Lovely Country Walk, Last RV’ers Arrive, Elvis Visits

The Ridge

It was 5:00, then 5:30, then 6 etc. when I woke up on Friday, Aug. 9^th. I didn’t have a good night’s sleep as I was too chilly. If I hadn’t been so lazy, I would have got up and grabbed the afghan on the floor at the bottom of the bed. I knew Bill was appreciating the window at the dresser being open but again, I was too chilly and slovenly to move. My own fault. At 5:30 I put on my flannel pants and crawled back in, snuggling up to my warm body for a heat rush.

We're hoping for a lovely day today

We got up just before 7 and I got dressed for a walk. It was a gorgeous blue sky that I was seeing and yet only 53F/12C. Rob and Pat slowed down to say good morning on their way to Walkerton. 

I had company this morning, my shadow went with me

 By the time I returned, my jacket and safety vest were undone. It is looking like a beautiful day coming our way. Inside I had my tea with Bill and he got washed and cleaned up for the day. Then he disappeared down in the Hangar.

I wiped off my plastic garbage table find and dug out our camping tablecloth and the clips to hold it in place. This looked much better, hiding the leaf stain spots. The winds are up again today so we still may not get the screen tent put up, darn! We all puttered around doing our own thing. George went into town for a bit, Suzie, Kim and Ken sat outside and then it was time to eat breakfast. I managed to eat my eggs and bacon with Bill this morning.

After dishes, I wrote more on this post and then got washed up to go visit Mom. It would be a short visit, since that is what works best for her these days. And for us, who am I trying to kid? I left at 11 with fingers crossed to have a good visit. I found her in the Garden Room and she truly believed that she was sitting in her own room. That she had planted the growing perennials and succulents. What could I say except to say they were very nice.

Ron and Loree and of course sweet Freddy arrived

The conversation went beyond any sound reasoning so I just agreed and laughed along with her and was grateful for her cheerfulness. When she insisted that she’d never married, with no children I had to leave. I know it isn’t her talking but it still hurts my heart. I bluffed (ok, I lied) about an appointment and left her in ‘her’ garden room and told the nurses where they would find her for her lunch. I just wanted to coddle her and correct her but you can’t. Many of you know that.

Their new little Lance bought from CanAm and orienteered by Bill 

From Rockwood Terrace, I went to the LCBO for some Lite Beer (margaritas!!) and some coolers and then drove home. We welcomed Ron and Loree when they arrived around 1:30 and Bill helped them get turned around and situated. What a great group! Freddy was so happy to see everyone and then even happier to be rein-free. He is such a beautiful dog and well behaved. The initial greeting can be a little intimidating but he soon settles down.

Welcome Freddy!

We were all surprised when Elvis/Mitch drove up the lane about the same time and brought me an old galvanized watering can. He knew I was eyeing his new ones. 😊 He was like a travelling peddler and managed to sell a set of Impact sockets to Rob. 

afternoon happy hour

A nice big group

He didn’t hang around too long and after a couple of stories, pulled out wishing us all well. Let the second round of fun begin with a Happy Hour. The gang is now truly all here!

Elvis is about to leave the Ridge
Notice the TCB symbol on his vehicle

At 4:45, Kim and I drove into Durham to pick up a cake that I’d ordered for Rob and we each got some bread. It was kind of sneaky of us as Rob wasn’t aware. Bill lit the Weber and we had the best rib-eye steak, little potatoes, mushrooms and I had cucumbers. Yum, a wonderful meal along with a glass of chardonnay. We know how to eat right – sometimes!! After dishes, Bill lit the campfire and we gathered, hoping the wind would die down some.

Rob and Pat brought me (us) a beautiful huge Hibiscus!!
I've never had this perennial
thank you buddies

A wonderful supper that my sweetie cooked

At 7:30, I cut the cake and Kim provided the plates so we could celebrate Rob’s 70^th birthday. We couldn’t let this annual gathering go by without it even though his birthday was on August 1^st. I hadn’t given him a card and I wouldn’t be satisfied until I did, doggonit! 

Happy belated, Rob

yummy

We surprised him and pleased him at the same time. A special birthday is worth celebrating. Heck! Any birthday is worth that! The black clouds had moved out of the way completely by the time we'd all eaten so the evening was perfect.

So, he slipped in to put his t-shirt on

I finished writing my post, leaving only pictures to add in the morning. For you morning readers, sorry for the wait. (Again) I changed into long pants to join the group. We are certainly having some fun evenings. 

Awesome fire with a chimney
It put Kim into a trance as fires often do

 The fire was wonderful and I added the pack that adds some colour to the flames. That was a fun night and we laughed a lot. I consumed a little more wine than usual; Bill and I finished the bottle of Pelee Island Chardonnay off.

Love bugs sharing the mosquito repellent thingy
Good nigh!

What a great time! Thank you for taking the time to see what we’re up to!

Foggy Morning, Beautiful Walk and Cool Find, Yard Work Felt Good

The Ridge

On Easter Sunday, Apr. 21^st the Easter Bunny forgot to come to us! What? We’ve been good all year so maybe our chocolates are hiding somewhere. I’ll have to do a search later on. We were up at 7 together after a good night’s sleep. Well, with the exception of our 2:30 wakeup so our 4-legged son could go out for a piddle. No worries, he had to go!

Ptooties and The Suite

Bill didn’t have to ask ‘the’ question, the fog was so thick we couldn’t see beyond the corral fence. No walk yet. We had our coffee and tea together while reading blogs and then at 8:30, it was clear enough to go for a walk. There was no wind and it was 45F/5C so still winter coat weather and of course my reflective safety vest. I walked out the lane, west on North Line and south on Baptist Church Road. I told myself that I would only go to Elvis’s (aka Ivan) house, then extended that once I got there.

Black Beauty in her space 

Checking out the tiger lilies in our berm garden

It was a beautiful morning and I truly didn’t want to stop. What peacefulness! I went as far as the Turbine lane and crossed the road to walk back on the appropriate side.

This is North Line to the west of Baptist Church Road
Nope, I won't be walking that way

This is the way I went

There was a lot of flattened grass along here, almost as if it had been trimmed but in reality, only flattened by weather. Spring weather. I looked down over the hill, my eyes always looking for returnable bottles and cans for .10¢. What I found was even more exciting. I descended down the hill and was pleased that I did.

This big metal pot was discarded

The big steel pot had wet leaves in it but after turning it upside down and realizing the weight of it, I knew I wanted it. 

I walked this far and you can see the fog is still hiding things

Back at the Ridge, Bill was working in his Hangar and I told him what I’d found. He agreed to go with me later in the day to retrieve the pot. I would find a use for it, even if it was something to set a flower pot in. There are a few old steel things around the property and it adds to the appeal of a country property.

Someone is pretty happy in the Hangar

 It was around 9:30 when I made us egg omelette sandwiches. I knew Bill would be getting hungry and offered to take his out to the Hangar. As it turned out, he was ready to come in and get a coffee anyway. 

Bill's toasted egg sandwich

I had mine in the quesadilla format again, it is the way I like them best and haven’t had one for a while. I sent him off and cleaned up the dishes after relaxing with my book. I was going to finish it this morning! When dishes were done the sun had made an appearance so I went out to sit in the King chairs.

Olives adorn my plate

The book got finished and it wasn’t a disappointment. From beginning to end, it was a page turner. This was a good time to go and get the pot so we put a tarp in the back of Ptooties and drove to the hill. It didn’t take long and we were back on our road. We noticed that Don and Cheryl, our neighbours to the west of us were outside so we drove up to say hello. We had a nice chit chat catching up on their winter and ours before saying goodbye and heading home.

I raked up piles of leaves until the corral was basically 'leaf-free'
(well as much as I could)

Now it was time to get to work so I got the rake out and began raking the garden. Bill was going to get a bladder of water from the Acreage but didn’t have a key for the new lock. Woops, I think Gerry forgot to tell us about that! So, Bill went back down to the Hangar and eventually got the garden tractor out with the wagon. By this time, I was done raking the flower garden and started on the hills in the corral.

This hill has been a pain in the butt every time it needed cutting

This area is a challenge each time we need to cut the grass so we want to ‘get rid of the grass’. First raking before we move on to the next step. It is impossible to cut with a mower and a real chore to cut with a weed whacker. We needed another option, a fast option. I was de-layering as I went because of the warm day. It was 16C but a perfect day to be outdoors working. The hoody came off, then the next layer, finally just working in a long sleeve shirt.

Add caption

 Bill gathered some cement blocks around the area and large rocks for a future project and then started making trips bringing wood from down at the Hangar (we cut and stacked all of this last summer) up to the wood pile by the fire pit. By the time he finished this, at this point I was merely sitting and watching, we went and picked up the 15 piles of leaves and twigs. I knew that I would probably pay for the work I just did. That corral is bigger than I remembered!

Closing things up

Clemson had come outside with us for about an hour before he wanted to go back inside. We joined him after putting things away and closing up the shed, the Hangar, the Cargo trailer and the bunky. 

The last load of wood for today

It was time for his supper and time for us to relax. I knew that meant one, two or three of us would soon be snoozing but I think we earned it. I hadn’t started my post yet so did that while sitting in my chair. At 6, I pushed myself to get up and make supper.

There's lots more where this came from but for another day

The piles are all picked up, thanks dear for your help

Easy peasey tonight with leftover meatloaf, a garden salad and some Stove Top dressing. I set aside a dish of meatloaf and dressing for Bill’s supper one night through the week. Someone will be driving to work in London for a couple of days and it won’t be me. 

It was an Easter Sunday meal for us

Supper turned out good and very filling. I don’t even know if we’ll have room for dessert tonight! When I opened one of the cupboards in the kitchen, lo and behold, look what was left for us there! I knew it! He wouldn’t forget us and how much we enjoy chocolate.

Thank you, Easter Bunny

We cleaned up dishes and I finished my post so I could sit with Bill and watch Madame Secretary at 7. This has been a very enjoyable and productive day. I’m prepared for tomorrow morning since I’m noticing how slow I’m moving from one position to another already this evening. I’ll be fine though, I got this way from being outdoors in the fresh air doing what I love.

And the first day of sunshine in a while - we were granted a beautiful sunset

I hope yours was a great Easter Sunday. Thank you for your visit, just like Peter Cottontail. If you wish to leave a comment, I enjoy reading each and every one.