Miss July

After enjoying ladies' day golf for the past few years at the beautiful Chester Golf Club, I decided it was time to do my bit and be the Member Host  for the month of July.  (This is the genesis of  the "Miss July" moniker, although no self-respecting beauty queen would have a baseball cap permanently affixed to her head as I seem to!)  All I had to do was organize four tournaments, so how hard could it be?  Little did I know!  It was actually a lot of fun and allowed me to put names with faces while using my organizational skills and creativity.  And since I've declared this summer to be "all about the golf," it fit perfectly with my mantra.

First a word about the golf course, which has to be one of the most beautiful in the world.  It's gorgeous whether the sun is shining or the fog has rolled in.  The course has water views from over half of the holes, which can be a bit distracting!  Some ospreys have made their home on a pole by the first green, and each year we watch the growth of the baby birds and celebrate when they leave the nest for the first time.  My recollection is that the Pew Charitable Trust donated the land for the course to the municipality with the intention of making the course affordable to all municipal residents.  (Annual membership is about $500 and there's no minimum so it is really one of the best deals you could possibly find!)   It's not a long course (which certainly suits my game) but the greens more than make up for it and the greenskeepers are quite devilish with their pin placements! 

My responsibilities for the month were to determine the format for each Tuesday, organize the pairings, and tally the scores.  There's a luncheon on the last Tuesday of the month at which prizes are awarded and the Member Host happily turns the reigns over to the next month's czarina.   My first Tuesday went swimmingly, with 50 ladies signed up.  The weather was great, people enjoyed the "various pars" format, and everyone was happy.   The second Tuesday was a different story altogether.  Two tournaments were being played--the Nunn Trophy for players with a handicap of 37 or higher and the Bronze Trophy which would determine the five players going to represent Chester Golf Club in a province-wide tournament in August.  Forty-four players had signed up and the panic set in when I woke up to rain and a forecast for thunderstorms throughout the day.   I spent my morning in the pro shop scratching people's names off the list as the cancellations flowed in.  Only ten women ended up playing that day (and I have to admit that I was not one of them!)   The Executive decided that we would replay the tournaments the following week, with the players who went out in the rain having two bites at the apple.   We decided that we would also play the regularly scheduled format day--the tombstone tournament--because it is a favorite.

Happily, the weather cooperated the following week and we got the tournaments played.  The Tombstone Tourney is always a fun one.  You add your handicap to par for the course and if you reach that number of strokes during the round, you "die."  The Club provides tombstones and crosses that you can put your name on and plant in the event of your death and there's a competition for players who design their own.   Some people are quite clever and elaborate with their designs.  The only year I made my own I went with an urn for my ashes.  I was stunned (not) when I didn't win the prize for creativity! 

The final Tuesday of the month is always a team format, and I introduced the concept of team best ball last year.  The team score on each hole is the best net score on that hole of the team members.   It's a bit of an exercise to determine how many strokes each player gets per hole, but it's a format that allows higher handicappers to participate in the team score when they have a good hole.   Plus people get to play their own ball, which is always a plus.  The rain held out until we had four holes to go and then the skies opened up.  It's a shotgun format and some of the players who were close to the clubhouse bailed and went in for an early lunch.  My team continued on and ended up winning with a net score of 55!   After a great lunch and the awards "ceremony," my job was done.  Whew! 

I thoroughly enjoyed my tenure as Member Host but have to admit that I'm happy to go back to the ranks of the mere players.   I have a little over three weeks left before I head back to Florida and am hoping to break 100 for the second time ever before I leave.  (The day I broke 100 was a fun round, only to be followed up with a couple of truly ugly rounds.  The golf gods giveth and they taketh away!)    I have the golf bug pretty bad now, so I might have to break down and play over the winter.   Too many fun things to do, too little time! 

Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct Park

For the past few years, I've wanted to check out Kejimkujik National Park (which is thankfully referred to as "Keji" for short) but have never quite gotten there.   The Park has two locations--the national park proper, which is located in the center of several canoe routes between the Bay of Fundy and the coast of the Atlantic Ocean that were used in bygone days by local indians, and the seaside adjunct park.  The Park proper is both a National Park and  a National Historic Site and looks more than worthy of a day of exploration.  Visitors can engage in all sorts of outdoor activities there, from biking and hiking to kayaking and birdwatching.  In addition, the Park boasts some petroglyphs that were created by the Mi'kmaq Indians in the 18th and 19th centuries and look quite cool.  The property for the Seaside Adjunct Park was added to the Park in 1988 and is one of the least disturbed coastal properties on the southern coast of Nova Scotia.  The idea of hiking along the water sounded quite enticing so visiting the Seaside Adjunct was a higher priority than going to the park proper. Last week I finally got there with my friends Pam and Johanna, and what a beautiful spot it is! 

There were no cars in the parking lot when we arrived at "Keji" and no ranger on duty at the guard house, which was a bit curious.  We had decided to go with the longer 9K walk and walked to the trailhead (maybe ten minutes at the most) when we came upon signs saying that the trail was closed "for maintenance."   Now, I am the quintessential rules girl and generally color inside the lines but I wasn't about to turn around and go home because of some silly trail maintenance signs!  What kind of maintenance could we be talking about?   I easily persuaded Pam and Johanna that we could turn back if it looked dicey so we ducked under the saw horse and headed out. 

The first bit of the hike is down a boardwalk which, as advertised, was torn up in places.  Not an issue for us but (donning my legal hat for a moment) I could understand why the Park wouldn't want kids to run headlong towards the beach and get tripped up.    Eventually we made our way onto a rock strewn path that had lots of sea urchin remains.   The fog had rolled in and we were quite happy that we'd had the foresight to pack jackets.  It was very pretty and quite atmospheric, and I was convincing myself that it didn't matter if it wasn't sunny because the scenery was nice just as it was when the sun broke through the clouds.  I have to tell you, with the sun shining, the park was downright glorious! 

By this time we had made our way from the rocks onto a beautiful white sand beach.   The water was gorgeous and it was somewhat reminiscent of the Caribbean--but for the water temperatures!  As we walked we could hear the waves crashing onto the shore--one of my favorite sounds in the world. From the beach we could see a small island where a few seals were sunning themselves and we watched for a while as other swam frolicked in the Ocean.  There were some great rock outcroppings that reminded me a bit of Peggy's Cove (a must see if you are ever on the South Shore of Nova Scotia). 

The park has some interesting vegetation that Pam and Johanna pointed out along the way.  The most unusual was the pitcher plant (which I took a very out of focus picture of so I can't include it here--sorry!)  It is quite striking and carnivorous, sort of like a venus fly trap.  I would have loved to have seen one in action!    

After our walk, we headed down the highway to Shelburne to have lunch at Charlotte Lane.  (In case you haven't noticed, I think it's important to counteract any benefits of exercise with food as soon as possible after my work-out is over!)   Charlotte Lane is a sweet little restaurant with eight tables inside and a few tables on the patio.  The staff was dressed up in 18th century Loyalist attire in honor of the Founders' Day celebration that was going on and music wafted up from the waterfront to accompany our meal.  We had a great lunch and capped it off with a fabulous lemon panna cotta with raspberry sauce that I'm hoping to replicate.   All in all, another great day spent with good friends in the great outdoors! 

Have Camera, Will Shoot

Jay is the photographer in the family.  He actually used to take pictures professionally, so needless to say his standards are significantly higher than mine.  In the days of film, he would go through an entire roll and save one or two pictures--if he was lucky and feelng in a generous mood!  Anyway, digital cameras do make it a bit easier, and I love carrying my clumsy point and shoot with me on my outings.  Here are a couple of shots that I  wanted to share.

This is a fun one from a bike ride along the Aspotogan Peninsula.   The water lilies are just about to bloom.  Water lilies of course remind me of Monet, which reminds me in turn of when my sister and I visited his home in Giverny.  On our way back to Paris, we realized that we were on a train going the wrong direction and ended up having to make a jump for the platform.  Suzanne leapt off and landed gracefully like the ballerina she was.  Me, not so much!   Just one of those memories that will be part of the Crist family lore forever. 

People in Nova Scotia are really into their gardens, and my friends Pam and Peter's gardens are some of the most beautiful I've seen. In addition to the gardens, the backyard sports a trellised pergola where they were married!  Pam and Peter are quite the hosts and had our gang over recently for a wonderful dinner. We had appetizers and cocktails down on the dock overlooking the LaHave River and moved up to the screened in dining room for dinner (which ended with homemade vanilla ice cream that was truly to die for). Anyway, these lilies--while not the most exotic flowers in the garden--really pop against the backdrop of the blue house and practically screamed out to have their picture taken.   Who was I to refuse?

Back to a more evocative shot.  Hopefully the resolution is good enough that you can make out the spider web attached to this post.  I came upon this photo opp one day on a walk on the Rails to Trails from Martin's Point to Mahone Bay.  It was about a 6 mile walk (and the leaders kept up quite the pace) so I didn't feel the least bit guilty enjoying a life sustaining muffin from the Biscuit Eater Cafe.    Life--or at least my time in Chester--is just too short to count calories!   

Biking with the HeartLand Tour

Nanette, Pam and Pat wearing our 
HeartLand Tour teeshirts

In 2007, 20+ doctors decided to ride their bikes across Nova Scotia to raise awareness about heart disease.  With that ride, the HeartLand Tour  was created   (http://heartlandtour.ca/).  My friends Pam, Pat and I participated yesterday in the fifth annual ride along the South Shore.  What a great day it turned out to be!  The weather looked a bit questionable at the start.  Having golfed the day before in what I consider British Open-like conditions (temps in the 50s and windy), I was a bit apprehensive when I woke to a dark sky.  But I layered up and headed to the meeting place, figuring that the first portion of the ride was a loop and I could bail at the end of that if conditions worsened.  Of course, I ended up being glad to be able to go back to my car after that portion of the ride--to get rid of some of my layers!  (One of my sailor friends here has an expression relating to the changeable Nova Scotia weather--"Go to the boat."  You really never know what the weather is going to be like until the moment of your activity so you should always go to the boat, go to the golf course, go to the ride.)

The best apart about the ride (other than being with my friends!) was that it was along the water almost the entire way.  In fact, we biked with views of three bodies of water over the course of the day--Mahone Bay, the LaHave River and the Atlantic Ocean.  The first leg of the ride was from Mahone Bay out to Indian Point and back.  I've driven out to Indian Point before to go to a friend's Friday "shareholders' meeting" (no shareholders, no meeting, just a bunch of guys talking mostly about sailing) and it is a gorgeous spot.  Rolling hills but nothing too extreme.  On the way back, I looked away from the water to find a surprise carving of a Canadian bear.   (I know he was Canadian because of the flags!)

The next leg of the trip was from Mahone Bay to Lunenberg.  We did this ride last year, and it is really nice.  You ride along the water for a good bit of time then head into farm country.   It is always a bit of a surprise to me to see these rolling hills and barns in a seaside area.  We came upon a pasture with some cows grazing (and a sign about hamburger meat for sale--kind of puts a damper on that burger!)  Before long we arrived in Lunenberg, a working fishing and boatbuilding community and home to the Bluenose II.   We were treated to an incredible lunch on the waterfront outside the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.  (Here's a teaser--I bought a ticket on Groupon to go to the Museum, so I'll be posting about that later in the summer.) 

After feasting on the delicious wraps (I had the seafood made with lobster, crab, shrimp and scallops) and resting our legs, we headed out for the last portion of the ride--Lunenberg to Riverport.  The group headed out on a route that took them up a massive hill by the local golf course while we took advantage of Pam's local knowledge to go a back way that, while a bit less scenic, was less strenuous on our legs.  We made a stop at a little known gem along the way--Sand Dollar Beach.    (Note to riders--always use your hand signals when turning.  I made a left turn to head down to the beach without signalling and came extremely close to crashing with a rider who came up behind me.   Luckily he yelled out and we were both able to veer off and avoid what surely would have been a huge disaster.)    From there we made our way to the LaHave ferry and crossed the River.  We rode from the ferry landing to Pam's house  and ended up clocking between 30-35 miles.   (Trust me--that's the equivalent of at least 50 miles of Florida flatness!) 

One amazing note about the ride--the whole thing was free!  The HeartLand tour is all about raising awareness about heart health by getting the community moving.  The entire event, including the swag support vehicle, the lunch and the post-ride activities, is made possible by the generous support of sponsors and the help of a lot of volunteers.   A number of the riders do the entire week of rides across the province.  Next year we plan to participate in at least one additional day of the tour (although we're going to skip the 120K day in Antigonish that has 60K of hills--if the woman who has clocked 2000K this year on her bike thought the hills were worth mentioning, count me out!)   Come join us!

Room by Emma Donoghue

Imagine a world where your entire existence occurs in an 11x11 room--and you don't know that there's any other way to live.  That is the premise of Emma Donoghue's "Room," a compelling story told from the eyes of a five year old child who, unbeknownst to him, has lived in captivity his entire life.  

When we first meet Jack, our narrator, he is celebrating his fifth birthday.   We soon learn that his mother (known only as "Ma") was kidnapped seven years before by "Old Nick."   Ma has made an incredible life for Jack notwithstanding the limitations.   From Jack's perspective, their lives are very full.  "We have thousands of things to do every morning, like give Plant a cup of water in Sink for no spilling, then put her back on her saucer on Dresser."  (One of the brilliant pieces of Donoghue's writing is that the name of each inanimate object in Room is capitalized, as if each is a friend.) 

Jack and Ma have a daily routine that includes activities like Phys Ed (where they move the furniture and do Track or jump on Bed for Trampoline) and playing their own version of "Name That Tune."   At least twice a week they do Scream, where they stand as close to the skylight as possible and scream for help.

Not surprisingly, Jack and Ma have a relationship without many boundaries.  When Jack finds a spider web under Table, he thinks, "It's weird to have something that's mine-not-Ma's.  Everything else is both of ours... When I tell her what I'm thinking and she tells me what she's thinking, our each ideas jump into our other's head, like coloring blue crayon on top of yellow that makes green."   

I don't want to tell you much more about this book because the story should unfold for each reader.  When I mentioned to anyone that I was reading "Room," they would inevitably ask whether I was enjoying it.  "Enjoy" does not seem like an appropriate adjective to use, given the story line.  I do, however, recommend "Room" without reservation.  Donoghue's writing draws you into a story which, while disturbing, is also thought provoking and touching.    Sadly, with the recent press coverage of Jaycee Dumard's life in captivity, it also seems like a timely read.  In any event, I'm certain that this is a book that I will be thinking about for a long time to come. 

All Jazzed Up

Each year in mid-late July, I remember that there's a Halifax Jazz Festival and go online to check it out only to find out that it's already over.  This year I got the Festival on my calendar early and made plans to go for an aftenoon of free--yes, free--concerts at the Festival Tent venue.   What a great afternoon it turned out to be!

There were four acts, each performing for about an hour.  The Chebucto Big Band kicked things off.  They are a 20 piece community based band and were lots of fun.   Their numbers covered a lot of ground, from Duke Ellington to Glenn Miller to Latin jazz.   People were up and dancing, including a bunch of folks that I later learned were from the Dalhousie Swing Society.   Some women were dancing together, reminding me of when I took ballroom dancing at Mount Holyoke to fulfill one of my phys ed requirements.  (That is sad on so many levels I can't even begin to contemplate it!)  In any event, it was a promising start to the day. 

Next up was Doris Mason's Ella-Vation backed by the Nova Scotia Nine.   I was a bit wary going into this part of the program--Ella was so fabulous and when you say you are doing an Ella tribute, you've set the bar pretty darn high.  I am happy to report that Mason and her band were swinging big time.   One of the highlights was their rendition of "How High the Moon" that included Mason doing some scat singing which one of the brass players would then replicate.  The Dalhousie Swing Society (and other audience members) lifted the performance to an even higher level with their dancing--it was hard to decide whether to watch them or the musicians!  I definitely had not had enough Ella-Vation when their time was up and would go see them again in a heartbeat.

Mike Cowie and the Waterbabies had a hard act to follow, but they were up to the task. Cowie is a trumpet player and vocalist and started off with a great version of Ellington's "Do Nothing Until You Hear from Me." His use of the mute in this number was fantastic--his trumpet was making all sorts of sexy and sultry sounds that you don't typically associate with that instrument. The band alternated from jazz standards to their own arrangements of Sting and Beatles songs--a risky proposition but Cowie has the voice to pull it off. This group performs regularly at Niche Lounge Supper Club in Halifax and I'd love to go there with my trumpet playing stepson next time he's up to visit to get his take on their act.

Last up was The Sanctified Brothers, a gospel and R&B band. You might not think that you'd enjoy this type of music, but having been to the gospel tent at JazzFest in New Orleans, I knew this had the potential to be lots of fun. The audience was on its feet dancing and singing for most of their performance. One thing about gospel is that there's a lot of repetition in the lyrics, so it's easy to sing along. I got into it with a song where the lyrics were "Call Him Up" as did most of the crowd (although the guy in the yarmulke sitting in front of us did leave during this number!) The dance floor filled up during this session, with people clapping and dancing like an old time revival. The spirit moved one woman to do moves much like the swim--causing one of my friends to recall the hilariously painful Elaine dancing episode on "Seinfeld"--but I have to give her credit for getting up there and going with it! These guys provide the music at one of the local churches, and I am almost tempted to go to one of their services!

Needless to say, it was a great afternoon.  The Halifax Jazz Festival is in its 25th year and runs until July 16th.   In addition to the daily free concerts in the Festival Tent, the Festival has nine other official venues (most of which charge admission fees) and several partnered stages and workshop spaces.  I haven't heard of most of the acts, but Preservation Jazz Hall was performing last night and the line up also includes Kenny Barron, Freddy Cole (Nat's brother) and Christian McBride.  Of course, I'd never heard of the groups that we heard yesterday afternoon, either, so I'd say going to see any of these performers is a low risk proposition. If there weren't so many other fun things to do here, I'd be spending my week in the Festival Tent.  As always, too much to do, too little time! 

Instruments of Torture????

Chester, Nova Scotia has a population of approximately 1000 people during the winter and 2000 people during the summer.  There's a reason why the population doubles during the summer--it is an incredible place that we CFAs (Come From Aways) have nicknamed "Camp Chester."  The area offers almost any type of physical activity that you can think of.  If you like to be on the water, you can spend time on the beautiful Mahone Bay. If you like to golf, there's a gorgeous golf course with water views on at least two thirds of the holes.  There's great biking (if you're into hills), hiking, and pretty much any other athletic activity that you can think of.  (For the year-round residents, there is even curling during the winter months!)  A couple of years ago, Chester's offerings were expanded to include Iyengar style yoga classes when instructor Leigh Milne moved to town.

Leigh is a very serious instructor, having spent several months in India taking classes from Mr. Iyengar and his family.  For her, yoga really is a way of life, not just a work out.  We start each class with a call and response chant of the Invocation to Patanjali.  (I am sad to say that my Sanskrit has not improved much over time.)   We then read from the Yoga Sutras, a text that is broken into four chapters that show the way to yogic enlightenment: samadhi (a blissful state), sadhana (discipline), vibhuti (power) and kavalya (liberation).  (I actually didn't know this until now!  In case you were wondering, our discussion does not extend to the kama sutra, although that text also finds its roots in Indian Hindu writings.)   We discuss the reading, which sometimes resonates with me and sometimes seems a bit abstract.  Then it's on to the practice. 

Iyengar yoga is all about the form.  You work very hard at getting into the correct posture (or your approximately thereof) and then hold it for what seems to be an interminable length of time.  I almost always come out of her class with an awareness of muscles that I never knew existed!  I  feel very centered, however, having left everything from my life outside of the studio behind for the time that I'm there.

Last year, I arrived to find that Leigh had put ropes up on the walls (which, at first glance, looked a bit like instruments of torture).  I was intrigued but somewhat apprehensive. How would they be incorporated into our practice?  Would I be able to do the asanas (poses) that relied on use of the ropes?   I now always feel a bit deprived if I don't get some rope time in each session!  In my first class this summer, we used the ropes for the pose that Leigh is demonstrating here.  It's a bit hard to tell but you actually hang from the ropes with your hands resting on the ground lightly.  Pretty cool!  Getting out of the posture was a bit more challenging, and I can only say that I'm glad I don't have a video! 

Having the opportunity to take yoga classes has rounded out the Camp Chester experience for me (and I think it helps my golf game to boot, with its emphasis on posture and twisting poses).   The trick now is to try and bring some of that zen attitude into the rest of my life!  Signing off from Camp Chester....

Music at Petite Riviere Vineyards

Yesterday I took some time off from my hectic golf schedule (five rounds in seven days!) to head over to Petite Riviere Vineyards to take in a concert with my friend and biking partner Pam. The winery is located in the La Have River Valley, an absolutely gorgeous area.  Just driving to the venue put me in a relaxed and happy state of mind.  We drove up the driveway to a lovely view of the vineyard and an old stone farmhouse that houses the winery. (As an aside, you might not associate Nova Scotia with wine but we do have a couple of local wineries, which are fun to visit even if their offerings don't exactly rival those of Napa Valley.  You can check out the varietals at Petite Riviere Vineyard--and their music schedule-- by going to http://www.petiterivierevineyards.ca/?page_id=20).   Once we arrived, we made our way to an intimate performance space that seats about 100 people.   This could of course go both ways--if the performers are good, you feel like a special guest; if they're not to your liking, where do you hide????   This wasn't an issue last night, though, as the music was great and the acoustics were amazingly good for a room that wasn't build for this purpose. 

I really had no idea what to expect going into the evening.  Canadian of all types are a mystery to me (along with the Canadian system of government!)    I knew from the Vineyard website that there would be two performers whose styles sounded somewhat disparate.   Carmel Mikol headed up the evening, and I fell in love with her music.  She's a singer-songwriter-musician whose lyrics sound like they were written by someone who's lived a lot more than her 20 some years.  Carmel finds the inspiration for her "story songs" in her family history and her travels.  During last night's performance, she placed each song in a context, be it an aspect of her life that triggered her writing or where she was when the song took shape.  One of my favorites of the evening was a song called "Georgia," which is a tribute to--but not a rip off of-- "Georgia On My Mind."   At the break, I talked with her a bit and found out that she went to an artist's workshop in Seaside, an area near my home town of Panama City, Florida.  Sometimes it seems like a small world.  Anyway, I liked her music so much that I bought her CD entitled "In My Bones."  (Carmel won first place in the Folk Category of the 2010 Great American Song Contest for the title track.)  You can check out some of her music on her website (http://carmelmikol.com/).   

Cut to the evening's second performer:  Ben Caplan.  I have to say that I had a hard time warming up to Ben.  Carmel's music is warm and engaging and intimate and lent itself to the coffeehouse feel of the performance space.  Ben told us that he has primarily performed in bars, where he has to be "raucous" in order to get the audience's attention.  I certainly don't begrudge him that, but the decibel level was a huge contrast to Carmel's style and, combined with his Wolfman Jack look, made me a bit tense.  He seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself, though, and a lot of the audience was quite into it, so it's just a matter of different strokes for different folks.  Overall, though, it was a really great and unexpected evening. 

Last night was yet another reminder that if I take the time to have new experiences, more often than not I'm pleasantly surprised by the outcome.  I'm looking forward to listening to more live music this summer, starting with an afternoon at the Halifax Jazz Festival next week-end.   After all, I can't play golf every day!!!