Cleaning day and Company Arrives before Noon

The Ridge

We got up around 7 on Saturday Sept. 21^st and I headed out right away for Durham. Time to clean! The Mat wasn’t too bad and I was in and out in less than an hour. An irate customer came in just as I was locking things up in the back room. One who’s second or first (?) language is swearing, loudly at the machines (!), so I remained where I was debating whether to go out. Did I need a confrontation?

Such a beautiful sunrise this morning as I left for wor

When I finally did go out, since I was almost on the way out the door and didn’t want him to break anything, he stopped the bad language and said it was all fine now, “I always get ripped off in here”, he informed me. If he’d been decent and open to normal conversation, I may have offered somewhat of a refund but I’m sure he just dropped coin in and paid no attention to it hitting the box before dropping more in. Who knows how much he actually paid?

Thank you dear! so much better!

I left and texted Jamie to have a peek on his home camera and to keep an eye. Back home, Bill was in the storage shed working on the wood for our carrier to hold the generator. It should be all set to go now. I came in for my tea and smiled to see that Bill had vacuumed and cleaned the bathroom for me. Saves me the trouble and I sure appreciate him. 😊 I suggested that he have a bite to eat around 9 as we’re having lunch with our company. I won’t need anything before then.

Bill got the generator on the new carrier

 We had our showers and I mixed up some dessert topping from a package I’ve had in the cupboard for years! Amazingly, it firmed up perfectly. That will go nicely on our pecan pie. (Not homemade ☹) Then I wrapped the garlic bread and the pie in tin foil for Weber warming just before supper time. Bill attached the genny carrier to the back of the Suite and placed the Champion on it. Looks good and with chains, it will ride very nicely back there and save us truck space at the same time. Thanks to Rob for building it for us!

Perfect! And it doesn't have to be lifted off to use it

Then Bill, at my wish, cut the grass up in our area with the big rider. Looks 100% better and we will be sitting out there all day and evening so it was worth the trouble. Inside, I prepped meats, lettuce, tomatoes and buns for lunch. By the way, my jelly still doesn’t seem to be setting but it hasn’t been 24 hours yet either. I’m not very hopeful. Everything is ready and we relaxed until Jeff and Joan arrived. They pulled in at 11:05. I know that exact time because Jeff asked how long it took them.

When I say 'big dog', I'm not kidding

But there's no denying that Aurora is a beautiful dog

The greeting is always a little unnerving but on Jeff’s terms simply because Aurora, their great dane, is a large dog. He wants her to greet us right away and we give her treats. I understand it but it doesn’t stop my heart from racing. Big dogs are intimidating to me, something I deal with in my own way. We sat and enjoyed the first catch up conversation at the patio table until I called them in for lunch. I had everything set up on the island and they helped themselves before going back outside to eat at the table.

Lunch is ready!

Because of Aurora on just a leash, they had to take turns coming in and out. The rest of the afternoon was very relaxing for Joan and I, sitting up here with the dog. Bill and Jeff went down to the Hangar and fiddled around with his Telemaster. Jeff is an avid rc flyer and 80% of the conversation is regarding planes. I’m not into it the way Joan is so a lot goes over my head. As long as they are happy, I’m happy.

It took a while but she soon settled down on her blanket

And Chippy was up to his old tricks

I didn't mind since most of the birds have vanished

Jeff and Aurora

Joan and Aurora
PS - Joan used to be a redhead but I like the blonde so much better

At 4:30 I removed myself from the group and came inside to start making lasagna. From beginning to end, sautéing the ground beef, preparing the meat sauce, cheese and pasta layers, cooking and release time, the lasagna took a mere hour. That is awesome! 

While the lasagna cooked, I sat outside in the shade with everyone

I called them in around 5:45 to first eat our salad and warm bread that Bill heated on the Weber. Then I served up their entrees. This was a good way to do it with the limited table space and I’ll remember it for another time.

Looks wonderful and it was but getting it out of the pan
was messy

The lasagna was absolutely delicious BUT the presentation – not so much. If I had used less pasta sauce it would have been drier but I prefer less noodles anyway so for me it was perfect. I added the main course dishes to the dishwasher which already had lunch plates etc. and then cut the pecan pie, also warmed on the Weber, and served it with whipped cream. Oh my! A very sweet pie but with small slices and some topping, quite yummy. I’m not sure if we deserve such a treat! 😉

Let's eat!

Oh my, this was delicious

We love our dishwasher. It holds a lot of dishes, takes little water
and does an amazing job
Plus we don't have to leave our company to do them ourselves

After supper, as I finished cleaning up and changing out of my summer dress into capris and a top, Bill got his small Timber out to show Jeff and Joan how it flew and specially to show off his wing lights. They were both impressed and got a kick out of Bill’s flight. I got a kick out of watching Jeff run around with his camera trying to find the plane in the sky to get a picture of it.

Getting ready for a flight

Jeff tried his darnedest to get a picture

And she flew like a charm

And a perfect lighted landing

When they had that put away and the Hangar closed up, Bill started a fire in our pit. Jeff and Joan live in a basement apartment in Mississauga so haven’t sat around a campfire since the last time they visited in 2017. They enjoyed it and it was the perfect evening for one. No bugs, mosquitoes and very little wind for the most part. Aurora wasn’t keen on the heat so stretched out on the grass between Jeff and I as far away as her leash would allow. It was a clear night too so we all watched the jets fly over and the sky as it filled with brilliant stars.

After the flight, the sky was pretty

To top it off, there was an ISS sighting tonight and they had never seen that either. There were two satellites that zoomed across the sky as well so that was kind of cool. The winds picked up around 9:30 and by then I was pretty much ready to come in anyway. Aurora had fallen asleep on her blanket so she was ready for bed. We said our goodnights and called it a night. They settled in the Bunky with the outside doors and windows open to the fresh air. Bill and I came in and did a bit of reading but were too sleepy to keep our eyes open for long.

Perfect fire evening

While cooking this afternoon, it got very warm inside the Suite so despite the lovely breeze outside, I closed windows and turned the a/c on until after supper. For bed, we had all windows open and sure didn’t need more than a sheet and light covering for sleeping. This was a very good day. I was pleased how Aurora seems calmer than the last visit and I guess that makes sense since it was two years ago.

And a pretty picture of the Suite at dusk

I didn’t feel as ‘afraid’ of her but because she is deaf (sorry, I forgot to tell you that) movements tend to frighten her into loud barking. At least now I know that if I just walk up to her with my hand out, she calms down. She seems somewhat shy around people as when I reached to touch her head, she shied away. I would have liked to be able to make that connection. They have done well in training her to this stage. She is a senior now, already, great danes at 5 maturing much faster than other breeds.

I hope you had a good day on Saturday as well and forgive the late posting. We’ve been busy entertaining.

Aurora preferred the cooler grass to a warm blanket like Clemson would have

Thank you for your visit today!