Wednesday, August 31st - Celebrating three birthdays this week!

 Well, this is a little frustrating. I had a really great picture I wanted to share but the camera seems to be still missing.

A belated Happy Birthday to Meghan who turned 14 on the 27th and an early Happy Birthday to Tristen who turns 11 on September 1st. Also a big Happy Birthday to our son in law Greg who has a birthday on the 4th of September.  Hope everyone had/has a great day!

Other than those celebrations, the rest of the week was pretty uneventful but productive.
Lloyd is continuing to work on the barn.  It's a slow process but progress is being made. Our friend Jens came over on Saturday and Sunday to help. Sometimes all you need is someone on the other end of the piece of wood or steel or whatever. A big thanks to Jens for his help.

We pretty much worked around the place all weekend. I'm making a bit of progress with the wood, even though it's only a little bit at a time. I did take time out from the wood to cut the grass.  Do we know how to have a good time or what!  We have a long list of things we need/would like to get done before the snow comes. We'll see how that goes between now and November!

The goats are a constant source of entertainment, as are the pigs. Eddie has his pen adjacent to the pigs and they seem to have become great friends. You often see one of the pigs play  butting heads with Eddie from their own sides of the fence.  Eddie has actually gotten out of his enclosure a couple of times this week. Both times Lloyd was away. When he drove in Eddie came scampering over to the truck to greet him, pretty much like the dog. He's quite the little character.

All the goats got their feet trimmed on the weekend and for the most part, it went well.  Lloyd also had a chance to take the gas tank off my motorcycle to see if there was anything in there that might have been causing me to have trouble starting it. I think we've found the problem. There was quite a bit of "stuff' in there that really shouldn't have been. He's working on getting all that crud out and when he does, hopefully it will make a big difference. It's a little frustrating having a bike I can't depend on.  But it's still August (okay, just barely) but there can be some beautiful riding weather in September and sometimes even into early October.  Keep your fingers crossed this solves the problem.

Tuesday, August 29th - can't find the camera

Good morning everyone

I have a couple of photos I want to share with you this week but I can't find the camera this morning.
Check back tomorrow and I may just have all my ducks in a row!

Tuesday, August 23rdh - read down the page to meet my new best friend...

Meghan returned home last week after spending two weeks at Diabetes camp in the Muskoka area. Originally she was a little reluctant to go, then she decided she would think about it and in the end she was looking forward to going.
I talked to her when her mom picked her up and the whole thing was a resounding success. She connected with a lot of other kids and now she knows she's not alone with this lifestyle that she will have forever. She's the fourth one from the left and a pretty happy looking little girl (sorry, make that young lady!)

The rest of our week has been pretty quiet. We did have a very long weekend here. We don't get the August 1st holiday, instead we get the Friday of Old Home Week. To make it extra special we also had Saturday off - three whole days, what a treat!  Friday was spent doing this and that but not really accomplishing a whole lot. Although I did manage to get out and pick a few blueberries with Brenda, which I used to make a peach blueberry flan. It turned out not too bad.

Lloyd has been having nothing but trouble with his chain saw so I finally convinced him (by twisting his rubber arm ) to go and buy a new one. He arrived home with it on Friday afternoon and we were set for the rest of the weekend.

We took a little break on Friday evening to eat dinner out in Point Prim.There's a chowder house we've been wanting to try and since he was away on my birthday, he wanted to make up for it. We had a delicious meal sitting outside facing the water. It was a beautiful night and a great way to end the day.

Saturday was another beautiful day and we were up early so I could start  in on splitting wood. Lloyd worked away at the trim on the barn, while I worked on wood.  It was a very hot day and didn't take the whole day to feel tired and worn out. Fortunately we had been invited out for fish fry at the VanGaals.Bernie's sister Mary and her husband were here for the weekend so the six of us had a lovely time. Great food, great company  and a really wonderful dessert - Brenda's special homemade raspberry blueberry pie. What a treat!

Sunday it was again a lovely day so Lloyd, Bernie and Meghan headed out on their bikes and the rest of us met up with them in Murrey Harbour for brunch. Finally back home and a bit more work. Our plan is to just chip away at it a little at a time.  I have the splitter set up in the shed so I don't have to handle the logs any more than necessary.  I also can just close the door if it looks like rain. Lloyd's plan is to cut up logs until he runs out of gas, once each day. Before he knows it the logs will be blocked, but he's already way ahead of my splitting and stacking, but eventually I'll catch  up.

The pile is slowly shrinking

Meet my new best friend - the good old reliable log splitter

Everytime I go out there, the pile of blocked logs gets bigger and bigger. Guess I'm going to have to pick up the pace!

Wednesday, August 17th - it was a party in spite of the rain

The whole past week was spent getting ready for our pig roast. Planning, organizing, shopping, etc, etc all took place before the big day.

We had sent out and/or delivered invitations to approximately 45 people and we prepared accordingly.
Our good friend Stephan arrived on Thursday to help out with the event.

Saturday morning they picked up the pig at the butcher's and coated it in a generous layer of marinade before putting it on ice in the bath tub until show time on Sunday.

We have enjoyed glorious weather for countless weeks and were hoping for the same this weekend. Unfortunately that was not to be the case. All week they told us it was going to be chilly and rainy for the day and this was the ONE time they had the forecast bang on accurate.

Getting the wood burned down to coals

Ready to start turning, and turning, and turning

Rain required an improvised roof over the spit

But we were not going to let that stop a party. The fire was lit in the newly constructed pit and the pig was loaded onto the spit. After some adjustments it was there for the day. Bernie,  Stephan and Lloyd spent the day looking after it. Brenda came over after church and was a huge help. She did a lot of work and we never could have pulled it off without her capable assistance.  For that I am truly grateful. Not to mention the help that she recruited after the meal to help wash up.  You girls know who you are and we're very grateful for the help.

Because the weather wasn't exactly ideal, to say the least, we ended up with only 27 people in attendance but by all accounts, they all had a grand time. Food, music, friends, really who can ask for any more than that (okay, a bit of sun would have made a world of difference). But it was an experience for sure. Some things we would do again, some not, some differently but it's always good to learn new things and have new experiences.

The only sun we saw all day, provided by Bernie

Like they say, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade and that's precisely what we did.

A big thanks to the VanGaals for extreme help in all areas, Stephan for BBQ guidance, and general help as well as sharing his vocal talents, Ian for supplying the initial inspiration and for entertaining  us, Margie for assisting with the entertainment,  Sharyn for the wonderful assortment of salad materials fresh from her garden,  Jackie for the delicious clams and oysters,  and everyone else who helped bring stuff into the house when we were done our meal. If I've forgotten to thank anyone, you can be sure your help was much appreciated.

Stephen was here until Wednesday morning. Tuesday evening, we had only leftovers to feed him - chowder made from the leftover clams and some mackeral he had caught earlier in the day, and the left over oysters.  But he really didn't mind that at all!

Tuesday, August 9th - were you wondering where I've been???

Patti, the two girls and Tristen left early on Saturday morning(the Saturday before the last one) , leaving James and me to keep ourselves entertained.

But before they left, I was treated to a delicious birthday cake that they helped with. They even picked the fresh strawberries on the way home to decorate it with.

It was a very busy time and the fun just continued. Lloyd finally made it back from his amazing trip to the Azores, albeit over 24 hours late but he made it back just the same. Now we are in full on mode to prepare for our Pig Roast this Sunday.  Our friend Ian is coming from Ontario to help out with the entertainment and we just heard from our friend Stephan who is also planning to come from Brockville to assist with keeping everyone happy. It just keeps getting better and better. Lloyd spent a large part of the weekend building a spit to roast the pig on and now we are just praying for a nice day - or even just no rain - and we will be very happy campers.

Because a picture speaks a thousand words, here's my million words for this week - it was a great time

Inspecting the freshly toasted marshmallow for just the correct degree of doneness. 

We had bonfires on the beach a couple of times.

Jill cooking a hot dog over the flames

On our way to Basin Head, we stopped in at the Inn at Bay. We toured the grounds and the gardens and checked out the fire already burning for that evenings feast!

After watching others jumping off the pier at Basin Head, the girls just had to give it a 

try - they're much braver than I'd be - but then again, they can swim, I can't.

After Patti and the others were gone home, it was back to work for James. 

He cut the grass for me as well as trimmed all around the house.  Of course it was 

all just so he could ride around on the new lawnmower

I sent his mom these photos and asked if I could keep. His brother and sister apparently said yes,

I could, but his dad wanted him back so he can cut the grass at home

On the Sunday after the kids left, James and I joined Brenda and her large group of company for a day of deep sea fishing. Mackerel was the primary catch, but they were also fishing for cod.

Nothing like a sunny day to inspire a little nap after an exhausting 15 minutes of fishing!!!

James and his cod. He and Brenda were the only fisherpeople on our boat to catch a cod. 

It's small but just  big enough to keep.

After a sunny afternoon on the water, we were fortunate to be invited to the Van Gaals for a fish feed of the freshly caught fish with the family.  YUMMM

The beautiful gardens at Kings Playhouse

Before Brenda's company left, she and I joined a group to go and see The Four Tellers, a collection of local story tellers. What a great show it was. Unfortunately it was sold out so I wasn't able to get James a ticket so he went down and spent the evening with Bernie.

Once the family was gone, it was time for James to go to work. Bernie invited him to join the group in the woods every morning.  He cut down some trees with a double sided axe..

.

and learned to drive the loader. It will be pretty hard to get him excited about cutting the grass after driving around on this

 

All in all it was a great visit.  The kids even learned a little more than they cared to about just where our food comes from. The meat birds had an appointment with destiny while they were here. They helped me catch the chickens and put them into the crates to be taken off to be processed. One roasted for supper the next night was a bit of an eye opener for them.

My week finally ended on Sunday with a visit from my dear friend, Nancy, from Rockwood. She was in Halifax visiting her sister and came over on the boat for the day. We didn't have a lot of time but we did make it into town for some lunch, then back out to our place for a tour and visit with Lloyd. Then a quick trip to the beach and it was time to take her back to the ferry. I'm hoping next year she can come and stay over at least one night then we can see a bit more of the island.

Now gearing up for our Pig Roast of Sunday. Not sure just yet how many people we can expect but it should be fun just the same. Both Ian and Stephan will be here to entertain and with any luck, mother nature will be on our side and provide us with at least a dry day.

Thursday, July 28th - it's been a busy few days with those folks from away..

I'm on vacation so not usually really sure of just what day it is. Patti and the three younger kids (Tristen, Meghan and her friend Jill) were to arrive on the late flight Saturday night. Unfortunately that didn't happen. There were apparently some very disappointed members of the group who got home very late and had to get back up very early the next morning to try for the morning flight. Turns out it was worth the wait as they were all put into first class.

They arrived at 11:00 and by 1:00 we were all at the beach over at Lakeside.  It was a pretty quiet day as everyone was tired out from their travels. James arrived on the midnight flight that evening so I sent everyone off to bed and went into town to fetch him. He also had to fly first class, poor fellow. I almost didn't recognize him as he seems to have grown at least a foot since the last time I saw him, which wasn't that long ago.

The next few days seems like a bit of a blur. So far some of us have shopped, because the weather was threatening rain, we've been to Anne of Green Gables, Mariner's Cove in Cavendish,
the beach at Tea Hill, Island Hill Farm, Boom Burger, and even more shopping, as well as a late night bonfire on the beach.

Except for one day with a bit of rain, it has been very hot most of the time so perfect for the beach.
Today (Thursday,  I think!) they have all gone to Shining Waters and / or Sandspit.  I chose to sit this one out and stay home and relax. They should be home around 7:00 tonight when we will be heading over to Lakeside with some wood and hotdogs to have our dinner over another bonfire.

The week has been a blur of activity but I think for the most part, everyone is having a great time. They've discovered our movie program on the TV
so that has led to many late nights watching movies with buckets of popcorn and several late mornings. But we are on holidays so that's what it's for.

Lloyd on the other hand isn't doing much relaxing! He's been busy attending bull fights, festivals, etc as well as showing off his skills on the dance floor! The following video is one of the festivals he attended. It's quite long but if you fast forward to about 26 minutes, and watch to see how it's supposed to be done, then you will see Twinkle Toes himself showing how it's not done !

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g7puXTqjuzY
 
But he's having a great time and I'm sure he'll have lots of stories when he gets home.

We've actually talked on the phone a couple of times and he tells me he went fishing and caught three barracudas.
Now that's some fish!

Thurdsay, July 21st - a little late but I was BUSY!

Well, the first day of being farmer McDenny went well. I was up early on my first day of vacation. I got a few things done before Lloyd got home from work. By the time he had arrived, all the animals were fed, the goat was milked, the milk chilled and in the fridge and all was well.

He had a couple of hours before time to take him to the airport so he caught a bit of a nap. I dropped him at the airport at 11:00 for his 11:45 am flight to Toronto. He had a nine hour wait in Toronto for his flight to Lisbon but one of his friends from the Guelph airport came into the city to go for supper with him so that broke things up a bit. 

I had several errands to run while I was in town because I didn't plan to come back in until the weekend. It was a bit cooler and you could tell it wasn't a beach day. Not a great time to be in town because traffic is crazy. All the tourist use the cooler days to come in to tour the city as it really wasn't a sit in the sun kind of  day. A great day to get done what needs to be done and get out of there!

I bottled thirty bottles of wine at the brew your own place before leaving town so we are well stocked.  When I got home I spent the time doing some cleaning up around the yard, just putting a few things away that got missed on the weekend. While I was out there Meghan Van Gaal came over with some of her friends who are visiting from Toronto. They had a little boy who was quite happy to see the animals, so much so, that he didn't want to leave.

I continued working away until I ran out of steam. After a bite to eat, it was time to feed the animals again. Once everyone was fed, watered and put away for the night I headed back inside where I received a call from Brenda advising that they had fresh strawberry short cake, did I want to come over? Are you kidding me? Of course I did. So a lovely dessert and a cup of hot tea was a great way to end my first day of vacation. 

Today is supposed to be VERY hot so sometime this afternoon will be a beach day for Brenda and me.
Check back later in the week for more updates. I'm waiting to hear that Lloyd has arrived at his final destination in the Azores, but I suspect he's not there yet. I'll keep you posted as he promises to send photos.

One last word, I received a text from granddaughter Meghan, who is currently camping with the family. She got word that this year she will be doing 2 duets with her competition dance team. Last years was absolutely beautiful so I know she's pretty pleased about being chosen to do 2 numbers next  year.

And also in the same family, James will be performing at the Hillside Festival in Guelph on Friday evening. The rock band that he plays pipes in one song with, is playing. Too bad bagpipes don't figure in more pieces of rock music - guess he'll have to start changing things up a bit!