A Pretty Fine Day, Warming Up, Family Birthday

The Ridge

On Thursday, Aug. 22^nd we were both up ready to leave for work at 7:15. We gave Gibbs his ‘look after the house’ treat and left at the same time. Bill was on his own today, Billy had a prior commitment, so I wasn’t sure how long he’d be at work. He is doing a pretty basic job, laying floor, so will work away until he’s ready to quit. 😊

Good morning.
Madame Moonflower.

Following Bill as far as Durham,
a pretty picture at the corner of the highway.

The Mat was empty the whole time I was there which allowed me to work at a good pace, washing a few things from the Lost & Found and my cleaning rags. I finished up an hour later by washing the floors before locking up. My jobs are pretty absent this week and next, since Robin is home and she has a couple in the bnb for 2 weeks straight. That’s good for her, she is busy with Andrew working on a cabin for friends. Andrew leaves again on Monday for 6 weeks.

If there is shade on the steps,
this is one of his fav places to sit.
Here, he is sleeping.

So, back home, I sat with Gibbs finishing my tea and played my Wordle games. After talking to Bill last night about weed trimming, he informed me that we should have fuel for the trimmers. That gave me the incentive to see if I could find it and get the little machine running. I hate pull cords but saying that, today, I managed to fill the tank and get it going. 😊 I was proud! My goal was to work away at the hill in the corral, places we can’t get easily with the mowers.

I was doing good when I remembered what I forgot from last time. The gas tank leaks! Crap! My pant leg is smelling again. LOL I kept going until I ran out of fuel and got a fair bit done, leaving only the thicker tall stuff that I should be able to cut with my mower. I came in to change and Gibbs and I sat outside for most of the rest of the day. In and out, some of the time in the Bunky with the rocks and of course inside for my lunch.

Oh how I enjoyed my pizza.
Peppers, onions, bacon, cheeses, sauce, tomatos, olives.

Lunch: well, it was delicious! Even though it wasn’t a cauliflower crust, I used one of my tortillas to make a pizza in the fry pan. Yum! I’ll do that again, it was delicious! I cleaned up dishes and we went back outside. After 1:30, we walked down to check the mail but there wasn’t anything in the box today. I pulled a few weeds from the dahlia garden and along the fence line and then got my mower out to finish the corral. 😊

There is a small patch in the top picture for Bill
to reach with his longer trimmer reach
but I'm pleased that it is mostly done.

It looks so much better, except for one small section that I can’t reach with either machine. I’ll leave it for Bill. The rest of the afternoon was relaxing. The sun was hot and yet with a bit of breeze and some cloudy periods, it was quite perfect. My book by Mitch Albom is so good, quite a different read than my norm, but a real treat. I think my daughter would enjoy it and maybe Chris, since ‘Music’ is the narrator of the book. ♥

I was cooling down from cutting
and Gibbs was debating whether to sit on Mom.

I played with some settings on my
phone camera.
He looked for the piggy's since there was
a sound. Cute!
The bottom right picture is now my Lock Screen wallpaper.

Gibbs and I sat outside waiting for Bill, who didn’t drive in until almost 5 o’clock. He was on a roll with the flooring and was quite happy with all he completed today. The boys dozed while I sat outside and read until it was time for supper. Leftover chili on toast for Bill and I had mine in a bowl with cauliflower on the side. It was filling and tasty. Even without chili powder, we love it! 

There seems to be a push on
Hibiscus this week!

But, if you've never looked closely at
the buds, here they are.
They look ceramic!! Gorgeous!

After dishes, I worked on my blog and Bill went to the Hangar. I don’t think he has yet noticed the corral so he will be pleased about that. Something he doesn’t have to do. 😊

We walked to check the mail.
Gibbs takes up the rear, lots of sniffs
you know.

This has been a nice day with the temperature warming up to 20C/72F by mid afternoon. I hope yours was a good one too. Today is another older sister's birthday so I'm sending a Happy Birthday Aj out to Montreal. I know she's having a good day.

A pretty day.

To answer Karen in comments, I give my sister, Donna, my dahlia and glad bulbs to overwinter for me in her basement. Which makes me think I’ll have to take my paints south after all – they will freeze in the Bunky. Oh well, they don’t take up a LOT of space under the bed.

Woops, no supper picture tonight.
Instead, a relaxing place to sit
with my book and tea.
Good night!

Thank you for taking the time to pop in.

A Peaceful Day and a Stroll along the Lake

Paisley, On

On Thursday, Mar. 18^th after saying goodbye to my working man, I slowly eased myself out of bed. Bill asked “what are you up to today?” I really didn’t have anything planned other than a walk and, some puzzle play so he made a suggestion. Last night we’d discussed a gift for a certain someone so it was a good idea to search something out. I added that to my agenda. 😊

The trail wasn't too bad but in spots I had to
move over and walk on the soft grass to get
out of the mud and puddles

The Canada flag is an indication of the strong winds
which got worse as the day elapsed

I had my tea and made a plan for supper before coming back upstairs. I didn’t get my blog finished so that was the first thing and then I bundled for my walk. The temperature was reading 0C/32F but I knew it was windy. No precipitation though and I knew that we ‘could’ see some sunshine later but that would be when the winds were gusting to 40 mph too. It was a good time to get out there. I’m glad I wore my scarf but I left the hat behind.

School would soon be underway and the traffic in and out
was frequent
School buses and parents

All lined up for the bell
I guess they are distanced

Towards the post office first, where I dropped a card in the box and carried on to the end of the main strip. The school crossing guard was there and so we chatted a bit before I crossed the street and caught the first trail to the south. 

The mill off in the distance as I turned for home

The periwinkle is thick in this yard

And now that the snow has melted, of course I had to pick up
this metal square for the Ridge

The one through the back yards still had some snow and I was in my running shoes. The wind was raw so I had my hood up most of the way. When I met the same man with his poodle/yorkie, (Porkie? Yoodle?), I got a doggie fix. What a cutie.

so, I walked as far as the book barn but that's it

I checked the Book Barn and picked out a copy of Oliver Twist, a movie I’ve seen but may or may not have ever read the book. Now, I can and isn’t life all about choices? Back at the house, Wes had left and I chatted a bit with Susan before making my way upstairs. Next time I went down was to make a coffee and I took it out to the garage. No worries about the puzzle now! It will be done the next time I sit back down at it. 😉

A beautiful house

And a lovely sign has been erected

W & S went out when he got home and when my coffee was done, I decided to go then too. It was just after 12 when I left. I drove straight through town to the Independent, it is closer to Port Elgin than it is to Hanover and I was looking for something in particular. Once I easily found it, I left and drove back towards the centre of town where I caught the first street ‘to the Main Beach’. I may not get another chance to drive along the lake and summer is wa-a-a-y too busy.

Arriving in Port Elgin within 15 minutes

Don't you just love the sign?

And ahead, is Lake Huron

I drove first towards the marina and parked there. I’m glad I did because I found the paved trails for walking or biking right along the water. The wind was still cool but I was bundled and it was actually better in amongst the trees. I took some pictures and turned back. It was cute seeing the small railroad track, I’ll bet the little people love that! Before I got off the trail, I heard the whisper ‘hug me’ and realized it could only be that tree – right there! So, I gave it a hug. I’m perfectly sane, by the way. Ha ha

It was a really pretty walk along here

One nice seating area if you like the sun (like I do)

Lastly, after leaving there and driving around the Main Beach without stopping, I stopped at the LCBO instead of going to the one in Paisley. I’m still shopping local. I got what I needed and scooted home. More puzzle time until I forced myself to stop and make a tea. I felt like a rest so started my blog first and then stretched out on the bed with a book.

It's so pretty watching and listening to the waves
rushing over the stones

This tree was grateful for the hug

FYI, that Alice Munro one with 8 short stories? Nope, not for me. I read the first story and it was confusing and didn’t ‘end’. The second one was worse. Within the first chapter, about 6 pages, I was totally lost who she was talking about and it sure wasn’t gripping me. Another choice. Close the book, give it a 1* rating on Goodreads and move on. I pulled out a James Patterson mystery that is bound to capture my attention. I’ll let you know!

If you don't like the sun so much, they've got a spot
just for you with your lunch

Bill texted within 6 minutes, (no kidding!), of me getting on the bed and covering up my legs with a blanket. 😊 I guess I had a couple of short chapters read. Isn’t that always the way? It’s okay, I’m happy when he gets out of work and home by 4:30 ish. I went down and unlocked the door for him before repeating the process. With a big day planned tomorrow (we’re getting the Suite!) he didn’t want to snooze today. Hopefully he will have a better sleep tonight.

I just made a circle in the parking lot and left
Nothing to look at here that appealed to me

Wes and Susan were going out for a short bit after they’d eaten so he called up that the kitchen table was all ours. It was only 5:30 but we were quite happy to start our burgers. Simple meal and we were upstairs with dishes done and a grocery list started for Costco by 6:30. The weather sounds favourable for tomorrow, the weekend and the best part of the week so that is good news.

Just one more sitting and this will be finished
It was fun!!

Easy supper with a tasty juicy burger

We will make a few trips, maybe only two, on Saturday and each time I go that way to work. Once we start, it shouldn’t take long. This was a nice day, with a walk, a lakeside stroll, a drive and some relaxing here at home. Once again, your condolences, words of comfort and prayers for us but especially for Derrick are very much appreciated. Thank you!

Last year, Mar. 18, 2020
We were having one of our last (bittersweet) Happy Hours
with our good friends, Ken and Kim
Cheers!

Thank you for stopping in.