Dear Neighbor . . .

 

AUG 7th, 2026

Estate Lane,

Nova Scotia

18*C/64*F

Sunny

Dear Neighbor,

I hope this finds you well on this beautiful Friday morning. As you can see the sun is shining brightly here and it is lovely and warm. There is still a heat warning in effect however so it will be another stinker of a day.

I don't mind the heat so much so long as we don't get lots of humidity. There is rain expected for four days in a row to come starting tomorrow, or so it is predicted.  The grass is looking lovely and green, which is nice to see. It is hard to be blue on a day which is so beautiful. Thank goodness for a heat pump which will keep it comfortably cool in here. I don't have it on yet. I probably won't need to turn it on until later today. In the early part of the day the front of my house is all in the shade. It doesn't get really sunny until later in the day.

I took down the hummingbird feeder late in the afternoon yesterday, cleaned it and re-filled it. They had almost emptied it.  Once I refilled it however the wasps/hornets are clustered around it and the hummers are having a difficult time getting close. I find that very annoying, as I am sure the hummingbirds do as well. They can't get into it (the wasps) but still they chase the hummingbirds away.

The whole point of having a hummingbird feeder is to be able to feed and watch the hummingbirds, not wasps.  There are two other feeders on the street, so they won't go hungry for sure, but I am a bit annoyed about it all the same.

 

More than 300 people across 27 US states have fallen ill with salmonella from jalapenos coming from Mexico.  First it was the lettuce, now jalapenos. There is none in Canada yet. 

It does make one more than a bit afraid of buying any fruit or vegetables coming from Mexico.  Right now that's not much of a problem as fresh local produce is coming in quickly at the moment.

Speaking of fresh and local, yesterday I had some delicious local peaches. They are a bit on the small side, but they were really tasty. Cindy had bought some the other day and she gave me two of them. I could not eat a whole punnet of them before they rotted so it isn't really practical for me to buy them, which reminds me I did buy a lot of beans the other day, so I really should do something with them today.

This is a photograph that Cindy took of the sun setting over Port George last night. Its so pretty along the Northern shore this time of year. A lot of people go up there to cool off and to watch the sun set. 

Its also nice to drive over during the day. I like to sit at picnic tables they have there and just look out over the water. A lot of people walk their dogs along the beach in Margaretville.  Further down the coast there is a spot where you can park and watch the seals sunning themselves on the rocks.

This really is a beautiful province to live in. A lovely place to land and live out the rest of your life at. Here in the Valley, it is pretty quiet. There is not a lot of night life for young people I suppose. We have a large population of retirees here. The younger people usually gravitate towards the cities.

The valley is pretty quiet.

Anyways, I thought you would enjoy seeing this photo. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

 

(source)

I am really enjoying the Miss Dimity book I am reading. (Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton) Its been a while since I have found a book that I have been able to enjoy this much. Usually I get them started but lose interest part way through. I find myself looking forward to my reading time at the moment, wanting to see what happens next.  I like a good mystery.  And I love anything English. And vintage-like, so all-told this is a great combination.

I have a great love for anything vintage. For 1940's 50's decor, dress, etc.  I think the old ways are great ways.  I do love modern conveniences though, so maybe a sweet combination of the two is what would work for me. I like my cordless vacuum and my dishwasher.  Oh and my modern washer and dryer as well.  And computers . . . and mobile phones. So yeh . . . I like the old ways, but with a modern twist.

 

(source)

There is a part of me that looks back with longing at the days when I used to do a lot of preserving of fruits and veggies for the Winter months. I enjoyed it so much and everything always got used. I had a great sense of pride looking at my preserving cupboard shelves and watching them filling up with bejeweled jars of jams, pickles, etc. 

One favorite I used to make, this time of year, was a chili sauce. It was made with tomatoes, onions, peppers, peaches,  and pears. It had a bit of a snap to it, but it was so delicious. We could eat it just out of the jar as a side at the table, but sometimes I would use half a jar or so in my Swiss Steak. It added a lovely flavor. I think that was my husband's favorite as well.

I did up tons of Dill pickles every year that the children loved, and bread and butter pickles, relishes, jams, jellies, chutneys and later in the summer/early autumn Apple Butter.

I was watching Jennilee at The Pioneer Home doing some canning the other day. Her husband had brought home 180 pounds of tomatoes so she was busy making tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, salsa, etc. And she is pregnant.  Oh to be young and fit enough to be able to cope with raising a family and still have enough energy to do all of that canning. I am in awe of her. I really enjoy her videos.

She also has a mail club that she started, The Pioneer Post. I subscribed to that the other day. I haven't gotten my first letter yet, but it is on the way. 

Letters in the post. As Martha would say, "Its a good thing."

I was watching Kirsten and Joerg yesterday and they did a tour of their home. I love seeing other people's homes. I find it fascinating. I also watched a tour of this other couple's home in Lunenburg.  Obviously money is no object to them. Stunning.  (And it's just their summer house.) I think they are probably from as we would say it, "away." Meaning from Ontario and they have a summer house here in Nova Scotia to escape to every summer.

How the other half live. Very interesting to watch however, so if you are into decor, etc. I recommend both of those videos.

My house it nothing fancy. Its just a bit of this and a bit of that and a whole lot of in-between!

 

(source)

Dad hasn't been feeling really well lately. His iron is down so the Doctor has prescribed some iron for him. Cindy is taking him to the Doctors this afternoon.  He will be 93 on his Birthday in January so I suppose it is only natural that he should be slowing down. Normally on Fridays we would take him out with his friend Maryann, but not today. (She will be really disappointed.) He has a lump on the back of his neck that appears to be growing and his eyes are giving him a lot of problems.  The other night at dinner he wasn't his usual self. He hadn't gone for his tea that afternoon either.  However when the waitress came over and made a fuss of him he did perk up a bit. He is a real ladies man.

David, our brother, is due to come down for his visit on the 17th.  We are all looking forward to seeing him and Christine (his wife). I hope Dad will be well enough to enjoy his visit.

Monday, Eileen goes for her biopsy. She is understandably nervous about it, but she will be asleep for it and will be coming back here afterwards. I am praying very hard that the cancer will not be too far advanced, and that they can quickly and safely deal with it all.

What a year this has been in one way or another. Some years are just like that.

 

(source)

This made me smile this morning. Now wouldn't that be nice.  Chocolate and 8 million dollars. Oh the problems you could solve then. The hug would be nice as well. 

Not that money solves problems, but it can sure ease a bit of discomfort. Just think of the people you could help. I hope the chocolate is Lindt.

And with that I am going to close this off. I am late getting started this morning and have had quite a few interruptions as well, so its been hard to concentrate.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*Remember the hard parts in life

are just chapters in your story.

Not the whole book. There are 

still good things to come.

~unknown

In The English Kitchen today  . . . Cheesy Tuna Casserole for One. This was really delicious. Quite a hearty serving. I am sure you could stretch it to feed two people by adding a few sides.  In any case, it went down a real treat!

I hope you have a lovely Friday. I am not sure what I am going to do with today yet. We will see what happens. Stay safe when you are out and about. Keep your cool, stay hydrated. Don't forget!

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿

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And I do too!