Hard Day Getting Started

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

For the last week there always seemed to be something that would come up getting in the way of my exercising. So last night I moved things around in the office so that when I got up this morning I could simply start working out. That was the plan. When I got up just before 7:00 my head was so stuffed up that it felt the size of a bushel basket. So I sat for a few minutes but before I knew it Kathy was in the living room with me shortly after 7:30 thus giving me a lame excuse to wait until later. 

At this point the best thing I could do was make breakfast and while we ate we watched the Weather Channel before heading to the computers. My sinuses were slowly clearing so I went into the bedroom and stripped the bed so I could clean the linens while I’d do the laundry. By the time I finished sorting everything my head was beating like a drum from the congestion. 

Kathy needed to go to the Dollar Store so we headed to the Tecumseh Mall. Surprisingly the Dollar Store was packed with people thinking that they could get Black Friday Weekend specials. At a Store like that you get the best price every day. We had a number of things we needed to find and by the time we found them it was nearly lunch so while I went to put our purchases in the car Kathy slowly made her way through the mall towards the food court. Since this is the smallest of the malls in our district we were very surprised at the size of the crowds that filled the stores. 

We chose to share a twelve inch Meatball Submarine sandwich from Subway for our lunch. This gave us time to people watch as well as enjoying our lunch. Two fellow co-workers from the plant I retired from Ed and Andre stopped by to say hello as they had been visiting with a group of friends and were just leaving. Then longtime friend Glenn stopped by and talked for quite some time. 

Back at the apartment Kathy was able to do a chore she had planned but I just couldn’t seem to get started. Even though the laundry was waiting to be done I just wasn’t in the mood so I put fresh linens on the bed before going to read blogs until just before supper time when Kathy turned the television on to a Christmas Special. It seemed to help me get out of my funk and we even had supper of Hungarian Hulka with a Smokey Southwest Salad while we watched the show. 

The 6 o’clock News followed the show and after I saw the weather report for tomorrow I was finally in the mood to get the laundry done but with a twist. I brought my laptop downstairs with me and wrote half of tonight’s post during the wash cycle. Now that the blog is posted I’m going back to fold our dry clothes. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.        

Krackers

Did you hear about the gambler who was chucked out of Gamblers Anonymous?

He tried to bet on how long it would take him to give it up.

Busy Recycling and Having Fun.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

We slept wonderfully and we didn’t hibernate this morning. I was up by 7:30 and minutes after 8:00 Kathy was joining me in the living room as the sun struggled to break from behind the clouds. Once we’d eaten and watched the Weather Channel as they were predicting snow in the next few days for Vancouver Island in BC. We knew that it wasn’t a day that we would be sitting outside to read any books but at least the sun would be shining. 

By 8:30 we were doing our morning reading on the computers. By 9:00 Kathy was into the final steps of organizing our itinerary for our trip to Florida in December. I was on the phone with Sid at General RV. He had called and left a message on Wednesday and we didn’t get home until after 9:00 that night and with the Thanksgiving Holiday yesterday we had to touch base today. His technicians were working on the trailer as we spoke and he didn’t want to Jinx anything so he said he’d call when it was finished. 

I dressed for the cold temperatures and went outside to sweep the s@#w off the car and truck being that we didn’t go anywhere yesterday they hadn’t been cleaned. There was enough accumulation that if it wasn’t cleaned off with a brush it wouldn’t have melted. I finished off the morning by researching data for one of my working spreadsheets before we had lunch. 

This afternoon we ran across town to drop off Kevin’s big screen TV that had met an early demise at Computers for Kids. They reuse or recycle old or damaged electronic equipment putting what is reusable into centers for underprivileged kids to use. The unusable equipment is disassembled and totally recycled thus keeping it out of a landfill and the monies made from the recycling helps to pay the bills for this charitable organization that is run by volunteers. 

The next stop was downtown where we stopped at Pleasance Trophies to drop off trophies and medals that Karen had won in sports in her high school days. When they become more clutter than a crown of achievement you bring them to local trophy shops who will recycle them as awards for Special Olympics participants. Again everything is recycled and never hits a landfill. 

A quick stop to drop off some clothes that are still in good shape at the Value Village will help clothe someone at a reasonable price and help support many local charities as well as keeping the clothes out of the landfill for a good while longer. With all that recycling finished we stopped at Tim Horton’s for an afternoon coffee before our last stop. 

The last stop was at our local State Farm Insurance office. Unfortunately our agent Judy had a doctor’s appointment and Richard was away on vacation. We spoke with Cathy as we needed to insure Kathy’s new ASUS laptop before we leave for Florida. She and the other office girl were both new to their jobs so they took the information and placed it on Judy’s desk where she would later deal with it. The next fifteen minutes were spent with them asking us questions about our travels and wishing they could do the same. 

As we were about to park at the apartment we realized the time and just drove right back out to go out for supper. We went to the Michigan Diner where we had their great tasting Fish and Chips off the Senior’s Menu. This allowed us to have a filling supper without being stuffed in the process at a reasonable price. 

Back at the apartment we were just settling in at the computers when Sid from General RV called saying our trailer will be ready on Monday. Then our daughter Karen called asking if she could stash a box with us for the next 25 days which she dropped off on her way home from work. Judy from State Farm called just before 6:00 to help get things straightened up. As I’m writing this post I realized that Kathy and I just missed the Tecumseh Christmas Parade tonight. Oh well Kathy is recovering from a cold and maybe it is better not to be out in the cold air for 2 hours. 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 worn a Sham Wow as a Bandana.

White Stuff and Phone Calls.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

I was up by 7:30 this morning feeling totally rested. Kathy didn’t wake until after 8:00 which is not too bad since she normally wakes once she feels that I’m not in bed unless she is really tired like she was when she went to bed last night. I think there is another reason and I think that it is because Kathy is partly a bear and when the cold weather hits she goes into semi-hibernation mode and doesn’t want to leave the warmth of the bed covers not a comment Kathy totally agrees with. 

Once she was up she nearly went into shock and it wasn’t from the temperature of the apartment but the fact that looking out the balcony doors to the parking lot everything was white except the grey skies that were producing this nearly postcard type of picture. The temperature outside required serious bundling up with the wind chills bringing it much colder than we personally like. 

By the time breakfast was over and we were at the computers catching up on our reading when the phone rang. Our good friend Vera was calling asking if we would be home this morning as she and Bill wanted to drop off some Hungarian Hulka that they had made fresh this week. Kathy and I waited for nearly twenty minutes downstairs for their arrival but because of the road conditions Kathy suggested that I go back to the apartment in case they had called to say they’d be late. 

Our downstairs lobby.

I wasn’t gone for five minutes when Kathy showed up with the Hulka and news from Vera. Her sister had a heart attack and was in the hospital as well as their son had just been sent to New York for emergency eye surgery. Needless to say she was not having a good day and we’ll be praying for her family members in need at this time. 

I then made two calls of my own only to leave messages on answering machines. I had called both my sister Anna and my Aunt Anna both of who live in the city of London, Ontario that last weekend was hit by a S@#w squall that left two feet of the white stuff behind. My sister was the first to call back and we spoke of plight of slowly digging out, her grandchildren, our trailer because she reads the blog daily and then we set a date to meet before Christmas. 

I had no sooner hung up from my sister when the phone again rang and this time it was my aunt. Unfortunately they were house bound for three days because their parking lots weren’t cleaned out very quickly which is not good since their building is strictly for seniors. Again before finishing our call we made arrangements to meet before Christmas. 

Throughout the rest of the day we both worked on research for our trip and I also did some photo-shop work for Melissa and Kevin. After supper tonight we watched another Christmas special as we patiently wait for word that our trailer is ready to be picked up. 

Our fireplace also plays Christmas Music

To all our American friends and relatives Kathy and I wish you and your families all a Happy Thanksgiving. 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

Accomplishing the impossible only means that the boss will add it to your regular duties.

Doug Larson

Up On The Roof and Phone Calls.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

We seem to be good for the one night of sleep and the other one not. Luckily last night we both slept very soundly and I didn’t get out of bed until 7:30 and Kathy slept until nearly 8:30. Thankfully we were in no rush to go anywhere so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before heading to the computers. 

Once we did finish our reading I had some phone calls to make. The first was to State Farm to find out what the holdup was that they hadn’t yet sent the cheque to General RV for the repairs to our trailer. It turns out that the person at the RV dealership they were dealing with had not sent in the bill yet though they usually wait until the repairs are finished before issuing the payment. 

It was partly sunny outside but still well below the freezing mark.

Then I asked about the deductible and the fact that we had replaced all the tires which should have covered the deductible as it did the time before. I was told that was not the case because the tire caused the accident and my deductible was two hundred dollars more than I had originally been told. When I stated that was impossible and I’d be looking for another insurance company she hung up. I was not being belligerent and Kathy was sitting at her desk and could hear every word that I said. 

I called back and spoke to someone else who agreed that the tire was not a deductible but the extra two hundred dollars was incorrect because our unit is a trailer. She also said the other person I had spoken to had noted that I had hung up on her. I asked for their FAX number and informed her she’d be getting the bill within the hour and to please issue the payment directly. 

I then called General RV and spoke to Sid’s assistant informing them they needed to send the bill before they could get paid. I gave her the FAX number to send it to. Kathy and I both feel that the people handling this repair at General RV really dropped the ball on this repair. It was like everybody was waiting for someone else to do their job and nothing was getting done. In the end Kathy and I were being held hostage by not having our trailer to prep for our upcoming trip. 

After lunch we left to pick up a storage chest at Karen’s to bring with us to Kevin’s home where he’ll use it to store the boys outside toys. I also went on the roof to clean the chimney to the fireplace and then the same on the garage roof to clean the stack to the wood burning stove. Unfortunately the leaves were frozen it the eaves troughs and when I cleaned the stove pipe it came apart inside. Luckily it didn’t cause a mess but we had some reattaching to do afterwards. Kathy in the meantime was busy taking pictures and playing with the cats. 

Garfield

Kathy and I went and did some Walmart walking to kill a bit of time before we went to McDonalds for supper. Believe it or not we paid full price because we tried their new McRib sandwich. 

Sully

Being Wednesday night we returned to visit with Kevin and Melissa and as usual we had our normal enjoyable visit that was filled with discussion and laughter. 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

Your kids think "Final Notice" is someone in your household.

More Than Busy Day.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

Good sleep comes and good sleep goes and last night it surely left the both of us. We spent most of the night tossing and turning and ended up sleeping past 8:30 this morning. Of course this was another day that we really couldn’t afford to sleep this late but we recovered. 

The Weather Channel didn’t give us much encouraging news that we could cheer about. The temperatures continued to be well below the normal for this time of year but the wind definitely was a lot calmer almost making it feel like a chilly spring day. 

By the time breakfast was over we only had time to get dressed and get out the door as Kathy had the last appointment with her family doctor until we return from Florida next spring. We never like to be late and normally they call Kathy in well before her appointed time but today there were a lot of people who came in for their annual Flu Shots plus a couple of emergencies that delayed her appointments by over a half hour. Kathy got a good report on all her tests plus the doctor prescribed some Antibiotics for her to bring along just in case the need were to arise. She also told Kathy to enjoy her trip and then asked if she could come along for the ride. 

Since it was nearly noon by the time we left and we wanted to do some mall walking at the Devonshire Mall we stopped at the food court where we both enjoyed the Tuesday special at the Kentucky Fried Chicken. Being it was their special no coupons were needed for the both of us to have lunch for under ten dollars. 

We then walked around looking at all the Christmas decorations that pretty much all the stores already had up. We also stopped at Sears where Kathy bought another pair of pants on sale of course to bring on our trip south. After walking for what seemed like hours we left to head over to Walmart to pick up a few food stocks that will help us make it to the end of the month. 

Back at the apartment I noticed the message light flashing on the phone and when I checked it out it was an automated message from General RV saying that the parts ordered on my behalf had arrived. I immediately called to see when I could expect to pick the trailer up. They said to expect it late Monday but if everything went well we could be picking it up this weekend. They did tell me that they have not received the payment from our insurance company either. 

Looks like I have some phone calls to make in the morning. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.        

Krackers

What did the hotel manager say to the elephant when

 he couldn't pay his bill?

Pack your trunk and get out.

Cold Outside.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

Again we slept until slightly past 8:00 before getting up for breakfast. When we turned on the Weather Channel on we could see why everyone in the parking lot was bundled up like Eskimos in the parking lot. The worst part was the temperature was not going to improve because the wind would pick up as the day wore on making it feel that much colder. It never got out of the twenties in our area today. 

I had actually woke Kathy this morning thinking the apartment maintenance man was supposed to be coming this morning but then she corrected me by saying it wasn’t until this afternoon. So after breakfast we sat at the computers getting caught up on our reading. 

With her reading complete Kathy went to the kitchen and started cooking and baking and only needed my help a couple of times. This will definitely keep us well fed for the next few days. The rest of the time I was working on the spreadsheets for our daughter Karen on my PC. I find that the older Excel program allows me to adjust the spreadsheets more to my liking and I was able to find some of the Functions that I had created on the Windows 7 machine that were not working. By the end of the afternoon I had created four years of budget sheets that I know will work and hopefully will help Karen get her budget under control. 

Dan the building maintenance man showed up around 2:30 and was finished by 2:45 and it didn’t cost us anything and the best part was I didn’t even get my hands dirty. After he left I called Sid at General RV to get a progress report on the trailer. The answer was that the parts had not arrived yet from Keystone so all we can do is wait and watch as our departure date gets closer. 

Once the supper dishes were done we braved the elements and appreciated the warmth of the vehicle and the buildings because the wind cut through us like a knife. We went over to Karen’s where Kathy helped her to continue cleaning out STUFF that she no longer has any use for. Karen was also very happy with the spreadsheets that I made for her and Greg. 

Back at the apartment we enjoyed a nice hot chocolate in an attempt to warm up from the outside chill. 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 list Dr. Pepper as your family physician.

Cold Weather, Hockey and Spreadsheets.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

Kathy and I didn’t sleep like logs last night we slept like rocks. The building could have come down around us and neither of us would have woke up. It was after 8:00 by the time I got out of bed and immediately started getting things ready to make breakfast. Within minutes Kathy walked into the kitchen and took over cooking the French toast that I had planned on making. Sitting down to eat and watch the Weather Channel showed that we would have clear sunny skies but the Temperature would stay in the mid-20s for our high today. 

Tyler's fan club cheering him on.

We then went to do our morning reading before getting ourselves ready to go see Tyler play hockey at the Tecumseh Arena. Today they played against a team from the Belle River District who were definitely more skilled in the game who basically trounced Tyler’s team even with Tyler and a team mate getting each a goal. 

It was nearly 1:00 in the afternoon before Kathy and I stopped at A&W for lunch. Yes we used another coupon which helps keep our spending down. 

We showed up at Karen’s house by 2:00 so that we could go over the budget spreadsheet that she had asked me to make. I thought that I had put too many categories for what she had needed but in effect together we probably added another dozen plus rearranging the way some were listed. We also did a slight modification to the best of the three samples I’d made that will now definitely suit her needs in helping to see where their money is going. She then asked me to set the timers for the outdoor Christmas lights to start coming on tonight. 

Back at the apartment Kathy was really feeling tired so she sat back for a Snap (short nap) while I set my laptop up and went back to working on the spreadsheet for Karen. Before I knew it Kathy was telling me it was time for supper. While eating we watched the 6 o’clock News where they showed that London Ontario got slammed with as much as two feet of s@#w in some parts of the city. We have been fortunate that we have not had any of that white stuff yet but we have been having temps well below the norm for this time of year. 

As we finished supper Karen called to let me know the timer that got encased in a block of ice last year wasn’t working and she was also having trouble with a couple of her spheres that weren’t lighting. After posting this blog I’ll go back to finishing the spreadsheet for Karen. Hey I should be able to finish it by tomorrow night. 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 Damn Good Reasons Why it's OK to Hate Work

Number 57: Having to face the office with your disastrous new haircut.

Jane Purell

Chores and Getting Closer

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

Being exhausted from poor sleep we both managed to sleep soundly last night. We even slept until after 8:00 this morning. The Weather Channel informed us we were at the warmest we’d be for the day as we were eating our breakfast. By mid-afternoon we were at 23 F (-5 C) so it would not be one of our more active days. 

Once breakfast was over we headed to the computers and glad to read how some of the Snowbirds we follow were very much enjoying the warmer to moderate temperature that we so look forward to. Unfortunately others were experiencing wet, windy and far cooler temperatures than they had hoped to have while being in those regions. 

Once the reading was over Kathy tried using the copier and within seconds of pushing the Copy button a message would appear reading “Print Cancelled”. No matter what I did it just would not copy and print so I put it to the back burner for this time. 

I started sorting the laundry that has accumulated for the last week. I knew I was getting a late start but figured that was my fault. I lucked out finding just the number of washers needed and no one else in the room. Returning to the apartment while the wash was going I walked in to Kathy vacuuming. I went online trying to research the problem and was not getting the answers I needed. The manufacture kept referring to Scanning even when I typed in the problem and when I looked at scanning it kept talking of USB connections and loading the program in the computer but it wouldn’t do anything for Copying. 

I returned to get the drying started and had to empty a dryer that had been sitting idle when I first arrived. Back at the apartment Kathy had made lunch and I left a review about the lack of help the website had given me. Finally I returned to the laundry room to fold our clothes. What clothes I had taken out earlier were still sitting there and I had finished folding our clothes and was about to leave when the person came in for them. She is the same person that does that a lot. 

Kathy informed me that Tyler’s hockey game time for tomorrow has been backed up to noon and that we will be celebrating Christmas with Kathie and Ross on December 9^th. Their son Dwayne will be home because he has to work Christmas Day because they give the day off to guards that have children. Strangely their daughter Christine also has to work Christmas Day in the nursing home. 

The rest of the day I spent again trying to get the copier working. Kathy continued doing research until supper time as the number of days before we leave for Florida is rapidly going down. This evening we enjoyed watching another Christmas Special. Tis that time of year! 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 tilted your above ground pool to create a "deep end."

Resolving Problems and Making Progress.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario.

Last night after posting our blog I had the chore of making certain that all the prescription medication we had ordered for our southerly trip was accounted for. I meticulously counted each tablet in each container to be certain we had a full count and then it happened. All the vials I had checked were correct but somehow one of the pills just wasn’t there. I found the list I’d given to the pharmacy and found a note that the doctor had cancelled it. It should not have been and at 11:00 at night I could only get the Drug Store’s version of the story. 

Of course with that on our minds both Kathy and I had a super restless night of which I was on the computer for over three hours just trying to calm myself enough to sleep. Kathy has Restless Leg Syndrome and was dreaming she was running all night. Was it any wonder she woke totally exhausted this morning. 

After breakfast Kathy called her family doctor inquiring why they had cancelled a medication that her Cardiologist said she needed. They looked over the FAX request from the Pharmacy and said that particular med was not listed but to be certain we’d have them would immediately FAX the prescription to the Drug Store. Notice everyone pointing the finger at the other person while saying “Not Me!” 

We finished off the morning on the computers doing what was needed. For lunch we finished the last of the homemade Turkey Noodle Soup while watching the Weather Channel that was giving us a not so favorable forecast. 

We then headed over to the Drug Store to pick up not only the pills we’d just had ordered this morning but my medications that they had told me earlier this week they could not reach my doctor until next Monday. We headed to the Devonshire Mall where we had to return some gloves at Mark’s Workwear. We then went inside the mall to get some walking exercise in since it was so dreary and damp outside. We did stop at the Dollar Store to pick up a few travel snacks for when we hit the road. Back at the apartment we had a simple supper and once the dishes were washed I busied myself filling the Daucets. 

Kathy and I would like to welcome the newest follower to our blog Anne Chisholm from the blog The AccidentalRVers. Reading Anne’s post she and her husband Archie had planned on doing like Kathy and I by renting an apartment in Nova Scotia but when that didn’t pan out and their home was sold they changed their plans and are now The Accidental fulltime RVers. We are looking forward to following more of your travels as we start more of our own. 

Now that we’ve resolved another problem we can only hope that we’ll sleep well tonight. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.        

Krackers

Did you hear about the dog who went to a flea circus?

No, what happened?

He stole the show.