The blog is taking a few days off

As Rudi and I enjoy a few days in Florida!

Florida is cool – all pretty and palms. We have palms here but don’t show them off in quite the same way.

Photos as I have a connection!

Hope Town Harbour Lodge art show – Kim Rody

Our last artist in my series is an acrylics artist from the US. Kim spends the winters here where I think she might be inspired by the landscape above and below the water.

Her paintings are generally large, colourful and dramatic.

This was a Junkanoo. You may well see my photos of another one this New Year’s Eve. Or the children’s Junkanoo. But I digress.

Kim paints lots of sea turtles and fish…

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And boats!

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My gratefuls? That I am surrounded by suck talent. That Rudi made me amazing liver and onions today. That last night was “Hawaii 5-O” night. That friend Amanda made a connection she needed to make – and more! And she and her love get to feed piggies, which are one of my favourite animals. That Truffles is a pretty amazing companion who blows my mind daily. That friend Brigitte is in Freeport now and is conducting a watercolour workshop!!

Hope Town Lodge Art Show – Brigitte Bowyer Carey

Brigitte is the most experienced artist of our little group. It has been her life for decades.

She has lots of art to display, including some new things done on driftwood!

But her forte is watercolour.

Anyone recognize this guy?

Some beach goodies.

A huge lighthouse painting.

And the crowds!

Browsing and – buying!

Art sales are a great way to judge how the economy is doing.

Our husbands lost in thought.

Another version of our lighthouse.

And a seahorse!

My gratefuls – That my friend Brigitte proved the economy is on an upswing! That Rudi and Donnie had a great historical conversation. That the Lodge was busy with people – busier than last year – for this art show. That Brigitte leaves on Monday to teach a watercolour workshop in Freeport. That I could send my emissary to the show to get photos to share with you!

the infamous – Mary Balzac!

And this is cool – Mary will have to tell us about her sideline, in the third photo!

Here’s Mary, a watercolorist (mostly) buddy from Hope Town. I have a soft spot in my heart for watercolorists.

I am happy that I own a Balzac, one that means a lot to me.

And here’s something new. Rudi said, when asked, “jewelry.” Is it? For sandals? Mary! Tell us more!

A few other people/items at the Art Show.

This first shot just gives you an example of how amazing the people of Abaco are. These gorgeous bowls – absolutely lovely – were turned by the man who is the service repairman for our appliances.

And this is Kent –

She makes great mobiles, but has another life, and had still another.

She was an executive pastry chef at a major Ritz-Carleton Hotel in Colorado.:-)
And in Hope Town, she makes a lot of the wedding cakes for our visiting brides, and does a bunch of other baking – like for our College’s Winter School’s potluck last February.

Aren’t Abaconians amazing? Versatile? Creative?

My gratefuls – That I love here with these amazing people, and that I am very proud to call some of them my friends.

the Art Show – Joli Feszt

Since I couldn’t make the art show on Friday at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge, I sent my photo assistant in my place so I could introduce you to my friends and their art.

I will begin with Joli.
Now she and I have a lot in common in terms of what we like to paint and draw, which can be more botanical than that chosen by many people. Joli is a watercolorist, but has been experimenting with pastels for the past many months.

Here she is!

And some of her work –

This was the first time that I can remember Joli participating in this show, so that was exciting!

I will have to ask Joli what this hot pink thing is. Unless Mary or Brigitte can answer in the Comments section for me. Rudi imagines it comes from the ocean floor…

And she’s done studies on them more than once.

Some sea grapes.

I hope Joli keeps showing her work!! I loved seeing it, even virtually.

My gratefuls – That I did sort of get to attend the art show, thanks to Rudi. That it seemed busy, so I am hoping my artist friends made a few dollars! That I love lamb but the mint jelly has to be my very favourite, and Rudi’s lamb stock is great.

a trip to civilization

And you know how we know it is civilization?
Because a cup of rainbow sherbet cost $6 Yikes!!

When we went to Billy’s Garden Stand I pushed for a trip to –

The Sugar Shack!
And since I’m being a bit careful about what I eat – rainbow sherbet was the order of the day.

It was quite satisfying. It had been a while since I enjoyed a sherbet. And now we will buy our own so we don’t know bankrupt, $6 at a time!

My gratefuls – That Rudi made an awesome squash soup today, and I ate too much of it! That he also made a lamb stock with the recipe I’d shared a week ago or so, and the house smelled like heaven! We get to have that stock over the weekend. That friend Mary was there for me on Thursday when I needed her. That the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was wonderful, as always, and that it was fun watching the National Dog Show afterwards.

Why US Thanksgiving is more special to me than it ever was!

Yeah, the food is nice…

I wish you all a moist turkey!

And delicious sides!

And delectable desserts.

Yum.

But my total awe for this holiday comes from my traditions. Which I was doing on Thanksgiving Day 2010…
1. Watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from NYC.
2. Watch the National Dog Show right afterwards.

And during that dog show in 2010, I realized we couldn’t live without a dog in our lives. And thus began the hunt for OUR dog.

And a few weeks later – well, here’s Truffles on her first golf cart ride to our home.

And she won everyone’s heart.

And Truffles is our grateful on this US Thanksgiving, 2011.

Billy’s Garden Stand

This is exciting!
I was sitting here with my computer on my lap yesterday afternoon and ding! I got an email from friend JoAnn who has a house across the street. It carried the announcement of Billy’s Garden Stand!

Billy has a house with amazing raised garden beds. And apparently around 4pm yesterday he opened for business! This is pretty exciting.
We called him immediately and reserved all the squash he had so Rudi can make some soup!

He will set up the stand on Friday afternoons, which is when the nice people from another cay come and sell fresh fish, lobster salad, conch salad and more! A great addition to this area, and one to which locals and visitors will look forward.

My gratefuls – That we will have local access to fresh and organic veggies that will greatly supplement our own gardens. That Rudi makes an awesome chicken stock/broth. That we got to go for a ride all the way into Hope Town this afternoon. That Meghan found pretty hot pink blankets and winter clothing for my big horsie, Truffles.

a gluten-free review, and a Plinky question!

I love this Plinky question –
If you were a flavour, what flavour would you be?
🙂

Okay, when I decided to cut out wheat gluten from my diet I knew I would have to find some fun things to satisfy me and help me to not feel deprived. It hasn’t really been an issue, in reality, because eating fresh and good foods doesn’t make you feel deprived at all! Like today – I’ve been working away at a seared tuna from the Abaco Inn. That or dessert? I’ll take the tuna!

We held the slaw and most of the sauces, and it was/is magnificent! I still have some left for breakfast today.

Yum.

Okay, so I didn’t know what the availability was around these islands and cays for gluten-free food, so my first panic reaction included some shopping at the Gluten-Free Mall. And rather than risk buying products that would arrive here and taste like cardboard, I did my ordering from the comments section of the website, where the customers write reviews of their favourite products.

This was not an inexpensive proposition! My $170 worth of GF products cost $125 to get into our wee cay, thanks to shipping and duties.

I thought I’d share with you the items I have tried, as I try them. And the first is a sort of cookie.

The outside is a Rice Chex/Rice Krispies sort of taste, though a tad sweeter. And it is in the shape of a tube, filled with a creamy darkish chocolate. A Nutella flavour might be even more fun! And there’s no skimping on the chocolate, either. It satisfies, especially if you like it darker.

There are just two to a pack, and only three packs in each box, for $3.53. Not too bad unless you have to ship them into the middle of nowhere!

My gratefuls – That I have access to great fresh food, fresh fish, and a few treats. That Hawaii 5-O was on last night. That I had some good naps on Monday after a try restless night. That hot baths soothe me so nicely…

Okay, so what flavour are you!?

the case of the missing…

Acerola cherries!

It has been really wonderful picking the acerola, or Barbados, cherries from our tree in the front yard! Last year we had to fight the birds for them. This year it seems we’re fighting – each other? Something else?

We’ve gotten about four cherries a day a few days apart. Rudi hands them to me. I put them on my little table near where I work on the computer.

In the morning – they’re gone!

I accuse Rudi of taking them. He swears it wasn’t him.
The dog can’t reach. The bird can’t reach… and I am not eating them (they all needed to ripen a bit).

So – what is going on?

We’ve had a few clues.

1. Two mornings last week Rudi found the bird missing from his play stand. He searched the house, and found him standing happily on one of the run of the stools at the kitchen’s island. Why? He’s never gotten off his stand at night in his life.

2. Rudi found that something had eaten a little hole in one of the screens in our kitchen…

3. Rudi also found what might be an unidentifiable poop under the stove in the kitchen.

Rudi is heading out for a few traps today. I won’t show you those photos, but I will let you know what we learn. We’ve lost eight cherries, and now Rudi is hiding them at night so they have ripening time. 🙂
(Will they ripen if they go in and out, in and out of the fridge?)

Such are the mysteries in paradise!

My gratefuls – That our tree produces cherries often, so we had enough to share a little. That good friends Justin, Amanda and Journey came by today to say hello and to scratch the bird. That I got some sleep in the daytime, making up for the sleep I lost last night. That Brigitte is home safely now for a while and doesn’t have to brave those choppy seas!

St. James Methodist Church

Today is Sunday, and that means a church service in out tiny town on this wee cay – Hope Town.

That’s how our church looks now, but it has had a few iterations since 1870.

The lower left shot is the present-day church.

I am finding it interesting that there is very little information available on Google about the church’s history. Seems it is more word-of-mouth! And since I am working on a new church bulletin, that won’t do!

The first church, built in 1870, was built of wood and it burned down.
Then we’ve heard stories about a big stone church, and the current church shares its foundation, and the Bahamas Methodist Conference didn’t want to leave it standing after it was damaged in a hurricane, and it took a heck of a lot of work to tear it down, it was so strong.

The church before our current church was made of wood as well, and – yup, it burned down. And the Methodist Conference said forget it, no more churches for Hope Town. But two amazing community leaders, Vernon and Bobbi, said ha! And they saw that the funds were raised for our church.

There are stories about the configuration of a previous church – that the pews were arranged so the minister would face the ocean (the church is on the ocean!) and the congregation faced the town. However, one of the main sources of income in this area with the world’s second largest barrier reef was – wrecking. And the rule is that the first one to a wreck could claim it. Everyone wrecked! And there were lots of boats that hit these reefs, so it was profitable.

At one point in a church service eons back, the minister asked the congregants to bow their heads in silent prayer. They did.
And they prayed. And prayed.
It seemed to go on for an inordinately long time… so they began to look up, and around. The minister was gone!
He was spotted outside in the ocean on a wreck. He was first there – it was his!

And now the pews and the congregants face the ocean in our new-fangled church. I guess that gives us all a fair chance in case we see a wreck! Of course, that nasty old lighthouse helped ensure there wouldn’t be lots of those. But that’s a story for another day.

My gratefuls – That we have a warm and thriving church community on this wee cay. That people in the church put their time and energy where their mouths are. That the foundation of the church gives this tiny cay a solid spiritual base, which is palpable.

my very exciting day

Here it is –

That’s it – I got a haircut! So there I am in Monica’s Chopping Block. I think her shop would be more accurately called the town news update room! Here is where you hear who is doing what, and when and where, and why, and what’s happening in our small world. It is great fun – I love haircuts, I love Monica and this is just an adventure not to be missed.

Here’s the obligatory patient husband, who was so scalped at his last haircut in Canada that he may not need another one until 2012!
He asks – don’t you have enough pictures of me yet?

And Monica – getting her hair out of the way to get down to business with mine.

Monica has a black and white cape to cover your clothing as the hair falls. And I love it – because when I wear it, with my black and white hair, it looks as if she’s only cutting my white hairs off! 🙂

My gratefuls – That I got a haircut, and that I got to visit with Monica and her wonderful mom, Miss Margaret. Soon to be Mrs. Margaret! That we got to take the motor scooter and feel the wind in our hair. That Rudi made GF pancakes, from a mix, for dinner with blueberries, and it tasted like a white cake mix, and I loved it.

my first real beef stock – a repeated post from 2009

Executive Chef Kelsey needs beef stock for the beef braciole that she’s making for an extended family dinner on Monday. So she put me, her Sous, to work in advance.

I was commanded to find meaty beef bones, not the ones picked clean, but to ask the butcher for bones left after the different cuts had been prepared. So off to the supermarket Rudi and I went. The butcher took us around the corner to the normal beef section and showed us some bones with meat, not the marrow bones (not enough meat) and a few other varieties.

I chose some rib-looking ones, with three nice chunks of bone and meat on them. Then off for the onions and celery and pretzels (right now I am preferring those to Nat-m). We had fresh carrots at home, and all the seasoning we’d need – rosemary, thyme, fresh garlic, sage.

The orders from on high said to put them in the oven at 400 degrees and cook the crap out of them. That was good advice – surely we didn’t want the crap in our stock. Cook them to within an inch of their little lives, until they began to caramelize. And so I did.

Once done, I dumped the works into a stock pot and deglazed the pan over the stovetop flame with a good red wine. It was immaculate afterwards – I could have put it back in with the other baking sheets if I wasn’t worried about what future cookies or jelly rolls might taste like, so I washed it before I put it away (I admit I did such a good job cleaning off the bits while deglazing because Chef was on her way, and I wanted to impress her, but she arrived afterwards… oh well). After dumping the deglazing juices into the pot, and three cups of water and a touch more wine, everything began to smell wonderful. And it still does. Chef tells me to simmer this stuff for six hours… and so it continues to cook.

Freezing the stock in ice cube trays allows us to easily pop some stock into any recipe – that’s an old trick. And speaking of old dogs (we were?) – you can teach them. This is the first time I have made stock without merely boiling some meat or bones in water until it turned grey. The aroma in my house at the moment is way better than grey.

One interesting aspect of this dinner we are cooking is how it tends to progress. I call Chef and ask what she’d like to make. I am given the list of ingredients for her menu. Somehow the Sous is ending up with making the stock, deviled egg (because we have fresh dill from Mary’s garden), fresh cucumber salad (because we have fresh cucumber and dill from Mary’s garden), a big salad, maybe Asian cole slaw… or not. And blueberry granita for dessert. That ought to satisfy the vegan guest, sans braciole and eggs, and she will bring a few dishes to add to the mix as well.

After this dinner the attendees will disperse, for points east, west, south… one daughter is absent from this collective gathering, and she will be deeply missed. Meghan is already west and somehow unconsciously knowing you can’t come home again. So she’s not, not this time. But maybe I can get some shots of the other three for you. If Chef gives me a break from the kitchen.

living to eat, part two

I am afraid I scared Brigitte into thinking I only eat sugar and gluten. Or used to eat sugar and gluten. Until that little gluten issue.
But those dessert photos were shot over seven years. And they usually followed photos of the main courses!

Because when you live to eat… and grow a chef daughter out of that love… you love every course! From apps to aperitifs.

And some of my more memorable entrees, salads, whatever!

Insalata Caprese, which I could eat daily for a long time and never tire of it.

The stock from the very first time (and the last time) that I ever prepared beef stock, per Kelsey’s instructions. It smelled like heaven while it was roasting, and the stock was phenomenal.

Whitecaps! A Bahamian treat.

An absolutely delectable tomato soup with Scotch egg, made by Chef Kelsey at a private dinner in our home.

Kelsey’s amuse bouche that most definitely did amuse.

Seared tuna and cole slaw – the best cole slaw on this wee cay – at the Abaco inn.

A nice, healthy omelet at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge.

Sushi. Yum.

Roast duck with lingonberry sauce a la Chef Kelsey.

And last, but not least, the truffle oil fries from Pink Bicycle in Victoria.

My gratefuls – That I am one half year older today. I celebrate half-birthdays. I am an only child, what can I say?
That I have lived and loved some wonderful food. That friend Sharyn came by today with some lovely watercolour books for me to peruse in my down time. That friend Mary returns from the US today to our wee cay with a clean bill of health. That I have a haircut on Friday with Monica – and that both Monica and haircuts are fun!

gluten-free dreaming…

I am letting go of attachments. I am letting go of attachments. I am letting go of attachments…

Like these.

Very lemon cake and very lemon sauce.

Gingerbread biscotti and white chocolate, almond biscotti with chocolate and a cuppa.

A chocolate cherry cake Kelsey made in a pastry class.

Vanilla raspberry cake I made in a Wilton class.

An almond and a chocolate croissant.

A chocolate chocolate cupcake with… chocolate.

Vanilla blueberry cupcakes that I made with a phenomenal lemon buttercream.

An amazing chocolate hazelnut something that Kelsey made.

A fresh fruit and dulce de leche breakfast croissant at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge.

Ekmek in Sidney. Does phyllo have wheat gluten? 😦

My lemon lemon lemon curd birthday cake from Monica.

And that marzipan cream roll from the Dutch Bakery in Victoria. Wow.

No, I don’t long for gluten. I had no attachment to it. I really love eating one sardine every few hours. (I actually do, and am grateful I can eat one sardine every few hours!)

My gratefuls – That I have wonderful sugary memories. That I like sardines as long as there’s a bit of Miracle Whip with them. That I had a very restful day on Monday. That I may have a restful day on Tuesday, too. That we have very good and kind friends. That Rudi continues to be a pretty amazing host. To me. 🙂

family – Alexa!

Alexa is Rudi’s second daughter, third baby. She lives in Vancouver and while we were in Victoria she took some time our of her very, very busy life to have some breakfast with her dad!

Whaddya think? Does she look like him?

I think we can tell they’re in the same family, for sure!

Her apartment faces Whistler –

I don’t know if you remember an old blog pot of mine from May, when Rudi and Truffles and I stayed there and I spent pretty much all night watching the lights on the hill… What a wonderful view!

I may not be a city girl, and I would never choose to live in Vancouver, but it is a very happening place and one in which many young people find their fame and fortune. Plus – they have THREE Apple stores!!

My gratefuls – That Alexa and her dad did finally, at the very end of our Canada visit, get to see one another. That our weather continues to be magnificent (but don’t go in the ocean!). That friend Mary came through her medical appointment with flying colours!!

It wasn’t the best week, last week…

The weather was generally gorgeous, about 25C/78F most of the time and a great breeze. Good sleeping weather.

But the ocean was milky, blowy. The waves were blowing backwards.

That means that the seas are all churned up, that they may just look blowy on the surface, but there is a mess beneath.

And it was this rage that claimed some lives last week.
The first was a man, a tourist I am thinking, at a lovely resort on the main island, Winding Bay. He was standing out on the rocks with his camera… And a wave swept him into the ocean.

The second was a Haitian man, fishing with three friends near Man o’War. Three of the men were able to get to safety. They had to call off the search for the fourth, and for the Winding Bay man. It was just more treacherous than anyone imagined.

And then the MV Legacy, a massive mail and cargo ship that goes between Nassau and Marsh Harbour, got stuck on a sand bar in the ocean right near the Abacos. There were 18 souls on board, and thanks to the United States Coast Guard’s phenomenal rescue helicopter they all were rescued. It has been days getting the Legacy off the bar. That was accomplished early on Sunday.

Mother Nature – well, she’s strong, powerful and it is well worth paying attention to the forecasts and erring on the side of caution. Rest in peace to those who were lost.

My gratefuls – That the 18 SOB were rescued, and that the Legacy was freed. That the papaya we bought this past week at Maxwell’s is really delicious. That our peach tree has been planted. That Colyn should be bringing back a passionfruit vine from Nassau on Monday. That Rudi is a total sweetheart.

some of our art!

This is just the Canadian art – I should show you the Bahamian art too!

Out of curiosity I went through our original paintings while we were in Canada. Between collarbone breaks and pain, that is!
And I was a bit surprised, but not totally surprised, to see that they were almost all watercolours.

Now I knew that I’ve loved watercolours from the beginning of time. But it was pretty cool to see just how much!
I shot some of the paintings for you, but not all because they required such weird angles to get a clear shot without lots of reflected light (and I didn’t have the energy to set up a light tent – maybe next time).

First I will show you the non-watercolours.

This is mommy. I guess this was painted around 1950, and she would have graduated high school in 1947. The original photo/painting is the inset, and my dad took it with him in the Korean War and had it mounted in the bamboo frame. I am not sure where it was painted, or colourized. I had the original, smaller thing mounted on silk and framed in the gold bamboo. Anyway, here she is!

And the oil – The Oil. Rudi’s uncle is a famous Dutch artist, and he offered Rudi one of his creations once. Rudi chose one. His uncle said no, that’s his best, and it wasn’t going anywhere. (His uncle finds it hard to part with his paintings. So do I!) Anyway, after some negotiation Rudi just asked him which painting he could have. And here it is –

Now, some of the watercolours.
The witnesses at our wedding were a Dutch couple in their late 80’s. And Judyth was a watercolorist.
This one is Rudi’s – daisies.

This is also Rudi’s, and Judyth’s. Mixed media.

When I chose from among Judyth’s paintings I always chose the landscape of Canada – I didn’t get a good shot of her white birch trees in winter, but here’s Ottawa in fall.

We chose the poppies for our clinic – this is one of the main remedies we use, and poppies are gorgeous flowers.
(Yes, it is lying on the ground sideways and has a crack in the glass that we just didn’t have the time to get repaired.)

And here’s a very simple, restful painting that I saw and absolutely had to have. It calms me, calls to me. The artist is a man in the Ottawa area who continues to paint wonderful paintings!

Our Bahamian art is much different than the Canadian art. I just wish we had more walls on which to display it all!

My gratefuls – The cleaning woman – she did a great job!! That I didn’t have to do a great job. That my house is immaculate and will stay that way for a day or two. That I had some drawing time today.

flying with a dog

There has been some controversy about dogs flying in the cabin of planes with their owners. In Canada, WestJet and Air Canada have allowed it as long as the animals, with carrier, are under 25 pounds or so. And there really hasn’t been problems – except with a very few people who either are sensitive to animal hair or who are delusional and think they are sensitive to animal hair.

And since many studies have shown that, when tested while asleep, most people truly aren’t.

We actually flew from Ottawa to Edmonton in August with a child screaming at the absolute top of his decibel range (as if he’d recently been vaccinated and was having a neurological meltdown – that cry/scream) for four and a half hours, solid. The parents couldn’t do anything. The flight attendants pretended it wasn’t happening. Those seated nearby couldn’t think, read, enjoy a movie or music. Four and a half hours.

My dog? She was worried about the kid, but she lay quietly in her carrier waiting for snacks. Silent. Hypoallergenic.

Would I like animal-free flights? Nope. I’d rather fly with a planeful of dogs, cats, birds, even snakes, rats – you name it. Would I pay a bit extra for a child-free flight? You betcha.
And I like kids – I have some of my own.

Anyway, the piece de resistance was the flight from Toronto to Nassau in October. A woman almost had a heart attack to notice Truffles under the seat in front of me – terrified she’d die from her allergies. I assured her that Truffles wouldn’t be an issue at all. And she proceeded to take a three-pound bag of peanuts in the shell out of her bag, and unshell and eat them the entire flight. PEANUTS! Sheesh.

Anyway, Truffles travels well. Silently. Patiently.

We’d bought her a SturdiBag before we left Canada, and it is a bit big for her. She loves to stick out her head, and this size definitely makes it difficult. Rudi spent most of the travel time pushing it down so she could look out comfortably.

And here she is – on WestJet’s 737 Victoria to Toronto.

And on Air Canada’s A320-2 from Toronto to Nassau.

Truffles was comfy, and that’s what counts!

My gratefuls – That I had a great tummy day on Friday. That I had some good food (gluten-free) and felt really good. That we got to visit a bit with Abaco friend Mary before she sets off on her Florida adventure. That a cleaning woman is coming today – YES!

a sign, and some Plinky questions!

Work on your French!
Or your Haitian Creole.
We have a large population of Haitians here in the Bahamas – some legal, some not so much. But here and there you’ll see a sign in Creole…
This one was at Maxwell’s, our very big supermarket on the big island.

Now, a few Plinky questions!

1. Do you prefer the city or the country?

2. Do we still need daylight savings time?

3. Have you made plans for the upcoming holiday season?

My gratefuls – That we got to the big island for some groceries, and that we found some gluten-free food there. Not bad for a teensy slice of the world! That our new peach tree has been planted (no, not the passionfruit yet) and that our peppers are bearing, that we bought tomato plants and basil plants… and soon we will be eating from our garden! (Things grow quickly here!)

I don’t need no opposable thumbs!

“I do just fine on my own.
When my piggie gets stuck under the coffee table – I get right on it!”
(Sorry my opposable thumb gets into the video!)

Piggie is Truffles’s very favourite toy, and she most enjoys it when she hears it squeaking on the video – she runs to find piggie and to try to figure out why it is squeaking somewhere else when it is sitting gently in her mouth!

My gratefuls – That I had a few naps today – why is this time change knocking us for a loop? That it has been absolute perfection weather-wise for several days. That we get to go to the big island and I have a gluten-free shopping list from which to work. That I played with Truffles and the hair trimmer again! That Rudi found rice milk and coconut milk cartons at one of our markets.

paradise…

When you live in paradise, you can tend to take it for granted. Sometimes.
And when you travel you find – paradise.
I found my paradise, at the foot of the goddess Mt. Fuji in a magnificent onsen, at sunrise

I live for baths. I’d adore having an onsen in my home. Outside of my home. Anywhere near my home…

Sigh…
That’s paradise.

Are you a bath or a shower person?

My gratefuls – That I have a nice, deep bathtub. That I’ve known and loved onsens, and everything else in Japan. That I am heading into the bathtub right now!

a really nice, very thin, crispy/chewy and gluten-free peanut butter cookie! and Meghan’s tribute to Hickstead

This recipe is from food.com, which is a normal recipe site but there are GF recipes there too!
In my great need for a cookie, a peanut butter cookie – this recipe served well.

Ingredients:
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 large egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease the cookie sheets (I used my Silpats and they worked amazingly well!).
Beat together the peanut butter and the sugar until smooth.
Add the beaten egg and baking soda and beat until well-combined.

Roll the dough into balls – I did them almost the size of a teaspoon. Separate them by at least an inch on the cookie sheet. (I got about 16 on a larger sheet.) They do spread, nice and flat and thin and crisp! Flatten with the back of a fork for the classic peanut butter cookie crosshatch.

Bake about 10 minutes or until they puff and turn gold. They can go to brown fairly quickly, so keep an eye on them from the 8-minute mark on.
Let them sit two minutes once they come out of the oven. Then – dig in.
YUM!!

My gratefuls – That I found this nummy recipe. That my egg salad is delicious. That I love three-bean salad. That I got half a night’s sleep. That the weather is magnificent.

Now, Meghan wanted to share this with the world. And, falling short of that, she elected to share it with all of you.

a few things…

Meghan called Sunday night, quite distraught.
It seems that Canadian Olympic jumping champion Hickstead slowed and died from what was likely a heart attack after completing his 13-jump course in Verona, Italy yesterday.
His love, rider, co-owner Eric Lamaze is from Ontario (though born in QC) and Meghan was imagining the pain he is in.

Hickstead was a small and very powerful stallion, and Eric respected his drive and passion and let him fly with it. They won over $3 million together internationally. But their relationship was about so much more than money.

If you want to see it, this was the last time Hickstead and Eric rode together. Meghan thinks Hickstead is convulsing at the end – I say he is running running free…

Deep and sincere condolences.

_________________________________________________________________________

Now, we have been working on my tummy for a month or so – as some of you loyal readers are aware.
And it seems that this past week we figured out what the main issue was – that I am pretty much gluten intolerant.

It was pretty dramatically demonstrated to me in two ways:

1. I didn’t have gluten for two days and felt like a skillion dollars.
2. I accidentally had gluten, got the thick horrible mucous that comes, the acidity, coughing to clear the mucous that won’t clear because it is so thick, and then vomiting from the coughing

Sunday I had no gluten – felt fine.

Now, because I live on a small island that doesn’t have massive resources in terms of gluten-free specialty foods, I kind of began to worry. I thought I might starve to death. I know I can have fresh-caught fish, fruit and veggies, and that I could live a happy life. But still – I like food. I like good-tasting (okay, fresh fish and meats and fruit and veggies are good… but still) and baked foods. And with cool ingredients.

I had to reassure myself I couldn’t just live, but that I could still love eating.

And I did.

Now, there’s no reason you guys can’t check out great gluten-free recipes. North Americans in general are over-dosed on wheat and wheat gluten, and more are sensitive to it than they realize. Want to see? Give it up for 30 days, then have some. You will be able to tell right away!
And you can even do that in a week with the same results. But since I want you healthy, the 30 days is a nice target. 🙂

This site is one I have read for years. Written by a woman with celiac who has a chef husband – the food (and blog) is just wonderful! And it is wonderful even if you’re not sensitive to gluten. YUM.
Gluten Free Girl

I discovered this blog today, and it is definitely a keeper! Gluten-free Goddess!
Gluten-Free Goddess

And this site… I just go there to dream. Apparently a requirement is that the photographs be amazing. Edible, almost. The recipes aren’t all gluten-free, but some are. And did I mention the photos? I guess if we bought rice paper for the printer, and some edible inks… we could print the photos and eat everything on Tastespotting!

Looking for delicious baking and cooking ideas for the next two months of holiday food-merriment?
You probably don’t have to go farther than those three sites.

My gratefuls – That I found a peanut butter cookie recipe without gluten to reassure me, and it is really good. I will make them again and share the recipe and photos with you. That I found out I have a sensitivity to gluten, and can do something to work with that. That I live in fresh-fish-heaven. That I have not yet felt deprived by one teensy bit. YAY!

a few shots from our long voyage across the Sea of Abaco

Well, okay, it is only 20 minutes.
But still.

We had to go to the big island on Thursday, so we took the ferry from the Hope Town Harbour Lodge dock. This is the dock most locals use. Visitors (no one calls them tourists here, although sometimes we have a few tour-asses) use the post office dock. And people who live north in town use the lower public dock. Which is upper. Go figure.

When you get to the parking area and see the ferry there, you exhale. It means you made it. If it is gone you just go a few hundred yards to the next dock, but who wants to do that?

Here’s the waiting ferry.

It was an absolutely magnificent day!

Here’s Harbour’s Edge restaurant – many restaurants close in the “off-season” and re-open by US Thanksgiving. They take advantage of that down time to vacation and renovate and repair. The Edge is expanding the kitchen and wait staff area.

We were amazed at how devastated the palm trees are around the Lodge! Darned hurricanes!!

The water in the Sea of Abaco was one of its gorgeous shades of turquoise/aqua/teal/whatever it decides to be at any given time!

And we’re greeted on the other side by our friend, sister, taxi driver, confidant, advisor – Sherilee.

She got us to our appointment with our very cool doctor, Dr. Charite.

We need an annual check-up and paperwork for our residency. And we love visiting with Dr. C.
He had two emergencies while we were there – we had to wait (everyone had to wait), and the unflappable Dr. C. handled them, so laid back. He has to be a Calc.

And when it was time to head back to our ferry, and home – we’d accumulated Sherilee’s son, Charleston, and her daughter, Alexis! We know Charley, have known him for several years, but this was the first time we met Alexis and she was a sweetie too. The whole family – sweeties.

My gratefuls – That I was in the presence of greatness that day, since Charlie had won something like eight karate awards! That we got to spend some time with Dr. C, see his new offices and to listen to his wonderful plans for emergency medicine for these wee cays. That we got some grocery shopping done at the huge fancy supermarket, Maxwell’s. That Truffles and Timou did a great job waiting for us back home.

when we get a storm…

we really get a storm!!

They said that Hurricane Irene was nothing compared to the destruction from an unnamed tropical storm that came just after her, which dropped so much rain in so short a time that it loosened soil and trees lost their grip and fell.

And then, from that point on this area got more rain. Weeks of rain. I think that in the two weeks we’ve been home, we’ve had four days of magnificent and gorgeous sunshine. And it looks like that’s the forecast for quite a while – sun and fun!

But when the NE USA had a storm that dumped snow on trees and electric lines, we had torrential rains. It was a very big storm – it went to Florida and caused horrible flooding there. The big island had areas of flooding too. We stayed home.

We had scheduled a trip to Marsh Harbour. I can’t imagine what the ferry ride would have been like! It isn’t as if there is a lot of shelter on the docks, either, for people waiting for the ferry. We couldn’t even see the ocean most of the day!

The rain poured off the roof. Friend Mar would call this “sheeting.” It came in sheets.

This huge pot filled within minutes.

And we watched the clouds blow in, and blow out…

It moved, albeit slowly, up the coast of Florida and away from us. But not before a lot of cisterns were overflowing!

My gratefuls – That my house is intact and snug and warm in stormy situations. That Rudi cancelled all of the appointments on the big island that day. That we have a great view of the changing weather patterns right outside our living room windows!

the ferry to Marsh Harbour

We went to the big island today for our physicals and police checks – required for residency. I hope they go okay! We will know by Tuesday if we’ve done any serious crimes.

So this requires a ferry ride from Hope Town Harbour to Marsh Harbour. And I thought you might like to ride a long for a little while!

You can see as we leave Hope Town, the lighthouse is the clue. And then we go across the Sea of Abaco, which was an amazing teal colour today (though the video doesn’t do it justice!) and – well, I don’t take you the entire twenty minutes, but you can see what we have to do if we need fancier groceries, shipping companies (like FedEx) and doctors, dentists. It is a great ride in the great weather. It’s also been quite the trip on a tossing sea with grey rain clouds!

My gratefuls – Well, this is a heck of a way to get to the supermarket! And that we got finished with all of the very necessary chores yesterday on the big island, so we don’t have to go for a while. That we saw a lot of friends who are returning from their holidays away. That the bank let Rudi in the door even though it had just closed.

Colyn, and a Plinky question or two!

Hi.
I wanted to introduce you to Colyn.
He was a big-time banker in a big-time financial centre, and left. Got out with his soul.
And became a landscaper and caretaker of homes.

He helps Rudi keep our house and gardens beautiful. Since that 120-acre estate property, Rudi’s sworn off spending half of his life gardening!

The best news of all – Colyn has located, and has in his possession, our next PASSION FRUIT PLANT!!!! Yay Colyn.

So – my Plinky questions:

1. If you had your own restaurant – what would it be called?
2. Are there any movies that you think are an absolute must?

Thanks! I look forward to your replies – especially would love to hear from some of my lurkers!!

My gratefuls – That I had a great nap on Wednesday afternoon. That today we’re on the big island, where they have things called STORES, and a big supermarket! And our friend and taxi driver, Sherilee. And our friend and doctor, Dr. Charite. We need our annual physicals for residency, then we have to go to the police station to get paperwork saying we didn’t do anything illegal in the past year. And we have to renew the registration on the golf cart and scooter. We were going to search for a passion fruit but, thanks Colyn! It may just be too much fun for me. Stay tuned.

playing with filters in Photoshop

Since I haven’t been painting at all, and just doing some drawing and thinking about painting, I’ve been playing with my photos for a few days.

I have a new filter program from Topaz Labs that works in Photoshop, and I am a sucker for photo manipulation!
Don’t know if you are, but here’s what I’ve been doing.

Some things just lend themselves to B&W, and Rudi’s dad most definitely is one of those things!
(A thing? Sheesh!)

Or perhaps –

The princess puppy!

I like this filter – here’s the Abaco Rage looking a bit more like it might have looked in 1960!

Of course, the lighthouse and harbour would look about the same during that time.

Not sure if you find these interesting, or if you think it was all a waste of my time and money!
But I had fun, and that counts for something. 🙂

My gratefuls – That I’ve exchanged some nice emails with some nice people for whom I care deeply. That I have every hope that, by the time you read this, I will have had a good night’s sleep. That Virgil is doing a great watercolour tutorial on wetcanvas.com and that I am following along, if not doing the painting… and I may even try the painting! That all the Christmas boxes have arrived at their destinations (where friends will hold them for Meghan and Kelsey), that Kelsey has received her birthday gift and that Seasweetie has received her book, “Racing in the Rain.” My mailing mission is now complete.

want to see where I used to live, and love?

When my mom died and left me her fortune, it enabled us to do some things that we hadn’t been able to do in the past.
Like buy more/different/larger property.

And we bought a great new space for the clinic and college, and I bought a rental home that could be used almost like a B&B for students who came from away and were studying with us.

And we bought my home.

My ultimate home. The home that was the love of my life.
The home that, when Rudi first suggested we consider selling it to move to the Bahamas, caused me to go into a one-year state of shock, depression, overwhelm, grief, loss…

But at the end of the year I realized it was for the best. Meghan had already gone her way in life, Kelsey was finishing up her Culinary Management degree and would soon be making her way.

And with them gone, the burden of looking after the horses, cutting and hauling and stacking firewood, working with the forest manager for the property, clearing the 7km of riding trails, plowing and shovelling snow, mowing mowing mowing (which was half of my life)… And with the dream of Hope Town in my eyes… I began to let go.

Just a little. We still bought two houses before I fully let go, and before Kelsey graduated. One was on the river, was all glass on the back and we had a dock and powerboat and… I didn’t love it. I think I was still stuck in the other place. And the last house was really nice, on a golf course, it felt much lighter, I was letting go better…

But when you ask about MY house – this was it. This was my house. This was my home. Where I imagined the girls having their weddings, Meghan opening a riding school, Kelsey opening a restaurant nearby, the grandchildren visiting and learning to ride the horses.

From the moment you turned into the 1200′ driveway (yeah, that had to be plowed, but here I am being romantic at the moment) of that 120 acres, you let out a great, big exhale. Slowed down the car and took it all in as you made your way through the trees, the daffodil and narcissus that Rudi had naturalized.

It had a wonderful family entrance/mud room, huge. A washroom and a laundry room off that side of the house – the laundry room twice the size of my bedroom when I was growing up. The kitchen, informal dining room, family room with a massive open limestone fireplace (that soon held a wood stove), the screened porch (Rudi built me for one birthday) and patio and pool and – Rudi’s gardens. He is a phenomenal gardener and landscaper.

A three-car garage, before we had three or four cars (although we did manage to have two cars and always a truck, because for that property you needed a truck. For horses you needed a truck) had above it a massive space, a gorgeous art studio with a wall of glass overlooking that great Weeping Willow tree between the house and the limestone-walled garden and potting shed. Which almost held chickens, until I learned we’d have to eat them at the end. We made that huge area into one of our clinics, so we wouldn’t have to leave that beautiful property.

The antique silo finished off that side of the house. It was the entrance to the clinic on the first floor, the waiting room for the clinic on the second floor and had an observatory with a wonderful telescope on the third floor. The scope rotated, the silo roof opened and rotated too, so you could keep a fix on your stars. Amazing.

The previous owners had built the house with two houses, over 100-years-old each of them, and that silo, and they reconstructed everything on site. The barn – limestone and wood, banked so we could get the truck and hay into the upper loft, where we had Fall Rhapsodys and fiddlers and played spoons… was amazing. It was going to house Meghan’s office one day. It also held our tractor and snow plow equipment and attachments and things like that, and – if it was icy – horses and Meghan.

The other side of the downstairs had a really great dining room, nice and formal, and a living room panelled in maple the previous owner had milled and cured from trees on the property. He’d carved the woodwork surrounding the entryway to the living room. The marble fireplace had another wood stove in it – much more efficient and warm and so so romantic at Christmas and holidays.

There was a mahogany-panelled office with French doors opening to the pool and patio, and all built-in bookshelves and cabinets. And then the master bedroom wing, with his and hers bathrooms and a big walk-in closet, and a view onto the pond and spillway and into the land and woods that was just the most exquisite thing on earth. Oh, the lighted tennis court was beyond the rear gardens and pool, through a pathway in the woods.

Upstairs from there were three bedrooms – one half of the size of the upstairs on that side. Meghan and Kelsey had their bedrooms up there, and it was their space. Nice…

The paddock and run-in shed aren’t in the picture, nor the miles of electric fencing and the well I had paid to be put in, all for Meghan and the horses. It cost a mint, but that was okay because it was our home, my house, and we’d be there forever.

My gratefuls – That I had an opportunity to live in the most amazing house, on the most incredible property, in the world. And that we knew when to let it go, knowing it would kill us if we had to maintain it and worry about it into our 60s and 70s and beyond.

Happy Halloween!!

I hope you get more treats –

.

.

.

.

(The clown is for Meghan, because she loves clowns!)

Than tricks!!

My gratefuls – That I got to talk with friend Mary Sunday night. That I’ve been having great fun reading the WetCanvas forum. That last night was a wonderful “Dexter” night. And that tonight is a wonderful Hawaii 5-O night! (No, we don’t watch that much television!)

an ode to our passion fruit vine

sniff…

She was tiny when we got her. Barely reached the deck. Just peeked over the side. Hello! We have high hopes for you!
Literally!

She grew. At first we didn’t know how much she was growing – it was subtle. Here she is just beginning to cover the front of the pergola.

But I’d say within six to eight months she began to cover the entire steps-side of the pergola. We did realize we should have planted her on the other side, since that’s the natural way o grow with the sunlight, but she didn’t seem to mind. By 14 months or so, 15 months, she was flourishing quite seriously!

We could just walk out the front door and partake of her bounty. Or we’d be sitting quietly and hear a soft “thud,” and there would be a fruit on the deck for us. She was prolific.

She was immortalized in art – watercolour by Peggy McGee:

And in photography:

And in recipe – where I showed you how we make our passion fruit syrup:

Cooking it with sugar –

Strain –

Add a bit of syrup, club soda – enjoy!

Well, we did enjoy. We even froze lots of syrup.
However, the small freezer is in an area that blew the uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and we lost everything in that freezer. Including her syrup.

Her blossoms – well, they were gorgeous, and the symbolism blew us away.

Hurricane Irene saw fit to shorten your life and, well, to extinguish it.

We celebrate the time you spent with us, that you nourished us!
And we look forward to your sibling, cousin, whomever takes your place. We don’t relish waiting another year and a half, but good things are worth waiting for, yes?

Thank you Cathy, for suggesting we grow a passion fruit. I know you lost yours too, on Cat Island. May our new vines flourish!

My gratefuls – That we had a very quiet and restorative Saturday. That I got to trim someone’s hair… Truffles! (I love cutting hair.) (Yes, I will show you when I think she is ready.)

the beach – on the road

Well, it was deep deep deep and thick and covered the roads here after Hurricane Irene. We have one very narrow section on this wee cay, and when it gets buried in sand we have two cays. Not good. Who wants to take a boat to your house that is just over – there?

The ever-resourceful people who live in the Abacos get right to work on clearing the roads, cleaning up the mess. It is just amazing to see how much sand is alongside the road and in the park, as compared with the amount of sand that is not on the beaches!

Makes you want a high=powered Shop Vac that will suck it all up and pour it back out the hose onto the beach.

I’ve always enjoyed driving past this little boat – “Sol Searcher.” It is in the water (usually) on a boat lift, and has a tiny boat next to it named “Sol.”

Well, Sol is nowhere to be seen – hope it isn’t buried in the sand. And Sol Searcher is hovering above – sand.
(Sol Searcher’s house has a deck on the back with two posts connected to the house, and two posts hanging out over a cliff to the ocean.

And the strange thing is – some people built a house on the tiniest, narrowest point of dune. Rumour is that they wanted insurance money, but wow, what a stupid thing that would be. It is insane enough to build on the ocean in a hurricane-prone area (the Bahamians here don’t tend to do that!), but on the skinny part?

This is, from left to right, ocean, tiny bit of beach, teensy dune, house, road.

Asking for trouble…

And got it!

My gratefuls – That there was so little real physical damage to homes done by Hurricane Irene. That I live on a cay where the resilient and very self-reliant people will have things back to normal in record time. That we got to enjoy some Japanese treats tonight with tea. That we have some Japanese treats to enjoy!

our first journey south to check the roads and beaches

Wednesday was the first afternoon we had a chance to hop on the cart and check out the roads and beaches south of us. When your wee cay is just 5-6 miles long, it doesn’t take too long.

But wow.

We started at our beach. Meghan had asked for some photos because Hurricane Irene sort of dramatically removed sand. She redeposited it elsewhere (I will show you that another time), but she most definitely lifted sand.

I’d told people we now have to parachute down to the beach. It wasn’t far from the truth!
This is our neighbour’s house, and our beach path (and former steps) are just to the left, where our golf cart is parked (how good are your eyes?).

Quite cliff-like! And the corner of our neighbour’s patio is sort of dug out.

Our beach is wider now. For a while. Mother Nature giveth and she taketh away, so we’re waiting for her to put back our sand!
This is looking north.

This is looking south.

We have a two-lane road that is pretty high up, and very narrow. The Sea of Abaco is on one side after a narrow swath of land, and the Atlantic is right there on the east side without a swath of land.

Well, it is a one-lane road now –

The palettes are to keep people from going over the cliff. And this silly girl had to check it out!

You’ve always reached this beach, which contains one of our surfing spots, by going down a pretty steep hill of sand. But now the hill is seriously and intensely steep. This is looking north, surveying the road damage.

It was a grey and windy day. We’ve had rain all but one day this week. The cisterns are full to overflowing!

The dunes will be replanted with sea oats and other flora that will reach its roots into the sand to stabilize it. Although when you have a visitor like Irene…

My gratefuls – That buildings were safe, even if the foliage was not safe in Hurricane Irene. That I had a surprise visit from my artist buddies here – Mary, Brigitte and Joli! It was great fun. That I am having some fun trimming the long fluffy coat of Ms. Truffles. I’ve always enjoyed cutting things with sharp scissors and now she is my latest victim model.

Truffles and…

We took the golf cart for a ride south to examine the devastated roads and beaches, houses and boats.
And ended up at Sea Spray Marina, where we picked up a virgin pina colada. That’s Rudi on the right picking it up for me.

And what did Ms. Truffles pick up?

OMG – a rat?

Close. A very persistent male Yorkie with bad manners. All he wanted to do was check out Ms. T. from the rear.

So she made it into a game!

His owner thought it was amusing. Don’t you love people like that?

Truffles handled herself with grace and enthusiasm. Yay Truff!!

My gratefuls – That I have a well-behaved and polite dog. That I had a virgin pina colada from Sea Spray (that I forgot to photograph, but then they forgot the cherry anyway). That the devastation could have been worse – and wasn’t. That we got to go for a golf cart ride today!

the collective birthday party, and one crazy dog

It was held on the evening of October 19th. Two birthday boys were present (Geo and Rudi), three were toasted in absentia (Brother Eric and Steven, and Cousin Jenny).

It started with dinner. Everyone, excluding Yolande, had Japanese. We’d never seen Rudi’s sister, her son or his father eat Japanese. Rudi’s dad is pretty meat and potatoes, and his sister and her son have allergies to many things (as does Yolande), so it was a surprise for us. And everyone did a great job of downing their dinners!

Here’s Rudi’s dad, 92, and Rudi, 61.

Rudi’s mom and Yolande.

The shy Frederike.

Her son, Alexander.

Just a sample of the fare.

Everyone ate well! The Verspoors can really sock away food. Not Rudi though – he needs less and less food.
I still get nauseated thinking of what Yolande ate at Thanksgiving.

Frederike picked up one cake, an Amaretto one, at an Italian bakery in Victoria. The liqueur was intense! I couldn’t eat my piece because it actually burned.

Alexander had baked a dense chocolate-mocha cake. Dutch people tend to like mocha, so there’s generally a mocha cake at these celebrations.

We then retired to the living room. Rudi is checking out a birthday gift, but Truffles is checking out…

Alexander, who had her chewy.

Guess what?
Truffles would not go anywhere near Alexander!

She kept jumping onto the chair with her Oma. Crazy dog.

Oma tried to explain that Alexander is her grandson, that she’s known him a long time and that he’s quite kind to animals, and even has a cat.

So she decided to admire him from afar.
With Oma as back-up.

Although hiding behind Rudi worked as well.

But Oma – well – Oma has treats. Truffles knows where to place her allegiance!

My gratefuls – That I get to share a crazy family who loves my crazy dog. That we were able to spend the collective birthday celebration with them this year. That all five of our October 19th group are present on this earth and accounted for!

coming home to the aftermath

And it wasn’t necessarily Hurricane Irene that devastated a huge amount of foliage and property here, but an unnamed storm that came a week later – one that was barely mentioned on the weather networks or news reports.

And the most devastation in my life – my beloved passion fruit vine.
I guess if your house is safe and your greatest loss is a plant, you’re doing well. But still…
I know Cathy on Cat Island commiserates.

This is how she looked the day we left to visit family in Canada.

Our landscaper told me that she had to be “cut back” a bit due to damage.

Cut back a bit?

My pergola is open to the sky. Sheesh.
It used to be full and filled with fruit.

Here’s my passion fruit.

sniff…

On the other hand – this was our view when we left for Canada.

Nice, we could see some of the ocean but knew that as the coconut grove would grow, we’d see more coconut than ocean.

The coconut grove was hit pretty bad.

So we will see more ocean until there is more growth. I don’t love seeing the road and the beach path, but I know the foliage will come back. All that is supposed to be invisible.

The front of the house – our banana.

And plants – before.

And after – a bit thinner.

But not horrible. Though we shouldn’t really see that road either…

Our neighbour’s house, still boarded up, fared pretty well. Their back patio is above the beach, and Rudi says it is very eroded and dangerously cliff-like on one corner.

But their house protected all of our little plantlings on the lower road part of the house.

Which are growing nicely!

So, the weather gives and it takes away. I agree, as Steve Jobs explained, that death is the change agent. It is required in nature as much as in life. Forests have fires so the old is destroyed and the new can emerge. And now I see how that works on a tiny island in the south Atlantic, in the West Indies.

We will go for a drive later today and see how other spots on this wee cay fared.

My gratefuls – That we’re home and my tummy and energy are recovering from the two day’s journey it took to get here. That we have rain, lots of rain, so everything is green and growing. That Timou is a good boy and he remembers his words and sounds after our 10-week absence in his life. That Rudi is great at going to LVA and calling home and reading me the names/flavours of the ice cream so I can choose one.

flying home

Okay, here is our journey from Sidney, BC on the west coast of Canada to Nassau, and eventually into Marsh Harbour, Abacos, Bahamas and home.

Two of the longest days on record!!

We departed Sidney (technically YYJ, or Victoria International Airport) and the sky was crying at our departure.

By the way, that’s the entire terminal in the background. One of the most sane on this earth.

We took off straight down Beacon Avenue, the main drag in Sidney!

And I got to wave goodbye to all my favourite stores. And bakeries, restaurants and cafes.

Over Canada and the US – hugging the border. This was shot as we headed over Lake Superior.

We flew into the sunset as we approached Toronto.

It was dark when we landed. This was the longest flight (not quite 4.5 hours) but the most reasonable in terms of sitting in airports – we really didn’t have to do it more than an hour at the gate.

I’d booked a room in the Sheraton at the WestJet gate to make our lives a little easier, and I’d hoped it would mean more sleep time.

But I don’t sleep the first night in a hotel! I had three baths and finally slept around 3:30am, but we had to be up by 5am. Oh well.
Cool – we did get to take the monorail to Terminal 1 and the Air Canada gate for the trip to Nassau.

And there’s about where the exhaustion set in! It is just under three hours from Toronto to Nassau, but I tried to sleep as much as I could. I also didn’t have the window seat so – no photos of that trip. I have many others from previous trips in case I need one!

We landed at noon in Nassau and had a four-hour sit. This is where I passed out sitting up but slumped over. OW. And had the bad Wendy’s burger. And paid for it. I suffered and prayed we’d get home to Hope Town as soon as possible. And Sky Bahamas had a 45-minute delay, making it about a five-hour sit.

Ugh!

We did get home in time to make the last ferry into Hope Town. If you miss it – you have to charter a ferry or call a charter service to come and get you. We made it with a few minutes to spare, thanks to our lovely taxi driver, Sherilee.

And that’s about where the snafu with our one suitcase happened – Rudi actually had left it at Sky Bahamas in Marsh Harbour – just a 20-minute ferry ride away. We spent Sunday morning trying to locate it on Hope Town, and then got an email from Sky telling us they’d put it on the ferry for us. Thank goodness – and thanks Sky Bahamas!

No shots of home on Saturday night. We crashed. We tried to find Sunday television shows on Saturday night. We snacked and passed out. We needed that!

But here’s one weary traveller.

And another.

They both were SO well-behaved I was totally impressed.

My gratefuls – That I don’t have to fly anywhere for quite a while. That I have down time to try to recover from this trip – am I getting old or something? That I keep sleeping and waking, sleeping and waking. I think the sleeping part is healthy. And that we’re home!

we’re home!

To say we’re exhausted would be a massive understatement.
Maybe we’re not as young as we once were?

Add to that a bad burger in Nassau (that sent my gut into spasm almost before I swallowed my third bite) and a delay with Sky Bahamas and barely making he ferry – then losing one of Rudi’s suitcases (with major electronics in it – we have to find it on Sunday!) — let me just say that we’re safe, whole enough and are having a nap before breakfast!

Will share more tomorrow. In the meantime – thanks for being there!

My big grateful today is that we’re done travelling, for now. Thank God.

en route Hope Town

Today we say goodbye to Canada and fly home.
We can tell when we’re getting close because of the colour of the water.

Landing on the big island.

Over to the ferry dock.

And off to Hope Town!

Rental villas at the mouth of the harbour.

This isn’t our stop.

This is!

By the time we got to this point several years ago, and before we’d stepped on land – I asked for a realtor.

Home!

And on a Saturday night in Hope Town, I will be grateful to see Timou again, my dear burd who has been visiting friends while we’ve been visiting family. I will be grateful to hear the sound of the ocean waves. To see how the passionfruit is doing. And that Tempurpedic…

a fond farewell…

This morning we bid adieu to the Saanich Peninsula and lovely Sidney-by-the-Sea.

It is time to move on… to leave these boats for boats on the warm and wonderful Sea of Abaco.

The first leg of our trip, though, is only to Toronto.

Canada’s really big. And by the time we leave the west coast and land in Toronto, the one flight to Nassau has already left for the day. So we get one sleep in an airport hotel, right at the WestJet gate.

And in the morning on Saturday, we will be off to paradise.

Here is something beautiful I wanted to share with you all (except the one slide with aphids) – these flower photos are inspirational!

My gratefuls – That Rudi is a good packer. That Ruth stopped by to say goodbye – for now. That I have lots of good art supplies to take home to the Bahamas. That I will be sleeping on my Tempurpedic soon!

Ms. Truffles

– snore… snore…

Come on Truffles! Rise and shine! Time to meet the day!

– What? Why? Wha? I’m tired. I had to stay up all night and lie on your feet while you watched television. Then I had to lie next to the tub while you took a bath. Then I had to check and see if I could get some food when you woke up to snack at 4am. Then I had to get Rudi up at 5am to take him for a walk. I don’t wanna get up!

You can do it!

– Oh, okay… Just give me a few minutes…

My gratefuls – One crazy dog. Kefir. Fast food hamburgers (which, apparently and strangely, I can eat!). Pepsi (which I had today too!). And to art supply stores!!

Happy birthday Rudolf!! We love you!!

Today is a very special day.
Today is the birthday of my beloved husband.
And it is his father’s birthday.
And his cousin Jenny’s birthday.
And his buddy Steven’s birthday, too.
Auspicious.

Steven – I know Abigayle will see to making your day special. Know we’re there in spirit.

And of this group – two of three will be in attendance at the birthday dinner. One will be 92, the other 61.

And I love this one – who has loved my loves.

Happy birthday Rudi!

He loves his loves as well –

Especially his grand babies.

And –

with the joy that I guess grandkids bring.

And –

He loves his mom.

And his dad.

And sometimes secretly records them when they’re talking about their lives.

He loves the dog he didn’t need to add into his life –

He works very hard –

.

.

Teaches hard –

.

Sleeps hard. And at the drop of a hat. And anywhere. Everywhere.

.

.

He researches and writes the heck out of the things he loves.
And he thinks. Processes.
Constantly.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Yes, sometimes he has help. We admit it.

He plays, too. Maybe not hard enough to balance out the work…
But he has some fun!!

.

.

.

.

And he loves me.

.

He cooks for me.
Sometimes fresh lobster on the grill. In a golden sunset.

.

He finds me sea glass.

And he’s chopped wood, gardened, landscaped, vacuumed, brought me juice in bed every morning and generally put up with me for quite a while now. I am not sure there is a balance there. All I can offer is my love.

Have we said Happy Birthday?

Have we said it enough?

How about now?

Or now…

I thank God that you were born in a time when I could know you, and that I get to walk with you on a part of your journey, one that can be difficult and sometimes lonely… I know.

My grateful on the 19th of October?
Rudi
Steven
Opa
Eric

Caution! XXX cookies

Not for young eyes!
Although – they’re sold for kids!
And maybe it is me – but you can tell me if you think I’m right or wrong.

Rudi and I found this interesting, though!

We bought a bag of organic animal crackers at a large Canadian drugstore. We just wanted something very plain to snack on when we were driving in the car.

And I’d say that 90% were more interesting than the minority of them.

Here’s one of the “normal” ones.

And an embellished one –

Does that bear have a little something extra? Or is it me?

How about this – um – ram?

Oh my.

Now this could be a third leg…

But this lion would then have five.

And then what’s going on with this elephant?!

Anatomically-correct animal crackers?
What a concept!

My gratefuls – That we got some shopping done today – gifts for our taxi driver and her kids back home, and some size very small shirts for me. That it was Hawaii 5-O night last night. That we’re eating some great Japanese treats that Rudi brought back for me. That the weather has been glorious and we saw some gold/yellow trees today that were absolutely glowing!

A Plinky question!

This is one that interested me.

What’s worse –

Extremely hot weather…

or…

extremely cold weather?

Which would you prefer? Which would make you crazy?

Having lived in the two extremes, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

My gratefuls – That Apple gave Rudi a brand-new MacBook Pro, top of the line, and gave it to me and he took my one-year-old MacBook Pro. That we’ve been enjoying some of the treats that he brought me from Japan. That we had a nice visit with his sister, Frederike, on Sunday. That we sold our iPhone 3 to a lovely young man for his 13th birthday, and when he paid us and we gave him back some of the money – it made his day! He even wrote us a thank you email.

Hydrangea!

I had two watercolour lessons this week, and finished my fifth and final in-person painting with Ruth as my teacher.
And because I love Hydrangeas, and because I was drawn to work with Ruth because I fell in love with her Hydrangea painting – I painted a Hydrangea. This one was photographed in Ottawa when we lived in a house on the Rideau River.

I will show you the original and one manipulation of it, but first – my watercolour.

My photograph, which was the reference for the painting –

And my manipulation of the same Hydrangea from a few years ago –

So, that’s the latest news on my Hydrangeas. 🙂
I had a great time with Ruth and am working on an idea for web-lessons when we head back home to the Abacos on Friday.

My gratefuls – That last few lessons with Ruth were wonderful! That my husband is very generous, and is giving me a brand-new MacBook Pro, top of the line, in about an hour and a half… and he is taking my year-old one. That Apple is amazing in honouring their Apple Care insurance policies, and that their employees worked their buns off to make our lives very happy. That I had a nice, quiet day alone on Saturday to catch up on naps, soak in the bathtub, watch design shows on television all day. That our fireplace is warm and cozy.

Rudi’s off to Vancouver today

He has a few errands that can only be done in that massive city – thank you Apple for your generosity!

He’s leaving on the big ferry very early in the morning.

Dropping off Truffles first with her grandparents so she can have a day with them.

Threading his way around the Gulf Islands to the mainland of Canada.

And after his Apple errand – he’s meeting his daughter, Alexa, for brunch. She’s in law school now and has been just about too busy for a visit, so this works perfectly.

I think they’ll enjoy the time together!

My gratefuls – That I will have a painting to show you tomorrow of my very own Hydrangea. That I have a day to myself today! That Meghan found a great deal on snow tires. That Meghan’s friend, Robi, was a huge help to her. And that Rudi and Alexa will have some nice time together.

Thank you, Ruth

Today is my last watercolour lesson with Ruth – for now. I am pretty sad to be leaving her nurturing and teaching, and have mixed emotions about leaving her and the gorgeous Pacific Northwest and heading to the gorgeous Abacos. Bitter-sweet…

I thought you’d like to meet her. She is Ruth Steinfatt, and I shot her today.

I hope she doesn’t mind my sharing with you all some of her artwork – there is much more on her website, Wildwood Watercolours. I encourage you to take a look!

When I knew I’d be on the Saanich Peninsula for a while with this visit to family, I googled to find someone who could take me under their watercolour wing and give me some lessons. I emailed Ruth – she responded right away! She had room for me as a student. I was elated.

Her painting of a Hydrangea, with which I fell totally in love, prompted my contacting her –

And as things go ’round, I’ve been working on my own Hydrangea. I can show you how it is coming along pretty soon.

Here are a few of her works –

Rhododendrons, something we could never really grow in Ottawa.

A country gate with wildflowers –

And an old barn –

Ruth also works in mixed media and collage, which add additional interest to her paintings –

And she can paint humans! Not easily done.

Check out her website! I think you’ll enjoy it.

So in my gratefuls today I can list Ruth. And her patience! I am grateful also for Lisa, who is doing my final BC haircut of 2011. I am grateful for yogurt and applesauce, for Nin Jiom syrup and Nin Jiom lozenges. And for hot baths!

Thanksgiving – the food

I know that in the US Thanksgiving is pretty much the largest holiday of all – the one where more people fly or drive home to be with family than any other. A good time to not be at an airport!

But in Canada it is much more low-key. It technically falls on a Monday, but most people will celebrate on the Sunday and use Monday as a day of relaxation. But since both Meghan and Rudi were flying on Sunday, Rudi’s sister had the meal on Monday.

She’s a really good cook! So it is a pleasure to go to her house to enjoy food.

I had made her some blackberry (fresh-picked!) balsamic vinegar as a gift.

Here’s the gravy bubbling away as the turkey stands for a bit before carving.

My lover got to do the carving!

Yum.
Now I don’t love turkey, and I’ve learned that a lot of people don’t. But Frederike’s turkey was delicious1

Here are a few dishes of Frederike’s spiced mandarin cranberry sauce. Yum.

We’d also brought a cornucopia of flowers as a table centrepiece.

But the food was the star!

Sweet potatoes – this year with mini marshmallows.
Frederike also served apple cider – mine was straight, the others had a bit of fermentation, much like the first Thanksgiving.

Smashed potatoes.

Slowly the table fills…

There’s the dressing/stuffing and the Brussels sprouts.
(Apparently it is stuffing when you cook it in the bird, and dressing if you don’t. I never thought about that!)

Here’s Rudi’s dad’s plate. This is before he added everything to it. It grew.

Here is mine. And guess what? My tummy revolted and I had pain for about 36 hours. Too complex for me for now.

Dessert! An apple and a pumpkin pie.
Now I am usually a pumpkin fan, but this apple pie was phenomenal. Frederike says it was, in part, due to it being made about 75% with the Spartan apples from her apple tree.

This was my plate.
I shouldn’t have. But I did. Freshly whipped cream? My goodness.

On the way home the temps had dropped a bit, it was spitting some occasional rain, and as we passed the Salish Sea – which is what the Straights of Juan de Fuca and Georgia are called (and I think this is right) – we noticed a rainbow!

A perfect end to a lovely day!

My gratefuls – That Rudi’s sister is a wonderful cook who watches the Food Network! That we had a really nice day with family. That Truffles celebrated her very first Thanksgiving with us, though we learned she is not a fan or roast turkey. That the sliver of sunlight illuminating one wee island and making a rainbow happened at the exact moment that we drove by, allowing us that treat.

Thanksgiving – the family

Tomorrow – the food!

Yolande. She is always the first one to any party, and she has a healthy appetite – she had three entire huge gigantic plates of Thanksgiving food. Then she felt sick, and thought it was from the barometric pressure.

Rudi’s dad. When he’s talking about the past – his eyes are closed.

And then he re-joins the present. What a sweetie!

Speaking of sweeties…

Rudi’s mom, who was up all night with sciatic pain. That happens when it is going to be damp out – and they live in the Pacific Northwest, so guess what?

Rudi’s sister Frederike was burning a log made out of coffee, somehow. It didn’t smell like coffee though.

And one Miss Truffles! She was wearing her orange hair doodles just for the occasion!

Getting warm by the fire…

After dinner Yolande goes back to reading the newspaper.

Last, and certainly not least, our chef – Frederike. Somehow I forgot to shoot her son, Alexander! He made the dressing. Frederike made everything else and it was phenomenal!

My gratefuls – That I got a tiny taste (you will see tomorrow) of dinner. That my tummy was fine until about 11pm. That this is a wonderful family with which to get together on holidays, and any other time too!

bye bye love!!

It was hard sending Meghan off to Edmonton on Sunday. She doesn’t belong there, but the horses are there so off she went.

We took her to lunch first, at the White Spot in the airport. Now generally the White Spot has some decent food. Not so on Sunday!

Meghan’s was decent – the pulled pork sandwich with a side Cesar salad. It might have come, like everything else, with fries and cole slaw, but I encouraged the salad.

I had a pumpkin soup that was over-salted. So much so that I couldn’t eat it, nor could Rudi. And somehow that photo is missing from the memory card! And I could swear I shot it.

Rudi had the greatest disappointment. Having just returned from Japan in that very same airport just four hours earlier, he decided on the very light tempura-battered fish and chips. It came, and was thick, grotesque, disgusting, greasy (like grease dripping from the fish!) batter. Kind of like normal fish and chips batter here in this silly part of the world – BUT – this had been advertised as a lovely and light tempura batter.

So he tried to pull the fish out of the batter and eat that. Not much of a meal.

I do like playing with the wrappers that many restaurants put around the napkin with a fork and knife inside. In 100000 years I will have enough to make a Christmas tree chain!

And then it was goodbye time. Rudi – pay attention!

Love you Meghan!

Thank you for mommy-sitting.

I will see you in the Bahamas. Soon.

My gratefuls – That I have a great daughter or two. That even though she is far away from us, it doesn’t feel like it thanks to Skype and text messaging. That the next time I see her, she will be very happy!

Cupcakes from Ooh La La in Sidney BC

The day I did the bad thing and ate the fried oysters we also stopped at Ooh La La.
I hadn’t hit bottom yet with my tummy, so I was feeling optimistic. For another hour or so!

There’s a really good cupcake place in Edmonton where Meghan and I have enjoyed several of their offerings. Totally organic, the first visit was the best and their cupcakes were great. Our second visit last year didn’t impress us as much. But I thought Meghan would like to see, or taste, our cupcake store in Sidney.

Maybe I can sense at this point that my tummy would not appreciate the oysters – because I only got one cupcake. Generally I’d get 2-3 in different flavours to try them out. So I wonder…
Or else maybe I was trying to make a good impression on Meghan! 🙂

This was her cupcake. It was the end of the day so flavours were a bit limited compared to what we might have found earlier on. But Meghan got vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. She said it was good, not as good as Flirt’s, and that the buttercream was too buttery – she prefers to feel crunch or texture when she eats buttercream. Crunch??

And here is my cupcake – apple spice with I forget what kind of buttercream with pecans. Maybe a maple buttercream? I haven’t eaten it yet, so technically I could run to the fridge and test it for you, but I am writing this from bed and, well, no.

They also had a pumpkin cupcake, and I live for pumpkin in all its forms. I asked the young woman behind the counter if she’d recommend it and I learned something new. She is an Aussie, and in Australia they eat their pumpkins as a savoury, not as a sweet! Rudi agrees wholeheartedly. I kind of like both.

So – today is Canadian Thanksgiving. I am grateful that I have a cupcake waiting for me in the fridge. I am grateful for my wonderful friends (in-person and virtual!) and family. I am grateful Meghan was a great mommy-sitter while Rudi was away. I am grateful Rudi returned safely and that Meghan is back at home in fine form other than a broken tooth from the airport in Vancouver and a run-in with some popcorn. I am grateful that either of my two daughters would be amazing mommy-sitters. I am grateful that Rudi’s sister is having us to dinner today, and that she is a great cook and that I will get some nice photos of the meal. I am grateful that Truffles can come, too!

food! with Meghan

We had a quiet morning, especially Meghan, who slept in and then had breakfast and went back for a nap!
I think I had more energy than she does when I was 24 years old!

I decided to try lunch in a restaurant. With my tummy requiring more simple fare, I knew it was chancy. Which is why I am up at midnight typing this blog! I made a bad choice.

But first – I ordered a Blushing Geisha, mostly because Rudi is in Japan and I am not. I knew I couldn’t really drink it, but I could taste it, and that Meghan would take care of the rest.

It was a martini, so had vodka and lychee liqueur and some other things. It tasted like lychees in rubbing alcohol. Good thing it wasn’t Kaluha and cream or I would have been tempted to down it!

We went to Beacon Landing Pub and Restaurant, which is at the very end of the main drag in Sidney and on the water. Mt. Baker was sleeping today underneath her cloud cover, so it looked as if she didn’t even exist. And this is a great spot to sit and dog-watch. We must have seen at least a dozen or 15 with their owners in the hour we sat at our table.

I made the bad choice, knowing that it would be frowned upon by the three major world religions and by my tummy, to have the fried oysters.

Meghan had the fish and chips.

Because we are in North America and we were in a pub you see the obligatory French fries and, in Canada, profoundly dry and almost inedible cole slaw. My stomach actually feels queasy looking at these photos.

We didn’t have dessert, since we preferred to check out some of the great shops nearby. I did love the Japanese Maple outside of the Pub.

But I liked it even better with my baby!
(Forgive the totally centred photo – a no-no in good photography, but I wanted three points of focus, which was silly.)

My gratefuls – That I could treat Meghan to a drink and a meal. That we found a great shop, Papyrus, that had too many amazingly adorable doodads that any female age 24 would want (but that we narrowed it down to just one!). That you can get lunch in Sidney at any time at all up until the dinner service, at most restaurants. That restaurants are nice and quiet at 3pm. That Meghan bought me some Pumpkin Pie Rooibos. That we have one cupcake each to eat on Sunday (mine will be if my tummy gets over the oysters!). That Rudi lands just after noon on Sunday.

my mommy sitter is here!

Meghan has been enlisted to be my caregiver whole Rudi is in Japan for 90 minutes.
We flew her in from Edmonton on Thursday afternoon, and she is here until Sunday evening. It is good to have her here, although I think Truffles and I might have been okay alone. Maybe. But Rudi worries.

First, the sad part had to happen – Rudi had to leave.
Get this – he had to be at the airport in Sidney for 10am. Flew into Vancouver and then took off for Tokyo around 1:30pm.
He lands in Tokyo on Saturday evening, takes a two-hour Friendly Airport Limo to his destination, will put in an appearance at a party and go to bed.
Then he speaks for 90 minutes on Sunday morning, heads to the airport at lunchtime and flies home on Sunday evening, landing here at noon on Sunday.

We all were sad to see him go.

We look forward to his return! It will be Canadian Thanksgiving then, although I think we’re having dinner on Monday (the actual holiday).

Meghan is training Truffles in the meantime. She (Truffles, not Meghan) will now shake her right paw, her left law, go up on two legs, lie down, roll over. All for a carob chip! Maybe by the time she leaves on Sunday she will have me trained too. 🙂

One of my favourite things to do with my daughters, when we’re together, is to get them haircuts. So, guess where Meghan went on Friday afternoon?

To Lisa, at Russell in Sidney. Lisa is my haircutter and I really enjoy her. Meghan did too!
They talked and talked.

Meghan was most impressed with Lisa’s straightener. As always happens, Meghan has gorgeous waves in her hair, but she wants it straight.
Mine is poker straight and I’d love some wave…
The grass is always greener, eh?

I think Meghan was happy with the result!

My gratefuls – That my firstborn is here for a few days, no matter the reason. That it is pretty awe-inspiring to see this little being mature and grow and become more and more responsible. That my stomach seemed to handle Girl Guide mint cookies and some Skittles. Maybe.

RiP Mr. Jobs, and thank you

This was the home page on the apple.com site today –

Its title was “t_hero.”
And I concur. Steve Jobs was a hero, one of my heroes.

I bought my first Mac in 1993, I estimate. 18 years ago. It was a PowerBook 180, very fancy. There was an option for the 180C, which had colour, but I couldn’t imagine that colour would ever be useful on a computer so I saved the additional cost and was very happy with my 180. Though I actually made the store take me in the back and open it up – I thought it was a magic box. It was good to see the same components and hard drive company that I knew from PCs.

I’d been working with computers for a while by then – I owned a children’s educational shareware company and a company that taught children in pre-schools how to use computers and that shareware. All on PCs. I was fine with it then because I could build them and configure them and troubleshoot them (and yes, there always was trouble) and I eventually sold the computers loaded with the software to one of the schools I had under contract and focussed more seriously on my homeopathy business.

The PowerBook was for one special piece of software for that business, written by a crazy wonderful guy in California who wrote it only for Macs. Sadly, that guy passed away one year ago, I guess to pave the way for Steve’s arrival in the Cloud.

It was an amazing computer, and I adored it. I was hooked – these Mac things just worked, period, and never was I so productive as when I was working on a Mac.

I was working on a new beautiful black PowerBook Wallstreet G3, and talking on the phone with a patient when I somehow clicked onto the apple.com website and there, for the first time in history, was the new titanium PowerBook G4. It literally took my breath away, and I couldn’t speak. Not good when you’re in consultation with a patient, but I swear I’d never seen anything as beautiful in my life. I still feel that way with my MacBook Pro.

We’ve had clamshell iBooks and a few variants of the iMac and Minis and MacBooks and whatever else, but nothing has enthused me like my MacBook Pro. I have at times felt guilty that the only reason I might spring from bed on a particular day is because I have to do some intensive work on the computer, and I love love love it. It isn’t work – it hasn’t been work since Steven Decker encouraged us to get rid of all of the Windoze-based machines in our lives, clinic, college, office. We recommend the students in our college use Macs. And Rudi and I at this moment are sitting on the couch, me perpendicular to him, both of us on our MacBook Pros. On a good day we might use them from 5-6am (Rudi) until 11-12pm (me on the later end of things). Eighteen hours a day, without a problem, without needing to turn them off at night, re-boot them repeatedly by day… It has been pure pleasure.

And the man most directly responsible has left us. Steven said he had to go to the Cloud ahead of us and that he is in contact via the ethernet with his lieutenants. I trust that. But the overwhelming loss, the gap, the void… I look forward to seeing how it is filled. I know it will be, and so did Steve Jobs.

He said, in his speech at Stanford University in 2005 –

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

My gratefuls – That I have had the pleasure to work on Macs. That I have loved Steve Jobs’s keynote presentations where he debuts the new products and his wonderful, “One more thing.” That Steven nudged us to lose the Windoze machines. That I might be around when the new comes unless I am cleared away before that.

One note – friend Brigitte offers, as her comment, the graphic designed by 19-year-old Jonathan Mak Long, which I love:

Vernon’s Store

As I look more and more toward home each day, I browse my photos and am reminded of the people and places we miss whenever we step off that wee cay.

Vernon’s Store is one place. Vernon and his wife, Bobbi, are two of the people we love and miss.

Vernon is a descendant of the woman who settled our cay, a few generations and a few hundred years back. Bobbi is his bride. They work six days a week in the store, and on the seventh, they don’t rest. Vernon is our lay minister in the Methodist Church, and Bobbi is the sometimes organist. Together they are the heart and soul of that church, and their openness, caring and sharing drew us into their warm arms, and we became members of St. James this summer.

And one of their greatest attributes is their sense oh humour, and it is reflected in their store. On the shelves, doors, everywhere!

Oh, and did I tell you that Vernon makes a heck of a key lime pie, coconut pie, breads… he is amazing!

Customers contribute these too.

It makes shopping a lot of fun!

🙂

Funny, but true…

Do you have a cool quotation that I can take home to Vernon?

Let me know! I’d love to share some with the two of them, and their customers!

My gratefuls – That Meghan lands today! That we may have Thai food tonight. That we got some lovely gifts for the people in Japan today, real Canadiana, and Rudi bought me two pairs of gorgeous earrings and – the owner of the store (one of my faces in Sidney, Tivoli) gave me a beautiful scarf as a gift!

ta daaa! my fourth watercolour!

It has been finished. I like it.
It is hard to see the subtle colour in the water and sky in this photo – it is BC grey, though we made the sky a bit bluer than it is in real life here in the fall.

Here it is!

I was sad to figure out by looking at a calendar and counting on my fingers and toes that I will have only two more lessons with Ruth before we leave for home. 😦 This Friday Meghan and I will be painting Sidney red, so no lesson. And after next week Ruth is running a watercolour workshop with a big-time watercolourist, and people are coming from everywhere to attend as we pack our bags to fly away.

So that means one more painting. I have to decide what it should be. Flowers? I do love them. Another landscape? Or – food? I’d love to paint food. I am not sure if I will do that in my final lessons with Ruth, but one day I do plan to paint food.

So my gratefuls today – That it was a nice lesson. That I am learning a lot. That this week is a relatively quiet one patient-wise, since Meghan flies in on Thursday afternoon and Rudi flies to Japan on Friday morning. And that we’re having dinner with the in-laws again on Thursday night, and again it is take-out!

the colours of autumn

This is the time of the year that Canada really shines!
And, as I’ve said, BC is okay for fall colours, but Ontario is exceptional!

Here is BC –

Here’s Ontario –

Lots of colour. This is at what was my favourite house when we lived in Canada.

Here’s our heron.

Isn’t it lovely?

A time of pumpkins and scarecrows.

The variety of colour is just wonderful.

A small part of Quebec is attached to the part of Ontario where we lived (well, separated by a river) – and their colours are lovely as well.

These photos were shot in Gatineau Park, a gorgeous and massive park – 363 sq. km.

Sigh…

Autumn is definitely my very favourite season. I love it in Canada, and I love it in the Bahamas too, though it is very different there.
But I have vast romantic visions of a Canadian autumn in my heart. Hiking in Gatineau, wearing corduroy, warm vests or beautiful cable-knit sweaters, cooking rich and delicious soups, baking bread and rolls, coming into the house on a brisk afternoon and holding a mug of hot chocolate in your hands, sitting before the fire with family… Sigh.

My gratefuls – That we get to experience a little bit of crisp air and chilly nights and coloured trees before we head home to the Bahamas. That I am enjoying the Scottish shortbread. That I have another watercolour lesson today. That Green Wasabi is open from Tuesday to Saturday, so I can get some of their really good miso soup. That Meghan comes in 2.5 days. That Rudi heads to Japan in 3.5 days and has my shopping list of Japanese convenience store goodies to bring home. That last night was Hawaii 5-O night! 🙂

YUM!! from the Dutch Bakery

We do have bakeries back home in Abaco. We have some really good ones. Island Bakery makes nice scones, and they both have coconut bread (great for grilled cheese!) and a bread pudding bread and pineapple upside down cake and cupcakes.

But only a Dutch bakery would have amazing marzipan goodies!
(Brigitte – you know the German bakery is next door to the Dutch Bakery, and I’ve never been in there?)
We all know the Dutch invented marzipan, though. And/or perfected it!

My most favourite thing to have when I get my special marzipan delectable home –

To have a nice anemic cup of decaf Earl Grey tea, and to gorge on these marzipan creams.

But good news, for those who know that gorging isn’t god for anyone. With my tummy – I can’t gorge. So I cut one of these goodies in quarters, and had one every few hours. Rather than feeling deprived, I felt great! I handled it well, and it lasted longer, prolonging the pleasure. 🙂

My gratefuls – That Sunday was a relatively quiet day. That Rudi brought me some Walker’s Scottish Shortbread – two packs – so I can have two a day. That we got to watch “Jane Eyre” Sunday night, and that I finished the book last week. That tonight is “Hawaii 5-O” night!

a lovely Saturday in Victoria!

We had planned to meet friends Amanda and Denis for lunch. They’d earned it!
And we never had met Denis. We had to check him out to see if he was good enough for Amanda. She’d met him at a wedding in Ireland and brought him home, kind of like a puppy. (Although she did know his sister for a decade before she met Denis.)

So we met at the Pink Bicycle. That’s a place where we tend to go in downtown Victoria when we’re visiting. And it was on Amanda’s recommendation that we first tried it. I fell in love with their spinach, blue cheese, candied pecans and pear salad. Which I couldn’t have today. The tummy dictated otherwise.

So – first the important parts. The food. Rudi says the universe is messing with my tummy to teach me to let go of my attachment to food, that I can’t be a foodie anymore.

I ordered a large truffle fries. They rubbed them on our dog, Truffles, to give them that je ne sais quoi.

Denis had a mutton burger with bacon and a fried egg! No, don’t look at Denis yet! We’re talking food.

Here’s his burger without the distraction. Amanda just had the mutton burger.

And Rudi had bison, hold the bread.

I had the soup, thinking it relatively safe. It stayed in my stomach a few hours, too.
It was potato and smoked cheddar. The smokiness of the cheddar kind of overwhelmed the soup, and it was salty to boot. A shame. I also had a natural ginger ale.

Okay, here are the lovebirds!

Want to hear a romantic story?

Denis had a dress design in his head, or maybe on paper. He had reckoned it would be for the woman of his dreams. And, when he met her, he’d have it made for her.

Very simple, but elegant – black crocheted lace with a black slip underneath, and that great angle on the bottom!

Not quite Cinderella, but definitely a fairytale! Aren’t they a lovely couple?!
(Oh, we approved of Denis.)

When we left their wonderful company we hit the Dutch Bakery. I bought Rudi’s family a Dutch apple cake, and bought Rudi’s mom and myself our favourites. Tune in tomorrow! 🙂

Then went to Opus. I think I prefer the nice little Island Blue in Sidney. But it was good to see Opus nonetheless.

And to round out a perfect day – my car. My car! My British Racing Green MGB-GT. I bought it in college, I loved it more than anything on earth. I slept in the back at times! What a treat to see this zipping through traffic. The Mazda Miata, my last sporty car, was modelled on everything good about the MGs. And nothing bad (like the electrical systems!). Sigh…

Forgive the camera shake – I made Rudi chase him.

I am grateful that I got to see a BRG MGB-GT. That we had a great meal with friends that we really enjoy. That Denis is very fitting for Amanda. That I had some truffle fries. That I got what Brigitte needed at Opus. That I picked up some sketch pads at Michael’s and Opus. That I bought lots of paint for when I am home and don’t have access to an art supply store. That I got to have two soaks in the bath today.

painting number four is started – and I am testing 250 lb. Bockingford cold press watercolour paper

Maybe some of this won’t mean much to everyone, but then I hope you like the pretty colours! 🙂

Because of the nasty bleb on the 300 lb. Arches watercolour paper during the final wash on my roses painting, I am a tad afraid to use that paper again. And I own a chunk of it. I guess my worry was exacerbated with the stories my Bahamian art teacher, Brigitte, told me about a few artists finding Arches not up to par, and contacting the company in France and sending in samples and — getting no response other than the initial request of Arches to provide their stories and samples.

Not good!

Now Rudi loved bending the full sheet of Bockingford to tear it, which he could barely do – it required a little snip in a corner to get it started. It felt like fabric, and he really liked it a lot. I loved the feel, and since I am a noob at painting I had no idea what to expect.

Nor did Ruth, by Canadian watercolour teacher, having never tried the 250 lb. Bockingford. So it was an experience for us both on my Friday lesson!

Time for some Canadian colours! Well, BC colours. Ontario’s are more vibrant and rich and range from burgundy to crimson to gold and rust and more. BC gets yellows mostly, and some orange. This is Elk Lake, near the in-laws’s house and a few years ago.

The paper feels softer, and the pigment flows on amazingly well. It runs well, blends well (I guess is the right term), but in places where two colours met the one would run into the other and almost make its own branch-like veins. Ruth and I particularly love this tall green treetop –

Not sure if you can see how cool it is, but squint!

Work in Progress – WIP. The darks really make the colours pop and I can’t wait to add them next week! And to refine the trees, work on the water… and — SKY! Wow, I’ve never done sky.

So, please pray for me! 🙂

My gratefuls – That I now now that you can’t have Dairy Queen petroleum products and then apple cider vinegar with maple syrup and water, or it curdles and leaves quickly the way it came in. Lesson learned! That I love watercolours! That I finished “Wuthering Heights” and can now watch the movie – it was so far made into three, starting in 1939. That we get to have lunch with friends in Victoria today and I get to shoot food if I remember! And that I get to go to the Dutch Bakery and take home some marzipan cream roll thingies. Sigh…

It appeared to be time for me to get an e-Reader, so I did!

For a few reasons, it seemed to be time for me to get an e-Reader.

For one – when I go to bed I will often spend some time reading – on my iPhone. Small!

And another – this new course that our college is offering in 2012 (and which I am beta testing) requires Cultural Literacy. That means a serious amount of reading. It is not my preference to read with my laptop on my lap (despite its name).

And e-Readers are so cute, and portable! Plus, I love technology. Ahriman and I are this close (spreads fingers a tiny bit).

So, as I do with all technology, I agonized. I researched. I waited. I let it go. Then I researched and agonized once more.

Late Wednesday night, I’d ordered a Kindle Keyboard and a lovely little cover with a book light built in. I’d learned that the US prices can be as much as $100 less than the Canadian prices! That is insane. Especially when the Canadian dollar has been above the US dollar for a few months.

Then I did more research. The Kindle, unless you pay a price on top of the listed amount, sends you ads. It is very proprietary, so will open fewer formats of photos and text than other readers. And it won’t open ePub, which is a format that many books come in, especially free books and books from libraries. And I had to order it from the US Amazon site, ship it to a friend, have the friend ship it to me… and there blows the $100 lower price.

So I looked at the Kobo. It has less memory, so holds fewer books, but once I’ve read my 1000th book my vision might be gone anyway. And if you get a small memory card it takes you to 32,000 books. Sheesh!

It costs $139 Canadian, and that’s it. So today, in US$ that’s $135.20. And – since I am not good at delayed gratification – I could have it in my hot little hands – NOW.

With a better ability to manipulate pdf documents, and better page turns/refreshes, it wasn’t a tough choice.

The Kindle does read to you, and they are coming out with new ones on Nov. 21st, but I don’t want their ads. And I do want lots of formats that the e-Reader can handle.

So I am happy with my Kobo. So far. These past two hours!

It is very cute. I got black, basic black. They have lavender, silver, white and baby blue, too.

I bought a leather cover that makes it look more like a book. It keeps it clean and safe, and there’s a built-in little book light, so it means I don’t have to search around the house for the light when I want to read at night.

I’ve added four books so far.
Just 996 to go! 🙂

I found this site very helpful: http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/

My gratefuls – That I could run out and buy an e-Reader with the snap of a finger. That I got to try an A&W prime rib burger today (and wonder why they don’t dab off all of the grease with paper towels before serving!). That I have another watercolour lesson today. And a chiro appointment today, too. And blueberry applesauce without sugar. Yum!

my third watercolour painting

This was finished on Tuesday!
It is a painting of one of my very favourite plants in the Abacos. Living in our haircutter/baker/cook’s garden, Monica calls it a ginger plant.
I fell in love with the pearls that appear as the fingers open wider and wider, and I shot it in a few phases of opening.

But I painted it like this –

Here is the original image –

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Now I can’t wait to paint again, on Friday. And I might not paint flowers this time! We’ll see. They’re still my very favourite subject, but while I am here with Ruth I know I should work on a few different subjects, so… Stay tuned!

My gratefuls – That I had some thin-crust pizza last night that didn’t have a lot of tomatoes, and I did fine! That the Haagen-Dazs tasted good, though I am not sure it was worth the dairy cough. That I can order a Kindle with US pricing and send it to a friend to send it to me (You know Canadian pricing can be $100 more? For no good reason!). That the Kindle will come in handy with the new course we’re about to debut. That I love gadgets and will soon have a new one. 🙂

on the downward slide to home I compare my home with my visiting place…

Well, as I turn my back on this visit to Canada and look forward to returning to our home in the Bahamas, and counting the days (we’re closer to our leaving than to our arriving)… I start comparing. I know it isn’t fair to BC, or is it? I think BC has a beauty of its own, the wild Pacific Northwest. But then the pure and simple magnificence of the Abacos are kind of hard to beat!

I wonder which will come out on top…

The underwater life:

and

For which would you rather dive?

Fresh-picked blackberries

or beautiful fresh-picked passion fruit?

The great big car and people ferry

or the little people ferry?

Marinas

and boats.

A warm coastline

or a cool one?

A nice, warm cup of tea (and that darned delicious marzipan cream roll)

or a margarita at On Da Beach…

Pretty sailboats

or pretty sailboats.

A big hill

Or THE big hill (and the infamous Boxcar Derby!).

Pretty sunrises

and

Flying in is an interesting contrast.

I think you can tell which location is which.

And the views…

Well…

Um…

Well, I guess there’s not much of a contest.

I am grateful that I get to live in paradise. That I get to visit a lovely area of Canada. That I had a steak and kidney pie! That I had a watercolour lesson and completed my very interesting Bahamian flower (which I will share with you soon). That I slept about ten straight hours (well, waking to snack as my tummy requires) in bed (often I head to the couch in the middle of the night) and lazed about all morning. And that I didn’t feel one iota of guilt about doing that!

how I spent my long weekend

Not my summer vacation.
Ever have to write one of those essays at the beginning of the school year?

Anyway, for the past three days we’ve held our annual Autumn School, for students who want to study more advanced topics in beautiful Sidney-by-the-Sea. And I must say that Rudi outdid himself this time! Wow…

Anyway, for our Registrar to “meet” some of these folks, I shot them! I will send their bodies to her.
No, just kidding! Here they are!

The more intimate group this year, but you know how the people who are supposed to be there tend to be there? For the most part these folks were amazing, and that makes us incited! And excited.

The lovely Daniela, already a graduate in Dynamic Blood Analysis and working on her diploma – soon to be earned, too!

Elsie is a wonderful friend who has been with us for a very long time.

Rudi and his hands (that’s how you can tell he’s talking!) –

Amanda and Lisa at rapt attention! Lisa is our 100th diploma earner!

There go those hands again!

Here’s beautiful Tammie, who is a graduate already a few years.

Our noob, Danielle. She hung in there like a trooper!

And Lisa once again.

And an amused Amanda. Or is she amusing? 🙂

My gratefuls – That the level of interest these past few days was amazing. That the quality of human who attended these classes seriously impressed us. That I stayed awake the one day even though I’d read Jane Eyre all night and slept only two hours. That Truffles had a good time with the grandparents and they tired her out for us again! That we now look forward to Winter School in five months, back home in Abaco.

Happy Birthday, Baby

And by baby, I mean Kelsey.
My 22-year-old wonderful kind caring beautiful daughter.

Meghan had already taught me how to love. Kelsey taught be how to take it up a notch so it could encompass them both.

You didn’t stay a brunette for long, much to Nana’s disappointment. I think she wanted a little me, Mini Me? No, not Verne, but a cute little dark-haired baby. Meghan was already a blonde by the time you were born.

I think the most remarkable thing about you, while you were growing up (and I daresay it continues to this day) was your total love of animals. All animals.

Remember the fawn that found its way to Bill and Pat’s?

Rescuing the frogs from the swimming pool?

Kissing every one of the 100 minnows we bought to stock the pond, before we put them into the pond?

And saving voles in the big house?

And bringing home Antonio?

And loving the girls?

And pony?

It is no wonder that little Maggie came to you when she was lost. And you showered her with so much love, and so many gifts.

You didn’t always want me to take your picture!

But most of the time you were very tolerant. Thank you.

You love your sister, and I know she loves you.

I am not sure what’s up with this –

Charlie’s Angel’s stuff! BUt you’re definitely cute.

Actually, like a princess.

So beautiful.

And you remember cooking and baking with me on St. Joseph even before your head could fully see over the counter? You were a huge help, and became a great chef.

I know you had a tough choice – to work with animals, or to cook them.

And we fully support your choice. We’re the beneficiaries of your excellent choice! Sometimes. Not often enough.

We look forward to more hugs when you are back in Hope Town with us.

Animals again!

I look forward to spending time with you.

In the meantime, remember that we love you totally. Always have, always will.

XXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOOXXOO

My gratefuls – Today I can list Kelsey in this section. Her sister too, to be sure, but today is Kelsey’s day to shine and to be loved!

our little helper

Dear Truffles.

She loves to help. With big boxes…

And when we try to fold paper.

She can be patient too. Like when Rudi is working on the computer.

Well, not too too patient all of the time.

But with some encouragement, her level of patience will grow.

Especially if there’s a snack involved.

Rudi reciprocates all of her helpfulness by helping her out – chewies are much more easily devoured if you don’t have to hold them in your little paws! In fact, Rudi is in the process of designing a chewie that dogs can easily hold on their own. Watch this space. 🙂

My gratefuls – That the first day of the Hahnemann College for Heilkunst’s Autumn School, in Sidney, was fascinating. That we have a great group of students attending, too. And that we’ll all meet and share food on Saturday night. That I had a thin piece of the very lemon bundt, of yesterday’s post, and vanilla Haagen-Dazs, and then later a bit of coffee Haagen-Dazs, and I have survived. So far. That I am really enjoying reading Jane Eyre on my iPhone.

a very lemon bundt cake!

The in-laws came for dinner last night, and although we did take-out (Chef on the Run’s Swedish meatballs for Papa and Yolande, and sashimi for Mama, Rudolf and me) – I made a big salad and a great dessert.

And the dessert is very well worth sharing!

This recipe first showed itself to me in AllRecipes.com, and I embellished it a bit. I first made it for Rudi’s dad’s 88th birthday, and now we’re fast approaching his 92nd birthday!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Glaze:

1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/2 to 2 cups confectioner’s/icing/powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. melted butter

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in lemon peel. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan/Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack. Cool 10 minutes longer. Place rack on waxed paper. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over the warm cake. Cool completely before serving.

Now, I tend to adore lemon, so I am fine if there is extra lemon juice or lemon zest in a recipe. Though we didn’t add whole lots more – the glaze is very lemony! You’re supposed to let the cake cool a bit, then pour on the glaze. Now the recipe above is wettish, so it will run down the cake. If you add a bit more confectioner’s sugar it will stay more on top and then beautifully drizzle down the cake. The way I did it this time resulted in a pool of lemon sauce (my mouth waters as I type this!) at the bottom, which is fine to serve with the cake. The 1 1/2 cups of confectioner’s sugar may be a bit too little – so start with that amount and add more as-needed for the glaze consistency you like.

My gratefuls – That I ate a bunch of food and my tummy feels fine, albeit fuller than it has been in weeks. That I had a chiro appointment on Friday. That dinner was wonderful, and there’s leftover sashimi for Rudi and me. That we love spending time with family when we can. That Rudi is a great help, who worked on the cake, the cleaning, the vacuuming. Wow. I couldn’t have done it without him.

we have a crazy addict on our hands!

And she is on the obsessive size, almost being driven insane for –

carob!!

She actually will turn Rudi’s pockets inside-out, and if she gets even a slight whiff of the stuff she will search – everywhere.

Check this out –

My gratefuls – That I got to have half of a milk chocolate almond biscotti. That we had sashimi for dinner last night. That we had a great teleconference for our college last night, a very thought-provoking one. That I may make a Bundt cake for the in-laws tonight (my father-in-law loves them, and calls them “boonts” with a Dutch accent). That I’ve ordered products that may make our grooming adventures with Truffles less painful for us all (may they arrive yesterday!). That we have a very silly, entertaining dog.

out and about in Sidney

It isn’t unusual to see great cars here. The weather is reasonable enough all the time that they have no need to salt the roads. It is very cool to see cars, all cars, generally clean and shining, on the roads. In Ottawa cars are filthy, worse in winter and spring (from the salt and sand and yuck), but they tend to look yucky most of the time for some reason.

I’ve run into car clubs with magnificent antique cars (this time last year) from all across Canada. And on the beautiful sunny days you’ll actually see a wonderful selection on the road.

We went to check out a doggy food store nearby, and saw this across the parking lot at a body shop.
Not sure what kind it is…

And this T-Bird looks like it needs a new paint job, but will be beautiful once it is done.

At the food store we were greeted by Thomas. I thought he was a mop!

He’s a Pomeranian/Shitz tzu – is that a Schizeranian?
Anyway, he’d just gotten his dinner and he wasn’t interested in Truffles finding out where it was, so it wasn’t his most social time of the day.

But he was so cute you just wanted to pick him up and snuggle him. Solid black fur with a nose sticking out. That’s it. 🙂

I wanted to show you the back of the Star Cinema, our wee movie theatre in Sidney. It is the white building in the background. I wanted you to get an idea of its size.

Here is City Hall, or Town Hall, since Sidney isn’t a city. Here also is a wee Havanese working on learning the command, “Come.”

We’ve learned a secret about her.

She’d do anything, and I mean ANYTHING, for a carob chip. A. NE. THING.
I am planning to do a short video of her being totally obnoxious with Rudi when she knows the carob is around. We’ve just learned this. I can see how it will be great for training! I ran her through her paces tonight with the commands she knows – sit, please, up, down, wait, stay, etc. and we will want to work on control. She did everything. All at once. At the same time. PLEEEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEE just give me the carob!

Wow. That’s motivation!

We don’t have loads of traffic at this end of Vancouver Island unless – the ferry is a few km from Sidney. You have to leave the ferry and head south 20 minutes to get into Victoria. And at ferry times (the one from Vancouver-Victoria mostly, as it is huge) – forget driving into Victoria. It will take forever.

There are signs on the road letting people know their odds of making the ferry to Vancouver. Looks like the 5pm ferry is 70% full.

I often wonder where all the people come from, going back and forth from “Victoria” to Vancouver enough times to fill a ferry. One of life’s mysteries…

Ah, I shot the black petunias again. Here’s one photo. I am not sure these are the colours I’d choose to go into a red planter…

But then no one has asked me to do the floral arranging on Beacon Avenue in Sidney.

My gratefuls – Well, the Haagen-Dazs last night is worth a mention. A great husband who takes better care of me than I do myself, even when I don’t want him to because I want to eat something that I probably shouldn’t. My crazy carob-freaking dog. Crushed pineapple. Apple cider vinegar with maple syrup. And that the in-laws are coming for dinner Friday, even though it will be take-out since no one has energy to cook this week. And that they don’t care! And just want to be with us. 🙂

a bit more of Sidney

We had a nice walk on the weekend, and stopped at a cafe (where the soup was WAY way over-salted) and had a snack. But here was our route!

Carlos’s – speaks for itself. While Sidney has a proliferation of Greek restaurants for some reason, here’s a nice alternative.

Its window says –

Sidney also has a proliferation of great clothing stores, especially for women. Here’s a nice, casual clothing place – Cottons and Blues.

An activewear and sneakers store, and behind the tree is a photo store.

And Cameron Rose, which is great fun for purses and cards and unique gifts. To the left more and a store or so over is the tea store and bakery. But that’s for another visit. And a gorgeous men’s store (their other store is in Bermuda) and an eyeglasses store.

Tanner’s is the new book store, I mean it carries new books. The other bookstores are used books and almost even more fun. Although all books are fun!

And down from Tanners is the Children’s Bookshop, and a realtor, a mortgage place and a bank.

Here’s a jewelry store, and a great store for birds and birding!

And the old post office building, which houses (among other businesses) Roger’s Chocolates, a specialty in these parts.

Across the street is Smashin Fashin and Sweet, Tart and Lace, a lingerie store. We’ve bought jammies for Oma here! Man do they wrap a gorgeous package!

Just up the street a little is another woman’s clothing store – for the petite set. A gift store, an amazing children’s clothing store (making me wish I was still dressing my baby girls!) – where we’ve actually bought things for Truffles!

And our destination this time, the Red Brick, for horrifically salty soup and I had (though I bought more) a biscotti.
I ate the lemon blueberry one. And paid for it later when I decided to combine it with a hot chocolate.)

Please note the big pup with her stuffed toy, which she was taking for a walk.

And up from the Red Brick is Serious Coffee, Walk In Comfort (the very best shoe store on earth with only comfy shoes!), and Island Blue, my art supply store!

I’ve never seen Green Wasabi open, and as this was a Sunday we read their sign – “Open sometimes, maybe today!”
It was closed.

It was a nice walk, and the three of us enjoyed it a lot – especially the one who got some of the roll dipped in the soup. Sidney is a lot of fun any day of the week, and the weather has been magnificent. I think we met at least 10 dogs on our walk and sit, and it is just almost too much fun here!

My gratefuls – That my new diet is helping my tummy feel better. That I slept almost the entire night last night and it felt wonderful. That I feel like I am heading uphill on my healing in the last day or so (a happy tummy can really help with that!). That I pick up my new watercolour paper today (and will then pray there is not an issue with the sizing). That the premiere of the second season of Hawaii 5-O was pretty amazing… as was Alex O’Loughlin. And the rest of the cast. I love Mark Dacascos, and I love to hate him!

lunch at the Sidney Pier

Rudi’s brother and sister-in-law are visiting family for the beginning of this week They’re on holiday in Vancouver (from Scotland) as they await the birth of their second grandbaby. And, since we wanted some time alone with them, we invited them to lunch at my favourite place in Sidney – the Sidney Pier’s upscale restaurant, Haro’s.

This is where we have our college’s annual Autumn School, and Rudi will be teaching there this Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Haro’s has a nice menu, and as all of the decent restaurants in Sidney, or Victoria, or even BC – they try for local, organic, etc.food sources. I am working my way through the menu!

Here’s Eric deep in thought/conversation with his brother. I noticed they both talk with their hands. He’s has a PhD in genetics.

Brigitte and I mostly watched the two of them go at it.

Everyone, but me, had a variation of the same lunch special. I had their tuna tataki. Raw fish goes very easy on the digestive system, so this was an appetizer, but the perfect size for my entree.

Brigitte had the organic greens with her soup of the day, which was a vegetable onion.

And the guys both had the soup du jour with the sandwich du jour, a Reuben, or Montreal smoked meat sandwich with a Dijon aioli, sauerkraut and more.

I cannot tell you how frustrated/silly I am not to have shot our desserts!! I had the creme brule with lavender honey, Brigitte the flour less chocolate cake and Eric the berry crisp with vanilla ice cream. Rudi finished mine and Eric’s! (He knows better than to order dessert when there are so many coming to the table, and he always manages to get something.)

The only sad part – staring into the lovely kitchen and missing Kelsey. It looks like a very nice kitchen, and they turn out some nummy food!

My gratefuls – That we got a visit in with Eric and Brigitte. That the brought us a bottle of single malt Scotch the size of the Entire State Building in NYC (not sure what I will do with it, but being Scottish I figure I might learn to sip it). That the tuna worked well with my still tender digestive tract. That I got to go to the grocery store last night and that I got to pick lots and lots of goodies (healthy goodies) that Rudi hasn’t brought home to date. That we found a really delicious kefir. And that I slept last night pretty well and didn’t even schedule the blog to be posted!

a visit to the parents!

I felt well enough on Saturday to go not just shopping for a new tiny point-and-shoot camera, but to take some freshly-baked (not by me!) apple turnovers to Rudi’s mom and dad and to have a visit.

During which my husband sat and read the newspaper. Sheesh!
He says he’s been talking to them for 60.8 years.)

Rudi’s dad had been perusing the grocery store ads in the newspaper, and he drove into Victoria to pick up a big wheel of cheese, “Dutch cheese,” Gouda.
It was his intention to share it with his children. Thanks Opa!!

That’s him cutting it in half. We got 25%, Rudi’s sister got 25% too. They’re keeping 50%, but they’ll have to remember it is in the downstairs fridge!

Isn’t it beautiful?

Rudi’s mom was a bit tired. She doesn’t sleep well at night because of an arthritic knee.

The most amazing part of visiting up here is the total and complete love Rudi’s mom and dad have for Truffles, and it is reciprocated by the fuzz butt. They beg us to do things and leave her with them, and we open the door to the house and Truffles runs right in, up the stairs and onto the chair, or bed, or wherever Oma is. Then she searches out Opa.

She followed him downstairs Saturday to get the cheese from the fridge, and got locked in by accident. This poor, non-barking dog made a tiny cry to let us know she was there. Somewhere. I’ve never really heard her cry or bark, so I didn’t know it was her at first! We did find her in short order, and she was happy to be reunited with the family.

Here she is with her doggy blanket (it has doggies on it). No, she’s not spoiled!

Rudolf the Anti-Social.

Me testing the new camera.

And the cutest little bugger in the house, on the couch with me.

I am grateful for – Rudi’s parents who love the apple turnovers, which gives me the chance to eat them with them! For two amazing people who have produced four amazing children. For puppies that don’t bark (but who make little sounds if there is a need). For clean dogs!

my disappointment with Arches 300 lb. cold press

I was very excited to be working on watercolours with Ruth. I mean, I AM excited.
And I did love the painting of the roses.

But look what happened as we put on the wash (and I still have to finish a few buds and leaves, but the inspiration is dwindling) –

Something is wrong with the sizing on the watercolour paper, so suddenly there appeared a big bleb on the upper right corner, and weird marks in the blue wash area!!
It is horrible! And they can’t really be cropped out without losing parts of the roses!

The art supply store who sold me this not-inexpensive paper is replacing all of it on Wednesday. But what a disappointment to have worked so hard on my second watercolour painting and to have this happen. And there’s no way to know if this will happen in advance. Well, I guess you could do a wash on every piece, but that would be silly.

Once that happened and Ruth suggested I return with the painting to the art store, we began to work on a very cool plant from the Bahamas (or that I found in the Bahamas) and that I love – Monica called it a ginger plant, but it isn’t ginger the spice.

Here is my original photo. I adore the bokeh and colours, with the ginger in the foreground.

And the rendition, so far, and sans the main plant –

We’ll see how this one goes. So far there is one small bleb but it shouldn’t interfere.

I am grateful that my love bought me a tiny point-and-shoot camera last night so I can continue to take pictures even with my very sore collarbone. I am grateful that we had a nice visit with Rudi’s parents, with the fresh Lunn’s apple turnovers that we all love so well. I am grateful that Rudi walked to Lunn’s to buy them fresh and warm from the oven. I am grateful I knew when to stop eating mine, when my tender tummy had had enough, although my mind hadn’t.

a wonderful dinner in Hope Town

I was wandering through my photos, looking for something in particular, and I came across these photos, totally out of place. I do try to keep things organized in Lightroom. It took me months to decide on the categories when I transferred to it from Aperture. I wanted to make sure I could find every photo I might ever search for… and then I find these food photos in the Patty with Rudi folder.

Weird.

So, this was my birthday dinner at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge, which is our most upscale and fancy place to dine.

In Kelsey’s honour we always begin with the San Pellegrino.

And wonderful bread.

The house Cesar, with freshly-shaved Parmesan.

And I had the Tuna, coconut rice and fixings. YUM!

And Rudi chose the coconut encrusted Grouper.

The Lodge is lovely, Pherrol is an excellent chef, a great piano and keyboard player and all around nice guy.

Rudi had passionfruit ice cream, homemade, for dessert.

And I had a very rum cake. Also Yum!!

Everything was yummy. I remember a subsequent dinner at the Lodge where Rudi ordered the Sea Bass, which was SO phenomenally delicious I ate half of his meal. That’s one of those meals that you always remember.

I love the Lodge. I miss the Lodge. We didn’t get there before our visit to Canada this summer, and I think we’ll have to make up for that when we get home!

I am grateful that such meals exist. I am grateful that I got to enjoy a few more hours painting with Ruth. I am grateful that we got some good Chinese take-out, and it was a nice change after bananas and toast and yogurt. I am grateful that I am getting all new watercolour paper – the reason for that you will see tomorrow.

my roses, so far

They’re coming along, under Ruth’s tutelage. She is a patient teacher; suggesting, showing, asking, encouraging.

You remember this from last week.

It has morphed into this –

We’ve ad libbed a bit! And it is coming along. I hope to show you the finished version soon.

I am learning lots about paint/pigment and water and wetness and too wet and not wet enough! I really love watercolour. Always have. I was only a bit surprised to see, when we recently unpacked a box of art from previous homes, that we pretty much own watercolours. Other than the oil painting done by Rudi’s uncle, a real-live Dutch painter (alive and well in Holland), we’ve got watercolours.

Ah, I should shoot them for you so you can enjoy them too! I will do that, once I can lift the camera.

I am grateful for all of the amazing amenities of lovely Sidney-by-the-Sea, which surprise me daily. I am grateful that we have Island Blue, an art supply store, right in town. I could be thankful for all the bookstores, too, but how would I fly home with my allotted suitcase (singular) with books weighing so much? I am grateful that Ruth loans me her books so I have to give them back. I am grateful that, at dinner last night with my bum stomach, when I asked them to find me Greek yogurt and Greek honey – they did. Ask and it shall be given!

the anniversary people

So it was our 14th, and the in-law’s 61st. It should have been their 65th or 66th or so, but they had a little delay in their plans when WWII decided to visit Holland.

This is a shot of my in-laws at a tearoom, White Heather, in Victoria. I didn’t really shoot them tonight since I can’t lift the good camera, and it was too dark for the iPhone. But these should suffice.

Aren’t they adorable?

Others in attendance included Rudi’s sister from Victoria.

And her baby.

Rudi’s younger sister from Sidney, of course.

We went to Pier One, one of the Greek restaurants in Sidney. These folks are regulars there.

We closed the place!
Not really. Some of us are too old for that sort of thing. 🙂

Here’s an oldie but goodie, featuring my lover, his mom and dad, and little Meghan and Kelsey! Yep, at Pier One.
No, we’re not in a rut. Maybe.

I love these two… he will be 92 next month, she will be 95 next May. Amazing people. Truly amazing.
And they made some pretty special kids, too.

Today I am grateful for a nice evening with people I love. For my two wonderful anniversary cards from my love. For the Chinese medical guy pushing some sore spots so my stomach hurts less. For unconditional love.

ever had one of those days?

We have those days.

We have had more than a few lately.

You know what I mean, right?

You know about butt dialing?
What about butt picture-taking?
Apparently I did these two shots for you today.

Of what, I couldn’t tell you.

Sigh… Tomorrow is another day.

My gratefuls for Tuesday – that I got through patients without horrific pain. That I then got to paint with Ruth. and that Truffles is an amazing companion from midnight to six in the morning. Most especially that Rudi makes me great juices, smoothies and snacks and I love, love, love him, and have for 14 years today.

seen in Sidney – black flowers?

Yes, they were black flowers. Petunias.
I iPhone shot them for you.

Looked pitch black to us – enough to make us stop in our tracks and check them out.

We’ve had flowers of every conceivable colour, shape, size… but I can’t say I’ve ever had black, not in any garden. These Petunias debuted in 2010, while we were busy in the Bahamas, so I guess we missed their coming out party.

So what do you think? Glorious? Morbid? Could you/would you incorporate black into your next garden’s colour scheme?

Apparently the buzz on these flowers is overwhelmingly positive. Check this page for more photos – Are you ready for a black Petunia?
And I do like the black and white in the steel bucket – Black Velvet Petunia and Euphorbia.

It seems the ones in the garden on Sidney’s street are the “Pinstripe” and “Phantom.” Interesting, I have to say!

My gratefuls today – Mark, my chiro, thank you and maybe I will sleep tonight. Rudi, who humours me so well when I have no idea what I want. Truffles. ‘Nuff said. For wonderful juices with coconut water. Vitamin D Drops. Our new Levolor shade that is room-darkening and that opens top down or bottom up, allowing us to enjoy all of the amazing trees here while we visit, but not allowing anyone below/beneath to see in. What’ll they think of next? After black flowers… not sure!

the days of pain and narcotics

Happily there weren’t too many before I found one that worked, and not too many before I began to feel the healing happening.

It is kind of strange, the things I did to pass the time. Or, time passed. I am not sure I did anything about it at all.

I seem to feel best lying flat on my back and with my legs in the air. The most comfortable positions seems to be with my feet at the headboard of our four poster bed. Not sure why this is…

For about a day or two I found the reflections coming through the window and being painted on the wall kind of interesting.

And here’s a very profound movie I made one afternoon.

My gratefuls – that the pain is moderating now, sans drugs. That I had some fun drawing yesterday. That I have been able to listen to a lot of Coast to Coast on my iPhone. That there is some television to watch between 1am and 5am. That I see the chiro again Monday.

our walk to the marina

We’re just two blocks from the marina here, and they’re nice and short blocks, too. Very manageable, and then there’s a wonderful boardwalk right along the water. I understand it is one of Truffles’s favourite places to sniff, and to meet other dogs.
Mt. Baker has never been clearer than recently!

The marina is very nice. Loaded with boats, and gorgeous flowers on every dock, just overflowing their pots.

A tern? That’s our guess. If you have another thought, then it is your tern.
Get it? 🙂

Miss Lazybones! Just enjoying the view…

These are good photos for knowing how to correctly paint the reflection from masts.

Two kayakers and a duck. Duck? Tern? I give up!

My gratefuls – um, I’m thinking. Don’t rush me…
That Rudi will go out to buy me crushed pineapple for my cottage cheese on a whim. That Truffles is my devoted companion. That I got a good night’s sleep Saturday night and will try to do it again today and without the analgesics. That I am easily entertained by myself or this would be very lonely and difficult and painful.

sketch of a Hibiscus

one of the things that gives me boundless pleasure when i am confined to bed and healing is – sketching.

i started this hibiscus a few weeks ago, and every now and then i’d pick it up and work on it. i am thinking that this will be my next watercolour painting. i love the soft peachy tones. so, we’ll see!

i had my assistant shoot this for you, since i am back to square one on being able to lift my left arm to focus and zoom. sheesh! he shot it around sunset, hence the bluish cast. i liked it, so i left it.

i am grateful that chemical drug #3, which is not taken orally (i won’t go into detail!) actually dulls pain. incredible. i’d begun to think that all painkillers were not. not at all. oxycodone let me sleep, with much less pain. nice!

i am grateful that mark galloway is a very cool chiro who can help put bones where they belong, thus easing pain. i am grateful rudi makes such good smoothies. i am grateful that we get to watch loads of wonderful movies as rudi prepares for his three-day class in sidney on cultural literacy. i am grateful for sleep – so, so restorative.

my roses, so far

on tuesday i had another watercolour lesson with ruth. roses from rudi’s former gardens. i love roses!

this is a work in progress, but i wanted you to see it halfway done. i probably will add one more rose or bud to make it three in total.

my gratefuls? the list is getting shorter.
that i have one position in which to lie where the pain isn’t excruciating. that morphine doesn’t do a damned thing (what if i’d liked it?). that quick voice, a tiny computer program, lets me answer emails without typing and pain!

Hydranageas

i just love them!

aren’t they gorgeous?

i’d love to paint one some day…

my gratefuls? that i got an allopathic drug to help with the drug effects of the other allopathic drug. and if i get more than 20 minutes of sleep – i’d be totally grateful.

sunday brunch: amazing frittata

as an aside – please forgive the lower case – again!

i love baths. a lot. i took one this afternoon, and when rudi came to help me out we slipped, my collarbone cracked. the ambulance people came, thankfully got me out of the tub, took me to the hospital where i saw an orthopedist and he gave me meds. now i have to heal… again.

this frittata is absolutely delicious. i cooked it in about a 11×14″ casserole dish, it fed five and everyone had seconds. and we had leftovers. i discovered it at friend ridge and friend joann’s when they had a big brunch party this spring. i asked for the recipe – yum!!

here are the leftovers crumbled up on day two, warming up.

and the recipe – originally from barbara jean’s book, “cooking at home” –

6 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups diced cooked potatoes
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red or green onion
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage (or variant), cooked and crumbled
8 large eggs, beaten (take them out of the oven before so they can come to room temp.
15 oz. Ricotta cheese
3/4 pound mozzarella or Fontina cheese, grated
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning or 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and more for serving
1/3 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder

Heat the oven to 350º.
Melt butter in a 10″ ovenproof skillet over medium heat.
Remove 4 Tbsp. of the butter and set aside.

Add the potatoes, onions and peppers. Saute for about five minutes or until the potatoes are lightly browned.
Add the sausage and cook until just warm.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta, mozzarella, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning or basil, melted butter and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Sprinkle the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and stir gently.
Pour this over the potatoes in the skillet.

Place in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until puffed and browned.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
Serve with remaining Parmesan cheese.

i assemble everything the night before, so we could have a leisurely morning. then we took it out about a half hour before cooking, then baked it at 355 for one hour. it is a really delicious frittata!!

my gratefuls today are many – that i didn’t have to live in the bathtub! that our ambulance people were great, especially the young man who was quite entertaining en route. that they don’t generally do surgery on collarbones. that rudi brought me a big water and some pear muffins! that mt in-laws love dog-sitting truffles. that truffles is such good company. that i am right-handed!

Sunday brunch: Pear muffins

Well, they’re pear, dried cranberry and walnut muffins, and they’re one of my very favourite muffins!
So I thought I’d share them with you.

And although the recipe says to add this and that at specific times… I tend to just hand everything to my Kitchenaid and ask it to do it all for me.

Here’s the recipe:

4 large pears, peeled, cored and diced (and I bet apples would work well too, and they ripen better than pears)
1 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 c raisins (or dried fruit like cranberries, blueberries, etc.)
1 c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Butter 18-24 muffin cups. (I got 24 muffins out of the batter this time.)
Mix pears, oil, and sugar in medium bowl.
Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in another bowl.
Beat together eggs and vanilla.
Stir pear mixture into egg mixture.
Mix in dry ingredients.
Fold in dried fruit and walnuts. Do not overmix.
Divide batter among prepared cups.
Bake about 30 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

I am grateful that these muffins are delicious and that everyone enjoyed them! I am grateful that I had leftovers, so I have been enjoying them for two days now. 🙂 I am grateful that this recipe is quick and easy (if you do it my way and throw in everything at once) and successful every time.

Sunday brunch: Blackberry coulis

We had a lovely Sunday brunch with the parents and sister. And I didn’t shoot them!
Sheesh. I ought to have my hands slapped.

I thought I’d share the food with you, at least in picture and words.

And I want to start with dessert! (Of course.)

Rudi and Truffles had gone out to pick some (more) fresh blackberries, and we made them into a coulis. It was a simple recipe.

To one cup of berries –
add 1 Tablespoon of sugar
and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
and cook! Reduce it into a nice, thickened sauce. It takes about 15 minutes.

And then strain it through a fine mesh sieve to get out the seeds.

Smoosh, scrape…

And serve it on vanilla ice cream.

The only thing I’d do differently is to monitor my sous chef to make sure he really put in all of the lemon, and perhaps to add a pinch or so of cinnamon, to give it a pop.

My gratefuls today – a great brunch with people we love! And that I have a great sous chef who was a phenomenal help making this brunch!

objects may be cuter

I am not sure about the wording on this thing.

I think the object in this mirror is CUTER than it appears.

Much cuter than she appears.

Ah, the joy of a dog with her head out the window!

My gratefuls today – That my stomach felt pretty good, until tonight. That we got some interesting things on our middle America shopping trip – to Walmart! That we didn’t buy the most interesting thing of all, thus saving about $150. Or more, knowing me. That Rudi made the frittata for me tonight (for Sunday’s brunch) because I must have eaten something that didn’t work and doubled me over in pain. That he may even have cleaned up in the kitchen afterwards! That I got my wonderful pear muffins baked this morning (for Sunday’s brunch).

out and about in Sidney

These are all iPhone shots. I can be impressed with the quality sometimes. And sometimes not!

Tanners is the new bookstore in town. They’re also the folks that are promoting all of the bookstores, and bringing in bookstores, and opening used bookstores, so that Sidney has the second most bookstores in the world! After Booktown in England. Canadians are very happy being #2!

The optometrist is in the same building as Rogers Chocolates, a local specialty. Maybe I will shoot there for you (for you, of course), one day.
I like that Sidney has lots of benches, for people to sit and rest, chat, wait.

The blackberry pickers. Well, one is the official sniffer.

Yum.
These will be used in a blackberry coulis over vanilla ice cream on our Sunday Brunch for Rudi’s family.

There’s only one sausage Rudi’s sister can eat, and that’s the one made at this German deli, homemade and no preservatives or chemicals.

They have a lot os selection, too.

We picked up a dozen local eggs – I am making this great frittata for them. The recipe was shared with my by Ridge Goodwin, our neighbour in the Bahamas, and it was delicious. I can tell you all about it – after Sunday!

Self-portrait!

I do love their signs!

My snack for this long trip around Sidney.

And one of the bookstores – the Haunted Bookstore.

I remember this bookstore really disappointing Meghan, when she was in the ghost hunting part of her life. We really thought it might have had amazing books on hauntings and ghosts and the supernatural, and it didn’t. It just had books. I don’t even think it was haunted…

My gratefuls today – That Rudi is strong and tall and that he can carry heavy bags. That he humours me when I go into a very fancy bath store and buy bath pillows and then plan to return in a week when all the new bath shelves (to hold your wine and your book) come in. That we found everything we need to make the Sunday brunch recipes – in Canada sometimes we can’t find certain ingredients. That I found a bath pillow!

seen in Sidney, and some Plinky questions!

Some floats!
(not root beer)

So – the questions for today:

1. Would you rather be a book critic, a food critic or a film critic?

2. What decade or era do you find particularly fascinating?

3. Share with us your favourite ways to procrastinate, or wile away the time.

4. What’s your best way to blow off steam when you’re angry?

5. Name someone who has a great voice.

Thanks!

I am grateful for friends who answer Plinky questions. I am grateful for wild blueberry jam. I am grateful for doing a drawing of a Hibiscus today. I am grateful that our third modem from Shaw seems (knock wood) to be working consistently.

info on the Abacos and Hurricane Irene

Dashboard ‹ meandering minds… — WordPress.

For all of you searching on Hurricane Irene and the Abacos, or Hope Town, or Guana Cay, or Man O’War, or wherever –

I can highly recommend you go to the abacoforum.com, and on the main page is a thread – Hurricane Irene Situation Reports.

There are photos there, and links to get to photos.

In general all is well. No loss of life, some destruction of property (Troy and Maria’s Dive Guana is kind of messed up) and if you’re concerned, or want to ask about a house, or a person – go to the Forum It is a wonderful place with lovely helping people.

 

Sidney by night

Some photos may a bit of a re-run…

I didn’t get out today because I got to sit and wait. We’ve taught that to Truffles, but I never thought we’d be perfecting that command.

I sat and waited for the plumbers to come back, because when they hooked up the dishwasher they didn’t make sure it drained. It didn’t. So I got to sit and wait for them.

I sat and waited for the Bay to deliver the mattresses for the second bedroom. They were due on July 19th. We’ve sat and waited for those since we got here on August 15th. Sadly, we get to sit and wait some more, because they still haven’t shown up.

I sat and waited for Rudi for a while. He had to drive into Victoria and pick up something, then drop off a blackberry pie at his mom and dad’s, and Truffles helped me with that sitting and waiting because even though she wanted to go outside and for a walk, I couldn’t do it because at that point I was still sitting and waiting.

Now some of Sidney goes to sleep around 5pm. But not everything! And even the businesses that are closed have lights on…

Serious Coffee.

Our little Star Cinema.

Lunn’s. This should be re-named Yums.

The obligatory Starbucks. And if one isn’t enough, there’s a second three blocks up inside of the Safeway.

One Chinese restaurant.

And if your Kung Pao is too hot – a volunteer fire department.

I love Sidney at night, and as soon as I am allowed to leave the house again after all of my sitting and waiting duties have been fulfilled, I will shoot more of her.

I am grateful that we got to chat with Kelsey, who is really enjoying her new job. Excellent news. I am grateful that Truffles is such good sitting and waiting company, since she suffers through her own sitting and waiting for that last bit of our food that we save her at the very end of a meal. Maybe she will teach me to do it well. I am grateful the plumbers came and got the dishwasher draining. I am grateful that I have Guy Fieri’s second book in e-book form, and that it has recipes in it! Duh!

my first Sidney watercolour lesson

So, I worked on the flower I’d chosen (and I am not sure if it is one I’d shown you) that would be used in my very first Sidney watercolour lesson.

Can you see which one it was? Here’s my studio.
Or at least it was on Monday!

So, I went to Ruth’s and I’d say that this was a collaboration painting. As it was my first lesson with her, there were techniques she wanted to show me, and then I’d paint, then she’d paint, then I’d paint. It was interesting, informative and I want to do it again and again!

The final product – a tulip, shot at Ottawa’s Tulip Festival in 2009.

I really like how it turned out!

I am grateful to have Ruth here and nearby so I can learn from her. I am grateful that I wasn’t scared. I am grateful that Rudi went and picked another seven cups of blackberries. I am grateful that Truffles comes to lie with me in bed when I’m reading, or working on the computer, because she’s great company. I am grateful that friend Mary found a nice kitty, Skye, with whom to share her life. I am grateful that the right remedies helped Mary’s one pup and the new kitty to settle down a bit. I am grateful when people adopt doggies and kitties from animal rescue groups.

I made a blackberry pie! and a dog in a motorcycle sidecar

My major accomplishment Monday – baking a pie.
And this is a very good thing, because it is normal for me. And feeling back to normal is an excellent sign that I am recovering!
Yay!!

Rudolf had outdone himself gathering big, fat fresh blackberries. They’re everywhere here in Sidney, and this is their time of year! We had six or seven cups of these buggers!

It was an easy enough recipe.
I cheated with the already-made pie crusts. The interesting part is that Rudi said he couldn’t find the crusts that have tops. So we had open-faced pies. I didn’t think it would be a big problem, since I’d planned to put ice cream on top anyway.

So:

3 cups of blackberries
Toss them with 1/2 cup of organic sugar, two Tbsp. of corn starch
then add 1 tsp. lemon or lime juice (I used lime)
and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Bake at 375F for about 45 minutes, et voila!

The weirdest part of my pies (I made two, originally with the intention of sharing one with Rudi’s parents) was that they were WET. I’d rinsed the blackberries before throwing them into the crust, but wow! I’d cut a piece and the triangle would fill in with juice.

So we had bowls of pie. All the better to slap on a bit of ice cream!

Now, on a more humorous note – I’d promised SeaSweetie the photos of the dog I found a few years ago in the Thrifty supermarket here in Sidney.

Is this cute?

Totally placid, calm, waiting for its owner, and sitting in the sidecar of an older-model motorcycle.

we had a poor sad dog on Sunday

I knew something was up when she ran into the bedroom in the morning, all wet. It was a hiney wash plus!

Apparently Truffles had spent part of the morning eating grass…

I took a look over the couch.

Pathetic. It was very sad just to be with her knowing she didn’t feel well.

She really wanted to want my sandwich.

“I’d like to mom, but I can’t muster the desire.”

She thought maybe chewing on Rudi would fill that gnawing, empty feeling in her tummy. I did read once (although I don’t remember sharing it with Truffles) that the most tasty and delectable part of a human being (according to cannibals) is the pad of the thumb.

But no, that didn’t cut it.

Maybe another nap will help.

Truffles should feel better by Monday morning. She didn’t really eat the rice we made her – it was sushi rice and she grabbed a little ball of it and tried to play with it. Oh well. Rudi did quite a few honey/bum washes today. Poor dears!

I am grateful that Rudi did the honey washes. I am grateful that Truffles is feeling a bit better as I type this (Sunday night). I am grateful that Rudi dragged me to sit in the sun for a while on both Saturday and Sunday. I am grateful that Rudi made smoothies for dinner Sunday night, because we weren’t starving. I am grateful that I need to spend Monday drawing whatever flower I’ve decided on (I’ve sketched a few) for my watercolour lesson on Tuesday. I am grateful that the friggin’ Arches 140 pound cold-pressed paper finally laid flat this afternoon!!

Sidney Summer Market, part two

I’ve just seen a calendar that says there is one more market day, but I don’t know if it is true. If it is, I may try to go without the dog and to try things, like the fudge!

I LOVE cotton candy. And I didn’t have any. Add that to this week’s list, if there really will be one more day.

Serape anyone? I actually think that Rudi’s younger sister, Yolande, met this man, because she did give us two Mexican blankets a few years ago.

Photos on clay. Interesting concept that we didn’t explore because Ms. Truffles was having a nail trim.

Not very happily. The lady doing the trim said she’d have known Truffles is a Havanese just by her green eyes!*
* Havanese have black or brown eyes, and aren’t ever supposed to have green eyes.

I don’t love harsh sunlight on pretty flowers.
Though I could have shot this from the back… if there weren’t vendors and people and tables and boxes in the way.

Gluten-free raw sprouted vegans? No thanks!

The lavender people also have a store in Sidney, so we can stop in anytime. They even have lavender biscotti, which is pretty good.

Since the Straw Market in Nassau was sort of destroyed by Hurricane Irene this past week…

I thought that maybe people could come to Sidney now for their straw things.

Greek take-out. I’d do that. But here is where I sat on the curb, exhausted, with Truffles by my side, while Rudi stood in a ten-minute line to get me a bottle of water. Three blocks from our house.

And so we left the festivities. So did these people. Beacon Avenue was a zoo, but a fun zoo!

To cap it all off, WestJet did a fly-by.

I am thankful that we got word from our caretakers today, and our house is absolutely fine! I am thankful for great builders who make solid homes – of a much higher quality than in other places in North America. I am grateful for Rudi’s mom, who shared with us some of her homemade soup, which we had for dinner. I am grateful for Rudi, who tears Arches 140 pound cold press paper really well. And, as always, I am grateful Rudi is here to help me when I am not comfortable, and to talk turkey with me when I need to hear, um, turkey.

from hurricanes in Hope Town to street fairs in Sidney

Well, we’ve been getting some reassuring photos from Cookie Malone, manager of Firefly Resort in Hope Town. Although we didn’t plant a palm tree inside of our sea grape tree (Mother Nature has a sense of humour), and although we still haven’t had a report from our caretakers on the condition of the house, it looks fine. So we’ll go with that and hope the reports confirm. For now we can sleep at night.

Here is some video during the eye and eye wall.

With all of the stress yesterday, the waiting and worrying, I figured it would be good to take our minds for a walk. It happened to be Sidney Summer Market, the very last one of the year. This is something we’ve never taken the time to see in the past, since the prospect of 5,000 people descending on a town of fewer than 11,000 people (and that includes all of the areas surrounding Sidney (so this tiny part is maybe 5,000 people) never interested us. I mean, where would you park!?

But this time, since we could walk in…we did!

Is that an airplane sticking out there?
And a man and his dog?

Yes! And the crowds were into the side streets off Beacon Avenue.

There were food places.

A smoky one.

A hotties one.

A new age-type band that played the same 16 bars over and over and over and over and over and over…

This man had CDs of his music which, I think, had special and important messages for children. He was performing on Thursday night.

This booth said Arabian Horses, but I didn’t see any horses. Not even non-Arabians. I shot this for Meghan. Maybe she can spot an Arabian.

As for the kid juggling, I had a brilliant sense of timing! I actually shot him EVERY TIME he stopped!

Uncanny!

Ah, I think I’ve got it!

Fresh fudge.

Flower power.

Wildflower Tie Die. Well, they say what goes around, comes around. But as Rudi mentioned, the next time it comes around you’re too old to wear it!

There were a few photographers there displaying their work. Understand that I shot only maybe 1/15th of the stands there! This place was filled with vendors, lining both sides of Beacon Avenue lined and in the middle too!

This lady was selling fuzzy friends!

Fresh fruit and veggies? Likely free-range, organic, local, etc. like everything else on this island.

Some sculpture.
But look at the people! Sheesh! Never seen Sidney like this. It was interesting, though.

There were dogs everywhere, but hardly any room for them to walk safely. Not sure I’d take Truffles back again. Like next year, since this was the last one of 2011.
But it’s always good to sniff a few butts when the opportunity presents itself. I guess!

More tomorrow, since I shot a lot. Not that I loved the photos. I hate shooting in brilliant sunlight and shadows. But it beats a street fair in the rain!

In the meantime, since most of you are on a roll with the praying – how about extending them to the east coast of the US, which is next in line for Irene’s wrath? It would be very much appreciated!!

I am grateful for the opportunity to see the Sidney Summer Market this year. I am grateful that I found a nice gift for Kelsey’s Christmas box. I am grateful Truffles navigated the crowds unscathed. I am grateful Rudi stood in a line for ten minutes to buy me a bottle of water. I am grateful that Rudi walked home to grab the car to pick us up and get us to the supermarket and home in time to meet Ray the Painter. I am totally grateful that Cookie Malone, manager of Firefly Resort in Hope Town, shot loads of photos that included a bunch of the exterior of our house, allowing us to see how it fared in the hurricane.

the beaches of Elbow Cay and the Abacos…

and may they look similar to these photos very, very soon.

Update as of 2pm Friday:

Damage was actually minimal in the Abacos. In Marsh Harbour roads all are passable and people are back zipping around. Tomorrow the airport opens, and Albury’s Ferry will be operational as well. In Hope Town and on Elbow Cay, there’s a lot of damage to the vegetation, but everything else (like homes and businesses) look to be fine. Cookie Malone, manager of Firefly Resort, has been posting photos on the resort’s Facebook page, so it you’re so inclined you can head there to check things out. She has lots of shots of the homes on our wee cay.

So we’re resting easier. Green Turtle, Treasure and Guana, and Man O’War all are reported to be in pretty good shape too. Thank God!

At the Abaco Inn.

In front of On Da Beach, Turtle Hill Villas.

Tahiti Beach at low tide.

The beach in front of Nippers on Great Guana Cay.

About here, or a bit south of here, at the moment… it is underwater. The island is cut into two pieces. Cookie, who is the manager at the Firefly Resort, which is north of here, can’t go home, because it is south of here. Maybe she can visit her house by boat soon. This is not the first time the dune was breached, and we still can’t figure out why someone would build a house right there, where it historically is the most dangerous. No news on the house yet.

But just south of here is Sea Spray, and Junior says all the boats in his charge came through fine!

The beach looking north from the Hope Town Harbour Lodge.

The beach behind the church.

A beach on the North End.

The beach just before the Abaco Inn.

Another North End beach.

One beach on Lubbers Quarters.

Our beach.

Our beach is the one where Rudi and Truffles walk every morning… the one we look at from our home… the one on which our friends JoAnn and Ridge live…

And the One that counts.

I am grateful that there has been no report of loss of life in the Abacos. I am grateful that Cookie has been using Facebook to stay in touch all day Thursday as Irene raged about our wee cay. (Firefly Resort on FB if you want to check it out.) I am grateful that that tiny line to Hope Town kept me from worrying. I am grateful that we have competent caretakers and landscapers who are there and who will let us know what we need to know. I am grateful that we might have some news as early as Friday. I am grateful that some cell phones are working now in the Abacos. I am grateful that Rudi’s sister had a lot of extra fresh figs that she couldn’t use because she is going on holiday. Real figs! I am grateful I might be able to grow some on Hope Town. I am grateful the Abacos are safe now. I am grateful friend Cathy’s house on Cat Island came away unscathed. I am grateful for able to Skype internationally. I am grateful for caring friends and blog visitors who stood by thinking positive thoughts and easterly thoughts with me. Thank you all.

does this look east to you?

If it is, then next “H” we will have to start our praying and blowing earlier!
The worst of it should be over on Hope Town. Now we wait for news.

Hope Town Fire Rescue says –

1430 EDT
The 2pm NOAA update:
Location: 26.5°N 77.2°W
Max sustained: 115 mph
Moving: NNW at 14 mph
That would put the eye of the storm a little over 13 miles to the West of Elbow cay at 1400. With the continued motion of 14mph, by sunset, Irene should be almost 75 miles away. We just might have some information this evening.

time for prayers, serious prayers

As I prepare the blog on Wednesday night, the news of the Category 3 Hurricane Irene is bad. Very bad. And it won’t hit our home island until Thursday. It is scheduled to be a Category 4 by that time.

Irene started south of the Abacos. Here’s the report from Acklin’s Island Wednesday night, from the Nassau Tribune –

11:11pm – Devastating news coming out of Acklins. Hurricane Irene is still pounding that southern island with 90 – 100 mile an hour sustained winds and NEMA has gotten reports that 90% of the Lovely Bay settlement “is gone.”
Homes have been completely washed away or have lost entire roofs, power lines have been downed and trees are blocking roads. Many more residents have sought safety in shelters on that island. Acklins residents have had no power since yesterday and some residents there fear that due to the extensive damage to the BEC infrastructure it could be a while before electricity is restored.
Even with all this damage already reported, Acklins still has a while to go before Irene is out of their area.

Devastating seems almost an understatement.

Here’s Irene as of Wednesday night around midnight EST. Or EDT. Whatever it is over there.

Do you believe it? She is larger than Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. And she really REALLY needs to blow EAST. Very EAST. Out into the ocean, where she can’t hurt anyone.

Please, if you’re the praying sort, pray for the Bahamas. Pray for the people who have almost nothing, those who have to eek out a living very dependent on tourism (which will be on hold for a while), for my friends who have a house on the beach, for Rudi and I who cancelled the hurricane insurance this year (it is horrifically expensive), for the farms, the animals, the Haitians who live in the bush on a good day and in squalor on a bad day… Irene really needs to move east.

The electric company has cut all power to the Abacos. No, they didn’t have to – the winds are 30kts right now and people need their air conditioning when it is hot and humid, they need their freezers to not destroy their meats, but the electric company is kind of weird sometimes. Not everyone has a generator. Most people don’t have a generator. They’re sitting in dark houses tonight listening to the wind gain momentum, wondering how they will fare.

The last big hurricanes tore the Abacos to shreds. We’ve heard there wasn’t one green anything, anywhere. It took six weeks to get telephones and internet working. It took six weeks to get electricity. It took six weeks for things to feel even slightly normal.

That means that – we won’t hear anything. The only way we can find out what has happened to our home, and the homes of our friends, is to fly down there. I’d send Rudi – he’s great with a chainsaw and word is they might need a lot of muscle.

I ramble. I worry. I imagine the scenarios. I hope that Brigitte reads this on Friday morning and that she sends a note telling us that all is well, it is over, it was nothing, that Irene headed out to sea.

In the meantime, I’d be grateful if you joined me in a prayer or two. Hourly would be fine.
EAST! EAST! EAST!
Thank you!