Wedding in the Whirlwind

Melanie and Kelly love the wind and rain; get plenty of both where they live on the south shore of Nova Scotia.  Their first date was a walk out to the waves and wild water at High Head, so they wanted to get married at that same place.

The weather didn't cooperate...at all.  The wedding day dawned in the torrential down pour and gale force winds of a tropical storm passing over the Maritimes. 

Still, they were cheerful and determined to make the best of the situation.

A small wedding with only immediate family began at their home with photos and laughter and searches for the rubber boots and rain gear...

yes, they still intended to walk to High Head.  

Gary and I went on a scouting mission to check out the wedding site:

the waves were 50 feet high

and the pathway was largely under water. 

What to do?  The owner of the Bed and Breakfast where we were staying

offered her back deck

as an alternative wedding spot.  It was 30 feet from the water with

not quite so much danger of someone

getting washed away during the ceremony. 

We booted up and left for the wedding.

In this photo, you can see the effects of the wind

but the driving rain doesn't show very well.  

(I'll post more photos on that in another blog entry.)  

We came around the corner of the

Bed and Breakfast to face the water and the wind and the rain. 

Everyone was immediately soaked to the skin! 

But cheery and happy.

The Justice of the Peace (pink) had to have help hanging on to her papers,

so she could read out the marriage questions and vows.

Back at the house, everyone changed into dry clothes. The bride and groom stayed in their wet ones until after they had signed their papers and lit their candles. 

Note: wet hair and happiness!

These are a few of the photos from the wedding in a whirlwind.  I'll be posting more over the next few days and will share a story or two about the B&B, the location

in Nova Scotia as well as the wedding itself.

Melanie and Kelly love the wind and rain. 

They got married in a whirlwind of water and wind.

Congratulations and blessings to them both!

All photos are mine.  If you want more information about the Prospect Village Bed and Breakfast,

please click here  http://www.prospectvillagebb.ca/  or if you want more information about the owner, Rosalee Peppard, a talented singer and keeper of Maritime oral "herstory" click here  http://www.rosalee.ca/

Shame on you Atlantic Superstore and Loblaws!

“Too much is never enough.”

“We say there’s no such thing as too much Holiday.  To help you celebrate in exuberant, over-the-top style, we’ve made…”

“This is the season for overstatement.  Let’s go nuts.”

These are quotes from today’s flyer ads covering the sales available at Atlantic Superstore / Loblaws Inc. for the period November 11 through November 24, 2011.  When I read the words, I felt like someone had gut-punched me, hard.

I’m sure that the words in the ads are meant to entice readers into flurries of spending for groceries, gifts, house wares and clothing, from now until the holidays.

Unfortunately, what is intended to be an advertising lure comes off as bad taste, encouragement to spend wastefully and excessively.

“This is the season for overstatement.  Let’s go nuts.”  This is supposed to be a cute ad, promoting Christmas nutcrackers. Instead it is sickening.  Flippant. Pejorative language to anyone living with mental illness.

“Too much is never enough.”  I understand what Atlantic Superstore and Loblaws Inc. are trying to accomplish—to interest customers, to appeal to the need to have it all; I find the sentence and the concept nauseating.

For the holidays, what about spending less, giving more of yourself or your time to others?  What about loving everyone, including those who are inconvenient or sometimes bothersome?  What about living more compassionately with less me, me, and me?

There is such a “thing as too much Holiday.”  No one needs to “celebrate in exuberant, over-the-top style” when there are people in this community who eat at food-banks or soup kitchens, when there are folks who live in deplorable accommodations in rooming houses or on the streets, when people with mental illness live alone and lonely, shunned by families because of illness and behaviour they didn’t choose.

I understand what the flyer is attempting to do.  Stores are running a business, making profit, increasing sales, providing employment. I get that.

But, come on!  “Too much is never enough.”

Really?

Shame on you Atlantic Superstore and Loblaws Inc!

This photo and opinion are mine.

Sleep? What's That?

Do parents of young children ever get enough sleep?  The answer would seem to be, "No." 

I still remember being so tired, I was able to fall asleep anywhere, anytime, when my children were small.  They had erratic sleep patterns, often woke in the night, stayed awake for long stretches and didn't nap during the day.  Years of sleep deprivation; remembering makes me weary, even now, thirty some years later.

We have grandchildren visiting.  No naps today, except for parents, grateful for grandparents' extra help, so they can rest.

Brightly coloured leaves dropped into our yard (ours, plus contributions from neighbours) to cover the lawns.  We'll rake them into piles later, make them ready for leaping and jumping and shrieking with delight--once the parents awake.

The parents are escaping this evening.  Because they are here, they'll have the rare opportunity to get out by themselves and to experience a quiet, elegant meal away from home, without the company of persons under three years.

Luxury!

I remember those times, too.  The beauty of an evening together without any children, and the bonus of free babysitting.  Hope they enjoy their time together being a couple again, as much as we used to appreciate escapes by ourselves.

It is important to have balance between being a couple and being a parent, especially when there isn't enough sleep to go round.

This photo is mine.

Cleaning for Company

The sun is pouring in the windows, lighting this room and revealing all the places where I missed the dust while cleaning, getting ready for company.   I’m chuckling to myself over this, as I suppose floating dust motes and missed dusty spots will grab the least attention from anyone who is arriving soon.

They are solely interested in seeing each other.  When family members “from away” come home to visit, no one is appalled at whatever level of housekeeping I have or have not accomplished.

They’ll burst through the door, hug everyone and start chatting with each other,  delighted to spend time with one another, after having been so long apart.   The adults will gather in the kitchen, share laughter and wine, cheeses and fruits, and later a huge boisterous dinner. 

The children will tear off upstairs to investigate all the toys that await them in our den.  They’ll occupy themselves with games, trucks, cars, building blocks, dolls, playing grocery store and keeping house, stuffed bears and dinosaurs.  Not one will say, “Oh, but Grammy, you missed a bit of dusting here!”

So impractical to worry about cleaning!  I suppose I have to admit that I do it for myself, so I will feel better.  Silly!  The only person who cares is me.  But part of me believes that caring is shown in preparedness and tidiness.

Each person here will spend the time visiting, eating, laughing, sharing stories of “Remember when?” or “Guess what?” or just enjoying being home again.  No one will say, “My goodness, what a sparkling house this is!”

When they leave (after staying…always it seems, too short a time), I’ll tidy again.  There’ll be finger prints and spills, sticky places and cat hair, crumbs and crunchy spots, laundry and dishes to wash.

What will I be doing?  Cleaning.  So yes, is it silly to do it beforehand…so it seems!

This is a wisdom that I have to re-learn many times!

I remember a comedian (I can’t recall which one) saying that she never cleaned before company came; she just wiped off her kitchen counters and sprayed some furniture polish into the air and a squirt behind each ear.  Everyone always thought her house was fresh and spick and span.  Their sense of smell fooled their eyes.

 I wonder where my furniture polish is.

Shediac River, New Brunswick

At the Shediac River, Saturday's breezes and the bright sun

created intriguing changes on the river.

The wind wrinkled the river; nothing reflected

in the pulsing ripples except the sunlight.

                 Later, the wind settled and

                   the sun's angle changed;

                      the Shediac River 

                        became like glass.

Sometimes life is like the river, full of hot air and waves, throwing off the flow of your day.

At others, the day is so smooth; all you need do is look,

to really see what is reflected clear and bright, back to you.

And sometimes, what is reflected back to you is crisper

and more in focus than what

you thought you saw

and understood before.

All photos are mine.

Autumn Photos

It is a challenge to write indoors when there is such beauty and change happening outdoors.  The world is mulching itself.  Colour and crunch and crispy days.  Hammocks which until recently held the drowsy days of summer are filling with drifting leaves.  Soon there will be stacks and stacks of dry leaves, raked and ready for children to jump and scream and play.

It is energizing to be outside, to write appreciating the last sheltered warm spots in the sun.  Soon enough the earth will be resting, trees bare, and the snow, which surprised us on Sunday, will no longer quickly melt away with a morning's warmth.  Best not to dwell on that, better to pause and enjoy the shorter balmy days and the gaudy, visual feast. 

Pause and breathe the mossy scents of autumn, hear the crunch of dry leaves as squirrels dart about gathering winter's store,  see the bright colours turning brown, wrapping the earth, taste the seasonal freshness of ripe apples, leeks, parsnips and cabbage, feel the dampness of the cool autumn air, cradle the firm, dry bulbs of daffodils and tulips while planting them in the chilled earth; enjoy it all.

Enjoy this autumn!

Sands Point, Long Island

At Sands Point, Long Island, a boy and his father examine sea shells, large and small, skip rocks across the waves, chase seagulls and watch cormorants perched on deteriorating pilings.

Nearby is a sign, “NO WALKING Beyond This Point, OFF LIMITS.”  The “gold coast” of Long Island is full of private stretches of shoreline in front of fancy expensive homes.

I ask if one of them is a museum, and feel foolish upon hearing that, “No, it is a summer home, closed now for the season.”  To me, it seems a waste of gorgeous coastline to live there only a small portion of the year.  And a waste of real estate to live in a house that is the size of a public building.

This little boy undeterred by the "Off Limits" signs, blithely steps over the line and runs off along the beach chasing seagulls.

After a few moments of calling with no response, his father sets off down the private sand and shore to retrieve his son.

Such an ideal autumn day at the beach, blue skies, calm waters, exquisite shells and speckled rocks and a tiny boy who knows how to enjoy the beach…even the private sections.

Words in red will take you to another website with more information, if you click on them.  All photos are mine.