Tuesday, May 30th - it's seriously June this week? How can that be...

Time's flying by but things have finally started happening out in our Wee kitchen.  Monday was a holiday but Tuesday things got crazy. We'd been waiting on the plumber and the gas fitter and wouldn't you just know they both arrived on the same morning. Fortunately the plumber had work to do in the basement so he was able to work out there while the gas fitter did her work in the kitchen. Wednesday morning they were both back again to finish up the jobs and by the end of the day we have water and propane! YAAAY. Still a few things to be attached to walls ie. paper towel dispenser, soap dispenser, racks for knives, utensils, etc. Once those things are in place we can get down to some serious cleaning. Up to this point cleaning was an impossibility as every time something needs to get installed it entails drilling into the ceramic tile, causing all manner of very fine dust.

But, with any luck another day should do it. Then we can get our inspection done, which we are hoping to have done next week. I sometimes still can't believe we've actually gotten it done.

The weekend was spent working out in the entrance into the kitchen. For all intents and purposes it is really an extension of the kitchen. New flooring has been put down and beaded board installed on the walls. Saturday was a painting kind of day. The walls are painted a soft grey, similar to the ceramic tile in the kitchen and the trim and doors are all white. It actually looks quite nice in there now.

We've moved a couple of things around and are looking at where we can put storage and have a look at exactly what needs to be stored. 

It's all very exciting but also extremely scary. Everyone else has much more faith in my abilities than I do but I guess at this point its sink or swim.  But I'm going to try to do my very best to make this work. But as Lloyd points out, if it doesn't turn out to be worth while, we have a great second kitchen for making sausages and cheese!  Takes some of the pressure off for sure. The other plus is that it's on our own property so it's not like we have a rental payment to make each month. It's all good!!!

Hopefully next week I'll have pictures of the entire finished results of our labours over the past few months.
 
I've been playing around with recipes in the house the past little while. I came upon a recipe for hamburger buns that turned out really great. The buns are not the light fluffy ones you get in the store but they are very soft and delicious and can stand up to the juices of a nice fat burger and it's toppings without getting soggy and falling apart in your hands. . One of our upcoming events is a BBQ burger lunch for 10 people  . You can be certain I'm going to be making the buns for that one. I'm really pleased with the results.

In the midst of all this, I had to decide if I was going to find time to put in a veggie garden this year - yet one more thing to look after. Our neighbour came by a short time ago and ploughed our garden patch and that made the decision much more difficult. But ironically one night a really neat idea popped up on my computer. I thought it's worth a try and may help keep weeds at bay.

Step 1: Start with a patch of freshly prepared soil

Step 2: Gather together all the old pallets that are hanging around the yard (we have lots as our neighbour collects them, fixes them and resells them and they've come in handy for oh so many uses)

Step 3: Put pallets in place on the ground

Step 4: Fill spaces with soil

Step 5: Plant seeds and see what happens, hopefully something like this:

Looking at the final result (or what I hope will be) I see that I've been digging down and putting my pallets in the ground, but perhaps I'm making this more difficult that it really needs to be.  I'll have to look at this again. So far I only have three in place but the others may not be quite as much work. I'll get back to you on that one!

Of course it's always easier if you have lots of help. Lloyd was working on building an outdoor pen for the chickens and the goats were constantly under his feet, checking out just what the heck he was doing. There's lots of lush grass on the other side of the fence so they were let out to graze. But being the curious beings that they are, they had to come over and see what I was doing. And there just happens to be some pretty great grazing over on that side of the yard as well.

And finally, we're shocked to report yet another heart attack this week. This time it's Lloyd's brother- in-law, Kim. He had triple by pass surgery yesterday in Saint John. Last we heard all went well. Please keep him in your thoughts as well. Greg is doing well although probably getting a little bored being at home, but so far it'sl good news on all fronts.

Tuesday, May 23rd - Belated Happy Victoria Day to those who had the day off!

Well, it's been quite a busy week out here on the island. I worked a couple of days last week and that usually messes up those days. I need to get a little better organized I suppose.

Off and running walking

We had one really nice day last week and that's the day I cut the lawn, as I'm sure almost everyone on the island did. After working outside most of the day, Lloyd and I headed into town for an ice cream cone at Jewells - the first of the season. Good thing too, because most of the weekend was chilly and VERY windy - certainly not ice cream weather.

Brenda, Meghan and I had signed up to participate in the PEI Runway Run. Except in our cases it was a Runway Walk, as it was for a good many people. The total length from one end of the runway to the other and back again is 5 km.

No problem, we can easily do this. What we didn't count on is very cool temperatures and a very strong headwind going up the runway. The plus side of that was that we had those same very strong winds at our backs on the return trip. All in preparation for our walk across the bridge in June. This will be the third time I've made that trip. Hopefully it will be a nicer day. If I recall the last time we walked the bridge, we had very strong headwinds as well. Not a pleasant 13 kms. But we're keeping our fingers crossed that this time will be nicer.


It was fun to see the signs that the organizers had along the route:

     "You thought they said RUM didn't you?"

     "Smile, you paid for this"

     "Oh hell, you've come this far, may as well finish"

     "Don't stop, people are watching"

After the run was finished, and we were sure none of us had won any door prizes, we headed off to the Farmer's Market. While there we picked up some food and took it back to Meghans to eat in a nice warm kitchen with a hot cup of tea - probably the highlight of our day.

Sunday was once again very windy and chilly so not a lot got accomplished outside. It was a laundry/, cleaning kind of day.  Our neighbour came by on Thursday evening and tilled the spot where we've had our garden in the past. Now I need to start planning a garden. But it was too cold outside to do much there. 

Finally the weather broke and Monday turned out to be a beautiful day. I did some work outside and Lloyd helped Bernie with a project he had going on in the morning. The afternoon was spent putting wall panels on the outer part of our kitchen in the garage. It's a separate area but is really an extension of the kitchen. We're still waiting on plumbing and propane hook up. With any luck at all, it might get done this week. Keep your fingers crossed...

 It's that time of year again - the tulips are in full bloom down the road. I picked up my neighbour, Margie, and drove her down to see them. She's not been down before and she was very impressed, as were the countless numbers of visitors at the site. It's really become quite the attraction.

 From the middle of the field, all  you can see are colourful 

blooms as far as the eye can see in both directions.

And every colour in the rainbow...

And finally, last but certainly not least, please send your good thoughts and wishes to Patti and Greg. Very shocking news received from Patti early last Friday morning. Greg suffered a heart attack.(I know, right?)  He was taken to Guelph General and then almost immediately to St. Mary's in Kitchener, who specialize in cardiac care. The original thought was that he would be in hospital for a while but he's actually home now. They performed a procedure and he responded quite favorably. Perhaps it's his young age (way too young for this to happen) and otherwise good health. He will be stuck at home for a while. He's not allowed to work or drive for a month, and will be following up with visits to his family doctor as well as cardiologists.  It was a pretty stressful few days but we're so glad to hear that he's  home and doing well.

Tuesday, May 16th - a much quieter week than the last couple have been

After much activity at Patti's it was a much quieter week. Lloyd was away for his rainy week in Quebec City. He met up with two old friends and they managed to have a good time in spite of the weather. It's good that they weren't in the more flood prone areas of the province.

Most of my week was spent out either out in the garage cleaning equipment in the new kitchen or in town putting out cards. I did manage to get into town on Wednesday, after the courier delivered the truck key to me on Tuesday afternoon.

Our weather for most of the week was wet and chilly but was warm and sunny by Friday. Needless to say the goats were sure glad to get outside and get some fresh air and stretch their little legs.  After a great weekend we are back to the cool temperatures and lots of rain. Good news is we should see mid 20' and sunny by Thursday and Friday. Just what I've been waiting for since Lloyd got my Miata out of the garage on Sunday. All I need now is some convertible weather! Bring it on!

Other than that, not a lot to report. We're just about ready for our health inspection to give us approval to opperate.. Just a bit of construction left (some doors to put back on as well as some tiling left) and the final plumbing and gas hookup to be done.

Since it was a rainy day yesterday I took the opportunity to try out some new recipes. I had some pumpkin on hand as well as cranberries. I worked for one I came across for a Pumpkin Cranberry Bread and also some Pumpkin rolls.  I then tried out an unknown recipe for me - a Pork Vindaloo. I don't know what it's supposed to taste like as I'm not a huge fan of curries, but I'm told by someone who knows these things, that it was very good.  Sometimes it pays to just go out on a limb.

Brenda, Meghan and I took advantage of the sun on Sunday to go for a walk. We went down the road to where the tulips are planted to see what stage they are at. Another week will make a huge difference. ( Watch for photos of the progress next week.)  We were pleased with ourselves as I found out that we actually walked 6 km in total. We're getting ready to do another walk across the bridge in June and I need to make sure my feet and legs are ready for our trip to Britain in July!

Speaking of Britain, I was at a local dollar store the other day and saw this one lonely little hat all by itself. It immediately took me back to the days when James was absolutely obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. He knew all the trains by name and had loads of Thomas stuff. It was ironic that this one lonely little hat had this name on it. I was tempted to buy it for him to wear on British Rail but I can just feel his eyes rolling!

On the other hand, had he been exposed to bagpipes at a very early age, I suspect it would have looked something like this: https

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxmRBlQaZTA

Tuesday, May 9th - it's been a while...

... since I posted anything. Sometimes real life just gets in the way.

Let's see, what's gone on since we last chatted?

I had a great time in Guelph with the kids and had lots of great lunches and dinner with many old friends.

My good friend Nancy invited me and a mutual friend, Marla over for lunch on day. We had a lovely time and a very tasty meal, which is no surprise!

I had lunch with Linda and Joyce (sorry ladies, but I forgot to get a picture of the two of you.). They are both hoping to come back and visit again this summer. Looking forward to it.

I had dinner with my old IAAP friends in Cambridge. They don't see each other as much anymore due to meetings no longer being held so it was a really nice get together for all of them as well.

I went up to Fergus to visit my friend Helen and have lunch at what was once upon a time our favorite pub. It's recently been taken over by a young man that Helen has known for many years, since he was a young boy. They've done a bit of a make over from the previous owners and it's looking great. Best of luck to him in his new venture. They have an interesting menu and I was able to sample Haggis for the first time as it's one of the items available. Helen ordered it and let me have a taste, and I have to say that I quite enjoyed it.

Friday nights, a group of old friends goes out for supper, every week. I had joined them my first Friday night and then again on my second Friday night. The kids were all busy and I would have just been sitting around by myself so I decided to go out. Tristen asked if I was going out with all my old people friends again, and I said I most certainly was!

On Saturday I had invited our friends Fran, Walt, Ken and Katy to Patti's for supper. Fran thought she was being sarcastic a few weeks ago when she emailed me and said she would like to place an order with Wee Bee Catering. She requested Braised Lamb shanks, mashed potatoes, etc. So you can imagine her surprise when I called her and said her order was ready for pick up on Saturday at 6:00 at 222 Summerfield Drive. She said she was only kidding but I told her I'd already purchased the lamb shanks so they better show up!. It was really nice to cook for them again. Hopefully next time I do that, it will be here. Tristen did a short karate demonstration for them and James played them a tune on the pipes. I asked Meg if she would do a little dance and her response was "Oh Grandma, you're so funny!" I took that as a no!

While I was in Guelph I had the pleasure of taking James to Burlington twice for ground school. He seems to be really enjoying it, and it gave me the excuse to visit IKEA while I waited.  We were in Burlington the night Patti and Greg were coming home. We thought they might be home before us, as his class is from 7:00 to 10:00 but we were back home by the time they made it through customs, got their luggage and finally got home. They had a terrific time and got to see some pretty interesting places, but they were glad to be home.

On Tuesday, Patti and I made a quick trip across the border. I wanted to pick up some quilting fabric and it's considerably less expensive there than here, even with the exchange.

Then Wednesday morning it was time to go home. Tristen and James insisted they be woken up to go to the airport with us. So we were on the road by a little after 5:00. My flight didn't leave till 8:00 but the line up at security was very long and by the time I got to the gate, they were boarding. No waiting around this trip!

Fortunately for me, Brenda had an appointment in town so she was able to pick me up at the airport and give me a lift home. 

And what a sight that was. Excavating had been going on the bring the water from the house to the garage kitchen. The entire back yard as well as all behind the garage were dug up. Two large trenches had been dug down four feet deep. Time was of the essence as Lloyd was leaving on Saturday morning to drive to Quebec City.

Fortunately the plumber and the fellow with the bulldozer were both available on Friday so everything was completed underground that needed to be done and the trenches filled back in. I was so grateful for that as we were expecting rain for most of the next week. I could just picture these deep ditches filled with water. But it's all good. At first everything was very soft mud but that's finally starting to firm up and I'm no longer sinking past my ankles to get to the barn.

After multiple days of rain, yesterday was an absolute delight. We had some rain in the morning and them it cleared up and we had sun and 18' weather for the rest of the day. What a treat!

I texted Brenda to see if she was interested in going for a walk after supper. She texted back that I could join them for supper left from Saturday (yes, I was invited over there for the first lobster feed of the season). I helped finish off the left overs in lobster rolls because they really didn't want lobster AGAIN today. Just so glad that I could be of help.

So Lloyd left for Quebec early on Saturday morning. I was planning to go over to Brenda's around 10:00 for a tea, only to discover that I don't have a truck key on my keyring. I must have lost it somewhere but since I rarely use it, didn't notice. Needless to say the only other key was on it's way to Quebec. So he put it in the courier on Monday and I should have it by tomorrow. At least we learned that next time, double check! Brenda has loaned me a vehicle just so I won't be without any wheels but my trips to town can wait till I get the key.