Beach Days Again and Again

This has been a great week for me. A dear friend and I have been exploring some Island beaches and loving every minute of it! The photo is of West Cape where I own some beach land. It's been five years since I visited and it certainly was about time. The beach and water were both wonderful and as great as I always imagine. I usually walk to West Point and back but my friend was only cool with walking half way. The cliffs were amazing as usual but we did not reach the dunes. The photo shows a pretty good face profile on the left.

We visited two other great beaches this week as well. Both were new to my friend and one was new to me. I'm not even sure if I could find that one again. I just took some roads that I knew would eventually reach a beach. What an amazing place this island is in the summer. The sheer beauty is one thing but the fact that you can drive to the end of so many roads and find a beach to explore is amazing. I'm a lucky woman.

It is thirty-one degrees at the moment and I would say the beaches are full again today but I need a day out of the sun. I'm listening to music, uploading tons of photos and catching up on a bunch of stuff. I have a glass project to start on Monday. Life has to be taken care of, even by beach bunnies.

The scenery has been beautiful and if you click the links to my other blogs, An Island Walk, Just Picture It, or Pictures and Pursuits (also listed on the right) you'll see, in the next while and also from the past weeks, some pretty awesome Island spots. Still Water by Daniel Lanois describes some of these shots. The Water by Feist describes most, I'd say. When talking about such Canadian beauty it's nice to extend it to the musicians, don't you think?

A Quicky

A quick check in. My aunt is napping. We asked my sister in law to paint with us and she did, also appreciating free art lessons. She is coming again tomorrow and staying for supper. Today went well except I got a big blog of brown paint in my sky and had to differ my composition. Leave it to me.

One song is perfect for my aunt and me that is already on the pages because I'm being quick about this is The Collection of Marie Claire by Daniel Lanois and another by this fine man is Jolie Louise. We painted some today. We're 100 percent Acadian so we understand the sound.

Glad I could pop in. Didn't expect to. I'm keeping up with reading blogs better than posting to them.

October Perfection

I wish I could tell you in words how much I enjoyed my day. I went hiking and did a lot of driving through the countryside. It was only a week or so ago that I was saying the leaves weren't yet at their peak of colour but I'd say the peak is happening now or it may have already passed. With all the wind we've had this autumn the leaves are blown off as soon as they are loose enough. There are more bare branches than is usual for this far into the display. The display is awesome, nonetheless and won't be here much longer. I'm going to enjoy the beauty as often as I can in the next week.

I did an hour hike but it took me an hour and a half because I was photographing as well. I got a good sweat on several times. I went to other sights too but no other long hikes. I think it is exactly what I'm going to do tomorrow as well. Soon it will be cold and dressing is more difficult as you have to dress for winter but get too hot. It's easier to control now.

I had a funny friend for dinner last night and it I have sore muscles it won't be from hiking. The laugh muscles are sore. A few people dropped in last evening. A good time was had by all.

Music for today is hiking music. I was humming either this song, Akua Tuta by Kashtin or I'm Saying Hello by Dan Hicks that I put up earlier in the week. Still Water by Daniel Lanois is perfect for the day. I hiked around two large ponds and there was lots of lovely water views. There are Putfile problems again so today I'm using the other site I sometimes use.

Blooms

I'm busy. Short post today. Music. Daffodils.

Mary and Moses by Patty Griffin. I love her and these two songs.

Billy Jones - The Waifs
Gillian - The Waifs
Frankie and Johnny - The Skiffle Sessions
Goodnight Irene - The Skiffle Sessions
The Collection of Marie Claire - Daniel Lanois
Jolie Louise - Daniel Lanois

L'Acadie

I've had a generous offer to help me in the genealogical research for my mother's grandfather. I had sent an e-mail to compliment a site I had come across, tho site owner emailed back. Through several back and forths since yesterday, I've offered to show her the earliest Acadian cemetery in PEI and she is putting me in line for a cool event. She heads a genealogy group where they take one query or one name a week and each group member researches it. Her (and her husband's) last name is the name I am searching for and her mother is of the same last name.

A great percentage of Acadians stayed a very homogeneous group, living among themselves in various pockets of the world. They shared an extraordinary history, a unique culture, and a language. I lost out somewhat along the way as I don't speak French fluently but my kids attended French Immersion until grade 12. Here's the quick and dirty Wiki version of the Acadian story. We had our 400th anniversary in '04, the oldest European settlement in North America....unless you count the Vikings, who didn't stay. It is very interesting genealogy to work on with the same names criss-crossing over and over. It makes you dizzy.

I've got tons of Lennie Gallant and Rheal Pelletier cd's but nothing on my computer. They're PEI Acadians, both whom I've known the thirty one years I've been on the Island. Instead I'll treat you with Daniel Lanois who I'd consider an honourary Acadian. The Collection of Marie Claire was a favorite 'car song' for my kids. If this song isn't just the best.... Also, here's Jolie Louise.