Wedding Gift Opening Party

The happy couple relax after an afternoon of opening wedding gifts

All the bows were being put on Nick's person somewhere -he's a good sport about it

Nick & Becky open one of the gifts from Debbie & Peter (Margie & John's long time friends)

Our Mom (Nick's Nanny) made this quilt for Nick before she passed away. There was a note on it to give it to him for his wedding

Nick and Becky open Best Man, Pete's gifts

Nick and Becky open Best Man, Pete's gifts

Becky's Dad, Al chugs champagne (I told him I'd take his photo if he did it)

Gift from us - photo of the Nick's Uncle Garth and Aunt Betty's cottage taken by Uncle David (Gordon) and changed to a conputer generated watercolour painting

Nick & Becky open gift from Nick's Uncle Albert and Aunt Reina

Nick's Aunt Terry and cousin Ben couldn't come to the wedding from England. Photo above is of Nick and Becky opening one of their gifts.

Today there was a gift opening party at Becky's Opa and Oma's house. I'm not going to write about it. I'll just post photos. By the way, these photos represent only a small portion of those actually received.

Congratulations Nick and Becky!

Nick and Becky cutting the cake - Becky made the cake and decorated it herself. It was good too!

Nick and Becky share a kiss with the Ottawa River in the background at sunset

Nick and Becky leaving the church in Nick's friend, Kyle's 1938 Chev Coupe

Nick and I in front of the church before the ceremony

Today started out cloudy and humid with a high smog advisory.

Nick called last night and wanted us to be at the church today for 5:30 p.m. to take family photos with him before Becky arrives.

We went to The Gourmet Restaurant in Carleton Place for breakfast and then toured some streets of rural Carleton Place that we hadn’t been on before. We also stopped at Mississippi Lake RV Resort to see what it looked like. They wouldn’t let us go in and look around. You have to make an appointment with the owner if you want to go in and tour the place. There are a lot of cottages on Mississippi Lake that I didn’t realize before. I had never thought of the Carleton Place area as ‘cottage country’.

I got my hair done this afternoon and then went and got my driver’s license renewed. At least I know my hair will look good on my driver’s license.

Around 3:00 p.m. the sun came out and stayed out so we had a really nice sunset in the background for some of the photos.

We left about 4:45 p.m. and headed into the church, All Saints Lutheran at Pinecrest and Queensview. We beat everyone there but with rush hour traffic on a Friday night, you never know. We got the photos done of Nick and Pete and Nick and me as aunt and godmother. It was a beautiful wedding but was very hot in the church. Nick looked very handsome in his tux and Becky made a beautiful bride.

After the wedding the immediate family headed over to Andrew Hayden Park and we took more photos before ending up at Capone’s at the Nepean Sportsplex for the reception. I got to dance with my husband, that doesn’t happen often. I also got a dance with Nick. He and Becky really seemed to be having a good time. Becky baked her own cake and did a really good job.

We got home about 11:45 p.m. and Bib was really happy to see us!

Helping Out

Nick and his best man, Pete (taken last night at the rehearsal dinner)

It was cloudy and humid this morning but still managed to do my walk. After breakfast and some interneting, I mowed the area around our ‘house’. With all the rain we’ve had it was badly needed and if I didn’t do it today, it probably wouldn’t get done till Sunday as the next two days will be busy.

This afternoon one of our neighbours that we met last year came over and asked if we could move his trailer. He’s one of the seasonal people here at the park. They bought a new trailer that is being delivered tomorrow so Gordon moved his trailer off his site and into an area where it can be picked up tomorrow after the new one is delivered. He did a very professional job!

I was sitting outside reading my book when Gordon poked his head out the door. He just had socks on and we started talking and he started to come outside, lost his footing and slipped coming down the stairs. It seems like he broke his toe so we had to go out and get tape and gauze to bind it so he’ll be able to get into his shoes tomorrow for the wedding. He’s also got an abscessed tooth that we’re hoping won’t get any worse. He’ll have to go in and get it pulled on Monday.

Rehearsal Party

Nick and Becky cutting their rehearsal dinner cake

Humid and cloudy with sunny periods this morning so I did my walk.

Betty, my sister and Garth, her husband picked me up around 2:00 p.m. Betty and I went to our younger sister, Margie’s to help set up for Nick and Becky’s rehearsal dinner which took place tonight. Gordon remained behind to feed the dog and then joined us for dinner around 7:00 p.m. The rehearsal party got back to the house around 7:45 p.m. and we enjoyed a buffet dinner.

We got home at 11:30 p.m. and I’m pooped so not writing much tonight!

A Low Key Day

Today I woke up to pouring rain and Bib wanted to go out at about 6:00 a.m. so I got dressed up in rain gear to take him out, then went back to bed. No walk for me today! Didn’t get up till about 9:30 a.m. I haven’t done that for ages and just as well because my neck was really sore. Must remember not to sleep in anymore.

It alternated between raining, pouring rain, sun and cloud for the day. I watched TV all morning after I got up, also haven’t done that in ages. Finally at 2:00 p.m. there was absolutely nothing on (we don’t have cable) so turned it off and got on the computer for a while.

TV pretty much sucked tonight. Can’t wait till we get satellite TV!

I didn’t take any photos today so resurrected one from our trip of sunset at Joshua Tree National Park.

Got Lots of Errands Run Today

Spider's web in the early morning dew (taken on my morning walk)

Today was bright and sunny again with no humidity until late afternoon again when we had a little shower. After my walk, I got the laundry ready and went into town to the laundromat. Then I picked up some wine for Nick and Becky’s rehearsal dinner on Wednesday night, got some groceries, looked around the little mall in Carleton Place, picked up Gordon’s pants at the dry cleaners, stopped at the new Shopper’s Drug Mart and got home around 1:30 p.m.

After unpacking groceries, unpacking laundry and getting the bed remade, I sat outside and read for a while until I got bitten by a mosquito then came in and cleaned my strawberries (about half of them were rotten and they weren’t even on sale)! I made a small potato salad for Gordon for Wednesday night as he won’t be able to eat what the rest of us are eating at the rehearsal dinner so he’ll have to pack a lunch to take to the party.

The remainder of the day/evening just went by as normal and we didn’t get any more rain as of this posting.

Sleepy Sunday

Today was another sunny day with no humidity but we did get some rain and a bit of a thunderstorm late this afternoon.

We didn’t do anything special today so not much to write about. The campground is having a one stroke tole painting morning on Saturday and I’ve tentatively signed up for it depending on how long the wedding and reception go on Friday night and whether there will be a present opening party on Saturday. I haven’t taken a tole painting class since we were in the house and I badly need a refresher on the roses so I can finish our sign with our name on it.

Also I didn’t take any photos today so that’s it!

We Visit Almonte and Christmas in July!

That's some beard, Santa!

Santa's 'sleigh'

Mill Falls, Almonte

Today was cloudy and cool with a threat of rain all day. Nearly all the cows in the field were laying down, a sure sign of rain.

Late this morning we went for a drive and wound up in Almonte, a little town just north of Carleton Place. It’s a very “in” place to live so the prices of homes are out of sight. Almonte has turned into quite an artsy place with all sorts of little curiosity and art shops on the main street. We parked and walked around for a bit and took some photos. Almonte has a waterfall called “Mill Falls”. The blurb below came from the ‘Waterfalls of Ontario’ site and from the Almonte site:

The town of Almonte was once called Shepherd's Falls, and it contains 2 waterfalls within short distance, each with two distinct waterfalls (see also Grand Falls). Mill Falls is a set of two pretty plunge class waterfalls, a rare class in Eastern Ontario (but see Rideau Falls). Each waterfall is about 8 m wide, with the upper falls about 3-4 m in height and the lower a good 5 m high. A wooden footbridge leads over the top of the smaller, upper falls to a private residence.

Visiting Mill Falls is, unfortunately, not the best waterfalling experience. Both are located on private property, and while you easily view the upper falls from the road, the lower falls is only visible from private property.

Almonte is also notable for being the boyhood home of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.

When we got back we had a nap and was doing some interneting when we looked out the window and saw Santa Claus go by on a decorated wagon being pulled by the orange tractor so we got our cameras and headed down to the beach. The campground has a “Kid’s Day” every year in July and call it Christmas in July so we got photos of Santa handing out gifts to the kids. They had all sorts of contests and things going on today. On our walk back from the beach there was a cute little woodpecker in a dead tree that we took some photos of.

Same Old

Clouds over the trees (taken on my morning walk)

I was expecting cloud this morning when I got up as that was what it said on the weather report late last night but they were wrong – AGAIN! However, it’s nice when they are wrong and you wake up to bright sunshine. The weather forecasters had also said it would be humid today but the humidity didn’t hit where we were so the doors and windows were open and we were able to enjoy the fresh air with only the fans running.

Today was spent reading and napping indoors and out and that’s about it so won’t bore you any further!

A Tour of Carleton Place

A little frog down by the Mississippi

This morning dawned bright and sunny again and turned into another hot day with a slight breeze. The breeze kept the bugs at bay so Bib and I sat outside for a while this afternoon.

After Regis and Kelly this morning, I got ready and went into Carleton Place for a while. I had never toured Bridge Street which is the main downtown street so I did that today. There are a lot of used clothing/consignment shops and one nice lady’s wear store. After that I went to First Choice Haircutters to make an appointment for next Friday but they don’t take appointments. She said it’s usually no longer than ½ hour wait so I’ll just take my chances. Then I stopped at Your Independent (grocery store). They have a dry cleaners there so took Gordon’s pants in for cleaning for the wedding and then got groceries.

When I left to go to Carleton Place, I went through Appleton as there is construction on Hwy 7 at our intersection where they are putting in traffic lights. I also understand that they are widening Hwy 7 from Carleton Place to Ottawa to make it four lanes and that will take about four years. On my return, I took Hwy 7 and wound up in a line of traffic for about five minutes as there was only one lane available at our turn off onto the Appleton Sideroad. The four lanes are badly needed but putting up with construction for four years will be a huge pain!

I did more internet checking today for RV parks in Florida trying to find something less expensive. We have some coupons for $149/month but they expire at the end of 2006 so may not be useful to us since I don’t expect we’ll be in Florida until early December.

Tranquil at Tranquil Acres

Bib, laying on the couch this morning (photo by Gordon)

One of the deer I saw on my morning walk

Now this was an Ottawa morning, sunny, no humidity, blue sky and a bit of a breeze. I walked probably an extra half a kilometer or so and saw a couple of deer (picture above). The weather we’ve been having up until today is what Gordon calls Ohio summer. I wish they would keep it down there. I hate humidity!

Another slow day here at Tranquil Acres, or I guess you could say, tranquil. Although it was beautiful outside the mosquitoes and little flies were out in full force so didn’t make sitting out all that enjoyable. I had thought about going into town and doing some errands but never got the enthusiasm level up enough to go. Maybe tomorrow! I’ve got to make a hair appointment for the wedding next Friday, I can’t believe my chubby little baby nephew now a tall slim young man is going to be married in nine days! I’ve also got to take Gordon’s pants in to the cleaners.

I spent some time this afternoon looking at RV Resorts in Florida for our upcoming winter trip. Some of them are hideously expensive especially for February, like $1100 ++ electricity. Those are for the Sun Resorts. I’m sure we can find something less expensive. We’re just not sure when we’ll arrive in Florida as Gordon wants to make some stops on the way down in places that we didn’t see last time we did our east coast trip.

I also did some painting on the dog that goes with the sign with our names on it. The dog sign will hang on the big plaque with Bib’s name on it.

Tonight was another pretty lousy TV night. I’ll be glad when we get cable!

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.