Only in the Maritimes...

Conditions at 5:30: 15' and quite foggy
Expected later: 24' and sunshine

You know you're in the Maritimes when....
Several years ago, we were trying to get hold of Lloyd's brother in St. John's. At the time he didn't have a telephone so Lloyd called the cab company he thought he worked for, and was told he didn't work for them.  Lloyd explained that it was his brother calling from Ontario. A short  time later, our phone rang. It was his brother. It seems the person who took the call found someone who knew Everett, sent a cab out to his place and told him his brother was trying to get hold of him. So Everett went to his neighbours and called us. We thought it was pretty amazing at the time because that just wouldn't happen in a lot of other places. Well, something similar happened last night. Brenda stopped in after her fitness class and we were sitting in the kitchen and talking when my phone rang. The caller asked if I was Sandy, and when I responded that I was, she proceeded to tell me that she was calling from the box office at Credit Union Place in Summerside and was asking if I would like to change my Elton John seats that were singles, to two together. It took me a second to process this information because I hadn't bought any tickets. When I told her it was someone else who bought the tickets, she said Brenda's name and it turns out she had called the VanGaals to speak to Brenda and someone there gave her Brenda's cell phone number as well as my number. So after not getting an answer on her cell, she tried my number. So I put the phone over to Brenda and they sorted out the seats. Only in the Maritimes - you can run but you sure can't hide - if they want you, they will find you. We had such a good laugh over that one.

I cut the lawn in the back yard yesterday afternoon and the rest still needs cutting but if it doesn't get done before the weekend, I can live with that. I'm planning to put the large white tent up in the immediate back yard and we can sit out there and set up the tables for eating as well. Then if it's too sunny or it rains, we will be fine. We can also keep the mosquitoes under control in that controlled environment. At least that is my plan. Brenda has very graciously offered to come over on Sunday and help out and I suspect Lloyd and Bernie may go for a bike ride in the morning. But we'll see how the weekend plays out. I bought tickets for tonight's performance of Come All Ye at the Mack. I've heard some really great things about it and this weeks special guest is our neighbour, Margie Carmichael so it should be a good time. Lloyd is due in at 6:00 and if something happens and he doesn't get on the flight, I'll be calling Brenda to meet me in town and use the other ticket. But we'll see. I'll know  by 4:00 if he doesn't get on the flight. Then I could come home and we could go back into town. But with any luck he'll make it. It's just always good to have a back up plan.

I noticed last night that I'm just about out of wine, so I've washed up my bottles and I'm thinking I'll have enough time at lunch today to go down and bottle some more. The bulk wine at our liquor store is such a great way to save on some decent wines. It's slightly more than doing home made wine but the quality is so much better.

The "Naked Chef"

I debated about putting this photo in here but it's just so priceless. The subject shall remain nameless and I won't say where it came from but one day he will be most embarrassed to know this picture was taken. Anyone who has little kids  will understand that sometimes they just like to run around naked and I envy them the freedom to be so uninhibited. However some situations do require the correct attire - especially if one is, for example, cooking or baking cookies. The rest is self explanatory but it took a while to get the smile off my face yesterday, it was so funny.

The secret is out...

Conditions at 515 am: 16' and overcast (the weather says rain, but it's not here!)
Expected later: 21' and a mix of sun and cloud

I hadn't wanted to say anything because I wanted it to be a surprise but you know me...
On Tuesday night, Bernie and Richard came over and worked quite a long time, in mosquito infested, cool weather,  to put the wandering shelter back together and in place. I can't begin to express my gratitude to the two of them. I consider myself to be so very fortunate to have met great friends such as these. I know that Lloyd truly appreciates it as well.  I told him on the phone this morning and his immediate response was "then there's no need for me to come down". After I expressed suitable disapointment he admitted that he was only kidding. He is really grateful to the two of you. He's also really grateful that he will now have time to go for a bike ride. Once again, a huge thank you to the two of you from the both of us. We promise to feed you both really well on Sunday!

Lloyd will have to secure it better when he comes down and until he gets here, I'm paranoid about every little breeze. But the door is closed and that likely would have made a huge difference on Sunday. With the door open it became like a giant parachute. Wish I'd been there to see it go - it must have been quite a sight.

Our weekend is shaping up quite nicely. It's confirmed at this point there will be ten of us with the possibililty of  five more. So I will prepare for 15 and if some don't make it, then we'll have left overs for Monday. Not a bad thing. So far the weather is looking like it might also cooperate so that's a good thing. I'm looking forward to it - it will be a precursor to the annual BBQ we plan to have once Lloyd gets here. We used to have them in Belwood (okay, we had two) and they were great - lots of work, but lots of great fun. The first one started out to be a thank you for the folks that had helped us move earlier in the spring and ended up being 100 people. Well, that's how many were invited - 97 of them showed up! But it was a glorious sunny day and we had a great time. The second year we had nice weather up until time to eat and then it started to rain. Fortunately we had rented a couple of  shelters but they were open on the sides. A quick addition of tarps to the sides and we were cozy and comfortable for the entire evening. The second time we had a handful of friends with guitars come out and we stayed listening to live music into the wee hours. It was great and we look forward to having the opportunity to maybe do that again here.

I looked at the calendar yesterday and realized this will be the third time in July that Lloyd and I have seen each other. That's a bit of a record since I moved here. But his next trip in the middle of September will likely be the last until Christmas. But the time does go pretty quickly when you're busy and that's certainly the case here. Next week, Meghan(1) will be here and we plan to get together to try our hand at Macarons. Next weekend I'm going to Halifax to see my friend Nancy, from Guelph who will be there visiting her brother and sister. The weekend after, James will be here and I have all sorts of activities lined up for him while he's here. I'm really looking forward to that, and then the following weekend the rest of his family arrives. Then not long after that, summer will be over - but sometimes it feels like it hasn't really started yet!

Well, got to run - lots to do!
Before I go, I'm going to share with you a recipe I'm going to use on Sunday. It's a salad recipe that's quite unique and it came from Jana's mother-in-law, Cathy. I think of her and George whenever I use this recipe.

Napa Cabbage Salad
2 packages Raman Soup Noodles, slightly crushed (just the noodles)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 small, or 1 large head of napa cabbage, chopped medium

Dressing:
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tbsp soya sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In a frying pan with melted butter, lightly saute until toasted golden brown, the noodles, almonds and sesame seeds.
Let cool thoroughly. (this step can be done the night before)

Combine dressing ingredients thoroughly and let stand for at least 10 minutes to allow the flavours to blend (you could also do this the night before)

Just before serving, combine cabbage, noodle mixture and green onions with enough dressing to mosten.

Enjoy!

Where has it gone?

Conditions at 5:30 am: overcast and 16'
Expected later: rain for most of the day and 18'

I can't believe we are almost half way through summer already. The weather sure hasn't felt like it a lot of the time.  But the days are getting noticeably shorter, as it's now dark when I wake up at 5:00. I suppose we got very spoiled with the beautiful summer we had last year. Oh well, it will make us appreciate the next nice summer we get.  But we're still extremely fortunate when we see the temperatures the rest of the country is experiencing. We really have nothing to complain about. But the good news is they are predicting nice weather on Sunday. I know it's a bit early but I'm hoping they're right. I've invited a few people over for BBQ ribs and if we're not careful, this could turn into a party. Our friend Zesty, (well, he's not really a friend but he does live here on the island) posted a recipe for ribs on his blog last week that I'm eager to try. Here's what we're doing:

Apple Wood Smoked Barbecue Ribs Posted: 20 Jul 2011 06:23 AM PDT Happy Wednesday to you from sunny PEI. I really cannot believe I just wrote that opening line based on the weather we have had in June but…. we have been to the beach the last 4 days. Weather has been fantastic. The other morning I had taken a couple of racks of ribs out for an evening snack and I knew had to start early to prep them. I started off with a dry/wet rub that would stay on them for about 6 hours while we hit the beach. After that point, I picked up some apple wood chips and created a little smoker pouch and cooked the ribs for 3 1/2 hours over indirect heat. The results were well ummmm…. DELICIOUS Here is the lowdown on the rub and the rest of the grilling details. If you ever have a lot of time on your hands or you just want to taste ribs at night, I highly suggest you give this project/labor of love a try. Ingredients 2 racks of Pork back ribs 1 Tbsp. dry mustard 1 Tbsp. Cumin 1 Tbsp. Coriander 1 Tbsp. Olive oil 2 Cloves garlic, minced 3 Tbsp. Smokin’ Stampede 1 Tbsp. Onion powder 1 Tbsp. Paprika Method Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Rub all over ribs and massage into the meat tissue. Wrap the ribs in saran wrap and let rest for at least 3 hours Soak wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes prior to putting on the grill. Once the 30 minutes has elapsed, preheat grill on high on one side. Place the drained wood chips in a tin foil pouch on the side with the heat turned on. The wood chips will last about 30-45 minutes. (I created a few pouhces before I started) Place the ribs down on the grill without the heat turned on and close the lid. Check back every 45 minutes to give them a baste and switch out the wood chips. Cook them for about 3 1\2 to 4 hours if you can stand to wait. ENJOY! Zesty Tip: To keep the ribs juicy, I highly suggest basting the ribs every 20 minutes or so on the grill with your favorite barbecue sauce. They really hit the spot despite the time and effort.  Late night ribs with an ice cold beer sitting around a camp fire.  Tough to beat.  Check out the camp fire pics.  Our camping neighbor gave us a color packet that you drop on the flames and it changes the colors…. so cool. Have a great Wednesday.  I think we are hitting the beach again. Talk soon and let me know if you make these ribs. Take care zesty So, here's hoping mine turn out as good as these look.  We'll start off with some steamed mussels, probably the same as the ones everyone enjoyed at the church on Sunday and then add some salads and I've made some strawberry cupcakes with the left over strawberries from Sunday as well. I'm going to top those with whipped cream and more strawberries and serve with some vanilla ice cream and call it dessert. The cakes are in the freezer waiting for whipped cream on Sunday. It will be an easy dinner but lots of fun - I hope.

Another glorious sunrise

Conditions at 5:30 am: light clouds and 16'
Expected later: 19' and rain

I never stop marveling at the beautiful sunrises we experience out here on top of this hill. This mornings is brilliiant and reflects off the river which appears to be at or near high tide. Beautiful.


Well, after the wind on Saturday, Lloyd has decided to come down for the weekend. It will be a short visit but hopefully a relatively productive one. He'll put the shelter back up and this time we'll anchor it a little LOT better.

Yesterday after work I helped my friend Mireille pick up her new bike. She did have a 750 but decided to sell it and then bought a 600 cc Honda Shadow. I must say, it's a pretty nice bike. I drove with her to North Rustico and then followed in her car back to town. She's one brave lady, I can tell you that. She hasn't ridden since last fall and after one trip down the street and back, she was ready to head out on the road. At least once you got out of North Rustico, it was all easy going with no stopping and starting to contend with until you got closer to town. She was quite nervous and her legs were a little shaky by the time we got back to her place but she did a great job. She was very excited to get a bike again but pretty apprehensive at the same time. I know how that feels. But she's very determined and made her way home with no problems. She was certainly visible as she wears a bright pink helmet and black and pink jacket. You can see her coming a mile away - which isn't a bad thing on a bike!

My flowers aren't growing that quickly except for the sunflowers. I'm surprised they are doing as well as they are being they only get a little sun in the mornings and that's it. But they are getting taller. They are certainly not as filled out as Bernie's are and I will be surprised if they actually flower but you never know. Something has been nibbling on them, so I will have to find a solution for that. But at least they are growing so I'm pleased about that. Not much else to report this morning - a pretty quite start to the week.

Oh yeah, one more thing  - they announced a second show for Elton John in Summerside and tickets go on sale this Friday morning - again. I'm glad I won't have to be trying to get through again.

Back to life on PEI - which is NEVER boring!

 

Conditions at 5:15 am: 15' with clear skies'
Expected later: sunny and 23'

Getting ready for the crowds

The big news from last week was the successful obtaining of much sought after Elton John tickets. I tried all morning the day they went on sale but unfortunately I was not lucky enough to get through. However, Bernie, who had predicted "it won't be sold out" got in and was able to get tickets, (before they sold out the same morning). Brenda was also lucky, as was her cousin, Maureen. So we have the tickets we need. They aren't all together and some are singles, but that's a lot better than the 20,000 plus people who were not so lucky.

They took a while but many said they were worth it

We cooked while everyone else attended the outdoor Mass

Yesterday was Brenda's church picnic. She had asked if I might help with cooking the mussels. I was more than happy to assist, especially after Saturday night, but more on that later. The day dawned to light rain showers and cool temperatures so instead of kayaking as planned, we tidied up the yard then had some toasted home made bread generously, spread with her freshly made strawberry jam. We planned our strategy for later in the day and hoped for the best. And we were not disappointed. By mid afternoon, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. The plan was to have the Mass outside while the rest of us got the food ready. There were approximately 130 people on hand who enjoyed steamed mussels, hot dogs and hamburgers and ice cream and strawberries. They haven't done this for many years but everyone who was working declared the day a resounding success. We had a lot of compliments on the mussels so I was really grateful for that. Of course they were plump, meaty mussels that had likely been out of the water less than 24 hours from just down the road, so it was pretty easy to supply a quality meal when you had fabulous ingredients to start with. But I was glad they liked them.

Strawberries and ice cream - yummm

Now Saturday. In the evening Brenda came over after working hard all day and we sat down to a glass of wine and to make our plans for Sunday. We had talked about maybe using the large pot that we have for the mussels and I took Brenda out to see it in the shelter that Lloyd put up when he was here last time. She was suitably impressed with the pot and can't wait to see it in action, but as they had already made other plans for cooking the mussels, we decided to just leave things as they were. So we went back into the house to finish our wine. As we sat and chatted we noticed a huge black cloud approaching and it seemed to be right overhead with clear skies in the distance in all directions. We went outside to have a look at it and it was pretty windy. we were back in for a little bit when Brenda decided it was time to go home. I went outside with here and I happened to look over in the direction of the shelter we had just been in, and it looked odd, because all I could see was the stuff on the lawn that was inside. But no shelter. It wasn't just blown over, it was COMPLETELY GONE!  We went over to the area where it was and the motorcycles were both lying on the ground, the lawnmowers (2) were upside down and everything was all over the place. We looked around the yard but there was no sign of the shelter to be had. We got into the car and were just backing out when Lianne, who lives two houses down, was just walking across the yard. It seems it had blown clear over the trees and into the neighbours yard, who are away right now. Her husband had dragged it over to a clump of trees and tied it to one of them.

A good time was had by all 

We got out the tools and decided we needed more help so Brenda called Bernie and he and Caitlin came over and helped us take it apart and get it back home. So now it's all in pieces and the covering is folded up inside the other shelter that didn't move because the doors on both ends were open so it was safe. So Sunday morning while Brenda was here we took everything out of the mini barn and reorgainzed enough to get most everything put away. Of course the bikes are still outside so I'm going to pick up a couple of tarps today to cover them. All in all it was a pretty eventful weekend.

The same cloud , as viewed from North Rustico (found this on the Weather network along with several others)

New York City - the final chapter

Conditions at 5:15 am: 15' and overcast (and the howling wind we had most of the night has died down a little)
Expected later: 23' and more rain

Where were we:

The Lot- it's under an old railway line. The line is no longer used and instead of tearing it down, it's been rejuvenated as a walkway. The Lot, as it's called, was once  just that - a vacant lot under a rail bridge.

One of the food trucks at The Lot

Now in the summer, there are food trucks all around the perimeter, a bar at one end and tables and chairs fill the centre. When we went on a sunny Saturday afternoon, it was packed with people. There's another one further down the line but it's even busier.

The tables at The Lot

Quite a unique idea for an unused space. The rail line above, called the High Line,  has been made over to a lovely green walking space that is really well used.

Walking along the High Line

We had a drink at The Loft then walked down the High Line to the Meat Packing District.

We toured around there for a while and spent some time in Chelsea Market. It's a really interesting old building that's been reclaimed and actually houses a lot of businesses on the upper floors, one of those being the Food Network. We were told the Network test kitchens are there as well as Kitchen Stadium where Iron Chef America is filmed. I would have loved the opportunity to tour that part of the building.
Oh well, maybe next time!

Yes, these are cupcakes!

On the ground floor there are all kinds of little shops with really interesting items, including a Jaques Torres Chocolate shop and another bake shop with row upon row of multi-coloured Macarons. (And yes, Meghan (1) I will try the recipe before you get here and we'll give them a whirl while you'r e here! I'll make copies of the recipes for you before you get here. I'm really glad that someone knows what I'm talking about!) There were also a lot of really different cupcakes!

Anyway, it was soon time to head back to Kristi's to get dressed for dinner. We took a cab from her place to Les Halles, of Tony Bourdan fame.  Our reservation was for 8:30 and we arrived a couple of minutes late but not to worry. However there are a small handful of tables outside on the patio and it was such a beautiful evening we asked if we could wait for an outside table.

It probably took an hour to wait but we sat at the bar and had a bottle of wine among the four of us and had a great time with the bar tender. I even managed to get him to sell me his apron.

He was taking our picture for us when one of the other waiters came up in the background and made a silly face. We had so much fun and we hadn't even had any food yet! Once we got  our table it was worth the wait. We sat outside - I'd say under the stars but there's too much light pollution to see any but we know they were there because we could see the moon quite clearly. I ordered the Fois Gras for my appetizer and the Steak Tartare for the main course. It was all that I expected and I was pleased to learn that what I had made at home was very close. The fries or frites as they are called, were

fabulous - crisp on the outside and creamy soft on the inside - even when they got cold they were still the same way - amazing. We were even too full to have dessert but we'd had several desserts through out the day so we were ahead of the game. We'd had such a good time that the bartender and one of the waiters, stopped by our table when they were done their shift, to say good bye and wish us a bon voyage. By the time we were done, it was around midnight and the girls decided to go out to a club for a while. Jana and I were invited but we thought it might be wise to just go home and get organized and packed for morning. As it was, it was 2:00 am again when we went to bed.  I downloaded my pictures onto Jana's camera and then we loaded Kristi's pictures to Jana's computer and then onto my camera card so I had all the photos to bring home with me. There is definitely a new scrapbook in my future.
I was up early on Sunday morning and had planned to attempt to take the subway, but got turned around outside and was headed the wrong way. Since I would have had to taken a bus from the subway in Harlem, I thought it best to just take a cab after all - my sense of direction is not that great and Harlem might not be the best place to be walking around lost.
I was extremely lucky to get both my flights as planned - to Montreal and then to Charlottetown, arriving home right on time.

It was an exhausting weekend but a huge amount of fun.Once again many, many thanks to Jana, Kristi and Jackie (and also Sir Paul, for giving us the excuse!) I look forward to the opportunity to return the hospitality.

New York City - Part 4

Conditions at 5:15 am: 17' and overcast
Expected later: 25' and cloudy

Back to New York City:

Friday was a very long day (I had gotten up at 3:00 am to get ready to fly to NYC) and it was 2:00 am on Saturday morning when we got to bed. It had been a very busy day with lots of walking and lots of jumping around at the concert and just generally a very active day. I was sure I would sleep quite late. That was not the case of course. I was awake at 6:30 and tried to go back to sleep, but ended up getting up a little before 7:00. So I took the opportunity to get showered and dressed before everyone else got up.  We had to all be up by 8:30 anyway as we had a bus tour to catch.  Our destination Saturday morning was

The dining room at Budakkon

MMMMMM - Cupcakes

a locations tour of "Sex and the City".  What a great time that was. We walked to a local bagel place where we had the best bagels ever. Of course, I had to have the cream cheese, Nova Scotia smoked salmon, capers and onions. It was delightful- a little messy but well worth it. We took a cab up to the Plaza Hotel, and sat on the edge of the fountain to eat while we waited for the bus. There were about 50 people on the bus - and three of them were men. They were all with women but talk about a great place to meet single women- the tour director told us about one tour she led where there was one male, and he was by himself - and he wasn't gay. He might have found the ideal place to find a lot of women in one place, all to himself.

Inside the bar at "Scout"

The tour led us all around the city and there were clips from shows to coincide with the sights. Most were seen from the bus but there were a few stops along the way. We stopped once to shop, once for cupcakes , once to tour a great restaurant where they filmed the rehearsal dinner for Carrie and Mr. Big. It has a gorgeous room that you enter by walking down one of two stair cases and the table below will sit 66 people (I counted the chairs). and one final stop for a cosmo at the bar used in the scenes where Steve and Aidan bought a bar. It was a lot of fun and we saw parts of the city we wouldn't have discovered otherwise.
When we finished the tour, we ended up at the HBO studios where we were given the opportunity to purchase related merchandise. All agreed it had been a fabulous morning, and our feet really enjoyed the rest for the morning.

YUMMM

Upon leaving there, we struck out to discover more of the city - but first a snack was required (after cupcakes and cosmos!) So we headed to Rockefeller Centre and what did we find but a Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery. What a sight. We each chose a treat and sat outside at a table, under an umbrella overlooking NBC studios and the real 30 Rock. It was here that Kristi introduced me to Macarons (not macaroons, as we know them). They were this amazing cookie and I later found a recipe book on how to make them. I will be trying that soon.
From there we headed out to meet up with Jackie and Kristi's friend Emily. To be continued.....

New York City - Part 3

 

Conditions at 5:15: 15' and overcast (and not quite daylight - the days are getting visibly shorter)
Expected later: 24' and sunny again!

Let's try to get some of those photos today:

Alex Baldwin and Chevy Chase conversing right behind me

Paul's son, James was also sitting right behind us

The star of the show

Three new McCartney fans!

Non stop for three hours - does it get ANY better???

Jennie and Patty - we'd met while we waited 14 hours in Halifax for the concert in 2009

In one form or another, this man has provided the sound track to my entire life

Sunday morning - off and running again - with some great bagels to get us going 

Sunday's adventures .... to be continued

New York City - Part 2

Conditions at 5:20 am: foggy and 17'
Expected later: 24' and sunshine

 

Okay- where were we? Hotel London and Gordon Ramsay's Maze

What an elegant experience!  The hotel is beautiful and the restaurant is gorgeous as was the food. We were well looked after by an assortment of staff who came and went with great efficiency. The courses were served impeccably and with great efficiency. In spite of the fact it was restaurant week, I feel we had the same great dining experience we would have had at any other time. We had limited choices of course, and we all chose the same thing.

Chilled tomato gazpacho, 
with marinated lobster, avocado puree and dried tomato 

Pan roasted Wing of Skate
Preserved lemons, ratatouille, caper and almond butter

Valrhona chocolate fondant 
with green cardamon, caramel, sea salt and almond ice cream

It was an amazing lunch experience that I've very fortunate to have been able to enjoy. After lunch we parted company with Kristi, who had to return to work for a little longer and Jana and I headed back to see some more sights.

One thing I've never done is tour Central Park  and visit Strawberry Fields. In spite of having a poster size print of the monument on my wall, I've never actually seen it for myself.Being as I was in town to see another member of the Beatles,  this seemed like an appropriate time to visit. We were a little pressed for time so we took a pedal car driven by a very knowledgeable young man. He pointed out all kinds of attractions and historical places.

There were all kinds of people there when we visited, a short walk off the trail, and I suspect a good many of them were also in town for the same reason.
Because we didn't have a lot of time, we didn't linger too long. But I can see coming back again, it's a very peaceful and lovely part of the park .

When our tour was over, we headed back to Kristi's apartment. It was time to get ready to leave for Yankee Stadium.

After a fairly lengthy subway ride, we arrived right at the Stadium. We had to pick up our tickets at the Will Call counter and when we got them, we suspected our seats were pretty good. But we still had to wait till Kristi and Jackie arrived so we walked across the street and picked up some food at McDonalds. Jana had some fries and  I had a Rolo McFlurry. We sat outside at a table, in view of the subway train and the stadium to wait for the girls. When they arrived, we ventured inside. You can only imagine how delighted THIS fan was to find that our seats were in the 8th row from the stage, almost dead

centre!  You could not have gotten the smile off my face for anything. First we became aware that Paul's son' James was sitting right behind us.(I've since learned that Paul's fiance, Nancy was in that row as well). Then we saw the mayor of NYC arrive and sit in the row behind us, at the far end. But then there was quite a buzz in the crowd and who should arrive but Alec Baldwin of 30 Rock fame. Turns out he was in the row behind us as well, just a couple of people down from us. Within a few minutes Chevy Chase arrived and was on the other side of us and just behind. At one point the two actors met right behind
us, to chat. The two girls asked Alec if they could have a photo with him and he obliged. They are both big fans of the show, so what a thrill for them. What an exciting start to an even more exciting evening. Of course, for me and the other thousands of people there, the star of the show was Sir Paul. And once again, he never failed to deliver. Three hours of non stop great music. It was another evening I will never forget. One of the most ironic things is I ran into the two ladies I had met while waiting to see Paul, in Halifax. I was standing up before the concert and someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was Sandy. I turned around and there was Jennie. Seated in the 15 row just behind us were her and Patty. So I went over and chatted with the two of them. How ironic that we would meet in that huge crowd. But I was wearing a pink hat and that's what caught their eye, and when they looked a little closer, they saw that it was me. Amazing!
When the show was over we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in the stadium to wait for the crowds to thin out a bit before heading back on the subway. We made it home around 2:00 am, almost 23 hours since I'd gotten up the morning before. But it was totally worth every second! Because I'm having some trouble loading photos this morning, watch for lots of pictures and little text tomorrow.

What an amazing time!

Conditions at 5:15 am: 18' and a bit overcast
Expected later: scattered showers and 23'



Gosh, where do I start. I've always found that the more highly anticipated an event is, the less likely it is to live up to your expectations. This past weekend, that I was very excited about, far exceeded anything I could have imagined. First I must send out a huge THANK YOU to Kristi, for coming up with the idea and invitation and of course, her very warm hospitality. To Jana for following through with it, and last, and certainly not least - Scott and his friend Shane for providing an absolutely amazing concert experience that I will NEVER forget!
Because there is so much to tell, I'm going to split this up over a few days. I have tons of photos and there will most definitely be a scrapbook about the whole experience.

Day 1:Thursday, July 14th
-I was booked on the 5:45 flight out of Charlottetown to go to Toronto, to continue on to New York on Friday morning. It looked good all week long until I checked one last time on Friday morning - empty seats - 0. What to do to do. I looked further and saw that there were three open seats at 12:15 which meant I would have to leave no later than 11:30. I went to my boss at 10:45 and asked if I could leave earlier than planned. He questioned the fact that it was awfully short notice and I totally agreed but when I explained my dilemma - I absolutely HAD to get to NYC by Friday night, he told me to go, and have a great trip! I pack up my stuff, and headed to the airport. After a bit of a panic because I seemed to have lost my phone, all was well and I secured a seat on the flight. I called Lloyd and he was more than happy to pick me up upon my arrival mid afternoon. When we arrived we made our way back to Guelph so I could spend a little bit of time with Patti and the kids, before they were off to a baseball game and she was off to work. As usual things were a little chaotic as everyone wanted to tell me everything and show me everything and all at the same time, but it was wonderful to see them even if it was for only a little while. Before we know it, they will be here. Of course, Patti, being the most logical one in the family questioned when Jana was flying to New York. When I told her it was 4:30 she just looked at me and said "So since you got out early, why didn't you just wait for her at the airport and take the same flight?"  Duh - that would have made too much sense and it just never occurred to me.But then I would have missed an opportunity to see my family and that was better than another night in the city.
Our friend Stephan was due into Guelph on the train at 7:00 so the plan was to pick him up and then we were meeting Jim at the pub for something to eat. I talked to Stephan on the way to Guelph and he was enroute. I haven't seen him in a long time so was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately the meeting didn't happen as the train got delayed and he wasn't going to arrive until almost midnight and I had to be up at 3:15 in the morning. Hopefully he'll come down to see his sister this summer if she comes to the island. But we did have a  lovely time with Jim and another friend from the airport, and our old friend Ron stopped by as did Jim's wife Patty, so a great evening was spent at the pub.

It was late when we got back to Lloyd's apartment so we set the alarm for 3:15 am and went to bed. I suppose it was excitement about the trip because I was awake  earlier so I got up and got showered and before you knew it, I was on my way to New York.
 Day 2 -Friday -  Part one
The sun was bright and very warm when I stepped out of the terminal. I had checked into how to get to the city by bus but it seemed a little confusing and I really didn't know where I was going so I opted for a taxi. Before I knew it I was at Kristi's lovely apartment and being greeted by Jana.
Time to let the weekend begin!

We had lots to see and do, and only two days in which to do it all - but I think we did a pretty good job of it.
We started out on foot and walked to the Seaport. I

can see why it's a popular destination.  It was too early in the day for most things to be open (I did arrive at 8:00 am and we were touring around by 10:00) but it was a lovely morning and we didn't really have time to sit and linger anywhere - things to do and places to go and places to see. From there we made our way to the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a great set up. The Pedestrian walkway is in the middle between the two lanes of traffic so you have cars running on either side of you. You do have to be careful because there's a bike lane and if you veer off the pedestrian path, which is easy to do with so many people- you risk being run down by a high speed bicycle - trust me - it nearly happened to me so "be careful out there" is highly appropriate on the bridge. The view from the bridge gives you an amazing view of the Financial District and on a warm sunny day, it was dazzling.

From the bridge, we headed back uptown on foot and visited many green spaces - Washing ton Square, and Union Square. We were working our way back up to meet up with Kristi at lunch.; We thought we knew where we were going and ended up getting slightly lost but eventually found our way- finally via taxi- to the Hotel London - home of Gordon Ramsay's "Maze"
Tune in tomorrow for details of that experience! - and SO much more! Here's a clue - 30 Rock!

It's a chilly one

Conditions at 5:15: 13' and cloudy
Expected later" 16' with a mix of sun and cloud

What a difference a few days can make. It's downright chilly this morning. But at least it's not raining along with it so it's okay. I hope the weather is a little better when the Dennison family comes to visit in August or the kids will be pretty disappointed if they can't go to the beach everyday.

Well, I'm all packed and ready to go. I'll be dropping Cooper off on my way to work.
Brenda came over last night after her meetings about the church picnic.  I'm going to give her a hand with that, although it sounds like it's pretty much under control. We had a glass of wine and watched the second episode of "The Kennedy's" on TV. I'm recording all the episodes so it will give us an excuse to get together once a week (like we needed one).

Not much news this morning. I spent the evening tidying a little but mostly just getting my stuff together. It's hard to get everything you think you might need into one little carry on bag but I think I've done it. One thing about it, if I've forgotten anything, I can just go and buy it - it's not like I'm going to an uncivilized country. I'm taking my camera with me (of course) so watch for reports on Monday.

As I'm sitting here, the  sun is coming up over the river and it's an absolutely gorgeous sky that changes by the second. I love this time of day.

Okay, just a word or warning, there will not be a post tomorrow as I'm not dragging my computer with me so I will see all of you on Monday. Have a great weekend, I know I will.

Oh, by the way, did I mention
  I'M GOING TO NEW YORK CITY TO SEE PAUL McCARTNEY !!!