Month: July 2015

Photo(s) of the day: evening walk on the beach

I knew managing expectations was going to be an issue on this trip. After a year of anticipation, planning, scheming and endless hours of dreaming, this vacation had a lot to live up to. And the Universe has a wicked sense of humour. I shouldn’t therefore be surprised that the weather that was hot and sunny last year has been cold and rainy this year, with more rain in the forecast, and the “beach front cottage” does indeed have a view of (a few inches of) the water – but you have to walk almost 15 minutes to get to it. So I will admit to having spent most of the first 24 hours here adjusting my expectations accordingly, googling “things to do in PEI when it rains” and admitting to myself that a rainy, cold day on PEI is still better than a sunny warm day at the office.

We’re coming around on the cottage, which you might call “quirky”. The kitchen has no oven, only an oversized toaster oven, and needed some help from Dollarama to round out the amenities. The upstairs is more of a loft than a floor, and you can see daylight between some of the floor boards, and some previous cottager has caulked the edges of the window screens by stuffing kleenexes around the frames to keep the swarms of hungry insects out. It has, to use Beloved’s term, a certain rustic charm, and really only suffers in comparison to the spotlessly clean, modern cottage we stayed in last year near Murray Harbour, which was right on the water. So what we gained in location with relation to the rest of the Island, we lost in proximity to the beach and the character of the cottage itself. And really, that would not have been a problem as we were intending to spend our entire vacation moving from one beach to another – except for the weather forecast. Oh I know, forecasts are unreliable at best, and there are two or three days out of the dozen remaining that look good, and hey, think of the money we’ll save on sunscreen!

We did make it to the beach, even though we had to drive to get there, and then walk a path through a patch of wild roses and shrubberies. And the ocean is always awesome.

An evening stroll at St Peter's Harbour

This is the mouth of St Peter’s Bay where it opens to the Gulf of St Lawrence. In the photo below, you can see the dunes of the Greenwich section of PEI National Park across the other side of the bay.

An evening stroll at St Peter's Harbour

I don’t know whether it was just a bad night for them or if it’s the location but we saw dozens and dozens of jellyfish. Yuck!

An evening stroll at St Peter's Harbour

At the mouth of the bay, this is all that remains of an old wharf.

An evening stroll at St Peter's Harbour

Our curiousity about the old wharf and the dune on our side of the bay drew us on a longer walk than we had anticipated, and we looked around and realized we’d be racing both the incoming rain and the loss of daylight on our walk back to the car. Finding the path back from the beach through the roses would have been an adventure with only my iPhone to light the way! We bid a temporary adieu to the ocean and hustled back along the shallow bay as the tide crept in.

An evening stroll at St Peter's Harbour

Today’s forecast also calls for a cool and rainy day, so there may be movie in our itinerary. But rain or no rain, there will be exploring, and red dirt roads, and rolling green hills, and kids trapped in the car against their will as their parents speculate “I wonder what’s down that crooked little red road?”

And it will be awesome!

Photo of the day: Family and friends in Fredericton

We finally made it all the way back to PEI today but I have to tell you, even though we’ve been scheming for more than a year to get back, the finest part of the day was spent having a lovely visit and wander through Fredericton with my sweet friend Sue and her daughter Miss M. After a quick breakfast on their back deck, we wandered down to the riverfront to this gorgeous old train bridge that has been converted to a pedestrian bridge.

Very photogenic, yes?

Family and friends in Fredericton

And the people are pretty darn cute, too!

After we took this photo, we wandered through the most excellent Fredericton farmer’s market. I wish we would have had longer to browse – it was easily the most busy, intriguing farmer’s market I have ever seen.

I have to tell you, the only reason we stopped in Fredericton was to visit with Sue and Miss M, but I was completely charmed by the town. Beautiful, colourful houses on leafy streets, gorgeous riverfront walk, artsy vibe and that amazing farmer’s market? I could easily see us happy in Fredericton.

Alas, we had but a brief window for a visit, and then back into the car we piled. Can I take one moment to tell you how spectacularly awesome the boys have been on this trip? I swear we could drive half way to the moon and they’d not complain. They barely even bickered. It’s a road trip miracle, brought to you by headphones, candy crush and Spotify offline.

And then, as the day faded in the gloaming, we had the chance to make our way back to the ocean that has called so quietly, so persuasively and so relentlessly over the year since we last visited it.

Finally, the ocean again.

Hello ocean. I missed you. Goodnight…

A photo posted by Danielle Donders (@dani_girl) on

It’s good to be back where my soul feels at home.

Planning for PEI: Stalking Chef Michael Smith redux

You might remember that last year when we visited PEI, we spent a fun day in Souris stalking our family’s favourite celebrity chef, Chef Michael Smith. It was one of our favourite days in PEI, even though the chef himself was not actually even in the country at that time.

At the Flavour Shack

We continue to be big fans of Chef Michael. We record back episodes of Chef at Home on the Food Network and watch them in little binges, adding to our culinary repertoire. I think it’s fairly safe to say that more than two thirds of the meals I feed to my family have some influence from Chef Michael, from techniques we learned on TV to his cookbooks to the recipes on his website. Any time I want to try something new, the first thing I google is to see if Chef Michael has a recipe, because I know our family likes how he puts food and flavours together.

You might have heard that Chef Michael and his wife Chastity recently bought the Inn at Bay Fortune, where Chef Michael worked his first job as a chef and hosted his first TV show back in the 1990s. I love how he describes the FireWorks dining experience put on at the Inn every night:

In so many ways, The Inn at Bay Fortune is a return to our roots but also a firm step into the future. We’d be happy to have you come aboard for the ride! In 1992 I began my chef’s career behind the Inn’s stoves. Cooking in this beautiful place defined my career forever and now I get to do it again. The world has changed a bit in the last 20 years though, and fortunately so have I. Where once I tried to be creatively provocative, today I’d rather build a fire and share simple, honest flavours. That’s what Fireworks is all about. Join us for our nightly feast and you’ll see what I mean! This year is all about a fresh start for the Inn. We’ve worked hard to imagine a shared experience at the table that starts with our farm and finishes with flame. We’re excited but there’s lots more to come… Our goal is nothing less than creating Prince Edward Island’s leading country inn. In the years to come you can expect a renewed focus and solid investment in world-class amenities. We’ve got lots of ideas and look forward to sharing them all with you.

You can see where this is going, right? Ordinarily, I’d scoff at the idea of bringing the boys to what is certainly priced as a high-end dining experience. However, after more than a year of making his recipes, I think we’ve developed a bit of a taste for his culinary style. And this doesn’t seem like your ordinary bone china and linen napkins experience. When I heard that they had a half-price-for-kids rate, I was further reassured. When I framed it as an early birthday gift to me from the family, it didn’t seem quite so extravagant an expense – I am, after all, worth it. 🙂

We made the reservations this week for our second-last evening in PEI. There’s no guarantee, of course, that Chef Michael himself will be there, and I’m quite sure that I’d be starstruck into silence even if he were – but we sure are excited about going!

2015 is my summer of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

I am ready for our summer trip to PEI. I’ve got my packing list, my annotated maps and guides, my camera gear and sunscreen. What else do you really need for an awesome, epic beach vacation? Reading material, of course!

My dilemma is a wealth of riches. I’m at a literary crossroads, and want to make sure I pick the very best beachy book to bring with me.

Down one road lies Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. I’d read a bit of Neil Gaiman last summer and quite liked his style, but really fell head over heels earlier this year when I read Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. That book rocked me back on my heels: how had I missed it before now?

And then, and THEN, I stumbled onto Neil Gaiman’s beautiful Stardust, an absolutely exquisite fable that entranced Tristan and Simon and me in equal measures as we read it aloud. How I missed a rollicking fantasy on par with the Princess Bride with a hero named Tristran shall remain forever a mystery. And even more delightful, we found the movie to be as fully exquisite as the book – that never happens!

The other literary road under consideration itself has two forks. Down this road lies Discworld, the sprawling epic fantasy series by Good Omens co-author Terry Pratchett. I’m just coming to the end of The Light Fantastic, the second book in the Discworld series, and finding it even more delightfully subversive, wry, smart and delicious than The Colour of Magic. (I’ve also just started reading the first book in the Tiffany Aching subset of Discworld books, The Wee Free Men, aloud to Tristan and Simon.)

I am completely enchanted by the Discworld books, but in a different way that I’ve loved previous epic series. When I think of Stephen King’s Dark Tower oeuvre, for example, I think of how I became immersed in the world of the books, churning through them to find out what would happen next. The characters and world were rich, tangible, and lived fully in my imagination. It’s not so much the story that I’m in love with in Discworld, but the telling of it. Terry Pratchett’s prose is peppered with delightful puns and wordplay and cheeky asides that make every paragraph and page a delight of discovery. The puns pop up in the most unexpected places, often moving me to laugh out loud, and then compelling me to share the funny bits aloud to the nearest warm body. (And thanks to Kindle’s quote-sharing feature, I can share them with the Internet, too!) They’re often as simple and silly and unexpected as this:

‘Rincewind, all the shops have been smashed open. There was a whole bunch of people across the street helping themselves to musical instruments, can you believe that?’

‘Yeah,’ said Rincewind, picking up a knife and testing its blade thoughtfully. ‘Luters, I expect.’

So I can choose to read Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, which I understand to be sprawling, creepy, thoughtful and excellent, or I can choose to continue to explore the quirky Discworld. I think I’m leaning toward Discworld but alas, another decision: follow the books by chronology, in the order they were written, or by character? Beloved stumbled upon this most excellent reference chart that offers a reading hierarchy of the Discworld:

terry pratchett reading order
Image courtesy of Krzysztof Kietzman / http://www.lspace.org/

Shall I continue to follow the adventures of Rincewind, Twoflower and the Luggage and move on to Sourcery, which is actually the fifth book in the Discworld series, or move chronologically to Discworld #3, Equal Rites? Oh happy dilemma, to know that it will take me years yet to work my way through 39 more books in the Discworld series, with the last and posthumous book pending publication later this year.

There is nothing more exquisite than discovering a literary treasure trove, especially one that will keep you reading for years yet to come – especially without having to wait for that pesky intermission between publication dates. What books or series have lit you up with the excitement of discovery? Have you read any Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett, and which were your favourites? If you’ve read the whole of the Discworld series, how would you recommend they be read?

Oh, books!

Vintage comic collection for sale – more than 2,100 books!

It is with a nostalgic heart that Beloved is parting with his collection of comic books loving collected at comic stores, flea markets and used book stores over the last 30 years. In his words, “It is time for someone else to enjoy my collection.” Could you please feel free to share this information with your networks? I’m thinking there may be a comic geek or three in my extended bloggy network.

Comic collection

I can tell you that these are well cared-for books, as any suggestion I made that they be stored in, say, the garage was met with horror. They’ve been stored upright, individually wrapped, dry and flat.

Photo 2015-07-08, 2 49 23 PM copy

The collection comprises mostly Marvel and DC titles with a few Dell Four Color and Classics Illustrated, and the books were published from the 1970’s to the 2000’s. There are large runs of titles such as Avengers, New Mutants, Teen Titans, Fantastic Four, What If, Suicide Squad, Superman, and the various Justice League titles.

Photo 2015-07-08, 2 50 50 PM copy

You’ll also find complete series of titles such as Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and Blue Devil, and keystone moments in comic book history such as Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing and the Death of Superman. A full list of the contents is available in an MS Excel spreadsheet upon request. The guide value (ComicBookPriceGuide.com) of the collection is over $5,600, and he is willing to entertain serious offers. (Hint: serious offers start at $2,800.)

Photo 2015-07-08, 2 51 07 PM copy

He is willing to sell full runs of individual titles, but not individual issues. Feel free to leave a comment below if you’d like to see the spreadsheet with all the titles, or email me at danicanada (at) gmail.

Please share this with your geeky friends!

I listened to you and let Lucas play keeper. You won’t believe what happened next!

Remember a few weeks ago when I asked you if I was crazy for not wanting my sweet little baby boy to play keeper for his soccer team? And to a one, you told me yes, I was being crazy, and to get over myself and let the child play keeper, for the love of soccer?

You win this one, oh wise bloggy peeps. You were so right!

Lucky for me, Lucas had some clever, experienced parents giving him good advice. My friend and guide to the world of soccer parenting Lesley told me that if I were to tell him one thing, it should be that he is allowed to use his hands in goal, so don’t be afraid to grab it. That was better advice that what I’d come up with, which was an encouraging grin masking a flinch of nerves.

Lucas had his turn as keeper in the second half of the game. They’re not exactly the best team in the league, and it’s not unusual to see teams run up goals against them, but I was pleased to see that on the night Lucas was scheduled for keeper, at least they weren’t getting trounced. He’d been in goal, I kid you not, about 90 seconds when the other team’s best player sent a hard boot at him from about six feet away – and Lucas took it full in the face. It was exactly my worst fear, and of course it hurt and of course he cried. He came off for a few minutes, went back on, flinched away from the ball as it came toward him and came off again, not quite done feeling the sting of the shot. The coach was great, told him as soon as he was feeling better he’d put him back in goal, and another mom had an ice pack handy.

Best of all though, was my brother Sean. Sean, whose kids have been through a couple of years of soccer between them, had come along with the big boys and his son to cheer Lucas on, and he came over to make sure Lucas was okay. Sean coached Lucas to stand in a bit of a crouch with his hands up in front of his face to protect it.

Lucas went back into the game and assumed his crouch, and pretty much stayed that way. To our great amusement, he spent the entire rest of the game with his hands up beside his face – even when the play was literally in front of the opposite goal. Like this:

defense

Zoomed in – the play is nowhere near, but he’s ready and he is 100% focused on where that ball is! Sean joked that Lucas would likely sleep that night in the same crouch, his hands up to protect his face.

defense detail

The very best part was watching him shake it off and actually make six or seven saves. He took one hard one off his hip (he learns, I’ll give him credit for that: he took two hard balls to the ‘nards last week, so he’s learned to protect what matters!) and clearly he listened to Lesley’s advice because he made several other saves by reaching down and plucking the ball out of play. He only let in two goals, which is not bad at all for a team that has lost by double digits more than once.

You were so right, oh wise bloggy peeps, and I was wrong. And the joyful, fierce look on his face for the rest of his night in goal was like a gift. He loved it, when it stopped hurting. I gotta tell you, I had no idea. And that ball to the face was a damn good lesson – he did not take his eye off the ball for the rest of the game!

So we’re driving home after the game, and he’s sparking with energy from game (still a loss, but not a blowout like the past few weeks) and I asked him, “So Lucas, you’ve played offense, defense and keeper. Which one do you prefer?”

Of course he said keeper. Of course he did.

Happy National Chocolate Day!

Did you know there was a National Chocolate Day? Did you further know that it’s celebrated today, on July 7?

Kinder National Chocolate Day

Not only is National Chocolate Day celebrated on July 7, but apparently it’s also celebrated on October 28, December 24 and on September 13 it’s INTERnational Chocolate Day. In other words, you’re gonna need a lot of Kinder Surprise Eggs!

Conveniently, our good friends at Kinder Canada will be hosting giveaways all summer long. Don’t forget to check in on the Kinder Canada Facebook page for your chance to win. They’ll also be introducing Free Family Fun Fridays, with ideas and inspiration on fun and free things families can do together. Free family fun and chocolate? How could I resist?

In celebration of free and families and chocolate, I’d like to share a coupon for a three pack of Kinder Surprise Eggs in an unofficial giveaway. If you’d like to win, just leave a comment below telling me your favourite way to eat chocolate. In a cake? Chocolate fondue? Triple chocolate cookies? Do you like it melty or hard and cold straight from the fridge? I’ll pick one random winner from all comments posted before noon on Friday July 10. You must leave a valid e-mail address and be willing to privately share your mailing address with me to win.

Have fun celebrating National Chocolate Day!

KinderBreakfast

DISCLOSURE: I’m a #KinderMom who is part of the KINDER® Canada influencer team. As part of my affiliation with KINDER® Canada, I am provided with special perks and products. I take responsibility for all opinions, puns and snack recommendations in this post.

Photo(s) of the day: Todd’s amazing flying machines

My friend Todd has been feeding a fun hobby with remote controlled helicopters and airplanes over the last couple of years, but we hadn’t had the opportunity to see them in action until yesterday.

It was fascinating to see his planes and all the bits of electronics, remotes and batteries that support the works, but it was even more fun to play with my fisheye lens and capture the action.

Todds planes-2

I love how the forced perspective makes it look like a very tiny Todd is working on his very big plane. 🙂

Todds planes

Todds planes-3

Todds planes-4

Todd’s a dad to many and has the patience of a saint when it comes to kids, and he made sure that every last one had a turn flying the planes.

Todds planes-5

Photo of the day: Granny and Papa Lou

Despite having most of the last five years with a camera stuck to my face, I haven’t yet managed to take a photo of my parents that I love. Until this weekend, that is. We’ve been spending the weekend with my brother and his family, and it’s been crowded, chaotic, silly and wonderful, so it makes perfect sense to honour all the shenanigans with the people who made it all possible.

mon and dad

Of course, to get this lovely portrait of our patriarch and matriarch, I had to put up with them trying to throw each other in the lake and sticking out their tongues like two year olds, but that itself says a lot about my family.

momanddad

At least now you see where I get it from. 😉