May 24th Cont.....

We ended up having a BBQ on my newly acquired BBQ. It worked really well. We ate outside on the ground picnic style. There were a few bitey flies around but not too bad. It was really warm and slightly cloudy. I caught the sun a little which I didn't expect. After the BBQ our Neighbours lit a fire in their pit. It was a really clear night, still warm from the day and the flies were all gone. It was an excellent evening. I think it was better then being at a campsite because we had more space in the backyard, no obnoxious Irish music until 3am (only Lewie's choice of Music) and the kids could run around and make as much noise as they wanted playing spotlight and tag as everyone in the neighbourhood were either at our fire pit or down the road a little at Burt's or gone out of town. All in all a good night. S'mores, Toasted Marshmallows, various slushy drinks and a bottle of wine later the best part was that I got to sleep in my new bed and not walk miles to an outhouse.

May 24 weekend

The May 24th weekend is a big deal here in Newfoundland. It has gone from a celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday to the weekend when a 2four( Pronounced too fer) is drank and people get plastered in a tent. A 2four for people who do not know is a create of 24 beers. People head out into the "country" have a fire and camp out and get plastered. I say country in "" because people often are camping in the city campsites and their backyards. Some people head out to campsites just outside of the city limits and others stay in gravel pits along the side of the road. "Gravel Pit" camping is famous here in Newfoundland. Gravel pits along the side of the roads are often full with RV and campees. When we first moved here we did a bit of gravel pit camping as we couldn't afford the prices of the campsites. We however were not in RV or camper vans. We had a tent. It was not all it is cracked up to be. Not only are you sleeping on gravel by the side of the road, which in itself can be quite ominous. There are no bathroom facilities. The campsites are marginally better as they have "facilities" which are outhouses. This can be particularly disgusting depending on the time of the year that you go. In the heat of the summer with the number of flies we get here it can be quite horrid.
Anyways back to my topic. Newfoundland is one of those places in the world that has unpredictable often strange weather. A common saying here is if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes and look out a different window. It is because we are an Island in the Atlantic Ocean on the cold side of the golf stream and Labrador current. Often on the May 24th weekend we have snow & rain. This doesn't stop people from going out into the "country". The May 24th weekend is considered the beginning of the summer parties and celebrations. So the Question is what are we going to do with this long weekend......
Lewie has a friend coming over for a sleep over tonight. We may have a BBQ if the rain holds off. Mostly I am going to enjoy having an extra day off work after a particularly long and stressful week.

New Skills

Tom is home for a couple of weeks. He was delayed leaving Raglan and ended up coming by Halifax from Montreal. We were happy to see him and Lewie was eager to demonstrate his new skills learned while he was away. Lewie is in the junior climbing program in our local climbing gym and during this round of lessons he learned how to belay. He was so proud of himself when he first learned. I am very excited but initially was quite dubious as he is only small. The instructor reassured me that he is now old enough and responsible enough to belay for other people and that they have taught him how to and he passed the test and now has his very own belay License. We have been climbing a lot more since he did this as it now means he can belay for me when Tom is away. Lewie is very proud of himself and enjoyed offering to belay for his Dad.

There it was Gone.

The Ice is Gone, Spring is finally here. Well Maybe!!! For today anyway.
The Croci are blooming and it is finally warm and sunny. 15 oC warm. My seedlings are growing in the greenhouse in the porch. It just feels like spring today. There are a lot of things changing in my life. I have a new job working as a Public Health Nurse. I look after new Mum's and Babe's. Seeing new families, new life makes you feel great. I am also A School Nurse so I get to go in and be the proverbial Nit Nurse, along with other things! My Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law are moving back home to the UK at the end of the week to start the next phase of their life. I will Miss them terribly. Although I do not see them as often as I could. (Life gets Busy sometimes!) It is nice to know that there is some family, some piece of home nearby. All these changes make me thing of Spring. Springtime is after all a time of growth, renewal, new life (both plant and animal) being born, and of the cycle of life once again starting. It is widely accepted as the start of better times. And that is what I wish for My Brother-in-Law and My Sister-in-Law.

The Ice is In

It has been very foggy and cold the last few days. We have had little sun. This morning we had a freezing rain warning and the car and trees were completely covered with frozen rain drops. This is a spectacular sight to be seen but nothing compares to the sight at the beach this evening. Before Tom left to go to Raglan we went to Middle Cove beach. There was a little bit of ice floating in the sea. It was large chunks of really magnificent blue ice. On the way home from taking Lewie to karate this evening I noticed how white the sea was in Torbay. We took a little side trip on the way home to Torbay Beach. The Ice in the Sea is really amazing to see. It is white all the way out to the horizon. The air is really chilly as it is coming off the sea. The Ice has the blue tint to it and is completely packed into the bay. I am no great photographer so these pictures do not do justice to the image but hopefully you can see all the Ice. A truly spectacular sight, especially as the Sun came out after being absent all week.

Puri

Ingredients:
2 cups of Wheat Flour.
1/2 cup of Cream of Wheat.
1/2 Tsp of Salt.
3/4 -1 cup of Warm Water.
2 Tbsp of Oil.
Oil for Deep Frying.

How to:
Mix Flour with Cream of Wheat, Salt and 2 Tbsp of Oil and rub into crumbs.
Make dough by adding warm water gradually until it is smooth but not sticky.
Knead well for a couple of minutes.
Leave dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave for ~15 minutes.
Divide the dough into 12 portions. Shape them into balls.
We usually squash the balls with a hot panni grill, but you can roll the balls flat on a lightly oiled or floured surface.
Heat the Oil and Deep fry when oil very hot.
Press down on the puri while in the oil and they will expand and puff up.
Turn over when lightly browned.
Remove from oil when golden brown and place on paper to absorb the excess oil.

Alternatively if you make too many puri's you can freeze them when they are flat between pieces of greased proof paper. Remove and Deep fry as before.

Final Project

This is the Final Project Completed. Lewie had the Heritage Fair on Friday at his School. They were open for the general public to come in and look at all of the projects from all of the kids from grade 4-6. They had a team of assessors who went to every kid and asked them some questions. They were assessed on their knowledge of the subject, public speaking and presentation. Lewie was a little disappointed that he didn't win this year. I think he did a Fantastic Job. It was a lot of work and he was really interested in the topic. He won last year when he did this Heritage Fair in grade 4. In total I think it has been a really great experience for him. All the kids put in so much effort and the projects were amazing. I think not winning has it's own lessons.