Meeting the Neighbours, Black Friday Shopping, Quiet Afternoon, Our Hosts Return

Clemson woke up first at 6:15 and needed out so Bill took him out to take care of business and crawled back into bed. I rested but finally got up at 7. It was Friday, Nov. 24^th commonly known here in the US as Black Friday. The time to cash in on great deals. My first plan of attack was to get out and walk so before making a tea, I opened blinds, put on my runners and hit the pavement.

Taken through our back window so not too clear

Gorgeous morning again and I wanted to take the opportunity to catch the sunrise. Where would I have to walk to see it rise over the mountains? Hmm, okay southeast on Kibbey Drive. As I walked, my heart rate increased because of the inclines. There are no sidewalks, as I know them, here but instead just extended pavement like our bike lanes back home. I felt safe enough walking on those, they are plenty wide.

New construct

it has to have an RV garage!

Up at the corner, I met a lady out with her Golden Retriever. They were in no hurry; her dog was looking quite elderly and need to take her time. We said hello and I headed towards my goal; the top of the hill. As I reached the top I could see the Kibbey continued on into an even steeper decline on the other side. I didn’t need to go there as I had a clear view of the distant mountains from here. I was about 5 minutes too early so walked in broad circles, waiting.

On the way up the hill, I saw another original front yard display
Cool!

Unfortunately, I disturbed a couple of dogs from a house on the south side of the road and I immediately crossed to the north. I noticed a man from the north house opening his garage door and coming out to check on the ruckus, I assumed. He saw me and we said Good morning. I apologized for upsetting the neighbourhood but he shrugged it off with a wave of his hand and suggested I move to the inner side of his truck to shut them up.

Gary's place
'come into my parlor said the spider to the fly'
He was perfectly harmless and a very nice man

He said that any little thing sets them off but they soon stopped. We chatted after I explained what I was doing up there. What a nice man. As Bill says, everywhere I go, I seem to meet men. Not my fault, I guess I’m just approachable. The meeting gets even better (or weirder). He told me about a certain view of the mountains to the north when the sun hits them and once I got the final sunrise shot, he offered to show me down the street a bit.

I can't even imagine how long it took to do this
The same fence went all the way around their property

But wait! He said “let me check to see if my wife is decent, you’ll get a better view out the back of our place”. What?? This is hilarious. 

When I got to the top of the steep incline
I saw this and knew I was too early

And the bonus arrived soon after

Bingo! Worth the climb

He invited me in, we walked through the garage, through his beautiful house, kitchen to living room to his even more amazing back patio with pool and covered gazebo.

In his garage, he was storing his friend's Corvette
License plate said "My Sin"
For you, Jim

On their back patio area
Not just some metal and cloth gazebo either
Gorgeous! I can't even dream of this view every morning and night

The view was stunning and when the sun hit those mountains, one that was originally in darkness transformed into what appeared to be a beautiful little church. My camera wouldn’t pick it out though. I suffered badly having to walk through this house to get to see it, you can imagine. The things I endure for beauty. Wow!

It was in those dark mountains that the sun lit up 'the church'
a few minutes after taking the photo

Beautiful pink mountains as the sun rises

 Gary, (of course we exchanged names) and I briefly traded stories of my reason for being here and of his 28 years in this house as well as his visit to African Lion Safari in Ontario. They have friends coming from Manitoba for a visit and he reassured me that everyone around this area are friendly and love Canadians. Good to know, I said, as I took my camera and departed down the hill at a much faster pace than going up. He offered us to come back so maybe I’ll try getting Bill up the hill before we leave.

An Earth house down there

Back home, the Suite, and its inhabitants, was still in slumber so I made my tea and sat at my laptop to download the morning’s pictures. What a nice walk. When Bill got up he caught up on blog posts and did a bit more banking. 

We had a few groceries, that we needed so went to the .99 Store on Kiowa Drive. We picked up gallon jugs of homo milk for $2.09, half & half creamer for 1.99/litre, butter for 2.99, a 5 lb. bag of potatoes and a head of lettuce for .99 plus 3 - 24 pack water for $7.97. Crazy!! This meant we didn't have to go anywhere else. I know Walmart sells the milk for $1.88 but their cream was 2.19 so we did alright.

At the mall, we noticed this Smart car
Someone loves Christmas!

Soon after we got home, Bill went back out to try and clean some of the marks on Black Beauty after its wash. He has come to the conclusion that it must be the Turtle Wash and Wax he’s using because it looks yeuchy. It is still better than it was but remember, Bill is a perfectionist and it is driving him crazy.

I sat with Clemson out at the front of the house and watched Bill do the windows, turning the wheels this way and that so the windows were out of the hot sun. Sitting there with my second tea, I knew I’d finish this book in a matter of minutes without distractions. We didn’t feel hungry until closer to 12 noon so Bill made a sandwich and I had my yogourt and banana mixture.

A beautiful Palo Verde tree

Guiltily, I will admit that around 2 pm when we were both outside reading in the shade, we had our small bag of Lay’s chips that we got at the hamburg dinner last Wednesday. I guess our ‘lunch’ wasn’t quite enough. Anyway, they were fresh and went down well. As expected, I finished my book and highly recommend it if you haven’t read it. It is a great story.

Clemson can take some of the heat as well
before he has to move to the shade

We moved inside and turned the tv on as we waited for Rose and George to return. It was just before 5 when we heard them pull in the driveway and begin to unload. We chatted for a while and Rose kindly offered us some of the leftover ham for our supper. I could see the sun going down behind us as we talked and had to grab my camera. George took me to the front corner of their property where I would get the perfect shot. He wasn’t kidding, I never thought of it.

Our hosts have returned home from Temecula, CA

Ham sounded great to me, since we hadn’t had any since our own Thanksgiving in October. I made up a salad to go along with it and we had a nice supper. Rose also said the magic words “pumpkin pie and Cool Whip” for dessert so after we cleaned dishes up, we met at the patio to share her offerings.

Sunset and clouds

I was looking to get into a new book and John Grisham was recommended to me by our new friend, Paul. So! I had picked one up from the clubhouse before we left on Wednesday and started The Runaway Jury. We’ll see how it goes. 

Pumpkin pie and cool whip for dessert
with good hosts and friends

This has been a fun day even though not much was involved. It doesn’t take much to make us happy these days. I hope your day was a good one too.

Good night from Kibbey Drive

Thank you for stopping by today! Your comments will be read if you leave one.