Keep Your Fork, There's Pie!

There weren't enough blueberries for a full pie and a few peaches that were getting too ripe sitting in a basket on the kitchen counter, so I made blueberry-peach pie instead.

Apparently, it passed the taste test.

T-Shirt Troubles?

Have you ever struggled with a T-shirt trying to get those folds perfect? Your troubles are over. This is brilliant!



Or if following instructions in Japanese confuses you, the English version is here.

Reach For The Sky!

This is the back of my garage.
Four baby emerald cedars were rescued from an end-of-a-hot-summer garden sale at the local supermarket parking lot, all dried up and gasping for life in tiny pots, about five years ago.
They've done well, considering I haven't really looked after them.
Three look normal....

.... but what happened to the one on the far right?

Irish Loop & Caribou

The Irish Loop is the only road that goes from St John's all the way round the Avalon Peninsula and back to St John's, and it's a full days drive. It took us through countless fishing outports built on scenic bays... small communities with delightful names like Tors Cove, Cape Broyle, Ferryland, Aquaforte, Fermeuse, Renews, Cappahayden and Trepassey.
The interior of the Avalon is bog, scrub, bushes and swamp.... the home of moose, beaver and fox, and also of the most southerly herd of woodland caribou in the world.
The first time I drove the Irish Loop about 14 years ago, there were caribou everywhere, grazing on the edges of the road, walking down the middle of the road, even laying down on the road, in fact so many that we couldn't get past them.

(Caribou picture borrowed from the internet.)

But this time, as we got closer to the area where the caribou are normally seen, this was our view...

There could have been a couple of dozen caribou lurking 15 feet either side of the road and we would have missed them. Note to self: never drive the Irish Loop when the wind is from the southwest.... it's ALWAYS foggy.

A day or two later I visited The Rooms, the Provincial Archives, Art Gallery and Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador.

There are three art galleries, each showcasing Newfoundland artists, and five museum displays, all different, one of them being a wonderful exhibition of boats, canoes, kayaks, and how these small but important vessels were made and used, and how they are still a part of the lives of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

But I was still hunting the caribou....

... and here they are. These are the George River Herd carved in pine and bone by Chesley Flowers of Hopedale, Labrador, on display at The Rooms. I believe he is the father of Ross Flowers who carved my two caribou. (Update: Brian of Nain Bay says Chesley was Ross Flowers' uncle.) I posted about them here.

“I remember I cut me twenty-two sticks, 10 feet long, green stuff. I hauled it so far. The dogs were tired. Not me. And there was nothing faster than dogs and snowshoes. First, I cut the large caribou green. Then I let them dry for two or three days. There’s lots of cutting on the big ones. They’re hard to do. I use a small axe to cut off all the big stuff. Then I blesses my saw. That’s all I use.”
Chesley Flowers, Catalogue for “First: Aboriginal Artists of Newfoundland and Labrador” 1996.

For more pictures of Newfoundland, scroll down to the previous 4 or 5 posts. And there's a couple more to come, so stay tuned!

It's a Small World...

I was being a typical tourist with camera in hand.
"It's a fine view, isn't it?" The man sitting on the steps enjoying the sunshine spoke to me.

We chatted for a while and then he asked me what part of England I was originally from.
When I told him, he said he was born on the Isle of Wight.
"Oh," I said, "I've been there many times, I used to live in Southampton."
"So did I," he said.
"When I lived there, I worked at the Ordnance Survey" I said.
His eyes widened. "So did I," he said.
"I worked at the London Road office," I added.
"So did I," he said.
We compared notes and it turned out that he probably left just as I started, so our paths had not actually crossed on the other side of the Atlantic 40 years ago, although we had shared experiences and remembered the same people.
But then I asked him where he lived in Southampton.
"Oh, I lived in a boarding house run by an elderly couple known as Mom and Pop," he told me. "Pop did all the cooking and cleaning, and Mom did nothing. It was full of young men from all over the country who were employed by the Ordnance Survey."
"Was it by any chance known as 'Pop's Palace'?"I asked.
"You know it?"
"I had a boyfriend who lived there."
So it really is a small world....

Signal Hill

It's a long trudge to the top of the hill, especially on a hot day, but every time I go to St John's I just have to do it. Signal Hill dominates the entrance to the harbour, and there's a fantastic view over the city of St John's in one direction and the Atlantic Ocean in the other.

At the top, the sandstone Cabot Tower was built in 1897 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's discovery of Newfoundland, and Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Inside is a small museum detailing the first transatlantic wireless signal, the letter "S" in Morse Code sent from Cornwall, England, and received here by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901.

A winding narrow staircase took me to the very top, where there's a stunning view over the harbour, but my visit was cut short by swarms of flying ants, so I didn't stay up there long.

The small stone building in the foreground is the 18th century Queens Battery, built for defence of the harbour. The French-English struggle for Newfoundland ended here in 1762 with the last shot fired on the hill.

The French may have been vanquished back in1762, but the cannons remain.... just in case!

There have been harbour defences for St. John's here from the 18th century to the Second World War. As early as 1673, a heavy chain was stretched from across the Narrows from Pancake Rock to Chain Rock to protect the harbour from incoming enemy vessels. During WWII, an anti-submarine boom was attached to prevent the entry of German U-boats.

Across the entrance to St John's Harbour is Fort Amherst. The WWII gun emplacements down near the water are still there, but no public access any more. ('Elf'n'safety rules, no doubt.) On previous visits we have been able to walk through the bunkers and actually climb on the rusty guns.

The Fort Amherst lighthouse was built in 1952, replacing former structures built in 1813 and 1852. The lighthouse keepers house has been converted to a delightful tearoom with a spectacular view of The Narrows.

And in the far distance is the lighthouse at Cape Spear, the most easterly tip of land in North America. Start swimming.... next stop.... Europe.

For more pics of Newfoundland, see my three previous posts. As always, click on any pictures to enlarge.

I'se the B'y that builds the boat...

The island of Newfoundland has depended on it's coastline for it's existence for generations. Sadly, the cod fishery is almost non existent now, and fishermen concentrate on crab and lobster.
Boats are everywhere, from little put-puts, to seagoing naval vessels.

And of course, seagoing men love to sing traditional seagoing songs... listen here and sing along with Ryan's Fancy (also recorded by Great Big Sea). Can't understand the words? Here they are....

I'se the B'y that builds the boat and
I'se the B'y that sails her
I'se the B'y that catches the fish and
Takes 'em home to Liza

Hip-yer-partner Sally Thibault
Hip-yer-partner Sally Brown
Fogo, Twillingate, Moreton's Harbour,
All around the circle

Salts and rinds to cover your flake
Cake and tea for supper
Cod fish in the spring of the year
Fried in maggoty butter

I don't want your maggoty fish
That's no good for winter
I can buy as good as that
Down in Bonavista!

I took Liza to a dance
As fast as she can travel,
And every step that Liza took,
Was up to her knees in gravel.

Sarah White she's outta sight,
Her petticoat needs a border,
Old Sam Oliver in the dark,
He kissed her in the corner!

I'se the B'y that builds the boat and
I'se the B'y that sails her
I'se the B'y that catches the fish and
Takes 'em home to Liza

More pics of Newfoundland in the previous two posts.