Tuesday, July 28th - Dear Mother Nature - can we please have summer back?

It's been cool and damp for most of the past week, and this week's not looking much better. We should see some more warmer weather next week - let's hope so.

With the rain and cooler temperatures it's hard to get outside and get anything done. Our grass is needing to be cut again, but it seems like there's limited time between showers, and when it does stop raining, everything is all wet. Hopefully we can get to it soon.

Of course, we could have gotten to the grass on Sunday, however, we took the day off and made a bit of a break away.

I'd gone online last week and discovered that there is a Maritime Miata Club based out of Nova Scotia and they had a run planned for this past Sunday. After several emails back and forth, we decided we'd give it a go. They were starting near the Halifax airport and coming up to Truro way and stopping for coffee  at Tim's in Bible Hill. So our plan was to leave here at 7:00 and met up with them at Tim's.

We stopped in town and picked up coffee and muffins before hitting the road. It was overcast but mild and dry so we put the top down as we journeyed on. We were just about at the bridge when it started to rain so we quickly pulled over and put the top up. It poured rain for a while until we stopped on the other side in Aulac. It had stopped raining so we put the top back down. Unfortunately we were only a short ways down the highway when it started raining again. This time it poured for quite some distance. We really hoped it didn't continue like that for the rest of the day and fortunately, it didn't. It finally stopped (or we drove out of it) and we had dry weather the rest of the way. The others all had the tops down when they arrived and they hadn't seen any rain so that was a good sign.

What a sight to see all these Miata's coming down the road

There are approximately 50 cars in the club but only 12 were out this trip. We discovered that most of the members are of a certain demographic - our age.

After  coffee and introductions, we hit the road. We traveled all secondary highways and wound our way up to Tatamagouche for lunch at a restaurant called Big Al's, where we had a reservation in their special events room, as there were at least 25 of us.

At the restaurant we all put the tops up in case it rained

Lloyd makes friends with EVERYONE!

We met some really nice people and had a great time getting to know some of the members.

Then it was back on the road as we wound our way through Wentworth Valley before ending our drive at Masstown Market. What a busy spot that was!  We parked and spent a bit of time chatting before everyone went their separate ways.

We headed east and arrived at the ferry just ten minutes before departure. We were the last car to go on before they started loading the campers. Talk about good timing.

We had a pleasant ride on the boat and then home to cook up the fish we'd bought at the Masstown Market fish store. It was a really great day and some quality time together - something we don't get to do very often.

Tuesday, July 21st - short and sweet today

Today's post is going to be short and sweet for two reasons:
1) there really wasn't much going on this past week
2) I slept in this morning!

After a week of absolutely lovely weather, hot and sunny, perfect for driving around with the top down on the car, this week started out cooler and very wet and it's pretty much going to stay that way for most of the week. But they promise more good weather is on the way.

The only really exciting news this week is that Meghan finally convinced her parents to let her have a baby bunny. She's been wanting one for ever so long and I received a text message on Friday that she had indeed gotten her bunny. We spent a bit of time Saturday morning on facetime so I could see her new pet. He's very cute and she's quite thrilled. But I think she's away at summer camp this week so her little brother has agreed to look after it for her.

I helped Lloyd on Saturday putting up the eaves troughs on the garage, at least on one side anyway. I was supposed to be helping at the Rec Centre but I wasn't watching the time and by the time we came inside it was too late. Sorry about that guys. But it was a smaller wedding so they likely had lots of help.  Lloyd is planning to try to finish up the other side today as it's not supposed to rain, just cooler and cloudy, before the rain returns tomorrow.

Sunday was a drizzly and dreary day and we did absolutely nothing. Well, that's not quite true. I spent a couple of hours out in the craft room and then came inside. We watched a couple of movies but pretty much did nothing all day. I must say it was quite relaxing. I think it's good to do that every so often. We'd been quite busy the past little while so it was just what we needed. I talked to Brenda and she tells me they did the exact same thing on Sunday, absolutely nothing. Maybe it was the weather.

Tuesday, July 14th - summer has finally gotten into high gear!

It's been beautiful weather all week and what a week it's been! I dropped Meghan off at the airport on Tuesday afternoon and she was on her way, meeting her mom as planned in Toronto. There was momentary panic on my part when I checked to see if  flights were on time, only to learn that hers had been cancelled. Not to worry, they had just changed the flight number and she was good to go.

All was quiet until Friday, when I left work at 3:00 to drive up to Cavendish. I was volunteering at the Cavendish Beach Festival.  It was a busy time but a fun time. Unfortunately getting out of the lot wasn't so much fun. There were issues with traffic and I ended up getting home at 2:30 in the morning on Saturday. I was up early and in town to meet Lloyd for coffee at 8:00.  I had been asked to volunteer on Sunday as well but chose instead not to, as in the end, they had lots of helpers and I didn't want to be getting home that late another night on the weekend.

The weather was perfect on Friday for the concert and there were thousands of people there having a great time!

Lloyd had been fighting a frustrating battle with my motorcycle all week long. Just when he would think it was all fixed, it would start acting up - again.  I had planned to take it over to the school on Friday evening with Brenda for my pre-season trial run around the lot. But of course, it wouldn't start, even though it had been running just fine not an hour before. Lloyd was very determined by now and in the end it seems he's finally gotten all the bugs worked out of it. So much so, that Brenda and I headed out on Sunday afternoon and did our thing at the school and then when I felt a little more comfortable we hit the road. I was only out twice last year, before it developed mechanical difficulties so I felt like I was starting all over again.  We toured over to Cardigan where we enjoyed some lunch at the Cape Light Restaurant - always a good choice. Then we meandered across country to St. Peter's for ice cream. Then it was back on the road and down to Morrell and a stop at the grocery store for burger buns as we had invited the Van Gaals over for BBQ burgers ( I know, same stuff, different day!). Each time we stopped, we both said a silent little prayer that it would start again, and it did! She never let me down once all day.

It was an early evening for all of us as we'd had a busy day.

But the best part of my weekend had to be Saturday afternoon. To make a long story short, I bought myself a new toy. It was  located just down the road in Statford and at a price I could actually manage. Now those who  know me REALLY, REALLY well and for a very long time, know that this is something I've wanted for over 25 years. I never thought it would ever actually come true..... but it has! I picked it up yesterday after work.

Summer will never be the same again.

It's going to take a while to wipe that grin off my face!!!

One more thing off my bucket list...that I never imagined would be accomplished.

WEDNESDAY, July 8th - what a busy week it's been now that summer is finally here!

It seems that with July 1st, Mother Nature decided we could have some summer, and the weather has been beautiful ever since.

Canada Day dawned lovely and sunny and we said "What a great day to host a BBQ"
Lloyd had worked very hard the day before cleaning everything up, moving everything out of the way, putting sheets up to cover the clutter and building tables for sitting at. He put in a huge amount of work to get ready. We spent part of the morning putting together the big tent, but in the end, it really didn't get used that much. Everyone pretty much sat in the garage.

Ready for a party

We had approximately 20+  people in total and I think a great time was had by all. Several people contributed salads to the feast and we had a great meal. After we ate, we did some Canadian Trivia and we were a little embarrassed that the winning team was comprised mainly of folks who didn't actually go to school in Canada. But a fun time seems to have been had anyway. After trivia, we were entertained by neighbour Margie and her guitar.A really nice touch was when Margie asked us all to join in singing O Canada. As the song progressed, people stood up and hats were taken off. It was a really fitting tribute to the day.   The new Margaritaville Frozen Drink Maker was also a huge success. At the end of the night, Lloyd and I sat down and determined that the day had been a success.

Unfortunately for him, the next day was a work day for me and he ended up doing all of the clean up by himself. The good news is next year Canada Day lands on a Saturday so I should be able to help the day after.

Things were quiet for a day then Meghan arrived on Friday afternoon. It was a little touch and go for a while due to a labour dispute at Pearson, but fortunately her flight left on time. There was a bit of a delay once the flight got here, but it all worked out in the end. We picked up some lobsters on the  way home and enjoyed those for supper. She arrived just in time before lobster season ended for the year.

After supper we visited Margie and Brenda then came home and watched some TV together, while we enjoyed a non alcoholic Strawberry Daiquiri.

Clowning around on the waterfront

Saturday morning we headed into town and visited the Farmer's Market, then went down to the waterfront. We strolled along the streets and along Peakes Quay, before embarking on a land and sea voyage on the Harbour Hippo.

Our tour guide on the Hippo

It was lots of fun and we learned quite a bit about the city and it's history.  On our way around the harbour, we passed the HMCS Charlottetown, that was docked in port for the weekend. It was open for tours and I'm sure James would have really enjoyed that.

HMCS Charlottetown

After finishing our tour, we headed home to see if Lloyd was up from his nap. We had some lunch then headed over to Montague for the  Divercity Festival.  It was very entertaining and we enjoyed some different food along the way.  We were all tired when we got home so it was a quiet evening. Lloyd made supper and afterwards Meg and I went over to Lakeside and took a walk on the beach. It was a beautiful evening and the sunset on the water was lovely.

It was off to bed fairly early as we knew we had a busy day ahead of us. Sunday morning Lloyd was already gone for his bike ride by the time Meg and I woke up,

We packed up all our stuff and headed for Souris. It was overcast and a bit cool, so perfect for working. Things were well underway by the time we got there, after a brief stop at Tim's for some breakfast.

We found Rika, who is in charge of volunteers and she advised that she had put Meghan and I in the dessert tent so we could work together. It was a perfect spot. There was lots to keep us busy and she helped put desserts together for a while, then we put her out front to punch tickets and pass out desserts.

When all the festivities were over, the announcement came, that it was time for the volunteers to eat - just what Meg had been waiting for. The pizza we had at lunch had worn off after several hours!

We enjoyed a great meal, then helped out a bit cleaning up, before it was time to go home.

Meghan had gotten what she came for - a photo opp with the tall Chef and a chance to chat  and share with him the photo of their previous meeting. All in all, a long and tiring, but fun day. She says she would like to come back again to volunteer.

Monday was kind of a low key day for her and Lloyd. I headed off to work in the morning and they headed out on the motorcycle to Peakes for breakfast. Apparently it was her first bike ride and by all accounts it was a resounding success. She loved it!   They even made their way into town and stopped into the dealership to say hello.

Meg spent the afternoon packing her bags and getting ready to go out for supper. I met up with them downtown on Victoria Row where she chose John Brown's for our dining spot. We ordered four appetizers and shared them all as well as a dessert.

We were all quite full by the time we were finished.  Lloyd headed home and Meg and I walked over to the Confed Centre. We had tickets for Anne of Green Gables - The Musical. I'd seen it last year and I just knew she would enjoy it, which she totally did. By the time we got home, Lloyd was having a coffee, as he prepared to go off to work.

After a good nights sleep, Meg and I were up and dressed and on our way into town. She spent the better part of the morning at the mall and arrived back in time for me to drive her over to the airport. She arrived in Toronto shortly after her mom landed from Paris so it all worked out. It was a busy week but I think she had a good time - I know we really enjoyed having her.

Tuesday, July 7th - too busy to talk this morning - check back tomorrow for a full report on our week!