Nova Scotia Place of the Week-Prince's Inlet

We've made it to the cottage and no, there's still no baby! 38 weeks and a bit now and we are patiently (for the most part) waiting to welcome the newest arrival. I must say that we have a great location to wait! We are staying at Prince's Inlet Retreat near Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and are finding it quite enjoyable. The owner of the cottage has been very helpful and informative and the setting is just picturesque.



Sunrise over Prince's Inlet (view from the front door).



Baby deer in the yard.

The cottage is just remote enough to make you feel like you are getting away yet it is close enough that it doesn't take much time to get to several larger towns to visit (and what beautiful historic towns they are). I'm sure that I'll be able to feature a couple of those towns over the coming weeks here on my blog so I hope that you will check in and see what we are doing while we are waiting for baby!

Cape Breton Place of the Week-Cape Breton Fudge Co.

No, there will be no scenic views this week. It has been too wet. We've been hibernating with books, movies, blankets and FUDGE. We treated ourselves to beautiful handmade fudge from The Cape Breton Fudge Co. Yummy stuff. Wonderful staff AND they ship worldwide. I've tried and I've tried to make fudge and it just never turns out smooth and creamy like this. I feel very lucky to have such a great fudge company nearby because everyone needs a bit of fudge from time to time!



Comes in such a nice little package.



Complete with a knife for sharing.



Chocolate mint. Rocky road. Score. Cookies and Cream.

Place of the Week-Fortress of Loiusbourg

Time for a new feature on this blog. Since I am totally in love with my little island of Cape Breton, I thought it would be a nice idea to feature her on my blog weekly (at least over the summer months). Once a week, hopefully on Mondays, you'll be able to come on an adventure with me as we get to know this little place we call home. Sometimes we will travel far, and sometimes we'll take a trip in my own backyard. I am looking forward to sharing with you.

This weekend's visit was a real dream come true for me. I've wanted to go to the Fortress of Louisbourg for just about as long as I can remember. I've always felt that I was born in the wrong era so it was a real treat to step back in time. From the moment that you get off the bus you are treated like it is 1744. The people doing the reenactments at the fortress were really wonderful and shared a wealth of information about what it was like to live in Louisbourg at the time. They were great with the children and patient and were able to answer their questions while staying in character and in such a way that the kids could understand (the blacksmith was phenomenal).

Liam favorite part was talking to the lady at the tavern and learning about all the games the soldiers would play to pass the long winter months.

Of course the animals were a big hit with the kids and I loved looking at the different herbs that were growing in their gardens. We had a lovely period lunch as well and the kids were delighted with their "Pain Perdu" (French Toast). Visiting the fortress (which was a French settlement in 1744) also gave us the opportunity to pull out our French and reintroduce it to the children. We've even continued to speak it at home from time to time.



This lady was using a wonderful contraption to make a rotiserie chicken for Sunday dinner. It smelled absolutely divine. Liam announced that he was going wait right there until Sunday. He also had the chance to see how different dyes were made and when we got home we actually tested making yellow dye from onion peels.



This is the view of (a part of) Louisbourg from the fortifications around the governor's home.

The only thing that would would have changed about the trip is that we should have planned to make a full day out of it. We arrived in the early afternoon but there was no way that we could see it all in 4 hours with two kids. We managed to visit about 40 of the 60 different attractions but we did not visit as long as we would have liked and in the end we were rushing through things just to see as much as we could (leaving poor little Morgaine feeling a bit exhausted). Next time we will definitely pack a picnic and arrive early in the day giving us more time to visit at a slower pace.

I think that visiting the Fortress of Louisbourg was a wonderful opportunity to teach Canadian history. Having the kids step back in time and see first hand what it was like to live 1744 years ago was great and it was especially wonderful that everyone was so willing to talk to the kids at their level. I am sure that we will visit many time over the next few years.

Sir Sandford Flemming Park

While in Halifax we also took the opportunity to visit Sir Sandford Flemming Park. It was wonderful to spend some time walking in nature (in town) and the kids got to see several different animals as well. It was quite enjoyable.

I Took the One Less Traveled By

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Most people think of Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" as inspirational, a call to question things, to not always take the easy path through life.  This weekend though it was our ispiration to do something a little different. We literally took the path less travel and drove from Halifax to Guysbourough on local roads that often looked something like this....



We laughed 'til we almost cried and we wouldn't have had it any other way!

Chugga, Chugga, Choo-Choo

The kids and I had a wonderful time on the ViaRail and would do it again in a heart beat. The attendants on the train were really wonderful and indulged the kids all the way (Morgaine is such a charmer *lol*. Who could resist?). The kids were totally exhausted when we got on the train and were fast asleep within 30 minutes of leaving the station. Our attendant was shocked. He'd put down the beds at the kids request right away (he said "the kids love to crawl around on them and look out the window"). He checked back in after 30 minutes to find them asleep and was so surprised! I crawled up in the top bunk and read for a while but was soon lulled into a deep sleep by the trains movements.

After 12 hours of sleep, the kids awoke bright-eyed and bushy tailed ready to explore.We made our way to the observation car, Morgaine saying "Hello! Good-bye!" to each passenger we passed, where we spent a better part of the rest of the trip.

A favorite of ours was eating in the dining car, where the kids proceeded to eat their, and most of my, breakfast. Again the attendants were shocked (they'd recommended the kids share a plate to save me some money...they were ALL about me saving money...I hope we didn't look too poor or something *lol*). My kids, however, are huge breakfast eaters and ate their French toast, then shared my eggs and stole all my toast. Hey, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, they say!

The food was excellent (I had lunch, while the kids did not as they were stuffed from breakfast), the staff was courteous and helpful, the ride was all around pleasant. It certainly is a great way to travel and I can see myself doing it again to visit the family. I have no idea why we didn't think to travel this way before.

Thank you ViaRail!!

Posed Pictures

As you can probably tell from my pictures on here I am not a fan of posed pictures. This weekend though we went to Chateau Montebello and I decided that it would be nice to get a few pictures of the kids together (because in real life my kids don't hang out together much so it is hard to get candid pictures of them together).

This is why I am not a fan of posed pictures

Fake (and half-hearted) smiles.

Wondering Eyes.

Half-hearted smiles and wondering eyes.

Thank goodness though that we did get this one to turn out nicely. I quite like it!

Apples and Tomatoes

(so I haven't really found the direction that I want to take with this blog).

This past week has been all about the pleasures that fall has to offer us. After the first frost there was a desperate scramble by our neighbour to pick the last of her abundant tomato crop. She was happy to let us take as much as we wanted as what was left was only going to go to waste.

A couple days later we went to a local apple orchard for our annual outing. The kids had fun playing on the play structures and petting the animals.

Then it was off to the orchard.

An Awesome Baseball Game

I had the honour of attending the 10th anniversary of my nephew's baseball team. What is so awesome about this team is that it is especially for children who have challenges in life and would not have the opportunity to play ball any other way. It was very special to see the dedication of the people that make this happen each week for the kids (the pitcher was AMAZING!) and to see the smiles on the kids faces as they hit the ball and ran (or were pushed) around the bases. Much fun was had by all.

I'm leaving on a jet plane

Or make that a big ol' travelling bus!!!

I'm out of here to visit family and friends for the next little while (I'm not exactly sure when I'll be back...I'm purchasing and round way ticket that is good for the next 12 months!!) My man tells me he'll come to get me when the snow melts!! *lol* I'll be gone at least a week but unsure after that what the plans are.

I'll try to pop on though with some craftiness and cooking just the same.

Majestic Autumn

There is something about autumn that makes me feel alive inside. The colours are so vibrant and the heavy humidity of summer has past leaving a welcomed crispness in the air. I have two favorite days of the year. The first comes sometime in April when one can open the window for the first time after a long winter and not be chilled. The second comes in October when you can open the window for the first time after a long winter and feel the cool breeze.

A couple weeks ago I was able to grab my camera and catch some shots of my kids enjoy the splendor of autumn.