Laundry, Quilling and some Walking

Park Place RV Park

On Sunday, Mar. 2nd we were all up before 7 and on our way over to the clubhouse with the sorted clothes. We had been informed that the private guest code, that allows us into the building (clubhouse, shower, washroom and laundry) after hours, was changing Mar. 1st. When we paid our electric bills, guests were given the new code. Easy peasy. Because Bill and I do our laundry so early, we are always able to let ourselves in. Except for today. Hmmm.🤷‍♀️

Good morning!

Bill tried the old and new code enough times to get locked out. We carted the basket of clothes back home to wait until we saw a manager or host out and about. Bill had already decided that he 'probably' would NOT be flying today after checking the forecast. A nice warm day was to be ahead but the winds were going to pick up to an unreasonable (& unacceptable!) speed. It was just before 8 when we saw Sue, the manager, walk up the ramp into the building, unlocking the door for guests. To say we hustled over is putting it mildly. 😂

It was a windy but clear start to the day

Back at the Suite, I did my exercises alone, and found one of the new videos to be quite good for me. My block behind my right knee and on my calf, sitting on it for 3 minutes - yes! It hurt, of course, it is supposed to, but I think this is a good one for me to do each morning. Needless to say, I still was in no mind to take Gibbs for his walk. Those winds and the dust blowing around was not going to be pleasant. Bill went to the field then because the winds were only 3 & 4 mph. 

Bill found a large pineapple at
Albertson's for $3.99 so I cut it up
this morning. I love this little tool!

I went back to switch the clothes into dryers and stayed there to work on the puzzle. It is addicting! Bill was back after the gusts increased and no one was at the field anyway. We folded the clothes together and returned home. The wind gusted to 27 mph just before 11 am so I'm glad I was here inside at that time. I saw a number of people out in it, walking or on bikes. No thank you! The taste of dust doesn't appeal to me. The mountains off in the distance were blurred, not a place I want us to be. 😜

Today's progress. Better than I thought. 

After my boys had a lengthy snooze, we had lunch together; I had toast and cranberry pear jam from Bayfield, Ontario. I picked it up during Ladyfest with my sisters this past September. It's good! I also finished up the last 2 blackened bananas in a smoothie. That was delicious! I had been doing more paper quilling, seems I can't leave it alone now. 💕 Not all things turn out perfectly, my ladybug for one, but I'll keep trying to improve. I still think they are cute.

Now, I needed to find homes for them.
I went shopping for card stock and shadow boxes

We went uptown so I could pop into the dollar stores on the hunt for crafting supplies. I wasn't fully successful but I also didn't come home disappointed. When I'm in Yuma, I'll have better luck at finding what I need. Bill was busy on his laptop and Gibbs was sleeping so I went back to the puzzle for an hour or so. The winds were not dropping none too fast and it sounds like we'll have them overnight and tomorrow as well. Our gazebo is holding up great, mainly because the winds are coming from the southeast and we are sheltered.

The clouds moved in with the wind
but they are still pretty accents to the blue sky.

I took Gibbs for his walk around 4:30 and then after dropping him off, took myself off for another one. I was feeling good but I don't want to say that too loud or I'll jinx things. My step count has gone down considerably since my sciatica flared up on Feb. 9th but at least today I surpassed 4,000 steps. That's a big deal right now! 😃 For supper, we had fish and chips. Bill had the chips and I had Brussel Sprouts. Pickles and olives rounded out our plates. It was a good meal and easy to prepare.

Well, accidents happen sometimes!
I was walking Gibbs behind this site when 'crunch!'
Either the motor home or the tow vehicle driver
ran over the electric post. Yikes!

After finishing my blog, I'll read or find something on tv. This has been a great day. We reached a high of 76F/24C today, despite the wind gusts. I hope yours has been pleasant too. 

A filling supper - a good thing because
tonight I was hungry!
Good night!

Thank you for stopping around.

More Heat, More Pizza, More Steps!

Park Place RV Park

On Wednesday, Mar. 27^th we were up and about before 7. Bill wondered why I was up early and my only explanation was the lovey dovey dog that came and laid across my chest when I rolled over. Who can ignore those doggy kisses and face washes? Not me! By then, I was awake, so we got up. ♥

Good morning!

While I had my tea, Bill took a drive to the flying field to see who was still around. Gibbs and I took our walk and just before 9, Bill returned and we walked over for the Coffee & Donuts hour at the clubhouse. Bill’s first words “is this just women?” 😊 Well, mostly, yes, and unfortunately today, he was the only male attendee, other than one of the hosts who sat for a short bit.

Bill packs the gazebo away.
Notice how clean BB is? The reflection tells it all! 

He returned home just a few minutes ahead of me and was busy taking down the gazebo. After that, the bbq, my gravity chair all found their place in our ‘basement’. It’s a lovely day, warm, but just the way we like it. I decided today was the day to make the Pumpkin Snickerdoodle cookies that Bill likes. One bag of the pumpkin I had in the freezer thawed yesterday so I had to make use of it. These are not keto except for the sugar. I always use Splenda as its replacement.

Sorry for the blur, but the small All Meat pizza
is my favourite at Outback.

The batter had to sit in the fridge for an hour which meant it was there until 3 o’clock. We didn’t have lunch at noon, instead, we met Doug, Deb and Riley at Outback Pizza. Yes, another pizza meal. 😊 I’m glad we had one more opportunity to see them all again before they, too, headed off for our homeland. It was a fun get together. After hugs, we said our goodbyes and returned home.

Leaving with full tummies and doggy boxes

Riley, Deb, Doug, Bill.
Safe travels, friends!

Gibbs and I walked around the park, him trying to get to shade the whole time. I baked about 36 of the cookies and they turned out pretty good. They’re not my favourite but I enjoy the occasional one for a treat. 

The cookies turned out great!

When they were done, Sheila and I got out for our walk. By now, it had cooled down a bit so it was a very comfortable walk. I also got my steps in for the day!

Today, we reached a high of 78F/26C and only dropping to 55F/13C tonight so windows will be open again. 😊 Bill and I just had some French bread with cheese for supper, lunch was late so we weren’t overly hungry. This was a good day and I believe the heat will be on higher tomorrow. PS – our place looks funny without the gazebo and barbecue set up. (picture tomorrow)

Good night!

Thank you for popping in. Your comments are always welcome.

Counting Steps, Book List, A Birthday on Earth and One in Heaven ♥

Park Place RV Park

On Friday, Dec. 9^th, Bill stayed home. He had a plane engine he was sending out for repair (fingers crossed) and he wanted to get it packaged up and sent away this morning. Gibbs and I walked but because it was feeling quite chilly, 37F/3C, I made my tea back home before heading out for my longer walk. 😊 Brrr!

Gibbs wore his sweater on this morning

Our shadows are kind of cool!

I was dressed warm enough, even with my bare feet and loafers, but my ears, chin and face were cold. It was closer to 9:30 when I tried it again and found it to be quite a bit nicer with the heat of the sun warming those ‘parts’. 

there's the moon, not quite as pretty this morning, huh?

Trailer for 'sale or rent'
Ha ha, this has been dropped across from the truck stop

It started out to be a calm morning
with clear blue skies

I walked in a different direction and followed the sidewalk towards Main St. I was surprised that it was closer than I thought! At Discount Solar, I looked both ways and when I saw Dollar General also on the corner, turned around the same way I came.

At the corner of Main St. I turned
back towards home

That will be a nice walk one day when I’m looking for something different to do. I love poking in the $ stores when I’m not on a time limit. Back home, I decided to re-type my Book List in One-Note on my laptop. Bill got me set up with a table in the program and I was off! This past summer, I tried to sync my list from a Word document and as much as it worked, I wasn’t able to make any changes. That meant starting over.

What a funny looking car/van/truck?

I had a lot of pages so with over half of the books typed, we had lunch before I went back at it to get ‘er done. When I’d finished that, I walked over to the clubhouse. I was finally getting somewhere with the puzzle so hated to leave at 4 when the office was closing. However, as much as I could have stayed, Suz turned the light off and it was connected to the light over my table. LOL They added a new wall and made changes in there so I guess they never thought of that.

Yes, I'm a bit embarassed to see what crud collects
in the bottom of our trays
so this was a good move
Notice the different lengths?

Yesterday, I bought to 11.5" w silverware trays
and they fit perfectly!
Both the same length leaving more room at the back
for longer utensils

I had a cup of tea back home and then Gibbs and I went for our afternoon walk. I’ve reached over 7700 steps today, which is better than my last 11 days. I’m proud of myself for pushing it. 😊 

Yes, I'm going to show you my daily updates
They're starting to look like crayons. 😂

For supper, Bill started grilling pork chops at 5:30. We have Fire Country to watch tonight at 7, AZ time, so wanted to be ready to watch it. I’ll still be working on my blog but I can see the tv from my spot.

This has been a great day. This morning, I extended a wish to my girlfriend in London for a Happy Birthday. I hope she received her card on time. She has been a dear friend for many years, meeting at the School Board where we both worked.♥

Our afternoon walk, no sweater
although it didn't get any warmer than 63F/17C

Also, today is my Dad’s heavenly birthday. He wouldn’t want to be here at 99 years old but he was still taken too soon. Happy Birthday, Daddy.

Thank you for the visit.

Sunshine Returns, Step it Up, Bookworm,

Bill and I were awake and up before 7 on Monday, June 25^th. Bill had crept out of bed earlier and opened blinds and flipped the furnace on to take the chill off the Suite. It was only 61F/16C in here. It didn’t take long to warm it up. I skipped my tea first thing and slipped on my hoodie and went for a walk down Baptist Church Road. The country setting at 7 am is so peaceful and pretty.

A bright start to the day

A couple of school buses passed me but very few other vehicles. I walked as far as the lane to ‘our’ big turbine behind the Ridge and turned back. My wildflowers in our vase are wilting so I gathered fresh ones to replace them. So many choices along the roadside. Daisies, buttercups, snapdragons, morning glories and others that I can’t name but are pretty enough to be included. Quite a nice bunch I got!

With our first summer, long weekend coming up, it will be nice to get physical jobs done this week. The weekend looks hot and humid. No complaints, we just don’t want to be doing anything too strenuous. 

These yellow flowers were drooping in the dew

When I returned from my walk, Bill was outside working on fitting the steps that Rob and Pat gave us. With some minor adjustments, it is going to work really well. I’ll try and train our little tenderfoot to go up them slowly although it IS hard to teach this old DOG new tricks!

These steps will be nicer for us while we are here at The Ridge

I had my tea and began writing. I’m not sure what I’ll get into today but other than a quick sweep through the Suite, I’m planning on being out of doors. With the day being such a nice one, we considered doing a couple loads of laundry. However, it is Monday and unless I went late morning or early afternoon, we’d be taking the chance that Mr. Chatterbox would be at the laundromat. Instead, I sorted the laundry and decided I’d take care of it in the morning.

These finches watched me walk by this morning

Bill went to Durham for a few things he needed to work on his stuff and I got downright lazy. I read my book outside for a while until my eyes got heavy and I just felt a little off. It didn’t feel like hunger but I made a second tea and poured myself a glass of a Blueberry and Banana smoothie. Maybe it doesn’t sound too good, but it was actually filling and refreshing. When they were both done, I went up to the bedroom to lay down for an hour. Clemson soon joined me.

This is the bouquet I carried home with me

Getting up around 1:30, I took a walk down the laneway and saw two of the Geese families. One with 7 babies and once they sensed me near, they literally ran down the lane ahead of me and into the pond at the dock. Another couple of families ran into the front field and got as far away from me as possible, crossing under the fence next door before resting. It is their instinct but I would never harm them.

Not only geese families, these little ducks dutifully
followed Mama

On the way back from my walk, there was a young turtle hurrying across from one pond to the other. He stopped as I neared and tucked his head in his shell so I wouldn’t see him. 😊 I set my water bottle close so you can see that he was just a baby to some degree. I settled myself back in my chair and Clemson chose to sit on my hoodie in the shade. He was in and out of the Suite like a yo-yo but still does not want to climb those new stairs. I cut some cheese and dished up a handful of walnuts to munch on. 

 

Canola grows in our surrounding fields

My book is crazy good, such a page turner and most of my afternoon was spent out-of-doors engrossed in page after page. Bill commented on how thick the book was last night, wondering if I’d get through it. What did he think? He knows how David Baldacci writes. Bill did a couple of things before moving inside the Suite near 4. One noticeable thing was to hang his Dad’s navy flag. 

It is a great spot up on the hill

It looks good in the place he chose, utilizing one of the cement decking blocks he bought to assemble our steps but didn’t need.

Turbine lane where i turn around

I moved inside around 4:30 and caught up on my post. I lit the Weber Q and filled a foil plate with some of the leftover potatoes for warming. I will fry the fish and cook veggies inside for supper. I’m hoping to pull it all together at the same time, around 5:30 or 5:45. Just checking the temperature at 5 and it is registering 70F/21C outside. What a lovely day. The wind isn’t steady, instead comes completely to a halt for 10 minutes or so and then gusts blow across the area, waking all the leaves and flags up once more.

They are really moving away from me

By 6, we had eaten and were all cleaned up so my timing worked out. Everything was delicious! Watching the CTV news and weather shows a heat wave coming through but because Owen Sound hasn’t had rain since Friday, we will be going to my sister, Gayle’s, to water her gardens for her tomorrow. It is only 40 minutes away but when we got rain over the weekend, they got nothing. Showers seem to be very hit and miss in Ontario.

the smallest turtle I've seen so far this year

 After dinner, Rob and Pat took a drive out for a visit. They approved of our steps, ha ha, and sat with us around our fire pit. It was a bit of musical chairs, dodging the sun in the west or the direction of the smoke, but it was a nice visit for an hour or so. 

As soon as Pat sat, Clemson was on her lap

Clemson cozied up to Pat and sat with her from the moment she sat down and ended up on my lap before they took their leave. The air cooled down by 8 as we said our goodbyes.

Clemson liked the shade on my hoodie

Back inside, I closed windows to keep the warmth in and the coolness out. Because Bachlorette was on, Bill opted to go upstairs to watch his programs while I sat in the living room so I could finish my post plus watch the antics. I’m certainly not hooked on the program, I’ve only watched one episode but it is an okay way to spend a couple of hours tonight.

This has been a good day, quiet, lots of reading, some natural Vitamin D, good food and a fun evening with friends. I’m going to share a beautiful sunset with you that I didn’t personally experience. Our friend, Jim, sent it to us. His son and daughter-in-law had this view out the back door of their cottage.

Gorgeous!!
Thanks Jim for sharing!

I wanted to thank you for popping in. Your comments are appreciated.

Step Challenge

Nothing gets some of us moving like a challenge.

It could be an eating challenge, we've all seen those gross displays of people mowing food into their mouths at a county fair or on television.  Ew!

                                

It could be a foot race. 5 k, 10 k, running or walking. These are usually truly dedicated movers. My hat is off to them!

It could be a political debate, and these are almost as silly as the eating ones above, in my opinion.

This week, a few people at the south end of our building have been invited to participate in a Step/Pedometer Challenge. This invite did not come without some grovelling on my part that went something like this "We want to play tooo, please let us play, we'll behave, we won't tell anyone else!" Yah, something like that exactly!!

I wore better clothes though.

The Education Centre, we call it The Big House because it is where most of the bigwigs have their offices, often holds contests, sales, bake sales, charity events etc. within their four walls. To me, someone always has their hand out for something! Things are just different in that building, not better or worse, just different.

I've been quite happy in my own personal space.

 This time, however, an email mainly directed for Education Centre staff was received on a few of our monitors. Bling "You've Got Mail". We started chatting to ourselves about the contents and it involved a delightful little step challenge they are holding, amongst themselves. Awards and prizes and cake, oh my!

This kind of challenge is right up my alley ever since I got my Fitbit. So! On behalf of 10 interested walkers, I did the grovelling in such a manner that they allowed us to participate provided we didn't invite anyone else. 

For 12 days all we have to do is our regular daily activities plus any extra curricular activities we want to do to increase our daily steps. With Mother Nature playing havoc with our weather, we have really had some challenging days to increase our steps, let me tell you! 

The spring days are really encouraging and not only do I get out myself at lunch and break times but I see other leggers getting out for theirs too. I walked further and down new paths just to add to my count.

On the extra icy and wintry days, I mostly choose to stay indoors and catch up on my reading instead. 

Safe rather than sorry. On the days I do need to bump up my steps, I put on my Sorrels with an extra grip. I don't need to be slip sliding away!

I made up our cheat sheets and as the self-named Captain of our team I named ourselves aptly after our street as The Leathorne Leggers. (Don't laugh! I was under pressure!)

We are doing remarkably well, all of us. Some are not as pumped as others but that is okay, we each have our own agenda.

The "official" challenge is drawing to a close but I have heard from 2 or 3 already that are so pleased with themselves, how this has encouraged them and that they want to continue in our own little world. 

Here is a picture of our group.............as many as willingly showed up for a photo shot!
                                        

So, we'll see at the end of the day tomorrow who wishes to carry on and I'll update my board. I've got 17 days left to be their guide/Captain/secretary. :)