Time for an Indoor Day, A Trip to Foodland

The Ridge

On Wednesday, Apr. 29^th we knew what it was like out and were in no hurry to get out of bed. We could hear the wind howling and could only see gray out the window. The heavy clouds made sure that no light was going to get through and that could only mean we were in for some rain showers today. Such as it was, we didn’t get up until after 7:30. A couple of lazy bones.

My first picture is of our lunch today

We had our tea and coffee together while catching up on blogs and then after a quick wash up, Bill loaded the propane tank into Ptooties. We had finally run out after all his daily checking. Soon, we won’t need our b.f. heater (we hope!) so that usage will slow down significantly. I tagged along on the drive to Durham and popped into Foodland for the first time since last fall. Costco is great but when you want head lettuce, celery and green onions, they just don’t cut it.

I walked to the lane and Bill's Hangar was looking clean
but very wet

Walking down past the corral entrance 

FS Co-op, where we get propane is across the street from the grocers so Bill dropped me off and went to get the tank filled. I’m happy to have that ‘first’ trip over with and it was nice to see familiar faces in our Durham grocery store. They were very careful, spraying your hands when you entered and handing you a paper towel. Lines on the floor indicated the direction to go down aisles and with only about 5 people in the store, it was a breeze.

Father West Goose waiting

Now, isn't he pretty?

I think it is important to always thank the staff for being in at work. We appreciate them and I’m sure they’re happy to have their jobs as well. I left with my bag and Bill had driven across the highway and was in the lot waiting for me. The rain was just starting, very lightly. Yesterday and today I wore my new bulky sweater and it offered me just the right amount of heat for both morning ventures. It was already 8C/48F and not even noon hour yet.

It's little still but Bill said not to be discouraged

Back home, I skipped the wiping down process and the food items got tucked in the fridge. I made myself a coffee and Bill sat and recorded our purchases into Quicken, before transferring the necessary $ from our grocery account back into chequing. The winds are going to be the worst part of today although we are inside and not too bothered. There have been gusts already around 25 mph and the turbines are really wound up.

We didn't get dumped on at all with rain
but by the looks of the Bunky, you'd think we did
The winds were coming from the southeast today

The storage shed and outhouse also got a good wash
Note the sunflower wind sock blowing proud

We had waffles for lunch and decided on beer brat sausage for supper. I’d forgotten that we bought a huge bag of bird seed yesterday at Costco for a ridiculously good price. I remembered when I looked out the window this morning at a red winged blackbird trying to get his beak in the finch feeder hole. Oh well, they were such piggies the other day, they can wait until this wind and rain abates now. I looked out at one point and could see our sunflower wind sock laying across the shed roof so walked out to retrieve it before it ended up in the field.

Until it wasn't so proud
the string broke so I went out and retrieved it

Inside, I managed to finish my book and then walked down to the mailbox to pick up the local weekly paper and grocery flyers. That is nasty out there so after stopping in to see if the heater was helping keep the Hangar warm for Bill, I quickly came back indoors. The wind goes right through a person even in my warm sweater. 😊 I found another book but decided not to start it right away. I  got out my cross stitch for another bit of needlepoint instead.

I'm sure it drives the bigger birds crazy but the finches and chicadees
have half a chance of getting food here before it's gone

Around 3 I turned the television on and had NCIS keeping me entertained in the background. It is a good thing I’m not being judged on this cross stitch and that it isn’t one that has to be perfect for the overall appearance. My counting is a bit cock-eyed! I continued working and Bill came inside around 4 and sat at his laptop to begin a blog post. He has things to write about and wanted to get started.

Looking out the window to the west just after supper

My tummy was grumbling for food so I got up at 5:30 to start sauteing our beer brat sausages in Madame IP. Before I began our good friends, Ron and Loree, called from Rock Glen. What a great distraction! Ron, as usual, made us feel very special and I can’t say how nice it was to hear his voice and Loree’s, in the background. We chatted about CanAm, their Lance trailer and our situation up here on the Ridge. At one point, something was said that had Bill laughing uncontrollably. Typical conversation with Ron. 😊

It was a good supper

When we said goodbye, we all expressed the hope that we will be able to repeat our summer gathering, similar to what we held last year. We had so much fun. Thank you for the phone call, Ron, it made our day! I fried the brats, added a cup of water to the pot, returned the sausages to the trivet and then placed the inner pot with Instant Rice on top of them. It all cooked for 10 minutes and did a NR for 5. I am loving these sausages and will try to find them again when we need to restock. 

Dessert

I had squash and Bill had mixed vegetables as his side. Creamy Jell-o with a dollop of whipped cream was our dessert. Yum, it was a great meal. After dishes, I wanted to finish this post so I could get back to my hobby for a bit longer. I looked out and was able to get one more sunset capture but it didn’t do it justice. This was a good day again even though not an outside day. We each did our own thing for the afternoon.

Good night y'all!

Thank you for stopping in for a visit.