The Farmer's Market

This is the center of the Farmer's Market at Keith's Brewery downtown Halifax. It spreads out in all directions, up and down. It's huge, and pretty busy. I could really get used to this, a Saturday morning walk with my backpack down to the market, for lots of lovely fresh fruit, cheese and baked goods (like Pineapple Cherry Squares). Oh, and it's also the oldest Farmer's Market in North America. Halifax certainly has a lot of old things.

Fields of Lavender

The smell of lavender has grown on me. I used to associate it only with little old ladies, but now I think I associate it with aromatherapy massage. I had to buy a little bunch at the Farmer's Market to scent my dorm room.

Street Performers

And walking along the waterfront, I enjoyed bagpipers and awhile later, some girls Highland Dancing. It reminded me of when Kathy and I used to dance, so I actually gave them money for their "Scotland 2006" trip.

St. Paul's Anglican

This is the oldest church in Canada. I decided to go to this church because I knew where it was and what time it started. They have a lovely traditional service that uses the Book of Common Prayer and hymns. The service, in it's reverence and structure, was a bit like some of the post-modern services I've been to, minus the dark room, coffee and candles, of course!

Inside of St. Paul's

The inside of St. Paul's. You can't really tell, but the accent colour on the back wall and on the pipe organ is Dutch Blue. He-he. That's how I'd decorate a church. There are also lots of those gold plaques around, one of the tour books said it's supposed to be the church with the most memorial plaques. And there's a remnant stuck in the wall from the Halifax explosion, that's pretty cool. And there's a padded red velvet pew reserved for the Queen or the Royal Family, should they venture this way. Isn't that such a great church?

Stained Glass

I can never get enough of stained glass. When we went to that church picnic in Port Greville, the local corner store had an advertisement for stained glass panels from a demolished church for sale. I was ready to buy one for the time, decades in the future, when I own a house and could put in a stained window. I didn't buy one though. (=

Happy Natal Day!

Hello everyone. I'm sorry but its one of those times when I'm just having to much fun to take the time to write about it on my blog. I've finished one class, and the next one hasn't really got going yet; and it's a long weekend. So happy Natal Day to you all (what is that, anyway?) and I'll post pictures on Tuesday. (P.S. Kathy, I know you need to know how to get to the airport, I'll call you -it's easier than emailing)

Dum-de-do

Hello - nothing new. I'm finished organizing the powerpoint for our group presentation for the last day of Human Rights class tommorrow. I think it's quite a good powerpoint, although I still vividly remember being docked points in my freshman public speaking class for having too much going on visually in my "Fairtrade Coffee" powerpoint. But really, you can't have too many pictures of African genocide or United Nations peacekeepers can you? (Our presentation is entitled: "Sovereignty versus the responsibility to protect).

I started my next summer class last night, but for a few reasons I am throughly unimpressed and am partially considering dropping it (depending on the financial benefits!) We'll see.

It's genetics

Alright, here's the thing. I finished that take-home essay, but am currently focused entirely on getting ready for a group presentation on Friday. I voluteered to coordinate the powerpoint. Silly me. Anyway, so I'm way behind in emails and intelligent blog posts, but it'll just have to wait.

So, in the mean time, two very interesting tidbits of information for you:

1. The cleanest stall in any washroom is the one closest to the door. It's been scientifically proven that if there is a row of three toliets, most people coming in the door will go to the middle. It's true, Ive been testing it out.

2. You know how Kathy, Dad, and I all sneeze when we walk out of a building into the sun. That's called the Photic Sneeze Reflex (PSR), and it affects 10% of the population, to varying degrees. (We have the classic case.) "One theory holds that a person's wires get crossed, and sometimes impulses on the optic nerves triggerd by the light source hop to the cranial nerves that control sneezing." (Real Simple Magazine) Oh, and it's in your genetics, so that's why Kathy, Dad and I have it, but Mom doesn't.

For the visual learners...

This is the Parrsboro wharf when the tide is in.



This is when the tide is out. Notice the difference.
(Thanks to Aunt Dorie for the "in" shot!)

My room

So cute, eh? I've always been a fan of dorm rooms, so I'm quite comfortable. Compared to my last dorm room in Meadows at Huntington, this is a jail cell! Which got me to thinking, out of everyone I know, I think I would be the most contented to live in jail. Weird thought, huh?

So the only thing you don't see is a small wardrobe and sink in the right hand corner. And that clothes rack is really three times what is shown, mammoth is not an exagerration! It fit all of my clothes from two load of laundry. Lovely. Finally, good news- paper's done, I'm quite happy with it. However, I have the same kind of nervous feeling I had when I turned in my first paper freshman year; I did my best but I have no idea how it will stack up and what grade I'll get. Here's hoping the grading isn't too different from Huntington.

Halifax houses

By the university, all the houses seem to look like this. Old, but well kept up, with the loveliest selection of paint jobs. For those of you who have seen my bookcase, all my houses look a lot like all of the ones here.

A little too bright for my taste

This house is right across the street from my new favorite coffeeshop. I give them bonus points for being distintive, it certainly stands out from all the blue, green, and burgandy houses.

Pretty Bank

This is a Bank of Nova Scotia, in an old round brick building with a cupola on top. Pretty, eh?

Hard Work

No pictures today, I've been very good at working steadily on my papers. Now I'm at the library to print off all ten pages. You might say, Good Job Carole!, but no, the paper is only supposed to be 5 - 7 pages, so I still have a lot of cutting and proofreading to do. I'm on schedule though. The whole intensive course thing isn't that bad, even if I had this take-home for two weeks, I would have probably still done it the weekend before, right? (=

Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844

This is my favorite picture I took today. I have no idea what kind of flower it is, and whether its supposed to look like that, or if it's dead. I don't care - it's beautiful!

A Morning Stroll

Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed. ~Walt Whitman

So, technically I probably should have spent the entire day strapped down to my desk working on the take home essay that's due Monday. But I'm glad I didn't! I woke up, took my backpack, and headed down to Keith's Brewery for the Saturday morning Farmer's Market. To get there, I walked through a huge old graveyard, and then the Halifax Public Gardens. That's a rather mundane name for such a place of beauty - the guide book says that it's the best example of a Victorian garden in Canada. I wandered slowly around, trying not to disturb the sleeping ducks. And I couldn't help but take a bunch of pictures; it was morning, but overcast and rainy, so the light was nice. I did eventually get to the Market, which was huge and overwhelming, so I forgot to take a picture. I had a relaxing lunch and a quick stop at Roots which secured me a great pair of jeans and khakis for deep discount. Lovely Saturday. Can I just say again how much I like it here! Sorry, Kathy, but last night I got to see "What Not to Wear" and tonight is "Monarch of the Glen." (=

Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul. ~The Koran

Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into. ~Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts, 1858

Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity. ~John Ruskin