August 14, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. The Hank Snow Tribute.

Our town is hopping. The Hank Snow Tribute begins tomorrow. The ice in the arena has been covered. Chairs are set up for all the people. Rv's of all sizes have been set up in the big field beyond the Hank Snow Museum. And the parking lots for the Best Western and the arena have many trailers and RV's parked. Fancy cars have been arriving all day and soon will be parked on Privateer Park all along the river. Lots of new people are in town to celebrate the music of Hank Snow. Hank Snow was born and raised in Brooklyn, the town next door to Liverpool. But he left at age 14, never to return. He made a good living with his talents, singing, playing his guitar and writing songs. Eventually he ended up at Nashville and never left. Every two years a festival is held in his honor. All day Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning the arena will be filled with music: every hour a different group will perform. For $70. you can buy a pass for the weekend and listen to your hearts content. Pretty good price for all that music. Or you could buy a ticket for the day, for $28. I hope the arena will be full. For myself, I will stay away from the crowds. Saturday morning we will go to the Farmer's Market and look at the fancy old cars. We will go to Port Medway for lunch tomorrow. All the restaurants in town will be jammed. This Hank Snow Tribute is a big deal for our little town. People come for all over the US and Canada. I will be cheering from afar but I wish them well.

August 13, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. New Microwave.

On Friday Dave and Irene bought me a new microwave for the kitchen of the main house. Last year there were problems with the old one but I was not quick to replace the defective one because it worked most of the time. Finally, tDave and Irene offered to buy a new one. I assured them that it was not necessary but on Wednesday, the day they arrived, the microwave stopped working. I had blown it up by heating a big bowl of mashed potatoes. I was forced to heat the pork roast in the oven. I finally had to admit that I needed a new microwave, so the bought one for the house on Saturday, which I appreciated. Two of George's workers came to install it this afternoon. It matches my new refrigerator, which is stainless. The kitchen looks fancy. In addition, no one has ever had any faith in the stove. The oven is slow to heat up and does not stay at the right temperature. The top elements work fine but the top is white so difficult to keep clean. This morning I bought a new stainless stove, which will be delivered tomorrow. The dishwasher is one I have always hated. 20 dinner plates will not fit into the dishwasher and the top shelf can not be changed for long stem glasses. It is 15 years old so I talked myself into buying a new dishwasher too, also in stainless. Mal convinced me that with all appliances new the same year, I should not need to have anything breakdown during my life time. So tomorrow, the dishwasher and stove will be delivered and installed. My kitchen will look great and we will no longer stress about the oven or the microwave when preparing dinner. Now the only issue will be my bank account.

August 12, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Christmas 2019.

I intend to spend Christmas 2019 with Dave and Irene at their lovely home in Ancaster. I have not been with the Buckley family at Christmas for many years so I am looking forward to the festivities, including the Birthday December celebration. This year for the first time I will be included as one of the December birthday folks. On Jan.4, Wonderful Wendy and Ken will accompany me to Mexico on a direct flight from Hamilton to Puerto Vallarta. When Wendy invited me, I was delighted. But it is not without complications. I do not wish to take a suitcase full of winter clothes to Mexico where they will stay for eight weeks. Also my winter clothes are old. I have not lived in cold weather for years. Ken and I have been following 80 degrees, staying out of cold weather. My solution was to buy new clothes at Lilithe, the lovely little dress shop in Liverpool. The owner Sandra helped me. Now she will ship the clothes to Dave and Irene's house, when they leave here to go home at the end of August. When I return to Mississippi at the end of February, Wendy will ship them back to me in Mississippi. Problem solved. I will take few garments with me from Mississippi which should fit into my little rolling case with my medications. Boots I will borrow but I will retrieve my beaver coat from Doreen and wear it through my visit to Ontario. My new clothes will be comfortable and warm even thought they are few in number. So I am all set. Planning ahead has always been my strength!!

August 11, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Esi Edugyan.

How can a person so be so accomplished at such a young age? Esi has already won two Giller awards. And she is 41. Esi read at our Readers' Festival on Saturday evening. In addition to being an accomplished writer, she also is cute and personable. Her long black curls cascade down her back. Reading from her latest book, Washington Black, was a delight. Esi was born in Calgary whose parents moved to Canada from Ghana. At high school she was urged to study creative writing at the University of Victoria, which she did. But to keep her Mother happy she said she was studying journalism. Her Mother was fearful of her daughter becoming a writer. But it worked out. She is married to a poet who works at the same university and they have two children. She accepted the invitation from the Festival boards because she had never been to Nova Scotia. She and her whole family stayed a week. Esi is worth remembering. Her first book was "The Second Life of Samual Tyne". The second was "Half Blood Blues". And her latest is "Washington Black". She tells good stories. And she is a wordsmith. Every word is carefully selected. Esi is a writer worth watching. I was astonished with her expertise and her accomplishments. It will be fun following her career.

August 10, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Malcolm.

This evening Mal drove us to the Readers' Festival. Everything was carefully planned. He dropped Irene, Pat and me at the door when we arrived while he parked the car, carefully parked so he would be facing in the correct direction for the reception. When we three came out of the building, his car was sitting in front ready to pick us up. We drove straight to the fire hall where he quickly found a parking lot. We were the first people to go through the food line. Success. And it was all due to Mal's planning. In addition, we arrived early in order to get a good seat. The place was packed. We were home by 9:15, thanks to Mal. Since Mal has been here he has replace the dead lightbulbs everywhere in the house both inside and out. He will reattach the red light on the bicycle that fell off when Kate had an accident on the bike. He lifts heavy objects in and out of the oven. He has reset the microwave once or twice. And of course he drives us everywhere. Every morning after his run or bike ride, he unloads the dishwasher. In other words, he is a thoroughly useful fellow to have living in the house. Fortunately, he and Pat will be visiting me for two weeks here at Western Head, along with Dave and Irene. I am a lucky lady.

August9, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Gill's Party.

Gill celebrated her 75th birthday last December. Her family wanted to celebrate it in Nova Scotia. But December is not a good party month in Liverpool so the decision was made to have the birthday party in early August when everyone would be there. Last evening we enjoyed the party. Both of her boys and their wives were there along with her two beautiful granddaughters. It warmed my heart to see Gill walking around holding her 3 year old Essie. Two friends from school with their families were there along with all Gill's friends from Western Head. It was a grand party. Gill's home this week was full, with one couple staying in the Ely's baby bog. For Gill it was a dream come true. Years ago, the four families bought and built our homes here, three of us had grandchildren who visited. Gill was wonderful with our grandchildren. Gill kept working on the rocking horses that would be driven by her grandchildren. The problem was that her boys, David and Tim were not yet married. But she had faith. She bought toys and crib quilts. And lots of little yellow ducklings. Her faith worked. This week her house was full of four little girls and three couples. She was in hog heaven, enjoying every minute of the week. The party was well organized. The wild flower arrangements done by Mary from her garden were beautiful. The food was excellent. Tim spoke kind and true words about his Mother Gill. And Mary gave a toast. The dancing was lively. The party was splendid, held at the Mersey Point Community hall. The whole party warmed the cockles of my heart. It was a dream come true.

August 8, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. The Blue Bag.

When I leave Nova Scotia, I go to Texas to spend 10 days with David and Suzanne and the girls in San Antonio. The volleyball season will be in full swing so we will not be going to the late. As all my clothes are at the lake house, I planned ahead and brought a few clothes and left them with David and Suzanne in my bedroom. I carried my clothes in a blue sports bag with a Merrill Lynch logo on both sides. I used that bag for years when I played tennis. My raccquet and balls were kept in the closet ready for my next game or drill. Over the years it got beaten up but was still in good enough shape to bring some of my belongings from the farm to the lake house. I fount it on the corner of my closet. I was the perfect size for my clothes. Last week my friend Sara Lou sent me a picture of her bag. Last week, she had used the bag for carrying linens to and fro to the family reunion at their cabin in North Carolina. It looks pristine with the Merrill Lynch logo shining bright. Every time she uses it she thinks of me and she laughs with happy memories. We were given those bags she thinks in 1984 in Aruba as a welcome gift when the top agents were taken for a trip. When Merrill Lynch first bought Snider Bros. they treated agents the same as stock brokers. The first trip for top producers was to Hawaii and was lavish. The next one was to Aruba where we were given those blue bags. The powers that be learned quickly and the trips became less expensive but were still good. So Sara Lou and I are still using those blue bags after all those years. And we both smile and laugh about all the happy memories.