It's different this time around...

And I'm not really sure why.

A year ago today we were on our last day at Sturgeon Lake Regional park, and we couldn't wait to get out of there. I remember thinking that our last two weeks there just seemed to drag. The 16th couldn't come soon enough.

This year, we're here until the 30th...but it's not bothering us to be here.

Nice day to get stuff done

And it looks like the next few days are going to be nice. Great change from the blast of cold air we had last week!

I've got a bunch of logs that have been stored beside the woodshed and if I can get them cut and split and put into the woodshed, they'll be dry enough to burn next year. One of the people here lent us a little wood splitter.

Shutting things down

This is the last day for campers here at Cabri Regional Park. We don't have any daily campers here, and the seasonals have to be vacated by tonight, otherwise they pay $25 a night to stay longer. We'll have one or two of them stay, but they won't be a problem.

I've already got one of the five bathrooms shut down and winterized. And the one that needs renovating won't need much in the way of shutting it down because the entire interior will be ripped out anyhow next spring. And then I can do one more on Monday or Tuesday. The other two can wait until we shut the water supply off which won't be until later in the month.

The best and easiest way to clean your stove!

Not an exciting subject line today, but one that has to be done...and Ruth found a great way to do it so she wanted me to tell you about it.

You know those burner pan thingies that go underneath the element on your stove. They're a total pain to clean, and the chrome trim rings are even more difficult. Not any more!

Have a look at our fall travel itinerary!

But before we talk about that, I wanted to thank those who left a note on yesterday's blog post. I enjoyed reading your responses! There sure are lots of interesting stories related to such an intense event in recent history.

Okay. So...San Francisco is confirmed!

Where were you thirteen years ago?

Today is the thirteenth anniversary of the day the World Trade Center was attacked. Hard to believe it's been that long.

Certainly, it's one of those events that you'll never forget where you were when it happened.

We are officially Saskatchewan residents!

Sorry for the delayed report today. We had a lot to do on our weekly trip into town today, and wouldn't you know it...we slept in!

I know, getting up at 7:45 am isn't really sleeping in to a lot of people, but it is to us. Usually, we're up before seven. But I guess the near freezing temperature outside (!!) must have made us just want to stay in bed.

Looking at North Korea

One of the interesting things about planning a visit to South Korea is the fact that it is technically still at war...with North Korea.

Although there was an armistice agreement signed in 1953 in order to provide for a formal ceasefire until a final peaceful settlement, there has never actually been a final peaceful settlement. Part of the armistice agreement called for a four kilometer (2.5 mile) wide buffer zone along the border in order to physically separate the two sides.

We're thinking of a visit to that zone!

The last beautiful day?

What a gorgeous weekend we had. Good thing we enjoyed it because it's wet and cold this morning and they're calling for a high of only 10C (50F) today and 7C (45F) tomorrow. Brrr!

Yesterday was warm and sunny and not a cloud in the sky. So we went for a hike!

It was the coffee!

Our regular readers know that we don't eat any food containing gluten. Ruth has been eating that way for about four years now, and the twenty years worth of associated problems essentially disappeared. I've only been eating that way since last November, and while I definitely noticed an improvement, things still weren't just right.

Without getting into graphic detail, the problem related to the nutritious portion of what you eat not being fully absorbed by the intestines....in other words, the food goes pretty much right through you.

Busy day planning for upcoming travel!

We spent a lot of time on the internet yesterday. Let me tell you about some of the things we have planned for our upcoming travels.

A lot of our planning time is spent online dealing with tourist boards in the cities and countries that we are going to be visiting. And various companies like to work with us too. It benefits them, and it benefits us. But it's a lot of work!

We have a winner!

Happy to announce the winner of our $100 Amazon.com gift card that was being given away by our partners at Cathay Pacific Airlines.

Picked by a random number generator was the email address of Doug Maus of South Dakota!

Yikes!

I saw the weather forecast and let out a little yelp. Now, we have to remember this is the long term forecast, but next week it looks like it's going to get chilly around here!

Out on the lake

Yesterday morning, we were invited out on the lake for a couple of hours.

Sharon and Arnie ran the canteen and concession here at the park and of course they work pretty long hours during the summer. Now that the hard work is pretty much over, they're taking this week to relax a little bit and wanted to spend some time on their pontoon boat so they invited us to join them. The park is so quiet with everybody back to work and school that we decided to relax a bit too!

Doing the Happy Dance

Ruth woke up yesterday morning, came into the kitchen, and started to dance. She said she was doing the "happy dance"!

Why? Well because most of the campers were pulling out of the park and we would be back to peace and quiet.