Fantastic Last Day of 2012

After lunch at the Newport Creamery, we went on a fun search to find a movie location. Steve and I recently watched the movie 'Moonrise Kingdom' and afterwards noticed it was filmed in Jamestown Island and Newport in Rhode Island, not far away from Grandpa and Grandma's. We said that the next time we visit up there that we'll definitely have to see if we can find some of the locations.
We went to the Fort Wetherill park where the beach scene was shot. Steve got some great shots with his camera, so he could match them up with the movie. The we took a drive into Newport where we went to the Trinity church to hopefully get some photos inside, but unfortunately it was closed for tours. We did, however, visit the mysterious Old Stone Mill located not too far away and got a few more photos. No one knows exactly who built it and there is speculation as to exactly what it was used for. It's been on there since before the island was first discovered.

Arriving back to the house, we had a photo shoot and then went to the basement to watch the trains. Steve called Great Grandma and asked if we could go visit her for a bit. We went over and she insisted we stay for some yummy grilled cheese sandwiches. As always, it was wonderful to see her. She looked great and was in good cheer. She was so happy to see us. After we ate, we went to the living room where we sat, talked for awhile and ate Lindt chocolates. When we were leaving, she started to cry saying goodbye. It made us very sad and we assured her that we'll do our best to see her before we move to Bahrain in the summer.
We returned back to Grandma and Grandpa's just in time to enjoy a delicious meal. Here are the photos Steve took during our photo shoot that afternoon and at Great Grandma's house:

48 Hours

After a good night's sleep and breakfast at out hotel in Maine, we braved the cold and the snow and headed out to clean the car off and continue on our way. By this time, we were on Day 3 of being in the state of Maine. It seemed more like an eternity. We stopped at at Tim Horton's for some coffee and then at a local mall for a little shopping. Another hour and we were finally out of Maine. The drive along the interstate was beautiful. All the trees were still covered with snow; it was like a winter wonderland and it made us want to stop a take a nice walk through the woods, but it time was passing and we really needed to get to Grandma and Grandpa's in Rhode Island.

We finally arrived in Rhode Island. Our trip would normally take 14 hours from my mom's, but it took us 48 hours instead because of the storm and our detour in Maine. Grandpa was at Reidy's at the time, so we headed directly to the restaurant to meet up with him. We weren't there long before we all headed back to the house. We were delighted to see that Myah and Kamrin were also there! It had been way too long and they had grown sooo much since our last visit with them. Myah did a great job helping Tyler open his presents from Grandma and Grandpa. Steve, Tyler and I got all kinds of wonderful gifts from them which we are so very thankful for.

After the gift opening, we decided to take advantage that there was snow on the ground and go sledding. It was freezing cold and windy, but we didn't care. It was an absolute blast! Myah found us the perfect hill to sled on and we stayed until it was almost starting to get dark. We then came back home and had some of Grandma's super yummy spaghetti and meatballs. It was just what we needed to warm us up. After dinner, Grandma, Kamrin, Myah, Tyler and I had a game of Headbanz. It was one of the gifts Grandma and Grandpa gave Tyler for Christmas. We had sooo much fun playing. We couldn't stop laughing the whole time. Once we were finished, the kids went down to see Grandpa run his trains in the basement and then it was off to bed. It was a great day!

Maine Roads

The next morning we had breakfast and got back on the road. We went through the new border crossing and decided instead of turning off the way we usually do, to just keep on going on U.S. Route 1. It meant an hour longer, but we didn't care because the views were worth it. Steve stopped in Bucksport to get some photos of the lake. Everything looked so pretty with the snow. We decided to keep on going as we were really enjoying the amazing scenery. We even took a detour to go check out Bar Harbor. However, soon it started to snow and the snowfall became heavier and heavier. The GPS had us in the middle of nowhere and visibility was getting poor. We were on some back road that needed plowing. Luckily for us, we did have a truck to follow so at least we could remain in his tire tracks. The roads were starting to get slippery with ice and we knew we had to get back on the interstate where the roads would possibly be better. Wanda called earlier in the day and said it had already started to snow there, but at that point we didn't have any snow. We finally reached the interstate where we got off the first exit and went into a Target to stretch our legs and use the restroom. At this point, Steve phoned his dad to get a weather report. It was still snowing hard there and the roads were in poor shape. Steve decided to try and keep on going since Rhode Island was only 3 hours away. It wasn't long, however, before we decided it was not such a good idea. The interstate was a mess and it was difficult to see. So, we found the nearest hotel where we stayed for the night.

Farewell to Nova Scotia

Today was the day we had to get back on the road and start our trek back home. But first, we took my mom in town to run a few errands. We had some really good cappuccinos and breakfast at the Bean Bank. On the way home we noticed one of the furniture stores was having a sale on coffee tables, something Mom really needed, so we stopped and she bought one along with an end table. While Steve put it together back home, I finished packing and Mom prepared lunch. She wanted one last family sit down meal before we left the island and invited my brother, Joe, to join us. Mom made sweet and sour meatballs with rice. One of my all time favorites! No matter how much I try, mine never turn out as good and tasty as hers. Sadly enough we had to soon say our goodbyes. By this time it was the afternoon and two hours past our projected time we were suppose to leave. With the uncertainty of the electrical problems of our car, we didn't want to be on the roads when it was dark. We made it as far as Moncton, New Brunswick where we grabbed a bit to eat and laid our heads for the night.

Leeside Friends

Our day started out by getting some lunch to us at the Black Spoon. I've heard nothing but good reviews from this place and it also won for best desserts in 2012, so to say the least we weren't disappointed. Then we hit the stores to partake in the Boxing Day sales. For my American friends, this is almost equivalent to your Black Friday just not as crazy. LOL The stores were packed. Mom bought a new laptop as she had been using the desktop computer we gave her 6 years ago. It was the computer we bought in Italy 8 years ago. We then came home, Steve set her new computer up and then we decided to order some pizza. Meanwhile Mohini, our friend who lives down the street, phoned and asked why we weren't by yet. LOL After explaining to her that we've been non-stop since we arrived, I invited her up to have pizza with us. While we were eating, Rhonda's mom came by and dropped off some delicious dinner rolls and shortbread that she made. She is one of the best cooks ever and I'm so lucky that every time I come home she makes my favorite foods for me. 
Before long, there was another knock on the door. It was Mrs. Baillie and Mara. We all sat in the living room catching up for awhile. Then Mrs. Baillie invited us next door to her house so that Tyler could see his good buddy, Andrew. They got a little reacquainted while we did some more catching up. Overall, it was a fantastic night catching up with some longtime friends. My mom has the best neighbors!!!

Boxing Day

As always, I can't make a trip home without trying to fit in some time to spend with a few of my good friends. Charmaine and Cameron came over to spend an afternoon with us. While Tyler and Cameron got reacquainted and then had fun destroying Nanny's house, Charmaine, Nanny, and I had a lot of laughs catching up on everything. I absolutely love Charmaine's sense of humor. She gets me laughing in stitches every time we're together. Meanwhile, Steve went over to Charmaine's house where he and Kelly (Charmaine's husband) tried to figure out the electrical problems we were experiencing with our car. Kelly ended up finding a bunch of lose wires that need to be fixed.

 After saying goodbye to Charmaine and Cameron and Steve arrived back home, we had to get ready to go to the movies with Rhonda. Tyler stayed home with Nanny. Unfortunately, everyone in Sydney had the same exact idea as us and it was so packed that we couldn't even find a parking spot. We decided to go with Plan B, which was go for dessert. Dessert and chat at Don Cherry's. Again, lots of laughs at our table. Steve and Rhonda have the same movie tastes, so they were busy discussing movies they had seen. It was a great way to end a busy day catching up with my long time friends whom I wished lived a lot closer.

Christmas in Cape Breton

We arrived back home from Aunt Norma's just in time to start preparing for Santa's arrival. Tyler was super excited to make cookies to leave out with a glass of milk. We made oatmeal and raisin cookies that turned our super moist and delish. After we were finished and of course, sampled a few, Tyler went out with Dad to throw some oatmeal and Cheerios on Nanny's front lawn for the reindeer. It was Tyler's idea to add the Cheerios. LOL

 After a good night's sleep, Tyler woke us all up to go check to see if Santa came. Santa knew that we would be spending Christmas at Nanny's house and dropped off a few gifts for him which included the prairie dog and Poke Park 2 game that he asked for. Santa also surprised him with the Battleship game, Scrabble, a remote control car, sweaters, ornaments, and DVDs. He also gave Tyler a bike bell, though we weren't sure why because his old bike had been broken for quite some time now. Tyler was sure it was because Santa must have dropped off the shark bike that he asked for at our place in Virginia. We weren't quite certain.
Once the excitement of Christmas morning settled down a bit, Steve suggested we take a drive up to the Cabot Trail. He is always searching for property along the Cabot Trail online when we are home in Virginia and now he wanted to actually go see some of the lots in person. The one lot he was most interested in, we couldn't find. We think it must be already sold, so we went on to look at another piece of property. We all got out and walked a part of it. Once we got back in the car, we continued on to Smokey Mountain. Steve got out a took some beautiful photos.
We then headed back home and took a drive into Sydney to check out to see what was actually opened on Christmas Day. Of course, the pharmacies but also one Tim Horton's that had three crazy long lines for the drive-thru. Returning back home, we needed to rush to get ready for dinner at Marlene's. Marlene has been a friend of mine since we were 8 years old and she is now my brother's girlfriend. She did an amazing job on dinner. Everything tasted amazing. Her parents were also there, as well as her brother and his wife. Overall, it was a pretty good Christmas Day.

Honoring Nana

Nana said she preferred not to have a funeral, but rather to have a relaxing get together to honor her memory. The location was at my Aunt Norma's home in Lower Sackville which is about 4.5 hours from my mom's. We piled into My brother's pickup truck, but we quickly decided it was too much squishy for the drive up. So, instead we took our car up to Aunt Norma's.

The gathering for Nana was very nice. It was wonderful seeing our family again after such a long time. For Steve, he was meeting several of our family members for the very first time. When it was time to leave, however the roads were not only very icy, but the electrical problem returned making it impossible for us to venture back home. Aunt Norma insisted we stay at her place for the night and we kindly accepted. We ended up staying up late, catching up, and having some good laughs together. Before bed, we decided to get up early in the morning and go have breakfast in Halifax since Steve had never been there before. My cousin Greg and his wife, Mrytle joined us and showed us all around Halifax after we had a delicious breakfast with them. We started out with a walk along the wharf where we saw Theodore Tugboat (you may recall us seeing Theodore in Norfolk this past summer. Theodore lives in Halifax .), the Canadian Navy base, and the passenger ferry that runs from Dartmouth. After a stop to get a hot cup of coffee at Timmies, we got back into our vehicles (yes, our car was back to normal) and Greg led the way to Citadel Hill where we quickly got out and explored for a bit. We then said our goodbyes and after a drive by the Spring Gardens following Greg and Mrytle in their truck, we headed back home to Mom's in Cape Breton. We made it home just in time before it got dark.

Adventure Time

We left Rhode Island Friday morning. The weather was mostly rain along the way. Stopping in Bangor, Maine, we had lunch and found a little snow to make Tyler happy. Then we continued along the way and stopped again in New Brunswick for dinner. Everything was great until we got back in the car and the car lights, wipers, heater, power windows stopped working. The electrical problem that I experienced in the summer had returned. Unfortunately for us, it was raining and it was dark. We did, however, take the chance a drive down the road to try and find a place to stay overnight, and shortly after everything just happened to turn back on and everything was back to normal again. So after a few cheers, we again continued our journey to Cape Breton. We got as far as 10 kms from the toll booth on the Trans Canada Highway in Nova Scotia, when the problem came back. Steve turned off the next exit and stopped the car. There was absolutely nothing nearby, so we just had no choice but park the car for awhile and waited to see if perhaps the problem would fix itself. We were there for approximately 45 minutes or so and nothing had changed. It was pitch black out, cold, but it had stopped raining. Since we couldn't stay parked there overnight and it stopped raining, we decided to take the chance and drive to the toll booth and hoped for the best. Our drive was pretty scary, I helped direct him by looking at the white line on my side of the road. When we reached the tool booth, the guy at the booth said we must be having a bad night. LOL We asked if we could pull off to the side of the road and he directed us to the parking lot. We again waited for awhile in hopes that the problem would just go away, but it didn't. We had no choice, but call for a tow truck. With help with Directory Assistance we found a towing company and the guy said they would be right there. They were traveling from Truro which was 20 kms away. He came, hooked us up, we jumped in his truck and he drove us to the Comfort Inn in Truro. The drive seemed to take forever and we thought for sure the tow would cost us a fortune, but he actually only charged us $100 plus tax. He must have felt sorry for us. LOL We spent the night and the next morning after breakfast, Steve started the car again and the car returned back to normal. So we were good to go again! We made it all the way to my mom's with absolutely no problems. We were very thankful to God for getting us there safe and sound.

G. Viola Logan

It is with deep sadness we announce the passing of our loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister and aunt, Viola Logan. She passed away peacefully in her 95th year, December 19th at the Halifax Infirmary, following a brief illness. All who knew her know that Vi truly loved spending time with her family and loved ones, having visitors, playing a good game of cards, reading anything she could get her hands on, occasionally taking in a soccer or hockey game with her grandchildren, and going for a drive. She delighted in spending time with her grandchildren and was always up for some good playful fun with them or anyone around her. A great sense of humour, you could always rely on her for dressing up for Halloween or anytime, with whatever she had nearby to entertain. In earlier years, she enjoyed spending her time golfing, curling, and travelling near and far. She was a long-time member of Rebecca Lodge – IODE. Above all, Vi loved people, children, animals, and the underprivileged, and was good to all. Viola was born on Rock Rd, South Maitland, NS. She met and married her first husband Emery Walker and then made their home in Mosherville, Ship Harbour, Bear River, and Coxheath, raising five wonderful children along the way. Following Emery’s death, she returned to school at the age of 53 to study teaching. She taught Adult Education in Dartmouth, Liverpool, Indian Brook and Truro. Following retirement, she married Donald Logan and lived in Truro for several years making countless friends there. After Don’s death, she was well cared for by her son Tom, with help from daughter Etta travelling from NB when able. When Tom’s health declined, Vi settled in Lower. Sackville with her daughter Norma, who took such great care of our loving and wonderful angel in her time of need, giving her a loving home during her last few years of life. She is survived by her daughters Etta (Rob) Davis, Fredericton, NB; Norma Pepper, Lower. Sackville, NS; son Thomas (Carolyn) Walker, Truro;  daughter in law Marina Walker, Coxheath, NS; step-daughter Margaret (Alasdair) Graham, Lantz, NS; step-son David Logan, Halifax, NS; grandchildren Jim (Una) Walker, Kim (David) Lahn, Greg (Myrtle) Pepper, Susan (George) Wilson, Joe Walker, Heather (Steve) Smith, Shaun (Lucie) Davis; great grandchildren Sherri Hickey, Brandon Pepper, Matthew and Spencer Lahn, Emerson and Sterling Walker, Emily and Nicholas Wilson, Tyler Smith; great-great grandchildren Christopher, Matthew, and Keith; eldest sister to her sisters Elsie Leah Webb, Courteney, BC, Edna (Ralph) Bilby, Maitland, NS, Barbara (Gordon) Pratt, Kearney Lake, NS; brothers James (Luella) Hennigar, Maple Grove, NS, Grant Hennigar, Williams Lake, BC, Gerald (Geraldine) Hennigar, Maitland, NS; and many nieces and nephews.In addition to Emery and Don, she was predeceased by her parents Gladys (Cook Royles) and Leslie Hennigar; sons George Walker and James Walker; brothers John (“Archie”) Hennigar, Norman Hennigar, Lloyd Hennigar; sisters Verna Drysdale, Pearl Reid, twins Eileen and Irene in childhood; . She will also be missed by her special homecare worker Donna, who cared for her well and loved her and us like family.  The family would like to extend our sincere thank you to the endless support, meals, and 24/7 care provided by family and friends over the past weeks during Norma’s illness. We are so blessed to be surrounded by countless wonderful people, too many to mention! A special thank you to Tom, Etta, Kim, Debi, Shirley, Susan B, Theresa, and Mary for your help through the past few weeks, for which we wouldn’t have been able to care for Norma and Vi at home during this time. We love you all. Also special thanks to the staff of Cobequid, Halifax Infirmary ER and 8.4 for their support and care of Vi and our family in her final days.  Mother is gone forever and although she leaves us with her memory, her physical presence is no longer here to hug, to kiss and to take hold of her precious hands. Her beautiful smile and loving nature will remain forever in our memory. An inspiration to all of us, we have come from “strong stuff” which will help see us through.  Vi’s wishes were to be cremated and buried with her former husband Emery in the Forest Haven Cemetery, Sydney. Graveside service will take place at a later date. The family welcomes our family, friends, and loved ones to join us at Norma’s and Vi’s home, 90 Phoenix Cres., Lr. Sackville, Sunday December 23rd 1-5pm for a gathering in celebration of Vi’s life. Donations may be made to St. John the Baptist Church, c/o Hilda Ray, RR#1 Upper Kennetcook, NS B0N 2L0, the Metro SPCA or local animal shelter, or a charity of choice. Online condolences may be made by visiting the website www.atlanticfuneralhomes.com , and selecting the Sackville chapel
Love begins by taking care of the closest ones-the ones at home.
~Mother Teresa

Made it to Rhode Island

Hi! Just wanted to let everyone know that we made it safe and sound to Grandpa and Grandma's house. It is so good to see them again. We went to Reidy's for dinner and then went to look at the amazing Christmas lights. After arriving back home, we watched Grandpa's trains for awhile. We are enjoying their company before heading out again early tomorrow morning to continue our journey to my mom's in Cape Breton.

See You Later, Nana

This morning I received the news that my grandmother had just passed away. She was 94 years old. Although I will greatly miss her, I know Nana lived her life to the fullest. She had the greatest sense of humour, always trying to do practical jokes. I remember one time her and my step-grandfather, Don had surprised us by dressing up for Halloween and showing up at our door. They lived 4 hours away, so it was quite a surprise. LOL She was also very kind and sensitive to others. One time we were in a restaurant and our server kept messing up, first with our order and then with our bill. She reminded us that we don't truly know what kind of life the server has. She could have a very difficult home life and therefore, we shouldn't make a big fuss over a few minor mistakes. Nana was as smart as a whip, she loved cross-word puzzles and solving math problems. She always took an interest in my mine and my brother's education. Nana was at my high school graduation, as well as both my graduation ceremonies for university and she was beaming with pride and joy over my successes. My nana was the best and I know she'll be OK; she's in great company up in Heaven. She is probably up there right now laughing and being reunited with my dad, my Grampy, my Uncle Jim, and my step-grandfather, Don. She was the only surviving grandparent I had while growing up. She will live in our hearts forever and I am so thankful for all that she has taught me in life.

Some of the places Tyler has found Little Elf:

Smith Caffe

A couple of weeks ago, our espresso machine passed away. Since then we sadly had to resort to drinking American coffee. So not the same. Once you've experienced real Italian coffee at home, there's no turning back. So, we ordered a new machine and today it arrived. Normally, I do not consume caffeine after 3pm, however tonight was an exception. We broke in our new machine and boy does it ever make good cappuccino. Of course, I had to document the first brewing with lots of photos.