Hello everyone! I am kicking back and putting my feet up in a hotel in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. I have just finished a weekend of helping my friend out at a craft show, with her knitting and her daughter’s crocheting. It is an annual show, called Windfall Fine Art & Handcraft Market. I have worked at other craft shows myself, and I have to tell you, this one was a little different.
The show is hosted at the St. F. X. Campus in Antigonish, in a section of the arena. There is an admission fee for the customers, and that is donated to the local Charity that donates part of the proceeds to the local hospital. The part that really stands out for me was that there was a place for vendors to go and take a break. Not so big of a deal by itself, until you find out that there is a snack table with hot and cold drinks, biscuits and cheese, and sweets there for the vendors to take as they wish. It is also run by donation, and all of the proceeds from this and the raffle go to the same charity. There are donated gifts from the vendors that they sell tickets on, which is what the raffle is for. I did not win a prize.
We left on Friday. I took a 4 day weekend, and am using up 2 vacation days to be able to be here. We booked a room in a local hotel. I wasn’t sure about it, but it has been a pleasant stay. The hotel is under new management, so there are things that could be improved upon, but these things did not make the stay unbearable. The bed was good, there are enough pillows and towels. It is clean. I have been comfortable here.
We got some groceries to have food during the weekend at the show and at the hotel. I am getting ready to make some microwave popcorn to enjoy while watching the brand new Star Trek Series Discovery. I am looking forward to the show.
We ate at a local favourite restaurant tonight. It is called The Snow Queen. I knew there was one near Mother Webb’s Restaurant, but I was not aware that there was one in the town of Antigonish.
I was impressed by the food. I got the pan fried haddock in lemon butter, garlic mashed potatoes, and a small house salad. I was in the mood for a treat, so I had a chocolate milkshake with it. I really enjoyed it. The piece of fish was large, the potatoes and salad were tasty, and the milkshake filled the glass twice. I felt like I had a haddock Thanksgiving dinner. It was very good.
One of the highlights for me was seeing a few relatives today. They didn’t realize I was in town so it was a bit of a surprise for them. I was happy to see them and to have a few minutes to catch up. If I come back again next year we may plan more than a short visit. The
The other nice memory I have was of a little girl this afternoon. She was about 3. Her mother had picked up a mandala vest, and I told her that I was impressed that she knew what it was. She did because she had previously bought one for her daughter, who had outgrown it and it was time to get her another one in a larger size. She got her daughter to try some on and then was deciding on colours. Her daughter was spinning and hugging it and just looked so thrilled to be getting a new vest. The whole event was simply adorable.
Well, it is time to pop the popcorn and enjoy the new series opening shows. We are going to get to see episode 1 &2. I did buy 2 bottles of wine today, to bring home. It was a fine way to finish the weekend.
Please accept my apologies for posting this on a Monday. (Which is now Tuesday). I was literally too tired to finish it before I went to bed last night. The weekend was THAT busy and took ALL of my energy by the end of it. I started writing it yesterday morning and will leave it in its original format.
I am in the middle of a busy weekend again! I find that it happens a lot in the summer. The sun is out, and people want to do more things together. Family and friends gather around, yard sale season happens, and there is always something going on somewhere. Usually too much to be able to participate in all that you want to do.
Back in April, we took a road trip to visit Nanny Webber in Nova Scotia. Yesterday was her 109th birthday, and we went back on a day trip to visit and have some birthday cake. We got there and she was very happy that we made it. We didn’t commit because sometimes things happen, and just in case we couldn’t go, we didn’t want to make a promise that we couldn’t keep. I am happy to say that she was surprised to see us step through the crowd of people. In fact, I would say she was delighted.
She and Roy’s father were happy to see us, but a little sad that it was just a day trip, and that we would be making the drive home the same day. She told me that she kept asking her son, Roy’s dad if we were going to make it. He didn’t know. She said she kept asking him because she knew that if Roy made the trip, that I would go with him. What a nice thing to say. Nanny Webber really is a special lady, and I like spending time with her.
I had made her a bracelet, for her birthday. I made it too big for her wrist, but because I made it, I packed what I needed to fix it if I had to. I asked her what colour to take out, and with a few minutes and 2 tries, I got it to fit better.
On the way back from the party to her place, we had a car full of party food, gifts, cards, and balloons. I took a few selfies of me in the car with the balloons. I mean, when I looked into the back seat, all I saw was balloons! It was just screaming selfie!
109 Birthday Balloons
109 Birthday Balloon Selfie
We went back to her place and made a visit. We had a plate of sandwiches and sweets. Then we got her to open her gift. What do you give someone for their 109th birthday? Well, along with the custom made bracelet, we found a little crystal flower and vase decorative suncatcher in pink and green. We also got her a piece of decorative art, themed with things grandma says. She read some of it, as the words went in different directions within the frame.
Then it was time to go. She said she had a good day, and I think she was a little tired but didn’t want to tell us. So we said our goodbyes and went to our next stop.
We had a 4 to 5 hour drive in each direction. We planned to have supper with a friend on the way home, to break up the drive. We had a nice visit and then got back on the road. It was 1 am on Sunday by the time we got home.
We set the alarm and went to bed. By 1 pm, we had divided to get some groceries and to start laundry, got a chicken in the slow cooker, put away the groceries, and started the dishwasher. We were off and running to go see Spiderman Homecoming with friends. I enjoyed the movie, it was fun.
After the movie, we rushed home to get the house ready for company. We were expecting guests and they were staying overnight. We finished up after they arrived, and had a filling chicken supper. We had strawberry shortcake for dessert and a visit before making up the bed for the guests. I did not stay up much later than my company last night. It was a full and busy weekend.
What did you do this weekend? Were you a Warrior like me, running here there and everywhere?
This weekend is jam packed with so many things to do that I cannot possibly do them all. I started off on Saturday with going to a few yard sales. I found some great deals! I got a Pampered Chef Meat breaking tool, for cooking ground beef. (I was SO happy when I found it, I have wanted to try one for a while. I hope it is as good as I think it will be. I am fighting the early stages of carpal tunnel in my wrists, and anything that helps me do more in the kitchen with less aggravation to my wrists is a good thing.
I found a Rankin Family cd, bought the DVD of Love, Actually, a movie I am interested in watching. I bought a new to me Guy Gavriel Kay book. He is a Canadian Author, and I have read other books by him.
After this, I bought a cheeseburger to go with my coffee as this yard sale was in support of a local SPCA. We also visited the dogs and cats that were available for adoption. One of the cats I really liked was adopted by the end of the day. Good news for that beautiful tabby.
The next yard sale was in a parking lot and had several vendors. I found a set of 4 margarita glasses, and my new wine glass, aka a Thundermug. Hee hee hee. I will probably not use it for wine, I think it would hold a whole bottle! It sure got a laugh out of the lady I was buying it from! I do like beer mugs for other drinks, and it will hold a lot of GGMS over ice, the way it is supposed to be enjoyed.
The third yard sale was a moving sale. We were nearing the time of day when they start closing the yard sales by then. I found a little stand alone cabinet for my Master bathroom. It is wooden, with a door, and three shelves inside. It has flowers painted on the door. For $10.00 I consider it the deal of the day! I was able to find a few jewellery display stands there too. I was very pleased with my purchases yesterday. Then we did some more shopping when my husband was done his overtime.
We went to the Scott’s Nursery, the local year round gardening store. I wanted peppermint plants. I bought six different types,( Spearmint, Pineapple Mint, Strawberry Mint, Chocolate Mint, Berries and Cream Mint, and Moroccan Mint). They will be transplanted into their new clay pots today, and distributed around the mini home in an effort to keep bugs from wanting to be inside my home. It does not seem to have any effect on the housefly that is buzzing around. Time to buy an actual fly swatter, as the flyers are not packing a big enough punch against this stubborn pest.
I am working on a gift for someone very special. I have taken the week off from writing my book, and I am hoping to have it finished in that time. So I will write here when I get a chance, but it may be minimal because this project is going to take a lot of time. I will also post about the finished project when it is completed.
I have to run out to the Freddy Beach Market, which used to be called The Northside Market. I am visiting a friend there briefly and getting some ground beef. We get it there once or twice a month. It is a farmer we buy it from, and they are there every weekend. My friend owns a yarn store and is branching out with a table at this market. I hope it works well for her.
So other than missing out on a free movie downtown, and going to a bar to see an up and coming band with a friend, it has been a really busy weekend so far, and it’s not over yet. We will be going to see Despicable Me 3 tonight, and I am looking forward to it. I love the Minions! And there is supposed to be an evil villain dance off in it too!
Why does there always seem to be more things to do than there is time for on the weekends? What did YOU do this weekend?
Yes, I know it is Monday. But when your vacation ends on a Monday, the weekend ends on Monday too. What a week I have had!
I will be writing about that in a guest post as soon as I can. I am waiting for pictures from family members to put into that post, and what I write will be determined by the pics they send.
I can tell you that I went home. I went swimming and spent a fair bit of time between visiting with my family and one of my best friends. It was a full week.
I was supposed to be writing at this time. I have not yet started my book. I was very busy on my vacation while being able to relax and have fun at the same time.
This weekend was also busy. I was on the road for most of Sunday, after staying Saturday night at my friend’s house. We stayed there most of the week. It was nice to spend time with her at her home.
Today was a day to make phone calls, and get my driver’s license renewed. Then the first step back into my routine, back to Zumba class. I go back to work tomorrow. So this is the end of my vacation right now.
I did have a hard time in Zumba. It has been a while since I have gone to class. I am not looking forward to going back to work, and back to normal tomorrow. So I was in my head in class. I broke free for a few minutes, but it was with a heavy heart that I worked out in class today. I have a hard time saying goodbye, and there were more than a few this weekend. It was good to see the people I was able to see and hard to come home.
I was ready, though. It was time to come home and feel like I was home again. I love my friends and family, but being home is also a feeling that is good. Another weekend has ended. Back to life in the real world tomorrow.
It happened again. I was in the car today, with my husband. We were having a conversation, and I completely lost him. And that is when it happened. I discovered a new Tish-ism. I had to Tishsplain how I connected the things we were discussing to my husband. Unlike mansplaining, Tishsplaining is something only I can do. It is not restricted to men or women, and it is never done in a condescending manner.
I am used to this concept, but it is nice to finally put a name to it. Thanks to all of you mansplainers that planted the seed for this Tish-ism in my head.
So what were we talking about?
“Look. It is summer now, and that cloud is saying piss on you as it is raining on us.” My husband started this whole ball rolling with that sentence.
I mentioned an uncle’s name, and his father’s name, and my uncle’s grandmother also. Well, that completely confused my husband. He asked me the question I have been asked numerous times before, and likely will be asked millions more times in the future.
“How does this relate to the rain?”
The answer was quite simple.
“My uncle’s grandmother was known to point at people and say “Piss on you.” ” Luckily, I never made her point that finger at me. If I remember right, it was about losing at card games or bingo.
Now I have a name for that thing I have to do ALL THE TIME.