Goodbye Goose Family!

It is funny what you get used to. I got used to walking the park, usually on a daily basis. No one was pushing me to make it happen or judging me if I didn't make my rounds. Well, perhaps Clemson judged from his perch on the couch or up on the bed. He enjoyed his walks.

I do, however, get encouragement from afar. My sister, Donna, lives in Hanover and we are great supporters for each other. We text, often, and lately it has been either 'mid-walk' or after our walk when we are settling in for our first coffee of the morning. It has helped me a lot to get off my butt and move, in the silence and peacefulness of the early morning hours. Usually by 7:30 at the latest I am back to our rv with coffee or tea in hand along with a book, my texting tool beside me and my fitbit registering my first mile of the day. It feels good and because I know that, I am my own worst enemy when I get lazy and don't get out there. 

I was able to see the geese one more time this morning, all 'growed up'. Goodbye!

Loved watching these guys

all grown up

Learning to swim

The walk in the park is not quite long enough to get 30 minutes in, which is all I expect of myself in a day although it is usually more by bed time. I can walk every road in the park once in 25 minutes, depending on my pace. I used to huff it and get my heart rate up but now I walk a little more leisurely and concentrate on tummy muscles (I can't maintain holding my tummy tight for too long before I get distracted and forget!) while enjoying the air and all that is around me. I do have to retrace my steps on a couple of roads to get that required time in.

Then I take Clemson out for his walk which is usually only 10 or 15 minutes. It seems like forever because he has to stop and sniff many times. You know the routine, I think I've mentioned it before. I've chatted with many other dog owners here and we are all in the same boat so we aren't critical when we see someone else say either "slow down, it's not a race!" or "for crying out loud, let's go!".

The goodbyes in the park were sad. We met some wonderful people, some we will definitely see again and others where chances are slim. Our camp host(ess) Ann is one of them. We will miss her and I will especially miss her on my morning walks. We spoke each day while she stood outside for her smoke. Her clogs always matching her shirt.

We appreciate Joe, the owner, and the way he looks after things in the park. 

We paid for 3 mths when we came in on Apr. 15 as we had planned on staying until July 15 and then heading to Chatham for an RC Fun Fly. On May 24, if you remember, we left on Thurs. evening to go to The Ridge property for the long weekend. We didn't have to, BUT we decided to offer up our vacated spot until our return on Monday. 
When we announced that we were leaving early by 2 weeks, we only assumed that there would be either a refund (woops! the invoice says no refunds) or at least some concession made for our hydro or guests. 

Weekend warriors surround us

Good thing we didn't want to move Father's Day weekend!

 Well, apparently they don't work that way so I spent my last day chatting with some friends and exchanging contact information and 'rv cards' instead of dwelling on the refund we didn't get.  Can't win 'em all, eh? You never know, we may be back.

Take care and thanks for reading! 

Pulling up Stakes......not Steaks

It is now Sunday, June 26th and we have pulled out of Golden Pond RV Resort in Putnam. Bill pulling the 5^th wheel with his cargo trailer behind and me following along in the Toyota. We’ve got ourselves a convoy! Here is our process.

Bill finished work at the Thames Valley School Board on Thurs. June 23

Some goodbyes were harder than others

Step Daughter

Gaggle of girls

Even some rule breakers in the WRONG shoes

Close friend and hair stylist

Some dear friends soon to follow in our footsteps

as I previously posted and then finished work at CanAm on Sat. June 25. Parting is such sweet sorrow and that was true enough for certain aspects of both jobs. Some goodbyes were forever, likely, and others just ‘au revoir, until we meet again’.

Daughters

More girls

 Pictures below depict only a few of the great relationships Bill had at 951 Leathorne St.

Sweet students

Longtime co-workers

Movers

Sailors

Wanna Be Full-timers

3 Long time Amigos

Driver

Supervisors and trucks

/Clerks hating to say goodbye

Bill was told by his supervisor that he wasn’t expected to do any work on his last day so other than stepping in when his replacement, Maria, was incognito, he did mostly that. He left the operation in good hands and was kept busy all day with friends, family and co-working well-wishers. Only a few pictures are included here, the rest are for his memories.

Saying goodbye at CanAm wasn't any easier I'm sure.

Breakfast with friends

Sales people

CanAm staff with yours truly at an RV show

So Bill arrived home around 1:30 after a bbq lunch at CanAm and it was hot out and he was tired. With no one around us in the park, he wondered if after a siesta what did I think about pulling out today instead of waiting until Sunday? The pool was full of 'rugrats' (other people's kids) and I knew we'd never get in for a quick dip. So.....
We began the pack up. It had been a while since we’ve moved so I had to go through my list and make sure everything was secured. Close this, latch that, put that away and lock those. I work inside and Bill works outside. Probably the norm for most of us rv’ers?

The day was hot and no doubt humid, since we live in south western Ontario, so we wanted to get on the road as soon as possible. Our destination was The Ridge, our new summer home, a spot usually blessed with wonderful breezes. 

Bill makes the hitch up look easy and doesn’t sweat it at all so I stay out of his way until he needs me. His joke is that he doesn’t ‘need’ me really, but he wants me. He gets off with a lot of things when he comes out with that choice line! So I made myself useful and went up to see our camp hostess and asked if she could prepare our final invoice earlier so we could leave. No sooner said than done, Ann brought it around with a summary of hydro costs and visitor fees.

So, all hooked up and on the road by 4:30 pm with no rain called for until the late evening, if at all. We arrived safe and sound by 7:15, all set up and rested by 8:15 and paid my sister and her husband a sneaky visit and joined in their campfire. We totally surprised them this time! They weren't expecting us until mid day Sunday.

I had a great view from behind

Stopped for a pit stop along the way

We were on our way and at the same time we were getting ourselves away from the familiarity and closeness of London. A new chapter is beginning. Address: Priceville, On. with future shopping in Durham just 10 minutes away.

So, that sums up our move after 2 1/2 months in this area. Golden Pond was a nice park to settle for short term.

Thank you for following along on this journey of ours. We’d love to hear from you if you have the time and desire to comment.

A New Countdown

The countdown is on for Bill and I’m so excited!! I can’t believe he has only 1 more day before he can hang up the TVDSB towel!

We had a fantastic relaxing weekend with a few very minor projects and a surprise drop in.  A nice Father’s Day surprise for Bill when my daughter and middle grandson arrived. Bridgette and Jake put a smile on his face for sure!

We managed to keep cool, either outside in the shady breeze or inside in the air conditioning.

Since we only have 30 amp hook up we only turn one a/c on at a time. Just enough to take the humidity out. By nighttime the outside air was cool enough for the last couple of nights that we turned it off and opened windows. I actually made it over to the pool yesterday after all the weekend warriors left with their little ones. It was a great day for it and the water was wonderful!

 The pool was beautiful and quiet with only a few other adults like me.        

      

Bill says he didn’t sleep well last night, heard traffic from the 401 and couldn’t get comfortable. I’ll bet his mind is just racing with everything and that has something to do with his restless sleep. He is very concerned about how he leaves things at the workplace and is also worried about his replacement meeting the necessary requirements to complete everything in the job. It doesn’t help to keep reminding him that it isn’t going to be his problem, his boss and I keep trying, he just needs to shake it off on his own. When he walks out the door on Thursday afternoon, he could be very emotional but that is what it will take for him to move on.

I am helping plan an Open House on his last day, Thursday, June 23 in the hopes that he has enough visitors to keep him busy and away from the ‘work’. The new person is in the position working sidebar to learn what she can so slowly but surely he can release the duties. I will pick up a cake at Costco this afternoon and take it to the Distribution Centre since I sure don’t have room for a slab that size in my fridge!

And as you can see I have a lot of room in my fridge!

Also there are some pictures I want to arrange on poster boards for him and help with other set ups.

It is exciting and still seeming very unreal to the man of the day, but soon it will all be over and a new beginning in the forefront. I plan to take him out to dinner Thursday night to one of his favourite restaurants. It will be a late dinner since they sound like they have a full house up until 7. Oh well, after cake and treats all day, we’ll need a break in between munchings!

 

                                        

If he reads this, he’ll know where I’m taking him but that is okay too, he won’t be disappointed.

I will follow up in a couple of days with some photos of his special day. I aim to be around on Thursday to get some shots of him with friends and co-workers.

Some of you are aware that Bill also has a part time job at CanAm between Fridays and Mondays helping with the orientation of rv's upon pick up by customers. This is a job he loves to do and he has learned a lot about different trailers in the process. Well, sadly this position is also coming to a close since our Durham location during the summer is just too far to come for a few hours of work. It has indeed kept him busy since March with the sale of over 50 rvs. He will definitely miss his co-workers at this job as well.

Thanks for stopping in today, just a brief catch up. Enjoy the summer, it has arrived after all this flip flopping. I can’t wait to see what it brings down the road and hope it is all good!

If you are able to comment, I would love to hear from you. I've tried to change a few settings to enable comments for those of you having difficulty. Thank you for your patience!

Whilin' Away the Hours

Sometimes there are 8 hours in a day and sometimes there are 36. It all depends what I find myself up to. I admit that some days seem longer than others as I while away the hours here in the park. I don’t know how healthy it is for me to read and read and read some more on the days when I have no projects scheduled but I do know that I’m grateful for the opportunity to make my own choices every day.

When it only takes 30 minutes to clean our home from top to bottom, give or take 10 minutes and our necessary laundry is done before 9 am on any given day, I feel I have earned the time to sit with a delicious book!

I have read many books over the 2 months I have been at Golden Pond RV Resort, one after the other and even though I do enjoy my Kobo e-reader, I have reminded myself of my love for an actual hard copy lately.

I have over 130 novels on my Kobo. The laundromat here in the park, just a hop, skip and jump out the door of our rv, offers a small library system, as most parks do.

I miss my London library but so far have kept myself challenged literally with the choices this little one offers.

I wish I hadn’t donated so many of my books from the house and instead had brought them here for others to enjoy.

I’ve mostly been caught up in detective type mysteries and have loved how I am challenged to the end guessing where the tale will turn next. Love stories are not my thing, right now, although I’ve certainly read my share.

On these days where it seems I am putting in the 36 hours I spoke of, I know that my pooch and I can grab his leash and take a jaunt around the park to fill in time and to see who has arrived. I’ve no doubt that there is a tree trunk with his name on it.

Here are a few of my latest finds that have had me close to biting my nails and unable to put the book down.

Thank you for stopping in, it feels like a day for pool dipping! Blue cloudless sky and not a wisp of a breeze.

Feel free to enter a comment if you are able.

A Girls Gotta Shop!

And then there is shopping! Okay, so aside from the ability now to just go out for lunch with girlfriends when we can make it work, I can also pick and choose when I take an hour or two or three to go shopping. I’m not talking groceries here, that is still a chore but when the urge hits to buy something new (or even new to me) and inexpensive to wear, I am able to go without any time restrictions.

I can’t deny and would never even attempt to try to deny that I love my clothes and the thrill of hunting for those unique purchases. Shoes are not a huge thing for me, nor purses, I have ample for whatever occasion should arise. Other than that when it comes to finding something special to wear count me in for the challenge. It isn’t always a ‘need’ but yesterday there was some of that.

Bill was on vacation from his regular job but was called in to do a couple of orientations on newly purchased rv’s at CanAm. He loves that part time job so seldom turns it down. It meant I would be alone here with the mutt all day so wanted to plan things to keep me busy.

First thing I needed to use up 3 ½ very ripe bananas so made a loaf of bread and also some extra fresh fruit in the fridge that was aging so made up a fruit cobbler for dinner.

Using the convection oven is a learning experience for me but since it is my only baking option, I am picking it up quickly! The bread looks wonderful and the cobbler was yum yum yummy!

Little more topping than fruit but delicious none the less!

That was my morning and I needed to get into the city to purchase an anniversary card and gift for a party on Saturday evening. Their gift of choice is simply a donation to the local food bank which is very generous of them. After 50 years of marriage what more could you want, when you have the perfect union?

So since I was in London I decided to take my time and visit a few stores I’ve not frequented for quite some time with my retirement gift of a prepaid Visa card. I stopped at the new Winners plaza on Exeter Road and had a ball! Tried things on, dismissed this and that but walked out with a couple of versatile items. One was the perfect cover for a dress in the event of a cool night at a July wedding.

Clemson modelling a few of my purchases.

Poked around here and there and found myself drawn to “clearance” and “buy 1 get 1” deals in various stores in White Oaks mall.

My receipts always display 'savings'.

I made a stop in the Bell store to pick up a prepaid phone card and price a turbo hub in case that is the way we go, and then touched base with my hubby to see how long he might be before continuing my spree. Three hours later and a few new articles for my closet I was exhausted and just wanted to get home. I hopped on the 401E and was home to Clemson by 4:30.

I love this feeling of freedom that retirement gives us. At home, I grabbed a bottle of water and listened to our neighbor in the park talk of her work schedule and I wanted to envelop her in the cocoon of how nice this is. She has a few more years to go but is a nurse working 12 hr. shifts and has a very strict regiment for her days. Of course she does, we all did!

When Bill arrived home from his long day at 6 pm he suggested we hop down the street to Alberta’s for dinner instead of barbecuing.

No argument from me. We love their food but they are very slow in food service so didn’t get home until 8:30. Bill had one of his regulars, fish and chips and I had one of mine, a rambunctious chicken quesadilla! Loved it! By the time this settled we were anxious to sample my cobbler. Success!

That is it for another fun-filled day in my life of retirement. I hope yours are just as bountiful!

Thank you for stopping in.