridge that took us from Canada to the USA today from a park in town.

This lighthouse was west of the downtown area.

This photo is looking across the St. Lawrence River to Prescott, Ontario

While we were filling in time we stopped at Walmart (no, I didn't buy anything) and they had parking for the Amish buggies. We saw a lot of them today!


We weren't very hungry so stopped at McDonald's and Gordon had a coffee and I had a lunch wrap then it was off to the Social Security office where we got the paperwork done and found out the details. Sure are glad we got that out of the way. It was much easier going down there than trying to do it by phone.

Since we had a Verizon signal, we updated the roaming on our phones and Gordon called his family to take advantage of the in-calling feature.

It was raining when we started back across the bridge to Canada. You could hardly see!

This is a photo of the water coming off the roof at the Canadian Customs building. It looked like a waterfall!


Once we were through Customs, I called my aunt who lives in Brockville, Ontario which is only about 15 minutes from the bridge. Tomorrow is her 86th birthday and we hadn't seen her since our return to Canada due to Gordon's illness so it was a good time to stop for a visit. When we arrived, her son, Bob was there. I hadn't seen Bob in some years so we were able to do some catching up with him too.

Here's a photo of myself with my aunt. It's always so good to see her!

When we left it was again pouring rain and as we were heading east on Hwy 401 you couldn't see very well at all. It was like rain from a hurricane and coming down so fast the wipers could hardly deal with it. There was a m0torcycle ahead of us with two people on it. I felt really sorry for them. They eventually pulled off under an overpass. It didn't let up very much till we started going north on Hwy 416 towards Ottawa. Then the rain was manageable.

This is the motorcycle ahead of us and a car pulled over on the shoulder.

Here's another photo of the rain.

We arrived home about 5:30 p.m. We don't have any appointments booked for a while now so it will be nice to relax!