The job hunt!

Main actress: Deb
Producer: Life's little quirks!

If my sources are accurate, Prince Edward Island has one of the highest rates of unemployment in Canada. It is something like 11,5% (when the national rate is "only" about 6%).
It is a small province and everything goes real slow here. And, I might be wrong, but it doesn't help being from "away".
I know it is hard for everyone getting a job nowadays but still - it is kind of a pain!
And I am not a lazy job seeker. I have a job coach with whom I reedited my resume and also reviews my cover letters. He gives me advice and cheers me up when time are hard. I email and mail my applications.
I also recently started to spread the word and forwarded my resume to a few people I know who might know people who might know people hiring - who knows?! I have been blessed though by my entourage here who has been very helpful to me in my job search.

Right now, I work a few hours a week at a language school as a language instructor. It is well-paid but it is not enough. I need a full-time job. ASAP. It is not only a matter of money, it is about immigration, it is about us (though J has been a very supportive darling), it is about me meeting people. I need to work. I need to wake up in the morning and dress nice for the day and be with other fellow grown-ups and feel that I am contributing to some kind of community. I love my job right now. But it's not enough.

I have always worked and I like to work. I am a very committed worker and I take things seriously. I know that I can do anything, they just won't give me a chance.

I am positive though that I will be writing a post SOON announcing that I landed a new job! Fingers crossed!

Northern Watters Knitwear

My new mittens, Northern Watter Knitwear, Charlottetown

 I absolutely love that shop. I love the smell, the atmosphere, and their products (they use British wool).
The staff is very friendly, always willing to help and they can do pretty much everything to your liking (and fast!)
I ordered mittens on a Monday and got them done in like three days! They are so warm I can't wear them unless the temperature is very low!
I suggest you go check out their website:
http://www.nwknitwear.com/

Trick or treat on the island!

"Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31.
Common Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or getting trick-or-treated: check!), wearing costumes (check!) and attending costume parties (check!), carving jack-o'lanterns (check!), ghost tours, bonfires, visiting haunted attractions (check!), committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales, and watching horror films".

Halloween is not very popular in France - it is a pagan celebration after all! But I remember celebrating anyway with my sisters and friend Carole (I can't remember trick or treating with anyone else) in the neighborhood.
We would get candies, chocolate, sometimes money - and some lame stuff like milk and anything people could give away to get rid of us!

Growing up, I would get frustrated because the youngest would get the nicest stuff and I would be the last one to get candies if any! So I decided to retire two years ago. I am 25.

One think I love about North America is that they have a very strong sense of partying and celebrating stuff!
Halloween was pretty big here - costumes and candies packages in superstores, houses were decorated with pumpkins, straw men, etc.


To get in the mood, a week before Halloween, J and I went to a pumpkin field and picked up a couple pumpkins, carved them and decorated the front door. I really like that part and was very proud of our carving skills!

On Friday,J and I went to a costume party at one of his friend house! Everyone dressed up really well - there was a gladiator, a pirate, a Mario cart princess, Wayne's world characters, a surgeon...I made our costumes and we went as pocket aces (heart and spade) as J is a big poker fan. We had a fun time!

We also went to a haunted corn field (Harold's Haunted Cornfield in Summerside) which happened to be a BIG SCARE. First of all, it was pitch dark. Secondly, it was freezing cold and windy as heck. And third, I am easy to freak out! It lasted about 40 minutes and I screamed pretty much the whole way. They were very tricky. Like one monster would stop us from going anywhere and then his friends would follow us and scare the hell out of me. I was like: J don't let them touch me! Some of them felt so bad for me that they were patting my back like it's ok young lady! You are gonna be all right! Although I cried at some point, I loved the experience and look forward to going back again!

To conclude this Halloweenathon, we bought a ton of candies, and chips and waited for our little monsters to knock at the door! Fourty-seven kids showed up and we still had some left over! I should have been more generous!

PEI Light And Sound Show

A couple standing right before us, watching the show. Charlottetown, PE

"Charlottetown Prince Edward Island- Canada's Birthplace; tells the story of this great nation like no other. Projected off of Province House- National Historic Site of Canada and set to Island authentic music, this show will captivate you with spectacular imagery and wonderful narration. Share the songs, stories, history and culture that have been told to Islanders for generations."

I think the show was very well put together. I believe most people were there by chance but I found it a nice way of ending our weekend. The show was bilingual and lasted (I believe) for about twenty minutes. We almost missed it as last night was the last night of the show!

For those of you who are interested, a video of the show is available on youtube:

Happy fall!

J and I decided to go hiking to welcome the fall and went to Hyde Park, in Cornwall.
I absolutely loved stomping on crispy leaves - made me feel so close to nature.
Nature is definitely growing on me...

Happy fall to all of yous!

How to pick apples - guide

J and I went apple picking last weekend in lower Montague, PE. Maple Farms Bert Haneveld & Son Apples offer Macintosh and Cortland apples - Cortland apples are for baking, Macintosh for eating.
It was a very nice way of spending our sunday afternoon and much more exciting than buying apples at the groceries store. J especially loved climbing trees and ladder - cute, eh? As for me, I baked my first apple pie. It was hard work (peel, core, slice) but very much worth it as the pie tasted absolutely delicious. I definitely recommend it and look forward to pumpkin picking for Halloween!

 1° Choose an apple farm.

               

 2° Make sure to stay in the right path or you will end up picking the wrong apples.

 3° Enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature.

4° Select firm and bruise-free apples and place them gently in your bag or basket. Don't wash your apples unless you are going to use them straight away.    

 5° Eat or bake to your liking.

Serve chilled.

The famous Canadian weather.

We had a beautiful hot summer. We went to the beach. We tanned. We sweated. I even complained about the heat. Up to Hurricane Earl.

Hurricane Earl brought rain and wind. LOTSA rain. And wind. And humidity.
Wind as in cold and messy hair. Humid as in your bed sheets feel damp and makes you feel itchy.

"You ain't seen nothing yet!" says J.