September Expenses - not quite on budget!

Well, we had great plans on having an inexpensive month in September, until I came up with this idea of getting rid of the big camera and buying a smartphone that would replace it. 

Which is exactly what we ended up doing. So our stated budget of $1,605 CAD for the month ended up being $3,134 CAD ($2,308 USD), mostly due to the cost of the phone.

We've been here a full month!

Man, we've had some great weather this month. It's one of the reasons we like coming to Canada in September. The kids are back in school, the mosquitoes are pretty much done... and the weather is usually decent.

We're actually ending the month (and starting October) with a bit of a heat wave... high today of 24C (75F) and increasing to 28C (82F) by the time we fly out on Tuesday!

Richie Rich houses

We had a visitor yesterday afternoon. Blog reader Monique lives in the east end of Ottawa and made the drive over to say hello. She even brought desert, so we sat outside and had coffee and dessert with her!

We took Monique for a walk around the neighborhood. The area has been developed with two acre plus "estate" lots. The house we are sitting is located in the first part of the development that was started probably 30 years ago. 

Speed walking

There aren't a lot of great hiking opportunities here in the Ottawa area unless you go to Gatineau Park which is well across the river on the Quebec side. And that's too far to go on a daily basis.

So, as regular readers know, we do a "power walk" every day while we're house sitting here in Manotick. We've got several routes that we try, and one of them is almost exactly 5 kms (3 miles).

Visiting with old friends

Yesterday, Ruth and I drove about 20 minutes into the city where we met up with my older sister Elaine, and went for a 5 km (3 mile) power walk with her. Nice to switch things up and get a change of scenery.

Didn't take any photos though. It was just a middle class residential neighborhood, so nothing really photo worthy.

Heading to Paris? Here's How You Should Spend Your Time

Paris, often called the "City of Love" or the "City of Lights," is undoubtedly one of the most iconic destinations in the world. From the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre Museum, the city is bursting with cultural and historical treasures. But when planning your trip to this enchanting metropolis, don't overlook some of the lesser-known gems and experiences that can truly make your visit unforgettable.

While we're not going to number these suggestions, we'll start with a magical experience: Disneyland Paris.

Unravelling Airalo: The eSIM Revolution and Its Top 7 Standout Features

In the world of telecommunication, every new development promises more flexibility, better connectivity, and enhanced user experience. But amidst this whirlwind of technological innovations, there emerges a hero every once in a while – a solution that genuinely changes the game. 

Enter Airalo. A leading figure in the realm of eSIM technology, Airalo promises a transformative experience for the global traveller and the tech-savvy individual alike. In this detailed Airalo eSIM review, we dissect the top seven features that set this eSIM apart from the rest.

More travel planning done

We're going to be on six different airplanes during the month of October. Possibly even seven.

A week from today, we fly from Ottawa to Halifax, Nova Scotia to spend 11 days with our daughter and her family.

How was Ruth's Weekend?

So someone on our Facebook group was wondering how I filled up my weekend. So today you will get a rare post from me (Ruth).

I enjoyed a quiet afternoon and night by myself on Thursday and then on Friday afternoon my sister Lesley and her friend Lynn arrived to spend the weekend with me. They drove up from Hamilton, Ontario.

End of another great weekend

Saturday was another nice day, although with a few high clouds we didn't have quite as much sunshine. Still, it was certainly a nice enough day for a hike in nearby Bon Echo Provincial Park.

There is a figure 8 loop we wanted to do, with the lower part of the loop being about 3.5 kms and if we included the upper part of the loop the total would be 7.5 kms.

The perfect time to be in this part of the world...

Had some fun yesterday playing with the camera in our new phone. Bottom line is, I am thrilled. So much versatility in such a small package. 

As forecast, it was a gorgeous fall day. Other than the fact that I had a self inflicted minor hangover (all better today though!), it was perfect! And it looks like that is going to continue for the next week or so. 

Absolutely perfect!

Yesterday, I left Ruth by herself and drove two hours west to the shore of Mazinaw Lake, just south of Bon Echo Provincial Park.

My guys weekend away this year is a long weekend. We all decided that two nights wasn't long enough, so we added on a Thursday.

"When are you going to settle down?"

This is one of the questions we get on a regular basis.

When we started out, we were only 45 years old. We didn't have a lot of money, and we had a two year plan. Worst case scenario, we had to go back to work. But two years came and went and we didn't want to go back to a "normal" life.

Country list update

I posted a list here a few years ago, but I want to keep it more current so that it's easier for me to go back to and update. 

There are 193 countries in the United Nations. And there are another bunch of countries that are not recognized by other countries as being countries. That brings the total up to 215.

The camera on our new phone

I'm pretty impressed!

We bought a new smartphone... a very expensive one. The main reason we bought it is because we want to travel with as little as possible. It's just so much easier that way. So I wanted to ditch our big camera. And I figured that if I'm going to travel with a phone anyhow, then why not get a phone that has a really good camera in it.