Welcome to Our Web Page
When this web page began more than twenty years ago, it described most of the activities of our whole family. Now that most of our children have flown the coop, it is mostly about what Ann and I (Dave) have been up to. I update it most weekends. We save all the messages over the past year in an Archive along with links to what we were doing ten and twenty years ago.
You can click on the pictures above to get a bit more information about each of us.
Tuesday November 11
Houses on Narrows Basin near Mahone Bay
We had an uneventful Hallowe'en with about 50 trick or treaters, close to our average over the last few years. I carved a jack-o-lantern which has now been cut up and steamed for use in muffins, pies and pumpkin soup. Our neighbour Barb also gave us two large pumpkins and I grew three smaller ones in the back yard, all of which have been cut up and steamed, so we will be having muffins, pies and soup for quite a while.
The biking season is now officially over but we still went for a ride with a few of the Railers last Monday. The Roadents have switched from riding to walking in Shubie Park which is conveniently located for us; we go for coffee at the Marco Polo Café afterwards. I have also started working on the ride schedule for next summer. Both Friday and Sunday were lovely days, though cool, so I checked out a couple of rides that I have not done before. On Friday, I rode from South Maitland down the eastern bank of the Shubenacadie River to Shubenacadie, then back up the western bank. It was a nice ride which I plan to put in the schedule on a day when we can catch the tidal bore on the river while we stop at the Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre for lunch. On Sunday, I rode the trail from Western Shore to Mahone Bay with a loop through Indian Point on the way back: another nice ride that will make it into the schedule somewhere.
We spent a while last week cleaning out the garage so that we will be able to put the car away when a significant snowfall arrives. We will be getting the snow tires put on this week. All the patio furniture has also found a place there as we won't be sitting out on the decks again until the spring.
A week ago Saturday, we picked up our friend Erika and met Ingrid and Mike at Chef in the Kitchen, a Turkish restaurant not far from the Rebecca Cohn theatre. I learned of a new way to cook eggplant, The Imam Fainted (İmam bayıldı), which it seems is a classic dish in Turkish cuisine. I liked it a lot and may try making it at home with the last eggplants from my garden. You can find different accounts of why he fainted here. Afterwards we all went to see Natalie MacMaster and her daughter Mary Frances Leahy playing with Symphony Nova Scotia at the Cohn. They put on a good show which we all enjoyed.
The following Monday we went to dinner at Kim and Glen's then walked to St. Andrew's United Church to see Glen sing with one of the choirs in which he is a member (there are several of them). They were followed by Adrianna Ciccone and Ellen Gibling, a duo playing fiddle and Irish harp, whom I had never heard of even though they are based in Halifax. It was a good show.
We were at the symphony again last Thursday using tickets that Kim gave us because she and Glen were unable to attend. The program included music by Respighi, Warp and Weft by a modern woman composer whose name I've forgotten, and Beethoven's Emperor Piano Concerto. All three of them were a bit out of the ordinary so it was an interesting evening.
This weekend was a gals' getaway at Heckman's Island (Ingrid and Mike's cottage). I dropped Ann off at Kim's on Saturday morning and she, Kim and Marg arrived at the cottage in time for lunch which Ingrid supplied. They spent the afternoon chatting, working on a cat-themed jig-saw puzzle, and watching a couple of movies that they thought the guys at home would never watch (Quartet and Mickey Blue Eyes). For dinner they had appetizers, lasagna from Mappatura (an Italian restaurant in Halifax), salad and carrot cake (Ann's contribution). Then they went to see Measha Brueggergosman-Lee at the Lunenburg Opera House. After the concert they finished the puzzle before turning in. On Sunday morning, they walked out Heckman's Island Rd. to Hebb Point Rd. then went to Chicory Blue General Store for lunch before coming home.
Today, Ann and I walked to the cenotaph for the Remembrance Day ceremony where we ran into Erika, Manon and Dave. It was more poorly organized this year than in years past with the laying of wreaths going on interminably. Dave and I left before it was all over and walked back to our place. Ann, Erika and Manon lasted for a while longer then drove up the hill to join us for coffee and pumpkin muffins.