Sunday, May 31, 2009

What's this?

OH OH!! OH OH!!

Wives beat husbands

2 games to 0

Frank, Harold and Freeman Don't want to talk about it.

Shame Shame.

Easy Pasta Salad

I'm all about quick and easy when it comes to camping and cooking. It really sucks to have to spend an hour cooking or barbecueing when you have guests or great weather or just plain old stuff to do.


Here's a really easy pasta salad recipe that doesn't take a lot of time, doesn't take a lot of ingredients, and if you are in the vacinity of a veggie stand, you get to contribute to the local economy by buying local produce.


Prepare your favorite pasta for as much as you need. A 900g box will do a large salad to feed probably 6 or 8 people. I like using penne or shells. Rotini would be good too.


Once it's cooked and drained toss in some grape tomatos and english cucumber chunks to your preference. Top with Sundried Tomato and Oregano dressing. Chill and you are good to go.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Testing again

Sending another test pic. I was having issues with thius function on my other blog.
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Testing blogger email.

Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

A little mid week update

Luc’s been busy this week. Besides regular maintenance and upkeep stuff, the minigolf greens needed to be replaced, so Luc, Warren and Iris replaced them. They look good, yes? I’m looking forward to trying them out.







Luc had a mid week visitor. I think he was either lost or just passing through. Cute little thing though, isn’t he?

I’m sure we’ll be seeing lots of critters throughout the season. Luc and I took a walk through the walking path a couple of weeks ago and came across deer tracks. Deer roaming through our campground. That’s pretty exciting for a city girl like me. Speaking of critters, I think I mentioned this in my last post, but I saw a hummingbird up close for the first time ever last weekend. It was about two feet away from me through a window. They are awfully graceful aren’t they? I might have to put out a couple of hummingbird feeders around the office.

So now a blurb about the weather. The Farmer’s Almanac is calling for scattered showers from the 27th to the 31st. Well it sure is chilly and showery at the moment. Environment Canada is calling for cloudy and showers for Friday and Saturday, and a Sunny Sunday. So it looks like everyone is going to have to gather round their campfires or hang out in the Shelter for some guitar playing. I know there HAS to be some nice weekend weather coming soon. Maybe Mother Nature will decide to let us have a little sun earlier than Sunday this weekend.

Well that’s my midweek update. See you tomorrow night.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Friday was HOT

Friday was soooo hot. How hot was it? I think we hit 30 degrees here on the Lahave River. Not that I'm complaining. But we just aren't used to that sort of temperature this early in the season. Our poor old winter beaten bodies just can't adjust that fast to such a drastic temperature change. But now that we got a dose, I'm sure we'll all be fine. The hot weather did absolutely nothing for the black flies. Those little buggers would outlast a nuclear bomb, I'm sure.

Speaking of which, when you are coming to stay with us, make sure you bring your fly dope. The downside of a wooded campground is for sure the bugs. But the upside to a wooded campground far outweigh the bad. 10 fold. The wooded campsites along the river are spectacular. If I do say so myself. :-)

The weekends fly by so fast. Here it is Sunday morning all ready. I'll be heading back to the city this afternoon, and it seems like I just got here. We had a good weekend. It was quiet. We had a couple stay here last night that just bought their first trailer. A hard top they bought at Bluenose RV in Bridgewater and of course they had to come and try it out.

The campers have the stove on in the shelter. They must be getting ready for their book exchange. The book exchange is every Sunday morning from 9am to 10am.

If you are in the Lunenburg area today (May 24th) Ellen Hunt, one of our seasonals is reading one of her stories at the Tin Fish Restaurant, on Pelham Street in Lunenburg. It's for the Gallows Hill Writers Read and it's from 2pm to 3pm.

There will be a campers meeting next Saturday night (May 30th) at 7:00pm, to discuss the activities for the upcoming season. Come and join us and have your say on what activities you would like to see. If you can't make the meeting we'd still like to hear from you. If there is an activity you'd like to see, just leave a comment here and we will bring it up at the meeting.

I think that's all I have to report for today.

Happy Camping

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

So you want to go camping...

The first question people ask is what do you need to take with you camping. The second thing to know is how do you not forget anything. The answer is simple. You make a list, and you check it twice. (Santa Claus is coming to town). Sorry. I couldn’t resist.

Once you make your list, it’s really handy to print it out and then laminate it. Then you can reuse it with a dry erase or water soluble marker. If you are really, really keen, get two thin pieces of plexi-glass, place your list between them, duct tape the edges (If you want a good chuckle, google images of duct tape), and you now have a makeshift clip board that you can reuse again and again. It can even be double sided if your list is long enough. Duct tape your marker to string and then to your plexi-glass clip board and you are really keening it up.

Now I guess you want to know what to take with you when you go camping. I make my lists in sections. Bedding / Equipment. Clothing. Toiletries / First Aid. Kitchen. Menu. Entertainment. If you have space to carry Rubbermaid totes, they make excellent makeshift tables while camping. And storage for your equipment when you get home, making your next trip planning that much easier.

Here is a starter list for you. There is a lot on the list, but it doesn't actually take up a lot of room. You will also have to tailor it to your own needs.


(If I figure out how to create a table, I'll put this in a table format for easy reading)


Bedding / Equipment

Tent
Tarp
Rope
Mat
Hammer / Mallet
Axe
Extra rope / stakes
Blow up mattress / air pump
Repair kit for mattress
Sleeping bag
Extra Blanket
Pillow
Screen Room
Folding Chairs
Barbecue / Stove
Charcoal
Propane Tank
Marshmallow roasters
Pie irons
Slow Cooker
Lantern
Flashlights / Batteries
Tool box
Swiss Army Knife
Cooler
Fire Starter
Work gloves
Firewood

Clothing

Socks
Underwear
Pants
Shorts
T-shirts
Sweatshirts
Jacket
PJ’s
Rain Coat
Rain Boots
Swim Suit
Sneakers
Sandals
Hat

Toiletries / First Aid

Soap
Shampoo
Wash cloth
Towel
Brush
Tooth Brush
Tooth Paste
Mouth wash
Razors / Shaving Cream
Toilet Paper
Feminine products
Deoderant
Sunscreen
Bug spray
After bite
Band Aids
Polysporin
Tylenol
Prescription meds
Pepto Bismol
Tweezers
Benedryl

Kitchen

Salt Pepper
Sugar
Flour
Spices
Cooking oil
Tinfoil
Forks, knives, spoons
Potato peeler
Plates, bowls, mugs, glasses
Salad bowl
Cutting board
Zip lock bags
Paper towel
Pot Holders
Pots / Pans
Garbage Bags
Recycling Bags
Spatula / Tongs
Table cloth / table clips
Lighter
Can opener
Ice

Cleaning

Dish cloths
Dish pan
Dish towel
Dish soap
Broom / Dust pan
Laundry Soap
Clothes pins
Rope for clothes line

Entertainment

Cards
Crib board
GPS
Radio
Camera
Compass
Fishing Gear
Frisbee
Washer Toss
Books / magazines / puzzle books
Guitar / Songbook

The next thing I do is make a menu list. Don’t forget to take it with you or you may forget you intended that pound of hamburger for meatloaf instead of hamburgers, like I did last weekend.

Here is my list from last weekend. (I tried to keep our prep time down because we were actually working and not camping.)

Friday supper: Hot dogs
Snacks: Chips, Grapes, carrots, celery, marshmallows
Saturday Breakfast: Cereal, Pop tarts, toast, milk, juice, coffee
Saturday lunch: Ham sandwiches
Saturday supper: Slow cooker meatloaf
Snacks: Cheese, pepperoni, marshmallows
Sunday Breakfast: Bacon, eggs, bbq potatos, toast
Snacks: Fruit, veggies

Make a list of everything you need to pack or buy from your menu.

Put gas in your car. Don’t forget the beer. And you are off camping for the weekend. If you do end up forgetting something, stop by the camp store. We try and have a few things that people tend to forget on hand.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Our first weekend down

How much fun was that? We had the greatest time. The seasonal campers are an awesome group of people. We couldn't ask for better seasonals. Yay, you guys. We even had a great turnout of weekenders too. Even though the weather wasn't great.

The heavy rain did manage to stay away until Sunday night.

The kids were a great help in the office, and they hosted a kids mini golf tournament on Sunday afternoon. We even had prizes.

There were card games and crafting going on in the rec hall. The campers even managed to get in some guitar playing between rain drops. I guess I'll have to practice lots so I can join them. And I mean LOTS.

Looking forward to more of the same next weekend. But hopefully with some sunshine.

Forgot to mention. I think there is going to be a meeting for the seasonal campers on May 31st. It will be held on Saturday night. Details will be posted on the bulletin boards.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Victoria Day Weekend


The campground is coming along nicely. Everything should be spickety span clean for the first long weekend of the season. Warren and Iris, the old owners, have worked really hard getting everything ready for us, and answering all of our questions.

Luc and I were out and about on Tuesday and got the chance to meet and talk to a few of the seasonal campers yesterday.

I love the Farmers Almanac, so I will be quoting from it regularly. Here is some May information. For Atlantic Canada, May 10 - 16th will have scattered showers and be cool. For the 17th to the 20th, it says there will be sprinkles and be warm. Warm is good right?
From the Almanac, here is the weather rhyme for May
Misty and mild,
then showers in batches;
batten down the
hatches!
Thunder rumbling,
but no more grumbling:
It's too fine to
whine!
A little gloomier,
but every orchard
is looking gloomier
Here's a website I use a lot in the summer while camping.


I really enjoy looking at the stars and planets in the sky around a campfire. And I look up Halifax for a specific time, print it off and then when the time comes, I can point out the different objects in the sky.

Here is what you will see in our sky Saturday evening, about 10:30pm.


Well, that's all for now I guess, I gotta go pack and pack up the car and get ready to hit the road in the morning. Looking forward to a great weekend, and I hope to get to meet lots of people.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Welcome to our blog

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the blog for Lahave River Campground in Newburne, Nova Scotia. 26 km from Exit 11 on Highway 103.

We are Angela and Luc Doiron, and we are the new owners of the campground.

We are going to use this blog to update our campers on upcoming weekend events; recaps of past events; camping tips; and any other information that our campers might find interesting.

You can contact us via our website http://www.lahaverivercampground.ca/ or our email, info@lahaverivercampground.ca.

Angela is also twittering @angd