A Day of Rest? Hardly! Barbecue Invitation, Canada Day Preparation

The Ridge

It was a gorgeous morning so when I got up at 6:30, I went for my walk. Strange, how I can’t seem to sleep in much even when I don’t have to work. Such a nice walk it was, down to the turbine and back. 2 miles. Each morning, each day gets easier here in our pooch-less life. I made my tea and sat at my laptop. Bill was already outside prepping the riding mower. At 7 and not before, he would start cutting the grass. Gotta respect the neighbours as they do us.

Good morning!

I finished my tea and went out to do the same thing with my mower. He made it easy by cutting up the hill into my area so I didn’t have as much to do. In return, I pulled a lot of grass from around my little flower beds and the trees up here to save him time trimming. The mulch certainly helps too, a lot of that stuff I can get with my mower. I was done first, with much less to do and came inside to make breakfast.

sitting with my pretty Mom

I remembered to pull the peameal bacon out of the freezer on time and it was easy to cut 4 slices. I had my over-easy egg on top and it was quite tasty. Just missing the sauce and English muffin which would make Eggs Benedict. Bill did dishes for me while I got ready to go see Mom. It has been just over a week so I couldn’t not go. It was a nice day for a visit, I caught up with her walking down the hall away from me. She was quite surprised and I was very pleased that she still knows me. We just never know.

Mom had this picture of my little brother, Michael on her calendar
It was taken last July and I love the smiles

We walked a bit and then returned to her room where I searched for her glasses. Who knows where they’ve ended up but at least she can see and read pretty good without them. I think her eyes and mine are about the same. I don’t really ‘need’ my glasses either, except for the reading up close part. I gave up on that hunt but did spend some time hanging up all of her necklaces. They end up off the nice wardrobe with hooks and in her dresser drawers. Also, on her hangers in the closet. I think she is co-ordinating with her clothes. 😊

And there were 2 families in the lane this time

She was very happy and calm and we laughed a lot as usual. At 10 to 12 we walked to the dining room. She insisted once more on walking me to the door and it took about 10 minutes there to say goodbye. She was quite chatty. Again, after I drove away, she was still there, so I hoped they got her to her table easily enough. Back home, I spread some black earth around my recently planted flowers but not on the big hill yet. Those plants seem to be coming along without it.

And they presented a lovely picture as they swam away

And I love this one

Bill worked in the Hangar for a while after finishing the grass and will trim in the morning. Inside I mixed the batter for a cake I’m making for tomorrow and my sweetie had a nap up on the bed. When he got up, we packed a cooler and drove to the Acreage. Donna and Gerry had invited us over for supper. We chatted, received condolence hugs and had a few drinks. It was an early Happy Hour extended through until time to eat. Donna and I had a game of Scrabble while the guys played some horseshoes.

Looks good to me!

I think at the pit it was tied, Gerry vs Mike and at the picnic table, there was no question – I was today’s champion. We both enjoyed the game and the challenge.  Gerry grilled the pork ribs that Donna had par-boiled and when they were ready, we brought out the potato salad and corn on the cob. First tasteof the corn this summer and it was delicious! For dessert Donna had picked strawberries with yogourt and/or whipped cream. What a wonderful meal and a delightful treat to not have to cook.

Donna got the vowels and I got this kind of mess

And our board at the end

Gerry looking after supper

Saucing up those ribs

I helped Donna with dishes while the guys started a fire in their pit at the front of the property. We walked up to join them and had a nice chit chat. It was a great evening. I noticed that I had received a few bites on my back and wondered when I got those. Last night, Bill and I had sprayed on the new repellent I’d received so I doubt it was then but perhaps this morning when I was out cutting grass. I didn’t feel anything biting me but you never know. I’ll be using Benadryl tonight.

And a few things for tomorrow's celebration

We said our goodbyes shortly after 9 and upon returning home, Bill plugged us in so I could bake the cake before going to bed. Tomorrow morning, I had a few things to take care of so didn’t want to be up too late. This was a good day for both of us and we look forward to celebrating Canada Day with more family. I hope you have had a great day too.

and a picture of Donna and Gerry's pond tonight
Good night from The Ridge

Thank you for stopping by!

Serguei (sir-gay), Routines and Parties are Good

The Ridge – Saturday, June 29^th

When I went to bed last night at 10, I was not necessarily zonked but it was more out of necessity. I wanted to get up at 6 for work and knew I needed those hours of sleep. Bill remained downstairs until closer to 11:30, so I’m told this morning. So, it was the first time I’ve felt a real void at bedtime. I always have a little buddy to go with me. One who curled up at my back as I faced the window. I felt that I (we) had been very brave yesterday and didn’t get too weepy for the most part.

Clemson's sweater fits Serguei quite well

Clemson slept beside Serguei a lot

That changed soon after I crawled under the covers. Enter Sergui. Someone you may have ‘met’ before but I don’t think so. He has been in pictures with Clemson, you couldn’t take him away if Clemmy was on the bed. He’d chase after him and grab his paw to lay his head on his back or nose.

Meet Serguei

 While at the house, we had a husky. Not full grown but not a pup. He was a big beautiful dog in our small house. It didn’t work out for one reason or another and we found him a wonderful home with a custodian friend of ours.

It was a very foggy start 

We picked up a stuffed husky from Wintergreen one year, at the School Board warehouse and brought him home. He has sat on our bed there and in every rv since. Last night, after not being able to settle my sobbing, I retrieved Sergui from the floor where he sleeps and placed him against my back. I never heard Bill come to bed so I assume that was the ticket. I am happy to have him to say my ritual “Goodnight, Clemmy, have a good sleep”, and will appreciate that pretense, especially when Bill is in London overnight.

This morning it was foggy and sunny to start but that didn’t last long at all and we prayed the clouds would disappear soon.  I left for work at 6:15, had an uneventful hour other than a pop in visit from Rob on his morning walk. I left there and stopped at Foodland for some groceries needed for Monday and returned home. Once my tea was done, Bill was headed down to the Hangar to put trim pieces up. He is really putting the push on now as it is so close to completion.

Yummy devilled eggs but not many got eaten as someone else
brought them too

My eggs were already boiled and cooled for devilling so I began mixing and stuffing 52 of the little ‘devils’. We held off for our bacon and eggs until just around 11 and then I had my shower while Bill put planes and tools away. He has to move the BIG Telemaster out onto the grass when he works in there so it doesn’t get bumped accidentally. Inside I had finished up in the bathroom when he returned and it was his turn for a shower.

It turned into a beautiful day for an outside event!

Because of the early morning rising and the 2 hour drive to and from our destination today, we thought it wise to try and have a snooze. No hardship for you know who, but after 15 minutes, I got up and finished making myself presentable. We were ready with the cooler and chairs loaded in Ptooties by 1 and on the road shortly after. Woodstock area was our destination and as we turned onto Zorra-Tavistock Line aka Bridgette and Chris’s road, we realized we were following my sister, Wendy. 😊

these pictures will only mean something to Bridgette and Chris
but you can see the large yard they have at the back

After taking the last pix, I couldn't see Chris so he sat up for me

We arrived at their house around 3:30 and I was delighted to see my son, Patrick, his Dad (my ex), Fred and my oldest Grandson, Taylor. I didn’t know they would be there. Fred and I have a decent relationship now and although we can’t live together, we get along just fine. It was Taylor that was the biggest joy for me. It has been 3 years since I have seen him so I hurried over for a ‘3-yr. hug’ just in case it is that long again. He is a young fellow who is difficult to keep track of.

burgers on the grill

La Chef!

La Hostess!

The party attendees arrived as did coolers with food and drink. Chris’s new band, The Wheelers, was setting up in the garage and music was playing non-stop in the background. We all gathered, introduced ourselves to each other and enjoyed the wonderful afternoon.  

Wendy and I - both with mouths full - LOL

A very thoughtful creative gift from her friend Lisa

A lot of Chris's aunts and uncles were present which was nice. Now that I see a better view of the property, I can see how beautiful it is for them. Nice lawn, nice flower beds, trees for shade and a huge fire pit for evening gatherings. Chris barbecued burgers and sausages and around 6 clanged the ‘dinner’ pot and lid. He needs a triangle or a bell.

They received many unexpected gifts

Bridgette and a dear long time friend from London,
Nice to see you, Alana!

The garage didn't only have food
Bridgette and Chris's bikes

It was a very nice time and when The Wheelers began playing the tunes, we were impressed with the talent. Chris plays lead guitar and plays it very well so I hope they do well and have fun in their new group. 

Nice big house

The Wheelers sang some good tunes

I tracked Taylor down to get a picture
He is shy and his girlfriend, Hallie is even shyer
so didn't get to chat with them

Bridgette's youngest, Jacob and my youngest sister, Wendy

 It was 8:15 when we said our goodbyes and left for home. The party would go on into the wee hours, I’m sure, and they have friends sticking around for that including Tj, Jake and Wendy, who is staying overnight. The house is turning into a ‘home’ now and I’m so happy for this transition in both Bridgette and Chris’s lives.

A cute picture of Bridgette and I

It was 10:15 when we turned up the lane and without too many words about the quiet in the Suite, we pulled blinds and went to bed. It was a good day for sure and we were so happy that the clouds cleared away for the house-warming. I hope you had a good one as well.

Part of the drive home, we were facing this ball of sun

Good night all!

Thank you for your visit today!

Expected Rain Storm, Spell, Water Fill, Garbage Dump, Afternoon Company

The Ridge

On Friday, June 28^th I woke up at 5:45 knowing I had a much better sleep than the previous night. We both did. Bill was up about half hour ahead of me and already down enjoying his coffee. I felt a pang of loss as soon as I was up and dressed but forged on and joined Bill. It was cloudy, the sun didn’t have a chance against the heavy bank on the horizon, although it tried. I didn’t feel like a walk at 6 and then just got lazier.

When we left for town, the family was in our front field

I sat at my laptop and read comments and some blogs. Bill wanted to go and get water so bent over to kiss me good morning and I reached up to do the same and hug him. I was feeling great. Then I wasn’t. Bill said my head dropped onto his shoulder and I passed out for a few seconds and then when he let go, did a few body jerks. Geesh! The dizziness and clammy feeling were next what I experienced in my confusion so I asked him to help me lay down on the floor. A cool wet cloth helped and eventually I got up to the bedroom.

At the dump, I see these gulls and vultures up on the hill

Strange feeling and it was over really quickly. We figure it was because we haven’t eaten really well since Wednesday night and I know yesterday I didn’t drink much water. Silly, when I think about the amount of liquid my body expended through tears. Anyway, I’m fine and just had a lapse of knowledge about the water consumption. I even had a glass of milk with supper instead of my normal bottle of water late afternoon.

While laying down, Bill joined me to be sure I was okay and after a brief doze, he got up and left for water. I’m not asking for sympathy, although I’m sure there is concern, but I want it recorded for our records. When he returned with water, I was up, feeling fine and began making our bacon and eggs. Let’s start the day off with a good meal. Funny, how in sadness, our appetites wane, just when we may need it most.

I couldn't believe this one sitting so still with his powerful wings spread

We cleaned up dishes and Bill loaded up the leftover small pieces of drywall from the Hangar and we drove to the Durham Landfill/Dump. The young fellow was generous and didn’t charge us when he saw the small amount we had. That was appreciated. Next to Foodland for some Zero Coke which Costco in Guelph doesn’t carry (yet) and Bill loaded up 5 bags of black earth. I’m determined not to waste the hill planting from Thursday morning. We stopped briefly at our buddy’s home and I borrowed a couple of dishes from Pat.

By the time we returned home, it was starting to spit and then rain heavier. The gardens needed it and it also confirmed an indoor visit with Gayle and John. They’ve been busy around their place so it will be nice for all of us to sit and relax together with a coffee or drink. Bill vacuumed the Suite for me and between us, we gathered up Clemson’s ‘things’. From the car, truck, cupboards and couch we added to the pile. I need to wash his bed, vehicle cushions and blankets and then we’ll decide what to do with them.

So I zoomed in to make sure he was real and he sure was!

Tomorrow, we are invited to my daughter and her partner’s house for a house-warming party. We’re looking forward to that and I’ve offered to take devilled eggs. Madame IP will be working today so I began early, loading as many eggs at a time on the trivet. I managed to put all 26 eggs in and they were all done in 5 minutes. With a 3-minute natural release and an ice bath, they were ready for peeling. By the time, I got one peeled our company arrived.

It was nice to see Gayle and John and because of the rain, we moved inside. I made some coffee and tea and Bill had a Zero Coke. The day was warm outside, reaching 74F/24C and the rumbling of thunder was all we saw of a real storm. No wind, no lightning and nothing scary. My kind of storm! We enjoyed each other’s company, hearing of their Mexico tales and sharing some of our own stories regarding Clemson.

When they were ready to leave around 3:30 or so, I showed Gayle where I planted some of her transplants. She was encouraging for the location and even thought some of the periwinkle may come back in the spring. We said goodbye and as they drove out the lane, I realized how truly ‘out of it’ I am. I didn’t get a picture of them. Come to think of it, I didn’t get a picture of much today at all so I will keep this short.

My new facinator

We needed the rain, if you can believe I said that. My gardens cry for it every few days. Now it can stop. The grass needs cutting again so we’ll take care of that over the next two days. Around 4:00, Bill started cleaning the Weber Q and I pulled a few weeds around our patio mat. With the gravel wet, they came out easily. At 4:30 I remembered that MacGregor’s Ladies Fashions was have a Summer Sale, starting today.

When I returned from MacGregor's our families cleared the road
Notice how the babies now look like their parents

Not being able to resist a 30 – 60% off sale, I drove to the other side of Durham to check it out. I wasn’t successful this time, at least not at any price I wanted to pay so I checked out the Facinator dressers. I already had purchased one at the last sale so today chose a different colour and walked out pleased as punch at 5:20, 20 minutes past closing time. The owner’s husband didn’t mind as “I live here!” he said when I apologized.

Pork chops, mushroom soup rice and asparagus with butter

Back home, Madame IP cooked 2 very thick pork chops with mushroom soup rice in the inner pot. I used the microwave to cook asparagus and mixed veggies for Bill. This was a good supper and we were actually hungry for it tonight. That is a good sign to have our appetites returning. The Suite is still ‘empty’ but we are coping. Thank you everyone for your kind, supporting words over our loss. We know Clemson is still in good hands.

I hope you don't mind, but my posts may include a picture of
our little bum for a while
This was taken at our London home, when Clemson was only 2 1/2
Good night everyone!

Thank you for stopping in today. Your comments mean a lot to us.

The Day After Isn’t Much Better

The Ridge

We didn’t sleep, really. Maybe a few hours each but when I got up before the 6 o’clock alarm on Thursday, June 27^th I was pushing myself. Getting ready and off to my job sure helped me to get the mojo rising. Thanks, Jim Morrison, for that reference. I found that I was too busy focusing on the work to let the sad thoughts in.

Before I go too far, Bill and I want to thank everyone for their kind, heart-wrenching words in yesterday’s comments on here and on Facebook. Thank you all. So many of you have been through this with your own beloveds and your support and encouragement to relive the memories of Clemson mean more than you know. We’ll get through it but not over it.

Not much to take pictures of today
My heart wasn't in it either
I love the old buildings in Mount Forest and Arthur

I was an hour at the Mat and left the place looking spotless. The drive home was calm enough but when I stepped inside, realization hit hard again and I lost it to tears. Bill was in the shower and made reference to the number of comments on my blog. We each had some yogourt and I had my tea before we drove to Costco in Guelph around 8:30. With Bill not working in London this week, we wanted to top up our groceries. It was nice that our CPP’s were in the bank a bit early.

It is about 90 minutes to Guelph and Costco is on this end so we didn’t spend much time in traffic before arriving. We found our stuff and always extra things not on our list fall into the cart somehow. 😊  The gas price was pretty good at $1.13/litre so we filled Ptooties up before following directions to Regency Fireplace Products. No, we weren’t looking for a fireplace but we were looking for my daughter, the Ops Manager.

Bridgette's nice new building that she helped design

She was on the phone in her office so her two girls out front entertained us as we sat in Bridgette’s ‘book’ wing back chairs. The pattern is hard cover books and so very typical of my book worm. I wish I'd taken a picture. The last time there, it wasn’t finished so this was a treat to see where she spends her daylight hours. We didn’t stay long as we wanted to get home and she had a scheduled conference call in a few minutes. It was nice to see her and get a teddy bear hug for our loss.

Maybe this isn't the actual original structure
but it is made to look as if it is

It was going to be 1:30 or so by the time we reached home so we decided a stop at A & W was in order. I would have ordered bacon and eggs but we were an hour past breakfast hours. Instead I had a chicken bacon ranch wrap on a white tortilla and onion rings. Not exactly avoiding the carbs but taking the lesser of two evils and avoiding a bun and fries. I couldn’t eat all the rings nor could I finish the root beer but it was all good for a fast food meal. Neither of us was that hungry anyway.

This one looks original

Just as we got into Arthur, on #6 highway, Bill asked if I could take over driving. As I said, neither of us got much sleep last night and on the drive there, I was able to close my eyes at least. So, I got us home and we unloaded the groceries and crashed upstairs in the heat of the bedroom. I opened all the windows and dropped off. I don’t know when Bill got up but I slept for an hour and a half. You dream when you sleep but you don’t think at least so there were no tears this time.

Yah - no, didn't do it for me
Don't have much of an appetite anyway

The rest of the day was just lazing around for me. I took my book down and sat outside the Hangar in the shade. It was hot out there yet too warm to stay indoors. Bill managed to finish painting his trim by 7:30 but at 6:00 I came up and made us each a sandwich. His was a grilled cheese and mine was leftover Rueben but on my keto bread. It looks better than it tasted so I only ate about 3 bites before just eating the innards. Can’t get it past my tongue although I’ve tried!

Yay, we got stopped by a red light
so I had a nice view of this church

My sister and brother-in-law called to see if we were up for a visit tomorrow afternoon. They just heard about Clemson too and were overdue for a visit to the Ridge. That will be nice to see them for coffee or whatever. We cleaned up dishes and I sat finishing my glass of milk. I don’t drink it often but with this meal, it just made sense. Jess and Matt texted checking on what they need to bring for their visit on July 4^th and then my Mother-in-law called to express condolences to us both.

We keep pinching ourselves. Is this real? What have we done? Why did it have to happen now? We have discussed many times over the past year, since his vestibular disease, the different possible scenarios. What all would/could we do, how long we’d wait before doing anything and on and on. We are still convinced this was the right thing. We still beat ourselves up a bit, don’t we? Bill mentioned last night that the little guy was to the point of sleeping for 90% of his day so his body was tiring out. That makes it easier to take.

Gas was pretty good but diesel prices were awesome
We got our gas at Costco for .06¢ less

The rest of the evening was just quiet. I still have a few bites from over the last few days. The hardest part is that you don’t even realize you’re getting eaten until the next day. I sprayed some of the Pest Away product my girlfriend sent me and I’m hoping that the lovely lemongrass and lavender scent will do the trick. In the meantime, a welt on my neck is driving me nuts and a new bout of shingles on my lower back is itchy as heck. I said to Bill that I’m falling apart, restless and can’t sit comfortably. My ‘shun’ is missing from my gump and my ‘gung’ has deserted the ho. Figure that one out!

This was just a few days after we brought Clemson  home
He won our hearts from that day forward
Good night y'all!

On the up side, my book, Lee Child’s ‘Die Trying’, has grabbed me from Chapter 1. It is one of his first stories featuring Jack Reacher. So, I’ll get some of that read tonight before I give in to another mindless sleep. I hope your day was a good one.

Thank you for your thoughts.