This Monday was Thanksgiving and my little sister and her husband are visiting from NYC. We did not do a turkey but instead we had ribs and they were very good and a crumble apple pie for dessert. It is very nice to have them with us. The weather was chilly but with a bright sunshine, the rest of the week will be the same.
Yesterday 4 large cruise ships visited our Port and they were not welcomed by the citizens of Charlottetown. After 17 days post FIONA, we still have 11,000 without electricity, disaster tourism we do not need. It is also very dangerous to walk about since large electric cables still litter the streets.
Took my little sister and her husband to the North Shore today. We went to North Rustico, Cavendish, Stanley Bridge, French River and Kensington. Lovely drive, lots of colour and the area is much cleaned up compared to in town here. Yes there are dozens of trees down at the site of Anne of Green Gables, where the tourists converge, but then again the ground in the area is very swamp like. Other than that not much to see in terms of damage, the area now is devoid of visitors and everything is closed anyway until 1 May 2023. Rustico is cleaning up but again most damage was in the low area where the sea meets the beach and 2 old structures were destroyed. The rest is all fine including the boardwalk lovely as ever.
Life is very slowly coming back to normal and no one lost their house, roofs damaged yes, shingles off. Barns destroyed yes, most where old and in bad shape. The Premier Denny King is giving $100 bills like some tinpot dictator to the Islanders, but not doing much else. He says that the clean up cost will be about $500 million dollars, really? Who is going to pay you think, well the Federal Government as is Island tradition since 1873.
As we enter October, the final harvest is taking place and now the markets are flooded with Squash and pumpkins and other late season vegetables, like beets.
Today was a sunny and a bit chilly day with a fresh brisk wind. I went to MacKenzie Produce which is a huge farm employing foreign workers from Mexico. They are very nice people and love speaking Spanish with them. At this time of the year they will decorate some of the big bails of hay for kids and organize the corn maze which brings children to run around. The variety of pumpkins and squash is impressive and of various colours from the orange standard to the blue and white and mix of orange and green. They also have very low prices for the pumpkins, what they do not sell is turned into feed for farm animals it is good for them and they love it.
I bought 2 pumpkins a large one and a small one. I also bought to decorate the table 6 miniature pumpkins in various shapes. I also got some squash and will cook them. I bought red sweet potatoes, that I had not seen before at $0.99 a pound you cannot go wrong.
I also got 3 pots of Mums of various colours. It was fun to be just minutes away from home in the countryside. Speaking with the owners of the farm I learned that they had lost quite a few trees, though the domain is so vast, it is difficult to tell, they also only got electricity back today, meaning they had been 9 days without power. Again the number of poles destroyed, simply snapped in two like twigs is impressive.
I was reminded today that my car winter tune-up is coming up and I need to buy new winter tires. My old ones are 11 years old and need to be discarded. I may need to buy new rims also, but will see. I have learned to know what to buy in new tires and check for the manufacture date and stick to newly made tires and not last year. We do not drive much in Winter but nonetheless it is good to have quality tires. The prices though can get very expensive.
I find that classical soft piano music can work wonders for me. This morning while having my coffee I was listening to Schubert piano music, it was peaceful and relaxing, helps you wake up. Same late at night, piano music can work wonders. Reading also before bed as long as it is not a thriller or a murder mystery or some political tome, it should help to relax.
I read many different authors, I currently have 7 books on my night table.
One week ago FIONA was in town and it left a heavy mark, 7 days later still 35% of the Island population is out of power, it is becoming ridiculous, some streets will have power except for 2 houses on one block, why? They are on another grid. There is no rhyme or reasons to the way power is restored, one fact is clear, the authorities need to bury electrical cables and better manage the urban forests.
We are now in October and next weekend it’s Thanksgiving and my sister is coming for a visit, really looking forward to this.
I was saying this week that since January 2020 it is as if we are pursued by bad omens, first it was Covid and its variants and all the turmoil it created in society, exposing the divisions amongst people and the level of ignorance in matters of public health. Then the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in what is nothing more than a war of aggression with loads of war crimes against civilians. The supply chain disruption and inflation on all products in society, except for bananas and lemons according to a recent price study, it is true that bananas are still 0.49 cents a pound and lemons are 0.99 each. How to explain that one both are imported to Canada from the tropics. Also the effect of climate change and more violent storms and the rise in temperature both in the ambient air and in the sea has been very noticeable. This year per example there was no jelly fish at the beach, none, very strange but the water being very warm apparently affected them.
We are not even thinking of travelling anywhere simply because of all these factors. So we do suffer from cabin fever and remain hopeful to be able to travel in 2023. However with the news from Ukraine and with President Putin appearing more and more mentally unstable, threatening a nuclear attack because he is clearly losing this war, it makes everything look bleak. Where will we be in 6 months? I wonder about the future.
This is why listening to classical piano music is soothing in the morning and evening. There is a choice from Schubert to Debussy, Grieg, Couperin, Respighi, Saint-Saens, Ravel.
Speaking of music at the Funeral of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the funeral march no.1 by Beethoven and the two Scottish pieces, Mist Covered Mountains and Mull of the Mountains were very beautiful and well chosen for the occasion.
Finally this quote from the UN Secretary general Antonio Guterres given the moment we are in now with Russia is a propos.
By far Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday of the year. It comes at harvest time when all manner of flowers and produce is available everywhere, there is colourful abundance. The weather is also fairly good, a bit brisk and cool but enjoyable. When I was living abroad for so many years, I always made sure the management committee at the Embassy would put Thanksgiving amongst the holiday we would observe. We were allowed only so many Stat Holiday per year and we would do a mix of Local and Canadian Holidays. Our American colleagues were allowed to do all local and US Holidays, so it could easily amount to 28 days per year, lucky buggers.
My first Thanksgiving abroad was in Mexico City in 1986. We then had Thanksgivings in Cairo, Chicago, Warsaw, Amman, Beijing. Though the ones that stands out was in Mexico City and in Cairo for funny reasons. In Mexico City, I was the first to ask about where we could get a turkey, since such a big bird was not readily available in markets. Also Mexican Cuisine did not involve dishes with a whole roast bird. It appears that no one had domesticated white feathered bird, the wild kind was common but not on farms. Through contacts and speaking with our Mexican Staff at the Embassy, we got our turkeys delivered curb side in a cardboard box. In Mexico City cooking is always more complicated because altitude does affect cooking time, almost doubling the time. Our dinner was ready at Midnight instead of 7pm, we still had a grand old time.
In Cairo it was different, Egyptian cuisine culture does not have such a bird on the menu. It was our Ambassador who invited us all to dinner at the residence, which was an old Palace which had belonged to the Queen of Egypt, Farida Zulfikar, wife of King Farouk. The dining room had the distinction of having seen Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbles hosted by the German Archeological Institute in 1939.
The cook had prepared 2 big turkeys for us all and he wanted to present them in such a way as to display the birds. So on the table on great silver platters on a bed of greens sat the two roasted birds, however to everyone’s surprise, the cook had also roasted the head and neck and put them back in situ. So you had these two golden roasted turkeys staring at you. We had a good laugh.
Canadian Ambassador’s Residence, no.5 Kamel Mohamed street, Zamalek, Cairo.
Thanksgiving is a North American Holiday, in the USA you have a tradition around the holiday, whereas in Canada it is strictly a Harvest festival which was brought to Canada by the British. In French Culture there is no such tradition, this is why in Canada you will see more celebrating in English communities than in French ones. In fact it was explorer Martin Frobisher who celebrated the holiday in 1578, it was more religious than feasting, he was looking for the Northwest Passage in the Arctic circle. In 1608 the founder of Quebec City and Governor of New France, Samuel de Champlain had celebrations of thanksgiving simply because they manage to survive in an hostile climate. It only really became common in 1879 as a harvest festival mixing religious service with a fine meal. Turkey was not the principal meat only more recently due to convenience and availability has it become the common dish. Though many still do roast chicken instead, with the seasonal vegetables and a fancy dessert. In 1957, the Governor General Vincent Massey, decreed that Thanksgiving would be an Official Holiday; “A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the second Monday in October.”
I am thankful each year for my life and friends. All the good things I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy. For our Home and our 43 yr relationship and our 2 puppies. Thankful for the people around me, that is what matters most to me.
The weather is still sunny but getting cooler with a North East Wind today. So this is the long Thanksgiving Weekend, was at the grocery store this morning to pick-up a few items, Will is making ice-cream with Irish whiskey, a recipe that never fails to please all.
There is so much to be thankful for in Canada, the economy is doing well, we live in a peaceful and stable country and our life in general is good, no complaints really.
Last night we went for the last time this Season across the street to the Water Prince restaurant and had oysters on the half shell, lobster roll and Halibut Fish and chips. They close at the end of the Lobster Season this Saturday until May 2022. It has been crazy busy all week, lots of last minute tourists. You should hear the questions about the menu. Some do not grasp the concept that we are an Island on the ocean and our seafood comes off the boats just over there. No it is not frozen or sent from a factory in Arkansas. The tourists we get are from Ontario, land of dysfunction and pandemic. Happy to see them go home. The owner Shane has passed the baton to his son Coady who is a school teacher, you cannot improvise yourself a restaurateur, not the same as teaching class to 8 yr olds. It’s too bad really.
Earlier this week we went to Cavendish National Park, it is opposite of French River and New London across the bay from our Summer Cottage. Lots of very big sand dunes and marshes all around. Beautiful and peaceful, nearly deserted at this time of the year. Only one bus with about a dozen American tourists. There was almost no wind and we walked on the wooden elevated pathway across the marsh behind the big sand dunes. In the clear water you see thousand of little Gaspereaux and Blue Back Herring swimming in schools. Lots of small birds, Northern Harrier hawks and bald Eagles, racoons, beavers, muskrats and minks, live in the pine forests growing all around and in the marsh. Parks Canada which manages the area does a wonderful job of managing the park. The buildings are unobtrusive and blend into the scenery. The map of the area shows 3 National parks inter-connected, Cavendish North Rustico, Brackley Dalvay and Greenwich. All those parks were once farmland and owned by families for generations, however with shifting sand and changing currents it progressively became very difficult to farm and the land was either given up or sold to the Federal Government who turned it all into preserved natural areas.
So the plan for Thanksgiving, we have been invited to dinner at friends in Montague, then a catered dinner with 2 other friends on Monday. I was glad this morning not to have to buy a turkey etc.
French River is on the Cliffs
McNeil’s Pond or Lake of Shining Waters, floating platform, the high sand dunes create a barrier to the sea on the other side.
We are a week away from the Thanksgiving weekend. This year we have not made plans, we are thinking of going to the restaurant with 2 friends, keeping it simple because preparing a meal for a group is a lot of work and we are not in the mood for that. We have also been invited by friends in Montague on a different day and that will be fun. The weather is now much cooler and the trees are slowly changing colours.
As we enter October you realize if you live in PEI that we do live on a kind of resort Island, many restaurants and bars, hotels and motels are specifically geared to the tourist and seasonal travellers from May to early October, they are shut down at Thanksgiving time. Only to reopen in Mid-May or early June, which I have always found disappointing because of the lack of effort to cater to this province residents. Yes it is true that it is still a small population at 150K and that the majority are pinching pennies, so restaurant owners can say they do not have the volume, though the restaurants are full every night. The other excuse given by owners is no staff, but again for many years the salaries in the service industry are so poor, people cannot live on $13. per hour, even $15 will not do it anymore and some employers in the industry are offering $20. A lack of affordable housing for service industry staff, lack of parking, no benefits, compound the problem. This pandemic wave has demonstrated it is not worth working in that sector at all and in the long run this endangers the tourism industry as a whole on the Island. What will May 2022 bring? no one knows, many are hoping we will be out of the pandemic but I do not see that happening. We will simply have to learn to live with it. Unfortunately many have not and behave like spoiled children.
On Tuesday, we will have to carry proof of FULL vaccinations with us and it is required for you to show it on demand to enter businesses. Masks are mandatory inside everywhere. The good side is most people are now fully vaccinated and people do wear masks with no fuss. But it tells you that this is far from over, despite the very low numbers in PEI of 22 persons at home with Covid infections. Though in Alberta out in Western Canada, the hospital system has collapsed and at triage doctors now decides who they will treat and who they will not. Everyone else sick or not are told to stay home because the system is full, no room. Alberta has such a low rate of vaccination they are paying now for their right wing agenda. They still do not get it. Saskatchewan next door is not much better again a right wing government told them its just the flu don’t worry. How sad is that.
This fourth wave as been that of the unvaccinated, the young under 30 who did not get vaccinated thinking this was only for the old. They are now more sick and require more treatment and it is becoming alarming. Many young people are also anti-vaxxers. So baffling.
Yesterday we were invited to dinner at a friends Summer home, let’s call it a mansion on the sea. Located in the Cavendish National Park, a spectacular house in a wild natural setting. This is on the opposite side of the bay from French River where we go in the Summer to the cottage.i The kitchen alone was the height of a professional kitchen with its great U shape 10 place sitting area in marble. We had a wonderful meal of the best PEI Mussels in a yellow curry sauce, just wonderful and followed by a chicken madras and a vegetable curry. Good food and good company, lots of conversation and laughs.
This friend also has another mansion on the South shore of the Island in Keppoch with 9 fireplaces. Truly another spectacular house on 3 levels. Located on a vast expanse of land giving unto the water and spectacular views in a very natural setting. Love going there for a movie night and dinner. Always fun.
Tomorrow I am to get a delivery of my new Apple Computer, that will be nice. The weather for the week is cool 13C and sunny.
Well the question here is are we still in Summer with 22C and sunny it’s nice beach weather but wait we are in late September when it should be much cooler like 16C. The weather guy is now talking openly of Climate change and the number of hurricanes that are coming our way in the form usually of tropical storms with very high damaging winds. It has still not sunk in for a lot of people until it falls on their heads.
We also have a lot of hot humid days which is not normal for an island like ours.
So today we have new owners to our building and our old landlord came to say goodbye, they were good people and attentive. We will no doubt see them again for sure.
Today I also bought a new computer to replace my 11 yr old one, which was starting to have problems and a line in the middle of the screen. I bought online from Apple and it will be delivered in a week. I am looking forward to this new computer. It would appear that it is easier to order online than buy in store, both Best Buy and Staples were out of stock and did not know when they would have any in store.
We spoke with the Bank and got pre-approve for a mortgage. I had no idea we were that rich. There is a lot for sale right now, but the prices do not match the quality. Many properties appear over valued and this is the same all over Canada. Is a correction coming to the real estate market, possibly. How can a house appreciate by 80% in 6 months without doing anything to it. There are also a lot of listings where home original price has been dropped by 25%, it says they were overvalued to start with, I think that in some cases they could drop another 15% percent. The pandemic created a rush on Summer Cottages and the prices went up accordingly. The CMHC is the body that governs the market in Canada sounded the alarm for the second time this year, saying that the housing market is overheating and overpriced and a very sharp correction is going to happen, this would leave a lot of people who paid too much out in the cold. We are in no rush at all.
Thursday all will be closed in PEI and in some other provinces but not all, a new Federal Statutory Holiday for natives called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is being celebrated for the first time. Many private businesses are closing not because they want to but because out of fear of bad publicity if they don’t. Ontario the most populous province in Canada is not observing this holiday. Provinces and territories observing the Holiday are the Yukon, North West Territories, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and PEI.
Upcoming Holiday will be Thanksgiving on Monday 11 October, so far we have no plans to do anything. Maybe we will just keep it quiet this year. Stay tuned as they say.
Well this weekend we celebrate Thanksgiving, despite the Pandemic and numbers of sick people surging in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta and a new and developing situation in New Brunswick, we can be thankful in Canada for so many good things we enjoy. First and foremost everyone has access for FREE to Healthcare, Covid 19 tests are Free and easily accessible. You need healthcare it is available and you have no worries about it. Even the Seasonal Flu Shot are FREE. When you have your health, you got it all.
Here in PEI we have no COVID and anyone who has been sick total 61 have stayed at home and have received help and follow-up from Health PEI. No deaths and no hospitalizations.
We live in a peaceful and stable country, the Government of Canada has numerous programs for help and support financially anyone who needs help during the Pandemic. This is more than we can say if looking at other countries where people are left to fend for themselves.
We live in a nice house, we have friends and a good social life. We have our two puppies who are demanding but we love them, hey their Dachshunds, what do you expect.
So we have a lot to be thankful for and appreciative of our blessings in this life.
Well we got our FLU shot, it can be administered by pharmicists, nurses at the clinics, doctors. It’s FREE and anyone over 65 yrs of age gets a super boost shot. The Government is really encouraging everyone to get their shot and it is so easy, it takes all of 15 minutes, no waiting. What I call civilized!
I also went to Mackenzie Farm across the river from Charlottetown, it is one of many farms selling fresh vegetables and pumpkins usually you can buy a small one for $2 and the big ones are $4. I also bought other produce, its fun and we have had a lot of really nice cool days with sunshine.
We still only have 3 cases of Covid 19 in PEI, all from travellers who came back from other parts of Canada and who isolated upon return, the Health Dept and our Health Chief Dr Morrison is in daily contact with them.
Pretty lucky when you think of Quebec with 1400 new cases today alone, Ontario with 600. Alberta is not doing much better. Canada’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Tam says that some parts of Canada are in un-chartered waters and things could get really bad meaning that hospital system could be overwhelmed, Quebec is almost at that point in the Montreal region. Most cases are under 40 yrs of age and young people who a few months ago were laughing at the pandemic are now coughing. What is most disturbing in Quebec with a population of 8 million people, is the popularity of QAnon amongst certain segment of the population and the conspiracy theories. Anti-mask demonstrations in Montreal attracting 10,000 people when in the rest of Canada such demonstrations would attract at most 200. There is also in Quebec City the phenomenon of Radio poubelles (garbage) stations with their shock Jock hosts, one such station is CHOI-X who has for a long time promoted every nut job and conspiracy theory on the air. It got so bad 2 weeks ago that Mayor Regis LaBeaume pulled all City publicity from the station after CHOI-X refused again to air public health messages on Covid19, the owners stating it was propaganda. Now many other private sponsors have pulled their publicity. So the owners of CHOI -X are suing City of Quebec for diffamation instead of simply airing the public health messages. It shows a sad side of society and this anything goes attitude, selfish and self-centered, pampered society.
New Brunswick which has the border with Quebec unto the Maritime region has closed its border to prevent Quebecers coming in. As for the border with the USA it remains closed until 1 November but it is not likely to re-open before 2021 or until the USA has a firm control on the pandemic.
In other news: Thanksgiving weekend is coming, Monday 12 October being Thanksgiving. We had thought of doing a different menu this year for our Annual T-giving luncheon, but turkeys are on sale and I got a nice one, 12 lbs for $20. I think we will start with smoked Salmon and shrimp, for dessert, Monsieur Will is going to make is roasted bread and Irish whiskey ice cream and a bread pudding. It will be a small affair this year, we celebrate on Sunday.
Taking a lot of walks around the neighbourhood, in the last 3 years owners and developers have slowly but surely gentrified old Charlottetown. Many of the old homes built around 1820-1880 period are being renovated usually for $1 to 2 Million dollar budget. The area which is 9 city blocks by 6 city blocks is saturated with 825 Air B&B mostly illegal or under the radar., though this year many have been converted to long term rental. Several Bed and Breakfasts have also changed hands and bought by Chinese investors who cater mostly to Mainland Chinese tourists. This year was bad, no tourists and many businesses restaurants, bars, hotels are really struggling if not dying out right. Some hotels downtown and in the suburbs have closed until May 2021. It is going to be tough for the service/hospitality industry. If the cruise ships do not return in May 2021, and borders are still closed, PEI will have to think of a Plan B for tourism. The so called Atlantic bubble did not produce the economic results businesses were counting on. The Atlantic region in Canada has a total population of 2.5 million people spread over 4 provinces. It is not a wealthy area, the average income is about $40,000 per family or less, many are Seasonally employed. So the whole service industry sector needs out of province visitors, PEI alone gets one million visitors between May and October in a normal year. It does not affect us living here in retirement but I can see how anyone who is working now is worried. It seems however that dentists/doctors, our 2 plastic surgeons, our 2 psychiatrists, pharmacists are busier than ever.
I have been posting a lot on Instagram and enjoy this new medium much more than Facebook.
Here is our Nora enjoying the deck this morning.
Here they are Nora in the background and Nick, waiting for their dinner, it’s the look dachshunds are known for, where is my dinner!!!!!
Love this view of the Hillsborough river from the boarwalk looking towards the opening to the Strait of Northumberland and Nova Scotia coast beyond. On the right is Rocky Point and Port LaJoye the original French fort. On the left is Keppoch (pronounced Keppick) both are affluent out of town areas.
Yesterday 28 September I got a call from my cousin Gilbert in Montreal letting me that his mother, my aunt Laurence had died aged 92 after a very long illness. She was the elder sister of my mother and my little sister reminded me that our mother had died 5 years ago on this day. What a strange coincidence, both died in their sleep after long illnesses. I have two aunts left on my maternal side, one is 93 and the other is 88.
My aunt did not want any funeral service and her ashes are to be buried in the same cemetery in Saint-Laurent beside her son Louis and her ex-husband Jacques. There will be a memorial service some time in the future.
Such news brought back a lot of memories of childhood and it seems almost unbelievable that aunts and uncles all aged and now are gone. In my mind though time passed I never really thought of them as getting old, they seemed frozen in time.
I remember my aunt Laurence coming to visit me in Chicago back in 1994 when I was working at the Canadian Consulate in the Prudential building. But I do not remember much more than us going to a steakhouse for dinner.
Today more of the same, only 38 days left in the campaign. I can’t wait for it to end. I fear the vote will be very split with 4 candidates on the ballot. Two of the Mayoral candidates opened their campaign offices today with sandwiches and cake, photos and a few speeches. The weather is still pleasant for canvassing, some people are interested in the elections other could not care less. Apathy is out there and it is difficult to counter, there is a belief that voting is meaningless. A lot of young people are either mildly amused or indifferent to the elections, I am trying to point out to them the difference they can make by getting involved, not an easy task.
Win or loose, I want to take a vacation afterwards, we are discussing where we might go. Lisbon, Portugal came up as a possibility. Just a week might do a world of good.
Thanksgiving in coming up on 8 October, I think we are doing turkey, no stuffing, some vegetables, a pumpkin soup to start and apple pie for dessert, lots of apples this time of year.
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.
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 