Monday, December 15th - what an insane weekend

Conditions at 5:15 am- overcast and 1'
Expected later: a  mix of sun and cloud and 2' with a small chance of either showers or flurries

Some of our weather has been a bit unseasonable but Saturday really took the prize. I spent part of the morning out in the garage cleaning up my craft room from doing Christmas cards.  I was going to do some other projects but the sun was streaming in the window and I thought I should really go outside. Oh my gosh, when I did, I was totally surprised to find the temperature was around 7' or 8 ' and with the sun it felt much warmer. I was outside with just a long sleeved shirt on and I was very comfortable. It was like a beautiful spring day!   I brought a planter outside to put Christmas greenery in, something Brenda and I do each year

 and we had talked about maybe going out on Saturday afternoon to look for stuff to decorate with.  So I took a walk around the yard and found a couple of small trees that have been damaged and will need to be cut down in the spring, but still had some green branches. I took my trimmers and a bucket out with me and after traipsing around the back field and the flower beds in front I was almost finished. Then after I went inside, I saw that Brenda had called.  I went and picked her up and we headed out  to pick up some more colourful branches and things to add to it. We came back here and she helped me finish off mine. Then she was off home to start on hers. I'm quite pleased with the results but I do need a large bow to finish it off.  I'll pick one up at lunch today.All in all a beautiful day to be outside.

The back wall is one massive waterfall

When that was done, it was time to grab a bite to eat then get ready for the Christmas party. We both got dressed up in our finest party wear, despite the fact that we were probably going to be overdressed for the occasion (I was right!) but I like to think we got dressed up for each other, rather than for everyone else.  I wore a sequined and beaded top and dress pants and Lloyd wore his suit and tie. It's been a long time since we dressed up to go out together so it was kind of nice.  Our party was at the Claddagh Oyster House at the Old Dublin Pub and it was really nice. The space itself is lovely and a good time was had by all. We had passed appetizers first as we all sat and socialized before we had our meal. We had both ordered the steak and it was cooked perfectly, or in our case, undercooked perfectly as we both like it blue, which grosses out most people.  The steaks were quite large and it was a lot of food, so much so, that I couldn't finish it and I didn't have dessert. Now that's a lot of food.  After dinner, we were all welcome to go upstairs to the pub, but we headed home instead.  Lloyd had worked the night before and didn't have a huge amount of sleep so he was starting to fade. All in all, it was a really nice evening.

Sunday wasn't quite as warm but it was still pretty mild in the morning. I headed out to the craft room quite early and spent most of the day out there working on a couple of projects that I'm pleased to say are finished. More on that at a later date! I came inside around 4:00 and the rest of the day was spent watching Christmas movies on TV, a glass (or two) of wine and some cheese, crackers, hummus, etc for snacking as we watched, and that ended up being supper.

All in all an enjoyable, and productive weekend.  And speaking of productive, I just went in to update something and learned that this is my 1,000th post! Wow, that's a lot of drivel about not much of anything!

Friday, December 12th - it's not looking like a white Christmas, but that could certainly change

Conditions at 5:30 am: 6' with patches of fog
Expected later: 7' and a slight chance of more showers

Well, after buckets and buckets of rain on Wednesday, Thursday turned out to be a pretty dandy day. While some parts of the island didn't fare too well, our end wasn't really too bad. On Thursday morning, as I was driving into town, the morning show host on the radio was talking about the sad state of the roads. While our area wasn't too bad, the west end of the island really was hit with heavy flooding that washed out several roads and covered multiple bridges, compromising their underlying structure in some cases. I was driving along Grafton Street in front of Holland College and there was water across the road. Unfortunately you were into the middle of it before you realized it was almost a foot deep. I just got through and was glad to not run into any more spots like that, as it was still raining quite heavily.

Then part way through the morning the rain stopped and the sun came out and warmed everything up to a
balmy 10'.  It was indeed a glorious afternoon. I talked to Patti at lunch time and it was -4' and snowing in southern Ontario. So sorry!

The only snowflakes in sight in our area were the plastic ones on the windows. But we know that could soon change.

Brenda and I had a lovely evening on Wednesday. It was the series finale of Republic of Doyle. I hadn't been watching it but she'd seen quite a number of episodes. We decided we may as well get together to watch and make an event out of it. So I put together some snacks for us - fresh veggies and hummus, warm sausage rolls dipped in Thai sweet chili sauce, along with a glass of wine. We followed that with tea and fresh baked cookies (okay, they were a day old).  All in all a really pleasant evening.

Thursday morning, Lloyd mentioned to me that we have a week of timeshare that we need to use before the end of May, 2015, or we'll lose it. What to do  and where to go. I spent part of the morning checking on air fares to various points of interest that we would both like to visit. Trouble is, even with our discount through our connection with Air Canada, it was still going to be very pricey. So I looked at things within driving distance and, gosh, why did I not think  of this before? I've ALWAYS wanted to visit Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard.  Turns out, upon further investigation, there are two resorts on Nantucket, but neither was available, which wasn't surprising. Instead we opted to book into a resort in Hyannis, which, coincidentally, happens to have ferries that run to both islands.  End of discussion - book it! So the 7th of May we will be motoring south!  Can't wait - it's a long time dream come true.

Christmas Countdowns at WiddlyTinks.com

Wednesday, December 10th - it was a festive sight

Conditions at 5:30 am: 3' heading for a high of 6' later with LOTS of rain - maybe up to 60 to 100 mm with high winds up to 90 km/hr

Brenda and Bernie were coming home from New Brunswick on Monday afternoon and had to pick up her school bus. Fortunately I'd seen in the paper that morning that it was the Christmas open house at Fanningbank, the Lieutenant Governors residence in downtown Charlottetown. The timing worked perfectly with me picking her up at her bus when I was done work, so we could drive over together. I was surprised to learn that she'd never been inside. And even more surprised (although I shouldn't have been) that she had a much more personal connection. Turns out she drives the esteemed resident's granddaughter to school every day. So after being introduced, she had something personal to add to the greeting. 

The house is impressive on the outside and even more so inside, especially all decked out for the holidays. I took some photos with my phone but they certainly don't begin to display it's beauty.

Just inside the front door, where you are greeted with a massive double staircase, to the left is a beautifully appointed sitting room, with huge trees on either side of the working fireplaces.

It seems that every horizontal surface was treated to holiday decorations.

What I wouldn't give to have a dining room like this for the holidays!

The large tree in the dining room was decorated with dried orange slices.

Something we found interesting on a sign inside the residence:

Could this explain the origin of 'Fort Augustus?'

Last night I did some laundry and baked  some cookies I just had to try.They were a spritz cookie but what makes these different is the addition of Pomegranate Molasses, which I just happened to have in my fridge. They also contain a bit of grated orange zest and they turned out quite well, I think, but I'll have to get Lloyd's opinion They're a pretty red in colour but have a tart flavour to them rather than the usual sweet we associate with Christmas cookies. I'll be making these again. 

Christmas Countdowns at WiddlyTinks.com

Monday, December 8th - anothe successful dinner.

Conditions at 5:30 am: -9 that feels more like -14 with the wind, and a light dusting of new snow on the ground
Expected later: mix of sun and cloud and a high of -5'

What a great weekend!
It all started with pizza on Friday night with the VanGaals. They were going to New Brunswick for the weekend for a family Christmas celebration and Brenda wanted to try making a cake that I've made a couple of times in the past and she really enjoyed. I had all the ingredients we needed at my house so we picked up pizza on the way home (she was in town on Friday afternoon and needed a ride back) and we all converged at our house for wine, beer and pizza. What a great way to start the weekend.

Lloyd had taken Friday night off so there was no rush for him to go to bed. After eating, Bernie went home and Brenda and I started in on the cake. It's not a difficult recipe but a bit time consuming so as we waited for our filling to chill, and the cake layers to cool, we watched some TV.
Once final assembly was complete, and the cake was put in the fridge to set overnight, she was off home.

Saturday morning I was up early with a bit of a to-do list. Lloyd was also up early and we set to work. I had more to do than I had expected and it was great that he was here (I always underestimate home long things sometimes take). One thing added to my list was baking rolls - 7 dozen to be exact. I had come across a recipe to make yeast rolls in half an hour. Sounded impossible so I tried a test batch first thing and they actually worked out well. So that took up a bit of my morning that I hadn't planned for. But it was all good and Lloyd  had time for a short nap and I had time for a quick hot bath before we had to leave. Then it was time to load up and head to the fire hall.  The vegetables were all peeled and chopped, thanks to Lloyd who did all that on Friday afternoon. The stuffed pork roasts were ready to go into the oven at the fire hall and the turkeys were roasting in the oven at home.

After unloading everything at the hall, and dragging it all upstairs, Lloyd returned home to debone the turkeys once they were cooked, and pack the meat into a large roasting pan, and make the gravy. I tended to the veggies, coleslaw and rolls. Brenda arrived shortly after I got there and we got everything organized.

Everything went very smoothly and the guests all thoroughly enjoyed their meal. We served Sticky Date Pudding with Toffee Sauce for dessert and a number of people asked "What was that dessert - it was absolutely delicious".

Guess we might get this gig again next year!

It was cold out when we got home, but not frigid, so we left everything in the car and the back of the truck. Brenda had tea with us and picked up her cake to take with her in the morning.Sunday morning we set about bringing in all the dirty pots and pans and trays, from the car and truck and washing them all up and putting everything away. Once that was done it was time for something to eat.  Fortunately for us, there was lots of leftovers so no amount of cooking need be done this week.  We sat and watched a Christmas themed movie while we ate, then Lloyd headed out to the garage to work for a while. I used the opportunity of him and the dog being outside to wash the kitchen floor that had gotten pretty grungy over the previous two days. When he came in he headed up for a short nap and I tidied up in the living room area and put some stuff away that had been hanging around in piles on all the horizontal surfaces around the place - books, magazines, pieces of paper, etc.

When he got up from his nap, we pretty much spent the rest of the day and evening reading. Then a light supper, some more reading then off to bed. A very relaxing day after a fairly hectic week - just perfect!

Friday, December 5th - it was a lovely day

Conditions at 5:45 am: breezy and -11'
Expected later: sunny and -5

We had a lovely time on Thursday. The Salvation Army took all of it's employees out for lunch at the Rodd Charlottetown. This year spouses were also invited, which was a really nice gesture on their part. I took a double lunch hour so I wouldn't have to rush back.

We were the first to arrive in the banquet room, which was decorated beautifully for the holidays. I'd been in there before, as our admin group hosted our administrative professionals day event there several years ago. (Gosh have I really been here long enough to refer to something that happened 'several years ago"?)

It was a lovely spot for a holiday lunch. The buffet was set up in the front lobby and featured a huge selection of various salads as well as hot veggies and turkey with all the trimmings - very nice. I really could have used a nap after lunch, rather than returning to my desk. Lloyd, on the other hand, was really ready for a nap as he'd worked all night. He slept for about an hour when he finished work, then was wide awake. He had a few errands to do in town then it was over to Toyota to pick me up.  Fortunately, because we'd had such a big lunch, there was no need for him to get up to make supper, so he had just woken up when I got home. Then after watching the news, it was back to bed for him.

My evening was busy making several batches of sticky date pudding, for Saturday's firefighters Christmas party on Saturday evening. This morning they are well wrapped and in a cold area to hold until tomorrow night. We're actually in pretty good shape for this event. Lloyd is off tonight so will be home all day tomorrow, as will I. He's going to peel and chop the vegetables today and get those ready. Then tomorrow we just have to make the stuffing for the turkey, stuff and roll the pork roasts and make the sauce for the dessert. Easy peasy! 

Wednesday, December 3rd - a great time was had by all

 Conditions at 4:35 am: overcast but calm and -5'
Expected later today: 9' and rain

It was very cold yesterday. At least it certainly felt that way after the 12' sunny day we had on Monday.

Strange up and down weather we're having. It was below freezing all day yesterday but that was a good thing for some. When I was on my way home last night from Community School I saw large pieces of farm machinery in the Van Gaals field harvesting soy beans. The conditions were pretty much perfect - everything frozen to allow the equipment onto the fields so the hope was to get as much of the crop off before it turns mild and rains again today.


It was our last night for school and therefore, our pot luck. There was a vast variety of items to be chosen from. Unfortunately our table was called last so some pots were empty but there was still plenty to go around. A very tasty variety I might add.  When the meal was finished we were entertained by the guitar class (only one student made it to the end of the session) and a very large contingent of fiddlers. Vince's class proves to be the most popular one every year. 

Prior to eating, everyone had the opportunity to view the rugs that our class made as well as the quilting classes projects were on display in the library for all to see. The quilters were very busy and had some pretty impressive wares to display. All in all a lovely evening.

Two great examples of ways to use photos in your quilts - beautiful

Some of the braided rugs

Two guitars strumming

Many fiddlers fiddling

 I was even lucky enough to win a door prize and came home with a lovely Christmas ornament.  I think that's the first time I've ever won something.

I had taken some cupcakes for dessert and had a few left over so dropped in for tea at the Van Gaals on my way home. Of course you're always welcomed with open arms, especially when you bring treats! 

Monday, December 1st - a productive, of not exciting weekend

 December 1st - only 21 more  days and the days will start getting longer - spring is just around the corner!

Conditions at 5:10 am: overcast and 9'
Expected later: 10' and maybe a few showers

The warm temperatures are making short work of last week's snowfall. Much more should be gone by the end of the day, especially if we get some rain.

The weather really didn't matter too much this weekend. I picked up a couple of pizzas on Friday after work and dropped in to the Van Gaals. What a great way to end the week - good company, a glass of wine and a meal that no one had to slave over. It was a nice evening. Great suggestion, Bernie.

Saturday morning I was up relatively early and started in baking more cookies. I pretty much spent the whole day doing that so now I think I'm finished. I have enough in the freezer for the lady I'm doing a tray for, as well as ourselves.

Sunday was nice and sunny and after my morning coffee I headed out to the craft room. I had snowpants to be shortened for someone at work, as well as a couple of pairs of Lloyd's pants that needed mending. After that it was on to Christmas cards. I managed to keep myself occupied out there till well after 2:30.  It was a great day. At one point Lloyd came upstairs bearing a tray laden down with cups of hot tea, cheese, crackers, salami slices and some cookies ( the few that are not in the freezer), so a big thank you for your thoughtfulness.  I still have a bit of work to do on my cards but that requires a computer. My desktop in the craft room is somewhat ailing and needs a new part. Lloyd will pick it up on Tuesday morning after work so Wednesday evening I should be set to go.

Tuesday if our final community school class. It's time to put our efforts on display and enjoy a pot luck supper with everyone. I will bring my rug to put on display, after which I will have to take it all apart and re-stitch it. It seems I was a little over zealous when I was stitching and pulled the threads too tightly so now it won't lie flat. At least I won't have to do the braiding again. It's just a matter of pulling out the stitching and re-doing it. Oh well, as I always say, there's nothing like doing something wrong, to learn how to do it right! 

Got a text message from Patti this morning. She just returned from a flight to Geneva and a TV chef from Toronto was on the flight. Apparently he wasn't fond of the chicken pot pie that her airline served. She wasn't sure that's what it was, but that's what the catering report claimed it to be.   Everyone's a critic!   Guess he would know.