Family visits, exciting news, arrived at Buttercup Ridge....

Our Location: Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

Woodstock was a good stop for us and we rested well there. The rain came down and we were happy we hadn’t stayed farther away. Less than 45 minutes later we arrived at Brantford but found that getting into Bradey’s driveway was not going to work. Even if I could get in, all things had to be aligned before I could get back out. Even one car in the wrong place on the street and we were stuck, so we opted for a different option. The local Catholilc Church (right across the street) wouldn’t allow us to park even for a donation, so we once again reverted to Walmart. A nice assistant manager told us we could stay for 3 nights (it’s what I ask for), knew we would be unhooking and even putting the slides out. He had no issues with it and so we stayed at the Brantford Walmart Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights. We spent some money in Walmart to offset our using a piece of the parking lot. For future reference, it is an excellent place, quiet, and easy to get in/out, close to everything and a lot of stores near by. 

 

You can see the grass is starting to turn green. B & D live in this small town now.

 

We enjoyed our visits with Bradey and David very much. We spent a good deal of Sunday with them, Monday evening and part of Tuesday evening as well. They have settled into life in their new to them home, and are looking forward to the future. Held up by magnets on the fridge door are the first ultra sound pictures of the baby that will bless our lives. A first child for them, a first niece or nephew for their of the siblings (all sisters as a matter of fact, Courtney & Riley are Bradey’s sisters of course, and Nicole & Danielle are David’s sisters) and of course a first grandchild for myself and for Peter & Mary. (David’s parents). Some exciting times ahead. We wish for them a healthy baby, and the joys that children bring to a home.
 

Middle daughter, her future husband and their puppy.

 While parked in Brantford we journeyed to Hamilton for a couple of errands. First thing Monday morning had me at Dr. Bobba’s office, he’s my Rheumatologist. A few things have changed but we agreed to leave everything the same and will access again in the fall when I see him next. From there Riley and I headed for the blood labs as I was over due for blood work. Long story short, we couldn’t get in to either location we tried and eventually ended up back at the first one later in the day. Our next stop was the storage unit on Barton Street. We had a few things to remove from there and distribute to their rightful owners. Took us a while to find them but we managed to get everything packed into the Dogsled and storage unit locked back up before heading off for a quick stop at Timmie’s for a drink. A quick phone call to find that the meeting I thought I would have on Tuesday wasn’t necessary. Yeah, now Tuesday would be pretty clear for us.
 

David, Riley and Bradey.

 From that fun filled morning we stopped again at the blood lab, bingo, in and out in less than 20 minutes and we were off to our last errand in the city. The dentist and our friend MaryAnne to catch up and have some dental work accomplished. Cleaning for me, cleaning and some fillings for Riley, a nice long chat with MaryAnne and we were off by 3:30 pm heading back to Brantford. Riley and I had a very late lunch after which we had a visit with Bradey & David before calling it a night.
 

That is the Hamilton skyline in the distance.

 

Tuesday was a day to stock up on a few things that we needed and just to sort of relax a bit. We like those days without too much planned. Warmer but still damp and cold outside. An evening visit with B & D topped off the day.

 

Moving toward Toronto, close to the airport.

  Wednesday morning at 9:30 am found us getting on the road to head further east along the 401. A slow down on the Ancaster Hill in Hamilton pretty much set the tone for the first half of the drive. Stop and go from Ancaster to about the middle of Toronto before traffic picked up and moved along. Toronto is always busy now, and I doubt there is ever a fast trip to or thru the city these days. Like all major cities around the world the amount of people, vehicles and businesses just make it ‘rush hour’ all the time. Ironically, not much construction along the way, only in a couple of spots. 

 

Riley liked the ball atop of that cement piece. Of course this is Toronto.

  

We arrived at Buttercup Ridge (Janet & Dennis’ farm) before 1:30 pm. The driveway is long and very rough as the winter has been a tough one. Thaw, freeze, thaw, freeze, snow, ice, water, rain, sleet, thaw, freeze, and repeat. You know what that does for a gravel driveway. Closer to the house and the barn the ground turned soft and I was worried about getting stuck but we managed to get ourselves backed into the far driveway and get leveled up before 2:30 pm. Sounds like a long time but it wasn’t. I’ll take some photos to show you in another post. A call to dad, a text to Janet, we had lunch and just kind of fell into our chairs. We are closer to home but not quite there yet. A couple of weeks should see us arriving on the Island to hopefully warmer weather. 

Welcome to Toronto.

 

Today I had a quick chat with Mike (he rents the barn here at Buttercup Ridge), says they had a long winter here in Southern Ontario as well. Lots of snow, lots of cold and overcast days were the norm. Like everyone else he’s in a hurry to see spring arrive. We can see it coming though, flowers are poking up from the beds, trees are taking on new shades of red, yellow and green. The grass is losing its brown to a tiny hint of green. Birds are chirping and singing everywhere, water is open and not frozen, and of course everywhere you look Robins are busy gathering nesting material. Spring is coming soon. 

Of course Toronto is a sprawling city on the northern shores of Lake Ontario.

 

A belated Happy Birthday mention (I called on the actual day) to my older brother Rick. We won’t discuss how old he actually is but he’s older than I am. April 16 found him another year older, wiser and more handsome than the last year. Hope you had a great day Rick.
 

Here we are heading north of Cobourg on Hwy 45 toward the town of Roseneath.

 

So there you have it, a catch up of the last number of days. I’ll be catching up on the reading and commenting as well over the next couple of days. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

One day we'll get some BBQ from this spot.

 

Until next time.. take care, be safe,

Deb

A busy day today....

Our Location: Walmart Front Lawn, Hamilton, Ontario

(today's pics were all taken on the Rock in Lake Huron (Manitoulin Island) a few years ago)

Coolish nights seem to be the norm here in southern Ontario. The predicted high didn't materialize or at least not anywhere I was today. It was nice with a bit of a breeze which of course cooled things off, that big yellow ball in the sky was a welcome sight and stayed with us pretty much most of the day. Things clouded over and the rain began to fall just as the evening hours struck. Around 6 pm I think I heard the first rain drops on the roof, followed by a couple of big thunder boomers, a light show of one or three flashes across the skies over the city but other than that it was mostly a rain event. The odd far off rumble of thunder could be heard later in the evening but it was minor rumbling, while the sky turned an ominous shade of slate grey but I think the bulk of the storm went around us.  Round about 8 pm the sun was lighting up the store front but the rain drops were still falling.

South Baymouth Lighthouse

We started off this morning by making plans for the day. If you've been following this blog at all you'll know we always make plans but often we don't seem to have the energy, the time or the need to do some of them and they get pushed off until another day. Today was NOT like that at all. First we headed back to the wonderful folks at Dr Yaksich/Dr Adams dental office, Riley was getting fitted for a mouth guard to help her clicking jaw issue. Of course the ladies on the desk were spectacular as always, helpful, knowledgeable, and quick to smile. Dr. Larry graced us with his presence once again today and even did a quick job of reattaching Riley's wire retainer as it had come loose. MaryAnne and Lisa were excited when I told them I'd mentioned them in yesterday's blog, I hope they don't think that makes them stars now 'cause NOT that many people read this little blurb. ~laugh~ I assured them that I said only bad things, I'm almost certain they might have believed me. ~laugh~ So if you are reading Ladies, Hello and welcome!!!!

South Baymouth Marina

From the dentist office we made our way down the hill to Life Labs where Riley needed to have the blood work which Dr. Dube requested yesterday. While she was having her vampire procedure I was on the phone making a few calls that needed to be addressed with regards to doctors, Dogsled appointments and such. The Dogsled needs to have a check up to ensure that he's fit for use in Ontario, I think he also needs to have his breathing checked with an emissions test, all of which must be done before he can be plated and insured here in the wonderful province of Ontario. Hopefully the breathing experts can fit him in tomorrow and the check up with Dr Ozlo's crew is scheduled for Monday morning. I have no worried the big boy will pass with flying colours. 

After the blood work we headed back to the Igloo, grabbed a Timmies, changed back into some dirty clothes before making our way back to the storage locker place (it's some dirty work I'll tell ya). Today we managed to finish cleaning out the unheated outside small locker (5x5) and stuff everything into the indoor heated much bigger unit. That will relieve us of a sizeable payment every month. We had to pretty much pull out about 1/4 of the things in the locker to get to the usable but unused space near the back half of the locker. It was suitable for light boxes such as linens, clothes, etc to be piled upon firm wooden pieces of furniture. We then managed to stuff ALL of the other boxes into the space with a bit of room to spare. I was extremely happy to do that. The front desk returned the month's storage they had just taken out about an hour before I told them I no longer needed the unit. Good timing, huh? ~laugh~ 

View over the islands in the North East waters off the shores near Little Current

After that it was home to clean up and a quick jaunt across the way to Great Clips for a hair cut. We were both due for one as it's been a while for both of us. I was starting to feel like a long haired sheep dog with stuff hanging in my eyes all the time. ~laugh~  I had a wash and trim while Riley had a wash and cut. It's much shorter now and she seems pleased with it. I like it very much. 

After that it was home again and for the rest of the day we just kind of rested. Enough work today already!! We were too tired to load up the laundry and head out so that's on the list for tomorrow's chores. We can't wait too many more days or we'll be starting to "look for our cleanest dirty shirt" ( a line from a Kris Kristopherson song - Sunday Morning Coming Down). Therefore tomorrow WILL be laundry day. ~laugh~ 

Swing Bridge/ Hwy 6, the only all year round route on/off the Island

Since we had a late lunch today dinner time wasn't of any interest to me and Riley decided to manage for herself, which she did just fine. Afterward my hunger pains were satisfied with a nice big juicy Granny Smith apple.  

Sailboat waiting to pass thru at the Swing Bridge.

So ended our day. Not life altering or news worthy but it worked for us. We're looking forward to an easier day tomorrow and we'll take the weekend off except for a visit to the old neighbourhood. Monday we'll do our morning appointment and I hope then we'll be heading out along the QEW toward the big city of Toronto and points further north!! Depending on our departure time and traffic we will stay somewhere between Toronto and Barrie, or we'll reach Parry Sound for an over night on Monday. We should be in Lively, Ontario a suburb of Sudbury on Tuesday, an overnight there to visit with my best friend Linda and her hubby Randy.  Wednesday we will be off to the Rock and our summer location. So a few short travel days next week will net us a mid week arrival time which should be just in time for the warm up trend to start rolling in.  We'd really like that as it will mean we can once again get out and start walking which we haven't been dong lately. 

Okay, enough rambling for one night! Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment, and until next time...be safe, take care....

Appointments, apologies, and a longer stay....

Our Location: Walmart Front Lawn, Hamilton, Ontario

 

(sorry no pics today)

The overnight was cool but then again it's April in Canada so it could have been a lot worse. The day started off cool as well but eventually warmed up to about mid 50F/10C with a wind off the lake which of course makes it seem like a few degrees cooler. 

We had hoped to be departing Hamilton late this afternoon but it wasn't in the cards. We'll be here a couple of more days, had I known we'd be here this long we would have parked at Fifty Point Conservation area with full hookups. However this at least gives us a chance to use our new solar panels, which we had installed in early January in Georgia. It's the first that we've used them and we're still used to dry camping with out them which means we are a bit stingy on turning on lights instead of using our LED lanterns, etc. I know it sounds odd but it's true, we are so used to doing things a certain way when we dry camp that it's difficult to change. I have no doubt we will but it's just odd to find ourselves doing things without realizing we don't have to be quite so diligent  about it. 

Our morning started off with a trip to the storage unit where we will be returning tomorrow for a bit more work. We are combining two lockers into one and will hopefully get that finished tomorrow. We worked there for a couple of hours and managed to accomplish about half of what we started out to accomplish but half is better than none. After a couple of hours and the amount work we were both tired and ready for a rest. 

Back to the Igloo by 11 am we were just relaxing when the local Gynecologist office called to discuss forwarding Riley's paperwork to the new referral. Long story short with some trepidation they convinced us to come down to their office this afternoon and they would see her TODAY but that the doctor felt it was somewhat of an urgent matter. Explaining we had two appointments this afternoon and couldn't possible reach the office before 4 pm they assured us that would be fine, they would be there until all patients were seen by the doctor. We added that appointment to our list. 

 

Lunch was a quick bowl of soup, not the best soup as it came out of a can but it was good for a quick fill up and warm up as well. We both kind of just relaxed for the next hour knowing the rest of the afternoon would be busy. Climbing in to the Dogsled we headed up the hill to see our fantastic dentist, Dr. Larry Yaksich. He's actually retired and sold his practice but still comes in a couple of days a week, we lucked out having him there today. He's been our dentist for many years and we always feel like family when we are there. The ladies in the front office are amazing, MaryAnne and Lisa work magic slipping folks in for appointments and truly make us feel as if we're their best friends. It's a gift they have and it serves them well. Lisa is recovering from a battle with cancer and is doing wonderfully, she looks great, her usual semi short, spiky blonde locks are extra short, extra dark and curly. MaryAnne is always her usual chipper self, quick with a smile, a quip and sparkle in her eye. Truly these two women are special people and we're very lucky to know them.  

Our appointments went well but we need to return tomorrow morning as they are going to fit Riley with a mouth guard for sleeping. She's having some issues with her jaw clicking at various times. Dr. Larry thinks the mouth guard may help with that problem. He says its from clenching/grinding her teeth while she sleeps. I wonder if it's hereditary as Bradey also has the same issue. 

From there we headed back down the big hill to Hunter Avenue East, coasting to a stop in front of Dr. Dube's office at about 3:50 pm. Putting a couple of bucks in the meter (paying time ends at 6 pm) we headed off for Riley's appointment. The office was full with a few folks sitting outside as it can quickly become hot in the waiting room with too many people. We waited for about an hour and a half before being shown into the room. After discussing the problems with ultra sounds and office visits with Zena on the front desk, next with Rosemary the nurse, we received many, many apologies for the troubles and were assured it's not the norm. Finally after about 20 minutes of sitting in the little exam room the doctor made an appearance. We once again discussed the issues and were assured that it wouldn't happen again. In fact the doctor wrote specific notes on the file regarding HER expectations of how this should be handled. So we'll see how it goes. Eventually we finally got down to the issues. The cyst on Riley's right ovary has grown larger and needs to be taken out. It is showing signs of twisting and is the reason she is having so much discomfort and pain at times. Dr. Dube requested specific blood work, some standard, some specialized  that we have to pay for ourselves. She wanted it down as quickly as we can, so we're having it done tomorrow. Dr. Dube is going to refer Riley to a gynecologist that the doctor knows personally in North Bay. She is also requesting an MRI from this doctor. The referral request will go out tonight from the doctor herself. So we can't fault the lady for not picking up the ball and getting things moving for us. After the blood work and the MRI they will decide the best course to take. In 2 weeks I'll contact Dr. Dube or her nurse and get the results from the blood tests (specialized test take a bit longer than regular tests).

 

We finally left the office at 6:25 pm and headed home. Both of us were extremely tired but glad we went, it's helped answer a number of questions and also helped to ease our minds about exactly where things should to go in the near future. Riley is somewhat relieved and I think given a couple of days she'll be more so once things settle down a bit. Riley dislikes answering the questions that are asked in these situations and will just look at me indicating I should answer them. It's difficult enough for her and at this point I'm more concerned with just getting the information delivered to the doctor than about encouraging Riley to speak for herself.  I know sometimes it seems as if I'm overbearing but at this point in the process I think Riley has enough stress without adding any more. 

 

We stopped at the pharmacy on the way back to the Igloo but only picked up my script as the doctor didn't think Riley should continue with her script. It was a quick in and out which surprised us both as it usually takes a while. 

 

Home sure looked pretty inviting when we arrived but we headed off into Walmart to buy dinner instead of cooking. We were both just too tired to think about cooking never mind actually doing it. ~laugh~ Of course we're both stress eaters and so we didn't really make good choices but that's okay, it's one meal and we all need comfort at times. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

 

After we finished eating it was time to do the dishes that have been accumulating and so armed with the knowledge that we HAD to do dishes it went pretty quickly. Truly it wasn't THAT bad, everything managed to stay under cover in the sinks, so if you visited you would never know we had a sink full of dirty dishes. ~laugh~ 

 

After that chore was complete I called my dad to explain we'd not be seeing him as early as I thought. I explained we had a few things come up that were going to take a few extra days and didn't want him to worry when we didn't show up in the next day or two. He assured us that next week is going to be quite chilly up there on the Rock and staying here a bit longer isn't a bad idea. I've looked at the long range forecast and since we'll be approaching mid May shortly the weather is promising to be nicer and nicer. We can handle that!!!!

 

After that it was a matter of heading in our own directions and doing our own thing. It feels good to just kind of unwind and settle down. 

 

So there you have it, our day here in Hamilton, Ontario. Appointments, apologies, and some work. Tomorrow we have a few things to do that will keep us busy for the day and out of trouble. So on that note, until next time...be safe, take care...

Ready to head into Canada tomorrow for an appointment....

Our Location: Frost Ridge Campground, Le Roy, NY

A very cool night, bordering on down right cold but it's warming up quickly this morning. We started life this morning right around the freezing mark, I'm sure it was below just before dawn but I didn't get up and look at the temps but it was one degree above the freezing  mark when I did look after the sun came up. It was already up to 44F/6.6C around 9:30 am when I went outside to set up the propane heater. The high today is forecast to be about 55F/12.7C, however there is the ever present wind to contend with as well. Without the wind it would be wonderful!!

Dad called this morning around 7 am interrupting my reading but that's okay. ~laugh~ Always nice to chat with Dad. He was curious about our appointment tomorrow and it being Good Friday he thought it wouldn't be going ahead. I assured him I was pretty certain it would but that I'd check just in case. It seems everyone is off up on the Island for the 'long' weekend, which led to the call. Much appreciated is the concern!!

A short time later I heard Riley moving around and decided it was time to get up as well. We discussed Poppa's phone call, and what we needed to do today as well as dinner plans. I immediately sat down with my computer and began planning things for next week as it seems like we'll still be here for at least some of it.

View from the top row standing on the west side looking east

I placed a call to St. Joseph's Hospital Diagnostic Imaging Unit in Hamilton, Ontario to confirm Riley's appointment for tomorrow Friday, April 14, 2017. They confirmed the office is open for business tomorrow as usual. One down, many more to go. ~laugh~ 

I next called to cancel my eye appointment for next Thursday, Riley needs to have an appointment in the fall this year as well so either we'll find a new eye doctor up north and do this during the summer, or we'll rebook for the fall in Hamilton, we'll decide that later. 

Next I called the Dentist, to see about rescheduling our Wednesday appointments to the following week. MaryAnne didn't have anything available but we left it with her and hopefully she'll work her magic to get us moved around. I have changed appointments when ever asked due to someone needing to change theirs for whatever reason, and so I'm sure MaryAnne will do her best to help us out. The office staff is one of the reasons we truly like going to our dentist, we love Dr. Larry as well but since he's sold his practice to Dr. Laura it's not quite the same but it's still the staff that makes all the difference. Dr. Larry works part time and so we may get lucky and see him on our visit. 

Same location looking directly east

From there I worked on a rental car for us for today-tomorrow and Monday-Tuesday next week. Enterprise comes to pick you up and drop you off if you rent a car from them which works out fine for me. I'd rather not leave the Dogsled in a lot where it can get banged up although that may be the case on Monday as I'm not sure I can have the car back by quitting time of 6 pm. My appointment is for 2:45 pm but that's cutting it close with having a border to cross in there. So either I pay for an extra day or I drop it off and drive myself home which means I need to leave the Dogsled. They have no customer parking in Batavia and I'll have to leave the Dog on the street over night. However I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. 

A number of calls came back to me that there were no cars available at that location, I tried 2 others with the same result, and the last one said they couldn't come pick me up either and they had no where to leave my truck but she would go thru her returns to see if they had a car.  I started looking around for something different like at the Rochester Airport where I could leave the Dogsled in fenced parking at least. Just as I was settling into my work the phone rang, the girl had made an error, they will indeed pick me up at 4 pm today, they guarantee me a car as well. Next week's appointment will be fine as most of their vehicles will be returned after the weekend. The parking issue for that rental is still there but I"ll worry about it later. 

I went out about 9:30 am to hook up the propane heater and found the air to be nice, not warm enough to sit outside but it might be this afternoon if the wind dies down. If I even had someway to block the wind it would be nice but as you know a house on wheels is pretty open underneath. ~laugh~ Just the right height for a great wind to blow up your pant leg and cause you to shiver uncontrollably. ~laugh~ 

Office/lodge are housed in this building, we're parked to the left of it in the first spot.

Didn't take long for the place to warm up enough to shut off the propane heater, less than an hour in fact. Of course the electric is also going but it's just not able to keep up. I think there are too many doorways and both bathroom are tucked around walls so that they don't ever truly warm up greatly until August. The heater claims to heat up 600- 800 sq feet but I don't think it lives up to it's claim since we are less than 300 sq feet. They probably mean ONE room where as we  have few rooms. Oh well, we manage. 

Bright sunny day today, the grass is greening up as well. I might head out for a stroll in a bit just to kind of get out and move around. A pick up at 4 pm with Enterprise means I'll be back sometime around 5:30 pm I think. Tomorrow we want to be out of here around 6:15 am to make it for Riley's 9:30 am appointment in downtown Hamilton. It's about an hour to the border which will put us there around 7:15 am, even at a half hour to cross that's 7:45 am, an hour to Hamilton will around 9 am with a half hour to park and get inside. I doubt it will take us 30 minutes to cross but who knows. After that coming back won't matter we can be back anytime before 3 pm. We have a couple of things to do while in Hamilton including picking up two prescriptions for me and stopping at the storage locker. 

A quick email to Laura at Southern Chevrolet netted me the information that the paper work was approved on April 7th and has been sitting waiting for printing and mailing since then. They are closed tomorrow and probably Monday due to Easter so I have no idea what to expect next week.

Looking across Conlon Road from the park

Riley is staying home while I go with the Enterprise folks. She's informed me that she's not a child. ~laugh~ True is I was hoping she would stay home and have some time to herself. We get along well but some days it's nice to just have our own space for a while.

We took a bit of a stroll around the campground but it's too wet and too cold to go far. About 6 or 7 minutes and we were done. ~laugh~ We're such wusses when it comes to cold.

Enterprise called me at 4 pm to say the fella would be a half hour late which was fine with me. A white van pulled in about 4:20 pm and Pete the driver  was friendly and knowledgeable about the area, answering lots of my questions and telling me about the small city of Batavia.

See the buds on one of the gnarly trees in the park?

Arriving at Enterprise in Batavia I waited in line for Steven to handle my paperwork and show me the car. I left within 20 minutes of arriving at the office. A Chevy Sonic is what we're driving tomorrow, black, four door and I had him check the trunk just in case someone left luggage in there and I didn't want to find out at the border. Now there is wine in the trunk. ~laugh~ MINE, I put it there but at least the trunk holds something. I needed to move my cushion from the Dogsled to the rental as I have a hard time seeing over the dash, the seat is so LOW, I swear my ass was dragging on the ground and my knees were up around my ears. Now you know that's quite a feat for me, so you can imagine how LOW the damn seat is.

Reading until about 6:30 pm I finally realized I needed to start dinner. We had sausage patties on toasted English Muffins, steamed veggies (green beans, mushrooms, carrots, butter beans, corn, asparagus) and mashed potatoes with dill. Cooked inside of course, and even though it was good, it just wasn't as good as if we cook on the BBQ. We're both looking forward to getting somewhere out of the wind so we can BBQ again.

Finished up dinner with some peaches and even though they are canned, they are good. Of course I love peaches and so I would think they were great anyway. ~laugh~ Finished the dishes and cleaned up before my phone rang, it was Dad calling to see how things were going here. I explained everything I know about the next week and hopefully that helps to ease his stress level. I personally am not going to worry about it, it'll happen when it happens and I've done all I can do except wait.

Sign at the entrance of the park

After that we both showered so we're ready for the morning to just do our morning necessaries and hit the road. I've got our passports, Canadian money, keys to the storage unit, address of appointment, e-reader and everything else I can think of that we need. We're as ready as we're ever going to be. ~laugh~

After that we headed off in our own direction, Riley to do whatever she does and me to pen my thoughts in this blog. I hope you've enjoyed your visit, thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment. Until next time...be safe, take care....