We are having an election

Tags

Canada, elections, French, harvest, painting

Canada is in election mode and only 3 weeks are left before the vote. This election takes place as the crisis in Afghanistan is getting worse by the day. Canada had promised to take 20,000 Afghans but now it looks like we will take only a few thousands. Canada was totally unprepared and it looks now like the Government really does not care. PM Justin Trudeau is focused in trying to win a majority and the rest is not on his mind.

The election is not going well for him and I have the impression that we will have another minority government. What is coming out is the insufferable arrogance of Trudeau and his constant virtue signalling. The media is quite tired of it and the public is losing faith. We are also entering a 4th wave of COVID and many appear unable to face more lockdowns. In PEI with 80% + fully vaccinated things are good and quiet.

This is harvest time and the choice of vegetables, herbs and salads of all kind is wonderful, the Farmer’s Market is lively. The weather in August is very nice so far and I only wish we could have a few more months of it, but that is not going to be.

I am also looking forward to our Club’s Golf Tournament, I volunteered to drive a Golf Cart so that we can distribute sandwiches to the golfers and a drink called Rum Matcha, which I am told is pretty stiff. After 3pm I will be grilling the steaks at the Club for the dinner. I expect to grill about 60 steaks. I am told they are around 10oz.

This week I also have to get serious and look for a new Apple Computer, mine is developing problems and I now have a line in the middle of the screen. A new one will be around $1500.

Now for those of you who have an eye for art and painting, can anyone tell me the name of this painting and who is the artist? It is French and probably from the 18th century. Is it Fragonard or Watteau? It is a baroque painting. The Goddess Ceres because of the sheaf of wheat (abundance) and Aphrodite with representing Peace, fertility her colour is pink. Ceres colour is green which symbolize agriculture. The Swan could very well be Zeus, lots of symbolism in this painting. But what is it?

September 1

Tags

climate change, elections, Food, harvest, tourism, USA, Weather

This is the long Labour Day Weekend, the tourism season is drawing to a close, though the cruise ships are still coming until end October and more tourist restaurants are staying open until either Thanksgiving weekend on 8 October some until mid-December.

We certainly did not have the crowds of last year for the 150th Anniversary of Confederation and I was happy that the numbers were more manageable. Charlottetown is a small capital of 36,000. people and when a cruise ship disgorges 1000+ passengers you really feel it. The weather also was far more humid and well above normal range for the Summer at 35C usually the temperatures are more around 25C in the day time and around 18C at night. So this Summer climate change was very apparent and many felt it was a bit weird, get use to it people this is the future. Some days in fact it was too hot to go to the beach and even the sea water bath water warmish.

There are 65 days left before the Municipal election and I can’t wait for the campaigning to end. At the moment things remain very fluid, tonight one candidate withdrew and another one came into the race. Just in my Ward 1 we are 4 candidates for Councillor. In the other 9 Wards there is either the incumbent or one challenger or no one. Ward 1 attracts a lot of attention because it is the original footprint of the City, the old downtown with all the attractions and activity. It is also a very mix neighbourhood in terms of population. Lots of businesses, government offices, historical sites and the harbour.

We have been promised or I should say the predictions are for a warm Winter, last year we got a lot of rain instead of snow and it made for a miserable gray Winter, more like Northern Europe.

What is nice about this time of the year is the harvest of vegetables and potatoes, prices tend to be good.

Now this coming week we will find out about the results of the NAFTA negotiations with Washington DC. Now that Trump has said he is not negotiating in good faith and does not care if Canada does not accept his terms, many Canadians are starting to think that maybe we should pull out of NAFTA. There was life before this trade agreement and as our Prime Minister said ”better to say no to a bad deal than having to live with it”.

I am afraid that after all the insults of the past year from Trump many Canadians including myself will never be able to see the USA in a favourable light again. It appears that Trump believes that the USA can live without Canada, well let him believe that, eventually he will find out it’s not that simple.