Hello Blog World

We slept in until 9am this morning...it was a chilly 6C degrees last night and good sleeping weather. Wild child was out late and we walked to the metro bus stop to meet her...just kinda hate to see her walk the few blocks home all alone at midnight...crime is not bad here like it is in the bigger cities in the states but there are still enough 'bad guys' that make us worry...

Looking out the kitchen window and seeing the sun shine one would think it was warm but then I look at the St John's weather...10C...winter will be here soon. I am actually looking forward to it and seeing snow.

I am down with a slight head cold. My angel and wild child both have a case of the flu...coughing bad. They saw a doctor Monday who gave them some anti-biotics for the chest infection...bronchitis. Hopefully it will clear it up...I hate to go off to Fl with both of them sick.

The army had the roads damaged by hurricane Igor back to passable...barely in some places. But at least supplies can be trucked in now. It will be next spring before work will start on permanent replacement. Some of the seafood processing plants that were damaged may never reopen....put a lot of people in a financial bind. But Newfoundlanders take care of their own...money is coming in from Newfoundland ex-patriots from all over the world and local fund raisers have raised at least a million dollars to aid those who lost everything.

Life is good my friends...my angel loves me and assures me that she will keep me warm this winter, heh. A head cold has never kept me down long...a couple of extra mugs of jumpstart and a kiss from my angel and I am up and running. Y'all come, heah?

Sunday Morning Coming Down..Just Rambling

The sun is a ball of fire and the reflection off the white house next door through my kitchen window is nearly blinding. A slight breeze is pushing the crisp 12C air through my open window... smells as fresh as a spray from an aerosol can. Fall is in the air...and this is a beautiful fall day. Makes a man want to go fishing!

The picture shows the kind of cod fish caught off the shores of Newfoundland...these are being salted at a village near my angel's hometown. These were fish in at least the 30# class if not bigger...lotta eating there.

We are having salt cod for our Sunday Dinner. It has to be soaked overnight in fresh cold water before it is boiled with onions and potatoes...delicious! And if there are any leftover fish I make fish cakes...good stuff.

The store here are geared up for Halloween...here on the island every such Holiday is celebrated...homes decorated and children of all ages going 'Trick or Treat'...seems they don't have the meanness here that is so prevalent in the states where parents are afraid to let there kids out on Halloween lest they get a poisoned apple or such. We are going to decorate some and of course have a supply of treats. Canadian 'Thanksgiving Day' will be celebrated on Oct 11 this year and my angel's birthday is a couple of days later...looks like a busy month, heh.

We might get down to the park later this afternoon...I want to get some pics of the fall flowers as well as see what damage was done to the park by Hurricane Igor. I saw on the local news that the river running through the park was at least 30 feet over its banks....tremendous unbelievable damage.

Life is good my friends. My angel and I are in love and celebrate life every day. The pot of jumpstart is gone...y'all come, heah?

Hello Blog World

The local weather quacks were wrong...again...it is a BEAUTIFUL fall day in St John's Newfoundland. Maybe 20C degrees and a light wind and the sun is shining. WOW! And the weather quacks said rain. But the saying here in Newfieland is "if you don't like the weather when you come in my front door just on on out the back...it will probably be different then..."

I bought round trip tickets back to Fl yesterday to take care of some business...will fly out on Nov 3 but will return on Nov 12 for another six months for 24 hours unless I can get the Canadians to give me a permanent resident status card by then. If not will have to leave the country for 24 hours and return. But next time my angel is going with me...

The province is still trying to recover from hurricane Igor. News this morning reported that all communities now have access roads although many are poor and for emergency or supply vehicles only. The army is still here working on the roads but it will be months if not years before the island recovers and even then it will never be the same. Things always change but normally not this damn fast.

Added insult to injury not only were so many homes totaled there are hundreds of jobs lost. In Port Union a sea food processing plant was damaged so bad it will be next year..if then...that it will reopen. 215 or so jobs gone until then and the community's livelihood depends on the payroll from the plant. Of course the Canadian government will lend aid to the unemployed but such is never enough to pay the bills.

My angel is in the process of putting together albums of pictures (taken during and after the storm by Trouty residents) of the damage in her hometown of Trouty. When she finishes we will sort them and publish them on facebook with comments. But those we have talked to in Trouty who have taken/seen the pictures allow that they do not do justice...the damage is unbelievable.

Now that the road is open we are going to try to get to Trouty for a weekend visit with her folks...maybe in November after I get back. I am looking forward to it.

Life is so good my friends. My angel always kisses me good morning and tells me she loves me and I worship her and let her know it all that I can. The morning jumpstart was good as ever...and a scrambled cackeberry and fried Newfie Steak ( baloney )with a piece of toast kept my blood sugar right...y'all come, heah?