Sightseeing around Halifax

While I was in Halifax for the Editors’ conference, Between the Lines, there was some time for sightseeing, with fellow editors and some time apart

Halifax Public Gardens, across the road from The Lord Nelson Hotel (previous post)

Beautiful rhododendrons in the park …

and more. Aren’t these beautiful too?

A little history on the gardens opened to the public in 1875

I wonder if this fountain is as old as the park

The S V Mar at the dock by Murphy’s Restaurant

Little tug on back of bigger boat

Wonder how they rock the harbour. Maybe with music and singing?

All aboard the Mar with sails that were gathered like billowed sheets above our heads.

Someone offered to climb the ladder, but I don’t remember who it was. Not me, anyway!

On the evening cruise with fellow editors…

on the SV Mar, managed by strong young men like this fellow.

A university student spending his summer working on the boat

Putting up the giant sails that spread out to catch the wind

Moving out from the dock and into the harbour

…and a glimpse of Theodore Too. Just learned that Theodore’s home is Halifax.

A tad windy and chilly out here. By the time we came back to the dock, I suspect I was not the only one ready to warm up. Guess we need to dress like sailors do.

We got to singing on the way back. The ship Titanic was discouraged, but I remembered an old folk song we learned in school, The Nova Scotia Song, and others joined along in the chorus

“Farewell to Nova Scotia …”

More pictures for another day…

Highlights from Halifax–Editors’ and Indexers conference 2013 Between the lines

The Lord Nelson Hotel, Halifax, Nova Scotia, site of our conference

Conference co-chairs Nancy and Valerie with Barbara, opening remarks at Welcome Reception

Fiddler, Anthony Rissesco, playing east coast tunes during the reception

Thanks to Gael Spivak for this photo of me at Exclamation Mart with my book

Conversations during Exclamation Mart with Adrienne Montgomery

A pleasure to see Frances Peck again and to learn that she was born in Cape Breton and is a Maritimer at heart

Banquet table setting, then a  delicious dinner

The Oops Awards for most humorous, most expensive and other kinds of errors, by James Harbeck

Sitting around the banquet table and chatting, left to right, Patricia Morris McDonald and Moira Langton, members of the Halifax EAC group who put on the conference

Banquet table, left to right: Joanna, Vanessa and Greg

Members of the Black Rum Band: Adele, Carolyn (moi!), Nancy, Ann, Valerie, Jacquie, Moira, Daphne and Patricia

Song lyrics adapted by Daphne from an old Maritime song. No rum or blueberries in site! Thanks to Helena for sharing your suite for our practice sessions.

This photo of the band, Traci Williams, by permission.

I had the pleasure of  meeting Sheree Fitch and introducing her session. We did not plan to coordinate our clothing colours, but  apparently we both like blue.

An attendee took our photo with my camera.

And the SV Mar that took us on an evening cruise in Halifax Harbour on the last day of the conference

Photos on this blog by C. Wilker, unless otherwise noted

Coming soon: On the town, sightseeing in Halifax

Saturday Snapshot–Tea and Tales in March

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The program and favours for Tea and Tales by Carol Leigh Wehking and Brenda Byers, storytellers from Baden Storytellers’ Guild

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brenda and Carol Leigh, the storytellers, at the Wired-up Pug Cafe and Bistro, Cambridge, Ontario

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A celebration of World Storytelling Day, an international storytelling day for telling stories in many places.

 

Saturday Snapshots, hosted by At Home With Books. Go there to see more pictures and post your link. Photos you or a family member have taken. Keep them clean and appropriate for all eyes.

 

Photos on this blog are by C. Wilker, unless otherwise noted.

Saturday Snapshots–Still Snowing

February photos and here we are in March and though the banks of snow have diminished during some milder weather. Our picnic table had a foot of snow on it and nearly a foot around it, and since it’s in our backyard, we don’t need to shovel it. Today it’s snowing again.

The host of At Home With Books for Saturday Snapshots asks that photos be by the one posting or by a family member and that they be appropriate for all eyes. Go there and link with host and then go on a tour of the world in photos.

Circus theme at the Museum–Science under the Big Top

This week at  the Waterloo Region Museum   many have experienced the Circus theme: Science Under the Big Top. Planning it for February to May was a smart move on the Museum’s part since March Break was in the middle. It gave families something special to do on the March Break.

Staff told me when I arrived, as storyteller for the day, that one  thousand people had already come that day. That was Tuesday. Indeed the theatre filled soon after a staff member announced storytelling time. Eager children awaited the stories, and parents, grandparents and group leaders with a band of children there for a day camp. They participated in the stories that called for actions, and they listened until it was time to move again.

On Wednesday I took a preschooler to the museum. Many activities had been designed for school-age children, but there were activities that even a preschooler could engage in with some assistance.

We read a circus story in the dress-up area and tried on clown hats and shoes. I thought we might stay there a little longer, but there was so much more to see… and hear

What’s behind the curtain? We didn’t find out since there was a group of people around it.

We’re looking down through an upper story glass window.

acrobatics in the air

Walk the high wire (wearing a harness, of course)

Granddaughter wanted to try this, to get dressed for it, but there was no harness small enough.

By pushing buttons and pressing pedals, we could put a circus movie on the screen, complete with music.

We had fun with this one, even seeing a lion tamer at work.

Shooting a ball from the cannon–a combined effort

We enjoyed this activity as well.

What’s holding up the train? Peepholes to look through.

Though no animals were to be found, except on video, it was like being at the circus, with the music, activity and excitement. And soon all good things makes a young one tired and so we concluded our visit with a treat from the concession stand out in the foyer, and we looked out the window at the engine in the village.

You can see more photos of the activities at the museum website.

Photos on this blog are the copyright of C. Wilker.

Saturday Snapshots-Fishy’s gone back in the lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last summer we went camping with our daughter and son-in-law, and on that trip, a grandchild learned about fishing. Here she looking out at the lake after the caught fish was thrown back in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s catch another one, Daddy!

 

 

At Home With Books hosts this popular meme. Post a photo taken by you or a family member, one that’s clean and appropriate for all eyes. Then go and link with Alyce on her blog and see all the other photos.

Saturday Snapshot–Celebration of Community

 

Waterloo Region Museum, a celebration of community and the many people who make up Waterloo Region

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Conestoga Wagon, pulled by horses, brought many people to our community from the USA, Mennonites, and more

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arrival at Pier 21 in Halifax, and then across country to Ontario and other provinces

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Grand Trunk Railway Line. The intersection in the middle of the hallway, but of course the train does not run through that line anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travelling trunks from many countries around the world

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s not forget the Home Children, who were sent here—not by their own choice—but who also make up a  section of our community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People settled here and worked together to build a community with those who were already here.

 

The Storytelling Series at the Museum, this winter and spring, feature stories of immigrants coming to any part of Canada

 

This meme hosted by At Home With Books. To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken, then go to the site and connect with the page by our host, Alyce. Happy Saturday, travelling from one blog to another.

Saturday Snapshots–Historic Building

My husband and I went on a short trip this fall and stopped at this historic site on our way home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Temple of Sharon, surrounded by fall foliage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another building on the property

To see the inside and learn something about the group that built this structure, see my earlier post this week titled, Temple of Sharon

 

Saturday Snapshots, hosted by At Home With Books, with a photo taken by you or a family member. Go there and see more pictures.

Temple of Sharon

Continuing on from last post, after our stop in Port Perry for lunch and looking around, we headed on our way home, but then decided to take a slight detour so that my husband could see the Temple of Sharon, in East Gwillimbury.

My friend, Lorraine, and I had a tour of the place in July, and though I didn’t post pictues then, I was curious to see the building surrounded by the trees in autumn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sign by the gate, telling us about the origins of the building

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sharon Temple, associated with the Children of Peace, and founded by David Willson, a US citizen. The temple was built in 1825 after acquiring  enough land. The group was a breakaway from the Society of Friends or Quakers, as they are also known.

Was Willson a bit of a rebel with ideas of his own?

The group flourished until after his death and then went into rapid decline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the golden ball suspended between the four directional spires at the very top?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacob’s Ladder, just inside door to temple and going up to higher storey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friend, Lorraine, by the ark (from our summer visit) that has a very large  Bible inside

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posing for the camera and perhaps wishing to really play this very old organ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There shall be no falling asleep during sermon or concert in these chairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
A familiar name engraved on the chair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other outbuildings where the members of this organization lived and worked. The temple was, surprisingly, not used for their worship though it is used for concerts and rented out for weddings now.

Read more about the organization here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The temple surrounded by the colours of autumn.

 

Port Perry, Ontario, Canada

Recently, on our way home from a stay in Lindsay, Ontario, my husband and I made a couple of stops. We turned off the highway into Port Perry, where we stretched our legs and walked along the waterfront of Lake Scugog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ducks playing…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A historic steamboat, The Woodman, the first of its kind on the Kawarthas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some history on the steamboat and traffic on Lake Scugog in earlier days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Woodman was one of many steamboats on the waters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Historic buildings…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and storefronts, similar to those in Lindsay (previous post)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The founder of Chiropractic, Daniel David Palmer, was a native of Port Perry. This statue stands in the park by the waterfront.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m a knitter and noticed the sign for the yarn shop,  Never Enough Wool, on Water Street,  and so we had to stop there and look around. Since I had just bought a new coat, I needed some yarn to make mittens. The shop had a good variety of yarn including alpaca yarn that’s said to be very warm. I’ll soon know.

Also we had personable service by owner and coworker.  Thanks, Carol.

(photo, by permission)

 

Watch for post on Temple of Sharon, coming soon.