Can You See Me Now?

The Ridge

On Wednesday, July 31^st, last day of the month, we were all up by 7. I was washed, dressed and on my way out the door by 7:20. It was a warm morning so I didn’t need anything more than a sleeveless top. It was a bit foggy but no hindrance for my drive. The temperature was already in the high teens (16C/mid 60’s F). I’m so grateful Sandy put a/c in the Mat.

Good foggy morning!

I was alone for half of my time today but it still took me 90 minutes to clean. There were 4 washers that needed to be tested because of Do Not Use notes. As it turned out, none were legit but they were at least tested. 😊 I went next to fill our 5-gallon water jug and then home. Woops! I did stop at the Shell station on the highway to spend $20 on lottery tickets. Do ya feel lucky?

Well, we've all had days like this
but I still didn't want to get too close.

Bill and Gibbs were getting concerned at the length of time I was gone so texted to check on me. I love that! ♥ It’s better than not thinking of me at all when I’m away, right? At the gas station, I bumped into one of my most favourite people in all of Durham. Of course, other than our Buddies. 😊  You’d likely never guess but it was my former Mat boss, Jamie! I haven’t seen him in quite a while so had to hop out for a big hug. I miss him.

My lunch plate. 

My sweeties were outside at the picnic table when I drove up and filled them in on my delay. I texted Sandy with my July hours plus the days in September when I will be unavailable. It was a pretty low-key day and although not a lot was done outside, I vacuumed indoors and we’ve done even more contemplating and comparing on our insurance decision. We had lunch and at 1:45, drove to Markdale, a 15-minute drive to the north-east.

Siesta time.

Bill and I had eye appointments, something we haven’t had for far too long. We do get an exam to determine prescriptions in Mexico but nothing deeper than that and it was time. They were all very nice and not crazy busy, since we only booked less than a month ago. We are covered for the full exam, because of our age, for a check every 18-months and today, paid fn or the extra retinol check for each of us. We feel good that we know where we stand and really like Dr. Simon.

On our way to Markdale,
we noticed that the marshmallows were
ready to be harvested.
Bill says we grow them big here in Ontario. 😂😅

Back home by 4, we kept cool inside for the rest of the afternoon. It’s lazy days and neither of us have a problem with that. Tomorrow, I have to clean at the air bnb and Friday I will be on the run to a few places again. 😊 Bill will be able to clean up a few of his small chores as well, whether I’m here or not.

Couldn't resist.

For supper, I made us pancakes. Keto for me and Bisquick ones for Bill. They were delicious with our locally made maple syrup, of course. I have a bag of pancake mix in the cupboard that I’ll probably never use – but who knows? After clean up, it was more peacefulness. Bill went to the Hangar and once my blog is done, I’ll be reading or watching mindless tv. 😊

Oh yah!
Butter and syrup to do it right.

It has been a good day. We have new prescriptions for Mexico, both having about ¼ increase or decrease from what our glasses are right now. I hope your last day of the month went well because now August is here! We had a hot/humid day, reaching 28C/82F on the thermometer. 

The birds were having a party under the feeders
tonight.
Good night!

Thank you for popping in.

A Trip to Costco

The Ridge

On Tuesday, July 30^th, with an assumed ‘true-to-written word’ forecast of rain for most of the day, we followed through with our plans to drive to Guelph’s Costco. At this time, we like to start stocking up on those elite items (food and otherwise) that we can’t find in the states. The list got longer as yesterday went on!

Good morning!

We slept in though until about 7:30, got up and were ready to leave shortly after 8 am. It is just over an hour to our destination. The rain hadn’t started although it was cloudy for most of the journey. We shopped until we dropped, (or were broke) and before coming home, Bill gave me directions to the Kitchener airport. I will be picking Andrew and Robin up from there in the middle of August. It is easy to find.

We arrived at Costco 15 minutes after opening.

Because we wouldn’t be home until close to 1, we stopped in Fergus at the A & W for lunch. Pig out time! We each had the Uncle combo, his with fries and mine with onion rings. Of course, accompanied by a diet A & W root beer. We were back in Durham, fueling up Ptooties by 1:15 and home soon after. It was a good haul and we were prepared for the expense of it. It’s only money, right? 😊

Uncle burger with onion rings
and diet root beer.
Very filling!

By the time groceries were all tucked away, we were worn out. It only rained for the last 15 minutes of our journey and then continued once we were tucked inside. I won’t have to water my plants tonight. I noticed as we pulled out this morning that I had 4 or 5 moonflowers blooming but, of course, by the time we returned, they were done. Too bad, they’re beautiful.

4 blooms today and 4 ready in the next
day or two.

No watering today and
I'm beginning to see some colour in the cherry tomato
department. 😄

We crashed in our chairs, all 3 of us, Gibbs had security detail while we were gone. Tough jobs. I made some Peanut Butter Rice Krispie squares because I inherited a full bag of marshmallows a week ago. We’ll have to eat them slowly; they are not good for us AT ALL! 😊 I chatted a bit with Patty and Duncan and it is good to know that they are now at their park in North Bay, safe and sound again.

Bill got a lot of our spare wood cut up
and cleaned up a big mess.

For supper, we had toasted tomato, lettuce and cheese sandwiches. A Rice Krispie square for dessert. I’ll cut them small. We didn’t have enough dishes to run the dishwasher and it wasn’t even worth putting water in the sink, so other than to-go cups for morning, the rest can wait. 

Large marshmallows

Peanut butter rice krispie squares

This has been a good but mostly inside day, not because of the rain but because of the 98% humidity. It got up to 25C/78F. We spoiled ourselves by staying in the a/c and going over travel insurance options.

We only needed a small supper.
Too much bread for me today!!

Good night!

Thank you for stopping in to see what we’re up to. Your comments are always welcome!

Goodbye, For Now

The Ridge

On Monday, July 29^th, a new week begins. Bill is on holidays and that is the best news! I don’t need holidays, per say, since my part time jobs don’t fill my days. However, when we pack up and leave The Ridge in October, we are both on a 6- month vacation! 😊 We were still awake and up this morning at 6:30. I had the Mat to clean and laundry to get done.

Good morning!
Beautiful drying day.

Our guests were leaving by 9 so I wanted to be in to clean early and be back before they pulled out. It worked out exactly that way. No one was in the laundromat so I had no distractions, no delays. As I was hanging clothes on the line, Duncan and Patty were ready to say goodbye. We have mixed blessings watching them leave, since we have such a nice time with them, but we know that a whole new adventure is opening up to them.

All set for the Hitch House in Barrie for 'hitch' work.

Watching for low hanging branches

Other than a couple that brush from the high sides,
Duncan was very grateful for Bill's hard work
of cleanup.💖

Their new Class A motorhome is a beauty and once they get the hitch on to tow their car, there will be no stopping them! We waved s’long knowing that we’ll see them this winter in Arizona. 😊 We are all very excited about that, since it is their first time. I finished with the clothes and helped Bill check the Suite’s back lights. We had an issue on our return trip in the spring with one taillight not working. He fixed it this morning and they all work now.

Gibbs sat with me at the puzzle.
He's so helpful!

I worked on the puzzle for half hour and then drove over to take M into town for his errands. While at Foodland I picked up milk, cranberry juice and took advantage of their steak special. Buy 1 T-bone, get 1 free. It gets better, as I had $20.00 in Scene points to cash in. Two great steak meals for $20? Yes, please!

I do hope they are as good as they look.
We'll find out one day this week.

The heat has definitely returned, we’ve had 4? 5? beautiful days, just perfect for having company. There is a 38% chance of rain overnight (early morning) and a 91% chance for Tuesday. I think that is a great excuse to go to the Costco in Guelph, don’t you? Neither of us have to be anywhere, so it is perfect. The temperature rises again after that with mostly dry conditions. Summer is definitely here. 😊

Poached egg on sour dough toast for lunch.

I finished the puzzle in the hot Bunky and came in to read with Gibbs. It’s too warm for him, even with a haircut. At 3:30, I made my tea and had a few nuts for a snack and then we walked down to ‘get the mail’. He got to the foot of the corral, walked about 25 more feet (adult feet) and stopped. Too hot, Mom. I retrieved the flyer from the box and brought the recycle bins back up.

Bill was busy this morning.
We had a lot of loose boards just dropped here
beside the shed.
He built a shelf so it is up off the ground and
we can now cut there.
Neat and tidy.

Sadly, my $1 puzzle had a piece missing
but it was such fun!

Our little guy was knackered from the busy weekend.

He didn’t waste anytime coming inside with me when I got back. ♥ When Bill came up from the Hangar, we shared the chore of bringing the clothes in, folding them and putting them away. We had fish and chips for supper; I had coleslaw instead of chips. We had poached egg on toast for lunch and that was my fill of carbs for the day. 😊

The Dahlias are going crazy at the gate with many more
to bloom.
Bill is sad that it covers our Mexico metal work
so next year I will plant the bulbs differently.
I'd like it to be more visible too.
Who knew they would grow so well?

We wrote up our grocery list for Costco and did our own thing for the evening. I hope you had a really nice weekend too and your week has started out AOK. This was a great day, reaching a high of 30C/87F by mid day. 

Our fish meal is always bland looking
but it tasted great!
Good night!

Thank you for your visit!

Let’s Make it a Do-Nothing Day!

The Ridge

So, on Sunday, July 28^th Bill was up with Gibbs at 6:30. That’s nice – no alarm – just Gibbs’ inner clock. 😊 At 7:30, he walked to the Hangar to make sure his plane batteries were charged and at 7:50, he and Duncan left for another morning at the flying field. What did Patty and I have going on today? NOTHING!

Good morning!
The boys are off by 8 am

I did finish another late blog from Saturday but that was after a fashion show. Patty had a few dresses for me to try on to see if either one would work for Bridgette’s wedding. I had pretty much made my mind up on what I will be wearing – two choices – but I fell in love with one of hers………….hence the whole show for Patty’s benefit to help me make a decision.

This is all you get to see.

I tried on 4, swapping out shoes where necessary and I think we have a winner. Having another female opinion to help me was a big bonus. I ended up doing a complete switcharoo from my first two options. 😊 But, I’m happy. With the wee bit of noticeable weight loss, my mind was changed. After putting everything away, the three of us went for a walk to the corner and down Baptist Church Road to the hill.

Gibbs found a patch of shade

A 300-pc puzzle that I bought
from Robin yesterday.
The pieces are huge!

While I worked on the puzzle, I could
hear scratching behind my large picture frame.
A Kleenex nest and 2 mouse babies crawling back and forth.
They aren't there anymore, that's all you need to know. 😞

It was already warming up fast and we were aiming for shade as we walked home. Gibbs would see a shaded spot on the gravel road and slow down for a minute. ♥ We relaxed at home until Bill and Duncan returned for lunch. They had a very good morning, with 3 flights on the Stinson. Yay! There was talk about the two of them getting the tall dead tree down from the area behind the Hangar but with the hot, humid day, it was agreed to just relax for the afternoon.

We all relaxed
I dozed in the hammock, Bill in the chair,
Duncan on the gravity chair and Patty read her book.

There's a special conversation going on here.
💖

There was a lot of discussion about travel insurance, health and the route south in October and November. This will be their first year aiming for Arizona so Bill offered ideas and Duncan was open to any suggestions. They seem well organized in what they want to do and I’m sure many of their plans will come to fruition. They will also learn about the Jell-o jiggling and adjust accordingly. 😊

My Caesar this afternoon
was delicious!

We all had later suppers, it was 7 when we started barbecuing our burgers and 7:30 when we met at the picnic table to eat our separate meals. Patty brought over the last of the grapefruit pie to share for dessert. For our last night, we had another campfire but a short one, long enough to see the space station one more night. It was 9:45 when we said goodnight and went inside. 

Yummy, bacon, cheeseburgers
with the works.

Patty's lovely plant. I can't
recall the name of it.

Another great day with a high temp of 30C/85F. We had a nice breeze for most of the day and mid-afternoon, there was some hammock and chair dozing by some other than Gibbs. 😊 .

Good night!

Thank you for stopping around.

Some Work, Some Play, Some Self-Made Heat

The Ridge

On Saturday, July 28^th I was up and mobile by 7 or very soon after. Bill, of course, was up sooner than that. It was an absolutely morning, although a tad chilly at 11C/52, so he and Duncan left to go to the flying field. I wasn’t far behind, on my way to the Mat to clean. I decided not to do laundry today since Bill doesn’t need work clothes this week. I can do it Monday.

Good morning!
I was pulling blinds to keep it cooler
and noticed the shadows.
So, play time!
(when is the last time you've done this?)

Early morning drive.

I finished sorting the Lost and Found (remember that bag of clothes?) threw out anything stained or torn, bagged the good children’s clothing and brought the good adult items back here for the clothing exchange. On the way out of town, I dropped the one bag off at the front door of the 2^nd hand store since they hadn’t quite opened yet. Back home, after Patty finished inside, we sat outside with Gibbs and then each had an early lunch.

So cute!!

I was having company today for cleaning Williamsford! That’s fun and sPatty was anxious to see the bnb I’ve talked about. 😊 We worked together, not that I wanted her to work, but she helped make the beds, bag the recycling and watered and deadheaded the outside plants. On the way home, we swung by Robin’s and she was home now and had her garage sale open. I was happy they could meet. We left the garbage and recycling at her house for Monday’s pick up.

Beautiful day.

Back home, I realized I left my phone at the bnb, sitting there being charged. Duh! I made the drive back before the new guests arrived for tonight. By now, it was hot out, reaching 28C/82F and higher with the humidity. That’s quite alright, we have enough shade if we want it. The boys were working on an airplane down by the Hangar (in the shade), and when the Stinson Reliant revved up, I knew they were making progress.

Adult toys?
When we're finished, I'll donate
at least one, if not both, to Robin for the bnb.

Patty and I had picked up some FREE games along the highway earlier so played a few games. When it was time, our guests had supper ready and we joined them in their lovely home. This is what they do each time they come, one night is a ‘treat’ to thank us for their stay.  Although it is never necessary, we quite enjoy it! ♥

It was another
awesome meal.
White Bean Chicken Chili.
I need that recipe!!
Plus, a grapefruit pie. ♥

Throughout the day, I was receiving notes and pictures on Messenger from my sister and hubby from Alberta. They had flown out on behalf of our siblings for our nephew’s wedding. It would have been lovely to have gone but the finances weren’t there for us, so the pictures were great!

Gibbs entertained us.
Left picture, can you see his eye through that hole?
He sat there for auite a while watching me. 

Are you laughing at me, guys?
I'm sure Chippy went in the wood pile.

After supper, we met outside for a campfire and we were happy Donna, Gerry and Mike joined us from the Acreage for a few hours.

A beautiful evening.
The sun dropped and we all needed hoodies.
We couldn't see the 9 pm ISS because it was still too light, but Bill, Duncan
and I saw the second one at 10:26. Cool!

It is odd that it turns so cool on a July evening, especially after such a hot day. The whole weather system is screwed up this year – everywhere! 

I didn't  notice until too late
that everyone but Duncan was 
looking at the camera.
Gibbs was the focal point of their attention.
Come on folks!! Haha

It was a really nice day and evening but after 10:30, I was not able to write my blog. There are more important things going on! 😊

♥ Congratulations Larissa and Alex! ♥
My brother, Michael and sister-in-law, Crystal.
They look amazing! 
Good night!

Thank you for the visit too!