Notes from Nova Scotia.........greenspun.com : LUSENET : Beyond the Sidewalks : One Thread |
So, here I am in Nova Scotia. Most of the leaves are down and we've had a chilly snap that froze the water buckets and chicken waterers. Even had a little snow. Then today, its like, 12 degrees or something. Well, maybe warmer because we were out in shirtsleeves and not at all cold. (Ooops thats Celcius ok?) Tonight it has gone nippy again..if it was spring the sap would be running I am sure!! A major P.O in Canada these days is that a discount airline (Canada 3000) went under and many many people were left stranded and out a lot of ticket money. I heard one story on the radio of a family expecting their daughter and son in law from Australia for Christmas. Daughter hasn't been home since 1993 I think..anyways they are totally out of luck and $5300 !! How crappy is that? Here in my house, the ticket hubby bought to go to Toronto on business was thankfully covered by the company he works for. Phew... Any questions about Nova Scotia or Canada? I will do my best to answer them. I have lived here all my life but my husband was born and raised in the province of Quebec. Gotta sign off..hubby has tummy troubles and is gonna sleep on the couch. I hope his tests find out whats wrong. Goodnight!!
-- Anonymous, November 15, 2001
Keith and I are huge Celtic music fans so we've always wanted to go to Nova Scotia, especially the Cape Breton area. We got to see Ashley MacIsaac a few years ago when "Sleepy Maggie" was a hit, he's a wildman on stage!
-- Anonymous, November 16, 2001
He's a wild fella off stage too. he really turned the public against him here in canada in many cases because he is very open about his homosexuality to the point of being offensive (was quoted in MacLeans magazine as enjoying urinating on his partner..or vice versa..I forget now but eeeew gross!!) and also about his drug use. Then, he was the big name at Halifax's televised outdoor New Year's Party and he got up and basically did some sort of vulgar, profanity ridden, rap thing. It was like he was totally out of his mind! There was major fall out from that because its a very family oriented event. I think he and his management parted company after that. And this from a guy from Cape Breton that was just the sweetest, funny thing when he first started out appearing on Breakfast Television. We are very fond of going to see McGinty when they play at the Lower Deck (pub) in Halifax. That is a great time! You make some great pals at those shows. lots of audience participation. If you ever get to Nova Scotia I hope you get to take in that show. The Rankin's were great but they have gone onto solo projects and the brother, John Morris, who did alot of the writing and played piano and fiddle died in a car accident last winter. It was horrible!! It was almost like losing a part of our own family all over the province. i think what happened was that a salt truck had left a small pile of salt obstructing the road somewhat and when he swerved to avoid it he went of the road and down a steep embankment to the rocks and water below. He was able to get the passengers out (I believe one was his son). We saw them when the played a private concert for the company my husband used to work for. If you are able to get a CD of theirs they are great. Hmmm.. who else is good....There are so many new ones now and I am a bit out of touch with the new music scene now. :o) OH!!! You gotta try Great Big Sea!! They are from Newfoundland and they really rock!
-- Anonymous, November 17, 2001
What I think of when I hear Nova Scotia is the imfamous Beaver Dam Farm in Pomquet. Well infamous to Norwegian Fjord people anyway. We "raised" (I use the term lightly) them for 10 years, and received many invites to their place. Its incredibly beautiful from the photos Beaver Dam Farm ; right on the ocean, so green and spacious. Course that doesn't include the winter! However, there are few prettier sights to me than a Fjordhorse team decked out in full regalia pulling a sleigh. This place is the only Fjord farm I know that makes all its income from the horses. They are top-notch breeders/importers and also provide learning-to-drive vacations on their farm, and have written a badly needed book on Fjords.Alison, I don't know anything about this Ashley MacIsaac fella, but it sounds to me like he may have developed a substance abuse problem. So sad, and so common in show business. By the way, since you mentioned his "homosexuality to the point of being offensive" in the same vein as talking about peeing on his partner, it might infer that if he were heterosexual the public would find that less offensive to hear about, and I'm sure you didn't mean to indicate that, knowing full well that kinky sexual peculiarities are just as prevalent in the hetero world, and that we don't necessarily enjoy hearing about them as well.
Are you enjoying this wonderful weather as well up there? Or has winter arrived as it should?
-- Anonymous, November 17, 2001
Golly, EM, I never meant that homeosexuality was offensive. I should have worded that better. Sorry about that. I never heard about the Fjord farm but maybe thats where my friends Fjords originated. Our weather is a tad topsy turvy these days, like it can't decide whether to get wintery or not. Luckily at my place thats been in our favor since we got our fencing finished for this year just yesterday. Now if winter will just hold off until we get a roof on the barn........ Saturday night we took our kids to Halifax's Holiday Parade Of Lights. There was quite a crowd in downtown Halifax for that. The boys loved it though it was pretty short. I've started as series of short story like articles called Tales From The Homestead that I am hoping to publish either online or in a local magazine about country living called Rural Delivery. Wish me luck. :o) We've had some pretty goofy things happen since we don't always know what the heck we are doing...LOL
-- Anonymous, November 19, 2001
Thanks for starting this, Alison. I would have responded earlier, except for my computer problems! I'll probably be back later with questions.Just my personal preference, but I'd rather not hear DETAILS about anyone's sex life, kinky or otherwise! ;-)
-- Anonymous, November 19, 2001
Howdy Alison! You sound like you're having the same kind of weather as I am here in Maine. 60's one day, then 30's the next. That's Farenheit :-)! No snow where I am yet...altho' I know the ski resorts in western Maine have had some! Do you live anywhere near where either the "Cat" from Bar Harbor docks or any of the tour boats from Portland? Hubby and I want to take one those cruises n the worst way!!! (In our "spare" time!) Do you have any recommendations? We'll definitely have to wait til next year!You all talk alot about Celtic music. Does anyone know of any online sites where I can "sample" it? Thanx!
-- Anonymous, November 19, 2001
Marcia, can you get NPR where you are?? Our station carries an hour of Celtic music on Sat. night at 8:00 (right after Prairie Home Companion)
-- Anonymous, November 19, 2001
I'll try it, Diane. Thanx!!!
-- Anonymous, November 19, 2001
I have a couple of links here that might give you a taste of celtic music. http://www.islandviewcreations.com/rankins http://www.celtic cafe.com After being nippy as all get out last week, its back to shirtsleeves yesterday and today. A lady from church had her leaves bagged for me and I have made 2 trips with the pickup so far...there are 35 bags in all. Woo hoo. Thats about 3 times as many as I got last year and I didn't even have to go to town this time!! Hubby is going to the doctor again today to see about his test results. We are getting pretty worried and tired of him feeling awful all the time. Think of us, eh?
-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001
That's too bad about Ashley, I was wondering why he pretty much dropped off the face of the earth. His concert was one of my first real "dates" with Keith. Mary Jane Lamond played down here a couple of years ago and I got her autograph. She was very nice, she said that it's not too often that she plays in the States and sees someone in the audience singing along. I told her it was just because I'd played her CD so often the words sunk in by osmosis. :) I"ve heard of Great Big Sea but I haven't heard any of their stuff, I'll have to check them out.I hope the medical tests go well.
-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001
The medical tests have gone just fine. The cardiologist says that all the symptoms mimic a heart attack but it is in fact just GAS!!!! Can you believe that? I could have kicked Richard right in the butt at that point, making me worry so bad the last month. He has noticed a distinct change in how I treat him now that I know he's really as healthy as a horse. No more little nice wife!! :o) I only have 2 consecutive days of nice in me anyhow. The frosty weather has moved in again. My toes are cold but I have resorted to electric heat rather than the woodstove. I have the sniffles and don't feel like trudging up and down the basement steps with wood and kindling. I have 35 bags of leaves for next springs garden banked around the north end of the house and around the chicken coop. :o) My friend Terri told me about a guy that wants to get rid of his "turkey ducks" and I assume they are muscovies so I will be acquiring them today or tomorrow. She is buying his Toggenburg doe. Maybe you guys know Terri from the Countryside forum. Its so wierd. We met on CS last fall, exchanged email and discovered we are in the same phone exchange. We talked on the phone a couple of times around Christmas. Then comes January and we discover that our kids go to nursery school together (same class)! Thats how we ended up meeting face to face. How wierd is that? Life sure is fun sometimes. I think Terri is super. She has goats and chickens and ducks and raised a pig in 2000. Makes her own soaps too. I want to be just like her when I grow up. :o) My sheep are very curious about the half built barn. I have the door open and hay on the floor for them if they want to come in from the wind or rain etc. I may move their water and grain buckets in there too to encourage them. No stalls built yet and no roof over the hay loft yet. We have the metal for half the roof so far. I think I shall have the duck either bunk with the hens and guineas or I will give them a cozy corner in the main barn to call their own. My friend Donna finds that since she's kept ducks the fly population in her barnyard and around her house is greatly reduced. I love the mix in my yard..sheep, chickens, guineas and now (soon) ducks. Who can ever be bored with a homesteaders life????
-- Anonymous, November 22, 2001
I think there are several Terri's on CS -- which one is this that you're referring to? I lose track of who lives where, unless they make it part of their signature so that it eventually becomes cemented into my brain! I mean the folks at CS -- there are just TOO many now to keep them all straight! :-(
-- Anonymous, November 22, 2001