With the boy

When my husband and I have an opportunity for time alone with either of our three grandchildren, we are delighted. Our daughter went to have the second Covid injection in Charlottetown recently, so we had our grandson for a few hours while the girls were in school. Yippee!

Hide and seek is always on the agenda when the little guy visits. When we bought our home, our daughter was pregnant with our first grandchild and we noticed how the circle around the main floor would be perfect for a child to run around. It’s great for adults too though. There are interesting corners and closets in which to hide and pop out from. We enjoy our home with the children.

With our grandson, the toys come out, some used by his mother many years ago, others given to us by a neighbour when her children outgrew them. A farm, a tea set, a tractor and animals, all make an appearance. Two toy solders his grandfather had as a child often march around. Books and games have their turn. The three year old also enjoys puzzles now. Then while we prepared lunch he played alone which he also enjoys.

After lunch it was time for camping. Blankets, chairs and pillows make a tent for him and me as we pretend to roast marshmallows, have tea, play with the tractor and go to sleep. We repeated the five minute long day numerous times. A monster of his imagination outside the tent kept us inside where we were safe. Every night ended with a song and, “I love you,” from each of us. 

We finished the day with a hug and he left laughing and happy. We were too.

I see them

I see them every day. Often there are faces with names, small children, teenagers, young men and women, families, seniors. Most did not survive.

The Auschwitz Memorial @AuschwitzMuseum on Twitter posts information every day about the atrocities suffered at that concentration camp during World War 2. The names, often with photos, give me pause. I acknowledge each one, to remember them. They had families, parents, siblings, grandparents and lived like others of the time, like my daughter today, working, raising kids.

Mothers and children never survived the selection. People were separated into two lines when they arrived at the camp, one for the gas chamber immediately, the other for the camp. Young and old always went to the gas chambers.

Sometimes their occupations are listed. Poets, farmers, doctors, blacksmiths, priests, every occupation you can imagine. If they survived the selection, some died within a few months, or were executed by a firing squad. Others lived a bit longer. Some organized escape plans and were caught and murdered. A few actually escaped. 

Every now and then, one is listed as a survivor of the camp. I always wonder how this person survived while so many died who had survived the selection.

They were predominantly Jews, over a million of them, also artists, educators, communists, Romas, homosexuals and mentally and physically handicapped. 

I want to remember what happened. I want to be reminded every day that they lived but tragically, were deemed unworthy of life by people who were unopposed by others. People stood by and many did nothing as the children, students, adults, parents and grandparents were robbed of their possessions and murdered at the hands of monsters.

It started with talk about what was wrong with other people and why they weren’t wanted in Germany. This need people feel to purge our societies of anyone judged to be different is a common sentiment throughout human history. What is wrong with us?

The events of this past week in the United States highlight for me how close any country could be to a repeat of such atrocities. As Canadians, we need to look in our own backyards. There is a fascist/white supremacist element here. A group in the Canadian military was exposed recently and the Proud Boys founder was a Canadian.

Last year, a candidate for the leadership of one of the political parties in the country had the slogan, “Take Back Canada.” One could legitimately ask, “Back from whom?” This slogan raised eyebrows and voices across the country. People spoke up!

Canada’s history with indigenous people of this land is shameful. We took their children and sent them to residential schools. Many children died. For those who survived, the results of the abuse they suffered in the schools is felt generations later. We have begun to acknowledge our treatment of the Indigenous people and teach our children about this history. It is a beginning.

The Black Lives Matter movement has been active in Canada as well and treatment of Black Canadians by police here can be shameful and deadly. We have much to answer for and repair in Canadian society.

I see them every day.

Island speak

Newfoundlanders are known for our unique words and speech. We even have our own dictionary. A recent two minute video done by TSN, highlights some of the uniques sayings of Newfoundlanders, and can be seen 

here.

The two young men featured are Newfoundland members of Canada’s team at the World Junior Hockey championships this year. They were defeated by the U. S. Team last night.

Having lived on Prince Edward Island for a few years now, my husband and I have grown accustomed to PEI speak too. Some islanders don’t recognize their own originality of terms or phrases, so I wrote a poem to help. As a woman of both islands I love

              Island speak

You know you’re on the island 

If corners have a name.

Like Read’s or Cook’s or Kenny’s,

All islanders know the same.

While “How are ya?” is common, 

I’ve often heard it said.

Just add an s and it becomes

“How are yas?” instead.

Anywheres and nowheres

And somewheres, so yas see-

Islanders they like an s

Added easily.

Then there are directions,

Like out west to go away,

Or up west to go to Tignish

And down east to Broughton Bay.

It is just a fresh day

When the wind is blowing high

And the cold enough to freeze yas

As yas learn that yas can fly.

Everything is worst here,

For comparisons of two.

So as for a crowd yas say

He is worst than you, ah...yas.

And when yas leave the island

By ferry or by car

Acrosst is where yas going cause

Yas don’t have to go far.

With love, Marie.

Tea parties

Our granddaughters wanted a tea party. We hadn’t had one with them in a while so one day early in December, when their mother was working, my grandson and I made muffins for a tea party.

When the girls came from school we were ready. The table was set with the good China and the children picked their favourite cups, all of which were my mother’s. Mom would have loved to see her great grandchildren using these cups.

We talked as we drank herbal pomegranate tea and ate the chocolate chip muffins. The youngest, at three, didn’t have as long an attention span as the girls but he lasted 45 minutes. I told them about my mother, Mary, and about her use of these same cups.

The girls recalled their experience of High Tea at a hotel on one of their trips to London when they visited their grandparents in England. The children have travelled a great deal and enjoy experiences in the places they visit. I shared some of the experiences their grandfather and I have had on the trips we’ve taken. 

Over Christmas, we had a second tea party and enjoyed a selection of the cookies we baked for Christmas. Ours had been frozen in an effort to prevent my husband and me from eating them. However, we haven’t found a cookie which can’t be eaten frozen, much to our chagrin, though 95% of them had survived. We shared them with our neighbours too.

The children enjoyed the tea party and ate all of the cookies called Moose Farts. So much for high brow conversation over tea when you can have a few giggles over Moose Farts just to keep it real.

The recipe for Moose Farts is

here.

Notes from the isle

Yay! My husband and I rode our bicycles one more time. It was only 3 C but without a breath of wind, it was pleasant enough to take out the bikes. We drove around our area mid-morning so the traffic was light and we could stay close to home in case it was too cold. It was great to be back on the bike again.

Meanwhile we purchased a new recumbent bike so we can continue cycling on some level. Changing the tension on the bike really provides a good workout too.

People were curious about the thistle on the steeple of the Free Church of Scotland in my previous post. I am including a photo of the finial from the peiheritagebuildings.blogspot.com.

If we ever wondered why Jeff Bezos was the richest person in the world, the pandemic has resolved it. There are nine houses at the top of our street. With the Covid restrictions keeping us at home, my husband and I see the various delivery trucks stopping in our area. Purolator, FedEx and UPS stop at some of these houses every day, including weekends this time of year. You can almost set your clock by the various deliveries. If nine houses generate this number of deliveries and even if a fraction are from Amazon, no wonder the man has so much money.

One of these days, someone will invent a mask which doesn’t cause your glasses to steam up, especially if you are having a hot flash! Just wishing!

The Atlantic bubble burst after cases of Corona virus occurred which weren’t travel related. It means travel between the four Atlantic provinces requires two weeks isolation again. The outbreak on Prince Edward Island involved young people. The Chief Public Health Officer asked 20-29 year olds to be tested and brought in more restrictions until December 21st, such as take-out only from restaurants. The good news is we have been six days without any new cases and the response from the young people at the testing centres was overwhelming. The latest news is the restrictions may be lifted earlier than the 21st. Thank you to our young men and women for their response!  We live in a wonderful place!

Sunny and zero

Mt. Royal is a small farming community in the centre of western Prince Edward Island. We visited the area to see the grave of a local World War 2 veteran I have been researching recently. The cemetery borders a road through farmland, a fitting place for an Islander to rest. 

It was a cold but sunny day with the temperature hovering around zero. The freezing air meant the light covering of snow hugged the grass.

To get to Mt. Royal you drive through Coleman where this little church keeps a silent vigil. 

It doesn’t look like the church is in use now but a search on-line reveals it was the Free Church of Scotland, built around 1900.

The spire looked unique but I didn’t get a clear photo. In this area settled by Scottish immigrants generations ago, 

it is not surprising to learn the spire consists of a thistle. The church was in use at least until 2012.

While the population of the island has increased, mainly due to immigration, rural parts of Prince Edward Island are seeing an increase in the number of empty properties. Seniors are moving to larger centres and fewer people are left to support the local churches.

Leard’s Pond in Coleman has a picnic area where my husband and I hope to picnic in the spring. The pond looks cold this day as the slight breeze ripples the surface of the water.  

The yellowed grasses around the pond, moved ever so slightly by the breeze,

whispered as I stood and took in the scene. An occasional vehicle happened by but the peacefulness of the setting with the sound of the breeze in the grass made the cares of the world disappear. 

Sunny and zero made a perfect combination for a December drive in the country.

Cookie day

The kids were excited. They always enjoyed baking with their mother or me and when we all came together at our house to do some baking, it was extra special. They were wound as tight as springs. 

The kids and their mother remain part of our Covid bubble but it looks like that may change soon. Covid has reared its ugly spike-filled head in full force on the island. We were determined to enjoy cookie day but the gloom of social isolation appears to be on the horizon.

Baking Christmas cookies has been a Christmas tradition for a number of years and this year, the youngest, a boy of three, was old enough to enjoy the experience as well. 

I had a head start on the day. I was up early and had two lots of cookies ready to be completed by the kids. It gave us lots of time to do the other four batches of cookies with them that morning. They rolled the first cookie mixture into balls which gave the adults time to gather supplies for the next batches.

One of the recipes we tried was called Moose Farts, from an old Newfoundland recipe. These were really popular with the kids as you can imagine, as much for the name as the ingredients. They couldn’t wait to try the farts which were a big hit.

                                                                      Covid bear

We sampled cookies for dessert that night after a baked ham supper at our daughter’s house. If this is the only time we can get together this Christmas season, it is enough. We are grateful!