Get ‘Er Done! Perfect Day! (Sorry, long-winded today!)

The Ridge

On Saturday, Aug. 3^rd, I relished in the fact that I didn’t have to leave the property – for anything. 😊 It does seem to have been a busy few days, running here and there for my part time jobs, so I was looking forward to today. Bill was up and readying to go to the field by the time I got up. I’d decided on a shower first, so declined his sweet offer to make my tea. ♥

Good morning!
As I walked to get the mower,
Gibbs just watched.
Apparently with his 'ghosty' friend.
Pretty sky.

He left, Gibbs watched to make sure he got off okay (or was it longing?♥), and I hopped into the shower. Pleased with what the scales said again today, it was with a smile. 😊 There isn’t a lot of change in my clothes, but I have had to tighten my belt a bit more, as I know Bill has. He is dropping weight faster than I am, but he does work harder too and hasn’t really had to change his diet too much at all.

Yup, another one
and 3 more getting ready.

After my shower, I realized that I should have switched the order of what I was doing this morning. Duh! I wanted to cut my grass, the areas that Bill couldn’t get to on the big mower because of chairs, hammock and picnic table. And I did, at 8:30 we were out there moving all those things to make the job easier. It wasn’t hot – yet – and it didn’t take long to get it cut. Looking good again.

Then we rested and enjoyed the view.

While moving the chairs to the patio area, I couldn’t help but notice how green they were getting, especially on the backs and sides. Not the ‘good’ green either. Hmmm. Without a hose and direct hook up to water how much of a chore would this be? I filled 2 pails from the rain barrel, one with the hand pump (after priming it) and the other at the same time, directly from the barrel spout.

Much improved and I made
do without a water hose. 😁
Yes, we are boondocking.

To one, I added a Lysol cleaning solution. The other remained clear for rinsing. Once more, I moved the 6 chairs back to the grass area but I had no shade yet this morning so it was pretty hot. They really needed to be cleaned so I pushed myself to finish them before taking a break. Lastly, I carried each one to the south side of the Suite and used the outside ‘shower’ hose nozzle to rinse them before carting them back to the sun area to dry.

So, the bread, not such a success.
I think it will be good for grilled cheese.

You know by now, I was regretting the earlier shower! I put things away and had a half shower inside. I’d opened all windows this morning, debating about the a/c but there was enough of a breeze that I (and Bill later agreed) didn’t think it was necessary today. Maybe tonight, we’ll regret that. We sat outside in the shade until Bill came home at 12:30 for lunch.

While my boys snoozed,
I made a mess in the Bunky.
Ladybugs for Robin.
Birdies - Nancy's suggestion.

I tried my bread. Hmm, I just can’t seem to get past the taste of the almond flour so I think I’ll give up for now. Yes, I’ll eat as much of this as I can so not to waste the 6 eggs required, but I guess I’ll just stick to the sour dough until we return to Arizona. That, and tortilla wraps. ☹

There is something about a hammock.
I love ours and so does Gibbs.

So, when the boys stretched out in their recliner, I went out to start painting some more rocks, for Robin this time. She’d like some in her Williamsford planters. Bill worked on his plane, the landing gear in the Stinson needed to be fixed before morning. He did have 3 good flights with it today and 3 good landings but the gear is loosening too much to rely on for another one.

He was either with me or down with
Daddy watching for me. ♥
Notice the little alligator in the grass?
When I approached, he rolled over for his tummy rub
and tail wagging. I believe he is smiling!

Gibbs and I hung around outside, in the shade and in the Bunky. He shared his time between Mom and Dad, in the hammock with me and by Bill’s side down at the Hangar. ♥ For supper, we had Bill’s Burgers on the Grill and I had a bun again. I earned it today and this time the lettuce went ‘inside’ the bun. 😊 I finished my book this afternoon so chose a couple more from the Bunky selection. I have so many! (not a bad thing)

This tree has to come down and we'll
get to it, once it cools down a bit.
BEFORE it falls down on the Hangar.

The day was a hot one, 27C/84F, but with the breeze and in the shade, we enjoyed it very much. There are little sweat bees annoying us at times but they don’t bite unless caught in a bad location. Don’t bend your arm unless you’re sure one isn’t in there! Ask me how I know!? It has been a great day, very relaxing.

More hammock cuddles before
it was time to start grilling.

Not sure which one, but one of
these will be opened next.

We are into a long weekend, called the Civic Holiday, celebrated on the first Monday of August. Not all provinces in Canada recognize it but Ontario does. It means no work for Bill or I on that day……..(unless Robin needs me). Regardless of whether you have Monday off or not, I hope you enjoy your weekend.

This restaurant sure knows how to
make a great burger.
Where are you, Nancy?
Good night!

Thank you for the visit!

Temperatures Drop and Winds Rise, Albiet, a Perfect Day!

Park Place RV Park

On Wednesday, Nov. 8^th, my sweetie was up with Gibbs at 6:20. It was Bill who woke Gibbs up this time! 😊 I was up by 7. It got cooler last night, but we left some bedroom windows open anyway. When I went up to watch a movie at 8, (80 for Brady – cute one) I even folded the duvet down to the bottom of the bed. It was 77F /25C up there! Gibbs was all over the bed, off the bed and then on the bed again trying to find the coolest spot to stretch out.

There are different ideas of what creates
these clouds. It doesn't matter to me.
I think this is a beautiful sky.

This morning, I made my tea and Bill packed up his Presidential paperwork and a plane. He made his coffee and we called Marilynne, stepmom/-in-law, to wish her happy birthday. She sounded great! She is 88 today. Bill left for his meeting at Jim’s and then did some work on his plane in the ‘hangar’. Gibbs and I went for our walk around 8:30 and after a scary incident with a big dog (loudest bark I've ever heard!) as we walked by the dog park, Gibbs greeted all his regulars. ♥

Here's my paint'room'.
It was lovely out there today.

Yesterday, we, I mean he, handed out 2 painted rocks. I didn’t get a picture of them but one was for Bo and one was for Buddy. They were discovered at some point and today he received thanks. He’s quite the little painter! 😊 I went to my gazebo to paint the few small rocks I have left and while they were drying, I walked over to work on the puzzle.

This was Adele's choice - finished.
I didn't play too big a part in this but it was a nice
one to work on together. 

Bill was just getting home when I walked back so we had our lunch together. I was very pleased when I had my shower to find that I’d dropped another pound, so I’m doing something right. That put an extra bounce in my step for the day. Back out for some more painting and then when the boys had their snooze inside, I went back to the puzzle. I was only a little surprised when I saw it was finished as I’d left Adele working on it at noon. 😊 Once piece was missing.

After checking with Susan, I started this
one. Woops! I will get a photo of the picture tomorrow.

I started a new one that Susan said they had not done over the summer and got the border and a few pieces done before returning home at 3:45. The air was cooler today but it was gorgeous in the sun. It was the winds that made the 74F/23C feel colder, but mostly in the shade. Some residents in here have their a/c running, which just gives me the chills. Gibbs and I walked our afternoon path and came back to Bill.

Finished these up today.

I sprayed the rocks I’d finished – I have one small one left to paint and then hope to find more somewhere. We’ve been unplugged from power all day so as the sun was considering its evening retreat, I flipped the switch back on. 

Gibbs in position.
I notice now that my shirt, looks like a cape on him.
Well, he is kind of our 'super dog' 💗

Tonights supper was tasty.
The small red potatoes we bought have a few black spots,
so we'll be eating them up quicker than I thought. 

For supper, it’s a full meal. Baked pork chops, potatoes, and a salad. We must eat the bagged Caesar salad up before it goes brown. Not sure what we’ll watch tonight on tv, there are still a lot of movies I want to see.

I missed the actual descent but wow,
look at that ring! It turned out after all!
Good night!

Thank you for stopping on this wonderful day! 😊 (PS - diesel dropped again to $3.93/gallon)

A Working Day, Mixed Bag of Sky, Painting, Trimming, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

We were awake at 5 am, all of us, but I dropped off to sleep when Bill got in the shower. He was going into work today with a couple of orientations, I’m not sure what rv’s but one for sure was a 5^th wheel. Clemson and I were up around 6:45 to greet the day and although warmish at 54F/12C, it was cloudy. I knew they were forecasting some sun and clouds today but no rain to speak of.

The day just got better and better from here on in

I made my tea and noticed that our solar batteries were at 11.9. Maybe the fridge kicked in at the same time, but until I was sure that the sun peeking in the eastern sky was going to stick around, I plugged us in for a bit but within half hour, unplugged again. I read blogs and made comments on our friend’s blogs Clemson simply moved from one sleep spot to another and nestled in his bed on the couch. The prime spot for sunshine IF it stays.

Bill and Ptooties leave bright and early

And the sun popped

I didn’t want to waste anytime this morning when there was work to do so headed outside to start weed trimming around the gardens, buildings, fences and the corral. I received my text saying Bill had arrived safely so I was good to go. First off, I needed to fill my weed eater with gas. Because there are a couple or three small gas cans in the shed, I couldn’t remember which one mine was so I had to call Bill. He fixed me up and I began whacking weeds.

From the point of the corral
You might be able to see where I stopped whacking
We can't easily use any mower on the hill so this is
the easiest hard way to do it

Working away, it was about an hour later when the string ran out. Lordy oh Lordy. Not my lucky day! I found the string but had never re-strung the trimmer so again I contacted Bill. Lucky for me, but not so for him, he hadn’t been able to start work yet. Things were not ready so there was a fair bit of thumb twiddling, so to speak. He said it would be hard to explain on the phone so just leave the rest until later when he was home.

This shows it better
the top and sides of the hill are what I cut
the shorter the better, we're hoping the grass up there gives up growing!

No worries, I had visions of painting dancing in my head. I do not like painting rooms or large pieces of furniture or baseboards and I’m not good at painting pictures. However, whether I’m good or not, I do enjoy painting ‘things’. I had a few garden and bunky displays that need touching up and I went ahead and brought out the paints. I set myself up under the car(go) shelter on the table and gathered the 7 things on the list.

Everything laid out ready to paint

The first was the easiest but the worst because I was using the green, non-washable Tremclad paint for Gecko #2. You’d think I would be fine, but no-o-o. I managed to get it on my hands, my fingers, my forearms (from leaning on the table) and I have yet to look at my face. Egads! I also needed the green paint for Daddy’s sunflower leaves. Eventually, I moved on to the more detailed plaques and Fagan. For these I used small tubes or squeeze bottles of acrylic paint that I’ve collected over the years.

Things all brightened up and drying

A few of these had either frozen over the winter, they were stored in the bunky (hmm, not a great idea) or they’d just plain gone hard and usable. No worries, I have lots and this way I can figure out what is still good. It was the perfect day to do this, not too hot or cold and not too windy. I worked away thinking it was late in the day to find it was only around 1:30. I hadn’t eaten yet so when I finished those, went inside and made myself a tea with a bite to eat.

tomorrow morning I should be able to finish this part
The grass is longest here but with renewed energy, look out!

Now time, to see how clever I can be. I went back at the trimmer and managed to get the string on so I could work at some more weeds. I was feeling rested and it still wasn’t an overly hot day. Pretty much perfect for these little jobs. I tuck my phone in my back pocket so I’ll feel it vibrate in case a text comes in or if my sweetie calls. With the machine running and the protective ear covering, I wouldn’t hear it.

Our rusted butterfly, with some sanding and an improvised coat of paint

I did really good and patted myself on the back by the time I ran out of gas again. I wasn’t discouraged but it was a subtle hint to stop rimming for the day. If it doesn’t rain in the morning, I’ll finish it when I’m fresh as a daisy! I put it in the shed with the gloves, muffs and my hat and checked the painted goods. They were dry so they got placed around the area, in their respective spots. I wanted to try the hammock in a different spot this summer because of over-congestion by the bunky so pulled that over and assembled the ‘bed’.

Not a lot of shade but it seems to fit there nicely

This may or may not work better, but without our patio table, it was an empty space here and shaded somewhat in the later afternoon. Our friend, Gerry H. should be comfy here, he is the only one besides Bill, Clemson and I to use it. Oops! Nope, Chelsea and Olivia used it too! Sorry, girls! It is waiting for you again. I pulled my seat cushion out of the bunky too and it is on the wrought iron bench for ‘two people to curl up on”.

A different flower picture today

One last thing before I stopped and that was to sweep the bunky. It was pretty disgusting and has been a bit of a collection point for things right now. That will be a project after we return from our camping trip. I’m not sure if I’ve told you that we are pulling the Suite out on Sunday and going to our Home park for a little over a week. Should be fun because we have a few friends there and Rob and Pat are going with us in their fiver. Woohoo! We missed camping with those two last winter.

My garden addition, "Ellscott"
I read that if your gnome was a gift, you should honor the generosity with a namesake

At 4:30, I was really done working but feel really good about what I’ve done today. I grabbed a water from the fridge and settled outside with my laptop so I could write this post. Because there are still traces of the little flies, I lit a Citronella pail candle beside me. It seems to have worked. The clouds have moved off and I’m quite warm sitting here. That sun feels so good, maybe our heat is returning! Yay!

citronella candle is keeping the flies away

I fed Clemson at 5 and decided to light another small fire tonight. I thought wieners (over the fire) and mac and cheese sounded good with some Caesar salad. I only had some cheddar, yogourt and walnuts earlier. Around 5:45, I could see that the fire was good and hot. I don’t know whether to cook the wieners over the coals or over the flame, all that childhood knowledge is gone! So, I did a bit of both.

I do know that I need some wire coat hangers to cook them with next time

 By 6:15 everything was ready, not necessarily at the same time. That is difficult to do with only one person but it tasted pretty good! I’m not thinking about carbs tonight and I must say that the Kraft dinner was a treat. The all-beef (well, we know that isn’t entirely true) wieners were Red Hots and had a bit of a bite to them. Not enough for someone I know, he’d be adding suicide sauce. Right, George?

It was a great supper
The 3rd dog is for our dog
I gave him half of a wiener tonight

As I was sitting at the table eating, I noticed that I had company for dinner. And I so totally wasn’t prepared and started eating without her! See for yourself in the following pictures. Obviously, she is heading up the hill still trying to find that soft spot to lay eggs. Before cleaning up dishes, Clemson and I took a walk down to the end of the lane way. I didn’t need the exercise today, already having covered 5 ½ miles with my walking and trimming.

Here she comes, up over the hammock base
up past the bbq table
under the Suite to rest by the tire
at the bottom of the hill
I'll have to check for a little hole in the gravel

Mrs. Yertle had huddled under the Suite when we left. When we returned, she was at the bottom of the clothesline berm and then she disappeared. 

are you coming, Mom?

Clemson appears worn out, moving from his bed to our bed to Dad’s recliner but has yet to pull our Arizona blankets down. I have the Fantastic Fan running to cool the 80F Suite down and it has worked. The batteries are still sitting at 13.1 at 7 pm and the inside has cooled down to 76F. It is still 71F/21C outside and that is awesome!

Everything back in place

As I’m finishing my post, I wait to hear from my sweetie. He will still be working since I haven’t heard a peep all afternoon. These things seldom seem to be on time and he just goes with the flow. There isn’t much you can do when it is out of your hands. No wonder we are so strict ‘on the clock’ in our home life. It is nice to have order here for sure.

Fagin from Oliver Twist
My sister, Gayle, hand painted him and gave him to me when I was a teenager
My paint job is not as good but I think I brought him back to life
with a new face lift!

Daddy's sunflower is bright and fresh again
Just don't look too close

The fire has died down and the sky is completely clear of clouds. With a nice breeze, I will soon close the windows and keep the remaining warmth in for the night’s sleep. I won’t need the heater tonight, only going down to 10C. this has been an awesome day and sorry for the long post. 

Hmm, first time we've seen the geese swimming with their babies
Is this another family? I only see 3 children
I'm either confused or at the very least concerned

If you look close you can see Momma up in the rushes
while Dad stays on guard

I’ve witnessed many birds, including Momma Robin on the roof to feed her babies, the Goose family came up the lane to say hello, a snapper crossing the lane and don’t forget Mrs. Yertle who missed supper. I hope you have had fun too! Bill called at 7, just finished work and was heating up his supper. I can relax now too.

The sun dropping behind the tree

Thank you for popping around today. I believe our ‘almost summer’ weather is back. Thanks for commenting if you choose to, I love reading them.

Happy Mother’s Day! Puttering Around but Mostly Just Enjoying the Day

On Sunday, May 13^th, I rose to a sunny Mother’s Day at 6:30. I’d been tossing and turning since 5:30. A new bout of shingles on my waistline yesterday makes certain positions uncomfortable. They will be better by this afternoon. I slipped out of bed without waking Bill but no sooner was I downstairs making my tea and he went from sleeping noises to sitting up on the side of the bed. He wakes up quickly.

We had our drinks together and he read blogs while I finished mine from yesterday. I was not in the proper state of mind last night to do my pictures. With my exhaustion, we’d added a Caesar before dinner while sitting outside at the fire so you get the picture. It was very good though, we haven’t had one in a while. I was in bed by 10, wasting no time at all dropping off to sleep.

Can't tell if this is Fred and Ethel or Desi and Lucy

But I'm pretty sure this is Fred patrolling the east pond where Ethel sits (somewhere)

Bill went outside and started more puttering. There are always things to do up here on The Ridge, some smaller than others so there is really no ‘end’ to the things we can get in to. While he worked in the storage shed, I put my garden gloves on and went about weeding some more and then transplanting some of my irises. They don’t need too much attention, they root so easily in very little earth.

At the back of the bunky, my shelf waits for ornaments

And this one on the east side too

Around 10, Bill said he was feeling peckish so I went inside and made breakfast. While cooking, my daughter, Bridgette, made her obligatory phone call to wish me a Happy Mother’s Day. Whether I’ll hear from my son is always a guess and if he misses, there will be some reason. I never expect it anymore and often am surprised. After dishes, he went back out I moved around the property doing odd things.

After some personal touches

Brenda, do you remember this? It was at your garage sale years ago

I have 2 ‘knick-knack’ type shelves on the outside of the bunky and always put the stuff away for the winter. I pulled the 2 buckets of ‘garden things’ (pretty official name, eh?) and took care of that. I rehung my sunflower thermometer and re-stabilized the metal weather vane on the cedar post. Lots of little things like that got done but it wasn’t long before I decided that I was done for the day. It is my day, after all!

One of my seating areas
I planted some irises at each sides of the bench
You can see daisies in the pot and chives plentiful

This old birdhouse needed attention so instead of replacing the
missing board on the roof, I stuffed it with dirt and more irises
We'll see if they root

My puzzled garden frogs got placed for the summer
Only 2 showing in this picture

Around 1:30 we took a drive over to the Acreage to see Donna and Gerry. Bill had a satellite cable for them and we thought we’d say hello to their company. Donna’s 2 girls and 4 grandchildren were out to spend the day with them. We had no intention of staying very long but someone twisted our arms (ha ha) and Bill had a beer before getting involved in helping Gerry with a few trailer things. 

Clemson and I walked the lane at the Acreage

Well, they couldn’t get the satellite to work so it was after the girls and families left at 3:15 that Bill drove Clemson and I home to pick up his toolkit. He went back and I lounged in the sun with my book.

The turbines changed direction a few times today and at one point there
was such little wind that they stopped

It was around 4:45 when he returned but he felt good that he was able to help them get things working. While Bill was there and I was here, Donna was able to get some of her dishes washed and put away in the cupboards. I’m hoping they stay out there overnight to christen it. Wink wink, nudge nudge. Ha ha, at least they are having supper in it tonight.

There was very little breeze for the best part of the day
At 70F/22C it was perfect!

Bill cleaned up the shed and put the garden tractor in for the night and then lit the barbecue for grilling. We had planned on strip steaks from the butchers for tonight’s supper so I got them ready while he cleaned the grill. I fried up the last of the leftover potatoes and a can of mushrooms. Yummy, it was such a great Mother’s Day meal! During the day today, I also heard from 2 of my step-daughters with good wishes on my special day. Thank you, Jessie and Krystal.

Thank you dear for a wonderful steak tonight
We even had some banana cake and ice cream for dessert

Once dishes were done I put my lounge chair and blanket away, closed the bunky and took a walk down the lane. No turtles on the log tonight, I wonder if something spooked them before I got there. This has been an awesome day from beginning to end. We watched a couple of episodes of The Voice as they counted down the contestants and set to record Madame Secretary at 10 pm. I doubted I’d be able to stay up.

You know by now that I love the pond reflections
The sun is slowly setting

I hope all of you Mom’s have had a great day too and you at least got supper cooked for you! Thank you for stopping in today. If you feel like leaving a comment, it would add to an already terrific day!