Cold Day in Ontari-ar-o, Friend Comes for Dinner

London, Ontario

I had a really good sleep last night and early this morning. Once I dropped off, I never heard a peep, nor did I hear Clemson and Bill get up at 3 for a piddle. This morning, Thursday, Apr. 11^th, I woke and rose by 7:15. As I was getting dressed, the silence I heard changed to sleet hitting the roof. I know it was going to be a cold day and I had faith that none of the white stuff would arrive and stay.

Looking out our window at the snow on the shed roof
don't tell me, I know the anemometer (thanks Keith) isn't doing
any good sitting inside but we know it was crazy windy!!

Bill was downstairs with his coffee, having got up an hour earlier. I made my tea, no walk again, thank you very much. We read some blogs and mid-morning we had our showers and made some breakfast. Bill is scheduled to work this afternoon and I don’t have plans to be outside other than letting our 4-footed furry lovebug out. It is only 36F/2C with a very strong wind, you probably already know it is bitterly cold.

There were a few things that needed to happen today. Most importantly, we have a friend coming for dinner. I could say “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” but you don’t know him so no point in adding suspense. A friend of Bill’s who he met through his RC flying hobby. Now, Keith is a friend of mine too and we are happy to have him join us. It gives us an opportunity to spruce up our meal! Keith is tossing around the idea of spending some of his winter in the Arizona area so I’m sure that will be part of tonight’s discussion.

Bill tucked us in good and proper
He took lessons from our buddy, Rob
Only thing missing is my tea!

We puttered around in the morning, and Bill tucked Clemson and I in with my afghan before he left just before noon. Eventually, I roused myself and got to work. I vacuumed the Suite and used a Murphy’s Oil wipe on the kitchen cupboards. I love the difference it makes, worth the extra step for sure. I wanted to make a nice supper so began with dessert. I prepared Rhubarb Crumble to put in the convection oven around 5.

Our view out the back window to a dull day

Everything else was planned in my head so I sat and finished Simple Genius. It is a great page turner with twists and turns. Then, I did some crocheting with a new ball of chunky wool I picked up at Len’s Mills Store.  With the cold wind, it was more difficult keeping the Suite at an even temperature. We let the furnace cycle through a couple of times and then relied on our Blue Flame. 15-amp service isn’t enough to use our fireplace but we managed to stay comfy.

Bill was home shortly after 5 and I started sautéing beef roast in the Instant Pot at 5:30. I added 3 whole potatoes and onions and let it cook for an hour, 15 minutes natural release and then manual release. Perfect! We had picked up a few packs of frozen veggies in Yuma in February and I had peas and carrots left. They were on sale and great when you want to cook the whole pack. Just put the pack in the microwave for 5 minutes and voila! No dirty dish.

These are obviously not the peas but the same type of package

The roast was done releasing pressure when I put the oven on but forgot to wait until the peas cooked before turning the Sauté feature on to make gravy. Crap! I tripped a breaker. I finished the gravy on the stove and because no one was home, we switched our inverter and used our batteries. I felt bad because Kirk uses that same outlet for something in the barn. Supper was delicious, the roast fork tender again.

Wasn't hard polishing this one off, it is a nice wine

The boys and I talked winter travels, planes, hobbies and life in general while I cleaned up the dishes. One pot meal! Just wonderful! Bill brought up Google maps on my laptop and projected it to the tv screen while Keith made notes of ‘key’ places to visit in the southwest. He’s hoping to travel for a couple of months this winter. He sounds really keen on some of the suggestions we gave him. It was nice for me to get to know him better and we all enjoyed an evening together. The Wolf Blass that Keith brought went down really nicely.

We were all surprised at the time when Keith got up to leave. His little baby pooch, Oreo, would be wondering where Daddy was. It was 11 o’clock! What a great visit. We hugged goodbye with hopes of seeing him again during the Ontario summer. Bill and I were in bed 15 minutes later, with this post delayed until morning.

Thanks Keith for joining us for a nice evening

Our travel buddies sent us this in the morning of their weather yesterday
up near the Ridge

And my sister, Donna, was also only too obliging
Hers came with an apology. No worries, it is gone this morning.

What a wonderful easy going day for me! Thank you for YOUR visit too!

Jobs are Done, Company Comes, Relaxing Day, Storm Warnings

I was awake at 5:30 on Saturday, June 17^th so after letting Clemson out for his piddle, I crawled back into bed for a few minutes. At 6 I realized I wouldn’t drop off and got up. I took the opportunity on such a beautiful morning to go for a walk down the road. It was so nice and I saw not one other vehicle or person on my journey. Wise people were still in bed on this Saturday morning.

good morning!

Sometimes just walking outside with nature is the perfect time to mull things through your mind and I was doing some mulling. When I returned half hour later, Bill was up so I made my tea and joined him at our laptops. Reading blog posts is our morning reading so once that was out of the way we moved on to the rest of the day.

Bill wanted to change the oil this morning in the Cub Cadet so at 7:30 he was out doing that and will probably do some weed trimming along fence lines. A comment from yesterday indicated that we are doing a lot of yard work for being retired and that is true. Yes, we are retired but that was an inside job, on the clock for over 30 years. I feel this is different.

My walk this morning down Baptist Church Road at 6 am

 The property is for us to look after while we stay here and we accept that. I enjoy gardening, wouldn’t miss it if I was in a place without it, but I do love the rewards and satisfaction from my efforts. Sometimes this is the only exercise we get, and neither of us can sit around all day. The good news is that we don’t have to report to a boss and we work at our own pace, on our own hours. That might explain why we do what we do.

returning home again around 6:30

I drove into Durham, saw Rob and Pat briefly and then to visit Mom and Mary at Rockwood Terrace. When I walked in my sister Donna was already in Mom’s room with her, doing crossword puzzles. Both visits were good, it is nice to know two people when I go there now. I was home just after lunch.

Bill said there were thunderstorm warnings all around the area and he had put the hammock away and closed the sheds. It was thundering while we made a sandwich for lunch. A toasted tomato for me, was just what I needed to fill the gap until supper. I felt exhausted, perhaps getting up so early and the busy morning was taking its toll.

All three of us went up and laid down for 30 minutes. I dozed but not for long. At least I rested my eyes and felt better for it. Krystal, Bill’s daughter, arrived at 2:15 for the afternoon. She drives a cute little white Mazda. We spent the time inside the Suite because even though there were bouts of brightness, the occasional rain determined our location.

Krystal in the Suite

I planned supper for 5 and we weren’t too far off the mark. We had Mediterranean chicken breasts in the convection oven, mashed potatoes, broccoli and corn. So glad to have company, it means we get a decent meal! Ha ha. Krystal contributed to dinner with the Butter tarts she brought. Yum yum.

It was a great day and we were thrilled that she took the time to fit us into her busy schedule. She left around 6:30 back to Milverton. She is a busy gal, for sure. Bill and I were going to put the few dishes in the dishwasher but decided to just wash them up by hand instead. Usually when company comes, we utilize the benefit.

Until next time, Krystal!

Donna texted and advised that we keep an eye on the tornado warnings in the area. It looks pretty good now, with white cloudy skies but the weather radar is indicating some nasty winds coming over us later this evening. Time to batten down the hatches once more. I’m glad I’m not alone here tonight.

Rain on the window, the blurring side is rain pouring from the slide eaves

By 7:00 we were in the throes of the rain and the winds picked up around 7:30 coming from the northeast. We closed windows now that the Suite had cooled down and watched the heavy black cloud move over us from the same direction. Just heard from Krystal at 7:40 that she arrived home safely so that is great. Enjoy the rodeo, Krystal!

Strange clouds to the south

It will be an evening of on again off again rain and storms so will close this post. I hope you have had an enjoyable day. We did!

The sky of many changes

At one point, there was light on the horizon

Thank you for reading. If you wish to leave a comment, it is appreciated.