Maple trees are either plump with red buds/flowers, or have just unfurled their fresh green leaves.
A lone weeping willow had electric lime green leaves this morning.
Soft pink magnolias blossoms share space with cheerful yellow forsythias and daffodils.
This all seemed to happen overnight, hello spring!
Friday, 11 May 2007
Monday, 7 May 2007
Maitland Variety Supper
May 5, 2007
Maitland Community Hall
Maitland, NS
It's always nice to go to this supper, it's kind of like coming home after a long trip. Some things never change, and for the most part, neither does this supper.
We drove past the hall around 3:15, a good 45 minutes before it was supposed to start. Sure enough, there were two cars in the parking lot, waiting.......I guess they really wanted to have a slice of that coconut cream pie (we were not so lucky).
We arrived to a packed hall, and as usual, we were the only 'youngsters' there. We started to recognize some faces from the area. The guy taking tickets walks a nearby dirt road every morning. Same guy serving the coffee. Same guy serving the tea. All's right with the world in Maitland.
We found a spot to sit without much trouble and had a bit of a wait till our place setting was cleaned up and our 'orders' were taken. It was more of a: "you guys want a bit of everything that's left?" kind of order, of course we said: "yes"! Fairly quickly, our plates arrived:
Somehow these pictures never really capture how appetizing the food looks when it arrives....no wiener on the plate, to Lisa's dismay, but they were replaced by some delicious cabbage rolls!
We tucked in to the offering: fried chicken, scalloped potatoes, baked beans, swedish meatballs, cabbage rolls and ham made up the hot portion of the meal.
We each got a spoon full of the delicious broccoli salad that was on the table, as well as: potato salad, cole slaw, pickled beets, bread and butter pickles and an unusual pickled salad that encouraged me to have two helpings.
Oh man, how could i forget the sweets? By the time we got there, the ever popular coconut cream pie was off the desert list (and kraut slaw and weiners were off the dinner menu), so we opted for the delicious 'hole of coconut' cake that was sitting in front of us the whole time. It was made by one of our server's aunts and was delish, of course!
I hope to publish another tidbit to the blog if I can sort it out...stay tuned...
Maitland Community Hall
Maitland, NS
It's always nice to go to this supper, it's kind of like coming home after a long trip. Some things never change, and for the most part, neither does this supper.
We drove past the hall around 3:15, a good 45 minutes before it was supposed to start. Sure enough, there were two cars in the parking lot, waiting.......I guess they really wanted to have a slice of that coconut cream pie (we were not so lucky).
We arrived to a packed hall, and as usual, we were the only 'youngsters' there. We started to recognize some faces from the area. The guy taking tickets walks a nearby dirt road every morning. Same guy serving the coffee. Same guy serving the tea. All's right with the world in Maitland.
We found a spot to sit without much trouble and had a bit of a wait till our place setting was cleaned up and our 'orders' were taken. It was more of a: "you guys want a bit of everything that's left?" kind of order, of course we said: "yes"! Fairly quickly, our plates arrived:
Somehow these pictures never really capture how appetizing the food looks when it arrives....no wiener on the plate, to Lisa's dismay, but they were replaced by some delicious cabbage rolls!We tucked in to the offering: fried chicken, scalloped potatoes, baked beans, swedish meatballs, cabbage rolls and ham made up the hot portion of the meal.
We each got a spoon full of the delicious broccoli salad that was on the table, as well as: potato salad, cole slaw, pickled beets, bread and butter pickles and an unusual pickled salad that encouraged me to have two helpings.
Oh man, how could i forget the sweets? By the time we got there, the ever popular coconut cream pie was off the desert list (and kraut slaw and weiners were off the dinner menu), so we opted for the delicious 'hole of coconut' cake that was sitting in front of us the whole time. It was made by one of our server's aunts and was delish, of course!
I hope to publish another tidbit to the blog if I can sort it out...stay tuned...
Saturday, 5 May 2007
Where are you from, New Ross?
A clip from this past winter, I finally got up the nerve to stop and talk to this guy about the intersting truck tractor he had built:
Bridgewater Industrial Park Burns
Bridgewater Industrial Park
Bridgewater, NS
Nestled at the end of a nondescript dead end road in the industrial park, I found this spot where the 'plaza peelers' must hang out when they get kicked out of their usual haunts.
I guess that manhole cover has been moved since this start line was painted...
The end of the road....
Give 'er.....
One longgggg strip.
Found this toy car in the ditch right beside the 'strip',
I'm sure it's not the first car to end up in this ditch....
Bridgewater, NS
Nestled at the end of a nondescript dead end road in the industrial park, I found this spot where the 'plaza peelers' must hang out when they get kicked out of their usual haunts.
I guess that manhole cover has been moved since this start line was painted...
The end of the road....
Give 'er.....
One longgggg strip.
Found this toy car in the ditch right beside the 'strip',
I'm sure it's not the first car to end up in this ditch....
Tuesday, 1 May 2007
Brake burns, it's brake burn season!
The Northfield Road Collection
Northfield Road, Maitland to Barss Corner
Well, supposedly I have brakeburns.blogspot.com as 'mine', but for the life of me, I can't get it to publish, so I'll give it a shot here.
For the uninitiated....burnouts, brake stands, brodies or brake burns, it's all about rubber on the road! I think that brake burns are like the latent art form of the 'locals' in Lunenburg county.
A lazy drive up the Northfield Road last Sunday allowed me to discover a nice collection of spring time brake burns:
short set of 'fish hooks'
I wonder how much rubber is left on the tire?
close up of the 'strip' on the right from 2 pictures up.
nice 'wavy' set going up the hill onPenny Rd.
the beginnings of a 'double helix' burn
Stay tuned, the brake burn season has just begun ^_^
Northfield Road, Maitland to Barss Corner
Well, supposedly I have brakeburns.blogspot.com as 'mine', but for the life of me, I can't get it to publish, so I'll give it a shot here.
For the uninitiated....burnouts, brake stands, brodies or brake burns, it's all about rubber on the road! I think that brake burns are like the latent art form of the 'locals' in Lunenburg county.
A lazy drive up the Northfield Road last Sunday allowed me to discover a nice collection of spring time brake burns:
short set of 'fish hooks'
I wonder how much rubber is left on the tire?
close up of the 'strip' on the right from 2 pictures up.
nice 'wavy' set going up the hill onPenny Rd.
the beginnings of a 'double helix' burn
Stay tuned, the brake burn season has just begun ^_^
Monday, 30 April 2007
Chester Basin Legion Newfie's Breakfast
April 28, 2007
Chester Basin, NS
If you thought your neck of the woods was busy Saturday morning, you should've seen the parking lot of the Chester Basin Legion Hall! We were en route to a veterinarian appointment in the same town, so we thought we'd also stop by the Newfie Breakfast at the local legion hall. Sorry there aren't any pictures, I forgot my camera at home. :-(
To be honest, we were lucky to even find a spot to park, the lot was packed! A benefit ATV (4-wheeler) rally was being held the same morning for a local child who's undergoing some expensive medical treatments in Montreal. But really, I'm sure this happy group of 'off roaders' needs little excuse to gather and tear around the county on those noisy beasts of theirs.
The atmosphere inside the hall was chaotic to say the least. There was a small line forming, and we queued up dilligently. Some impatient fellow kept whining behind us, "this line's too long, why's it taking so long?" It wasn't that bad, I don't know what this guy's problem was...probably because he had a major 'hard-on' for going 'muddin'.
Once we got up to pay for the meal, we were presented with a rapid fire series of menu choices and options: "toast or biscuit? ham or fried bologna (thought they only gave that to prisoners...)? scrambled eggs? baked beans? pancakes? hash browns? fish cakes?" Phew, I felt full after just putting in my order! Volunteers scurried around the hall shrieking out numbers, "NUMBER 25?!! NUMBER 25??!!!" Fellow diners helped out occaisionally, pointing the desperate servers in the right direction.
As full as the hall was, there were plenty of seats available, tables were decked out with stiff, blue vinyl table cloths. Our food arrived suprisingly fast, and it was hot and hit the spot! The biscuits were tiny and yummy, the fish cakes and baked beans were my highlights of the meal. The baked beans were dark from the molasses and tender from hours of cooking. A couple of kids were scooted away from the stage where a nearby crock pot of beans was quietly simmering. Who knows how long they'd been cooking? Long enough to be delicious, that's for sure!
The tea was also great and actually distinguishable from the coffee, which isn't always the case at these functions. ^_^ We savoured our meal, the hall rapidly cleared out of ATV rally participants and all that remained were the locals and folks like us who stopped in for breakfast. If you happen to be in the area, they hold this breakfast on the 4th Saturday of every month and it is well worth the trip to Chester Basin, Nova Scotia!
Chester Basin, NS
If you thought your neck of the woods was busy Saturday morning, you should've seen the parking lot of the Chester Basin Legion Hall! We were en route to a veterinarian appointment in the same town, so we thought we'd also stop by the Newfie Breakfast at the local legion hall. Sorry there aren't any pictures, I forgot my camera at home. :-(
To be honest, we were lucky to even find a spot to park, the lot was packed! A benefit ATV (4-wheeler) rally was being held the same morning for a local child who's undergoing some expensive medical treatments in Montreal. But really, I'm sure this happy group of 'off roaders' needs little excuse to gather and tear around the county on those noisy beasts of theirs.
The atmosphere inside the hall was chaotic to say the least. There was a small line forming, and we queued up dilligently. Some impatient fellow kept whining behind us, "this line's too long, why's it taking so long?" It wasn't that bad, I don't know what this guy's problem was...probably because he had a major 'hard-on' for going 'muddin'.
Once we got up to pay for the meal, we were presented with a rapid fire series of menu choices and options: "toast or biscuit? ham or fried bologna (thought they only gave that to prisoners...)? scrambled eggs? baked beans? pancakes? hash browns? fish cakes?" Phew, I felt full after just putting in my order! Volunteers scurried around the hall shrieking out numbers, "NUMBER 25?!! NUMBER 25??!!!" Fellow diners helped out occaisionally, pointing the desperate servers in the right direction.
As full as the hall was, there were plenty of seats available, tables were decked out with stiff, blue vinyl table cloths. Our food arrived suprisingly fast, and it was hot and hit the spot! The biscuits were tiny and yummy, the fish cakes and baked beans were my highlights of the meal. The baked beans were dark from the molasses and tender from hours of cooking. A couple of kids were scooted away from the stage where a nearby crock pot of beans was quietly simmering. Who knows how long they'd been cooking? Long enough to be delicious, that's for sure!
The tea was also great and actually distinguishable from the coffee, which isn't always the case at these functions. ^_^ We savoured our meal, the hall rapidly cleared out of ATV rally participants and all that remained were the locals and folks like us who stopped in for breakfast. If you happen to be in the area, they hold this breakfast on the 4th Saturday of every month and it is well worth the trip to Chester Basin, Nova Scotia!
Monday, 23 April 2007
Blockhouse Fire Dept. Spring Tea--April 22, 2007
Spring Tea
Blockhouse Volunteer Fire Department Hall
Blockhouse, Nova Scotia
April 22, 2007
It was the perfect finale to a glorious weekend. We deserved it after all the late April snowstorms, near hurricane winds and everything else that was making seemingly everyone sick of any reminder of this past winter.
We arrived to a sparsely filled parking lot, which was fine by me. I hoped this meant that we would have more choices of sandwiches and sweets. We entered the wrong door to the fire hall, and walked past a half dozen volunteer fire fighters, dressed in their dress uniforms. Crisp white shirts adorned with epaulets and various patches, black ties and dress pants. It seemed to be a very formal affair!
The hall was dimly lit, drapes were drawn over the windows and a dozen or so individual tables were set up with full place settings. After a brief wait, our first 'server' arrived, his plate festooned with all manner of delicious little sandwiches. We quickly chose and then devoured them, but not before I took a snapshot:
The tea was black and delicious, and the sandwiches left little to be desired. The crusts weren't removed, but with soft white bread, how can you really tell where the bread ends and the crust begins?
Deviled ham, tuna and egg salad, cream cheese and cherry and ham and cheese sandwiches were on offer, and all slaked our hunger for 'little sammiches'. I couldn't help putting those bread and butter pickles in my ham and cheese sandwich, for that crunchy counterpoint to the soft goodness of the sandwich.
The hall slowly filled up. As usual, we were the only folks there under 50. It looked like most people attended the tea after church and were decked out in their Sunday best. Eventually we finished with the sandwiches after several visits from our server. I had the feeling we could have sat there all day and just kept eating sandwich after sandwich. They were definately not shy about offering second and third helpings!
Lastly, the sweets....All manner of chocolate goodness: chocolate dipped peanut butter balls, chocolate brownies, chocolate toffee squares, blueberry cake, lemon loaf, marshmallow peanut butter squares, and many more I neglected to try. I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of the plate to help me remember what was on offer. We savoured the home made goodness, had another cup of tea and then left to enjoy the rest of the sunny day.
A perfect end to a grand weekend, we look forward to the upcoming chili luncheon at the same hall in about a month.
Blockhouse Volunteer Fire Department Hall
Blockhouse, Nova Scotia
April 22, 2007
It was the perfect finale to a glorious weekend. We deserved it after all the late April snowstorms, near hurricane winds and everything else that was making seemingly everyone sick of any reminder of this past winter.
We arrived to a sparsely filled parking lot, which was fine by me. I hoped this meant that we would have more choices of sandwiches and sweets. We entered the wrong door to the fire hall, and walked past a half dozen volunteer fire fighters, dressed in their dress uniforms. Crisp white shirts adorned with epaulets and various patches, black ties and dress pants. It seemed to be a very formal affair!
The hall was dimly lit, drapes were drawn over the windows and a dozen or so individual tables were set up with full place settings. After a brief wait, our first 'server' arrived, his plate festooned with all manner of delicious little sandwiches. We quickly chose and then devoured them, but not before I took a snapshot:
The tea was black and delicious, and the sandwiches left little to be desired. The crusts weren't removed, but with soft white bread, how can you really tell where the bread ends and the crust begins?Deviled ham, tuna and egg salad, cream cheese and cherry and ham and cheese sandwiches were on offer, and all slaked our hunger for 'little sammiches'. I couldn't help putting those bread and butter pickles in my ham and cheese sandwich, for that crunchy counterpoint to the soft goodness of the sandwich.
The hall slowly filled up. As usual, we were the only folks there under 50. It looked like most people attended the tea after church and were decked out in their Sunday best. Eventually we finished with the sandwiches after several visits from our server. I had the feeling we could have sat there all day and just kept eating sandwich after sandwich. They were definately not shy about offering second and third helpings!
Lastly, the sweets....All manner of chocolate goodness: chocolate dipped peanut butter balls, chocolate brownies, chocolate toffee squares, blueberry cake, lemon loaf, marshmallow peanut butter squares, and many more I neglected to try. I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of the plate to help me remember what was on offer. We savoured the home made goodness, had another cup of tea and then left to enjoy the rest of the sunny day.
A perfect end to a grand weekend, we look forward to the upcoming chili luncheon at the same hall in about a month.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)