I've Been Away; did ya notice? & Cottage Bark Recipe

Was greeted with a welcoming evening sky on our way back to our home in Nova Scotia. Twas nice to be away but twas nice to come home too! Unfortunately couldn't capture the sky at it's best; it was simply amazing! 

While I was away I did some eating, well of course I did. But here's a simple recipe of something I simply can't get enough of. It's my sister in law's recipe and she makes this fabulous stuff every time we manage to get to the cottage. Although I love this stuff, I will never make it at home; it's simply too good & way too addictive. It's something I only eat at the cottage. Go ahead & try it for yourself and see if you can limit yourself to just one piece! 

Cottage Bark Recipe 

Summer's Here & Garden Views

Have to admit I'm lovin this new province of mine a whole lot better now that the nice weather has arrived. And what I love most about the weather here, is while we have some pretty warm days it seems to cool off in the evenings. Ideal for sleeping & so far no need for fans or air conditioning. And definitely not missing the humidity that was oh so common in Ontario.

Spotted this sign at the Doggy Daycare on my way into town. Had to share it with you just to prove we do have summer weather here in Nova Scotia.

Oh and here's a pic of my house without all the snow. Haven't done much out front other than add a few plants here and there. Really need to paint the the front door and shutters to get rid of the Pepto Bismol blue colour. Any ideas on what colour to paint them are most welcome?

.In the early spring, hubby dug up part of the lawn to create a mini vegetable/flower garden. But by fall this little garden will have to go. Need to widen the driveway to make more room for Olaf our RV. Also found out there's too much shade here for gardening so the garden needs to find a sunnier hangout. Hubby has already removed the wood beams that created the edging and has removed some ornamental plants too.

Came home from the gym the other day and Hubby had started digging a pond. It's amazing what all happens while I'm at the gym. And I thought he said we weren't gonna have another pond. Well I guess that didn't happen. If you look to the far right in this pic, you will notice our mushroom. It was created using an old dome light from our office and a glass carafe we had kicking around. Idea came from Pinterest of course! I wanted to turn it into a bird bath but the mushroom idea won out.

Pond View from another angle. This area is still a work in progress!

We have a bunch of prickly berry bushes here and there and everywhere. This is gonna be their new home once berry season is done. Too many thorns attacking us when we try to interact in our gardens. Hubby took the beams from our mini garden to create this space. 

One Beachy Day Adventure

OK so it wasn't exactly a great hair day thanks to the wind but it was a great day to try my first lobster roll ever. And trust me I was being adventurous cause I'm not exactly the adventurous type when it comes to food. Yep I'm thinking lobster rolls can grow on me! Enjoyed this at Musquodoboit Harbour Can you say Musquodoboit? 

Here's a few pics of beach finds minus driftwood ones found while walking on Martinique Beach. Found a bunch of broken sand dollars but then Peter found a complete one YAY and some pretty sea glass too!

Sadly we spotted not one but two dead seals on the beach. Tells me there must be live ones hanging around here. Hopefully next time we'll be spotting some live ones instead. R.I.P. & may you guys go to seal heaven! 

Lobster Poutine, Driftwood & Rocks

I confess I have never been a big fan of Seafood! Growing up I didn't eat fish not even fish & chips. Well I did eat chips and plenty of them. Hubby has been trying to convert me and I have to admit seafood is definitely growing on me. And now that I'm living in area where seafood is at it's best, I'm trying to be adventurous & spread my Foodie Wings. Since I've landed in Nova Scotia, I've eaten haddock aka fish & chips, halibut & salmon purchased roadside from a truck selling fresh seafood and lobster poutine! Can't go wrong with anything poutine! 

My first Lobster Poutine! Enjoyed this fabulous meal with hubby darling son & daughter in-law & visiting family, bro & sis in-law! Great Company Great Times & also an excuse to be an absentee blogger! 

While I haven't always been a fan of Seafood, I have been a longtime fan of Driftwood. Love the weathered look of it, the uniqueness of each piece and the feel of the smooth wood grain.

My Driftwood Collection awaiting projects of a Pinteresting Kind!

A pic of some interesting Rock finds. These guys will be making their home in my gardens. Oops just noticed my toes made it into the pic. Note to self; paint toe nails before including them in pics! 

Why buy new when used will do & !st beach walk with Penny L

Had this old picture frame kicking around. Actually found it in the trash several years ago. It's damaged but it will be perfect for my basement bathroom. Gonna leave it as is, except for a few coats of lacquer to prevent it from further deteriorating & gonna add a piece of mirror glass. I know it's easy to just go to the store & buy everything brand new but sometimes a used piece has a bit of character and helps you achieve a look that is unique. And of course, using something you already have saves a bit of cash too! Ya probably have figured it out by now that I'm a fan of the distressed, weathered & worn look! And I love giving an object a new purpose in life!
Right now downstairs bath is being used by visiting Ontarians so downstairs bathroom pics coming soon! Stay tuned!

Why buy new when used will do!

Went for a beachy walk with Penny. Penny L loved digging in the sand & barking at people & dogs. The beach we visited was Lawrencetown Beach which a popular beach for the surfing crowd. Not much of a surfer so didn't do any of that. And besides it was mighty chilly & windy the day we went. Could have, should have put on an extra layer or two!

And The Good Lord said Let There Be Satellite & Bath Reno Begun!

And The Good Lord said Let There Be Satellite! 

Well The Good Lord didn't actually say that, but I'm thankful for all he provides! 

After roughly 2.5 months of being without live television, except for getting to watch selected channels at the gym, I'm happy to report we have LIVE TV once again. YAY! Back to watching home shows, diy shows and yada yada.... while I enter my daily contests. 

Have been going for lots of walks with the two dogs! Was a lovely day on Sunday; so we went to Sullivan's Pond in Dartmouth and then hooked up with another trail that had this cool outdoor fitness equipment. Gotta love it! 

Although a little sooner than planned, downstairs bathroom reno has begun. Well I guess it actually started the day we removed the laundry appliances shortly after we moved in. When we bought the house the bathrooms were first on our list to reno but the kitchen became a priority cause we spend more time in there. And in our planning process, we realized we have to do the downstairs bath first cause if we do the upstairs first, we will be without a place to shower or bathe. Not good, so need to get the downstairs done first & include a bath/shower unit.

Original Basement Half Bath with laundry appliances. We're planning on keeping the original vanity & medicine cabinet but updating them with a little paint & new hardware. Although you can't see it very well, the sink is a seashell type of sink & has got to go as does the water wasting toilet.  

Half Bath with everything removed except toilet, sink and vanity. But with a temporary addition of our little grow-op of annual seedlings of marigolds and such. These little guys can't wait for the time they can head outdoors, whenever that may be!

Cabin Fever & What to do!

As another system of rain/snow/freezing rain mix is upon us, I'm starting to go stir crazy. I want to go places, want to do things; I'm feeling antsy! Yep I'm thinkin I got me a case of that so called Cabin Fever
Yeah I know I could go downstairs & hang out on the elliptical but I'd still be in the same darn cabin.
Could go for a walk but most roads in the neighbourhood are down to a single lane due to all the snow & I'm not a fan of  sharing my walk with cars coming at ya in both directions.  I could walk on the sidewalk, well that is if I could find em.
Could go shopping but that would involve spending money & we've done enough of that lately with buying new appliances & reno stuff & all.
And window shopping, well is kinda like putting cheese in front of a mouse but not letting the mouse have it! For the birds if you ask me!
Could do some more Renovations except we're kind of  at a  point where certain things need to get done first so we can move on.
Could always do some cleaning except some areas are pointless to spend time cleaning when you're in the midst of renovations and yeah at the end of the day I would still be in the same darn cabin.
I know there are probably a million things I could do but I'm just too antsy to do anyone of em.

At least hubby can escape these 4 walls & hang out & putter in his large shed/garage.

Ah well I've done enough ranting!
Maybe I'll  just watch the snow plow widen the roads or continue reading Chihuahua's For Dummies or maybe I'll google things to do in Snova Scotia! Guess it  could be worse as some folks in my area are without power!

Oh and I haven't had mail since last Tuesday! Looks like the snow around the mail boxes is slowly melting away; maybe there will be something good in the mail this week!

Too Much Snow Thursday & Hubby are you out there!

Well the storm has passed and the sun is shining and the clean-up has begun. It's been a slow process, as our snow blower is kind of a baby one & needs to take breaks now & again. I went out to loosen some snow so hubby could then come by with blower & blow it away. Not sure exactly when we'll have the driveway opened up to the street or even when the car will be able to get out. And as far as clearing a path to the front door goes, well forget about it! Who needs a front door anyway! 

Hubby are you out there?                                                                                                                            

All Tuckered Out & More!

It was a busy day in the East and even Penny L was tuckered out by the end of the day. We were having dinner and she wanted some cuddling time and decided to curl up on hubby's feet! 

Since we are planning on doing a bunch of renos, we attended The Real Home Show in Halifax. Picked up a ton of literature on Heat Pumps; just need to sit down and read it all. Seems like there is a Heat Pump Revolution goin on here in Nova Scotia probably cause generally due to minimal areas of natural gas availability, home heating is electric. And electric is definitely not cheap here! Don't exactly know how expensive but when our electricity bill comes in, I'm sure it will be a shocker! Pretty sure, installing a Heat Pump is the way we are gonna go once we decide on a brand & size. The folks from Efficiency Nova Scotia were at the Home Show & apparently they will come to your home and install some energy efficient products at no cost too you. So yep that is definitely going to happen. Will let you know what kind of stuff they all provide. Also found out they pick up old appliances like fridges & freezers & air conditioners and actually pay you to remove them; imagine that! So once I have all my new appliances in place & working, will definitely be giving them a call. 

Learning how to use my new washer/dryer combo. Just need dear son to come by and give hubby a hand with stacking the dryer on top of the washer. 

Rainy Days & Chihuahuas for Dummies

It's a rainy/indoors kind of day in Nova Scotia. Snow is melting and our street looks like a river. Thankfully we are on the higher side and not on the bottom. But the day has been busy nonetheless, with renovating plans underway and getting Penny Lane accustomed to her new environment. So far it is all going well but I still feel like I don't speak Chihuahua. So next on my reading list will be Chihuahuas for Dummies!
Oh and someone picked up a good portion of our cardboard boxes which we used to move here so that will save us from having to bundle a ton of cardboard for recycling!
Here's a short video of our river flowing down the street; enjoy the ride!

Peggys Cove & Penny Lane

A 45 minute drive from my home is Peggys Cove. Although I've been there before, I have never gone in the midst of winter. The winds were gusty but the sun was shining and I got to see Peggy in a whole new light. Hubby took lots of pictures so if you want to take a look/see here is the link. Peter's Blog

A cool phone booth at the restaurant in Peggy's Cove. 

And one of the reasons we went to visit Peggy today was because it was not far from the home where we were going to pick up Penny Lane. And here is one of the first pics of her in her new forever home. Welcome Penny Lane!

Our soon to be New Home!

Did a couple of drive bys already; cant't wait till Monday! Get another peak at the interior tomorrow afternoon at the pre-inspection before closing. 

Nova Scotia Welcome!

Sunrise welcoming us as we entered Nova Scotia! 

After living in a house & raising a family of 3 kids  in the General Hamilton area for over 30 years, hubby and I decided it was time for change, adventure & a new life!  And that is how this blog begins... We're hoping this blog will keep our friends and family and anyone else who cares to read this, informed of our new adventures in Nova Scotia. It will be about our new East Coast lifestyle from updating our home, exploring our new environment, our trials and tribulations and everything else in between. Welcome to our new adventure, hope you enjoy the ride!