Laundry Day, Weed Trimming, Oven Preparation & Install – All on a Lovely Day

The Ridge

We slept in on Saturday, July 3^rd. Why the heck not? Bill was up at 6 and brought Gibbs back up to bed when he returned. It was 7:30 when we, as a family, got up. I had laundry to do and a laundromat to clean. We also needed a few more groceries, things we didn’t want or need in bulk so after doing everything at the Mat, I went to Foodland and then to the LCBO for a couple (or 4) bottles of wine.

A beautiful drying day

I’m not a big wine drinker and we’ve asked our guests to byob anyway. However, we always like to have a couple of bottles on hand. It always works out and this time I actually picked up 2 bottles of Orange Mimosa for me. I get tired of the same thing and Vodka and gingerale hasn’t been turning my crank. That’s very important, when you only have one drink, it has to turn your crank! 😊

My next thing after hanging clothes was to
dust mop and wash our MANY floors
with my new Norwex Mop System!!

While in the grocery store, I made the snap decision to buy something dessert-ish rather than put myself in the position to make anything. Time to make it easier for myself. If we hadn’t had a full day away yesterday, we would have done the things we’re doing today – then – and I would have felt more like baking today. So, I picked up something that will be a half decent ending to our meal.

I was impressed how it picked 'everything' up
The top half has been brushed with the rubber brush I also purchased

Bill went out and did some weed eating while I was gone and when I returned home, I had my tea and then hung the laundry. The day was already warming up quite nicely after a bit of a cool start. It got down to 10C/45F overnight and I turned the fireplace on to take the chill out. I had things I wanted to do today so left Bill on his own to do his trimming and Gibbs out on his rope leash, out of the way. I wanted to test my new Norwex mop system.

Easiest floor washing I've ever done
No filling the sink or a pail with water and cleaner
Just wet with water, wring it out and wipe
Tadah!

I used the dry mop first and quickly cleaned the dirty floors. With the rubber brush, it was so easy cleaning the pad, scraping it into the garbage bin. 😊 Then, I dampened the wet pad and lickety-split took care of washing the floors. Like I saw in the videos, I’m sure I was smiling with the ease of the whole process. I rinsed the pad out and hung it on the line as well. Bill chuckled at my exuberance when I later told him.

The two tone mop pad is already pretty dirty from my first washing
PS - I haven't washed my floors in a while 😄

Methinks these are things I no longer need in the Suite
The broom and dust pan can go in the  Bunky

We had brunch at 12:30ish and then while he worked on prepping the area for the new oven, went upstairs and cleaned off our dresser top. It was dusty and quite the conglomerate of ‘unnecessary things’. It looks much better now and I’m grateful Bill suggested I ‘do something’ with it. A nudge never hurts and I’d been thinking the same thing. I found the Funky Monkey from a drink Pat and I had on Beale St. in Memphis, TN so had to text her and let her know she was in my thoughts.

Hey Buddy! Let's go back to dance on Beale Street!
This monkey came in our $12  Funky Monkey drinks
but we enjoyed them

After dishes, and Bill doing his best to get things ready, he called Gerry for a helping hand lifting the oven. Yay! With his help, I can step back and let them at it.  😊 Bill says this one does not feel as heavy as the old one, he brought it in by himself. Now, at 5, it is a spicy 24C/75F with hardly any breeze, meaning hotter than what our thermometer says. No complaints, it’s lovely except inside the Suite if you are lifting an oven!

Opening the box (with help) and reading the
instructions (!!)

Measuring with the template
Bill has done this before so knows what he's doing

Waiting for a few holes and the new bracket plate

Gibbs checking things out for Daddy
A second pair of eyes never hurts

The back plate/bracket goes in
this has lips that hold the oven as a secondary
security along with the bolts from the top

Donna and Gerry arrived by 5:30 and with a little bit of jiggling, they had the appliance in place in no time. 

Time for a beer! We sat out in the half shade/half sun and watched Gibbs run around like a little fool. Mind you, we all had to watch our bare legs when he tried to jump up on us. Those claws are a killer! He gets so excited with other people and sometimes with us, we can only hope our attentiveness pays off and it stops.

Gibbs settles down in the afternoon with Mom

Not sure how this can be comfortable but
he is with Momma so seems to be happy

Inside, he chews his paws, a new thing for him
It's better than our toes!!

After they left, our little guy took off down the lane after them. I had gone up to bring the clothes in and Bill was trying to clean up the boxes outside and start a fire to burn the cardboard. After running down the corral hill as well, we had to trick him to get him back on his leash. He was too worked up to leave him run free. I brought the clothes inside and we got supper started. Fish and chips tonight and we were eating around 7:30.

My  Star spirea seems to be happy
on the hill

What a beautiful day

D & G invited us over for a fire but for tonight, we declined. It would have been a lovely evening, calm and warm but we’ve had another busy day. I’m thrilled to have our new microwave/convection oven in place but we agree that it needs to have a minor adjustment to level it. It looks good with a new set of buttons on the control panel to get used to. 😊 This one also allows combination cooking as well as microwave and convection cooking.

Gibbs and I went for a lane walk and when the rope
tugs, I look back to see this. Often.💖
What a sweetheart! Often he rolls on his back for a tummy rub too.

Our precious pooch
good when he wants to be!

After dishes, Bill had his shower and I took Gibbs outside. We sat on the steps for about 20 minutes while I had potatoes cooking in Madame IP. I’ll be making a potato salad for tomorrow so wanted to have it started tonight. I needed to put on my Pedicurist cap and trim Bill’s toenails for him. Things like that (for my own hubby) don’t bother me although I know many wives shudder at the ordeal.

A healthy supper for me
Bill had the chips

Bill and Gibbs sat together once the potatoes were done and I went up for my shower. This was a great day even though another busy one. We are looking forward to celebrating Canada Day tomorrow with Bill’s family. It doesn’t matter that we are a couple of days late. 😊

Cheesecake with raspberry sauce
Good night!!

Thank you for stopping in!

Stocking Up a Bit, Trimming, Packing a Bit, Ribs for Supper

The Ridge

On Friday, July 26^th I woke with a start from a stupid dream. It was one of those stressful dreams where no matter what you did, which way you went, you couldn’t get ahead. This one was about Mom, Donna, Cathy and of course me. All sisters who have regular dealings with Mom. So, when I woke up it was a relief because Mom and I were never going to catch up with the other two. That’s the way the dream was going.

breakfast quesadilla - YUMMY!

It was almost 7 o’clock when I looked to my right and not-surprising Bill wasn’t in bed with me. I was thrown off kilter a bit from the whole abruptness of my wake up so I opted to have my tea instead of a walk. Lazy girl. We read some blog posts to see what our friends are up to and when Bill went out to do some trimming down the lane, I finished my tea and got washed up. I wanted to drive to Hanover this morning, before it got busy, to pick up a few of the specials at Walmart and Independent.

Once I got to Walmart, I realized that their prices on everything were quite suitable so I saved myself the aggravation of fighting my way in the big grocery store down the street and bought everything on my list. Before hopping back on Main Street, Ptooties just automatically turned into the lot for Mark’s Work Wearhouse. 😊 With their “Up to 70% off” signs plastered all over, how could I not stop? I wasn’t expecting to find anything but did manage to pick up a few small things for $12. Three items for $12 is crazy, especially when one was a pair of casual/dress pants for $1.

Okay - $1? Aren't they cute? (ladies)

When I took them off the hanger, the only pair like it, and saw size 4, I thought ‘yah right’ but they looked like a possible fit. They fit like a charm and I could find no reason for them to be marked so low. Expecting a price error when I arrived at the counter, she said that it was correct because it was old 2017 stock. Cha-ching! They are more for fall, with the material, or a cool evening which we have a lot of here and down south. I’m so glad that I stopped. The other two items were under t-shirt bralettes for $4.88 each. Don't worry guys, if you don't comprehend, it was for the ladies reading.

Back home, I put the groceries away and Bill helped me load the 4 cases of Coke and Sprite (Zero and Diet) in the garage/basement.  For a nice change, I’d bought the lowest carb white tortillas that Walmart had. I’ve been missing having a breakfast quesadilla so that is what I made us for brunch at 11. Bill had his in toast so we won’t do that too often. He had been working steady since he got up so I offered to do the dishes while he stretched out in his chair. A snooze is as good as a rest!

a good deal on 2-meal ribs

I started packing for Ladyfest, which begins on Tuesday, just to get an idea of what to take. Items in the bag will change a few times before then but that is why I start early. When at Costco, we picked up a large 7 lb. package of ground beef. It says ‘lean’ and I prefer the regular with higher fat content but they don’t offer it in many stores any more. I divided it into meal sizes of just over a pound and got 6 packs out of it. Then today, I picked up pork back ribs at Walmart for a great price and split them into two meal.

Bill went up for his shower and I swept through the Suite. It is a warm day and we’ve got a bit of a heat wave coming again. Supposed to be in the low 80’s until Tuesday and right now it is 77F/25C. Without a breeze and with the humidity, it feels more like 85F. I weeded a bit around the close flower beds while waiting for Bill to finish so I could take a turn in the shower. The breeze is actually quite nice when it comes.

I took a ride down the lane and to Baptist Church Road
Boy, my legs need strengthening!!
But I made it all the way up the lane and the 'steep hill'!

It was time for my B.P. coffee so I made that up and hunted on line for a recipe for a rib dry rub for the IP. Finally, I’m going to follow Ken and Kim’s lead and make them for supper tonight. Then I went outside to walk down the lane and check the mailbox. It is a 'sit in the shade' kind of day. No mail so when I came back, I continued to read my Trick and Treat book under the awning. That worked until about 4 pm when the sun moves around.

Ribs just starting on the grill mat

I moved inside and made the rub for the ribs (that sounds catchy!). At 5:30, I plugged us in to power and prepared Madame IP. She hasn’t been used for a while so I could almost see a smile on her button panel. Oh! The good news is that Pat has finally purchased an Instant Pot! Yay! Once she starts putting some of the recipes into practice, I’m sure she’ll love it. I’m here to help her get started just like Kim and Ken were for me. I put half the pack of ribs on the trivet with a cup of chicken broth. I’m hoping that 20 minutes of cooking isn’t too much.

And the ribs turned out great
(too bad the picture didn't)

When the time was up, I switched to OFF to wait for the 20-minute natural release. During that process, Bill lit the Weber and got out the grill mat. I mixed up a homemade ‘sweet ‘n sour’ recipe to brush on them while they browned. With the last few minutes of release taking place, I set garden salad on our plates and then went out to do the grilling. That took about 10 minutes and they turned out great! I didn’t get too many oohs and aahs from Bill so I’m not sure if he felt the same way but the ribs were tender and tasty.

And my plate (for starters)

We cleaned up dishes and while I sat to download pictures and finish my post, he went back down to the Hangar. He accomplished a lot of small things today. The trim is up, his 3 pegboards have been hung and have tools on them as well as his corkboard is attached to the long wall. I think it looks wonderful and would love to show you a sneak peek but I don’t want to take away from his thunder.

I didn't have too many exciting pictures today
so went back to 2007 when we had our Goldwing
Note: Clemson in the goggles

The temperature today just kept going up and up and as I sit here at 7:30 it is a balmy 82F/28C. Just a taste of what’s around the corner. It is only going down to 60F tonight and hot and humid again tomorrow. I do believe the a/c will get a run tomorrow and if that is what it takes to keep us comfortable, we don’t mind using it. This has been a semi-lazy day; I’m having a lot of those! I’ve enjoyed it and I know Bill has as well.

and him in his crate

CC Rider! Gosh, I miss him
good night everyone!

Thank you for stopping in!