Wednesday, October 16th - Happy Anniversary!

The beautiful fall weather just keeps on going. After a beautiful day yesterday, we're in for more of the same today. It's a freezing 1' this morning with heavy frost, but we should reach a high of 14' later with lots of sun and maybe a few clouds thrown in.



It was even nicer 14 years ago when Patti and Greg got married. It was a beautiful and unseasonably hot day with temperatures feeling more like summer than fall. The wedding pictures taken at the Cutten Club were lovely with everyone in short sleeves and the gorgeous fall colours in the background made for some stunning shots. Congratulations to the both of you. Hope you have something special planned - probably carting kids around somewhere, if it's anything like most years!



We had a lovely day on Monday. We visited our friends Charles and Laura and they had invited another transplanted Ontario couple to join us as well. We were surprised to learn that they had kept one of the their turkeys behind for their own dinner. (they had told us they were all sold).

With all of us contributing something to the feast, it made for quite an eclectic mix.  We had a very enjoyable meal and a lovely evening. We could have stayed and chatted much longer but left by 8:30 so Lloyd could get a bit of sleep before heading off to work at midnight.

Tuesday after work, I met Brenda for our dance class. Our plan was to go to a restaurant in Stratford to sample their pulled pork sandwich after attending a wake for a neighbour's mother. Unfortunately they were closed when we got there. So we headed  back out to the country. A glass of wine at Brenda's house did the trick instead. That will likely be our only chance to get together before they head out on Thursday morning for a bit of a road trip. There's no school here on Thursday or Friday so it's an excellent opportunity to take a drive and explore some lovely fall scenery, after a medical appointment in Moncton. So far the weather is looking like it might cooperate as well.  I think Lloyd and I might take a drive up to the western end of the island on Sunday. I found an article about a Hamilton woman who moved here 4 years ago and has established an alpaca farm. They have a shop there as well as farm tours and I'm interested in checking out some of the yarns. But we'll see what the weather does on Sunday. Lloyd was surprised to learn that I wasn't spending the day with Brenda. Good thing he's such a good sport and doesn't mind being the 'second choice' once in a while!

Monday, October 14th - Happy Thanksgiving!

It's a very frosty one this morning but we should reach a sunny 15' later today.
Hope all of you are enjoying your  holiday - at least those of you who have it off.  We're joining our friends Charles and Laura for dinner later today. Most of the meal will be VERY locally produced. Charles and Laura raised the  chicken we'll be having as well as growing the lettuce for our salad, and the potatoes. I'll be bringing some carrots and sliced tomatoes topped with fresh basil from my garden. Doesn't get much more local than that!

It's been a quiet weekend but a productive one. On Saturday afternoon the weather was beautiful so we both worked outside when I got home from work. Lloyd's still working on sorting and organizing the mess in the garage. It's amazing how much stuff was crammed into the little shed that he emptied to store wood. So while that was being worked on I finished stacking the  rest of the pile of wood that was outside. Now all the wood is inside, high and dry. Only took 4 years to finally perfect the wood storage but we're finally there. The plan next summer is to put another door in the back side of the small shed so that when the wood is cut, it can be stacked inside right away and the doors open all summer will allow lots of air to flow through being as that's the direction the prevailing winds usually come from. It should work beautifully. But this years wood is all left from last year so dying it isn't a huge issue.

It was great working outside in the sunshine and actually accomplishing some jobs.

Sunday was sunny and cooler but again, great for working outside. I did a couple of things inside while Lloyd headed back out to the garage. I spent the better part of the morning pulling up all the plants in the garden and picking the last of the tomatoes in  anticipation of last nights frost. I know the tomatoes will ripen so at least some of them are saved. Some froze the last time we had frost so we lost part of the crop, but it's all good now. The rest of the plants were pretty much done. I cut the cabbages that were there and pulled the turnips up but they were pretty small. Lots of lessons learned for next year.

After some lunch, we watched a bit of TV with our tea, then got cleaned up and headed into town. I had to stop at the store before we headed over to City Cinema to see an interesting movie called "Haute Cuisine". We both really enjoyed it - but then it did have a food theme! Because it had an early start time, we were home again by 7:30.

This morning I'm making a dessert to take for dinner and catching up on some laundry. Lloyd will have to go into work tonight so we're having an early dinner so we can get home in time for him to take a wee nap.

Hope all of you have a great day!

Friday, October 11th - I think lunches were a success

It's been a lovely few days. We had a high yesterday of 19' in the sunshine and it was wonderful. Good thing because they were replacing one of the big windows at work. They had to take out two of the large ones and four of the smaller ones on top to do the job and they were out all day. In fact they still were not back in in by the time I left at 5:00 so it was a long day for those guys.

It's a chilly 8' this morning so hopefully it was replaced last night. We should go up to 15 or 16' later with some cloud so it won't be quite as nice but still nothing to complain about.

By all accounts, lunch at work was a success. Yesterday morning at 7:58 one of the salesmen came by and asked "Is Lloyd here yet?"  Then a little later another stopped by and asked what's for lunch today?  At 11:30, the time Lloyd usually had the place smelling pretty darn good, the business manager came to my desk, pointed at his watch, and stated "It's 11:30 - how come I'm not smelling anything cooking yet?"
I think they were pleased with their meals. That makes us happy.

Other than that, not much is new here. I don't usually decorate for fall but decided to do a tiny bit this year. With a little help from my friend Brenda, I was able to acquire some straw bales and here's what I did with them, along with some locally grown pumpkins.

I have these set on either side of the driveway, down by the road. The farmer who supplied the straw wouldn't take any money for them so I've baked him some treats as a way of saying thanks. Hope he enjoys them.

No big plans for the long weekend but then our friends Charles and Laura called last night and invited us to have thanksgiving dinner  so that's really nice of them. Specially since we had the BBQ at their place last weekend. They don't have any family here either so it was nice of them to invite us. Their turkeys are being killed today but Lloyd thinks they're all sold so we will likely have chicken instead but that's okay, they're the homegrown variety, like ours. We bought ours from them in the summer.

Not much else is new, so better scoot and get ready for work so I can drop the treats off at the VanGaals. The generous straw fellow has been helping Bernie with the harvesting.

Wednesday, October 9th - Have I mentioned before how incredibly fortunate I am?

It was a chilly 4' this morning as I loaded up the car. It's only going up to 14' later but that's pretty seasonal, and it should be warmer tomorrow. The sun is shining and should stay that way all day.

It's been a busy few days doing the lunch for the crew at work. It's a lot of prepping and organizing to make sure everything is there when we need it to be. Monday and Tuesday went well and there's only today left to go. I tried to plan ahead as much as I could so that I could go to my dance class on Tuesday night. I worked until 6:30 and met Brenda at the studio. We had quite the work out. Neither of us had practiced at all this week because too many other things were going on so it was pretty much a practice session. We were both pretty tired and thirsty when we left.

We decided to try out the pulled pork sandwich at Mavors' - The Porkucino - and what a delicious choice it turned out to be.

We topped off the burger with a beverage and it was a great way to end our evening. We left and went our separate ways. I stopped in at the store on my way home and was surprised to see Brenda's car sitting in my yard when I got home. I went into the house and the tea was made, water was on to boil for pasta and she was grating carrots. I was absolutely flabbergasted. I had no idea she had planned to come over and I have to say, I was so grateful for all her help. It would have been a much later evening for me. I can't begin to imagine what my life would be like here without such a good friend. So once again, thank you Brenda, for seeming to always be there. You have no idea how much it's appreciated.

Not long after she left, Lloyd was up and getting ready to go off to work. So I had a little chat with him while he had a coffee before he had to leave. Yesterday was a long day for him before he got to sleep but he says he did well.  He had some sleep in the afternoon and then again after Bernie had left (he was here for leftover burgers). He needs to find something that he can do to keep his hands and his mind busy during the night. I'm sure over time he'll come up with something.

Okay, I'll keep it quick this morning as I have to get going. I waited till I got to work to do this post so better keep it short. See you on Friday

Monday, October 7th - another beautiful islandfall weekend

We cannot complain about this weather! It's been so nice now for quite a while and we're all so enjoying it. It's cooled off a wee bit but still nice and sunny. This morning it's a chilly 4' that's feeling a little more like 2' but it's going to warm up to 16' later in the sunshine.and be a little warmer tomorrow.

Friday was a quiet evening as Lloyd had to work. Saturday I worked in the morning then spent a fair bit of time collecting all the groceries needed for this weeks lunches at work. I didn't get home till around 5:00 . I was feeling a little guilty about shirking my responsibilities at the rec centre until Brenda called to advise that the wedding had been cancelled, so no guilt necessary.

I set about doing a bit of the prep for the lunches and then called it a night. I was up early on Sunday morning and got a good head start on things so that by the time Brenda came over to help after church, pretty much everything was done. So she headed into town with Bernie. They deserved a day off as it was a very busy week for them as well.

We'd also been invited to our friend's Charles and Laura's for a BBQ and I had promised to bring a couple of things there as well being as it was pot luck, except for their lovely home raised chickens that we being cooked over a wood fire.

We were just getting showered and ready to go when Meghan(2) called to advise that they were at a speed skating meet in Kitchener and I should turn on Face Time on the Ipad. After she guided me through the process on the phone, there was her cheery little face on her Ipod. It was just in time to watch James in one of his races, and he must have worked extra hard cause I was watching because he took the lead at the start and never lost it. He finished in grand style. I don't know how they did over all but I think he was going to be happy with that particular race. They were going to call later when it was Meghan's turn but they mistimed it so I missed seeing her. Oh well, next time, now that we have the whole face time thing figured out.

We headed over to Charles and Laura's around 2:00 and had a very lovely afternoon. The sun was shining, and as long as you were in the sun, it was good, although it did get quite chilly when you were in the shade. There were 20 or 30 people there and each family brought a dish so it was an amazing array of things to feast on, and feast we did. There were no calories counted at the Denny house that evening. Oh well, Monday is another day.

One of the "3 little pigs"

Thanksgiving is next weekend "EAT BEEF"

The delicious chickens on the grill

Dinner is served

A relaxing day for all!

Friday, October 4th - now it feels like fall

After several very warm and sunny days, it's going to really feel like fall today. It's a windy 10' this morning and the temperature will only rise to 13' later on, that will feel like 10' with the wind. I've been working on getting my warmer clothes out of storage but with the warm temperatures the past few days it wasn't quite sweater weather yet.

A couple of nights ago I stepped outside to  let the dog out and the sky was absolutely beautiful as the sun was setting.

That's one of the best parts of living out in the middle of no where - the beautiful sunrises and sunsets off in the distance are so easily seen. And it's not always the sky that's creating the view. Wednesday evening Brenda called me and she was out working with Bernie. Then Bernie called back to talk to Lloyd. Turns out they were loading pig manure into a tanker truck across the river from us. I went outside with my binoculars and sure enough, there she was, standing up on top of the tank helping with the pumping of the ,liquid gold,. I have to say,  I hope Bernie realizes just how lucky he is to have a wife who's willing to climb up on top of a tanker truck to help pump shit! I can't see a lot of today's young wives willing to do that. I'm sure there are some, but most would find a job like that pretty much off limits. But not our Brenda, no, she's willing to just get in there and help get the job done. Several times I've passed her on the road driving a  tractor or whatever piece of farm equipment needs moved or delivered out to a field. I have so much respect for all the farm chores that she's willing and able to help with. I guess that's really all just part of being in the farming business but...

Lloyd's new job is going well. He's been able to sleep during the day so that's a good thing. He still needs to settle into a routine so that he has time to do stuff around the house as well. He's hoping to get to the point where he can work for a few hours when he gets home in the morning and then sleep for the day. But I'm sure it will work itself out. The job itself it good and he's happy with that. We'll see how the first weekend goes. I'll be at work in the morning so the house will be nice and quiet for him to sleep on Saturday mornng.

It's going to be a busy weekend. We're doing the lunches at work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so I have lots to prepare on the weekend to get ready. Plus we have a BBQ to attend on Sunday afternoon so I'm going to skip going to the Rec Centre on Saturday evening. I made a list of everything I need to accomplish before Monday and something had to go. I also have to make sure I have everything done for Wednesday as well so I don't miss our evening of dance and refreshments on Tuesday. No way am I giving THAT up.
We've simplified the menu slightly from last time but there's still lots to be done. But I've made a to-do list and I can just cross stuff off as it gets done. Just have to be organized.

It looks like we have another catering job at the end of November as well. A local small fire department is hiring us to do their Christmas dinner. That will be another challenge we're looking forward to.  Gosh, planning for Christmas activities is hard to do when it's 23' outside and everyone is still walking around in shorts and flip flops!

Wednesday, October 2nd - and back to the summer like weather today

After a very rainy day yesterday, we're heading back into the warm temperatures and sunshine again today. It's currently a cool 11' but it will warm up to somewhere in the 20 to 23' range later on this afternoon. Bring it on!

Brenda and I had our third step dancing class last night and it's slowly coming together. We don't practice enough but with just the two of us in the class it's okay cause we're not holding anyone else back. When we were done we headed across the street to Papa Joe's for something to eat and a small beer. We discovered that lo and behold, yesterday was the first day of ......PORKTOBERFEST!  Last year the island celebrated with sausage creations, but this year it's pulled pork on a bun. So, really, what choice did we have? We ordered our beer and a sandwich to split. It came with a choice of sides and we chose the garden salad.




It featured a toasted Pretzel bun, island pulled pork, bacon, green apple slaw, sweet potato hickory sticks and smoked pepper-mustard island gouda. It was really flavorful and we both really enjoyed it. And the upside is it's probably not as high in calories as the sausages would have been (at least that's what I'm hoping). I knew I was going out to eat so I planned my daily calories accordingly and having had some exercise, made it better.

Granddaughter Meghan started her paper route last night. She delivers 35 papers in her neighbourhood two afternoons a week. They arrive at her house during the day and she has to have them all delivered by 6:00 pm. Her mom figures she can do it in roughly half an hour. I'll get the report today on just how the first day went. It looks like it was warm and sunny there and she was all smiles as she headed out. Wonder, will that smile still be there when it's below freezing and a snow storm?  But if I know Meg, once she puts her mind to something she's somewhat like a dog with a bone - she sticks with it until she gets it done no matter how frustrated she may become if it's something she really wants to do. Her dog's belly is relying on her succeeding!



Lloyd finally started his new job last night. I haven't heard from him so don't know how it's going yet. He had a bee keepers meeting last night and of course, I had dance class, so we didn't see each other and he'll get home after I leave for work. It's kind of like two ships passing in the night. You both know the other person has been there but you just don't make connections. He'll be home tonight when I get home and we'll have a little bit of time to catch up before he heads off to bed. It will be some adjusting for both of us and we're hopeful it will all work out. The only concern is sleeping in the day time. That may really take some getting used to on his part.