A gorgeous sunny day

Conditions at 5:30 am: 12' and light clouds
Expected later: 24' and a mix of sun and cloud

Yesterday was absolutely perfect. Lloyd brought his bike into town to get it inspected, insured and plated. In the middle of all that, he came to the dealership and took me to lunch. Fortunately there is a restaurant right next door so we were able to just walk over there. We had Caesar Salad and a lobster roll. Lloyd will be getting bored with the same old thing again two days in a row - lobster sandwiches.

He was very fortunate with his timing at Access PEI where we get our license plates. I has suggested that he go in after lunch once the employees were all back and he had about a 4 minute visit. He has just sat down and they called his number so that was definitely a bonus.
When I got home I called Brenda and the four of us headed to Montague on our bikes.  Bernie was working in the fields but quit in time for us to go. Brenda led the pack, and I was glad of that. She travels at a pace I am comfortable with following and the guys didn't complain so we were happy. We went to the restaurant that had the award winning burger in the contest held earlier in the spring. It was very good but we all agreed the one we'd had at the Olde Dublin was better.
After our burger we headed home but first stopped at a gas station so I could refuel. I was running pretty low and have no idea how far I can go on a tank of gas. So after filling, I reset my mileage counter so I can determine just how far I can go before I need to fill up. I found it a little chilly driving home as I had a short sleeve t-shirt on under my jacket and the breeze was going up my sleeves. I was glad when I did get home. It was a good trip and Lloyd commented that I was doing much better than the last time he saw me on a bike (which would have been about 18 years ago). He noticed that my corners are a little shaky and my starting from a stop is weak but I assured him  it's getting better.All in all, I think he was impressed with the progress I've made in such a short time.

Progress is being made

Conditions at 5:30: foggy and 13'
Expected later: 21' and sunshine!

I've cut grass now for the third day  and I'm almost finished. All I have to do now is the trimming around the trees and the house with the push mower and then the final trimming with the actual trimmer. It seems to take forever when you break it up into little bits. But at least it's getting done and looks much better. It was getting pretty shaggy around the edges as I hadn't done any trimming last time it was cut.

Progress is also being made on the wood pile. Lloyd got lots done yesterday and I would say it's about 50% finished. At the rate he's working he'll have it all split before he leaves. That would be amazing! He even had time to get his bike fixed yesterday so today he'll spend a fair bit of time in town getting it inspected, insured and licensed. As it's such a nice day, we may actually get to go for a bit of a ride tonight. I'll have to check with my friend Brenda and see what her plans are for tonight. I know it will likely be a busy day for them, farming, but who knows.


By the way, Happy Summer Vacation, to Brenda as well as to James, Meghan and Tristen!

 Patti sent these pictures of the boys with some cupcakes they had made into sunflowers. They have an oreo cookie in the middle and flower petals and leaves around the outside. Quite clever on someone's part. Looks like they had fun doing those. We'll have to try them when Brenda and Bernie's sunflowers bloom - a sunflower festival dessert. Look out, the island will be making that into another event! Not a bad idea. Maybe that's what we could host in Fort Augustus  - a sunflower festival! HMMMMM - it has possibilities.

It's not fancy, but it works for now

I had thought we might be able to sit outside for a bit last night but by the time I cut grass it was 8:00 and we still hadn't had supper yet. After lobster sandwiches (on Brenda's bread) and salad, we cleaned up and it was almost 9:00. Time for an hour of TV reruns crashed out on the couch and then off to bed. Needless to say Lloyd's muscles were pretty weary from doing wood most of the day so he was done in. Sitting outside with a glass of wine will have to wait for another evening

A culture filled weekend!

Conditions at 5:15 am: 14' and overcast
Expected later: 18' with a mix of sun and cloud (after some isolated showers in the morning)

Well, Lloyd can't say we didn't keep him entertained over the weekend. Friday night we attended a concert at the College of Piping in Summerside with Brenda and Bernie. We were thoroughly entertained by a pipe band from France called Bagad Cap Caval. It was truly a one of a kind experience. Following the show, we were further entertained by some great island music in the beer tent.
I worked on Saturday and when I got home, Lloyd had some final touches to put on the front step I had requested for the porch door. Well, he outdid himself. He made it large enough that two chairs can fit on it. While he finished that I cut some of the grass, before it was time to head over to the Van Gaals for a delicious lobster feed. We had a great night with them and the Andersons. Caitlyn and Ethan were there as well, but being it was Saturday night, hanging out with a bunch of old folks didn't quite cut it for them so they left shortly after they ate supper, to go into town.

Sunday morning dawned overcast but not raining so it was back outside. We worked around the yard - splitting and stacking wood, and then I continued with the grass when it dried enough. Before we knew it, we had to get ready to go to New London for the finale of the Festival of Small Halls. It lasted longer than we had expected. It started at 2:00 and lasted until almost 6:00. It was also a great time and it was so nice to see it so successful only into it's third year.

When it was over we were all hungry so ended up at the Olde Mill Restaurant in New Glasgow. Brenda and Bernie had been there once before about 6 years ago. It was very nice and the food was great. The four of us once again had a great time. The dining room we sat in was a glassed in sun porch and it was an inspiration for some future plans on our house. After we got back to drop off the Van Gaals, we checked out the progress on Ethan's boat that he and some friends are working on. Later, a cup of tea and another delicious slice of the carrot cake left over from the night before, and we headed home. All in all it was a really great weekend.

All we need now, is a bit of warm weather. With any luck we may get some this week.

 

Conditions at 5:30 am: 7' and partly cloudy
Expected later: sun and a few clouds and 18'

What a treat yesterday to see the sun for the whole day. Since Lloyd had the car I went for a walk at lunch.I went up to the BMR hardware store and they have some really interesting things in their giftware section for decorating your house. They are quite decently priced and some are quite unusual. Then I stopped at the Habitat store and picked up a few books as I'm running out of things to read. I also found an interesting old wooden planter for outside. So I called Lloyd to pick it up on his way to get me after work. Now I just need some dirt and some plants.

When we got home, we worked together to make supper. Lloyd's been watching what he eats, and I can notice that he has lost some weight. We enjoyed a spinach salad, some pan fried fish, boiled baby potatoes tossed in brown butter and chives and steamed veggies. Dessert was pound cake later on at the small hall.

Due to a change in circumstances, we ended up going with Richard and Daralen to the storytellers evening. What a great time. Roy Johnstone is a brilliant fiddler and David Weale is always entertaining. Our corner was specially responsive when he told a story about something that happened when he lived in Fort Augustus, and  he mentioned Dave Wakelins store and something said by Jerry Kelly. Needless to say, our corner responded much more enthusiastically than the joke warranted. But it was a great time.  The host for the evening was actually filling in and he was a musician from some of the other shows. His name was Rik Barron and he told us he live in Vermont but it turns out he's originally from St. John's so he and Lloyd had quite a discussion after about what schools they went to, etc.

I'd never been inside the McPhail Homestead and it's quite lovely. I walked in and immediately said "I could totally live in this house". It's precisely the old style of house that  I love. It just made me want to get rid of anything modern in my house (okay, not the kitchen) and re-do the whole thing. While that's not practical, I may start looking for the odd old piece that I can re-purpose for other things that are more modern.



Yesterday Lloyd had a chance to get Richard up and running but didn't have the same luck with the VanGaals. He will re-visit that situation again as he has a new plan. He won't be content until he's solved the problem. He also had a chance to work on his bike so he thinks he's also solved that problem. Hopefully he'll have it up and running soon. Likely won't be this week as today's Friday and he still has to get it inspected, licensed and insured, so that will, in all likelihood, have to wait till at least Monday.

I remembered the name of the new place going in downtown - it's called Liquid Gold so I looked it up and it seems there's one in Halifax. It appears that it might be a chain of some sort. It will be interesting to see how well they do - Charlottetown doesn't seem quite the place for something so unique and specialized, but who knows - it just might work. Check it out.

http://www.allthingsolive.ca/

Finally!!!

Conditions at 7:40 am: 8' and SUNNY!!!
Expected later: 18' and some clouds and SUN

What a treat to wake up to the sun streaming into the windows. It's been such a long time since we last experienced that. I slept in till 6:15 this morning as Lloyd's flight arrived at 12:35 this morning. I did catch a bit of a nap before I went to the airport and I yawned all the way there and all the way back. Trouble is once I got home, I was now wide awake and had trouble getting back to sleep. But I did and it's all good. Anything is worth it to wake up to such a glorious morning.
I'll keep this short this morning as I need to get going soon. Last night I was doing a bit of tidying around the house and Brenda called. She was taking a break from pulling up sod in a  new flower bed. So I headed over but unfortunately she was pretty much done. I'm totally sure that she really appreciated that one clump of sod I removed from the bed! But it did give us an opportunity to go for a bit of a walk even though it was quite chilly. When we got back I came home, watched a half hour of TV and then napped, so really, absolutely nothing to report.
Tonight we are off to a Festival of Small Halls venue to hear storytelling by our previous neighbour, David Weale. It should be lots of fun.
Well, better go and get Lloyd out of bed as he has to drive me to work. Since we sold the truck, he has no wheels until he gets the brakes on his bike fixed. I'm sure that will happen pretty quickly!

Crisis averted!

Conditions at 5:20 am: 9' and overcast
Expected later: 15' and sunny with cloudy periods

Well, I narrowly missed a potential disaster this morning. I got out of bed and let the dog out as usual. I got the computer turned on and just happened to look out the front window in time to see a skunk scampering up the yard towards the side of the house.Thank goodness for invisible fencing that kept the dog contained in the back. I was able to get him back inside before he saw the skunk and started barking at it. I'm sure it would have been a repeat of last summers episode with a skunk but this one would have been much worse. Thank goodness, because I wouldn't have had time to deal with that mess this time of the day.

Yesterday I was looking at the schedule for the Small Halls Festival and thought it might be fun for Lloyd to take in a couple of shows. So, tomorrow night we are going to Orwell to hear David Weale and Roy Johnstone and then we are going to the finale on Sunday out in New London. Brenda and Bernie are going with us and if it's nice on Sunday, it would be a great bike ride. I'm glad that  he's going to see at least a bit of it. It's going to be a very busy few days coming up. I got an email yesterday from a lady I met driving the shuttle and we're going to drive up to St. Peter's to see her and her husband one evening next week.

I received a call from Brenda a little before 5:00 yesterday. She suggested we meet at the Globe for a beer and some nachos when I was done work. I thought that was a fine idea. As I made my way over to Queen Street I realized I hadn't been downtown since the last day I drove the shuttle so I'm totally out of touch with what's going on. When I was leaving to go home I noticed that the old Clover Farm grocery store is soon going to be reopening. I've forgotten the name but it also says 'tastings and everything olive'.  Now that's intriguing. I'll be watching that to see what it turns into.

They released the schedule for the royal couples visit and I was disappointed to see that the time they will be spending walking around in town will be on Monday. They arrive on Sunday but no idea when. I'm sure they won't give me the day off to go and see a prince. Too bad. But school will be finished so maybe my friend Brenda will be able to go in my place and tell me all about it.

I have the pictures of the kids on my desk at work. The one of Meghan is on a horse. One of the salesmen came by my desk and asked "Who's the little rider?" I told him who it was and it turns out he has 23 standardbred  horses that he races here and at Mohawk, so he knows the Guelph area quite well.  He also has a couple of saddle horses that his daughters ride. I'm always interested to hear what people do for their 'second' job.

Well, better run and get into the shower.

The first day of summer?

 

Conditions at 5:30 am: 8' and overcast
Expected later: 12' and overcast
The calendar says it's the first day of summer but that can't be - we haven't had spring yet!  Perhaps we are just going to go straight to the warm weather. But this mornings temperature isn't a great start. I've been hoping to do some walking at lunch hours but it's just too darned cold.But as Brenda and I chatted about last night, at least we're not being flooded out and losing our homes or anything scary like that so we really have nothing to complain about - but we will anyway!

Last night we went over to the garden centre in Montague. Brenda picked up a bunch of flowers for her pots and around the garden while I picked up some herbs. I haven't gone out and looked for herbs yet this year so it was nice to be able to pick  some up.I will attempt to get those into the ground tonight. I haven't got any plants yet for my flower bed in the front. I still need to dig it up a bit more and then smooth it all over and ready to plant. My big issue is I'm not sure what to put in so I've been doing some reading about which plants would be best suited there.That side of the house will just get morning sun so I need plants that don't need lots of sun.

Two happy musicians

I got an email from Patti on the Sunday. They had a little fun competition at the kids music school. Meghan won first prize for her piano playing and James won third prize for his guitar. Well done, kids! It's a nice way to give them incentive to keep working and practicing. It's too bad they don't have the opportunities to see and hear all the wonderful musicians we have here on the island. The young people we saw at the school fund raiser were really good and it would be fabulous for the kids to see other really talented kids. That would be a great inspiration for them. We'll have to make sure that some music events get taken in when they are here next time. They're soon going to need a separate room for all the trophies and medals they've won over the past couple of years for skating, baseball, and now music.

Well, one more sleep and Lloyd comes home (hopefully). He won't get here till around midnight again but at least then he'll be here in the morning on Thursday. His list isn't too long this time, just a few little jobs need doing so I suspect he may be able to help with the wood splitting. But if not, that's okay. I just need the tires on my little trailer fixed and a place to put the wood, then I can take it from there. But if he feels like doing some, I won't discourage him.