Laundry on the Line, Some Groceries, Bill Packs and Heads Out

The Ridge

It was cool in the Suite when Bill first woke around 6:30 on Sunday, Sept. 29^th so he turned the Blue Flame heater on. By the time we got up for good at 7:15 it had taken some of the chill off. Bill loaded the basket of dirty clothes into Ptooties and I washed, brushed my teeth and followed him outside. He stayed home today and had his coffee. It was 7:45 by the time I arrived at the Mat for my double-duty shift.

Doesn't look too encouraging for drying clothes, does it?

First off, I loaded 3 washers and then took care of business. I keep forgetting, until I get in there, to bring in 2 signs that got damaged during painting. Duh! I'll try and remember for next time. The sky was mostly clear blue when I left and so even though it was a chilly 10C/50F outside, I figured the sun and wind would dry the clothes on our line. I drove to Foodland and picked up a few groceries. A few things just for me; while Bill is away, I’ll eat differently.

French toast for a change with a red twist

When I got part way home from town, I noticed clouds had moved in. Lordy oh Lordy! Oh well, I’ll hang the clothes anyway as it isn’t supposed to rain. I backed the car up to the berm and came inside to put the food stuff away. Then I made my tea and decided to drink it before going out to hang them. It was quite chilly out there! Bill carried the basket up the hill for me as he always does. Spoils me terribly, he does! There was still no sun to speak of when I went out to hang stuff and I was chilled to the bone.

And our geese are enjoying the pond again

And still all in a row

Back inside, I got a text from Bill at the Hangar “can you give me a hand to carry the big plane out of the cargo trailer?”. So, we did that, no easy feat moving it into the Hangar. I had the heavy nose because he needed to do more maneuvering from the tail. I hope I don’t have to do that again anytime soon! He needs to empty the cargo trailer of planes so he can take it to Tavistock tonight. He and Bob will spend evenings building a front cupboard in it.

Backing up to the cargo trailer

I didn’t realize it was so late, already 10:30, so I used the last 4 pieces of marble rye bread in the fridge and made us French toast. It was yummy with either/or maple syrup from Jamie’s batch and my choke cherry syrup. That was a good choice as now I won’t be tempted to eat the bread while he is away. My goal this week is to avoid that kind of carb – mostly. I’m going to try anyway. While waiting to cook breakfast, I made up my 2 signs and then my new work schedule for the days remaining to clean.

 Bill went back outside while I did dishes and he measured the screen openings on our burned out firepit. He has already bought the replacement screening and left it with Rob. Rob will work his magic and make us new ones for our return in the spring. Other than burning cardboard, just to get rid of it, there won’t be any more ‘sit around’ campfires here this year. Inside, I noticed that the sun came out and now I’m at least hopeful for dry clothes before too long. I know it won’t last; the clouds are just as determined.

I lifted the scatter mats and swept the Suite out top to bottom. During our last week here, I will get the floors washed. Whether the carpet gets done before we leave is very, very debatable. It just isn’t working out with Bill gone all week. We’ll see. With that done, I took a walk out to watch Bill hook up the cargo trailer to Black Beauty. Boy, is she dirty! That is one of the biggest issues with not having water hookup up here. You have to go into town to pay for a wash and it just isn’t a priority right now.

A couple of times during the cloudy cool afternoon, I went outside to check the clothes. Each time, about 2 hours apart, I brought in the few that were dried. Even the east to west wind up on the hill didn’t seem to help, blocked by the trees. By 4ish, I brought the last items in, Bill’s jeans and a couple of my things. We’d decided to have an easy, early supper so he could be on the road by 6 pm. Jamie texted about not being able to get out to pay Bill today but we weren’t too concerned. Next weekend works well and he can pay both of us. 😉

At 5, I started getting the leftover basa filets, potatoes, carrots and green beans out for warming. Nice and easy! I sliced a garden tomato on the side to spruce it up and add a bit more colour. Perfect for the Good Housekeeping magazine? We will each have a piece of apple pie with cheddar for dessert, also warmed up nicely in the oven. The rest of the pie will go in the freezer tonight so I’m not tempted throughout the week. We can have more on the weekend.

See ya Sweetie!

I finished my Alex Cross story, Jack and Jill, and it was great and suspenseful right to the bitter end. Tonight, I’ll be watching my recorded This is Us on pvr so won’t start a new one (likely) until tomorrow. Bill is working on Lee Child’s One Shot. He knows that he has read it before but can’t recall how it turns out. Once he nears the end, he’ll remember, I’m sure he will. Ssssh! So, supper turned out good (how could I fail by pushing buttons?) and the apple pie was yummy with the cheese melted over the crust.

Drive safely!

I did dishes while Bill loaded the cooler bag and his Zero Coke in the truck. Then he was off. Pretty darn close to 6 o’clock, just as he’d hoped. He’ll meet Bob in Stratford where he’ll drop the cargo trailer and then they’ll go to their home in Tavistock. Weird, but that was hard to see him leave. Gotta keep busy tonight. So, I put dishes away and sat in front of the tv. It is still light enough out that I can leave the blinds open for a while. Heck, the sun (wherever it is over there in the west) hasn’t set yet. When darkness falls, the blinds will be drawn.

A little while before the sun sets but I didn't think I'd see it

This was a good day for a few more things getting taken care of. I added two new things to my list but tomorrow, a few more things should be checked off.

And as I looked out the window, I saw that I still had company
Good night everyone!

Thanks for your visit!

Two Birds – One Stone, Landscaping Day, Evening Visitation

The Ridge

On Wednesday, Aug. 28^th I was up with the birds and Bill followed right away. I had sorted the laundry last night so took it with me at 6:30 when I went in to work First stop was at the bank to get some cash as we needed it for the machines. No, I don’t get our laundry done free. Some of you have asked if that is a perk of the job. Jamie hasn’t offered, honestly, likely hasn’t thought of it and if we can’t afford $7 or $10/week for laundry, we better go back to square one.

The sky across our land can be so pretty

These pictures were first thing in the morning as I was ready to leave for work

I’m lucky to be able to do both my cleaning and laundry at the same time. I loaded the washers and set to work. The machines were okay today but the floors needed attention. Yay! Our customers seem to be heeding the recycling signs – a bit. When both the laundry and cleaning were done, it was 7:45 and I loaded Ptooties and headed for home. This was turning into a gorgeous day with nearly clear skies and a few light fluffies dotting the blue.

Time to show you my bucket of flowers on the hill

Bill was in the Hangar and as soon as he saw me he hopped on the rider and cut the grass up on the hill where my clothesline is. He carried the heavy basket up to the stool so it was waiting for me when I finished my tea. 

Off he went to cut the front field. With the clothes hung, I decided to get my big girl pants on and cut my area of grass as well. It is nice that we’ve had enough rain to green it up and for it to grow. A week ago, we were just cutting tall weeds.

As I was cutting the grass, this guy was desperately
trying to get out of my way

I did some close cutting with my mower so Bill didn’t have to worry about certain areas with the whipper snipper. Then I moved down to the corral. Before I got too far, I hit a rock that didn’t even look that big and broke the end off the blade. Oh Blimey! I told Bill that I guess it was my turn to get a new blade. LOL So, I was finished, right good and proper, and removed the battery before sitting in the shade to cool down for a bit.

                                            GET READY FOR AN ADORABLE CRITTER

Before I sat in my chair, I noticed this little hitchhiker had beat me to it

He must have dropped off the tree as I was cutting grass

Some crawly things, I do not like but this?

I scooped him onto my sunglass lenses and carried him outside

I think he is very happy on the rock
Look at those eyes!!

At about 10:45 I started cooking bacon, thinking someone would be starving. He had moved to the back field and I thought he should be close to finishing. Not quite so I didn’t start the eggs right away. We both had bacon and eggs and I forced the last 3 mouthfuls down since I really wasn’t that hungry. There isn’t much more on MY plate today but I know Bill wants to trim all around the Ridge perimeter so I offered to do dishes so he could get at it whenever he was ready.

Cutting the peameal was easier when in a semi-frozen state

When I finished a b.p. coffee I pondered what to get up to next. First things first; with a possible threat of rain later today, I went out to check the clothes on the line. The wind has increased to 17 mph and the way the clothes were flinging around, it was obvious that they would be dry. Now the fun part, putting them away. Not! The peameal bacon that I took out of the freezer has thawed enough for me to slice it up so I took care of that and placed it in freezer bags.

This was a delicious supper for being so easy

I worked on the jigsaw puzzle in the Bunky until it was finished and came inside around 3:30. The air was changing and clouds were moving in. Darker, heavier clouds so they may be right about the rain coming our way. At 5, I started supper. I began frying some peameal, warmed the dressing and mushroom gravy plus toasted some rye bread. We have a visitation for Aunt Mary tonight from 6 to 8 so wanted to be ready for a decent arrival.

And the big cloud moved from west to east

And if you pay attention to the pond area below
you can see the cloud's progress

 Supper was good and we cleaned up dishes and ourselves soon after. It was around 6:30 by the time we made our way in to town. Visitations are not something you hang around long at normally. Meet, greet, give condolences, visit the departed and move on. Tops, it could be a 15-minute visit. Because we knew Aunt Mary and know Rob and Pat plus their family, we stayed for about an hour. It was quiet and nice to hang with them while looking at pictures on the video.

Almost a full sky covering

We were home before 8 and turned America’s Got Talent on. Looking out my window, I watched a humongous weather pattern moving to the east. Creeping the way it was, put me in mind of pulling a huge blanket over us and darkness fell quickly. The air was still and it was a mild 16C/62F so I’m not sure what to expect overnight. It has been a busy day for us here on the Ridge but a good one. I hope you have enjoyed yours as well.

Thank you for stopping by.