Our Message Archive

September 2024



Sunday September 22

Pennant River

Pennant River

We have been having very nice weather recently, as is normal in the late summer in Nova Scotia. That means that we have been able to to go on all our usual rides: with the Railers on Mondays out to Lawrencetown Beach, with the Roadents on Wednesdays from Laurie Park to Monte Vista, with a stop at Tim's in Enfield on the way back, and with the Ramblers on Saturdays. Last Saturday we rode from Herring Cove to West Pennant, had a picnic lunch on the rocks overlooking Pennant River, then stopped in at Pavia for a coffee and treat when we got back to Herring Cove. The Saturday before that we were in the Valley for the annual winery tour, though this year we only stopped in at the Gaspereau Vineyard (Ann and I picked up a couple of bottles to take home). Afterwards we joined Dave and Manon, Larry and Cindy, Dave and Donna, and new Rambler Catherine at Charts Café in Wolfville. Two Mondays ago, Ann also went kayaking with Ingrid on the Northwest Arm.

Last week the Roadents made The Laker, an on-line community newspaper covering the area towns north of Halifax where the Roadents ride. The occasion was our 150th ride since they started in 2019.

Over the summer, the Cottage Café has become our café of choice due to its proximity and outside tables overlooking Lake Banook. Ann also has a soft spot for their butterscotch rolls. We have been there several times over the past couple of weeks: on our return from the ride to Lawrencetown Beach on Mondays, with Carl and Roxanne last Thursday, and on our way back from taking the car in for servicing the Thursday before that.

This coming week we will be heading up to Renfrew to lead a week of bicycling with the Ramblers among other things. David and Louie will look after things the home front while are away. We have spent some time this week getting everything in order before we go. For me, that has included harvesting anything in the garden that might not survive untended for three weeks. Today I made some tomato sauce to use up the tomatoes on our window sill (there are still some green ones on the vine) and pesto to use up my basil. It has been a banner year for eggplants so we are finishing up the fourth moussaka I have made and there is plenty of Moroccan eggplant stew in the freezer. Several have also been given away. There are still carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, kale and lettuce to nourish us when we get back.

Ann has also been keeping busy with Mahjong on Fridays and book club and choir on Wednesdays.

On Thursday, Ann and I took the ferry to Halifax with Roxanne to attend the opening of a show at the Tiechert Gallery where Roxanne had a couple of photos on display (you can see them if you follow the link to the gallery). A couple of other people we know, Cathy McKelvie and Carol Smeraldo, also had works in the show.



Sunday September 8

Ann and Kimmie at the Cottage Café

Ann and Kimmie at the Cottage Café

It has been a miserable wet weekend as the remains of a tropical storm passed over us. We have stayed close to home and entertained ourselves by finishing books and watched some shows on TV. A fundraiser for the Kidney Foundation, with which our friend Erika is involved, was postponed and the Rambler ride around the Aspotogan Peninsula was cancelled. However, we have been on several other rides over the past couple of weeks: the usual Wednesday rides with the Roadents from Laurie Park to Monte Vista; a ride around the Porters Lake loop with the Ramblers, followed by a pleasant lunch at La Cuisine de Brigitte; and a ride from Beechville to Upper Tantallon with the Halifax chapter of the Railers.

A week ago Monday we also rode to Lawrencetown Beach with our friend Kimmie. This was nominally a Railers ride but only the three of us showed up, most of the rest being on a bicycling tour out of Summerside, PEI. As we rode out the Shearwater Flyer across Caldwell Road, there was a police car blocking the continuation of the trail. They let us pass, but at the Bissett Road end there was police tape across the trail that we had to pass under. On our return from Lawrencetown, we were not allowed to pass. Apparently someone had been found on the trail who claimed that he had been attacked by a bear. Over the next couple of days it was determined that there was no indication of any bear in the vicinity so it's assumed that the story was made up and any injuries sustained by the man had a different cause. Since we could not return on the Flyer, we rode through Cole Harbour, out Montague Road, and back via Waverley Road stopping in a Nine Locks Brewery to pick up a six-pack of beer on the way by. We then had coffee and a treat at the Cottage Café before heading home.

This week the Fringe Festival has been on in Halifax. Last Sunday, after coffee at Two If By Sea, Ann took the ferry over, met our friend Catherine, and went to Rethinking Good Intentions, a play by one of Ingrid's friends about her experiences volunteering with CUSO. On Friday, we met Catherine, Paul and Fred at the Resolutes Club for dinner and then went to see Benjamin's Passion, about a dancer's experiences in a ballet company in Boise, Idaho; it was as strange as it sounds, though you must expect that at the Fringe.

Ann also played Mahjong again last Friday. I drove her out to Lower Sackville, then she and Paddy drove to Marilyn's place near New Germany.