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!

The Pile-On Sisters

I have three sisters and a brother.  When we all get together it can be a lot of fun!  We get going and one thing leads to another and we sometimes end up like this....


the sisters doing the "formation"

 
I am not one of the ones in the middle...but I still like them.  Lately, every time we are all together we end up doing yoga poses and not in a zen, meditative way.  It is more like a "can you do this?" or "watch this!" way.  We don't plan to end up on the floor contorting ourselves but it seems that's where we end up.  What?  Your family doesn't do that?  You should try it, especially after a few glasses of wine.

We were together celebrating our Dad's 80th birthday this weekend.  We had  brunch on Sunday and had all 5 siblings together at the table along with some of our spouses and some of our kids.  No, we did not do yoga poses on the floor.  It was so good to be together and so good to be able to celebrate with Dad.  He looks pretty good for 80 and as he pointed out, he can see, hear and think even though he does move around a bit slow.  I'll take slow thank you very much!



Mom and Dad on Dad's 80th birthday



While we were waiting for our meal to arrive, one of my sisters commented to my husband that he is very loud when he wakes up in the morning.  That one comment started another family activity we refer to as....time to pile on TJ!  He was fair game and none of us held back, except for my brother who felt brotherly compassion for TJ but was enjoying the show so much that he mostly sat in disbelief and laughed and was probably glad he ducked the "pile on" bullet.  The conversation sounded something like this...."TJ, you chew very loudly.  TJ, you type louder that anyone on the planet.  TJ, what possessed you to walk back and forth over the wood floors wearing your dress shoes on at 6 in the morning?"  My sisters just kept piling on!  Most of it revolved around the fact that he wakes up before anyone in the house and is unaware of how noisy he is, or maybe he just wants us all to wake up when he does and join in the door slamming and loud chewing.  His noises are all amplified in a silent snoozing house.  The doors and drawers opening and closing, those heels making noise on the floor and the newspaper flipping all gets done with such enthusiasm by TJ in the morning.....because he is a  morning person.....and it bothers me because....I am not.

I am glad I married a loud, early riser who can take the abuse from my sisters.  He said he was happy to provide the entertainment at the table while we waited for our food, otherwise we might have had to start doing yoga poses in our dress clothes at a restaurant.  Think how proud our Dad would have been at that sight on his 80th birthday.   Way to save us from ourselves TJ!