CARDIO-WORKOUT

When the sun is shining, it's great to be outside. Even if the temperature is below 0*c, the sun on your face feels so good.


Since moving north we've taken up snow-shoeing. This is a safe and easy sport for seniors and is a great workout for your legs and heart. An hour of snow-shoeing is the  perfect cardio-vascular workout.  

Here we are at the start, full of energy and high expectations.



Have you ever avoided what's good for you? I do it all the time.
But with Mary's encouragement out we go to enjoy the sunshine and the solitude of the forest in winter. Yes, I returned exhausted, sweaty, and short of breath but my doctor tells me these are all good signs at my age so I continue to abuse myself whenever the sun shines.

Tramping through the trees and my legs are already talking to me.

OK, time to stop and catch my breath. Mary is good about leading the way and stopping when I ask.

Finally, the trail home, a welcome sight after an hour hiking through the bush.



Thank goodness we are having a few cloudy days. I can sit by the fire, relax and let my cardio get back to a normal.  

Thanks for stopping by and safe travels all you snowbirds. See you in a few months.

JANUARY THAW

We are into a mild spell at the moment. Our days are above freezing and our snow is melting. Looks like this will be short lived as temperatures are set to plummet below freezing on Monday.

Yesterday I took advantage of the mild temperature to apply some caulking to the outside of our windows. We discovered major water penetration when Carol and Don were here last week so I'm hoping this will solve the problem.

The picture  above was taken with my new Canon S110 pocket camera. One feature I really like is the macro setting as you can see by the keyboard picture. This setting allows me to get very close to the subject. 

Another shot with the macro setting.

I'll still use my SLR camera but the pocket camera will become my camera of choice whenever I leave the house.

It's suppose to rain today so I may add some pictures this afternoon. (What else can one do when it is raining?) 

Check out Sherri's Blog to see how Owen is moving about.

Thanks for writing John and Barb and safe travels Tony.

P.S.

As promised a shot of our afternoon. Dreary weather, time for a good book. 

 

SHELVES

Although the square footage of this house is larger than our last place we have no basement and fewer bedrooms. Where to put things, especially those we only use seasonally or a few times each year is a challenge.  Usually such items would go down the basement and disappear from sight. Without a basement we needed another option.

Our solution has been these wonderful steel shelving units that are on wheels.

 The casters are large, durable and lockable. They make moving and steering the unit so easy.

Each unit comes with 6 shelves 4 ft. long 18 inches wide. So for $99.00 you get 36 sq. ft. of incredibly strong, durable shelf space that is also mobile. Perfect!

Lots of space and the shelves are adjustable so you can even fit those odd sized items on the unit.

We plan to wheel them into this closet area and turn it into a mobile pantry. This rack of camping gear will move to the mechanical room once I clear some floor space. 

If you need shelves that are sturdy and easily moved from one location to another check these out at "Vancouver Classics" or pick them up at Costco.

Now back to the mechanical room to clear some floor space. Don't call me, I'm busy today.

Chat later

FOOD STORAGE

We are making small changes in the way we live, trying to be comfortable but also sensitive to the fact we live on battery power. 

Food storage is one area we are experimenting with. Fresh fruit and vegetables require refrigeration. They also require you to wash them, peel them, cut them. That requires energy from us or from our batteries. Freeze dried fruit and vegetables don't.

So we bought a sample pack from Thrive Foods to see for ourselves if we liked the fruit and vegetables they prepare. The reviews we read were all very positive but when one's taste buds are in play one's likes are someone else's dislikes.

The cans have a shelve life of 25 years, unopened.  Once opened the product needs to be consumed within a year. We tried the vegetables in a soup and also in a stew. It certainly saves work when all you need to do is take off the lid and scoop out what you want to add.

The fruit samples sit ready for use. We had some in our smoothy and also with a vanilla pudding, both were delicious. Even eaten as a snack right out of the can the fruit is sweet, tasty and much better for you than many snacks we eat.

Peas and corn after sitting in water for a while.

Raspberries, ready to eat right out of the can. Delicious!

All of the food we used had good flavour and texture when eaten. Freeze dried, they do not lose their nutrients, colour or taste.

Mary's only complaint was about the potatoes. She felt they were cut too small to be suitable in the stew.

We ordered these from Costco on line. Not sure if you can get them in store.

My only regret is we didn't have them when we went south the last two years. They would have been perfect as a camping food; light, no refrigeration and delicious.

If you have grandchildren be sure to read Carol's blog today.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy Texas, Marvin and Annie.

IT'S A LEARNING CURVE

Living off grid in the bush is a learning curve for us. There are things we will do differently next year for sure. One change will be the way we store our firewood.

Presently we have our wood in wooden bins each holding about half a cord. This works well for me as I can move the bins easily with our bobcat.

The problem is moisture. Snow and rain can dampen the wood and then it is difficult to use in our wood stove.

This summer a suitable storage shelter, capable of allowing the air in but not the rain and snow will be built. If you have any suggestions send them along. I'm thinking something about 16 ft. by 12 ft. This would hold 8 full cords of firewood, plenty for us to make it through the winter.

Since our radiant floor heating hasn't been hooked up we are relying on our wood stove to heat 2, 100 square feet of living space. So far we are toasty warm, even on those days when it is -22*C outside. Because of the house design we can go away for the day, let the fire die out and still come home to a warm house. This is possible thanks to the massive thermal mass built into this house. It truly is amazing.

Thanks for stopping by and safe travels everyone.

MEDICAL CARE

All retires who relocate face the same dilemma: "Can we get a doctor?" It took us two years but this summer we finally got a doctor here in Bancroft to take us on. We are delighted.

So get this. I had a persistent cough since coming home from Florida and felt it was a reaction to the drugs I'm taking. Mary called at 11 to see if I could get an appointment sometime in the week. Didn't have to wait a week or even a day. At 12:40 I was explaining to the doctor my concerns and getting a checkout to identify the cause of my coughing. 

WOW! Make a call and see the doctor within 2 hours, never would have happened back in Brampton. We greatly appreciated our doctor back there but he was just overworked and booked solid weeks at a time.

I like seeing the same doctor each visit and when you can do that the same day you call what more can one ask for.

Our health care may not be perfect but it is so much better than most countries provide for their citizens.

CANADA it's a great place to live; as Jimmy says "CANADA, Love her or saddle up and ride!"

Thanks for stopping by and drive safely.

HANDLES, LEAKS and FISHING

Yesterday morning the sky was so beautiful I had to get a picture.

You can just see the early morning rays in the eastern sky.

Wasn't sure what we would do yesterday but it turned out to be another productive day. With Mary's help I got the handles installed in the laundry room while ........................

.......... Don worked his magic on finishing up the mudding in the hall and front entrance. Our place is looking so much better thanks to Don. While that was happening Carol was making lunch, delicious egg sandwiches and a healthy smoothy. We also worked on her blog which you can access by clicking on her blog link in the top right side of my blog. check- (Blogs We Follow)

After lunch Carol and Mary decided to head down to the lake but first discovered we had a major water leak into our guest bedroom. Looks like another job Peter will have to tackle.

Down at the lake Mary had her bucket of fishing gear but couldn't find the elusive fish under the ice. Don't worry maybe next week. 

Carol and Mary made delicious soup and home-made scones for supper ................... so good!

Thanks for stopping by and drive safely.