A Day of Yard Sales

Sunday morning, after a hearty breakfast and a few cups of coffee, I suggested to everyone that we all go visit some of the local yard sales. I didn’t expect much of a  reaction, since everyone was still in a laid-back and relaxed mode in their lounging clothes and sipping on their second or third cup of coffee. So to my amazement, they all thought it was a great idea and in no time, we were out the door with a list of yard sales from St Peter’s to River Bourgeois to Arichat.  It was a perfect day for doing just that, the weather forecast called for sun and cloud with temperatures of around 20 Celsius. By the end of the day (or late afternoon), we did find a couple of interesting things, like some old records, a glass vase, a book, a couple of photo frames, cereal bowls , a 1970’s syrup pitcher and free magazines.  We managed to see most of the yard sales on our list except for one, which either didn’t set-up for the day or we were just too late. By that time, we were ready to head back home anyway.  On the way back we stopped at the Cottage Bakery and picked up some fresh rolls then for an ice cream at Jiggs Take-out  in St Peter’s. A delightful way to end the day!  

I was really hoping to get to more yard sales and flea markets over the summer months. Time passed by so quickly, I must say that I’m glad we all decided to get up and go on such short notice!  Summer is not quite over yet and I think fall is still a good time for flea markets, so there might still be a chance for a bit of  treasure hunting. 

 

From Kazabazua to Nova Scotia

 

Picking blueberries has always been something we did in the summer. My first memories are from when I was a young girl and spending summer vacations at my aunt's cottage in Kazabazua, Quebec.

 

Left photo: Me (bottom row left), my sister (second from the right) with brothers and cousins.

Top right photo: Me with my Dad / Bottom right photo: Me with my brother Guy

 

 

I can't really say that I particularly liked picking blueberries when I was a kid, but looking back now, the memories that I have of those days are some of the most cherished ones. So now, years later and 1,500 kilometers away I  go and pick blueberries in the fields around my home on Cape Breton Island. Every summer, my younger sister Julie (with her awesome kids) spends her vacation here with me where we pick blueberries and we remember when life was simple. Maybe that's why these days, I don't mind the time spent in a field of blueberries... 

 

The Cabot Trail Road Trip

Photo of the Week: Pleasant Bay on the Cabot Trail

 

This week's photo for March 8, 2013 was taken while we set out for a day road trip around our lovely island of Cape Breton. We started off the trip by making our way to Port Hastings where we had a hearty breakfast then on to Route 19 to drive the Cabot Trail in a clockwise direction. Not much snow in the fields until we reached the Cape Breton Highlands National Park all the way through St Ann's, Sydney and Big Pond on highway 4. It looks like the north part of the island kept most of its snow while in the south half of the island, most of the snow has melted away and showing signs of spring instead. That's ok too. It was a good day for our trip, the roads were bare and the scenery up in the mountains looked spectacular with snow covered trees,  just like we drove into another world. 

Today on the Cams

 

 

 

 

After a week-end of snow, freezing rain, rain, high wind and fluctuating temperatures it is nice to see the sun trying to warm up and brighten our day.  Today's forecast from Environment Canada for L'Ardoise calls for a mix of sun and cloud with 60 percent chance of flurries this morning. Becoming clear late this afternoon. Wind west 40 km/h gusting to 70. Temperature steady near minus 9.

 

If you're ever wondering about the weather on Cape Breton Island, check out the Cape Breton Living website where you can view other webcams across  the island. Keep warm and those that need to travel the roads, please practice safe driving!


Shortbread cookies

Yesterday was a day that the wind was cold and the sun was just a dim glow in a dark sky. After a short walk down the road to the ballfield and back, it felt like a good day to do a bit of holiday baking before the kids come home for Christmas. There's still so much to do, but it just wouldn't feel like Christmas without

Look who wants (to come) out of the closet!

Look who wants out of the closet... yes the time has come again, when about half of what fills my upstairs closet comes out and comes back to life in every room of the house. On Sunday December 2, 2012 with the  Christmas Daddies Telethon playing on CTV in the background, will be a good time to start the decorating. So until then (only a couple of weeks away), the magic of the Holiday Season will remain undisturbed in the closet...

Come and visit Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia – Official Travel Guide

East view camera is back up!

Here it is once again, the east view webcam is back up on the Cape Breton Living website. It's been a few months since the east view camera was last seen on the website, but the west view camera has been faithfully keeping updated  shots 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Remember that if you would like to see the webcams in a slightly larger image, click on the link to streaming camera or on the image itself and it will bring you to a page where the image is larger and refreshes automatically every 5 seconds.  So enjoy the views and hope you come back often to check out what the weather might bring in this part of the world, on the south east shore of Cape Breton Island!  

Dear Photograph

Dear Photograph,

Back in the days when the lawn didn’t get mowed and time was moving slowly, we would just sit in the tall grass, full of clover enjoying the Nova Scotia breeze. Fifty years later, that same young lad is now mowing the same lawn that once brought him and I so much pleasure, just from sitting there, relaxed and carefree, among all the clover.

My "picture of a picture of the past in the present" was selected on July 8, 2012. You can check it out, among all the other archived pictures on the Dear Photograph website: http://dearphotograph.com/
Love this idea!

There is also Dear Photograph the Book, a visual treat of 256-pages, that would sit nicely on  any coffee table. It's been available since May 2012.

Cape Breton - 33 Highway Photos

I have gathered some of my photos, the ones that were taken from the highways across Cape Breton during summer months where the grass is green and the weather is warm. If you are somewhat familiar with the island, you'll most likely know the location of each photo. If you're not familiar with the island, this is a quick trip around, enough to get a feel of Cape Breton Island while driving through on some of the main highways. Of course it doesn't cover all of the spectacular drives and sights, but another post of Autumn Highway Pics might be in the making. For now I hope you enjoy this drive across Cape Breton Island via The Canso Causeway, Route 19, The

Oh, those dandelions

There is something about dandelions, no matter how some of us might loathe them, they can still brighten up a field. They're so bright, you'd think they would glow in the dark. The Cape Breton Living Webcam (photo below) shows the dandelions appearing like sunny yellow buttons dotting the green grass in the field. I suppose it won't be long now  this little yellow flower (or weed) will turn into seed and we'll be blowing the seeds into the wind and making a wish...

Reg's Garden

So now that springtime is here I'm looking forward to warmer and brighter days of summer. It's time to change the cool winter theme of my screensaver to a warm summer theme. I have in a folder on my computer, 187 colourful photos of flowers and garden life. Perfect for a screensaver. This garden (Reg's garden) is where we got these wonderful photos and it's a sin to have them just sitting in a folder somewhere on my computer's hard drive. What a great way to bring them back to life! This set of photos is from last August 2011 and taken in my neighbour's back yard in L'Ardoise.  Thanks Reg for the walk in your garden...

February 2012

Photos of the Week on Cape Breton Island for February 2012

Photo of the Week February 24, 2012 - St Peter's. Driving in on Highway 4 from Sydney you see on the left the Provincial Building and on the right is the St Peter's Visitor Information Centre. This photo was taken after last week's sowstorm. 

There's No Wrong Turn

Video from CBTourism Cape Breton Island - Nova Scotia's Masterpiece...

In this video you'll find everything you'll ever love about this Island. Visit Cape Breton Island's official website or my Cape Breton Living website if you need to see more of this wonderful place on earth! 

So we would love to see you.... when are you coming?