One of Those Go-Go-Go Days, Company!

The Ridge

On Friday, Oct. 11^th the day began in a fervor. I was up before 7 and out the door by 7:15. The Mat was empty when I arrived and remained that way until the last 5 minutes. It was nice to see this lady, I was able to say goodbye until spring and tell her where I was headed for the winter. 😊 She said she’d miss seeing me, which was nice of her to say.

Good morning!

It was another cold morning, only 4C/39F but there was plenty of sunshine on the horizon. It was an hour and a half at the Mat and I nipped down to Foodland to pick up a ham and turnip for supper. Bill and I wanted to provide a mini Thanksgiving dinner for our friends who were arriving today. Bill had been cleaning up a few more branches off a tree up behind the when I returned home.

At the Acreage, we drove back to where
their trailer is parked.

He had arranged to meet Donna and Gerry at the Acreage at 10 to help winterize their Landmark 5^th wheel and to close the well pump for the winter. Since we only have one vehicle now, I drove him over just after 9:30 and then went straight to M’s for his 10 o’clock run into town. Durham was bustling, of course, with a long weekend beginning and the typical Friday rush all rolled into one.

Coming out at the back end of their
property.

It was 11:15 when I went back to the Acreage to see how things were going. Bill helped Gerry get his motorized bike and mower packed away and Donna and I caught up. They had a few things to finish up before everything was done but we left them to it and returned home for lunch. Just sandwiches today but they did the trick!

Duncan and Patty arrive!

I started preparing potatoes and turnip inside for our meal and it was shortly after 1 when Duncan and Patty pulled into the lane. ♥ It is nice that we can be a stopover for them when needed, plus always nice for the extra visit! Short but sweet, and we gathered outside for a Happy Hour around 3:30. 

We've had our last mail delivery this year
so the mailbox comes in for storage.
Our mail gets forwarded to Donna.
They also took Bill's Canada flags down at the gate.

Supper of ham, scalloped potatoes, turnip, sour dough bread and Patty contributed devilled eggs and apple crisp for dessert was ready at 5:20.

I was happy that supper turned out so well.
Turnip takes a long time to cook!

Patty's apple crisp was delicious!

Soon after finishing and a quick clean up, we whisked them off in B.B. into town to the Durham Curling Club. West Grey Lion’s Club were having their Chase the Ace draw tonight at 6:30. Hence, our earlier supper. Bill and I have just started participating in this draw so wanted to witness the actual ticket draw once before we left the country. 😊

It was a beautiful evening.
Driving into Durham around 6:30

Alas, we didn’t win but will occasionally keep in touch with Brian over the winter and purchase tickets. It was fun and something different for all of us. Back home, it was darkening so we said good night and came inside. 

Okay, so we didn't win this time but
we may be purchasing tickets over the winter.
It's a $12,000 jackpot right now. 😄

I just felt exhausted so didn’t even try to write a blog post. Not many pictures were taken either – that’s a switch! It was a great day, 20C/69F, and even with the wind, it turned out quite lovely.

It was a small but excited crowd at the
Curling Club. The winner was not present and did
not find the Ace of Spades. However, he won
$616 which is quite nice!
Good night!

Thank you for your visit!

A Sad Story with Hopefully a Happy Ending, We Had Company!

Yuma Lakes RV Resort

On Friday, Nov. 18^th Gibbs and I were up and out the door around 7:45 again. Another nice day in the neighbourhood but only 40F/5C to start, so quite cool for us. Surprisingly, with the warm sun already up in the clear sky, it felt pleasant and the winds were minimal, which helped. It was another walk around the park and then out onto a boarded walkway to the dock.

We know how Gibbs likes the water
so what it was about the boards, I don't know
although sometimes these docks are pretty rickety

Let me tell you that Gibbs didn’t think much of that boardwalk at all! He put the brakes on but I encouraged him to walk slowly out onto the dock so I could see the ducks and look for Mr. Heron. He wasn’t around so we turned and walked (Gibbs raced) back to the cement sidewalk footing. 😊 Back home, Bill was still in bed but rose soon after I’d made my tea.

The ducks on one side

And a couple of  Coots on the other side

Two things of importance happened today. One is sad so I’ll start with it. 

The day started out pretty nice

We’ve noticed a dog walking the park over the last 3 days. Sometimes it had a collar on and yesterday and this morning, it did not. ☹ She seemed friendly and calm as she’d tag along with other dog owners who were walking their dogs. Gibbs and I never encountered her while we walked any of the mornings. There didn’t seem to be cause for fear but certainly concern was evident. Who did she belong to?

Joyce called her Kate, just for something to call her
Kate was comfortable around all 4 of us and happily stretched out 
on our mat in the sun

I was outside with my tea when I noticed our neighbours, whom we were later to learn are Joyce and Warren, with the dog at their trailer. Hmm, interesting. Turns out she leashed the dog,  asked at the front office about the dog and was informed that it was a stray that has been around for a few months. ☹ She asked them to call the Humane Society and they refused and also asked her to remove the leash that she had put on the dog. Odd response, we all thought. She was only concerned for the stray's safety.

At this point, the sweet girl didn't have a collar
so we kept Gibbs indoors
watching quietly from the window 💗

Joyce and Warren would have loved to keep her BUT their rv is small, they are fulltime and have many things lined up that do not account for having a large dog in their family. She called the Humane Society herself and they were coming later today. We gave Joyce some food for her and she leashed the dog and gave her water and a blanket outside to lay on while they waited. J was becoming attached and at 4:15 when she handed the sweet dog over, we could see it was hard on her.

Joyce made her quite comfortable and she
had some food in her tummy now

Ready for the drive
Joyce was sad when she went inside
so I'll see her tomorrow

She probably saved the dog’s life by doing what she did and I give her a lot of credit. This dog is so peaceful and although Gibbs didn’t give her a warm fuzzy welcome, we know they’d probably get along in different circumstances – off leash. So, a sad story that no one has claimed this beautiful canine but happy that she will be looked after and hopefully snapped up before too long. No, we don’t need another pooch. ♥

When our company arrived, Gibbs got his 'happy'
over with and then sat on Daddy

During her stay at J & W’s, our company arrived. It was very sweet of Elva and Jerry to make the drive from Wellton to pay us a visit before we left the area. We saw Jerry last winter but haven’t seen Elva since 2018/19 at Pilot Knob Resort. It was nice to relax and catch up. Elva and I chat often on FB Msgr but it was wonderful to see them both again. Thanks for the visit you two!

Both paws up on the chair makes him look
like a sad little munchkin 💓

Today has been a beautiful day and Gibbs and I took an afternoon walk, to stretch our legs. I started my blog late afternoon and our plans for supper were the opposite of last nights meal. Pork and beans, as they say, but there will be some wieners (tube steaks) included. This has been a different kind of day and we’ve enjoyed it. Meeting new friends is always a treat and we had nice conversations with Joyce and Warren.

We had a great visit
Thank you guys for coming over
PS, Jerry, we always have coffee. 😀
Good night!

Thank you for your visit too!

Weatherman is Bang On! Work, Laundry on Line, Landscaping, Company and SUMMER!

The Ridge

It was 5:45 when I woke up on Friday, June 21^st. Remember how we used to LOVE Fridays when we were working? Especially those of us who had weekends off. I actually loved Wednesdays too because the rest of the week always seemed to zip by. Well, it is Friday and a beautiful one to wake up. I guess I still LOVE them! By the time I was up, dressed, washed and had my teeth brushed, snuggle bum moved and stretched. Good.

A perfect way to start a day

 I let him out for his business and gathered our bathroom towels and linens from the kitchen and headed out the door. Bill called once I let him know I was up and we chatted on my way. I had forgotten that yesterday afternoon his clients were friends of ours. Well, no, I forgot that our friends were his afternoon clients. I didn’t forget that the Fonts were friends of ours! That just sounded funny. I’m hoping Bill lays it on this morning while doing their hitch work about accepting our offer for a visit this summer. 😊

Blue and green should never be seen???
They are beautiful together!!

The laundromat wasn’t bad with the exception of one washer that needed a really thorough cleaning. It is the one that says “Use for dirty work clothes”. Someone does and often it has dirt and sand in the bottom. Jamie suggested running a wash through it so I retrieved the keys, got some change out of a washer and did just that. It came out sparkling! In the meantime, I went about wiping all the others out, doing the lint, dry mopping and damp mopping floors.

And the few things on the line dried nicely

It took me an hour and a half but I left it ready and open to customers! They should have no complaints! I drove down to North Wellington FS but it wasn’t 8 am yet so I couldn’t get my finch seed that I want. Tomorrow morning, I will take care of that. My finches are hungry! I hung the towels etc. on the line and came in for my tea. Clemson had moved downstairs to his bed and was soaking up the rays coming in the back-side window. He’s a smart cookie.

Hi little bum!

I read some blogs and finished my tea. I wanted to perk up the 3 trees up at our sitting area and help Bill out when he is weed-trimming. If we lay landscape screen around these, like the others we’ve done so far, he doesn’t have to trim so close. The weed-eater is not kind to the smaller tree trunks either. So, I set about the process of cutting the circle using our ‘pretend’ wooden wheels. They work perfectly! That was Bill’s idea.

With my wagon to lug the mulch bags, I began
Note the flower box area behind the wagon?

also this tree and our little red maple in the pot
need 'sprucing' up (no pun intended)

With that finished and a little bit extra, I put the tools, mulch and garbage away before coming inside for a coffee and a bite to eat. I had some butternut squash soup to warm up with some yogourt and cheddar. It was good and filling along with my coffee. It’s just noon hour and I feel I’ve accomplished a lot this morning. Now, I feel that I can relax for the remainder of the day. What say you? Our company should be along within the next couple of hours so I’m looking forward to that!

This will make it much easier to weed trim this area

And from the patio end

and this area too

Clemson and I took a walk down the lane and down North Line a lone turtle

'hustling' (picture that if you can!) across the country road was the only critter I saw. I heard lots of plopping but the weeds are too high now in the pond that we can’t even see the logs. This lessens my viewing pleasure but they made up for it later in the day. There was mail, I knew that the flyers were in there yesterday but with the rain, no walk. Today, a card arrived for Bill, so it was worth the walk.

Two families in the front field running from me

and one cutting through by Bill's Hangar

After a text from Ken and Kim, and some misinterpretation from Google Maps, I was not expecting to see them until closer to 3. I decided to take Black Beauty back into Durham to pick up the bird seed and check out Foodland for my yogourt. I’d finished the last of mine. First, I needed to charge up my phone. It hasn’t been plugged in since last night and is quite low. I posted 3 of our ‘for sale’ items on FB’s Marketplace and within minutes my phone was pinging like crazy.

Coming back from town, someone is following me down Baptist Church Road

Lots of interest in the generator so that’s a relief! Mind you, only 1 decent enough to be interested at or around our price range. We are also hoping to hear from our kayak buyer today for pick up arrangements this weekend. Fingers crossed on both things. White fluffies have moved in but there is still more blue than white and that is a bonus. The air is a tad cool but, in the sun, it is a heavenly day.

And it's Ken and Kim!

 Clemson wanted up on our bed so I lifted him up and then read some of the flyers. When my phone was sufficiently charged, I drove into Durham. As I was approaching the main intersection, I had a red light going north and I noticed on the green, coming from #6 hwy, a Winnebago Journey turning towards me. Wha??? That’s Ken! My window was open because of the warm day so I stuck my arm out and waved frantically!

All set up for a few days

I was so excited but I had to turn and go around the block to catch up with them back on #4 so they could follow me home. It was only 1:30! Yay! Back at the Ridge, they unhooked their tow car and Ken got situated where he could take advantage of the offered 30-amp hookup. May as well, I say! 

and a lot of turtles came up to visit, which was nice

The rest of the afternoon was wonderful. Just catching up, showing them the property and watching turtles making themselves known up in our area. Happy Hour was late (!) but at 4 they brought their chairs over and joined me on our ‘patio’.

We covered a lot of topics this afternoon and time passed quickly
It was a 3 hour HH without seeming like it :)

The stories unraveled, mostly truths but I did tell them of my nose growing a bit involving the kayaks and generators. When Bill texted around 6 to say he was leaving CanAm, I basically told him to skip Costco this week and we’ll go to Guelph one day this coming week. Just get home! 😊 He was happy for that. After my leftover chicken and soft asparagus I started a fire in our shabby firepot and it was 8:10 when Kim said “someone is here!”

A beautiful day

Ken wanted to hide but it would be difficult to hide their Journey. We do have fun with these guys. Bill was thrilled to see them after a long day and we gathered around the fire after he unloaded his stuff. 

And Ken showed off his new cape/shawl/dress

Ken was interested in seeing the Hangar, the off-limits thing on my ‘tour’, so the boys did that and soon returned to have a drink with us girls. I manned the fire, although it was challenging to get the heat to our side of the pit until Bill took over. Now that’s a fire!

And through the smoke, a good time was had by all

It was just before 11 when we all said goodnight, chased in by the yawns more than the coolness of the night. It was a great day from beginning to end and we are happy to have new guests to the Ridge for the first time. I hope yours was an enjoyable day as well. SUMMER IS HERE!

Nice big fire

Thank you for stopping by.

Foggy Morning, Laundry Day, Gorgeous Afternoon, Socializing

The Ridge

I slept well, having gone to bed at 10 about 40 minutes after Bill. I knew he was tired as he kept dropping his book. You can’t read through your eyelids! So, he was up early, 2 hours before me and I got up at, what seems to be my new normal, 7 am on Sunday, May 5^th. It doesn’t seem like a Sunday. Maybe that is because he has been away for part of the weekend. I was anxious to get out for a walk and that anxiety lasted all of about 5 minutes while I was getting dressed.

It was a tad foggy looking down the laneway

And over the pond

Yup, nope. The fog was thick as pea soup (Daddy’s favourite fog theory) and you truly couldn’t see through it. Hence, his second favourite, fog is black. He always made us laugh and I love the memories of his silliness. Bill was standing at the Keurig with his finger on the button “Are you ready for your tea?” Ha ha, that would be a yes. 😊 He knew I would be disappointed not to get out right away but the bonus was to sit with my hubby over our morning java for the first time in 4 days.

And behind us to the east

He had pretty much caught up on blogs, answered an email and done some banking before I got up so as I read what our friends are up to, he went out to the Hangar. Today, being the better of the available two (Sunday and Monday) to do our clothes, is laundry day. The fog is discouraging and delayed my drive to Durham to start the wash. I can’t hang them until the promised sun makes an appearance and pushes the fog out.  I’m being positive in saying ‘when’ not ‘if’.

And there it comes

I sorted the clothes on the bed covers under which Clemson is still dreaming in peaceful blissfulness. He doesn’t move. I loaded the basket into Ptooties and took care of doing the wash in 2 machines. I’m not happy with the new owners’ idea of ‘looking after a laundromat’ and I’ll be making a call either later today or tomorrow. What laundromat that you know of doesn’t have Contact information in case something goes wrong? This one.

Look at that sky now and those shadows!

Back home, Bill carried the basket up the hill to my clothesline and I hung clothes in full sunshine. It was wonderful!! It won’t take them long to dry, I’m sure. I came in long enough to make a coffee and took it outside where I could sit and enjoy the day. 

While sitting there I added some twine to the bird feeders
we made at Tres Rios

It was already warming up nicely at 55F/12C and it wasn’t 11 o’clock yet.  I had texted Rob and Pat just before leaving Durham and invited them out to Happy Hour today. They accepted.

Remember these?

Bill worked away in his Hangar while I was gone and the next thing he wanted to do turned out not to be as easy as he first thought. When he gets to it, it is something he can write about in a post. I won’t steal the thunder. 

Apparently, someone else wanted to socialize with us
but then, maybe not

At 2:15, I brought the clothes in from the line and Bill put his clothes away first. I was sitting outside trying to get into King Arthur (and it wasn’t happening, btw) when I saw Rob drive in the lane in their Ford Edge.

Well, hello Mr. Snapper

Yay! Our first Happy Hour on the Ridge this year. At least our first ones with anyone other than just the two of us. It was so nice outside that we sat outside with our drinks. Even Clemson joined us on his new bed for a while. We did our thing, caught up on what we’ve been up to over the last week and they left a couple of hours later. We really enjoyed the visit; it has been a long time.

And our little trees are budding

Within 15 minutes of them leaving, my sister, Donna and her hubby, Gerry pulled in. They’d been out at the Acreage getting a few things organized for the summer. They didn’t stay long, they were kapooped, but we chatted for a while and they picked up some paint Bill had for a nephew-in-law. (?) After they left, Bill lit the Weber to burn off some ground beef from our last meal and then puttered away for 20 minutes.

I enjoyed the finches today

My favourite picture of the day

When a redwinged blackbird swooped in to the feeder
she dropped and clung to another pole, waiting

And then returned, waiting for her friends to have their turn

And they shared

Inside I made up a salad for our side and he cooked Italian sausages. They had a bit of a bite (spicy) but we enjoyed them. 

Supper was great

We cleaned up dishes and Bill closed up the sheds. We have American Idol to watch tonight and that is about it since Madame Secretary is over until the next season. I can’t keep track of when things start and when they end anymore but Bill is good at that. This has been a good day and we’ve enjoyed one of the first great weather days we’ve had.

I did some spring cleaning in our cupboards
and feel good about getting rid of some unnecessary
plasticware

And over the fridge, it is obvious I need more wine
but it is clean and ready for it now

And another  beautiful sunset

Good night from the Ridge

I hope you enjoyed it as well. Thank you for stopping in to see what we’re up to and for any comments you wish to leave.