What’s next?

Tags

life, PEI, Spring

Easter Holiday is over and now on to Spring tune-up for the car and change of tires.

Insurance home and car payment season. I am also 21 days away from my Pfizer vaccination, I am looking forward to that. Will is only 15 days away. Some 11% of our Island population has been vaccinated which is great. People here talk about getting the vaccine like if they had won the lottery.

We had a lovely lunch, Will made his Asparagus in puff pastry tarts and we had ham on the bone with Broccoli, leek and carrots, dessert was panna cotta with blueberry coulis. All good and every one had a good time despite the weather freezing rain and heavy grey skies.

Other than that it’s pretty quiet around here. The Crab fishing Season has started and next week it will be Lobster Spring Season. May 1 is the re-opening of many restaurants for the Summer Season but, I doubt we will see any tourists, none from the USA for the time being, as for other Canadian provinces well I am not so sure either, since most have now gone in third wave mode with record infection numbers never seen before.

So it will be another quiet Summer here, difficult for restaurants and some shops who only exist because of the tourists. What amazes me is how the authorities simply shrug.

This is a photo of the BlockHouse Light House which is located at the narrow entrance into the port of Charlottetown, on the one side it faces the broad Strait and on the other this little bay and a expansive view of Charlottetown. It was once until the late 1970’s manned and the Lighthouse keeper and his family lived there, quite a big place. Now all lighthouses are automated and maintained by the Federal Dept of Parks. It is somewhat of an isolated spot next to Port La-Joye which in the 17th century was guarding the entrance into the larger bay and the river system. Someone told me that the house attached to the lighthouse is for sale or rent, though romantic to live there I cannot imagine how it would be in Winter with the storms coming with howling 100Km winds off the Strait. Beautiful in Summer.

Continuing with this blog entry we are now Tuesday and was at the garage this morning for my annual car inspection to get my safety sticker. Then finished the income tax returns with the accountant. Our taxes are simple so I could probably do them myself but I am too lazy. I did get a return amount, I think the Government loves me for being such a good citizen doing my Civic Duty, so I get a bit back. Hey this is my story and I am sticking to it. Though next year might be different story with my revenue changing and getting other benefits, so I might want to ask that they take 23% off those new benefits in taxes to avoid paying at the end of the year.

Had my glasses adjusted, I am looking at new frames, saw a POLO frame I liked but do not know how much they ask for it. Now we have to pay for the insurance for the house and car. This is Spring, the season of payments. Next in May Nicky and Nora go for their annual shots.

Now according to the Ornithologists (bird lovers) it is going to be an early Spring because of the behaviour of birds in the Atlantic provinces, who are behaving as if it was already May. I really don’t mind, I am all for it.

Getting ready

Tags

Easter, lunch, PEI

This is the long Easter Weekend, 4 days. Mind you I have been on a long weekend for the last 8 years, it must be some kind of record. So to avoid rush though crowds here are strictly controlled with going to the grocery store or any store, so there is no crowds. At the Farmer’s Market this morning which is always popular, when I arrived there was about 30 people in line, social distancing, + masks waiting to be let in, so that the numbers inside do not exceed the allowed number.

So we got a big ham with the bone in, all our vegetables and other necessities earlier this week. I got 3 big bunches of freshly cut tulips at the market from VANCO who is the producer here on PEI, it’s Tulip time now. Some rosemary bread and farm eggs.

I set the table at home for lunch tomorrow, had to polish the silver and decide which place setting to use, decide if it will be table cloth or place mats, we went for Polish cotton tablecloths. Make a flower arrangement for the centre from the tulips of various colours. Iron the napkins, each place setting has Easter Chocolates. Then we had to decide the serving order would it be buffet style or French service. We decided to plate everything in the kitchen and serve directly at the table. Wine service, etc. We have been doing this routine for years, so we are use to it.

Since lunch is at 2pm tomorrow, we will have to get up early, to cook the ham, Will is going to prepare the individual Asparagus tartelettes for each guest as an appetizer.

Dessert is panna cotta with a coulis of blueberries, that Will prepared today. The blueberries are from last Season and they are small and tasty.

Here is a photo of the table. Hope you all have an enjoyable day.

Vaccination day coming

Tags

Canada, covid, PEI, Vaccine

So the festivities of my Birthday have come to an end, it was great fun and the food and cakes were much appreciated by my guests. Will did a wonderful job of organizing it all.

Sunday night I went online to book my turn for the Covid Vaccine. We have a system here on PEI called SKIP THE LINE, this allows you to book a medical appointment online if your family medical doctor is not available and you need to see a doctor pronto. I think it is better than going to Emergency, no waiting and once you booked a time you go at the appointed hour. They even send you a text telling you that you should leave home and make your way to the clinic, your turn is coming up.

So I booked online by vaccination date, all I needed was to give my name, home address, DOB and my Health Card number, within a minute I was booked for 27 April.

Vaccinations are given at the hockey arena about 5 minutes from our house. Will is booked for earlier in the month. The Government here follows a system of decreasing age for vaccination. They started 2 months ago with anyone over the age of 85+ then proceeded with all front line medical staff, etc. then doctors and dentists, etc.

Recently they also offered the vaccine to anyone working in a kitchen, restaurant or bar between the ages of 18 to 29. So it is going pretty fast and by 1 July it is now estimated that 80% of the population will have been vaccinated. PEI is way ahead of the National average and we have had none of the gong show and incompetence of Ontario and Alberta where politicians are playing medical doctor.

Spring is definitely here, with lots of rain and sun and mixed in together, mild weather is very nice. Now everyone is talking about what to do this Summer.

Alfred Hollins’ A Trumpet Minuet.

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.

Books and stuff

Tags

Canada, Club, obama, PEI, Spring

I am currently reading the newest book by Barack Obama, A PROMISE LAND, published by Crown. I cannot recommend enough this book, highly readable, interesting and as a political biography the style draws in the reader. It helps that I always admired Obama as a highly intelligent man. He is generous in presenting also in the book Michelle as a life partner. He is honest and open which is very refreshing in a politician of any country.

This was a long weekend and an extra day is being added tomorrow, because of bad weather, snow and ice rain, it has been declared a snow day, meaning everything will be shut down, stay home. Today was also very quiet, all stores closed for Islander Day. The only action was across the street in the round house park at Founder’s Hall on the skating rink, lots of skaters and horse rides on the big coach, a good day, brilliant sunshine and a brisk wind.

I have been kept fairly busy with Club business, I am now doing the weekly newsletter and it contains many features and is ever changing from week to week.

Spring (March 21) is only 4 weeks away and the groundhog said that it will be an early Spring, better be otherwise he is going to end up on the Bar-B-Q. It has been a very mild winter, easy to take. I wonder what our Summer will be like, no cruise ships at all this year again, there probably will be few tourists, the Island is still close to all except essential services. I really don’t mind mass tourism spoils it for all.

I have seen in the weather that London, Paris, Berlin are covered in snow which is unusual for them, though they do have cold and humid Winters with no central heating. I remember Winter mornings in Rome, it was chilly with all those marble floors and no central heat.

Mont St-Michel, Normandy, France.

Berlin Imperial Palace under snow, February 2021

Versailles, la Cour d’Honneur under snow

The two little ones

Tags

dachshunds, home, PEI, Rome

Both our Nicholas and Eleonora (Nick and Nora) will turn 13 this month, Nora is one week older than Nicky. Strange they have been with us since they were 6 weeks old in Rome. We knew them or first saw them at 2 weeks with their respective Moms and other siblings in Capena.

Both have loads of personalities and each very different. Nick loves his routine and wants you to stick to it and not change anything. Nora is the fighter, constant guard dog 24/7 and track hunting dog. She too loves her routine but has a very different one from Nick.

Nick loves the sunshine, the hotter the better. He is not as friendly as Nora, more distant with people. However if he likes you then you are his buddy and you cannot leave ever. Nora is the I love everybody, kiss,kiss and plays coquette with people for cuddles.

They both love their treats and expects lots of them, fact is they get more treats from Will than from me and they know that, so I do not get pestered about treats, they simply go to Mister pushover. Treats are multiple, bits of celery, bits of carrots, bits of cheese usually gouda, pieces of kibble, small piece of ice, anything I chop in terms of vegetables, they want a taste and the best is the liver treats home made by Will, they go nuts for that one. But they have developed a system, knowing that they get a treat when they return from a walk, they will pretend they want to go out, open the door and no I am not going but you give me a treat now. It seems that the simple thought of going out is good enough to warrant a treat, in their book.

The other funny thing is Nicky who insist on sleeping next to me on my chair in our living room. He will even fetch me to come and will be very insistent about it and look put out if I ignore him. So while he will sleep for an hour on the chair with me in the evening, he will wake up at 10pm and look at me, this look means I have to go out for my evening walk. Upon returning he wants his treat and then will make a fuss to go to bed. This is where we have a conversation in French, in fact all the words we use with them are in French, manger, maison, dodo, biscuit. Sometimes we don’t even have to make a full sentence, the simple Veux-tu … (Do you want) Nicky knows this mean manger (to eat), no need to say it. They know where to sit while they wait for their meal, do it does not stop Nicky to wimper, Nora is usually quiet.

So at 10 pm he goes to his bed and I bring the biscuit, of course Nora wants a biscuit also but she is not going to bed at all, too early for her. He then proceeds to fall asleep for the night.

Nora on the other hand always wants to nestle into the sofa all wrapped up in her blanket, but she knows that she like Nicky must to go her bed. She is not happy about that and always tries to negotiate. Once in bed, lately she started to whimper like a little baby, so we go in to see what his wrong, nothing of course but she wants another treat. Nicky of course wakes up and he too wants a treat. So lately it is up to 4 treats before she goes to bed and stops her whining. With Nora it is always about pushing the envelope and getting her way. It is very difficult to get angry at her, she knows which buttons to push to get what she wants. Nicky is not so clever about that, much more, hey its my routine follow it, approach.

It’s home made real liver treat time, pieces are the size of small brownies.

Funny enough they cannot be walked together, though in Rome we did with no problems, once in Canada that changed. Nicky can be super aggressive with other dogs either with Nora present or not. Nora on her own barks at other dogs and is not sociable. However with horses, we have them on the street in the old town or with cats she is indifferent, pays little attention to them. Crows which are plentiful here, she will chase but Crows are not easily intimidated and they have sharp nasty beaks, so we keep her away from them.

We want more liver, more!!!!!

What difference a day make

Tags

Canada, Maritimes, PEI, snow, winter

As the song says, What difference a day make. This morning woke up to see my windows, we have 18 of them all around blanketed with snow. The streets are deserted and everything is shut down for this Snow Day. The car is buried under a metre of snow, this is going to be fun to clean up. The worst part is the high powerful wind which tosses the snow here and there.

I suppose that my campaign to promote PEI as an Island Winter Paradise is blown off course. I blame the CBC Weather guy, Jay Scotland.

In just 7 hours from NO snow to this, sidewalks are unpassable, very slippery. It is also very quiet and peaceful. It’s only -3C. Tomorrow sunshine which should be nice on the fresh snow.

Well the weather person was not …

Tags

PEI, tourism, winter

This first part was written on 3 February it was completed on 7 February.

The weather person was not wrong for once, we had the first major snow storm of the Winter, what we usually get in early November happened on 2 February, it was heavy snow, followed by ice pellets, lots of rain and high winds between 80 to 120 km per hour. The sea bridge is closed because of the wind, I am not brave enough to drive on a bridge for 10 minutes when the wind is blowing at such speed.

My poor Nicky was not feeling well this morning, stomach problems, he probably ate something outside which made him sick, his stomach was growling something fierce and he was off food. He only wanted to sleep next to me on the sofa, all snuggled up, so that is what we did.

On a day like today, everything is closed, no schools, no shops, no government, it’s too miserable to go anywhere. Tonight it all looks wet and icy only hoping it does not freeze over because it will be miserable. Mind you I have no where to go.

In other news the groundhog did not see its shadow so it is going to be an early Spring. I am inclined to believe it given how abnormally mild the Winter has been so far. Gives the lie to the Farmer’s Almanac who had predicted a long harsh Winter with record snow fall, well the old farmer missed the mark.

Monday 8 February another snow storm but what came from the previous storm on 2 February all melted away. This means that Monday is going to be a snow day, all will be closed again. Will see if the mild weather will once again melt it all away but at this point Winter is well advanced and Spring is close.

We learned this week that there will be NO cruise ships in Canadian waters in 2021. The Government of Canada is keeping all ports closed until March 2022. I really don’t mind it just means a quiet Summer.

Today the Government of PEI authorized pharmacists to give the vaccines in house. So with the doctors at their Office and Hospital and walk-in clinics it will be very easy to get the vaccine. But when I look at the other Provinces outside of the Maritimes, I am shocked by the gross incompetence of politicians and their lack of clear thinking and constant flip-flopping on what to do and on the other hand the selfishness of people, the me first attitude seems to be the rule. We still have a year to go at least with this pandemic. I know we will not go back to normal or like in the good old days before March 2020, but hopefully the worst will be over soon.

In PEI the good news is vaccination is going well. In Canada over 1 million people have now received their vaccines. It is all looking good.

The look on 2 February 2021 after the first snowstorm of the Season.

This morning 7 February 2021, what will it be like tomorrow after the promised storm.

End of January

Tags

chicken liver, cuisine, Food, PEI

What a strange Winter we are having, it is clearly Climate Change in action, no ice in the gulf of St-Lawrence, none around PEI, little snow on the ground and mild weather, sidewalks are free of ice and snow. It is cold enough for ice rinks but just, the weather lady said that we might get more snow in March but that is the end of Winter at that point.

Vaccination wise it is going well in PEI, so far more than 6000 have been vaccinated out of 150K population. Still no Covid 19 hospitalizations or death after one year of this pandemic, we are truly lucky and so happy to be here and not somewhere else in Canada.

Funny thing about living in PEI, there are some foods you cannot find, one being chicken livers, no butcher carry them. Usually butchers will sell beef, pork, chicken and turkeys, some duck and goose imported from Quebec, they also sell seafood, scallops, lobsters, oysters, clams and mussels and Atlantic Salmon, haddock and halibut. But the lack of chicken livers on the market when we have major producers on the Island is a mystery. Butchers claim they cannot sell it, others say that they buy chickens and eggs from farmers but livers and heart are not available. I suspect that it may go to animal feed instead and sold off that way. On the other hand beef liver is readily available. When you find as I did just this week, both chicken livers and rarity of rarity ground veal, I bought a good quantity not sure if it would be continuously available or just a lark. I phoned friends to tell them because everyone is looking for it and let them know that if we create a demand maybe butchers will carry chicken livers. A friend of ours gave us a very good chicken liver paté recipe. Will made some today and it smells so good. I love liver of all kind but the best is Goose liver pan seared, to me this is a divine dish. I also like chicken livers with rice or in vegetable soup or sautéed with wine. In other provinces like Quebec and New Brunswick it is available in supermarkets and at butchers.

Again PEI is very different in this respect from other Canadian provinces. Not so long ago lobsters were fed to hogs not to humans, it is only with a growing tourism trade and demand in the last 40 years that now lobster is seen as a delicacy, but this change in food eating habits and taste is due to the American tourists who asked for it and could not understand why it would not be available, if you can buy it in Maine just next door. It could also have to do with poverty, PEI was a poor province for most of the twentieth century. The habit was to go to Boston to work as servants in households, others travelled to the West Coast, Vancouver was popular, more recently the Oil fields of Alberta attracted a lot of people. So people ate what was cheaply available in PEI and most lived on farms in isolated areas of the Island. Given the large Irish population, poor Scots and Acadians, potatoes, ham, chickens and casseroles were popular. Fishermen sold their catch for profit not to eat at home, though fish like cod, haddock are popular because it is cheap. I suppose it is just one of those vagaries of life.

SNOW!!!

Tags

Canada, PEI, snow, storm, winter

Well we had a green and mild Christmas and New Year’s Day 2021 and today 2 January BANG snow storm! with 10 inches of snow in 5 hours. So now the snow ploughs are out in force and it’s back to the National Sport of Canada, brushing off the car and de-icing the windows, what fun.

For this snow storm I blame Michigan, the theory is that they manufacture bad weather there and send it our way. In the Summer we blame Florida for hurricane weather which is then sent our way. Well at least we know that by End March it will be over, so I suppose that we cannot complain too much, it will be 12 weeks instead of 26 weeks of snowy Winter as is standard in most of Canada.

The one good thing about a storm here, is that suddenly there is no traffic and no one about, it is very quiet and peaceful as if we lived in the countryside.

Today was a quiet day, this afternoon we visited an artist friend and his spouse just a couple of streets away from us. They live in a area called Big Spring in reference to the Spring that crosses the area and then comes down to the Hillsborough river. It is more than a Spring really, almost a small river given the constant rapid flow of water. Most of it now is underground, but you can hear it and in the area some land is empty because it sits on top of the spring and is marshy. At one time the Spring emptied into what was known as Government Pond, a rather large marshy pond on the edge of the Fanningbank Estate, the Official Residence of the Governor of PEI. Some 40 years ago the Provincial Government decided that it would be better to cover it up in an effort at urban renewal. The Area surrounding the Pond was a poor neighbourhood populated by a small black community and known as the Bog. Today brutalist style Government buildings cover the area with a large 1960 style parking lot, car culture still dominates mentalities on the Island.

Our friend is a well known artist and their house is full of art work, quite a beautiful place with a large work studio in the back garden. His spouse who is also an artist, prepared all manner of finger food, it was all very good and tasty. So much so that we had no appetite for dinner tonight. They also served Swedish Mulled Wine, Glogg, which is very nice in such weather and goes well with the Holiday Season.

So on with go with the Winter Season now officially opened.