Summer is here. You wouldn't know it today [cold, foggy, rainy...] but in general, summer is here. If the rain and fog ever let up we might even get to go camping tomorrow. This will be our first trip with Carley, so it should be eventful. I don't think she'll want to come back home when it's all done, but we shall see.


Now is the time for eating salads....



















...and delicious dinners cooked on the grill [which are made even better if someone else cooks them, in my opinion. Tonight's menu consisted of succulently sweet corn on the cob - SO good lately, Darcey's Cucumber & Dill-icious Salad, grilled asparagus...and STEAK. We are not big eaters of red meat around here, but sometimes you have just have to do it, you know?]...



















And just look how happy this dinner makes Darcey. He calls what's on his plate the Ultimate Love Triangle. I would have to agree. They're all so tasty, which do you eat first? My plan of attack was to eat the hot corn really fast so it didn't get cold and nevermind the bits of corn shrapnel that were flying everywhere, and then spend some quality time with the steak and asparagus. The cucumber salad is so creamy and good it can almost count as dessert. Almost.































...and now is the time for placing fresh cut weeds flowers on your kitchen table. So cheery.































It's a little early to be eating vegetables from the garden, but I did pick some spinach the other day, and the herbs are of course always ready. I'd forgotten how good it feels to eat something you've grown yourself. Other than a few containers on fire escapes, I've never had my own garden. And what I planted this year can hardly be called a garden but it's something, at least. Hopefully next year we can expand it.

A nice row of what I think is Butter Crunch [or some such] lettuce has been steadily growing for a few weeks now.































Here is some red leaf lettuce trying to make it in less than desirable soil conditions. I'm not giving up hope yet.



















So far the peas are doing great. I'm looking forward to eating them the most.

Last week I was a tourist in my new province. Two friends from the mainland came to visit and we toured all around. The sun was shining every day. Total miracle. First we drove out to the west coast [of the island, not the country - this always confuses me for a second because I still consider the west coast to mean BC]. We stayed in Gros Morne National Park, which is just such a breathtaking place. Such varied scenery. Here is a brook near the cabin where we stayed the first night. It had a loft! Guess who got to sleep up there. Yours truly. I have a thing for lofts, and boardwalks.






















































The next morning we headed up into mountains to do a really great hike.











































It's called the Green Gardens hike, and once you hike it, you'll know why. It starts in the tablelands, which is a strange moonscape of rocks that are supposedly toxic to a lot of plants, which is why it looks so barren.






















































After a meandering rocky trail, you come to a viewpoint. Here you can see the landscape changes on the other side of the hill. Now there are stunted dwarf trees and scruffy underbrush. As you hike down into a little valley there are little streams trickling and bubbling along.































After a while, the vegetation becomes denser, the trees get taller and you realize you are entering an enchanted forest - complete with lush ferns, magic mushrooms and soft soft moss. The babbling brooks gather speed as they make their way to the ever nearing ocean...






















































...at which point you descend down a rickety staircase and are free to explore a rocky beach that is surrounded by a cliff of pillow lava. So crazy.



































There are lots of colourful objects on the beach...






































































































































































The next day we headed slightly north to Western Brook Pond, which used to be an ocean fjord but is now cut off from the sea and filled with fresh water. This water is apparently so pure that not much can survive in it. And it's 420' deep in places. And very cold. Yikes. Don't fall in. To get to the boat launch [which is the only way to see the pond], you hike over an ancient bog [on boardwalk...].






















































































































We camped for two nights at Lomond campground in the park. Very scenic. Evidence of bears nearby...but no bugs. I guess it's a trade-off. Anyway, we survived and Shauna perfected the Steamed S'mor. Delectable. I look forward to trying this method myself soon, and then maybe [with Shauna's permission] I will share the recipe with you all.




















After that it was back to Central Newfoundland for some historical towns sight-seeing. First we headed up to Twillingate for an evening of cooling our feet in frigid water and then, dinner theatre.



































Next morning, bright and early, we caught the ferry for Fogo Island. Just a short 45 minute trip, but what a difference in topography. Lots of...rock. And lichen. It looks like caribou heaven - and apprently there are actually a lot of caribou on the island.










































We clambered up Brimstone Head, which is considered by the Flat Earth Society as one of the four corners of the world. [Apparently Bermuda is also one.] And although Twillingate is considered the Iceberg Capital [of the world? I don't know], we ended up seeing a lot more ice in Fogo.






























































































































































































What a lovely week.

p.s. Happy Summer!

Since returning from St. John's, this place has felt more like home. Ironically, that is making me homesick for Manitoba. I haven't really missed it all that much till now. I thought what I missed was sushi and movies but actually I don't really miss those things [not that much]. Those things I can live without [or get in St. John's]. I realize now I miss the less tangible things. Like walking down quiet streets, covered by a canopy of tall elms, swatting away those pesky worms that fall to the sidewalk in front of you. I miss looking across prairie fields and not being able to see the end. Feeling the bite of -30 and the weight of +30. I used to really feel being so landlocked, but now that I'm surrounded by water, I kind of feel the same way. I think geography plays a big part in people's lives, as does the weather that comes with it. Manitoba is so sunny! Newfoundland is so cloudy! I don't take the sun for granted anymore - I really notice when it comes out, especially after a long, depressing cloudy spell. And it's decided to be cloudy again. Maybe this is the foggy capelin weather we've been hearing happens here in June?

The rain is needed, though. Our little garden is starting to grow! Even the fancy lettuce that I thought for sure was a goner is starting to pop up. These pictures were taken a while ago now - the damson blossoms have already fallen off and blown away.















Who needs a trimmer when you have a grazing dog? I've been trying to get her to go all around the perimeter of the yard but so far she sticks to certain areas. This is bad news for me because I told Darcey I could handle manually trimming the grass aka weeds along the house and deck and fence and trees and rocks so that we wouldn't have to buy a trimmer. So we got these nice long-handled grass shears instead. Except they're not actually nice. What I think it is, is that they just aren't a very good quality pair of shears. They are already broken and I haven't even made it all the way around the yard once. The part I did do, I had to do over a span of four days because my arms were getting so sore and because it was taking forever. Plan B. Enlist the dog. Plan C. Call those nice people who used to do the yard for the lady who lived here before us and beg them to come back.



















Fresh chives are so good in so many things.



















Please note: the parsnips and rhubarb are from our lovely neighbours. Other than chives and dandelion leaves, we have nothing edible growing in our yard quite yet. I used up all the rhubarb already, using two of my mom's recipes: a rhubarb custard with meringue and a rhubarb crisp- type of thing. I should have taken a picture of the meringue because I thought it turned out pretty great, considering I had never made meringue-y anything before. It didn't taste quite like my mom's but it was edible. Too edible, it seems because it's already all gone.

I think I will roast the parsnips with some honey and make a bisque out of them. That should hold off the foggy capelins.







































So. That pink just had to go. It was no good, no good at all. Carley was happy that we were finally taking matters into our own hands and getting rid of it.































Last week the kitchen looked like this. All in disarray, with tape and paint everywhere.



















Now it looks like this! We painted the living room and the kitchen both the same colour. It's a greenish grey, with a smudgeon of brown. Darcey calls it pistachio but it only sometimes looks that green. I'm fairly satisfied with it. Next on the agenda for the kitchen is to replace the hideous hardware on the cabinets and also trade that lovely chandelier for something a little sleeker. Darc actually hung the chadelier up really high when we were moving in last September so the movers wouldn't hit their heads on it, and we just left it up there because it's less noticeable that way. I almost forgot it was there, until it so glaringly showed up in all these pictures...



















This favourite spot of mine was all covered in plastic and paint last week...































...now looks more like this. It's hard to see in all the cloudiness, but the new colour is very soothing. Darcey thinks maybe we should have done a brighter cheerier colour in the kitchen. I'm not sure about that. But I am sure we won't be painting over it anytime soon.































But best of all, the living room, which used to be pink - BABY PINK -



















- isn't pink anymore! It's the same colour as the kitchen. These pictures are really far too dark to understand what it's like. Maybe in a month when it's sunny again I can post some brighter ones.



















I have some baking and cooking to do today because in two days my friends are coming from way out west to visit us! I'm quite excited. We haven't had anyone to stay in this house yet, so they will be the guinea pigs.

I think I am going to make some blueberry bread. I made some a few weeks ago and it didn't last very long, even with all of our low-carb rules. I'm not good with rules, so it's no surprise, really.

Wheat Bran Quick Bread with Blueberries
Adapted from the recipe on the package of Bob's Red Mill Wheat Bran
Tasty for breakfast or with coffee anytime. Or even without coffee!

1/2 c unbleached white flour, + 2 T
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c wheat bran
3/4 c brown sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t sea salt
1 1/3 c blueberries
1 egg
1/2 c milk
1 c orange juice, or juice from ~ 4 oranges
1/3 c oil

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, milk, orange juice, and oil. In a separate bowl, combine flours [leaving 2 T white flour for later], bran, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add dry mixture into wet and mix until just combined. In another bowl, gently coat blueberries with 2 T white flour. Carefully stir blueberries into bread mixture. Pour into a greased 9x5x3" loaf pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until the bread is firm in the centre. Cool in pan 10 minutes, remove to rack and cool before slicing. Yields 1 tasty loaf.




















And then when you've had your blueberry bread snack, have a little snooze on the couch with your favourite furry friend.

We just got back from a few lovely days in St. John's. The car needed fixing so we made a little trip out of it. I hadn't been back to St. John's since we moved last summer so I was looking forward to it quite a bit. It's not a large city by any standards - but having lived in a fairly isolated little town for the past 10 months, it was a welcome change. We left Carley with the neighbours and I don't think she really wanted to come back home when it was all over. At least we know she had a good time, too...

Nothing really beats food from the BBQ. After a long winter of chicken done on the indoor grill you kind of forget how good the real BBQ taste really is, you know?


















Leftover Li's Singapore noodles make a tasty accompaniment to any meal, really.



















We had such a nice few days after the snow. I should have known it wouldn't last, but when everything is covered in 4" of slush it's hard to see anything else, you know? Carley is probably the only one who was sad to see it melt away. If she had her way, there would be snow year round, with the occasional puddles that don't freeze over so she can wallow in the mud once in a while.

I've decided she sits so nicely because she wants to look good for the photo, not because she's obedient...




















It's looked like this for a long time, but one day soon, this tulip flower will open up.































And look, the maple tree has blossoms!



















I've had painting on my brain for the last few days. We want to get at least the living room and kitchen painted ASAP. We "borrowed" a swatch book from the paint store about 10 months ago so I think it's about time we picked some colours and just did it. Right now we have a baby pink living room, remember. With light blue carpet.