Busy, busy

Tags

Chicago, Food, Friends, Italy, life, Palenque, Quahogs, Rocky Point

Last weekend appeared as if there was nothing to do, quiet. However like the weather in PEI, if you wait 10 minutes things take a dramatic turn.

So Friday morning we went to a schedule appointment at the Vet with Nicky and Nora for their annual physical, they are both 12 yrs old now and for their annual shots. They are both in good health with some medical problems connected to age. Otherwise spoiled and happy puppies. Nora is particularly a drama queen at the Vet and it is quite the scene. Nicky on the other hand is quiet and stoic, not a peep out of him, such a good boy.

We returned home and out the door we went to Rocky Point for lunch at friends Summer home, though they can also live there year round and they have been doing that quite a bit in the last 15 months. Rocky Point is reached by doing a semi-circle around the bay of Charlottetown, crossing the North River and the East River to reach the point which faces the Strait of Northumberland. Our friends just extended their property to 70 acres. From the road you cannot see a thing, it is all treed and you have to know where to turn off to the long unpaved driveway towards the house, at on point you turn left and then right again facing on a high cliff the Strait and the view of water with in the far distance Nova Scotia.

When they bought this property many decades ago, the land belonged to the great grandfather of my current barber. The next door neighbour is the brother of our neighbour in town. The land itself back then did not have one tree on it. It was all farmland and no house. Today a forest has grown all around and dominates the area, making it a very private and secluded residence. The house is also quite beautiful, all wood recycled from the old railway platforms of Charlottetown Train Station when it was all decommissioned 35 years ago and the wood was free for the taking. The house is filled with art work and has a giant deck which dominates and gives panoramic views of the Strait.

The only reason we wanted to see our friend was to give him a birthday gift and say hello, but we got invited to a fantastic lunch of Quahog clams and spaghetti with lots of lemon and clam juice for the sauce, a green salad and a tomato salad, accompanied by beautiful wines. For dessert we had ice cold Limoncello. The sort of lunch we would have in Italy.

We also walked around the new purchased land which is connected with their own.

The land seen extending into the strait is Point Prim, where one of my favourite lighthouse is located. It indicates the way for ships into the bay of Charlottetown. This photo is taken not far from the Block House Light House which indicates the actual narrow entrance into the bay. It is a big lighthouse and has a house attached to it. The house belongs to the Federal Government but no one lives there and apparently it is for sale. It is a located next to the old French Fort of 1700 and is splendidly isolated with views of the water and the city in the distance. All ships coming in past this lighthouse.

We have been many times to the Summer house but this time was somewhat special.

High Tide, the beach is red sandstone.

Then on Saturday we went to York which is outside Charlottetown, very rural and green.

We love to go there to chose plants and flowers for our garden. They always have a good selection and offer good service at reasonable prices.

Corner of the deck, with the terra cotta head of the Prince of Palenque bought in Mexico in 1986, it travelled with me all over the world.

Citronella plant on top of the terra cotta pumpkin bought at the florist in the Drake Hotel in Chicago in 1994.

We have been busy and now tonight we are promised muggy weather in a few days. The expression here on PEI is, We are having the muggys (high humidity). I have not mentioned what I am also involved at the Club or everyday, so no we are not bored.

The Haviland Club at Haviland and Water street in Charlottetown.

Food and Flowers

Tags

Canada, Dukes Hotel, flowers, Food, Friends, garden, life, Martini, PEI

I have been inspired by fellow blogger living in Fuengirola, Spain with the beautiful pictures of flowers, sea, food and fashion. I had mentioned recently that as part of our Spring ritual we had to go to the Garden Centre for flowers, we did yesterday. There is a garden centre just outside of Charlottetown in York. It is a family run place, lots of choices of flowers, some we had never heard of, like Goldalia which is of the Dahlia family.

I love garden centres, so many flowers to look at displayed on mass, riots of colours, it is soothing for the brain, it is simply beautiful. A handful of people, it was quiet.

They also had begonias with candy bright colours to the point of looking good enough to eat.

We did buy for our 2 flower boxes a mix of geraniums and something called

Pechoa, the leaves are beautiful and come in a variety of colours.

Then this past weekend, it was the first long weekend of Summer, Queen’s Birthday or Pentecost, every year we use to go to Salzburg for the music festival. This year with the Pandemic we are at home and invited friends for lunch.

I bought lobster and made a Lobster salad with asparagus. Then since we had lots leftover Will made a Quiche with lobster & Asparagus, there is no cheese in this recipe.

The lobster salad was a big hit with our guests.

Finally the Barman at the Dukes Hotel in London is famous for his Martini and other cocktails, his name Alessandro Palazzi. He makes a martini that is not shaken nor stirred. A cold martini glass, a tumble of Vermouth, slosh it around then simply pour it out. Fill the glass with good quality vodka and top with a twist of lemon.

“For me, a Martini is a drink which has to be strong and three ingredients,” he said. “An Espresso Martini is not really a Martini. A Martini is supposed to be all alcohol. It’s the most simple cocktail to make: it’s the temperature, the quality ingredients, the lemon. There’s the vermouth, gin or vodka, and the oil. That’s what a Martini is.” 

Duke’s certainly isn’t cheap, at £22 for a Martini. But Palazzi defends the prices: “You get five shots of premium gin, Amalfi lemon, Sicilian olives, snacks, and if you want you can buy one drink and have the table all night.” Now this is a place I will want to visit once we are allowed again to travel. As for the Amalfi Lemons, they are wonderful, too bad we cannot get them here.

Fifth Anniversary

Tags

5 years, Anniversary, Friends, home, life, PEI

The first of May 2021 marks our five year stay in PEI, it was already 5 years ago we arrived from Ottawa, with the puppies and all our earthly belonging. We are so used to living on the Island, in Winter we never leave town, we know pretty much everyone and have truly settled here. Our days are full of activities and people to see.

Last night we invited our friends who suggested the apartment we have now and who helped us greatly to get settled in. We had a wonderful dinner with them, leg of lamb and Mezzeh.

After this pandemic and the disaster we see in our old town of Ottawa, we are so glad to be here and to have a quiet life. Little did we know then how coming to PEI was a lifesaver for us and how it made going through this pandemic so much easier.

I always wanted to live by the sea and this also is a dream come true. Going to our beach cottage in July is loads of fun. This year like last year we will miss our friends and family who cannot come to visit us. But we are hopeful that 2022 will be different and a possible adaptation to the new normal.

We really cannot see now living elsewhere, this is home.

PEI seen from the International Space Station.

1 Cake down 2 to go

Tags

Birthday, cake, Food, Friends, PEI

Last night we had a handful of friends come to the house for a glass of Cremant de Limoux, small bites prepared by our friend and Chef Pico and a cake by our friend Valerie.

The food was wonderful and so imaginative, Pico truly loves preparing food and has no end of ideas.

Valerie, also makes pretty nice cakes, she too has great ideas and she strives for perfection. The Sicilian Whole Orange Cake was rich and very good, the way a Birthday cake should be.

It was fun to have people over even if it is a small number due to Covid restriction.

Also last night around midnight Will was able to make his appointment for his jab, it was confirmed a few minutes after midnight and so he is scheduled. I will make my appointment next week when my age group is next. Will and I are happy that our turn is coming around and get this done. In fact people talk about getting the vaccine and having a date to do it, as if it was a much anticipated event like a holiday. I know so far of no one who described having a problem, at most it was feeling drowsy or a warm arm for a few hours.

This evening at the Club we are having cake # 2 a Black Forest Cake. Then Saturday night another small party with friends, food and cake # 3 a Expresso Moka Cake.

This is Cake #1 on 4 layers Sicilian Whole Orange cake, it was gone in minutes. I do not invite people on diets or who do not like sweets.

Poach pears, with walnuts and blue cheese on Endives.

Thai marinated beef with sesame seeds, small cherry tomates, cucumber.

Scallops on a bed of avocado with a shaving of mango and scallion flowers on a grissol cracker.

End of Season

Tags

Charlottetown, Friends, life, lobster, PEI, Seafood, Water Prince

Well one of our favourite restaurants in town closed last night. Usually it stays open until mid-december but this year with the lack of tourists and the pandemic, the owner Shane C. decided to close a month early. He will be back in mid-April. Hopefully 2021 will be a better year tourism wise on PEI. Another quiet year like 2020 will spell bankruptcy for many in that sector.

We always make a point of going on the last night to close the restaurant with a dinner amongst friends. This year we went twice before closing, once on Tuesday night and again on Thursday night. The Water Price Corner Shop is an institution. Regis Philbin who died recently loved the place, in fact he is one of the many celebrities who love this place and drop in during the Summer, a small restaurant with that Maritime souvenir decor with a solid quality seafood and Lobster, no pretensions.

Thank you to the staff, Maureen, Fiona, Theresa, Doug, Coady and Shane for many good meals and looking forward to seeing you again in April 2021.

We had a great dinner of Oysters on the half-shelf, beautiful fishcakes, grilled Halibut, boiled 1 pounder Lobster and Lobster roll. All excellent, great service and fun people.

Bonne Action de Grâce!

Tags

Canada, Family, Food, Friends, Peace, PEI, pumpkin, thanksgiving

Well this weekend we celebrate Thanksgiving, despite the Pandemic and numbers of sick people surging in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta and a new and developing situation in New Brunswick, we can be thankful in Canada for so many good things we enjoy. First and foremost everyone has access for FREE to Healthcare, Covid 19 tests are Free and easily accessible. You need healthcare it is available and you have no worries about it. Even the Seasonal Flu Shot are FREE. When you have your health, you got it all.

Here in PEI we have no COVID and anyone who has been sick total 61 have stayed at home and have received help and follow-up from Health PEI. No deaths and no hospitalizations.

We live in a peaceful and stable country, the Government of Canada has numerous programs for help and support financially anyone who needs help during the Pandemic. This is more than we can say if looking at other countries where people are left to fend for themselves.

We live in a nice house, we have friends and a good social life. We have our two puppies who are demanding but we love them, hey their Dachshunds, what do you expect.

So we have a lot to be thankful for and appreciative of our blessings in this life.

Happy Thanksgiving! Bonne Action de Grâce!

What to take on vacation

Tags

Beach, Friends, PEI, sand, Summer, surf, vacation

Every time Summer rolls around, reading lists appears, all manner of books are proposed. Thing is, many of those books are for general appeal and some make the best seller list. But I am never interested in them and if I am going to buy a book I want to make sure I will read it. So the topic has to appeal to me in some fashion.

We are going to the cottage at the beach and I am looking for books to read. I got one by Cicero written of course some 2070 yrs ago on how to rule a country, I may get tips on how to do it best, if ever I intend to rule Canada, one of the most difficult country to rule give our 6 time zones and enormous geographic space bordering on 3 oceans, we could be called an Empire based on size alone, but we settled for Dominion (Kingdom).  I also found two other books on Kindle but I just realized they will be available after 28 July, so I will have to wait. One is by Lady C. the Duchess of Argyll, her newly released best seller on Meghan and Harry. The other is a book recommended by Nicholas Hoare who use to own a famous bookstore in Ottawa on Sussex Drive. It was such a beautiful bookstore and guaranteed you would find something to your liking. Hoare recommended a book based on letters written by Sir Alan Frederick ”Tommy” Lascelles who was the private secretary of King George VI and later his daughter Queen Elizabeth II. This book was made possible by special permission from H.M. the Queen, usually such letters never see the light of day. The letters cover the War years and shine a light on historical passages that might otherwise remain obscure. Lascelles being an Oxford graduate writes beautifully, the man had vocabulary, something that is lost nowadays. He was also part of the Courtier network around the Royal Family.

So I am now looking at my home library and what can I find on the shelves, there is a wide choice. But then I wonder how much reading I will do all together.

So off we go on Hwy 2 towards the West and French River, the area has many little settlements, then turning unto Hwy 20 and on the road we will pass, near our destination, the birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery, a simple little house in a field. She is of course the famous author, who in PEI is revered.  The last few kilometres is a red dirt road amongst fields and marshes which ends at the Sand dunes, the New London Range Lighthouse and the sea. This is where we will be. I am looking forward to seeing the night sky which in such a remote location reveals itself to be ablaze with unimaginable number of stars and galaxies including our own Milky Way. Also the silence of the place, disturbed only by the surf and songs of birds and maybe one or two coyotes howling.

Quiet Saturday

Tags

Big Band, Canada., Friends, Jacques Saucier, Music, Radio Canada

Another quiet day here in Charlottetown, it is in a way very nice, you can actually hear the chimes of both the R.C. Basilica and the Anglican Church up the street on the hour and half hour. Nice sunny day with a light cool wind.

The Prime Minister at his daily briefing told the Nation that the borders will remain closed for another month. The US Administration agreed that this was the best course of action, despite the Donald telling everyone that he wants to go back to normal pronto. Seems our PM has a way to sooth the evil beast in the White House, he reminds him that if you take one course what might happen. It has been an education for the gang around Trump that Canada does matter to the US economy and well being.
I do have a feeling that our border will remain closed for a few more months or at least as long as the Covid 19 rages in the USA. Here in Canada in some Provinces it appear that the curve is flattening and we will know more in 2 weeks time. It seems that all the measures taken by the Government of Canada and the Provinces are working. It is just a bit boring, but I am continuing to read and walking in the park by the river.

So no visitors this Summer and none of those awful cruise ships. I use to love cruising but not anymore. All the Summer Festivals have been cancelled all over Canada. I am phoning friends and sending SMS to people we know keeping in touch, so far no one we know is sick. My brother and sister-in-law and my sister and brother-in-law in the USA are well. So we are lucky in many ways.

The radio show C’est si bon on Radio-Canada with Jacques Saucier plays music from the 1920 to 1970 and has he says, it is nice to have this music to make us smile in a time of trouble.

 

Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadian Orchestra with singer Bill Flanagan.

Azzurro

Tags

anxiety, Canada., coping, danger, Friends, Italy, Stress, troubles, World

Italy has been hit very badly by COVID 19, the number of sick and dead amongst the elderly population is staggering, 60% of sick people are over the age of 60 and 100% of the dead are over 80 yrs of age. The Government in an effort to control the spread of the virus has ordered people confined to their homes. But those dear Italians are resourceful, people all around Italy organized themselves to sing from their balcony or windows or terraces in the afternoon at 6pm each day in an effort to socialize with neighbours. Italy gave us the Opera more  than 400 years ago and so it is normal to sing in times of joy but also of great stress.

I know that friends living in Italy have told me that they will sing this afternoon Azzurro and on other days Volare will be sung, etc.. The idea is to sing a song that is well known and popular with everyone, Italy has lots of those. Here is Adriano Celentato singing Azzurro.

Porto Azzurro is a comune in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany; it is on the island of Elba, located about 130 kilometres southwest of Florence and about 90 kilometres south of Livorno. A beautiful place.

 

The Sun rises again for us all

Tags

art., Food, Friends, happiness, life, Music, New, year

The Sun appears as the Earth rotates for a new day. May 2020 bring you many good things in your life and that of your friends and family. Thank you for reading my blog and for commenting. Though I may not know all of you, I know some and through this journey we have become friends.

I also look forward to reading the blogs of those I follow and those I will discover in time.

All the best to you all. BONNE ANNÉE!! Meilleurs Voeux!!