Happy Mother's Day to all women. I wish you a lovely day. I am thinking of my mom today. There are so many treasured memories of my mom and it's impossible to celebrate her in just one day so I try to celebrate my mom in some small way every day. My mom would have loved that we spent two weeks on vacation with our friends. Two of our friends have been in our lives for over 50 years so my mom knew them well. Our friends always loved coming to our house and spending time with our mom. She is a wonderful memory in many people's hearts.

Our mom loved flowers and she was always dressed so beautifully.

Room # 309 at the St Vincent De Paul Hospital in Brockville. We were in the hospital to visit my dad (2017) and mom wanted to show me the room where I was born. She loved telling the story that I was in too much of a hurry and didn’t want to wait for the delivery room. The hospital was recently demolished to make room for new condo developments. I am so pleased to have this photo where I first met my mother.

I received two job calls in the last week but had to turn them down because I was on the beach enjoying my vacation. The two jobs I turned down were both medical reliefs, meaning they are a minimum of two weeks but could go on for months. I know there will be other opportunities. I am in a good position on the union board so I am hoping to get three ships for June, July and August. I will keep you posted on which ship I will join. I should have news in the next week or so. I just returned late last night from two weeks in Wells, Maine. It was wonderful! I had wanted to write to you while I was there to share how beautiful it is, but we were five women who had not seen each other in a few years and had lots to get caught up on. There was a lot of storytelling, laughter, fun and good food. Wells Beach is my favorite place to vacation.

We love to watch the little birds, running from the waves.

It's a cool Sunday morning here in Mont Tremblant and the only scent of cinnamon is coming from my bowl of chia seeds which I like to have with a cup of coffee in my favorite mug. Lorraine (my sister, best friend and publisher) packed two large coffee cups for our vacation and we enjoyed sipping from them by the ocean. Coffee always tastes better in a special mug. The weather on our Maine vacation was a mix of sun, rain, clouds, warm, cold, windy and beautiful and that was all in one day. The ocean weather changes throughout the day so we know not to get discouraged if we see rain in the forecast because it will change. I set my alarm and got up each morning at 06h00. I have visited this beautiful area for years and found that the early morning generally offered sun with little wind. As the morning went on and the sun would rise into the sky, the wind would pick up and it would cool off. We packed clothes for all weather and always had a sweater or jacket when we set out to walk on the beach. We always plan our day around the tides and walk during the low tide on the hard packed sand.

We were surprised to see the changes to the sand dunes from the January storms. The two winter storms sent the ocean much further than normal and it took a bite out of the sand dunes, leaving a large gaping hole, taking with her stairs, breakwater walls and all that laid in her path. During our two week stay we returned to some of our favorite spots (restaurants and stores) and heard stories of the January storms. The stories were accompanied by videos helping us to understand how much water came in. Along the beach road there is now a lot of work going on with hammering, and heavy equipment making repairs.

We could not believe the big bite that the ocean took out of the sand dune, carrying away a huge amount of sand leaving a gaping hole.

We were shopping in one of the stores in Kennebunkport and the lady behind the counter showed us pictures of the high water brought in with the January storms.

Lorraine is standing in front of the sand dunes and you can see the line of where the sand was washed away.

I thought this photo was cool of a girl sitting watching the sun set.

Lorraine and I spent the first week in a beautiful unit on the top floor with the bedroom and balcony overlooking the beach. We left the sliding doors open and went to sleep and woke to the sound of the waves. Last Saturday we moved our belongings into the little house next door. It has three bedrooms to accommodate our group of 5 and since we stayed there last they made renovations and added a second bathroom and a beautiful deck off the back of the house. They also painted the entire interior white and it was perfect.

Moving day into the little house. You can see some of our luggage on the patio behind us. Normally you can only check in after 14h00 but because we had to be out of the upstairs unit at 10h00 they allowed us to move into the little house early. Lorraine carried everything down the stairs.

Even though it was grey, it was nice enough to sit out.

Lorraine and I were able to sit out on the upstairs balcony almost every morning of our first week.

We spent the second week in the little house and the first week in the house to the right. I took this picture during low tide. I love when there is some water left on the sand and gives a great reflection photo.

We started on the top floor of the building on the left and then moved over to the little house on the right. The balcony off the back of the little house extended our outdoor hours. The sun on the back of the house is wonderful late afternoon.

We have the ocean in the front of the house and the tidal river on the back.

I like the kitchen in the little house. It looks out onto the beach and we made some beautiful meals which we enjoyed eating in. We made my famous chicken enchiladas, curry chicken, and a few smaller meals.

The view from the little house is spectacular

Lorraine chopped the vegetables for the enchiladas sauce.

Lorraine also made curry chicken over riced cauliflower. It was so delicious.

Imagine my surprise when we saw an Adobo fridge magnet. I almost bought it.

We went out for lobster rolls twice. Our favorite place to get lobster rolls was closed on the day we went to enjoy our Maine treat, so we ate them somewhere else. They were not as good as our favorite place so we went back on another day to the Lobster Shack in Perkins Cove and had the most delicious lobster roll that came with chips, coleslaw and a bowl of excellent fish chowder. It was fun to see Jason, the owner and he greeted us like family. On Friday we had our last vacation supper at Billy's Chowder House and it was really good. I splurged and had the full belly clams which were so good served with their homemade tartar sauce and seafood sauce. It was so good. At the end of the meal we collected our souvenir glasses that the rewards point system offered us. We noticed during our time in the area that the general rate for lobster rolls was $34.00 US which with the exchange rate for us was $46.50 Canadian. The Lobster Shack is the best deal because it is the most delicious and it comes with a delicious bowl of fish chowder. A visit to Jason’s, Lobster Shack is always a highlight.

A rainy day is the perfect day to go out for a lobster roll

Our best lobster roll at The Lobster Shack in Perkins Cove

Today I plan to take a walk with Lorraine and will continue the editing process of the new book. Don't forget to pre-order your copy of the next book "More Recipes and Stories as We navigate Healthier Eating" We are taking pre-orders until June first and then will send the book for printing. I wish you a lovely day and I will keep in touch. Fingers crossed for a great summer lineup of ships. Again, I wish all the mothers or mother figures a most wonderful Mother's day.