Double Celebration.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

I really wasn’t anticipating getting to the surgeon’s office too early this morning so when I went to bed last night I thought that I’d get more than three and a half hours of sleep for the night. Kathy finally slept fairly solid to partially make up for the last two nights of restlessness. While Kathy had her breakfast I showered and shaved before driving back across town to the surgeon’s office. 

The day started with clear skies before the breeze picked up.

The first thing I did was ask the receptionist why they weren’t there yesterday. She said they were there the whole day from 8:00 in the morning. When I explained that I was there at 9:30 and I had even knocked on the door she turned red in the face and said she must have been in the back room. My next question was why was the door locked? Without further conversation I was given the form I needed and was off to have the blood test done. 

This Great Dane lives in our apartment.

I got home by 11:30 where Kathy was still working on her bookkeeping. Even though I had created an Excel program that would help her track our expenditures while we were away there had been flaws. So I modified it while we were away and it did work better but not quite the way she wanted it just yet. So with Kathy watching over my shoulder I started modifying it one more time. From what she has seen she is certain this will work for her. I had to do the same kind of adjustments when I made her a program to help her track her Christmas spending. 

Lunch was Chicken Vegetable Egg Rolls

After having lunch I called Daryl and Cheryl Lawrence down in Texas to order the two Tire Sensors that were lost and damaged by the blowout on the trailer. I got their answering system but within ten minutes my call was returned and the new parts have now been shipped. 

Sanford Saying Hello.

Shortly after 2:30 we left the apartment to go for our first haircuts since returning from our trip. Jenna had just finished caring for her last customer as we walked in and gave us a warm welcome back. Even though we had gotten our hair trimmed while we were away they never seem to cut it just the way you like it. Well tonight Kathy and I are feeling refreshed at having our hair cut the way we like. 

We ran a few more errands before heading home where Kathy warmed the Lasagna we had left from our visit to Eastside Mario’s on Sunday night. She also made a delicious salad and we topped it off with a nice glass of wine.

Tyler and Karen reviewing his Homework.

We went over to our daughter’s house at 8:00 tonight as they wanted to help us celebrate our birthdays. We had an enjoyable visit topped off with double chocolate cake and ice cream. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

Every time you stay at a motel the maid quits.

Shopping, Stopping and Visiting

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

Kathy always tells me how the sound of rain makes her feel like closing her eyes and going to sleep. Well last night it never stopped raining but she barely got five hours of sleep. I only woke when I was turning over and went right back to sleep. Looking outside this morning it was still raining as we had breakfast and definitely looked like the day was going to be a loss like yesterday so we made a list of places we needed to go. 

After eating another light breakfast of a bran muffin and coffee we were out the door by 10:00 and heading for my surgeon’s office. They had called me on Friday to pick up a form for my blood test on Monday. I dropped Kathy at the city market next door while I went to the office only to find it locked with no one inside. The sign next to the door showed they were open Monday to Friday 8:00 am. until 4:00 pm. Since they had called me saying the test needed to be done before a CAT Scan next week I wasn’t a Happy Camper. I’ll definitely be back there early in the morning asking about their office hours.

Since we were only a few blocks from the transmission shop where the car is we stopped in to see if there was any progress. The old trany was tore apart on the bench with the new one next to it about to go in. They showed us how badly it was worn but they also had left the rotors and calipers in place to show us how badly they were worn. When the job is completed they said the car will be as good as new because the car is in good shape other than this problem.

Heading towards home we stopped at Canadian Tire because I was looking for a heavy rubber belt type material for the project that I’m working on. They had nothing there but as I was about to leave I walked past the counter with mud flaps on it. Since one of our mud flaps got torn off the rear dually tires I have exactly the material I need right in the back of the truck. We also looked for a quick fold Gazebo while there but they had a poor selection so we thought we’d go look at Walmart.  

It was lunch time so we made a run for the border and stopped at Taco Bell for a couple of tacos each before continuing on our quest. We did manage to find what we wanted in a Gazebo at a reasonable price and decent quality at Walmart. 

Kathy's Bamboo plant before and after transplanting.

Since we haven’t seen our good friends Kathie and Ross since we celebrated an early Christmas with them in December we swung by to say hello. There was a lot to get caught up on including Ross being suddenly scheduled for a Hernia operation as well. Just about an hour later we said our see you folks later to them and headed home. 

Kathy wanted to finish transplanting her second plant to a larger container. We had expected to have to possibly break the old container off but that wasn’t necessary and the job was done fairly quickly. Looking outside the sun was shining with a cool breeze and the pavement was practically dry.  

With us watching not to overeat since we’ve gotten home from Florida and not letting things spoil that our supper for the night was Strawberry covered Egos. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

Office Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes

100 Damm Good Reasons Why It's OK to Hate Work

Number 69: Your life consists of work, or recovering from work.

Jane Purell



Spring Is In The Air.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

After having a beautiful sun filled day like yesterday we could only hope for more of the same today. Instead we both had a restless night’s sleep and when we finally got up this morning and looked outside all we saw was lots of wet pavement and a dreary looking cloud filled sky.

We are continuing to cut back on what we are eating in an attempt at loosing the weight we found while down in Florida this winter. One of our biggest downfalls is the consumption of breads so that has been reduced quite a bit already since our return. After a bran muffin and coffee for breakfast we spent most of the morning working on the computers. We did take a few minutes to clean a dove’s nest from above our Air Conditioner Sleeve. We made certain there were no eggs before removing it and we also swept all the defecation that was starting to get pretty thick off the balcony.

At lunch we had toast which is still bread but with homemade Rhubarb Sauce and a coffee. That is still much less bread than what we normally eat in a day. When lunch was completed we needed to run some errands even though it was still raining. 

Our first stop was Shoppers Drug Mart where we needed to pick up a few toiletries that we are starting to run low on. Being the diligent shoppers we are at saving money if it wasn’t on our list and it wasn’t on sale we didn’t buy it. Kathy had also brought along gift cards to use that had been given to us at Christmas from our children. We may not have walked out of the store without paying out of our pockets but the cost was much easier to bear. 

Further down the road we stopped at Home Depot to find some stainless steel screws that I needed for a project. Since the screws will be exposed to the weather it is I not a wise idea to use standard hardware that would soon start rusting and lose its clean appearance.

With the second errand out of the way we stopped at the Tecumseh Mall to walk around. We did stop in the food court where Kathy enjoyed an Ice-Cap and I had a Decaffeinated Coffee from Tim Horton’s as an afternoon snack. We then continued to walk around and go to the Dollar Store for more supplies that were needed on our list. 

See the rain on the pavement.




Notice I had already cut the Lasagna in half.

Since it was nearing 4:00 we drove through the parking lot to East Side Mario’s for supper. Again we were able to use another Christmas gift card that we had received from our children. We decided to celebrate our birthday dinner today rather than on Tuesday. For those who don’t know Kathy’s birthday is April 29^th and my birthday is May 1^st so we normally celebrate it the day between which is April 30^th. We both enjoyed a side salad and shared a Stuffed Mushroom appetizer. It has also been quite a while since we have been to Eastside Mario’s because we both ordered their Lasagna dinners. Guess what we’re having for supper Tuesday night? Their servings are huge so we basically just cut them in half and brought the rest home for supper Tuesday rather than waddling out of there in discomfort. 

Homemade Dessert at home.

Back at the apartment we received the evil eye from an upset dove for cleaning up the mess they had created. Around 7:30 we stopped working in the office for a few minutes and enjoyed our delayed delicious tasting dessert of Frozen Yogurt topped with Strawberries. Sitting at the dining room table looking out the balcony doors we could see the rain still coming down in the parking lot. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!
It’s about time.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

You have a black eye and a hickey at the same time.

A Day For Helping.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

This morning I was back in routine getting up and reading blogs by 7:30 after having a very restful night. Kathy slept later due to the fact that she got up in the middle of the night and thinking she was still in the trailer walked square into the wall. After suddenly waking up like that she spent the next few hours trying to get back to sleep. 

Once breakfast was over I had my morning shower and shave before heading out to Canadian Blood Services (formerly known as the Red Cross until a tainted blood scandal tightened regulations). I was going to make my 82 donation of the gift of life. I had considered doing it while we were in Florida but Kathy thought that would cause problems back home so I didn’t. When I mentioned that at the clinic this morning they said it was perfectly acceptable as long as I waited 56 days between donations and that many other Canadian Snowbirds also donated south of the border. 

Kathy had stayed home to work on her bookkeeping so just as I was arriving home at noon she was just starting to get lunch ready when I walked in. Like I’ve said before talk about timing, she is good. When lunch was finished we planned to drive out to SX-Video in the town of Essex to bring my laptop in but just as we were about to leave the Fire Department was showing up. Since we left in January there have been a lot of new tenants that have moved in and many have younger children. Today’s emergency turned out to be a pulled alarm station. 

Fire Department at our building today.

I mentioned yesterday that the laptop suddenly wouldn’t let me work on the blog yesterday. When I fired it up at the shop to show Cory the problem he instantly recognized it as Spyware that was jamming it from working but with all their shelves full of computers before me he said they wouldn’t get to it until Monday afternoon. Kathy had gone next door to the No-Frills grocery store for some supplies while I had brought the computer in.   

Attaching pole to bottom of wooden bird feeder.



Karen adding bird food into feeders.

Heading back to Tecumseh we decided to stop in and visit our daughter Karen since we hadn’t seen them since they came to visit us in St. Petersburg. Karen has been working twelve hour days at the University of Windsor so she was trying to get caught up on her chores at home today. At Christmas Kathy and I had given her a few bird-feeders, bird food and a mounting pole because we knew she was interested in them. Since it is just starting to look like spring in our area she asked me if I could help her put it together and put it outside. Their yard has a large berm near the back so we mounted it up there so she can see it from her kitchen window. 

Someone else that was really anxious to see us was Sanford. He has really grown since we have been gone and has become much more active. A neighbor brought her dog Roxie over and the two dogs nearly tore up the yard playing. 

Putting our bicycles back on the balcony

Two small Beef pies mashed sweat potato and Asian salad.

Back at the apartment after putting away the groceries I finally moved our bicycles back onto the balcony giving us back our dining room. We’d had to empty our balcony before we left because of the contractors refurbishing our balcony while we were gone. As I did that Kathy was replanting one of her plants into a larger container since it seemed to grow while we were away and no longer fit its original flower pot. It was supper time by then and Kathy made a simple but healthy supper in an effort of helping us to lose the extra weight we both found while we were down south. 

We had a couple of visitors drop in to use our balcony while we watched the evening News. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

How do you stop an elephant from charging?

Take away his credit cards.



The Gremlins Are Back.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

My apologies to our readers for last night’s post not having any pictures. After writing the blog the laptop would not upload any pictures no matter what I did so out of frustration I had to pack it in. No amount of playing with it this evening would help so I spent nearly an hour and a half uploading all the pictures of our trip onto my PC and then the keyboard stopped working so it had to be rebooted in order to get rid of its gremlins. 

San Antonio, Texas area.

We seem to be sleeping in later now that we’re back in the apartment but that is partly due to the fact that we aren’t sleeping as soundly through the nights. After breakfast Kathy continued rearranging some of her books that she uses when we travel. Myself I was on the phone with the surgeon’s office verifying information about my upcoming surgery. I no sooner hung up with them and our insurance company claim adjuster was calling to get more information about the damage to our trailer caused by the blowout. 

Driving through New Mexico

I had also been trying to find a local transmission shop that could have a look at Kathy’s car. Lately when you would apply the brakes it felt like it had a bad rotor but when the brakes were checked it was discovered that the bearing into the transfer case had created an oval shaped opening in the side of the transmission.  

Side view of the courthouse in Tombstone, Arizona.

Once we had eaten our lunch we brought the car over to the transmission shop so they could check it out. Once they had it on the hoist they saw that it was the main housing that was worn and not the less expensive tailstock. Since the car is in good shape otherwise the cost of the rebuilt transmission is warranted. It will be a few days before we get the car back so we went to Canadian Tire for a few supplies before going to the grocery store with the same thought in mind before heading home. 

Grand Canyon.

It was nearly 5:00 by the time we got everything unloaded and in the apartment but Kathy had planned for that by taking some food from the freezer before we had left earlier in the afternoon. I fired up our new Weber 120 that we bought while we were down south for the apartment and started barbecuing a couple of nice steaks. Kathy made a nice Greek salad with feta cheese and black olives before microwaving a couple of nice sweet potatoes. We had finished eating the salad by the time the steaks were ready but it all added up to another satisfying meal. 

Last year you could cross the Hoover Dam towing a trailer.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be sunny and close to 60 so that should make for an interesting day. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

The strongest smell in your house is butane.

Accomplishing Day and Visiting.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

Yes we slept in this morning until 8:00 but once our feet hit the floor it was full speed ahead. I started making the coffee and pouring the juice while Kathy started making the French toast. The weather channel was showing a clear morning but rain in our area for the afternoon.

Kathy needed to get her car E-tested which is a requirement here in Ontario before you can renew the car’s license sticker. We like other people believe this just to be another form of a tax grab every two years. Shortly after 9:00 we were making our way to the testing station on Walker Road in Windsor.

The problem is that with our Snowbirding adventures taking us south for three and a half months we didn’t know that Walker Road is being torn up for the sake of progress. If you listen to the businesses that are along that stretch of road they say it’s putting them out of business. Turning into the driveway you had to drive down a ramp from what is left of the pavement and then up to the parking lot that has once again been decreased in size due to progress. Within twenty minutes we were heading over to the licensing bureau which is normally packed to get the license sticker for the next two years.

Back at the apartment I started cleaning our old barbecue while Kathy started making lunch. We had purchased this barbecue when we had our home which had a large deck where we used it. Now that we live in the apartment the balcony is much smaller and the barbecue takes up most of the space. When we bought the Weber 120 while we were down south we had thought of replacing our larger barbecue at home and it’s a big improvement on the balcony. We have a lot more space to move around now.

If we had tried selling the stainless barbecue we’d be wasting our time so what we did was we bartered it for something that we’ll be able to use more often. The reason for cleaning it was I hadn’t done a good scrubbing on it in over a year and I was amazed how filthy it had gotten in that time. Also we take pride in what we own and would never expect someone else to have to clean up after us.

I removed the grills and burner shields and cleaned them off before putting them in the truck. I did that as a way of taking weight off the barbecue that would have to be lifted three feet into the truck bed. I called Greg our son-in-law and asked him to come and give me a hand but when he to arrive at the appointed time I already had the barbecue downstairs and the truck near the service entrance. It took only a moment but I was thankful for the help.

Since we had been so busy doing other things as well we stopped off at Wendy’s for supper. We both ordered the Baja Salad which was more than satisfying for us.

It was nearly 7:00 when we arrived at Kevin and Melissa’s.  Kathy went inside to visit with Melissa while Kevin and I unloaded the barbecue and I finished reassembling it for him. I also took the time to connect the propane and instruct him on how to light it since it is quite different from his present unit. We joined the girls inside and had an enjoyable visit catching up on everything that has happened since we’ve been gone including what we were experiencing with our Florida trip adventure that never made the blog.

We’re almost caught up on things here at home but there’s still plenty to keep us busy. Sorry but I'm just too tired to post any photos tonight. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

Office Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes

Bucky (the cat): You're sayin' you go to this "work" place every day?

Rob (his human): Bucky, how…? Why do you think I leave the house every day? Bucky: I figure you just got disoriented a lot.

Rob: Help me out, here Satch.

Satchel (Rob's Dog): To be honest I thought you went out and stood in the hall all day. Bucky: That's why he barks at the door all day.

Satchel: That's why I bark at the door all day.

Darby Conley, Get Fuzzy

Dusty Business

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

We must be getting into the apartment mode once again. Last night we slept soundly until after 8:00 this morning. There was no sunshine all day as a fact it was raining when we got up and is still raining at this time. Even the temperature was warmer this morning and has dropped throughout the day. 

Dolphin chasing boat in Tarpon Springs Florida.

Since we had run most of the necessary errands that needed our immediate attention yesterday; today we focused on cleaning and reorganizing around the apartment. Kathy couldn’t stand not being able to see out the balcony doors and was out there trying to clean them off right after breakfast. If you were reading our posts at the beginning of January you will recall that the contractors started redoing our balcony just before we left for Florida. Because of the extreme cold and snow the area had while we were gone our balcony was not completed until after the beginning of March so there is plenty of dust everywhere. 

Travelers RV Park Florida

My first job was sorting the laundry. Even though I had just done laundry last Thursday while in Sevierville we also had two days of laundry left in the apartment from before we had left for Florida. When I got to the laundry room it was deserted and I had my choice of machines which meant I got things going pretty quickly. Once I had the wash into the dryers I went back to the apartment to find Kathy was just finishing making lunch. Talk about timing! After lunch she planned on continuing to read the mail she had quickly sorted through the other day when we got home. 

Travelers RV Park Florida

When I returned after folding laundry the next task was to put everything away where it belonged. That included all the clothes we had brought with us in the trailer. By now Kathy was physically and mentally drained and needed a Snap (short nap) to help her catch her second wind. 

Gopher Turtoise at Rock Crusher RV Resort Florida.

We had been having minor problems with the laptops the last few weeks away so this afternoon I tried working on them. No matter what I did nothing seemed to be working so I tried removing the programs and re-installing them. A fault message would appear saying the program would not install because I was not the administrator. When I finally stopped trying to install them and looked at the programs list there they were. Just what we all need more frustration in our lives. Not! 

Manatees at Crystal River Florida.

Tomorrow looks like we’ll be busy again doing whatever needs to be done. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

The Fire Marshall bans you from barbecuing.

Run Around Day.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

It felt like we were sleeping in a strange bed last night. Kathy kept waking all night feeling like she was in a weird place and my pillow felt different so I kept trying to plump it up to be more comfortable through the night. That’s what we get for not sleeping in the trailer. 

Our first Osprey Sighting

The worst part was that we were both up before 7:30 so we started making a list of all the errands we needed to do today as we ate our breakfast. We learned a long time ago that by making a list like that we could arrange the errands in a loop instead of bouncing around like a ping pong ball thus getting more accomplished. 

We always found watching Pelicans almost comical

Before 9:00 this morning I had E-mailed the insurance company about the blowout on the trailer and had called Sun Parlour Trailers to see about getting the trailer repaired. By 9:00 we were out the door with all our documents that needed tending to and the list of the order that we’d be doing those errands. 

The second stop we made was at the trailer because we still needed to get our clothes from the drawers. Being tired from the drive I had also forgotten to shut the 12 volt power supply when we got back to the storage yard. The last time we didn’t shut that switch the Phantom power thieves (electronics) had killed the battery so we didn’t want that happening again.

When 12:00 noon rolled around we had already had lunch, run eight other errands including getting a new battery for Kathy’s car and were now towing the trailer out of the storage yard. By 12:30 we arrived at Sun Parlour Trailer in Amherstburg to get the insurance process started.

Next we stopped at our son’s to replace the battery in Kathy’s car so we could bring it home. Was I in for a shock and not from the battery. All the years she has had this car I never noted where the battery was located in this car. I had to remove the air filter chamber so I could release the battery but I also needed to remove a compartment door inside the wheel well and slide the battery through that opening behind the tire to get it out. It seemed that every bolt was a different size plus some were metric while others were standard bolts.

I also needed to drive to the local Canadian Tire store to purchase new cable lugs as the old ones were not only corroded but starting to split. The job that we had all thought would only take fifteen minutes took nearly four hours. No wonder it costs so much for car repairs these days.

By the time we dropped off the old battery for the core charge refund it was after 6:00 by the time we got back to the apartment and we were already too hungry to worry about cooking supper. Once I washed up and changed my dirty clothes we headed over to the Michigan Diner where we enjoyed a satisfying meal after a long tiring day.

Tomorrow there is a lot more that needs to be done. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

What do you call a nervous witch?

A twitch.

Going With The Flow.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

After three and a half months away we knew the day would arrive that we’d have to go home and today was the day. We both slept on and off throughout the night and were wide awake by 7:30. Not even all the fresh air we breathed in yesterday at our happy hour fire helped us to get a decent night’s sleep. What else should we expect for a pretravel night of sleep? 

This morning we met the couple that parked next to us as we were all getting ready to head for home. Their names were John and Marilyn Theil from Stratford. They had been delayed over an hour and a half by traffic congestions yesterday and had only pulled into the park around the time we were eating supper last night. We must have talked for a half hour before parting ways and exchanging personal contact information. 

Within minutes we were once again heading Northbound on I-75 in the direction on Toledo. Traffic was flowing freely and there were a few people who thought that was a good sign to get to their destinations in a hurry. Anyone who travels through the state of Ohio knows not to do that because around the very next bend there were four state troopers pulling over two speeders at a time. So that helped us make better time by just driving at the limit. 

Nearing Toledo you never know if you’ll get tied up in traffic so Kathy and I found a Cracker Barrel for an early lunch. We have learned to enjoy the time for our meals as travel rests. While we were talking I realized I hadn’t turned off the inverter in the trailer so when we were leaving I fixed that so the batteries would fully charge up during the drive home. 

Shutting the Inverter that I forgot in the morning.

Getting back on the highway we were suddenly very glad that we had stopped when we did. Traffic started slowing down to between 45 and 50 miles per hour due to construction throughout the Toledo area. Finally after turning one last bend in the road there was the sign welcoming us back to the state of Michigan.

Kathy needed to stretch even though this was one of our shorter travel days so we stopped at the first rest stop. After walking for about ten minutes we headed back on the road heading for home. We hadn’t driven five miles when traffic came to a near standstill. Within a mile on the side lane the fire department were helping to load a burnt of shell of a car on a flatbed truck. Even the tires had burnt off but there were no ambulances so hopefully all the person lost was their car. 

Before crossing the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit to Windsor I topped off our fuel at the Duty Free for $3.599 a gallon ($0.951 a liter) saving us some cash down the road. Afterwards the crossing took less than five minutes including our stop at Custom and Immigrations putting us back on Canadian Soil by 2:10 this afternoon. 

Again the traffic flowed at speed limit causing us to stop for only one traffic light. Fifteen minutes after leaving Customs we were pulling into the Guardian Storage Yard where we store the trailer. We spent nearly a half hour collecting things from the trailer that we needed to bring to the apartment today. By 4:00 this afternoon we were crossing the threshold of the apartment. One load at a time I emptied the truck while Kathy put away the perishable foods and brought the rest to the appropriate rooms. I finally went to the office to collect our overflowing basket of mail. 

The day we left in January the snow was to the middle of the wheels.

We both wished we could have stayed away longer but like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz said “There’s no place like home.” Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

You've totaled every car you've owned.