Early Rising on Saturday, Lawn, Shed, Clean & Packup, Great Supper

I was awake at 5:30 on Saturday, Aug. 18^th and I sensed that Bill was too. We stretch and touch feet and if the other one responds, we know. Bed Footsies, you’ve all played that game. 😊 I couldn’t seem to drop back off and after a few restless roll overs, I did my regular leg stretches and began to rise. By the time I’d walked around the bed and got dressed, Clemson was also waking. The whole family was up and it was only 6:30!

I like how this picture turned out
The sunrises and so does the fog

The fog across the pond and fields was pretty thick but quite pretty as it hovered. I looked out the back window to the east and caught the suns first appearance again. That is twice this week! I slipped outside with my phone camera and snapped a few pictures. 

Looking north across the pond

Eastern view of the pond and horizon

The sky was clear and once the fog moved off, I finished my tea and went for my walk. It was a comfortable 66F. Bill had a shower before heading out to cut the grass in the back field. That would clean things up for the time we are away.

To the south behind us, the sun reflects on these clouds

We had rain overnight, I think, as everything was quite wet and there were a few puddles on the road. As I walked, I noticed this little fellow on the tread lane. Sadly, his life was over but he reminded me of the desert geckos. I think we call them salamanders here, correct me if I’m wrong. He sure was a cutie. I hate to think of dead creatures being squished, if they aren’t already, so moved him off to the side of the road.

This little guy didn't have a chance but I don't know what
killed him

By the tail, I placed him unceremoniously on a stone

Someone left their mark on the pavement

When I returned from my walk, Bill was out in the field cutting. I came inside and began making breakfast. I wasn’t particularly hungry at 9 but figured I could eat an egg omelette anyway. I also wasn’t sure if Mike was going to show up soon and would he have eaten, so kept an omelette for a sandwich for him too. We ate and I told Bill I’d clean up the dishes since I had to strain my tomato soup and that would dirty more. It still had seeds and some thin pieces of skin that I wanted to get rid of.

I remember this ragweed from my childhood
My brother, Bruce, and I used to strip the stalks and throw
the kernels at each other

Dewy webs

With that finished, I labelled the 3 filled jars, still about 5 or 6 cups for the freezer. I also labelled the jar of mayo that I made. I tried it on my cheeseburger last night and it tasted okay with a touch of regular mayo. At least I controlled the ingredients and know what is in it. 

Bill cleaned up his mess from working down at the shed and then re-hooked up the satellite connection to our ‘basement’ tv. It has been disconnected since we arrived home. That meant he had to call for the set-up so now it is working again.

I watched a movie outside before starting supper
Fault in Our Stars is an real good one

The was how Bill left the shed last night
Needing doors

Mike arrived around 10:30 so Bill and he looked at what needed to be done. With a trip for Bill to Welbeck’s (a lumber et al store), they should be able to finish the doors today. I put my knick-knacks away in the living area and up in the bedroom and then gave all the wood a good wipe down. We didn’t catch our varmint last night but he visited again and turned the mouse trap upside down. Maybe tonight with your tips about the peanut butter!

3 jars of tomato soup and 1 jar of mayo

I’m happy that at least this weekend, we should be in our own home while work is being done. Well, in the evenings at least. If that isn’t possible, we’ll sleep in another unit. I’m not looking forward to spending the days in the waiting room at Can-Am simply because of Clemson. I’ll need to be with him and entertain him while Bill is off doing whatever. When he’s not working maybe we’ll drive to a park or something just for a break.

The boys were working well together

The boys worked away down there on the shed and I wandered down a couple of times to see how they were doing. I needed to mail another card so walked down to the mailbox so I don’t forget tomorrow morning before we leave. I think the recipients will be receiving these late but better late than never! 

installing the window in the door

On the way back up the lane, I looked at my messy flower garden. Yeuch! It has simply been too hot to do any weeding but today is much nicer for that kind of chore.

And this pretty guy crossed my path in the lane

I neglected to take the time to put my work gloves on, afraid if I did that I’d change my mind about weeding at all. It probably doesn’t look much different to anyone else but me, but I pulled a lot of grass that was growing up through the plants and especially the phlox. I love that one but I deplore that grass gets up in the middle and spoils the effect. I went through the whole garden and tossed the weeds over the hillside.

One single and half a double door in place

Back inside, realizing that it was 1:30 and the boys had been working for 3 hours, I fried them up a cheeseburger each. It is messy inside but much quicker than lighting the bbq and doing them outside. Clean up is easy. Many rv’ers do not and will not cook inside. Maybe that is something that works for them, but for us, it is the way Bill and I share the cooking. If the weather is not conducive to outdoor cooking OR if he has been working all day, I don’t mind coming up with an indoor meal.

The Inspector hasn't lost his touch

As soon as I put the burgers on the plates and started for the door, I heard Bill calling “Patritia! How would you like to cook a couple of hungry guys a burger?” Am I good or what? I appeared at the door with their lunch in hand. Yes, I’m good. It wasn’t much but it would hit the spot and hopefully tie them over until supper. They seemed to enjoy them and that is all I’d hoped. They are almost done working today and will soon have a happy hour/beer break.

Two recipes from the binder

I’ve been debating whether to use up the last of the tomatoes that I have picked for spaghetti sauce. If I do that, there aren’t any others ready if Bill wants toasted tomato. Hmmm. However, looking at them, they aren’t going to be good for much longer. Decision made. Now to find the recipe that I saved on Word last week. Clemson had walked down with me to inspect the shed and the workers so Mike was happy to see the little guy. He’d been asking about him.

And the front door has a window

 At 3 o’clock, the boys finished the shed. Doors on, window installed and Mike was adding up the material cost. Bill is one happy camper. That seems to be happening a lot! I have no complaints even though the saying goes “Happy Wife, Happy Life!”, I’ll have to create my own. “Happy William, Like Winning a Million!” Yah, I like that.  They sat out under the flapping awnings, which I’d brought in a bit because of the wonderful breeze, and had a beer.


A job well done, both of you, and Mike left around 3:30. We are very pleased. I boiled some water and dunked the 6 or 8 tomatoes into the pot. After 45 seconds or so, I removed them and dunked them in an ice bath. Because there were stem parts to remove and a couple of splits in the tomatoes, it wasn’t as easy to peel them as I’d hoped. I followed the recipe I found for Easy Spaghetti/Marinara Sauce and that part was easy peasy. I wish that I’d had more tomatoes but this would be enough for a couple of meals at least.

pork loin and scalloped potatoes

I cleaned up dishes after pouring the sauce into a jar and placing it in the fridge. Maybe Wednesday night for supper, we’d try this with spaghetti. While Bill was busy cleaning up the wood and sweeping out the shed, I took it upon myself to cook supper without even asking him what he wanted. The guys had burgers mid-afternoon but I hadn’t eaten anything since an egg omelette at 9. I was hungry.

Just enough pork for 2 meals

 Earlier today, I had taken a 2-lb pork loin roast out of the freezer so I searched in my ‘George’s Recipes’ binder for help. I found the one I was looking for on how to cook it on Weber. At the same time, I found a Scalloped Potato recipe too. They were easy instructions to follow and within an hour and 15 minutes, we were eating. I steamed some broccoli for me and some corn for Bill. It was a great meal. Thanks, George! I would certainly make them again and now wish I had more roasts than chops. 😊

And the scalloped potatoes were perfect with leftovers too

We cleaned up dishes and then drove over to the Acreage to see Donna and Gerry for a bit. Bill wanted to talk about the water filter that he installed on their drilled well. Mike, Gerry and Donna couldn’t say enough about how clean the water was and how good it tasted. Yay! That means it was a totally wise thing to do and worth the money spent. We hung around for about an hour and headed home. The night is cooling off, with the temperature sitting at 68F at 8:30. Should be a great night for sleeping again.

This has been a good day. Bill is happier than a pig…………you know. I’m happy that he’s happy and most of the Suite is packed up for the jaunt to London tomorrow. I hope yours has been a good day too.

and the shed is done
thanks Mike!

Thank you for popping in to check on us. All comments are appreciated.