Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Birthday Wishes, M-I-L Checks In, Asking a Favour, Lots of Critters


The Ridge
We were up and about at 7:30 on Tuesday, Mar. 31st. Once more we were expecting nothing more than a dull forecast for the day but a slight rise in temperature will be a bonus. We didn’t drop below freezing last night, which was nice, and the winds actually diminished by morning. Not completely, but they lessened by some 5 mph.

Still a few traces of snow around our area
We had our tea and coffee. We are getting low on half and half cream for our brews so I’ve started using my whipping cream in my tea and coffee. Ooolala! I love its wholesome richness. First thing on my mind was to contact my sister, Wendy, and wish her a great day. She wasn't answering her phone, so I ended up leaving a message after the second call. What you don’t know about my youngest sibling is that she came into our lives at the wee age of 8 months.

The sun tried this morning to make an appearance
but failed for the most part
My parents fostered children when I was a teen. I fell in love with the babes we looked after until they were adopted into new homes. Wendy was only our 3rd – and our last. She was like a missing digit that we didn’t realize we needed. An adorable little redhead, she brought us joy, the first broken bone in our family of 7, and a great companion for my younger brother, Michael. Wendy is 16+ years my junior and only 5 years between her and her new brother so they became close.

A selfie with Wendy before cel phones
When it was time for Wendy to start kindergarten in our small town, adoption papers had already been put in place for her to join our family. Now she is a grown woman with a beautiful young daughter. I’ve always felt close to her, since as a teen she was occasionally in my charge and even on a couple of dates with me! She has surpassed me in her intelligence and ambitions and I’m very proud to call her my little sister. 

Happy Birthday, Wendy!
I also needed to send a birthday wish to a girlfriend from my past. A prominent bestey from those same teen years in Lucan, ON, we were inseparable as we shrugged our way through high school together. Happy Birthday, Ruth (Rufus!) Moving on with the day, I’ve had a suggestion to post a picture of the dilemma with my sweater neckline. So, for the crocheting gals out there, remember ‘keep it simple’, I’m new to this whole thing.

It has been too long since we've seen each other, Rufus
I hope you don't mind seeing this picture of us with your sweet Papa
Happy Birthday, my friend!
Bill went out to dump tanks, not because they are full but because it is better to keep on top of it than wait until we ‘have’ to do it. Inside, I texted our neighbor to the east and asked a favour. We just need a couple of things from the grocery store to get us through until Saturday when we can get out and shop for ourselves. She obligingly replied and will drop them off after work today. I’ll leave the $ on the table outside for her. It is appreciated very much. 😊

The second hummingbird nest down the laneway
Last years

Do they ever reuse them? It was built quite well
After breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs, I boiled water and made up a batch of Raspberry Jell-o for desserts. Not wanting to limit our choices, I also made keto custard in Madame IP. These are ingredients that I always have on hand. Always. Bill went down to his Hangar; he found some enjoyment yesterday of what he’s missed over the winter. As long as he is warm enough, I’m happy.

Through the grasses, you can see the other
popular turtle log, soon to be occupied, I hope

The pond is still this morning

Tiger lilies already pushing upward


I walked down the lane even though I knew it was too early for the mail. Stopping in to see Bill on the way back up, he is working away on building a model plane. I’m sure he’ll tell you about it one day. Back inside, I boiled water for a Top Ramen packet of noodle soup. I used to eat these years ago but left them alone after the paleo/keto came into effect. In Quartzsite I bought 2 chicken flavoured ones for a quick lunch or supper.

this is pond overflow to the front field
and here is the corral hill with just a teeny weeny patch of snow left
After making it up, I thought for sure Bill would enjoy it as well so made the second one for him and took it down to the Hangar in a thermos mug. 

I'm sure you've all tried these at one time or another
It was just what we needed on a damp cold afternoon
After I finished that, I undid (rip-itted) what I’d added to the neckline of the sweater and took pictures. Have at it, ladies! The neckline itself is 19” across at the back where ideally, 14” would probably be perfect. The front of the neckline is 12”.  Anyway, I appreciate any and all suggestions.

Please don't look at mistakes LOL
I sat with my book in my comfy chair for most of the afternoon. The book was more interesting right now than another movie would be. Bill indicated that he would be down at the Hangar until closer to 5 so I managed to get a lot of chapters done. The book will be finished tonight! 

Here I go with the critter pictures
The gander surveying while the goose eats

There is quite a difference in size between Ma and Pa
Our ‘grocery exchange’ went as planned but as Maxx Trails eluded to in her blog, it feels shady as if we are of criminal nature. 😊

I left the money on the table for our grocery items
and waved at Tammy from the window
I washed the bread wrapper and the cream carton down with Lysol after removing it from the bag and placed it in the fridge. Then washed my hands after throwing the bag in the garbage. It sure feels weird but a practice we’ll get used to over the next couple of months. 

they are hard to capture but there were four ducks in the pond


and a muskrat (or beaver) swims the length 
and Chippy looks like he's smiling at me!
Welcome back, he says.
For supper tonight, I placed the leftover meatloaf, still in the pot, into Madame IP for steaming. This is essentially a reheat process and it works amazingly well. Let’s share a potato tonight!
Supper was very good
We were eating shortly after 6 and everything was cleaned up by 6:30. I wanted to get my post finished so I could sit and enjoy the evening with Bill and our programs. This was another quiet day in our neighbourhood and that was just fine by me. I hope you can say the same.

Looking up the lane, it looks long from this view
Good night, everyone!
Thanks for your visit to see what we’re up to.

14 comments:

  1. Must be nice to see the flowers coming.....or even just seeing the ground. I'm jealous.
    have you thought of building a blog page with Madam IP recipes and knowledge? I'd read it for sure.

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    1. It is nice to see the grass and flowers coming up. Maybe you should have headed this way for your isolation period! :)
      Good idea, I've been asked a similar request by another friend. I'll have to think about that.

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  2. I used to buy ramen noodles for the boys in large boxes. They all loved them...me not so much. It was a cheap, quick meal they could make themselves if they had to leave early for ballgames.
    I love all your animals - ducks, turtles, bunny, etc. Fun to be in the country to enjoy watching them.
    It was so nice of your neighbor to help out with the groceries for you as well.

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    1. We rather enjoyed them, like the boxed Lipton chicken noodle soup. Just much faster.
      No bunnies, Cheri, never see them up here on the Ridge for some reason. I'm just as glad as they would eat my garden goodies.
      It was very nice for a neighbour we don't really even know to do that for sure.

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  3. It's so nice to see some signs of spring coming up, I actually saw a few buds on trees today. I got a laugh out of your grocery deal... good thing you live in a safe neighbourhood and can leave money out on the table for the swap :-)

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    1. I knew you would appreciate the grocery swap. :) We are very far from the road too and the table is in plain view from our window.

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  4. Nice that your neighbour could help you out.
    This could last then they first forecasted.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. good to have nice neighbours. Not sure if you meant to say less or longer.

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  5. Those ducks look so pretty in the pond. Nice to have neighbors willing to help you out.

    I am not sure what you tried to bring the neck in but I personally would consider trying some evenly spaced single or double crochet decrease stitches. I would space them out maybe only three or four decreases across the back and a couple in the front. Unless the front is the right width then I would not decrease at all just make single or double crochets in each one. In the front I think I would do them way out at the corners nothing right in the middle. Maybe even two rows of decreasing to make it less obvious that, that is what you did. Then a row of single or double crochet stitches. Is there a stitch to finish the neck you could use that in place of the last row of single or double crochets. I am not sure this will work but it is worth a try. The thing is no matter what you do in the end if it fits and looks good to you whose to know it is not the way it was suppose to be done.

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    1. Thanks Deb. We are fortunate to have neighbours who offered really early to help. It is easier than having to ask. :)
      thank you so much for the sweater advice. Yes, I did 3 of the decreases but they appeared gathered (which wasn't a huge deal) but I only did one row. Two rows might make a difference. Yes, I wondered how to do a decrease at the front corners and up the sides without it looking silly. I appreciate your suggestions and have copied Maebemes, yours and Nancy's below to my phone for easy access. You're great, thank you so much!

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  6. Hmmm ... rather hard to explain without doing it in person, but I'll give it a shot. I agree with Deb, you need to run a row of stitches around the neck area (two rows if single crochet, one if double crochet), decreasing maybe every three stitches. If you want the front to be at the same level, just run the stitches along the sides and the back neckline (my preference). You could probably get away with TWO rows of decreasing stitches if need be. Give it a shot ... you can always rip it out.

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    1. Yup, yup, gotcha! You are both on the same page. I need to Google (because of my amatateurishness!) if there is more than one way to decrease. I only learned a DoubleCrochet2Together. I'll find out first before I attempt these suggestions. Thank you! I agree about the back and sides only, the front is perfect and will be wide enough to get my head through easily.

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  7. I think you need to grow a bigger neck. More ramen noodles should do it :)) Glad to see the temperatures warming and spring 💐 coming up. Your imprisonment is soon coming to an end and you'll be able to fight the grocery store crowd soon. Or will you go at senior hour:))

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  8. Happy Birthday Wendy! What a sweet story! Last time I bought Ramen Noodles was when our oldest son moved out, probably 1992 and he asked for them hahaha. Hoping some of those tips can help you as they mean nothing to me! LOL. Dinner looks awesome, I love meatloaf especially on the second day!

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