Category: Events Page 1 of 2

There are two gifts we should give our children one is roots and the other is wings.

anonymous “wise woman”

It’s that time of year again; to take Rebekah back to Acadia – man that four months went by way too quick! So we loaded up the camper, filled the new trailer and headed east.  This is our eight or ninth trip down east this summer but this one was so different. It is sort of sad and exciting all at the same time. For the people who say this empty nest is a breeze, I am not sure if they are taking anything but it is not fun at all. We stopped in Levis, Quebec at the Costco to stock up on a few essentials. Sangria, coolers, beer you know. (it is a lot cheaper in Quebec than in Nova Scotia) That is from the mouth of a true student!  Camped tonight at the municipal campground in Rivière-du-Loup and met up with a few friends for supper. The next day, we had our routine stop at Covered Bridge Chips, where they know me by name!

Next stop, Ikea. It is every student’s best friend (not my pocket book though!) but we loaded up on furniture; a desk, a bed frame, storage options, and lamps. Then off to Wolfville, NS to set up the new apartment. We put together a ton of Ikea furniture and still like each other, if you know what I mean, lol. This is Rebekah’s first apartment and first time being on her own. It’s time to give her some wings to fly. I know she has roots and will always find her way home.  

No matter where I roam, Cape Breton will always be my home.

Frequently stated by Momma Jo’s Dad

Well, we are on the road again and this time we are traveling to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Now the last post had us in Fredericton New Brunswick, which is (1025 kms from Ottawa)  From Fredericton we are adding another 650km, stopping to pick up Jo’s Mom and Dad for the party. It is, after all, Jo’s uncle getting married. Imagine finding true love at 71!

Cape Breton Island has this beauty that captures our hearts, the ocean views, the coves, the culture, the music, the Ceilidh, the hospitality and of course, the world renowned Cabot trail. Both of Jo’s parents were born here in Sydney, (South Bar & Lingan Road) and both love the chance to come back. 

We stopped at the Farmers Daughter Market off the highway 105 in Whycocomagh. (Try saying that 10 times really fast). Ice cream and treats! Tried out the really nice outdoor rocking chars (would love one for my new deck) and the huge Adirondack chair (not for the deck). A great place to wander around and shop or stop and have a bite to eat, and their baked goods look amazing.

Our stop for supper took us to the Bonnie Prince Restaurant – Jo’s mom’s favorite – for really good steak. Did I mention they have Breton Brewing Company Beer for sale? Due to a lack of time we could not make the brewery this trip so we tried a few beers. Which I have to say were served with an ice-cold glasses – How does it get better than this? We tried the Island Time Lager and the Black Angus IPA. Definitely a craft brewery to visit on next years bucket list.   

The wedding was a fairly-tale type day, with fantastic island music and Cape Breton hospitality! It was the largest wedding I have ever been to with over 300 people!! But Oh, what a party!! It was so great to catch up with family!

Before we headed home on Sunday, we checked out Wentworth Park, the flowers were in full bloom, the sun was shining and it was a great day for a walk.  Then we took the NS-4 down the other side of Cape Breton Island. With stops at Irish Cove (beautiful views) and then to St. Peters Canal Historic Site which was celebrating its’ 150^th year.  Had to check out the place where apparently when Jo was young and wanted to go fishing, they tied her to the parked car so she wouldn’t fall in the canal!

We then found a light house for a photo op. We had lunch at Jiggs Take-out which a place I don’t have to come back to if you know what I mean.  One last stop at the Causeway to wave good bye to the island, then homeward bound.

Oh, what a party – Cape Breton Style!

Football, Fans and Food Is Always a Fabulous Combination!

momma jo

If any of you follow the CFL (Canadian Football League) this year, you know that the Ottawa Redblacks were not having the best of a season. But one still should take in one game a year. If nothing else, to people watch. This is always fun to check out the level of support each team has. How many people are supporting the home team by wearing their Red and Black colors, or team merchandise and what about the ones who go to extremes and paint their faces with the red and black! Then there are the ones supporting the opposition team, a watermelon cap really?  

Let’s remember the Cheering!! You have the loud and rambunctious cheering, and the subtle light clapping cheering. Then the best of all is the drunken cheering which gets a little louder, as the game goes on. My favorite are the ones who are carrying small pieces of a Fence and the letter D to help them cheer  “D-Fence” during the game. The ones with the loud horns, the cow bells, the drums and various other noise makers. The ones waving the flags. You have the ones who blame everything on the white and black stripes (the referee). Good thing those referees have broad shoulders. Then of course our very own cheerleading and stunt team who are always smiling no matter how bad the game really is. Football fans are the best!

No football game in Ottawa should go with out visiting a local establishment for food before or after the game; and to meet up with some friends. In our case it was before the game, to grab a drink with our friends Daphne (aka Momma Duck) and Devin her son. Mostly to have reasonable priced beer and food! I am really not a fan of overpriced hotdogs at a game. Today we went to a Quaint little Mexican restaurant called Feleena’s. Just a couple a blocks up from Lansdowne Stadium, on Bank Street. No, it was not just because Feleena’s starts with an “F”. Really it was because the Patio was open and the Coronas were COLD!!

The décor was lovely, with the Mexican inspired wall murals, vibrant colours on tables and chairs. Mexican music and Margaritas too!  Tacos, enchiladas, burritos, beans and rice.

How does it get better than this?

My FAVORITE HOLIDAY – it’s a no strings attached day! Just fun, a little creativity and oh, what a party!!

For our 30 years in Ottawa – Canada Day has always been about the party. In our earlier years in Ottawa, it was down on Parliament Hill; watching the fireworks from the roof tops of a friend’s business. To now, where we watch them from the hill in our backyard in Greely.

But it was all about Canada’s birthday. Canada, my favorite place on earth! Canada, got to love us Red and White, “We the North” now “She the North” (thanks to US Open Champion, Bianca Andreescu). Home to the religion of hockey and Hockey Night in Canada with Don Cherry; the Maple Leafs, Canucks, Jets, Oilers, Flames and the Senators.  The new NBA basketball champs; Toronto Raptors. Our MLB baseball team, the Blue Jays, with some great new prospects. And of course, our very own football league, the CFL! Where you only have 2 chances (3 downs) to get it right! Also can’t forget our higher percentage alcohol beer, EH!

Once we moved to Greely it was always a pool party at our house. One year we had over 50 people there, WOW! But what a party. Beer can chicken is always on the menu and Red and White was always a must!

This year was saved by friend Lana, who allowed me to throw a party at her place. She is a lifesaver – because it wasn’t happening in Barrhaven. THANK YOU, Lana!

The prepping for the party is a lot of the fun. Finding new, creative ways to showcase our true colors; Red and White. Red and white chocolate pretzels. Red twizzler nib licorice, white gum balls, Strawberry margarita jello shots, with white sugared rims. Red Sangria with white apple maple leaf cut outs for the fruit.  But the party is always the best part, and this year was awesome, still surrounded by my dear family and friends, and watching fireworks on the “hill” in Greely.

Happy Birthday Canada – The True North Strong and Free!

Imagine; 30 years ago we got married in Nova Scotia. A lot of things have changed since then but the one thing for sure is that we always said we would head east when we retired…. So here we are….  East! Our goal at this point was to be RVing as much as possible, to downsize the RV which we did and to downsize our house too. Well, we are working on this. Now this has not been an easy decision but has always been the goal to move closer to family, to move home – to Nova Scotia. The house hunting was a bust so we decided to look at land and possibly build. Build a house for Momma Jo and a carport for Winnie!

Lake or Ocean? Well lake implies cottage – but I have Winnie, and a wanderlust. So, ocean seems more logical. Oceanfront or view? Front may mean shore erosion so let’s go with view with beach access. Seems to be a good compromise. Location location location. Accessibility – are you close to the amenities – or are you in a remote location (for remote I have Winnie and the RV on the go). Can people find you when they come to visit because we have invited everyone we know to make sure they come and visit. Can we get actively involved in the community where we end up? Are we close to Jo’s family?

We spent days looking for land and narrowed it down to a few. Next to choose the style of house – how will it suit the land we choose. So now the final four! We had a contractor come with us and walk the lots to see which he thought would work the best for our style of house. With his input on spots to put our house, it definitely made it easier – now down to two! Money talks … cost yep cost – but as Steve and the contractor pointed out you can definitely plant a lot of trees where you might actually want them for the price difference! Welcome to lot #1 Sea Shore Drive, Sand Point, Nova Scotia. Wow we did it!

Creativity is intelligence having FUN

Albert einstein

Finally, some time to wind down, time to have some fun / do something not related to moving or packing. Something that brings joy to the creator and hopefully to the ones enjoying them!

I have always believed that baking is one of those things that is multipurpose.

1. Enjoyment in the fact that you can start a project and see the finished product in a short period of time. (Unlike moving)
2. That you can get your creativity juices and express yourself with what you bake. Research Google recipes online to find different flavor combinations; be daring, be bold. Break away from your old standards. (Banana Chocolate Chip)
3. That you can test out new recipe’s ideas for your cookbook (Blueberry Lemon Muffins, Cranberry Orange Muffins, & Lemon Poppy-seed Loaf)
4. That you can stock up the fridge/freezer for the kids before you take off in your RV for the next adventure……
5. That the kids enjoy the treats – and maybe remember their mother while she is on the road.

Remember Food is Love!

Hi folks, Steve is posting today, as this is our final day in our home in Greely. It’s been a wonderful 14 years here and will always be remembered as the home our children grew up in. Momma Jo found this wonderful location back in the spring of 2005 on Grapevine.ca for sale by owner. It was love at first sight and things fell into place that August, thanks in a large part to the relationship Jo built up with the previous owners.

Needless to say this was a rough day for all of us and especially for Jo. We will always have wonderful memories of our times here and will now take those with us to our new home in Nova Scotia.

I am a firm believer that the most important gift you can give someone is the gift if time. So, for Mothers day I asked my family to sit around a campfire with me, eat pizza, make smores, drink cold beer and reminisce about times past.

I don’t know what it is about sitting around a campfire with family and friends. Is it the warmth or the ambiance of the flames? Is it the fun of roasting hot dogs to making spider dogs on a stick? Is it toasting marshmallows and trying not to burn them, or having the melted chocolate and marshmallows ooze out of the graham crackers when you take that first bite of the smore? Is it having to lick the chocolate and marshmallows off your fingers? Is it the storytelling or laughter from someone’s jokes?  Is it reminiscing of times past? Is it staring at the white stars against the dark skies? Is it having your friends and family share in this moment? Or maybe, just maybe,  it is all of it!

PERFECT!!

How does it get any better than this?!

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.

SAM levenson

One definition of Travel is to go from one place to another….

Synonyms of the word Travel are move, proceed, progress, advance…

Therefore Moving is sort of Travel. Might not be the most fun type of travel but it is another adventure

Ok, whatever it takes to motivate myself to move from my amazing house in Greely to a smaller rental house in Barrhaven. Now I have to keep telling myself that this is for only 365 days; I can do it!  This is our temporary residence till we figure out what our next move is.

Trust me I would rather be in my RV. There is so much involved in moving and I feel like we were a good candidate for Hoarders Are Us.  The key to moving is one day at a time and just keep moving. Just think we will be doing this again with in the next year!! Yippee

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

Rodger A Caras

Well, my humans have been home for 6 days now, and have managed to stay focused on finding a place to live and pack. How very boring for me! So today they took me on our first little adventure in some time.

Wow! This place smells so good! It’s like there’s hundreds, thousands of other animals around. Whoppee! It’s the nice woman with the white coat and tons of treats! She’s talks so nice to me and gives me a treat every time I do what she asks!

Off to a great start with my weight being good for my age. Feeling good! Oh, oh! She’s putting that where?? Not again! No treat is worth that but they do taste so good!

Well, that was fun, for the most part. Off now to check out the new Greely Foodland store. No dogs allowed! What gives? Looks nice from out here but not a lot of smells.

They must be really bored or procrastinating big time! Why else dress me up in glasses? Time for kissess!!! Maybe I can get some more treats!

Oh well, it’s a dog’s life after all.

PS. They left me alone again, as Mom is off to some Music Trivia event and Dad with the Greely Lions. I’d really like to meet those pussy cats!