Bit of a Reprieve, Small Things Done, No Rain as Promised

On Monday, July 2^nd we woke within 20 minutes of each other after a great night’s sleep. We’d gone outside last night after 8 and the air and wind were so refreshing that we decided to open windows and turn the a/c off in the living room and turn the bedroom a/c on. However, come 11, bedtime, we instead turned it off as well and opened windows. There was a wonderful breeze coming in my side window and it remained all night long.

Waiting for the sun to push through

This morning even though it was a beautiful 74F outside and 78F inside, we did the opposite. Turning the a/c on in both rooms will keep the Suite at a very comfortable temperature without the battle against the rising heat. We hope. I went for a walk at 6:30 when I got up before having a tea. It wasn’t a long walk nor a fast-paced one. Just a mile but it was enough. I took my tea outside and caught up on a few blogs on my phone.

These families saw me coming and boy did they run

Bill went up on the berm and dug a hole big enough to fit the cement elephant foot that holds his flag pole. The wind is so strong up here that it has blown it over a couple of times. Now it will be secure. He did a few things in his cargo trailer and I decided to clean up the old plastic darts that we have for our dart boards. 

These are very amateur darts but they work

The tips were pretty rusted. I’m seeing a ‘tourney’ in our future and currently, these are the only darts we own. I doubt that will improve our skills but it might!

I sat outside and read more of my page turner before coming in at 9:30 to make breakfast. We cleaned things up and drove into Durham. It seemed odd but on-line, the Home Hardware was closed Sunday and open today. In reality, I don’t know if they were open yesterday but they were certainly closed today. The whole town appeared to be shut down. We did stop at the RBC to withdraw some cash so it wasn’t a worthless trip. Now we have more than 2 wooden nickels to rub together.

A walk down the country road this morning
was refreshing

Back home, it seemed Bill couldn’t sit still. We moved the paddle boat up on the hill in the long grass so we weren’t moving it around each time the lawn had to be cut. I can’t take a picture of it For Sale until we get the seats and the top washed. They are pretty gungy looking. Together we moved the wash stand from under the canopy to where it will stand by the rain barrel. It needs another piece of wood before we can attach the pump. Bill is waiting until it is finished before he writes about it so no picture.

this is a deck post (elephant feet) 

and it is now in the ground holding the flag pole

We had a lovely breeze all day today

I felt guilty sitting with my book while Bill kept moving so I slipped on a ball cap, gloves and took our long-handled clippers down the lane. There has been such growth and with rv’s soon coming up the drive, I wanted to see what I could do. It took about 30 minutes before I was huffing and puffing with the sweat droplets seeping out of my hat. Wow! It was hot work! I made a good dent on the worst side and one day this week I will finish it. Feeling so whooped, I just dropped and left my cuttings.

Bill brought the wheelbarrow down with me
and we gathered my cuttings
If you look down the right side of the lane
hopefully you can see how far I got

We had 2 bottles of water in the freezer so I brought those outside and Bill soon came to join me. I think maybe he was ‘mostly’ done for the day. When he went inside for a bite to eat, I thought a yogourt, some walnuts and cheese sounded good to me too. The boys remained indoors for a snooze but outside I read a bit more until the sun claimed the patio area. It is just too hot to sit in it and I was too lazy to move my chair to the shade.

A nice afternoon outside

Soon enough I gave in to the tired eyes and came inside. The boys were asleep in the recliners so I moved upstairs to the cool bedroom. An hour and a half of heavy sleep and dreams later I dragged downstairs. I almost felt worse but pushed myself to move. I must have needed the rest to sleep so soundly for so long.

The process to water my gardens

My tomatoes are looking good

We eventually both moved outside and were surprised at how nice it felt out there. We are pleased with the performance of our a/c today and don’t regret having it on. Set at a moderate 76F/24C some may wonder ‘what’s the point?’ but we don’t like a frigid environment inside, just a nice change from the outdoors. Maybe tonight, we’ll turn it off again. The humidity today is much less.

Bill using his jigsaw to cut the lower hole

A different angle

From the back, perfectly aligned

Now our king chairs have their own shade
and even create new shade on the lawn

Bill had another good idea, (I do tell him often!) and drilled a hole in the table between the King chairs. Ever since we lost our glass patio table in the wind storm, our red solar umbrella has been tucked up in the storage shed rafters. At this point we aren’t sure if we want another table. Certainly, it won’t have a glass top and the expense of a picnic table isn’t practical to me. The bench seating isn’t comfy. So, with this umbrella in between our chairs, we can move the chairs from the shade of the trees, taking the shade where we want. They are ideal for Bill and I sitting around the firepit. 

burgers and bacon, coming right up!

The smaller chairs can be moved around for guests to sit around the heat, in shade or sun. I can’t tell you the contortions I would have had to get into to get the top and bottom hole so perfect! When that was done, I lit the Weber for supper. Burgers tonight were on the menu with bacon, cheese and all the other stuff which makes them stand 6” high. Well, not quite but they are ooey gooey good.

Clemson and I walked to the road

We cleaned up dishes and then went outside. Donna texted at 7 to say they were soon on their way home to Hanover. Back to the regular work week, she says “back to get some rest”. They’ve worked pretty steady at the Acreage on projects too.

Another handful of goose feathers

Clemson and I took a walk down the lane again, it is so easy to get him to go with us lately. We’re not sure what changed from us having to convince him to come with us. It isn’t a complaint though, we love it when he follows, leads or prances along beside us. There were no geese around or turtles tonight although Bill and I saw Mrs. Yertle earlier digging more holes. We came back and sat outside until Bill wandered over from his hobby and sat with us.

peeking through to the west

At 8 one of my shows came on so I moved inside and with things closed up, Bill came in and moved upstairs. It is nice to have two televisions for the times we want to watch something different. Clemson and I curled up together in my recliner and at 9, Bill and I had a dish of ice cream together. A nice end to a wonderful day.

Good night from the Ridge

Thank you for stopping in today. Your comments are welcome!