How did this happen?

Conditions at 6:30 - cloudy and 16*
Expected later - rain and 18*

When did I get this old? I received an email from my friend Cheryl last week. I had emailed her when I was moving and we don't keep in touch that often but she emailed to update me on what's going on in her life. She said she didn't want to lose that connection. I decided to respond the old fashioned way - snail mail. So I sat down and wrote her a letter and in it I mentioned our retirement plans and how soon we hope that might happen. As I put the words to paper, it struck me - where has the time gone? I met Cheryl in college and now we're talking about retirement? It just can't be! I suppose if I'd lived in the same place for any length of time I might have been more aware of the years passing by. But moving as often as I have, and reinventing my life as often as I have, you lose track of just how much time has gone by. But I must say, it's never been boring.

Last night Brenda and I went over to the school to see the home ec facilities. It's better than I could have imagined, now all we have to do is figure out some ideas. Registration is about a week and a half away so I'd better get my act together. I'll spend some time on that on Saturday. I have some ideas but I need to put together more concrete information. Brenda has given me some valuable feedback on what students might like to see.

Yesterday was not nearly as busy at work so it was really nice. The accounting department has given me some little jobs to do on a daily basis, which is great, but I had been having trouble finding the time to get them done. I think things were so busy as people were getting ready for back to school and probably some preparing in advance for the fall. I suspect as we get further into fall, it will get busier as people bring their cars in to get winter tires installed, and general preparation for the winter. I'm going to get a price from our parts department on studded winter tires. I think I'll feel much better driving into town every morning.

My chimney repairs have been completed. It was supposed to be a rainy day yesterday but it actually turned out warm and sunny. In fact it was quite humid in the afternoon and even though the temperature was only 22, it felt much hotter. Now my woodstove is all set up again and ready for the cold weather. But with any luck at all, I won't need it for a while yet. But it is nice to be able to light a fire when it gets damp outside, just to take the chill off.

Yesterday morning I went to Superstore to find a lunch bag as I gave mine to Lloyd to carry frozen fish home. I found a perfect bag! It's an insulated bag on the bottom and the small top is like a back pack where I can put my wallet, etc so I don't need to take a purse to work. I have everything all in one bag. It's absolutely perfect. So thank you Lloyd, for taking the other one home.

Well, I'd better go and get my garbage bin dragged down the lane.

Progress is being made

Conditions at 6:30 am - overcast and 18*
Expected later - 20* and rain


In spite of the rain, Mark was able to get some work done on the chimney yesterday. It didn't start raining hard till after lunch, so he wasn't able to finish the job. It's supposed to rain again today and tomorrow but hopefully he'll be able to get back to it soon. It's a little warmer this morning, 18* but yesterday morning it was only 10* and it was chilly. It will soon be time to start lighting the stove from time to time. But maybe this is just a short lived cold spell - we could still get some really nice weather.

Last night I had supper at the Van Gaals and we went on line after and registered Brenda for the Terry Fox Run. We haven't walked as much as we know we should, but I think we'll be fine. We'll just take our time. But from the looks of the crowds in the past pictures, I don't think we'll be moving really fast anyway.

Tonight we're hoping to go over to Donagh school to look at the home economics room to see what we have to work with. We'll also need to come up with a plan of what we are actually going to do. (Notice I keep saying "WE"!!!). It will be great to have someone to bounce ideas off and keep me on track, and just to help me remember what I need to bring or do and give some input. I think it should be an interesting experience

I talked to Lloyd yesterday morning and he was at work. It seems they got back to Guelph around 10:30 on Tuesday night. I didn't talk to him last night but it looks like they had a good trip.

Belated Happy Birthday, Greg

Conditions at 6:00 - clear skies and 10*

Expected later - rain and 19*


Before I go blathering on, I need to wish my son-in-law Greg, a very happy birthday. He turned an undisclosed age on Saturday! I know he had a very busy weekend coaching at a ball tournament.
They had a bit of an unfortunate experience when one of the kids was swarmed by wasps when the nest was inadvertently disturbed. The poor little guy was stung at least 16 times and several people in the vicinity (including Patti) were also stung multiple times. Fortunately this little boy isn't allergic to bee stings, but he was taken to the hospital to be checked out as a precaution. Needless to say, at Greg's insistence, no one played at that particular field anymore during the tournament. It could have been a really horrible experience (which I'm sure it was for the boy involved) had he suffered from allergies.

Lloyd and Jim were up at 4:00 on Tuesday morning and were on the road by 4:25. After being up since 4:00 am, I was quite tired by the afternoon. Tuesday was a very busy day and I just made time for a quick break for lunch at 2:00. By the time I drove home at 5:30, I just wanted to lay down and take a nap. Of course, that changed a little when I actually got home, but my evening wasn't terribly productive, although I did cross a few little things off my list. Some of the tasks on it will have to wait for later in the week.

When I got home Patti called. James was anxious to ask if I'd started learning the guitar yet, as he just had his first guitar lesson. He seems very keen but we'll see how it goes when he gets into the tedious business of learning music. He's just renting a guitar for the first while to see if he actually likes it and really does practice.

Then I talked to Brenda. She had a very busy and tiring first day. She got home quite late last night from the rec centre. She said that Justin Trudeau was a huge hit, a great speaker and quite charismatic I think, from what she told me. He was quite approachable and willing to get photos taken with people. It sounds like it was a great night, and I'm sorry I missed it, but I'm glad I chose to stay home and spend the evening with Lloyd.

Our weather yesterday really felt like fall. Now this morning with 10* you know it's definitely September. But we can still have some really nice weather as we get later into the fall.

If the weather holds today, my chimney will get re-built today. If it rains, it will have to wait, but we'll see.

Another visit over.

Conditions at 6:30 am - 16* and dry
Expected later- 21* and rain


It seems like he just got here, and now he's gone.
Lloyd and Jim arrived around 7:30 on Friday evening, and the weekend just flew by.
Friday night I was hoping to get home before they got here as my new stove was delivered Friday afternoon and I wanted to get everything back in place before they got here. I talked to Lloyd on the phone on my way home and he advised it would be a bit later when they got here. Perfect!
I got home and put groceries away and quickly removed the packaging from the stove and put everything in place. When he got here he looked at it and was about to make a comment and I stopped him in mid sentence - he has no right to comment on my "toys" as he has a LOT more than I do and his cost a great deal more as well. So, end of discussion. But he was totally okay with it, as we had sort of talked about it when I was in Toronto in August. Now I just have to get it hooked up. I'll call the propane people this week and make an appointment. There's no huge rush to get it done but there were a couple of times over the weekend when it would have been nice to have both working so I know it was a great idea.

He brought my new counter top down for my island. As you can see, it is perfect. I have a piece of marble that was on top of the butcher block table and it fits absolutely perfectly. Now I have the wooden top and the marble surface to work with. It was a really functional piece on Sunday night when we had company.

When they arrived Lloyd could barely move around. Every once in a while, he puts his back out and this was one of those times. He had told me about it before he arrived so on Friday I called around until I found someone who could give him a massage on Saturday morning. It was a tremendous help. It really improved after that. On Friday night I had just put supper on the table when the lights went out. So I scrambled around and lit candles so we could at least see what we were doing. While the power was out, Brenda and Bernie arrived. They had just returned home from Grand Falls. We had a drink together and after a while the power came back on. We were expecting a hurricane to possibly strike but it hadn't yet arrived.

Saturday morning dawned just like any other day. The sun was out and it was a lovely morning when I drove in to work. Gradually over the morning the clouds rolled in, the wind picked up and the rain started. By the time I was finished at 2:00 it was a very blustery day. I heard on the radio that parts of downtown were without power as a couple of trees had come down onto wires, but the power was still on at the Gahan House, where I was meeting the guys for lunch. After a couple of beers and some fish and chips, we headed home.

We spent the rest of the night listening to the wind howl, and monitoring things outside. Our biggest concern was the little shelter we'd put up for storage earlier in the summer. Amazingly enough, it held. We lost a small tree, that snapped in half, but other than that, everything seems to have survived. We didn't even lose power, although some parts of the island did.

I was making supper on Saturday night, and the guys were sitting at the table and we were chatting and I wasn't paying close enough attention to what I was doing and I managed to slice off half of the nail on my left index finger. Needless to say, it was a little painful. So I pressed on it for a while, till the bleeding mostly stopped, put some antibiotic cream on it and put on a couple of bandaids and continued on. But it was quite painful throughout the evening. Before I went to bed, I found a guard I'd bought a couple of years ago, when I did something similar up at Stone Tree. It helped a lot as it didn't hurt so much if I hit it on something. By morning it was much better and by afternoon I didn't need the guard anymore. It still hurts if I hit it, but not enough to send me through the roof anymore. Serves me right, I know better.

Sunday morning I called Brenda and suggested we go to Tracadie for the Pancake Breakfast. She thought that was a great idea, so she and I drove over together and Lloyd and Jim followed, and Bernie met us there. After breakfast I went home and worked on dinner. Brenda and Bernie, Richard and Darelen and Tony (our extended PEI family) were all coming over. I did a beer can turkey in the oven, and was amazed that it was totally cooked in about 3 hours. I did stuffing in the crock pot and it was a huge hit. We all sat around the table, a little bit crowded, but cozy, and we used the island as a buffet table. It worked brilliantly. A great evening was had by all, I think.

Monday was a bit of a lazy morning. Not up too early, a leisurely breakfast then the guys took the truck into Stratford Auto to leave it to get the brakes fixed. A late lunch, then a bit of a nap, then into town for some supper. It was a relaxing kind of day, not the usual "hurry up and finish a project cause I'm running out of time " kind of visit Lloyd has grown used to. I felt a little badly about bailing on the rec centre. Justin Trudeau was there for a fund raising dinner but I bowed out at the last minute. I thought I should really spend the last evening with Lloyd and Jim.

Now this morning, they've left at a little after 4:00. I tried to go back to sleep but that wasn't happening, so it will be a long day today, but I can turn in early tonight.

MOUSE WARS: 2 more caught over the weekend - total to date - 7

Congratulations Meghan!

Conditions at 7:00 - 19* and mix of sun and cloud
Expected later - 27* and sun - the calm before the storm

Short and sweet this morning as I slept in! It's so hot at night this week that sleeping is almost impossible.
I was crazy about horses as a young girl and acquired my first horse at the age of ten. I didn't have the opportunity to ever take any lessons of any kind but I thoroughly enjoyed my years of being a horse owner. I did enter a couple of shows when I got older and my grand total of ribbons won was 2 (and I think they were 4th and 5th place :-(
. Fast forward many, many years later and we have Meghan. She just turned 8 and she did remarkably well this summer at horse shows. She rides at a stable in Rockwood and took part in a summer series of horse shows every second week. Last night was her awards night and she was Reserve Champion , coming in 2nd place, for walk and trot, from a group of about 30 riders, I'm told. She was 4th overall for grooming, and everyone received an award for lead line. What a happy girl! I'm so proud of her. She's a very determined little girl. She might get frustrated as can be, as I found out when we went cross country skiing, but she won't give up till she gets it right. I'm not sure where she gets that from but I think she'll do well in life.

Her mom also sent a picture of her at the party after the awards and her mom's words were: "And once the awards were over, the party started! I think she'll be quite the party animal when she's older, must take after her grandma." Whatever could that mean???

It's Friday and Lloyd and Jim will be arriving this afternoon. Good thing the hurricane is waiting until tomorrow, as it could make the drive a little tricky. I have to work tomorrow so I'm very glad that he'll be here to monitor things during the storm.

The other great news is my counter top will also be arriving today - I can hardly wait. (It takes so little to make me happy!)

An emergency averted!

Conditions at 6:00 - 23* and the sun is just starting to come up
Expected later - 31* and sunny

This seems like a forcast for the middle of July, not the second day of September. It was so hot yesterday, and all I could think about when I got home was, I truly hope Raymond can get the water running because I really need a shower. I stopped at the Van Gaals and picked up a jug of water on my way home from work, so I could at least wash, but I was so warm, I just really wanted to stand under some nice cool flowing water. I worked around the house a bit, until Raymond got here and when he did get here he got out of the truck carrying a large red gas can. He was headed straight for the cellar when I went outside. I looked at the gas can and he looked me straight in the eye and said " I don't have time to fix it tonight, so I brought some gas, I thought we could just burn the whole thing down and start again with the insurance money". At that point the prospect of fire trucks with hoses filled with cool water sounded pretty tempting, but fortunately he was just carrying water. In a few minutes he came back upstairs and headed back to the truck with his gas can. I braced myself for the bad news. I asked how things were going and he said "You can run your water now". Seriously? That was the best thing I'd heard all week.

We chatted a bit about it and decided he will get a price on a new pump and put it in when he has time, rather than waiting till it dies and it becomes an emergency and a huge inconvenience for everyone.

I called Lloyd at Trish's and told him the good news, and then chatted with Trish. I can't believe it's over a year since we last talked. I'm sure she'll be glad to get the doll house out of her spare room. They are headed to Quebec City today and to stay over night. Then to the island tomorrow.

It appears we will likely have some pretty serious weather on Saturday. I'm not sure how my little shelter is going to fare, but we'll see. I suppose if it survives this weekend, it should be okay over the winter. But then last year we were supposed to get hurricane weather, but it was little more than a typical PEI rain storm. Let's hope this one is no worse.

I had one of those mornings yesterday when I had a moment when I thought out loud - I love my job! It was early in the morning so not quite so hot, and I drove a lady out to St. Peter's Road. Turns out she grew up in Sudbury. We had a grand time chatting about our northern Ontario experience. Her mother is from the island but married a main lander and ended up in Sudbury - as she described it "Not quite the armpit of the world". I agreed, adding that it might not be, but you can see it from there. Her family moved to the island when she and her sister were teenagers and they hated it. But she ended up staying and loves it. She mentioned that she went back to Sudbury for a school reunion a couple of years ago, and she absolutely hated it. But really, there is absolutely NO comparison.

I'm really enjoying chatting with people and finding out where they came from and what brought them here. The driving around is a bit tedious with all the construction but it's still okay. I'm quickly learning easier and faster ways to circumvent the traffic.

Is it possible I've gotten rid of my present rodent population? No new kills to report this morning. All traps and peanut butter remain untouched this morning. I'll leave them out for a few more days and we'll see if others come in from outside looking for their friends who never turned up when expected.

Yesterday was Meghan's final horse show so I can't wait to call her this morning and find out how she finished.

Ah, the joys of home ownership!

Conditions at 5:45 am - 18* and dark!
Expected later - 27^ and sunny

OOOPS - reopened this one to correct a mistake and forgot to publish it again!

Last night around 11:30 I got out of bed to investigate why the water pump wasn't shutting off. Going down into that dingy cellar late at night wasn't high on my list of things I'd like to do, but when I discovered that there was no water coming from the taps, there might be a problem. Lloyd had told me if that ever happened, to go down and shut off the pump. The only question is, how do you do that? Turns out to be an easy job, just flick the switch on the ceiling.

When Raymond installed the pressure tank, he mentioned that the bearings didn't sound good in the pump and it would likely need replacing sooner rather than later. In retrospect I guess I should have had him replace that at the same time. I'll call him later today and see what he recommends. Lloyd will be here on Friday night but I'm pretty sure he'd much rather have someone else replace it, as they would have all the proper tools, etc.

Yesterday was another busy day but already it seems I'm getting used to it. One thing I did differently yesterday was carry a bottle of water with me in the car. The day before I had a headache in the afternoon and I think it might just have been from the heat. So I brought a water bottle with me and kept if filled from the cooler at work, and sipped on it all day. I didn't feel nearly as tired when I got home last night. The phone was also not quite so busy, although I was out of the office a lot of the time. I suspect that Monday's may be a busy day as you get all the problems that have developed over the weekend. By Tuesday, some of those have been sorted out. It's also Honda's year end on August 32st so I imagine they were busy trying to get as many sales in as possible.

One of my jobs yesterday afternoon, made me think that perhaps I've run into another Balnar Management. It's the little things that they did for the staff that made such a difference, and yesterday this company did something similar. It was a little thing but it was greatly appreciated. The owner emailed and asked that I go out and pick up slushies for the guys in the shop. It was very hot outside, and even hotter in the garage. So I went out and picked them up and you'd have thought I brought them something amazing. But I guess an unexpected icy treat on a hot afternoon is pretty great. Those were the little things that Balnar's would have done. I think it speaks volumes about a company.

I talked to Lloyd yesterday and he and Jim are leaving today but instead of the car, they are bringing Jim's truck with the trailer behind. He has picked up my counter top and he says it's very heavy, so that's good, it sounds like it's exactly what I wanted. I can't wait to get it installed. I'm using the island all the time now and it makes my kitchen so much more efficient. I absolutely love it - it's turned out exactly how I envisioned.

Well, I'm off to the shed to try to find the water jug we used when we stayed in the bunky. I'll see if my good friend Brenda will be so kind as to fill it up for me on my way home from work tonight. It's not that big a deal - we used to manage in the bunky with limited water and hopefully it won't be too long.

Well, apparently I had more mice than I thought. I caught one last night and another was there this morning. I guess my $6.00 traps were a good investment.

Total to date: 5