Gearing up for the Sunny South

– Our home away from home

Well, it is getting close to that time again. Woohoo! Thought I would check in to warn you all that I am coming back - Ha! You might of thought I fell through an Internet black hole – because we all know black holes reside on the Internet not in outer space.  Well, I didn’t - So, did ya miss me? 

I have worked my tail feathers off this summer and now I am ready to get the hell out of this freezing winter land. It has been snowing here since Halloween! I should also mention that this summer consisted of rain, cold and more rain! What ever happened to the four seasons? I am not talking about the band either, for those of you who remember them (Does that make me sound old? – don’t answer that) although the Four Seasons Band happened to be from a time when we actually had summers. 


This year Muskoka's four seasons consisted of; cool, cold, getting colder and downright frigid. Case in point, when we got back at the end of April this year, there was still some snow on the ground – all traces eventually disappeared in the middle of May! When summer finally did appear sometime in August, it graced us with two wonderfully warm days – I even got to wear shorts on those two days.

Really, this is my yard! And its only November!

I was hoping to go south much earlier this year - like this weekend!  But forces beyond my control have held me back from my plan. Last week I was going to bring Screech and Fred for their rabies shot, but there was another snowstorm that closed the highway. So I ended up having to postpone it a week. – At least my cats are now good to go, however, I am not. L The furnace needs a part that had to be ordered – waiting. The car needed a water-pump, which has to come from Montreal! – also waiting. Crossing my fingers and toes that everything comes in this week and gets fixed before another snowstorm hits – it’s coming, I know it. I am hoping we can get going by next weekend. It’s a conspiracy I tell ya! - Even our own Canadian dollar is unfortunately not looking so good this year either. – Are there other forces at work here? Well, I am determined to bask in sunshine again, even if I have to get there by dog sled!

 Packing is never easy…

I tried not to pack so much this time. I really tried - honest. Even though every year I know I will only end up wearing the same Tee’s, my favourite pair of shorts and of course my jeans for the bike. (Swimsuits don’t count, I need all 10 – I don’t know why I just don’t leave them in Florida – come to think of it, I don’t ever remember it being warm enough to even wear one here…) 

None the less, every year I end up with an over-stuffed suitcase with most of my wardrobe in it. 

Maybe it is just a woman thing – you know, like when you put on a shirt that makes you look fat one day, so you dig through your closet to find that slimming one… you just never know on what day that particular shirt or those jeans are going to make you look like you gained 20 pounds.

If you think about it, going away for almost five months is quite a long time, so it makes sense that you bring lots of “stuff” – at least that is what I tell myself. J

My other half has packing down to a science, he grabs a couple pairs of jeans, a few T-shirts, shorts and a weeks worth of undies and ‘tadah’- he is done, which he accomplishes the night before we leave. His reasoning: we have a washer. (Men have it easy)

Me on the other hand, I start a couple of months in advance to pack. - Maybe I am just a compulsive organizer. - But in my defense, there is always the additional “stuff” that is coming with us for the house. It falls onto me to get the extra “stuff” in order. Like this year we are bringing the Fondue set that has been sitting in the closet collecting dust. We plan on using it over Christmas and New Year’s. - Then it can collect dust in Florida for the rest of the year. -

Of course I don’t pack any clothes that far in advance – really I don’t, I save that to at least a month before we are ready to leave J  Ok, I will admit, the majority of my clothes have been packed since October, except for the few items that will have to wait until the last minuet. At the moment my suitcase consists of only swimsuits, shorts and Tee’s and it’s busting at the seams already, couldn’t even fit a sock in it at this point. (On second thought, I could of packed in August, seeing I never used any of that stuff this year!)  

- Anyway, I am kind of glad my other half packs light, I can use up the rest of his space in his suitcase with the rest of my ‘must have’ clothes. J

What else is new?

I finally fixed up my website www.thefrozencanuck.ca  
I had been wanting to turn it into a place for my other writing endeavours (like the ones I have been exposing you to lately – my darker side hahaha…) I had originally designed this blog to write about the time I spend in Florida over the winter. I really wanted to keep it focused, although I know I went a little off my flight path and added a few rants, a couple of stories, and the poetry interludes. But I finally had some time to change that, and moved it over to my Frozen Canuck domain where I will “wing it as a writer”.  I will leave the ‘off topic stuff’ that I have already written here though, seems people are still stopping in and reading those previous stories.  Thanks!  


That leaves this space free for me to pursue all things tropical J I want to expand on my experiences besides just writing about our motorcycle tours ~ Oh how I miss my Harley! …soon J ~  Of course there will still be lots of adventures on the bikes ~. You will just have to come back to see what I have in store for you!

As always, I appreciate any feedback so don’t forget to leave a comment. 

Well, that is all for now, next time I post I should be sitting by the pool sipping a cocktail J 


Look out Florida - here I come!