MERRY CHRISTMAS TO US

When we packed up the RV ready to roll to PEI one of the things we knew we would need was our Christmas tree and the tree ornaments. Spending Christmas in a new place all alone (so to speak) with no chance of finding a fun, circle of friends to spend the holidays with, I think we made a smart decision. It didn't bother us or intimidate us; we had spent Christmas in an RV two years ago with only each other and our (then) two dogs so we were okay with it. While we weren't in sunny Florida, as we were two years ago, we were in a pretty spiffy house with all the modern conveniences surrounding us.

Christmas in the RV in 2014 in Florida.

Stanley Bridge is pretty isolated with no town to walk around, no stores to go into and speak to the proprietors (remember the gas station at the four corners), no neighbours to borrow a cup of sugar from. That's not to say we don't like it here. And, it's not to say that Stanley Bridge doesn't have some pretty nice scenery and plenty of empty fields to walk Kaede through. No. All I'm saying is; Stanley Bridge is pretty isolated.

And so, we put up our tree on the third day here. It made it seem more like home. Being surrounded by unfamiliar furniture in unfamiliar rooms, that little tree gave us a bit of warmth and comfort and made us smile. Besides, where else do you place your stockings and presents except under the Christmas tree?

Look closely at the Christmas cards on the little table. Last years!! Brought them along so we would have some.

This little cutie, Kaede, wearing her Christmas bow.

We made a festival of it. Erik took on Christmas Eve dinner duty and produced a lovely meal of anti-pasto (one of our favourites), followed by baked oysters with chorizo and parmesan.

Anti-pasto. A favourite of ours.

Oysters baked with Parmesan and Chorizo. Delicious.

Remember how cold it was when we stopped for the night in Levis, Quebec? -40c with the wind chill? There were casualties as a result of the frigid temperatures. A couple of bottles of wine and a bottle of bubbly, set aside for Christmas, had exploded. Have no fear. We know where the liquor stores are.

I was on duty for Christmas dinner and decided to roast a couple of Cornish hens. If I do say so myself, they were delicious. Stuffed with a flavoured wild rice mixture they were a wonderful alternative to a turkey. Everyone shared in this meal, including Kaede who had the giblets.

New Year's was another little two person and one dog festival. For New Year's we thought we would go native. You know, PEI native. Yes. Lobster all the way. Can't beat that for an appetizer. Those little beauties were followed by one of Chef Michael Smith's recipes, Beef in Orange.

Apologies to the purists out there. We had to use wine glasses for the Prosecco as that's all the rental accommodation offered.

If you are unaware of who Michael Smith is, here is a link to the Orange Ginger Beef as well as some information about him. His food is always delicious, simple and he is an advocate of using a recipe as a guideline (as am I), rather than as something to be followed to the letter. He has had a pretty interesting life and you may just catch him on television in re-runs of his old shows or as a guest chef on one of Canada's many talk shows.

                               http://chefmichaelsmith.com/recipe/orange-ginger-beef/

Christmas is over. The tree is packed away. New Year's has come and gone. We survived. We did not get home sick. We did not get lonely, nor did we miss having people around. Would we want to do this every year? Probably not. It was fun; kind of like the Christmas and New Year we spent in our RV two years ago. Something different, a bit of an adventure but a steady diet of it? We think not.

Wondering how we spend our days; just the two of us (and Kaede, of course) on a small island where we know no one? Wondering about the terrible PEI winter weather you hear so much about? Well wonder no more. You will find answers to these and other questions in forthcoming blogs.