Sunday, September 3/2017 - Saturday, September 9/2017

Getting the turkey ready

Sunday found us entertaining the neighbours for our annual "Trash Can Turkey" supper.  Every year John likes to cook a turkey in a trash can and invite the neighbours to partake in the "eats".  It is our way of kind of "topping off" the summer and giving thanks for everything that we have done for each other and for all our summer adventures.  It is such a nice was to say "thanks for being you"!!

Kayla checking it out

Dave and Shirley, Arlene and Gary, Kelly, Kayla, Kayton and John and I settled in and ate an awesome meal.  It was a great success although  we ate a bit later than what was planned.  We had to make sure the turkey was cooked through so that was what got us behind.  As it turned out, the turkey was cooked just fine and once it was out of the trash can and cut up, we all dived into the rest of the food and no one left hungry.

Kayton and Kayla

Shirley and Kelly

Shirley

Once supper was done, John got the fire pit ready and we sat around the fire enjoying the rest of the evening.  Fun was had by all and eventually, our guests left and our company went to bed.  I was tired and headed for my pillow as well while John watched the fire burn down and then he too settled to bed for the night.  It had been a really good day.
On Monday, it was time for the lake crowd and Kelly and her girls to head back to Saskatoon.  The long weekend was over and it was time for them to get back to work.
Jace and Kimmy stopped by on their way back to the city.  They stayed for a while sharing their stories of the weekend and we enjoyed a few refreshments.
All too soon it was time for Kelly and the girls to head home as well and before too long, the yard was quiet.  John and I were on our own!!
Tuesday, Dave and Shirley headed over to Cowan Lake to visit with their daughter.  They took the camper and their boat as there was going to be some fishing over the upcoming days.  Before Dave left though, John asked him to come over and investigate the "noises" that were coming from Kelly's quad.  John thought it was the u-joints but needed confirmation from Dave before he could let Kelly know what the issue was.  Once Dave agreed that yes, he too thought it was the u-joints, he headed to Cowan and John phoned Kelly to deliver the news.
Wednesday found John and I headed to Meadow Lake with Kelly's quad.  Repairs are in order if she wanted to ride it this up coming weekend.
We arrived in Meadow, dropped off the quad and headed to A & W for lunch.  We then stopped at the Coop and the grocery store and headed back to Leoville.   We had not gone too far before we heard a rather loud "bang" and John said "What the hell was that?"
Well...dear....we have a flat tire!!   WHAT????   Shit, Oh Dear.....well that is no problem right?  We simply put on the spare and carry on........right?  Apparently that is how it is supposed to work however....that is sometimes not the way things are.     We DO NOT have a spare.......WHAT???   When I asked why we didn't have a spare I was told "what is the use of having a spare when we don't have a jack?'   WHAT ....WE DON'T HAVE A JACK?????    What the hell!!  What are we, teenagers without the proper equipment???   Holy Buckets!!  To add insult to injury, we are in a NO SERVICE area for the phone (not that it is working properly anyway!!)  Oh dear........this situation is going from bad to worse!!   I think I just got a few more grey hair!!
I voted to turn around and head back to Meadow Lake but John decided to keep going back to Leoville.  Oh Dear....that doesn't sound like a very good plan but who am I???
We travelled for several miles on the flat until we were able to get the phone working and into a service area where we were lucky enough to contact Gary and had him come and "save" us!!   While we waited for Gary to arrive, we sat in the quiet of the forest and enjoyed a refreshment.  Gary arrived before we had even finished our first one!!
We travelled back to Leoville  and John hooked up to Dave's car trailer and we headed back to pick up the truck.  Shit, Oh Dear.....this is starting to be a very long day!!
"Old Blue" arrived back in town on the trailer with one very torn up tire.  There is NO REPAIRING this one!!
The rest of the evening was spent in our recliners where we both had a little "snooze" waiting for the results show to American's Got Talent come on!!   I was in bed right after the show ended!!
Thursday found us back in Meadow Lake to pick up Kelly's quad.  We took the big white truck - it has a spare and THAT is a very good thing.   We picked up the quad, grabbed some KFC for Gary and Arlene then headed home.   Our journey back to Leoville was UNEVENTFUL and THAT was a very good thing!!
Kelly arrived later that day and we enjoyed sitting around the fire and discussing the events of the last few days!!
The NFL season started on Thursday so now I am going to have to bet on the teams and win a few pots again this year.  Unfortunately, we were sitting by the fire and didn't get to watch the game.  That sucked but I hear my team lost so that sucks even worse!!
Friday found John and I  in the side by side and Kelly on her quad back out in the forest doing more trails.  We decided to redo some of the Father's Day Rally trails to check out the changing colors of the leaves.   It was an awesome day, the weather was great and we only got stuck in the gumbo mud once.  A quick winch using Kelly as the anchor and we were soon on our way.  We took Kelly over to Bear Lake as she had yet to see this lake and were surprised when we encountered a ton of trees that had been blown over.  Man, there must have been a nasty ass plow wind at some point along this part of the trail.  Fortunately, this part of the trail is well used and someone had taken a chainsaw to the trees that were down on the trail and cut it clear.
Once we showed Kelly Bear Lake, we headed down to yet another spot on the shores of Otter Lake that Kelly had yet to see.   The scenery today was incredible and Kelly loves to travel these trails.
Before too long, we were back on the North Road and headed for Leoville.  It was time to head home and get some supper into us.
I had put a corned beef into the slow cooker before we left and it would be ready by the time we hit the yard.  Once there, I quickly got the potatoes and cabbage on and before too long. we were chowing down on a delicious meal. Kelly said she had not had corned beef in ages and simply loved it.  We all ate like little pigs, enjoyed a few beverages and then headed to bed.  It had been a very good day.
Saturday found us watching the long standing rival football game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.  It was the annual "Banjo Bowl".  A name derived from several years ago when the Winnipeg kicker described our Rider fans as a "bunch on banjo picking inbreds"  or something of that nature!!  The "Banjo Bowl" was created and has remained so and hopefully will remain so for several years to come.   I had made a pot of chili for the game and had invited Gary and Arlene over to watch it.  Gale was also invited so there will be 6 of us for supper and 6 of us cheering the Roughriders on to a win.
As it turned out, the riders DID NOT WIN and we were very sad pandas!!  "The Dude" was turned
around to face the wall and that is the way he will stay until the Riders win another game.  Only then can he enjoy the sights of the man cave!!
Supper was great and Gale provided the dessert which was phenomenal.  She had shared a recipe on facebook a week or so ago and of course Kelly jumped right on that and asked Gale if she was going to bake it when Kelly was up here.  Well, to shut Kelly up.....she did and we all got the benefits of Gale's baking.  Mmmmm!!
We sat around the fire for the rest of the night and as the evening waned, our guests headed for home. Once they were gone, it was time for us too to hit the sheets and be ready to greet tomorrow.
Life is Good......despite the fact that the Riders lost their game.   With the taste of defeat in their mouths, they will be looking for a win in the upcoming game!!

A patch is not going to get it done!

Loaded up and headed home

Thurs nite fire

Booko chilling by the fire

Kelly being camera shy

Wolf track

Our Friday ride

A little bit of a plow wind went through here

Bear Lake

Gotta have a selfie

Another tree down

Beverage at Otter Lake

sunset in the mirror

Time to head home

Oh that finger

The smokey sun Sat morning

Booko chilling in his chair in the mancave