Tuesday, June 30 - getting ready for Canada Day

It's been a mixture of cold weather, wet weather, warm sunny weather the past week. But what we're really hoping for is some warm sunny weather on July 1st. We had some sun on Sunday morning and Cooper found a nice sunny spot for a nap, as did the pigs.

  There's nothing like a nap in the sun in a pile of mud that you've just dug up, next to your best friend!



We've invited a number of people over for a BBQ to celebrate Canada Day and also to remember a couple of close friends who've passed away around the same time. Instead of feeling sad that they won't be there, we're going to share some food and celebrate their lives with good friends. We hope to make this an annual event.

The past week was pretty much spent getting things ready, although I've managed to come down with a cold that's slowed things down a bit. Lloyd worked all last week on a new home for the chickens, who are now big enough to go outside. He was pretty much finished building it and it just needed a coat of paint for protection. I took care of that while he went off with the boys for a bike ride on Sunday morning. When he got back, he finished up the fence and gate and we moved the birds outside.

Almost finished painting

Exploring grass for the first time

The pigs were quite curious about who their new neighbours were. Now the task is to get the garage all cleaned out and stuff moved off to one side so we have room for our guests in the event we get some showers on Wednesday.

 I took a break after painting to sit outside with Brenda and enjoy a coffee and one two of her delectable cinnamon rolls. She dropped by before she was off to drive her bus. She's helping out with the Acadian Games that are being hosted here on the island. When she's done with that, she's off for the summer. I have to admit I'm just a wee bit envious!


Caitlyn VanGaal was home for a few days with her boyfriend, Mike, and I had the pleasure of attending a small halls event with them while they were here. It was in St. Margarets at a hall I'd not been to before. Just our luck we had to go right past Rick's Fish and Chips in St. Peter's on the way - a great place to grab a bite before the show.

I spoke with Meghan (2) and she wants to come out to the island for the Village Feast. She should be arriving sometime Friday, depending on what flights are available. She's looking forward to meeting Chef Michael, although she has met him once before.

Yup, that's her, the cute little doll I'm holding in my arms. She's looking forward to showing him the picture when they meet.

Tuesday, June 23rd - it's been a very quiet week

It's been an especially quiet week after a very busy trip to Ontario.

The weather this past week has been really hit or miss. A couple of nice warm sunny days and several cooler and wet days. No worries - it can rain all it wants this week as long as it's nice on Canada Day. We're hosting our first annual Canada Day BBQ on July 1st this year. We have some friends in Ontario who used to do that and it took place for a lot of years. It just seemed fitting that we should carry on the tradition. I also have my own personal reasons for wanting to make this a festive time.

We've made our guest list and sent out the invitations. Now we're just waiting on confirmation from a few people. We're going to clear out the downstairs of the garage and use that space, hopefully out of the sun and mosquitoes. With any luck the weather will cooperate. If not, we'll sit inside and enjoy something to eat and drink.


While I was in Guelph, my friend Nancy attended a noon hour concert in the Square, something that takes place each summer on Friday afternoons, featuring various entertainers. The local entertainer that day was a young man by the name of Ian Reid. Nancy gave me his CD at supper that night. I gave it a listen when I got home and I quite liked his voice and playing, a very folksy kind of sound, which I really like.

Ian Reid

"Since returning from years of overseas teaching in 2008, Ian has played over 300 shows, earning much respect from his musical peers and fans alike. He has won songwriting awards in South Korea, Guelph and Kitchener. “Patsy’s Place” is one of the most popular songs played on CBC Radio.
Ian has shared billing with James Gordon, Wendell Ferguson, Ashley MacIssac, Danny Michel, Blair Packham (the Jitters), Astrid Young, Ray Materick, and has opened for John Mann (Spirit of the West), Bob Wiseman, Tom Wilson (Blackie and the Rodeo Kings), Bob Egan (Wilco, Blue Rodeo),  Andy White and Lynn Miles."

I went onto his website to find out when he was coming to the east coast as Nancy had told me he would be performing in Charlottetown sometime in August. So, I contacted him through his website and, to make a long story short, he's performing on the island on August 11th and will be staying with us at least one night while he's here.  Who is this young man, you might ask, and why is he going to stay with us?  Well, actually I know Ian from when I lived in Rockwood. Oh, did I mention that the last time I saw Ian he was 3 years old???? He and Patti went to Rockwood Nursery School together many, many years ago. Nancy has followed his career since then, as his mom, who was also an old friend when I lived there, still lives in the village.  It will be interesting to get together and find out what he's been up to all these years.


Saturday was the Rec Centre's members dinner. I had asked if there was anything I could do to be of any help and I was asked if Brenda and I would look after the trivia. I tentatively agreed, before I found out that Brenda wasn't going to the dinner. She helped me come up with the questions and then I was on my own.

I tried out the questions on Lloyd and he thought they were pretty difficult. We made it all Canadian trivia so that at least if they didn't win, they'd at least learn something. Turns out they were a bit harder than I had imagined but everyone seemed to have a good time in spite of the low scores at the end of the night.
I guess if they were too hard, they'll ask someone else to do it next year.

Caitlin and her boyfriend Mike arrived on the island Friday night. I haven't talked to them yet but apparently they had a good trip here, driving someone else's car that needed to be delivered to the island. They plan to fly back out west at the end of their vacation so it worked out well for everyone.  I'll be seeing them on Wednesday when we're off to a Festival of Small Halls event.

Granddaughter Meghan called last night to advise that she's decided which Fall Flavours event she would like to attend. I also suggested to her that she might enjoy volunteering at the Village Feast but she's going to look at that one and decide.

Other than that, not a lot going on. We managed to get the lawn cut and the trimming done on Sunday in between showers but I'm sure it will need it again before the BBQ, especially if we get a couple of sunny days in between the showers.

Lots to do, but sometimes we need a deadline to really keep us motivated to get things done.

And lastly, we found ourselves with left over lobster on Monday. What to do. We could have had lobster rolls, a very traditional island thing to do with left over lobster (truth be told, you buy extra to ensure there's left overs for just this purpose). Instead I checked out a cookbook by one of our favorite TV chefs, Lynn Crawford, and in there was a recipe for lobster mashed potatoes. Mash the potatoes, heat the lobster chunks in some milk, mix into the potatoes with some butter and chives and you've got yourself some mighty tasty  mashed potatoes!  MMMM MMMMM - delish!

Wednesday, June 17th - it was a whirlwind visit, for sure

My trip started off narrowly missing my flight due to a glitch at the airport here in Charlottetown. They had messed up the count some how and advised me there were no more seats. But before the plane took off, they determined there was indeed one empty seat, so it was a mad dash across the tarmac to the plane, where I was greeted with cheering and clapping for having made it!

Patti and Tristen picked me up at the airport and we headed back to Guelph in the rain. After dropping Tristen at school, we went up and picked up Greg's truck at his work. He was going to be away at a ball tournament with James all weekend and it would be just sitting there, so we decided Patti would use the truck for the weekend and I would use her car.

After a few errands, I was off to lunch with friends Kay and Kristi. I had a small gift for Kristi, who's getting married soon and the three of us enjoyed catching up and having a great lunch. Then it was back to the office to say hello to everyone else, before heading back to Patti's to change.

I was meeting friend Nancy for supper at a little restaurant downtown, within walking distance of the River Run Centre. The recital started at 7:30 and Patti met Nancy and I there. It was a great show and the girls did an amazing job. The dance team performed 3 times, combined with 7 other numbers, Meghan was on stage a total of 10 times. Needless to say I was pretty tired by the time we got back to Patti's as I'd been up since 2:30 am PEI time and I know Meg was tired from all that dancing.

Saturday started out pretty cloudy but cleared later and turned out to be a beautiful day. I drove up to friend Katy's house and we drove together up to Belwood to a familiar restaurant we all used to go to years ago, where we met up with Fran. Not long after we got there, Walt showed up on his bike and joined us. It was great to see everyone.

Then it was back to Guelph for the afternoon recital performance. Patti was helping backstage so I was by myself but that was okay.  There are always presentations at the end of the last performance and this year the 8 girls on the competition team were each given bouquets of flowers by their teacher in recognition of their hard work this year.

Once we were home, and everyone was changed, we headed out for supper. Greg and James were still away so it was just the four of us - Patti and I and the two younger kids. We decided on the York Road Kitchen for our meal and we were not disappointed. I had the pleasure of speaking with Sarah, one of the owners, whom I've known for years. It was nice to have a couple of minutes to catch up. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and got to sample some interesting dishes. Then it was back home to relax for the rest of the evening in front of the TV. It had been a pretty hectic week for everyone so it was nice to chill for a bit.

Sunday dawned with lots of rain so doing something outside was out of the question. I picked up some stuff to make stuffed french toast, similar to some we had seen on the Food Network the evening before because we were pretty sure we could do a better job, and we did. I didn't have too much to eat as I was meeting friend Linda at a local eating spot called State & Main.  I had the calamari and Linda had a breakfast option and it was quite delicious.  Then it was back to Patti's to spend the rest of the day. We cooked some supper and then it was time to get ready to head to the airport.

She had a flight to Deer Lake, NFLD and I was hoping to get on the 10:00 flight to PEI (the last person to get on the flight was Chef Michael from here on the island. He said 'Hi' and waved as he went by but he was certainly not about to give up his seat!) Unfortunately for me it was full, but very fortunately for me (not so much for the other passengers) an earlier flight didn't go as scheduled and was now scheduled to leave around midnight. Also fortunately for me, several people chose not to wait around that long and changed their plans. This left open seats for folks like me. So finally at 12:30 we were on our way, arriving in Charlottetown at approximately 3:30 in the morning where it was only 6' . There didn't seem much point in going home so I headed to the local McDonald's that's open 24 hours a day, and had a tea and a muffin. By the time the sun was coming up, it was slightly warmer, so I was able to try to nap in my car for an hour. Then it was 6:30 am so I only had an hour to kill before work so I headed downtown to my favorite cafe for a wake up coffee and a read of the local paper before heading to work. It was a very long day and I was glad to get home. Lloyd had a lovely meal prepared - BBQ steaks, baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and Caesar salad. It was  a great welcome home. Needless to say, I was off to bed by 8:00 and slept through the alarm until I woke up at 6:30 in a bit of a panic to get ready for work.

All in all, an exhausting but great trip!

Tuesday, June 16th

Sorry - after being up (mostly) for over 36 hours, I slept in this morning - check back tomorrow for a report on my trip to Ontario!

TUESDAY, JUNE 9TH - A BUSY WEEK FOR THE GRANDKIDS

It's a warmer day today but we've been up and down. In spite of the odd warm day, we really can't say summer has arrived as yet. But I suppose realistically it's not officially due till the 21st of June so we just have to be patient.

James had a busy time this past week. Last Tuesday he was honoured to receive an award at the school's awards night. He earned a Celtic Culture Award - Anchorman of the Year for his work with BM News, as well as the schools facebook page, and just his attitude and willingness to help out wherever needed. Yep, that sounds like James.

Then on Wednesday he played with the pipe band at a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of John McCrae's "In Flander's Fields".

Friday night he played at the opening of the Relay For Life in Guelph and then on Sunday at the Legion's Decoration day where he swapped out his Pipe Band kilt and played with the Air Cadet Pipe Band. This was following two baseball games on Saturday.  Guess he doesn't have to worry about practicing his piping, he's playing more in parades and at functions than he would likely be doing at home!

Meghan will be in full on recital prep this week. With only a few days remaining until the opening night on Thursday, they will be a pretty high strung group of young ladies by this point.

This photo and caption was in the Mercury recently:

The first year of competition for the Holly Hughes Dance Academy’s competitive team was a successful one. Over three competitions the team captured three first places, a second place, four platinum awards, three golds and one diamond. The team also captured three overall awards and a special judges award. From left to right are dancers Meghan Dennison, Melyssa Mainprize, Julia Mainprize, Victoria Longato, Taylor Ferigo, Victoria Hughes-Visentin, Jillian Francis and Rebecca Lencki.

Tristen, on the other hand, is just ever so pleased that we have a second baby pig and he chose the name for this one. Piggly Wiggly arrived on Saturday evening and the two are getting along just fine.

So far we're really enjoying them. They are quite funny to watch and they've learned our routine pretty well. They let you know when it's time for a meal, as they come trotting over to the corner of the fence closest to the garage, where the food is kept, grunting and oinking the entire time.

Friday  we had the pleasure of attending the first annual Ribfest in Charlottetown. Some familiar ribbers were there from our days attending the same event in Guelph.  The weather was good on Friday but poured rain most of Saturday. Sunday was clear but quite cool but hopefully the event was a success. The Van Gaals went late on Sunday but were there just in time to sample some tasty pork.

I'm getting ready for my trip to the big city of Toronto on Friday morning. It's looking like I'll have no trouble getting there but getting back might be an issue. Right now it appears my best chance to make it is the last flight at night that will get me home in the wee hours of Monday morning. The up side is it gives me an extra day visiting the family.

Tuesday, June 2nd - Old McDenny's Farm has become a busy place

It's amazing what can happen over 7 short days. It's quite cool right now, after several very warm days, but some rain is good and the warmer weather will be returning later in the week.

1) Cooper seems to have settled in after his long truck ride. I think he had a great time with the other dogs but has quickly settled back into his old routine. He's especially intrigued with the new livestock that's been arriving.

2) I found a spot for the antique doll carriage that I was graciously given by Brenda's cousin in Nantucket. It was headed for the goods exchange and I got there first. I've found a spot for it at the top of the stairs. I added a couple of other old items that have come my way and I'm quite pleased with the results. It's truly the best souvenir of Nantucket.

3) Lloyd arrived home last Monday,  and Tuesday morning he picked up 25 baby chicks. They were just a day old so they were tiny balls of yellow fluff and it's amazing how much they've grown in a week. In a little while they'll be ready to move to their new pen outside, but not yet - there's no house out there for them yet.

4) Shortly after the chickens, Petunia Pig came to live with us. Lloyd was picking her up on Saturday morning so his week was a mad rush to put up a pig-proof fence and a shelter for her to get out of the weather. We'd like to have two as they do much better with company, both growing physically as well as mentally - apparently they are quite social animals. So we're on the hunt for another one and we may have found it. In the mean time she seems to be settling in quite nicely. She's quite the character and has quite a personality. She only weighs around 45 pounds so she's got lots of growing to do before fall. The dog is quite curious about this new addition, and the pig is quite curious about the dog.
I was talking to Patti and Tristen on the weekend and he thinks the second pig should be called Piggly. I told him it could be Piggly Wiggly, just like the grocery store and he thought that was the funniest thing ever, that someone should give a store that name, but we assured him it was true. 

5) Lobster season is in full swing so I picked up a bunch on Saturday afternoon and we enjoyed them with the VanGaals on Sunday evening. There were left overs so Lloyd had some last night, as I was out for supper in town with a friend, and I see there's still some left so lobster AGAIN tonight. How boring! (NOT)

6) The tulips are in full bloom. We took a ride down the road on Sunday night before dark to see them. What a magnificent display they make each year. There's a sign up this year that hasn't been there before asking people to please take all the photos you like but please don't drive into the fields or pick the tulips. We did drive around the outside a bit but there's already a road there. But we certainly didn't pick any, as tempting as that might have been with the wide variety of colours available.

7) Because it was such a beautiful day on Saturday and Sunday promised to be wet and colder, it was finally time to give the grass it's first cutting. It's not so much fun during black fly season. We have a repellent that works well on mosquitoes and is supposed to repel black flies as well, but doesn't really work so well on those tiny biting machines. I felt so bad for the poor pig - she was just covered in them and they were driving her slightly mad, trying to brush them off her little body against the side of her shelter.

8) James is receiving an award at school today, although he has no idea what it's for. Guess we'll find out as later today. Whatever it is, congrats to you, James. Well done - whatever you did!