Last Wintry Day, Dot Visits

The Ridge

On Wednesday, Apr. 16^th it was another sleep-in morning. Bill downstairs and Gibbs and I upstairs. Last night before we went to bed, the landscape was covered in white. Good grief! Not a surprise though, just a disappointment that NOW the forecasters get it right. LOL

Good morning!
Even though it wasn't looking like it!

I joined Bill downstairs, and although he still dozed in his recliner (he's a night hawk), I sat at the table drinking my tea. Around 9:30, I went out and retrieved the snow brush from the shelter and cleaned Ptooties off. Yeuch! Oh well, trying to be positive, this 'should' be the last day of snow. Please oh please.

Ptooties is not happy.
I'm glad I dusted the dirt off yesterday
or she would be a mess!

Driving into Durham was not a challenge, the highways were clear and the snow had stopped plus the path to the Mat entrances were bare as well. It didn't take more than my usual hour to clean today and that was partly because there were no customers until a lady came in during the last 20 minutes. I was able to mop and damp mop the floors today.

My new shoes arrived today!

From there, I drove to the town library and had M's paperwork faxed for him before heading home. The sky is still covered in a blanket of cloud and the wind is still better in its severity but at least it is dry. No more precipitation expected until Friday and then it will be warm, bringing only clear drops.

We were expecting Dot, our neighbour to pop over for a visit after lunch, mainly she wanted to see Gibbs. ♥ We weren't real hungry for lunch since Bill had eaten breakfast around 9:30 and I'd just finished my bullet-proof coffee. Hmm, I just had crackers, brie cheese and red pepper jelly. Yummy!

Such cute pictures, I couldn't decide.

When the mail lady drove up the lane, we knew we had a parcel. We were both surprised that she had 2 for Bill and 2 for me. Yay! My new Barefoot shoes are here! I paid good money for them but after getting a pair of Hike barefoot shoes over the winter, I can't say enough about them. These are awesome!!

Our Cub Cadet gets a ride to town

I wanted to vacuum before she came but instead got distracted in my closet. It was time to purge my old ones. Three pair of runners, 2 pair of wedge heels and a pair of sandals. Wow! I couldn't see that I would wear them again. I took a quick swipe through my hanging clothes and decided that I'd removed enough for the time being. Maybe I'll do it once more before our clothing exchange. Even Bill added to the bags this time.

Dot drove in around 1:30 and visited for an hour. We caught up on each other's news and then some. Needless to say, Gibbs remembered her well and showered her with kisses and cuddles. I think their feelings are mutual. Oh, in hindsight, she said she missed his Mom and Dad too. We really enjoy Dot, such a pleasant and gracious lady.

Supper

I started my blog after she left and made a cup of tea at 3:30. Bill had scheduled to have our riding mower picked up for its spring service including oil change. Northline Repair has moved their business from down the road in to town so Bill can't ride it in to their shop anymore. Rob showed up before 4 and took it away.

The sun arrived late but it was
great to see in a clear sky

For supper, we had leftover ham and salad. I made rice pudding for dessert, a treat for a change of pace. Bill loves this dessert with raisins (:() but since I didn't have any of the plump fruit, I used diced fruit that I keep in the fridge for my Christmas cake. It turned out great in Madame IP!

After supper, Gibbs rang the bell
to go out.
He needed to secure the property.

We cleaned dishes up by hand and settled in for the evening to watch Survivor and The Floor before my bedtime. We reached a cool 2C/36F at its peak today and dropping to another bone chilling -5C/24F overnight. BUT, change tomorrow! The sun came out in full force at 6:30 this evening, just in time for a few shadows, a bit of snow melt before sundown. It was a good day.

My favourite flower
and my favourite star. 
(not Snoopy, the Sun)
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by.

Winter is Back

The Ridge

On Tuesday, Apr. 15th we all slept in again. Bill and Gibbs were up around 6:30 but when I re-woke around 7, Gibbs was sound asleep beside me and Bill was obviously sleeping downstairs. 😁 Neither of us had to go anywhere today so a lazy day it became. 

Good morning!
Although this is the lovely picture
I was graced with at last night's sunset.

The weather outside was 'frightful', our so-called spring has yet again given us a jolt to our system. I can't help but think of the young gal that I saw in short shorts just yesterday, what a shock this must be for her! I could hear the rain starting at 7:30 just before crawling out of bed. It was supposed to turn to snow by late morning or early afternoon. Just great. LOL

Bill worked on his blog at the
coffee table, giving me room at the table.
Gibbs slept.

At one point during the day, Bill checked the propane tank and it was still  good to go. When one empties, we have two 40-lbers, he gets it refilled so we never run out. Soon, we can tally up what we've used since returning home and soon, the temperature will rise. I believe it to be true!! So, today, I stayed indoors and brought out my paper quilling materials. I'm so pleased that I have this to do as I love the craft.😍

It is hard to tell in these pictures,
but there was light blowing snow
enough to keep us indoors.

A gray sky, all day.
We saw the sun and a thumbprint
of blue for a few seconds and that was it.

Bill could see no point in going to the Hangar to continue his purge/cleanup as it would mean running the electric heater to try and keep warm. Our forecast today was to be a chilly 4C/40F but it didn't get any warmer than -1C/30F all day. The strong wind gusts were enough to keep it from climbing. Between 30 and 35 mph off and on all day.

My Easter creation.
That is supposed to be an Easter egg
and a cross. At least my chicks and bunny
look real!

Bill did sit and write a blog post today, which you can check out here, and I managed to create a fun Easter card, just because. We had bacon and eggs for lunch and after cleanup, I went back at my fun while my boys had their snoozes upstairs until supper time. Gibbs isn't interested in staying out very long today, he understands cold too!

I also spent a bit of time, in between
reading and sitting with Gibbs, transferring the
pictures from Bill's laptop to mine.
Mid February to mid April, that's a lot of my
photos!

Supper was fully cooked Schneiders ham, just a small one, heated up in Rosy, the air fryer. I cooked some mini yellow potatoes and Brussel Sprouts on the stove and corn in the microwave. Bill never gets tired of his corn and I guess I can say the same for my vegetables. 😋 After dishes, I finished my blog post and we each found a movie to watch. 

Supper was wonderful.
We'll be having a big meal on the weekend,
so thought we'd have our ham dinner 
today.

With the bitter cold overnight temps reaching -4C/24F, we can only hope it will be too cold for it to snow. We have had quite enough in our short time home. Bill said today that even if we had waited a week to return as we originally planned, we would have had to deal with this 'winter' return. Be grateful for what we have and where we are, so we are doing our best! 

Saw this on Facebook and I
thought it was so true!
Good night!

Thank you for your visit. Your comments are always read and I try to answer each and every one.

Back to the Mat, Overnight Weather

 

The Ridge

On Monday, Apr. 14^th I woke around 6:30 and after hugs and kisses from Gibbs, and my routine stretches, I got up and made the bed. I wouldn't be able to start my day without those wet kisses, don't you know? ♥ Bill was already downstairs emptying the dishwasher and having his breakfast. It was first day to clean so I got washed, made my to-go tea and left for town.

Good morning!

It was a wet morning, with a few rain showers around 5:30, according to Bill. There were spatters on Ptooties but it was done by the time I left around 7:30. I knew yesterday that the Mat was in pretty decent condition and today wasn't much different. All those customers seemed to clean up after themselves. Bonus!

It's not a clear picture but
yes, Chippy is here. 😉

Beginning the season, I did the whole routine, including the big dryer lint, so I know it is clean right off the bat. I think Ron must have done a good job on Saturday as there were no surprises. Sandy hadn't left a desktop calendar for me to record my hours, so I started a log in his note pad on the desk. He doesn't look at the calendar anyway and goes by what I tell him at the end of the month.

The winds are from the west.
Those clouds looked threatening much of the
morning.

Back home, Bill was hard at it. Our big clock over the key/coat cupboard right inside the door needed to be secured better so he had it down and was just finishing up when I walked in. Things sure do shake around when traveling down the highways. Keeping on top of the things we notice over the years helps keep the Suite in 'tip top' (well almost) shape. It is 10 years old already, hard to believe.

Before lunch, a snooze took place upstairs.

After lunch, I drove around the corner to help M fill out an application that assists him with some of his bill payments. I gathered all the necessary paperwork and will take it in to the library for faxing in the next day or two. Bill went to the Hangar, the day was turning out better than the forecast led us to believe for today. That's great!

On security duty for Daddy

I chose to purge the cupboards over the sofa, there are a couple of face boards on the shelves that need to be re-affixed. With that done, Gibbs and I went outside to get some fresh air. I checked the mail, Gibbs waited on Daddy's doorstep, and then when I began clipping trees and crappy brush over the east hill to the pond, the little bum joined me and supervised from the step.

Woops! Sleeping on the job

I'm happy to have that started and to me, it made a huge difference even if you can't see it in the picture. I half carried and half dragged the 3 loads over to the brush pile and by then Bill had come up and it was time for supper prep. Tacos tonight! Yay! I love them and I'm so pleased that Bill enjoys them too. They didn't disappoint.

So, I didn't get a before picture but
trust me, there are a lot of little trees and
red viny brush no longer here.
We want to see the pond and now is the time to cut back.

This picture is looking down towards the lane and
it will be my next project. It is overtaking the area.
I need to pick up some new long handled clippers,
mine are damaged and a challenge.

I may pay for this tomorrow but I was
feeling energetic and anxious to get some cleaned
out before tomorrow's snowfall.

We're keeping an eye on our water consumption because of the predicted weather tomorrow, yeuchy, so we did the dishes by hand. We reached a beautiful sunny high of 18.3C/65F this afternoon and that was with some pretty serious wind gusts. Well, 32 mph, gusty enough up here!

Together again

NCIS and NCIS Origins are on tonight so will take me to my bedtime. This has been a great day. I was in some discomfort for most of the morning but working outside seemed to have helped ease things up for me. I'll just take each day as it comes and work through it. 

The tacos were delicious
Good night!

I hope you enjoyed some sunshine today too! We've got rain coming overnight and then more of the white stuff tomorrow and Wednesday morning. Who loves April now?

Thank you for popping in.

We Are Blessed!

The Ridge

On Sunday, Apr. 13th things got moving in the Richards' household by 7. Some were earlier than others, not mentioning any names. You already know. 😀 We sorted laundry, my goodness! It has been since Mar. 27th so there were 3 loads this morning. After some discussion yesterday, we decided that I would go into town and the wash on my own. Since the day was to shape up to be another great one, Bill had things to do at home. 

Good morning!
My favourite scenic picture of the day.

Last night's showdown
after I posted.

A spooky moon last night

I left him and Gibbs just before 8 and walked into a familiar but busy laundromat. I saw a few familiar faces in my 2 hours in the place and I was on my way home at 10. That was just too many clothes and we won't wait so long again! Back home, Bill and Gibbs were outside and our pooch ran out to greet me until Bill called him to his side. Such a good watch pup! I could almost have hung the clothes out, it was sunny and warming up nicely by then. Next time, maybe?

Ptooties is looking a little dirty too
I used the California duster to clean her up

Wouldn't ya know that after a couple of weeks of feeling no pain, my sciatica acted up this morning, with a bit of a vengeance. Drats! I figure it was either the cleaning yesterday and the multiple stair trips OR riding in Ptooties. Hmm, not sure which but I worked through it and was grateful to get home. Bill and I had an early lunch and at noon we drove to Murray's to pick Jazz up from storage. It was the perfect day for his ride; warm, sunny and calm. ♥

                                                             Jazz is coming home

It was an afternoon for sitting outside

I followed Bill home to Durham and turned off onto Pat's street and stopped in for an overdue visit. Bill fueled up in town and carried on home. After a wonderful hug, Pat and I settled into a familiar routine. A little subdued, rightfully so, we slowly eased into the conversations that always bring us close. Bella, their sweet little cockapoo, was entertaining, like another pooch I know well! It was a great visit and at 3ish, I took my leave. It was wonderful to see her again. 💖 I wish I'd taken a pix of Bella!

When I returned home, it was nice to see our friend, and Bill's boss, Mike, sitting out in the afternoon sun. Another nice 'welcome back' hug there and we sat and shot the bull for an hour or so before he left. Bill and I had a rum/whiskey and Coke drink together and when it cooled down too much for a t-shirt, he went to the Hangar, I came inside to start my post and Gibbs sat somewhere in the middle outside on the lawn and patio mat. 

Still not ready to come in yet.

For supper, I air fried mild Italian farmer's sausages, baked some fingerling potatoes and cooked corn and cauliflower for our 'ruffage'. 😂It sure is nice to have my laptop. Yesterday, it was tricky writing my blog in Word as it all looks different now. Hmmm, today I decided to write it directly in Blogger as I've been doing on Bill's laptop. No point in having all those documents filling up space because I forget to delete them!

Tasty!

Supper was delicious, we've never had those fingerling spuds and they were on the sale rack at Walmart for $1.88. There are at least 3 meals in that bag. We cleaned up the few pots and settled in for an evening of tv together. I can't express how pleased we are with the weather over the last two days. Today was perfect and we enjoyed it to the fullest. Our chorus frogs started early this afternoon. We reached a high of 16C/60F.

                                                               Good night!

Thank you for your visit, we enjoy having you along!

A Wonderful Ridge Day!

The Ridge 

On Saturday, April 12th, it was around 7 when I got my stretches out of the way and Gibbs and I crawled out of bed. We joined Bill downstairs. Since this was my first time to get back to one of my paying jobs, I kept reminding myself “I have to go somewhere this morning. 😁 Getting back into a routine is always interesting, isn’t it?  

Good morning!

Bill and I had our breakfast together and he wasted no time in taking an empty propane tank into town for a refill. Yes, we are obviously going through a lot of it but we are warm and do not feel that we are wasteful. Sharing our heat source between the furnace, our Blue Flame heater (both propane) and the electric infrared heater has made sense to us.  

Bill wastes no time getting the gate
flags up.

Other than a couple of very cold days again early in the week, the forecast looks like a trend towards warmer days. Yay! I was excited to be on track to pick up my new laptop this morning too, and even though the computer store is west and the Air bnb is north, I decided to do both in the same outing. Bill was outside from the time he returned from Durham until.....well, late afternoon. 

 

Everyone needs a helper although
I think he did more playing than lending
a hand.🐶

Needless to say, it was a gorgeous sunny day, and temperatures just kept rising throughout the day and the winds remained in the low range. 😃 He was working on the shelter covering and I cleaned out the Outhouse, so we could start using it when outside. At 10:30, I had packed a baggie with cheese, nuts and yogourt and made a coffee, so left my boys in charge. 

My contributions today.
Outhouse and birdfeeders.
My feathered friends were partying
this afternoon.

Bill and Gibbs got the shelter up.
Look closely, Gibbs is posing in two of these
photos.

Adam at Healthy Computers was more than accommodating and we had a lot of laughs through the process. He is a 40ish single man in his forties and obviously loves his job. I was out of there within 20 minutes and on my way to Williamsford.

With Mom smiling on my desktop,
that is exactly how I feel.
I'm sure Bill is happy to have his
laptop back again too!

This was an easy clean, the two guests were brother and sister in town for a funeral. I took the usual steps, garbage, bedding, bathroom and floors, as well as restocking the goodies Robin always provides. She gets a lot of lovely comments on her quaint place. 

To Robin's bnb I had a pretty drive

I love this little place!

At 1:30, I was on my way homed and scooted home the back way. Ptooties may as well be as dirty as Black Beauty, right? It is partially gravel roads and some muddy spots, still. The roads need to be graded as soon as all the freezing is done with. The county/township has been very good at keeping our roads in ship shape so I’m sure it won’t be long and the potholes are gone. 

 

The country roads homebound
are also pretty

Bill was still outside, as was Gibbs who met me at the top of the hill and ran beside the car, barking. I know it isn’t a good practice but unless we are in a position to call to him upon noticing the vehicles coming up the lane, we have to trust that drivers will go slow. They seem to know we have a dog, and take it slow and watchful. 

The shelter is up, the mower is out of the shed and inside. The storage shed is in order as is the Bunky and although I didn’t look in the Hangar, I think Bill has made progress down there too. The flags at the end of the lane look great and now, with no leaves on the brush and trees down the lane, we can see them from inside the Suite. 😍 

The flag on our berm is flying proud too

We were all done outside by 4 and came indoors. My new laptop is great! There are things that are a bit different, and we must install our printer over the next few days. I needed to download a Free version of Microsoft Word as I type my blog in Documents first, as a rule. I’ve been doing it directly into my blog page on Bill’s laptop or my phone and that seemed fine too. I may save myself a step.  

I'm sure he/she is wondering if this
is spring yet?

For supper, we had air fried chicken thighs (bone-in/skin-on) so I cooked them for longer, about 30 minutes. We were only going to buy boneless, but the price was ridiculous yesterday. They turned out extra crispy good! I reheated the leftover cheese rice, corn for Bill and leftover squash for me. It was all very tasty. Bill loaded the dishwasher and washed the fryer and our mugs. 

It's nice to have food in the freezer again

Today was absolutely gorgeous! Not a single complaint about the day. It reached a spring-like 12C/53F and a lot got done. Tonight, will be quiet, we both worked hard and once I finish my blog, I’m sure my eyes will get heavy with whatever I choose to do. 😉 I hope your weather was equal or better where you are. 

As the sun dips below the horizon,
the chorus frogs are singing up a storm.
Bill is thrilled! (Not!)
I love it, sounds like spring. 💗💗
Good night!

Thank you for popping by.