June 13, 2004

A NEW DAY

I suppose if one is keeping track of when a new day begins one might say it is 12:01 AM.  Ours starts when we get up and after a late night last night that was 9:45 this morning.  It seems to be trying to warm up a little.  It was 55 degrees for breakfast and even before Onie began cooking the sausage and biscuits it was warm in the coach, from the morning sun and light breeze.  Before Onie rose I got the kitchen cleaned up, listened to some bluegrass and wrote a little.  Outside the camp was stirring but was still quiet compared to yesterday at this time.

Ann and Dan’s grandson came to visit.  He is four months old so his parents were obliged to come along.  After breakfast Onie dressed and hurried off the see Gaetan.

In the coach the music and writing continued.

Steven and Yvonne Boudreau

Dressed, I strolled over to Steven’s and Yvonne’s where a large crowd had gathered for a pot luck lunch.  Louie had gone clamming and contributed a bucket of steamers.  Steven had grilled some chicken and others had brought cold slaw, green salad, baked beans, bread and potatoes.  The ladies gathered their chairs round the fire to eat and visit while the men stood a few feet away and discussed hunting, camping and the afternoon NASCAR race.  After a few steamers and a small piece of chicken I thanked Louie and Steven and headed off to see Danny and Ann’s, pride and joy, Gaetan.  Kevin, who had been at the pot luck, went with me as his wife was M.I.A. and he thought she might have been lured by the small one.

Danny & Anne LeBlanc

Sure enough, when we arrived at Dan and Ann’s Norma was there along with Onie, Audrey, Ann and Dan.  Gaetan held center stage.  The baby had taken to Onie immediately and laughed and cooed as she snuggled him.  She is a natural.

Audrey Comeau and Norma ?

There will be plenty of time for rest and relaxation this summer but one does need to be occupied to stay in shape.  One way we will do that is by cutting and splitting the eight cords of winter wood for Ann and Dan.  I’ll do the cutting and splitting and Onie will help with the stacking.  Now Dan took me to his wood lot, Kevin rode along, so I would know where it was and how to get there.  A visit to Colin, Dan’s son, to retrieve Dan’s tractor brought us face to face with a young man with a big headache.  He had been cutting trees and one had fallen on him.  He seemed to be okay but was resting with a beer when we left.  On the way back we stopped by Dan’s house and checked out the chain saws, gas and oil.  Looking at these tools made me tired so I napped on the way back to Belle Baie.

Back at the camp things were quieting down.  The children who had supplied laughter and action had gone back home with their parents.  The few remaining couples left were putting away chairs and covering grills in last minute efforts to have things nice for their return next Friday afternoon.

Norma, Steven and Louie were out clamming.  Onie lay on the bed reading.

Dan and I worked on the Fire and Ice Grill trying to get the pedestal to rise per the instructions.  We had no luck so we took it apart and manually raised it then turned our attention to the hydraulic pump that needs reattachment.  We agreed on how best to remove the bolts that held it in place prior to the metal parting but he suggested not welding the piece back on but rather bolting a new piece on to replace the old. He said that welding could cause a magnetic condition to arise in the frame and that could disrupt our electronics.  I knew little about such things so relied on his judgment and planned to fix it his way.   

It was Ann and Dan’s turn to return home and prepare for the work week.

When they left I fired up grill and let the cooking surface age for a while.  The wind was coming back and the temperatures were dropping.

Back in the Marlin I wrote and watched the last part of the Astros game.  It was a cliff hanger but they hung on to win 5 to 4.

Onie announced it was time to start grilling the scallops.  She had them prepared, wrapped in bacon.  While I started the scallops she prepared the salad and asparagus.  Another great meal was in the making.

We had barely begun to eat when June knocked on the door and told us they were ready to go to the fund raiser at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Weymouth.  She had invited us a couple of days ago and we accepted the invitation including an offer to ride with them.  The program started at seven and it wasn’t quite six thirty but Al was sitting in the car with the motor running.  We stopped our dinner.  In the car June explained they like “to be a bit early” and she was also in the program and had things to do before seven.  We settled back for the fifteen minute ride to the church on top of the hill.

The parking lot was nearly full, fifty cars, when we arrived.  Over the tree tops from the car window I could see St Mary’s Bay.  The white church building and steeple were small and white with a fresh coat of paint.  Young folks and adults milled around outside the door but a pathway opened as we made our way in.  Inside the church, originally built in 1878, many of the pews were already occupied.  Waiting for the program to begin, seated with Onie and Al, I noticed the Stations of the Cross around the walls, divided by the arched stained glass windows.  An apse held an icon of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child and nearby a few candles burned.  Overhead the white high arched ceiling was supported by large square beams that formed an “X” inside the arch itself.  Filigreed carvings adorned the beams.  The simple but elegant altar was set inside a natural finished pine railing that matched the pews we sat on.  

As seven approached the hubbub at the front of the church intensified as the young participants began to take their places.  Scattered throughout the audience others sat quietly waiting to be called.  Promptly at seven the program director took the stage, stepped behind a podium and welcomed one and all thanking us for coming out to enjoy the entertainment and support the efforts to raise money for a 2005 trip, by the youth of the church, to Germany.

The Alpha and Omega Youth Group led off the evening with a couple of songs.  They were followed by Free Spirit, which included June, and then The Well Community Band took the stage.  This group was followed by Marta and Richard performing traditional flamenco.  They were a crowd favorite.  The last group to perform was a senior group from the Digby area, The Digby Area Glee Club.  They performed a number of songs, to the great appreciation of the crowd.  After a short intermission each group performed again and then the program was at an end.  On the way out we provided some support for the effort.

It was growing late but Al & June wanted us to see their home so we rode north a little while to their hundred years plus two story farm house sitting high on a hill.  To the west the sun was sitting over St Mary’s Bay and just to the south we could see a lighthouse warning sailors of the promontory jutting out into the bay.

The clock read 10:45 as we hustled into the Marlin trying to escape the cold and wind.  The coach rocked gently as we finished our dinner and Jell-o before retiring.

Warm and snug in the bed the wind continued to rock us as the shades of night closed on a big day.

June 14, 2004

ALL QUIET

All was quiet as I made my way to the front of the coach to start the coffee and tea.  Outside the wind that had rocked us all night long continued, whipping the bay into white foam under the sunny 55 degree skies.  The flags left up on the now unoccupied campers flapped furiously in the wind. Except for the toad not a car was in the pit at eight o’clock. 

With Onie still sleeping I opened the shades on the eastern side of the coach and then sat down to write in the warmth and light streaming through our double paned windows.

When Onie stirred she got coffee and then watched some news from bed before preparing breakfast.  Over breakfast we discussed our plans for the day, wash clothes, shop, make phone calls, connect to the web, rest, write, read and play dominoes.  After discussing the plans I was tired and ready to do the rest part, first.

We loaded ten days of dirty clothes into the Subaru along with some reading material and set off for the laundry.  Onie helped me get two loads started and then left for exercise and grocery shopping.  The laundry would be a long affair as there were only two washers and two driers.  None of them were particularly fast but that allowed me to get a lot of reading done.  I tried making some phone calls but was unable to connect with any of the folks I was calling so I left voice messages and continued reading, washing and folding.  When Onie returned clothes were still washing and tumbling.  Between us we finished them and took them home to be put away.

Clouds had been gathering during the day and now, 4:30, it looked like they would offer showers of blessings at any moment.  Our yard furniture had all be turned over by the increasing wind so I just collected it and lay it down to make it less susceptible to being blown away. 

So far I had spoken to one person other than Onie, since rising.  An older fellow had come to the Laundromat to wash and told me about his wife’s macular degeneration and how growing old was no longer fun.  It seemed unfair to him that we have to work so long to retire and then after a short while health may fail us or even life itself.  Clearly he was not having a great day. Perhaps he has nothing better to look forward to.

In the coach Onie relaxed with the TV in the bedroom while I wrote.

Outside the clouds continued to gather and lower as the wind increased, whistling as it rounded the corners of the coach and setting up a steady rocking motion.  Inside the wind was having a cooling effect on us and I set the furnace to come on at 67, our comfort area.  As the wind continued to pickup I became concerned about the slide cover over our dining room slide.  After making the necessary interior adjustments I pulled the slide in partway before returning to my writing.  Later I got up and moved it in yet farther.  The sun which hadn’t been seen all day was obviously gone down over the Neck and the dark descended over the black clouds.  From time to time wind driven rain peppered the rocking Marlin.

Onie was trying to watch Lifetime as the signal came and went due to the still rising wind and the intermittent rain.  I supposed we were getting a taste of the last gasp of winter before spring set in for good.  Laying the laptop aside I picked up the last of my old National Reviews and American Heritages and read through them while snacking on bacon wrapped scallops, Onie had some, Venison sausage and salted peanuts.  As it turned out that would be my supper.

Before the last movie flashed and froze on the bedroom TV screen I gave up my reading, having finished all of the old stuff, readied myself for sleep and snuggled down in the covers.  The howling wind rocked me to sleep while Onie finished her movie.

            We had gotten everything done except the dominoes and connecting to the web.  Tomorrow was another day.

June 15, 2004

MORE

            We woke to more of the same.  The clouds were still low, gray and ominous looking while the strong south wind whipped the waters in the bay into a white froth while delivering rain to us, on and off.  I opted to leave the living room/dining room slide in until the wind subsided hoping it would be soon.

            Inside we were dry and soon became warm with the furnace running and the stove heating water for soft boiled eggs and cooked bacon.  Further inside us our coffee and tea warmed us further while I tended the stove and Onie worked on the laptop arranging last week’s writings and inserting some pictures.

            After breakfast Onie did more work on the computer and I did a final proof read of the text before we agreed it was ready for posting.

            I worked on a little email, to be sent later, while she dressed to go to the gym and perhaps the store.

            Eddie brought us our first mail, since we left, in the continuing wind and what was then a hard rain with huge drops.  The waters of St Mary’s Bay had disappeared in a fog bank that swept northward with the driving wind.  The trees outside the coach bent and whipped in the wind as if driven by a hurricane and inside the furnace still heated us while we rocked.

            With Onie gone I worked on yesterday’s and the day’s story before hunger captured my attention.  A can of heated chili with a few jalapenos added warmed me up while filling me out. While I was still engaged with the chili Onie returned.

            We loaded the computer and went to the office to upload last week, send and receive email.  An electric heater in the office finally got us really warm for the first time in a couple of days.   We inquired again about getting a phone so we don’t have to intrude on Alvina and Eddie; they live in the building that houses the office.

            On the way back to the coach Onie dropped me off at the southwest corner of the washateria, at the pay phone.   Standing there I hoped I would be able to hear over the wind’s roar.  I had called several numbers yesterday and last evening and never connected with anyone.  One of my twenty minute phone cards was almost empty and all I had done was talk to machines.  Today I had better luck, contacting son David and our neighbors Deena and Ben.  It was good to hear a good Texas drawl and get live news from home.  After standing in the gale I was ready to head for the Marlin when the phone card ran out.

            Back in the security of the coach I read the email we had downloaded, watched a recap of the news and wrote while Onie prepared dinner.

            Outside the wind still held out of the south but seemed to be somewhat less than a few hours ago although it was still bringing a fine mist to us.  The fog that had been covering the bay all day still blanketed the waves but seemed like it might be breaking up with the rising temperature which had climbed to 54.5 by six thirty, the high for the last twenty four hours.  As we sat down to our evening meal we were hopeful that we would see the sun, tomorrow.

            As the last bite of salad went down Steven Boudreau was at our door.  Of course we invited him in for a visit and a drink.  He accepted both.  He brought our order of low carb stuff Onie had ordered from Yvonne.  We visited about his workday on the morrow which would start with him at the dealership at six and end with him delivering a new truck to Pubnico about seven in the evening.  It would be a long day but his sales area is all of the Acadian Coast and sometimes long hours are required.  They are not without their rewards.  While we were still visiting Yvonne came in.   She and Onie discussed their day and Steven and I continued to visit turning our conversation to taxes.  It was dark, after nine and they had a big day coming so they left to go to their home in Weymouth.

Onie finished preparing our dinner of fiddlehead fern, mushrooms and onions and steak.  Actually there is no such thing as a fiddlehead fern.  The term “fiddlehead” refers to a stage in the growth of a fern when it is breaking through the soil but not yet uncurled.  On the plate they look like a curled up green worm but they are prized for their delicate flavor which is said to be a combination of asparagus, artichokes and mushrooms.  My palate is old I suppose as I only tasted the asparagus and artichoke part but then again maybe the mushrooms on my plate hid that part.  We have never seen them in the states but they are available here April until June.  Perhaps we will try them again before the supply is gone. 

One of the things that came in our low carb order was chocolate bars.  They are small but very tasty and a welcome treat for a chocoholic like me.  Each bar has but 2 grams of carbs.  We each had one for dessert.

Pirates of the Caribbean was coming on and we settled in to watch it.  The live dead men in it along with other parts proved too frivolous for Onie and she went to bed.  The swashbuckling kept me interested right up to the end.

When it was over I read until one before joining.

The wind had left us.  Their was no rocking and rolling of the coach on this night.

June 16, 2004

ACTION

Alarm clocks are such a nuisance.  The sound of the waves breaking on the rock and sand beach woke us.  We opened our bedroom window and lay and listened for a while.  The wind had left us and the sun had returned.  The silhouette of the Neck rode above the calm bay waters. Soon the coffee pot clicked on and the sound of the breaking waves was accompanied by the sound of perking coffee.  When I got Onie her first cup I started the tea.

When we rose to greet the beautiful day we had a simple breakfast of half and half over low carb cereal.

Baths followed and then Onie was off to the gym, after a few games of spider and a few tunes on the Yamaha.  

I wrote a bit, did thirty crunches and then went out to work on our hydraulic system.

By one the temp had risen to 62.

With Onie back we ate a snack and then headed off to cut firewood for Ann and Dan.  They burn eight cords a winter.  Our work will help them and help me stay in shape.  We stopped at their house and picked up a chain saw, gas, chain oil, spare chains and a trailer before going to his wood lot a few miles down the road.

Where we would be working was about half a mile off the road.  To get there we followed a small road that bordered a creek, through some virgin timber.  In years gone by a millpond had been on the creek and powered a mill.  Today there were little vestiges of the bygone era.  In the tall pines, spruce, birch and maples it was almost breezeless and 76 degrees.   As soon as we stepped out of the car the bugs descended on us, mosquitoes, black flies, horse flies, gnats and bugs that I had never seen before.  We put on our boots and then applied some of the bug spray we carry in the toad.   I showed Onie the downed timber that we would be cutting, marked a stick for her to use in measuring length of the cut for me and then cranked the saw.  It was action time, we were in business.  She marked for me and I cut.  After twenty or twenty five minutes of cutting I would stop the saw and we would load the trailer.  I took a few rests along the way as my light breakfast and lunch snack seemed to have left me.

Three hours after we left Danny’s we were back at his house with a half cord of wood loaded on the trailer.  It still had to be split but we had half the job done.  Dan was home from his day’s labor and met us as we pulled in the drive.  Onie went in to visit with Ann.  After the trailer was unhitched and the tools put away Dan and I joined them.  We visited for just a few minutes before standing to leave.  On the way out we stopped in the kitchen.   Dan had brought home fresh haddock fillets and they gave us several,

On the way to the Marlin we discussed whether we should have fresh scallops or fresh haddock for dinner.  We left it up to Onie to decide.

Back home we shed our dirty clothes and got another much needed shower washing off sweat, dirt, wood chips and assorted bugs and bug spray.  Thus refreshed Onie started dinner.  It was lemonade, salad, asparagus and blackened haddock. 

While she did that I made some notes and looked at what was left of the beautiful day.

Dinner was on the table at eight.  The outside temperature had fallen to 61.7 and continued to drop along with the sun.

After dinner I turned on the Astros and Cubs game.  Around the fifth or sixth inning I closed my eyelids to check for leaks.  When I reopened them the Astros were losing and never recovered the lead.

With the game over Onie changed the channel to Lifetime and went to the bedroom to watch a movie.

I visited the laptop long enough to record the events of the day and then joined Onie where I began checking my eyelids again.

June 17, 2004

HOW ARE WE DOING?

            Another glorious day dawned on the Acadian Shore as we lay sleeping next to St. Mary’s Bay in the comfort of the Marlin.

            When we started out tea and coffee the sun was already high.

            Onie played and sang while the sautéed, in butter and garlic, scallops cooked and the eggs boiled until they were done to softness.

            Later while the kitchen was being cleaned and the dishes washed Onie played and sang some more.  I sat next to her for the last song, Sweet by and By, and sang along.  Who knows, the sounds of our music may have drifted to another camper through our open windows.  Then it was time to start our day.

With Onie in the shower, getting ready to go to the gym I wrote.

When noon came and went the gentle breeze had barely a riffle on the bay and the bright sun made it feel much warmer than the 56 degrees registering on the thermometer.

When Onie left I took my turn in the shower and then went out to do more battle with the recalcitrant bolt in the hydraulic system.  It has to come out so a new piece can be fabricated and attached to the upright.  Dan and I will do the fabrication at his shop and then I will try to put everything back together.  If I need help there are many willing hands.

Last evening while we were visiting with Dan and Ann, Dan and I discussed the haddock he was giving us and the processing of same.  He said that when the fish are processed now the heads, skins and entrails are saved and then ground into meal.  This is used to make mink food which goes to the local mink farm.  When the mink are mature they are killed and their carcasses are then mulched.  The mulch goes to gardeners and farmers.  The farmers use the mulch in some fields to raise crops to feed pigs.  When the pigs are slaughtered part of the offal is used to make mink food.  It seems these folks are getting the most from their labors and from the fish they catch and the animals they raise.  How are we doing in the states?

When lunch time came Onie wasn’t back from the gym and shopping so I dug out the two left over biscuits and some figs.  While I had these and a bottle of water I finished a book that my friend Mary Davis gave me.  A high school friend of her’s, Paul Creech, wrote it and autographed it to me.  Paul served in the Texas Department of Public Safety, DPS, for thirty nine and a half years.  He was born and spent most of his childhood and teen years in the little town of Colmesneil just a few miles north of where we now live.  My brother, David, had done the audit for the school district there for years prior to selling his practice.  Paul had been a trooper for nine years before being accepted into what was then the fledgling DPS Aircraft Section.  The book was mostly about some of his experiences during that time, first flying fixed wing aircraft and then helicopters.  He was in service during the time I spent, twenty years, as a deputy sheriff, first under Buster Kern, the last old time western sheriff, in Harris County.  Buster was a hard working, hard driving, hard drinking sheriff who expected at least the first two from his deputies.  My first work as a deputy was with the Mounted Posse.  On a couple of occasions Buster came out and rode with us, we in uniform and he in blue jeans with a star on his denim shirt and a big six gun strapped around his waist.  We did many of the same things Paul did, searched for missing persons, dead bodies, escapees and other miscreants.  It is possible that at some time Paul was flying overhead while I searched on the ground.  Later the sheriff got his own “Fox”, a helicopter used in police work but from time to time DPS was still called on to assist with their Fox.  This unit helped me more than once in high speed chases while I was driving a patrol car.  Reading the book brought back many fond memories of earlier days when a younger me had also served.  I’m glad Paul wrote the book and I’m certainly glad Mary bought it for me.  Thanks Mary for thinking of me.  The book was a real bouquet.

After lunch I called to arrange for a local phone line to be installed at our camp site.  The lady in Halifax, Adeline, was very pleasant and helpful in taking our order.  She then told me their installers were on strike and it might be a week or two before we get our phone.  We really want it so access to the web will be easier and if an emergency arises our folks can get in touch with us.

Yvonne came in with a load of wood for the campfire but it needed to be cut in smaller pieces to fit in the camp stove.  She backed up to a grassy area outside the camping area and unloaded the wood while I cut it.  Then it was reloaded and she backed into their camping area where she and I were unloading it when Al and June showed up and helped finish the unloading and stacking.

Dinner time was approaching so I went to the coach where Onie already had the meal prep underway.  Yvonne soon followed.  We had invited her and Steven but he is Halifax on business and won’t be in until late tonight. 

Onie served salad, brussel sprouts, feral hog ham and venison sausage.  Strawberries and whipped cream were waiting in the refrigerator as dessert but Yvonne was too full so we passed. 

With the evening progressing and a chill coming into the air Yvonne went to her camper to change into warmer clothes and I closed up the coach.   Today had been warm enough that I opened the roof vents for the first time since we have been here.

Onie was cleaning the kitchen so I sat down to write.      

With the kitchen clean and Onie ready we walked to the camp fire at Yvonne’s.

Some of the newly chopped wood blazed brightly in the stove at the gathering place.  Yvonne was acting hostess while waiting for Steven to return from Halifax.  Joan was there with her twelve string guitar.  Al and June, John and Janette, Brian minus Yvette, who as working, and Bernard all sat around the fire chatting.   We joined the group but soon left to get Onie’s Yamaha, music book and stand.  Back around the fire she and Joan played and sang with a few of the group joining in.

During a break in the singing Onie went to the coach to get the raspberry topped cheese ball she had made earlier.  That with some Breton crackers and pork skins was soon gone as the Nova Scotians made short work of it.

Near eleven Onie and I gathered her guitar, stand and music and went to the coach.  We anticipated an early rise, for us, around eight so we were going to bed early.

Sleep was elusive at first but soon surrendered and we slumbered.

June 18, 2004

ARISE FAIR LADY

            The sound of the coffee pot starting up woke me shortly before the alarm rang.  It was shortly after eight and time for my fair lady, Onie, to arise and to get ready for the gym.  She and Yvonne were going early.

            I rose shortly and made some tea before sitting down to work on the agency books, pay some bills and watch a little news.

            When Onie returned she started breakfast as I took a quick shower.

            A pound of sautéed haddock made our breakfast.

            Then I began to write and Onie read some information on Church Hill, Alberta and the annual gathering of the polar bears there.  That was a trip she and I had been discussing for some time.  If we ever take it, to see the polar bears, it will have to be in November or December.  No roads go there so we will have to take a train from a point in the southern part of the province perhaps Winnipeg or Thompson.  Steven and Yvonne’s son is preparing to move to Thompson so a possibility would be to meet them there, visit Brian, and then go on to Church Hill.

            With mail needing to be sent and no Canadian postage we set off to the post office with a stop at the local ATM to get some cash.  Many transactions take place here for cash.  Last evening I bought ten pounds of haddock for thirty five dollars from an individual who works on a haddock boat.  The fish was caught yesterday and delivered to our door last night.  Had we bought the fish in the store it would have been about six dollars a pound.  Earlier, Norma had brought us five pounds of scallops from the fish plant where she works, for six fifty a pound, again a very good savings over retail but once again for cash.  These folks aren’t taking the products without their bosses knowledge but are just helping out friends with the boss’s aid.  Yvonne orders Atkins products off the web for herself and her friends.  When it arrives cash is needed.  We have already acquired some cereal, muffin mix and chocolate bars from her so now I have less than ten dollars, cash.   

            Onie freshened up while I wrote and listened to President Bush’s speech to the military in Washington State.

            We had the coach open again as the temperature outside climbed into the seventies.  With the sun shining on a calm bay we were in store for another glorious day. With fresh air and sunshine streaming into our home we set off to get some things done.

            Our first stop was the ATM.  We have probably used one of these machines a total of three times prior to today.  On our third attempt we won and the thing spit out several Canadian twenty dollar bills.

            Flush with our success we went to the drug store to get some Benadryl and Calamine Lotion.  When we were in the woods the other day the bugs had feasted on us.  We were still feeling the effects with severe itching.  The stuff we bought brought the much sought after relief.

            Next stop was the grocery store for some fresh vegetables.

            The last time we ate out was in Michigan on the riverboat.  It had been even longer since we had Chinese food.  We headed to Meteghan and the Bamboo House where we enjoyed an early dinner.

            Then we bought more vegetables and a beautiful blooming Geranium to enjoy this summer and decorate our site.

            We were full, the car was full and it was time to go home.

            Weekend campers had arrived and festivities were already getting under way when we got back near seven o’clock.  Singing and guitar playing could be heard coming from several different sources but the one with the most volume definitely was coming from Steven’s and Yvonne’s.

            Although the music was enticing we decided to join our friend June for a little bingo.  We had fun with the change of pace and I even managed to win, once.

            With the many bingo games at an end we headed toward the music with a stop at the Marlin, to put on warmer clothes.  The sun and warmth of the day had given way to a clear starlit night with falling temperatures. 

 At the singing a big fire was roaring in the stove spreading warmth in a wide circle.  Many folks stood singing around the group of five guitars, a banjo and spoons that were putting out a steady stream of music, some country, some bluegrass and some pop from the eighties.  At one point the banjo was put away and replaced with a mandolin and the number of active guitars swelled to eight.  The crowd around the musicians ebbed and flowed with the passing evening and by the time lights out came it had dwindled to half a dozen.  The musicians were down to two guitars, the mandolin and spoons.  With the hands on my watch standing straight up the music stopped, instruments were put away, many hands helped fold and store chairs and generally police the area.  Goodnights were said and some couples drifted off into the cool night air which now carried the fresh salt scent of the ocean.  A few people stopped In Steven and Yvonne’s camper to visit before ending their day.

At home Onie and I took more Benadryl and got ready for bed.  It had been a long day.

June 19, 2004

END OF THE WEEK

            Clouds covered the sun and a little wind had a ripple on the bay when I woke at seven thirty. 

The end of the week was in sight.  A little time with the laptop kept me current with the stories.

Later, when Onie woke, we drank coffee and tea while she cooked and I typed.  The Commancheros began playing on the Western Channel but we probably wouldn’t watch the whole thing as we needed to do a little house keeping and wash. 

            Onie went off to the gym and I continued on the laptop and paused to watch the final ten minutes of the movie.  Then I switched to music before doing my morning cleanup.

            When Onie returned we worked on a crossword from the local paper.

            The clouds continued to lower and the winds gradually increased.

            Onie went off to wash prior to doing a major floor cleaning in our little home. 

In her absence I planned to wash some more dirt off the coach.  My plans were derailed by falling temperatures.  It was too cold to be outside with wet hands in the rising wind.  Instead I cooked myself a haddock snack and settled back down to the laptop with Singers and Standards serenading me.  I stayed thus occupied until the gathering clouds and wind served to block the signal coming from the satellite.  In Texas this means a big storm is on its way.  I hoped the loss of signal doesn’t mean the same here.   While I had been engrossed with writing a light rain had begun to fall but when a kid went by on his bike, wearing a poncho, I notice it was raining, soon it began to fall in earnest.  I hoped Onie would be home soon. 

Cajun flag over Steven's trailer serves as our windsock.

Almost always a nice, cool  breeze off the bay.  

As if by magic Onie appeared when the rain slackened.  We got the clean dry clothes in the house before the rain started again.  When the clothes were put away we both snacked a bit before starting movies.

It was still daylight but we had lost the view of the bay and Neck to the fog.  A hundred yards was as far as we could see with the fog behind the drizzling rain.  We opted to skip the campfire, if there was one and stay in.

With the furnace set on 70 to drive out the damp cold we snuggled under our covers for two movies, Simply Irresistible and Birthday Girl.

We decided to take a break and have dinner.  Onie put scallops and a veggie on the table.

Before retiring for the night we watched a moldy oldie starring Gary Cooper and Helen Hays in A Farewell to Arms.

Near midnight, to the sound of falling rain and faint music, yes they did have the campfire, we fell to sleep.

Really settled in.