Day 13 and Mixed Feelings, Raking and Baking

The Ridge - Home Sweet Home

I can only assume it is because I was in bed at 10 pm last night, instead of 10:30 or later, that I was wide awake at 6:30 on Thursday, Apr. 2^nd. Bill was still sleeping so I rolled over on to my back and waited until he stirred. Our feet hit the floor at 7 and that felt a little better. The good news is that when I went downstairs and looked out the back window – we beat the sun up this morning! It was a treat to watch it pop its sunny head up above the horizon.

Good morning sunshine!

We had our tea and coffee together, reading our friend’s blog posts. Nice to see that everyone in those circles are healthy and for the most part practicing the appropriate social/physical distancing. We have to be in control of our own lives, it is up to us now and only us. Just staying safe and healthy is our goal. Bill and I are still restricted to home base for a couple more days. Today and tomorrow.

Frost on Black Beauty at 7:10

All gone!
what do you think of our Route 66 license plate?

I think we’re anxious to get out, off the property, and do a few normal things. As normal as possible. Shopping for ourselves, getting what we can on our grocery list is one key thing. Another one is doing our laundry, another getting Ptooties out of storage. We should be able to do all of these things carefully and safely. We’ve read all the information about bringing groceries into our home. A video was helpful and as sad as it is to be told ‘how to do that’, it is necessary and we will follow directions.

a better shot of some little
rhubarb sprouts

After being in quarantine for 14 days, because we came home from another country, the last thing we want is to step into an unsafe situation or encounter that ‘one’ person who didn’t self-isolate themselves to the nth degree. We just want to get through this unscathed like everyone else does. Before Bill went outside, I made him a couple of pieces of toast and I made myself a coffee.

from start to finish

The other day, I’d taken a bag of frozen Ridge apples out of the freezer with the plan to make something. So, I debated a few things and decided on using the last store-bought pie crust and make a crumble topped pie. It would take about an hour to bake so rather than pop it in right then, I got ready to finish an outside job this afternoon.

I dressed against the wind again, the sun was doing its best to warm the day up, but before too long, I had to cover my ears well from the cold. After gathering the piles of brush and leaves in the corral, I raked up around the Bunky and firepit. This doesn’t get raked each year but it should. It will help the grass by removing the old dead stuff. Bill will fertilize it before one of the next rainfalls. A warm rainfall.

Getting the yard cleaned up felt great

The wind was giving me grief in another way too. The leaves are light so I was forced to rake quickly and stop when the gusts increased in strength. When it abated for a while, I’d rush to gather the pile up into the wheelbarrow. It felt like a game but I still won with some patience on my side. Midway through my job, we came inside for a hot lunch of bacon and eggs.

The yard looks so much better now, what I didn’t gather was blown across the gravel and disappeared. I didn’t dump the load, instead stored it at the south side of the Bunky, out of the wind. I’d lose half of it trying to unload it in the brush pile.

I'll never remember the names of these birds

but I still appreciate them

After a couple of hours, I was done in. I walked down to tell Bill that I was moving inside. The sun was so warm but l resisted sitting out there anyway. It would have meant sitting in a sheltered spot and I had no desire to hunt for one.

I was happy to finish it
thanks to a few commenters who helped me from afar

Inside, I slipped my newly finished sweater on and took my tripod and camera outside for a (drum roll, please) ‘photo shoot’. Ha ha, humour me as I play the part and model my new creation for you.

and here it is modelled for you
sorry, I was being a bit silly
I wanted you to see the front and longer 'behind covering' back

Bill wouldn’t be up to the Suite for a couple of hours so that meant no tv. First, I popped the pie in the convection oven and then sat with my book. It was a good time to get into it without other things going on. I managed a few chapters, I like that they’re short ones, I chatted with my sister and then sat at my laptop to work on this post. Bill came in just before 5 and we sat to watch NCIS. The pie was sitting on the counter and boy, did it look yummy!

the winds were gusty all day today
keeping those temperatures at bay around 10C/50F

I took a couple of pictures of the pond
and it appears upset with the ripples

At 6, I got Madame IP out once more and sautéed a chicken breast and a pork chop for supper. Tonight, we had a salad as our side dish since we had many choices for dessert. Good choices too! We were eating by 6:30 and finished up with apple pie and cheddar. The pie was delicious and different with some raisins and walnuts added in the mix. It was an option in the cookbook (good ole Betty Crocker) but one I’ve never considered. I'm not a raisin fan – but Bill is.

And then I saw this!!!

sitting on the log
"They're ba-a-a-ck"

The walnuts were added for me and we both loved it. We cleaned up dishes and over my shoulder, as I sat at the table, I could see the sun dropping lower and lower. This was a wonderful day. I wanted to tell you that something else has returned. We have our singing frogs again! They started up last night much to Bill's chagrin. However, I love them!

I got a lot done outside today and finished my sweater inside. I’ll take another day like it tomorrow, please!

Supper pictures
Bill's chop on the bottom, my chicken on the top

My view from the window, hides the sun behind the pole
Good night and stay healthy!

Thank you for stopping by!