Huybers Retirement Adventure

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Miracles Do Happen!

I mentioned a while back that I thought I would give gardening a try. After all … I have the time for it! I was quite excited about doing a garden this year, although to be honest, I wasn’t giving it much hope. You see … I have a black thumb instead of a green thumb … or so I thought!

I really have no idea what I am doing when it comes to planting a garden but I am finding out (for next year) what NOT to do. Apparently things like tomato plants need room to grow and spread. Not knowing this, I planted 6 tomato plants in a row about 3 to 4 inches apart. When I went to the plant store to get tomato cages, I noticed that the cages were really big at the top. I had heard that tomato plants need to have a cage around it for support but I also knew there was no way I would be able to get 6 cages around the closely planted plants. I asked the lady if there were smaller cages because these wouldn’t fit the area I had planted. When I described how I had planted the tomatoes in a row, you should have seen the shocked look on her face! I knew instantly I had made a gardening boo boo. She suggested that I replant some of the plants. She told me to take every second plant and move it somewhere else. We had a good laugh and I quickly explained that I knew nothing about gardening. I got the feeling that she agreed with me.

I must admit, it has been a lot of fun watching the garden grow. Every day I go out in the morning with my watering can and give the plants a drink. I say “Good morning my little darlings. Are you going to grow for me today?” I heard that it was good if you talk to the plants. Just make sure nobody is around you when you do it, or they might think you’re crazy. But it must be working because my garden is growing! J

I’ve taken some photos of the garden and when I looked at them, I realized that they were taken one week apart. I couldn’t believe the difference a week makes! It won’t be long before we get to actually eat something from the garden. I’ve planted tomatoes (of course), peas, green beans, iceberg lettuce, carrots, beets, cucumbers, corn on the cob, and last week I planted spinach that my niece from Holland sent me. Would you believe it … the spinach is up already!! Either the soil in PEI is amazing or I’ve developed a green thumb! Thinking about it … I’m sure it’s the soil. J

So here is my question for the readers of this blog, whom I’m sure garden more than I. How do I know when things like beets and carrots, (that grow underground) are ready to be picked? I would hate to waste any food by picking something too early. I think I can figure out things like peas, green beans and corn because you can actually see them but the other items are a mystery to me. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This photo was taken June 30th.
It has lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and peas along the back.

This photo was taken on July 8th. One week later.
It has lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and peas along the back.

This photo was taken July 14th.
It has lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and peas along the back.

This photo was taken on June 30th.
It has corn, beets, carrots and green beans along the back.

This photo was taken on July 8th.
It has corn, beets, carrots and green beans along the back.

This photo was taken on July 14th.
It has corn, beets, carrots and green beans along the back.

I can't get over that they are doing so well.
It must be my morning chats with them.

One week after I planted the spinach and it is already starting to come up!

I give them a healthy drink of water.

The green beans have pretty purple flowers growing.

I know .... I'm a happy gardener!

I also planted these for the deck.

Aren't they pretty?

Thursday, July 11, 2013

The Beach!

When Ron was away in Europe for 2 ½ weeks, I would take the dog and walk up to the mail box every day. One day a lady was also walking her dog to the mail box and we started talking. Her name was Mary and she only lives 2 houses away, which is like a city block away when you’re in the country. She seemed very nice and I told her if she ever wanted to come down for an ice tea she was more than welcome to do so.

The other day, Mary showed up at the house and asked me if I wanted to go for a walk on the beach for an hour. I said sure and off we went. Along the way, Mary pointed out the different houses and who lived in them. They were all related to her. It was an interesting drive. When we arrived at the beach, I found it to be very nice and couldn’t stop thinking how Ron would love this place. It was a very sandy beach with no rocks to speak of. There was a bit of a creek running from a pond, on the next property, into the ocean. As we walked the shore line, I realized that there were very few people on the beach that day. I think I only counted 6 the day I was there with Mary. We walked along the shore picking up the odd flat stone for a project that Mary was making. The water was very warm. I could hardly wait to come home and tell Ron what I had found.

Today was a beautiful day with the temperature hovering around 24 degrees with a slight breeze. Ron couldn’t wait to go check out the beach I had told him about. We packed up the dog, a blanket, a towel and headed out to a beach. The best part of this beach is that the tourists don’t know about it and it’s only 7 minutes away! I would tell you the name of the beach but then word would get out and it wouldn’t remain so private. But if you come and visit us, I will make sure to take you there!

When we got to the parking area, we found that it was pretty full. There is enough room to legally park about 6 cars. We walked out to the sandy shore and I could see the smile on Ron’s face. “Now this is what I’m talking about!” he said. The beach stretches about a mile long before you come to the red cliffs. There were a few families scattered about but with that amount of beach we weren’t even close to them. Ron took Bailey for a run on the beach … and through the water! Normally Bailey won’t go near the water but for some reason he was having so much fun that he forgot he didn’t like the water! Of course when Ron brought Bailey back to the blanket, he was full of sand!

We sat on our blanket for a while and imagined having visitors coming to PEI and taking them to the beach. This would be the perfect spot. It was like having your own private beach. After a couple of hours we packed up and drove home. I made lunch and we ate it out on the front deck. Ron kept commenting on how THIS was the way he imagined being retired but at the same time thinking he would never achieve it. We still can’t believe that we are retired at times. But we know one thing is for sure …. Life is good … Retirement is better!

Ron taking Bailey for a walk on the beach

Bailey checking to see where I am

I have the beach to myself

Beautiful sandy beach

A little stream from the pond to the ocean

Cottages by the ocean

Water is very warm

Water is crystal clear

This is what a "happy retired couple" look like!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

It’s Lobster Time Again!

Summer has arrived on PEI and bringing temperatures of 30+ degrees. Yesterday, Summerside held its annual Lobster Festival Parade to kick off a week long Lobster Festival.

Last year at this time we arrived on PEI to look for our retirement home. The day we arrived we discovered that they were having the Lobster Festival Parade. At first I thought they heard we were coming and decided to give us a parade! Later I found out that they do this every year at this time. J It got us thinking and we couldn’t believe that it’s been a whole year since we arrived in PEI!

I love a good parade and Summerside puts on a small but good parade. It started off with the Summerside Police car leading the way. Then the Air Force Colour Guard marched by with their flags held high. There was music as well from the College of Piping. I happen to like bagpipes so I enjoyed the music as it went by. There were floats, clowns, Shriner’s driving little tiny cars, fire trucks and a GIANT Lobster!

Last year, when we watched the parade, we had a “little incident” with Bailey. Jasper and Bailey were on their leashes standing beside us quietly and watching the parade. All of a sudden, there was a miniature horse that was going past us and Bailey bolted towards the horse, breaking his leash and barking as he charged the horse! We were horrified and afraid for the safety of the horse and Bailey. Ron ran quickly out into the street and retrieved Bailey. The lady who was driving the horse said “Don’t worry. They’re used to that.” Well, wouldn’t you know it … that same little horse was back again this year! Fortunately for us, we saw it coming so we quickly picked up Bailey so we wouldn’t have another embarrassing moment and possibly be banned from going to future parades! As the little horse went by, Bailey stared at it intensely and gave it a little growl as if to say … “Hey, I remember you from last year! And I still have my eye on you!”

The parade lasted about 20 minutes ( I told you it was a small parade). We quickly left so we wouldn’t be tied up in traffic and headed to the grocery store. We were having guests for dinner! Yea! … finally we have some company coming!!

Ron and I have joined the Ham Radio Club and have met some nice people there. Ron has gravitated to one member in particular so we invited Ken and Ella over for a BBQ. It was very casual … burgers, potato salad, corn on the cob and a fresh fruit platter for dessert. It was a lot of fun. We ate outside on the lower deck and the mosquitoes and flies cooperated by staying away. It was a beautiful evening with just a hint of a gentle breeze. There was a lot of laughing and story telling going on. It felt great to have company over!

In talking with Ella, I mentioned how I haven’t been able to meet many people yet. She immediately gave suggestions as to how I could go about meeting people. The next thing I knew, she had me agreeing to do some volunteer work! When she talked about volunteering at a camp for kids who don’t get much attention at home so they go to this camp to feel special, I was really excited about volunteering there. After working at an Elementary School for the last 21 years, I felt this was right up my alley. As she was talking about the kids at the camp, it brought back so many memories of students being sent to the Office. For some reason I was always able to help the most difficult child who came to the Office and bring them out of their shell to say what was bothering them. I think if I’m going to volunteer at something, having it involve children would be perfect for me. At first the idea of volunteering at the camp was to meet other people my age, but now I’m more excited about being around the other kids! I can’t wait until August when camp begins!

One more thing before I sign off … in the previous blog post, I told you about Ron and I being in a video on Canada Day. Well some of you may have already seen it, but you can watch it again, and for the rest of you here is the link for it. If you can, try and watch it a few times. It’s a contest and the video with the most views wins a cash prize. Thanks for watching!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp3X2BTF0hk

Summerside Police Led the Parade

Air Force Colour Guard

Legion Float

College of Piping

The Prince County Fiddlers

Miss Teen PEI

Bailey kept his eye on this little horse! I think he remembered him from last year!

Best soft ice cream cones on the island.

Our local radio station. Spud FM

Shriner's in their little cars

Riding in style

The Parade Clown ... taking it easy.

Characters from Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan

This is Wendy from Wendy's Burgers. She handed out gift cards for Wendy's.

A & W Car

Now THAT's a big lobster!!

An old ladder fire truck. Beware of the fireman with the water gun!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Canada Day!

Yesterday was Canada Day. We had never been on PEI for the Canada Day Celebrations before so we thought we would take in some of the local festivities.

First we drove into Kensington, which is only a five minute drive from our place. The local activities were being held at the old train station in the centre of town. They had a small petting area which consisted of rather large rabbits, ferrets and even a turtle. They also had a separate pen that housed a family of Alpacas. The baby Alpaca was so cute. It kept sucking and nibbling the foamy Canada Day tag on the other Alpaca like a soother.

At centre stage they had the Lady Slipper Step Dancers from all ages. It reminded me of my tap dancing days as a child. Later a well known, award winning, local performer played music as well. People really seemed to like him.

As we were watching the festivities, I was approached by a woman promoting the town of Kensington. She asked me if I would like to be in a video stating what I liked best about Kensington. It’s a contest they are having that runs until May of 2014. Who ever receives the most views during that period will win $500.00. I was hesitant at first but then Ron joined me and we decided to do it. We thought it would be good for a laugh. So those of you who we know personally, you can expect an email from us with a link attached so you can have a good giggle as you watch us in our video about Kensington. J

There were lots of activities and goodies that were given away in Kensington as well. There was face painting, balloon animals made, Canada Day Flags and stickers and pins, free hot dogs, free ice cream cones, free PEI mussels as well as free Canada Day cake! We were full by the time we left.

After Kensington, we decided to head to Summerside to see what was happening down there. When we arrived at Spinnaker’s Landing, we found a large crowd along the boardwalk. However, we discovered we had just missed the entertainment. They had bagpipers from the College of Piping among their entertainment which I would have enjoyed. We did manage to get there in time for Ron to have a piece of their cake! It was yummy!

Since it was getting rather hot, and we had worn pants instead of shorts, we decided to head home. We spent the rest of the day sitting on the deck in our swing with a wobbly pop while looking out over the water. We found it hard to believe that it had been a year already since we retired. As we sat there, we reflected back over the past year and felt how lucky we are to have been able to do this. It brought smiles to our faces that we couldn’t wipe off. This is the life we had envisioned!

Later that night, we heard loud bangs. We looked out the window and found that we could see fireworks that were being set off in Cavendish and North Rustico! What a bonus! We could see the fireworks and we didn’t have to get eaten alive by mosquitoes or face the traffic when leaving the fireworks to go home. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day. Hope you had a wonderful Canada Day too!