Lovely Day, Lovely Visitor!

 The Ridge

On Wednesday, Sept. 17th I woke up confused. Hmm, do I clean today? Did I clean the Mat yesterday? Oh, how I dislike this aging process! Thinking it through, I got up at 6:30, said goodbye to Bill at 6:45 and drove into town at 7. Yup, a cleaning day.

Good morning!
Are these not the fanciest mushrooms
you've ever seen?
They are at Robin's house.
Shaggy InkCaps. 
It would be fun to watch the one in the
bottom corner open up.
I think they're gorgeous!

Alone again, yay, so I emptied the Lost & Found. Tossed the single socks that have been there for over a week in the garbage and washed three t-shirts, 2 yoga-type stretch pants and brought them home to hang. I was out in an hour. The 6 machines are still in need of repair........

After picking what was ready,
all that is left are these baby green tomatoes.
The Brussel Sprout plants have started
growing again. Good grief!

At home, I went up on the berm and tossed a few apples over the fence. There were just too many and it was too hot to do them all without a rake. I cleaned off the east end and the white stones and gave up. Bill won't be cutting grass tonight anyway. 

Not too excited, only 3 small peppers
this year. 😔

I was happy when, after lunch, my Buddy and Bella drove up the lane. It is always nice to see her and we both chastise ourselves for not making our visits more frequent. We fall in the 'bad' good friends category. 😅😇 So, we understand each other!

Look at this mess!
I started hand picking them up,
but there are too many.
Decided to slip my sandals off and
do some 'grounding' at the same time.

I sat in the sun for a while this morning but after 30 minutes, I was just too hot. Oh dear, is that age too? Gibbs hung around outside in the shade in between keeping me company when I did some more quilling. I've got two projects on the go. I'm soon to be on the waiting list for a table, I finally heard.

So frustrating!
In the spring, the trees are coming down.
My berm garden is full of the apples too.

My last delivery (for now) arrived around 4 and it was a package of various sized plastic bags for cards, earrings and bookmarks. Now I should have plenty for the winter months. Bill was home a bit earlier, by 5:15 so that was nice.

Gibbs was quite comfy outside most of
the day. He slept a lot, deeply.
His little snores make me smile.💓

For supper, he had fries, I had my keto rice, spinach and we both had shrimp. Not many in the package so we ate them all. A cheap meal for $7.99. After the little bit of clean up and Bill's lunch was made, he went to the Hangar.

What a wonderful day!
I wish I'd taken a pix of my Buddy
and Bella but my phone was inside. 

This has been a nice day. We reached a high of 27C/81F and the air was as calm as I've ever seen it. Not a titch of a breeze all day. Very unusual for up here on The Ridge. Hopefully, I'll get the apples cleaned up tomorrow, a few degrees cooler. 😀

It was a good supper.
Good night!

Thank you for your visit.

Some Work, Some Play

The Ridge

On Monday, Sept. 15th Bill was up at 6 and I followed around 6:30. We both had work, getting back into the normal weekly routine. Bill expected the day to be long since they were working in Kincardine, an hour + from home.

Good morning!
There are a lot of changes
happening these days.
Colourful ones.

He drives B.B. to Mildmay, 40 minutes, and hops in the work truck with Billy. Saves on mileage but not on time. It just works for them that way. I took the laundry today and was fortunate to be having a nice day for hanging it out at home. It was going from 11C/52F to 25C/77F by mid afternoon.

The biggest surprise was these
two Moonflowers in my
alternate garden. 😀

There was very little breeze and the sky was clear blue all day long. Lov-el-y! The Mat was empty, so I left an hour and 15 minutes later with our basket of clean, damp clothes. It's quite a ritual, putting items in the basket, in order of hanging on our umbrella line. 😄

A nice day for the clothes to dry.

Back home, M messaged about a ride to town. He got home from the hospital on Wednesday and although still not out of the woods, swollen legs still, he has instruction that he appears to be following. No beer, no cigs, limited fluids each day. We were in and out of town within the hour.

I decided on a quesadilla for lunch.
Then I discovered that all I had was olives,
onion, bacon and cheese. LOL
It was still good and I'll do the same tomorrow.

Now, I had the day to myself, with my little supervisor/security mate. We stayed indoors until noon and I ordered some more quilling supplies. Well, jewellery making supplies rather than driving to Owen Sound, I can get more for less on Amazon.

The geese are back.
Just 4 of them so far.

Gibbs and I went out after lunch and I finished the second greeting card and then worked on a hanging plaque. I don't know what to call them. I'm not entirely pleased with the top part, still have some touch ups before I show it. 🤭

Time for one of these pictures again.
I love the view.

Bill was indeed late. It was after 6 when he got home, hot and tired. I wish I hadn't planned on burgers for him to grill but expected him earlier than that. He didn't seem to mind. 

I almost walked by my Sedum.
Such a pretty pink and the
bees are loving it too.
I counted 8.

After supper, which was yummy, (no pic), he went for a bladder of water, we are quite low.

Today's creation.
Better in person, the little girl
turned out cute.

This was a good day. A couple of errands done and some crafting too. Gibbs seemed to enjoy being with Mom, even though he slept on my lap while I 'worked'! 💖 Such is a loved dog's life.

Good night!

Thank you for stopping by.

A Hot One, A Bit of Work Too

The Ridge

On Sunday, June 22nd I woke up with a lovely breeze occasionally blowing in on my face. Bill and Gibbs had already been out and the little bum was on his side of the bed, sound asleep. It was only 6:15 so I was happy to remain right where I was.

Good morning!

The storms were done and it was going to be a dry day. Oh, did I mention hot? Yes, hot and humid and after a 25C/75F night, we were prepared for it. I had a message from Robin last night asking if I could clean for her today and I'm not going to turn it down if I'm available. 😊

Yummy!
This is his first time at the window.

We hung around the Ridge and Bill replaced the tube in Lila's back tire. It's never as easy as you think but he managed quite well and she is now ready for my first ride here at home. (Now it's too hot!) I munched on something to tide me over for a few hours and made a coffee to go.

I got my sewing machine out,
she's working great after her tune-up last year,
and stitched a pair of shorts and t-shirt
for Bill.

Now he'll wear the t-shirt more
often with his new short sleeves.

I left the Suite and my boys at 10:30 and did the drive to Williamsford. I had to stop at Robin's on the way for a few things and was grateful for the a/c in the little house when I arrived. It should have been cool but cleaning in a/c doesn't always guarantee that. 😉

One last look at the air bnb before
I left today.
I love that little house

A quick stop at Robin's to drop off a couple of fans (they don't have a/c) and I was back home at 1. Bill and I had lunch together and he went to the Hangar for the afternoon. I stayed indoors with Gibbs and did some more quilling. Surprise, surprise! 

Bill came up at 5 (to cool off, since it is warm in the Hangar) and I started perparing supper. We have pork ribs on the menu with fried potatoes and corn for Bill. Squash and mashed cauliflower for me. We have strawberries for dessert and an evening of relaxing. 

How about a Sunday night
meal on a Sunday?
Delicious!

It has been a wonderful day! We reached an incredible high of 32C/89F, early in the day, but it is not unexpected. They have predicted these few hot days for over a week now. The a/c works great but hopefully we can open windows for overnight.

This is a memory from June 22nd
in 2020.
This frog was my most interesting visitor.
I haven't seen him since.

Good night!

Thank you for stopping by.

A Bit of Work, Weather Change

 

The Ridge

On Wednesday, Sept. 6^th, hump day, Bill was up and off to work at 6:30, with Black Beauty. I was up and off to work at 6:45, arriving at the Mat a couple of minutes before 7. It was quiet in there until one regular arrived when I was half way through. A nice gentleman but I’ve only seen him a handful of times. I had stripped the bed sheets and duvet cover so put them into two machines. When they were done and when I was done, I loaded them into the basket damp to hang at home.

My first drive into Durham at 7
Coming home Baptist Church Road
is even prettier with some leaves changing colour

A stop at Foodland, before it got busy and too hot, to get Bill his bread and a bottle of ketchup. The Compliments brand was $3 cheaper but I can’t bring myself to buy it – Bill would shoot me! Ha ha, not really, but Heinz is the only ketchup for us. 😊 Some things, we can live with the ‘other’ brands but others just have to be the ‘best’. It’s true and we’ve earned the right to choose, haven’t we?! Yes!

My work shorts are cut offs but the constant
rolling and fraying was making me nuts.
So I hemmed them with my Supervisor staying close.
My sewing jobs are usually slap happy but they work. 

I pulled Ptooties up into the shade nice and snug to the Montana as that sun was barreling down like gangbusters already at 8:30. Bill had bumped the a/c down to a temperature where it would kick in first thing, it was already warm in here. It remained on for the better part of the day. I made my coffee and left the Suite for M’s at a few minutes before 10.

Second trip to town with M
His Lincoln is almost ready to go
but we both liked this classic Mercedes. Purty!

It was a different run today, with some
familiar stops but a stop at Mrs. Sew & Sew's
to drop off some of M's pants for hemming. (No, I won't do them)
These Begolias are hers, beautiful!
Our road was being graded when I returned.
Just in time too, the pot holes were getting bad.

We did a town run and then some of his personal business stuff back at the shop that he needed help with and called it a ‘shift’ after 2 hours. Too hot to work on a vehicle. Tommy, the 1929 that I’ve (we’ve) been working on is gone. Wes’s family had a meeting and decided they could not afford to have us finish it. ☹ I’m very sad because I so wanted to see it painted BUT at the same time, this is their call, I’m sure it wasn’t easy.

Gibbs and I walked down and the gate had
blown shut again. The winds were quite strong
this afternoon.

 I’m glad it will now be stored indoors. Hopefully Wes will bounce back and be able to make his own decisions again soon. For the rest of the afternoon, until Bill returned home at an earlier 4:30, I read my book with Gibbs. We did go for a walk to check mail around 3:30 but both of us were almost running up the steps to get back to where it was cool. Aaaah!

this pot of petunias are in the best spot
They have been in bloom all summer.
Hibiscus #4, 5 & 6. 💖

The sky darkened, winds picked up and the rains came before Bill got home. I brought his flag down because of the wind and Gibbs and I stayed inside listening to the thunder and watching the lightning flashes. Safe. 😊 We had chicken nuggets fried potatoes and corn on the cob for supper, no dessert required. Bill went to the Hangar and after posting this, I’ll finish my book. We are both off work tomorrow, yay! so I’ll finish with the last bag of apples.

I went up to lower Bill's flag when the winds picked
up and the sky started changing.

The rains came and then moved off to the east.

A nice easy supper to prepare tonight

This has been a good day, no complaints. After the rain, we opened windows, it dropped from a stifling, humid 31C/88F to a comfortable, refreshing 20C/68F. Nice sleeping tonight.

Watching Daddy go to the Hangar
but enjoying the fresh breeze too!
What a tired puppy! 💓🐶
Good night!

Thank you for the visit and your comments are always welcome!

 

A Working Morning, Quiet Afternoon, Beautiful Bloom

The Ridge

Friday, Aug. 20^th we took our time getting up. Gibbs was restless through the wee hours of the morning so Bill took him out at 3:30. That was the ticket as he did both jobs and dropped off to sleep quickly for the remainder of the morning. It was 7:30 when we all woke again and got up. Bill didn’t have to work today. Yay! It was a Mat cleaning day for me but since I wanted to drop my return ‘postage-paid’ parcel at the Post Office anyway, I was in no hurry. That meant being in town until at least 9 am.

Something beautiful to wake up to
My first Hibiscus with more buds to come

Such a small plant but loaded 😍

I left around 8:15 for town. Turns out, the box I was dropping off fit into their outside mail box so I could have done that anytime. 😊 I dropped it plus a greeting card and drove to the Mat. No one was there and it was fairly clean. M popped in soon after I arrived and paid me for the couple of hours of work that I did for him on Wednesday. That was a surprise, I wasn’t expecting to see him until Saturday.

It was quite a foggy morning

I could tell that one of the Lindsay’s had been in to fill the pop machine and retrieve change from the machines. The floor had been swept too. The young couple I met a week or so ago came in with many bags equaling many loads of laundry. The change machine gave her $4 change in return for a $20 bill. ☹ Not good. I couldn’t help her this time since the washers had been emptied of change. She was pleasant about it and offered to go across the street to get change from the gas station OR to take an IOU from us. 👍

We can see car lights but wandering
animals are harder to see so I drove slowly
along Baptist Church Road

I took a chance and texted Jamie to see if he or one of the kids could pop down. He was there within 15 minutes and found a twonie had jammed the dollar pot in the machine. things out of his control. At least there was no way you could lose your bills; the machine wasn’t accepting them. So, Jamie got her fixed up with $40 in change and he left. I finished with the floor and it was then I realized he’d left some keys in the back room. Woops! On my way out of town, I easily swung by his place and dropped them off.

Oooh! Our windows were dirty

At home, Bill and Gibbs were back from getting water at the Acreage. I’d decided to wash the inside Suite windows and since I didn’t use the correct Norwex mop last week on the outside, did those again today. It is so nice to only use water, just spray it on the wet mop and use the dry window mop to finish off. Easy peasey, no chemicals and no odor! Bill worked on a labour intensive project that he had on the go but fortunately he was able to finish by noon before the real heat of the day set in.

They wash up really nice by hand
and I use the rubber brush

It was very humid already by noon, at 20C/68F going up to 29C/85F by end of day. We agreed that after our bacon and eggs lunch, we would do our own thing and just enjoy the day. It was nice that Bill had a second day off, rather than working in this heat. Gibbs bounced between the two of us, always in our presence even when he was sleeping. 😊 Such a special little guy and we seem to be his whole world, which is precious.

A different tractor was doing something in the back fields

Bill went to check it out as it was sure stirring up the dirt
Huge implement behind the tractor

After dishes, M texted asking if I could come and finish deadheading his flower boxes out front. I had just showered and wasn’t feeling up to getting all hot and sweaty again today. It would only be an hour so we agreed on tomorrow afternoon at 1. They are too wet in the morning to work on. When I go, I will take any items Bill and I want to sell and have them added to his Yard Sale. It isn’t a crazy busy road at all but M has signs out drawing some people in off the highway so it’s worth a shot.

It wasn't windy but I was still glad I didn't have clothes
on the line
The other day they came through spraying something
so maybe they are mixing it into the soil for the next planting?

I sat for quite a while inside while the boys had their respective snoozes downstairs and then before putting my mop system away, washed the windshield on Black Beauty. Gibbs and I walked to the mail box around 2:30 and I was excited to see my 2^nd Amazon parcel had arrived. My new wallet phone case. 👏 I’m happy to have a safe way to carry my phone now, either in the wallet or in the detachable protective case. It was a lazy afternoon for the remainder of our Friday and that was quite nice. Mostly we hung around inside the Suite with the a/c set around 24C/74F.

I'm happy with my new Wallet phone case
It won't hold all my cards plus change, plus bills
but I don't need to carry them all anyway.
This will go in my purse and I can take it in the stores
by itself now
The phone case itself detaches with a magnet to take pictures
or slip in a pocket

For supper, we prepared fish and chips together. I cook the fish and Bill does his fries in our Fry Daddy. I had leftover cauliflower rice to eat and some vegetables so that made for a very nice meal. I grew up with Mom having a lot of choices of condiments on the table, each night, so tonight I enjoyed some olives and one of my small tomatoes. Bill must not have had that as he never adds them or he just likes the 'meat and potatoes' stuff. It also adds colour to my plate! 😊

Sometimes our supper really ranks a 10
for me and this was one of those
Delicious!

With dishes done, we followed up on an invite from Donna to join their campfire so spent the evening from 8 until 11 outside at the Acreage on a lovely night. The moon rose up over the trees after 10 and was beautiful. No pictures of that, since they never turn out well anyway for me. Bill turned the a/c on in the bedroom as Gibbs seems to get quite hot up there in all his furry glory. We dropped off quickly after that. What a nice day!

the drive over to the Acreage
and the hazy sun was pretty
Good night!

Thank you for popping in!

A Bit of Work, A Touch of Rest, An Enjoyable First Family Campfire

The Ridge

On Saturday, June 5^th at 12:45 am Bill woke me up in agony. He gets the darnedest leg cramps in the wee hours of the morning. Not often, thank goodness, but they are painful and we have to try numerous things in order to get the muscle to relax so Bill can relax. It isn’t easy and when I think of the charley-horses I use to get, touch wood, I sympathize that I can’t help him much.

clothes on the line and the truck on the hill
while transferring water from the bladder

I’m usually roused from a deep sleep so my actions are probably quite fitful and comical at the beginning. 😊 I first try massaging the area, then offer him some pickle juice (both of which have worked on occasion), and as a last resort, an ice pack wrapped in a towel. This morning, that was what finally gave him relief, eventually after about 15 minutes.

I counted 4 goldfinches taking turns at the feeder
Can you see them all?

We can’t associate them to any particular activity so that makes it hard to avoid them. I gave him suggestions for preventative medicine and we’ll see if that helps. He has already doubled his Magnesium daily dosage. So, we went back to sleep and blessedly, Gibbs slept through the whole thing. I woke up next at 6 and my two boys were up and the bedroom door was closed.

Salvia and celosia

I went to the bathroom and peeked out the window. When I saw them sitting together in the King chairs, I crawled back in bed until 6:30 when I got up and went out with them. It was a very refreshing morning, beautiful. The sun was just beginning to brighten up the Ridge and we walked a bit before coming inside. I felt really achy, all over this morning and that included an odd headache at the crown of my head. Weird.

A view from the opposite end of the new garden
I've planted 3 bulbs (perennials that need to be dug up in fall) where
the stakes are (can't remember what Gayle said they were!)

We each had a morning brew and I took some pain relief and sat it out. By 7:30, I was improved so sorted the 2 small laundry loads and we went to town in Black Beauty. Bill needed to top her up with fuel and he needed to clean the dryer vents on the bigger machines. It was worth his trip as he came home almost $2 richer. 😉 I finished cleaning and we loaded the basket with our clean damp clothes. We got diesel and then one more stop at the hardware before heading home.

My Rose of Sharon never amounts to much
I think it has only flowered one year so a disappointment

Poor Gibbs! I let him out of his crate, put him on his rope leash at the steps and went up to hang the clothes. Bill went out and hopped on the mower to finish cutting the lawns/fields. I checked on the little guy half way through my job and remembered that he hadn’t eaten! It was 10:30. Duh, he has nothing unconditional love for us and we forget to feed him! That reminded me that Clemson never let us forget a meal. Ha ha

The peonies are fading off so I snagged this photo
of the latest one to bloom

Before it got too hot, Gibbs and I went up the hill to plant rhubarb, dahlias and my other annuals in the gardens. The latter went into the shovel scoop with fresh new top soil. Gibbs was pretty good although I had to tie him to trees and posts far enough away from me so I could work easier. He just wants to be close to us as much as possible. Don’tcha love that? When I finished, I put things away and Bill finished soon after with the front field.

That's the rhubarb off in the far corner
and room for cucumbers or zucchini

It was 11:30 and I hopped in the shower, the one I meant to have last night. Boy, that felt great! Gibbs was tuckered out again and slept on the cool tile floor the whole time I was upstairs. 😊 We had bacon and eggs and Bill went up for a nap to catch some of the zzz’s he lost last night. I thought I might doze but did the dishes and then read a few more chapters of my book instead. It is a different story to some extent than what I’m used to but similar as well. Huh?

My two-toned iris has bloomed

We drove over to the Acreage around 2 to get a second bladder full of water. Gibbs and I visited with Donna at the front and Bill went back to the pump. Gerry was busy cutting grass back in their acreage lot and didn’t even know we were there. We weren’t there for a long time but long enough for me to hold Gibbs over the pond water, letting him get his feet wet. I want him not to be afraid of it but also not to love it to pure abandonment!

Typical fast food Saturday night supper

Stewed rhubarb and ice cream - yummy!

Back home, my headache had started again and Bill reported having one as well. We each went out to bring the clothes in, they dried so fast! It is very windy and 29C/84F .  Inside we had a cold drink, more pain relief, and he went to the Hangar when the water tank was full and I wrote in my blog. With that started, I went back to my chair with my book, hoping to drop off for a bit. We were invited to share a ‘first’ family campfire with D & G after supper so wanted to feel better.

Bill relaxing by the fire

Gibbs saw Donna walk away so waited patiently
until she returned

For supper, we used two appliances so had to plug back into power. Rosy did our chicken balls and FryDaddy did our fries. It was a very hot afternoon and just got hotter as the day wore on and the wind died. We have one more Mrs. Yertle digging, preparing to lay eggs so I hope she finishes. I’ll have to mark and cover the spot so the skunks don’t eat them again this year.

he did the same when Gerry left for a bit
He likes to keep the family together

The one from yesterday, has been covered first by Mrs. Y and then with a slate rock, then stones. It was too sad last year to see them all dug up. After dishes, we packed a cooler with drinks for all 3 of us and drove over to the Acreage. Gibbs got his supper early, around 7 and we were out the door by 7:45. Time for an evening out. I remembered Gibbs’ dish, leash and bug spray. Our first fire of the season with them and Gibbs’ first fire ever. 😊

When we got there, Donna, Gerry and our friend, Mike, were all seated around the firepit at the pond. It was a gorgeous evening so difficult to know what to wear. Bill was in shorts and remained that way although I think a couple of mosquitoes found his ankles. I slipped into light long pants and a t-shirt and we each took a jacket. Gibbs was very excited and had to greet everyone, a few times. He paid no attention to the fire, seemingly unaware of it and its dangers so as he wandered on his leash, we all kept a close eye.

Gibbs finally settled down but every time Donna tried to get
a picture, he lifted his head at the sound

It was a relaxing evening. Bill and I each enjoyed a cold drink as did Gerry and Mike. Around 9:30, he finally settled down and came to sit on my lap for the next hour. Good, we were hoping he would do what Clemson used to do and this was positive. Bill and I were both tired and ready for home by 10:30 so we said our goodbyes. It wasn’t long after that we were all tucked in for the night. What a great day and evening!

A memory picture of 6 of us at Ellen and Scott's for dinner
June 5, 2018
Good night!

Thank you for stopping around. Your comments are always welcome.