Tuesday, July 30, 2013

a supposed-to-be quick update

here's a beautiful pic of the sun rising on the river...


near takes your breathe away eh? i know it near takes mine and jambaloney's away!

anyway, a quick update. it's been a busy but thoroughly enjoyable weekend. as i mentioned previously, friday night was the annual roast beef dinner. we got to see our regular crew of friends plus some people that we only see a few times a year - it is always nice to see people that we don't see regularly and re-establish connections.

saturday night was our friend H's family reunion. oh what a screech! he must have had 50 family members show up from all over the place!!! and all of the family members got "screeched in" halfway through the party. for anyone interested in what being "screeched in" means (yes, Linda, i mean you!), here is a link.

basically, being "screeched in" is a newfoundland tradition (another island province in canada not far from cape breton. the people in newfoundland and cape breton are very similar except for the fact that most newfoundlanders can't swim - bahahahah! but cape bretoners and newfies have an affinity for each other that isn't found between any other 2 provinces in canada. we love our newfs and they love us capers!). anyway, the ceremony involves putting on fishing hats, pants, boots and gear, drinking a shot of screech (moonshine...and it is god-awful!), reciting where you are from and saying that you want to become a newf and then kissing a cod! it's a wonderful tradition, fun, funny as heck and many cape bretoners have been screeched in...including myself.

at the party, we had a lot of fun. we sat at our usual table with our framboise family - including our Matriarch v, our brothers D, D, and R, our sisters S and E. it was soooo great that our brother G and sister C were there...our sister C takes the p*ss out of jambaloney and it is sooo funny to watch. we also got to meet 2 more of our brothers that we had never met before - B and T - oh my - were they a freakin' hoot. they were up to do some work on V's house and brought their 2 crew members with them - those boys were so nice and fun! we were laughing our fool heads off on all of our smoke breaks together! lastly, our nephew M came down and he is precious and has my heart! he's such a good young man, finding his way in the world. he is so interested in so many things and i love to talk to him because he has these huge brown eyes, but you have to be very careful. he sucks in everything that you say and do, and then reflects very intensely. he was very proud to tell me that he was at chapter 25 in the book of Genesis.

continuing on, we got to meet a few more people that we had never met before. 2 of these people, DM and J - well, we just hit it right off with them! they have a cottage up here and love coming up but they don't do much mingling. anyway, we spent quite a bit of time talking with them and we all really got along so they invited us to their cottage on sunday for a bbq.

then there was lots more dancing and lots more laughing and then finally it was time to shut down the hall. S and jambaloney did the inventory while i cleaned all of the tables, gathered garbage and put the chairs back. the men carried all of the licquor upstairs to the locked cabinet and then we were good to go. it was a fantastic night!

the next day, we went to DM and J's at the right moment and then we all started laughing about they didn't know if we would really show up and we weren't sure if they really meant to invite us. we were worried that they might have forgotten and then we show up and they have to scramble. DM admitted that they had talked about would we really show? or not? but just in case they got the steaks out of the freezer and got ready for us.

DM and i sat and yakked at the table while jambaloney and J cooked the steaks. we brought 4 shish-kebab skewars of onions, mushrooms and 4 different coloured peppers. jambaloney was in charge of bbq'ing the shish-kebabs and J was doing the steaks. while i was talking non-stop with DM - we had so much to say and tell each other and talk about - i could hear jambaloney and J doing the same thing - non-stop talking. it's rare to feel so comfortable with people that you can just non-stop talk with - but that's how it felt with them and that's how it feels with most people here??? it is the same feeling we have with our brother G and sister C!!! i'd say that it's strange except it just feels so dang nice!

anyway - supper was delicious! the steaks were cooked to perfection, DM made a delicious caesar salad and both of them had never had shish-kebabs before but they both ate their whole skewars and said that they loved them! i was so happy. i am always nervous feeding people!

continuing on - we played music and talked for another 4 hours!!! we had been there for 7 hours and there was never a lull in the conversation!!! it was an awesome time and we look forward to meeting up with them again!

but after all of those events, dancing, partying and having so much fun - we were bush-whacked on monday. so we kind of took it easy. today we did a bunch of stuff in the garden and tomorrow we have to go to the city for an appointment - bleck! i hate the city! although our city is only 36,000 people pretty spread out - it's still the city to me!

here's dinner today - spinach salad with peas, apples and mint. with my delicious chili/lime dressing! yummeh!



it's time to go make supper - liver and a quinoa and pepper salad on wilted spinach...i am so looking forward to it! after supper we'll go for a walk, read, take a few dips in the hottub and then i'll be back here and reply to all of your comments on my previous posts. then it's a movie on netflix and bed. it's been a really good couple of days. i hope that you have all enjoyed your last couple of days too!

22 comments:

  1. Once again, the food there is fantastic. You need to stick a small addition on the manor, and become a bed and breakfast ! LOL

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    1. sweet Jane - i need an addition to stick you in - you could handle all of the business side of things! xox

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  2. Sweet Kymber,

    Short...............NOT short, lol.......
    I love getting together with family and friends from where you live to just enjoy each others company, eat, drink, and be merry. I always say life is to short, enjoy it while you can.
    It sounds like both you and Jambaloney kept busy with some really great people.
    The food you talked about making and the salda picture looks great, I'm not even going to mention the liver..............YUCK....Yuck...yuck!!!!
    Enjoy!!!
    Your Friend,
    Sandy

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    1. sweet Sandy - it started off as a short update...but then i just kept typing - bahahahah! we love getting together with our friends, some of whom have become family and treat us as such - it's awesome! oh Sandy - we loooooove liver here! it's so good for you! lots of love, xoxox

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  3. Oh, how I wish we had more like-minded friends to gather and party with (although I think we'd opt out of the cod-kissing thing....but who knows after a shot of ho'made shine).

    Liver. Oh, I LOVE liver. Too bad nobody else here does. Well, except the dogs.

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    1. oh Carolyn - we lived for years in the city with...acquaintances and the like. finding people that you really connect with, share similar values and really enjoy just as the people they are - it is priceless! we cannot believe our good fortune! we love these people and the crazy thing is - they seem to love us too?!?!?!?!? we are constantly surprised at how warmly they have welcomed us!

      oh and trust me - after a shot of that ho'made shine - you'll be seeing double for days - bahahahahahah!

      i'll have to invite you up for a delicious liver dinner - we eat it regularly. we love it too!

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  4. Bah parties mean socializing and that means people and well that means people I cannot pick as worthy to be in my presence.

    I think I enjoy just reading about parties these days less violence that way :)

    However the screeching thing sounds like something I would enjoy, especially if the crowd got to pick the kissing cod....

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    1. PP - i understand your situation. there aren't many people on earth that are worthy enough to be in your presence! bahahahahah!

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  5. I feel as though lately I am allergic to people. But who the heck knows..get some of that shine in me and kissing a cod, could bring out a whole nother side. Bahahahahaha!!!

    I am glad you had fun, it all sounds like a real hoot. I love liver too, Senior hates it so I never cook

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    1. Gurlie - after a shot of that shine you'd be kissing cod and gawd knows what else - bahahahahah! we had a really good time and you would have loved it! i'll have to invite you up for a delicious meal of liver, too! i cook it perfectly...and with some wilted spinach and a fresh salad - divine!

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  6. Your "screeched in" is a typical MN fishing weekend. I was ready for a nap after reading all that you guys did. Wow.

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    1. teehee...Rob, buddy - it sounds like we would really like an MN fishing weekend! ya, it was a lot of stuff in a few short days but thank goodness that happens rarely and we get lots of breaks in between!

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  7. I really don't know if i could kiss a cod. However, if I had enough screech I might be able. So glad your 'new' friends were people you really felt comfortable with. Thanks for the update.

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    1. DFW - after a shot of screech - who knows who or what you'd be kissing - i'd have to keep my eye on you - bahahahahah! it was really nice to meet new friends and hit it off so easily! thanks buddy!

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  8. Glad to hear that Jambaloney got back safely, that you've finished "talking" to each other, and are now conversing with others again ;)

    Sounds like you had fun - and that this weekend more than made up for the one when Jam was away :)

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    1. Dani - we've just slowed down on the "talking" - bahahahah! we'll never be finished! and ya - we had a great time this weekend - it's really nice to have such good friends and family!

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  9. I know what you mean about feeling nervous about feeding other people. Me too. But even if there had been a shish-ka-bob fail (and I know there wasn't) it sounds like it wouldn't have mattered bit. Good times were had by all. :-)

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    1. Sue - you and me both. the people here eat some pretty bland, tasteless kind of food. so i am always scared when i bring food. but DM and J both said they had never had kebabs before...and they ate every bit of it! i was so happy! J asked if the zucchini was cucumber...he said he thought it was weird to bbq cucumber but he decided to try it anyway and loved it. this of course was after they had already eaten their kebabs. i was glad that he asked and glad when he said that he loved it whether it was cucumber or not!

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  10. I read the whole link. It sounds....different. If you come to the South, we won't make you drink or kiss. Kiss a "cod." I was relieved to hear it was just a fish.

    That all sounds like fun. I am quite gregarious, so it would be a great time. I am never nervous feeding people, and no one seems to have a problem eating my food. Now, I am famished because of the food talk.

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    1. Linda - i knew that you would read it which is why i provided the link - i've learned that about you! you are a true knowledge-seeker, a true lover of sophia (as in philosophy!)!

      Linda - being from the south, and from what i know of the south, and from time that i have spent in the south - you would fit right in here. you'd just have a funny accent - bahahahah! but no, you would love it here!

      i am always worried about feeding the people here because they don't like spices, they don't like ethnic foods - they just have never been exposed to any! and they like meat, boiled potatoes and boiled veg. that's pretty much it!

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  11. Sounds like you two belong to quite a tribe!

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    1. Harry - you nailed it! it is a tribe...and one of the few that will make it through TEOTWAWKI!

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