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.

Storm Chip Day in PEI

Tags

chips, hurricane, Newfoundland, PEI, snow, storm, storm chips, Wind

During the night we could hear the roar of the wind outside, a very big storm is over the Atlantic, passing well South of Halifax in Nova Scotia, we avoided the snow however this storm brings with it very powerful winds. So early this morning the calls went out, all schools remain closed and the University and Holland College also closed. Funerals are postponed for a day, businesses closed early or never opened. Looking out my window I could see visibility was very poor and snow drifts made things worse. The Police advised people to stay home and not take the car anywhere unless it was an emergency. The wind chill factor brings the temperature to about -28 C or -19 F. danger of frosbites. For my dear readers who complain of 57 F as very cold try -19 F for a laugh.

Water street deserted, our street quiet and peaceful.

Prince street looking across the street from our house, the Water Prince Lobster restaurant is quiet for the Winter, re-opening on 15 April for Spring Lobster Season. Love the place this is where we had Will’s Birthday party in December with fresh oysters and lobster. 

Will made from scratch chicken soup and biscuits, who said I wanted to give him away. But things are much worse in Newfoundland across the Gulf of St-Lawrence from us. In St-John’s the capital, the Mayor has declared a state of emergency and shut the city down.  only emergency vehicles, police and fire can circulate. Everyone else is ordered inside at home, the City is getting 70cm of snow in a few hours or 2 feet of snow with winds approaching 150Km per hour which is well into hurricane strength. This is the second such storm this Winter in Newfoundland which is unusual for them and more is coming apparently.

Here on PEI there is an advisory for the Confederation bridge over the Strait to the mainland, I would not want to drive over that sea bridge in high wind, it takes 10 minutes to drive over, scary is the word. Charlottetown airport is closed, flights cancelled or delayed. The streets are deserted.

We could have gone to the Club tonight which is only 4 blocks away down Water Street but the weather is poor and it is very cold and very windy. Overnight the winds will decrease from 70km to 60Km but still more snow drifts etc. Then tomorrow we are suppose to get some snow with the high winds and Sunday might bring more of the same.

So today Will wanted some whip cream and some yogurt for a recipe, I walked over to the convenience store to get him those items but did not linger. Strangely because of the high winds today we did get some patches of blue and some sun for a few minutes.

We have our Official Storm Chips for today so all is well. Covered Bridge a company from New Brunswick makes good chips. Good booze is also de rigueur on such days. A Maritime tradition.

So today we are listening to Emmanuel Chambrier, Pièces Pittoresques composed in 1881. Of the 10 pièces, Idylle and Danse Villageoise are probably the best known. On such a storm day what else can you do. Even our little ones Nicky and Nora don’t want to go out in such awful weather. They prefer to snooze listening to French music.

 

 

 

 

30 November 2019

Tags

Club, Dad, dinner, Food, Haviland, lobster, storm, surf, winter

Well our first snow storm of the Season is in full swing now. It started last evening with rain and winds and changed to snow squalls overnight. Poor visibility and dangerous driving or walking conditions. High winds with pounding surf and higher tides than normal, no time to go walk on the beach now, it can be dangerous. This weekend was the Christmas market weekend but the weather forced a change in schedule and most things are closed or re-scheduled until Sunday like the Santa parade.

We had a lovely dinner at the Club last night and enjoyed the Parlour fireplace. Many members who live within walking distance came. This is a good beginning to the Xmas Season.

Photo taken from our den, showing the famous Water Prince Corner Shop at the corner of Prince and Water street in old Charlottetown. This restaurant specialty is lobsters and seafood. They are famous because many celebrities have been for lunch or dinner and left testimonials. The Regis and Kathie Lee show was also taped at the location a few years  back and many tourists coming here to visit will make reservations. Being neighbours we can just cross the street and get a table. Not a big place just about 20 tables, but the food and service is excellent. The Winter Lobster Season started about 4 days ago and 250 boats went out to Sea, it is very dangerous work on the Ocean with waves and winds which toss boats about. Many here on the Island will have lobster for Xmas dinner at home, remembering to use sea water to boil their lobster, tap water won’t do.

One of the many fireplaces in the Club, this one is made of Pink Sicilian Marble which cannot be found anymore. Imported by the original owner of #2 Haviland Street, the young widow Esther Full-Lowden in 1869. This was her parlour to receive friends, after her death in 1896 the Mansion was rented out to the USA Government and this room was the American Consul’s Office, with 18 foot ceilings and fancy moulding. It was wonderful last night to sit by the fire and enjoy drinks with other members.

Today is very quiet with the storm raging outside. Sunday should be quiet also, I may go out to the Farmer’s Market to get my Dresden Stollen from Sabine and Michael S. who are natives of Dresden.

Today is also my late father’s Birthday, he would have been 89 years old. Here the two of us having lunch at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal around 2014.

 

Intermission

Tags

CBC, Charlottetown, PEI, storm, Wind, winter

Well this morning we got up and the storm has stopped or past us, the wind is still pretty strong but is diminishing gradually. The Confederation sea bridge is still closed to all traffic, it has been closed for 12 hours now and I can just imagine that many trucks on the mainland side in New Brunswick are just waiting, parked in the special area for the bridge to re-open. The weather was just as bad in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and Cape Breton (Isle Royale) sticking out into the Atlantic, they always get the brunt of all storms.  What it means for us on PEI is that the grocery stores will start having shortages in fresh produce like salad and imported fruits from the USA or South America. You can still get the essentials since we have lots of farmers and livestock farms.

My main concern is digging my car out from under the snow, right now the front of the car is buried in snow, our parking lot is clean, the plow guy came by early around 5am and cleaned it all out. The City and the Province have re-started the plowing of the streets and the highway and secondary roads after a 12 hour stop, so now they have to catch up. Matt Rainnie the host of CBC Island morning was telling us that another storm is coming this is just a break, an intermission if you like, the new storm should arrive by early hours of Thursday and dump another 25 cm of fresh snow. So Wednesday off I go for more food shopping and essentials.

 

I don’t think I would want to live outside of a major town on PEI in Winter, here we have all the services and living at the corner of two main city arteries means the roads are cleaned first. I heard stories of people in the country side and they are left to fend for themselves, no one can get to them, the wind is too high and there is too much snow on the road. Stories from last night are of 3 babies being born during the height of the snow at home. The way it is organized on PEI is when a storm hits, emergency plows stand by at Fire Halls, all of whom are staff by volunteer fire fighters. If a call comes in the emergency plow will open up the road for the Fire trucks and hopefully make it on time to help, like in the case of births at home. It becomes a neighbourhood affair, since everyone knows everyone else.

 

There are some tragedies of homes burning down and the Fire dept can’t get to them because the driveway to the Farm house is 200 feet long and has not been plowed or is too narrow. Last night a big barn full of bails of hay burned, the storm delayed the Fire Dept by 3 hours. Many of our secondary roads are also nothing more than soft red earth which in Winter turns to hard icy roads and are not necessarily plowed.

I don’t think many people will be going out for Valentine’s day given the state of the roads and everything is closed today anyway. Just stay home and read and enjoy the day. Until the next storm on Thursday morning.

I have to say that the City of Charlottetown is doing a wonderful job of cleaning the streets quickly and efficiently, a much better job than Ottawa who never seemed to be able to clean streets unless you called your City Councillor to complain.

The world is a small town

Tags

CBC, Charlottetown, PEI, storm, Wind, winter

This saying figures in the title page of my blog. This is certainly true of where we are now. We go to Receiver Coffee three times a week when I am done with my duty at the Art Gallery. It is the in spot on Richmond Street behind the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

The food is quite good and the coffee superb, they also have art on the walls for sale by young emerging artists. Currently they have amongst others a photographer who is also a barber at one of the Hip Barber shops in town. His name is Jared Doyle and he has an account on Instagram Ivory Orphan. Looking at his portfolio I notice that we know all the people featured, same at the Café, everywhere we go now, look around and you see friends, acquaintances, neighbours or prominent citizens, we speak to everyone, exchange greetings and news. It is that sort of a place.

This morning I was listening to CBC Island Morning with Matt Rainnie and Rich Cormier, there is a big storm coming says Matt so you should go to the grocery store and stock up because Friday morning it is going to be a snow day and no one should be on the road. He is speaking about the entire Province of Prince Edward Island not just Charlottetown the Capital. As I write this the storm has arrived and already the wind is howling at 80Km per hour and we are expecting 40 Cm of snow or 16 inches in the next 5 hours, which is significant. The winds will top 100km in about one hour, the bridge to the mainland has is closed to all traffic and the Canadian Coast Guard has come into the harbour to dock for the night, I can understand they don’t want to be out at sea in this weather.

So I followed Matt Rainnie advice and went to the SuperStore to stock up on all the food items we may need. I was not alone at the store and it was a chance to speak with people about this and that, at the Deli counter a lady was exchanging news with the Deli Counter clerk, the polite thing to do is wait until she finishes the story, you don’t want to barge in, she might be someone’s cousin you know.

Got my shopping done, it was a beautiful day today but by 6 pm the clouds had accumulated and on the news they were giving us the run down of all the places that were cancelling activities tonight, all of it re-scheduled for a Saturday or later. So it is pretty obvious no school tomorrow, the University and College are closed. Many businesses will not open and very likely the government will also be shut down for the day. The airport has already cancelled the evening flights and many delays for tomorrow, so call ahead. At any rate who wants to land or take off in 80 Km winds, not me.

I still had to take the dogs out, they did not want to go out too much wind and blowing snow for them, but out we go, not far like a few feet do what you have to do and turn around quick.

Yes we live in Mayberry and it is a nice feeling, everyone will be at home tomorrow and just read and relax until the storm passes.