Lunch with Norman and Frances

Frances

Norman

Two of my best friends in Nova Scotia are Norman and Frances Oram (Frances is the daughter of another best friend, Michealette, and I've known her since she was a preteen.) Top of my list on this trip was to visit in St. Peter's with these two, so Michealette and I drove over for lunch. Frances and Norman can fix something delicious on the spur of the moment.  (I offered to take them out for lunch, but Frances wanted to prepare lunch.)

Delicious homemade chicken soup really fit the bill.  I contributed Cedar House tea biscuits that I had bought the day before.  A green salad topped off a delicious lunch.

The desserts, however, were the icing on the cake.  The homemade blueberry cake (sorry I didn't get a photo, I was too busy enjoying it) with just a simple vanilla icing was soooo good.  The other option was Smores.  The Smores were made inside, so no bugs! You may find it hard to believe, but I had never eaten Smores.  So I had both desserts.  Yum!!!

My very first Smores.  I loved it. 

Will-O the family cat who will sit at the dining table and not make a move to get on the table joined us.  Well-behaved cat I must say! He's such a handsome fellow too with an unusual coat pattern.

Will-O sitting politely at the table. 

Frances always has the table decorated colorfully.

Pretty table.  

I find their house so beautifully decorated, and not surprising, they are both extremely talented and artistic.

As we left,  Frances demonstrated the porch swing that Norman made for her.

This visit was a great beginning to my vacation in Cape Breton this summer.

p.s. Norman always has frozen mackerel for me, because he knows it is my favorite fish.  Michealette and I took this home for dinner that night. Thanks, Norman.

Frozen mackerel.

New Tires for Little Red

My new to me little red Hyundai. 

I've named my new to me car "Little Red".  She's a nice little Hyundai that had belonged to the father of one of my Cape Breton friends, and I knew she was well cared for.  Dan and I had often talked about getting a car to leave in Nova Scotia to use when we were there.  When this one became available I bought it.  On my recent trip up to Marble Mountain, I got the car registered and inspected and drove her around.  She passed inspection, but it was recommended that I get new tires before too long, so I decided to go ahead and get some on this trip. 

Ok Tire Company in St. Peter's.

Frances at work. 

My friend, Frances, works at OK Tires in St. Peter's so Michealette (she is Frances' mother by the way and a good friend of mine)  and I took Little Red over to get the new tires.  The tire specialists thought it was more important to replace the front tires than the rear ones.  She'll get new rear tires in August when I'm back in Cape Breton.


Frances "supervising" the tire installation.

New tires for Little Red.

Frances has been a friend of mine since she was a teenager.  She is lucky in more ways than one.  A few years ago Bridgestone Tires had a contest for a cruise to the Bahamas for four people.  Frances happened to fill out a form and entered the contest.  Mind you the contest was for all Bridgestone Employees in the US and Canada, and she won the cruise.  OK Tires is a small business (the owner, two installers, and Frances) so when the contest called to find out about the winner, Frances answered the phone and the caller asked to speak to the Human Resource person.  Frances said "That would be me".  The caller then asked if there was a gentleman by the name of Frances Oram that worked there, and Frances said "That would be me, and I'm a girl."  The caller was flustered because she was not authorized to tell Frances that she had won the contest, when she called she wasn't expecting to be talking to the contest winner.  All she could tell Frances was that she would be getting a phone call in a week with some special news. 


A week later, Frances got the news that she had won the cruise and she had a week to let Bridgestone know who she would be taking with her.  She took her mother and two of her friends.  Frances' husband doesn't like flying and wouldn't go.  The four were flown to Miami and onto the Cruise with all expenses paid.  A great trip. 


Just this year Frances' ticket was chosen in the Chase the Ace contest in Sydney.  She and a friend who jointly owned the ticket each won $80,000 plus change. She had one in 11 chances of picking the Ace of Spades and she would have won over $1,000.000 dollars.  Lucky, lucky lady.  And it couldn't happen to a nicer, more deserving person. 


I think the next time I go to the Casino, I will take Frances along. 

An Early Morning Walk Through St. Peter's, Nova Scotia

Chubby's converted school bus diner.

I was up early the other morning over in St. Peter's where we had stayed overnight and found it a perfect time to walk through the little town as it was waking up.  Chubby's  serves only lunch in the converted school bus diner.  No breakfast here.

Tweety Bird fire hydrant.

The fire hydrants in town are painted to resemble cartoon characters, and this little Tweety Bird brought a smile to my face.

A sign observed in town.

There was very little traffic at this early hour, nevertheless, I found this sign reassuring.  St. Peter's has a high percentage of retired seniors among its population.



Nova Scotia has many beautiful churches, and  this United Church in St. Peter's is inspiring in its simplicity.

St.Peter's United Church of Canada.

Streetlights, reminiscent of old lamp lights, are adorned with beautiful hanging baskets of petunias and other flowers.

A St. Peter's streetlight.

A nice walk, but now it's time to head back to the Bras d' Or Inn for breakfast!

The Good Samaritan at the Glad Tidings Christmas Shoppe

Glad Tidings Christmas Shoppe

         
    Cape Bretoners are known for their warm hospitality, and Marion MacLeod of the Glad Tidings Christmas Shoppe in St. Peters, Nova Scotia is an extraordinary example.  Last year when planning a “Christmas in July” party I needed some Christmas decorations.  I invited a friend to go with me to St. Peters, which is across the lake and about an hour from here, to visit the Shoppe and to have lunch.

Upon arrival at the Shoppe I realized I had left my purse at home—no money, no credit card and no driver’s license.  My friend offered to lend me money, but I asked Marion (who I had just met) if I could call my husband and get the credit card information for my purchases.  I got the information and expressed concern that I hoped the restaurant where I was to take my friend for lunch would allow me to do the same.  Marion asked if I planned to be back in St. Peters during the summer.  I replied that I did, and she said “Wait a minute.” and she disappeared into her house which is attached to her Shoppe.  Back she came and handed me five twenty dollar bills and said “You can pay me back when you are next here.”

We were in St. Peters yesterday, and I stopped to visit Marion at the Shoppe and to thank her again for her generosity


Visit the Christmas Shoppe at http://www.gladtidingschristmasshoppe.com/

Marion MacLeod and her granddaughter Jillian

A lovely Christmas throw at Glad Tidings.