It's about time.

Many of you can relate to Working long hours at your career. Raising your families. Buying a home and paying all the bills related to being homeowners and parents. We're now retired and don't need all that work and expense. Now "It's about time" and what we do to follow our dreams.

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Sunday, August 31, 2014

Trying to Get Ahead.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

Waking up before 3:00 in the morning and laying awake over an hour I tried taking a regular strength Tylenol in hopes of going back to sleep. When I was still awake at 6:00 I took a second regular strength Tylenol in hopes of going back to sleep. It was around 7:00 by the time I finally fell asleep. Kathy didn’t understand why I slept in until 9:00. After having breakfast and watching the Weather Channel we headed to the computers to catch up on our morning reading. 

The temperatures would later become unbearable this afternoon so as soon as I’d finished my reading I went outside to work on the truck. Last week I made a list of 29 things that I needed to accomplish before we head south this coming winter in 117 days. So I can’t just wait until the last minute to do all these things.  One problem has been with water getting into the light sockets that I had mounted on the mud-flaps of the truck. I simply removed them and once again set myself up on the plastic tarp in the living room to repair the problem. 

After lunch we returned to the trailer because I was missing a couple of pieces that I’d need to do the mud-flap repair. From there we stopped at the Dollar Store, Home Depot and finally Chapters Book Store before heading back to the apartment. 

Disassembling the light-bars on the mud-flaps proved to be more than a simple task. By the time I stopped for the day I had only removed four of the six fixtures due to rusted bolts. They wouldn’t even come off with the use of penetrating oil. My only other option will be to grind them off later but I have other holes to drill in the Stainless Steel brackets that will keep me busy in the meantime. 

Kathy made a good tasting meatloaf for supper tonight from a recipe she found online. Even though she makes great tasting meatloaf to begin with she just likes trying something new every once in a while. Unfortunately it came out too sweet for both our liking. I see meatloaf sandwiches coming up for lunch soon and a return to the old recipe.   

After supper we watched the News and then we saw a movie advertised that we thought sounded interesting. It turned into a murder thriller that surprised us both at the turn of events. 

Tomorrow I’ll see about again working on the mud-flaps inside because the weather forecast is for rain most of the day tomorrow. After lunch we’ll be going to our daughter Karen’s to deliver an early birthday gift. 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 ever used a tablespoon as a shoehorn.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Fast Start to a Hot Day and Success.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

We managed to keep ourselves awake until after the evening news last night but we probably fell asleep as soon as our heads hit our pillows. I don’t even recall waking up any time before 7:15 this morning when my back told me it was time to rise. 
Remounting the Breadbox
Not wanting to wake Kathy I sat in the living room reassembling the hardware on the doors and breadbox that we had to restain for the trailer. I was in the process of finishing the last piece on the breadbox when Kathy appeared in the room. Seeing what I was doing, she automatically started getting breakfast ready.
 
Reattaching the drawer face under the oven.
As soon as we were finished eating Kathy went to check on the morning blog posts and her E-mail while I started loading the truck. It felt good to pick up the tarp we use when I have one of these projects in the drying stages. It finally looked like home again. 
No more green tarp covering the rug and furniture.
By 9:00 we were on our way to the trailer at the storage yard. The reason for such an early start was that the Weather Channel’s forecast for today include a Humidex that would reach the century mark along with possible thunderstorms. By getting it all installed during the cool part of the morning helped to keep us from looking like a couple of very wet Rag Dolls. 

The first place we went to after the trailer was the specialty shop that had been closed when we arrived yesterday afternoon. We looked around the shop before finally talking to the proprietor. We explained what we were looking for and why. He went online trying to find something locally for us with no luck. That’s when he suggested that we try an online site meant for collectors. We made another stop before arriving home.   
Replacing the CPAP compartment doors.
The first thing we did at home was to have lunch. Then Kathy started wrapping more of the Christmas Gifts we had purchased over the last few days. My job was back to the computer to continue looking for that special gift. After striking out on the site that we were told to visit this morning I decided to go back to E-Bay. I had searched that site repeatedly over the last few days without any luck other than the ones that were priced through the roof. Would you believe there were three new listings just today at reasonable prices on the Buy Now listing page. With Kathy by my side we reviewed each one before making our choice. We can now say with only 117 shopping days until Christmas we have officially bought our last gift for this year. We just have to wait for the last gift to arrive from New York City.  
My best side while replacing the last CPAP compartment door.
Kathy needed some wrapping supplies so we headed over to the dollar store before going over to the Michigan Diner for supper tonight. Back at the apartment Kathy finished wrapping the rest of the gifts on hand. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

The World's Great Proverbs

Never send a boy to do a man's job.

Friday, August 29, 2014

Lots of Researching and Searching.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

Last night after we dropped Tyler at home and visited with Karen for a short while we came home with a renewed sense of locating a Christmas Gift on that special list we mentioned yesterday. Karen had given us an idea of what sites to go to for better results. Back at the apartment we found a few sites and took turns looking at approximately 1200 pictures looking for that perfect gift. By 1:00 in the morning we were a couple of walking Zombies as we headed off to bed. 

Even though we had given up over an hour and a half of our sleep on our own accord we were both awake within minutes after 8:00 this morning. As soon as breakfast was finished we were back on the computers finally locating what we had been looking for. That’s when our jaws hit the floor because the cost would nearly pay for a set of tires on our truck. 

After lunch we tried driving to a couple of shops in Windsor that we thought would carry this type of product and hopefully at a lower price. Unfortunately when the market crashed six years ago most of the shops that specialized in this went out of business and the ones that survived stopped carrying that product. We finally found one of those businesses that survived but they only remain open four hours a day for five days a week and by the time we got there they were already closed. We’ll be making a special trip back tomorrow morning. Back at the apartment we once again found another site with the product but this time it would only cost as much as a single tire would for the truck. 

Kathy made a twice baked sweet potato and a salad to go with the Lemon Chicken Kabobs that I grilled on the Weber for supper. We’ll probably be shutting the lights off early tonight to make up for last night’s lack of sleep. 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

What Ails You

The No. 2 cause of work absences lasting three days or longer is stress and anxiety.

Work Foundation Study

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Busy Christmas, Halloween Shopping and a Visitor.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

With the help of a regular strength Tylenol I had no problem sleeping the entire night but I had the alarm set for 8:00 this morning so you would think that I would stay awake through most of the night. Not at all. As a fact I slept so well that I woke up on my own feeling well rested minutes before the alarm went off. I had all the window blinds open and started breakfast before I woke Kathy at 8:03. 

I had my yearly physical with my family doctor today and Kathy decided to come for the ride so we were on the road by 8:35. The quickest way across town is still by the Expressway but unfortunately there is still construction going on that bottlenecks traffic up by Howard Avenue. We still managed to get to my appointment with ten minutes to spare. Kathy went next door to the drug store while I had my physical and managed to find a number of toiletries that we’ll be needing to restock the trailer with when we leave in December. I passed the examination and now I just have to get the blood tests done. 

We then headed over to the Devonshire Mall in search of things listed on someone’s Christmas wish list. With only 119 shopping days left we hit a number of stores and were actually able to scratch a few things off that list. We had probably walked the mall at least three times before we stopped at the food court for lunch. We again used coupons that help us keep costs down and re-energized us. 

We then headed at our local Value Village in hopes of finding more things from that list. With no luck on that front we instead changed our focus. We will be attending a Halloween party at our son Kevin’s on October 25th so we needed to find some costumes. It took a while to find first the costumes but then the accessories to go with them but now we are all set. 

From there we stopped at the storage yard and went to the trailer. Kathy again took more food stocks from the pantry while I stowed away the camping chairs we’ve been using at soccer games and got some fasteners and my drill that I’ll be using on my upcoming project. 

We stopped at the Credit Union to do some banking before going over to check out Captains. This is a novelty import store that we had hoped we would be lucky to find a couple of things from that special list. They have recently restocked the store so we struck out on finding anything there. 

Back to Walmart we were once again walking the aisles and with a little brainstorming between Kathy and I we found a few items that will be along the lines of what was being asked for. It was nearly 5:00 when we went to McDonald’s for supper. Yes we used coupons again to save some cash. 
Tyler checking the pile of Christmas gifts wrapped in our dining room.
Shortly after watching the news at home our grandson Tyler came over for a visit. We learned that he had been over last night and this afternoon but we weren’t home. That proves that we don’t stay home much. He stayed and watched a storm movie with Kathy while I am writing this blog post. We’ll be driving him home after the movie is over. 

Kathy and I would like to welcome Ruth Read from the blog Travel With Kevin and Ruth as our latest follower. We aren’t the world travelers that she and Kevin are but hopefully we’ll be able to share some valuable tips that will keep them interested. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

The World's Great Proverbs

A still tongue makes a wise head.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Eye Opener and Planning.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

Last weekend I mentioned that I didn’t want to jinx how well we have been sleeping at night. Sleeping all last night didn’t happen for me because even though I tried to avoid taking a Tylenol to help me relax it was finally necessary after three hours of laying awake. 

We finally got up for breakfast just after 8:00 and were working away on our computers before 9:00. There were a number of unusual things that popped up that really caught our attention. One such thing was a video posted by Nancy on Travels with Mr. Nimble. This is a heartfelt video that everyone should see and it will inspire them that life is what you make of it no matter what cards you have been dealt. The title is Never Say Can’t. 

For lunch today Kathy chose that we make our own vegie/fruit/chicken wraps. Since I’m new to working in a kitchen it may take me longer to finely slice the ingredients but this allows Kathy to do other things like making her own dressing. Everything turned out great. 

We were soon discussing slight changes that I want to make for our next project for the trailer. I felt the original plan would have left it looking too rough and thrown together so with a few changes it will give it more structural integrity as well as dressing it up. Hopefully when we stain it the first time it will match what we finally ended up with on all the other cabinetry items. 

For supper we used the leftover grilled salmon from last night warmed on top of a cold pasta salad. A bit of Malt vinegar dressed it up beautifully. 

Being Wednesday after supper we headed to Amherstburg for our weekly visit with our son Kevin and daughter-in-law Melissa. As usual we had a fun visit with them and the grandsons who are looking forward to going back to school next Tuesday. Something I know all parents are looking forward to as well because most will be doing a “Happy Dance.” 

As mentioned in yesterday’s post we only have one person to complete our Christmas shopping for and that is our grandson Cameron. His likes and dislikes are much different than ours so we actually have him make us a list of things that he might want. We couldn’t have been in the house two minutes and he brought out his list. Now with only 120 shopping days left before Christmas Kathy and I will be able to finish our shopping. 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 "Elvis theme" of your wedding ceremony was unintentional.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Hot Humid and Stormy.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

Sleeping in lately has not been a problem for neither Kathy nor I. It was after 8:00 this morning when we got up to have our breakfast. In the process of eating we also watched the Weather Channel on the television and what they were showing was not a pretty picture. The Humidex for the day would be well above the century mark along with the chance of severe afternoon thunderstorms. 

As usual we headed to the computers to get caught up on our morning reading. Once that was finished we both started our own line of research about things we needed to do. Even with the extremely warm conditions outside Kathy suggested that we have an early lunch and go do some shopping inside an Air Conditioned store. 

After lunch we ended up at Walmart. With the shopping we had done the other day Kathy was more on track of what she needed to buy so we could scratch more gifts off of our Christmas list. It took well over an hour but by the then we are now down to only shopping for one more person. That’s not too bad considering there are only 121 more shopping days left. Because of power glitches to their computers we were delayed in checking out. Once that was completed I put our purchases in the truck while Kathy went to the in-store McDonald’s and got a couple of coffees and muffins for us to have a snack. That helped refresh us to carry on with grocery shopping that would take another hour to complete because of another power glitch. 

When we got back to the apartment building there were no shopping carts available so Kathy helped with a few lighter bags until we got inside our apartment. Leaving her with the frozen foods to put away I made two more trips to get everything in. Our timing seem perfect because shortly after we had finished putting things away we sat at the computers to cool down. That was when we started hearing rumbles of thunder outside. Opening the curtains we had closed to keep the heat of the sun out we were looking at black skies with pouring rain and a continuing display of lightning. For the next couple of hours the rain continued and the Weather Channel was flashing warnings across the screen for our area. 

Once the storm calmed I grilled a wonderful Salmon Fillet low and slow on the Weber while Kathy reheated the Spanish rice from last light and then she microwaveda couple ears of corn that we had bought today. The meal was delicious and there’s still some salmon left over that Kathy is already planning to use for lunch tomorrow.  Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

How did the tap dancer break her ankle?

She fell into the sink.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Another Summer Like Day.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

With the fresh air we breathed in at the soccer game last night there was no problem falling to sleep. This morning I broke the sleeping in routine that I seem to be developing lately. Maybe my body is telling me that it’s finally getting caught up on its rest. Of course on shortly after my 7:00 awakening this morning it didn’t take too much longer for Kathy to wake up. Of course that also meant that the rest of our morning seemed to pick up speed. 

According to the Weather Network today’s Humidex would be sitting just under the century mark and tomorrow it is jumping well above it. That helped to make the choice for me to do the laundry today since there is no AC in the laundry room. The only problem was that this being Monday a lot of other tenants had the same idea as I did. Fortunately I had no problem getting my washing done and I also managed to get a couple of dryers just when I needed them. Others weren’t so lucky because of certain people in the building who put their clothes in the dryers and come back for it hours after it’s dried. Then they have the nerve to complain that their dried clothes is sitting on the folding table and not in the dryer they left them in. By the time I got back to the apartment with the folded clothes the ones that I was wearing were on the damp side.  

After putting the clothes away I took the time to catch up reading the blogs that I missed this morning as well as last night because of the late hour I posted our blog. The wood work that I stained yesterday still has a few tacky spots that need to better dry before I add another coating to finish it off. 

Kathy has finally tried using our Recumbent Exercise Bike to exercise since it is too humid for her to go outside. Hopefully she didn’t overdo it and can continue the practice on a near daily basis. 

For supper I grilled a couple of hamburgers on the Weber while Kathy cooked up a wonderful Spanish Rice dish to go with them and there is still more for another meal. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Tonight's pictures are
from our grandson
Matthew's soccer game. 

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

You're embroiled in a custody battle over an El Camino.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Still Trying.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

Sleeping in slightly later is getting to be a habit we can both live with. It was after 8:00 this morning before we started getting breakfast ready. Watching the Weather Channel we noted that we will continue to get temperatures that have Humidexes near the century mark for the next few days.
Once we’d finished our morning reading I headed back out to the balcony. Today’s chore was to restain the wood panels and breadbox that I had sanded yesterday. Armed with a different stain I did a few test strips on the backside of one of the panels. Once it had dried enough that we were satisfied with the finish I carried on. I managed to do the backs of all the door and drawer panels before doing the outside of the breadbox.
Kathy had been busy making lunch which seemed to appear on the table just as I finished doing what staining I could. I would later check to find that the wind had delivered a large amount of pollen in the air that had attached itself to the still sticky panels.
After the supper dishes were finished I was able to go back out on the balcony and restain the other side of the door panels before bringing them in for the night. By placing them on a plastic tarp in the living room in a direct line of the Air Conditioner I can be certain that they’ll be totally dry by morning. If they need another coating of stain at that time I will do it.
Protecting our furniture while helping the wood stain dry.
We once again went to watch our grandson Matthew play his final soccer game of the season. This game also served as a fundraiser for next season helping to cut the costs to the families of this special league.  This particular game was scheduled back in July but had to be postponed due to severe thunderstorms that started in the afternoon and didn’t stop until after midnight. 

They were playing against the local coaches association as a team. For most of these kids it is something that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives playing against high caliber players like this. 

The mosquitoes were also out at tonight’s game so people on the side lines were busy doing more than watching and cheering on the game. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

The World's Great Proverbs

Haste makes waste.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

The Water Ran Red.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

This is really turning in to a pleasant change of pace for both Kathy and I. Yes I know I shouldn’t mention it because I’ll probably Jinx one or both of us but we’ve been sleeping at night the way most everyone else does. This is surprising because people who suffer from Sleep Apnea generally suffer one side effect in particular and that is Insomnia. It was after 8:00 this morning that we finally woke up but yet we still felt like we could have slept longer. 
Short back ribs in the Crock Pot.
Once breakfast was over we headed to the computers to get caught up on our reading and messages. Kathy then started reading the news while I returned to a couple of blogs that I had set aside because of their length. I always read all the blogs on the sidebar but being a slower reader than Kathy it takes me longer. I have noted that on occasion I have to resign-in on other blogs because for some reason google signs me out. This has caused a few of those bloggers to ask why I haven’t been reading them for a while when I in fact have. 
You can only see the front row of gifts.
After lunch Kathy put spare ribs in the slow cooker for supper. I walked over to the Metro Grocery store to pick up a few things we needed which also gave me exercise. When I got back to the apartment Kathy was just putting the vacuum cleaner away from having cleaned the apartment. She then set herself up on the dining room table to wrap the latest Christmas gifts that we had picked up yesterday. Don’t forget that she had finished all the wrapping by August 4th last year and here we are with only 124 shopping days left and we still have more shopping to do. Heaven Forbid. 
Busy sanding the reddish stain off the wood.
Even though the Humidex was teetering just below the Century mark for our area today I set myself up on the balcony. I needed to clean off some of stain on the cabinetry that I had made for our trailer. Being in a rush as most people are when I first stained the wood I didn’t do a test on it but just applied it on everything. Now Kathy and I had taken a stain chart to the trailer so the finished effect would be close to the wood from the manufacture. We chose the tone of Gunstock but when the wood dried it came out Sedona Red. The can had been mislabeled. By the time Kathy called me for supper I had sanded the three doors and the one drawer face. 
A satisfying meal.
The meal turned out wonderful as it always does when Kathy makes it. She had cooked short-back ribs with a baked potato with salsa and green beans with bacon chips. It was all delicious! I sat on the dining room chair after the meal so I could watch the 6 o’clock News before we did the dishes together. The reason I did that is because I was covered with red saw dust from all the sanding I had been doing. 
Still at it.
I went back out to the balcony to finish sanding the breadbox. After sweeping the dust off the balcony I headed straight to take a shower. My clothes went right into a plastic bag so when I do the laundry I’ll be rinsing them off before putting them with the rest of the clothes. For some reason my shower water that was going down the drain was red in color. 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

Resume Blunders Under "reason for leaving"

[the applicant] stated "threat of death."

Cathleen Faerber, The Wellesley Group, Inc., CNN.com