The Ridge

The Beginning or the End?

On Sunday, Apr. 28^th I joined Bill downstairs at 7:15. Do you consider this the beginning of your week or the end? I'm on the fence on that one. I made my tea to go and was on my way into the Mat at 7:30. The morning sunshine surprised us as we weren’t expecting to see any at all. It didn’t last, by the time I reached town, clouds had moved over us completely. There was a 99% chance of rain today so we knew at some point, we’d get wet. It was a mild 13C/55F when I left. 😊 

Good morning!
Even with clouds, our pond reflections are
picture worthy. 

The Mat was in pretty fair condition, nothing that made me grumble, and Dollar Store Dave was the only customer. That’s the first time I’ve seen him, he’s always in for early Sunday laundry since his store is open every other weekday. I was on my way home at 8:40. Bill and Gibbs were outside, puttering a bit so I came in and had some oatmeal and yogourt.

He behaves much better when I'm not around
so Bill finished when I vamoosed. 😂

M had asked if I would mind taking him into town at 10:30 to the pharmacy so I did that and the rest of the day was home free. He hates asking on a Sunday but did pay me for fuel. While I was gone today, Bill gave Gibbs a wee bit of haircut around his face. Now we can see his eyes again. ♥

This is a pleasant read so far.

The latest word is that he has a tenant moving in to his apartment on the 1^st but the previous renter has not picked up all of her stuff yet. She’s a real ‘case’, if you get my drift, in more ways than one. Anywho,(yes, I meant that), Bill and I drove over to help him move her stuff to his old trailer until she comes.

That kind of day. He was up with Daddy,
down with Mom and on the floor by himself. 

We didn’t get far, when M indicated that she said she’d be there by end of day today to get it. We returned home for lunch without putting too much hope into that taking place but we’ll see. After lunch, the rain arrived and it just wasn’t worth being out. Bill debated going to the Hangar but in between showers, he didn’t really feel up to it today. Sunday, a day of rest, right? 😊

He went upstairs with Gibbs and watched movies and I stayed downstairs and worked on my cross stitch for another couple of hours. You’d think my progress would be awesome but……..only to me, was the difference noticeable. Oh well, it passes the time and bit by bit, it is getting done.

Simple supper
The fat on that bacon was soooo tasty!
Great for my keto 'diet'

I put it away around 3:30 and delved into the new book I’m reading. Caroline by Sarah Miller. It is a continuation to the Little House on the Prairie collection, thus bringing up many sweet memories of watching the episodes with my daughter, my own ‘Half-Pint’. ♥ For supper, we went simple again and had bacon and eggs. It was easy, filling and a nice change. Who needs a big meal every night? Not us.

Gibbs has to jump up behind me whenever
Bill goes outside without him.
He needs to watch, security detail, you know.

Bill went to the Hangar before 7 and I started my blog. Super fast!! I’m in heaven! Today was not a wash out but with more rain in the forecast, there are some outdoor things that will definitely be on the back burner.

No sunset viewing tonight but at least it is mild.
The arrow is where Gibbs sees his Daddy disappear to.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping around.

Wild and Windy but Warm

The Ridge

On Saturday, Apr. 27^th Bill and Gibbs didn’t get up until almost 6:30. So they tell me. I never paid much attention in my still half-asleep slumber. 😊 I didn’t get up until almost 7:30. For some reason my sleep was not normal for me. I was awake a few times, maybe too warm, and my legs seemed restless. Bill, on the other hand, seemed to sleep very well so that’s good.

Last night the sky was spooky
but still pretty.
Good morning!

It was a cloudy day from the very beginning until around 5:30 when the sun pushed through some of the clouds. “Here I am!” it seemed to be screaming. It was a mild day, once we got to mid-afternoon, reaching 18C/64F for a high. The wind was crazy though and our shelter cover I just flopping away. The rains came mostly for the morning, not too heavy but enough to get wet.

On our way to Hanover, 20 minute drive

We drove back to Hanover today with a stop first in Giant Tiger to check out their 35%/whipping cream price and I bought a half quart size with an 18% size. They don’t have that last one in the U.S., no where I could find. Strange. I like the thicker/ higher fat content cream in my coffee because unlike many (most?) I don’t LOVE the taste of coffee. It needs to be doctored, then I like it. 😊

Just hanging out while the water transferred
into the Suite

Our only other place to stop today was at Healthy Computers to pick up my laptop. Yay! I was excited since Tim told me he’d put in a solid-state drive and it was incredibly fast. For $200, it was a quick and easy fix so we were thrilled. Thank you to a commenter, KennyD, for that suggestion. I knew when you commented that it was what Tim told me on the phone but I couldn't remember what he called it. Worth the money, for sure.

The view over the pond.
It will change considerably over the next
month.

Back home, it was raining still so we hung inside for the most part. I’d finished my book so needed to find a new one. Of course, I tested my laptop and Bill just laughed as I continuously exclaimed (purposely exaggerated with hand gestures) “wow!” I was grateful for the use of his HP last night as it is always very fast. I’m also happy not to have to break in a new laptop. Bonus! 😊

Gibbs love the outdoors
so we were happy the rain stopped earlier
than we first thought. 

We had lunch and Bill went out to the Hangar to putter on his Cub. I stayed inside with Gibbs and while he pined for Daddy, I worked on my cross stitch for a couple of hours. It’s looking hopeful but still a lot to do. I'm sure I won't get it done this summer.

Thank goodness for the vision aid with the funky glasses, it is too small to easily see the stitches let alone count where they go.

The sun is powerful and so is the wind.
One is responsible for the late day clearning. 😉

At 4:30, Bill went to the Acreage to put the filter in and turn the pump on. He also got a bladder full of water although we still had 45 gallons. Nice to have our water source available to us again now that the overnight temperatures will be above freezing. Thank you to Rob and Pat for the water we got a couple of times to tide us over. ♥

Okay, time to get serious.
No potatoes for me.

For supper, I baked pork chops, cooked a potato and corn for Bill and some sprouts for me. It was very good. By the time dishes were cleared, the clouds were bumped completely out of the way and we were sitting at a lovely 19C/67F. Our overnight low was going to be 14C/58F, wow! 

Today was better than this shows,
maybe they'll be wrong tomorrow too.
Doubt it but....

This has been a good day  even though we weren’t working outside. We take each day as it comes. PS - it's like a have a new computer, I'd forgotten how swift one should be!

for my coffee loving friends
Enjoy!
Good night!
(and within 15 minutes, my blog is done and posted!)
Happy Dance!

Thank you for the visit.

We Share Everything! (Huh?) Busy Morning, Jazz

 

The Ridge

On Friday, Apr. 26^th I woke up when I heard Bill telling Gibbs how good he was for sleeping in. That was at 6:30. It was another blue-sky morning and I knew it would last all day, according to the weather guessers. 😊 Good news! Sunshine just makes everything better. I got up just before 7, really, just a couple of minutes.

After getting washed and dressed, I made my tea-to-go. Today is government pay day for seniors so Bill was at his laptop taking care of business. On our first month back from the winter trip, we are always very anxious to get this first deposit into our accounts. I think the extra expenses on our return trip is to blame this year especially. I left the Suite at 7:30 and drove to Durham to clean.

The Foundry 1872
The fellow in the Mat told me that years ago it was
a restaurant of this name. Cool

I remembered to take a picture of the building across the road. It was in major construction last year, the outside parking area and building getting a makeover. Now, it is inside that the work goes on. A bar/restaurant should be really good for the town, we need a nice place to eat and to keep the locals from going to Hanover, Mount Forest and further. Not sure when it will open but it is looking very nice.

Today, was the first time a customer has come in since I’ve returned. He’s familiar, I don’t know their names, but he said “the Arizona lady is back!” It amazes me what people remember, he’s older than me! My memory is terrible. I had no issues today and finished by washing the floors again. Bill and I got changed and left for Hanover for our busy morning around 8:45. First stop was Healthy Computers to drop my laptop off. It is running ridiculously slow so we want an estimate.

Turning onto Murray's road, just one lone
goat in a field of horses

Tim assured us he’d call this afternoon, that we likely have a few options available to us. Then we went to the Hanover Medical Centre/Clinic. We talked to a nice gal about getting on a list for a new doctor in the area. It is a bit of a rigmarole because of few doctors available BUT we left there with things to think about in which way we want to go. So far, things were going good.

A horse for Nancy
Can't ride a goat, right?

From there, we drove to a motorcycle place where we can get Jazz checked out. Her fuel gauge is not working. It may cost a bundle so we have to again make a decision. How important is it? We’ll wait to find out the cost before ordering one. I think that was the last thing before we drove to Walmart for a few groceries. This is where I first noticed a hike in some food prices and opted to walk past a few things today.

On our second stop at Murray's
Jazz was ready to come home
Bill walks her out of the barn.

We picked up a couple of things for M and on the way home, stopped in to pick Jazz up from storage. Bill had all of his gear in the back of Ptooties. We are expecting rain for a week at least and this day, although windy, was the best day before the end of the month. Murray was generous and didn’t charge as much as we expected. 😊 Unfortunately, Jazz wouldn’t start. Her battery wouldn’t turn the engine over. ☹ She wasn’t ready to come home?

It's a heavy bike, much concentration
required after a winter's break.

Back into Hanover to Car Quest, we picked up a new battery (ouch!) and things went smoothly from that point on. I dropped M’s items off and met Bill back at home. He said it was a nice ride, not cold at all. ♥ I love seeing him on the bike and I love being on behind him too! Jazz is parked in her shelter and all the groceries were put away. 1 o’clock, time for a late lunch. Clam chowder from the cupboard worked well. I was starved.

It was difficult after seeing him in his
leathers, but I let him get back on Jazz. ♥

For some reason, we/I was especially tired. Last night’s 11 pm bedtime was a bad idea, getting up so early. Not my usual hours for sure. We had a snooze (Bill in his recliner and me upstairs) and I was surprised that I was gone for an hour! I felt much improved when I came down at 3:30 but neither of us felt like starting anything outside at the stage. The winds today were making the 13C/57F feel colder.

Here is Bill's Dad's birdhouse, repaired
and installed. Looks great!

Just chillin'

Our whirly-jig is up and twirling today!

I finished my book, it was so good, and at 5:15 Bill barbecued his famous burgers. Our first bbq since we left Park Place RV Resort. 😊 They were goooood, as usual and really sloppy. ♥ Bill went to the Hangar and handed over his laptop so I could write today’s blog post. I'm glad he was happy to share! The good news is that Tim called and is installing a new hard drive in my Lenova! Woohoo! He said my original (8 yrs old) was working at less than half what it used to. 😊

Gibbs found a goose feather
and likes to chew on the 'plastic' spine.
I tossed one away and it landed in this bush.
Eventually, the wind blew it down so he got it again.

I’m so happy! The cost will be about $600 less than a new laptop – at least. This has turned into an awesome day. Now if I can manage to download pictures into my post, I’ll be feeling pretty great too!

Taking the opportunity to grill supper.

To this, I added pickles, onion and tomato.
Real messy - real good!

Happy birthday to my sister-in-law, Carol, today. We had a few laughs during our phone call this morning. ♥

Because I'm on Bill's laptop, I don't have access
to my gallery of pictures.
This is an old one of Carol from Bill's collection but it defines her
powerful giving nature. ♥
You deserve a wonderful day, Carol!

Good night!

Thank you for popping by!

This is Perfect! We Took Advantage

The Ridge

On Thursday, Apr. 25^th I slept in until a few minutes past 7. When I woke, I got a face wash and cuddles from Gibbs and I could hear that Bill was sleeping downstairs in his recliner. I knew they got up at 6 for Gibbs to go out. I remained where I was and likely dropped off because the next I knew, it was 7:35. 😊 I stayed up until 11 last night again, watching a couple of Survivor episodes.

These were Wednesday night's sunset views

Today is the day we’ve been looking forward to. The winds were minimal ALL day, reported as ‘calm’ on our forecasts (unheard of!!) and we wasted no time getting out there. After my shower we had our morning drinks with our choice of breakfast. Cereal for Bill and Baked Oatmeal (not oatmeal, Bob 😊) for me. Bill was out first with Gibbs and I dusted and vacuumed before I joined them. We did have to layer up as it was a bitter cold of -4C/24F.

I wish our pond was really this blue
but alas this is the sky reflection.
Still beautiful.

Bill put our berm hill flag pole and flag up first and then went about straightening the storage shed. It was quite messy. First thing I did, was fill a big bird feeder to make the flying critters happy. In the course of the day and early evening, it worked. Chickadees, sparrows, wrens, a brown thrasher, a blue jay visited the area and an eastern meadowlark and Wilson’s snipe sang from the trees. They never visited the feeder. My Merlin bird app picked them all out today. ♥

I love to see the Thrasher visit.
It's rare up here.

I won’t go into too much detail of what we all did today but the finished product was a cleaner, more organized Bunky, same for the storage shed, old cardboard, paper, knitting patterns burned in the fire pit and a few signs, solar lights and bird houses hung and set out. The Ridge is slowly coming together and we are so pleased. From 8 am until 4 we were all outside. 

Gibbs had me laughing as he was sure there was
something in the wood pile.
He wiggled, squirmed, poked, sniffed and barked.
I saw nothing. 

Gibbs rested a lot.
Supervising is really tough!

We took a break for lunch and Bill took time to take his chainsaw down the road to Northline Service & Repair for 2 chains to be sharpened. It wasn’t long, before lunch, and our outer layers were being removed, one by one. I managed to get another small garden raked and cleaned up, giving the Evening Primroses a chance to reach the sun.

Boy I love to watch my man work.
He's fixing my bird feeder pole that was damaged
by the broken branch.

Our tall flag pole went up first.
Looks like a lot of wind up there on the berm
first thing but it died right off by 8 am. 

I’m being ruthless and I know Bill is too, as we go through our buildings. If we haven’t used it for a couple of years, we don’t need it. We have made plans for tomorrow, although the Jello jiggled from the original. We first thought M needed a new phone and were going to take him with us to Hanover so we could all take care of business. However, his phone is fine today and he heard from Bell that over 6,000 Virgin+ customers had a problem yesterday too. Phew! Saves him some $.

Twice, I walked down the lane.
Tough choices were made. Gibbs stayed behind
the first time so he was in between Daddy and Mom.
Second time, he followed me to check the mail box.

So, Bill and I will go and do our own thing. My laptop needs help so I’m taking it in for an evaluation (free estimate) and then we’ll decide what we need to do. It is 8 years old. I may be writing my blog on Bill’s for a week or two. I sat by the fire after we were done working and when the sun disappeared behind the trees the cool air brought me indoors. For supper, it was simple. We love these! Toasted bacon, cheese and tomato sandwiches. Awesome!

Easy, delicious supper.

I finished my blog, watching the birds ransack the feeders and then did another run through of my Word documents cleaning the old ones out. I need to do it more often but don’t. ☹ This has been an awesome day! 

We love our new fence adornment.

Oh! I almost forgot that we went down to the new gate and ‘installed’ our Mexico purchase. It looks great too!

I had some relaxing time after our work was finished too.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping in. Thank you to those of you who sent the warmer temps and especially the sunshine! ♥

Snow, Clouds, Sun and Always Wind

The Ridge

On Wednesday, hump day, Apr. 24^th I didn’t get up until 7:15. It is nice that I can go to my cleaning job at any time during the day, my own schedule. Now that I don’t have to go to M’s for 9:30, I feel so free. No rushing. 😊 I made a to-go tea and hopped in Ptooties at 7:30. Brrrr! It was/is nasty out there today! A brisk 0C/32F this morning and a crazy high of ………wait for it……2C/36F. It was snowing and blowing when I left although not sticking to the ground.

Good morning!
Yesterday, I mentioned the dead tree that had
a huge branch blown down.
This is the tree in the left hand picture.
It needs to be cut down.

When I walked into the Mat, I wasn’t sure if I was in the right place. It was almost spotless! Very little recyclables (3 containers), very little garbage (dryer sheets only), and all the machines were clean and free of dirt. Whoa! I did my usual walk around, removed those things into the bags in the back room and decided to go through the Lost and Found box. I needed to see what was there so in a week, I know what to launder and pass on to the thrift store.

Unless you look close at the black wall
of the Mat, you may not see the snow.
It looks like evening driving home on Baptist Church Road.

5 or 6 items were tossed, damaged in some way beyond saving and set everything else back in the box for another day. I emptied lint trays in the dryers, which only 2 had been used, wiped the top of the machines and then dust mopped the floors. Lastly, I got the wet mop out and washed the floors for good measure. I was filling in time. After driving in, I wasn’t going to turn around and go home. I marked my hour on the calendar in the office and drove to the Ridge.

Right now, the drive up our lane is pretty
dreary too but soon leaves will enhance it's summer beauty.

The snow had stopped by this time but our front stoop was crunchy with it. It doesn’t get sun on it until about 2:30. We hung out inside. First, I worked diligently on deleting old documents and videos from my laptop (of course, I had to look at them all first) and then I worked on the tenant’s lease for M’s apartment. He has a new tenant moving in on May 1^st so I want it to be in order. Speaking of………M dropped over requesting help for his phone.

Sitting inside, reading, I noticed these lovely
prism colours on the floor and across my laptop.
My dear friend, Sheila, gifted me this little Angel
before we left Quartzsite. 💖💖

We had lunch, then popped over to offer our assistance and to show him the documents. That was an hour we’ll never get back. LOL. We returned home to Gibbs at 3. By now, the sunshine was ruler of the blue sky and it was lovely BUT the winds have not abated and it is terribly cold. I know that our friends in Quartzsite are dealing with the exact opposite, looking for ways to cool off. If only we could share. 😊

We finished up the leftovers tonight.
Yummy and easy!

I made a tea and started my blog. Bill went up to watch a movie until supper time and at 6:30, we had leftover brisket, potatoes, carrots, gravy and our own vegetable. Yummy! Another one of those Sunday night meals……….on a Wednesday. We loaded the dishwasher and settled in for the evening.

While blogging, I noticed the Chickadees
were enjoying the Niger seed.
Tomorrow, I'll get out the other bird feeders for them.

The good news is that the winds have died down a bit and the sun is still pretty high in the west sky. We’ll drop to a ridiculous low of -4C/24F overnight but we’ll be 12 degrees warmer tomorrow than today, with minimal winds. Yay! I think 12C/53F will feel springlike again. ♥ This was a low key but good day. Bill went to the Hangar tonight, with some heat on. He's happy to get back into that. 

Last night, I began watching Season 46 of Survivor. Used to watch it years ago when it started but lost interest. I enjoyed the first episode. It's the challenges that I like best. Bill joined me and we watched 2 episodes of Sullivan's Crossing and then 1 or 2 (?) of The Voice. We were both falling asleep and went to bed at 11. 

Three little pictures that I love almost as
much as I love to dance! 😀
Good night!

Thank you for the visit!

Not Much Happening Today

The Ridge

On Tuesday, Apr. 23^rd I was surprised to see mostly blue skies out my bedroom window. My forecast for today showed clouds and rain. By the time I got downstairs at 7:15, made my tea and chatted with Bill, it all pretty much changed. He had a busier morning than I did. It was still windy, a Ridge tradition apparently, and now that the clouds had covered the sky, it was cold. The 11C/54F we reached today felt nowhere near that. Brrr.

This is what a lot of our day was like.
Bottom picture, he's on the step, Bill is upstairs
and I'm downstairs in the kitchen. 

Bill was outside long enough to go and fill our water bladder (thank you Rob) and to get another propane tank filled. Both were bordering on empty yesterday, one completely and the second one absurdly close. Now we’re set for a while but it still needs to warm up. Our Blue Flame heater is our main source of heat, with the furnace only running for a couple of cycles first thing in the morning. This warms our floors up and the under belly as well.

I only went out once, after lunch, and that was to cart my 4 containers of paints and small rocks from under the bed out to the Bunky. Bill set up my folding table that I bought last winter. I’ve decided not to use the round table, it takes up so much room in there. Hopefully, this one will work for any puzzles I want to do. The rest of my day was basically a lazy one.

Baked keto oatmeal, for a few breakfasts
for me.

I researched a tenancy agreement for M, who is ready (finally) to rent out his front apartment again. It took forever to get the last ‘non-paying’ tenant out and Bill and I have offered to get him set up properly this time, with regulations and an agreement in place. With that tentatively done, I made a batch of my Baked Keto Oatmeal for my breakfasts. We were both wimps this afternoon and didn’t want to be outside. A good day to rest up from yesterday’s surge. Although, I must say that my stretching last night seemed to help. I felt pretty good when I woke up.😊

Two good meals out of a $5 brisket.
That's pretty good in my books.

We had corned beef brisket for supper with potatoes, onions and carrots. No cabbage, I don’t have any and Bill doesn’t like it anyway. Boy, was it good! It was so tender, the whole meal was cooked in Madame IP. She did a great job!

We didn't see the sun since first thing
this morning.
This was the closest we got.
Good night!

I took very few pictures today but have a couple of my lazy little boy and one Bill sent me of a broken tree branch from down near the pond. It’s a dead tree that we plan on taking down this summer before it falls on the Hangar. The winter removed this branch for us, thankfully, in the right direction. I forgot to download that picture,  so will include it tomorrow. 

I hope your day is warmer than ours and if it is, you can consider sending some our way. 😊

Thank you for popping in.