Friday, March 7th - looking forward to a milder weekend

After several days (and nights) of frigid temperatures, we're looking forward to a few days that should hover around the freezing mark. It's a very cold -15 this morning with a wind chill of -21 so the -1 or so that we should reach later will feel absolutely balmy in the sunshine.  Bring it on!

I received this photo in my email box this week. One of those treasure you certainly don't want to lose!

A number of years ago, when we still stayed in the bunky on our visits to the island, the Fort Augustus Rapid Transit System was born (F.A.R.T.S. for short!)  Many things have changed and people have come and gone so we're very pleased to let everyone know that F.A.R.T.S. is back in operation, albeit in a slightly different format. But the changes are quite dramatic. No more cramped little trailer - now the customers can enjoy a luxury ride in a spacious seat, all while enjoying the pleasant PEI breezes as they make their way to their chosen destinations. This happy passenger was on his way to a bonfire in a local farmer's back yard one warm evening last summer. (No names have been used to protect the innocent!!) Who says we don't know how to have fun out here in the country!

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The creative juices are really flowing at out here on top of the hill.  Lloyd is busy researching and designing his incubator for hatching baby chicks. If he plans to have some hatching at Easter, he'd better speed it up a bit! I never know when I pull in the driveway at night just what new development has taken place during the day. The past week has seen various gauges and gadgets appear on the kitchen table in test mode. Yesterday afternoon the components were all assembled into a handsome looking pine box for further testing of temperatures, humidity, etc.  Apparently it's not quite perfected as yet but it's getting there, one step at a time!

I, on the other hand have undertaken a new project.  A while ago I was sorting through, and discarding some old T-shirts. In retrospect I should have waited, but hindsight is always 20/20, isn't it. I had a large number of shirts from The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. Those who know me, know that this event was a big part of my life for a number of years. Each years event would net you at least 2 shirts, 3 if you were a crew member. Many of these shirts have been worn for painting, cutting grass, various activities around the house and were simply worn out. Hence the purge. But as I was looking at what remained, I decided there might be a way to preserve the memories these garments conjure up. So, I went in search and found the perfect answer - a
quilt! Each shirt has a graphic on the front and the back and many have the dates of specific events. I found that if I cut the shirt into two pieces, a front and a back, ironed on some interfacing to the back side, it made them into a stable piece of fabric that doesn't stretch like T shirt material. So I'm slowly going to work on doing that with each piece of shirt and assemble them all into a quilt. A functional use of something that will bring back many memories of a lot of great people and events. Last night I just worked on cutting up the shirts but I did one test piece to make sure it works - and I'm excited to say that it does! It's going to be a time consuming project but a very worthwhile one for me.