Visits, Errands and Expenses

It was a beautiful morning for a walk. It was warm 19C (66F) with a breeze but since I got up at 7:45 a.m. there was a lot of traffic with people heading for work at that time. Not a good time to walk.

After breakfast we went in to a branch of our bank in Carleton Place to get some travelers cheques for our trip south. We’ll only be back in Ottawa for one night in September so I’m trying to get most of our errands done before we leave on Monday.

We then went in to Leroy’s (the fellow we bought my new Mac from) and picked up a copy of XP to put on the Windows side of my new Mac (now I can run both Mac and Windows from my new computer). (Thanks to my husband, of course.) While in Ottawa we ran a few errands and then stopped at my sister’s to see them and pick up the mail. Gordon’s new driver’s license was there thank goodness.

I just want to say thanks to all my co-workers. It was great seeing them yesterday and special thanks to Najat for buying my lunch!

Gordon was out taking photos around 6:00 a.m. today and this little creature charged him three times so he’s been reported as possibly being rabid. Note that he did stop long enough to take its photo!

Below is the damage for July.

July Expenses

Campground – 657.20
Groceries/Wine – 587.55
Laundry – 51.65
Entertainment/Parking/Restaurants – 141.26
Truck Fuel – 297.02
Propane – 0.00
RV/Truck Expenses – 178.65
Fixed Expenses – 363.55
Medical/Dental – 285.48
Gifts & Misc – 2134.95

Total – 4697.31

We started out the month really well and if I hadn’t had to buy a new computer we would have come in under $3100.00 this month. However, with the new computer we are greatly over budget!

It appears that groceries and wine were out of sight this month too. I’ll be glad to get back to the U.S. where wine is cheap!

We bought the plates for the truck for the year and some items were purchased for the RV under RV/Truck Expenses.

Medical/Dental may change. I haven’t submitted receipts yet so not sure how much of our chiropractor bills will be paid by extended medial.

Under gifts/misc the only thing of any value other than the computer was the weather station.

I’m not particularly happy with the total for July but not much can be done about it. I am liking my computer!

Two Office Visits

I was up at the crack of dawn this morning (6:30 a.m.) as I had to get ready to go in to Ottawa for a chiropractor's appointment for 10:30 a.m. and then was meeting my friend, Najat for lunch at my former office at BreconRidge in Kanata. I was early arriving in Kanata so stopped at Walmart to pick up some stuff and then went in to see my chiropractor, Dr. Ken Dick on Richmond Road. After that I stopped at Canadian Tire in Kanata as I was early and then headed over to BreconRidge. I always enjoy seeing my former co-workers and today was no different. Today I even got to spend a few minutes with Peter, my former boss. Najat had a meeting at 2 p.m. so I left and returned to Carleton Place, stopping at the grocery, the bank, the Granary to get corn wraps for Gordon but they are on backorder and finally the library to return my books before returning to the RV.

When I got back, Gordon had the dirty job of replacing the toilet seal but he did an excellent job and the toilet now holds water again!

Today was a hot one. The temperature in the truck on my way back from Ottawa was 31C (88F). There was a patch of rain coming back that lasted about a mile and then was gone. It was really funny to see in the distance. The road was dry and then ahead you could see the road was wet. By the time I arrived at the wet part of the road the rain was over which was good for the two cyclists I met!

Although I took my camera with me today I didn't feel like carrying it into the office. Some companies have rules about no cameras and although they didn't have that rule when I worked there, things change! So, again today I am borrowing my husband's photo of the day!

Coming to You Via My New MacBook

See the photos of my new Mac. Gordon and I have been busy since we got back this morning from picking it up getting it all set up. It's nowhere near set up yet but I wanted to do my blog on it tonight. It sure isn't easy to transfer things like email and address book. My Excel files have opened okay, thank goodness.

Last evening I spent about half an hour on rv-dreams.com's chat room. It's amazing to be chatting with people in all different areas. One was in Alaska, others in various parts of the U.S. and then me in Canada.

After picking up the new computer in Kanata we headed back home and started getting it operational. We've worked on it since about 1:30 p.m. and it's just now starting to work for me. I still don't have my old email from the PC but I think I can receive email in my main program ( I have three email accounts - 2 browser and then my Eudora which gets the mail via Gordon's domain).


Not much else new to report but this computer does have a built in camera which is kind of cool. I expect Ill be finding out all sorts of things about it in the next few days.

A Beautiful Summer Day!

Today was just a beautiful summer day, no humidity, bright sun and a tiny breeze. After my walk and breakfast I managed to vacuum the place, then went outside to read for a while.

This afternoon we went into Carleton Place, me to the grocery store and Gordon to wash the truck. When we got back, I went outside again, it was such a beautiful place to be today!

I'm not taking any photos now until I get my new computer.

Happy Anniversary & Spam Filters

Happy 1^st Anniversary to Nick and Becky! Here’s a photo of them one year ago today! Although it was very hot and humid last year on this day, it was a nice sunny day unlike today, humid and rainy!

I’m finding that I meet people now and get their email addresses and then never hear from them. Is it because they don’t want to hear from me or because they aren’t aware that if my email address isn’t in their address book, my email will go directly to their Spam folder and probably never be seen by them. So anyone who reads this and is waiting for an email from someone, check your Spam folder, it’s probably there!

Today was just a nothing day. I read, went to the clubhouse to watch the people who are taking the painting class and just generally vegged! I should have met up with Sandy and Nancy again as was suggested last time we met! Didn’t know I’d be at loose ends today!

Sittin' Around

Today was quite humid and partly sunny this morning for my walk. Since the air was so heavy I didn’t feel like walking very much but managed 25 minutes probably at a reduced speed.

For anyone that’s interested click here for the information on my new MacBook.

This morning I coloured my hair again (doesn’t seem to be lasting as long as it used to) and backed up my computer. I devised a way to keep the power cord plugged in as the battery is not charging at all. I just tuck the cord into the side of my recliner and that seems to work. It’s a real pain to have it shutting down all the time.

The rest of the day was spent reading outside in the shade or inside on the couch. I did walk around the park and take more flower photos as you can see. Not a terribly exciting day!

A Large Purchase

Today was another hot, hazy, humid day but with a nice breeze so after my walk, breakfast etc. I sat outside for about 4 hours and read.

I’ve been having problems with my HP Pavilion laptop. I put a new battery in it under warranty about 2 years ago. Now either the battery has gone again, the power cord is malfunctioning or there is something wrong with the motherboard so we decided to replace it. It’s three years old and that’s a long time for a computer or so I’m told. After some discussion with my husband who is a Macintosh person, we decided that I should buy a Mac instead of a PC. Macs will run the Windows program so I get both in one little computer and Macs don’t have all the virus problems that PCs do. My first computer was also a Macintosh and the reason I was hired originally at Nortel was because I knew the Mac. Then about a year later, they switched to PC so I’ve been a PC user ever since. I needed a PC at home so I could get into my computer at Nortel and do work from home. Now that’s no longer needed so Gordon and I went in to Kanata late this afternoon and discussed the purchase with his supplier, Leroy. We decided to order it so I will have a new computer by Tuesday at the latest. Then I just have to learn the Mac ways and get it set up! Here’s a picture of the computer that I took off the internet!

Happy Birthday to Two Lovely Ladies!

First of all I want to wish a Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law, Carol in Ohio and my Aunt Ruth in Brockville.

Today was a nice sunny day but very hazy, hot and humid with a temperature of 30C (86F). We headed south on some back roads trying to get to Smiths Falls avoiding Highway 15 due to it being under construction between Franktown and Smiths Falls but there are no local roads in the area that would get us where we wanted to go. There are a lot of nice old log barns in this area so we took some photos then we got onto Highway 15 and with our little detours on the side roads and then being in stop and go construction it took us an hour to get to Smiths Falls. It’s normally half that time. When we got there we parked near the locks and went in search of a washroom which we couldn’t find so back in the truck and over to Hershey’s (3^rd time this week). While there Gordon bought more Reese’s pieces, we used their washroom and then back to the locks where we had a picnic.

We then headed south to Brockville to visit my Aunt for her birthday. Before going to her place we went down to the St. Lawrence to see if we could get a Verizon signal to update the roaming on our phones. We got that accomplished, then Gordon called Carol to wish her a Happy Birthday and his daughter, Michelle to see how she and her family are doing. We then stopped for fuel and arrived at Aunt Ruth’s at about 3:00 p.m. An enjoyable hour and a half was spent with her. She looked really good. She got her hair cut and it looks very nice!

We came back via Hwy 15 again. We had talked about going to Perth and back that way but decided to come straight through as it was getting late. Since we would be getting home late, we decided to stop at the Swiss Chalet at Carleton Place. Originally we were going to order take-out but decided to eat it there. It’s a combination Swiss Chalet/Harvey’s. We arrived home just before 7:00 p.m. tired but glad to have had some time with my Aunt!

Getting Things Done

Today was mostly cloudy with a few sunny breaks. I had cloud for my walk but it was warm around 21C (70F).

After breakfast and getting ready, I got the laundry together, then read for a while and went in to Carleton Place around noon to do the laundry. The Laundromat is usually not as busy over the lunch hour and today was no exception. It was hot and humid all day but I had to get some more groceries including some refrigerator items that I didn’t want to get yesterday. I also had books to take back to the library and it didn’t open till 2:30 p.m. I had also put three books on hold from their on line site last night so I had to wait till they opened to pick them up.

After unpacking groceries and laundry, I lay down for a while before dinner.

Not much else going on today.

I didn't take any photos today but my husband took some around the campground so I'm borrowing a couple of his to brighten up my words!

What I Accomplished Today

1. Went for a walk – 16C (61F) bright and sunny
2. Went to the chiropractor
3. Got some groceries
4. Picked up a part for the RV at Vos Trailers
5. Got the water jugs filled
6. Went to Rainbow Foods to get some gluten free stuff

The high was 28C (83F) today and was nice and sunny till later in the afternoon.

I didn’t take any photos today so I’ve borrowed one from Gordon that he took one morning at sunrise.

Chocolate Factory & Farmersville Exhibition

It was sunny and warm for my morning walk.

My younger sister called this morning and asked us if we wanted to go with them to Smiths Falls. They were going to Hershey’s. So I’ve been there twice in the last two days. Does that make up for not going for 59 years? I think the lights are so cute!

After the Hershey plant we headed to Athens where they were having a Farmersville Exhibition. Since we got there late in the day and today was the last day we got in without paying. There were all kinds of old trucks, tractors, steam engines, a horse pull and crafts. It was quite an interesting place as you will see from the photos below. A good percentage of the vehicles we saw are owned by a fellow by the name of Tackaberry from Smiths Falls. He calls them "Tack's Toys".

We stopped at the Thruway Restaurant at Carleton Place for dinner on our way back. Good burgers! Too much food!

It was a beautiful, sunny day all day, not too hot and with very little humidity. We had a very enjoyable day!

Hershey's

Late yesterday afternoon the rain finally stopped and I got to go for my walk. The temperature rose to 19C (67F) and the sun finally came out around dinner time.

I woke up to bright, sunny cloudless skies and a temperature of 17C (62F). I had a nice walk but didn’t see much, only the goldfinches and a couple of butterflies. The wind was a bit cool but walking soon warmed me up.

This morning we got ready and headed into Smiths Falls. Here are a couple of photos I took along the way.

The prime objective for this trip was to visit the Hershey plant. I've lived in this area for almost 59 years and had never been there so away we went and picked up lots of Reese's pieces, Gordon's favourite candy. Note the street lamps in the shape of Hershey's kisses. When we arrived you could really smell the chocolate even in the parking lot.

We did a brief tour from the observation deck but not much was going on. I don't know whether it was because it's Saturday or the fact that the plant is closing sometime in the near future.

After Hershey's, we were hungry so we went in search of a restuarant serving all day breakfast and found one on Hwy 15 called Roosterant. We had a really great breakfast, excellent tasting eggs and it even agreed with Gordon and it was probably the most inexpensive breakfast we've had in some time.

We picked up a couple of other items we were looking for including a weather station that Gordon has wanted. The last one we bought in Kentucky didn't work properly so we had to return it. He spent the afternoon putting it together. I had wanted to walk around the downtown area but with all the chocolate we bought (I picked up some baking chips for the lady that owns the campground) and the sun shining, we thought we'd better come home before all the chocolate melted! We'll have to go back again!

Today was a beautiful, warm, sunny day with no sign of rain!

Rainy Day

We had torrential rains and revolving thunderstorms from about 2:00 a.m. this morning. It continued into the daylight hours so no walk for me this morning. During the morning we also had some wind gusts. We watched our neighbours pack up and leave. YUCK! What a day to have to move. If we have a choice, we don’t move when it’s raining especially in something like a monsoon! That’s one of the reasons I hate making campground reservations. If you’ve made them you almost have to move.

I took today's photo out the back window of the RV.

Most of the morning I just surfed the internet. Luckily the rainstorm hadn’t interfered with our satellite reception but Gordon said it was down during the night when the rain was heaviest. Our high today only reached 16C (60F). Needless to say it was not a nice Ottawa summer day!

About the only thing I did today was make a batch of cornbread. The oven managed to heat the RV up. Other than that I finished my Rosamunde Pilcher book. I think I’ll have no problem finishing my list of books that I have to return to the library on July 28^th. In fact, I may have to get more.

I emailed the library in Lindsay and got a reply stating that for people not paying taxes to the city the charge is $30/year but they will pro-rate for the 5 weeks that I’m there. So, I’ll be able to get books there as well. Now if they would just do that in the U.S. when we’re there!

Around the House and News!

This morning was 20C (68F), cloudy and humid and looked like rain might be imminent so I took my rain jacket and did my three point walk (three directions) so I’m closer to home if it starts to rain but don’t give up my 30 minutes.

This morning I got the vacuuming done, washed the floors then had a nice warm shower. That felt good!

Yesterday I had bought a roast of beef and put it in the crockpot with carrots, potatoes, onion soup mix and a little cooking wine so we tried an experiment at eating our big meal at lunch today. I know it’s better to eat your big meal earlier in the day but we’ve never done it before mostly because of working and we’re usually doing something mid day which would preclude eating our large meal at noon. So, the jury’s still out on whether this continues.

This afternoon I decided I had better back up my hard drive as it’s been over two months since it was done.

We had a few brief rays of sun and then rain this afternoon and we only reached a high of 22C (71F). That was higher than the weather report had said it would get. I spent the afternoon reading my book by Stephen White “Manner of Death” which I finished and then started "The Empty House" by Rosamunde Pilcher.

During the afternoon we received a phone call from Gordon’s son, Ian with good news. He and Tracy are expecting their third child next spring. That will be grandchild #6!

Since the weather didn't cooperate today, these photos were taken yesterday in Almonte.

We Visit Almonte

This morning was 20C (68F) with hazy sun. The sky looked like we would have rain today and indeed we did! I walked my two miles and all I saw were a couple of goldfinches sitting on the electrical wire. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had seen what I thought was a wolf in the ditch on my walk. When we were at Murphys Point Visitor Centre the other day, I saw a stuffed animal that might have been what I had seen on my walk – a fisher! It had the same little face and although I didn’t see the body really well, I think that’s what it was. I borrowed this photo from the internet.

I had decided yesterday that I was going in to Almonte to look around and get some groceries. Gordon decided this morning that he would go with me. So while I looked around the shops in the main shopping area he was off taking photos. I looked in almost all of the stores but didn’t find anything I wanted to buy. I might also mention that Almonte is where James Naismith, the inventor of basketball is from.

We met up for lunch at the Iron Works Pub on Little Bridge Street. They have a nice patio and we’ve walked by there before but had never eaten there. Gordon had a really good burger and I had a taco salad. Both were excellent!

After we finished there we drove around town for a bit and stopped at the library then on to The Bargain Shop which has just opened recently. While I was there Gordon drove home as a storm was threatening and all the computers were still hooked up. So I walked across the street to the grocery store and he drove in just as I was going through the cash. From there, Gordon came home and I then went back to Carleton Place to finish grocery shopping. I had some heavy rain on my way in to Carleton Place, then it stopped long enough for me to get into the store but it was raining quite hard when I came out so I managed to get a little wet.

We’ve had a couple of power outages and as I’m writing this we have more rumblings of thunder. Apparently we’re under a severe thunder storm watch but that’s from Ottawa and we don’t always get the same weather they do.

Up Early, To Ottawa, To Nap

I was up earlier this morning as we had to go in to Ottawa for Gordon’s dental appointment. At 7:00 a.m. it was already 16C (60F) and very sunny and bright with no humidity. Today was a mostly beautiful sunny day. We had a few clouds in the afternoon.

While there I cleared up the U.S. Visa problem. The credit is now deposited where it should be so I called when I got back and got the card cancelled. That’s one headache overwith.

When we got home I sat outside to read (photo is view from my lawnchair) for a while as it was so nice but then Roger started mowing so I went inside and had a very long nap. The life of a retiree!

Murphys Point Provincial Park

This morning was beautiful, warm and sunny and 18C (65F) but I only took a short walk as we had plans to go to Murphys Point Provincial Park near Perth today.

We arrived at the park somewhere around noon, paid our $11.00 admission fee (highway robbery) and drove around one of the campgrounds (too many trees for our satellites), the road is also quite narrow with trees lining the way so it would be difficult for us to get in and the sites aren’t any too large. We had our picnic lunch that I packed at a picnic table at the boat launch on Big Rideau Lake. We then looked for a trail but some of them aren’t very well marked. We walked on the Loon Lake Trail and part way on the McParlin Trail. The Provincial Parks really need to mark their trails better. We didn’t see anything other than a few black squirrels, chipmunks and the usual robins, red wing blackbirds etc. We could have done any of the trails in Ottawa for free and seen just as much or more. Anyway we arrived home around 4:00 p.m. I then sat outside for a while under the tree to read but it got cool so I came in and finished my Rosamunde Pilcher book.

Here are a few photos that I took today.




It was a beautiful day today with temperatures reaching about 27C (80F).

Lazy Sunday

After 12 hours of sleep last night I walked my two miles this morning (those muscle relaxants really do you in). It was 18C (64F) and sunny when I started out, then turned cloudy and then sunny again. I didn’t see any wildlife this morning as there was quite a bit of traffic for a Sunday.

This morning I washed five of Gordon’s ball caps that were in pretty sad shape. I put them out on the picnic table to dry and they were dry by dinner time.

I spent the day relaxing and reading. I finished my Kathy Reichs book and got half way through one by Rosamunde Pilcher.

Just before dinner I went around the park to take some photos. Other than that it was a quiet day.

Sore Back, Reading and Potluck

Today was mostly cloudy with temperatures hovering around 21C (70F). We had a few sunny breaks here and there. I had to cut my walk short as I got a pain in my back between my shoulder blades (from doing arm circles) and couldn’t take a deep breath. I tried to work it out with our massage cushion. It helped a bit but didn’t cure it so wound up taking a muscle relaxant.

I was on Facebook this morning and saw that they have now added Morrisburg High School to the list of schools so I joined Classmates.com and saw a lot of names of people I knew way back when. I’ve sent out a couple of emails.

I slept most of the afternoon away thanks to the muscle relaxant. I did manage to read a few chapters in my book by Kathy Reichs. The weather wasn’t very nice anyway.

Just before 6:00 p.m. we headed over to the rec hall for the potluck. Since it was spitting rain on and off we expected it had been moved there instead of having it on the beach. It was another really good potluck with an excellent turnout and I ate far too much as usual!

I took the photo above a couple of evening ago. It’s of the Jock River off Cemetery Road near Carleton Place.

Friday the 13th!

I woke up this morning with a headache to pouring rain and thunder so no walk first thing this morning. The next thing was I couldn’t get my underwear drawer open so Gordon had to come in and get that open. Drawer brackets that hold the slide rails in an RV usually have to be replaced in the first year as they build them out of cheap plastic. We’ve replaced just about all of them but not this one (until today).

Around 10:00 a.m. the sun came out so I went for my walk then. I’d rather walk first thing but I was glad that it stopped raining long enough for me to go at all. While I was walking, Gordon fixed my drawer.

This morning I took some more flower photos around the RV park.

This morning we went into Carleton Place to renew Gordon’s driver’s license and get our new truck plates. We picked up the paperwork with our mail yesterday. Gordon had to have a new photo taken and it will be 2-4 weeks before he gets his new license so hopefully we’ll have it before we leave Carleton Place.

While we were out I took some items to the thrift store located on Hwy 7. It’s the end of an era. I gave away all my toe socks!

We also stopped to take some photos along the way. There were lots of different clouds in the sky making for some interesting photos.

This afternoon was spent reading. I’ve got six books to read before July 28^th!