What a gorgeous day it was yesterday - the sun came out later in the morning and it was 17* in the afternoon. I found every excuse I could to get out and go for a drive. Last night I dined at the Van Gaals, on BBQ burgers and when I came home it was a beautiful night. The sky was clear, the stars were bright and the temperature was still quite warm.  Absolutely amazing for this time of year.  This morning the sky is still clear and it's 10*. We're only going to go up to 12* but that's still pretty nice.

Unfortunately we aren't going to be so lucky tomorrow. The weather network is saying it's only going to be 6* with light rain. I didn't see the progress yesterday as I came home from the other direction and it was dark when I went to Brenda's. But she tells me a lot got done yesterday. Today there's concrete being poured,  to prepare for the final assembly tomorrow.

Fort Augustus Live around the world! Our project is being broadcast live on the world wide web. As a Let Them Be Kids community our project is being featured on their internet broadcast network. Tell your family and friends to watch the action and celebrate with us, just have them go to www.ltbk.ca to see our exciting work, LIVE!

Sunday I plan to spend the day working on James' birthday present. I've been able to find some great fabrics and now I'm quite excited to get started on it. I've washed, dried and pressed all fabrics and am now ready to start sewing. 

 

It feels like a spring day

Conditions at 6:00 am - 15* and overcast
Expected later - 17* and a a mix of sun and cloud

When I let the dog out this morning I couldn't believe how mild it is.  As I read the weather network and see the terrible weather that's happening in other parts of the country and around the world, it's obvious we are extremely lucky at this moment in time, so we are going to enjoy it while it lasts.

He has his own email address and he calls himself "Speedy James" and now we know why.
I received an email yesterday from Patti and the rankings are out from Speed Skating Ontario and at this point out of 66 boys in Ontario in his age group, James is ranked # 7.  I think that's quite the accomplishment as he's just  been speedskating for less than 2 years. He is pretty excited about that, because the top 15 in his age group get to compete in provincial meets through the winter, with the potential of going to a national meet in the spring.  He is pretty proud of himself.    Meghan is also on the list, but since she fell in every race at her first meet, her times are pretty low, so she is currently last in her age group.  As she pointed out, there's no where to go but up from here!
James' first meet is in Cambridge on Nov 6 and 7, and Meghan is going to another meet in Brampton on Nov 13.  Patti says Meghan has improved so much, you wouldn't even recognize her on the ice.
Combined with hockey, I foresee the Dennison family doing a lot of traveling this winter! But I'm happy to see them so active - it's healthy and will keep them busy as they get older. These kids certainly won't have time to be hanging around the mall!

On the podium last spring - I think James may have found his sport

 

A mild day in store today

Conditions at 6:00 am -
Expected later -

The mild weather expected today is a wonderful thing for the last week of October.  So much so that I didn't put any wood in the stove yesterday or today. Partly because none was needed and also because I need to empty the ashes so it's great timing on Mother Nature's part.

The equipment has arrived for the playground and is wrapped in tarps and located at the back of the park. We need 150 tons of pea gravel, and last night Brenda and I went up to the park on our way home from class, to watch 33 tons being dropped off  a huge dump truck.  One more load will apparently do it.
We hope the weather cooperates on Saturday as right now they are calling for rain, but hopefully it will change by that.

We had our pastry class last night and it went well.  We did three recipes - the one on the tenderflake lard package, the one on the fluffo shortening package and another one that was so far untried.

The third one was very simple and we really liked it. We baked a piece of each one separately on a baking sheet so we could try them all.  The recipe went like this:

5 cups cake and pastry flour
1 lb lard
1 can of 7 up

Cut the lard into the flour.
Add the 7 up and mix. Refrigerate for one hour.

We didn't have time to refrigerate it for an hour but we did put it into the freezer for a little while. It was quite wet when we put it in and it was a bit better but we did add a little more flour to it and it was fine. It was quite flakey and it also browned faster than the others. I am going to give it another try here at home.
We made a vegetarian quiche and butter tarts. Everyone loved the quiche and the tarts were also very well received. We had leftovers and everyone had something to take home. 

I'm really enjoying the class and I think the students are also getting something from it but I will also be glad when it's done - Tuesdays are such a rush. Hopefully the weather continues to cooperate until the end on November 30th.  I'm also very appreciative of Brenda's help. With such a short period of time available to us, it's great to have another person to help out.

Week number six

Conditions at 6:00 am - cloudy and 8*
Expected later - showers clearing at lunch and a high of 10*

Week number six of our class, and we're doing pastry tonight. There are as many recipes and techniques for pastry as there are cooks. We're going to try 3 recipes, some will use lard and some will use shortening and we'll compare the results.  We're doing quiche and butter tarts. Recipes will follow tomorrow.

This morning I have someone coming in to give me information on coffee machines. I hope to bring in some type of machine to supply coffee for the customers. If I can pull this one off, I'll be everyone's hero! Especially with the cold weather coming, it will be nice to be able to have a nice hot coffee while folks wait for their cars. We had coffee a long time ago but no one looked after it and it got messy and was not a good thing but I know the technology has improved and I'm sure I can make this work.  We'll see.

When I was in Cambridge on Thanksgiving weekend, I think I mentioned that I ran into my friend Jolene and it was a very emotional meeting. I was copied on an email she sent out to some of my old admin group and it really made my day yesterday.

My Thanksgiving Gift

The family had decided to have a potluck at our house and I had volunteered to cook the turkey and the ham.  I woke up early on the Saturday and decided to go out to the Zehrs (the one on Conestoga Blvd) to pick up what I needed before the rush. 

 

I was feeling a sad this Thanksgiving with Angie on my mind a lot.  I don’t even remember celebrating Thanksgiving last year – we were so worried about Angie.  She had been told on October 6^th that there was nothing more that could be done and that she had two months to several months to live. 

 

As I turned to go into another aisle to pick up cranberry sauce, I happened to glance to my left and a familiar face came into focus but I knew she had moved provinces away and wouldn’t be in the area.   This was a good friend who ran the 60 km Weekend to End Breast Cancer with Angie’s picture close to her heart not once but twice and who had opened her heart to Angie and me during the five-year battle Angie had with breast cancer.  She was exactly the right person I needed to see that day.   She is someone we all know, love and miss.  How lucky was I to have met up with her!  It was our good friend Sandy Denny!    At first it didn’t make sense to me that Sandy and her husband would be here then within seconds we both saw the recognition in our faces.  What a joy to see her!

 

 My sister Angie was with me that day and gave me the gift of hugs from Sandy.   I was smiling the rest of the day and had a great Thanksgiving.  

 Thanks Sandy!

A chilly start to the week

At 6:00 am - 1* and clear
Later - 9* and mix of sun and cloud, with rain expected later

It's a very frosty morning this morning, but finally the winds have died down. They gusted up to 50 km all weekend long but finally last evening they finally subsided.  Friday was a lucky day for Brenda and me as we found green tomatoes so were able to make the pickles. I picked them up in town on Friday morning and after supper Brenda and I met at her place to cup up the tomatoes and onions and let them sit overnight. Then on Saturday, after work, we again met to cook and bottle our chow. Lloyd will be pleased to know I now have 12 jars waiting for him when he gets here at Christmas to enjoy.
We finished just in time to leave for the Rec Centre to help with the wedding.  There was a bottle drive going on Sunday morning but I opted to decline to participate as I felt I needed a day for myself. So when I got up on Sunday, I had nothing pressing, and it was a great feeling. I got several little jobs done around the house, had time for a nap and then a movie in the evening.

On Saturday morning I went to Canadian Tire on my way to work to pick up some canning jars and I also picked up a medicine cabinet for the downstairs bathroom.  I found one that's wood (well, it looks like wood) and it hangs on the wall. Of course, it needed to be assembled so I did that first thing on Sunday morning and hung it on the wall. It's so much more functional for than the tiny shelf that was there and I didn't have to make a whole in the wall to do it.

Sunday morning was my first coffee at Richard's store. When I got there at 10:00 Brenda was already there along with 4 other people so hopefully it will become a regular Sunday morning event. 

Last night Brenda  was kind enough to go with me to City Cinema. It's so much like the Bookshelf in Guelph or the Elora Gorge Cinema that we used to go to once in awhile. They were showing the movie "Nowhere Boy", about he boyhood years of John Lennon. I already pretty much knew the whole story as I've read a lot of books about all the Beatles, but it was very well done. I really enjoyed and so did Brenda.  I really like that small theatre format, it only has around 60 seats and it's has a neat atmosphere.
I will definitely go there again. I also like the movies that they tend to show, usually different films than the ones you get at the big theatres.

I've tried to email an old friend, Michael Lamport, but the email bounced back so I'm not sure if I copied the address wrong off the business card. I did locate his website but individual email addresses are not on there so I went in to try to connect via linkedin. I had never used this before and it appears it may be like a facebook or twitter type of thing. I've already gotten a lot of messages just saying I'm connected to people so I may or may not stay on it.  I'll give it a week or so and see how clogged up my email gets.  Although I did get a message this morning from Sandra, who works with Lloyd and I did send a reply to her. They are soon going to be 'neighbours' as they are planning to retire in Nova Scotia, but I'm not sure if she retires before or after Lloyd.
Well, have a great Monday everyone.

A soggy but mild day

Conditions at 6:00 am - 10* and light rain
Expected later - more rain and a high of 8* so I think this is as good as it's going to get today

Yesterday was once again a beautiful day. It clouded over a bit in the afternoon, but most of the day was lovely. When I got home, there was  a message to call Brenda, who graciously invited me for supper - one of Lloyd's personal favorite meals, spaghetti with warm garlic bread.  She only has to work this afternoon as some schools have parent teacher interviews today so she's getting a bit of a head start on her weekend. We're having trouble finding green tomatoes to make her chow recipe. I'm going to check a couple of places in town today to see if we can find some. This has been a different year for her with a busy summer followed by driving the bus, so not as much preserving has gotten done as in past years. I did several things last year and have done nothing this year either. Now that I'm working on Saturdays, it makes for a very short weekend. Craig, the fellow who alternates with me is back at UPEI part time so after the end of October, I will likely work every Saturday for a while, to give him more time for school assignments. Now he works 3 days a week. In the summer, he works full time. I really don't mind working on Saturdays. Because I work a longer day now, I come straight home at the end of it to let the dog out, so if I have any errands to run or things to look for, I don't have time but it's not usually something I will make a trip to town for. But on Saturday's I finish at 2:00 so it gives me time to do any running around I might need to do. So it's kind of a win/win for everyone.

There's a wedding on Saturday so this Saturday will be another busy day. Next Saturday is the playground build day. Let's hope the weather next weekend cooperates.

Every day Honda feels more and more like Balnar Management. The service manager is married to the owners wife's sister, and the sales manager has the same last name as well, so I suspect he's related as well. It's very much a family business, as Balnar was. Even the bank feels the same. When I was in Guelph, I routinely went to the Royal Bank and dealt almost daily with two ladies who were in the business cage - Fiona and Sylvana.  Now I go to the Royal Bank everyday only here I have Louise and Jen.  But it feels the same and the signs inside the bank are the same so there's a little bit of a sense of deja vu.

Next weekend Lloyd is moving into the apartment at Jana's house. He's sold most of the furniture he's accumulated while he was at Lynn's and apparently his place is now looking quite bare. He will keep all of the small appliances he has so when he does move here, we'll have lots of toys to play with (doubles of most things). It's now only one year and 3 months till he can take retirement at 60.  It's amazing how fast the time will go (well maybe not fast enough for him!).

I received this email from an old friend:

The Stranger

This is very interesting and not the ending I had expected!!!!

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our
small Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting
newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly
accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family.  In my young mind, he
had a special niche.  My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me
good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.  But the stranger...he was our
storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures,
mysteries and comedies.

If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew
the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to
predict the future!  He took my family to the first major league ball game.  He
made me laugh, and he made me cry.  The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad
didn't seem to mind.

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each
other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace
and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never
felt obligated to honor them.  Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our
home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors.  Our longtime visitor,
however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad
squirm and my mother blush.  My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol.
But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis.  He made
cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.   He talked freely
(much too freely!) about sex.  His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes
suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly
by the stranger.  Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he
was seldom rebuked. And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family.
He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first.
Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him
sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch
him draw his pictures.
His name?.... . .

We just call him 'TV..'

He has a wife now...We call her 'Computer'.

We don't want to rub it in but....

Conditions at 6:00 am - 6* and clear
Expected later - 13* and sunny and a low of 9* tonight

Much like yesterday, it looks like we're in for a beautiful day again today. I couldn't help but notice this morning that Guelph has the same 6* temperature but it looks like they are going down to zero tonight and the word "flurries" is in the forecast for tonight. We know it's coming here too, but it's nice to know we're not the first!
I haven't gotten my new winter tires installed on my car yet, but they are at the shop, on reserve.  Jamie and Shawn, in service, told me I could get them put on as of the first of October but suggested I wait. It 's just been too nice to think about winter driving. Yesterday was gorgeous. It was quite warm driving around in the car.
We have a large bulletin board at work where we post newspaper articles about customers or relatives of customers. Some of the articles on there have been there for years and I was told my job was to put up new ones.Paul goes through the paper and puts the articles he wants to see there, on my desk. The whole board is a huge mess, so I asked a couple of days ago if I can take everything off and clean it up. Pam was more than pleased to have me do that. She says she was telling someone how organized I am  and that I'm keeping them in line. I told her it was just another new set of eyes. So yesterday I took everything off, and put up new white bristol board. Now today I'm decorating it a bit and putting up headings so articles are separated into sections. The way they were, you couldn't find anything but now it will be less cluttered. I hope they like it.  I should have taken a picture of it before but I didn't think of it.

I received a really cute list this morning from my friend Helen

            1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. 

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. 

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray ? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to. 

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well. 

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay .

17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option. 

18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said? 

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever. 

22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time! 

24. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974.

That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

What a fun group

Conditions at 6:00 am - clear skies and 4*
Expected later - a beautiful sunny day and 12*

Last night we did our crepes. What a fun group they are!  Brenda and I were talking about it on our way home, how enthusiastic they all are and so eager to learn new things. It makes it really fun to work with them. Then we have the people who wander in during the break, asking all kinds of questions.  It's great that we're generating so much enjoyment. One girl had never whipped cream before which makes sense as lots of people opt for the convenience of the aerosol can or cool whip or dream whip. Then we took it a step further and whipped a little bit longer  till it turned into butter.  Basic stuff but wonderful to see people discover something new.
The crepes were a lot of fun to make. They started out small and misshapen, but they all got the hang of it by the end and we had some great results.  We used canned peaches in the dessert crepes instead of strawberries and they turned out good. Everyone either really liked both or they're just really polite.
Next week we're going to try out hand at pastry. We'll likely make a quiche and maybe butter tarts, as they don't take that long to cook.

Yesterday morning I went to the grocery store to pick up fruit for the crepes and as I strolled around the store, I stumbled across a wine cooler that holds 15 bottles. It was marked down from $130 to $59.94. I thought that was an amazing price so I called Lloyd for a second opinion.  His only comment was why hadn't I already bought it?  So now I just have to find someplace to put it but I know I will.  It will be good to have someplace to store the wine and keep it at the perfect temperature cause you just never know when a wine emergency might arise and we need a chilled bottle immediately.

I talked to Patti the other night and Meghan had her first Speed Skating meet on the weekend. She thinks there may have been a bit of a mix up as Meghan, who just started last month, was put into a group with kids at James' level. Unfortunately she came in last in every race. But Meghan being Meghan found something positive. In one race there were only two of them, so in her mind she came in second so that wasn't too bad.  She's number 518.

Well, that was an experience

Conditions at 5:30 am - clear skies, lots of stars, still windy and 4*
Expected later - 8* and sunny

Yesterday I went to the dermatologist to have these growths removed from my eyelids. Let me tell you, it was no picnic. There were 4 on one eye, and 3 on the other. The procedure required each one to be frozen by injection, then cut off, then cauterized.  The needle for the freezing hurt the most, as it was injected  7 times, the cutting was okay, as I didn't feel that part, but then the cauterization was a little unpleasant, not for the pain but for the smell of burning flesh - MINE!  When he finished that part he started on the little nobbly bits he found elsewhere on my face and neck. Because of their small size, he was able to simply burn those off, no freezing required, but - did I mention they were BURNED off?  I was ever so glad to get out of there!

Afterward  my eyes were quite painful, but the kind pharmacist at Shoppers Drug Mart suggested that extra strength Tylenol would do the trick, and she was right. I came home, took two, and slept for an hour and a half. When I woke up, it was much better. Now this morning they are a little tender but not really painful, and a lot of the redness has gone, although I still look somewhat like I've been in a fight but it's definitely much better.
I had planned to move some wood around yesterday and fill up my rack inside, but the wind and cold on my eyes really was unpleasant so that didn't happen. Fortunately I have enough until Wednesday or Thursday. Hopefully the wind will have died down by then. It's been blowing for days now.

Tonight in our class we're doing what we were supposed to do last week - crepes. I've been searching everywhere for the small offset spatulas but to no avail. I have one small one and one large one and we'll have to manage with those. I've tried everywhere. Even Ferguson's a store here very similar to the STOP store in Kitchener, ( one of my MOST favorite places to shop) doesn't have any in stock, but apparently they are on order.  I've looked everywhere else in town and there just are none. I'm off this morning in search of fresh berries for the strawberry crepes. I think we can use any fruit and the strawberries we get this time of year are not very nice, so I'll see what I can find to substitute. If I have to, we can always use drained, canned peaches. We're also doing a curried chicken crepe that I make often because they are quite tasty and an easy and quick way to use up leftover chicken.
Here's the recipe for the basic crepes and the chicken ones. Tomorrow we'll have the one for the strawberry ones.

Basic Crepes

½ cup all purpose flour

Pinch salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup 2% milk

1/3 cup water

½ tsp butter or soft margarine

In a bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the centre and add egg. While whisking, gradually add milk and water, whisking until mixture is smooth.

Heat small nonstick skillet or crepe pan over medium-high heat. Add butter and brush over bottom of pan. Add 1 to 2 tbsp of batter and swirl to cover the bottom of the pan. You should have just enough batter to lightly coat bottom of pan; pour off excess.  Shake pan and cook until edges begin to curl and crepe no longer sticks to pan. Turn crepe and cook for a few seconds or until golden.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Repeat with remaining batter.  You shouldn’t need to add any more butter.

Crepes can be made in advance; stack between waxed paper and refrigerate for 1 day or freeze up to 1 month. Makes 8 crepes.

From  The Light Hearted Cookbook

By Anne Lindsay

Curried Chicken Crepes

This is a delicious dish to consider when you want a make ahead dish for brunch, lunch or dinner.  If you keep crepes in your freezer, and have any leftover cooked chicken or turkey, these can be a quick and easy dinner. Cooked turkey, shrimp or pork can be used instead of chicken.

2 tsp soft butter or margarine

½ medium onion, chopped

½ cup diced celery

1 tbsp all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp curry powder (or to taste)

¼ tsp salt

½ cup chicken stock

1 ½ cups diced cooked chicken

¼ cup sour cream

¼ cup low fat plain yogurt

8 basic crepes

In saucepan, melt butter; over medium heat, cook onion and celery, stirring until onion is softened.  Add flour, curry powder, and salt and cook, stirring for one minute.

Whisk in chicken stock, and bring to simmer while whisking.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in chicken, sour cream and yogurt. Taste and add more curry powder if desired.

Place 2 or 3 large spoonfuls of chicken mixture across centre of each crepe. Roll up and place seam side down in lightly greased shallow baking dish.

Bake in 375* oven for 20 minutes or microwave at high power for 2 minutes or till heated through. Top each serving with a spoonful of yogurt. Makes 4 servings of 2 crepes each. 

From The Lighthearted Cookbook by

Anne Lindsay

Happy Monday everyone!

Conditions at 6:00 am - overcast, windy and 8*
Expected later - sun and cloud and a high of 8*

It was quite windy overnight and continues this morning, It appears we've reached our high for the day, so this is a good as it's going to get! But, a bit of sun will help.
We sure could have used some of that sun yesterday morning at the PEI Marathon. Boy, was it cold and wet at that water stop.  I arrived at 8:10 to find the table there,  a large jug of gatoraide, two big bottles of water and a plastic bag filled with paper cups. I was partnered with a young woman named Amanda who moved here a year ago to go to AVC. Our job was to fill the glasses before anyone arrived so we could hand it over to the runners on the fly.  That in itself was a bit of a challenge as the wind was  blowing everything around. So we put the jugs at one end of the table to try to block the wind a little, then filled the glasses and  and lined them up on the table. We were told there were approximately 300 people taking part. The first runner came through around 9:00, which amazes me as we were at the 20 km point and they had started at 800.  I can't imagine running at 20 km an hour non stop for an hour. 
The task was to hand over the water and/or gatorade as they flew by. Not an easy task with a damp paper cup. A lot of them lost most of the water from them as they squeezed them trying to grab them. Then a few steps down the road they would toss the cup aside on the road. With the wind, you can imagine how long it took to walk down the road and pick up over 300 paper cups, that were somewhat of a challenge as the wind would invariably pick them up just as you bent down to reach for it.  But we finally collected everything and got packed up. I was home by 11:00, and that was after a stop at two stores to find coconut for the dessert I was making for supper. Had I only known...
Anyway, when I got home I plopped myself down into a nice hot bath - the greatest cure for  many of life's little problems.
After warming up, I proceeded to prepare supper as Brenda and Bernie were coming over.  I finished putting together the cake I was making for dessert. It was truly a thing of beauty. It was called a Pina Colada Cake, incorporating all the flavours of the drink - coconut, pineapple and rum. It started with four layers of white cake ( two layers baked then split in two), with pineapple filling sandwiched between layers of cake brushed with a rum glaze first. Then the whole thing was iced in coconut buttercream icing and it was garnished with toasted coconut on top.  I set it in the sun porch to keep cool. Unfortunately I forgot it was there, and about an hour later I opened the door to let some cooler air in, totally forgetting it was there. Needless to say, I happened to look up and see the dog licking his lips, with a very satisfied look on his face.  My heart sank, as I knew what I would find when I went into the porch, and sure enough, half of the cake was gone. He did have the good grace to eat half from the side, rather than off the top, so I was able to trim away the disturbed part and there was enough left that hadn't been touched, that we could still have it for dessert. I had planned to send the leftover cake home with Bernie and Brenda so I know Bernie was especially disappointed. But at least we did have a bit of a taste. It was quite good so I will make that one again.
We had curried carrot and ginger soup, topped with a puff pastry shell, followed by goat cheese stuffed chicken breast, rice pilaf and carrots. I did manage to cook the chicken a little too long so a lot of the cheese bubbled out, but the sauce that was served with it was quite tasty. It was a combination of caramelized onions,  cremini mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, chicken stock and cream, all simmered together till thickened. It certainly added flavour to the chicken.
All in all, I had a lovely afternoon in my kitchen, one of my favorite ways to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon - cooking for good friends.

I've once again moved the table into the living room for the winter. (I'll move it back for Christmas). Yesterday with the oven(s) on and the wood stove burning, it was too warm in the kitchen to sit and eat supper so I moved it into the living room again. It works well there for now. I also need to get working on Jame's quilt for his birthday so I can sew and watch TV while I work.

I might be home early today as I have some minor surgery at the dermatologists this afternoon.  My appointment is at 12:20 so I'm hopeful to be done early and get home early. I want to move some wood around this afternoon.  I built a sort of rack outside in my back porch and it works very well. Even Bernie was impressed with it.  I think it will hold enough wood for at least a Monday to Friday, so I'm not having to look for wood in the dark. It worked well last year, filling up on the weekend but I didn't have enough room inside for more than two days worth, so it should work better this year. Each year will get a little more efficient as I work out the things that maybe don't work so well, and make changes. My wood rack is a good example, and my new island is another. Last night the three of us were looking at where I might be able to put in a dishwasher. It would be nice once Lloyd is here and we eat more meals at home, or when company does come over.  As Bernie said, where there's a will, there's a way! And I know there has to be a way.

I'm so spoiled!

Conditions at 5:30 am - clear and 5 degrees
Expected later - rain this afternoon and 12*

Yesterday turned out to be beautiful. It was only 13* but the sun still has some warmth in it and it was a gorgeous day.  I was asked to take someone up to Hunter River in the afternoon. I had no problem with taking a nice leisurely drive through the country side and enjoying the view and the sun.
Brenda was off yesterday and is again today because it's PD days again.  Because she's not in the union, she didn't have to attend union meetings so is off both days. I think she had a crazy day yesterday but she had time to make some chicken pot pies to put in her freezer and she thoughtfully made a small one for me. I was late getting home so I stopped by and picked it up, right out of the oven, literally. So I had a nice treat when I got home and what a treat it was. I don't know how she makes her pastry but it's always so very flaky. I need her to give me a lesson on how she does it as mine never turns out like that. I'm very spoiled to have good friends who do thoughtful things like that for me and I truly appreciate it.

We're still supposed to get lots of wind and rain so I made sure everything was secured last night before I came in.  This morning it's lovely outside but I'm sure that's not going to last.

One of the things I love about opening up the blog first thing in the morning is looking to see where people have come in from. I know that most of them have just stumbled upon it when searching for something and a string of words has brought them here, but it's amazing where they come from. This morning there was a visitor from Pefferlaw, and I can only assume that's my friend Cheryl. But you never know, it could just be a coincidence. I've had people from all around the world view my site and I'm sure they are probably thinking, here's another one of those people who thinks their every little insignificant  action is important. But I assure you, I don't.  As I've stated many times, my intention with this was to keep my family in touch with what is happening here on the island.  I admit I had no idea from where people were viewing until I put that feed on it.  Fortunately no one has left a message yet, telling me what a waste of web space this is!  I love that we are now all SO connected, in such a tiny way.  I'm wondering what I should do when Lloyd moves here? He's my main reason for doing this, or should I keep it going? We'll see when the time comes. 

It's Friday today, and I'm working tomorrow. I received a voice message from Chris from the liquor store job and I emailed him yesterday and told him to take me off his list. He needs people on Friday afternoons from 4:00 and Saturdays from 12:00. I've had to turn him down now 3 times and I think it's just not going to work for him to have someone so unavailable.  And besides, now that I work some Saturdays at Honda, I truly appreciate the weekends I do have off. And getting home so much later, makes for a short evening.

As I drive around these days, I'm able to see all the fall decorations people have around their homes. Some are so beautiful that I want to take my camera with me and take some photos. Some folks are very creative and it's not just the halloween ones. I saw one yesterday in town with bales of straw, pumpkins and scarecrows but the way it was put together was fabulous.  Eventually, when I retire, I hope to be able to have the time to do things like that. I know I should have all the time in the world now, but it just doesn't seem to be that way. It will also be easier when there's someone here to help with such things.  I think Fall decorations are my favorite. The last wedding that I helped at used fall as their theme. One corner was filled with bales of straw, pumpkins, sunflowers, etc and it looked wonderful. The centre pieces were simply glass jars filled with red sand, and inside were some tall dried grassy pieces, and two artificial sunflowers, all tied up with a raffia bow. Very simple, quite inexpensive and most effective. The decorator was at the hall the next morning and they were going to be thrown out so we asked if they'd leave them for the tables at our spaghetti supper. They worked quite well. Hard to believe we'll soon be seeing Christmas decorations.When we lived in Guelph, we had a neighbour named Phil, who always put his Christmas decorations up the day after Halloween and would start lighting them right away.  I know there are lots out there like him.  We'll see how long it takes.

Back to normal - whatever THAT is!

Conditions at 6:00 am - clear and cool - 4*
Expected Later -mix of sun and cloud and 12* - should be a nice day

It's so nice to be back home and into my usual routine. Even Cooper is happier. On Tuesday night, after school, I poured myself a glass of wine and a nice hot bath - the perfect cure-all for anything. When I got out of the tub I sat down on the couch to watch some TV and there was no sign of the dog, who is usually sitting on my lap when I watch TV. When I did go to bed, he was sound asleep upstairs on my bed. When I came in and turned on the light, he barely opened one eye to look at me, then went back to sleep. Apparently he'd had a very stressful weekend.  Last night he was back to his usual self and this morning he's parked himself in his favorite spot - lying in front of the warm wood stove.

Yesterday morning Brenda came and borrowed my car to do some shopping. This system works really well for her. She stays in town after her morning route, comes and gets my car and does her errands, then returns the car early afternoon. If we're really lucky, like we were yesterday, we can time it so that I'm there and can give her a ride back to her bus. It was a bit drizzly yesterday afternoon so it worked very well. Then I just drop her groceries off at her house on my way home. Needless to say, I stayed for supper when I delivered them.  I brought the rest of the bottle of wine I opened on Tuesday and we managed to finish that as well, with our chicken stir fry.  It was an enjoyable Shiraz from Pelee Island - thanks Lloyd !

I lit a fire yesterday morning as it was quite cold in the house on Tuesday night. I filled it up in the morning so the house was nice and warm when I got home last night. I filled it up again last night and this morning it's nice and toasty. I guess fall is really here now.  But we could still have some good weather yet.  It's supposed to rain all weekend and I'm volunteering at the PEI Marathon on Sunday morning so I'd better dig out my warm clothes.  There is even talk of a Nor'easter possibly headed this way and it sounds like quite an event. I did some reading on the weather network yesterday and we could have hurricane force winds with it so I'd better make sure everything is secured before the weekend.

I'm working the next two Saturdays and there's a wedding both days, so it's going to be a bit busy around here. I need to cut the grass at least one more time but it's hard to fit that in as we have no evening left by the time I get home at night. Once the time changes it will be worse. Hopefully it will be nice next weekend and I might be able to get it cut then. Then before we know it, the grass will be covered in snow and then it won't matter!

There's just too much going on around here!

I'm so glad to be home

Conditions at 6:00 - 6* and clear
Expected later -chance of rain and a high of only 11*

After trying for some 24 hours, I finally got home yesterday at 2:00. 
As I flew over the island, the sun was shining and it just looks breathtakingly beautiful from the air this time of year. I wish everyone who lives here could see that, if they've never flown. They would truly appreciate how very fortunate they are to live in such a gorgeous place. I don't care if I ever go back to Ontario again, especially after driving in virtually bumper to bumper traffic at 120 kms an hour to get to the airport.  I just can't do that anymore. I was never a great passenger, as Lloyd can attest to, but now it's worse.

The young coach

We had a great weekend with the kids. Saturday morning we went to Cambridge to watch Tristen's hockey practice. He can actually move around on his own now, shuffling along. Of course, he does have his own personal coach, James, who is on the ice with him. You can see how proud James is of his little brother as he helps him. On the way home we stopped at a nearby Zehrs to pick up groceries and didn't I run into my friend Jolene. It was SO nice to see her and she says all the other IAAP girls are going to be so jealous that she got to see me. It was funny, because she was just going around a corner in the store when we saw each other. She was looking at me and she told me she thought it was me but kept telling herself, that looks like Sandy but she wouldn't be HERE.  So that was a very special thing to have happen.
When we got back to Patti's, we started prepping for our gathering on Saturday night. There were 4 couples coming over so we had lots of work to do. James and Meghan were a huge help.  We were making potato salad, and Ceasar salad and making mini burgers for the kids. I cooked the potatoes, and James peeled and cubed all of them. Meghan cut up green onions and radishes, and James made the filling for the deviled eggs. Lloyd wanted fried onions with his burgers so they both took turns cutting up whole onions and the contest was to see who could go the longest without crying. James won that one hands down, as he didn't cry at all, even though Meg and I were both in tears.  They were both extremely helpful and I couldn't have gotten everything done in time with out them.
Meghan was supposed to go to dance class at 12:30 but she didn't want to miss any time with Grandma so was permitted to stay home. Mid afternoon we went over to visit our friends Martin and Lan and we were ablt to visit with them and Martin's parents, as well as Dave and Sook and Terry and Darcel. It was really great to see everyone and the weather was absolutely perfect. It was sunny and warm and all the trees were in splendid colour. We left Martin's in time to go over to the arena and watch the last period of James' hockey gam (they lost ). Patti and Greg had taken him to hockey and they left from there. We took James with us and we headed home. Not much time left before people started arriving.  We started out on the deck but it soon got very cold outside. We had a nice evening and it was great to see everyone. After everyone left, we loaded the dishwasher and then went to bed.
Sunday morning we got up and made French toast for breakfast then headed out to Durham to deliver the Neon to Mike and Carol, who were buying it.  Lloyd and Tristen were in the car and James and Meghan and I were in the van. We had a great time chatting all the way there. Part way there, in Fergus, fortunately not too far, Lloyd realized he'd forgotten the paperwork necessary for the transaction so he had to turn around and go back and get it. So the kids and I went to Tim Hortons and had hot chocolate and donuts (except Meghan, who had hash browns).  By the time we were done, Lloyd was back. We gave him the coffee we'd bought him and headed out again.
We had a lovely visit with Mike and Carol and I got to see their new house. They've been working really hard inside and done a ton of work and it looks great. It has lots of character and the lot is lovely. I'm particularly envious of their front porch!

Lunch in the sun

When we left there we headed out to find a place to take the kids fishing as there's a place outside of Durham so we brought fishing poles. But unfortunately they were closed for the season. What a disappointment!  Lloyd got the number for a similar place near Milton and we tried all day to reach it but couldn't get an answer. But our first destination was to find a chip wagon for french fries as there used to be one just south of there. Our efforts to find one were finally rewarded when we located one. We almost drove past and had to turn around and go back.  It was a beautiful day to sit in the sun at the picnic table and eat our fries. 

Fun at the fall fair

We had at least a good our to get back to Milton but we still weren't getting any answer. After we got back through Guelph and were headed out highway 24, I saw the sign for Erin. I remembered that Erin Fall Fair is always on Thanksgiving weekend so I suggested we go there instead of all the way to Milton (and likely only to find the fishing place closed as well). James was very disappointed to not go fishing but he other two kids thought a fall fair was a great idea. So we went to Erin and enjoyed the fair for a while. After some rides and some games everyone was happy.
On the way back, Lloyd suggested we go to Pizza Hut for supper so it was quite late when we got home, full  but happy and tired. Needless to say, everyone was in bed by 10;00, including grandma and papa.
Monday morning Lloyd went to work and due to a series of missed communications I missed my 11:00 flight and never did get out until Tuesday at the same time. But the up side is I got to go to dinner and a movie with Lloyd before heading back so it really wasn't so bad.

A weird thing happened though, and I think it was just stress from trying to get home and get everything organized. When I got off the plane and was walking across the pavement to the terminal in Charlottetown, for some  unknown reason I just started to cry. Tears just started streaming down my face and I have absolutely no idea why. But I was glad to be home. It all worked out in the end. I had a chance to get what I needed for my class before the end of the day, I picked up the dog and gathered what I needed and still was able to pick up Brenda before she left. I had called her and told her to go on ahead as I expected to be late but in the end, it all worked out.


I didn't have the recipes printed out but it was simple stuff and I promised I'd bring the recipes next week.

A difficult decision

Conditions at 6:30 - very windy, as it has been all night and 9*
Expected later -11* and variable cloud

Last night I got some tragic news about some friends of ours. I wrestled with whether or not to write anything about it this morning and I won't go into details, as I know that Rose reads this from time to time but I just want her and Scott to know how deeply sorry I am for their loss and I am thinking of them constantly. I can't imagine how one copes with a situation such as this, but please call on Lloyd for anything at all, he truly wants to help out in what ever way he can.

I'm all ready to fly to Toronto tonight. The last time I checked there were 4 open seats on the flight out tonight, so lets hope that continues. If I don't get on that one, I'm not sure if there's a later one or not but we'll see what happens. Worse case scenario, I take a flight first thing in the morning, although I think I looked at that one and it's pretty full. Just have to think positive.

Lloyd has been over to Patti's to make sure the BBQ is working, and I questioned whether or not he still wanted to go ahead with the BBQ and he says yes. Dave, the service manager from work, takes the shuttle home at night and he's going to drop me off at the airport right after work. Then I can just take a cab over to the dealership when I get in on Monday.

I learned something new the other night when I was talking to Lloyd. There's a parking lot at the airport in Toronto called the cell phone lot. The idea is vehicles can go there and wait to get the phone call from the person they're picking up to say they are ready to go.  Gone are the days of circling around the airport until the person gets outside, or parking in the garage and walking 3 miles to the terminal. I had no idea such a thing existed and it's a great idea.  They even have a place there where you can get a coffee or a snack while you're waiting.

Well, I have to drop Cooper off at the kennel this morning and I'm leaving a bit early so will sign off.

Quite a transformation

Conditions at 5:30 - raining and13*
Expected later - 16* and more rain


When I got home from work last night, I had a voice message from Richard. He wanted to come over and return some movies he borrowed and pick up some new ones, as he and Daralen were going to be at the store for a little while. I had heard that he's put a lot of 'stuff' in and I was curious so I called and told him I'd meet them there. Well, you'd never imagine it's the same place.
Richard has a 'thing' for carved wooden pieces of art or what have you, and has been slowly collecting them for a number of years, mostly from second hand stores such as Value Village or from garage sales.


He's spent the summer cleaning and painting the interior of the store and although it looks the same on the outside it's a total transformation inside. He has all his wood neatly sorted and arranged in the back for his chairs that he builds, and he's lined all the shelves in the store with his collection of stuff. I think his plan is to open for business on weekends and sell his chairs but he also has this great amount of other stuff.


Last night he and Daralen were putting stuff up on the walls, but there really isn't a lot of wall space for hanging things as it's mostly taken up with shelves.  Of course the coffee pot is still there, and he plans to open on Saturday and Sunday mornings for coffee. It's really starting to come together  and I'm really pleased for him. It looks great.


I also like his choice of name "The Barkalounge".  So far, I'm the only one who's got the pun in the name. I'll leave it at that to see who can figure it out. If you can't here's a link to help out.  http://www.barcalounger.com/index.php

Tonight I'll stop at the grocery store and pick up what I need for Tuesday's cooking class, as everything will be closed when I get back. I'll do whatever prep I have to do on Monday afternoon.  With any luck at all, I'll be home a little after 2:00.  If not, who knows.

Yesterday afternoon, when Pam came in to work, around 1:00 she asked if I'd taken my lunch yet. I told her I hadn't so she gave me the keys to her car and told me to take it for a ride. Those who know me are aware that I've wanted a two seater convertible sports car forever. I think it started when I was in college and one of the girls was given an MG by her father (her parents had recently divorced) and I loved that car.  Most of us took the bus, and for her to have this totally awesome car was amazing. So when I saw the car Pam drives, I asked her one day what it's like to drive. So she suggested that I could take it for a drive one day. Well, yesterday the sun was shining and it was pretty mild so I took it out for a spin. What a blast!  It's very low to the ground, and you almost need a can-opener to get out of it, but it was awesome. I called Lloyd while I was out and his only comment was "Don't get any ideas".  He has nerve!  Can you imagine how much fun James and I would have had driving out to PEI in something like that? Of course we would have had to put Cooper in the trunk!

Now our students are ready for Thanksgiving

Conditions at 6:30 - the lights are back on, the skies are clear and the temperature is7*
Expected later - 16* and sunny with cloudy periods

It’s a short blog today as there was no power when I woke up this morning. I turned over to see what time it was and like everything else, the clock was also in blackness.  That’s one thing about being in the country, it’s very dark. 

I came downstairs and the battery operated clock on the wall told me it was 5:05 so my internal alarm was right on target.  So, I came downstairs, lit some candles and let the dog out, made my sandwich for lunch and cooked some oatmeal for my breakfast.  My gas stove has electronic ignition but it can still be started with a match. So, to quote a very wise man I know, it’s all good. Then I sat down to write the blog in Word, so all I have to do later is cut and paste!

Last night we had our very successful third class.  We did the chicken and it turned out perfect.  A little longer in the oven would have given us a little browner, crisper skin but the meat was perfectly cooked, and very juicy. The stuffing was also a huge hit.  I was a little apprehensive about it as the recipe indicates to cook it for four to eight hours but I cooked it almost twelve and it was fine. We added a bit of drippings from the chicken when it came out of the oven to boost the flavour but really, it didn’t need it, it was just fine. Along with that we cooked carrots and we cubed some potatoes, with the skin on and boiled them. Then when we were almost ready to eat, we melted some butter, added a little oil, and some fresh garlic and sautéed that a little bit then added the potatoes and tossed them around. The garlic could have done with a little bit longer cooking time but they were still tasty, especially if you really like garlic.

Some of the girls are planning to try the stuffing for Thanksgiving, and if they do, that’s what this class is all about – learning new things that you will actually do again at home.

For our readers, here is the recipe for the stuffing and a recipe for a dry rub for the chicken (although this isn’t the one I used last night, I cheated and used one out of a jar)

Aromatic Poultry Rub

¼ cup fine kosher or sea salt

3 tbsp packed brown sugar (light or dark)

2 tbsp dried orange zest

1 tbsp onion salt

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp freshly ground white pepper

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp dried marjoram

1 tbsp poultry seasoning

1 tbsp ground lemon pepper

Combine in a small bowl or shake in a jar

Crock Pot Dressing

12 cups bread cubes

2 cups chopped celery

1 large onion, chopped

¼ cup fresh parsley, minced

1 ½ tsp sage

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp thyme

½ tsp marjoram

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ cup butter

1 cup chicken broth

Combine bread cubes, celery, onion and parsley. Sprinkle seasonings over top.

Melt butter and drizzle over cubes.

Add chicken broth and mix well.

Place in crock pot. Cover.

Cook on high for 45 minutes, then reduce to low for four to eight hours. Stir occasionally while cooking.

Makes about 15 cups stuffing

Note: If dressing is too moist, add up to one more cup bread cubes. If you prefer a more moist stuffing, add up to ½ cup more chicken broth.

Note: I didn’t cook it on high, I just put it on low and left it for the entire day, and I used a little more bread than called form basically one whole loaf. I cubed the bread which was slightly dry but not totally. However, I made this on Labour Day with very dry bread and just increased the liquid slightly and it turned out fine.

My apologies, as I once again forgot my camera. I will try to remember it next week when we do crepes.

Anyone who knows Lloyd and I well knows that we love to try great restaurants and we’ve been known to plan vacations around restaurant reservations  Some of the top ones require reservations to be made up to six months in advance (still haven’t made it to the French Laundry, but we WILL).

Well, yesterday morning, I was driving a gentleman downtown and we were chatting about kids, and grandkids and he mentioned that his daughter and her husband live in England. We chatted about that and it turns out his son in law is one of the top chefs at The Fat Duck, a restaurant in England that is totally on our list of place we truly want to experience. When he said The Fat Duck, I just looked at him and said, Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck? And he seemed quite surprised that I would know that. Needless to day I was disappointed to have to let him out of the car as I was really enjoying our chat. I had to call Lloyd right away and tell him because no one else I know would have any idea what the name Heston Blumenthal meant.  How pathetic are WE? 

Well, it’s now six o’clock, my lunch is made, by breakfast is eaten and I still have no power, so I may as well get dressed and head into town for coffee and see if I can find out how far spread this power outage is.  I remember when we came down to look at property the first time, which seem eons ago, and we were only in town about half an hour and the power went out, but it was island wide.  Hopefully it’s not like that again, but I think that’s highly unlikely.

Getting ready for Class # 3

Conditions at 6:00 am -  4* and clear
Expected later - 17* and mix of sun and cloud

Just in time for Thanksgiving, we will be having Crock pot stuffing and Beer can roasted chicken.  The recipes will be posted here tomorrow morning.

I got everything ready last night then mixed everything in the crock pot for the stuffing this morning. It will cook a little longer than it's needed by putting it on when I leave, but it should be okay.  If it's a little too dry, we can always add some drippings from the chicken when it's cooking.

Once again we are going to have a gorgeous day. Yesterday was beautiful.  It certainly doesn't feel like fall in the mid afternoons, although it really does in the mornings.

I talked to Lloyd last night and if we're not careful, this could turn into a party. He's invited several people and most are able to make it. I told Patti last night that we're having a party at her house while she's away. Fortunately she was okay with that.  She sent me the link to a youtube video of the Hedley concert she and James were at. The guests come on stage about two minutes into the video and you can see James quite clearly, jumping up and down, as he's the only little kid there. What fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-jh0p-30-M

Saturday will be a busy day. Tristen has hockey at 8:30 in the morning and I really want  to go and see that. Patti and Greg are planning to leave after that. Then Meghan has dance class at 12:30 and James has a hockey game in the afternoon. I'd like to go to that for a while as well, but one of his other team mates is going to pick him up and bring him home, but I will go and watch for a bit. I haven't seen him play since two winters ago. I didn't see him play last year at all. It's hard to believe I've been here almost a year and a half.

We'll have to time our shopping and party prep in between the other activities.

Time flies when you're having fun

Conditions at 6:00 am - clear with very bright stars still out and 6*

Expected later - 14* and a mix of sun and cloud

It's hard to believe it's Monday already. It was a busy weekend but at the same time, a relaxing one. Friday night Brenda and I went out to the Old Dublin Pub and had a beer and something to eat. It was such a beautiful day we were able to sit outside at a table. They have a little screened in part upstairs and you can look over and see people walking by. We needed our jackets but it was still quite nice out there.

I had all kinds of plans for Saturday. I had to wait for the Shaw fellow to arrive to hook up my PVR so because I had to stay in all day anyway, I planned to do lots of cleaning stuff. Well, it turns out he called at 8:00 to say he'd be there within the hour and he was. So I had the rest of the day to myself. It started raining quite hard before he got there  so that finished any outside work. For some unknown reason I was quite tired  and really didn't feel like doing anything so that's exactly what I did - nothing. I did manage to vacuum the living room and sweep everywhere else but that's it. I tried out the PVR and taped a couple of things and then watched them and by then it was time to get showered and dressed to go to the rec centre.  I got home from there around 10:20 and stayed up long enough to watch an episode of "Good Eats" that for some reason only comes on here really late at night so I haven't seen Alton in a long time. I love that show.(and that PVR!)

Sunday I managed to sleep in till 8:00 so I guess I must have needed it. Fortunately I was up when Brenda called and said that Bernie wanted to take the two of us out for breakfast.We enjoyed a lovely breakfast sitting in a nice sunny corner in a very busy Peakes Tea. I have to say, I'm really spoiled sometimes.

By the time we got back it was almost time to go to the rec centre to help prep for the Spaghetti Supper.

They hadn't done this before and had a vague idea of what to do. On top of that,  they had no idea how many tickets were sold so we didn't know if we were expecting 10 or 100.  In the end it was a huge success. There was a great turn out and everyone was happy with the food. Brenda served the spaghetti and I was cooking it in the kitchen. We didn't want it to get too gummy and stick together so I was busy with three big pots cooking one package at a time. It made one heck of a mess but it worked.  We were really busy for about an hour and a half (it ran from 4 till 6) and the time went really fast, but we sure could have used a bit more help. We had no clue it would be so successful, and we got a lot of  positive comments. There are a couple of things we might do differently next time but for the most part it was a huge success. Financially it was well worth the work. One step closer to the playground.

*****************************************************

On Friday I got the following email from Patti. It seems I wasn't the only one on the radio last week.

"We've been meaning to call you, but it's been pretty busy around here.  Back in the spring, they announced that Hedley was coming to the Sleeman center in September, and James really wanted to go, so as the concert got closer, he would comment how he wished he could go, with this sad look in his eyes.  Well, yesterday as I was driving to school to pick them up, the radio said the first caller through would win tickets.  So I called, and got through!  I was the first caller, but it wasn't going to be easy, because I had to sing the chorus from Hedley's song Cha-Ching.  Well, I guess it's a week for radio embarrassments, because I sang live on the air, and the studio audience decided I did a good enough job to win.  Needless to say when I told James, he was thrilled. Not only did we win 2 tickets, but we got to go up on stage with Hedley when they sang Cha Ching and sing with them.  They had several winners from this week, so there was about 15 people that got to go up.  I didn't have my camera (boo-hoo), but Jen from the radio took some pictures, and she said she would post them on her blog, so I will try and get a picture.

So I guess we are both famous this week!  James had a great time, I'm sure he will tell you all about it."

 James may not remember but this is the second time he's performed on stage at the Sleeman Centre. One time when he was really little, I took him to see some children's performers, who's names I can't remember now.(but I know it's in a scrapbook somewhere!).  They did a song about a train and they made the sound of a train whistle in it. James was crazy about trains when he was little and had this wooden train whistle. We were sitting in the front row and he insisted on bringing his train whistle with him. So he pulled it out of his bag just as they started singing the train song and when they saw him, they told him to come up on stage   so I lifted him up onto the stage and he marched very purposefully back and forth across the stage as the song was being sun . I so regretted not taking a camera with me. I think he was only about 4 at the time.

**************************************************************

On the McCartney web site I listen to sometimes, there's Beatle news. When I was looking there yesterday, I saw that Geoff Baker, who worked for the Beatles and McCartney for years, is putting together a book of stories from fans. There was a request for fans to submit their favorite Beatles stories so I submitted my favorite. This morning I got a reply which I'm sure is automatically generated but at least I know it was received. Good marketing on Geoff's part because now I'll have to buy the book when it's published just to see if our story made it. Here's how it went:


Received this morning:

Thank you Sandy, what a revealing story. All the best.

geoff

On Sat 02/10/10 2:32 PM , Sandy Denny sandydenny2@yahoo.com sent:

Hi Geoff I think this is a fabulous idea and I'd love to share my favorite (of many) Beatles stories with you. I'm a 58 year old Beatles/Macca fan and have been since their first visit to North America the year I turned 12. I live in Canada and have been fortunate to see Paul live 12 times including twice at Earls Court Arena in London and outside the palace at the Queen's Golden Jubilee. About four years ago, my 5 year old grandson and I were travelling by car from Ontario to Prince Edward Island, a 3 day drive when you take the scenic route. His other grandmother loaned him a portable DVD player to keep him occupied on the road. He brought along several movies that he liked and I brought a couple, including Yellow Submarine. I figured it's a cartoon, he might like it. Well, part way through the second day, he put the movie on and that was it - he was hooked.  He watched it over and over and by the third time he knew all the words to all the songs. I still smile when I think of the two of us driving down the highway singing along together, at the top of our lungs, to all the songs in the movie. It was so precious to me to share something that I loved so much with him and having him discover it for himself. It wasn't my influence that made him like it, I just provided the opportunity to experience the music.  I will always remember that trip as a very special time in both our lives. Thanks so much for letting me share this with someone who knew the boys so well. My life hasn't always turned out the way I might have hoped, although in the end  it did, but through it all, Paul has supplied the soundtrack for my entire life, in one form or another.  Sandy Denny A true fan in Prince Edward Island, Canada