Thoughts and Words Ill-Sorted

In the back yard of the cabin there is a small clump of blueberry bushes.  Today our landlord kindly encouraged us to take advantage of them, since he gets plenty from his daughter.  We dove right in!  A big bowl of the early ones made for a nice dessert–and Katherine ate a good cupful from Sydney, despite having had a very large dinner.  Our only problem is in keeping her from stripping the bushes.  She thinks the berries, whether white or blue, are great fun, and she’ll dash off with a handful anytime she gets a chance.

Erin

I am feeling much better in this pregnancy than I did when I was at this point with Katherine.  Regular meals, for example, rather than subsisting on popcorn and sparkling water.  And I like a lot of things I definitely didn’t the first time around (tacos, tomatoes).  But I’m still a bit iffy about food in general, and I have absolutely no inclination to cook; the more time I spend around food the less I want to eat it.  So Sydney (yes, he’s wonderful) has taken up the bulk of the cooking, and he’s doing his best to keep us all fed in our camp kitchen situation.

Erin

“The place doesn’t even list its area code.”

“It’s the same as here.”

“But it’s far away from here.”

“All the province has the same area code.  Two provinces, actually.”

The Iowan (five area codes) looks at the Nova Scotian (half an area code, apparently), having just come from New York (14 area codes).

“Wow, I guess this is rural country.”

Erin

When we’ve described our upcoming travel and moving plans to people, some have said “How exciting!”  Others, perhaps a bit more blunt, have said, “You’re crazy.”  Two dissertations, two adults, and one child will be flying across the Atlantic to try to make the leap from graduate students to paid academics in a whole new country and educational system.  Clearly, however, stakes weren’t high enough yet: I wonder what the comments will be when we add that we’re expecting a second child, to be born next February in England.

Erin

On Sunday the entire clan drove to Blomidon Provincial Park, where we walked Scot’s Bay at low tide, drove up the mountain for a picnic in the cooler mountain air, and walked along the wooded trails.  I am still learning about the significance of Nova Scotian tides, but I can tell you that they’re pretty dramatic.  At low tide Sydney walked a good half-hour from the grass at the beach to where the water started, covering acres of mud and sand flats, but when we drove back later in the day all was under water.  For Katherine, this was quite the experience.  First we plopped her down in what I thought was sand, but we soon realized was mud.  Ahh, mud.  Then we rinsed her off a bit in the river water that was slowly flowing into the Atlantic and set her down in sand, surrounded by tiny streams.  Then she really had a blast.

Crouching to play in it . . .

Up to her knees in it . . .

Ahh, full out.  It later got on the face, too, though she quickly decided she didn’t care for the taste.

Sydney and Nelson, walking on ocean floor.

Couldn’t help it.  Why does she look like she has bear cub claws?  Because she’s running, of course.  Katherine doesn’t generally walk if she can run instead.

Erin

Mickey had to move because he’s light enough for Katherine to move across the floor.  The bear, however, she merely pats occasionally.

The elegant, but oh-so-dangerous stairs.  Currently rather effectively blocked by suitcases.

The loft.

A corner of the loft, complete with bear rug, preserved turtle, and cradle.

The antler chandelier, which has 20 complete pairs of antlers, plus 10 additional single antlers.  Between the heavy iron and the pointy bits it’s a bit scary to sit under.

My favorite thing in the cabin, besides the scary stairs.  This coffee table is also an old-fashioned scale.  Under the metal hood on the left is the measuring instrument, which you slide slowly across until it balances.  The thing can apparently weigh items up to 600 pounds, and it’s quite accurate!

Erin

Our house is decidedly unexciting right now.  The only thing Sydney and I can think of is sleep–when, how, and how much.  Katherine is going through some tough nights, and all of us are faring the worse for it.  So everything is at a standstill, waiting for enough sleep for the brains to flicker back on.

But other exciting things around town:

When I was at the laundromat an older gentleman (very chatty) walked by as I was waiting and asked if I was “one of the college students.”  I was confused, given that the nearest university is thirty minutes away.  But he settled in, doing his best to convince me I was one of the young folks from the college, on a summer break.  At some point I broke it to him that I was out of college–and that I needed to go fetch my daughter.

Today, when I had Katherine settled in for a nap and was just starting to relax, I saw another older gentleman making his way across our lawn.  Remember that we live on the end of a dead-end road in a very small town.  I called Sydney down from the loft and then watched as the man settled himself on our front porch.  When I asked if I could help him the gentleman told me that he just needed a rest on his way home.  When I pointed out that the road ended here he said he takes a shortcut this way (oh great, we’ll be seeing lots of him).  He then proceeded to inquire if I was “boarding” here, and was I with my boyfriend, and he announced that I had the newest car of the cars he’s seen here.  And boy, there were a number of cars here in recent times.  By this point I was starting to laugh, wondering if he thought I was running some sort of brothel or party house.  And, after a quick mention of my husband, family down the road, and my daughter (who was now yelling at the top of her lungs), I escaped inside and locked the door.  I’m wondering if I should keep that shotgun handier . . .

In other news, my brother-in-law reopened his cafe in town after extensive renovations, and I, lucky dog, got to settle in for lunch there today while Sydney stayed with Katherine.  So nice to enjoy someone else’s cooking, and so nice to then go and ask him about what made everything taste so good.  Looking forward to more lunches like that over the summer!

And it’s started: a lady at the market asked my mother-in-law whether Katherine was saying any words.  When she was told no, she got concerned and asked if the child had been checked for hearing problems.  Sigh.

Sydney, unfortunately, threw out his back.  So he’s currently hobbling around the house, looking like he’s in his late 100’s.  Katherine’s a bit put out at not being thrown into the air by him, but she’s dealing.  And we’re all grateful that the temperature’s dropped from the 90’s to the low 80’s, though it’s still quite warm by Nova Scotia standards.  Next summer we’re vacationing in the Northwest Territories!

Erin

This evening I followed Katherine around the farm.  First we tried to join Grandma in the rows of tiny carrots, but we soon had to leave, since Katherine demonstrated a complete disregard for rows, plant life, or parental direction.  As far as I can tell, the only time she follows the rows is when she’s stalking the barn cat that walks down them.

Then we walked to the other side of the farm to watch Sydney drive the tractor across the field.  I was apparently more impressed than Katherine was, since she soon stomped off.  Finally we found a patch of dirt that had been recently turned over, but that hadn’t been planted yet.  The soil around here is incredibly sandy, so it really is a kid’s paradise.  She promptly plopped down and started eating dirt, running it through her fingers, and rummaging for rocks.  I know, I know, I wished for my camera at least a dozen times.  Will definitely take some pictures soon.

A bath and some rocking later and our tired girl is in bed.

Erin

After roughly two months of angelic behavior, K is once again in what we’re guessing are the throes of teething.  At least, all four first-year molars are coming in (and have been for over a month) and she’s stopped sleeping, eating, and playing like usual.  Here’s hoping we last longer than she does.  She has been quite well-behaved for the grandparents, which is both lovely (I mean, that’s the goal, right?) and slightly maddening (they’re never going to believe us when we explain why we’re slightly haggard).

Erin

The internet guy was here today, enabling us to step back into the online world.

But where is “here,” you might ask?

Sydney, Katherine, and I are living in a log house just down the road from Sydney’s parents, in Berwick, Nova Scotia, at the end of a dead-end country road.  Between the “rustic” antiques that populate the house and the road that turns to gravel just at our place, it does feel like we’re in the middle of the country.  But the highway’s within hearing distance and, apparently, we’re not out of the reach of high-speed cable internet.

I will do my best to post pictures of the house, since it really is interesting.  Admittedly, I nearly despaired when I stepped inside it.  Why?  There are lots of antiques that either Katherine will break or that may break her, as well as a spiral staircase that she was immediately drawn to–and that would be a big problem if we left it unblocked.  But there are many interesting things: the thickness of the logs keeps us cool as the hot weather settles in, there is a loft that we’ve just set up for our books and papers, and there’s a rather cozy bedroom and a surprisingly comfortable metal bathtub with wood trim, both of which are tucked under the loft.  It is probably a better house for, say, us in our honeymooning days than it is for a young family, since the house is entirely open (as in, we can carry on a conversation as we move throughout the house).  We’ll see how well the loft retreat keeps Katherine’s noise-making capacities at bay.

The best benefit, of course, is that it’s a ten-minute stroll down the road to the Penner farm, so Katherine will have regular interactions with her grandparents.  She’s already learning about the greatness of farm dirt and elusive barn cats.

But to give you a sense of the interesting things we’re discovering around the house: a bear rug, a stuffed bear, an antler chandelier, a good three dozen wooden birds or ducks, a snowshoe mold from the 19th century, two butter churns, a female mannequin from the sixties (shod in pumps) outfitted in American Indian leather gear and headdress, a full-size American Indian statue (complete with tomahawk, knife, and arrows), a dozen rocking chairs, a pool table that doubles as a dining room table when covered, two large spinning wheels, and a two-foot-long snapping turtle (preserved).

Erin