Can’t You Stay Longer? A Tour Around the Ridge, Another Goodbye

On the Ridge

When I woke up at 6:00 on Friday, Aug. 30th, Bill seemed to still be sleeping. I quietly got dressed and slipped into the bathroom to get washed and my teeth brushed. By the time I’d made a couple of trips up and down the stairs, he moved enough to give me a good morning and good bye kiss. It was a working day for me so I left around 6:20.

And this was the sky to the east this morning at 6:30

And as I approached #4 highway, I was sure I saw lights in the field
so I waited

 Now, driving on Baptist Church Road I am very cautious. Yesterday, a deer ran across the road about 75’ ahead of me, just at Turbine Lane. Far enough to give me room to slow down, but still close enough to put my heart in my throat. I crept the remaining 3 km to the corner of #4 highway. For the deer, my and Patootie’s sake. I made it to the Mat safely and was pleased to find doors locked and only the odd fly buzzing around.

And if you look closely, a farmer was actually baling that early!

Looked like my boss had been in last night as the floor looked quite clean and when I went to get change out of a machine to run a soapy washer, they were empty of coin. Yup, he’d been in. The recycle bins looked great so I disposed of those things before setting about the regular chores. I was on my way out by 7:45. I wanted to test something so drove to the library parking lot. What a treat! I didn’t need to go into the library to connect to their wifi.

And boy was I surprised an hour later when I came home
There was a section on Baptist Church Road where the fog
was thick

With that knowledge, I felt that I could go anytime and sit outside and do my stuff. They didn’t have to be open. I wish I’d known that last weekend. Back home, the Sumnalls’ were still sleeping with both outside Bunky doors closed.

I could hear the squawking birds as I opened my door

As a I was getting out of the car a murder of crows was cackling and flying into the trees up on the berm. I inadvertently spooked them with the door closing and I snapped photos of them filling the sky over my head. Weird.

And there is nothing quite like the sound they make when they
fly off in a swoop

At least they weren't attacking as in the Hitchcock movie
The Birds

 I had my tea inside with Bill and soon our guests joined us. I’d planned a nice breakfast for around 10 so began cutting onions, bacon, green peppers (from my garden), radishes, mushrooms and eggs into a fry pan. With mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper, the omelettes were delicious! We had rye toast and choke cherry jelly as well which was a big hit. I’ll be picking more of those cherries in the next week.

And they flew off over our rooftops towards the pond

Bill and Derrick brought the Telemaster out of the Hangar so Derrick could get pictures showing the size in perspective. I’d loaded the dishwasher again and joined them. Kathy posed for us and then she and I toured the property. 

The omelette was great and K & D liked my jelly on toast

I wanted to show off my garden and she got a kick out of the 3 watermelon. She was here at the right time to get a freshly picked green pepper to take home. It was around noon hour when we posed together for a group selfie and then they pulled out. Always a pleasure having these guys and always sad to see them leave.

Kathy poses with the Telemaster

They were pretty blown away by the size of the plane
Derrick is one of the owners of AVF Hobby Store in London
so keeps Bill well equipped with his rc needs

My sweetie stretched out on his recliner and dozed for a few minutes while I caught up on and proofread my posts from the last 3 days. A trip into town for some data work was in the cards. At 1:30, I took my laptop and drove to the library. I spent a couple of hours at least sitting in the chair by the window. It was warm in there but not uncomfortably so. What was uncomfortable was the darn flies! LOL To my credit, 2 died in my presence.

a little discussion of the planes creation
and I like this view as we can see the insides through the transparent covering

I finished 3 blog posts and did a bit of normal Googling stuff. I was tired and wasn’t into the Facebook thing too much so I may not have commented on something you’ve posted. I was anxious to get back home and when I did, I warmed up a cinnamon bun for each of us and carried it down to eat with Bill. This was a treat Kathy and Derrick brought us. Calorie-free, of course! Haha

And I meant to include this yesterday
a picture of our wing cover in place
in the cargo trailer
This view is from his small side door

And this is the back view that is open so the wings can
be slid out easily

Then, I sat in my recliner and flipped through the local flyers. I’d hoped to drop off but couldn’t seem to get there. I turned tv on around 4:30 to watch NCIS reruns until it was time for supper. Neither of us were too hungry, we’d had a great breakfast and didn’t need a large supper. Bill suggested toasted tomato sandwiches so that was a great choice. With a garden salad on the side and creamy Jello for dessert, it was filling.

A picture of the 4 of us before they left

Bye guys!

After loading the dishwasher and turning it on, Bill sat to do some more stitching on his straps for the wings. One wasn’t quite long enough. I finished my post for today and moved over beside him to work on the crossword puzzle. We found an episode of Still Standing with Johnny Harris so laughed along with that.

Toasted tomato and salad for supper

 This was a great day although it was sad to say goodbye to our good friends. We’ll make a point to see them in London before we head south.

And dessert
Good night from the Ridge!

Thank you very much for taking the time to stop and read today. Your comments are always welcome!

Last Minute Tidying, Aunt Mary’s Funeral, More Guests Arrive

Up On The Ridge

I heard Bill get up around 6:30 on Thursday, Aug. 29^th but when you can’t get on line to read blogs and the sky looks ‘iffy’, why rush out of bed? I remained comfy, cozy under the covers until closer to 7 before joining him downstairs. We had our morning brew together and he went down to the Hangar. He is doing all kinds of ‘plane connection’ things that I don’t fully understand so I just let him be.

A morning pond picture

He’ll need help lifting the big brute out of the Hangar at some point, since he’s attached the tail now. We also want to get the wings in the covers and hang them out of the way in his cargo trailer. That will free up space as well for his puttering and storage. I’m anxious to see them in place.

Sometimes, normal things you see every day strike your fancy

The moss on this log had me focusing on it today

It was time to fill our pill container for the week but since we only take a couple of vitamins, it takes no time at all. I touch wood every so often that we are still healthy. Just a tad superstitious, I am! Then I decided to go into town and pick up some groceries. Planning lunch, supper and breakfast for company is on me, Bill lets me have at it, so with that decided I had a list of items to get to fulfill the menu.

Hope (of a blue sky coming)

I called this picture "possibility" as I was walking
Remembering the big cloud that moved from west to east
Now, the blue sky is doing the same thing

Durham was already getting busy at 9 and so I scooted around the store as quick as possible to get out of there. Darn it, they didn’t have their shipment of corn on the cob and that would be a main part of our supper. We’ll have to go back after the funeral and we do need to make a stop at the LCBO for wine anyway. We just had rye toast and jelly for breakfast and were all cleaned up and ready to go by 10:30. There wasn’t any difficulty finding parking at the funeral home at that time.

And a brighter future today

There was quite a nice turn-out for Aunt Mary, which is always a blessing. It was a nice service and we were soon on our way to the cemetery. That was short and sweet and we drove to the Anglican Church in Durham for a wonderful lunch of sandwiches, desserts, tea and coffee. You’ve been to these; you know how great the goodies are. The bread is always the freshest ever and their salmon and egg sandwiches are the best.

And a farmer's work never ends

Around 1 we started saying our goodbyes and headed home for the final touch-ups at home before our company arrives. We stopped at the liquor store and got a couple of bottles of red wine. We also took advantage of a small ‘honor system’ booth with Rotary Club corn for sale. No price, just what you felt I guess so I picked up 10 cobs and left appropriate cash in the slot. It looked great!

Back home, I swept and washed the Restroom and re-tidied the Roost (bunky), putting my puzzle away. I forgot to take a picture of it but I did get that one finished yesterday afternoon. I walked to the mailbox while Bill had a snooze and retrieved the local flyers for the week. On our way back from town, Bill noticed the house on the corner had a few more FREE things out, one being a Home Hardware wash bucket. He stopped and put it in the trunk. I’ll try it for work in the morning.

And as the day went on, the blue sky dominated

For the afternoon, Bill puttered away in the Hangar. He didn’t need me after all and had put the wings in their covers and they were hung in the cargo trailer. They fit well, nice and snug against the wall. I sat outside at the patio table and read my book for a while. At 3, I got a text from our friends stating that they were leaving London and all I had left to do was sweep the Suite. I prepared some corn and disposed the husks in the compost bin. More time for visiting.

I salvaged this blue board Bill was throwing out
A reflection in the sun made the save worth it

The property is looking good

Ready for company

And the hibiscus continues to amaze me with each new bloom

Kathy and Derrick arrived right on the dot at 5 pm. I was thinking their Lincoln has wings and then Derrick admitted a heavy foot. 😊 No matter, they are here safe and sound. It is great to see them, as usual, and the conversation never ends. Bill showed Derrick the Hangar and his toys and we had some wine together outside on the patio. The wind was gusting fairly strong, around 10 mph at times but in the heat of the sun, it was gorgeous.

At 5, our company arrived

At 6:30, Bill started barbecuing Italian sausage and I plugged us in to start Madame IP soon after. I did the corn inside (5 minutes and perfect!) and put the salad together (I opened a bag) in a bowl. More wine and conversation made it a lovely supper together. We miss our bi-monthly dinners that we used to have with these two while living in London.

And a lovely indoor supper with wonderful friends

No bun for me, I'd had enough bread at the church

 We talked about a game of Wizard but as it turned out, we didn’t need to be entertained to keep the chatter going. Soon enough, it was obvious everyone was tired so we said goodnight around 10:30.

Now that's a cake!!
Good night all!

This was a great day and evening. Their time here at the Ridge is never long enough but they have a busy working life back home and it is hard to get away too. I look forward to more morning fun before they head out.

Thank you for stopping by!

Two Birds – One Stone, Landscaping Day, Evening Visitation

The Ridge

On Wednesday, Aug. 28^th I was up with the birds and Bill followed right away. I had sorted the laundry last night so took it with me at 6:30 when I went in to work First stop was at the bank to get some cash as we needed it for the machines. No, I don’t get our laundry done free. Some of you have asked if that is a perk of the job. Jamie hasn’t offered, honestly, likely hasn’t thought of it and if we can’t afford $7 or $10/week for laundry, we better go back to square one.

The sky across our land can be so pretty

These pictures were first thing in the morning as I was ready to leave for work

I’m lucky to be able to do both my cleaning and laundry at the same time. I loaded the washers and set to work. The machines were okay today but the floors needed attention. Yay! Our customers seem to be heeding the recycling signs – a bit. When both the laundry and cleaning were done, it was 7:45 and I loaded Ptooties and headed for home. This was turning into a gorgeous day with nearly clear skies and a few light fluffies dotting the blue.

Time to show you my bucket of flowers on the hill

Bill was in the Hangar and as soon as he saw me he hopped on the rider and cut the grass up on the hill where my clothesline is. He carried the heavy basket up to the stool so it was waiting for me when I finished my tea. 

Off he went to cut the front field. With the clothes hung, I decided to get my big girl pants on and cut my area of grass as well. It is nice that we’ve had enough rain to green it up and for it to grow. A week ago, we were just cutting tall weeds.

As I was cutting the grass, this guy was desperately
trying to get out of my way

I did some close cutting with my mower so Bill didn’t have to worry about certain areas with the whipper snipper. Then I moved down to the corral. Before I got too far, I hit a rock that didn’t even look that big and broke the end off the blade. Oh Blimey! I told Bill that I guess it was my turn to get a new blade. LOL So, I was finished, right good and proper, and removed the battery before sitting in the shade to cool down for a bit.

                                            GET READY FOR AN ADORABLE CRITTER

Before I sat in my chair, I noticed this little hitchhiker had beat me to it

He must have dropped off the tree as I was cutting grass

Some crawly things, I do not like but this?

I scooped him onto my sunglass lenses and carried him outside

I think he is very happy on the rock
Look at those eyes!!

At about 10:45 I started cooking bacon, thinking someone would be starving. He had moved to the back field and I thought he should be close to finishing. Not quite so I didn’t start the eggs right away. We both had bacon and eggs and I forced the last 3 mouthfuls down since I really wasn’t that hungry. There isn’t much more on MY plate today but I know Bill wants to trim all around the Ridge perimeter so I offered to do dishes so he could get at it whenever he was ready.

Cutting the peameal was easier when in a semi-frozen state

When I finished a b.p. coffee I pondered what to get up to next. First things first; with a possible threat of rain later today, I went out to check the clothes on the line. The wind has increased to 17 mph and the way the clothes were flinging around, it was obvious that they would be dry. Now the fun part, putting them away. Not! The peameal bacon that I took out of the freezer has thawed enough for me to slice it up so I took care of that and placed it in freezer bags.

This was a delicious supper for being so easy

I worked on the jigsaw puzzle in the Bunky until it was finished and came inside around 3:30. The air was changing and clouds were moving in. Darker, heavier clouds so they may be right about the rain coming our way. At 5, I started supper. I began frying some peameal, warmed the dressing and mushroom gravy plus toasted some rye bread. We have a visitation for Aunt Mary tonight from 6 to 8 so wanted to be ready for a decent arrival.

And the big cloud moved from west to east

And if you pay attention to the pond area below
you can see the cloud's progress

 Supper was good and we cleaned up dishes and ourselves soon after. It was around 6:30 by the time we made our way in to town. Visitations are not something you hang around long at normally. Meet, greet, give condolences, visit the departed and move on. Tops, it could be a 15-minute visit. Because we knew Aunt Mary and know Rob and Pat plus their family, we stayed for about an hour. It was quiet and nice to hang with them while looking at pictures on the video.

Almost a full sky covering

We were home before 8 and turned America’s Got Talent on. Looking out my window, I watched a humongous weather pattern moving to the east. Creeping the way it was, put me in mind of pulling a huge blanket over us and darkness fell quickly. The air was still and it was a mild 16C/62F so I’m not sure what to expect overnight. It has been a busy day for us here on the Ridge but a good one. I hope you have enjoyed yours as well.

Thank you for stopping by.