A Confusing Day for Someone and Not What I Was Expecting

The Ridge - It's a long one today

On Monday, Apr. 27th I woke at 4:30 and knew that Bill would be getting up in 30 minutes. Yes, today, he starts working for Mike again and this will be the longest day for him. Not only long because he is committing to 8 hours after 6 months off but long because it is about an 80 minute drive to the location.

Good morning!
Last night's beauty.

He will be driving to Billy's place first in Listowel (60 min.) and they'll drive the work truck from there to Guelph. This makes a 2 hour drive for Bill each way. 🤔 That is a long day. Anyway, he'll figure out what works best for him.

One little boy doesn't
want to come down yet.

That explains why he was up at 5 and on the road at 6.  I, on the other hand, didn't get up until 6:45. I wonder if Gibbs knew at that point that his whole day would be 'off'? I did my usual stretches with the little guy's kisses and cuddles already out of the way. 

This is the good morning photo

When I got up and made the bed, Gibbs sat on the step rather than going downstairs. No Daddy, meant no reason to go down. 😞 He usually sits with Bill once I get up. They are so smart and I knew he'd miss him today.

Eventually, he came down to join me while I had my tea and breakfast. I caught up on blogs this morning and boiled eggs for sandwiches for Bill this week. Madame IP still makes the best hard boiled eggs! So easy to peel. I used up the last 7 from the dozen that was in the fridge.

When I was searching for M's brother's
address, this areal view of our property
came up. Love these photos.

I know my regular followers (blurkers) are familiar with M, who I worked for in his auto shop for 3 years and then have been driving into town for the last 2 years. I messaged him when we returned home, having not heard from him since Mar. 4th. 

🤔No response, which is unusual, so I called and his number is no longer in service. I know he was still having issues with his legs and had also contracted a bad batch of shingles. Finally, this morning, I searched on 4-1-1 (which is a 'find people' app) for M's brother, Jim.

I called and left a message for him to call me. When he returned my call, I asked about M. He was very blunt, which frustrated me, and said he was 'dead'. I was shocked by his lack of compassion as he told me but I knew they had their differences over the years so brushed it off.

The news hit me hard. I mean, I just assumed he was in the hospital still and that his phone had run out because of lack of funds. I didn't expect this. I feel terrible that I didn't get to say goodbye and I even worse that he didn't get to say goodbye to me either. 

I know he appreciated me, my help, my friendship and so I hope he knew I wasn't home yet and that's why he never saw me. It was April 6th. His brother is cleaning his place out and his children have his ashes, so I feel good about that. He didn't have great relationships with all of them either. 

He was a bit of a complicated man, I know that. He drove me crazy, often, but such was our relationship that he knew that........because I told him! I have to think of the better times, but I'm still sad. I wanted to share that, he was a part of my life for the last 8 years, which means you knew of him. 

Good thing that I have a few cards
made up in advance for special days.
May is a busy month.

This morning, Gibbs and I went outside a couple of times to drop cards in the mailbox. It is a windy day but sunny and mild. I disconnected from power and switched on the inverter. May as well use our solar as much as possible. 

Pond pictures with reflections
are always picture worthy.

I wasn't hungry for lunch after my 11 am coffee but that isn't unusual. I'd eaten a banana and cream for breakfast. Often, I eat lunch just because Bill is here and it's what we do together at noon. LOL Not a good habit, I know, but sometimes I AM hungry.

Gibbs moseys along behind me.
Such a cute little bum!

My afternoon tea will suffice until suppertime with some yogourt and cheese in between. I have a keto, low carb, no sugar brownie mix in the cupboard so decided to try it in Madame IP as well. I may not have an oven in here for awhile so thought I'd see how it bakes.

So, today, I dismantled the broken section
of fence. Now my rhubarb will get more sun.
Plus, it looks much neater again.

As for the brownies, they didn't turn out half bad! They are very moist and I'm not sure if that is normal for this mix. I wouldn't call them 'chewy' as the box says but they will be a treat for us. Gibbs went outside again and took another walk down the lane before sitting on the patio.

Some of these cedar posts were
long and heavy so glad I didn't have to
carry them too far.

The sun is gorgeous but the wind is cool. I got out my gloves and started moving cedar posts that had fallen down over the past summer and winter. They look very messy so I finally moved them, threw them alongside the brush pile for cutting up and raked the area. Much better!

A different angle with the fence
section gone and leaves raked.
I added one of the posts at the corner.

More patio sitting and Gibbs finally decided he wanted to snooze inside. He went up to the bedroom immediately. 💕 I get it. The whole day is different for him. At 5:15, Bill messaged that he would be home around 6 so I began slowly prepping supper. It's like Gibbs knows, because he's sitting with his nose pressed to the door. 

Almost as if he read Bill's message.
At 10 to 6, he sat here, nose pressed
to the door screen.

Bill drove up at 6 and boy, did we have an excited puppy! Within 20 minutes, we were eating chicken thighs (way too small!) fingerling potatoes and our vegetable. Bill had a brownie for dessert and approved. 😉 He made his egg salad sandwiches and packed his lunch. 

Supper was good but I was
disappointed the thighs were so small.

Back in the routine, he had a good day. So did I. We reached 18.889C (🤭 Jim)/66F so no complaints here! Going down only to 10C/50F tonight so we shouldn't need heat on. Good. 

Clouds moved in tonight,
possible storm coming,
so these are from last night as well.

Good night!

If you're still reading, thank you for stopping by.