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Luxurious comfort ….
Garry Oak
4 course gourmet breakfasts ….
Stunning oceanview and breathtaking sunsets ….
Can you say “the perfect gift”?
And until December 10th we wanted to offer you a very special deal for your gift giving!
If you buy a gift certificate to Anne’s Oceanfront Hideaway we’re going to give you 40% off.
The only catch is that the gift certificate will expire March 30th, 2010.
Impossible Pie
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It actually started over a year ago when Bram first came to visit. Being an inside dog his already trained humans would not allow us to keep him outside. He loves the snow and cool weather of winter and eats ice cubes like candy! He is a rescue dog found in the frozen north of Ontario tied to a box and 15 pounds under his healthy weight and assumed to be a former sled dog that couldn’t keep up. Yet his former life is behind him and the good life keeps getting better.
Bram has worked very diligently over the past few years designing a human behavioral program suitable to his needs. He has come to enjoy the finer points of self-employed executive living. Rising around 6 am and having a quick bite of breakfast before heading off for his morning run and returning to spend the morning in the office. Snack around ten then back to the office until noon when he takes lunch with other office personnel to discuss the morning activities and make adjustments to the afternoon itinerary. Around 4 pm is time for a peanut butter break then it is back to the office for another gruelling two or three hours depending on the work load. It such an exhausting schedule that many days he can be found sleeping under the desk or resting his eyes in the corner. Finally around 6 pm he is out of the office and off for a run to clear his head and see if he can find a white fluffy tailed bunny to chase or perhaps a long legged deer. Set your goals and just keep trying and trying again!
Shortly after Bram arrived for a visit our Labrador Chewy, who was an outside dog her entire eleven years watched with interest as this youngster moved in not only on her turf but into places where she was not allowed to go. She soon made it clear that if he could be inside so could she. Well she was almost twelve and the winter rains and cool temperatures would be hard on her so in she came. For the first six months of her new life the only way she would go outside was to be bribed with biscuits. (I think she was afraid we would leave her out!).
We always had dogs that lived outside on long lines and with heated houses for winter. They were well cared for, trained and good friends to us, but coming in the house was as foreign to them as having a dog or dogs move into the house was to us.
So……..I have been in training of sorts for the last few months. I have unknowingly been a willing participant in the care and feeding program designed by Bram and Chewy. Both have taken to sleeping in our office and/or bedroom at night, which is a part of the new training.
Chewy prefers the office for most of the evening moving into her bed in our room around 2 am. She wanders into the bedroom, shakes her head which smacks her ears against her head then plods over to her bed (which has a crunchy plastic liner) circles on top of it three times gives a couple of scratches to the mat then lies down with a thud and a grunt. She quickly goes to sleep snoring loudly and groaning through out the night.
Bram likes his bed tucked in the corner where he spends most of his night. Once in a while he will pick up the scent of a deer outside and he will start shaking his head, snorting and pacing. If I don’t acknowledge the moment I am likely to feel a cold wet nose on my foot, my arm or even my face until I get up. I used to let him out for what I thought were urgent bathroom duties. but now I know they are the call of the wild, so I send him back to bed. He snorts and sulks back to bed. H is not your typical teenager as he is up with the morning light shaking his head and poking his nose on my exposed flesh. If I ignore him the bed starts to move as he bumps up against the side. This guy does what he can each morning to get me moving!
Now our daily feeding routine is as follows: we expect a Dentastik before the walk, light breakfast upon their return, snacks at ten, light lunch at noon, snacks at two and again at four, with dinner served at six after the evening constitution. Oh yes and did I mention that we would like to have a couple of biscuits tossed over the hill each evening so we can play find the biscuit, usually at 8 and again at 10 pm before we settle in for the night? We also very much enjoy the visits from Dan and Janet as that always means extra snacks!
Have you disturbed me for food or can I go back to sleep?
Prince Bram surveying the water for signs of movement.
Can you put the stuffing back in so I can pull it out again please!
Chewy hunts the shorline looking for Starfish, crabs and shells between playing fetch with a stick.
I doubt my training is complete but I have taken off the training wheels and consider myself to be a graduate of the Bram and Chewy obedience training school for unsuspecting novices. I am fairly sure they have many more classes lined up for future training!
We left home 5:50 am to catch the 6:15 am ferry from (SSI)Long Harbour to (Vancouver)Tsawwassen. Once on the ferry we ate breakfast, had a coffee then went back to the car for a nap. Travelling on the ferry and trying to sleep is like being in the hospital – bells ringing, announcements, people walking around and of course each time it happens you have just gotten back to sleep from the previous interruption.
With a thermos of coffee, fruit, snacks and a picnic lunch we drove off the ferry into the bright morning sunshine at 9:35 am ready, for our first road trip to Alberta since we moved to BC in 1995. We hooked up the GPS to help us through Vancouver, always a challenge as we seldom find a need to venture into the big land of commuter cars, green road signs, freeways and stop lights. (On SSI we don’t have any stop lights plus the only traffic jams occur when the ferry comes in causing a l-o-n-g wait of maybe ten seconds!).
The traffic was light, the skies clear and a beautiful bright blue. The views were spectacular whether farm land, small or large communities, large plots of open unworked lands, or tree covered hills and majestic mountains. We were seeing the spectacular beauty and the amazing growth of the communities we passed through new eyes. We had either forgotten or were oblivious.
- Beautiful Scenery
Our trip to Alberta was planned because we had three exciting events to attend. Although unplanned, they fell into line over the space of two weeks, a bonus for us as it meant we could be there for all of them.
The first event was very special. Rick’s mom and dad celebrating their 70th Wedding Anniversary on September 26th in Medicine Hat. It was wonderful to see and visit with so many relatives and to help Rick’s parents celebrate such a milestone. We are so thankful to have them with us. Rick says he will be 103 when we celebrate 70 years!
Some of the family
Our second event was in Calgary and it was called “Engage Today 2009“. This four day mind bending event was organized by Greg Habstritt and his partner Kourosh Assef. The line up of speakers will be talked about for a very long time. Forgive the name dropping but it is truely worth note so that I will remember!.
The first dayas all about accountability. It was opened with President F.W. De Klerk of South Africa, Nobel Peasce Prize winner 1993 and he was instrumental in Nelson Mandela gaining his freedom. Following him Dr. Stephen Covey, Lynne Twist, Sean Stephenson, and Janet Bray Attwood. In the evening we attended a K.D. Lang/Bryan Adams concert at the Jubilee Auditorium.
The second day was about contribution. It started with His Holiness the Dali Lama, Carol Cone, Bruce Graham, Wyland, Les Brown, Garrett Gunderson and Eben Pagan.
Day three was about growth. We started the day with Brendon Burchard, Sir Richard Branson, Dr.Barbara De Angelis, Tony Hsieh, and Alex Mandossian who teleconferenced from London.
Day four was about implementation. We heard from Michael Drew, Bill Harris, Vishen Lakhiani. There were also a couple of panel sessions which included some of the speakers plus others such as Joe Polish, Rick Frishman, Jim Kwik, and Marci Shimoff.
I could tell you a more about each of these interesting, informative and inspiring people but if you are interested in learning more please google their names. They are very successful in their particular field and the expertise they shared with us in the short time was an invaluable. A special thank you to Greg, Kourosh and the team that put this high quality event together.
The third event we attended was to help my sister Joan and her husband Neil unpack my mother in her new condo and help her to start settling in. Most of it was done while we were attending the conference so our participation was insignificant at best. Joan and Neil spent a week of each of the last five months helping my mom to downsize all of her treasured memories. A difficult time for all of them even though the move was a positive one. Rick and I rather rode in at the end of the process for the last few days. By then most of the trauma was over and exhaustion had set in for the three of them. I am not sure how much help we were but I believe she will be comfortable is a very short time in her new surroundings. Congratulations on your move mom!
We drove back home making it before the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend rush started. We started out with a bit of snow flurries when we left Calgary and a bit of fog around Golden, after that the clouds went higher and the sun came out making a very pleasant drive home. The rocks were bare and dry on the way out and a bit of snow above the tree line on the return. A fantastic trip seeing family, stimulating our minds and gorgeous scenery!
Snow Cap
Snow on the rock
The road leads home
This trip was many things for me from the trials of longevity to the joy and celebration of same, from the challenges of survival to the success of overcoming them and moving just that one step beyond. We all have our story that is unique to us. How we choose to live that story is what makes us who we are.
Change is inevitable and I am constantly overwhelmed with how much change there is in that which stays the same.
Education and Information
- Giant Pumpkins
- One of several baking sections
- Youth Cake Decorating
Although we were unable to spend the day at the fair, we did make time to at least stop by to take in the Sheep Dog Demonstration, eat perogies, tour the livestock barns and visit the food, fabric and craft displays. I think a few pictures will give you an idea.
Zucchini Racers and Parts
Bread Basket
Scotch Eggs
These Scotch Eggs have a much larger sausage and crumb covering than mine. Does that make me more Scotch for using less meat?
Plants
There were several manicured bonsai trees in this section as well as a selection of natural decorating materials.
Bountiful Baking Tables
Getting very hungry! More Baking
Demonstrations
Every boy dreams of a red tractor! A peek at the past.
Well I hope you enjoyed a quick tour of the Salt Spring Island Fall Fair. I didn’t take a lot of pictures as I was too busy looking and enjoying our short time at the fair.
Dahlias
and of course many beautiful quilts . There was so much to enjoy!
Hope you can join us next year.
After two weeks of voting … we couldn’t find a winner … so we need you to vote one last time!!
What should this recipe be called??
**Winner will be announced on Monday, August 24th**
The following pictures will speak for themselves. Our guests have been spending their evenings on the deck watching the sunsets. They have been truly spectacular. My words are inadequate to describe the tranquil beauty each evening so I will let a few pictures do the talking. To my sister who said “Ah sunset number 2,362″ my apologies, add these to the list as I never tire of the sunsets from our deck!
They are never the same.
I take all of my pictures with my little Cannon Elf so there are no filters. What I see is what I get!
Some look peaceful while others look threatening.
Clearly I am in awe with the beauty and uniqueness of each sunset.
Are you tiring of the view yet?
Okay one more then I will quit.
The water was as brilliant as the sky!
Thank you for looking at the sunsets with me. They are magnificent and I can’t help but take hundreds of pictures. If you really like them I could share a few more another day. You can let me know.
Quick Poll… This recipe needs a name and the best name will win a copy of our Breakfast with the Broads Cookbook so please vote for your favourite name!
Here are the 6 entires:
You have until Monday, July 27th to place your vote!!
What a grand day to celebrate Canada Day! After our guests left we snuck out to do a quick tour of the cars at the Show and Shine held in Gnages. What a treat. Seems every year the number and quality of cars increases. Also the entertainment and all day live background music is very pleasant while we enjoyed the day.
Bird fun. I saw this man standing by the motorcycles petting and talking to the bird. Both seemed to be loving each others company. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see the bird up close. He was beautiful with a hint of peach mostly on his chest and his under tail feathers were a bright yellow. I said “Hi” and in a very clear voice he said “Hi” back. I held my arm to his claws so he could step on and he promptly decided to gently ‘fluff’ my feathers’. I had to give him back and move on but it was great to be his perch for a minute.
Motorcycles at the Salt Spring Island Car Show
Cars, trucks and motorcycles for every age and every taste. I don’t think I could pick a favorite as there wasn’t one that stole my heart, but many of them. Of course the company I had to wander with helped with the memories.
One last car show photo: One antique and one son-in-law smiling for an antique!
I was looking out the window this evening and couldn’t believe the number of birds at the feeders. Because it was dusk it was difficult to get pictures of all the feeders on the front deck, but we managed to get a few of the closest three feeders.
We have mostly Rufous (rusty brown) Hummingbirds but there are a few Annas (green) that are around.
They started showing up on March 11 where we first noticed them flying around in circles around the deck overhang where we hang out the feeders. There was only a couple the first day but they have been increasing steadily since then.
There is a group that have been out for a couple of times the past couple of years to band the birds. It is quite a process. I have pictures of the banding process so I will track down the pictures and put them up on a later day. Fior now I want you to be able to see the short video Rick took this evening.
Valentine's Day Brunch Menu Ideas
We’re all set for another special occasion brunch menu! And, of course, this time we’re focused on a special Valentine’s Day brunch! We’ve already sent the menu and the first recipe out to our Breakfast with the Broads email recipe subscribers… but we’ll share a few recipes and the menu with you too! If you want the entire thing, make sure you’re on our list to get our weekly recipe emails!
Our Valentine décor is red and white (sometimes with a splash of pink) so I try to make the breakfast menu to compliment it. Great red fruits to add color for Valentine’ s are Strawberries, Raspberries, and Pomegranate Seeds.
Here’s our Valentine’s Day Breakfast Menu for 2009:
White Grape Juice (with a few drops of red juice for color if desired)
Strawberries, Kiwi, Mango, or Red Grapes
(with dipping dark chocolate)
Pear Melba with Raspberry Sauce
Chocolate Chip Scones
Heart-shaped Raisin Toast with Cinnamon Sugar
Heart shaped waffles, whipped cream & Maple/Strawberry Sauce
Chicken/Turkey Sausage
(looks nice garnished with sliced Strawberry and Fresh Rosemary/Mint Sprig)
Tea, Coffee (with cinnamon hearts)
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