Tuesday, October 2th - they had a short, but happy life

Well, the biggest event at our house this week has consumed MANY days so far, and isn't quite finished yet, although the end is in sight.

Saturday was the day the pigs were being slaughtered. They were killed in the morning, cleaned and then hung up overnight. Sunday morning bright and early began the cutting and wrapping. What a job that was, and thank heavens for the help of several people, or we'd STILL be at it. (well, actually, some of us still are). A huge thanks to neighbour Frank for actually doing the killing, cleaning and butchering. Bernie was a big help to the guys, especially on Saturday,as well but I can't say a big enough THANK YOU to Brenda. She was there wrapping and portioning most of the day Sunday, before she and I had to leave to help at the Rec Centre spaghetti supper.Then she was back in the evening cutting up meat for sausages.  Monday she was back again, to help Lloyd stuff the sausages. He still had some left to do when I got home so after a very quick supper, it was back to stuffing and wrapping even more sausages.  When I went to bed last night, Lloyd was still up, monitoring sausages in the smoker. There is still a lot of bacon to be smoked as well as the hams. It's going to be ongoing for a few day yet.

All in all, it's been quite an experience. He's decided that maybe next year one pig will be enough. These two weighed 208 and 216 pounds when they were cleaned so that's a  lot of meat to process. It's a vast increase from the approximately 30 pounds they each weighed when we got them back in the spring.

 On reflecting back, they were pretty easy to care for. They are very clean and you never had to clean their little shelter. Just feed them twice a day and they were happy. They had a constant source of water so that was taken care of. And are they tasty! I haven't had any yet other than a small piece of sausage meat last night, but rumour has it they are delicious. I know some folks would have trouble eating something so cute that they've raised and watched grow and enjoyed spending time with. But that was always the purpose and I have no problem with it.

They may have had a short life, but it was a happy one, chasing each other around when they were little, rooting around in the dirt, rolling in the mud after a summer rain, lounging in the sunshine and burrowing together in the straw to keep warm when it was chilly. We'll think of them fondly and really appreciate the meat when we enjoy it over the coming months.

That's pretty much consumed our week. There was a little break last Wednesday evening when Brenda, Meghan, and Caitlin came over to help with the trivia questions for Friday night. Meghan is now living and working back here on the island and I know her family is pleased to have her back. An added bonus was Caitlin also here for a week. It was a very busy household for them as Brenda's brother Danny and his friend Scott had moved Meg back to the island so stayed for a few days as well. We had the great pleasure of meeting all of them for something to eat in town last Thursday afternoon after work. The boys were also there so the ten of us had a lovely time. Some of us had a better time than others, but we won't mention any names.  All we can say it, it's a good thing there were some designated drivers in the crowd!

And finally, on a much sadder note, our condolences to our dear friend Fran on the sudden passing of her sister, Susie. She was a retired school teacher in Rockwood and will be very sadly missed by her family and the whole commuity.

Meadows, Susanne Delila-- Passed away with her family by her side, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton on Thursday, October 22, 2015. Susanne Delila (Kelso) Meadows, age 75 years, was the beloved wife of Carl Meadows of Rockwood. She was the loving mother of Robert Meadows, and Carol and her husband David Nelles. Susanne was the proud grandmother of Kelly, Debbie, Madeline, Olivia, Hannah, and Sam, and great-grandmother of Seth, Sloane, and Andrea. She was the dear sister of Fran and her husband Walt Wilson, and was the special aunt of Jody and Julie. Private cremation has taken place. A family service is to be held at a later date. As expressions of sympathy, donations to the Rockwood Presbyterian Church would be appreciated by the funeral home. Cards available at the Gilbert MacIntyre & Son Funeral Home, Dublin Chapel, 519-822-4731 or send condolences at www.gilbertmacintyreandson.com

Monday, October 19th - finally the election stuff will be over

We all can't wait for the election to be over - it seems like it's been going on forever.  By morning, the suspense will be over - at least for the candidates.

What a difference a week can make. After a very busy Thanksgiving weekend, it was nice to have a relatively quiet week. Lloyd and I were both still struggling with colds, but each day was a little better.

Tuesday and Wednesday, the temperatures were well above seasonable norms and we enjoyed some sun and warmth with highs reaching almost 20'.  I had planned to put my little car away for the winter and Wednesday worked best for all involved. Lloyd met me in town at 5:00 with the top down, and we toured over to Boomburger with our hair flying in the breeze for a bite to eat before heading out to Suffolk to the storage facility. It was still 17' and very pleasant when I drove into the lane and headed in for a tour of the facility which was once a pig farm but now is a spotless building.  The fellow showed us around told us there are at least 3 other red Miata's that are stored there. It must be quite a sight to see them all lined up together.  It was kind of sad to leave my car behind, but I'll have something to look forward to as I watch the snow melting in the spring.


And speaking of snow, we were not at all prepared for what greeted us this morning - a good 4 cms of snow had fallen over night. We sure didn't see that coming.  It was mostly gone by the end of the day but it was a rude awakening for an October morning.

I don't think I've seen snow this early since I've been here. A far cry from our 20" less than one week ago!

Friday morning I headed into town around 3:30 and stopped and picked up coffee and muffins at Tim's before heading over to have a chat with Lloyd at work, before leaving for the airport.  My flight was at 5:30 so we had time for a little visit before I left. Patti and Tristen picked me up in Toronto at 7:00, although I'm sure she would have much rather still been in bed, as she was fighting the same cold we were.

Friday turned out to be a busy day. After getting everyone off to school, Patti and I stopped at Balnar to say hello, totally forgetting that the staff has a breakfast social meeting every Friday morning. Good timing on our part. We were able to sit and chat with everyone at once. From there it was off to visit Millicent, one of our customers who recently moved to Guelph. We stopped in to have coffee with her and to see how she's doing. She's slowly getting there but is taking her time to put things in place until she decided exactly where she wants things. Unfortunately it's a job you have to do yourself.

We left there and met friend Cathy for lunch. We had missed each other last time I was there so we made a point of getting together. It was great that Patti could join us as well.  From there we headed back to Patti's as she had some stuff to be taken to the landfill, so I helped her load some of it into the truck and we headed out again, only this time in the rain. 

By the time we  finished that it was time to get everyone picked up .  Friday was Patti and Greg's anniversary and they went out for dinner. I was going to stay with the kids but Meg was babysitting, and James and Tristen just wanted to stay home so I met up with a group of my friends and went out for supper with them. It was great to see Nancy and Stu, Robin and Marlene and Marla and Jim. We left the sports themed restaurant after the first inning of the Jay's game as they  were all keen to see the remainder of the game, but I wasn't really interested and I was starting to fade. I went to bed not long after getting home.

Saturday morning, James had to be at a Cadet training day and Tristen had his archery class. I stayed and watched him for the hour.

He's doing very well and seems to be enjoying it. After a stop at Tim's for a coffee and muffin, we headed home again. We really didn't do much until 2:00 when Patti, Meg and I met with Ian, who had been at our house in the summer. Patti and Ian hadn't seen each other since they were in nursery school, so they really didn't remember each other but they enjoyed meeting each other again.


By the time we got home, it was soon time to head out. Patti had picked up James and after changing into our concert shirts and a quick bite to eat, we were off to the Air Canada Centre. 

Sadly, not everyone could go...

We arrived with a bit of time to spare.

Outside the ACC

The concert was set to start at 8:00 but it was close to 8:30 when it finally began and Sir Paul hit the stage. It was non-stop Paul from the start till the finish at 11:30. 

Live fireworks on stage for "Live and Let Die"

Another amazing evening of music and nostalgia for some 18,000 fans.  I think James enjoyed it. He didn't know some of the songs, but those he did, he spent singing along to.  It was a long day for him and we didn't get home until 1:45 on Sunday morning. Trouble was he had to be in Kitchener for 7:30 for a speedskating meet on Sunday morning. It probably wasn't one of his best efforts as he was a pretty tired young fellow.

Meg and I had gone with them to drop James off, then we headed straight to the airport as my flight was leaving at 10:00 am.  It was a little delayed but I was home by 2:00. It had been a busy and exhausting weekend, but a very special one.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet. I had a hot bath, then made some supper while Lloyd worked on his smoker. The clock is ticking as the pigs will be slaughtered this coming weekend so everything needs to be in place.

PS - welcome home Caitlyn and Meghan!

Monday, October 12th - Happy Thanksgiving everyone

What a great weekend it has been!  The week that preceded it was quite cool  and sometimes wet, but our weekend turned out great. Saturday I was at work and it was sunny and cool but still a nice day.  We had invited several couples over for dinner on Sunday so that was a busy cooking/cleaning day. Lloyd and I both had colds all week so absolutely nothing got done before the weekend.  We knew we didn't have room at our kitchen table for this many people so we improvised. We moved  some things around in the living room, put the table into the middle of the room and then topped it with some 4 x 8 sheets of wood that Lloyd had in the garage. It was a little wobbly on the ends because it was quite a bit longer than our table so he used some wood from  his stash to fashion some legs that he installed. Once it was covered in a table cloth and a few decorations added, it was quite serviceable as a 'harvest table'. 

We spent the day preparing ducks that we served 3 different ways. We made duck confit that we used to make wontons and served in "Duck Wonton Soup". We followed that with a warm salad with assorted wild mushrooms and more duck confit served over mixed greens. Then we had our main course of seared duck breast, mashed potatoes with chives and bacon, carrots and parsnips, rice pilaf and roast pork tenderloin, as some might not be crazy about the duck. It all turned out well and being as everyone was still here at 11:00 I'd say everyone had a good time. 

Today, Monday  turned out to be a beautiful day. It reached a high of 17' and the sun shone for part of it.  We had been invited to lunch at a young couples apartment in Stratford. James, our host, is a chef by trade, who hails from England. Even though he's been in Canada for a couple of years, this was his first Thanksgiving dinner and he did a great job. He was hoping to have a wild goose to serve but when that didn't work out, he went with turkey. We had a delicious lunch and enjoyed getting to know them better. They were looking forward to preparing a feast but they really don't know anyone on the island so we were quite happy to be their guests.

When we finally got home, I called Brenda and she and I went out to the back field and picked some wild cranberries. There are lots this year but they probably need another week to be really ripe.  On the way home we took a trip down the road to see where the tulips have been planted for next spring. Her son Will has been working there and should be pretty pleased to see the spring crop come up that he personally planted.

It's been a pretty great weekend but now it's back to work in the morning, but it's going to be a short week as I leave for Guelph on Friday morning.  Only 4 more sleeps!

Tuesday, October 6th - Our Indian Summer seems to be back

After a fairly cold, damp week, the weather has once again turned and we're enjoying some very nice sunny days indeed.

Friday was our first evening of "Capture the Queen of Hearts".  We had approximately 50 people out so we were pretty pleased with the initial turn out. Trivia went well and we think everyone enjoyed themselves. We'll see if numbers increase this week.

Saturday morning was just one more damp dreary day when I got up to get ready for work. It wasn't predicted to get much better so I went out to the wood shed and brought in an armful of wood. Before I left the house, I had a nice warm fire going in the wood stove. I always love the smell and warmth of the first fire of the season. When Lloyd gets home from work in the mornings he goes out and feeds the pigs before coming into the house. I just knew that he'd really appreciate having a nice warm kitchen to come into when he was done, and I was right.

It was a pretty quiet weekend. Tania,  who was to come for dinner with her husband James, last weekend, dropped in for a visit with their little boy Luca. He's the cutest little thing and a ball of energy, that only a 15 month old can be.  They stayed for a bit and then were off. We've been invited  to join them for lunch on Thanksgiving Day so we're really looking forward to that. After Tania and Luca left, we had a very simple supper and a nice quiet evening watching a movie on TV. 

Sunday promised to be a bit better and it really was. After lunch it was nice enough to take the little car out for a spin, perhaps one of the last of the season.  Lloyd was gone fishing with our neighbour Frank, so I picked Brenda up and she and I headed into town to Farm Day in the City. It was a wee bit cool but with a jacket, the heater on and the side windows up, we were just fine. The flower beds in town were especially beautiful now that everything has filled in so nicely and everything looks so lush.

After touring around the event, we headed over to Victoria Row and enjoyed something to eat at John Browns, before heading back out to the country.

Monday was very cold in the morning, so much so, that there was ice on my windshield!  Not a great way to start a Monday morning.  But it soon warmed up and turned out to be another one of those unseasonably nice days. 

Last night I went upstairs to find some shoes, and I happened to look out the back window to see a truly spectacular sunset. If the old adage is correct, about red sky at night, sailors delight, then today should be another spectacular day.

Tonight Brenda is teaching her home made bread to a group at Community School. I  have 2 students in my class so it's not extremely difficult to keep everyone under control and occupied!
If I didn't have my own students, I'd sit in on her class. They'll drive everyone crazy with the smell of fresh baked bread.