Saying Goodbye, Quilling Class, Quiet Afternoon

Park Place RV Park

On Wednesday, Jan. 29^th the day changed its course from the get-go. Not the best news that Nancy began feeling some cold symptoms yesterday afternoon, but it was sad that this morning she felt and sounded worse.

Good morning!

So, we were up in this household before 7 and I was ready for my walk at 7:15. Nancy skipped walking with me, and decided the best action was to pull up stakes and head for home a few days early. ☹ It is no fun travelling when you aren’t feeling up to par. You need your ‘Spidey-senses’ at all times on the roads. So, it was a quiet walk, no one to talk to again, but I did have my tunes to listen to.

The sky was beautiful this morning

When I returned, Bill and Duncan were about ready to go to the flying field, so I made my tea and skipped cereal. It was Coffee & Snack hour at 9, and Gibbs needed his walk. We took his usual route and we were back home with 10 minutes to spare. 😊 I walked over with my coffee mug and we were all surprised (& a bit disappointed) that Sue wasn’t in attendance, nor were her usual tasty snacks.

I conversed with the small group and at 9:30 walked back to the Suite to grab a snack bar of my own. Sue felt bad, she forgot what day it was. No criticism as we’ve all done that before! Jess and Jessie picked me up a few minutes later for our quilling class. Jessie works the shop for the owner when she isn’t around so he drove.

There they go.
If you look real close,
that little white dot in the passenger window
is Cooper, the navigator. 💗

Today, there were 8 of us w/o Nancy, so a pretty full class. We made a shadow box, this time a desert scene. 😊 We had a lot of fun and the newcomers (4) enjoyed learning a new craft. We were rushed a bit near the end but all managed to finish our projects before the next class at 12:30. I like the little box that I made a lot; my She-Shed back home will be adorned well!

The Saguaros were a little skinny,
but we had fun and are proud of our creations again.

When we got back home, Nancy was within minutes of her departure so I quickly walked over for a goodbye hug (which she almost didn’t want to give because of her cold) and to say bye to Cooper and Jonathon. “whatdoin’ Jonathon?” he was such a little chatterbox this time. ♥ She was gone before 1 pm.

Bill and I had lunch and he went to get propane while I worked away at my blog. It took a long time with all my pictures but I got it finished by 2:30. While Bill and Gibbs dozed, I went to the puzzle for an hour and a half to see what progress I could make. It went quite well, working in a couple of areas. I miss my puzzle partner though!

I managed to find a few more pieces today.

We had Happy Hour with Patty and Duncan until just after 5:30 and parted for supper. Bill grilled himself a bacon cheeseburger and 2 wieners for me. When I realized I only had 1 hotdog bun left, I put both wieners in it with melted cheese. Yummy, it was loaded and delicious! We’re making a grocery list and tomorrow after he flies, we’ll head out for a restock of some items.

There was a bit of confusion at the empty site,
but Gibbs claimed Cooper's palm tree in earnest!
That settles that!

This has been a nice day. Mostly sunny throughout the day reaching a pleasant 64F/17C at the hottest point of the day. Gibbs and I got out for another walk before supper so he is a happy camper. He did hesitate at Nancy’s site though, before moving on. No van door to sit at today! ☹

Yum, a double dog. Delicious!
Good night!

Thank you for the visit!

Friends Leave, A Nice Change, Hot!

Park Place RV Park

On Saturday, Nov. 23^rd we had a whole different day than usual. We were up at our normal time but I didn’t head out for my walk. Today, at the Town Park on the corner of N. Plymouth and Quail Trail is a one day event. It is like a community fair, without the rides and with the addition of 3 bands for musical entertainment. There were about 5 food vendors (from candy to burgers and corn dogs), a beer vendor and approximately 20 tents for various vendors and groups around town.

Good Morning!
This is today's entertainment

We packed a drink cooler for Bill to take, since he and his flying club had a tent set up for a static display from 10 to 5 pm. It was a chilly 41F/5C at 7 and I decided to ride to the park with Bill, the cooler, his plane, and my chair. I wanted to see where their tent would be for when I returned later. 😊 When we arrived that early, the boys had already set up the tables and canopy tent so I helped Bill unload the things and then walked home.

I waved goodbye as they pulled out of the park.

I had my cereal and tea and hung with Gibbs until we went for his walk. I’ve started a new Michael Connelly book called The Black Ice and it is one with Harry Bosch as the character. You know that means a page turner so I took it out to the gazebo to read a few beginning chapters. It was around 10:30 when Elva popped down to say goodbye to Gibbs and I and they pulled out before 11 like good rv'ers. ♥

I rode up with Bill and got these early
morning shots. The arrow shows where their
tent canopy is across the field.

At 11, I changed into a sleeveless tank top and capris and carrying a light short sleeve cover-up and my visor, I walked back to the park. I knew exactly where I was going! 😊 It sure looked a lot different than it did at 7:30! 

When I walked back after 11, our friend
Jesse was ahead of me. He is training for
a marathon, in January, I think.

The place was full! I wanted to spend as much of the day as possible with Bill and I wanted to hear the Eagles Tribute Band before I walked home. We had lunch together; typical ‘fair-type’ food, his burger was thin and overcooked and although my hot dog was good, the bun fell apart immediately. Shrug, oh well. The prices were quite good.

A lot had happened since 7:30.

I liked the way the small atv's,
Jeeps etc. were parked.

This is the first entertainer.
When I entered the park, he called out for line dancers!
Good timing........no, I didn't go up front but
I did do a few dance steps once I got close to Bill's canopy. 

We spent the next 5 hours people watching and chatting with other club members and their wives. It was nice to see Kobus and CarolAnn again, they were in our park for part of last winter and looked after Gibbs one day for us. You might remember that. Now they stay on Jim’s property for the winter. The entertainment was good and I enjoyed walking around the vendors to pick up ‘freebies’. It reminded me of the Big Tent!

A cool sculpture, should have got the artist's name.

When the Eagles band finally started at 3ish, I listened to a few songs and at 3:45, decided to head home to our little boy. I knew he’d be good for 5 or 6 hours, if not more, but didn’t want to leave him that long. It only took me 15 minutes to walk home, leaving the bulky stuff for Bill to bring home in B.B. Gibbs was happy to see me and we went for his walk around the park. I sat a lot this afternoon, nothing different than what I’d do anyway, but I felt tired from the heat of the sun.

They all love talking about their hobby.
Bottom left is Jim and Ethel. The field is named after him.
He still flies and is in his early 90's. Such a nice man!

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the feel of it on my back, every minute! ♥ We reached 77F/25C but with hardly any breeze, it felt hotter than that. Our warm nights start tonight, only dropping to 52F/11C so that is great. For how ever long it lasts, we’re happy. Nancy, you will be so proud of me! I came home with 2 big bags of caramel (kettle) corn! Bill said one bag wasn’t enough. It was expensive but it’s once a year, right? 😊

It was packed!!

I started my blog and then sat with Gibbs until Bill got home. They had to dismantle planes, tables and the canopy before they left. It was a great day; they had a lot of interest in their hobby and I enjoyed being with them all too. Including my own pilot. ♥ For some reason, neither of us were keen on a meal at supper time so we snacked with crackers, chips and cheese. Even Gibbs got in on the action and cleaned up his supper.

My walk home was short and sweet.
It was warm though so I'm glad I carried my water.

This was a fun day. Not sure what the evening will bring in the way of tv. I have a few suggestions from my readers so may try one!

Some things are hard to resist.
Tsk tsk.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by!

Goodbye, Aunt Fern, Reunions

The Ridge

On Wednesday, May 10^th I was up at 6:15 and downstairs to say goodbye to Bill before he left at 6:30. I followed soon after and arrived at the Mat at 6:45. It wasn’t too bad at all and I found extra things to do to fill in the hour before leaving at 7:45. Once back home, I hopped in the shower and readied myself for a funeral. My Aunt Fern is being laid to rest today.

a lovely morning to start the day

It's a lovely day for a funeral, all emotions set aside, with a high of 21C/69F. I picked Donna up and then we drove to The Village senior apartments to pick up our last remaining uncle. Yes, Uncle Jerry is the ‘last of the Whitbourns’ and at 90, he is pretty darn amazing. I believe they all lived to a ripe age, over 85. It was a touching service, mostly Darcy’s family reflection of life with their mom. ♥

I'm glad the florist sent this
picture, the flowers were not at the church
(at least I didn't see them)

It was 2:45 when I returned home to our little house-sitter. 😊 He was happy to see me, after 5 ½ hours so I changed and we went outside together for a little while. I felt exhausted for some reason so inside we sat and dozed in my chair. I was quite surprised when Bill drove up the lane an hour later. He had Black Beauty today so I could have Ptooties and he was creeping up really slowly. Gibbs heard him before I did.

The lunch put on by the church ladies
was, as always, wonderful

I made my tea and when Bill went to the Hangar, I took my book outside and while Gibbs played, ran up and down between us and rolled in the grass, I finished it. Jodi Piccoult’s The Book of Two Ways is definitely a different read but between the paragraphs of Egyptology history, it is a really good story. For supper, I barbecued wieners and inside made the simple mac and cheese. It was filling and we each had a small yummy square from the funeral lunch. 😊

Oh, that grass feels so good!

Our night was filled with watching recorded programs and relaxing. Bill doesn’t have to work tomorrow and my day is up in the air right now. Seeing our cousins today is like a reunion, regardless of the situation, but isn't that usually the way things go? It was still nice to see them. This has been a sad but good day for the family to say goodbye.

Tonight's slap happy meal 
Good night!

Thank you for stopping in.

Only One Job Today, Guests Leave, Cleanup

The Ridge

On Monday, July 25^th Bill was up getting ready for work at 6. I was happy to be able to roll over for a little while longer. Gibbs returned and cuddled up on Bill’s side of the bed, keeping a bit of an eye on his goings-on. He and I got up before 7 and I left the Suite soon after for town.

Baptist Church Road
Lush and green

The 'little' imps were at it again
at the Mat

Bill thought he’d be working in Durham today but he texted me at 7:30 and he was going to Hanover instead. I picked up some milk at Foodland and drove back to the Ridge. Duncan and Patty were getting ready to leave and so I made my tea and Gibbs sat out and watched. 😊 They didn’t mind. 

Gibbs is so funny
The treat Bill gave him wasn't eaten
by the time I'd returned
He tried to hide it under this stair mat
(ignore the dust, pls)

The weather was certainly a change from what we’ve been having and, in a way, it was a welcome change. I wouldn’t want it to be like this from now on, but a nice relief all the same.

Sitting outside watching and chatting
with D & P

All set to leave

Bye guys! See you soon!

They pulled out after hugs all around at 9:30, right on schedule. I’m happy to see they’re enjoying their Airstream and new truck. I love to see Happy Campers! ♥ We’ll see them again very soon. Yay! With my one job done for the day, the remainder of my Monday was free and clear to do what I want. First off, I played my Wordle games, made my tea and cut myself an apple with yogourt for breakfast.

I made some progress
and emptied some hangers

Upstairs, Gibbs laid on the bed and watched me purge my closet and drawers of clothes. I’ve been feeling that I have way too many long sleeve tees now, they were bought the year we were winter-stayed here, and pants/jeans. I was pleased with what I removed and bagged up but now that I think of it, I forgot one drawer of summer tops. Woops! I’ll do that tomorrow afternoon. 😊

My supper for lunch

I made a coffee at 11:30 and decided to reheat my liver and onions meal from Friday night. It was very good and hit the spot. I debated sitting at my laptop to start writing my Blurb book but wasn’t in the frame of mind and the day was a perfect one, albeit cloudy, to be outside doing some work. There were tree branches that needed trimming over the outhouse, (they scratch the roof and also block the sun from the solar panel), as well as some with dead branches.

The cornflowers are popping

Pop!

I didn’t realize it would be such a big job but it felt great to get at it and I soon had my jacket off. The clouds cleared away for the most part and the sun was nice. I gathered the branches and vine (which takes over the trees every summer) into a couple of piles until I was done. Bill texted that he’d be taking Mike’s trailer to the Acreage for him so I didn’t expect him too soon.

Even the flowers are confused with this weather
They are starting to bloom all over again!

I thought my Evening Primrose were done
but this little fellow is blooming

He was home around 4:30 and we cleaned up the piles together and tossed them into the brush pile. It’s a good thing it slowly sinks down and basically ‘mulches’ itself to make room for more. Gibbs and I had taken a walk a couple of times today, couldn’t neglect our good little boy! Duncan and Patty are impressed that he doesn’t make a sound when we’re gone but he sure knows when our vehicles turn into the lane! ♥

The solar light for our Bunky has not been getting
enough sun to charge the battery
Time to trim!

What I thought might be a small job,
turned into 3 hours of clipping

At 5, I made my afternoon tea, done work for the day and Bill and Gibbs had a snooze together in his chair. Supper wasn’t on the healthy side of the menu but it was a fall-back option for us. We had chicken nuggets/balls and vegetables on the side. Oh! I forgot that before I worked outside, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and they turned out awesome! Bill and I both had one to taste. Thumbs up! 😊

Both of my boys were kapooped today

A tasty supper

We spent the evening together, all 3 of us, and have the first day of the week behind us already. Can you believe that this is the last week in July? The days are zipping by. Bill informed me today that in 89 days, we’ll be headed south!

There is a bush that grows here and I needed to cut it back
Right back

My hostas bloomed on the weekend,
without my even noticing

The trees that had dead branches from last
spring's cold snap, got a grooming.
Good night!

Thank you for the visit. You can come back anytime too!

Sad to Say Goodbye, Fridge Repair?

The Ridge

Monday, May 2^nd began another ‘work week’ but not for us. We kind of only work when we want to. 😊 We were up by 7:30 and each had our showers before starting the day. Two things happening today: Mr. Appliance was coming, first appointment of their day, to install the new mother board in our fridge and our friends were moving on to their next destination.

See you guys!

See you Eddie Bauer! 😍

Being full time rv’ers, like us, they move around for the summer to various locations, unlike us. They are also members of Harvest Host so have new adventures wherever they go. David and Juliette from Mr. Appliance arrived by 8:30 and left by 9. Duncan and Patty dumped their tanks and pulled out before 10.

So, I thought I'd try and grow an avocado tree

It is always sad, in a way, to see our friends leave but we are happy to hear that they may possibly be back at the end of the month. 😊 As for the fridge, after our company left, I came inside to start on our grocery list. We need to start over in the fresh food and meat department. However, the fridge had to cool down before we could move anything from the bar fridges and cooler into it.

Lunch was tasty

After a couple of hours, it wasn’t cooling down, although at first the freezer seemed to be cold. I made us poached eggs on toast for lunch and we checked it again only to discover that the temperature was rising instead of dropping. LOL so Bill placed a call to their office and they will be back at the end of their day.  So, here we are again, waiting. Blech!

Gibbs and I spent time in the Bunky - again
while they worked on the fridge - again

It could only have been better by being warmer
and by having the tv hooked up

It started out as a drizzly morning but that has stopped and now it is just dull. With a forecast of 10C/50F to 13C/54F over the next few days, we aren’t expecting miracles but with the low wind today, it feels relatively mild out there. I was going to bake a cheesecake/pie today but that was when I thought our fridge would be ready to use. In this case, I’ll wait.

As I said yesterday, my rash is definitely gone. I wish the cold had followed it but it is still hanging on. It’s better, bit by bit, but now Bill’s is at its peak. ☹ He put a small heater on in the Hangar and went down to putter around. I never know what he’s doing but he has a tv and his planes so he isn’t bored, that’s for sure! Gibbs and I stayed up here and just hung together. I turned my vet shows on around 4 so that entertained us.

He so wants to go outside

David and Juliette arrived around 6:15 and because Gibbs wasn’t settling down with them in here, he and I went out to the Bunky to listen to the radio but mostly to keep him out of the way. It isn’t warm out there so I covered up in the blanket and for a while Gibbs would sit with me on the futon but mostly, he lay at the door pining for the action inside the Suite.

Bill came out to tell me that they determined that not only the mother board was blown but also the fan motor, which explained why the fridge wasn’t cooling down. Unfortunately, the one they had in their van was not suitable so a new one has to be ordered. Good grief! I had a feeling it wouldn’t be fixed today so here we go again and yes, more expense at the end of it all.

This is where the fan motor is
so our fridge looks even barer now

Bottom line, we’re still using the bar fridges and cooler but tomorrow I still need to pick up a few groceries. We’re running out of food! When they left, around 7, I reheated some of the cooked ground beef and cooked a box of mac and cheese. Blended together they made our supper and it tasted quite good! I thought I had some veggies in the cupboard to add, but I didn’t.

Supper was tasty too

We loaded the dishwasher and sat and watched American Idol. Gibbs seems out of sorts tonight and has gone up to bed already. It’s only 8 o’clock. He did eat his supper at 6 though so that is good. ♥ This was a good day but things didn’t quite work out as planned. Stay tuned!

Flowers looked a little more advanced last year on this date
I'll check tomorrow in this box

Good night!

Thank you for your visit!