Saturday March 6, 2010-House Shopping

After thinking long and hard we've decided to stop fulltiming. The Immigration issue has a lot to do with it but while we don't have any critical health issues at this point we just feel the time is right to quit. We've really enjoyed our five years on the road and it's going to be hard to give up traveling and selling our 5er but we're hoping to still do a bit of traveling now and then. Thanks for all the Facebook comments.

We saw a really nice little house (and I do mean little) in a town about an hour southwest of Ottawa that would suit us nicely.

We had driven by this house early last month and made arrangements to go and see it today.

Here's a photo of the front of the house

We toured three other houses but this one was the one we liked, of course, the most expensive one. We have a 'view' of the river from it.

We had a look around town, checked out the supermarket that I hadn't been in before, looked at a couple of bulk stores that have some gluten free foods and that was about it.

We've decided to go back and see it again on Monday if the realtor can arrange it.

Nancy's house is conditionally sold. She looked at another one today and plans to put in an offer so we're all getting ready for new to us homes.

We've enjoyed meeting everyone on the road but now if you want to see us, Smiths Falls it is! There's a little RV park right in town on the Rideau canal.

Friday March 5, 2010-More Showings & An Offer

It was another bright, sunny day. We certainly can't complain about the weather. It's been above freezing every day. I had another nice walk and saw another bird that I think might have been a female cardinal but it was in shadow. I also heard lots of sounds that might have been another woodpecker but didn't see it.

We lounged around all day again. There were two showings tonight, one a second showing and Nancy had an offer that she plans to counter on. So things are progressing!

Thursday March 4, 2010-Lots of Showings, Where's the Sales?

I had a nice morning walk, saw a cardinal and a downy woodpecker. It was bright and sunny and a bit chilly but warmed up nicely to about 6C (43F).

Unfortunately this is the only photo I got of the woodpecker.

The snow is going away quickly


We didn't do much all day as we had a showing at 4:30 p.m. so had to make arrangements with the dog walker to come at a different time. I've asked Nancy's realtor not to book us between 5 and 6 so we don't have to juggle the dog walker any more. We had two more showings between 6 and 7. Hopefully something will come out of all these very soon.

While the showings were going on, Nancy took us out for dinner at Swiss Chalet. It was a nice way to spend the hour.

I took these photos yesterday when we drove out to see the RV.

Really pretty old log barns with the horses in front.

Another interesting old barn


And the two horses - pale horse and dark horse

Wednesday March 3, 2010-More Showings

Today's post will be a short one. We went to the RV this morning to exchange two winter coats for a spring coat and a raincoat.

Tonight we had four showings so it's been a long night!

Tuesday March 2, 2010-Morning Walk

It was bright and sunny this morning and therefore a bit colder at -2C (28F). I waited till after breakfast to go for my walk as yesterday I had seen a cardinal but didn't have my camera. It was also cloudy yesterday. So today I took my camera and saw the cardinal again. It's been ages since I've seen one. He was singing away. They have such a cheery song.


I took the path that runs through Dog Bone Park this morning.


The road to the right is wrong (it doesn't take me home). The one to the left is right (it does take me home). (From a song by Conway Twitty.)

I didn't do anything but read and watch TV for the rest of the day. We don't have any showings today. A night off! Yay!

Monday March 1, 2010-More Showings/A Cancelled Sale

Well, yesterday was fast and furious for the house sale. Nancy got an offer around 8 p.m. and the negotiating started. However, today the people that were buying backed out just as they had reached a deal. Apparently the male counterpart was having commitment issues. Whether the issues were house related or partner related we'll never know. So we had two more showings tonight. Pray for a fast sale!

Other than that it was a quiet day. I went for my walk as the sidewalks were dry.

This is the meandering Jock River.

We had a bit of a sunset tonight.

Sunday February 28, 2010-Showings & Canada Wins Hockey Gold!

Where has February gone? It's already heading into March. Spring is coming and the last few days it's certainly felt like it here. We shouldn't get too excited though. March can be a snowy month!

Well, the For Sale sign is up. The realtor put Nancy's house up yesterday but right now only realtors can see it. It won't go live till sometime tomorrow however three showings were booked for today - 10:30 a.m.; 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. (the 4:30 p.m. canceled because of the hockey game). Then we got a call saying that the people that were here this morning wanted to come back at 7:30 p.m. So we went out to Wendy's for dinner.

Showings means we have to leave. So this morning we went for a drive.

More barns


I loved the gingerbread on this house in the town of Manotick.


When we got back the realtor that was showing the house had locked the garage door so we couldn't get in. I called Nancy's realtor to see if he could give us the combination to the lock box but it's not that easy any more. It's unlocked with some radio controlled waves or something as well as a key. Nancy arrived and she didn't have a key either so her realtor had to come over and let us in. He went out and made more keys so now we have a key to the front door so we can't get locked out.

We were already scheduled to meet my sister and her husband at Jack Pine Trail for 1 p.m. Our niece came along too. We still didn't see any deer but we did see a pileated woodpecker.

The pileated woodpecker
And of course, the cute little red squirrel


And this old tree full of holes

A smorgasborg for the birds



We watched then end of the hockey game. Yay Canada! Way to go!!

Saturday February 27, 2010-Canada has 12 Gold!

I don't usually watch much of the Olympics but Canada has had such a great showing this year that I've watched a bit of it. The athletes are certainly making our country proud!

An athlete, I'm not but I did start out on my walk this morning only to get wet feet again. I need to go in search of waterproof sneakers, I guess. I'll need them for springtime here.

This morning we went out for coffee at Tim Horton's. I managed to drink one without any side effects. I guess the secret is to have Rolaids handy.

When we left we headed west out of Kanata and found ourselves near where Nancy's new house will be (hopefully) so we did a drive by. It's in a beautiful area and looks like a nice house too. It's just across the road from the river.

It was raining when we were out so didn't get many photos. It was a wet, sloppy day.

Friday February 26, 2010-Spring!

We had quite a bit of snow and wind last night. The TV satellite crapped out about 7:45 p.m. so I didn't get to watch Gray's Anatomy or Private Practice. Guess I'll have to look into watching it online.

It was so wet yesterday for walking that I didn't think today would be any better, so I didn't. Instead I went out for groceries and walked around a lot of stores. It's not the same!

Gordon has done a gallery of barns, for those that are interested, click here.

We had a lot of sun this afternoon and the temperature went to 6C (43F). When I was coming home from shopping this afternoon it felt like spring!

Gordon said that when he looked at the weather site this morning we were actually warmer here than Tampa, FL. That's amazing! However, we didn't warm up quite as much as they did.

Nancy is officially under contract for her house so wish her luck that she sells in four weeks. For anyone interested, here are photos that Gordon took of the house.

Thursday February 25, 2010-Snow!

We had quite a bit of wet, misty snow today but it was melting when it hit the road. We did get some accumulation in the yard. I tried to go for a walk but the water was seeping through my sneakers so gave up on that. The temperature was freezing or above all day.

I was watching the antics of the squirrels in the backyard this morning. They're quite entertaining to watch.

Here he is trying to get on the bird feeder and the suet feeder. They're taken through the glass patio door so are a little blurry.







I spent most of the day watching TV. That something I don't normally do during the day when I'm in the RV. I seem to have other things to occupy me.

I made a pan of stew last night so we had that with freshly baked cornbread for dinner. That's something else I'm running low on - cornbread mix. There's only one kind that I've found that doesn't have flour in it and you can't get it everywhere but you definitely can't get it in Ontario!

Wednesday February 24, 2010-More Truck Repairs

Gordon took the truck in to the dealer again today. This is getting to be a habit! He noticed some oil leaking from the rear and thought it was a seal. It was and they fixed that and changed the rear synthetic oil at the same time. It's been a long time since it was done and needed to be done anyway so that's one less thing to do when we get back in the RV.

Margaret, the housecleaner came before he got back so once Gordon arrived back at the house we headed out. We took the back roads toward Almonte again. It was snowing and a bit on the slippery side but it was pretty!




We decided we were hungry so we found a restaurant in Almonte, the Superior Restaurant, that has all day breakfast. It was really good and except for the coffee I had it seems to agree with both of our finicky digestive systems.


We arrived home early in the afternoon and just hung out for the rest of the day.

Nancy got news back on the house she put the bid in on, they've accepted her bid but instead of giving her the six weeks she requested to sell her house, they've given her four weeks! I imagine it will sell without a problem.

It's still snowing but either melting or turning slushy as it hits the ground as it's about 1C (34F).

Tuesday February 23, 2010-Doctor's Appointment for a Mole

Today was another uneventful day but we did have some snow. I had my breakfast again before going for my walk and it was snowing quite heavily when I went out but it was warm hovering around freezing.

This afternoon I went to see my doctor as Gordon said I had a mole on my back that looked strange. She looked at it and called it a 'wisdom mole'. They are apparently always benign and are seen in older people.....hmmmm....so she burned it off. She was quite surprised to see me not having heard the 'Day from Hell' story. I spared her the details but told her we'd been here all winter.

That is about it for today!

Monday February 22, 2010-Truck Fixed/House Showing

Thank goodness Gordon has felt a little better the last couple of days so he was able to go and deal with the truck problem with Capital Dodge. We would rather deal with the Dodge dealer in Smiths Falls but it's just too far away when it's an emergency type problem. Nothing like this has ever happened with the Smiths Falls dealer so we're not very happy with Capital Dodge right now. Let's hope that the fix is done and we won't have any more repercussions.

I didn't walk first thing this morning the way I usually do. Instead I waited for Gordon to come back and took off then. It was nice walking later as most of the people are off the street at that time. When I walk the sidewalks are full of kids walking to school or waiting for buses and adults also waiting for buses, more cars on their way to work etc. I should think about walking later.....

I got an email from Nancy early this afternoon saying it looks like her house will be going on the market so I started to clean up the storage area where most of our boxes from the RV are located. She came home from work early so we got a lot of clean up done, not that it was dirty by any means. So now it's ready except for last minute stuff when there's a showing. Most of you have been through that!

Sunday February 21, 2010-Truck Towed to the Dealer

The wind was cold this morning but it didn't stop me! Out I went. Actually it's been much colder when I've gone out so today wasn't that bad.

I got a call this morning from my cousin who sold his house this summer and he and his wife left for Arizona with their motorhome. They also own a house in Sun City, AZ. He wanted to hear the details on my Immigration problem as they had had a problem crossing the border as well but they did get through after about an hour of talking to an Immigration Supervisor. We had a nice chat.

I read most of the day. I'm now reading a Harlen Coben book called 'Back Spin'. I really like his books.

The tow truck came this morning and took the truck to the Dodge dealer that replaced the water pump. Nancy drove Gordon over so he could drop off the keys, then brought him home again. She has offered to drop him off at the dealer in the morning as well but it will be early!

This afternoon Gordon wanted to go for a walk and see some of the paths I have discovered so we had a nice 45 minute walk. I really should do this twice a day.

The path between the houses. This is also called Dog Bone Park.

Bridge over the Upper Carp River

The Upper Carp River flows through the residential areas of Kanata. It's not a very big river!

Saturday February 20, 2010-More Truck Problems

I had another nice walk this morning. It was -1C (30F) so it was quite enjoyable.

Gordon had to move the truck this morning so Nancy could get out of the garage and he found a shredded belt under the truck. It appears that it must be as a result of something done improperly when they installed the water pump last week as the week before the belts had all been checked at the dealer in Smiths Falls and they were fine so we can't drive the truck and will have to have it towed to the dealer tomorrow so it's ready for the appointment Gordon made for it on Monday at 9 a.m. Always something!

While Nancy was out she put a bid on a house so we'll see what happens.

We just hung out around the house today. Gordon hasn't been feeling well so he spent a lot of the day resting and I read and watched some TV.

I made some chicken breasts with taco crumbs. (I'm running out of them and need to get back to the U.S. to get more!) I can get gluten free bread crumbs up here but they are expensive and not very good!

Friday February 19, 2010-Winterlude Again

Other than my usual morning walk, going out for groceries and a nap this afternoon, the daytime here was quiet.

Tonight after dinner we decided to head over to Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau, Quebec to see the snow sculptures. So we bundled up and headed out. It was 0C (32F) so it wasn't too bad out but I forgot my ice grippers and Gordon wore his running shoes so it was slippery but we arrived home all in one piece.

Here are some photos I took tonight.

Lots of things geared for kids.

Writing in the snow

Gordon and I sitting on the big chair

View of Ottawa from Quebec

Beavertail stand and no I didn't have one

Ice sculpture

Thursday February 18, 2010-Eye measurement

When I brought the paper in after my walk this morning, this was one of the headings on the front page, click here.

I had a nice long walk this morning. I'm discovering more nearby paths that go through greenbelt areas within the city and I enjoy walking there rather than on the sidewalks. It was -4C (25F) with a windchill of -10C (14F) with wind coming from the west. We've had a lot of west wind rather than north this winter it seems. Must be El Nino! Although the forecast for today was cloud and snow flurries, this afternoon was bright and sunny with blue skies! From the radar, it looks like our 'weather' went south of the border. Good news for us! We actually reached 0C (32F) today with a bit of a wind.

Today was my appointment to have the tech measure my eyes to make my implants. There are three different machines they use, one of them is a laser measurement which costs me $180.00. For that one they have to freeze your eyes with drops. Well, my eyes move even when they're frozen but eventually she got the reading she needed. Then I wait to see the doctor and he does another check of my eyes, explains to me that I can get some vision improvement (he said 1%) with lenses that cost $300/eye rather than the ones covered by our provincial health care. I tell him I'll think about the lenses. My extended health care with Nortel does not cover any part of the interocular lens.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has chosen the upgraded lenses and also those who haven't to see if they're happy with what they chose.

For anyone interested, here's the website. They have an interesting video about the lenses.

Wednesday February 17, 2010-Walk in the Woods

We decided to go out this morning again and let the housecleaner do her thing. The first thing we did was do a drive by on a house that Nancy is interested in. It's not too attractive looking, no curb appeal but Nancy would have that fixed up pretty quickly.

From there we stopped again at Jack Pine Trail hoping to see deer. Nada! I even took apples for them! But there were lots of chickadees that were partaking of seeds that I held out for them. I didn't take any photos of them this time.

We were having a light snow when we were in the woods this morning.

The snow was landing on the evergreens and sticking to them.


There was a woodpecker, a hairy, I think, on a bare tree. It was pretty dark but even with lightening the photo it's still dark.


This afternoon, I coloured my hair and watched TV. How exciting!

Tuesday February 16, 2010-Shrove Tuesday

I follow my Immigration lawyer on Twitter. He brings a lot of these little gems to my attention. - Immigration cases flooding U.S. courts. Will this help me or hurt me? I think it could go either way. Because I'm not in the U.S. this probably won't go to court quickly. But because it's a minor issue of failure to notify me properly of the deportation hearing, it could just be dismissed without going into a courtroom. Who knows?

Now this is something every photographer should have, to read about it, click here.

You get a lot of information on Twitter both useless and useful!

Gordon took this photo of me last week. I'm taking a photo of the bird on my glove. Boy, do I ever look like my mother!

I did get another letter from the lawyer today enclosing a copy of a letter that he received from Homeland Security. The gist of it is that they are copying the file. They handle requests on a first come first served basis so who knows how long that will take!

Vera wanted to know what my abstract photo was that I posted on Sunday's blog. Actually it's just a big piece of ice sitting in the water.

I've also had a couple of requests for Gordon's mother's butterscotch pie recipe. Since it's a family recipe, I won't publish it on my blog but I would consider giving it to people individually if they give me their email address. You can send me an email from my profile page or contact me on Facebook.

I went out grocery shopping today. While out, I bought a gluten-free pancake mix but instead when I got home decided to use the El Peto gluten-free waffles I purchased the other day. They were excellent! They tasted just like regular waffles. We were very happy with them. I had some strawberries with them and some bacon. Not a diet dinner for sure!

Monday February 15, 2010-Family Day

I received a comment from Diane on yesterday's post. Thanks Diane and to many others that have commented on how stupid this whole immigration problem has been. Hopefully it will get resolved on a positive note and SOON. I can't tell you how tired I am of being left up in the air not knowing what we'll be able to do for next winter.

Today is Family Day for most of Canada. This is the second year that Family Day has been celebrated here. The powers that be seemed to think we needed a day off in the dead of winter. However, although it is basically a Federal holiday, the Feds don't get the day off while the provincial government does. Also there are no grocery, wine, beer, libraries, malls etc open. It is a day to be spent with your family going to Winterlude! We, however, have elected to stay at home. Gordon spent most of the day backing up photos and I finished my book 'Death in Kenya'.

It was quite mild today with a high of -2C (28F), a nice winter day!