A Balmy Day in the Neighbourhood! Prepping the Bunky, Grandson Visit - or not

Home on the Ridge

So, here is my story for Friday, May 10^th (and I’m sticking to it). We were up and ready for the day by 7. Well, Bill much earlier, I think. I took my ear plugs out and listened. No rain. I lifted my blind and looked. No clear sky. Hmm. In my head, I remembered that it wasn’t supposed to get too cold overnight so I thought I’d get up and out for a walk. Even though it was 48F/9C and ¼ of yesterday’s winds, it felt much colder.

Not many pictures today
The bunky is ready for a couple of sleeping bags and a couple of people

I chickened out of the walk and it was just as well as the rain was threatening anyway. I debated whether I’d go see Mom this morning but decided to wait until Sunday before her lunch. Today was Spa Day at Rockwood and I went last year with her. I’ll give the other girls an opportunity to go this year as I had told them about it earlier. Bill drove to town to pick up insulation for the Hangar and set to work right away. At 9:30 I started bacon and eggs as I knew he’d be hungry.

Yesterday afternoon, I had a text from my middle grandson, Jacob. He and his girlfriend, Bea, are going for a camping weekend along Bruce Peninsula and possibly to Manitoulin Island. Oh, to be young! I mean, it isn’t exactly camping weather in my books! What we’re doing is NOT camping, so they keep telling us. Ha ha. Anyway, this will be a stopover point for them after leaving London tonight when Jake finishes work. How fun!

Bea is a lovely young lady from Quebec and they have maintained their long-distance relationship very well. They are a prime example of 'today’s hippies’ and I fully support their ‘follow your dreams’ attitudes. Bill and I moved the coat rack, with winter coats etc., from the bunky to the storage shed. It remains there tucked in the back all summer and that seems to work for us. we needed to prepare the bed.

Meatballs ready for the oven

Since I had swept and tidied ‘The Roost’ up the other day, all I needed to do was open the futon and get some pillows. I’m assuming, although I did text to confirm, that they will have sleeping bags so I can avoid the whole air mattress thing. We’ve decided this year to try and find a better way to accommodate overnight guests. It isn’t big enough in there to leave a full-size bed opened as it is also going to be my puzzle/paint room. We have some ideas and I’m sure one of them will work.

A new experience for me is cooking for a vegetarian and I certainly want to feed the kids when they are here. It will be a short visit, the least I can do is provide a meal! Spaghetti is easy but instead of ground beef in the sauce, I will make meatballs that Bea can easily skip. Jake says he’ll eat anything so that is easy. I truly know very little about vegan or vegetarian lifestyles. You know me, all high fat! Meats, cheeses, dairy, eggs – all produce from animals. LOL Yes, I know I can Google it but I don’t need an extensive lesson for the few times I'll ever need to prepare such meals.😊

And the sun is fighting to make an appearance

So, I found a meatball recipe now that my ground beef is thawed. One without too much filler, I want to taste the meat. Better still, I found a recipe to make the whole thing in Madame IP! That appeals to me more than having 2 or 3 dirty pans to wash afterwards. Of course, we’ll probably ‘fire’ up the dishwasher since it hasn’t been run for a while. When I began putting my ingredients together, a key staple was missing from my stock. Oh no! The bread crumbs!

I scooted in to Durham with a few things on the list and came home half hour later ready to put things together. I doubled up on the ground beef so I could stick some of the meatballs in the freezer for another time. I should have picked up another spaghetti squash for noodles (for me) but forgot to grab one so it’ll be pasta tonight.

Back home, I checked on Bill’s progress in the Hangar and I can’t believe how much he accomplishes in a single day. Things are really coming along! No pictures from me though, that is his story to tell. As my 48 meatballs cooked, I moved them out to cool and then popped them in the freezer. I tasted one and even though they aren’t perfect round little balls, they taste good! When all 3 trays were done cooking, I hopped in the shower.

and our first hummer snuck in for a drink or two

Bill came inside around 4:30, finished for the day and he fed Clemson. The little guy has been so good, sleeping for the most part and didn't bug us for an early meal at all. Once he was fed, we could both sit and relax for a bit. As it turns out, our company has cancelled. ☹ My grandson texted that his girlfriend drove all day from Quebec and felt car sick. To come here, they had a 3 hour drive.

They wouldn’t be coming after all. Not sleeping in the bunky. Not feasting on my wonderful meatballs! I really do understand, plans change all the time. I hope that she is feeling better tomorrow so they can make the best of their weekend together. I don’t know if carsickness is a thing for her and hope she takes something to nip it in the bud. So, it isn’t that I was relieved at all but knowing what we did now, I realized that we didn’t have to wait for supper. I was feeling hungry come 5:30 and set out to start.

All cooked, I just added the cheese and basil 

If you’ve never done spaghetti and meatballs in your IP, let me be the first to tell you how easy it is. I had my pre-made meatballs and they were partially frozen. You could use fresh ones if you wanted. Layer the bottom of the pot with meatballs, I used 16 or so. Break your spaghetti pasta and lay the noodles over the meatballs. Pour 24 oz. of sauce and 3 cups of water over everything. Make sure your noodles are covered.

On Manual, cook for 10 minutes. That’s it, understanding that it takes about 10 minutes to build up steam first before it starts cooking. When it beeps, Manual Release the steam. Remove the lid careful not to let any water from the lid drop into the pot. I added about ¾ cup of shredded mozzarella/cheddar cheese blend and sprinkled dry basil before stirring it all together. A-mazing! This was truly a one pot meal, the easiest recipe of this dish I’ve ever made. 

Stirred it up, ready to serve

Bill and I enjoyed a regular portion with a side garden salad. I went easy on the pasta because of the carbs but with wholesome meatballs and sauce, Bill has enough for 2 meals in London at the beginning of the week. We cleaned up dishes, one pot, people! I love this magical instant pot. 😊 The temperature today has been dropping every since I got up at 7. Hovering around 42 and 41F most of the day. Not a day to be outside, that’s for sure.

The kids missed a good meal here tonight

Bill got a lot done today and will sleep well tonight, even with his late afternoon snooze and we have a busy day tomorrow as well. I hope you have enjoyed your day as much as we have here on the Ridge. 

The clouds have broken up

I’m watching for a sunset tonight because as seems typical, the sun came out at 6 pm and there are some low lying clouds. If I get a performance, I’ll include a picture. If not, I’ll say goodnight without it.

And there it is
Good night everyone!

Thank you for your visit. I do appreciate hearing from you if you choose to drop a line.