Friday & Saturday September 24 & 25, 2010

Friday

I want you to know that I was wrong. It doesn't happen often! When I said that I wouldn't be able to wear sandals anymore I didn't realize it would get so hot today! Not only hot but humid too!

It rained most of last night again. Things are getting saturated! When I got up this morning it was cloudy but not raining so I started on my walk but didn't stay out long.

I got some cleaning done in the basement today so it looks a little better. I put my Lone Star quilt that my Mom made for me on the quilt rack, did some laundry and vacuumed upstairs.

This afternoon Gordon decided he wanted to go in search of Fall foliage. So we headed southwest out of town and took some side roads. We found a lot of pretty spots but the colour isn't very pretty. Lots of trees are yellow and brown. The sumac is red though.

Our first stop was a pumpkin patch where we bought a couple of small pumpkins for our front porch.

This is a snake gourd - apparently only good for painting or decoration

A pretty road

Getting into heavily treed area

An apple tree

We found this old barn in a cottage area

Red sumac against an interesting sky

Since it was so nice, I sat out on the front porch when we got home. It got quite windy although it was still warm. It was enjoyable.

Saturday

I thought it was going to be rainy today but I woke up to sunshine! Gordon wanted to go out for more Fall foliage photos so he went ahead while I went for my walk. I took my camera with me and took some photos along the water and in the eastern part of town.

I thought this was quite pretty

Along the Rideau going toward the locks

Looking toward the downtown bridge

The bridge over the Rideau at the locks

More of the Rideau with a bit of Fall colour

As I was taking a photo this dragonfly landed on my hand

The Rideau Canal Museum

Chambers Street downtown

Some pretty purple flowers in front of someone's house

I gave the weeping mulberry tree a haircut this morning. The previous owners had wound tiny Christmas lights all through it (in fact they are all along the eaves, through the mulberry tree and the evergreen tree) so I cut out some of the lights at the same time.

After lunch, I lay down with my book and slept for a couple of hours.

Tonight we're watching Sherlock Holmes.

Tuesday to Thursday September 21-23, 2010-The Truck is Sold!

Tuesday

After my walk in drizzle and breakfast, I decided to make Nancy's recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies substituting butterscotch for chocolate since neither of us can eat chocolate any more. At first I thought they didn't turn out well as they crumbled easily but when I left them to sit for a while they were much better. I've decided I need two more cookie sheets!

The rest of the day was spent napping and reading.

We did go out for sunset but just to the park down the street. It didn't turn out to be very good but the wind was blowing and it was mild. Gordon suggested we pretend we were standing on the bow of a cruise ship. We used to do that every night after dinner when we were on cruises.


Wednesday

We had quite a lot of rain last evening and overnight but when I got up it had stopped so away I went for my walk. The sun even came out.

Just as I was fixing my breakfast a loud knock came to the back door. It was the bylaw enforcement officer. We have our truck parked in the yard by the road which is apparently town property and we aren't allowed to park anything let alone anything for sale there. Bummer. We were getting most of our calls from drive bys. So, Gordon moved it back into the driveway. It can't be seen easily from the road there.

The bylaw enforcement officer is also an RVer. He told Gordon that the AR license for RVs had come into effect this summer so if we had continued he would have had to go for the license test. I guess we quit at the right time. This license would allow you drive a semi cab but not with a trailer attached, only the truck with the RV attached.

It was warm today. I got to wear sandals probably for the last time this year!

Today is my last day for eye drops. Finally! Everyone says the worst part of getting cataracts removed is the eye drops. It has been tedious but necessary. I still have an appointment for a check-up with the surgeon at the end of the month and if all is okay, I won't have to see him for a year!

I went out to run some errands this afternoon and I had a surprise call from my friend, Laura tonight. Great to hear from you, Laura, thanks for calling!

Thursday

It was cooler this morning but mostly sunny. I headed toward the Old Sly Locks as I wanted to get some photos of the Falls. The grass was very wet! I wasn't able to get a really good vantage point unfortunately and had to take the photo from the top of the Falls. It didn't turn out very well.

This is the grounds around Old Slys Locks

More of the grounds

Looking toward downtown

An early Fall scene

We sold the truck this afternoon so the RVing era is now officially over. It was sold to a nice guy from the Kingston area, the same one that was here this past weekend so everyone's happy!

Goodbye Big Larry!


I made gluten free pancakes and sausages for dinner tonight! It was a yummy change but not particularly nutritious.

Saturday to Monday September 18-20, 2010

Saturday

I was up at 7 a.m. to go to what I thought was a five home garage sale on Broadview Ave. We drove along Broadview-no garage sales so we came home and I looked it up. It was online and the sale was last week! So, I checked the local paper and found one at Port Elmsley. We headed in that direction and I found a storage unit for the basement for $50! We had to come home and get the truck to bring it home. I now have storage, finally!


Gordon then took the car for it's first oil change and when he came home he said he had seen another garage sale on his way home. So we went to that one but didn't find anything.

The other day when I made bread I put gluten free gluten in it. It came out with more elasticity than normal. I haven't decided if it's worth purchasing it as it's $6.79 for about a cup. I only used 1/4 cup of it for a loaf of bread. The jury's out on it right now.


We came home and Gordon got the towel racks put up in the bathroom and then I put the border up so the top edge of the wallpaper looks much cleaner. It also spruces up the wallpaper.

Sunday

I slept later this morning since I got up so early (for me) yesterday. My lower back was also bothering me quite a bit yesterday so I took 1/2 muscle relaxant which contributed to my long snooze.


This morning I took my camera on my walk so have some photos to share.

Grounds of the public school close to us

Leaves have changed on this tree

One of the residential streets nearby - lots of trees in this older section of town

A lone red leaf on the sidewalk

Squirrel running along the street

A shorn weeping mulberry (not ours)

This house is really close to the railroad tracks

pretty in pink

Dragonfly on the sidewalk

This sidewalk runs throughout our residential area

Lots of squirrels preparing for winter

Bluejay on a lawn

Sidewalk at the front of the houses on our street

And I'm home!

After breakfast I started doing some arranging in the basement. Gordon helped me get my new cabinet in place so I could put my linens in it. I don't think that this basement is going to be in any kind of order anytime soon.

We had an absolutely gorgeous sunshiny early Fall day today with a high of (21C) 69F.

We had a guy come and look at the truck for the second time this afternoon. He really liked it but wanted us to give it away. We had a young guy here Friday who was very interested as well. He is working on the new arena here and left to go home for the weekend so hopefully we'll hear from him soon.

I painted my little garage sale shelf this afternoon. Instead of blue, it's now green. I hope it will look okay in the bathroom. That was why I purchased it.

Gordon spent the day preparing for his colonoscopy to take place tomorrow. YUK!

Monday

Up at 6:45 a.m. to get ready to head to Ottawa for Gordon's colonoscopy. We were there lots early but you never know about traffic at that time of day. Suffice it to say it wasn't a good time for Gordon but now it's overwith and all was well. We were home by shortly after noon.

I went out to get some things done while Gordon rested. When I got back it was time for a nap myself.

We had another nice sunny day today. I really prefer this time of year to the hot, humidity of the summer.

Tonight we watched the Queen in 3D. We picked up free 3D glasses at the post office. Apparently they have recently discovered that her coronation was filmed in 3D back in 1953 so that was what we got to watch. It was quite good considering it happened nearly 60 years ago.

To read Gordon's latest update, click here.

Friday September 17, 2010

After yesterday's deluge of rain this morning was bright and sunny but chilly at 8C (46F). Luckily I had left out a pair of gloves when we moved so away I went on my morning walk. The last two days I have been conserving my energy for wallpaper removal and installation. As I was walking I noticed little black and gray squirrels scurrying around carrying acorns in their mouths. I hope that's not a sign of early winter!

I spent the morning running errands.

This afternoon we got some energy and cleaned and vacuumed out the garage. There was all kinds of cardboard and styrofoam that had to be cut up. We have many, many garbage bags. At 2 bags per week that we're allowed it will take till next year this time to get them all sent off to landfill. I wish there was somewhere that would take back styrofoam! The cardboard will be recycled. We have a garage door opener that Gordon is going to install so we can put the car in the garage this winter. We believe that garages are for cars not junk!

Tonight it looked like there would be a nice sunset so we went out. It was pretty, not as spectacular as some earlier in the year but definitely worth missing Jeopardy!

Sun on the water

Cloud reflections

Purple clouds

Thursday September 16, 2010-Happy Birthday Gordon!

Thursday

We had some sun this morning but around 2 p.m. I looked at the radar and this is what I saw.

Guess we'll be dealing with this for a while! It was a good day to do indoor stuff.

After breakfast this morning I got busy on my wallpapering job. I'd do a couple of strips, then do something else like make Gordon's favourite Butterscotch Pie (his mother's recipe slightly adapted by his daughter to be gluten free). Today is Gordon's birthday. Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! This time I used corn starch and it thickened nicely. The last time I made it, it was kind of runny.

The wallpapering went okay. The walls aren't straight and they're in poor shape but I managed to get it done with only one major boo boo. I'll have to ponder how to fix that. It's in a really noticeable spot too.

Afterwards, of course, I had major indigestion from bending over so much.

Then it was clean up and getting the glue off everything including the bathroom mirror and floor. Now it's rest time, oh, after I get some laundry done.

Tuesday & Wednesday September 14 & 15, 2010

Tuesday

Today was what is called an 'unsettled' day. It rained then the sun would shine, then cloudy & rain & sun again. I managed to get my walk in without getting wet.

We took the truck in to be safetied this afternoon so it will soon be ready for sale! While out we stopped and got some wallpaper so now I have a job to do. I think the wallpaper in the bathroom will come down quite easily as it's lifting in spots. We also stopped at the library and I stocked up on books.

When we got home I started stripping wallpaper. It didn't come off nearly as easily as the bedroom. The top came off fairly well. Then I had to spray the backing and scrape and then scrape the glue off. Now that I've got some of it off I think I'll have to paint before wallpapering. The drywall just isn't in very good shape. I just keep thinking how nice it will look when it's done. That's all that's getting me through it!

Wednesday

It was up and at 'em this morning. I got the rest of the wallpaper backing and glue off, sanded the walls, washed them, washed the ceiling, painted the ceiling (never again!) and put some paint on the walls just to give the paper something to adhere to. Then sanded the walls again and I'm ready to start wallpapering tomorrow. Pray that it sticks! I just hate all the mess that goes with painting.

In the meantime Gordon got the truck finished and ready for sale. It's now in our side yard by the road with a For Sale sign on it!

A bit of sun, a bit of cloud but I didn't see much of it!

Friday September 10-Monday September 13, 2010

Friday

I thought it was supposed to be raining this morning but the sun was out although a bit chilly. I went for a long walk despite the aches and pains I have that started a couple of days ago. This is over and above the shoulder problem. My body definitely knew a birthday was coming up!

I did some cleaning this morning. When I looked outside someone had put a big red bow on the door of our neighbour's house. Our new neighbour was to move in today. There were balloons and things tied to the porch as well.

Around noon I decided to make some cookies. I've had a sugar craving so this probably wasn't a good idea but I made some gluten free peanut butter cookies anyway using Nancy's recipe and gluten free flour. They turned out very well and aren't all that difficult to do.


While I was baking cookies the neighbour arrived with, I think, her Father. I guess it was her Dad that put the bows and balloons around the house. She came carrying a vacuum cleaner and later went back to her van for bucket, mop and cleaning supplies. That's always a good sign. She's quite young, 20s or 30s. She also has a child but I didn't see him/her yet.

Saturday

Today was an absolutely beautiful early Fall day. After my morning walk and breakfast Gordon said he wanted to drive to the Baxter Conservation Area. It was a beautiful day for a drive.

We parked, paid our money and started out on the hiking trails. We haven't done any trails this summer due to the heat and my eye surgery so it was so nice to get back to it.

Here are some things I spied with my little eye.....












On our return we had a late lunch and then a nap.

Sunday

I had taken a muscle relaxant last night as everything was hurting so I slept about 12 1/2 hours. Even for me, that's a lot!

Although it was cloudy with the threat of rain, I started out for my walk but developed a new pain so made it a short one.

I spent the day with my book.

Monday

More rain but we did get some sun in between showers.

I put a loaf of bread in the breadmaker then headed out to do some errands this morning. When I got back I made some stew. It seems like stew weather! Then I coloured my hair. I'd been toying with letting it go gray but after I got a haircut today, I decided not to.

Tonight we decided to go out for our birthdays. We wound up at Chuckles Jack. It's in the same building as the Comfort Inn but they aren't affiliated.


We were celebrating our two birthdays. Mine was last Thursday and Gordon's is this Thursday.

The restaurant was very accommodating. I had the Jambalaya (Cajun style) and he removed the tomatoes. Everything is cooked from scratch. It was very spicy so I've taken some Divol tonight!

It was a good night, a nice restaurant on the water and I expect we'll be back. I like restaurants that accommodate our food problems.

Wednesday & Thursday September 8 & 9, 2010

Wednesday

It was cloudy this morning but fairly warm for my walk. The sun did come out and then we had some rain later in the afternoon. A real mixed bag. It's been the same all week.

This afternoon I attended the Volunteer Fair. I registered as a person who is interested in volunteering then went around to the various booths to find out what might interest me.

The first stop was the Gordon Pipe Band. They have need for people to run them back and forth on parade routes, people to carry flags at the head of the parade and such and they also tried to talk me into learning to play the bagpipes. Apparently they teach for free and there's only eight notes so it's not that difficult. Since I already know music...well I took two years of lessons when I was about six. Hmmmm, maybe.....

I moved on to several other booths but the next one that caught my eye was researching genealogy at the Heritage Museum. Apparently people come in with requests to have someone search their family tree - right up my alley!

My next interest stop was at REAL. They are all about recycling. Something else that I'm interested in. There was even talk of crafting. Wow!

Thursday

Happy Birthday to Me! Too bad the weather didn't cooperate. I woke up to a rainy day so took the day off from walking. I received lots of Facebook greetings and emails. It's so nice to be remembered!

After wearing glasses for over 50 years I decided to splurge today and went and got my eyebrows tweezed. I can't do it myself, it hurts! She offered to wax but I thought this time I'd go with tweezers. They look great!

When I got home I got a birthday phone call from my stepdaughter in Columbus. Thanks, Michelle!

I had put pork tenderloin, veggies and rice in the crockpot this morning so didn't have to worry about dinner. Since Gordon's birthday is exactly a week later than mine (although he's much older LOL) we usually go out for dinner on the weekend between.

Sunday to Tuesday September 5-7, 2010

Sunday

It was much cooler for my morning walk. I even had on a sweater and was still chilly till I got moving!

I was out of eye drops so I headed over to Walmart to get my prescription filled. While out I did a few other errands.

After lunch, I went out and washed the interior of the truck, then tried to get the bugs off the grille. Gordon came out and cleaned the hubcaps and then washed the outside of the truck. While he was doing that I washed the car. We went out to get some Armorall and some For Sale signs but they were all out of them at Dollarama and they wanted $5.99 at Canadian Tire so we'll wait till we go to Ottawa next week and get some there. Why pay $5.99 when you can buy them for $1.00?

And then, of course....it rained!

Monday

Happy Labour Day!

It was sunny and cool for my walk this morning. I took a different route and walked a bit through the eastern part of downtown. In walking past the Comfort Inn I saw that they have a deck built for outdoor dining. Might have to look into that!

I got one thing done today - I put mactac on the shelf below the bathroom sink. Other than that I read.

We had more rain.

Tuesday

It was raining when I got up this morning however it turned into a beautiful sunny, warm day.

I was up early as we had to go to Ottawa for an appointment with my periodontist's office to have my teeth cleaned as well as one to get our shots for shingles. We got that out of the way and ran a few errands then headed home.

I even got to sit out on my front porch and read for a while today (and listen to my wind chimes). It was just a beautiful afternoon which turned into a really awful evening with lots of heavy rain and thunderstorms.

Today I'm done with eye drops in my right eye which was the first one done on August 4th. It will be two more weeks for the left one. It's been said that the worst part of the cataract operation is the eye drops and I have to agree with that although having someone poking around in my eye wasn't fun either but at least it didn't take long!