Chillin' with Patsy: Family Together Again, Mom Visit, Cupboard Fix, Quiet Evening

Clemson moved for the first time since bedtime at 10:30, around 7:10 am. Huh? Not up through the night at all. Lordy oh Lordy! You figure him out! Bill arrived home last night at 9:45 and after unloading his stuff and our groceries from Costco, we relaxed together for half hour or so. I couldn’t keep my eyes open so I left him watching a couple of episodes of Counting Cars. So, it was 7:15 on Friday, Sept. 28^th when I got up.

The day starts out quite nice

It is nice to have Bill home, our family together again and earlier than originally expected . I checked the temperature outside, 50F, and bundled less than yesterday for my walk. I walked just to Turbine Drive this morning and it was a very pleasant leisurely walk. Just a couple of miles today was enough. When I returned, I made my tea and sat with Bill reading blog posts from the previous day. The sun rose majestically and it will be a day of some sun, more clouds and a moderate breeze.

The sun reflects on our neighbours off the grid home
Seems fitting somehow

At 9:30 we had bacon and eggs for breakfast so that was out of the way. We had to make a phone call to our bank for clarification on a letter we received regarding that stupid scam from back in July. Yes, the $ was reimbursed to our Visa but they are having a difficult time getting the refund from the scammers. We have a pretty strong sinking feeling that in the end we’ll end up having to eat the cost. However, we’re not giving up yet.

After the call, I got cleaned up and drove into Rockwood Terrace for my visit with Mom. She was in her usual prone position, her after breakfast nap on the bed. When she sat up with her smile, she looked so nice in her navy jacket over a white top and blue jeans. She had her red beads on. She can wear any colour and look beautiful. My Mom. 😊 She inspires me.

The pleasant dining room at Rockwood
Mom's table is at the blue door in the far corner

I noticed that she had a puzzle half finished, or half mixed up for putting it away, sitting on the board on her window ledge. That was a good thing for us to do to pass the time since it wasn’t a nice day to take her outside. I noticed that she had an alarm bracelet on her wrist. Hmm, they are trying that again. She destroyed the last one. When I saw how big, bulky and ‘hospital-like’ it looks, I’m not surprised she was determined to get it off.

Mom enjoys putting puzzles together
You'll see the 'alarm bracelet' band in this picture

Before our visit was over, she had managed to slip it off her slim hand. She was under the impression that she had put it on. Just before walking down to the elevator, I wrapped it around the knob on her walker, hoping it would stay there for the time being. Maybe the staff will get the hint to affix it on to the walker, she is seldom without it. After saying goodbye, I drove through the very busy noon hour traffic to Rob and Pat’s. I missed seeing the bag over their One-Way street sign so ended up parking on the next street over and walking to their house.

The new shelf

covered

The contents

We had a nice visit and firmed up plans for a dog-sitting day tomorrow. We will be heading out early morning for Fort Erie to visit my Mother-in-law. Once more, we are so blessed to have these friends in our life for more reasons than one. They really do enjoy our little pesky pooch. It was challenging finding a parking spot on Main St. too but I needed to stop at the bank before heading home. I was sure ready to leave town! Makes me appreciate living in the country even more.

The empty cabinet

I made myself a coffee while Bill showed me his latest project. We’ve needed a new shelf for our dvd cupboard, so with the ½ sheet of plywood Bill purchased the other day, he measured and cut one out. What seemed like an easy enough thing to do turned into some kind of frustration because of one thing or another. Anyway, as always, his persistence paid off and the shelf fits. Next was for me to cover it with the ‘Mac Tac’ I picked up and covering the wood would make things move easier on it.

And all back together again

The Mac tac was obviously very old, although a new roll, and wasn’t sticky enough. I had to use my 'old' glue stick but that worked like a charm. Now the shelf looks pretty, but that doesn't matter because it won’t even be seen. Bill fit it back in where I wanted to place it and I put the dvd’s in. Our series of seasonal programs sit nicely at the top of the cupboard and our cd’s and binder of movie and music dvd’s sit on the bottom. Perfect!

The sky looked like this for about an hour this afternoon
and then cleared up

The afternoon had turned wet, off and on, full clouds and only 50F for most of the day. Now that is depressing! We are hoping to still get some nice dry sunny days so we can get a few more outside jobs done. We are down to 22 days before we leave the Ridge and I’m sure we will manage just fine. Things will get done. We sat together for a while in front of the tv, Clemson taking turns cozying up to each of us.

Here we go again
Notice the floppy ears?

At 6, he needed out so I went out with him and we took a walk down the laneway. I am blown away by his energy and maybe it is because with this weather, he isn’t out as often to stretch his legs. He ran down and all the way back again and then when I bent to pick him up, he romped around wanting me to play chase with him. I went up to the garden and picked a ripe tomato and decided to bring the last of my green onions in. They aren’t going to grow much more.

This is the prettiest the sky has looked since early this morning

I had 2 pork rib chops thawed for supper and browned them in a fry pan before putting them into a baking dish. I covered them in cream of mushroom soup blended with ½ cup of cream. I sprinkled some frozen mixed vegetables in the pan as well and baked them for 45 minutes. It was not a night for barbecuing. I fried up some hash browns with garden peppers and onions for a side dish. Supper was ready at 6:30 and I must say that I enjoyed the pork chops tonight.

Makes a lovely onion bouquet, no?

Bill washed and I dried dishes tonight, our usual routine. There was a serving of rhubarb crisp left for Bill so he warmed that up to fill that tiny hole left after supper. We usually always have a little hole for dessert. As the night time settled around us, we pulled the blinds and settled down to watch some tv. This afternoon we watched the pre-recorded episode of 9-1-1 and one of Johnny Harris’ new Still Standing shows.

A hearty meal, yum

Tonight, we have a few more recorded shows to watch but will spread them out over the next few nights. I have enjoyed this day. A visit with Mom always tops it off nicely, making me feel content and proud, no matter what else I do. An inside job got completed and our dvd’s will ride much better from now on. I hope you have had a good day.