A Couple of Errands, Sunshine Returns

The Ridge, Priceville, On

It was 7 am on Tuesday, Apr. 21st when I first opened my eyes. I was toasty warm upstairs under the duvet. We've added our Mexican blankets (they are individual sized so we each have one on our side of the king bed) with these cooler temperatures and Bill has left the fireplace on low.

Good morning!
Another sunset from the evening before.
No sunrise today, too cloudy.

Gibbs saw or felt me move and stretch, so accepted the invitation to give me my morning cuddles and kisses. We got up around 7:30, it felt great to just dilly dally with no pressure on time to go anywhere. I made a tea and sat with Gibbs while Bill finished his cereal and dressed for the outdoors.

It was cold over night and with the winds this morning, a cold start to the day. We knew the forecast was for a high in the mid teens (mid 50'sF) so were not discouraged too much. If you dress warm and remain active, you will enjoy the fresh air. (Mantra to myself)

It's important to note that
while not physically busy,
Gibbs is close by and always
keeping an eye out for us.
Important job!

I'm not sure when I got myself bundled and went out but Gibbs was happy to go too. He tends to sit by the door a lot more here, he knows this is his real home and there is so much to explore and mark as his territory. Who knows what critters have been here over the winter? In his mind, anyway and he just wants out.

Still at it.
I'm inside, Bill's outside.
Neither of us can go anywhere
without him knowing.

After Bill emptied the Bunky, I swept the floors and we were pleased to find only a very few mice turds were found, in the Bunky and garden shed. No damages - nothing! I glanced at my quilling things that I'd left behind and felt the itch but knew there was work to be done first. 😉

The berm garden was covered 
in apples.

All cleaned up and there
he is again.
😎

So, instead, when Bill took Black Beauty down to the Hangar to empty the back, I gathered more of the fallen branches from inside the corral. For my new followers, it isn't 'really' a corral, no horses have ever lived here. Rather it is the shape of one and so the name was adopted when we moved here.

Bill got his chainsaw out
and took down one of the dead
trees that had breaking branches.
Firewood!

The cedar rail fencing around it, and around the whole property, is deteriorating badly and each spring, we've had to try and reconstruct it in areas just to keep the appearance. I think this year, we will be removing some of the badly rotted ones and retrofitting the remaining ones. They look bad.

We came in around 10:30, cleaned up a bit and went into town. I bought stamps, we dropped off our Income Tax papers at the accountants and had a bottle of propane filled. We'll keep track of what we use this spring. Last year it was 9 - 40 lbers, which was way over the 4 from the previous spring. LOL

This garden is frustrating.
I had all these weeds and stones
cleared out.
The frost has brought them to
the surface. I need a tiller!

The day had warmed, considerably, with the sun but the winds were still gusty and cold. After lunch, we all went out and spent the next 2 or 3 hours outside with us as we puttered. I raked the gardens, crawling around on my hands and knees to use the small hand tool and the tall rake to gather the rotten apples in my berm garden.

Bill bought me a seed block
in Arizona so we mounted it
today on the fence posts.
Only the grackles so far,
but hopefully when the chickadees
hear about it, they'll join.

Bill and I discussed the location and size of the raised garden bed he's going to build for me. I don't want a big one. Bill took a wheelbarrow full of dirt down to firm up the mailbox post that he replaced the other day. At 3, we put stuff away and he went to the Hangar and I sat outside in the sun until clouds and wind chased me inside.

These are the guilty trees
that drop the apples.
They aren't good eating apples
so the trees are coming down.
Soon.

What else to do but make more cards! For supper, we had spaghetti. Sharon and Jim had extra sauce from our meal with them, so I browned ground beef to add to it. Bill had the cooked spaghetti from the freezer and I cooked spaghetti squash for my 'noodles' subsitute. Yum, it was very good!

I finished my blog and we watched the NCIS and NCIS:Origins together. This has been a good day, warming up to 14C/57.2F as promised and we took full advantage of it. Bit by bit, things are getting done. I hope you all had a good day too. 

Supper was delicious.
Thank you Sharon!
Good night, friends.

Thank you for popping in.

 

Another Dull Day, Lazy Start, Errand Day, Bill Gets Home Early

The Ridge

On Wednesday, Sept. 9^th I lounged in bed until 7 and then joined Bill downstairs. He’d had his shower and was eating his breakfast. I sat for a bit before deciding I was too lazy to go for a walk. 9 o’clock comes soon enough so I made my tea and sat across from my sweetie until he left around 7:30. There were a few blog posts I wanted to read so did that and then went online and paid for my Avon order.

My first picture is of the old cash register in the Service Ontario/Men's Clothing store
I don't know if it works, I didn't buy any pants for Bill here

When 8:30 rolled around, I pushed myself to get washed and dressed for work at Graceland 2. The dull, rainy looking day didn’t do anything towards my motivation but I knew I’d be fine once I got out the door. It should be warmer today, by about 10 degrees compared to yesterday’s high so that will be nice. Maybe I can get out to the Bunky to pack up my paints. They are definitely something I’ll be moving with us to our winter ‘home’.

A blogger and commenter inadvertently put the bug in my ear about getting the old sheets out of the storage shed, ready to cover my garden plants. She’s already had frost in her neck of the Saskatchewan woods. Yikes! I know it will happen soon so best to be prepared. As soon as I arrived at Mitch’s we discussed a couple of things and because I needed to go to Service Ontario in Durham to get our license stickers renewed, Mitch sent me almost right away with an errands list for him too.

And Mitch got ready to pull the Ram out of the shop bay

He suggested doing the license stuff so I could get in there before a line up starts. It seems to be a popular place and you never know when others are deciding to get the same thing done. After waiting in line about 10 minutes behind someone with obvious issues, I left and went across and then down the street to get a couple of things on my boss’s list. Then I went back and was all set up with a 2-year sticker within 5 minutes.

I finished the errands, one being interesting and out of the normal. At the second hand store, Rethreads, I bought a bag of rags (usually old t-shirts) for cutting up and a couple of flat sheets for covering cars to protect them from spatter. These are things you never think about unless you are in the business, I guess. Back at the shop, we called Mike to tell him his truck was ready and then moved it outside for pick up.

All ready for Mike to pick it up

The old 1994 Silverado was brought in and we concentrated on taping and papering the windows, mirrors etc. so it can be painted. The owner wants it two-toned so that means a longer time than if it was just one. After talking about the 1928 Plymouth (did I tell you that it belongs to our winter hosts?) Mitch said I can get back to work on it tomorrow. Fingers crossed! It would be a nice phone call to make, telling Wes and Susan that their car is ready too. Soon, I hope.

Mitch paid me again, bringing me closer to date on the calendar so I walked out with more cash in my wallet. Back home, I made a coffee and heated up the beef soup I made the other night. I was surprised that it tasted so good. Mainly liquid, some onions and carrots and lots of beef chunks. The bonus is that there is enough for another couple of bowls. I cleaned up dishes and then went to the Bunky.

I was happy that I kept the soup
A great lunch for a cool day

Putting my paints in their containers, sorting crafts for the winter and digging out our winter boots and jackets took me the better of the next 2 hours. I swept it clean too and while I was moving things around found a set of sheets that are old and will replace a ripped one I’d used for the garden. Rather than throwing that one out, I brought it inside and cut it into appropriate size rags for Mitch. They will come in handy.

In the meantime, Bill and Billy went to Graceland 2 and picked up Mike’s truck for him. That meant Bill was home early. It was only 3:30 so that was nice. We caught up and then he went upstairs for a snooze in front of the tv. Downstairs, I worked on my blog and watched the National Geographic channel. A show about helping Zoo animals and then one about a vet looking after dogs. Yup, that one had me enthralled.

I got paints put away in their cases and stacked craft items on the futon
Boots and other items pulled out for packing

Bill and I had leftover chicken thighs and sausage for supper. I reheated them in Madame IP with a large cut up potato and carrots on top. It took the vegetables longer to cook but that was fine as it gave me time to put a salad together. It isn’t really a day for salad but we need to eat up some of the fresh stuff in the fridge. For dessert we each had some creamy raspberry Jell-o and then did dishes right away.

My original plan was to share the chicken and the sausage
but Bill had a different idea and chose the pork
Two thighs were too much for me but I ate what I could

ill decided to go down to the Hangar for a while. I turned the heater on inside as I was feeling the chilly air that was circling around us outside. Too soon, definitely too soon! I’m sure we’ll have better days to come and perhaps see the sunshine again. This was a good day. I enjoyed work this morning and also the puttering around in the Bunky. I didn’t, however get out for pictures so I apologize for all the narrative without interruptions.

Of course, I saved room for dessert
Good night!

Thank you for your visit!

Last Day in P.K., Shopping, Fuel Up, Pack Up, Swim

Pilot Knob RV Resort, Winterhaven, CA

Tuesday, Jan. 14^th Bill was up before me. Not sure what time he rose but when I rolled over and looked at the clock it was 6:45 and he was gone. I stretched lazily and after making the bed, joined him downstairs. Today is to be another nice day and we’re going to love every minute. Bill was ‘on the schedule’ to have his shower this morning so he informed me that I should go for my walk without him. I was expecting that so once it was light enough, I dressed for the 48F air and left.

There were no winds at all, just the chill on my chinny chin chin. I wear my mini gloves but still had to keep my fingers moving to keep them warm. When I returned after a nice walk, I made my tea and in between drinking it, got washed and dressed. Bill was ready for the day so went out and started putting things away. His plane for one, needed to be disassembled and packed away in the cab end of Black Beauty’s box.

No words necessary

We left the Suite with a fair-sized grocery list and picked up Keith and Dave. Today was grocery shopping day! Because of the type of rv’s they have, they don’t have a free vehicle to make these runs without taking their ‘homes’ with them. We don’t mind offering them a ride at all, we are going anyway. We loaded the 3 gas cans, 2 for their atv’s and 1 for our generator. First, we went to Fry’s and we all shopped. They didn’t mind helping us add to our diesel points since we were getting them discounts on food items.

A quiet walk around the park this morning

No one to talk to so took pictures of how it is emptying out

The moon in the western sky with some contrails and clouds

Can you believe the grass seen here behind the tree?
This IS the desert and it is highly unusual

Then Bill stopped to fuel up at the Fry's station and from December’s and January’s points, we scored .30¢/gallon off. Nice when the original price is $2.89/gal, cheaper than most stations in the area. We filled Black Beauty for $46 and drove away smiling. We then went to CVS for some cash and then Walmart where we all got out and found a few things before meeting back at the truck. I got lost coming out of the store and had to call Bill to find me. Ha ha.

Yuma wasn't too busy at all 

Just past the Territorial prison, this church rests on a rocky hill

It was close to 11:30 when we arrived back at the park and dropped the boys and their wares off at their sites. Once I found room for all the groceries, the freezer is over-full by the way, we recorded our expenditures and I made us an omelette. It was not senior’s day at Fry’s but we scored anyway on ribs and beef roasts with the buy 1 get 1 free deal. We should be fully stocked up for our two weeks away. Lots to eat.

Back in California

Coming up to the Agriculture Inspection Station

We’ll have some ribs tonight because they won’t fit in the freezer but that’s a good last meal here for us anyway. After dishes, I put my paints and containers away under the bed. They have the perfect cranny under there until I want them out again. I caught up on my post and changed into my bathing suit. Last day for the pool for a while so I want to take advantage of this gorgeous day. It is going to reach 72F.

This is our savings today
Fuel points speak for themselves
I hope Dave and Keith got some deals too

Bill was cleaning out under the basement area when Keith and Oreo stopped by. Now was a good time for me to head up for a swim. I left the guys to enjoy each other’s company as I knew Bill would work at packing things at the same time. There were 4 people at the pool so I pulled a chair over facing the sun in a corner by myself. I had taken my book up and like no distractions while getting into a new story. Oh yah! I forgot to tell you that I finished The Reversal. A nail biter, it was.

While Bill was barbecuing, look at what the southwest sky was doing

This one is actually 2 stories in one, apparently, by the same author so I delved right in. Bodyguard and Tracker were the original publishings. Now it is called Survival Mission – K-9 Unit by Shirlee McCoy and Lenora Worth. I’ll let you know how it goes. The chapters are long but I completed two while sitting in the heat of the beautiful sun. When I first arrived, I took a dip in the pool, swam a couple of laps and then stretched out on a lounger. Beautiful.

This one looking northwest

It was around 3 or so when Keith showed up. Bill told me later that they had a nice visit since I’d left at 1:30. At this point, we aren’t sure if he is following us to Quartzsite tomorrow or whether he is waiting until his 2 weeks is up on Friday to come. At least we know he is coming to experience something new. His travel mate, Dave, is a quiet, private soul so we don’t know what his plans are at all. We do believe that he is enjoying his time here in the park though and is appreciative of Bill showing him around.

Just a few minutes on the grill

Keith and I walked back from the pool as far as his site and I moseyed on home from there. Bill had things outside all put away with the Weber Q as the exception. I’d asked if he minded leaving it out so we could finish the ribs tonight. I had 2 half racks that wouldn’t fit in the freezer so instead of cooking just one tonight, I decided to do them both. 

Bill was watching NCIS reruns and soon enough dropped off to sleep. He hadn’t had his snooze yet so I didn’t bother him. Madame IP built up steam which took about 10 minutes and then 15 minutes of Natural Release after Manual cooking. As I lifted them out of the pot, I could tell they were done perfectly. I slathered sweet & sour sauce on half and barbecue sauce on the other half and Bill put them on the barbecue for about 5 minutes.

Fall off the bone

On the side, I opened a bag of garden salad served with our favourite dressing. Bill’s is French and mine is Caesar. Supper was really good and when I couldn’t eat the last 2 ribs, Bill finished them for me. You can tell from the bones that they were falling off easily. What a great meal and I had a couple of glasses of the Barefoot wine too.

It started like this

The new episode of NCIS was on tonight as is New Amsterdam, which we recorded, we watched FBI and a new episode of This is Us, which we will record. The fun begins! This has been a great day. I had a good morning shopping with the three guys, how lucky can a gal get? At one point, they all had to wait for me while I got lost in the parking lot. Teehee. An afternoon at the pool once more before we leave and a great supper. Nothing better!

It played out like this
Good night y'all

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

Errand Day, Bell Store, Appliance Replacement

On The Ridge

On Friday, Sept. 20^th we didn’t get up out of bed until 7, just enjoying the comfort. We had coffee and tea while reading some blogs before getting cleaned up to go shopping. We were out the door shortly after 8:30. Fuel , banking and a stop at Home Hardware in Durham were the first things. Then we drove to Hanover. Walmart for groceries and to check out their Keurigs. Of course, we wanted one that was similar to the one we have.

Bill got a 1/2 case to mae it easier to hold his phone

 I shopped for the food on my list while Bill wandered the store. He found the Keurig Elite and that was the best match. From there we went to Dollarama where I needed a couple of toiletries and cards and finally we went to the Bell Store. My protective cover was in stock now. What we didn’t expect today, another Friday, was the long wait time of 40 minutes.

In with the new

A different gal than the last time says “we’re always crazy busy Friday mornings”. I was desperately trying to remember what time it was last Friday the 13^th when we walked in and right up to the counter with only one person arriving after us the whole time. I never said a word as I know we took up a lot of time when we were there. Most customers, including us, have a lot of questions plus the staff have a lot of small things to take care of for you. It all takes time.

Out with the old

Bill’s wallet cover wasn’t in yet so he bought a very sturdy base for his. We went to the Source as a 2nd choice but they didn't have any of the wallets in stock either. I dropped a bag off at Donna’s door with 2 jigsaw puzzles for their winter enjoyment and finally her 2 packages of pottery. With our guests coming for the weekend, I wasn’t sure when we’d see them, even if they did come to the Acreage. I wanted them out of our place.

I'm glad I got home on time to see her

 We were home around 11:45. As I was about to get out of the car, I noticed Madame Butterfly had metamorphized from her cocoon and was just stretching her new wings and legs. Wow! I jumped out with my camera and captured the moment. It was like she waited for me to come home. Call me deprived but I’ve never witnessed this from beginning to end before and I’m just thrilled with the whole thing.

A few stretching and wing exercises before she took flight

We unloaded groceries and I put them away before getting us lunch of bacon and eggs. Before doing the dishes, Bill got the new Keurig out of the box and set up for use. In the meantime, Peggy from CanAm phoned about our Dometic microwave/convection oven which has now completely died. No light, fan, time or anything. She suggested we find one we like and replace it. That way we get what we like and sooner than later.

She is gorgeous and you can see the remnants of the cocoon

It is under warranty but Dometic doesn’t sell or repair these older models. So, we’ll be on the hunt for a second appliance this week. Somewhere. We’ll do some online searching first and then make it happen. Hopefully, if we need it, we’ll have our brother-in-laws help to remove the old and install the new. Bill and I may not be able to handle it, depending on how heavy the unit is. We’ll see. We each had a coffee from the new machine and it is nice to have a non-leaker again.

Bill went up for a snooze and I relaxed in my chair while I finished my drink. It is turning into a warm day even though the clouds are covering 75% of the sky. I have a few things to take care of between today and tomorrow morning. I was saddened that I had to buy dessert for tomorrow since now I have no way to bake something. So, I bought a pie and maybe I’ll make some whipped topping. It will feel like I contributed something.

And my dahlia shows off

I swept the Bunky and made the bed in there. It's all comfy, cozy now. Bill was setting up his plane so we could test the weight again and when he was ready with the wings on, we lifted it. Yay! It looks well balanced. Back inside the Suite, I wanted to try once more with my choke cherry syrup. I had a box of Pectin and what do they say? ‘Three strikes and you’re out?’ So, I boiled the syrup again and added the thickener before pouring it into 2 jars. One can only hope.

Sadly, one comes into the world and
then I find this one on the road

They're so pretty and delicate

A lovely late afternoon
from my window

Then I sat and watched the tail end of a couple of movies. To Trap a Spy with Napoleon Solo (Man from U.N.C.L.E.) and that was cool, outdated but fun to watch all the same. Then the last 45 minutes of Stagecoach with Trace Adkins and Kim Coates. Just to kill time, basically, rather than watching NCIS. At 6, I plugged into power and started cooking sausage, dressing and mixed veggies in Madame IP.

A great supper

The sun now is shining brighter than it has all day and the humidity has returned. 

We are in for a hot day tomorrow but that is not a complaint. Supper turned out good and was ready in 20 minutes. Bill washed dishes and I dried and then we settled in for the night. I was going to prep the meal for tomorrow night’s supper but decided after work at the Mat in the morning, I can start it then. I don’t like being tied up with meal prep when we have company.

Good night to you all!
Happy weeend!

This was a good day. Thank you for stopping by.

Slide Fix, Errand Day, Former Co-Workers/Friends

London, Ontario

Wednesday, Apr. 10^th was the real day to get the bedroom slide cables tightened up by a couple of guys who have done it a few times. I was up at 7 and found Bill had been downstairs since 6:15. I made my tea and joined him at the table where I finished downloading pictures and publishing my post. The chilly 34F/2C quickly talked me out of a morning walk and I harped on myself for being such a wimp.

So, the entertainment area is piled with under bed stuff

The closet

On the dresser

Instead of walking, we got washed and I made bacon and eggs for breakfast. Bill removed a couple of wood panels on the slide-out so it made the job easier.  Right on time, Al and Steve drove up and set to work. I know the job isn’t an easy one, not because it is actually ‘hard’ but because of the tight space you have to work in. Rob and Bill both know that and have experienced it firsthand.

Empty

On top of that, with the Suite inside temps only 62F/16C this morning, we had our Blue Flame heater set to warm it up in here. You know that heat rises, so upstairs, they were cooking at a balmy 72F/22C. 

Al works on the cables
Steve is on the other end

In an hour, they were done and the slide is moving in and out smoothly again. Because this is only a temporary fix of tightening slack cables, we will still watch it each time it retracts and visa versa. Thanks guys! We need to schedule a time period when we can bring it back in the summer to replace the cables altogether.

They look good now

We had a coffee together and a cookie snack before heading out to run some errands. 

We needed to visit Walmart for a couple of things, the LCBO for some wine, then Henry’s Camera store for a lens cap for Bill. We needed U.S. stamps to mail our 8840 forms to the IRS (showing greater ties to Canada than the US) and then we drove to our former place of work. My goodness, I was there 31 years and it felt like driving up ‘yesterday’. Inside things are different and yet very much the same. Just different people.

This is where Clemson and I spent the hour while the work was going on
It's a tough life but someone has to do it

Eric, the mail driver, was one of the reasons we arrived late in the day, when his mail run was finished. He is a sweetheart and has 3 more years to retirement because of his younger age. He holds a special place in my heart. Two other people close to my heart were a good reason for our visit today. Kim, the sweetheart who took my position (only on a part time basis) and then Saira in Media who always shared my enthusiasm for being alive in general.

The number of times we've walked in through this door
Wow, just wow

And not much has changed at 'my' old desk area
Kim, you do me proud!

Last but not least, a brief hello and hug from Heather and Laurie in the Community Use department. These gals share the same love for a good time as I do and one of those things we love, is our clothing exchanges. I will see them again soon. It was a short visit, but a good one. We said goodbye to Eric once more and wished him luck and stamina to hold on (in what can be a difficult place) until retirement. Bill drove back on Exeter Road and stopped for me to run into Lens Mills Stores, a huge warehouse of bulk items. I was looking for some yarn at a decent price.

I remember learning to get comfortable with the electric pallet toter
It never got away from me either!

Back home, Bill rested, Clemson pranced around hinting about supper time and I began my post. The temperature has not improved much all day, holding now around 43F/7C under cloudy skies. It is almost 5 pm. There is talk (rumours!) of snowfall tomorrow but were not worried as it won’t last. It is forecast to be wet and sleet-like and then an increase of 10 degrees on Friday. We will handle whatever is thrown at us.

And a nice picture of Eric with Bill in the mail room

I’m enjoying the book I’m reading. Simple Genius by David Baldacci. Bill has finished End Game by him and is ready to start a new one. When we emptied under the bed, there are about 8 or 10 more books by the same authors we’ve been reading. Some hard cover, some soft but enough reading for a little while. A few of our unread books were from the batch from Deb and Riley last winter and others are what I’ve picked up at clubhouses. Bill reads less when we’re home and sometimes I do too but we’ll see!

Eric and I
I can't tell you how much mail Bill and I have sorted in this room
I was a jack of all trades in my last 5 years and sorting mail was
one of the jobs outside of the office that I enjoyed

At 6, we rustled ourselves out of our chairs and I warmed up the last container of our chili that was in the freezer. I made us some toast to have with it and it went down really well on a chilly day. 

Chili and toast on a cold day = perfect!

We cleaned up dishes and then had a couple of recorded programs to watch. By the end of the day, we are both fighting to keep our eyes open when we read so maybe tonight the ‘boob tube’ will keep us awake longer.

Bill wanted another piece of toast with peanut butter
I couldn't resist the photo op
He has been craving his Kraft smooth p.b. all winter as you can't
buy it south of the border

What a great day we’ve had today on the farm! Thank you for visiting us today. If you’d like to leave a comment and are able to, I will enjoy reading it.