Wednesday, September 16th - The Fall Flavours Kick Off .... in the rain

It was a very crazy busy week
We had a fundraising dinner to serve at on Thursday evening. That made for a bit of a late night, as we knew Friday was also going to be busy.

Meghan had wanted to come to the Fall Flavours hosted by Chef Michael outdoors at the PEI Preserve Company. It promised to be a very special event. Because of the recent issues with her health, her mom and I. along with Meg, decided that she would sit this one out. Turns out it was a good decision.

We started out at the Preserve Company where we found the perfect accent table for James' room - unfortunately it wasn't for sale.

 The organizers of the event did an amazing job of attempting to compensate for the heavy rain by having a large tent set up and everything was under there. It wasn't quite the event we would have liked to see take place, but it was still a very good time.  It would have had a different feel and traffic flow if it had been outside in the gardens as intended. Instead everyone lined up and it took quite a while to get through but it was well worth the wait.

Creative use for those large round bales

We sampled various delights from freshly shucked oysters, mussels and lobster rolls, fresh savory goat cheese cheesecake, falling off the bone BBQ ribs, pulled pork, BBQ  brisket on a bun, fish baked in a sand and salt mixture (you had to be there) served with a flavourful broth, and the list goes on. They were all small portions but by the time we finished them all, we were quite full. 

I had a quick chat with Chef Michael and got him to autograph Meg's photo with him from the Village Feast.  I told him about Meg not being there and why. She requested that any new cookbooks contain nutritional information as she now has to be so careful about the amount of carbs she eats. Let's see what happens next year when a new book comes out.  If it does contain that info, she'll be thrilled. We left before it was over and I went home, while Lloyd stayed in town to go to work at midnight.

Saturday was drizzly and a bit cool so I really didn't mind being at work for the morning. When I was done, I headed home to change and get over to the Rec Centre for a wedding.  This group was eating a little earlier than usual and as a result we were all finished by 8:30.  Lloyd was surprised when I walked in the door. He was just finished up making some fresh pesto with some basil a neighbour had given us. We did some research and found a recipe that is supposed to turn out okay after freezing, so we put it into small jars to be used sparingly throughout the winter when we feel like a little taste of summer.

Sunday morning was not the greatest either but Lloyd and Bernie headed out for a bike ride anyway. After church Brenda came over and we went for a bit of a walk. Just before we left, she got word that some family were on their way to visit so she had to go home and prepare for company.  When we got back from our walk, Lloyd was back home. We sat and over a cup of tea, discussed what to do with the rest of our day. At the dinner event on Friday evening, there was a lady walking around with a goat on a leash - one of the contributors to the goats cheese cheesecake. Lloyd struck up a conversation with her and got her card and directions to her farm. He asked me if I wanted to come along and I decided it might be a good idea. Sending him alone to a goat farm would be the same as sending me to the humane society by myself - you just never know what's going to wind up at our house! (In retrospect, I should have stayed home).

We headed to town with a stop at Canadian Tire first for a couple of items we apparently needed, (or so I'm told)  that were on sale. Then it was off to the Island Hill Farm.

Lunch time

What  a lovely little spot. The couple who own it raise cattle and grow potatoes.

She received a goat as a gift a few years ago and that has since turned into a real enterprise on it's own. They send goats milk to the local cheese makers, make goats milk soap  and the rest is a petting zoo of sorts. There were quite a few folks visiting and she has several kids who help out on a volunteer basis.  It was delightful to walk around and interact with all the animals. Lloyd was, of course, talking goats and determining what he would like to order for spring.  I, on the other hand, just wandered about and enjoyed the various goats, llamas, and then the rabbits.

There was one rabbit in a cage that I absolutely fell in love with. It was a Holland Lop and she was so adorable. I overheard one of the volunteers mention that this particular bunny was going to be having babies soon. I said, when she does, I want one!
Lo and behold, didn't they have one little one from her last babies. They took this little white fur ball out of the cage and put it into my arms, where it snuggled up close to me and just stayed there, as I walked around. That was it - I was hooked. I asked the owner if it was available for adoption and she assured me it was. Then when she quoted a price I couldn't refuse, it was mine. It's too young yet to be sure if it's a boy or girl so we named it Celery.  It stayed snuggled in my arms all the way home. When we arrived, Lloyd found a cardboard box as a temporary home while he went out to the workshop to build a cage of some sort. He did an amazing job in a very short time while I got supper ready. The dog was outside so I blocked off the doorways and let Celery explore the kitchen till Lloyd came in with the new little house.

Seriously, who could resist this little face?

Monday turned out to be a rare sick day for me.  Fortunately I was almost back to normal on Tuesday morning.  That was a very good thing as Tuesday was the first night of Community School and I had agreed to teach a class using T-shirt yarn. More on that next week.

Lloyd is off to Guelph on Thursday morning and will be away until sometime Monday. I'm sure I'll be able to keep myself occupied while he's away.