Conditions at 5:30: 15' and overcast
Expected later: 17' with showers in the morning and sun and cloud in the afternoon
Yesterday was a bit wet for part of the day but at least it was quite warm. It will be nice to see some sun this afternoon. It tried hard to burn through the clouds at times yesterday but never quite made it. Last night I let the dog out and it was windy but very warm. It was so nice to feel the mild temperatures finally.
I forgot to pick up the magazine I promised yesterday, so will try to remember to do that today so I can share the recipe I had a Brenda's.
Thursday's are usually fairly quiet and yesterday morning started out that way, but things picked up as the day went on. There were two fellow who left to take a car to Moncton to do a dealer trade and I guess they got to Crapaud when they realized they'd forgotten the dealer plate so I had to take one out to them. It had stopped raining and it was a lovely morning to go for a drive. That took up a chunk of my morning. Hopefully today goes just a quickly.
I received an email from my friend Donna and she tells me there's a benefit in Mount Stewart in aid of Cathy Coffin on Saturday night. The family is hosting it as they've experienced considerable medical expenses with her two amputations. I may try to go for a little while but not for long as I need to get up really early on Sunday morning. It will also depend on how long we work on Saturday as I understand we're doing inventory.
The weaving is going well. I did a little bit last night. I had stopped by the Co-op on Queen Street to pick up some fruit and they had bags of ripe bananas on sale, so I bought some and made two banana nut loaves to put in the freezer. That will make a nice treat to put into my lunch. I had planned to do a couple of other things but I watched a couple of programs on TV and then sat and wove until time for bed. I'm on my third placemat. It seems like a slow process but I only do a little bit at a time.
Well, as you can tell, if you've managed to read this far, there is really nothing going on right now and things are pretty boring, so I will go for now and report back on Monday.
Oh, I almost forgot (and how could you?) today is the big wedding day. What on earth are all the entertainment shows going to talk about next week? I suppose the actual wedding will be rehashed for the next little while. I have to admit, I am taping it to watch at a later time.
Conditions at 5:30 am: light rain and 5'
Expected later: more light rain and 18'
Finally we are going to get some nice warm weather, which will be nice, even if it is raining. The grass is starting to get nice and green everywhere you go and it's so nice to see.
Last night I was invited to the Van Gaals to taste test a new recipe, It was a beef and bean casserole and it was really good. It was topped with biscuits and sprinkled with cheddar cheese and then baked - yummy. I'll pick up the magazine today and post the recipe tomorrow because it's worth sharing.
Speaking of sharing, when Tristen was here, we baked cookies for Easter. We made sugar cookies, then he cut them out in Easter shapes. When they were baked, he did all the icing by himself and put on the sprinkles. He was very proud of his treats and we put some into a container for him to take home. The rest he ate over the next few days. Unfortunately we forgot to put the container in his suitcase and he was a little disappointed when he got home and realized we'd forgotten them. So I packed them up in a small box, and mailed them to Guelph. He's going to be one happy little boy when they arrive. Because Monday was a post office holiday they didn't get mailed until Tuesday, and the lady there told me it will take 5 days, so he likely won't get them until early next week. Hopefully they are not just a box of crumbs when they get there.
When I was at Brenda's last night, she asked if we were missing a hat. I asked if it was black with a red maple leaf pin on the front? It was, so the missing hat has been found. Lloyd will be ever so pleased to hear that as it's his favorite hat.
The ferries start running again this weekend so Brenda and I are heading out early Sunday morning and going to the Saltscapes show in Halifax. It opens at 10:00 am which is about when we should get there and there's a ferry late in the afternoon that will get us home in decent time. We had originally planned to go on Saturday and stay overnight but I have to work on Saturday as we're doing inventory, and we wouldn't get there until it was over for the day. If it's worth it, hopefully we can plan to go for the entire weekend next year. This working for a living is really getting in the way of having fun!
Conditions at 5:30 am: 4' and overcast
Expected later: 7' and light rain
Yesterday morning I dropped by theWEAVER'S Guild to drop off Sheila's DVD. Of course, while I was there she toured me around and showed me what everyone was working on as it seems to change every week. Claude, the lady I met at Sheila's house was working on a very loosely woven shawl made with very light pastel colours of boucle yarn and it was absolutely gorgeous. I totally have to make one of those. Then I met Libby. Now this is where it gets really interesting. She's working on a rag run. The warp is thin strands of very strong linen fibres and the weft is strips of T shirt material in various colours. She's making it rainbow colours and it works it's way from purple to blue to green and will continue on to yellow, orange and then red but all in slightly muted colours as a real rainbow doesn't have bright red, for example. She collected T shirt from thrift shops until she had just the colours she wanted and the tore them all in strips. When they are torn they automatically roll into almost a bias tape shape, making them perfect for weaving into a traditional rag rug. That opens up all kinds of possibilities. She has even done some with strips torn from old blue jeans. Now that would be a very sturdy rug. I can't wait to finish my placemats so I can move on to another project. The possibilities are endless. I'm also remembering the beautiful scarf that Rosie had at UPEI that was woven with silk fibres. I was stunning and so incredibly soft. I guess that was the inspiration that struck when I first saw the ad for the loom.
I finally talked to Lloyd last night. Everything went well on the flight back, although we had packed all of Tristen's toys in the side pocket of his suitcase and the they put all the bags on the sky check so they had nothing to do on the flight home. Of course with it being such a small plane, there was no movie or anything either. Congratulations to you Lloyd for keeping him entertained for two hours. I also need to send out a big Thank You to Caitlin (and Ethan) for looking after him a couple of times, which allowed us to spend some time together, out with friends.
I ordered my fire wood last night and he tells me there should be no problem getting it here by the long weekend. He doesn't sell any that's blocked so I guess Lloyd will have to do it.
One very proud little boy
This breaking news just in:
I opened my email and there's a picture from Patti. It seems the Speed skating club had their year end party last night and James won an award for Junior Athlete of the Year. It was a total surprise for them and as she said, if she'd had any idea he was going to get an award, she would have dressed him a little less casually! Well done James! I also got an email from Meghan telling me that she got "11 pb's" at the party. I have no idea what that means but she's going to call me tonight and tell me all about it.
Well, better go for now and get ready for work. I did sleep in slightly this morning and I'm a little behind schedule. The good news seems to be there's no freezing rain as predicted so that's a great way to start the day!
Conditions at 5:30 am: light cloud and 8'
Expected later: rain and 8'
Yesterday morning before I left for work, I decided it would be a good time to take Cooper out with his collar on and review the procedure for avoiding the invisible fence. I assumed I would have to go through the whole training process again. Was I wrong. I had him on his leash and we started walking around the yard. The second he heard the beep he backed right off. So apparently no refresher course was needed. After work last night I was puttering around outside and he was quite content to stay within the boundaries. So that's a great thing. He's been let out now several times on his own and the results have been successful! Good boy, Cooper!
I must say a big Thank You to Patti and James for the hooded sweatshirt that they sent me. It's got a logo on the front from the Speedskating competition he was in a while back in London (the one that I watched online). On the back is listed all the names of the skaters, including our young Mr. Dennison. However in MUCH bigger letters is my name - Old Grandma. Now you might think that's rather rude, but in actual fact, it relates to a story from when he was about 2 years old. They had been at my house visiting and were heading to Greg's moms. He asked where they were going and Patti said to grandma's. He said, we were already at grandma's and she said they were going to a different Grandma's. In his little mind they were going to a new grandma's house and were at an old grandma's house. So it has nothing to do with age but the funny thing is, for a long time after, to keep us straight I suppose, he called me Oldgrandma. When ever he wanted to ask me something he would start his question with "Oldgrandma..." and that was my name for quite some time. Now that he's older he's able to see the humour in it.
Sharing The Globe Burger
While we were out on the weekend at the Globe, we had the opportunity to sample their burger. It was tasty enough, but I expected something a little more unique from a restaurant that promotes "world flavours".
Unfortunately Lloyd ran out of time and wasn't able to sample any more burgers before he left, much to his disappointment.
Speaking of Lloyd, I haven't been able to get hold of him since he left. I suspect it's just poor timing and I know he would have been very busy yesterday. My only other thought was that maybe he lost his phone somewhere between here and Toronto. But I'm sure it's nothing that exciting. I know they made it home because I talked to Patti after Tristen got home. He'll turn up eventually!
Yesterday morning when I arrived at work I saw another sure sign of spring - dandelions outside my window! Now I know spring is here to stay for sure.
Conditions at 5:30 am: 0' - clear and frosty but there are birds singing!
Expected later: 11' and mostly sun with 5km/hr winds - does it get any more perfect?
At the airport on his way home!
It's looking like this afternoon (after work) might be a great time to do some work outside. We were busy on Saturday when it was really nice and Sunday was pretty windy so today might be a good day.
It's very quiet around here now that the big guy and the little guy are gone home. Yesterday afternoon I decided to have a short nap on the couch when I got home. Two hours later I woke up.
Finally under way
I had multiple things I could so once I did wake up, and I chose to try getting the loom up and running. And I did. I think I've got the hang of it and it's starting to take shape. I also sat and watched the video, which I really should have done before as the warping performance that Brenda and I went through should not have happened. Turns out it really is much easier once you know what you SHOULD be doing. I know, I know, read the instructions first! But the next one will be easier. But now that it's all set up it's going well. It's going to take quite a while to weave seven yards of warp but anticipating doing the next project is gong to keep me at it, a little each day, as well as reaching the end of each placemat. It's actually a very relaxing process once you get into the rhythm.
Well. Lloyd got quite a bit done while he was here, in spite of some miserable weather and a couple of sick days. But there's always something so at least he won't get bored once he moves here. Some things had to be put off till next time but that's okay. The things I really needed done were accomplished.
On the way to the airport, I asked Tristen what his favorite parts of the week were. He replied "The fishing, the marshmallow roasting and Easter bunny". That really meant a lot to me. When I was growing up, my grandparents lived a long ways away, and most were deceased when I was very young anyway. I really only had one grandmother who lived till I was older and I only met her a couple of times. I always felt a little cheated not having a relationship with any grandparents. That's why it's very important for me to spend some quality time with each of the kids so they have those memories. I know that Tristen will always remember going fishing for smelts with his grandparents and the three of them will have fond memories of visiting their grandparents house on PEI. That's what I really want for them. I know it won't be long before they are older and going to visit their grandparents will become a chore or something they feel they have to do, and it's important to me that they have those fond experiences while they are still young enough for it to matter to them.
We had a good week at although it was tough for Lloyd from time to time. Little kids are loud, there's just no two ways about it. If he doesn't have his hearing aids in, it's very hard to have a conversation and with them in, the boisterousness of an active little boy is very hard to cope with. But we all managed and the only time Tristen complained was to tell me "I miss my buddies and friends". I know he was looking forward to being all by himself but the reality of it is, that it's kind of lonely without other kids to play with. But I'm really glad he was able to come.
If my firewood arrives by the May long weekend, hopefully Lloyd will be back and that's only a month away. I'll check on that this evening.
Well, it's Saturday morning and the sun is shining and the temperatures are mild. We got up yesterday morning (Friday) to sunshine and chilly temperatures. After breakfast, we headed out to Belfast. We spent a little bit of time there, touring the milling operation and petting the animals - 2 llamas, 2 alpacas, a cow and a sheep. There were also quite a few goats and some babies, but they were too far away to pet. We didn't stay too long as they were getting busy setting up for the summer season. We will for sure be back in the summer. On our way home we toured down a couple of side roads and then headed home. We had invited Brenda and Bernie, Caitlin, Darlen and Richard to come for supper. Only trouble is I decided most of this on my way home from work on Thursday and of course, nothing was open on Friday. Fortunately Coopers in Belfast was open and I was able to get some things that I needed. We planned on BBQ'ing burgers and took it a step further and served "The Pisquid Burger" - local island beef, served on a bun first slathered in garlic aioli, then a layer of thin ham, topped with carmelized onions and the beef, stuffed with cheddar and grilled to perfection. We did a pasta salad and potato salad to complete the menu. I was a little behind schedule when everyone arrived as my sous chef was away for part of the afternoon and I had some not so helpful help, but it turned out great. The burger was very well received and was really good. Daralen had brought the Pina Colada cake she had bought last weekend and froze, and we enjoyed that for dessert.
Scooping the fish out of the water
Caught some!
This morning we had just finished breakfast when Bernie called to say the smelts were running in the stream by his place. So we picked up a dipping net at his place and headed out. Once Tristen got the idea of scooping the fish out of the water, he had a great time! We half filled a large pot and brought them home to have for lunch later. Lloyd planned to clean the smelts and Tristen and I went back over to Fort Augustus to go to the playground. Little did we know there was going to be an Easter Egg hunt and we arrived to a park filled with kids and just a few too minutes too late to find any eggs. Needless to say he was quite disappointed and no longer wanted to stay and play. Instead we went home and I made him stay inside while I hid some eggs around the yard outside. I had bought some plastic eggs with little packages of chewy fruit candy inside and he quite enjoyed going around the yard and finding the egs. It helped to alleviate the stress of having to wait for Easter.
"Stay calm fishies, just say calm"
This afternoon we are going into town to hear Bob and some other musicians at the Globe and Caitlin is taking him with her to Montague. She is working at the polling booth at the Rec Centre on election day and has to pick up some stuff for it. So she has agreed to taking him with her, which will be much more fun and better on his little ear drums than where we aregoing. I also want to pick up a couple more things in town that I don't need him to be around for! He asked me the other day why I have never bought him a cook book like his brother. I suggested I could get him one for his birthday and he said "Or you could buy me one for Easter". So a stop at Indigo is needed before tomorrow.
Dinner!
Have a really Happy Easter everyone and I'll be back on Monday.
Conditions at 5:30: 0' and overcast
Expected later: 6' and showers
Well, it's a different picture this morning. Fortunately we didn't get the accumulation they were predicting, just a couple of cms. but it's topped with a good coating of ice. The drive in to work should be interesting, being as I had my winter tires taken off last week - as did a lot of Honda customers. Hopefully most of it will be gone by the end of the day.
Yesterday Lloyd and Bernie had my new mini barn moved and put into place in my yard. Now I have a storage space of my own, for all my 'stuff'. It was here when I got home yesterday mid afternoon. I had stopped at the store on my way home and picked up some Easter stuff, as I hadn't done that yet as well as a few things at the grocery store. When I did arrive home there was no one here. I assumed Lloyd was at Bernie's and I was right. They were working on Bernie's printer and apparently the second attempt to fix it went well.
Lloyd had a nap when they got back and Tristen and I baked some cookies. We made some sugar cookies with icing on them and topped with sprinkles, in egg and bunny shapes. He's planning to take some of them home, so they are all sitting on a rack on the counter so the icing can set before we put them into a container for transport. That pretty much filled up our afternoon before we had supper as well as the early evening.
I'm not sure what the plan is for today but I know we will have to re-evaluate the 'list' as there is no way everything on it will get done this trip, but that's okay, I really didn't expect it would. The time always goes so quickly when he's here, and a sick day, as well as a snow day, can seriously cut into your available time when you only have a week.
Conditions at 5:15: -1', clear skies with a big bright moon and lots of stars
Expected later: a winter storm watch has been issued with snow and ice pellets
First fire of 2011
Yesterday, all day, the weather on the radio told us to expect 10 to 15 cms of snow and ice pellets today. This morning the weather network is predicting 5 cms so lets hope that's closer to the truth. The weather on Tuesday was beautiful. Sunny and mild - a perfect spring day - then they tell us to expect this???
It was so beautiful in fact, that we spent part of the evening cleaning up around the back yard where Lloyd had been splitting some of the logs from last year that I had trouble with. So last night I stacked up all the pieces of wood and we tidied up in anticipation of a snow storm. We had a huge pile of branches in the fire pit left over from the fall and it was a perfect time to burn those. So we lit a fire, pulled out some lawn chairs and roasted marshmallows. It was starting to cool off but it was still very pleasant. Tristen had great fun, and so did Grandma, who truly loves a bon fire, especially the first one of the season.
First marshmallow of 2011
I called Lloyd yesterday afternoon and he was feeling extremely poorly. He'd woke up with a terrible headache and a bad cold and tried to blame that on me! He sounded very bad so I asked if I could take the day off today to watch Tristen. We have someone who comes in when I'm not there, but she couldn't come in till noon so I said I would work till 12:00 and then Carol could take over. I figured Lloyd could cope till lunch time. When I got home I fed him some turkey soup that I had in the freezer, and then I went outside to putter and put things away. He came out with me and he was starting to feel a little better. He was still congested when it was time for bed so I shared some of my night time cold medication and we'll see how he is this morning. I asked him how Tristen had been yesterday and he says he got up, had breakfast, then went back to bed and slept till 12:30! I guess the last few late nights had finally caught up with him. His cold is much better. He had quite a runny nose when he first arrived but it's much better now. He was coughing a lot in the night a few nights ago but that's also pretty much gone. He was certainly enjoying the toasted marshmallows last night. If Lloyd is still feeling better, I probably don't need to come home early today, but I will anyway. I'm sure he'll need an afternoon nap at some point. The plus side of that is also that I'll get home before the snow comes, however much it is.
Conditions at 5:15 am: a large full moon and a few clouds and 4'
Expected later: 7' and maybe sun and cloud, with a chance of showers
Well, yesterday morning, I did sleep in but did manage to start my blog post. I intended to finish it when I got to work, but due to technicalities which I won't go into here, that didn't happen. So when you get to the end of today's report, you can continue on and read about our weekend!
Monday was a decent day but windy, making it seem colder than it was and limiting what you could do outside. Lloyd and Tristen managed to keep themselves occupied for the day. When I got home we went over to the Van Gaals for a delicious roast beef supper. It turned out to be a later evening than usual and we were all very tired by the time we left. Lloyd was trying to perform some kind of surgery on Bernie's printer or something and it's not done yet, but they are going to give it another go. Brenda is still fighting her cold and she looked very tired and weary by the end of the night and I can sympathize with how she feels.
There are smelts running in the streams and rivers here so rumour has it that Lloyd and Tristen are going smelt fishing this morning. I'm not sure why they call it fishing when you dip a net into the water and simply scoop out the fish, but apparently that's how it's done. So with any luck, fish for supper tonight.
Brenda reports that the benefit on Sunday night raised $29,000 - not bad for a small hall full of people (very generous ones at that)
Now, back to Monday's post:
Well, it was an ECMA kind of weekend. Lloyd and Tristen arrived on Friday afternoon and I picked them up and gave them my car. They went into town and had lunch at the Olde Dublin Pub, then did a few errands until time to pick me up at 5:30. We dropped Lloyd off at the Van Gaal's on the way home so he and Bernie could go into town. It seems Bernie had been in the night before, while Brenda was driving folks around and he had a wonderful time. So the two of them went in again on Friday night and had a grand time. It was the wee small hours of the morning when they arrived home.
A very serious competitor
Saturday got off to a bit of a slow start, but all was well. After breakfast, I gave Lloyd "The List" and he seemed okay with it. He spent the morning first by boosting the truck, then cleaning out the shed. There was a lot of stuff in there that made it's way into the back of the truck to be taken to the garbage. After lunch he finished and then worked on installing the stand on the log splitter. All the while his trusty helper, Tristen, worked diligently at bringing in wood. Sorry mom and dad, but we've decided we're going to keep him. He spent a very long time filling the cart with logs, then actually hauled it to the house, which I found amazing, then he brought them inside one by one. Once the pile on the rack got too high, I helped by taking them from him and putting them up on top. He was an amazing little worker. He said he was in a competition and he was in the lead. I asked who else was in the competition and he said James was, but his logs had fallen over so he was disqualified, but Meghan was still in. At the end he was the big winner. The funniest part of the whole day was later when I went to get a log to put on the fire. He had this look of total disbelief on his face as he told me "Grandma, don't take them from THERE!" All his hard work, about to go up in smoke!
We spent a quiet evening just having supper then watching some TV.
The Delta burger
Sunday we were up early as I had baked some cakes to take to the benefit on Sunday evening. I bake three and one still needed to be iced. I made breakfast and then proceeded to finish my cake, while Lloyd went off to the store for coffee with the guys. Tristen watched some TV but mostly played with his DSI. We had tickets for the Song Writers Circle concert at the Delta and Caitlin was going to look after Tristen. At 11:00 we were all ready and headed over to the Van Gaals. Tristen was okay with staying there while the four of us went to town. We enjoyed a great concert and then a burger at the Delta restaurant. It was good but not as good as the Olde Dublin's.
While we were there, we ran into Richard and Daralen. It was decided that the 3 guys would come back into town after the benefit for the 'after party'.
The benefit for Pam and Jimmy was a huge success. I took along my cakes for the auction and what an event. Cakes were selling for hundreds of dollars. In fact my orange and chocolate cake sold for $210.00 - of course it was Lloyd and Bernie trying to outbid each other. Richard bought the Bacardi rum cake but I don't know how much that one went for and Daralen bought the Pina Colada cake and I think it was around $110.00 she paid for that one. It's good to have good friends - but especially good for Pam and Jimmy. There was one item on the silent auction table that Tristen had his heart set on winning. It was a stuffed red bull complete with horns and a very scary face. It was combined with a bunny hat and two pairs of woolen mitts. There was a bid of $5 on it so I bid $10. Then someone came along and bid $15 so I increased it to $20 and that's where it stayed, or so we thought. Lloyd checked it just a couple of minutes before the end and we were still the winners. Then when it was over, we went down later to see if we could pay and we were truly disappointed to learn that someone had bid $30 at the last second. Poor Tristen was so sure he had won and was sad but he took it very well. He had a very sad face but he didn't cry or complain at all. I was very proud of him for that. Then much later in the evening we went back downstairs to wait for Brenda, who was paying her bill, and the lady who had outbid us was there talking to Brenda. Brenda mentioned to her that her friend was bidding against her for her grandson, who really wanted to red bull. Well, it turned out all she really wanted was the bunny hat for her granddaughter and she had no idea what she was going to do with a red bull. So along came Tristen and she was ever so pleased to give him the bull. Let me tell you, that was one happy little boy. He was sure lucky that Brenda just happened to be there when she came to collect her winnings. By this time it was quite late, the guys had left for town and it was time for us to go home and get some sleep. Lloyd wandered in at 3:00 after the three of them took a taxi out from town and apparently a good time was had by all. Fortunately Lloyd didn't have too good a time because he was up at 7:00 before I left for work.
Conditions at 5:30: 1' and overcast (it was supposed to go to -5')
Expected later: -2' and maybe some flurries, maybe some sun, who knows!
Yesterday morning I told you about the fire trucks etc. the night before. When I went to work in the morning I took a drive by and indeed, a house had been destroyed by fire. What I didn't know, is that it was my responsibility to contact Brenda as soon as I saw the trucks so that she could find out what happened. My apologies! I'll be sure not to drop the ball next time something like that happens. I don't know who lives there but I'm sure Brenda probably does. Not a nice situation for them, whoever they are.
My cold is still hanging in there and last night I took some cold medication and went to bed at 9:00. I was rudely awakened at 9:45 by the phone. Lloyd was calling to tell me the flight they were booked on is now oversold so they probably won't be able to get on that one. He was trying to get hold of Greg to see if he could pick Tristen up earlier so they can try to go through Ottawa but it's an earlier flight. He wasn't getting any answer so he was looking for Greg's cell phone number. I went back to bed so have no idea what the plan is for this morning but I'm sure I'l find out soon enough. Hopefully they make it today.
I have a list of things for Lloyd to do while he's here, but I haven't shared it with him for fear he might change his mind and stay home! They're mostly little jobs but there's quite a few of them.
He did manage to pick up the parts I needed at the weaving place so I will be able to get started on the loom. I'm looking forward to actually getting going with my project. I talked to Linda at the Mini Mills yesterday and she says they will be around on Good Friday so I think we'll go out that day. It will work well as that's the only day that Darlene can take Cooper for his grooming so we can drop him off on our way to Belfast then pick him up on the way back. I love it when a plan comes together. Other than that, there are no plans for the coming week except for the benefit on Sunday and the Globe NEXT Saturday. I had my weekends mixed up.
I'm cutting it short this morning so I can get something ready for supper tonight. I've got a small pork roast ready to put into the slow cooker. It will be falling apart tender when I get home and I'll shred it with a fork then mix it with some BBQ sauce, and voila- BBQ pulled pork on a bun! How's that for quick and easy - not to mention mighty tasty.
Conditions at 5:30 am: overcast and 6'
Expected later: light rain for most of the day and 9'
Last night we were treated to some great music at the Delta. Brenda, Bernie, Caitlin and I went into town, arriving around 7:00. We just hung out at the hotel as they wouldn't allow anyone into the ballroom until 7:30. We stopped and chatted with a few people that Brenda knew (of course). One couple was with a man that I had driven earlier in the day and we had chatted about the fact that we were both going to the Delta. Little did we know that there would be a connection - again it's that degree and a half of seperation!
The first show consisted of four acts. One group, The Once, was from Newfoundland and they were really good. But the highlight of the evening had to be Matt Anderson. I've heard the name before and thought I'd seen him perform at the Scotties, but obviously that was a different Matt, because there would be no forgetting this one. He's a really big boy, with a mane of long, curly hair that he tosses around as he sings. He has an amazing voice and plays a pretty mean guitar and all in all puts on quite the show. This particular set ended with The Trews, a Nova Scotia band who has quite the following with the college crowd. We saw them arriving in a huge limo sponsored by K-Rock. There was a second show starting at 10:00 and we stayed to watch the first band, who were visiting from Ontario. Brenda had driven them earlier in the day. It seems I could have volunteered to do transportation as well, because they just drive minivans. I'll know for next time.
While there, I ran into Sarah, who I worked with at the University. She's on one of the ECMA committees and was manning a CD table. We had a lovely chat and it was really nice to see her again.
When we came out of the Delta there were spotlights sweeping around the night sky as we made our way to the Canton Cafe for egg rolls before heading back out to the country. It was a great evening, even though it was WAY past my bed time.
On my way home, there was a lot of activity on MacKinnon Point Road. I'm not sure what was going on as it was too dark to see anything but there were at least two fire trucks and a lot of cars and lights from the corner on in. Hopefully nothing too serious but I'm sure I'll get the details from Brenda later once, the rumour mill gets up and running. I'll see if I can determine anything on my way to work this morning.
Conditions at 5:00 am:-2' and clear
Expected later: 8' and a mix of sun and cloud
Should be another nice day again today. Yesterday was beautiful - sunny and mild.
Today is the start of the ECMA's (that's East Coast Music Awards) so the whole town will be buzzing for the next few days. I'm going to one of the events tonight with Brenda and Bernie. Brenda is working four shifts as a volunteer driver so she'll likely get to meet all sorts of musicians. That should be quite a bit of fun for her.
I received a call on the weekend from Eleanor, the lady who helps organize Community School. She was wanting to confirm that Brenda and I would be teaching cooking again in the fall. I told her I expected that we would, so now I guess we're on again. We're going to have to give it some thought over the next couple of months. I'll have to ask the girls that came last year if they are coming again this fall and that will give us an idea of what we should do. If we have the same students (or at least some of them) we'll need to change it up a bit for this session.
There's going to be a benefit for Jimmy and Pam at the Rec Centre on Sunday evening. Besides a concert and lots of fun, there will be a silent auction and a cake auction so I'm trying to decide what kind of cake I'd like to bring. Lloyd is going to see if he can get something donated from his company as well for the silent auction.
This is going to be a busy weekend. We're going to the Globe on Saturday afternoon to listen to blues, with Bob sitting in on drums, then the benefit on Sunday. I'm glad that Lloyd will be here to take part in all of this. Two more sleeps and they'll be here!
Conditions at 5:50 am:11' and light rain
Expected later: 9' and mix of sun and cloud
We didn't get the rain yesterday that was forecast but I could hear it in the night once the wind died down a little. Today should be a nicer day with a bit of sun.
Here's a few more pictures from the weekend. Today's is short (I'm giving you a break after yesterday! )- and also because I took some new cold medication and I slept in this morning
We were surprised to see how much snow is still around the west end of the island
Inside one of the windmill components
The West Point Light house
We bet this driver sobered up in a hurry - the skid marks came to a stop just in front of the sign and the water
Conditions at 5:15 am:2' and clear (good grief, it's 17' in Toronto at this hour!)
Expected later: 9' but rain starting in the afternoon
Well, it was a busy one! Friday after work, I met Brenda and Bernie at the Home Show at the Civic Centre. Brenda was looking for ideas for a stone patio outside their new sunroom and she found just what she was looking for. After touring the show, we had worked up quite an appetite - time to check out a burger. So we all reconvened at the Old Dublin Pub where we ordered beer and the Dub-Fibrillator. The rules are that the burgers are to be served with no side dishes so it's just a burger but they're not cheap. The burger by itself is $12.00. It consists of 100% Island beef, resting on a bed of Guinness braised Island pork belly, smothered in onion marmalade, topped with cumin gouda and sprouts, nestled in a pork belly and beef fat toasted bagel bun. We broke the rules slightly and ordered a side of onion rings to go with it. The burger was very good and very filling, but we all managed to finish. Unfortunately I still have a cold so I don't think I got the full benefit of the flavours but I know it was good. As we were eating there was some kind of group activitiy going on at the table across the way so Brenda and I wandered over to take a peak and see what all the excitement was about. Turns out Keith's brewery were doing a tasting promotion and promised they would include us in the next round. When they were all set up we joined 3 other people for some education about Keith's beer. It consisted of sampling 4 types of Keith's beer and comparing them to each other. It ended with each of us trying to get a piece into the middle of a crokinole board. Of all six, Brenda was the only one who even made it into the middle circle and she won a T-shirt. It was really a fun evening.
Saturday was a non-event. I worked until 2:00 then came home and slept for 2 hours. This cold is really hanging on. Then I took the dog for a walk and met Brenda on our way. She had been out for the afternoon with some friends from her college days and had left over Macaroni and cheese with lobster.Lucky me! After watching a bit of TV I went to bed and slept till 7:00.
Sunday morning I did some laundry and some tidying up until Brenda called me around 10:30 and the three of us headed out to the west end of the island. It was a gorgeous day for a drive - sunny and heading for 10'. We toured along until we got to the tip of the island. There is a visitors centre there but of course it's not open this time of year. They have some of the components of the windmills on the ground and I couldn't believe how big they are. When you see them up in the air you have no idea they are so huge. After walking along the cliffs and the shore we headed back down. We stopped in Miminegash for snacks and something to drink at a little gas station store and Bernie was chatting with the owner. Much like many of those small places, they are now barely hanging on and will in all likelihood close in the near future. It's really too bad and will be a serious loss to the community, just as losing Wakelins has been to us.
From there we headed to West Point lighthouse and the beach there. There's an incredible amount of damage from the storm surges in December. They've done a lot of work to this building and the surrounding area and the dune that used to be there is completely washed away. It's going to be quite a job to get that up and running again this year.
We were amazed at how much snow still remains in areas out there - certainly a lot more than our end of the island. We wound around and made our way back to Summerside for at stop at Canadian Tire where Bernie purchased a portable shelter (but he wouldn't tell me why) and Brenda picked up a Crock Pot. Then off to Kensington to sample the burger at the pub there. Can you believe it? They were closed! Talk about a let down. So we drove around to a bar that had a sign advertising BBQ Grill and we went in. Turns out the restaurant portion was also closed. But the bartender did suggest a family restaurant a block or two away that she knew would be open. So away we went - again. Finally we found the place and it was open. We figured out pretty quickly that we were the youngest people there but that was fine. We were all pretty hungry by this point so it didn't matter where we were. After devouring our food, we headed out on the road once more for the trip back. We took the scenic route, up through Cavendish and it was a lovely drive. All in all, it was a pretty great day! Thank you Brenda and Bernie -again!
Conditions at 5:30 am: lots of stars and -3'
Expected later: 2' and maybe a few flurries
Well it's finally Friday. It seems like it's been a long week but I'm starting to feel better. Other than getting the warp on my loom I've not done a single thing all week. I guess that's one of the joys of living alone - it doesn't matter to anyone if you just sit and veg for a few nights.
It's still quite chilly although the sun is nice when you get out of the wind, but looking ahead, next week should start warming up. Now that most of the snow is gone from the yard I'm getting a little itchy to get outside and so some cleaning up. I suppose there's no excuse for not getting out now but this week I just haven't had the energy but hopefully next week it will be warmer and I can go out after work and get some stuff done. Just picking up the branches that have fallen off the trees over the winter will take a while. I'm sure Tristen will be a big help with that if we tell him he's picking up sticks to build a bon fire. It's only one more week and they'll be here. Guess I'd better get my act together and get ready for them. I had planned to bake a batch of bread before they come but maybe I'll do that while they're here.
Got an email from Patti yesterday with this picture. I knew she and Greg were going to Vegas but I just couldn't remember when, so you can imagine my surprise when I opened the photo and there they are in the Grand Canyon! Hope you guys are having a great time.
Today the home show starts in town so I'm meeting the Van Gaals in town tonight and we're going to do the home show and Burger Love. What is Burger Love you ask? Here's what the CBC has to say about it
Burger lovers recruited by local farmers
Beef farmers on P.E.I. have teamed up with Island chefs to recruit burger lovers to cause of eating locally.
Fourteen restaurants are participating in the promotion, creating special burgers from Island beef and inviting diners to vote for their favourite. Chef Irwin MacKinnon hopes it gets people thinking about where their food comes from.
"It's going to make them think twice whenever they go to some of the larger places to buy their beef. Where did it come from?" said MacKinnon. The promotion may be well timed as it appears prices for beef, which have been very low for years, may finally be recovering. The grand prize winner at the Island's Easter Beef Show earned $7.25 a pound at auction Friday, about $2 a pound more than last year.
"It's lot higher than it has been the last five years really and I think it's a great sign of the beef industry improving," said farmer Glen Jay, who raised the grand prize winner.
"It's great to see some positive things for a change."
The improvement has not come without pain in the industry. The number of beef farmers has dropped dramatically.
"It's all based on supply and demand," said beef farmer Joanne Mutch.
"The supply is just maybe not there as much as it was in the past."
The P.E.I. Burger Love promotion will run through the month of April.
Check out the website - diners get to vote on which burgers they liked best so there will need to be some research done over the next few weeks! Something tells me Lloyd will be all over this one.
Conditions at 5:15 am: clear and -1'
Expected later: looks like only 2' and a few flurries
Well my cold is still hanging in there. Yesterday I actually felt worse by the afternoon than I did the day before and by the time I got home I was ready for bed. But that would have been a mistake so instead I changed into warm wooly clothes as I was chilled through, had something to eat, watched a little TV and then went to bed early. Only trouble is it was TOO early and I ended up wide awake at 1:00 am. So downstairs to watch some TV until 3:30 then a little more sleep before the alarm went off at 5:00. But I think today will be better, as I don't feel so bad this morning.
When I got home I didn't feel up to taking the dog for his walk so I just put him outside in the back yard. He went out a couple of times through out the evening but I think he was a little miffed at me for not following up with our usual routine. When I went to bed, he immediately went into the other room and got up on the other bed, something he never does. Talk about the cold shoulder!
I received this email from Lloyd and I'm having trouble figuring out if it's real or not. It certainly looks real enough but I can't find any information on this phenomenon anywhere. If it is real, surely it would have been documentd before this. I wonder...
Conditions at 6:00 am: 3 ' and overcast
Expected later: the same 3' and some sun and cloud
Yesterday I felt pretty awful when I went to work. I did my morning runs and got back to the office around 10:00. . I went upstairs and Abbey and Craig both said I looked terrible. There were more concerned that I might share my germs with them, so they sent me home. I wouldn't have done that if I hadn't felt so bad, but I did. I made a couple of stops in town and did some errands I've been meaning to do, then went home. I ate the sandwich I'd made for lunch then went to bed. I slept from noon till 4:00 and I felt better when I got up. So much better that I decided to tackle putting the yarn on the loom. I threaded it through the reed, then started feeding it though the heddles and I decided it was a job that was better suited to two people. So I called my trusty sidekick Brenda and she came over and helped.
I have a feeling there's probably a right way for this to work and I'm not sure we had it. We had quite a tangled mess at one point but we managed to work through it. Now I am pleased to report that the warp has been put onto the loom. Now I just have to find a bobbin winder or figure out some other way to do that so I can actually get started weaving. The nice thing about it now, is that I can just go and work at it when time permits. There's nothing to put away or take out each time, I can just sit and weave. I think I'll call my neighbour Sheila and see if she might come by one evening and have a look and see that I've got it all set up properly. The loom I have is a different style than the one I used at the mini mills and I know that Sheila down the road is familiar with this type. So as Bernie would say, it's all good!
We didn't finish until 10:00 and I'm very grateful to Brenda for all her help - I really would not have been able to do it without assistance.
For the rest of the week she's driving the bus for her neighbour (and ours, as they live down by our land off of Five Houses Road). Tragically Jimmy and Pam had a barn fire on Tuesday morning and the barn and some equipment were destroyed as well as 20 cows. I can't imagine what it must be like to know you have animals in there but you just can't get to them, no matter how hard you tried. What a devastating experience that must be.
Fort Augustus family reeling from devastating farm fire
Guardian photo by Brian McInnis
Beef farmer Jimmy Dunn surveys what is left after a fire destroyed three barns and some cattle. Dunn said he was partially insured and there is nothing that can be salvaged.
Published on April 5, 2011
FORT AUGUSTUS - A well-known Fort Augustus family is reeling from a devastating fire at the family farm early Tuesday which killed 20 heavy cattle, and destroyed a number of buildings and equipment. "It's a big loss," said owner Jimmy Dunn. Dunn said his son Brad heard some popping noises just before 1:30 a.m. and investigated only to find several buildings already fully engulfed in flames. The East River Fire Department near Mount Stewart were notified at approximately 1:30 a.m. and battled to keep the flames from spreading. The cattle lost in the fire were all close to 450 kg. (1,000 pounds) and were getting ready to be shipped. Their value alone is estimated at more than $20,000. The cattle were not insured, said Dunn. "Beef prices are just starting to improve and we were hoping to finally make some money back. And now it's down the drain," said Dunn. Three barns and a shed were destroyed in the flames. A considerable amount of equipment, including tractors, a snow blower, grain crusher, round baler, seeder, sprayer and a heavy lawnmower were also lost. The total loss is well over $100,000.
There was partial insurance on the buildings and equipment. The Fire Marshal's office was on the scene by 3 a.m. and was investigating the cause and origin. "They have been sifting through the rubble for three hours now," said Dunn at midday Tuesday. He said he didn't know what might have caused the fire. P.E.I. Fire Marshall David Blacquiere said later Tuesday that the investigation is concluded but he has failed to determine a cause. He believes, however, that there is a "high probability'' that the fire started in electrical system of a tractor. "The level of damage is so great that we can't be sure of that,'' he added. The family did save most of its beef herd. Some 35 animals in another barn were saved, while 55 to 60 animals were outside in a nearby field. Dunn said that his son attempted to use a tractor and bucket to smash down a wall to save the doomed animals but nearby diesel fuel tanks close to the flames forced Brad to retreat.
