Freedom, The Boss Drops By, Beauty of a Spring Day!

The Ridge - Home

Bill and I set the alarm for 6 am on Saturday, Apr. 4^th. I’d gone to bed last night before 10 so knew that I would have no problem getting up that early. As it turned out, I was awake at 4 after 6 hours of sleep and that was it. Many silly little dreams were filtering through the last wee hours before waking so I was just as happy to be out of those.

Sneaking off in the wee hours
at least that is what it felt like!

We got up as planned and took turns washing up before making our coffee and tea for the road. We left the Ridge at 6:20, on our way to Hanover’s Independent grocery store. There was a pretty good chance, taking advantage of their senior hours, 7 am to 8 am, that we would get most if not all things on our list. We didn’t know what to expect and truly felt like common criminals just driving down the roads in darkness. Ha ha.  What a weird feeling.

The road to Hanover was experiencing foggy patches

We weren’t alone in the parking lot and with a couple of minutes to spare, we walked up first to the doors. We each had disposable gloves on and neck scarves that could be used as a mask if necessary. They weren’t needed in today’s case; everyone kept their distance. We felt quite comfortable that we were all following the rules and followed arrows up one aisle and down another in the right direction. Hey, it works and we don’t mind the extra precautions. There were no tickets issued for non-compliance. LOL

There were a fair number of us taking advantage of the early hour

Only a couple of items were not available and they weren’t ‘do or die’ items so we paid and left. My only gripe is that as much as I understand not bringing our own bags into the store, I find it very greedy that they charge customers 15¢ for paper bags and 5¢ for plastic. Regular times, I get it. We don’t pay it, instead use our own. These times though? Come on! You can’t give us a break? This isn’t our choice.

At the corner of the highway and Baptist Church Road
is a field of solar panels
They'd been delivered to the field before we left in November
so it is neat to see them up and running

We learned though and after paying an extra 50¢ for something we threw out at home, our items will go loose in the cart and we’ll transfer them to our own bags at the vehicle.  Rant over. Other than that, no complaints about how things were handled. The staff was courteous and friendly. They have a tough job and we appreciated them today, from a distance. At home, Bill brought the bags in and set them on one end of the island.

He went out to off load a lawn raker (?) that we picked up from Rob’s house and to put our destroyed tail gate in the bed of Black Beauty. Inside, I diligently emptied the bags. Each item got a wipe down with Lysol spray and set on the opposite end of the island. The bags were tossed in the garbage. Our gloves were disposed of. The store had these available at the entrance so we’ll use theirs next time. It seems overkill but we know it isn’t. For that extra bit of protection, I don’t mind doing this.

Bill waits while Trevor gets his camera for pictures

With that job done, we hopped in the truck again and drove back to Hanover. We stopped at Heinz Auto Body to see how much of their business they are carrying out and how soon they can look at the truck repairs. Trevor came outside to greet us, from a distance, and took pictures of all of the damage to B.B. He seemed very thorough as he needs to be to order the parts and pieces to replace the whole box. Yes, the ‘whole’ box needs to be replaced. LOL Thank goodness for insurance. He will be in touch. That was step one.

There is Ptooties out of the storage barn waiting for us

From there, we stopped at Donna and Gerry’s place and picked up the cleaned water filter for the pump hookup at the Acreage. We chatted again from a distance, Donna and I sending virtual hugs to each other. Last stop was at the farm where we stored Ptooties for the winter. Murray had her out in the field and Bill gave him a bag with what we owed him. The little Rav4 was all wiped down inside and Bill started her up for me. Aaah, it is so good to get her back. Driving home felt great.

Murray is retired now and has a few fun projects on the go
His son is fixing this plane up for a playhouse for the grandchildren
There is also a firetruck in the barn

In Durham, we both pulled into the Esso station and topped up with fuel. The gas price was 77.9¢/litre and diesel was 97.9¢/litre. I left first and stopped at Tim Summers office to read about his restrictions on Income Tax returns. He does Mom’s for me. He came out and gave me the short version, which I appreciated. Now I know what to do when I get her paperwork ready to go. There is no rush as she never owes or gets a credit.

His dog greets us on each visit
and then she ran up on this hill 

Isn't she gorgeous?

At home, I made us breakfast and then Bill drove over to the Acreage for water. We are down to approximately 8 – 10 gallons, give or take a few gallons. Are the gauges ever accurate? It felt good to be out this morning, I won’t lie, but it also felt good and safe to return to our home base. We were happy to take care of our grocery needs and get a couple of other things done. We should be good for a while now, all stocked up on basics.

She's smiling now because she's home again

We aren’t expecting that the truck will be going into the shop much before April 30^th so it is good to have Ptooties here for day to day scoots. Black Beauty will be used for water and propane fillups. Speaking of which, Bill made 2 trips today with the bladder to give our fresh water tank a full belly. The least we have to go out, the better. 😊 While Bill was gone the second time, I took my long-awaited-for walk down the country Baptist Road.

breakfast
I loved the marbled rye toast

It was a beautiful afternoon with hardly any winds and when the sun broke through the clouds, it warmed me up enough to take my wind breaker off. I walked as far as Turbine Lane (my name for it only) and turned around. I’ll get back into the early walking soon. Back home, I went into the Bunky and did some more work on the puzzle. I’d missed that this winter. I stayed in there for probably an hour before once more the air got chilly and I decided to move indoors.

This pretty bluebird seemed to be posing outside our window

As I stepped out, the sun came out again and there were more blue patches, so I made myself a tea and sat out at the patio table with my book. It wasn’t 15 minutes later that I noticed a truck driving up the lane. I had texted Jamie earlier and so wasn’t really surprised to see him pulling in. It is his way; he is such a personable guy. Bill came up from the Hangar to see him as well. We chatted from a distance, Jamie and his son, Aaron, didn’t get out of the truck.

Lovely painted turtles sunning

You're going to get tired of seeing them
The season has just begun!

Walking down the road to the west

Turbine lane, time to turn around

Side view of the stone house

We covered a few things before talking laundromat and me working for him. I was suspecting that he would be going through a rough period with this Covid-19 sweeping across the land and small businesses as well were suffering. I wanted him to know that I wasn’t pushing but instead that I respected and understood his position. I hope that made it easier for him to let me know that he couldn’t use my help at this time. It is an open situation though, if things change, he said the job is mine. It was very nice to see him, I miss his nonchalance.😊 

The puzzle is coming along

Through a dirty window, the sun fights to take centre stage

 After he left, I rewarmed my tea up and this time stayed inside. The sun was gone again. We reached a nice high of 15C/60F today and it was lovely. The temperatures will be up and down over the next week or so, typical spring in Ontario. Bill went down to his Hangar and inside I lost myself in The Innocent. It’s another fast read. When Bill came in around 5:30, I suggested barbecuing tonight so around 6, he lit the Weber.

Just burgers but with Jell-o for dessert, it was perfect. The frogs are chirping outside and the temperature is dropping. We still seem to be getting just around freezing temperatures each night. I’m just glad it warms up through the day. This was a very successful day, for our first one back in this ‘real world’. We got things taken care of. I hope you’ve enjoyed your day. At 7:30, we had a video call from Jess, Matt and Easton. What a treat! He is growing up so much!

We got some sweet giggles tonight

Easton is such a little cutie pie
Good night from the Ridge

Thank you for your visit today, from a safe distance. Comments are always welcome!

The Windy Ridge, Grocery Checklist

The Ridge

On Friday, Apr. 3^rd, we slept in again. Last night we watched a recorded show of Garth Brooks receiving the Library of Congress Gershwin Award for Popular Song. This hour and a half event has in the past been a pretty ‘buttoned-down’ affair (E’s def. not mine). 

At 8:26 last night, we watched this beautiful sky
for the International Space Station to arrive

And then it appeared and we watched it pass over from
NW to NE before returning back inside

Last night, if you know Garth as an entertainer at all, was just the opposite. He ended the show with an uplevel 16-song finale and we loved it. After watching the recorded Voice episode, the latter program found us still sitting in our recliners (awake!) at 11:30!

Another resting place, another Yertle soaking up sun

Justified now, we slept in until 7:30/8. The sun was bright in the sky again and although the winds were minimal first thing, they increased within the next couple of hours. It is our last day where we are ‘stuck’, for lack of a better word, on the Ridge. It doesn’t really feel too stuck but, we’ve been restricted to the property since Mar. 21^st. It has actually been very nice!

Before going any further, I wanted to share this picture fom
Bob's Eyes blog
This one made me chuckle, after dealing with all the winds we've been having
I'm not the only one with bad hair days!

We had our tea and coffee as per usual and Bill went outside to clean out the back of Black Beauty. We don’t know when things will fall into place for her to be repaired, but at least she will be ready. It is known that CanAm is not an essential business so were informed a while ago of their shutdown. That means the Suite is also on the back burner. No problem for us right now, as the damages are not life-threatening (or necessary in the immediate future).

another turtle, can you feel my excitement building?
Spring!

 I called Bill in for breakfast around 10:45 and we had our bacon and eggs. Once more we are still living on what we had in the fridge since when we were in Albuquerque, NM with the exception of cream and a loaf of bread, yet to be opened. Needless to say, our grocery list, which I’ve been adding to daily, is growing larger. It will be interesting (?) or frightening (?) to see what we are able to cross off that list tomorrow morning.

A ground level shot of the daffodils taking their time
It is just too cold at night so they are protecting themselves

After dishes, Bill went back out and generously dumped the full wheelbarrow for me. I appreciated that very much as with the weight of it and the winds, he would find it easier than I would. There were clouds that moved in early, after the sunrise, but by noon hour they were mostly in remission. The temperature isn’t expected to get much above yesterday’s 10C/50F but I will at least get a couple of laneway walks in and see what else I can get done out there.

There are many pieces still in the box but I had to do the border first

I started with a walk down the lane and then went into the Bunky to clean it out a bit. I took our 2 big patio chairs outside and that freed up a lot of space. I shook the mats, cleaned off the futon and wiped the table down as well as swept the floor. I had a 750 pc puzzle out there that I hadn’t done so planned on working on it. First, I took a pair of clippers out and trimmed a large root on the corral hill and then went around the immediate area and trimmed tree branches. The sun was nice.

There is hardly any evidence of the snow now

Inside the Bunky again, I turned my $1 radio on and started working on the puzzle. The Toronto station had discussions about the Covid virus #’s, both positive things and then the possible negatives. Premier Ford came on at 2 and I’d called Bill in to listen with me. He spoke well and couldn’t stress enough about how important it is for us to STAY HOME. We’ve already decided to be diligent in our activities when we are out and about tomorrow and going forward but this message still hit home – hard.

My freezer list

There are some decisions that may have to be made in hospitals and LTC homes regarding elderly residents/patients. Our family needs to be prepared for those discussions down the road in regards to Mom. That wasn’t mentioned in the premier’s message but instead from a doctor in a Simcoe hospital. After the message, there were a few questions and then Bill went back down to the Hangar. By this time, clouds had rolled in and the air in the Roost was cool. I came indoors.

I made myself a cup of tea and had some popcorn that was left from my ‘win’ at Yuma Lakes. I was surprised that it was still fresh enough to enjoy. Curled up in my chair, I delved into my book again. Bill came in around 5 and we watched some tv together. Our buddies, Rob and Pat, called and we chatted about serious stuff and did some joking around too. It is important to laugh when you can. We sure miss that banter with those two and hope that soon enough, we will be back at it in person.

About 2 minutes too long on the fries

Bill remembered our earlier discussion of what we were having for supper so brought the Fry Daddy in from in the basement. At 6, he began heating the oil for fries and I did the same with the oil in a frypan for fish. I crossed a ‘meal’ off the list I’d made a couple of weeks ago naming what was in the freezer, indicating how many suppers we had before we were out of food. I wasn't too worried but driving home from the U.S. seeing and hearing about empty shelves in stores had me on the alert.

Clouds moved in and hovered for a while

We were eating by 6:30 and after our fish and chips meal, we had apple pie and ice cream. Well, now that was just yummy. 

Bill suggested I make this again, just like this! After dishes, I sat at my laptop to finish this post and then I took some Heating cream and rubbed it on Bill’s left shoulder. He thinks when he was trimming some vines yesterday and tossing them in a pile, that he pulled a muscle. Dr. Patsy to the rescue! I hope with the cream and a good sleep, that it improves for him.

While doing dishes, Mr. & Mrs. Drake were on the hill again
Something, other than me, scared them back into the water

I can’t say for sure, (Ken knows what I mean) but the rest of the evening will likely be spent in our chairs with tv noise on in the background and our books on our laps. 

This was a good day and although it is our last one in isolation, methinks that not much will change in the days to come. I hope you are also making the decision to stay home as much as possible, therefore staying healthy.

Good night from The Ridge

Thank you for popping by.