When your oldest friend calls you up and says “Whatcha doin’ the end of August/early September?”, the only acceptable response is “Nothin’. What are WE doin’ then?”. Thus the fabulous road trip to PEI (Prince Edward Island, a Canadian province) began, in our heads, at least.
Cath (aka CJ – my friend since Grade 2 and my Barbados buddy) had purchased an RV about a year ago. It was only a matter of time before either she showed up at my door in it, or I joined her for a road trip. Here is what happened. First things first – the itinerary Cath drew up for us:
The basic sketch of our adventure, which was followed for the most part. Catch-22 is a fabulous restaurant in Wasaga Beach – had the best halibut meal of my life there, that night. We didn’t go to the Big Apple store/bakery/restaurant (too crazy busy) but we did go to Reid’s Dairy and Taste of Country in Belleville, ON. We did not end up at Richard’s for lobster rolls, instead it was the Lobster Barn (delicious food) – in Victoria-by-the-Sea. Nearby Hampton Beach is where our friends Brenda and Ted have a beautiful place, on PEI. What’s not on the calendar is an amazing show we saw Sep 7 at Harmony House (Hunter River, PEI): The Leonard Cohen Songbook, which blew me away….even more than seeing Lennie Gallant (and that’s saying A LOT.) More on my experience at The Table, in my next WOYP post!Cocktail hour at McLaren campground, on the Long Sault Parkway, Ontario. That’s Mini Winnie, in the background.Cath’s miniature poodle and our traveling companion: the lovely Miss Juliette. St. Lawrence sunrise.Miss Juliette can get a little barky 🤣. Especially if she is missing her mommy. At a Walmart parking lot on a supply run, in Rimouski, Quebec.Stopping to take in the views of a covered bridge – Routhierville, Quebec.More great views – Tide Head, New Brunswick.Standing on the dock in Kouchibouguac National Park, New Brunswick. Admiring the views AND the kayak ramp. Kouchibouguac means River of the Long Tides, in Mi’kmaq. This is where the Kouchibouguac River empties out to the Atlantic Ocean.A very quick exploration of Kellys Beach in Kouchibouguac National Park as the rain begins to pelt us.(Miss Juliette stayed in the RV as dogs are not allowed here.)First view of the Confederation Bridge (12.9 km, links PEI to the mainland). The last time I visited PEI (at least 2.5 decades ago) this bridge was only a dream. We had to take a ferry, back then. The home of our wonderful hosts, just off the beach.It was our hosts’ birthdays while we visited. One day after the other. Two separate celebrations were planned and executed so each had their special day. Cath whipped up a joint chocolate birthday cake per request (one of her many culinary specialities) for them. I even had a (very small) piece and it was delicious, although chocolate cake is not my thing. Some of Cath’s family was on the island at the same time (staying nearby in a beachfront rental) and they joined us several evenings for meals, cards and general merriment.Most days involved at least one walk on the beach!Sunset on the beach in front of Ted and Brenda’s house, with the Confederation Bridge in the distance.Going for a hike at a local park. Ted is holding onto Juliette’s grandmother: Chloe. Ted and Brenda are also parents of another poodle – the aptly named: Ginger. Who can be pretty spicy, for her size! 🤣Little Miss Ginger. Our hair colouring kinda matches, I just realized.Waiting for Lennie Gallant at the Souris Show Hall. Lovely, intimate show.Trying the capture the beauty of the night sky in Souris, after the show.Early morning walk along the shore, Red Point Provincial Park in Souris.Typical red cliffs (and sand, soil) found on the island – Red Point Park, Souris.Interesting sea weed growth on a rock – looks like it’s wearing a wig! Red Point Park, Souris.
One thing I didn’t remember to photograph and wish I had: I had a reunion with an old friend who lives on PEI. Kim and I started out as pen pals many decades ago – before the internet, even – when you actually had to write out your thoughts on a piece of paper and mail them to each other. Can you imagine such a primitive form of communication? 😉 It was truly heart-warming and inspiring to see her IRL – and to take in all the beauty of her home and gardens and all the gorgeous artwork she has created. Seeing her creations on Facebook is one thing, but seeing those pieces hanging around her cozy home is quite another!
As foretold in the itinerary, the adventure had to come to an end eventually. After an informative and exciting last walk on the beach with a geologist where we looked for (and found) the fossilized remains of 330 million year old trees and plant life, Cath, Juliette and I headed back over the bridge to the mainland. We revisited our route and campsites for the way back to Ontario: ending in Wasaga Beach for the first two, and the airport for me.
Another gorgeous morning at McLaren campground, waiting for the sun to rise.Our last cocktail hour. My big goal for this trip was: that we are still on speaking terms at the end 😉. Achieved! 🤣
My flights were blessedly uneventful. Which is about the best thing one can say about air travel, anymore. The airline did not give away my seat on the plane and deny me boarding; no one parted me from my luggage; nothing was stolen from me; no one asked me to give up my window seat so they could have it instead because of their poor planningclaustrophobia 🙄 (Really, girl?!?! Uhhh, NOPE.)…see here for my woeful previous air travel experience, if you care to.
Now, THIS is what comfortable looks like. To me, at least.What in dog’s name is this?Well, he’s definitely sleeping.Oops, sorry. I’ll take my camera and get lost now.
Note: The Widow Badass Blog is going on a bit of a blogging break, starting next week. I’ll be back mid-September. Looking forward to resuming my regular posting schedule then!
After a busy morning of walkies, barking at those who dare to walk down our street and chasing ballies, comes a lazy afternoon. Especially during these dog days of summer
Bowser loves just flopping down on my wool rug. I can’t blame him. It is rather nice on the feet. Pardon me while I admire my fresh pedicure 😉.Bowser wakes up and moves to his dog bed.Out again…for now.The rug is still his most preferred spot. He seems to have abandoned my couch, at least while the dog days are happening.
We hope you find a comfy spot to relax this weekend.
Who is the weakest link in our family? It varies from person to person and day to day, but based on recent evidence I think I know who the current titleholder is. Here are some photos, from a recent outing to the local gelato place.
Raspberry rhubarb gelato? Don’t mind if I do…Just how long IS Bowser’s tongue?!?!THAT long, apparently!
If you guessed that the current weakest link is Mr.I Don’t Know If I Can Get Used To A Small Dog; I’ve Only Ever Had Big Dogs, you would be 100% correct 😉.
We hope there are cool treats in your weekend plans.
* This should really be renamed What’s In Your Glass 😉
I don’t know about you, but as I am getting older I am finding that drinking alcohol is sometimes more trouble than it’s worth. It disrupts my sleep at night – even one glass of wine after supper! Which means the only alternative is day drinking finding substitutes that provide the same refreshment without the befuddlement buzz and the dreaded 2 am wakey-wakey.
I did find (thanks to my non-drinking family) some superior non-alcoholic alternatives for purchase (more on that later in this post) and I also made homemade Ribena – of a sort – from my own garden! I found a recipe here.
Into the double boiler goes this year’s harvest of blackcurrants. Along with last year’s dried blackcurrants, and for good measure: last year’s elderberries, that have been languishing in my freezer. Why the heck not?! 🤭I mashed ’em up real good, and strained the juice through many layers of cheese cloth. Back in the pot for cooking until the sugar dissolves.Assembling the ingredients for my first taste.Blackcurrant syrup over ice.Adding tonic water.Delicious AND refreshing.I’ve also come to enjoy an iced coffee in the morning. My daughter found these protein drinks at Costco. (Not a mocktail per se, but thought I’d throw it in for good measure.)Here are 2 of my favourite non-alcoholic drinks for this summer.This is incredibly refreshing and tasty. I don’t miss the alcohol in this Corona at all. In fact, I prefer it to the regular version. I can order one of these when I’m out and not have to worry about driving afterwards.Assembling the ingredients for my sinless sangria…I’ve thrown a few of the raspberries from my garden into the glass along with the ice.Looking (and smelling) good so far!Oh yeah, baby! Come to Mama 😁.This goes down so good after a long hot afternoon of swimming in the river or the ocean with the grandkids. It retains the complex flavour profile that I love about wine. Although red sangria is my favourite, I would love to try a white version. I don’t know if they sell one yet but Atypique also makes other sinless adult beverages. I’ve enjoyed their mojito and amaretto sour as well.
Thanks for reading this far! Hopefully I didn’t make you too thirsty, although it is important to keep hydrated – especially in hot weather 👍.
As always, please join my co-host Donna and myself by sharing what’s on your plate (or in your glass) in the Comments or in the Link Party.
Somebody rolled in fresh horse droppings. Somebody needed a bath. Somebody is me. (I’m a dog; it’s what I do.) Daddy to the rescue!
This is how Oma found us, after Daddy cleaned me up. I forgave him the indignity of a bath since now we get to cuddle.I like it when Daddy bundles me up. I won’t even move when my favourite human comes over and starts taking pictures. (Oma made me say the favourite human part.)This is definitely my spot. At least, until Mommy comes home. Don’t even think of moving me. Na na na-na nah!
Last weekend I hit a major milestone birthday – well, according to our government that is! I turned 65, which is the traditional “age of retirement” still, here in Canada.
Woohoo! I can look forward to my Old Age Security cheque every month now, starting in August. It’s not near enough for a person to actually live on, but it will be something for those of us who no longer garner a paycheque. When I retired from my career officially at age 60, I opted to take my Canada Pension Plan (a benefit available to all Canadians who have paid into the plan during their working lives) early because of a few good reasons – the main one being that my early CPP plus my existing survivor benefit (for being a widow of a working Canadian) meant I was pretty close to my maximum payout already, so why not?! And I have not regretted for one minute my decision to retire early!
My daughter had made plans to treat me to High Tea at the Empress, in Victoria, on my actual birthdate so I had a girly splurge at the local mall the day before – purchasing a new silk top, a new lipstick at the MAC counter, and some new jewellery. Happy birthday to ME, LOL!
Interestingly (to me, anyways), this statement necklace is made from recycled aluminum. Which makes it quite lightweight and thus easier to wear.My beautiful daughter.Getting ready to enjoy our tea tray and extra special tea blend (more on that later!)Close up of some of the sweets.Complimentary glass of prosecco rosé delivered by our waiter, Raymond.
Because the hotel knew it was my birthday, I was given some very special gifts including a sachet of their Empress blend tea (to take home), a delicious glass of bubbly, AND a pot of very premium tea – all on the house! The tea (regularly $18 a pot, on top of the cost of the High Tea itself) was absolutely wonderful – beautifully fragrant and a delight on the tongue – so of course I headed to the Fairmont Store right afterwards to source some to take home. Imagine my shock when I found out it was $99 for 2 ounces of Madame Butterfly!
Luckily (?) I can get over a shock quite quickly and easily 😉 so in the true spirit of YOLO: YES – I bought the damn tea! I reasoned it was the equivalent of buying a very fine bottle of wine or spirits, so out came the credit card. I also purchased the other blend we selected for our high tea – Lady Londonderry (at $18.95, a veritable steal…).
This is looking more and more like the equivalent of a very fine wine, indeed! (The flowers described on the label are jasmine, which gives the tea its heavenly fragrance as well as contributing to the taste.)To be opened and enjoyed the next time I host Book Club.Lady Londonderry ingredients. I have lemon balm and calendula growing in my garden…hmm, getting ideas 🤔.
As if I wasn’t spoiled enough already, my good friend and fellow blogger Donna wanted to treat me to a day at Butchart Gardens including THEIR high tea! Who am I to say no to two high teas only 3 days apart?!
We got the best outside table in the place, overlooking the owners’ private garden.Another guest kindly took our photo.This tea started with individual trifles! Photo by Donna.The Butchart Gardens tea tray.Including a special chocolate birthday medallion!
After that delicious meal, Donna and I valiantly tried to walk some of it off around the gardens.
View looking down at the Sunken Garden.One of many spectacular dahlias that took my breath away.
In comparing the two teas, they were equivalent in terms of quality of ingredients in my opinion. The Butchart Gardens tea tray seemed to give you more in terms of quantity as well as cost – the Empress high tea cost was almost double per person – but in the wise words of our waiter, Shane: Yes, but you had to pay to get into the Gardens in order to eat here…
The Empress provides a different sort of ambience – including a piano player tinkling away throughout our tea, and a gorgeous view of the Victoria Harbour and Parliament buildings…as well as the history of that grand hotel itself. Meanwhile the Gardens provided spectacular vistas and blooms everywhere you looked while enjoying their tea and later walking their paths. I couldn’t choose just one over the other, and luckily I didn’t have to!
If you are ever on the island (and celebrating a special occasion…or not!), I can highly recommend either of these venues. After all, YOLO!!!
And if you can’t find anyone to treat you, there’s always this wisdom from the Parks and Rec crew:
Bowser’s daddy brought home something very interesting the other day.
What’s going on, Daddy?What’s Daddy getting out of the funny house he built?A young chicken! (This one has turned out to be the biggest and the boss chicken and I secretly call her Lady Buffy Buff Orpington of Orpington Hall 🤭).One of the Lady’s underlings. I think the grandkids have named this one Opal.
Bowser’s daddy brought home 3 seven week-old birds initially, and has since added 2 more to the flock. They are kinda easily spooked right now and thus hard to photograph. They are so young they don’t even cluck yet – they can only cheep cheep (which is adorable!!!).
Bowser’s rapt interest at anything that moves isn’t making the birds any more comfortable at the moment. However, they are protected from his curiosity in their fully enclosed coop and run.
Remember Bowser’s favourite toy – the totally denuded former soccer ball? I think we can all imagine this is what would happen if Bowser got hold of one of his new chicken friends. A livestock guardian dog he is not!
We hope you are enjoying a wonderful Sunday with your friends, chicken or otherwise.
A blogger friend of mine (and yours too, probably) – Kate – is undergoing the hellexcruciating paindistress pleasure of a bathroom renovation at the moment. This is reminding me that I have promised and so far failed to deliver on my own recent renovation experience, also a bathroom.
This was a whirlwind of a renovation, with most of the work being completed by contractors within the space of ONE WEEK in May.
Don’t hate me. This has never happened to me before and will likely never happen again.
It helped that two contractors (drywall, tiling) live a few houses away from me and could pop over in the evenings or on the weekend for an hour here and there, while still pursuing more lucrative and involved day jobs than my wee bath. And that my favourite plumber had openings on his schedule.
Here is the BEFORE: the old bathroom in all its beige 1990 glory:
The toilet is only a year old. It’s the freshest thing in here 😉. It’s surviving the renovation but will be removed temporarily for installation of the new tile floor. I’m also keeping the medicine cabinet over the bathroom vanity as it remains useful and inoffensive.Tired tub/shower unit. This wall (and the unit) are going buh-bye.This corner used to house a stacking washer/dryer unit. I have a second-hand corner cabinet for this space, to hide the plumbing hookups as well as provide storage. It got a refresh (from me) while the bathroom was undergoing renovations.
And here is a video of the glorious AFTER:
I am so happy with my refreshed bathroom space. It puts a big smile on my face when I pass by and catch a glimpse of the shower curtain and the plants and coloured glass hanging in front of the window. And an even bigger smile on my face when I am relaxing in my new, much deeper soaker tub. It’s the hippy-dippy bathroom of my dreams!
This is officially the last large renovation I am doing in my little cottage (she says, hopefully). And also hopefully: LAST RENOVATION EVER.
I don’t want to temp the renovation gods after this incredibly smooth, incredibly fast one!
