Blossoms and Dreams - the life of an expat BCer

You may (or may not) be wondering if Ron and I have fallen off the face of the earth, considering the time between blogs and news of any interest (no matter how slight).  We are still here, obviously, as you're reading my words, but we've been having a pretty quiet time of it lately.  As I mentioned on Facebook, it's been a weird week, we've lost a dear friend, Sue, and have gained a new great nephew, Corbin.  Being here in farm country the circle of life (yes, cue Elton John) seems somehow far more apparent and in a strange way it provides a sense of peace.  To everything there is a season and I think we are both okay with that.

Of course, the house is hockey mad!  Ron's stayed up as late as 2am to see our boys play and as we've reached the final round, even I am staying up to watch with much trepidation and high hopes.  I'd wish the guys well, but I've found that I'm extremely superstitious around hockey and just can't bring myself to do anything that might infringe on the mojo.  (I can hear Ron laughing at me right now!)

The branch participated in Relay for Life (much like the 24 Hour Relay, back home and we had a good time of it despite the weather, as we were prepared!)  Here's some of the girls getting ready to go out and walk the track:

 Don't ask me who found the umbrella hats, but we had a grand time walking the track in the drizzle fully protected and looking very "Jane Fonda" what with the white head bands and all.

Ron and I have been spending time (& money, of course) out in the garden.  He's trimmed back an old lilac so that you can see the house better from the road and we've planted lovely golden spirea underneath for colour.  We've also planted to juniper trees flanking the front porch.  (They grow very tall and narrow, so should be quite striking when they grow up.)  The trees have bloomed out and leafed it seems overnight  and I feel obligated to load up some more pictures just because everything is so lovely and such a nice surprise!

We have THREE lilac bushes & how I love them!

Can't remember what this is called, but it's lovely.

Apple blossoms...we'll have apples coming out of our ears!

Columbine, just sprouting haphazardly.

One of my favourite trees.  It has a lovely shape.

No idea what this is either, but we saw one at the garden store.

Another favourite tree - a very old apple tree.  I'm not sure how long it will be with us.

Would be quite picturesque without the satellite dish. (Back porch)

No, the house isn't white, it's pale yellow, but it was an overcast day and it washes any colour out of the siding.  Ron's skill set is ever improving.  He helped a friend build an addition on to his garage last week and came home cut and bug bitten, but feeling good.  Soon we'll tackle our porches - a daunting task to be sure, but one we can work at together.

Speaking of circle of life and nature, I'm off to cook up another batch of Humphrey the steer, who gave his life so that Ron and I might eat.  I hope that doesn't seem too irreverent, but I just can't seem to help myself!

Be well and know, as always, that we are thinking of you, especially you Sue Birch, you are loved and missed.

And So Comes the Spring!

Well, most of you will be at least mildly satisfied to know that our spring here has been much the same as the spring in the Lower Mainland.  We have had a few nice days that just whet the appetite, but for the most part it has been cool and rainy.

Despite the poor weather Ron and I are planning outdoor home improvements.  We've procured a patio set and barbeque and have plans for prettying up both decks.  We've had a few run ins with horrible little black flies that bite and cause weird marks with a red centre and pink around the outside.  The bites itch for weeks...not pleasant, but I think we'll invest in a bug repellent something or other (suggestions are more than welcome).  I'm in the midst of planting a nice little herb container garden for the back porch, so we can have fresh herbs at least for the summer and the back yard is looking quite smart, freshly mown, despite the pervasive dandelions.  (Ron and I have decided that they're pretty instead of trying to eradicate them.)  Here are some photos:

We are going to post final pictures of our bathroom, as we have it all accessorized, but are having problems finding the right time of day to get photos, but here are some teasers.

A place to dry your toes.

66 inches of soaking room.

Sparkley!

I'm slowly editing the first draft of my novel, I might post a bit just to get some feed back.  I have secured a critic (no, not a professional one) to have a read, but I think additional input will be good.  I have an idea for another story, but am not sure whether it's something that can be played out in a novel or just a short story.  I have to finish the first one before I worry about the second one, anyway.
We'll be having visitors at the end of July which is quite exciting and hope that some others get a chance to come out (even though I know there's a hundred more interesting places that the cost of the airfare could take you!)  We offer good hospitality and a nice peaceful place to de-stress - with the added benefit of LOBSTER.  Yummy!  (Sorry, 'Chelle, I know you can't have any...)

Be well and know that you're in our thoughts!

Over the Hill (and through the woods)!

If you can stand it, I have another cake to blog about.  This is my last one for a while, so you'll get a bit of relief from the cake-fest.  (But be warned, there is another bathroom update pending!)  The principle of the cake is climbing a hill and the path is strewn with items that represent stages in our lives.  Here are the photos of our most recent creation:

Middle age...here I come!

Partying leads to...

...unexpected surprises!

Oops, the last steps a doozy!

The cane is hooked in to the back like someone slipped over the edge. and tried to save themselves.  (I thought it was funny)  I even had little crumbs from the pathway on the base in the back, like too many people flirted with the edge. of the cliff.  It was fun to make all the little add-ons, but of course I thought of tons of clever things the night before the cake was to be delivered (and therefore, completed).  It was a chocolate mocha cake with Oreo cookies and cream filling and mocha buttercream.  YUMMY (if I do say so myself)!!!

Cakes-R-Us

Well, yes, you guessed it.  We pumped out another cake for this past weekend.  I've felt a bit like a cake factory lately, but word of mouth is spreading, so more inquiries are coming in.  This will be short and sweet (excuse the pun).  Here's the pics:

Building the Tiers

Checking the Layout

Finished Product

Detail of Topper and Writing

So another cake under our proverbial belt and a few more coming up.  The next one is for a birthday with an over-the-hill theme.  Take care!  Until next time.

Where's the Beef? Not for the faint of heart!

Most of you know that things are just a little different here on PEI, at least different than our city life in Vancouver.  There's a little something here called the Easter Beef Auction.  Now, I don't have all the details, but around these parts, it's quite the thing.  Imagine my surprise when I saw this posted on a board in the lunch room at work (Excuse the quality, I had to scan it and convert to a JPEG) PS: they wouldn't let me name him:

The two people (mid-steer) are the Branch Manager, Marc and the Assistant Branch Manager, Tracey.  Yes, the branch had bought a cow.  (Puts a whole new perspective on "don't have a cow, man!", doesn't it?

You can see where this is heading, can't you?  Have you noticed that all those commercials for "embarrassing" products offer to deliver them in unmarked bags and boxes.  Well, a few weeks later a truck pulls up to the back of the branch and box after unmarked box gets piled up in hallway.  "The beef's here!" cries one of the staff excitedly.  Now, I kind of knew that this was coming, so it didn't freak me out too much, but there were 21 boxes of prime PEI beef and one of those boxes was for me.  (Cash bonus???  No, no, we give merit increases in beef, that's how we roll!)  So here's the beef:

Now, I don't want you to think that it's all just hamburger, oh no, there's also a roast or two and a few steaks.  Poor Humphrey, (I named him anyway) but this is the reality of food.  Anyhow, this whole thing has made me more appreciative for the meat we eat and I'm not sure what we're going to do with it all, as Ron doesn't eat beef, really. 

That being said, I did make a shepherd's pie (well, cowboy pie, I guess) and it tasted fine.  So there's another tale from the country.  Chalk that up to things I didn't expect to see when I moved to the "Gentle Island".  (At least for humans the jury's out for livestock.)

Another Day; Another Cake

We've been enjoying the luxuries of our new bathroom, but as you all know there's no rest for the wicked.  I delivered another cake today, but at least I got to try this one.  It was for a baby shower for one of the girls at work:

I've shamelessly stolen the idea from the Internet, but a newbie has to start somewhere.  I have another order for the coming weekend (a three tiered baptism cake) and a summer order for a 50th wedding anniversary. 
While I was chatting with the girls, Ron spent most of the afternoon packaging up cardboard from the reno and just general accumulation to get ready for recycling pick up tomorrow.  (They only pick up blue bag stuff once a month around here.)

The grass is getting greener and the trees have started to show some green, which is exciting as it seems about a month later than it should be, but spring has arrived and Robin Redbreast is hoping around the yard along with flocks of Canada Geese that seem to prefer the farmer's field.  We've had no signs of squirrels, so we're preparing to return the trap we borrowed. 

Next week watch for an interesting "Country Life" story...'til then, our thoughts go out to all of you!  Wish you were here.

Our Beautiful Bathroom

If this blog had a subtitle, it would be "From Road Warriors to Reno Warriors - Our Journey to PEI".  With that said I'm rather proud to announce that we finally have a working upstairs bathroom again.  I'll refer you to our installment entitled "Bathroom Phase One".  (go ahead click it to be reminded of where we started from.)  Sure there are a few touches that need to be completed, but for the most part, the reno is complete.  Here are some pictures to prove it:

(The weird lines in the pictures of the tub are because it's so new and shiny!)  Oh sure, there are things that still need to be done...we need to install the base boards and finish the wall paper on the one wall, the outside of the shower needs to be grouted and silicone, we need to get and install the towel bars etc (they're en route) and then we need to dress it with all the little decorative touches, but it's pretty satisfying to have a fully functioning bathroom upstairs again, especially one that's very pretty.  (I'd say chic, but that sounds vain.)  Ron has really outdone himself, as he did most of the labour, except for a bit of plumbing.  We invite you to come see it!  Now, on to the exterior of the house! (But, shhhhh, don't tell Ron I said that yet!)