September 30, 20222. Western Head, Nova Scotia. On The Road Again.

The house will be put away as tight as a drum, awaiting my return in June.  Jackie and I are doing the last minute tasks this morning.  At 1:30, Mr. G. will drive me to the airport hotel where I will spend the night.  Tomorrow at 9:30 I fly on a direct flight to Vancouver.  Air Canada just instituted the direct flight from Halifax to Vancouver this Spring so I will be interested to see how many people will be on the flight.  Because of the time change, I arrive at 12:30 and check into the Fairmount Hotel.  This evening I will meet my friends who will be on the train.

We will be a happy group of five.  Butch, my friend of long standing from the world of real-estate is coming along with his brother Larry and wife Lynn and their daughter Margo.  So we have three able bodied folks to help me and Butch getting on and off the train cars.  And we will have a happy time, I feel sure.

Vancouver is a beautiful city, the city where I grew up.  On Sunday, I will have lunch with Kenny and Anne, along with their two children Elise and Eric, plus Anne's brother, who lives in Montreal.  He lives an independent life, even though he is blind.  I look forward to meeting him.  And on the 3rd, we board the Rocky mountain journey and then across the prairies.  So  here I go again, saying goodbye to this beautiful place for other beautiful places such as Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper.  I am once again, on the road.  

September 29, 2022. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Kind Deeds.

This morning, Walt and Mary stopped by to say goodbye and to have a little visit.  In addition, Mary brought me a container of seafood chowder.  Nothing speaks more of Nova Scotia than seafood chowder, so it was a wonderful send off for me.  And in the container were two meals so I ate a bowl for a late lunch and I saved the rest for lunch tomorrow, which I will eat just before I leave for the airport.   Mary made the chowder this morning just so she could bring some for me.

I could not even begin to count the number of kind deeds Mary and Walt have provided for me over the 23 years we have lived here.   They are always doing something kind for me from providing me information to preparing food.  This summer, it was well beyond the normal.  And I appreciated every kindness shown to me.  Today was just the peak.  To eat excellent chowder the last two days on leaving is to be almost in heaven.  And I am grateful for their friendship and their many kindnesses.  Some good.

September 28, 2022. Western Head, Nova Scotia. By the Sea..

 Living by the Atlantic Ocean is wonderful.  But there are some negatives too.  The salty moist air makes everything rust so replacements are more frequent than if you live in town.   I replaced three outside doors last year because the bottoms rusted.  And we have replaced metal outdoor light fixtures twice.  My friend Mary coats all her outside metal with Vasaline, including the hinges and the bottoms of the doors.  No replacements for her.

 The breeze is always present, which is lovely during the summer.  But during the winter months the cold wind is chilly.  George, our builder, was going to sell his house in Brooklyn, the next town to Liverpool, in order to build himself and his wife on the water.  But he would not consider Western Head, because he said it was too cold.   So he bought a lot on the river and now is happy as a clam in his modern home where it is warm.  

Erosion is always a problem living by the shore.  I replaced the rock wall, installed in 1999 by Everett.  I am afraid to go and look at the latest storm to my new wall, installed in 2021.  Two things happen.  The heavy rains goes through the soil, taking part of the land when it gets to the water.  And then the water crashing into the shore removes rock and soil.  Eventually, erosion will win.  But not yet.

The positives far our weigh the negatives.  I do love living beside the ever changing bold Atlantic Ocean.  Ken and I always felt fortunate to live by the ocean.  But then we were not here in the winter.  But for me, I will be sorry to say goodbye to my home beside the sea.

September 27, 2022. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Winding Down.

 My friends Wendy and Clausen left this morning , after being here since mis June.  They drove, along with their two big dogs, to take the ferry,  the Cat, in Yarmouth.  They will end up in Bar Harbor.  They will drive to Potomac, in Maryland.  Just south of Portland, Maine, they will take a mini vacation at a lovely dog friendly Inn.  So they will enjoy the journey.  

Tomorrow, Mary and Clif will leave to drive home to Delaware.  But they will take the ferry from Digby to St.John, where they will stay overnight before driving home.  It is a two day drive.  This afternoon Cliffie came to say goodbye and tomorrow Mary is coming by too.  The ferry leaves Digby at 5:00 and it is a two hour drive.  They are all set to leave their home here for the winter.

I drive with Mr. G. to the ALT hotel at the Halifax airport where I will spend the night.  My flight to Vancouver on Saturday is at 9:30 am.  My traveling buddies will also be arriving to Vancouver on Saturday so we will have our first dinner of the journey that evening.  On Sunday I plan to have lunch with Kenny and Anne, their two grown children Eric and Elise and Anne's brother who is visiting them from Montreal.  Our train journey begins Oct.3.

Gill will fly to Toronto on Saturday afternoon.  She has two weeks of doctor appointments  when she arrives.  Then she will visit her son David in Seattle, spending two weeks there.  Then she will return to Toronto for a few days before flying to New York to visit her son Tim and his wife Kate and their two daughters.   She expects to stay a month in New York.

So our little group is winding down, and returning to other lives.  But this summer has been grand and we all look forward to seeing each other next summer.  By Sunday, all our homes here will be closed for the winter.  So here we go.

September 26, 2022. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Storm Food.

I do not remember this happening in past storms but this year, prior to the storm, friends brought me meals.  David N. brought a container of his home made split pea soup.  Sue and Steve brought me a full meal along with Steve's luncheon salad.  Wendy and Clausen brought me two deli sandwiches plus a full dinner of roast ham  And Mary Mac. brought me dinner every evening last week.  My fridge was full of good food for me to eat throughout the storm.

And of course, when they bring me food, they also stop for a visit and to make sure that I had everything I need to weather the storm.  They made sure that I was well supplied with water and flashlights along with a charger for my devices.  It was all very reassuring.  And they all admonished me to contact them if I had any trouble.  Fortunately, we were let off lightly.  Those further up the shore were not so fortunate.  But between my efforts plus my friends, I was ready.  And I ate very well throughout the storm.

September 25, 2022. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Airline Tickets.

There is something about ordering airline tickets that pleases me and I have no idea why.  Perhaps it is the anticipation of another journey sometime in the future.  Or perhaps it is merely another check on my to do list.  I have always kept lists of tasks needing to be done so I am used to checking off the items on my list. I still use lists now even though my accomplishments are few.  I keep lists of tasks for Anna when she comes.  But I think the pleasure that comes with arranging airline tickets has more to do with the anticipation than merely an item to be checked off.

This week, I ordered my tickets for Mexico.  I arranged the accommodation last January but now the trip seems more a reality than an idea.  I was pleased when I was finished.  Ken always booked our flights, using the internet.  But my vision makes it difficult for me to use ordering on line so I use the travel department of American Express Platinum card.  And they do a good job.  But it is time consuming.  The interesting thing is that the agents live all over the place.  I often speak to a lady who lives in New Brunswick.  And one man loves in Chicago.  Evidently there is no central office.  

And Wendy has booked her tickets to Mexico too.  Now I am smiling in anticipation.  The accommodation is booked and the airplane tickets have been ordered.  So here we go.

September 24, 2022. Western Head, Nova Scotia. After the Storm.

 Today at Gull Bay, the waves were gorgeous.  They were big and crashed onto the shore with a mighty roar.  But we had a wind from the northwest so as the waves broke, a large rooster tail sailed off the top of the wave.  It was beautiful.  And they just kept coming and coming.  Watching from the comfort of my living room was a special treat.

Our storm is over.  We on the south shore did well but further up the coast still has no power.  The most destruction occurred in Cape Breton and Newfoundland, where whole houses floated out to sea.  Our power went out in the middle of the night but all day we had power, which both surprised and pleased me. It rained all last night and we had high winds.  Today was overcast but no rain.  The tidal surges came right up to the top of the rocks beside me but the water never went over the top of the causeway wall.  Today the wind was too high for the surfers to venture out but I bet they will try their luck tomorrow.  I can still hear the waves crashing into the shore so I suspect the surf will be up tomorrow too.

Tomorrow I must return the flashlights to their proper place and let the water out of the tub.  Our storm Fiona is officially over.