Been many years since I built a snowman...

It was snowing pretty hard when we got up yesterday morning, so we didn't take the kids to daycare. But by after lunch, it had cleared up...and it had even warmed up. In fact, it turned out to be a nice afternoon.

And, it was warm enough to build a snowman!

Next time you're at the grocery store...

We dropped off the kids at daycare yesterday morning, and then had a few hours to ourselves. It's actually not called "daycare", they call this one a preschool. Not quite sure what the difference is, but it's probably something like the same way that some campgrounds call themselves a "resort". Likely, it's just a way to justify charging more money.

Why do they make things so complicated? Seems like it was a lot simpler when we brought up our kids.

They're gone!

And they've left us in charge of their kids!

Yep, our daughter Lindsey and her husband Justin have taken off on a well deserved week away from the snow and cold. They've gone to sunny Cuba, for a week of the beach. The only thing ice cold that they'll experience is the temperature of their beer and drinks.

That's okay, it's a pretty safe bet that the snow and cold will still be here waiting for them when they return.

Happy Easter!

Well, Easter is a lot more fun with little kids about hunting for their Easter eggs!

And sure enough, the Easter bunny came at some point overnight.

They never had toys like this when I was a kid!

First of all, thanks for all the tips yesterday regarding our new-to-us iPhone. As it is, I have already downloaded a hiking mapping app for $1.19 called Motion-X GPS that appears to be all we need so that we don't need to spend the $20 for the other one I was looking at.

I'll try it out this afternoon if I feel up to it.

We have an iPhone!

Not very exciting news to those of you who have been using "smart phones" for years, but it's big news for us! Our son Alex got himself a new iPhone 5, so we inherited his old iPhone 4S. Thanks Alex!

When we were in South Korea last October, our friend June lent us her old iPhone to use for the month. This gave us some experience that we could use to decide whether or not we wanted (or needed) to carry around a device like this.

Arrived in snowy Nova Scotia

Fairly uneventful flight with Air Canada. Our last choice preference of the three Canadian airlines. Given identical pricing, we prefer to fly either Westjet or Porter (free beer!) but this was an Air Miles redemption flight and the actual flight times were perfect.

Got to Ottawa airport around 11:30am for our 2:15pm flight. Lots of time, and it's a good thing because we've never seen such a long lineup going through security.

March Expenses and other news...

Not a bad month of March in the money department. We spent $1,874 CAD ($1,455 USD) which is about what we expected. This amount includes our flights from Las Vegas to Ottawa, and today's flight from Ottawa to Halifax.

Yes, today we get to see our grandkids. Yay!

The 6 best things about Canada

I have been accused in the past of being a little bit "anti" Canadian. And while it's true that I am outspokenly critical of things that I think Canada could do better, being back in our home country for a couple of weeks has reminded me that there are some distinctly Canadian things that make me think "hey...that's pretty good"!

So, in no particular order, here's my own personal list of what I believe to be the 6 best things about Canada...

Global warmists - please do not reply

Because as we sit here in the snow and cold, your rambling sounds like complete nonsense.

We've been in Ottawa less than two weeks, and I am reminded every day why our number one goal in life is never to spend another winter in Canada.

The last time the temperature here in Ottawa was above 10C (50F) was November 24. So glad we haven't been here that long!

Upcoming flights

We were on 16 different flights in 2014. And in 17 different airports! I keep track of all of our flights on a website called Flight Diary.

It's free, and it gives you all sorts of fun statistics. Like the fact that we sat in airplanes for a total of 64 hours during the year!

Off to the sugar bush

There isn't much more that is Canadian than hockey and maple syrup. We're not big hockey fans, but we sure are big maple syrup fans!

However, going to the maple sugar bush now is not the same experience that I remember as a kid. Back then, you went for a walk in the bush and had fun checking for and tasting the sweet sap in the buckets that were hanging from the trees.

Gotta get outside!

Been spending far too much time sitting and staring at the computer. At least we're getting caught up on a few things, and it's nice to have a consistent supply of internet, instead of being limited by our expensive cellular internet when we're on the road with the motorhome.

So when Ruth's dad said that he needed to go in to the nearby town of Carleton Place for an appointment, we didn't hesitate to go along for the ride.

How to collect your Amazon packages while on the road

A lot of people buy through Amazon.com, but when you're living and traveling in your RV it's not always that easy to order and be able to list a delivery address.

Sure, a lot of campgrounds will allow you to have packages delivered...but what do you do when you don't stay at very many campgrounds?

A day at the beach? Not quite...

In fact, pretty much the opposite. Late March in the Ottawa area can be a mixed bag, so we knew we might experience pretty much anything during our two week visit. However while we were hoping for at least March or possibly even April type of weather, instead we are getting what is typically January weather.

But, we have to bear with it, so we still went out for a 5 km (3 mile) walk.