Sep 16 - where did the day go ?

It was another of those days without some major project or activity ... you know what you're doing at the time and the day rolls by, but later ... Now when I was gainfully employed, I could look back at my calendar and see what I did the previous day (note that I say "did" not "accomplished"). Back-to-back meetings all day or travel made you think that it was a fruitful day. The true test, however, would be whether you made any difference.

Ok, enough of that -- what did I do yesterday ? I went to the post office to mail off an estimated tax payment, a brevet card to Geoff Swarts, a letter to the RCMP -- whew, heady stuff ! I picked up my humidifier plumbing parts at Home Depot as well as 4 packages of terry rags that I love to use for bike cleaning and 1" pvc pipe and fittings to make a bracket that will stand in the boat under the cover so that it will shed water. I actually got rained on during the trip home but it never rained here.

The letter to the RCMP concerned disposition of two old 22's that my dad owned that I moved to Florida. Their standard process requires that the new owner have a Canadian PAL -- a gun possession and acquisition license, but of course I just moved the guns to my residence in FL. They also needed a death certificate. If and when I take anything back to hunt, I fill out the necessary paperwork and check in at the border and pay my $25 fee. I'll be doing that when we return to the cottage in a couple of weeks.

What else ... cleaned up a small problem with my pc that it was not accessing the dvd drives; did lots of reading -- the market and political turmoil provides plenty of interesting fodder; took Abby for a walk; and the day went by.

We watched some more Stargate SG1 -- we're down to three DVD's to go in the final season -- opened a nice Bordeaux (and drank some, naturally). Sandy made shrimp and a risotto (no barbie yesterday).

Oh -- Sandy did some housecleaning and grocery shopping; I vacuumed my den ...

I do have a list of things to do before we leave:

-- clean out the gutters
-- setup that 1" pvc boat-cover-support that I mentioned earlier
-- get over to pep boys and the boat store

nothing big that cannot be handled in a few hours.

What other projects are we planning here for this year? Well, I think that I'll hold off on the re-do of the master bath for this season, at least that is my current thinking. Our original plan was this season. We'll check on prices though because tiling is very inexpensive down here and we might get a reasonable deal. It has to be done while we are here because I'm going to replace the plumbing for the tub (it's going to be a shower).

The only other thing that could be done at some point in the future ... well, there are always things that can be done ... would be a complete re-do of the guest bath. We did 1/2 a job to make it livable, replacing a very old toilet and a crumbling cabinet and stained sink. A full job would mean replacing the tub and retiling the tub walls. Doors could be replaced -- solid doors vs the hollow doors -- that's just a "pain" job and wouldn't even need to be done all at once.

Outside there is landscaping to do (sounds like up north, right ?). I will probably do something about the plumbing for any outdoor sprinkler. Sandy thought that there was a water problem this morning because she had little pressure in the shower, but that was because the drip hose was running at that point in time on the outside adjacent wall. No doubt the 1/2" pipe that carries water to that bathroom also feeds the outside faucet. I have to get the bypass in place for the water softener and filter. That is a definite for this winter, perhaps even for November.

I cannot go biking today since we have an appointment at a local lawyer for 11am. Sandy has a dermatologist appointment for 9:30 and will probably meet me at the lawyer's office. Unlike up north, at this time of year I do not want to go for a bike ride at 1pm.

We've been trying to get a will done with this lawyer for the last million months it seems and between slow turnaround there and our lack of availability time has passed. I should have just bought a product and done it myself since I am sure that it would have been just as valid and a lot less time consuming. It's not as if our will is complicated, we're just not big clients for anyone. Our last will was done ... ahem ... before we moved to Philadelphia. In some ways, not much has changed -- still three kids -- so the principles have not changed -- but it gives one comfort to get a will done in the jurisdiction in which you live. Doing a will is not complicated but dealing with the taxation issues of having property in two countries would be a hassle and an expense for any survivors, ultimately coming out of the estate. You can insure for the tax liability but that does not save the hassle ! I guess we'll just have to keep on living ... sigh ...

I had to laugh when talking to the lawyer's secretary about the appointment -- she gave me the address and then said that I should know that after parking on the street they were on the second floor and that would entail walking up some stairs. I guess she has not seen our cottage where we're always climbing stairs, hills, etc. I said that stairs were not a problem. She was just being courteous. Perhaps I should bike up to Daytona and show up in biking clothes ?

Ok, that's enough blogging for the day ...