Vacation Plans

For months now I have been checking kijiji for used travel trailers. If the travel trailers are relatively new, people want a lot of money for them; after all they paid a lot of money for them. If the travel trailers are relatively old, people still want thousands of dollars for them. Many of the old trailers really belong at the dump, so that purchasing one of them would mean paying to store them on your property, and then transfer them to the dump.

After all this searching, I realized this morning that what we can really afford right now is a free camping trailer! I do not think there are any free camping trailers, in good condition, that are lurking in the recesses of reality. I will keep looking at what is out there, although I doubt I will find anything suitable, in our price range.

Not to worry though, we are quite happy with day trips to the camp, at least for this year. We have not got our final inspection or approval for the new driveway yet, so we are not good to go with further projects anyway.

We have decided that our vacation this year will be another season of renovation at the little house in the city. With all the rain this summer, our visits to the little house have been dominated by yard work. The lawn needs to be mowed on each and every visit, and our garden needs to be weeded and watered. Any free time we have at the little house in the city has been spent visiting!

Our renovation plans include staining the front porch, touching up the paint on the exterior of the house, finishing the trim in the bathroom, and cleaning out the garage, basement, and back shed in anticipation of the possible sale of the country house. If the country house sells we will need a place to store our belongings, the ones that will not fit into a small apartment.

Of course, our vacation plans are vulnerable to fate, as our country house is for sale, and unexpected activity could alter our plans.

Last May we received an offer to purchase our house, after ten days on the market. The deal fell through due to problems with the purchasers financing. Yesterday another potential buyer viewed the house. We have been relatively diligent about keeping the place neat and tidy, so it only took a few hours to get it looking presentable. We are not getting very excited about a viewing, people tend to look at a lot of houses when they are in the market to buy, and rightly so. Buying a house is a huge purchasing decision, that will affect day-to-day life.

We like our realtor this time around. We do not have a lock-box on the house, as we agreed to the last time we had the house up for sale, and regretted it. Our house is available for viewing by appointment only, and when a realtor is willing to pick up the key from our realtor’s office. That way we know when people are going to view the house, and exactly who they are.

Today I was thinking about John Bailey, writer of theoldgreypoet blog. He hasn’t updated for quite a while now, and I do miss his posts. He is such a positive fellow. Back in 1999 he was not only an inspiration, but also a bit of a mentor, offering feedback and encouragement. I do hope he, and his partner Graham, are doing well! If anyone knows how John fares, I would love to hear!

The weather has cooled again, which suits me to a T! Unfortunately the mosquitoes are quite chuffed about it as well.

I seldom venture out with the biting insects as bad as they are, but this morning I made an exception. Attila put out the garbage this morning, for garbage collection day has arrived. Several hours later I looked outside, and an animal had laid waste to our carefully bagged garbage. Then I saw our neighbour out having a look. I put on my shoes and went out with a garbage bag to gather what was left of our garbage on the driveway and on the road. Then I chatted with our affable neighbour, briefly though, for the mosquitoes swarmed around us in droves. He had found garbage all over his property and was cleaning it up. I headed back indoors, put on my bug-proof clothing, donned a head net, grabbed another garbage bag, some gloves, and went out to give him a hand. It could have been our garbage he was picking up! By the time I got dressed and out there he had completed the task.

It might have been bears, or racoons. I suspect a racoon, because the garbage had not gone far. Bears drag it out into the back acreage, to snack in relative peace.

This year we have bumper crops of everything, greenery, biting insects, and animals.

Apparently, during the thunderstorm Tuesday night, a cottage within walking distance from us caught fire. A propane tank fuelled the flames and there was a great deal of damage. The volunteer firefighters were on hand almost immediately. We didn’t hear a thing!

I read an interesting little tidbit of information today that brought a smile to my face. A crofter in Scotland paints smiley faces on his harvested and wrapped hay bales, to keep the gulls off them!

Worldly Distractions

Weather

20°C
Date: 5:05 AM EDT Wednesday 23 July 2014
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 101.0 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 19.5°C
Dewpoint: 17.8°C
Humidity: 90%
Wind: W 18 gust 30 km/h

Quote

“Many years ago Rudyard Kipling gave an address at McGill University in Montreal. He said one striking thing which deserves to be remembered. Warning the students against an over-concern for money, or position, or glory, he said: “Some day you will meet a man who cares for none of these things. Then you will know how poor you are.”
Halford E. Luccock