I am spoiled!

 That was quite a day, Wednesday. I had had a bad day, the stress was getting to me. So much bad news, stuff going on here [Our eavestrough replacement], and I needed to depressurize. JB suggested lunch out, and I concurred. 

Off we went to Carleton Place to visit Boulton House. There was a barrier. We had to turn around. Gillian GPS wasn't as helpful as we thought, navigating the streets. We laughed, Plan B. Who knew?! 

The streets are under repair, as well as the bridge. You know the saying, only three seasons: bugs, snow and/or construction.

Once we sat, it was a lovely day to be out and I tried to relax. This is my happy place, sitting on a patio in summer. You can see the pub across the river. It's a bit too chummy for us right now. This place has a larger patio. 

Drinks ensued. A virgin ceasar to celebrate summer and my usual vino blanco. I accidentally wrecked my new haircut, as my bangs were driving me nuts, hanging in my eyes. I cannot texturize it the way Jamie can. At least I can see!

He looks fierce, doesn't he? He is my personal assistant, my grocery shopper, errand doer, dishwasher, and my rock. We take care of each other these days. He had a deconstructed burger, since he cannot have dairy or yeast. They always offer a gluten-free bun or vegan bun! I had scallops with pesto tagliatelle.

There was much action at the bridge. Good to see hard-working people gainfully employed to maintain infrastructure. You want your bridges to have a good foundation!

There was action on the dam. It didn't look all that safe to me. 

Carleton Place swimmers from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

This struck me as a dear home. 

We drove home on the scenic route, via Tennyson Rd.

It's a nice community, but the homes are a bit too close for our tastes. Many are complaining about whackadoodles using the lakes as Nascar tracks, fireworks, and noisy cigarette boats driving too fast. There are many incidents on the lakes. 

Our travelers are home!

I was watching their flight details with baited breath. Their Amsterdam flight was an hour late leaving, which meant they wouldn't make their YYZ Toronto to YOW Ottawa flight (#458). Caitlin was wonderful and texted me to keep us in the loop! They made it through customs quite quickly. I noticed that 458 was still there, according to FlightAware. They got there and the gate was closed. Their seats had been sold, but they could see it on the tarmac! 

Our four intrepid travelers were automatically booked on a flight leaving after midnight (00:38)! There was another YOW flight (#460) meant to leave at 17:40, but delayed to 18:40. They got booked on that one. Next it was delayed to 19:05, and again that was changed to have them leave at 20:05. There was another later that night, but they were booked on 460. The airline booked them on #460, and our kids arrived safely in Ottawa after the one hour flight. All is well. 

There are so many delays, due to many factors. Airlines reopened too soon, without sufficient staff from baggage handlers, to all other staff. The airlines laid off a lot of people who need new security checks, etc., some found jobs elsewhere. Employees are still falling ill with COVID, too. Numbers are up everywhere. 

Farewell to Amsterdam!

 They left Ottawa July 5th and went to  => 🛫 Toronto => 🛫New York City => 🛫Istanbul => Athens ⛴ => Heraklion => 🚘Chania => 🛩 back to Athens => 🛩 Istanbul => 🛫Amsterdam => 🛫Toronto => 🛫Ottawa. Home July 28th. We'll have the girls the second week of August. I don't know if we need to dream up some exciting activities, or if they'll be glad to chill out. We sure couldn't top their travels!

Saturday lunch

Summertime: ♪♫♬ the livin's easy♪♫♬. Florence hurricane has petered out, thankfully. What a mess. The typhoon in Japan (Bangkhut)was historic.  The shoulder seasons are the best, however. Fewer line-ups in town.


We keep thinking this is our last patio lunch, but the weather is hanging on here. Out west they've had snow! We took off to CC's in Rideau Ferry. They don't know our names, but they asked if we wanted indoors or the patio. We walked out to the patio and the young lady seating us said, "Oh, your favourite table is taken!" We still had a view of the water.

I didn't bother taking my long lens. Heaven knows I have enough photos of boaters! This is the videocamera, for the most part. It's not bad. People were really enjoying the weather.


Between the island and the shore, about 100 Canada Geese hang out until it is time to fly.


Mmmm, lunch. My favourite pasta.


Server Justin James is a hoot. He has begun to sell his photographs. He spent last winter in New Zealand, and took many photos. His photos are for sale. He refers to me as 'Mrs. Poison Ivy,' as we first met him when I'd had another poison ivy incident. He teases me unmercifully.


You can visit his webpage, and buy his photos. He's a very affable young man, who has traveled the world.


On the road, a wonderful tree. You'll notice this is a photo through the window, with bug juice.

Motts Mills Dam

From there, we took a drive down #29. You can hear me, "Slow down, slow down!"
My driver does so. "OK, turn right here." He's good at following orders, if he hears me!
This is a favourite spot. They refurbished it, and put in a dam that allows for the water to dam up in spring. This provides a habitat for the critters. The posts are all that is left of the old dam.



Motts Mills Dam 2017
This was in November. I anticipate it filling up over the winter rains and snowfall.


Prior to the refurbishment, there was this old dam (only the posts are left, above). I found a snapping turtle sunning itself there. Snapping turtle and rivers and dams (June, 2015) You can see how much water there was in spring.


I sauntered down to where it drains into the creek. The flowing river is now just a series of pools.


Little minnows are ripe for the picking. There was a snake, which scuttled under a rock. The cycle of life!


JB was in the car, studying the map to determine our next heading. More tomorrow.

Trip through Arnprior

We attended HerbFest 2016 in White Lake. There was a hamburger stand at HerbFest, but we thought we'd look for another restaurant. Burnstown wasn't open at 10:30 a.m., they aren't breakfast people, I guess. We had a Daycation to Burnstown's House and Garden Tour in 2014. It's a nice restaurant, but didn't open until lunch. Hubby hadn't heard that the other restaurant, The Neat Cafe, had closed due to financial difficulties. They had fabulous pizza!
That was OK, as the scenery is always grand. We drove to Arnprior.


The mighty Madawaska!


Arnprior is a busy town, there is much construction, and it was tricky wending our way. I'd totally forgotten that when we were house hunting in the Ottawa Valley back in 2010, we stayed in the 'Prior, when we were Road Warriors. We went back to the hotel, where they have an East Side Marios. It was a nice lunch by the dam.


There is something peaceful about the sound of water. It's not the ocean, but it's the best we can do!

Arnprior dam from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Traffic slowed to allow the Timmy Ho's truck to back up, then I spotted the famous Arnprior Wes' Chip stand.