Spring Ahead, Fall Back – Going Back in Time - My First Mom Connection

Paisley, On

On Sunday, Nov. 1^st I was awake at 7 but actually remembered that it was now only 6 so rolled over again. I dozed off a bit and then at 6:30 Standard Time, we both got up to greet this day. The temperature is a cold 2C/37F but no frost on the windshields. All the same it is nice that we don’t have to get up and go anywhere this morning.

My first taste of what's to come
a wet and sloppy drive to Port Elgin

We had our coffee and tea at our laptops upstairs and then after some cereal and a coffee at 10:30, I drove Ptooties to Port Elgin. We needed some bread plus a few meat items for the freezer. I was happy to find exactly what I needed plus a couple of extra things at my first stop. Giant Tiger had the good bread on that Bill likes so after finding all the things on my list, and probably cheaper, I didn’t have to stop at Independent.

I thought this would be the only evidence so took a picture
boy, was I wrong!

The drive over was interesting enough. It was just very light showers, off and on, when I left the house but I drove through heavier rain and then disappearing wet snow flakes. It didn’t amount to anything nor did it interfere with my driving but it was a strong hint at what was coming soon. It had stopped by the time I reached Port Elgin, 15 minutes later. 😊

I texted Bill when I was on my way home and he pulled Black Beauty out of the back spot so I could get in there first. We back in, making it easier for getting out in the mornings. Nice that they have a double wide, almost triple in spots, driveway for all the ‘wheels’. Their son and his girlfriend live upstairs in their building next door and use the same drive with their cars so it is a full house.

Looking out the front, the snow made a lot of squigglies in my view

I separated the big and little sausages plus the chicken thighs into individual meal packs for freezing. I thought 12 thighs for $10 to be a pretty good price and they look good. They do have the skin and bone but we don’t mind that. With those in the freezer, I tried a snack recipe for Maple Pecan Brittle. Just a small batch and it is in the freezer for an hour to see if it hardens. If so, it will be a ‘nibble’ keto snack.

My sister, Donna, and Gerry are coming for a visit this afternoon so we are expecting them at 2. It will be different, entertaining (so to speak) here so we had to make sure (with crossed fingers) Wes and Susan didn’t mind. It was on the list of questions we asked them on our first meeting with them. Feeding guests won’t be as easy so will have to figure that out over time but Bill is sure we can work it out.

And there was enough on the ground and on their car
to say it 'snowed' today

We had a lovely visit with D & G, before and after taking them on a tour and introducing them to Wes and Susan. Everyone hit it off and the 2 ½ hours went by swimmingly. Donna and I had a tea and sat with Susan while Gerry and Bill had a rum and Coke and got a tour in the bank from Wes. It was an extended happy hour. By the time they were ready to leave at 5, their car was covered in you know what and so was the grass. Yeuch! That earlier wet rainy snow stuff had taken on some substance!

supper was perfect for a snowy Sunday

I put our 3 ½ lb. beef roast in Madame IP and told Bill that supper would be late tonight. No worries, we’re not on any schedule although there is another Hallmark movie at 6 Bill will have to watch between upstairs and downstairs in the kitchen. 😊 The snow had stopped and as we moved up to the bedroom to wait for supper, I looked out the window. Yup, darkness has fallen already by 5:30. We are supposed to get more white stuff overnight so will see what our morning brings.

through our bedroom window before supper

Oh, me oh, my! Supper was wonderful! The roast beef was perfect, the potatoes and gravy were perfect and the corn delicious too. I pat myself on the back and yet Madame IP gets 90% of the credit on that meal. Yummy for a snowy Sunday night dinner. Bill watched the movie and I worked on the crossword puzzle finishing it before we did the dishes up.

Today, I got my first (because I know there will be more) message
from Mom
I missed it but Bill pointed out on the front of our (W & S's) building
is a Veteran memorial banner
No big deal, right, they are in a lot of small towns
Yes big deal
this one is my Aunt Fern, Mom's older and only living sister
My heart is swelling right now
💓💓💓💓💓💓
As Donna says, "she knows where I am"
Good night!

Upstairs, he rejoined our hosts in the theatre room and I had my shower. I’m not feeling too tired today and I guess I really shouldn’t. It has been a nice low-key day with some shopping and some family and friend visiting. Now the work week can begin again in a new month. Whatever will November bring?

Thank you for stopping by!

Posted Too Soon

 At 10 pm, Oct. 15th, Bill and I were called up to Rockwood Terrace. Mom passed peacefully with a few nurses standing over her two minutes before we arrived. I didn't want to amend my earlier post, this deserved to be all on its own.

Mom's family, children, spouses, 18 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren will all miss her presence. I'm glad I got a late afternoon visit with her and held her hand. Secretly, maybe she was just waiting for us to 'leave her alone' so she could take the trip. 😁

We love you Mom. Safe travels and say hello to Daddy and Bruce!

Working Morning, Mom Visit, Fresh Dinner

The Ridge

It was a frosty morning, Friday, Oct. 9^th, when we got up. A cold night below freezing produced windshields coated in paintings from Jack Frost. Upon reflection, I’m very happy that it wasn’t a laundromat day. I’d have been grumbling and you can bet that will happen a few times this winter. As long as by 8, the sun has melted it, I won't grumble too long.

Ptooties looks cold!

The clouds were pretty in pink

Bill left for work around 7:30 and I left for work before 9. There wasn’t any heavy duty work left on the F700 so it was an easy morning. I like that on a Friday and I like it even better on a Friday before a long weekend. 😊 

When I arrived, I gifted Mitch with half of our strawberry cheesecake. A little birdie named Bill told me that he loves cheesecake so I thought I’d repay his nice gestures in a small way for Thanksgiving.

A pretty morning sunrise, looking at the frost on the cedar rails

He was thrilled. There was thin taping to do on the red parts of the truck where it met the white. Because it has just recently been painted, I was instructed to wipe the tape across my jeans first before applying it to the red. Then I blocked it in with the white paper. Newspaper could possibly leave a print and we didn’t want to take any chances. Besides the white paper comes on a large 4’ roll so takes less taping in the long run.

A nice thick Instant Pot cheesecake with 
almond crust

Looking at the picture, I sure didn't cut it evenly
That's okay. Mitch got the bigger half

At 11, Mitch’s F150 was ready for pick up so I drove his Acadia and we went first to town for a few stops and then to McCrackens (I think is the name) to get it. By the time I followed him back home, it was 12 noon and time to ‘tour’, as he calls it. I just got in the door and was changing and getting washed when Donna called. Mom’s breathing was seemingly more rapid today so Amanda wondered if anyone was close to pop in. Taking precautions, really, when a change occurs.

The cows were on the move

I grabbed a snack bar and went in to sit with her. I didn’t notice much difference from yesterday but sat with her, watching her sleep. Donna joined me at 1 since now two of us can visit at the same time. Mom hasn’t eaten or drank anything since Wednesday when she consumed some liquids only. Audrey and Gayle arrived downstairs so Donna and I kissed Mom goodbye and let them have their visit. She was sound asleep but at least not in pain.

Arriving at the Acreage
Good thing there is no leaf raking out here in the country

Back home, I prepped our supper from one of the Hello Fresh packets. Tonight, we’re having Tex Mex Burgers with tortilla and chips. I’m sure Bill won’t care for the salsa and chips so I offered him a choice to have fries with his. He was home around 4:15 so had his shower and then at 5 we drove over to the Acreage to get a bladder of water. The drive over was as pretty as mine to town, in the other direction.

Slipping back to the back where the well is

Donna and Gerry had just arrived for the night, since it is going to be a warm one. Only a low of 16C/59F expected. Tomorrow, Bill and I will have a busy morning and then he’ll go over to help them winterize theirs and Mike’s trailers. We can shut the water off then too, since we shouldn’t be needing any more. Well, that just sounds sad, doesn’t it? ☹

As we were pulling out half hour later
The sun was setting across this field

Isn't it pretty?
sorry for the blurry photo

The road back home
Geesh! It's blurry too!

Bill decided to have fries with his burger and now I can report on our first ‘Fresh’ supper. The turkey burgers were delicious, with the Mexican seasoning. They fried up nicely. The Artisan buns that came with the package were large but very fresh and quite delicious. I recently have not eaten the bun of our burgers but wanted to give this the full on taste test.

Tex Mex Turkey Burgers

You see how the cheese didn't melt on my chips
I ate most of them anyway

The thing that didn’t work for me was melting cheese on the chips in a convection oven. Hmmm, I’m sure there is a way but that kind of spoiled the effect. With an oven, it would have been a whole different experience. I would make turkey burgers again as because of this meal kit, I’d never made them before. 😊 We cleaned up dishes but I was too full again for dessert. A piece of cheesecake was available if Bill wanted some.

My second favourite picture of the day
You can see how windy it was by the ripples on the pond

This was a very different day with emotions up and down. Two of my sisters are going to see Mom in the early morning so I’ll be interested to see how she is at that time. My sister, Donna, called Mom's air force friend out in British Columbia this afternoon. You may remember that she visited Mom last summer. It is important she knows about the change in Mom's health. 

This is my favourite
an early morning picture of the frost across the pond
Good night!

Thank you for popping by!

Adjusting My Hours on a Cool Day, Calming Visit with Momma 😊

The Ridge

On Thursday, Oct. 8^th our routine didn’t change much. We get up, Bill showers or washes and goes about getting his breakfast. I wash, make my tea and kiss him goodbye. I was out the door, in the dark!, at 6:45 to clean the Mat. We have a time change coming up so that will make it lighter in the morning, earlier, and darker in the evening, earlier. LOL I get all mixed up when the clocks go back and forward for Daylight Savings Time. That happens around Hallowe’en so not for a while.

Thursday morning's sky

Interesting the way the heat shows up on the trailer
walls in the morning light

Only one customer at the laundromat this morning. An older gent, a Newfie, he’s very proud to admit. He told me a few stale jokes but I laughed anyway. He offered to help me if I needed it. A nice little man. I finished up there and since I had no call from Mitch, drove home. That’s a first! Ha ha. I almost got to our corner of Baptist Church Road and he called. His record is intact. LOL When I told him where I was, he laughed and said he’d see me at 9.

There were many sky changes today again
This has been a crazy fall already

the beautiful view as I turned onto Baptist Church Road

If I was a painter, this view would be the one to paint

Back home, I rested for 30 minutes and drove over to start work at 8:45. I explained my early arrival. I was going to go visit Mom today so wanted to leave before 12, get home to wash, change and eat first. I know Mom won’t see me but I dressed up a bit anyway, in a nice top and pants. She was sleeping and when I sat on the floor beside her, she stirred awake. Her non-stop chatter was a little different today. More agitated so I was sad I couldn’t understand her. She really had stuff on her mind.

The monster is partially painted

Anything behind the cab will not be touched with paint

Around 1:30, because of her uneasiness, I asked the nurse on duty if she was due for a pain shot and she was. With that taken care of, Mom still couldn’t settle and I realized she was needing to use the facilities. Two nurses came and helped her as I stayed outside her room. When they left, I stepped in and Mom was almost sound asleep again. I didn’t disturb her, instead pulling my book out of my purse and read until shortly after 2. 😊 I’d rather her be comfortable and asleep. All of us would.

A cute Hallowe'en display 

I received a few smiles today but not too many. She made me laugh right out loud when I rubbed her head and soft hair. I asked if she liked that and she grinned and said “Don’t ask me! I don’t know!” It came out so comical that I had to laugh. I talked a bit but it was more difficult since she chattered for the whole half hour, some understandable but most not. I told her I loved her and kissed her forehead before I left.

Another sister from further away is coming later today to stay for a while with Gayle so she will be able to get in to see Mom a few times as well. On my way home, the rains came and I was grateful for being inside the car. I had to wait about 3 minutes before getting out though or I’d have melted, I’m sure. Hah! I had made a list of things to do today so came inside to start on those.

Remember I told you yesterday about the coloured trees only
being in one section?

Here you can see the abrupt change to green evergreens

Making a strawberry cheesecake was one of the items. Just because. Getting in touch with Susan and Wes, our winter hosts, was another thing taken care of. I’d picked up a large pack of pork ribs on Tuesday and they needed to be separated. With those things done, the cheesecake looking mighty fine in the refrigerator, I cleaned up the dishes and went for a walk down the lane. The temperature was 12C/54F with some sun, rain, clouds and more wind. Not a bad day.

And then the rain came

Bill got home around 4:30 and we caught up on our days. Now I was ready to sit for a bit before supper. I made a cup of tea and sat with my book beside my sweetie. I reheated lasagna and meatloaf and cooked some corn for our vegetables. With a few green olives on my plate, the meal was tasty and very filling. I didn’t need dessert tonight.

Some patches of blue again

Unfortunately, our fireplace went on the fritz again this afternoon. It wouldn’t shut off. So, whether what Todd didto it at CanAm was an actual fix (temporary as it was) or if it was just from sitting, unplugged, for so long that did the trick. Either way, it isn’t working right again. We can’t turn it down or off without the heat still pouring out. Maybe they need to replace it, under warranty, when it is in over the winter too. Darn! We had to unplug it.

I doubt you can see the geese here but there
were gathered again in the pond

After dishes, Bill got our Veito infrared heater out from behind our chairs. May as well use something that we can control for our last week and a half here. We’d decided during that heat spell a couple of weeks ago that we’d put the Blue Flame heater away. Well, since we came back from CanAm actually, it has been stored. 

The wind has died down and I think we’re expecting a very cold night again before our next heat spell. Crazy Ontario weather.

Another night of leftovers, but it has been great!
Good night!

This was a great day. A good work experience at both jobs and then another opportunity to spend time with Mom. I hope you’ve had a good one as well.

Thank you for your visit.

Taking a Day for Fun, Cooler Temperatures, Mom and Elvis

The Ridge

It wasn’t the best sleep; I was a little chilly throughout the night and kept moving closer to Bill with my cold feet. I should have reached down and pulled the blanket up from the bottom of the bed. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. You know that saying. So, for not having a great 8 hours sleep, I was already awake but still feeling quite refreshed on Tuesday, July 21^st when Bill’s alarm went off.

a very heavy fog

When he came out of the shower, I got up as well even though he said it was really foggy out. Darn! A day off and I was planning a nice long walk first thing. The temperature was cool too, around 14C/56F. Cool compared to what we’ve been having. This is not a complaint; the fresh air is nice so all we need now is the sun to burn the fog off for a perfect day. I had my tea made before Bill left at 7:30 for work in the Hanover area.

By the time I left for Durham, the sky was clearing

I played my online Wordscraper, ScrabbleGo and Words with Friends and checked out comments on my blog posts. It was around 9 when I got washed and spiffed up a bit for some shopping. Hard to know what to wear. I texted Donna but pretty sure I didn’t need to remind her to remember her face mask. She is meeting me in Durham since driving to Hanover to pick her up is out of the way for me. We are going to Owen Sound to shop for a few things, with a stop at our favourite second hand stores.

Doesn't she look lovely?
I'd love to see her smile

While passing the time at my laptop, an email came through from my sister, Cathy. A picture of Mom was sent to her from Rockwood, the first we’ve seen in a long time. Mom looks confused and she isn’t displaying her famous smile, but her hair is done nice and she looks lovely and well-looked after. 😊 ♥ Visitations are opening up with more leniency but I still have to decide if it is worth getting the Covid test only to sit across from Mom and deny her a hug. ☹

Fog does create mysterious designs

There was an unusual bird landing in our service berry tree so with my zoom lens, I tried to get a picture. Looks like maybe a Mom or Dad and baby are in the area. Could it be a gray catbird? If I can get a clear picture, you can tell me. 

This is the best I could do, he didn't sit still for long

At 9:30, I went out and wiped down the back window and outside of Ptooties and then folded the back seats down. I was going to be picking up 2 pumps at Princess Auto. Unfortunately, Bill couldn’t get Gerry’s running.

Not rain, fog

I am married to a really good guy. If he borrows something of yours and it breaks, he’ll replace it. To him, there is no question. So, Donna and I met in Durham and I drove the 45 minutes to city. We found the BurCam pumps and the one that Bill wanted. It was on sale and they had 3 of them. We picked up the ½ HP Jet pump for Gerry, which theirs was, and the ¾ HP for us. Then my sis and I went to Value Village. We had a great time, separately for the most part and then together for a bit.

A young robin foraging for food

After leaving there, tickled with our purchases, we drove across the road to the Mission Thrift Store. Prices were better there and we cashed in on some great deals before deciding to get something to eat. Down the street and back across the pavement again, we went to Freshiis. It’s a neat little place offering all day breakfast, salads, wraps, soups and burritos and we each found something for our late lunch. Donna’s Pangoa bowl was spicy but my Tex Mex burrito was huge and quite tasty. Half of it came home with me for tomorrow.

It was a jam packed burrito

Doesn't that look filling? It was!

We were able to sit outside at their café table to eat. Then I drove back to Durham for Donna to pick up her car. I unloaded my purchases and relaxed in my chair until Bill came home around 4:30. 

Donna's salad bowl was huge!

We caught up on our day and he was pleased with the pumps and a few of the things I bought. He’s never as pleased as I am about the clothes although he did get a pair of shorts for work. Sometimes you never know what you’ll find. I didn't do too bad with just a few items to replace some in my closet. Come on! Who can walk away from 3 pair of jeans for $5?

Chippy out our back window

We started supper at 6, fish and chips tonight. We were cleaned up by 7:30 and done for the night. I guess it is no surprise that shopping is almost as tiring as working. Unfortunately, we (I) picked up the wrong ½ hp pump so I will be taking it back for exchange tomorrow. Too bad but there were 2 on the same shelf and Donna and I obviously grabbed the wrong one. Because his pump was 15 yrs. old, Gerry has offered to pay half. 😊

So, I mentioned Mitch's other job a while ago
This is him quite a few years ago
He sure doesn't look like this when we're sanding vehicles!
Good night everyone!

This was a good day, reaching 23C/73F. Tonight it will cool down to 16C/61F so a nice night for sleeping. I’ll have my extra blanket ready.

Thank you for stopping by!