The Dog Days of Summer

Now that fall is officially here (it got here on the 22nd at 21:18 UTC) I thought I'd bemoan the lost days of summer. The summer here was hot but not as hot as it has been. I don't remember any days above 100 but I'm sure there was one or two. All in all it was a good season with some (just a little really) paddling, lots of family time, and a few trips to Nova Scotia. I suppose the trip back to NS are why I missed the worst of the heat. Oh well...

Now for the dog part. Maggie has had a hard go of it but was a trooper through two major road trips. One was to Nova Scotia and another all the way back. I wasn't sure she'd make it and was prepared for the worst but she seems to be hanging on.

She's sitting next to me right now doing what she does best: napping and snoring. She snores like an old man and could give my dad a run for his money. The last few weeks she's developed a few more little lumps but nothing to get too worried about yet. She did have a nasty spell a few weekends ago where she had a bit of an "accident" on the carpet while we were out at a ballgame. We still have yet to get the carpet steam cleaned, but at least it doesn't smell. It's amazing the home remedies that are out there on the Internet for cleaning up "messes".

Other than that Jane is at least able to leave her home alone for a few hours at a time before she gets frantic or needs to go out. This is a drastic improvement over a few months ago when we couldn't really go anywhere. She is a senior dog but she's been good to us. I remember the days in Kentville where she would chew up one or two books a day. Now it seems she doesn't do much other than sleep and eat.

Here are some random shots of her, starting with the most recent, I think:

Some of these are from the summer when Jane and Isabelle were in Cape Breton.

This is Milford House early in the morning.

The last shot above is when she had her incident. We thought she may have blown another knee. She really didn't react very well to the treatment and the meds and had a really rough time of it. See a few of Jane's post (this one or this one) for the details if you haven't already.

Now there is another dog in my life. She's a little beagley type that lives in Kentville with Taryn. Macy, the little thing, gets very excited when I visit (but I suppose she does that for everyone.) Here are few pics of her from my last visit. I think she's like the Native Americans who though a picture takes away part of your soul. She has a typical beagle yelp and howl and isn't afraid to share it.

I think she's a little spoiled and in some way leads a charmed life, but show me a dog who is loved and doesn't lead a charmed life? Anyway, that's my story for now. Hopefully more posts soon. Things are very busy at work and Isabelle is loving school. Maybe that's my next subject...

And now a few close-ups.

Maybe too close!

Sorry about the quality, my phone is a better phone than a camera.

How to Show an Irishman a Good Time in Nova Scotia

Last week I spent the week in Waterville and the Valley working in my old plant. It is always interesting going back but I always tend to feel like an outsider looking in. People are always happy to see you but they always seem a little cautious until they find out why you're there. The event I coordinated went well and hopefully I helped them out. Only time will tell.

I spent my nights at the Old Orchard Inn this time. It's a good enough hotel but it's getting a little dated, you know, sort of a 70s feel to it. I'm not sure I'll stay there again. What the Valley needs is a new hotel but I won't be the one to build it. I guess it's back to the Blomidon Inn for me. For the time in the plant I had coordinated to have another five people come along. There was one from Bridgewater, two form Spartanburg, SC, another from a central team here in Greenville, SC, and finally one from Ballymenna in Northern Ireland.

Of course with a group that large and all from away, I played the role of tour guide. Where to eat, what to see, and how to get anywhere was always up to me. The guys were from pretty diverse and interested backgrounds but were all interested in experiencing a little piece of Nova Scotia while they were there.

Before I got to them though, I stopped in to see Taryn and catch up with her. This is on my way back from a weekend in Saulnierville where I did a little surfing courtesy of Tropical Storm Danny.

Taryn and I went to the Kings Arms Pub in Kentville. The word on the street was that they had a new menu. After a little looking we both weren't sure what was so new about it other than it was printed on new paper and the prices were higher (and wrong in some places!) One new thing was the cider on tap. I'm not a beer drinker but I do like cider and the stuff they had there wasn't too bad. It was actually from Montreal but I can't seem to find it on the Internet or remember the name, for that matter. We had a little mussels and some mains beside and generally had a good evening out before I headed into Halifax to meet up the fellow from Northern Ireland.

Monday was a a quick trip into Waterville from Halifax. Our first night out after everyone finally arrived at the plant was at the The Port Pub in Port Williams. We sat outside, a first for me, and enjoyed the view and smell of the incoming tide. The service was a little slow but the food made up for it. I again had mussels and the salmon, I think. Most of the guys enjoyed a local beer or two. We followed it up with a quick stop in to Hennigars Farm Market for some ice cream (but only because Elderkin's was closed, it would have been my first choice.)

The second night we hit Paddy's Pub in Wolfville. It hasn't changed much and was pretty good. I like the feeling of the place a little more than their original location in Kentville. Off course more mussels were on the menu along with some other seafood for most of the rest. For dessert some of us went next door to Just Us! Cafe and had a hot chocolate and a cookie. It is located in the lobby of the famous Al Whittle Theater, a place I went when I was at Acadia, and Jane and I both frequented before Isabelle was born to see the Fundy Film Society movies.

By Wednesday night the boys had heard and talked about lobster long enough. After work, having done my research, we headed straight for the Halls Harbour Lobster Pound. The place is still a little tourist trap on the great Bay of Fundy, but to cut right to the point, the lobster was pretty good.

Ordering was a bit of an ordeal as we were all one table but wanted to pay separately. It took almost 20 minutes to get us all sorted out. In the meantime the boys picked their lobster and I gave them a quick lesson in how to choose the best one. A quick walk around the beach, a look through the gift shop, another mussel appetizer, and it was time to eat. Now understand that the pound caters to the tourists who are not always prepared to deal with a whole crustacean as is, where is. For my part I wanted to make sure everyone came away from this with a lesson in how it's done on the boats. I made sure at least one of us had a pocket knife and went back to ask the server not to "crack" ours. This made for a little more fun and a much more memorable experience. Here is a picture of what some of it looked like.

I'm glad to say there no injuries to report.

Another interesting tidbit was the pedigree of the before mentioned meal. The lady at the cash assured me they were caught in the Bay of Fundy and that they were only a few days old. Now I didn't say anything to her but I am a local boy and I do know when lobster season is in the different parts of Nova Scotia. The first of September is not lobster season in the Bay of Fundy! The fellow who brought them out cleared things up a little when he told me they were from the South Shore and more like a few weeks old. Normally I would have liked them a little fresher but as I said above, they were pretty darn good.

On the way home we took the long way and stopped at The Look Off for a few pictures. The night was clear and crisp, the best time of year to visit Nova Scotia as far as I am concerned.

On Thursday it was down to Liam and I. Liam being form Northern Ireland had not seen too much of the area before. I think he said the last time he was there it was winter and dark all the time, much like Northern Ireland. Since he was up for it I decided to share a little of my culture with him. After work we got in to see the Grand Pre National Historic Site just before it closed for the day. The video is very good (I've seen it at least four times) and the displays are always interesting. It was interesting that the English had had such an impact on both our people's histories in two different parts of the world. Afterwards, we did a quick tour of Evangeline Beach before heading off to eat.

The meal was set for Le Caveau at Domaine de Grand Pre. As I have said before this is the place to eat in the Annapolis Valley as far as I am concerned. I had called my friend Taryn to join us and she brought along a friend as well. The meal was great with smoked salmon to start for me, and scallops cooked just right, and of course good wine. The company was excellent too. Liam is like many of his people, he's a great story teller. He got into his family, the area he grew up in, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and his hobby/other job which is raising French cattle. Taryn help up her part of the bargain and also kept the conversation going. I knew I could count on her for that; she's such a people person. Three and a half hours later we said goodnight.

Another day in the plant and then we were off to Halifax to get Liam to the airport. We stopped in to Cocoa Pesto in Windsor for a late lunch and had their famous ribs, dry rubbed. I squeaked in a quick visit to the Soderos in Halifax to drop off and pick up some things for Jane and Isabelle and we ate one more seafood meal at a place that was new to me but that I would certainly like to go back to. Little Fish in Halifax is located on the ground floor of the Five Fisherman on Argyle Street. As the name implies seafood is their thing. They even have an oyster bar if you're into that. We shared mussels, again. This time they were drenched in a nice, sort of spicy, Thai curry sauce. It was great for dipping the olive and rosemary bread they brought out, but I was torn between it and the smoked salmon, haddock and something else spread. It was amazing even though I can't remember what the third smoked fish was.

No time or room for dessert as I took Liam to the airport and settled into the Inn on the Lake for the last night. The next day I was through US Customs in Halifax in the relatively new terminal (a brilliant idea), on my flight to Washington/Dulles, and having Five Guys for lunch in the airport by 11:30. The winds must have been good as I was practically home by the time my flight was scheduled to arrive. Thankfully Jane was all over it and she and Isabelle both met me at the airport.

Now for my next trip...but not for a while...maybe.

A Little Piece of Nova Scotia

While we were home Jane and I took advantage of some shopping and bought a few things to make home feel more like home. One of the things we bought, four actually, needed some framing before we could put them up.

I inquired at the local hobby/framing shop and found out what I thought we wanted wasn't going to be that expensive. Jane had it done while I was away again in Nova Scotia. When she picked it up it wasn't at all what we thought. Dry mounting here is not the same as home where posters are mounted cleanly on particle board with the edges trimmed just so. Anyway, we decided to get proper frames for the panels and see how it would all turn out. Here is the result.

Recognize the artwork? If not maybe this will help...

...or this might put it in a better light.

If you still don't get it then check out this link.

While I was home last week I had a great meal there whit some friends (that's you Taryn) and a colleague from Northern Ireland. We had a great time. I'll get into some of the details in a future post. I think the restaurant Le Caveau ranks amongst my favorite restaurants in the Valley.

Another beautiful thing that comes from the place mentioned above is the cider. The Stutz brand cider is the best I know of this side of the Atlantic. Anyone coming to visit would do well to bring a few bottles. Here is the logo.

Also on the inside of the label, in the bottle, are some neat "rebel" apple motifs. This is what they look like.

By the way, there are lots of things I will miss about the US when I leave but one of the big ones is the fact that we live where you can buy just about anything on most days of the week. This week's winner is by far Hobby Lobby where we got the posters framed and where you can get anything related to crafts, hobbies, and even home decor. They even have those cool RC rockets that I always wanted as a kid.

Living With the Girl

Since the girl started school things have been pretty good. Having said that it is amazing what comes out of her mouth sometimes as well as some of the other things we talk about. I like to try to figure what goes on in her head sometimes. Here are some of our conversations and my observations. Most of this stuff happens in French but it's translated here for you.

While I was away Isabelle took to sleeping with Jane, usually showing up between 11:00 and midnight. One time she even came into the bedroom and Jane wasn't in bed yet. She got all indignant and called out to Jane to "get in bed, right now!" She really hasn't figured out the world doesn't (always) revolve around her yet.

Last night was another one. I wake up about 2:00 as Maggie is very restless and has been up a few times (but that's another story). Anyway, Jane says to me: "Are you going to put the girl back in her room?" Well, I didn't even know she was in bed with us so I go around to Jane's side and pick her up. She latches on around my neck like she usually does and as I'm walking into her room she says to me in a voice that can only come from a sleepy five year old: "Where are we going, Papa?" I say to her, in French: "I'm putting you back in your own bed." To which she replies: "But my bed isn't big enough for three people!" thinking we were ALL going to her bed. She's a case that one.

For those of you who know me well enough to have heard me speak to my family you know I speak three languages. I do English relatively well, my French is pretty good, and my Acadian is fine (although nothing like my Dad's). The problem is that now Isabelle is going to a proper French bilingual school, not Acadian school. So, I've already caught her correcting me with pronunciation. It won't be long before she's criticizing my vocabulary and sentence structure! I'm impressed it only took two weeks. To be honest it will be good for me but I'm a little disappointed she'll likely never really get a good feel for Acadian. I guess I'll have to make sure she spends some quality time with her grandparents in Saulnierville.

Another thing that has started since school began a few weeks ago has been the fight for leftovers. I pretty much had everything to myself when it came to packing a lunch for work. Now I find myself playing second fiddle to the girl. Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly, I just wish she'd leave me a little egg salad so I can have a sandwich too. I knew she'd eat me out of house and home eventually, I just didn't think it would be this soon.

Finally, this weekend she got into talking about everyone's name. I explained to her that I have a middle name just like most everyone else. The interesting discussion came when I explained to her that Mummy and Papa have different last names. You see it seems Tante Rhea and Oncle Jon have the same last name (it's even that same as Sam's). Tante Gisele and Oncle Rick along with Andre and Lisette have the same last name. Even Grandmere and Pappi & Sammy and Peter have the same last name. She seems to think it's because Jane and I were born in different places. I haven't told her any different. I think I'll let her mother explain that one to her.

The Melanson Grandkids

This is just a little post to put up this pic. Try as she may, my mother (and the rest of us) has a hard time getting the four grandkids to sit still for a picture. Isabelle is too silly, Sam is too busy, Andre won't seem to smile or look at the camera, and sometimes Lisette can be very shy. In any event, after a few attempts we did get this one.

Form left to right they are: Andre and Lisette (Gisele and Rick), Sam (Rhea and Jon), and Isabelle (Paul and Jane). Note the boys are in their pyjamas. The picture was taken this summer on my parent's front steps while we were all home in Saulnierville. I think that's the best picture so far of the lot of them.

Unfortunately we didn't manage a family picture this year. Every time some tried to get us together it was either bedtime, or naptime, or someone was missing. Oh well, maybe next year.

Bring it on, Danny

Last weekend tropical storm Danny hit Nova Scotia and I was lucky enough to be there on business. I called one of the other Privateers (members of the old paddling club in Nova Scotia) and got some stuff organized for Sunday morning. Now the only thing left was to figure out how to capture this event for posterity.

A while back Jane got us a waterproof camera and I've been itching to get it really wet in the surf ever since. So, after a long day flying through Washington, Toronto, and eventually Halifax, I drove home to Saulnierville. The next day was pretty ugly with lots of rain and wind. Danny was blowing up some waves and I was stuck watching the wave forecasts on Wavewatch and MagicSeaWeed. Since I didn't have much else to do I spent part of the day building the helmet cam. A piece of aluminium, a stainless steel bolt and nut, and a little duct tape and this is what I ended up with. I must say the Olympus was great in the water. I sewed together a little neoprene cozy for it and lashed it to the helmet. My only concern was that it would come loose and whack me in the face. Thankfully that didn't happen.

Now the waves weren't the biggest I have paddled but they were nasty. Wave period, or the time between waves, can make a day at the beach pretty exciting. The first place we set out in we got hammered. Once we moved down the beach things got a little better. I took a whole bunch of video but first here a few still pictures of the day.

That big pile of stuff in front of us is seaweed that had been churned up by the storm. At one point I walked over it and quickly sank up to my knees. The stuff was still wet and a little ripe. I hope the smell will come out of my paddling shoes.

This first video is one of the first tries to get out. If you watch it all you can see that when I get into the really big stuff one wave breaks right on me and the boat and I end up surfing backwards to the beach. Surfing is surfing but I usually like to see where I'm headed.

After the first run I switched boats. The orange boat is my Dad's. It made it easier to get out but since it's a long sea kayak it doesn't surf the same way. It's after this run that we grabbed our boats and moved to the far end of the beach where the waves weren't breaking as strongly and there was more distance between them. It made for some good rides.

The next one shows a short side surf and then a short run before the wave break catches up to me on the right.

In this shot you get a better feel for how fast you can get moving. The boat I paddled is my buddy Paul's but it used to be mine. I sold it to him when I moved south.

Here is one last one form launch all the way out to catch up to Paul. I got the timing just right and didn't get hit too badly.