A Sister’s Spree and Opinion, Half Day of Rain

The Ridge

On Tuesday, Aug. 17^th Bill was up and off to work just after 7. There had been a nice dousing of rain overnight although I didn’t hear it, nor did Bill. This morning brought a few more light showers, enough that Gibbs and I didn’t go for our usual walk. I relaxed at my laptop and since I had finished my blog post last night, I strayed onto different sites just for fun.

The sky was clearing in the afternoon 

Having those extra GB of data will make a difference for me by not being so hesitant to open emails with videos. With the update on our phones happening mid-month, the 30 GB (per phone) started right then, regardless of what was left of our original 10 GB. We were at ‘ground zero’ again. 😊 Last night, I felt comfortable being on the live video chat with Marie, Donna, Joanne and Gayle, not concerned about how much data I was using.

Before I left for town, the rain
had dampened the dirty cap of the Suite

So, I was curious how clean my Norwex mop would get it

with just water, see for yourself!

A big improvement, methinks 😃

This morning, I checked and read Marie’s (Norwex) updates with new ideas and products. Donna’s party is open until Wednesday to order and I’m trying to decide which of the many things like would I get the most use of right now. The rain petered off but texting with Donna I learned that it was still raining in Hanover, 30 minutes away. That’s where Bill would be working today and after helping with something indoors at a former site, if the rain stopped, they’d be back at D & G’s house. The windows are almost done so I’m sure they are very pleased about that.

I love that once my Corabelles bloom
they stay in flower for lot of the summer

At 10, I’d cleaned up and slipped into a long summery skirt and top and drove to Hanover myself. I picked Donna up and we went downtown to one of our favourite stores. Fabulous Fashion Consignments is always fun to peruse through and now that I was looking for something in particular, it was worth a shot. You just never know. We wandered through and just as I’d determined that I wasn’t going to be successful, there it was on a rack at the exit door!

And this weed, that I've not pulled
has a yellow flower again

With the perfect jacket priced at $29 – 30%, I slipped into the change room with my dress (which I’d brought along) and with Donna’s opinion, we all agreed that it was perfect. Woohoo! I was thrilled. The shoes I bought at Value Village would work but because they are wedges, look a little less classy than I’d like so I would be on the look out for something in a different colour to accent with my new accessory. 😊

I thought we might be in for more rain
but not today!

I dropped Donna off at her house, made a quick stop at Independent Grocers for a couple of items there before stopping at Walmart for the last of the food items on my list. With the food in my cart and at risk of the ice cream melting some, I found the shoe section. They sure don’t have much selection for dress shoes but darned if I didn’t find what I think will be the perfect addition! Truly, a happy camper with the shoes and price, I drove home.

Looks like a wren party at the feeder

No surprise to me, Bill was home for the afternoon. The rain had continued into late morning. It was a few minutes after 12 noon and he’d just arrived before me. Gibbs came bounding out the door for his piddle and we further discovered that nothing was amiss inside the Suite. He was alone for 2 hours and behaved very well. He had a Greenie treat untouched that I left him, with the same instructions so now he figured he could relax and enjoy it. Which he did. Goofus.

Sorry, another Coneflower/Echinacea
picture
They are so pretty

Bill and I had a bite to eat and when my sweetie stretched back in his recliner, Gibbs stretched out on the floor for his nap. I Googled some more and then when I knew I couldn’t doze listening to Bill’s snores, went up to the bedroom with my pooch. I slept for about 15 minutes, which is usually enough for me, Gibbs had settled down really quickly. We joined Bill downstairs when I heard him moving about around 2:30.

I'm disappointed in my hibiscus this year
It is only about 12" high and just now
showing buds - very late!

He had the front field to cut so he went to do that and I put Gibbs on his rope leash and sat with him outside. The day had turned quite humid earlier but now seems to have levelled out to about 23C/74F, so bearable at least. I hadn’t started a book yet so tried to get on Libby overdrive to order one of the ones I’ve listed as 'I want to read'. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any luck with my library cards, the West Grey one has expired and because of my location in West Grey, Libby won’t recognize the Bruce County card. LOL

Bill and Gibbs sitting on the couch
The picture, just because they were both watching the tv

Supper was very good
Ice cream for dessert

I put it away for now and will update my card in town this week. With the mower put away, we came inside and I started supper. Tonight, it was Italian sausage, carrots and Meaford potatoes. 😊 I cooked it all inside so that meant a pile of saucepans but it sure tasted good! After dishes, Bill went to the Hangar for a bit and I watched America’s Got Talent. That was our evening. This was a fun day, spending time with Donna, finding what I need for the wedding and Bill getting home early. Good grief! We've passed the middle of August!

I had a dream about this little sweetheart last night
so need to include a picture from
Aug. 17, 2018
Even though our hearts are full again, we still miss you, Clemson! 💗
Good night!

Thank you for your visit!

A ‘What to Do?’ Day, Sister Drops In, Dark Skies, Apple Dessert!

On The Ridge

Bill and I were in no rush to get up this cloudy Friday, Sept. 6^th morning. So, we stayed cuddled under the covers until 7:30. After years of getting up at 5:30 for work, it sure feels nice to be in control of our wakening and rising hours. Isn’t retirement great? Some of you are early birds and we are still, compared to many, but the choice is wonderful.

Today's morning sky

The air in the Suite was 59F and outside it was 54F. Not much difference but with our duvet and no heater on last night, we slept perfectly! Well, I did. Bill never sleeps perfectly through a night. ☹ I think he slept 'fairly' well though. We had our coffee and tea together and I went on Facebook instead of reading blogs. Seldom do I get on FB so wanted to do a catchup and play my Scrabble games with my sisters.

And the sky worsened as the day went on

 Bill left at 9ish to go to Durham H.H. for some paint to finish off the carrier and for some touchups on the cargo trailer hitch. On the way back, he stopped at the Acreage for a bladder fill of well water. I couldn’t get warm inside but didn’t want to turn the furnace on again. It’s too early to get into that habit! So, I put socks on and leggings and my hoody and sat down again to start today’s post. As I got ready to type the part about Bill leaving, I remembered that he was going to take our RO water bottle.

But it looked so pretty with the sun and green landscape

I quickly checked the ‘basement’ and it was still there so I called him. He was only half way to Durham so decided to come back and get it. We're not completely out yet and have sufficient small bottles of water for me to drink but his intention was to get it filled. Once he left, I gathered 4 of the small bottles to bring them inside. May as well use them up. I should have stayed put. As I’m closing the door to the Suite, it slammed on my ring finger. Holy crap that hurt!

So, I've got a booboo now

It hit just along the left and bottom edge of my fingernail and cut my finger a bit. “Darn, darn, darn”, I squawked (well, it was more like damn, damn, damn) but you get the picture. I ran cold water on it to slow the bleeding and donned my Dr. Patsy hat while I applied Ozonol and a couple of Band-Aids plus medical tape to hold them in place. The pain eased substantially. Such a small thing, how can it hurt so much? Wimp.

First, I opened up the heel area

All I could think is “I’m gonna lose that nail”. I know that is extreme and quite ‘Drama Queenish’ as it will probably only turn black and grow out in 6 months but I was freaking out, okay? One good thing though. Back inside, I had warmed up considerably and was no longer dwelling on being chilly. To keep my mind occupied, I wanted to repair (redo) my bulky slippers that I made in the spring.

 Then I tore out about 3 rows from the back

I have two pair, one made with regular wool and they are for the in-between days. In between cool and cooler mornings. This morning I put on my bulky ones for the in-between cooler and cold mornings but they have stretched and are now very sloppy on my feet. I have learned that ripping crochet stitches out is a breeze so I knew I could do that and tighten them up at the heel. Easy peasey and it was done in 10 minutes. Now they fit better and my feet are warmer still.

And they fit my feet much nicer again

Typing with my left hand is a bit more of a challenge and I will make sure to proofread before publishing. That finger is bigger now and wants to hit 2 letters at a time. Just after 10 the light spattering of rain was hitting the roof and south windows. The forecast was calling for 55% chance of precipitation and usually that doesn’t mean a wash out. We may see some sun today for a bit but for the time being we needed to plug back into electric for a while.

 I had a bullet proof coffee with breakfast

 When Bill texted that he was finished at the Acreage, I started cooking breakfast. We had some peameal and eggs today. I remembered to take a package out of the freezer yesterday when I made room for the apples. Good thing Bill washes the dishes, my hand won’t be going in any water today. We cleaned the dishes up and I sprayed clear enamel on one side of my 2 rocks and put them in the Bunky to dry. 

I’m expecting a visit from my oldest sister, Cathy, around the noon hour. She has a dentist appointment in Durham after 1 and wanted to visit Mom while she was in town. That leaves her about an hour and a half to kill in this quiet town. She is from Teeswater so an hour from home and since we’re only 10 minutes out, she’ll come and get her pottery and have a coffee with me. Cathy arrived at 12:20 and we came inside the Suite to visit. She’d just finished a coffee before going in to see Mom so didn’t need one after all.

Cathy arrived after lunch

I showed her her pottery and gave her a pair of nice pants that I was going to be taking to the exchange. Since Cathy wouldn’t be there, I was pretty sure they would fit her and sure she would like them. We chatted about a few things and I was happy to hear that she had a nice visit with Mom. She didn’t go into detail and sometimes I like that. We often get caught up on the ‘Mom visits’ and nothing else gets discussed. This was time for us. She’d just picked up an Instant Pot at Canadian Tire for $80 so was excited to get familiar with it.

While Cathy and I were chatting in the Suite
this lovely falcon perched on our fence post

He chased something into the grass but came up empty - beaked

After she left, around 1:10, I put together a recipe I’d found on line for Apple Crumble. First, I saw it in our local Spotlight magazine. I pulled a 4-cup bag of apples out of the freezer and searched for a recipe in the Instant Pot. Bingo! Check out the ‘start to finish’ times on both the mag recipe and the one I’m using. This explains one aspect of why I love Madame IP. The cook time is 8 minutes in the IP and a natural release of 5 minutes.

And my pretty co-ordinated sister
She takes after Mom

Instead of cooking mine directly in the big pot, I used my inner pot and I’m anxious to see how it turns out. The rest of the afternoon, Bill and I kept each other company inside the Suite. With a blanket over my knees and a wee whisper of a prayer (teehee) Bill made us each a nice creamy tea. All I had to do was ask but it was worth my pretend prayer to get his chuckle. 😊  My tea was so good and even better when it is made for me.

I found this recipe in the Spotlight
Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

My recipe

Setting up the timer

Bill was heavy into his Stuart Woods book; The Prince of Beverly Hills and I was getting lost in my One Shot by Lee Child. Enter one of my favourite characters, Jack Reacher. At 5, I removed the Apple Crumble (which looked yummy) from the inner pot and cleaned it for the next round. I then put the ingredients together for my meatloaf and set the inner pot in Madame IP.  With 8 minutes left on the 25-minute timer, I added some small potatoes that need to be eaten up. Everything turned out great and we were eating by 6:30.

And I removed the crumble into a bowl so I could
use the inner pot for the meatloaf

The meatloaf was perfect and so were the little spuds. For dessert we tasted the Apple Crumble and it was another success. Bill washed and I dried the dishes as per usual and then I walked quickly down the lane to check the mail box. Not sure if she stopped today or not. The walk wasn’t so quick, but leisurely instead. There has been little to no wind all day which made it very pleasing to go down. The air felt dampish/misty so the envelope I brought back felt wet.

Delicious!

Bill turned the fireplace on low just to take the chill out and that certainly helped, bringing the indoor temperature from 65 up to 69F. Much nicer for sitting around, which is what we did today. The sky hasn’t changed all day and now the clouds are just darkening as evening falls. This has been a quiet day but a good one.

It was dark enough for the motion sensor lights to come on when i walked by

And this has been the look of the day
Good night everyone and Happy 50th Anniversary Rob and Pat!

Thank you for stopping in today.

Dull Day for a Funeral, Sister Time, Daddy Visit

I woke up at 6:15 and heard our pooch moving around on the bed. Oh-oh something has upset his tummy and he threw up a little bit. Poor fellow, they can’t run anywhere like we can when that happens. No big deal, he is our ‘child’ so we get him up and outside, clean up and crawl back into bed for another hour. It was doing a little bit of spitting out there so we aren’t missing much this morning, no sun rise.

A little bit of colour not too far from home

 I had a tea with Bill and checked blog posts before deciding to take a walk down and around the corner. Maybe I’ll see some trees in colour like Furry Gnome and George from Our Awesome Travels! It was a warm morning as I set out and did my 30 minutes around 8:15. I was overdue, haven’t done the full walk for a couple of days, even though I’ve been getting enough small walks in.

I wasn’t necessarily disappointed about the bland looking trees, no pretty changes here yet, as these walks are always so refreshing, peaceful and fulfilling. I enjoy them a lot on my own or with someone. When I got back I had to move a little quicker, into the shower, dressed and into the Corolla by 10. I was expected in Hanover around 10:15 and I made it soon after. What a difference it makes to the 15-minute drive when you are behind a cement mixer!

Loving the evidence of fall

Donna drove from there to Teeswater where we picked up my sister, Cathy. She lives in a nice single storey home on the outskirts of town and she was waiting on the porch. It was a fun drive together, all of us feeling happy with the decision about Mom. We had no worries but sure got some laughs in on the 2 ½ drive to Glencoe. We followed the directions Bill mapped out for us and it was straight forward.

Brunch

When we got to Komoka we passed the Little Beaver restaurant, a very popular place, I noticed a Tim Horton’s on the left. We needed a break of all kinds so pulled in there for a wrap and a tea. That filled me up, I hadn’t eaten yet. From there it was a short 30 minutes through Mt. Brydges and into Glencoe to the Van Heck funeral home.

These funerals, as sad as they can be, are always reunions for family. Mom’s two remaining siblings, Aunt Fern and Uncle Jerry were in attendance as well as her sister-in-law, Aunt Kay. It was a beautiful service and Uncle Harold was dressed in his finest with his well-worn fiddle beside the casket. 

Uncle Harold loved his fiddle and entertained his family and friends often

When my cousin, Ellen, read from a letter her brother, Tom, wrote, the dam broke and the tears flowed. Such wonderful stories were shared. It was nice to see cousins, Rob, Sue, Harvey, Jennifer, Steve, Alana, Brad, Mary, and Darcy and I was very pleased to chat with Mom's cousin. I know now that she reads my posts so a shout out to Arlene!

A church hidden off the highway that none of us mid-western folk even knew about
Strange because it originated in 1856!

I escorted Uncle Jerry, the youngest at 86, out of the home and we all followed the entourage in Mt. Brydges for the Internment. This was short and sweet and Donna, Cathy and I walked down to visit where Daddy was laid to rest in 1995. 

Soon after our cousins joined us before driving back to North Caradoc St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church for lunch. Today was a wonderful celebration of my uncle’s life.

As usual, his church ladies outdid themselves
What a spread!

 We left around 4:30 following the gps back taking us onto Hwy 22 (Egremont) briefly then onto the Ilderton side road, through Coldstream, Denfield and back onto Hwy 4 at Clandeboye.

At Blythe, Cathy pointed out this new brewery
Love the name!

 It was a smooth drive with not too much traffic to worry about and we were all tired. At least we didn’t need to worry about supper, Bill was looking after himself. I drove home from Hanover and Bill had our outside lights on waiting for me.

Driving into Teeswater to drop Cathy off

Surprise, surprise, as I turned onto Baptist Church Road, I noticed some colour in the first strip of trees! Yay! I’d seen much more colour in the southwest part of Ontario which to me indicates that their summer was much more natural causing a more normal transition to fall than ours.

I didn't get a picture of their house but here is their little 'bunky' and Bill's John Deere tractor

I was tired and my leg a bit achy which I can only attribute to the small heels I wore today. I took a couple of Advil before we all retired to bed at 10. It was a wonderful day.

Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are welcome.

Drizzly Start, More Sister Time, Mom, Daughter Time Too, Sunny End

On Thursday, July 27^th I was awake just before 7 so was happy to have slept in more. Last night we stayed up until 11:30 playing Mexican Train on the dining room table. This was almost the most fun of the weekend. Unfortunately, Wendy had to leave to pick up her daughter, Morgan from her dad’s. Well, not for Wendy and Morgan, they’d been apart for a week.

Gayle's front garden

sitting in the trees

John's hard work clearing some trees

We were all a bit tired, a bit tipsy and full of piss and vinegar and the game was a hoot. I’d never played before, at least not that I recall but we laughed a lot. That is one thing about getting together with your sisters. We were all raised the same way and every joke is taken for how it is meant. Daddy was mentioned a few times, he has left some pretty comical memories.

Gayle and John's Montana stays in the meadow

Family tradition apparently to name our places and lanes

My brunch at home

The sky was cloudy AGAIN but upon checking the forecast it isn’t going to be a bad day at all. The sun is supposed to break through later this morning. After a couple of good hot cups of tea and a taste of Gayle’s beet kavas I found a crossword to work on while conversation ensued.

I love to work with words

I marvel at things in life that make me shiver with goosebumps. Things that are unexplained and very coincidental just tickle me. I mentioned once that while reading a detective story it made mention of the exact same date on which I was reading. Goosebumps.

Beauty of a day after all

Yesterday I mentioned Gayle preparing a deli mix called a ‘charcuterie’. Today I was working on a Wonderword or Word Search puzzle from a local newspaper. There was an 11-letter answer when the puzzle was complete and it spelled ‘charcuterie’. My goodness! Before this week started I’d never even heard of this word!

So, we got dressed. Today was a lazier day. We expected Wendy to return around noon hour for lunch with Morgan and midafternoon we will drive to Durham to visit Mom before her supper. Not such a full day. We’ve taken it a step further and have invited my daughter from Cambridge to join us for supper in Hanover. It is nice that we are close enough to some of our daughters for a pop in visit with their aunties.

The pond

 The sun was peeping out and I could see blue sky so I took my camera and went for a walk down the lane. It is quite warm so a sweater is not necessary. At 10:30 we decided that most of us were hungry so pulled out our leftovers from a previous supper and our charcuterie and filled our tummies. The sky has cleared out completely of clouds now, bravo!

We moved outside and had to come back inside to change into shorts. This was beautiful weather. I took a walk around with my camera snapping photos of the pond and I came across this fellow. Ribbet. I am not sure if he thought I was in his space or if he was in mine.

We all joined together on the deck and enjoyed the sun for about an hour before moving under the gazebo. Cooling down while waiting for Wendy, we decided to start another game of Mexican Train. When she and Morgan arrived, we set up for a new game with them included. If you’ve never heard of this game, it is played with Dominoes and is quite entertaining.

After a couple of hours of that we changed and took 3 vehicles into Durham to see Mom. She was totally surprised to see us all and brightened right up. She looked lovely in her freshly done hair and pearls. Hugs all around and then Morgan got extra ones. I had taken my camera and tripod in to get a picture of all of us with Mom. Mom is getting used to us taking pictures and is keen to pose with her girls.

Perched on the cut off stumps at Gayle's

We hopped on the elevator and went to the 2^nd floor at Rockwood where there is an exit door to a garden patio area. We wandered around outside looking at the flowers and water fountain and took more pictures. Mom is almost as spry as we all are puttering around. Until she speaks and asks her repetitive questions you would never know anything different.

In Mom's room

At a few minutes before her supper we moseyed down to the dining room and said our goodbyes. She waved us off until we left the building. Aunt Mary noticed me as I walked in with Mom and so I was sure to stop by her table and say hello to her. We drove from there to Hanover and met Bridgette at Queen’s Bush for our supper.

(warning: picture overload)

Rockwood garden and patio area

Mom makes a wish and tosses a coin into the fountain
She said she really had nothing to wish for - Lovely!

We love making Mom laugh

We had ordered drinks when she arrived before 6. It was great to see her and we all caught up. I ordered a chicken quesadilla along with my marguerite and it was very good and filling. 

My quesadilla was crispier than I expected
It was delicious but aggravated my tooth/tongue a bit

Little Morgan at the end peeking around
My daughter Bridgette beside me :)

Gee, my Aunts talk a lot!

Today I lost a piece of my back tooth which has left a sharp edge and this is hampering my talking and eating a bit. Frustrating because it isn’t major but my tongue is irritated by it. I’ll need to address that sooner than later.

This is where we got our smile 

Back home around 8 we looked at some pictures on a cd I’d brought from our past times together. We didn’t have a lot of success with this older technology on a newer tv and since we were all tired we were off to bed closer to 10. It  was another fulfilling sister day, we share so much each time we’re together.

I hope you had a wonderful day! Thank you for reading.