Turned into a Lovely Last Day, Happy Birthday!

 

The Ridge

On Wednesday, Apr. 30^th I was in the throes of dreamland when I heard Gibbs and Bill moving around. Bill was downstairs making his coffee when I noticed it was 7:10. Woops! I have a job to do this morning! I did my stretches before getting up and making the bed. If I don’t, I regret those early movements. 😊

Good morning!
Last night's sunset.

Bill left first for work but it wasn’t long after that I took my tea and headed out too. It was shaping up to be a nice morning although very cold at only -2C/28F. I knew it could only get better, right? I pulled first into the Ultramar and fueled Ptooties up at $1.20/litre.

 

This is the morning sky.
Pretty enough but not a lasting
performance.

When I arrived at the Mat, I noticed the window had not yet been replaced (but I’m sure it was ordered) and the place was relatively respectable. Two customers came in while I cleaned and an hour later I had finished and was on my way home. With water now in our fresh water tank, I checked with M to see if he needed to run into town. When he declined, yay!, I hopped in the shower.

My lunch today was unique.
I am always searching for new keto recipes.
This one was delicious!
Cinnamon Tortilla rollups.
(Low carb tortilla, spread w/cream cheese, roll up,
cut in pieces, fry in butter, sprinkle with cinnamon
and sugar substitute of your choice).

That meant the rest of the morning was free. Bill was only working until 11:30 today as he had an eye appointment in Markdale, a few miles away. Cataracts are beginning and they want to see how quickly they are deteriorating. The good news is, no change since last September but we do need to consider a new pair of glasses for him. I drove home.

The contrasting colour of birds
at the feeders is always fun
to see

Back home, we relaxed for a bit before he took a propane tank into get it filled. That makes 5 empty 40-lbers since we returned home. Oh well, we were warm and quite comfy during some very cool mornings, days and evenings. 😊 We used our big electric infrared heater for a week or so too and yet were quite surprised with our low electric bill for the 3 weeks.

The road to Markdale is winding.
I didn't drive it as fast coming home
as Bill did going. 😂

I won’t say that the cool weather is done, probably you won’t hear those words out of mouth (or fingers) for a long time! The sun was quite warm today and the wind was almost non-existent for our last day of April. For supper tonight, Bill grilled his bacon cheeseburgers and I chocked it up as 2 nights with carbs for me. The scales were good to me this morning so I’ll get back on track tomorrow.

I think this is just adorable.
We're getting the mail. He
stops always at the gate until
I come back from the road. 💖💖

Someone is tired right out
and cuddles with Mom.

Bill made his lunch as I wrote today’s post and at 8, we’ll be watching Survivor together. The farmers who own the fields all around us began working the ground up and soon planting seeds. Gibbs heard them before seeing them and was quite vocal when he went out with Bill. He needs to let us know, don’tcha know?

The farmer is working up the soil
I wonder what they'll plant this time?

It turned into a pleasant day although other than putting the bird feeders out this morning, I wasn’t outside much. Could be a pretty sunset but you’ll see evidence in tomorrow’s post. We reached 11C/53F today and will only be dropping to 3C/38F overnight. That’s an improvement for sure. 

How the burger comes together.
It starts with the chef and his helper.

I took a peek at the rhubarb
and my walking onions.

Lastly, a birthday wish goes out to our brother-in-law and landlord of the Ridge. He is under the weather so we hope he feels better today to celebrate. 

Happy Birthday, Mr. ReMax.
Good night!

Thank you for popping by.

Rockin’ but Not Rollin’, Thank God

 

The Ridge

On Tuesday, Apr. 29^th I woke up when I heard Bill in the closet and Gibbs acknowledging him. 😊 It was after 7 and time for me to be getting moving anyway. The sky was overcast and it didn’t look like the sun would make an appearance anytime soon, if at all.

 

Good morning!
There she is, my first brilliant happy
Daffodil!

Bill was finishing up his morning routine and was soon kissing us goodbye and out the door. I was just as glad not to be committed to anything today. I haven’t been overdoing anything but my sciatica seems to flare up, still, on occasional days. It doesn’t last all day, as a rule, and is usually easy enough to put up with. Gibbs and I still went about our day – inside. This was a windy day, very windy and it wasn’t pleasurable to be outdoors.

 

He thought that he'd like to stay
outside but soon lost interest.

I was going to have a shower today instead of just washing but our fresh water tank is reading a big fat 0. We know the gauge isn’t correct, doubt it ever has been 100%, but I don’t want to be covered in soap or shampoo when it runs out! So, I washed and hung with my little companion.

Across the pond (our pond)
the cows are withstanding the wind.

I had a couple of invitations to finish up, usually sent by email, for our July 1^st event so got out my quilling materials and worked at that. Hoping the distraction would keep my mind off the wind gusts. After I had my lunch plate, Gibbs and I braced ourselves and walked down for the mail. There was none, but it was good to get out.

Yup, you see him.
Chippy is smelling the bird seed too.

Even Gibbs, after refusing to come in for about 10 minutes, soon found himself coming up to the door to be let inside. 35 mph winds are not fun for even a 35 lb. mutt! I sat with him while playing my afternoon games and then made my tea and went back to my project. 😊 This quilling is like an addiction, thank heavens it doesn’t cost $!

I had the whole table to myself

 

I had ordered a few things from the vendor Temu Canada, I’m sure some of you have heard of them. After 8 days, today it was delivered. I know some pooh-pooh the idea of buying from China (but heck, right now some are saying the same about buying US!) but I have never had bad luck with their products.

The clothing styles are unique and even though some may be of lesser quality, my 4 items are wonderful! I’m very happy and he fact that I didn’t have to pay any shipping is a bonus. Sizes are true but I still check their sizing charts each time. The jeans are exactly what I’d hoped and less than $30. ♥

 

I'm happy with how they turned out

I finished my invitations and packed stuff away before Bill got home. I was freaking out for about 45 minutes before he came up the lane. We had 44.5 mph gusts and the Suite was rocking. There are storms out there and warnings all around us. It could be a watchful evening with our packed bag at the ready. Praying that it won’t be necessary.

After Bill got back with the full water
bladder, Gibbs went out to brave the winds
with him
One strong gust had him fighting to walk
so I picked him up and carried him inside. 😅

Bill was home by 4:15 and went over to Dot and Gord’s to fill our water bladder. Hopefully, this is the last time although we know they don’t mind. We were resting at a comfortable 25C/77F for most of the day, it got quite warm inside. The winds were still gusting and by 5 pm the temperature began dropping and I began closing windows.

Bill 'might' be able to fix it.
(I hope)

By 6, I started supper; baked chicken thighs, Brussel sprouts, corn and fingerling potatoes. The winds began dropping off, as forecasted, the sun purposely shone over everything in a mostly blue sky and the thermometer read 8C/48F. Ridiculous! We didn’t get any rain or any of the thunderstorms that seemed to move off to the southeast this time.

The wind plays havoc with the
pond too.

Time to perform
Butt is in the air, waiting
for attention.

Supper was very good and filling. After washing pots by hand, we relaxed for the evening. I don’t think we need to worry any more tonight. Still, thank you to our neighbours and my sister for offering a place to run to. 💖 This was a good day, regardless of the winds. Doing things inside can be quite productive too!

Supper was good!
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by!

Shift into Second Gear, A Busy Morning, Election Day

The Ridge

On Monday, Apr. 28^th when I woke, I knew that it had been a very restless night. I couldn’t get comfortable, too hot, too cold, no position felt ‘just right’. For some part of the morning before fully waking, I could feel Gibbs right at my feet. Often, I curl my knees up (to get warm) and his body prevents a leg stretch.

Good morning!

Needless to say, I’ll probably sleep even better than normal tonight. 😊 When I did get up at 7, it was to witness another sky with the sun already risen over the Ridge. The billowing clouds were not threatening at all and should soon clear away. I knew that it wouldn’t last, our roller coaster is still going to continue into May. So that shifting into what I hoped would be a second gear towards spring will be a down shift instead.

Last night's sunset did not let me down.

I made my tea to go and Bill was already finishing up his prep for work. I have been missing Microsoft Word on my laptop, so last week we made the decision to purchase the online app, or whatever you call it. For $20, I would enjoy the comfort level of writing my posts (and other things) by having it.

These clouds don't bother me at all
as they usually get pushed out of the way.

Sounded easy but every time I tried to redeem my passcode for access, I had a message stating that Microsoft ‘service is unavailable’. I tried many times last week and then once more this morning. I packed up my laptop and took it with me to town to clean the Mat. After a couple of issues with a leaky hose/pipe/washer (?), I left at 9:30 and carried on to Hanover.

Troubles at the Mat.
Cracked front door and water, water everywhere.
Not quite, young Mike took care of business
and had us 'back' in business soon.

We had a big enough grocery list, mostly for fresh foods, dairy, a few vitamins, ink tank etc. First, I stopped in to talk to Adam at Healthy Computers. We are becoming fast friends, ha ha, he now recognizes me when I walk in. 😊 He’d never seen that message before so I offered to leave my device with him while I shopped.

There must be a special event coming up.
The Blue Jays are gathering.
Mr. & Mrs. in the bottom left corner. 💕

Walmart was busy but lines were next to nothing when it came time to check out. I had everything on my list but 2 things when I got back to Ptooties. Not bad. Adam had resolved my issue and didn’t charge me a dime for his time. A very nice young man and he was as happy to find the answer as I was. Thank you!

The sky had cleared out nicely
by early afternoon.

Back home at 12:30 I felt kapooped! Gibbs was happy to see me after a 5-hour absence and after I got groceries away, I made up my lunch plate. Same thing, minus the tortilla today. I’m very much enjoying the meal so purchased more of the same today to feed my palate!

Oh, wow! I love how this picture
turned out. Completely untouched
by any enhancements.

Gibbs and I sat outside together in the sun and the wind. I could sure do without the strong gusts but I didn’t want to be indoors either. I read a bit until I could no longer keep my eyes open and closed my book. We watched and listened to the birds enjoy the feast that I put out for them yesterday. It sure seems that the Blue Jays are planning an event with all the gathering.

Walking down to get the mail
with my little buddy.

Bill came up the lane after 4:30 after refueling Black Beauty in town. Ptooties is getting thirsty too but still at half a tank so in the next day or two I’ll give her a drink. For supper, Bill grilled sausages and he had his in a bun, while I had mine with the last of the mashed cauliflower and gravy. We had fresh strawberries for dessert. Yum.

One flag pole came down and the other one
is tattered and torn. They will be replaced soon.
On the right photo - I'm at the mailbox and
this is where Gibbs stops and waits.
Such a good boy! 💓

Today is the Federal election in Canada. Bill and I voted early so now it is just a matter of waiting (& hoping) for our candidate to win. We need changes and we can only hope that the majority of Canadians feel the same way. With dishes cleaned up, Bill made his lunch and we relaxed for the evening. I doubt I’ll be up late.

When I stopped to bring the dead branches up the
lane, Gibbs waited in his bed for me.
The branches will be great kindling for
our fire pits so I broke them up rather
than tossing them in the brush pile.

Last night, I watched the last 2 episodes of Bosch Legacy. No cliff hanger but it was very good. Not sure if it is just the season finale or series finale. I hope the former of the two. We really enjoy it and may have to start watching reruns from the beginning – just because.

He looks quite comfy up there while I work.

Today, we reached a pleasant 21C/70F by mid-afternoon. I’m still not in shorts, the winds are preventing that, but it was quite nice. We’ll have a mild low overnight of 14C/57F which will be great, just in time for freezing temps in the very near future. I hope you’ve had a great day, as I truly have.

Supper was good.
The cream on my strawberries gives
them an odd look but they were delish!
Good night!

Thank you for your visit.

 

 

 

Much More Like It! What did we do Today?

The Ridge

On Sunday, Apr. 27^th we had a leisurely rising. Bill and Gibbs slept until 6:30 and because it appears to be bred in me, I got up at my usual 7. It's totally okay because I hate to waste a morning by staying in bed.

Good morning!
Sorry for the blur, I tried to zoom in.
A morning BlueJay and
and afternoon Brown Cowbird with a baby.

Downstairs I made my tea and sat with my boys in our recliners. It was a cool morning, only 0C/32F when we got up and there was proof on the grass and on Black Beauty. At least the white was only frost, not that other crap. Sorry Old Man Winter, but there has been enough of that to last a few winters.

What the heck??
Is he alright?
Of course, just waiting to be noticed. 💗💗
You have no idea how many times he
does this - and waits.

It took a while for the day to warm but the sun was shining bright in a fully blue sky. Well, I have to admit to a little white lie that I told yesterday in my blog. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and have been caught at it as well! Right, Ken? Anyway, I had full intentions of vacuuming on that wet, cold, dull day but after doing my morning chores, I forgot all about it and then forgot to change it in my post. 😉

Not a lot of shade but
he found it while I worked in the Bunky.

It was Bill this morning who reminded me that I'd written such a fib. Sorry. Anyway, I did get the central vac out this morning after my tea and took care of business, right and proper. Around 10:30, I made a cup of my bp coffee and dressed for a cold day. However, even though chilly, there was NO wind, which made it quite doable.

We stopped for lunch around 12:30.
I turned my vegetable 'plate' into a quesadilla.
YUM!!

First on the agenda was to feed the birds. I fill all the feeders and then scrounged around for sturdy plastic containers to hold the remainder of the big bag. My pail was full and I didn't trust Chippy (whom I've only seen once so far) to leave the plastic bag alone. Bill used to keep the big 1 kg peanut butter jars so I used what I could get my hands on. Perfect!

Sorry for the graphic picture.
I put my gloves on and tossed him
into the brush pile.
Then cleaned up his mess!

I was in the mood to straighten the Bunky/She Shed so went to work. We have hung onto so many blankets, pillows, sheets etc. (why?) after we sold our futon, just in case we'd need them. I have all king size sheets and duvet covers in the Suite and the overflow out here were queen size for our couch pullout. It is already made and we sure don't need more than one other set.

The Bunky looks 100% better.
I'm glad that job is done.
All my paints, rocks and puzzles are
now out here in place.
Plus, the black bag and patterned bag
are for the exchange on Saturday.

I hate donating something that we 'might' have a need for, down the road, but offering them to someone we know makes more sense. Donna and Gerry are setting up a new Bunky/sitting room at the Acreage so I offered them to her. I'll keep enough of what we need and see what she can use with the rest.

Then I relaxed.
Notice that little cloud in the tree?
Looks like a puff of smoke.

Bill had set out some of the green mouse cubes over the winter and I found all kinds of feces everywhere out there. Finally, moving my overflow of pots from a shelf, I discovered one of the culprits. At least we know the cubes work. The place is clean, keeper items are stored either up in the loft or in containers. I set up my folding table that I used down south and will use it again for puzzles and projects.

Gibbs found his bed that Daddy pulled out
of the basement this morning.

While I did this, Bill went to the Hangar and worked on the roof of his cargo trailer. Sadly, he found that the roof has been leaking and needed attention. That's where his day was spent. Gibbs, on the other hand, did his best to keep an eye on both of us. He does it through his closed eyelids sometimes though. He's very good at it. He just loved to be outside with us.

Last summer, I didn't notice Bill's
airplane weather vane turning.
As I sat there, I watched it. 😃
He said he loosened it last fall.

When I finished around 4:30, I stretched out in my gravity chair until the light breeze turned cool. Gibbs didn't want to come in when I did at 5 but we did walk down to see how Bill was doing first. Of course, the little guy will wait until Daddy is ready to come inside. For supper, we're having the leftover pork loin and gravy in hot pork sandwiches with a vegetable on the side for each of us.

Three of many 'phases' of Gibbs.
He does hog the camera but
I love his attentiveness to it!
💏💏

It has been a wonderful day, we've all enjoyed it very much here at home together. We only reached a high of 14C/58F but the sun made it feel warmer than that. I love those days! The next couple of days are warmer still BUT not to let us have to much of a good thing, it drops back down again. LOL

This was a good, simple meal.

I'm not sure what we'll watch tonight, maybe try and find the latest episode of Bosch:Legacy. I still haven't been able to catch the finale of Matlock, finding it to stream can sometimes really frustrate me. I'll keep looking! (Ps, no little white lies today!)

Periwinkle are blooming.
My Iris' are stretching up
and my mini Daffodils
have a bud!
Spring is back!
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by!

Welcome to Winter! What Else to Talk About?

The Ridge

On Saturday, Apr. 26^th we were following the morning waking rituals. I began the motions around 7. We sorted laundry together, Bill carried the basket to Ptooties and after making my to-go tea, I left for town at 7:20. There were no surprises at the Mat, which always a surprise in itself, and after loading 2 washers I went about my work.

Good morning.
The sky did not improve all day.

Boy, was I surprised when I saw a note from Sandy in the office. It's where I keep an open tally of my hours worked. He had tallied up from when I started and left the cash for me on the desk. This was highly unusual for him. Oft times last summer, I had to remind him so this was my 'surprise' after all. I have 2 more days in the month to work. 👌

When I left with clean clothes and a job well done (👏), it was still lightly raining. Just the annoying kind where your wipers are never swiping perfectly no matter what setting you use. At home, Bill and I discussed an afternoon outing and then at 10:30 decided to go early since the weather was crap.

One of our Canadian Tire stores.
They don't just sell tires. 😂

I had 3 or 4 things on our grocery list and 3 or 4 things on my 'hardware-type' list so we drove to Mount Forest, 20 minutes. Same distance as Hanover but a change for us. Bill wanted to wander in the Home Hardware, keeping his eyes peeled for a couple of things he needed. I found one last pair of telescopic garden loppers that I wanted. They are discontinued – everywhere.

I was prepared to buy the non-extendable ones but Bill spied these and I grabbed them up! Yay! We drove across to Canadian Tire and found a couple of  items there as well, bird seed and a waterproof bicycle cover for Lila, before popping into the No Frills grocery store. We don't shop here but it was closest to where we were and prices were a tad cheaper than our Foodland.

Gibbs still had to test to see just
how much it was raining AND
he had to check properties
before hustling back inside.

Now, we have enough milk, bread and Bill's juice to get us through to Monday and payday. We returned home, through even heavier drizzle. It isn't just wet, it is c-c-cold again! We dropped to just above freezing last night and still only 3C/38F at noon hour. We had lunch, I was starving so made my plate of cheeses, bacon, zucchini, onions and peppers and then had a keto cookie with a cup of bp coffee. Bill had his ham and cheese sandwich. Gibbs had his dog food mixture.😆

The boys slept and I started my blog post for today. When Bill got up, I got the vacuum out and did a 'clean sweep' while he protected Gibbs from that mean old noisy machine. I finished my Louise Penny book yesterday afternoon and now I'm hesitant to start another. After one that you just loved turning the pages to, it is hard to start a new story. For me, at least. 

I think this will be a fun read.

However.......an hour after saying that, I sat in my chair with Gibbs and a blanket over my legs and opened a new one. This one is called Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon. I picked it because of the name and the cover. 😊I'm pretty easily swayed by things like that and so far, a few chapters in, I chose well. It's about 2 women in a seniors home. 

Our Sunday meal on a Saturday.
Delicious!

At 5, I started supper. I rubbed my usual spice concoction into one of the pork loins that I bought on my last meat shopping. I love that they come in packs of two. We'll get 4 meals out of it. All for $12. I like that! I reheated more of my mashed cauliflower, cooked Bill's corn and added onions and carrots to the gravy mixture in Madame IP with the pork. Oh, now that was one of those Sunday meals - on a Saturday.

We cleaned up the pots, turned the dishwasher on and settled in for the evening. Often, on Saturday night, we follow a tradition (bad habit?) of having potato chips and cheddar for a snack around 8. Tonight, it was 7 when we finished eating so we sure won't need to be munching later! That's a good thing, although once a week I don't mind falling off that wagon. 

Another chuckle for you.
Too true!!

This was a good day, as far as spending time with each other and Gibbs but a rotten day in terms of the weather. Strong winds and drizzly rain all day made me think of what day on the calendar this really was! I had my winter coat on again for crying out loud. Is this April or November? We made a phone call to Bill's sister, Carol, to wish her a happy birthday. It was nice to chit chat and catch up on their winter news as well as share ours.

Happy Birthday, Carol.
Good night!

Thank you for your visit. I enjoy reading your comments, if you have time to drop a note.