Thursday, May 26, 2005

Oh, fiddlesticks!

I checked my web page tonight at work and found that the new method of posting, i.e. by dragging and dropping from Composer, does not transfer the photos. It works fine on my own computer, because that is where my photos are, but from another computer....no photos! So tomorrow, it's back to the drawing board and I will have to upload all the pics. Sorry folks, check back in a couple of days, all should be visible once again!

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Not all bad news!

My web site server company has retrieved my web page from yesterday morning and they have told me how to edit off line, using web writing software. I have Netscape Composer, so will use that. It is then easy to just drag and drop updates. The best thing is that Composer is a free download with Netscape, and is VERY easy to use. Just WYSIWYG and that is very good for a dunce like me! Now, all I have to do is go to the coffee shop to upload the edited pages to the site, and the backup is stored on my hard drive. Isn't modern technology marvellous!

View the web page at www.rvadventure.net

Dead battery

Well, it seems that Michael's cross wiring did damage the battery. There is one dead cell. A new deep cycle battery was not in the budget, so will have to wait until next month. Oh well....

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

AAAARRRGH!!!!!

This is so frustrating! I was just updating the web site with info on the Provincial Parks and the server timed out and I lost all the info. Not only on the web site also on my template!! I have to learn how to use Front Page. I can't stand it! If things are a bit silent for a while on the web page, you know why.

Parked on the turning portion of the driveway Posted by Hello

The house beyond the trailer. Posted by Hello

You can just see the trailer on the left side of the house. Posted by Hello

Monday, May 23, 2005

The Weekend in Fur and Feather Land

I love camping for free! The weekend was wonderful, spending time with good friends AND getting to spend a couple of nights of free camping. We ran a 15 amp line from the house for the hot water heater, lights and fridge. Dad slept in the house so we had the trailer to ourselves. There were 4 dogs, 4 cats, 2 kittens, a bunch of chickens, about 3 roosters (that sounded like about 10 early in the morning) and a rat that was in a cage in the basement. I did not go to see the rat. I was bitten by a rat back in Rhodesia(Zimbabwe) when I was a child and I do not like rats!!

The property is lovely. It is about 16 acres,long and narrow, going down to a small river. The owners are getting a couple of horses and a pony, so they are busy building a paddock near the path to the river. They had an ice rink in the winter, have a pool and a hot tub. Very nice.

We parked the trailer on the turning section of the driveway and it was ideal. I have posted a few pictures to show you where and how we spent the weekend. We did not get to wash the outside of the trailer or the awning, but the inside was sorted and cleaned. All the systems work just fine, except that the battery seems to be draining too quickly. Maybe Michael did some damage by hooking it up wrongly (see May 8th entry). He now has it back in the condo, recharging on the trickle charger.

Talking to Russ and Trixie about their trip was very interesting. They do not regret moving from there and say that the people who are suffering most are the people of our age who were on pension systems on the "Old System" . There are many senior citizens who have only fixed incomes and are really feeling the pinch with the high cost of living and the inflation rates of the past few years. I think that we made the right decision moving when we did. Of course there are millions of black South Africans who are absolutely destitute and the "New South Africa" has done nothing for them. HIV/AIDS continues to ravage the country with 44% of all hospital deaths are attributable to that terrible disease.

Friday, May 20, 2005

We're off!

We leave this evening for a weekend in Uxbridge, Ontario. We will be camping on a 16 acre property, meeting with dear friends, Trixie and Russ, who have just returned from South Africa. We will be able to catch up all the latest news from that beautiful country and from Durban, where I lived for 25 years and where Michael was born. We will take this opportunity to sort out the inside of the trailer and declutter. If we have access to water we will wash the trailer down and clean the awning. Look out for some pictures next week!

I have also acquired Microsoft Front Page 2003, so will be updating the web page as soon as I learn how to use it! I find the online template that I have been using to be very frustrating as I can only do the page when I get into the local Second Cup Coffee shop. Second Cup now has wi-fi- access through Rogers Hotspot. It is free for the time being, but will soon be fee for service, and it is not cheap, so I must do what I can as fast as I can.

My first foray into selling on eBay did not go so well. I set the reserve price too high and I had the auction end on a weekday. When I relist, I will make sure the auction ends on the weekend. It is all a learning experience. It keeps the brain active and the grey cells alive!

Until next week........totsiens!

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

A Short Getaway

Goodness me, I have not been on here for a few days. I was working on the weekend and so just ate, slept and worked for 3 days. Then Dad lost his hearing aid and I spent all of yesterday looking for it in the mall, on the way to the mall and at home, but to no avail. I have handed out flyers and stuck flyers on lamp posts, but I am not holding my breath. It is a very small pink beige lump that looks like half chewed gum.

Then I had to finish filling out the forms for Dad's and Michael's passports. This in preparation for our trip to San Diego in August. Just getting ready to seal up the envelope on Dad's application when I realized that we were missing one photograph. Frantic search in the room, but couldn't find it. Rush over to the mall to see if I can get another copy of it, but the studio deletes all files every 3 days. In the middle of the night I woke up and remembered that Dad had been carrying the passport forms around in a Purolater envelope. Took a look this morning and there it was, whew. That saved a bit of expense and hassle. Isn't it funny how, sometimes, answers to problems come in the early hours of the morning.

This coming weekend (Queen Victoria Day) we are going to camp for 1 night up in Uxbridge. Our friends Trixie and Russ are house and pet sitting for friends, so we will park in the driveway. Dad can sleep inside the house.

Michael tried everything in the trailer the other day, just to make sure that no damage had been done with the wiring malfunctions, but everything seems to be OK. Hooray! I am really looking forward to camping, even if it is in someone's driveway for one night! A bad day camping is better that a good day at home. It is going to be so good to see Trixie and Russ as they have just returned from 2 1/2 months in South Africa. They have many stories to tell.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Something gels...

While Michael was at work today he spent a lot of time thinking. He has the kind of job where he can do that. He came home from work and revealed his "idea" to me.

Firstly, we have to be in Canada for at least 6 months of the year to maintain our residency in Ontario for health benefits. Presently, we live in a condo and our RV is stored at a local campground/motel. What he has come up with is that we sell the condo, taking our time to get the best price possible. Then we buy a property in the country, with a house on it. On the property we build something like an RV Chalet, with full hook-ups for the motor home, bathroom and laundry facilities inside the chalet. We purchase our motor home and put tenants in the house. We are then free to come and go as we please. The rent from the house is helping to pay for our travels. We have somewhere to live in the summer (in the motor home on our property), and the tenants to look after the property. Once we decide that we are done with RVing, we have the house ready waiting for us. I think it's a great idea and one that definitely needs some serious thought. Well done, Michael!!

Monday, May 09, 2005

Electrics fixed!

Thank goodness for the RV.net community. Someone suggested that Michael had connected the battery up incorrectly and he had. You'd think after 6 years of RVing in trailers that he would know how to do it! He had connected the wire with the RED tape on it to the POSITIVE on the battery when it was the ground wire. New fuses, correct connection and everything works! Poor man hardly slept last night. He was imagining having to take the trailer to the dealership without any brakes or lights.

We are planning to take the trailer up to Uxbridge to spend the May 24th weekend with friends. They are "babysitting" a house and pets for friends, and we'll park the trailer in the yard (16 acres) and be happy in our own little house! I'm like a tortoise, I like to have my house on my back, so that I can retreat into it when I feel like it.

Sunday, May 08, 2005

Electrical Problems!

Michael fixed the city water connection , fitted a new anode rod to the water heater, and then he set out to fill the water system and flush out the pink anti-freeze. That done, he then connected the battery and tried to check the electrical system. Pop! Pop! Pop! Three fuses blew on the converter board. Two 30 amp and one 7.5 amp. I immediately went onto the rv.net board and got help within 30 minutes. Amazing! Tomorrow we will go and see if we can get the electrical system to work after implementing a couple of fixes that have been suggested.

The RVing community on the internet is truly amazing. Watch this space to see if we have managed to fix the problem

The children came round for lunch and Suzanne has made me a lovely bag for work. I'll post a picture of it later this week. Suzanne and Sandy showed us the photos from their trip to Paris. What a lovely city. They had a ball, going to all the galleries and exhibitions.

Saturday, May 07, 2005

2004 Diesel Pusher for $145,000

This morning we went over to Owasco RV to buy a new anode rod for the hot water heater. When we got there, we found out that there was an Open House on. What a temptation! We looked at their motor homes , both A class and C class. Owasco are the agents for the Triple E Brand of motor home. They are built in Winkler Manitoba. There was a 2004 Diesel Motor Home. Brand new and they have reduced the price from about $190,000 to $145,000 because it is last year's model and want to get rid of it. WOW! Anyway, we still have a house to sell, so could not think about it. We know that when the time comes, the right vehicle will come along.

While we were there we started to talking to a couple who live in Canada in the summer and then go down to Florida for the winter. They have just bought a Holiday Rambler Savoy 5th wheel from Lazydays RV, and have it parked in a permanent site at a camp ground in Florida somewhere. They planted another seed in our minds....to buy an RV in the US and keep it down there for over-wintering. It is something to consider. If they read this (we gave them our web site address), please send us an email, we have some more questions to ask you.

Tomorrow is the day to do the repairs and flush the anti-freeze out of the system...stay posted!

Friday, May 06, 2005

It's the weekend!!

TGIF!! The weekend is here and I am off. I am a Registered Nurse at a large teaching hospital in Toronto and I work mostly night shift. I get every second weekend off, so they are very precious! The weather report is not wonderful, but at least it will be warm, which is something after the long, cold Canadian winter. We are opening the trailer this weekend and doing some cleaning and repairs. This will all happen on Saturday. Sunday is Mother's Day so the kids, Suzanne, Sandy and Greg, are coming out for lunch.

The main repair for the trailer will be replacing that city water valve. We won't make THAT mistake again! Michael will work on cleaning the outside, while I will get the inside organized. I can't wait for our first camping trip!

I have been looking for information on Halfway Lake Provincial Park, but there is really not much on the internet apart from the www. ontarioparks.com page. Marla, at work, will give me some info on what to do while we are there. it is a great place for wild blue berries and raspberries, so I am looking forward to that. YUM! I'll take the fixin's for blueberry muffins and pancakes...double yum!

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Picking the Bobcat up from the dealer

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This trailer was way too heavy for our Nissan Quest van

Bobcat at the storage area in Hampton,

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Our first trailer, the Keystone Bobcat

Halfway Lake Provincial Park

I have booked to go to Halfway Lake from July 6th to 16th. Dad will be going to Maryland on July 5th. Halfway Lake sounds wonderful. Marla, from work, goes there every year and has recommended it. We are just going to stay put in 1 place for 10 whole days and de-stress!....Well, maybe we will go into Sudbury as we have never been there before. in 1999 we went up to Sault Ste Marie and took the train up to Agawa Canyon. It was fall and the trip was wonderful, seeing the colours in the Canyon This time we will see the area in it's summer clothes. I wonder if there will be bugs. Probably, there is a lot of water up there and we will have lots of mosquitoes and black flies, I am sure.

We will have to cancel the free trip to the Galvin Bay RV Resort in Buckhorn, or maybe reschedule for some other time. I do want to go there as it may be nice to have a place near home where we can go for some quick overnight campouts.

Summer is starting to take shape. A quick weekend trip to Darlington over the Canada day weekend, when we will take the opportunity to go to Cobourg for their annual Canada Day parade and festival. Then Dad goes off to Patricia's (my sister) for 3 weeks. A 10 day break for us, to Halfway Lake just North of Sudbury.

On August 15th, we all fly to San Diego for Virginia's (85th) and Dad's (86th)birthdays on August 20th. Virginia is part of the family, having met Mom, Dad and Patricia about 25 years ago on a cruise along the coast of Southern Africa. They became fast friends and she sponsored Patricia's move to the US in the 70's. We came to Canada because Patricia is living in the US (we could not get into the US). We were about to move to Australia, but didn't want to split the family between 3 continents, so came to Canada instead. After Mom passed away, Virginia became our "surrogate" mother and a firm fixture in the family. So we are all going there for a family reunion to celebrate what will probably be the last birthday that Virgina and Dad celebrate together. It seems just yesterday that we were celebrating Dad's 80th birthday and Virginia's 79th at Patricia's house in Keedysville.

That was quite an occasion. Patricia put 80 candles on the lovely chocolate cake with a cream cheese icing. The problem was that she used trick candles and when lit, we almost burned the house down as we could not put the candles out. The cake ended up as a chocolate with blue wax icing. Hilarious! One for the memory book.

Virginia, Dad and the Blue Cake Posted by Hello