Light Rain Day, Bedding Wash, Visit at Rockwood, Baking for Thanksgiving

When I woke up on Saturday, Oct. 7^th it was way too early to get up. Around 6 am, I think, so I tossed and turned and dozed fitfully until 7:15 and we all got up. It was looking to be another dull, light rainy day. Ho hum. At least yesterday, on our drive included we didn’t experience much rain.

the garage, leaving much more space for storage

Bill said there was even less rain here on The Ridge, maybe 10 minutes. So while I was away he was able to finish a couple more outdoor things, getting our patio table packed away in the storage shed and another nice adjustment in the basement area. These adjustments each make packing up easier, especially now that some things have come out and will stay here this season.

the flip down tv is secured and out of the way

We had our coffee and tea and I finished yesterday’s post. When I reflect on that day I will think of it with a fond memory of Uncle Harold. It is too bad that Mom isn’t in the condition to have taken part, but c’est la vie. Every time I thought I would go for a walk this morning, the rain would start and change my mind.

A teensy bit of colour change on Baptist Church Road

At one point I went to put something in the car to take to town and it was so nice that I started down the lane. Woops, the sky opened and I turned back. It is so mild out there though at 20C that I didn’t mind too much.  At noon I made myself a chicken salad bowl and that was quite tasty. Bill had had his cereal earlier so he wasn’t ready to eat yet.

And the sun broke through for the afternoon

Our lunch is not like other people’s, it seems. We don’t plan it, usually, and we don’t always enjoy the same lunch time things. Weird but true.  Bill likes a sandwich, usually the same kind, I don’t. Sometimes we have soup but not on a warm day. Fruit is full of sugar and Bill isn’t a fruit eater anyway. No need to bombard me with comments about how ‘we always eat together’, we’re just different. When we’re hungry in the middle of the day, we get what we want.

So, not the best picture, we were in a very sunny room and the
reflection on my phone disguises Mom's eyes
She looked lovely in her bling finery

So, after my salad Bill went upstairs with Clemson to have nap. I kind of booted him out of the living room so he had no choice. I pulled the sofa bed out and put an extra duvet from the bunky on the bed, under the mattress cover. I’m trying to make this bed as comfortable as possible for our guests in November. Rather than spend money on an eggshell piece of foam, I mean.

Then I cleaned up and headed into the Durham laundromat with the bedding. It was a hopping place today but I secured one of the big washers for our 2 bulky blankets and a regular one for my sheet set and 2 snuggies. The wash took 29 minutes and in the dryers they were dried in 20 minutes. Folded and in the car, I was headed to Rockwood.

Anything for a distraction of the conversation
We talked about our hands

As I arrived I walked to the elevators and pushed the button. When the door opened, the elevator was full. A lady with a walker and a nurse on the right with the big laundry bin. I stepped out of the way when I heard “I thought I recognized someone!” Mom was behind the lady with her walker. She is so fun! So not really knowing why she came down I didn’t discourage it. We went to one of the private sitting areas at the windows.

We had a lovely chat for 15 joyful minutes before I broke the news about Uncle Harold. It wasn’t a comfortable thing, having to take away her happiness but I knew it would be short-lived. We went through the ‘family, siblings, her parents’ conversation for the next 30 minutes and then I succeeded in switching the subject to something else. I had her back again.

The birds swoop low in their flock

We discussed our plans for tomorrow and after an hour and a half walked back to the elevator and up to her room. I helped her pick clothes for Thanksgiving dinner and moved them to one side of her closet. I don’t know if they’ll be there tomorrow when I arrive but she was excited about the outing with someone. I said goodbye back at the elevator and felt bad that I didn’t get to see Aunt Mary today. Once I’m with Mom it is too confusing to her why I want to leave her to visit someone else. Another time for sure.

Back home I saw that Bill had been busy, as usual. He’d filled our water bladder and washed his riding mower before putting it away. One more usage won’t matter, it needed a good cleaning. The sun has been poking out periodically today and that is making for a lovely day, the rain seemingly over and done with. Looks like a nice day on the horizon for Thanksgiving Sunday.

I couldn’t resist when the sun burst through the clouds at 4 o’clock to get outside. I went to my garden earlier and gathered my ripe veggies. Wow! There were tons of little red tomatoes, 1 big one and 4 green peppers. Oh, and 6 green onions. Yay! Each time it is a surprise that more are ready and nothing has got at them. I washed them and put them in my crisper. Then I went for a walk down to Baptist Church Road.

I eat about 6 of these tomatoes a day

My sister texted me while I was walking and asked if we were getting the strong 

wind gusts. It is definitely windy and I know we were to expect gusts to 50 km but nothing that strong had hit us yet. No sooner did I answer and one came up from behind the next cloud that had my hair in my face and my eyes watering. Freaky! I enjoyed the walk, it was short but sweet. The cows watched me before going back to their grazing.

Back inside I decided I’d better get started on supper. Late morning watching the rain and unpredictable sky I wasn’t sure whether we’d be able to cook outside. Not pushing our luck, I got a pound of ground beef out of the freezer to thaw. Now it was time to start. It will be a very improvised pot of chili that I’m making tonight since I realized that I don’t have kidney beans in the house. Hmmm.

A new version of chili

So, I cut celery, green onions, green peppers and tomatoes first. In the pot, I began browning the meat adding the chopped veggies. Once ready, I added a can of sliced mushrooms, a can of tomato paste, a can of chick peas, a can of black beans and 2 cans of Bush’s brown beans. I added some chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic then left it to simmer for 30 minutes.

With enough pumpkin and enough cream cheese, I made an extra one for home

Supper turned out very good! I was pleased and so was Bill. It was filling enough we didn’t even need a salad on the side. After dishes, I made up a graham cracker pie crust for the cheesecake I’m making for tomorrow’s dinner. Once I’d done that much, I decided to keep on going and finish the whole thing. In the morning I will make up a veggie casserole to take.

With the cheesecake in the convection oven, Bill inquired about ice cream. Of course, we always have Chapman’s Butterscotch Ripple in the freezer. He served himself a dish, I made myself a cone and Clemson got to lick the new carton clean. I sat at my laptop and finished this post. I hope you have enjoyed this day as I have.

Clemson sure belongs in our family
We all love our ice cream

I love that you stopped by and if you wish to leave a comment, I would love to read it.