Hot Enough for Ya? A Sister Visit, Storm Reaction

The Ridge

On Tuesday, June 29^th, we are almost touching the tail of the month. Like Gibbs chases his own tail, we too are anxiously reaching for June’s, indicating another step forward in unleashing the famed ‘Ontario Lockdown’. Enough already, just get on with it! I want to eat in a restaurant! I want large gatherings again.

Bill hooked up the trailer

Gibbs watches Daddy leave for work

Bill slept through his alarm but not by much, a few minutes, I think. Gibbs took him around the yard and then extended the morning walk up the berm and down again. I credit his patience, Bill’s. 😊 He brought Gibbs up with my permission onto the bed at 6:15. Changes in the little guy are noticeable every week. We went out to say goodbye to ‘Daddy’ as he hooked up the cargo trailer to Black Beauty today. They were meeting close to Hanover to work at the cottage on the lake.

The Meaford pizza shop wasn’t finished but other things were going on there that they needed to wait for. He left around 7ish and I fed Gibbs his breakfast early. Once he’d been out, he went in his crate so I could go into town to do my little job. I was alone today so puttered around at my own speed with no need for a ‘Covid’ mask and no distractions. I left the place in good condition with a wet floor and headed home by 8:30.

I like how the primrose flowers close overnight

The Coneflower is ready to pop

The heat was already moving in with a force so I closed the two windows when I got in so the a/c could do its thing. I took my tea outside with Gibbs and it was around 9:00 that Donna texted asking if I was up for a visit. Of course! We haven’t seen each other for a couple of weeks and that is rare, so she took the time to come for a couple of hours. We caught up on things and got a chuckle out of Gibbs digging for China. Goodness, that little boy makes a mess trying to find cooler ground! 😊

digging in the dirt for a cool spot to lay
Look at that dark stripe down his back

When Donna was ready to leave, she said “We’ll have to do this again” and I agree. She couldn’t get over how big Gibbs is after 2 weeks absence. I chatted on text with our buddy, Pat, as well who is currently at their ‘island retreat’ in northern Ontario. We try and keep in touch every couple or three days and it is always good to hear how they are doing. We came inside where it was cooler and I made a coffee and a grilled breakfast wrap of meat, cheese, onion and bacon.

An interesting dandelion??
First stage

Stage 2

My favourite, stage 3

Last night, I finished my Glynis Peters book and it was so good. I’m sure my sister, Gayle, will enjoy it as I did so I’ll keep it for sharing with her. I checked online to see where one of my deliveries were and almost expected it to arrive today by Canada Post. It was after 1:30 so I’m assuming not but since it was in Kitchener, most likely tomorrow. Also, tomorrow I will be receiving my large FedEx parcel from Norwex. Yay! 😊 Cathy’s and Pat’s orders will be in that parcel as well.

My beautiful sister, Donna visits

Kim and I had been talking about our last daughter’s wedding in November when they were here so I wanted to pull out the dress I’d picked up. Second hand, of course, always second hand if possible. I wanted to consider what else I would need with it so I can keep my eyes open over the next few shopping trips. I’m pleased with it, a lot, but will watch for decent shoes and a hand clutch to match. Gosh, remember those heels we used to wear? They look great but after a few hours they had to come off!

See ya, sis!

Satisfied with that, I started a new book. This one by Louise Penny called A Great Reckoning with characters I’ve read before. It got me hooked right away so I read a couple of chapters to get a good start. I’d also pulled my ‘never-ending’ cross stitch out from under the bed yesterday and decided to work on that for a bit. See Kim, how you inspire me? I know I need an upgrade in glasses so we’ll see how far along I get today.

A confused sky this morning
but a pretty one

As it turned out, I got along quite well! I’m doing a lot of ad-libbing with my picture, no one will know and already there are too many errors to count. I’m working in an area of flowers and shrubbery so it is acceptable. Says me! 😉 Bill came home around 4, which was nice, and he brought the trailer back with him. They will be working in Meaford tomorrow so it is closer and B B doesn’t have to work as hard pulling it as Mike’s F150 does.

Inspired by our weekend conversation
I got my cross stitch (needlepoint) out

One of the first things Bill said was “I need you to cut my hair again”. It was a hot, humid day (the hottest here yet) and when he got out of the truck without his shirt on, I knew that it was a hot day working. Thankfully not a lot of sun so he wasn’t burnt. I was intent to continue on my cross-stitch so did that for about half hour and then we went upstairs to the bathroom to Patsy’s Barbershop. LOL Once more, we did a pretty good job and the customer was more than happy.

Hopefully it will look like this when we're done

I started supper after cleaning up and Bill went out to put the lawn chairs under the cap of the Suite. Rain was coming according to Donna in Hanover.  Rather than fry the farmer’s sausage in a fry pan as they were, I wanted to shorten the cook time. That meant cutting the 3 links into small chunks. They cooked faster that way and I added cut up pepper, green onions, bacon and mushrooms. It looked good so I was thrilled when it tasted just as good. 😊

A storm passed to the north
before we got hit

Gibbs gets a tummy brush

On the side, I made a Caesar salad for me and boiled a sliced potato for Bill. It would give him some leftovers to fry up for another night. Supper was good and while Bill finished the last of his pecan pie, I had a better for me Cheesecake with homemade raspberry sauce. The rain had pushed through bringing thunder and some lightning while we ate and we were happy to see that it didn’t bother Gibbs at all. Storms were never a bother to Clemson either. Yay!

For being thrown together with a little of this and a little of that,
it was very good!

After dishes, I took Gibbs for a walk before his supper and Bill made his lunch for tomorrow. I had a call today from Home Hardware that my kiddie’s pool is ready for pick up so I’ll see if it will fit in Ptooties in the morning. This was a great day, made much better with a visit from Donna.

The rain was heavy for about 20 minutes
and then cleared out with nary a breeze
The greenery and gardens are lapping it up
Good night!

Thank you for stopping around! Your comments are always welcome.

Purging up a STORM

The Ridge

On Sunday, Apr. 11^th I was awake and up before Bill. That is rare but I know he was up late watching movies way past my bedtime.  Within 30 minutes, he was downstairs joining me for our morning brew. 

The sheds were looking pretty wet from the early
morning rain

The forecast was for a fair bit of rain today and it started around 7am. The nice thing is that it was a gentle rain, reminding me of the words ‘listen to the rhythm of the falling rain’. But I was/am no fool and looked forward to a quiet day with my sweetie. 😊

Bill requested an omelette sandwich
so I focused on what I learned in Cancun 

and it turned out great

Bill had his on toast

I had to sit and finish posting my blog because I was too tired and/or lazy to do it last night. Bill went out to the storage shed and in between rain showers, using my garden wagon, brought his tool box up the hill from his Hangar to the storage shed. He rearranged a lot of things and purged along the way. When I came out, I went into the Bunky. Where to begin?

The gardens were perking up 

and the grass was greening up

These irises have stretched up at least 2" since Friday

We have a ‘loft’ shelf where all the extra futon sheets, pillows and blankets go for storage. They are in vacuum bags so I’d forgotten exactly what we had. 

The loft after I removed things

Our futon doesn’t always get used; I don’t think we had overnight visitors last summer at all but I still like to keep queen sheets on hand. I dealt with those as well as the toys I’ve picked up for Easton, my painting equipment, and cleaned up the desk so I could prepare the table for the tv.

Value Village donations

Auction offerings

One minute, this sky

It took a couple of hours and I was back and forth to the storage shed, the Hangar and the Bunky, as was Bill. At certain points it didn’t seem like we were really getting anywhere but soon I could see a difference in his efforts and the Bunky was getting organized! There were about 3 sheets set to get rid of and a couple of pillows. I had my radio on FM so listening to rock tunes kept me moving. I had a request to model my poncho so here it is.😊 

It looks better on the hanger

I had piles of things to add to my donations pile and after chatting with Bill, a couple of our good comforters to take to the auction. We’ll never use them again, proven already over the last couple of years. Any garden tools that I’d dropped in the Bunky at the end of last season were put back in the storage shed on the shelf designated for them. Things were looking good!

And later, this sky

By now, the rain had stopped and the sun was making brief appearances. Around 3, we were done. I sat outside in my shorts with my book and the sky was blue with a few clouds and the sun was hot. Within minutes, I was covered in goosebumps and had to change back into my jeans when the big heavy clouds took over. The rest of the afternoon was exactly like that but I didn’t change my outfit anymore!

In between the rains and working, I squeezed a walk down to the road

We came inside around 4:30 and at 5 I began supper. I wanted to try and sell one of my new Volkswagens that I bought at the Rockford (?) auction so took pictures and put it on FB’s Marketplace. I know what it is worth as a collectible so thought I’d give it a try. I’m not out anything if it doesn’t sell but could be ahead of the game if it does. 😊

My Volkswagon

I made meatloaf for supper, as I promised Bill yesterday. He loves my meatloaf and it is always good for two meals. Today, I cooked it in the oven rather than Madame IP, but that meant an hour of convection baking vs 25 minutes. We like the crispiness that creates. I cooked Bill some white rice on the stove, some cauliflower rice for me (60 secs in the microwave) and mixed vegetables for both of us. It was delicious!

All ready for the oven

Perfect supper

We didn’t need dessert so did the dishes right away. The weather outside had dramatically changed before our meal was ready. Dark heavy clouds moved in and the rain and thunder lasted for about an hour before it moved on. Below the clouds, to the west, I wondered if we would get a pretty sunset since there was a pink ribbon on the horizon. Sure enough, as we were sitting at the table, Bill pointed out the window.

No where as good here as it really was

This was a great day; I feel so good with what we accomplished again today. Bill managed to get a post done today so everyone curious about our shelter, Jackie, can check it out at On Our Way. M called to confirm a few 3-hour day jobs starting tomorrow so the week will fly by for me. At this time of year, that isn’t always a good thing but at least I won’t be bored! 😊

at the end of the storm ........😃
Good night!

Thank you for stopping in!

Goodbye Suite, Hopefully – Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Hello Costco!

Paisley, On

Friday, Oct. 23^rd we were up with the birds, wait a minute! We were up before the birds. Anyway, it was before the 6^th hour that we crawled out of bed. I just needed a quick wash because of last night’s shower, (which helped me sleep wonderfully!) but Bill needed more than that.

I tried to get a good picture of this sky on our drive this morning
It still didn't turn out perfect.

We went downstairs and I had a cup of tea and Bill had some cereal. Gee, I sure don’t feel like eating at that time of the morning even if I thought it a good idea. Wes was in their office on his computer and said good morning so as not to scare us. It is right off the big kitchen where we sit to eat. He is an early riser too and sits in the dark with only the light from his desktop.  We were ready to go and pulled out in Black Beauty at 7 am as planned.

Paisley in the morning light

The drive to the Ridge was in partial darkness to start and then partial clear skies with  interesting clouds. The sun was trying to peep through. By the time we reached North Line, the sun was rising above those clouds beautifully. 

Interesting clouds

Mom and Clemson were saying goodbye to us up on the Ridge

The Suite was ready for us, meaning all closed up, so all we had to do was hook up and go. I shouldn’t tell you this but I had to resort to an old ‘camping’ habit of yore while up there. The outhouse was closed up, the Suite had no water in it so you can guess what I mean. I had to!! Nature called!😊

The Hangar all closed up for the winter

There were a few things to do to ‘tidy’ the Ridge up but I decided to leave the last 3 geranium plants hanging since they were still blooming. No harm done if they ended up on the ground since they are just plastic hanging pots. I hate to stunt any more flowering before they're ready. We were pulling out of the laneway, with the big steel gate closed behind us at 8:30. The sky was still mostly clear with just light fluffy clouds most of the trip. It was a gorgeous day!

My favourite picture of the day before we left the Ridge

We didn’t need to stop until we reached our destination 2 ½ hours later. It was excellent time for us pulling the rv and sticking to 90km/hour. We arrived at CanAm at 11 am. Peggy was prepared for us and we received a lot of condolence greetings. Peggy has also just lost her Grandma with the funeral yesterday at the same Funeral Home as Mom. Small world, huh? She was sad too but still on the job today. We dropped the Suite and Dave quickly moved it back out of the way. It will sit for a week before workers get in it.

Pulling into Can Am at 11

She's pretty dirty from the drive and she didn't sit here long before Dave
moved her out to the back shops

From CanAm we drove to Costco, southwest London, and picked up the things we needed. No over spending here today, which was nice, especially because we were pretty well stocked up plus we don’t have a lot of room for much more. Ha ha! After Costco, we drove the short distance to our old restaurant haunt, Southside Family Grill for lunch. I ordered the Denver omelette special which came with home fries and toast. Yummy! The only thing missing was cheese. Bill had one of his favs, a clubhouse with fries and salad.

Yummy lunch

On the way home, we stopped at Melrose to take a picture of this
1929 Chrysler 75 to show Wes
All original, stored indoors all it's life
Yours for $39,500!

We left there quite sated and I had a little box of home fries and rye toast to bring home for tomorrow. That was all of our dealings in London so we headed home at 1:30ish and after swapping out the driving responsibility an hour from home, we arrived at Lilyfield at 4 pm. By the time we unloaded and found niches for all of the food items in cupboards and fridge, we settled upstairs at our laptops. Wes and Susan weren’t home but we didn’t think they’d be long.

Here is Nancy's Southwestern 'quilt shop' from a different angle

Looking out at the stormy street

At 4:45 after receiving an Emergency Alert on our phones of tornado watch, the storm hit. Looking out the bedroom window we were so glad not to be out in it but were somewhat worried about our hosts. Then we thought how lucky we were not to be up on the Ridge tonight in the Suite. It didn’t last long and by 5, the winds had calmed significantly even though the thunder and rain continued for another little while. We still have a lot to learn here, especially when we are alone in the house. Candles? 12v power switches? Etc.

I sat in their front living room to read after the rain

I poured a Zero Coke for Bill and I made myself a cup of tea. I wasn’t going to get into any ‘business’ tonight but tomorrow will do some of the paperwork. Plus, there are still boxes to empty and items to be sorted in a more organized fashion. Wes and Susan made it home safe and sound by 5:30 and proceeded to make their supper. Bill and I weren’t that hungry after such a large lunch early afternoon but around 6:30 we had some cheese and crackers to get something in our tummies before the evening got too late.

Meet Luigi and Igor
They guard the dining room

We watched some NCIS on the kitchen tv and I read my book in the front living room. At 8, I joined Bill upstairs and we skipped watching tv in the big room tonight. That is the one thing that may be awkward this winter. We all like different things and have different habits. I mentioned reading this book The Little Red Chairs but I’m having a hard time getting ‘into’ it. Parts of it are interesting but for the most part, at 85 pages, I’m thinking it isn’t worth my time. Maybe I’m just not focusing on it enough right now.

Susan and Wes's fancy dining area
They love to entertain, can you tell?

It was an early evening for us, even Bill was in bed at 9.  I read a chapter and turned the light off. It’s been another long day and with the beautiful temperature of 25C/76F in London, it was great. I hope you’ve enjoyed your Friday!

The front hallway that goes back to our kitchen
And that's it for today!
Good night!

Thanks for popping by!