Warm Day, Hard Job, Friends Leave, Family for Happy Hour

On Wednesday, August 2^nd I woke up around 7 to find Bill had just recently got up. What did I do? I rolled over and tried to catch a few more winks. Instead I just rested for a few minutes and then joined him. It looked like another great day so I didn’t want to miss it anyway.

The guys are working hard at 8 am before the REAL heat hit

Bill and Gerry started with the rakes and wheelbarrow trying to clean up the mess on the upper driveway. This would not be fun work and even though I offered to assist, Bill declined and said to go have my shower instead. I had an appointment in town at 11 so I didn’t argue. Us ladies sat and chatted for a bit with our coffee and tea.

I'm hurting for them but they finished by 9.

The shirts came off soon before I checked on their progress. The only bonus was that some of the shoveling was done in the shade of our tree but there were a couple of glistening backs out there. I took Bill water, Gerry didn’t want any, and did what a supervisor does. Advised them to take it easy and lots of breaks in that heat. Oh, and I snapped a couple of photos.

After dumping, Gerry is ready to pull out

See you guys!

 They managed to even it out for the most part and cleaned up what had poured down onto the grass area. What a nasty job! Bill hopped in the shower after the tools were put away and sat for a cuppa as well. Gerry and Melinda were pulling out around 1 instead of 3 because of another storm forecast to come our way.

They're on the road again

I headed into Durham and after my appointment stopped at the bank, Foodland and the Liquor Store. I needed to top up my drink supply for the next couple of weeks. Rob and Pat texted to invite us to a shady spot on their deck for Happy Hour but we all declined only because the day had been a busy one already. We enjoy their company and look forward to seeing these good people on Saturday.

Lunch, yummy and good for me
sorry for the blur, I was hungry

 Soon after deciding to forgo Happy Hour altogether, my sister Gayle and her husband John texted asking if they could stop in to have a drink together. They wanted to say hello to George and Suzie while they were here at the Ridge. So, we huddled under the neighbour’s awning in the shade (for the most part) and shared more stories of travels south and rv’s.

This fellow hopped across in front of me

We had a great couple of hours catching up and they said goodbye to head home for supper. Gayle has a cute little Chevy Cruise hatchback but I missed catching a photo when she drove out. Well, I guess they both own it. 😊 We came inside, even after a snooze that heat takes a toll on everyone so we weren’t quite prepared for supper yet.

Happy Hour with my sister, Gayle and John

I had taken a huge butt chop out of the freezer earlier so added some spice and it was ready when to put on the Weber. Tonight, we’ll just have a salad on the side, I have enough fresh veggies to toss together and even a few shrimps left thanks to Pat. The pork chop was the best we’ve had in a while. I never say that about chops but Bill does and I must say I enjoyed it too.

We finished supper and clean up by 7:15 and decided to watch a bit of the telly for once. I will sit with my book but we have some pre-recorded programs to catch up on. As tired as we feel, it is a night when we may not get them all watched. We’ve truly had a lot of great days in a row, and I don’t just mean weather. It is great to see friends and family so often. To make the week complete I’m just missing a visit with Mom so need to stop in there over the next couple of days.

I hope you have enjoyed this wonderful day. They are calling for more rain this evening but the sky is absolutely gorgeous now at 7:30. There are a few low-lying white fluffy clouds so they probably know what they are talking about. We just hope to NOT have another repeat of last night, too much rain.

Bill captures ours and the neighbour's front fields (there shouldn't be any water here

These two drone pictures are from approximately 80-100' up

From the road (northwesterly) looking back to the Ridge (southeast)

Thank you for stopping in for a peek. If you would like to comment, I’d love to hear from you.

Another Fun Day, Keady Market and a Special Guy's Birthday Celebration

Tuesday, August 1^st when we woke up around 6:45 it was another welcoming sunny sky. A wee bit of fog off to the east but that burned off really quickly. Bill plugged us into the power outlet and I popped my first pie in the convection oven. We poured our tea and coffee and sat together at our laptops. This is our little morning routine and it is funny how it just fell into place when we moved into the Suite.

Tucker uses the Restroom before everyone else gets up

This morning I noticed my sister, Donna’s, email invitation to their Civic Holiday weekend celebration. They open the Acreage up to family and close friends from Friday to Monday to camp or just visit on a daily basis. We don’t take our rv in anymore, it is too tight to get through the trees but we usually pop over for a meal together and their big campfire. This year it will be even more sporadic as we have a wedding on Saturday.

Chit chatting over morning coffee

We noticed our neighbours out and about before 8. It is such a gorgeous morning that we all want to get moving! After we all got cleaned up we loaded into Gerry’s truck and he drove us to Keady Farmers Market. It isn’t the place I’ve been before, it is all brand new to me. We split up for an hour and wandered our own ways.

I'll soon be picking peppers

Bill found the same bamboo sheets we bought in Quartzsite and the same price so we bought another set, without the US exchange. We also wanted to replace our pillows so bought two bamboo ones as well. We noticed many things, similar to the Big Tent experience in the southwest so didn’t dawdle. I checked out the fresh fruits and finally found a small basket of cherries that fit my taste and budget.

 Further down the line we bought Bill a pair of the Crocs that he is in need of. These are not the knock offs that he has been wearing so they will be much comfier. Whether good for his feet or not, he prefers them up here for working around in. Easy to slip on and off. Picture overload here with some of the booths at Keady market.

Crazy crowds and crazy heat

Loved these birdhouses, the one on this end "cracked" me up!

Tutus anyone?

Ball caps

Beautiful nautical display

Dinky toys

These buskers were very good!
Wendy and Bridgette, a lot like Pokey's sound

From there we went to Bulk Barn for George to get his soup stuff and then to Princess Auto. Bill and I have talked about another solar light for inside our Restroom and found one at a good price. Small things that will make a big difference here on a dark night.

Gerry and Tucker relax in the hammock

We were all fading, the heat was wearing us down so we headed home with Bill showing Gerry the quickest way back home to The Ridge. We had some lunch and settled in our recliners before our company was to arrive at 3 ish. I know for a fact that a few campers had a snooze. I managed to stay upright and awake, making sure things were ready for the birthday boy’s visit.

Rob and Pat arrive before the storm

Our friends, Rob and Pat, were invited to join us for Happy Hour and then dinner. It is Rob’s birthday and sometime in the last month I promised him a strawberry rhubarb pie for his special day. George cooked up some pasties that he bought at the Grand Bend Scottish Bakery. Melinda prepared a garden salad.

Hail, but I couldn't capture it too well

Visibility was poor with the wind and rain

Tree branch down in the corral

Shortly after they arrived, around 3, we were all forced inside the Suite while thunder roared and lightning crashed (not a fairy tale and not a song). The sky opened up and we got wind, rain and even hail over the period of a couple of hours. The worst of it was for about 30 minutes with such strong blowing rain that we couldn’t see outside.

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We were all dry inside the Suite for Happy Hour

At 5, it all stopped. The winds died to nothing, no more rain and the sky seemed to brighten up and promise sunshine again. We slowly moved outside to find most of our folded chairs were too wet to sit on. We wandered around and that is when we started to notice the damage to top of the driveway. My oh my, we have some work ahead of us before Gerry and Melinda pull out tomorrow.

Damage to our driveway

Rob's promised pie

George provided the pasties and gravy

Melinda made the salad

And I provided dessert

Bill, Rob, Pat and I took a walk around the property into the back field, the front field, the corral and down the lane. It was then that we truly realized just how forceful that rain was and high it actually rose. It left remnants of mulch-like grass from the cornfield behind us in a trail across the field. Wow! It was high!

Happy Birthday, Rob!

Looking over the fence to Don’s property, he had a full front yard of water. He won’t be cutting grass there for a while. When we got back, I set up my tripod so I could get a group photo of us Rock Glen Norths. After a few trials, I had success. Rob and Pat packed up their chairs and cooler and said goodnight. They enjoyed the day and evening as well. By this time the mosquitoes dropped by for an unwelcome visit and scattered us all inside our respective homes.

I love this picture of Pat at the gate

Bill was disappointed that for some reason the pictures he took with the drone didn’t take. Here he thought he had some good shots of us all from up above.

The Rock Glen North gang at the Ridge

I downloaded today’s pictures from my 3 sources and set about finishing this post. My eyes are heavy and that tells me that I have had a busy, fantastic day. The sky was beautiful again showing a gorgeous sunset. I hope you all had a great day as well.

Thank you for stopping in today.