More Wind and Yard Work

S was up twice in the night for his new ritual — a glass of milk — which had me wide awake from 12:30 to 2:30 listening to podcasts. Just as I finally drifted off, another windstorm rolled in at 5, rattling the windows again.

By morning, the gusts had vanished and sunshine poured in. I made my coffee, scrolled Instagram, and was just starting a second cup when S joined me. I jumped in the shower, while he headed out to haul the wagon to the pit and open the gate for someone picking up old baler belts for a project. He also tossed hay to the horses while I got ready to stage the freshly refinished dresser for photos.

This little toy may have been in Renn's backpack from school :)

B arrived as I was walking the dogs and bringing in clothes from the trailer. S topped up the trailer batteries with water and got them charging before we had lunch. After a quick feeding the horses, B took Cooper and headed home as the wind now started to pick up.

S went out to finish fencing around the hydrant while I uploaded photos, finalized my tutorial, and listed the tall white dresser on Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace, and my Creative Moments page. Fingers crossed for some interest — it’s such a timeless piece!

Next up: more chores checked off the list. I moved all the big planters under the deck for winter, then joined S to help with the fencing project. The wind had picked up again as I took Harley for a walk to close the gate and back.

Inside, I deep-cleaned the house — vacuuming every room, using the power beater and horsehair duster. It was shocking how much dust and fur filled the canister! S blew out the A/C compressor and started on the snow fence posts. I paused my cleaning for a fun FaceTime with little Miss Renn, who was skipping her nap but still chatty as ever.

An iced coffee break hit the spot before S came in from tying up the snow fence. Even he was impressed (and grossed out) by how full the vacuum was.

For supper, I peeled homegrown potatoes while S loaded the skid steer on the trailer for tomorrow’s SLiK Services job. He grilled up bison steaks while I made salad and boiled eggs for the week. We enjoyed our meal while watching Game 2 of the World Series — not quite as thrilling as last night’s, but a cozy evening all the same. We ended the day starting Black Rabbit on Netflix and watched until midnight before calling it a night.

My game view (L) and Amanda's (R)

Wind, Work, and One Wild Winning Game

The wind was back around 6 a.m., waking me and howling for the rest of the day. I was up early enough to catch a few photos of the amazing sky before S’s alarm went off at 8. He was dressed and out the door by 8:15 to meet his hockey buddy Neal for an old-time harvest day with horses and vintage tractors. Once he left, it was coffee time for Mom and me.

We worked on her laptop for a while — a mix of ancestry digging and Dropbox lessons. Around 10, I got dressed and headed out to pitch hay, only to find Roo and Beibs already out, happily eating grass and hay where their gate had been left open. Thankfully, they went back in easily. I skipped giving them more hay and fed only the other three. I also loaded all the pulled sunflowers into the wagon behind the Ranger — it seems our garden boy might be on strike!

Look who is growing like a wild weed!

Back inside, Mom and I continued with our ancestry searches until she left around 11:30, planning a stop at Amanda’s on her way home. I sent her off with a new syrup pump and a 2.5 kg bag of chocolate chips (her chocolate fix). I finished editing and loading the last photos for the wedding setup day blog post. Candace called to chat about Christmas (which, somehow, is already sneaking up on us) and had a good laugh after finding all of Renn’s videos — just like Mom, they’d ended up in her junk mail. Hopefully not everyone’s did!

The day stayed overcast and blustery, though it hit a mild 18°C. As the sun started to burn through, I ran to town after 1, leaving soup bones simmering for supper. I grabbed milk, an Opa wrap for lunch (eaten in the car), picked up Cooper from daycare, and dropped off a library book before heading home.

Back at the house, I worked on blog posts, then hauled the dresser and all five drawers inside after installing one new drawer glide. I began putting on the new hardware but took a break to fetch the rest of my clothes from the trailer closet — no luck, the batteries were dead. The dogs and I went for a walk, but the wind had picked up even more, kicking up dust storms, so it was shorter than usual.

Once inside again, I finished up the dresser hardware, updated some tutorials, and prepped veggies for the soup. B texted to remind me she had a girls’ night after work and wouldn’t be feeding tonight, so I mixed up the feed, added carrot cutoffs, and headed out to take care of the horses and dogs.

This video from Sheldon's vantage point up on the stooker deck is a good depiction os todays old time harvest action

S pulled in at 5:45, just as Bird was finishing her supper. He cracked a cold beer, helped pull the meat off the soup bones, and added it to the pot while I finished things up with noodles — a delicious, hearty meal.

We moved to the big TV in the bedroom, dogs snuggled in, and settled in for the game. What a night — that sixth inning was something else! Do it again tomorrow, Jays!

Windstorms, Visits, and a Full Circle Kind of Day

A huge windstorm rolled in after 5 a.m., shaking the house and making it hard to sleep. Eventually, I did drift off again, but not for long. I slipped out quietly to work on the blog while the house was still calm. Before long, Mom was up, and I made coffee for her and for Sheldon, who joined us a little later.

Grama Pat's cactus is loving its new space

I spent some time working on the wedding setup day post — there are so many photos to sort through. Sheldon cooked up a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, and ham before heading out to pitch hay for the horses. Meanwhile, I sanded down the wood filler on the dresser and touched up the lower edge with paint.

By late morning, Mom and I got ready to head back to the city, saying goodbye to Sheldon as he checked the trailer cubby for anything we might’ve left behind. We arrived for her doctor’s appointment just after 12:30 and waited for her 1:00 slot — only about an eight-minute visit. Her carpal tunnel surgery is now booked for next summer — wow, a long wait.

Next, we stopped to pick up muffins, a fruit tray, and a mini rosebush before visiting Dad’s cousin’s wife, Pat Walker. We stayed and visited until about four, then made our way up to the Boysis’ household.

This is Grandad Walker's family home in Scotland

Kaylin and Renn had just pulled in as we arrived, and Nathan had just finished a shower — perfect timing. Renn entertained us nonstop for the next couple of hours while we enjoyed pizza and kale salad. Mom and I headed out just before seven.

I dropped her off to visit a 99-year-old friend - who lives on her own in an apartment, so she could deliver some Centennial memorial mugs. While she visited, I made a quick run to 7-Eleven for milk, then circled back to wait. We left around 7:45 and were home by 8:30.

Sheldon 🤓 had just finished in the hot tub, and Brittany was wrapping up feeding the horses. She came in for a visit before heading home a little before 10. Sheldon’s accomplishment today was sourcing a piece of rock glass to replace the ranger window. He also removed the remaining shards from the frame. However, he missed his hockey time because he had the wrong time in his head. After more visiting, we wound down and eventually called it a night.

Paint, Projects & a Hint of Progress

I started the morning by serving hot lattes in bed—our cozy morning ritual—then moved on to publishing a new blog post while S scrolled through X before breakfast. After tossing hay to the horses, I got to work applying a second coat of paint on the dresser. Meanwhile, S headed out to shock the hot tub and troubleshoot the quad switch that had quit working for B on the weekend.

It was a blustery but sunny day—perfect for tackling outdoor chores. Once I washed out my paintbrush, I put away more garden décor, scooped poop, and pulled out the fading sunflowers. S hooked up the quad trailer and loaded it with patio furniture before heading in to make us hearty spinach taco salads for lunch.

B and Cooper arrived right about then to bag up hay and clean the barn before heading off to Cooper’s vet appointment. After lunch, we loaded broken fence posts into the truck—Harley hopped in too, refusing to be left behind—and set out to toss the trash, then pick up an antique table and chairs from a former customer moving to Mexico.

Next stop: the registration office. S finally paid for the vehicle renewals—turns out he’d forgotten last year’s, too! I walked the Nespresso pods to the post office while he handled the paperwork. From there, we swung by to fill my growler with iced tea and grab a replacement part for the air compressor.

Back at the ranch, we unloaded the antique set into the storage trailer (since the garage is full of current to do pieces and needing space for custom yet to come). I moved the patio furniture up to the mezzanine off the trailer while S tightened the couch screws then put it up there too.

B returned with Cooper—his mass turned out to be a deep lipoma, just something to monitor, but he does have a fractured tooth like Clover. After feeding the ponies and finishing chores, she headed home. S dove back into fixing the air compressor while I fine-tuned the painted dresser edges and filled a few small spots.

We met inside for supper—leftovers again—and waited for Mom, who’d stopped at Paetz’s at 6 and arrived around 8. Hockey for S, blog writing for me, and good conversation once Mom settled in with her meal. By 10, we were all tucked in for the night—S scrolling X, and me finishing my inspirational library book before lights out.