A New Master of the Suite, Rainy Day

Park Place RV Park

On Friday, Dec. 22^nd, we are into the second day of winter. That means ‘now’, we are officially south for the winter. 😊 We expected the rains to start around 10 pm last night but they didn’t. Nor did they start any time through the wee hours of this morning. He was the main event of the day, so Bill didn’t go flying and I didn’t go to work on a puzzle. I'm not even sure they've started one. 

Good morning, before the rain we got out
for a walk around.

I took him for a walk and at 8:45, we left to take him to The Animal House for his spa. ♥ This is the first time at this venue but we’ve heard good reviews about Jennifer, the owner/groomer. She does the grooming in her small (maybe 20’) travel trailer so we took him in to meet her. After dropping him off with some instruction, I drove Bill to Jim’s, where he would be helping Ron with a plane. I wanted to mail a card and then stop at Family Dollar for some creamer.

A couple of poses.
Gibbs before

Like this, Mom?

I pulled into Coyote Fresh’s parking lot because there was more room for Black Beauty and walked the few steps to FD. They didn’t have creamer AGAIN but I bought the last box of Rice Krispies (hard to find this time of year, apparently!) on the shelf plus 2 small jars of smooth peanut butter for some baking. As I was in the check out line, I noticed Coke products were son sale 3 for $12 so I picked out 3 cases for Bill. It meant taking their cart across the two lots but I did it. 😊

For a while this morning, we thought
the rain would miss us altogether.

Then I nipped into CF for cream, of which I got 3 of the 1-quart bottles for $3.49 each. I was home by 9:30 and it felt strange, not having Gibbs at the door to greet me. I put a few things together and wrote a couple of cards before I finished with the worms. I tried a new colour and really liked working with that particular yarn. At 10:50, Animal House texted that Gibbs was ready and the cost so I drove to pick him up. Bill was finished at Jim’s too so both trips were involved at the same time.

Who is this new little Master?

You almost wouldn’t think he was the same pooch with his new cut except for those gorgeous brown eyes and happy tail. ♥ She did a great job so I booked him again for March, shortly before we leave the area. We had lunch and when the rain started around 12:30, I saw Gerald walking in from the back. I’d expected Dora to come over to paint my nails for me but the weather was playing havoc with her sinuses. We’ll try again tomorrow, it’s no big deal, just a chance to hang out.

Oh! It's you Gibbs! Such a handsome guy
all ready for Christmas with his new scarf

The rest of the day was just ‘chillin’ (with Bill and Gibbs). I did a bit more crocheting and then when they went up to watch a movie and snooze, I made some No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. What a long name! They are so easy and even with the Splenda or Stevia substitute, turn out awesome. I’m not sure if more baking will happen but most likely. We had fish and chips for supper and then watched an episode of NCIS Sydney.

Before the rain, we had to pop the top down 
on the gazebo. Wind was 25 mph at times from the south
Around 2 I had to go pop it back up when the winds
died and the rain was gathering.

By then I was too tired to write my blog, hence the late posting. I watched a couple of movies and Bill and I switched places. Gibbs doesn’t like the rain, at all, so will not go out to piddle He did not go out until 10. That’s since 11 am! Quite the little bladder he has. ♥ Daddy had to almost drag him out and he was quite full and had to feel tons better when we went up to bed. 

Supper was good. 

We split one of the little pies. 

This was a wet but good day, rained until about 4 am (Bill said) but puddles are non-existent this morning.

These are a no fail cookie and delicious!
Good night!

 I wore Christmas earrings and a brooch again today. Two more sleeps! Thank you for the visit.

Step by Step, Laundry, Giving Notice, Rainy Afternoon

The Ridge

On Sunday, Oct. 17^th we were up by 7, laundry sorted and I was on my way into Durham with the dirty clothes and a hot cuppa tea shortly after 7:30. 

Another pretty pink morning sky
(this warning came true late in the day)

One regular friendly customer was just putting his clothes in the dryers and we chatted a bit about things. I only noticed Jamie’s small note on the board about prices when the customer commented on it. He understood for sure. I moved other notices out of the way so it would be more noticeable.

Jamie said he would appreciate a bigger sign
so I'll make one before work on Tuesday

The one set of dryers were fixed and another one had a new note on it so I could tell Jamie had looked at it and ordered necessary parts. Again. After hearing the story from a customer last week about the one homeless female (I can’t say lady) going on a rampage in there, trying to destroy things, I’m not surprised that the already old machines are breaking down. ☹ It’s pretty sad so that in itself is a good reason the prices need to be raised. Repairs are costly.

Pretty autumn drive home

Who remembers 'my' favourite Durham tree?
Holey or Holy? 😁

Baptist Church Road

The sky had cleared out completely of clouds but I had already decided that I wouldn’t be fooled again. It was a couple of small loads so I tossed them all in one big dryer together. It only took 30 minutes for everything to completely dry. That gave me enough time to do a thorough cleaning, floors, machines, carts and the front door window. It was a cool day, only about 9C/48F but the sun was nice enough to encourage Bill and I get outside.

With supervision, Bill put our storm windows on

While I was gone, he replaced the sensor ‘thingy’ on the fireplace with the new one that arrived a while ago. We had bacon and eggs with toast for brunch and since I knew he was busy building, I offered to do a job that I really don’t enjoy – until I get into it. Cleaning the Weber Q is usually a chore that Bill does but I know it has been neglected for a couple of summers for one reason or another.

a toasted bacon and egg on rye

Gibbs took a while to adjust to wearing a jacket
but soon he was running like a little an escaped prison mate

The hardest part of this cleaning is that we don’t have running HOT water outside for washing and rinsing. Anyway, the wind was cold so I bundled up good and even put Clemmy’s coat on Gibbs and took him out on his leash. He had fun, although the coat was very confusing for him for about 10 minutes. He got used to it and I’m sure was warmer because of it with his new haircut. 😊 

I used Bill's putty knife to scrape the basin

This is only a portion of what came off
Yeuch!! We need to do this more often.
(we say that all the time too!)

When I came in to wash the burner, a lot of scraping involved here!, I brought him in too. Bill wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on him easily. The bbq burner is only lighting about 1/3 of the way around so I did what I could, cleaning the basin and grill and Bill will work on poking the holes clear. Yeuch! If I do say so myself, I did an awesome job and used the cold-water spray from our outside nozzle to give the grill a good rinsing. It isn’t perfect but much improved.

No wonder we don't have good flame to
bbq with

I did my best and things are definitely better
Bill still has to clear the holes in the burner

The most of the afternoon that was left, we rested in our chairs. The rain came and went, some sunshine and blue patches then heavy black clouds and more rain. It seems this has been the norm for the last few days and we are in for a nice change for the next few. Yay! Sunny days will be a nice treat. Bill unclogged the bathroom sink, how does so much guck get in there anyway? It flows 100% now so I’m grateful. Another chore that I should be doing to help.

I was proud that I've learned some things about
this home of ours
I didn't have to bother Bill at all to find the right switch! 😂

Even with cold water, it cleaned it up pretty good

The good news of the day is that we have made our first reservation for an RV resort in Arizona. No disclosure at this time, but we are happy to have a booking made. It makes it all seem so much more real PLUS this 18-month hiatus kind of gives us the feeling of being a newbie/rookie again. Travelling on our own will leave it open to just pick and choose when and where we’ll stop for the journey down. 😊

Clouds were moving in with some dark ones off to the east

I also took a step myself. I let Jamie know that I would be finished cleaning the Mat at the end of October, on Hallowe’en actually. I’m sure he’ll manage fine, somehow and if he needs to hire someone else in my place, I gave him free reign to do that. Even if they want to stay after I return. I don’t want him to hold my spot if he needs the help and he or his son can’t keep up. We were also able to renew our Sam’s Club membership, a place we frequent more often than Costco.

Bill was trying to get rid of a stink bug caught between
our screen and the window
If you look closely, you can see he had a helper

Then, for supper, I had Madame IP cook our boneless stuffed turkey roast. We had some potatoes and mixed veggies leftover that I fried and gravy to be reheated. With some of Bridgette’s cranberry jelly (that I’ve had in the fridge for a decade??) everything was delicious! 

This was our miniature Thanksgiving dinner

We didn’t need dessert again and that’s a good thing since all we had was ice cream. On a cold day, it just doesn’t work for us. 😊

It was good good good!

when Bill turns away from the table to watch tv,
someone takes the opportunity to jump up and give
me this sweet little face

After dishes, Gibbs was fed his supper. Because tomorrow is a ‘special’ day for him, he can’t eat after 8. That meant we fed him just a tad extra to fill that tummy for a longer period of time. I’m feeling sad for the little guy but this little surgery is all for good reason. ☹ Bill had his shower and I worked on my blog. The rain returned a few times throughout the rest of the evening, heck, we even had small hail this afternoon! LOL

we've had a fair number of rainbows this year
Once I see the sky colours I go from window to window
searching 

This was a good day. We got a few more things taken care of and I’m getting more and more excited as the days go on.

Now that's a pretty evening sky
I can never get the turbines lit when I try
Here two of them are flashing Yay!

Good night everyone!
Sorry for the late post!

Thank you for your visit today. And on that note, the weekend comes to a close.