October Strong, Rockwood Visit with Clemson, Sleeping Beauty

On Wednesday, Oct. 18^th I woke up again in an empty bed. Bill and Clemson had vacated an hour earlier at 6:30. I never heard a thing, I was into a dream about a bunch of people I don’t know! Weird. I got up and joined my sweetie at the laptop with my tea. I had a blog post to write so set to work remembering our day yesterday.

A really nice start to the day

Every week I can see more through the laneway brush

The sun was rising in all its glory shortly after I got up and the sky was proving to be clear blue all day. The 9C soon rose and after my tea and publishing I went for a walk down North Line. I wanted to see how the new house was coming along and they are certainly moving quickly with it. 

They’ll be in it before Christmas which must be nice for this family.

Me, myself and I walking - oh, and my shadow too!

A newly graveled road

While I was walking, Bill was puttering outside. He took down our turtle signs and solar panels and was sorting things in the back of Black Beauty when I returned. He added the remaining contents of Def fluid he had already opened and made note to pick up another supply. We have one full bottle to take with us and he likes to be more prepared than that. We’ll check out a price in Hanover this afternoon.

Topping up the Def fluid

I made bacon and eggs up for breakfast at 10 and we cleaned up dishes. Bill went back outside and without my knowledge or assistance removed the car shelter cover. I was busy inside sweeping floors going through the freezer to see what we had on hand. When I walked out to dump my kitchen compost, he was folding it up. Well, he managed it without any undo distress so that was good.

The car shelter ready for winter too

When he came in, he washed up and we drove to Hanover. It was just 12 noon but we wanted to pick up cough syrup at Shopper’s, buy bread at Bread Depot and get some Def fluid at the Napa dealers. The price wasn’t unreasonable for around here so now Bill has the stock he’ll need to get us going. On the way to Hanover, we turned on the Keady road to see if Murray Fleming was home. This is where we store our car for the winter but he wasn’t around today. He is reserving a spot for us we just need to tell him when we are bringing it in.

There is a snug little corner in this barn for our Toyota Corolla

The bread is something we haven’t had in the Suite for a while, trying to cut back a bit, but we’ll need some on hand to make sandwiches while travelling. You can’t get good bread down south, well, that is our opinion. Other than Italian or French which requires you to eat it within a day or two. To buy a loaf in a grocery store of regular bread, D’Italiano or not, it isn’t the freshness we are used to.

 I separated these little sausages into 8 meals and no gluten!

I had an appointment with Shannon at the Hanover branch of BMO to talk about Mom’s finances this time. With a TFSA GIC coming due in December, I wanted to take care of either setting it up for re-investment now or flag it to be held until her next one in May. That is what I did and I also left instruction for another investment to be moved into the same account in January. With that done, I could breathe a sigh of relief knowing her funds would be looked after in my absence.

And to answer a question about the peanut butter we buy.........and then a few of the things I mentioned yesterday.

Best peanut butter out there
(in our opinion)

Coconut Oil from Costco, lasts me a couple of months

Our hall closet is our overflow for coffee, mustard, cranberry juice,
cereal, beans, soup

Another thing I had a hard time finding last year
This will last me well through the winter

When we got back home, Bill emptied our gray tank and put away a couple more things before driving over to meet Gerry at the Acreage. Bill suggested he seal the roof on their Prairie Schooner 5^th wheel, it had never been done since they purchased it.

Sometimes, you just don’t know what needs to be done and they don’t pull theirs around so wouldn’t get the same tips we would. Bill has been able to advise them and help them with this kind of stuff. Gerry won’t be able to take care of it just recently recovering from his op so at least Bill can do that for him.

It is blurry because I had to move fast
but Aunt Mary was loving the visit from Clemson

 I decided to take our little bum into town to visit Mom at Rockwood. She hasn’t seen him for a while. As soon as I stepped in the door, Aunt Mary was there at the sign-in book. She was happy to see me so we chatted right there and then she noticed Clemson. Reaching as best she could to pet him, I picked him up and set him on her tray. That lasted about 10 seconds and he jumped down.

the joy in her voice and face was apparent

He is such a greeter but at the same time, yanking and pulling on the leash. I picked him up and brought him back to Mary again. She indicated that she didn’t mind that he wanted to crawl up and give her kisses, so cute. I tried my best with arms full to get a picture but this is the best I could manage. It is always so warm/hot in that home and I know it is for the residents. They don’t mind.

When we said goodbye to Aunt Mary, I felt I’d run in a 5K race. We went up to Mom’s room and stopped numerous times for people to pet and comment on the pooch. When we reached her room, she was sound asleep across her bed. I know she has been experiencing discomfort in her back so we crept in not to wake her. I closed the door, took Clem off his leash and got him a drink of water. All he wanted was to get out.

When I went up to close out my garden, I snapped a pix of the corn behind us
I wish we'd be here to see them take it in
(um, not so much that we'll stick around though!)

And the hostas are still blooming

I made a few gentle noises hoping to rouse her but she was deep in sleep and looking lovely. After 10 minutes, we crept out. Sad but all for the better today. It would have meant only a short visit anyway. I saw on the board that my sister, Cathy, had been up earlier so I didn’t feel too bad. I’m close enough to get up there a couple more times before we head south. 

Quite a windy day

After getting home, I remember that I left Mom’s dish on the floor with water in it for Clemson’s drink. They will certainly wonder what she was trying to do and so will she! So, I called to tell them it wasn’t Mom who was losing her mind, it was me. LOL

When I got home I poured myself a glass of Mountain Dew, trying to cool down and quench a thirst at the same time. I went up to my garden and pulled out the small metal and plastic trellis’ that I used to hold my plants up. The plants themselves will go into the compost and the tomatoes will just get turned over in the soil. It is done for the year.

Yay! My geraniums down at the fence line have taken hold

With Bill still gone, I then walked down to the corner of Baptist Church Road again. Such a beautiful day at 18C this afternoon. The wind is quite strong or it would be much higher than that. Bill drove in around quarter after 4 from helping Gerry. He has been coughing since we got home from Toronto so a cold is lurking. Obviously, from someone on the weekend he caught the virus. Darn! After dinner I will make him some mullein tea, Donna swears by it so we’ll give it a try!

I went upstairs away from the tv noise and got into my book. This is Michael Connelly’s The Burning Room and now that I am 10 chapters in, I’m sure I’ve read it before. With my memory it isn’t surprising that the name wasn’t familiar but I think I’ll keep reading anyway. It might have been a movie we watched that is making it familiar.

Furry Gnome may have to help me with the name of this butterfly

So, we barbecued butt chops for supper and I cooked rice and our veggies inside. I’m still not a fan, the chop was not doing it for me but I ate enough to fill me with the side dishes. There is enough pork chop left for a couple of meals so I stuck half in the freezer and Bill will eat half tomorrow night. I have 2 chicken breasts in the freezer that need to be eaten too.

We did dishes up and Bill was about to make a phone call when he realized he 

didn’t have his phone with him. Oh-oh! I called him on mine to see if it was anywhere on the property but we realized it had to be over at the Acreage. With hope in our pockets that it was on the roof of Gerry’s trailer, we drove over at 7. Up he went with his flashlight and sure enough there it was right where he left it.

Just a few baby peppers trying to grow

More Goose Talk - Which way do we go?

When we got back home, we made the call to Bill’s step sister to chat with her before we leave on Monday. Caroline is going through some not so pleasant stuff right now and we wanted her to know we think of her daily in our prayers. It was nice to hear her voice so positive.

Watching the sun go down after a great fall day

The day has passed, with a few more things accomplished and off our list. Bill got the flag down and sensor solar lights in the Restroom and outside the Roost (bunky) down and away for the winter. Just a few things left to do. I hope you’ve had an enjoyable day in your neck of the woods. What a beautiful fall day!

Bill pays NO attention to the sign as he unlocks the gate to the Acreage

Up the ladder he goes hoping against hope that the phone is up there

Happy man, he climbs back down

Thank you for popping in today. I’d love to hear from you!

Waking to Rain, Must be Fall, Rockwood Visit, Weekend Prep

Looking at the clock for the first time this morning, Wednesday, Oct. 11^th, it was 6:45 am. I was still tired, that is what staying up until 11 pm does to me. So, I rolled over and dropped off until we both woke an hour later. We rose to the sound of rain outside so Bill put the awnings out to step outside with Clemson. It felt cool inside the Suite so once more we put the heater on low to take the chill and dampness out. Our thermometer said 7C outside.

So gradually, the colours on Baptist Church Road

At 6 the rain appeared to be stopping

 We had our first hot drinks while reading blog posts. It is always very exciting to me to have new readers comment on my blog. People that say they have been reading for a while and I want to thank those of you who take the time to make a comment, however brief. These make a blogger’s day, hearing from you, knowing that our writing isn’t only giving us, the blogger, enjoyment. So, Thank you!

The clouds seemed to be lifting

Today, being a dull drizzly rainy day meant no outside work but that meant it would be a good day to go into Durham to visit Aunt Mary and Mom. I like to see Mary first so I don’t have to explain to Mom that I’m saying goodbye to her to go and see someone else. She wants us all to herself when we visit and I can’t fault her for that, we belong to her where little else does.

I washed up and got dressed before having a small bowl of Bill’s cereal. I’m not crazy about doing that, grains are not my thing, but wanted something in my tummy in case I carried on to Hanover after visiting Mom.  I drove into town about 10:15 and ran through the rain into Rockwood. My hands were so cold, Mom won’t want to touch me! Ha ha

So first I went around the corner to visit Aunt Mary. I caught her just coming out of her room. Unfortunately, without the ability to communicate I didn’t know where she was headed. So, I walked with her as far as the elevator where she indicated she was going downstairs. I wanted to see Mom so told Mary and said goodbye. I hope I didn’t confuse her by leaving but she seemed to know where she was headed.

As I rounded the corner at the desk, I saw Mom looking at me in recognition. God, I’m so glad she still knows us! She hugged me and we walked down the hall to sit and look out at the school yard. Too bad it was raining or she would be able to see the children out playing at recess. We sat and talked about my travel plans with Bill for over half hour and walked back to the puzzle room. There was a 300 pc. large piece puzzle on the table so we sat and finished that. These are the perfect size for her and she gets such joy in placing the pieces.

sorry for the blur

At 11:45 we went downstairs to the dining room and I said goodbye. Aunt Mary is usually seated at her own table but she wasn’t there so I hope she found where she was going. I drove home in the rain with soup on my mind, not the foggy pea soup I saw yesterday but cream of mushroom soup. When I got home, Bill had our little ironing board and iron out, getting his clothes ready for the weekend. Such a do-it-yourself kind of guy!

Bill sat in his recliner with his book after we did the dishes from our soup and I went upstairs to find 3 good outfits to take and wear for the RV show. We try to dress in the CanAm colour blue and we have our name tags. We are, after all representing the company. Bill has more along that line than I do so I have to do some improvising. I also want to be sure to pack a pair of relaxing leggings and sweatshirt for sitting around the hotel room. Oh, yes, and my bathing suit…….just in case there is time to go down to the pool.

I came down to find the book closed and both boys asleep in the chair. We’d decided to watch one or two of our recorded programs from Monday night since it was a soup, dozing, television kind of inside day! I puttered around and waited until they woke up on their own. On a day like this, unfortunately there is always more of my babble than there are pictures so I hope you don’t mind that I’ve focused on a few of tonight's sky pictures.

The rest of this damp cold day went uneventfully watching The Voice, The Good Doctor and Madame Secretary. All good except there was a mix up with the latter. Someone goofed and instead of the ‘new’ Season 4 premiere episode, they played one of the last season’s finale episodes. It was good to get a refresh from last season but we’re sure it wasn’t intentional. We'll have to watch the next one and see if we get caught up.

Clemson is getting persistent lately, earlier, so maybe prepping for our winter trip and the time changes. Bill fed him at 4 o'clock. We still had enough chili left over so we had the last of it on toast for supper. The perfect thing on a wet cold night. The temperature never budged all day, in fact dropping to 6C early afternoon. 

I was blessed by looking outside at just the right moment tonight. I donned my sweater and stepped out to capture the sky. Our day was a quiet one and yet we still managed to get some things done. I hope you can say the same!

Today's finale

Thank you for reading today, your comments are always fun to read.

Light Rain Day, Bedding Wash, Visit at Rockwood, Baking for Thanksgiving

When I woke up on Saturday, Oct. 7^th it was way too early to get up. Around 6 am, I think, so I tossed and turned and dozed fitfully until 7:15 and we all got up. It was looking to be another dull, light rainy day. Ho hum. At least yesterday, on our drive included we didn’t experience much rain.

the garage, leaving much more space for storage

Bill said there was even less rain here on The Ridge, maybe 10 minutes. So while I was away he was able to finish a couple more outdoor things, getting our patio table packed away in the storage shed and another nice adjustment in the basement area. These adjustments each make packing up easier, especially now that some things have come out and will stay here this season.

the flip down tv is secured and out of the way

We had our coffee and tea and I finished yesterday’s post. When I reflect on that day I will think of it with a fond memory of Uncle Harold. It is too bad that Mom isn’t in the condition to have taken part, but c’est la vie. Every time I thought I would go for a walk this morning, the rain would start and change my mind.

A teensy bit of colour change on Baptist Church Road

At one point I went to put something in the car to take to town and it was so nice that I started down the lane. Woops, the sky opened and I turned back. It is so mild out there though at 20C that I didn’t mind too much.  At noon I made myself a chicken salad bowl and that was quite tasty. Bill had had his cereal earlier so he wasn’t ready to eat yet.

And the sun broke through for the afternoon

Our lunch is not like other people’s, it seems. We don’t plan it, usually, and we don’t always enjoy the same lunch time things. Weird but true.  Bill likes a sandwich, usually the same kind, I don’t. Sometimes we have soup but not on a warm day. Fruit is full of sugar and Bill isn’t a fruit eater anyway. No need to bombard me with comments about how ‘we always eat together’, we’re just different. When we’re hungry in the middle of the day, we get what we want.

So, not the best picture, we were in a very sunny room and the
reflection on my phone disguises Mom's eyes
She looked lovely in her bling finery

So, after my salad Bill went upstairs with Clemson to have nap. I kind of booted him out of the living room so he had no choice. I pulled the sofa bed out and put an extra duvet from the bunky on the bed, under the mattress cover. I’m trying to make this bed as comfortable as possible for our guests in November. Rather than spend money on an eggshell piece of foam, I mean.

Then I cleaned up and headed into the Durham laundromat with the bedding. It was a hopping place today but I secured one of the big washers for our 2 bulky blankets and a regular one for my sheet set and 2 snuggies. The wash took 29 minutes and in the dryers they were dried in 20 minutes. Folded and in the car, I was headed to Rockwood.

Anything for a distraction of the conversation
We talked about our hands

As I arrived I walked to the elevators and pushed the button. When the door opened, the elevator was full. A lady with a walker and a nurse on the right with the big laundry bin. I stepped out of the way when I heard “I thought I recognized someone!” Mom was behind the lady with her walker. She is so fun! So not really knowing why she came down I didn’t discourage it. We went to one of the private sitting areas at the windows.

We had a lovely chat for 15 joyful minutes before I broke the news about Uncle Harold. It wasn’t a comfortable thing, having to take away her happiness but I knew it would be short-lived. We went through the ‘family, siblings, her parents’ conversation for the next 30 minutes and then I succeeded in switching the subject to something else. I had her back again.

The birds swoop low in their flock

We discussed our plans for tomorrow and after an hour and a half walked back to the elevator and up to her room. I helped her pick clothes for Thanksgiving dinner and moved them to one side of her closet. I don’t know if they’ll be there tomorrow when I arrive but she was excited about the outing with someone. I said goodbye back at the elevator and felt bad that I didn’t get to see Aunt Mary today. Once I’m with Mom it is too confusing to her why I want to leave her to visit someone else. Another time for sure.

Back home I saw that Bill had been busy, as usual. He’d filled our water bladder and washed his riding mower before putting it away. One more usage won’t matter, it needed a good cleaning. The sun has been poking out periodically today and that is making for a lovely day, the rain seemingly over and done with. Looks like a nice day on the horizon for Thanksgiving Sunday.

I couldn’t resist when the sun burst through the clouds at 4 o’clock to get outside. I went to my garden earlier and gathered my ripe veggies. Wow! There were tons of little red tomatoes, 1 big one and 4 green peppers. Oh, and 6 green onions. Yay! Each time it is a surprise that more are ready and nothing has got at them. I washed them and put them in my crisper. Then I went for a walk down to Baptist Church Road.

I eat about 6 of these tomatoes a day

My sister texted me while I was walking and asked if we were getting the strong 

wind gusts. It is definitely windy and I know we were to expect gusts to 50 km but nothing that strong had hit us yet. No sooner did I answer and one came up from behind the next cloud that had my hair in my face and my eyes watering. Freaky! I enjoyed the walk, it was short but sweet. The cows watched me before going back to their grazing.

Back inside I decided I’d better get started on supper. Late morning watching the rain and unpredictable sky I wasn’t sure whether we’d be able to cook outside. Not pushing our luck, I got a pound of ground beef out of the freezer to thaw. Now it was time to start. It will be a very improvised pot of chili that I’m making tonight since I realized that I don’t have kidney beans in the house. Hmmm.

A new version of chili

So, I cut celery, green onions, green peppers and tomatoes first. In the pot, I began browning the meat adding the chopped veggies. Once ready, I added a can of sliced mushrooms, a can of tomato paste, a can of chick peas, a can of black beans and 2 cans of Bush’s brown beans. I added some chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic then left it to simmer for 30 minutes.

With enough pumpkin and enough cream cheese, I made an extra one for home

Supper turned out very good! I was pleased and so was Bill. It was filling enough we didn’t even need a salad on the side. After dishes, I made up a graham cracker pie crust for the cheesecake I’m making for tomorrow’s dinner. Once I’d done that much, I decided to keep on going and finish the whole thing. In the morning I will make up a veggie casserole to take.

With the cheesecake in the convection oven, Bill inquired about ice cream. Of course, we always have Chapman’s Butterscotch Ripple in the freezer. He served himself a dish, I made myself a cone and Clemson got to lick the new carton clean. I sat at my laptop and finished this post. I hope you have enjoyed this day as I have.

Clemson sure belongs in our family
We all love our ice cream

I love that you stopped by and if you wish to leave a comment, I would love to read it.