A Swedish Kitchen Party

Everybody knows that here in the East we like our Kitchen Parties. Face it. Traditionally the largest, warmest, most comfortable room in the house is the perfect location for a party. Plus, that's where the beer is, and by the time you walk back to the living room you need another beer so this is why the party always migrates even if it doesn't start out there.
On Friday, Studyboy emerged from the lair bleary-eyed from too much reading and we set out for a Swedish Kitchen party at our friends, Malin and Pablo's house. What made this different from the average kitchen party first became clear when Studyboy morphed into Carpenter Man and instead of taking a case of beer and a guitar, he grabbed the screw gun and a set of hex keys.
Malin, being Swedish ordered her new kitchen from IKEA, and on Friday night, several people were invited to assemble all the bits in all the boxes. In fact there were four couples. And here is what I learned from that experience:
Somehow, I initially ended up in the wrong room, and found myself in a speed competition with two men I had only just met. Just for the record, it only took me 2 minutes longer to assemble my cabinet alone than it took two of them, together. (with much discussion)
Next, I realised that Carpenter Man and I were the only couple to attempt an assembly together. Ever. All night. All other teams were strictly gender based. And segregated into separate rooms. I think this says something significant about Men, Women, and Couples. Don't you?
Also, while the men were racing each other, and trying hard not to follow the directions, or use all the bits, the women worked as teams and gave helpful solutions to each other. In fact, after a couple cabinets we broke tasks down into our strengths so we were much more efficient and finished sooner. Then we retired to the living room to drink while the men were still working.
Finally, I learned that if you don't live with a carpenter, IKEA is an excellent way to get a new kitchen. Even with the men 'helping' we got all the cabinets assembled and hung in three hours. But if you do live with a carpenter, then just buy the melamine and DIY, because hex keys are not fun.
I think next weekend is the doors and drawers party.

Big Grey Clouds-Not all weather related

Welcome to fall. I know that the season doesn't officially start until Sept 21, but the weather and many events have ganged up on me this year and I feel like it is here already.
Studyboy isn't exactly in classes again, his classwork is complete and his next hurtle is writing his comprehensive exams beginning in November, but he did make an appearance at grad orientation on campus last week to welcome the newbies. (Translation: He went to the pub)
I made a last ditch attempt to see all the summer theatre in the city over the last three weeks. Summer festivals and events, and pretty much all the tourist attractions pretty shut down here August 31st. I saw 4 plays in three weeks, but missed two others that I wanted to see.
The nursery is slowing down, and we are doing all those fall chores to winterize the plant stock and the facilities. Plus most of the production crew has been laid off, so the farm seems awfully big and quiet now. Surely this means I'll get my notice next, and then off to the job bank I go again. EEK.
It got dark. When did that happen? Last week I woke up in the dark to go to work and a few nights it was dark before Jake and I got home from our evening walk. And sometimes I needed to wear a jacket.
I made soup last weekend, and again this weekend. A stockpot full of soup is a sure sign of fall.
I went blueberry picking with the dog on Signal Hill last weekend. I'm not sure what the etiquette about picking berries on a National Historic Site is, so I was pretending to walk the dog if anyone happened by. The blueberries are wild, so it took about three hours of clandestine picking to get enough for blueberry buckle.
Turns out that was the last really good day we had together. Jake stopped eating about three weeks ago, and after tests and trying various things, the vet was still uncertain as the acute cause, although since being diagnosed with cancer last fall we have been expecting a decline to start. After three very bad days, we had the vet put him down Sunday afternoon. When we got home the skies opened up and it poured rain just like in a Gothic novel.
For once, our mood seemed to be affecting the weather instead of the other way around.
Hurricane season is here but the grey skies aren't all weather related.

A Day at the Beach

August has sped by and I cannot believe that it is Labour Day weekend already. I have been a little busy, so forgive the lack of posting please. The upside is that I have lots to write about.
Two weekends ago (Already!) I dragged the studyboy to Middle Cove Beach Provincial Park for the 7th Annual Clay Studio Beach Firing and Pottery Sale. This has been months in the planning, and we were incredibly lucky to schedule it on the only day that happened to be sunny and warm in a three week period. That Saturday was a glorious day, and the troops assembled early at the studio to load boxes of bisque fired pots, wood chips, firewood, food and tools into lots of trucks to make the trek out to the beach for the day.








The beach fire is a fund raiser for the studio, where we build a large wood bonfire over a pit full of pottery and fire pots in a very primitive way; then the resulting pots are sold to people as they are unloaded from the fire.
This was a sort of anniversary for studyboy and I as we went to the beach fire as onlookers last year on our first weekend in NL. This time we weren't onlooking though we were working. Digging, carrying, and wrapping up pots in seaweed and newsprint to create nifty effects on the pots. Once the fire was lit though, we had hours to sit and chat, eat and wade in the surf until the pots were cool enough to handle and polish for selling. The day was so nice that many families were there and they were very happy to buy our wares. The pottery was all donated by studio members, who also volunteered their time to be there that day.

Tea in the Crypt

Monday afternoon, after lunch, we again braved the fog and drizzle to explore the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. That's right, both the Anglican and Catholic Cathedrals are named for St. John. Hardly surprising considering the city was named for him.
The Anglican Cathedral is a Gothic Revival building, and this is the second attempt at a stone church on this site; all but the walls and one window of the original burned in the 1898 fire. We spent some time going through with a tour guide and getting the details of the windows and architecture and history of the parish. It was more interesting than your average church tour because Don and Betty know a lot about the Church of England, and so those details were all the more appreciated. Our tour guide was most impressed.
Personally, I've always liked the Gothic style more than any other, so I was happily snapping photos of the amazing carvings and windows all the while. This is the carved Reredos behind the altar, it is St George standing on his dragon and St Andrew on the right.
More information and pictures of this Cathedral can be seen on their website here.
















You can also have Tea in the Crypt at the Anglican Cathedral. Served by the volunteer ladies of the parish. It was yummy. No dead bishops here.

At the Basilica - You can see a pin drop.

This morning we toured the Basilica of St. John the Baptist. It looks large from the outside (the only view I've ever bothered to get in the last 12 months) but it is positively huge on the inside. It just keeps going and going. It holds 600 people, has 2 organs with a total of over 4000 pipes, 8 double confessionals and a separate smaller chapel named the Marion chapel. We had a very good tour guide who even took us into the crypt under the alter to see the dead bishops.
The Basilica has 65 stained glass windows like this one. Made in France, England and Ireland. This one is from England.





















and a beautifully plastered and painted ceiling. The round bit projects down into the room and is called a Pin Drop. For more pictures and information about the basilica, you can see their virtual tour here.

Our guide also suggested we visit the Sisters of the Presentation convent next door to see this marble bust of the Veiled Virgin by Italian master Giovanni Strazza.This is believe it or not, is all carved in marble, although while standing only a few inches from the protective case it looked just like someone had draped a cloth veil over the bust.

Walk the Waterfront

The weather has not been co-operating with our holiday this week. On Thursday we attempted to visit Signal Hill, but it was rainy and foggy and the view was non-existent.
On Saturday we visited Lester's Farm Market and then continued on driving to Bay Bulls and Witless Bay for the scenery. But the day was a little drizzly. We had lunch at the Irish Loop cafe in Witless bay and came back to town.
Today though we did manage to get a break in the drizzle long enough to walk the waterfront and Water St. We also attempted to tour the Anglican Cathedral, but I guess Anglicans don't work on Sunday because it was closed.
Betty, Peter and Don, not looking at Signal Hill.

Regatta Day -Finally

The sun finally peaked through enough for the regatta to go ahead on Friday. Our visitors were suffering a little from jet lag and we managed to make it out of the house bright and early at noon. St. John's metrobus runs special shuttles to Quidi Vidi all day, so we parked at Memorial and caught a ride. The regatta takes a three hour lunch break, so we wandered around the concession stands eating all the wrong things until the races resumed at 3pm.
This is the one race we watched before catching the shuttle back again. Don't ask me which race or who won, as far as I'm concerned, the Regatta is about watching throngs of people and eating fattening food.