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.

Little things

Tags

Christmas, cuisine, Food, Nutcracker, PEI

More often than not, our lunch is a sandwich, ham and cheese, grill cheese, tomato and bacon, egg salad or chicken salad. I also like to have several types of bread on hand. Also different types of cheese, from old cheddar, gouda, havarti, etc…

I have never one to like a ham sandwich but a few years ago in Dublin, we stayed at the Gresham Hotel on Upper O’Connell street. James Joyce mentions the hotel in his short stories, The Dead, the reference being that the good or people who had come up in life would stay there.

One night after the theatre, it was late and the dining room was closed but the Writer’s bar was open and so we came in for a drink and asked our waiter if we could get anything to eat. Kitchen is closed he said but you can get a sandwich, would ham sandwich be good, he asked. It was one of the best ham sandwich I ever had, served simply as it was, with a glass of scotch. Since then I always remember that when I have a ham sandwich.

As we prepare for a more quiet Christmas, there is still shopping to do and some baking. Will make a tourtière and we have a small turkey. For dessert there is Plum Pudding with hard sauce and Will is making Chestnut Ice Cream. Getting the chestnuts was a major undertaking, since there is no chestnuts available in ”regular” markets in town. Someone suggested I look at the Asian Markets and sure enough they had them fresh and in a paste.

This is something that is changing in PEI rapidly, food items and supplies are far more diverse than just 15 to 18 years ago, when even parsley was seen as a luxury. The influx of large contingents of Asians and middle-Eastern population has seen the opening of new food markets catering to their cuisine. We now also have many Africans and Caribbean people living here, they have their own rich cuisine. This is a blessing because now finding ingredients and spices is no longer the chore it was once.

Just to give you an idea of items still novel in PEI.

Radicchio which is often confused for red cabbage, not the same thing and not the same price.

Clementines at Christmas are popular but don’t be surprised if the cashier at the grocery store asked you if they are navel oranges and may want to charge you accordingly.

Unsalted butter, is not common, most butters either salted or double salted. If you find unsalted butter its in the frozen food section, people believe that it spoils quickly otherwise.

Chestnuts, despite the fact that chestnut trees existed on the Island until a blight some years ago wiped them out, today it is not available unless you go to an Asian market which imports them from Toronto.

Veal, almost impossible to find, only one supermarket has it but not on a regular basis. Why is it rare, because most people think it is expensive.

Lobster served other than boiled in sea water. There are many recipe for preparing lobster, however restaurants do not offer it. It should also be remembered that lobster was poor people food or food for pigs until about 40 years ago. It only became a staple with American tourists demanding it.

Goose and goose liver, not available though we have wild geese, no one actually eats them. Same with duck, it is not popular and can be found but is considered exotic.

Fresh river fish, yes we have lots of seafood but all of it is ocean caught. Fresh river fish is not available, unless you fish it yourself. This could have to do with pesticide pollution due to intensive potato farming.

But the situation is changing gradually and rapidly, it all comes down to a question of demand and changing demographics on the Island with more and more people coming from other parts of Canada and the world. Yes PEI in this year of the Pandemic has become very popular because we appear to be spared from Covid19. People want to move here, as a more sane place to live.

Our 43 year old Nutcracker made in East Germany, when such a place existed. Hand painted in mint condition, he only comes out at Christmas time. We got him when it was not yet popular to have such an item in Canada. He has travelled all around the world with us. If he could talk, he would have quite a tale to tell.

FOOD for the Holidays

Tags

Canada, champagne, Chestnuts, cuisine, dachshunds, Food, PEI, wines, World, XMAS

Recently a good friend and blogger asked me about food for the Holidays, what type of food did you have as a child for Christmas etc… So I told him, he was a little taken aback, suffice to say that I and my siblings did not have your conventional upbringing especially when it comes to food and drinks. So no it was not turkey and mash potato with gravy and green peas or ham or whatever is usually served in most households. Wine was also served on a regular basis to adults until I was old enough to have a glass. Cocktails and bubbly made their appearance as a matter of fact at the table. My father always chose the wines, he liked Montrachet.

During my professional life in the many countries we lived in, the menu varied a great deal, various cultures have various fare. In many countries, lamb is a regular staple with chicken a close second, pork is not available and beef is usually served stewed not as a steak. Same with vegetables, in some places root vegetables or squash of all kinds or potatoes are abundant, rice is a side dish with all dishes. So you have to get use to different culinary traditions. Per example in Greece, they will served grilled tomatoes, rice and french fries all together with lamb or fish. In many countries butter is replaced by Ghee butter which is highly saturated in fat but gives the most wonderful taste to food. Also the concept of dieting, allergies or vegetarianism or not eating meat or certain foods is totally unknown and people will enquire about your health, because such condition is associated with the sick and the dying.

So through the years we have modified our Holiday menu to a point where the conventional is not the first thing that comes to mind. This also includes desserts and any sweet. In one country candied whole fruits was a delight to behold, in others it was honey and nut pastries in phylo dough, in others it was rich cakes and specialty chocolates of the finest ingredients made in small batches.

The country I enjoyed the most for wines was Italy, every Italian region has vineyards and all produce regional wines, the volcanic soil of Italy and Sicily produces great wines, red of course but for the last 150 years white wines. Going to the wine merchant was a delight, you could always pair wines with your meal and given the reasonable prices buying several cases for Xmas was a given. One year I found a champagne I truly loved, Jacquesson from France, an exceptional Champagne. If you come across that name, you should get a bottle.

This year will be a quiet Xmas at home, Charlottetown is very quiet and it is pleasant. Christmas Eve I think 3 people are coming over for drinks. Christmas Day we are 7 for Lunch at home. Everything for the meal has been bought including the wines so I do not have to do any more grocery shopping.

While shopping for Chestnuts, I discovered that you cannot find it here anywhere because it is simply something Islanders do not know. A strange thing, but its like veal, you cannot find it, no one carries it. Why? It does not appear that there is any reason. I finally did find chestnuts and beautiful ones at GLOBAL MARKET on St-Peter’s road at Mount Edward. It is an Asian/African grocery store and they carry the most incredible array of goods, most Islanders have never heard of most of it. I was very happy, it’s the second time Global Market has saved my bacon, Mr Will has a knack for asking for the most obscure ingredients at the last minute. In the case of the chestnuts, he is making Chestnut Ice Cream.

Best Wishes to all of you for a Happy Christmas!

A picture of Nora and Nick, the Official Xmas Dachshunds.

End of the year coming soon

Tags

barber, Canada, covid, Health, life, PEI, postal service, XMAS

Today I got a hair cut from Jared who is probably one of the best barbers in Charlottetown. I use to go to a traditional barber, old school type who is very popular with politicians and regular guys. His shop is very well known and he is a very pleasant fellow. However it was not exactly what I was looking for and noticed his staff were indifferent in general unless you were a local celebrity or somebody’s cousin. I got to know my current barber Jared through the gang of Receiver Coffee Co. a local coffee shop which caters to a more cosmopolitan crowd and has a progressive outlook on life. In fact when we first arrived in PEI almost 5 years ago, we went to have coffee at Receiver which had just opened as a new business. From that point we met other people and Jared was part of that group. Though at the time he was a photographer and his work caught my eye. He has a real talent for composition and light and his work is dramatic and beautiful. He then branched out into cutting hair but decided that he should go study in London UK for it at one of the more famous schools. His girlfriend is also a photographer and does art photography, she has a lot of talent.

We also have as of January a new family doctor. Our current doctor who is on maternity leave called to ask if we would consider going to his new practice which is half of her old practice in the same office. We know the new doctor and he is very nice and has a professional and easy manner with people, so we agreed to switch. You have to know that in PEI not everyone has a family doctor, in fact some 5600 have no family doctor and have to go either to a community clinic or the hospital for care, so we are privileged. This is a new factor in Canada with one generation of medical doctors retiring and insufficient numbers coming on stream.

I noticed today that we have been receiving Xmas cards in the mail but the stamps are not cancelled. I know that the volumes of mail in Canada are very high, delivery right now is 7 days a week. Maybe they are just pushing it through and making sure it gets delivered. That is ok because some people re-used uncancelled stamps and sent cards to people.

Well we are almost finished with the Xmas decorations, just a few small details to attend to now, can do this tomorrow. Now we are waiting for the Friday conference by our Chief Medical Officer for PEI, Dr Morrison and the Premier Dennis King to tell us if some of the lockdown will be lifted. Looks like it might, no new cases and everything looks pretty calm now and also vaccination has started on PEI so it’s all good news. Heather Arsenault a front line worker at a seniors home was the first to get the Pfizer shot. Fingers crossed it all works out. At any rate we have plans to either be quiet for Xmas at home or maybe invite a few close personal friends over. It’s all up in the air…

Every year I get to put the Star on our tree, an old tradition, it is the original star of 1979, always the same which has been carefully preserved through all the years.

Getting there

Tags

Biden, dachshunds, life, Neiman Marcus, news, ornaments, PEI, Vaccine, XMAS

Monday today some good news, first at the dentist, got x-rays and a good cleaning, I do this twice a year. My dentist told me I had perfect teeth and nothing to report. It has been like this for years and it always makes me happy to hear it. The second piece of good news was the start of the vaccination program in Canada. Everyone I spoke too wants the vaccine as soon as possible. Can’t wait attitude, it is almost as being liberated. It is very encouraging. By Friday on PEI there will be more people vaccinated than any people who got sick, again good news. The Prime Minister also announced that Canada will receive doses of the vaccine Moderna. So as it stands now all Canadians can be inoculated in a matter of a few months.

I also followed distractedly what was going on in the USA with the Great Electors voting to confirm Joe Biden as the winner of the national election in the USA and the next president. I also listened to the speech this evening by Joe Biden and found in it, the words and thoughts of past presidents, dignified, honourable, with empathy for people and a call to unity to all citizens. This is what a president does. In his speech the old America I knew came back. So happy to hear such words after four years of buffoonery.

After the dentist I came home and started to decorate the tree, which we will finish decorating tomorrow. It’s a big job, though the tree is only 7 feet tall. Like every year we said again, we need a second tree and given our very high ceiling it could be an 11 foot one.

The weather this week in the Maritimes is like living in Northern Europe, grey, foggy, low ceiling, clouds and wet and mild. Last night I walked Nicky around 10:30pm, the streets are dead quiet, no cars, no one anywhere. There was no wind and it was 45F, this is NOT normal we are in mid-December. There is snow in central Canada, Ottawa, Montreal, etc. not here. We have been promised a big storm, really, it is so mild it is impossible that we will get any snow at all.

Which reminds me of this little ditty, which is so very true of PEI.

Will it rain? Will it snow? I live in Prince Edward Island. I do not know!

Living here 5 years now I have come accustomed to the weather changing rapidly within 15 minutes on some days. Being an Island on the sea makes us susceptible to the prevailing winds much more so than people living inland. You would not want to be the Weather guy in PEI, it is a thankless job and more often than not you will be wrong.

The Christmas puppies, Nicky and Nora with their holiday scarves. They have quite the collection of scarves now, all made for them by a dear friend in Charlottetown.

As tradition dictates the first ornament is the oldest silver ball from Neiman Marcus of 1979, the year of our first Xmas together. The other 29 are distributed around the tree.

St-Ambrose’s Day

Tags

Bernini, covid19, life, PANDEMIC, PEI, Popes, Salisbury

St-Ambrose is the Patron Saint of the City of Milan and traditionally this is the Opera Season Opening Day at the famed Teatro alla Scala since 1778. This is a very important gala event with the President of the Italian Republic present with his guest of honour who is another Head of State in the Royal Box. The tickets for such an event are hard to get, many go to the glitterati of Italian aristocracy, captains of industry and le beau monde. This will not happen this year given the second wave of Covid19.

Well we all knew this was coming, that our luck had to run out at some point, as of this morning PEI is under lock down or as it is called here Circuit breaker lock down. All restaurants and bars, gyms, casinos, meeting halls, are closed. It is forbidden to have any private gatherings, this means that you cannot have more than 2 people in your house and they must be part of your family or household. Anyone breaking those rules and anyone present is fined $1000. no exceptions. Retail shops can stay open but there are severe restrictions on how many customers can come in, security guards at the door maintaining order. Church services can proceed with no more than 10 people, no weddings no funerals. These measures are in force until 21 December but I believe this means no Christmas this year. Will and I will simply stay quiet at home and have a nice Christmas meal together. Just a few minutes ago the Chief Medical Officer announced 4 more cases all in their 20’s all connected to the other cases. Now people are encouraged to shop online, work from home and seniors home and hospital will not allow any visitors. Any young person much show proof that they had the Covid test before going to the dentist or being admitted into a medical office.

The good news is that we could start receiving the vaccine by the end of next week, in the meantime everyone must wear a mask at all times.

The latest episode started with one 15 yr old student at a high school in Charlottetown, he had never travelled outside of the Island, so the cause of his infection was a total mystery. Over 3000 people were tested over one weekend, all from his school and contacts, all were negative, so it was an even bigger mystery. Finally the Wendy’s restaurant near the school was linked to him, itL had 3 cases, all employees in their 20’s and a further 4 persons also all in their 20’s were their contacts. So the Government of PEI has decree that anyone in the age group 20 to 29 MUST be tested for Covid19. In PEI the second wave is hitting the under 30 group, a group that did not follow health directives for the most part.

In other news, I was reading this morning that today is the Birthday of artist, sculptor and architect, the man responsible for many stunning monuments in Rome who invented the Baroque style of architecture, Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). He worked for many Popes and left masterpieces for all of us to appreciate.

It is also the 800 Anniversary of the Salisbury Cathedral, built in 1220 as a Roman Catholic Cathedral, since the reformation it’s an Anglican Cathedral. The Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall came for the thanksgiving service.

Santa’s Parade

Tags

Christmas, PEI, RED, Santa, Wreath

Everyone loves a good parade and here in PEI parades get a huge turn out. This year because of the Pandemic it was not possible to have the usual Santa’s Parade for obvious reasons. So the City came up with a novel idea, why not have the parade come to people at their home. So over a period of 10 days Santa’s Parade will travel to all the various neighbourhoods of the City. On Monday it all started in our Ward being the oldest part of the original City 1765. The parade is composed of several police cars with all lights flashing and 3 fire trucks covered in multicoloured lights, you cannot miss them, so much colour and noise. One truck has on top Santa’s sleigh with the reindeers, on one other truck we had our City Councillor and the third truck had frosty the snowman. It was fun and everyone from the front window or doorstep got to see it.

The Weather until at least mid-December will be very mild and there is no chance of snow, all that is fine with me. Mild Spring like weather, it’s all good.

We have a magazine called RED, it’s all about PEI and telling stories about the Island and its people. Of course the word RED refers to the soil of the Island which is red and produces a very sticky red mud. Many stories refer to the past and some to the distant past, of the old settlers and village life. To this day PEI is still mostly small settlements of a few people or small villages. People love to look at photos of yesteryear and read the stories of the Island. This magazine is the size of a tabloid newspaper and is published several times a year, it has acquired a certain aura and is the definite word on PEI Life.

I bought a wreath for our balcony and got miniature lights. Many this year started to decorate early and the stores sold out quickly in terms of Xmas decorative items. I was lucky I was looking for a small set of lights and those are not as popular as the larger sets.

With the rainy weather, today I started to write my Christmas cards and will send the first batch this week. We have weekend postal service since mid-November which is sort of a Holiday tradition. The volume of mail and packages this year is greater than in years past.

and our Xmas Dachshund doormat

End of November

Tags

Christmas, covid, online, PEI, shopping, Weather, Xmas cards

Today it was 16C and warm here in PEI beautiful sunshine and frankly another record breaking day more like May than November. The weather person tells us that this Winter is going to be apparently wet rainy and icy but not much snow, I prefer wet to snow. We are back into a something like a lockdown but not really. The major thing is, we cannot leave the Island and frankly I would not want to, I really think it is not safe.

Today was Black Friday, I had to do some grocery shopping and buy some fish for dinner. I was looking for either Cod or Halibut filet, got Halibut which is my favourite in terms of flavour. Will made a gratin of Halibut in a cheese sauce, it was some good.

The traffic was murder and lots of little old ladies driving around at 5 MPH, it felt like I was living in a huge metropolitan area. Got it all done within 90 minutes and back home I went. Despite the traffic most people actually stayed home and shopped online, we do most of our shopping online now too.

I really have to get going on Xmas cards and I was going to do them this week but I got sidetracked with other things. Yesterday I gave a short talk on the Official Residence of the Lieutenant Governor and the architectural history of this 1834 building built in the Greek revival style or Georgian style. The Lieutenant Governor who is a Patron of our Club came to hear the talk.

This weekend will be quiet the Xmas Market has been cancelled on Richmond Street, which is unfortunate for the merchants but Public Health comes first. We also decided that we may have a very quiet Christmas Eve and Christmas day, we thought of asking a few friends over but everyone is nervous and if things don’t improve despite the fact we have only 1 case on the Island and a mild one at that, according to our Chief Medical Officer, we will re-assess.

Getting colder

Tags

Alberta, bubble, burst, Canada, covid, life, Maritimes, PEI

The Winter wind has started and is blowing on average at about 70K on a good day, plenty of fresh air, the humidity is also fairly high at 70% or more which makes for bone chilling.

Well the Atlantic bubble which had been working for us for 5 months has burst, with surging cases of Covid 19 in Nova Scotia in the region of Halifax and in New Brunswick in the region of Moncton and St-John our bridge to the mainland has been closed since early this morning. The wind also played its part gusting upwards of 90Km. Long lines of trucks bringing essential goods are stopped at the foot of the bridge on the New Brunswick side until the wind dies down tonight. It would be far too dangerous to try to cross the 12Km over the Strait to the Island. So it looks like life is going to be a lot quieter now here on Charlottetown. Many people work from home so less people in town.

We still have only 2 mild cases of Covid 19 on the Island and both are at home. To keep our situation under control we need to shut off the Island and now must also wear face masks in all buildings, shops, malls etc inside. So far everyone obeys the rule which is remarkable.

Our worst case is the Province of Alberta who has more per capita cases of Covid every single day than any other provinces including Quebec and Ontario despite having only fraction of their population. The Premier of Alberta is Jason Kenney, a Trump wanna-be, his reasoning businesses and oil companies come well before peoples lives.

Despite the announcement of 3 possible vaccines in the works against Covid 19, the reality is that in Canada we are not likely to see any of it before March 2021. The reason being that in the last 40 years all our research and medical producing facilities have moved abroad. This was allowed in a series of mergers with foreign companies and a Federal Government and politicians asleep at the switch, an unfortunate situation but it is what it is.

Some Canadians are leaving for southern climes and the Foreign Minister warned them that because of the Pandemic it would far better to stay home. There will be no special flights to bring people back if they leave the country and find themselves stranded abroad. Still enough fools think it does not apply to them.

One terrible lesson from this pandemic and one I have come to understand; Governments have clearly made a decision to put efforts in saving businesses instead of people. The other lesson is that if you are over 55 your government sees you as an expensive burden, this explains why so little has been done to help save elderly in assisted care homes, why so many have been left to die. We see it all over Canada with the notable exception of PEI where no one got sick or died. Since such centres are private and run by companies for profit, it has been know for the last 40 years that they are often understaffed and provide only the most basic of services. Staff is on minimum wage and poorly trained, despite this situation and major scandals politicians look the other way.

On the other hand the news of the transition to the President Elect Joe Biden having now officially started and his presentation of his new Cabinet is very encouraging. A return to professionalism and a clean broom of the nonsense of the last 4 years. The news also of a possible vaccine to solve this crisis is encouraging, we can only hope that 2021 which will dawn in just 5 weeks will bring a new beginning.

Oh well as I write this I am having a glass of Champagne, can’t be all that bad.

We are 34 days away

Tags

Chocolates., Christmas, cuisine, ethnic food, Food, life, PEI, shortbread

Last night I noticed that the City of Charlottetown lit-up the evergreen trees on Water, Queen and Great George street. The Xmas market is this weekend it is outdoor on Richmond Street. I went grocery shopping early today and also went to the Farmer’s Market which has moved back indoors, it is well organized, entrance is controlled at one door and everyone has a face mask. The number of people in the market is also controlled and exit is another separate door. Since yesterday face masks are mandatory in all indoor places in PEI. Everyone wears one and no complaints, so happy to see that here. Post Canada has told people to mail all their gifts early this year to avoid delays. Some people have started to also shop early and stock up. So I thought I would do the same.

Good quality Tom Smith Christmas Crackers for our table

This weekend is the beginning of Xmas shopping and after lunch I went out again around 2:30pm to get a few other things for our Christmas. Crackers for our table on 25 December, those special chocolates the ones shaped like bottles and filled with alcohol, so happy to find those in a shop. Usually they come from Scandinavia but now it is available from Laura Secord Chocolate. Laura Secord is famous in the war of 1812 when President James Madison and his lovely wife Dolly decided to attach Canada. Laura singlehandedly defeated the entire US Army with her cow near Niagara Falls. The cow then kicked a gas lamp over and this started a fire that burnt down the White House, pretty amazing history. Poor James and Dolly they became homeless and ended up in subsidized housing at Cabrini Green.

Mr Will has found a recipe for Scottish Shortbreads on YouTube from our Canadian Chef site, Glen and Friends, you need white rice flour for this recipe to give you the right texture. OK this is PEI where people put lobster in their pork and beans, no one has ever heard of rice flour, could not find it anywhere, not available. The other item he wants is Marmite which Glen and Friends suggest you use in stews etc. Again cannot find it, some store managers have never heard of it. Try explaining Marmite is an Australian thing, that is met with incredulity.

Here is the link to the recipe for shortbreads: https://youtu.be/4BM5gj44v_Y

In the last 5 years many ethnic grocery stores have popped-up in Charlottetown to serve the ever growing Asian, African, Indian and Caribbean population. So I went down Longworth avenue to the Asian Market and bingo there was a big box of white rice flour. They also have all manner of other food items and dry goods commonly seen in Asian or African cuisine, so now I know where to go when Mr Will has a fancy for some exotic ingredient. BTW on our Anniversary this Monday I will reminist of all the shopping I have done for that special ingredient for Mr Will when he prepares one of his signature dishes. Hey! you marry a great Chef expect that you will be sent out to shop, there are lots of funny stories, like the one of the flying scallops.

On the weather front November has been weird, some days feel like a nice Spring day, lots of warm sunshine, other days its -4C and snowy and then the next day its +11C, this is late November and we do not know how to dress.