Another beautiful day in store

Conditions at 5:10 am: bright stars and -1'
Expected later: sunshine and 4'

It looks like today will be a repeat of yesterday, and that's a god thing! It was a gorgeous day with mild temperatures and lots of sunshine. So much so, that I think I'll take a lighter jacket with me this morning as it just gets way too hot driving around in the car. But I'm not complaining. I got a call from Brenda late in the afternoon yesterday and she had tried the split pea soup  had made a while ago and she had also made a batch of bread. So on my way home I stopped in and picked up a container of soup and a loaf of bread and the left over ham bone.  Good job, Brenda. The soup was delicious and sorry Bernie, but I toasted the bread to have with it. (Bernie thinks you should eat home made bread in it's natural state - not toasted). I'm embarrassed to say I had four slices of toast with my soup, it was THAT good. And the soup was delicious. I'll have to make a pot of that when Lloyd is here. It's much better than anything you get out of a can.

Yesterday I told you a bit about the mini mills. They manufacture spinning machinery that they ship all over the world. They also do custom spinning of many different kinds of fibres. One of the most intriguing items they do is Musk Ox. Sheila was telling me that the animals are killed up in the Arctic and the hide is frozen.. Then it is shipped to the mill in Belfast. Once here they thaw it out and hang it up. The guard hairs on the animal are very course and not really usable for any purpose and some of them are three feet long. These are removed and then the soft undercoat is combed off the skin to be put through the whole cleaning, carding, spinning process.  The hide is then sent away to be tanned. When that process is complete, it is then shipped back to the arctic where the leather is used.  Nothing is wasted.  I would love to be there sometime when the hide is first being worked on to see what it looks like. No doubt that could be possible, if I ask.

I've been following the blog of our friends, Mike and Carol. They've been traveling down around the southern US states for a while now in their camper. It sounds like they're having a wonderful time. We're really hoping they make it down here sometime this summer. It would be wonderful to see them and have the opportunity to share this place with them. I have no idea who might be down this year. Our accountant, David, mentioned that they might be traveling in the area and will get in touch when they are here, as well as Jim and Patti, from Guelph. We had talked about them maybe coming at Christmas but I think they would enjoy it more in the summer. No doubt Patti and Greg and the kids will also be here at some point so it might be a busy summer again but so far nothing is definite. We'll just have to wait and see what unfolds.

Another blog I'm following is all about food and is written by a fellow islander. Check it out. http://zestycook.com/

Grandson James has quite the sense of humour. He sent me this by email yesterday, and yes it did brighten my day!

 Sometimes we just want to bug each other for no reason, so for no reason, I am sending this email to bug you.

Sending a little bit of me to brighten your day.

Click here:http://beverlys.net/LJ/BuggingYou.swf

 

Inspiring!

Conditions at 5:15 am: clear starry skies and 0'
Expected later: 2' and sunny

It's going to be a cool but lovely day today. Yesterday turned out not too bad as well. It was cool and a bit breezy but the sun was shining.

Well, yesterday morning I took a few minutes and dropped into the Weavers Guild. What an experience. I may have found my group!  They meet every Tuesday, although people wander in and out all week long but Tuesday is their 'meeting' day. They gather in an old convent building downtown and inside is a large room filled with looms of every size and description.  There must be at least 16.  Most have projects on them, and those that are empty have just had something taken off. The members are mostly my age or older, which makes sense as most are retired, so they have the time to get together.

What happens is, each person chooses a project and pays for the materials and they are put onto a loom. But you don't just sit and work on your own project. The newer weavers do, but not the experienced ladies. They rotate and everyone works on everyone else's project. That way all are given the opportunity to try different projects and patterns. Some of the looms in there are huge!  There's one that must be 120 inches wide and has two sets of foot treadles. It takes two people to run it. Sheila from the mini mills was there and she showed me around all the different projects and introduced me to all the ladies. Now I'm really looking forward to the day when I can retire and join them.

The projects I saw were amazing. One lady had a rug that she had taken off and was now working on the fringe on the ends. It was absolutely gorgeous. Another had a table cloth, 60 inches wide and a very complex pattern with many colours. It too was amazing.  I would have loved to have spent the entire day there chatting and asking questions and just watching what people were doing but, alas, work beckoned.
Now my task is to decide what I'd like to make first. I was thinking place-mats but I think I'll do a table runner instead.  I have all kinds of ideas running through my head, now I just need to pick one!

And the wind still howls

Conditions at 5:15 am: clear and windy and 0'
Ecpected later: 1' and maybe some sun

But yet again they are predicting huge snow for the end of the week - 15 cm on Saturday. They've done that the last two weeks - told us to expect lots of snow but then it never materializes. Except of course, last Friday when they had taken the snow OUT of the forecast and then we got it anyway! Maybe it's an April Fools joke this week.

 I picked Brenda up last night on my way home where she was delivering the bus. When we got back to her place I enjoyed a quick supper ( I had to get home to let the dog out, and she had a meeting at the church) so I didn't feel too badly about eating and running. While I was there, she showed me the scrapbook that Caitlin has started on her far east adventures. What an amazing job she's done so far. This girl certainly doesn't need any help - she's totally got it. And now the two of them can bounce ideas off each other. They are both well on their way. Awesome job, ladies! 

Well, let me tell you about my weaving experience. I traveled out to Belfast on Saturday morning and easily found my way. The mills are about 7 kms past the arena down a fairly long lane. I followed the signs to the store and parking lot, which was adjacent to a fenced field with one cow, a llama and an alpaca. I chatted briefly with them although the cow was by far the most sociable of the lot, coming over to the fence to get her face scratched and to lick my hand.

I went inside the store and it was quite a lovely set up. They also have a tea room adjacent to the store that's open during the summer.  I was greeted at the door by Sheila, a lovely woman who moved to the island 16 years ago from BC. She and her husband were manufacturing the milling machines out there in the mountains, but as their business grew, and they began shipping to Europe, it made no sense to do it from the west coast. So they packed everything up and moved it here. Unfortunately she lost her husband a while ago but she has several family members who assist with the business, including her two twin daughters- Hazel and Linda. I had a lovely time and she had a loom all set up with a warp on it for me to play with. It was not quite the same style of loom as mine, but it gave me a chance to actually do some weaving. After a few minutes of instruction, she left me to it. I worked away and got the hang of it. She suggested that it would take two visits to actually finish the project - a tea towel (or dish towel, as I'm told it's called : thank you Craig!)

Off the loom, ready to be serged, washed, then hemmed

Anyway I continued on for a bit then Linda came in with tea and a Tim Horton's donut for each of us. We took a little break and then I got back to it.  Before I knew it my towel was long enough. I was amazed at the amount of shrinkage to expect, according to Sheila. We made it 36 inches long and it finally finished up at    30 1/2 inches when it was all finished.  They were both very impressed that I got it done in one sitting and joked that they had a production weaver in their midst. I think I was just too eager to have something to take home with me.  It has a few little errors but I now  know how and  why they happened. It's all a learning experience. But it really didn't take that long as I arrived at 10:00 and I was on my way home by 2:20 and that included a tea break and a tour of the production facility in the building where they actually run spinning machines.  They have a couple of small spinning wheels in the shop, although they are new ones, so I mentioned that I had a small one that was quite old so Sheila suggested that I bring it in sometime and they can have a look at it and see what we need to get it up and running. But I told her that will be a project for a later time as I have too many on the go right now and I need to master the weaving first before I go on. But she did show me some yarns that were spun with Samoyed dog hair. She says they do custom spinning and have spun all kinds of dog hair. I knew those fuzzy balls of dog hair were being stored under the bed for a reason!

The finished product!

Sheila is originally from London, England and I told her that London is one of my favorite cities (not that I've visited that many) so we had a lovely chat about that as well.  Because it's the off season, and it's all run from their home, she is very flexible with her time right now so I will start going out there on Sundays as I really need to work on Saturday. It also gives me a deadline of sorts as I told her I need to be finished instruction before kayaking season starts but that feels such a long way off right now.  So next Sunday we're going to wind the yarn to get it ready to put on the loom. We're going to do two windings, one for the loom at her place and also one for my loom at home so I can bring it home and try putting it on, so this week I have to decide just what I want to make, colours, etc. Exciting stuff!

The other exciting thing is the weavers and spinners guild here in town is open every day. Apparently they have lots of looms set up so people come in and use them all the time but Sheila is only there on Tuesdays. I'm going to drop in this morning just for a few minutes to look around and see some looms like mine in action, then I'll have a better idea of how it should work. I'm quite excited about that. I can only imagine how much trouble I can get myself into once I retire. I suppose I could have used one of their looms until I tried it but who knew?  I suppose it makes sense to assume that you don't have enough space to house a loom in your living room and to take your creative efforts elsewhere. But that's never been me - I'm more of a jump in with two feet first, then ask how deep the water is, kind of girl!

What a creative weekend

Conditions at 5:15 am: -7' and overcast
Expected later: flurries and a high of +2'

Well, it was quite a busy weekend, and since I often don't have much to write about during the week, I will spread out the details over a couple of days.
The weekend got off to a good start on Friday night when I went over to the Van Gaals to visit after supper. Brenda had been painting and such all day and was finally ready to clean up and call it a night. She hadn't eaten yet and was going to make herself some nacho's and she thought of me. I had already eaten but there's always room for a nacho or two. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I arrived and Bernie walked into the kitchen - without any hair or beard!  Totally clean shaven.  Can you picture it?  I sure was surprised. Apparently he does this every so often then lets it start growing all over again.  It was such a surprise for me as I've never seen him without his beard.  His head is one of those that looks good shaved, unlike some people I know who have hair for a reason.

Saturday I took the day off work to go for weaving instruction. I'll write the details tomorrow but I do have a finished piece. It's not perfect but I'm very proud of it.

Sunday morning I joined Brenda and Bernie for breakfast and then we pulled out the scrapbooking supplies. Brenda did very well, and in a few short hours, we finished 8 pages. She has a good eye for colour and design so she'll be able to continue on her own. The next time we get together I'll bring over the cricut and we'll see if we can add some more embellishments to her pages. But she's got the basic idea and I find you always go back after the fact and look at the pages again and again and add little bits here and there until you are totally happy with the end result. But we were pretty pleased with what she did yesterday.  We took a picture of her with her first two page layout so I'll have to get her to send it to me.

We took a little break in the afternoon as a couple of their friends dropped by and we stopped and had tea. then we continued on until supper time. When we finished cleaning up and putting everything away, the three of us - Bernie, Brenda and I - went into town as Brenda had to pick up a bus for this morning. So we went to Phinley's for supper, in Stratford. I'd never been there before and it was good. I had the cheeseburger and fries and it was homemade with real meat, and was quite good. Will joined us for a few minutes at the end as he had something to pick up from his mom, then we left to get the bus. I got to ride in a big yellow school bus driven by bus driver Brenda.  It's been a lot of years since I sat on a school bus and as we traveled back to Fort Augustus I remembered the countless hours I spent riding on buses when I was in school. We usually lived in the country so being bussed to school was the norm. Thanks for the memories, Brenda.

It's BAAAACK!

Conditions at 5:15 am: -3' and a couple of cm of new snow on the ground with more falling lightly
Expected later: 2-4 cm of snow and -2' - basically what we see, is what we'll be getting for the rest of the day

What a rude awakening this morning to see everything covered in  a blanket of snow!  I didn't see that on the weather network yesterday. In fact it said less than 1 cm - oops - guess they were wrong again. But not a big deal, it's not that serious, at least not yet! The up side, at this point, is it's not windy.

This has been such a quiet week, I have very little to write about. I did see an interesting sight last night. When I got home from work, I was outside bringing in some wood and I could see several flocks of geese flying from the direction of the back of our yard towards the river. They were all flying in V formation, and as I watched, there were more and more of them. I stood and watched as the V's came into view in the distance and there were dozens and dozens of groups of geese coming. I watched for at least 10 minutes and they never stopped coming. It was like every Canada goose in the Atlantic region was headed in our direction. As they flew over the house, they were an impressive sight and they were all headed to the river. There were literally hundreds of geese that passed by in that few minutes. You can only imagine the noise when they all landed and congregated on the water. I thought it was odd that there were no geese that I could see, down there, when I took the dog for his walk earlier. Guess they were all out for the day but apparently they have some sort of built in alarm that makes them all return at the same time. Curious.

There was an event going on at the Farm Centre last night at 6:30 put on by PEI Flavours and I intended to go but I got tired of waiting around for 6:30 to arrive and I was hungry and so I just went home. I could have gone and gotten myself something to eat to kill time but I forgot my wallet yesterday when I went to work, so I had no money, no debit or credit card so I was pretty limited in what I could do. I think they'll be having these events  again so hopefully I can make it to the next one. They're intended to bring together people who are interested in food - chefs, producers, basically anyone who has an interest in food. There were going to be some displays, I think, and various people speaking. Hopefully it was successful  and they do it again.

Well, better go and shovel off the patio so it doesn't turn to ice again, although it will likely melt over the next few days. Happy Friday everyone and have a great weekend.

PS - I stand corrected. By the time I left for work, it was more like a couple of inches or better of snow. More out our way than in town but an uneventful drive, except for the the pickup that had just gone into the ditch, that I passed on the way. Nothing like a sight like that to slow everyone down.

We've escaped --- so far

Conditions at 5:15 am: -3' with a light dusting of snow on the ground
Expected later: -2' with a mix of sun and cloud

I watched the Toronto news when I got home last night and I couldn't believe the weather they had yesterday.  I called Lloyd and he said it was probably the worst weather he's driven in all winter. He looked out his window and it was still snowing, and unless someone plowed out the driveway, he wasn't going to be able to get out this morning. It had all filled in where his tracks were when he came home. Guess he has NO idea what kind of winter we had here! But then again I didn't have to try to get across the 401 with all the crazies who drive on there. Hopefully Meghan(1) didn't have to travel too far yesterday.

Then a little later I talked to Patti and she said the same thing. She was on her way to work but missed her flight because she was stuck in the traffic on the highway. Of course then they have to find other crew for the flight she's late for and then they reassigned her to another flight when she did eventually get there. Turns out the pilot was stuck in traffic as well so it made for lots of delays as I'm sure there were other flights affected the same way. Some of the little things that the public doesn't realize when their flights get delayed - it's not always just the snow itself, but the staffing of the plane as well.
I talked to Tristen, who was having second thoughts about coming to visit all by himself. He asked his mom what he was going to do if he missed her, but she assured him it would be fine. He asked me if he could have an Easter Egg hunt while he was here and I agreed that would surely happen and he seemed a little better with the whole idea. He told me he had a chance to try speed skating and I replied "You were speedskating?  Get out of town!" to which he indignantly replied "No, I'm not going to get out of town".  His main concern, however,  was how long it takes to get to and from Grandma's. When they came at Christmas, they flew to Halifax and stayed over night then arrived here. On the way home they drove to Ottawa, stayed over and then flew home. He was afraid it was going to take just as long again but his mom assured him it wouldn't be like that this time. It's funny what they remember about events and trips and in his mind it takes a really, really long time to get to Grandma's house.

Yesterday I was looking at some of the photos that viewers have posted on the weather network site and there's one of a seal pup on the beach in Rustico. That would have been quite a sight  for the kids to see. We'll have to see what sights we might be able to find while Tristen is here  to make it worth while doing all that travelling!.

Our intentions were good

Conditions at 5:15 am: -3' and partly cloudy
Expected later: overcast and 0'

Well, we thought we might get started. Yesterday afternoon, I talked to Brenda and she was busy painting, trying to get the last bits done in the porch. We agreed that I would pick up a BBQ chicken and some rolls on my way home and we would make chicken sandwiches for supper then start on the scrapbook. So after work I stopped at the store, then went home, let the dog out and headed over to her place. She was just cleaning up from painting so the timing was great. We put everything together on the table and we all sat down and ate. Just when we were finished Big Bang Theory came on the TV in the kitchen so we decided to take our tea into the living room and watch it. Then one more TV show came on that we watched and by then we were just too darned relaxed and our day had caught up with all of us (Caitlin included). So that was that. We decided that perhaps we might wait until Sunday and maybe do some right after church on Sunday morning, then if it's bad weather we can work as long as we want. Evenings are just too short to really get started. I think that once she gets going, then she can just pick it up whenever she gets the notion to and has the time.

Yet one more sign of spring yesterday morning on my way to work. I was driving down my road on the way to the corner and a big fat racoon waddled across the road in front of me. It's the first one I've seen this year. Surprisingly I've not yet seen any lying dead on the road.

The weather network is calling for snow flurries over the next couple of day. Hopefully it won't be anything too serious.  Yesterday the sales manager was telling me about a customer who came in yesterday and bought a brand new car and insisted that the studded winter tires be taken off her old car and put onto her new one. Now that's a pessimist, or maybe a realist, I'm not sure which. As long as we don't have lots of snow for me to drive in on the way to Belfast on Saturday morning. I'm not sure I'll be able to find my way in the daylight. Some of my landmarks for indicating where to make some of the turns included street lights. I've never been there in the daylight, so hopefully it will all come back to me as I travel.  I'd better take a map with me just in case!  I'm looking forward to having the opportunity of trying out a loom and seeing just exactly how it operates.  Then maybe some of what I've tried to read will make sense.

Before I forget, and I probably don't have it exactly right, but yesterday afternoon I saw a quote in the Guardian from David Weale, that was really cute and it went something like this: 
"Sometimes your knight in shining armour 
is just a hot dog wrapped in tin foil" 

Another sign of spring

Conditions at 5:15 am: -3' and clear with a bright moon and stars
Expected later: 1' and overcast with maybe some sunny breaks

Another quiet day yesterday - that is until I get home at night. The field across the road that runs along the river seems to be a favorite spot for Canada geese at certain times of the year and this is one of them. In the mornings and the evenings there are literally hundreds of geese out there. Every once in a while they all start honking and the sound is incredible. Even with all the doors and windows closed, you can still hear them. Sometimes some of them take off flying in large groups but there are still many hundreds milling about in the field. I'm not sure why they are there, although it is a protected area, according to the signs along the road. However, I doubt they can read that! It really is an impressive sight to see, although I wouldn't want to try going for a walk down there. I remember what the fields around the stream at the Correction Centre in Guelph were like, as there are huge flocks of geese that  gather there as well. We would sometimes go there to watch the kids play ball on the sports fields and you were very hard pressed to find a clean patch of ground to walk on or put your lawn chair. So it's nice to be able to see them but at enough distance that the mess isn't an issue.

It amazes me how much easier it is to get around town when there's no school. The traffic congestion in the mornings is almost non existent out on North River Road. I suppose when you take out all the cars that are driven by students, staff and add the school buses, it makes quite a difference.

Not much to report this morning. I think I'm going to the Van Gaals tonight to start working on their scrapbooks. Brenda brought hers over the other day and she has all her pictures sorted and ready to go. She's way more organized than most people I've met when they first start. All we have to do is choose paper for each page, (which she probably has done), and then work from there. I'll check with her later this morning and see if that's still the plan.

Brilliant

Conditions at 5:00 am: very clear and -8'
Expected later: 1' and sunny

There was lots of hype on the internet on Friday about the Supermoon that was coming. Apparently it's been 18 years since the moon was this close to earth. They claimed it would be 30% larger and 30% brighter but that it really wouldn't be that perceptible by the naked eye. But it was indeed an incredible sight. The sky was fairly clear on Saturday night, with just a few clouds,  when I put the dog outside just before I went to bed, and it was absolutely brilliant outside. I would say it's almost as bright this morning. The sky this morning is completely clear and with the stars and the moon, it's amazingly bright outside. I tried taking a picture but it just doesn't do it justice.

"Is there some reason you're disturbing me?"

Yesterday was also brilliant. It was chilly all day, staying below freezing, but the sun was bright and warm coming in the windows. Cooper took every chance he could to lie in the sunshine, one of his most favorite things to do. He spent most of the afternoon lying flat out on the patio at the back. Then when he came in, he spent his time in the back porch, where he could lie in the sun coming in the door. I don't think he'd do well in a very cold climate.

All in all, it was a very quiet weekend. Brenda and I went to the Old Dublin Pub on Friday after work and enjoyed a couple of beers and some food. We had the potato skins, which were not served like we expected but they were quite good. They were more like big fat french fries covered with cheese and green onions and bacon. We had started with a crostini with slices of a glazed roast pork. It was a little different but also very good. Then we walked over to the Chinese restaurant just up the street and picked up supper for the rest of the Van Gaal family.

I worked on Saturday and spent most of the day upstairs with Craig helping him sort out some issues he was having with payables. Nothing serious, but just matching invoices and statements and tracking down some that were missing in action. It was actually kind of nice working upstairs away from the world downstairs. But then the phone wasn't that busy either so it made it easier to get other work done. Craig appreciated the help and I was glad to do it and it made the morning go by so much faster.

Other than just puttering around the house a little, some cleaning, a bit of laundry, the weekend passed by pretty uneventfully. But it was also very relaxing. I spent part of yesterday online watching earlier episodes of Big Bang Theory. Brenda had mentioned she watched it and found it quite funny and I caught a couple of episodes on the airplane the last time I flew. Now I'm totally addicted and am trying to catch all the old episodes as well. It's really well written and some of the lines are really good and the characters are pretty quirky.  It's a refreshing change from all the reality stuff that's on TV these days.

Happy Friday

Conditions at 5:15 am: overcast and 1'
Expected later: 5' and light rain

Yesterday gave us a little taste of what's to come. The sun was so warm in the afternoon that I had to leave my jacket at work when I went out to drive, it was just too warm in the car. It was SO nice to be able to just get up and go out without bundling up first!

I don't know if it's the time change, or what, but this week has dragged by and I've been so tired every night. When I get home from work I don't feel like doing anything. Hopefully a new week will make a difference.
I stopped at the grocery store on my way home last night and picked up a few things so got home a little late. When I got here I took the dog out for his walk and by the time  I returned, Brenda had called. So she came over for a little bit and we planned our strategy for tonight. It seems she needs a ride home from town this afternoon so we're stopping by the Old Dublin to celebrate St. Paddy's Day a day late. A drink and a bite to eat will fit the bill quite nicely before we head out to the country. I love it when a plan comes together.

I talked to Lloyd last night (twice, actually) and he is now coming on the Friday instead of the Thursday night. He checked flights last night and that's a better option. It will work well,  as he and Tristen will arrive at 1:15 on Friday afternoon so I can go and pick them up and they can have my car for the afternoon, then they will be leaving on Easter Sunday afternoon. Just in time for the Easter Bunny to get here. That part will be fun. Tristen has been wanting to come out for a visit by himself for quite a while so I hope he doesn't get too bored, hanging out with papa all week. But I doubt it and if the weather cooperates, he will likely spend lots of time outside. There won't be any mosquitoes so he'll have lots of opportunity to play in his treehouse.

It's been one week since we first saw those devastating images from Japan on TV.  It seemed totally incomprehensible to watch. We're used to seeing things like that take place in movies and on TV but you know they're staged or computer generated. It was horrifying to watch the progression of the water as it took out everything in it's path, and knowing it was real. I can't begin to imagine what it must be like for those poor people. Once again, we are brutally reminded just how very fortunate we are. We were whining the other morning about the price of gas going up 5 cents a litre. We really have NOTHING to complain about.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Conditions at 5:00 am: 2' and overcast (although it had rained earlier)
Expected later: mix of sun and cloud and +4'

To all or our friends of Irish descent, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Once again the Old Dublin Pub is hosting a traditional St. Paddy's Day breakfast in aid of charity. From 8:00 to 10:00 you can sit in a pub and enjoy a full Irish Breakfast!  Unfortunately I won't be able to go but I'm sure it will be something Lloyd will support when he gets here!  Lloyd, don't forget to mention it to Nile.

A curious sign of spring??? Last night when I got home from work, I took the dog for a walk down the road, and I encountered dozens of little fuzzy black caterpillars along the side of the road. They were only about an inch long and had faint yellow stripes running from one end to the other, not around like others I've seen. They were spread out all along the way but only on the sand at the side, not on the pavement. The really curious thing about them was the fact they were all on one side of the road only - the side closest to the river (which is still quite a distance away, so I can't imagine that makes any difference). On the way back, I walked on the other side and only saw one the whole way. It seems early to be seeing that sort of thing and I've never seen them before. Wonder what that means.

I also stopped and had a hamburger on my way home - not something I would usually do. But I was very hungry and just had a craving for a burger. The last time that happened it was a few months ago on a Saturday after work, so I stopped at Wendy's. It was a disappointing experience. So last night I stopped at the Peter Pan. I've never been there before and I recently learned that one of the fellows at work owned it for many years. He sold it after his children were grown. He said he it was lots of work, and he would never have gotten rich but he raised a family and put them all through school and you can't ask for more than that. He hasn't owned it for a number of years, but he says it's still the same. One day I was recently driving a couple of people back to the dealership and as we drove by, I mentioned that I'd never eaten there and they both said the food was really good. So last night I decided to check it out. I ordered the burger basket - with cheese. It had a cheeseburger, fries and coleslaw. Well I knew it would be good when she took out a clump of REAL meat, and flattened it on the grill and began to cook it.Because it was real meat, cooked fresh to order, I had to wait a few minutes. But it was worth it. The burger tasted just like I hoped it would - like  a real hamburger - not the processed, artificially flavoured discs we've grown accustomed to. I'll have to bring the kids here the next time they come to visit. Now I can't wait to get the BBQ out again. But I still have to wait for more snow to melt before I can do that.

Now I think the weather network is just messing with our heads. Most of the week they were predicting a total of up to 25 cm of snow between Friday and Saturday. Now they've got mixed precipitation (just a little) for Friday and sun and cloud for Saturday. BUT, if you look ahead to next week they are again suggesting we may receive 10+ cm on Tuesday.  Let's hope they're wrong ----again! I'm kind of getting used to the mild temperatures and sunny days.

What a glorious evening it was

Conditions at 5:30am: -3' and clear
Expected later: +3' and sunshine!

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous. While the air was cool, the sun had some real warmth to it and it was lovely. Last night was even more impressive. I went to let the dog out later in the evening and the sky was so clear and filled with lots of brilliant stars and a really bright moon. I thought it must be a full moon, it was so bright,I was really surprised to see that it wasn't.

I called Brenda to see if she wanted to do scrapbooking last night, but she was too tired, and I was quite happy with that as well. I'd had a really busy day and was pretty much done in myself. Although it's so nice now that the time has changed and I actually have some time to do something outside. There's still lots of snow around but there's also lots of bare ground. I spent a little while tidying up around the back door and put some things away and swept the little patio area at the back door. It looks so much better now. I'm anxious to be able to get out and pick up all the branches off the lawn. The trees in the lane took a real beating over the winter this year and there's a lot of debris on the lawn. But that opportunity will come soon enough.

I talked to Patti last night as she was at the airport on her way to Edmonton. She and James went skiing yesterday. They still have enough snow on the ski hill but that will likely change as they expect lots of rain today. She thought they might go again on Friday but she expects the conditions will have seriously deteriorated by then. Her dad is doing much better now. He was moved yesterday out of Intensive Care to another unit that's kind of in between ICU and a regular unit. Hopefully he's once again on the mend.  He's certainly had a tough go of things and it looks like he's got a long way to go still.

Well, the weather network has now changed their forecast. Up till yesterday they were still saying we were going to receive 15 cm of snow on Friday and 10 cm on Saturday. Now that's been downgraded to 5 to 10 on Friday and none on Saturday. But I still can't imagine that's going to materialize. The radio is saying +4' for Friday and periods of rain OR snow, so I can't see how we'll get that much snow but I suppose anything's possible. Let's just hope they're wrong as all it will do is make a huge mess of things. It's not like it will be usable snow, so we may as well be done with it.

Welcome back to winter

Conditions at 5:15 am: -11' and clear with lots of bright stars
Expected later: -1' and sunshine

It's going to be a lovely day today but later in the week isn't looking so great. According to the weather network, we might get 15 cm of snow on Friday and another 10 cm on Saturday. Mother nature isn't done with us yet! That seems hard to believe as the radio is predicting +8' and rain for Thursday so it's hard to imagine it can change so dramatically, so quickly. But we shall see. I've heard more and more people talk about the fact that we always get a storm around St. Patrick's Day, so let's see if it's true again this year.

Time sure flies when you're having fun! On Sunday, it was exactly two years since the day we came down to look at the house and our offer was accepted.  It was certainly an impulsive move on our part, but one that turned out to be a good one. I was mentioning to Brenda on Saturday that I need to go through my closet and sort out all the clothes that I used to wear to an office as I don't need them anymore. She suggested that I not get rid of them quite yet, because you just never know what I might be doing next!  She's totally got us figured out.

Yesterday I did some research on line and found a name to contact for the local weavers guild and I called this lady who put me in touch with a place in Belfast called Belfast Mini Mills. It seems they make small versions of industrial spinning equipment but I spoke to a lady there and they have set up a small loom and are doing weaving lessons, on a one to one basis. Unfortunately they offer these classes during the weekdays but she has agreed to meet with me on Saturday the 26th so I can play with the loom that is set up and get an idea of how it works and then I can go the next time and she will teach me how to set it up. I'm so excited to finally have found an instruction source.  The webpage says they charge $35 to teach it and that seems pretty darned reasonable to me. So I'm looking forward to doing that. It's actually located 7.5 km past the Belfast arena, on the same road, so I know how to get there. Check out their website:
http://www.minimills.net/page.php?31
Before I go I must wish my good friend, Cathy Lasby, a very Happy Birthday. I can never forget her birthday on the 15th of March because someone on the radio always says "Beware the Ides of March" but I usually remember it anyway. Cathy and I have been friends since public school and it was great to have a chance to get together with her when I was in Ontario. I'm really looking forward to her one day taking a few days from her busy schedule and coming down to the island. She promises she will, and I hope she does.

Little signs of spring

Conditions at 5:30: -3' and light flurries expected
Expected later: -4' and overcast

We had a lovely mild  weekend but this morning we're  back into the chillier weather once again. It rained quite a bit on Saturday and was lovely and sunny yesterday, but windy. The wind still had some bite to it, so  appearances were a little bit deceiving. I have noticed a couple of signs of spring definitely being on it's way though. There was a dead skunk in the middle of the road on Friday morning on my way to work. Then on Friday night when I got home I noticed also that the bulbs I planted in the fall, are starting to poke through the ground. Large parts of the lawn are now bare and other than the big drifts, the bulk of the snow is all gone. Quite a contrast to  a brief two weeks ago when the ladies were here and we couldn't get out for the snow in the driveway up to our mid thighs.

Brenda got home Friday evening and she called to report they had a great time. The weather was perfect for most of the time, with only a bit of rain and not too hot. She had time to visit a lot of people and even found some relatives she didn't know were there. As she put it, "they just kept coming out of the woodwork". I'm really glad they had a good time as I know she was a little apprehensive about going in the beginning.
To celebrate her being back, we met on Saturday after work at the Globe and enjoyed some fine music, some cold beer and some good food. Then we walked around town a bit, and ended with a tea at Timothy's.  All in all, a great afternoon.

Sunday I spent the day puttering around the house and doing some odd jobs and some laundry before getting ready to go to the rec centre. Sunday was the volunteer appreciation dinner. We were treated to mussels, BBQ steaks, baked potato and/or potato salad, cole slaw and an assortment of desserts, washed down with two free drinks. One of the ladies found a poem on line and shared it with everyone. I asked to borrow it so I could include it here. This is for all the people I know who tirelessly give their time and energies over and over.

Volunteers
Many will be shocked to find
When the day of judgement nears
That there's a special place in Heaven
Set aside for volunteers.
Furnished with big recliners,
Satin couches and footstools,
Where there's no committee chairmen
No group leaders or car pools.
No eager team that needs a coach
No bazaar and no bake sale.
There will be nothing to staple
Not one thing to fold and mail.
Telephone lists will be outlawed
But a finger-snap will bring
Cool drinks and gourmet dinners
And rare treats fit for a king.
You ask, who'll serve these privileged few?
And work for all they're worth
Why, all those who reaped the benefits
And not once volunteered on earth!

Only on PEI

Conditions at 5:30 am: overcast and 0'
Expected later: +5' and cloudy with sunny periods but rain this evening

Yesterday Patti called in the morning to let me know her dad was doing okay. She had talked to the hospital on her way home from work and decided she would wait and go and see him later in the day, after she'd gotten some sleep. Because I knew she would be calling, I took my blackberry with me when I went out. I don't always as we really aren't supposed to take calls when we drive here on the island, although many, many people still do. So yesterday afternoon, I was driving down University Avenue and my phone rang. I was by myself, on the way to the bank, so I pulled over onto the side where there was, conveniently, a vacant lot and I had ample space to pull over without blocking any traffic. I took the call and it was Lloyd so the call lasted a few minutes. Part way through the call, I heard a sound and looked up to see a woman knocking on the window. I put the window down and she saw that I was talking on the phone. She apologized for interrupting me but she saw the car pulled over and thought there might be something wrong so she thought she should check. I told her I just pulled over to take a phone call and she replied "You're a good woman" and then went on her way. Only on PEI would someone even think to ask when they see a car pulled over in the middle of the city!  I thought it was very sweet and the gesture made my day.

An athlete AND a scholar!

Well, I got a surprise yesterday afternoon when I opened a message from Patti. Guess who got glasses?  James!  He looks quite handsome and very intelligent in them. I emailed back that he must have worn his eyes out with all the reading he does. In his usual fashion, he has a plan. He's not wearing them till he gets back to school from March Break and he plans to get a haircut as well so the kids won't recognize him. He loves a good joke on people! Maybe he should go shopping for a new hat as well. Last year he went off to school one day when I drove him with this white fedora style hat on. Only James could pull that off and have the teachers tell him how good he looked. He does have a certain confidence and flair about him.  I'll have to get his mom to take a picture for me of his first day back to school, to see what he's come up with to fool his friends.

PS: Welcome home Brenda! If I don't see you before (although highly unlikely!) , I will see you on Sunday afternoon at the Rec Centre!

Has it been a week already?

Conditions at 5:00 am: -7' and overcast
Expected later: -1' and a mix of sun and cloud

I can't believe it's Thursday already and Brenda will be back tomorrow.  It's gone by incredibly quickly. I'll bet it was even faster for them.  I haven't seen any comments since earlier in the week but I see that someone from Florida visited yesterday. I'll bet they're just having a wonderful time touring around in the sun! I had to go and pick up some parts at DBL dream machines yesterday. They also sell Honda motorcycles. There's a couple of 2011 Shadows  in the showroom, a bright red one and a shiny black one, either of which would look fabulous in my yard, but only if I win the lottery, of course! But then, for a mere $88 bi-weekly it could be mine but that would be over 84 months and I don't want to have to still be working in seven years just to pay for a motorcycle!

I got my car back yesterday and it looks great. But the final bill was over $1,700, so it should!  The insurance company did confirm it's not a chargeable accident but they increased my premiums anyway because they claim I'm putting on too many kilometres. If they don't get you one way, they get you another.

I received a call from Patti last night regarding her dad. He's had some complications with his surgery and was put back into the hospital yesterday. Then when she was on her way to work last night, the nurse on the surgical floor, where Patti works part time, called her and let her know that he had been moved to ICU. Poor girl was in such a quandary. She was on her way to work so it was too late to call and have someone else take her shift so there was little she could do except continue on but I know it will have been a worrisome night for her. I suggested that it might be better that she's at work as it would keep her mind off things, but as she pointed out, it's a night flight so when the lights are dimmed there's not a lot to do, where if she was home, she would at least be sleeping. She's gong to stop by the hospital on her way home this morning and see how things are.  The poor guy, this has been a real challenge since he had the initial surgery back at the beginning of February. It's now six weeks later and it's seems to have gone from bad to worse. . The issue seems to be an underlying infection that is causing the problems. Hopefully they can get things sorted out this time round

She also told me James is a little disturbed that we've moved his bed out. He always liked sleeping in the hallway. Last year when they were here for March Break, it was right after the Olympics. There was a  large two page photo of the winning goal from the hockey game in the newspaper and I had taped it up on the wall. He quickly dubbed that area as "The Hockey Spot". Needless to say, he was disappointed that the Hockey Spot no longer exists. But don't worry buddy, I have anther plan that you will like even better.  Just wait till you come back again! They say that when one door closes, another one opens, and wait till you see what waits behind door #2! Grandma has a plan (but then, doesn't she usually??)

Tonight after work I'm going to take a short course at the new scrap-booking store. It's on using my Cricut. I've never actually taken any courses and there are things about it I don't really know how to use. I find the instructions a little fuzzy and it will be much easier to understand once you've actually been  shown. We have to bring our machines in with us so that's a good thing. I'll learn more by doing than by just watching or being told. It will also kick start the scrap-booking again, something I haven't really done much of since being here. Just not enough hours in the day. I've finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up --- retired!  I can't wait. This working for a living is really getting in the way of the fun stuff!

What we see is what we get

Conditions at 5:30 am: -6' and partly cloudy
Expected later: -5' and partly cloudy

Yesterday the sun was shining for parts of the day so in spite of the radio telling us it was -5' with a wind chill of -10', it certainly didn't feel like it with the sun.
I had a interesting, although unpleasant, experience yesterday. One of the salesmen asked if I would drive downtown and pick up a lady who wanted to buy a car. He was a little skeptical that she said she couldn't afford a taxi, so his thought was how is she going to afford a car, but he gave her the benefit of the doubt and asked me to pick her up and bring her back to the dealership. I asked if she would need to be taken back home and he said she would. I suggested to him that he might want to take her for a test drive and then he could take her home, and he thought that might work. Well, I picked this woman up downtown, and oh, my gosh, the stench coming off of her was horrendous. Now I have a fairly strong stomach, and a pretty poor sense of smell, but the odour emanating from this woman was unbelievable. I don't think she's bathed in years. I had no way of warning the salesman so I sent her in when I got back. As luck would have it, the shuttle needed gas so I went to the wash bay and told one of the guys I required fuel and also to warn him about the smell.
I was sitting at my desk when the salesman came out of his office and took the paperwork over to the managers office and he just looked at me and rolled his eyes. I went into the managers office and he couldn't believe it either. He said he could barely breathe in his office, and I suggested he try sitting in a closed in car with her.  When Andy got back from the gas station, he said he had driven really fast back to the shop with all the windows open but it didn't help. Shortly after that it was time for her to be taken home. Needless to say, the salesman in question had absolutely no intention of getting into a car with her. So I drove her home and by the time I got there it was all I could do to keep from gagging. As soon as she got out of the car, I put all the windows down and drove all the way back like that. When I returned I parked it out front and left all the windows down. I went out a bit later and it still reeked so I went to the wash bay guys again and they had some sort of spray odour neutralizer that is meant for cooling systems so I sprayed it all over the seat she sat on and in a little while it the car usable again. I told the salesman in question that if he sells her a car he will have to drive her when she brings it in for service!  What a experience.Not one I hope to relive any time soon. It wasn't just the smell, but she rambled on and had some very strange opinions. I'd be surprised if she even has a drivers license but I don't suppose they can even ask that question as it's not a prerequisite to buying a car.
Today will definitely be a better day.

I was talking to Lloyd yesterday and he liked the picture of the hallway upstairs but he said it needed a chair. I asked why and he said that at Christmas when he and Greg are sitting around reading, sometimes you just need a quiet place to go and read a book. So I just happened to have a used rocker that I picked up last week so I put that up there. Lets see if this is what he had in mind. You can't see it in the picture but there is a small lamp on the bookshelf and in the day time you've got the window behind you as well for light.
A quiet place to read, complete with a trusty dog at your feet.

Good morning Florida...

Conditions at 5:20 am: -4' and overcast
Expected later: a few flurries and getting colder to -6' this afternoon

I'm really pleased to see that Florida has been in again, and yes, it was indeed Brenda. She notes that they are heading out to the Keyes and are having great biking weather. I can see this becoming an annual trip!  That was always our first thought on trips to the south in the cold weather. How nice would it be to be able to motorcycle all year long!  But then it would be hard to cross country ski and believe it or not, we WOULD miss the snow. However, on that note, we haven't missed the snow we've lost yet. It's amazing how much has gone but now at least if we get more, we have somewhere to put it.  It was very mild again yesterday and raining in the afternoon and evening but it has turned colder and now all the water that was lying around is now frozen.

I was talking to Lloyd last night and he's been really sick and sounds absolutely terrible.  I'm sorry I'm not there to take care of him but at the same time I'm glad he, and his germs, are far away. I don't usually catch whatever he has although he catches everything that's going around.  I must be doing something right ( but I assure you, it's by accident if I am).  I was telling him about the hallway upstairs so he asked for a picture.  The bed is gone from the hallway and will be moved out to the bunky. It won't be an issue next Christmas, as I know the Dennison family is going to Port Elgin for Christmas but in future years, we will need to have a way clear to the bunky and some heat installed so we can use it year round. I also have the mattress off the futon that can be used on the floor for a couple of little people inside as well. We'll figure it all out. Eventually when Lloyd gets his garage built (which won't be for quite some time) I may have a space upstairs to put all my 'stuff' and we could use the third bedroom as a bedroom again. Of course by that time, the kids will likely be older and won't be so keen to go and visit their grandparents. I know that happens but hopefully they will like coming here for quite a while longer.

My car went in for repairs yesterday. It sustained some damages in a parking lot and the person involved never left any information. That fact is something that everyone I spoke to here can't imaging happening. But even though the damage doesn't look that bad the estimate is approximately $1,300 so I had no choice but to put it through my insurance. At least that way it will only cost me $500. I had to go and do a police report for the insurance company. The body shop guy from Donagh called me yesterday to say the parts are in, and he came out and picked up my car and left a car for me to use. He says mine should be done today. What really annoys me is that I drove back and forth to town everyday all winter, in all kinds of terrible weather, and not a scratch, and them some idiot does this!  But it happens, and that's why we have insurance. But it still ticks me off, as I can think of all kinds of things I could do with $500 except pay for some jerks mistake.
 
 

Another medal won

Conditions at 5:15 am: overcast and a balmy 3'
Expected later: up to 9' and light rain

But never fear, as the weather forecast so far for Saturday and Sunday is calling for 5-10 cm of snow each day.

Another Bronze for the collection.
Well done James - I know you really worked hard  for this one!

Well, it was an exciting weekend to be online. The webcast from the arena in London worked well on Saturday when I was at work and I was able clearly see James and his races. Unfortunately when I got home it kept stopping and it was too frustrating to try to watch but Patti kept me up to date with his results. On Sunday I turned it on again and it seemed to work much better. The only problem was they would stop broadcasting while they flooded the ice or had lunch. The first two or three races after the breaks were really 'choppy' - stopping and starting continuously but then it would settle down and be totally fine. Unfortunately both times that happened, James was the first race right after. So unfortunately I didn't see those races. I did see one and the coverage on the back side of the rink wasn't great and all I saw was a blur of green go flying off to the side and out of view. There were two kids in that race in green - James and one other boy. It was a scary few seconds because I had no idea if it was him or if he got hurt. Then I saw him skating at the end and going off the ice and he was fine. I talked to Patti a short time later and she confirmed it was indeed him who fell but thankfully, he wasn't injured. He was  a little disappointed with his finish in that race and told me he figured he would finish maybe 4th or 5th. But he rallied later and with his previous results ( some seconds and at least one first) he had enough points to win a bronze medal. So he was a very happy camper at the end of the weekend! The only really disappointing part was they didn't broadcast the awards ceremony. There were approximately 100 people online watching all weekend and we would have loved to see the medals being given out. Hopefully they will include that next time. Otherwise it was really great to be able to watch online.

In spite of being glued to the computer for most of the weekend, I did manage to get some work done. In fact it was a very productive weekend, actually. Lets see, I moved the bed out of the hallway. I moved the two bookshelves (and books) upstairs. I dismantled and moved the shelves from the back porch to the front porch and found some shelving online on kijiji that actually came out of a store at a really good price and put those up. My front porch is now a very functional and tidy space. I even put the buffet from the kitchen out there so that gives the table area more space and really opens it up. Needless to say, it was quite a mess around here for a while but now it's back to normal (whatever THAT is) and "it's all good!" It's now a really great space and I love it!

Last night I got a phone call from Marlene from the rec centre. This coming Sunday is the volunteer appreciation night. SO at 5:30 we will be treated to a delicious dinner of steamed mussels, BBQ steak and all the fixings. And the up side is we don't have to do the work. Once again, I'm totally thrilled to be included.

I see by the feed that shows where viewers come from, that a visitor from Orlando Florida has been in. Coincidence?  I think not!  IF it was the VanGaals, hope you all had an uneventful trip and that the sun is shining brightly on all of you! Please have a cool, tropical drink for me!

Last day of the deep freeze.. for now

Conditions at 5:15 am: -15' but calm
Expected later: -10' and maybe some sun

Yesterday we had sun for part of the day and it was a beautiful sight to see. On the weekend we are expecting balmier temperatures - up to 7' on Sunday and Monday. I'm going to take advantage of that to do some cleaning in my sun porch. Because it's usually so cold out there, it has become, one again, a bit of a dumping ground. There's stuff all over and I need to move the two book cases upstairs. Since I won't have any friends to play with this weekend, it's a great time to get that done. Then I can look for shelves to put out there to start making it into a pantry. That will be very functional. It's been almost two years and I think you have to live somewhere for a while to fully figure out what changes you need to make to enable it to fully work for you and your lifestyle. I think I've finally got it all figured out. Of course part of that will enable Lloyd to put a door in the back porch and construct a wood shed of sorts, that will make a tremendous difference to life out here on the island. It's amazing what priorities become the most important - dry, accessible wood is my top one for the winter months!

After several emails yesterday between Patti and I, it looks like Tristen may be coming down with Lloyd for Easter. Several times when I've talked to him on the phone, I've gotten the same request. "Grandma, a long time ago Meghan got to come to your house by herself. When will it be my turn to come by myself?"  So not only will it give him the trip he so wants, it will also boost Lloyd's status for flying ever so slightly. So there is a benefit to him as well. But I think Tristen will love that he's the only kid here and to have the Easter Bunny find him here will be fun for him, not to mention entertaining for us as well. I do miss those kinds of celebrations with the kids so it's ever so slightly selfish on my part as well!

Brenda heads off this afternoon for Florida. The guys haven't arrived there yet but should be by tonight (let's hope so, they're picking Brenda up at the airport.) But she doesn't get in till late so they've still got lots of time. She came over last night for a snack and a beverage and she has her toe nails all polished up and ready to hit the beach!  I'm sure they'll have a great time touring around on the bike. I just checked the weather for Orlando and it looks like mid to low 20's for temperature so it will be great - nice and warm but not stifling hot. I love that first step off the plane, and you feel the real warmth you can only get from the sun, on your skin in the midst of a cold snowy winter. There's nothing like it.
Have a wonderful time everyone!

A tragic story

Conditions at 5:30 am: According to the weather network, it's only -8' and we are going to -12' later this morning but it's quite windy so it's going to feel much colder
Expected later: maybe a bit of sun and stronger winds

Yesterday the news reported on an incident where a snowplough driver was assaulted by a man who was allegedly pushing snow out of his driveway onto the road. Then later in the day we learned that police and fire departments were searching the Hillsborough River in Mount Stewart for the man who was accused of the assault. As of this morning all the news is reporting is that his truck was found on the bridge and someone saw him leaning over the railing. I'm sure there's more to the story than what is being reported but it's a really sad and tragic situation. We're hoping the outcome will not be the worst.

I got a nice email from Fran yesterday to let me know they had a good trip back. She says they all really enjoyed themselves and now she is looking for the address for this blog. She did read it once before but it would be pretty boring for someone who doesn't know any of the people in it. But now that she's met the whole family - Cooper, the VanGaals, the Andersons, etc, it will all make more sense to her now. Even talkng about the bridge in Mount Stewart, will have meaning for her as they crossed it many times. So good morning Fran, if you are reading this today!  I also have to say good morning to my friend from college days, Cheryl, who I know reads it as well from time to time, as do Mike and Carol. It's nice for me to know that people I care about, care enough to wonder once in a while just what I'm up to!

Well, I'm still enjoying left overs from when the ladies were here.  It's great to come home from work and there's food in the fridge that just needs to be heated up or whatever. There was a bit of roast beef left over and the last two nights all I've had to do is make some toast and slice off some beef and enjoy a lovely toasted roast beef sandwich for my supper as well as a LOT of Katy's dessert. But it does make an excellent breakfast as well, (since I need to use it up before it spoils!).

But no leftovers tonight, as Brenda is coming over for some nachos and wine before she leaves for Florida tomorrow. Hopefully the guys are making good progress on their road trip down.

Yesterday I took our service manager home in the middle of the day as he was not well. As he usually takes the shuttle home, I will pick him up this morning since he'll have no way to get to work. Fortunately he lives on the Mason Road and I can swing by on my way to work and pick him up. So that will involve leaving about 20 minutes earlier than usual as he opens the doors in the morning so I'll cut this short this morning as we were expecting some blowing snow last night and I need to go out and see how badly it's drifted into the lane. See you all tomorrow.