Wetter Still, Making Some Bookings, Great Visits, Happy Hallowe’en!

Road 111, Stratford, Ontario

On Thursday, Oct. 31^st Bill and I were the only goblins in our Suite. We both slept in until just after 7 though so something ghostly was afoot. I was gung-ho to get out for a walk so got my runners on and prepared to layer up under my safety vest. I opened the door and it was misty rain falling and quite foggy out towards the train tracks. Darn! I left my shoes on, not prepared to give up yet, and made my tea to sit with Bill.

Happy Hallowe'en
Didn't dress up this year - this was 2015 how I greeted
the little ones

As the cloudy day dawned, and while we were catching up on blogs and Facebook posts, the rain stopped. Donna and I went back and forth and I placed an Avon order for each of us. It will be delivered to her home and that works perfectly for me. I never order what I ‘need’ at this point, only what I want. Bill had a second coffee and some toast and peanut butter. I wasn’t ready to eat anything more than some yogourt.

Misty and foggy this morning

We discussed some plans of visits today and/or tomorrow and Bill called Coast to Coast to make our first resort booking for the 4 of us. NOW, it feels like we are really starting the journey. As we finished that call, I looked outside and the rain had started up again. Double darn! I dished out some of my plain high fat Greek yogourt and added some of the choke cherry jelly that didn’t set completely. Oh my! Not only did it look lovely but it tasted wonderful!

Yogourt and choke cherry jelly/syrup

Bill called AOR, one of our memberships, and reserved our favourite Christmas destination for a month and then a further month after Quartzsite. This year, we will be more prepared. I texted Jo-Anne and we told Bob when he popped in that things are getting more real now with reservations made. 😊 They are excited. At 12:15, I started making Resort Omelettes. My name for them. It doesn’t quite work as well on 2 gas burners as it did on her grill but they were still good.

The rain didn't stop

We did the dishes up and I checked on the Orange Jell-o that I had put in the fridge earlier to set. It wasn’t quite ready but I blended the cream cheese and whipping cream so it was prepared. We hadn’t had creamy Jell-o for a while so it was time for a new batch. Plus, I wanted some to share. We were getting Suite fever so after brushing our teeth, we drove into Stratford for a couple of things. The rain is making everyone frumpy.

Making the Resort Omelette

When we got a text from Suzie that she and George were home from some errands, I finished making the dessert snack and put some into a dish for George. Being a sugar-free snack, I hoped that he would enjoy something nutritious and get some good fat into him. It was around 2 when we first drove into Stratford to pick up a card and then to Tavistock for our visit. The rain hadn’t stopped but it wasn’t a downpour either.

Sneaky, I didn't know he took this one

George’s colouring isn’t good, we can all see that in pictures of him but his spirits are certainly top notch. This positive thinking just might be the cure for this nasty disease. We had a nice visit with us asking some questions about travel places and George and Suzie reminiscing about their past 13 years. Places they went and would recommend and especially pointing out that no one needs to see everything in the first, second or even third years. That is one of the first things we learned from them when we met in 2014.

It tasted wonderful but sure didn't look like hers

 We didn’t stay longer than half an hour, at least we tried not to, as George does tire easy. He didn’t kick us out but we tried to be cognizant of his needs. I didn’t even get a picture so will post the one from our last visit. It was great to see them one more time before we leave and you can follow his story here if you aren’t already. We missed Jo-Anne today, as she was coming out to their Redwood to pack some more items. She had just left by the time we returned.

This was the picture I took on our last visit

We’ll see her in the morning. When we returned, Bill sat with his book and I peeled 6 of the dozen hard boiled eggs and mixed up the egg salad. Then it was good and well time for a creamy tea so I made one for each of us and caught up on this post. Sitting with Bill with our books, oh! I’m now reading a John Sandford book called The Devil’s Code and it seems to have piqued my interest at 5 chapters in. This is more like it.

Light snow this morning on the ground and rooves

This is quite a little Service Centre beside Bob’s shop. I can sit at the table and watch the goings on. There are 2 or 3 businesses here that rent space from Bob and I can’t get over how busy Jamie’s Service Centre is. They must do a good job and business. It is a constant turn around of vehicles, in and out. We sat and read for a while and Bill called friends of his/ours who live in Stratford. We haven’t seen them for a few years, since we had the Jayco I think, so wanted to try and meet up.

This is our portion of the Orange Creamy Jello
I hope George enjoys his

Shortly after 5, I started sautéing the beef roast in Madame IP and began the cooking process of 60 minutes. I didn’t have any potatoes to add and since Bill isn’t keen on carrots, didn’t add those either. We did have some Stovetop Stuffing in the cupboard so I prepped that for when the roast was done. It only takes 6 minutes in the microwave. I should have started a bit earlier so as to meet the time we were to be at Jim and Sharon’s but I’m sure if we’re a few minutes late (us, oh no!) they will understand.

A batch of egg salad
Bill will pick up buns today for a change from the rye bread

We’d forgotten that it was Hallowe’en, not having children and not expecting trick or treaters here but hoped that our hosts didn’t mind too much. As it turned out, the roast was done perfectly at 6:15 and with just a 5-minute N.R. I brought it out for Bill to slice. I made gravy at the same time as the dressing was cooking. I thought I was pressed for time so skipped the veggies but I would have had plenty of time to include some. We had enough to fill us and leftovers for roast beef sandwiches, hot or cold.

This sure doesn't look very nutritious! I
should have added the mixed vegetables
but it tasted good

With the dishes done, we finished cleaning up and getting dressed for a couple of hours out. No funny masks tonight, gave those away long ago. Well, other than our own! Have fun tonight if you entertain the trick or treaters, some of the efforts put into the costumes are wonderful. I’m just sad that the little ones had steady rainfall around this area between 5 and 6. Now, at least it has stopped and is a mild 9C.

We left the Suite around 7:15 to arrive in town around 7:30. Saw a few straggling children with their parents but not too many. Such a yeuchy night for them. ☹ How great it was to see Jim and Sharon C. Bill and Jim met many moons ago and Sharon was in the picture soon after. I’ve only met them 3 or 4 times but really enjoy their company.

Getting organized for the group picture
Bill and Sharon are looking quite cozy
Jim is waiting for me to rush over and sit

They told us that her Mom likes to attend a church east on North Line and they’ve tried a couple of times this past summer to look us up. Now they have good directions for a summer 2020 visit. It is sad when friendships drop off, not for any real reason, just circumstances so we were happy to hear that they are also trying to keep that connection alive. J & S are not as socially active in the media stuff so texting is not their forte and they’ve not had our phone # before.

They 'don't do' pictures they kept saying so I rushed more than I normally do
Jim's eyes are closed and my sweater doesn't do me justice
But I'm happy to get one of them with us
Good night!

We extended the evening because we were all enjoying ourselves so hope we didn’t over-extend by staying until 10:30! We couldn’t believe the time had flown by. We said goodbye with promises to stay in better touch. When we got home, I was in bed almost immediately and Bill soon after. A wonderful day and evening.

Happy Hallowe’en and thank you for visiting!