Let us go then, you and I...

I thought I'd share a little of my beautiful home with my fellow February bloggers (and anyone else who happens along!)

Today, I was listening to this beautiful love song - love song to Nova Scotia, that is - written and sung by our own Rita MacNeil. Her lyrics are perfect - we who live here certainly do feel we've discovered a treasure!

Nova Scotians (aka "bluenosers") have long been defined by the sea. The late, great, Stan Rogers captured this perfectly in his song about our namesake schooner the "Bluenose". She's long gone to her watery grave, but we remain inordinately proud of her and our seafaring heritage!

By the way, we're not really sure where the name Bluenose comes from...among the several theories is one speculating that the fishermen of days gone by wore wool sweaters which were dyed blue. When out in the fog fishing, their noses would run and they'd swipe them with their sweaters, the dye would rub off, and voila, literally bluenosers! Another is that the term is related to a ubiquitous blue potato that used to be grown in the Annapolis Valley. Who knows? The term stuck, that's all I can tell you for sure!

If you want to see my beautiful province through my eyes, head over to Slow Photos and check out my new album "Nova Scotia".

But first let's end with some humour (and I fear to say it, but...yes, many of the following ring true!)

The spirit moved me to go to the ocean yesterday...I packed a picnic lunch and a book (Donna Leon's Doctored Evidence) and headed off to Chebucto Head.

I have been going out to this place since I was about 17. It is one of my absolute favourite spots in all the world...my soul finds peace here on the rocks, as I inhale the salt air and listen to the roar and shush of the ocean.

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4:7)

"May God, who clothes creation in love mend each rift and strengthen each seam, that threads of hope and strands of healing may be woven wherever we journey."
(Rev. Valerie)

Here are some of the photos I took...

Halifax is fortunate to have beautiful Public Gardens. The noise reducing leafy green canopy is a bit sparser than a few years ago - many of the huge old trees blew over in 2003, victims of Hurricane Juan - but still a serene place of peace in the middle of the city. It's only a few minutes walk from my office building so I often go for a stroll around the grounds during my lunch break, sometimes with my sister, other times alone or with co-workers. The gardens are closed during the winter, but recently reopened for the year. Here are a few images from my visit yesterday:

Not much going on today so I took a few photos of my cubicle, and of the view from my window. Unfortunately our windows are a tad cloudy - not dirty, just cloudy between the double panes...and I know they are not dirty because they were cleaned not so very long ago - I glanced up one day and there were two men sitting on a board outside my 10th floor window!! I'll try to take replacement photos some day when the sun is not reflecting so much, but will post these for now.

Chiocciola's post about Norwegian Constitution Day reminded me of a Nova Scotian-Norwegian connection.

(Actually I have my own personal connection, too - my hubby's paternal genes are Norwegian. So we have made a note to attend next year's celebration hosted by the embassy in Halifax. I hadn't even known there was one until after reading Chiocciola's post and then doing some research...but I digress.)

According to Norway's official site in Canada:

In Halifax, the Norwegians set up offices for the Royal Norwegian Navy and Nortraship as well as a hospital, a seamen's church and a seamen's club. In November of 1940 they established a training facility, called Camp Norway, in Lunenburg to train gunners for Norwegian merchant ships. They also bought a hotel in Chester in which they set up a convalescent home for sick and injured seamen.

Here is a photo of the Norwegian memorial monument in Chester, Nova Scotia:

When looking up my photo for my last post about the Norwegian connection, I found the following photos taken the same day. We'd gone on a family outing to Chester (me and my daughters, mom, sister and niece), and naturally I had my camera with me!

Front Harbour:

Back Harbour:

Valerie and I went for a marvellous drive along the Fundy coast to Cape d'Or today.

Strangely for me, I forgot to take any photos this day. But here's a video I found on youtube to give you a glimpse of this spectacular spot.

Each week on Thursday, Valerie sends an email to our entire congregation (or at least to those who've provided their email addresses) as a way of keeping in touch between Sundays. This email is often a newletter of sorts, telling us what's going on in upcoming Sundays, letting us know who is need of our prayers and support through difficult times, keeping us up to date on our sponsored refugee family's situation, and other congregational news. Or it might be a call to offer up our talents toward various ministries, such as youth group, prayer shawls, funerals, music, etc. Recently she invited us to "give some prayerful consideration to what your gifts are and if, in fact, you are being called by God". She wrote: "I do not yet know your name but I do know God is calling – Do you not hear?"

Other weeks, her emails are reminders to "take the time to experience the presence of God in the people around you and the places you find yourselves in. In the darker moments and in those times of complete joy, God is there and we are indeed blessed."

But today, her email included a reflection on our coastal drive, which I wrote about myself yesterday, so I want to share it with you in full...

In my last post about the Public Gardens, I forgot to post a photo of the lovely huge gates at the entrance. So here they are:

Joggins Fossil Cliffs in Nova Scotia was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site yesterday. These cliffs contain the world’s most complete fossil record of life in the “Coal Age”, and are a beautiful place to visit. In fact, I just might take a drive up this weekend!

We haven't made it to Joggins yet, but we did go for a lovely tour of the Fundy Coast last weekend, stopping in B: Maitland and C: Burntcoat Head.

This was a beautiful drive, cutting across the province through the Rawdon Hills, winding along the Fundy Coast and back home. We had a fantastic day, enjoying the shoreline, a tasty meal, and a stop in a cluttered old junk shop where Ginger found a couple regency romance novels (her current fad) and I found a small carafe in which to serve my table wine.

Here are some images so you can travel along with us...
(warning - there are a lot of photos following!)

A few photos from my recent overnight staff retreat at White Point Resort on Nova Scotia's gorgeous South Shore.

Unfortunately all I had for a camera was my cell phone, which I turned off and left in the cottage for the evening, so I have no photos of the "team building" exercises...you know, wine drinking, bonfire on the beach, roasting marshmallows, MUCH laughter and foolishness, playing in the surf fully clothed at midnight, drinking more wine, getting pushed into the outdoor pool (after I'd changed into my one remaining dry pair of jeans), playing pool and shuffleboard, going swimming in the outdoor pool at 3:30 in the morning (hey, I was already wet, why not?!)

Yes, we did actually do "real" staff development stuff during the day - although personally I think the above activities are much stronger team builders than all the facilitated sessions in the world. But in this case, we had fun during the formal sessions too. We did Myers-Briggs personality typing. I've done it before and scored as an INTP (slight on the T), but this time scored as INFP (slight on the F) and after reading quite extensively on both, I have to say the INFP fits me better. Does anyone else know what their MB type is?

There are bunny rabbits all over the place at this resort, which will eat out of your hand (sometimes two at a time!) And you can even get all the free bags of bunny food you want from the front desk.

But here are the photos I took inside ocean front cottage #19, and of the views from the veranda of my cottage: