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Gina DiMartino

~ An Asheville Foodie, Writer, Creator & Dreamer

Gina DiMartino

Monthly Archives: August 2013

Prince Edward Island

28 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by ginamd in Uncategorized

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Boston Strong, Dalvay by the Sea, Prince Edward Island

I was born – praise to the gods! – in Prince Edward Island
The colourful little land of ruby and emerald sapphire…I like Ontario muchly but anyone who had once loved “the only Island there is” never really loves any other place…For there the fairies still abide despite the raucous shrieks of motor cars. There are still a few spots where one who knows may find them.
L.M. Montgomery

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We left Wednesday evening. Stopped in Chelmsford for the night and breakfasted with relatives before heading up the Maine and New Brunswick coast. We stopped in York, one of my favorite little beach/vacation towns. There we found the quaintest little pie shop called Pie In The Sky Bakery. The best blueberry pie you have ever had. I promise. It was unreal.

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From there we went to Bar Harbor and had a fabulous seafood dinner on the ocean. We crossed the border late in the night and slept in Saint John, New Brunswick.

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PEI was only three hours away. We woke up excited to finally be realizing one of our dreams. As we crossed the eight mile bridge to the red coasted island the theme of Anne of Green Gables playing loudly in the car we flew up on the wings of anticipation. It was BEAUTIFUL. Everything we had dreamed and more. Driving across the island to our cottage you could almost hear L.M. Montgomery describing the rolling green hills, the vast hayfields with big round bales of hay, the sandy dunes with tall grasses blowing in the wind, and yes, the red rocky coast with its high cliffs and sapphire blue water.

“Elsewhere are more lavish landscapes and grander scenery; but for chaste, restful loveliness it is unsurpassed.”

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Our cottage was perfect. We made friends with the owner, Monty, an adorable veteran who retired and built cottages on the ocean. Our porch overlooked a vibrant green yard, tall stately pines, and a glimpse of the blue ocean through the trees. The first day a bald eagle flew right through our yard!

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For the next three days we wandered the island. We visited the Avonlea Village, The Green Gables Heritage Place, relaxed on the beach, got up early for sunrise, watched the beautiful sunsets, and ate some of the best island had to offer.

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“You cannot get away from the sea down there.
Save for a few places in the interior, it is ever visible somewhere, if only in a tiny blue gap between distant hills, or a turquoise gleam through the dark boughs of spruce fringing an estuary. Great is our love for it;
its tang gets into our blood: its siren call rings ever in our ears;
and no matter where
we wander in lands afar, the murmur of its waves ever summons us back in
our dreams to the homeland. “

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Our last evening we drove the coastal road to Dalvay By The Sea. An old victorian hotel that was Montgomery’s inspiration for The White Sands Hotel. Stepping onto the terrace visions of 19th century vacationers in long white dresses with hats and parisoles flitted through my mind. This was where high class people came for the summers. They dined in the elegant restaurant and climbed the mahogany staircase in their finest clothes. It was like stepping onto the set of Downton Abbey. We ate dessert there. Sticky Toffey Date Pudding. They are famous for it. And for good reason. It was dense and sticky and caramelized and DELICIOUS!

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“When the evening sun is setting
  Quietly in the west,
In a halo of rainbow glory,
  I sit me down to rest.

I forget the present and future,
  I live over the past once more,
As I see before me crowding
  The beautiful days of yore.”

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/montgomery/alpine/alpine.html

it’s always ourselves we find in the sea

26 Monday Aug 2013

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Boston Strong, PEI, peiadventure, Prince Edward Island

Maggie And Milly And Molly And May
E.E. Cummings

maggie and millie and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles, and

millie befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles: and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea

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Bucket list

13 Tuesday Aug 2013

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anne of green gables, PEI, Prince Edward Island

Living in Boston has always been on my bucket list. I crossed it off. I lived there for a month. I had an amazing view of the city skyline and the harbor. I met baseball players and movie stars. I had royal treatment. Not exactly the stay I had imagined, but amazing none the less. I’m sure I would still like to live in Boston, but I consider that checked off my list. Next on my list is visiting Prince Edward Island. This has been on my list since I was little. Since I first saw Anne of Green Gables I have wanted to walk on the red sand beaches, visit the lighthouses, feel the ocean breeze on my face, and walk where Anne walked. This week, I will be checking that off my list as well.

Allie, Jenny, Kim and I are embarking on this grand adventure. We will drive up the coast of Maine stopping in any village we wish, eating so many lobsters, taking so many pictures, and seeing so many things none of us have ever see before. The bridge to get onto PEI is 7 miles long. Imagine that! I think we will se seals, maybe whales, maybe PUFFINS! I am excited beyond measure. It is going to be an epic vacation to be sure!

If you’ve never seen Anne of Green Gables, watch it. I know it’s not for some people, but  I just love her. I love the movie, the music, the book… PEI here we come!

pieces

10 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by ginamd in Uncategorized

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Boston Strong, Bstrong, meredith andrews

Its been 116 days. 116 days since I have felt my toes. Since I have worn two shoes. Since our world was blown to pieces. And today it feels like it. I have to remind myself, the doctor said 400 days. That means I’m 1/4 of the way there. The hardest 1/4 is over with. There will probably be no more surgeries, casts, open wounds, blown eardrums, or bed pans in the next 3/4. I have to keep telling myself the glass is half full. Most days I can stay positive. I can keep my mind off of it. Off the pain, the frustration, the exhaustion. But not always. Some days the glass is just half empty.

I started walking on a treadmill. Its been 2 weeks. I hold onto the sides, and I walk. I started at .8 mph. For 9 minutes. I made myself go up a speed and up a minute every day. I got up to 1.7 mph and 14 minutes. That is a victory. I intend to keep increasing both my pace and time. I also started doing a leg press with both legs. Also improvement. Also I can move my ankle back and forth a little. Up and down doesn’t work yet, but you can tell the muscles are trying so hard. I also walk around my house with no crutches at all. I use them when I go out of the house, but I can function most of the day without them.

I think sometimes when you are so close to something it is so hard to see the tiny improvements you are making each day. Its nice when people notice. When people at church made a huge deal about me not being in a wheel chair. When I finally got to play with the worship band again last week and I had people I never met coming up to me so excited to see me up on the stage. When one of the PT assistants wasn’t there for a few days so when he saw me again was astonished that I was walking on a treadmill, and doing the leg press. Through the eyes of other people I see improvements. I have to remind myself of where I was. When Dara wouldn’t let me use crutches without supervision. When I mostly traveled by wheel chair and ambulance. When I had a full leg cast. When I couldn’t put any weight on my foot. When my leg was bent at a 70 degree angle for 12 weeks. See. I have come so far in this first quarter.

Perspective.

I love Meredith Andrews lately. All her songs seem to speak to me. This one in particular. About all our pieces.

It’s a complex puzzle you call your life
It’s an uphill climb, it’s a constant fight
And it wears you down
Feeling like you’re alone, like you don’t belong
And you won’t be loved if you don’t measure up
And you wear your scars
Like they’re who you are

Give Him your wounds, your bruised and broken pieces
All your questions, all your secrets
You don’t have to hide who you are
You belong to someone greater
Than all your past mistakes and failures
Rest in who He is
He knows how to make your pieces fit

He’s the light on the road when you’re lost in the dark
And He won’t run away if you show your heart
Wants you to believe it
You can taste that freedom

Give Him your wounds, your bruised and broken pieces
All your questions, all your secrets
You don’t have to hide who you are
You belong to someone greater
Than all your past mistakes and failures
Rest in who He is
He knows how to make your pieces fit

You are completely known
You are completely loved
This is where you belong

Give Him your wounds, your bruised and broken pieces
All your questions, all your secrets
You don’t have to hide who you are
You belong to someone greater
Than all your past mistakes and failures
Rest in who He is
He knows how to make your pieces fit

Lavender Lemonade

09 Friday Aug 2013

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lavender, lavender lemonade, lemonade recipe

Our garden has been GROWING! It is a bounty of fresh veggies and herbs. I can’t take any credit for it. My mom has the green thumb. She has been picking lavender for me and I have been drying it. It is beautiful and I love the smell. When I was living in Kansas, Sue first introduced me to lavender lemonade. It is so delicious and a surprising change to regular lemonade. I just love it.  Try this refreshing lavender lemonade. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

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LAVENDER LEMONADE

5 cups of water

1/2 -3/4 cup sugar (I only used 1/2 C, it was pretty tart, but I prefer that to too sweet)

3/4 cup Meyer lemon juice, about 6 lemons ​(you can just use the regular lemons at the store too, not a deal breaker)

juice of half a lime​

4 sprigs of fresh lavender​

Bring the water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the sugar and simmer on a low heat for about 5 minutes. Make sure to stir it on the regular. The sugar should be all dissolved in the water by now with no little grains rolling around in there. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, lime juice, and lavender. Let it cool until it is around room temperature. Take the lavender pieces out. Put the lemonade in the fridge to cool down all the way. Serve with lemon wedges and a pinch of dried lavender if you want it to look impressive.

makes about 1 quart

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