Turbines Turning, Bill Works, Alone Time

On Monday, May 1^st, hey! Welcome to May! I woke up at 10 minutes to 6 and heard Bill in the kitchen. I thought that he had slept in and was just getting moving but he had already had a shower, packed and was making his coffee and breakfast.

Bill packs and prepares to get an early start

He had an orientation in Lambeth at CanAm for 9 am so he had to get on the road early. I lounge dressed and came down to sit with him until he left. Actually, I sat, he still was bustling around in preparation to two days away from home. By 6:10 he had kissed us goodbye and was pulling out of the lane in the rain and wind.

A glimpse of the tail lights down the lane

Surprisingly, the overnight temperatures rose to 11C while we were sleeping. At least it doesn’t freeze your knickers off when you step outside. Yours or mine! So Bill will hopefully have a good drive as long as the rain isn’t too bad. The traffic at that time of the morning shouldn’t be abundant.

the sky went through a number of changes today

 After watching the little Toyota turn onto the road, I went back to the warmth of my bed. It was warm downstairs but I was still half asleep. I wish I had been wide awake and checked the fridge before he left because he managed to forget a couple of things he’d set in there for lunch.

When I got up again just after 7:30 I dressed and drove the 3 containers of recycling down to the end of the lane for today’s pick up. Bill looked after the garbage bags for me. By 10:00 I’d witnessed the truck stopping and was happy to see everything was gone. I drove back down in the rain to pick up our blue box. We missed the last pick up somehow but now we are on track. It is a bi-weekly pick up here.

Lots of rain is keeping the bird bath filled

This is certainly a day for the geese and ducks. It doesn’t affect their routine at all, they continue swimming, dipping for food and flying around honking. The turbines are moving today, it is when the winds either stop or get too strong that they stop them. I was grateful for the stronger winds last night when Bill was home, because I’ll be alone tonight I didn’t want to be concerned.

Everything, including my garden looks so healthy after the rain

 I didn’t have much going on today other than hanging and tucking away my ‘new to me’ clothes. I’m pleased with all of the things I brought home, I was very particular this time in choosing items. With that done I took a walk to the Restroom and reminded myself just how warm it felt compared to yesterday. It is up to 14C at 3 pm.

Clemson walks the lane to get the mail

Bill called at 12:30 to check in and let me know what they were having him do today. One orientation of a travel trailer and then take the same rv to a park in St. Mary’s for a customer. This afternoon was to be another pick-up and delivery to Dalewood. Sometimes plans change due to a customer’s schedule or I suppose even the weather can determine delays.

No  mail but the cows across the road were close

I made myself a couple of hard-boiled eggs for a change and they tasted good with a tangerine as a chaser. I tend to drink more tea when I’m alone, especially on a day like this and just finished one. It is a comfort drink for me whether I’m working on my laptop or reading my book.

There has to be a pond picture, Love the turtles on the log

We are all anxious to have some warmer drier weather, one nice day and then 3 or 4 dreary cold ones just isn’t cutting it! This afternoon wasn’t much busier than this morning was. There was no guarantee that the sky wasn’t going to open up as soon as I went out so I stayed indoors most of the day. The bathroom got a good cleaning so toilet, sink and shower are now sparkling.

It was a nice surprise when the sun made an appearance after 5 so once I’d fed Clemson and watched the CTV news and weather, we walked down the lane to check the mailbox. I’m trying to get Clemson used to that walk ‘to get the mail’. He is getting better at ignoring the road, turning around as soon as we get to the end.

Saw Don our neighbour checking out Gabby and hopping the fence 

I had leftover ham for supper with a corn muffin, something quick and simple. It may not sound too appetizing but eating by myself isn’t cause for anything elaborate. As long as I eat well and eat enough, who is to complain? It was nice to hear from Bill a couple of times after dinner, I like to keep track of where he is and what he is up to.

By 9:00 he was settling in for the night and called me for the final time. I was recording The Voice so we can watch it together and watching the First Chapter of Genius. This is the story of Albert Einstein and I thought it would do me good to learn more about him. I was never good at picking that kind of stuff up at school.

Our side of the fence does not have the water laying around like on his side

I hope you have had a nice day and enjoyed the warmth of this day. One day we won’t have to talk about the weather, it will be nice for days on end. today was a great day to get some more reading done. I'm reading another Lisa Gardner book called Gone. It is a sequel to The Third Victim but there is obviously one between the two. The story doesn't quite flow. I'll Google it and try and find the missing book.

It's 5 o'clock somewhere

And as Clemson sits on my lap, he is looking for his Dad to get his supper

Thank you for following along today. I love to receive your comments.

Drive to London, Clothing Exchange, Sister Time

Sunday, Apr. 30^th was a busy day from the moment I got up to the time I went to bed at 10. But it was a great busy and I’m glad to have taken part in everything I did. We were up until midnight the previous night so slept in until 7:30 again. I had a tea with Bill and a corn muffin with butter for my breakfast while I posted my blog from Saturday. My pictures today are all about the Clothing Exchange for anyone who has wondered.

This is what a clothing exchange is all about

Brenda and I were so happy to see each other

 We had one smoked ham left in the freezer from our meat purchase at Bentincks last October so I popped it in the crock pot with instructions for Bill to turn it on at a certain time. That was the last thing I needed to do before leaving the Suite today.

Bill loaded the car for me and at 9:30 I was on my way into Durham to pick up my sister, Gayle, at Rockwood where she could leave her car for the day. With her bags in the trunk we drove to Hanover and picked up our other sister, Donna, and her bags. What is in the bags? Purged clothing from our closets!

See why I love this gal? Always a happy smile for me!

The rain was very light when I said goodbye to my boys and left The Ridge and it was a cold 4C windy day. Us girls have learned by now, that when we go to one of these clothing exchanges or 50% off sales at Value Village or Talize, we wear stretch pants and light tops so we can easily try things on without slipping off to a dressing room. But on top of that I wore a long sleeve shirt, boots, winter coat, scarf and ball cap.

By the time we left Hanover at 10:10 the rain had pretty much stopped and lessened within miles. We drove on dry pavement and cloudy skies the whole two and a half hours. Bonus! We arrived at 12:30 about 2 blocks from the hosts home so stopped at a Timmy’s for tea and a muffin. Oh and a nature break.

Kim has a beautiful home, it looks small from the street view but it has a lovely large recreation room downstairs where she had clothes from other purgers spread out. We were going to add a whole trunk full of 8 bags to the mix. There were lots of choices, all sizes, all colours and all styles.

These exchanges are a fabulous idea as it is a way to purge things you don’t like/wear/need and the only stipulation is that they are clean and in like-new condition. It was a great turn out and although Kim, her daughter, Heather and one of my dearest friends, Brenda, were the only ones we knew, it was a great time. We are all sharing the same connection.

With a bag each, the car was much lighter when we left for home at 3:15. In London, the temperature hit 11C which felt nice. The rain started again, naturally, as we approached Stratford (if not sooner) but it was still a nice drive. It was fun sister time, we take turns talking and all have our own stories to share. Because I am at least 4 years younger than my sisters, some things they talk about worry me.

So far, a few things (afflictions) they have dealt with (whether minor or not) I, too, have experienced it at close to the same age. So, when I listen to them I think, “oh no, this is what I’ll have to deal with in a few years”. They laughed at that and said ‘not necessarily’ even though we share the same parents, blood, it doesn’t guarantee that.

When I got between Harriston and Clifford I needed to stop and fill the car up with gas at the Pioneer. My sisters generously donated to the cause, grateful that I did the driving. From our trip down we knew the price was .06 cents cheaper there than in Hanover or Durham so I topped up at $1.06/litre. So, for my American friends, this was approx. $40 for 38 litres which is equal to 10 US gallons.

Without going into the whole dollar exchange, which we all know about, your gas price is what? $1.94/gal in Arizona and Illinois, $2.51/gal in California? Doing the math, for 10 U.S. gallons I would have made the same purchase yesterday for less than $25. The search here for gas and diesel is to save a few cents on the price and I have a feeling it is going to get worse over the summer. Just another “oh well”.

When I arrived home at 6:30 after dropping the girls off, Bill had let Clemson out to greet me at the car door as I opened it. The wind was powerful up on The Ridge so I rushed my purse, camera and clothing bag into the Suite, happy to close the door behind me. Besides a nice kiss from my sweetie, what greeted me was the warmth and the lovely aroma of the ham. Having really only snacked all day I was hungry and ready for this.

The best of friends
NOTE: Check out the sign above my head, says it all between us

Bill suggested something simple like beans on the side and that suited me just fine rather than prepare rice or a salad. The ham was delicious and we have enough leftovers for a couple of meals for sure. I was tired from the drive and had no desire to open my computer. Instead I read through the grocery flyers and watched American Pickers and Madame Secretary before crawling up into bed with Clemson.

The wind had picked up and yet I was happy to have the 40-60 km winds last night that were originally forecast for Monday night. I hope you all had a nicer weather day than Bill did here at The Ridge. Sometimes it is nice to have inside days but too many in a row can make the walls close in. Sorry about the lack of photos today, I was driving so no travel pictures were taken.

Thank you for reading my late post today. All comments are welcome!