Not Much Happening Here

Our handsome dude

After yesterday’s trip to Gananoque, we elected to take it easy today. It was cooler today with a breeze but it started to rain when I was on my morning walk, so I cut it short. Later the sun came out but even though it was cooler, we turned on the air conditioner as it didn’t seem that we were getting a breeze inside.

This afternoon I mowed the area around our unit as they use a riding lawnmower to mow the grounds and they don't like to get too close to the trailers. Since we're here for a month with all the rain we've had the grass would be knee deep. They have an electric mower that they keep around for the seasonal people to use.

I’ve been working on trying to find an answer for the Conde Nast Traveler Where Are You Contest. My older sister and I try to do this monthly but this month’s is really difficult. If any of you want to give it a shot, here’s the URL: http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/whereareyou/contest_2

If anyone wants to give me some help, I’d appreciate that too.

Our Day Trip to Gananoque

The restaurant where we had lunch today

Today was really hot! At one point this afternoon the thermometer in the truck read 34 C (93F). We left at about 10:00 a.m. this morning to take Bib to Gananoque to the groomers. During the winter he has to go to three or four different groomers so in the summer we try to take him to one he likes which happens to be in Gananoque. So now he’s a handsome dude again instead of a wooly bear. It’s much cooler for him too.

His appointment was for 12:30 p.m. We got there about an hour early. Typical Virgos, always early. I had some errands to do, so got that done while we were waiting for his appointment time. We dropped him at the groomers and then took off down the Thousand Islands Parkway to look for a picnic area as I had packed a picnic lunch. We couldn’t find even a picnic table. We went just east of the Thousand Islands KOA and then turned around and came back to Gananoque and decided to eat lunch at a restaurant. We found a little restaurant called Anthony’s on the main street that had an outdoor covered patio so we ate there. It was okay but nothing special.

Gananoque is a very pretty little town on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River just before it flows into Lake Ontario. The following was taken from the town’s website.

Gananoque is the entry point to the picturesque 1000 Islands. A classic example of a quaint Ontario town, Gananoque offers its visitors a welcome change of pace. From its five star restaurants, convenient lodging, and unique shopping opportunities, to its daily excursions on the St.Lawrence River to view the 1000 Islands, Gananoque offers all those who pass through its gates an experience which makes the town a destination like no other.

Gananoque, pronounced GAN-AN-OCK-WEE, was first identified in 1686 on Deshaise's chart of the St. Lawrence as “Gananocouy”. The town itself was founded by Col. Joel Stone, one of the many United Empire Loyalists who relocated to Upper Canada following the American Revolution.

When I was at my sister’s yesterday I picked up our mail and I had a letter from the hospital where I was admitted in Cincinnati in April saying if their bill wasn’t paid in 30 days, I would have to pay it. I had also gotten a statement from the medical insurance showing that the hospital hadn’t been paid. So, I called the insurance after lunch and was told that they are in the process of negotiating the bill and that it should be paid in 1-2 weeks. It turns out that only about 30-40% of the bill gets paid whereas if you or I had to pay it, we would pay the full amount. I would really like to find an insurance that would pay up front and not leave this hanging over my head all summer but you never know that when you purchase the insurance before you leave Canada.

Anyway, we got back before 5:00 p.m. We went a roundabout way as there is construction on Highway 7 right at the Appleton Side Road. They are putting in traffic lights and yield lanes so when we left this morning traffic was backed up so we decided to avoid the backups on our return and returned to the RV park the back way through Carleton Place and Appleton.

Tonight has been quiet although the forecast is for thunderstorms that may produce tornados!

Visiting and Shopping

Sparrow on a fence post (taken on my morning walk)

Another very hot day but I headed into Ottawa anyway leaving around 10:00 a.m.. I stopped by my younger sister’s first as they were going away, then on to do my shopping. I had lots of stops to make, one of them being Bayshore Shopping Centre as they had a sidewalk sale. Other than renewing some prescriptions and getting my shoe fixed, I didn’t buy anything although there was a skirt on sale that caught my eye. However, no room for more clothes, not to mention no money!

After all my stops and picking up some groceries, I got home around 4:15 p.m. with a very sore back. Too much walking around!

Rain, Hot and Humid

It was cloudy, warm and very humid this morning but even with that I managed to walk farther than I have since we got to Carleton Place. We measured the distance in the truck tonight and it turns out it’s two kilometers return. That’s not a bad morning walk for someone who’s out of shape.

Gordon had an appointment to take the truck in for service today so he left around 9:15 a.m. I called the vet to give her an update on Bib. He is doing much better. I backed up my computer files, vacuumed, read and generally didn’t do much. My sister, Betty called around lunch time to make plans to come to Ottawa for Nick and Becky’s wedding. It’s less than two weeks away!

This afternoon we had rain on and off and each time it rained it got more and more humid and with the humidity come the bugs! I hate humidity. I want to go back to the desert!

After dinner tonight we took a drive around the back roads in the area looking for scenic things to photograph. Unfortunately we didn’t find much but did find a lot of log barns. I’ve never seen that many log barns in one area before. I didn’t get any pictures but did take a photograph of the thunderhead that’s hanging around here.

Miscellaneous Stuff

I was up extra early this morning as Gordon had to be in Ottawa for his bone density test for 8:00 a.m. and I need his help to give Bib one of his medications. It was still not too hot when I went out for my walk so it’s lucky that I got up when I did as it got real warm real fast. With the heat and humidity, you could really smell the hay on the fields. I’m not sure that being out this morning was good for my allergies as my eyes were watery and itchy all morning.

This morning I got potatoes and eggs boiled to make potato salad as I didn’t think we’d enjoy a hot meal tonight. I also got some photos uploaded to Yahoo.

Gordon got back from his appointment shortly after 10 a.m. but had to go back into Ottawa for a doctor’s appointment for noon so I decided to go with him. We got some errands run while we were there and had lunch at Bayshore Shopping Mall where Gordon could have his Taco Bell and I could ‘Eat Fresh’ and we could get a prescription filled at our pharmacy. On our way home, we drove by the Nepean Equestrian Park. They are having their Kubota Capital Classic Show Jumping Tournament this weekend so there are all kinds of striped tents and trailers of all kinds on the grounds. Gordon sees a photo op!

So, the rule is if we eat out at lunch time, I don’t have to make dinner. When we got home, I tried sitting outside to read my book. There was a really nice breeze but Bib was whining wanting to come out with me and he’s not supposed to be eating things off the ground so I came inside instead and read and had a nap. Then I got potato salad ready for tomorrow. It’s always better made a day ahead. I also took some photos of the orange tractor on the grounds of the park. It’s parked beside a rail fence and I think it looks so pretty sitting there so the photo for today is of the orange tractor.

I’m getting the bug to start painting again. I’ve got our sign with our names on it to finish. I gave up on trying to do it in Tucson as it was too dry and my paint kept drying out but now with the humidity here in Ottawa I have little excuse except maybe laziness. Maybe this weekend????

Laundry, Vet and Other Things

This morning when I went out to walk Bib there was a tent in the middle of the driveway right behind the truck. When I came back from my walk, I stopped to talk to the owner of the tent and found out that he is from England. He arrived in San Francisco eight weeks ago and has ridden his bicycle with his tent all this way. He’s on his way into Ottawa today and flies back to England (Manchester) from Quebec City two weeks from now. Amazing! He taught primary school in England for forty years and now does interior decorating. And the reason the tent was in the middle of the road is that he was drying it out so he could pack it up and put it on his bike.

This campground doesn’t have a laundry room so this morning I packed up the laundry and took it into Carleton Place. There is a very clean Laundromat there.

Bib has been having some intestinal problems for the last week or so. We had stopped in at a vet’s office the day we arrived and spoke to the vet. She suggested fasting him for 24 hrs. then feeding him hamburg and rice four times a day in small meals. This didn’t help so before I went to do laundry, I called her and made an appointment for this afternoon. She checked him and prescribed some medications and food changes so we’ll see how that works.

On our way back, Gordon washed the truck. It needed it badly!

I didn’t feel all that well myself today, kind of headachey and sort of felt like I’m getting a cold. Sure hope I can shake it! It was very hot today so stayed inside most of the day. I tried sitting out with my fan to read my book after I got back from doing laundry but with not feeling well, it felt even hotter so went back inside to read.

Pictured above are a couple of photos that I took around the campground this morning.

This 'n That

Part of one of the gardens in the campground

Just a comment regarding my blog. I know there are lurkers out there, otherwise I wouldn’t have 4500 hits. Please, please leave a comment so that I know I’m not just writing to hear myself!

Apparently there was a nice sunrise this morning. Gordon went out and took photos but by the time I got up it was cloudy and very humid although not all that warm. I walked out along the roadway and took some photos as well as some photos of the flower gardens here in the park. I wanted to walk down by the water but with the closeness of the air, the mosquitoes were out in full force so I’ll save that for another day.

Just before I left for my walk, Gordon said that he wanted to go out for breakfast so when I came back we got ready and the three of us headed for the Gourmet Restaurant in Carleton Place. The breakfasts there have always agreed with Gordon. We left Bib in the truck to guard it which he did with great enthusiasm. I could see him from where I was sitting and he was doing his share of barking at anyone that came into the parking lot. He is a great watch dog. It was a good breakfast even though they don’t have brewed decaf. On the way back, we stopped at Your Independent Groceries to pick up a few things and then back to the RV. It still wasn’t raining but the threat was there.

We spent most of the morning on the computer, Gordon with his photos and me posting our monthly expenses on my spreadsheet and doing some surfing.

This afternoon we both had a nap and did some reading and computing.

I read this on someone else’s blog yesterday and thought it was great not to mention true. Don’t know if any of you have ever had to call for technical support or assistance of some kind and gotten someone that you couldn’t understand but this tells it like it is:

Have you ever spoken with Mujibar?

Mujibar was trying to get a job in India The Personnel Manager said, "Mujibar, you have passed all the tests, except one. Unless you pass it you cannot qualify for this job."Mujibar said, "I am ready." The manager said, "Make a sentence using the words Yellow, Pink and Green."Mujibar thought for a few minutes and said, "Mister manager, I am ready."The manager said, "Go ahead." Mujibar said, "The telephone goes green, green, and I pink it up, and say, 'Yellow, this is Mujibar.'" Mujibar now works as a technician at a call center for computer problems.

Back at Tranquil Acres Again!

Our site at Tranquil Acres

It rained some during the night and was cloudy when I woke up. We took our time getting packed up and left Upper Canada Campground around 10:30 a.m. arriving at Tranquil Acres near Carleton Place shortly after noon. After we got set up, I went and got some groceries as we were running out of some stuff. We did have a little mishap pulling in and scraped the rubber roof on a tree but Gordon got that patched and all is okay, not much damage done.

Gordon took some photos around the park while I was grocery shopping. He said he ran across some cooperative bullfrogs down by the Mississippi River (not the Mississippi in the U.S.). It’s very pretty at this park. The owners, Shonagh and Dave Toddun have a lot of flower gardens throughout and the lawns are very pretty. It is on the Mississippi River and there is a little beach for swimming. They have some boats for rent as well. They also have long pull thrus with full hook up. We always enjoy our time here.

A Drive Down Memory Lane

We were supposed to have a severe thunderstorm today but as of 7:30 p.m. although we saw a huge thunderhead, pictured to the left, it hasn’t resulted in the forecasted thunderstorm.

This morning again I sat outside and read. Gordon got good news. Upper Canada Village are going to let him sell the photos that he takes there so he decided at around 11:00 a.m. to go over for a couple of hours since today is our last day in the area. When he got back, we went for a drive from the campground north through the country coming out at Bouck’s Hill and through Williamsburg and saw the farmhouse where I lived until I was 17 years old. It is in quite a state of disrepair so I didn’t take any photos of it.

When I bought my second condo in 1988, the farm house was up for sale for the same price that I paid for the condo. The only problem was I would have to drive 50 miles to and from work if I bought the farm house. It’s also 7 bedrooms and would have cost a fortune to heat but it was a beautiful house at one time.

We continued on through Dundela, home of the Macintosh apple, Dixon’s Corners and into Iroquois, then we drove north of Iroquois to try to find the house where my brother-in-law, John grew up. We did manage to find it. His brother and sister-in-law live there now but I think they are in Holland right now. From there we headed back to the RV thinking that we were going to get caught in the middle of the storm but as noted above – no storm.

So tomorrow, we head to Tranquil Acres at Carleton Place for a month.

A Slow Sunday

Today, like yesterday, was another nice summer day. And again, like yesterday, I sat outside and read my book. I also took some books that I have read for exchange at the office. That’s something I like about a lot of campgrounds, you get to exchange books for free and I read a lot!

Gordon went back to Upper Canada Village this morning and took more photos but doesn’t think he’ll be allowed to sell them. He’s still waiting for a verdict from Upper Canada Management.

Nothing else to report today. Michelle sent a video of Luke but I haven't figured out how to post videos yet.

Entertainment at Upper Canada Campground!

What a beautiful day, sunny with little humidity. I took advantage of it and sat outside for a lot of the day and read and people watched. The campground is nearly full this weekend. There are all sorts of tents and RVs of every kind.

This afternoon, the campground had an attraction – mud wrestling! I walked over to see what was going on and they had kids wrestling. They had made a game out of it. The referee attached a harness to each child with a tennis ball in it and the object was to get the tennis ball from your opponent. Above is one of the photos I took.

Late in the afternoon I decided to go into Morrisburg and pick up some groceries that I forgot to get yesterday so I went into a couple of stores that I didn’t go into yesterday as Gordon was with me and would have been bored. After I got the groceries, I drove to the next town west of here, Iroquois to see what had changed in the shopping mall there but didn’t go into any stores. There wasn’t much there anyway. I had driven west on Hwy #2 so on my return I took Lakeshore Drive to see what was new along the water. Not many new houses and a few for sale. I then drove through Morrisburg on Lakeshore Drive and along the street by the golf course and then back to the Upper Canada Campground.

That’s all for today! Not even much on TV tonight. Can’t wait to get satellite TV!

Doing Stuff in Morrisburg

This morning's photo that I took on my walk

Me standing beside the tree that the family planted in memory of our parents

It was bright and sunny this morning when I got up so after walking Bib, I went for another long walk around the campground. I saw a cardinal but he wouldn’t pose for a photo and I didn’t see much else interesting except someone paddling a canoe in the little pond, photo above.

Gordon went to Upper Canada Village for opening at 9:30 a.m so I got the vacuuming done and the floors washed while he was gone.

This afternoon we drove into Morrisburg and visited the tree and plaque that my sisters and I had planted in memory of our Mother and Father. It’s planted along the walkway that runs along the St. Lawrence River in the park in Morrisburg. Then we went to the grave site. After that we drove to Mariatown and had a look at Arlor Haven RV Park. I didn’t think we’d fit there but it looks like it would be no problem. The only thing is that I think they only have 20 amp service. It’s a beautiful location right on the river. It might bear looking into in case we want to come back to this area. After that we walked around the shopping mall to see what was there and I picked up some wine and a few groceries, then we came back to the RV where I read and both of us had a nap.

Poor Bib got to stay at home today as it was too hot to leave him in the truck while we were at the shopping mall. He gets extra treats when he has to stay at home and he's usually happy with that.

Rediscovering Old Haunts

This is the interior of the schoolhouse at Ault Park. It looks somewhat like my school with the wood stove and the desks except we had a lot more desks to accommodate around 40 students.

This school at Ault Park reminded me of the school where I spent all eight of my elementary school years at SS 9 1/2 & 15 just west of Williamsburg. My school was white instead of read but it was a one room with one teacher and eight grades. I consider that I got an excellent elementary school education with Mabel Whitteker as my teacher for all eight years.

Today was cooler with sun and cloud. After walks and breakfast, I got the laundry done. Not the best laid out laundry room in the world, only two washers and two dryers but no place for hangers to hang up clothes and very little folding space so I wound up bringing the stuff home to match socks and stuff.

Gordon had gone to Upper Canada Village when I left to do laundry and I was outside reading when he got back.

This afternoon we all went for a drive, stopping at Ault Park which has some of the buildings that were originally in Moulinette, one of the lost villages of the Seaway. It also houses the ‘Lost Villages’ Museum.

On to Cornwall and drove around the city to see what had changed. I’ve been there over the last few years but not to look over the changes in the city. We drove by the place where I used to spend time in the summer when I was a kid. Lots of things have changed over the last 50 years making it look more like an actual city. The area along Water Street has been cleaned up a lot and is now a park with a Curling Rink and an arena. They have stores now like Staples and a shopping mall with a Sears. I've never been impressed with Cornwall mostly because of the paper mill and the smell however there was no smell today. We drove to the Saunders Dam but couldn't get anywhere near it. No public admittance so we headed home getting back a little after 3:00 p.m. I started to read outside but found it too cool so I came in and read and had a nap. After that, dinner and TV!

Our Wednesday

Photo taken at Upper Canada Village by Gordon

Day lily in the garden at the campground

Photo of pond in the campground

Today was much cooler than it has been lately. It was cloudy when I got up but the sun came out around 9:00 a.m. and it was cloudy and sunny on and off.

I went for a really long walk around the campground this morning. It’s a very large campground with a lot of seasonal people especially at the back. Some of the sites are not very well kept and in some ways reminded me of the campground we stayed at in the Fall of 2004 at Enon Beach, Ohio but it is much better run than that and the washrooms and buildings on the property are in good repair. Too bad the campgrounds can’t make their seasonal people keep their sites clean and their trailers in good repair.

Gordon left for Upper Canada Village again just before 9:00 a.m. I decided to clean out one of the bedroom closets, then made some potato salad and settled down to read. It was cool sitting outside so I came back in and read till Gordon arrived back late in the morning having taken 170 more photos. I also did some work on my Family Tree. I hadn’t had this software in my computer in ages.

My older sister, Betty had brought down all the information that she had received on our father from Bernardos in England and I got some information from that package that I didn’t have before.

This afternoon I continued reading and around 3:00 p.m. he headed back to the Village after he’d taken a long nap. He got back around 4:30 p.m. and has taken lots of photos. He also has permission to go into the Village before it opens to take sunrise photos.

Bib and I just hung around the RV today relaxing and doing not much of anything!

Moved to Morrisburg, Ontario

Our site at Upper Canada Campground, Morrisburg, ON

We left Ottawa Municipal Campground this morning around 8:40 a.m. and headed to Vos Trailer Sales in Stittsville where we purchased our fifth wheel. Our bathroom sink had finally arrived and we had made arrangements a couple of weeks ago to have it installed today. Finally I get my bathroom back!

It was installed without incident and we were on the road again by 10:40 a.m. arriving at Upper Canada Campground near Morrisburg, Ontario at about 12:10 p.m. We were set up in our site by around 1:30 p.m. It was hot and humid so I turned the air on as soon as we were plugged into electric. This campground, like Ottawa Municipal, does not have sewer on site but does have a dump station as well as a pump out. I haven’t looked into that yet as I don’t think we’ll need it as we’re only here for a week. The campground is full of kids and makes me long for the 55+ campgrounds in the south. Not that I don’t like kids, but I do like peace and quiet when I’m sitting out in my lawnchair reading or pondering the meaning of life (Yeah, right!) The good thing about it is it’s only about 5 km to Upper Canada Village where Gordon has a pass to take photos. So, no sooner were we set up than he was on his way to the Village and got back about 2 hours later having taken 243 photos. No doubt they will be appearing on his pbase site at some point.

There had been a forecast of rain for this morning but luckily we didn’t see any of it and were able to pack up, drive where we needed to go and get set up without getting wet (other than sweating).

For those of you that don't know me, I was born and raised in this area and attended all my high school years in Morrisburg and lived there for a while in the late 60's and early 70's. I also worked at Caldwell Linen Mills at Iroquois (a short distance from Morrisburg), the Bank of Nova Scotia and Mutual Products during that time.

Back to today - I took Bib for a walk around the park, tried to muzzle him as there are so many kids around and he doesn’t like kids but he wouldn’t walk with it on, just kept trying to get it off. Luckily no kids approached him so I didn’t have to tell them that he would bite.

I sat outside in my lawnchair and for a while used the fan as it was so humid, read my book and just enjoyed the time. I also went on a little walk around to find the washrooms and the laundry room and to get familiar with the campground. They have two pools here and I had thought of going for a dip but didn’t get around to it. The pool was also loaded with kids. Needless to say, I’m glad we’re only here for a week!

Our Last Day at Ottawa Municipal Campground

Since today is our last day here at the Ottawa Municipal Campground for a while and we’ll be heading to Morrisburg, I decided to stock up on groceries as they are overpriced in Morrisburg as it’s considered a tourist area due to Upper Canada Village and the river. I got back around 1:30 p.m. and then sat outside and read for a while.

It was hot and humid today. We had a thunderstorm around 6:00 p.m. We’ve had a really lousy summer as far as weather is concerned.

Late this afternoon, Gordon and I went back to Zellers and got him a couple of golf shirts. One of his favourite shirts that he bought in Grenada years ago when we went on a cruise every winter bit the dust this week. I’ve been trying to convince him that golf shirts are easier to wash and don’t need to be ironed so now we’re going in the right direction for replacements for his shirts.

We started to pack things up late this afternoon so we won’t have so much to do tomorrow morning. The weather is supposed to be iffy tomorrow so it’s better to get things done ahead of time that can be while it’s not raining!

I didn’t take any photos today so borrowed one from Gordon that he took of a dragonfly at Morris Island on Sunday.

A Very Windy Day!

I took this photo in the park this morning when I was on my morning walk. Unfortunately my little camera doesn't do sun rays very well.

Today was mostly sunny but with some cloudy periods but very windy. Luckily we have the awning well strapped down but it was still doing a lot of flapping! I sat out all morning and most of the afternoon and finished reading my book. I will have to take two back to the library unread as we’re leaving town on Tuesday however my sister brought me some books so I have lots to read.

Some links on the sidebar on my blog weren’t working so I fixed those today.

Late this afternoon we took my books back to the library and picked up some Pepsi that was on sale at Pharma Plus. Bib got a ride in the truck for a change. We also stopped at a trail just a little way from the campground and Gordon took a few photos.

Not much happening here today!

Happy Canada Day!

Here I am at Morris Island Conservation Area on the Causeway

This is the first time I’ve seen this campground full since we arrived here nearly a month ago. This morning when I walked there were five RVs lined up in the driveway. I guess they didn’t have room for them last night so let them park there overnight.

We had to dump the tanks again today so again had to pack up, go dump and put everything back together again, another two hours. We’re leaving Tuesday to go to Upper Canada Campground. Too bad it couldn’t have waited but our black tank has shown full on the gauge for the last two days.

I was sitting outside reading when Gordon came out and said he was trying to decide if he was going to the fireworks tonight or not. Then he thought he’d like to go and have a look at the Morris Island Conservation Area at Fitzroy Harbour. We left poor little Bib behind as I didn’t think he would be allowed at a Conservation Area but there was someone there walking their dog. It would be nice if they let you know on their websites if dogs are allowed or not. We walked a short way on the causeway and saw lots of dragonflies and wildflowers. It’s a very pretty area. While we were out in that part of the county, we drove through places I hadn’t been before like Galetta, MacDonald’s Corners, Kilmaurs and Dirleton. I had never heard of Dirleton or Kilmaurs. Mind you, as towns go there’s not much to them. MacDonald’s Corners is a pretty little place, kind of like a small Constance Bay. We drove to the ferry at Fitzroy as I hadn’t been there before but didn’t go on it. We arrived home about 4:45 p.m. to a hungry, happy little dog.

With the campground full it means lots of kids. Consequently Bib doesn’t want to go outside. He doesn’t like kids, bicycles and bouncing balls and there’s a lot of that going around this weekend.

Tonight we’ve decided to stay at home. We’ve been having sprinkles of rain on and off so home is the best place to be!

End of the Month

Today we didn’t do much. Gordon went to his friend, Leroy’s this morning for a while. Leroy is his supplier of Macintosh products.

This afternoon I went to Bayshore to refill prescriptions, get one of Gordon’s shoes repaired and do some other miscellaneous shopping. Other than that, it was a thoroughly boring day.

Here are our expenses for the month of June:

Campground Fees - $665.26
Groceries - $333.68
Laundry - $28.00
Wine/Spirits - $10.95
Entertainment - $31.01
Snacks - $11.72
Eating Out - $96.75
Fuel for truck - $265.45
Propane - $0.00
Dog Food/Vet etc - $0.00
Repairs RV/Truck - $0.00
Misc - $674.08
Insurance - $323.59
Internet - $195.24
Phone - $110.94
Medical/Dental - $74.67
Gifts - $180.00
Total for month - $3001.34

We ate out more this month because we had company from Ohio. Also for internet there is a yearly fee to be paid of $75.00. We paid our Emergency Road Service for the year this month so our insurance costs are higher than usual. We also had some gifts to buy for various occasions. Our misc. expenses are also higher as I bought a few items of clothing and Gordon upgraded the memory in his computer, our gold card fee comes due in June and we also paid for our internet domain for two years. So, we went over our $3000.00 per month by $1.34. Not bad!

Since I didn’t take any photos today, I borrowed one from Gordon. Can anyone guess what it is?

A Slow Thursday

Today we had an appointment with our financial advisor to sign some more papers and to go over some things. After that we stopped and picked up a few groceries, filled up with fuel, stopped at Bulk Barn so Gordon could stock up on candy, stopped at Henry’s to look at camera bags and then at WalMart where Gordon got a camera bag for about 1/10 of what they cost at Henry’s.

The weather today has been cloudy, humid, rainy with thunderstorms, sunny – the full gamit!

When we got back after lunch, I lay down on the couch, read and had a brief nap, then did some surfing. I have three books to read over the weekend as I'll have to return them to the library on Monday since we'll be leaving town.

Not much happening here today!

Today's photo is of the wildflowers in the park.

Happy Graduation Day, Danica!

Danica with her parents, Margie (my sister) & John
There's something about a cap and gown that makes you look so grown up!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
That flat, funny hat,
Looks awesome on you!

Another very humid day. We did have some sun this afternoon though! The power had been off and on three times this morning before I got up. We can tell when it goes down as our power surge protector for the computers beeps and drives the dog crazy.

We had to meet my sisters and my sister’s husband at Lansdowne Park for 12:30 p.m. for our niece’s high school graduation from Merivale High School. The actual commencement started about 1:10 p.m. and ended around 4:15 p.m. There were a lot of graduates!

Danica graduated with a Fine Arts Music Certificate, French Immersion Certificate, highest mark in Merivale High School for the National Biology Competition, Ontario Scholar and OCDSB Silver Medal Award for 90% or over average, the Academic Achievement Award for highest mark for band, music and exercise science (anatomy and physiology) and the Faculty Award for Music. Wow! We are all extremely proud of her.

We left Lansdowne Park and came home to feed Bib and let him out and then back to the DeJong’s for a celebratory dinner.

Nicholas wasn’t working so he was there for dinner too. It seems that Nick is either working or sleeping and we don’t see him that often but have been lucky enough to be able to spend some time with him over the past few days. Only 30 days left till his big day!

Hot, Humid & Rainy!

Today has been a hot, humid, very rainy day! I had been invited by my sister, Betty to go for lunch with her friend, Linda and herself but I declined as I needed to get some things done around the house. So this morning I got the laundry done, had a nap and did some reading and then this afternoon, I got the dress that I purchased yesterday for the wedding altered, bought my waterproof mascara also for the wedding, I have a feeling I’ll need it and then got some groceries.

It wasn’t raining when I went into the grocery store but when I came out it was pouring and didn’t show signs of stopping any time soon. A bunch of us waited outside for a while to see if it would let up but when it didn’t, I put up my umbrella, luckily I had taken it into the store with me, picked up the groceries and made a run for it. Water in the parking lot was about 3 inches deep so even with the umbrella by the time I got the groceries in the truck and myself in, I was wet from head to foot. It was still raining when I got to the RV so I only brought in the things that needed to be refrigerated and left the other things until the rain let up a bit.

Pictured above are my new, updated personal cards that we waiting for me on the table when I got home last night.

Happy Prom Night, Danica!

L to R - Larisa, Danica and Wendy

This morning I spent reading both inside and out and getting ready to go dress shopping this afternoon. Gordon dropped me at my sister, Margie’s for 12:30 p.m. My older sister, Betty was the chauffeur. Also this evening was Danica’s prom so we had to get her ready for that.

We went to Carlingwood Shopping Centre and after trying on about 20 dresses at Sears, it came down to two. I couldn’t decide which I wanted so bought them both although I’m pretty sure I know which one I’ll wear to the wedding. It was great to have feedback and I had lots of it with three females giving their opinions. At the last minute Danica decided to go with us. Margie also bought a power suit. It would be nice to be a size 2. She got it at an excellent price!

We got back to the house around 3:30 p.m., had something to eat and then Betty and Margie did Danica’s makeup. She had refused to have any at first (she never wears makeup) but she finally agreed. She looked absolutely beautiful! Betty had also bought her a corsage and the sweetheart roses really matched well with the dress. It is of note that the dress she wore was my matron of honour’s dress for her mother and father’s wedding 28 years ago. It looked great on her, a perfect colour for her complexion.

Danica, her parents, Betty and I all went down to the Westin Hotel where their graduation dinner was being held. The parents and whoever else wanted to attend were invited to come between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. to take photos. The kids all looked so great. It’s fun to see them all dressed up.

The three girls in the photo above - Danica, Larisa and Wendy have all been together since grade one. They are now going their separate ways – Danica to University of Ottawa, Larisa to Queens and Wendy to McMaster.

We left the Westin around 7:00 p.m. and returned to my sister’s house where we chatted for a bit and then Betty drove me back to the RV.

Gordon wasn’t able to go to the photo shoot for the grads tonight as he had been invited to speak on his ‘travel photography’ at the local Mac group meeting at the Sportsplex.

Happy 21st Birthday, Nick!

Mel and Janice left this morning about 8:30 a.m. to head to the Lake George, NY area.

Later this morning I called my sister’s place to see what they were up to. I had forgotten to pick up my mail when I was there yesterday and there was a letter from the medical insurance people about my claim from when I was in the hospital in the U.S. I asked her to open the letter to see what it said but it didn’t make much sense to her so I told her I’d stop by today to pick up the mail.

I also wanted to get something so that it would be easier to hook up our hose for flushing our black water tank. Trying to hook up a hose at some of the dump sites is an exercise in futility. You often wind up with skinned knuckles from the handle of the tap being so close to the tap as is the case here at Ottawa Municipal. I went to the Canadian Tire in Bells Corners and as I drove into the parking lot I saw an SUV with a Jay Feather trailer attached. Hmmm, Mel and Janice’s rig looks just like that one. So I got out of the truck and went to look and it did have Ohio plates so I went in to the Service Department and there they were. The had a flat tire just as they were getting onto the Hwy 417 ramp at Moodie Drive so not far from the campground. Their Good Sam Emergency Road Service had come and changed the tire and then showed them the way to Canadian Tire to see if their tire could be repaired. There Service tech said it could be repaired so I waited with them and saw them off on their way to Lake George again.

I didn’t get anything for our tap problem thinking that our two way faucet attachment might work.

Continued on to my sister’s, checked out the letter and it didn’t make much sense to me either but they did enclose a cheque for me to pay for the prescription I got. I called them but had to leave a message for them to call me back tomorrow. I stayed and chatted for a while and we were invited to come back for dinner. So, I left and went to a couple of stores on Merivale Road looking for a dress for my nephew’s wedding on July 28th but didn’t find anything so came home.

Today is my nephew and godson’s 21st birthday so dinner at his parent’s house was in honour of Nick’s birthday. Photo above is of Nick with the candle in his ice cream. He didn’t want a cake. It was a nice family get together as my sister, Betty from Toronto was down and Becky, Nick's fiancee was there as well. We were only missing Betty's husband, Garth.

Surprise Wedding Shower and More Sightseeing

Becky models her hat made of the bows from her gifts

Becky arrives at the shower. Was it a surprise?

This morning I spent reading outside and getting ready to go to a wedding shower. I haven’t said anything about the shower in my blog other than alluding to it over the last few days as it was a surprise shower for my nephew, Nick’s fiancée, Becky. It was held at her sister’s place, who is her matron of honour. We had a beautiful day for it and it was held outside in her sister’s back yard. Becky and Nick got tons of presents. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much stuff at a shower. They are well set for their kitchen and bathroom.

I got home around 5:30 p.m. and Mel and Janice, Gordon and I went to Swiss Chalet in Kanata for dinner and then we took them on a tour of the Gatineau Parkway and points between the campground and Old Chelsea.

It’s been a long day!

Photos above were taken at the shower.

Hospital and Sequence

A little humour (considering you can't get anywhere in Ottawa these days without being tied up with construction)

Today was sunny but seemed quite cool in the shade.

This morning was spent reading and this afternoon Gordon had to go back to the Ottawa General Hospital so the doctor could check his lip. It has healed and all is okay there. Bib and I went with him and as there wasn’t any parking on Lynda Lane across from the hospital, we dropped Gordon at the hospital and then I went in search of a place to wait. I ended up spending part of the time at the high school on Dauphin Street near the hospital, some time parked on a nearby street and then at Rotel on the hospital grounds. It took about 50 minutes by the time we arrived to the time I picked him up.

We headed home arriving around 3:15 p.m.

After dinner, Mel and Janice came over with their game of ‘Sequence’. Janice and I won over Mel and Gordon three games to one!

Museum of Civilization

View of Parliament Buildings from Museum of Civilization

Totem Pole Exhibit at Museum of Civilization

This morning after walks, I vacuumed the RV and then sat outside and read. Around noon, Janice came over and helped me to wrap a gift for an event that’s upcoming. Then while Gordon and Mel went to get Gordon’s computer memory upgraded, Janice and I sat and talked for a while.

After lunch I read while sitting outside again, then got ready for our trip to the Museum of Civilization. It’s free after 4 p.m. on Thursday nights. Unfortunately they still get you big time for parking. It was interesting but I’m not really into history. The Imax show on Greece was good and Janice enjoyed the History of Nursing as she is a retired nurse.

After the museum we went to Feleena’s for dinner. Yum Yum!

Another Nice Day!

Today was bright and sunny but cooler, no humidity.

I went to Barrhaven to finish up some shopping that I had started and pick up some groceries. I’m trying not to buy so much at once so I have to go to the grocery store more often. My cupboard shelves are starting to bow from too much weight!

This afternoon I spent getting some gifts I had purchased together and wrapped for some events going on over the next week or so. Other than that I sat outside and read as it was a really beautiful afternoon.

At 4:00 p.m. our guests returned from their sightseeing trip downtown and we headed out to the barbecue that was held by our financial group, Canada Retirement Centre held at the Hellenic Centre. It was excellent, lots of food and even Chateau Neuf du Pape! Gordon was impressed with the wine. They had Gail Gavin as entertainer. We left there around 6:00 p.m. and drove to Dollarama in Kanata as I had a few things to pick up to complete my gift wrapping.

Then back to the RV where I sat outside and read again for a while. Early to bed tonight, we’re all tired!

Today's photo is of Michelle's family without Michelle who has obviously taken the photo. In order - Grace, Faith and Eric holding Luke.

Sightseeing

Janice and Mel taken at the Museum of Science and Technology in front of a train engine. Look at the size of the wheels!

Photo taken by Gordon - This is of me at the Museum of Science and Technology in a 1931 Austin American

We had a lot of rain during the night and a few showers this morning but we got ready to take Mel and Janice to the Museum of Science and Technology and arrived there around 9:30 a.m. We were there for a couple of hours and saw pretty much all there was to see. From there we headed to Summerhays at Woodroffe and Baseline for lunch and then went back to the RV to pick up the dog.

From there we took them downtown on the Ottawa River Parkway, through the Market area, down Sussex and the Rockliffe Parkway, into Rockliffe to show them Michael Cowpland’s house, then back to the King Edward Bridge and across to Quebec to show them where the Museum of Science and Technology is located, then back to Ottawa on the Alexandra Bridge and down Elgin to the Queen Elizabeth Driveway, showed them the Arboretum, the Ornamental Gardens and the Experimental Farm. Then off to Hogs Back and Rideau Heights Campground and from there back home.

Then Janice and I went to Carlingwood for a couple of hours and did some looking around and actually bought a couple of items.

The weather cleared up this afternoon and was very nice although a bit cool but thank goodness the humidity is gone!

Just Hangin' Around

Granddaughter, Faith holding grandson, Luke

Granddaughter, Grace holding grandson, Luke

Tonight's rainbow

Very cloudy this morning and humid. It eventually started to rain and cool off.

We hung around the RV today with Mel and Janice and Janice and I got some laundry done. Gordon and Mel did computer stuff. Mel was using our wifi. Late in the afternoon, Janice and I took off to do some grocery shopping. I took her to see our former house and we hit a few stores as well. We got back just as a thunderstorm started with lots of rain. The power went off a couple of times and we had a really nice rainbow, photo above.

Above also are more photos of the grandchildren sent by stepdaughter, Michelle.

Hot, Humid & Windy

Pretty purple groundcover that I found here in the park

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there reading my blog!

Today we hung around the RV. When I walked this morning I saw someone else with a DirecWay Dish. Turns out this guy is from New Jersey and will be here for a couple of weeks. So now we know there are other spots here that we can park in and still reach the satellite.

It was quite hot and humid today, more like Ohio weather than Ottawa. If it wasn’t for the wind it would be pretty much unbearable.

Our friends, Mel and Janice from Ohio arrived around 6:15 p.m. They had booked the site beside us but decided they would rather be surrounded by trees so moved to a site about four sites down from us. They had a long drive from Niagara Falls today.

Happy Anniversary Margie & John!

Gordon took this photo in England when we were there iin 2000 and then made art out of it. (This is the art.) We had a large print of this hanging above our sofa when we had the house. It's one of my favourites.

Happy 28th Anniversary to my sister, Margie and her husband, John!

It poured rain during the night last night and woke up to cloudy skies and humidity. The humidity got worse during the day but we did have some sunny breaks late in the afternoon.

We’ve been at Ottawa Municipal for 12 days and we had to go and dump the tanks today. By the time we disconnected, hooked up, dumped, returned to the site and got everything set up again, it took 2 hours but the good news is, we’ll probably only have to do it once more while we’re here.

The rest of the day was taken up with sitting outside and reading. While I was doing this, Gordon was working on his new website or photographs. We went for a walk in the campground and he took some photos of the wild flowers so he would have a 'photo of the day' for his pbase site.

I did talk to my older sister for a while today. She will be coming to Ottawa this weekend for a few days.

Not much else happening today!

Another Really Beautiful Day!

It was really beautiful this morning when I went out for my walk. The sun was shining and there was a breeze, my kind of day!

Gordon went to his friend, Leroy’s this morning to use his wifi to upload his files from his old website to his new one. It would have taken forever with our satellite internet.

I only have 1½ books left to read from the run to the library earlier this week so thought I would go to the library today and return the ones I had read and pick up some more as 1½ probably won’t last me through the weekend. I went to the library in Kanata this time. I’d never been there before in recent memory anyway. Before the city consolidated it wasn’t affiliated with the Nepean Library that I belonged to. Now all the libraries in Ottawa are part of the Ottawa Public Library. The Kanata Library is smaller and doesn’t have as many books but I managed to come home with quite a few.

After that I stopped at WalMart and Loblaws with a final stop at Food Basics on my way back to the RV.

When I got back I sat outside and read. It was quite warm this morning. I wasn’t getting much breeze sitting under the awning but that changed this afternoon. There was a beautiful breeze so I sat there for about 1 ½ hrs.

Today, my stepdaughter, Michelle sent us some new photos. The photo above shows Grace with a very proud look on her face holding her little brother, Luke and sister, Faith also obviously excited about the whole thing.

As the evening unfolds, it's becoming cloudy. I've heard we are supposed to get some rain tonight.

An Afternoon of Shopping

Today was a fairly quiet day. We had some sunshine, some cloud and a little bit of rain.

This morning we went to our financial advisor’s office to sign some papers. This afternoon I went out to Carlingwood and Hazeldean Malls to do some shopping. When I got back to the RV I sat outside with Bib for a while and finished another book.

Gordon now has email set up through his new website so anyone who right now emails me on smerrf@newsguy.com should change my email address to sandra@gordonwolford.com. Both email addresses will work for as long as we keep up with newsguy but just in case we don’t, please make the changes. My Yahoo email address remains the same – smerrikin@yahoo.ca.

As you can see from the photo above, we have little animals in the park that like to knock over the garbage cans. On my walks in the morning I usually see at least two that are on their side.

New Website

Last night after dinner we drove over to Andrew Hayden Park to take some photos. Our resident groundhog was out with one of his offspring. A man and his son came by and gave the groundhog some carrots and bread. They were so cute sitting there eating their carrots. Photo above.

There was also some sort of sports car event at the park although not very large. There was a Morgan, an MG, an XKE and an Austin Healey, also pictured above.

As of this morning, Gordon’s new website is being created at http://gordonwolford.com/. His other website will remain where it is on Newguy but won’t be updated from now on so change your bookmarks! I didn’t realize that it would be done that quickly!

This morning I was still tired so after walks and breakfast, I had a nap while watching TV. A big waste of a sunny day! Then I noticed that we had tracked in a lot of stuff so I vacuumed and wiped up the floors. I finally convinced Gordon to put the mat outside the door so we wouldn’t be tracking so much gravel and dirt in. We haven’t used it all winter and it needed to be dried out.

This afternoon I sat outside and read for a couple of hours. The sun came and went and it was a bit cool if the sun wasn’t out. The dog was driving me crazy today, when he was out he wanted to go in and when he was in he wanted to go out. I know he’s bored and what he really wants to do is hit the road!

Tonight was TV as usual!

A Visit to My Former Office

Today I got ready and headed out to visit the folks where I used to work at BreconRidge. It was great to see the people again. I didn’t see everyone I would have liked to see so that will have to happen another time. As it was, I was there for 3 ½ hours. Definitely some nostalgia. I’m not completely over the not working thing. I stopped at WalMart and Food Basics on my way home to pick up a few items.

When I came back, I signed us up for a week at Ottawa Municipal Campground in September as Gordon has some tests and a doctor’s appointment. This is a very convenient campground to the west end of the city even if it is more expensive than Rideau Heights and so more convenient to most of our medical practitioners. There is not as much traffic here as at Rideau Heights. I also like it as there are more places to walk and its prettier.

I sat outside and read a bit when I got home but that’s about it for my day. I took today’s photo when sitting outside as I had a comment at the office today about our site looking like it was remote. Here you can see we have a neighbour that arrived today.

Gordon used the time to process some photos taken during the winter and to research setting up his own domain again and setting up payment options so that he can sell his photos. He’s had a lot of requests but has only sold ones in Canada where people could direct deposit. He has also run out of space on newsguy for his webpage so it will be moving sometime in the next few weeks to his own domain. Will let you know the URL when it’s happening.

Another Trip to the Dentist

Cloudy again when I got up this morning. I had a dentist appointment to fix a tooth that had lost a filling so got that overwith. She didn’t give me any freezing and said it wouldn’t hurt and it didn’t. This dentist has really come through for me several times!

After that I wanted to go to Dollarama so thought the one in Kanata would be my best bet. NOT! The parking lot was nearly full and any spots available would not fit a 1 ton truck! So, I came home. I guess Carlingwood will have to be it for Dollarama until they get the one opened on Merivale Road.

Bib and I sat outside as it was starting to turn quite nice this afternoon. I read and Bib just looked around and sniffed. Then had a nap and did some surfing.

Photo today is the view from my lawnchair.

Slow Sunday

Another cloudy day but no rain since last night. It was really cold when we walked this morning though. Felt like winter with the wind. I actually slept till 8:00 a.m. today. The girls must have tired me out yesterday! Today was the only day until Wednesday that I could get the laundry done so got that together and was done by around noon. It’s more expensive here to do laundry than anywhere we’ve been - $2.00 to wash and $2.00 to dry.

After lunch I was really tired so lay down to read and fell asleep for a couple of hours. The sun came out late in the day. Sure is nice to see it.

Photo today is of Bib relaxing on the couch.

Visits - Emergency & Old Friends

More rain again last night until early this morning but again it wasn’t raining when I got up so we were able to get our walks without getting soaked.

By the way, here’s the link to photos of Nick’s graduation on Gordon’s pbase site:
http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf/nicks_graduation.

Here’s the link to Danica’s band concert photos also on Gordon’s pbase site:
http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf/danicas_band_concert

When I got up Gordon said that his lip was red and swollen and he had been told if that happened to go to Emergency so we got ready and went back to the General and got there for 8:30 a.m. Lucky for us we got there when we did as no one was there and it started to fill up after we checked in. He was given a prescription for antibiotics and we were out of there by 9:10 a.m. We stopped at Bayshore to fill the prescription and had a coffee while waiting for it to be filled.

We got home around 10:30 a.m. and I proceeded to get ready for my afternoon with the girls.

This afternoon I met my friends, Nancy and Sandy at Nancy’s place in Stittsville. We had a good chat and a few laughs and I got home about 6:30 p.m. Both Sandy and Nancy are still part of the workforce so we can only get together on the weekend. It’s interesting to hear them talk about their trials and tribulations at work and it’s always great to hear Sandy’s stories. She has a way of telling stories that’s a real hoot.

After dinner, I think both of us fell asleep watching TV so enough of that, time for bed!