Trails of Hats'n Hospitalitea

There is something different about taking a walk in a garden that I’m not sure I can explain.  I’ll try, you wake up, the sky is still gray, and you make a cup of coffee and look out the window again and it is a little brighter.  You grab the door knob being ever so quiet as to not wake anyone.  Stepping outside I see magnified bits of sun strongest through the trees warming my feet and making shadows here and there.  You take that walkabout with coffee in hand and camera in the other.

I never head out to the garden to capture anything with my camera I just figure it would be nice to see something that sort of makes you say, “oh, wow”.

It always amazes me that I find a photo to capture in the garden.  Every time I return to the garden it gives me a new gift.

Not near ready to open yet are my lilies

Let me see if I can get a little closer

Now we have had rain off and on for some time now, and I love to see rain drops dance around the garden

Amazing how this leaf will hold water drops

It is shaping up to another rain day in PEI.  You never know the sun might just come out and surprise us all.  I’m fortunate to live close to my garden and I’m able to take a walk about whenever I wish.  Yesterday driving down Mt. Edward Rd. I see a number of gardeners with wagons and wheelbarrows in a community garden.  My thoughts wonder to  the amount of work, time and effort that goes into a garden. I see a man leaning on the end of a rake taking a short break while his wife is bent over in the garden perhaps pulling weeds, while two others stand by and chat.  I think I’d like to  visit their garden.

xo,

cindy

We visited Montague area and found a unique find at the

Garden of the Gulf Museum

This is a 3-position high chair

It actually is a high chair, a rocking chair and a 3/4 chair like a walker

I don’t think as a kid we ever sat in one, but have a look no straps, harnesses

or buckles to hold a child in and everyone was fine back then, this was even

a walker in another position.  Ok, way cool I so wish I had one of these when the kids were small.  Even now what a show piece.

Visit the Garden of the Gulf Museum for other interesting facts, history, finds and more.

xo,

cindy

I’m back in the garden today -  “garden therapy” got to get some every day

I love to take garden photos after a rain

what do you think?

I love watching people take pictures in my garden

The waterfall is a wonder however I see most photos taken here and it is so hard to capture a waterfall, I think it needs the sound in the background.

Thank you for watching my porky pig pink peony for me today, I’m home now and work is waiting.

xo,

cindy

I make chocolates and serve them along side a high tea in the Tea Room

Always I have made dark chocolate chocolates of  tea pots and little tea cups and saucers.  This time I want to try something different, something to go along with the garden and  with tea.

I like them and I’m adding them to Grandma’s  Smackerel of Sweets

One of our B&B guests saw me making these last night and right away asked,

“ah, what’s for breakfast?”    lol

Have a great day,

xo,

cindy

FFF post #3…

This week has been a test, a test for me to see the blessings even though they came with disguises.  You see, FM and I go way back, so far I had almost forgotten what a relapse was like.  It was a short reminder for me to take it easy and pace, something I have a hard time with.

This week I truly am blessed, lets start with:

1.  My son went to work each day this week. Yes, Matthew got into an accident only his second day on the road with his new motorcycle.  I don’t think he would ever understand how relieved I felt listening to him complain about his new bike being only two days old, the fact it only had 89 km on it and that he was stopped at a stop sign and an idiot hit him from behind. I’m blessed to be able to listen to his complaints.

2.  How tough kids are these days. Little Anastasia had an allergic reaction to Penicillin this week.  She is tough I’ll tell you, she gave the doctors in at the hospital a run each visit in.  After not sleeping for 43 hours the doctors decided they would treat for an allergic reaction rather than the first visit diagnoses of Rubella.   It was a small warning and she is laughing and playing and right back to being the kid we recognized.

3.  Like paint is to canvas, Lupin is to the Island. In June each year the lupin blooms.  Lupin is a weed that grows tall putting off flowers found in ditches, farmers fields, along the highways, on Confederation Trial and sometimes where you would least expect it.  The Island is a painters canvas and it is painted each June with purple, white and pink lupin.

lupin in bloom

4.  Graduation and prom over for another year. Each year the high schools on PEI have a grand celebration.  For prom night each year is a parade of old cars, trucks, golf carts, front end loaders, lawnmowers, horse and buggy, and fishing boats, you name it, they come in it to Prom night.  This year Dewar’s car was driven by Harvey in the parade to send his nephew to prom.   A safe evening had by all.

5. The best for last. Yes, the strawberries are finally here.  Every night this week, I had  a  bowl of berries, brown sugar and milk just as I remember dad and I sitting having a bowl of berries.

This has been my Friday’s FAVe FIVE, I hope you enjoyed stopping by. Remember to reflect on your favourite things from your week, look for blessings be them obvious ones or something you had to look for. Find and share.

For more Friday fun visit Suzanne at Living To Tell The Story.

xoxo,
cindy

One of our stops on the Eastern PEI Tour was to the Prince Edward Distillery in Hermanvile.

The distillery started making potato vodka in 2007.

It takes  30 pounds of potatoes to make one bottle of potato vodka

Julie Shore headed the tour and told us how Blueberry Vodka was made

Rum sits and ages in barrels

A new adventure in making Gin

That is it for our tour today.  Next week we will visit the bottle houses of PEI.

Our tour ended with a taste testing of both potato and blueberry vodka,

Thank you Julie for the tour.

xo,

cindy

One of the best places on earth to live, clean air, surrounded by beaches, paper bag fish and chips, fresh lobster, and heart shaped potatoes that is what makes this Island of ours unique

My Heart Belongs to PEI

I love PEI and my heart is where my home is, or is it, my home is where this heart is!

xoxo,

cindy

Ya! Just what every mom wants to hear, their son is driving a motorcycle.

He is so proud of his new bike

With only 3km on the meter

I’ll put on a helmet

Taking a second look

Matt tells me one last time not to worry as he pulls away from the driveway

About to hit the road

I stood at the end of our driveway and watched my son and his bike until they were out of sight

Matthew had his first accident yesterday.

I came over the hill in Hunter River and wondered why knowing most of the volunteers in the area were standing around Matthew, then I knew as soon as Matthew looked over at me.

Matthew was stopped at a stop sign and was hit from behind by a van and the driver told me and the officers, “I didn’t see him and I looked both ways up highway 2 and then took off pushing him into the intersection, I hit him from behind.”

I remember Matthew asking me what colour of bike he should get, I told him “red” I want you to stand out. He picked red because I told him I wanted him to be seen on the road.

I’ll rest tomorrow knowing the bike is in the shop to have the damages estimated.
xo,
Matthew’s mom

Once again the Island has a great turn out for the drive procession as one by one the graduates of Bluefield pull up in a different style to give us a show on prom night.

I was there for the picture taking and the ah! I hope you enjoy.

I had a computer crash half way through downsizing them and a few of the photos are doubles.

xo,
cindy

FFF post #2…Get on with it already.

It is almost 5 o’clock, so here goes this has been my first chance to be here today.

1. Beachcombing the beaches of PEI. This is the most ultimate, quiet pastime one can imagine. It appeals to your sight (beach glass), appeals to your ears, (sound of the ocean) appeals to you inner self (tranquil). A hobby and one of my favourite things to be doing.

2. Changes. This past week in store, I found a box of Popeye cigarette candies. Inside the box there was 1/2 the amount of candy as what there use to be years ago when we were a kids. Back then it was ok to practice smoking, today with all the the opportunity and knowledge for change. We try not to encourage our kids to do any of these things that might lead to bad habits.

3. My lighthouse experience. For years I have driven past a gate market where a man has built birdhouses. I watched over the years as he included models from different countries. This week I stopped, and we chatted, I’d say he is interesting and reminds me of my dad – I made a new friend this week and I’m grateful. I purchased a lighthouse from him and then shook his hand and called him the birdhouse keeper.

4. The FAM Tourism Tour was a chance for me to appreciate a lot of hard work and energy that other businesses have around the Island. We visited many locations and had a fabulous lunch in St. Peters Bay. It was an experience in itself, that forced me to put a closed sign up for a day and that was ok. We took a rest and sat back to have someone else do the driving as we jumped on and off the tour bus exploring the many adventures and things to do on Prince Edward Island.

5. I’m blessed to have such a consciousness son. He graduated this year from the Culinary of Arts and works as a Chef at The Olde Glasgow Mill Restaurant. For the past several years he has wanted a motorcycle and today Toy Master Marine across the street delivered his bike to him. He is excited, young and energized and is my son. I have a new appreciation for all mothers of son’s who ride a motorcycle.

This has been my Friday’s FAVe FIVE, I hope you enjoyed stopping by. Remember to reflect on your favourite things from your week, look for blessings be them obvious ones or something you had to look for. Find and share.

For more Friday fun visit Suzanne at Living To Tell The Story.

xoxo,
cindy