Farewell to Nova Scotia

Menopausal Puffin' Mama made it home with Mr Doug. We hated to leave the Southshore Sister's B & B. Yesterday's activities included a walk in the rain, lunch out with Brenda at Charlotte Lane, an upscale cafe, a spa treatment for Brenda and me (facials and pedicures), and a night at the Osprey Arts Centre for a couple of hours of blues music and cover tunes with Bob Vacon and friends. Brenda is so good to us and treats me like a queen. I really enjoyed the concert, but had a few hot flashes up there in the balcony, and I thought about running out of the theatre and jumping in the ocean, but a few deep breaths calmed me down, so I didn't have to resort to this drastic measure. The music was great and the structure of the evening gave me a few ideas about a musical concert I would like to do someday.

It was definitely a full day, and we climbed the thousand stairs to our bedroom in the sky last night ready for a great night of sleep. The first thing we encountered was Maggie the cat lying in our suitcase, which unnerved me a bit, as I'm not used to cats. Plus, Maggie is like a small lion -- she is a mouser and eats the heads off the many rabbits that populate the area. I didn't know what she might do to me in the night. Doug put her out of the room. To sleep, to sleep we fell, but alas, due to the heat upstairs, Doug opened the door to let the air flow through the room. An hour or so later, I felt something kneading my calf while I was sleeping. Am I having a massage? Am I still at the spa? No, Maggie is giving me a cat massage! "Doug, Doug!" I whisper screamed -- "The cat! The cat!" Doug once again put the cat out. Just like Fred Flintstone. We really didn't get that great a sleep last night.

This morning it was absolutely beautiful and we spent the morning on the deck overlooking the ocean. Brenda's carpentry boss came by for coffee, and then we took a drive in town to the house he has been building for the past year (Brenda has been working with him on it). I'm very proud of my southshore sister. She can do anything. I really didn't want to leave the B & B, and Doug and I have this policy about not getting home too early after a weekend, because we don't know what to do with ourselves. So, I had a bit of shut eye in the sun. Brenda made muffins and a flourless cake, and tuna sandwiches. We had lunch and finally it was time to say good-bye. I hugged her and thanked her for everything--that the past few days were so wonderful. That they made me forget what I've gone through and made me feel normal again. Then I began to cry. I love my sister friend. Hugs for Paul and Aaron and Luke and we made our way out of beloved Shelburne, and arrived home about 8 tonight. What to do? Clean up a branch of a tree that fell in our driveway, put some laundry in, and go over to C & W's for pie and conversation. I've got lots to do this week before my next vacation, which starts on Friday...

!Deb