There are 3 weeks of summer left and plans on the calendar still, but I feel like my second pandemic summer goals have already been accomplished: 1) catch up (in person) with friends and family I haven’t seen for a while and 2) go a little farther afield. For the first time since the pandemic started, I left Nova Scotia—crossing the border to New Brunswick twice this month.
Camping Trips I had two short camping trips to national parks—Kejimkujik in Nova Scotia and Kouchibouguac in New Brunswick. Got some hiking and biking in. 56 year-old spine and hip bones fared OK sleeping on the ground in a tent again. Particularly enjoyed the early morning view of Kouchibouguac Lagoon with my brother and MOMN (along with great coffee and oatcakes).
Tiny House Trip Enid the Cat and I had a five day stay in the tiny house (and will be going back in September). Included heart-warming visits with many many friends and family, some I hadn’t seen since the pandemic started. Enid seemed overwhelmed at first in the tiny house—I think because of all the windows and the nearby heavily-trafficked road—but she figured out the ladder to the loft quickly, and soon seemed to enjoy looking out the windows at the birds and down from the loft at me. I figure she decided it was a big kitty condo. When we got home and I unloaded the car, I was amazed at how much STUFF was needed for one human and one cat to go away for a few days.
Day Trips I did make a list of “old” friends I wanted to visit with at least once this summer while travel is easy and active COVID-19 cases are low. Does a list sound odd? It was important for me to catch up with these friends and a list (and schedule) helped me make it happen. The visits all felt rejuvenating.
Little Car that Got Me to All the Above Places My 16-year old car got a lot of attention this month. After getting scraped while parked (the driver owned up immediately and apologized profusely), I took it in to a body shop for a quote*. That same week, the car got its safety inspection (something done in Nova Scotia every two years), vehicle registration, and rust-proofing in prep for winter.
The weather has been hot and humid so it was startling to see a bright red maple leaf while biking on a path in Kouchibouguac last week. For Nova Scotians, our summer involves both a provincial election (August) and a federal one (September). As a follow up to the Canada On Fire rally I attended in July, there is another climate emergency day of action across Canada on 09/08 ahead of the federal leaders’ debates and I am helping plan a local event. The work feels rewarding. And I’m happy to contribute the project management skills I honed out west and have them used for something other than just to white-board my summer schedule.
*I decided not to take any action. Doing expensive aesthetic repairs on a 16-year old car with a blue book value under $2.5K CAD doesn’t make sense, no matter who is paying.
References and related links:
- MOMN: Mother of My Nieces, my sister-in-law.
- Kejimkujik National Park (Parks Canada site)
- Kouchibouguac National Park (Parks Canada site)
- seven-year itch (post #167)
Leave a Reply