Big Day Downtown #4: Pick a Card, Any Card (Part 2)

So, you already read about my "inspirational" experience, now it's time to recount what I chose for "social" and "dramatic".

For me, socializing usually involves great food and drinks. I love to go out for snacks and cocktails with friends and family whenever possible. However, since I was trying to push the envelope a bit for BDDT, I didn't want to just go out to eat. I wanted to do something a little different.

I have been hearing a lot of great things about Local Tasting Tours, so decided this would be a great "social" outing. Owner Emily Forrest runs several tours, but considering our theme we chose the Sunday afternoon "Downtown Halifax Food Tour". Well, we met up with Emily outside the Seaport Farmer's Market and it turns out we were the only ones who booked that day! Ergo? Private food tour! Just me, the boy and Emily. I was excited - this meant we could really get up-close with the tastings and ask whatever questions we wanted! Huzzah!

We sampled organic greens and baguette at Selwood Green/Norbert's in the market, rum cake at Rum Runners, chocolate at Sugah, olive oil, spices and New York-style bagels at the old brewery market, corn chowder and biscuits at Chives, shwarma at Mezza Lebanese Kitchen, spicy salsa at Burrito Jax and an iced chai latte at World Tea House!

Needless to say I was stuffed by the end of this tour! I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the samplings - some were quite large! And everything tasted really fresh. We went back after and bought a Garrison Brew Bar (dark chocolate with Garrison brewing malts - yum!) at Sugah, two rum cakes (whiskey for me, traditional rum for him) plus a pint glass at Rum Runners.

I was impressed with Emily's local food knowledge and organization - you can tell she prepares a lot before a tour and has taken time to develop relationships with each vendor. They were all ready for us at every place we stopped, and some even gave us the VIP treatment, including Chives - who opened their doors JUST for us (they weren't opening for dinner for a couple of hours!). At World Tea House, Phil, the owner, not only made our drinks personally but he also sat down with us to talk about his business and answer questions. During the tour, Emily stopped periodically to talk a little about the history of the street, and the specific business we were visiting next, so we were filling our brains as well as our bellies! Definitely recommended!

After finishing our tour, I headed down the hill to Little Mysteries on Barrington St for the "dramatic" part of my BDDT - a personal tarot card reading! I have visited psychics before (one in particular, Edna Aker, is quite incredible - seriously, look her up), but I've never had a tarot reading done. I thought this would be a fun and different dramatic experience, and less regretful than dying my hair orange.

I was paired with Amanda, who was very warm and open. She let me ask all the questions I wanted and took time to explain each card's meaning and how it related to what I wanted to know. My cards basically said that I am in a good place in my life at the moment, I have resolved a lot of issues and past hurts, and although I am not quite where I want to be, I am embracing opportunities to connect with my passions. The energy is there for new opportunities to come along, she said. She warned me against neglecting relationships with loved ones, feeling guilty for not being able to do everything, and internalizing emotions or acting out of emotion. She also saw new people entering my family and an emotional upheaval of some kind in the near future, but indicated that I have the tools to be able to deal with this, I just need to use them.

All in all, it was a neat experience! I enjoyed browsing the store as well - it's not as intimidating as you might think for a spiritual novice. The staff are really friendly and helpful and you can buy a lot more than spell books - they carry beautiful jewelry and great books and products (candles, balms, etc) that promote natural healing, stress relief and generally bringing positive energy and mindfulness to your life. There is something for everyone here, not just wiccans!

****

So, that is all for my inspirational, social and dramatic Big Day Downtown! Guess what?! You can have the chance to enjoy your own Big Day because the Downtown Halifax Business Commission is giving away $100 Visa cards every day for three weeks! Check out the details here.

Thank you SO much DHBC for allowing me to explore downtown again this year!!

Big Day Downtown #4: Pick a Card, Any Card (Part 1)

It's the most wonderful time of the year again - no, I don't mean back-to-school or Christmas. I mean, Big Day Downtown time - YAY! 

This is my 4th year participating (you can read up on past year's here, here and here), and I think this year was the most fun yet - we were given a stack of cards and we had to randomly choose any 3 and base our experiences around them.

I ended up with:

A very cool twist, but I have to say, I had trouble finalizing my plans! I had ideas, but I really wanted to do things I hadn't done before, visit new places and try new things rather than go with the tried-and-true. Might as well make the most of the experience, right?

I decided to plan one activity related to each word. First up is "Inspirational".

A place I am inspired by but have never visited is Pier 21 Museum of Immigration. What is more inspiring than people starting a whole new life in a foreign country? Over 1 million people came through here to rewrite their life stories, and many left loved ones behind in the process. Sacrificing everything safe and familiar in order to build a better life for yourself is an incredibly brave thing and I have a lot of respect for it.

Our visit started with a film that gave us some history about the museum throughout the decades and outlined some stories from specific immigrant families and their experience entering Canada. There were couples with children from Eastern Europe and Italy, English war brides, many of whom hadn't seen their Canadian husbands in over a year, orphaned children from Europe, and wounded war veterans returning home.

I was surprised to learn that the Pier was not only an entry point for immigrants to Canada, but also the main deployment site for troops heading over to Europe for the World Wars. Coincidentally, the Amazing Race Canada teams visited the museum on this week's episode (did you watch?).

After the film, I loved reading all of the old travel documents displayed throughout the main museum- passports, medical records, luggage tags and even menus, etc, from the ships the immigrants would have arrived here on. I also loved the stacks of vintage suitcases covered with worn labels and painted on numbers. Walking through, I felt what the place must have been like 50-100 years ago when it was teeming with men, women and children, waiting and hoping.

The museum is currently open 9:30am-5:30pm, and admission is very reasonable (only $7.80 for an adult). They also have a small shop with some great handmade items from around the world.

I say this often, but I feel pretty lucky to live in Canada. We aren't perfect, but every time I take a trip, I am happy to come home to a place where I have the freedom to live the life that I want. Not everyone is so lucky and my outing to Pier 21 reminded me of that.

Next, it's time for Part 2 - Social and Dramatic!

Big Day Downtown - Numero Tres

Left-to-Right: Krisa Comeau, me, Melissa Dube. Photo by Krista Comeau/Melissa Dube

I was really excited to be chosen by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission to participate in their third annual Big Day Downtown promotion. (Pssst...you can read about my First and Second outings here and here).

In a delightful (and cheeky) twist, we were all randomly paired with another blogger to share our downtown experience, and I was paired with the lovely ladies of Fashion East, which just so happens to be one of my favourite local blogs, not to mention it is about one of my favourite things (aka. fashion). As Chandler Bing might say, could this partnership BE any more perfect?!

No, no it couldn't.

Not only do these girls curate a wicked blog, but they are also very nice and have great style themselves. AND they take beautiful photos, so not only did I get to have a fun day exploring our awesome downtown, but we have great photos to show for it instead of the decidedly non-professional, slightly awry pics that I normally take and post here (win!).

Since there were three of us embarking on this BIG downtown adventure, we decided to choose one favourite for each of us, plus one place to grab a snack (adventuring does make one hungry).

Love you too, B (photo by me)

For my favourite, I chose Biscuit General Store. This is hands-down my favourite boutique downtown - they have so many cute things to wear and put in your home, I could browse in there for days. I had the pleasure of interviewing owner, Wendy Freidman, for Hip Urban Girl last year and it was a great experience. I had to hold back from spending my entire $100 Visa at our first stop!

I haz a cute! (photo by me)

In the end, I settled on a set of 4 moustache kitchen clips (for the boy AND me) and a tin of Smith's Rosebud Salve - this stuff is the BEST! One tin seriously lasts like 2 years, it smells like a rose bush and you can use it for basically any kind of skin issue (chapped lips, blisters, burns, etc, etc, etc).

Photos by Krista Comeau/Melissa Dube

Then we decided we needed sugar and caffeine (again, I will stress the importance of snacks) and we headed around the corner to Le French Fix, a new cafe we had all heard a lot about and had been meaning to try. This cafe is very cute (and tiny!) and my cappuccino was delicious. We shared a few small sweet treats and they were all delicious also (I finally tried a real French macaron!), plus we had a chance to chat a bit, get to know each other.



Photos by Krista Comeau/Melissa Dube

Newly energized from all the conversation, espresso and sugar, we rambled down the hill to Barrington Street, and to a place which provides some stiff competition in my "favourite downtown boutique" category - J&R Grimsmo.



I really want that airplane table (photos by me)

First of all, this boutique is beautifully curated - they have a few very special items that you feel were lovingly handpicked by the owners, and everything is arranged in a very artistic way. Yet, it's also very cozy with the light streaming in the big windows at the front, and the sofa, pillows and interesting tables arranged throughout. It feels like the apartment of an impossibly cool friend (you know the one - the one whose outfits you are always coveting).


Photos by Krista Comeau/Melissa Dube

J&R was celebrating their one-year anniversary on the day of our visit - so exciting! I hope they have many more. They had a great promotion where you could pick a piece of paper from a jar and on that paper would be a % discount off your purchase - I chose 10% (better than a kick in the teeth) and Melissa got 25%! Great idea.

We spent quite a bit of time in here browsing and deciding what to spend the rest of our money on. In the end, I decided on a pair of thick black polka-dot tights and a gold necklace with a ballpoint pen charm. I LOVE that necklace and have worn it every day since buying it. The items in this store are a tad pricey, I can't lie, but they are great quality and many are made by local artisans, so it feels good to support their hard work with a few extra bucks.

Photo by Krista Comeau/Melissa Dube

I can't thank the Downtown Halifax Business Commission AND Krista and Melissa for the great Big Day Downtown. Now, I suggest that all Halifax residents get your butt's downtown and start exploring!

I showed you mine, now you have to show me yours *wink-wink*

Hidden Gems: Blackboard Poems

I am starting a fun new post series here on the blog and I'm calling it "Hidden Gems":

See, I have started to notice lots of neat but barely noticeable things around my home city and I want to share these with others so that they can enjoy them, too. It's so easy to focus on the big, popular, shiny things and celebrate those, but sometimes it is the small, unknown things that are the most interesting.

I like to seek out these "hidden gems" not only in my hometown, but also in other places I travel to. I like going to the back-alley stores and restaurants, the less-trodden (but most beautiful or well-preserved) streets and paths - the places where locals go and the things that locals love. These "hidden gems" are what make a place truly unique, and reveal the most about the character of a place also.

What can I say - I am an explorer at heart!

For my 1st "hidden gem" in Halifax, I wanted to post about a cute display that I walk by every day on my way home from work. For privacy reasons, I won't say where exactly it is, but I am sure anyone who lives around my neighbourhood or has explored the side streets there has seen it:

Excuse the crappy Blackberry photo

This blackboard is nailed to the front of this porch, and it always has some kind of poem or saying on it. The current selection is Walking the Dog's Shadow, by Deborah Brown. Apparently this is also the title of a book of poems by Brown (as you can see if you click the link above). It talks about pondering thoughts such as grief, within the metaphor of walking a dog on a leash.

Personally, I don't so much care what poem is listed on the board, just the fact that there is one there is lovely enough. It is a nice pick-me-up on the walk home - there is the anticipation of what will be written there next, and what it will make me think about for the rest of my walk. I think it's nice of the person who lives here to share such works with the people that walk by. Art is meant to be shared with whoever is open enough to take it in.

Do you know of a person, place or thing that you think is really cool but is not very well-known? Are there little pieces of paradise in your city/province or in cities that you have visited that are off-the-beaten-path, but you think everyone should know about them? Well, I want to post about them on Gathers No Moss! Email me, tweet @KimHumes or leave a comment and I'll share it in an upcoming post!

Here's to celebrating the little things! And exploring off-the-path to find them!

Big Day Downtown, Part 2: Try Something 'Moo'

Anyone who knows me knows I love a challenge. So, when the Downtown Halifax Business Commission invited me to participate in their 2nd Big Day Downtown promotion, I couldn't wait to jump on board since I had so much fun last year. I was particularly intrigued by the special twist in this year's theme - Try Something New.

As someone who is always trying new things, I thought it was going to be tough to choose. I decided, since last year I spent my $100 on a bunch of little things, that this time around I would try blowing my entire budget in one place instead.

When I thought of "splurgey" things downtown that I have never done before, I immediately decided I wanted to go out for dinner at a fancy-ish restaurant (Why are you looking at me like that? On this blog, words like "splurgey" and "fancyish" actually exist. Deal with it). But not just any fancy-ish restaurant - a place I had a) never been before, and b) that specializes in food I would not normally eat or have never tried before.

My choice: CUT Steakhouse.

Ok, I realize you carnivores out there are wondering what is so "new" and  "unknown" about eating at a Steakhouse, but the thing is I am NOT a carnivore. I am not a vegetarian either but I am probably as close to being one as you can without actually bestowing the title upon yourself. I like meat, but I am not a huge fan of red meat and do not eat it very much. I try to stick to chicken and/or fish. Considering this, I have never (are you ready for this?) ordered a steak in a restaurant in my entire life.

I know. It's true though. And I have EATEN steak before, just only when it was served to me at other people's homes. I have never made myself one and I have never willingly ordered one for myself.

I have nothing against steak, it just isn't something I am drawn to for some reason that I cannot definitively explain. There is some psychological discomfort for me in eating animals that I think are cute (e.g. cows, sheep, deer, rabbits, and babies of those species in particular - and hence why I have no problem eating chickens or fish - they are not cute. And, yes, I suppose cows aren't particularly cute either, but don't ask me to explain my psychological hang-ups! I don't understand them either!)

Anyway, this is why I chose CUT:

Fancy-ish/expensive restaurant? CHECK
Place I have never eaten before? CHECK
Place that serves food I do not normally eat? CHECK

So, off we went! We were seated at a great table by the window where we could look out on the sun going down and see the sparkly white lights on the trees in front of the building on Lower Water come on after dark.

Our first impressions were pretty much what we expected - very sleek, modern decor and stylish, sophisticated servers (I almost feel bad calling them that because it seems almost beneath them, but I have no idea what their actual titles are). We felt very well taken care of from the moment we walked in - our server helped us decide on drinks (I had a Berry Tom Collins - delish! Very fresh and made with my fav Bombay Sapphire). Then she offered to bring out a tray displaying the various cuts of meat they feature.

As someone who is not a huge meat-eater, I can't say I was super-excited about having a tray of dead-cow slabs laid out in front of me, but I was intrigued so we asked her to bring it out. Even though it was a tad gross, I still found it informative. Since I am not familiar with steak, I had no idea what the difference was between each cut so it was great to have her explain this. (I only wish I got a picture, but I was a tad distracted by the dead animals - sorry, readers).

I decided on the local 10oz striploin and the boy got the Delmonico. The steaks come on their own and you order sides separately (which is one reason why I could see the budget getting out of hand). We decided on asparagus with hollandaise sauce, sweet potato au gratin and two sauces (bernaise for me, horseradish for him).

They brought out two appetizers to enjoy while we were waiting - a plate of veggie sticks with some kind of goat cheese dip, and a bread basket with two kinds of butter (one with maple). Both were delicious and presented very stylishly. The dips were both very flavourful. The steaks came out surprisingly quickly, and after a few minutes the server came right back and apologized for the sides taking longer and as a result they would be no charge! We weren't even anxious yet by that point as we had only had our steaks for about 5 minutes, so this was completely unexpected.

My steak was great - very juicy and tender - but it still wasn't my favourite part of the meal. My sauce was absolutely delicious and so were the sides. The asparagus was cooked perfectly (which is REALLY hard to do - trust me, I have tried at home and it always come out soggy) - a satisfying crunch but still tender. The sweet potato was whipped to perfection and felt like fluffy orange clouds in my mouth.

The portions were surprisingly large, too, considering we were sharing everything but the meat. I probably would have been fine with only a 6oz steak, as it turns out, because I was completely stuffed by the time we finished. We were planning on getting dessert but just did not have the room (to be honest, their dessert menu did not look like anything special anyway). I was quite disappointed we could not even find the belly-space to fit in some delicious cheese from their ala carte...well, cheese cart. I have never eaten anywhere where they have brough you a cart full of cheese as an aperitif! And WHY this is the case, I will never understand because it's a genius idea if you ask me.

On the way out, they capped off our night with a sweet surprise by giving us a small, homemade banana nut loaf to take home (which we promptly ate up the next morning and very much enjoyed). Any place that hands me free desserts on the way out the door is a "must-visit" in my book!

Our total bill (two cocktails + two steaks + two sides + two sauces) came to approximately $120 (not including tip) which I thought was pretty good considering the quality of the service and food.

I am glad I went outside my comfort zone and tried something new. However, I am sorry to say I am not a converted carnivore after my experience at CUT. While, I appreciate that a steak cooked properly can be an enjoyable meal, it just didn't turn me on enough to pull me away from my usual chicken/fish/pasta preferred trifecta. I will probably still stick to white meat most of the time.

I do, however, appreciate the fine ingredients and obvious skill that goes into making the dishes at this restaurant. I also appreciate the friendly and helpful service we received without pretention. I only wish I could afford to eat at such restaurants more often (then again, when it doesn't happen often it kind of makes it more special, no?).

Thank you SO much to the Downtown Halifax Business Commission for allowing me to have this experience - and for encouraging people to have new experiences in downtown Halifax period!

*All photos from CUT website or taken by me

It's a TeamBuyer Life for Me: Part 2

Missed Part 1? Read up here! I was really looking forward to Part 2 of my adventure because it involved something I have always wanted to do: whale watching. Yes, I grew up in Nova Scotia and have never been whale watching. I know, crazy right? What can I say, just never had the opportunity!


Anyway, the boy and I finally did and we headed down to the waterfront on a Sunday morning armed with our TeamBuy coupon! Luckily, the weather was beautiful - bright and sunny - and really, that is half of the enjoyment of the experience. This is one activity you do NOT want to do on a foggy day.  

Me and Theodore Tugboat! Views from the boat as we sailed out, and me and the boy

I was really impressed with the staff on the boat - from the moment we left the wharf they provided friendly commentary about Halifax and its marine heritage. They told us facts I didn't even know about (yes, as I already said I grew up here)! The whole trip really made me look at my city with new eyes - literally, because it is rare to see it from that view in the water, and figuratively through all the little-known information I picked up. 

For example, I had no idea that George's Island was the home to a variety of snake species, including one that cannot be found anywhere in the world! Weird, huh? Especially considering it is an island...I mean, how did the snakes get there? Maybe I'm a dummy, but that was my first thought. (For those of you that have no idea what George's Island is, you can find out here). They also told us that the largest lobster ever caught was found just off our coast in the 1970's - he weighed in at a whopping 44 lbs! Eek. They also brought up a lobster trap at one point and told us interesting facts and stories about lobsters and their history in NS, and fed some seagulls on the way back. 

It was nice that they offered distractions other than the whales because we did not actually see any. Not one. This was disappointing, but honestly I had heard from a couple of friends that they had not seen any whales either so I expected it. However, considering other people told me they did not see whales either, I am guessing actual whale sightings are few and far between on these tours and that is pretty bad considering that's the whole point of the tour.

We did see the backs of a few porpoises, so the watching was not entirely wasted, but the periods where the staff were not providing commentary or activities were sort of boring. If it were not for the beautiful day, which allowed us lovely views of the shore and other boats to enjoy during staff breaks, this boat ride would not have been worth the cost. I realize you can't conjure creatures from the deeps at will, and whether or not whales show themselves is completely up to luck for the most part, but for $40 I would be expecting to see more than I did.

Various views of the land from the boat

It was cool to see the city from the water, and the entire coast outward to the sea. It was a new perspective, which is sometimes nice. The top photo in the collage below is the main part of the Halifax waterfront (and probably the view you see most on postcards for the city - you can see part of the MacDonald Bridge on the right side). The glass-front building in the middle photo is our new Farmer's Market, which is a beautiful building! The whole Seaport area is great for shopping and walking. As you can see in the bottom photo, there was a huge cruise ship in dock the day we went to sea - since Halifax is such a major port, we get a lot of cruise ships visiting here.

The sky looked beautiful with big fluffy white clouds and bright, vivid blue. I took lots of photos of the sky!

Even though we didn't see any whales, it was still an enjoyable boat ride for a summer afternoon.  I would recommend Murphy's for the great staff alone. Just don't take this tour expecting to see whales because you will probably end up disappointed.


*All photos by me

It's a TeamBuyer Life for Me: Part 1

I was recently asked to participate in a fun promotion to celebrate the one-year anniversary of TeamBuy in my home city of Halifax. Nicknamed, "Choose Your Own Adventure", the idea behind the promotion was to spend a "day in the life of a TeamBuyer" by visiting two local TeamBuy partnering businesses using a special coupon, and report back on the experience. There were some great options for food and fun, but I narrowed it down to two things I had never done before but have been intrigued by for a while. 

The first part of my adventure included waffles with fruit and drinks at Ray's Haus cafe. I am not going to lie, even though TeamBuy pretty much had me at "waffles", I did not have high hopes for this place because it is only a few months old and I heard less-than-stellar reports from others who had visited. However, I still tried to go in with an open mind.

I visited Ray's on a Saturday morning around 11am, not sure if they would even be open (could not find any hours for them online, including on their facebook page - I wrote on their wall asking but no one got back to me - NOTE to businesses - don't use social media if you're not going to USE it, know what I mean?)

*endrant*

Anyway, the entrance to Ray's looked a little weird - you have to walk up a cement ramp, which makes you feel like you are heading into a parking garage, and the cement patio area outside looked a tad messy with various pieces of furniture and wood strewn around. This was disappointing, because the patio area is huge and (I think) has great potential. The way it is now, the potential is being wasted, especially since it is mid-summer and therefore prime patio weather. Their location sort of works against them in a few different ways (not in a main cafe district, placed between apartment buildings and an office building above a concrete parking area, a bit tucked away from the front of the street, right down the street from another German-style cafe) but sprucing up the outside to make it more inviting might help counteract that.

I was pleasantly surprised when we entered, as the inside looked much better. The decor has a warm and cozy feeling to it - one corner with a couple of couches looked like a particularly great place to sit and read with a coffee. 

Check out his page here. 

The place was deserted and we were momentarily confused, but someone soon appeared and apologized. He was very friendly and took our orders promptly. We had a coupon for waffles and drinks so we didn't have to choose from the menu and frankly I was sort of glad. The "menu" consists of vague items written on poster board pieces pasted over the counter, and I hate to be mean but it was not very professional looking. The writing was small and hard to read - I realize professionally made signs are expensive, but what about a chalkboard? I know I am nitpicking, but with today's readily available technology, I really don't understand why businesses use handwritten signs. Type something up, for goodness sake! It doesn't have to be art-school-worthy! Just readable and clear.

*again with the ranting - I'll shut up now and get to the waffles

The waffles we had were...not bad. The presentation was good, and the whipped cream with bits of chocolate sauce on the side added a nice sweetness. They were nothing to write home about, but not bad either. They were a bit heavy for me because I felt quite full after only one, and the texture was a bit tough. Not sure if that is due to the batter or the way they were made. It felt more like dessert than breakfast, and I think given the time of day I was looking more for the latter. My coffee, however, was quite good and had a very intriguing name - Highlander Grogg. I was impressed that they had their own House Blend.

The whole experience was...nice, but kind of lackluster. The guy was really friendly and we felt welcome, but there was something missing in the food department. My opinion is pretty matched by others I have talked to about Ray's and from these collected thoughts I have concluded that it could be very much improved either with time or by making some small changes. Improving their cooking techniques, and changing their focus from waffles/food to coffee are a couple of changes I might suggest. I definitely see it as more of a coffee shop/gathering place than a german waffle place, so marketing themselves more in that direction could be beneficial. I feel it might even do well with a license (The Wired Monk is a place I think does this really well here), especially considering the potential patio space.

I'm not a business-person, but that is just the "vibe" I get. I think they have a great start but need a little more tweaking. I always like to cut new places some slack because sometimes it can take trial and error to get the "kinks" worked out. I will try Ray's again in the future and hope that they have polished up a bit.

Thank you so much TeamBuy! Stay tuned for Part 2 of our adventure...whale watching!

I wish I could say I took this photo on our trip, but alas it is from here. Come back later for the whole story!

My Nova Scotia

Just a quick note to say that I'm a newly minted blogger over at NovaScotia.com!

This blog network is basically a tourism tool for the province - local bloggers write about their adventures in Nova Scotia to educate people about the province, and hopefully to encourage them to visit! I love exploring where I live and sharing those explorations with people, so I can't wait to get started. This is brand, brand new so I haven't started posting yet, but keep your eyes peeled! I'll make sure to link to here whenever I post over there so you can keep up with my adventures, too (or at least try to - I'm pretty speedy).

You can check out my profile and posts here.

(in case you are curious, the photo is from a hiking trip in Porter's Lake, NS back in March on a trail system called Crowbar Lake. I know you were just dying to know...)


Speaking of this gig (and hiking in Nova Scotia), this weekend the boy and I are going to Five Islands provincial park to kick-off a fun NS Parks geocaching challenge. We will also be heading to Caribou/Munroe's Island Park to complete that portion of the challenge, and possibly camping there for the night (though they are predicting rain all day right now, grrr). This will probably be my first NS Blogs post, actually, though we shall see...I may be hanging out with a couple of gf's Saturday night (if we don't camp) and just getting some housekeeping thingy's done at home. Pretty easy, breezy weekend, nothing set in stone. Except, of course, rain (one thing I'm NOT so hot on re. living in NS right now).

Happy Weekend! Any fun plans?

The Woman Who Helped Me

Me and Mom at my University graduation, May 2008

 I have had many women in my life help me. I have had all female bosses at the many jobs I have held, have a couple of lovely friends who are always there to lend a hand if I need it, and I have even had a couple of female cats who were the best companions anyone could ever ask for. But one woman has helped me more than any other, in ways that were conscious on her part and I'm sure in ways that she is not even aware of.

I was born on mom's 38th birthday (December 11, 1984), the fourth and last stop on her long, arduous journey through motherhood. This journey started when my mom was only 17 years old and at a time in history when teenage pregnancy was an unimaginable horror that only served to earn you an entry in the Book of Eternal Shame. Being a young woman in the mid-1960's, her only choice was to have the baby and get married.

You could say that was the moment when her childhood ended, and the dreams that she had for herself were pushed aside, only to be picked up again during a period of personal renewal many decades later. Pushed aside to fulfill the duty of "mother" to my new baby brother, and later to another boy and two girls.

Because the fates seem to have a cruel sense of humour, along with this brood it also decided to give her not one abusive, alcoholic husband to take care of, but two, force her into the lifestyle labeled, "Single Mom" whether she liked it or not and later took her first true, respectful love (after so many years of waiting for it) much too early. Always someone else's needs to address, always someone wanting a piece of her, all of her, and yet none all at the same time, and always one step forward, two steps back.
Although this may not be the life that my mother imagined for herself when she was a teenager, it appears as though it was in fact her destiny as she has fulfilled the position given to her better than I am sure she ever expected to. She was always meant to help people – this is the entire reason for being of a nurse and mother – and always would have found a way to do that no matter what path she followed.

As much as the path she did take and the sorrows it has brought her pains me, I am very grateful she did take it because if she hadn’t, I would not have been the lucky recipient of her gracious, selfless help, and we would not be the people we are now to each other – best friends.

How has this woman helped me? She has helped me understand the world. She has helped me believe in myself. She has helped me become independent, level-headed, and grateful. She has seen me at my worst and best and loved me either way. She has helped me never to let life get me down and to always move forward. She has helped me be smart and alert, but also to have fun and relax.

She has helped me become the person I am today, and what more could a daughter ask for?

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This blog post is part of the HEART OF HAITI MOTHER’S DAY POST SERIES (A Clever Girls Collective C*ause). This initiative gives a gift to mom that gives back to women.

ABOUT THE HEART OF HAITI PROJECT
The Heart of Haiti Project is an initiative founded by Willa Shalit (daughter of Gene Shalit) and her company, Fairwinds Trading, a for-profit company that uses business as a strategy for economic empowerment of people, especially women, in the Majority World. The Majority World is where two billion of the world’s three billion people live, in poverty. Through a partnership with Macy’s and their Shop For A Better World' initiative, Heart of Haiti offers artisan-crafted decorative arts and jewelry for sale. All income derived from sales of the products on the Heart of Haiti site enhances an artisan’s family’s nutrition, educates children, and brings access to healthcare and dignity.
For additional information on Fair Winds visit: http://www.fairwindstrading.com/

To view the Shop for a Better World / Heart Of Haiti collection in it's entirety (including just added items for Spring), visit: http://bit.ly/gaalFP In honour of this blog series, use the Promocode: CLEVERGIRLS when purchasing a Mother’s Day gift from the HOH collection and receive 15% off Heart of Haiti and Rwanda Path to Peace products.

Also in honour of this blog series (and Mother's Day coming up next week), please tell your mother "thank you" or "I love you" today (this has nothing to do with the blog promo, it's just a helpful tip from yours truly!).

For more information about Clever Girls Collective, visit their website here.

I was selected for this very special “CleverHaiti” opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. All opinions are my own.