Solar Eclipse fun in Nova Scotia!

August 22, 2017 by tam

Solar eclipse photo sharing is the best way to get back to blogging, don’t you think?

I am going to try my darnedest to keep up with two blogs! It’s said it before, I know, but you probably don’t remember (lol) since it’s been so long!

To start things off here is a quick share of our eclipse experience yesterday.

Beginning of partial eclipse viewed with pinhole setup

Viewing the eclipse with a pinhole box…

We visited a friend’s place where there was a better view of the sun at this time of the day. Our home in the city would probably have had us standing in the road to view the eclipse!

My friend, Dawn, was determined to make some eclipse viewers. I am glad she did as I didn’t have any boxes to bring over that were large enough for us to stick our heads into like a pinhole camera. She found that there were no longer any big boxes at her place either but did a search and found directions using a small box. It worked wonderfully!

Small box eclipse viewing

Small box eclipse viewer

Even though we were not in the path of totality (big sad face) we were able to view a partial eclipse. It was very exciting!

Parital solar eclipse in a box

This was about as much of the eclipse as we were able to see from Nova Scotia. I love that it looks like a crescent moon!

Ending of partial solar eclipse

It’s at times like these that we can be thankful for such easy access to other people’s photos of the solar eclipse! There are some wonderful ones circulating on Instagram. Some people used a colander to view the eclipse! What a great idea! Instead of seeing full circles of sunshine coming through the holes of the colander you see what looks like half moons. I wish I had thought of that! We also saw pictures, such as at Melissa Wiley’s blog Here in the Bonny Glen, where the shadows of trees looked like so many half moons as well. Just beautiful!!

What a wonderful world we inhabit.

Speed Cube

October 20, 2016 by tam

We just recently celebrated yet another birthday – our boys are only 11 days apart as far as birthdates go! This time we celebrated a 10 year old! Yay! Double digits!

We woke early to celebrate Xman coming into our lives at 8:14am. I loved seeing the excitement in this eyes. How dear it is to celebrate these days!

Xman only asked for two things and even though he knew by the wrapping that he had received both he was still very excited.

He has been wanting a speed cube for quite a while. We have watch YouTube videos of people solving the cube in record time and he is so keen to try. I remember spending hours and hours with my Rubik’s Cube as a kid. The Cube is designed with rounded edges for faster turning. It’s pretty smooooooth. Nerf is always a winner in our house. This Stratobow is a powerful dart blaster! The afternoon was all about enjoying the beautiful fall weather and a little Pokémon searching.

Of course, it isn’t a birthday without cake…and our traditional family pictures!
Haha!

Happy 10 Xman,ya…! 🙂

Being with friends

October 18, 2016 by tam

Our oldest was beyond excited at the idea of turning twelve. He doesn’t want for much when it comes down to it and was so excited to get a new Pokémon Special Edition Pikachu card set. Even though he knew what was behind the wrapping it made him no less excited to open it. I think half the fun of birthdays is watching your children open their presents.

What’s better than one Pikachu card? One small one and one really big one, of course! When asked what he wanted to do for his birthday he said he would like to see a couple of good friends. Since my mother was visiting we thought it a great idea to take advantage of the wonderful weather and show her another bit of our beautiful province while the boys ran around being boys. 🙂Creature alert!Love this view! It almost looks like a tropical paradise – if it wasn’t for the big rocks (Love them!) and those conifers!
My boys. 🙂 Rock-jumping-minecraft-terraria-real-life-make-belief-play on huge rocks! I just love this landscape with its tide pools, low ground cover and huge boulders (reminds me of the Moors in Wuthering Heights).Somewhere in there are two people…
In the distance you can see beautiful Peggy’s Cove!

As evening came we enjoyed cake with both grandmothers and made our traditional family photos.

Happy twelfth birthday, Mr L!

Happy 40th!

September 28, 2016 by tam

I’ve been having some grief with uploading images for this post so I am a little late in finishing this one. As it turns out, apostrophes in file names is a bad thing. 🙂

Stephen just recently celebrated his 40th birthday! As tradition with birthdays we had a lovely morning breakfast at Cora’s and then a relaxing day just hanging out. Since Stephen had some pretty big plans the next morning he had a simple birthday cupcake to celebrate. blowing-out-candle Each time one of us has a birthday we take a family picture which usually takes quite some time because it’s just a bit of a challenge for us to be serious.We finally did manage one serious one.

That night was the full moon for September. It was a beautifully clear night with just a wisp of cloud. As soon as I took this picture more clouds rolled in as they do in a harbour town and hid the moon. It was so lovely while it lasted and I was happy to get a good shot!
Stephen was up early the next morning to run a marathon (thus the cupcake shown earlier). He trained hard for months oftentimes running early in the morning before work and in the evenings after the boys were in bed. Below is a picture that Stephen took when he arrived around 6:30am at the marathon location. When Stephen first showed me this I thought nothing much of it until I realized that was the moon in the sky on that clear and bright marathon morning.

And of course, I forgot my phone at home so I was not able to take a picture of Stephen crossing the finish line. It was quite a memorable moment though. The boys were super excited to see him cross and we were all amazed by anyone who could run that far (or even walk part of it as some did!) and so proud of him for keeping up the training and making it happen! That evening we had celebrated with yummy carrot cake. That is a very tired but happy Stephen!

Solstice Strawberry Moon!

June 21, 2016 by tam

We got together with some friends on Sunday for a Father’s Day/Solstice Strawberry Moon celebration. We had a great fire and great company. The boys played soccer with the dads and the girls sat and chatted and we all laughed a lot. Eventually, it was time to go home.On the way to the car we noticed the moon rising and had to take some photos which, of course, the kids didn’t mind because when pictures start happening they know they have much more time to play!

An hour later we were in the car and on our way. But not before I made one more stop to take a quick pic. Thank goodness for phone cameras because it’s better than no camera!

Our Solstice day was filled with Happy Solstice exclamations throughout the day and when we were leaving the house to visit a friend Xman found a hitchhiker on his shirt.

We let the wee one go wild and free. I just love how much the boys love even the little creatures and respect all life. ?

Later the evening with the sun still in the sky we continued the slow work of dismantling our deck. Our boys love this kind of ~~work~~ helping out which thrills me because it feels good to do it together and there is such a good feeling of accomplishment from hard work.

Long after the boys went to bed the moon finally showed herself. The boys were too tired to wait up because of a previous late night. They had gone to bed at 1am because Stephen wanted to play some Minecraft with the boys for Father’s Day. So after some fun playing – I am a slow learner but it’s fun! – they settled into bed at 1am and Stephen and I around 2!

I digress…So long after the boys went to bed the moon finally made her way above our trees. It was now after midnight and I almost didn’t grab my camera but knew I’d regret it since another full moon on Solstice wouldn’t happen for decades. She was as breathtaking as always and at least now I’d have a pic to show the boys. ?

I have to admit that there were moments on Father’s Day where great sadness entered my heart as I just lost my father in December. Many mixed feelings that will always stay with me and continue to teach me how to live and love. We did get a really nice video chat in with my step-father and mother, wishing him a Happy Father’s Day. ?

I hope you all had a wonderful Father’s Day and Solstice!! Many blessings.

Tamara

Shubie Park – new discoveries on the usual trails

June 9, 2016 by tam

We love Shubie Park! Yes, the location has a lot to do with it as it is less than a ten minute’s drive away. But every time we visit we find ourselves discovering something new. Or maybe the same things but in different ways. We often take the same trails and see the same animals but it always seems like a new experience. I love that after all of these years my boys still enjoy the paths and often veer off of them in search of new discoveries. They have great eyes for the little things and often spot the camouflaged damselfly or the tiniest slug on a rock. They still love racing sticks in the water, seeing them go in one side of a pipe and out the other. Feeding the squirrels is always a thrill and the woodpeckers never go unnoticed!

Polly’s Cove, Nova Scotia

June 5, 2016 by tam

We had a great time this weekend visiting Polly’s Cove with some friends. They had been before but for all the years we’ve lived here this was our first visit. We will be back again!

The boys loved jumping across the huge rocks and finding hiding spots, of which there were many.

I too, loved the rocks, always love rocks (!) but I also enjoyed seeing the different kings of plants that manage to grow in such a rough terrain. It’s just beautiful!

Pitcher plants!

Look at that quartz! Wish I could take it home. Finding hiding spots!
It took some work but the boys managed to place this big piece of quartz (size is deceiving for the weight of rocks!) up onto this nice flat spot. They wanted to bring it home but I was not trekking up over rocks and slopes of brush to bring it home…would have been pretty cool though…so we took a picture instead!
The trek back to the car. The lighthouse in the distance is Peggy’s Cove. Beautiful spot and great view!
A forrest of fiddleheads! The beach of Polly’s Cove. So many different types of plants growing in this rocky terrain. Love it! The boys found a caterpillar trying to cross the road on our way back to the car. We put it on a stick – no touching fuzzy caterpillars unless you know they are the non-stinging kind! – and put him/her back in the shrubs. I think this one liked seeing everything from a higher vantage point!

Wintery things

March 18, 2016 by tam

This winter has been rather mild for us here in Nova Scotia and although I am not complaining it does worry me. This is not regular winter weather for Canada. But yes, it has been cold enough to still wear our winter gear – and that’s my niece in the middle of this poster! My sister and family live across the ocean from us so this is as close as I get to my niece for now. 🙂 The boys thought it was pretty cool too. The days are getting longer and with the recent time change it is still light outside at 6:30. I try to not think about it actually being 5:30 ‘old time’. Hey, if this is the way for us to get up with the light and still have it light before bedtime I am all for it!

We haven’t had nearly the snow of last winter (of which I dreaded would happen again!) but we have had a few snowstorms and school closures and the like. This picture shows the clouds descending upon the harbour and the beginning of a storm. Gotta say that although I am not a fan of travel in this weather, I do love the way it looks. It’s my favourite thing about winter. I know the boys love all of the big flakes too! But they are also big fans of playing in the snow. After a storm they dug a hole just big enough to fit them both so they could hide from cars going by. They had initially been helping me shovel but the snow was heavy and digging in the snow was much more fun for them! And there is our huge front lawn! Ha! That’s what you get when you buy a house that is 100 years old this year: no front yard and no sidewalks – but a great view of the Halifax waterfront!And of course, with winter comes colds. We have been relatively lucky in the winter as the boys may be get a cold but nothing really bad. Below is what they like to call Ember Cidre. It’s like the Fire Cidre that I make based on Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe which is a sickness kicker for sure but is far too strong for the young ones. This recipe is similar and can be made same day. So, it not as hot as fire but it’s hot enough, thus the name Ember Cidre. 😉 Cute. It’s yummy too, with just a little kick!We never got sick of spotting green as the snow melted after each storm. We love our walks and spotting moss, licken and other various nature gifts is always a treat and a blessing for us. One of our favourite sites in winter is the Queen Anne’s Lace and the way it folds into itself as it prepares to overwinter and then seed. Squirrels! We love the squirrels at our local park and trail area. Always bringing nuts for them and seeds for the chickadees. Makes our walks that much more enjoyable too!As for now, Monday shall bring a whopping snowstorm! I see tobogganing in our near future – that is, if we don’t get snowed in! Ha!

throw back thursday – Pictou Lodge Resort

January 14, 2016 by tam

I have so many images that I have yet to edit and post but many of them are over a year old! I enjoy sharing our ‘goings-on’ on the blog because I love scrolling through and seeing what the year was like, what we did, where we went, and friends and family we spent time with. It’s all so wonderful for me!

I decided to create a Throw Back Thursday blog post. I am hoping this will give me incentive to edit all of those images!

Last July we made our yearly visit to Pictou Lodge Resort. We all love the resort and look forward to the next year’s visit before the current one is over!

There is so much family that comes along that there is always someone to chat with, play with or swim with! It’s a ton of fun for kids and adults alike!

Fun playing basketball with the cousins. The ladder toss game is the first things the boys run to. These hammocks are placed throughout the resort and we just love them. It’s the perfect spot to just chill and watch family play the games. The boys were really keen to try the new paddle boards at the resort. Instead of standing they decided to sit on the boards and use the kayak paddles to maneuver. I think they would have stayed on them all day if they could! A lot of swimming was had at the salt-water pool. We laugh every time we go to the pool because it’s most often busy with just our family. One year we took a family photo and there were 97 people! 97! Wow! For the first time ever we saw a blue heron during our visit! We saw it fly overhead when we first arrived and I was thrilled to see it stayed around long enough for me to take some pictures of it on the beach. I swear I did not saturate the greens in this one bit. Aren’t they amazing? Love that bird too! You just cannot go to the beach without skipping stones! Finding skipping stones is hard work! The boys are big into Nerf and so this cool piece of driftwood happened to make its way home with us. I think that particular stone may have too. Eventually you have so many stones and sticks around the house you forget where they came from! This fire pit was a new addition last year and we were all too eager to put it to the s’mores test! There’s always at least one marshmallow that catches on fire. I’m not sure it’s all by accident, either. 😉 These are the best vegan marshmallows. So so good!How often do you get to play checkers like this! If you go to the Pictou Lodge home page there is a video ad where you can see us playing checkers! We had a good laugh when a relative told us about it. His kids happened to be in the pool portion of the ad. Yes, there are a lot of us. 🙂
The sunsets. My goodness. This one is just a hint at what you get. They can be just amazing. On the Saturday night a hefty portion of family get together for a sing along complete with instruments. It is now the boys’ absolute favourite part of the weekend. Plus, they get to stay up super late!
These orb weavers were very cool – and very busy with their dinnertime ‘guests’. Goodnight Pictou Lodge. Until next year…

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2016 by tam

We had a wonderful day yesterday, a lovely Solstice and Christmas as well.

A dear friend of mine bought us this beeswax cancel for Solstice. Every year we say what we are thankful for and look back on last year’s wish list and make another. It just goes to show the power of intention because most of our wishes from last year came true and we hadn’t even looked at the list we made last year until this Solstice!

I finally got around to finishing my fire cider (all bottled and with a kick!) and doing the third round on my bee balm glycerine. I just love the colour that the glycerine is turning!I don’t do much baking. I actually hate baking. But I love this cookie press that my mother used to use to make us cookies as kids. It’s dear to my heart and quickly becoming our own tradition.

Christmas Eve is always an exciting time and never passes without reading The Night Before Christmas from this beautiful book! Christmas Day proved to be so mild that I was thrilled about not having socks on my feet! Snow is a beautiful thing but I gotta say, bare feet are pretty awesome too! There are always Christmas Crackers to pop! Oui Oui!The boys received a few games and we all had a great time with this one. Qwirkle rocks! Even our little Gypsy received a gift. *I think she likes it!* whispered*On the 27th we had a storm and the boys took no time in throwing on their layers and getting out there!Candy cane precision.We had a wonderful new year celebration just the four of us. The boys stayed up and we rang in the new year together with some Minecraft fireworks that L made. He even made seats for us to sit in to watch the display. I can barely build and they do this! We took a screen shot in front of the banner that Xman made. Here we are in our MC skin glory!Of course today we had to toast to a wonderful new year! The boys have sparkling peach apple juice and we have mimosas. Yum! I am all ready for January! I even painted a calendar for this month and plan on doing one for every month this year. They are sized to fit perfectly into my Leuchtturn1917. Love it! If you want to download a copy for yourself just hop on over to my art blog! Here’s to a wonderful 2016 and more posting! 🙂