October. A lovely month, often resonant of summer, and just as often, it seems, of winter. I spent half the month in Nova Scotia, visiting my daughter and her family, who have moved to the Annapolis Valley. It was my first time in the Maritimes. I experienced heat, cold, wind, rain, and beauty wherever I looked. There were many fine days too, as in almost perfect, and the fall colours were spectacular.
As per family visits I spent time with my dear people, and as per my personality, tried to make myself useful (!) by mending, digging up the garden beds, playing with the children. All of which I enjoyed.
We did a few outings — to a tall lighthouse and a short one, to small villages, and to the Frenchys thrift clothing store in Digby (apparently the original). I especially enjoyed seeing the replica of painter Maud Lewis‘s house (the actual house is in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia) as well as her gravesite and the memorial structure where the house used to stand, which the designer called a “ghost house.” It reminded me of the bones of what’s left of things (sort of like Borrowing Bones!).
Since returning to B.C., I’ve been catching up with family and friends and reading a fair bit (attempting to read the Booker shortlist, though since I’m depending on the library I may not get there by the winner announcement Nov. 10). And, like many other Canadians, I’m following the World Series and holding my breath on behalf of the Blue Jays!
Borrowing Bones 
The Maritimes! I have wonderful memories of a fall holiday there with Hardy. We decided to explore Newfoundland another time. That never happened.
The trips that happened, and the ones that didn’t. Yes.
We remember the Maud Lewis house at the art museum from our trip six years ago to Halifax, NS, to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary with our whole family. We started our life journey together by honeymooning in NS. Canada has always been a favorite destination.
Go Blue Jays!
Ah, lovely of you to put in that little cheer for the Blue Jays, Shirley, when perhaps your loyalties are with
your national team! 🙂 So you honeymooned in Nova Scotia! That’s so lovely too.
ah Dora, the mystery of you! There are many layers beneath your writing, I think ;-).- you are an edifice of shelter for your dear ones I think, infinitely respectful of spaces and places and their own stories as separate from your own, in many ways. Your family must surely have welcomed your kind supportive presence and ‘making yourself useful’. I hope it was a time of letting the earth and the reciprocal love restore you as well. The last several years there have been changes and losses…and I can only imagine the fall colors.
Have you ever read Dorothy Gilman’s “A New Kind of Country”, or some such? It’s a lovely book. I think you might enjoy it. It’s out of print, but if you’re patient, you can find it on thriftbook website for $11 or sumpin’. I also have a copy…. xoxo Mel
Well you are more than kind about what my presence might have been, I assure you most strenuously, and can also assert that I am still very much in learning as far as being an “old mother” is concerned and what adult children need as opposed to some automatic instinctive maternal impulses. We must chat about that some day. — I will keep my eyes open for the Dorothy Gilman book; I haven’t read it.
The conversation about ‘old mothers’ and instinctive maternal impulses sounds grand – I’m in. You know where I live …
I am doing some grandparenting away from home these past weeks and so the post struck a chord with me. I’d like to be in that conversation mentioned above. There are layers to writing, layers to life, and layers to our children’s lives (and even the grandchildren’s). It feels very good to be busy right now, as things fall apart in the USA. And I am rooting for the Blue Jays because I don’t mind seeing the focus on some place other than our broken home.
Ah, yes, how right you are: layers and layers and layers. Thank you.