False Alarm, Package Return, Snowfall

Paisley, On

On Tuesday, Jan. 19^th I slept through most of Bill’s morning routine again. Just heard him in the bathroom at 6:20 finishing up so I was obviously in deep slumber when he got up. He peeked out the window and gave me my weather report, not that I had to go anywhere, but so I wouldn’t worry about him taking Black Beauty instead of Patootie. I offered her to him last night.

I'm glad I didn't have to go out today for work

It wasn't very nice out there

It had snowed overnight but nothing for Bill to worry about. Well, I sat up in bed with my book and the lamp on and read until closer to 8. When I then got up to go make a tea, it was a snowy, blowy day out there. I’m glad it was my day off ‘cause I wouldn’t be going anywhere. Donna said the sun was shining in Hanover so I did what any self-respecting sister would do. I sent it her way! She was being a little cocky with the emoji wearing sunglasses! Haha

She looks sad back there all by herself
but at least she has her white blankey

When I went for my walk Eddie was out front cleaning
his car off

Off and on all morning, we got dumped on so Wes was out a few times shoveling the walkway. I finished my morning tea and at 10 did that forceful ‘talking to myself’ thing and went for my walk. It was cold, but I had my winter gear on and even my hood up to keep my face sheltered, and came home quite satisfied that I got out. The mail wouldn’t be sorted yet so I didn’t take the key but I did stop in to get a padded envelope for my jacket return.

Shall we walk across the bridge? On the far bridge you
might be able to see the sidewalk plow, doing the main walkways
in the downtown core
I was grateful for them today

Even though i made a split decision to walk the trail

You wouldn't think it would be hard to follow
a trail but when it is completely blinding white
try it!

I had to stop to take my pictures or I'd end
up on the side of the hill

For lunch, I finished the cream of celery soup with crackers and then took my water into the garage and started Susan’s puzzle. It will be a challenge but I will enjoy it. It is bigger than I usually do so it will take time and the bulk of the table top. I worked away until I had the border done and then went back to the post office to mail the parcel. It is -3C/27F but the network says it feels like -7C/19F with the wind. Brrr. Still okay to walk in though!

As I came off the trail, I saw this

A nice big painted rock

A stream runs through it

When I returned, I had my keys with me so hopped into Patootie and started her up. I may as well get her cleaned off today in case the weather is decent in the morning. Inside, all rosy cheeked, I made my tea and came up to work on my blog. It is just past 3:30 so I should be hearing from Bill soon. Until then, I’ll delve back into my book. For sure, I’ll be on the look out for more of his books, assuming of course he writes the same for all of them. 😊

I'm still hoping this opens while we're here

Bill texted at 4:30 that he was leaving Billy’s so I unlocked the door for him. The snow had stopped but it looks like more coming at 11 pm through the wee hours and then off and on again tomorrow. You’d think this was January. 

And this is the puzzle I'm putting together for Susan

I've got a challenge on my hands, don't I?

Bill snoozed while I finished the last 4 or 5 chapters of my book. Man, oh man, that was a good one with an ending that I couldn’t have figured out. I like those unpredictable ones. I mentioned yesterday that I had a new bout of shingles but it wasn't feeling quite the same. Upon closer examination, I discovered it wasn't. So, that's good and I put my pills away. Seldom am I wrong....... about shingles too. Ha ha

Ptooties gets cleaned off

It was closer to 6:30 though by the time I finished and went down to start supper. By now, Bill was heavy into his book and was in no rush. I fried bacon and burgers so we had loaded bacon, lettuce and tomato cheeseburgers. No dessert tonight, these burgers filled us up. These PC burgers are my favourite. Angus burgers, I think they’re called. We cleaned up the dishes and Bill got his lunch ready before meeting in our room.

Easy but delicious supper tonight

At 8, we went next door to the theatre room to watch the two new episodes of NCIS. Finally, we’ve been waiting for the new seasons to start and this one is our favourite. 

Someone special celebrated a birthday today
Bridgette's sweetheart, Chris
Happy Birthday!

I’m sure we’ll be in bed soon after 10 when they end so I’ll try and finish this now. I’ll have to find my next book or crochet a couple of rows of my shawl. This was a good ‘home’ day.

Today's memory
Keith and Oreo on their quad
Quartzsite, AZ
Jan. 19, 2020

good night!

Thank you for popping in!

Quiet Day, Cool and Wet Again, Supper Invite

The Ridge

On Monday, Apr. 29^th my plans were to just relax. We’ve had a couple of busy days so I’m looking forward to just chilling. And with the temperature only forecasted to rise to 47F/7C that will be an easy thing to do. We’re tired of the rain and April 2019 will not go down in our books as a nice one. After hearing yesterday about the loss of a friend, we look forward to just focusing day to day on everyday living. However, I can still grumble about the weather!

It is nice to have rv company at the Ridge again

We had our tea and coffee together, both up within half hour of each other. It was only 32F/0C and windy so no walk again. The sun rose and then by 8 promptly bid us adieu for the day. Bill drove to Durham to pick up a couple of things for the Hangar and also filled our 3^rd 40-lb bottle of propane since arriving in Canada. This is mostly why we grumble about the cool weather; it is time to warm up already!! We do expect costs to be higher in April and October up here on the Ridge though.

They have a beautiful home

Bill worked out in the Hangar, putter putter, but couldn’t put the paint on the Stinson Reliant yet because it is too cold. Scott and Ellen had a problem with their cords so Bill offered ours which meant he couldn’t plug the electric heater in. No big deal, when he gets too cold, he’ll come inside. They took off for the day to Owen Sound where they have a storage unit. They had a big house and lots of furniture that had to be stored while they travelled for the winter.

On my walk to retrieve the bins, I took pictures of how high
the ponds are
Last summer that outlet in the top of the picture was almost dry

We’ll see them at the end of the day for sure and Ellen has graciously extended an invite to join them for supper. They want to thank us for offering them a place to stay for a few nights. That’s nice, another night I don’t have to cook! Bill is taking me out………..across the lot! 😊 After making us bacon and eggs and cleaning up dishes, he went back outside and I bundled up and walked down to bring the recycle bins back. Our first garbage pickup.

If it wasn't so cold, it would be a good time for the kayaks
before the grasses grow up
This is the 'dock' area

Inside, Clemson slept up on the bed with my sweater and I got back into my book. By the way, the keto cake yesterday was a hit. I still have leftovers but enough was eaten that I know it was enjoyed. There were a few glazed carrots left too which I’m happy about since I really like them. I’ll think of my buddy, Pat, when I eat them as she loves them too. I would have liked to know Rob’s opinion of the cake but it will be gone before he returns.

Of course, ElScott is sitting in the garden

Bill is holding his opinion of the cake but I’m sure it is because he overheard me tell Cathy that it was keto. Things like that flavor what would otherwise be a true judgement. Silly guy. Anyway, it has cream cheese icing and I like it so can eat it guilt free even if he doesn’t. We were getting a bit of a hunger on but not for much so I cut up an apple, Bill cut some cheese and we made ourselves a cup of tea. Bill had a few Ritz crackers, which I avoid, with his cheese.

I can't be sure but I think these are hyacinth
We'll soon find out!

We sat for the afternoon inside in the warmth and I managed to finish the Stuart Wood’s Short Straw. It was a fast paced read with short chapters and I really enjoyed the mystery involved. Now, I had to find another one to move on to so I had one more by the same author that I hadn’t read. Maybe I can zip through another one just as quickly.

There is some keto cake left over

Bill falls behind in his reading once we arrive home. With his days working and stuff to do around here, there isn’t the same amount of time during our Ridge time. My cupboard and under the bed stack is lessening and his is filling up.  I decided to make some cookies but because we’ll just eat them (!) I wanted to make something that wouldn’t be bad for us.

Bill and I sat for our afternoon snack and some reading

 George from Our Awesome Travels posted over a week ago about his grandson who is into writing a blog. One of the posts I read of Dave’s was a recipe for peanut butter cookies that he made. It was simple and although one of the 3 ingredients was sugar, I knew I could substitute it with Splenda. I only hoped that because of the different texture that Splenda has compared to sugar, they would turn out just as good. So, I made a batch.

Funny, how snowflakes don't show up in the picture

The first dozen and a half turned out great. I liked them, Bill liked them and other than them being crumbly (solved by putting them in the fridge) we were both very pleased. Thank you, Dave! Since I still had the ingredients and mixing bowl on the counter, I made another dozen and a half. This is a recipe I will keep and repeat and I don’t even need to write it down. Check it out here if you are interested, but I won’t take credit for it.

Go away!!

At 3, Bill looked out and said ‘it’s snowing!’ Here we go again, we thought. What crazy weather. Watching it come down as wet flakes didn’t give us too much concern until it continued and the white stuff was sticking to the ground. LOL We heard from Ellen and Scott around 4:30 that they would soon be on their way and so we were a bit concerned of what they had to drive through. It was pretty white out there for a while and roads can be tricky for driving.

Scott, Ellen, Bill
Great people we met through RVillage last summer

Just after 6:30 we joined them in their Ultrasport home for Caesar salad, garlic toast and chili. What a treat! Thank you guys, it was delicious and we enjoyed sharing the air space with you again over wine. 😊 It was around 9 when we said our goodbyes and walked back to the Suite. The last hour of The Voice was on so we watched what we could of it but neither of us saw much through our eyelids. We let The Enemy Within record on the pvr and at 10 we went to bed.

Dave's peanut butter cookies

It was a lazy day for us although Bill did accomplish some things down in the Hangar. The snow was gone by the time we left our neighbours motor home last night so that was good to see. I’m still waiting for a bit of warmth. It didn't get to the forecast high for today and now instead of wishing for too much I’d even be happy for something in the 50’s/(double digits in Celsius). I hope you had a good day too.

So can someone tell me what the yellow thing is?
Up and down in the days to come but it's better than down, down, down
This looks promising!

Thank you for your visit. Your comments are always read and appreciated if you wish to leave one.

April or October? Good Grief, Charlie Brown! Exchange Day!

Priceville, Ontario

Bill and I woke together around 6:30 on Saturday, Apr. 27^th. It is April, isn’t it? As I looked out my window after opening the blind I uttered “Shit!” Bill knew what I was referring to without even looking. They did forecast some snow for our area overnight and with those 39 mph winds, we’re really not surprised that this crap blew in. Sorry, why don’t I tell you how I really feel, right? We got up and Bill turned the heat up a bit.

this was the surprise sunset last night after not having sun all day

We had our tea and coffee together and then Bill bundled up to go and get us some fresh water. We were getting low enough to warrant a top up. I chatted back and forth on texts from my chair as I went directly there with my heating pad and ‘blankey’. The wind was from WNW and coming right at my dining area window. Clemson slept on upstairs after another full night’s sleep. While he was gone, I had my shower and I was somewhat overdue with scraggly hair so it felt great.

My scales were my friend as well, my last 3 days of behaving has worked in my favour. I know I can do this!  When Bill returned with the water bladder full, he unloaded the trunk of the Rav of his blanket, sleeping bag and pillow. I, in turn, carried out the purged items I was taking to Hanover later. What a nasty cold day and the winds aren’t about to let up until around 8 pm tonight.

Here, let me move the day shade for you

More ‘Bill’ projects won’t get looked after today again but at least he can pick up the supplies he needs to look after the riding mower blades. I made us bacon and eggs and started my post before sitting with my book for a while. We couldn’t do dishes with the water being transferred, water from the tap was not accessible. Often, I forget it is in the process and turn the tap on. That shuts the pump off and Bill has to go out and start it again. It is best if I just stay away from the sink!

I mixed up some creamy Jell-o
this one is Black Cherry

When the transfer was finished, we had 62 gallons of water in our 100-gallon tank and that would last us for a week +.  At 11:30 Bill left for Mount Forest to pick up the blades and filters needed for the mower. 

I wanted to get my post started before I left

At 12:30 I pulled out of the lane and after picking Pat up I drove to Marl Lakes where my niece, Joanne, was hosting the clothing exchange. I forgot to get a picture of her house, well, I guess I was busy driving. Anyway, it is a beautiful large home and she had things all set up downstairs.

Lots of really nice clothes
And the bottom line = what is left gets donated to a good cause

My 3 sisters, Cathy, Gayle and Donna were already there and the amount of clothes donations was incredible. The price was certainly right and you don’t even need to bring anything. Joanne had a spread of food out for us to munch on, fresh veggies, fruits, cheeses and taco dip with crackers. Something else I didn’t get a picture of.  A couple more people arrived and as usual, no matter how many were in attendance, a good time was had by all.

There is some serious 'shopping' going on here
and the food is on the right hand counter

It was after 4:30 when Cathy, Gayle, Pat and I left. I dropped Pat off at her house and on the way home, I called Bill to let him know. He had a good day and was happy to show me pictures of his work on the mower. The mail box and post had blown over in last night’s wind (we’re still trying to figure the best way to make it work) so Bill had to build a temporary structure to hold it up. He had done that before I got home.

And supper was good

We relaxed for a bit and then I sautéed the spiced pork chops in Madame IP, added some chicken broth and in 15 minutes we were eating supper. Each time that I dish them up and try that first bite, I’m waiting for the old pork chop taste to come back. Instead, I’m still blown away with each mouthful. It was delicious. Even Bill says that the taste is improved when done in the IP. We had corn on the side and it was another successful meal.

Bill found the tail end (about an hour) of The Lion King on tv so we watched that while we worked at cleaning up the dishes. Off and on during the day I still felt my back complaining every once in a while, so when we sat down, I put the heating pad on it again. The temperature today never got over 40F/4C but by the time I’d returned home, it was definitely warmer than when I left. The sun was making brief appearances and at least by 7:30 I knew I’d see a sunset.

I decided not to move from my heated seat to get a snapshot of the setting sun

This was a great day for all of us. We accomplished some things and I had a fun time with the girls. I hope yours has been a good day too.

Thank you for stopping in!

Rain Again, Scheduling Mom Time, Carpets, SNOW!!

Bill was up around 6:15 on Wednesday, Oct. 17^th and I remained awake in bed for another half hour. Just because I could and there was no urgency to get up. We had our coffee and tea together and read some of what our friends are up to this week. A lot of packing up, appointments, repairs etc. going on before crossing the border. Some are leaving sooner than others but we’re down to focusing on our own departure dates and hoping for nice weather.

With a sky like this this morning, we knew we were in for a crazy day

Bill had his shower and had to take Ptooties to Hanover to get an oil change before she goes into storage. I didn’t have anything on my plate until he returned. With the heavy clouds, it remained dark until 7:30 and then the rain came so I didn’t get a walk this morning. Sitting here just before 9 we noticed it wasn’t just rain but that stupid white stuff! It is 37F so we’re sure it won’t stick around.

After Bill left at 9:30 I called Rockwood Terrace to make a reservation to have supper with Mom on Friday. She enjoyed the lunch we shared last year and so did we. Their prices have gone up but you get a nice meal, and I don't have to cook it or clean up after it. Guaranteed she will ask us if we have a small corner in our suitcase to sneak her along. 😊 Mom loved the rv’ing scene in her earlier years.

The sky is clearing as I start removing things off the shelves/counters in here and packing them away. These decorations won’t come out again unless we are situated for 2 week stays. Bill has decided to store his Dad’s ship in the Bunky, instead of the Hangar, after all. The bench in there is quite full with his Stinson plane. That will get moved on Friday.

Today is the day to shampoo our carpets so I got the vacuum out and began the first step, looking for any spots that might need pre-treatment. There is one at the edge of the carpet under the dining table but nothing major. By the time Bill got back from town, it was 11. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the haircut that he was hoping for. The town barber had one in the chair and two patrons waiting. He’ll try again.

I made him a toasted omelette sandwich and then grilled my leftover taco from Friday night. I added some sliced black olives and mozzarella cheese. I ate it with a knife and fork the way I eat quesadillas and it was very good! After dishes, we lifted the coffee table up onto a mat on the couch and I had already moved the dining chairs onto the recliners. Bill started. We had no instruction booklet but it was pretty much straight forward. We’ve used the rental ones before.

Clemson took his leave very quickly and went up to the bedroom. Hiding in amongst the pillows, he would be happier anyway. When Bill moved up there on the second tank fill, Clemmy lifted his head as if to say “is there no safe place?” Funny how we can read disgust in our pet’s faces. :S

Ignoring us completely

Now it is a waiting game for the carpet to dry. With the second go around, with an empty tank, it sucked up a lot of the excess water. Nice job and all done before 1 pm. I was going to see Mom this morning for a short visit but with this going on, I will wait and see her on Friday. That will be pleasant and a good way to say goodbye. Looking outside around 3 and we couldn’t see much of anything. It was a freaking snow storm and it was covering the ground.

This is the look when Daddy disturbed him
Can you see him?

While we waited for the floor to dry, we sat in our recliners with our books and when our eyes got too heavy to read, Bill tilted his chair back and I went up on the bed with Clemson. I need ear plugs so I can drop right off and I knew I was tired for some reason. It was an hour later when I got up and came downstairs to find Bill awake and reading. He is into Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly on my Kobo and I’m into Badlands by C.J. Box.

At 5, Bill fed Clemson, he actually waited tonight, and I began prepping supper. Boneless pork loin chops, the last pack in the freezer. These are not my favourite so once more I’m trying a new recipe. 

This was Clemson the other day 'staring' to get an early dinner
Bill was asleep in the recliner next to me but that didn't stop him

Once they were ready for the oven, I bundled up and took a walk down the lane to retrieve the local flyers. Perfect timing because no sooner did I get back in when the blowing snow returned with a vengeance. Snow, sun, snow, sun. Ontario weather.

I prepared dressing and corn and turned them on to cook after the chops were done. They only take a few minutes. We’ve not hit any temperature above 35F/2C today so this is just confirming more and more why we need to get out of here. Two more days before we leave the Ridge and that is unbelievably good. We were eating supper by 6:30 and it was delicious!

Clemson goes out for a piddle in the snow

I enjoyed the chops more than Bill because he likes the actual taste of pork chops. These had a sweet sauce with brown sugar and garlic. Yummy for me. We had some corn and dressing leftover to have for tomorrow night with our meat loaf and then we have quite a run of meals outside the home. Family time and that isn’t a complaint. It will be very nice.

I'm hoping it will be gone tomorrow morning

We cleaned up dishes and tried to sit and enjoy our recorded programs from Monday night in between Clemson wanting to go out. I think the snow is intriguing to him. My goodness, at 7:22 there was at least 2” on the steps and the patio mat! Enough already! Other than that, it has been a great day. 

Goose the Spruce and our red maple are covered for another winter

And just in time, my garden was taken care of

Supper was good

And the sun played tag with the snow

Thank you for reading along today.