Camping in Fitzroy PP

You have to love the weatherman. I was checking the weather forecasts all weekend and it was a roller coaster of a ride. one day the weekend was supposed to be sunny the next day it is calling for rain. So Friday Kaos and I take off to go to Fitzroy Harbour provincial park to meet my Brother and his family for a weekend of camping. As I'm driving up to the park and around Smiths Falls this huge wall of black clouds with multiple lightning strikes flashing away nearly stops me, but the news on the radio is saying that the weather warning for the Ottawa, Pembroke Area has been lifted, so I press on to the park.

When I get there the ground is wet, but not soaking, so I set up my tent and get all the stuff inside. My Brother Ivo shows up and we chit chat for a bit then Kaos comes running up to me covered in something that he rubbed in, I'm thinking where the hell can I wash him when the park ranger walks up to me, "excuse me, is that your dog?" He startled a little girl and reported a loose dog. Off to the beach to clean Kaos up, no dogs on the beach, shit! Oh well, the fine would be worth the cost since I'd know that Kaos would jump on the bed with me when I'd turn in. So after I clean him my brother and I go to the store to pick up some firewood for the campfire. That is when heaven opened up and dumped, I mean dumped a huge amount of water on us. The funny part was my Sister in Law running around the campsite soaked to the bone while Ivo and I sat in the car dry! Kaos was under the picnic table under the patio umbrella (smart puppy, he is) trying to keep dry. So when the rain putters out I dry off Kaos and into the tent I go for the night. Guess what, some water made its way into the tent. move stuff around the drips and beddy bye I go, well till 2-3 AM when the next site over after a few beers was making huge noise woke my up. That is when I noticed that the air mattress was loosing air! argh! I try to blow it back up, few hours later , back on the cold ground. I get up around 5AM off to the car for the pump and find that there is something on the cap to the air mattress and pump it back up, off back to dream land I go, 6:30AM the chimpmunks wake Kaos up and he is itching to get outside to see where the noise is coming from. Take Kaos outside for his morning walk and show him where the noise is coming from , noticed that I'm feeling like crap and back to bed I go, well till My Sister in Law gets up at 8:30 , I hear the car start and she drives off, she come back and sounds pissed at something. I get up and find out that they didn't pack any propane. So it is cooking old school, as in using wood and fire to get something hot! You haven't had breakfast till you had smokey eggs and toast!

Well the rest of the day was a blurr since I wasn't feeling well, no not due to the smokey eggs and bacon, so I was resting most of the day. Felt better around supper time and was able to enjoy the rest of the camping without much excitement after that! thank the Lord!

Today's Cooking - Pesto

Well since my cilantro is growing like crazy and beginning to flower I decided to make some Cilantro pesto.

1 bunch Cilantro
1 bunch Parsley
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayeen pepper
1 table spoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup walnuts

throw in a food processor and blend! Verdict too much garlic and Cilantro, but I will make it again!

Movie corner

Saw Hancock on the weekend and loved it. Not your typical clean cut polished hero that always does the right thing at the right time. I like the fact that the main character is an alcoholic and homeless. There are some very funny parts in the opening car chase. I'll not wreck it for those who haven't seen it yet! this is a "in the theater must"!

7/10

Stocks, bonds and RRSPs oh my!

Well it has come down to the planning of the big party after working my ass off! I figure throw some money at some stacks watch it grow and I'll live comfortably after that, no so! Some people say pay off the mortgage, some say max out the RRSPs , some say screw RRSPs and buy stocks. What to do?

1 paying off the mortgage faster does have its advantages, reduce debt, have more to invest later plus save the interest that you'd have paid. Cons to that line of thinking, if you can make 7-9% on stocks you just lost 2-4% or more that you've could have made over paying off the mortgage.

2 Max out the RRSPs. if you can stuff 19% of your gross income of extra money that is floating around out there into an RRSP you'll save the money that you'll pay by reducing your tax bracket down and get a bigger refund, which in turn can be re-rolled into the RRSP and get save you money that you can invest elsewhere. While the investment within the RRSP is not taxed until you either withdraw it or you turn 71. you are forced to pay taxes by converting the RRSPs into RIFs at age 71

3 Stocks and bonds do not provide a tax shelter for your investments while you accumulate them, capital gains and dividends, they are 100% yours at age 71 and you don't have to convert your portfolio. The stocks and bonds route is a much more risky route, you can loose it all , but also can provide the most gain of the three methods of investment.

ah, as dreams of having a comfortable retirement dance in my head the choices I make today can have a big impact on my lifestyle of tomorrow!