Wednesday, February 29th - another 4 years before we see this date again!

It's a quiet -8' this morning and it's no longer snowing. We should reach a comfortable -5' by this afternoon with a mix of sun and cloud. Yesterday was our first official snow day, The schools were all closed, including the college and the University. Some businesses were closed but for most of us in the retail industry it was business as usual. The drive into town was an easy one and except for some snow on the roads, homecoming was also no problem. The issue we were expecting was blowing snow as the snow itself was very light and fluffy but the winds just never picked up to their full potential. So, once again, somewhat of a non event but that's okay by me. The roads were quite driveable and my lane was cleaned out when I got home. What more can you ask for in the dead of winter? well maybe not the 2 foot drift in front of the door that I had to shovel through to get in, but it was light and fluffy so not really a big deal.

But we know spring is on it's way. Or they're just very confused. Last Friday evening when I was on my way to Brenda's around 6:00 I saw what I thought were three large clumps of dirty snow or ice that had fallen off the bottom of someones car just down the road from the house in the middle of the road. As I approached, the clumps started moving. When I got to where they were I could see three raccoon's crossing the road. I was very surprised to see them out so early and so I stopped when I got to them. They went down into the ditch and then stopped. One of them turned around and just watched me for at least a full minute. I wished I had my camera (Bernie wishes I'd had a gun). Eventually it decided I wasn't really that interesting and it ambled off into the woods along with the other two. Not something we're used to seeing this early in the season, so spring should be here really soon!

I talked to Patti last night. Her aunt has just had surgery to remove a couple of tumours from her brain, and last evening they were moving her to the hospital in Guelph. Patti spoke to her boss so that she would be placed on Patti's floor at the hospital. A good friend of Jennifer's also works on that floor so she'll have some extra special attention. We wish her well, as it's going to be a tough recovery.

I think Patti needs a little vacation away so they're planning on coming  to visit for a few days. Besides it's been over a year since Meghan was here and almost that long for Tristen. It will be great to see them and I'm going to take a couple of days off work ( I hope - I'll ask today).  It will be nice to have them here and I can't believe it's only a week away. They'll finally have some snow to play in. Usually when they come at Christmas it rains!

Brenda and Bernie are headed to Boston this morning with tulips, so safe trip guys!

Tuesday, February 28th - how much snow will we get?

All day yesterday they forecast 10 to 15 cms of snow by mid day today. It's 5:30 am and it's -8' and we have a couple of cms of new snow on the ground this morning but no wind as yet. Rumour has it we will get heavy snow later this morning and a high of -5'. We'll see what happens when it's time to come home this afternoon.

Yesterday the wind finally stopped. I didn't refill my wood supply on Sunday because it was:
 a) just too windy and
b) I think I was feeling a little lazy and
c) Brenda wasn't around to force me out the door!

Not really her fault, I take full responsibility for my lack of activitiy. But I did get some things done inside so it wasn't a total loss. But I have to admit it was nice to get outside and be a little active last night. After I picked the dog up from his day at the spa (and he now smells wonderful) I quickly went about filling up the wood before it got too dark. I had just enough in the house to get the fire going so it was a necessary project.

I just had time to make a sandwich for supper and clean up my dishes when Brenda arrived. So we did our usual Monday routine - pour ourselves a glass of wine and head upstairs and start working. She did a couple of titles on the Cricut but I'm not much of a teacher I'm afraid, as I've forgotten most things about it. So we're learning from the beginning together.

But she is such an apt student! The other night she was telling me she had bought some fish in town and coated it in Panko and served it to Bernie. Not so long ago she didn't know what Panko was and now she's experimenting on her own. She's certainly learned a lot in a couple of years! She was always a good cook but now she's venturing out of her comfort zone a little and Bernie is the lucky recipient. Her Sticky Date Pudding last week was absolutely wonderful. I'd never had it before and it was a whole new experience for me, one that I'm looking forward to trying the next time Lloyd is here (because if I make it now I'll eat the entire thing!)

Monday, February 27th - what a wild and windy weekend

Well, it's still windy but perhaps not quite as strong. It's a chilly -9 this morning and that's pretty much where it's going to stay for the entire day.

It was meant to be a major snow storm on Friday night but I couldn't quite believe it. I enjoyed a delicious supper at the Van Gaals (it's Friday, so that must mean tulips) and when I left at 9:00 it was very calm and clear with millions of brilliant stars in the sky. I could not imagine we would get 20 cms of snow by lunch on Saturday. Turns out we didn't. We did get a tiny bit of snow and a little freezing rain but for the most part it was a none event. Lots of hoopla for nothing.

But windy, was another matter. The wind was howling around 80 km/hr all weekend long. No plans for Saturday and a good thing, as there was a wedding at the Rec Centre so that was Saturday.

Sunday morning the wind was still howling and we decided not to try skiing. I had called the info line and they advised the conditions were poor. I decided to give my warping board a try. It's not sanded or finished as yet but I'm waiting for a spring like day when I can do it outside. The last thing I need is a house full of sanding dust. The dowels are pretty smooth so I was able to actually use it. I did a small warp, just enough to make a scarf to figure out exactly what to do. Then, with the video playing, I was able to get it on the loom with no problems. The yarn I'm using is quite lumpy so goes slowly. It's a bit challenging but at least I've got something to work on.

These are the tulips on my kitchen table

This morning I'm dropping Cooper of at the groomers for his spa day! Lucky dog.

The tulips Bernie gave me on Friday are just opening and are a beautiful mix of colours. What a wonderful breath of spring on a cold and windy day.

Well, it's official - Stephan will be the first in line to call Lloyd an old geezer - the first pension cheque arrived last week. But I guess I can't talk as I'll be able to get mine come August.

Friday, February 24th - I think winter's here!

It took a while for winter to officially arrive but I think it's here. Right now (5:30 am) it's snowing and blowing and 0'. The weather network says we should receive 15 to 20 cms of snow by tomorrow morning, another 10 to 15cms on Saturday and looking ahead, another 10 to 15 on Tuesday. I guess it had to come eventually.

Well, we were supposed to play floor hockey last night but it got postponed. Too many people had backed out for various reasons so they decided to move it to another date and try again. Truthfully, I really didn't mind at all. So I had a quiet evening to myself as Brenda had a meeting. Because it was Thursday, and Thursday is a scrapbooking day, that's what I did. I made supper, watched a bit of TV while I ate, then went upstairs and worked for a little while.  That is until I ran out of ideas for a page I was working on. So I set it aside and I'll let it roll around in my head for a couple of days until something inspiring comes to mind.

Other than that I have nothing new to report. Of course, our weather today might be the big story. I won't know until after 6:00 or 6:30 when the cancellations start coming in to the radio if it's going to be a snow day. I don't know that we got that much snow, a few inches from the looks of the patio, but it certainly sounds like it's blowing around pretty good. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. We thought mother nature had forgotten us this winter, but it looks like she's changed her mind!

Thursday, February 23rd - floor hockey? Are you kidding me?

It's a mild 0' this morning with patches of fog, and we're heading for another mild day with +3' and probably some rain, maybe up to 10 mm.

It was a slow day yesterday. I hadn't slept well the night before, worrying about not hearing the alarm and Lloyd not making his flight. Then combine that with the 4:00 am start to the day. I was really tired by the afternoon but I managed to stay awake until 9:00 last night. After a great nights sleep,  I woke up about 5 minutes before the alarm at 5:00 so today will not be quite so draggy. Good thing because tonight after work some of the staff are  playing floor hockey. I've never played any kind of hockey in my life - so this should be a pretty humiliating experience. But then, there are some pretty nonathletic people at work besides me so it should be fine. It might actually be some fun!

The biggest accomplishment of Lloyd's visit was the completion of my warping board. I still need to sand it and put a coat of finish on it but at least it's done and I've ever so grateful. Now I can get busy and do something on my loom again. I have a couple of projects I want to get started on right away.

Not much to write about this morning so I will leave you with this little gem that Brenda sent me.




It could happen to any of us... 
$5.37! That's what the kid behind the counter at Tim Horton's said to me.. I dug into my pocket and pulled out some lint and two dimes and something that used to be a Lifesaver. Having already handed the kid a five-spot, I started to head back out to the truck to grab some change when the kid with the Elmo hairdo said the worst thing anyone has ever said to me. He said, "It's OK. I'll just give you the senior citizen discount."


I turned to see who he was talking to and then heard the sound of change hitting the counter in front of me. "Only $4.68" he said cheerfully.


I stood there stupefied. I am 56, not even 60 yet. A mere child! Senior citizen?


I took my food and walked out to the truck wondering what was wrong with Elmo. Was he blind? As I sat in the truck, my blood began to boil. Old? Me?


I'll show him, I thought. I opened the door and headed back inside. I strode to the counter, and there he was waiting with a smile.


Before I could say a word, he held up something and jingled it in front of me, like I could be that easily distracted! What am I now? A toddler?


"Dude! Can't get too far without your car keys, eh?" I stared with utter disdain at the keys. I began to rationalize in my mind.


"Leaving keys behind hardly makes a man elderly! It could happen to anyone!"


I turned and headed back to the truck. I slipped the key into the ignition, but it wouldn't turn. What now? I checked my keys and tried another. Still nothing.


That's when I noticed the purple beads hanging from my rear view mirror. I had no purple beads hanging from my rear view mirror.


Then, a few other objects came into focus. The car seat in the back seat.. Happy Meal toys spread all over the floorboard. A partially eaten doughnut on the dashboard.


Faster than you can say ginkgo biloba, I flew out of the alien vehicle.


Moments later I was speeding out of the parking lot, relieved to finally be leaving this nightmarish stop in my life. That is when I felt it, deep in the bowels of my stomach: hunger! My stomach growled and churned, and I reached to grab my coffee, only it was nowhere to be found.


I swung the truck around, gathered my courage, and strode back into the restaurant one final time. There Elmo stood, draped in youth and black nail polish. All I could think was, "What is the world coming to?"


All I could say was, "Did I leave my food and drink in here"? At this point I was ready to ask a Boy Scout to help me back to my vehicle, and then go straight home and apply for Social Assistance benefits..


Elmo had no clue. I walked back out to the truck, and suddenly a young lad came up and tugged on my jeans to get my attention. He was holding up a drink and a bag. His mother explained, "I think you left this in my truck by mistake."


I took the food and drink from the little boy and sheepishly apologized.


She offered these kind words: "It's OK. My grandfather does stuff like this all the time."


All of this is to explain how I got a ticket doing 85 in a 40. Yes, I was racing some punk kid in a Prius. And no, I told the officer, I'm not too old to be driving this fast.


As I walked in the front door, my wife met me halfway down the hall. I handed her a bag of cold food and a $300 speeding ticket. I promptly sat in my rocking chair and covered up my legs with a blanket.


The good news was I had successfully found my way home.

Wednesday, February 22 - an early morning at the airport

It's 6:10 am and I'm sitting at Timothy's waiting for the coffee to brew (they don't actually open till 6:30 but they let us early people in anyway). The temperature is -5' and we are headed for a high of  +2' and maybe a bit of rain and/or snow later this afternoon.

Well, Lloyd is on his way back to Toronto this morning. I suppose the up side is that he got put in first class for the first leg of the trip, to Montreal, so at least he'll get breakfast before he gets back and has to go to work. Neither of us slept well last night, I suspect because subconsciously we were both afraid we'd sleep in and he'd miss his flight. So it might be a long day.

Last night we went to Lot 30 and had an absolutely fabulous meal. We both had the five course tasting menu and the wine pairings to go with it. I was commenting to the waiter that we had seen Gordon on a TV show where he judged a friends wedding cake creation. The waiter came back a little later and said that the chef wanted to meet us after dinner. It was pretty quiet in the restaurant and sure enough, after we were done our dessert, he came and got us and took us into the kitchen. We spent probably 15 minutes chatting. What a great time for me!

So our meal went something like this (I did take notes) - I used my phone for the photos so the quality isn't great but you'll get the idea:


First Course:

Pan seared scallops on a bed of  Thai black rice topped with cubes of gingered dragon fruit. The scallops were perfectly cooked, the rice was absolutely delicious and the cold cubes of fruit made a wonderful contrast to the warm components. The wine pairing with this dish was a white California Viognier.






Second Course: 

Pan seared salmon on a bed of tomato orzo confit topped with Bernaise sauce and chopped toasted almonds. Salmon isn't my favorite fish but this was delicious. The top had a golden crust on it and the confit underneath was a delicious combination of flavours. The crunchy almonds on top really added a nice element. This dish was served with a Kim Crawford Pinot Noir from New Zealand.




Third course: 

This course started with a layer of creme fraiche on the bottom, topped with sauteed spinach, two pierogies topped with a roasted piece of pork belly, all drizzled with the jus from the roasted meat. The filling inside the freshly made pierogies was light and creamy and the pork was very meaty. All together another fabulous dish. This was served with a Red Zinfandel from California.



Fourth Course:

A deliciously rare piece of well aged steak, surrounded by small pieces of perfectly cooked shrimp, and thin narrow ribbons of parsnip, all sitting in a pool of carrot butter. The steak was tender and very flavourful, perfectly seasoned. The shrimp pieces were tiny bite sized and delicious and the thin ribbons of parsnip melted in your mouth. This dish was served with a richer, full bodies Malbeck from Argentina.(this picture isn't quite as pretty because I almost forgot to take it and had already started eating it)



Fifth Course:

A delightful combination of mini desserts (what a great idea!)
1) Blueberry clafouti with crunchy meringue chunks and cookie  crumbs
2) Homemade vanilla bean ice cream
3) Ginger lime cheesecake with fresh berries
Dessert was served with a small glass of 12 year old Taylor Fladgate port.

It was a wonderful meal and a wonderful evening with my sweetie. I suggested that I'd like to go there for my 60th birthday dinner and he was only too happy to agree!

Tuesday, February 21st - Another visit almost over

It's 5:29 and the temperature is -11' but appears to be relatively calm so the wind chill isn't crazy. We should make it up to a balmy -6' in the sun so it might be a nice day.

Our last full day together was a pretty laid back and quiet one. We had absolutely nothing planned other than dinner at the Van Gaals. It wasn't too bad a day weather wise. A bit chilly but not unreasonably so. After coffee in the morning Lloyd headed outside to get the snow off the storage shelters and to prune some of the apple trees branches. They've been let go for so many years that they are pretty much wild now. We don't know if trimming will help but it's worth a try. So while he did that I tried my hand at some cinammon rolls with biscuit dough. They were okay but not as good as Brenda's so I'll have to get her recipe. When he was cold and tired of reaching up above his head and lopping off branches, Lloyd was also  hungry. After a hearty breakfast he headed back out to load up the wood rack while I cleaned up the dishes. Then we both set about loading up all the trimmed branches and putting them in a pile beside the shed. Those are apple wood and will be nice in the smoker for some ribs in the summer.

By this time we were both feeling a little too relaxed so it was nap time. He headed upstairs and I laid down on the couch. I was having a lovely nap until the alarm on my phone went off to tell me my lunch hour was up (it's set to go off  Monday to Friday). Not to worry. It was time to get up anyway. I'd hate to sleep away a whole day off! So I sat and read for awhile.

When Lloyd got up I asked him to make some of his now famous donuts. He had picked up some baking pans that make donuts and brought them with him. When he made them in Guelph  they were a huge hit. I have to admit they were quite tasty. Actually almost like a cup cake but in a donut shape. We had some really great chocolate sauce left over from Saturday nights's dessert and it finished them off quite nicely.
We tried to justify their existence by the fact they are baked rather than fried! With a cup of fresh brewed coffee they hit the spot for an afternoon snack.


Before long it was time to head over to the Van Gaals for supper. We had selected some moose steaks the afternoon before and Lloyd was cooking them for us. Brenda made a delicious salad, honey roasted potatoes (that are a huge hit with Bernie, who's not really a potato lover) and veggies. My contribution was a compound butter to serve with the steaks, as moose can be a bit dry sometimes. We needn't have been concerned. Everything was delicious. The potatoes were fabulous, the veggies - carrots and turnips  - tasty, and the steaks were done to perfection.  But I have to say the best part for me was the sticky date pudding that Brenda made with a toffee sauce and ice cream. I've never had sticky date pudding before because I always thought it was more like a plum pudding type of dessert. Now I understand why it's so popular. This was absolutely fabulous. I'll get the recipe from her and post it on the blog because it's wonderful. A perfect end to a perfect meal and a perfect day and a perfect weekend. Now this morning, it's back to work for at least one of us. Dinner in town tonight, then Lloyd is back to Ontario in the morning. Another visit too short.

Got this email from Brenda and had to share this quote - I love it !


Quote of the day:

'Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater.
If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby.
If you give her a house, she'll give you a home.
If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.
If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.
She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.
So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.'

Monday, February 20th - Happy Islander Day

It's -9' with a -15' wind chill this morning at 5:47. That should be pretty much where it stay for the rest of the day but no precipitation is expected.

What a great weekend we've had so far (one more day). Friday night was a quiet one. Lloyd made supper and I was greeted to some pretty amazing smells when I got home. We had Spinach Salad, baked stuffed Chicken breasts topped with some left over blue cheese, a type of rice pilaf and ....... It was absolutely delicious. After cleaning up it was just a bit of TV. A nice quiet evening in the snow.

We woke Saturday morning to about a foot of new snow and still more coming down. But it wasn't windy and just below freezing so it really wasn't a bad morning.  We headed into town to pick up some items at the grocery store and then get some breakfast. We went to Phinley's and were just finishing when in walked Bernie and Richard. Turns out they had called our place looking for Lloyd to see if he wanted to join them, but we had already left. So they joined us instead. We had more coffee while they had their breakfast. A nice surprise and impromptu get together.

When we got home, we loaded up some wood and then set about making dinner for that evening. First order of business was to try out the new crepe maker. It was a bit frustrating at first to get the right temperature and spreading the batter at the right speed but finally we figured it out. (The instructions are WAY off) But in the end we had a lovely golden brown batch of crepes for our dessert. We were having ham and scalloped potatoes so I put the ham on to simmer. I've used this recipe for a number of years and it's always good. The ham is cooked in Coca Cola, which apparently is a southern United States way of cooking a ham. I also wanted to try out a new recipe I found for scalloped potatoes. Carrots and peas were the veggies on the side.

Lloyd helped tidy up and before we knew it our first guest, Donna, had arrived. We had a glass of wine and chatted and I noticed the time. I called the Van Gaals and they were just getting ready to come over. Brenda had a really busy day, two snow shoeing trips so she was pretty tired out. But like the trooper that she is, she made it over for supper. We had a lovely evening and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. The potatoes were a little dried out from waiting but I'm going to try that recipe again. When they were first out of the oven  they were absolutely perfect. I've never been great at scalloped potatoes but I may have finally gotten it. I'll try them one more time and it they turn out as good the next time, I'll post the recipe for you. Lloyd made Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing and it was a hit.

I was up early Sunday morning and cleaned up from the night before. When Lloyd got up we were sitting in the living room having coffee when the phone rang. It was Bernie inviting Lloyd to join him and Raymond on a drive over to Moncton. That was fine because Brenda and I go skiing on Sunday's anyway. I made him some breakfast before he left then I got myself ready. Brenda called and we were invited to join her cousin Maureen and her husband at their cottage. They wanted to go and check it out and make sure everything was okay. The road in isn't open so we had to ski in. It was a beautiful sunny day with a cold wind but once you were off the road and into the trees it was fine.

Maureen had brought food with them and we had a lovely lunch after going skiing around the area. All too soon, it was time to ski back out to the road where we had parked the cars. We arrived back at Brenda's about 30 seconds before the guys got home. After a cup of tea and a butter tart, we headed home for another quiet evening. It's nice that Lloyd doesn't have a huge to-do list this time around. Although he does have to get my warping board done before he leaves.

Tonight we're having supper at the Van Gaals and Lloyd is going to cook the  moose steaks. Lloyd has a couple of things he wants to get done today that I may be able to help out with or I might just sit inside by the fire and read a book on my new Kobo (only because he now has an I-Pad and doesn't need the Kobo).
I'll try to make the most of the last of my three days off!

Friday, February 17th - It's nice to have the old boy home!

It's -4' at 5:30 am with what the weather network is calling 'light snow grains'. I must admit, that's a new one for me. They may be falling (or whatever they do) somewhere, but not here, at least not yet. We're heading for a high of -1' with a mix of sun and cloud. We might get up to 10 cm of snow by tomorrow morning but who knows. It might also be rain instead.

Lloyd arrived right on time yesterday and I gave him his list. He had a couple of hours to kill before I was done work so he was happy to have something to do to fill in the time. My wine fridge is now fully stocked, my windshield washer fluid in my car is filled and the materials have been purchased for my warping board. That will be one of his projects for the next couple of days so I can  start weaving again. I have a couple of projects in mind to start off with and utilize some materials I have on hand first, then who knows where it will go from there.

We had a nice dinner last night. We started off with, of course, a glass of wine, while we cooked. Mussels steamed in white wine with a bit of carrot and onions to start. Then followed by beef tenderloin steaks with a blue cheese sauce, baked potatoes with sour cream and julienne carrots. Of course the home made rolls that were tucked into my bag at the Van Gaals the other night were a welcome treat as well. I had planned to make a dessert but in retrospect, it was good that I didn't because we were stuffed.

I knew that Lloyd was bringing down a surprise for me and I had no idea what it was but I expected it was something kitchen related. I was right and what a wonderful surprise. When we were in Quebec city a few years ago, we went to this lovely little cafe or rather creperie, and had a fabulous meal. The electric crepe maker was what caught my eye but I've only ever seen them in restaurants. Well guess what - the Gadget Queen now has another jewel in her crown! I have an electric crepe maker and I can't wait to give it a try.
From what I've read, it will also work well for tortillas and it has a 13 inch surface so we can make the bigger ones as well. Get ready for some experimenting!

One strange note: as I sit here writing this, there is a mosquito buzzing around in front of me. How bizarre is that?

Thursday, February 16th - my sweetie arrives today

It's 4:30 and I'm wide awake so I might as well be up doing something useful. It's an overcast -2' but no wind so it's a very pleasant morning. Last night it was just above freezing and it was an absolutely gorgeous evening, after a sunny high of +7' yesterday. It certainly felt like spring, not the middle of February. Today will be  slightly cooler, staying around the -2' mark but the sun will come out once in a while so it will be a lovely day once again today.

Not much news today other than the fact that Lloyd is arriving a little after 2:00 this afternoon. I'm taking my lunch at that time so I can go and pick him up.

As promised earlier in the week, here are the a couple of more recipes from last Friday night.

Tabitha made a layered dip that I don't really know the name of,  but the recipe went something like this and it was really good!


1 cup sour cream
1-8 oz package cream cheese, softened
8 oz lean ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 cup shredded tex mex cheese (or cheese of your choice)


Mix together the sour cream and the cream cheese. Spread onto serving plate
Brown ground beef and taco seasoning, using only ½ the amount of water indicated on the seasoning package
Simmer for 5 minutes and spread on top of the sour cream/cream cheese mixture
Cover with layers of shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced green onions and any other veggies you wish to add
Top with shredded cheese


Serve with nacho chips 

Charmaine supplied a lovely hot and creamy dip that we reheated in the oven. She tells me it's from the Epicure spice collection of recipes and and it can be found on their website, so if you have those spices give it a try, it's really good:

http://www.epicureselections.com/en/recipe/600/extraordinary-cheese-dip™

What a lovely Valentine Surprise

How wonderful to be out of that deep freeze. The temperature this morning at 5:00 is -2' with a high expected later of +2'. After the past few days it's absolutely balmy.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and I got a call in the morning from Brenda. It seems that Bernie bought a bottle of champagne for her for Valentine's and thought it only appropriate that I should also share it. What a treat and how nice to be included. So I picked up a couple of things we needed for a dish we'd seen a couple of weeks ago in the new edition of Canadian Living. The Mediterranean Chicken and Spinach  Pasta was delicious.

For a special Valentine's treat, Brenda had also baked some - not from a package, but homemade - chocolate brownies with lots of chopped walnuts. Those, fresh out of the oven, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some warm chocolate sauce, were a decadent way to finish off a delicious meal. Of course, the company was really what made it special.

I had just gotten home when Lloyd called to wish me a Happy Valentine's Day. It seems that our good friend Stephan visited for a couple of days and they've made tentative plans to go to Vietnam the beginning of June. It's something they've been talking about for a couple of years now so we'll see if it actually happens.
That will be about the same time that I'm planning a short trip to London, England. It will be the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and since I was there for her Golden Jubilee ten years ago, it's only fitting that I should be at this one. Did I mention that Sir Paul factors into this decision? Of course he does! All I have to do now is work out the details... stay tuned.

Tuesday, February 14th - Happy Valentines Day!

Today we come out of the deep freeze! Yesterday was VERY cold and this morning is still -17' with a windchill of -25'. But the sun will shine later and by this evening it will be -3'. Much closer to what we're used to.

The sun shone all day yesterday and inside it felt lovely but when you went outside, it was really cold. We;re pretty lucky here because we don't get a lot of that really cold weather. But it certainly brought back memories of my years in Timmins, Ontario. The first winter I was there it was -40' at night and would warm up to -25 in the daytime. I didn't have a car in those days and would walk to work. Not sure I could do that now. I've become such a wimp in my old age (and darn proud of it!).

I've received such positive responses from everyone from Friday night that we will definitely do it again. I've received the recipes but have written back for some clarification on one of them so will give you one each day. Today's is Yolanda's   Savory Vegetable Squares. They were delicious and an ideal thing to take to a potluck as they can be made ahead and require no heating at the event. Click her to find the recipe under the index of Finger Foods. Look for the rest of the recipes here tomorrow.

I would have had the recipes all loaded except Monday night is our scrapbooking night. Brenda arrived right on time and we worked for a couple of hours then sat and watched a bit of the Grammy's from Sunday night. We enjoyed a glass of wine and some Warm Artichoke Dip with some nacho chips and it was pretty tasty.

I got this email from a friend in Ontario last week and I thought, seriously??? But someone has a great sense of humour and a wonderful imagination. For all my shoe loving friends, check out some of these shoes...

Monday, February 13th - our potluck was a resounding success!

It's a very cold and windy morning. The temperature is -20' but the wind chill is -30. We're heading for a high (?) of -13' with a wind chill of -23'. But all in all, we didn't fare too badly weather wise on the weekend.

What a great night we had on Friday! There were 6 of us but we had enough food to feed twice as many. Brenda arrived first with a lovely couple of bunches of tulips,(thank you Bernie)  and the others all came together shortly after. I had set up my dessert display which was a great success. The others provided everything else and what a feast it was.

We had mini quiche (all homemade, of course) and oysters - freshly shucked by the now experienced Lesa. We had a layered dish with  a cream cheese blend, spicy ground beef and numerous toppings. We had a very tasty dish with squares of baked biscuit dough topped with another cream cheese mixture and fresh chopped veggies. We had veggies, we had a hot, creamy dip and some great beverages to wash everything down.

We had a great time sitting around the table and nibbling and  chatting and nibbling and laughing and more nibbling. Finally we made tea and coffee and moved to the living room to have dessert. Because the desserts were all tiny, we were able to have as many as we wanted, guilt free.

We were very lucky that the weather cooperated. It was a clear night with clear dry roads. We were expecting some nastier weather on Saturday and Sunday so Mother Nature was totally on our side.

Our dessert buffet

I don't have photos of the food we ate in the kitchen but I do have a photo of the desserts and the whole gang (thanks to a delayed photo). For more detailed photos of the desserts visit http://atourislandtable.blogspot.com/ and click on the dessert display title.

Some of the Donagh cooking class alumni!

After such a great night Friday, it was off to work Saturday morning. It turned out to be a fairly busy morning so it went by fairly quickly. I stopped in to the Van Gaals for tea on my way home and we spent the rest of the afternoon tweaking the labels for the sunflowers seeds. As I worked, Brenda made supper and we finished at approximately the same time - a coincidence? I think not!

When I left their place at 9:00 it was snowing fairly heavily, although it was still quite mild and the road was quite slushy. By the time I got home it wasn't snowing at all. I washed up some dishes and put a few things away and I let the dog out around 11:00 and it still hadn't started snowing yet. My back patio was still totally bare. However when I got up in the morning it was very windy and had snowed after  freezing rain. The tree branches were all bent down to the ground under the weight of the ice and there were drifts around but I'm fairly certain we didn't receive near as much snow as was forecast.  So Sunday was a very quiet and relaxing day. Some laundry, a nap, and baking butter tarts for Bernie. A great way to spend a snowy winters day. Of course there was some shoveling and scraping of ice off the car windows in preparation for Monday morning but even that wasn't that big a deal.
Tomorrow I will post the recipes the girls prepared for our feast!

Friday, February 10th - Another girls night

I woke up a little before 4:00 so I got up to another brilliant sky lit up by another almost full moon. It's -8' but we're headed for plus 2 and sun this afternoon. The next 36 hours may be a bit of a different story as they are calling for 20 cm of snow from Saturday to Sunday so we'll see what happens. They haven't been terribly accurate this year with the storm predictions so only time will tell.

So it will be short and sweet this morning. I was doing my mini desserts last night and there is no way I could have gotten everything finished if it wasn't for all the help I gratefully received from Brenda. She mixed, she stirred, but mostly she washed dishes. Hopefully they will taste as good as they look, thanks to her help.

One didn't work out quite as planned but I think I've gotten it fixed this morning. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone tonight. And the weather is going to cooperate so that's a great thing. You just never know when you plan something this time of year what it will be on actual day, but in this case, I think we'll be just fine.
We'll have pictures on Monday.

Thursday, February 9th - what a brilliant morning - and it's only 4:15

I woke up at 4:00 this morning and by 4:15 it was evident I wasn't going back to sleep so I got up. I let the dog out and it was absolutely gorgeous outside. The full moon was brilliant in the cloudless sky and the air was cool and calm. Apparently it's -7 but without the wind it doesn't really feel very cold at all. It looks like we're headed for another nice day - mix of sun and cloud and high of +1' -  stark contrast to this time last year.

 What a great evening we had last night. I met Brenda at the mall yesterday after work and we saw "The Decedents" . I really enjoyed it and found it to be quite thought provoking. After the movie we went downtown to the Old Triangle for a beer, some 35 cent wings and some live music. What a great way to end the day.

Before the movie we were admiring the site for the Jack Frost Festival. It is unimaginable what they have done with that bare brown patch of grass I showed you two short weeks ago. Now there is a full size skating rink complete with bleachers on the sides for sitting and watching. There are large snow and ice walls with words carved on them, there are huge slides made out of snow. One of them has the sliding tracks carved out in curves down the sides and then made of ice, so I can only imagine how fast you go when you slide down one of those. Then there are bigger slides that take you right down the hill. Off to one side yesterday, there were people carving big blocks of clear ice, but I was too far away to see what they were doing. It's really quite the sight.

Earlier in the day I went over to the theatre to pick up the movie tickets and a lady stopped and asked me if I was going into the mall. I replied that I was just going to the theatre when she told me they had closed the mall because there was a bomb threat. I didn't hear any more about it yesterday afternoon and I never heard anything about it on the radio. Maybe there will be more info today.

I will leave you now with a question that will leave you pondering for the rest of the day. Is this racism?


Everyone seems to be in such a hurry to scream 'racism' these days.


A customer asked, "In what aisle could I find the Newfy sausage?"


The shop assistant asks, "Are you from Newfoundland?"


The guy, clearly offended, says, "Yes I am. But let me ask you something, If I had asked for Italian sausage, would you ask me if I was Italian?


Or if I had asked for German Bratwurst, would you ask me if I was German?


Or if I asked for a kosher hot dog would you ask me if I was Jewish? 


Or if I had asked for a Taco, would you ask if I was Mexican? 


Or if I asked for Polish sausage, would you ask if I was Polish?"


The shop assistant says, "No, I probably wouldn't."


The guy says, "Well then, because I asked for Newfy sausage, why did you ask me if I'm from Newfoundland?"


The clerk replied, "Because you're in Home Hardware."

Wednesday, February 8-it's Wednesday so that must mean girls night out

It was supposed to go down to -18' last night but it's only -11' at 5:30. The wind chill is -18' but I don't plan to spend a lot of time standing out in the wind so it's all good! We should have a nice day today, sunny and -7'

Wednesday has become two things: the day Bernie leaves for Boston and the night we girls go out. It's just kind of worked out that way. Tonight we are going to the movies and then out somewhere for a bite to eat. Tomorrow night Brenda is coming over and we'll put the deserts together for Friday night's pot luck. I'm planning something a little different so we'll see how it goes.

Other than that it's pretty quiet. I got an email from Patti that they aren't coming down for the Jack Frost Festival this weekend. It's probably a good thing as I wasn't really looking at dates when I planned the pot luck for Friday night. Then Sunday I'm helping Brenda with something so I will be busy anyway. The other consideration is  Hockey Day in Canada is this weekend. There are all kinds of special things going on, and Ron McLean and Don Cherry will be here to host some events so I suspect it will be a pretty busy place. Flights in and out might be a bit of a challenge. We're going to try for a few days during March Break instead.  I should be able to take a day or two off so we can do stuff together. I suspect another cross country ski might be in order. It was lots of fun last time and that was two years ago so they should be much stronger this time.

I received this note from one of the guys at work yesterday and I just had to share it:

We definitely are a leader in technology..... read below......

Copper Wire Discovered:

After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year outside of   Vancouver,  B.C. scientists found traces of copper cable dating back  100 years. They came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100  years ago.

Not to be outdone by Vancouver, in the weeks that followed, a Toronto, Ontario archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet somewhere just outside Trenton. Shortly after, a story in the Toronto  Sun read: “Toronto archaeologists report a finding of 200 year old copper cable, have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network a hundred years earlier than Vancouver."

One week later, a local newspaper in Charlottetown, PEI.  reported the following: "After digging down about 30  feet deep in his pasture near the community of  Harrington, Eddie, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing. Eddie has therefore concluded that 300 years ago, PEI had already gone wireless".

Tuesday, Feb 7th - it's going to be another lovely day

It's -1' this morning when I let the dog out at 5:15. The sun is expected to come out today although it will drop in temperature to -4' by this afternoon. Yesterday a lunch it was 0'. It's been quite the winter- or rather a non winter so far. But everyone keeps saying they hope we don't pay for it later.

A relatively quiet day at work yesterday lead to another relatively quiet evening. The highlight of the day was when I got the car stuck in the driveway trying to get it turned around. One wheel was in a pile of snow and there was ice underneath so I had to get out my trusty shovel and remove the snow so I could go forward. Nothing serious, just a bit of a nuisance. So I still hadn't eaten when Brenda arrived. I had taken a frozen cheese pizza out of the oven along with a couple of hot Italian sausages. I took the casings off the sausages and cooked the meat, then cooked some chopped onions. I piled that on top of the cheese pizza and then added some freshly grated mozzarella. In the oven for 12 minutes and it wasn't too bad at all.

After pizza, and a glass of wine, we worked on tags for Bernie's sunflower seeds. It's still somewhat of a work in progress but he has something to start with.

I received this heartwarming story from Katy yesterday in an email.  I reminded me of when I was a little girl and I used to travel with my dad sometimes. He drove a transport truck for a living and once in a while on a Saturday I would get up at 4:00 in the morning and go with him. I don't remember where we went although I do remember one trip to Goderich to pick up a load of salt from the mines there. I remember seeing this large stream of white flowing into the back of the trailer. I also remember sitting on a high stool at the counter in a truck stop with all the other drivers, having our breakfast. I'm sure my dad must have wished he had a son to take on these trips but he was happy to make do with a tomboy daughter, I suppose. I also remember the passenger seat in the cab of the truck, which was little more than a metal tool box with a bit of a padded cover on it. Not the most comfortable of seats but it was worth it for those times with him.

Anyway, here's the story Katy forwarded to me. It takes a minute to read but it's worth the time

"The Folded Napkin - A Truck Stop Story"    If this doesn't light your fire, your wood is wet! I try not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee and wasn't sure I wanted one. I wasn't sure how my customers would react to Stevie. He was short, a little dumpy with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Downs Syndrome. I wasn't worried about most of my trucker customers because truckers don't generally care who buses tables as long as the meatloaf platter is good and the pies are homemade. The ones who concerned me were the mouthy college kids traveling to school; the yuppie snobs who secretly polish their silverware with their napkins for fear of catching some dreaded 'truck stop germ'; the pairs of white-shirted business men on expense accounts who think every truck stop waitress wants to be flirted with. I knew those people would be uncomfortable around Stevie so I closely watched him for the first few weeks... I shouldn't have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my truck regulars had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot. After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and peppershaker was exactly in its place, not a breadcrumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table.  Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished. He would hover in the background, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the dining room until a table was empty. Then he would scurry to the empty table and carefully bus dishes and glasses onto his cart and meticulously wipe the table up with a practiced flourish of his rag. If he thought a customer was watching, his brow would pucker with added concentration. He took pride in doing his job exactly right, and you had to love how hard he tried to please each and every person he met. Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. They lived on their Social Security benefits in public housing two miles from the truck stop. Their social worker, who stopped to check on him every so often, admitted they had fallen between the cracks. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home. That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place tha t morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a new valve or something put in his heart. His social worker said that people with Downs Syndrome often have heart problems at an early age so this wasn't unexpected, and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months. A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine. Frannie, the head waitress, let out a war hoop and did a little dance in the aisle when she heard the good news. Bell Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at the sight of this 50-year-old grandmother of four doing a victory shimmy beside his table. Frannie blushed, smoothed her apron and shot Bell Ringer a withering look. He grinned. 'OK, Frannie , what was that all about?' he asked.. 'We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay.' 'I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?' Frannie quickly told Bell Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery then sighed: 'Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK,' she said. 'But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they're barely getting by as it is.' Bell Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables. Since I hadn't had time to round up a busboy to replace Stevie and really didn't want to replace him, the girls were busing their own tables that day until we decided what to do. After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand and a funny look on her face. 'What's up?' I asked. 'I didn't get that table where Bell Ringer and his friends were sitting cleared off after they left, and Pony Pete and Tony Tipper were sitting there when I got back to clean it off,' she said. 'This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup.' She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed 'Something For Stevie'. 'Pony Pete asked me what that was all about,' she said, 'so I told him about Stevie and his Mom and everything, and Pete looked at Tony and Tony looked at Pete, and they ended up giving me this.' She handed me another paper napkin that had 'Something For Stevie' scrawled on its outside. Two $50 bills were tucked within its folds. Frannie l ooked at me with wet, shiny eyes, shook her head and said simply: 'Truckers!!' That was three months ago. Today is Thanksgiving, the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he's been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, and it didn't matter at all that it was a holiday. He called ten times in the past week, making sure we knew he was coming, fearful that we had forgotten him or that his job was in jeopardy.  I arranged to have his mother bring him to work. I then met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back. Stevie was thinner and paler, but couldn't stop grinning as he pushed through the doors and headed for the back room where his apron and busing cart were waiting 'Hold up there, Stevie, not so fast,' I said. I took him and his mother by their arms. 'Work can wait for a minute. To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me!'  I led them toward a large corner booth at the rear of the room. I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw booth after booth of grinning truckers empty and join the procession. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups, saucers and dinner plates, all sitting slightly crooked on dozens of folded paper napkins 'First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess,' I said. I tried to sound stern. Stevie looked at me, and then at his mother, then pulled out one of the napkins. It had 'Something for Stevie' printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed or scrawled on it. I turned to his mother. 'There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems.. 'Happy Thanksgivi ng.' Well, it got real noisy about that time, with everybody hollering and shouting, and there were a few tears, as well. But you know what's funny? While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table..... Best worker I ever hired. Plant a seed and watch it grow.. Blessed are those who can give  without remembering and take without forgetting.

Monday, February 6 - what a glorious first day of skiing

It's 5:30 am and it's -9 (wind chill of -16) this morning.It's expected to warm up to -1' later this afternoon with maybe a little snow flurry activity.

The cold weather over the past few days has been a huge help to the Jack Frost Festival people. They are busily working and the snow sculptures and walls and slides are all starting to take shape quite nicely. Looks like winter arrived just in the nick of time.

Let's see, how was my weekend? Friday night was quiet, so I did a couple of things around the house (only because I missed Brenda's call to come over for Nachos). Then Saturday after work I did a couple of errands in town then stopped by the Van Gaals on my way home, as Bernie had something for me.

Turns out it was a lovely bunch of tulips! What a nice treat in this cold snowy weather - a little touch of spring. Brenda was going out for the evening with a friend and it was a good opportunity for me to do some cleaning. I occurred to me on Friday the next Friday is the pot luck, so I'd better get my act together. Well, I got a few things done but not as much as I'd hoped to. After going to bed and getting a good night's sleep, I was rudely awakened at 3:50 in the morning by the phone ringing. Of course when I answered there was no one there. But now I was awake. So I sat up in bed and read for a while. When I started to feel tired I turned off the light to go back to sleep. I was just dozing off when the alarm went off at 5:00. Some moron forgot to turn it off the night before! So now I might as well get up. In the end it was a pretty productive morning. I finished up a number of things in the house and was just bringing in  the last load of wood when Brenda arrived after church, so timing was perfect.

We were working on tags for bags of sun flower seeds to go into the feed stores. I had worked on a few of them on Saturday night so all we needed to do was fine tune them a bit and decide on which one to use. Of course after printing one my printer ran out of ink so that is my task at lunch today.

Once that was done it was time to go out and play. Brenda went home to get dressed and I picked her up about an hour later. By the time I got to her house the sun was shining in brilliantly clear blue skies. We headed over to Dalvay as they were having a family fun day. It started at 1:00 and we were out on the trails by 1:30. There were very few people there for most of the time but as we were heading back there were quite a few more. They were serving cookies and hot chocolate over by the lake but we opted instead for a beer and something warm at the Old Triangle as it was only 3:00. We made our way back into town and found a parking spot right in front of the door! We spent the next two hours enjoying some great music, some good food and reading the Buzz and G magazine. Now we are all caught up on the news. One interesting bit of news is that the Trailside has been sold to someone who is very involved in music on the island. So it should be opening again in the spring. We'll be watching for that. There was even a two-for-one coupon in the Buzz for the Triangle so we were able to take advantage of that right away. All in all, a really great day.

Friday, February 3rd - according to the groundhog, spring is just around the corner

This morning it's a calm -7' with a few flakes fluttering down. Not a bad day at all. It's pretty much going to stay this temperature for the day but we should see some sun.

In the end, we apparently got about 11 cm of snow in total. It's all light fluffy stuff and if the wind picks up any time soon, it will be a nightmare driving. But for now it's fine. Yesterday morning the roads were in great shape and last night coming home the highway was perfectly clear. Not really much of a storm although other parts of the Maritimes had it much worse. We're pretty lucky here, because a lot of time we manage to escape the worst of things.

After a pretty uneventful day, I went home, had a bite to eat (left overs from the night before) and was trying something with the left over pastry that was in the fridge. My plan was to have it all done and cleaned up before Brenda arrived a little after 7:00 but exercise class was cancelled again so she arrived a little after 6:30. Needless to say I was in the midst of a floury mess, but that was fine. So I finished my Jam Frangipane Tarts and while they baked we had some crackers and goats cheese, and a wee glass of wine, of course. Once they were out of the oven we headed upstairs to do some work. She's really getting into it now. She's very good at picking up on what colours of paper to use and has good ideas, so she really doesn't need my help. We worked away for a while, finishing one page from earlier on in the week, and a new one under way. By then we figured it was time to go back downstairs for a cup of tea and a tart. It was, after all, a work night. I had to get up early in the morning, as did she, to drive a bus.

She mentioned that she'd had a very productive day at home and I'd had a good day at work so we didn't feel the need to madly work into the midnight hours to finish what we were doing. It's quite nice to be able to just work on a page, then leave it, and come back to it a few days later. It may take us the rest of the winter to finish the projects we're working on but that's not a bad thing. I'm really enjoying doing it this way. I've really only ever done most of my scrapbooking at retreats where you work flat out for 2 or 3 days. This way is much more civilized, although I did really enjoy the retreats we did in the past. I met some great people and saw some amazing work back in those days. Unfortunately Brenda only gets to see what I've done and there are so many much more creative people out there. But the bottom line is we'll get it done and be proud of what we've accomplished when we do.

Thursday, February 2nd - will this be a snow day?

It's 5:15 am and the snow is still falling lightly. I'm not sure exactly how much we received but I'd say at least 6 inches, maybe a little more. It's currently -10' and it will get up to -4' this afternoon.

If the wind picks up any more the drive to work might be a little tricky. There are a couple of spots on the highway where the snow tends to blow across the road, so we'll need to take it nice and slow this morning. It's still too early yet for cancellations on the radio.

The drive home last night wasn't too bad. It was slippery but if you just slowed down and took your time it  was fine. Our road hadn't  been plowed but the wind wasn't blowing so there wasn't much in the way of drifting.

Talk about a small world. Yesterday morning we had a new employee start with us in the sales department. When we were introduced I asked him where he was from and he said Guelph. So later in the morning we had a chance to chat a bit and I asked him what he did in Guelph. Turns out he was on the Guelph Police force. I told him I had been an auxiliary with Peel and also in corrections. He asked me what jail and when I told him he mentioned a few names. Turns out some of the follows I worked with in corrections moved over to policing (I actually knew that about two of them but had totally forgotten). One of the guys is a really good friend of Craig's (the new guy). How bizarre is that?

So it turns out Craig and his wife and 2 year old son moved here a month ago. They bought a place near Brackley Beach and just packed up everything and moved. They've been spending time here in the summers for the past 7 or 8 years and decided what the heck - let's give it a try. His wife is a teacher and hopes to get a teaching job at some point. He's just doing whatever he can and thought he'd like to give this a try.
When I told Brenda about it her immediate reaction was "How many of you fools ARE there up there?"  Guess you have to have enjoyed the rat race that can be Toronto sometimes, to truly appreciate what we have here. It may not be perfect, but it's perfect for us!

Yesterday I forgot to take my book with me so at lunch I picked up an old copy of Chatelaine from the waiting area. I found a recipe in there for something that looked quick and easy to make for supper. I didn't have any fresh tomatoes so I substituted a tin of diced tomatoes and it was really fast to make and quite a nice change. Click here  for the recipe: Polenta with Sausage and Tomato. If you happen to be vegetarian, you could just leave out the sausages and I'm sure it would still be quite tasty.