An Easy Cooler Day at Home with Gibbs

The Ridge

On Monday, Sept. 21st, I almost feel guilty spending a 'relaxing' day........or even saying it. The rest of you always seem so busy at harvest/fall time. With this being our last day of summer, it seems the weather is taking a nose-dive. 🤷‍♀️ Bill was up, showered and on his way to work at 6:30. Gibbs and I lounged in bed until 7.

Good morning!
Bill said I missed a beautiful sunrise,
this was all that was left at 7 am.

I had my tea and went upstairs to re-examine the items I picked up yesterday. There is a 'woowoo' test that our sister taught us last week. Woowoo, as in, kind of out of this world, but it works if you have an open mind. She always has new things for us to experience and I'm game to at least try some of them.

Yesterday's haul.
The colour here does not do the
items justice.

As it turned out, after doing that, all but one of my items were definite 'yes' responses and that one was 'undecided'. I kept it anyway because I like it. 🤭 

Gibbs watched me when I opened
the package, the sound indicated a
possible treat. 

This was my package that came
yesterday. A few quilling shapes
to create - more easily.

I made my coffee and once the sun pushed partway through the blanket of white/gray clouds, I slipped on my wind breaker and Gibbs and I walked down to bring the recycle/garbage bins in off the roadside.

We walked down to bring the bins
in off the roadside.

It is a bit cool, only 10C/50F just before noon but although I am a bit timid of crawling around on the ground to cut back the flower gardens, I don't want to be a wimp! 

Lunch was good.

Cleaned up at the outhouse
and the Bunky.

I had an egg and bacon for lunch and Gibbs and I were very surprised when at 1 pm, Bill came home. Done another job in Listowel.

I left the big hosta (top left)
because the leaves are so big.
In the corral, I need to snip those hostas too.

He ate his lunch and while he snoozed with Gibbs I went out to start snipping. Around the Bunky, along the fence and in the big garden, I cut or pulled off the tops of the irises, corabelles and hostas. They are done blooming. I used the leaf rake to clean up the stragglers that I missed.

I guess Gibbs thought he needed
more exercises.
🥰

It was right around the time he was ready to snooze that Honeywell arrived to replace our hydro meter. Gibbs went out to greet the young man too, very curious about what was in his bag. Goof, thankfully the employee didn't mind him snooping. It took a mere 10 minutes and he was able to drive out.

Between Bill and I, we kept the
fire going  all afternoon.

Bill started working in the storage shed, deciding what is garbage and what should he keep. We both have a habit of collecting 'stuff', and every so often, we have to do this. Each fall, when things need to be packed away, is when we re-evaluate these needs. 

Our old meter was missing
a few numbers so this is good.

We worked away together until supper time. He started a fire in the pit and we were able to burn some of our wood stack. There was quite a breeze so I'm glad it is contained. Gibbs hung around, back and forth, keeping an eye on both of us. 🥰

We made a dent in the cleanup
here too. I'll get my 3 tubs out
this week to put away garden decor.
It's early but, the weather is good so
why not.

For supper, I air-fried sausages, mixed the last of our kale salad and cooked some mac & cheese. It was quick, easy and tasty. It filled us up. We did the dishes and sat for some tv together. Tonight, we'll be looking at 3.89C/39F so our Blue Flame heater will be on.

Supper was good.

This was a good day and if I'm feeling any pain tomorrow, I'll bet it has nothing to do with sciatica. I don't mind that kind of discomfort! 5,123 steps today is more than I've had since Sept. 11th. I hope you enjoyed your day too.

A memory photo from Sept. 25th, 2018.
This was Brian's birthday but I don't recall
why they came to see us. 🤷‍♀️
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by.

It's Almost Like a Rebirth!

The Ridge

Yes, what a weird title. On Sunday, Sept. 20th, Bill and I seemed to wake at the same time. We were in bed by 10, tired out, and I dropped off immediately again. I'm feeling so blessed that it is almost crazy that I was experiencing such pain on Thursday and Friday.

Good Morning!
I found this hilarious last night
when my opponent played
that word!
Top left of the board in
bright yellow.

I woke up feeling just as good as yesterday and I'm good to go. Bill wanted to help Gord out if he could so drove, early, to the Acreage and got enough water in our bladder to top up our fresh tank to last us for a week +. We're spoiled, it's easy to get so we don't skimp as much as others who are off grid.

On my way to town, the
pond view stops me again.

I noticed a message from last night, after we went to bed, from Gord that he found a pump and was going to get it on their way this morning. I informed Bill so he was able to come back, transfer water and go flying after all. He would have stayed home if they needed him. 💕 That's Bill for ya.

It was pretty cloudy this morning
so I had no intention of hanging
clothes on our line.

I headed into town with 2 loads of dirty laundry and with just a couple of customers, it was fast and I was out of there with laundered and dried clothes by 8:45. On the way out of town, I dropped 2 bags of Lost & Found items plus our older duvet and covers that we no longer need at Rethreads door.

Sad when harvest time ends as
we know what is coming.
Some people love fall, me, not
so much.

Back home, I put my clothes away, had my yogourt and put another couple of items in the exchange bag. I played my games at the Mat, waiting for our clothes to dry. I was done my 4 words in 5 minutes!! Speed Gonzales this morning! 🤭 

And the fun begins!
Sister Donna, Roz, Pat, Shelley, niece Wendy and
others I don't know.

It was a cool start to the day again but by 11:30, the sun was out warming the Ridge up nicely. Taking advantage of the free power, I turned the inverter on and unplugged. Let the panels take over for the day. The forecast is for 18C/64F, I think we'll make it before a drop off tomorrow. 

Lots to choose from
and lots of choosers!
🤭

I had my mid morning coffee, changed and headed out to pick up Pat and Donna at 12:30. Gibbs won't be alone for long and Bill would be home soon after I leave. As it turned out, I met him before I got into Durham so the little guy would be happy. Sort of. Bill went right over to the neighbours after dropping the cargo trailer.

Much of my bag of jewellery went in
a cloud of smoke. I'm so happy
when young girls/teens attend.

I feel bad that they had even more trouble but between Gord, Kyle and Bill, they jerry-rigged it all up so they would be able to go and have access to water from the taps. I hope they have a relaxing time at the ploughing match, since they've looked forward to it for months.

Joanne always puts out a great
snack spread for us.

The clothing exchange was very busy for the first hour and a half. I was happy to see that Shelley and Roz from my Lion's group of friends were there ahead of us. Everyone had equal opportunity to find goodies to take home with them. Pat, Donna, Gayle and I stayed pretty much until the end, and at 4:30, we left.

Her dip was, as always, awesome!

Bill was just settling down for a late snooze, after puttering for the afternoon. I feel exhausted, that's what 'shopping' does to me! No pocketbooks were required today yet 'new to us' clothes will replace those we are tired of or never wore. 

Although the sun did make many
appearances throughout the day,
the clouds pretty much took charge
by late afternoon. We did reach the
forecasted high.

For supper, we had tacos and then after cleanup, Bill made his lunch for tomorrow. I've had a great day, a lot of laughs and generally a good time. Joanne puts out a really nice spread for us to snack on and she had a total of 22 guests today.

Yum, they were messy but good!
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by!

 

Where do I Start? 🤷‍♀️🤔

The Ridge

On Saturday, Sept. 19th, since our plans changed last week, I had absolutely nothing going on today. Bill was up and downstairs preparing to leave for the field in a few minutes when I first woke. First a bit of a lead up. 

Good morning!
This is what greeted me when I
came downstairs at 7.
Stunning!

Gibbs has been scratching lately, (which we put down to the normal season woes and give him an Aerius each morning) and he goes through the ritual each night when we are settled, trying to sleep. 

Because I'd been having a tough enough time finding a comfy position the last 2 nights, I put my ear plugs in. If I didn't hear him or feel him, I had a better chance of dropping off. 

And in our own back yard, beyond
the cut berm, the wild asters
are also lovely.

Before I went to bed, I broke a common sense rule of mine 'no pain pills' (I hate taking them!) and took extra strength Tylenol and 2 gulps of pickle juice. I found a position easily and slept amazingly well. I don't recall moving at all, if I did, and when I woke before 7, I felt nothing. 🤔

It started out cloudy and calm

I rolled over and ............ no pain. I did a few stretches, not trying to mess with anything, got up, made the bed and ...........nothing. Wha??? I don't know what causes sciatica out of the blue and I don't know why it stops out of the blue. I've just had the 2 worst days and today, no pain.

Don't get me wrong, I am SO grateful, relieved and happy that I can move normally again. I had my tea with Gibbs in my recliner, I sat in my dining chair, I had my shower and repeated it all over again and ......nothing. Woohoo! Again, thank you for your wishes, the power of friends? 🥰

Let's make relish!
I only had half the amount of tomatoes
that the recipe called for, so
had to do my best to cut it in half.

The gardens were going to wait and it was so chilly outside this morning that I had no desire to go outside anyway. I added a couple more items to my clothing exchange donations, loaded the bag in Ptooties for tomorrow and decided to make green tomato relish.

You're on your own here, Mom.
You don't need any supervision.
(little does he know!)

Gibbs and I went up and stripped the plants of any remaining vegetables, many teeny but most just small. I pulled the plants out of the garden bags and tossed them over the fence into the weeds. 

So, while the veggies 'steeped'
or 'pickled', I got out some of
my quilling supplies. I put my craft table away
too soon, apparently.

It was an all day process, letting the salt seep into the mixture for 5 hours. I'm fairly new at this canning thing so just did what it said to do. I had an egg/veggie/sausage quesadilla for lunch and it was around 1 (I think) that my pilot returned from flying. The low winds allowed him to have one good flight.

I received part of my Amazon order
today, Quilling cones but it was the first
time I noticed this cute quip on the
packaging.
Clever! I love that!

He made his lunch and had a snooze with Gibbs. I had my quilling out on the table and after making 3 pair of earrings yesteray, I decided to make some cards today for the harvest show. I've said before that I can never have too many greeting cards. This time, I'm focusing on Christmas.

Meanwhile, my relish
is simmering.

For supper, I plugged back into power, we've been unplugged for a few days, to use Madame IP for pork ribs. I also made stewed rhubarb for dessert, another bag that had been in the freezer for a while and needed to be eaten. I washed small potatoes to boil and prepared a cob of corn to share.

Earrings for the Harvest show.
Those are Santa hats and holly, in case you
were puzzled. 
🤭

The day did warm up, but not until the clouds moved off. It was 7C/46F last night and we pulled our Blue Flame heater out to take the chill out. By 3 pm, we were around 17C/63F so much nicer. We are all saying the same thing, the weather is changing, some getting lots of rain, some, like us, getting cooler days.

For some reason, Picassa wouldn't
let me rotate this the proper way.

Bill went next door at 5 to offer help to Gord, who was having difficulty with their rv. They were hoping to be on their way out for a few days by now. It's awful when things don't go as planned, especially when you've looked so forward to it.  Supper will be on hold until he returns.

Gibbs doesn't growl unless he sees
something he doesn't recognize.
I had to look to see what was out there.
A very rare sighting up here.
There goes Peter Cottontail!

I finally messaged at 7:40 to see if they were having any luck......suggesting he come home to eat and go back if he had to. They were at a standstill so he came home, having lost track of time.🥴 Madame IP kept supper warm at least and the corn didn't take long to cook.

Wow! Two whole jars of
relish! but I made them myself
and I don't have room for many more.

Good night!

After clean up, we did dishes and watched tv. I have a busy day tomorrow so hope......well, you know. Have a good night!

Thank you for the visit. 

Feeling Like Fall

The Ridge

After another tough time getting to sleep, which I mentioned in yesterday's post (published this afternoon), I didn't wake up on Friday, Sept 18th until 7:20. It was a morning to clean the Mat so I made my way there, arriving before 8.

Good morning!

No one was inside but 4 washers were in use. One dryer still had clothes in it from two days ago and probably two before that. I took advantage of the quiet and the emptiness and cleaned the big dryer lint trays. In the course of the hour and a half, I found .85¢. 3 quarters and Daddy was the dime. 💕

I folded and sorted the leftover clothes, bagging some stuff for the 2nd hand store and a few ite ms for our clothing exchange. They were obviously forgotten as campers moved on.🤷‍♀️ It was a bit tough this morning with a couple of bouts of 'sit downs' which slowed down my cleaning process.

To the dump, to the dump, dump, dump
It's easy with the dump trailer.

From there, I drove to Impact Tire and bought our 2 tickets for Catch the Ace tonight. I forgot on Wednesday. When I returned home, Bill was down in the corral trimming with the weed eater. What a difference it makes and the corral hasn't been done for a while.

                        I don't have a lot of pictures

                                         so you get this.😂

It was a partly sunny, partly cloudy day which meant partly warm and partly cool September day. Fall is definitely creeping up on us. Robin had asked Bill if he would take their dump trailer, which is full of a couple of trees from a property in town, to the dump for her. Andrew has gone back to Greenland early.

Bill cutting our grass,
with a jacket on. 🫣

So, I went along and had a peek at a new air bnb that they are working on. She has a tenant coming in on Monday and the place is quite unique. We were home for lunch and although I'd hoped to feel up to doing some garden clean up, my sciatica had other plans. Not today, dear, not today. 🫣🥺

The corral looks so much better now.
Leaves dropping already!

I wasn't in any condition to do much but Bill went out and cut a bit of grass out here, put the hammock away and we discussed a cleanout of things in the storage shed and Bunky. My sister-in-law (not a close one) thinks being a 'minimalist' (her word) means storage is 'easy'. (her word) LOL

Gibbs keeping me company
upstairs tonight

 Bill went to the Hangar and Gibbs and I came inside and stretched out on the bed. I wanted to finish my blog so had to do it on my phone. 🤭 I knew it would not be pleasant sitting at C the A tonight, in those chairs and for near 2 hours, so opted to stay home. Wise decision.

Bill picked up a case of bottled water on his way home since Mark's machine still isn't fixed. Not his fault, poor guy, his business must be hurting. 😕 He can't make ice and it is a big seller too. When Bill got home, we are not winners (yet), and the Ace of Spades is still out there, we had tomato soup for supper. It was easiest and quickest.

The soup hit the spot.

It was a pretty quiet day and again, other than discomfort, it was all good. I know how it could be so much worse. I hope you enjoyed your Friday. It might have reached 17C/64F today, when the sun was out but dropping to 8C/45F overnight. Get the blue flame heater out!

This is the day I got home
from Ladyfest on Sept. 18, 2022.
What a handsome little one year old.
Good night!

Thank you for your visit.

Where Has the Week Gone?

The Ridge

On Thursday, Sept. 17th it seems that I had slept pretty well after all. I went to bed at 10 and it took me quite a while to get comfy. Block between my knees, under my butt, under my knees and obviously I found a sweet spot and eventually dropped off.

Good morning!

I didn't wake until 5:50 when I heard Bill in the bathroom. After he kissed me goodbye upstairs, I went back to sleep (we, Gibbs and I) until almost 8 o'clock. That's when I decided to try some pickle juice. 3 gulps and I sat at my laptop with my tea to finish my blog.

The clouds were most dominant
with very little blue sky

Within 10 minutes, I felt nothing. No ache, no numbness, no pain. Whaa??? Is it a coincidence or what? I slipped outside to take a picture of today's moonflowers and returned inside.

2 Moonflowers today

On and off throughout the day I was nagged again by the pain but enough about that. Let's just say the floor and I are becoming good friends for a bit of relief! 😂 

A couple of BlueJays visited today
but they didn't stay long

Because I was expecting a parcel delivery for Bill and the hydro guys to come to replace our meter, I put Gibbs on his leash and we walked for the mail. There was nothing worth walking down for, so we carried on down Northline to the corner.

When he gets tired of securing the property
from the window view, he sits sideways and
peeks his nose under my arm.
'yoohoo, I'm here Mom'
A little further and finally, I'll just
turn so he can crawl on my lap.
That's all he wants. 💕💖

I didn't feel bad at all walking and kept up my inner mantra of 'don't give in to it, don't limp, walk through the discomfort'. That worked! Of course, nothing worked forever. 

Before cut

After cut

Today was haircut day but it was actually only a 2" trim. Just enough to even my hair all the way around. I warned Bill in a text that I was doing it but then realized he wouldn't probably notice anyway!🤣 We'll see how long this length lasts!

He called at 4 that he might be late, just leaving Listowel and had to go to Mike's on the way to get Black Beauty.  I was surprised that he drove in at 5:10, not too late at all. 

An egg/veggie quesadilla
was delicious for lunch

We had basa fish filets, fries and onion rings for supper. The stove, air fryer and fry daddy all put to use. Yummy. After Bill did the dishes, insisting I sit, we watched Reacher and 2 episodes of Neagley. I left my blog until Friday, as you've noticed.🤷‍♀️

Gibbs wanted to keep walking
since he was on his leash.
Why not? 🤷‍♀️

This field of wild flowers 
is where the cows roam.
Do they know how lucky they are?

Bedtime at 10 meant nothing when sleep didn't come until after 1 am. There was just no comfortable position for me. I'm grateful for the king bed as it didn't seem to disturb Bill or Gibbs when I moved constantly.

Supper was delicious.
I finished cooking my onion rings in
the fry daddy - perfect!

Other than my discomfort, it was a good day. I know things could be a lot worse so trying to be positive. 

Because 'someone' rolled in
duck poop in the front field and earned
the name 'stinky boy', Daddy gave
him a shower.
Everything came up roses! 🌹🌹

Thank you for those of you who offered suggestions, I will certainly be trying those! I appreciate you all.

                              Good night!

Thanks for taking the time to see what we're up to.