Friday, April 17, 2020

A New Day, Special Birthday Wishes and Cool Finds


The Ridge
It was a treat to wake up on Friday, Apr. 17th to sunshine and low winds. We were both up before 8, me not by much though, showered and downstairs for our drinks. But wait! I think I’ll take advantage of the low winds and sunshine and go for a walk first. It was only -2C/29F but I could bundle up against that. Down the lane, across North Line to the corner and south towards County Rd 4 I went.

It was a nice walk this morning
The slight wind/brisk air was in my face on BCRd so my eyes watered a bit and I needed to pull my neck scarf up over my nose and mouth. Other than that, it was a great walk! I have missed them so much and should push myself to grin and bear it more often. When I got back, I added the 3 beer cans that I found to my collection and came inside for my tea. Bill was working on his laptop at the coffee table and said that works pretty well. We could put placemats over the puzzle if it didn’t.

Ptooties' windows covered in frost

She was attached to the ground by an icicle
I joined him in my recliner but had my laptop on my lap. I also have a tray I can use if I want to. I chatted by text with Donna and Pat to see what they were up to and then read blogs and made comments on some. Bill has been checking the propane tank daily expecting to have to take a run into town for filling. We have been pleasantly surprised that up to yesterday, we still had enough. Rob got one filled for us on Friday the 27th of March. That is amazing that we’ve used so little!


Blue Jays are so pretty
God did this bird right!
Today, we needed to fill one so Bill took care of that around 9:30 and then drove over to the Acreage to check the water flow and fill our bladder. We aren’t out but better to have it on hand than not. when he finished we were topped up and our black and grey tanks dumped. He agreed that the sun is quite nice and warm today so that is positive for our thoughts of the day. I worked on my puzzle while he was gone and don’t imagine that I will get into much else today.

Lunch was a nice change
Around noon hour we had mini sausages and French toast with maple syrup for lunch and took care of the dishes. Bill was down in the Hangar when my cousin, Harvey, arrived. We wanted to chat with him about some possible changes we may need to look at for winter living up here. We were a bit downtrodden when he left, not his fault, just that the info wasn’t great. We need to change course on our thinking and he did give us something else to consider.

Bill got these 2 tables free
 I’m not trying to keep you in suspense, we just want to weigh our options before opening the envelope to everyone. Basically, as full-timers we need to consider where we’ll stay if 2020/21 winter travel is not allowed and what those consequences will be. That is where our heads are at these days, so some scary stuff going on in there! Inside, I did some Googling on a couple of related subjects while Bill returned to his workshop.

Two more chairs for friends to curl up in around the fire
Soon after, the insurance appraiser from Mount Forest arrived to take pictures of the Suite damage from our Pilot Knob debacle. It has worsened so it needs to be taken care of. Better now than later. That is now in the works. He left us with a bit more uplifting information when Bill told him what we are looking at. Bill and I had a light come on when we remembered that George and Suzie used to have a service come in for dumping their rv tanks while in Ontario. More Googling.

2 cupboards for the storage shed
My next one will be harder, more than a two day one, I think
Our spirits have been up and down so many times over the last 2 weeks it isn’t even funny. It was a real treat to get a text from our friends, Ken and Kim as it perked me up. They were reminding us about Happy Hour. It was 3:30 and I was late! After returning a text to them, I made myself a Lady Gray Tea. Earl’s is all gone and I much preferred it. The tea was hot, creamy and hit the spot. When it was done, I sat at the table and worked on the puzzle.


I thought I was done with pictures for the night
Then I saw this female cardinal

And I assume her mate

Isn't he a brilliant colour?
Bill drove back over to the Acreage to set the water tap ‘a-drip’ for the night and when he returned he showed me a picture on his phone of a few items that were set out down the road marked FREE. He'd picked up 2 tables on his way back and wanted to know what I thought about the other things. Yes, I said, let's go see them. Two adirondack chairs and 2 cupboards with shelves and doors. This was a great find and we'll find use for them here.

The thighs look burnt but trust me
They were perfect!
 The chairs are in good condition and sturdy so I'll probably put some stain on them to spruce them up but we'll use them for sure. The tables are a great find as Bill was looking for something to make a saw horse yesterday. Inside, I finished the puzzle just before supper so we could eat at the table tonight. I shook two chicken thighs in a baggie with spices and cooked them in Rosy (air fryer) for 12 minutes one side and then 10 on the other. While they were cooking, I prepared a salad for our side dish. If this didn’t fill us, there was Chapman’s ice cream for dessert. Second best next to Tillamook.

Dessert with choke cherry jelly
After dishes, it was blog time and maybe tonight I’d get more reading done. This was a busy enough day without doing too much physical stuff. Our minds were going non-stop. The weather was actually pretty decent, reaching 8C/46F today. 


The most important thing today is the birthday. Mom turned 94. I’m sad that I couldn’t go in to see her. First time ever that we couldn’t visit either by phone or in person. She would have received the cards that Donna and I left for her but that just isn’t the same.
Happy 94th Birthday to my Mom
Oh, how I love to hear her laugh

Good night everyone!

I hope you had a good day and Thank you for your visit too!

12 comments:

  1. They are opening up everything now although slowly. I can’t imagine you not being able to travel next winter. It’s stressful - I can’t even decide when to head back home! Lol. It’s keeping me awake!!!

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    1. It is stressful and tough to make a rational decision.
      Time will tell whether we like it or not. :(

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  2. Happy Birthday to your Mom, cute picture of the two of you. I am sure it is hard not being able to visit with her.
    So glad that puzzle mat worked out for you.
    Some scary/worrisome thoughts for sure. Especially if some of the predictions are right and this coronavirus comes back in the fall. The big decision for us right now, like Nancy, is when to head back home. At the same time we are thinking ahead to next fall.
    As full timers that live in a place were everything freezes you have a lot to think about. I am sure you and Bill will come up with a good plan and again I hope you never have to use it. Take care, stay safe and healthy.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Not seeing Mom is hard and the absence isn't over by a long shot.
      I think of you each time I use the puzzle mat (well, more often than that!). Thanks!
      There is no crystal ball about this virus or anything we do because of it. Life is full of challenges, isn't it?

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  3. I feel for you guys and know how stressful it is trying to see into the future this winter. It will be interesting to see how you deal with it while still living in your RV. We have no plans to sell Maxx but we also know we can't spend the winter living here so whether that means we buy or rent remains to be seen.

    I think you are smart to start that planning now because I don't see going south happening this year.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you guys. My b-i-l is of strong faith and says it will all work out. We believe it will too, one way or the other.
      We don't think south is going to be an option this year either, maybe in January for some.

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  4. Happy Birthday to your mom! I wish her many more years, and hopeful that you'll be able to visit and celebrate in the next few weeks.

    Take care and stay well!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Maebeme. Fingers crossed but I don't think a few weeks is going to make a difference this time.
      Take care too!

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  5. I hope you will consider the west coast of Canada as a winter option. Lots of good winter spots on the Island and the South Okanagan is also very popular for winter snowbirds. It,s not Arizona but you don,t have to shovel and there is green grass. Met your good friends Oscar and Judy there a few years ago, on their way home. Perhaps they have mentioned this as an option. Archie


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    1. Hi Archie. Thank you. It isn't that we have haven't talked about Vancouver, we have. It would be the 'getting there' part that would be the challenge. That is a long trek if we couldn't go through the US, across the prairies. Good thoughts though and nothing is ruled out at this point.
      I appreciate your comment and suggestion.

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  6. Happy Happy Birthday to your MOM!!! I'm thinking you'll be south next winter..this will all be done. Try not to stress, but I get you need plans if it doesn't work. Dinner and dessert look yummy to me!!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Shirley, I like your way of thinking and we're trying to be optimistic. :D
      Supper was good.

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