Errand Day, Bell Store, Appliance Replacement

On The Ridge

On Friday, Sept. 20^th we didn’t get up out of bed until 7, just enjoying the comfort. We had coffee and tea while reading some blogs before getting cleaned up to go shopping. We were out the door shortly after 8:30. Fuel , banking and a stop at Home Hardware in Durham were the first things. Then we drove to Hanover. Walmart for groceries and to check out their Keurigs. Of course, we wanted one that was similar to the one we have.

Bill got a 1/2 case to mae it easier to hold his phone

 I shopped for the food on my list while Bill wandered the store. He found the Keurig Elite and that was the best match. From there we went to Dollarama where I needed a couple of toiletries and cards and finally we went to the Bell Store. My protective cover was in stock now. What we didn’t expect today, another Friday, was the long wait time of 40 minutes.

In with the new

A different gal than the last time says “we’re always crazy busy Friday mornings”. I was desperately trying to remember what time it was last Friday the 13^th when we walked in and right up to the counter with only one person arriving after us the whole time. I never said a word as I know we took up a lot of time when we were there. Most customers, including us, have a lot of questions plus the staff have a lot of small things to take care of for you. It all takes time.

Out with the old

Bill’s wallet cover wasn’t in yet so he bought a very sturdy base for his. We went to the Source as a 2nd choice but they didn't have any of the wallets in stock either. I dropped a bag off at Donna’s door with 2 jigsaw puzzles for their winter enjoyment and finally her 2 packages of pottery. With our guests coming for the weekend, I wasn’t sure when we’d see them, even if they did come to the Acreage. I wanted them out of our place.

I'm glad I got home on time to see her

 We were home around 11:45. As I was about to get out of the car, I noticed Madame Butterfly had metamorphized from her cocoon and was just stretching her new wings and legs. Wow! I jumped out with my camera and captured the moment. It was like she waited for me to come home. Call me deprived but I’ve never witnessed this from beginning to end before and I’m just thrilled with the whole thing.

A few stretching and wing exercises before she took flight

We unloaded groceries and I put them away before getting us lunch of bacon and eggs. Before doing the dishes, Bill got the new Keurig out of the box and set up for use. In the meantime, Peggy from CanAm phoned about our Dometic microwave/convection oven which has now completely died. No light, fan, time or anything. She suggested we find one we like and replace it. That way we get what we like and sooner than later.

She is gorgeous and you can see the remnants of the cocoon

It is under warranty but Dometic doesn’t sell or repair these older models. So, we’ll be on the hunt for a second appliance this week. Somewhere. We’ll do some online searching first and then make it happen. Hopefully, if we need it, we’ll have our brother-in-laws help to remove the old and install the new. Bill and I may not be able to handle it, depending on how heavy the unit is. We’ll see. We each had a coffee from the new machine and it is nice to have a non-leaker again.

Bill went up for a snooze and I relaxed in my chair while I finished my drink. It is turning into a warm day even though the clouds are covering 75% of the sky. I have a few things to take care of between today and tomorrow morning. I was saddened that I had to buy dessert for tomorrow since now I have no way to bake something. So, I bought a pie and maybe I’ll make some whipped topping. It will feel like I contributed something.

And my dahlia shows off

I swept the Bunky and made the bed in there. It's all comfy, cozy now. Bill was setting up his plane so we could test the weight again and when he was ready with the wings on, we lifted it. Yay! It looks well balanced. Back inside the Suite, I wanted to try once more with my choke cherry syrup. I had a box of Pectin and what do they say? ‘Three strikes and you’re out?’ So, I boiled the syrup again and added the thickener before pouring it into 2 jars. One can only hope.

Sadly, one comes into the world and
then I find this one on the road

They're so pretty and delicate

A lovely late afternoon
from my window

Then I sat and watched the tail end of a couple of movies. To Trap a Spy with Napoleon Solo (Man from U.N.C.L.E.) and that was cool, outdated but fun to watch all the same. Then the last 45 minutes of Stagecoach with Trace Adkins and Kim Coates. Just to kill time, basically, rather than watching NCIS. At 6, I plugged into power and started cooking sausage, dressing and mixed veggies in Madame IP.

A great supper

The sun now is shining brighter than it has all day and the humidity has returned. 

We are in for a hot day tomorrow but that is not a complaint. Supper turned out good and was ready in 20 minutes. Bill washed dishes and I dried and then we settled in for the night. I was going to prep the meal for tomorrow night’s supper but decided after work at the Mat in the morning, I can start it then. I don’t like being tied up with meal prep when we have company.

Good night to you all!
Happy weeend!

This was a good day. Thank you for stopping by.

The Day After the Holiday = Black Friday, Sam’s Club, Family Pool Time, New Appliances

I was up around 7 with big plans to take my walking stick and go for a walk on this gorgeous day. It is Friday, Nov. 23^rd, the day after the American Thanksgiving Day. I know that yesterday found stores closed and I’m sure today in town, Black Friday, it will be crazy.

We had to wake him at 9:15 so we could let him out before we went to town
And then, by the time we were ready to leave, he was perched up here on the pillow shams
in the sunshine

Things changed as I sat up in bed and found that I was experiencing a minor dizzy spell. As I lie back down for a couple of minutes, I thought about how much water I ‘didn’t’ drink yesterday. Hmm, that is definitely the culprit. I had my normal tea and coffee but only 1 bottle of water. I’d had a glass of red wine with our mid-afternoon dinner and I’m sure that didn’t help. So, it's all on me.

And on the hill behind us, the Gambel Quail made their trek down and then up again

I got up, got dressed and came downstairs and grabbed some water. As I sat in my recliner, I began getting a hold on how I was feeling. Bill joined me half an hour later and made me a cup of tea. Soon enough, I was back to normal and sat and read some blog posts to see what our friends were up to. We had plans this morning to get into Bullhead City and pick up a few things we needed badly.

Our new weather station
The indoor part at least

Pat and Rob came along when we drove to Sam’s Club and we bought our milk, cream and eggs. The desperate things since we were almost out back home. We also found a couple of neat things that we’d talked about. Bill found the Weather Station he has wanted and I found an Air Fryer, both for a great price. We were surprised that the store was not crowded at all. Not typical for what I’ve heard about Black Fridays.

I chose a red one because I could

So, I cut up the potatoes for fries tonight

With the help of an instruction booklet

From there, we drove to Harbour Freight where the boys picked up a couple of things on their list and I even found something! My Dad always had a gadget in his pocket that he used often and was very proud to own. If he dropped something, a screw, nail, washer or coin he’d reach into his pocket and use his telescopic magnet. It looked like a pen clipped there for scratching down measurements and I was tickled to see it was more than that. Today, I bought my own for $3.99.

I’m always dropping my stylus between the seat and console in Black Beauty or money and this just felt like I needed it. Bill drove us to a mall where Pat and I got to ‘explore’ Ross’s, one of our favourite stores here. 

                           Pat and I laughed at the size of this celery

                                              Yes, for .99c

                                    It is almost as tall as she is!! :)

Without a lot of money to spend (being our big driving month) we poked around quickly and met the guys after we’d all done some shopping in the .99c store. Of course, not everything is .99c but many of their food items were. I picked up some lettuce, mushrooms, green onions, bananas and a couple other things for a small $8 charge. Crazy!

The neighbour next to us has an old dog with some obvious age issues. Shep, I think he called him
Shep has a toy and I watched him as he eventually made his way
up the ramp into the toy hauler
Sweet and sad at the same time

Back home, I changed into my bathing suit and walked up to the pool. It was just after 1:30. Bill got his weather station partially set up and then surprised me by showing up at the pool with Rob and Pat. Rob was looking forward to a hot tub so Bill joined him for a swim and Pat came along for the walk. It was 3 when they returned home and I followed soon after.

It was a lazy afternoon and while Bill dozed and read inside, I did some domestic sewing. His shirt was in need of a button with others needing securing. We had a cup of wild strawberry loose tea and then I took Clemson for a walk around the ‘block’. It was an absolutely beautiful day with some wind but the temperature still rose to 72F in the beautiful sunshine.

These palm trees have such smooth bark

Pretty clouds this afternoon

I walked the garbage down to the bins at the end of the street and came back to begin supper. With small sausages to grill on Weber, I peeled and cut 3 small potatoes into French fries. Let’s try this new air fryer! It took 20 minutes and they turned out quite good. I warmed the turkey dressing I brought home from yesterday and reheated my glazed carrots. Supper was delicious!

And the sun's presence only made it that much nicer

Me, myself and I.......oh and my shadow walked back from the garbage bins

We cleaned up dishes and Bill turned a new Christmas movie on. I’m a hard sell for these ‘mushy, predictable’ movies but watched it out of the corner of my eye while I put this post together. He enjoys them for some reason so I’m all for gaining more of the Christmas spirit out of my sweet Mr. Scrooge. It was a quiet evening and since we’d had another glass of red wine with dinner (and enough water for me) it was an early bedtime for me too.

Our home while we are here in Bullhead City
Life is good!

I hope you enjoyed your day. We took advantage of some Black Friday specials without having to fight crowds, spent some quality time in the sun, in the pools and with each other.

Thank you for stopping by. It is always nice to hear from you if you wish to leave a comment.