Sometimes I Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

I’ve heard mothers of small children complain over the years that they never have time for themselves, never have a moment alone. There is always a nose to be wiped, a scratch to be kissed, a game to be played, a dinner to be negotiated. Mothers of older children are no different what with soccer practice or band rehearsal to get to, shuttling kids here there and everywhere. No time for themselves. No time to just sit and relax and take time for them.

I’m here to tell you, having a dog (or two) is no different. For eleven years I have had two shadows…mine and the one belonging to Snickers. There is not one thing I do in the course of my day that he isn’t there to supervise. Not that I’m complaining, but really, how would you feel if you were being watched? All. The. Time.?

I wake up in the morning and there he is, sitting in my doorway, staring at me, willing me to open my eyes because that’s his signal to jump on the bed for his morning rub. I (read “we”) head downstairs to the bathroom and despite a closed door, there’s his nose poking through just to make sure I don’t need anything. Extra roll of toilet paper? Out of toothpaste? I’m here! I can help! I’m your buddy, you can count on me!

Throughout the day we dance around each other. Occasionally, we get stuck. Usually by the garbage cans, with him ever hopeful I’ve got something for him and me, just wanting to get to the can. His constant surveillance really isn’t a problem, until we’re in the kitchen. Then, he’s so worried that a scrap or a crumb may fall in his path he is on my heels so closely that if I stop short, his nose is impaled in my fanny. I do not joke.

All day. Every day. Except of course on those days when I bring out the monster, the dreaded vacuum cleaner and then, then this dog who does not leave my side for a moment? Then, he’s a basket case and can’t get away from me fast enough. Heaven forbid the sucking monster might come near him and suck him into its vortex. So, when I vacuum, instead of walking on my heels he firmly tucks his tail between his legs and cowers in the corner, upstairs (if I’m downstairs), downstairs (if I’m upstairs), under the table, on top of the sofa. He’d even try under the bed if only he’d fit. 

Even as I sit here at the kitchen counter typing this entry, here he sits. Staring. I know someday when he’s gone I will miss this constant monitoring, but honestly, it would be nice if when I leave the room to plug in my laptop, it would be nice if he just stayed here in the kitchen secure in the fact that I’ll return. Unfortunately, that’s just not his style.

A Real Broad.

In her house, the Tooth Fairy left $5 under your pillow, instead of the usual 50 cents .

In her house, there was always something fantastic coming out of the oven.

In her house, the "good" china got used on a regular basis.

In her house, there were treasures from decades past that she liked to show off and if you were a really good little girl, she'd let you play with.

In her house, the idea of a great weekend was a day on the lake, in the boat, with a cocktail in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

In her house the idea of a great lunch included trips to nearby Chicago to the top of the Sears Tower, where the girls would gather after a morning of shopping on the Magnificent Mile.

She hadn't lived in her house for quite some time now, having spent the last number of years in a Senior's home.

Now, she doesn't live there either.

Lillian Ashby Scavone Wohler passed away last weekend and with her goes my mom's last sibling.

But what remains are the memories I have of an aunt who loved to bake, loved to entertain, loved to shop for antiques and then loved to party on a hot summer day at Holiday Lake.  

I'll always remember getting that $5 from the tooth fairy on a visit to Chicago when I was 7 or 8.  I'll never forget the summer vacations at Holiday Lake in my teens when I discovered that girls could ride dirt bikes and drive the boat - because she said so.  I'll always remember poking around antique shops throughout Illinois with her, hunting for that one treasure to take home.  I'm the keeper of a couple of those treasures in my home now.   I'll always remember the love of baking she, along with my mom instilled in me.  I'll never forget the gusto, gumption and let's face it...obstinance she lived her life with. She was someone you'd want on your side in an argument - chances are she'd win.   She was only 5'2" or 4'11", (depending when you asked her) but she had all the might of someone twice her height.

In better days she loved to laugh.  She hadn't done a lot of laughing in the last few years.  Her health didn't give her much to laugh about.  But one thing that brought her so much joy were her grandchildren, "Little" David, Catherine & Meredith.   Showing that old Ashby fiesty-ness she was hell bent she would pack up her oxygen tank and travel to Tennessee for David's wedding last year.  I know she was at Catherine & Meredith's recent college graduations, although  only in spirit.  I know she would have loved to have been at my wedding last summer.

Lil lived 80 years and all in all, it was a good run.  She's someone I would define as a real broad, in every sense of the word.

She's in a better place now...no more pain...reunited with her friends and family that predeceased her.  

Her husband passed a number of years ago, but I can just here him now..."what the hell took you so long?"

Lillian's Pecan Chewies:

Ingredients:

1 c Light Brown Sugar

1 c Dark Brown Sugar

2 sticks of butter

2 Eggs, beaten

1 tbsp Vanilla

2 c self-rising flour

2 c pecans

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350-degrees.

Melt butter and add brown sugar one cup at a time.  Add beaten eggs & vanilla.  Fold in flour & nuts.  Place in glass pan & bake for 30-40 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting and then dig in!

It Sounded Like a Good Idea at the Time

It was a close call.  If anyone has known me for any amount of time you know that despite my occasional extreme swings of, um “mood”, I really don’t like things that fall in the “extreme” category. “Very cold?”  OMG.  I can’t get more layers on fast enough.  There’s nothing worse than being “very cold”  unless, of course, it’s “very hot” and then, look out.  I lose my mind at “very hot”.  I’ll sweat. I’ll whine.  I’ll complain and moan.  You would think the world is ending if the mercury rises about 23-C.  I’m so not kidding.

“Very wet.”   Oh come on now!  No one likes being “very wet” unless of course you’re in a swimming pool, cooling off from 25-C temperatures, enjoying a very wet cocktail.  “Very wet” wrecks your hair and if your clothing has even an ounce of non-natural fibres, well, “very wet” does the same thing to your clothes.

 “Very dry” is not as bad as “very wet” and certainly no where near the terror of “very hot” but none-the-less it falls in the category of “very” and I am just not a fan.  The only thing I like “very dry” is my martini.  No kidding.

So yeah, I don’t like things that fall in the realm of “very.” 

Which makes it curious, don’t you think that recently for my birthday we purchased tickets to an outdoor concert that will be held across the Straight next weekend?  Curious, indeed.  And knowing myself as I do, just a little bit stupid.

Because, did you catch the part about it being an outdoor concert venue?  Where, in the summer, it could be VERY HOT?  Or given that it’s near a body of water, which regulates the amount of precipitation we get at any one time, it could equally be VERY WET?  Where I could be sitting in a field, in the mud, miserable and trying desperately to hold my stuff together…trying not to complain about being hot…or wet…or miserable.  And likely not doing a very good job of it.

 What were we thinking?

Well, I (and not the one whom I adore) was thinking it might be fun to see Jon Bon Jovi shake his money-maker all night long.   But last week, as we began looking at the long-range forecast and saw that it could be both very hot and very wet next weekend in Moncton – sanity returned to our home and I put our tickets up for sale.  Some lovely person from Summerside is now going to enjoy a concert in the mud and heat and meantime, we’ll be over in Nova Scotia where the forecast is decidedly very warm but not very hot, visiting with friends from our Jasper days, keeping very cool with very dry martinis.  

Disaster -  narrowly averted.

 

 

From My Front Porch

With the conclusion of the fundraiser on Monday night I've had lots of time this week on the front porch.  Lots of time to reflect on the future.  Lots of time to search the internet looking for job opportunities here on the island.  Lots of time to write.  Lots of time to daydream.   Lots of time, lots of time, lots of time.

While I've been sitting on the front porch, sometimes in the sun, sometimes not, sometimes with the dogs and sometimes alone, I've had many things to take in.  

Yesterday I watched the farmer across the road make hay.    Mid-June is time for the first cut and, as the farmer circled his field cutting his crop, he released all sorts of allergens into the air.    If you're an asthmatic with a severe allergy to all things named GRASS, (ahem) well, it probably wasn't a wise thing to sit and watch him cut & bale his hay.   I sat and rocked, watching the tractor create row upon row of cut grass which was soon bundled into round bales of hay, all while sucking on my inhaler like a baby with a pacifier.

I also got to observe two robins doing "it".  Usually the bird show we have here in the OBB is the Birds of Prey Show, with Eagles chasing Osprey, Osprey chasing Hawks, Hawks chasing Ravens and Ravens chasing anything they can get their beaks on.  But yesterday, yesterday it was bird lovin' brought to you by the rockin' Robins.   It's not a very pretty show, and suffice it to say, if people did "it" the way these birds were going at "it" well, there'd be a lot of black eyes at the end of "it".  

Today, our farmer-neighbour out back completed the soil preparation for planting potatoes.  With two tractors he carved out raised beds to plant the potatoes in and then followed up with spraying a healthy does of liquid fertilizer over the beds.   And how do I know it was liquid fertilizer and not something else?  Well, my friends, it was because of the unmistakable smell of liquid fertilizer.  It smells like shit.  Oh, we've been here before...a certain sign that spring has hit the island is the distinct scent of manure in all its forms permeating the air and lingering, like the bad odor it is.

Summer arrives this weekend and here on the island, that means that Parks Canada will start charging entrance fees into the national parks and beaches there-in.  It also means that there's an endless stream of campers making their way up our road to campgrounds in Cavendish and points beyond.  With the steady stream of traffic making their way north, one in ever 4 or 5 vehicles is a big-ass camper trailer.  How these people afford to drive these behemoths, I'll never know, but there's certainly no shortage of them making their way to their summer campsite.  

Our little old farmhouse is perched across from the island raceway, where the local car clubs  run drag races and stock-car meets every other weekend.   It's not the sound of the modified engines that we hear as the local rednecks race their way around the track...oh no...it's the rumbling sounds of modified motorcycles careening up and down our road, with 50+ year old men living out their 'born to be wild' fantasies.  If one out of ever 4 or 5 vehicles is a camper trailer, then one out of every 3 or 4 vehicles is a modified motorcycle.  I kid you not.

People ask if I'm lonely out here in the country, far removed from the city centre (a mere 20-minutes which for me is NOTHING, but for people on the island it's almost on another planet) and all the hub-bub that comes with city life.  I can honestly say though with all the comings, goings, bird-whoopie, hay-making and the like, it's hardly tranquil, seldom quiet and definitely not lonely. 

Jobs Available on PEI

Hoo boy - you know you've reached a low point in your career when you scour the daily listings of jobs available on the island.  I've included a sampling of today's listings.  

My personal favourite is the swine herder, but unfortunately, Summerville is just too far away from the OBB.   The other one I'm sort of fascinated by?  Working at the "Dollaroo".   Sadly I think I'm over-qualified.  But still, I bet I can make change in my head without the cash register telling me how much to give back on a $20 for a sale of $9.82.  The answer is $10.18 and yes, I can thank my career as a Country Style Donut girl for that skill.  I still haven't lost it after 30 years away from the till.

The ones in red type are ones I actually clicked on to read more about.  And I wonder why I'm under-employed?

Charlottetown area, PEI
Hospitality
Line cook  
  Peake’s Quay
Seasonal, full time. Salary to be negotiated, plus gratuities, and other benefits. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Retail
Retail sales associate  
  Xpressions
Seasonal, full time. Wages: $8.20 per hour, CAVENDISH, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Transport
Driver salesperson  
  Island Milk Distributors
Seasonal, full time. Wages: $13.00 per hour, Hazelgrove, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Hospitality
Cook  
  Marco Polo Land
Seasonal, full time. Wages: $9.50 to $11.00 per hour, Cavendish, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Retail
Cashier  
  Bulk Barn
Permanent, full time. Wages: $8.75 to $9.25 per hour, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Part Time & Seasonal
Food and beverage server  
  Sam’s Seafood and Grill - Cavendish
Seasonal, part time. Salary to be negotiated, plus gratuities, and other benefits. CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Hospitality
Banquet chef  
  Best Western Charlottetown
Permanent, full time. Salary to be negotiated, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Hospitality
Dishwasher  
  Rachael’s Ristorante
Seasonal, full time. Salary to be negotiated, plus gratuities, and other benefits. Cavendish, Prince Edward Islan, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Sales
Food products sales representative  
  Liberty Swine
Permanent, full time. Salary based on commision only, commission, and other benefits. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Service Sector
Housekeeper  
  Royalty Maples Motel & Cottages
Seasonal, full time. Salary to be negotiated, West Royalty, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Retail
Store clerk  
  Agro Co-op
Permanent, full time. Salary to be negotiated, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Service Sector
Hairdresser  
  Fascino Hair Studio (inside Ch’town Superstore)
Permanent, part time. Salary to be negotiated, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Professional
Consulting mechanical engineer  
  Halliwell Consulting
Permanent, full time. Wages: $30.00 to $35.00 per hour, commission, and other benefits. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Retail
Sales associate - retail  
  Dollaroo
Permanent, full time. Salary to be negotiated, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Retail
Cashier, customer service  
  True Value Hardware
Permanent, full time. Salary to be negotiated, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Administration & Office
Office assistant  
  PEI Allied Youth Inc.
Temporary, full time. Wages: $8.20 per hour, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Primary Industry
Swine herdsperson  
  JARI PORK INC.
Permanent, full time. Wages: $12.00 per hour, Summerville, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Service Sector
Housekeeping room attendant  
  D.P. Murphy Inc.
Permanent, full time. Salary to be negotiated, CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Hospitality
Food service attendant  
  D.P. Murphy Inc.
Permanent, full time. Salary to be negotiated, WEST ROYALTY, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Hospitality
Food service attendant  
  D.P. Murphy Inc.
Permanent, full time. Salary to be negotiated, ST. PETERS LOCATION, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Part Time & Seasonal
Cleaner  
  Maid Clean Professional Cleaning Services
Seasonal, part time. Wages: $10.00 per hour, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Professional
Special needs counsellor  
  Town of Cornwall Parks & Recreation Department
Seasonal, full time. Salary to be negotiated, Cornwall, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Service Sector
Office cleaner  
  Sylvan Learning Centre
Permanent, part time. Salary to be negotiated, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Sales
Insurance sales representative  
  Combined Insurance (Health Division)
Permanent, full time. Salary to be negotiated, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Service Sector
Maid - cleaning services  
  The Nanny Cleaning Service
Permanent, full time. Wages: $10.00 per hour, piece work, and other benefits. Island wide, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Education
Early childhood educator  
  Little Blessings Childcare Centre
Permanent, full time. Salary to be negotiated, Stratford, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Service Sector
Oil burner technician  
  Oil Heat 2000
Permanent, full time. Salary to be negotiated, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

Charlottetown area, PEI
Retail
Sales consultant - retail  
  Vogue Optical
Seasonal, full time. Salary to be negotiated, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island … more

The Ties that Bind

My mom always told me that it didn't matter how many friends a person has, but how many of those friends you can count on to call at 3 in the morning when you're sitting in a police station.  Think about it.  How many of your friends would you call in an emergency?  Like being in the police station at 3 in the morning?  Or the hospital emergency room at 11 at night when your boyfriend is on a gurney being rolled in to emergency surgery after being air-lifted from the place you live - 5 hours away from a major hospital and city centre?  THOSE people that you'd call - they're the ones you can count on for sure.

I've been very lucky to have collected some amazing friends all around the world.  Despite the fact that on average I've lived 4 years in any one place since I was 21 (except for Atlanta - that was an uncommonly long time for me to live anywhere) I still have friends in each and every one of those places.  And thank God I do, because here?  Here on the island in the Northumberland Straight?  It seems that everyone made friends when they were in elementary school and no one really needs any more.

Oh sure, people are very nice to you.  In a "I want to know everything about you, your life and how you're trying to find meaningful employment" kind of way.  But not in the way that is particularly meaningful to me and the one whom I adore.  It's all rather superficial and that's okay because to quote my mother again, "it is what it is."  

Which is why I'm so happy that my friends near and far are still a part of my daily life.  They are my "go to" people for advice, encouragement, laughter, outrage, commiseration and let's face it a good glass of pinot grigio while we analyze the contestants from "So You Think You Can Dance" over long distance phone calls.    From our shared experiences over (in some cases) 30 years or even just 7 years, my friends and I have created ties that bind us together.  No matter where I live in this world, they are there for me, as I am for them.

Having a shared history with people, people that you don't work with or for, are that much more important.  It's nice to spend an evening around a campfire talking about "life" issues - which we did a couple of weeks ago with childhood friends of the one whom I adore.  It'll be nice next week to visit with friends from  Jasper who are vacationing in Nova Scotia.  I'm looking forward to seeing my high school friend Kathy, (whom I have not seen in over 20 years) in a few weeks when she's (hopefully) visiting after a trip to New Brunswick.  It's why I'm looking forward to spending time this summer at Loon Lake outside of Gravenhurst.  

Which brings me to the point of this post.  No matter that I am not meeting new people here, no matter that work continues to be a conundrum, no matter that I sometimes spend my days daydreaming away, no matter what comes up, I know I have a group of people that I can call on at 3 in the morning or any other time of day or night for that matter.  This whole blogging thing, just makes it all the more easier for my friends (be they in Australia, Vancouver, Atlanta, Ontario  or points in between)  to stay involved in our lives here on the east coast.  

Whomever invented this thing here, called the internet and then the guy that invented blogging  - they could be my friends too, because honestly, the internet and blogging are part of the ties that bind me to my friends around the world.  I should really thank them for that.

In My Past Life...

..I'm sure I was Italian.  Or, maybe in this life I'd like to be Italian.  Or more specifically I'd like to be living in Italy... preferably somewhere in the Tuscan region.  But until we win the lottery and buy our Tuscan Villa I will have to make do with this season's vegetable garden!

It finally warmed up enough last weekend to put in the garden...about three weeks later than last year, which I guess means that instead of harvesting in August & September, this year it will be September & October.  

But who cares, because this year we planted 18 tomato plants.  You can say tomato, or you can say tomaaaato, but I say YUM!  Tomatoes!  In sandwiches, in soups, homemade sauce, in salads, or with just a little bit of salt & pepper & fresh basil on a plate as a side dish.  This to me is a slice of heaven here on earth.  I guess since there's only two of us, but 18 of those plants, I'll be "putting up" tomatoes for a while this Fall.  Something to do besides making countless quarts of applesauce!

To add to our little Italian garden we planted 6 pepper plants - red, yellow, baby, jumbo, we've got 'em all.  And celery and onions.  Can you smell the spaghetti sauce now?  I can!

New to our garden this year is fennel.  Another "perfect" food, it goes in soups and salads and honestly, if I think about it, I can say I've eaten both tomatoes and fennel every day for about the last 3 weeks.  I wasn't sure about starting fennel from seeds, but Martha Stewart is growing it in her garden in Maine, and by God, if she can do it, so can I.

Until such time as we have our villa in Tuscany, I will make do with eating tomatoes & fennel.  From our own garden.  That I grew from seeds.  And picked myself.  Who knew gardening could be so satisfying?

Okay, I know it doesn't look like much now...but just wait 'til August.  

.