Wednesday July 30th - Happy Birthday to me and Ethan Van Gaal!

Conditions at 6:00 am: a few clouds and 16'
Expected later: a sunny and very warm 26' that will feel more like 32'

What a great day for a birthday celebration! The Van Gaals have invited us for dinner this evening as it's Ethan's birthday today, and Will's is in a couple of weeks, and of course, it's mine as well. We should just put "To whom it may concern, Happy Birthday!" on the cake!

It's also Friday for me, so that's an extra bonus. I'll be up early tomorrow morning and heading off to Halifax. I don't pick James up at the airport until around 8:30 pm so I'll have the whole day to explore. My good friend Nancy is also there, visiting her sister, so I'm going to meet up with her sometime tomorrow as well, perhaps for lunch or dinner. Don't know yet. I was going to leave really early but I'd like to stop at Mass Town Market on the way so don't want to leave TOO early.

It was too funny yesterday when I got home from work. Lloyd had decided he's getting out of the chicken business. At one egg a day, they hardly  pay for themselves. So he went over to the place that processes them and picked up a cage to transport them in. He made a point of telling Oscar the other night that his days were numbered. Well, when he went to put the chickens into the crate Oscar flew up to the top of the pen, and off he went. Lloyd says he spent at least an hour looking for him and finally just had to leave with the others. He though that Oscar was long gone. When I got home and he's telling me this story, I'm thinking, somethings not right here. So I went outside, and sure enough, there was Oscar, standing in the doorway of the chicken house, crowing away (the deaf guy couldn't hear him). So, he did come back. I told Lloyd he shouldn't have told that rooster what was in the works. So now, we still have one to look after - for now.

I was chatting to Meghan (2) by facetime the other day. She had tried out for the competition dance team at her dance school. They are forming an A team and a B team. The A team will be going to competitions and the B team will be the back up. She was meeting with Miss Holly on Monday to find out if she made either of the teams and Patti and I both knew she would be devastated if she didn't make either of the teams (as only a 12 year old can be!). She was very pleased to tell me that she made the A team. This is going to mean a lot of extra work for her but that's a good thing. I'm glad she'll have that to focus on over the next couple of years. That should keep her out of the mall and off the streets with the wrong kind of kids, as she heads off to junior high in September - not that that's ever been a problem, but I think it's good for them to have something to focus on and keep busy.

She just returned from summer camp. I asked her what the best part of the experience was, what was her favourite thing, but she just said, 'Oh Grandma, don't make me choose'. Apparently there was lots and lots of great times during her week. I went to the camp's website and found lots of photos - over 650, of this session so there were a few with her in them. What a great experience and I can tell she had a great time.

Don't rock the boat!

Always the drama queen!

Now that's what you call team work!

Monday, July 28th - another hot and sticky weekend

Conditions at 5:00 am: 19' and lightly raining
Expected later: 25' that will feel more like 33' and sun with chance of a thunderstorm later

It was a warm weekend, again and we enjoyed every  minute of it. I had to work on Saturday so I planned to take my motorcycle to work and Brenda was going to meet me at 2:00 to go for a little ride. Unfortunately things didn't quite go as planned. My poor little bike stalled at the corner and I couldn't get it going again. I thought perhaps the run down the hill might get it started, but unfortunately, that was not to be. When I got to the bottom of the hill, at the bridge, it was still not running, but now there was gas leaking profusely from underneath somewhere. Great! So I turned and started walking back up the hill, as I still had to get to work. Luckily for my, our neighbour who lives at the corner and has the strawberry farm, drove by just as I was about 3/4 of the way up the hill. He stopped and gave me a lift home. So a big thanks to Alan. Next it was hurry and get ready and into town. I still had time to meet Lloyd for a quick coffee at Tim's before he came home to sleep. When I got home from work, we took the truck, a can of gas and the booster cables down to the river and Lloyd was able to get it going, and back home. Now it's sitting in the garage in several pieces as he tries to assess the problem and get it fixed. I have no doubt that will be the case.

Not too long after getting that done, it was time to head over to the Rec Centre. There was a wedding on Saturday night and I had asked Lloyd if he might come over and help with this. We were afraid we might be short of men to carry the trays. So he did and we were grateful for the help. We had the meal out and served to 130 people in 15 minutes! Not bad for a bunch of amateurs.   By the time we finished cleaning up it was 10:00 so that was pretty much it for Saturday.

Sunday morning Brenda came over bright and early so we could prep the vegetables needed for the mussels for the church picnic, later in the afternoon. We were done in no time then and she was off, as she had a family function to attend over in Argyle Shore. She was going to meet up with us later in the afternoon. In the meantime, Lloyd set about blocking some of the wood while I split it. Then he had to go into town so I continued splitting what was there, at least the smaller ones. Some are quite huge and I have trouble getting them up onto the splitter. I saved those for Lloyd!

The BBQ was once again a success. It was held at the Rec Centre and we estimate that there were approximately 120 or so people there. Mussels, burger and hot dogs,
strawberries and ice cream to finish it off. A great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

And finally, I was deeply saddened to learn on Saturday that my dear friend, Doug Devon, from BC, has passed away. He'd been battling cancer and lost the fight. As sad as it makes me to lose him, I know it was terminal and there was nothing further they could do. He was in an intense amount of pain and that was

terrible to see. I'm glad that part is over for him.  We'd been good friends for approximately 35 years and in so many ways, Doug was like the brother I never had. He's seen me at my worst and shared my best. We went through a lot of changes in both our lives and were always there for each other. In spite of distance and time differences we were never more than a phone call away from each other, if needed. And we both knew that. Both of our spouses just had to accept that we were best friends. So much so, that he gave me away when Lloyd and I got married 25 years ago, and I was best man at his wedding to Patti 23 years ago. In fact, he and Patti were living together, and he had bought a ring for her, but would not propose  until I met her and gave him my blessing, which of course I was happy to do. I have many very fond memories of times spent together that I will always treasure. I am blessed to have had a few days with him back in the spring. I think we both knew it was goodbye, when I left, though neither of us acknowledged that fact. He is now gone to a better place and I will miss him deeply. Rest in peace, my friend and save me a place at the bar!

Friday, July 25th - the suns returning after a day of rain

Conditions at 5:15 am: 16' and overcast (I think, it's hard to tell cause it's dark now at this time of day)
Expected later: sunny 23' that will feel more like 27'

After a hot, humid and sticky day on Wednesday, we were treated to lower temperatures and some much needed rain. Not so great for those things that were planned outdoors but great for the garden and for sleeping.

Last night Burton Cummings was the featured performer at the 2014 celebration zone and hopefully it wasn't too wet. The rain had stopped here and things were drying out by 8:00 so hopefully it was the same in town.

Needless to say I didn't venture into town to join the soggy, wet crowd. Instead I opted to stay home and read a book as I waited for my butter tarts to bake. Lloyd didn't want them around (he's trying to watch his eating habits - again!)  so I'm dropping them off this morning at the Ultramar in Scotchfort. The East River Fire Department are camping out on the roof of the gas station from Thursday afternoon until Saturday afternoon. It figures - we've had nothing but hot sunny weather and the day they start their fundraiser, it's pouring rain. Although that may be prefereable to the 28' but feeling like 32' from the day before.  This is the 60th anniversary of firefighters raising money for Muscular Dystrophy  and this departments 2nd rooftop campout and their goal this year is $5,000.  I'm hoping they might like a little treat to go with their morning coffee. Good luck guys!

One of the local radio stations was holding a draw for 50 pairs of tickets to see 'Anne of Green Gables - the musical'  at the confed centre. There's a celebration to commemorate the 50th year that this play has been running every summer. After 5 years on the island, we still haven't seen it. Well that's about to change. Guess who won a pair of tickets? YUP - got the phone message on Wednesday to come and pick up my prize. Am I a lucky theatre patron this summer,   or what?  Stompin Tom last weekend and now Anne next week. There's also a reception before the show with cake and ice cream - bonus! The play is Monday evening so Lloyd will have to sleep a little later in the day and meet me before the show. We'll make it work.

Only a week away till I get to spend some time with Patti and James. Unfortunately our trip to NFLD has been cancelled but we're still going to do the Halifax part of the journey. Scheduling conflicts interfered but the up side is we can do it another time - so we'll  get two trips instead of just one.
Hopefully I'll meet up with them sometime late Thursday or early Friday, depending on how flights work out. We'll have a bit of time to tour Halifax and then head back to the island for a couple of days. I'm really looking forward to it. Right now Patti and James are touring Fort Henry in Kingston as they make their way to the camp where Meghan has been enjoying the summer for the past week.
Greg and Tristen are at home where I'm sure Tristen is enjoying life as the 'only child', even if it's only for a short time.

And finally under the category of "Gee, I didn't know that" comes this story that's resurfaced because it's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel:

Great white shark from 1983 attracts new attention

Shark in the top two ever measured in the world

A great white shark caught off P.E.I. more than 30 years ago has been named one of the world's top five legendary sharks by the Discovery Channel.
The shark caught off western P.E.I. by Alberton fisherman David McKendrick in 1983, was 5.2 metres long. It got caught in McKendrick's net, and was dead when he pulled it to the surface. Warren Joyce of the Canadian Shark Research Laboratory in Bedford, N.S. said the shark is in the top two largest ever measured in the world.

Given the very few sightings of great white sharks around the Maritimes, Joyce said that such a large one was caught off P.E.I. is surprising.

"They are very rare all over the world. Their numbers are declining," he said.
"You usually only hear of reports, maybe every two to three years, if that. In the last 130 years there's only been 34 actual recorded incidents of great whites in our waters."
Vertebrae from the shark, still preserved at the Bedford lab, were recently reanalyzed for the shark's age. The large female was estimated to be 19 years old.

The shark was buried in a nearby gravel pit and later dug up by a fisheries official. (Canadian Shark Research Laboratory)

Fishermen Doug Fraser was there when the shark was brought ashore. He had seen sharks a metre long and slightly longer before, but nothing like the behemoth McKendrick had hauled.
"The tail would have been dragging off the end of the dump truck. The girth of it was probably over six feet," said Fraser.
"It was a pretty huge monster to see, and a great collection of teeth."
After it was caught, said Joyce, the shark was immediately buried in a nearby gravel pit. A fisheries officer dug it up two weeks later to measure it and preserve some of the bones. Those are stored at the shark research lab in Bedford. The jawbone is on display at a museum in Florida.

Who knew?

Wednesday, July 23rd - another hot steamy day on the way

Conditions at 5:15: overcast and the suns not up yet but a breezy 19'
Expected later: lots of sun and a high of 28' that will feel like 36'

Still lots of jelly fish hanging around

It was supposed to be really hot and humid yesterday so Brenda and I planned to head to the beach after
work. It was lovely and warm but not nearly as hot as expected but that didn't deter us. Brenda arrived right after I got home and we were off. There were a few people at the beach but not many, as per usual. I've never seen this beach very busy but then I suppose most of the vacationers would have been gone by the time we got there.


 Brenda brought food and we enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken salad sandwiches on home made bread and chips, washed down with a Beach Chair Lager (she had given the idea some thought!). After sitting for a while we went for a long walk on the beach, and then it was back home. By the time I finished a bath to wash off the sand, it was time for bed. Thanks Brenda, for another great idea!

A quick trip to the beach on a hot summers day - one of the great joys of living on a island!











 When I arrived home last night, there was a big pile of logs in the yard. Our wood has been delivered for the winter and Lloyd certainly has his work cut out for him in the next little while to get it all blocked. It's a big pile and I'm sure it looks a little daunting right now but we'll get there. I can help split it and eventually we'll  have somewhere to stack it - but not at the moment.

Monday, July 21st - what a great weekend!

Conditions at 5:30 am: 18' feeling more like 22' with the sun just starting to peek over the horizon
Expected later: sunny and 24' that will feel more like 27'

It was a glorious weekend with none-stop sun and warm temperatures. It all started right after work on Friday evening. Our neighbour and island singer songwriter, Margie, was playing at the hall in Milton. Brenda and Bernie had decided they would join me for an evening's entertainment. The met up with me at the hall and a great night was enjoyed. Out to experience some typical island entertainment was a group of approximately 15 girls guides , who are visiting the island for eight days  from the Kitchener, Ont area, . During the break Margie was chatting with their leader and after the lunch, when the show resumed, the girls got up and sang for us. It was quite lovely and a really nice addition to the evening.


Saturday morning I was off but I wanted to go into town to pick up some groceries. I met Lloyd after his shift and we had coffee and a bite at Tim's before shopping. When we got home, he headed off to bed and set about cleaning 12 quarts of strawberries. I had

purchased a gift certificate from a local berry farmer at a benefit back in the winter. By the time I was done,  Lloyd was awake so I was able to go outside and cut some grass. Finished up the front yards just in time to get changed and head over to the Rec Centre. There was a large wedding that kept us busy until we finally headed to our cars a little after 10.00. It had been a long day and our feet aren't just used to the long hours of standing as yet. But we have a lot of weddings this summer so we'll have ample opportunities to get used to it



Sunday dawned bright and sunny - again! Brenda met me at the corner after church and we headed out on our bikes. We both had plans later in the afternoon so we had to make every free minute count. We left here and headed towards Wood Island, after stopping for lunch in Murray Harbour. It's a beautiful drive along the south shore along the straight and I got home just in time to change, again and head out. Lloyd and I were going to Wheatley River to have supper with our friends Charles and Laura. They were joining us in out trip to Summerside. After sharing a delicious meal we headed out and got to the Harbourfront Theatre around 7:00 so we had time for  a little look around. I've never been to that particular theatre before. I had received some free tickets earlier in the week and the four of us really enjoyed the show. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was a stage play and concert all combined into one and they did a brilliant job of telling the story of Stompin Tom. During the intermission I was telling Charles about the fact that there's a little bar in Timmins called the Maple Leaf Hotel, that I've had more than a few drinks in, a long time ago, where I know Stompin Tom had played. We laughed and wondered if it would get mentioned in the second act. Sure enough, they set up a bar scene and  put up a sign reading "Maple Leaf Hotel" - talk about a blast from the past! It was a great performance and a lot of fun. We highly recommend the show if you're in the area and looking for something to do. It was late when we got home, around 11:30 but it had been a great time out with friends we haven't seen in while.

All in all a really great weekend!

Friday, July 18th - this week went by quickly but no idea why

Conditions at 5:30 am: 17' and the sun is just coming up over the river
Expected later: 24'  that may feel more like 28' and lots of sun for the rest of the weekend

It's been an extraordinarily quiet week. Not much going on and not much planned. We've been enduring the heat and humidity amid some scattered showers and occasional downpours. If the sun comes out  today like it's supposed to, I'm sure you'll be able to see the grass growing! I just finished it on Monday evening but I know it will need it again before the weekend is over.

Speaking of growing, Lloyd's garden is enjoying the sun and rain. Some things just didn't come up but the things that did are doing very well. The pictures aren't really clear as I took them at 5:30 in the morning and it wasn't quite fully daylight yet so they are a little blurry. Better ones will follow as things  progress. Looks like we need to do some weeding this weekend!

Lots of pods waiting to fill in with peas

Green onions and carrots

The potatoes are doing very well - it is PEI after all!

If all these plants produce tomatoes, we're going to have a lot of pasta sauce!

 I'm glad it's doing well for him, as he put a lot of work into the planning and starting of the seeds. It's definitely been a learning experience. Stay tuned in a couple of weeks for updates.

I was lucky enough on Wednesday to receive some free tickets from the radio station for the Ballad of Stompin Tom at the Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside. We've haven't decided yet just when we're going but I'm sure it will be enjoyable. I was just heading out for lunch when the girl on the radio announced her location at a local Subway restaurant and to drop by and say hello. So that's just what I did and scored the free tickets. Just like that! Pays to be in the right place at the right time, I suppose, and to have the radio on at the right moment.

Not much else going on. Lloyd is working on his roofing, which has been hampered by rain, and we should be getting some wood delivered in the next day or so, that will have to be blocked and split so it can dry a bit before winter. There's never a shortage of things to do out here, that's for sure! During the winter I purchased a gift certificate for a crate of strawberries from a local farmer. I'm picking those up on Saturday morning so we know what I'll be doing, for half the day anyway. Fresh strawberries - YUMMM

Wednesday, July 15th - how can we possibly be half way through July already? The nice weather has just arrived!

 It's going to be a warm muggy day
Conditions at 5:00 am: 22' that feels more like 30'
Expected later today: chance of showers with 27' that feels more like 37' but there's a bit of a breeze so that should help

The last couple of days have been a bit sketchy. Actually Monday was great and I was able to finish cutting the grass that I started on Sunday. Now it's all done except for the trimming. Tuesday started out dampish and then rained on and off all day. Lloyd was planning to re-shingle the little roof at the back that fell victim to tropical storm Arthur but it was too wet. With any luck he'll be able to get to in by the end of the week. Things are supposed to improve by the weekend.

Other than bits of laundry, I didn't do anything last night except read. I'm really bad when I get engrossed in a book - I can't put it down and flit from project to project as quickly as possible so I can get back to reading. Fortunately I finished the book I was reading last night. Now I just have to make myself not start another one for a few days. I feel like that's all I've been doing the past couple of weeks is read. I suppose that's not a bad way to pass the time but it does hinder other activities!

Not a lot going on this week. Lloyd was talking to some friends from Guelph on the weekend. They're planning a vacation to the east coast with their camper trailer and will be spending a few days with us. Lloyd thought it was the end of July and that was going to conflict with my trip with James. But it turns out that it's later in August so that's really good. Lloyd will also be away for a couple of days training in Halifax at the end of the month, for work. I think he'll get back a day or two before I leave so it won't impact any livestock needs. It's always a great thing when timing works!

Not much else happening at the moment. I'm off on Saturday and we have a wedding at the Rec Centre to work at. There's one pretty much every Saturday for the rest of the summer so we'll have to get back into serving mode once again. It's been a while, for me anyway. Brenda made it to the first one of the season but I was tied up with other things at the time. It's going to be a busy summer n Fort Augustus.