Comfort food

The roadside along the Northumberland Shore is now dotted with little garden stands.  This one is just a few miles down the road from the cottage and it is a regular stop this time of year.

"Grampie" meets you in the driveway and if he doesn't have what you are looking for in the tent, he will gladly lead you to the garden and let you select what you want.  We picked our own lettuce Friday. Now THAT is fresh!

All of this leads to my favorite summer comfort food, which was on the menu today - Hodgepodge

New carrots, peas and those cute little new potatoes with the almost paper thin skin.  And of course there is just no way to low cal this recipe without ruining it.  You need real butter and heavy cream to appreciate this dish.  It is true Maritime comfort food.

And we even found some crowsfeet greens being sold just up the road.  These are another maritime delicacy.  They grow mainly in marshy areas.    The finishing touch - Nanny's homemade lemon cheesecake pie.



If I keep eating like this, soon this hammock will not hold me anymore :)

A trip to the pound

A warm summer day, a beautiful beach-front setting, and a trip to the pound.  A perfect way to play hooky from work.

First stop was the pound - - - The Lobster Pound

(Jane would kill me if she knew I didn't crop her out of this pic)

So many lobsters, so hard to choose

There was also a large bag of mussels that looked too good to pass up

so we grabbed them for appetizers. 

Nothing better than sitting on the beach with a cool drink and a big pot of steamed mussels.

Sorry, I didn't think to  take a picture before we ate them.  These are just the shells. 

I guess we were hungry mid afternoon.  They were really good :)

We had a perfect beach day.  Oh, and the lobsters were even better than the mussels.  We ate and ate and there is probably enough leftovers to do it again tomorrow!

Not long enough

It was a gorgeous long weekend, but why is it that on the night before you return to work it never seems long enough??

We celebrated Canada Day with our Vermont family arriving for a month at the beach.  The traditional welcome lunch of lobster rolls, potato salad and strawberry shortcake was pretty tasty too.

I followed the family out to the cottage to help them unpack the car.  To say they had the car packed to the rafters was an understatement.  It looked like they brought everything but the kitchen sink.  And truly, I wasn't sure I wouldn't find it somewhere in the car before I was finished.   Sheesh, I had to cool down and rest with a cool "drink" after all that unpacking :)

Then there was the fireworks display in town for Canada Day.  We can see them from our house, so no need to go downtown, fight for a parking space and get eaten alive by giant mosquitos.  However, once the first 2 exploded, Millie freaks out, climbs up me and attaches herself to my neck.  In fact the fireworks were over for at least 15 minutes before I could peel her off me.  She is such a brave, brave doggie.  NOT

Today was another sunny day at the beach.  I packed up the Golden Girls so they could visit with the family and spent some time on the beach, and reading under the pines.

This photo is just taken using my phone so its not the greatest.  Note the sun flares - if I was trying to do that on purpose, it wouldn't have worked!

I guess I am tired out from all my relaxing all weekend.  So that's all I have for now.
Have a great week

Maggie's Starfish

First, an update on Hobo Kitty (a name I have borrowed from Kim at My Field of Dreams)  After feeding time on the lawn ended, Momma Hobo Kitty and the kittens trotted off.  I haven't seen them since.  First thing I did this morning was check the back deck but since it is pouring rain, I'm guessing Momma has the kittens somewhere safe and dry.

And for those of you who thought I might actually lose my mind completely and keep them .............NO, that was never going to happen.   If they do start hanging around on a regular basis I will be developing a relocation program. 

The photo at the beginning of this post is one of my favorites.  I have never seen a starfish bleach out like this before.   Last year I place it on a large clam shell on the picnic table to dry and this is what happened.   I thought I would show it again, as I think of it when I look at my latest completed starfish rug.

I finished the whipping last night and it is ready to be shipped to sweet Maggie.   I hope she likes it.

I always find myself a little lost at the end of a project so what I usually do is knit a few of those crazy dishcloths until I am ready to decide on a new rug.   Yesterday while checking blogs I found a pattern for a round dishcloth on Miss The Sea's blog.   I had made a few of them years ago and then lost the pattern.  So I tried another one. 

As mentioned, it is pouring rain here so I am going to have to amuse myself indoors today.  I did buy a new hooking pattern but I'm not sure if I am in the mood to hook a snowman today.    Seems like quite a stretch to go from starfish to snowmen in a 24 hour period. 

Weekend travels

Another busy few days have come to an end.  The fun (not) started Friday.  Remember the "no free lunch guy" from last summer?  Well, he is back again and we had to all go out to dinner with him Friday night.  I dreaded it all Friday - it hung over me like a storm cloud.  You can read about last years dinner with him here.    This years version was just as not-fun.    The only good thing is that it is over for another year.

Then I had planned to take the Golden Girls and the Vermont crew on a road trip Saturday.    They only have one week left so I am trying to squeeze everything in.  Not sure how the first 3 weeks flew by so quickly.  Anyway I picked everyone up and we planned on touring the Sunrise Trail and stopping into all the little villages, shopping etc.  It ended up being the hottest day so far this year.  It was deadly. 

One bright spot in the day was a visit to the Jost Vineyards.  

I just realized I didn't take any photos inside the chalet, so I guess that means I will have to go back again.  Hehehe    We did pick up a few bottles and tasted a sample before we left.  It is a beautiful spot.  Unfortunately Saturday it was just to hot to spend alot of time outside.

We ended on a high-note with dinner at the Sandpiper Restaurant in Port Howe.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and declare that they serve the BEST fried clams in the world. 

Today was a bit cooler and I spent the day at the beach.  It was an almost perfect day - bright sun and a cool breeze.  I got settled in with a book and Bud Light and enjoyed the afternoon.  

But I once again fell prey to the zero-gravity chair.  As soon as I recline, you can guarantee that I will be asleep in 10 minutes or less.    Yup, woke up in time for supper.......with a sunburn.   They should install some kind of alarm on those chairs. 

(Six more sleeps til vacation!!)

Bouncing back

Seems I am bouncing back.  In fact, I started feeling more energetic around 3:30pm.  My phone rang at work and it was from the beach, with an invitation to Happy Hour Martini's and dinner. 

Funny how that perked me up!   This is the view I was enjoying by 5pm.

(Strictly for medicinal purposes)  hehehe

Ahhhhhh......... the triple raspberry garnish

A little grey goose, a few laughs, some mussells and scallops......

And Happy Hour ended with one of these....



Summers are rough in Nova Scotia  :)

Quick post

  Wouldn't you know it - I'm sick!   Between trying to work and race out to the beach each night to spend time with the company I have run out of steam.   Tuesday night after my photography class I noticed my throat felt a little scratchy.

I thought if I just got a good night's sleep I could head it off.  Well, that night was a wicked thunder and lightning storm and Millie the wonder dog went into full nervous breakdown mode.  Shaking and running laps around the top of the bed (over me) for a couple of hours.   At about 6am I had had enough and took her downstairs and left on the sofa alone!  Arrrgh!  (I know, bad Mommy) 

So yesterday morning I was tired, cranky and sick.  I tried to keep going - went to work and then to the beach.  Jane is only here for a week a year so I didn't want to not show up.  After supper, she took one look at me on the sofa and said "Just go home".   My reply........OHHH Thank you!!

Later this afternoon I am going to super-medicate and go back to bed so that hopefully I can enjoy the weekend with her before the sad trip back to the airport on Sunday.

Talk to you all again soon.

Weekend Update

More family beach fun all weekend, and we added one more to the gang.  My big sis Jane flew in on Saturday morning.  She is staying for a week! 

I picked her up at the airport and almost the moment her plane touched down - it started to rain.    Murphy's Law.  But as long as it is just for one day (it was) its OK to have a rain day at the beach. 

We got caught up on all the news and family gossip/drama.  

The sun was back today so I took the Golden Girls out to the beach and we all had a barbeque.  Well........not exactly.  The barbeque caught fire.  Not a tiny fire either.  Huge flames shooting out the top, bottom and sides.  Nothing like a little drama!  Luckily no one was hurt and we ended up cooking the meat on the electric grill. 

Here are a few shots of the beach as the tide comes in over the rocks.  The shoreline has been dramatically changed this year as a result of that terrible storm surge last November.    But it still feels great to sit on the bank with Jane and laugh and listen to the sound of the waves lapping on the shore.

Here she is talking to her hubby on the phone.  She was not a cooperative model.  She told me if I took a picture of her she would throw me over the bank.  LOL  So I took one when she wasn't looking, because I think she might have thrown me over.   I think about 40 years ago, it did happen but it was one of the boys.   :)   Its funny, when we get together at the beach where we grew up, we instantly revert to 12 years old.

I wish.....(a beach lesson learned)

I have not been a faithful blogger lately.  I have been busy with company etc, so I have not been keeping up with all of you - but I will eventually get caught up. 

It has been HOT (not complaining yet....but soon)  AND the Air Conditioning unit at work has died.  It has been 2 days and its getting pretty yucky up here.

I have been racing out to the beach every day to visit with the family.  At precisely 4:01pm you will see my car zipping out of the parking lot and heading for Amherst Shore.

I arrived yesterday and grabbed an old tank top and shorts from the back seat and flew into the over-heated cottage announcing "I gotta remove all unnecessary clothing"  Hehehe    This is probably a good time to tell you that it is customary to "relax" here in Nova Scotia cottage country.  There are no requirements to be fashionable.  However............well, I'll get to that in a minute.

I had an OK pair of shorts and a thin little black tank top.   (The "thin" part will be important soon)   After supper and a cold Bud Light, Mary and I decided to see if the tide was out enough to walk on the sand flats.  Nobody was around so away we went.

We just get to the edge of the property when the next door neighbors appear - a lovely couple from Ontario who built a summer "mansion" a few years ago.   So they run out, all hugs and kisses, lets catch up on all the news. 

So the husband latches on to me and wants to talk about all the new Capital Construction Projects the town is doing etc etc.    I can't escape.  I'm starting to panic.   Hmmmmmm, are you all thinking what I'm thinking??

WHY did I remove ALL UNNECESSARY clothing (aka BRA) and put on a paper thin tank top??????

  I was trapped for a half hour.   I honestly do not remember what I said to him or how I answered all his questions.   All I could think of was that I was learning a valuable lesson...........always wear a bra.

AWKWARD

Preparing and waiting

I am waiting and since you all know how impatient I am - you can imagine my state!

My favorite people are en route from Vermont to spend a month with us at the beach.  Mary and Tom (aka Nanny and Poppy) have been family friends since forever.    Although not through blood, they are family.  The kind of family you choose.  I grew up every summer with their 6 children and they all consider me their baby sister.  At least 3 of the 6 kids and their families are planning to come and spend a few days here before the month ends.

At the age of 80+ Nanny and Poppy still drive themselves here.  I won't relax until they arrive tomorrow morning.  I just got a message that they have stopped in a hotel for the night and tomorrow will only have another 4 hours to drive.   I have my car packed with extra blankets, lawn chairs and a starter grocery order for their first few days.  When they get here tomorrow I will follow them to the cottage and unpack both our cars and get them settled.   Sooooo excited to see them!

We had a great Canada Day holiday yesterday.  The weather was perfect, as was the BBQ and the Bud Light Limes.   I spent a lot of the day outside in the sun and even got a little color on those super white legs.   The only glitch in the day was the massive downpour that started about a half hour before the fireworks were scheduled to start.  The rain didn't let up so they were cancelled and rescheduled to the August 1st long weekend.    For all my American friends - I hope your July 4th celebration is as great as my holiday was.

And now I need a little help.  I finally picked up my hook again and got back to the funky flower I started weeks ago.  It felt great to get back hooking.  It's hard this time of year so every once in awhile I need a nudge.    Now I have almost all of the rug hooked except I have no idea what to do with what is left.   Help me...... please

This was one of those projects that was great in my mind but now I'm not loving it.  But I want to get it finished so I can move on.  I don't need another unfinished project.   

Soooo, friendly helpful hookers..........what do I do with the left edge and corner??

Starfish

This summer, it seems that starfish have become a theme.  There are more on the beach than normal.  And I have purchased a few new pieces of summer jewellery, you guessed it - Starfish.

 This post is a little late.  A few weeks ago I attended a workshop by Deanne Fitzpatrick.  It was "White on White" - a summer starfish pillow.  I always struggle with the tone on tone color graduations, so this class was alot of fun.  There are several different textures.  I used wool strips, yarn, roving, and even a little lace ribbon!  Its a cute little pillow.   I might even hook a 2nd one - maybe with a sand dollar? 

 Below are a few photos I took last month at the beach.  A little starfish inspiration.

More Beach Life

This morning I went to the airport to pick up another one! This time it was Jane, the oldest daughter of our Vermont crew. She has always been like a big sister to me. Its so funny, when we get to the cottage and the beach where we both grew up, we instantly turn into kids again.

We spent the day down on the sand flats, walking, laughing and telling stories. Now that we are in our 40's and 50's we think its safe enough to tell her parents some of the stunts we pulled as teenagers. LOL I hope you are not sick of beach pictures yet. I'm afraid there will probably be one or two more posts before July is over. Here are a few more sand dollars after the bleaching.

Escargot anyone?? Mr. Snail before he ends up on an appetizer platter.

I just thought this shell was pretty.

After a long, very hot and humid day, the late day sun shines off the water.

Have a great week!

Sand Dollar Island

The first group of family kids have left for home and the 2nd batch has arrived. The boys have been having a blast on the beach. Leo has become a master at collecting sand dollars.

On a trip several years ago he named one of the sand bars "Sand Dollar Island". And apparently he was correct. I generally find a handful each year, but nothing like this kid!

This picture is taken at Amherst Shore Beach at low tide....or as the kids call it - Hunting season! They spent hours down there and even calling them for supper and ringing the bell had no effect.

Here are the "Boys" heading back ----Finally! Supper was warming (drying out) in the oven for over an hour. (Not that they seemed to mind)This is what they carried back from their adventure. Poor Dillon's shirt was all stretched out but they were so proud.I gave up counting at 40 but they ended up with over 60 sand dollars. We spent the evening washing and bleaching them and laying them out on the deck to dry.

Not a bad haul eh! Once they are bleached out they are so pretty for decorating etc. I love them. I hope they left a few for me!