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!

I waited 2 years for this glass of wine!

And for this sunset!

Garden renovation...getting ready for a banner year in 2022!

Fall colors in the roadside ditches...

Turtle head!

The simple pleasure of an afternoon spent
power washing.

No words can express how thankful we are to be here!

  

Local Goodness

One of the great things, and there are many, about being at the farmhouse all summer is the fact that I can eat an entire meal that has come from a person or place I know.  This place makes eating local easy.  I read the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver a few years ago and marveled at her family's discipline while living an entire year eating only food they grew or that was grown or raised within 100 miles.  ( a rough synopsis, sorry Mrs. Kingsolver).  It was such a great book that my husband and several of my children also read it. We all related to our wonderful summers here in rural Nova Scotia and the fresh foods we are lucky enough to eat while we are here.  It's a great book, I highly recommend  it!

I'll be one of the first people to admit that my diet could use a little tweeking.  I enjoy my share of sugar, fat,  processed foods and wine.   Up here I'm able to change to a healthier one, in spite of my attraction to Cheetos and cookies.  I try most of the time to eat a balanced diet, but am by no means fanatical about it, I'm not fanatical about much....except maybe sunsets.

All natural, locally produced, gluten free, dairy free... sunset!

My sister (the one I share a brain with) and I took a little road trip last weekend and somewhere between the farmer's market, the brewery, the winery and the oyster farm it hit me that we are able to eat locally for much of the summer.   The bacon and eggs we ate for breakfast were bought from someone down the road and the lobster is from the guy up the road who has his own lobster boat and caught them that day.  The lettuce in the salad was harvested in the backyard along with the carrots, beets, potatoes, zucchini, onions, beans, peas, and all the herbs we enjoy most of the summer.  Cooking dinner involves finding some protein, which I'll admit, much of it has been bought at the store, and going into the garden to see what needs to be picked.  Although, there are some occasions that the protein has been bought from the farmer up the road or a local fisherman or oyster farmer nearby.  It just has to be healthier, right?

The road between oysters and wine.

On our little field trip we went to the farmer's market where my sister bought some vegetables and  I bought farm fresh eggs.  We tasted maple cream, a delicious fudge-like substance that is pure goodness!  I refrained from buying any though, just what I don't need...pure, temptingly delicious sugar to snack on all day.  We bought some pottery from a local woman.  I also bought a meringue baked by another local person... I'm not a saint.  This market is something I wish we had where I live.  Yes, we have a farmer's market, but the produce is no where near the caliber of the produce grown up here in heaven!

This just makes me want to cook....and eat!

This is where the oysters grew up.....

Speaking of oysters.....one of our, now traditional,  evenings involves oysters and croquet.  We have found a new place, very nearby, to buy oysters.  You know they are fresh when you call in the morning, place your order, and the lady on the phone says, "Thanks, I'll go out in the boat and get them!".  We had our oysters with freshly processed horseradish from a neighbor's garden.  Super delicious!  We played croquet, ate oysters, drank beer from a nearby brewery and wine from the winery near the oyster farm.  Can't get any more local than that!

Playing croquet in the yard!  A new family tradition.

This is where we ate the delicious oysters!

One cute couple in the croquet photo booth!

The local brewery where we bought our beer!
Pure Tatamagoodness!

The grapes at Jost Winery where we bought
several bottles of wine!

We also enjoyed a couple glasses of Sangria.....
because it was hot and there was live music...and
the sun was shining!

One more example of a totally local meal.  Last night, we were having lobster for dinner with the same sister and her boys.  She picked the lobster up at the dock, right out of the fisherman's boat!  They were a bargain too, if you ask me.  We served the lobster with the best butter in the world, made in Nova Scotia.  The side dishes were carrots and beans from the local farmer's market.  Can't get any more local than that!  Delicious....you bet!

Dinner...before

Dinner.....after.
He can't wait to jump into that Tatamagouche butter bath!

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.....the best butter ever!
Cholesterol?  What cholesterol?

Since there are very few options, as far as dining out around here, I am very thankful for the bounty mother nature has provided for us in the summers up here.  Grocery shopping is very different when you virtually pass the produce department.  It feels very strange to pass up so many of my weekly purchases.  I still buy a few items though, because try as we may, we can't grow avocados and bananas up here!

Paper or Plastic?

Todays front page had an article about Brownsville, TX being the first city in the state to ban single-use "urban tumbleweeds".  We are soooo behind the times here when it comes to this!  It will be years before the movement makes it to a major city, one small step. I love their tag "urban tumble-weeds", we saw tens of these bags stuck on barb wired fences driving from Baton Rouge to Houston, they were my wind gauges!  The town is giving away reusable bags and so are many businesses, the trick will be getting people to actually use them.  It is going to take a lot of training to get Texans to use reusable bags!  I do occasionally see shoppers bring their own bags into the grocery store now.  I am usually the weird one, the crunchy granola girl, making the baggers learn how to load a reusable bag.  I will admit that having many "urban tumbleweeds" over the holidays came in handy for disposing of stinky diapers.  No diaper genie here!

So that is my public service announcement regarding Canada and the U.S., just to stay true to the title of the blog.

Who Needs Technology?

The technology woes continue.  It seems our alarm system has a mind of it's own.  It all started when I was in Madison visiting Rachel.  There I was sleeping soundly, enjoying some down time at 3:00 a.m. like the rest of the world and I was awoken?....awakened?....shocked into semi-consciousness!...  by the ringing of my cell phone.  Who is calling me at 3a.m.?  I decided to let it go to voice mail.  They had the nerve to call again!  So much for sleeping so  I answered the phone.  It was my alarm service.  Try answering all the security questions after being woken out of a deep sleep.  What is my security word?  I have no idea!  It's 3 a.m.!  I barely know MY name!  Where am I anyway and who is this again?  They assured me that there was no break in and the alarm was not sounding off waking all the neighbors, it was just a keypad error.  Really?  REALLY? REALLY?  You called me at 3 a.m. and made me wake up enough to think of my security word and answer all sorts of other obscure security questions for that?  Click. ZZZZZZZzzzzzz

Since I have been home, every night at 8 or 9 the alarm starts clicking and then beeping spontaneously.  It also decided to beep randomly throughout the day.  Nice!  I scheduled the company to come out and figure out what was wrong with the system.  They came out yesterday, a whole day earlier than they said they would come out.  Take that cable company who kept me waiting for days! The first question he asked was if I had any trouble with my phones lately.  Well...yes as a matter of fact I have.  He proceeded to figure out what is wrong with the system and asked if my phone is working now and I regretfully had to tell him that they were not!  Yes, the phone, Internet and cable were out AGAIN!  It seems that after the carnage in the green space "they" were planting the new trees and cut a main line which resulted in everyone being without service for the day.  Oh joy!  You got it, alarm guy could not do anything to fix the alarm without a working phone.  "Isn't it ironic...don't you think?"  to quote Alanis Morrisette.  I am back at square one with a spontaneously beeping alarm system and occasionally working phone, internet and cable.  I just love technology.

It's November and time to talk about the weather!  Because if you aren't traveling to Europe or visiting grandkids then the next best thing to talk about is the weather.  This year there will be no whining....like last year.  This part of today's post is written especially with my Canadian friends in mind!  Last year, I remember November began with rain, grey skies and cold temperatures, like it usually does.  It is a depressing month in Toronto.  I cursed November.  Most people who live up there curse November, it is dark and dreary.  After my post last year I had to eat my words because it ended up being an absolutely lovely month... very unusual!  My friends thanked me for cursing November and having to eat my words so....I hope November can make a liar out of me again this year for all your sakes!

As for me and mine down here in Sugar Land....November is perfect!  God has indeed turned down the heat and sucked out the humidity for a while and I am a happy camper.  College football is in full swing, check out the LSU Tigers this past weekend!  Thanksgiving is in a few weeks and life is good (except for those technology glitches).  Rather than dreading November this year,  I am happy it has finally arrived.  This is patio season southern style.  This is the month we get to go outside and enjoy the sunny skies and not break into an immediate sweat.  People are outside working in their yards, riding their bikes, taking their dogs for walks and just enjoying life and the fact that the great outdoors is a pleasant place to be....finally.  We even get to wear a sweater or a jacket if conditions are perfect, according to me.  We have more hours of daylight at this time of year than they do up north.  So, if you want to know what month to come and visit us down here, try November, especially if you live in Toronto and you are not experiencing a repeat of November 2009.

Now watch it rain for the next 23 days....I'll never write about the weather in November again!  Until next year!

Bumping Along

I think the post vacation blues have hit me. It always happens. I should know to expect this. Like I said, "re-entry can be bumpy." I have gone from a rural existence and being around familiar faces everywhere I go to a life of urban sprawl and anonymity. Sure it's going to take a little time. I did my best to prolong the vacation and acclimate to city life by spending 4 days in NYC with my sisters.

But you can't postpone the inevitable forever.... can you hear me kicking and screaming from where you are yet?

It is not like there has been nothing going on around here either. TJ and I had a quick weekend trip to Baton Rouge 4 days after I got home to celebrate his mother's 80th birthday and our brother-in-law's 40th birthday. It was wonderful to be able to participate in both. We were even blessed by an early cool (read, less than 90 degrees with only 40% humidity!)front for the weekend! Add a little LSU football and two sister-in-laws from California to the weekend and it was great! Then we had to go home, again.

The real reality started to set in. No afternoon cocktails with friends, no picking fresh produce from the garden for dinner, no long walks in the refreshing breeze, no fixing, painting, cleaning, working and visiting to fill my days. Just me and Sadie looking forlornly at each other and wondering why we are here in this heat and humidity and who invited all those mosquitos!

There is something to be said for living in a house that always needs something done to it, aka the farmhouse. We are never at a loss for things to do. Maybe I should have gotten a fixer upper here in Texas. I did get one thing fixed last week though. We did not have a light fixture in our dining room because the previous owner took hers, so now....let there be light!



We got the light up just in time for a houseful of company....yea, visitors, let's pretend we are still on vacation! Another big "0" birthday party was last weekend and we had a house full of family. Excellent! All the beds were used and the dust upstairs got stirred around a bit. Nice to have some company to justify this big house that we only use 1/3 of most days.

Slowly but surely life is getting back to normal. One day at a time I forget what it was like at the shore and engage in this life. There are still times when I walk outside (because come on...you gotta get out and excercise sometime) that I feel like I am walking in lead boots and wearing a wet towel in a steam room, and it infuriates me because I know there are places in this world where being outside at this time of year is an absolute treat. Once the frustration passes and I accept it for what it is I am fine...until the next time I go outside and my clothes instantly bond to my body because of the hot sticky air and am reminded I am not in Canada anymore. BUMP!

Shifting Gears

First... a "moment". TJ and I headed north on July 2, a Friday afternoon amidst torrential rain. The Houston airport was packed and all flights were running 2 hours late. Lovely. We decided to eat dinner and were among the masses at the food court when it happened. I looked up to see a large group of military men and women all dressed in their desert fatigues walking through the terminal. Then... the "moment". One person started to clap and then another and then before I knew it the entire airport was standing and clapping as the men and women passed through. What a patriotic beginning to our 4th of July weekend!

We made it to Pittsburgh ridiculously late that night/morning and shifted into reunion-palooza mode. The reunion was for TJ's mother's side of the family. 125 family members descended on the William Penn hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. I am sure they are still wondering what hit them!


Here are all of the Mahoney branch of the family, plus a few extras, who were at the reunion at the lookout over the river in Pittsburgh. I would like to say that it was refreshing to be north and that we had a welcome reprieve from the heat of the south but as luck would have it, the temps were in the 90's! BUT....the sun was shining and the humidity was considerably lower, ahhh. It was so great to see everyone together and to see the city that raised 4 great women who went on to raise 4 amazing families! Sometimes reunions are tricky, this one was not. It was a genuine happy to be together reunion.


I never knew Pittsburgh was such a nice city!


Sadie in her, Nova Scotia or Bust dog travel crate!
Next, we shifted gears again into Nova Scotia or Bust mode. We left beautiful, and getting hotter by the minute, Pittsburgh on Monday and headed to Nova Scotia. We flew to Newark where we were going to board the same plane as our dog Sadie who was flying up from Houston. Piece of cake! It was only 101 degrees in Newark that day. Glad we opted for the temperature controlled environment for the beast. We eventually arrived in Halifax at 10pm on Monday. Sadie arrived as well. The only trick was picking her up.

This part could be a blog post all unto itself! Here is the short version; we got through customs, got picked up by my Mom and Dad, we drove to the cargo hangar to get Sadie, we drove back to customs to get the paperwork signed, we drove back to the hangar, we called the night shift dude who showed up eventually and let us have our very cool, calm and collected dog who then peed for about a half an hour! She had been in that crate from 8:45 am until 11 pm and was still pleasant. Go figure!



We are all here and have shifted seriously into vacation mode! So much to get done around here but who cares? We are just happy to be here. I think I'll go cut some flowers and put them in the house. Maybe they will distract any visitors from seeing all the dust, dirt and clutter around here. Do you think?

July 2 -Houston- blood pressure- 152/90
July 3&4- Pittsburgh- blood pressure- 145/85
July 5-Halifax airport- blood pressure- 160/92!!!
July 7- Amherst Shore- blood pressure- 110/ 70 This place is good for my health! I think I'll just stay!

Are They Giving The Stuff Away?

My niece sent me the picture below. If you follow the flow chart it says that if you live in Canada there is only one place to eat....Tim Horton's. In the States there are many places. Well....apparently, if you live in Houston there is only ONE place to eat....Chick-Fil-A! You may want to click on the photo to see a bigger more readable chart!


There should be one more line to the chart that asks, "are you in Houston, TX" with a line that goes directly to Chick Fil A! (except on Sunday of course, then you are on your own)

When we lived in Canada, or when we visit Canada, I am always amazed by the line-ups (that is Canadian for line) at Tim's. No matter what time of day or what the weather is, there is always a line-up at Tim's. A Canadian phenomena I am told. I have no idea why anyone would sit in a line-up for coffee and a donut for so long.....it's not like they are giving the stuff away!

A recent Tim's line-up in the Toronto airport.....free coffee and donuts anyone?


Now that I am living back down south I have found the equivalent to Tim's...as far as a place people will sit in an unbelievably long line (American for line-up) to get fast food. It is Chick-Fil-A. I went by the other day to grab a sandwich and a drink. The drive thru line was wrapped around the building! There were 2 employees outside beaming in the orders to speed things up...Tim's you should listen up here! The line was still doubled around the building. It took me a good 5 or 10 minutes just to get around the line and make a less than hasty exit with plans to come back later, when the line was shorter or I could find a parking spot.




The traffic jam I had to work my way around to get out of the parking lot! Craziness!



They even put up traffic cones to keep the lines separated in the parking lot.

The first photo was taken at noon when the line was all the way around the building and there was not one parking spot! The second was taken at two, by one very hungry driver, who did find a parking spot....and the much anticipated chicken sandwich. And yes, it was delicious. Now I need a donut!

Living a Double Life

It hit me sometime this weekend as I drove to or from one of the Houston airports that I have lived a double life over the last 2 weeks.




Life 1
We spent last week in Nova Scotia at our farmhouse. The farmhouse is in the middle of rural Nova Scotia and about a 45 minute drive from the nearest airport and 30 minutes from the nearest decent grocery store. You pass farms and fields and small towns during the drive and there is no traffic. We don't have TV at the farmhouse and the days were filled with manual labor such as weeding garden beds, moving furniture, painting, shoveling lots of dirt and mulch, and doing a lot of dust maintenance.....dust is everywhere when there is construction going on. My shopping outings were to hardware stores and home improvement stores. We did not go out to eat because the nearest restaurant is a 30 minute drive. It is a simple life and very peaceful and quiet. Oh, and the weather was mostly beautiful and much cooler than here in Houston. We enjoyed every minute of it!



Life 2
It was Memorial Day weekend this past weekend and we arrived in Houston on Friday night to the crowds of people coming and going at the airport for the long weekend. The drive home from the airport is 45-55 minutes long and the entire drive is on 8 lane freeway and we never left Houston! Lots of traffic! You are surrounded by city. The freeway is lined with every kind of store and business imaginable. When we got home the yard had been perfectly manicured by our most excellent yard dude that afternoon. The house was nice and clean, just like I left it....and the grocery store was a mere 7 minutes away. Oh, and did I mention that it was 100 degrees when we left the airport???!!!

My two lives are starkly different. It takes no time at all for me to adjust to either though. If only there was a little Nova Scotia in Houston and a little Houston in Nova Scotia....my lives would be perfect!