Along Comes Monday, Holiday for Some

The Ridge

Monday, Apr. 5^th is a Government paid holiday if you are fortunate enough to work for them. Bill and I were two of the lucky ones when we worked for the school board. We always looked forward to Easter weekend because it was 4 days long for us. Of course, there was always at least one, maybe two family gatherings in that time period leaving 2 full days to ourselves.

A typical spring morning at the Ridge

Soon after the first photo, I noticed the grader going back and forth
In front of our neighbour's house, it gets very soft and mucky
so needed special attention before more rain

It is an area that has evergreen trees on the north side,
close to the roadway

Today, Bill had to work so was off to work to meet the guys at 8 between Hanover and Neustadt. They’re working on a horse farm for a few days. I drank my tea and read our friends’ blogs. The sun came up first thing and brightened the Suite up when I opened the blinds. However, within the hour, it was swallowed up by the heavy white clouds. The forecast was for some rain showers this afternoon into the evening so I wasn’t surprised to see the covering.

Here's Mother Goose on her nest

I was happy to get the leaves cleaned up

The good thing is that it is going to be mild. We don’t mind that we aren’t getting hot weather yet, it is only spring, and 13C/57F is pretty darn nice. It should have been a work day for me at the Mat, according to my winter schedule BUT when Jamie told me last night that he and Emma were in and found it in a ‘state’, (I think Jamie’s words were ‘shit-show’), they cleaned it. No point in me going in this morning when it doesn’t need it. I want to earn my pay.

As I moved to the other side of the corral, 
she was up and resituating herself 

So, instead, I hung around here and vacuumed our home for starters. At 11:00, I went out, dressed in layers, and raked down the hill on the east and west sides of the corral. There were quite a few leaves and twigs, making it look yeuchy and the twigs, especially, would make using my mower a challenge when the time came for that. I made piles about 5’ apart to come back with the wheelbarrow and pick them up.

Up the laneway side it was a smaller area
and unfortunately small stones get in the mix here

I was surprised to see Mother Goose sitting on her nest, a mere 20’ from me. I wasn’t disturbing her at all which I was glad for. Father Goose was off in the pond watching though and yet didn’t seem bothered by my presence either. Funny, this morning I had to open the door and shoo them back down the hill in my skivvies! “No, no”, I said, “this isn’t your play area.” Is there a sign that reads ‘no poop zone’? They didn't hold it against me though.

I told you that I layered up,
well if you look closely you'll see the evidence
of de-layering with a couple of clothing items shed along the way and my water bottle
in the fence.
I worked hard!!

I had received an email that my Avon order payment was due by the 8^th and yet I hadn’t even received the order yet. I understood that the holiday was the delay but good grief, they didn’t wait long to ask for my money! As I was finishing up with the last two piles of leaves, I could hear my UPS buddy coming down Baptist Church road. Sure enough, here comes my Avon. He waved as he drove up to the top to turn around and I walked up. His first words “Look who’s back!” 😊

Just a few Avon things to keep my account active

I finished the job outside and came in for something to eat. Today, a wrap with peppers, ham, cheese, dill pickle and mayo and Wasabioli. If you like a bit of a bite in your sandwich, try it. It’s almost too spicy for me but mixed with the mayo, I rather enjoy the taste. I opened my Avon box and used it to hold some of the BizyBee auction stuff. Seems that I burned all of the boxes from moving, not knowing we'd need some. LOL

This is a nice addition to a sandwich to wake
your taste buds up
No carbs, no sugar

When I was outside, I wanted to try and put the large slate piece that I found last fall in the fire pit. We’ve burned the bottom out and everything falls down through. Reading about slate, it withstands a lot of heat and since I didn’t have a plan for the piece, fit it in. Perfect! The fire pit looks terrible, all rusty (not rustic) but it works fine. We didn’t bother putting it away this past winter.  It has at least another year of life in it and we'll be looking at the fire, not the 'container'.

This will prevent wood from falling through but allow some ashes
and air flow
It's easy to clean at the end of the season but just lifting the
whole unit

After dishes, I was surprised to see Bill driving up the lane before 3. They had to pause in the work they were doing today until electricians got in, so they left early. He rested for 20 minutes and then went out to transfer more water from the bladder to our tank. We’d each showered since yesterday afternoon so it would free up some space. There won’t be any mail today so no point in a walk down the lane for that purpose, Government workers. Bill confirmed that by telling me the flag wasn't up.😊 

I can't remember what these are but they
are perennials that I planted last spring
and seem to have survived. Yay!

We went into Durham to get a propane tank filled and to fill our RO water. We are filled to the brim with everything now! Bill has wanted/needed a haircut for at least a month and didn’t take the time to get it cut before our lockdown. The long hair is driving him nuts, and even though I like the curls at the back, I agreed to try and trim it again for him. I’ve done it a few times so he trusts me. I get nervous using his clippers, not trusting myself or them to leave him with hair in the right spots!

New growth in the hens and chicks

But, once he reinstalled the propane and brought the water bottle in, we took a chair out to our newly assembled shelter. It was cozy in there and out of the wind. It isn’t a perfect cut, but it is an improvement and will get him through the next month. I can cut my own hair just fine, straight edges but when it comes to styling or cutting off hair that flips and curls it is a challenge for me! It was 5 o’clock and Bill had some wood to cut so I came indoors and got things out for supper. Leftovers.

There is a fair bit of raking in the corral but it will be a 
good work out one day

Working ON the hill will be the most challenging

And then the point needs to be cleaned out too

I have the darnedest time getting our tv to turn on. At least I’m not alone, Bill thinks our remote is dying. It is so frustrating. I even tried the one from the bedroom but can only get sound and satellite so I have to wait for him to come in. He’ll touch one button and it will be on. Magic fingers, I guess. 😊 That’s exactly what happened although not too easily. He went back out when I told him supper would be another 20 minutes.

I saw her flit through earlier but it wasn't until Bill
was home that she landed for a picture
her face is really red indicating a male.......

But unless it is a young male, I'm guessing it is MRS. C.
Pretty, regardless

The tree on the right is dead but we love it
because the birds do and it houses Dad's birdhouse

We had reheated ham, potatoes and corn in Madame IP, the last 4 crescent rolls baked and my turnip cooked in the convection and microwave oven. We were eating by 6:30. I went back and forth with Donna and Gerry about why my emails to her aren’t showing up. Finally, we got to the bottom of it and will work on fixing the problem. Then I went outside to help Bill with situating and securing the shelter. Don’t forget our winds up here, we need to take extra care.

Of course, at 5:30, the sky started to clear and by 7,
it was cloudless
I missed the beautiful sunset pictures as I was out without my camera
helping Bill

The air is sure cooling down and I was happy when we were done and I came inside. I hardly did anything but Bill was crawling around, up and down on his knees in the gravel. No wonder his body is rebelling sometimes, many times. ☹ Inside, even though it was 8pm and we try not to eat so late, we had our dessert. Cheesecake, mine with choke cherry sauce and Bill’s with sf caramel sauce. It was as good as ever.

Yum, pineapple ham, crescent rolls, turnip and
cauliflower rice with butter

I enjoyed the added zest to my cheesecake

This was a good day, more done around here and that always makes me feel good. I hope you had a good one too!

A nice memory picture of Bill and his Dad
This was on our return trip after our first winter south
Apr. 5, 2017

Good night!

Thank you for your visit!