Ridge Coffee Cake? Happy Hour

 Park Place RV Park

On Wednesday, Jan. 28th it was once more after 7 when I came downstairs. Walking at 8 was not even a consideration this morning. It was a chilly start, only 37F/2C.

Good morning!

Bill left for the field.  Gibbs and I sat together while I had a cup of tea and half a grapefruit. At 8:30, we went for his walk. I wasn't dressed appropriately enough and rushed him around more than usual. 

This is probably the most we saw
of the blue sky all day and it didn't last.
It was 9 am.

He said hello to Sue before we came in to the warmth of the Suite. I had coffee and Rhubarb coffeecake with 10 others.  It was my Ridge rhubarb made into a delicious treat.  

From scratch, Sue made
a yummy Rhubarb coffee cake,

After lunch Bill went to run a few errands.  Propane, diesel, bank and a truck run to clear the exhaust.  I did more quilling, made another greeting card and started on some bookmarks. 

For an upcoming birthday,
turned out better than
I thought.

At 3 we went outside to our gazebo for Happy Hour with friends Ken, Kim, Dave, Joan, Tom and Deb. Gibbs joined us too. 🤗 There was a lot of conversation, a few pictures and much laughter.  

Happy Hour L to R
Tom, Ken, Dave, Joan, Deb, Kim, Pat.
Fun single digit names, right? 😂

Gibbs was the best boy
and won Joan's heart.

By 5: 20 we broke it up and said goodbye. It was time as Bill's and my feet were feeling cold. The sun never did make an appearance today and with a breeze, we were lucky to reach the forecasted 68F/18C.

The tacos were very good.
I didn't have sour cream so
yogourt worked just fine.

We had tacos for supper and a cookie for dessert. They are quite tasty. I watched a couple of episodes of The Wall for a change while I worked on my blog. 

Too many clouds for
a sunset tonight so...
here's a little sunshine.
Good night!

This has been a great day. Thank you for popping by 

A Mixed Weather Day, Shed Purge, Rhubarb!

The Ridge

On Sunday, May 23^rd we started our day at 7 am. It was good to just lounge in bed for the morning. Bill was up with Gibbs at 6:00, little sleepyhead, and brought him up into bed with us after he went out. No, he didn’t really want to settle down but after letting him wander between us and to the bed edges, he finally conked out. 😊 He’ll get used to it, I’m sure, especially once we get him out of the nipping stage.

A pretty morning

The day started out really sunny at 7, 8, 9 and then it got cloudy and drizzly. Bill had gone out before the fine mist started and emptied our black tank. The chore that he hates the most. Probably the only one he dislikes at all. Then he cut the grass at the back field, the berm, the corral and our sitting area before coming inside. By then it was quite damp out there but he was happy to have it taken care of.

Gibbs's new endeavour
Watching Daddy go upstairs

The attempt and hesitation

And some hesitation coming down

We had bacon and sausages for lunch and after dishes, he went upstairs for a snooze by himself. Gibbs curled up in his bed downstairs and I sat in my chair with my book. Getting closer to the finish line! I hope to finish it tonight. I’d contacted someone on FB’s Marketplace who was selling rhubarb from their personal patch. We set up the time for an afternoon pick up and while Bill slept, I slipped out. 

My irises are always beautiful and these are the short ones

I found their place along Hwy #6 easily using my gps and was in and out quickly. My, was it ever a big patch and about 3’ tall! He had it all picked for me which I appreciated. After telling him about my unlucky streak with growing it he recommended I give my rhubarb another year and I should see progress. 

The sky was about to change again

I have my work cut out for me

Bill was up when I got home and was outside in the storage shed. Gibbs was inside looking after things. I joined Bill and we made good progress out there. Mainly, we needed to clean it up, organize and move the table saw stand in there from the new shelter. 

I noticed the wee beginnings of a hornets nest
in the outhouse
It's gone now!

We have things to purge, some garbage and things to sell. I took pictures of the latter items and posted them on Kijiji and Facebook. Anything we can get for them helps us and we’ll be happy someone else can use them. Bill had moved out to the front field and finished cutting the grass there. Well, of course, he needed to find a bit of excitement in the process. When he came up half way through and said he needed my help, I thought oh-oh.

Gibbs had fun walking up the plank while we cleaned
and purged
He even had fun falling off a few times

Nothing surprises me much anymore when Bill gets on his Cub Cadet. With this new one now, it’s like he can venture just that much farther! 😊 So, with Ptooties backed up and a chain attached to both vehicles, I pulled him out of the muck and the mire down near the pond. Biting my tongue from saying “what the heck were you cutting in there for?”, I left him to it with a grumble but a chuckle at the same time. Boys will be boys.

Bill now has room for his table saw and stand

Garden tools are more organized and neat

On the window side, he still has some tidying to do
but it's a great start

We had chicken nuggets in Rosy the air fryer with a vegetable on the side. It’s a fast meal and we finished it off with black cherry ice cream. We made a call to Marilynne before dishes as we’d been thinking about our loss from 3 years ago today. We lost Bill’s Dad in 2018 and it is a tough day for all of us but especially her. It’s great to have the good memories and also good to know that he didn’t have to go through this Covid nonsense. We miss you in our physical lives, Dad! 💖

Pooped out after time outside

Supper was pretty simple tonight, we weren't overly hungry

After dishes, we watched the tail end of Pretty Woman, American Idol and then later on caught the episode of The Good Witch.  Gibbs had a good time outside with me, following me back and forth from the shed to the lawn. Such a great helper. Now, he’s been sleeping at our feet for a couple of hours. 😉 

The sky was pretty tonight too

What a great day, I feel we accomplished a lot. I think Gibbs will agree. 🐕

Good night!

Thank you for your visit today!

Overnight Rain, Bloodwork for Bill, Country Road Walking, Rhubarb and Ribs

Bill and I were up at 7 and he got cleaned up and headed out right away for Hanover. Today is Wednesday, August 1^st so a new month means a few things on the short agenda. Bill’s bloodwork, just as a check-up, Clemson’s flea and heartworm meds and a new boost of Wifi. We did well through July with our use of the 19 gb we are allotted. As he left, I went for a walk down the lane and across Baptist Church Road to the new house that was built last spring/summer.

Looking back towards Baptist Church Road, the way I came from

The rains had dampened the land and things are beginning to green up all over again. That means, of course, that the greener it is, the more it grows. I have a section of long weeds going down the hill by the corral but Bill has told me not to worry about it. No sign of our rv’ing neighbours even when I returned so stepped inside and made myself a tea. Soon after, the wind picked up enough for me to pull the awnings in just a tad.

This is the house we saw going up last spring

Rob and Pat pulled out around 8 for the morning, Rob also had an appointment. I think everyone had stuff going on today so we were each doing our own thing for the most part. When Bill returned around 8:30, he replenished our fridge stock of milk and cream, having stopped at Walmart for their better deals. I needed to get my rhubarb bagged up for the freezer, it has been on hold since Sunday! Thanks again, Sandra and Bill.

We saw the beginnings from the foundation and now
it is a beautiful home for someone

The light rain took over the morning and in between going in and out to dump my inside compost pail, empty our full recycle bin into a blue plastic bag and let Clem out for a quick piddle, I remained inside. The awnings are still out enough to stand under it for the fresh air. It is quite refreshing at 69F after yesterday’s heat. Bill took Black Beauty for a run to fill a propane tank and perhaps top up with fuel.

I do believe they liked our idea of the mail box and post in a pail
They are living here all year so buried the pail

I cut up some bacon, peppers, onions and leftover sausage and began frying them up slowly. By the time I see him coming up the drive, I should be able to drop eggs in for a toasted western on a bun. That will be a nice change for us. With the greenery along the laneway and between us and the road, it is difficult to see him until he is at the bottom of the hill but that’s perfect. I’m grateful for the rain, I think we all are, really, the pond needs it.

I started frying the meat,  peppers and onions

then added the eggs and cheese bringing everything together
Yummy!

One of the things I was looking for yesterday at Keady was one of those Indian style summer dresses for a good price. Mostly they run between $12 - $15 but the most difficult part is finding one for the right colour. I know they are basically all the same from booth to booth so I just needed time to peruse. When Bill and I swent our separate ways, I was able to really slow down and be fussy. I love the vibrant coloured ones but I wanted to be practical and not stand out like a sore thumb. I just like to stand out like a baby finger! I found one in a nice shade of blue with silver adornments and it will do just fine. What do you think?

My picture taking abilities today are terrible
Thus making my dress choice, a bad one
It really is nicer than this

So, when Bill got back we had our westerns and they were delicious! Clemson even got a tidbit at the end when we were finished. Made him happy and then he went back to bed. We cleaned up dishes and off went my sweetie to putter around the property. My head is scrambled at the best of times, so much going on in it (like most of us!) but I’d hate to be in Bill’s head. I don't know how he keeps on top of all of the things he has going on in his mind. He still manages to get things done too!

With 4 more bags of rhubarb in the freezer, there isn’t much room for anything else. I do need to plan what to take to my sister-in-law, Carol’s place on Monday for Dad’s birthday celebration.  This was in the works before he passed away in June and the family has decided to go ahead with it.  It will be a nice family gathering for as many as can make it.  I need to take something so perhaps the rhubarb strawberry pie and/or a coleslaw.

A misty morning, there are actually 3 turbines in this photo
Two are almost invisible

Bill and George took a drive over to the Acreage just to show George around and I took a walk down the lane while they were gone. There wasn’t much to see though, the geese weren’t in my sights so I walked back.  Grabbing the bird feeder in the corral for a fill up, I also dead-headed some more petunias on the way back. Bill drove up behind me and hooked up his cargo trailer. He was taking it out in the morning to get new tires.

with my zoom lens, I captured the cattle all huddled up in the corner of their field

It was time to check out the garden and good thing I did. There were a few weeds, easy to pull in the soft ground, but there were a lot of tomatoes ripe for the picking. I knocked one off while trying to re-stake some of them but it will ripen in the sun in a few days. Everyone had returned by 12:30 to their site and some went for snoozes, some sat outside like I did and Rob assisted Bill with trying to get our outdoor hand pump working.

Bill first backed down the driveway, all the way

He turned around at the road
and then backed up to the corral

and backed it in here for tomorrow morning's drive

 It was a lazy day and I mentioned to George G. that we’d like a tour of their 38’ motor home before they pull out. Why wait? He showed both Bill and I through and it is quite a nice unit. It is nice when you find what you like and what is suitable to your individual needs. We have all found that in our rv’s. Bill had no choice but to back the cargo trailer down the lane to the road and turn around and back up again to park it for an easy early morning departure. His appointment is for 9 in Hanover.

The farmer missed planting a swatch of beans
Woops!

We sat for a while outside before admitting that it was too cool for shorts and tanks and came inside. Without sunshine, 20C just isn’t warm enough when there is a cool northwestern wind. We moved inside with our books and I had some peaches and cream and Bill had some chips and cheddar to tie us over until supper. Okay, I had some chips too. I’ll wait until Happy Hour for my tea today.

My Moonflowers are ready to bloom!

Bill had a nap in his chair and I caught up on this post until it was time to join the gang at George and Suzie’s for our afternoon gabfest. I made my tea and got Bill’s glass out of the freezer (we keep them chilled in the ice container) and carted my chair and funky tripod over. There were 8 of us sitting around, experiencing first cooler temps then warm temps and then sprinkles of rain that turned into something that could certainly leave us all wet and uncomfortable.

It wasn't perfect, setting up the tripod on their door handle
but we're all in the picture at least

We parted ways after I managed to take a poor picture of everyone on a ‘selfie’. It was only 4:30 so we sat inside and I read while Bill watched some tv until 5:15. I had a pack of cooked pork ribs that I picked up at Independent for supper. We didn’t feel hungry enough for much else so I just husked a couple cobs of corn and boiled those until tender. The ribs only took 10 minutes to heat through and we were eating by 6:15 and dishes done by 6:30.

Cattails at the end of the lane

The day’s weather has certainly been a strange one and after hearing from George G. that at 4 am, the sky opened up and dropped a heavy rain storm over the area (most of us didn’t even hear it) you’d think that the rain would soon be on its way out. According to forecasts for the weekend, that is exactly what may be happening over this long Civic holiday weekend. Hot, humid and dry.

Filled this feeder this morning
Guess who??
I need to grease the metal post, obviously

Rob popped over to see if Clemson wanted to come to play tonight, but Clem wasn't having any of it. Rob came in for a visit anyway. When he left, I went for a walk down the lane again at 7 and snapped a couple more pictures for this post. I’ve enjoyed this day even though it has been pretty quiet. I hope you can say the same.

Another lovely sky tonight

Thank you for sticking your head in today to see what we’re up to.

Two Days in One, Finishing the Yardwork, Fiddling Around, Quiet Day, Guests with Gifts

On Wednesday, June 20^th Bill and I were up with Clemson at 6:45. The sky still held some lingering clouds and it could be a mixed bag weather day. I actually felt chilly when we got up, the Suite sitting at 64F/18C, and outside at 56F/13C. Funny what you get used to. Strange Ontario weather. We had our tea and coffee together reading blog posts from yesterday before Bill headed out first to do some weed trimming. Me next, so I got dressed and got my mower out.

Bill does a great job as usual

That didn’t last long, after a few swaths around the yard finishing the main area and, in the corral, the battery died. It couldn’t have been fully charged. Bill did all the trimming so I didn’t have to get my weed eater out at all. Big smiles there! While Bill was finishing up the trimming, it was around 10 when I got our breakfast ready. 

remember the long grass the other day?
this looks much better

The only other thing on my list was to weed my vegetable garden and went up the hill with the hoe. Everything seems to be coming up ‘roses’, well, no not roses but healthy veggies! Bill puttered around with his planes for a while and the rest of the day was pretty lazy for me and eventually Bill joined me. We sat out under the awning after  reading and chatting until our eyes got heavy.

My garden  is now weed-less
Carrots and onions are coming along

tomatoes and peppers too

It was a gorgeous day and when Bill crawled onto the hammock for a snooze, I curled up beside him. Amazingly, we didn’t tip the thing over! We’ve had it since 2004 so are old pros at getting on and off it, I guess. If Clemson had been outside, he would have been in the middle. That is when it gets funny and a little more challenging moving around. We do have fun!

Bird feeder is full, it will likely only last a few hours

At 3 I had my shower and Bill soon after had his. We had a fun evening planned. First, at 4:30 we picked Rob and Pat up in Durham and drove to Walkerton. We met my two sisters, Donna and Gayle and their husbands at Joe’s Old Cabin for supper. Us sisters, Bill, Gerry and Rob (I think) ordered Caesars and Pat had a cooler and although the meal took a while coming, it was delicious! I do believe everyone ordered something different off the menu.

it was a great meal

Bill enjoyed the Fish and Chips and I enjoyed my 1/2 Quesadilla combo which came with a bowl of creamy potato, bacon and chive soup. Um-ummm that was yummy! We headed out of there by 6:20 and drove around the corner to St. Paul’s United Church. 

Waiting for the band to grace the stage
Love the beautiful woodwork in the ceiling of the church

Scott Woods and the Band were performing Fiddling Up a Storm. Because we knew our ‘invitees’ would enjoy him as much as we do and because a portion of his revenue goes to the church, we were excited to go again.

"Minnie Pearl? No, Minnie Kendra!"

No let down here at all, even though it was the same performance. Leo, the young 13 yr. old has certainly come out of his shell since we saw him last, 4 nights into their tour. We all had a great time and I’m sure many of us would go again for another show in the spring on a new tour. The church ladies put out wonderful refreshments in the next room so we had a bite, some chit chat with Scott and Kendra before going our separate ways.

Brother and sister
Scott and Kendra

Ron, I thought you'd appreciate this one of Kendra playing
the accordian

3 part fiddler harmony

Blurry but trust me, it was difficult to catch Scott in slow motion

A nice spread set up by the church ladies

A picture with the talented entertainer and friend

Rob and Pat pose with Scott as well

I still think there must be a hinge in the middle
to get around corners at an intersection
Scott does all the driving and they have travelled 14,000 kms on this tour already
The began the tour on April 13th/18

It was shortly after 10 when we arrived home and we joined Clemson in bed right away. That was a great day!

The sky was pretty on the drive home

Thursday, June 21^st we woke up around 7 again and I felt the chill of the air again. It was great sleeping but when I felt Bill rising, I wished for another blanket to curl up under. However, since I was wide awake, I quickly slipped warm jammies on and joined him downstairs for my tea. The clouds moved across the sky like an unbroken canopy this morning but while sitting reading posts, the blue sky made occasional appearances. Did someone get their wires crossed in the weather department? It was supposed to be a sunny day.

We finished our coffee and tea and talked about whether to drive to Hanover today. Bill has a list of items to pick up for 2 or 3 small ‘projects’. He’s the project guy around here! With no other necessary stops in town, he didn’t need me to pick out wood stuff so I remained behind and gave the Suite a quick dusting downstairs.

I boiled, cooled the syrup and filled the hummer feeders today

I know it is kind of pointless but I stirred the dirt/stone area where I’ve previously cleared of large rocks. Because we have a huge bucket of grass seed, I spread some. We need some top soil to level it out good but putting that $ out right now isn’t top of the list. If some grass grows in the meantime, I’ll be happy. If it doesn’t, no loss. I watered a few things just to be outside with Clemson and then put him inside and drove to Durham. We needed a birthday card.

Clemson sits in the sunshine

When I turned off North Line into our drive, there were 2 geese families with babies way up at the corral. Their sense of ‘warning’ is very evident as they immediately began herding the goslings to the water. We creep up the driveway so as not to freak them out but they still sense ‘danger’ in our presence. I stopped and tried to get a picture with my phone. No sooner did I back Ptooties in her spot when I noticed Bill coming up the lane behind me with his purchases.

The Geese Families are certainly keeping us entertained
If they sense you, even from a long distance, they begin moving the children

He unloaded the wood and because it was 11:30, I began making toasted westerns for brunch. They are always so good. We made plans for a supper meal that would provide leftovers for Bill’s supper tomorrow night. You guessed it, he’ll be working tomorrow. We cleaned up dishes, I made a small Costco grocery list and he went out to do any number of things.

As I’d hoped earlier, at 7:30, the blanket of clouds were swept away as the day woke up. These are beautiful days, 69F/21C, not too hot, not too cold and as Goldilocks says ‘Just right!’ I have a bit of lawn up on the hill to finish cutting where Bill can’t get with the rider so I’ll either do that today or tomorrow. I still have visions of last night’s fun entertainment in my head and it makes me smile. We had such a great time with family and friends.

If the geese aren't entertaining enough,
these two chipmunks fighting over the bird seed certainly are!

Quite frankly, I don’t feel like doing much of anything. I vacuumed the Suite and that just makes the place look spiffier. We’re not slobs by any means but a clean sweep and/or vacuum lifts the carpet fibres. Bill placed the box of ‘handy things to have in a vehicle’ in the back of the Rav4. They’ve been sitting in the bunky since we emptied the Corolla.

They sneak up on each other, chase each other
I love the right hand picture, this guy is peeking over the edge looking
for his competitor

Upon reading the manual, Bill also discovered that there IS a second 12v plug-in adapter so he is still able to keep the gps connected as well as plug our 12v cooler in for his drives to London. That was a bonus. So, he added an extension and fed it through from the front console where it plugs in, under the seats to the trunk area. We’re loving the space in there and having access to it from the back seat is a bonus.

Brunch, yum

We’re experimenting with the sunroof, I know some people love them and others prefer not to have them. It seems we often buy things in an ‘as is’ state without making adjustments, cars and trailers at least. I don’t know if we would have added a sunroof if purchased new. Saying that, we did have cruise control added to the Corolla and it was a demo on the lot. We dealt with the manual windows.

Our drawer dishwasher is handy to have 

But 3 drawers instead of an oven

The Suite was ‘come as it is’ state and we made no adjustments. Dealing with the no oven with ease and gee, the added dishwasher is tough to take! A feature we added to the Suite décor was our lift-top coffee table. We love it! It takes up a fair bit of space but the storage option in the cubby and underneath in our baskets is priceless.

We love our coffee table for storage

All closed up you can't see the 'stuff' hidden inside

There is a slight breeze out there that every once in a while, becomes stronger, flipping the hammock bed, over and over. It doesn’t take much of a wind to catch the edges and send it topsy turvy. We got a text from Donna that they were on their way to the Acreage and as much as I’m so glad we don’t have that packing up procedure to go camping, I’m glad that we are having good weekend weather so they can enjoy their property over there.

At 2:15 we took Clem and drove over. I have coconut oil for Donna from Costco and she has Avon for me that was delivered here last Monday. Oh yes, I must remember to pay that bill. So, we drove over to the Acreage in Black Beauty to top up our fresh water tank. Donna was inside their fifth wheel so I went in. Clemson took a good hard look at their new steps and decided quite quickly that he wasn’t going up them. No carpet, no Clemson. Funny guy, he is.

As we left to go to the Acreage, Papa, Mama and Baby were taking their
sweet old time moving out of the way

Papa's head was bouncing and I'm sure he was swearing at us

Donna and I exchanged our goodies, oil for Avon and cash in the pocket. Good deal! We took a look at her flower garden and I fell in love with the primroses, such a bright yellow and I definitely want some in my garden here. I’ll get some from her in the fall. Donna made us all a Caesar and I had to basically ‘chug-a-lug’ when Bill said, ‘okay, let’s go, it’s 10 to 4’. So, we said our goodbyes and drove back to the Ridge.

A beautiful day for sure

Inside, catching up on this post, Bill wanted to lift the Suite, side to side, so he could place boards under the tires. He did tell me he was lifting one side of the Suite. Well, I wasn’t prepared for the multiple lifts! After a Caesar!? After a tilt this way and a whirl that way, I felt I was on an amusement ride. When it stopped for a few seconds, I scooted out of the rv and sat on our King chairs to realign my body and my head. Too freaky! Next time when I get that warning, I’m outta’ here!

comfort food and leftovers

Back inside, I pulled up my recipe for Easy Meatloaf and threw the ingredients together in a bowl. I can almost (almost!) do this blindfolded now but that is a good thing. It means it is a favourite of Bill’s and mine too. As the name says, it is EASY. Even though our batteries are fully charged, we’ll plug in to bake it in the convection oven. One day I will prepare it early enough and thicken it up a bit more so I can try it on the Weber Q.

With the loaf cooking, I prepared potatoes and corn, timing them so everything would be ready close to the same time. Rob texted me around 5:30 and asked if we’d be around for a visit after supper. He had a treat for me. A bag of freshly picked rhubarb! Oh my! Jibberish came out of my fingertips in my response to him. You know, expressing undying love, everything I could think of to kiss up. We have both craved stewed rhubarb, rhubarb pies, crumbles and cheesecakes.

Now that is a mess of rhubarb!
Thank you, Rob, Pat and Sandra :)

While Bill finished washing the dishes, Rob drove up in his GMC. Clemson ran to Rob first and then Pat to welcome our visitors. What I had my eye on while hugging Rob was the overstuffed bag in his arms. They came inside for a short visit and we shared our day’s non-adventures. None of us got into too much, at least nothing too strenuous. Clemson cozied up to Pat while she sat on the couch. He does love his 2^nd parents.

sorry for the blurry picture, Pat

After they said goodbye, I finished my post and downloaded some pictures. I didn’t take too many today so had to spread them from the last couple of days. Not all days offer the same photographic delights. This has been a rather calm day but a great one. I hope you can say the same for yours.

goodnight from the Ridge

I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my posts. Sometimes we don’t have much to write about but you should know that we are making the best of each day that comes our way. Life is too short to waste a single one. Your comments are always appreciated.