Summer Heats Up, A Purge Inside and Outside

The Ridge

On Monday, Aug. 26^th I woke up feeling refreshed. Gibbs was bouncing back and forth between the window on my side of the bed, and down to the door – and so on, a few times. I thought Bill was just gathering up garbage since it was pick up day. It was only 6:30. I wish it had been that simple. ☹

Good morning
Last night, a bright orange ball dropped below the horizon.

Not to be outdone by returning this morning
in a blaze of glory again!

No, he was trying different things to see why our batteries went dead overnight. That’s not good! We were plugged in to power over night and this morning when he got up, we had no 12-volt power – which except for appliances, 95% of our power comes from. I’m bad at understanding this kind of stuff and Bill has the patience of Jobe re-explaining it to me. ♥

All we can figure, is that our battery charger (which we bought when we got our lithium batteries) has given up the ghost. Nothing major would have been running over night but something went cuckoo. He spent a fair bit of time, back and forth, trying to get an answer but we both had to get to work this morning. I heated a pot of our drinking water (the water pump doesn’t work on 110) to wash with and we made our drinks and left.

A quick snapshot of the 2 Moonflowers this
morning but the second one was too far away.
I was a bit rushed.

Dropping the garbage at the mailbox,
this was the view east.

I loaded the 2 recycle bins and garbage bag in Ptooties to drop at the road when I pulled out. Bill wasn’t too far behind me, heading for his job site. When I returned home an hour and a half later, the sun had started doing its duty and charged the panels hence charged our batteries to 12.1 volts. They improved by the hour and we were fully charged by noon. 😊

This shouldn’t have happened but a battery charger replacement is a lot cheaper than buying a converter so we'll talk about which way to go. Things can’t go smoothly, right? That wouldn’t be the norm for most of us, so we deal with it and move on. 

purgings from my closet
Time to get rid of some jeans - it's hard when they
all still fit so well. It's a matter of choosing the BEST to keep!

It was a hot, humid day so I stayed inside with Gibbs where it was cooler and did some closet purging. I needed to get rid of some things and these clothing exchanges are the perfect push for me. If things didn't fit me, the choice to purge would be a lot easier. LOL

Today's pizza.

With just two drawers left to do, I stopped for today. Lunch time found me making one of my tortilla pizzas but I wasn’t as successful with this one. It was still very good but I browned my crust too much before adding the cheese, sauce and toppings. Oh well, it was still quite yummy. Gibbs and I went outside and did a walk-about. That found me down by the Hangar.

This is the dead tree area.
Bill has cleared most of it himself
so I moved all the recent cuttings from the left corner.

There was a lot of brush still in the area that Bill was cleaning out around the dead tree. (yes, it is still there). I wasn’t properly dressed but you know when you start doing something, since I was down there anyway, it’s hard to stop. I risked a few scratches as I dragged everything I could see that Bill had recently cut. This was my outside purge, helping Bill clean up what he'd already cut.

to a pile behind the cargo trailer.
I'll move it tomorrow to the brush pile.

With the huge pile up behind his cargo trailer, I decided to wait until I was better dressed to drag it to the brush pile. Short shorts, halter top and flip flops were just not appropriate! I was very hot and sweaty anyway, so came up to the shade with Gibbs and downed some water. Time for a shower, it was crazy itchy! 😊

Whatever will he do when he has no stoop to sit on?

Once I was all cleaned up, I didn’t want to go out too soon so I worked on my laptop for an hour or was it two? By 3 pm, we were at duplicate of yesterday’s temperature so the fans inside were helping to move the air. We should get a bit of relief with possible showers in the next day or two.

This afternoon was pleasant if you were in the shade as there was a lovely breeze. Bill pulled into the laneway as Gibbs and I were almost down to the end to check the mail and bring the bins up. That saved me some lugging as he put the bins up on the tonneau cover.

I laughed at this picture but
had to include it anyway.
I had my phone set up on the fence for a selfie
and this is me convincing Gibbs to come and pose.

Then we both missed it after all! 

This is his way of walking with Mom
to get the mail. About 3' behind sniffing everything odd.

Come on, Pokey!

The mail was for me, from the Ministry of Transportation telling me that I have been approved for NOT having to wear glasses when I drive. 😊 That was a determination at my eye check-up and I can remember way back when, with my first pair of glasses, indicating that I needed them. I’ve always been far-sighted so not sure why I thought that. My new license will arrive in a few days.

It was a lovely day. Did I say that?

Our brush has overgrown this year,
we should be able to see SOME of the pond
through here.

Bill moved the hammock into the shade and relaxed with Gibbs. I sat in my lounge chair not far from him with my book. That was the coolest place on the Ridge. 

They relaxed in the shade with a great breeze
beside me.

I laughed when I got to this sentence in my book.
Nancy K will get a kick out of it. 
It was actually one of our Phrazles a week ago. 😃

For supper, we had smoked sausages. Bill had his on a bun with fried potatoes on the side. I had mine w/o the bun and cauliflower on the side. It was a good meal with some sliced tomato from my plants. Yum.

I do enjoy the smoked sausage but those
tomatoes? Yummy!

It has been a great day and the evening will be a quiet one, either reading or watching a movie. Last night’s was so-so with Gerard Butler (who made up for it) called Last Seen Alive. He’s such a cutie in my eyes. ♥ 

I had a visitor just off our patio where I 
was sitting.
Pictures aren't perfect, it was hard to catch her
opening her wings. That's my excuse!

FYI: Bill placed an order for a new battery charger that will be here within a few days. It's the affordable route for us right now. He went to the Hangar after supper and watched his own movie while working on his new plane. He is scratch building a big one. 😊

Madame Monarch says
Good night!

Thank you for the visit!

Early Cut, Hanover Run, Hot and Humid, Another Dip and Memory Pictures

When I woke up on Saturday, June 30^th two things crossed my mind. Bill wasn’t in bed with Clemmy and I so it must be time to get up. Secondly, it was the end of this month which mean Canada Day was tomorrow and tomorrow also meant a fresh start on our 19 gb of wifi. Stupid to think of that, but there you have it. It has been on our minds the last week trying to be cautious so as not to go over and have to pay Bell extra. I do believe, on that front, we’ll make it with just over .40 gb to spare!

               (Because I only took one picture today, I'm going to share some originals                            from the first days Donna and Gerry bought the Ridge property)

Gerry at the front gate

I know I slept well with the bedroom a/c on at a comfortable sleeping temperature and Bill did his usual light sleeping, hearing most things going on. Ear plugs!! He had pretty much finished his coffee when I made my tea and we avoided the laptops and blogs for the moment. Before 7:30, Bill went out to start cutting grass in the front field. I took my tea outside to finish the fire starters, there was a lovely breeze on the patio. The sun had not appeared this morning but we knew the heat would soon arrive.

Donna in the corral

When I had about 10 wrapped in waxed paper, I came to the end of the roll so just sat in my chair and finished my tea while chatting with Donna on text. She is always up an hour before Gerry so we check in with each other each morning. I walked down to the end of the lane to see how close Bill was to finishing and the timing was perfect. As he finished the last strip and then up the driveway, I walked back and started frying our breakfast.

This is the area where we now park the Suite

After we ate, we cleaned up dishes, washed and headed in to Hanover. We wanted to pick up a couple of Canadian Flags that were on sale at Canadian Tire and a Dremel set. We replace our flag every year and the price couldn’t be beat at $9.99. A quick stop at Rona for hinges and to place an order for the starter and tray for our Weber. We left there forgetting about getting one last 2’x4’ piece of lumber to finish the wash stand. Proof that two heads are NOT always better than one.

We were here to decide whether we would use it for the summer
if Gerry purchased it

We fueled up at the Pioneer station and then back in Durham, Bill parked at FS on the south side of Garafraxa St. while I ran across the busy highway to Foodland. They had their Leadbetter Cowboy burgers on sale and I needed potatoes as well. A steak would be nice this weekend too so I grabbed a double pack of those too. They look very good. We off loaded our things, picked Clemson up and drove over to the Acreage for water.

And how many times have you seen today's view of this ?

Donna and Gerry were finishing up a couple of hot jobs when we arrived. Those two are working too hard on this hot weekend! Bill is going to leave the back field and berm area to cut until either later tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. Then he’ll be done too. No need to do any trimming in this heat. I just don’t believe anything is that important, when you have a choice.

The lane after 3rd cut

We’d eaten our bacon and eggs around 8:30 which is almost too early for me and I didn’t feel hungry yet now at 12:30 I feel the need to eat something. We’ll probably have to have some lunch because I know Bill will also be feeling the hunger. Donna and Gerry mentioned a swim this afternoon so we may go back over to the Acreage. We’ll pick up the two seats for our paddle boat so we can get it advertised.

I had picked up a pack of Carrot Muffins at the Bread Store on Tuesday and although I sent a couple with Bill to London, I hadn’t tried them yet. I know there are a lot of ingredients I usually shy away from, but for $1 a pack, it was cheaper than making my own. I warmed one up in the microwave and with butter and cheese, it hit the spot and tasted really good. With a glass of milk, I should be good for the rest of the day.

That is the hydro pole behind our bunky
Picture shows no sheds, no outhouse

Bill and I have been helping Patrick purchase a Coleman tent trailer from CanAm. Bill was able to check it out initially and feed me info over the phone which I fed to Patrick. It seems like the plan is coming together and if it all works out, they should be able to experience their first time camping off the ground when my brother comes home. Patrick sounds excited and I am for them. Nate, who is 8, will truly love this! Fingers crossed that it all comes together for them.

$ scrap that Gerry had to clean up
At least this stuff was revenue

At 2:30 we drove over to the Acreage one more time and joined Donna and Gerry for a swim. The guys had a beer first while Donna and I stepped down into the pond. I use a pool noodle because I can’t tread water for any length of time and you can’t touch the bottom. You don’t want to touch the bottom because it is quite gooshy and you’ll sink. I float around on a noodle and get refreshed. After we got out, the beer was done so Bill and Gerry took a dive to cool off.

Scrap that was left on the property
Gayle and John helped them burn this junk

We left for home around 4 and came inside to the air-conditioned Suite. I started into a new book by J.D. Robb called Apprentice in Death. It caught me right away but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. With Clemson, the little heat ball, curled up against me, we both dozed. Bill also had a nap on the sofa after our pooch moved into his recliner. It was let’s say, a lazy hour before we got started on supper.

Creating a berm and leveling an area for our rv

We had leftover mac and cheese but not enough for both of us so we had toasted tomato sandwiches along with it. It served us well as neither of us was hungry enough for a big barbecued dinner. After cleaning up the dishes, Bill hopped on the mower and cut more grass. The wind feels fresher outside and it has dropped off to 87F/30C (!!) so it is a good time to do a bit more cutting. I, on the other hand, could still feel the humidity so came back inside with Clemson to write my post.

Our first year, we were able to use the paddle boat for a while
Clemson enjoyed it too!

This has been a very hot day, one of the hottest we’ve felt so far but it has been a great one. I hope you have managed to remain comfortable in your heated area. This is summer!

This is the only picture I took today and it's a good one!
Bill and Gerry enjoying the pond

Thank you for reading today. I love reading your comments.