Beautiful Weather, Not so Beautiful Experiences, How Does Bill Handle London So Often?

Tuesday, May 8th

Bill and I were up and out of bed by 6:15 this morning after playing footsies in that king bed for the last 45 minutes. Time to get up. Again, our sleepyhead pooch slept on under the covers. Bill had an appointment this morning in London for a stress test at 11:15. We’d had a hot drink and a bowl of cereal and fruit/yogourt before nudging Clemson to move.

It started out to be a good morning

“Ah, Dad, I’m still tired!” After letting him out for a piddle, we had to break the news to him that he would have to look after the house today for us. It would not be pleasant for him with all we had going on. Yesterday, we asked Pat and Rob if they would mind driving out to let him out around noon or 1 pm and then again out to feed him at 5 and take him out. Of course, they readily agreed to do that.

Nice day for a drive

We were on the road by 7:20 am and had an uneventful drive through Durham, Varney, Milverton, Stratford, Embro and Thamesford, naming a few. 

The farmers were taking full advantage

We pulled into the parking lot at Hi-Tech Auto Care on Trafalgar St. at 9:45 and swapped out our Corolla for a loaner Mazda. Dan knew we were coming so he could replace the exhaust system. We’ve been terrorizing the Grey-Bruce county with my hot rod since we got home.

 We drove from there to the clinic on Oxford St. and because we were an hour early, walked into the mall next door and had a coffee and donut with all the other seniors. Talk about feeling young! The placed called The Terrace was packed! We walked across the lot and I went in with Bill to wait for the doctor. Almost right on time, the nurse came and collected Bill and that was my cue to go for a walk. I explored the Dollar-like store in the mall just to kill time and went back outside.

Bill and Dan pass the time

5 years ago Hi-Tech celebrated 30 years in business
I wrote them this poem and Dan framed it
It isn't that great, really, but I did write it in the 5 minutes before I went
I was touched that it was still there, un-graffitied!

I returned to the waiting room and it wasn’t long my sweetie came out smiling. Phew! You always wonder, you know? So, he did well but because of his family history, they will be making an appointment for a later test. 

The next door mall where we joined the seniors

And I had a French Vanilla cappuccino and a Boston cream
Oh my, I got a high from the sweetness but I still enjoyed it

These tests, so far, are all related to the history and as much of a pain it is and no matter how much Bill hates it, it is all preventative. It is for his own good! At least that is what we tell ourselves when we get sent here and there.

The clinic Bill had to report to

The little Mazda was about the same size as our Corolla

A selfie while waiting for Bill

We left there and headed back to our mechanic’s across the city. We figured we’d wait for the car, even after hearing that the exhaust manifold also was badly rusted. It just seemed to be one thing after another and the parts required were adding up. This little car owes us nothing and at 12 years old, we will continue to look after the shell that surrounds the good little engine. (that could) I think my Dad used to say "it is only money".😊 

Sitting in Al's office, we both admired this picture

There was a part that they needed to wait an hour for so just after 1:30, Dan handed us the keys to the loaner again and said “go get something to eat, go to Mt. Brydges, do you running around and I’ll let you know when it is ready”. 

Another fast food meal
We each had the Son of the Baconator combo

So, we drove first to Wendy’s on Wellington (obviously a junk food day) and then hi-tailed it to see Al at Ford. Sitting with Al, all he could do was apologize that they (the girl in ‘accounts’) screwed up.

It isn't as if he had nothing else on his plate

We don’t always know what the sales people have to deal with in their offices. He drove to Strathroy  to get our ownership while we waited in his office and he pushed to get us a new cheque cut for a payment withdrawn in error days ago. What a mess! After an hour and a half, he walked in and counted out the cash to Bill. 

I couldn't resist taking this picture

None of this is on him, he has worked hard at pleasing us, valuing his customers. We opted to cancel our stop at Costco, Bill can do that at another time. We were running out of time.

Flowers in bloom at McCarthy Place where Dad and Marilynne live

We swapped our loaner for the Toyota at 4:30 and paid our much larger than expected bill. "What a quiet car"  Bill said, so at least Hi-Tech did a good job and Ptooties is happy. We headed immediately out of the city to Stratford for a short visit with Dad and Marilynne. I had yet to see them and we wanted to give them a gift we’d brought back from Arizona. It was nice and we took Marilynne up on having subs from Subway for supper. After a couple of hours, we said our goodbyes and hit the road.

It doesn't look too bad here but I'm so happy not to be driving these streets on a regular basis
Take me back to the country!

It was 'junk' pick up in the Embro area

I didn't realize what this was until I downloaded the pictures!
A patio table, chairs and a crapper!

Arriving home by 9 pm meant I was on track when conferring with our friends, Clem's sitters for the day. Clemson was at the door to greet us and there were no ‘surprises’ on the carpet but he was anxious to go out for a piddle. We didn’t sit long but we did watch Bull instead of recording it. It was the season finale and was a cliff hanger to say the least. By 10:30 I was in bed and I’m sure when NCIS New Orleans ended, Bill followed.

The fire that was reported on CTV news last night involving 2 residential homes
We witnessed the smoke and saw the flames as we drove Trafalgar St.
Within 2 minutes, the fire trucks responded

This hasn’t been the best day, delays, extra costs and wasted time sitting waiting, but there were enough positive things that made up for those upsets. I hope you enjoyed your Tuesday even more.

Thank you for stopping in to read my late post. I love hearing from you if you wish to leave a comment.

Sunny Sunday, London, Dinner at a Favourite Diner with Family

Sunday, Aug. 20^th. Wake up, check clock, peek out blinds, pitter patter, rise! Yes, seeing that blue sky and sunshine out my window got me up shortly after 7. Today, we had plans to pack up and move the Suite. This was the day we were going to CanAm in London/Lambeth to have the bedroom slide cable replaced. A warranty job with a few other things as well.

Nice looking morning

So, we got up and had our regular morning indulgence while catching up on posts. Bill soon after headed over to the Acreage to fill the bladder. We had let our fresh water tank get below 20 gallons just because we could and weren’t in a rush to fill it. We’ll top it up after showers just so we don’t have to worry about it immediately when we return. We won’t be carrying 100 gallons with us at least.

Now that is a blue sky

I chit chatted with Pat A. to remind them of our departure for a few days. Nice to keep others informed of where we’ll be in case they were planning on driving out for a visit. I closed up cupboards and secured them, it feels funny going through the motions after not doing that since April. Things came easily though, I just had to take my time to remember where the small things went.

Chairs stacked  behind the bunky

When Bill returned, before filling the tank I had my shower and chose what I was going to wear for the drive. I’d already put the outside lounge chairs at the back of the bunky, out of the way and moved the recycle bins. Donna asked about borrowing a couple of page turner books for Gerry while he is recouping in the hospital after his surgery, so I found a couple of Michael Connelly’s. Harry Bosch will definitely keep him enthralled.

Everything moved away from the Suite

Bill puttered around outside packing the basement and putting the portable solar panel in its case for travel. We will be eating out tonight and Monday night so won’t need to take our Weber Q along. I think we’ll find this to be a good ‘practice’ run of what we actually need to take south when we leave too. There are things that can stay behind here for sure.

Ptooties is parked and locked up

Hot day so the breeze is welcome

By 11 we were pretty much packed up and Bill had his shower. We hadn’t eaten yet so Bill made himself a sandwich and I warmed up some of my soup from the freezer. I really did a good job on this batch and so glad I had leftovers for days just like this. I had a little pack of crackers with peanut butter with it.

Lots of thistles along the roadside on my walk

And Church is in session - you can just see the vehicle roof tops from our road

We were ready to go around noon and I had to convince Bill to sit tight for a while instead of getting on the road so early. I would rather sit here at The Ridge and read than in the parking lot at CanAm so we sat for an hour with our books. This encouraged Bill to lie down for a cat nap and I closed my eyes briefly as well.

A field full of Queen Anne's Lace all the way back to the stone cabin

We were on the road pulling out after dumping our black tank into the outhouse. It looks weird seeing all of our ‘stuff’ sitting at our site with the Suite pulled out. We’ll be back! I snapped a couple of pictures of Bill going down the lane front and back and hopped in. It was 1:40 when we turned out of the lane onto North Line.

the painted turtles are gathered on the tree branch

Pulling out

Dumping first

Pretty smooth sailing all the way to London, Bill deciding as we travelled to take a few detours to avoid the main parts of Stratford. There are a few bumpy stretches in that busy city which surprises me. It is a tourist town, fix your streets! It was almost at the 3-hour point when we pulled into the CanAm lot.

Leaving our site behind - what a mess!

There were 3 other trailers there already but only one Airstream van with someone staying for the night. We chatted briefly with Carl and Wendy, an older couple who were on their way home to Ottawa after an extensive trip out to Alberta and Frankenmuth in Michigan. They could be here for a couple of nights too.

It has been 4 months since we've moved and now we are On Our Way

After feeding Clem at 5 Bill and I sat in our chairs outside the Suite, in the shade. It was a warm 28C and we were quite hot from the hustle and bustle of the day. I poured myself a glass of wine, Bill had a rum and coke and we grabbed a handful of potato chips with some cheddar. We were starving! We texted back and forth with Donna and Gerry from their motel. They had arrived just before 5 as well.

This picture and the one below are for Furry Gnome

This crop is Sod - a huge sod farm just on the outskirts of London

Interesting mode of transportation as we turned off #6 near Mt. Forest

We planned to meet at Southside Family Restaurant at 6 for supper so we headed out at 5:45. Gerry was getting phone calls from family wishing him luck with his surgery tomorrow so was on the phone when we walked up. Dinner was good. I had the senior’s liver and onions with mashed potatoes and tea. Yum. So much food though for the price!

Relaxing before dinner

Bill sending Clemson home

We left there by 7:30 and came home to our temporary overnight spot. Reading outside until it darkened up and cooled down, we then put our chairs away and came inside for the night. No tv tonight unless we pop a movie in. That is to be decided.

Overnighters like us

A pretty sky, picture didn't do it justice

And as we're settling in for the night, Ross Trucking pulls in and stirs up some excitement. Bringing a Surveyor travel trailer in for a customer so I moved outside to watch it. I got it on video but it is a poor copy. I found it interesting how the wheels on the flatbed moved from the back to the front to lower it down. The customer backed his truck right up to it and as the chains were released, he pulled it off the bed.

I hope your day was a good one. Thank you for stopping by.

Bill Goes to London, Pat Goes to Durham, Clemson Stays Home

Thursday, June 8^th and we both have things to do and places to go. Bill’s alarm went off at 5:15 and thankfully it is a gentle musical tune as I was sound asleep. He tries to be so quiet and when Clemson got up for his piddle, I fought to stay awake.

Nice start to the day

The sun was just booming through the Suite windows when I got up at 5:45 to make sure everything got packed from the fridge. Bill decided at the last minute to dig out our Kool-a-tron cooler since there was so much to take. He can plug it in during the drive to London and find a place at CanAm to do the same.

Well, looky here

At 6:10 he pulled out of the Ridge and I went back to bed. It was a fruitless gesture though, since I felt awake and couldn’t go back to sleep. No worries, I was up at 6:45 to welcome this wonderful day. I paid a couple of bills, made my tea and read blog posts from yesterday.

There is not a breeze in sight this morning and it would be a perfect day for a yak ride but it isn’t something I’d do on my own. I think this weather will be sticking around for a while so hopefully Bill and I can get out there early next week. We have a busy weekend planned.

this was taken looking up into a blue sky with wispy clouds
Weird outcome

It is 14C at 8:00 and going up to 23C today, woohoo! I want to get into town to help Rob and Pat a bit more. Their sale is Saturday and I’m sure there are still things to do in preparation of the big day. After the weekend, things will slow down to some extent which will be good for them.

Eyeball to eyeball

At 9:00 I spoke to Aunt Mary’s lawyer, on behalf of Rob, and will meet him at Rockwood to see her. It is really, really hard to deal with a stroke victim and when it involves matters of both finances and the heart, even tougher for the family.

This one in the corral, half way up the hill
I've never seen so many turtles in such a short span of time

I have a few groceries to pick up in town so after lending a hand at the house and dropping off signs for the sale, I stopped at Foodland. I wasn’t at the house long, just priced a few more things and made up some posters and we all called it a day.

I was back home around 2:45 and really lazed abut for the rest of the day. A walk down the lane to check out the nesting situation and then I found myself in a lounge chair until 5. I’ve started another Harry Bosch book called The Last Coyote. Bosch is the detective, a series by Michael Connelly. I did not enjoy The Hour of the Hunter as much as I’d hoped. It was a J.A. Jance. Good story line but she wanted to narrate much of the Indian culture, meanings and history. I don’t want that distraction in my mysteries.

Only 45 pages in and I'm hooked

My long, lost hubby finally called at 7:30. I hadn’t heard from him all day, which I told myself didn’t mean bad news. He is still in trouble though for not letting me know he arrived safely. After a couple of apologies and a tease about how easily he forgets ‘us’ back home, he was forgiven.

Pop!

Each year, there are more on these plants and I always forget what colour to expect

He orientated on two rv’s today so has been busy. After speaking, we both went about warming up our hamburgers for supper. I had mine on the plate with a side salad and he would be having his in buns. We’re kind of eating together. 😊 I sent a dish of the rhubarb crisp just so he knows “who loves ya, baby”.

With the blinds and the outside door open...........

This is my inside view of the Suite, all natural lighting at 8:50 pm.

I noticed a large painted turtle coming up the east side of the corral again this afternoon. It wasn’t ugly and prehistoric looking, so I knew it wasn’t the snapper. This must be a grandma or grandpapa though, it was huge compared to the others. This one hung around a long time up there, just chillin’ (like Patsy). I wanted to wash it off, so much crap on its back and scarring.

Clemson licking his chops after licking off the ice cream carton

So, inside for the evening I will read for a bit until the sun drops and then maybe watch a recorded program on our PVR. I dozed outside in the chair in the sun for a while so I will not likely be tired until 10:30 or so. We’ll see about that.

A lead up to tonight's finale

I hope you have enjoyed this fabulous summery day. The temperature rose to 23C here with  just the right amount of breeze. I'll take another one just like it tomorrow!

And there it is. Wow!

Thank you for reading today. If you wish to leave a comment, please don't hesitate.