Walk to the Old Gas Station, Suite Wash, Rock Painting

It was around 7 on Monday, Mar. 18^th when my sweetie and I woke up. It seems like we are settling into the new time zone and the DST. We had our morning brew together and then I was off. My destination today was west, (go west young man) on foot, not on horseback. I realized how close the fascinating stone, brick and petrified wood structure was and wanted to see it up close and personal.

Monday morning sky

It was 7:45 when I headed out. I left Bill with the decision to wash the Suite this morning. Our rv’s are so dirty and the guys talk about it a lot. Rob asked when we all checked in whether it was allowed and today was our day. I fully enjoyed this morning’s walk again and dilly dallied around the remains of stone structures between the park and the ‘Y’ in the road. Right smack in the middle of the ‘Y’ is a picnic setting which I’m very glad they left alone.

The 'V' picnic area

I wandered around the old gas station/moonshine business taking way too many pictures, including a few selfies, before I walked a bit further to do the same around what looks like an old homestead. So interesting, with steps and everything. Again, where is my super vision to see the place as it was all those many years ago? Now there is an invention that would be worth millions!

Left 3 pictures: Squaw Creek, facing south, north and east towards the park
Righ hand pictures: the road away from the park, my destination in the sunlight

Stone, stone, stone
and petrified wood

On the walk back to the park, the road was busier today since it was a work day, sirens echoed all around me so I watched to see where the emergency vehicles were coming from and headed to. I could see them across the vee of the 40-acre property that was for sale. (side note: what a beautiful flat spot for a residence) 

Not sure what the urgency was here but they did!

I think its harder to sell a property when your sign in laying flat
but what do I know

I wasn’t able to determine what the emergency was but there was no accident that I could see at the corner where the vehicles were parked.

The old gas station/monshine 'shack'

I apologize but there was no perfect angle
and I wanted to capture it

The morning sun played a big part in these photos

 Back home, I wasn’t surprised to see the office still closed as it wasn’t 9 yet nor was I surprised to see Bill prepping his chore. The hose was out, the step ladder and his wash equipment. We were both pretty sure they wouldn’t mind him starting to wash before getting his permit. Clemson finally got up and I took him out for his piddle and poop which was good as Bill needs to bring slides in as he works his way around the Suite, starting with the bedroom.

And a tree goes in it

At a couple of minutes before 9 I walked up and sat on the welcoming porch to wait for Jody to open up, got our permit and walked back home. Good to go. I moved inside then, since even though the temperature had risen from 37F to 47F, it was still too chilly to sit outside. Looking out the window, I see Bill has already removed his hoody, surprise, surprise. 😊 Clemson had gone back to sleep in the sunshine in his bed on the couch so I sat and downloaded the pictures I took this morning. I was excited to see how they turned out.

I found it so hard to walk away - truly

But a selfie before I left

It's a cool porch in front of the Office
and I sat in a rocking chair to wait for it to open

Bill continued to work away at cleaning the Suite and at one point between doing the nose and the west front, he stopped and I made us bacon and eggs for breakfast. We cleaned up dishes and then I pulled the large kitchen slide in, which is on the west side. At this stage of the day, it was around noon hour that I decided to take my paints and rocks outside.

Some days, just plain eggs and bacon tastes so good
This was one of those days

Bill pulled the next site’s picnic table over for me to work on since ours had the Weber and his cleaning supplies on it. He finished that side, put the slide out and then worked on the back. He was making good progress but at that point, he needed to stop and wait for the heat of the sun to move off the east side. He sat outside with me and read his book while I painted.

Yup, this was a beautiful day

The warmth of the sun was unbelievably hot and it felt wonderful on my back. It is funny how much cooler you feel sitting in the shade. I believe the temperature got to 70F today on the thermometers but much hotter in the direct sun. We are loving it and know it is improving every day from here on in. Too bad we are leaving on Saturday. When Bill needed the living room/dining table slide in, I took Clemson for a walk. He freaks out, understandably, when his home closes in on him.

I had a little bit of fun painting my rocks
Okay, I really enjoyed it and got 4 finished

I still have a few more ideas for next time

We walked down along the trail again east of the park to the south and then back along the water on the west side. I’m enjoying this walk and I’m sure Clemson is too. He will love being free at home on the Ridge, when we get there but so far, because of the weather back home, I’m in no big rush! When we returned, we sat outside while Bill finished up and was able to open the Suite up for Clemmy.

and out of the stone fireplace grows this plant

What are you looking at?

The rest of the afternoon was quiet. I moved my chair to follow the sunshine while I was outside and after spraying my 4 newly painted rocks, moved inside around 5:30. This is a busy night for television, busier than we first thought so I got supper started right at 6. Bill, my audio guy, has the pvr set up to record those programs that we won’t be able to watch. Tonight, we had fish and chips and settled in for the evening.

Look at that beautiful Suite shine!!

Someone deserves a rest

This has been a good day, getting things done, enjoying the gorgeous day and spending quality time together at the end of it all.

Best fish and chips I've had in a while

                                                                                           Good night all!

                                                            I hope the video plays so you can see what I see daily

Thank you for visiting us today and y’all come back now, ya hear?

Looking After the Fort, Winds Bring Rain, Peaceful Day, Baking and Clothing Decisions

On Wednesday, Sept. 26^th, Bill’s alarm woke me but at 5 am it is easy for me to go back to sleep. Next thing I knew, he was crawling across the bed to kiss me goodbye. He was on his way to London for one of his last few working days for this year. I rolled over and went back to sleep until a few minutes before 7 when I got up, checked to see if it was raining and headed out the door in just a lightweight long-sleeved tee shirt and my vest.

It seemed darker than it should have been because of the clouds

It was quite mild and quite windy. The clouds were giving me some doubts as to how far I would get this morning, thinking I’d only go to the corner again. I didn’t have a hoody on and didn’t want to get caught in a downpour. 

Wasn't sure how far to go

As I approached the corner, I checked my phone for the first chance of rain and it indicated 7 am. Hmm. Then I looked up and saw a couple who walk quite a bit (usually later in the day) pass the corner in the direction I was going. I know where they live now so figured, they might know more than me about the weather so I followed them.

Can you see the couple up ahead of me?

I kept my distance, we were all moving about the same pace so the 100 feet between us was comfortable. I still watched the clouds and looked for a shelter along the fence line just in case. Yup, I’d dodge down in the ditch to stand under a tree if I had to. I managed to get all the way to Turbine Drive and the couple carried on up over the hill. I’m sure they would walk all the way to #4 highway. Some day I’m going to do that, come hook or crook, but not today.

Got to Turbine Drive and turned around for home

The darkest clouds had blown off to the southeast and by the time I’d returned home, I noticed they were even darker off to the northwest coming my way. My sister, Donna, did the same thing this morning in Hanover. Dodged clouds. We walk ‘together’ most mornings which is very nice, I think, and quite encouraging for both of us. I believe even my sister, Audrey, just started ‘joining’ us in her area of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, Quebec.

My petunias are mostly done so I've pulled them out

I made my tea and sat and read our friend’s blog posts.  The sky opened up around 8 and it rained steady for about 10 minutes before dwindling off. Once I was all caught up reading, Bill called me to say he arrived, right on time after a good drive. By 9:30 the temperature here had dropped from 64F at 7 to 55F. It is a cozy 70F inside the Suite so I’ll likely spend most of my day indoors.

These are hanging on much better

Since we are plugged into power anyway, I will get the vacuum out and do a thorough ‘sweep’. Not my favourite chore, ever, even when we had the house. The central vac is nice but still not easy to maneuver in my opinion. I’m also thinking I will make more of the peanut butter cookies we liked. Clemson is looking quite content curled up on my afghan on the couch. I think his Dad’s t-shirt from yesterday is in there too.

All cuddled on the couch this morning

Where to begin? Well, first off, I ran through my written commentary on our winter travels and added a few more pictures. I think I’m ready to begin going into Blurb.com to start my book. The library in town offers free Wi-fi so when I’m ready to get at it, I’ll venture in there. Maybe tomorrow after my visit with Mom. So, I made up two batches of cookies, giving me 3 dozen cookies.

2 dozen cookies cooling while the rest bake

Today, I used the all-natural peanut butter that we got from Marilynne after Dad passed. She never eats it and had 2 unopened jars of it. Bill would never try it, loving his Kraft smooth regular and so I use it for baking. 

It has the oil on top, I think Shirley wrote about one brand she had. I opened the jar quite a while ago and used my immersion blender to blend it and, in the fridge, it has remained that way. Yay! I had one jar years ago that kept resettling with the oil on top.

Breakfast similar to a poached egg on toast
it was delicious!

While the cookies were baking, a cookie sheet at a time, I got the vacuum out. All the scatter mats we have laid out for Clemson get picked up so he remains in one position, on the couch, while the job gets done. The vacuum and I actually got along just fine today. It is an awkward position for my lower back and I believe that is my biggest grief about it. I used to like my upright that we had years ago except for doing our stairs in the house.

Unsettled sky all day long with brief patches of sun

Still baking, I then dusted the lower extremities of the Suite and then removed the last batch of cookies and washed the dishes up. Clemson and I took a walk down the lane to collect the mail, knowing that at the very least, the local flyers would be there to collect. Clemson ran way ahead of me with more energy again than he has shown for a couple of weeks or more. On the way back, he still jogged along ahead of me and beat me back to the mat.

He won the race today

Down and back

This has been a crazy day for weather and even now at 6:15, it is wrestling between blue skies, dark and then white clouds. Soon enough the sun will go down but I’m not sure what I’ll see of that performance. It will depend on what that black cloud to the west does. It is encouraging to hear Julie, on CTV News London, say they have lovely clear blue skies.

When Willie Nelson's Always on my Mind came on the radio today

Clemson and I shared a dance

I chatted with Bill at the end of his day around 5:30 and we both said goodbye to go off and fix our own suppers. I had some leftover hot roast beef sandwich with gravy so warmed that up, and sliced a tomato on the side. It hit the spot and was quick and easy. I then had a serving of warmed rhubarb crisp before getting the dishes out of the way. I’d sent some with Bill too, so he’s doing the same thing tonight.

Someone knew my roast beef (wrapped in tinfoil) was on the counter

I have a program on PVR to watch and the rest of the evening, I will be reading the next Jack Reacher story. I finished Worth Dying For yesterday afternoon so moved on to another one. Bill is reading Void Moon by Michael Connelly and when he is finished that, I will loan him my Kobo to catch up on these Lee Child stories. It is persnickety sometimes so a lesson on how to ‘treat’ Mr. Kobo will preface that.

It has been a good day, with some exercise, some cleaning indoors, some baking and I have even chosen the 3 outfits I’ll need for working the Toronto RV show next month. I need to find comfortable clothes and shoes for warm or cool temperatures since we never know what the complex will be like until we get there. I hope you’ve had a good day too.

This will work for a sunset picture
Good night from The Ridge

Thank you for reading today. Your comments are always appreciated.