New living room

It didn’t stop there – every room got a going over, and I finally bought under-counter lighting for the dark and poky kitchen – whoowee, and got a flusher handle for the toilet, which has been broken for some time so I lifted the lid a couple times a day to flush but was too lazy to replace. It just seems like time to pay more attention here. So it all feels good.

I went even farther – took the second-hand clarinet I bought a couple months ago to a man who is going to refurbish it. I knew it needed cork, as I could barely get a sound out of it, it leaked so much. He says the whole thing really needs rebuilding, pads and cleaning and everything, but it is worth it. After he’s finished it will be like new, sound good and play well. And as he says, I can always sell it and get my money back. I would rather play it. So I’m excited to get it back, and make some nice music.

I have also renewed my body. Got an electric toothbrush, teeth feel so clean and smooth, and face serum – take care of this saggy skin, Kiehl’s shampoo from Alex at Christmas, lovely wonderful shampoo. Feel beautiful inside and out.

It has so far been a very easy winter. Today was a bit below zero, but really only a few days here and there have been cold, and no snow on the ground. It snowed a bit last night, but by morning was gone. I love the winter gardens here. So many plants have a wonderful look when they’re bare.

Winter garden

I’m waiting for an interview for another position here. It should be this week sometime. It is one of those win/win situations – if I get it, great, if not, I have a job that I’m happy with.

I have just discovered a singer named Paolo Conte – what a voice, full of life and knowledge, sort of an Italian blues singer but rich like Johnny Cash or Leonard Cohen. Anyway, I’m sitting here listening to jazz and just feeling so mellow. Tomorrow back to work and routine. I read that a British study found that January 5 is the most stressful day of the year! People report that even the sound of their co-workers breathing is stressful. I don’t know if I’ve ever been that stressed. Watch out tomorrow, do something nice for yourself.

We are having another of those weird nor’easters. They are the strangest kind of storm – this is the third this fall. The wind howls for hours, nine or twelve or twenty hours straight. There is not any rain with this one yet, but the rain is coming, maybe 50 cm. The wind is fierce though, can almost give you a headache walking into it. It wakes all the ghosts in this old house, moaning and groaning and howling.

The harbour is so pretty. Some of the tall ships moored out there have lights on the masts and rigging, looking over that way is so festive. There are houses on the road to Bridgewater that are all done up like gingerbread houses. No snow yet – thank goodness we’re not in Ontario or the Midwest. Just wind. And rain coming.

Life is good. I love my new car – what a difference having good tires. Bonding with this one, and have the urge to paint a small flower on it somewhere – maybe just by the door handle. It’s funny, too because when I park in a parking lot, I’m not always sure what car is mine, although I am getting better at spotting it. Can’t even remember my license plate number! The job is good, working with nice people. There is a library at the Centre, and boxes of books that have been donated. It’s a nice little library, some real treasures there. I’m having fun sorting through the donated books and cataloging, deciding what goes in and what doesn’t, making some order there. There is enough variety to stay busy, and more sorting out to do at the Centre in general. Lots of junk in closets that could be moved on somewhere else.

I’ll be going to Florida for Christmas. Meg has so many points on Delta, she has booked a ticket for me to Atlanta, and she and I will drive down to Florida together. I’m looking forward to that, will be nice to have a little road trip with her, spend some time with Mom and Dad, and a little warm and sun. Hard to believe it’s almost another Christmas. Had dinner with some friends Saturday, and one couple will be going to the airport on the same days I’m traveling, so think I have a ride there and back. Otherwise, it’s a lot of money to park there, not counting the gas to get there and back. And unpredictable weather.

It’s lobster season. Think about this next time you enjoy your lobster – those fishermen are out there in the North Atlantic in the winter to gather those lobsters! What a tough job. And then they bring them in and hope to get $6/lb. They should be getting $20/lb. really. The North Atlantic in the dead of winter.

All for now. Will be back soon.

Bella is retired. She has been a sturdy steed, served well, got me here but was starting to need more attention. She will be stripped and donated to the Diabetes Association, doing good somewhere else.

Cheery Bella

So, I get a job, and what next? Went out and bought a new car. I couldn’t go into winter without putting new tires all around, and the rear brakes needed work. Besides, I really don’t need a van now that I’m here. So, with a steady income behind me, I went to check out what’s the deal with new cars, and bought a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. A real grown up car. Got a great deal, manageable payments, five year warranty, and new snow tires. It feels good to drive on good tires – what a difference. I was talking to Gabe this evening, and he said he needs tires, his are just about bald. That is not the kind of thing you tell a mother! One more thing to worry about. Anyway, I am getting an urge to paint maybe just a small flower on the Elantra. Why not? It’s my car, and I plan on keeping it a long time. Haven’t named it yet – have to get to know it a little better, bond a little stronger. I am having fun driving though. Where can I go now?

I am also enjoying the job. Lots of people, lots of variety and using skills that I have. I am looking forward to facilitating programs, I do love small group work. I’ve also gone onto the board of the local women’s shelter as well, and am getting my teeth into the challenges of that. I realized this weekend that there is a level of anxiety that is gone, and energy freed up for something else. i bought a used clarinet, and am beginning to squeak and squawk – it needs re-corking, so the sound is not great, and my muscles need to get stronger. It’s fun though, and maybe next year I’ll be making music again.

Can you remember all the cars you’ve ever owned? My first car was a VW beetle, green, that Grammy bought for us so Mary and I could get from Berea to Magnificat. It was a sweet and reliable car. I can remember driving without brakes, and running into curbs to stop. One time the windshield wipers stopped during a rain storm, and I could just reach my hand out the window to wipe away the rain.

Talking about rain, we had some crazy weather last week. A nor’easter blew in on Friday, and didn’t stop for 24 hours – loud and strong. Honestly, I’ve never lived anywhere with wind like that. It woke me up when it started blowing, so loud. It rained so hard, with such wind, that it was blowing the rain into the living room where the eaves meet the roof. I had every pot and bowl in a line on the floor to catch the water just pouring in. The drapes were soaked, the floor was wet – I didn’t have enough towels to soak it all up. Constant steady patter patter patter. When the wind shifted, the leaking stopped, but it kept raining hard and steady for another day or two. Once that passed, we have had three absolutely glorious days, double digit sunny mild days. In the middle of November. I talked to a friend today who went canoeing this afternoon!

Pumpkin patch

Hello again – all of you who have been checking, here’s the latest. I’ll tell you what often stops me from posting is getting the photos from the camera to the computer – silly, just one more step. But, here are some beautiful shots of autumn on the South Shore. It is very red this year. I don’t know what makes the difference in colour. You’d think all the years I have lived in deciduous forests that it would be some kind of intuitive knowledge, but hmmm. More heat, more rain, drier???

And then there are the pumpkins, and asters. And heavy, grey layered skies, even on a nice day, the sky is autumn. It has turned cool all of a sudden, too. Risk of frost tonight! But wonderful sunny days. I got three loads of laundry done this weekend, hung out  and dried in no time.

Fall colours

More red

But here is the biggest, best news. I have a job! I am working at the Women’s Centre in town, close to home, lots of variety, decent pay and benefits. It is filling in for now, but I feel pretty sure that it will become permanent by the end of the month. Better  yet, it is a venue I can offer the non-violence program, and women’s spirituality. I do like small group work, and both programs are worthwhile. I would also like to find a parenting program that I could facilitate. I have felt strongly for a long time that one answer to prison over-crowding is parenting classes – give parents the tools they need, skills that can be taught and learned. The staff is very agreeable to having these additions to the programs offered there.

SS Europa coming into Lunenburg Harbour

It’s funny how it works. I still need time working in the US to pay into Social Security to be fully vested – two quarters is all I need, but the difference to me at age 66 will be significant enough to do it. So I thought maybe I should winter in the US this year, get it over with. But the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to leave here yet. I haven’t been here long enough to leave and come back – why would I come back? No job, scrambling all over again to establish something, give up the apartment? I have a front porch and water view at a great rate, why would I give it up? Anyway, finally decided to stick it out here, even though the summer job was over. Worst case – I would collect EI until something else came up, or I could get something going from home. Anyway, almost as soon as I made that decision, I got the phone call from the women’s centre, asking if I was available. So, a lesson I learned before, put both feet on the path.

Red, red, red

Let me tell you about Frenchy’s. One of the all-time great thrift shops, and remember that I am a thrift store junkie. I know the best in Cleveland, San Francisco, East Bay, Hastings Highlands, Toronto. Frenchy’s is up there – one drawback, most things are not hung, but in table/bins like Honest Ed’s. The good points, though, are that everything is a fixed price whether new or used, designer or junky, and that there is a fabulous mix of new and used, designer and junk. So, I went to see about a winter coat, and found a Calvin Klein long cashmere coat, for $11. I am so excited, I almost can’t wait for the cold weather.

I remembered the last time I bought a cashmere coat. It was the first Christmas that we spent without Clark. I knew that it would never be the same, so why not do something different for that Christmas? Joan was working in advertising in New York then, and one of her customers was a little boutique hotel in mid-town Manhattan, just behind MOMA. She was able to get us a comp suite for the week between Christmas and New Year, so the kids and I flew into New York on Christmas. We got to the hotel – gosh, I should remember the name, they were so kind and it was charming – we got to our room, on the top floor, an entire suite, two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, two or three bathrooms, carpeting you could lose your toes in, draperies floor to ceiling. Just as we were putting our bags down, getting coats off, there was a knock at the door. It was a basket of fruit, as though we were visiting diplomats. Well, we did New York that week; the Rockettes at Radio City, MOMA, Met, walked everywhere, FAO Schwartz, Rockefeller Center, the Christmas tree, skating, windows all done for the holidays. And we shopped. The bargains after Christmas were worth the airfare down there. I bought a yellow cashmere coat, long, patch pockets, wrap style, shawl collar, fabulous coat that was marked down to $600 or something. I do know it’s probably the most I ever paid for a piece of clothing, but it was wonderful and warm. I bought a red felt hat to wear with it. One day I was walking down the street in Toronto, and heard a little boy say to his mom, “Is that Superlady?” Lemon yellow, so not drab.

Thanksgiving tomorrow. So much to be grateful for. I am blessed – we are all blessed.

Side of the road asters

Kayaking at Port Medway

We went to an art show first, then we then had a wonderful chowder for dinner. Can’t think of a better way to spend a birthday.

We had a few days last week of very hot weather – broke records for Nova Scotia, up in the 30′s. It was 36 degrees in the booth down on the wharf, hard to stay hydrated. But today, we had Hurricane Earl. Wowweee. Started about 9:30 this morning with rain and wind, and by 11:30 the eye was passing over us. It made landfall about 80 km down the coast. The wind, and noise was incredible, whipping the rain sideways, waves in the harbour washing over the pier in front of my house. It then was still and sunny for about an hour, until the other side of the storm began to move through, then the wind changed direction, and howled for another few hours. It is just now beginning to calm, seven hours later.

Montague Street

Waves in the harbour

I was ready though. I have to laugh because all the years in California, I never really did get an emergency kit together, but here I had water on hand, cooked some chicken last night in case the power went out – only did for about an hour today – made extra coffee to put into a thermos this morning, had batteries for the radio, etc. And didn’t really need any of it. But I did bring in all the planters from the porch with the dead geraniums from last year! The porch looks much neater now.

Lilacs everywhere

The whole town smelled like lilacs in late spring, and now smells like roses. I walk to work every day past a hedge of wild roses, and drink in the scent. They are beginning to get huge hips. The apple tree in front is loaded with apples, too and they are turning red now.

It has been a beautiful summer in Lunenburg. The harbour has been busy, with many ships coming and going, small, large, working, amusing.

Pride of Baltimore

Mr. Toad

Scalloping boats

Lunenburg Harbour

I went whale watching last week; the booth next to mine runs whale-watching tours, and there was room on a tour one morning I wasn’t working. It was very cool. We saw Minke, Finback and Humpback whales, huge 50 or 60 feet long. Amazing creatures. I heard a program on the CBC, a musician who is also a marine biologist. He had listened to whale song, and realized that there was pattern to them. So he put a microphone down from a research ship, and began playing his clarinet so that the whales could hear, and they began riffing on his songs, back and forth they played together. Whales have only their bodies and senses, no things, no home other than water, constantly moving, hearing, sensing, feeling, thinking. Their songs are heard for thousands of miles, and they know where they are, and where their friends and family are.

I went to Peggy’s Cove a couple weeks ago. I had a day off, and thought I should do some tourist thing, so many places I haven’t seen yet. It is way off the track, but worthwhile. I didn’t really know what to expect, but it is rugged and beautiful. The rock is like elephants, and the lighthouse is quintessential. The town itself is charming and tiny.

Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove

Elephant rocks

Peggy's Cove

Today I went to my favourite beach. It is never crowded there, and always has a gift. Last month it was a sea anemone that had come loose. It was like a piece of oriental carpet that was floating, green and brown, red, yellow, round with a fringe of clear tentacle around it. There was a centre mouth or opening, and it floated in front of me for five minutes? twenty-five minutes, the surf moving it, turning it, bringing it close and far, until it finally dragged out to sea again. It is one of the most amazing and surprising things I have seen.

Other gifts are walking on the sand – it is so relaxing, massaging feet and ankles and hips, soft some places and hard others. There is beach glass – today I found a piece of yellow glass. Brown and green are easy, but yellow is a find. There are stones and shells, iridescent and striped and spotted, so many colours. Today I found two heart-shaped rocks. There are also the plants that grow right on the rocks, and out of the sand. I remember plants growing on rock up north, too. Isn’t life just so persistent and tenacious.

Right on the rock

Even in sand

Birthday coming up, and it seems a time to take stock. I feel like the small anchor I have dropped here is coming unmoored. I have to work another four or five months in the US to receive full Social Security benefits when the time comes, and I think I may as well do it this winter. I would rather not leave here, as I am feeling connected and home.. On the other hand, the difference to me is too great to let it go. if I leave for a winter though, there is not much to come back to, except my lovely apartment and friends. But longer term, not much going on for work. Unless I earn huge money and can come back and open a little shop or something. Or maybe resettle in Halifax, although I may as well resettle anywhere, it would still be relocating. I am just feeling my way forward on this one, listening to my gut, keeping eyes, ears and heart open to what’s next.

The TV series Haven is being filmed in Lunenburg. I watched it once, couldn’t figure out what the heck was going on, but fun to see familiar sites. There is a feature being filmed here, too. I can’t remember what it’s called.

I scored an ironing board and vacuum cleaner at yard sales this weekend – a year, and that’s how important ironing and vacuuming are to me. Someone gave me a bike last weekend, too so I’m excited to get out and ride, although my legs have to learn again how to ride, holy cow. But there are lots of trails – picked up a little map today with all the trails around. It will be fun to putter – just a coaster, challenging because it is quite hilly, especially in town because we are right on the harbour and the land goes up from here, but I’ll get stronger and walk when I have to .

Some of the work I’m doing feels so good – doing the non-violence program again, and I do love small group work, it’s a good program and I think I will begin offering it in the fall, when people can make that 10 week commitment. Working part-time for two publishers, doing little odd jobs, but both nice people to work with and could lead to more. I will be back on the wharf this summer; nice way to spend a summer, outside dealing with lots of people. I do love working outside, too. I will be going to work a coffee booth for a local coffee roaster at a farmers’ market in Hubbards on Saturdays, and that should be fun. The only drawback is that I have to be there at 7 am – yikes, I’m not a morning person.

I’ve also found a writers’ group, and that is fun. I need that energy to keep writing, and a deadline – oh, no, we’re meeting Saturday, I better come up with something. I have been doing hack writing – web content, book reviews, which pay but not very creative.

Ferns

Spring has been beautiful. I will get some pictures up soon – gardens all purple, a green house with a red tree in front, the apple tree outside my window that is just beginning to bloom. A cold wind has been blowing in all weekend, but that won’t last. We had glorious days last week and more to come.

There are movies being made here – the town has been buzzing with casts and crews and big equipment trucks. One is a pilot for a series called Haven, keep your eyes open. The other was a feature film, I can’t remember the name but Lunenburg is filling in for a small New England town.

Lobster is all over the place – side of the road stands, $5.5o/lb. I have a couple of tails, and really should buy a whole one at that price. Also mussels; they tell me that May mussels are the best, for some reason having to do with mating I think. Bought some fresh scallops last week at an amazing price. Ah, one of the bonuses of living here. I’ve never eaten so much fish, and it is so good, and so fresh.

Finally found a good hairdresser, best haircut I’ve had for over a year, maybe two. I don’t know about you, but a good haircut makes me feel so good, and it is so hard to find.

Went to a wonderful concert Friday, mostly Rachmaninoff played by Peter Allen in St. John’s Anglican, a wonderful place to hear music. It was stirring, strong stuff and thrilling to hear him pound it out. We are lucky to be close enough to Halifax that performers often come down here for concerts. A couple weeks ago went to a taping for a radio pilot, Bluenose Opera Company. Heard Coco Love Alcorn there, she is amazing, great voice and her timing is impeccable. She was singing with a saxophonist, whose name I can’t remember, but together they were great. There is a lot of talent around here.

All for now. I will keep in touch.

Spring blossoms

April showers. It has been raining all day, but that is good because the trees are getting more and more ready to leaf out. I have been struggling all day to get a slideshow up here, but I think to do that you have to pay money. Hmm.
It has been a good week, busy but I don’t really know what I did. Went to a gallery opening last Sunday, a young local painter who was all about colour and sky, but also some wonderful light-filled charcoals. Her dad was there and so proud of her. He has another daughter who is a physicist – imagine an artist and a scientist, isn’t parenthood wonderful? The physicist is dyslexic, but was able to get enough support and learn coping mechanisms to succeed all the way.
Went to the book club at the library, discussing Thomas King’s “The Truth about Stories.” It was a really wonderful, thought provoking book about the stories we tell ourselves, and stories about the Native experience in North America. He has such a subtle style, banging you over the head but you don’t even feel it, just the lingering questions he plants. I had a haircut this week, too. It is probably the best cut I have had in over a year, and I feel so good – it was long overdue, you know when you get to feeling too shaggy, try pinning up or back or anything just to get it out of the way. I am so pleased with this one – man, it’s hard to find a good haircut, and one of the hardest parts about moving, I think.
Started facilitating the nonviolence program, and once again am reinforced in my belief that as much as one would like to give away something so important, unless people pay something, even a minimal token amount, they don’t take it seriously. We had week two, and half the group didn’t show up. We’ll see what happens this week.
I have found a new skill – modeling for life drawing. I did my second stint this week, and enjoy it. The artists all are very grateful and enjoy my poses. It makes me want to find my pencils, and begin drawing again.
Making more contacts for editing, and am working on getting the word out for photo DVD’s – scan photos in, make a slideshow and burn it to a DVD. There are so many people with pictures in a shoebox, never look at them, forgetting who they are. I made some slideshows from my own photos, and enjoyed it so much, looking at my children through their lives, so beautiful, so many smiles, so many lovely memories. I smiled and laughed out loud looking at them all, and came up with some nice slideshows. I think it’s a service I can sell.
Then, started going through cd’s I have in a box, and found old writing, pictures I haven’t seen for a long time, other memories. So what do we do with all this?

I watched Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on TV last week. It is the first movie I ever went to a theatre to see. I was maybe four years old, and Dad took me. It was so exciting to go into the dark movie house, but when the witch came on I was so scared that I threw up, and Dad had to take me home. Meg threw up at Return of the Jedi. Too scary. But, Snow White was always one of my favourites. i remember going to the drive-in to see it when  was about 10, and couldn’t see it, my eyes had gone short-sighted and soon after I was wearing glasses. Watching it again, I realize that it was another early influence that sent me to the woods. The little house where the dwarves lived was so charming, but more than that was how all the animals were there to help, all pitching in first of all to save Snow White, and then helping clean the house, wash the clothes, make a meal. What could be a more perfect life than to live in the woods in harmony with nature? I enjoyed it again even with my adult analytical mind unpacking the theme of a woman living with seven men and keeping house for them, although she treated them like naughty children. Their mistrust of her – a woman – was also supposed to be comic, but what!!!! Nevertheless, evil is conquered, love redeems and all live happily ever after. Be cheerful, whistle while you work, keep love in your heart and live in harmony and openness.

Went to a pilot radio show a couple days ago, Bluenose Opera House. It was fun, and lots of great music. Coco Love Alcorn is a rising star, and lovely to see her live. It was in a large hall in Riverport, a small community on the river! The hall had no heat, but is set up for recording and hopefully will become the studio for the new program. Today went to a film by a local filmmaker about food sustainability in Nova Scotia – how many farms have been lost over the last few decades, 85% of our food is now imported. We could be self-sustaining, but there is not much incentive for farmers to remain on the farm. It was disturbing but inspiring as well. Makes the support of local food producers seem more urgent – go to the farmers’ markets, buy local, grow something at home, be aware of the source of our food.

Mom is going in for surgery to relieve water on the brain next week. I’m confident it will help her symptoms but feel a little apprehensive about the prospect of an 83-year old woman going through any surgery. Keep good thoughts and grace surrounding her.

Gabe is 35 today – holy cow. Hard to believe it all happens so fast. I am so blessed with him in my life, and so proud of the man he is.

Started facilitating the nonviolence program yesterday. Good to be back at it. It seemed to go well, people are looking forward to coming back next week. I should get out there and market it. I do enjoy small group work, and every time it is new. Meeting with a publisher tomorrow to pick his brains about getting free-lance editing work, and another one next Tuesday, who wants someone to proofread and edit, and also do some office work to keep things organized, but is afraid she can’t afford me. I guess I’ll have to find out what she has in mind, whether I can afford to work with her.

Finally took the sandbags out of the back of Bella – ballast. It feels so light now, that back end free. I wonder if it will make any difference on gas mileage – going up again tomorrow by 2-1/2 cents.