Category: General

It’s like this before a MAJOR storm

It’s March! And this winter has been fantastic. I can’t believe the difference from last year. Many days the sun has been shinning and warm through my windows…actually making me feel like I should be Spring cleaning. Oh the dust bunnies on those kind of days haha. But I will wait a just bit.

Last year EVERYONE was tired of snow and snowstorms, begging for a reprieve from snowstorm after snowstorm. It’s one week til March Break, one of the busiest weeks for travellers heading south to escape the cold and snow.

Halifax Airport Parking Lot March 2015
March 2015

This year is not so bad…many will still go…We usually enjoy a Winter escape in February, but this year is a little different. It’s Cuba in April for our son’s wedding, (later than usual) and I’m just thankful the weather has been so great, otherwise I would have wanted two vacations.

People in Nova Scotia who love to get out and about and photograph our beautiful province have been sharing some gorgeous photos …sunrises, sunsets, beach and wave photos, and signs of an early spring… and because we are a coastal province, many learn to watch the water to see the signs in the winds and the waves. I guess the last couple days the water along the coast has been acting the way it does before a MAJOR storm comes.

“The Bay of Fundy had plenty of power tonight. It’s not that the waves were overly large, it was the wind speed and energy coming from the ocean. It’s like this just before most major storms – I hope I am wrong.”~ Phil Vogler

Weather predictions are that we are in for a snowstorm this weekend. It’s hard to believe looking outside…other than the temperature is now -10 rather than the +15 it was earlier in the week.

What will the weekend hold? For the last couple storms we have been on the right side of the currents only getting rain. I don’t mind rain, it doesn’t need to be shovelled.  Either way, even if we do get a major storm and (cover your ears) snow…it won’t last!

Have a GREAT weekend! We are in to March now and just a few weeks until it’s “officially” Spring! SPRING is my favourite season of all!!

An extra day

Who doesn’t love an extra day?

Especially if you’re on vacation or doing something fun. Not so great if you want days to fly by… What if your Birthday falls once every 4 years? I thought about that recently. Imagine being born on February 29th? Sure it would be fun to joke about your age…

This year is Leap year! 366 days this calendar year and an extra day in February.

Why not do something fun today to enjoy the extra day this year…it’s a beautiful day!

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And BBQ ribs for dinner…ahh….so long February, it’s been delightful this year!

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Colourful Lanterns

IMG_3834 IMG_3837Again this year, I am so happy I brought home some Chinese Lanterns when we returned from living in China. You just can’t find this stuff in our city. We were at an Asian Market in Halifax the day before Chinese New Year started and it made me sad. Well, it made me smile and then it made me sad. Many Chinese families were picking up supplies to celebrate the holiday. Food items, specific things, red couplets and decor, and gift boxed food items (Chinese people tend to give gifts of food) The selection and choices were pretty slim. It made me sad. How do they celebrate their MOST special holiday of the year? How do they get the items, that are so much of ancient tradition to do this? It made me happy that I thought ahead enough to bring a few special things with me. No, I don’t get new couplets year to year, and my simple yet beautiful decorations will have to carry me through the years as I remember the special time of my life I spent there, and as I continue to celebrate the country with special people and friendships made that will always and forever be in my heart.

Today is Lantern Day in China, a full moon, and the official end of the two weeks celebrating Lunar Chinese New Year/Spring Festival. Just wish I could see the lanterns at Qi pan shan  find some tangyaun to eat…

Happy Lantern Day!

Check this out… Chinese Year of The Monkey…in Ottawa!!!

 

Friday Fun…Fifties Style!

David had the day off!! And it was a beauty!! This is February 19th folks.

Off we went for a little fun and adventure.

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A little shopping in town, a little shopping in Mahone Bay, picked up a coffee and off to the city for little shopping and browsing and enjoying our time together.

We were having so much fun we missed lunch altogether. When it was close to dinner time we were both starving and decided to check out True North Diner in Bedford…it’s a fifties style diner complete with jukebox…so cool!

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We loved the place. The atmosphere and the food was fantastic. Of course, I had to order a cheeseburger and root beer float.  David even saved room for coconut cream pie.

We will definitely go back to this spot and hopefully next time on a Wednesday or Thursday when the TND Gang are there and performing! so cool!!

Have a great weekend.

Switchin’ it up!

These winter days I’m thinking about summer ( as many people do) and making plans! Especially with a day like yesterday. It may be a bit pre mature but yesterday was gorgeous Spring-like day here!

5 months from today, on July 18th, David & I will celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary! Crazy eh? People look at us and laugh when we tell them. “Did you get married when you were 10 they ask ?” Haha, it’s funny. Not quite, but we married young. Started a family a couple years later ( our oldest son will marry his sweetheart in 2 months) Anyway… it’s 30 years this year!!

I wanted to celebrate this milestone in France, Paris to be exact. We’ve celebrated our Anniversaries in some pretty sweet places the last 5 years…so we thought (or I thought) Paris would be fun for our 30th. ( We haven’t been to Europe except for a stop over in Spain on our way to China from Brazil) That was the PLAN! I’ve had this in my mind for awhile and would start planning our itinerary this Winter.

Well… many times I looked at it, and tossed it aside, and looked at it again, and I wasn’t getting real excited about the idea of the whole Paris and France thing…so what could be some other options? I LOVE traveling, I love adventure BUT this Winter I’m just not getting excited about going anywhere really… until one day out of the blue, I had an idea.

Periodically David & I talk about our “Bucket List”. His is obviously  a little different than mine. But he is usually game for whatever I propose…within reason.

So here is what we came up with… 29 years ago, the year after we married, we did a road trip out West for his twin’s wedding in Alberta. We went just to the edge of British Columbia ( just to say we went to BC). David has always wanted to do that trip again.

This summer we have a three week period in July around our Anniversary. ( 3 weeks is all David could get…peak time for vacations) and we are gonna do  an Across Canada Road Trip of sorts…ALL THE WAY TO Victoria, BC! James’ photos really made us want to visit!!

I say it’s a ROAD TRIP of sorts because once we decided what we’d do, I dug out the maps, sat down for hours with my computer and got right at planning and calculating. Three weeks is a long time BUT not long enough!!! Not long enough to do EVERYTHING we want to do this time, so… it’s gonna be a combination road trip and flights across the country. We won’t have to drive LONG hours on end and be exhausted, we won’t have to drive through some of the “less exciting” places we’ve already driven through, we can pick and choose a bit and spend MORE time in our favourite places, and we will have time and energy to just have FUN and ADVENTURE!!!! It’s not a lot of fun when you have to spend 10 hour days just driving and be frustrated that you can’t stop and see certain things because of time restraints.

I am so excited, and so is he, and we have been having lots of fun looking at maps, and places and options and ideas… I actually have flights, all our hotels, and car rentals booked for the segment that we aren’t driving our own car. Haha…It doesn’t take me long when I get excited about something!!! ( besides, it’s peak time and things book up quickly) It makes me think it’s the right choice for us this year.

There’s nothing wrong with switchin’ things up. LOTS and LOTS more planning to do! It’s gonna be an exciting 30th Anniversary Across Canada for this Canadian girl! 5 months away…haha 😀

So what am I doing these wintery days? Planing for summer of course ( and a wedding trip in April) Fun times! 😛

 

~Heritage Day 2016~

ns_heritage_day_002Nova Scotia Heritage Day 2016

Perhaps no one shaped Nova Scotian politics, literature or freedom of the press more than Joseph Howe, youngest son of John Howe. He expressed his love for the province in all he did, from the push for responsible government to his Halifax inspired poetry, such as the Ode to the Town Clock (1836).

As publisher of The Novascotian, a spirited and popular newspaper with commentaries on the day’s events, Howe loyally promoted notable Nova Scotian literature, including the first of Judge Thomas Chandler Haliburton’s Sam Slick series.

Joseph Howe is perhaps best known for his rousing speeches. In particular, the 1835 defence of free speech for the press. Howe had been accused of libel for comments found in The Novascotian towards the magistrates. He was called before the court, and as no lawyer would defend him, Howe represented himself. He spoke to the court for two days, and after a short deliberation, was acquitted of all charges. The event is commemorated on a statue of Howe located next to Nova Scotia Province House. At the base is a bronze plaque showing the newspaper publisher addressing the court.

Howe eventually became a member of the Legislature in 1836, then Premier from 1860-1863, and then finally, a federal cabinet minister. He was appointed Lieutenant Governor for a short time before his death in 1873 and now lies buried beneath a slab of Nova Scotian granite in Camp Hill Cemetery.

Joseph Howe is this year’s Heritage Day Honouree…

 

It’s fun to celebrate our beautiful province on Heritage Day. And what better way then with some traditional local food. Last year we enjoyed homemade Beavertails and Lobster. This year I went for something a little different … Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes! This is a Lunenburg county meal and my family loves it. And for dessert…Apple Pie with Ice Cream. ( February is Apple Month in Nova Scotia) Delish!

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IMG_4309And of course,  I was sportin’ my comfy Nova Scotia tartan and enjoying my coffee from my NS mug. lol  Happy Heritage Day!