Thoughts and Words Ill-Sorted

I wanted to post a few more pictures of our stay in Nova Scotia, even if I am getting a bit behind in recording our travels.

In this summer of too-much-to-do, I am very grateful for the grandmothers, grandfathers, and other family and friends who have taken time out to just sit (or lie down) and read to my kids.  I love when the kids join me in the kitchen (they dug out every single one of Grandma Penner’s metal mixing bowls–Nathaniel apparently planned some serious cooking), but the sound of family and friends reading to my children stays with me a long, long time.

Once they realized that I’d be sticking close to the kitchen, the kids took up with Sydney and Grandpa Penner whenever possible, since going out with them meant playing in the dirt.  The sandy soil was just too much to resist, so on this particular day Nathaniel (later joined by Katherine) went all out.

The matching ladies.

Grandma Penner, her sister Tina, and Katherine, all shelling peas and chatting.

The wedding!

Erin

To back up a bit, I wanted to post some pictures of the Penner family on an evening visit to the shore in Nova Scotia last month.  Katherine had been asking me to take her to the ocean long before we arrived in Nova Scotia, so off we went once we finally got there.  We also went to the zoo sometime during our stay with family, though my pictures didn’t turn out well from that visit.

Once we got to the ocean, however, it was Nathaniel, our resident water-lover, who really enjoyed getting wet.  He and Sydney stood for a long time with their legs lapped by water (long after Sydney got cold), and Nathaniel pointed to the water and said, “I want to dig my head in there.”

It was also great to go as a whole family, with both Sydney and his brother Nelson and their families; Nelson’s fiancee, Kira, even brought her dog, Oliver.

Nathaniel a bit earlier on the farm:

All of the Penner men:

Yes, this is one of my favorite pictures of my family:

Erin

I haven’t done much long-distance driving on my own, so I’m sure that both my Dad and Sydney were wondering if I would actually make it to Mississippi.  To their surprise–and my own–I made good time yesterday and got into Ole Miss eleven hours after leaving home.  It was a bit odd to find myself back in rolling farmland and expansive highways after a pedestrian life in the towns and cities of England, but on my drive I saw plenty of indications that I was not in England anymore:

– Far more SUVs and, as I got further south, trucks, than I’m used to.  In England, the only pickups I ever saw were driven by the park maintenance crews.

– Two guys wearing “Brothers in Arms” t-shirts emblazoned with an image of a rifle and “Christian Brothers High School” below that.  If I hadn’t been a bit dazed from my drive I would have been tempted to ask them about their school.  I also saw a lot of billboards for gun shops on my route, and I realized that things have really changed since I was a kid.  When I was younger, gun shops all had a hunting theme (deer head silhouettes everywhere), but now I see a lot more with the word “game” in the title, or with psuedo-military overtones.  Can’t say I like the shift.

– Did you know that there’s a town named Braggadocio?  It’s an “unincorporated community” in Missouri that was apparently named after the character in Spenser’s The Faerie Queen.  The sign for that turn-off definitely caught my eye.

– In Missouri I drove through a massive thunderstorm.  I could see it for half an hour before I got to it, and the sky was gorgeous: rolling hills, large swaths of forest, and towering clouds of all shades of blue, grey, and white overhead.  I didn’t enjoy my ten minutes of pouring rain (I cut my speed in half and still had trouble seeing the road lines), but for a good half-hour afterward I kept seeing flashes of lightning in my rearview mirror.  I’m back in storm country!

– As I stopped just inside the Mississippi state line, I realized I’d parked next to a grove of thirty-foot tall magnolia trees, all with leaves as big as my two hands together.  They take “lush greenery” to a whole new level.

Erin

I’m really hoping to post pictures of our Nova Scotia adventures soon . . . but I can’t just yet.  I’m leaving within the hour for a ten-hour drive in our new car (we’re all relieved that I apparently still know how to drive after three years in England) down to Mississippi for a Faulkner conference.  The kids are settled in with my parents here in Iowa, so they should be in good shape.  I, meanwhile, need to rewrite the paper I’m giving on Monday . . . so I’m going to be a bit of a wreck until then.

Sydney’s in a bit more of a difficult position, however.  His visa interview went well earlier this week, and he was approved and almost out the door when they called him back in: they don’t think the police report he offered from the Canadian Mounties is sufficient evidence of his not having a criminal record.  They’re wrong (they just aren’t familiar with the regional papers, rather than the ones from the national office), but, hey, they make the rules.  So he’s now extending his stay in Oxford until the day or two before classes start at Asbury, in hopes that he can get more paperwork acquired and submitted, and then get his visa.  We’re not sure if he’s going to be able to teach this fall, given the circumstances; we’re waiting to hear from the chair of his department.  If they say no, we don’t really blame them: these are very tricky circumstances!  I’m also going to be moving into our house on my own, rather than having a luxurious week or so do to it with him before my parents bring the kids down.  Sigh.  That’s just apparently how things go in our life.  So, we’ll hope that the paperwork goes quickly and he can get his visa in time for school, be approved to teach, and be in Kentucky by mid-August.  I would like my husband back!!  Just don’t go asking him about his opinion of the American government any time soon.

Erin

The kids and I are currently sitting in the Halifax airport (yes, back here again!), this time to fly to my parents in Iowa.  I haven’t been back to my hometown in two years, and I’m excited to be there again.  Sydney, meanwhile, is going to be wandering the same airport in Halifax later today for his flight back to England for his immigration interview.  I’m looking forward to greeting him in Kentucky at the end of next week–though first I need to get my head back into the paper I’m giving in Mississippi on Monday!

In very good news, Nelson and Kira were married this past Sunday, and all went reasonably smoothly.  It was a hot, hot day, but everyone pitched in to participate in the ceremony and reception.  Some Silly Putty also bought us a peaceful evening feast with the bridal party after the nerve-wracking parts were over.  Nelson and Kira drove us to the airport today, and I got to give my brother-in-law and new sister-in-law big hugs before we headed out.

Erin

My flights are cancelled, so I’ll be staying in Nova Scotia this weekend.  I’ll miss the conference, which makes me a bit sad, but I’ll be here during the days leading up to the wedding–ones in which Sydney and I really wanted to keep things as stable as possible for the kids.  So, I’ll be there when Nathaniel and Katherine practice walking down the aisle.  Lisa just posted about a wedding that 2-year-old Anna was in recently, and during which she got M&Ms for her flower-girl work.  Since Nathaniel doesn’t understand “helping with the wedding” or “being a big boy/girl” even if Katherine does, I think I will also offer an incentive for the kids: walk down the aisle to Dadda without fighting and he’ll give you three dates each.  That should keep them happy–and keep their clothes, faces, and hands relatively clean.  So, we’ll see how this goes.

Erin

The very bored-looking customs agent just perused my passport and told me, “You really get around.”  I’m still trying to figure out what to make of that.

It’s not yet six in the morning and I’m waiting at my gate in the Halifax airport for a flight to Virginia.  This weekend I’m going to a workshop with a pile of Faulkner scholars and I’m really excited: I’ve been looking forward to this conference for almost a year.  We’ve all been working in pairs and trios to put together maps of Faulkner’s short stories for use in the classroom, and this weekend is our chance to hash out problem areas before we start tackling his novels.  It will also be a great way to get my Faulkner brain back into action before next weekend’s major Faulkner conference, at which I’m giving a paper.  One of the highlights of both Faulkner events is my chance to meet up with a friend, Dotty, whom I met at last year’s conference.  She and I are working together on this digital enterprise, and we’re part of the same panel of speakers at next week’s conference.  She is also living abroad with two small children, and she’s just finishing up her dissertation.  We’ve had a lot of correspondence about Faulkner, children, academia, and life abroad.  It will be wonderful to connect in person after so much writing back and forth.

I’ll be catching a late-evening flight out of VA to get back to Halifax before midnight on Saturday, so that I can be back for Nelson’s wedding on Sunday.  My future sister-in-law, Kira, and I have worked the farmer’s market together a few Saturday mornings, which has given me a chance to get to know her, and I am incredibly excited that Nelson has made such a good match.  Smart, level-headed, and easy-going: she’s the exact opposite of a bridezilla.  I’m so excited to see things unfold on Sunday.

Earlier this week, Nelson, Sydney, the kids, and I headed to Halifax to buy the guys black suits (Sydney’s only suit is from our wedding, and it’s a dark grey), and to pick up a tux for Nathaniel.  Nelson seemed reasonably okay not only with being on a trip to a mall, but also with having two small children in tow.  Kudos to him on both accounts.  Nathaniel looks like a doll in his tux, and he clearly loved the attention he got from the sales ladies, so we’re eager to see how he does on the big day.  Katherine knows that I’m going to be away for a few days, but that I’ll be back to encourage the two of them down the aisle.  Everyone in our family is participating in the wedding: I’m corralling the kids and reading a short passage during the wedding ceremony, Sydney’s standing up as Nelson’s best man, and the kids are the flower girl and boy–or, “flower children,” a term whose hippie connotations makes me feel like I’m still back in Ithaca.

On Tuesday we are all headed to the airport: Sydney to fly to London for his visa interview, and the kids and me to fly to Iowa, where the poor Birdsong grandparents are currently recovering from their recent moving adventures.  Earlier this week, Mom, Dad, and Adam drove our truck full of books down to Kentucky, where David and Lisa appeared like the welcoming committee–with lunch and a pile of moving volunteers from their church.  Good thing, too: I think all three of my family members were tired out.  Mom and Dad are still recovering, and I won’t be surprised if Adam sleeps for three days straight.  I’ll be sorting out exactly what went wrong with the moving companies we were working with (sigh), but for now, all of our things are safely tucked into the house we’ve rented from Asbury, and my family came away with a very favorable impression of the place where we’re going to be moving in less than two weeks.

Erin

Hello, everyone.  It’s been awhile, I know.  I’m currently sitting in Sydney’s dad’s health food store in Berwick, Nova Scotia.  The kids and I have been here for a month, and Sydney joined us two weeks ago.  We were hoping to use this extended time with family to catch our breath before a flurry of moving and traveling and conferencing (not to mention his brother’s wedding) in the middle of July.  Unfortunately, some things have come up to keep us busy in ways we did not expect:

– Sydney’s mother is having some serious health issues, so we’re afraid that she has not gotten the relaxed play time with her grandchildren that we were all hoping for.  We’re glad that we are here to be useful, but the kids, ahem, keep us busy and make it difficult for us to contribute to the family enterprises.

– In addition, my parents gamely volunteered to drive out to New York to unpack our storage unit and then re-pack our stuff into pods to be shipped to Kentucky.  Well, the company that we were working with made some serious errors (as the official family bulldog, I’m on the hunt to rectify those) that resulted in things taking twice as long as they should and being far more taxing.  Upstate New York had a heat wave this past week, and my mom had a heatstroke while helping to move our stuff.  Thank goodness for my brother, Adam, who is young, strong as an ox, and still sunny after four days of relentless labor.  I think I might be repaying my debt to him for the rest of my life.

In good news, the kids are doing really well on the farm.  They’re a bit frustrated that I’m spending so much time in the kitchen (if only they were old enough to help with dishes and cooking prep!), but they are really enjoying roaming from one adult to another and playing in the very sandy soil on Sydney’s parents’ farm (it’s like a giant sandbox).  They have also had several great evenings with families who have children, and they’re quickly learning that every Mennonite household is stocked with toys for visitors.  They’re really enjoying their time here.

My internet time is usually limited to how long I can bribe the kids to stay out of trouble in the store with rice cakes, so I’m afraid posts will be a bit sparse for awhile.  But we are collecting pictures and hope to post photos of some of our adventures when we have a bit more computer time.

Erin

On my only full day in Iceland, I took a tour a little ways north to Snaefellsnes, a long, narrow peninsula jutting out west into the Atlantic. One of the things that surprised me was how colourful the mountains were. Two mountains standing next to each other would often be completely different colours. According to a geologist from New York who was also on the bus, rhyolite and iron oxide explained a good deal of the variation. Another thing that surprised me is how badly photographs captured the mountains’ colours. But, for what they’re worth, here are some pictures (in this post, incidentally, clicking on the images should open up larger versions of them):

Continue reading →

Since by far the cheapest way to get from London to Halifax was by Icelandair, I decided to head to Nova Scotia that way and pause in Iceland for a couple of days. I’m glad I did. It’s an incredibly beautiful country. Also a bit odd. Among other things, people here think that putrefied shark (hákarl) is food and that building a road over the location of an elf-stone is only permissible if the elf gives permission for the dwelling to be moved to someone who is able to communicate with elves (apparently the majority of Icelanders believe there are elves around).

Here’s Reykjavik’s City Hall, or Ráðhús, across the lake at the centre of the city:

How many ducks can you find? Hint: it’s a lot more than the five drakes flaunting their handsomeness.