Chores, Drop Off in Town, Relish the Thought and Rain Returns

On the Ridge

It is funny going to bed alone, knowing no one else is home, and then it is disorienting waking up to the same empty place. Not bad, just different. It takes me a couple of minutes of ”is he up? Did he go out already?” before I remember. On Tuesday, Oct. 1^st (wow, new month) everything kind of hits home. Once this month arrives, us snowbirds really start getting the itch as we know by the end of the month, many of us will be leaving Ontario and Canada.

And this how the day started
Beautiful, huh?

I woke up at 5:30 and wasn’t able to drop off again so I texted Bill closer to 6:30 to let him know I was awake. By the time he’d returned my text, he had finished breakfast and was pretty much ready to head out to work with Bob. I was ready to go to work too and left at 7:15 for Durham. The first thing that hit me this morning was how warm it was, inside the Suite and outside. I knew this was another kick at the summer cat (no harm shall come to any animals during this day) as it was to reach mid 70’s, mid 20’s for us Canadians.

The other day I noticed that the babies on our cacti were having babies

It was warm in the Mat even with the back door propped open so I didn’t dally. Once my job was done and it was looking great, I left and drove around to Rob and Pat’s. Bill had dismantled our fire pit screens and I was to drop them off for Rob to weld the new screens in for us. I also wanted to drop the Apple Custard Crumble off for him as a thank you. He won’t take any $$ but dessert he won’t turn down! I hope they like it. I had to sample a wee corner just to make sure it was edible.

there is a big patch of wildflowers just over the edge of our patio
They are a lovely purple and their name has escaped me - an Aster?

I drove home and it was nice to be close to 9 am as I’d missed all the school buses. I get them, appreciate and understand their traffic laws but I’m also just as happy not to be behind or facing one when they stop. All the little children were in school by the time I zipped towards home. The sky was blue with one dot of clouds in the north sky and the temperature was already 21C/70F so I wanted to do a couple of indoor things and then see where the day took me.

And the veggies simmer in with the vinegar annd spices

My tea was first on the list and then I started adding the vinegar and spices to a pot for the relish. It was then I realized that I had cut the number of tomatoes in half on my recipe but NOT the rest of the ingredients. LOL. I couldn’t go any further until I picked more tomatoes. DRATS! After my tea, I gathered more green ones and came inside to cut them up. We will eat and appreciate the relish more than the red, ripened tomatoes. Bill doesn’t eat tomatoes like I do, and the way Daddy did. He loves them in a toasted sandwich and that’s about it for my guy.

Bill called and we had a nice chat during their coffee break. It seems the boys are getting along so far with the painting, lots of tedious work. You know, patching, filling and painting small areas as well as bigger areas all when residents are out of their rooms. I simmered the spices and cider vinegar before adding the cut-up vegetables. Within 20 minutes, it was ready to spoon into the jars and it looked so good! Bigger chunks than normal sweet relish bought in the store but much nicer!

I  only had 2 proper sealer jars so had to double up with the already prepared choke cherry jelly. I emptied one jar by adding the last ½” to the top of another one and then I emptied a salsa jar of it’s last cup of goodness into a smaller container. Now, I had enough jars and managed to get 4 full ones, approximately 14 cups of relish. Yay! I was excited to have that done. During that process, the waiting part, I made up a double batch of Lime Jell-o and put it in the fridge to set.

And in the Bunky I went through some of the exchange clothes

It’s sure warmed up inside especially from cooking on the stove and outside it is quite humid. The clouds have covered that gorgeous blue and I believe the rain will be overhead later this afternoon. I know we’re supposed to be dropping quite a bit in temperatures over the next week and beyond that, who knows? As long as it doesn’t rain every day, I will be able to get out and complete what I need to during the week following Thanksgiving. (Oct. 14^th).

I finished my b.p. coffee and wrote on my post. Since it was half past 12 noon, I made myself bacon and eggs. It went down but I didn’t really enjoy it. I should’ve done what I did yesterday instead but thought I’d enjoy b & e today. I cleaned up the dishes including the ones from making the relish and then went out to plug back in. I had unplugged us for the morning, while the sun was beating down. Now, at 12:30, the air has changed and I feel rain in the air. There isn’t much of a breeze today, notice the droopy flags after yesterday’s winds.

I was given some instruction on what to check

Oh, I forgot to mention that when Bill and I chatted this morning, he asked me to check the main switch on the inverter. I went out to the front hatch and sure enough, he must have bumped it ‘off’ the other day when he was working around under there. Yay! Easy fix! 

And I switched the button (under the words Go Power!)
to Remote and all was well

So, while the sun was out, I had unplugged. Now that the afternoon was pretty much determined for me, first I went out and went through the exchange bag of clothes. Donna suggested that our two sisters who don’t make it to our exchanges, might like to go through some. So, I took out things I knew they wouldn’t like and set others aside to give to Donna for them.

The flag wasn't dancing like it was yesterday

With that done, I came inside and mixed up the cream cheese and heavy cream for the Jell-o and put it in the fridge. I like to have things prepped and the Jell-o wasn’t set enough yet. The next project was to do a bit of hand sewing. Bill has a good ‘work’ pair (oxymoron?) of pants that have a few stitches coming out around the zipper so rather than get the machine out for such a small project, I opted to do it by hand. It would be easier anyway, I think, around the zipper than with a sewing machine.

While I had my sewing kit out, I needed to adjust the straps on a very colourful dress/cover up that Donna brought me yesterday. If I can make it work to fit better, I’ll keep it. If not, it can go in the bag too. It has pockets so I’m hoping it works. Threading the needle was the hardest part, almost, getting those straps back on were a bit of a challenge so I won’t show you a close up of the finished product.

I was sitting on the couch sewing when the rain started at 1:30, some thunder, pretty steady rain again and then it stopped around 3 when I was done. All the Suite windows were open and the fresh air was nice. There was something relaxing about sitting there with the rain falling into our rain pails at each corner of the Suite. When I’m confident it has stopped for a bit, I’ll go check the mailbox and get a short walk in at the same time. The rain is going to be around for another couple of days.

My Jell-o was set so I blended the creamy mixture in with it and put it back in the fridge for more setting. Now would be a good time for a walk. I made it down to the mailbox and back without getting wet and it was a worthwhile walk. My letter was there telling me how much my OAS (old age security) pension will be monthly. It isn’t as much as what I lost from my work pension (which has been bridged) but it is more than they first estimated. All is good.

And the Jell-o helps me hold onto summer

I sat in my chair and trim and file my finger nails. They are growing like crazy but now a couple snagged and have broke off. That’s why I don’t like the long nails. It is easier to keep them shorter. Maybe I’ll add some colour and see if I can keep it on for a couple of days! Once I sat down to trim my nails, I decided not to cut them too short and put a light pink on them. I didn’t move for 15 minutes at least so they could dry properly.

And the fog rolled in

At 5:30, I started supper. I had a medium size chicken breast so sliced it into strips for frying. Once it was cooked and browned all over, I added tomato sauce. On my plate I sprinkled some parmesan on top. I had a kale southwestern salad as well and steamed asparagus. Now that was a wonderful healthy meal and it tasted great to boot! I cleaned up the dishes by 6:15 and then it was time to relax. There are a lot of shows recording on our PVR again tonight so I’ll watch The Voice so Bill and I can watch them together this weekend.

And a different meal for me but a very good one
I'll do this chicken again

When I look outside, the misty rain is hanging on but there is no wind, which makes me happy. Wind is not my friend up here on the Ridge. The fog is rolling in from across the road and this makes it look darker than it is – even though it is white not black. 😊 I had a bowl of fresh peaches and cream for dessert. Yes, I saved room and it was still early. This was a great day. I hope you had one too.

And dessert too!
good night y'all!

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