The Canadian Chronicles: Soaking It All Up!

Oh, how I missed this!

Four short weeks ago we made it to the farmhouse in Nova Scotia. After spending 2 summers on the road trying to avoid the heat and humidity in Houston and one hell of a pandemic, we were able to cross the Canadian border and return to our home away from home. The second summer is almost over but the pandemic seems to live on...ugh! After a long and slightly stressful day of travel we landed in Halifax and I could have kissed the ground. How is it possible that after being away for 2 years, everything feels...ohhh...so familiar?! It was like a part of me had been missing for 2 years and I am finally whole again. This has always been my happy, peaceful, "put things in perspective for the year" place and I really need to put things in perspective.

We were home for one week between Park City and our great Alaskan adventure before we flew to Nova Scotia. We unpacked, did the laundry, repacked and caught up with our family at home. We had to take our Covid test within 72 hours of our departure to Canada. Negative results in hand, we boarded the plane for Toronto. I told myself that I would not get excited until I was through customs and on a plane to Halifax. We had dotted all of our i's and crossed all of our t's and made it through with the proper documentation! Once we landed in Halifax and stepped outside I smelled the air and knew it had all been worth it! It was a long day and it was late when we arrived at the farmhouse, but I could have stayed up all night. We opened the door and it still smelled like the farmhouse! Everything was exactly as I left it 2 years ago! It felt like the earth was back on its axis. All was right with the world. Unbelievable!

It was not lit up the night we arrived but it looked just as good to us!

The familiar smells, the angle of the sunlight, the colors that are so brilliant, the stars in the night sky, the sand on the beach, the smiling faces, the food, and the history all came together to form a perfect "welcome back" within days of our arrival! I find it very interesting that after only a few days it felt just like any other summer with a slightly later start. Life up here is so easy to slip into, even after being away for 2 years. The routines come naturally. I know this place like I know myself. This year the only things missing were the garden, a few family members and maybe June and July. We were able to reconnect with so many people we missed over the last 2 years. It probably comes as no surprise that none of us skipped a beat. We all have our own personal "Covid life" stories and our own experiences to share but we also have our shared love of this place and are each genuinely happy to finally be in this place together. It really helps that the Americans who traveled here are all fully vaccinated and all tested negative before arrival and most Canadians here are also fully vaccinated. We are living in a unique bubble and it feels so nice. We are all counting our blessings and none of us are looking forward to returning to the real world.

Beach bbq...a new tradition?!
It was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with friends and family.

Last night I had one of "those" moments. There are things we do here that we never do at home...in addition to walking on the beach, swimming and eating lobster. It was after dinner, around 8 or so, and we got in the car and drove to a friend's house to visit...spontaneously and unannounced. We were met with a welcome and had a lovely evening. At home, I would never just drop in on a friend after 8 p.m. unannounced. Let's just add Covid life to that equation and it makes that event even more meaningful. We were together with friends, in their house, with other friends...spontaneously. We had not done such a thing for way too long and it felt so normal. The world was back on its axis.

Before getting here, I wondered how we would be received. The U.S. is not faring too well with virus and Canada is extremely conservative in their approach, would we be welcomed? My concerns were quickly put to rest. We felt very welcomed and comfortable. Whew! It would have been very awkward to dial back my need for socializing!

We were blessed, early on, with some classic perfect shore weather. The days were warm...even hot (totally surprising) and sunny and we followed our usual daily flow of morning exercise, take care of any chores, have lunch and make our way down to the beach until time to head home for dinner. After dinner, enjoy sunset and visit friends and family until you can't keep your eyes open any longer, sleep and repeat. It is a great way to spend a ~~day~~ week...or two! I remember the first rainy day came after about 10 days and it was a blessing. Today, the fifth icky day in a row, I am much less enamored of the rain.

At least even the icky days have some bright spots.

I really missed the sky up here. I could fill several photo albums with the pictures of the sky I have taken. As I sit here in my sunroom, I notice I have about a 140 degree view of the sky, no wonder it is my favorite room! It occurs to me that our 2 summers of roaming the USA consisted of a lot of sky time, and that was just fine with me! At home we do not see the horizon very often and I really like seeing the horizon. Maybe I should file that information away for our "retirement" location! Always looking for suggestions on that front!

Love this even on a rainy day.

Turns out when you arrive late you stay late. I am not sure we have ever had more Americans on the beach in September than Canadians. Usually I am hunting for someone to chat with by this time of the summer but thankfully many of my cousins are staying into mid September. With the border only opening on August 9 many of us are taking advantage of late summer here. We are all enjoying the more intimate visits and time spent together. I, for one, am looking at this as a preview of years to come when many of them retire and have more free time to spend here. We all love the busy times in July and August with siblings, kids, grandkids and cousins... but as expected, those times often feel frenzied. It has been a real treat to spend quality time together with a smaller group. Don't get me wrong, next year I will be very ready for any and all visitors throughout several months up here! I better be careful what I wish for!

Oddly, I expected to be inspired to write once we were here. Usually this place inspires me and brings out some of my best stuff. I have found myself struggling with just what to write since I arrived. Either I have not been listening or I have been too busy soaking up my 5 weeks of fresh air, sea breezes, sandy toes, delicious local food, easy conversations, colorful sunsets, familiar relationships and peace enough to last me until we return next year. This place has served as my giant RESET button for most of my life. If ever there was a need to reset, it was the past 2 years. Maybe this is an escape but maybe it is a return to a more simple life where the biggest problem is wondering how long the rain will last or how you repair old screens or what bin does aluminum foil go in...trash or recycling, and what time is low tide today? So, instead of writing I have been doing...and enjoying every minute. Even more thankful for this place this year than many other years. Taking nothing for granted!