The Ridge
It must
have been around 5:30 when I first opened my peepers on Thursday, Sept. 5th.
Darkness befell the Ridge and no light creeped through the blind edges until
closer to 6:30. I lay awake though, and curled up next to my sweetie. He was
warm and I felt that I’d been chilled most of the night. Tonight, the duvet
comes out from UNDER the bed. Neither of us wanted to pay any attention to my
alarm at 6:15 so stayed put for another 15 minutes – half hour.
A pretty, clear sky and low lying fog across the fields |
It was
6:45 when I decided we needed to get up and into town. Bill was going with me
to clean the Mat today, big dryers and hanging fly sticky things being the two
main reasons. It was 4C/45F outside and I said that I need to pay attention to
any frost warnings so I can cover my plants in the garden. I don’t think this
coolness is going to stick around for long. We’ll get some warm nights again
BUT we may bring the Blue Flame heater in anyway.
Fly sticker thingys |
We were
both pleasingly surprised to see that Jamie had tackled cleaning the Lock Up
room. It looks amazing!! I’m sure he is pleased with the outcome as well. It is
one of those projects that you just need to jump in and commit to and he sure
did! I need to compliment him on it when we get home. Bill cleaned the big
dryers and I went about my normal routine. When he climbed on the step ladder
to hang the 4 fly stickers, I got the mop and bucket out.
Rob
popped in to say hi and asked if we could stop around at the house. When we
left the Mat, we dropped my book off at the Library (unfinished, I might add).
Then we filled Ptooties with fuel before driving to Rob and Pat’s. Bill was
surprised to see the rack for carrying our generator sitting there beside
the steps. Wow! “He finished it!” he said. Bill had just dropped the
metal/steel parts off on Tuesday afternoon so Rob could weld us a carrier.
We seem to have 18 double yolked eggs |
Neither
of us were expecting that and were both thrilled. They invited us in for a
coffee so we gratefully accepted, since we hadn’t had our morning brew yet. We
had a nice visit and then headed home. With the sun shining and the temperature
forecast to rise to 20C/74F today, Bill had outdoor plans, small jobs to
complete. I had indoor plans to deal with the 20 lbs. of apples so we set about
our own thing. I stopped at 10 to make Bill his bacon and eggs before carrying
on for a total of 2 ½ hours.
This is the second half of the apples |
Soaking in a brine of salt and water to keep them white |
The good
news is that I have 12 – 6 cup bags of these apples to freeze added to the 6 –
4 cup bags of the previous ones. Bill said, “Are we going to have room in the freezer for
anything else?” Smart aleck that he is. 😊 Between now and then there will be desserts made so the stock pile
will drop. I think Rob deserves an apple pie for his hard work on the rack,
don’t you? I'll keep that in mind. When I finished, it was 12:30 and I was hungry now. So, I got creative.
There isn't even a name for this dish but oh my, it was wonderful |
I fried
some zucchini, green pepper, radishes and tomatoes first in lard. I added a
double-yolk egg (not planned) and shredded mozzarella cheese before layering it
all onto a white flour tortilla. Then I fried each side before cutting it in
half. Let me tell you, it was VERY messy and gooey and sloppy BUT it turned out
to be one of the best ‘me’ concoctions I have ever tasted! Wow, I only hope I
can duplicate it again another day. Delicious!
Bill built a little 'hut' for the outlet and cords |
Then, I
cleaned up the few dishes and got the broom out to sweep the Suite. With that
done, a shower was in order. I can’t remember when………ooh, that doesn’t
sound good but I do know my hair is a disaster. After my shower, I decided that
I wasn’t in the mood to bake a pie so everything went into the freezer. I was
missing the sunshine so I changed into shorts and a summer top and went for a
walk down to check the mail.
At the bunky |
and down at the Hangar |
When Bill
went outside, he completed the little cubbies for the electrical cords that run
between the Bunky (remember the trench dig?) and the Hangar. He wants to keep
them dry from the elements and has had this plan in mind for a few weeks. After
that, he was working on the wire leads for his Timber (little Styrofoam plane)
and also on gluing the weights on his large Telemaster. I can’t remember what
the needed weight is but it’s a lot. Something like 18 lbs. I think.
That is a lot of apples |
After
getting the mail, I decided to take advantage of the day and the early afternoon.
I got out my paints and rocks. That sun felt so good sitting there on the patio. I chose 2 of the largest
rocks and one that put me in mind of a fish head. Funny how some rocks just
look like something. My painting skills are very amateurish so I wasn’t sure
how well it would turn out. It was fun trying anyway! When Bill came up from
the Hangar, it was 4 o’clock.
And look what I found! |
I told Bill to be careful walking around it what a rare find! |
Quite a different day than yesterday |
I worked
away finishing the fish, an old gypsy’s face (?) on the flip side and a special
one for Clemson. The rock called out to me, it needed to be painted. 😊 I finished a short time later, put the paints back in the
Bunky and came inside. I’ll just need to spray them both with clear acrylic and
they’ll be done. These won’t be hidden anywhere but instead placed on the
Ridge. Inside, Bill was watching NCIS and I informed him that it was his turn
to cook tonight.
Bullrushes/cattails along our lane |
And Chippy caught in the act but the birds are scarce right now so I won't object |
My fish rock |
And on the flip side, an old cronie gypsy? |
Burgers
were on the menu for supper and a homemade garden salad. I realized that I
don’t have the heavy cream to finish my creamy Jell-o so dessert tonight may be
custard again or maybe a butter tart. I made myself a tea as I sat at my laptop
and then joined Bill in our chairs. I wasn’t having any more luck on the
crossword today than yesterday so I turned the paper over and worked on the
cryptogram as it was more up my alley.
I had a nice setup on the patio but the temperature changed when the sun went behind the tree |
At 6, I
began making a garden salad. Only the lettuce, radishes and cheese were not
from my garden. The tomato, green pepper and onions were so I’ll take some
credit for how good it was. The burger, however, was awesome. These Leadbetters
Cowboy burgers are the best and loaded to the hilt, making them messy too, went
down really well. I didn’t even slop anything on my shirt! We took care of the
few dishes and we sat at our laptops for a bit.
In memory of someone special |
I’m very
nervous about our mobile data usage and I wish I wasn’t. For months now, we’ve
had no problems with our data usage turned on. Now, with it turned off, I seem
to be so afraid to turn it on every once in a while. Frustrating! I enjoyed the
day and have another day of laundromat cleaning taken care of. Bill
accomplished a few things and with all the apples, I guess I did too. I hope
you can say the same!
And the next few days show some cool nights and possible wet weather |
Our delicious messy burger Good night y'all! |
Thank you
for your visit to the Ridge today.
I am with you about anxiety over our data useage. We went over when the kids were here and it ended up costing us a LOT for overage. I'm so nervous about watching even a short video.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused why it changed. We've had the same amount of data for the last 2 years. We just have to be careful, I guess.
DeleteAw I love Clemson's rock. You are right, that's a LOT of apples!! I'm sure you will put them to good use. Don't you just love it when a recipe (or lack of) comes together? Your food looks delicious!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! He needed a rock here on the Ridge. :)
DeleteI'll use them up over the winter for sure.
You did have a productive day for sure! Ken says "Good job Bill"...of course we have the same kind of covers Ken made at the bunkhouse! Great minds....Your lunch looks and sounds yummy! I forgot to comment on your pancakes yesterday. I haven't had them in awhile, but oh they looked good! Dinner looks yummy too! You must love that most of it came from your own garden! Love all your rocks, but Clemson's is most special. We have unlimited Verizon coverage, so we don't have to worry about data..thank goodness! Of course doesn't work everywhere.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great day and yes great minds think alike. :)
DeleteThe pancakes were good for a change of pace.
I wish we could get unlimited wifi offered up here, we are so close to many towers.
I'll bet it feels good having the all the apples cleaned and stored in the freezer, I'm sure there will be some good deserts out of those. That fish rock really does look like a fish!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to have apples in the freezer, since I had no rhubarb this year.
DeleteThank you, I wasn't sure about the fish rock but it turned out okay.
I love the little Clemson rock, and your crone is great too! Very imaginative.
ReplyDeleteCan you check your data usage at the end of each day. I know on my old phone I could (and often did), but I have a different plan now so don't have the same worry of going over. It might give you some piece of mind.
Thank you, it was fun painting the rocks on a beautiful day.
DeleteYes, every day I write the usage down. When it jumped for 2 separate days in August, we couldn't see what made it do that. Frustrating.