Tax Returns, Chores and Celebrating. Dumb Computers

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

Moments ago I just recovered this blog post after this dumb computer thought something was wrong and just shut down. It’s done this before but I wasn’t so lucky to recover the blog.

Kathy and I once again had another dream filled night that left us feeling more tired than if we’d only slept half the night. Of course when you can’t sleep through the night your body makes you sleep later in the morning.

Looking out the windows this morning past the water puddles left by last night’s rain all you could see was a sky that was threatening in its appearance. We decided that this definitely would not be a good day to return to the trailer so the idea to get other necessary things done around the apartment was more appealing.

Even though Kathy had logged all of our expenditures while we were away onto the spreadsheet in her computer she now had to resort the receipts and file them. She also made certain that everything balanced out before putting them away. Once a bookkeeper always a bookkeeper.

I had just finished sorting the laundry when the phone rang. It was Bonnie from our accountant’s office telling us our taxes were finished and ready to be E-filed. That meant we both stopped what we were doing and drove over to get our completed returns which means that we have filed the returns on time. Because Kathy is so well organized she has most of our returns ready before we leave to go south for the winter. That meant that even though we only dropped them off at the Accountant on Monday they were ready this morning.

When we got back to the apartment Kathy went back to her bookkeeping and I headed down to the laundry room. I passed a woman from the building in the hallway that was saying the room was packed and I’d have to wait for hours to do my laundry. Just as I got there two women were emptying their machines and there was nobody else waiting so I had the pick of the machines I needed.

During the time the clothes were washing and drying I would return to the apartment so that I could make progress on the spreadsheet that I was working on. Once I’d finished the laundry and put it all away I spent the next hour on the spreadsheet and now I just have to test its functions.

After having soup for supper we headed out to visit with our son Kevin and daughter-in-law Melissa in Amherstburg. We normally visit on Wednesday evenings but Melissa had Parents/Teachers meetings at the school last night. When we arrived they had gone all out making finger foods and a vegetable tray of snacks. This was a combination of a welcome home get-together and a joint birthday celebration for the both of us. Melissa had also gone to the extent of making a Strawberry Cheese Cake dessert and sent a good part of it home with us for tomorrow. None of us stopped talking for the next two and a half hours that we were there just getting caught up. Even though they read the blog daily while we were away and communicated with E-mails it just isn’t the same as talking to one another face to face.

Hopefully it won’t be raining tomorrow but even if it is there is still more we can do to get ready for our next trip in three weeks. 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 favorite issue of Auto Trader.

Evicted And Birthday Dinner.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

If you remember in yesterday’s blog post I mentioned that we had been sleeping soundly since we got back to the apartment on Saturday. Well I should have just kept that information to myself because we both spent the night tossing and turning. It seems that lately when we dream our subconscious makes it interactive and we are almost physically working in our dreams. So much for a restful night of sleep.

We actually slept in this morning in an attempt for our bodies to feel rested. After having breakfast and reading at the computers it wasn’t long before we were on our way to the Guardian Storage Yard to work on the trailer.

As soon as we opened the trailer we started hearing some beeping coming from the smoke alarm. Luckily we carry extra batteries with us. I no sooner went outside when the Carbon Monoxide detector started the same thing. Those were all batteries we installed last summer so it was time for a change.

Kathy busied herself cleaning the fridge where water from the cooling fins had drained after we shut it off upon our return. She also started installing some decals that she bought at the Daytona Flea Market in our rear window. They are more visible from the inside of the trailer than outside because of the tinted glass but they do look great. 

I busied myself reorganizing the basement. When we left on Christmas night we had the backseat of the truck filled with things that could not be frozen. Eventually they ended up being store in the basement of the trailer. We also bought things while we were away and they ended up in the basement. Last year I organized the basement of the trailer using clear plastic bins. It helped in the organizing but it also used up more space. I carried a bin full of bicycle parts with the intention of working on our bikes but instead we bought the Tandem Bike. The trailer is much lighter now and we even brought home our individual bicycles for riding. 

Reorganizing the basement again.

Kathy raided the pantry and we enjoyed a nice bowl of soup for lunch. She’d also brought some cheese and fruit from home to have as snacks for an Afternoon Break.

After eating lunch I returned outside and started loading things into the truck. That was when I saw what looked like grass sticking out holes the manufacturer had made in our Pin Box. Looking inside all I could see was dried grass. I listened then I felt but found nothing. Some bird was making a nest. Now if we weren’t going anywhere soon I would not have worried but since we are back on the road on the 21^st of May. If we were on the road the baby birds would surely die inside the trailer and we didn’t want that. It was amazing how jammed packed the Pin Box was and that was in only four days. After evicting the nest I used the handsaw to cut a plywood patch to cover the opening in the rear of the Pin Box. 

This is only 80% of what I removed from the Pin Box

 Kathy then helped me to remove the bicycles off the rear of the trailer and by the time I had everything closed up and loaded in the truck the sky was starting to look quite menacing.

That's a wrap for another day.
That's the Pin Box that was filled as a nest.

After unloading at the apartment I needed to freshen up before we headed out for supper. Since today is Kathy’s birthday we went to Swiss Chalet for supper. They are famous for their roasted chicken dinners but today their Spare Ribs were on special and we couldn’t resist the offer. We even topped it off with a small chocolate sundae each.

After leaving we needed some supplies at the apartment and we wanted to walk off supper so we had some shopping to do. First we went to Home Hardware to replace the spray nozzle for our kitchen faucet. Then we went to Walmart to walk and get a few groceries. Our last stop was at Metro Grocery to get our milk that Walmart didn’t have.

Tomorrow we still have plenty of things to do that will definitely keep us on the run. 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 trouble shared is a trouble halved.

Reorganized Thinking.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

We’re not quite sure why this works the way it does. Generally the last two months before we hit the road we can barely get a decent night’s sleep but as soon as we’re on the road we sleep soundly. The last month we were on the road we sometimes had a hard time to sleep at night but now that we are home we are once again sleeping soundly. 

Once we were up we found a lot of things that had to be done but they were all inside the apartment. Kathy was still going through some of the lesser important mail that had accumulated while we were gone. One of the ways we knew it wasn’t that worrisome is when they expected a response no later than January 31^st 2015. It wasn’t anything we wanted anyway. 

We were much more cautious of what we ate today in an attempt to reverse what eating out has done to us. For lunch Kathy made a wonderful salad while I sliced the last of the chicken breasts that I’d grilled over the open fire last Friday. Combining the two together was a tasty and filling combination. 

There was additional online research that needed to be done giving us some further curiosity on certain thing but dismissing others totally. Then there was catching up on bookkeeping for Kathy and creating another spreadsheet that will hopefully make things easier to do. One of the big issues I was having was after formatting the cell sizes so the sheet sizes would be consistent the computer decided to make its own changes. That meant I only had to reformat it a second time making certain to manually save all changes every ten minutes. 

Our afternoon snacks were oranges for Kathy and grapefruit for myself. For supper I grilled a couple of Salmon filets while Kathy made a lite pasta side dish and corn to go with it.  

Now that we’ve accomplished what most would call mundane but necessary chores today we’ll be able to accomplish the physical tasks at the trailer tomorrow. Besides it’s supposed to be warmer. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Pictures taken in

Key West 

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

Nothing lives in the creek downstream of your property.

Unbelievably Busy.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

If you remember I mentioned in yesterday’s post that we are going to be busy until our next adventure in a few weeks. Well today was no exception and we had to hit the ground running. 

Grandson Tyler. #3 Blue

Our first stop was the Credit Union to deposit a couple of cheques that arrived in the mail while we were gone.

The second stop was to drop off our Income Tax Returns to our Accountants office. Kathy ran them in while I tried to find a spot to park. I just got turned around and backed into a spot when she came out. 

Our next two stops were all the way out in Amherstburg. Of course there was more construction detours that added to our already busy day. The first stop was Sunparlor Trailers. Years ago Rob and Cathy helped us out while we recovered from a house fire and they have always treated us well. Now when I replace parts on the trailer that I purchase in the US I leave the original equipment with Rob. If he’s rebuilding a trailer that was traded he doesn’t have to invest in the new parts in a used unit. He’s always grateful even when we just stop in to visit. 

In Ontario vehicles with a gasoline engine need to pass an emissions test every two years. One of the things in the mail was Kathy’s notice to E-test the car and being that it was at our son Kevin’s house while we were away we needed to pick it up. He kept it safe and sound for us while we were gone and exercised it as well. We had a chance to see the kitchen remodel that Kevin and Melissa have been working on since we left. He’s done a fantastic job but like most renovations go they sometimes have to wait for the funds to be in the bank before continuing. They stripped all the old flooring out and are waiting to redo the floor. We were both very impressed with their redo. 

Our next stop was back in Windsor where we dropped off the car to be E-tested while we went for lunch. We simply drove back up Walker Road and had A&W for lunch. 

Kathy had been told her car would be ready in a half hour so when we returned I dropped her off and drove over to Windsor Gas and Diesel to make the appointment to get the truck Safetied next week. In Ontario our sized truck requires a yearly Safety. While I was talking with Jim about the Safety Kathy showed up and the car had passed with flying colors. 

Our next stop was the Licensing Bureau to get not only the new license tag for the car but to renew my driver’s license which is due on Friday. Kind of like killing two birds with one stone. 

We drove across the street to the Tecumseh Mall where we went to the Dollar Store and picked up a few supplies we needed. 

We were home catching up on our computer reading for about an hour before it was time to have supper. We were barely finished eating when our granddaughter Kylla and boyfriend Noah came over for a promised visit. They were both talking about their schooling and then asking us about our trip. It was 6:45 when they left to go do their studies for more exams this week. 

Kathy and I immediately jumped in the truck and drove over to the Forest Glade Arena. Since the hockey season for our grandson Tyler is now over he has refocused his energy on Lacrosse. Both Kathy and I agree that it is a brutal game but it also helps him with his hockey. By the end of the game Tyler had scored twice as well as having two assists. 

Hopefully tomorrow is a bit slower because I want time to do some work on the trailer before we head out again and besides we're both tired from all these errands. 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 camel with 3 humps?

Humphrey.

Relaxing, Repairing and Visiting.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

Even though we had our little problems for yesterday’s travels that didn’t tire us out that much but all the hauling from the trailer and setting it up in the apartment did it to us. We both slept so soundly last night that it was after 8:00 this morning before we woke up. 

The temperature was already in the upper 40s but because this was a down day we spent the morning reorganizing the apartment as well as achieving our online reading. After 10:00 I went downstairs to the office to retrieve our mail. The entire time we were gone the manager collected our mail for us at no additional charge. At the Post Office they would have charged us a hundred dollars a month to hold our mail until our return. We think we got the better bargain. 

Gathering more clothes today as well as repairing the landing gear.
We actually saw the sun for a while today.

The only thing we had planned today was to return to the trailer after lunch. While Kathy finished packing the last of the clothes that she wanted to bring back to the apartment I worked on repairing the Landing Gear. Luckily I carry an assortment of small nuts and bolts in the truck so that I can do most quick repairs without having to go to a hardware store. Once that was completed I also removed the barbell and dumbbells from the basement of the trailer. 

Instead of coming straight back to the apartment we stopped for a visit with our daughter Karen. We thought that we’d surprise her but she was sitting on her front porch talking with a friend. We didn’t pull right in front of her house but they heard the diesel engine so right away she knew. Both Kylla and Tyler were out so we visited with Karen and Greg for close to an hour before coming back to the apartment. 

We used to always use the stairs up to our apartment but since we’ve been away for four months Kathy has been having difficulty climbing them the last two days. We both carried a few things up the stairs but while she unpacked I continued hauling the rest up the stairs by myself. I even felt tired out after carrying the two sixty pound dumbbells up the stairs. 

At that point neither of us felt like cooking so we walked next door to the Chinese Restaurant for supper. Back at the apartment later Kathy went through the four months of mail in no time and had gathered all the Income Tax slips for our taxes that are due on Thursday. We’ll drop those off to our accountant in the morning and because Kathy has them so well organized they’ll be done by Wednesday. 

Our granddaughter Kylla wanted to stop over tonight for a visit but called to say she has two important Final Exams to write tomorrow so she’ll stop in tomorrow evening instead. We’ll also be very busy getting ready for our next adventure that is just over three weeks away. 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

I spend half my day bitching about the other half.

Ephemera

Traveling With Murphy.

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

While watching the evening News last night the weather guessers assured us we would have a few showers early in the night and it would be clear for our departure in the morning. The temperature did drop down to 43 F (6 C) but we survived by running only one of our cube heaters. 

When we got up around 8:00 there was a familiar tapping sound on the roof but we kept our fingers crossed that it would end soon. We worked together closing up the inside of the trailer before I dawned my raincoat to start closing things up outside. 

The first thing I did was drain the waste tanks. Since we never unhooked the other day while the tanks were draining I raised the rear stabilizers then the front landing gear. Surprise only one of the landing gear came up. We’d had this happen before on our old Cougar so I basically knew what had to be done. Unfortunately the rain intensified so the repair would have to wait until we had no rain. I simply hand spooled the cross bar and manually raised the second jack all the way up. 

We liked the License Plate.

We barely pulled out of the park by 11:00 and within five minutes we were on I-75 northbound on the final day of this trip. We travelled about twenty miles before traffic went to a crawl. Five miles later we passed a broken down truck and the slowdown was due to Gawkers. 

Just before noon we stopped at one of the Rest Areas before going through Toledo. Here we used our own facilities as well as having a picnic lunch inside the trailer while we listened to the still falling rain. 

It was only 12:30 when we got back on the road and were we glad we had stopped. Not a mile down the road we entered a construction zone that lasted all the way through Toledo. That was over thirty miles of two lanes of traffic barreling between cement barriers on both sides through a snake like road. 

Just as you exit the north side of Toledo you enter the state of Michigan. Now Michigan has a bad reputation for having the worst roads in the country. Over the last few years they have made great improvements at eliminating the potholes on their interstates. The problem is the contractor who built the road added natural waves into the road which means if you are towing a trailer whether it’s a Semi or an RV you feel chucking from the trailer. (Chucking is when the two vehicle and the trailer are hitting the dips in the road out of sync and are pulling in opposite directions.) We pulled into their first Rest Stop. After just over fifty miles from our last stop we needed a rest. 

The rain had stopped the last twenty miles before the border, the traffic thinned out and the roads were slightly better. At the Ambassador Bridge Duty Free we took advantage of the low cost fuel prices and topped off our tanks. Crossing the bridge we were at Immigration less than two minutes where we were welcomed back to Canada and told to have a good day. 

We cleared the border by 2:30 and were heading down Huron Church Road to the Expressway. What we didn’t realize is that while we were away construction season had started early on rebuilding one of the expressway bridges. We crawled along for another two miles and had just cleared the construction when it was time for our exit. 

Back in Canada. The same everywhere.

We had the trailer parked in its spot by 3:00 and then we started loading the truck with things to bring back to the apartment. I’d hung my apartment keys in the trailer the night we left for Florida in December and forgot to get them today. Luckily Kathy had hers. After the first load we didn’t feel like cooking so we went to Taco Bell for a satisfying meal. We returned to the trailer for my keys and filled the truck with a second load. 

Our trailer back home.

It was after 8:00 by the time everything was in the apartment and set up to use. We towed the trailer 162.5 miles today. We’ll return to the trailer tomorrow to start getting ready for our next trip. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

Why did the clock get sick?

It was run down.

Cleaning Up By Cooking.

Our Location today is Wapakoneta, Ohio, USA.

Last night the temperature in Wapakoneta Ohio dropped down to 27 F (-3 C). We were using our electric cube heaters to keep warm early in the evening but it just wasn’t enough! Yes we had to turn the furnace on. We kept it set at 55 F (13 C) but yet it fired up a couple of times throughout the night even with the heaters running constantly. The good part of it being so cold was that we didn’t feel guilty about sleeping in this morning. 

The trees are starting to bud here.

Once we’d finished eating breakfast and passed some time reading on the computers we knew we had to buckle down and accomplish things we needed to do before we cross the international border tomorrow. 

Robin foraging for food.

Mother Robin on her nest.

While I went outside Kathy busied herself cooking foods that left uncooked would not be allowed into Canada. We have similar problems when we enter the US. It seems to be a political game of Cat and Mouse and RVers get stuck in the crossfire. 

A neighbor's cats waiting for dinner. They are not on leashes.

I busied myself emptying all the firewood from the truck and splitting it in preparation for our last campfire on this trip. I also had a chance to clean out the backseat of the truck by getting things put back in the basement of the trailer. 

Kathy had finished her cooking before making lunch. It felt relaxing to be sitting inside where it was warmer. 

After lunch Kathy pulled out the vacuum in an attempt to get the last of the dust we collected in the Keys out of the trailer. I returned outside and reorganizing the basement and got things put back in their appropriate bins. 

By 2:30 I started the campfire and Kathy came out with a couple of cups of hot chocolate. The temperature rose all the way up to 57 F (14 C) with little wind so we were fairly comfortable enjoying the fire and watching nature. It was fun watching a couple of outdoor pet cats as well as a few birds. 

Around 3:30 the wood had burned down enough to embers that we put the grill over the pit and put some chicken breasts on to cook. Since Kathy had already cooked potato salad for a side for tonight’s meal she was able to sit and watch while the chicken cook. Anyone can cook chicken in a frying pan but it always tastes better on a grill. If you want really great tasting chicken grill it over an open fire. It can’t be beat! The only problem we had was people that were walking by kept trying to invite themselves for supper. 

Supper was delicious and the temperature much more bearable than the last few days. Tomorrow we’ll be taking out time to leave on our final leg of the trip 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

Clearing your throat is an on-going project.

Cold Travel Day with Some Oops!

Our Location today is Wapakoneta, Ohio, USA.

The weather guessers had it right for the Crittenden Kentucky area. When we woke up this morning there was a lite coating of frost on the windows. Luckily we managed to stay warm by simply running a single cube heater throughout the night and even with that it was still cool enough inside the trailer but we had no problems sleeping. 

We didn’t bother to rush getting on the road because we wanted the School Buses to be finished their morning tasks before we started on the next leg of our travels heading home. By 9:30 we were driving down US 25 through the winding roads of Crittenden back to the ramp to I-75 North. 

Once we were on I-75 the traffic was heavy but flowing at posted speeds until the brake lights started coming on in the Cincinnati area. It turned into a twelve mile crawl that was caused by lane reductions due to highway construction. We had added an hour to our travel time just because of this delay. 

If there had been no delays we would have been at our destination before lunch time. Once we were past Cincinnati everyone was back to posted speeds for another twenty miles and then the brake lights reappeared. This turned into a two mile crawl as traffic was funneled away from the shoulder of the road while the remains of a burnt out passenger van was being removed. There were no ambulances visible but it shook Kathy up just seeing it. We hoped that whoever was in that van had an opportunity to get out. 

By this time it was nearly noon so we stopped at a Cracker Barrel to have our lunch. We both enjoyed the special of the day which was sliced turkey with stuffing and cranberries. The last time we had that was on Christmas day when we celebrated the holiday with our family. It tasted great, was reasonably priced and we were satisfied but not stuffed when we left.

Back on the highway it was less than an hour when we arrived at Wapakoneta but I took the wrong exit. Did I tell you that for the last two days we’ve been traveling without the use of our GPS. When I turned around Kathy insisted it was the second ramp so I went for it. When I noticed we were going down the road heading west I told her to get the GPS out. 

Fifteen minutes and twenty extra miles later we were registering at the Wapakoneta KOA. John who escorted us to our site was wearing a winter parka because even though the temperature was 45 F (7 C) with the wind gust of 30 mph it felt more like 30 F (-1 C). He also informed us that the temperature would be below freezing tonight. I set up our utilities including the water but I just didn’t turn it on. We have enough water still in our fresh water tank for the night. 

By the time I set everything up outside I was froze. Kathy had been busy getting things ready inside. Around 5:30 neither of us felt like cooking so I walked to the office and ordered a fresh baked pizza. Fifteen minutes later there was a knock on the door and there was our piping hot pizza for supper. It tasted great and only cost $12.99. 

Our total trip for today including our Oops was 161.1 miles. Tomorrow the weather is starting to warm up so we’ll finish organizing things in the trailer before we head home on Saturday. We also plan on having our last cooking campfire for this trip. 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

While two dogs are fighting for a bone, a third runs away with it.