Lingering Rains, Dry Afternoon

The Ridge

On Wednesday, June 24^th (how can it be Wednesday already?) Bill knew I didn’t have to get up so just let me sleep until I was ready to rise. I actually didn’t hear the alarm, if it went off, nor did I hear him get up, shower and move downstairs. At 6:30, I heard him pouring cereal into his bowl so I slowly roused myself and slipped into my housecoat.

I planned a shower after he left so didn’t bother getting dressed. Wearing something non-restrictive for a while was good for my leg. I’ve been pestered with two batches of shingles, since Saturday, one immediately following the other within an inch of each other. Good grief! There just isn’t a rhyme or reason why they appear. Last night they really made me uncomfortable even with the pill in me and the cream covering the spots. Sleep was a relief, let me tell you.

Bill left for work in the lingering rains this morning around 7:15, I think. He’s hoping they don’t have rain so he can get a full day in. I finished my tea, read blogs to see what our friends are all up to across our country and the U.S. I do miss seeing them so this is a wonderful way to stay in touch. I know they are all doing well. Still a few that we haven’t met (yet) but hopefully one day that will happen.

The garden was a real mess

I flipped the furnace on for a few minutes to take the chill of the Suite off. It was only 11C/52F outside this morning. Crazy weather! Sunday we were longing for some heat relief. When the bathroom had warmed up, I had my shower and when finished scrubbing it down, removed the shower head for a good soak in the sink. It seems ‘sputtery’ so maybe a bit of bleach will help clean it out.

The tomatoes and peppers are coming with some
flowers on the tomatoes BUT...

I’d hoped to get outside today to get the weeding in my vegetable garden done but that isn’t going to happen too early. The ground will be soft though once I get out there. I chatted with sisters, Donna and Cathy, and my buddy, Pat, by text and then played my 3 games on Facebook. I wanted to try and make some ice cream by using Nancy’s recipe. Sounded simple enough, 2 ingredients! It was simple enough but didn’t get as stiff as it maybe needed to. Into the freezer it went, we’ll try it later.

Things at this end of the garden just aren't doing so well

Since it was an inside morning, I got the dusting materials out and started in the bedroom. No matter how small our home is, you need to know that I dislike dusting. Mainly because of having to move items out of the way. It doesn’t take long but still needs to be taken care of. The woodwork in here seems to be more prominent than in any house I’ve lived in. It’s right there, beautiful indeed, but right there in your face no matter where you look. So, it needs to be wiped down. I let it go as long as I can and then start at the top and work down. Now it’s done.

With that done, it was 10:30, so I made a coffee. Goody, the sun is making brief peek-a-boos out of the clouds so there is hope for an afternoon of playing in the mud. We are so grateful for the rain. Me, especially, since they are more ‘my’ flowers and vegetables than Bill’s. It means less trips up the hill for this gal with the watering cans.

A few of my healthy evening primrose are blooming

After seeing a friend’s plants on his blog, I realize that mine have a long way to go. I do have some Miracle -Gro so could add some to the next watering can. I keep forgetting that I have it, I’d never ever bought it before living up here. Outside in my work duds and ball cap I got the hoe from the storage shed and went up to the garden. My oh my! The weeds have taken over! Mostly grass but very ‘root-laden’.

I never have the energy or stamina to keep at the hoeing for very long before I need to take a rest. That worked okay for me though as I’d hoe a 20” x 20” section and then sit down to separate the weeds from the dirt. The soil is actually quite nice up there now, after 4 years of working it up. While working, I had a text from my sister-in-law about our July 1^st get-together. Yay! It’s on! We’re both thrilled.

There was quite a conversation going on between the bird
on the chair and the one in the birdhouse
See his beak?

When the garden was hoed and looking good again, I came down to see what else I could work at. Deadheading my geraniums didn’t take too long and then I took a walk down North Line to the east. Our neighbours who moved out on Sunday have a few things out at the road so I thought I’d see if they had added anything since Bill and I were there.

Can you see him now?

We have no interest in a 4-drawer file cabinet and small tube tv but the lounge chair cushion appealed to me. There were no holes or stains and is covered in an outdoor material so I hauled it home. I only have one lounge chair and a light cushion for it but this would be good for the King chair. 😊 Yes, I’m a scrounger but I come by it honestly. My Mom and Dad took us to auction sales, garage sales and would not hesitate to pick something up along the side of the road, if they wanted or needed it. 

Bill called on his lunch hour and we discussed our ‘joy’ at having family come on Canada Day again. We talked about menu, which we fully provide. We just need good weather now for that day.

It was past lunchtime for me so I thought I should take care of that. I don’t want to gross anyone out but my lunch plate today consisted of black olives, Triscuits with chive and onion cream cheese spread, cheddar cheese and sardines. Oh my, they are so good! I haven’t had them in a very, very long time. My sisters were talking about them on Thursday so I picked some up at Costco. No skins, no bones, just yummy sardines in oil. 😊

Lunch

I cleaned up dishes and then boiled 8 eggs in Madame IP. Bill asked if I could make some egg salad for his lunch sandwiches. Easy request. Inside, I didn’t have much going on so turned NCIS on and waited for Bill. He was home shortly after 5 and we sat and caught up on our day. 

Nice chair cushion, eh?

I mixed up the last of my strawberry mix today
Not Canadian Club but a classic all the same!

Black clouds moved overhead, over and around us and then the sun made an appearance. Strange weather continues and Bill said that we  may get more rain tonight for a clear day tomorrow. At 6, I started supper.

Madame IP sautéed a thick pork chop for Bill and a couple of chicken thighs for me. I added 4 little potatoes for the 9 minutes of cooking and prepped vegetables for the microwave. A good hearty meal tonight. We were eating before 7 and everything tasted delicious, done perfectly. I need to stop saying it but I love my Instant Pot! 

Supper was delicious

We cleaned up dishes and then I brought out the homemade ice cream. It was exactly the texture of ice cream and tasted wonderful! Wow! Bill didn’t want any tonight but I scooped some for myself and added some of my choke cherry syrup. Thank you, Nancy for the recipe. 

Yummy, homemade ice cream
whipping cream + sweetened condensed milk

The rest of the evening was me working on my post, Bill making his lunch and watching some tv together. It was a good day with a few accomplishments taken care of.

This was the sky after supper - a tease?
Good night y'all

Thank you for your visit. Your comments are welcome!

Friends Leave, Outdoor Work, Unconditional Love Brings Grown People to their Knees

The Ridge

On Wednesday, June 26^th we woke up to another beautiful day. Bill was up ahead of me and I made an appearance downstairs around 7. With glorious sunshine outside and mid 60’s, I went for my walk. I almost could have gone sleeveless but I wore my hoody and safety vest. Both came off on the way back, once I reached North Line.

I remember it being a wonderful walk
 but it seems so long ago now

Today, our friends, Kim and Ken left for home around 11. I could elaborate but even though it was sad to see them go, the day took a down turn. 

Come back again you two!

I busied myself in the garden, weeding and planting perennials that Gayle gave me. Bill busied himself down in the Hangar, painting trim pieces in Ocean Spray. He never got in my way nor did I get in his. I planted Lumium on the hill in the hopes that this time, I did it better and the ground cover would take root.

Around 2,  I was done for the day and came inside for my shower. Bill soon finished his painting and washed up before settling down for his snooze. Clemson joined him. The afternoon seemed to zip by and I did some outside reading and walked to the mailbox. A parcel arrived from my girlfriend, Brenda G., so I was happy about that. Also, the flyers came. Inside a bit later, it was my turn to curl up on the bed with Clemson although he soon hopped down to get his supper.

The green patches down in the brown is what I planted today

It was around 4:45, after he’d eaten, when he tried to jump up on the couch. Something he has done hundreds of times. He fell backwards with his shaky legs and topsy-turvy balance. It hurt him and he couldn’t put his back leg down. We had to take him to the vet here in town, TG they were still open. After looking at X-rays we learned that he had broken his little leg in 2 places. What good spirits he was in. There was no fixing it and at his age, Bill and I had already discussed the end result.

Bill held his broken leg in his right hand

If you’ve done this, you know. Clemson went to sleep in our arms for the last time, looking into our eyes. We couldn’t have loved this little sweetheart more than we did and the unconditional love that he gave us was to the moon and back. 

At this point, we knew and that face breaks my heart

How such a small furry little guy can bring grown adults to their knees – well, now I know how. We will miss him terribly – already do. We can’t focus. Supper, which we had to fix and eat at 7:30, tasted bland although I’m sure it was good.

Us with Clemson and his 2nd parents

I won’t go on. Thank you to our friends, Rob and Pat, for their love and help with Clemson over the last couple of years. If we couldn’t be here for him, they were. They are very saddened too. 

I said to Bill “I was so happy yesterday, this morning”.  I don’t want this to take away from the wonderful time we’ve had with our guests and tomorrow, I will post more pictures. Today, I think you’ll understand.

Clemson experienced the first Christmas in Arizona with us
and many more things

Today, we both had a snooze with our little bum. I'm happy about that. Rest in Peace Clemson. From day one, when we brought you home, we told you that you were the best puppy in the whole wide world. I hope in Doggy Heaven that you know how much you are missed already. We love you so much!

One of my favourite pictures
When he had vestibular (vertigo) last summer
It's not such a good night here, but we wish you all the best
from The Ridge

Thank you for stopping in today.

Nice Spring Day, Early Cleaning, Keys!, Garden Transfer

The Ridge

We were up before 6 on Sunday, May 26^th and boy it was nice to see the sun coming up! Bill made his coffee but I declined my tea. I headed into Durham for and early start today at the Laundromat. Using my override key, I entered at 6:30 and set to work. It looked pretty good this morning and the garbage and recycling cleaned up so I knew Jamie was in last night.

A nice sky as I was leaving for work

While I was damp mopping the floors he showed up on his way to Elmira for rugby with their daughter. It was nice to see him briefly and we touched base. Cheryl, his wife, was in the car so I grabbed at the opportunity to meet her when it was offered. Cheryl has MS and uses a wheelchair so challenging for her to get out and about. After they left, I finished the Mat and with 20 minutes left on my 90 minutes, I washed the front windows inside and out. Sparkling now!

Why are you guys out on the road at 6:30 in the morning?

When I left, I messed up and locked my keys in what I call the Lock Up. It is where all of the cleaning supplies are. Jamie warned me ‘don’t leave your keys in there when you close the door because it is an automatic dead bolt’. Well, I’ve been so careful but got distracted today and walked out without them. Good grief! Good thing I was finished and everything was put away. I got outside and texted Jamie. He’ll chuckle over that for sure. He can get them out for me and I’ll get them before Tuesday.

Bill captured pictures of the Geese party today while I was away

Back home, the day was more overcast but warm at 55F/13C, it didn’t drop below that all night long. We put our Blue Flame heater away on Friday in the hopes that we won’t need to use it anymore until the fall. Other than cooking, we haven’t used our propane too much over the last month. There are still a couple of cool nights coming in the next week so we’ll keep our carbon infrared heater out for a little while longer.

Bill had to drive into town, in between the rain yesterday, to get a propane tank filled. It seemed like the sensor wasn’t reading properly as we didn’t think it was empty. Now they are both topped up and we should be good for a while. I made my tea and sat reading posts for a while before making some breakfast around 9:30. After we’d cleaned up dishes, Bill was back in the Hangar and I went out, garbed in light coloured clothing and my bug hat.

Bill met the family down the lane

After killing the grass on the corral hill, we talked about ground cover so I began digging up phlox and periwinkle from my flower garden. It grows quickly and so this will be a start on the hill. I loaded my wagon up twice and then with my little hand rake, disturbed the earth enough to push the roots in. There are so many roots in periwinkle that mostly it was just pushed down. If it doesn’t rain tomorrow (hahahahaha) I will water the plants from our rain barrel.

Not sure if you can see my additions of green and purple on the brown earth

This was enough work for the day and I called it quits and just sat outside for a while. Eventually, I moved inside and sat with Clemson. My goal was to finish my book but when Bill joined me, we soon were dozing in our chairs. When he got up to go back out to the Hangar, I turned the last page of War Hawk. It was a great story and because of the tense parts of it, two thumbnails are shorter. LOL

Gerry's new scooter

At 12:30 we all loaded into Black Beauty and drove over to the Acreage. Donna and Gerry had arrived and they were having trouble with their water heater ignitor. Bill is happy to lend a hand if he can and we needed to fill our water bladder as well. Two birds with one stone. He helped them get it running, something that should not have been an issue had the dealer set it up right. Gerry showed us his new toy for carrying wood from the back of their property to the front for fires. Pretty cool!

Bill tries it out
Clemson checks for traffic

I had a pooch sleeping beside me in the chair so I remained where I was and moved on to the next thing. I got about 5 rows done on my blanket before moving around 5 ish. I fed Clemson and Bill came up to light the Weber for supper. Just bacon cheeseburgers tonight but enough. We had just finished eating when Rob called and asked if we were up for company. He wanted to see Bill’s progress on the Hangar.

Clemson making himself at home at Donna and  Gerry's trailer

We cleaned up dishes and soon after, Rob and Pat drove in. We had a nice visit, starting outside for a few minutes before retreating indoors. We haven’t seen them for a little while and it was nice to catch up on what each of us has been doing over the last few days. It was shortly after 7:30 when they said goodbye and headed home. Bill and I closed things up and came in. I had a blog post to finish and so Bill turned the Memorial Day Celebration on television. Something different.

Bill's pictures of wind devices

This was a good day. More things accomplished. Tomorrow morning, we will drive to Chatsworth to get some more periwinkle from Gayle and John’s huge bounty. I hope you’ve had a good sunny day.

Good night from our Home on the Ridge

Thank you for stopping in today to see what we’ve been up to!

Around Home Turf, Closet and Garden Digging

When I woke up at 5 am on the holiday Monday, Oct. 9^th I wasn’t really surprised. I was in bed at 9 last night, remember? But being awake and giving in to it by getting up was insane! I rolled over and dozed off and on for another hour. At 6 I knew there was no going to sleep again but I was quite content to lay and run things through my head. I got up at 7.

The day started out cloudy but a mild 14C was encouraging once more. With the boys still sleeping, I checked our battery power and decided to wait until Bill got up before making my tea. Instead I sat at my laptop and finished my blog post for Sunday. It wasn’t long my sweeties got up and we made our hot morning drinks.

And the pond is so pretty this morning

After reading our friend’s posts we both did our separate things. I left for a walk and Bill got ready to drive the truck over to the Acreage to meet up with and help Donna and Gerry winterize their trailers. On my walk today, I wandered down past the entrance to the wind turbine and noticed a service truck open the gate and drive in. Well, the driver opened the gate.

My geraniums are taking hold

When I turned back he drove out but left the gate open so it meant he would be back. This was good for Bill and I since we have been listening to the turbine whining for quite some time. It isn’t a bother but we knew one day they would have to repair it. I returned and Bill had left. It was shortly after 9.

Looking back towards home

I moved inside and made myself another tea and cleaned out the laundry cupboard in the hall closet. There were a few things in there that didn’t need to be so I removed them to store in the bunky. Then I sorted through our closet in the bedroom. This is where I keep a couple of white storage containers with sewing materials and small bottles of artistic paint and brushes.

When a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?

I'll take the colour where I can get it

Removing what we didn’t need here freed up a lot of space. I kept a few bottles of paint and brushes in case I felt the ‘urge’ to paint during the winter months. Now, the floor of the closet for the most part is clear. I have a feeling we will find something else that can go in there. Stay tuned!

Out of the closet, into the bunky

In my cleanse, I found a couple of things that needed stitching so brought them to the table with my small sewing kit that will remain in the Suite. Then I took my hat, garden shoes and gloves out to the vegetable garden. With the spade I dug up the swiss chard and dug around the tomatoes and peppers. I couldn’t believe how close the rocks were to the surface of the earth. After all that I dug out in the spring to create the garden I was shocked at how many more I found 6” down.

The closet floor is bare
Now we can vacuum in here!

At least now the garden is ready for next spring’s plantings. I finished up by raking the newly turned soil. It was quite a warm day so it felt good to get this job out of the way. Clemson was outside with me, sitting on his stool the whole time I worked in the garden up on the hill.

Tomorrow's project, under the bed

Every once in a while, I would hear voices and clanging sounds from the direction of the turbine and realized that the guys were up there working. I ran inside and grabbed my camera with a zoom lens. I could see them up there moving around at heights that would freak me out. I cleaned up by dumping the swiss chard leaves into the composter before putting the wheelbarrow and shovel away.

Part of the garden ready for spring

Now, time to wash up and sit in the sun with my book. I’m quite caught up in this story, David Baldacci has done it again. I relaxed for about an hour before realizing that I was feeling peckish. Inside I cut some cheese and had a small piece of pumpkin cheesecake leftover from yesterday. The cheese filled me enough since it was already 1 pm and we’d be eating by 6.

Clemson enjoys the sun while he thinks about wandering away

I texted Bill to make sure everything at The Acreage was okay. I hadn’t heard for 4 hours. He replied ‘yes’ so knowing that I weeded around the bunky where I have irises planted. With just a couple more things to tidy up over the next day or two, my yard work will be done. I can’t believe we will be pulling out of here in two weeks.

this is the noisy turbine

When Bill returned at 2 he needed to grab a quick bite as well and a snooze. I delved into my book some more. Donna and Gerry popped in around 4:30 after they finished a lot of their ‘winter prepping’ at their other property. We sat and caught up a bit before saying goodbye. It has been a really good weekend, the weather was on our side.

Notice the worker up there?

For supper, Bill barbecued a couple of garlic sausage and we had a garden salad on the side. It was filling with our glasses of milk.

After dishes, I worked on my post and Bill put Murdoch Mysteries on. The Voice was on after that so I didn’t get any more reading in today. I hope your day has been a good one.

Our red maple is the prettiest tree in our area
Recognize it, George?

Thank you for reading. All comments are welcome