Monday, June 30th - What a fabulous weekend!

Conditions at 5:30 am: sunny and 17'
Expected later: more sun and 28'

It's been an absolutely perfect weekend. Saturday morning it was bright and sunny and warm so it didn't take long for last week's  rain to dry up nicely. I was off on Saturday, which in itself, makes for a great weekend already. I did some laundry and a bit of tidying in the morning and then around lunch time I headed out to cut some grass. I spent pretty much the whole afternoon cutting the lawn and Lloyd was working on the heaters that are being installed in the garage and the living room. Once we were all done and it was time for supper, we headed over to the Van Gaals for the last feed of lobster of the season. What a treat, once again. They had also been working all day and were running a little behind, as were we. So I pitched in and gave Brenda a hand and helped with the salads that she had well under way. In no time our meal was ready. And what a feast it was - as usual. Potato salad, broccoli salad and of course, lobster dipped in butter. YUM.

Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday - warm and sunny. My bike is in getting painted so a bike ride was out of the question. Lloyd had suggested that he might go for a bike ride and we could go into town to

see a movie that we wanted to see later. Then maybe follow that with a picnic in the park. So I did a few things and read a book until Brenda came over after lunch. She and Bernie were planning an outing to the beach. That sounded like a fine idea for a very hot day. So when Lloyd got home from his little tour, he had a brief nap before we got ready to go. I had packed up some cheese and crackers and pate and Brenda brought along some lobster rolls. They picked us up around 4:15 and we headed to Lakeside. What a great afternoon. We set up our little table, complete with table cloth, and opened a bottle of wine and proceeded to fill  our wine glasses. As we sat there sipping our wine and beer, we received many comments from passers by. Apparently it's not every day you see such finery at the beach. We had lots of offers to come and join us. Looks like we may have started a new trend!
After we ate, Brenda and I took a long walk down the beach. Then it was back to our spot. The boys had had enough sun for one day so we packed up and headed back to the car. That's when we decided we'd like some ice cream. So we headed to Morell, only to find nothing open that had ice cream. No problem, we'll try St. Peter's. Sure enough  the little ice cream place was open. So it was ice cream and milk shake for our dessert. What a perfect end to a perfect weekend. Once we were home, Lloyd and I had tea sitting outside. I put up the dining tent on Saturday so we could sit outside at the picnic table without the benefit of the mosquitoes. It definitely makes it possible to enjoy the outdoors much more. A perfect end to a perfect weekend - thanks everyone.

Meg and friends celebrate

I sent Patti an email on Saturday that we were going to be enjoying our last taste of lobster and sorry they were going to miss it. Her response was that she was jealous but she'd just have to find some way to console herself in Paris, France the next day! Tough life but someone has to do it! 

James and his leadership medal

She also sent me some photos from the kids graduations. James graduated from grade 8 and Meghan graduated from grade 6 so she'll be off to junior high next year. Now there is only one left in the Montessori system. Tristen will find it strange I think to be at his school without his brother or sister.

Friday, June 27th - not quite a long weekend, but close

Conditions at 5:30 am:1l' that feels more like 9' and foggy
Expected later: 18' that should feel more like 21' and sunny!

After a couple of chilly and very wet days, we're really looking forward to a sunny and warm weekend. Canada Day falls on Tuesday so we have to work Monday. But it will really break up the week with Tuesday off.

We had a lovely anniversary on Wednesday, and I have to admit I was spoiled rotten - again. Besides the locket I received when I got up in the morning, I wasn't at work very long when a man came through the door carrying a vase full of lovely red roses and baby's breath. They are just beautiful and a lot of folks commented on them sitting on my desk all day. It was raining slightly when the fellow delivered them so some of the flowers had droplets of water inside the petals, giving them a special shimmer.

Lloyd met me after work and we went out for a very lovely dinner at a fancy restaurant we'd not been at before. While we were eating, one of my bosses at work and his family came in. Their son had just graduated from grade 8 and is off to senior high next year. When our bill arrived, the waitress informed us that the customers at table 21 had paid for our wine. What a lovely and thoughtful thing for them to do. So all in all, it turned out to be a pretty special day.

And speaking of graduating from grade school, James graduated from grade 8 on Wednesday evening. He finished with honours, and received a Leadership Medal for his class. Well done James, not that we're at all surprised. Those are going to be big shoes to have to fill for his sister and brother who follow but I'm sure they will make their mark in their own special way.

Last night, Brenda came over and we had some drinks and snacks and a chance to catch up. We haven't seen much of each other in the past week so it was nice to reconnect. Tonight the four of us are off to Summerside to take in Highland Storm. Our step dancing teacher, Jordan, is one of the performers and Bernie's sisters son is the drumming instructor at the college of piping and will also be participating. James and I went last year and I really enjoyed it. I know Lloyd will enjoy it as well.

Other than that, not a lot going on. Waiting for the weather to clear and get sunny and warm, but from the view outside the window this morning, it's got a long way to go!

Wednesday, June 25th - Happy 25th to us!!!

Conditions at 5:30 am - overcast and 17'
Expected later - rain and 17'

Who would have thought? Both Lloyd and I lasting 25 years!  No big plans for this evening other than an early supper in town, then off to bed for him before he goes to work at midnight. But at least we have supper together so that's a good thing. A year ago we were talking about what we would like to do on our 25th anniversary in a years time. Several ideas were tossed around but in the end, real life dictates exactly where and what you will be doing to celebrate. But it's okay, at least now we're living in the same house in the same province! It's all good! I did wake up to a lovely gift bag sitting on the counter. Inside was a small white box with a beautiful locket inside. What a lovely surprise!

Lloyd has been busy this week painting his garage inside. It was pretty much done when I got home on Monday evening. He still has the floor to do, and that will take quite a bit of prep, but in the meantime he can begin to at least utilize some of the wall space to hang tools etc on, up off the floor. We're expecting rain for the next couple of days so some things will have to be moved inside temporarily. But it's nice to see the end coming into sight and to know it's the end of the tunnel, and not the light on the front of a train!!

We're expecting Lloyd's sister Heather and husband Kim to be arriving sometime in the next few days. At the same time,  we have two friends coming from Ontario, to stay at their respective summer properties. Patti is coming from Inglewood to attend the Cavendish Beach Music Festival and spend a few days at her cottage. Linda is coming from Guelph to bring a friend to visit her cottage here on the island as well.  They both have fairly tight schedules so not sure how much time will be spent with them, but if not this trip, then next time. It's usually either feast or famine when it comes to visitors. But we look forward to seeing them all!





A couple of weeks ago,  I posted a couple of photos of Meghan (2) from her dance recital. I mentioned that  she looked much older than  12 going on 13 years. Turns out she looks even older than I thought, as I was reminded that she's only 11 going on 12. Yikes!

Yesterday  I received this photo from her mom, sporting her new glasses. Not sure how she feels about that, but she doesn't look too distressed in the picture. Obviously this photo displays her studious side, quite a contrast to the glamorous side of a few weeks ago. Now this looks more like the 11 year old we all know and love!

Monday, June 23rd - A gorgeous week ahead

Temperature at 5:00 am: 10'
Expected later: 23' and lots of sunshine!

The front flower bed is filling in quite nicely...

Finally some great weather! It was a rainy Friday and cool and overcast Saturday. I was working so I really

... as is my little herb garden

didn't mind. Lloyd came into town around lunchtime with my motorcycle. He dropped it off at the body shop where it will get painted, hopefully sooner rather than later. I have no idea what their work load is right now. But it really needs to be done. I took a few minutes off work to go over and pick him up then he left to run some errands until I was done at 2:00. After a visit to the hardware store to pick up a paint sprayer, we headed downtown for something to eat. They have a trio of dips with warm pita breads at St. Jame's Gate that Brenda and I had really enjoyed in the winter. So we went there and we were not disappointed. I knew Lloyd would enjoy it. Then a quick stop at the grocery store and home. We both headed off for a bit of a nap as it was
just that kind of day. I was awake about half an hour later but Lloyd slept right through till around 10:30. He'd only had a couple of hours sleep in the morning after his night shift so he had a bit of catching up to do. Needless to say, not much got done on Saturday. Not true - I read a book.

Checking out the lilacs

Sunday morning started out overcast and a bit cool but it turned around later in the afternoon and became an absolutely beautiful day. The cooler morning was great weather for cutting the lawn and then weeding my flower beds, which haven't been touched at all this year. So it was actually a very productive day for me and for Lloyd. He spent the day finishing up the last small pieces of wood on the walls of the garage and then clearing it all out so it's now ready to start painting this morning. With the paint sprayer, it should be finished in no time. Once that's done, he can then turn his energies into prepping the floor for the concrete to be poured. It will be great to have that done because then we can start organizing storage and finding permanent places for a lot of stuff that's right now under tarps all around the yard!

and the flower beds

There didn't seem to be any sign of the neighbours dog around yesterday and because we were both out there working we let the chickens out to roam around and eat bugs and worms and grass etc. They spent the first half of the day fairly close to their pen but then got a little braver. They were over at the side of the house poking around under the lilac bushes and then I was sitting out front taking a bit of a break and reading when they came around to the front yard. When they got around to the other side of the house and started digging in my newly weeded and mulched herb garden, and digging up the plants I'd just put in, it was time for them to go home.
Besides Cooper had been kept in all day because they were out, so it was only fair that he should have a bit of sunshine for a while as well.

Madison

Speaking of dogs, the Dennison family has a new puppy. Her name is Madison and apparently she's a very quiet, gentle little puppy and they all love her to bits.She's a cross between a shitzu and a beagle - not intentionally apparently.  Meadow is a bit afraid of her and the puppy chases her around and tries to nip at her feet.

Just swinging along...

And lastly, speaking of babies, Lloyd went downstairs yesterday morning to feed the baby chicks, who aren't really babies anymore. The feeder they have is suspended by two light chains on each end to keep it up off the ground. When he went down, they were all sitting on the feeder like a swing!  Sounds like it's soon time for them to move outside with a real feeder!

Friday, June 20th - it can't be almost summer, we haven't had spring yet!

Temperature at 5:30 am: 10' amd
Expected later: 14' and more rain

We did manage to have one nice warm day this week but for the most part, it was cool and/or wet. Granted, I know the farmers crops need the rain, as does our garden but really, we would like a little bit of nice weather. It warmed up enough to allow me to cut the grass one evening and that's about it.

Brenda, Maureen and I braved the downpour on Wednesday evening and attended the Festival of Small Halls in Milton and it was worth the effort. It was a really great night. I made it home just as Lloyd was finishing his coffee and heading  off to work. Needless to day, it had been a long day. I'm not used to staying up that late, especially on a week night.

Not a lot else is going on. Lloyd is slowly working on the garage during the day getting it ready to paint. He hopes to be ready to do that this weekend. I am hoping to perhaps get some weeding done in the flower beds, which haven't yet been touched this year. The bed at the front is filling in quite nicely and is starting to look great.

Remember a few months ago, when I mentioned that my orchid was blooming and how thrilled I was? Well, I happened to look at it a little more closely the other day only to realize that the blooms had finally all fallen off but that there was a brand new stem with buds just ready to burst open. So I'm pretty thrilled about that. I haven't had them bloom staggered like that before.
 



Like I said, it doesn't take much to keep us amused out here! We're also really enjoying the antics of the new crop of hummingbirds. Although, I suspect at least one of them was here last year. It flew right up to the kitchen window where the feeder usually sat and was looking for food. There was nothing there to indicate that there would be food, it just seemed to know where to look. So since then we've sat at the table watching them establish their pecking order and determine just who exactly gets to eat and when. There's something very  relaxing in sitting and watching nature so up close and personal.

Wednesday, June 18th - Happy Birthday Sir Paul!

Weather at 5:30 am: 14' with a brilliant pink sky
Expected later: 17' and rain

Sorry, but after following Sir Paul around the world for these last 20 some years, I would be remiss if I didn't mention his 72nd birthday today! Just in case he gets bored and is surfing the net, he may stumble upon my heartfelt good wishes! (YEAH, RIGHT). I took this picture at the concert in NYC with Jana. A very special memory for me.

Leafy potato tops

After all the activity of the conference, then the insulation, and the garden, it's now settled down to a dull roar, I think. Lloyd was very busy this week getting the last of the seeds and plants in the garden. He's done a ton of research and if something doesn't grow,  it certainly won't be for his lack of effort!
Even though it's been a slow start to the season, things are coming up nicely. Perhaps the things that are growing the fastest are the handful of potatoes he put in one corner, just to see how they turned out. I suppose because it IS potatoes, and it IS PEI, there should have been no guessing. They are doing very well.

Now that all the plants are in the ground, it will be interesting to see how they do. So far, so good. We are expecting rain tomorrow so that should give them a good start.

A couple of shots of just a few of the plants at the stage they are at now. We'll check back periodically and see how things are progressing:

Radishes that may soon be ready to go into a salad

Peas climbing up the strings on the trellis

Not sure - cantaloupes perhaps? Just went in today so have some growing to do

Tomatoes that have a long ways to go to fill in that cage!

 Other than getting all those things done around the place, not a lot is going on. It's usually pretty quiet out here and Monday night was no exception. I was putting some stuff away and happened to look out the back door window. There was a very fat robin sitting about 2 feet from the door. He eyed me very carefully but
never moved - even when I went and got the camera and snapped several photos. He even stood his ground when I opened the door to get a better photo. He didn't move until I stepped out onto the concrete and I realized there was another bird right beside the door, and that's who Mr. Robin was squared off against. I'm not sure how long they would have held this stalemate if I hadn't inadvertently interrupted things.
Needless to say, it's pretty quiet when that's the highlight of your evenings entertainment.

Tonight will be a little better. Brenda, her cousin Maureen and I are attending one of the Festival of Small Halls events in Milton. Promises to be a very entertaining evening.

Monday, June 16th - we suspect the garage walls may have ears!

Current weather at 5:30 am - raining and 10'
Expected later: maybe a bit of sun and a high of 12 to 13'

It may not feel like it right now, but I now know for sure that spring is officially here - the hummingbirds are back. I saw the first one a few nights ago at the kitchen window searching for the feeder that usually hangs there.I put it back in the window yesterday. Now we have at least one who is visiting on a regular basis. They seem to be much later returning this year.

It was a chilly and wet weekend so good opportunity to get some work down inside. Bernie and Brenda have a small house that is on one of their properties, that they rent out. It's currently between tenants so they usually use that opportunity to do a little bit of upgrading. They were scraping the paint off the shingles on the walls on Friday and are planning to give it a new paint job on the outside, as well as adding a small deck on the front. On Saturday I went over and helped Brenda inside for a while. She cleaned the bathroom while I worked on the fridge and stove. Later in the afternoon Lloyd and I went back after his nap and I helped with the windows. A great project for a rainy Saturday.

Neither of us had to worry about what to make for supper as it was the volunteer dinner at the Rec Centre. So after working all day, we just had to go home, shower and change and enjoy a lobster supper prepared and served for us. The meal was followed by a lively game of trivia and we came in a respectable 2nd place to the team that usually wins. So congrats to all our team mates - well done!

Sunday morning was again rainy and cool and I decided to make some bread. Unfortunately I woke the VanGaals up when I called to see if I could borrow some yeast. Don't you just love friends who do that to you? Lloyd was working out in the garage and once the bread was finished I went out to help.

If you recall, last week I reported that he was missing a hearing aid that got lost out in the garage. We vacuumed up the copious amounts of cellulose insulation that was all around and I spent my afternoon emptying the shop vac, one small handful at a time, sifting through the stuff in search of said hearing device. Unfortunately it was never found. We strongly suspect that perhaps it was picked up with some of the loose stuff that we were feeding back into the blower and is in the walls somewhere.

The birthday girl

So that was pretty much our weekend. A belated Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there and a special belated Happy Birthday to Meghan (1) in Toronto. Hope you all had a great day yesterday!

Thursday, June 11th - better late than never?

As predicted, it's been a busy few days. Today I planned to add a new post but just had too much to do. I was talking to Lloyd on the phone this morning at 5:00 (my morning wake up call) and suggested that I might not do a blog this morning, and he reminded me that I did promise my fans on Sunday that there would be a post on Thursday. So for the three or four of you that are out there, here it is!

The special sale at work was a success, I think, if the swarms of people milling about for 3 days is any indication. It was a very busy time for me, both at work and outside as we prepared lunches for the staff for the three days. By all accounts, the meals were a huge success. In fact, the fellow who was from Nova Scotia and coordinating the whole affair, suggest that he would like to come back again, if only for the food!

Here's what the menu looked like:

Monday:
BBQ burgers (homemade) and smoked sausages on a bun, with potato salad and coleslaw followed by chocolate brownies for dessert. (for approximately 36 staff, as we included everyone)

Tuesday: (only 16 this time)
BBQ pulled pork on a bun with carmelized onions, coleslaw and green salad, veggies and dip,  followed by Sticky Date Pudding and Toffee Sauce for dessert.

Wednesday: (again, only 16)
Beef bourguignon, (beef stew cooked in red wine with pearl onions and button mushrooms), mashed potatoes, caesar salad, and a layered pudding and whipped cream dessert affectionately called "Sex in a Pan", which apparently lived up to expectations!

We have very limited equipment to work with at the dealership so we do the best we can with what we have. Now that Lloyd has a truck, we were able to bring in the BBQ to do the burgers outside - a really great treat for everyone.

Everyone seemed very happy with their meals. The coordinator told me that most of the time when he does these events, lunch consists of sitting on a chair in the corner with a piece of pizza and a paper napkin so needless to say, our dealership has totally raised the bar for these events. It's a huge amount of work but in the end, everyone was very happy.

I really have to thank Brenda for coming over on Monday evening and helping out when I really needed it. She has such a knack for knowing just when her assistance is needed.

Needless to say, that pretty much took up our whole week.

One sad note, we lost another chicken to predators. Not sure if it was the dog next door again or perhaps a bald eagle or hawk. We are now down to one rooster and two hens. On Monday evening,  when Brenda was here, the dog was making a fuss so I let him outside, only to hear the hens sounding quite distressed. When I went to investigate, I saw only two hens. Oscar and one of the hens was missing. Sometime later in the evening, as it was starting to get dusk, I saw Oscar walking around in front of the pen. I went out and he was quite happy to go back inside the fence. No sign of the other hen has ever been found. I guess that's life on the farm.



On a happier note, Patti sent some pictures of Meghan from the dance recital. This year she's mastered her own hair and makeup and I must say, she's done a wonderful job. I know they need huge amounts of makeup for the stage as the lights tend to make you look very washed out if you don't. With all that makeup she looks much older than her almost 13 years. Watch out dad! You'll soon be beating the boys away with a stick!!! Fortunately it's only once a year.

Sunday, June 8th - an insulating experience

I had lots to do this weekend for our upcoming catering job at work. It also just happened to correspond with Lloyd's plan to put the blown in insulation in the garage. No worries - we'll work around it.
I was up early on Saturday morning and headed into town, shopping list in hand, to procure all supplies needed for said lunches on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Lloyd arrived home from work just as I was getting ready to leave. We knew the insulation and the blower were being delivered sometime on Saturday but not exactly when. He suspected maybe sometime around 10:00 and he planned to catch a couple of hours sleep before they got there. Apparently they thought it fitting to let Lloyd get an early start on the job as they were well underway when I arrived home around 9:30. Bernie and Will were there to assist and Richard arrived soon after. Because of the amount of insulation ordered, and the size of the blower required to blow it into the walls and ceiling, the large truck was simply backed up to the garage door and left there for the weekend. A second vehicle also arrived to transport the truck driver back to Stratford.
So, production began in earnest and there was that sleep opportunity, gone! I unloaded the groceries and put everything away and set about making lunch for the guys. Brenda arrived mid morning to help out as well. By lunchtime, the ceiling was done, many thanks to young Will, who was slim enough and agile enough to get up into the ceiling and complete that part of the task.

After lunch I was able to help out a bit so Bernie went home for a much needed lie down and some meds. Will headed off to get changed to go to a wedding off island. Richard and I and Lloyd commenced the task of blowing the insulation into the walls. It seemed straight forward enough but just didn't quite go as planned in the beginning. It took a little over 2 hours to do the first short wall. I looked around at the other much longer walls and estimated that it would take us till at least 10:00 pm. Richard was not quite so generous - he estimated sometime Sunday afternoon! But we persevered and as we got further along, little tricks were learned to make it a little more efficient and not nearly so messy. Surprisingly enough, we were done at 7:30. It had been a long day and we truly appreciated all the help. I know Lloyd had to be tired from working the hose, and moving up and down the ladder all day, with no sleep. But it was great to finally have the job done. When we came in, he went upstairs to shower and came down and announced there was good news and bad news. The good news was the job was done. The bad news was he lost one of his hearing aids. They're pretty small to begin with and he had no idea where or when he might have lost it. Besides which there was a couple of inches of blown insulation over pretty much every surface in the garage. We may find it sometime but I highly doubt it.

Sunday morning was much nicer, sunny and milder after a cold and rainy  Saturday.  I had lots of prep work to do for the catering job so Lloyd went out to start cleaning up in the garage. The goal now is to get it emptied out so he can spray paint all the walls and then the concrete floor can go in. It will be wonderful to finally get this job done. He was pretty stiff and achy from Saturday but decided it was better to keep moving than to sit still all day and seize up entirely! So he worked outside and I worked inside. By the end of the day we had both accomplished quite a bit. The VanGaals arrived to pick us up just as we were getting ready to leave to go out for supper. The Andersons met us there. We had a lovely relaxing evening over a nice meal.   There was one sad note to the day. It was so nice out, that Lloyd decided to let the chickens out of their little compound to roam around freely. There's lots of lush green grass in the back yard and the field beyond (ie - it needs cutting again!). They were having a wonderful time until Lloyd heard a commotion and came out in time to see the neighbours dog kill one of the hens. There are still 2 others missing and we don't know if the dog got those first and we just didn't hear it. It was pretty heartbreaking to see. We had kept Cooper inside just for that reason, and never even gave the neighbours dog a second thought. Apparently he was over earlier in the morning with our neighbour but didn't bother them. Once everyone's back was turned, I suppose he just followed his instincts.

I received a nice email from Meghan(2). It sounds like her recital went very well, especially if the amount of flowers she received is any indication. A beautiful bouquet from her parents, another one from Greg's mom and another lovely flower from one of her dance teachers. As she explained:

 "This flower was from my hip-hop teacher miss Megan. I wasn't able to go into my usual class because the times didn't work for us this year so I had to do a class a year younger and not as advanced. She gave this to me because I made everyone work harder to be more like me and our dance was amazing at the recital. And miss Megan is my friend."

Well done Meg!  I can't wait to see the photos and perhaps the video when it's available.

Well, that will likely be it till Thursday morning. I have to be up and out the door early every morning till Wednesday to make sure I have everything there and set up before I start work at 7:30. So have a good week and we'll catch up later in the week.

Friday, June 6th - a cooler wet day

Currently at 5:30 am: 14' and overcast
Expected later: 17' and more rain

It's a wet morning but is currently not raining at the moment, but judging by the puddles in the yard, we did receive quite a bit overnight, and I know more is on the eay. It's a good thing as we really needed the rain. The fields are so dry so this is welcome to those farmers who have crops in already. Not so much for those who aren't quite done yet.

It's finally Friday and I think I'm almost caught up at work. It's been a busy catch up kind of week. I feel like I've been going flat out for two weeks and it's not quite finished yet. We're having another one of those special sales at work and Lloyd and I are catering the food once again. I am my own worst enemy though. I suggested that since we now have a truck, we could bring in the BBQ and do burgers and smoked sausages on the grill on Monday. But because it will have to be outside, it's only fair that we feed everyone instead of just the sales staff. So instead of 13 or 14 people we are now up to 35. But only for the one day - the other two days will be back to a manageable number again. Last night was spent going over the menu and making the shopping list. It's not a great time to be prepping for all of this as Lloyd is doing the blown insulation in the garage this weekend so it will mostly fall to me. But that's okay. We're getting more experienced at this whole thing, and I will have Monday and Tuesday evening to work on things as well. I also opened my bit mouth and suggested that we might have a large cake for the customers to have  a piece with their coffee as they

wait for a salesman. The boss thought that was a great idea, then suggested we could have little cupcakes and maybe some cookies or something on the other two days! Me and my big mouth and my bright ideas!

 No fun  stuff for me this weekend! Unlike last weekend.

Before

During

After

After a busy Friday and Saturday, Sunday morning dawned very still and calm. Remember that big pile of branches that's been hanging around out yard? We finally had a nice enough day to burn them. I checked with the forestry folks early in the day and got their blessings. It was a huge pile but it's amazing how quickly it got burned. It was all gone in just a little over 3 hours. It was time consuming to just keep feeding the fire one branch after another but it was done in no time and we've gained back a large portion of our yard! James will be sorry he missed THAT fire!

 It was a lovely sunny day so Brenda and I decided to head out on our first motorcycle ride of the season. I ran out of gas so that necessitated a ride to Mount Stewart to fill up. Then it was off to Morell area, turn right towards Cardigan and then back home. It was chillier than we expected and I admit I wasn't dressed quite warm enough for it. I was pretty cold by the time we got back. But it was nice to get back out on the road. It won't be quite so warm this weekend so I won't feel bad about having to stay inside and work all weekend.










One last thing - best of luck to Meghan (2) who has her dance recital this weekend. I think there are 6 or 7 dances involved.The Rac N Roll is loaded and ready to go!

 After last weekend and trying to remember one and a half dances (and not doing a great job at that) I have new respect for her abilities to make it through all those dances. I know she'll do well. Sorry I won't be there to watch this year. Maybe next year.

Wednesday, June 4th - it was two years in the making and it worked!

...and now for the rest of the story! 

Friday morning of the conference dawned warm and sunny. I was up bright and early and had lots to do. I had some help first thing in the morning that made the day get off to a great start. First was approximately 150 phyllo tart shells to be filled later with cream cheese. Then it was prep the ingredients for bruschetta, toast the bread and pack it all up for transport. A final check of multiple lists and the car was loaded with all that I could comfortably fit in. I was meeting someone at the rec centre at 10:00 and they arrived right on time. The hall looked great now that the dishes and glass ware was all on the tables. Brenda met me there after her bus run and we worked until time for her to go home to make lunch for the guys.

I puttered at the last minute jobs while I waited for Lloyd to come over. It was actually a pretty relaxing part of the day. Everything that could be done was done and I was just waiting to go home, shower and change and pick up the potatoes and shredded cabbage. When Lloyd arrived I headed home to finish up there and got back in time to have Lloyd help me mix the salads and put them into the serving bowls. He started the coals for the BBQ as he had to cook 42 steaks. (We had done a couple of test runs on our theory of starting the steaks on the BBQ and finishing them in the convection oven. The problem we had was that only half of the steaks would fit on the grill at one time and we wanted them to all be done at the same time.) It worked.
The lobsters arrived and Pam set about splitting them so no one needed lobster crackers.

As we were doing that in the kitchen, our friends arrived with the oysters. They had a fancy little display that held buckets of ice and the oysters rested on top of the ice. Jackie looked ever so dashing in his fisherman's hat and Helena was all set to pass them around. Turns out they were scooped up so quickly that there was no need to pass them around. Instead she aided in keeping things tidy and organized by removing the empty shells as needed. Several people wanted to pose for pictures with the fisherman and he loved it!
Our dance teacher, who is also a fiddler, arrived and was sat near the door to fiddle as guest arrived. I was only down there once but judging by the noise level of the room, it was a pretty happy group. Of course, the bar was also open down there and everyone was thirsty after a busy day in seminars.

Zach Bell, one of the morning hosts from a local radio station, HOT 105.5, was our MC for the evening and he did an amazing job of keeping things on track and running smoothly. While everyone was downstairs slurping down oysters, our musicians arrived - Margie Carmichael and Roy Johnstone - both very talented folks who quickly got busy  setting up.

When the time came for our guest to come upstairs, Roy started fiddling and that set the tone for the whole evening. Hands were clapping and toes were tapping as everyone searched out their table. It was a great crowd who were obviously in a party mood and believe me, that's exactly what they had!

The meal was served family style, a little out of the ordinary for the rec centre but it seemed to work. We delivered the steaks and lobsters as the diners filled their plates with potato salad and coleslaw.  I think all will agree the highlight of the meal had to be dessert - sticky date pudding. Once again, I pushed the rec centre staff a little out of their comfort zone. Pam had never made it before and it did present a couple of challenges that she was easily able to conquer. She made the sauce while we were serving dinner. Once people were almost done eating, we plated and served the warm pudding and hot sauce. We had so many people rave about the dessert. I think the majority had never had it before and were thrilled with it. In fact I sent a copy of the recipe to the conference coordinator to send out to everyone after, as so many people had asked for the recipe.

We took a short break and our guests obligingly stacked dishes on tables at the sides of the hall so that we

Ms. Vista, Jordan and Brenda at dance class on Halloween

could get a bit of a head start on washing those. Then our program got under way. Our musicians did an amazing job and the crowd loved them. Half way through their set, they took a break and Jordan got up on stage to step dance. It started off quietly but as the dance got faster and faster, the crowd got noisier and noisier in their appreciation of his talents. Many people were standing up and clapping and cheering, and a lot were either taking photos or videos of him. When he finished, I, dressed as Ms. Vista, a character from long ago and far away in my IAAP days, came strutting through the room with a water bottle to give our tired dancer. I got up onstage and we began our little skit we had planned ahead of time. I was wearing purple crocs and asked if he could teach me a couple of dance steps. He had my tap shoes in a bag and after I put then on, he showed me a couple of steps and then we were off and running, well sort of. I missed one of the steps in the dance but it just looked like I was really doing it for the first time. It wasn't perfect but it was fun and the few people in the crown that remember Ms. Vista from so many years ago enjoyed it. I was greeted with hugs from the Grand River chapter as I left the stage and returned to my kitchen duties. Carol and Lina knew about it but no one else did so it was great fun.

After a couple of short speeches, the the merriment continued. I knew the party was a success when a couple of ladies from Newfoundland started a conga line that quickly grew and made it's way around and through the crowd.

By all accounts it was a great success, much more so than I had ever imagined and I am extremely thankful for all the help that I received both before and during the event. Lloyd, Lina and Carol were a huge help but the greatest thanks has to go to Brenda for helping every step along the way since this crazy idea took shape. My only regret is that I don't have pictures. I know some of the girls do and I will try to get some sent to me. In the meantime, it was a great time but I'm really glad it's finally over!

Monday, June 2nd - a success beyond my wildest expectations!

Gosh where do I start to condense a wonderful week into one simple post.
After a little glitch in the arrival of the two girls from Ontario we were off. Carol was flying Westjet and Lina was flying air Canada. Their flights were due in 20 minutes apart. It was a little rainy and a bit foggy but we didn't think it was that serious. Carol's flight, the first one due, almost landed. In fact the screen inside the terminal indicated that it had arrived, then a couple of minutes later it changed to say delayed for over an hour. What the heck? Turns out the pilot made the decision not to land at the last second and they were diverted to Moncton. Lina's flight arrived right on time 20 minutes later. The Moncton people on the other hand, were now being bussed! So Lina and I went to have something to eat, then to the liquor store to fill the wine bottles for the conference, and then back to the airport to meet the bus around 9:30. We were texting Carol as to their progress, and told her to let us know when they got to the bridge, to which she replied, " Will I know when I get there?"  Ah, yeah, you'll know it!!  Once everyone was here, we headed home and off to bed. It had been a long day for them.

Tuesday was just as cold but at least it wasn't quite so wet.  After breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls, eggs and bacon, we headed out to the craft room. Brenda had arrived just in time to join us for breakfast and we all worked on some little envelope I had cut out that needed to be folded and taped together, and cards put inside. There were 10 finished, only another 104 to go.  In no time at all they were finished and the girls were duly impressed with my crafting space.

Later in the morning we headed into town to meet with our MC, Zach Bell from Hot 105.5. We went over a few details with him then headed out to do a little shopping along the waterfront. There was a cruise ship in so most shops were open, but it was really cold walking along there. Later we met up with some old friends of Lina's and had coffee. They stayed there while I went off to my final dance class. Then it was back home for something to eat. Lobster and potato salad fit the bill quite nicely.

Wednesday was a much nicer day, still chilly but the sun was shining. We started the day with a committee meeting over at the resort, then we headed out to tour the island. We went over to Dalvay, but unfortunately  it wasn't open yet. But we could tour the grounds a bit. Then it was off to the Dunes for a bit of shopping, and then on to Green Gables. On our way back we stopped and picked up all the groceries we were going to need for Friday. More lobster and some BBQ steak for supper and we were all happy campers.After supper we headed over to the resort for the meet and greet and then spent several hours in one of the cottages visiting some more. It was quite late when we got home, around 1:20 am and then it was up again early on Thursday morning.

Now it was time to get into full on production. I had the potatoes cut up and cooking and a lot of the cabbage shredded by the time the girls got up, which was actually pretty early. They assisted by helping cut up various other ingredients. Lloyd had picked up a donation of 150 chocolate milks at ADL and they had to be taken over to the resort. So we loaded those up as well as the girls luggage and went off to drop them off. Thursday was much better weather so my hope was they might have a bit of time to go down to the beach and enjoy some free time. 

In the afternoon Lloyd helped me with peeling and chopping potatoes and after he went to bed, Brenda arrived and took over for her. I can't stress how helpful it was to have so many willing hands.

Stay tuned on Wednesday for more details on the actual event!