Welcoming the New Year

We spent much of four days last week with family and had a memorable time. Our grandchildren came for an overnight visit and the better part of two days which my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed. 

During their previous overnight we had asked them what special meal they wanted this time. Chicken corn chowder was the request, a new recipe for us but a favourite of the kids. Their step-father, a trained chef, does a great job on a recipe the kids first had at daycare and remembered fondly. 

The girls helped me chop the vegetables and get the chicken ready. The youngest, a boy, helped measure and add everything to the pot. We had fun tasting the Jalapeño peppers this time round.

We started the day with pancakes made by the eldest grandchild, supervised by her grandfather. Meal prep and time are some of our favourite activities with the grandchildren. 

New Year’s Eve with the whole family involved a variety of snacks and games as we waited for the count down. New Year’s Day included gifts and brunch followed by games again. The children had been out of the province for Christmas, so we exchanged gifts on New Year’s Day instead.

When the grandchildren stayed overnight at our house, they re-discovered the book their great grandparents had read for them in 2012.

How I remember that day! At that time, we had one grandchild, and my husband’s parents had come to visit and spend time with her. We had mentioned recordable books and during that visit, we recorded Frosty the Snowman. Little did we know that there would be two other great grandchildren to hear them read about Frosty.

The day of the recording, my father-in-law was emotional as he read his lines. You could hear it in his voice as he thought of how his young great grandchild could hear him read the story    long after he had passed.

He died the next year. By that time, his second great grandchild had been born, another girl whom he held briefly before he died. Two years later, a boy was added to the family.

As I sat with the children while they listened to their great grandparents reading to them, again I heard the emotion in their great grandfather’s voice. I could see how touched the children were now, just like their great grandparents were when they recorded the book. 

These books are a treasure and a great way to connect generations in one’s family. They are available on-line and are well worth the cost. We consider the one owned by our family to be priceless.

Our walking was confined to later in the week along the boardwalk when wind and cold felt like -25 C. However, we persisted. One day, ours was the only car in the parking lot. With the cold temperatures, the bay is full of ice again, as far as the eye can see.

Finally, my hope for peace in the new year is off to a terrible start! I fear for my country! I fear for our world!

Take care.

December twilight

 

Last week was a quiet though enjoyable week for us here in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Early last week, I drove my friend to an appointment in Charlottetown, about 60 kilometres away. The difference in the weather in that distance was noteworthy as we drove through blizzard-like conditions with snow and drifting. There was lots of snow on the ground in Charlottetown. Meanwhile in Summerside, up to Christmas Day, we didn’t have snow.

However, the early part of last week, there was still a great deal of ice in the bay. One morning, we spotted the Canadian Coast Guard Icebreaker, *Ann Harvey in the bay. 

She is a light icebreaker and we usually see her in port this time of year prior to the arrival of a cargo ship. Sure enough, a cargo vessel, the Oslo Bulk 3 came into port that night and stayed over Christmas. The vessel blends in with the dock in the muted December light.

On cloudy days, twilight is a good description of the light we have when the sun doesn’t shine. It creates conditions perfect for crepuscular rays through breaks in the clouds which were visible as we walked the boardwalk on Christmas Eve. Seeing the rays always reminds me of the hymn Silent Night, particularly the line, “glories stream from heaven afar.” It was lovely to see the rays on Christmas Eve.

The Bald Eagle pair was enjoying the area last week too, one in its sub-let from the Osprey 

and another along the boardwalk near the marsh. 

These were two different birds, according to the eye markings present in the first one and absent in the second. Sadly, another of the trees the birds frequented has succumbed to the high wind in the last week.

While the snow returned Christmas Day, the wind was off-shore again, taking ice out of much of the bay. It will be back shortly if current conditions continue.

The Blue Jays along the boardwalk entertain walkers every day. They especially enjoy 

peanuts and always have a sentinel watching to alert others when peanuts are left for them.

We had a quiet Christmas and rested up for festivities this coming week. Our grandchildren will be staying overnight tomorrow and we will celebrate with the family on New Year’s Eve and Day.

Have a great week. Enjoy the celebrations, if you partake.

Peace!

*The ship’s namesake, Ann Harvey, was a young girl from Isle aux Morts, Newfoundland. Ann, with her father, brother and the family dog, rescued passengers and crew from two distressed vessels near their community in the early 1800s.

A mild week to Christmas

It was a busy week. Christmas shopping is complete including groceries. I managed to get things done in spite of a painful hip. The hip in question is not the one I’ve had issues with for years but the same exercises, which helped the other hip, help this one. It is a work in progress.

Our daughter and I went shopping one day and picked up R to have lunch with us at our favourite Japanese restaurant. It was nice to share a meal with our young woman, a busy wife, mother and nurse. 

It was her birthday recently too. The day she was born in central Newfoundland, there was a snowstorm. Coincidentally, her husband, from Prince Edward Island, was born one day earlier than our girl, also in a snowstorm. The weather conditions for his birth continued east to welcome our baby girl. The two storm babies met years later. They celebrate together each year now.

Every time we three are together, someone quotes my mother. Mom had a saying for everything and one of us will speak as Mary would, to which the others will say, “Yes, Mary.” It is comforting that we carry Mary with us to this day. To me, she represents all those who went before, those who touched our lives and even those long gone, whose names are lost to time but whose genes we carry. They are part of us and I appreciate them and this life.

On the Winter Solstice yesterday, we walked the boardwalk at sunset. 

There still is ice in the bay although the snow is gone from the land after warmer temperatures last week. The boardwalk was bare though icy in the cool evening air. 

We walked on the rocks and grass to be safe as we watched the sun disappear below the clouds.

Orange from the sunken sun spread upward into the blue.

It disappeared as the darkness deepened. Patches of open water in the bay reflected the clouds, 

dramatically in places as we walked to the car.

We are scheduled for snow later this week so these mild conditions are temporary. However, we have learned to appreciate/accept what is, while it is. It makes life so much more enjoyable. 

Have a great week everyone and for those who are celebrating, Happy Hanukkah, or Merry Christmas.

The colour of sunset

During a chance encounter on the boardwalk this past week, my granddaughter and I met a young man who had taken photos of the sunset that evening. I had picked up our eldest grand-girl from band practice and we had noticed the beautiful red-orange sky. However by the time we stopped on the way home, the light was gone.

The young man, Nick S., saw us taking photos post sunset 

and shared his beautiful sunset photos with us.

It is with his permission I share the four photos here.

Nick took his photos at 4:28 pm. 

                                                                       

                                                                 Holey Mackerel     

Fifteen minutes later, this was the scene.

The ripples on the sea show the slushy ice on the water.

The hint of colour is all that remains.

The next evening, my husband and I walked in the bitter cold at sunset 

as the sun slipped below the horizon. 

The bay was iced over that evening, and the orange hue lingered above the horizon behind the lighthouse. 

In other news, this past week was a busy one with Christmas shopping on the agenda. While I’m not finished, I have a good start on the shopping and managed to get parcels sent via courier. I will finish this week if all goes according to plan.

We also had a great day with our grandchildren when we did our annual decorating of the tree. We had hot chicken sandwiches for supper that evening and cranberry sauce made the menu as well. One of the girls loves making the sauce and really enjoys it with chicken or turkey. R made an ice cream cake for dessert which everyone enjoyed.

The kids each have specific decorations they look to hang on the tree. We talked about how they will divide their favourites among themselves when Nanny and Poppy no longer need them. They will keep our tradition going.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Icy waters

The latter part of last week was snowy, windy and cold. On such December days when the harbour begins to ice over,

the damp cold feels like it reaches one’s bones. 

The week didn’t start that way. It had been cold and windy but the snow was minimal and nothing stayed on the ground. Ice in the bay wasn’t a possibility until Wednesday when temperatures plummeted  and changed everything. Schools were closed, roads were treacherous, the wind howled, snow fell and drifted while ice formed in the bay.

The boardwalk, though plowed and salted, required one’s attention, watching for icy spots as we ventured forward.

We had Daisy, the golden grand-dog visiting for a few days and we walked with her one day, in spite of the cold. 

That day, we saw the boardwalk’s resident male Bald Eagle, 

sat in the Osprey nest it is subletting for the fall and winter. 

Further in the bay, a cargo vessel which has been in port this past week, looks as if it may require the work of an ice breaker if it stays in port much longer. 

The December sun, hidden behind the cloud cover, gives the impression of twilight to the late morning scene.

Meanwhile, at home, a Red Fox which resides in our area, was busy one morning, hunting in the snow for a morning snack. 

We usually see it on our security camera as it hunts at night. A day-time sighting is a real treat.

I hope to do my Christmas shopping locally this week and get parcels in the mail. I hope you have a great week too.