Weekend on South Shore of Nova Scotia

After Mitchells get-together in Halifax, we headed to Lunenburg. We stayed at the Alicion B&B. It was origionally called the Senator, until a couple from BC purchased it. They are in their 3rd year of operation. It was absolutely lovely.

Our room was at the front of the house on the second floor, it was called the Dragonfly Room. At breakfast we met a couple and their daughter from Clagary. They were there to pick up their younger daughter who had come in on the Concordia the day before. We also met a young couple from New York.

When we arrived it was so foggy we couldn't see across the harbour. This picture we got at around 2000hr. after the fog lifted. Pictured are the Bluenose and Concordia.

Throughout Old Lunenburg you see on the poles along the streets these metal figures.

We also saw lobsters, crabs, and clams.

The detail on the buildings is quite striking. A number of home owners were doing renovations to their homes and businesses.

The buildings are quite an array of colors, from bright oranges, greens and pinks to pastel purples, peaches and reds.

Saturday afternoon we headed to Mahone Bay. These are the 3 sisters.

We drove around areas close to Lunenburg before heading to Mahone Bay....this is Bluerocks....again foggy and damp.

Sunday we drove to Chester, Hubbards, St. Margarets Bay. We had fog, drizzle and the sun tried real hard to make an appearance. When we reached Halifax it was raining. When we approached the New Brunswick the sun was shining. A true maritime day....a mixture of everything.

Mitchell graduates from high school

Paul and John

Lucy Helena

Mitchell graduated from high school on Friday. Andrea had a little gathering at the house afterwards. Paul and I drove down that morning and spent the afternoon. John was over from PEI and Katie, along with Lucy, flew down the day before. Ben is following....they are moving to Sackville and have an apartment just up the road from Andrea. As well Joel and Kerri drove down from Plaster Rock the day before. Andreas Mom was there as well as a sister and brother from Fredericton. It was a great get-together but an emotional day for the family.

The proud graduate. Mitch is going to St. Mary's University in the fall.

A day in the Life of Dutch Girl

Today I was up and out at 0720. Dropped Paul off at work and went to my 0800 dentist appointment. I was home by 0930. Emma was off to Fredericton at 0900 to meet with the university. She needs one course to get her major and she can only do her major out of Fredericton, that is why she is taking the summer to complete courses. She did 2 in the spring and was registered for one in the summer....well they cancelled it. Then they put on another and yesterday they cancelled it. So she and other students met with the university this morning and apparently the original course is back on. She will start July2nd. So with Emma in Fredericton, and Brenna and Paul at work I did the dreaded laundry and made Mrs. Longwoods chocolate chip cookies.....YUMMY! With my kitchenaid mixer and my new convection oven, baking is great. I only wish I could have had them years ago, when the kids were small. The property tax assessor was in this afternoon. (yes we appealed our assessment as did many others in Grand Bay.) I wonder if a cup of coffee and fresh chocolate chip cookies might sway the assessment.....what do you think Jon? Or is that considered bribery?

Helena and Alan

This is a picture of Helena and Alan, taken at Helenas the summer of 2005. It arrived this week in the mail....John sent it. This was the year she turned 80 years young. What a great keepsake to have.

Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there. Have a great day.

New OIC at Fundy Traffic

Paul has been acting OIC (Officer in Charge) at his work for the last year. The position was finally posted and Paul was awarded the job. The offer was made mid May, retro to April 1st. This evening we took him out to Churchills Steak House Restaurant.

Yummy New York Steak with bacon wrapped scallops.

At the end of the meal, Jack ordered a Lady Churchill Coffee. He's passing the cherry off to Emma.

According to Brenna, dessert is the best part of the meal. She ordered the Deep Fried Kiss!

Paul, Emma and I shared the cheesecake....some cheesecake with the chocolate sauce.

Brenna looking for the hersey kiss in her dessert.

When we returned home we gave Paul a bag for work and for travelling to meetings or courses. As the girls said it's his "Murse".....a male version of the purse.

UP

Last evening Paul and I went to see the movie "UP" in 3D, our first 3D movie, talk about neat. I know, what were we doing going to a kids movie, but we are Pixar fans and this certainly was not a disappointment. It was funny (laugh out loud), sad (brought tears), sentimental (more tears), stunnung(for animation, it was so real), a must see in 3D.

Back Yard

Yesterday was a beautiful summer day. Paul was working on the pool, I was in the garden weeding and preparing pots for some annuals and Brenna.....well Brenna was relaxing; sleeping in, and her favorite past-time reading and in the warm sun at that. She doesn't have time when in school, so she has a pile of books she wants to get through this summer. While i was out I decided to take pictures of the back yard. I know.....more pictures of the flowers, but I do enjoy gardening and since the camera course I am also trying new things with the camera......so bare with me :-)

Happy Friendship Week

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible. How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain.' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because we cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect! We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet... We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butter fly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly?

When you ask ' How are you?' Do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi? When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away..... Life is not a race Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!

Any Guesses What This is About??

This scaffolding is located at Long Wharf. It has been there for awhile, actually it was up sometime ago, taken down and now it's back up again. There is going to be an Irving building constructed on Long Wharf and I've been told this scaffolding it there to ensure the correct placement of "something". Any guesses as to what that might be?

Mr. & Mrs. Song Sparrow

Mr. & Mrs. Song Sparrow are frequent visitors to my backyard garden. I usually hear them and then look out to see them perched on the arbor or scurring about the garden. They go from one bed to the other usually covered under the canopy of the perennials. I see them enter the bed, catch glimpses as they go through and then out they emerge at the other end of the bed. They visit many times throughout the day. They are a cousin to the white-throated sparrows nesting in Longwoods hedge.....any little white-throated sparrow babies yet?

Helper in the Garden

I was out walking in the backyard and discovered this little guy in the bleeding hearts.

Photography Course

(It was REALLY cold when we took this picture)

Paul and I just completed a 4 week photography course put on by Ivon Gaudet. We meet once a week and tonight we had our last class and viewed the pictures we had taken on our field trip last Sunday evening. We walked Harbour Passage starting at 7:00pm and finished at sunset with a group photo with the city in the background. Ivon is the guy behind the lady in the yellow jacket. I certainly feel I am now getting more from the camera and my pictures are more of what I am trying to achieve. We all had SLR's but Paul was at a disadvantage because we only have one and he wanted to use the "point and shoot" camera.......so he was somewhat limited. All in all it was well worth it......I would certainly like to do more in the future! The following are just some that I took Sunday evening......

These are Pauls........