Just Peachy, Another Dull Morning, Fire Starter Tutorial – Kind of, Fish and Chips

eOn Thursday, Aug. 2^nd we were both lazy and after letting Clemson out for his 6 am piddle, we all snuggled in bed for another hour. The dull morning was not too encouraging for me to go for a walk. Bill had to get cleaned up and head out shortly after 8 so there was no rush for anything. I made myself a tea and he opted to forego his coffee. Without the sugar, it just doesn’t turn his crank. He is trying and I credit him for that.

Pat is stuffing the egg cartons with sawdust shavings

After he pulled out with the cargo trailer, I checked to see what our friends were up to on blogger and then began the messy job of cutting up the peaches. They don’t last long and I wanted to have some for both of us to enjoy. Bill prefers them cut up in a dish or on ice cream so I took care of that task. I might even make up a jam with some of them, we’ll see if I can find an easy recipe. It’s all about ‘easy’ for me.

the first batch of candles in the pan

I knocked on Pat’s door beside us to see if she wanted to make fire starters this morning. A discussion we’d already had but we just needed to pick the day. She was all for it so we invited Suzie and Rose to join my ‘tutorial’. I brought the long folding table over and set up the make shift items that I’d prepared last time I did this. With a broiler pan on the Weber, I turned it on medium-low and melted Pat’s candles. She filled the egg cups with sawdust shavings while we waited for them to melt.

Waiting for the second batch

It doesn’t take long and within 30 minutes or so, we had filled a lot of egg cups with wax and shavings. Bill returned from Hanover around 10 with new ‘hush puppies’ (as Rob called them) on his trailer. I came inside to start breakfast and we’ll meet up when the wax has dried to cut them and wrap the starters up. We had our bacon and eggs and Bill went back to working on a model airplane. Rob and the 2 George’s drove to the Motor Cross where George Y.’s grandson was attending a 5- day camp week.

they just need to be cut into individual cups and wrapped in waxed paper

Pat and I sat and wrapped 96  firestarters with waxed paper and that is the most time consuming part of this process. Rose came over and kept us company until their hubbys returned. I sat outside for a while with Pat and then by myself in the hammock. I’m trying to work on a crossword puzzle from the NewsWeek that came yesterday but I’m not doing very well. When Bill finished up with the plane for today, I took a walk down the lane to check the mailbox, doing my arm exercises while I walked.

and here they are all wrapped and bagged

Bill had gone inside and Clemson joined him on the recliner for a snooze. I think most everyone else was doing the same thing. I caught up on my post, changed into cleaner shorts and top and went outside in the breeze with my book and crossword. One or the other would keep me occupied. The blue portions of sky soon disappear as gray, then darker gray, then black clouds move across the area. I took a chance and remained in the hammock, the breeze felt wonderful.

Breakfast

Soon enough, I thought I should move and put some chairs away and close the bunky up. Then I noticed that one storage shed door and Bill’s cargo trailer was wide open too. He was still snoozing inside so I knew he would appreciate it if I looked after that for him. The rain may pass but the wind was blowing right in the big ramp door. If not for the wind, it is the type of day you’d like to sit under an awning and watch the rain.

The moonflower Gayle gave me

We have plans to all drive into Durham at 4:30 to Riverside Fish and Chips for supper. I’m feeling hungry now but don’t want to jeopardize my meal by having a piece of cheese. I can wait, I think I can, I think I can. Rob knocked on the door in between the rain drops and offered to take his truck this time, since we drove the last time. That’s nice of him but the Rav uses less fuel so Bill said he would drive.

Had my zoom lens on today, Isn't he cute?

and from the back, if you please

As Rob left, I let Clemson out for a piddle and then the rain got heavier, so we scurried back inside. Within the next 30 minutes, we got rain and thunder but 5 minutes before it was time to leave, it stopped and the blue sky returned from the west. We were the only customers so ordered our one-piece fish and chips dinner, simultaneously, and it was delivered very quickly.

Supper at Riverside

It was good, too many fries for me so Bill cleaned them up rather than leave them on the plate. Rob, Pat, Bill and I finished first and drove back to the Ridge.

Rose and George safely across the road
on their way to visit family

Rose and George went visiting family and Suzie and George arrived at the Ridge soon after.  I promised Rob an ice cream cone when we got back so I set about filling requests. 6 cones later, Clemson was in his glory, sure he’d get a little bit from someone, or some-two. He was right, Pat, Bill and I shared with the little bum.

Please Pat share with me

Thanks buddy!

Just a nice evening with friends

We sat in the shade telling stories of the ‘good ole days’ and laughed a lot. Life is good when you can chat day after day, night after night and still relate ‘new’ tales that haven’t been heard before. I think we ended up agreeing that those were indeed great times, the 60’s & 70’s. Good times, good cars and decent cops. 😊 

And our little pooch waits for his supper

We said goodnight as the air cooled down around 7:15 and came inside. It was time to catch up on my post and relax for the evening. What a terrific day!

And after the rain clouds scared us all inside, this followed

Gayle told me this flower only lasted a day
Already it's saying goodbye

Thank you for reading today. I love it when you take the time to comment.

Overnight Rain, Bloodwork for Bill, Country Road Walking, Rhubarb and Ribs

Bill and I were up at 7 and he got cleaned up and headed out right away for Hanover. Today is Wednesday, August 1^st so a new month means a few things on the short agenda. Bill’s bloodwork, just as a check-up, Clemson’s flea and heartworm meds and a new boost of Wifi. We did well through July with our use of the 19 gb we are allotted. As he left, I went for a walk down the lane and across Baptist Church Road to the new house that was built last spring/summer.

Looking back towards Baptist Church Road, the way I came from

The rains had dampened the land and things are beginning to green up all over again. That means, of course, that the greener it is, the more it grows. I have a section of long weeds going down the hill by the corral but Bill has told me not to worry about it. No sign of our rv’ing neighbours even when I returned so stepped inside and made myself a tea. Soon after, the wind picked up enough for me to pull the awnings in just a tad.

This is the house we saw going up last spring

Rob and Pat pulled out around 8 for the morning, Rob also had an appointment. I think everyone had stuff going on today so we were each doing our own thing for the most part. When Bill returned around 8:30, he replenished our fridge stock of milk and cream, having stopped at Walmart for their better deals. I needed to get my rhubarb bagged up for the freezer, it has been on hold since Sunday! Thanks again, Sandra and Bill.

We saw the beginnings from the foundation and now
it is a beautiful home for someone

The light rain took over the morning and in between going in and out to dump my inside compost pail, empty our full recycle bin into a blue plastic bag and let Clem out for a quick piddle, I remained inside. The awnings are still out enough to stand under it for the fresh air. It is quite refreshing at 69F after yesterday’s heat. Bill took Black Beauty for a run to fill a propane tank and perhaps top up with fuel.

I do believe they liked our idea of the mail box and post in a pail
They are living here all year so buried the pail

I cut up some bacon, peppers, onions and leftover sausage and began frying them up slowly. By the time I see him coming up the drive, I should be able to drop eggs in for a toasted western on a bun. That will be a nice change for us. With the greenery along the laneway and between us and the road, it is difficult to see him until he is at the bottom of the hill but that’s perfect. I’m grateful for the rain, I think we all are, really, the pond needs it.

I started frying the meat,  peppers and onions

then added the eggs and cheese bringing everything together
Yummy!

One of the things I was looking for yesterday at Keady was one of those Indian style summer dresses for a good price. Mostly they run between $12 - $15 but the most difficult part is finding one for the right colour. I know they are basically all the same from booth to booth so I just needed time to peruse. When Bill and I swent our separate ways, I was able to really slow down and be fussy. I love the vibrant coloured ones but I wanted to be practical and not stand out like a sore thumb. I just like to stand out like a baby finger! I found one in a nice shade of blue with silver adornments and it will do just fine. What do you think?

My picture taking abilities today are terrible
Thus making my dress choice, a bad one
It really is nicer than this

So, when Bill got back we had our westerns and they were delicious! Clemson even got a tidbit at the end when we were finished. Made him happy and then he went back to bed. We cleaned up dishes and off went my sweetie to putter around the property. My head is scrambled at the best of times, so much going on in it (like most of us!) but I’d hate to be in Bill’s head. I don't know how he keeps on top of all of the things he has going on in his mind. He still manages to get things done too!

With 4 more bags of rhubarb in the freezer, there isn’t much room for anything else. I do need to plan what to take to my sister-in-law, Carol’s place on Monday for Dad’s birthday celebration.  This was in the works before he passed away in June and the family has decided to go ahead with it.  It will be a nice family gathering for as many as can make it.  I need to take something so perhaps the rhubarb strawberry pie and/or a coleslaw.

A misty morning, there are actually 3 turbines in this photo
Two are almost invisible

Bill and George took a drive over to the Acreage just to show George around and I took a walk down the lane while they were gone. There wasn’t much to see though, the geese weren’t in my sights so I walked back.  Grabbing the bird feeder in the corral for a fill up, I also dead-headed some more petunias on the way back. Bill drove up behind me and hooked up his cargo trailer. He was taking it out in the morning to get new tires.

with my zoom lens, I captured the cattle all huddled up in the corner of their field

It was time to check out the garden and good thing I did. There were a few weeds, easy to pull in the soft ground, but there were a lot of tomatoes ripe for the picking. I knocked one off while trying to re-stake some of them but it will ripen in the sun in a few days. Everyone had returned by 12:30 to their site and some went for snoozes, some sat outside like I did and Rob assisted Bill with trying to get our outdoor hand pump working.

Bill first backed down the driveway, all the way

He turned around at the road
and then backed up to the corral

and backed it in here for tomorrow morning's drive

 It was a lazy day and I mentioned to George G. that we’d like a tour of their 38’ motor home before they pull out. Why wait? He showed both Bill and I through and it is quite a nice unit. It is nice when you find what you like and what is suitable to your individual needs. We have all found that in our rv’s. Bill had no choice but to back the cargo trailer down the lane to the road and turn around and back up again to park it for an easy early morning departure. His appointment is for 9 in Hanover.

The farmer missed planting a swatch of beans
Woops!

We sat for a while outside before admitting that it was too cool for shorts and tanks and came inside. Without sunshine, 20C just isn’t warm enough when there is a cool northwestern wind. We moved inside with our books and I had some peaches and cream and Bill had some chips and cheddar to tie us over until supper. Okay, I had some chips too. I’ll wait until Happy Hour for my tea today.

My Moonflowers are ready to bloom!

Bill had a nap in his chair and I caught up on this post until it was time to join the gang at George and Suzie’s for our afternoon gabfest. I made my tea and got Bill’s glass out of the freezer (we keep them chilled in the ice container) and carted my chair and funky tripod over. There were 8 of us sitting around, experiencing first cooler temps then warm temps and then sprinkles of rain that turned into something that could certainly leave us all wet and uncomfortable.

It wasn't perfect, setting up the tripod on their door handle
but we're all in the picture at least

We parted ways after I managed to take a poor picture of everyone on a ‘selfie’. It was only 4:30 so we sat inside and I read while Bill watched some tv until 5:15. I had a pack of cooked pork ribs that I picked up at Independent for supper. We didn’t feel hungry enough for much else so I just husked a couple cobs of corn and boiled those until tender. The ribs only took 10 minutes to heat through and we were eating by 6:15 and dishes done by 6:30.

Cattails at the end of the lane

The day’s weather has certainly been a strange one and after hearing from George G. that at 4 am, the sky opened up and dropped a heavy rain storm over the area (most of us didn’t even hear it) you’d think that the rain would soon be on its way out. According to forecasts for the weekend, that is exactly what may be happening over this long Civic holiday weekend. Hot, humid and dry.

Filled this feeder this morning
Guess who??
I need to grease the metal post, obviously

Rob popped over to see if Clemson wanted to come to play tonight, but Clem wasn't having any of it. Rob came in for a visit anyway. When he left, I went for a walk down the lane again at 7 and snapped a couple more pictures for this post. I’ve enjoyed this day even though it has been pretty quiet. I hope you can say the same.

Another lovely sky tonight

Thank you for sticking your head in today to see what we’re up to.