Wednesday, 24 December 2008

Queens Place

I learned today that site preparations are well underway in Liverpool for construction of "Queens Place," the Region’s new multi-use recreational and community centre. Scheduled to open in late 2010, the facility will include a 900-seat ice arena, walking track, aquatics centre, fitness centre, and community room, and will serve as the central hub for recreational, social, and cultural activity in Queens County.

Just another benefit of becoming a Queens County resident, even if only seasonally. Learn more at: http://www.queensplace.ca/

Happy Holidays!!

Thursday, 18 December 2008

Ulgedook Permanent Resident

For my birthday today, my brother gave me Mr. Potato Head (collector's edition), and informed me that this iconic toy was to reside in a special place at Ulgedook Cottage. With his classic funny face and interchangeable parts, Mr. Potato Head will amuse Ulgedook visitors both young and old alike.

Mr. Potato Head is an American toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of attachable plastic parts such as ears and eyes to make a face. The toy was created by George Lerner in 1949, first manufactured by Hasbro in 1952, was the first toy advertised on television, and still remains in production today. In 2006, Hasbro also began selling individual pieces as sets to add to a collection instead of having to buy an entire Potato Head set with a body. Some of these themed sets include a Mermaid, Rockstar, Pirate, King, Princess, Firefighter, Construction Worker, Santa Claus, Chef, and Police Officer. With my affinity to Star Wars, I look forward to obtaining "Darth Tater."

Saturday, 13 December 2008

Christmas Homes Tour

A quick stop at Ulgedook today, following a visit to Liverpool to enjoy the 11th annual Privateer Days Christmas Homes Tour. The tour showcases the decorating skills of eight homeowners of homes that range in age from the 18th to 20th century. We were delighted with the Christmas splendor, and the beauty of these heritage homes.

On our way home, we stopped at Ulgedook long enough for Joel to demonstrate his locksmithing prowess, as he retracted the broken piece of skeleton key from the lockset, and successfully opened the door. We stepped inside, turned on the lights, and tried to convey the decorating images from the Liverpool homes to conceive the potential of our church. Sheesh, we gotta lot of work ahead of us (lol).

Learn more about Privateer Days at: http://www.privateerdays.com/

Wednesday, 10 December 2008

Port Medway Gingerbread Lighthouse

An article entitled "Gingerbread by the Sea," appeared in today’s Chronicle Herald, reciting the magical memories of baking gingerbread houses. The author, Nadine Fownes, recounts how she "loved the pre-Christmas ritual of making and tasting the dough, rolling out pieces for the walls and roofs, gluing them together with icing and then plastering the whole thing with candies." This year, in "homage" to her Nova Scotian roots, Nadine baked a gingerbread lighthouse (pictured below) modelled after the lighthouse in Port Medway, Queens County.

Also below, is a picture of me taken at Port Medway Lighthouse in 2005, unbeknownst that I would become a seasonal resident of the area three years later.



Saturday, 6 December 2008

Harvest Fest Table

We made an unplanned trip to Ulgedook today, to deliver our new-to-us table... a huge, oak conference table measuring 9'x6' in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid (a what?!?!?!?). This treasure was found at Habitat for Humanity's Restore (a retail outlet of quality used and surplus building materials), located in Burnside. At several hundred pounds, the table took four men to load onto the truck, and only Susan and I were available to unload it at Ulgedook.

After unloading and stowing the table in the back of the church, it was already dark and time to leave. Susan closed up and locked the door, but got the skeleton key stuck in the lock. Much fiddling and wiggling of the key failed to release the key from it's clutches, and resulted in the key breaking and leaving the bit in the lock. With that, we locked the deadbolt, and left the locksmithing for another day.

Wednesday, 3 December 2008