Recently I was at my doctor and told him that I was unhappy with my weight and the fact that it appeared to be on an unstoppable upward trend. He suggested I speak with a dietitician, which I did last week. My goal is to return to the weight I had in Rome of 74 Kg. that was 12 years ago. So it is quite a challenge and I have no idea if I will be able to reach it. My father years ago followed a diet and he was very good at it, he lost 40 pounds and was able to maintain it until he died. I was able to maintain my weight while in Europe but in coming back to Canada, the diet changed and so did the lifestyle. My goal is to loose 13 Kg which is a lot of weight around 28 pounds. I am hopeful and will follow the plan I am given by Austin my nutritionist. Of course the other worry is how to maintain the loss weight and not just put it back on. A lot of discipline in all this, I did once before and lost 6 kg so here goes.
Monday I was at the dealership to get my car serviced and change the tires to Summer. By Noon time there was a terrible snow storm raging and visibility was zero. So I could not return to the garage to pick up the car at 2pm and told them I would be in the next morning.
This appears to have been the last hurrah for Winter, this coming week we will have much warmer weather sun and some rain. Very soon the Lobster Season will open and the boats will go to sea. Everyone is getting ready.
Being members of the Haviland Club and doing the newsletter and involved with memberships means that every week I have a lot to do, all on a volunteer basis. Will being the musical one, his involved with the theatre play reading group and with entertainment.
On Friday 1 and 2 April, we had 2 shows dinner/theatre style. It was a great success and lots of fun. All the shows are done by volunteers, many are Club Members, so it is a lot of work and fun.
The Friday show was located in a real small Italian village of Poggi Bonzi, in central Tuscany.
The second show was about Gypsies or Travellers as they are called now.
It really is Spring now, the weather is mild and rainy. On April 22 in about 3 weeks the first Cruise ship in two years is scheduled to arrive, restaurants are frantically looking for staff and the use of frantically is not an exaggeration. The owners still don’t get it, low pay means no staff after these 2 years of shut down. This also applies to kitchen staff and cooks. It is a really serious issue, but greed has made a lot of owners blind and obtuse in facing this problem. Our politicians do not help either, too many back door deals with business groups at the expense of employees, this is the Island way as they say here.
We also have now a serious problem with Covid infections in PEI, the highest rate in Canada per Capita. The Government gave in to business groups who were crying poverty while riding around in the Mercedes Benz S class. So the policy now is do nothing and let it ride. Not too happy about that but you know money talks.
I really need to go to Halifax at some point, probably next week for 2 days to get some oriental carpet cleaned. It’s an easy drive and it will be nice to leave the Island for the first time in almost 3 years.
Halifax, 500,000 population, originally the city as a military garrison city and sea port was heavily fortified, the citadel is a sight to see. When Halifax was founded in 1749, the majority of residents were from England, Ireland and Scotland. Soon after they were joined by immigrants from Germany and New England. Black people, some from Africa, others escaping enslavement in the United States, settled in or near Halifax beginning in the 18th century.
Today Monday off to the garage for a Spring Tune up and change of tires. I also need my annual inspection for my car licence, it is a bit silly to do this each year but this is the way in PEI. Of course this morning it is snowing lightly, it is called a Spring Snow, how poetic.
This morning in the news some unexpected developments in Parliament in Ottawa, the NDP and the Liberals have reached an agreement which would allow the current government of Justin Trudeau to stay in power until 2025 for the next election. The NDP would support them on supply votes (Budget) which is very important on the condition that the Liberals would push for implementation with the Provinces of a Pharmacare and Dental Care for all. This is how we got the medicare system for all in 1964. At the time Prime Minister Pearson supported Tommy Douglas the leader of the NDP. The opposition you guess it was the Conservatives who preferred the American system fend for yourself approach, they still do 57 years later.
This agreement is leading to announced progressive policies which will be beneficial to so many people, this includes the national daycare for kids at $10 a day. Now many of these policies will not benefit me but the point is that it will benefit society as a whole and make life more affordable for all including seniors in the case of pharmacare reducing to a minimal amount or $0 the cost of medication. Same with dental care, meaning better health care for all. The NDP and the Liberals have all the votes they need now in Parliament to push all those policies through. Also in this agreement there will be no more run around the bush committee meetings the Conservatives love to attack none stop the Government inventing scandals that do not exist and waisting parliamentary time and money.
Immediately the leader of the Conservative Candice Bergen jumped denouncing this agreement and saying this was illegal and a power grab, you cannot trust Trudeau and Singh, two dangerous socialists. It’s the end of the world, lost jobs, debts, etc… She also called it a coalition, which it is not. The PM did not offer any Cabinet seats to the NDP, it is an agreement to work together in the House. Of course this agreement throws a monkey wrench into the Conservative’s narrative and now they have to come up with a better plan or argument. PM Trudeau has a minority government and such arrangements are feasible in our Parliamentary system. It showed Ms Bergen as disingenuous in her criticism. The Conservatives for years now have always fallen back on how Trudeau is a crook and cannot be trusted, blah, blah, blah. It works with their base, remember the truckers occupying Ottawa, yes that bunch, the white supremacists and the Trump supporters.
So it is all good and will ensure stability in Government for the next few years, allowing for the progressive agenda to move forward including the Green Agenda to deal with climate change.
Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the NDP and PM Trudeau in his Office in Parliament today.
The Federal Government Fiscal Year in Canada is March 31. We arrived in PEI in and around that time 6 years ago. So now it is time for updating insurance etc. and last year I had a nasty surprised from my broker who increased my car insurance without warning or explanation. So I enquired and was told that the Government had authorized the increase, I smelled a rat and thought it is not so. This is not how insurance companies operate or set premiums. I also had problems with them in the past with getting answers to questions or just a call back. Even if you went in person, no one could see you, we will get someone to call you which never happened. So I decided this year to find another insurance company and CAA sent me a letter about insurance. I have been a member for decades and always got good service from them.
Papers are ready for income tax which is due also at this time, this is Spring Season in Canada. The first cruise ship arrives on 22 April, a first in 24 months, tourist operators are all excited and this comes on the heels of a piece of investigative journalism exposing the exploitative nature of restaurants, bars in general with low pay, no benefits and very long hours, 14 hour days is common. lots of abuse from owners and patrons alike. The tables are turned now, the shortage of staff is a very real problem and the same owners are crying in their soup. Given the obscene profits during the short but lucrative tourist season, I wonder how many will pay attention and reform their business to attract staff and train them properly. Not all restaurant and bar owners are crooks but there is a sizeable group. The tourists in town don’t know but the locals do and we avoid such places.
Birthday week for me, two cakes ordered from my favourite cake maker. One is an orange flavoured cake and the other is a Moka (coffee) style. More activities are planned of course, stay tuned for details.
This morning I noticed that Nicky has an irregular heartbeat, he has always had a heart murmur but this seems different and I am worried. So I will give the Vet a call, maybe she can help. He is 13 years old and he sleeps a lot, though he also has energy when required. He is definitely an old dog.
I learned yesterday that 50 years ago the movie the Godfather premiere, is that possible, I was 16 yrs old and remember seeing the movie and thinking how horribly violent it was. Not like the Hitchcock movies where the violence was always implied like the music or lighting or blood in water.
Today FB reminded me that this week in 2009 we went to Capena to pick-up Nick and Nora who were 9 weeks old to come and live with us. They were and still are the cutest and funniest puppies, it is said that dogs are clowns and make our life enjoyable.
We are already past the halfway point in March, time is going supersonic it seems. I left a message with our accountant today so she can do our income tax. I never learned how to do it myself, it is not complicated but I am lazy and prefer have someone do it for me. She can also file automatically with Revenue Canada.
At the Club one of the member is a retired Commodore of the Royal Canadian Navy, who commanded his own war ship. Today HMCS Halifax left for the Baltic Sea to join our NATO mission in support of the Baltic States. Jim told me on Friday night that if he was 20 years younger and in good health he would be back in service in a flash. He really misses going out to sea.
HMCS Halifax
I went to the Farmer’s Market today and now that most restrictions are lifted it was the first normal market day in 2 years. There was lots of people and business was brisk. I stopped at the Cheese counter, they have the most beautiful selection of fresh cheeses. They bring them in from Quebec where there is a well established cheese making culture. They also import from France and UK. Strangely their prices are better than the grocery store where all the cheeses are manufactured from large companies and wrapped in plastic. When she sells her cheese, she wraps them in wax paper to keep them moist and fresh, which is the way to do it. All the cheeses are sliced in front of you, I got a slice 200gr of Brie, I also got 200gr of Morbier which is a cheese that has a trace of wood ashes in the middle and a slice of Emmental. I think next time I will get some of her high quality Burrata and some Raclette which is a wonderful cheese you melt and serve with boiled potatoes as they do in Switzerland. I also got deep purple tulips, grown here on the Island by VANCO a Dutch company, they are now in season and the variety of colours is amazing. I also got at the Butcher some veal schnitzels and some Bratwurst made by the butcher. I then went to the fishmonger and bought 2 pieces of Atlantic Salmon for dinner. I also bought some bread at the Bakery which is made daily at 3am and ready for sale by 9am it is still hot to touch and smells wonderful.
Today was a beautiful sunny day and the last day of Winter. Tomorrow is the first day of Spring and it feels and smells like it.
Vanco Tulip Farm in Stratford just minutes East of Charlottetown PEI.
This week the weather has taken a decidedly Spring like look. It is actually warm and even hot in the sunshine. There are traces of snow but overall it is mostly green. This is all good, but it is also a period of the year when you do not know exactly how to dress, warm in the day time and cool at night. Everyone on PEI is anticipating a big return of the tourists and the huge issue is a lack of staff, I have heard plenty about that from friends who own coffee shops, restaurants and bars. There is a need for Chef, short order cooks, dishwashers, wait staff, etc… So much so that many will not expand their business because they cannot find the staff. This problem is the low minimum wage, no benefits, little time off, and the cost of living which on PEI is the highest in Canada. Rents are impossible so if you are working on minimum wage then you starve. I remember years ago wait staff from restaurants in the old market in Ottawa would come to the local soup kitchen where I volunteered for lunch or dinner. That should not happen and then they go to work to get abuse from customers. Business groups have not been able to tackle this problem and governments do not appear interested despite the good words.
On Wednesday I drove to Kensington which is 45 minutes West of Charlottetown on Highway 2. At one time when we had a railway on PEI it was an important junction. It is a small rural community about 10 minutes from Summerside. I was going with Nicky and Nora for their grooming, a highly stressful affair for both of them. A beautiful day, the drive was quiet, it usually is. After dropping them off, much drama, I drove to Summerside for lunch at Samuel’s on Water street, the food is very good. Then to the little second hand book store, a block away. The selection is always changing and very good, I got 3 books for $12. One book is by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, it pass my test, if I read one page and want to read the next page then I will buy the book.
The second book is by the Artist Marc Chagall simply called My Life, he wrote his autobiography, a small book but I thought it would be nice to read about him in his own words. The last book is by John LeCarré, Smiley’s People, when it came out in 1980 it was a sensation. I never read it but heard lots of praise about it.
I bought 3 months ago another LeCarré book The Constant Gardener, after reading 3/4 of the book I simply lost interest, I could not finish it. I did not care for the characters or the story line.
When I returned to pick-up the pups at the groomer, well they could not get out of there quickly enough, they made a run for the car, like a getaway car. Get in quick let’s get out of here, come on!!! They slept the whole way back to town, had a short walk, then dinner and then went to bed immediately, they were exhausted. Though they look very nice now.
It was nice to drive out and see the countryside after the Winter, not much snow left in the fields.
We are still waiting for our T4 slips, it’s income tax time in Canada, I got one slip on my pension but not the other one on my CPP, OAS. The Canada Revenue Agency announced that they were late this year and it should arrive next week. You absolutely need your T4 to pay your income tax since all the vital detailed info is contained on them. In our case, we pay like a lot of people at the source, so reporting/filing means simply to confirm that yes this is correct. Will I owe some this year, I think so. Will see.
Kensington from the sky. The top right corner of the photo is where we spend part of our Summer in French River.
Since January 2020 things have not gone well in the world. COVIC has taken it’s toll on all of us and many are beyond tired of the disinformation and the general selfishness, me first attitude of many. Climate change is ever present and the weather is becoming weird and dangerous.
I thought that 2022 would be different but no, now we have the threat of Nuclear War which comes from Vladimir Putin. His language is more and more bellicose and you cannot afford to think that he may be bluffing, the consequences are too dire for us all. Canada is a sitting duck, we have a long border with Russia in the Artic region, and the USA on the 49th parallel. Both great nuclear powers and it is easy to believe that Canada in the middle could be sacrificed. Few believe that nuclear war could happen given that this would mean death to millions of people in a few minutes and make life on Earth impossible for the survivors. Because it is so unbelievable most prefer to think that no it is just a Russian bluff. Canada has the largest Ukrainian population in the World at 1.3 million people outside of The Ukraine. Living mostly in Western Canada, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Canada has closed its airspace to all flights from Russia, European Union and the UK have done the same. We also closed our waterways and ports to all Russian ships. Politicians are hoping that DEFCON and NORAD which is in need of upgrading will protect us. Canada does not have much of an airforce our planes are old F18. Same with the navy and our army. As for emergency preparedness we saw in Ottawa a few weeks ago how unprepared the city was to occupation by a small group of Qanon and anti-vax individuals, the city’s administration collapsed, the police collapsed and the Chief resigned. No one knew what to do in a city of 1 million people and the capital of Canada. The Opposition party in Parliament gave their support to the so called Freedom Convoy, called on the Prime Minister to resign and go talk with the protesters. A terrible situation, not to mention all the US right wing media and Trump attacking Canada.
Here is PEI the little racist drama of PEI HOCKEY continues, some 16 yr old and their parents using racist language towards other players of colour, Hockey PEI at first pretended they did not know or where unaware, but in the glare of the media were forced to admit wrong doing. Many Islanders resent deeply the presence of non-Islanders as permanent resident of their Island Province. You will not encounter this in other parts of Canada where large populations drown out such voices. The population of the Island is growing quickly and the new comers are from other parts of Canada or immigrants. Investments in general come from Canada or is international. There is a continuing whining about the good old days before the Bridge over the Strait was built in 1997, when only white people lived here. It is said that Islanders are generous but not kind, that is true. It’s the ugly side you don’t see covered up by the myth of the cradle of the sea.
So yes life is somewhat complicated right now, but one can always remain optimistic, Spring is around the corner and COVID is retreating now. So let’s keep smiling, what else can we do, walk on the sunny side of the street. However one cannot help worrying about nuclear war and an unstable dictator in Russia, the repercussion of economic sanctions, the position of China and India in this crisis both are hedging their bets either with Putin or with the West.
In 2015 the Winter in PEI did not start before mid-January, there was no snow, nothing, very quiet weather wise and then all of a sudden every 4 to 7 days a major snowstorm and it lasted for 2 who months. There was so much snow that no one knew what to do with it and life became difficult for many. The City had no where to put it, people could not get out of their homes, some people lost their homes to house fires simply because the Fire Dept could not get to them, blocked by giant snow banks. Here is an archival picture of what it was like. People were in shock, yes we are Canadians but there is a limit to everything, the cold also was intense. We missed it all by arriving in May 2016.
Found his car, now how to get it out.This is a 4 lane highway reduced to one lane in 2015, see how high is the snow compared to the huge plow.
Hopefully this year 2022 will not be a repeat but we have had 2 major snow storms in 7 days. The City has had little time to clean up after the first storm. We also have now Omicron and 2 people died last night in hospital, the first of this pandemic. People are scared and concerned.
Haviland Street at Euston today.
Needless to say, tonight the storm is over but the streets remain unplowed and the sidewalks well they disappeared under 4 feet of snow. It is very heavy snow, very compact and it is about -28C right now. So walking the dogs is short and sweet, they do not want to be outside.
This morning at 10am, the wind was still blowing at 70Km per hour. Our parking lot was cleaned but I still had to clean the car and get it moving, it was stuck with snow under the carriage and in the wheel base pushed there by the strong winds and it solidified. Can’t remember when this last happened to me, maybe before 1982?Around 2pm the one plow had passed on Water street but that was it. No cars many still had not had their drive opened up. Next few days should see more efforts to clean up but it will take at least 4 days.
While this was happening Will was making meat pies aka Tourtière, small ones for 2 so we can have them for dinner. Tomorrow he is making his lasagna with béchamel sauce. He already made his meat sauce. For the pie crust he uses a little vodka, it makes it more flakey.
I always jokingly say that we are the Key West of Canada, balmy weather, great beaches and good seafood. Until 7 January 2022 that we true, not a speck of snow and Spring like weather. Then Mother Nature struck, the photos below illustrate what happened, I park outside my car was buried in snow, luckily the snow cleaning service came with 2 tractors and cleared it all for me. Our house door was frozen shut and we could not open it, we had to use the emergency back staircase to get out. That too has been cleaned, though the streets are a mess and the sidewalks disappeared, so you have to walk in the street for now. It will probably take 3 days to dig out of this Winter Wonderland.
Luckily for us we have no were to go and no reason to leave the house. Nora loves the snow because she eats it, Nicky does not care for it much and the wind scares him. Walking them is a problem, when you legs are 3 inches and there is 2 feet of snow.
Until 11 am on Friday 7 Jan. we did not have a speck of snow, we had been warned that a major storm was coming our way, 50CM of snow or 19 inches in 10 hours, with winds of 100 km per hour, enough to close the sea bridge over the strait and close all businesses. Schools are closed until 18 January. By 2pm all stores were closing and people were told to go home and not go out, too dangerous. The water surge and high waves is another problem around the Island, powerful winds and waves erode the coast and many with property on the water have to take heed and not go for a walk on the beach. This type of snow is heart attack inducing, very wet and heavy, so just leave it there. We have a fellow who comes with his big tractor to plow it all in 5 minutes.
The wind is howling it feels like a 747 is over the house constantly, the doors and windows are rattling. I did go to the grocery store this morning around 10:30 am to get our Storm Chips, which is a tradition on the Island. The major part of the storm will be over night and in the morning it should only be high winds. I suppose Winter is here now.
We cannot see out the windows because this snow is heavy with water and it freezes and sticks to glass, so we cannot see out. Hopefully we will not lose power, living in the core of the Capital surrounded by Government buildings helps, though the Electrical Company is very good with fast repairs. We have not seen any snow plows, visibility is zero right now on the streets but I suspect they may appear around 4AM to start opening the streets. The sidewalks will likely be cleaned later in the day.
This time the snow is here to stay, for the rest of the week looks like the temperature will be around -10C to -20C. Oh well I have no where to go.
Live picture about 04:30PM this afternoon in Charlottetown.
Jerry and I get around. In 2011, we moved from the USA to Spain. We now live near Málaga. Jerry y yo nos movemos. En 2011, nos mudamos de EEUU a España. Ahora vivimos cerca de Málaga.
Tutto iniziò con Memorie di Adriano, sulle strade dell'Impero Romano tra foto, storia e mito - It all began with Memoirs of Hadrian, on the roads of the Roman Empire among photos, history and myth!
Telling the stories of the history of the port of Charlottetown and the marine heritage of Northumberland Strait on Canada's East Coast. Winner of the Heritage Award from the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation and a Heritage Preservation Award from the City of Charlottetown
Larry Muffin At Home 