Forgot one...

Oops, forgot about this thrifty little purchase from the Re-Store in Bracebridge. I have a 

"thing" about little bowls. We use a couple with pretty much every meal for

dipping sauces, hot sauce, raw veggies etc.

I picked up this cute pair for $0.25 each and I love them!

They are the perfect size for sliced 

mini-cucumbers and for a half lemon.

Every morning I drink the juice of half a lemon and store the other half in the fridge

 (otherwise I have fruit flies)...

Poifect :) and the price was right!

What do you think that is a picture of...olives?

Bracebridge, ON

Remembering our mother in Bracebridge, ON....a quilt is on display in the Bracebridge Library upon which my oldest sister ensured our mother was memorialized: In Loving Memory of Edith (Jane) Harrison :) 

                                             

And here is my other sister and one of my brothers pointing to the quilt - it looks like my sister has her pointing finger in my brother's ear!

Earlier this summer I posted a photo of a flower (a mix of white and fuschia Dame's Rocket) that showed polymorphism - two differently coloured flowers of the same species which had morphed into a blend of the two colours -

Apparently hydrangea can morph as well - white.....

...plus pink...

...equals a beautiful mix of the two colours!

These flowers were out front and along the side of our Airbnb in Utterson.

While out walking one day we came across some photo-worthy subjects - a sweet book-reading nook in an artfully bent tree...

 And below - she's no dummy! A creative garden display :)

In Gravenhurst we tried out some craft beer at Sawdust City Brewing Co. I wanted to get my photo taken in a huge Muskoka chair beside the brewery but the shorts I was wearing were made of a slippery material so I didn't dangle my legs over the edge for fear of sliding right off. Getting down was easy as I turned around and slid down on my bottom.

Here's my sister and I having a good laugh about something that I can't remember...

 And the three of us outside the Chinese "all you can eat" buffet - I definitely got my money's worth! We all did!

And there you have it - another year, another adventure in Bracebridge...I'll show you my purchases in my next post if I can remember what I bought! Yes...my memory doesn't work as well as it used to!

Back from Bracebridge

Bracebridge is in the area of Northern Ontario known as Muskoka - it's known for its 1600+ lakes and rivers as well as tons and tons of rock, as opposed to soil.  Farming is next to impossible so the area has become famous for being "cottage country" instead. For the second year we stayed in a large red brick house that was at one time the General Store of Utterson, about a 15 minute drive from Bracebridge where one of my sisters lives.

 She can only drive short distances due to a back injury suffered many years ago so we go to her instead of her coming to London.  Some of you many remember me writing about a nephew who had a severe motorcycle crash - it's this sister's oldest son. He received 23 "major traumas" to his body and is recovering still - 5 or 6 years later. He is also diabetic (discovered when he was a little boy) which also hinders his recovery. 

So she is struggling somewhat as he has his own home but can't look after it so my sister, in spite of her own injury, looks after him a fair bit as he is in a wheelchair at present. 

But we had a great visit and made the best of things. However, we'll have to look for a different Airbnb next year...my brother and I loved the old house in Utterson and developed a routine of walking each morning past Long's Lake...but part of the reason we stayed in Utterson was that there was a variety store and take out food place right across the street from the house and we LOVED their greek salads and french fries (not to mention their fantastic butter tarts and ice cream) - BUT THEY HAVE CLOSED!! Darn!  There's only about 6 houses in Utterson so it's understandable that they couldn't make a go of it.

My brother makes me laugh as you can see...

I was extremely fortunate this year to receive no black fly or mosquito bites!! They went after my brother instead - thanks bro! 

 The house has a large front porch and we each bought some salads and roasted chicken and basically had a picnic every evening on the porch. We explored downtown Bracebridge as usual and bought books at the used book store. We always check out the Re-Store as well and found a few treasures. Of course no hot and humid summer day would be complete without a mid-afternoon pause at the many pubs serving local craft beer!

We were early to bed so that we could get in our brisk morning walks and much needed showers afterwards! 

 We walked on a paved road but there wasn't much traffic except for one day when a long line of old classic cars drove by us on their way to Gravenhurst for a boat ride (the people not the cars!)

I showed my sister my yoga app and we worked through the positions that have helped me with my bad back. She wasn't in worse pain the next day so I hope she'll keep it up. Each day the sun shone brightly except for the day we drove home - we drive on the back roads in order to avoid the major cities, like Toronto, which got flooded from heavy rain for the 2nd time in a few days!

It's a bit further and takes quite a bit longer driving on the back roads but the countryside and villages are gorgeous and much less stressful. 

I'll have a few more photos tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Big Decision Made

I've been wavering back and forth and forth and back on the number of trips to take this year. It's a tough decision considering all of the places I'd like to revisit or visit anew. It's not that I can't afford to travel - it's just that I feel most comfortable having a certain amount of a savings "cushion". Last September when I bought the Honda Civic I paid cash out of my savings accounts - mostly my TFSA. That was on top of the expenses to travel to British Columbia, Bracebridge and Scotland.  So while I am still above my cushion amount now I might not be if I took two major trips this year plus I am looking forward to going to PEI this year as well as Bracebridge once again. My daughter would like to see both of her aunts again this year.

Hiking to China Beach

Mystic Beach

Sun setting on Vancouver Island

Hiking along Loch Lomond

Ferry - Loch Lomond

Family time in Bracebridge

Therefore - I am putting off B.C. this year and going to Scotland for 3 weeks sharing expenses with my brother, plus making visits in Canada sharing costs with Kazi. That will allow me to reimburse my savings account by $1200 per month. By this time next year I'll be able to plan several trips without the anxiety associated with using up too much of my savings.

I think everyone has that magic number that makes them feel comfortable. I didn't really have one when I was teaching but now that my ability to save is a lot lower than when I was working it takes a while longer to build up or rebuild a nest egg. And living on one income is a factor also.

On the bright side I will have the time to ride my bike to Kilally Meadows every day and document the spring wild flowers and birds. I'll need to be in really good shape to keep up with my brother in the Scottish Highlands! He's a lot taller and has a much longer stride than I do.  I estimate my costs for the 3 week trip to Scotland to be around $4,700-$5,000 though I have given myself a large misc fund to cover emergencies, as well as spending money, food, accommodations, rental car, gas, tour fees, ferries and so on. I hope to come in way under budget....she says optimistically!

Do you have travel plans for 2018??

Where's the Money at??

It's been a long time since I did a budget recap. As August rolls to an end it's time to close out this month's budget and look ahead to the fall.

The Good:

• My upcoming trip to Scotland (leaving Sunday!!) is fully paid for after I pay off my President's Choice Mastercard this week. 
• September 1st I'll be able to put $1,000 into savings once again - I haven't transferred a full $1,000 to savings since May as I was paying off my trip; booking trains, airport shuttle from London to Toronto, Airbnbs and so on. So it's nice to get back into my savings routine. I also paid $800 off of my Mastercard this month in addition to the $400 that will pay off the card in full over the next couple of days as my pensions get deposited. No consumer debt owing after that.
• I added nothing more to the Transportation budget line since my previous post! Next month there will be no deductions for car insurance or gas. There will be NO transportation costs for September as they are all paid for as part of my trip.
• Property taxes went DOWN from $158 to $139. I don't know why but I'm not going to complain!
• Utilities are at their annual lowest point - $34 for natural gas (heat, dryer, hot water tank); and $43 for electricity (central air, stove etc). It hasn't exactly been a HOT summer so the A/C didn't get used much. Again, not complaining!
• Used over $100 of my President's Choice points to purchase things needed for my trip (bandaids, lotion, toiletries etc) as well as groceries.

My favourite recent photo of Luna and Lily. Luna has one paw over her eye, in apparent disgust, as Lily sprawls below to lick her belly and nether regions!!

The Bad:

• Still had to pay car insurance for August but that's it for now! That money will now make its way into savings.
• The cost of internet went up by $5.00 monthly. I may shop around when I return.
• I've been buying a lot of odds and ends for my trip: I've ordered a special spray to renew the Gore-Tex waterproofing of my super duper rain coat. Should arrive on Wed., snacks, new water bottle, thrift shop clothing, bug repellent, midge-proof clothing and so on. Necessary expenses.
• Two of my siblings had landmark birthdays in August so there were gifts and cards to purchase.
• Reloaded my coffee cards - I have two. 

The Ugly:

• costs involved in trip to Bracebridge to see sister for her 70th birthday: $200 - my portion of Airbnb and gas. Another $200 put towards eating out and groceries. A wee bit of shopping. That's the only semi-UGLY cost for August and really it wasn't very costly and all planned in advance so it wasn't a surprise expense at all. 

Looking ahead to Fall:

I look forward to getting back into my fall/winter routine of volleyball, carving and genealogy research after September's trip is over. Kilally Meadows is really nice in the fall and I much prefer cool weather hiking to HOT so I hope to get out for a lot of hiking!! In November I will start receiving annual interest payments for several investments. Free money :) Anything extra like that goes right into savings. I'm considering less travel/more redecorating in 2018 but who knows, I may change my mind. It would make sense to travel while still relatively young and do renos and redecoration (hire someone) when I'm too old to hike around the world and spend more time at home. So I'm going back and forth with that idea. 

That's about it for now. Yesterday I cleaned and water-proofed my hiking boots and did a trial packing of my suitcase. All trip clothing has been laundered and rolled - I feel I have improved suitcase organizational skills and am trying to not make it too heavy. I won't be taking my laptop with me, just my iPad, phone and camera. I likely won't post on my blog but will try to post a daily pic to facebook - if you are not a Facebook friend of mine and would like to be send me a friend request. 

Jane Harrison - and the profile pic is a shadow picture of me. 

Okay, must continue to get organized...!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood...

Two weeks ago today I sold dear old Dougie the Dodge. How has it been going? So far, so good.  As I may have mentioned before my neighbourhood has almost everything I need within

 a block or two radius.

Come and walk with me. 

There's my condo with the crabapple tree out front - hence "Crabapple Landing". 

 As we leave the condo complex we are walking east towards Northland Mall - I can see it from the end of the condo road. If you squint really hard you might be able to see a yellow shopping cart that someone has abandoned in the mall parking lot - it's just beyond the No Parking sign and sitting between two cars. We'll see it again later. For now we're going to turn left.

 About 150 steps from my front door, but invisible due to many trees, is a plaza called Huron Market Place. There used to be a movie theatre where the World Gym is now. I took Kazi there many times - her first movie theatre experience there was "Lion King" when she was four. She found out that life isn't always fair and sobbed her little heart out.

 I do my own taxes so I don't use Liberty Tax Service but further down is Dollarama which is very handy - I was just there yesterday buying trail mix and nuts to pack for my hike in Scotland.

Across the street from Dollarama is my local library. Most of my library interactions take place on my iPad as I download books to read but lots goes on there - bookclubs, lectures, movies, a knitting group, English Second Language classes, crafts and so on.

There's the Huron Market Place sign - another

store I go to frequently is Giant Tiger. I get good bargains on produce and it carries

pretty decent brands of clothing and household products.

Here's one spot I won't be going to for awhile! My local gas station! 

That price is per litre, not gallon.

 A bit further down from the library is another plaza which I use once in a while. It has a pet valu store along with an LA Fitness, several restaurants, a bank, a used sports equipment store (it's where I purchased cleats for slo-pitch). 

Across the other street from the gas station is yet another plaza with my favourite thrift store -

 Talize  :)

There are three coffee shops nearby - Williams, Tim Hortons and Starbucks. I don't

often go to Williams though I do like their food better than the other places.

Further down from Talize is my pharmacy - Shoppers Drugmart - 

We're not heading in that direction today. Just past Shoppers is the

Bank of Nova Scotia which is where I go.

Right now we're on the other side of Northland Mall - we haven't crossed 

any roads or walked on any streets - we've just walked through parking lots.

Ummmm....I guess one Dollarama store isn't enough!!

My favourite restaurant is in this mall. It used to be several blocks to the east but when

the mall was refurbished it changed location which makes

it even closer to me. Sweet!

Further down the front of the mall is my favourite grocery

store - No Frills. It has really improved over the past couple of years - also being

refurbished. The best thing is the increasing variety of foods due to serving a large ethnic community.

Here we are inside the mall - you can see the Wine Rack :) and the Health Food store, both used frequently! There is a nice area for socializing.

Here is that shopping cart again, we are seeing it from the other direction.

We are now heading back to my condo complex, the entrance of which is past those

apartment buildings. We are still walking through parking lots.

The apartments are kept up nicely - they have access to a swimming pool which is

just beyond that atrocity of public art. I read an article yesterday about so-called

"public art". It stated that public art should be ART first and PUBLIC second. I have

to say that in this hideous example PUBLIC came first and ART second!!

 Here is the entrance back into my condo complex. The mall and apartments are 

behind us now. All of the trees in the complex

have grown very tall in the 23 years we've lived here.

These condo owners used to be able to see their neighbours on the other side

of the cedars, not any more. The street light is being

swallowed up by the trees!

 There's my place below. To the left of the crabapple tree you can see some branches

 from a maple tree. It was just a sapling when we moved in and now is 40+ feet tall. 

There is another one shading

the back side of the house. I had to change all of my perennials from sun-loving to shade-loving 

over the years but I don't mind. When it's 30c outside it's 24c inside. I rarely have to turn on the A/C.  

 Home sweet home.

I didn't even show you all of the many many restaurants/fast food places. Within a couple of blocks there is: a Macdonalds, A&W, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Harvey's, Fireside Subs, two pizza, no three pizza places, Dairy Queen, a place that sells greek food (can't remember the name), Fast Eddies etc.

Most I haven't been to as I cook 99% of our meals at home. 

BUT - I am excited to say that a "Globally Local" restaurant has just opened in the old Harvey's location and is open 24/7!! 

VEGAN FAST FOOD!

 Kazi and I have already eaten there and it is fantastic! And affordable!! 

So there you have it - what the heck do I need a car for? 

I rode my bike to my optometrist app't in less time than it takes to drive there.

Yesterday I went grocery shopping with my cart. The last time I used

my cart for groceries I was a student at university without a car. I'm glad

I never got rid of it! (the cart, not the car!)

On Wed. I'm renting a car for 24 hours to go to the beach. It will cost less than putting gas into Dougie for the same trip.

I went to Bracebridge in my brother's car and I gave him $$ for gas.

I know that once we start getting cold weather and snow travel will be more difficult. 

Hopefully I can figure out ways to make life easier.