March Break + Summer Weather =

no posting by this happy vacationer!  My list of "things to do inside" over March break turned into a list of "things to do OUTSIDE" instead due to sunshine and temperatures in the low 20's celsius (70+F)! We spent another day at the trailer on Wed. and on the way there explored a thrift store in Ailsa Craig & bought 4 bags of firewood. Does that sound like we bought the wood at the thrift store?? Oops...see, I can't remember how to write!!  We spent some time walking on the beach - BARE FEET!! - but Lake Huron water is still FRIGID!!

 The crocuses are in bloom!

 On our walk down to the beach.

I really need a pedicure!

Looks inviting but almost as cold as ice still!

 Just listening to the waves.

Oops, shoulda turned this one - sneaky little beggar was out to pinch me!

I like to play with fire: )

On Tuesday we spent the afternoon exploring the new Goodwill store in downtown London and scored some great deals - Michael spent WAY MORE than me but now has all new clothes for summer. I found 3 new long skirts, 3 long dresses and a long nightie plus two pairs of pj pants. LONG is part of my new strategy for fighting back against mosquitoes and flies this summer!! Clever huh? So glad the MAXI length is back in style! Next I need to look for a few light coloured long sleeve shirts to wear when I'm outside digging in the dirt.

My favourite purchase - a large canvas Gap bag - it's huge! Packed all my stuff for a day at the trailer in it!

March Break + Summer Weather = sore thighs and butt!! I got my real bike out from under its plastic wrapping, walked it over to the nearest gas station to pump up the tires a bit and then went  for long bike rides on Friday and Saturday - hence the sore thighs and butt! Which just goes to show me that my stationary bike is not as good of a workout as the real deal.

Me and my bike in Victoria Park.

We also cleaned up our patio area, set up the table and lawn chairs and fired up the BBQ. Thursday evening we had our first meal out in the back yard. BBQ'd pork chops - YUM!!

Bon appetit!


I did accomplish one inside job, yes, just one, and it wasn't even one that was on my list!! Bad Jane! However, since it will result in saving me $240 a year I count that as a major success. A while back I had opened a Thrive chequing account with ING that has NO fees. So I finally got busy this week changing my banking info with all of the companies that automatically debit my account: London Hydro, Union Gas, the city of London for my property taxes, insurance company, Rogers, condo corp for my condo fees, etc etc. It feels really good to get that done finally. Once those all start to be debited from ING I can close the other account and.....NO MORE FEES!!


On another financial note I received my tax refund yesterday :p  I made an extra payment of $500 on my line of credit, put $300 into one of my savings accounts and left the rest in my chequing account til the end of this month. If I have money left over at the end of the month I'll tuck it into my Sealed Pot!


So that about sums up my week - last night we celebrated St. Patrick's day with a few friends. We managed to stay away from the huge crowds of university and college students who took over the downtown area - the police closed the main street to cars as thousands of kids were running amok. My poor bar tender of a daughter put in a 15 hour shift at Jacks starting at 1:30 in the afternoon. Jacks is right smack dab in the middle of the bar area of Richmond Row. I don't imagine I'll see her emerge from her room til mid afternoon!

And no spring summer break would be complete without a visit to Merla Mae's icecream store: raspberry frozen yogurt for me and that's Michael's maple walnut icecream cone slightly out of focus there. So that's me caught up - now I need to catch up with you!