Wordless Wednesday

 

Settling in

I predicted that the week would be busy and I was right, in more ways than one. I spent the first couple of days sorting through the interior of the RV, emptying cupboards, wiping them down, and sorting through the contents. Unpacking of the clothing and the few personal items I brought with me also happened. It was a disaster in here, but by Thursday afternoon, I was pretty much finished. I took out a couple of bags of broken or damaged items to the bin and put several tote bags of items to be donated to the park garage sale in the back of my vehicle. There were also a number of items I returned to J, the previous owner, as I believed they would have some sentimental value.

Wednesday morning, I took advantage of the cooler temperature early in the day and opened up the shed under the nose of the 5th wheel. It was chock block full of stuff! There was not only the BBQ and mini fridge which I expected, but a patio heater (not needed now!), brooms, mop and pails, boxes of parts for the RV, boxes of various household items, insect spray, mice deterrents, and the motherlode of all...two large containers of yarn. There didn't appear to be any bugs, but I've left them out in the sun for 24 hours, just in case. I did check with J - they are hers but she no longer wants them. So I'm set for yarn for at least 10 years, and that doesn't include the stash I have back at home. :) Actually I plan to go through it at some point and will keep some and donate the rest to a local charity shop. 

H has told me she wants a scarf knit with the purple yarn (top bag on the left). She won't need it here of course. But it does give me another project to work on.

Meanwhile, Jose, the handyman had been here to set up the gazebo for me. He also hooked up the propane so I could cook, though I hadn't had to as yet. The big tank was empty so we used the BBQ tank for the time being. I'm expecting the fuel company to be by next Tuesday to refill the 100 gallon tank. That should last for the entire season. Jose was back at the unit on Thursday as the hot water heater wasn't working properly. I've only just met him, but it appears he is jack of all trades. Good thing, 'cuz this woman has no clue about most of these things. I did, after some help from J, figure out what I needed to do to empty the black and gray tanks. I do tend to make things more complicated than they need to be.

Every evening that the Jays are playing, we have been meeting in the clubhouse. After pizza night, we had L's famous chili, and on Wednesday, L brought potato salad and deli meat. The rest of us brought buns or vegetables. Tuesday, I took advantage of L&S's offer to take some of the leftover chili. I can heat it up in the microwave...again, no cooking!

As promised here are a few photos of my set-up. The living area is cozy and comfortable. It took me a couple of days, but I figured out the television set-up . I may not use it much as I watch a lot of programming on Y-Tube on my laptop. On the other hand the cable subscription is paid for by the park so it is a nice to have. I can sit on the couch or turn the television to watch from the dinette, or even watch from my bed! 

I haven't made much use of the outdoor space as yet, but will do so as the weather cools from the 90's we've been experiencing. It is a perfect place for a morning cup of tea, as it is in the shade until around noon'ish. I hope to find a few more comfortable chairs so others can join me for a visit.

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Outside the gazebo is the mini-fridge. I did plug it in briefly and it works perfectly. However, it is very dirty and needs a good scrubbing. That had to wait until the hot water heater was working. I did some cleaning in cold water (though the water here is never really cold - at least not like it is at home). I envision using the stand beside it for my electric kettle and perhaps a slow cooker. It will keep the heat outdoors rather than in.

I got the fridge cleaned out on Thursday, then met J. We drove to the DOT office to switch the registration on the RV. The plate and title should be in the mail in 8-10 business days. Once I receive the title, I'll be able to arrange insurance for the unit. It was the hottest day thus far, 95F/35C so the rest of the afternoon and evening was spent indoors. I did a bit of finishing work on the scarf, took an afternoon nap, and as expected had the leftover chili and rice for my dinner.

Friday morning, the queen mattress in the bedroom (the nose of the 5th wheel) was swapped out with L&S for a twin that was in their new-to-them park model. I didn't need the box spring so that went to someone else in the park. There tends to be a whole lot of trading that happens here. They also gave me a small fold up stool, and have offered a small crockpot. Meanwhile I had sorted the yarn, and S took the remainder. She'll take what she wants and the rest will be kept until the garage sale. I should note, whatever doesn't sell at the garage sale is donated to a local charity shop.

I was able to fit in a three drawer (plastic) chest, as a well as the container on the left to hold my folded clothing. For hanging clothes I've currently got them in the closet by the door, but I use that for the broom and vacuum as well so would like to get them out of there. I'll look for an extension closet rod that I can fit in next to the window. I don't have much to hang so it doesn't need to be drilled into the walls.

That afternoon, H and I went out to lunch at In and Out burger, then over to Sam's Club. Memberships for new members were on sale for $15 for an annual card, regular $50. I was able to get a companion card for H. Recall she's the baker, and left with a cart full of sugar, oil, chocolate chips, etc. along with a massive jar of minced garlic. There will be no vampires around her place! :) I didn't bother picking anything up as we both had things to do back at the park. I needed to drop off the burgers, hotdogs, and smokies for the evening BBQ, and she was heading home to cook up onions for the burgers.

The watch party grew slightly larger with the addition of J and her friend P. I took care of the BBQ, while others laid out the spread of food. In addition to burgers, there was leftover potato salad from the other night, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, pickles, and the usual condiments. J brought a bean casserole made with corn and Rotel spicy tomatoes, and D made roasted potatoes in the air fryer. We never run out of food!

Since there will be a Game 7 of the World Series (go Jays) tonight, we'll be having a "must go" meal. Everything remaining in the fridge will be laid out and whatever remains at the end of the night either goes home with someone or into the bin. Hopefully, the Jays will pull through and win the final game. In any event, it has been a great series to watch and a good time to get together. 

Today, I've nothing on the agenda until evening. The unit is pretty much organized as I would like it, so I'll spend my morning out in the gazebo reading. I'm midway through a Michael Connelly book with Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch. I feel as though I've read it before and it may very well be one of the episodes of that I watched on one of the streaming networks. I can't recall though and am enjoying it very much. The afternoon will likely mean indoor time again and I hope to finish sewing in the ends on my scarf. 

Have a great week ahead everyone! Welcome to November.

Friday Funny

 

Laughlin, Nevada to Yuma, Arizona

This was my short travel day. I was up and out the door by 6:45 a.m. local time, arriving in Yuma at 12:30 p.m. This included a stop for a leisurely breakfast at the Crossroads Cafe in Parker, Arizona. The food was great, and the prices terrific too. 

Laughlin is a short distance from the California and Arizona borders, and at least twice I was "welcomed" by the GPS to one or the other states. Gas prices in Laughlin were stupidly high, at $4.20 a gallon. I'd checked online and found that I could get fuel at a Maverick station in Bullhead City (12 miles away) for $3.09. You can bet I took the short trip for less expensive fuel. 

A note about the Pioneer Hotel and Casino in Laughlin. At a cheap price, it gave me what I needed, a comfortable bed for the night. But, the tile floors were filthy, the telephone flashed as though it had messages constantly, and there was a constant stream of people outside my door until past midnight. It is more of a motel than hotel and I think next time I'll stay at a more conventional hotel. I ended up wearing socks in the room, unplugged the phone, and got up early and left. 

Now, I'm a little confused on exactly how I got to Yuma. My GPS kept telling me it had a shorter route and I kept taking its suggestions. I do know I went through Kingman on Highway 93, then onto I-40, and then eventually Highway 95 into Yuma. The scenery in places was amazing and I was excited to see various cacti as I got closer to Yuma. No photos as I couldn't find a decent pull-out. But I did get a shot from the car of the green desert. 

I was meeting with J about 1:30 p.m. to go through the RV (technically a fifth wheel but the generic term works for me). Since I was early, I stopped at the Walmart Supercenter to pick up a few groceries and drinking water. Another stop at a liquor store for a few beer for Happy Hour too. I had just parked my car near the clubhouse when another winter residents, H, came walking up. After a hug and a brief chat she was one her way.

Since I was early, I stopped in at S & L's new place for a visit. They purchased a park model in the park last winter and have started the move from their small trailer. It was so good to see them, and we had a great chat. I was informed that we'd be watching the Jays game that evening at the clubhouse, and would be ordering in pizza. Nice to know, as I hadn't bought a lot of groceries. 

When J arrived we walked over to the unit, and she ran through the various things I'll need to know. The power had been turned on, but I'm out of propane for the stove and hot water heater. We turned on the fridge and by this morning it was cool. The unit has an RV toilet, so I need to go out every so often to release the handle to empty it into the sewer line. She said once a week would be enough...I'm icked out enough that think I'll do it at least every other day. We also turned on the air conditioning - it was 88F in there, I set the thermostat to 74F and by bedtime it was 63F. Oops, I guess the thermostat isn't hooked up to the a/c. Great sleeping temperature.

There were eight of us at the clubhouse to watch the game. The pizza and company were great, and the game was exciting, though I didn't stay through to the end of it. After the Jays had their bat in the 11th inning, I headed home for sleep. I wasn't surprised to wake to the news that the Dodgers won this morning. It was a true pitcher's battle throughout the entire game.

Today, I'll be busy, as I need to buy groceries, have a interview with the board (a formality), I'm sorting through the cabinets and cupboards*, and we're have another watch party this evening. L is making his chili, M is making rice, I offered to buy shredded cheese and sour cream, and I expect H will show up with one of her homemade desserts. She actually has a outdoor kitchen set up in a shed, though she says her stove isn't working properly.

*When one purchases a unit here, it comes with whatever the former owner leaves behind. In my case, that includes various pots and pans, small appliances, dishes, utensils, containers, bedding, towels, a stick vacuum, an iron and board, and other decorative items. There is also a mini fridge for outdoor use, a barbeque, and the gazebo.  There's far more than I need, or want, and I need to do some reorganization so things are where I think they should be. It's going to be a busy few days. I'll share a few photos when things are tidier.

Have a great day everyone, and thanks for checking in.

Elko to Laughlin, Nevada

Today was a short day made longer by my mistake. However, the hotel at Elko was nice, clean, and quiet. Just what I needed for a good night's sleep. I'm fortunate, Jackie, that I can sleep pretty much anywhere. 

I was on my way back to Wells about 6:45 a.m. (local time). We had a bit of rain, not heavy, but enough to use my wipers until 10 minutes or so out of Wells. The GPS gave me a little grief, sometimes I need to listen to my guy, as it turned me in the wrong direction. Thankfully, Wells is a very small community and I was soon heading south on Highway 93. I took that highway to Ely (pronounced eelee). After a short drive on Highway 6, I turned off on the 318 south to the I-15. I stopped in Ely for fuel, as there is little to nothing on this highway for miles and miles and miles...you get the picture. There are signs just outside the community of Lund advising that "no gas for XXX miles". I'd hate to figure that out 100 or so miles down the road. Fuel was $3.29 at the Exxon and I grabbed a breakfast sandwich and coffee at the McDonalds across the street. There was a Carl's Jr. in the Exxon but I have no idea what they serve for breakfast so went with the familiar.

At the end of 318 (no town), I turned west on the I-15 which took me into Las Vegas. I followed signs for the 11, 93, and 95. Let me just say, I'm glad it was Sunday! The freeway was busy, and some drivers are less patient than others with vehicles with out of state plates. I did okay, only once needing to get into a left hand lane to avoid an exit. I arrived there at about 1:30 p.m. and was out the other side on Highway 95 about 2:15 p.m. Keep in mind, in my small town, a traffic jam is four cars arriving at the four way stop all heading to the school to drop off kids! Regina is a bit more congested, but I know the city having lived there for nearly 38 years.

Again there were some incredible views, but I only captured a few photos from the car. After Ely, I only made one stop at rest area about 20'ish miles for Laughlin. The drive out of Ely towards Vegas, and the drive into Laughlin from the highway were both spectacular. No real pull-offs though so you'll have to take my word for it. 

While at the rest area, I had arranged for a hotel in Laughlin. When I arrived about 3:45 p.m. or so,  I found the Pioneer Hotel and Casino along Casino Row. It's a dated property but sufficient for one night, and the price was right. 

When I left Elko in the morning, the temperature was 46F/9C; Laughlin was 92F/33C. As soon I got into the hotel room, I changed out of my jeans and put on a pair of capris. Once I was settled, laptop plugged in, toiletries on the counter, and a call to my daughter, I walked over to the Golden Nugget next door. There restaurant, Claim Jumper, had decent reviews. I concur, the food was plentiful, the one beer I had was cold, and it wasn't horribly busy for the time I was there. Here is a photo of the cheese bun I was served (separate from my meal) - I did NOT eat it all. You'll see no photo of my dinner, which were two fish tacos and a bowl of fruit. But the tacos were delicious and the fruit was refreshing. I needed the walk back to my hotel...and I could have used another three or four miles to wear off what I ate.

I'm settling in for the night, watching a bit of football or at least for background noise. No, my Jays did not win last night. :(  I expect I'll be in the clubhouse with the other Canadians watching the game Monday night.

The remaining drive is about 4 to 4 1/2 hours from Laughlin depending on whether I stop along the way. I'll pick up fuel in the morning before I head out, though the price looks daunting. The lowest I saw on the way in was about $4.25 a gallon. Oh well, needs must. 

I'll stop and pick up a few groceries items on my way to the park. The previous owner of the RV is aware of my ETA as well. I'm not how quickly I'll get the WiFI hooked up - there are other things more pressing like electricity, water, and propane. In any event I'll post as soon as I can, most likely on my phone as I have the data. Be prepared for multiple typos. :p

Thanks for following along!

Bozeman, Montana to Elko, Nevada

It was another long driving day, less than yesterday, and a conscious choice I made. Not only does it mean tomorrow and Monday will be shorter days, but I've ensured I'll miss the winter storm that are forecast for both Montana and Idaho. I had hoped the forecast from earlier in the week would be wrong, but I was told by several people in both States that they are expecting some snow. 

I got away from the hotel at 7:30 in the morning, and was checked in at the Comfort Inn in Elko at 5:30 p.m. (my time, it was 4:30 p.m. here).  I don't feel nearly as tired this evening as I did yesterday, so the plan is to stay awake and watch the Jays game. Watching the highlights of yesterday's game was fun, but not nearly as exciting as watching a game. Rather than go out for a meal, I picked up a sub sandwich on the way here and will enjoy that for my dinner.

Leaving Bozeman, I initially planned to take a shortcut to Dillon about Whitehall, but somehow I managed to miss the turn off. When I realized what I'd done, I keyed in Dillon and the GPS took me cross country  before connecting to Highway 41. The initial highway wasn't the best but thankfully it wasn't a long distance. The route was quite scenic, and I stopped at one point to take a few pictures. While I've been amazed by the scenery in Montana many times during the drive, this was the first time there was a pull-out I could drive into.

I don't recall exactly when I crossed into Idaho from Montana but I do recall thinking that Montana is a HUGE state. I did cross from the northeast corner to the southwest, so that likely has something to do with it. Idaho on the other hand took far less time to drive. I had joined Highway 15 at Dillon and took it as far as Dubois before turning west onto 22, which turned into 33, then 26 and finally 93 before I reached Twin Falls. I had stopped in Arco at a gas station - I've forgotten the name. It was around lunchtime and they had a small cafe there. I purchased a grilled cheese sandwich and a muffin - less than $6 USD! No fuel was needed at that point.

The scenery in Idaho certainly wasn't as exciting as Montana. I did see multiple magpies and several tumbleweeds. 

My next stop was Twin Falls for fuel. Darn GPS had me passing by several stations before landing me at the place with the most expensive fuel. I turned around in their lot and went back to a Shell station. The price was $3.39 per gallon. I'd noticed prices were higher in Idaho than Montana. It still took less than $30 USD to fill. It was early in the afternoon still, just after 2 p.m. so I decided to carry on to Nevada.

The drive was definitely scenic, with lots of traffic on the two lane 93 to Jackpot. There were several passing lanes, and the speed limit was 65. I kept it about that speed and was passed by semis and smaller vehicles alike. I discovered when that cell service is spotty, as I tried to call my son to wish him a Happy Birthday. 

As you can see, aside from the morning in Montana, it was a cloudy day. The morning temperatures were in the high 40's and low 50's (8-12C), and it wasn't until I reached Nevada that I saw a temperature of 67F (19C). Tonight it will be quite cool, but I expect I'll see warmer temperatures the further I go south. Meanwhile D tells me they reached 17C (63F) at home.  

I've just realized I messed up and will be heading back to Wells on the I-80 in the morning. Thankfully it is only about 50 miles. I should be taking the Highway 93 to Vegas before I hop on the I-95 which will take me to my overnight at Laughlin. Oops...I chose Elko based on the hotel, and didn't check my map. On the other hand there would be anywhere to overnight before Ely which is at least a two hour drive from Wells. I wouldn't have wanted to drive that far today...so as Patsy would say, the Jello jiggled. :)

I should have about an 8 hour drive tomorrow, depending on the traffic going around Vegas. As it is a Sunday, I'm hoping it will be an easy drive. Wish me luck! I'll give myself a little extra time in the morning, as I won't be able to check in to a hotel until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. No gambling for me!

Most of the information in these posts is meant to remind myself for the next trip. I hope you don't find them too boring. 

Regina to Bozeman, Montana

This will likely be a short post, as it was a long day of driving, I'm tired, and the Blue Jays are playing the Dodgers. They can't win if I'm not watching, right? Actually, early on the Dodgers are up 2-0. It's not that the Jays can't come back, but the Dodgers are a darned good team. Edited to add: I woke this morning to learn that our Jays beat up on the Dodgers 11-4! You can bet I'll be watching the highlights today.

In any event, I was up and out the door by 6:30 this morning. It was dark in the city, but within the 20 minutes it took to reach the south end, the sun was beginning to make itself know to the east. How pretty is that?

The border crossing was easy. I was the only vehicle there, she asked a few questions, checked my passport and looked inside the back of the vehicle and let me go. I don't know if an I-94 was issued, but will check when I get to Yuma. If not, I'll need to apply for another form, a something, something 325. I recall the number, just not the name. All visitors to the US over 30 days are required to apply for one or the other. When someone flies, the first is automatically issued, but not so at land crossings. I didn't bother to ask...she didn't seem all that friendly.

I took Highway 16 south to Glendive, then joined the I-94 through to Billings. There was a stop in Glendive for fuel ($2.99 for a gallon - I'm too tired to do the math to tell you what that works out to a liter), and a second stop in Billings for another top-up. In total I spent less than $60 for the fuel, and have a little over a half tank to start the day tomorrow. There were other pit stops for potty breaks and something to eat, as the one rest stop I wanted was closed. I won't stop and use a washroom without purchasing something, so picked up a couple of Sprite for later. I had water in the car to drink, and picked up a sandwich for lunch.

The route from Billings to Boseman on I-90 is incredibly scenic. Lots of hills, a mountain pass or two (not too high), trains, cattle, and often a view of Yellowstone River. I took a couple of photos on the highway - just above the steering wheel so I didn't have to let go of it. I saw two police cars, one entering Billings, and another 20-30 miles out of Bozeman on the other side of the divided highway. The latter was moving fast with the lights flashing. I certainly hope it wasn't an accident, rather a speeder.

Speaking of which, the speed limits here are NUTS! On both interstates the limit was 80 mph for smaller vehicles, and semis were limited to 75 mph. I stuck to the truck limit most of the time and sometimes slower. I also stayed in the right hand lane unless I was passing a slower vehicle, and would often slow to their speed to allow faster moving vehicles to pass us both. I did not feel comfortable taking some of these crazy curves at such high speeds! 

Note there are no photos from Billings to Bozeman. We were in the more mountainous area with lots of climbs, drops, and curves, so I wasn't taking a hand off the wheel.

I reached Bozeman about 5:15 p.m., checked into the hotel and walked down the block and across the street to Applebee's for dinner. Goodness, there portions are large! I think I ate half of it, knowing I want to be in bed early tonight and I want to avoid heartburn in the middle of the night.

I've got the game on the television and will crawl into bed. If I fall asleep, so be it, I'll turn it off at some point. My goal is to be out of here between 7-7:30 in the morning. Tomorrow's stop is planned for Twin Falls, Idaho, about about a 7 hour drive. I may go into Nevada depending on my mood (and level of exhaustion!) I won't do more than 8 hours of driving though.

Thanks for following along! 

On the road

Just a quick recap of the week - it was pretty quiet. Our weather was less than stellar and while I did start weeding the back yard on Sunday, I had to give it up as a "wintry" mix arrived on Monday. It was mostly rain and was quite cold for this time of year. Our high was only 5C/41F. I spent the day indoors doing very little.

My son's roommate B has been dealing with a cold for a few days and C woke up with it on Tuesday morning. B was working from home too so I decided to do a little browsing at the thrift stores. I told myself that I wouldn't buy anything unless I had an immediate use for it. Ha! It probably won't surprise you that some yarn jumped into my cart, along with a brand new photo album, a cute mug and a t-shirt. But.my best.purchase was a pair of slip-on walking shoes for $10.  They appear to be knockoff Skechers but are very comfortable.

As you learned in Wednesday's post, I've decided to try and avoid the potential cooler weather and head south at the end of the week. I needed to do a bit of banking that morning to transfer funds to the previous owner of the unit. I'm the afternoon I went to Stitch and Chat.

Thursday I got my laundry done including my bedding in the morning. In the afternoon I drove out to Moose Jaw to visit with friends from the RV park. They will be flying down in mid November so it was nice to see them ahead of their arrival. They provided lots of information about the trip down as they've been going there for over 10 years. I feel confident about the route I've chosen and have a few ideas for places to stay and even for meal stops.  Back at the house, I loaded the rest of my items in the SUV in preparation for my departure this morning. 

By the time you are reading this I'll be on the highway. It is about a two hour drive to the border. My destination for the day is Billings, Montana. If I find I'm not too tired I'll push on to Bozeman. That would be about a nine hour drive; Billings is a couple of hours less. I know I'll be excited to be in my way but I also know I have two and a half more days of driving ahead.

I'll try to update daily but it may be every second day.  I'm pretty certain there will be photos!

And I know I won't be missing waking to frost on the windshield.

Wordy Wednesday

No photos today as I've not done it seen anything particularly exciting or interesting. However I do have some news.

I've been keeping an eye on the weather for next week. It is starting to look a bit wintry, with potential for rain and/or snow mix. Not the weather I want to drive in for the first two days. 

However, the weekend weather looks terrific. So, rather than waiting until Tuesday, I'm planning to leave the city early Friday morning. I'm expecting a long travel day but have a plan B if need be. I'll post more about my route later.

I have a couple of tasks to deal with before I leave. As well I've got a visit with friends scheduled Thursday afternoon. When I return home from the visit I'll finish loading my vehicle.

Assuming all goes to plan, I expect to reach the park by Monday. The forecast is 30C/86F...no snow there!

Transitions

It was a busy start to the week, but has settled down as we're coming up on the weekend. Monday had me finishing up my packing and helping with a few household chores.

We had our flu vaccination booked for Tuesday morning . I was pleased to learn that we could get the Covid vaccine at the same time. That's definitely a benefit of a small town pharmacy. Im pretty certain in the city we would have been asked to make a second appointment. I dropped D and Eli back at the house with hugs for them and a quick cuddle with Saku. Then it was an uneventful drive to the city.

After dropping off my backpack and a couple of bags I headed for the mall. My first stop was Magicuts for a haircut! Much needed. The thrift store was next where I found an apron. There are regular potluck meals and coffee hours at the park. I recognize I tend to spill or splash water on myself.. Hopefully this will help keep my clothes a little cleaner. My final stop was the bank for some US cash. 

I had a good visit with my son and his roommate B in the evening. We ordered in pizza for dinner; a pepperoni pizza with red onion and charred corn. If you've never tried corn on a pizza do try it, it was so good as the sweetness of the corn offset the spicy pepperoni.

I slept in on Wednesday  until 7 a.m. It felt wonderful.  That morning I met with my friends, K and J to go over my potential driving route. They've made the drive south a number of times and were able to give me some pointers.

After lunch I went to Stitch and Chat. It was nice to see a few regulars as well as three or four new(er) attendees.  The latter thought I was new to the group...no, just rarely there. While we had a break due to the pandemic, I started attending the group six years ago.

I went out to get a few groceries on Thursday; some items i prefer including whole wheat bread, bananas, and old cheddar cheese. I also picked up a few items they were low on. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, working on Ancestry, and hanging out with  Kota, the cat. He looks a bit like my Saku but is quite a bit rounder.

I mistakenly made a trip to Costco on Friday morning.  Dumb idea...the lineup to the cashiers extended through the store. I took my time and found a relatively short line on my way out. While standing there a clerk asked if I would like to pre-checkout. Sure, as all I had to do at the till was show my membership card and make the payment.  

This week I've been watching the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners in the MLB playoffs. If you had asked me on Tuesday how the Jays would fare I wouldn't have had high hopes but watching the team rally and win both games in Seattle had me much more hopeful. Tonight they lost in the 8th inning when a relief pitcher gave up a grand slam. Game over! They will be back in Toronto on Sunday in a must win game.

Our Saskatchewan Roughriders played Friday night as well. Since they've clinched a playoff berth they weren't playing several of their starters. The game was a close one which they lost by a single point. Penalties likely cost them the gane as there would have been enough time left on the clock to make a play for the win. 

Today we are off to an appliance outlet to pick out a new refrigerator.  When we moved into the house in November 2023 I had called in a repairman as the freezer fan was making a loud noise. He checked it for a blockage and said it was failing. Parts were impossible to get and he said it could last for awhile. This week it started intermittingly making a very loud noise so it is time to get a new one.

I'll leave you with a photo of my son and his dog Sage. Miss Mooch is hoping there might be a crumb or two leftover.  (There wasn't).

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Ups and downs - and not just the weather

As I was preparing this post for publishing, I checked my phone and realized I had taken exactly two photos this week. Here's Saku wearing a toy around his neck - didn't faze him a bit. In the background, you can see Stanley sleeping on the tower. The other photo is of our power meter reading - no need to post that!

Despite the on-going pain from the dental work, I had a pretty good weekend. The Blue Jays (baseball) won the first two games in the series against the New York Yankees.  One of the two curling teams I was cheering for won the Pointsbet Invitational - and I wasn't surprised at the other winner. And our Saskatchewan Roughriders (football) won another game, continuing to lead in the West Division of the CFL. Overall a very good sporting weekend.

However on Sunday, I discovered that a piece of the tooth that was extracted wasn't removed, and with the swelling down was now poking out of my gum. Most of the time it didn't bother me, but eating was a different proposition. It meant I stuck to a very soft diet. I phoned the dentist office early Monday morning to advise that I needed to have this looked at, before going ahead with the planned filling. (It's on the opposite side of my mouth and if I couldn't use the extraction side, I'd be limited to eat only what I could drink).

I had a few groceries to pick up on Monday, and headed first to pharmacy to see if I could arrange my Covid and Flu vaccines. It was very annoying to learn that the province has not rolled out the Covid vaccines as yet, just the flu. I do want to get these dealt with before I head south, and I did go ahead and book appointments for D and I to receive our flu shots next week before I leave for the city. At home I tried to check with Regina pharmacies and it seems they haven't received their stock either, and contacting our provincial health authority is pretty much impossible. It's rather ridiculous as they have announced through the media that appointments were available for next week. 

Since we dropped before freezing early Monday morning, and it was forecast to be event colder overnight, I decided to dig the last of the onions and carrots from the garden. Wednesday's photo is the evidence of the results. I've since blanched and cut up the carrots, the wee green onions are in the crisper, and the few strawberries were a nice treat.

Tuesday I was off to the dentist early, as my appointment was at 9 a.m. It is about a 20-25 minute drive from home to NTO. Arriving a few minute early, it wasn't long until I was ushered in the examining room. Imagine my surprise when I learned the bit of tooth wasn't tooth at all, but part of my jaw bone. After a few pokes with the needle, yuck, the dentist picked away at it and ground it down slightly. He assures me that my wound will heal around it. Then he turned his attention to the filling on the other side. He was working with a trainee dental assistant who kept telling me they would be done soon. The third time she said it, I told her not to say it again until it was true. 

Wednesday was Knit and Natter group, my last one here in town for a few months. I continued to work on Eli's sweater. D has asked that I make Eli a toque/beanie instead, so I'll finish the sleeves and whip up the hat in a couple of days. There were six of us there, including the two librarians. Another younger woman was also there with her almost 3 month old baby, and sat and visited with us. She crochets as well, and said she may be back to participate. Always great to see young(er) people keeping up the tradition.

The evening saw the Blue Jays winning their series against the Yankees. They'll be moving on to play either the Tigers or the Mariners. I'm thinking the Mariners played tough against the Jays in the regular season. In any event I'm sure it will be an entertaining (and nail biting) series.

I went grocery shopping on Thursday morning, as I wanted to catch the sales at our local Co-op. They had pork loin for $2.99/lb. I paid just over $15 for a huge loin that D and I cut up into several pork chops, a roast (our Thanksgiving meal) and two portions of cubes she can use for a stew or cut up for stir fry. Nearly everything I purchased was on sale, so I was very pleased.

In the afternoon, I finished off the sleeves for Eli's sweater and moved on to the toque. If I can finish it in two days, I'll go back to the sweater. I need to block the finished pieces, sew the side and sleeve seams, and then finish knitting the neck band, and bands for the buttons and button hole. That reminds me, I need to look for buttons! Maybe I will finish it before I leave on Tuesday...or not.

Friday was pretty much the last day for decent weather so it was time to get finished with the yard work. We're leaving the rain barrels in place for a couple more days as there is rain in the forecast, along with that dreaded four letter word - starts with s, ends with w and has NO in the middle. Yep, already, though it won't last long, we could get up to 10 cms/4 inches on Monday! 

It was a bit sad to see the patio furniture taken down and put in the shed, the garden dug up and turned over, cosmos cut down and some weeding completed in the flower bed. There are weeds growing between the rocks in the flower bed, which makes me think I am going to have to move large rocks to clear it out next spring. Some of these are thistle which have terrible tap roots. Remember when you were a kid and would dig a hole thinking you could go through the center of the earth to China? No, just me? In any event I swear thistle tap roots grow nearly that long.

The evening brought a Saskatchewan Roughrider football game - our team won but it certainly wasn't their best game. It was also sleepover night for Eli and me, our first since last spring. As a result of the football game he was permitted to stay up later than normal. I also kept an eye on the MLB scores though fell asleep before it ended in the 15th inning!  I woke this morning to learn the Jays will be playing the Mariners on Sunday evening.  Go Jays!

Today, I'm continuing my knitting while watching curling on a live stream. There is also football to watch later in the day though I won't be as invested. On Sunday we'll have our Thanksgiving meal; roast pork, roast vegetables, and maybe I'll convince D to bake a batch of buns. I've picked up a pumpkin pie for dessert, yum!

Have a great week ahead every one!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

Preparing for Winter

Regarding Wednesday's photo: I always knew one could trap a cat in a box, I hadn't realized it would work on a kid too. :)

Monday started off cool, so after Eli was dropped at school, D and I started in on the end of fall yard-work. The last of the tomatoes were picked. Reminder to self - we only need 2 containers, not the 5! we planted this year. After my initial worries that we weren't going to see any fruit, the plants went crazy. I'd estimate we had at least ten pounds of cherry tomatoes, probably more. I had put away the majority of decor items, but D found a few I had missed. I also cleared out all of the containers. We had quit watering and everything was dying back. D mowed the yard, mulching the leaves, cut back the regular lilies, and did some weeding. We loaded my wooden chair and table, the bird bath, the solar lights, and a couple of the folding chairs into the shed. By the time D went to pick up Eli, I was ready for a break.\

The rest of the afternoon was spent in my bedroom starting the process of packing. For what you ask? You'll need to read a little further before I share. 

Tuesday started cool, but heated up quickly. I decided that the rest of the yardwork could wait and suggested to D that we head to the NTO (next town over) for a bit of retail therapy. We dropped off some donations at the thrift store and then went in to use my senior's discount. D did exceptionally well. She found a pair of Kombi gloves for Eli, regularly sold at Sportchek for $40-50. She picked up this pair, another pair of mitts, three pieces of clothing for Eli, a large bag of crayons*, and two bags of assorted toys for a total of $50 including the tax. I found a few items to and spent about $20. 

From there we headed over to Walmart for some groceries, and I also found the batting for the quilt flimsy. Now I just need to find the material for the backing. I have a tub of material that I purchased when Fabricland in the east end of Regina closed many years ago (I was still working!), and I'm almost certain there will be something I can use in there.

It reached a high of 30C/86F, so yardwork was out of the question in the afternoon. D and Eli did additional school work, while I relaxed and did a bit of knitting.

I didn't want to get out of bed Wednesday morning, dreading what was coming in the afternoon. D drove me into NTO to the dentist mid-afternoon. It wasn't a pleasant experience though it could have been worse. For some unknown reason the freezing wasn't taking, and after numerous needles my gums were pincushions. I finally decided not to tell them that I could still feel the area around the tooth and after much digging and pulling the tooth was finally out.

With a couple of extra strength Advil I was able to sleep a restless sleep, up several times during the night. My best sleep came between 4 and 6:30 a.m. By this point the pain was lessened to the gums and my jaw. The dentist gripped it with one hand while using the other to extract the tooth. I would describe the pain as feeling like someone had punched me in the face several times. 

D and I got back to the yardwork on Thursday morning. She finished the mowing, while I cleared up the stalks from the lilies and asparagus that I will use to cover the strawberries and asparagus in the garden bed. I also went out to the front and cut or pulled the stalks of lilies - the peonies I will leave until the spring. Outdoor toys were sorted, with a number of items ending up in a garbage bags and the bins were stacked against the shed. In the garage we removed a lower shelf and packed camping gear in the shed. We did not empty the rain barrels as we're expecting rain this weekend. The rain barrels keep the water from ending up in the basement. These will be taken care of next week.

While D and Eli went to an event in the evening, I headed to the library to Knit and Natter. There were three of us, plus the librarian. I've finished the back, left and front sides, so I started the sleeves for Eli's sweater while I was there. I'm knitting both on the same needles - that way there shouldn't be an extra row added in when I'm counting increases and decreases. At least I hope so!

I slept better that night but at one point woke in extreme pain. I was dreaming that I was waiting for the pain med to kick in, waking to realize that I hadn't yet taken said med. For pain control, I'm alternating Tylenol and Advil, and have added salt water rinses several times a day to the routine. There seemed to be a bit of swelling in the night but an ice cube wrapped in a face cloth helped with that. My next appointment (filling) is Tuesday so I'm hoping by then this side of my mouth will be healed up.

Friday was a quiet day, we had rain so no outdoor work. In the morning, D and I partially put together a new climbing apparatus for Eli, and after school she took him to the local arcade for some fun. I've been watching curling (Pointsbet Invitational), catching up on blog reading and knitting. Today will look much the same for me. I'm hoping to finish Eli's sweater before I head out on the 14th so I've got my work cut out for me. 

About the packing, initially I'm off to Regina for a couple of weeks to help my son with his yard prep for winter, have plans to visit with several friends, and maybe (not likely) paint my bedroom. Then I'm off to Yuma, Arizona for most of the winter. As regular readers will know I spent a couple of months there last winter and enjoyed myself immensely. What you won't know is I arranged with one of the Co-op members to purchase an RV this fall. The unit is permanently parked on a site, has water, electricity and internet connections. I do need to learn to use the propane stove and furnace, but I'll have lots of help with that. There is also an outdoor living area with a gazebo. The two thing it is lacking are a regular toilet and a shed for laundry. I'll be having a proper toilet installed this fall/winter, but the laundry shed will need to wait. There is a laundromat nearby and one of the regular visitors has offered to do my laundry in exchange for rides. We'll see, I'm happy to give her rides on occasion, but doing a couple of loads at the laundromat doesn't bother me.

I'll be flying home in early December to spend time with C, D and Eli, and then fly back in early January. The plan is to be back in Canada by the end of March, weather depending. I've been working on a plan for driving and will go over it with my friends, K and J, who have made the drive many times when I'm in Regina. 

I'm looking forward to missing most of the winter weather and meeting friends who were so welcoming last year. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Fun and games

We did something I've never done before last Sunday - we visited a corn maze! About a half hour from town, on an acreage, a family has created an incredible wedding venue. Almost directly across the road is this old stone church. The property has a large parking lot and several buildings including a hall for a reception and dance floor, a commercial kitchen and a gift shop, as well as an outdoor tent that can be used for receptions or dances. Out behind these buildings is a small cabin, which I assume is for the newly married couple as well as a fire pit with a good number of chairs.

In the fall, when the wedding season has slowed down, they open up a corn field they planted earlier in the year, and bring in a bouncy castle and small petting zoo, set up a corn kernel pit (like a ball pit but with corn kernels), and offer snacks and drinks at their canteen. The price of entrance was $10 per person, and except for the pony rides and the canteen everything else was included. 

There are two exits to the maze depending on whether one takes the "short" cut or the longer version. Eli took the lead and as it turned out he choose the latter path. I think we were in the maze just under a half hour. The walk back to main area was another ten minutes or so! We all enjoyed it, it was a first for all of us. We ran into several people D and Eli knew, and he enjoyed petting the rabbits and feeding the goats, as well as climbing and sliding on the combine bouncy castle. 

Monday saw me heading to the next town over to the dentist. I had a couple of teeth giving me some grief and it was time to have them checked out. Yes, it has been some time since I went to the dentist. I have a very unhealthy fear of dentists stemming to incidents that have happened from the time I was a young child into adulthood. The last one, at a time when I could ill afford to see the dentist (single mom, two kids, low paying job), the dentist completed an extraction and then took the time to lecture me about dental health and my responsibilities. When he left the room, I was in tears and a dental tech came in and held me as I sobbed. Suffice to say I did not go back to the dentist for many years. In fact, I usually have to be in some pain before I make an appointment. 

I've had two appointments now, the first a check-up where x-rays were taken and the dentist looked at all of my teeth. No pain relief after that first appointment. However I was able to get an appointment on Wednesday where two of my teeth were filled. I'm due to return next week and the week following for an extraction and another filling. This dentist has recommended more work, but I'm about at my tolerance limit.

Back at home, I got work done in the yard in preparation for winter. I put a generic version of Roundup on the weeds that have grown up in the area where the old evergreen stood. I don't plan to plant in that space until the fence is replaced next year so any residue should be gone by then. After a couple of days I dug up the majority of the weeds. I'm sure there are others hiding in the soil and it will need clearing again in the spring but for now it is good enough.

In the garden bed I dug out about 1/2 of the strawberries. While we've been getting a handful of berries every few days in the last few weeks, we couldn't get to the plants nearest the fence and thistle and other weeds were filling in spaces. I've kept the plants at the front of the bed and plan to make a narrow path down the middle to allow access to both sides. It will give me an opportunity to grow other vegetables that I simply don't have room for now.

Speaking of plants, the photos of the various mushrooms were all from our yard. Most are simply the Inky Caps variety which truly do spread black "ink" when left to their own devices. My patio has a large black splotch left behind. The colourful mushroom, Google tells me, is a ringless honey mushroom. This one tends to grow on wood fences or trees. It's definitely quite pretty.

Knit and Natter saw four of us joining the librarians for a productive time and a good visit. I've started a sweater for Eli, and worked on the back piece. Since then I've started the left front and hope to have it and the right front done this weekend. That's a fair amount of knitting (for me), but there is curling to watch! I've cancelled my Sportsnet app as the recent price increase was more than I was willing to pay. I learned about a new channel on the Roku Channel, the Rock Channel that is specifically dedicated to curling. The last television I bought is a Roku TV, and these channels are free...at least for now anyway. I'm a happy girl! 

This weekend I'll fit in yardwork around the curling draw. It is time to finish clearing out the containers, disconnect the garden hose, empty the rain barrels, and put away the solar lights. I'll be heading into the city in mid-October for a couple of weeks, and I don't want to leave all of the work to my daughter. 

The local thrift store is having a sale at the school gymnasium to clear out their storage area so we'll head out for that. I met the manager of the store a couple of weeks ago, and they're hoping to move into another area of school (currently they are in a classroom area) this year. They definitely need more space. I also learned they need volunteers during the summer, so I think I'll look into that in the spring. Not only to be helpful, but for a bit more selfish purpose of meeting more people.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

P.S. An update on my brother and his running: To celebrate the fall equinox he ran 80 kilometers/50 miles over 24 hours. He set up a loop of 5 kilometers and ran it 16 times. Not for me but good on him.

 

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Foul weather, good food, fun, and big news!

We got rain! We got too much rain! Saturday afternoon, evening and overnight into Sunday, we had 60 millimeters of rain. That's just lightly less than 2 1/2 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Then on Sunday night into Monday morning, we had another 10 millimeters of rain, about about 4/10ths of an inch of rain. D and I were kept busy emptying the overflow from the rain barrels on Saturday until I belatedly came up with the idea of opening the taps on both barrels. They each have a small hose on them, so we tucked those into extra pieces of downspout and laid the pipe so that the water flowed towards the lilies and the lawn. It meant the water barrels are no longer full, but old Mother Nature has done a good job of watering. So much so, that several of my tomatoes split before I could pick them!

Speaking of tomatoes we used the first batch, along with a green pepper, onion, garlic and Italian seasoning to make homemade tomato sauce. I did add the last tablespoon or so of tomato paste at the end to thicken the sauce slightly. The recipe made enough sauce for 3-4 meals. We used a portion on Sunday night to make baked pasta (fusilli) for dinner. I don't consider myself much of a cook, but it was sooo good.

After school on Monday was equine therapy for Eli. As it was very wet, his therapist had him assist in building a step for Rocky, the Shetland pony to step over. That meant he got to use a drill! He came home very excited to tell me about it. They also made a trek out to see the pigs, who are no longer piglets but should be ready to be bacon in the spring. Eli doesn't know this and I, for one, am not telling him. 

Tuesday we did a bit of meal prep. While D made a batch of her pizza dough (including parmesan and dried parsley), I boiled up a pot of potatoes for pierogi filling - these were mashed up with ricotta and old cheddar cheese, and onions cooked in butter until soft. The filling was put away in the fridge for a few days*. Meanwhile D cooked vegetable stir fry for Eli. It's a food he can always be counted on to eat. It will keep for a few days and he'll eat for lunch or dinner. I wanted to use up some of the latest batch of tomatoes but wanted something fresh. Salsa it was with tomatoes, corn, yellow pepper, red onion, lime, coriander, and chili flakes. It went well with chips for a pre-bedtime snack. But first, dinner that evening, used a portion of the pizza dough, with leftover air-fried chicken, yellow pepper, and red onion, and mozza-cheddar cheese using bacon ranch dressing as the pizza sauce. Very yummy!

Wednesday morning, I used the remainder of the second picking of tomatoes to make up a pot of tomato soup. It was good, but I think I put too much garlic in it. In the afternoon, I headed over to the library for Knit and Natter. There were only four of us (two were the librarians) but we had a good visit, and I learned how to use a pom-pom maker properly. The woman who brought the supplies even gave me one of the pom-pom makers as she has no use for them. Very kind of her!

On Thursday morning, D and I followed the school bus to the next town over (NTO) as Eli was to participate in a cross country run. Like the track and field days when I was a kid, it wasn't a pleasant day with gray skies threatening rain, but by the time we left NTO the sun was peeking through. Eli ran in the first race, but before that happened the children (and adults who ran with them) did a walk through of the course and a warm-up. His E.A. ran with him, and the pair managed to come in middle of the pack. I'd guess there were about 40 kids running. The fastest three came in way quicker than I would have expected, some of these kids can clearly run!

Before we left NTO, we stopped at Staples so D could purchase a new cellphone. Her old one was "glitching" as Eli would say. At home she was able to transfer data to the new phone but could not get the cellular to connect. She called the mobility provider in the morning, and they advised she would have to visit the store. So off we went to NTO after picking up Eli at lunch time. After she finished at the store, we headed over to one of Eli's favorite parks. As it turned out this was a great idea as the sim card began sending error messages. So back to the store we went where they gave her a new sim. Rather than head home immediately we decided to make a stop at the thrift store...just in case. It was a productive trip as Eli got a couple of Minecraft toys (don't ask me), D found some craft items, and I walked out with a lovely zippered cardigan. 

And the big news? We've known for a couple of years that Eli could read a bit, but lacked confidence. With D's support and direction this summer, the lessons have truly clicked. Not only is he reading in English, but also in French. On Friday as we were driving home from NTO, he was reading aloud to us from the back seat. We're so proud of him and his mom is thrilled that she is raising a reader. 

Have a great week ahead everyone! 

*We finally got around to making the pierogi on Friday evening. I think we made about four dozen and had lots of filling left over. Two bags of pierogis and the container of filling went to the freezer, while my daughter made a plateful for her dinner.  Lazy pierogi casserole will likely be on the menu soon.