Friday, October 31st - Happy Halloween!!!

Conditions at 5:10 am:  a calm and clear 3' that only feels like 1'
Expected later:  a sunny 9' that may only feel like 7' but we'll take it!


How fortunate for the kids that Halloween is falling on a Friday this year.  Actually it's probably more of a blessing for the teachers! No overtired, oversugared kids arriving at school the next day.
I was talking to the kids the other night but in our discussion of the trip to London,  I totally forgot to ask what they were dressing as for Halloween. I'm sure pictures of the big night will be coming soon.

The day after Patti and James got back, I received an email from a friend in Ontario with some amazing photos of the Tower of London. I wish I'd known about it before the two of them went there last weekend. They weren't aware of it and missed it. But I emailed the tourist bureau there and it the display will be finished on November 11th but it will take them 7 to 14 days to completely dismantle it so it's hoped that Patti may get to see some of it when she goes back to London later in November. It's absolutely beautiful - a sea of 888,246  ceramic poppies spilling from the tower to the moat around it. They were for sale after it's over with the proceeds going to various charities. Unfortunately they've all been sold. But what a sight to see.

 

Volunteers have been  recruited to help install the flowers and the last one will be 'planted' on November 11th at a special Remembrance Day ceremony. What a moving experience that will be for a lot of people, as each poppy marks the death of a member of the British Forces during the first world war.

Wednesday, October 28th - looks like London survived Hurricane James!

Conditions at 6:30 am: 7' that feels more like 4'
Expected later: a mix of sun and cloud and a balmy 15'

Well, by all accounts our travelers had a great time in London. James had no trouble navigating his way through the airport and actually arrived at the crew bus stop BEFORE the crew!  I had no idea how things went but was mighty relieved when I got the text message that they were home once more.
I talked to James on Monday evening and he filled me in on all the details.  It sounds like they had a pretty amazing time, hitting all the high tourist spots like:

Silverman's Army Supplies and MORE:

The Imperial War Museum:

HMS Belfast:

And some bridge they came upon! 

I can say I've been to London several times and apparently a couple of these hot spots have avoided my radar. I can't imagine how that could have happened!

He was especially pleased that he got to experience the first class luxury of an international flight - at least on the way over. On the way back he was just like everyone else.  Before leaving Toronto, he did get to sit in the cockpit for a few minutes while they were loading the plane, so he was pretty excited about that. I can only imagine the conversation that took place in that tiny space in those few moments. The pilots were probably exhausted before they even took off!

They had a bit of a whirlwind tour and were only able to fit in a few things but all the more reason to go back - and I have not doubt he will be going back sooner rather than later.  It really is an amazing place for a history buff to visit.

But he learned first hand just how small the world really is - he was in Heathrow Airport and ran into a fellow student from his school! Turns out this other guys father is a pilot and the son was over visiting a cousin. Amazing!

Because he did such a great job of getting through the airport they didn't end up taking the train to Paddington Station, so no bear pictures this trip. Maybe next time!

Monday, October 27th - gosh, where did this month go??

Conditions at 5:30 am: very windy with heavy rain, and a temperature of 8' that's feeling more like 5'
Expected later: more wind and rain and a high of 8" that's only going to feel like 3'

But I suppose the up side is, it's not snowing, unlike other parts of the country.  It was a pretty quiet weekend at the Denny residence.  I was still feeling rather poorly on Saturday, which ticked me of no end. I hated to waste my Saturday off, by sleeping most of the day. But unfortunately that's what I did. In retrospect perhaps I should have stayed home on Friday and slept all day, then perhaps I would have felt better on Saturday. Oh well, you know what they say about hindsight being 20/20. 

Fortunately I felt considerably better on Sunday, maybe not 100% but much improved. I did actually manage to get a few things done around the house so at least the whole weekend wasn't a total loss.

Lloyd is working the afternoon shift all week so I plan to get busy and do some long overdo work around the house.  I'm sorely tempted to spend these evenings out in the craft room but that will have to wait. 

He spent a fair bit of the weekend out in the garage. He's currently building storage cabinets for tools etc. and they're coming along nicely. We plan to have a little get together out in the garage with some food and perhaps a beverage or two for those folks who so generously donated their time, expertise or equipment to help finish the project. We certainly couldn't have done it without their help. So yesterday we decided on a date because there's nothing like a deadline to push things along! Of course Lloyd will be away for the long weekend so that will make it slightly more difficult but no one will be expecting everything to be done. But it will be somewhat presentable by then (at least that's the plan!).  Invitations will be forthcoming very soon for those involved, and you all know who you are!

Statue at Paddington Station

 I talked to Patti on Saturday and she was off to jolly old London, England that evening. She planned to take
James with her. Now that he can fly by himself she can take him along. There are some war museums there that he'd love to visit. (I'll bet she'll wish she'd taken her mom along instead - I'm a much better shopper than James is likely to be!).  Only glitch in the plan is he would have to make his way through customs on his own as the crew are required to go through another area. But if anyone can find his way around an airport, it will be James.  Hopefully they're having a good time, although they will be heading back home today. Better to learn about a city in person than reading about it in a geography class.  This will be his second visit, as he and I accompanied Patti when he was five, I think. He was deeply into knights at that time so we took him to visit Windsor Castle.  He had his picture taken with the statue of Paddington Bear at Paddington Station. He thinks he needs an updated one, so I know that's on his list of things to do.

Friday, October 24th - only two months to Christmas Eve!

Conditions at 5:10 am: it was indeed a dark and stormy night! Right now it's very windy, raining and 10' that's feeling more like 6' because of that wind

Expected later: and for the next few days - rain, rain and more rain with a high later today of 13'

Not a lot to report since Wednesday. I was feeling a little under the weather on Wednesday and things didn't improve. So much so that I actually stayed home on Thursday. I slept most of the day - what a waste of a lovely mild and sunny day off work. But as Lloyd says, that's what sick days are supposed to be for. This morning is slightly better, though I'm still not quite up to snuff.  One more day should do it, I hope. There's a function at the Rec Centre tonight and a wedding tomorrow night. I really don't think I'll make the one tonight but hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow and can help out at the wedding.

The one good thing about being ill, is when I do wake up, I'm getting caught up on some reading. I have lots stored on my Kobo as well as several books to finish and pass on to Brenda, so I suppose there is a silver lining to all of this. The wet weather is supposed to continue over the weekend so I'm hoping to maybe bake a batch of bread (something that is sadly overdue) and perhaps spend some quality time out in the craft room. I've been much too busy lately to spend any time out there and I'm looking forward to getting back to a few projects that are patiently waiting.

Wednesday, October 22nd - it's nice to have things quieted down

Conditions at 5:30 am - 5' that's feeling a little more like 2'
Expected later - probably some rain at some point, and a high of 11' that's only going to feel like 8'

After the wonderfully warm weather on the weekend, we were certainly in for a shock the past two days. Yesterday there was quite a heavy frost on the car, so you know it was chilly. In fact, I had to do some digging to find a warmer jacket, as I just haven't gotten around to taking out any warm clothes as yet. Guess I'd better do that soon, as the shorts and tank tops in my dresser drawer are doing little more than taking up space at this point in the season. 

It's been a quiet couple of days. Monday evening I caught up on some laundry and then watched an hour of TV and that was it. Tuesday was community school so that pretty much took the evening as well. Once home, I headed off to bed to read for a bit before falling asleep.  After the flurry of activity last week, it's really nice to not have anything pressing that needs doing (not that there aren't things that NEED doing!)

Lloyd, on the other hand, has been extremely busy. He had a great day yesterday, completely finishing stacking all the wood (which I'm really sorry, but I had only a tiny hand in doing). He pretty much did it all. In fact, our little wood shed, is pretty much filled to capacity.  Things are put away for the winter that were hanging around the yard.  In fact, he was slightly insulted that I didn't notice when I got home. But I was concentrating on getting my stuff gathered together and in the house, because I knew that supper would be waiting - and it was. After I finished eating I went outside to check out his work. He was indeed a busy boy on Tuesday.

We just lit our first fire a week ago, the day the fellow came by to clean the chimney, as it was quite cool that morning. But then it turned warm again. This fall has definitely been easy on the wood supply.  But Monday night, it was  cold and damp and it was so nice to come into the house to a warm fire burning in the stove. There's really nothing like it. 

I know what he's likely having for breakfast this morning when he gets home. One of the salesmen at work just moved to a rural area and his new landlord has an assortment of ducks and chicken. They gave him some duck eggs to try so he brought three in for me. They are a little bigger than our grocery store chicken eggs, but they are much heavier. I weighed them both and the chicken egg was 58 grams, while the duck egg was 91 grams. It would certainly take some calculating if you were to use them in a baking recipe.

Monday, October 20th -It was a grand weekend - on many levels

Conditions at 5:40 am: raining and a chilly 5' that feels more like 1'
Expected later: a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 8' that's only going to feel like 4'

Finally it's all done! What a week it was. Lots of late nights and very early mornings but everyone seems to have been satisfied with our efforts.  Lunches at Toyota are always somewhat of a challenge, as Lloyd stays in town after work and meets me there around 11:00.  So the challenge for me is to make absolutely sure that I have everything we need when I leave the house in the morning. But it all worked out.
Friday night was spent doing a few last minute things for Saturday's lunch. I was up early Saturday morning and had everything organized (I hoped) to load the car. Lloyd packed up everything between his truck and my car and he was off, while I went round and picked up Brenda and then we headed into town to pick up last minute stuff.  The bakery where we were picking up the rolls doesn't open till 9:00 so we found ourselves sitting and waiting in the car for a few minutes for them to open.  I was afraid we would have way too many buns as I had ordered 12 dozen, and in the end we only had 102 guests but we had 3 rolls left at the end of the day so it was good we had extras. 

Saturday's menu: 
Green Salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, grated carrots and shredded red cabbage, with a choice of three dressings.
Firehouse chili with sour cream and cheddar 
Butter tarts and squares for dessert.

We weren't able to get into the area where the meal was going to be served until sometime after 11:00 as
they were doing training in there, so it was a bit rushed at the end but we managed to pull it off, with some help from a few firemen who put chili bowls down in front of folks.
When they were done, we cleaned up, and set the tables for Sunday so that we had less to do the next day.

That turned out to be a great idea, thanks to Brenda, who came up with the suggestion.  Saturday evening was spent shredding cabbage, and cooking pasta for salads. In fact it went so well, that we were all done by 8:00 and Lloyd and I were able to take a glass of wine, some pate, cheese and crackers out to the balcony. It had been an absolutely glorious day, temperatures in the low 20's and lots of sunshine, and the great weather continued into the evening.

Sunday also ran pretty smoothly. Once again Mother Nature was on our side. It was a still mild, but overcast and looked like rain, but it never really materialized. In fact the sun came out later and it was another gorgeous day.   Lloyd left home around 9:00 with the pulled pork, to put into the ovens to heat, while I picked Brenda up after church, and then we motored into town. We were held up at a couple of spots, as the PEI Marathon was going on, but we still had ample time to get everything ready.

Sunday's menu: 
Pasta salad, coleslaw,  Pulled pork on a bun, cupcakes and squares for dessert. 

The salads were dressed, the cupcakes were iced and the buns sliced, at the venue and then we were ready. In fact we had time to spare.  Then it was time and once again we had some great help from a couple of the firemen, so a big thanks to them. 

We didn't realize that the annual general meeting was taking place immediately after lunch, in the same area, so we weren't able to go in and clear the tables. We were able to take the food dishes off but the rest was left for them to clean up when they finished. It was all disposable so the clean up would have been pretty easy.

All in all it was a great weekend. A huge thank you to Brenda, we really couldn't have done it without her expertise! 

Patti called last night to find out how things had gone and reported that the kids skating meet went well, with James bringing home a silver medal and Tristen bringing home gold! Well done, guys.

Wednesday, October 15th - an early anniversary wish

Conditions at 5:30 am: 16' with a few clouds
Expected later: 21' that will feel more like 25' with a mix of sun and cloud!!! Gotta love this fall weather

It's almost show time, and everything is ready. Brenda, who was away all weekend, and I'm sure could have found lots to do at home, very generously came over and gave me a hand last night. I had most things under control but it was sure nice to have an extra pair of hands with the last few little jobs. SO, once again, thank you to Brenda.  She's coming into work today with Lloyd and will help him serve. He's got to cut and cook sheets of fresh pasta, apply the sauce of choice (alfredo or tomato) and also grill the bread. I know he'll be ever so grateful for the extra help.  It all seemed like such a good idea when we first thought of it, but I always underestimate just how much work is sometimes involved.

Time to go and get the car loaded so I'm cutting it short this morning.

But not before wishing Patti and Greg Dennison a very happy anniversary. Like most years they will likely all be running off in all directions this evening. Hopefully they'll find some time to do something special together really soon.