London List of To Dos, Meeting Friends

On Tuesday, Oct. 17^th Bill and I were up to the alarm at 6 am. No poking around this morning so we had our tea and coffee, read a bit and loaded into the car. Clemson was seat belted in the back seat, we weren’t going to leave the little guy at home again today. We stopped to top up with gas in Durham and it was 7:30 when we hit the road.

Pulling out of The Ridge - a quick not so good shot

Gas fill up in Durham

I tried to capture the gorgeous pink sky that preluded the sunrise but it was difficult. When Bill and I saw this squiggly cloud or trail in the eastern sky, it took numerous attempts at snapping the photo but I finally got it. Before long the sun was making its appearance. The red sky this morning only brought great news, it was a beautiful warm day.

"thanks for bringing me this time, Mom and  Dad"

Along the way we were comparing the crop fields of corn. Where one field would be totally brown and ready to be harvested another closer to Stratford would still have quite a bit of green. We saw fields where the stalks at the corners of a field would be mostly green and further in brown and ready to go.

The sky was so pretty at 7:30

At Teviotdale - what pollution?

We made good time arriving at Hi-Tech Auto Care at 9:20. It is on the east end of London. It was nice to see Dan and he talked about his experience this year at the London Air Show. He worked it with Bill a few years together when we lived in London. I know Bill used to enjoy being around those flying machines.

Dan, hard at work behind the counter

I had bundled up in hoodies and a scarf so took my camera and walked down the 3 blocks to the corner of Clarke Rd. and Trafalgar. It felt good to stretch the legs after our drive. I realized about 30 minutes into our drive that I didn’t have my sunglasses and couldn’t imagine how I did that. They are always something I grab when I go outside.

Corner of Clarke and Trafalgar - rush hour traffic has subsided

I love the beautiful oak leaves

Remnants of an acorn

you would be hard pressed to see an acorn in the bunch of caps
The squirrels have cleaned them up pretty good
Oh, I see one at the top of the picture

 I had hoped there was a dollar store at the corner mall to pick up another pair of cheap ones but no such luck. I wandered across the busy road into Shopper’s Drug Mart but decided it wasn’t worth paying $25 for a pair. When I returned to the shop Bill and Clem were settled inside and the car had been taken in. With the London Free Press crossword, I set to work. They are too easy, really, no challenge, but it passed the time.

Close to home, fields are brown and the farmers have started to bring the corn in

Near Stratford, this corn isn't ready unless it is a different kind ?

Great price $33 for an oil change and they must have done something to the muffler as it is quieter. We asked them to give us an estimate for the spring job and were not surprised that the whole exhaust system is in need of replacement. It has never been done since we bought the car in 2007. We said our goodbyes and drove to CanAm for a few small things required for the Suite. It was nice to see some of the staff who didn’t work the show this past weekend. Sorry we missed you Phil, Peggy and Nicole!

Bill had a list in his head of a few items at Princess Auto so while he was in their store, I texted our friends, Debbie and Mike, to meet at Tim Horton’s near Costco at noon. When they arrived we all had lunch. A nice chicken bacon ranch wrap for me and a turkey club sandwich for Bill.  That hit the spot! Debbie has been trying to squeeze a quick visit in for some time.

Even though the trees are changing, there was no brilliant red from other years

Bill ran into Costco while Clem and I waited in the car. This would be our last stock up before heading out. He is much quicker than I. Some of the deals are bulk sizes but the prices are great and prevents us from running back and forth to the store as often. We got peanut butter, coconut oil, cranberry juice and another box of our Keurig coffee. Sometimes you can’t find the brands you are most fond of and many times we don’t enjoy what they offer. We are particular about our coffee and peanut butter!

When we left Costco Bill dropped me at the door to Value Village and parked the car in the shade under the trees. I didn't plan a long visit, just wanted to check for something in particular. I forgot it was Tuesday which meant Senior's Day and 30% off. I could have easily spent an hour but I was in and out in 15 minutes. I found something though and was happy to get on the road home. 

Mike and Debbie
It was short but a nice catchup

We had one more stop and that was in the north east corner of the city. Leaving there it was after 2 when we drove to Glenora Drive and dropped a late birthday card off for Olivia. Of course, they weren’t home, Charlotte and Cory both work and the girls would be in school. That is what mail boxes are for! Before we arrived home, Charlotte texted a thank you.

Bill drove for an hour and at Zorra Highland school, west of Stratford, I took over. It was 5 on the nose when we drove into the Ridge and unloaded the groceries. Clemson got his supper pretty much on time tonight and I put things away. I have a bit of organizing to do now with a 12-pack of Kirkland brand paper towels. We buy these once a year and can take 4 along and store the rest in the bunky. Actually, I have the perfect cupboard for them.

It was good to get home and by the time we had supper, my left leg was achy from the drive so I took a couple of Advil and dropped into my chair. There wasn’t going to be any blogging last night. Our shows were on so we watched NCIS, Bull and I said goodnight. The Voice and This is Us recorded for another night. We still have The Good Doctor and The Brave to watch on a slow night too.

On our way home, this fellow had a full trailer of corn

It has been great to see the sunshine all day with temperatures rising to 20C in the city. Overnight the temperatures dropped down to about 5 or 6C. I hope you’ve had a good day.

Thank you for reading along today. Your comments are welcome.