Showing posts with label special day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label special day. Show all posts

Monday, September 30, 2024

A Special Day for a Very Special Man

The Ridge

On Monday, Sept. 30th Bill was up, as usual, at 5:30 for work. If you know him, you know he rarely stops. For that reason alone, I’m glad we go south for the winter because it forces him to take a 6-month break – for him, for us. Every fall, he says, this will be my last summer, or he says, I’ll just work a few days a week next summer. 😊 Well, today, my workaholic is celebrating a birthday. I’ll never catch him in years; it kind of feels like hopping on Jazz – I’ll follow him anywhere, and thank him for forging the years ahead of me.

No picture from the morning sun today.

Some of the reasons we work during the summer may be to keep active but a lot of it is to save extra money for our winter travels. My jobs are easy but Bill’s are not always that way. He enjoys working for his friend, Mike, and with his friend, Billy, so seldom complains unless he is feeling discomfort in his aging body. Let’s not complain about our aging bodies though, it beats the alternative! 😊 So, he’d opened his greeting cards this morning and with good wishes and kisses from Gibbs and I, he headed out at 6:30.

What you see here is
Our Greeter

What you see here..........

and here is
Our Security Guard.
Both delightful to have around and they
don't eat much! 💖

It was a lovely looking morning and since I had nothing going on until 10 am, I went back to bed until Gibbs and I got up at 7:30. We had tea together, I drank it and he sat beside me, played my games and took M into town as promised. We were back home within the hour and I had thought I might get out into the gardens today, before the rain tomorrow. That didn’t happen.

Instead, I made cupcakes!

I changed my mind and decided to make something for the birthday boy. I had to pick up cupcake papers, I never have them when I need them! Bill likes carrot cake so since the individual cupcakes are easy for him to take for lunch, that’s what I made. He only has this week left to work but we’ll devour them somehow! Gibbs was in and out during the baking process, guarding the property from the shaded stoop and from the back of my chair indoors. 😊

He was a cutie and a great song writer and entertainer.
We're losing all the good ones. 

I heard from Bill this morning that Kris Kristofferson passed away on Saturday. That news just breaks my heart although the last time I saw him on stage also broke my heart. He had been diagnosed with memory loss and Lyme disease. I texted Bill at noon to see how his day was going and got a thumbs up, so that is good. He was home before 4:30 and had stopped at the Acreage to get our bladder filled with water.

The Gate Garden is winding down, slowly with
still a few budlets.

On duty, is something in the bushes?

A peek into the pond area.
Overgrown, like everywhere else.

Supper was grilled burgers, you know the kind, and awesome tasting, as usual. I lit candles on Bill’s cupcake and although my picture is backwards, he blew them out and we each had one. Yummy and deadly! Ha ha. After cleaning up the coffee mugs (not dishwasher advised) Bill went to the Hangar. Last night, we started watching The Floor again and enjoyed the challenges. Rob Lowe is fun to watch too.

Yummy burgers once again.

This was a lovely day, reaching 24C/74F with lots of sunshine. I hope you had a good start to the week as well. 😊

Our birthday boy today. 💘
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by.

Saturday, July 20, 2024

A Special Day with My Girl

The Ridge

On Saturday, July 20th I’d made plans to drive to Bridgette’s home near Woodstock. I don’t get to spend a lot of time with her for one reason or another so this was special to me. I was up at 7 and came down on time to see Bill finish getting ready to go flying. It was a lovely morning and the winds were minimal first thing. Gibbs and I hung here at home and I was able to sort pictures from Friday and get my blog ‘almost’ ready to publish. Almost but not quite. 😊

Good morning!
As you can see the meeting yesterday,
didn't end well.
They all got thrown out. This is how I found them
in the morning.

It is about a 2-hour drive to my daughter’s so I left at 9. Gibbs would only be home alone for 3 hours at the most and then the rest of the day would be with Daddy. It was 11 am when I pulled into the lane at their house and it was nice to be able to see Chris as well for a few minutes. Bridgette had invited me to help her choose jewelry and shoes to go with her bridal gown, so just in case I had something that might work, I took along my cases of necklaces as well.

You all remember Alfred Hitchcock's movie
The Birds, right?

We didn’t have to leave the house, so went upstairs to get down to business. When she pulled her dress out of the closet, I was stunned at how beautiful it is and when she put it on, speechless. That’s all I can say other than how proud I am to have such a lovely daughter. What a stunning bride she will be. We had some success and then did a bit of playful dress try-ons with things in her closet. Like mother like daughter couldn’t be more true. Her closet is crammed like mine, if not more! 

I can't show you the dress but I can
show you a lovely substitute.
Flowers I picked from M's garden planted
by his last 'non-paying' tenant.

a tasty perfect sandwich on sour dough

The day slipped by, we had lunch together and then relaxed in the living room and just visited. I felt like a sponge soaking up the special moments, moments I’ve been missing for years. Even when I do see her, we are never alone for any length of time so this day meant a lot. I know I’m getting sappy, but it really was a great day. It was 3:45, after we toured her flower and vegetable garden, when I pulled out. Her vegetables are doing amazing, putting mine to shame. 😊

Trinity, one of Bridgette's black cats, sound
asleep in her bed. We were surprised when Jack,
her male counterpart, came to me and let me pet him.

I came home with a cucumber and some rhubarb to try. It may be too old but I’ll find out in the morning. It was quite a gab fest with a lot of laughs and I’ll hold it fondly in my heart. Bill and Gibbs had a good day as well. 

She purchased 2 tomato plants and they
are massive! Loaded with Early Girl tomatoes.
It's a variety I'm looking for next year!

After he went flying, he took Gibbs over to the Acreage and spent some time with Donna and Gerry. I was tired after my day so we just agreed on grilled cheese sandwiches for supper and then Bill went to the Hangar. I wasn’t up for a fire tonight, anywhere.

This picture is for Nancy.
These beauties are in the farm behind
Bridgette and Chris' yard.
They look like horses, but the white one is
a very large mule. So pretty.

Things will be slower tomorrow, just laundry and the Mat cleaning so maybe we’ll get a ride in on Jazz. We’ll see. I hope you had a great day too!

My drive home was pleasant.
We reached a high today of 25C/78F
Perfect!
Good night!

Thank you for popping in.

Friday, May 3, 2024

Long Time no See! Special Day on the Ridge

The Ridge

On Friday, May 3rd I had no need to get up and go anywhere so it was 7:30 when I came downstairs. I had my tea and some yogourt with my oatmeal. The day wasn’t supposed to be too great but it didn’t matter because we had a couple of special things going on.

Good morning!
Our yearly update
 
First off – Bill and I celebrate 27 years of marriage today! Being that it is the 3rd time around for each of us, we’re very thrilled and blessed for these past years. We’ve come a long way and hope to continue for many years. Happy Anniversary, Sweetie. When we heard Brad Paisley singing ‘We Danced’ on Sirius xm, of course we had to dance to celebrate. 😊

An old picture of us but one of my favourite

We went outside together even though the sky was overcast. There wasn’t any rain to speak of and it was quite mild. 13C/55F is an improvement over the last few mornings. Today, we were expecting company for a few days so we sat outside to wait for them. It was 12:15 when Bill texted me that they were here. Duncan and Patty have recently picked up their new motorhome and we were anxious to see it. Wow! Is it ever long!

The rain is holding off

We haven’t seen our friends since last July and we knew this would be a fun reunion. Once they were parked and settled it was time to relax and catch up. Gibbs was happy to see them as well, Duncan is his friend who likes to play toss and retrieve with him. I wonder if Gibbs remembers that? The day was a bunch of fits and starts as far as the rain but Bill had started a fire and kept it going throughout. We all sat under our awning and had a beverage or two. 😊


this fellow tried really hard to cling to the feeder
but ended up eating the ground droppings.

Of course, the afternoon brought us a tour of their new home and it is quite beautiful. A 43’ Newmar Ventana, quite a jump from their Airstream of 3 years ago. I can tell they are tickled pink (blue) with it but still have fond memories of their winters spent on their boat. Things change and so do our preferences. They will get a lot of enjoyment out of it.



Duncan backed it up like a pro!

Bill and Gibbs kept the fire burning
while the Sharps got settled

We offered to provide supper tonight, well, a portion of it, since they were doing their usual meal for us on Saturday. 😊 I made meatloaf, cooked mixed vegetables and baked a batch of dinner rolls. Patty provided potatoes and broccoli. Everything turned out wonderful and we were all full. That was a good thing since I hadn’t prepared dessert. Woops!

It turned out great!

Bill noticed this Rose-breasted Grosbeak
but I couldn't get him in a great position.
He was beautiful!

Not for lack of trying though.

We sat inside the Suite for the evening discussing the Starlink as well as streaming channels that we all enjoy. It was 9 when they walked back to their home. Of course, they were accompanied by the chorus frogs which had Patty covering her ears! It was a great day, a great way to celebrate our anniversary, and a really nice evening with our friends. Bill and I watched a few videos of Dan Vasq on Youtube while I wrote my blog and then hit the hay around 10.

He just goes and goes and goes
until finally, he just konks out. 💖
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by to see what we’re up to!

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Where Was I? Where Were You on This Special Day?

The Ridge 

On Wednesday, Mar. 31st, the last day of the month, I have a couple of things to mention. Firstly, most importantly, my little sister, Wendy, reaches a milestone!! Ha ha, not to mention any number but turning ½ a decade isn’t anything to sniffle at. 😊 Woops, let the cat out of the bag. As she said, it sure beats the alternative and don’t we all know too well how lives can be taken far too soon?

Could she be any happier?
Meeting one of her very favourite people, Jack White
Aaah, they're so cute together
Happy Birthday, Wendy!

Bill was off to work around 7 and I was up to see him drive out the lane. I turned the infrared heater off and the bf heater up a tad. I didn’t need to touch the furnace this morning, sitting at 65F, it will keep the Suite regulated quite nicely. Smaller spaces are much easier to heat than big houses, obviously. I had my tea and sat to finish my blog.

What do you think of my turtle light?
A BizyBee auction find, so I tried it in the dark
this morning

I really have to sit down and catch up on everyone’s blogs, it seems I just can’t stop my brain long enough to focus. Each day, I read a few more trying to see where everyone is and how they are doing. Healthy and happy is the main goal in this crazy world. The temperature this morning was hanging around 4C/40F and stayed that way for most of the day. The sun made an appearance while I was cleaning the Mat but soon disappeared for the day.

Left the Mat in pretty good condition
The floor needs to be stripped and rewaxed

While in town, I got our RO water bottle filled and then drove to Hanover to Walmart for some of our regular items. Now that I’m used to it, it is worth me going the 20 minutes when I need more than 1 or 2 things. Otherwise, I’d shop here at Foodland where the prices are typical of a small town. Up ↑. I ended up with much more than I had planned but it made the drive even more worthwhile.

Driving back through Durham
The hill at the far end of the town never seems that steep

I was home by noon and quite hungry. After putting the food away, I went about making another healthy lunch as well as my coffee. After 2 days, I enjoyed it, but already know that I don’t want it tomorrow again. I may make up the eggs into egg salad for sandwiches to give Bill a change. After today, he’ll only have one more day before the weekend, with Good Friday at the end of the week. So, he can eat it on his days off. 😊


Fields are getting ploughed in our area

I was happy to get a text from Wendy that she received the delivery of succulents that I had ordered to be delivered today. I love surprises and love giving them to others. She said she loved them so I did good. Wendy is a naturalist, really down to earth in her likes so this was perfect, in my eyes. Well, as perfect as it could be when ordering from a florist online.

Baptist Church Road is greening up

I mentioned in my first paragraph that there were a couple of things today I wanted to talk about. Wendy’s birthday being one. The second is very special to me and only me, really. It was 5 years ago today that I retired from the London school board! 

Walking in on my last day

I can’t believe that it has been that long already and can vividly remember the joy I felt in those last months, weeks and days. It’s hard to put into words but if you worked a full career, you know the feeling.

It was a fantastic last day

Bill was home from work around 3, which was nice. They’d finished the job they were working on today. He dozed for half hour and I finished my book. Oh my goodness, The Silent Patient is another good read! We went to town to get a bladder full (45 – 50 gal) of water from Rob and Pat’s. They are very generous and since Gerry doesn’t have his water turned on at the Acreage where we usually get it (for obvious reasons) this is really appreciated.

Lunch today


Bill backed in to get the bladder filled up
and I wandered to take pictures


When we got back, Bill began the transfer and then I had a cup of tea. He had a big lunch with Billy before coming home, they went to a restaurant in Tiverton, so a simple supper tonight of grilled cheese sandwiches. I’m good with that, mine will be fried in plenty of butter. The greasier the better for me, a believer of good fat in my diet. 😊  I know, you screwing up your face right now.


Across the road from Rob and Pat's house


And down their street, the three bears are dressed for the cold winter

well, this little quilt rock in Pat's garden looks familiar!

So, at 6, we each had a grilled (fried) sandwich and I added olives to my plate. We finished the apple crisp for dessert and had whipped topping with it tonight. I remembered to make some. 

I add onion slices to mine - yummy

After dishes, we relaxed for the evening, enjoying the green/brown view out our windows. By the sounds of it, the overnight cold temperatures could very likely be bringing more white stuff. Not as much as other areas, but we will have colder weather, meaning it may stick around longer.

Wendy liked her log planter
Kudos to Owen Sound Flowers

This was a good day. I got another hour of work in and I texted Jamie to let him know how many March hours I have. It would be nice to see him sometime this weekend. I hope you are all doing well and I’m curious, where were you 5 years ago? 😊

Today's memory
Mar. 31, 2016
Good night everyone!

Thank you for popping in.