Saturday April 17, 2010-Counting Down

On Thursday our salesman at Leon's called to tell us that the dark wood bedroom set was on sale. There was only one left and they were holding it for us. So away we went to Leon's to decide if we wanted the dark set or the light set. Both are pictured below.

I have always liked the dark set better. The cabinets are roomier and there are two extra small drawers in the headboard. It also looks more impressive. Gordon thought with only a small window in the small bedroom that it was too dark.

So, we canceled the order on the light set and went with the dark set.

Other than that, not much has been happening. We're having a couple of chilly, rainy days but it's supposed to warm up next week.

I did make a gluten-free shepherd's pie without potatoes (I can't eat potatoes) today using gluten free corn noodles (they look just like egg noodles). It turned out pretty good. Both Gordon and Nancy liked it.

Right now I'm trying to find something for us to sleep on in the new house. We'll be there five or six days until our furniture arrives. We can always come back to Ottawa but at least two nights we'll have to spend there due to the phone guy coming and the furniture arriving. I've been looking at used stuff but so far haven't found much. We might have to buy a couple of air mattresses to tide us over!

I'm finding that since I quit posting my blog daily, I'm finding it difficult to separate one day from the other!

Wednesday April 14, 2010-A Month to Closing!

Today is a month from our closing date for the house!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous sunny day. I had a nice walk in the sunshine.

Since it was also the day the housecleaner comes we headed out to our favourite trail, Jack Pine Trail. It was a little muddy but certainly not bad. We only had to skirt the trail a couple of times. They are also building boardwalks where there weren't any before.

A new part of the boardwalk

These two mallard ducks seemed very tame. They're enjoying some sunflower seeds that I sprinkled on the boardwalk.

Two male killdeer were chasing a female. Wonder why?

This little red squirrel is enjoying the sunflower seeds I put on the tree stump for him.


There are a lot of downed trees in the bush. We were wondering if a windstorm went through.



We saw lots of little critters and heard a lot more but still no deer, but we did see killdeer!

We got back in time for lunch and after lunch I took off to Carlingwood Mall to look around. I only bought a couple of things at Bulk Barn.

I found this on my Immigration lawyer's site. This is the plight of someone else who has had problems with U.S. Immigration. To read it, click here.

Judy & Emma asked why we need 4 phones? The answer is we probably don't however this is how we set them up. One set for kitchen/dining room, one for our bedroom, one for the office and one downstairs. With these phones you only need one jack and the other sets are just plugged in to electric and you can retrieve messages from the answering machine from any of them.

I've been getting some anonymous comments lately. I won't post anonymous comments unless I know who sent them so I've changed my settings so that anonymous comments aren't accepted any longer.

Monday April 12, 2010-Progressing Slowly

Not much to say the last few days.

On Saturday we bought a used hedge trimmer for $25. Other than that, it was slow until today when I bought a set of four Panasonic phones. They were on sale at The Source (Radio Shack).

We've been having some chilly nights around 0C (32F) but the days are warming up quite nicely. I've been going for my morning walks as usual.

Yesterday I went to Home Depot and picked out the paint colours for the bedroom. We're going with a terracota colour on the bed wall and a light taupe on the other walls with high gloss
white trim and doors. At least that's the plan as of now. The 'bed in a bag' that I ordered from the Sears catalogue won't arrive until after our closing date so I had to wing it for the bedroom colour.

I won't know till we get in the house whether anything else needs to be painted right away or not. It didn't look too bad but you never know what lurks behind someone's furniture1

I'm trying to find a futon for us to sleep on until the furniture arrives the Thursday after our closing. After, we'll use it in the basement. I didn't realize that futons had increased in price so much since we purchased the one we had in the house probably 15 years ago or so. So I've been looking at used ones online but it's something you have to be careful buying used. Luckily the covers do come off for washing.

Gordon is having fun with his new ipod and in fact, wrote a blog about it. To read it click here.

That's about the extent of the last three days. Stay tuned.....

Friday April 9, 2010-A Productive Day

Even though it was cold and cloudy and I had no energy, I forced myself to go out for my walk and had a good time.

I had gotten a flyer yesterday that said that The Brick had sofas on 50% off so we headed over there to look. As usual, I wasn't able to find anything the right size there. We also stopped at Lazy Boy and Mobilia with no luck.

The main reason for going to that area however was to stop by my sister's and pick up the stuff that I had ordered with my Visa points.

I had ordered a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I've never owned one and thought I'd like to have one so here it is. Boy is it heavy!



I also ordered the 11 piece set of Jamie Oliver cookware. It has the copper ring around the bottom. I'm going to enjoy using it! Here's the set that I took from the Visa Rewards site.

I also got a 32G Ipod Touch. I had Gordon really faked out as I had gotten it for him but didn't let him know that until we got home. So he has a new toy to play with.

My sister also gave me back my Lone Star king sized quilt that my mother had made for me for a Christmas gift one year. I'll take a photo of it and post it another time.

When we left my sister's house we went to Sofa World as I had seen a couch that I liked there a few weeks ago. This time we got a much better sales lady. She found us a couch we both liked that is only 75 inches long so it will fit easily on the wall that we want to put it on. We picked out the sofa fabric and the pillow fabric and it will be ready in 8 to 10 weeks.


Here's the couch

And this is the upholstery material

And the pillow we chose as it will go well with the burgundy carpet that's in the house already.

I'd say that constitutes a really productive day!

Wednesday April 7, 2010-Update

Things are pretty quiet around here. I've been doing some packing for Nancy, checking out used furniture, looking around at furniture and accessories.

Today Gordon had a dental appointment so I checked out Pier 1 and Bouclair. Bouclair used to be mostly a fabric store but now it's more of an accessory store - pillows, place mats, small furniture etc.

On the weekend I ordered a 32G ipod for me as well as a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and a new set of pots and pans. I thought it would take 4-6 weeks to arrive but I got an email from my sister and it came today! We'll be making a trip over there soon to pick that up. Gordon is interested in playing with 'my' ipod LOL. I told him when I get enough points again, I'll order him one too.

We had quite a thunderstorm last night and some rain but we did have a few sunny periods today. It's supposed to get colder for a few days but then warming up again by mid next week although we're not going to be seeing the temperatures we saw on the weekend for the foreseeable future.

Monday April 5, 2010-Catching Up

Not much has happened since Friday except eating!

Saturday and Sunday I didn't go anywhere. I just wasn't feeling up to par. Sunday night we had another turkey dinner here at the house. The good thing about that is that I got all the dark meat to myself! LOL

Last night Nancy and I made up some boxes that a neighbour delivered to us over the past couple of weeks and packed up some of her office.

We had a very nice weekend. It was hot instead of warm at 27C (81F).

It has cooled off today and is only 16C (61F) but I'll take it! About all I did today was go out and pick up some groceries.

Friday April 2, 2010-Happy Easter Weekend!

Didn't do much yesterday but last night my sister and her husband had Easter dinner at her house. Her son, Nick was working all weekend so Thursday worked out better for them and we're retired so it doesn't matter. As usual, the dinner was excellent!

The calla lily that I took to my sister's as an Easter gift



Today we took a load of stuff to our locker then went to Walmart to see if we could get our chairs but they didn't have them in Smiths Falls. They expect a shipment shortly but not sure when because of the holiday weekend.

From there we headed south and west again to explore more side roads. The area is the Frontenac Axis of the Canadian Shield. Very pretty! This area is packed with beautiful lakes and is called the Land O' Lakes region.








It was a beautiful day and actually hit 27C (81F) with lots of sunshine!

On our way back we stopped at the RV to pick up some lighter clothes and Dave and Shonagh were there so we got settled up to keep the RV there this summer till it's sold so that's one thing out of the way. Now to get it ready for sale!

Wednesday March 31, 2010-This 'N That

It said on the news today that this is the first March since they started keeping records that we had no snow in Ottawa. They also said that the Chief Meteorologist said that he would bet $100 that we will have more snow in April. It's been so nice that trees are starting to bud.



Penny asked the other night in comments why we weren't moving into our house sooner. I wish we were. We had requested the end of April but the sellers needed extra time to find a place. There was talk of them wanting the end of May but we told our realtor that May 14th was the latest we would take possession. We want to get the RV up for sale as soon as possible so we need to get it emptied out.

This morning we got out of the way of our housecleaner again and ran a few errands. We wound up at the mouth of the Jock River where it empties into the Rideau River.


This big old tree was kind of interesting.

There are lots of geese back. They're early this year.

I took an afternoon nap then ran out to the grocery store for a few things. This store is called a Superstore and while there I saw 9 piece comforter sets for $29.99. They include the comforter, bed skirt, shams, a neck roll and a few other things that I can't recall. Most of the colours are not that nice - a muddy green, a dark brown and they had one beige set as well but I could probably live with them. That way I could leave the duvet in the RV as it matches the living room couch even though it didn't come with the RV. Decisions, decisions!

Tuesday March 30, 2010-Thoughts

It was supposed to rain till Wednesday but I woke up this morning to bright blue skies and lots of sun! I can handle that. It was a bit chilly at -1C (30F) when I went out for my walk on the Trans Canada Trail but I enjoyed it anyway.

Gordon was going to see his friend Jim this morning as Jim needed some help with Photoshop and Gordon is an expert at it so it was just Max and I.

I've been thinking of discontinuing Nightly News now that we are no longer on the road and I'm not publishing nightly and starting a new blog, something like The Trials & Tribulations of Owning a Sticks & Bricks or something like that. The idea is forming at the back of my little pea brain somewhere.

Not much else happened today. I watched decorating shows for most of the day. Got some ideas!

Monday March 29, 2010-Pretty Quiet on the Home Front

Sunday I didn't do much other than read. Sunday night Nancy and I played Scrabble and she managed to break her ankle. She was getting up from her chair, didn't realize her foot was asleep till she put it down and then lost her balance.

So, after going to look at a dining room set that she liked on ottawaclassifieds I convinced her to go to emergency where they put a walking cast on. She didn't buy the dining room set as it only had four chairs. It showed six on the ad.

It's been cloudy and rainy the last couple of days but it did start to warm up today and by the end of the week it should be downright balmy!

Saturday March 27, 2010-Garage Sale

I was up at 7 a.m. today as we wanted to go to a garage sale that advertised snow shovels and gardening tools. It was to start at 9 a.m. so we made it there at about 8:45 a.m. There were already people there.

We managed to get our snow shovels and some gardening tools that I wanted. I also got a small paper shredder so I was happy.

The rest of the day we spent at home doing not much of anything!

Friday March 26, 2010-More Buying and Some 'Splorin'

We set out to look for living room chairs this morning but instead wound up with a barbecue and a patio set. I really liked this patio set first of all because it's small and second because the chairs fold up so it will be great for storing.

This afternoon we transported the barbecue, the patio set and some other things we purchased this week to the storage unit. Unfortunately there wasn't room in the truck for the buffet we bought last night so it will have to go with another load.

After that we continued south through Smiths Falls and wound up at Chaffey's Locks about 30 miles southwest of Smiths Falls. What a pretty area! There are a lot of photographs to be taken in this area. Some that I took are below.



From there we continued on to the scenic town of Westport and Foley Mountain. We have been to Westport often but never to the mountain so we drove as far as we could. Here is the road that goes up the mountain. It's not a very tall mountain but it's an interesting spot with lots of hiking trails. I think we'll be checking this place out again later this summer.


We arrived home just before 7 p.m., got dinner and it will be an early night tonight!

Thursday March 25, 2010-More Running Around

I was up before 7 a.m. today. I'm sure glad I don't have to do that often. I didn't sleep well again last night. This is unusual for me since I quit working. I have so many things on my mind about the house that it is keeping me awake.

I had a comment about my photo of the house with the SOLD sign on it. It is the same house. My photo was taken from the back rather than the front. The street runs along the back of the house and the front only has a sidewalk. You can see it in the photo Gordon took by clicking here.

The reason I was up early was that Gordon had a doctor's appointment this morning. We arrived early as usual, then went about running some errands.

When we got home I was exhausted so lay down for a nap. There wasn't much accomplished around here this afternoon.

Tonight we went out and purchased the buffet that I wrote about a couple of days ago pictured here. It's a good match for our table that we bought this week and should fit in the little alcove in the dining room very well. So far I'm pleased with my 'previously loved' findings.

Wednesday March 24, 2010-Busy Day

I started out this bright, sunny, chilly morning with a walk.

From there we got ready to go in search of a storage place to store the used furniture and other stuff we're collecting for our new to us house. We stopped at one in Carleton Place - way too big and too expensive so we headed toward Smiths Falls and found a small unit for $50/month. That's better! We paid the man then continued on to Smiths Falls where we had some papers to initial for our mortgage. From there we went to Walmart and picked up a lock and some other items.

Then we did a house drive by and took a photo of it with the 'SOLD' sign on it.

It's Ours!



From there we headed back to the storage unit to unload the dining set into the storage area. We also emptied out the back of the truck and put the fold up bike and the garden hose that we carry in the storage unit as well.

Then we took the scenic route back to Ottawa. There are some pretty spots along Roger Stevens Drive. When the area 'greens up' we'll be back for some photos. There is also some trails through the Marlborough Forest along there that we'll be trying out once they dry out.

A couple of interesting barns


We saw this boat out in a field - Gordon is titling his 'Sailing the high trees'



I dropped Gordon at home and continued on to pick up some groceries and things. While out, I picked up a set of glassware. No more plastic glasses!

We reached a high of 11C (52F) but it was chilly with the wind. The sun was beautiful though! It looks like our weather forecast is for colder weather over the next few days.

Tuesday March 23, 2010-Buying Used Furniture

This morning I found the exact dining room set that we had looked at on the weekend at Leon's and for 1/4 the price. It was on Ottawa classifieds so I emailed the owner and we went right over to see it. We paid our money and brought it home. I just love bargains!

I also saw this sofa table that I thought would work for a buffet in the dining room or alternatively a TV stand in the bedroom. We go to see it on Thursday night.

It was rainy and crappy out today. There was a short time when we had some freezing rain and it is to continue tonight. By tomorrow, it should be gone. Let's hope so!

Monday March 22, 2010-Stuff

Sunday passed in a blur, nothing exciting.

Ditto for today although we did go out for a drive this morning. It was cloudy and kind of foggy.

We're getting things organized. We had to go out today to fax the company that provides our satellite internet service in the RV to cancel that. I also called this weekend to cancel our Starchoice TV (now Shaw Direct) as we'll be going with Cojeco when we move to Smiths Falls.

I called Verizon to find out when our contract for our phones is up and it's not till November 14th. The service person asked me if I knew anyone I could transfer the phones to so I thought I'd throw it out to the RV community. We have the North American Plan. For about $90/month we get 2 cell phones (on the new every 2 plan), 500 minutes plus 1000 minutes evenings & weekends and 1000 in calling (to another Verizon cell) per month. We have coverage throughout the US and most of the eastern part of Canada. In fact, it worked when we were in Northern Ontario this past summer. We have roaming turned off so we don't have to deal with 'are we roaming'? If anyone is interested, contact me via the comments and I will look further into doing a transfer. I think you have to have a US address to qualify and if you have no US credit rating they ask for a deposit (four years ago it was $800 US).

Last night we had breakfast for dinner. I woke up about 1 a.m. feeling unwell and didn't sleep much for the rest of the night. Today I haven't felt the best either. I know eggs are on my list of foods I'm sensitive to but I've never had this kind of reaction from them. I also had a slice of Nancy's cranberry bread so that might be the culprit too. It's so difficult to figure these things out.

The photo today is of a tiny barn with a foggy background.

Saturday March 20, 2010-More Furniture

I had another nice walk today. The snow is gone from the Trans Canada Trail and it's fairly dry so I took that route this morning. I see more birds if I stick to the city but it was a nice change.

Later this morning we headed over to Leon's Furniture and bought our washer and dryer and our 42 inch TV. We wound up buying a mattress and box spring and a bed frame and our bedroom set. We decided to go with a lighter colour as the room itself is pretty dark.

This is the bedroom set (without the bed linens) and the extra dresser and night table to the right.



I would really like to have a swing for my yard.

I saw this one the other day. It's long enough to lay down on. I'd love that!

After that we stopped at Canadian Tire for a set of TV trays. It seems like I just sold a set, wait, I did - 5 1/2 years ago!

Friday March 19, 2010-More Looking Around

I'm afraid not much has been going on the last couple of days. I looked around at various things at the House & Home store on Thursday but didn't see anything exciting.

Today we went looking for mattresses. Talk about ho hum! We haven't bought a new mattress since 1993 as the RV came with one so it's a new experience and I'm finding them very expensive. However it's something we need for sure.

I've gone on a nice walk every morning, in fact, I saw my first robin of this spring this morning.

Wednesday March 17, 2010-Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all those Irish folks out there and even if you're not Irish!

This is Wolford Chapel. I mentioned it in this morning's blog. For those of you that don't know, Gordon's last name is Wolford. We saw a chapel in England when we were over that was named Wolford Chapel as well. The Wolford name isn't that common in these parts. It's a very pretty little chapel.


The campground that is in the town of Smiths Falls is just across the canal.

The park

Ice floating in the canal

This morning we went out furniture shopping again. We bought the coffee table below. It was on sale!

We also bought this fireplace/TV stand. The fireplace is huge and the glass is rounded so it's very attractive.

We decided we didn't want the higher dining room table so I think this is the one we'll get. There's no leaves but that's ok.


The house is now officially ours and our closing date is May 14th.

Tuesday March 16, 2010-Inspection Over

I was too tired to post last night.

On the way to Smiths Falls yesterday, we drove to see Wolford Chapel which is just outside Smiths Falls. It's a pretty little church, well kept, but doesn't appear to be used right now. I'll try to remember to post a photo later as we're getting ready to get out of the house. It's Wednesday and the house cleaner is due to arrive shortly.

We had the house inspection today. The inspector was very thorough and great at answering questions. He went over any problems while he was going through the house, then went over all of them again. He printed up his report while there and we were able to bring it home with us.

We ran into a few problems, nothing really significant (in my husband's opinion). After all the house was built circa 1945 so you have to expect some things I guess. I thought the list was long but Gordon felt that it was manageable and since most of the problems will be his responsibility with me doing the nagging, I guess that's ok, LOL. The rear part of the house was roofed in 2001 but the front and the garage need to be done probably before winter so we're still in negotiations with the seller about the roof. There were shingles in the garage and we were going to accept that and we would pay to have the labour done. Turns out there are only some shingles for the house, the rest are for the seller's hunting camp.

So we're still in limbo but hopefully we can come to a resolution.

The sellers want the closing to be May 15th as that is the earliest they can get into the rental that they found. Bummer! But it will hopefully give us some time to get into the RV and get it ready for sale. Anyone want a nice Titanium 5er built in Ontario?