Cottage Highlights

As promised, here are some pictures and highlights from my vacation week at the cottage:

My birthday dinner, celebrated with as many family as could be there. (The best way to celebrate family, in my opinion!). Truth is, it's not just a celebration of my birthday, but all the July birthdays and anniversaries in the family - there are many in July. But I got to pick the cake: a Lime Coconut Cheesecake. Thanks, Mom!


My very first pedicure. I don't usually go for frivolous things like pedicures, but it was one of those things I'd always been curious about. It was fun, and I was pleased with the end result. It's not something I'll do very often; the price is a bit hard to justify.

Peace and quiet with only the sound of birds, the occasionally plopping of fish jumping in the water, the wind through the trees.

Perfect spot for hulling straberries, eh?

 Gorgeous sunsets that never disappoint.(Click for larger images)

And the best seat in the house

There were also some stunning sunrises...though, admittedly, I missed the first few. 

 

I went for a few bike rides, to check out a couple spots I had never been on the other side of the lake. Like this old cottage.

There was some "communing with nature", mostly in the form of spying on a bunny that frequented the lawns around the cottage, and pestering a very large (bull?) frog under the wharf. Seriously, this frog didn't even blink at us for a good few minutes. It wasn't until we "tickled" *giggle giggle* it with a stick that it actually moved. And, yes, we are grown-ups. I couldn't bring myself to actually try to grab it; I'm okay with the baby frogs, but the big ones make me shudder!

There was also a rescue mission (well, for my mom, not me): to rescue a baby bird from certain doom where it was in the middle of the dirt road. Mom figured it had fall from his nest, and that the nest was nearby given that the parents were flying around mimicing broken-wings. We searched for the nest but couldn't find it. Also, we think the birds were yellow-bellied warblers.

There was a whole lot of reading on the porch swing, and knitting whilst watching long period dramas. Very few photos of those activities.:) And there was a visit from friends, during which we had a spectacular thunder and lightning storm. Our power went out for about 6 hours and the lightning lasted for at least 2 hours (started around 10pm, ended around 12:30am). Taking photos of lightning over the lake proved difficult, but I did get a pretty great video which is about 8mins of me narrating the storm. If you're interested, here it is.

I'm already looking forward to next year's stay at the cottage. Or, maybe, with a little arm-twisting, I can squeeze another weekend in before the summer is over?

Solitude

There's something really special about having quiet time at the cottage. Since it has been so busy lately (see my earlier post), having time just to do things without being interrupted, to not have to rush to get things done inbetween commitments, to not have a day filled with routine and schedules is really, really delightful. I can do what I want, when I want and for as long as I want. Sounds rather indulgent, doesn't it?

I actually associate the cottage with family-time. And this vacation will have some of that too (friends and family will be popping in here and there through-out my stay). But for the most part, I've got the place to myself.  And I've got plenty with me to keep me busy:

I brought a couple Victorian lit books to keep up with Item # 2 on my 2011 To Do List. I'm currently reading Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and next will be A House To Let (1858) which is a collection of short stories edited by Charles Dickens.
And speaking of Dickens, I brought with me the 2009 BBC series Little Dorrit. It's got to be my favourite of the period dramas and is perfect to knit to, since I've already watched it in it's entirety twice. 
I've started a Feather & Fan Shawl. This should help deplete my wool stash, but with 390 stitches to cast on and knit row by row, it's going to take awhile. Thankfully the pattern repeats are simple, and I think I might have just enough yarn, even if I did cast on with the wrong colour. (sigh!). I also brought a box of David Lewis material  to appraise. I haven't made a whole lot of progress with the appraisal process of DEL's scrapbooks since my last post on the other blog but my goal is to get through the first box this week. I've got 5 of 12 volumes appraised,  and with some time to dedicate to it, I think the rest can be done.
I also brought my bike and my swimsuit. I plan to use both this week. In fact, I'm considering a swim as soon as I get back to the cottage - it's been hot and humid these last couple of days and a swim would be refreshing (as long as I've got my watershoes on!). I've been hesitating with the bike as there are hills everywhere, and I'm intimidated by the hills. We'll see....
I brought my journal. I'm about as faithful to journalling as I am to blogging, and so have some thoughts to put down to paper as well as to put up here on the internet.

Who knows how much I'll get done, but I've got lots to keep me occupied should I wish to be occupied. This week isn't so much about being busy as enjoy the quiet and opportunity to not be busy!  I'm not going to lie to you, the first afternoon on my own at the cottage was not spent in the sunshine by the lake, it was spent on the cot sleeping! (That other delight of the cottage!)

My solitude has been broken up a few times today, first by telemarketers (4 today! ugh!), and a door-to-door Jehovah's Witness. The latter was completely unexpected (as you can imagine), and his knock just about startled me out of my flipflops! I had my back to the door hulling strawberries at the kitchen counter when he knocked; and thought initially maybe he was a friend of my grandparents until I saw the tell-tale "Watchtower"+ Bible in hand. I politely declined his offer for literature to read on my vacation (seriously!?); and tried to shoo him away without being rude.


Well, that's it from me for today. I'll probably pop back here later to post more before the end of the week. As much as I love being unplugged, I also enjoy being able to plug in and catch-up on the blog.

P.S. Forgive any grammar, spelling mistakes. I'm on my netbook and find it tricky using the smaller keyboard. I'm also not doing my typical read-over to check for typos and edit my post (which is why this one is longer than most). 
P.P.S Pictures will follow later.

Hiatus

Well, life has been busy and the blog has been put on the back-burner for a bit. I keep thinking of things to post, but never really get around to it. And that's just fine; I refuse to feel guilty for my absences. Afterall, blogging is not an obligation.


So, here I am, on my vacation, sitting in a diner, eating pie and sipping ice water, overlooking the river and considering what to write first. It's slightly ironic that I'm using my vacation time to try and catch-up with blogging, considering I'm without internet access at the cottage.

It's been fun finding free WiFi in the area. Last night's spot, on a picnic table overlooking Digby Gut was by far the best yet.

EDO Monday

My To Do List is long today, but I'm checking things off one-by-one.

• Library returns and pick-ups - check!  Picked up three DVDs, "The Visitor", "Run Lola, Run", and Deepa Mehta's "Fire".
• Take recycling to the depot - check! 
• Exchange new, but non-functioning cordless phone for a new, hopefully functioning cordless phone - check! (Thank goodness for extended warranties!)
• Take expired medications etc. to Shoppers for disposal - check!  (You're not supposed to flush or trash your expired meds. Instead, take them to the drugstore where they can dispose of them properly.)
• Gas up, and clean out the car - mostly check. Will have to vacuum someday when it's not raining out. 
• Blog - check! 
• Clean bbq
• Meal plan for the week, then shop for groceries.
• Tidy/file papers on desk.

 Today, I also decided to experiment with hats.

The Bay at the West End Mall in Halifax is closing and everything is 70% off the last ticketed price. Among many things, including the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Mittens (on sale for $3), cloth napkins and table runners, facecloths and a few other items, I picked up two hats. The ticketed price on the hats was $5.99 and $10.00; that's $4.50ish total for both. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this deal may even beat out Frenchy's! 

As it turns out, rainy days are perfect hat days. I didn't have to wipe my glasses once while I was out and about.

All things bright and beautiful

You know how the song goes, right? 

All things bright and beautiful.... 

Did you see the full moon a couple weeks ago? It was the largest moon in about 20 years and was quite the spectacle. I tried taking a picture, knowing full well it wouldn't do it justice, but who cares. The photograph will remind me of that spectacular moon and the lovely (albeit slightly comical) evening that was had, and that's what a photo is supposed to do, right? 

Sunny Sunday afternoons at the beach also fall into the "bright and beautiful" category. Spring is here, my friends, and warm weather is sure to follow.  There's nothing better than spending time with friends listening to the waves.       

All creatures great and small...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I'm supposed to be appreciative of all creatures great and small, but right now I'm not lovin' one of God's littlest creatures...the mouse.
I've been having a mouse problem since Christmas. Actually, the problem started about in the Fall 2009 when I started hearing mice in my walls and found droppings behind my fridge. I plugged up the holes I could find with steel wool and duct tape and went on my merry way. Well, since Christmas the mice have been making appearances. Unwelcome appearances. Millie has been earning her keep - catching about 4 of them, and probably startling and letting even more get away. I've caught one in a snap-trap (ugh!), and tonight I caught another in a plastic container. This last one was particularly stupid. I found it in my bedroom beside my bed, being eyed by Millie (but not bothered); it just sat there dumbfounded while I went to retrieve a plastic container to put it in. When I came back it was in the same spot, quivering but clearly still quite alive.  So now it's in a plastic container until I can figure out what to do with the poor little creature. I must admit, it's sooooo tiny and I'm feeling rather sorry for it. But what am I to do? 

I've done all I can to deter these little creatures - plugged holes, put down mouse traps, praised the cat for her valiant efforts at keeping the mice at bay. I even have those ultrasonic thingys that plug into your wall and emit a frequency that is supposed to keep mice away (thank-you B!). All to no avail. 
I've been hesitant to put down poison because of Millie, but I'm getting closer and closer to calling pest-control and seeing if they can do anything. Ahh the joys of living in apartments!   

All things wise and wonderful...

I had a lovely visit with my Grandparents on the weekend, during which my grandfather informed me that he keeps an eye on my blog. And all of a sudden I was reminded that I'm way overdue for a blog-post. Sigh. Despite my best of intentions, I'm doing no better this year than last at posting. In fact, I'm getting this post in under the wire. No posts in February and almost no posts in March....

Anyway, back to "wise and wonderful". You know who's wise and wonderful? My grandparents, that's who. I do enjoy the time I get to spend with them and the conversations we have. I have a lot of respect and admiration for these two people, and know without a doubt that they are truly a gift from God! 

The only pictures I have from this last visit are photos of some of the loot my grandmother sent home with me, which I wanted to post anyway. In her wisdom, Gram saved these glass mayonnaise jars knowing that they would come in handy later on. These jars are great - their mouths are wide and standard size to large mason jars (so large mason jar lids fit them). Gram sent me home with nearly 10, plus 1 extra large bottle (at the end), plus an old (vintage/antique) "malted milk" bottle, plus a beautiful wooden "fly paper" crate. 
I spent a lovely day filling the bottles and find them new homes. It was nice to transfer dried goods into the bottles and get rid of the plastic packaging. 
I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with the crate. It's quite lovely and rustic, but doesn't really have a home yet. Any suggestions?  

...The Lord God made them all.

2011 is going to be a busy year!

Here it is, the (long!) To Do list for 2011: 

1. Process the 12+ boxes of David E. Lewis papers that have been sitting in my storeroom for years. Arrangements have been made for the records to go to the Esther Clark Wright Archives at Acadia Univiersity, where DEL did his undergraduate degree and teacher's degree. However, I've committed to archivally processing the records first (being that I'm an archivist by profession). The records consist mainly of magnetic albums (remember those albums with the sticky pages? Yeah, those...) with newspaper and magazine clippings, greeting cards, correspondence, photographs, publisher's correspondence, and other bits and bobs. "Processing" will involve taking digital images of the albums, page-by-page, to record the original context of how the documents were kept by David Lewis, then disassembling the albums and rehousing the documents in archival folders. It'll be a labour intensive process and, quite frankly, not one I relish to do. The only reason I'm doing it is because this happens to be a research interest of mine, and I'd like to have first crack at the research potential. It may, or may not go anywhere, but at least I'll know what's there. I plan to keep a blog about this process, with the hope that the blog will keep me accountable to making progress and getting it done. Also, I fully realise that this project may require more than a year, though it'd be great if it didn't.   
2. Participate in the Victorian Literature Reading Challenge.  I'm going to aim for the "Sense & Sensibility" track -- to read 1-4 Victorian books. And I'm totally counting Anna Karenina as one of the four books; even though it's Russian, it was written in the Victorian time period. I know AK is a carry-over from 2010, but I'm determined to finish it in 2011. I'll save the details for another post later. 
3. Finish knitting the sock I started knitting in 2010 + its mate.  
4. Find 100 geocaches. I think this is a reasonable expectation. I'm up to 15 now. And there are thousands in Nova Scotia (more than 500 in HRM alone). If I find roughly 2 a week, I'll meet my goal. Keeping in mind, of course, that I don't always FIND the caches I'm looking for.  
5. Experiment with Ethiopian cooking (5a) and learn to make sushi (5b), not necessarily at the same time.  
6. Go on more daytrips. I should make a point of seeing more of the province. There's still a lot of places I've never explored, mostly on the Eastern side of the province. I should take advantage of having a car and do more sightseeing trips, which can work well with Goal #4. 
7. Get my files in order. It's shameful to admit, but my paper files are atrocious (bad archivist!). I seriously need to go through them and weed out the unnecessary bits of paper and get a proper filing cabinet. Due to space constraints, I can only do this once I've eliminated about half of the 12 boxes from Goal #1 (which is why getting those boxes processed _is_ Goal #1).  
8. Keep track of my steps. I have a pedometer thanks to Heart & Stroke's Walkabout program and I think it's a great way to measure my physical activity. I usually forget to wear it most of the time, but it would be great to get in the habit of wearing it and pushing myself to get in those 10000 steps daily, which sadly I don't usually make (unless I'm in Toronto, apparently). 
9. Donate blood. There is absolutely no reason why I can't, and shouldn't. I just never think about it, that's all. So my thought is, if I write it down, and be intentional about giving blood, I'll actually remember to do it.  
10. Get more experience in a kayak. I thoroughly enjoyed my kayaking experience last fall and think it's about high-time I learn to kayak properly. 2011 is going to be the year!

So, I've been planning to post more photos and links to go with this list, but haven't gotten around to actually doing it yet. I'm going to post this already and get started at working towards checking off some of the items on the list. 

2010's To Do List

Wow. It's been a while. The last couple of months have been busy, but mostly I fell out of the habit of blogging. That happens, I guess. I actually have a 2011 To Do List to post, but figured I should probably report on the progress I made with the 2010 To Do List first. Don't get your hopes up, my progress was minimal.

1. Print digital pictures and put them in photo albums.  Didn't get this done, however I did back-up my photos and sort the digital files/folders. That's a start right?

2. Knit a pair of socks. Thanks to Aunt S., I have a pair started - toe-up socks, even! I love the toe-up concept. You tackle the hardest parts first - the toe, then the heel - then the rest is clear sailing, plus you don't have to worry about running out of yarn! I've got the toe of one knit, when I get to the heel, I'll have to arrange another visit with Aunt S. to get good instructions.

3. Buy a GPS and go geocaching. Done! GPS purchased and 14 geocaches located by the end of 2010. It's very fun and there are caches in just about every corner of the province. I foresee getting a lot of use out of this gadget!

4. Make a fabric/ribbon memo board.  Scratched this one.  I haven't forgotten about it entirely. I'd like to have one at home and even at work, but it's not a high priority.

5. Read Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina Started!  As of the end of 2010, I got to page 237. I stalled after part of the second section due to life (actually, due to another book I was reading for my Small Group Bible Study).

6. Get involved in my church in Sept. Haven't yet, but will. I'm ashamed to admit that I've held back this long from getting involved. That's not exactly a good example of "living in community" is it? Part of the problem is shyness of all things. For some reason I find myself extremely timid at church. This is weirdness I have to overcome, and I'm sure it'll dissipate  the more I get involved.

7. Frame my gerbera print. Scratched from list. I still love the gerbera print, but noticed that it's starting to lose some of the colour. The cost of framing just isn't worth it. Instead, I've repurposed it as a background image on my desk, which seems to work quite well.

8. Buy a headboard for my bed. Not done. I couldn't settle on any one bedframe, and also found them to be overpriced . I've been surfing Kijiji for potentials and have even considered making my own. Again, it's not a huge priority, just another one of those things it would be nice to have.

9. Attempt a pie crust (again!). Didn't do it. Should've done it. But do I really want to be trying to master pie crusts? Is that really a good idea?? 

10. Become a Host in the YMCA's Immigrant Host Program. Not done. I've held off from this because I'm a little concerned about the commitment. I don't want to sign-up for something and find I can't follow-up with it. Already I have the Big/Little commitment + pottery lessons this Winter. I still like the idea though.

11. Learn to kayak. Check!  This was an unofficial item on the To Do List. Actually, I added it in the summer. I was so pleased to have the chance to learn to kayak at the Becoming an Outdoor Woman weekend. It was definitely a highlight of the year, and I'd definitely like to get more practice in a kayak.

One last thing to add: While these were all things I aimed to do in 2010, I'm not terribly disappointed I was only able to check a couple things off the list. This year was a big year for other reasons (conference planning took up a good 6 months of it!) and mostly these are just things I'd like to get to eventually. Even still, my priorities shift from the beginning of the year to the end. Some of these just aren't really that important to worry about. Next year's list may be a bit more focussed, you'll have to wait and see.  ;)

Two for two!

Two waterfalls in two weekends! Last weekend was Hells Gate Falls, this weekend was Mills Falls at Kejimkujik National Park. We were there, the whole family, for a special occasion. It's a beautiful spot, perfect for weddings as it turns out, though perhaps more so when it's not raining.

It wasn't difficult to get some nice shots of the falls.


Can I make it three for three?

Hell's Gate

Sadly, this post is not going to demonstrate my new-found prowess as an outdoors woman. In fact, it may do just the opposite, and reinforce the obvious - that I have a lot to learn and should probably equip myself with some basic tools (ie. compass, map, water, whistle, matches, etc.) before going into unfamiliar territory, because who knows what kind of trouble I could get myself into.

Destination: Hells Gate Falls, aka "Three Pools", which technically isn't a public hiking trail as it's on Nova Scotia Power property. With that said, it's a popular trail and as long as you're careful and not stupid (ie. climb on the slippery rocks, or jump off the 70 ft cliff into the shallow water below), you'll be fine. Also, we felt slightly justified trespassing as our grandfather used to work at Hells Gate at one point in time.

Estimated hiking distance/time: 4 km /1 hour. Time spent: 2.5+ hours.
If the hike was only 1 hour, why did it take us 2.5 hours to get in and get out you may ask? Well, we may have lost track of where we were going a few times. In our defense, we (my cousin and I) were mainly there to chat and catch-up; finding the falls was really secondary or, rather, it gave us an excuse to get out of the house and enjoy a nice afternoon. If we were truly focussed on the task at hand we would've looked up Hells Gate Falls on a map and planned our route.

The entrance we took that would, in a round about way, lead us to Hells Gate Falls/Three Pools.

Instead, our approach was to start at the entrance (a wire gate that had been vandalised) and follow the path to see where it took us. I figured it's a popular spot, it should be pretty obvious what direction we should take. This is sort of what got us in trouble a couple times - there are many, many paths in the area, none of them had signs that helped to point us to our desination. Good thing, after a bit of aimless hiking, we stumbled upon Marvin (Marvin #1 on the map), who proceeded to give us directions... which neither of us paid close enough attention to.

So here's where I think a map might be helpful. It's sort of hard to tell where the trails are on GoogleMaps, but I did my best. The pink line is our route, the blue line is Marvin's recommended route.

He said something about following the pipeline (the greyish line running from the surge towers to the dam) till we got to an ATV trail. We caught that much. So we started to walk until we reached a dam, at which point we realised we must've missed the ATV trail, so when we doubled back we took a couple side trails on the wrong side of the pipeline (duh!). Both trails took us into a pit, which clearly wasn't where the Falls would be. Unbeknownst to us, we were being watched. Marvin had seen us go in the wrong direction and knew we were "misplaced" (not lost!). He laughed when we ran into him again (Marvin #2 on map) and then proceeded to walk us to Hells Gate Falls, which was less than a 5 minute walk away.

Okay, it was a bit embarrassing how close we were and yet how far off track at the same time. Also, it was more than embarrassing when he assumed we were city girls. I mean, I am, but it's not exactly the image I was going for. Sigh.

Marvin left us at the 2nd pool, and told us how to get to the 1st. He also mentioned something about climbing down the steep hill where we would find a decent trail where he sometimes brought his 4 wheeler. Now this is where we sort of lost him again. He was telling stories about how kids would get lost in the woods all the time and find themselves in predicaments because they didn't know the terrain. His directions were basically just repeating the routes these kids would take and get themselves lost, but he did say the trail would take us out. Where "out" was wasn't clarified.

So we carried on. Have I mentioned this is a gorgeous spot? Not only are there waterfalls, but absolutely stunning woodland with moss-covered forest floor and rocks. The rock formations make it look like an ancient forest, actually. The terrain is pretty treacherous though, if you're not careful. The path starts out high, and involves a very scary descent down a steep moss-covered cliff, with loose needles and dirt that make it hard to get good footing (below). Climbing down involved a combination (for me) of grabbing roots and scooching down on my bum. The pictures are really unflattering!

This picture really doesn't do justice to the height of the cliff. Once you're at the bottom, it's a spectacular sight. Also, once you're at the bottom the walk is easy. The path follows the river and takes you right out to Hell's Gate. This is where we got confused about Marvin's directions "out". Did he mean the trail would take us here? We told him our grandfather used to work at Hell's Gate so maybe he thought this is where we were headed?

There was a road/trail to our right and we started up it (the blue line from Hell's Gate to the Surge Tanks). We got about half way up when S. started to question if it was wise to keep going up a road we didn't know (not knowing that in fact it would take us exactly to where we wanted to be), and suggested it might be best to double back the same way we came. So we did, which added an extra 4 miles (according to Marvin) onto our hike. Also, it meant having to climb up that scary cliff we had just climbed down.

Needless to say the hike was more of a workout than we had anticipated, but a fun time just the same. Best of all, it's time well spent when you get to have a good visit with family, plus enjoy the outdoors!

View of the surge towers from a distance, close to our starting point. If you look closely, you can see the red of Hell's Gate at the base of the towers inthe second picture. It gives a bit of perspective to the height of the path we started out on (same level as the surge towers) to where we ended up (at Hell's Gate).

YouTube is addictive!

This week has been all about YouTube.

First of all, an amazing collection of Nova Scotian film has been uploaded to YouTube which includes fascinating footage dating from 1917-1957. One of my favourite films is the 1928 footage of the Cherry Carnival in Bear River. But there's hours and hours of film footage I've yet to see.

Speaking of hours and hours, if you have that much time, you should also check out a BBC series on YouTube called "The Supersizers Go....". It's all about food and it's completely addictive. Once you start watching, you won't be able to stop. Each episode focusses on a different era in British history, from Ancient Roman times to the 1980s, and everything in between. But the episodes aren't more specifically focusses on the food and the culture of eating from each of these eras. It's fascinating and hilarious as the two leads (a food critic and a comic) act the part and find out for themselves what life was like in that week's time period. Oh, and at times it's revolting - sooo many pigs heads were eaten, and grotesque fish dishes, and so much gross concoctions! Each episode is 60 minutes, but broken up into 10 minute segments on YouTube and I challenge you to watch just one episode! When I discovered this, I was glued to my computer for hours!

Becoming an Outdoors Woman

...That's what I was doing last weekend.

I found out about BOW at the beginning of August and signed-up immediately. If you ask my co-workers, they'll tell you that I was bouncing off the walls with excitement the day I registered. If you haven't heard about it, BOW is short for Becoming an Outdoors Woman and is an international, non-profit organization which aims to educate women in outdoorsy skills and activities. They offer a wide variety of workshops from hunting and fishing courses to basic skills for hiking/wilderness survival, to sports like mountain biking, and kayaking and hobbies like geocaching and birding. There's something for everyone! More information and a full list of the workshops they offer is available here.

So much was packed into this BOW weekend, that it's taken me this long to digest everything. There's really so much I want to share, that I haven't quite figured out where to begin, and how to keep this post manageable without going on and on about how much fun I had, and how much I learned. Also, I wish I had more photos from the weekend, but sadly I was to busy to take pictures and only have a couple dozen to share.

I was really happy with my workshop choices this year:

1. Wilderness Navigation: learning how to read topographical maps, how to use a compass, and how to use both of these together, learning the difference between true north and magnetic north, how to calculate distance travelled. It was really, really fun and really quite empowering to learn these skills. I'm by no means an expert but it's confidence building to know that you have the skills to get yourself in and out of the woods with these tools. I'm definitely putting a compass on my Christmas list this year, if I can wait that long!

2. Mountain Biking: learning about the gear and parts of the biking, learning how to shift gears properly and use the gears for different terrain, and how to change a flat tire. I learned that I won't shy away from biking through the muck and puddles (that's the fun part about mountain biking), but that I quickly lose stamina going uphill, even in the lowest gear, and have to do the walk of shame up the hill.

3. Kayaking: This was a close tie with Wilderness Navigation for my favourite workshop of the weekend. We learned about the kayaks, paddles and the gear that goes with it all, body positioning and movements, paddlings strokes, how to recover from a capsized kayak (including some entertaining demonstrations). I started out in the tandem with a partner having never been in a kayak before and close to the end got to try out a single. I was not very stable in the single and was sure I was going to tip. It's a miracle I didn't actually!

4. Birding: This wasn't my first choice (I wanted to do the geocaching workshop as I still haven't figured out how to do certain things with my GPS yet), but I quite enjoyed it just the same! We learned about migration patterns of birds, about different species of birds and about the bird atlas for Nova Scotia, we learned about identification techniques and how to adjust binoculars (adjust the left lens first, then fine-tune the right), and we learned a great technique for attracting birds ("phish"ing: shpish-psh-psh). We spotted a couple species of vireos, grouse and finches, and of course were visited by curious chickadees. Also our instructor had a rather neat gadget that she uses to call birds - a tiny little speaker that plugs into her mp3 player and will play mp3s of bird calls! How neat!

The workshops were the main focus of the weekend, but in the evenings we had the opportunity to learn fly-tying or knot-tying. I chose knots and learned how to five knots: the bowline knot, the reef knot, the clove hitch, the handcuff knot and the monkey's fist. Now I just have to be sure to practice, so I will remember them when I need them.

On the second night the plan was to have an astronomy lesson but the weather wasn't cooperating (did I mention it rained the whole weekend?), so instead we had a demo of really neat software called Stellarium. You can type your location into the program and it will pull up the night sky, which you can then click and drag so it matches what you see from your exact location. Then, with another click the program will show you the constellations and the artwork that goes with the constellations. Really cool, eh?! And here's the best part - the software is free!

And, of course, no outdoorsy weekend would be complete without a campfire or two. Here's a picture of our second campfire, complete with planked salmon cooked by the fire!

If you're interested in hearing more about what the weekend was like, CBC's Phlis McGregor was there interviewing folks and here is her spot about BOW on CBC NS's Information Morning.

I can check one more thing off my 2010 To Do List.

Last month I finally stopped waffling and purchased a GPS with the help of a little birthday money from my grandparents. I'd been comparing different models, researching advantages and disadvantages of Garmin vs. Magellan for quite awhile; reading local geocaching forums for advice etc. And then finally decided it was time to quit with the indecision and buy one! I went into BestBuy, found one on sale, and bought it. It was a Magellan Explorist GC, a GPS specifically designed for paperless geocaching (that is, all the info for a cache gets downloaded to the GPS, not just the coordinates). It took me a little while to figure out how it worked, to play with the features (because it didn't come with a manual, only a pamphlet illustrating some of the features but not providing any instructions) and then took it out for a couple test-runs.

At first it was pretty disappointing - I wasn't finding any of the caches. Granted, the first two times I was thwarted, first by darkness and second by hot & humid weather combined with a frustrated 10 year old. But then, finally! I found my first cache, and my second cache, and then two more caches....and I was on a roll!

I'm finding out that geo-caching is actually pretty addictive. There are caches just about everywhere - over 8000 in Nova Scotia - and I'm constantly impressed by the ingenuity of geo-caches to find/make great hiding spots, often in plain sight. And, of course, there's the allure of finding "hidden treasure". Who doesn't like a good ol' treasure hunt! And I've found pretty great swag so far too...

For those of you who have never tried geocaching (aka "muggles") it's highly likely you walk by a cache daily without ever knowing it. I've been dragging anyone who is even remotely interested along for a geocache hunt - co-workers, friends, family - and I've got a much better success rate now. It's one of those activities that's more fun with other people anyway.
I'm hoping to get into it more with the Little. I think it's the kind of activity that would be really great with kids AND gives a little purpose and motivation to going for walks or hikes. Geocachers are sort of like explorers going on an expedition to find a treasure afterall...right? And very few kids will turn down an opportunity to explore or go on an expedition or an adventure.

For anyone who is interested in learning about geocaching, you're best bet is to check out geocaching.com. Go to "Hide & Seek" and see how many geocaches are in your area - I bet there's at least a few! I first signed up 3 years ago when I decided I wanted to give it a try. It's taken me 3 years to actually commit to buying a GPS (they're not cheap, and I hadn't actually gone geocaching before buying a GPS) and now that I have I'm really glad I did! I can see this being a fun activity for years to come - not just in finding caches, but also in hiding them too.

How to be Alone

Have you seen this short film? It's been floating around the internet for a couple weeks now.
It's a lovely piece with a lot of wisdom, not just for those of us who are single but also for those in relationships who find themselves lonely when they're alone.

Being alone doesn't have to be synonymous with lonely...
...."'cause if you're happy in your head, then solitude is blest and alone is okay."

Poem written and perfromed by Tanya Davis.
Filmed in Halifax.

Reading Anna Karenina

Remember my update a week ago about how little progress I've made on my 2010 To Do List?
Well, I'm happy to report that, thanks to a new friend (who lives as far away as Hong Kong!), I'm finally making some progress now. It's amazing how a reading companion can make all the difference and offers exactly the motivation I needed to get started and (hopefully) get through the book!

So here's our approach:

The book is broken up into 8 sections, and each section is about 100 pages. We're going to read one section a month. It's a very manageable goal and there's still lots of time for you to join in if you are interested. In fact, we'd love for you to join us in our
Anna Karenina read-along.

The hardest part I've found about reading this book is keeping the characters straight - there are so many names, patronymic names, surnames that are similar. But Sarah has outlined them nicely (without spoilers) in her Anna Karenina Read-Along blog post, which is an enormous help. And once you get into the story, it gets easier to keep the names straight (or so I'm finding now that I've made a bit of progress).

So, what do you think? Has Anna Karenina been sitting on your shelf for years, like mine has, just waiting to be read? Or, have you always wanted to read Leo Tolstoy but never had the time or courage to delve into his books? Want to give it a try? There's no time like the present!

Run Fatboy Run!

With permission, I'm posting this picture and video of a dear friend competing in the Dartmouth Natal Day Race. He did a fine job!And here he is crossing the finish line 6 miles (or 9.656064 km) later:

In case you were wondering, the title of this post is meant to be ironic. It is also a reference to a movie of the same title, which I'm told is hilarious and a 'must see'.

"No two sunsets are the same..."

I'm a little late posting a few pictures from my latest trip to the cottage. I debated about posting at all since my last visit was just a month ago, and only 3 posts ago. I mean, how many sunset photos can I post, before it becomes just more of the same? Well, as my grandfather says, no two sunsets are the same ... and this last weekend visit seemed especially lovely and worthy of it's own post.

I'm going say this particular weekend was especially lovely because of the company. It was the big July birthday/anniversary celebration and most of the family was able to get together (missed you uncle D. + cousin E.) . And we know how to celebrate in style...

...with a feast of lobster. And huge lobster at that! These crustaceans must've been about 2 lbs each. And wow, was it delicious!

After supper, G. and I went canoeing to check out a brook neither of us have noticed before that feeds into "the cove". We canoed past this derelict cabin, that's been abandoned for as long as I can remember.

There are so many nooks and crannies to be explored at the cottage. The lake is small, but the possibilities for exploration are endless. Such is the advantage of being in the backwoods. Here are a few pictures of the brook G. and I wandered along for a bit (there was even a little falls!).

And this year, for the first time in ages, I even went swimming in the lake. When I was younger, I didn't seem to be as bothered by slimy rocks, and underwater growth (lilypads, etc.) or creeped out by anything swimming under the surface that I couldn't see. But this year, after a rather sweaty canoe-ride, swimming in the lake seemed like a good idea. The water was incredibly warm and with water shoes I managed to forget about the bottom of the lake and concentrate on actually trying to swim.

And at dusk, we did something we haven't been able to do in ages because the summers have been either too dry - make a fire outside and roast marshmellows. Yum!

Last but not least, one of my favourite ways to waste away an afternoon at the cottage is with a book, in the quiet stillness of the day.

I picked up Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King from the library and quite enjoyed it. The novel is not structured in chapters but is a single account from Dolores Claiborne about how the events in her life unfolded. It was riveting and hard to put down (and not just because there weren't any chapter breaks!).

And that was the weekend! A delight as always.