A Special Day for a Very Special Man

The Ridge

On Monday, Sept. 30^th Bill was up, as usual, at 5:30 for work. If you know him, you know he rarely stops. For that reason alone, I’m glad we go south for the winter because it forces him to take a 6-month break – for him, for us. Every fall, he says, this will be my last summer, or he says, I’ll just work a few days a week next summer. 😊 Well, today, my workaholic is celebrating a birthday. I’ll never catch him in years; it kind of feels like hopping on Jazz – I’ll follow him anywhere, and thank him for forging the years ahead of me. ♥

No picture from the morning sun today.

Some of the reasons we work during the summer may be to keep active but a lot of it is to save extra money for our winter travels. My jobs are easy but Bill’s are not always that way. He enjoys working for his friend, Mike, and with his friend, Billy, so seldom complains unless he is feeling discomfort in his aging body. Let’s not complain about our aging bodies though, it beats the alternative! 😊 So, he’d opened his greeting cards this morning and with good wishes and kisses from Gibbs and I, he headed out at 6:30.

What you see here is
Our Greeter

What you see here..........

and here is
Our Security Guard.
Both delightful to have around and they
don't eat much! 💖

It was a lovely looking morning and since I had nothing going on until 10 am, I went back to bed until Gibbs and I got up at 7:30. We had tea together, I drank it and he sat beside me, played my games and took M into town as promised. We were back home within the hour and I had thought I might get out into the gardens today, before the rain tomorrow. That didn’t happen.

Instead, I made cupcakes!

I changed my mind and decided to make something for the birthday boy. I had to pick up cupcake papers, I never have them when I need them! Bill likes carrot cake so since the individual cupcakes are easy for him to take for lunch, that’s what I made. He only has this week left to work but we’ll devour them somehow! Gibbs was in and out during the baking process, guarding the property from the shaded stoop and from the back of my chair indoors. 😊

He was a cutie and a great song writer and entertainer.
We're losing all the good ones. 

I heard from Bill this morning that Kris Kristofferson passed away on Saturday. That news just breaks my heart although the last time I saw him on stage also broke my heart. He had been diagnosed with memory loss and Lyme disease. ☹ I texted Bill at noon to see how his day was going and got a thumbs up, so that is good. He was home before 4:30 and had stopped at the Acreage to get our bladder filled with water.

The Gate Garden is winding down, slowly with
still a few budlets.

On duty, is something in the bushes?

A peek into the pond area.
Overgrown, like everywhere else.

Supper was grilled burgers, you know the kind, and awesome tasting, as usual. I lit candles on Bill’s cupcake and although my picture is backwards, he blew them out and we each had one. Yummy and deadly! Ha ha. After cleaning up the coffee mugs (not dishwasher advised) Bill went to the Hangar. Last night, we started watching The Floor again and enjoyed the challenges. Rob Lowe is fun to watch too.

Yummy burgers once again.

This was a lovely day, reaching 24C/74F with lots of sunshine. I hope you had a good start to the week as well. 😊

Our birthday boy today. 💘
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by.

Laundry and Another Outing

The Ridge

On Sunday, Sept. 29^th as we approach the end of another month, I woke up from a night full of dreams. At least it felt like that! Gibbs slept in until 6 and then boy, did he have to go out! The pills are still making him thirsty, hence, anxious to piddle. He makes it through the night like a trooper though, such a good little bum. ♥ After he came back to bed, we remained there, dozing off and on until 7.

Good morning!
These were last night's sky pictures.
Sweeeet!

Bill and I sorted the dirty laundry and around 7:30, I headed into Durham to take care of two kinds of business. 😊 It was a busy place this morning, with 5 customers over the hour and a half I was there. I did the big dryer lint and 3 loads of laundry. I didn’t notice until I was done cleaning that one of the washers didn’t start so I had to wait another 29 minutes. Duh! Rather than bring all of the clothes to dry, I dried the blanket and one load at the Mat. I was waiting anyway.

My drive to and from Durham
was under a mix of clear and cloudy skies

I drove home to find the place quiet and empty. Bill had taken Gibbs with him to the flying field to ‘meet’ the guys. 😊 I hung the few items on the line and then put my ‘new to me’ clothes away. It sure is weird around here without the pitter patter of little feet. When the boys returned at 11:15, we had a quick bite for lunch and left Gibbs in charge. Today, we were invited to celebrate Bill’s sister Liz’s retirement in Stratford. We arrived around 1:30 and she had a houseful and was very surprised.

Bruce outdid himself, I'm sure with the
help of Liz's daughters. 💗

A cute idea. Everyone signed a wooden
heart and dropped it in the frame.

The pretty lady of the day.
Congratulations, Liz! 💖

We visited for an hour and a half with other guests, Liz was pretty busy with all of her guests. She ran a day care in her home for over 20 years and deserves to take it easy now! A lot of her former ‘children’ came with their parents, some she hadn’t seen for a number of years. ♥ It was a lovely gathering with lots of food and drink for those interested and we left around 3:15. Since we were in Stratford, there was one more stop we needed to make.

Of course, a picture of Suzie.
George would be proud that I remembered.
Here she is with her homemade quilt on the
back of her chair. 

When we pulled into the parking space, Suzie was sitting outside with a couple of her friends and she was genuinely surprised to see us. She invited us in to her home. 😊 It was great to see her, as it has been a couple of years since the last time. We got a tour of her nice ground level apartment and caught up on each other’s news. We left around 4:30 and headed home. 

A beautiful drive home too.

Our supper was a mishmash. Bill had the leftover mac & cheese and meatloaf and I had a poached egg on toast. This was a nice warm day, mostly sunny skies with some clouds. We reached a pleasant high of 24C/75F and we’ll have a cooler evening than last night. The temperatures will be bouncing around a fair bit over the coming week but it is almost October so it is expected. 

We had a nice day and Gibbs was a very good boy for Daddy at the field, I’m sure he’ll be welcome back! ♥

A simple tasty supper.
Who says you have to eat the same thing for it to be good!?
Good night!

Thank you for the visit.

Can You Say Clothing Exchange?

The Ridge

On Saturday, Sept. 28^th Gibbs and I remained in bed until 7:15. He’d been out once already and came back to enjoy the leisurely Saturday morning with Mom. Bill was downstairs but in no rush to head to the field as the winds were gusting between 10 and 17 mph and the sky was heavy with clouds. No threat of rain though, unless minimal, so it should be a good day otherwise. There would be no flying, likely but the club meeting is at 11.

Good morning!
Heavy clouds starting out our day.

Depending on which way you look,
the blue patches of sky appeared.

I was excited for this day for my own reasons. My niece is hosting the fall Clothing Exchange this afternoon and she says the bags of clothes are piling up. Good thing she has a large lower level in their home. Hopefully, she gets a good turn out. This exchange thing started (maybe I’ve relayed this before?) in London when my girlfriend, Laurie, invited me to her friend’s place for a clothing exchange. Of course, free?, I jumped at the chance and had a blast. ♥

Ho hum, clothing exchanges don't excite me, Mom.

From then on, we took turns hosting and I brought the ‘tradition’, shall we say?, to this area after retirement. It took off like a rocket. Mind you, my family of sisters, nieces etc. have always had our own private exchange at family gatherings for years. Mind you, not of quite the proportions of these today, although Audrey made a good show at LadyFest! 😊 We love our clothes and the price tag makes it even more thrilling.

As you come downstairs to their lower level
there are already many items to choose from.
We haven't emptied ours yet.

A glance into the main room, our bags around couch
to be emptied.

This is half way through.
We are all considerate and fold items we put back.
We also walk around many times, to find those items we might
have missed the first time!

So, I left at 12 or so, no need to eat, Joanne will have snacks. I had a stop at the LCBO first and then picked my Buddy up in town. I was happy that Pat was going with me today, we always really enjoy the time with other ladies. There were 12 of us and when we walked in, each one of us said ‘this is like a second-hand store!’ There was so much to choose from in all shapes and sizes, colours and styles so each of us left with something to take home. 😊 Joanne will donate what is left to a suitable charity.

Pat sits in the corner with her snack but I found her!

It was around 5 when we left for home. I dropped Donna at her home, Pat at hers and reached my own at 5:45. I had a large butt pork chop out for supper so Bill grilled it to share and I made mac and cheese with a vegetable inside. It was an easy meal but a good one. 

It was a tasty non-keto meal. 😀

After clean up, Bill went to the Hangar and I finished my blog post. This has been a nice day, turning out quite pleasant, 22C/75F and a lot of sunshine. I hope yours was nice too.

The sky is ever-changing tonight so there could be
more pictures in tomorrow's blog. Quite a show out there!

This is a beautiful start.
Good night!

Thank you for popping around!

Clean Up and an Evening Out

The Ridge

On Friday, Sept. 27^th, even though I had to clean the Mat, I didn’t get up until 6:45. Bill came up to say goodbye and I did some stretches before I rose. I wasn’t much worse for wear after yesterday’s brush crawling (that’s what it felt like, landing on my butt a few times!), so I was pleased about that. I made my tea, played my games and left the Ridge around 7:15.

Good morning!
Friday night's sunset turned out beautiful!
Looking like a pleasant morning here on the Ridge.

There were 3 customers in while I was there and I tossed our ‘Nancy’ chair quilts into the washer. 😊 I had a nice long chat with my favourite lady after she told me she lost her husband in April. Quite the story but it makes me all the happier for MAID and glad it is now an option to assist those who wish it in their ailing years. He was 89 and is now at peace – and so is she. She accepted my hug and wished us well on our winter journey. ♥

My helper? Well, more like
my supervisor.

I came straight home after that and because the morning dew left everything quite wet, I sat inside with Gibbs and my book. I’m down to the last few chapters and it has been quite the eye-opener about Huntington’s Disease. I hope I never need to experience what I learned, in any way. ☹ I had enough batter leftover the other night from my keto pancakes that I had them for lunch today. They are so good.

What is it with fungi on wood?
A picture needed to be taken.

After clean up, we went down the lane with the wagon and Gibbs supervised while I gathered all the cut brush/branches from yesterday. Looking up, I see a big improvement and I have to say that Bill was quite overwhelmed when I told him what I’d done. 😊 With his arm/shoulder issue, he can’t reach overhead very far so this was a big help. He can use the chain saw on the couple that are left and we will have no more worries about those.

We sat together and enjoyed some quiet time.
He's under my chair but trying to get his butt tanned. 

Gibbs and I walked for the mail after 1:30 but either she hadn’t come yet or we had nothing. Hard to tell, she is seldom late. I thought he might have got another greeting card in the mail today. Gibbs slept on the stoop while I stretched out in my gravity chair with my book. I finished it by 3 and we came in for my shower and afternoon cuppa.

No mail today.

For those interested, Gibbs’ scratching has pretty much stopped. Thank goodness. I think I saw him once so far today and it was brief. ♥ We planned a quick, easy supper, toasted tomato and cheese sandwiches, as we bought tickets to see an Elvis/Roy Orbison/Johnny Cash impersonator at the Durham Community Centre tonight!  I’m very excited.

Today's meals

We’ve seen Roy LeBlanc before, years ago at a school board/work function and loved his entertainment. An evening of good music is always a treat, especially when you know all the songs! 😊 Bill was home by 5 and after a quick nap, and our meal, we got ready for our evening out. 

I knew it would be a beautiful.sunset tonight
but other than a peek out the doors at a gorgeous red sky,
no pictures unfortunately.

Well, we arrived at 6:20, doors opened at 6:30 and we found good seats facing the stage. The whole evening was a lot of fun. Roy did not disappoint, nor did Joe Passion who portrayed Jerry Lee Lewis exceptionally well. We had a great time!

A drink and a snack.
The food was a nice surprise.

The West Grey Lion’s Club offered a cash bar and a free lunch of chili, buns, beef, ham, cheese and pickles at 9 for hungry guests. We danced a bit but tapped our toes and clapped our hands a lot. What a great birthday present for both of us. We were home just before 10:30 and I went straight to bed.

Our evening entertainment.
Good night!

This was another really good day. Thank you for popping by.

Started out Slow, Caught up in the Bramble, Lovely Day

The Ridge

On Thursday, Sept. 26^th I find myself talking to myself. What day is this? Ha ha, they are zipping by and it is hard to keep track. If I didn’t have the odd jobs that I do, I’d never know! I didn’t get out of bed for my kiss this morning, so Bill came up to take care of it. 😊 I had no reason to be up at 6:30 so Gibbs and waved him off and stayed in bed until 7:30. I wasn’t totally lazy, I did my exercises in bed.

Good morning!
It's gearing up for a lovely day!

When I got up, I had my tea and then washed for the day. I picked M up at 10 and took him into town. Back home I decided to dig up a small area to plant my Egyptian Walking Onions. I used the area where my original veggie garden is and put them in the ground. Apparently, they can be planted now and harvested over the winter. We’ll see! I covered them with a light screening to keep the critters from helping themselves.

I may change this covering up a bit
but I hope to come home to some growth
in the spring.

After making a delicious tortilla pizza for lunch, I cleaned up and went out to check out the small trees along the laneway, but mostly the ones on the pond’s edge. 

I'm loving my little pizzas.

The ones we had the quote on. Bill and I think we can take care of them ourselves, since the pond has receded in those areas and we can walk out pretty far. Well, I got curious to see what I could do on my own. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you, but I persisted, talking myself up the whole 2 hours. 😊

It was nice to see a Northern Flicker
this morning

And a robin returns
Sorry, it's blurry in my haste to capture him.
The Blue Jays, Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal, Chickadees
and Mrs. Goldfinch frequented the feeders today.

“You can do this, one more branch here, reach a bit more”. I tripped on the brambles and trees a few times but never ended up in the pond. That was part of my mantra too. Do not fall into the pond! With the exception of one larger tree closest to the road, I have managed to clip the branches that were touching the hydro line with our extended tree trimmer. I got kind of scratched up since I started in shorts and short sleeves. Duh!

Gibbs and I rested before lunch.

Look at our surprise visitor!!
I was so happy to see a baby survived the skunk!
I placed my watch down to show how small she is.
So cute!!
She walked to the driveway edge and slid down into the pond. 💗

I am proud of myself for getting out there and doing the best I can and as I walked into the brush, I tramped it down for Bill to get in with the chain saw. Just saved ourselves $300 and I feel good about that. 😊 I was pretty beat up, physically and mentally, when I quit but there Gibbs was, waiting on the stoop for me. ♥ We came in and I made a cup of tea before sitting out in my gravity chair to cool down.

I was in a few tangled messes down there
but had some successes! I topped the brown leafy branches
in the middle picture. When I got a booboo, I changed into
jeans and a longer sleeve shirt.

Bill was later getting home but now has a full tank of fuel again. We had leftover meatloaf and a vegetable with rolls for supper. It has been a great day for the outside work with mostly clear skies and although it started windy, the winds dropped off midafternoon. We’ve reached a high of 21C/71F today but dipping down to 9C/49F overnight.

Pretty colours in the yard today.

Gibbs wanted to run in the long grass of
the front field. Look at him go!
Then he crashes for attention. 💖
He makes my day.

I think I might feel some after effects tomorrow from reaching, stretching and bending my neck back but a few stretches before bed may help prevent some of that. We had showers after dishes were cleaned up and that heated water felt great on these 70-year-old muscles! Ha ha! Last night, we watched Survivor together and half hour of an NCIS rerun and I had to call it a night. 

Good leftover meal. I couldn't
finish all that meat loaf though. Back in the fridge it went.

Tonight, will be early too, I bet. Bill went to cut the front field at 6:30, it got missed last cutting. The sunset was pretty uneventful, although pretty enough, so no picture tonight. 

Another blurry picture but
Chippy gets in on the food train. 
Good night!

It has been a good day. Thank you for the visit!