Tuesday, December 18th - one week till Christmas!

It's a snow day on PEI!  Lloyd is discovering one of the disadvantages of living in town and being within walking distance of work - no snow days! It started snowing yesterday around lunch time and hasn't stopped since. Most things are pretty much shut down, although my favorite little coffee shop is open. So here I am! 

I determined pretty early on this morning that I'd not be able to get the car out of the parking lot behind our current place of residence. No worries, I can walk to at least one of my stores. Fortunately the Queen Street pharmacy was open so I was able to complete my work there. I needed to go to the Credit Union but unfortunately it was closed. Not sure if it's for the entire day. I'll have to check that online.

So now I'm enjoying a nice hot coffee at Timothy's and watching the cars slipping and sliding along the street. Of course if I was in my own place, I'd be sitting in the window admiring the snow from beside my gaily lit Christmas Tree. Oh well, next year.

Lloyd has discovered his new favorite store - Clover Farm over in Brighton.  It's a little grocery store within walking distance of our place. They sell all kinds of regular items as well as many middle eastern products as well. He was there yesterday and picked up a few things so he made supper last night. They have the very large, very thin wraps and he filled those with a combination of leftover cooked chicken, hummus, feta cheese, really great kalamata olives and I'm not sure what else. Whatever was in them, they were delicious. We still have a bit of chicken left so I suggested if he wants to make the same thing again tonight, he's more than welcome to.

I have a couple of errands I was going to do last night while he was sleeping but the snow put a halt to that. With any luck I can do them tomorrow. The snow is meant to last till supper time, so I think today is a lost cause. The up side is it's not that cold and the wind isn't too bad here in the city but I suspect the country roads may be a different story.



Yesterday we drove up to Purolator and sent Lloyd's log book for his airplane on it's way to it's new owner. When he got back into the car he commented that now his plane is officially gone. I know that wasn't easy for him. 









Once finished I went to Parkdale Pharmacy and Lloyd walked back from there. He's certainly finding lots of opportunities to walk in preparation for his trip in January. He's also been trying to watch what he eats but that's almost a lost cause this time of the year.

Monday, December 17th - little more than a week till Christmas!

It's been a couple of weeks since we last spoke. It's been a pretty busy few days. We have a calendar on our wall and December has been quite a flurry of activity.

We traveled out to Hope River to celebrate our friend Peter's birthday with his wife Geraldine, and our friends Charles and Laura. Lloyd and I went to the movies on Friday night and special coffee after. That's been our Friday night routine for the past two Fridays. One of the advantages of living in town - it's within walking distance.

Saturday morning was an early one. Lloyd has sold his airplane but unfortunately the log book that needs to go with the plane was packed in the trailer with all our belongings. Lloyd's gone out a couple of times to dig through boxes to find it, but to no avail. SO we rented a U-haul truck and took it out to Patti Lane. We moved boxes from one vehicle to another, after carefully sorting through each one. Eventually we came across the much needed item. Many, many thanks to Jens and Frank for their help. Finding that book took a huge amount of stress off Lloyd's shoulders. He's leaving for Vietnam in January and really didn't want to leave before finding it (more on that later). Now all is well with the world, all things considered!

We went out to Island Hill farm on Sunday to see the newest addition to their family - a baby llama. It was only one day old and my gosh it's too cute for words.

After our visit, we went back to town, put a chicken in the oven to roast (before the rush to use the kitchen) and watched some Netflix. After supper I went out to Fort Augustus to meet the girls for our weekly craft night (more of a gab fest) and then I met up with Brenda and Bernie on my way home for tea.

Lloyd is finalizing his plans for his trip. We all knew he was anxious to go back to Vietnam and he's planning to retire on January 15th and leaving for Hanoi on January 16th - not wasting any time. He's planning to be there for 3 months. He has lots of plans so his winter will be much more enjoyable than sitting around a room in downtown Charlottetown. His absence will also make things a little better for me in that our room is adequate for one person, but realistically, a little cramped for two. So it's a win for both of us.

He's planning to keep a blog or something as he goes so I can keep up to date on what he's doing.  His fondest wish is that when he returns he has a home to move into. We'll see how that goes!

December 5th - I guess summer is over!

The last time we connected was in the spring, and I said I'd be back in the fall.

So much has changed since then.

We made the decision in June to put our house up for sale. We have our other piece of property over on Five Houses Road in Fort Augustus. We thought it would be a good idea to downsize and move over there. After searching around and lots of discussion, we came to a final decision to purchase a mini home. We found one we really liked with a layout that will perfectly suit our lifestyle. The nice thing about it, is it's all on one floor so no more stairs. Much easier to take care of and less expensive to maintain.

We didn't really think the place would sell but surprisingly it did, in September. We had one month to pack up everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. That included the commercial kitchen as the purchasers had no interest in it. So we packed it all up and sent it off to auction. I know, only a year after we built it, but we found it was a huge amount of work for not a lot of monetary return. We both decided we're a little old for this job. So sell everything, we did.

We called a local trucking company and they delivered a large trailer to our yard. We packed up all our worldly belongings and put them in the trailer. Our mini home was supposed to get moved right after closing, but unfortunately that didn't happen. We house sat for some friends for three weeks and then we moved in November to an Inn in Charlottetown. It's not ideal, but we have a bedroom and our own bathroom. There's a communal kitchen on the main floor (we're on the second floor). We can cook our meals there and then we bring them up to our room to eat while we watch the news in the evenings.

The only difficult part is Lloyd's working schedule. He gets home at 8:00 in the morning and goes to sleep until around lunch time. Then he goes back to bed at 6:30 so I have to be very quiet again, or find somewhere else to go. He's hoping to retire in January and then we might get into more of a regular routine.  But we have a place to stay so it's all good.

I had the pleasure of going to Halifax last week. Patti had a 24 hour layover there so I got to spend some quality time with both her and James.

We thought about going to Guelph for Christmas but decided against it. Instead we will spend Christmas Eve with Brenda and her family and friends, and then go for dinner on Christmas Day with our friends Jens and Linda.  It won't be the first Christmas that was less than ideal. I worked many a Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day when I worked in Corrections so it's not really that big a deal. I will miss having a tree but we just don't have the space. We'll make up for it next Christmas!

Our internet service here isn't the greatest, but I'm getting a new laptop for Christmas (which should hopefully be here next week). From then on I think I will take my laptop over to the local coffee shop in the mornings and do my work from there. Hopefully it will be much better.

Until then..... stay tuned!

Tuesday, May 29th - gearing up for summer

Well, it may not feel quite like summer yet (unless, of course, you live in any other part of the country), but we know it's coming.

With it comes increased demands on our time - cookie baking, yard work, etc, etc.
For this reason, I'm going to take the summer off from doing the blog, unless there's something particularly interesting going on.

We've cleared all the brush from the north side of the yard and it's now looking really good. We rented a wood chipper on the weekend and it made pretty fast work of the felled trees and branches.  Still lots to do around the place but most of it just work, not really that interesting for most people.

For that reason, I won't bore you with the details each week, unless it's something that is actually of interest.

See you in the fall!

Tuesday, May 22nd - the cleanup continues...

Our long weekend turned out to be pretty productive.
The clearing of the brush on the north side of the yard is pretty much complete. Now we are just left with piles and piles of branches and small trees. Fortunately we have a wood chipper arriving next Friday afternoon that should take care of all the branches. The beauty of it is we can then spread the resulting mulch back under the trees. Should work beautifully (at least in theory, anyway)

Both Saturday and Monday were lovely days for working outside. I've cleaned up all that I can, mowed the grass for the first time and tidied up the flower beds. Now that the lawn has been mowed, I suppose we can officially declare it spring!

Brenda has been doing pretty much the same thing all weekend as well. Although, we did take a little break on Saturday morning to watch the Royal Wedding. I was up ridiculously early so I made some biscuits for our snack. As most of my cookie cutters are out in the garage kitchen, I used what I had at hand. Heart shaped biscuits seemed somehow appropriate anyway.

Ready for the oven

We enjoyed our morning and I especially loved watching the wedding take place in a spot I visited many years ago. Windsor is such a lovely little town and the weather was perfect both on Saturday and when I visited in 2003.

Other than work not a lot took place. Although Lloyd did walk to Morell on  Friday afternoon. He's done very well with his diet and the walking he did to prepare for his trip has continued now that he's back. He left the house at 12:30 and I met him up there at 5:30, none the worse for wear. Our friends Jens and Linda joined us there to have supper, and accused me of having just dropped him off as he didn't look tired enough, according to them!

Monday morning Jens came over and the two of them walked over to Mount Stewart for breakfast. I picked Lloyd up but Jens walked back. I spoke to him later in the afternoon and the walk back was good except for that very big hill at the end. So, well done to them both.

Monday night Brenda and I went to the movies and then for tea and dessert after. A really great way to end our long weekend.

Tuesday, May 15th - Hello spring - for now at least!

After two weeks on the road, and then a weekend visit with Tristen, things are finally settling back into our usual routine. Our weather has finally warmed up a little although cooler temperatures will return later in the week. But today is going to be sunny and warm so I'm thinking it will be a top down day for me.

As you all know, before I left on my vacation, and while Lloyd was away, I undertook to paint the kitchen. I was pretty pleased with the final result.  I had moved the large church pew into the living room temporarily. Trouble is, once the kitchen was finished I couldn't imagine moving that large brown bench back into place. SO, I researched painted church pews and made my decision (although this past weekend upon closer inspection, I realized I painted it the wrong colour.) I used the lighter shade of gray, when in fact I intended to use the darker one. Oh well, it's a design feature, I meant for that to happen!  I didn't tell Lloyd I painted it, just let it be a surprise when he got home. I figured he's either really like it or he'd really hate it. Fortunately I didn't have to ask - when I spoke with him after his return one of the first things he said was "I love the bench" - YAAAY.

When I got home, he had installed our new floor. I'm absolutely loving it. It looks so much nicer and is easy to maintain.  Well done Lloyd. I know it was a chore for him as he returned home with a wicked cold and was feeling pretty poorly for the first week back. Good thing I extended my vacation!

Apparently we need to take separate vacations more often!  It's very productive.

Speaking of productive. We've spent most of the past weekend clearing brush from the treed area on the north side of our property. It's been left to overgrow for many years. I tried in vain to clear some of it the first year we were here, but gave up. It was just too big a job for one person. Well, after visiting some spectacular green spaces while I was away, I was motivated to get it done this year. It's going to be an on-going project for a few weeks, but it's going to look so much better. Unfortunately we didn't think to take any photos of the before mess.

Just a small amount of the debris that's been removed

Looking so much better already

But it wasn't all work. On Friday afternoon Lloyd decided we were going for wings at Peake's Tee, around 12 km down the road. He was walking and I would meet him there. Sure enough, he arrived about 3 minutes after I got there (by car!).  Then on Saturday he decided we should have breakfast over in Mount Stewart. So again he headed out walking and an hour later I met him at the restaurant. He was a couple of minutes behind schedule as he stopped to chat with a neighbour along the way. He's done so well, and continues to walk every day.

Sunday we did a bit more yard work but took a break to go into town to pick up a few things we needed. In the midst of all the walking and brush clearing, he also managed to get my motorcycle taken apart and the new carb kit installed. Fingers crossed that I can use it this year.

On Thursday, our TV reception wasn't the greatest so I had to go over to Brenda's for our weekly fix of Grey's, wine and snacks. So thanks to her for that. Her living room reception wasn't great either so we had to camp out in the kitchen. If nothing else, we are VERY flexible.  We can do wine and snacks pretty much anywhere!

This week I came across some photos we took while Tristen was here and we visited Island Hill Farm.  He always enjoys going there and some of the newborn baby goats are just too darned cute for words.

Okay, enough. Time to get back outside and continue raking...

Tuesday, May 8th - Well hello strangers. Long time no chat!

I know, I know, it's been a while and lots has been going on. But here's the Cole's notes version (and if you understand THAT reference, you're showing your age! - but that's okay)
As you know, I did finally arrive in Martha's Vineyard. It was all I expected and even more. It was off season so lots of stores weren't open, but I wasn't there to shop (although I did manage to do some of that). The up side is there weren't as many people. The locals tell me it gets crazy busy in the summer. The beaches are beautiful, although I didn't really explore all of them. I do live on an island after all, and have spectacular beaches all around me so that wasn't such a big deal for me.

Edgartown Lighthouse

I was happy I had taken the car as that allowed me to explore the entire island at my leisure. It's not that big a place so I think I pretty much covered most of it.  The weather was rainy the day I arrived (Monday) but Tuesday and Wednesday were beautiful and sunny.I was able to explore the area with what's known as the ginger bread houses. (here are just a few of over 300 concentrated in one area)

 Mild but a wind kept things feeling a bit cooler. Thursday rained so that was my shopping and driving around day. Friday and Saturday were again gorgeous and warm enough that I could get my bicycle out and use it.


One of the most interesting trips was the short (527 feet) ferry ride over to Chappaquiddick Island and a ride to the infamous bridge. An absolutely lovely place to bike.

 I had seen the movie of the same name, that just opened that week so it was really interesting to see it there. There's a lovely Japanese garden over there that isn't really open as yet but I was able to stroll around the grounds. I can only imagine how spectacular it is in the summer. Lots of great inspiration for garden ideas.

Mytoi gardens

I met some really nice people while I was there and I know that part of that was because I was by myself. It was a really different time share experience but it totally worked.

Back side of the Harbourside Inn

Sunday morning was time for me to leave so I made the ferry crossing, this time in bright sunshine.

After leaving Woods Hole (on the mainland side) I headed for Albany N.Y. I had the great pleasure of spending the afternoon with Nancy and Dean Knight. We enjoyed a delicious meal and I had a really great sleep. Nancy used to live in Kitchener and I know her from my IAAP days. It was my first time meeting her husband, Dean, and they were very welcoming. I'm hoping that at some point they will visit PEI.

I was awake really early the next morning and headed out. I arrived in Guelph mid afternoon. Patti wasn't home, as she was on her way home from Japan. So we went to the store and picked up some stuff for supper so everyone was fed by the time Patti got home.

It was a very busy week. I had lunch on Tuesday with Fran at the airport restaurant. It was just the two of us and it was really nice to catch up.

When lunch was finished I met up with Tristen and we took our bicycles up to Riverside park for a ride around.

 Tuesday evening I met up with some some of my old IAAP friends at Fionn McCools. What a wonderful way to end a great day.

Wednesday I met with Linda and Joyce for lunch at Baker Street Station. Linda is experiencing some health issues and I wish her all the best with her upcoming treatments. After lunch I took the opportunity to walk around downtown Guelph in some light drizzle. A lot of changes in 9 years.  Wednesday evening I met up with our friend Scott and his fiance Suzanna. I hadn't been to Scott's new condo before and it's beyond spectacular. What a gorgeous place. It was really nice to catch up with him and it would be nice to keep in touch from time to time.

Thursday was a beautiful sunny day. I met up with my old scrapbooking buddy, Helen in Elora. I didn't recognize the name of the restaurant but I knew the place as soon as I got to the door. The name may have changed but the patio where I had my first taste of Foie Gras with Stephan and Trish many, many years ago still looks the same. I had brought James' scrap book with me because I knew she would enjoy seeing it.

Thursday evening Patti, Greg, Meghan, Tristen and I went to dinner at the Keg for an early Mother's Day. A really nice treat. (James was busy off piping somewhere)

Friday lunch was spent at a little Mediterranean restaurant not far from our old house on Rogers Road with Nancy. She had a really busy week and this was the only time she had available to get together. It was, again, nice to meet with her on her own. Usually it's a group so it was nice to catch up.

Friday night was quiet as Patti left for London around supper time and Tristen got ready for his Karate tournament in Stratford on Saturday. I dropped James off at the armoury for his weekend survival training and Meghan was staying over at a friends so it was pretty quiet. Greg had a dinner to go to so it was T and I.

Saturday morning Tristen and I were up early to drive to Stratford. The karate tournament went well and he was happy with his results.  When we got back, I packed up my stuff and loaded the car.

I was up and on the road really early on Sunday morning and hit the road. In spite of fairly heavy snow falling (?) I made good time to Brockville and was at Stephan and Trish's by 10:00, just in time for morning coffee. Trish is recovering from surgery yet again, on one of her feet so she's taking it easy (yeah, right). After catching up, Steph and I went into Merrickville to explore the little shops and have some lunch at a small chinese restaurant. It was delicious and a great time to do more catching up. (it seems like all I did for the week was eat, and that's pretty much true).

When we got back we chatted and had wine until time for supper. Another great meal and off to bed. I was up early in the morning and just headed out. I had a long day ahead of me.

It rained pretty much the whole way, but eleven hours later I arrived in Fredericton to stay with one of the teachers from the kids Montessori school. ( I had mentioned to Patti that I might stop part way home and stay over and she said "You can stay at Wanda's!) Wanda and her family moved east last summer and although I've known her as a teacher for a number of years we really don't know each other very well. But they were very welcoming and I enjoyed getting to know her better after yet another nice meal. Many thanks to Nick for giving up his room. Sorry buddy! They are fortunate to live far enough away from the flooding but a week later and record high flood waters have not yet subsided.

Again, I was up at the crack of dawn (well, actually way before) and arrived in Charlottetown in time to meet Lloyd for coffee at 8:00 in town.

All in all a really great trip,  a little over 4,800 km by the time I got home. Huge thanks to all those who hosted me along the way. It's very greatly appreciated!

I got home on Tuesday and Tristen arrived on the island on Thursday night (well actually very early on Friday morning) to visit for the weekend. We managed to keep him entertained by giving him jobs that required driving the little lawn tractor. (we did visit Island Hill Farm but more photos from there next time)

 In fact on Sunday we were outside by 8:30 and he spent the entire day outside, only coming in to eat and take a break and watch a movie after supper (hot dogs and marshmallows cooked over a bonfire) and then he was back outside playing by himself in the trees and yard until almost dark.

 A great day by all accounts. The yard was tidied up and the flower beds cleaned up.The very warm weather helped. We did take a little break and went for a ride in the Miata to the Irving, and then down to the Spirit Spring. He's already planning his next trip, that he hopes  will be with one of his friends.

Tuesday, April 17th - Good morning from beautiful Martha's Vineyard

Good Tuesday morning everyone. Hope all is well with everyone. I didn't bring my laptop with me so  it's more difficult to do this with the iPad. I had a great first day on the road. Clear skies and dry roads. Can't ask for more than that. Day two was a little more challenging. I woke up in Freeport to an ice covered car thanks to freezing rain overnight. Fortunately the temperature had risen to 1' so the roads were fine. Trouble was it rained the entire way so not such pleasant driving conditions.

I'm ever so grateful for Bernies advise to take the 495 around Boston. I hadn't realized that the Boston marathon was taking place yesterday so there were lots of police along the highway monitoring the exits into the city. Good place to be avoiding. Anyway long story short, I'm here and weather is supposed to improve somewhat today. Had a great first day. Met an older lady who invited me to join her and a friend at the movies. We saw "Chappaquiddick". It was opening here first before being shown across the country. How great was that to actually be here to see it. More on that at a later date.

I'm going to sign off for now and hopefully find a real computer I can use at some point later. Stay tuned.....

Tuesday, April 10th - and it's still winter...

Another busy week both here and abroad! Lloyd has been video chatting with me most days. Now he's staying with a family somewhere near the Chinese border so he expected internet access to be sketchy at best.  He tells me via email, that he walked 14 miles yesterday and he was very tired to say the least. Not many goats there, just one old goat who survived his trek!

Tuesday I was meant to help out our friends bottling wine but due to some slight technical difficulties they had to postpone to Wednesday. Unfortunately that didn't work for me as I was meeting with my card boss that day. Fortunately they found someone else to fill in for me.

Wednesday was an interesting day for Lloyd. Not only did he go to a cooking school and had what amounted to a private lesson, he met a fellow traveler while at his morning coffee/breakfast place. They got chatting about where they were from. Turns out this fellow was from Cape Breton. Interestingly enough, we know exactly one person in Cape Breton, and of course, this fellow knew our friend Seward. It truly is a small world.

 I was fortunate to be invited to the VanGaals for supper that night so I took my Ipad with me. Lloyd called while I was there and he had a chance to have a chat with Bernie. We both were able to catch up with them on their recent trip to Arizona.

Thursday he was going to Hualong Bay (not sure of the spelling of that one!). Patti and Greg had been there last year so now they'll have something to compare notes on when he gets back.

Our friends Jens and Linda came over on Friday for coffee and to see how Lloyd was doing so far. When they arrived, I was in the middle of painting a small shelf. I had picked it up at Value Village so I could display the T-towel that Brenda bought for me.( Not sure what made her think of me when she saw it!) The shelf was burgundy when I bought it and not so pretty, but not something a coat of paint wouldn't fix, and I just happened to have some on hand.

I had committed to driving our friends Charles and Laura to the airport for their early Saturday morning flight to Montreal, and then on to Toronto. We were discussing what time I should arrive and in order to get there in time I was going to have to leave pretty darned early. There was also a threat of snow overnight so in the end I went out to their place at 9:30 Friday night so I could be there. Good thing I did. We went to bed at 11:30 and got up at 2:45 in the morning.  It had indeed snowed and it was still coming down pretty heavily. Driving was quite slow due to the poor visibility so I was ever so glad I'd come out the night before. After dropping them at the airport, I headed home. The snow wasn't quite as bad out our way so the second leg of the trip went a little smoother. When I picked them up, I also picked up their dog, Abby, who will be staying with us for a month. She's really a sweet dog, and no trouble at all, and Cooper loves a run through the back fields with her.

Saturday was a fairly quiet day. Some cleaning, laundry, etc so I called Brenda and Sharyn and they came over for tea mid morning. It certainly was a nice little break.

Patti had been chatting with me off and on during the week concerning an event she was helping with. The air cadets were hosting a fund raising spaghetti supper that was initially expected to be about 60 people but by Saturday the numbers had swelled to 175.  That alone was a challenge but throw into that mix the fact that the venue it was being held in  has zero kitchen facilities.   She's very creative and came up with a plan that for all intents and purposes worked beautifully. She says it was a success because they had a great group of volunteers but the fact that they've asked her to return next year to help out, even though James won't be there anymore, speaks volumes. Only she could have pulled that off. In reality, SHE'S the one who should be running a catering company!  She's much more organized than I am.

 ...and of course there was piping!

When I was painting last weekend, I had taken the spice rack down off the wall to paint behind it and it was still standing in a corner. That was this Sunday's job. Wrestle the rack back onto the wall, and clean up the spices. The jars needed washing and some things didn't have labels, etc so it took most of the day to chip away at that job. But it's really nice to get those things done. No one sees your efforts but you know it's completed. Another thing to cross off the to-do list!

Sunday evening it started snowing - again - and  I was the only one out to craft night at Sharyns. I left a bit earlier than usual and good thing, as the roads were a tad slippy on the way home. 2nd snowstorm in 3 days. Dear Mother Nature - please check your calendar.

Monday I just couldn't seem to get warm. The temperature was below freezing and the wind was just howling, I spent the first half of the day cleaning out cupboards upstairs and the rest watching TV in front of the fire. I guess I can do that, I'm semi-retired!

One more week till Lloyd returns and I head off on my own adventure!

Tuesday, April 3rd - hope you all had a lovely Easter Weekend

Wow, what a week. I spent last Tuesday bottling wine out in Wheatley River, then out for some supper with Lloyd, before he departed on Wednesday.

Despite a risk of freezing rain overnight Tuesday, it didn't amount to much of anything so no impact on flights. I drove Lloyd to the airport for his lunchtime flight. Once I knew he had a seat, I departed and did some errands in town before heading out to a friends  for tea. Maryleah had invited a group of us ladies to her house to see some of her quilts. She was part of our needle felting class. To say I was overwhelmed would be a serious understatement. She has this collection of absolutely gorgeous quilts that she has made through the years. Aside from the fact that the tops are beyond beautiful, they are also completely hand quilted. The stitching in them is unbelievable. The backs of the quilts are just as beautiful as the front. I was absolutely awestruck. I'm so glad to have been invited but at the same time so very intimidated. I'd be really embarrassed to show her anything I've made. But during the course of our afternoon I was asked about our new business. Long story short, I said I would have all of them over for a luncheon when I get back from holidays, and they were all quite enthusiastic about visiting both my kitchen and my craft space. Lots of reorganizing needed there!

On my way home, I received a call from Lloyd. It seems he'd been rear-ended on the 401 on his way to Guelph. No one was hurt except his rental car. It happened between Guelph and Milton and he had to return to Milton to do a report. In the end James came to his rescue and picked him up so he was just in time for his get together with his friends. By all accounts a good time was had by all, and James transported him safely back to the airport the next day for his flight to Korea.

Thursday was a catered lunch for the Canadian Mental Health Association in town. I elicited some help from my friend Sharyn. Both Lloyd and Brenda were away so I had to go a little further afield. Sharyn was a huge help and I'm very grateful for her help. Lunch went well and they seemed really pleased.

Friday morning I was awakened at 5:00 a.m. by an incoming text message telling me that Lloyd had arrived in Korea. It was 5:00 p.m. there.  He video called me at 12:30 (just after midnight there) to tell me about his first day. He had quite a lovely time and met some really nice people. Needless to say,  there was food and drink involved!

He couldn't find a Tim's - says he should have followed the police car!

I had decided to take the opportunity of 4 full days off to paint my kitchen. I spent all day Friday taking stuff down, washing the walls down with TSP and getting ready to start painting on Saturday.  I had a lovely end to my day by going out for a bite to eat with Meghan (1). She came out to Fort Augustus to the church service and had some time to kill before meeting up with her brothers for the evening. We had a nice meal at the local restaurant in Mount Stewart, which she hadn't been to yet. I got to hear all about her mom and dad's trip so far and was pleased to hear all was going well. I'll get the full story when they get back.

Saturday was full on painting. The weather really wasn't the greatest over the weekend (still isn't) so it was a great way to pass the time. It took pretty much all day but by the end of it I was done. I had in my mind what I wanted to do and I'm pleasantly surprised that it turned out even better than I had imagined. The old kitchen had a light green on the to of the walls and white wainscotting. Now the wainscotting is a medium gray and the upper walls are a lighter shade of gray. The whole look is more subdued than what was there and I absolutely love it.

I also chatted with Patti who called to let me know they were back from Florida. A good time was apparently had by all. 

Easter Sunday arrived with yet another dreary weather day.  Now that the kitchen was completely dry, I set about putting things back in place. I've moved a couple of things into the living room and will leave them there till after Lloyd gets home. He'll need them moved to do the floor anyway. 

After putting most things away, it was time to get cleaned up to go out. I was invited out for Easter dinner at my friend Sharyn's mother in laws. I was thrilled to be invited and had a lovely time. I'd not been to Anna's house before and I absolutely love the layout.  We enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings. A perfect way to end the long weekend.

Lloyd called while I was away so he called me back again in the evening around 8:00 which was 6:00 a.m. in Viet Nam. We chatted for quite a while and he told me all about his  adventure in getting from Korea to Hanoi, but in the end he made it. He also emailed some photos of his first day in Hanoi.

Monday was yet again cold and windy. Some people, who shall remain nameless, sent an email about it being "a stinking hot  28'.  "  I told him I had two words for him - and they weren't Happy Birthday! He replied that I was kind of rude. I advised him that it was -2 and windy here, so you do the math!

Tuesday, March 27th - and I thought last week was busy!

It's been a bit of a whirlwind around here and it's not going to stop for a few days.

Last week I worked on cards on Tuesday and Wednesday, in anticipation of a big snow storm on Thursday. Good thing I did. While the storm wasn't as bad as some in the past, it was still enough to cancel most things on the island. Lloyd didn't get to work that night as our road was blocked and he wouldn't have gotten into town. First real snow day of the season and we had to wait till the middle of March to get it!
But looking back, this isn't snow...




... this is snow - remember back to March 2015???   We really have nothing to complain about ☺

Unfortunately we did have a storm related casualty. The cap on the back of Lloyd's truck was blown off and smashed on the ground. While we did have insurance coverage that might have replaced it, because of the age and such, by the time it was depreciated and then the deductible applied, it wasn't worth putting in a claim. Too bad. Now we'll have to try to find a used one to replace the used one...
One bright spot in the 'storm' was the tulips that Brenda had brought last weekend. They were still quite lovely and a constant reminder that Spring is coming...

While it was messy for a while, it wasn't long lived and by the next day things were moving well again.  The weekend was busy with Lloyd getting some of his projects finished up before he leaves. He's been working on bird houses and bat houses and wanted to have them up before he left. There are 6 (I think)  bird houses around the yard and two bat houses - one on the house and one on the garage. Hopefully we might see some bats this year. Apparently after several years of decline, they are slowly making a comeback. That would be awesome in keeping the mosquito population at bay somewhat, hopefully.

He's all packed and ready to go, only one more sleep. I had been asked to work out at our friends winery on Tuesday and Wednesday, bottling wine. These are usually fairly long days. Unfortunately I'd  forgotten that he was leaving on Wednesday so I wouldn't be able to drive him to the airport. Our neighbour kindly agreed to drop him off. Luckily the winery had a slight change in plans and called me on Monday night to advise we would only be bottling on Tuesday this week! Great news. Now I could drive him, shop for a catering job on Thursday, and visit a friends house for tea and to see her collection of quilts.  Everything happens for a reason. There was a reason Charles had some delays in his filtering. Made all my plans nicely fall into place.


Another friend of ours has a commercial client in town that he wanted to bring lunch in to. He was going to order pizza's but then he thought of us. So we I am taking lunch into town for 15 people on Thursday.  Lloyd is just dodging that bullet!

He'll be in Guelph on Wednesday afternoon and going out with the guys on Wednesday night. By lunch time on Thursday he'll be getting ready for his flight to Korea. He's starting to get pretty excited about his adventure.  Each day closer makes it harder to focus on the task at hand. Fortunately he has most things under control so it's all good. I had a small list of things I needed him to do for me before he left but those are all completed.

It's going to be pretty quiet around here. Brenda and Bernie are in Arizona at the present time and Patti and her gang are in Florida, although James will be home by Wednesday. He's coming home early as he has a piping competition in Toronto on the weekend. The good news is he can be the designated driver when Lloyd and him go out with the guys on Wednesday night.  Thank you James!

Cooper and I will have some nice quiet time together, just like in the old days. I'll have lots of card work to do next week with the changeover from Easter to Mother's Day, etc, so I'll have much to keep me busy. I'm also working on a quilting project so that will also fill in some of the time quite nicely. Then it will be time for me to prepare for my trip, which has since been extended. I'm now returning from Massachusetts via Guelph. I know it's not exactly on the way but very doable. I'm staying overnight with a friend from way back who now lives in Albany, New York. That will nicely break up the trip and allow me to catch up with some old friends. Then I have some visiting I'd like to do in Guelph and area. This time Patti will be working most days but I'll have my own car so I'll be able to get out to see lots more old friends.

Hopefully by the end of April we'll have seen the last of the snow????