October Strong, Rockwood Visit with Clemson, Sleeping Beauty

On Wednesday, Oct. 18^th I woke up again in an empty bed. Bill and Clemson had vacated an hour earlier at 6:30. I never heard a thing, I was into a dream about a bunch of people I don’t know! Weird. I got up and joined my sweetie at the laptop with my tea. I had a blog post to write so set to work remembering our day yesterday.

A really nice start to the day

Every week I can see more through the laneway brush

The sun was rising in all its glory shortly after I got up and the sky was proving to be clear blue all day. The 9C soon rose and after my tea and publishing I went for a walk down North Line. I wanted to see how the new house was coming along and they are certainly moving quickly with it. 

They’ll be in it before Christmas which must be nice for this family.

Me, myself and I walking - oh, and my shadow too!

A newly graveled road

While I was walking, Bill was puttering outside. He took down our turtle signs and solar panels and was sorting things in the back of Black Beauty when I returned. He added the remaining contents of Def fluid he had already opened and made note to pick up another supply. We have one full bottle to take with us and he likes to be more prepared than that. We’ll check out a price in Hanover this afternoon.

Topping up the Def fluid

I made bacon and eggs up for breakfast at 10 and we cleaned up dishes. Bill went back outside and without my knowledge or assistance removed the car shelter cover. I was busy inside sweeping floors going through the freezer to see what we had on hand. When I walked out to dump my kitchen compost, he was folding it up. Well, he managed it without any undo distress so that was good.

The car shelter ready for winter too

When he came in, he washed up and we drove to Hanover. It was just 12 noon but we wanted to pick up cough syrup at Shopper’s, buy bread at Bread Depot and get some Def fluid at the Napa dealers. The price wasn’t unreasonable for around here so now Bill has the stock he’ll need to get us going. On the way to Hanover, we turned on the Keady road to see if Murray Fleming was home. This is where we store our car for the winter but he wasn’t around today. He is reserving a spot for us we just need to tell him when we are bringing it in.

There is a snug little corner in this barn for our Toyota Corolla

The bread is something we haven’t had in the Suite for a while, trying to cut back a bit, but we’ll need some on hand to make sandwiches while travelling. You can’t get good bread down south, well, that is our opinion. Other than Italian or French which requires you to eat it within a day or two. To buy a loaf in a grocery store of regular bread, D’Italiano or not, it isn’t the freshness we are used to.

 I separated these little sausages into 8 meals and no gluten!

I had an appointment with Shannon at the Hanover branch of BMO to talk about Mom’s finances this time. With a TFSA GIC coming due in December, I wanted to take care of either setting it up for re-investment now or flag it to be held until her next one in May. That is what I did and I also left instruction for another investment to be moved into the same account in January. With that done, I could breathe a sigh of relief knowing her funds would be looked after in my absence.

And to answer a question about the peanut butter we buy.........and then a few of the things I mentioned yesterday.

Best peanut butter out there
(in our opinion)

Coconut Oil from Costco, lasts me a couple of months

Our hall closet is our overflow for coffee, mustard, cranberry juice,
cereal, beans, soup

Another thing I had a hard time finding last year
This will last me well through the winter

When we got back home, Bill emptied our gray tank and put away a couple more things before driving over to meet Gerry at the Acreage. Bill suggested he seal the roof on their Prairie Schooner 5^th wheel, it had never been done since they purchased it.

Sometimes, you just don’t know what needs to be done and they don’t pull theirs around so wouldn’t get the same tips we would. Bill has been able to advise them and help them with this kind of stuff. Gerry won’t be able to take care of it just recently recovering from his op so at least Bill can do that for him.

It is blurry because I had to move fast
but Aunt Mary was loving the visit from Clemson

 I decided to take our little bum into town to visit Mom at Rockwood. She hasn’t seen him for a while. As soon as I stepped in the door, Aunt Mary was there at the sign-in book. She was happy to see me so we chatted right there and then she noticed Clemson. Reaching as best she could to pet him, I picked him up and set him on her tray. That lasted about 10 seconds and he jumped down.

the joy in her voice and face was apparent

He is such a greeter but at the same time, yanking and pulling on the leash. I picked him up and brought him back to Mary again. She indicated that she didn’t mind that he wanted to crawl up and give her kisses, so cute. I tried my best with arms full to get a picture but this is the best I could manage. It is always so warm/hot in that home and I know it is for the residents. They don’t mind.

When we said goodbye to Aunt Mary, I felt I’d run in a 5K race. We went up to Mom’s room and stopped numerous times for people to pet and comment on the pooch. When we reached her room, she was sound asleep across her bed. I know she has been experiencing discomfort in her back so we crept in not to wake her. I closed the door, took Clem off his leash and got him a drink of water. All he wanted was to get out.

When I went up to close out my garden, I snapped a pix of the corn behind us
I wish we'd be here to see them take it in
(um, not so much that we'll stick around though!)

And the hostas are still blooming

I made a few gentle noises hoping to rouse her but she was deep in sleep and looking lovely. After 10 minutes, we crept out. Sad but all for the better today. It would have meant only a short visit anyway. I saw on the board that my sister, Cathy, had been up earlier so I didn’t feel too bad. I’m close enough to get up there a couple more times before we head south. 

Quite a windy day

After getting home, I remember that I left Mom’s dish on the floor with water in it for Clemson’s drink. They will certainly wonder what she was trying to do and so will she! So, I called to tell them it wasn’t Mom who was losing her mind, it was me. LOL

When I got home I poured myself a glass of Mountain Dew, trying to cool down and quench a thirst at the same time. I went up to my garden and pulled out the small metal and plastic trellis’ that I used to hold my plants up. The plants themselves will go into the compost and the tomatoes will just get turned over in the soil. It is done for the year.

Yay! My geraniums down at the fence line have taken hold

With Bill still gone, I then walked down to the corner of Baptist Church Road again. Such a beautiful day at 18C this afternoon. The wind is quite strong or it would be much higher than that. Bill drove in around quarter after 4 from helping Gerry. He has been coughing since we got home from Toronto so a cold is lurking. Obviously, from someone on the weekend he caught the virus. Darn! After dinner I will make him some mullein tea, Donna swears by it so we’ll give it a try!

I went upstairs away from the tv noise and got into my book. This is Michael Connelly’s The Burning Room and now that I am 10 chapters in, I’m sure I’ve read it before. With my memory it isn’t surprising that the name wasn’t familiar but I think I’ll keep reading anyway. It might have been a movie we watched that is making it familiar.

Furry Gnome may have to help me with the name of this butterfly

So, we barbecued butt chops for supper and I cooked rice and our veggies inside. I’m still not a fan, the chop was not doing it for me but I ate enough to fill me with the side dishes. There is enough pork chop left for a couple of meals so I stuck half in the freezer and Bill will eat half tomorrow night. I have 2 chicken breasts in the freezer that need to be eaten too.

We did dishes up and Bill was about to make a phone call when he realized he 

didn’t have his phone with him. Oh-oh! I called him on mine to see if it was anywhere on the property but we realized it had to be over at the Acreage. With hope in our pockets that it was on the roof of Gerry’s trailer, we drove over at 7. Up he went with his flashlight and sure enough there it was right where he left it.

Just a few baby peppers trying to grow

More Goose Talk - Which way do we go?

When we got back home, we made the call to Bill’s step sister to chat with her before we leave on Monday. Caroline is going through some not so pleasant stuff right now and we wanted her to know we think of her daily in our prayers. It was nice to hear her voice so positive.

Watching the sun go down after a great fall day

The day has passed, with a few more things accomplished and off our list. Bill got the flag down and sensor solar lights in the Restroom and outside the Roost (bunky) down and away for the winter. Just a few things left to do. I hope you’ve had an enjoyable day in your neck of the woods. What a beautiful fall day!

Bill pays NO attention to the sign as he unlocks the gate to the Acreage

Up the ladder he goes hoping against hope that the phone is up there

Happy man, he climbs back down

Thank you for popping in today. I’d love to hear from you!