Showing posts with label Loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Loss. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

The Days Improve on our Last Day, Dinner Out, More Sad News

The Ridge

On Tuesday, Oct. 17th we didn’t have a lot of things on our list to do so it was a slow moving day. Gibbs slept in until 6:30 which was nice for Bill, as he had a late night watching movies. 😊 No sympathy from me! I was in bed just after 10 and dropped off almost immediately. I slept well too.

I was expecting a gorgeous sunrise
so slipped outside shortly after 7:30

Looking across the Ridge top

I love how the colours extend over to the
neighbours home and beyond.

As soon as she rose, she got lost in the band
of clouds across the horizon.

Today, I took a run into town with M, the last one. He stocked up and we sat down and figured out my hours and what he still owes me. I also jotted down a few things that he uses for his business so I can check out the prices in Arizona. I might be able to save him some money. I was back home just before 11 and the rest of the day was spent crossing ‘home’ things off the list.

I was disappointed with the sunrise part but
the rays brightened up the Ridge considerably
for a few minutes at least.

Bill had done me a big favour and vacuumed throughout the Suite while I was gone. I appreciated that. He said he didn’t feel the energy to go straighten things in the Hangar. He’s all packed with his hobby stuff so if he doesn’t go down in the morning, it will wait until spring. 😊 We had lunch, Bill had a sandwich and I made up a quesadilla with bacon, peppers, onions, cheese, mushrooms and the last of my green tomatoes. It was goo-oo-ood!

My lunch. Yum.

The weather today was pretty nice. We were walking around outside without jackets and the sun was making a variety of appearances. I actually turned the Blue Flame heater and fireplace off mid-day. We reached a pleasant 13C/56F today with hardly any wind at all. It’s dropping to 4C/39F again tonight so we’ll need to button up.

Madame IP made the chili for me

After lunch, I made up a double batch of chili for the journey as well as trying some Ridge apple muffins. I’ve not made them before but they look good. They’ll be nice for on the road as well. Donna and Gerry had invited us out for supper in Hanover tonight, as a thank you for helping them with the stuff at the Acreage. Well, I didn’t deserve the meal as I didn’t do anything, Bill did it all. Anyway, it was a lovely thought and we accepted gracefully. 😊

We took our time going down a different
road to slow down our arrival time. 
The leaves are dropping rapidly now
but the colour is still brilliant in some areas.

On the way to meet them, we dropped some rolled coin at the RBC into our account, filled a jerry can with diesel (again for our journey), and gave Black Beauty a quick wash at the Pioneer station. With time to spare, we split up and Bill wandered through Canadian Tire and I moseyed through Dollarama and Giant Tiger.

They painted the white building a bright
red and the inside decor has improved
considerably.

Our meal at Tommy D’s wasn’t the best, for none of us, and that is unfortunate. Especially when D & G wanted to give us a nice meal. The potato bacon soup was the best part but that doesn’t include the company. We had a nice time together regardless of the disappointing food. We think the new owners might also have a new chef; we’ve never had a bad meal there before. Donna gave them a review and I will too. 

I want to say it tasted better than it looks,
but I can't. Unfortunately, we won't
be rushing back to Tommy D's
next year.

We returned home by 7 to Gibbs and he gobbled us his supper like there was no tomorrow! Good job, little bum! We received some sad news when we got home. Our winter landlord, Wes, has lost his battle for life. He came out of the coma about 2 weeks ago after months (2, 3?) but passed away yesterday. So sad, his 71st birthday would be in November. ☹ Rest in Peace, Wesley. 


My first apple muffins, hope Bill likes them!

The boys went upstairs to watch some tv while I worked on the blog and then sat with my book for a while. Not sure if I’ll watch tv or not – yet. This was a good ‘last’ full day up here on the Ridge. It doesn’t seem real that after talking about it for months, we are pulling up stakes tomorrow. 😊

we have 4 containers of chili in the fridge now
Good night!

Thank you for popping in to say ‘hey’.

Monday, August 7, 2017

The Morning After, Brunch, Special Birthday, More Wedding Memories and a Community Loss

Sunday, Aug. 6th first off we want to say a big Happy 89th Birthday, Dad! We can only hope to reach this wonderful age and that our health remains good too. The sun was peeking in around the edges of the blinds when I got up at 7:30. I woke at 7 but just wanted to lay there and stretch before putting these creaky ankles on the floor.
We woke up to an awesome day!


I hadn’t indulged so much last night that I needed to worry but I usually drink a glass of water before bed just in case. Nothing worse, in my opinion, than waking up with a self-induced headache. It only causes regret regret and more regret. This morning we are invited to brunch at Rob and Pat’s with a few friends, family and I’m sure the wedding party.
I wouldn't walk any further for fear of getting lost

An old truck at Elvis' place down the road
 It was such a lovely morning that I walked down the lane, North Line and down Baptist Church Road to the ramshackle home of our resident ‘Elvis. He is getting quite a collection of classic vehicles over there. So, I snapped a couple of photos, turned around, wandered into the corn field and then headed home.


Rob and Pat have a beautiful back yard

At 10:00 we drove into Durham to help set up the morning lunch. It was almost another full course meal with bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage, chicken, hash browns, roast beef, fruit, toasted buns – need I go on? Tons of food topped off with coffee, orange and tomato juices and chocolate milk for the great nieces.

Rob sets up the front porch for guests
Pat with her beautiful greetable smile

George did the cooking


Bill lights the burners to keep the food hot

This is where my hostas came from


Everybody pitching in - Grandson Mark cracks eggs


Pat's ornament reminds me of Los Algodones

Mr. & Mrs. Carlisle
(looking great the morning after)
There is no good time to receive devastating news so Pat pulled me to the side and told me as gently as she could that one of my favourite people in the community of Durham was killed the previous day in a farm accident. The thrashing machine vs Stan Doherty was shocking news to me.
I will miss you Stan
I’ve only been doing my laundry at the Durham laundromat for a few months and seem to always meet someone new. Stan was a regular though, always on call and always popping in to clean up, sweep, wash floors or fixing a machine. He and his wife have owned the venue for 40 years and from our first meeting, he stole my heart in a ‘fatherly’ kind of way although he couldn’t have been much over 65. I will miss him dearly and send condolences to his family.
A glance back at Rob and Pat's home with their
Cedar Creek rv for guests
There were about 15-20 of us and still plenty of food to go around at brunch. We said our goodbyes around 12:30 and drove to The Acreage to say good day to Donna, Gerry and Mike. The boys were busy recreating the logs on the front of their wood shed. We stayed for just over half hour and moseyed on home to clean up for a birthday celebration near Stratford.



The working boys taking a break



Dad turned 89 today and Carol invited the sibs to dinner in Sebringville. Dad was surprised to see all of us as we settled outside for appetizers and drinks around 3:30. It was a lovely day until the sky darkened and dropped about 10 minutes of rain overall. We had taken the warning and moved inside for the rest of the evening.



Clemson peeks out at the street from the doggy porthole

another beautiful back yard
Brian and Bruce hustled to cover the pool in the rain


Carol had prepared a lovely dinner of roast beef, potatoes, veggies and Red lobster rolls. Yum. A couple of Dad’s great grandchildren dropped in with their family to say Happy Birthday and Ethan and Colton helped him blow out the candles on his cake. It was a nice visit with Bill and his sisters sharing memories of old times with the birthday ‘boy’.
Dad opens his gifts

Gathered for dinner

A little help from his great grandsons

Carrot cake for dessert


We left around 8:45 which meant for a sleepy drive home for me. We had to forgo stopping at the Acreage to join in the bonfire since it would be closer to 10:30 before we arrived and I was geared for bed. These late nights are not my norm and it takes me a while to catch up. I’m not the party girl I used to be.

Lovely sky tonight
We’ve had some amazing days, bang bang bang over the past week and I wouldn’t trade a thing. Things will settle back to normal tomorrow with our rv friends moving out of The Ridge. I’m sharing more wedding photos, some of my favourites that I had to add.
A close knit group of rv'ers
the best of friends

Little Joseph dances with his tractor

The candy bar

A Wind Harp - very  neat!

Heirloom salt and peppers that Sandra and Bill used on the tables

You just can't hold some ladies back
Pat having a great time!

Special moments
Sandra and her Dad

Even Rob gets a bit out of control - ha ha!

Daughter-in-law Karen teases Rob with a butter tart


I hope you have enjoyed the weekend. Thanks for stopping in!