Sorry ladies, but no one is safe!

Conditions at 7:30 - 14* and sunny
Expected later - 24* and more sun!


What a wonderful surprise to have Nancy visit. She called me yesterday afternoon around 2:00 to say she had just crossed the bridge! She arrived at the University about 3:15 so I left work early and joined her. We did a quick tour downtown and stopped at Peake's Quay to have a drink on the deck overlooking the harbour. Then we decided to head back to my place to have supper. It was pretty basic, just spaghetti and meatballs with a greek salad on the side, but it was nice to just sit and chat.

I called Brenda and she came over a little later and brought a bottle of wine with her (I was out!). We had a lovely time just sitting around the kitchen table talking. I was so glad that Brenda came over. Now when I talk to Nancy and mention Brenda, she'll know who I'm talking about, and vise versa.

Nancy brought lots of pictures of her kids and grandkids and it was so nice to see them. I only met Brooke once and it was when she was a tiny baby, and Meghan was just about a year old. They've all grown up so much. It's amazing how that's happened when neither of us has aged at all!!!

It's great how well things worked out. Suzanne was supposed to arrive yesterday but I got an email from her yesterday morning telling me she was delayed getting across the border (she went through the states) and she wasn't likely to get here till Tuesday. I confirmed with her via blackberry at 6:00 that they were not arriving yesterday, so I had a wonderful opportunity to just visit with Nancy Now tonight Suzanne and Jacob and I can have a bonfire if the weather is still great, which I suspect it will be. It will be nice but a different kind of visit. It just all worked out so perfectly!

We left the house a little before 7:00 and Nancy followed me to Stratford and I showed her where to turn to get onto the Trans Canada highway, that Brenda says will take her all the way to the ferry. I've never gone that way, I've only gone through Montague. It's a little quicker that way from my house, but the highway would be much more direct and easy for her to find her way. When we stopped in Stratford for me to say goodbye, she commented on how lovely the drive was and I told her it was my normal morning commute, and I truly am lucky! It's a marked difference from the scenery Lloyd has on HIS morning commute!

When Brenda was over, she mentioned that Bernie and Raymond are going to Dover, Ontario next week for Friday the 13th bike event. Lloyd has never been, although our brother in law, Kim, has been. He's never been inclined to go but he's thinking about it now. I really think he should go, I think the three of them would have a great time.

I booked my flight yesterday and with any luck I will be in Toronto on Thursday a little after 3:00 in the afternoon. At this point, there are 9 open seats and 4 stand by's ahead of me so we'll keep our fingers crossed. If that doesn't work, there's another flight later in the day.

Well, I'd better go, I'm a little later this morning getting into town.

It's going to be another short week!

Conditions at & 7:00 - 10* and sunny with fog patches
Expected later- sun and 22*

It was a fairly busy weekend for me at the University. Friday I attended the 50 year reunion of the class of 1960 from Saint Dunstan's University. What I want to know is WHEN DID I GET THIS OLD? These people graduated a short 12 years before I did and they all seemed so old. Some were downright frail. Is that going to be me in 12 years time? I can't be that old - in my mind I'm still 25! On the way home, I stopped in at the VanGaals where I was serenaded by Bernie and Jackie with a wonderful rendition of Happy Birthday!

While we were sitting around talking, the story was told of how Jackie's family's barn caught fire and how the operator broke into the party lines and told everyone. Jackie says hundreds of people showed up to help fight the fire, and the barn was saved. I love the fact that I have the opportunity to hear some of these old tales, and get a brief glimpse into what life was like. I hope someone is writing all these stories down, because they are truly priceless. The kids today have no idea what life was like for their ancestors and I hope that information is available to them when they are old enough to appreciate it.

On Saturday night I attended the class reunion of 1970 from UPEI. Now this was more like it. Since I graduated in 1972, they were more my age. It's very scary the difference 10 years can make. It was a great turn out, a little over 60 people. They've had reunions before but this was a big one - 40 years, and some hadn't been to a reunion before. It was so much fun to watch the looks on peoples faces when they recognized someone they hadn't seen in that long a time. The noise level in the room was very high as everyone chattered on and on, and were genuinely happy to see each other. I've never been to a reunion but I hear that my old public school is having one on Thanksgiving weekend, and I will give it some thought.
It was a late night, midnight when I got home but it was a lot of fun. I was invited to attend their music afternoon on Sunday at the Old Triangle but I just ran out of time and didn't make it.

On Saturday morning I got a call from Nancy, who informed me she's in Halifax. She's visiting her sister and brother and is going to try to make a day trip over to the island. I really hope she can. Her plan is to drive over on the bridge, meet up with me, and we'll get some supper then a quick trip to my house, for the tour, then I'll direct her to the ferry for her trip back. It's do-able but it will be a long day for her. I hope she makes it, I'd love for her to see where I live, and I know she really wants to as well.

Suzanne is also supposed to be arriving today to stay for a couple of nights. She's on her way to Gaspe and plans to come here for a short visit. So she will likely be leaving on Wednesday, then Thursday I'm off to Toronto.

I loved the comment on the previous page where I posted the short video clip of Stan Rogers singing at a kitchen table. Brenda knew who's kitchen it was, where it was and who was in the group at the table. Leave it to Brenda to know that! And how valuable to have that information.

Speaking of Brenda, she dropped by yesterday afternoon on her bike when I was cutting the lawn. There was a strawberry social at the Rec Centre and she was planning to attend when she got back from town. So when I was done with the grass, I got cleaned up and met her there. Then we headed into town to have supper on Victoria Row, where she treated me for my birthday. We were joined part way through by a long haired biker dude! Bernie has certainly undergone quite a transformation since he's let his hair grow longer. That combined with his size and the beard, make him quite an intimidating looking fellow.

After eating, we went for a stroll down on Peakes Quay. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening and there were lots and lots of people out taking in the sight and dining on restaurant patios.

I've got the house all ready for company but I think I might take a week off before I start my new job (that is, if I get it!). I really want to paint the sun porch and it's slightly more than a weekend project so if I can swing it, I might take a week off as a holiday and finish up a few things. But we'll see.

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Conditions at 5:00 am - 15* and overcast but it's hard to tell, it's still dark!
Expected later - 23* and a mix of sun and cloud but NO RAIN!!!

I'm keeping it short and sweet this morning as I'm meeting Sarah at the university at 6:15 to get loaded up and up to Cavendish by 7:00 for the golf tournament.

It looks like it's going to be a nice day after all.

Brenda made it home yesterday and I picked up supper and went to their house and we all ate together like one big family (both boys were there as well). At least that's how I feel when I'm there, just one of the family. After supper Brenda and I looked at her pictures. There is definitely a scrapbook in the making. She was even thinking ahead and brought back some money just for that purpose! It sounds like she had an amazing time and she did very well coping with all those various airport terminals - not always an easy task for even the most seasoned traveler.

Today is Ethan's birthday, a date I will forever remember, as it's also mine. I found this cake for you Ethan,but you'll just have to ignore the name on it!

Another date that is also etched in my memory is Cheryl and Norm's wedding anniversary, which is tomorrow.
If you're reading, Happy Anniversary you guys!

I spent the most of yesterday doing stuff for Sarah for this weekend, a welcome change from the usual routine - lots of cutting and pasting and just being creative. At one point we needed more cardstock and we tried to get security to let us in to central printing to get some but they said no. Can you imagine that??? So Brandi had to make a trip to Staples, not far away but certainly a challenge these days, just to get down that road with all the construction. It will be great when it's done but it's really made getting to work on time a real task.

I've still not heard anything about the job interview, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm hoping by the end of next week I may hear something.

Well, time to go

Have a great day and a great weekend everyone!

Please don't rain on our parade!

Conditions at 7:00 am - 20* and overcast with fairly strong winds
Expected later: 23* and up to 2o mm of rain


It's reunion weekend for several groups at the university this weekend and there area whole lot of activities planned. One of them is a golf tournament on Friday. All week they've been predicting rain for Friday but maybe it's arrived early. It's supposed to rain a lot today and this morning they've now taken the rain out of tomorrow's forecast. Let's home they're right. I spent all of yesterday and probably will spend all of today helping Sarah with reunion stuff. I'm supposed to have tomorrow off but I've agreed to help at the golf tournament in exchange for NEXT Friday off instead. It certainly works better for me, as I'm going to Toronto anyway, now I can leave earlier.

Back in January when Tracey announced that we were getting our birthday off as her gift to us, I joked that my goal was to stay long enough to take advantage of that little perk. When she asked me when my birthday was and I told her, we all laughed at how absurd that was. Well, here we are, and I'm still here. I guess it's time to move on, as I've achieved my goal!

Brenda will be getting home today after a brief visit with Meghan yesterday. I'm sure she'll need a few days to catch up from jet lag.
I'm a little glad that it's going to rain today, I really need to do some work inside. I've been sewing and everything is still all over my table, and the floor has bits of grass all over it from the dog and I tramping in and out. It really needs some damage control.

Yesterday Lloyd called me in the afternoon to tell me that Sir Paul was going on to be on PBS - his performance at the White House when he received the Gershwin Award for popular music from President Obama. I'd read about it on the macca radio site but it was great to watch. It totally blows you away at the vast array of music that has been created. I turned up the TV really, really loud, and this was one of those times I truly love living in the country. You can make as much noise as you like and no one complains. Now I'm really pumped for next weekend!

Speaking of music, Linda gave me a music book with guitar chords in it that is all Stan Rogers music. I only have one CD so last night on my way home from work I stopped into the Confederation Court Mall and picked up his CD that the book is named after. The songs on the CD are in the book but so are a lot more. I need to pick up some more of his music. I was listening to it on the way home and it was amazing. I really only knew a few of his songs and I have to say I'm totally hooked on it! I had it cranked up all the way to work this morning. I had no idea how he died so I did some research on line and it was horrible. He was a passenger on a commercial airline. Apparently there was a fire that started in the bathroom. At that time it was not uncommon for this to happen as it was back in the days when passengers could still smoke on board. Here is what I found:

Rogers died alongside 22 other passengers (23 fatalities in all) most likely of smoke inhalation on June 2, 1983, while travelling on Air Canada Flight 797 (a McDonnell Douglas DC-9) after performing at the Kerrville Folk Festival. The airliner was flying from Dallas, Texas to Toronto and Montreal when an in-flight fire forced it to make an emergency landing at the Greater Cincinnati Airport.

Smoke was filling the cabin from an unknown source, and once on the ground, the plane's doors were opened to allow passengers to escape. Halfway through the evacuation of the plane, the oxygen rushing in from outside caused a flash fire. Rogers was one of the passengers still on the plane at the time of the fire.

His remains were cremated and his ashes scattered in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nova Scotia.^[1]

As a result of that incident a lot of changes were made in the airline industry. You have to wonder how successful a career he might have had if he had survived. He truly was a very gifted singer and songwriter. I'm just sorry it's taken me this long to discover his music. It was the same with Harry Chapin, although I always loved his music. Another gifted performer gone too soon.

I found this old video online of Stan Rogers and others sitting around a kitchen table, with him singing Barretts Privateers - truly the definition of a kitchen party. It's old and really grainy but amazing.

Boy, do we have mosquitoes!

Conditions at 7:00 am - 18* and sunny
Expected later - 28* and sunny!

I thought we had mosquitoes last year, but I've never seen them like I had them this past weekend. On Saturday when Mark came over to look at the chimney, and when Linda came over later, there were literally clouds of them everywhere. So much so, that it looked like it was raining when you drove in the driveway. Earlier in the morning I was outside with the dog and every step you took on the grass released swarms of them. Linda couldn't believe how many were there. I really think we need to look at a mosquito magnet in the next couple of years. It's difficult to just get into the car as there are swarms around it when you try to get into it in the mornings. Then you spend the first ten minutes of the drive swatting mosquitoes inside the car.

Last night I got a call from Linda, who made it safe and sound to Stephan and Trish's. They were siting out on the porch and called to find out what we had for supper the night that Linda and Brenda were over for supper. All she could remember was the scallops and the dessert crepes, but neither of us could remember what we had for the main course. So I checked the blog and there it was - seafood linguine. She commented how much she really liked the dessert and I know Brenda loved it to, and I think one of them asked for the recipe but I can't remember which one, so here it is for anyone who wants it:


Strawberry Cream Cheese Dessert Crepes

2 cups strawberries, sliced
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 - 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp sour cream (I added a little more as I like the extra tartness)
1 tsp vanilla
4 dessert crepes (you can make your own or buy them ready made at the grocery store)
Chocolate sauce for drizzling

Mix 3/4 cup of the sugar, water and lemon juice together until the sugar disolves. Pour over sliced berries and refrigerate for at least four hours ( I didn't do this, I used them after about an hour) Stir at least twice to distribute the juices.
Note: for this step you may substitute frozen sweetened strawberries that have been thawed.
Using electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup sugar with the cream cheese, sour cream and vanilla. Fold in strawberries. For one serving, spread 3/4 cup of the strawberry cream cheese dessert mixture on one crepe and roll up. Repeat procedure for remaining three crepes. Drizzle each crepe with chocolate sauce and top with a dollop of whipped cream.

Yield: 4 servings (1 crepe roll each)

If you like cheesecake, you'll love the flavour of these. Unlike cheesecake, there's no baking needed. This dessert is certain to become one of your favorite no bake summer dessert recipes, that can also bring a little bit of summer to a drab winters day if you use the frozen berries.

It was a hit at my house, both times I served it.

Evenings at ny house are pretty boring these days, as I spend a couple of hours each night splitting wood. I'll be glad to get that job over.

Yesterday morning I had my job interview. I've really no idea how I did. It was two hours of questions like think back to a time when you used this skill to solve a problem...
After the fact you can think of all kinds of samples that you could have used but I'm not that good at thinking on my feet, especially when you are under a time constraint and two people are sitting there looking at you. But hopefully it went okay. I'll know within two weeks. They are hiring 15 people and I was the first one they interviewed, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I see that Korea viewed the blog last night so I'm not sure when Brenda gets home. I know it's one day this week but I can't remember which day. I had thought it was Wednesday but I don't think it will be but I might be wrong. I'll have to call Bernie and ask him.

Welcome back Korea!

Conditions at 7:00 - 16* , overcast and breezy
Expected later - mix of sun and cloud and a high of 20*

It was nice to see that Korea had checked in this morning.I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying yourself! I knew you would. I can't wait to hear all about your experiences and look at your pictures when you get back. Maybe we need to do a scrapbook of this trip. We could easily work on it together. You KNOW I have all the toys. It will tell the tale and be a wonderful memory for years to come.

I've been giving the community school some thought and I think I might like to try my hand at teaching if it can be worked out. I already have a teacher lined up for guitar, one who lives just down the road from me and lives in a green house. We'll talk about the cooking classes when you get back and we'll see what I have to do and who I need to talk to. I imagine they'll already be working on putting together their program.

This morning I have my interview at Invesco, so keep your fingers crossed! It's another cool morning today and it feels like fall, but the calendar says it's still July. My friend Suzanne is arriving on Monday so I hope it warms up again next week. I know they plan to spend some time at the beach.

I got a nice long email from Petra this morning and she says hi Brenda. She has moved to another house and has changed jobs and is currently on holiday getting ready to go to New Orleans and Atlanta on a tour. Lloyd and I loved New Orleans - the music and the food were amazing and I also have some very fond memories of Atlanta, as does Lloyd.

Cooper is doing a little better with his fence. It's finally sinking in that it hurts when you go where you shouldn't be going! Last night he was outside just walking around when I was cutting the grass out in the back 40 (feet, not acres). I have to say a BIG THANK YOU to the McLean/Dennison/Cardwell rock picking team. They did an amazing job picking up the rocks out there and it's much easier to cut now. There were two especially large rocks that I had to keep cutting around but with their help, they've all been removed. Of course, now I have this pile of rocks beside the shed that I have no idea where to put. I'll have to think of something creative to do with them.

The new season of Mad Men started on Sunday night so I was able to pick up the first episode last night on the computer. I can hardly wait for Lloyd to get down here with his big computer monitor. It will be much nicer to watch things online with that than the tiny laptop screen.

It took me approximately two hours to snip all the seams in Tristen's quilt last night and it's now ready to wash. I'm anxious to see how it turns out. I was tempted to try washing and drying it here but I don't want to risk filling the dryer vent with lint. The last thing I need is for that to catch fire! Let the laundromat deal with that.

Well, it's a pretty boring sort of report today, so I'll sign off and go and get dressed for my interview. Wish me luck!

A scary experience --- at least for the wife!

Conditions at 7:00 am - 15* and sunny
Expected later - 22* and mix of sun and cloud

Yesterday afternoon, Linda and I went into town to listen to some music and have a beer. While I was there I emailed Lloyd from my blackberry to ask him if he would mind if I borrowed his guitar and tried to learn to plunk away on it over the winter. Talk about poor timing! He called me about five minutes later to tell me he was standing out in a field looking at his airplane which he had just performed an emergency landing with, in a wheat field! Not the sort of news a wife wishes to hear. It seems the engine quit in mid flight and he had no choice but to bring it down. He was able to make a safe landing in the field, which was a good choice to have. Apparently 45 minutes earlier he was flying over a lake, so I suppose this is one of those situations when timing is everything. The plane apparently sustained a little damage but he was unhurt. It's a scary experience but I can't let it bother me, especially when my entire family (both him and Patti) fly on a regular basis. I just have to be grateful he learned his lessons well during flying lessons! I talked to him later last night and I guess he called one of his flying buddies to come and pick him up but then a little while later the police contacted him, as someone saw the plane in the field. He hadn't thought about contacting them and essentially it's treated as a plane crash. Of course transport Canada will be involved as well to determine exactly what happened (well, we know WHAT happpened!) but now they'll want to know WHY it happened.

The rest of the weekend kind of pales in comparison to his news.

Friday at lunch, we picked up Lebanese food and ate it outside on a picnic table and Sjors and Sarah planned a little surprise for us as well. Sjors brought his guitar and they also had printed off some song lyrics and we all sat around the table after eating and sang along to the guitar. It was a really fun lunch hour, in spite of the odd looks we got from people passing by (they were just jealous!).
Friday night when I got home from work, Raymond's truck was in the yard as well as Bernie's motorcycle. As I got out of the car, Bernie came up out of the basement. I asked him when he became a plumbers helper, and he said he just came over because Brenda wanted to know if he's checked on me to make sure everything was alright. I told him that Lloyd had asked me the very same question about him! By the time we both assured each other that we were getting by okay in Brenda's absence, Raymond was finished, and they both left.

Saturday morning I spent time splitting wood as well as sorting out the shed and collecting all the recycling so it's ready, and then Mark came over to look at sweeping out my chimney. Our chimney has a weird design, that really isn't very functional. There is a permanent cap made of bricks over the topand you can't actually get into it to clean it and it really needs it. He suggests that we need to have the top of the chimney replaced and at some point we should really get a stainless liner put in. But for now we'll just get the chimney redone so he can at least get in and sweep it.

Linda came over for supper on Saturday night and then we came into town and went to a play at the Guild. It was very entertaining and when it was over we went over and sat at the bar at Fishbones and ordered some oysters. Linda has never eaten an oyster so we decided it was time to try one. It turned out to be a very positive experience. She was a little hesitant but it turned out to not be as unpleasant as she feared it might be. She actually liked it.

Sunday was threatening rain, as was forecast, so I had already planned an indoor project for the day. I had previously cut out the squares for Tristan's blanket and I got them all sewn together on Sunday morning. I love the little reindeer, they're so cute. I think he's really going to like it. I still have the binding to sew, and snip the seams, then it can be washed. I've read that because of the huge amount of fibres and lint that is collected it's best to wash it the first time in a laundromat washer and dryer. So I will do that on the weekend.

SHHHHHH - Meghan (2) don't let him see the pictures, it's a surprise for his birthday!

I was done sewing the blocks together before noon, which was a good thing as Linda and I went into town around 1:00 and to listen to some music and grab a bite to eat at the Old Triangle.

After we left the pub, we went round and picked up some jugs of beer at the Gahan for her to take home for her friends sons, and a Cows ice cream before she left. She was heading out at 4:00 this morning. Hopefully she'll have an uneventful trip, but she was a little concerned because just as we were travelling across the Hillsborough bridge yesterday the check engine light came on in her car. She was a little stressed over that as she had no way to get it checked before leaving on Monday morning. I told her (hopefully correctly) not to worry about it till she gets home. It's a brand new car so I can't imagine it's anything too serious.

Now it's Monday and it's back to work. Patti called last night to say she didn't get the flight to Paris so I won't be going anywhere this weekend. She does have a flight to Geneva on the 20th of August so I might go there instead.