Archive for the ‘Egmont’ Category

Pop was the center of attention for his birthday week and loved every minute. We started celebrating on June 9 and didn’t stop until June 16! Crystal bought the grass umbrella and ’someone’ had the brilliant idea of attaching it to the back of Pop’s electric scooter. Not only did it provide shade for him, but it identified him easily in the crowd and looked very festive.

We had 33 people stay the weekend in 8 motorhomes, 3 tents, 5 boats and 1 airplane and another 88 arriving just for the big day. 121 people took part in the festivities, including a fishing derby arranged by cousin Keith, a hula hoop contest, badminton and water gun shooting, along with enough food to feed a small army.

Wednesday afternoon my sister-in-law Ann and I painted signs our friend Emily drew for us. There were 6 large sheets of plasticized foam which welcomed the Griffith family and friends to our 2008 Luau/Birthday party.

The setup was started on Thursday after we gathered all the picnic tables from the campsites. Pop ran the John Deere lawn mower, pulling the trailer and Mike & Gus loaded the tables. Many people hosed, scrubbed and moved tables into place. Thursday evening most of us went to the Backeddy Pub for dinner and a few drinks. Friday evening we enjoyed a potluck dinner outside at Pop’s.

Saturday started out with a pancake breakfast by Lee-Ann and Jonathon, then fish chowder by Kent, for lunch. People arrived all day long and Mike, Dorhn and Alan barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers around 5 pm. Many people made potato salad, appetizers and desserts and Graeme boiled corn on the cob as well. I don’t think anyone went home hungry!

It was difficult for me to find jobs for everyone who offered to help, but I delegated as best I could and I must say many people didn’t need direction at all but pitched in to make the whole day a huge success. One really nice touch I found out about the next day was Tracy and Rhonda went around to each table and sliced the pineapple which had been part of the decor before dinner.

Lee-Ann made a lovely birthday cake for Grandpa - white cake with white frosting and strawberries - his favourite! Sean and Crystal made a huge sash of scratch tickets for Grandpa to wear around his neck. He will be scratching for weeks!

I’ll let the pictures tell the story of family and friends joining together to celebrate 95 years! You may see more photos and a write up at cousin Judy’s blog.

Watch as this little ‘devilfish’ makes his way safely back to the ocean after we released him from our prawn trap. I hope he considers himself lucky to live another day to eat more of our prawns!

We quite often catch small fish and octopus in our prawn traps as well as galatheid crabs - and prawns of course! I don’t often touch the octopus if they are larger than me… haha… that’s rare, but their arms seems to extend forever and they have very sharp beaks. Besides that their suction cups feel weird and are sometimes difficult to loosen, especially considering they have 8 legs and you never know where all the legs are at all times. The small octopus are cute though and I was glad to let this one go free in Pop’s bay!

*******

Where have I been for the last 35 years. Today is April 20, ‘420′ I just learned which is ‘pot smoking’ terminology. Apparently in the 1970’s college kids used to meet after class, at 4:20 near a certain area to smoke a joint. Huh, well I guess I didn’t attend THAT college! Anyway, I’d never even heard of April 20 being a date associated with that culture. You learn something new everyday!

We have tons of work to do before Pop’s birthday party/family reunion. We will be clearing the edges of the driveway, raking and tidying campsites, pulling weeds, cutting brush and roots and planting a few trees and plants. There is always so much to do, it seems insurmountable, but we do what we are able. The weather is supposed to be dry but cool for the next few days, so we should be able to accomplish quite a few chores.

While I put away groceries and tidied up this morning, Kent loaded and baited the prawn traps and we went to ‘Dean’s Bay’ to set them. Cousin Bill saw us and called on the VHF. We invited him for dinner, checked at Charlie’s to see if he was ‘home’ and I tried to connect to his Wireless, but either he has it turned off while he’s not here or we weren’t close enough. We don’t have the bluetooth connected yet through Verizon so will have to do that if we want internet.

When we arrived back at the float, I could see Pop running the backhoe, cleaning up the remains of our New Year’s fire pile. I made lunch for the three of us then we all went out to work for the afternoon, picking up nails with a large magnet (from the fire pile), raking sticks and leaves, pulling weeds and roots and trimming branches. Pop went in to rest and Kent and I went to the boat around 3 pm. Gerry called on the VHF to say he, his brother in law and a friend were back from their trip to Princess Louisa and were setting their prawn traps. Kent invited them to raft to us for the night so they came in around 5 pm. We enjoyed a drink together while Kent showed his photos from last years trip down the Intracoastal Waterway, the boat being loaded on the Pac Athena in Port Everglades, his hunting trips and the prawn fishing trip to Princess Louisa. Cousin Bill arrived and we all went to Pop’s house for a dinner of smokies, saur kraut, beans and perogies. Oh, and fresh, big, fat prawns of course! Yum!!! It was a very nice evening, with the sun shining and just barely warm enough to barbecue and to eat our prawns outside before sitting inside for dinner. Good friends - good food - good start to our season in Egmont.

Day 1 at Egmont

Pop, his first customer of the year, and I moved the floats into position this morning. It was a simple procedure of untying ropes and using a couple of pike poles to push the floats and retie the lines once they were in alignment. The timbers on the floats are gradually rotting away but we think they will last another summer. It will be a huge job to build new floats - or a huge expense to buy new floats. For now, we’ll make do.

I wandered the property, looking at the jobs which need doing, the weeding, the growing flowers and plants and goose poop - everywhere. With Hugo here, the geese will most likely stay away which is good. They make a terrible mess. Hugo ran, bounded, leaped and enjoyed his freedom. With no cars to worry about, he has free run of the property and loves being outside, chasing the robins, picking oyster shells from the beach and dragging sticks and logs up onto the grass. It’s going to be a big job cleaning up after him when it’s time to mow! He loves it here though and it’s the perfect spot for a dog.

I told him ‘Grandpa’ was coming and we walked down to the floats to watch as Kent brought the boat in. Hugo was excited to get on board once the ‘Jervis Mist’ was tied up.

Kent ‘unwinterized’ the water and electricity, plugged the boat in to the power and washed most of the salt off the boat. He’d had an ugly crossing from Crescent beach to Point Roberts yesterday, then spent the night in the marina - after ‘poking his nose out’ twice to see how the wind was. It was howling so he stayed put until this morning when he crossed to Nanaimo to clear customs. He docked in 6 inches of snow. Customs said they were sending someone down to the dock but they never showed so after a phone call to confirm, he left. He arrived mid-afternoon at Egmont.

We have a ‘down Jervis’ wind blowing and the waves are bumping the hull, making it difficult to sleep. Hopefully the float anchors will hold!

Hugo and I left home at 10:05 this morning rushing toward the 11:20 ferry.  Traffic was heavy at times but we made the ferry with not even enough time for Hugo to do his business once we arrived at the terminal.  He was a good boy and held it though!  I gave Hugo a treat before we left home this morning and now I’m starting to think the new treats don’t agree with him as he upchucked a bunch of yellow foam during our drive - and NO - it wasn’t my driving….  We stopped in Madeira Park for beer and a few groceries and were in Egmont by 2:00 pm. 

I saw the ‘open’ sign for the museum so stopped for a quick visit with manager Tom.  He’s made a few changes to some displays and added items.  It’s looking good and much friendlier - so here’s hoping the visitors start pouring in as the weather warms.

As we neared Pop’s, Hugo could smell the salt water and perked up.  I told him Sylvester was waiting to see him.  They actually seemed glad to see each other - after Sylvester established who was boss! 

Pop hasn’t mowed the grass yet and the daisies are everywhere - looking very pretty. 

Hugo stopped running and chasing birds long enough to smell the daisies but he didn’t like the way they tickled his legs and ‘pussy footed’ through them!  Sylvester didn’t care - he’s so laid back all it takes is a bit of petting and he rolls over for more.

Pop had been shopping in Madeira today and was ready for a rest - so I obliged and Hugo and I went upstairs for a snooze.  Of course the phone rang and the door was knocked but I drowsed.  Pop got up to answer both.  You’d think after spending the winter with me he’d have learned to let it go and not answer… but no.  Kent was calling to say the wind was howling and he couldn’t get across the gulf.

Kent left Nico Wynd this morning for Point Roberts, Washington - where diesel was $1.34 cheaper than fueling in BC.  4 fill-ups during the year and it’s equivalent to a free tank.  Kent said he ‘poked his nose out’ and the seas were so rough he decided to hole up at the marina for a few hours.

His was the phone call which Pop answered at 5 pm and he was on his way across the Gulf of Georgia to clear customs in Nanaimo then planning to anchor for the night.  He’ll be here tomorrow before noon, no doubt.

Pop and I enjoyed our chicken dinner and Hugo had a ton of fun exploring, barking at the one and only customer who is camping here and chasing the robins. 
Now, the porch is white with hail, we’ve had a few drizzles of rain, but we can see blue sky to the west.  Good weather is coming!