As Patti Smith Has Said

the people have the power.

As the US Presidential campaign gets into full-on looney-bin circus mode, with the Canadian political spectacle not far behind, and I hear stories like the one on As It Happens yesterday about Megan Nobert, it's hard not to believe we're going to hell in a handbasket.  Frankly, my faith that governments or other large "corporations" (sometimes it's hard to tell the difference) to affect change and actually take care of people, animals, and the environment is pretty damn low.  So it was great to read the NYTimes report on the Sea Shepherd's efforts to stop illegal fishing.  I hope you take a minute to read it, and hey, stop ordering Chilean sea bass already.

Coming Into the Home Stretch

Our neighbors, right across the street, at the community pasture

Yesterday the ladyfriend put our time here into perspective.  We always have this sense that time is flying by, but when we stop to think about what we've done while we've been here (and when we did it), we realize that we've pretty much enjoyed each day to its fullest, and that's what we like.  We've puzzled, biked, gone to Halifax to attend an opening, visited friends, read, crafted, swum, and more.  However, it's not so much about what we've done or accomplished since we've been here; it's the way this place constantly renews us.

The ladyfriend at the Halifax Farmers' Market

We have a little over a week left before we head back home.  August is a busy month for us as we are home only for a few, most likely frantic, days before we go to MichFest (more on that in another post), visit the ladyfriend's mother & family in Colorado, and finish getting ready for the school year.  (I think I have let go of any surprise that we hit the ground running in August; it happens every year this way.)  I have the feeling that this coming week will be a busy one.  Not only is it River John Days, but we'll be trying to see our friends here one more time as well as take care of some business and get a few more days of swimming in.  The great thing is that we always have faith we'll be here again next summer so there's no reason to fret about what did or didn't happen this time.

It's been a good creative time for me.  I'm working on a new collection of short stories and am starting to get a sense of the shape of that landscape.  I'm hoping to get one story finished (or as near to that as possible) to use for a residency application, but that might be a bit much to ask.  I am, in the meantime, attempting to cultivate a "work-lust" a la Seamus Heaney.  I thank my friend Karen, at Day In & Day Out for the quote and inspiration!

Things change quickly, last week's puzzle gets taken apart to make way for the next one.

Almost Two Weeks In - Nova Scotia

Hanging your lobsters was recommended by a vintage recipe we found; keeps the meat from getting water-logged.

Greetings from Nova Scotia!  We've been here a little over a week, and clearly time has gotten a little away from me.  While the image above depicts a sunny day, we've been having rather cool weather and a few rainy days.  It's only starting to get above 20C/70F during the day.  It's fine as we have plenty of things to busy ourselves with, like puzzles.

We finished this puzzle in about two days.  However, we'd sorted the pieces the last time we were here so a lot of the grunt work of starting a puzzle was done.  That doesn't mean it was easy.  We've already finished another one so we bought two more when we went into New Glasgow a few days ago.

We're working (yes, really - and it's good), crafting, reading, eating, and just letting our lives slow down a bit.  I finished Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking the first week.  The book is from the Chester Newsies Lending Library (also known as The Artists' Newstand).  I'll be bringing it back when we return if you want to borrow it.  It's a really good book.  I happen to love Joan Didion's writing.

I have another book on the go (read-in-bed category), which I'm pretty meh about - Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason.  It's a mystery set in Iceland, which I got from my mother-in-law when she was getting rid of books.  I'll finish it, but I have to say,  I don't really care about any of the characters, and this is a book where's there's a battered wife, a junkie daughter in a coma, and a couple of others one might feel for.  Meh.  The other books that I'm dipping in and out of at will are Consider the Oyster by M.F.K. Fisher, which is great, and Writing Past Dark by Bonnie Friedman.  Both are more or less collections of essays so maintaining a narrative thread isn't important.

I brought supplies for four knitting projects and two sewing projects (both Alabama Chanin things - one is the sampler quilt and the other is beading I need to do at the bottom of a finished skirt).

We're headed into Halifax (the big city!) tomorrow for a friend's opening at a gallery.  I'm excited to try a restaurant I've read about and stay at an iconic Halifax hotel.  Plus the farmers' market is on Saturday, which we'll definitely hit.

We really feel at home here.  People don't really know what it's like until they get here, and when they do, they never forget it.  Happy summer!