Friday, July 12th - the heats coming back?

It's a pleasant 18' this morning but it feels more like a comfortable 22'. However later this afternoon, under a mix of sun and cloud the high of 22' will feel more like 26' with higher temperatures expected for the weekend.

So, Brenda is home and Bernie is on his way back from California, via Saskatchewan. He'll get back towards the end of next week in time to say good bye to Brenda and she and I head to Quebec City on Saturday morning. She'll just be back a short time and it will be time for him to leave on a bike trip. They are truly Fort Augustus' power couple!  Proof?  Figure out which vehicle was left for her at the airport - the Jag or the Benz!

Not much else to report except Lloyd left very early this morning to travel to Halifax to pick up his nephews wife, who is coming to the island to celebrate a friends birthday. She'll be here for a few days and we hope to have her over for dinner on Sunday. I've never met her (or her husband) but I'm sure we'll get along nicely - after all her name is Sandy Denny.  Her husband is the son of Lloyd's brother - hence the same last name.

It rained a lot yesterday morning so not as much got done on the garage as was planned but as you can see, progress is slowly being made - baby steps.

It's also strawberry season out here on the island. There's been some issues this year with a fungus affecting some of the plants so the berries aren't as plentiful, but we'll still manage to enjoy them while we can. I know Brenda went over to the neighbours yesterday and picked a box for her own enjoyment and I stopped and picked some up on my way home last night. What a treat!

I guess I should be getting off to work. With Lloyd gone early it fell to me to do the chores this morning. The garbage bin has been dragged to the end of the lane, the dog has had his breakfast and the chickens have been fed and watered. It's all good!

Wednesday, July 10 - the heat's returning again

It was a really pleasant day yesterday - 24' without the humidity. This morning is still a pleasant 16' but this afternoon we're heading for a high of 24' that's going to feel more like 28'.

Brenda was supposed to arrive home yesterday afternoon but unfortunately her flight was cancelled so she won't get in until today. We figure it's because of the flooding in Toronto on Monday. Over 90 mm of rain fell between 6:00 and 8:00 pm creating a bit of havoc in places. I read that 126 mm fell at the airport and power was knocked out in a very large area of the GTA and Mississauga. I suspect that may have factored into her plane not arriving in Edmonton from Toronto on Monday evening.

I lived in southern Ontario pretty much my whole life and I never saw anything like that. The photos are a little dramatic but certainly nothing like the folks out west have had to deal with, but certainly a disruption just the same.

So she gets home tonight, and Bernie left this morning - well actually not yet but I suspect they are just getting ready to board the plane in Charlottetown. He's flying out to Bakersfield, California to pick up a piece of equipment and bring it back to the island.  He'll be back sometime next week so in some ways I suppose, Brenda's vacation continues!

It's been a quiet couple of days out here. Not much going on. Progress continues to be made on the garage and help is coming today so the front should be sided by the time I get home tonight. The balcony will take a little longer because I've requested some special treatment on the walls up there. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime hopefully the outside walls will all be done by the end of the day.

 It's been a long process and there's still much to do but it's slowly getting there.  I'm looking forward to when Lloyd gets the drywall put up inside the top. I'm going to do the taping and mudding of the seams. It won't be perfect but at least I'll feel like I helped in some small way. That way he can continue on with other parts of the project. Besides he hates that part of the job so I'm going to give it my best effort.

The chickens continue to grow and will need to be moved to larger quarters very soon.

Supper time!

Monday, July 8th - it seems the heat has finally broken a bit

It's been a very hot few days, making sleeping at night really difficult. Even with fans going in the bedroom it's still been very unpleasant. This morning it's finally a little cooler and you can feel the difference in the air. Right now, at 5:15 am it's 16' that actually feels like 16' and we should reach a high of 23' later that will feel like a much more comfortable 26'.

It was a fairly quiet weekend. I worked on Saturday morning and we were expecting some friends to arrive by motorcycle at some point from the ferry, but we really weren't sure when. Lloyd called me around 2:15 to advise that he was at the boat with the guys and they were on their way home for a BBQ. I was still in town, and made a quick stop to pick up some steaks, new potatoes and some romaine for a Caesar Salad. I arrived home just a few minutes before they did.

There were six on bikes, in total. I set about preparing the potatoes and the lettuce while they sat outside around the picnic table and had a cold drink. I was rushing to get as much done as possible as there was a wedding at the Rec Centre I was needed to work at. I had everything ready so that all Lloyd had to do was cook the steaks and put dressing on the salad.

I left them a little after 5:00 and went over to Fort Augustus. I'd been rushing around to get as much done as possible before leaving and when I got there, everyone was just standing around - they had everything done that they could do and were taking a little break. I told them that was a good thing as I was ready for a break. I had 8 hungry guys at my house who had just arrived by ferry and had been really busy before I left. They told me to go home as they had lots of help. I said I could do that but to call if they needed me later. They apparently had more people coming in than they expected. That was a surprise being as it was a busy weekend on the island with lots of other things going on, including the Cavendish Music Festival.

I left and got home just as they guys were eating. I guess I really didn't need to come back after all. Instead I pulled out another steak, put it on the BBQ and made my own supper.  When everyone was done, they got back on their bikes and departed for Souris. They had planned to take in some of the Rollo Bay fiddle gathering and were staying in Souris over night.

When the guys first arrived, Lloyd had called Bernie to see what he was up to. He was just finished hauling hay and welcomed to prospect of a cold beer and a BBQ steak. He had arrived very soon after the others so he stayed after supper and had tea with Lloyd and I.

Sunday morning was again hot and sunny. The plan was for Lloyd, Bernie and Raymond to drive up to Souris and meet the guys for breakfast. They departed here around 8:15 and I got a phone call from one of the bikers at 8:30 that they were heading straight for the boat, as they heard there were thunderstorms expected on the other side so they wanted to get away as early as possible.  Of course our guys were on the road and Lloyd's phone was here on the counter. I called Bernie's phone and when they stopped for breakfast he could see that I'd called. I gave them the message and they carried on by themselves and had a lovely breakfast and must have toured around a bit because Lloyd didn't make it home until about 12:30. It was way too hot to be biking.

The rest of the day was pretty lazy. He had a long nap, I had a short nap, and just did a couple of things around the house - reading a book, some laundry, reading a book, some tidying, reading a book...
altogether a very relaxing day.

Brenda and the girls are finishing up their tour of western Canada. By all accounts they've been having a wonderful time. I've gotten some pictures from Brenda and Bernie's been getting text messages and of course updates by phone as well.  She gets back home tomorrow and I'm looking forward to hearing all about her adventures and seeing the pictures.

The chickens are getting bigger. We had to remove the covering from the sides of their cage because it was just too hot for them last week. They were really feeling the heat and needed more air circulation. They will soon be big enough to put into their new pen outside. I think they'll really enjoy that.

Friday, July 5th - more hot and humid weather on the way

It's 5:16 am and the temperature is 20' but feels more like 26'. We should reach a high later on of 28' that will seem more like 35'.  What wonderful weather if you're on holidays. Yesterday would have been the perfect beach day. We have a chance of maybe receiving up to a mm of rain today and with the humidity there is always a risk of a thunder shower. We might see that later as well.

In spite of the heat, progress is being made on the garage. The sides and lower part of the back are now covered in siding. Today Lloyd has to go into town to finalize the measurements for the large door so he can put the siding on the front. He's had someone to help him this week so that's been great.

Progress is being made!

I've been working at cutting the grass in the evenings, although I didn't do any last night. Lloyd was on the lawn mower when I got home from work and something broke, so until he gets it fixed, I'm out of luck on that one. Hopefully tonight I can do some more. We may be having company from Cape Breton on the weekend at some point, so it would be nice to have it all trim and tidy.

We put the dining tent up outside with the picnic table in it and have eaten our supper there the past two nights. One of my favorite things to do in the summer is eat outside and now we can, without the company of all the mosquitoes. I also took down the tent that James and I slept in while he was here.  I didn't want to kill the grass underneath. It was very easy to put up and very roomy for the two of us.

"Camp Pisquid" 

Speaking of James, here's your update on the chicks. More feathers are coming in each day and before we know it they will be outside pecking in the dirt and enjoying themselves.  Yesterday was very hot and you could tell they really felt the heat. The slightly cooler temperature over night should help.

"Chicken Nugget" seems to be feathering in quite nicely (or is this "Mary Brown"?)

Brenda and the girls are enjoying themselves out west.  Touring wineries seems to be going well.

How come they're all still full???

One of the wineries they visited was Mission Hill. I've never been but I've seen a couple of programs on TV about it and would love to visit one day.  But then again, I've never met a winery I didn't like, so this one would be no different.

"Mission Hill"

It sounds like they've had some pretty amazing experiences and I can't wait to see the pictures and hear all about it when she gets home next week.

Jana Margaret Pollard - January 23, 1959 - July 2, 2013

Yesterday I was deeply saddened at the news that my friend Jana had passed away suddenly on Tuesday, July 2nd. In spite of the fact that she was battling Stage 4 lung cancer, it was still a shock. She was diagnosed in the fall of 2011 and fought a very courageous battle.

Everything says this should not have happened to her. She was fit - worked out several times a week with a personal trainer, rowed in the summer with the local rowing club, skied in the winter and generally led an active healthy life. She was always very conscious of what she ate and never smoked a day in her life.  It was such a shock to hear of her diagnosis that day not so long ago.

For over seven years she was my employer, along with her father and brother in the family owned business. I have never before, and never will again, I'm sure, work for such a kind, caring and generous company that was their family firm. My good friend out here on the island, Brenda, just shook her head in disbelief at my decision to leave Jana's employ and move to the island once she'd spent some time with Jana, but that's a whole other story. It was a difficult decision to leave and I still feel ties to the people of that company. But a big part of that was Jana. We shared many experiences as employee and employer over the years. But it was only after I left the company that the dynamics of our relationship changed. Now we were just friends. We didn't spend a lot of time together because of the distance, but we did have some quality moments over the past four years.

Many years ago I introduced her to the music of Jesse Cook. She loved the sounds that came from his guitar and we attended several concerts, though not always together.  He played in Guelph sometimes and we were usually there, either together or separately as schedules permitted. I think for both of us, the most memorable occasion was when we attended a concert here on the island at the Confed Centre. We had front row seats and it was amazing.  After the show we made our way to the back entrance and waited for him to leave. We were not disappointed.

Confed Centre, Charlottetown

He was very gracious, signing autographs and posing for pictures. We had dragged along my friend Brenda who was a newbie. But after a wonderful dinner in town followed by an amazing concert, she was hooked as well. It's been helpful to me to have someone to discuss Jana's situation with, who's actually met her. Brenda was there for me yesterday when I got the news - even though she's on the other side of the country. The irony of that is she had met a woman in BC on Tuesday who knew Jana from the rowing club. It truly is a small world.

I also had the unique pleasure of sharing New York City with Jana and her daughter Kristi in the summer of 2011.  We went to see Paul McCartney at Yankee Stadium and it was the ultimate experience. But besides the concert, we had the benefit of staying with Kristi and experiencing New York with someone who actually lives there. It was a wonderful few days that I will always cherish.

Central Park, New York City

I tried to get to see her, if only for a short time, each time I visited Guelph.  I am so grateful that I had a few moments with her just a few weeks ago. It wasn't meant to happen as we had talked on the phone previously and she was staying at the cottage. But due to a serendipitous set of circumstances, she ended up coming to Guelph for a couple of days just when I was there. My time was limited but we managed to squeeze in a few minutes at the company BBQ. I am so glad that I made that time. I had hoped to be able to go up to see her in September at her cottage for a few days. Brenda had wisely  suggested that I not put off seeing her because you just never know, and it turns out she was right.

I will always remember the special person that she was and am truly blessed to have known her.
My thoughts are now with her husband Scott, daughter Kristi and son Ryan. I feel very sad that she'll not see her children get married or hold a grandchild - things I've been so lucky to do.

The world is a better place because she was in it and I hope I'm a better person for having known her.

Rest in Peace, Jana. You will be missed.

Wednesday, July 3rd - back to the warm, sticky weather today

It's overcast and a cool 16' this morning but we should reach a high later of 22' that's going to feel like 27'. Fine by me. Yesterday was quite cool and I found the air conditioning in the building at work cold. Trouble is you couldn't go outside to warm up! Today will be better (I'll also remember to bring my sweater back to work that I wore home on Friday)

Monday was our last day with James and it was a little lower key that the previous couple had been. We were expecting a warm sunny day on Monday but once again the forecast didn't quite live up to our expectations. It was warm enough but very overcast and was calling for rain between 11:00 and 4:00. We had invited Bernie to come to supper so decided to try kayaking earlier in the day. After some breakfast, we loaded up my kayak on the trailer and headed over to the Van Gaals. We picked up Brenda's boat, lifejacket and paddle and headed out to the Johnson's River.

The heat has really accelerated the growth of the weeds in it and the area where you launch the boats is quite overgrown both on the bank and in the water. Once you get away from the bridge, it improves significantly. We had a lovely leisurely paddle down the river and one of the channels, as we observed the herons, and other local birds. We also saw a duck with a whole lot of little babies in tow swimming away as we approached. I think James was quite taken with how peaceful an experience it was -
nothing around but the sounds of nature.

Note to mom - he IS wearing a lifejacket - it's under his jacket

We had a few raindrops fall when we first arrived but that was it. Fortunately it held off for the rest of the day.

When he got tired we headed back to the car, loaded up and left. We dropped Brenda's stuff off at her house and continued home. Bernie was coming for supper and we had things to do. Lloyd was over at Bernie's and got home a little while after us. James vacuumed and set the table and I prepped some of the food but Lloyd was doing most of it. He had taken a rabbit out of the freezer and was making rabbit pies and we were also having BBQ moose that had been marinating all day.

I just had the butter tarts and vegetables to take care of. Not long after we got home, Lloyd arrived to take over in the kitchen, while James set up his version of the bar. He went online to research some drink recipes that were possible with our limited supply of alcohol. He managed to find a recipe for a vodka martini and made me one. It was actually very good, and I'm not usually a huge fan of martinis.

In a while Bernie arrived and we had a drink first, then soup - left over from last week - curried carrot and parsnip. Followed by rabbit pie, BBQ moose and baby carrots, it was supper. James really liked the moose, but the rabbit pie not so much. I think it was a textural and mixed all together thing.  We were just waiting for the tea to have with our butter tarts when we noticed a motorcycle approaching slowly and turning into the drive. It was Jackie and Helena stopping in on their way out to Morrell. They were just in time for tea and butter tarts. They stayed for a short visit and then continued on their way, and Bernie left at the same time. Of course James had to show everyone his chickens. Did I mention he's given them all names? He said you're not supposed to give animals names that you plan to eat because you then get too close to them. I don't think that's a problem with the names he's given them. One's name is Colonal Saunders, one is Mary Brown, one is Chicken Nugget, one is Chicken Wing - you get the drift. He claims he'll have no problem eating them and wanted to be here when they were killed but we told him they will be taken somewhere to do that.  He is looking forward to eating  them.

We finished off our evening doing dishes while he went about making a new bonfire. It wasn't dark yet because we had to make it an early evening so we could get up at 4:00.  His fire building proved successful once again, and then it was time for a quick bath and off to bed.

Tuesday morning we got up early, and headed to the airport. Not sure why I needed to be there - more for me I think. He always looks so smart in his suit and tie and this was no exception. I don't know what it is about seeing a kid dressed up that makes people smile. He was putting his stuff in the bin and one of the security ladies at the far end saw him and smiled. Then she went over to the fellow operating the Xray machine and said something to him. He peered around the machine, saw James and he also smiled. James went through the metal detector and was putting his jacket back on, all the while chatting a mile a minute. Later, as they were getting ready to depart the female security guard came out and saw me and asked if that was my grandson. I confirmed that it was. She replied "You don't have to worry about him - he'll be just fine on his own". I agreed. Then she said "What a sweetie, he's so polite and cute and he told us all about wanting to become a pilot". I replied that he probably told you way more than you needed to know at that time of the morning but she just laughed and said again "What a sweetie". I had already texted Patti and told her he had charmed his way through security.

He arrived home and Patti picked him up so all went well. She later sent me a text to say that by all accounts it was a fantastic weekend. Good to hear because we certainly enjoyed having him.

He did request that I post a photo of the chicks with each blog so James, this one is for you- taken on Tuesday evening.

Monday, July 1st - Happy Canada Day!

It's 8:30 on Monday morning and the temperature is 20' but feels like 26'. We should reach a high of 24' later but it will feel more like 32'. We plan to kayak today but it's not looking good. The weather says we may get rain around 11:00 that may last till 4:00 but we're only supposed to get 1 mm so I think we can handle it even if it does rain a little.

It's been a very busy few days. Started off Friday when I picked James up at the airport. We had a quick bite to eat then back to the dealership. Of course he was dressed in his suit and tie so I put him to work at a desk dismantling files for me. He managed to cause quite the stir looking so dapper. One customer came in and said "I want to buy my car from that guy!".  I think he really enjoyed himself.  It was pouring rain but that didn't deter us from stopping at the Frosty Treat on the way to Summerside for some ice cream. Then on to the College of Piping. It was a really great evening and he thoroughly enjoyed it. After the show we met up with Bernie's nephew Chris and his family.  We had a lovely chat with them before heading back home. It was quite late when we got here, and had a quick cup of tea before bed.  We slept inside because -

A) the tent wasn't set up yet and
B) it was pouring rain!

Saturday morning after we all had breakfast, the three of us headed out to visit our friends Laura and Charles. Unknown to James, we planned to pick up a dozen baby chicks. He was pretty pleased about that.

The early part of the afternoon was spent getting them settled in, before heading over to the Trailside for some lunch. Two folks we know, Vince and Margie were performing while we had soup and sandwich and a beer. A little tour of the Eco Centre in Mount Stewart and more ice cream (it was after all, a very warm day) before heading home.

The rest of the afternoon was spent pitching the tent, blowing up the air mattresses and getting ready for our camp out. By the time we finished that it was time to head into town for the Big Red Concert. We found a place to park and stopped at Tim's across the street for a bagel and a drink. Once inside Faber Drive were just taking the stage. We opted to take a few turns on the EuroBungie ride (well, some of us did, but not all). James did it once and he was hooked . He absolutely loved it. They also had a large air bag set up with a 4 story high scaffolding set up. The object of that one was to climb up to the top and jump off into the air bag. Apparently it was also lots of fun but not as great as the bungie apparently, which was tested out three times!

When we weren't jumping around, he stopped and caught his breath hanging out with the Hot 105.5 crew.

Between bungies it was the Big Air Bag.

Getting ready to jump

When Hedley came on, we headed over to the stage area. It wasn't really that crowded and we had a good view of the stage. I think James enjoyed the concert, and we were very fortunate that the rain held off.  It was supposed to rain most of the day we really lucked out.

On our way home we stopped into the Van Gaals to see how the party there was progressing and it was moving along quite nicely - a bunch of old guys hanging out around the fire having a great time so after saying hello and letting James examine the fire apparatus,  we headed home to our tent. It did rain quite a bit over night but we were toasty and dry in the tent.

Sunday morning was spent checking on the chicks, building paper airplanes and just hanging around waiting for the tide to come in. We headed out to Georgetown to the wharf to do some fishing. I took my book and read after having a little nap in the car.

It became quite a popular spot before we left. Unfortunately James didn't catch any fish but Papa caught  4 or 5 so we had a few to take home.

After eating some supper, and the fish were smoking on the BBQ, We noticed that the breeze had died down enough to build a bonfire. James was very keen to try out the technique he'd learned at Cadets. He said they had to build the structure but didn't actually get to light their efforts. So he set about building the fire and was very pleased with himself when it lit and burned quite nicely. He was mighty proud of his newly learned fire building skills.

After toasting marshmallows, it was time to put the fire out and head to the tent.

One more day before he goes back home.