Chapman Mills Conservation Area

Rideau River from Chapman Mills Conservation Area

Pathway running through the Chapman Mills Conservation Area

Boardwalk running through Chapman Mills Conservation Area

Downy Woodpecker (cropped photo)

I stayed up till midnight last night to watch the season finale of Lost so I was still tired this morning. After walks and breakfast, I went outside to read but it was too hot in the sun and very little shade on our site so I came in and fell asleep.

When I woke up, Gordon wanted to go south on Prince of Wales (Hwy 16) to the Chapman Mills Conservation Area where he had gone yesterday so Bib and I went with him. Photos today were taken there. It's located on the west bank of the Rideau River just south of Black Rapids and off Winding Way. We walked for about an hour and then came home. It's a nice walking area. There is a pathway but most of it is boardwalk.

I sat outside when we came back for quite a while and read my book.

Our neighbours were at a rally at Stratford, Ontario this weekend and on their way back stopped at Lindsay and got their satellite dish from 3i Communications so we made a quick $100 for the referral!

It’s TV and internet tonight!

A Beautiful Day!

Wow! What a change in the weather from the last week. Today was sunny and warm and reached 25C (78F)!

We left the RV at about 6:50 a.m. to go to the lab for Gordon’s bloodwork and then went to Zellers at Bayshore for breakfast. Gordon was going to visit his friend, Leroy so I stayed and looked around at Bayshore and he picked me up around noon.

Neither of us slept very well last night so this afternoon, I sat outside in my lawnchair with Bib for a while and read, then came in and read some more. I thought I would take a nap but that didn’t happen. Gordon went out in search of photos but I didn’t feel like going out again. Consequently, I have no photos for today.

Busy Day!

Flags in front of the War Museum

Downtown Ottawa from the War Museum

Canadian War Museum

Today was fairly busy. I got ready early and headed out and got groceries and some photocopying that needed to be done before I went for my mammogram. OUCH!

When I came out of the grocery store, a familiar car drove by so I ran over and just caught our lawyer, Liz getting out of the car to go into her office. Liz bought our Saturn nearly two years ago when we started our odyssey. It was great to see her again!

I got home around 12:30 p.m. and had lunch in time for Gordon to go for his appointment with the ENT doctor. He has something on the inside of his lip that hasn’t gone away so our GP wasn’t sure what it was and made the appointment for him to see the ENT. He has another appointment in June to go to the Ottawa General to have it cut out. It’s nothing to worry about, no malignancies or anything, just annoying.

After that we picked Bib up and drove down the Driveway to downtown and took the Ottawa River Parkway west. We stopped at the Canadian War Museum and took a few photos. Looks a bit like a bunker. We continued west on the Ottawa River Parkway but it was really backed up at Parkdale so we took Parkdale south and got back about 4:15 p.m.

Just TV and internet tonight!

Last Day of a Long Weekend

I woke up to bright sunshine this morning. Haven’t seen that in a while.

Got the laundry done this morning. Early this afternoon my sister, Margie called. She saw a dress for Nick and Becky’s wedding and wanted me to go and look at it with her. She wound up buying it.

Got home around 3:30 p.m. or so and read for a while.

It’s very cold today for the time of year but at least it didn’t rain much.

Still no photos.

Sick to Death of Rain!!!!!

I woke up to, guess what – rain! Can you tell I’m getting very sick of it? After taking Bib out, I had thought about doing my walk in the rain but then it started to come down more heavily and I changed my mind. So back inside for breakfast and by the time showers and such were overwith and some reading it was nearly noon.

The sun came out for a bit so I did manage to get my walk done but since I hadn’t gone yesterday because of the rain, I’m still a day behind there.

I decided to go out and pick up a few groceries since tomorrow is a holiday. Our holiday weekend here in Ontario is Victoria Day in honour of Queen Victoria. Too bad it’s such nasty weather! I seem to recall last year was much the same on this weekend.

Bib was getting bored being inside so he and I got in the truck and headed out to do some shopping. I went to Merivale Mall with the intention of getting most things at Farm Boy. I met my brother-in-law, John in the mall and he said there was quit a bit of mail waiting for me at the house and that Danica was there so I could drop by. When I got to Farm Boy, I met he and my sister and we chatted for a short time. Next to the Zellers mall to pick up some things and then on to my sister’s house to pick up the mail.

Danica was there and I got some info on how she enjoyed musicfest. One of my friends, Laura asked me if she played jazz trumpet and she does but thinks she’s more suited to concert band. She said she had a great time and loved it but there was evidence of her getting homework done. With going to New York for a few days and being at musicfest all week, she now has to get back to the grind. High school will soon be over and she graduates on June 28th, then on to the University of Ottawa in September!

I didn’t get to see Nick, he was sleeping. He’s been working and it’s a bit of a grind for him having to get all the way to the southeast end of the city at all sorts of hours.

Can you tell I’ve been reading Rosamund Pilcher again? I seem to be adopting some of the British way of writing.

After that, I stopped at Your Independent as I had forgotten to get bananas and I needed to pick up something else I hadn’t found, that done, I headed home.

More reading, naps and getting ready for Desperate Housewives grand finale tonight!

Again, no photos. Just isn’t the weather for it!

Rainy and Cold!

Another nasty day, rain and cold for most of the day. It stopped late in the day but was too late to do much at that point.

My back was really bothering me today and Gordon managed to put his out getting his tool chest out of the storage compartment to fix the kitchen drawer that broke last night so neither of us was in very good shape today.

I took ½ a muscle relaxant this morning so my day was spent reading and napping on and off. I didn’t even get to take my walk this morning due to the rain and cold. Not very nice for a long weekend and the last weekend of the Tulip Festival!

No photos taken today.

Thursday Update and Friday Review

Trees Reflection-Andrew Hayden Park, Ottawa

Mist over Ottawa River - taken from Andrew Hayden Park, Ottawa

Goose and goslings taken at Andrew Hayden Park, Ottawa

Andrew Hayden Park scene, Ottawa

Our annual physicals yesterday turned out well. My doctor says that retirement is agreeing with me. She's even given me the ok to go off my blood pressure medication to see what happens. Luckily since I had all the blood tests done when I was in the hospital in Cincinatti so I don’t need to have them done again! YAY!

Yesterday afternoon turned out to be not too bad so we took the dog and went back and parked at Hog’s Back and then walked a bit along the canal. The sun was out for a while so glad we took advantage of it. We took a few photos, then returned to the RV.

Our niece, Danica has the honour of being one of the best young musicians in Ottawa and is presently spending the week at a festival in downtown Ottawa. Here’s the writeup from yesterday’s Ottawa Citizen.

Here’s the Musicfest website: http://www.musicfest.ca/
************************************************************************
The Ottawa Citizen
Young Ottawa-area musicians to play with the best of Musicfest

Published: Thursday, May 18, 2006
A handful of Ottawa-area musicians have been picked from among 9,000 young players to be part of two bands that represent the best of Musicfest, a week-long festival that brings thousands of young musicians from across the continent to Ottawa.
Included in the National Concert Band are Ottawa-area musicians Melissa Jerome (bassoon), Christian Paquette (flute), Jonathan Camire (French horn), Gabrielle Smith (alto sax), Patrick Trahan (baritone sax), Julian Simard (trombone), Jeffrey Teutsch (trombone ), Danica De Jong (trumpet), Isabelle Lee (trumpet) and Sebastian Bouchard (tuba).
Included in the Yamaha All-Star band are Ottawa-area musicians Nathan Cepelinski (sax), Megan Jutting (trumpet), Eric Cathcart (guitar), Lucas Haneman (guitar), and Alex Mastronardi (bass).
Both bands will perform at the National Arts Centre during the final days of Musicfest. The concerts are open to Musicfest participants only.
************************************************************************

Today Gordon was supposed to go for his bloodwork but he forgot and drank some coffee when he got up so we canned that for today. I went to the chiropractor and then to the library. I decided to take advantage of my library membership while we’re here so now I’ve got a lot of reading to do! The morning was cloudy and not very nice but at least it didn’t rain while I was out. When I returned I started to read and of course, fell asleep. More reading, interneting and that was my day!

Later this afternoon, Gordon was going to update my Firefox but somehow lost my bookmark folder, I guess he reloaded the program or something. Anyway, I’ve been trying to recreate it. Thank goodness for history!

Introducing Luke Charles!

Baby Luke

Luke and his Mommy

Since I don’t expect much to be happening today and it’s still raining, we probably won’t do much. We have our annual medicals this morning so we’re getting ready to go to our doctor for 10:00 a.m.

Luke’s picture was finally posted on the hospital website so thought I would post this morning. He definitely looks like his sister Grace did at that age except for his hair. Grace had a rooster comb. Here's the link to his photos that I've uploaded to Yahoo: http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smerrikin/album?.dir=7588&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smerrikin/my_photos

I'm Really Really Really Tired of Rain!

Rain again today. Starting to feel like we’re in Harlingen, Texas again. We had three weeks of cloud and rain in our 2004/2005 winter there.

Today I had another chiropractor appointment and I needed to do some errands and get some groceries so I went by myself and Gordon stayed home with his computer. On my way home I stopped and got to spend some time with my sister and her husband but she had to go back to work for a meeting so I got home around 4:30 p.m.

The rain stopped for the evening but more is expected.

Still no photos of our new grandson! We’ve been checking the hospital website several times a day but so far no Luke!

No photos today due to errands and rain!

Appointment & Other Things

Watson's Mill, Manotick

A.Y. Jackson Park, Manotick

Bib having a nap

This morning was a typical morning, walks, TV, naps etc.

We had an appointment to see our financial advisor this afternoon to get finances straightened out, that being done we came back to the RV, picked up the dog and headed to Sleepy Cedars RV Park at Manotick Station. We had never been there before so thought we’d check it out. Too many trees. We like Tranquil Acres at Carleton Place better. After that we drove into Manotick and took some photos of Watson’s Mill and A.Y. Jackson Park, shown above.

I made a nice Salsa Chicken recipe for dinner. We had something like it at my sister’s last week so thought I would give it a try. It turned out quite well. I did a few adaptations to my brother-in-law’s recipe but it was the same idea.

Another night of TV! The joys of being retired! Not much different than when we were in the house.

Baby Update

Luke Charles Bylaw born 9:32 p.m. on Monday May 15, 2006, weighing 9 lb 7 oz, 21 ¼ inches long. Mother, Father and Baby doing fine. According to his father he looks like our oldest grandchild, Grace.

Photo to follow.......

Our Week of Mostly Medical Appointments Begins!

When I first woke up this morning very early it was pouring rain so I snuggled deep in the covers and it had stopped when I got up at about 7:30 a.m. so was able to go for our walks. It was still cloudy and windy at that time but the forecast was for sun this afternoon.

Unfortunately this afternoon, I had a dentist appointment so wasn’t able to sit in the sun. I thought I had one chipped tooth but I actually had 2 chipped front teeth so she filled both of them, thank goodness. I had visions of crowns! We were home by 2:00 p.m., the sun came out so we took Bib and went to take some photos at Hogs Back Falls Park which is really close to the RV park.

The sun stayed out for the better part of an hour so Gordon took 93 photos. I took some as well but not nearly that many. Photos for today are, of course, of Hogs Back. Hogs Back is a very pretty place and if anyone is visiting Ottawa you should make a point of visiting.

About 3:00 p.m. we received a call from Gordon’s daughter, Michelle. She was on her way to the hospital to deliver our second grandson, Luke. She called again at 6:00 p.m. to let us know how things were progressing so we’re looking forward to the next phone call!

Tonight Regis Philbin is supposed to guest star on Deal or No Deal so we’ll have to watch that. Then it’s two hours of Gray’s Anatomy.

WalMart Day!

Today was another cloudy, rainy day. I managed to get my walk in this morning before it rained. I walked across the street to a dead end street called Stephanie that runs along the river. Of course, you can’t see the river for the houses and trees but I had never been there before and during the week the traffic is too heavy to try to get across Prince of Wales Drive. I did manage to get a photo of a little rabbit and a goldfinch.

When I came back, I called my sister to see what they were doing today. They had some shopping to do so I headed to WalMart in Orleans and it started raining while I inside. I had tried to go Friday but the traffic was too heavy. I managed to find it but didn’t find what I wanted there so stopped at Giant Tiger on Walkley on the way back and then WalMart on Bank Street where I found my duck boots. I got home shortly after noon.

My sister then called to see if I had gone out shopping. She and her husband were just setting out and offered to drop our mail off. I wound up going shopping with them and hit yet another WalMart, this time in Barrhaven. Margie is looking for a patio set and Danica is looking for shoes. We weren’t successful for either item. I got home just before 4:00 p.m. in time to feed Bib.

Gordon went out after dinner to get his photo of the day and Bib and I stayed home.

Tonight it’s TV.

No photos for today. My photos of the goldfinch didn’t turn out very well.

Not Much Happening!

Lilacs in bloom

Robin in the park

Rabbit in the park

Pretty trees in someone's front yard

Today was cloudy and cool, quite windy but not much rain. I didn’t seem to have the energy to do much but just before noon I got my first wind and got the laundry done. The laundry room here is very small and very basic – 2 washers and 1 gas dryer. The dryer works really well so it probably didn’t take me any longer to do 3 loads of laundry than it would at a Laundromat and I didn’t have to go outside the park.

This afternoon, I read and napped off and on and spent some time on the internet. We’ve been lucky with all the cloud today that the internet was pretty constant.

Gordon got the network card in our desktop PC so now he can have two computers going at the same time and be on the internet just the same as he did when we had a stick house.

My back has been acting up again today. Sure hope it feels better tomorrow.

Photos above taken on my morning walk around the neighbourhood and the park.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

I woke up this morning to rain! It seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve seen this much. It rained most of the morning and consequently we lost our internet satellite. Gordon was outside in the rain moving the tripod around trying to get a better location but we still didn’t have internet when I left just after noon.

I had suggested that we go and check out Innes Road as I had read in the Ottawa Business Journal on-line that WalMart had moved out of the Place D’Orleans Shopping Mall and built a new store and I thought it was on Innes Road. When I got ready, Gordon still wasn’t ready so suggested I go by myself so off I went. Still raining but not as hard. I aimed myself toward Innes Road but got to where St. Laurent jogs and you either have to turn left to go north on St. Laurent or go right on Russell Rd. St. Laurent was backed up forever so I turned right on Russell thinking I’d head over via Walkley and the 417. When I got there Walkley was also backed up so I canned that idea and instead headed to Heron Gate Mall to pick up a few groceries. They didn’t have everything I wanted so I stopped at my old Loeb store at Bank & Hunt Club. It was always such a nice store.

I headed home arriving there around 3:00 p.m. It was still cloudy but not raining, at least not much. When I came in I found out we had the internet back. YEAH! So I went about checking email and reading the blogs that I read on a daily basis.

Since it was raining this morning I didn’t go for my walk so I walked tonight. There’s not much place here for walking. I’ll be glad to get to Ottawa Municipal for that but then the mosquitoes will probably eat me alive!

Today's photo is our view out our back window.

Another Appointment

Keeley Falls
Andrew Hayden Park
Ottawa, ON

I had a chiropractor’s appointment this morning just before noon so we got around and ready. First stopped at Best Buy for a network card so we can get the PC up and running. Then to the chiropractor and to get Gordon’s CPP forms ready to be mailed. Our chiropractor signed the forms required. So hopefully in October Gordon will be getting CPP.

After the chiropractor we ran some errands, Gordon got his hair cut, we stopped at Andrew Hayden Park and took some photos and we filled up with diesel at 96.8 at Suny’s at Bells Corners. Seems to be the best price going.

Andrew Hayden Park is a very pretty park that runs along the Ottawa River in what used to be Nepean but since amalgamation, is now Ottawa. It is just off Carling Avenue at Holly Acres Road. It has some wildlife including a groundhog that runs up to you looking for handouts, rabbits and all kinds of birds. It even has a little waterfall called Keeley Falls. We didn’t stay long but Gordon needed his photo of the day for pbase so I took a few photos too to have something to post with my blog.

Since the forecast is for rain for the foreseeable future, I sat outside in my lawnchair and read till I finished my book, then came in to check emails and do some surfing. I found a scrabble game that I could download on a ‘try it’ basis. I thought I had tried them all and all I was getting was that my trial period was over. I really need to buy it.

With the cloud and rain coming over the weekend, hopefully we will have internet service. Our connection isn’t all that stable here because of the trees so if there’s no blog this weekend, it’s because of the internet connection.

Wednesday at the Arboretum

Today was such a beautiful day. I sat outside in my lawnchair and read my book for a long time this morning.

Gordon went out just before lunch looking for his flat panel monitor and came back without one. The plan for this afternoon was to take the dog and go and walk somewhere so just after lunch Gordon decided he wanted to go to Staples and buy the monitor he had seen there but instead we stopped at Future Shop and he wound up buying a 17” NEC flat panel.

When we got back we loaded up the dog and headed for the Arboretum. We walked around and took some photos. It’s so pretty there this time of year. Bib left his presence known on just about every blade of grass and tree there.

When we came back, I sat outside and read again till it got a little cool then I moved inside to read. I’ve been reading ‘Winter Solstice’ by Rosamunde Pilcher. It’s the second time I’ve read it and it’s just a nice little story. It takes place in England and Scotland and I just love their way of saying things like ‘muck out’ and ‘turning your toes up’. There are so many of them!

Photos today were taken at the Arboretum.

Slow Tuesday

Another slow morning but we managed to get doctor’s appointments for this afternoon so we left around 2:00 p.m. and drove downtown on the Queen Elizabeth Driveway. It’s always so pretty in the spring, then dropped into some more computer stores looking for a flat panel monitor, stopped at The Source at Bayshore to talk about Star Choice, then to the doctor, stopped at my sister, Margie’s and home again.

I wanted to see the doctor about the breathing problems I had and she is happy with the diagnosis of reflux disease. Gordon has had a wart on the inside of his lip and she’s sending him to an ENT doctor.

Nothing much going on today and no photos.

More Toys!

This morning was the usual morning with walks, TV, internet.

I had an appointment at the chiropractor this afternoon so we left shortly after noon and Gordon decided he needed an adjustment too so we both went in and got cracked up. Then I got Bib’s dog license and some photocopies to be sent to our US medical carrier for my hospital stay in Cincinnati.

Gordon wants another small flat panel monitor so we looked at nearly every store that would carry such an item in the west end of the city but didn’t purchase anything yet.

We got back around 3:00 p.m. and walked and fed the dog and then sat outside in my lawnchair and read for a while but it’s quite cool and breezy when you’re not in the sun so I went for another walk by myself trying to find something to take a photo of. Not much that’s photographic in the park especially with construction going on next door. I’m about to ram the pile driver up someone’s ……… Imagine what it will be like after a month here. No wonder they didn’t put their rates up this year!

When we got back we called Armand in Lindsay at 3i Communications that set us up with our internet satellite to discuss upgrading our modem from the 6000 to the 7000. Our monthly charge will go down enough to pay for satellite TV but it will be at a cost. It will be around $500 to upgrade the modem and buy the satellite arm for TV but we have to live in the style to which we had become accustomed at home and you only live once! Then we have to set up our own Star Choice and buy the receiver. I can see an expensive month coming at us again!

Tonight we’re just relaxing!

Today's photos show our RV and the construction going on behind us.

Visitors

This morning was cold when I got up so Bib and I went for a walk while Gordon left to go and photograph the tulips. The Tulip Festival has started in Ottawa and he got some really good shots. My younger sister, Margie called and said she and her husband, John were going to drop by late this afternoon so I asked them to stay for dinner.

When Gordon got back I went to Bells Corners for groceries, back to the stores that I used when we had the house. Got home and got preparations done for dinner, then read and had a short nap.

Margie and John arrived about 4:30 p.m. so we sat and chatted for a while, then had dinner and they left as Margie has to work tomorrow.

I didn’t take any photos today so borrowed a photo from Gordon from the Tulip Festival.

We Arrive in Ottawa

We left Rideau Acres at Kingston around 10:30 a.m. and arrived at Rideau Heights Campground in Ottawa around 12:30 p.m. Packing up in Kingston was done in the rain and most of the drive until just before Ottawa was also done in the rain. By the time we arrived at Rideau Heights it started a bit again but didn’t last long so although it was cold and cloudy and the ground is muddy, it quit raining.

We have nice neighbours here at Rideau Heights, Anne and Roger. They came over to see our internet satellite and chatted for a while. They are originally from the Pakenham area and have been fulltiming for 8 years. Their RV is a really big Airstream.

As you can see from the photo, Rideau Heights isn't the nicest campground, but it is in the city and convenient and is full hook-up which we won't have next month when we move to the Ottawa Municipal Campground.

After we got set up, we had a brief nap and then went out for groceries. There’s now a Food Basics at Heron Gate Mall so we started there and then stopped at Loblaws at South Keys. Then home for dinner and a relaxing evening.

Our Last Day at Kingston

View from my lawnchair

Turtle on a log

Canada Goose on his way to the island

A restful spot

This morning dawned bright and sunny but a bit windy and cool and remained that way throughout the day.

Other than my morning walk with Bib, I watched morning TV shows and napped on and off. Around lunch time I went for a long walk around the property and wound up after my walk sitting in an Adirondack chair that is on a deck by the water (picture above). After lunch I was going to go back to the Adirondack chair but Bib wanted to come out with me so we sat in our lawn chairs but I had on a sweater and covered up with a blanket. We sat out for about 45 minutes then came inside to read. Gordon put the outside stuff away and dumped the tanks in preparation for our move to Ottawa tomorrow.

I’m looking forward to seeing friends and also seeing more of my sister and her family when we get to Ottawa.

Thursday at Rideau Acres

Sunset at Rideau Acres

Can you find the Blue Heron?

Today was a ‘stay at home’ day. This morning and part of this afternoon, I got the laundry done. There were two people there ahead of me so consequently it took longer to do the laundry and because I had to stuff things into machines I had to iron too. I don’t like that! While I was doing laundry, Gordon vacuumed.

Last night I noticed a leak under the sink so had to clear out everything under there. There was something loose so just had to dry things out. I left the fan on all night and rearranged things this afternoon after I got done with the laundry.

Other than sitting outside briefly this afternoon before it clouded over and a short nap, that about sums up my day!

After dinner, we went for a walk around the park. It’s very pretty down by the water. There are RV sites there but they are 30 amp, no sewer and most probably wouldn’t work for the satellite but it sure would be pretty watching the sunset on the water.

Visiting and Grooming

Aunt Ruth and myself (taken by Gordon)

Bib after grooming

Bib before grooming

I slept on the couch for part of last night as I had such bad heartburn so I can keep my head up by using the arm of the couch. I felt better around 3:30 a.m. so went to bed but woke up with a sore lower back again. It’s not as bad as it was when I saw the chiropractor on Monday though.

Didn’t do much this morning, the usual walk with Bib then this afternoon we dropped him at KLIPS in Gananoque. He really hates to get clipped but he always feels so much better and prances around and he likes the lady at KLIPS so we try to take him there when we’re in the area. The above pictures show the before taken this morning and the after taken when we got home.

While Bib was at the doggie spa, Gordon and I headed to Brockville to visit with my mother’s younger sister, my Aunt Ruth. We had a great chat with her catching up on what’s happened over the winter and helped her with a computer problem that she had so she’s back in business. We had our usual photo taken together and that too is above. Aunt Ruth follows our travels through our web page and blog religiously so she feels that she's been with us on the trip.

Tonight, it’s dinner and LOST!

Getting Things Organized

April 2006 Expenses

Campground Fees - $617.85
Groceries - $373.90
Laundry - $25.00
Wine/Spirits-covered under groceries
Entertainment - $10.00
Fuel-Truck - $721.89
Propane - $25.72
Dog Food/Vet etc. - $0.00
Repairs RV/Truck - $59.73 (truck service)
Misc - $238.14
Insurance - $140.58 (U.S. $ but paid in CDN)
Internet - $99.85 (US $ but paid in CDN)
Phone - $97.55
Med/Dental - $15.78 (prescription obtained in US may be covered under insurance)
Gifts - $0.00

Totals $2601.95

Pretty good considering we were traveling for most of the month.

When we got home last night I stayed up until the wee hours sorting through the tons of mail that we had received. We only had one mail shipment to British Columbia and that was in October so there was LOTS of it! Thanks to Margie and John for keeping it for us.

In the stacks of mail were Christmas gifts, birthday gifts and cards of all kinds. We left Ontario on my birthday last year and Gordon’s is the week after mine. Also in the mail was a questionnaire and authorizations from the insurance company that looks after our medical insurance while outside the country. I have to complete this questionnaire and fill in all the authorizations and sign them before they will pay my claim to the Cincinnati hospitals. I started filling that out but since I dropped off all the medical information that the hospital had given me to my doctor yesterday, I’ll have to think a lot about some of the questions but must do it quickly as who knows how long it will take to process. I don’t want the hospital to send the bills out on collection!

So out we went to get photocopies of everything made and get the forms mailed. On our way back we stopped and picked up some groceries. It was only when I got back that I realized that I hadn’t sent the photocopy of my OHIP card and driver’s license requested so back out to the post office. We went to the same post office hoping that the letters will arrive together. Sometimes my brain just doesn’t work!

When we got back I sorted through the receipts from the U.S. and took out the ones I wanted to save and put the rest in a bag to be shredded. Sure wish I had kept our shredder! Maybe a bonfire would work better! I still have to go through our Ontario receipts from last year but I have to be sure I keep enough to prove that we’ve lived in Ontario for five months out of the year. Then I started reading some of the RV magazines that we’ve gotten since we’ve been on the road. There are about 15 of them. Don’t people realize that a lot of RVers are full time. They should put the magazines on the internet!

My reflux disease has been acting up today so haven’t felt all that well today, hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I took the photo today in the park. These geese were coming right for me!

A Whirlwind Day

My handsome nephew and godson and soon to be groom, Nick

My beautiful niece and soon to be full time University of Ottawa student, Danica

We decided that today was the day that we were going to make our trip to Ottawa so we left Rideau Acres at about 9:00 a.m. and headed north on Hwy 15. It took about 2 hours to get there, first stop, bathroom break. I called the chiropractor and got appointments for both of us for 1:30 p.m.

Next stop, Ottawa Municipal Campground. We toured the sites, found a couple that will allow us a clear view of the southern sky. It’s $660/month though. So we went to Rideau Heights just off Prince of Wales Drive. There is major construction going on right beside the campground so the bush area that was there is gone. There is one spot where we can see the satellite so we are booked there starting this Saturday May 6th and will be there for one month leaving June 6th. The good news is that the monthly rate hasn’t changed from last year, still $472.50.

That done, we decided that we need to spend another month in Ottawa and friends, Mel and Janice are supposed to be coming to Ottawa in June so we went back to the Municipal Campground and booked June 6th to July 4th there. The other negative about the Municipal Campground is that they have no sewers so we have to move every 8 days or so to dump. Oh well!

We also got diesel fuel in Ottawa at 96.9/l which wasn’t as bad as we had been expecting.

We went to the chiropractor and my lower back feels much better and then dropped off my medical records from the hospital in Cincinnati at my doctor’s. We called my sister’s house and I spoke to my nephew, Nick. He was home and his Mom was getting home from work around 3:30 p.m. In the meantime we stopped at my dentist’s office and made an appointment to have my chipped tooth seen to, then headed to Margie & John’s.

NEWS
Our nephew, Nicholas, got engaged on April 1st and he and Becky have set a wedding date of July 28th. So congratulations to Nick and Becky!

Also, Danica has been accepted into the University of Ottawa in biomedicine this Fall, so congratulations to Danica!

Lots happening at the DeJong household this year.

While at the DeJongs we were asked to stay for dinner and chief chef, John made chicken with salsa and rice which was excellent! It was great to see the family again. We left Ottawa on September 9th so it’s been a long time! We saw Betty & Garth in B.C. in October so it hasn’t been as long and we’ll be seeing them at Danica’s graduation in June and Nick’s wedding in July.

We headed back to Ottawa shortly after 7:00 p.m. and arrived home just after 9:00 p.m. We got 24.7 mpg on the way home.

I’ll post our April expenses tomorrow, too tired to look at it now!

Our First Full Day in Ontario

Scenes from around Rideau Acres Campground

I took ¼ muscle relaxant last night for my back so I was still groggy this morning so after I walked the dog and did some interneting, I lay down on the couch with my book and within minutes was asleep waking up around 11:20 a.m.

This afternoon I sat outside for a while in my lawnchair and read but with my back the way it is the lawnchair isn’t all that comfortable. We tried watching a movie on CTV this afternoon, Murder Most Likely, Canadian, of course. Canadian TV really sucks! I hate to say it being a Canadian but that’s the truth of it!

So, Gordon got the bikes out and we went for a short ride. I came back and tried my lawn chair again and Gordon took the camera and the bike out to see if he could get some shots.

Beautiful sunny day. It was really hot sitting out in the sun. I expect it reached about 23C (75F).

Tonight we just watched TV. Not a very exciting day!

We're Back in Ontario!

Caden's artwork

Lake adjacent to our RV

Our site at Rideau Acres Campground, Kingston (taken by Gordon)

Thanks to Jim & Wendy for letting us use your driveway and electricity and for the great lobster dinner!

We left Clinton, NY at about 9:30 a.m. and reached the border at about noon. There were three cars ahead of us at the border and the Customs official was giving them the third degree. Who knows why! I thought because of the way he was checking out cars that we would be pulled over and searched for sure. Luckily, we didn’t buy much on this trip so were way under our limit and we were asked very few questions and sent on our merry way arriving at Rideau Acres Campground at Kingston at about 1:30. We were set up by 2:35 p.m. We’re in a site just down from where we were parked at the Titanium Rally last year and since the leaves and undergrowth haven’t reached maturity yet we noticed that there is water on our left hand side that we hadn’t noticed last year. There is a small deck area overlooking the water so I may be spending some time there this week.

So far our plans are to come into Ottawa one day and check the two campgrounds in the city to see if we can access the satellite for our internet and then book a month at that campground so we should be arriving in Ottawa next weekend. I also need to see my chiropractor. My lower back has been really bothering me since we left Erie this week. We’ll also see my sister and family (hopefully if they aren’t busy). We also have Bib booked for an appointment with the groomer in Gananoque for Wednesday afternoon. Bib likes this groomer. She loves dogs and he can tell. He didn’t have a pleasant experience at Smoochie Pocchie in Mesa so I didn’t want to take him to a stranger.

The plan also is to visit Aunt Ruth while Bib is being groomed but I have to clear it with her yet.

After we got settled it was such a beautiful sunny day that I got the lawn chairs out and sat out and read for a while. Bib sat with me. He seems to like being back in Ontario. He hasn’t been all that keen about going outside and if I mention it, unless he really needs to go out he runs and hides behind his chair. He wanted to go for walks, so we did that and then I went for a long walk by myself hoping that will help my back. It’s no worse, so that’s good. It got to about 18C (65F) here today.

Late in the afternoon we went to the closest grocery, the ValuMart just south of Hwy 401 and picked up a few groceries. I hadn’t bought any fruit as you never know if you can cross the border with it or not but we weren’t even asked this time.

So we’re in for the night and will probably just relax tomorrow. I see a lawn chair with my name on it!

Happy Birthday Danica and Lilly!

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY DANICA!
(Photo taken last August at our cottage weekend)

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, LILLIAN!

Wendy and Jim at dinner at the Hamilton Inn

Happy Birthday Danica and Lilly!

We have two birthdays in our family today, Danica, my younger sisters daughter turns 18 and Lilly, our granddaughter turns 1. Happy Birthday to both of you!

Gordon and Jim left before sunrise this morning to take some photos but weren’t out long. They didn’t find much to take photos of, I guess.

I just lazed around for most of the morning. We took advantage of Jim and Wendy’s shower to have a nice hot shower, then Gordon drove me to WalMart to pick up some last minute things. My 10 year old Timex has been losing time so I bought an almost identical indiglo Timex except this one has the date on it too. I also got a calculator that takes paper. When you’re adding up receipts, it’s nice to have a paper record.

When we came back, the guys went out shooting again for a while and I started to get things ready to cross the border, receipts in order, Canadian money and passports ready. We’ve decided to cross tomorrow. Hopefully it won’t be too busy. The plan right now is to head to Rideau Acres Campground at Kingston for a week. Rideau Acres is a Passport America Park so should be somewhere around $17-$20 per night depending on if we go with 50 amp service or not.

I also called Vos Trailers where we bought our fifth wheel to get them to order a new bathroom sink for us. Some things fell out of the medicine cabinet on our way west through Ontario and now it has a big hole in it so we’ve been using the kitchen sink as a bathroom sink and I’m tired of it! It should be in by the time we arrive in Ottawa about mid May.

So, I guess we’re as ready as we’ll ever be to return to Ontario, just wish it would warm up more!

Today in Clinton, NY, it was bright, sunny and 55F (12C). There was a slight breeze so a bit on the cool side.

Tonight we took Jim & Wendy out for dinner at the Hamilton Inn in Clinton to thank them for letting us stay at their house and feeding us. Our RV isn’t really set up for dining although we have four chairs, it would be a tight squeeze. It’s better in the summer if we can use a picnic table. It was a really good meal. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. After dinner we took a drive around the town. Lots of beautiful old homes!

My back is still very sore and I’m walking very stiffly. It seems to loosen up during the day but it’s still hard to get up from a seated or lying down or squatting position. Sure hope it loosens up soon. I’m getting very tired of it!