We're well and truly landed for the summer in Port Maitland. It feels great to have the suitcases unpacked, groceries in the fridge, and a load of laundry in the washing machine Any Time I Feel Like It. I've already made several trips to Frenchy's - terrific second-hand clothes (that's my first stop above, at the Frenchy's in Coldbrook on the way out of Halifax), and I'm throwing out all the faded, stretched-out Caribbean clothes that I'm so damn sick of.

I skunked my dad so bad at cribbage last night. He skunked me first, with all the accompanying blather that goes with it, so to follow up with an even more brutal skunk was ambrosia. For me. He's still a bit fragile.

The rest of the Toronto visit was great. While we were there, my Anna heard that she had received an award from Western, and that she'd been successful in her interview with the Toronto School Board and is now on the "eligible to hire" list. Yay Anna.

All was well in Halifax where we spent a few days running around taking care of business. Son Tom and his girlfriend Haley have just moved into the house that Anna and Andy vacated, and it was lovely fun to wade into their bunch of boxes and furniture and kitties and have an inaugural barbeque. Tom and Haley are both working so hard (Haley's just graduated from Dal - Yay Haley!) and I love to picture them enjoying a big backyard and a barbeque and enough room in the house to swing both cats if they're so inclined.

We spent an happy overnight with Randy's mum in Digby, and had more haddock! And now we're back in the village and it's a relief to not be travelling and a treat to have such a great place to spend the summer. The fog wallows around just off the beach and sneaks up the slope into the yard now and again. We're chilly, but (I'm) enjoying wearing big hoodies and jeans and rubber boots for wandering around the yard. Mowing the lawn, working on setting up the workshop in the barn, and doing a load of laundry, as I mentioned, whenever I bloody feel like it. Back into our queen-sized bed (we can walk around three sides!), clean sheets whenever I want, the bed doesn't move unless we jump on it, the house doesn't swing around in the night, and we're having wonderful sleeps. The fridge seems enormous and Dad brought maple walnut ice cream last night and there's still some in the freezer. Riches.

Although this afternoon, I made an error and hung out a load of laundry on the line at 4:30 in the afternoon. Not a problem at "home" - I could take it in at sunset, dry - but an obvious misstep in Nova Scotia. I hope it doesn't rain overnight. But if it does, there's a dryer. :-)