Richelieu

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Decent Pulling Out Weather

This morning, I backed Miranda out onto the street so I could take her out for a spin. She was a little tough to start, but once we were under way, she ran smoothly. I had no trouble restarting her after each stop. I had a lot on my list, but the morning wasn’t stressful in the least and I felt very comfortable behind the wheel.

The weather is damp and cold with a promise of weak sun. Not ideal weather for outdoor activities, but better than the pouring rain I had in Lethbridge!

First stop was the dump station. An attendant came out to tell me they had turned off the water, but I could still dump. Thankfully, I had several gallon jugs of tap water on board for rinsing my hose and the dump site.

I let the attendant know that I filled up my truck there this week as a thank you for offering this dump site. The station isn’t that well situated for gassing up an RV so I had already decided to get fuel elsewhere.

Next, I drove to Richelieu to get propane, which cost $80 for a fill at almost 90 cents per litre. More expensive than out west, but still cheaper than in the States.

Then, it was time to find a gas station and the Esso in Chambly was the best choice even if fuel was just over $1.30 a litre. Gas in New York state is over $4 a gallon right now, so it wasn’t worth having to stress out about getting gas with my new longer rig the second I crossed the border. I’ll top up around Saratoga.

I got back to my mother’s and parked in front of the house, then borrowed her car to go to the bank. There, I deposited a cheque and took out 200USD.

This afternoon, I need to buy my supplemental health coverage. I got quotes for this ranging from $300 to $600 for the same coverage! I’ll write up a post about that once I’ve purchased a policy.

I haven’t heard from the shop, so I assume my baseplate installation is going well. I may get out of here tomorrow…

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Au Pied de la Chute Restaurant, Richelieu

Today, my uncle treated my grand-mother and us to lunch at the charming Au pied de la chute restaurant in Richelieu. It is so named ‘at the foot of the falls’ because it is on the banks of the Richelieu River right across from the dam. It’s a fine dining establishment that favours local products (produits du terroir).

We ate out on the terrace, so I did not see the interior, which must have been charming since the restaurant is set in a traditional Quebec home made of field stone.

Au pied de la chute

The very affordable lunch menu includes soup or salad with your meal, bread, and a hot beverage. The potage (smooth vegetable soup without cream) was apparently very good, but I opted for a lovely salad with a dressing that apparently smelled Japanese.

For the main course, my mother opted for the deer and Brie burger with frites while the rest of us all went for the lightly breaded perch with rice and roasted vegetables. Very, very delicious! There wasn’t that much on the lunch menu that had inspired me (the rest was red meat or mussels with curry or a pasta dish with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes that sounded good), but I don’t need much choice when something stands out so obviously! I especially liked the leek confit served over the fish.

We all had the German chocolate cake for dessert, a sliver of goodness served with some fruit pieces ($2!). The coffee was delicious.

Needless to say, I was very impressed with Au pied de la chute!

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Running Around and Not Getting Much Done

I went out this morning to look for a tailgate handle for my Ranger. The scrap yard could have had a used one for me in a couple of days for $35 plus tax. The Ford dealership in Richelieu could have had a new one in the same amount of time for $75 plus tax. I bought a new handle on eBay from a surplus supplier for $19.75 including shipping and taxes. It’ll be a few more days, but why spend the extra money?

The dealership also did not have touch up paint but directed me to a place that could get me some. I decided to wait for that.

The post title says ‘much done’ implying that I did have some success with my errands today. I had casually mentioned the other day that I have been wanting to get a good pepper mill for ages but they are way out of my price range. Well, my step-mother learned that the kitchen supply store Ares is having an amazing deal on Peugeot mills (THE name in pepper mills) this week, $40 down from $70. Too good a deal to pass up so I got one this morning!