Sailboats heading out of harbour of an evening. I scrambled down the rocks at Fort Sewell to sit and watch. It’s like they’re dancing in time with both air and water. It’s so incredibly graceful.
Month: August 2019
So the light in the bedroom is on a dimmer. It’s new but hasn’t been working properly. It doesn’t get bright- it’s only dim or dark. I thought I’d check the bulb before calling the property manager. Ummmm….I’ve never seen anything like that before. Perhaps I’m getting old but it seems like it would be easier to just use a normal old lightbulb. She has to have the electrician come out to take a look at it.
In the gloaming
12 August
The fun
I went to the Salem Willows old fashioned firefighter’s muster on Saturday.
My son-in-law pumps for Newbury’s hand tub.
Verne is practicing so he can pump when he gets tall enough.
It’s a competition to see who can pump the water through the hose the furthest. It’s great family fun!
The good
We went to visit my sister-in-law who is house sitting in town. The place she’s at is right on the water and there are all kinds of paddle boards, kayaks, and boats to use. My step-son, Joey got to try paddle boarding for the first time. He was good at it but I don’t think it was quite fast enough for him.
The random
While we were there my sister-in-law found an injured goldfinch. She is a true animal lover and I’m sure by now she has nursed the little thing back to health.
Family Friday
We had the boys with us over the weekend. It had been a few weeks since they’d been here. They were busy with summer activities and vacations. After dinner we walked down to Fort Sewell to check out the iconic Marblehead tree that had fallen during the storm we had on Wednesday evening.
On Saturday we went to see the old fashioned fireman’s muster at Salem Willows. My son-in-law pumps the Newbury handgun. It’s such a fun family thing to do! Verne is still a bit too young (and short) to pump but he is practicing for when he gets bigger.
Abigail has her Muster t-shirt on and she’s practicing her ability to pump the handtub as well. I think she has a few more years to wait…
There are beautiful little gardens all over town! Here are som Michaelmas daisies growing in a tiny little patch of dirt between an old house and the sidewalk. It’s so pretty. I just love walking in this town. It’s been one of my favourite changes about moving here.
My sil has been housesitting for a friend who lives on the water. Joey got to go on his first paddle board adventure over the weekend. He really enjoyed it but I think he likes a little more action.
In the evening we often walk up to Fort Sewell. It’s pleasant to watch the sailboats coming into harbour after a day on the water.
Michaelmas daisies
Astors are in bloom which means there’s only a few more weeks till school begins. I have always called them Michaelmas daisies. So named because they are in bloom through Michaelmas which is celebrated on 29 September. Saint Michael is known as the protector of the dark which is timely because the night is really beginning to fall early at this time of year.
It is said that to celebrate Michaelmas means prosperity and financial protection for the family for the coming year.
Being home
Does one have to be a minimalist in order to downsize into a not quite tiny but still rather smallish flat?
Because I am not a minimalist. I have things I don’t need….and I want them.
There were a few different factors that went into our decision to make our downsizing move into our tiny old town flat.
The first is that we would be closer to my mum so that we could all take care of each other. She is renting the first floor apartment and we took the second floor.
Another is that we would be saving a significant amount of money each month.
Still another is that we would be back in our old hometown and right down at the harbour.
I donated or threw away about 2/3 of everything before we moved. Since we’ve moved I have done the same with about 1/4 of what was left.
We gifted my daughter with our sofa and chose a loveseat and chair instead as that is what would fit in the space.
We still need to purchase a new recliner for my husband. I may be able to curl up on a love seat but he needs a place to stretch out and watch the telly.
The rooms are not quite as small as we thought they would be but they took some getting used to. Especially for my husband as he is bigger than I am.
We’ve been here just about 5 weeks now and mum’s been downstairs 2 weeks.
I have been parting with more and more things and not minding it a bit. It’s been pleasant to be in my home with less stuff all around me.
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I’m not quite ready to give up the paper fish that the pre-schoolers at work made or the old metal scale in which it sits since it hung in my mum’s house all the while I was growing up…but I can’t really see the chair underneath it…and the chair was a gift from an old friend whose since passed away and the fabric on the seat was a gift from my daughter…
Walking wild Wednesday
Evenfall at summer ~Crocker park.
Walking out of an evening to watch the harbour. Folks going out for a late sail, folks coming home after working the water. Children and young teens jumping off the dock for a cooling swim on a hot day.
I love how the roses are growing over the edge of the rocks coming up out of the sea. It must look even prettier from a boat.
Just hanging around
I noticed this gentleman as I was walking past the boatyard at the end of the street. This is how they remove boats from the water! I’m not quite sure what he was doing up there, perhaps repairing or fastening something.
Love muffins
The good
A wonderful thing about having my mum in the flat downstairs is that she shares her blueberry muffins with us of a Saturday morning!
The fun
The boys were here over the weekend and we walked about town a bit. Joe and I have been walking these places since we were babies and it’s a little bit surreal to be walking them in the present day with the future generations we have helped to create.
The random
We were hit with a micro-burst on Wednesday afternoon! The town lost a great many trees including one in an old fort that people have been watching sunsets over for generations. My flowers got so wet they looked like shaggy, purple sheepdogs!
a spirit of simplicity 