Scotia Woman to the Rescue

It all started washing the sheets and a blanket.  I loaded the washing machine, turned it on and went upstairs for my morning routine....tea, catching up on my email and "socials", a bit of breakfast and gathering my thoughts for the day.  TJ was doing his last minute packing for a long trip to Africa and tying up loose ends before his departure.  The blanket in the washer made the load a little off center and I heard that lovely dancing washing machine noise downstairs.  I decided to go and even out the load when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a basement full of soapy water and a dancing washer.  I stopped the cycle and evened out the load, turned the machine back on and water just came flooding out of the drain.  UH OH!  This is not good!

I reluctantly went out to tell TJ about the problem, like he was going to fix it in the ten minutes he had before driving to the airport.  Unlikely!  He did however confirm that professional help would be needed for the job.  I kissed him goodbye, finished my breakfast, decided to take the Scarlett O'Hara approach... and think about it later.  Later being, after breakfast!  This is where the village was needed! I made a few phone calls, got some advice and some references and deducted it must be a septic tank issue, oh joy!

It was time to embrace my inner Scotia Woman!

I needed my inner Scotia Woman to deal with this issue!  I had a basement full of water and a broken septic tank and it was still early in the morning.  The guys at the septic pumping place said they might be able to get out by the afternoon and asked if I knew where my septic tank was?  I had a general idea but nothing specific.  One must assume it is at the end of that pipe in the basement where all the water from the house exits the house, right?!

Meanwhile, there were very wet sheets and a very wet and heavy blanket in my washer that needed to be taken care of.  I twisted out as much water as I could and put them into a basket and took them to my sister's house and spun them dry-ish in her washing machine.  Brought them back home and put them in the dryer.  Then...while they were drying I decided to get the water out of the basement.  One half was on the side near the sump pump so I used the snow shovel to scoop it all down that drain.  I knew that snow shovel would come in handy some day!  I mopped and squeezed out the rest of the water and put it into a garbage can.  I opened the windows and prayed for a nice stiff breeze to dry things out down there.  It wasn't even lunch time yet!

Some time around 3 the Septic Heroes called and said they were on their way!  They poked around the yard and tried to find the septic tank.  Bingo!  Or so they thought.  After digging a lovely hole in the yard they decided the tank was not there.  Then they looked where I told them we thought it was and BINGO  there it was!  Only a foot and a half below the ground.  Why listen to a woman when it comes to septic tanks?  Little did they know they were dealing with Scotia Woman.

Nope...no septic tank here...

There it is!  

I was surprised at how fascinating this all was to me.  The whole stinky experience was quite interesting.  I mean there was an excavator, a giant hose that sucked up gross stuff, and lots of tree roots that prevented anything from going through the pipe into the tank.  Those giant poplar trees are very pretty and apparently their roots also think the wet, icky septic tank is a great place to grow and prosper.  I was actually relieved to hear it was roots that were blocking the exit of our house water.

Up close and personal with my septic tank!

Doing a little landscaping!

And I am glad you do!!!

All in all it was a very exciting day here at the Mahoney farmhouse.  Now I know exactly where my septic tank is and I know that it is working...for the time being.  I get to plant some grass seed and "re-landscape" the yard, I am very thankful these guys were available on such short notice!  I did think I was in full Scotia Woman mode when I put on my rubber boots to literally shovel water into the drain in the basement.  Such a great place!  Tonight I will REALLY enjoy sleeping in my clean sheets!

How is that for a segue, from a beautiful wedding to my septic tank!  One week I'm wearing heels and a lace dress and another I'm wearing rubber boots and shoveling water out of my basement.  To quote Forrest Gump, "life is like a box of chocolates!"
Keeping it real here at the farmhouse!

Dear Nova Scotia

Dear Nova Scotia,
How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  I love thee from shore to shore, sunrise to sunset and everything in between.

I love your rocky shores and extreme tides.  They are unlike anything I've ever seen before.

When high tide looks  like this.....

and low tide looks like this!

 I love that there are shores you can sit on and enjoy a day at the beach and shores that are so rocky they can only be enjoyed from afar.

Definitely enjoying this view!

I love that some days can be hopelessly dreary and cloudy and leave me feeling a little sluggish until evening comes and suddenly, as if Moses parted the clouds, a beautiful sky appears just in time for the sun to set and I forget all about the dreary day.

A cloudy day that ended well.  

I love the fact that I come here with my "real life" baggage and in a matter of days I am reset to a healthier, simpler life.  Not everyone has the opportunity to get back to what is really important and let go of all the clutter in their mind and their life.  I feel very lucky to have this place as my reset button every year.

I love your miles and miles of rugged coastline, green fields, forests and farms.  I love that there are cities to explore and enjoy the finer things in life and charming rural villages to appreciate the simple things in life.  I've had the pleasure to see both sides.

Enjoying the good life in Halifax!

Tatamagouche, one of the quaint towns in the area. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, people in Nova Scotia are creative!  There are arts and crafts all around the province.  Aside from all of the Scotia Women I know, who inspire me with their craftiness, there are some very good artists in the province.  I love visiting Bass River to see this lovely artist, even though all I can afford to do is look at her paintings and maybe buy a postcard or note card.  The drive is scenic and the gallery is lovely.  Not a year goes by without a visit to Sara Bonnyman , where I have purchased all of my favorite pottery.  I use it every day up here!  I find myself wondering why I don't have any of it in my real life in Houston.  Someday.....

I love your music!  My life would be very different if I had never heard The Rankin Family.  I can thank them for some of my favorite experiences ever!  One in particular reoccurs every year during the games.  It has also happened at each of the weddings of my three married children.  There is something joyous and overwhelming that happens when all of your favorite people circle around on the dance floor and The Mull River Shuffle begins with it's infectious piano banging and reeling fiddle!
Here is an ode to The Mull River Shuffle.....Amherst Shore version.

 "Picture this ladies and gentlemen..."
It's the first weekend in August in a small seaside community
At Lesley Brown's "barn".
It's Sunday night...
You've just finished a weekend of back breaking games
And you left it all on the field.... and on the sandbars.
You're standing around on the the dance floor
under the dim light of the "barn".
Everyone is laughing and joking and telling stories...
about their athletic prowess.
You're halfway through a case of......Kieth's IPA....
And you're getting aaaalllll fired up.....for the dance!

Finally, Nova Scotia, I love exploring your many shores.  I've been to the Annapolis Valley and seen the rolling hills and vineyards.  I've seen the Fundy Shore, Five Islands and Cape d'Or.  I've driven many of the miles along the Northumberland Shore.  But possibly my favorite drive is the Cabot Trail.  I am transported to another country when I visit Cape Breton.  Our visit last weekend only confirmed that it truly is a magnificent drive.

Where the golf courses look like this....

The scenery looks like this...

The highways never cease to amaze...

And sunset is worth the wait.

Nova Scotia, I look forward to discovering more reasons to fall in love with you!  Thanks for the rainy day to spend writing and the sunshine that followed.
Love,
Lisa

Party Like a Scotia Woman!

How to party like a Scotia woman:  Have a garden party and invite all your favorite Scotia women.  It was not your typical garden party, it was a more literal garden party. Each person got to choose a vegetable or fruit from our garden and then made a dish using her vegetable for a pot luck dinner.  We also decided to wear trendy second hand clothes we purchased from Frenchy's (a place every self respecting Scotia woman knows!).

Your host.....the garden

The ladies on the beach embraced the garden party idea!  Everyone made something interesting with their fruits and vegetables.  The garden provided peas, green beans, leeks, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, artichokes, broccoli, Swiss chard, zucchini, strawberries and celery.  The women turned all of this produce into a fun feast!  Chocolate Zucchini cake...  Strawberry Pina Coladas...Onion Casserole... Broccoli Salad! Delicious!  Creative!  Resourceful!

These ladies know how to turn produce into a party!

Every summer around this time the garden hits it's stride and produces enough food to feed a village.   Unfortunately, the bounty also coincides with the time of summer when people start heading home so there are fewer people with whom to share the harvest.  Most people are in that winding down mode, when you have to start cleaning out the pantry and the fridge and try to figure out what to make with peanut butter, a lemon, ketchup, tuna fish, and some raisin bread.  Rather than leave all of that food on the vine or in the ground I decided to share. My other option was to spend my remaining days making tomatoes into tomato sauce and strawberries into jam.... a party sounded so much better.

There were 5 sets of sisters at the garden party!  

The garden party may just have to become an annual event!  Judging by the 14 empty wine bottles left on the kitchen counter, I would say the party was a success!  I never said Scotia women were teetotalers!

How to be a True "Scotia Woman"

My sisters and I have an ongoing conversation about "Scotia Woman".  We have spent many summers in Nova Scotia and since we were raised in the South there have been many qualities we have observed over the years as Scotia Woman characteristics.  These characteristics are uniquely different from the typical Southern Belle (even though we really aren't typical Southern Belles) lifestyle and so they stood out to us over the years. After our many summers here, we have adopted some of the behaviors and can only hope that some day we too can be true Scotia Women!  You may be a Scotia Woman yourself or know a Scotia Woman or even have Scotia Woman days, it's all  good!  Just in case you ever aspire to Scotia Womanhood, here are a few defining characteristics.

-Scotia Women don't wear make-up on a daily basis.  Who has the time and anyway, who needs it?  Sunscreen and bug spray however are applied frequently.

-Scotia Women have no problem with the weather.  Rain, wind, sun, it's all the same, don't let it keep you inside!




It's a lovely day for strawberry picking!



Scotia Woman trainee picking berries!

    
-Scotia Women always have the right clothing for the conditions.

Almost perfect attire for rainy day berry picking, or just taking a long walk.

There are a couple vital items that are missing from this photo.....

-Scotia Women own at least one pair of rubber boots and the classic yellow slicker!

or a whole family of rubber boots!

For day or night wear!

Some Scotia women have been known to get up in the wee hours of the morning, throw on their boots and slicker in the middle of a blowing rain storm and go down to the beach to check on all the boats on the shore to make sure they have not floated off to sea.

-Scotia Women are very aware of the weather conditions and are always willing to help a neighbor in need.

-Scotia Women hang their clothes on a clothesline to dry.  That's what sunny days are for! Clothes pegging is a dying art!

-Scotia Women like to be outdoors, for chores and recreation.

work and play





Perfect day for a Scotia Woman swim!

-Scotia Women are the do it yourself types.  Whether it be organic gardening, canning, or baking bread!  It all tastes so much better!
They can turn this-

Hand picked at the U-Pick

                                                                   Into this:

Delicious strawberry jam!

-Scotia Women are also crafty.....some are hookers (of the rug hooking variety), some paint, some quilt or knit.  I think this is due to the fact that winters are very long up here and the need to entertain yourself is high.  Maybe they are just more talented and creative than most.

-Scotia Women are not wimps!  I repeat, Scotia Women are not wimps!

-A Scotia Woman golfer is willing to play in the best and worst conditions at almost any time of day. 

I've crossed over!  Dew kicking golf.....check!

My sisters and I, along with our daughters (some who have been prominently featured in this post) have spent years trying to achieve true Scotia Womanhood.  It is not something easily achieved by girls raised in the South aka GRITS.  We like to dress in lightweight colorful clothes and wear makeup.  We are used to living in the air conditioning and we buy our jam at the store.  If we wear rubber boots they usually have Burberry plaid or some other equally trendy pattern on them.  We are not used to braving the elements on a daily basis, the most challenging elements we face are heat and humidity and their hair frizzing ability.  We only play golf when the weather is nice because you know if it isn't nice today it will be soon  and that goes for all 12 months of the year.  And if we hung our clothes out to dry they would end up stiff as a board and have a nice exfoliating quality when we wore them.

Spending 3 months living in a rural farmhouse has it's way of turning this southern girl into a Scotia Woman.  Well, at least for the summer!  Cheers to all the real Scotia Women!