Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Scary Wake Up Call, Day Two Alone, Clean Up, Bill Returns on Time

On Wednesday, May 2nd, Clemson and I move for the first time around 5:30 and I lift the covers for him to crawl in with me. He very, very rarely will do that and almost never when Daddy is home. I wondered how long it would last and was surprised when I opened my eyes at 7 that he was still under there. Bed snuggles with Mom are nice too, apparently!


Something about this morning sky, makes me smile
We both stretched languishly and got up. I noticed as I was walking around the bed that my balance was off and immediately thought ‘Crap, another dizzy day’. I knew Clemson would need to go out so continued to make the bed and go downstairs. As we stepped outside, I first reflected on what a gorgeous day it was. Then, I saw that the front jacks of the Suite were lowered to the height of our generator. I can say that because that is what it was resting on.


And the sun popped through
Oh, my goodness! I called Bill immediately and when I realized that our new genny was bent from the weight, I started blubbering. LOL the last time something like this happened, we were in our driveway in London and hydraulic fluid was leaking like crazy and the Suite was dropping rapidly. So, I figured we had a worse case scenario again. Bill calmly directed me to the control panel and after pushing the ‘extend’ button for landing gear, our home rose to the occasion.

Interesting that the Suite just went down far enough to put a dent in our generator
Once I had it levelled, other things were checked and I sent pictures to Bill of a slow leak inside at the cables. At least I can keep an eye on it all day and we’ll make an appointment to take the Suite in to check the list of possibilities. The good news is that I’m okay, no dizziness today for me! Yay! Also, our new generator still runs like a charm. I also love that I can start it w/o having to pull a cord. Now I can get outside and do some more work and enjoy the day. I made my tea and took it outside to the king chairs.
You can see the damage on this side
I was too upset to think to take a picture when I first saw the problem
After I finished my tea, I took the wheelbarrow and some clippers down the lane. There is a lot of trimming of little crappy growth that drives us crazy as it stretches out into the lane and just looks nasty. It is too rocky alongside the gravel for a lawnmower and some are too stringy for the whipper snipper so that means a one on one job with my long-handled clippers. Very hard on the back for a prolonged period of time.

My first load this morning had to sit while I ran from the rain
Now the sun is back out and I could dump it
I worked away starting at the hilltop end across from the corral and found it easier to sit on my butt and work in one area at a time. I made some progress and got about 50 feet before I felt the first drops of rain. Luck is really with me this morning, I tell you! LOL it just hasn’t been all good. I kept working but this time raking the debris off to the side of the lane so Bill could at least get the car up tonight. I filled the wheelbarrow and by the time I got back up the hill 10 minutes later, I’d got a free shower. With the tools away and the shed and bunky doors closed, I retreated inside.

I don’t mind a warm rain, especially if I’m going to get caught in it but now I’m very hot and sticky. Looks like an all-day rain so I likely won’t get back out there again. The Suite needs a good sweep again so once I’ve cooled down and had something to eat, I’ll take care of that. Depending on what the batteries read later, I might have to plug into power to watch a movie of the rain continues all day.

A different view of the pond
Well, the good news is that by 1:30, the sky seemed to clear. A few white fluffy clouds remained but large breaks of gorgeous sun encouraged me to once more go outside. First, I took Clemson out and we spent some time around the yard before walking down to get the mail. It didn’t matter that it was only flyers, it is all about the walk. We enjoy perusing the papers for local store sales . Bill and I, not Clemson and I.


When we came back, I once more opened up the doors to the bunky and the shed. I thought it best to put Clemson inside since I’d be working down the laneway again and not able to keep an eye on where he may wander. With the wheelbarrow emptied, I headed down to pick up where I left off. I found it easy to work from the sitting position than trying to bend over so resumed my process. It doesn’t hurt to get mad at the weeds, branches and trees, by the way! I was not giving in to them.

By 4, I had made progress, now about 100 feet down, on one side. Oh, darn, there is a whole other side! Our goal is to get rid of the messy brush stuff and small crowded trees. There are also quite a few dead trees because they don’t have room to grow, so out they go as well! Not as fit, flexible or young as I used to be, my back was saying that it was time to stop. So, I listened, mostly.

and the sun came out again this afternoon
I cleared the big branches off the gravel and made two trips up with the wheelbarrow with smaller stuff, dumping it in the brush pile. There will always be another day to clean up the rest and finish the job. It keeps me out of trouble when my sweetie is away. Speaking of Bill, I hadn’t heard from him since our 7 o’clock chat but after working yesterday until 11:30 pm (he and the boss needed to make a delivery to Turkey Point for a customer.  Now that is service!) I thought I'd let him contact me instead of texting him.
"Let's go get the mail, Clemson!"

Translates to dog language "Let's go pee on the rocks!"
 I sat outside until 4:30, came in to feed Clemson and then we both went out to sit in the remaining sun while I read a bit. The clouds were threatening to the north so it seems the forecast for thunderstorms were going to be bang on. I’m just glad to get a break for the afternoon. 


Inside, I fried up the package of liver for my supper. At this point, I have to assume Bill will not be home to eat with me. He will pick something up on the way so I made myself a salad and thoroughly enjoyed a couple pieces of this tender ‘delight’. Well, it is to me! The rest was divided up for two more meals and placed in the freezer.



While I was eating, Bill texted just before 6 to say he was leaving Stratford after a visit with Dad and Marilynne. I was hoping he would take the time to do that and we’ll see them together next week when we go to London. 

This is a terrible bush and it is going OUT!
Bit by bit, I snipped all of its extremities/tentacles
And it is gone! Well, it is still sitting there for cleanup but
GONE!
I cleaned up dishes and watched the news while writing my post. Bill pulled in around 7:10 and now I’m not so sure whyat the sky is going to do. It seems to be brightening up again. Before I came inside at 4:30, I checked our levels and the Suite hasn’t budged from when I extended the landing gear this morning. Strange.

One of my loads before I called it quits for the day

My reward #1

Reward #2

Reward #3
Bill returns safely
This has been a good day, I have no complaints and only hope that the hydraulic fluid leak doesn’t turn into more than we bargained for. It is nice to have my guy home, especially because tomorrow is our special day. What are we going to do? Probably get our hair cut together! We’re so romantic. I hope you’ve had a great day too.



Watching for the sun's demise tonight
The sky is still performing but those pictures will maybe be in tomorrow's post

Me thinks it will be a great one
But then the sky opened up and it rained again





good night from the Ridge, my family is back together again
Thank you for stopping by today! I love to hear from you and will respond to every post in time.

10 comments:

  1. Our day here was amazing. Glad the your jacks came back up and your new penny still works.
    Enjoy your special day tomorrow getting your hair cut.

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    1. It was another beauty of a day, even with the rain.
      The genny works but not sure we can get the cap off the gas can. LOL

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  2. Don't you hate it when stuff like that happens? Saved by the generator. Glad the jacks held. So distressing when you're by yourself. Good news is it's fixable!!!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I panic of course because I am pretty much useless with the outside workings of the Suite. I am getting better though!
      You're right, things are fixable. :)

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  3. Just want to wish you a happy anniversary for tomorrow. Enjoy your day together whatever you do. Take care. Miss ya!

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    1. Thanks Kim for the comment and the wishes. We miss you too!

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  4. Happy Happy Anniversary! That's too bad about the generator but glad it still works for you! Pretty darn tough! Weird why it went down like that. Looked like a beautiful day you had and lots of work!! Gorgeous sunset pics! Enjoy your day with your sweet, whatever you decide to do..:)

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    1. Thank you guys. The generator only wanted to work for a while, we'll have to get it looked at.
      We had a good day without doing anything really special. :) Just being together is enough, eh? You know that :)

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  5. Happy Anniversary!

    Sorry to see the generator has been mauled. It's why I never put anything UNDER the Igloo. Under the front nose cone, yes but not under the Igloo itself. Hopefully everything works and the gas cap won't be an issue. Good luck.

    I hate bush trimming as well. You know you can get a battery operated hedge trimmer that would work on the smaller stuff. You would still need to clip the big ones but it would be helpful at trimming all summer/fall as well. A late fall extreme trim might make less work in the spring as well.

    Glad Bill is home safe and sound.

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    Replies
    1. thank you Deb for the wishes.
      The generator gas cap is not budging. Bill had the genny chained to the leg and tucked it under out of sight. Good idea not to tuck anything under there for sure. Who knew?
      We used to have a hedge trimmer when we had the house but sold it, no hedges, duh. Last fall we did do a good trimming, this stuff grows like crazy, there is just no way to keep assured it won't come back. Thanks for the tips though. We're done buying gardening tools, we'll just deal with what we have and it keeps me busy. :)

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