Black Beauty Dressed in White, Last Day in Ontario, Pizza Supper

Stratford, Ontario

I woke up on Friday, Nov. 1^st around 7:30. Bill was up earlier, around 6:30, and that didn’t surprise me. We had a later night than usual so I also wasn’t surprised that I’d slept a bit longer. Stupid dreams though! So many stories mixed up in my head had me shaking it when I sat up. I joined Bill with my tea at the table and opened my laptop to finish my post from yesterday.

Yeuch!! That's what Black Beauty is saying too!

We caught up on what our blogger friends were doing and it is so nice to read that many are on their way to the sunny, warm southwest. Some are already in California, Arizona and Utah, posting beautiful ‘get your butts down here’ photos. Thank you for the encouragement, guys! We’re coming! Waking up to snow this morning was not unexpected, I could really feel it in the air last night when we returned home. It makes me even more excited to move.

Next door, you can see the snow on the roof and grass

Black Beauty had a covering and the roof and grasses next door were white. Guess where I plan on staying most of the day? We were low on water so Bill’s first project was to drain the last dregs and top us up from Bob’s shop supply. We just need to have about 35 gallons in the tank today and for the first few days of travel. We will have full access to water and dumps on Monday night for a few days.

Bob and Bill removed the 2 bad tires

I think I forgot to mention that our gas hot water heater is working again. We think something jarred it on our drive here to Stratford as Tuesday morning it was piping hot. We can use the electric heater here but are at least happy that it works on propane. Bill had some toast and went out to take care of things. Bob arrived around 9 and set about his tasks as well. They needed to remove two of their tires to take them to the dealer for replacement.

They shouldn’t be, but even though only 2 years old (on a new trailer!!) they are cracking already. He’ll do that today and bring them back for reinstalling. Why would a dealer put 2-year-old tires on a brand-new rig? Cheap, that’s why. Once that is taken care of, they will be good to go. Jo-Anne is busy today with last minute things at their house, wanting to leave it clean and tidy.

I like that Bob had someone make a bracket for his step ladder too
He had commented on ours and wasted no time have one made

Bill and I took a drive to the outskirts of town, just a couple of kilometers from us, to Walmart where I picked up some buns and crusty bread for our sandwiches. Bill topped up Black Beauty with fuel at the Canadian Tire pumps and then ran into the store for some truck cleaning supplies that he was low on. We were back to the Suite by 11:15 and I finished the little job I was working on. I had pulled out my gray accordion folder for storing all the receipts and campground info for our trips south.

A bullet proof coffee was called for today

Skimming through the receipts from 2018/19, I discarded the old ‘evidence’. I also updated my little record book where I record those expenditures from beginning to the end of our trip. These ride in the truck with us for easy access. I also keep an 8 ½” writing pad with rough details about when we leave each day, what stops we make, the temperature and our arrival at the day’s destination. With that done, Bill and Bob had decided they were to head out.

After Walmart, we fueled up

They stopped at Tavistock at the house so Bob could have lunch and then drove to Delhi with the old tires in the back of the Dodge. I proceeded to make sandwiches for tomorrow’s drive and Bob, before he left, teased me about being organized. It’s true, I find it helps keep my stress level down. When they were made, I wrote out the short list of food that we had in the fridge. We’ve done that for each year we cross the border to answer the guard’s queries. Again, helps the stress level.

And then some shopping in the store

That was it! I don’t think there was anything else to do. Just a few things to put away that we’ve used this week and we’ll be good for morning departure. So, I turned the tv on and pulled up the recorded episode of This Is Us and watched it. Unfortunately, we didn’t leave the satellite on while in Mexico so we’ve missed what happened on all of our shows last week. Oh well. Instead of turning the radio back on, I skipped down in the PVR list and brought up the recorded Highwaymen on PBS.

My accordion folder for keeping all receipts

 This is music I love not to mention how much I enjoy Willie, Kris, Waylon and Johnny. And I can skip through the PBS chatter during commercials. While it was on, I read my book. It is good and I’m already half way through it. That doesn’t mean I don’t stop when certain songs are being played. Like Willie’s Always on my Mind and Kris’s Why Me Lord? I did get a few good chapters read and then around 3:30 got a phone call from Jo-Anne that the guys were on their way.

I record each expenditure in this book
Everyone has their own system

Okay, that means the tires were ready for them and we will be moving on as planned in the morning. I decided to have my shower now, rather than wait until after supper. Speaking of supper, Jo-Anne also invited Bill and I to join them for pizza in the Redwood tonight with their kids who are coming to say goodbye. Cool! That saves me thinking any more about our meal. After my shower, more catching up on my blog post and then biding time until Bill got home.

This one works for us

The clouds were breaking up a bit and there was some blue sky showing to the east and west so we should have decent weather overnight. If my hair wasn’t wet, it would be a good time to bundle up and go for a walk. Bundle up for me, is layering. I try not to don the heavy winter coat if I don’t have to. Long socks, long sleeves, hoodies, wind breaker and poufy vest – that’s me. You get the picture. No point in dragging the big coat out when I shouldn’t need it after Sunday.

Selfie in my layers

Bill walked in just after 5 so they were back with 2 tires. While they worked on that, Jo-Anne and Higgins came in and sat with me for a few minutes. Before they arrived, I realized that I was feeling hungry so had a few pieces of cheddar to tie me over. Around 6:00, I asked Jo-Anne if there was something I could do to help her, she had quite an overwhelming job ahead of her. Unfortunately, it isn’t really the kind of thing where someone else can help.

The clouds were breaking up

The sun was trying to break through

 She had containers and tubs of food and bathroom supplies etc. that only she knows where to put them in their 5^th wheel. I was with her only briefly before their son, daughter and their families arrived with pizzas for supper. We all congregated in Bob’s shop around 6:30 and shared them together. I’d never met any of them other than their son, Sean/Shawn/Shaun and as you can tell I never did get the spelling of his name. LOL

And most importantly the snow melted

The tires went back on quickly enough

The 3 little ones had fun running around and working on the foam puzzle of the United States that I took in for them. I offered Danielle, their daughter, the last 4 tomatoes from my garden. A couple had a bit of ripening to do but it was something that we could not take across the border. Thank you, Danielle for taking them and I hope you enjoy the sandwiches! The pizza and fries were delicious but the invitation to join the family was the best part.

The pizza came from Shakespeare Pizza
and it was yummy

There was enough room for everyone 

The little ones were putting the puzzle together
the best they know how

It was nice to chat with Danielle and Greg

We said goodbye shortly after 7, so they could spend some alone time with Mom and Dad, and came inside the Suite for the rest of the evening. Before supper, Bill and I swapped out our Canadian debit and credit cards as well as Canadian cash for the U.S. equivalents in our safe. There are also grocery, pharmacy, fuel and department store cards that get switched out too. Our passports came out as well so we are ready for morning.

Grampa Bob watches the little ones do the puzzle

Grams Jo-Anne approves of the pieces put together

And here is a special moment for Bill and I

Bill had his shower before bed to save time in the morning. Then, I sat and read my book. We have a folder of information on the campsite bookings for Bob and Jo-Anne but if not tonight, we can give it to them in the morning. It is nice to get the addresses in each of our gps units. This was a great day, and final things got taken care of. I hope yours was good and your snow disappeared throughout the day as ours did.

The last Ontario sunset for a few months
Good night!

Thank you for stopping in for the last Ontario visit. Your comments mean a lot to us.

Wetter Still, Making Some Bookings, Great Visits, Happy Hallowe’en!

Road 111, Stratford, Ontario

On Thursday, Oct. 31^st Bill and I were the only goblins in our Suite. We both slept in until just after 7 though so something ghostly was afoot. I was gung-ho to get out for a walk so got my runners on and prepared to layer up under my safety vest. I opened the door and it was misty rain falling and quite foggy out towards the train tracks. Darn! I left my shoes on, not prepared to give up yet, and made my tea to sit with Bill.

Happy Hallowe'en
Didn't dress up this year - this was 2015 how I greeted
the little ones

As the cloudy day dawned, and while we were catching up on blogs and Facebook posts, the rain stopped. Donna and I went back and forth and I placed an Avon order for each of us. It will be delivered to her home and that works perfectly for me. I never order what I ‘need’ at this point, only what I want. Bill had a second coffee and some toast and peanut butter. I wasn’t ready to eat anything more than some yogourt.

Misty and foggy this morning

We discussed some plans of visits today and/or tomorrow and Bill called Coast to Coast to make our first resort booking for the 4 of us. NOW, it feels like we are really starting the journey. As we finished that call, I looked outside and the rain had started up again. Double darn! I dished out some of my plain high fat Greek yogourt and added some of the choke cherry jelly that didn’t set completely. Oh my! Not only did it look lovely but it tasted wonderful!

Yogourt and choke cherry jelly/syrup

Bill called AOR, one of our memberships, and reserved our favourite Christmas destination for a month and then a further month after Quartzsite. This year, we will be more prepared. I texted Jo-Anne and we told Bob when he popped in that things are getting more real now with reservations made. 😊 They are excited. At 12:15, I started making Resort Omelettes. My name for them. It doesn’t quite work as well on 2 gas burners as it did on her grill but they were still good.

The rain didn't stop

We did the dishes up and I checked on the Orange Jell-o that I had put in the fridge earlier to set. It wasn’t quite ready but I blended the cream cheese and whipping cream so it was prepared. We hadn’t had creamy Jell-o for a while so it was time for a new batch. Plus, I wanted some to share. We were getting Suite fever so after brushing our teeth, we drove into Stratford for a couple of things. The rain is making everyone frumpy.

Making the Resort Omelette

When we got a text from Suzie that she and George were home from some errands, I finished making the dessert snack and put some into a dish for George. Being a sugar-free snack, I hoped that he would enjoy something nutritious and get some good fat into him. It was around 2 when we first drove into Stratford to pick up a card and then to Tavistock for our visit. The rain hadn’t stopped but it wasn’t a downpour either.

Sneaky, I didn't know he took this one

George’s colouring isn’t good, we can all see that in pictures of him but his spirits are certainly top notch. This positive thinking just might be the cure for this nasty disease. We had a nice visit with us asking some questions about travel places and George and Suzie reminiscing about their past 13 years. Places they went and would recommend and especially pointing out that no one needs to see everything in the first, second or even third years. That is one of the first things we learned from them when we met in 2014.

It tasted wonderful but sure didn't look like hers

 We didn’t stay longer than half an hour, at least we tried not to, as George does tire easy. He didn’t kick us out but we tried to be cognizant of his needs. I didn’t even get a picture so will post the one from our last visit. It was great to see them one more time before we leave and you can follow his story here if you aren’t already. We missed Jo-Anne today, as she was coming out to their Redwood to pack some more items. She had just left by the time we returned.

This was the picture I took on our last visit

We’ll see her in the morning. When we returned, Bill sat with his book and I peeled 6 of the dozen hard boiled eggs and mixed up the egg salad. Then it was good and well time for a creamy tea so I made one for each of us and caught up on this post. Sitting with Bill with our books, oh! I’m now reading a John Sandford book called The Devil’s Code and it seems to have piqued my interest at 5 chapters in. This is more like it.

Light snow this morning on the ground and rooves

This is quite a little Service Centre beside Bob’s shop. I can sit at the table and watch the goings on. There are 2 or 3 businesses here that rent space from Bob and I can’t get over how busy Jamie’s Service Centre is. They must do a good job and business. It is a constant turn around of vehicles, in and out. We sat and read for a while and Bill called friends of his/ours who live in Stratford. We haven’t seen them for a few years, since we had the Jayco I think, so wanted to try and meet up.

This is our portion of the Orange Creamy Jello
I hope George enjoys his

Shortly after 5, I started sautéing the beef roast in Madame IP and began the cooking process of 60 minutes. I didn’t have any potatoes to add and since Bill isn’t keen on carrots, didn’t add those either. We did have some Stovetop Stuffing in the cupboard so I prepped that for when the roast was done. It only takes 6 minutes in the microwave. I should have started a bit earlier so as to meet the time we were to be at Jim and Sharon’s but I’m sure if we’re a few minutes late (us, oh no!) they will understand.

A batch of egg salad
Bill will pick up buns today for a change from the rye bread

We’d forgotten that it was Hallowe’en, not having children and not expecting trick or treaters here but hoped that our hosts didn’t mind too much. As it turned out, the roast was done perfectly at 6:15 and with just a 5-minute N.R. I brought it out for Bill to slice. I made gravy at the same time as the dressing was cooking. I thought I was pressed for time so skipped the veggies but I would have had plenty of time to include some. We had enough to fill us and leftovers for roast beef sandwiches, hot or cold.

This sure doesn't look very nutritious! I
should have added the mixed vegetables
but it tasted good

With the dishes done, we finished cleaning up and getting dressed for a couple of hours out. No funny masks tonight, gave those away long ago. Well, other than our own! Have fun tonight if you entertain the trick or treaters, some of the efforts put into the costumes are wonderful. I’m just sad that the little ones had steady rainfall around this area between 5 and 6. Now, at least it has stopped and is a mild 9C.

We left the Suite around 7:15 to arrive in town around 7:30. Saw a few straggling children with their parents but not too many. Such a yeuchy night for them. ☹ How great it was to see Jim and Sharon C. Bill and Jim met many moons ago and Sharon was in the picture soon after. I’ve only met them 3 or 4 times but really enjoy their company.

Getting organized for the group picture
Bill and Sharon are looking quite cozy
Jim is waiting for me to rush over and sit

They told us that her Mom likes to attend a church east on North Line and they’ve tried a couple of times this past summer to look us up. Now they have good directions for a summer 2020 visit. It is sad when friendships drop off, not for any real reason, just circumstances so we were happy to hear that they are also trying to keep that connection alive. J & S are not as socially active in the media stuff so texting is not their forte and they’ve not had our phone # before.

They 'don't do' pictures they kept saying so I rushed more than I normally do
Jim's eyes are closed and my sweater doesn't do me justice
But I'm happy to get one of them with us
Good night!

We extended the evening because we were all enjoying ourselves so hope we didn’t over-extend by staying until 10:30! We couldn’t believe the time had flown by. We said goodbye with promises to stay in better touch. When we got home, I was in bed almost immediately and Bill soon after. A wonderful day and evening.

Happy Hallowe’en and thank you for visiting!