Labrador Daze

Photos for Sale

2007-09-20T01:17:00.000-02:30

If you would like to hang one of my photos on your wall, you can check out imagekind. I'm playing around with it.

http://elizabethcounsel.imagekind.com/

2007-09-20T01:16:00.000-02:30

I wish Mystuff was on facebook

2007-07-13T10:42:00.000-02:30

Whatever happened to Mystuff? I haven't seen or heard from it in ages. The last time I saw Mystuff it was getting loaded in an trailer. You know Mystuff, "we'll keep in touch." And then you never hear from it again. The last I heard it was on it's way to Yellowknife. I wonder what it's up too? I wish it was on facebook. I'd love to poke Mystuff.

We needed a bigger truck

2007-07-13T10:37:00.000-02:30

It's the Small Things That I Miss the Most

2007-07-06T00:59:00.000-02:30

2007-07-06T00:58:00.000-02:30

2007-07-06T00:56:00.002-02:30

2007-07-06T00:56:00.001-02:30

2007-07-06T00:54:00.002-02:30

2007-07-06T00:54:00.001-02:30

2007-07-06T00:53:00.000-02:30

2007-07-05T16:44:00.000-02:30

Blue Skies

2007-06-15T13:03:00.000-02:30

I can't believe I woke up to this

2007-05-21T12:14:00.000-02:30

How do you like the prison bars affect?

May 24th Weekend

2007-05-21T12:13:00.000-02:30

I can almost deal with a little snow at night

2007-05-21T12:11:00.000-02:30

2007-05-08T19:58:00.000-02:30

Snow, Snow, Go Away!

2007-05-08T19:39:00.000-02:30

Come again some other day.

Like in December!

I can't believe it's May 8th and it's still snowing. The bay is full of ice. We have snow drifts, and it was coming down all day long. I needed to get my creepers back out this morning. I'm so sick of winter.

In other news, we're moving to Yellowknife because I obviously love the cold very much.

I'm serious, we are moving to Yellowknife in August. Some folks may remember that we lived there before. And if I recall correctly, I thought it was fabulous. So fabulous we left....

Anyway, I have much more experience to draw on now which will make living in Yellowknife a breeze. I have Soreal boots and yaktracks. I have an electric blanket and a block heater for old Nelly. We'll be fine.

It's a great teaching gig for Jason - pure math and calculus. And there are lots of opportunities for me. And we'll still have lots of holidays and the summer off! I'm really looking forward to it.

So, does anyone read this blog anymore? I've been addicted to facebook and I've ignored my old blog. I guess I'll have to come up with a new name for it. Any suggestions? How about - Pack and Unpack on Yak Tracks?

I love my iPod

2007-04-20T13:36:00.000-02:30

Remember Flowers?

2007-03-28T22:56:00.000-02:30

Happy Stephen Colbert Day

2007-03-20T12:21:00.000-02:30

And it's still Winter

2007-03-07T23:24:00.000-03:30

This Week I'm...

2007-03-07T23:17:00.000-03:30

teaching in the resource room. Notice the chemicals in the closet and the dictionarys. Interesting combination. It's Education Week so tomorrow I'm leading a team of kids in a variety of silly races and of course... Dodge Ball. yay

It's like H-day without the beer.

Students of the Week

2007-03-07T23:14:00.000-03:30

Armpit of Canada Weather

2007-02-26T17:39:00.000-03:30

Jason often asks me, "Why do you want to live in the armpit of Canada?" That's in reference to the lousy weather that St. John's/Placentia gets between October and May. I'll admit the east coast does get its fair share of wet, cold, slushy, windy, snowy, foggy, lousy weather. And Charlottetown winters may be cold, but it is usually sunny and not armpitty. But after this weekend, I take it back! It has been miserable. There are banks of slush and mud everywhere! It hasn't stopped raining/snowing for days and basically it isn't fit for man nor beast. I was afraid to drive in the mess out there so I walked down to the store. I was terrified I was going to step into a sinkhole of slush and never be seen again. So I'm making some nice warm soup and I'm not stepping out the door again till it decides what it's doing out there. Is it winter or spring? Make up your mind! Stupid winter.

More Birthday Photos

2007-02-26T02:18:00.000-03:30

Birthday Photos

Thanks for all the Birthday Wishes

2007-02-25T18:16:00.000-03:30

Winter Blooms

2007-02-09T09:55:00.000-03:30

Trouble Posting Photos

2007-02-09T09:50:00.000-03:30

I've been trying to get my photos uploaded for the last few days and I was blaming Blogger but it was Internet Explorer 7. As soon as I switched back to Mozilla, I had no problems. Stupid new Internet Explorer! It's fit for the pit!

February Flowers

2007-02-09T09:42:00.000-03:30

Beating the February Blahs

2007-02-07T16:53:00.000-03:30

It may be 40 below outside but it's spring in my kitchen! I decided to pick up some bulbs while I was home this fall and now I have fresh flowers! Charlottetown doesn't have a florist shop if you can believe it. So I think I'm brilliant and it's definitely better than eating loads of chocolate which was my remedy last year.

Happy Groundhog Day

2007-02-01T21:55:00.000-03:30

I don't see a shadow

Patrick and a Giant Baby Head

2007-01-23T23:12:00.000-03:30

Arty Thoughts

2007-01-21T13:28:00.000-03:30

While in Ottawa, I went to the National Art Gallery with Mom and Patrick and one of the coolest things that I've ever seen has to be this giant head. I couldn't believe the amount of detail that the artist included, like the little blue veins and the texture of the skin. Oh if only I could have touched it... Babies seem to like looking at pictures of other babies. I wonder how babies react to the giant head. Does it blow their developing minds?

Happy New Year

2007-01-07T15:39:00.000-03:30

The First Piss Off of 2007

2007-01-07T14:47:00.000-03:30

One of the local stores gave us a free calendar which is a nice gesture, right? Wrong! It was a recipe calendar. Check out the titles of these meals:

Moroccan Lamb Cutlets and they suggest you serve it with baba ghanoush
White Fish with Herbs and Zucchini
Chicken with Pistachio Sauce and Kumura Mash (I'm starting to well up)
Asparagus, Bacon and Cheese Pasta
Nicoise Salad (I can't even get lettuce!)
Veal Parmigiana (Veal!!! Is that what that mystery meat is?)
Grilled Fruit Kebabs with Passionfruit Sauce (It is breaking my heart to look at the photo of the berries and pineapple)
Mint Lime Cheesecake (we can hardly get cheese, let alone limes!)
Beef Stroganoff (In Charlottetown this is made with a pack of KD and a can of meatballs and gravy)

This is torture! It's some sort of cruel ironic joke or something. The store gave out all these glossy recipes and no one can buy any of the ingredients at the store. Why!!!!

Sob. Sniff.

Christmas Wrap Up

2007-01-07T14:22:00.000-03:30

Well the end of 2006 was pretty busy. I was the Grade 2/3 teacher and there was so much to do; Christmas Parties, assemblies, concerts and the dealing with the insanity of 7 year olds as the countdown to Christmas grew smaller and smaller. We had all the usual Christmas busyness of staff parties and decorating and shopping as well. On top of all that, we went to Ottawa. First we had to get to Blanc Sablon to catch a flight to St. John's. The forecast looked scary so we left a day early and stayed at the Northern Light Inn (an unexpected expense). Of course the weather turned out to be just fine and we had a very long day in Blanc Sablon. We had a three hour lunch at Pizza Delight and we drove down the coast and we checked out all the stores. That still left three hours so we went to the airport and I finished my hooked rug. We finally got into St. John's and totally missed Shannon and Andrew's party. Considering we had to get up at 4 am to fly to Ottawa that may have been a blessing in disguise. Seeing everyone in Ottawa was totally worth it. Phil and Deb's kids are so sweet. We had a great time with them.

After the Ottawa trip we went back to St. John's and just made it to Dion and Elizabeth's wedding which was excellent. Jason and I hit George Street afterwards. I think it was all too much for me because New Year's Eve I was a waste of space. I couldn't even fake it. I just had to lie on the couch and watch Jason and Patrick play X box games.

The drive back to Charlottetown from Blanc Sablon was terrible. I'll rant on about that later. Basically, it was scary. And then it was back to school the next morning and I was in for the Grade 4/5's. I figured that was a one day gig so I stayed up late playing golf on Jason's gift to himself, The Wii. Of course I was called in the next morning to sub for the Grade 8/9 teacher and I was so tired and grumpy. Poor kids. I spent the whole weekend asleep. I'm still pretty groggy. Hopefully all the teachers will be healthy tomorrow so I can have another day to myself.

I'm going to add some photos to my Labrador Web Album for anyone interested. And I'm adding more photos to the school's web albums if you want to see all the work we're doing at the school.

Later...

Liz

It's a Counsel Christmas

2007-01-01T22:51:00.000-03:30

Jason's Gifts

2007-01-01T22:49:00.001-03:30

Me and the Cuties

2007-01-01T22:49:00.000-03:30

So Busy

2006-12-17T17:20:00.000-03:30

I'm so tired. I've been subbing for the 2/3 teacher all week and the kids have me beat out. I'm in all this week too. Christmas concerts, assemblies, parties. Ugggg.

I'm too tired to think or feel.

I think I'll watch Elf. It may be too high brow for me at the moment.

My Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

2006-12-17T17:10:00.000-03:30

Did anyone catch The National?

2006-12-05T23:43:00.000-03:30

Now I can't stand Mark Kelley and his new series '7' is sickening. It's like he wants to be as popular as Rick Mercer, as loveable as Mr. Dressup and as serious as Peter Mansbridge and for me, he comes off as a huge PHONEY! But, his seven hours (not days) in "The Worst School in BC" shocked me. Those kids were in Grade Five and some of them couldn't write their name. I gasped so hard I sucked all the air out of Labrador. The Worst School - that bugged me - The Worst Situation? Maybe. But it was not the school! How could anyone put that clean, pleasant, positive environment and rank it with school's that don't have those types of learning problems? How can being labelled "The Worst School in BC" help anything? Those kids have enough self confidence problems. You'd think BC would be more PC about that!

Yaktraxs

2006-12-04T00:26:00.000-03:30

For when it's a bit icy

2006-12-04T00:13:00.000-03:30

Every Canadian Should Have These

2006-12-03T23:50:00.000-03:30

Yaktraxs
These things rock! I've fallen on the ice too many times in the last couple of years and last year I said no more! The first bad fall was in Yellowknife while I was carrying rolls of Christmas wrapping paper and it was like a scene out of a Christmas cartoon - a wrapping paper explosion basically. The second memorable fall was in front of some students who still haven't let me live it down and last year I slipped and end up half under the van which was luckly parked but it scared the bejesus out of me. So I was surfing around and I found yaktraxs. They're snow tires for your feet! Get them and enjoy winter!

When I got it home it was a piece of crap

2006-11-30T20:45:00.000-03:30

Piece of Crap! Does anyone else get that Neil Young reference? So I went to town on a shopping trip and got all the stuff that I can't get here. I went to Michael's and bought this Snap Fastener Kit. I needed to add some snaps to my homemade duvet cover. First of all, it only came with 4 snaps. How cheap is that? But what I can't fathom at all is that I hurt myself applying SNAPS! This stupid plastic thing was about the dumbest invention ever. I've used grommets and snaps before with little difficulty. I should have known it was a waste of money. When something made of plastic has directions that say and I quote, "Pound with hammer" you know it's going to break. And it did! And I kept trying to use it and it slipped and I pounded my finger instead. I hate you Snap Fastener Kit. I hate you.

Cough Sniffle Blah

2006-11-29T19:24:00.000-03:30

I have a cold and I'm being a huge sook. I don't want to comb my hair or make myself a cup of tea or anything. I just want to watch TV and feel yucky. I blame the Grade 8/9 class. I was subbing yesterday and they were all coughing and hacking. Kinda of gross really. It's really cold today too. -10 or something according to Karl. I wish someone would make me a cup of Rooibas tea. I hope Jason's reading this. Sniff.

Check out my very amateur video

2006-11-24T11:45:00.000-03:30

There's a video of Jason and his staff playing Whiskey in the Jar at the school last week. It's cute but my camera is not really a video camera. Cameras take lousy video and video cameras take lousy photos. But it's enough to get the general idea.

See the video here!

Yesterday was Jason's birthday and his favourite present was from Evan in Kindergarten who gave him a blue fuzzy, feathery pen with a music note on top. Evan saw it and thought it was perfect for his music teacher. awwww....

So Cold

2006-11-22T20:10:00.000-03:30

I think winter may be here to stay. The snow we had a few days ago hasn't melted. It's really cold. So cold our oil turned into a huge ice chunk. Really. Our stove oil, which we just had delivered yesterday, froze solid! Now, it's not that cold out. SOme people figure there's water in our oil. I'm not too happy regardless. The landlord frigged around with the big icecube all day and we now have heat. I don't think I should pay for watered down oil but I don't quite understand how this could happen so I'm unsure of who I should blame. And if I get all fussy and complainy will it make any difference? It's not like I can take my business elsewhere. So, for American Thanksgiving, all you city slickers should give thanks for 'choice'. It's really nice to have choice. I'm jealous

2006-11-18T15:41:00.000-03:30

Cafe Night - Featuring Jason and his All Teacher Band

2006-11-18T15:28:00.000-03:30

Jason and his band mates (Pheilm on drums, Phil on spoons and George on Lead Ugly Stick) were fantastic at their first gig at the 2nd WGA Cafe Night. I'm such a groupie. It was a fun evening. The kids decorated the gym and there were tons of desserts supplied by the parents. The theatre class did a short play so there was a variety of entertainment - it wasn't just 2 hours of Jason singing. I think we'll have a couple more nights like that throughout the year. It's not the best fundraiser but it's something to be at.

Roadtrip

2006-11-15T11:53:00.000-03:30

Everyone should go on a 2400 kilometre roadtrip by themselves at least once to test one's coping skills. I think I passed. Thank god for my iPod. So the trip home was pretty successful. Only one little hic-up. Jason and I both misread the ferry schedule. You'd think one of us would be able to read after all the schoolin'. I watched the Apollo leaving just as I was heading into Blanc Sablon and I thought to myself, "How's the boat going to be back here for 3pm?" I didn’t get it even then that ‘I’ could have made a mistake. Some Stunned!

So I spent LOTS of money and I have everything for Christmas and a pantry full of goodies. Now we can just sit back and wait for winter. It should be here any minute now.

Check out my Roadtrip Web Album.

Winosaur

2006-11-05T15:33:00.000-03:30

Winosaur - That's Me

2006-11-05T14:58:00.000-03:30

Winosaur - someone who is too old to be getting loaded drunk on wine. I just made that one up. I can't believe how insane Leigh Ann and I were on Friday night. I haven't been that out of hand since the time my mother-in-law and I went to the 40 Below in Yellowknife and if you were a witness to that you'll know my meaning. I think Jason still has photographic evidence. Life's been a bit stressfull this year so I think I just needed to cut loose and go crazy. That's how I'm justifying it. Shame on me. And I'm sure I'll never hear the end of it either. Oh well. Winosaurs aren't known for their intelligence. I'm adding that to my definition.

Sunset - Just Before the Placentia Turnoff

2006-11-05T01:21:00.000-03:30

The Proud Artist

2006-11-05T01:20:00.000-03:30

Claire's Work of Art

2006-11-05T01:18:00.000-03:30

Mini Herd of Caribou

2006-11-05T01:16:00.000-03:30

Near Sally's Cove

Road Trip - The Last of the Blue Sky

2006-11-05T01:14:00.000-03:30

Newest Canning

2006-11-04T20:58:00.000-03:30

My cousin Calvin has a little baby boy. Check out the photos http://clearblogs.com/Isaac

November 1st??? What the...

2006-11-01T09:30:00.000-03:30

I can't fathom that it's November. It doesn't seem possible. I was saying that time was going by so quickly to someone here and they told me that time speeding up is a sign that the end of days is near. I haven't noticed people walking around in a fast forward motion yet but I do think this fall has floated by. I haven't even finished unpacking yet! I hope I get everything sorted before the rapture or whatever is supposed to happen at the end of days. And you thought halloween was spooky!

The Martin's Come Trick or Treating

2006-10-31T17:57:00.000-03:30

Our Little Haunted House

2006-10-31T17:53:00.000-03:30

We didn't get a pumpkin - I didn't snag one in time. I could have carved a turnip - which is the traditional jack o' lantern - but I used the turnip we had for pea soup. Oh well! Can you tell I painted the lightbulb orange? I try!

Potholes and Prohibition

2006-10-23T09:33:00.000-02:30

Jason and his cross-country running team made it back to Charlottetown but it was a rough journey. It’s been raining for days up here and the dirt road is in bits. Usually it takes Jason 3 ½ hours to drive from Blanc Sablon to here and last night it took almost 6 hours. Our old van Nellie isn’t too pleased about it. She’s going to be in the shop for days. The other chauffeur had two flat tires and her rig isn’t too happy either. It’s hard when you have to spend all the lovely Labrador bonus money on car repairs – but I guess that’s why the government pays it out. So I’m not heading home this week – no van and no money to spend. Blah.
The kids had a good weekend, I think. No big running success stories but no incidents either. Jason was a bit annoyed that some of the students weren’t allowed to go to the dance, which caused a bit of drama. I try to be tolerant when it comes to religious beliefs, but what’s wrong with dancing? I don’t get it. Every culture on the planet has a dance. It’s human nature and a bit of harmless fun! OK, there could be beer, drugs or someone looking to pick a fight at a dance. There’s beer, drugs and fights EVERYWHERE! How did dancing get mixed in with all the other don’ts? Don’t move to a beat – it will ruin your life! As my hero Jimmy (South Park)would say, “Come on.” Sure, sometimes I get a twinge of repulsion when I hear a song like Cotton-eyed Joe and think, “Oh God, I danced to that”. But I’m not going to hell because I danced to that horrid song, right? I hope not anyway.

Fall in Charlottetown

2006-10-14T20:19:00.000-02:30

Big Business - The Shrimp Plant

2006-10-14T20:18:00.000-02:30

Little John's - Good Brown Food

2006-10-14T19:23:00.000-02:30

Northern Prowler

2006-10-14T19:21:00.000-02:30

Not Quite Style at Home

2006-10-10T23:30:00.000-02:30

I couldn't be arsed to do any more with this gigantic king size project. I didn't even make the bed neatly. It's not like Linda Reeves surfs blogs looking for decorating faux pas... or does she.... So that's that. It's made out of fabrics left over from the wedding so you can do the math on how long I've had this project on the go. I'm happy with it. It covers our old cheap duvet that wasn't looking so good since I tipped over a cup of tea on it last year. It'll do.

My 99% Completed Quilt

2006-10-10T23:28:00.000-02:30

Thanksgiving Snow

2006-10-09T19:26:00.000-02:30

Thanks a lot!

Work Work Work

2006-10-09T18:59:00.000-02:30

I thought I'd have lots of time this fall to work on some of my outstanding projects - my quilted duvet cover, some Christmas decorations and I've really wanted to get started on another hooked rug - but I haven't had the time! Work, Work, Work is all I do. Now I've probably damn myself to a winter of boredom and poverty by complaining. I've hardly had the time to work on the books down at the store. I've had a lot of office jobs but I've never had one with a view like this. Usually I'm stuck in a fish bowl on a main thoroughfare or in the back with the dust bunnies facing the electrical box. I'm pretty content at the store. Lots of candy and a window seat. Awesome!

The view from my office

2006-10-09T18:51:00.000-02:30

What's a Good Pop Song to teach to Grade 6's?

2006-10-03T20:39:00.000-02:30

Jason's trying to think of a decent song to teach to his Grade 6 music class. They have "Skater Boy" in the book but that's like soooo old. I was checking out the songs of the day on iTunes and I don't think "Maneater", "Sexy Back", "Smack That" or "London Bridge" are fit for school or anywhere really. Any ideas?

So remember long ago (my last post - so much for keeping this thing updated) when I said I wasn't going to get any subbing because Pheilm moved here and ruined my gig? Well ever since that day I've been in the school. I wish I could take a few days off from the school because the kids are starting to get on my nerves. I was hoping to get to Newfoundland for a while in October but I don't know when I'm going to get a chance! And I need supplies! We didn't bring up that much because we thought we might be moving to Qatar. You don't need a years supply of powdered skim milk in Qatar. Well maybe you do - I didn't research that stuff. I just assumed you can get fresh milk in the middle east. Just like many people assume you can get fresh milk in Canada - who knew!

Anyway, I've been busy teaching math and french. My very best subjects! Those poor kids.

Not a whole lot more to report. I watched the worst movie ever made. "Poseidon". I thought it may just be bad in a cheesie way but it was beyond cheesie. It was AWFUL, TERRIBLE and I feel I've been robbed of a perfectly good rainy afternoon!!! Why Richard Dreyfus, Why?

I'll try harder to be a better blogger. Less watching crap and more typing.

Later

It Better Not Snow in September

2006-09-19T23:40:00.000-02:30

No much happening up here. Brrrr it's cold! Bet it's not cold in Qatar - we're not going by the way. It was just a temptation for a while. Things are good here. Jason's teaching several levels of Math and Science to several levels of students at the same time. He's also teaching Tech and his new favourite subject Music to all the little ones - from Kindergarten to Grade 7. Tomorrow he'll be performing "The Wheels on the Bus" and "The Grand Old Duke of York" and for the big finish "Choo Choo Train".

I'm not getting any subbing because Pheilm Martin moved here and took my job that b**tard! Just joshing. He's the new half time teacher who moved here. His wife and kids will be here next week. I can't wait to meet Holly. Yay!!! Friends!!!!

I've been working for the Powell Empire - part time. I'm doing the books for Darth Irving. Just joshing again. Everyone in Charlottetown is nice. (I think I'm feeling paranoid that I sound too negative about Labrador in this post. Overcompensating!!!)

Jason's doing the actions for "The Grand Old Duke of York" and is distracting me too much to write.

The Grand Old Duke of York
He had 10 000 men
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And then he marched them down again

Later

Back Again!

2006-09-04T18:34:00.000-02:30

We made it back to Charlottetown, again. Yay. That wasn't a very enthusiastic yay. I'm too tired and my apartment is too messy and Jason is too busy to help. He's out at the kitchen table tutoring two students in math right now. He’s crazy. I made a path through the piles of clothes and Sobey's bags to the computer and I'm trying to take my mind off the mess but I'm having a hard time of it. So unorganized.... I can't stand it. I can't even think of anything else to say. Trip was uneventful. We saw lots of whales in the Strait of Belle Isle and no moose for once. The van didn't shimmy or shutter or shake. The dirt road was too dusty. It was like driving in snow flurries. All in all a good trek to Labrador. Yay, the math studies are over. Now that was an enthusiastic yay!

Jason Wins Race the Base - Argentia

2006-08-27T18:33:00.000-02:30

Go Jason!

Karl Finally Showed my Photos and I Missed It!

2006-08-25T01:32:00.000-02:30

I’m so depressed. I’m not famous enough to go Cooking with Karl so all I can hope for is to get one of my photos on before the weather, just like all the other yahoos out there with a digital camera. Since they started giving away those friggin’ clocks over the winter I’ve been trying to win one. I’ve sent in some lovely photos and then watched hours of Debbie and Jonathan in hopes that I’ll get on the news with one of my fabulous pictures. But Nothing! Not a pixel. And the one time I send in a photo and I can't watch the news – I’m on! I’m pretty rotted. I sent in a photo on Sunday night of the Flotilla at the Shrimp Festival and I didn’t give it a thought on Monday. I was more concerned with the shimmy that the van picked up this time on the dirt road (broken belt in the tire). So I watched on Tuesday with the mindset that it was Monday, because driving back and forth to Labrador over a weekend can do that to a person, and I was a bit ho-hum because my photos weren’t on like usual. I thought, Karl mustn't like me at all. I was pretty confused when I bumped into Rita and she said she had seen my photos and my name on Here and Now. Just my luck! I'm just going to have to try harder to become a local celebrity and meet Karl in person! http://www.karlwells.com/

Triple Threat

2006-08-25T01:28:00.000-02:30

Jason, McKay and Mark

Shrimp Festival Trip

2006-08-25T01:16:00.000-02:30

I can’t believe this time last week I was in Charlottetown! What a whirlwind! I was a bit worried about bringing Pat and Lucy to Labrador. I was worried that Pat wouldn't want to ever come home and Lucy wouldn't want us to ever go back, but it turned out to be a great experience for all of us. As we drove into unfamiliar territory for Pat and Lucy, the rain stopped and they had about the best conditions for seeing Gros Morne and the Northern Pennisula. The park sparkled with the water running down from the hills and everywhere we stopped the view was just perfect! We’ve gone through at times and it’s been overcast or foggy and it’s still fantastic but not what you want when you’re trying to impress the tourists! After a night in Cow Head we headed to Labrador. The ferry crossing was nice and gentle for Jason and Lucy. I was worried because we didn’t have a reservation but there was no need for one. There was very little traffic. We stopped in L’anse Amour to see the lighthouse. I think it’s worth the cost of the ferry to travel over and see it. The 530 million year old patch reef, the 7500 year old Maritime Archaic Burial Site, the tallest lighthouse in the province – if you’re going to L’anse Aux Meadows why not take an extra day and see the paved part of Labrador? Some advertising dollars need to be spent on something other than Vikings and Western Brook Pond.

The road trip up to Charlottetown was pretty good. There had been a bit of rain so the dirt road was a bit bumpy from Red Bay to Mary’s Harbour. The paved part of course was excellent! I love that part of the trip – the hills where you pray your brakes don’t fail, the Pinware River and I have a soft spot for Red Bay. I love the sound of pavement! Or lack thereof. Pat seemed very keen on the barrens for Partridge and Caribou and he was drooling over the fishing opportunities. I think the quote of the trip was “I bet there’s salmon in there.”

On Friday, after a good nights sleep, we showed the folks around. The festival’s opening ceremonies started at 7. We went up and heard the political side of things, the praising of the Shrimp Plant by John Hickey, Yvonne Jones, Todd Russell and Chris Montague. There was an excellent skit by Mark Freake and Kenneth Williams. Mark did an excellent Paul McCartney character – you can imagine the theme of the skit! Other highlights of the evening were the Shrimp bakeoff, the crowning of the King and Queen of the festival, and music by Winston White and Terry Reilly. Then everyone headed down to the wharf for a BBQ and the Blessing of the Fleet. It was very well done and it was followed by a tour of the harbour with the boats decorated in lights and armed with fireworks. Everyone was invited on the boats and there was a great community vibe.

On Saturday there was lots of stuff for the kids, Terry Reilly was the entertainment and there was plenty of food and games. Before the dance Jason somehow became involved with a concert at the last moment. He did a great job and you’d think he’d been playing all summer! The dance had live music and there was a good crowd. They don’t usually have dances in Charlottetown so it was not to be missed! Jason and I didn’t crawl home till 4 so I’d say we had fun. Sunday was a write off for driving anywhere so we got up at 3 am Monday and started home. If the van hadn’t acted up it would have been easy sailing. The dirt road is hard on tires. I don’t want to think about how many tires we’ve bought in the past two years. But that’s why we get the Labrador bonus!

The Shrimp Festival needed more shrimp, but besides that I thought it was a lot of fun. The folks enjoyed it and they finally had a chance to see what we’ve got ourselves into! They couldn’t get over how friendly everyone was. That’s the one thing that Charlottetown has in abundance - friendly, hard working people and that’s something to celebrate.

Enjoying the Festival

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So far so good!

Fireworks

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"I call that one Precious Moment - because it only lasts a moment" - Natalie age 9

Tour of the harbour

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With Fireworks

Blessing of the Fleet

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Entertainer Terry Rielly

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And Local Singer Natalie

Shrimp Festival King & Queen

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5th Annual Shrimp Festival

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MHA Yvonne Jones

Welcome to Charlottetown

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Shrimp Festival Weekend

530 Million Year Old Patch Reefs

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View from Lighthouse

My Labrador Pet

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Tallest Lighthouse in NL

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L'anse Amour

Welcome to Labrador

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On the ferry

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Labrador Men

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Don't want to Smell a Moose

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Cow Head

Stopping to Smell the Roses

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Norris Point

Beautiful Evening Through Gros Morne

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Labrador Passengers

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Grey Foggy Day - Star Theme Song

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