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Monday, March 30, 2020

Back to the Disposal Routine, Wet and Cold


The Ridge
On Monday, Mar. 30th we slept until 8 o’clock!! It just felt right, such lazy bones we are getting to be! I was making my tea and when I disposed of my teabag in our kitchen composter, I thought of the garbage. Today, is pick up day! We don’t have enough recycling to worry about but I handed Bill our last tag and he drove the bag down to the roadside before 8:30. We’ve forgotten what time they come but we didn’t want to miss our first pick up. It only happens once every 2 weeks so don't want to miss it.

We've been waiting for today by keeping our full bag in the Bunky
We had our drinks while reading blogs and comments and I chatted back and forth with Donna while working on the Word search from the paper. I gave up on working on the Crossword this morning with 80% of it finished. I’d have to cheat to fill in the rest so moved on. Hunting for scrambled words is good for the mind too and for hand dexterity! 😊 I looked up at 11:40 and the garbage truck was just pulling up. Now we know what time they come. Last summer it was much earlier.

I walked down to put the letter in the mailbox before noon
This morning, we put together and I typed a letter to Manulife for our refund from returning over a month earlier than what we paid for. We’ve never done this before when we’ve returned a couple of weeks early, as we didn’t think it was an option when it was our choice. However, this wasn’t our choice and it should be a nice little sum. We are entitled. I walked it down to the mailbox in between the showers. It was cool at 4C/39F and a bit misty. Still a nice walk. I took my normal pictures of the lane.

Along the fence line down here, I like watching my geraniums in the spring
When I returned, Bill made his second coffee in his thermos and went out to work in the Hangar for half hour. It will be cold out there, with no heater right now, but he wanted to straighten a few things up and then see what he could get into. We will just be having oatmeal for brunch today. I got Madame IP out and started a batch of steel cut oatmeal for myself. I haven’t had it for quite a while and I love it. It will take 10 minutes to cook and 12 minutes to release. Yum.

this mossy railroad tie along our fence caught my camera's eye today
Above, I mentioned my kitchen compost bin and that is something I’m happy to get back to. There is a lot of wet garbage that can be disposed of this way and when you pay for your garbage pickups, it makes sense to minimize where you can. There are some questionable things, like eggshells that I don’t put in every time. We have a lot, as you know from our breakfasts, and unless I crush them really fine, they don’t compost very quickly. I use my judgement on how often they go in the bin.

A little bit of composting helps
So, I have one sleeve done on my sweater and it turned out great. Last night, I was not having an equally good result with the second one. After a couple of attempts and rip outs, I left it until today before I go at it again. Curious now, while waiting for the oatmeal, I tried the wooly mammoth on. Hmm, it fits great but in widening it (which was necessary) I was left to self-judge the neck area. I’ve made it too wide and the seams slip right off my shoulder. Crap! I’m not tearing it out so insteadI will try and do another self-adjustment. Fingers crossed!

The pond water up near the hill is quite high
and it usually doesn't last into summer
Bill went back down to the Hangar after having something to eat and we were both content doing our own thing. I worked on my sweater and put the dvd in of Dances with Wolves. Kevin Costner is a pleasure to watch no matter what part he plays. I haven’t seen this movie for over 20 years and even though very long, I enjoyed it very much. I made myself a cup of Earl Gray and touched base by text to make sure my pilot is doing okay.

The snow on the berm is less and less every day

Then at 4:45 I thought I’d better put the sweater down (sleeves almost done!) and start prepping supper. Meatloaf and veggies tonight. After the meat was prepared and in Madame IP for cooking, I went out for a walk down the laneway. I wasn’t sure if the mail lady stopped today. It’s a cool day with a chilly wind and I had my hoody up the whole way. As it turns out, our flag was up but all it was was another card regarding the Covid virus. Stuff we’ve already seen and already know.

On the way back up the hill, I stopped in to see Bill. It was after 5 and he was working on a plane while watching NCIS. He returned to the Suite after he heard that I wasn’t watching anything up here and could turn it on. The temperature for the rest of the day didn’t get above 3C/37F and as you can tell, that has even dropped since first thing this morning. We know it is supposed to warm up a bit but only by a few degrees over the next few days. We’re waiting for double digits!

Our china bell from Hatch hangs on our cherry tree in full view
 With the IP on its NR, I cooked some broccoli on the stove for me and corn for Bill in the microwave. We were eating shortly after 6 and got dishes out of the way soon after. I’m really stumped on how to decrease the neckline on my sweater so will be pulling up little YouTube clips to help me out. I’ve come so far but it needs to be fixed for sure. I worked on my post to get that out of the way and then went back at it. We have programs on tv to watch so that will keep me calm. 😊

The meatloaf has not let us down yet
Good night from the Ridge
This was definitely an inside day with a couple of short laneway walks. I know Bill has made some progress in the Hangar but I’ve pretty much stuck to the indoors. I hope you’ve found things to do in your home, in your location during this isolation period. Staying healthy is the bottom line for all of us.

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments are always welcome!

21 comments:

  1. You are both keeping busy.
    We just took a ride to top the Truck with low priced Diesel as a way of getting out. This city is nearly deserted.
    Be Safe and Enjoy your isolation.

    It's about time.

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    1. We didn't even notice the price of diesel coming through Durham on the 21st. It will be nice to get out for a drive through town. Soon!

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  2. Post a pic of the neck. Maybe we can help you. I’m getting way to used to doing nothing all day and it’s not even cold here.

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    1. Thanks Nancy, I never thought of doing that before I messed with it last night. I added 3 DC2TG across the back and then a couple at the top corners of the front neck. That helped but it is still too wide for my shoulders. I'll be tearing that out and I'll send a picture.
      I'm glad you are having pleasant weather at least. Ours is pretty wet and miserable now for a few days.

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  3. You should be able to get a refund on your medical even if you return of your own choice. I have done that in the past. Fortunately this time we planned to be home a little earlier so I changed our end date before we left the US and the refund was processed. I am curious how you prove you were back in Canada when, because of this virus, we all had to return straight home. Normally if I'm going to request a refund we make a purchase on each of our credit cards on the day we cross the border and the insurance company will use that as proof that we were back in Canada.

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    1. It's too bad the weather isn't better but it will soon change. So far I'm staying busy and if I commit with my project to go through all of our pictures, that will keep me busy for a couple of weeks.

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    2. Hi MT. I've suggested that to Bill in the past but he never thought we could get it for just any reason. From now on you can bet that I will be sending a letter. This year we did purchase fuel on the second day we were in Canada and have sent that receipt along. Thanks for the tip, I'll remember to buy something on our c.c. as proof each time. :)

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    3. If you ever have a claim you need proof of departure, thus it is wise to have a credit card charge for the day of departure also. Before crossing the border I always stop at a Timmies. For the refund this year, they did not even ask me to send them a receipt, they just asked what day I returned and they made the adjustment.

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    4. Thanks Peter. Hopefully we won't have a claim but this is good info and advice. I'm sure this year has presented a scenario the ins. companies have never encountered.

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  4. Like Nancy said, you never know someone who reads your blog may have an idea. Though, I have found a lot of help on google. Good luck!
    My sister does the composting thing, also, it really makes sense especially when you are paying for garbage pickup. Plus, it is good for your garden.
    It has been raining here on and off all day. Now we are getting a steady downpour. Here is hoping we both see sun tomorrow....:)

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    1. Thanks Deb. I'm going to be tearing out what I did last night, it didn't help enough. Because of the sleeves being done, I don't want to tear it out. Not sure if I can add to the neckline about half way up each side to bring it in. If the instructions didn't have me doubling up to make it angled, it would have been better. LOL
      The rain can stop anytime. It isn't steady but damp, wet and makes it cold.

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  5. Nice to get back into a routine after such a long time. Sorting and recycling is always a nice feeling. Like you we compost a great deal, and I'm always amazed at how much we have at the end of a couple of days.
    I'll take the rain, it's not snow or ice. We know it will warm up eventually, the evidence is all around us but if the white stuff falls we can't see the evidence. Haha. Stay healthy.

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    1. thanks Deb. Yes, it is nice to get back - not in a routine yet and it could be months before that takes place. We're doing so many things differently than any other year.
      The rain is nice, some of it, but it would be nice if it alternated with a sunny day! :)
      You two stay healthy as well.

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  6. Enjoyed your pictures and reading about your activities. I admire your dedication with your crochet project and I'm sure you get the neckline figured out. With the weather we are experiencing lately you will be able to wear the sweater for a while before it gets too warm. Looking forward to a picture of you modelling your creation!

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    1. Thank you Marlene. Don't expect anything beautiful in the model or the creation when that time comes. Ha ha! It will definitely be a campfire sweater at least!

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  7. it does look a little cold there, but it is such a beautiful place. Just curious why Bill doesn't have a little heater in the Hangar? He's tough hanging out there all day LOL..Yes, I'm waiting to see how the sweater turns out too! Dinner looks yummy!

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    1. It has been chilly for a couple of days. The electric heater he uses in the Hangar is in our bathroom right now. Trying to save on propane heating costs for the Suite. I offered it to him but he didn't want to bring it back and forth.
      Meatloaf nights are always yummy and successful. :)

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  8. finished. ter is a challenge. I'm sure it will come out fine when finished. Never thought about composting and probably never do it. But a good idea. Hope your weather turns better soon.

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    1. I think part of your comment went into lala land. haha but thank you for the sweater comment. I compost here because it is easy, saves on garbage bulk and I have an outside composter to add it to. I don't use it on the garden though which I know a lot of people do. My garden seems to be fine without it and I'm happy with it. :)

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  9. I'm wondering if you can't pick up your crochet stitches around the edge of the neckline (I'm assuming you've got the shoulder seams sewn). Do the first row will all the stitches, then start decreasing - go back to your original pattern, and if you had say 60 stitches in the back and it was 56 - you'll want to decrease 4 stitches evenly across the next row. Again, I'm assuming the front is fine so you'd crochet around to where you started. You'll have a couple of rows extra but that should but I've found that if you don't have that starting or foundation row it will look, for lack of a better word, funny. Let us know how you make out.

    Have a good day, take care and stay well!

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    1. Thank you Maebeme. this is a great suggestion and something to consider. I know Google has videos too and I'm sure that is what they may show me. Fingers crossed! :)
      I appreciate your help!

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