sunny, mild, temps 12
It's turned into a lovely, though chilly, day. Had the predicted hard frost last night. Frost on the car. Quite a shock heading into mid-May! But by 8am it had melted and by noon it was a nice April day. Too bad it's May. But I have to admit such is spring in Canada. You just never know. Which is why we're told time and again not to put our annuals or vegetables into the garden until after the Victoria Day long weekend. That's May 24th. Most years it seems a ridiculous injunction, and then suddenly there's a frost. This year it seems less silly.
Hard to access the damage done by the snow and then the hard frost. I'm thinking it's not nearly as bad as I feared. yay! As someone commented, quite rightly, Nature is resilient. Has to be. Otherwise Canada and certainly Quebec would have been a wasteland years ago.
Harvested our first asperagus, through the snow. Very funny to see the stalks poking up through the snow.
Went to Cowansville for breakfast - did some banking and mailing. Then dropped Michael at home so he could work on his book, and I went across to Richford. More mailing!
It takes me a while - like most people - to really appreciate I'm on vacation. We were sitting over breakfast and I began to get antsy to be going. Had to do chores then get home to -
ahhhh. To - nothing!! Like those school days waking early, getting ready to drag ourselves out of bed, only to realize it's Saturday.
ahhh.
Getting caught up on a while lot of things, but none stressful now that I have the time. Thanks SO much for your help finding a place on the Sunshine Coast...we'll be going a few days early, before the Literary Festival in Sechelt and need a place to stay. We'd found the Rockwater Inn (and Spa!!) - but it was booked. But we've now booked into a B and B called A Place by the Sea. Rooms seem huge - decks looking out over the water. Massages....and we've booked a private sea safari - all day, just us and the captain...taking us into the remote waterways of British Columbia. Stopping at a remote beach to walk, or swim and to have a hot lunch cooked on the shore. Sounds divine!!! Have also booked two spa treatments - not on the beach. Though that would be great too.
The only thing that seems complex is getting to Sechelt! But apparently people do. We won't be the first. The masseuse, for instance, had to find their way. But that's part of the fun of traveling. We fly in to Vancouver - then somehow get the 20 kilometers from the airport to the ferry. Take the 40 minute ferry (which is apparently spectacular) to the Sunshine Coast. We've booked a rental car there. The rest sound be easy.
I find for my peace of mind, I just need to give us plenty of time between the time the flight arrives and our ferry booking. And to remember if we miss the ferry no one is likely to die. or even be maimed. It actually doesn't matter. Michael is much more zen about these things than I am. But then, he can afford to be, he has me to do all the worrying.
Next life I'm coming back as a piece of luggage.
Lovely to see the sun. On the way back from Richford, VT I stopped at the grocery store and got us a couple steaks for the BBQ tonight. A few nights ago I stopped and noticed it's Lobster Festival! Sutton is landlocked, so not a lot of local lobster, but Canada has a huge east coast lobster industry...so I guess the lobsters have arrived. Michael loves them. I'm not a huge fan. So I went in and got Michael a nice, just cooked, one. I hate the idea of pointing to one in the tank and having them cook it. Feels way too much like passing final judgment. But am hypocritical enough to be happy to buy one already cooked.
You should have seen Michael's face when the lobster came through the door. he spent all day waiting for dinner time. And he found every morsel. Just adored it. What fun.
Busy day tomorrow. 8 am breakfast back in Cowansville with some friends...10:30 appointment to take the car in in Montreal - noon speaking engagement with the Rotary Club in Montreal. But I should be back at the apartment by 2pm.
pat and Tony coming first thing in the morning, with their dogs, to house sit. Such fun to see their two dogs playing with Trudy out by the pond. You can't imagine the wet dog smell from that!
Will try to blog tomorrow. Be well!
Showing posts with label frost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frost. Show all posts
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Monday, 23 November 2009
chicken in the oven, and frost on the grass
sunny, heavy frost, temps rising to 8
Gorgeous day...all day. But this morning was particularly brilliant. Heavy frost...cars covered in it. But as the sun rises and moves across the property the frost melts so that at any stage there is partial green of the grass and sparlking white of the frost. Wonderful to walk across the grass in the morning, before it melts.
Went into the village to do some mailing and pick up some groceries. George Easter, the editor of Deadly Pleasures Magazine, mailed me the HUGE poster from Barnes and Noble in his town of Bountiful, Utah. It promotes The Brutal Telling as their B&N Recommends. Unbelievably kind of him. So now I have it, still rolled up, and trying to decide where to put it. It will almost cover an entire wall...and while part of me wants to stick it right by the front door...so visitors can have NO doubt...I'm afraid what they will have no doubt about is the size of the ego that lives in the house. So, since I am nothing if not retiring and bashful, I will put it where Michael and I get to see it every day.
The chicken is in the claypot. pat has made us a wonderful apple and pear crisp. Table set, fire laid and lit.
The friend who is staying next door is more like a brother than anything...I've known him for almost 30 years. So it will be very relaxing. We're in the process of getting rid of our two cars and buying one. We realize we really only need one. And we want something ultra fuel efficient or hybrid. But we also need an all-wheel drive for the winters, and something solid and stable for the long drives. And preferably not an SUV. So while were were in the UK we asked our friend if he could do some research. He's very good at that. So we'll see what he says tonight.
Must go. Am in my sweats...and while he might be like a brother I don't think I'd subject anyone other than Michael (it's too late for him, he can't escape) to the sight of me in sweats.
Be well...talk to you tomorrow. Oh, the claypot chicken does smell good.
Gorgeous day...all day. But this morning was particularly brilliant. Heavy frost...cars covered in it. But as the sun rises and moves across the property the frost melts so that at any stage there is partial green of the grass and sparlking white of the frost. Wonderful to walk across the grass in the morning, before it melts.
Went into the village to do some mailing and pick up some groceries. George Easter, the editor of Deadly Pleasures Magazine, mailed me the HUGE poster from Barnes and Noble in his town of Bountiful, Utah. It promotes The Brutal Telling as their B&N Recommends. Unbelievably kind of him. So now I have it, still rolled up, and trying to decide where to put it. It will almost cover an entire wall...and while part of me wants to stick it right by the front door...so visitors can have NO doubt...I'm afraid what they will have no doubt about is the size of the ego that lives in the house. So, since I am nothing if not retiring and bashful, I will put it where Michael and I get to see it every day.
The chicken is in the claypot. pat has made us a wonderful apple and pear crisp. Table set, fire laid and lit.
The friend who is staying next door is more like a brother than anything...I've known him for almost 30 years. So it will be very relaxing. We're in the process of getting rid of our two cars and buying one. We realize we really only need one. And we want something ultra fuel efficient or hybrid. But we also need an all-wheel drive for the winters, and something solid and stable for the long drives. And preferably not an SUV. So while were were in the UK we asked our friend if he could do some research. He's very good at that. So we'll see what he says tonight.
Must go. Am in my sweats...and while he might be like a brother I don't think I'd subject anyone other than Michael (it's too late for him, he can't escape) to the sight of me in sweats.
Be well...talk to you tomorrow. Oh, the claypot chicken does smell good.
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
A hard frost and an easy life
sunny, perfect fall day, temps 17
We had a hard frost this morning. Walked the dogs around the pond in rubber boots - the mist rising from the warm pond into the chill air. The sun just up and the sky blue. Leaves are beginning to turn so it's still that wonderful mix of green and red and orange.
Gary's done an amazing job on the home. We'd been trying to get the painter to do it for 2 years but he kept putting us off. Finally we fired him and asked Gary - who hates to paint. He quoted comedian Steven Wright who said, 'It's a small world, but I'd hate to paint it.'
It must have felt to Gary and John as though they were painting the world at times. So much woodwork and trim. And because it hadn't been done in a while some of the wood was rotten.
Funny how things work out. Had the painter done it this spring he wouldn't have been able to do the carpentry - might have just painted over the rotten bits. But Gary could replace the spoiled stuff.
Had a lovely evening last night, eating fresh corn bought at a roadside stand (the last of the season the grower said) and watching National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets. Loved it. Such fun.
Spent today doing laundry, opening and answering mail (Michael, dear soul, did the bills), and starting to put the edits from the hardcopy of book 5 onto the computer version.
We thought we'd have a quiet day but by 10am Deanna was vacuuming, Dwayne was working on ventilation ducts in the basement and Wayne was cutting the grass.
We're home.
We had a hard frost this morning. Walked the dogs around the pond in rubber boots - the mist rising from the warm pond into the chill air. The sun just up and the sky blue. Leaves are beginning to turn so it's still that wonderful mix of green and red and orange.
Gary's done an amazing job on the home. We'd been trying to get the painter to do it for 2 years but he kept putting us off. Finally we fired him and asked Gary - who hates to paint. He quoted comedian Steven Wright who said, 'It's a small world, but I'd hate to paint it.'
It must have felt to Gary and John as though they were painting the world at times. So much woodwork and trim. And because it hadn't been done in a while some of the wood was rotten.
Funny how things work out. Had the painter done it this spring he wouldn't have been able to do the carpentry - might have just painted over the rotten bits. But Gary could replace the spoiled stuff.
Had a lovely evening last night, eating fresh corn bought at a roadside stand (the last of the season the grower said) and watching National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets. Loved it. Such fun.
Spent today doing laundry, opening and answering mail (Michael, dear soul, did the bills), and starting to put the edits from the hardcopy of book 5 onto the computer version.
We thought we'd have a quiet day but by 10am Deanna was vacuuming, Dwayne was working on ventilation ducts in the basement and Wayne was cutting the grass.
We're home.
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Frost and Fear
sunny, cold, windy, highs 7
Hard frost last night. Had to turn the car on a let the windshied de-frost. I don't think the garden has been hurt - and thank heavens I shifted my you-know-what and brought the annuals in. They're safe.
It's reeeally cold today! I'm wearing a coat and hat outside, but I think I need gloves too.
Had a 2 1/3 hour breakfast with Cheryl at Le Cafetier on rue Principale in Sutton. Wonderful. We talked mostly about fear. Hers, mine, fears most of us have. Big, slimy, screaming, violent fears.
It's like admitting to some horrible disease, so what a gift to have a friend to talk to about these things - and to have her say, 'You too? I thought I was the only one.' Michael says part of his problem, and most people's problem, is we compare our raw, ground up meat to someone else's filet. Everyone else seems so much more together. But then, on the outside, so do we.
We're packing for the trip today so the washer and dryer are in full flight.
Off to Ottawa tomorrow night - anyone in the area is welcome to come to the event - it should be great! It's put on by the Crime Writers of Canada and will be tomorrow night at 7pm at the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, 120 Metcalfe Street. Two of my favorite crime writers will also be there - Barbara Fradkin and Robin Harlick. The other writers on the panel will be: Adrian de Koog, JD Carpenter and Suzanne Kingsmill.
Love to see you there. We're driving up from here - about a 3 hour drive, then back to Montreal after the event. In bed by midnight, I hope.
Hope you're well and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Hard frost last night. Had to turn the car on a let the windshied de-frost. I don't think the garden has been hurt - and thank heavens I shifted my you-know-what and brought the annuals in. They're safe.
It's reeeally cold today! I'm wearing a coat and hat outside, but I think I need gloves too.
Had a 2 1/3 hour breakfast with Cheryl at Le Cafetier on rue Principale in Sutton. Wonderful. We talked mostly about fear. Hers, mine, fears most of us have. Big, slimy, screaming, violent fears.
It's like admitting to some horrible disease, so what a gift to have a friend to talk to about these things - and to have her say, 'You too? I thought I was the only one.' Michael says part of his problem, and most people's problem, is we compare our raw, ground up meat to someone else's filet. Everyone else seems so much more together. But then, on the outside, so do we.
We're packing for the trip today so the washer and dryer are in full flight.
Off to Ottawa tomorrow night - anyone in the area is welcome to come to the event - it should be great! It's put on by the Crime Writers of Canada and will be tomorrow night at 7pm at the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, 120 Metcalfe Street. Two of my favorite crime writers will also be there - Barbara Fradkin and Robin Harlick. The other writers on the panel will be: Adrian de Koog, JD Carpenter and Suzanne Kingsmill.
Love to see you there. We're driving up from here - about a 3 hour drive, then back to Montreal after the event. In bed by midnight, I hope.
Hope you're well and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
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