We Went on a Summer Holiday (Post 150)

One of the ‘problems’ about going home to Newfoundland and Labrador is the inevitable consequence of having to come back again. I left Newfoundland and Labrador in the summer of 1996 so have had that process repeated many, many times. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like our newly adopted community here in Nova Scotia – I really do like it. However, like many other Newfoundland and Labradorians, we would really prefer to be home (‘home’ meaning living back in our home province).

I realise that not all Newfoundland and Labradorians want to return to the province. In fact, I’m related to a few and am friends with a few more who would never, ever move back. That being said, I can also think of many more who would move home with me tomorrow if I just said the word (and was able to provide a steady paycheque).

With all that in mind, my first week back (this past week) in Middleton was spent with me feeling slightly melancholy. I really do enjoy it here and love the fact that I can walk to all of our conveniences via Iain’s stroller, my legs and the wonderful sidewalks our town taxes pay for (the side walks are even cleared of snow in the winter – not something that occurs in St. John’s, NL in the winter I can assure you!). Yet, there is a pull to my home province that becomes harder and harder to resist every year. As you can probably infer from this introduction, we had a great trip home.

It was certainly a busy visit. The reunion went well, as far as was reported back to me in any case. That was great considering that I did most of the organising (aka bossing people around). It was wonderful to see everyone – seven of nine of my mother’s brothers and sisters were able to make it and all but five of our twenty-odd cousins and their families were also present. It was our first reunion in 12 years (it was held the same weekend as mine and DH’s 12 wedding anniversary, actually!) and the first without our grand-parents, which could have cast a sombre cloud over the whole event but did not. In fact, it remained as much a celebration of my grand-parents and their children as, I believe, our reunions ever have. This reunion is our fourth and I’m lobbying for another in 2014.

Immediately followed by the events of the reunion weekend, we celebrated one of my aunt and uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary. This was quickly followed by a rehearsal party and wedding the following weekend. With all of these festivities and so many of the extended family to visit with, I did not feel I had gotten the opportunity to visit with my own parents and siblings enough so Iain and I stayed an extra five days on the island while DH and Para drove back to Nova Scotia in our trusty camper van.

Highlights of the trip?

Prepping for our Gander River trip (thanks, Uncle R!) before we left Nova Scotia (yes, Para was wearing a lifejacket on the trip too):

The van packed and ready to go:

Waiting for a very late (late to leave; not late in the day) ferry in North Sydney. It was SO HOT!:

Vampire boy – Iain enjoying cherries en route:

A funny sign from the, ahem, McDonalds parking lot in Gander:

Iain playing in the North Atlantic (unfortunately, I do not have pictures from his first, fearless foray into waves but I will post a picture as soon as I get one) where there was such a heat wave that playing in Gander Bay was pure pleasure:

Wearing merino and cashmere and enjoying a wedding reception. This may be the only modelled by Iain shot you see of this sweater. He has SO grown out of it already! And, here’s the story I’d alluded to in this post: Despite the long drive from here to Newfoundland, I did not get much accomplished in the fibre realm. Actually, pretty much zilch. I have two reasons for this. Reason # 1: It was too darn HOT! Reason # 2: He’s about four apples tall, was sitting right next to me, could reach my knitting needles from his car seat and liked to be entertained pretty much all the time. Sigh. I had hoped to get more done by the time we arrived at our destination but, it turns out that I had no extra time to finish sewing the ends in this sweater. A couple of hours before the reunion (I really wanted to have the sweater finished for the first reunion event, the sit down supper) I bribed my cousin, an expert knitter, to sew in the last few ends for me. I bribed her with a three chocolate bars. Yes, she’s cheap ;) (I’m going to be in trouble…..). She had it finished in about five minutes. I kid you not, it would have taken me another two hours. That’s the story – Patty ‘paid’ outside help to get an FO. Guess what? I incubated Iain faster than I knit up and finished this project. Sigh :

Enjoying the view from Uncle Baldy and Aunt L’s downtown St. John’s house:

Swimming with the ducks on our way back to Middleton from the Halifax International Airport. It was so hot that we stopped by a park and had a swim in the lake (a pond by Newfoundland and Labradorian standards) for a swim:

I was too busy during the reunion weekend to get many photographs so, if there are any other gems, I’ll share them with you in the future.

Am I knitting? No, it’s been too darn hot this past week. What have I been doing? I'll leave you hanging with that (hint: it IS fibre related!).

And, this is my 150th post! I am so proud of myself! Thank you so much to all of you readers out there who have written to say that you enjoy this blog. Thank you as well to those of you who simply read. I have made some great friends through this process and it has been a wonderful journey. Thanks for tagging along with me on it!