Our Message Archive
Sunday September 28
A greater yellowlegs on the salt marsh on Monday
The last couple of weeks have been full of shows. A week ago Tuesday, Ann and Nancy went to see DJ Ahmet, a coming-of-age movie set in Macedonia, at the Atlantic International Film Festival. The following Friday, we met Kim, Glen and our biking friend Dick for dinner at Evan's Seafood followed by the play Coal Bowl Queen upstairs at Eastern Front Theatre. And on Thursday, Ann and I went out for dinner at The Canteen then went to see Mischief, the first play of the Neptune season. It was better than I expected (most Indigenous-based plays we have seen recently have not been very good) and had a great set: a store set inside a whale skeleton on which scenes of stars or whales or city streets were projected (it was much more effective than it sounds).
In between the Coal Bowl Queen and Mischief, we went to a dinner at The Farm at South Cove (just outside Lunenburg) in support of the Kidney Foundation of Canada. We shared a table with our friend Erika, who recently had a kidney transplant, Ingrid, Alex, Jayne, Jackie and Robert.
The Saturday before last, I rode with the Ramblers in the annual winery tour in the Annapolis and Gaspereau valleys. These days there does not seem to be much interest in going into the wineries or sampling their wares, so I think I may leave this ride out of the schedule next year. Meanwhile, Ann and Nancy went shopping in Wolfville and had lunch at Luckett's Vineyard before meeting me after the ride at Just Us Café and Roastery. On the way home we stopped in at friends of Nancy's in Mount Denson whose daughter/granddaughter, aged two, was having a birthday party in their back yard.
Last Monday was a landmark in my biking career. While Ann and Nancy relaxed at home, I rode from home to join the Railers for a ride from Shearwater along the trails all the way to Porter's Lake, which would have been about 95 kms in total. When I got home a did a few tours around the neighbourhood to make it 100 kms, the most I have ever ridden in a single day. It was a lovely day and the trails make easy riding, so I was not nearly as tired as I thought I would be. I took a few photos along the way including this one of a greater yellowlegs looking for food at low tide.
While I was out, Lauren returned from Cape Breton and that evening Ann, Nancy and Lauren went out for dinner a Trattoria Vesso with Ingrid, Jocelyn and Lokman, and, on Tuesday, in the midst of a quiet day at home, they went for a walk on Lawrencetown Beach. Nancy and Lauren left for home on Tuesday morning.
Ann and I were also out again yesterday. The Rambler ride leader changed the route from the one I had scheduled to one that we rode back in the spring. Rather than repeat the ride, we decided to go on our own on the original ride from Bridgewater through Conquerall Mills to Petite Rivière (the village), then along the shore to LaHave, across the river on the ferry, and back up the eastern bank of the LaHave River to Bridgewater. It was a lovely day and is a very nice ride with very pretty sections along Petite Rivière (the river), the coastline at Dublin Shore, and the LaHave River. There was also a pleasant stop for lunch at the LaHave Bakery.
Monday September 15
The three churches in Mahone Bay
Last summer, when we had the heat pump installed, we also had the electrical service upgraded to 200 amps. That required a larger electrical panel which meant cutting out some of the gyproc. We were left with a large hole in the wall of our downstairs guest bedroom with the electrical panel uncovered. Back in July, we finally had someone fix up the wall and make a door to cover the panel. This week Ann and I got around to painting it, which meant painting the whole room. It took several days to do the preparation and apply two coats. We still have to paint the back of the panel door, then I can rehang the doors, curtain rods and pictures and reattach the headboard of the bed to the wall.
Late on Thursday evening, our good friend Nancy and her daughter Lauren arrived from Ontario for a visit. Lauren stayed until Saturday then drove to Cape Breton to see her sister Josie and some of their paternal relations. Nancy is till staying with us.
A week ago Saturday was the annual Ramblers barbecue held at our friends Catherine and Paul's place in Hubley. They have a large back yard going down to Lizard Lake: a perfect spot for about 70 Ramblers to gather and eat hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and cake. Since I am on the Executive, I was on the set-up and take-down committee; Ann also came along to help out.
Last Saturday, we drove to Mahone Bay to join the Rambler ride from Mahone Bay to Indian Point then out to Bachman's Beach at the end of 2nd Peninsula. It is a very pretty ride with most of the route along open shoreline. The weather was lovely in the morning but clouded over on our way back from the beach. Nancy came to Mahone Bay with us but spent the day with Jocelyn and Lokman including a visit to The Sweaty Panda, a new year-round sauna on Oakland Road close to Jocelyn and Lokman's house.
The three of us returned to Halifax going directly to Kim and Glen's house where Ann and I had quick showers and changed into non-biking attire. The five of us then went to see the premiere screening of Dancing on the Elephant, starring Sheila McCarthy and Mary Walsh, at the Atlantic International Film Festival. It is about two women confronting the realities of living in a nursing home: both funny and sad. We all enjoyed it. Afterwards we stopped in at Quinn's Arms for dinner.
One of the women who volunteers at the food bank with Ann is training to be a nail technician and was looking for people to practice on, so Ann arranged for her to come and give her and Nancy a manicure this morning. Meanwhile, since it was a gorgeous day, I joined the Railers for their regular ride out to Lawrencetown Beach. For a change, since I had taken my e-bike, I continued further to Fishermen's Reserve Road and then, on the way back, went out to Montague Mines so that I wouldn't have to bike back along Pleasant Street.
We are now into eggplant and tomato harvesting season which requires turning my crop into dinners or dishes that can be frozen. So far I have made two moussakas and three batches of Moroccan eggplant stew, both of which use both eggplants and tomatoes but there are still several eggplants waiting to be picked and the window sill in the kitchen is covered in tomatoes. Meanwhile our fridge is still awash with cucumbers.