Hump Day Wakeup = Another Huge Step, Special Birthdays

The Ridge

On Wednesday, Oct. 13^th Bill was downstairs getting ready for work at 6:30 when he heard and relayed the new to me upstairs. The U.S. has announced 'that they will lift the restrictions at its land borders with Canada and Mexico for fully vaccinated foreign nationals (US!) in early November'!!! Woohoo! That was not something we were expecting to hear first thing but we are thrilled and look forward to hearing the date. 😊

Let's start the post with my next book

After being on a high over our winter plans since last Friday, we went to bed last night feeling just the opposite. The CTV news at 6 informed us that there was nothing affirmative regarding mixed vaccine allowances for travelling, by air, boat or land. It punctured the balloon as until we knew we’d be accepted into Michigan, we wouldn’t be getting on a plane at any time. ☹ This morning’s news changed that – a bit.

When I cook/bake, there is a fair bit of clutter
on our island
Not an inch to spare

Bill and I still have to hear IF and when we ‘mixed vaxxers’ will be able to set foot across the border. We are feeling positive about it but until a third dosage/booster is approved here, we are still grounded. The sky was covered in heavy clouds first thing but just spits of rain were present when Bill left at 7:30. I fed Gibbs, took him out and then left myself for town. I was there before 8 and found the place M T. The floor was dirty but not too much was shocking.

The soup is a 'no fail' recipe

I’d taken our white chenille bedspread in for a wash so hung it on the line at home. There wasn’t supposed to be rain until after lunch. I decided today would be a good day to make my broccoli cheddar soup but as if I like to challenge myself, I also decided to make my Keto almond crust butter tarts. I’m going to give myself a pat on the back here because even in this small kitchen, I am able to have two dishes going at the same time and report that they both turned out great. 😊

while I cooked in the kitchen
Gibbs totally relaxed up on the bed
If you look in the mirror, you can see his head 👀💕

With small spaces, I’ve learned to clean up as I go but with ingredients for both recipes on the go, that wasn’t as easy as it could be with one recipe. Luckily, they didn’t get crossed with dates ending up in my soup! Gibbs was the best little guy for the 2 ½ hours it took me. He went up on the bed and stayed out of my way the whole time. Then we went for our walk down the lane.

My tarts turned out great too

M called around 1 when I’d just finished a bowl of my soup (yummy!), and asked if I could help him out to pick up a truck that needs body work. It took about half hour total so I refused payment. We still have some back pay owing to me from a while ago so I suggested he put cash in an envelope towards that. He thanked me and then called me after I’d finished my shower and invited me back to go over the outstanding hours. I wasn’t going to refuse that so texted Bill about where I’d be at 2:30 and headed over.

Lunch

He was soon on his way as well and was home when I returned shortly after 3:30. We caught up with our day and I later made my tea. For supper, we had mini sausages, leftover mashed potatoes, carrots, dressing and gravy from last night. The freezer is getting cleaned out bit by bit. We’re hopeful for our winter future so once we run out of meat in there, I’ll shop by the week. 😉 I’m excited, the feeling that things are finally coming together.

Over at M's I had to wait for him to return
from town and I noticed how his Bacopa's are
still blooming

We heard from a few of our friends today who we’ve chatted with over this and it’s great to end our conversations with ‘see you in the south!’ My sister and her husband are very happy to be able to save the shipping costs we’d discussed (as are we) and will be working on loading their Montana for the trip down. They can leave as soon as they get the word that the land border is open. Bit by bit, those of us who want to and are able to go, will be driving to warmer temperatures again.

when I returned from M's, I noticed how
dirty Black Beauty was 😕

After dishes, Bill made his lunch and we enjoyed a quiet evening together. The rain has kept most of us indoors today even though it hasn’t been steady. Enough already! We have had no cause to complain about the temperatures here this fall, it has been above average since it began. That will soon change, with the weekend bringing more fall-like numbers. This was a good day, busy enough and I’m feeling tired.

It was a plateful but we finished off the leftovers
at least

We also have not 1, not 2, but 3 birthdays to celebrate in our family today. The twins, Zach and Carter are 15 and Olivia is turning 12. They sure grow up fast and these grandchildren are no exception. 

Happy Birthday!
Good night!

Thank you for stopping in.