Fridays are Good – Regardless, Book Sale

The Ridge

On Friday, June 9^th we slept in. That was the goal anyway and although Bill had to get up at 6 with Gibbs (& his own needs), he did come back to bed. Gibbs has one hard plastic bone that somehow has flavour built in (?) that he has had for a very long time and he loves it. It can’t be chewed off but is good for his teeth and its entertainment value. I’ll be sure to get another. So, he chewed on that off and on, in between going back to sleep with us.

Not the perfect first picture?
Gibbs loves this chewy
commonly known as 'bone'.

When Bill dropped off, which he did a few times, I just waited until he woke before moving too much. A movement after 7 would awaken Gibbs and he’d go lay across Bill’s neck. 😊 “Pet me, Daddy”. Finally, around 7:30, I got up, washed, made my tea and sat downstairs in my recliner. Bill dozed off again and Gibbs went back and forth. If he felt neglected, he’d grab Bill’s sock and stuff it in his mouth as much as he could until I retrieved it. What a little monster!

I meant to share this yesterday.
It was on a chair in the Mat
What a special gesture!

Three things happening today, and even though we haven’t both worked ‘all’ week, it is still a Friday and that just has a nice ‘weekend’ ring to it. 😊 First, at 10, I took M into town for a few things to get him through the weekend. I am his Uber, apparently, but he pays me for each run and it is a fair price. Bill worked in his Hangar on a plane, quite happily, and after a Western on a toasted bun for lunch, he and Gibbs dozed in the bedroom while I delved into this new book.

Lunch, I can tell you that it tasted
better than it looks!
It was delicious!

This one is called The Color of Our Sky by Amita Trasi, maybe I already told y’all this. It is a bit challenging as there are a lot of references to Indian names, India as in Bombay, but it is still an interesting story told by two girls from a young age to their 20’s. At least that is as far as I am so far. I’m liking it. It was the book cover that sold me actually. I often find great books that way, seldom am I disappointed.

a few days ago I mentioned this pasture full of
Birds-Foot Trefoil and a commenter wondered if they
were buttercups instead. Today, I checked it out
and both wildflower varieties are prominent.
Still yellow and still pretty!

After Bill had his shower, he left the Ridge at 2:30 to go in to the Durham hospital for his Xrays on his shoulder damage. At 2:40, I walked down the lane to meet Donna. 

I walked down North Line to meet Donna
Look at where the geese are hanging out - next door!
I'm glad because that is a whole lot of poop!

After a dull morning, the sky and weather had
turned lovely!

We were going to Durham’s Library Book Sale at the Town Hall. 😊 We had one other stop first at a farm to pick up milk and cream and to see some really, really adorable 8-week-old puppies! Already the size of Gibbs, but still fluffy loveable balls. ♥ Out of 9, all but 3 have homes waiting for them.

                                    WARNING, WARNING, WARNING

                                              ADORABLE ALERT!

Pet me! My turn! Pet me!

This guy was looking at Donna
"Will you take me home?"

They all scrambled to our fingers for attention.
I have a little guy here at home that does the same thing. 💓
They are so darn cute and fluffy!

No, Gibbs would not love a live-in friend. Look up Leonberger and you’ll see why this would never work for us. 😊 The book sale is by donation only so Donna and I took a bag and walked around the tables. I think it was over an hour that we perused book titles and each found totally different collections to bring home. I found 11 (2 for our friend, Nancy) and Donna found 8 or 10 as well. Happy campers we are!

I found some great books.(+ 2 for Nancy, not shown)

Back home, Bill and Gibbs greeted us and then Donna was off to the Acreage. Today started out dull and cool. We actually started the morning with the furnace running for a couple of cycles. It was 8C/48F and with no sun to warm it up, and a few drops of rain off and on before noon, we barely made it to 19C/67F. With very little wind though, it felt quite nice by late afternoon and the sky cleared out nicely too.

This week's purple flowers

For supper, we finished the leftover Hamburger Helper w/veggies and also the Pineapple Cheesecake. Easy and it hit the spot. Bill went to the Hangar and after my blog, I’m deciding: book or tv? 

Supper tonight was tasty but kind of boring.
Easy is always good for me though.

This has been a great day. Not much going on but we’re happy and Bill is doing okay. Thank you for those inquiries. He appreciates each and every one. 

Gibbs keeps an eye out for raccoons and other visitors

We haven't had much affect from the Quebec/New York fires
but if the haze around the sun is any indication..........
Camp and other kinds of open fires are banned
until we get a good dose of rain.
Donna and Gerry weren't staying out at the Acreage anyway
so it's just as well. 

Today, is my step-daughter’s birthday so I’m sending out a special wish for Charlotte’s day.

Happy Birthday, pretty Charlotte!
Good night y'all!

Thank you for the visit and for all your comments.

Counting Steps, Book List, A Birthday on Earth and One in Heaven ♥

Park Place RV Park

On Friday, Dec. 9^th, Bill stayed home. He had a plane engine he was sending out for repair (fingers crossed) and he wanted to get it packaged up and sent away this morning. Gibbs and I walked but because it was feeling quite chilly, 37F/3C, I made my tea back home before heading out for my longer walk. 😊 Brrr!

Gibbs wore his sweater on this morning

Our shadows are kind of cool!

I was dressed warm enough, even with my bare feet and loafers, but my ears, chin and face were cold. It was closer to 9:30 when I tried it again and found it to be quite a bit nicer with the heat of the sun warming those ‘parts’. 

there's the moon, not quite as pretty this morning, huh?

Trailer for 'sale or rent'
Ha ha, this has been dropped across from the truck stop

It started out to be a calm morning
with clear blue skies

I walked in a different direction and followed the sidewalk towards Main St. I was surprised that it was closer than I thought! At Discount Solar, I looked both ways and when I saw Dollar General also on the corner, turned around the same way I came.

At the corner of Main St. I turned
back towards home

That will be a nice walk one day when I’m looking for something different to do. I love poking in the $ stores when I’m not on a time limit. Back home, I decided to re-type my Book List in One-Note on my laptop. Bill got me set up with a table in the program and I was off! This past summer, I tried to sync my list from a Word document and as much as it worked, I wasn’t able to make any changes. That meant starting over.

What a funny looking car/van/truck?

I had a lot of pages so with over half of the books typed, we had lunch before I went back at it to get ‘er done. When I’d finished that, I walked over to the clubhouse. I was finally getting somewhere with the puzzle so hated to leave at 4 when the office was closing. However, as much as I could have stayed, Suz turned the light off and it was connected to the light over my table. LOL They added a new wall and made changes in there so I guess they never thought of that.

Yes, I'm a bit embarassed to see what crud collects
in the bottom of our trays
so this was a good move
Notice the different lengths?

Yesterday, I bought to 11.5" w silverware trays
and they fit perfectly!
Both the same length leaving more room at the back
for longer utensils

I had a cup of tea back home and then Gibbs and I went for our afternoon walk. I’ve reached over 7700 steps today, which is better than my last 11 days. I’m proud of myself for pushing it. 😊 

Yes, I'm going to show you my daily updates
They're starting to look like crayons. 😂

For supper, Bill started grilling pork chops at 5:30. We have Fire Country to watch tonight at 7, AZ time, so wanted to be ready to watch it. I’ll still be working on my blog but I can see the tv from my spot.

This has been a great day. This morning, I extended a wish to my girlfriend in London for a Happy Birthday. I hope she received her card on time. She has been a dear friend for many years, meeting at the School Board where we both worked.♥

Our afternoon walk, no sweater
although it didn't get any warmer than 63F/17C

Also, today is my Dad’s heavenly birthday. He wouldn’t want to be here at 99 years old but he was still taken too soon. Happy Birthday, Daddy.

Thank you for the visit.

Winter Walk, Book Drop, Crossing Guard Chat, Colour Splashes, Snowy White

Paisley, On

On Thursday, Dec. 17^th things went as per usual. Bill was up at 5:30 and out the door by 6:30. Looking out the window at Edward’s car, it doesn’t look like Jack Frost visited which is odd since it was only -7C/19F. Remember when we used to look at the windows in our homes as children and admire his frosty drawings? I do, they were always so unique and intricate. I got up closer to 7 and slipped down for my tea and some cereal with half banana and cream.

The sidewalk wasn't clear but it was easy to walk on
Colour splash - pretty obvious here

Back in our room, I caught up on the blog postings from our friends. Some of you are making me drool with the lovely weather, not to mention any names. Doug and Deb! 😊 Keep those pictures coming, I’m not opposed to drooling. I knew I needed to push myself this morning in order to get a walk in so that is exactly what I did. I bundled in a nice warm turtleneck sweater, long coat, tights, leggings, high boots, scarf, winter ball cap plus ear ‘muff’ AND I doubled up on the mini gloves today.

A speck of red and yellow against the winter scene
of the trail

I remembered to grab the bag with 3 books plus my ski poles. That was a bit awkward (the bag kept banging against the pole) so I clipped them together and just used them on my right-hand side. I was still braced from falling. Okay, now that you’ve got the picture in your head of this stuffed, layered ball walking down the street are you thinking of the movie Christmas Story? Ha ha. I’m not that bad, really, I could get up if you pushed me over!

to the east, towards town

I walked main street to the south and met the crossing guard lady. I didn’t really need her to get me across the street but she said she’s getting paid anyway so she’d be happy to. We got to chat for about 10 minutes at least and it was nice to meet her. Her name is still only ‘crossing guard lady’ but that’s okay. I’d likely forget her real one anyway and visa versa. She was surprised about the Exchange Barn Box on the trail, after having lived here a long time, she knew nothing about it. Too funny, it’s always the way.

Looking to the west
Teeswater River

Carrying on, I dropped my books in the 'barn' and then used the ski poles properly all the way to the train trestle bridge. I walked across but let me tell you how unnerving that was! The creaking and groaning from the frosty snow-covered boards had my heart in my throat. Silly, I know, but still. 

Her jacket was the colour splash here

I met a young lady walking her two dogs, a pretty brown and black striped boxer and an older lab who both were happy to let me pet them. Most dogs love any attention they can get and these were no exception.

Too bad there wasn't a red apple on the bench
but it is still a nice wintry scene

It was cold out, believe me, but other than my fingers feeling it the most, I was pretty toasty. I slowed down long enough along Mill St. to take a picture of the river and bench when I noticed just the right thing. Another splash of colour! 

I couldn't zoom in too much on my phone camera

But once I downloaded it, you can see the berries better
Not clearly but better

And then another one within just a few steps. My camera battery died right then so my phone camera (gloves off – brr) was required. I’m glad for the backup.

These leftover pumpkins look nice in the surroundings

When I got back, I was warmed a-plenty and moved upstairs. Before Susan and Wes left for some shopping around 10:30 she found me some grocery flyers so I could peruse them for tomorrow’s stops on the way home from work. With Christmas next week (!!!) I wanted to be sure to have anything we might need or want without having to stop again. The stores will be even crazier than they are now.

These are the books I dropped off

I made up short lists for 3 stores to stop in and then started my blog. For lunch, I warmed up the leftover meatballs and the last 2 crescent rolls and that hit the spot. There were a few small containers of things that needed to be tossed from the fridge so I cleaned those out as well. Bits of gravy, tomatoes and sour cream, things I think we’ll have but then don’t. ☹

I'm hoping this one isn't a disappointment

Bill and I both finished our books last night so I’ve moved on to The Bourne Imperative by Robert Ludlum/Eric Van Lustbader. We’ve loved watching the trilogy on tv and have our own copies of the movies (love Matt Damon) so I’m hoping I enjoy this. I went down and washed up our dishes from this morning and then came up to read for a bit. I don’t have the mail key so no point in walking up there. I think Bill is expecting another parcel, as am I, but not by royal mail.

So, I drove to the north to Port Elgin

It's only 15 minutes so a nice easy drive

Shortly after W & S returned, Susan showed me of a great deal they got at the Independent in Port Elgin on chicken legs and thighs. .49¢/lb!!! I had my 3 stores to stop at tomorrow to stock up on food so instead of doing that, I hopped in the car and drove the 15 minutes in the opposite direction. I’m not familiar with the P.E. stores but they are all easy to find on the main street (hwy 21).  I managed to get the chicken, 4 pack legs and thighs attached for $2.77. That’s crazy good!

I also was able to get everything on my lists between there, Giant Tiger and Walmart, most items at sale prices so I came home a happy 'camper'. Figures that as I was on my way home, 12 minutes away, Bill texted that he was also on his way from Billy’s, 12 minutes away. He’s seldom home that early so I upped my speed a notch and told him to slow down a bit. Other than a slow down (and stop) on the way, it was pretty good timing as we met in the laneway. I need to get Ptooties backed in first or it involves a little more jiggling. 😊

Here is the amazing reason I had to slow down and then stop

It’s all good, he pulled out, I backed in and then he followed. I even was successful cramming, er, I mean placing all the goodies in the fridge. We won’t be starving any time soon. Tomorrow, after work all I need to stop for is RO water in Durham and then scoot home to separate the meat parcels into meal sizes before freezing them. We came upstairs and online I transferred the $ spent on food from our Grocery A/C into our chequing and Bill will do the Quicken update on his laptop.

If you can believe it, he was on this pole when I drove through
at 2 pm but with a vehicle behind me, I couldn't slow down
I fervently prayed that he would be there on my return trip

He had a snooze and I went down to make a cup of tea. That was it for the afternoon but I’m very pleased to have it all done and to get some great deals too! Thanks Susan! We had a simple supper of bacon, eggs and stove top stuffing. It actually all went well together. I had more little tomatoes with my meal. It was good and we finished it off with a piece of my cheesecake. Delicious! I have a can of cherry pie filling in the cupboard, I think, so next serving will be adorned (with 'a splash of colour').

and he was!
The first picture, I didn't zoom in, I was afraid he'd fly off and he looked right at me
The second picture is like he's snubbing me
all puffed up 
this last one is like "are you still here?" but
a car was coming and I was in the middle of the lane
so couldn't wait any longer for him to look at me again
Beautiful!

After the dishes were done, Bill made his lunch and upstairs we settled for the evening. At 7:30 it was Jeopardy for me and I think Bill needed to find a new book. It felt too cold in the games room to watch one of the new movies he’s missed, so he’ll have to see  them at another time. They'll be played over and over. I’m ahead of him on a few books here and in the Suite so he’ll easily find something to keep him entertained tonight.

Supper was very good even though it looks like breakfast

And, my cheesecake is awesome with the almond crust
if I do say so myself

This was a good day. It turned out differently than I expected but that is great, it got things done.

Getting ready for some margaritas
in Los Algodones, Mexico
Dec. 17th, 2018
with our buddies, Pat and Rob
We HAVE to do this again!!
Buenas noches!

Thank you for stopping by.