Travel Plans, TV Boxes & Flu Shots

A new day, same morning routine with coffee and brain puzzles. Today's highlights included more vacation planning, a few errands in town, and a little ranch gate repair to add to the list.

I spent over half an hour on WestJet Vacations trying to find a family trip for January before deciding to contact Ma and Pa's travel agent. I figured I'd let her do the fancy footwork with that many of us to coordinate! Much easier to hand that one over.

I got in a workout and shower while S worked on getting the lawn mower going. Unfortunately, he discovered it needs a fuel pump. NAPA quoted him $100, but he found the exact same part on Amazon for just $16. Quite a difference!

After publishing Sunday's blog post, I got back to planning the remaining details of our trip. We also decided to add a couple of days, since the Saturday flight is in the afternoon and we won't have to be at the airport at 3 a.m. That sounds like a much better way to end a vacation!

We loaded up the recyclables and headed to town mid-afternoon. 

As we passed the winter-pasture gate, all the horses were in together having a drink of water, so we closed them in. S and Matt are planning to go hunting around here tomorrow, and it will be easier to keep the horses in the smaller area.

We dropped off the trash and recyclables at the dump, stopped at the post office to drop off my Nespresso pods, and dropped a book at the library before heading to Walmart. S picked up four of the TV boxes while I grabbed a few groceries. We also stopped at the pharmacy to get our flu shots, then picked up supper at Edo before heading home.

We settled in with our noodle bowls and watched the news.

B texted that she was working late and asked if I could feed, so I headed out while there was still a little colour in the fast-setting sunset. I tossed hay, handed out carrots and apples, and gave Hank his pill.

Renn demonstrating the spider punch

Back at the house, S was perusing his laptop when Renn called to tell us she had been brave and got her flu shot too. Her parents may have had a slightly different version of how brave she was, but she did still get to go for ice cream afterward!

At 7, Matt drove in to pick up S, and the two of them headed to town to buy their deer hunting tags. I worked on both daily puzzles while they were gone. Once they returned, we had a visit before heading off to bed, where we watched another hour and a half of Citadel.

A Laid-Back Day, a Clever Hank & a Little Ranch Sorting

-5°C when I woke up, so it was coffee and brain puzzles to get the day started. It turned into a very laid-back day, with me working on credit card and accounting details while S perused things on his laptop.

I did have to make a change to our hotel Riu Guanacaste bookings for Costa Rica. That darn flight doesn't leave until midnight and arrives the following day, so I had booked the hotel for the wrong starting day. Oops! Thankfully, I caught it right away and was able to get it rebooked.

Harley and I headed out for a walk and a little poop-scoop loop in the sunshine. The temperature eventually climbed to 10°C, making for a lovely day outside. S was working on getting the trailer moved into the shop, but the lawn mower sitting in the way had trouble starting. I tried to help with some soldering, but we didn't have any luck.

I'm still trying to move a few things along, and a fellow was interested in the vintage folding chairs. We took them out to the gate so they would be easy for him to pick up.

I sent Harley out with a frozen treat while I tackled the garage, sweeping up about 100 dead flies. Back inside, I was working on the Halloween blog post when I looked out and spotted Hank in the yard. The little rascal saw me and immediately started hustling toward the gate. He is one smart little fellow! I had to pull the Hank high hot wire across to keep him where he belonged.

OMG - look at all these geese, tons had went over already and so many seen far to the west still coming

Roasted vegetables were prepped and popped into the oven, along with pork chops in mushroom sauce for supper. S discovered that the hockey games, including the Flames, weren't on our TV again being a Monday. He started looking into getting a couple of the TV boxes so we can hopefully avoid this ongoing frustration.

B came out to feed the horses in complete darkness before heading home. She's back on her regular work schedule now.

We finished the evening by starting a new series Amanda and Craig recommended called Citadel. A pretty easygoing day all around, with a little ranch excitement courtesy of Hank!

Candy, Crepes & a Costly Trip to the Hockey Rink

After a restless, sleepless night, I was awake when the clock said 6:30 and a little patter of feet announced the arrival of a blond head beside my bed. She hopped in and snuggled quietly for a few minutes before asking, “Nana, is my candy still here?” Of course it was! She drifted off again for another five minutes, although it turned out it was actually 7:30 when she arrived. That silly clock had moved ahead!

Once awake, she headed out to choose three treats from her goody bag before climbing back into bed with them. We played rhyming games until after 8, when she decided pancakes sounded like a good idea.

Breakfast was a bit of a distraction while I made my coffee. She was much more interested in looking through her goodies and playing with them. I finally weighed her treat bag out of curiosity: eight pounds of candy, and that didn't even include the chips! Kaylin joined us, and I got started on crepes. Nate even got in on a couple before the Boysis family loaded up and headed home shortly after 11.

S was home from church before noon and let the five horses out into the hay field as he went by. On our way back to town, I opened the gate so the two chubbies could join the herd as well.

Our first stop was to pick up the last bottle of gin I had on hold, followed by a drive-through stop at Tim's for lunch to go. We were headed to the hockey rink for Archer's 1 o'clock game, but things took an expensive turn before we even got inside. S opened the back door at the arena and we heard a smash of glass as the $60 bottle of gin went crashing onto the pavement. Just like that, it was running across the ground!

Archer's team ended up tying their game. Unfortunately, AJ couldn't attend, as she had spent the day sick in bed. Hopefully it isn't contagious, and I hope she feels better soon.

We made a quick stop at Walmart on the way back before returning to the ranch. S headed straight for the sports room and settled in for the rest of the day. I finished today's puzzles and booked a vacation to Costa Rica, all while watching a fellow shovel more dirt off his trailer at the pit.

Hank with the big kids.. in the big field! Don't over eat buddy

B arrived just before 6:30. With the days getting so short and darkness already setting in, she decided the horses would have open access for the night rather than trying to put them in.

I enjoyed a soak in the tub with a book before moving to bed and turning out the lights around 10:30. S popped out for a hot tub between sports, eventually crawling in bed and worked on his puzzle until after midnight.

Ghostly Horses, Halloween Costumes & a Wagon Full of Treats

Happy Halloween! Our day started with the usual coffee delivery to bed, although today's brain puzzle was one of those disappearing puzzles that creates more frustration than fun. I decided to skip ahead to the Express puzzle and enjoy the quicker feeling of accomplishment instead. With a second cup of coffee, I moved on to publishing yesterday's blog while S sorted through the recyclables in the garage and buzzed his hair.

After a refreshing shower, I tried on my new Walmart outfit. At just $20 for each piece, I was pretty pleased with that find!

B was out with a mission: getting Hank dressed up in a ghost costume. I held him while she cut and fashioned a sheet around him, and in the end we got some great pictures. Once the photo session was finished, we did his front feet. Using the leftover pieces of sheet, Roo got in on the Halloween fun with a few pictures of his own, and Harley had to join in as well. Pretty cute little ghosts!

This little man had the patience of Job

Harley - ET or a ghost?

Shaina and Matt arrived just as I was getting the lasagna assembled and into the oven. Matt and Sheldon jumped into the Ranger and took Matt's new rifle out to sight it in. Meanwhile, Shaina caught Mac with a little help from B. B trimmed Mac's back feet while Shaina held her, then Shaina spent some time working with her in the round pen.

Kaylin, Nathan and the two dogs arrived after dropping Renn off at Paetz's earlier, ahead of Lexi's vet appointment. Everyone enjoyed a cold drink and some hot lasagna before heading into town.

We all descended on the Paetz house, where the costumes soon came out and three little ones got ready to fill their treat bags, accompanied by a whopping seven adults! Luckily, along the west side of town there were a couple of places offering hot chocolate and Baileys, as well as another stop with Jell-O shooters. The grown-ups had a little Halloween fun of their own!

The right is my favourite of Archie and his lizard jump

We ran into Ada and her Seasame Street group

After a couple of hours and a wagon full of loot, we all headed back to join Craig and Sheldon. Craig bundled up and took his turn taking his two little ones out again. Renn decided she wasn't about to miss out if they were going, so Kaylin took her along, too. Ada even managed to find them later in the evening.

Shaina and Matt headed into the city to join another Halloween party at a brewery. Back at the house, B, AJ and I played cards for a while before B ventured home, knowing the kids would be out for quite some time. We visited and handed out candy, with the final count landing somewhere around 50 trick-or-treaters this year. Nathan and Sheldon kept an eye on the now-playing Flames game.

When the kids returned with even more candy, they got busy making their piles and sorting through their scores. The Boysis family headed back to the ranch before 9:30 to let the dogs out, give Renn a chance to eat some of her treats and get her settled into bed.

We made it home around 10:30, with S finishing up the Flames game. I crawled into bed with my book, while Kaylin, Nathan and S visited and scrolled through their phones after Kaylin had finished putting Renn to bed.

Between ghostly horses, little trick-or-treaters, a wagon full of candy and plenty of family visiting, Halloween turned into a full evening of fun. Hank certainly made a memorable little ghost, and the three kids had quite the haul to sort through when it was all over!