On the Upswing?

These sunflowers caught my eye this morning while I was out walking

Well, I'm happy to say that I feel somewhat better today. I can talk although my voice is still gravelly and my cough seems to be better. My head is still stuffed up but not as bad as it was yesterday. Unfortunately my husband now has it which was inevitable living in this small space.

For the first time in over a month, I went for a walk around the campground and a little ways on the road this morning. I took my camera as I wasn't planning on doing any power walking and was able to get some nice photos of the mist on the Scugog River.

This morning and part of the afternoon I sat outside and finished my Stephen White book, Dry Ice. Another good book by Stephen White. He's one of the authors that I like. It was a beautiful sunny day with no humidity at all and temperature around 24C (75F).

It seems when I'm sitting down my head gets stuffed up so I decided to go into town and pick up some groceries so I spent a couple of hours wandering around stores in Lindsay which increased our total spent for this month. This is the first month since we've been in Ontario that we've come even close to $3000 for the month. While that isn't a fixed budget, I'd like it to be. September will be much worse as we will have prescriptions to buy for 6 months as well as travel medical insurance.

August Expenses

Campground - $596.10
Groceries/Wine - $473.31
Laundry - $29.75
Entertainment/Parking/Restaurants - $73.67
Truck Fuel - $194.11
Propane - $0.00
Repairs& Misc RV/Truck - $928.30
Internet/TV/Cell/Insurance (Fixed Exp) - $379.33
Medical/Dental - $146.26
Gifts & Misc. - $417.61

Totals - $3238.44

Considering the amount we spent on the RV this month getting the new sewer hose system and having the head of the bed raised I think our overall total isn't all that bad. We also had a couple of computer purchases, one being the XP software for my new MacBook and a new battery for Gordon's computer. Other than those items it wasn't a bad month!

More of the Same

I do have some voice today and my cough has loosened up so I guess that's progress!

I called Betty in Toronto this morning to let her know that I wasn't up to shopping with her today. I have to feel pretty lousy to not want to go shopping! She stopped in on her way back to Lindsay to see how I was doing but didn't stay long.

I haven't done any laundry in some time so this afternoon I went to the campground laundry and took care of that. Now I feel lousy again. Seems it doesn't pay to exert yourself with whatever this is!

Now I Have Laryngitis!

Although I'm still stuffed up a bit at times the worst problem today was a sore throat and laryngitis. Whether this is from my cold or from reflux disease is questionable. My throat doesn't look red so my guess is that it's from reflux.

I did manage to drive myself into town today to pick up some wine for my husband and get a few groceries that we were out of. I don't actually feel all that bad today except for the sore throat.

Gordon was also ill last night. We're not sure if it was a reaction to something or just a flu bug.

Anyway, we're still here and will hopefully be getting better soon!

Photos of Lunar Eclipse

My husband was diligent in taking photos of the lunar eclipse this morning as you can see below.

Other than feeling somewhat worse today than yesterday thus going in to town to get some more drugs including cough syrup, nothing happened today. Luckily my sister dropped by on her way to Toronto and brought me more books so I started and finished "The Overlook by Michael Connelly". It was a good book and an easy read. I then started "Invisible Prey by John Sandford" so I'm getting lots of reading in!

Third Day of Being a Sickie!

I can't tell you how tired I am of this. From acid reflux to colds. I'm supposed to be having a good time, I'm retired!

Anyway, I did sit outside this morning reading The Nanny Diaries. It's a pretty good book.

Thanks to Susan for sending me a get well gift on Facebook. Susan is an RVer who is giving up the lifestyle to go back to the working life. In her defense, she is a lot younger than I am. Hopefully some day, she'll be back traveling again!

That's all folks!

A Cold Update

Today was more of the same, staying in bed trying to get rid of my cold. I got an email from my sister in Ottawa today. Danica now has it and she has a scratchy throat. I haven't talked to Becky so don't know if she has it too. My husband is fighting it as well so I won't bore anyone with any more 'cold' details.

Here are some photos I took at the cottage on the weekend.

This garter snake had a frog in its mouth that was still alive and making all kinds of 'save me' sounds

These two bluejays were getting their fill on the bird feeders. These are two techniques that I tried in iphoto called vignette and matte.

Nothing Happening Today

This is an early morning photo taken by my husband

This is the first cold I've had in over two years! A couple of days last week when I was having particularly bad reflux I neglected to take my Vitamin C so this is the result! Consequently I spent a lot of the day sleeping, only getting up just after 3 p.m. to have a shower and get some things done.

We were supposed to have breakfast with my sister and her husband at a restuarant in the little tourist town of Bobcaygeon but I called and begged off. My sister has a cold as well and she actually went to Emergency on Wednesday with a fever but it's only a virus so will go away eventually on its own.

We have two RVs behind us. Each has two little boys ages probably 6-11. They have spent the day running through other people's campsites including ours and the park model next door to us. Don't parents teach their kids camground rules? I don't mind well-behaved kids but these have been fighting and yelling all day!

Looking forward to the 55+ parks in Arizona!

A Summer Cold & A Bit of History

I slept really well last night with the head of the bed raised, no acid reflux at all. I didn't wake up except for the thunderstorm that we got along with heavy rains so I had to get up and close the bedroom windows.

I can't believe I've been in Lindsay for three weeks and haven't been in to any of the stores except for groceries so today I went in to town and went to the mall. I had a photo of the family from our cottage weekend that I wanted to print for Betty and since I was going in to town had it done at Black's Photography. It's a lot cheaper than doing it at home on our printer with photo paper. Turned out quite well. There are quite a few new stores in the mall that have gone in to the expansion that they built a couple of years ago. I wasn't in the market to buy much though. We've been spending too much money lately!

After that I stopped to get groceries and came home as I feel like I'm getting a cold. I took an Airborne this morning as well as a Contac and an extra Vitamin C but it doesn't seem to have helped. I probably overdid the medication and they're canceling each other out!

Today was quite warm and humid with quite a breeze so I did sit outside for a while. I'm reading a book that Danica got for Betty called "All Mortall Things". It's by an author called Maggie Wheeler and it takes place in the area of Eastern Ontario where I'm from. She has written a couple of earlier books as well and they are all about The Lost Villages that were put underwater when the St. Lawrence Seaway Project went through from 1954 to 1957 and of course there's murder and ghosts involved. They are all quite good, easy-reading books especially if you know the area. Some of the buildings were taken from the lost villages and helped to create Upper Canada Village. The links above will tell you something of the history of the area. I'm originally from the Morrisburg, Ontario area and my grandfather ran the locks in Morrisburg prior to the seaway project. This allowed the ships to get through the canal at Morrisburg and provided electricity to the town. I was only 10 years old when the project finalized so I remember part of the old town. It's an interesting bit of history and probably the only history I am interested in!

Birthdays, Anniversaries and Bed Renovations

First of all, Happy Birthday to my younger sister, Margie who turned 40 something today. It was also an anniversary for us. Three years ago today we took delivery of our fifth wheel and drove it from Stittsville, Ontario to Carleton Place, Ontario so we are officially on the road for three years!

I was up at 6:00 a.m. today having been awakened at 4:30 a.m. by a thunderstorm and heavy rain. It hasn't rained here for a long time and wouldn't you know that the day we're scheduled to take the RV into Peterborough to have our bed adjusted it would rain. Lucky for us the rain quit while we were doing our outside stuff, it rained a bit on the way to Peterborough and was foggy, hazy and humid. We arrived there well before 8:00 a.m. and our appointment wasn't till 8:30 a.m.

After unhooking the truck we left to find a place to have breakfast. We wound up at what we know - the Zellers Diner and had a great breakfast. After that we ran a few errands, including Walmart where I saw this very colorful car and even though it wasn't a very nice day we decided to go to the zoo.



Peterborough Riverview Park and Zoo is a small zoo but it's free! Below are a few animals that posed for us. We stopped at Taco Bell so Gordon could have some lunch. I wasn't particularly hungry so picked at his french fries which I probably shouldn't have eaten.



We wound up back at Peterborough RV around 1:30 p.m. and waited there for them to finish. They completed the job just before 4:00 p.m. but they hadn't put anything at the bottom of the mattress so it wouldn't go forward off the bed so by the time that was rectified it was well after 4:00 p.m. By the time we got back to the RV park at Lindsay it was 5:00 p.m. but we were set up quite quickly so now we're here hopefully until our scheduled leave date of September 20th.

As far as the bed renovations, they did a very good job. The lift storage still works. It remains to be seen whether it will help. Sure hope so!

Is This a Class A or a Class C

This is called a Haulmark Motorcoach but is it classed as an A or a C? Who knows? But it's one huge RV, whatever it is....and not only that but they tow this trailer behind it. It has a SmartCar in it and not sure what else but it's almost the same size as the RV!

For those of you that don't know what a SmartCar is, here's a picture:

They are really cute little cars but made mostly for in city driving. I don't think I'd want to be driving one on I-75 in the U.S. with all the transports passing me.

Not much happened today. We started getting the RV ready to take it in to have the bed adjustment made tomorrow. We've got about a 45 minute drive from the campground and we have to be there by 8:30 a.m. so we'll be up at the crack of dawn in order to get there on time!

Shopping Around the Lake

Today my sister picked me up at the RV park and we headed out to Fenelon Falls, Ontario, our first stop on our shopping trip. Fenelon Falls is a little town that is just across Sturgeon Lake from their cottage. We walked around the shops, mostly looking. I made a big purchase of some garbage bags for the kitchen. We stopped for lunch at a little restaurant in town called the Central Cafe. Since we were going to Betty & Garth's for dinner, I had a lunch of poached eggs on toast. I used to eat this for breakfast every morning when I was younger and it was a treat for me as I hate making poached eggs!

After lunch we continued on to Bobcaygeon another little tourist town in the area and again didn't buy much but enjoyed looking in the stores. We picked up a barbecued chicken for dinner, stopped at the library in Dunsford, another little town close to the cottage then got some eggs and vegetables from one of the Mennonite farms close to them arriving back at the cottage around 4:30 p.m. to find their whole back yard dug up. They are having a stone walkway put in and the guy putting in the walkway had brought in a little backhoe to dig it up so it was quite a mess!

My husband joined us at the cottage for dinner. Here's a photo of our host and hostess!

A Very Quiet Monday

Today we didn't do much of anything. The only thing I accomplished was cleaning out the storage area under the bed as it has to be empty when we go in to have the head of the bed raised on Thursday.

Other than that, I read a lot, cleaned off my old computer and ran defrag to get it ready for my niece. I think it's ready for her now.

I took a short walk this afternoon and I must say my breathing is better today but I have a little tickling cough that is probably related to my reflux disease as well. Seems every day it's something different. I cured the acid last night by taking some apple cider vinegar in water. That seems to work really well!

I didn't take any photos today so I'm posting one I took of Nick and Becky yesterday just before they lef the cottage.

Our Last Family Day at the Cottage

Left to right-front-Sandra, Becky, Danica, Margie holding Jasper
Left to right-back-Gordon, Nick, John, Garth

Today we arrived at the cottage just before noon. The little church in the cottage area was just letting out and we passed Betty, Garth, Nick and Becky on our way.

We waited a while to get lunch ready as we were eating on the back deck and it was still in full sun so we ate around 1:00 p.m. I had brought a tuna sandwich as hot dogs are not on my list for reflux disease and since I woke up last night with acid coming up into my throat, I wasn't taking any chances. After lunch and clean up we sat around for a while on the back deck, then went down to the dock. Nick and Becky took the canoe out for a while.

Everyone leaving to return to Ottawa packed up around 3:30 p.m. We took our yearly family photo and then everyone was off. Gordon and I left right after the others and returned to the RV as I felt like I needed a nap.

I did read for a while and had a nap. I feel a little better. Our appointment to have the head of the bed raised is confirmed for Thursday and I'm hoping that it will make a difference in how I'm feeling!

Too Much Food and Birthdays to Celebrate

This is the weekend that we also celebrate birthdays that happen between August and November. That takes in my younger sister, Margie, her husband, John as well as Gordon's and mine so on our way to the cottage we stopped and picked up a cake.

When we arrived everyone but Garth had gone to Bobcaygeon, a small tourist town about 20 minutes from the cottage so we chatted with Garth until the rest of them arrived shortly after 1:00 p.m. Then we had to get lunch going and over as the big dinner was tonight. We always eat too much on these weekends. After lunch we sat around, it was actually quite cool but nice on their back deck as its mostly out of the wind. The wind died down later in the afternoon so Garth and Betty with Danica, Nick and Becky went out in the boat for an hour or so while Margie and I started dinner.

Around the table on the back deck at lunch time-in front in the red sweater is my younger sister, Margie who unbelievably will be 48 next week. She still looks like a teenager! To her left is Becky, Nick, Betty, Garth, myself, Danica and John (taken by my husband).

We had a fabulous dinner of roast beef done on the rotisserie on Garth's barbecue, new potatoes cut up with onions and butter and also done on the barbecue in foil and fresh corn on the cob with of course, birthday cake and ice cream for dessert.

We finally got to take a walk this afternoon without it raining on us so left to right is me, Danica, Margie and Betty taken by my husband.

Then we had the giving of the presents after which we all went to the other cottage and some had coffee while we watched the DVD that Gordon just completed a couple of weeks ago of Nick and Becky's wedding. My husband took the video of the wedding from the front of the church so it was nice to see Nick and Becky's faces during the wedding.

I almost decided not to do the blog tonight as I'm tired but I know people like to see it every day so this is it for today folks!

Our First Family Day at the Cottage

Garth owns two cottages side by side. This is the one that is used for company and when his daughters come to visit with their families. Looks pretty, doesn't it?

Today was a strange day weather-wise. We had sun, rain, wind and all combinations thereof. It was quite cool at around 21C (70F). At 9:00 p.m. the temperature is now down to 10C (50F).

I felt quite good today and went out for a walk around the park. There are several trailers and park models for sale in the park so I checked them out. There is one that is for sale that has a good view of the Scugog River but the trailer itself isn’t much.

We got ready to go to the cottage for 3:00 p.m. Nick and Becky arrived shortly after we did and Margie, John and Danica arrived about 5:45 p.m. We had really good hamburgers and baked beans for dinner with all the trimmings and ice cream and fruit for dessert. We tried to go for two walks before dinner and then after and got rained out both times.

Nick (my nephew and godson) and his wife, Becky

My niece, Danica

The waves were really coming in off Sturgeon Lake this afternoon

Since it was really windy and raining we were concerned about our awning which we had left out but well staked (so we thought) so we left the cottage early. Upon arrival one of the stakes had come out of the ground but no damage was done and one leg of the tripod that holds the satellite dish had let go so the satellite dish had to be repointed but other than that all was okay, thank goodness!

Today would have been our Mom’s 89th birthday. She passed away in 2002.

Remembering Bib

One year ago today our poor little puppy had to be put to sleep. We still miss him!

Memories of Happy Times with Bib

Pizza and Our New Sewer System

Since I had eaten lunch out yesterday, I don't eat a big dinner at night so I thought this would be a good night to make a pizza for my husband. Pizza is one thing he misses since he was diagnosed with celiac disease. Prior to leaving Ottawa, I had purchased a pre-made pizza crust. He prefers sauce, lots of cheese and oregano so it's pretty easy to make. Here's a picture of the pizza and my husband enjoying it:



After dinner we went for a walk around the park and saw these beautiful clouds with sun rays.



This morning we didn't do much but we got a call from Peterborough RV early this afternoon saying that our sewer hose system had come in so we went in and picked it up. On the way back we drove around some of the side roads and stopped at a Conservation Area off Mount Horeb Road called Windy Ridge. Gordon walked it with his camera and said it was quite pretty. Since I'm still having breathing problems, I stayed in the truck and read.

When we got home, Gordon set up the new sewer system and used the slunky to hold it instead of the eavestroughing we purchased so the photo I promised you isn't exactly as I expected. So far the slunky is working okay. It just falls over when you pick up the hose to empty it but since we're leaving it there, all is okay. I still don't think it's a wise investment for anyone thinking of purchasing one.

Shopping in Peterborough, Ontario

My sister picked me up at the RV at 10:30 this morning and we drove into Peterborough for a day of shopping. We stopped at two malls (the malls aren't very large in Peterborough) and Walmart and had lunch sitting outside at The Gazebo which is the outdoor restaurant at the Holiday Inn. We went there last year as well as we both like to sit outside when it's nice. It was bordering on cool today with the thermometer in Betty's little Mini Cooper registering only 21C (70F). The sun was shining albeit not as brightly as it has been and it was a nice relaxing lunch.

I arrived back at the RV just about 4:00 p.m. and sat outside to read for a while but it was pretty cool with the breeze blowing so returned to my couch to read.

We did reach a high today of about 24C (75F). The forecast tomorrow is for rain and it's badly needed here!

I guess our new sewer hose system didn't come in today as we didn't get a call, maybe tomorrow.

Today's photos were taken on Sunday at Betty & Garth's cottage.

This is Gordon and I taken in Betty & Garth's gazebo on their dock at the cottage after dinner

This is Gordon at the front of the cottage

Spending More Money

Yesterday we started to put together our sewer connection and since the sewer is so far away from the RV we needed some parts so today we went into Peterborough to see what we could find. The first place we stopped at didn't have what we wanted, neither did the second place but they did have a good system so we wound up buying a whole system including two sewer hoses and all the connectors which includes the one attached to the RV, the connector to connect the two hoses and the one for the sewer outlet itself. We had to order it so it should be in tomorrow or the next day. When we get it I'll try to remember to let you know what it is and how it works. When we have to connect two sewer hoses, it usually leaks which isn't very nice so hopefully this new system won't give us that problem. Luckily our tanks aren't full yet!

While I was there I asked them to do an estimate on raising the head of our bed so they are supposed to email it to me shortly.

We got back shortly after 1:00 p.m., had lunch and then I sat outside again and read. I finished my Janet Evanovich and started an old Ed McBain book. I always liked his books. I've read this one but it's so long ago I decided to read it again.

Other than that, not much happened today of note.

I also didn't take any photos so again I'm borrowing one from my husband.

Wimpey's & Hey You, Get Offa My Raft!

We had another nice chat last night in the rv-dreams chat room so I got to bed around 11:00 p.m. and then read a few chapters of the new Janet Evanovich book. I have to have finished it to give to my niece this weekend.

When I got up this morning I was still tired however we were meeting my sister at Wimpey's Dinner in Lindsay (Ontario) for breakfast at 10:00 a.m. so got ready and headed over there. We had a nice breakfast and I was very good, didn't eat the homefries and had my eggs poached, no bacon. I figure a 20 lb weight loss will help my breathing significantly. Don't know if it will happen especially sine I can't walk too far or too fast right now.

After breakfast we came home and I sat outside and read. There was a nice breeze but it turned cloudy and looked like rain. Rain is very badly needed here. The river is low and the grass is parched. So I came inside and suggested to Gordon that we might like to hook up our new rain gutter for the sewer hose before it rained. The sewer is a long way from the RV so we found we need some connections to be able to get it hooked up so we'll have to go in search tomorrow. The good news is that the sewer hose fits in the rain gutter really well.

I came inside and lay down in bed to read, got sleepy and then it started to rain pretty hard. The rain lasted a couple of hours but it wasn't heavy all the time and the temperature dropped from 33C (92F) to 22C (72F) while it was raining. Since it rained, it's gotten more humid instead of less.

I'm posting a picture my husband took at my sister's cottage yesterday. Along the stretch of cottages there is this seagull named "Bob" who is extremely territorial. If another seagull comes around he chases it away. One of the cottagers feeds him so he keeps the other seagulls out of the area. It's really funny to watch. So the photo below is Bob telling this other seagull to get offa his raft!