TwoWaggingTales2: June 2017

Friday, June 30, 2017

Good afternoon! It's already 4 o'clock and we've just plopped into our recliners to watch for Lynne & Les. Right now we're having our 5th rainstorm. Apparently the long term forecast is for a summer of liquid sunshine. Hmmm ...

I baked a chocolate bundt cake for dessert plus prepped apples for baking to accompany Mark's dry-rubbed pork loin and baked potatoes; add a green salad and we've got dinner covered! Oh yes, and 🍷. It'll be a lively evening with lovely friends who we don't see often enough.

Sue and Wayne are at their cottage waiting for Ron, Penny, Kyle, Gavin and Cody to arrive for the Canada Day weekend. 🇨🇦💥

RanDawn headed to Lorraine and Jeff's Grand Beach cottage for the long weekend. They fly home Tuesday as Dawn will be back to work Wednesday! (I'd be exhausted going directly back to work, but she handles it well.)

Goosey goosey gander where do you wander? These geese are the first wildlife we seen at the campground!

Funny story ... we needed more bottled water and decided to drive to Redden's (store) nearby. Mark suggested the GPS but it couldn't find our campground yesterday and I wasn't trusting it! So, I Googled "Reddens" and away we went ... the WRONG direction with nowhere to turn around. Meanwhile, my phone kept urging us on and on. Finally, I texted Sue who said we'd turned the wrong way when leaving our campground. Oh boy! Eventually, we found the dang place and it was pouring rain, cold rain. Yes, we bought 2 - 8 packs of water bottles plus 2 foil baking pans = $12.45. 😱 But, our story doesn't end there. We KNEW we were only a mile from our camp's turnoff ... then the road sign said 1 km further. Mark turned in but I said that we hadn't gone 1 km yet ... yup; back onto the highway we went. ☔️ 💨 ⛈ ⚡️Yes, we went another 3 km before we could turn around. 😂Egad, how will we ever find Chippy's Hollow next Monday???

More later ... I'd better save this before it gets lost.

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Good morning 😃 ... Mark cooked us breakfast, I tidied everything up and we left Winnipeg for Ontario's Long Bow Lake 218 kilometers away. It's a sunny 70F or 20C ... great travel day!

Egad! We just stopped for diesel fuel and the horseflies were swarming. OMG!

Poor Mark is busy swatting and fueling up. 😳

*** Wayne told me these are "Friendly Flies" imported to eat tent caterpillar cocoons! ***

11:26 passed the Whiteshell sign! We're getting close!

Haha ... we saw an ambitious biker

10:45 Ontario border!

12:15 slowed for a deer crossing t7A

We arrived at 12:30 at The Willows!

It's beautiful.

How did these rose grow 5' high into an evergreen tree? They smell very rosy! 😃

Nice spot! Good power, lots of greenery, level site, SCHWEET.

The dogs have been walked, Mark is barbecuing sausages and onions are sautéing in the pan. I think this will be an evening of Rummy or dominoes. Right now, we have Tom Petty blasting. 🎶 More tomorrow! Ta Ta. 💕

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

It's a lazy start to our last full day in Winnipeg. I finished our interior cleaning while Mark hammered mud clumps off the wheels; hardened Manitoba clay! Right after, rain began in earnest. 😳 Nevermind, it's only "mud!"

This afternoon we went to "The Real Canadian Superstore" for a few things! Wow! Great prices, some comparable to home in Florida. We're now ready for our drive to Lake of the Woods tomorrow. Darlene invited us to breakfast at Smitty's tomorrow, but we will have to pass and get on the road. Rain check! 👍🏻

Randy and Dawn are arriving at 4:30 for cocktails before we meet Darlene, Crystal, Brent and Avery at an Irish pub for dinner.

Fish 'n Chips for me! Chowdah for Marky!

Well, Dawn and Randy arrived for happy hour at 4:30. Of course the doggies were happy to see them! We had a glass of wine, veggie straws and grapes, quite healthy! At 5:30, we left for the Irish pub.

Darlene, Crystal and Brent were already there, but had left Avery with family for the evening. It was a wonderful evening, with lots of laughs and many, many stories.

Having FUN at Fionn MacCool's on Regent ... Crystal, Brent, Dawn, Randy, Mark, me and Darlene.

End of the evening ... great food ... great fun ... "we are family" Mark, Brent, Crystal, Randy, Julie, Darlene and Dawn. 💕🇨🇦🥂🍾

Back home at the RV, Mark and I are prepping for tomorrow's drive to Ontario. Randy and Dawn have Taylor's graduation dinner and dance to attend tomorrow night. (They are not sure what to expect as it would be very uncommon in the USA to attend a niece's graduation party!) 😳 Knowing them, they will have an awesome time!

Sue and Wayne had an exciting time after their cottage yesterday. Wayne and a bear met face to face in the garage. Each ran the other way. Sue grabbed their air horn and sounded it as the bear sauntered off. Well, that's NOT the end of the story. Boo-boo came back to the cottage and attempted to get into their screened patio. Shorty Hotpants sounded alarm and spooked the bear. You might think that was the end of the story, but apparently Boo-boo was a very naughty bear. He broke into the neighbor's cottage and ate 4 bags of chips. After that, he broke into the shed. Oh boy ... we are into some fun at Chippy's Hollow! 🐻

So, that was our news for today. Tomorrow, it's off to The Willows for a few days!

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Good morning sunshine! It's 57 degrees to start our day. (Winter in Florida!) We must clean the RV today, it's in need of wood oiling and dusting. The exterior needs to be washed after the rainy road trip and muck around here but we will wait til Thursday to find a truck wash, hopefully on the way to the lake.

I found a funny picture from Kerry and Angie's barbecue on Sunday. Their golden retriever/shepherd mix dog has personality plus.

I had a very unique table while Buddy worked on a huge bone. What a fun dog!

We left the RV about 2 o'clock and dropped the dogs off with Les and Lynne at their home while we visited Jim at Seven Oaks Hospital. It was good to see him and hear he will be getting out in about two weeks. He will have more rehabilitation, but fortunately home. There's certainly no shortage of visitors popping in. 👍🏻 We laughed to see a picture of Jim in the hospital Tim Hortons holding a large business meeting. Ha! He never quits! ❤️😜

Les & Lynne had a big prime rib roast on the barbecue ...

plus chicken for Randy-man.

We were lucky to have a wonderful sunny afternoon! Lynne loves to garden and it shows. She's very talented with garden design!

Peonies are blooming ...

Bunnies are hopping about ...

Les, Randy & Dawn ... and wine was flowing. 🍷

Lynne with Robbie and BeeZee.

Lynne loves the Mount Dora Balsamic bottle compliments of Lew ...

🤣 ... You had to be there.

Back home at 10:30, the doggies went straight to bed. We had a fun time and will see Les and Lynne Friday night at the lake for dinners our RV.

Monday, June 26, 2017

Good morning sunshine! Here in the northern latitudes it's bright for 18 hours a day! Anyway, it is a lovely start, 6 a.m. and 53F / 12C. Mark is taking Robbie and BeeZee for their first walk on heavily dewy grass. Oh that must feel awful on their low-slung bellies. Poor Scotties are wishing for longer legs right now. 🐾

Our plans for today we include going to The Forks ... it's where the Assiniboine River joins the mighty Red River and flows north to Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. Most happy childhood memories revolve around life at 820 Kildonan Drive where Mom 'n Dad's 40' (whitefish hull) boat was tied. Every spring the ice flows would take out a portion of the dock; but by the time the boat was launched for summer season, the dock looked spiffy again.

Well, I certainly got lost in that train of thought. 😜 Oh yes, The Forks!

We're meeting Randy and Dawn here at 11 o'clock for shopping and lunch.

Our RV park is well located ... about 20 minutes to downtown! We parked and found RanDawn right away and went shopping.

It's indoors with huge skylights the length of the buildings. Nice.

Dawn tried out the unicycle bar stool. 😂 We all bought a few things and worked up an appetite.

Lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory ...

It was fun ... and good sourdough bread with garlic butter! I had roast beef and fries with "real" vinegar. 😜 "For sure!" 🤣

We had a beary good afternoon!

Back at the RV we walked the kids, played a bit and had a nap! This vacay stuff is exhausting. Tonight, it's Dal's for Dawn's birthday. 🥂🍾

Randy, Lorraine and Dawn ...

Ashley, Bob, Jill, Gregg (white hair,) Lorne & Randy ... Kyle, Mark and me.

Dawn, Jill, Lorraine, Angie, Taylor and Brandon.

Greg, Terry, Laurie, (Baby,) Randy, Lorne, (Lorne & Laurie's daughter) and Birthday girl Dawn.

We think there were 18 of us, and some arriving and going at all times. It was a fun evening. We were back at the RV by 915 to sit outside with the kids and watched the sun go down!

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Good morning ☀️ and 51 degrees! Well, we DID want a break from Florida's perfect weather. 😎 And, the north wind's not gusting to 45 MPH 💨 (yet!) 😂

Last evening, we met A B C D for dinner at Hung's on Regent Avenue for Chinese food. Ah yes, "A" for Avery age 4, "B" for daddy Brent, "C" for momma Crystal and "D" for baba (grandma) Darlene. (Strange coincidence, eh?)

Avery likes to play dress up and was happy to clasp Crystal's new necklace. (Note to self; create and mail a set to Avery, size XS.)

A sticker book kept Avery entertained ... and Brent kindly wore a cyclops eye. Hahaha ... he's a very patient daddy, pretty laid-back; I can see why my nephew Gregg enjoyed his company. RIP Gregg, your girls are in good hands.

Avery decided it was "shy-time" and hid ... no more pictures. 😜

Now, I will post this and add to it later because, as you know, the blog "disappears" some days! 😳

Mark and I did some shopping today, not too bad with the sticker shock, then met Randy and Dawn, Randy's brother Kerryand his wife Angie and daughter Taylor for Taylor's graduation party. It was fun, and lots of laughs.

Onward and upward Taylor! 💕

Angie, Taylor, Dawn, Randy ... cutting cake.

Dawn, Randy and foreground, Randy's sister Lorraine.

Sitting, Randy's brother Kerry. (He's hilarious!) 😂

Kerry loves to golf ... here's his clubs. 😳

One club is a shortened hockey stick. 🤣 OMG we had so many laughs at Kerry's antics.

The party continued, but we headed home just after seven to walk the doggies. OMG we had a lot of fun! Randy and Dawn stopped in to visit the dogs and have a glass of wine. Tomorrow, we are going to The Forks at 11 for shopping and lunch. Tomorrow evening, Mark and I are going to Dal's to celebrate Dawn's birthday. So, that's it for today. Oh yeah, one of Rocky's pals stopped by the kitchen window to say hello ...

Awww ... a wee Chickadee 🐥. ❤️

So that's it for today!

Saturday, June 24, 2017

We were up and on the road by 9 o'clock heading for the Pembina/Emerson border. We paid duty for scads of wine and were through there in 30 minutes, no problemo, fortunately.

Our plans tonight include meeting family for Chinese food. We haven't seen Avery since she was a wee baby in 2013. (We saw Darlene and Gregg in 2014 but missed seeing Crystal and Avery.)

Town and Country Campground is quite big and the sites are roomy enough with good 50 amp power. That's the good part ... the rain has it very mucky and quite rutted. Oh well, it's home base for 5 nights. There are a lot of big rigs in here!

We haven't been able to reach Randy and Dawn but know they've been very busy. Hope to see them at the family BBQ tomorrow ... but where and when, we wonder?

Sue and Wayne are in The Peg too, going dancing tonight. They're staying with Les 'n Lynne.

So that's it for today. WIFI is non-existent here ... will post more tomorrow. Ta Ta.

Friday, June 23, 2017

Good morning, but where's the sunshine? It's cloudy, 59F and windy as hell; and I love it. 💨

We arrived last night around 730 and surprised Tony and Aurelia who were parked nearby in their coach.

They invited us over for Papa John's pizza and wine. Chessy remembered us, I think. He quite the talker and talked Mark into sharing pizza bones. 😄 We had a good ole gab with Tony and Aurelia for a couple hours then headed home to watch TV with Robs and Beez before bedtime.

Today, Mark and I have a few errands and some shopping to do. Tonight we'll have T n A over here for happy hour then go somewhere for dinner. (They're in Fargo shopping today!) Mark can't believe they save money bringing their motor home to the USA (from Canada) to stock up on household items. Tony explained that even with paying duty at the border, they still save big-time; plus enjoy the weekend away.

Wow, we found a few bargains ... Franzia 5 Liter Chardonnay on sale $14.97 ... Merlot same price ... we'll have to pay duty to enter Canada, but whatever.