Rain, Wind, Sun, Jazz and Dahlias

The Ridge

On Wednesday, Oct. 9^th Bill was up of his own accord. No alarm and I’m sure that is feeling pretty darn good. 😊 Mind you, it was still about an hour earlier than my get up time and I had to go to work! I came down just after 7 and got washed, made my to-go tea and was out the door by 7:30.

Good morning!
Another beautiful sky to start the day.

But wait!!
Another rainbow this morning too!

Bill hopped in the shower and while I was gone, drove to First Choice Haircutters for a haircut. He missed out on the low-cost church cut so had to pay the big bucks. After my normal routine in the Mat, I got out the Swifter duster to reach all the high areas along the ceiling and walls. By the time I finished, it was an hour and a half later but it was a job done. I don’t know if/when Allison will do it next.

What a perfect time for the Canada geese
to fly over.

I left there and went for water. I like how comfortable I am with people I’ve met in Durham. My face is recognizable by some, after 8 summers up here it should be! When I walked in to Battery Pro (Water Store)/Impact Tire’s building, Mark teased me about having my keys on me. 😉 I knew this would not be forgotten any time soon but I love the banter and these are great people.

And on the way home from cleaning
the Mat, my 3rd rainbow.

Back home, it wasn’t long before Bill texted that we should take a chance between rain showers, and get Jazz over to Murray’s storage barn. He was home by 10:15 and bundled up in his leathers and I followed him the 25 minutes to his destination. Of course, 5 minutes after we set out, it started spitting and then as we got to the other side of Durham, it poured. Yes, he got wet but kept on going.

The weather forecast appeared
stable for the next hour +

Within 5 minutes, that changed.
I felt bad for Bill but it did start to
clear out on the drive.
I took the bottom picture because of the
lovely fall colours.
See him up there?

The sky was unforgiving but soon cleared and it was ‘intermittent wiper’ weather the rest of the way. Surprisingly, covered as he was, he didn’t get that wet. Rain doesn’t stick to leather. 😊 Back home by 11:45, we had lunch of bacon and eggs for a change and then went outside. I thought I could brave the winds and go move some of the logs Bill cut yesterday but changed my mind.

Watching the sky and in the field
beside us, there were hundreds of geese
gathering and discussing 'their' winter journey.

Feeling like a wimp, I stayed out and dug up my glad and dahlia bulbs on the property. Yes, the wind was nasty and cold, but I just kept digging and bagging them up for storage. Bill worked away at his airplane stuff, fitting things in the box he made last summer in Black Beauty’s bed. I should have taken a jack hammer or bull dozer down with me instead of the little garden trowel because the bulbs at the gate garden were huge!!

Bill and Jazz goes into the bar
She's all covered up until April or May

Live and learn but I was too lazy to walk back up and get the spade. Well, not lazy, I worked even harder because I didn’t do that. I now have probably a hundred dahlia bulbs for next spring! Bill suggested putting some at the back of the Hangar where it gets lots of sun and that should use up about 10. 😊 Ha ha. They sure multiply! I cleaned out the firepit today and stored it in the outhouse. The last 3 bird feeders will be emptied and stored in the Bunky as well, but not until after the weekend.

Lunch

We will take the shelter down when it is not wet or windy. Another day of many accomplishments, tomorrow morning being another busy morning along the same vein. We are expecting some overnight company tomorrow so that will give us a break and a good visit with great friends, once more, before we all depart for our journeys. Gibbs was in and out, in his jacket, even he is feeling the cold wind biting into his little body. ♥

The dahlias and glads are dug
Some of the stalks were very large and brittle.
My small clippers and trowel met their match
today!

We woke up to 4C/39F and reached a not so lovely high of 9C/49F by the peak of the day. It felt a lot colder than that with the 28.9 mph gusts of wind. I stopped working at 3 and came in for a hot cup of tea. Bill carried on, starting the arranging of underbelly (basement) storage. We’ll not be bbq’ing any more, the rain in the forecast has determined that, so the Weber Q and the table it sits on went away.

Told you it was windy!
This is my sheet for covering the plants
drying.

He quit before 4 as well. For supper, I cooked a butt chop inside to share with some potatoes and a vegetable. A hot meal for a cool day is always nice. Everything turned out good, although I forgot to cook Bill his corn. Woops! He doesn’t like the Brussel sprouts that I cooked for myself. 😊 We cleaned up dishes and had a quiet evening. I’m still having a hard time remembering what tv programs are on ‘live’ with our fire stick/streaming set up but manage to find something to watch.

I believe I'm blessed!
4 rainbows in 2 days.
💓

This has been a good day. Cleaning up the messy job of digging bulbs and I’ve tossed the vegetable plants since I’ve collected the last of the tomatoes and peppers. We’ll see if there is room in the Bunky or shed for the canvas bags that still have dirt in them. It is acceptable to keep them that way for another season, at least.

Note: if you are interested, Bill has posted his first blog of the summer! Check it out here.

Supper was good.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by! I feel blessed that I have seen 4 rainbows in 2 days. ♥

Some Work, Some Visiting, Some Hangin’ Out

Life on the Ridge

It was 5:30 when I woke, again before my alarm, and then dozed until 6. We got up together and I left for work by 6:15. It was a tad foggy but clear as I got out on the road. Bill had an appointment in Hanover at Speedy Auto Glass to get Black Beauty a new windshield. A stone chip from sometime that neither of us recall, turned very quickly (we think) into a backward ‘j’ smack dab in the middle. Finally, biting the bullet, this morning at 9 he took her in.

Bill took a picture of me leaving for work

 I finished at the Laundromat by 8 or shortly after and drove home. I made my tea and relaxed for an hour catching up on blogs. After seeing what our friends were up to, I chatted briefly with 2 sisters and my buddy. I had half of my omelette sandwich from yesterday so fried it up and had that for my breakfast/lunch. Bill would be 2 ½ hours in Hanover and then going directly to help Rob with a roof tear up on his carport. He had cereal before he left and took a sandwich and drinks for lunch.

I had to slow down because the Geese family was ahead of me

By 10:30 I was cleaned up ready to go and visit Mom. The temperature is creeping up from the 54F first thing to now 61F. The sun hasn’t had success in breaking through the clouds, not for lack of trying, until now. Almost 11 o’clock and I see some blue patches in the sky. We are all crying, praying and hoping for some sunshine to dry things up and boost our spirits in the meantime. Enough of this dreariness, already!

It is rare that Bill takes a picture of me leaving for work!

I left the Suite around 11 and found Mom in her room, in her chair facing the window, sound asleep. So peaceful. When I knocked on the door, she woke slowly and finally realized who I was. Well, realized that I was a familiar daughter at least! We hugged and I suggested a short walk to a room with a table where we could work on a puzzle. That was fun, she was doing quite well and we had fun, which is the whole point.

Mom didn't have her glasses, but she was doing well with the 100 pc. puzzle

Before I knew it, it was 12 noon so we had to leave it unfinished and go down to her lunch. She was in very good spirits and chatted with the lady at her table when she sat. She didn’t even need to wave to me a hundred times today, she was happy. 😊 From there I drove to the I.D.A. pharmacy to print off my pictures for Smitty but they no longer have the machine. Hmm. So much for that. I’ll have to do it in Hanover one day.

Here she realized that the noise she was hearing was the camera
counting down

Bill was already at Rob’s so I drove there and they were just finishing up and ready to take a load of shingles to the dump. I joined my little buddy inside and we chatted until the guys returned. Pat had some egg salad, pickles and buns for lunch and kindly invited us to stay. Yes Ma’am! We haven’t had egg salad since we were on the road so it was a delightful ‘fall from the Keto grace’. The buns, I mean, they were delicious!

The futon mattress came in a big box

Bill left around 1:30 and after Rob digging me up some primrose from Pat’s side garden, I wasn’t too far behind. More flowers to plant and these are perennials so that is even better! Back home Bill had offloaded a purchase I made online from Walmart. The futon mattress arrived 8 days earlier than expected but that was good timing, with Bill being back in Hanover. No charge for shipping and now our guests will sleep even better, I hope!

the couch is now double thickness with both mattresses
and will definitely be more comfortable for sleeping

Inside the Suite, I made a coffee and could easily see that Bill was worn out. Even though not all physical labour, waiting, running errands etc. tires a person out. Sometimes doing nothing has the same effect! He went upstairs with Clemson and I wrote some of this post before going outside to peruse the mattress situation. I was pleased with the thickness of the 6” mattress. I’m sure that is what the old one is/was but has to be close to 10 yrs. old and flattened quite a bit.

The new one will make a big difference and I won’t have to blow up an air mattress when we have company. Not only was it challenging for me, but being vinyl on all sides, noisy and hard to keep sheets on. Bill doesn’t quite agree but he’s never been comfy on a futon where I have.  With that done, I went out and planted some primrose plants. I spread them around the flower beds and then watered them from our rain pails. Not an easy chore but there wasn’t enough rain in our barrel to use the tap.

first, I browned the chops

I moved inside and switched from capris into shorts. Bill came in earlier and opened most of the windows. It was quite warm inside. After naps, some reading and some tv, it was 6 and time to make supper. I had pulled 3 pork loin boneless chops from the freezer and realized these are my least favourite of all the chops on my ‘don’t like’ list. So, the decision to cook them in Madame IP was an easy one.

I love the smell of onions and mushrooms cooking

I browned them in butter on Sauté, removed them while I cooked some onions and mushrooms. Returning the 3 chops on top of the vegetables, I added chicken broth and cooked for 10 minutes. When I removed the lid after a Natural Release for 10 minutes, the smell was overwhelming. Oh my! After sitting for a few minutes, I removed the chops and thickened the liquid. On the side, I put a Caesar salad together and we were eating by 7.

And Voila! Supper is served and it was very good.

We didn’t see any real sunshine today although were teased a few times. It was warm enough during the day, hanging around 66F/18C. We’ll take it. Supper was good. These loin cops came in a box of mixed meats from West Grey Butchers but live and learn, next time we’ll swap them out for more sausage, chicken or butt chops at least. They’re pretty good doing that for their customers. We cleaned up dishes and there came the sun.

And the sun pops around the clouds

I finished my post and we sat with our books and the tv on in the foreground. This was a great day with a lot of things accomplished. The nice thing is, as I sit here at 8 pm – it doesn’t even seem like I worked this morning. That was a long time ago, it seems. 

Clemson, outside on one of his many piddle runs

The prognosis for tomorrow is sounding good with some sunshine earlier in the day. Other than waiting for a delivery of drywall for the Hangar, it will be a nice relaxing day here at home.

I hope your day was half as good as mine. 

I'm so glad the sun came out to give us this beautiful sunset

Good night from the Ridge
Beautiful, huh?

Thank you for your visit into our day, we enjoyed having you! (PS - frogs are still singing, nightly. I'd miss them if they stopped).

Wet Day, Flowers

When we woke on Sunday, May 21 it was once more to the sound of wind gusts whipping around the Suite. Since this is our first full spring here on The Ridge, we are beginning to think this is probably normal for May. As nice as it is for certain reasons, to keep a humid day cooler and to keep bugs away, we are tiring of its constant force.

This chubby robin is enjoying the rain, it brings out his breakfast, lunch and dinner

I was up at 7:30 and Bill rose an hour later. He is a night owl so stays up at least an hour past my bedtime. The rain hadn’t started until just after Bill got up but it isn’t a really cold day, 10C, which is good. Bill’s first question “Is the shelter still standing?” Not surprisingly, it had shimmied off the wood pads again.

Pretty little tree

I was thinking yesterday that on this rainy Sunday I would go visit Mom. All good intentions, but I have had a dry cough for a day or two that doesn’t seem like much but through the night I was awake a lot clearing a phlegmy throat. Since they had another bout of gastrointestinal infection just this past week and quarantined the place for a couple of days, I will not be going in after all. Mom does not need me giving her a bug.

Down around the corner from us, these seed trucks are waiting for action

We are plugged in, obviously, so it seems like a good day to try out some recipes and I have a bit of sewing to do. Other than that, I might take in a movie and get some more reading done. It doesn’t look it will rain all day either so might even get a walk in.

I'm going to make tea for my gnarly throat and cough

I dried some mullein leaves last fall after my ‘health-nut’ sister (and I say that lovingly) recommended it for tea when we feel a cold coming on. The leaves didn’t dry as well as they should have, but I might try it today anyway. We try the ‘natural’ cure for things as much as we can.

 Around 10 Bill drove over once more to The Acreage to help finish flushing their hot water tank. It involved a vinegar solution that needed to ‘cook’ for 24 hours before flushing it out. It shouldn’t take long. 

Rainy Sunday

While he was gone, I took the steak that we didn’t eat last night and coated them in flour, salt and pepper. I quick-fried them in oil for 6 – 8 minutes until brown on both sides. In the bottom of my 3 qt. crock pot I cut up a large onion, placed the steak on top and added a large cut up potato and 2 carrots. I added seasoning, some vegetable broth and turned it on low for 6 hours.

Bill returned within a half hour and we had a nice bacon and egg brunch before I went into Durham. I knew I could find some flowers for my pots and I wasn't let down. Even in the rain, I found  what I wanted. The gal in the tent said only a true gardener shops in the rain.

I like this Foodland nursery and the two staff are very helpful


Checking it for doneness at 5:00 I realized the carrots were still hard even though most of the potato was cooked. I cranked it up to high for another hour. Carrots take forever and since they aren’t Bill’s favourite veggie anyway, I just nuked them for a few minutes to soften them up. We were hungry and ready to eat.

My purchases today, lots of buds on the geranium

I know it is a little unorthodox to cook steak in a crock pot, but this was our ‘cheap’ steak from Albertson’s in Yuma and it isn’t T-bone quality anyway. We couldn’t bbq in the rain and it turned out quite nice in a one dish meal.

Bill got the big field cut yesterday

I was suffering a bit not only from the throat and coughing but also my right shoulder and bicep were giving me some grief. I knew I’d overdone it yesterday but too late now. Everything strikes at once as I also realized that I got a doozy of a black fly bite last night. Man, it is driving me nuts!  I took a Benadryl and put some Aloe Vera gel on it.

Slow roasted steak, potatoes and carrots

Needless to say, my afternoon involved this gal laying around, on the couch with my book. It was actually cozy inside and the mystery novel kept my mind mostly off my troubles. After dinner, Clemson and I took a walk down the lane. It was spitting very lightly but it felt warm still at 15C and the wind had died down some.

A 25 litre bag of potting soil will be helpful

When we came back, you guessed it, Clemson settled on Bill’s lap and I settled down to finish my book, or at least come close. I’m hoping I can get out and plant my geraniums tomorrow. I don’t think it will be a wash out like today was.

The rain changes the look of our Restroom

I hope you had some relief from the rain today and were able to make the best of it. I had bigger plans for today but the sewing machine remained in the hall closet and the recipe book didn’t out of the cupboard. Some days are like that. Jello.

Clemson hikes to catch up with me

Thank you for reading. All comments are welcome.