I'm now a published author (okay - self published but what the heck!)

Conditions at 5:15 am: 13' and some clouds
Expected later: sunny and 22'

There's a feature on the blogger website that allows you to import your blog posts into a program, that will put your seriously boring ramblings into a book. That's right - I have put all of 2010 into a book and my goodness, what a fine looking book it is! It's hard cover with lovely colour photos and it's ever so impressive. It's also a permanent record of that year. It arrived in the mail last week but had to be picked up at the post office, so Lloyd very kindly did that for me on Friday. I was ever so impressed when I opened it.
I couldn't wait to share it with Brenda and Bernie when they came over for supper on Friday night and they were also dutifully impressed (but of course, they are very polite people!)
After a bit of confusion, as to who was invited where for supper, the Van Gaals came over to our house. Lloyd made a simple supper of fish and potatoes for us and Brenda arrived with a delicious apple crumble for dessert and a lovely evening was enjoyed by all.
Saturday I worked then came home and we just had a light lunch and  watched some TV until time to get changed to go to the Cultural Potato Feast featuring Mark McEwan. And what an evening it was. It was at Fort Amherst, just across the harbour from Charlottetown and held in the interpretive centre. It was a small venue - only seating for 40 people and featured presentations from various individuals highlighting the history of the area, including a native woman, a man dressed as an Acadian, depicting the founder of the settlement and three young people from Fort Louisburg in Cape Breton who represented the French soldiers, in full costume from 1795. One of them sat at our table and it was really interesting to talk to him. But of the course the highlight of the evening was the food. The menu went something like this:

Menu:

Amuse Bouche - Rapure bites (Acadian), Medallion Smoked Salmon on Potato Luskikn with sour cream and herbs (Mi'kmaq) and Bubble and Squeak poppers (British).

Appetizer - Mark McEwan's Signature Dish Lobster Poutine.

Salad - Crispy Romaine and Tomato Salad w/ a Tomato and Summer Savory vinegrette.

Entree - Confit Pork 'n Potatoes, Peas in Gravy and Market Veggies (French/Acadian).

Dessert - Poutine a Trou Baies de IPE (Acadian)/ Fresh Island Fruit Pastry.

Needless to say, everything was delicious but for me the best part was the Lobster Poutine. It had to be one of the best things I've ever eaten. It was served as an appetizer in a paper cone. The fries were perfectly done - crispy on the outside yet creamy on the inside. It was drizzled with a light Bearnaise Sauce containing bite sized chunks of butter poached lobster that absolutely melted in your mouth. It was a dish that was absolutely perfectly delicious. They did come around and offer second helpings but I chose not to have one for fear of spoiling the rest of my dinner. During dinner there were three young fellows from Rustico known as "Ten strings and a goat skin" - one guitar, one fiddle and a drummer - who played beautifully and I think they were maybe all of 16 or 17 years old.  When it was over, I nabbed Mark and got him to sign my picture from a few years ago and also his cookbook which Lloyd had bought when we first got there. (It wasn't a foodie group - I think we were the only ones who bought a book and there was only one other person going up to him after the dinner to speak with him.) When I went to ask for the autographs, we went out into the lobby and sat down and chatted and it was really, really nice. All in all, a very nice evening.

Sunday morning dawned quite chilly - only 8' but the die hard bikers went out at 8:00 to meet in town for coffee and travel to Summerside so Bernie could pick up a part he needed for someone. Brenda and I, on the other hand, took a more civilized approach and had breakfast after church, and then got dressed and went out. We had talked to the guys and told them about a Fall Flavours event being held at the church in Indian River - Soupfest. So the plan was to meet up there around 2:00. Brenda and I took a scenic route to get there, arriving around 1:35. We got our tickets and checked everything out. There was a large tent beside the church and inside were stations set up with various restaurants serving cups of soup. There were at least 10 stations and your ticket gave you 5 soups and a piece of bread. The hard part was trying to decide which soups to choose. Unfortunately that was made a little bit easier because some ran out of soup early. The guys (5 of them) arrive shortly after 2:00 but only Lloyd and Bernie stayed - the other three headed out. We all spent a wonderful afternoon sampling those soups that weren't sold out, and sitting inside the church and listening to entertainment. I was so pleased that Lloyd got to experience some music in that amazing building as the acoustics are absolutely incredible. When it was over we headed down the road and reconvened at Phinley's in Stratford for ice cream. Bernie had decided he would head out east to drop off the part he had picked up and the decision was made that all four of us would go. Bernie took the lead, followed by Brenda, then me, and Lloyd keeping it all together at the back of the pack. It was a great ride and a great day. Thanks guys!