Long time, no hear from – I know! I have just figured out how to recover my account and am now ‘back in business’. .so here goes.

Hubby and I just returned from a trip to Vermont. We attended a Forestry Exposition there. Most people travel to the New England states via the 95, but not us! No, we like to poke through back country and spent most of our time on the #2, winding our way along to take in all the sights. Old tractors, junkyards, antique shops, etc. – that’s what interests us.

Scenery through that part of the country is gorgeous; the hills of New Hampshire deserve a special mention. We had been to these places when the family was much younger – we remarked about toting them on road trips many times. Perhaps it’s my rose-coloured glasses but I can’t remember any dramas or upset children; they were happy to be out and about, seeing the sights and calling out different states from the license plates. It seems impossible now that they stayed content and interested but honestly, I cannot remember that they were ever angry or bored.

Here’s a few hills and hubby –

Let’s see if this will work

It seemed that spring had been supercharged in the places we visited. Certainly they were ahead of us in flowers blooming and it was nice to see. (That pic was taken in Burlington, VT) At home, we are still having furnace fires on some mornings.

We stayed two nights in Maine and one in Vermont. Although it’s good for trade here in Canada to have a higher US dollar, the 42% difference is tough on tourism. (For us!). You can tell we really wanted to travel, eh?

We’ve just begun the birthday season – youngest granddaughter (7) had her birthday while we were away and eldest granddaughter has her birthday next week – she’ll be 13. Eldest grandson has his birthday next month and he’ll be turning 15. He gets taller and his voice gets deeper, it seems, every few months.

I had another trip to Australia a month or so ago and flying, as anyone who does it knows, is not getting any easier. I had seven flights altogether and the first leg – Halifax to Toronto – was the only one that went as planned. Sigh. . Last time I went there it took me 55 hours to return. Yes, really. As uncomfortable as it is, I still love to go – seeing our daughter and two granddaughters (of the 6) is always such a good time. Here’s some photos so you can see why they are such a joy –

The last pic was taken at Flemington Racecourse; a fun place to be! It’s the place that the Melbourne Cup happens and there is a statue of Phar Lap there; you might be interested in reading about a legendary horse – he’s stuffed now and stands in the Melbourne Museum.

I am hoping this post reaches you in good health and spirits; spring is upon us and all kinds of exciting events await us all – take care and be of good cheer!

It’s amazing how much rain has fallen this month. Apparently 4 times the average, which means the grass is very lush and green. Hubby is having nightmares about our woodpile, which is up on trailers at the woodlot, turning green!! The sun will have to come out and stay out for awhile to dry everything.

Our daughter, home from Australia, got mostly rain while she was here . . it’s the way things go! I shall see if I can add pictures to this blog post; something I have been unable to do for awhile.

The grandchildren are growing up way too quickly – eldest just turned 14 and youngest turned 6 – and they are such fun. I have three here today and we’ve been over to view a large tunnel that has been carved out of the shoreline – a small brook has turned into a river which runs to the Bay of Fundy. As you can imagine, there are several new waterfalls going over the bluff.

I am hoping that every person in the blogging family is doing well and having some adventures; I shall be travelling again in our Fall, Australia’s spring. Last year it took me 55 hours to return – quite an ordeal! From the other side of the world it was six airports, five flights, no mask worn and I didn’t get even get a cold! So far, no Covid in this home. Hopefully it hasn’t disrupted yours.

Do take care!

Hello folks! Just a short note to let you know that it appears I am back and running. .. just purchased a newer computer and it looks like it will let me add a new blog post. This is a good thing.

I got back to Australia (Sept – Nov) to visit our daughter and granddaughters and it was a great visit. The weather wasn’t that great – mostly rain – BUT I was sewing most of the time, so it was perfect for me. I got things ready for Xmas while I was there, and returned in time to do the same here. ..

Our grandchildren here were involved in concerts over Christmas and they were so lovely. I don’t how anyone could avoid the Christmas spirit after experiencing one of those. . the students did a great job speaking/singing their lines and a good time was had by all. We definitely left uplifted! 🙂

We shall all see what 2023 brings and I am hoping there’s tons of good things in store for my blogging friends. It’s good to be connected again! All the best to all of you as I head into the new year as an official senior citizen (as of November) – there are worse things!

– Carmen in Nova Scotia

Just seeing if things are working again.

• 

• 

Greetings and glad tidings friends!

What can I say that’s not already been said about this year? It’s been a doozy, that’s for sure. Here in the Maritimes we are going through our ‘second wave’ and there’s a testing clinic being set up about 20 k away to take asymptomatic people who want to get tested. Many I know have had the test and, although it’s not pleasant, it doesn’t take long. Right now we have 61 people who have tested positive (in a province of just under a million people) but no hospitalizations. This time around a different demographic seems to be getting hit – young people who frequent bars and restaurants. The public schools will be closing early and extending their Christmas break so our grandchildren are very happy. Our homeschooled grandchildren are happy as well b/c it means their friends will be around more often.

Here’s a picture of our lovely tree which I just finished decorating. . . . Well, I was going to put in a picture but it appears I can no longer do that on WordPress. Hmmmm. . ..anyway, here’s the story on our tree. We have a woodlot which grows balsam fir (the official Christmas tree of NS) prolifically – along with many other species. Now, if one wants to market trees one must prune, fertilize, trim, etc. for years before ending up with a sheared one – the likes of which one buys at local lots in season. We haven’t done that for years so our trees are what one would call ‘natural stand’. Every year we go on a hunt for the perfect tree and this year was no different. (Last year we cut a beauty from the top of a large one but it was full of cones and sticky pitch; I had to keep rubbing alcohol in the bathroom for sticky fingers after going anywhere near it) This year we headed up to the woodlot, power saw on the back of the truck, to find a tree. I had one picked out and tagged way back in the woods and hubby had cleared a path out so we could drag it out once felled. Down came a rather big tree which looked perfect from the ground. As soon as it was felled I noticed why it was so thick – it had about four tops! So that one was out. On we went and soon spied another large one. Hubby felled that one and it was the same as last year’s – full of cones and sticky gum residue. The next one had a big crook in the centre so it was out. That’s three that were sacrificed and I was getting a bit frustrated, not to mention the person lugging the chain saw.

Hubby had said, before we started, that he had one picked out but of course I had to insist on getting the one I had spied about two weeks ago. Anyway, we drove to another spot and I looked his choice over. Down it came (it wasn’t as large so was easy to see if it had any irregularities) and it’s now been fitted into the tree stand, trimmed, and is absolutely lovely. Lesson of the day? Listen to that husband of mine — I’m thinking he’ll be picking them out from now on.

• 

I actually have three trees up – a small one on the counter in the dining room, the one in the living room and another (birch) tree in the porch. The grandchildren love all the decorations and the youngest is three and now doesn’t have to be monitored every time she goes near anything. This year it’s a chore to keep her out of the treats – she’s discovered how wonderful chocolate tastes!

I’ll wind this up and try to figure out why I can’t post pictures. I’m assuming it’s b/c I don’t pay for WordPress and need to get a more expensive plan. (?).

I’m hoping all my blogging friends are doing well and that you all will have a wonderful holiday despite Covid. This time last year I was getting things ready for my trip to Australia – I left on Dec. 24th – but international travel is out this year and our daughter there has just got a bit of freedom back as they had a very strict lockdown in Victoria. She was trying to work from home and homeschool the two girls and it didn’t go well. Needless to say she’s very happy to see the tail end of that business.

We’ll all hope for a better year in 2021! Merry Christmas all!

Hello all! It’s a long weekend here and it’s finally cooled off. Summer is not my favourite season so I’m happy with the cooler temps. All Nova Scotian school children return tomorrow (they’ve been off since mid-March) and there are those who are planning to homeschool. Which means we will have grandchildren around longer – one of our daughters has decided to go that route. I have been busy making masks (again!) as the grandchildren have gone through my fabric stash to pick out fabric they like.

We’ve celebrated our 43rd wedding Anniversary and travelled up to the Look-Off. Here are some pics taken from that vantage point –

You can see the valley floor and can probably tell that we live in a rural area. . .lots of farms in the Annapolis Valley and our apple crop is just coming on. In this household we always try to get many Gravensteins and Paula Reds for the root cellar.

I don’t know how many of you watch the Discovery Channel on TV (we only have Basic Cable and hardly turn the TV on) but there’s a show that involves a fellow fixing up neat old cars. His name is Bad Chad and he lives close to the Look-Off. We were out touring in our ‘47 Mercury and happened to turn into his driveway (not knowing he lived there) and he came out of his shop to admire the car. Well, we ended up getting a tour of his buildings and a firsthand look at some of the vehicles featured in his show . . .an unexpected bonus of the day!

Some of you may be familiar with the story of the Bluenose, a Nova Scotia icon. To my knowledge, it’s never travelled up the Bay of Fundy but this summer we got treated to a rare appearance. You’ll have to blow up the picture, as the boat was way offshore (closer to Isle Haute) but it was a lovely day and the shoreline was crowded with people wanting a glimpse.

The tide was out that day, as you can see.

We are getting ready for Fall and anticipating fires in our woodstove. ..it will soon be time to take all the verandah furniture off and replace it with the woodpile; cool nights have already set in. We were on the beach last night for a family barbecue; it was lovely down there and the kids always have a great time roasting wieners and marshmallows — there must have been a half dozen other families besides ours! I suppose they figured there aren’t many weekends left to do that.
Here’s a pic of half the grandchildren doing what they do often-

And just in case you haven’t had enough of coastal scenes, here’s one taken from the Forchu Lighthouse (Yarmouth Co.)-

And from Mavillette Beach, along the French Shore here in NS.

Hope all of you are coping with ‘the Covid thing’ and wearing your masks. . . We shall see what happens after the schoolchildren all get together. In our community we are going ahead with our annual Quilt Retreat and have 22 quilters coming in a couple of weeks for some sewing and laughs. As of now, we only have 5 active cases in the province so it seems we’ve been doing our part in keeping the spread at bay. We’ll all hope for the best!

Here’s an amendment item: In response to Ark’s inquiry, I thought I’d add a picture of a quilt top I finished at a Retreat in 2016. It’s called ‘Jewel Box’ and it’s taken me four years to hand quilt it but it’s almost done. This was just the top, mind you. I had to add batting and a backing to make it a quilt. 🙂

Hello everyone! It’s been awhile — over a year — and I have to admit, advancing us to a time in history that is . . . well, a little bizarre.

It seems that most people in blogland are under some sort of self isolation mode and here, it’s no different. Nova Scotia reported its first case of Covid-19 on March 15, 2020; the last of the provinces in Canada to do so. Hubby and I had been to a Stanfields (a popular Nova Scotian band) concert on Friday the 13th and the gov’t – at that time – had imposed a cut-off of 150 people.  Within a week, the provincial gov’t had declared an emergency which gave the RCMP powers to fine people ($700) who refused to self-isolate after coming into the province from anywhere else, the power to enforce social gatherings to 5 and under, and effectively empower them to help keep us all safe.  Since then, we’ve been  at home and don’t venture out often – only to get groceries.  There, we can only enter the store six at a time, shop six feet apart,  and the cashiers’ stalls have all been fitted with plexiglass shields.  We still see our family, but at a distance.  As I write this, our numbers are up to 915 positive cases and 27 deaths – the majority of whom have been at Aged Care Homes.  

 
We’re encouraged to “walk for exercise, not to socialize” and I – and many others in our community – have been getting out daily, if the weather cooperates. (We’ve had a rain/snow mix for the last two days and some parts of the province got a foot of snow!) Today I walked the old ‘square’ which I haven’t done for some time – it’s about 9.7 kilometres around (about half the route is along the shore) and very picturesque.
At this spot, I had intended to place pictures of the Bay of Fundy.  I took many but my iPad decided that it wouldn’t transfer them  .  . so this blog post is purely informational.  

Many of you would have read about the worst mass murder in Canada by now, which happened along our shores.   (Thank you to those who reached out – it was appreciated)

About 200 km away, in a small seaside community of Portapique (population around 100) a madman went on a rampage, killing his neighbours and burning down several homes in the area.  He then drove to other spots in the province, killing people on his ‘hit’ list and anyone else who got in his way.  The final death toll was 22 — including a beautiful young woman (a Victorian Order of Nurses employee on her way to work) who was pregnant.  An RCMP officer was also killed – she had a husband and two children.  The perpetrator was eventually (after a 13-hour crime spree) shot by another RCMP officer. As I type this, the news is still very difficult to believe and brings fresh tears to my eyes.  The more details that are unravelled, the more difficult it is to comprehend.  

Many of us who live in rural Nova Scotia (and that would be about half the province of just under a million people) have what I’d call as close as one can get to an idyllic lifestyle.  All of us know our neighbours and have known them for years (my husband has grown up in this community and two of his three sisters live here as well), we are often in each other’s homes, we are used to unlocked doors and – to give an example – our garage is usually open for those who need to borrow a tool or use the air compressor.  Two of our four children live nearby so we are used to seeing them (and our grandchildren) almost on a daily basis.  Life in most small communities is much the same.  Although we didn’t know any of the people affected by this tragedy, we have friends in that area who did.  Like us, their complacency has been shattered by this event and they are left wondering how on earth it happened . . . this is the kind of thing we see on the news and feel great anguish for other people when it happens to them.  Now it’s been brought home to everyone in Nova Scotia that no one is immune to tragic events and our innocence has been forcibly destroyed. 

To make things even worse, communal grief has been stymied by the Coronavirus. We can’t come together, we can’t mourn and comfort each other as we normally would.  Outpourings of sympathy and support have been relegated to electronics, where Nova Scotians have posted memorials, music, and any kind of positive message to help soothe wounds . ..it’s all we can do.  Last Friday night we had just started watching a Vigil on TV when we heard a Cormorant helicopter.  We looked out the patio door and there was a SAR Tech (from CFB Greenwood – about 15 km away) dangling from a rope, flying low in the sky for us along the shore, holding a Nova Scotia flag.  So poignant.  

I wish my news was more uplifting.  I wish that a defective, angry man had not decided that he could enact his rage in such a destructive manner.  I wish that things could be better for everyone and in time it probably will be.

Collectively, let’s all hope.  

 

Hello all! It’s been awhile. . around six months, I believe. Hope everyone in the blogosphere is doing well and having some fun. It’s been busy around here with a wet spring (we’ve just planted our veggie gardens, for instance) but the days are improving and this week promises temps in the 20’s. . .just right!

(That’s the Bay of Fundy in the distance; if you click on the pics you can see better).

The crabapple tree looked glorious for about 4 days –

And the apple tree in the middle of the driveway is now in full blossom –

I have taken on an ambitious project – I’ve decided each of the eight grandchildren should have a quilt and am now on #4, having given one that I had completed to my brother. Had to start over again on the oldest grandson’s so am now trying to get that one done – his birthday was last week so it’ll be late. Here’s some pics of the completed ones:

The one I call ‘Houses and Hearts’ (blue) was started over 30 years ago for our son. I cleaned out some shelves and found the squares, all machine quilted, and decided to wash them up and put the quilt together for our youngest granddaughter. It’s a ‘quilt-as-you-go’, meaning that the quilting is done by machine, on each square. But the joining strips used to put together the squares, I’ve hand quilted. Right now, I am working on another for the birthday I just missed, another one from a couple of years ago (a Christmas quilt) – which I do on portables hoops – and I have yet another in an old-fashioned quilt frame in my sewing room (the younger ladies refer to sewing rooms as studios now and I rather like that term – it sounds quite refined). 🙂 Yes, I’m rather passionate about quilting just now and summer is coming on – how much will I want to be inside when the weather is nice outside? We shall see. . .

The other new ‘project’ in the house is this –

A 1947 Mercury Coupe, bought in Quebec. (It’s about 15 hours away). Our son-in-law has been working up there and found out about this car for sale. He knew hubby was wanting one but all the ones we could find were very high-priced. We didn’t want a ‘show car’ as we want to be able to run around in it. Anyway, he was working with this fellow whose brother had one he wanted to sell. So son-in-law goes to look at it, sends pictures, and hubby is smitten. He had a grand notion that the two of us would go up to Quebec together and then he’d drive it home. However, the seller decides to take it out for a test run and it quits. He doesn’t know what’s wrong with it, which brings the price down considerably. (Bonus!). Soooo. . .when son-in-law flies home from work in Quebec, four of them head back (driving) to the same spot. Our son, who has the heavy truck to haul the trailer with car aboard, our son-in-law, who speaks fluent French (must have bilingual negotiator), 10-year-old grandson who goes along for the adventure, and hubby (who has the cash). They leave at noon on a Friday and are back at noon on Sunday; all four grinning from ear to ear. The old car goes directly into the garage and the wiring problem is diagnosed. Then the broken rear axle is identified and the hunt is on for another one. Lucky for hubby, there’s an old car graveyard in the next town where he locates two. (There has to be a tree cut down to access the old car, and torches have to be utilized to get the parts out, but it’s all part and parcel of the adventure, you see).

They had the engine running Sunday (the day they returned from Quebec) at suppertime and as of last Friday it’s now a registered, inspected, antique, road-worthy vehicle. (No seatbelts, of course) I think we look quite savvy riding around in the old made-in-Canada gem! It’s quite a hit with neighbours near and far — even more so than the antique tractors. (In fact, hubby keeps it in the garage, as it’s attracting too much company!)

I almost forgot to mention my adventure to – of all places – Austin, Texas. Second daughter is in Marketing and found out about this spa that was highly-rated. (Not that I’m into that sort of thing, but she is). She invited me to go along, so we headed there in late May. I had all kinds of preconceived ideas about Texas and could picture the Stetson hats immediately. Well, there must have been a cattlemen’s convention at the motel because the first night we arrived there were lots of men standing around outside having a cigarette as we pulled up in the taxi – and each of them sporting a ten-gallon hat! 🙂
The next day we caught a water taxi up the river to the Lake Austin Spa. (Apparently, when a river is dammed at either end it becomes a lake – who knew?) Beautiful surroundings and a lovely location with many outdoor activities. I was kayaking four times in three days, for instance. Here’s #2 daughter on location –

And me, standing in front of a big-arse truck (Texas-style)

Here’s another taken when we were listening to live entertainment one night –

It was a lovely way to spend a few days, except for an encounter with a coral snake one of the days. Of course, of all the people on the hike that day I’d be the one to just miss stepping on top of it. . it wouldn’t have been good.

All in all, my first introduction to Texas was very impressive – more hills than I expected, lots of greenery, friendly people, delicious food(especially at the spa) and we didn’t hear one word about tRump the whole time we were there.

You know I cannot resist adding a photo of grandchildren, so here’s a shot of the two youngest- (imps, the pair of them)

That’s how it’s going in our little corner of the Maritimes. I do hope things are going well in yours! We’re off to a ballgame tonight (grandson) and then soccer another night (granddaughter) so it keeps us on our toes. School is winding down so my days are numbered. . So to speak. 🙂

Christmas greetings friends and family ~

It’s Monday, December 24th and despite having had some very early winter weather, we had a 16 degrees C (about 60 F) day Saturday which is very mild for this time of year – but not unheard of. Certainly not like winter, at any rate! Today it’s cold again and going down to minus 9 tonight so our winter weather is back. However, no white Christmas again this year!

I returned from Australia earlier this month, where our daughters (the one who lives there had a visit from another sister) and granddaughters were getting ready for Christmas.

I don’t know, though – I’d have a hard time gearing up for holiday cheer in that kind of heat! Here’s what it looks like there this time of year:

And for the contrast –

Right after I returned, the grandchildren here went up to the woodlot to help gather up some brush for around the house. As you can see, it was cold that day and we had a fair amount of snow. (Around the 4th of December)

We had a great day and then returned here to get to work. With lots of little hands, the job was completed fairly quickly and Grampie decided to make some lawn decorations.

Meanwhile, youngest grandchild found the Christmas books.

Some of the brush (balsam fir) was used to make wreaths and indoor swags, as you can see. The birch bark reindeer on the front lawn are also adorned with wreaths (below).

We’ve been to several holiday Meet ‘n Greets, a community Christmas party, a family party and two school concerts in the last little while. Our grandson’s class opened the program on Friday with a Mi’kmaq friendship song; it was lovely!

For the first time in 41 years, I didn’t get any cards sent. Between being away and Canada Post being on strike, I figured I’d give it a pass; this blog post will have to suffice. 🙂

Here’s a pic of us with the ‘grands’ tonight; we were lucky to get them all in one place.

From our house to yours, here’s hoping this holiday season brings you peace and joy. Let’s all hope the new year is prosperous, fulfilling, and that the challenges will be minimal. All the best and have a Merry Christmas!

(The ‘deer’ are standing in one of the plowed-up gardens in our yard. I picked parsley out of the other garden yesterday as hubby couldn’t bear to plow a flourishing plant when he did the Fall fix-up)