Friday October 2, 2009-Laundry, Groceries & September Expenses

It was so warm and comfy in bed this morning I had a hard time getting up. Mostly because I knew today was laundry day. But, I got up, changed the bed and headed out for my walk no rain but lots of fog. We did see the sun for part of the day today and it wasn't too cold for a change. I think our high was about 12C (53F) although overnight it got down to 1C (34F).

It was very foggy this morning and sometime this week this tree has fallen over the road.

The turkeys were out again

This tree was much prettier last year. Of course a bright blue sky would help.

The raft at the beach in fog



After breakfast I got the laundry ready and Gordon helped put it in the truck and opened the campground gate for me and away I went. The laundry wasn't busy and I was done in about 1 1/2 hours.

First stop - Laundry

On for groceries. I want to try to stick to foods that agree with me as much as possible so I was looking for breakfast food and something to replace rice and potatoes. I wound up with oatmeal for breakfast and quinoa and sweet potatoes. I also got some fresh veggies, no corn or peas so I got brussel sprouts, broccoli and green, yellow and red peppers. I also bought some meat as we were running out.

I stopped first at Bulk Barn to look at what they had that I could eat as a snack. I bought some more vegetable chips (they're good but expensive), peanuts (which amazingly I don't have a problem with), and cashews. With that and fruit at least I won't go hungry for snacks.

Then off to Bulk Barn
and Superwalmart

then Your Independent Grocery store

and a stop at Staples to do some photocopying



Traveling snacks will be another story. I'm not sure how I'll get around that. I always had a sandwich, granola bar, peanut butter and crackers, corn chips etc. The only thing I can have out of all that now is peanut butter, but I have nothing to put the peanut butter on! Any ideas?

I was asked today in a comment what my sensitivity to carob is. The answer is I am not sensitive to carob, it's a negative on my list however if there is caffeine or caffeine equivalent in it I can't have it due to my reflux disease. The list only takes into account food sensitivities according to what my blood shows not other foods that I might not be able to eat because of other medical problems.

September Expenses

The rather large total for Medical/Dental includes our travel medical insurance for our six months in the US. We've also had dental and chiropractic appointments which our Extended Medical doesn't cover completely either 50 or 80% depending on what it is. Overall, without the travel medical insurance it wasn't a bad month considering all our appointments. We also had the truck serviced this month and new rear brakes.

Thursday October 1, 2009 - RV Service

Today was a very busy day! I was up at 6:45 a.m., no walk but had to get ready to take the RV in for service. We had a list of items for them to check and fix.

We arrived there around 9:20 a.m. and they started work right away. We got unhitched and headed out. First stop, Bayshore Mall for Gordon to have a coffee. I walked around a looked at some stuff but only bought some shampoo and got a roll of quarters in preparation for doing laundry tomorrow. Then we went to Rainbow Foods to see if we could find anything I could eat. I got some vegetable chips and a gluten free pizza crust for Gordon. On to Swiss Chalet for lunch. We had a gift card thanks to Nick and Becky, thanks guys! From there we headed over to Rideau Heights Campsite in the south end of the city where we stayed when we got back to Ottawa last year. We've reserved a site for when we get back this year. Recreationland is just too far east although we would stay there again if necessary. From there we stopped at the library in Bells Corners near where we used to live to use their wifi. When we got there, Gordon called the RV dealer, Vos Trailers and they had just pulled the RV out of the bay so instead we headed back to the dealer.

When we got there Gord, son of the owner went over everything that we had asked them to look at as well as some things they found. Looks like everything is fixed although we do have a problem with the den slide which Gord had to talk to Glendale about so he's going to get back to us on that.

We got back around 4:00 p.m. or so with a lot accomplished today. It was a nasty day, cold and spits of rain every now and then. It feel like winter! Our high today was 8C (46F), way too cold for the first of October!

I had a comment from Birdie yesterday about what I can eat and can't eat. Sorry, Birdie, I've been off alcohol for years due to reflux disease! Thanks to all those who left comments. I'm still trying to sort out what I can eat for breakfast and lunch to take the place of my cereal and sandwich.

Still no photos. It hasn't been good weather for photography.

Wednesday September 30, 2009-Interesting Results!

I was up just as the sun was coming up this morning. It was chilly at 7C (44F) but at least the sun looked like it would shine for a bit today. I had heard some rain on the roof overnight but by the time I got up there was no sign of it. I went out for my walk. It felt good!

I had appointments in Ottawa today, the eye doctor and my family doctor for the results of my food screening test.

I tried a new eye doctor, this one is my sister's and I really liked him. First of all the blurriness in my eyes that I thought was allergies is not. It's cataracts and well advanced ones at that. So my opthamologist that I saw 2 1/2 years ago should have picked up on it as I've had these problems now for nearly the whole time we've been on the road. So all the eye drops I've been using have been for naught! Anyway he's making an appointment with a surgeon for me and I'll have them removed when we're back here next summer. He also has a nifty little machine that takes a picture of the back of the eye and the good news is there's no sign of macular degeneration.

Then we stopped at the chiropractor so Gordon could get a treatment then on to our family doctor to get the results of my food sensitivities test.

The gist of it is there's not much I can eat. I don't have celiac disease but I have sensitivies to most of the same things however I also have sensitivities to rice, corn and potatoes so that leaves out chips, bread, crackers of any kind even celiac breads as they are mainly made with rice and potato flour. I also can't have nectarines and that's one of my staple fruits, no eggs or milk (including rice, goat, sheep, cow) and since soya beans are also on the list I expect soy milk is a no, no as well. And get this, no chocolate - now that's just downright nasty!

So between the two of us there's not much we can eat. Meats are still ok for both of us, as are some veggies but no corn or peas for me. I can eat fish and most seafood except crab and mussels. Salmon and tuna are ok. So no one should even think about trying to cook for us! It's just a mess! I have to think of something to have to replace rice and potatoes. Sweet potatoes weren't on the list so I don't know if I can have them or not. Any suggestions?

I've been in touch with Fab Grandma. She's had celiac disease for a few years and knows a bunch of websites that she'll send to me but I think I just needed someone to hold my hand and chat with about it. I'm used to the celiac diet now but future grocery shopping will be a chore for a while!

So that's not the whole list but a good part of it. All in all there's 38 foods on the list along with three borderline foods.

So what's the good news? I don't have the eye allergies I thought I had!

No photos today, I've had enough to um.....digest?

Tuesday September 29, 2009 - Errands

It's been another rainy day, it was raining hard this morning so no walk for me! This afternoon we did have a few sunny periods but they didn't last long before the next pocket of rain hit us.

I lounged around on the computer and reading this morning.

This afternoon I had to go in to Carleton Place to pick up some things. We're in the process of getting Christmas things together since we'll be leaving next weekend for southern Ontario to spend the last couple of weeks before we cross the border.

I'm also stocking up on things like rice crackers that are harder to find and much more expensive in the US than here.

I had called our travel medical insurance agent but today is a busy day for them as the prices go up tomorrow so Holly got back to me this afternoon. A mere $1430.00+ later we have insurance. It's about $238/month for the six months we'll be gone. It is extremely worthwhile however as we've both wound up in hospital in our five years on the road.

Looking forward to scenes like this coming up shortly.

Texas Coastal Bend

Monday September 28, 2009 - Appointments and Errands in the City

This morning was 12C (54F) cloudy and foggy but it wasn't raining so I took off down the farm road came across a big family of wild turkeys.

The fog this morning

Leaves were pretty

That's a lot of turkeys

We had to go in to Ottawa today as I had an appointment to get my teeth cleaned at my periodontist and Gordon had put his back out this weekend so he needed to go to the chiropractor.

I had a new hygenist today. I hate breaking in new people in the medical/dental field. You just get used to one and they're gone. Anyway she didn't seem to know where to put the water sucking thingie in my mouth. It was never in the right spot. And when her assistant came in and used the manual water sucking thingie she didn't leave it in my mouth when I was closing it. Everyone else always has and that sucks the water up really fast. She also kept telling me to turn my head one way or the other but the sunglasses they give you to wear don't fit right when you turn your head. She also scraped so hard on one of my teeth that I thought it would be gone. Luckily it's still there. This is the worst I've had that I can remember. Hopefully by the time I got back in May, she'll be more experienced.

Gordon had finished at the chiropractor by the time I was done and was waiting for me in the Food Court at Westgate Shopping Centre (known as Ottawa's oldest shopping centre) which is right beside my periodontist building so we then took off for Food Basics, a discount food store which is just around the corner. Groceries completed, I also stopped at the liquor store for some wine - $33.99 for 4 litres in a box. Sure will be glad to get to the US where wine is cheap!

Then it was home, it was foggy and rainy leaving Ottawa and it rained on and off all the way home.

Going through Ottawa on the freeway

For those of you who use Facebook or who have thought of it but are afraid of the privacy issues, this link will take you to a lot of useful information. Thanks, Donna for posting the link on Facebook.

http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/

Late this afternoon the skies cleared and the sun came out but our high still only reached 16C (61F).

Sunday September 27, 2009-Not Much Happening

Not much going on here today. We had light rain most of the day as evidenced by this radar image.

I had a brief walk this morning not straying far from the RV. It was much warmer at 12C (54F) but our high only reached 16C (61F).

I spent the day reading and on the computer.

Since I don't have much to say today, here are some facts from the 1500s in England that was sent to me recently.

They tanned animal skins using urine, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive you were "piss poor".

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot & were the lowest of the low. They "didn't have a pot to piss in."


Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, so some brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it, prompting the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs - thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way as a thresh hold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all "sit around and chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle and guests got the top - or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus,someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered "a dead ringer."

More rain tomorrow!

Saturday September 26, 2009-More Visiting

Today was our last day of sunshine for a while. The rains are coming again. It was sunny but only 4C (39F) when I got up to go for my walk just before 8 a.m. The hunters were out this morning and you could hear the shotgun blasts so I didn't see any deer this morning. Although it's not deer season yet, I expect they were hiding.

Frost on the grass this morning


A great blue heron across the river this morning

Tree reflection


After breakfast I got ready to go in to Ottawa. I wanted to visit my sister and I also needed to pick up a package that Gordon's daughter, Michelle had sent him for his birthday - homemade gluten free cookies! I spent a couple of hours with Margie, John and Danica, and Margie made me lunch. I took off around 2 p.m., made a stop at Zellers (what used to be a Canadian department store but is now US owned) then on to visit my friend, Nancy who I mentioned in my blog the other night had broken her back last month.

She is getting around very slowly and very gingerly but she is moving! I also got to see her house. We usually meet at a restaurant when I'm in town so I'm glad I got to see it before she sells it and buys another one to fix up. This lady can do anything! She paints, she builds, she wires and loves fixing up houses. We had a nice chat for a couple of hours then it was back on the road to get home for dinner.

By this time the clouds had come rolling in. Rain is to start later tonight.

Friday September 25, 2009 - A Day By Myself

When I got up this morning it was only 7C (45F) but bright and sunny with some clouds around. I set off on my walk and was heading south on the farm road when a deer jumped out in front of me. He took me by surprise as I've never seen a deer there before so no photo but it was a nice surprise! He headed off into the bush.

Fall Scenery


Gordon was going out with his friend, Jim this morning so he left the RV park around 5:00 a.m. to meet Jim at his house at the south end of the city.

While he was gone I got the vacuuming and cleaning done and got our expenses spreadsheet updated. This month is NOT going to be a good one for expenses. I also received a call from my doctor's office. The results of my food screening that I had done last week is in so I'm going in to see her and get the news next week.

After lunch and a brief nap I went out for another walk to the same area I was in this morning, this time ready with my camera but no deer! When I came back I stopped at talked to the fellow who is two sites down from us. They're fulltimers from Austin, TX.

Fluffy white clouds and changing tree

A line of poplars

The trees by the Mississippi change a little more every day


Gordon arrived home somewhere around 3 p.m. He and Jim had a good time driving around the countryside taking photos.

It's supposed to be a cold one tonight at 2C (36F).

Thursday September 24, 2009 - Around Home

I downloaded a new blog counter last night and started it at 93,000. Let's hope it doesn't crap out on me!

I woke up to a nice bright sunny morning but a bit cooler than we've seen the last couple of days at 11C (52F).

The low lying clouds look like mountains

changing leaves

the path in the morning light


I sat outside in the sunshine reading and then decided that I needed to do something so I got the shopvac out and vacuumed out the truck. It was pretty dirty! Later this afternoon, Gordon took the truck out and got it washed. I wish I could say it looks like a new truck again but unfortunately there are too many dents and marks on it for that!

I had just finished when a fifth wheel came in and attempted to back into the site behind us, without success I might add. He then decided to go around the loop and come at the site from a different angle and hit a tree. I haven't seen him since so I guess he decided not to come back. I have to give Gordon all kinds of kudos for driving this rig and getting us into our sites even though sometimes they're tough to get into. Backing these things up on difficult angles is not for the faint of heart!

This afternoon I was talking to a friend of mine here in Ottawa on Yahoo Messenger. She told me that she fell and broke her back mid August. Wow, you just never know what's going to happen. She is getting around a bit now but it's painful!

Wednesday September 23, 2009-Visiting

It was another cloudy, warm morning. I was up a bit earlier since I had plans for lunch today. I still went for my walk but didn't dawdle.

After breakfast I got dooded up and headed for Ottawa, well actually Kanata which is the western suburb of Ottawa.

My first stop was to see my friend, Sandy. Sandy works for one of the Edward Jones Investment offices so our visit was brief. Her Mom is now 92 and having health problems so that has been her major focus other than work for the last months so she wasn't able to make our get together in June when the ladies had lunch.

After that I stopped at GNC to pick up some things, then went to Home Depot to talk to them about my kitchen floor which still isn't fixed from the grapefruit knife episodes. All in good time...

It had started raining quite heavily when I first got to Ottawa so I was glad I had my umbrella as I had quite a walk for my next stop. I was going to my old office at Breconridge to have lunch with Najat, one of my friends that still works there. They have visitor parking but there weren't any spots so I had to park way at the far end and walk trying to keep my umbrella from turning inside out with the wind. Needless to say, I was damp when I reached the office but we had a nice lunch, thanks Najat! There are so many unfamiliar faces there after being away for five years. My boss is no longer there so it felt kind of strange but it's always good to see Najat and Sue!

My final stop after lunch was for groceries then I headed home. Luckily the rain had stopped while I was in the office.

No cameras are allowed in the office so my photos today of where we'll be coming up soon!

Matagorda Bay on the Gulf Coast of Texas

Pyro, the campground kitty & Gordon

Powderhorn Lake

It won't be long.....

In another vein, I'm really ticked off. It appears my counter has stopped working and just as I was getting close to 100,000 hits. I know last time I looked I was just under 93,000 but the last few days it hasn't been there even though it still shows in my layout. I'm so annoyed!

Tuesday September 22, 2009-Relaxing

Although it was cloudy this morning, it was a nice day for a walk. It was much warmer than it's been at 18C (64F) however there was a threat of rain so I just walked around the immediate area and didn't take my camera. Of course when I was down by the river I saw a deer on the island across the way. I went back for my camera but by that time it was long gone.

I was on the computer most of the morning, did some reading and after lunch started out for a walk as the sun had come out and found myself down by the river sitting at the picnic table and looking at the water and listening to the wind in the trees. There were no other sounds, no humans around, no dogs barking just the wind in the trees.

A pot of mums

And a dahlia


More fall colours

Looking stormy!

Red leaf on a lily pad

Another photo of our huge yard

This is what I was gazing at


I used to do things like that when I was a kid on the farm. I'd roll up on the lawn in an old quilt and look at the sky and listen to the wind.

Throughout my adult life I guess I was just too busy with 'life' and 'work' to enjoy those things much.

We've had a mix of cloud and sun but no rain so far although I see some activity on the local satellite.

Monday September 21, 2009-Getting Things Done

We had another absolutely gorgeous day today and reached nearly 24C (75F) although when I started the day it was only 5C (41F).

So I had my morning walk in bright sunshine down the farm road taking photos along the way. I've discovered that if I carry my camera under my arm with the strap around my neck it doesn't bounce when I run which was the main reason I don't carry it in the morning.

This little pony was watching me

Walking along the corn field

Lots of log buildings around Carleton Place

I came to a curve in the road and turned back the way I'd come

After breakfast I got the laundry packed up and went in to the laundromat in Carleton Place. An hour and a half later I was headed home with it all done.

We had lunch and then drove into Ottawa. We had some tests that we had done and had to drop the results off to the lab there. On our way back we stopped at our RV dealer and made an appointment to get a few things fixed and checked out before we leave the area. We had also brought our empty propane tank along so got that filled at the local Canadian Tire in Carleton Place. Then off to Bulk Barn to get Gordon some peanuts and Reese's pieces and to get some bulk brown and white sugar, then home!

When we returned it was still beautiful out so I sat outside and read and took a walk down by the river, then inside thinking I might nap but that didn't work out.

The trees along the river are changing quickly


For the past three days I have been off eye drops which I had been using now for a couple of years due to allergies. However, the eye drops seemed to be causing problems that were worse than the allergies so I decided to stop them to see what happens. I still have some blurriness and dryness but the headaches have pretty much stopped. I'll see the eye doctor next week so will discuss this with him.

Sunday September 20, 2009 - Around the Park

Today was an absolutely gorgeous bright sunny day with a high near 21C (70F) although when I left for my walk this morning it was only 6C (43F).

I took this photo on my walk

I saw this kitty stalking some mice in the field so I called kitty, kitty

and he ran over to see me

There were lots of spider webs along the way

I've watched this house being built along the Mississippi since last year. It's in a flood plain, sure hope they built it high enough.

More spider webs

and still more

These trees were green yesterday but you can see they're starting to turn after our cold night



We didn't do much today. I sat outside for a while and the female owner of the campground, Shonah came over to visit for a while. She's only here on weekends as she looks after her grandchildren while her daughter is going to school to become a massage therapist. It was great to see her again. She is such a lovely person.

Shonagh coming across the field to see us - Gordon going to meet her

We were talking the other night on the RV-Dreams chat about sewer set ups, here's ours


Other than that I had a nap this afternoon and we had stew and cornbread for dinner!

Oh and Happy Birthday, Jenny!