On Another Adventure

So much to say, so little time

2012-01-31T21:03:00.000-05:00

So, I just found this post I didn't post in the fall. Maybe it will spur me on to do a few more...

We have had a busy few months. Paul had a trip to Alaska while Isabelle and I did the road home to Nova Scotia on our own. We had about a month visiting cousins, grandparents, a few friends and managed to get 3 nights at Milford House. There are just some things I need and those nights at Milford were a priority!

Now we are almost a month into a new school year - second grade (memories of Tower Road School and Miss Durling fill my head). Isabelle has all new teachers and a lite more emphasis on French language (60/40 rather than 50/50). I just hope I can keep keeping up with her! A big thing for this year is the second through fifth graders go to camp each September - this year they went to Camp Greenville which is right on the north caolina border. She left last Monday morning and arrived back on Wednesday afternoon in a heap of exhaustion. I think it took most of the week and weekend to recover but since I was in Milwaukee Paul had to bear the brunt of it.

I had another weekend of judging this time in Milwaukee - no I didn't see the Fonz but I did see some fine exhibits. Unfortunately, like a lot of my stamp weekends, I didn't get to see a lot the downtown but enough to know I should go back.
Meanwhile, Isabelle is busy with art and tennis lessons and she is also trying to swim twice a week - yes, after her success this summer, she has decided to try the year-round swimming thing.

So, that is a little update on life here in SC.

So Proud of Our Swimmer

2011-06-16T23:08:00.000-04:00

Tonight we are so proud of Isabelle. She swam in her first swim meet - 25m backstroke. I will admit that I was a nervous wreck - it might as well have been me swimming for the somersaults my stomach was doing. I just wanted her to do her best, build up her confidence and, of course, have fun.

So for those of you who haven't seen Paul's blog - you can read his side of the story complete with pictures and video.

There is a Downside

2011-03-28T17:27:00.004-04:00

Well, part of the reason I haven't been posting is that we are busy. Busy with our day-to-day life, busy with adventures (geo-caching - a great way to get Isabelle out for a hike!), busy with friends and family. I guess you could say we have settled into the expat life. And we are loving it! Mostly.

Today, we had to say good-bye. Now, we did this before - at the end of the school year last year when a few of the families returned to France including one of Isabelle's classmates - not a week goes by without Isabelle talking about Albane and her family.

But this time is a little harder. No, a lot harder. Almost 3 years ago, Paul and Isabelle went for one their first swims at our neighbourhood pool - I took Maggie up for a walk. While I was watching Isabelle swim I could hear a woman speaking French with her children - I wanted Paul to introduce himself but that is not his style. Luckily, she heard Paul speaking French to Isabelle and spoke to him (because that is just the way she is) and that is how we met Radia, Sarah, Rassim and Karim.

Since then Radia has been a friend, a translator, a carpool partner and a guide to the ways of Isabelle's school. Her daughter, Sarah, is a year ahead of Isabelle so whenever I had questions about, well, anything - Radia was my source. When I went away for stamp shows, Radia picked Isabelle up from school and kept her until Paul got home from work. I think my experience here would have been very different without Radia. I will miss her every day and I can never thank her enough for all that she has done for us.

The thing is that while she is all those things to me - she is also those things to many people in the French and Muslim communities here. She is an amazing cook, baker and cake decorator with a wonderful blog about her cooking. Last year, she made a couscous for the graduation at Isabelle's school for EVERYONE in the school. She is an organizer - school events, community events - even a wonderful surprise going away party for her own daughter!

Isabelle will miss Sarah and Rassim terribly - she is used to seeing them almost every day. And I will miss them too - they both crack me up plus since Isabelle is an only child they give her a taste of siblings - oh, the bickering in the car sometimes.

As my mother says: nothing is ever simple so when Radia and the kids were supposed to leave yesterday (a long story) - I managed to get this great picture with Isabelle and Sarah and Sarah's best friend Emma. Hopefully we will get a another one just like it someday but until then it will be facebook, skype and e-mail. Thank you for everything Radia!

Too Late

2011-03-26T22:06:00.000-04:00

When I arrived at HGS in the fall of 1986, I was ill prepared. After drifting through public school for 9 years, I decided I wanted to go to private school. Before HGS, I liked history, geography and English; I struggled in French and Latin and was baffled by math and the sciences. Perhaps I was not the best candidate for HGS but I knew HGS was where I needed to be. Luckily, I found myself in a legendary class – some familiar faces, others new. It was the class of ‘3:15’, Strat-o-matic Hockey, the hockey pool and where almost everyone had a nickname ending in –er.

I had exceptional teachers including Mrs. Aterman who, in one fell swoop, both terrified and enthralled me. She did not ask when things happened but why they happened and the consequences – that was a change from public school. She challenged me and I desperately wanted to do well in her class. But I didn’t and by the end of grade 10, Mrs. Aterman said HGS was not the place for me. Well, as another teacher pointed out - I made decisions for myself and I didn’t always make choices that were easy on me - so I stayed.

I continued to just get by for the next two years but (most) every assignment improved. And when I didn't succeed, I learned more about what was expected of me. She spent ~~months~~ years teaching me how to properly research and write a paper. So, in my first year of university when I missed deadlines and exams due to illness my grades did not suffer. I owe this to Mrs. Aterman and her determination to teach me to write a proper thesis statement, to follow through on that statement and to ensure that what I wrote was I meant (DNSWYM – anyone?).

Somehow, she was convinced (along with the art teacher) to accompany our class to Europe in Grade 12 – that must have been JG’s doing! And what better first introduction to Paris, Munich and Florence than with an art teacher and a history teacher – I know I thought, at the time, that if I saw another church I was going to die - but we had fun!

When I read Mrs. Aterman's obituary last week, I finally understood why she pushed me so hard - it is a wonder she didn't just wallop me - she should have! I am proud to have been one of her “heathen lot”. I am sorry I never had the chance to thank her properly.

Julie & Peace

2010-09-08T22:16:00.001-04:00

Tonight when Isabelle was colouring she said “Mummy, I’m going to colour this peace sign purple.” I said OK. Then, I asked how she knew it was a peace sign – she said Julie told her about peace signs. Julie babysat Isabelle last year but she is studying in France now – one of the few downsides to the school, the graduating students have to be a long way from their families to continue their education. I think Isabelle misses seeing her around the school – remember when you were little and one of the ‘big’ kids actually spoke to you – it was pretty cool, right?

Anyway, Paul pipes up that Dar Williams sings an appropriate song (well, not all of it!). So here it is, and maybe Julie will see it and think of Isabelle. Hmmm, maybe Isabelle should draw a picture to send to Julie – remember when you were at college and got real mail – that was pretty cool too!

Isabelle’s Birthday Cake

2010-09-01T21:25:00.001-04:00

Hard to believe I have a 6 year old! And there is no doubt – she has had 5 celebrations this year – two in Nova Scotia before her birthday, one at school on her birthday, one at home on her birthday and today a joint party with her classmate Dorian at our pool. Unfortunately, Paul missed every one – but don’t feel too sorry for him, check out his latest blog entry!

Anyway, channelling Tante Rhea and with A LOT of help from Google and Radia I made the cake for today. I wanted to make something appropriate for both a boy and a girl and to tie in the pool party was also a goal. So, here it is – thanks to Radia also for taking pictures of the making of the cake.

2 – 9 x13 chocolate cake (Radia says not chocolate cake, it is so hard to frost with white icing. She was right!

Cut out a chunk out of the top cake

Line the hole with a thin layer of fondant.

Prepare two boxes of blue Jell-O with half the water.

Ice the top and sides of the cake or start to make such a mess of it that Radia does it for you! THANK YOU RADIA, you are a lifesaver!

Pour Jell-O into the hole. I used less than half.

So, do you see it now?

And on to the fun part.

In retrospect, I wouldn’t do the fondant/Jell-O part the day before.

The cake decorated – the lane dividers didn't really work – they rolled around too much (I needed a Paul solution.)

You can see where the fondant dissolved overnight – I don't think the kids noticed though!

Dorian was quite anxious to get to the cake part – I hope he liked it.

The birthday girl and boy – Valerie (Dorian's mother) got this great picture of them blowing out the candles.

Addendum to the Mice

2010-02-04T12:33:00.001-05:00

I mentioned in my post that it was cold when Dawn visited and that she had taken some pictures to illustrate how cold it was. She was kind enough to forward a few to me so here is the fountain at the Westin Poinsett Hotel in downtown Greenville. The first picture was taken about a week before the others.

Looking Back – February 2009

2010-02-04T12:23:00.001-05:00

When I look back at my blog from last February I did pretty well covering our activities but I did miss one thing. Isabelle’s school held an international dinner to recognize the almost 20 different nationalities represented at the school. As a Canadian with Scottish, Irish and even distant Italian roots, I probably wouldn’t have too much to share beyond what was already represented but luckily I married an Acadian so the decision was easy we would make rapure (rappie pie). Since two great friends have written about making rapure with Paul, I will leave to them to get into the details (Taryn's Blog and Radia's Blog). Suffice it to say when all that was left but old potatoes and meat, Paul’s Acadian ancestors concocted this meal to get them through the end of the cold, hard winter. With Taryn, Paul could use pre-packaged grated potato available in the freezer section of a lot of Nova Scotia grocery stores but here in South Carolina we have to make it from scratch - well almost, he uses an electric juicer to remove the starch and water from the potatoes.

For the dinner, the children were also invited to wear traditional clothes if they had them. Paul’s parents had visited just before the dinner and his mom came prepared to make an Evangeline outfit for Isabelle. So here she is dressed as a petite Acadienne.

Margaret Wise Brown in Greenville

2010-01-22T23:24:00.001-05:00

Well, not really. For those of you wondering who Margaret Wise Brown is - remember that gentle book of a little bunny going to bed with the simple illustrations by Clement Hurd. We read it to Isabelle almost every night for the first couple years and as she grew older she loved to look for the mice hidden throughout the book.

In downtown Greenville, nine bronze mice have been hidden – high and low – which is great entertainment for Isabelle. The original project has been supplemented by a book and t-shirts. We always look for the mice but until Dawn visited earlier this month we had never gone downtown with the express purpose of finding all the mice. We printed the hints for finding the mice from the Mice on Main website and headed downtown. Isabelle found all 9, with a few hints – even some from Maggie who seemed particularly good at finding them.

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Now, you may notice Isabelle’s attire. Dawn visited South Carolina for 10 days (both in Greenville and on the coast) and it was freezing while she was here. And I don’t mean the “I have moved to the south and can’t remember what cold is” kind of cold. I MEAN COLD – it was actually colder here than in Nova Scotia while she was here! The downtown fountains were even frozen – I didn’t get a pictures but Dawn did so maybe she will send me one to post (hint, hint).

Now we are back to more normal temps and even had a picnic on Monday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)!

Looking Back – January 2009

2010-01-22T22:40:00.001-05:00

Since I am not the best blogger and obviously have missed lots of opportunities, I thought I would try to share some of the things we have done in the last year along with our current activities.

A year ago, my parents were here visiting. They arrived just after New Years and stayed a couple of weeks. It was my dad’s first visit and my mom’s second. Since then they have been back two more times and we are waiting for another visit so we can check out dad’s new car! While they were here we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway which, if I haven’t mentioned it before, is beautiful no matter what the season. Here the clouds are pouring from one side to the other and you can just see the silver frost on the trees.

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Mum and dad’s visits include work as well. Dad recovered a chair and a chaise for us last January and both of them spend some quality time with both Isabelle and Maggie.

Notice how comfortable Maggie is, some of you might remember when she wouldn’t even go near my dad – she finally figured out that she has a good thing there!

A Little Kate + a Little Julia = A Little Bit of Home

2009-09-30T19:30:00.001-04:00

I have been a little homesick lately although I am not sure why since I have been busier than ever. I really noticed it last night as I listened to a reading by Kate Inglis from her new children’s novel The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods. Her first public reading was at Word on the Street which was held on the waterfront this year - only blocks from where I grew up. As she described the setting, it was as if she was catapulting me back to Halifax. If she can do this introducing her reading, I can’t wait to curl up and read the book!

Another thing I have been thinking about is a crepe torte with spinach and mushroom which I used to get at the Italian Market on Young Street. Isabelle’s school was having a quiche and pizza sale today and I thought it might be a good chance to try to make it. I found a similar recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I made some slight changes, mainly in the construction – it was very rich but very good. When I make it next time the only changes I would make would be to add more spinach and mushroom. Making the torte was fairly time consuming but I have an electric crepe maker which made things much easier. To make the crepes, I followed the basic recipe which came with the maker.

Gâteau de Crêpes à la Florentine

About 24 crêpes 6½ inches in diameter

Sauce Mornay (béchamel with cheese), 3 cups

5 tbsp flour

4 tbsp butter

2¾ cups boiling milk

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Big pinch of nutmeg

¼ cup whipping cream (I didn’t add this, I didn’t think it was needed)

1 cup coarsely grated Swiss cheese

Cook the flour and butter slowly together in the saucepan for 2 minutes without coloring. Off heat, beat in the boiling milk and seasonings. Boil, stirring, for 1 minute.Reduce to the simmer and stir in the cream by tablespoons. Sauce should be thick enough to coat the spoon fairly heavily. Remove from heat and correct seasoning. Stir in all but two tablespoons of the cheese. Film top of sauce with milk to prevent a skin from forming.

Spinach filling

1 tbsp minced shallots or green onions (I used salted onion made by Paul and his mom and omitted the salt)

2 tbsp butter

1½ cups blanched chopped spinach (next time I would use more)

¼ tsp salt

Cook the shallots or onions in butter for a moment in an enameled saucepan. Add spinach and salt, and stir over moderately high heat for 2 to 3 minutes to evaporate moisture. Stir in ½ to 2/3 cup of the cheese sauce. Cover and simmer slowly for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Correct seasoning and set aside.

Cheese and mushroom filling

1 cup cottage cheese or 8 ounces cream cheese

Salt and pepper

1 egg

¼ lb. (1 cup) minced mushrooms (next time I would double or triple but I love mushrooms)

1 tbsp minced shallots or green onions (again I used salted onion)

1 tbsp butter

½ tbsp oil (I omitted the oil)

3 tbsp grated cheese

½ tbsp butter (I omitted the butter)

Mash the cheese in a mixing bowl with the seasonings. Beat in 1/3 to ½ cup of the cheese sauce, and the egg.

Sauté the mushrooms and shallots in butter and oil for 5 to 6 minutes in a skillet. Stir them into the cheese mixture, and correct seasoning.

Forming the mound
(This is where I deviated from Julia)

Julia says: Butter the baking dish, and center a crêpe in the bottom. Spread it with a layer of cheese and mushroom filling. Press a crêpe on top and spread it with a layer of spinach filling. Continue with alternating layers of crêpes and filling, ending with a crêpe. Pour the remaining cheese sauce over the top and sides of the mound. Sprinkle with the 3 tablespoons of cheese and dot with 3 or 4 pea-sized bits of butter. Set aside.

Cover the bottom of a lightly buttered spring-form pan with crepes (I used 3). Then, alternate layers of mushroom, spinach, cheese sauce and crepes until spinach and mushroom mixtures are finished and a little less than 1½ cups of cheese sauce remains. (For some layers I cut the crepes to fit.) Mine ended up looking more like a cake than a mound. Finish with a layer of crepes, top with remaining cheese sauce. Sprinkle with remaining Swiss cheese.

Baking
About 25 to 30 minutes before serving time, place in upper third of a preheated 350-degree oven to heat through thoroughly and brown the top lightly. Remove from spring-form pan. To serve, cut in pie-shaped wedges.

Baked Custard with a Canadian Twist

2009-09-30T15:43:00.001-04:00

One of the things I have been enjoying about Isabelle’s new school is the good food. For Isabelle's class each day one family is in charge of bringing a snack for everyone. Just after school started we received our assignments for the first part of the year which for me included cereal and milk, yogurt, bread and jam and, today’s challenge, creme. My first task was to find out what was meant by creme – which includes baked custard, creme caramel, creme brulee etc. So off I went to our favorite cookbook, Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. I made a few changes to his recipe but I think it turned out pretty well.

Baked Custard

2 cups	heavy cream, light cream or milk	I used 1c skim milk and 1c half and half
½ tsp each	cinnamon, ground and nutmeg, ground	I substituted 1 tsp vanilla
2	eggs
2	egg yolks
½ cup	sugar
pinch	salt
		about 6 tsp maple syrup

1. Place milk/cream in a small saucepan with the vanilla and turn the heat to medium. Cook just until it begins to steam.

2. Use a whisk or electric mixer to beat the eggs and yolks with the salt and sugar until pale yellow and fairly thick.

3. Preheat the oven to 300 F and set a kettle of water to boil.

4. Add the cream gradually to the egg mixture, stirring constantly.

5. Put about 1 tsp maple syrup into each of six 4-6 oz custard cups.

6. Pour the custard mixture over the maple syrup.

7. Place the bowl or cups in a baking pan and pour hot water in, to within about 1 inch of the top of the bowl or cups. Bake until the mixture is not quite set – it should wobble just a little in the middle – about 30 minutes (mine took closer to 50 mins) Use your judgment; cream sets up faster than milk.

“I love spinach!”

2009-08-31T20:35:00.001-04:00

How many five year olds do you know who think this? Some of you know how lucky we are with Isabelle and food. The only concern we have had since discovering she wasn’t crazy about pureed food is that perhaps she eats too much.

Tonight’s supper was to be steak, potato and a salad except that we didn’t have any lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, or cucumber only carrots, broccoli and spinach. Isabelle said that was fine and as fast as I could put spinach leaves on her plate she gobbled them up, she couldn’t even wait until I got the plate on the table.

So, here is my little Popeye. She got a camera for her birthday so she has had great fun playing with it! Thanks P & S!

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Isabelle’s Songs

2009-08-29T16:43:00.002-04:00

Here are videos of Isabelle’s French and English songs which were in her cahiers this week.

Premiere Semaine de l’Ecole

2009-08-28T20:53:00.001-04:00

Isabelle has just finished her first week at the Bilingual School. She seems to enjoy school, wanting to go everyday with not even a hint of hesitation.

She is in a class of eight – 2 girls and 6 boys. Having that many boys around will be a big change for Isabelle. From our public health group and her first babysitter to Apple Tree Landing and Montessori, girls have always far outnumbered the boys. On Tuesday, I took cupcakes in for her birthday and the teachers, very kindly, took a few pictures for me: Last night, there was a school meeting, in French. I followed most of it and Paul was there so he got all of it. One of the things the parents do in the school is help with the library and read with the students in our native language so I have asked to do that. The challenge will be next week when he is away and I have to go to another meeting with her teachers without him. Luckily, I have a good friend whose daughter is a year ahead of Isabelle who will be there.

Today, she brought home her new cahiers: a small one in French for comptines, chansons, poesies; a small one in English for songs and poems and a large cahier de classe, complete with work! Isabelle is very proud of her decoration of the covers of the smaller books. She sang the two songs to me today but Paul has our good camera so I couldn’t get a video of her singing them. Here are some pictures of her work this week:


	A Funny Picture of the Playground

	Isabelle and Papa with a flower they saw but didn't pick because it was in the woods. (we talked a lot this summer about leaving flowers where they belong)

This is a connect the dots exercise.	Colour by numbers – Can you see the picture? Also, see the assessment of her work on the right.
A story they read this week.

Starting next week Isabelle will be going to the YMCA with the school for Phys Ed. The school does not have a uniform except for Phys Ed when she has to wear the school shirt. They were on sale today, so she was proudly sporting it this afternoon.

Birthday Party at The Glazing Pot

2009-08-24T11:23:00.002-04:00

This is a big week for Isabelle. We had her birthday party yesterday, first day of school is today and her birthday is tomorrow, plus she has gymnastics tomorrow. If she doesn’t sleep well with all that going on, we are in big trouble!

After a lot of discussions, we finally settled on a location for a birthday party. On one of our rainy days in Wolfville, Hayley, Mona, Isabelle and I went to the Clayground in Wolfville. Since Isabelle really seemed to enjoy it and there is a similar place pretty close to our house we decided on a “Paint Your Own Pottery” party.

Isabelle had made the invitations with Tante Rhea so all Paul had to do was stick in the details, address the envelopes and put them in the mail. In an effort to keep things simple and healthy, we made veggie trays and fruit trays and, of course, a cake. The specifications for a cake were: chocolate and flowers.

The first try on the cake Paul wanted to make a piggy bank since that was what the girls would be painting at the party. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite figure out the architecture of what he wanted without having to carve it out. Then we decided on a simple two layer round cake but the icing went all funny – it tasted fine, it just looked grainy. The next day, I borrowed a flower-shaped pan from a neighbour and made another cake. We decorated it using some hints from Tante Rhea – but next time we want to do a fancy cake we may have to import her! Good thing I started baking on Friday! Paul took some cake to work today but we still have a whole layer left, which is what wouldn’t fit in the borrowed cake pan. I love this chocolate cake recipe - it is so easy and yummy – well, it is chocolate! I have tried the icing too but for a kid’s party it seemed like too much chocolate.

The Glazing Pot was a great place to have the party. We paid a little extra to have them open on Sunday so we could have the place to ourselves and with all the parents and a few siblings in tow it was worth it! The girls painted their pigs for about an hour which left lots of time to eat, have cake, open presents and visit some more. The youngest guests were four and a few were already six, I don’t think it would be good for younger children but I could see older ones working on their project for much longer than these girls did. The staff was great – very helpful and accommodating - they have definitely done this before which made things easier for us. I hope everyone had fun, Isabelle certainly did!

Off to School

2009-08-24T10:20:00.002-04:00

Today is Isabelle’s first day of school! Last night, Paul and I labeled her school supplies and Isabelle decided what she was going to wear for her first day. Paul had arranged to go to work late so he could come with us, so he woke her up this morning. She was a little groggy but got dressed and ate her cereal and strawberries pretty quickly. This meant we left a little earlier than I had planned. After exploring the neighbourhoods around her school, we arrived. The other children and parents were gathering behind the school, Isabelle and the other children played on the playground until the bell. The children were then called to their classrooms – higher grades first until all that were left were the Primary (Grande Section) and Grade 1 (Cours Préparatoire) classes. By my quick count, there are seven in Isabelle’s class – 5 boys and 2 girls – but the children from both classes were bunched together so I may be wrong. Then, they were off and the parents were invited to have coffee to meet some of the other parents. We didn’t stay for long since Paul had to get to work but I expect I will have another chance this afternoon when I pick her up.

Now, what to do with the rest of my day??

Where to start??

2009-08-22T14:39:00.007-04:00

We had a great summer – lots of time in Nova Scotia visiting with friends and family – and even though the weather was pretty lousy it didn’t matter.

We started with a mad dash from Greenville to Connecticut. A 14 hour drive which Isabelle handled like a pro – we couldn’t have asked for an easier drive. The aim was to be able to spend some time with Rhea, Jon and cousin Sam and it was well worth it. Besides having a good visit, Tante Rhea and Isabelle made birthday invites and Isabelle entertained Sam.

From CT, we drove to Portland, ME (with a quick side trip to see July 4th in Freeport) to catch the ferry to Yarmouth. This was our 4th trip on the Cat and I have to say it is great for us - a whole day of driving is cut off and Isabelle is entertained the whole way. I have heard lots of stories of people being seasick but we have never had a problem.

We had a couple of nights in Saulnierville complete with walks on the beach, a bonfire and steamed clams and some shopping at Frenchy’s. The tables at all the Frenchy’s were a little bare, I wonder if the sources are drying up because of the recession?

Then it was off to the Valley for a few nights with friends – thanks to Mona and Graham for having us and for letting us invite a few more friends for dinner! While Paul put in some time in Waterville, Isabelle, Maggie and I hung out, enjoyed the view of the valley and went to the library and playground just like the old days!

After the Valley we went to Halifax to visit with Mum and Dad. Paul got in a paddling trip while I hit the farmers’ market (101 vendors, how about that Greenville??) and some of my favorite old haunts – JWD, Woozles, Bookmark (I had to save Schooner for another day) and, of course, Point Pleasant Park.

We put Paul on a plane back to SC and went to Cape Breton – see my previous blog entry.

After Cape Breton, we were back in Halifax and Chester. We had a beautiful day in Chester – thanks to L & G for letting us land on you, the BBQ was great! Also, thanks to S & J for taking Isabelle to her 2nd parade of the vacation. Also, by the time we got back from CB, Stephanie was home from England. Have I mentioned – Happiness is…Aunt Stephanie!

Next was three nights at Milford House. Year 36 for me, year 8 for Maggie and year 5 for Isabelle. It was quieter than last year with just the three of us in ‘Little’ cabin but Taryn arrived for two nights which gave us a good chance to visit. The water was really high, every year I try to take a picture of the same rock and after several years of being mostly above water at the beginning of July, this year it was almost under water at the beginning of August.

I think the best time to take pictures at Milford is early in the morning. On our last morning I got up early to sit on the dock with my camera and Maggie decided to join me. After a while, there was a flurry of activity around the point and out came six mergansers. With her poor hearing and sight, Maggie didn’t really pay much attention which was probably better for everyone!

As always it was hard to leave Milford but I had to meet Paul’s parents in Joggin Bridge (near Digby) since Isabelle was going to stay with them for a week. I meandered back along the #1 stopping here and there before dropping Maggie off with Ella at Happy Valley Kennels. I have to say it again – Ella is wonderful, she is one of the main things we miss from home. Especially now with Maggie’s arthritis and separation anxiety, it is good to know that there is someone around day and night.

Leaving Maggie at Ella’s meant that when I picked Paul up the next morning we were on our own for the weekend. As you can read in his blog, it gave us the chance to tromp around Halifax and browse in stores rather than be rushed by Isabelle or knowing Maggie was in the car. We also got to fly kites at Citadel Hall…Stephanie bought one for Paul and we bought one for Dad the the third is an old one of Dad’s. Stephanie managed to catch all three in flight - the orange one is only about 3 inches tall! Paul had meetings in Waterville so I tagged along to pick up Maggie, visit friends, browse at The Odd Book, and generally try to relax before the big trip home. Taryn had us over for dinner which, as usual, was perfect.

Wednesday morning we headed back to Saulnierville. Isabelle had spent the night with her cousins in Carlton so we didn’t rush along leaving us time to check out a few more Frenchy’s on the way. Dinner that night was at Chez Christophe – scallops and fish for me. I should be growing gills after all the seafood I ate in Nova Scotia! While she was in Saulnierville, it was the Festival de Clare so she got to see another parade (for those of you counting that was #3) as well go to the church picnic where, after getting a hole in one, she won her newest favorite companion – a stuffed dog. Looks like Peter may have a golfing partner!

On Friday we spent some time in Carleton and then caught the ferry to Portland. For the first time in my experience, the ferry was packed, lots of kids and they ran out of of some food but we had brought our own picnic of maple smoked salmon, crackers and cheese.

The trip home wasn’t as easy as the trip up, We were all tired and there was a lot of traffic on the roads especially in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. We had a night in Portland, ME and another in Harrisburg, PA but I think next time we will try not to travel on a weekend. It was definitely good to get home on Sunday night.

Birthdays

2009-07-31T09:43:00.002-04:00

As some of you know, Isabelle will be celebrating her 5th birthday at the end of August so Paul and I have been discussing what to do for her party. Let me begin by saying that birthday parties are on a whole different level in Greenville, the hot dogs and hamburgers with a few games in the backyard just doesn’t seem to be done here. Also, guidelines like inviting the kids whose parties Isabelle was invited to or only as many guests as she is old don’t seem to be the norm here either.

Since Isabelle’s birthday is in the summer, we have done different things – family at home for #1, family at Oaklawn Farm Zoo for #2, a kayak trip and camping with friends for #3, and last year Paul and I took her on an overnight trip to Columbia, SC to visit the Children’s Museum and Riverbanks Zoo. We also try et the three amigos whose birthdays are within 2 weeks together. In other words, we avoided the whole thing.

In the last year, Isabelle has been to several birthday parties at bouncy play places, horse riding parks, and a private kids party space complete with dress-up clothes, video games and ball room. Isabelle had so much fun at every party that each week she seems to want to do something different for her birthday. When we started looking into the options, by the time we figured in the cost of the facility plus food, cake and loot bags we were looking at a significant investment. I read some comments on an internet forum about people spending the better part of $1000 on a first birthday party. Maybe I am too practical but the way I figure it in 18 years that $1000 could go a long way towards a year a college.

In the past, Isabelle has chosen veggies over cake, yes I have witnesses. So, one thing I did want to do was to bring/choose our own food/cake so that I could serve things Isabelle likes but most places either provide food, usually pizza, or restrict it to only dry things i.e. chips.

We finally decided on venue and guest list, Isabelle knows what they are doing but I don’t think it has sunk in entirely. Check back in a few weeks to see what we decided. Now, what will we put in the loot bags???

Let’s go to Cape Breton

2009-07-29T16:28:00.002-04:00

We are winding up our time in Cape Breton – the weather for the first part of our stay wasn’t the best but the last couple of days have been gorgeous. Mum and Dad were with us for a bit – which gave Dad a chance to go fishing. Isabelle wanted to try her hand at it after he came home with this trout: We also were here for the Whycocomagh Summer Festival which was lots of fun. This year the community really tried to revitalize the festival and did they ever succeed! With waterfront activities, a Teddy Bears Picnic, a parade and a fair at the campground, Isabelle has been talking about nothing else since. Hopefully, we will be back for next year’s festival. On the rainy days, Mom and I worked on the hardest jigsaw either of us had ever done – we even had to break her cardinal rule of not looking at the picture. It took a week but we finished it! Between rainy days last week, we managed to get to West Mabou Beach, Cheticamp and the Highland Village in Iona. West Mabou is now a provincial park so there are more people there than when I was growing up but it is still a beautiful beach. Unfortunately, even the “warmest water north of the Carolinas” was pretty cold. We had a clear day for our drive to Cheticamp, but a little chilly. We had lunch at the Co-op Artisanale – fricot for Isabelle, chicken stew for me. Isabelle watched the ladies hooking rugs and even tried it but it was too fine for her, and me too.Fridays mornings in Iona they have a program for 5 to 10 year olds so Isabelle played some traditional games, learned a little Gaelic and visited the animals including Mira Jean the horse. She has also been taking a few pictures which she seems to enjoy and shows that I actually was there for some of our adventures! She also got to see the Malagawatch Church which she knows from the stories of the mice. Since Sunday we have had a houseguest. Dawn arrived and brought the sun so Monday we went to the Red Shoe Pub in Mabou and then back to West Mabou Beach. The beach was pretty windy but Maggie didn’t seem to mind having the wind in her ears. Tuesday, we went to Whale Cove Beach (I meant to go to Chimney Corner but missed the turn-off) and then to visit friends in Margaree. Although it was cool in the morning, the afternoon was warm and we had lots of sun. Dawn has a great camera so some of these pictures are from it. Both Isabelle and Maggie have really enjoyed Dawn’s visit – as can be seen in the pictures! Dawn was out early this morning taking some neat pictures of the house in Whycocomagh. I’m already looking forward to next year!

Girl’s Night Out

2009-07-19T23:26:00.002-04:00

Since we are home in Nova Scotia, I thought I would see who we could see while we are home – funny, some of our favorite bands/singers don’t seem to have Greenville, SC on their tour schedules!

Anyway, Port Hawkesbury has a free concert series on Sunday nights called Granville Green and tonight Lennie Gallant was playing. I know Paul was disappointed that he would miss it but he promised Isabelle I would take her so off we went.

Andrew White from New Zealand opened. He was good but played perhaps a few too many instrumentals to hold Isabelle’s attention and she was ready for the main attraction. Lennie played for about two hours, I think. Songs from every album including his new one – “If We Had A Fire”. My memory isn’t good enough to give a set list but he played Peter’s Dream, Voulez-vous Danser, Pull of the Fundy Tide, Which Way Does the River Run, Man of Steel, Meet Me at the Oasis, I want to Save the World for You and 47 Angels. OK, I cheated a bit and looked at my CDs…

We stayed to the bitter end and Isabelle got him to sign the new CD for her. There were even fireworks in Mulgrave, across the Strait.

All in all, a good night, Isabelle fell asleep on the drive home. The only downside was that Maggie had to stay in the car – no dogs allowed at Granville Green :(

Isabelle

2009-07-18T21:20:00.002-04:00

It came to my attention recently that I haven’t posted any pictures of Isabelle lately so here are a few shots from 2009.

Isabelle and Hayley, July 2009

Diving for sticks, Orchard Farms Pool, July 2009

Dinner in Folly Beach, June 2009

Folly Beach, June 2009

YMCA Soccer, May 2009

Artisphere, Downtown Greenville, May 2009

‘Skin the Cat’, Greenville Gymnastics, May 2009

At Home, April 2009

Smoky Mountains, April 2009

Birthday Party, Riverbend Equestrian Park, April 2009

Climbing Wall, Pump It Up, April 2009

New Phone Number

2009-06-19T07:46:00.002-04:00

I thought it would be easy but it wasn’t. For the sake of a cheap dinner out a month and weaning the girl from her TV habit, we decided to drop cable TV and switch phone and internet carriers. I didn’t really have any issues with our carrier (although lots of people complain about Charter) but when our introductory offer expired and we were paying $35 more a month I agreed to drop cable and join Netflix.

The initial arrangements seemed easy but Thursday when I called to find out where our new modem was ATT said they hadn’t sent it because Charter hadn’t released our old phone number – Charter claimed ATT hadn’t asked for it. A good 2 hours on the phone and long story short, our cable and internet has been turned off and ATT wouldn’t be able to get us up and running with the same phone number until the 29th. I need my internet! So we agreed to get a new number which we are told will work Friday but when I asked when we would get the modem they couldn’t get one to us until the 29th! So we went out tonight and bought our own modem – now the question is will it work?? Another question…when the girl is sassy, what can I do since there is no TV to take away, or blame it on!

I have e-mailed a a bunch of people our new number, if I missed you, my apologies, send me an e-mail and I will send it to you.

Furman and Sandburg

2009-06-18T14:23:00.002-04:00

While my parents were here last month, we took a day trip to Hendersonville, NC. We picked Isabelle up at school and had a picnic at Furman University. Furman has a beautiful campus – the university is about the same size as Mount Allison. At lunch, we were joined by ducks, swans and turtles and what mum believes was Furman’s own loch ness monster. We have a fuzzy video of something flipping around the middle of the lake but we are still not sure what it was. After Furman we drove north and stopped at Carl Sandburg NHS. The Sandburgs lived at Connemara from 1945 until his death in 1967. Mrs. Sandburg raised goats so the farm is a little like Ross Farm. Their daughter planted a garden which the NPS continues to plant from her plan. The tulip trees were in bloom as well as several other flowering shrubs. I think the timing for our visit was perfect, the weather was sunny but not too warm and were pretty much had the place to ourselves.Also, there were several kids at the goat farm, these two were a few weeks old but there was another who was only a few days old. They were all very friendly and quite used to having people around.From Connemara, we went into Hendersonville, poked around the shops, had ice cream at Marble Slab Creamery and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. Hendersonville has lots of galleries, antique shops as well as a neat book store, toy store and another Mast General Store. There is always something neat to see.

A Few Pictures of Savannah

2009-06-01T18:46:00.002-04:00

Isabelle and I recently went to Savannah, Georgia for a long weekend with my parents while Paul was away on a business trip. Maggie had a holiday at a nearby by boarding kennel (she had a wonderful time by all accounts).

Savannah was great! We stayed in the historic district which was designed in 1733 with 24 squares of which 22 remain intact. The historic district was very walkable and we sure put on the miles, even Isabelle was a trooper with all the walking.

Here are a few details from around the historic district.

Back to Normal?

2009-05-04T23:27:00.002-04:00

After the trauma of last week, Maggie is recovering well although her weight was lower today than last week – but she didn’t really get her appetite back until the weekend. Today, the vet renewed some prescriptions, added glucosamine to her regimen, gave her a 3 year rabies shot and checked her thyroid function so she is good to go for another year on that front.

We had a fairly busy weekend – Isabelle went to Parents’ Night Out at the Y on Friday night so we went of for Mexican with a couple of Paul’s co-workers. Parents’ Night Out is great – we drop her off at 6 and can pick her up as late as 10. On Friday there were about 60 kids – fewer than usual with the flu fears. They play outside and in the gym, eat pizza, do crafts and generally wear themselves out. The Y has it 2 Fridays a month and it is free with our membership – definitely cheaper than a sitter!

Saturday Isabelle had soccer in the morning – she did much better than last week and seemed to have more fun – most of the time.

Sunday, we went to an event at the school Isabelle will go to next year. She will be attending the Ecole Francaise Bilingue which is run by Michelin and meets the requirements of both the South Carolinian and French education systems. As the name suggests, her days will be divided half and half in French and English. We learned on Sunday that there will be 6 or 7 students in her class.

We arrived around 10 to watch the youngest students sing Frere Jacques in 7 languages. The performances continued with skits, scenes from Ionesco and Moliere and some dance and music performances. I kept thinking of my two high school French teachers hoping what I learned 20 years ago will magically come back in the next few months so I can help Isabelle!

At noon, there was a potluck lunch – I took quiche, like many others, I am going to have to find new recipes! There were also salads and couscous, bread and cheese, cold meats etc – need I say, everything was homemade. Also homemade were the sweets, which were sold to raise money for the PTA – there was creme caramel, tartes, cookies, cakes – again, I am going to have to step up my game!

After lunch was playtime. Each child was given a card with a list of activities. Once all the activities were completed, they could claim a prize. Some of the activities were new to me – there was one where the child was blindfolded and has to follow instructions to cut a hanging candy off a string and another where they had to walk backwards through a path using a mirror to guide them. Isabelle had lots of fun meeting some of her future classmates and teachers. I am not sure who is looking forward to starting school more.

How Do You Know When to Say When?

2009-04-29T23:28:00.002-04:00

Today was a better day. Maggie slept soundly until 5 when she needed to go out. After several times in and out she settled down until Isabelle got up. The rest of the day was fairly quiet – she slept either in or out (I had to mow) most of the day. When Isabelle had swimming I had a girl from the neighbourhood stay with Maggie until Paul got home. Her appetite is better although she is not drinking a lot of water. A world of difference from Sunday.

But now we have an eleven year old dog (plus or minus since we don’t know for certain how old she is) with bad knees and hips, possibly with Cushings Disease and an unexplained GI bleed. And then there is her nose which cracks and gets infected every summer. She also finds the heat uncomfortable and has separation anxiety which seems to be increasing with age. How do we measure quality of life for one who cannot speak words?

Cushings Disease is treatable which can improve the quality of life but that may not be the best choice if the knees and hips are too bad. It is also pretty expensive to diagnose and treat.

For the last three days the answer, though difficult, has leaned towards saying when. There were times when I thought we might not even need to make the decision.

Today I know I must reevaluate but what do I consider? When am I being selfish? When am I being selfish for Isabelle?

Now that most days are in the high 70s and 80s (high 20s and 30s) I can’t leave Maggie in the car at all so that means no errands or activities during the day. She has learned how to break out of her crate and is usually distressed when we leave her at home. Tonight Isabelle asked to go swimming tomorrow – I had to say no because I can’t leave Maggie home alone and I can’t take her with us.

At the beginning of June, Maggie is booked into a kennel while we go away for a few nights – she has been there for a day before but not overnight – how will she fare when we are away and what toll will it take on her health? What about the drive home and back this summer? Is it fair to drag her all that way?

Yesterday, while Maggie was at the vet, I did errands – got the oil changed, took Isabelle out for lunch, bought a new bathing suit, got a present for a birthday party for Isabelle, had my hair cut and shopped for a swim cover-up for Isabelle (why are they all white???). Not once did I have to hurry Isabelle up because Maggie was waiting for us either in the car or at home. I didn’t have to check for messes in the house (there haven’t been any but I always worry). I knew Maggie was safe and well cared for where she was and it took the pressure off. It was a great afternoon – the trip to Columbia was good too, Maggie was at a kennel for the day.

Saying this makes me feel very selfish after all we chose to get a dog knowing this day would come. Despite all her peculiarities, Maggie has been the most wonderful dog – especially with Isabelle. For now we will take things day by day assessing her pain and quality of life as well as working toward having her stay home alone for a couple hours at a time without me having to worry too much about her safety this will enable me to get Isabelle to gymnastics, swim practice or just run to the grocery store.

The Trials and Tribulations of Maggie – Part II

2009-04-28T22:08:00.002-04:00

It has been a rough week here – last Thursday when I got Maggie out of the car she couldn’t put any weight on her back right leg – the same one she had surgery on a few years ago. It was very sudden – I couldn’t think of what might have caused it. We hadn’t had any big walks, she hadn’t fallen, she hadn’t even gone off to the field next door recently.

When we went to the vet, she found Maggie’s hips and knees were both painful but didn’t think she had blown the knee again. She prescribed an anti-inflammatory and a pain killer and since said she would recheck in a week. She suggested limiting stairs and avoiding areas where Maggie might slip – i.e. hardwood floors.

Friday and Saturday Maggie seemed more comfortable, although a little perturbed by being carried up and down stairs. By Saturday night things started to go downhill, she was up several times in the night (thank you Paul) and by Sunday morning she had diarrhea. She spent most of Sunday in the backyard.

Since Paul has a busy week this week we decided that I would sleep downstairs with Maggie. She was in and out all night and otherwise restless and uncomfortable. She hadn’t eaten and wasn’t drinking much water. I know by midnight the diarrhea was bloody and may have been before that and it worsened the rest of the night.

Monday morning I took Maggie to the vet who was expecting me. I asked to them to weigh her – she had lost 4 pounds since Thursday. Within a half hour the vet called to give me a run down on her plan of action, besides putting Maggie on an IV with meds to address the pain and GI issues, she wanted to run the usual blood work and if this showed nothing she would do an x-ray of her belly. She also wanted to see a significant drop in her heart rate which was 160. Those of you who have pets should now see several dollar signs!

The blood work showed nothing too unusual except for one elevated liver enzyme. The x-ray showed that her liver is enlarged. The vet thinks these two abnormalities may be symptoms of Cushings Disease; however, that does not account for the GI bleed nor could the vet pinpoint what caused it except that it could have been a reaction to one of the new meds.

Our vet does not keep animals overnight – so if Maggie was too sick to come home, we would have to take her to the Animal Emergency Clinic for the night and return her to our vet in the morning. Luckily, our vet felt with her heart rate down to 120, she was OK to go home.

So we took her home, well doped up, with few instruction except to keep her quiet and watch for any vomiting or panting. When I brought her in the house, she walked the twenty feet from the front door to the great room, collapsed and fell asleep. When Paul and Isabelle came in the door ten minutes later she raised her head for a moment and then went back to sleep.

That was pretty much the story of the night – she didn’t eat, she didn’t drink, she didn’t want to go out, she didn't move until Paul carried her upstairs at 10. At 3 Paul woke me to tell me she had turned over – she slept through until almost 8 when I carried her downstairs. She still had no interest in food although she a had little PB. After taking Isabelle to school, I took Maggie back to the vet for a day of observation.

Today, the vet wanted to see if Maggie would eat and drink enough to take out the IV catheter and also see if there were still GI issues. Maggie had a little canned food and water and was generally more alert than yesterday (not necessarily saying a lot there) and was sent home this afternoon with another appointment on Monday.

Although more alert than yesterday, Maggie has slept most of the evening. She ate a little dinner with gusto (canned food) but the water intake is not great.

We will see what tonight and tomorrow bring…

Water Levels

2009-04-26T08:37:00.002-04:00

There is a severe drought here in the Upstate which has been alleviated a bit the month with some steady rain. Last summer some lakes in the area were almost 20 feet below normal but now they are 7 or 8 feet low.

The other week we went to Paris Mountain State Park so Paul could try some kayaks and we did the walk around the lake. It was interesting to see the difference from when Isabelle and I were there in the fall.

October 2008
April 2009

Spring Break Part IV

2009-04-23T23:49:00.002-04:00

While I wasn’t thrilled with Gatlinburg, the park itself was beautiful. The first day we didn't see very much because of the thick fog but we made a stop at a working mill (see Paul’s blog) and saw some elk. In 2001 and 2002, about 50 elk were reintroduced to the park so I was surprised to see them. On the way back on Sunday, the weather was perfect – very clear and not too cool. It the park literature there is a lot of information about air pollution and how it has affected the views in the park but on our trip there was very little evidence of that.

One thing that was recommended as a must see was the Roaring Fork Nature Trail. While it is only 5 miles long with frequent stops and a narrow, slow road it takes about a hour to go around. There is a guidebook which explains the different areas through which the trail passes. Part of the trail is an old cart path which connected the community of Roaring Fork to Gatlinburg and some of the homes and outbuildings have been preserved.

The woods were filled with trilliums and deer but no bears despite all of the warnings. The rest of the drive was all about big views – there are lots of trails throughout the park but for the most part we just aren’t there yet and sometimes even the shortest walk can take a lot of convincing so we figured we would just go for the big one – Clingmans Dome.
Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the park and there is a 1/2 mile trail uphill to an observation tower. Did I mention uphill? Well, it is a 300 foot climb and it is crowded. There are lots of benches on the way up and, luckily, we have a 4 year old who is going through a shy spell. When she thought she was too tired we said she could rest at the next bench – inevitably the next bench was taken and she wasn’t about to share so we said to walk to the next one – this got us up the hill!
Near the top, the trail to the tower joins the Appalachian Trail, so now we can say we have hiked a little bit of the AT – who knows, maybe it will lead to more. These hikers were resting below the observation tower – drying out socks, attending to blisters etc. I heard them say they had been on the trail about 3 weeks heading north.The walk down was much easier and Isabelle practically ran down – chasing our shadows most of the way. She even decided she was having fun.

Spring Break Part III

2009-04-22T22:24:00.003-04:00

So that we could say we had been somewhere for spring break, I suggested that we drive to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It is just far enough away to make it an overnight trip so we packed a bag, picnic lunch, some travel info and headed for the mountains.

As usual, the drive took longer than we expected since we stopped at REI and Diamond Brand Outdoors near Asheville. We had planned to have lunch somewhere along the Blue Ridge Parkway which we did but not a far along as we had hoped. In the end it didn’t really matter. The weather wasn’t great – lots of fog, drizzle and cool weather. Definitely not picnic weather.

One unfortunate thing about the park is that only two trails are dog-friendly – one at each main entrance. So we stopped at the southern entrance to give Maggie a walk and stretch our legs. There is a small reconstructed farm near the visitor centre – it made Ross Farm look palatial. A park ranger gave us some travel advice – things not to miss and we were on our way.

Since the mountains were foggy and it was getting late in the day we decided to drive straight across with almost no stops and find somewhere to stay for the night.

And that is how we found ourselves staying in Gatlinburg, TN. Some people compare it to Myrtle Beach, SC or Branson, MO but since we haven’t been to either we weren’t quite sure what to expect.

Well, imagine driving along the Cabot Trail and down into Cheticamp but instead of working wharves, houses and small local restaurants, shops and museums there are (inter)national chain restaurants, Guinness World Record, Ripley’s and wax museums, arcades, mini-golf and more “get your picture taken period costume” studios than you have ever seen packed onto one street so tightly that a fire in 1992 cleared a full block. One area is built to resemble an English village with tiny shops around a central courtyard

It was fairly busy on the holiday weekend but I kept thinking – it must be awful in July and August with the heat and crowds – the Smokies are the most visited national park in the US with over 9 million visitors a year.

These pictures don’t do it justice and as touristy as it is – you just have to see it to believe it. The next morning we drove on to Pigeon Forge – home of Dollywood – just to see it. It is much the same except instead of a narrow street it is a six lane highway and there are a lot of go-cart tracks.

Then we headed home, back through the mountains.

Looking toward the park along the main street of Gatlinburg.

Lots of seating areas for the shoppers.

Restaurant where we had dinner.

Isabelle in the “English Village”

The Village

Amusements in Pigeon Forge

Go-Cart track in Pigeon Forge

Pigeon Forge – main drag looking towards the Smokies. In the summer and for fall colours the traffic is bumper to bumper.

Driving back into Gatlinburg from Pigeon Forge – all the street lights are numbered – makes it easy to give directions.

More Gatlinburg – including the Hard Rock Cafe
Aquarium in Gatlinburg – we didn’t go.
Lots of little pedestrian pathways to more stores and restaurants. It was very walkable.

One of the Ripleys and the bottom of the Space Needle.

Spring Break Part II

2009-04-20T20:59:00.003-04:00

I have been looking forward to visiting Columbia again since I heard that there was to be a visiting exhibition of Impressionist Art – From Turner to Cezanne. Greenville has a wonderful art gallery with a big collection of Andrew Wyeth. Isabelle has enjoyed a few visits there so I thought she might also enjoy the Impressionists.

She wasn’t really keen on going to the exhibit but with the promise of lunch out and a trip to the zoo to see the baby giraffe she, reluctantly, agreed to the trip.

Finding the gallery and, more importantly, a parking spot was easy and by 11am we were entering the gallery. The paintings on display are part of the collection of Gwendoline and Margaret Davies which is in the National Museum Wales. With 53 paintings, the exhibit was small enough to hold Isabelle’s attention. She was enthralled with the “lady in the blue dress”. There were also a few paintings of Venice and we talked about the canals and gondolas which I think was interesting for her.

After about an hour and a half at the gallery (there was a reading area about halfway through including some children’s books), we were off to find lunch. Isabelle’s choice was Roly Poly, she heard someone talking about it. She wasn’t thrilled with her grilled cheese but would have demolished my Chicken CordonBleu (Sliced Chicken Breast, Baked Ham, Melted Swiss, Mushrooms, Tomato, Fresh Basil Mayo) if I had given her the chance. Yet, another place where her taste is beyond the basic kid’s menu!

Next, it was off to the zoo. We read about a baby giraffe a few weeks ago and Isabelle has been asking to go ever since. It was a beautiful day and we weren’t alone at the zoo. There were long lines for pony and train rides and the giraffe feeding was long over but we could see the gorillas better and the lions were awake, just barely.

And we saw the giraffe! Mission accomplished. A quick ride on the merry-go-round and home to Greenville in time for dinner.

Spring Break Part I

2009-04-14T22:47:00.002-04:00

Last week was spring break for Isabelle. The start of the week was quiet and the weather cool. Paul was off Monday, we had play dates on Tuesday and Wednesday and mostly stayed close to home.

I wanted to go to Columbia one day (see Part II) which was dictated by the availability of doggie daycare so that was set for Friday. Thursday morning we headed to the dog park to give Maggie a good run so we could leave her home in the afternoon while we went for haircuts. Unfortunately our usual place was booked (I hadn’t counted on all the people getting their hair cut before Easter weekend), so we headed down Woodruff Road. Now, let me assure you that there are no shortage of hair salons here – for men, for women, the spa style salons and the quick, no-appointment needed places. For some reason I decided to take Isabelle to a kid’s place, the first one we came to was Snip Its.

Well, Isabelle must have thought she’d died and gone to heaven. It was bright and cheerful with books and crayons and a movie playing in the waiting area. I wondered if it was all gimmick but was thrilled to see that Isabelle’s stylist had very curly hair,if nothing else, she would know how to deal with Isabelle’s curly locks.

Isabelle played a computer game while she had her hair cut and was rewarded with a prize when the cut was finished.

As you can see below, it was a successful haircut. Isabelle had her hair washed, cut and styled, complete with a new clip. The stylist could tell Isabelle's hair was very dry - partly since she spends a lot of time in the pool and made some shampoo and conditioner recommendations (bye-bye, Johnson's no-more-tears). All in all, it was definitely the best cut she has had in SC and maybe even the best ever.

BeforeAfter

Another Snow Day

2009-03-02T21:00:00.002-05:00

As of 8:20pm, Isabelle’s school has been cancelled for Tuesday. So early night here so I can keep her busy tomorrow. Today was a good day, Isabelle was up and dressed to go outside before I could drag myself out of bed. She even got herself yogurt for breakfast! Then we went off to the ball field in the subdivision where everyone was sliding on the berm. After three runs (not even equal to one run down Gorsebrook or Berger Hill), she was wet and cold and ready to go home.

This afternoon she spent quite a while out front with the older girls who were negotiating the rules of engagement for a snow ball fight. Lots of rules – not many snowballs.

She did have her swim lesson this afternoon. All and all we had a pretty tired girl on our hands tonight.

Plans for tomorrow – maybe some baking, maybe a trip to the pool, maybe a trip to the library, maybe Maggie will get to the dog park – it will all depend on the state of the roads.

Snow Day

2009-03-01T23:53:00.003-05:00

By 8:30 tonight, Isabelle’s school was listed on the local source for school cancellations. So, after three rainy days, Isabelle, Maggie and I will be home again tomorrow.

Why you ask? Well, this is what the back deck looked like just moments ago.OK, nothing like the winter Nova Scotia has had so far but enough for us to get out the sleds and try to building snowmen!

Lincoln – A Four Year Old’s View

2009-03-01T23:46:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago Isabelle had a long weekend with President’s Day on Monday and a day off on Friday since she didn’t have school cancelled due to snow/ice. On Friday, we went to Charlotte, NC and visited the Discovery Place. A large portion of the building was closed for construction but there was a display about circuses which was apt since we had just seen the circus in Greenville. You could even walk the high wire and go on a trapeze although Isabelle was to small and neither Paul nor I ventured to try it.

President’s Day coincides with Lincoln’s birthday (did you know he was born the same year as Darwin?) and Isabelle learned about Lincoln in school. And it must have stuck, one day we were listening to a radio piece about Lincoln and Darwin and Isabelle piped up that Lincoln stopped slavery. I asked her what slavery was but she didn’t have a grasp of that. She did say that some people wanted slavery and some didn’t. We asked what happened to people who didn’t – she said they had to move away which is an interesting interpretation of secession.

This week she learned about George Washington…now I guess I have to work on some Canadian content…should I start with the alcoholic MacDonald or the occult loving MacKenzie King?

Zing Zang

2009-02-23T00:06:00.001-05:00

ZOOM!

We decided to take Isabelle to the circus. As Paul gets into in his post, we know there are many arguments against circuses; however, we felt it was an experience for Isabelle. I was also unsure whether she would like it since, in the past, she has shown an aversion to animals and loud noises. Well, I think she found the animals were at a safe distance and the noise was fun.

Here, for the record are some pictures of what Isabelle saw at the circus:

The Results are in!

2009-02-21T18:45:00.002-05:00

I was in two seminars yesterday which convinced me my exhibit would get a bronze or maybe a silver-bronze. As a two frame exhibit, it has gotten a silver but I wasn’t sure how it would do as a single frame.

So, it got a Silver again. I am pleased I didn’t get something lower and not surprised I didn’t get any higher.

MMMMmmmmm, steak

2009-02-21T10:12:00.002-05:00

I arrived in Texas with no issues (ok, a little late). It was a great flight with clear skies the whole way. I took a few pictures from the plane, I think this is the Mississippi around Greenville, MS, on the Arkansas border.This is likely all I will get to see of Dallas since the show is actually in Arlington and my days are just packed here.

The stamp show is great – I even have found a few Nova Scotia items for my collection and some familiar faces. Today I find out how my exhibit did.

Last night a group of us went to dinner – the proposal was steak, the recommendation was Saltgrass. It was perfect – I started with a spinach salad and had Pat’s Ribeye with grilled asparagus. I wasn’t sure if I could eat 12 oz of steak but that wasn’t a problem, it was so good.

Well, back to the show, I made it to about 1/3 of the dealers yesterday so lots of work today!

Texas Bound

2009-02-19T09:51:00.002-05:00

I am sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to Dallas, Texas! I am excited! Granted, I am not going to see a lot of Texas. I am off to AmeriStamp Expo so will likely spend most of my weekend at the stamp show. Plus, I am going to be Arlington which sounds like it is just the strip between Dallas and Fort Worth so I could probably be just about anywhere in urban America.

So why am I going to this show? Well, after the show in Atlanta in the fall, I was invited to put together a one-frame exhibit (16-8.5x11 pages) as part of a team. Over the last few months, I have redone my Milford House postcard exhibit to fit in one frame. It was hard since even as I put the exhibit together I found a card from 1902 predating my former earliest card by 2 years.

My teammates are members of a group called “Women Exhibitors” (WE) which is focused on encouraging more women collectors to exhibit. The name of our team – Not Grumpy Old Men.

Last weekend, we were at a friend’s house and I was asked about my collection – the usual why and what do I collect. I gave a short answer, not wanting to bore my audience but Paul kept adding things in – I am really lucky he is so supportive of my odd hobby.

Oh, and don’t worry the crowd at home will do fine without me for a few days – it may be a much needed change for everyone!

Music

2009-02-11T20:43:00.004-05:00

I spend a fair amount of time in the car – dropping off, picking up… In the mornings driving Isabelle to school, I listen to NPR, it’s not Liz and Don and there is no weather forecast but at least I get some news. Plus, there is the Radio Reader, who for the first time since arriving here is reading a book which does not involve – cannibalism, plane crashes, Alzheimer's or terminal cancer. Other than that I stick with one station, except when they started playing Christmas music 24/7 on November 1! It is not a great station – nothing new or noteworthy but reasonable, and the 80s at non is fun with Isabelle “Mummy, who taught you that song?”. I noticed a while ago that I was hearing a fair amount of Canadian music, before Christmas – when I decided I was ready to hear Christmas music - Anne Murray was getting a crazy amount of airplay, who know she had put out some many Christmas songs.

I decided to do an informal survey. It is pretty limited but so are the times I spend listening. Also, this is what I recognize as being Canadian, there may be others I don’t pick up on because I don’t recognize the song or someone is chattering in the backseat! So, this is what I heard in the last week:

Tuesday
10:11am	Bryan Adams, Please Forgive Me
11:37am	Nickelback, Far Away
11:46am	Bryan Adams, Heaven
11:57am	Michael Buble, Lost
Thursday
10:30am	Carrie Underwood, Jesus Take the Wheel (written by Gordie Sampson)
12:04pm	Bryan Adams, Cuts Like a Knife
1:02pm	Nickelback, Far Away
Friday
12:05	Bryan Adams, Run To You
Monday
5:58pm	Sarah McLachlan, I will Remember You
Tuesday
8:55am	Bryan Adams, Please Forgive Me
Wednesday
9:10am	Avril Lavigne, Complicated
10:44am	Nickelback, Far Away
4:57pm	Alannah Myles, Black Velvet
6:05pm	Avril Lavigne, Complicated
6:008pm	Shania Twain, Man, I Feel Like a Woman

Sugar Cookies

2009-02-05T21:32:00.003-05:00

I just finished making sugar cookie dough for Isabelle to take to school tomorrow. Several times this year a note has come home from school asking parents to sign up to bring something for a party - this time it is Valentine's Day. Each time this requests are very specific.

At Christmas, I signed up to bring cupcakes - notice I am saying 'bring' not 'make'. I was told to bring a very specific cupcake from a very specific store in a very specific colour. As you can imagine - the cake (as it turned out after several trips to said store and discussions with the teacher) was the typical supermarket cake with a pound of very sugary icing on top. Since I was only one of three parents who brought cake, there was a lot left over even after I ~~forced people to take some~~ offered it several times (as requested). Hey, Isabelle and I were leaving after the party, the teacher was the one who was going to have to deal with all those kids on a sugar high all afternoon...

So, this week when I signed up, it was fairly obvious from the words "roll of sugar cookie dough" that the teacher wanted the kind you buy in the grocery store. Since I was to bring it in a week before the party, I assume the class is going to cut out and decorate their own cookies. I said I would bring a roll of dough but that I would make it. I got the same look I got when we made muffins for her birthday and Halloween, it only muffins and cookies - it's not like I'm making some crazy cake with umpteen layers and fillings.

So maybe it will mess everything up that my dough will be different from what the others bring, but at least I know what went in it and I feel like I have done something for her class...

Did I mention the teacher wants me to come to in one day to make the muffins I made for Isabelle's birthday - a whole orange in a blender - fun with preschoolers! Now, I have to go find that recipe - wonder where I put it...

Visiting Greenville

2009-02-02T22:27:00.002-05:00

I found out today that a new IKEA is opening in Charlotte, NC. OK, I know IKEA is not everyone's favorite place to shop but we have gotten Isabelle some fun things there.

Anyway, it is often cheaper to fly into Charlotte rather than Greenville so if you are coming to visit us definitely consider Charlotte. It is about a 1.5 hour drive from our house to the airport. We have only driven through on the Interstate and meeting someone at the airport would give us an excuse to see Charlotte.

2 Four Year Olds; One Week!

2009-02-02T22:10:00.001-05:00

Shortly before Christmas, we had a visit from the Hennigars. Between Dawn's visit, the Hennigar's visit, our trip to Connecticut and my parents trip here, we actually had guests or were guests from mid-November to mid-January and it was a lot of fun. We like showing people around and it motivates us to see more of Greenville and the surrounding area.

It was great to see the girls together - they picked up just where they left off in July even without the third amigo, Sophie. Isabelle has lots of imaginary friends who travel with us and, usually, Hayley and Sophie are among them.

We had a busy week with trips to the aquarium in Atlanta, Monkey Joe's, some of the Blue Ridge in addition to Isabelle's usual schedule. By the end of the week, everyone was exhausted but also looking forward to the next visit.

One of our discoveries during their visit was take out from Bucky's BBQ. Bucky's is only about 5 minutes from our house and has great BBQ pork, ribs and chicken. The guys went out one night to get takeout and came home with a mountain of food including sides of potato salad, coleslaw, mac and cheese, baked beans, green beans, cucumber salad and sweet potatoes which lasted us two meals. I am not a fan of sweet potatoes but with that much butter, brown sugar and pecans, who could go wrong.

The requisite tub shotBunking in for the nightAt Monkey Joe'sCrafts at the aquariumIn the tunnelIn front of "the wall"Running around by the World of Coke - there was a skating rink across the street in Olympic Park - something to do next yearWe had good weather, some cool days but lots of sun

The girls at Caesars Head

Routines and being Stay-at-Home Mom

2009-02-02T10:30:00.002-05:00

I grew up with a SAHM - most of my childhood friends did. I can't imagine having grown up with bag lunches and afterschool programs but I never thought I would be a SAHM. Granted, if you asked my university friends, I never thought I would be a mom. I have never had the overwhelming desire to have a child and tend to sort of go out of my way to avoid holding other people's babies. Babies are just not my thing - confirmed, in part, by the ten tearful months after Isabelle was born - you mean that doesn't happen to everyone? And by the relief of returning to work and reclaiming some of myself.

So here I am, living in a new country as a SAHM. The key, I have found to everyone's happiness is routine. But, I think the routine is what keeps me from blogging much. I guess everything is so routine that I figure no one really cares. Plus, Paul blogs about the fun stuff so sometimes it feels like there is not much left of interest.

So, for those of you who are interested this is what our average week looks like, most days Paul leaves the house at some ungodly hour and gets home between 4:30 and 5:30:

Monday - get Isabelle up, dressed and fed and drop her at school at 8:30am; stop and get groceries, hopefully for the week, on the way home; get home and throw laundry in. Putter around until 11:30am when it is time to go and pick Isabelle up from school. Lunch and then we have a quiet afternoon doing laundry, making beds etc. and getting supper started until it is time for Isabelle's swimming lesson (this month her lessons are from 5:20 to 5:50). Home from swimming, quick supper and then it is usually just about bedtime.

Tuesday - morning usually the same except instead of laundry and groceries, I try to get to the Y. Afternoon - sometime errands with Isabelle sometimes just playing at home. The other kids on the street get home from school around 2:30pm so if it nice out she can go outside to play. Supper around 5:30 or 6 then Isabelle to bed at 7:30 or 8.

Wednesday - morning the same maybe another trip to the Y for me, afternoon quiet again, sometimes a trip to the grocery store for milk and bread, otherwise she is too tired for the swimming lesson then rush home for supper and bed.

Thursday - Isabelle to school, often a trip to the dog park for Maggie and maybe a walk through Cleveland Park. Pick-up Isabelle, then home for a quick lunch and change for gymnastics. Getting home from gymnastics isn't the best timing wise since we usually arrive home at the same time as the school bus which stops at the top of our street. Isabelle knows to be quiet when we come home so I can concentrate on not running over any children!

Friday - Morning the same - sometimes another trip to the Y for me or to the dog park if we didn't make it earlier in the week or groceries for the weekend or something else that needs to be done. By Friday afternoon, Isabelle and I are pretty bored with each other so she often is outside playing when Paul get home from work.

When I write it all down - it doesn't look very busy but as one woman told me when we first moved here - "It doesn't matter where you are going in Greenville, it takes a 1/2 hour to get there" - and she is not far off.

My sister would be appalled by the amount of time we spend in the car and when it comes right down to it so am I. But I think somewhere in the American Constitution, in the fine print under the amendment about the right to keep and bear arms, there must be a clauses about the right to drive a car, the right to not give the right of way to pedestrians or bicycles and the right for developers to not build walkable communities. Ooops, was I ranting....

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T09:26:00.004-05:00

With a dusting of snow on the ground, yes, snow, I have just dropped Isabelle at school and am plopping myself in front of the television to watch the lead up to the Inauguration. I will likely miss Obama's speech since I will being picking her up from school but we will watch the parade.

We live in one of the 22 states which did not vote for Obama - in fact, Greenville County voted 62% for McCain. There will be no parties on our street celebrating this new president. Perhaps it is just the gray weather, but I get the sense that many of my neighbours feel that life as they knew it will never be the same. I'm Canadian - things don't change that much from government to government - especially when we have 3 elections in 4 years resulting in minority governments so I find it hard to understand in some ways.

As I watch President Elect and Mrs. Obama enter the front door of the White House, I know the importance of this day for both sides comes nowhere near anything I could ever understand. Obama will be sworn in on the same bible as Lincoln, the first time that bible has been used for an inauguration since Lincoln. Lincoln's election in 1860 spurred South Carolina to be the first state to secede from the Union. Time to get to those American History books I got for Christmas!

Updates Upcoming

2008-12-21T21:38:00.000-05:00

Since the beginning of November things have been pretty much nonstop here. We have had lots of visitors, our first American election and Thanksgiving, and preparations for the first Christmas for just the four of us.

Over the next few days I hope to do a few shorter posts to fill you in on everything. Since things are pretty jumbled I may backdate a few posts so be sure to scroll down for new posts.

Successful Surgery

2008-11-18T22:38:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have been wondering, Maggie's surgery went very well. No cancer, phew, and a neat and tidy scar. It may be a while before the fur all grows in but she is doing well.

She is also adjusting to being on Thyroid medication. She is hungry a lot but otherwise seems a little perkier.

Paul took close-ups of the stitches (which were purple!) but I will post a less graphic one!

Groceries

2008-11-17T22:13:00.002-05:00

I have written about grocery shopping here before and should more in the future because it is kind of interesting - I wonder what you can learn about people simply from the food in the grocery stores. There are aisles and aisles of frozen prepared foods here...hmmm.

Anyway, there are a few grocery stores that are a little different - Whole Foods, Fresh Market and EarthFare.

Dawn took these pictures at Whole Foods when she was here. The salmon is fresh from Scotland flown into Atlanta and then driven to Greenville - nothing like eating local!

A friend in West Hants used to supply us with eggs from her farm - wonder if she will put the prices up now?

A Visit from Dawn

2008-11-17T21:45:00.002-05:00

Several years ago, I worked with Dawn at West Hants. We got to know each other over the lunch table - both our grandparents lived in Wolville; her mother grew up in Sydney, like my parents; she was involved in Guiding and the Duke of Edinburgh award program, so were Stephanie and I. After connecting all the dots, Dawn received her gold D of E award with Stephanie and my mother remembered her mother from Sydney - a lasting friendship was struck. So, since Paul was supposed to be away for my birthday and Dawn has another friend living about three hours from here, Dawn proposed a visit.

Well, in the end, Paul was home for my birthday and Dawn and I had a great visit. We didn't stray too far from Greenville except for an afternoon drive west from Asheville, NC along the Blue Ridge Parkway and a shopping trip to Gaffney. Dawn took these great photos on the Parkway - thanks for letting me post them!

We did visit the Girl Scout shops in Mauldin and Spartanburg and scored a suitcase of cookies for Dawn to take home. Did you know Girl Scouts offer eight different kinds of cookies each year? Not sure when sales start in 2009 but I hope there is a Girl Scout in my neighbourhood!

The only hiccup in Dawn trip was leaving - we had fog the night before and there was a snowstorm in New England the Saturday she was leaving so there was no way she could make her connection. It meant a long day for her the next day but Isabelle and I really enjoyed having her an extra night since Paul left for Ireland on Saturday - no problems with his flights.

The Trials and Tribulations of Maggie

2008-10-29T21:06:00.006-04:00

OK, I have been fooling myself - or she has been fooling me...

Maggie has not adjusted well. The boarding kennels here are about as much like our beloved "Happy Valley Kennels" as the Super 8 is like the Marriott. Resulting in only a couple of stays for her - I don't think she is mistreated in any way but there was something comforting in knowing that Ella was only 100 feet away. (OK, that she was invited in for chips and movies was nice too, says Maggie)

She doesn't settle here - except to sleep. She gets into the garbage - she never used to do this. We bought a kennel - she knocked the door out of it. For the time being, I have given up of leaving her home alone unless she has had a big walk immediately before us leaving. This is hard because I think what she really wants is to run - but there is nowhere to let her off-lead. And even with a big walk, I wouldn't leave her more than an hour, now, an off-lead run, that would be a different story. She eats like never before - tonight she ate her dinner in about 3 minutes, I think she mostly inhaled it - right over her dish, hardly any mess. Most days she starts looking for dinner around 3:30 or 4:00, I try to distract her until at least 4:30.

The last couple of summers Maggie has had a reaction to sun, heat, allergies resulting in ugly looking nose - this year was no different. No problem, I just headed up the street to the vet - told him about the previous years and listened to him completely ignore me and the records from her old vets. He ended up doing bloodwork, giving her an antibiotic shot and ointment for her nose and giving me a bill equal to Isabelle's first doctor's appointment. Things looked up for a few days. Then, we went away for one night - leaving her at a kennel, and it was worse than ever.

I couldn't bring myself to even call the vet I was so mad. It took three weeks - I called to tell them what happened and asked what they were going to do about it. It is now a month and a half later and I still haven't heard from them. So, I cold called another vet, gave my sob story in full detail and made an appointment to meet this new vet. Between the call and the appointment, a lump the size of a portobello mushroom cap appeared under Maggie's shoulder blade. Turns out, the new vet has been to NS, she loves it and wants to move there. She understands my concerns and is very patient. She asks me more questions about the treatment from the other vet, drains the lump and prescribes the same meds as we have had before for the nose.

The lump was a result of the antibiotic shot she got from the first vet. Since it hasn't completely disappeared yet and since it could be pre-cancerous, Maggie is booked for surgery next week. She also is on meds for low thyroid, is eating senior dog food to try to get control of her appetite and is taking other supplements to try to help with all of the above.

After this dust settles, I will go back to trying to get her to stay home by herself, preferably in the kennel. If she doesn't settle down, next summer could be almost impossible.

Oh, and the other vet, he is definitely getting a copy of the bill for the surgery, not that I am expecting him to pay for it (although it would be nice) but he should know.

At SkyTop Orchard in NC last weekend, this felt a lot like home and Maggie wasn't sure why she didn't have that run of the orchard. Hard to explain to a dog that we weren't at Mona and Graham's.

Sometimes it's the Little Things

2008-10-28T20:29:00.005-04:00

When people learn I am new to South Carolina, first they ask if I like it then they ask if I am homesick or if there is something I miss from home or if I find it a lot different. So far I haven't been too homesick although it kind of hit me today.

There are definitely things I miss, things I probably took for granted some are huge but others are just little:

the pain au chocolat from Boulangerie La Vendienne;
the trails at the research station;
Peter's Pizza;
Ross Farm;
the ocean;
the organization of the grocery store (why is the bread in two sections at the stores here?);
the butchers and farm markets;
Don Connolly, Stan Carew, Carol Off and Barbara Budd (NPR is OK but between the markets and the election, well, it is getting a bit boring, the highlight of my days is listening to the Radio Reader?!);
phoning up a friend and saying let's get together today;
Happy Valley Kennels (oh, how I miss Ella and Mike);
our neighbours on Belcher St and the block;
walking to downtown Kentville to do errands;
Frenchy's...

I think it is also just now hitting me that I am a stay-at-home mom. Not so much that I don't rush off to the office everyday (that part I don't miss), but that I don't have an income of my own. I was thinking tonight that since my parents started giving me an allowance between babysitting and summer jobs and then real jobs - I have always had money of my own which, as long as the bills were paid, I could do with what I pleased. I know this is probably something most new SAHMs work through and I did think about it before we moved but now I think about it every time I think about buying something for myself. Sometimes the purchase wins but often my frugal side prevails.

I do have a couple of projects which I need to work on - one for my old job and another new, stamp related, thing but I am finding it hard to find a chunk of time to work on them without interruption. The three hours that Isabelle is at school seems to disappear too quickly.

So, I am in a bit of a funk right now. Maybe I will start planning a post-Christmas trip somewhere to take my mind off the things I miss...

Another Milestone

2008-10-23T22:33:00.007-04:00

Isabelle has learned how to say 'helicopter'. I'm sure most parents remember how their children pronounced certain words - one of our favorites has been helicopter but today as one flew over the house, she proclaimed "Mummy, helicopter" as clear as anything, as if she had always said it that way - I asked her to repeat it, in case I heard her wrong, but, no, she had it.

Our weeks have been pretty normal since Paul got back from Ireland - swimming lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays, gymnastics on Thursdays and dinner out on Friday. We try to pick a different place every week - usually a smaller independent restaurant. Isabelle and I did cheat when Paul was away and went back to Pho Noodleville - again it was awesome. In between that, I try to get to the Y, get some stamp stuff done and keep the house relatively tidy. Did you hear that noise? That was my mother chortling at the thought!

On Monday, we had our first parent-teacher conference at the new school. She is doing well - despite the phone call from the teacher I got when Paul was away. Isabelle wasn't following directions from her teachers and had to be asked repeatedly to stop fidgeting during 'line time'. She was also pulling her dresses over her knees. OK girls, who out there didn't do that and, heck, she wasn't pulling her dress over her head... Oh well, I'm sure its only the first of many discussions with teachers - have I ever mentioned Isabelle is independent and maybe a bit headstrong...I wonder where she gets that?

Isabelle is coming home with new things everyday - decimal beads are very popular (did you know the words decimal when you were 4?) as are word boxes and colouring and painting. She is learning poems and songs faster than I can keep up with them. My current favorite is:

As Paul spoke about in his blog, Halloween is huge here! Isabelle has already worn her costume once. She can wear it to her school's fall fair tomorrow, to gymnastics next week, to school on the 31st and, of course, on the night of the 31st. We have been booed. We went to Boo in the Zoo. I actually went out and bought Halloween lights for the house and one of our neighbours gave us some of her extra decorations.
So with that in mind, I am already plotting Christmas and the huge space above the garage door, the crazy tall entryway, the shrubs - all suggestions welcomed. Oh, and a wreath - I think I want a spectacular wreath - in lieu of snow!

We had dinner out last Saturday with the parents of one of Isabelle's classmates. He is originally from nearby Clemson and she is from Boston/Dallas. The have twin girls who are also in their first year at the Montessori - one in Isabelle's class and the other in another classroom. We went to the Bohemian Cafe. It was great, the food, the atmosphere and the company. I suspect some of our visitors may get go - it is definitely worth several return visits.

I am hoping to drive up to the mountains this weekend. We can pick apples and see the fall colours in the Blue Ridge Mountains - if the weather holds perhaps I will get some good pictures - although how it could compare with Cape Breton, I'm not sure.

Grumpy, Michael Buble and Paris Mountain

2008-10-07T09:44:00.005-04:00

Paul is in Ireland so the girls and I are on our own. Things have been pretty smooth - with the exception of a call from Isabelle's teacher about her fidgity-ness at school and the Friday morning call from mum.

The call was not unexpected, Grumpy was 101. He was walking to school when the Halifax Explosion occurred, he was overseas during WWII, he was retired when I was born and was retired for longer than he worked. He was Grumpy to almost everyone - a few called him Mr. Bayne or Mr. B. The moniker was my fault, as the first grandchild, but he never lived up to it. Grumpy taught me to play cribbage, provided an endless supply of Archie comics and other "funny papers", and treated us to glubs-glubs (chocolate wafers with marshmallow covered in chocolate, hold the jam) and lots of other things my mother wouldn't have brought in the house (remember the pack of mini-cereal boxes mostly the sugary ones!). In his obituary, my mother said "Remember a gentleman from a gentler time." I think that sums it up.

On Saturday, a neighbour had an extra ticket for the Michael Buble concert at the Bi-Lo Centre. Her mother was willing to look after Isabelle, so I went for some adult time. I admit I don't know much about Michael Buble - that he sings the standards, has had a couple of his own hits songs and dates one of the women from "The Devil Wears Prada" (apparently that's over now). I was not prepared for his coarseness. He was clearly well under the influence at the start of the show, which was opened by Naturally Seven. I not sure what I expected but it was hard to figure out what was an act to live up to the record company's marketing, what was drugs/alcohol and what was Michael Buble. During "Home", pictures of Greenville were shown on the big screen, although I was thinking of a different home (there were a few Canadian flags in the crowd!). The crowd seemed to love it and he is a great singer, but the best part was spending time with a new friend.

Sunday, since both Isabelle and I had a restless night, I decided to check out Paris Mountain State Park in hopes that on the drive home Isabelle would have a nap. We didn't get to see to much of the park but did a short walk around the lake. It was hotter than I expected and I probably should have aimed for something else a little further into the mountains to provide Maggie some respite from the heat. On the way home, Isabelle did fall asleep - which was good for everyone.

Intentions

2008-09-30T14:30:00.005-04:00

I had intended to write this blog faithfully - letting everyone know about our adventures in South Carolina and chronicling our experiences for others. As it turns out, I am about as good at that as writing thank you notes, organizing my stamp stuff and keeping up with friends - in other words...hopeless.

Obviously, we made it back to SC after almost a month in Nova Scotia in July and here it is the eve of October.

We have discovered lots of things in that time:

the coolest (temperature-wise) drive from MA to SC in August, the A/C died in the new Jeep just north of Boston on the trip with my mom back to SC, which is through Shenandoah National Park and west into Tennessee before heading south through Asheville, NC to Greenville;

the kindest car dealership I have ever been to - in Moosup, CT;

when ordering Chinese food in New Jersey - order half what you think will be enough;

storytime at the Museum and Gallery at Heritage Green featuring Caldecott winning books;

the Greenville Zoo;

gymnastics at Greenville Gymnastics;

playgrounds in Cleveland Park; Butler Springs Park; Century Park; Southside Park;

the zoo and EdVenture in Columbia

great restaurants - Pho Noodleville, Fonda Rosalinda’s and 33 Liberty;

the Golden Strip YMCA Isabelle and for me! (trying to keep the goal of there being less of me this time next year!);

Bunco;

the Southeastern Stamp Show in Marietta, GA;

the Georgia Aquarium;

IKEA in Atlanta; and

Atlantic Station, Atlanta;

So, that is some of what has been filling our time for that last little while. Paul has been posting about some of our other activities, so be sure to check out his blog. Of course each of these things has more of a story so - as time allows - I will try to fill you in.

Also, I will try to be a bit better about updates but make no promises!

Growing Up

2008-09-10T16:33:00.003-04:00

Isabelle has been making new friends both at school and on our street. We are very lucky to have several very kind families as neighbours who have helped us to settle in to life in the South.

The nature of our neighbourhood is very different from Belcher Street. There is no traffic, we are at the end of a cul-de-sac in the middle of the subdivision. The children closest in age to Isabelle are a year older and all have older siblings who watch out for the little ones and, presumably, have broken in the parents. My office is at the front of the house so Isabelle goes out to play without us as long as she stays in the circle of the cul-de-sac where I can see her. She has learned very quickly that she must ask permission if she wants to venture up the street at all. She also knows she must ask us before she goes into someone else's home.
So, last night she decided she wanted to call one of the girls to see if they could play. Unfortunately, no one was home. Today, after riding her new bike for a bit by herself, she decided she wanted to try again. So, with a little coaching, she called J., asked for her, said she "was wanting to play" (an interesting verb conjugation she often uses) and was invited to J's house.

She has always been independent and that is paying off now in her confidence. Now, if we just could get her to talk to her grandparents on the phone...

Milford House - in pictures

2008-09-05T00:02:00.001-04:00

While in NS, we spent a week at Milford House celebrating my parent's 40th anniversary with my sister and some family friends. Not a lot changes at Milford from year to year - which is one of the great things. For those of you who know the area, some of the photos will look familiar. For those of you who don't, if a vacation without tv, radio, telephone, internet and cell service is appealing, Milford House may be the place for you. We are already thinking about next year!!

Back to NS

2008-08-26T21:17:00.010-04:00

So, just less than a month after arriving in SC, I turned around and went back to NS. Paul had work at home for a week and then we had a week booked at Milford House with my parents and sister. The trip home was a little easier - we had the new Jeep and less stuff plus Isabelle had done it once before and I knew what to expect. We left early July 3rd with a picnic lunch and plans to stop somewhere along the way for lunch. We did well in the morning with only one stop before lunch. We stopped at Shot Tower State Park in southern Virginia for lunch. Virginia is a nice state to drive in - pretty roadways, clean rest stops and this nice park not far off the interstate. We had a quick lunch, a walk for Maggie and then headed on.For an afternoon stop we went to Lexington, VA. This was the site of the great meltdown of the trip to SC but I thought we should see it again. Sure enough, we missed a neat town. A little like Wolfville, with a university (Washington and Lee), some neat shops (see the 4th of July window below) and, most importantly, some good ice cream. Definitely worth a return visit when we have more time. Since we were travelling on the holiday weekend, we booked our hotels ahead of time. We weren't sure about how heavy traffic would be both on the roads and in the hotels so rather than risking sleeping in the car with the girls... Our first night was in Winchester, VA, we probably could have pressed on but Isabelle and I got a swim in before dinner which always brightens her mood. As with the trip down, it was too hot to leave Maggie in the car for any length of time so dinner that night was quick at a staple restaurant around here Chik-fil-A. For fast food, it wasn't too bad and maybe better than some other options. In the morning, we packed up early and got on the road. I really didn't like driving the stretch from Scranton, PA to Harrisburg, PA so I suggested that we change our route. At Harrisburg, we left the interstate - had a detour by Hersheypark, a little more off the track than I intended, and then got on the 78 headed for Allentown, PA, NJ, NY and our destination for the night, Danbury, CT. We debated stopping at the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA but decided to leave that for another trip - another thing on the 'things to do' list! We also saw the biggest Cabelas I have ever seen in Hamburg, PA. In New Jersey, we stopped in Flemington to go to an LL Bean outlet and a break from driving. While Paul and Isabelle were shopping, Maggie and I saw a deer in the parking lot. From Flemington, we skirted NYC on the 287. It was hard to believe we were that close and not going, again, something for another time. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of traffic, there were very few transport trucks which made the driving seem a lot easier (says the navigator).After the Tappan Zee Bridge, we took the Sawmill River Parkway towards Danbury, CT. It was a pretty drive especially after a long day on the interstates. Paul and Isabelle got a swim at the hotel before dinner at Bertucci's, a chain Italian restaurant which was pretty good. The 3rd day, we didn't have to hurry since we were only going as far as Portland, ME to stay overnight before boarding the Cat on Sunday morning. So, we meandered through MA, NH and ME, stopping at another LL Bean in Nashua, NH and in Kittery since Paul had missed out on Kittery on the way down.We had another good ferry crossing, a lot more people than in June but by no means crowded. Isabelle had fun colouring and doing crafts. Customs in Yarmouth was very fast. Rhea and Sam, were in Saulierville with the rest of the crew, waiting for their move to CT. Paul went off to the Valley for work Sunday night. Isabelle and I stayed on a couple of days before setting off to spend some time in the Valley.We managed to get the girls together a couple of times before going back to Saulnierville for the weekend. Paul and I went out for dinner with some of his colleagues at the Union Street Cafe in Berwick. As usual our meal was excellent, thanks to the Weirs for taking Isabelle and Maggie for the evening! We had a good visit with Paul's aunt and uncle from SK and on Sunday went to Milford House for a whole week! The weather was very warm in Nova Scotia but I couldn't complain, it was still cooler than what we had left in SC.

This just in...

2008-08-17T19:26:00.001-04:00

This afternoon, Isabelle asked for a car. We said no.

Settling In

2008-08-17T13:47:00.005-04:00

We are still unpacking. This house has lots more room than Belcher St. but we are missing our built-in bookcases and the unit Paul and his dad built for the TV and Isabelle's toys. Paul has rearranged the garage a half dozen times but since, ideally, we would like to be able to put one car in the garage, he won't have the space he did in the basement of Belcher St. for all his tools and kayaking gear.

Isabelle has made friends on the street - there are two families each with three girls and other families with one and two children - the youngest ones are 5 and are nice playmates for Isabelle. Most families in our neighbourhood seem to have taken some extended vacation over the summer, including us, so the last week was the first chance Isabelle had to interact with everyone. Battery operated cars for kids are popular here - Isabelle has been learning to drive the neighbour's cars and, so far, hasn't asked for her own. She is getting a bicycle and helmet for her birthday so, hopefully, she won't be asking for one anytime soon - not sure what we will do when she does ask...Isabelle has a orientation day this week at her new pre-school. After some debate, we have chosen the Montessori School of Greenville. There are tons of choices here for pre-school: every church seems to run a program in addition to quite a number of private schools. The Montessori School offers a five morning a week program which, I hope, will prep her well to either continue there again next year or to move on to the Michelin School where she will be taught under France's school curriculum. We are quite adamant about having education in French since we have the opportunity.

And with that, we are trying to encourage her to speak french as much as possible. She is very stubborn and often refuses now but in the coming weeks we are going to step up both her and our use of french. I have been lucky enough to find a friend in the subdivision with a daughter a year ahead of Isabelle and a son a year behind who is french-speaking. She has included me in a couple of informal gatherings of french-speaking moms so I hope this will help too.

I haven't found a local stamp club yet but have entered two exhibits in a show in Atlanta at the end of September. We will all go for the weekend to see some of Atlanta including the zoo and our closest IKEA store (did someone say bookcases?). After that Paul may be travelling a bit but with Isabelle in school I will stay here.

Well, this by no means brings us up to date, there are lots of adventures to tell about and a few good restaurants too! More to come...

Not....in the mood

2008-08-15T10:18:00.003-04:00

Sorry to have been away for so long - I just haven't been in the mood to blog. I think I am still on Milford House time. I have lots to write about: a trip to Nova Scotia (and back); a week at Milford House; a visit with my mom; good restaurants; good shopping; Isabelle's school (which starts on her birthday!); the Greenville zoo; and some upcoming events - trips to Columbia and Atlanta for all of us and some trips for Paul for work too.

So, I guess this is just a teaser so I will try to get going on some posts this week.

The dog

2008-07-02T11:07:00.004-04:00

Maggie has found the move a little more difficult. It is very hot here - although better this week than last. She likes the yard and I like that I can just open the back door for her to come in or go out. This week we went to the vet. Here, dogs are not registered at the city/county but at the vet and it is not mandatory. In fact, it doesn't even get her a tag - so in the end she got another rabies shot which gets her a tag from the vet (on the off chance she decided to take a runner).

The main part of the visit was to get flea, tick and heartworm treatment. Like Nova Scotia, lyme disease isn't a huge problem here but it is in the mountains so since we plan on doing some hiking we thought is was important. Also, heartworm is a big concern here year-round.

All and all the visit went well, they gave her a good going over and found no big concerns - although they do want her to have her nails cut back and say the only way to do it is by putting her under. Paul is going to work at her nails for a bit and see if we can get them under control before we resort to that.

The girl

2008-07-02T11:01:00.004-04:00

Isabelle has adjusted quite well to the move. She has made a few friends in the neighbourhood but, unfortunately, they are a little older. So, we are now struggling with getting her to bed at reasonable time when the others can stay outside later. Usually she is good about it since she get pretty tired but other times she either wants to stay outside or to read in bed. We have allowed her to read in bed a bit and the other night this is what Paul found when he went upstairs to check on her. He says she gets this from me!

Rx

2008-06-27T20:30:00.002-04:00

For those of you who follow Paul's blog, you will have read that I had my first encounter with the American medical system last week. In all the stress and sleepless nights, my body decided to succumb to another infection - nothing serious but enough for me to want to see a doctor.

The first question was how to find a doctor. I didn't want to start interviewing people for a permanent position, I just wanted this infection treated sooner than later. Paul called a coworker who told me about Doctors Care. I called one nearby and, yes, I could just arrive without an appointment so off Isabelle and I went. Once we cleared up that I understood that I had to pay and have Paul's medical plan reimburse us, I was seen within a few minutes. The doctor was a little concerned when he realized I didn't have a spleen and wanted to order blood work but I reassured him it wasn't necessary and that, yes, I would visit an emergency department if my symptoms worsened. So he sent me off with a prescription and a tip that Publix grocery stores fill prescriptions for some antibiotics for free

Total cost - $115 for the visit and one test - antibiotics free (OK, I bought 2L of ice cream while I waited...)

At Home in Orchard Farms

2008-06-24T23:08:00.004-04:00

After Taryn left, Maggie, Isabelle and I turned to figuring out life in the south while Paul went off to work. There were a few trips to the grocery store, a few walks around the neighbourhood and to the playground and pool, some yard work, some cleaning and a lot of unpacking.

We met some of the neighbours who all have children - most a few years older than Isabelle. Most of them are on the swim team and seem to be shuttled back and forth many times a day. One neighbour brought a care package of lasagna, lunch meats, cheese, salad, bread etc to help us get settled. After having so much car time, I tried to limit our time in the car the first week. I also started Maggie on her new regime of kennel training. She is very good about going in the kennel, I think she realizes that she is better off there than in the hot car, but when we get home I can hear her howling. At least I know she is safe in her kennel.

One day, Isabelle and I went to check out a new gym which is nearby. It is very nice but quite expensive for the amount of time I could actually use it. The bonus was that just down the street from the gym is a new doggie daycare, about a five minute drive from the house. The outdoor area is much bigger than the other one we looked at and they have indoor/outdoor kennels just like she had at Ella's.

Orchard Farms subdivision was started in 1996 and has over 400 homes. It is sort of divided into two sections: the north and the south.

View Larger Map

We live at the very end of Redglobe Court and can hear the chickens on the farms beside us. The community is not gated but the three entrances are quite formal, complete with signs. The cul-de-sacs don't have sidewalks but the main streets do so we can walk to the playground and pool (on the left/west side of the map). The pool is open most of the day and is very nice, Isabelle loves it. Unlike many subdivisions I have seen, ours is quite treed and our backyard has a lot of shade which is nice for all of us on these very hot days.

There is a homeowners association which enforces the restrictive covenants and organizes community activities including the subdivision swim team. The covenants (only 30+ pages long)control a lot of activities and ban clotheslines. (I'm waiting for state legislation to overrule that one!) Waste is picked up weekly, we have Waste Management (same as in West Hants) but others use other companies. The only curbside recycling is plastic beverage containers, aluminum cans(not steel), and newspaper. Other things can be taken to a recycling depot, the closest is about 10 minutes away, but even there many things cannot be recycled. Of course, food waste goes in the garbage (we are investigating worms). So, I am feeling very guilty about things right now!

Our lawn isn't in great shape - it needs work and my plan to use the reel mower may not work since it is so uneven, unlike the lawn below. I saw this fellow mow his lawn three times the first week we were here. It looks more like a putting green than a lawn. This weekend when we drove past he was washing his lawn mower with soap and water. We also will not be contenders for the yard of the month award which the lower house received. The sign does not stand out in the picture but there is a sign on the lawn.

I will try to get more pictures of the neighbourhood and some of the nearby subdivisions - some of which are pretty incredible. Until then you can see the area on Google Street View.

More Adventures

2008-06-23T21:24:00.011-04:00

Thursday morning we were on the go early - we found the Bodum and kettle so we could make coffee for Taryn figuring if she was going to entertain the girl while we unpacked we better treat her well! Anyway, our mover arrived right on time and began to get us unpacked. We had him unpack most of the glassware and dishes and found a few key pieces then sent him on his way since he unpacked faster than we could put away!

Taryn and I then went off to Bi-Lo for groceries leaving Isabelle and Maggie with Paul while he got ready to go to work for 1pm. An hour in a huge new grocery store is not enough. We got the basics and some extras - Goober Grape!

The next four days were a blur. I know having Taryn here was a huge help since we could pop out and leave Maggie and Isabelle here. Taryn and I also had a trip to Target, well two actually! Thursday night we walked around downtown Greenville. It is amazing how much it has changed since I was last here. Reedy River Park is beautiful, there are tons of people, and dogs, around just enjoying the atmosphere.

Friday, we checked out a doggie day care which seemed OK - not a lot of outdoor space but then again it is too hot here now to be outside for long. Paul got home from work early and we jumped in the car headed for Georgia to check another state off Taryn's list. Saturday we headed to the state farmers market and the downtown market - I will admit I was a little disappointed but realize we are spoiled by the Wolfville Market. Also, a lot of produce in the grocery store is marketed as being local so maybe that demand is being met by the stores?? The downtown market was fun and we looked at some of the stores as well including Paul's favorite - Mast General Store and Michelin on Main. We had lunch on the patio of the Overlook Grill - dogs were permitted - they even got big dishes of water! After lunch, Taryn and I went to look at the Michelin stuff at Michelin on Main and Paul took Isabelle to the water part of the park to cool her down. The rest of us cooled down with an ice cream from the Marble Slab Creamery. It had to be the best butter pecan ice cream I have ever had! Later, Paul and I went to get Maggie a kennel as part of the new regime. She has never been keen to be in a kennel but bringing her in the car here is not an option.

Sunday, we went north to the mountains we stopped at Caesars Head State Park and drove a small section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was determined that Taryn see some of it and since we missed it on the trip south. It was a beautiful as the last time and I can't wait to see more. We didn't make it to Asheville but we had to leave something for Taryn's next visit - if we didn't completely turn her off three year olds! We did go to the North Carolina Arboretum for a picnic . It has expanded since Paul and I visited a few years ago and is just as nice. This time the quilt garden was in bloom so we got the full effect.

Sunday night brought dark ominous skies once again and Taryn and I sat outside watching the lightning in the distance. The strange thing was we couldn't hear any thunder even though it seemed quite close. We also didn't get any rain.

Monday morning we had to say goodbye to Taryn. I couldn't have done the trip without her - she was an amazing driving companion and has several new skills to add to her resume, including navigator, recreation director, entertainment manager, nutritional coordinator and psychologist. I would do the trip with Taryn anytime, I think we worked really well together.

Day 5 - Carlisle, PA to our New Home 887 km

2008-06-20T16:16:00.007-04:00

Yes, you read that correctly, 887 km.

As we were driving south, Paul was more and more anxious for us to arrive, add to that a tired mummy, a hot dog, a bored, tired 3 year old and a friend who should be sainted and you get one long day in the car, a few tears and a happy arrival through torrential rain.

The day started well, we had an awesome breakfast buffet in Carlisle - french toast, scrambled eggs, hash browns, hash brown casserole, egg and bacon casserole, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, cinnamon buns, cereal, fruit, juice, coffee.... definitely our best find of the trip!

Again, we were on the road early. The 81 south was busy - lots of transport trucks, and none of that 'keep right except to pass' like in Nova Scotia. We were hardly on the road when a car passed us honking - of course, I thought the roof carrier had come adrift but as the car passed us we saw it was from Nova Scotia. Not too much later we happened on another car from home. I followed them until we got to the Virginia Welcome Centre - another great one, it even had a toddler sized toilet and sink! Turns out our fellow Nova Scotians, they actually were from Windsor, were on their way to Tennessee to the Bonnaroo Music Festival which sounds pretty cool - maybe another year?!?!

We kept on trucking all morning - decided a late lunch was good since breakfast was huge. All of a sudden the cars were stopped in front of us and we saw a cow running down the median chased by a state trooper - expecting the worst Taryn turned around to distract Isabelle but things kept moving and there were no apparent casualties.

We lunched at Lexington - looked for a picnic area, to no avail. This is where things went south. Isabelle was exhausted, as was I. She was being very demanding in the car and just needed to konk out for a bit. I looked at Taryn and said "I just want to get there tonight". We had planned to overnight in Wytheville but Taryn was game to go for it. I was worried that another night on the road and away from Paul would make another day on the road unbearable for everyone.

During the whole trip, despite the heat, Maggie was great, we even started teaching an old dog a new trick by teaching her to go on command "Hurry up, Maggie".

Following our new plan of let's just get there, we decided to stick to the big roads taking the 77 to Charlotte and then onto the 85 directly to our new home. Taryn took over the driving and drove through some amazing views and the worst rain I have ever seen. We had some false starts - Isabelle declared a bathroom stop just north of Roanoke. The first option was a dive and I played the mother card - I am not taking her in there! We ended up off the track at a Girl Scout headquarters/store (yes, Dawn - there will be a package in the mail for you) and the bathroom passed muster.

Just north of Charlotte, the 77 goes through Lake Norman which had some amazing lakefront properties on the manmade lake. However, our eyes were on the ever darking skies and increasing wind ahead. Knowing the roof carrier with all the shopping was only water resistant, we pulled off the highway at a shopping complex in Huntersville (I think) which was made to look like a small town - can't find any info about it now but may be worth a stop another time. We pulled everything off the roof and into the car and headed back to the highway.

In the end, it was a smart move, despite my quip that it wouldn't rain since we took the stuff off the roof - IT RAINED. Not a gentle rain but torrents, sheets and as quickly as it started, it stopped - on and off all the way to Greenville, usually corresponding to us needing to take an exit! It stopped raining just long enough at the state border for us to call Paul and say we were on our way and to snap a picture of the sign. Oh, and we did see a rainbow near Kings Mountain.

We pulled in the driveway of our new house around 9pm with a collective sigh of relief, I'm not sure who was happiest to see Paul sitting on the front steps. Some dinner, calls to the grandparents, a tour of the house (complete with furniture which had arrived that day) and then off to bed. Paul had bedding and towels pulled out for everyone, including Maggie! The next morning the mover was coming back to unpack boxes.

Day 4 - Vernon, CT to Carlisle, PA 535 km

2008-06-20T15:09:00.006-04:00

Obviously, I should have written this sooner since the details are fading away and Taryn may have to add some details and corrections. Tuesday started early, Maggie woke me before 6 am and I realized that we would have to get going to try to miss the worst of morning traffic into Hartford, CT. I said if we could get started early we could finish the day mid-afternoon, hopefully at a hotel with a pool.

I bought a Thule soft rooftop carrier before leaving NS but we hadn't used it. Now that we had all of our shopping from Kittery, I loaded it on the car - it was fairly simple considering I had never tried it before, I found out later Paul had so at least one of us knew it fit!

The drive through Hartford was pretty easy since we were continuing west on the 84.
Taryn's trip planning from CAA sent us down the 95 and 85 through all the big cities - on the advice of other people we elected to take the 84 west to Scranton, PA and then get on the 81 south. From the 81, we had several options to get to Greenville. We knew the final section would be dependant on our timing, Isabelle and Maggie's tolerance levels and our patience.

One of the first stops of the days was at a rest area in New York state - not top on my list of rest areas but it was shady and gave us a chance to stretch our legs and walk Maggie. By 10 am, with the heat wave, it was already to hot to leave Maggie in the car for any length of time. We stopped again at the Pennsylvania border at a beautiful tourist information centre. Maybe after the next trip I will blog about the best rest stops between Greenville and NS. Obviously, with a dog and a three year old, rest stops are important!

About 20 years ago, I travelled from NS to State College, PA, the only thing I remember from the driving was Scranton, PA and an auto scrapyard. No sign of it this time, the 84 was generally a good drive. We stopped for lunch in Wilkes-Barre, again a quick lunch since we couldn't leave Maggie in the car. Notes for the next trip - I would pick up more food for lunches, snacks, etc. so we could avoid fast food, most of the hotels had fridges so keeping things cold wouldn't be an issue.

At lunch, we looked at our options for overnight. Dad lent us his GPS (now known as Bob) which made things a little easier. We looked at the map, picked a potential destination, plugged it into Bob and decided if it was too far. Then, we looked at Taryn's CAA books to see if there was a dog friendly hotel with a pool. We decided on a Holiday Inn in Carlisle, PA.

With the help of some care packages from Grandmere and Sammy, a DVD player from Peter and the amazing patience of Taryn, Isabelle was entertained for the rest of the drive. Arriving at the hotel, we knew dogs were welcome as 6 K-9 units from one the railroad companies were there. Isabelle and I had a swim in the pool before supper and then we were able to eat at the hotel restaurant, in shifts, giving Taryn some down time. Isabelle fell asleep quickly but woke around 11pm for 2 hours - we were in for a rough day ahead!

Day 3 - Portland, ME to Vernon, CT 302 km

2008-06-18T15:43:00.003-04:00

Monday morning I had to fax some paperwork to the mover so I headed to Office Max while Taryn stayed at the motel with Isabelle. Luckily, Office Max is conveniently located next to Tim Horton's so I stopped to get a medium coffee and hot chocolate. What they handed me was more like a large, my jaw dropped and the Tim's guy asked where in Canada I was from - turns out he was from outside Saint John and he knew by the look on my face that I was used to smaller mediums.

Then we loaded the car and headed down the road to Kittery - we had each picked 5 stores we wanted to see which, in the end, was good since we hit a heat wave and we couldn't leave Maggie in the car for very long. I picked up a few things and discovered that Taryn has a shoe addiction, well, I would too if I didn't have a 3 year old to buy for! After Kittery we made a quick stop in NH for groceries and beverages and headed down the road to Vernon, CT. There was no logic to the stop, we just reached it at the right time and found a hotel which took dogs. Even in the evening it was too hot to go out for dinner and leave Maggie in the car so we just ordered pizza in and rested for a big day ahead.

We're Here

2008-06-16T09:13:00.004-04:00

We arrived last Wednesday night having driven through the biggest thunderstorm I have seen in awhile for the last leg of the trip. Since then we have been unpacking, cleaning, and sightseeing with Taryn who was an amazing driving companion.

I'll try to post about our trip over the next few days - driving 2,000+ km with a 3 year old and a dog during a heat wave in June in New England was certainly an experience!

Days 1/2 - Annapolis Valley to Portland, ME via the CAT (586 km according to Google maps)

We left the Valley on Saturday afternoon to spend a night in Saulnierville with Bernard and Diane before catching the Cat on Sunday. Diane and Bernard made seafood chowder and rapure. I think Diane outdid herself this time on the chowder - I wish I could have brought some with us! We even had time to hit Frenchy's on Sunday before heading to Yarmouth.

I haven't taken the ferry to Maine since I was very little and after lots of discussion we decided it was the best option for this trip and we were right! The ferry was pretty empty since it is early in the season and I had a bag of activities for Isabelle for the 5.5 hour trip which I never opened!! There were three other young children on board and an activity director who coloured and glued with them the whole way. Eight movies showed during the crossing including Ratatouille and Flushed Away for the kids. The only downside was the food - which for the most part didn't look all that appetizing. We ended up having hot dogs but next time I would take a picnic lunch.

We arrived in Portland on time around 8:30 est but were the last in the line up for customs. This took a while since I had to apply for I-94 cards, get Maggie in and import the car. The officers were great - very patient and understanding. It helped that I had all the documents in one place. Since they were already processing someone else when we arrived they just took my paperwork and started mine while they finished the other and we waited outside the office. One big plus was that Paul had made multiple colour copies of all our passports and birth certificates (long form for Isabelle with both our names on it). So, rather than making black and white copies of our documents, they took the extra colour copies which were more legible. Essentially the border was easy since I was well prepared - vaccination certificate for Maggie, passports and birth certificates for Isabelle and me, marriage certificate, notarized letter from Paul saying I could cross the border with Isabelle and letter of compliance for the Subaru.

We spent the first night in Portland and I had some faxing to do since our stuff was in a truck at the border waiting for my paperwork to come through. I didn't sleep much but we had an easy day of shopping ahead in Kittery.

Load Day

2008-05-30T21:07:00.007-04:00

9:30 am11:30am12:00pm2:00pm3:30pm4:00pm5:22pm

All Done

2008-05-30T19:38:00.003-04:00

Tuesday the packers continued to pack - it was a warm day but they were finished mid-afternoon. We had time to pick up Isabelle and Maggie and have pizza with mum and dad in Wolfville before Isabelle's swimming class. We also gave a freezer away through freecycle. Just posted the give away in the morning and by four o'clock it was gone. We did the same with the vintage stove we had and also some furniture in the winter. It is a great way to get rid of stuff!

The plan originally was to have the movers in on Wednesday to load the truck but plans changed and they couldn't make it until Thursday. Paul negotiated having the moving company get cleaners in since I knew I wasn't available on Friday. In the end Wednesday was a quiet day, mum and I cleaned up a few things including the fridge and our dying fish (RIP Eli), had lunch at Between the Bushes and had a walk in Canning while Isabelle was at Tumblebugs. When we got home we watched Death at a Funeral - a fun British comedy.

Thursday the movers arrived at 9:30 after I dashed downtown to photocopy all sorts of paperwork for the moving company, myself and a copy to leave here in case everyone else loses theirs! They worked steadily until 5:00. I made trips to the waste resource management centre (dump), timmy's and picked up Isabelle from day care, her last day. I thought it was important for her to see the truck and the empty house. Then I signed another bunch of paperwork and we took a picture of the truck leaving at 5:22pm.

Today we came to Halifax for a family thing - lots of people at the house and a phone call to say that all had gone well with the closing...phew! Now I rest for a week, run a few errands and then head out to SC with Isabelle. Maggie and good friend Taryn.

Movers - Day 1

2008-05-26T14:24:00.002-04:00

The movers arrived at 9 this morning and have packed their way through the basement, living room, sun room, dining room and kitchen. Paul and I tried to stay a step ahead of them but it was hard. They will be back tomorrow to finish the packing including my computer so I will have to rely on the library and mum's house from now until I get to South Carolina.

101

2008-05-22T13:57:00.002-04:00

May has been a busy month - my sister had her 30th birthday, my grandmother had her 97th birthday and we had our 7th anniversary (apart) and on Wednesday, Isabelle and I went to celebrate my grandfather's 101st birthday. We call him Grumpy, not that he is but that is what I decided to call him when I was little and it stuck. Dad commented there are only 98 years between Grumpy and Isabelle - amazing really.

We have had some great evenings with friends and family as we prepare to move. It is great to have the company and distraction from the packing and other preparations and, of course, the meals were fantastic. I hope we can reciprocate in South Carolina.

Tomorrow the movers arrive to prepack. Paul has been home for over a week and will head back on Wednesday. Isabelle, Maggie and I will be around until June 8th when we embark on the big roadtrip. Our friend Taryn has kindly offered to come along for the trip - other friends offered too and I will definitely be taking them up on the offer at some point since I likely will be driving back and forth more than Paul. Unfortunately, we don't have a laptop so may be incommunicado for the trip.

Moving to the Suburbs

2008-05-14T21:02:00.005-04:00

Part of me can't believe I am saying this and part of me is relieved. I have never seen myself as a suburbs person. I always lived on the peninsula in Halifax, near the downtown in St. John's and Kentville and out in the country in Cape Breton. Well, you have to try everything once so here we are moving to the suburbs.

After looking through I don't know how many houses, Paul has found us the right one. He had seen several homes in Orchard Farms, heard good things about the subdivision and finally found a house which suits our needs. According to Paul, the subdivision in full of young families and has a pool, tennis courts, ball fields. He has posted more about it in his blog.

Houses

2008-05-12T08:42:00.002-04:00

Paul spent last week looking at lots of houses. Right now, he is considering two. On the plus side, they are both 4 bedroom - so lots of room for guests. On the minus end, neither are close to Isabelle's school and both are in suburbia. Anyway, you can see pictures of both on-line. Paul seems more enthusiastic about Fortuna but it may only be available for an 18 month lease which would mean moving later. Molano is available for a three year lease but is also for sale so Paul is looking into how that might affect us.

Paul

2008-05-07T22:31:00.002-04:00

Paul arrived in Greenville earlier today. Things sound good, although we didn't talk for long (see previous post). He saw some of the houses for rent - he is promising pictures this weekend. Nice naighbouroods generally, close to all sorts of things. He raved about the library on Pelham. Things are looking up!

12 hours

2008-05-07T22:09:00.004-04:00

I wrote this earlier this evening longhand.

Paul left this morning.

Isabelle crumbled at first but rallied and had a good day at Apple Tree, a picnic supper and lots of fun at Tumblebugs.

Now we are at hospital - arrived shortly before 8 pm - it is now almost 10:30 and we haven't seen the doctor yet.

I have an eye in my nose she said on the drive home from Tumblebugs. I heard "I". I didn't understand her. We got home - she was tired, cranky and dirty. To the tub said I. There's something in my nose said she. Sure enough there was. I couldn't get it out - not that I tried that hard. I just returned Paul's call with a quick I'm going to the hospital and put everyone in the car.

As we sat waiting she explained it was an eye - you know one of those craft googly eyes and it is way up there.

She fell asleep before 10 - still sound asleep while we wait. Leaving time for me to think - I managed just over 12 hours without Paul before things went haywire. Sure, she could have done this anyway - and, on the plus side, Maggie did get a huge walk while Isabelle as at Tumblebugs. But really - this time without Paul can only get better, right?

Paul will be home in a little over a week, I think I am starting to countdown.

Rudolph

2008-05-04T21:00:00.003-04:00

So what happens when you mix selling a house, preparing for judging at a national stamp show and thinking about the logistics of moving to another country, well, if you are me, you turn into Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. When we brought Isabelle home from the hospital three years ago, Maggie got a stress related skin infection. Apparently, people can get these too!

So, on Thursday afternoon we got word - our house has sold! Yea! Stress level reduced dramatically.

Thursday evening, I headed out to Ottawa to judge at Orapex leaving Paul and Isabelle at home to visit Clare for the weekend. This is my third apprenticeship toward becoming a national level philatelic judge. If all goes well, I will get my accreditation after this. I feel quite unprepared hence the stress.

But the nose is getting better...

Lobster

2008-04-22T19:08:00.008-04:00

Friday was Paul's birthday. Isabelle decided he wanted chocolate cake but said she would only eat white cake. Two cakes seemed like too much but in the end it worked out perfectly, almost...

Singing Bonne Fete with Tante Rhea (she is on the phone)

On Saturday, both sets of grandparents arrived to visit. Paul's parents brought lobster. We called T to join us. I should tell you that eating lobster has taken on a new dimension since Paul arrived on the scene in 1993. Before that, eating lobster was a rare occurrence and was usually marked by grunting and huffing and sometimes even implements usually left in the garden shed or the workshop. Now, when I set the table for lobster there are a bunch of paring knives and, well, besides seating Paul and his dad at opposite ends of the table, that is about it.

Taryn, seated by Pappi, received training in the ways of eating lobster, including the tail fins and the proper procedure for cracking the tail. I think she found meat she never knew existed. By the end of the evening, she was a old pro. Thanks to B and D for bringing the lobster. I must say this winter we have had the best lobster and this was the best of the best. Some of the lobsters were so full you could hardly get the meat out. Wonder what the lobster is like in SC?After the lobster, we got into the cake and ice cream, it was a good thing we had two! Sunday morning, Pappi and Paul went off to do some errands and arrived back to clean up around the house and make burgers for lunch. Cake was much anticipated by the grandfathers but just as we were starting to clean up we got a call for a viewing that afternoon. The cake was abandoned and all hands were pressed into action to tidy up the house. In protest, the grandfathers made a quick exit. We are still hearing about it! I promise to make another cake when the house sells!

We had two more viewings today. One was a no; the other is thinking. Hopefully, the thinking will turn into something.

To Newfoundland

2008-04-16T22:08:00.004-04:00

Last weekend we headed to Newfoundland to visit good friends from Paul's grad school days. We had great weather, lots to do - swimming,skating, the fluvarium, bookstores, touristy things,great food and fun with friends.Now, I'm not quite sure why we left. I loved living in St. John's. Water and Duckworth Streets are vibrant, even with dirty sidewalks. The stores are interesting and every second place seems to be a cafe or restaurant - on that note may be it is better that we don't live there! Saturday morning, we had the best bagels I have had in ages from the Georgetown Bakery which I think is in the corner store at top of my old street!

Thanks to R, M, A and K for all the fun.

Time is Flying

2008-04-09T21:28:00.004-04:00

Paul and Isabelle had fun in Clare, Paul got in lots of kayaking. There is a lot of water in the rivers so perhaps it wasn't as challenging as he anticipated but he still got wet a few times. Meanwhile, I had a quiet weekend at home, complete with dinner at Tempest with T and D. Our appetizers were amazing (mussels, calamari, scallops and warm chickpea, artichoke and shrimp salad) but none of us felt the mains were as good.
There has definitely been a change in the weather so we have been out in the garden and for long dog walks. The good weather also means that Isabelle spends more time outside at daycare and comes home EXHAUSTED. She really can be a beast when she is tired and hungry, wonder where she gets that?

Last night we had friends in for rappie pie, T. came over on Monday to help make it and kindly took it home to put in her programmable oven so it would be ready when we all arrived home from work. Isabelle has a great time with T. This is what Isabelle looks like when she is listening to T., that "everything you say is fascinating and extremely important" look. Last week, T. showed her the difference between a maple leaf and an oak leaf, now every time Isabelle sees a leaf (which is often since we are cleaning up the yard) she tries to identify it. Now, if Paul or I tried to show her this she would totally ignore us but not T. Can't wait for T. to visit us in SC!

Paul leaves for SC a month from today with orders to find a house for us to move into in June and to check out a preschool for Isabelle. I get to close up things here - the house, the movers, banking, medical records. I have registered Isabelle for Tumblebugs two nights a week and swimming once a week so we will be busy.

home alone

2008-04-04T13:58:00.008-04:00

Paul and Isabelle are off to the french shore for the weekend. I am staying home.

I should have a list as long as my arm of things to do around the house but I don't. If the rain holds off Maggie and I will go for a big walk. There are things to be returned to the library and there is vacuuming and laundry to be done to keep the house ready for showing.

I am going to put together my collection of Milford House post cards to send to the Tent Dwellers Festival. Since we are leaving, I won't get to participate in the Festival but at least I can contribute.

We may get a week at Milford this summer, my longest stay since I worked there. I can't wait. I relax when I see these pictures. It's funny, I have heard cicadas lots of places but they never sound the same as they do at Milford. Last summer, we stayed in the cabin I stayed in as a kid and I watched Isabelle hunting for frogs in the same places I used to and I suppose where my mother did too. I'm happy we have a place where she can run around doing kid things - no TV or computer. Milford isn't for everyone but I know G & R and T enjoy their time there as much as we do. I had a lovely evening visiting with T. You have to appreciate a friend who appreciates your quirks. Now, off to bed with a book, maybe Maggie will let me sleep in tomorrow!

Favorite Words

2008-04-01T21:15:00.003-04:00

Isabelle likes helicopters but has never been able to say the word. Her pronounciation has changed over time but she hasn't mastered it yet. I love the way she says it and thought I better capture her saying it, well, before she learns to say it the right way! We were watching MASH on dvd...lots of helicopters.

Time Flies

2008-03-30T21:01:00.004-04:00

Not quite sure where the time goes - I'm not even sure I can remember much of last week - a holiday, three days of work, one evening meeting and my day off. Pretty much the usual. Except I handed in my resignation letter, this is my second permanent job and the second one I have resigned from to move with Paul. A little scary since our plan right now is for me to stay home until Isabelle and Maggie are settled but I have a long list of things I have been wanting to do so this is my chance.

Saturday was just packed - headed to a cabane a sucre with D. in the morning. This was something I wanted to do with Isabelle before we left Canada. Before we left, we read a book about one and when we got there it looked like it was right out of the book complete with a sleigh ride through snow covered trees. D. was kind enough to let us quiz her about her new vehicle - Paul has sold his truck and we are looking at a Jeep Patriot. I wanted something smaller for fuel economy but surprisingly the Patriot is better on gas than a Rabbit! Since we are going to the US, we can purchase a car through a company which helps with financing and insurance, since we have no history in the US, but they only deal with limited companies. It is roomier than the Forester although Maggie will have less space in the back.

When we arrived home, M & D were in Wolfville cleaning up so we headed over there to lend a hand. Arrived home just in time to throw a roast beef in the oven with a new-to-us sideboard for the kitchen.

Today, we moved few few more things from Wolfville and then headed out to Ross Farm with A & S. No crafts for the girls today but lambs, more maple syrup and lots of running around.
No bites on the house yet but we have had a couple more viewings. Paul is going home next weekend, then we are off to NL for a few days, the two weekends after that may be quiet, then I go to Ottawa for a weekend and Paul head out to the US on May 7th. My plan is to drive down after May 30th - although things may change depending on the house sale and Paul's work schedule. Hard to believe it is coming up so fast.

Pictures from What a Week!

2008-03-24T15:00:00.004-04:00

What a Week!

2008-03-23T21:15:00.004-04:00

Short version since last update - work, swimming, trip to Ross Farm, more work, presentation at an adaptive reuse conference in Yarmouth, time in Saulnierville and Carleton, back home, David Myles concert in East Margaretsville, Spring Fair for Isabelle's day care (Kids On Sugar), more swimming and Easter Sunday dinner and overnight in Halifax.

The David Myles concert was great. We went with 5 friends and yes, we took Isabelle. Paul was concerned she would think it was too loud but for those of you who have heard David Myles, you know his music is not too loud. We threw in her earmuffs (Paul got them because she likes to help him with woodworking) and she wore them some of the time. Evergreen Theatre is a great venue - it is an old Baptist Church now used as a concert hall. We have seen David Myles, Charlies A'Court, Joel Plaskett and Lennie Gallant there. They also have the Middleton band selling dessert as a fundraiser - mmmm chocolate cake and brownies.

On the house end, we have only had two viewings but have been told not to be concerned since we had two bad weather weekends and March Break. I was surprised to have two viewings on Easter weekend.

So, Paul heads to the US at the beginning of May and tentatively, I go at the end. That gives him almost a month to find somewhere for us to live, he will live in a apartment for the first bit. Today, it was suggested that since he will be sending me pictures of potential homes, I could post them here and you could vote on where we should live! The point was made that it will have to be suitable for our guests and they should have a say.

Inspections and Appraisals

2008-03-11T17:14:00.003-04:00

Since we are selling the house as part of a work move, there are extra steps. While I am busy at work with three night meetings this week, Paul is meeting with a house inspector and two appraisers. I think we have finished all the work on the house and Paul is looking a little lost, not quite sure what to do with himself. We are just trying to keep the clutter under control so when we get a call for a showing we are ready.

On the weekend, we had friends over for rappie pie. Amanda has Acadian roots and has been after us to make it for her, we introduced Mona and Graham to it as well. It went pretty well considering rappie pie isn't necessarily the most appetizing looking meal for the uninitiated.

Just got word from Nevada that Owen has arrived, congratulations! A trip to Reno is high on my list after the move to SC!

The Sign is Up

2008-03-05T21:01:00.003-05:00

After another weekend of furiously painting, flooring and general tidying/cleaning, our house is for sale. The sign went up between 4:30 and 5:00 this afternoon.

On Saturday, we made a run to Halifax to get fabric to recover two chairs and a couch and ended up staying overnight. The weather got nasty and we were planning on staying late to have Thai take-out anyway. It was nice to spend some time with my parents and see my grandparents too. When we got home, there was time to play outside, unfortunately it wasn't good snowman snow.
In other exciting news, we are all going to Newfoundland for a weekend in April. Westjet was running a great seat sale so we jumped on it. I haven't been to Newfoundland since, well it must have been Bob and Joanne's wedding and we stayed with Paul's sister so forever ago! Hopefully, Isabelle will get to see icebergs and Cape Spear maybe even the Fluvarium. She will also see where mummy and papa used to live!

On the way home from day care today, Isabelle told me to pull into a driveway where there wasn't a car. I asked her why. She said "Mummy, we are moving to a different house." Explaining that the new house is in a different town, different province/state, different country should be interesting!

A little progress

2008-02-28T21:26:00.005-05:00

We have now met with two realtors and have to make a decision about which one to work with. We have done a HUGE amount of work on the house over the last month - hardwood floors in two bedrooms, painting one full room and tidying up closets, trim, radiators and windows in other rooms, repairs in the basement and many other little things. Paul has a list of projects which now have the label "If I knew it was that easy, I would have done that ages ago". This weekend Paul's parents are coming to help put a new floor in the half-bath and paint another room. I am going to see about getting new cushions for two chairs and a sofa. These are part of my grandparent's "Imperial Loyalist" maple furniture set purchased in the 1930s. I wonder how many times the original price the new cushions are going to be?

I have been watching the homes available for lease in the Greenville area. I realize I was spoiled growing up where I did. I never walked more than 10 minutes to school (no busing either). We were within walking distance of Point Pleasant Park, several playgrounds, convenience, grocery and drug stores, the library and Spring Garden Road. Peter's, one of the best pizza places in Hfx, is still on Inglis Street and there used to be a chinese restaurant there too. And, of course, there is Schooner Books. Many of the homes in Greenville have no trees in the yards, no sidewalks out front and are miles from schools, shopping and community centres and libraries. There is a new Traditional Neighborhood Design development by the same people who designed Seaside, Florida called Griffin Park. Unfortunately, it isn't all that close to Paul's work, and certainly not to Isabelle's school. I haven't found anything for lease there and even if I did it would likely blow our budget. Despite this, I keep watching since it would be an interesting experience as an urban/municipal planner watching the community develop. Maybe it would count towards my professional practice experience?!

Yes, Isabelle is only three and doesn't start school until September 2009 but yes, we have already picked a school for her. Michelin runs a private french school in Greenville so it seems only right that she go there. Paul speaks french exclusively with her and I do what I can but since everything else in her life is english she tends to speak english, even to Paul. Now I just have to find a good boarding kennel for Maggie in Greenville, and a dog park...

Oscars

2008-02-25T21:03:00.003-05:00

So for the first time in ages I actually watched most of the Oscars - well I waited to see who got Best Actress before going to bed. The part I was most interested in though was the award for Best Orginal Song. Paul and I saw Once a few weeks ago and enjoyed it and then I heard the other songs which were nominated (3 from Disney's Enchanted) on Carew's Control (a segment on CBC's Mainstreet) last week and the general feeling that one of these glurgy songs would win instead of Falling Slowly. Well, they were wrong!

Wanna buy a house?

2008-02-25T19:38:00.006-05:00

The process of selling our house has started. It is quite involved since it is through a relocation company but it should be on the market in the next week or so, we hope. Here are some pictures:

Paul and I spent the weekend finishing a lot of projects and cleaning from top to bottom. Today was the first visit from a realtor and she suggested three things. Paint our "not ensuite bathroom", put a new floor in the downstairs half-bath and make the front door the main entrance for showings. Well, the last one is easy - just have to keep the walkway shovelled. The second one isn't too bad - we think we have enough flooring left over from the upstairs bathroom reno to do it and luckily we chose a neutral colour. The first suggestion is major. For those of you who haven't been to the house, there is a room off our closet which has the plumbing for a full bath although no fixtures. We never did anything with it except use it for storage so it needs to be painted and some cracks filled, generally tarted up. The hardest part will be moving everything out to do the work but it will look a lot better.

Tomorrow another realtor visits - wonder what suggestions there will be!

Isabelle had a great time in Clare last week visiting with cousins and friends but I think we all were happy to have her home, even Maggie. She was a big help this weekend - she spent a lot of time in the basement measuring things for Papa.

Another Week

2008-02-20T21:19:00.010-05:00

I can't believe it had been well over a week since my last entry. We had lots of snow here last week - something I won't miss in South Carolina! After being home on Monday, Tuesday was a long day with an evening meeting and Wednesday my office closed at 1pm due to the weather. Unfortunately, as I carefully drove home, some idiot decided to pass me and the car ahead. I was fine but the car ahead of me went out of control on the bridge at Avonport/Hortonville and hit the bridge. The other driver was shaken but OK and her car was not drivable. The car that caused the accident didn't stop. So, I waited with her for a bit and then drove her to Hortonville where she met the tow truck. Amanda and Brian happened to see us on the highway and stopped to see if everything was OK - it is nice to have such good friends.

Paul and I had agreed not to do anything for the 14th but our new camera arrived so we had something to open after dinner. Here are the first pictures - not great but we still need to figure out all the bells and whistles.

Friday, we were off to the pool again. The new camera is waterproof, so I thought I would try it.

Paul's sister, who was supposed to BC on Wednesday, postponed her trip until Sunday so Paul's family arrived on Saturday. I spent the morning making auction lots for the Valley Stamp Show - I cleared out a fair bit of stuff, no sense moving it.

On Sunday, Paul's parents took Isabelle home with them. This has given us a chance to get some things tidied up in the evenings and we have had painters in to fix up a few rooms. We could have done it ourselves but it would have taken ages trying to paint after Isabelle goes to bed.

Not much on the moving front, we have been given a few websites to look for rental housing and expect to hear about selling our house tomorrow.

Greenville, SC

2008-02-11T20:39:00.000-05:00

In response to D., the nearest airport is in Greenville. You can fly Hfx, Newark, Greenville. In looking at options though, we are pretty close to Atlanta (3 hours) and Charlotte (2 hours) both of which are cheaper to fly into (sometimes). Air Canada has been running a $113 one way to Charlotte lately. Just checked, Amtrak runs a route from Charlotte to Greenville for $24 unfortunately the only train is at 2 am. For those who are more carbon sensitive, you can get the train from Hfx to Montreal, Montreal to New York and NY to Greenville.

And there is lots to do in Upstate SC. Greenville is in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains so parts of the Appalachian Trail are really handy. As are several National and State Parks and Forests - Great Smoky Mountains NP; Nantahala and Pisgah NF; It is about an hour to Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee and not far from the SC coast - Charleston, Myrtle Beach.

Asheville, NC is a neat place. It is very artsy/outdoorsy with the addition of Biltmore - one of the Vanderbilt Estates there is plenty to see and do in Asheville alone. Asheville is almost at the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. When I was there a few years ago, we went along some of this drive which was amazing - not the Cabot Trail - but certainly well worth the drive. Lake Lure is nearby - that's where they filmed Dirty Dancing - nobody puts Baby in the corner!

Between Asheville and Greenville is Carl Sandburg's home. P. says who is Carl Sandburg? Well, the Pulitzer Prize winning poet had this beautiful farm - Connemara - in NC which is now at National Historic Site. His wife kept champion goats and you can visit their descendants, the goats I mean - the herd is also protected.

So I have hit hiking, history, vistas, for those of you not already convinced to visit us - there is also shopping. There are two outlet areas within a short distance, Gaffney, SC and Commerce, GA. Mum also points out that Replacements Ltd. is headquartered in NC so if anyone is looking for that elusive piece of china, glass, flatware or wants to see miles of it you can check it out.

No matter what, it has to be better than today. I had a snow day since Isabelle's daycare was closed and the roads were terrible, lots and lots of snow and wind. We had a quiet day - didn't get a lot done but had a great visit with Taryn and Macy. Paul borrowed the neighbour's snowblower after dinner and Isabelle played outside while he did the driveway - needless to say since that was her fourth outing of the day she feel asleep pretty quickly tonight.

The exciting news of the day was we are getting a new digital camera - a Olympus Stylus 770SW - waterproof, shockproof, crush proof. It sounds to me like a great camera to have with a busy 3 year old. I got it on EBay, we were very pleased with the last one which we also bought on EBay from Olympus so we thought we would do it again.

Off to work tomorrow with meeting in the evening and another on Wednesday, For a short week, it ends up being pretty long.

Off to see the cousins

2008-02-08T20:36:00.000-05:00

We are in Saulnierville over night - just enough time to see the cousins, cousin Sam and Tante Rhea are home for a week from BC, and hit a few Frenchy's. There's something I will miss in SC. Wonder if there are places there where you can buy a huge bag of clothes for under $30? With Isabelle growing and being so hard on clothes at daycare - it doesn't make sense to me to pay a lot for things.

We had busy day today. Swimming in the morning (lanes for me; lessons for Isabelle). Lunch and library with friends and errands before picking Paul up from work and driving to la Butte a Thom. We even hit Frenchy's in Saint Bernard on the way.

No more news on the move. We have to wait a bit yet to contact a realtor but that gives us some time since we are having some painting done later this month. We could do it ourselves but it would take quite a few nights of painting from 8 until 10 to get it done and someone else can just come in for two days and it will be done.

Looks like we are going to have a rough night. Maggie is beside herself when we are here and never sleeps well and Isabelle seems to be quite wound up. So I will sign off now to get the first shift of sleep.

Where's Greenville, South Carolina?

2008-02-05T19:51:00.000-05:00

Well, according to Google maps, it's here:

View Larger Map

Here we go!

2008-02-04T18:29:00.000-05:00

Well, three words which mean a whole lot right now.

Here we go on this blog.

Here we go on a great new adventure.

Here we go from the life and friends we have here.

Here we go to a new place, new friends and new experiences.

I am going to try this blogging thing to keep everyone up to date on our latest adventure.

For those of you who don't already know, we are moving to Greenville, South Carolina. P. has been transferred for work and will be released from his job here early in May.

We are not sure when the move will actually happen since we haven't put the house on the market yet. Every day I think of more things that have to be done here and more questions about life there. Along with that, we are having a huge clean-up. We are not minimalists but we are definitely going to pare down our lives.

As I write this it occurs to me that moving is really new to me. Sure, I went away for university and then worked in St John's, Labrador City and Port Hawkesbury but through all those moves Halifax was really my home base. This is OUR first house, it is where we were married, it is where we brought our daughter home.

I don't feel sad (yet) about leaving this house because for me those memories aren't tied to the house but to us. What I do feel sad and apprehensive about is leaving the familiar - obviously friends and family - but also the library where we know the librarians, Isabelle's day care, the pool, stamp club, kayaking and camping places, Ross Farm, places to let Maggie run... I know we will find those things in Greenville - it just may take a bit of time.