Visiting, Pets for Mr. Gibbs, Dinner Out

Park Place RV Park 

On Friday, Nov. 22^nd it was after 7 when I dragged myself out of bed. Ha ha, dragged, only because it was a morning where I’d been dreaming ‘forever’ and I could easily have talked myself into rolling over and going back to sleep. Nope, once I start doing that, I will find it too easy to make excuses each day. 😊 So, like a good girl, I got up, made the bed, washed, dressed and went for my walk.

Good morning!

It was colder still at that time of the morning, 37F/2.6C. Brr. But, again, no wind so other than my toque and gloves, I was pleasantly warm in just a fleece jacket and wind breaker. I do wear my heavy fleece stretch pants though and that helps. I was back just in time to see Bill packing up to head for the field. I had my cereal and tea before taking Gibbs out for his walk. He was raring to go and, although he walks well with me, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to stop when we got near home.

I made my bp coffee and walked over to the puzzle for a bit before lunch. Elva popped in to visit just before noon and we chatted until it was time to head out for lunch. I was home by 12:20 and decided since Bill wasn’t home yet, I’d cook up the last 4 keto pancakes for my lunch. He would be having a sandwich anyway. He wasn’t too much after me. My pancakes were good, drowned in that maple syrup how could they not be? 😊

Pancakes and syrup for lunch.
Um, maybe I should say Syrup with pancakes. 😂

After Bill went back to Jim’s, he did finish his plane this morning except for a flight test, Gibbs and I had visitors. Elva and Jerry stopped by for about 45 minutes. Gibbs could have been better, the barking at passersby frustrates me, but he had fun playing with Jerry and visa versa. There is a young family in the park (well, more than one) and when they walk their very quiet, calm dog, Gibbs just goes crazy with his barking. They take a long time walking by which enhances his noise. Today was no different. It’s not their fault, nor Gibbs’. It is ours. ☹

Gibbs knew who to go to to get belly rubs

When they left with ‘see ya laters’, Irma popped over and although the barking ensued again, Gibbs did calm down once we basically ignored him. We caught up on a few bits of news and I showed her the info on the event at the town park tomorrow. It should be a good day. Bill’s flying club, as well as other vendors, will have a static display, of sorts, for attendees and it is all free. I hope it turns out well for them all.

And he had to pose with Elva for a picture too!

Bill and a few of the guys were setting up later this afternoon but when he returned home at 4, we got cleaned up for a meal out with our friends. Elva and Jerry suggested Mountain Quail Café and with it being their Fish and Chips special ‘night’, we’re all in. We’ve wanted to try them for a while but find we’re never there on the right night. There may be a line up – we’ll see. 

Yummy!

We had service right at the door when Jerry’s Jeep pulled up to drive to the restaurant at 4:45. Right on time, too! 😊 There was a line-up at the door so we added our name to the list. As many people were piling out as were lined up to enter so it was maybe 10 minutes and large groups were allowed to find a seat. We ordered and were in and out by 6 pm. That’s without rushing!

Elva suggested I take a picture of the palms for
our friend, Patty.

The meals were great and topped off by our drivers footing the bill. That wasn’t planned or necessary but we accepted with grace. It was very nice. ♥ Back home, Gibbs was patiently waiting for us in the dark. Oops! We forgot to leave a light on for him. I finished my blog and we watched tv to pass the evening. This was a really nice day, with visits from friends and neighbours. We reached a lovely high of 76F/24.4C today, another bonus.

Thank you to my readers who suggested some new series for me to watch. I've been curious about Murder in a Small Town and now Landman also sounds interesting with BB Thornton. Matlock and Elspeth are both off until after Thanksgiving, returning on Dec. 5th and I found that Cross recorded all 8 episodes on Nov. 14th so I can stream them now at my leisure. PS - Nancy K, Gibbs loved all the pets you asked Elva to give him! 😍

Thank you Jerry and Elva!
The romantic lighting was perfect! 💖
Good night!

Thank you for your visit.

Playing, Visiting, Puzzling

Park Place RV Park

On Monday, Feb. 19^th 7 provinces in Canada celebrated a statutory holiday.  In our home province of Ontario, it is Family Day so I know our families who are not retired, are enjoying a day off. 😊 I hope they are enjoying it even though it is only 26F/-3C. Here, in Arizona and other states, they are celebrating President’s Day. Since I didn’t leave the park, I don’t know what vendors were closed.

Good morning!
Look at that sky!

Bill was up and on his way to the flying field by 8 and Gibbs and I headed out for our walk. It was another beautiful morning. Nancy and I met over at the clubhouse at 9ish for Ladies Poker Pool and there were 5 of us in attendance. We played until noon, we all agreed that it wasn’t the best we’ve played, and had a good time. Susan, Nancy,(1 point apart) Patsy, Barb and Patti: that was the final winning order.

Looks like a clean shot in the making.

Bill and I had lunch and while he and Gibbs snoozed, I walked over to work on the puzzle. Susan had finished the border during the pool game so I started in on the centre. This is a very pretty picture with lots of colours so perhaps it will be an easy one. 😊 Nancy joined me within 15 minutes and we worked away until just before 3 when we walked back home.

This is a nice puzzle.

The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting outside with my book, Gibbs, Bill and/or Nancy. Oh, once I moved to my lounger in the gazebo, I admit to closing my eyes for a few minutes too. For supper, we had the leftover macaroni casserole with the homemade rolls and a vegetable. Filling and delicious. Bill loaded the dishwasher and I started my blog for the day.

Cooper and Nancy visited.
The pups like each other.💕

What a nice meal and quick and easy too!

The new NCIS and NCIS:Hawaii start tonight so we watched them live. Hopefully, we’ll remember each week and watch them together. This has been a great day and we’re enjoying the Arizona warmth – reminding us of previous years and why we come.

Good night.

Thank you for coming by. Your comments are always welcome.

Disappointment Turns Into Day Visitations, Away and at Home

 The Ridge

On Thursday, May 14^th when we got up, we had our tea and coffee together. We read some blogs and made some comments before having a bowl of cereal and getting washed. By 9:45 we were on the road to Owen Sound. First stop, Staples. We wanted to check out their laptops for Bill, now that stores were opening. Were we surprised when checking on line, I found that they didn’t open until 12 noon. It was 10:30.

Morning entertainment

Enjoying a breakfast orange

Yum yum

So, what can we do to kill an hour? I texted my little sister to see if she was open to a visit since we were in her neighbourhood. Before she answered, we drove to Staples to check out the times. We were disappointed to see that they were only open to curbside pickup between 12 and 8 pm. Well, that doesn’t work for us. As we were leaving there, Wendy’s response came back. “Sure!” so we sat with her for a bit and caught up on things. Giving ‘virtual’ hugs across the room, we said our goodbyes.

Driving out the laneway

On a truck's tailgate in front of us
Are we in Texas?

Before we went to Wendy's, we went to the Museum to see the
Chi-Cheemaun
A 364' passenger and vehicle ferry in Ontario that travels on Lake Huron between
Tobermory and Manitoulin Island.
As a child, Mom and Daddy took us on the ferry but it was a different name
I don't recall the name at the time as my parents just called it the
 'ferry from Tobermory'.
It is currently docked because of the Covid-19 virus

Wendy's lovely home

And Wendy and Morgan's beautiful budgies
the yellow one on the left is Tina, used to be Mom's
until we needed to move her

We’d made arrangements with my other sister, Gayle, and her husband, John, to stop in on our way home. We hadn’t been to their place since our return home either. They have a beautiful property and have been working diligently around the place to clean things up and it shows. We all had a coffee together and shared books and stories of our childhood for an hour and a half. More virtual hugs. It was a nice visit and we headed home through Durham.

I caught them off guard but saying goodbye to John and Gayle
It was a nice visit

There was one more stop before home and Rob and Pat were up for the short drop-in. They had brought their Cedar Creek 5^th wheel in from storage so it would be ready for us to use while the Suite goes in for repair. A very generous offer. Because our truck will possibly be longer than expected and their rv is blocking their drive, Bill wanted them to know they could bring it out anytime. I also picked up half of the apples I’d left with them last fall.

Up on the Ridge, the warm temps felt a few degrees cooler because of the winds. Strong again, gusts to 24 mph on the hour. The Suite was cool inside as we’d turned the heat off before we left home. 

Surprise, surprise! A new family of two we didn't see before
As we drove in, the 3 families were in the front field

To rectify that, Bill turned the fireplace and our blue flame heater on. We didn’t want the furnace, set at 60F, to kick in. It didn’t take long for things to warm up in here. I decided a cup of creamy tea would be nice.

I looked out the window before supper and saw this
15 babies and one set of parents
No explanation for this but it is obviously more than one family involved
Babysitting duties perhaps?

Bill had a hot chocolate with me and we enjoyed the rest of the day. It was already 4:00 and yet we had no complaints about the day so far. We were supposed to get a fair bit of rain over the course of the day but it really didn’t amount to anything more than a few drops in our travels. 

I didn't mean to but I scared them out of the corral

And away they go on the run down the lane

The temperature reached 12C/54F and that was a nice change from the past couple of weeks. At 6 I started reheating the leftover chili and Bill and I each made toast for ourselves. His plain and mine rye.

The oriole has been around since this morning and is very interested
in not only the oranges but the hummingbird food too

White crested sparrow is all fluffed up for a picture

Turns out he likes oranges too!
An oriole in the wings and robin on the ground

As we were doing dishes, I noticed a new ‘guest critter’ slipping around behind the Suite. We’ve never seen him up here before! 

Bill chased him away from my banana feeder

Down on the road, last summer but not up on the Ridge. With dishes done, the rest of the evening fell into place with some tv and some reading. What a great day!

With still some leftovers, we had another nice chili meal
Have a great night!

Thank you for checking in to see what we’re up to.

Some Work, Some Visiting, Some Hangin’ Out

Life on the Ridge

It was 5:30 when I woke, again before my alarm, and then dozed until 6. We got up together and I left for work by 6:15. It was a tad foggy but clear as I got out on the road. Bill had an appointment in Hanover at Speedy Auto Glass to get Black Beauty a new windshield. A stone chip from sometime that neither of us recall, turned very quickly (we think) into a backward ‘j’ smack dab in the middle. Finally, biting the bullet, this morning at 9 he took her in.

Bill took a picture of me leaving for work

 I finished at the Laundromat by 8 or shortly after and drove home. I made my tea and relaxed for an hour catching up on blogs. After seeing what our friends were up to, I chatted briefly with 2 sisters and my buddy. I had half of my omelette sandwich from yesterday so fried it up and had that for my breakfast/lunch. Bill would be 2 ½ hours in Hanover and then going directly to help Rob with a roof tear up on his carport. He had cereal before he left and took a sandwich and drinks for lunch.

I had to slow down because the Geese family was ahead of me

By 10:30 I was cleaned up ready to go and visit Mom. The temperature is creeping up from the 54F first thing to now 61F. The sun hasn’t had success in breaking through the clouds, not for lack of trying, until now. Almost 11 o’clock and I see some blue patches in the sky. We are all crying, praying and hoping for some sunshine to dry things up and boost our spirits in the meantime. Enough of this dreariness, already!

It is rare that Bill takes a picture of me leaving for work!

I left the Suite around 11 and found Mom in her room, in her chair facing the window, sound asleep. So peaceful. When I knocked on the door, she woke slowly and finally realized who I was. Well, realized that I was a familiar daughter at least! We hugged and I suggested a short walk to a room with a table where we could work on a puzzle. That was fun, she was doing quite well and we had fun, which is the whole point.

Mom didn't have her glasses, but she was doing well with the 100 pc. puzzle

Before I knew it, it was 12 noon so we had to leave it unfinished and go down to her lunch. She was in very good spirits and chatted with the lady at her table when she sat. She didn’t even need to wave to me a hundred times today, she was happy. 😊 From there I drove to the I.D.A. pharmacy to print off my pictures for Smitty but they no longer have the machine. Hmm. So much for that. I’ll have to do it in Hanover one day.

Here she realized that the noise she was hearing was the camera
counting down

Bill was already at Rob’s so I drove there and they were just finishing up and ready to take a load of shingles to the dump. I joined my little buddy inside and we chatted until the guys returned. Pat had some egg salad, pickles and buns for lunch and kindly invited us to stay. Yes Ma’am! We haven’t had egg salad since we were on the road so it was a delightful ‘fall from the Keto grace’. The buns, I mean, they were delicious!

The futon mattress came in a big box

Bill left around 1:30 and after Rob digging me up some primrose from Pat’s side garden, I wasn’t too far behind. More flowers to plant and these are perennials so that is even better! Back home Bill had offloaded a purchase I made online from Walmart. The futon mattress arrived 8 days earlier than expected but that was good timing, with Bill being back in Hanover. No charge for shipping and now our guests will sleep even better, I hope!

the couch is now double thickness with both mattresses
and will definitely be more comfortable for sleeping

Inside the Suite, I made a coffee and could easily see that Bill was worn out. Even though not all physical labour, waiting, running errands etc. tires a person out. Sometimes doing nothing has the same effect! He went upstairs with Clemson and I wrote some of this post before going outside to peruse the mattress situation. I was pleased with the thickness of the 6” mattress. I’m sure that is what the old one is/was but has to be close to 10 yrs. old and flattened quite a bit.

The new one will make a big difference and I won’t have to blow up an air mattress when we have company. Not only was it challenging for me, but being vinyl on all sides, noisy and hard to keep sheets on. Bill doesn’t quite agree but he’s never been comfy on a futon where I have.  With that done, I went out and planted some primrose plants. I spread them around the flower beds and then watered them from our rain pails. Not an easy chore but there wasn’t enough rain in our barrel to use the tap.

first, I browned the chops

I moved inside and switched from capris into shorts. Bill came in earlier and opened most of the windows. It was quite warm inside. After naps, some reading and some tv, it was 6 and time to make supper. I had pulled 3 pork loin boneless chops from the freezer and realized these are my least favourite of all the chops on my ‘don’t like’ list. So, the decision to cook them in Madame IP was an easy one.

I love the smell of onions and mushrooms cooking

I browned them in butter on Sauté, removed them while I cooked some onions and mushrooms. Returning the 3 chops on top of the vegetables, I added chicken broth and cooked for 10 minutes. When I removed the lid after a Natural Release for 10 minutes, the smell was overwhelming. Oh my! After sitting for a few minutes, I removed the chops and thickened the liquid. On the side, I put a Caesar salad together and we were eating by 7.

And Voila! Supper is served and it was very good.

We didn’t see any real sunshine today although were teased a few times. It was warm enough during the day, hanging around 66F/18C. We’ll take it. Supper was good. These loin cops came in a box of mixed meats from West Grey Butchers but live and learn, next time we’ll swap them out for more sausage, chicken or butt chops at least. They’re pretty good doing that for their customers. We cleaned up dishes and there came the sun.

And the sun pops around the clouds

I finished my post and we sat with our books and the tv on in the foreground. This was a great day with a lot of things accomplished. The nice thing is, as I sit here at 8 pm – it doesn’t even seem like I worked this morning. That was a long time ago, it seems. 

Clemson, outside on one of his many piddle runs

The prognosis for tomorrow is sounding good with some sunshine earlier in the day. Other than waiting for a delivery of drywall for the Hangar, it will be a nice relaxing day here at home.

I hope your day was half as good as mine. 

I'm so glad the sun came out to give us this beautiful sunset

Good night from the Ridge
Beautiful, huh?

Thank you for your visit into our day, we enjoyed having you! (PS - frogs are still singing, nightly. I'd miss them if they stopped).