At Home Fall 2018

Fall 2018

YOUR

pathway PERMACULTURE, PASSIVE DESIGN AND PRETTY PUMPKINS

TO FALL

A Natural Solution to Your Coastal Erosion Issues

Book your site visit now for Fall construction, slow the erosion before it’s too late.

ON OUR COVER: Raina McDonald, partner Reuban Irons and daughters walk through a carpet of fallen leaves on a pathway that winds through the back hills of their Brookland Pictou County property.

PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

athomeonthenorthshore.ca

Work, sunshine, adventure opportunities to see the world and all it has to offer.

Lots of things take you away, but after all that...

we’ll bring you home.

PUBLISHER: Fred Fiander EDITOR: Crystal Murray SALES MANAGER: Dave Wood ART DIRECTOR: Jamie Playfair GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Barbara Raymont PHOTO EDITOR: Steve Smith FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: David Wood, Sales Manager, Halifax 902 422-4990, ext. 1819 davidwood@advocatemediainc.com Blake Ross, Sales, Pictou County Phone 902 485-8014, ext. 1108 blakeross@advocatemediainc.com Nicole Fawcett, Sales, Strait Area 902 625-3300, ext. 1509 nicolefawcett@porthawkesburyreporter.com Lyndia Wellwood, Sales, Truro and Colchester County 902 893-0375 lyndiawellwood@advocatemediainc.com

Northern Nova Scotia’s premier magazine for local lifestyle, information and insights at the heart of our communities.

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From design ideas to food and wine, health and fitness to art and culture, you will find it all AT HOME.

FOR EDITORIAL INQUIRES CONTACT: Crystal Murray 902 485-1990 crystalmurray@advocateprinting.com At Home on the North Shore Published four times per year by: Advocate Media Inc., 2882 Gottingen Street Halifax, NS B3K 3E2 Printed by: Advocate Printing & Publishing, 181 Browns Point Rd. Pictou, NS B0K 1H0 902 485-1990

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Inside this issue Vol. 3 Edition 4 Fall 2018

The Inside Story

Around the House

10 Devine Vines in your own backyard

9 The Library

Tips for the At Home Vintner

20 Under Foot Throw some style on the floor

22 Not my Grandmother’s Mat From fibre art to works of art

34 One Beam at a Time – Part III

Cover Story 28 The Permaculture Principle

Passive House Design….it’s about time

On the Table 42 A Jewel of a Dessert Lindsay Cameron Wilson’s call to bring back the jellies

Healthy at Home 44 Medaling with My Food

Start of your fall reading list with a Circle on the Surface

14 Off the Wall Susan Walsh teaches the art of resilience

18 Thresholds – Global Cover Up Cuddle up at home with blankets from far away places

25 The Music Room Fantastic Fall line up the deCoste Performing Arts Centre

33 Field Notes Block some time with Sara Jewell

50 DIY Puff up your own perfect pumpkin patch

Tracy Stuart says Beet It!

46 Love Ya Man Why the dudes need a little more self-love

48 The Butterfly Effect The chaos theory that comes with thyroid malfunctions

28 42

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editor’s

LETTER

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PHOTO BY TARA GILLIS, PURE IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHY.

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hat a summer. It has all of the climatologists out there saying, “I told you so!” While we all loved soaking up the extra sunshine that we received this year it is another telltale sign that our climate is changing and, just as the scientists have been predicting, we can likely get used to more frequent hot, drier summers and warmer, wet winters. Perhaps not a bad thing if you desire a more tepid climate, however, the reasons for these changes and the other implications of the rise of the mercury will have tremendous impact on the way we live in the future, especially in our coastal communities.

But just as our climate is changing we can see all around us a shift in the way many individuals are now thinking about their own carbon footprint. The choices that we make everyday, no matter how small, can accrue with other like-minded actions and have a global impact of their own. This issue brings you two stories of inspiration from families who, through their individual approaches to conscious living, are being mindful of their relationship with the environment. They are proof that sustainable ecosystems are attainable and not an unachievable goal for the decisions we make in planning and design.

In our cover story we are introduced to the concepts of permaculture through the eyes of Raina McDonald and Reuben Irons. Their landscape is their home and they are creating connections with all aspects of their local environment with extensions of their own ideals to have what they need to be as self-sustainable as they can be as they live, work and play in their own backyard. You will also find, as you flip through our pages, an update on the timber-frame build that we have been following for the past year. Shauna Heighton and Andrew Parsons have blurred the lines between some very old ideas of building with some very new technologies to create a new home that they hope will have very little impact on the earth.

As a province, Nova Scotia has been addressing the implications of climate change and understands that our energy providers and industries need to change before it is too late. We are not the leaders of the pack but we are getting there. By 2030 electricity generation in Nova Scotia will be provided by a significant increase in renewable energy sources and the monitoring and verification of industry green house gas emissions will put pressure on our industries to perform. While Canada attempts to make the targets set out in the Paris Agreements and reduce green house gas emissions by an additional 30 percent by 2030 there are many things that we can do as individuals to provide momentum for the shift away from carbon-based energy towards

green sources. I am optimistic that regulations and enforcement will get us where we need to be. I believe there are good people with the right intentions, however, I also believe that green technologies need to become more affordable. Right now it can cost beyond 20 percent more to build a passive or net zero house (a house that produces as much energy as it uses). Many Canadians cannot afford the upfront extra costs even though the return of investment will provide eventual payback. We are still a decade or more before the more stringent building codes set out in the Paris Agreements are fully in place. In the meantime, if we are going to all work together for low carbon communities we need our mortgage providers to be kinder to individuals who want to build green. There is so much to learn and to talk about with these issues and it is my intention to keep the ecology of our communities a priority in future issues of At Home. I hope you enjoy all of the aspects of our fall issue. Maybe you will be inspired to take a road trip to Amherst or Arisaig (stories from both ends of our shore), make some jelly, roast some beets, read a new book or just turn out the lights and when the evenings get chilly, instead of turning up the thermostat, wrap up in your favourite cozy blanket. Wishing you a happy fall. I hope you take time to enjoy another beautiful season on our North Shore.

The North Shore

CONTRIBUTORS

SARA JEWELL admits that she related to this story of the quilt blocks in a weird way. When she wrote about the topic of her Field Notes column. “If my friends sent me a pile of quilt blocks, I’d have no idea what to do with them!”

All joking aside, since she has no skills with needles or textiles, Sara truly appreciates the tradition and the creativity of fibre arts, and was delighted to explore them as works of art.

LORI BYRNE Fall means cozy layers, earthy palettes and majestic scenery.

Chatting with Ruben and Raina among the colourful hills of Brookland was the perfect way to spend a fall day.

Thinking outside the box for ways to upcycle everyday items is both fun and challenging, making you look at things in thrift stores and vintage shops with a new set of eyes! Happy Fall, everyone!

PHOTO: STEVE SMITH,VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

DENISE DAVIES enjoys sharing stories of Nova Scotia as a writer, photographer and videographer. She profiles artist Susan Walsh in the story “The Art of Resilience.” She believes Susan’s story is fascinating and watching her multitalents and growth, despite all odds, is an inspiration. Denise lives in Antigonish and is a marketing and communications consultant with non-profits, artists and small business. She enjoys travel, hiking and cooking and writing in her blog Out and About Nova Scotia. outandaboutns.com STEVE SMITH Another season and another chance to learn about some of the interesting folks and interesting places here on the North Shore. Inside this magazine you’ll find that we grow grapes here in our region. We create art. We shape metal with fire and brute force. We build state of the art homes that are beautiful and efficient with our own hands. Everyone we talk to is passionate about what they do. They’re modest and open to share what they’ve learned along the way.

SARAH BUTLAND welcomes fall as a time for regrouping as kids return to school, rinks and schedules while parents think of lunches and early mornings, but every season is about books for Sarah Butland. Whether reading on the shoreline in the cool air of autumn, beside a fire in the winter or amid the breathtaking rebirth of spring, good books by amazing local authors abound and take the reader to a brand new world!

A Circle on the Surface offered Butland a new world and a new time!

PHOTO: STEVE SMITH,VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

TRACY STUART As the fall colours make their debut and the vegetable garden gives us our last offerings, Tracy looks to the garden for inspiration. She tells us that her beets are absolutely gorgeous this time of year and their remarkable ability to boost athletic performance is a secret that must be shared. It’s been ten years since Tracy stood on the podium at the summer Olympics in Beijing; in this issue Tracy shares some of the science behind winning that comes from an unassuming vegetable, the beet!

RACHAEL MACLEAN This fall Rachael gets her last little one on the bus to start school. The first day of school will fill many a Mama with a load of emotion.

It’s safe to say that a glass of wine will be had by more than a few that day. So, it’s fitting that Rachael chats with grape growers Dave and Anita Poirier who are producing their own wine along the West River. Cheers to a new season and fresh starts!

LINDSAY CAMERON WILSON believes that food is the portal to all good stories. You can find her in her Halifax kitchen developing recipes, writing food stories, standing on her kitchen counter photographing food, hosting The Food Podcast or eating sandy marshmallows on the Northumberland Strait with her husband and three boys.

TODD LOCKHART Last month I had an opportunity to accompany Crystal as she met up with Shauna Heighton and Andrew Parsons at their Melmerby Beach home construction.

Their eco-friendly home is amazing, and if you have any interest in learning about efficient home design, and their project specifically, you should head over to our website to check out the third instalment of our One Beam at a Time series.

HEATHER LAURA CLARKE is an award-winning journalist and columnist living in Truro, and in this issue she’s stretching out on area rugs. Never far from a sewing machine, paint brush, or mitre saw, she shares stories about living, working and parenting creatively on her blog, HeathersHandmadeLife.com.

SALLY O’NEILL is a hiker, trail builder and lifelong outdoor enthusiast. She is the coordinator of Active Pictou County and represents the Highland Region on the Nova Scotia Trails Federation. She believes most problems can be solved by sun on your face, and wind in your hair.

DEELLE HINES is a professional lifestyle coach and co-founder of Dream Candy, a local non-profit organization that introduces youth to self-wellness practices like meditation, gratitude, creative and authentic expression, mindful eating and exercise and, acts of kindness to self and others. In her article, “Love ya Man,” Deelle dives into an exciting shift taking place in the whole self-wellness community – a stronger focus on men’s self-care.

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Life Is a Circle… on the Surface BOOK REVIEW BY SARAH BUTLAND

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hile the main setting is fictitious the tale could be anyone’s. a Circle on the Surface tells the story of Una and Enman, a couple married in the time of war and hardship, and the community they live in that could easily be our own. The struggles and triumphs of discovering one’s own path are written beautifully by Halifax author, Carol Bruneau who even includes a town we know well with mentions of Pictou in her tale.

While the community of Barrein was created, the town is close to the city of Halifax and adventures are taken on Citadel Hill. Being able to easily recognize these places I was able to connect well with the characters and fully understand their journey through suffering and discovery. We all can find our place within a circle.

“If I can’t see you, you can’t see me.” A phrase we can all relate to, remembering childhood games and being naïve enough to think closing our eyes made us invisible. A parable of the life of Una as well as Enman as they deal with aging parents and decisions that are taken away from them from outside sources.

Starting with a scene in the most recent past, you will quickly fall in love with Enman and his birthday girl Penny and be struck by the admission of what could be a life-altering occurrence. While we all struggle with our own battles and knowing when best to reveal a secret we have harbouring, it’s easy to feel the grief this man is filled with. We can all relate to waiting for the perfect time to act and knowing that there will never be a perfect time.

Set in 1943 the situations and feelings expressed throughout a Circle on the Surface are timeless and written masterfully so anyone can be part of the community Bruneau writes about. Creating a happy life together, Una and Enman take their respective pasts to the same table which is determined by illness and circumstance. While the war and threats from the Germans set the scene in rural Nova Scotia, battles that exist within the small town are raging but dismissed and ignored for what are deemed bigger issues.

Bruneau mixes hope with turmoil as she weaves the tales of those who could be our neighbours. To be released in September 2018 this story is one you could easily relate to and learn from.

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INSIDE STORY

DIVINE VINES

BY RACHAEL MCLEAN PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

Dave and Anita Poirier have travelled the world for their work. Where ever they lived they planted what the climate called for. Now back in Pictou County enjoying a new chapter in their life they have moved on from avocados and pineapple to blueberries and a special little vineyard all their own.

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A

long the banks of the West River, a little 99-acre farm is breathing life and abundance once more. Dave and Anita Poirier along with their son Sam, have literally lived all over the world.

Their experience of diverse culture has gifted and shaped them, strengthened their respect, and commitment to the environment and now their home at 4 Oaks Farm in Durham.

Nearing the close of a lengthy career in the oil industry, Dave began looking for land that would be suitable for growing some grapevines. Dave is from Cape Breton and Anita’s lilt tells you right away that she’s from Newfoundland. When the property came up for sale in 2006 they pounced on it. Not only was it a beautiful slice of property but it also possessed a little microclimate that could be beneficial to his viniculture plans.

Dave’s father’s family was originally from Pictou so this area held a deep connection. At the time they were living in Angola but soon moved back to Halifax, which allowed time to come to the farm in the summers. They began working hard at renovating the property and getting a lay of the land.

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Having lived in many places but never for any great length of time, Dave and Anita Poirier are now enjoying the opportunity to send down some new roots. Their life on 4 Oaks Farm in Durham has allowed them to realize a life-long dream to create their own little backyard vineyard.

Dave took a grape growing course at the Nova Scotia Community College, bought a weather station and together they began collecting information, local understanding and data. Lots of data.

“Be prepared if you ask him what the weather’s like” warns Anita.

In 2010 Dave retired. Armed with knowledge, numbers and a love of growing all things, they took the leap and planted three rows of Marshal Foche, seven rows of l’Acadie, and one row of Marquette. They also planted blueberries, asparagus, rhubarb, trees and more.

“Don’t be afraid to talk to people. Ask questions!” said Dave on his approach to his backyard vineyard. “Then, just try it.”

Soil testing also played a part in the site selection. The early time spent on the farm gave them understanding of their own micro climate. The local grape growing community supported them in times of uncertainty and they were there to help problem solve.

“We are doing this for the love of it,” said Dave, “We are able to get a few cases of wine for ourselves but production of any amount would require much more acreage. We chose these varieties because they were unique to Nova Scotia and are suited to this climate.”

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“At first I was so nervous to cut anything” Anita said as we walked down the aisles of arching vines, pruning and tucking along the way. “Now, I don’t hesitate. It takes time to get comfortable with things.”

Trial and error have led them to discover what works to keep pests away from the fruit. Up on the hill huge scarecrows overlook the crops. Everything from radios, sound cannons, reflective tape and aluminium pie plates have been given a go.

Although they aren’t a certified organic operation, they are spray free. Staying clear of chemicals is important to the Poirier’s.

It does pose its challenges and requires different management techniques, some of which have caused them to abandon some explorative crops altogether. They have learned to stick to woody, hardier plants like grapes and blueberries.

At the end of the day this adventurous duo have made 4 Oaks their home, continuing to work hard together and learn everyday.

Farming isn’t for the faint of heart, but for Anita and Dave they have struck a balance that drives them forward, and as Dave whips up over the hill on his four wheeler to check on how the grapes are fairing today they don’t show any signs of slowing down.

The North Shore

INSIDE STORY

I THE

BACKYARD VARIETY

BY CRYSTAL MURRAY PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

Just a drop. Andrew Fraser extracts a little juice from a grape he plucks from one of his vines. He uses a refracometer to test the sugar content of the grapes to determine when they will be ready to harvest.

The North Shore

recently learned that there are about 10,000 different varieties of grapes in this world. I think that there is likely just as much variety in the people that grow them. I’ve met a few wine growers in my day but perhaps none quite as affable as Andrew Fraser who has about 1000 vines growing in his backyard in Pictou Landing.

In an area of the province that these days is more known for some contentions environmental faux pas, Andrew has created a little vineyard haven tucked away down a little winding driveway not far from the Pictou Landing First Nations and a fishing wharf. In fact, the netting that drapes over his vines on this brilliant fall day to protect his grapes from pilfering crows have come from neighbouring fishers.

There is not much about Andrew that screams vineyard owner archetype. On first impression, you might peg him as more of a brew master, yes he has had his time doing this as well, but when you go for a stroll through the little vineyard with Andrew not only are you captured by his smile but also buy his knowledge of the local wine industry and the obvious pleasure he derives from cultivating grapes.

Andrews’s vines occupy a good portion of his hobby farm that was once his dad’s cow pasture. He was growing haskap, plums, pears and raspberries that he was harvesting and making jams and jellies. He says one day he just thought, ‘why not grow grapes’ and that’s just what he did.

Hans Christen, former owner of Jost and Jürg Stutz, a winemaker from the valley were valuable sources of information for Andrew who says that everyone in the grape growing and wine business are happy to help. He also turned to the Agricultural College and the University of Guelph to learn what he needed to grow healthy producing vines.

“I grow grapes for my own pleasure and make wine that is not sophisticated, I guess it’s quaffing wine,” he laughs as he picks a couple of grapes from a bunch that is soaking up their last couple of days of sunshine before they fulfil their destiny.

Andrew pulls a gadget out of the back pocket of his jeans. It’s a refracometer, a tool that all winemakers use to measure the sugar level in the grapes that they refer to as Brix. When the Brix level is optimal it’s time to harvest.

Growing organically is very important to Andrew, as is the old fashioned way of stomping his grapes. “It’s just really amazing to make a bottle of wine the old fashioned way. Lots of people can make it from a kit but tending to the vines, seeing them grow and then going through the process of making the wine and bottling it on your own is pretty special.”

Andrews enjoys gifting his wine. His ROI is his pure enjoyment. He says he can’t count the number of hours he invests in every grape growing season.

Back at his little house that he built a few years ago we sit down at his kitchen table. He asks if I want to taste some. He opens a red from a previous year’s harvest and pours a little more than I will be able to consume, considering that I need to drive back to work. I pretend to know how to taste wine; I look, sniff, swirl and sip. Andrew was right, it’s quite quaffable!

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Things to consider if you want to grow your own grapes for wine.

A few tips from Andrew Fraser: • Choose a sunny location away from any structures • Do your research, there are grapes that grow better in Nova Scotia than others • Ask lots of questions most grape growers are happy to help • Makes sure your soil has good drainage. Vines don’t like having wet feet. The roots can grow quite deep to find the moisture they need • Do your spring pruning • Once they start to grow the vines need to be tucked along the trellis and trained • I fertilize when they start to grow • Leave lots of time to harvest depending on the number of vines that you have grown

AVAILABLE WHEREVER FINE SPIRITS ARE SOLD and online at CALDERA.CA Please drink responsibly.

#DontTouchMyCaldera

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Whoa there, don’t touch my Caldera.

MORE THAN A BEVERAGE, IT’S A SPIRIT.

The North Shore

The Art of Susan Walsh is a talented artist, therapist and former children’s entertainer (Sunshine Sue) living in Antigonish. She shares with us her journey from trauma to healing through art because, as a mature student, she often heard other older people say, “I wish I could go back to school.” She would like her story to inspire others.

resil

Art and Healing

S

BY DENISE DAVIES

The North Shore

usan has always been a doodler. When she went to therapy at the age of 42, her therapist encouraged her to use that incessant drawing in her sessions to help express emotions. The drawing eventually spread beyond therapy and into daily life. As a single mother on low income with two little boys, she could not afford art materials. An elderly woman gave her a package of paints and some brushes, and she found old ceiling tiles downstairs in the house she was renting. And that is how her art began.

From ceiling tiles, she moved on to placemats, boards from kindling piles, and old painted canvases from Frenchies and the Salvation Army. Susan even got permission from her landlord to paint anything she wanted on the walls, bathroom pipes, etc.

Her artistic process continued to evolve when she took some art courses. She explains where she finds her inspiration: “The psychoanalyst Carl Jung realized that images and dreams

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lience

that come to us are full of information Left: Mountain Goddess and insight from the “After the death of my niece I got core of ourselvessick and could not work in my our unconscious garden. I had trouble sleeping and the collective and, as always, I felt the need unconscious that to paint. I painted Mountain we exist in. If you Goddess at night sitting at my kitchen table. It represents how can work the images beautifully my garden bloomed that you receive without any help from me”. through your psyche and through your hand physically, the physiological and psychological meeting of the two can be profound, especially for people who can’t talk about their trauma. In her final year at St FX she did a Directed Study to produce eight paintings, and those are some of the paintings in the “Art of Resilience” exhibit from 2015 (youtu.be/JIa4vwN1lgQ ).

Some of Susan’s paintings show some dark places, but if you look closely you always see a glimmer of light and potential. She says, “Psychosynthesis is the name of the therapy I was involved in, and light is very prominent there. You bring the sun in psychologically when you are doing guided imagery. If things get tough and you have scary images coming in, the guide / therapist will tell you to shine some light on it and bring in the sun.

It always transforms what is happening”.

“What I learned from therapy was that WOW colour, shape, quiet, blank pieces of paper - I would just put images and feelings, onto the paper. Just with big dashing, scratching, kind of angry. Anger can come out in colour and shape and form on a paper. Learning that I could do that and that I had the capacity within me to - and that I was allowed and that it’s not about hanging something on the wall to sell. It’s just about expressing myself.”

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OFF the WALL Learning at Any Age Susan’s curiosity and persistence eventually enabled her to attain a Masters of Education in Counselling Degree at Acadia University at the age of 62. This accomplishment was an amazing feat for someone who left school in Grade 8 and suffered panic attacks every time she walked into a classroom. In her forties, Susan graduated from NSCC in Therapeutic Recreation, and her mother said, “you don’t have to stop here.” She did not stop there. She received a BA from St FX at the age of 57, and then took the plunge to go to Acadia. These are feats of courage in overcoming the personal obstacles of trauma and economic challenge. Susan insists that none of it would have happened without good counselling.

She adds that the most valuable and validating thing she learned in the Masters program at Acadia came out of her research on trauma and learning: “Many educators are getting more sensitive and responsive to students’ backgrounds, disabilities, histories of trauma etc. Communities, government and educational institutions are becoming more trauma informed. More classrooms are welcoming displaced people from war torn countries, so trauma is no longer an unspoken word in the classroom. The suffering of new Canadians in our classrooms is opening the door for those of us who have been traumatized in our own homes and communities. I believe that my journey might be an inspiration to other fearful adults who linger in the shadows of their own dream for education. It is my hope that other learners will feel safe enough to take the leap”

Current You can find works by Susan Walsh as part of “The Art of Healing” exhibit in Port Hawkesbury at the J. Franklin Wright Gallery, August 29 – September 30, 2018 with traveling exhibits later in the fall.

Susan is currently workshopping a story telling series for Arts Canopy for persons with dementia. She says “we have lots of laughs and people rediscover their own stories through the process.” Recently she had an exhibit of her paintings at the Tall and Small Café in Antigonish and was the featured artist at the Antigonish Art Fair in July. She has started her therapy practice in Antigonish. You may contact Susan at susanwalsh487@gmail.com

The North Shore

Amherst, where something old is fabulous again

BY LORI BYRNE

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border town filled with unexpected shops overflowing with possibility, Amherst fueled my thrifting fire to reuse and upcycle and to appreciate the many talents of others. Besides, exploring a town is always great fun, especially one that is made up of regal old homes, tall trees and treasures galore!

My first stop found me at Amherst Artisan Gallery, in the mall, talking to a group of determined folks who have built a cooperative gallery that showcases the talents of 75+ artisans spanning a huge radius of small towns and rural communities.

I found myself wandering aisles of incredible paintings, carved wooden faces, ships in bottles, jewelry, wonderful knitted and sewn items.

The next stop was Quality Reusables where the store was filled with solid vintage pieces of furniture, some have already been painted for you while others are ready for you to use your imagination. You can also stock up on wooden knitting needles and yarn for your next knitting, crocheting or fibre project.

I had driven by Amy’s Used Books by mistake but circled back to check it out. 400,000+ used books is a pretty impressive sight so if you are a reader or have a reader in the house, this stop is a must! And we all know that hard copy books are making a comeback. Whether you are looking for old books as collector items or a copy of your favourite author’s books, there’s bound to be something here for you.

I spent some time browsing through the racks of Sharon’s Closet, a used clothing consignment store in the downtown of Amherst. I was amazed at how well organized it was, with everything neatly hung and great displays in the front windows. I walked out with a pair of khakis for me, jeans

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for my growing girls and a cool leather belt bound to be upcycled into a leather cuff bracelet in my studio.

Hounds of Vintage was my next stop and well worth it for the eye candy alone – such a unique shop filled with vintage denim and leather goods along with jewelry, all very well displayed. I enjoyed great conversation with the shop owner and local boy, Derrick Dixon, about the trend of vintage denim and leather and how quality pieces can be timeless.

It wasn’t hard to tell he is passionate about what he does and the well-curated shop reflects his studies and experiences.

I wandered up Victoria Street into the old Margolians building and had a look through some of the shops set up in that historic landmark building. So much to see and take in! I particularly liked the use of the old doors as space dividers, which seemed like a fitting detail to take in given I was in town to explore vintage and thrift shops.

My last stop of the afternoon was in Buds and Blooms. This flower shop was filled with great décor items, fresh flowers and house plants, which are very ontrend again. They also carry the Fusion Mineral paint line which is a great product for updating old furniture that needs a little life breathed into it.

There were a few other stops I would’ve liked to make while exploring Amherst, but alas, the day was drawing to an end and shop doors were closing for the evening. I took my purchases and hit the Sunrise Trail to head back home to my studio to make up a new leather cuff bracelet. If you’ve been bitten by the thrifting and vintage bug, don’t count this town out of the game! There are lots of treasures to be found, and by tapping into that creativity, you can make something old fabulous again!

The North Shore

THRESHOLDS

BY CRYSTAL MURRAY PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

GLOBAL It’s time to get cozy! We are throwing out a few options for you to get wrapped up in with these globally sourced blankies. Reconnect with a treasured trip abroad or cuddle up under one of these inspired throws

Top to bottom: Sari quilt from India, Sarah Bonnyman Pottery Cob Web Woolies hand-knit woolen throw, Water Street Studios Tartan wool blanket, MacKean’s

ac

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COVER UP and dream about the places that you will go. From the Scottish Highlands to the cotton-dyed indigos of India there is something that will fit your décor style and say let’s cuddle when you need a snuggle.

Top to bottom: Maasai Mara Shuka, Editor’s own Floral Dyed Sari from India, Sarah Bonnyman Pottery Turkish Blanket, Editor’s own

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embracing

INSIDE STORY

The North Shore

the comf

BY HEATHER LAURA CLARKE

ah! Fall 2018 - 20

fort and style of area rugs Tips on choosing a material and buying the right size

R

ipping out your dated carpet and replacing it with gleaming hardwoods -- or sleek laminate -seemed like the perfect solution for many homeowners. But Greg McLean, co-owner of McLeans Flooring in Stellarton, says there’s something most people never considered at the time.

“They always come back -- not right away, but within a few months -- and say they miss the warmth of their carpet,” says McLean.

That’s why area rug sales have hit an alltime high, although they’ve been around for centuries. (They were first created as protection from the elements.) Area rugs have the power to make a room feel larger while also adding coziness -- not to mention cushy comfort and warmth underfoot.

McLean says 5'x8' and 6'x9' rugs tend to be the most popular, but there’s been a growing interest in the oversized 7'x10', 8'x11' and 9'x12' rugs. It’s usually hard to envision how an area rug will fit into your room, so he suggests using painter’s tape to experiment.

“It isn’t going to ruin your floor, so you can play around with different sizes and see what works,” says McLean.

He says some people want a rug large enough to go under their sofa and serve as an “island” that grounds an entire seating area, while others are fine with something that isn’t much larger than their coffee table.

Once you’ve come up with your ideal area rug length and width, there’s no guarantee it’s going to be a standard size -- but McLean says that’s not a problem.

“We actually make more rugs than we sell off the racks,” says McLean. “Our customers can choose from all of our carpet samples and have the flexibility to have them made into a custom rug.”

He says this typically isn’t much more expensive than buying a ready-made area

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rug, since the biggest cost is the carpet itself.

Often his customers score great deals by purchasing a carpet remnant and paying to have the edges trimmed and bound.

So will it be neutral berber, black and white stripes, or an explosion of earth tones in geometric shapes? McLean says more homeowners are opting for neutral walls these days, which frees them up to buy colourful patterned rugs and throw pillows. Oriental-style rugs are having a huge moment, and somehow manage to blend with many types of decor despite combining plenty of tones and designs.

Choosing the colour and pattern might feel like the most important decision as you stand in the store, examining rug after rug.

But McLean says you really need to consider where the rug will be, who’s going to be on it, and what type of use it will see.

Cotton rugs are perfect for kitchens because they’re easy to throw in the washing machine when they get dirty. Chenille rugs are luxuriously silky underfoot, but should be limited to formal living rooms where they won’t get a lot of foot traffic.

Families with babies and toddlers might opt for the durable, easy-to-clean polypropylene indoor/outdoor rugs. If you have a cat at home, McLean says to steer clear of any rugs with loops that can be clawed and tugged -opt for cut-top construction instead.

If you’re envisioning a classic Persian-style wool rug stretching across your living room floor, that doesn’t mean you’ll actually end up with wool. McLean says some customers want to invest in a wool rug because they’re durable and last for decades, but cautions it can be a little harder to clean.

Many synthetic rugs -- made from nylon, polyester and acrylic yarn -- are designed to mimic the look of wool while resisting stains and fading.

The North Shore

INSIDE STORY

How Fibre Arts Evolved Into Works of Art

BY SARA JEWELL PHOTO BY GALLERY 8 PHOTOGRAPHY

The North Shore

ah! Fall 2018 - 22

Not My Grandmother’s Mat

G

enerations ago, quilts and rugs were part of a woman’s household chores, practical work to keep a house and its residents warm. Relegated to boxes in attics as they lost popularity, quilts and rugs have made a creative comeback – not merely for floors and beds but for walls and tables, churches, and even fashion.

The author of six books about rug hooking and Canadian rug hooker of the year in 2016, Deanne Fitzpatrick still gets emotional when describing the trip she took as a teenager to an outport in Newfoundland. It was the resettled community her father had grown up in and she sat on a hill and took it all in.

“That trip never left me,” she says, sitting in the lightfilled office of the studio and store she opened in downtown Amherst 25 years ago. “How beautiful it was, what the loss of a community is like. It became a really powerful idea in my head.”

At 16, she moved to Nova Scotia’s north shore and at 24, hooked her first rug as a floor mat. But the idea planted in her during that long-ago trip was powerful enough to transform her craft into art. Deanne began hooking the landscapes and fields she’d seen as a teenager, creating rugs meant to hang on walls rather than lie in a doorway.

“I realized I had a way to express that idea,” Deanne says. “I didn’t think of myself as an artist; I was making a connection to the idea that had been in my head since I was a girl.”

Often Deanne’s landscape rugs are described as “painterly” or as paintings done with wool, which doesn’t surprise Gail Tuttle, a visual art curator and art historian and former director of the art gallery at Memorial University in Newfoundland.

Now retired and living in Tatamagouche, Gail says fibre arts are a way of expressing yourself and creating something not just for the floor but as an actual work of art.

“It is art,” she says, “because of the way artists are designing, using their own images, and dyeing their own materials, and putting their materials together in a way that makes the backing a canvas.”

Karen Neary of Amherst grew up in a house full of quilts her grandmother

made but when she decided to take up quilting in 1986 after the birth of her son, she quickly embraced a more artistic expression. As people admired her quilts, wall hangings and table runners, they’d ask where she found the design, so she began a long career of designing and selling her own patterns.

This design influence, and her love of working with silk (“which reflects light like nothing else”), inspired her to create liturgical pieces like the stoles ministers drape around their neck for worship.

“A woman commissioned a stole for the 35th anniversary of her husband’s ministry,” Karen says, “and after he wore it to church, the congregation asked me to make a series of hangings for the church seasons.”

That minister was Bryon Corkum, now retired from First Baptist Church in downtown Amherst. He says the hangings – called paraments – compliment the church’s stained glass windows.

“The paraments set the mood for each season,” he says, “and when you come in and see the windows and the parament on the pulpit, it completes the circle.”

Karen Neary also planted the idea of wearable art in Peggy Stevens of Roslin, who took up quilting after she retired from teaching. She took a workshop with Karen on making a bag out of selvage edges, and now she’s known as “the bag lady” at the Pugwash Farmers’ Market.

Peggy says she never makes two bags that are identical.

“I love the cutting, the selecting of colours, which is the hard part for me. I’m not brilliant at selecting colours, I just go with what I like.”

Regardless of the textile or the style, using familiar, traditional techniques in a new way is the hallmark of modern creative fibre art.

Even knitters are doing it, says curator Gail Tuttle, a knitter and weaver herself.

“A shawl can be a work of art. Once you add the fibres and colours and textures, you create something that is a wearable work of art.”

Gail says adding three-dimensional fibres and embellishments is not something our grandmothers and great-grandmother would have done, and that’s what turns fibre arts into works of art.

“It’s art because you become an artist when you are working with materials,” says Gail. “Once you get a basic textile, you’re limited only by your skill and your imagination.”

Left: Deanna Fitzpatrick

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The North Shore

TO DYE FOR According to Gail Tuttle, a visual art curator and art historian who is also a knitter and a weaver, dyeing your own yarn or wool “makes the heart sing.”

She says it fires the imagination. “It’s such a passion for people to work with hand-dyed yarn.”

At Deanne Fitzpatrick’s studio in Amherst, Logan Milne is the full-time dyer working with wool cloth and wool yarn. She lives in Sackville, NB, and her boyfriend works in Wallace Bay, NS, and she says she is inspired by the colours she sees while travelling around.

“What I have been doing is associating colours with memories and stories. I’ll see something on a drive or a walk and I’m captured by it. Then I go into the studio and use those memories to make those colours.

Everything I dye is unique.”

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While she dyes both wool cloth and yarn (skeins), Logan says she gets more “painterly” with skeins.

“I’m paying particular attention to how the dye falls and how it interacts with the water.”

Workshops and online tutorials are great ways to learn to dye. Although what you need depends on your method, here are the basic dyeing supplies: - old roasting pans or glass casserole dishes -gloves and a face mask - plastic cups and spoons for mixing dye powder - long wooden sticks for moving yarn around gently - white vinegar or citric acid - plastic wrap - squirt bottles - heat source

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ah! Fall 2018 - 24

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COVER STORY

The

permacultureprin

BY LORI BYRNE PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

The North Shore

ah! Fall 2018 - 28

W

inciple

Raina and Reuban have said yes to the land and yes to a life that they are creating with their young daughters. They are not just creating a home they are creating a homestead.

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hen your love story starts on the deck of a sailing ship set for the Antarctica, your story is bound to be a bit more unusual than most. And that is just the case for Raina McDonald and Ruben Irons and their family who call a piece of land in the back hills of Brookland home.

And it truly was the land that called them to this place. Nine years ago, when they were looking for a home, it was the land that felt like home and the house itself was secondary. It wasn’t a case of the house being perfect but more the land was perfect, and the house would do. During that initial visit, they happened across a little cabin back in the woods that belonged to the property, and that sealed the deal. And so, they settled on the land and started making it their home.

There was a garage on the property, as well as the 1970s bungalow, but the snow load that first winter took the garage down. So, when they rebuilt, they built it to suit Ruben’s needs for a forge. And then a few years after that they added Raina’s studio to the property. Now their daily commute is a short wander through the yard.

Ruben grew up around blacksmithing as his father was a blacksmith, and ran a farrier school.

And at 18 Ruben went to horseshoeing school in Sacramento. But horseshoeing didn’t satisfy Ruben’s artistic side and eventually he gave that aspect of blacksmithing up. He travelled some, apprenticing in BC and New Hampshire and eventually settled into working at the Heritage Quay, doing demos for the public and honing his skills and then started his own business in 2007.

Raina grew up on the other side of the country, on Vancouver Island and ended up on the East Coast where she studied at NSCAD. She majored in Fine Art with a minor in Art History and focused on large scale print making and largescale drawing. One of her professors told the class that only 2% would be working solely as an artist and Raina was determined to be in that 2%. Her creativity comes in surges and even the lulls in between she is gaining experiences with which to fuel the creative fire. She also looks to their land to bring her inspiration, whether it’s through a flower bed in bloom or time away in the solitude of the cabin in the woods.

The North Shore

COVER STORY

Raina strolls the land they call home with the family dog, taking in the seasonal changes that fall brings.

Kitchen shelves display both

A close-up of one of Ruben’s bowls with a hand

Raina smiles for us as she works on an

works of art and things they use

stamped message. The beeswax finish that is

upcoming project in her bright, sunny studio,

everyday. Different textures and

applied to each piece adds such warmth to the

which overlooks the surrounding hills and

colours speak of their travels and

hard iron.

Ruben’s forge, just across the way. Large-scale

each pieces has an individual

art is drawn across the walls, surrounding her

story to tell.

with inspiration.

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The North Shore

ah! Fall 2018 - 30

Ruben works at his forge, following his father’s footsteps but with his own artist take on blacksmithing.

Ruben and Raina have built their business, R + R Handmade, to be an umbrella for their skill sets. They do some collaborative work, Raina designing some of the products and Ruben forges them, while other custom work, sculptures and railings are completely Ruben’s designs.

Their Etsy shop is a joint effort as well, and a mainstay, as they ship products all around the world.

When their second child was on her way, they knew they needed to make a change to the house. As appealing as tiny home living was to them, they decided to renovation and expand their existing home to make room for a family of four. They had been drawing out ideas of how they wanted to improve their home for years. Ruben and Raina both had their ideas of what were must-have features – Raina wanted lots of windows, so the space would be bright and to take advantage of the solar heat gain. The use of scissor trusses really keeps the open, light feeling in the main area.

Ruben knew he wanted to clad the house in cedar shingles which is the opposite of the direction most people go with exterior siding, but it ages well and helps the home blend into the landscape. The other must was a screen room, a space that has become a family favourite.

The renovation meant they were saying yes to staying on the land, saying yes to the community they had become immersed in and saying yes to the space as a sacred invitation to live their life there. The physical renovation became a metaphor for more in their lives. To carry out the renovation, they decided to hire contractors for the job so that it could be done quickly and efficiently, leaving Ruben and Raina to continue to work on their own projects during that time.

Raina and Ruben are being very thoughtful in how they develop their land and are using the principles of Permaculture. Raina is currently studying Permaculture and seeing how they can apply this Australian method to their own particular needs and landscape. Permaculture is the blending of the words Permanent and Agriculture to form what is perennial food growth on your land and letting nature lead that design. It encompasses edible landscapes, food forests and building the soil to regenerate the earth as well as an effective use of the space, time, body and resources.

Raina gave a few great examples to explain it. By planting an apple tree near the house, their food supply is close, they are providing a habitat

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The North Shore

COVER STORY

for birds so they have a place to live but are also close enough to watch and enjoy and then the tree acts as a wind block and shade for their house too. Or, having vegetables and herbs in the garden bed they built into the necessary retaining wall along the path they take into the house, Raina can easily access it and get inspired for meal preparation. These are both examples of how thoughtful planning has simplified life and adds to their landscape tapping into the principal of Permaculture called function stacking.

Another aspect of this is how they don’t have compartments to their lives, everything is integrated together, the lines between family, home, social and work are all blurred. They work and live on the same land and their girls are involved in every aspect of it as well. Their oldest daughter drew a design for a wrought iron trivet which is now part of the offerings of R + R Handmade. The girls are involved in the gardening and meal prep. The studio walls are filled with not only the artwork of Raina, but also drawings by the girls.

They find themselves surrounded by logging and commercial blueberry fields and it leaves an impression on what industry is doing to the land versus how they are choosing to live on their land. The choices they make are very deliberate in the impact to the earth, the soil, their food supplies and are guiding their girls in that same respect for the earth, for nature and the creatures that call the same land home. The girls explore the woods, run in the open fields and get to pluck fresh berries right off the plants as they discover the gifts the earth has to offer. Raina and Ruben are teaching the girls to discover who they are, so that when they grew up and leave home, they will also have sense of home inside themselves, a connection to the land and a connected experience to who they are.

Both Ruben and Raina teach yoga classes in the surrounding community halls. They are encouraged by the people who take time out of the busyness of life to roll out their mat and ‘show up for themselves.’ They said teaching yoga classes is an ‘inspiring way to be in the community, to share in space of taking the time of being aware of what does my body need at the moment.’ Ruben says for the guys who show up for his classes that it’s a way of ‘connecting without having to talk.’ Both Raina and Ruben would like to look into ways to bring that experience out to their land for others to enjoy, as well, without the rush of timelines.

Fall is a beautiful season tucked away in the hills of Brookland, a favourite season for Ruben. Harvesting the fruits of the land, packing up handmade treasures for their customers and holding their annual open house fill the crisp days. Their commute to work may require an extra layer as the days cool down, but still they wouldn’t change it, walking their land and raising the girls in the depths of nature.

Top: A large entry way with easy storage makes getting out the door for school and work easier for the whole family.

Middle: Sunlit curls of the littlest member of the family.

Bottom: The renovation to the 70s bungalow allowed for a master bath, Ruben made the vanity to fit the sink and the sliding door means no wasted space for a door swing.

The North Shore

ah! Fall 2018 - 32

L

ong before author Ann Brashares wrote the novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, there was another sisterhood along the Amherst shore. Bonded together by travelling quilt blocks rather than a pair of jeans, this sisterhood and its story spans two countries and three generations.

At the age of 17, Bessie Jackson left her home in rural Nova Scotia and headed to Boston where she worked and eventually fell in love, married and had a family. The friends she left behind in Lorneville never forgot her nor did they want her to forget them and where she came from so in 1933, twenty-one women agreed on a project: Each would stitch a quilt block and embroider her own name in the centre. These blocks would then be mailed to their friend Bessie in Boston.

In order for Bessie to keep warm under a friendship quilt from home, however, she would have to stitch the twentyone blocks together herself, but Bessie’s life in Boston was demanding. She’d married Clarence Burne and the couple had seven children, and Bessie never got around to putting those blocks together in a quilt.

That was 85 years ago. What happened to the quilt blocks?

Born the year they were created, Arleen Goodwin of Lorneville never knew about the quilt blocks her grandmother, mother and mother-in-law had sent to Boston so she was more than surprised when, in the summer of 2011, Bessie’s niece showed up in Lorneville with a box containing the twenty-one quilt blocks.

Opening the box, Arleen says, “was like stepping back in time and touching all our family histories.”

From Bessie’s niece, Arleen learned that sometime after Bessie’s death in 1977, her family sent the blocks to Guysborough where Bessie’s sister, Kathleen, lived.

“She never got them made into a quilt either so Kathleen’s daughter, Hope, brought them to me,” Arleen says.

Inspired by the obvious destiny of these quilting blocks that had just returned to the descendants of the original sisterhood of quilting friends, Arleen took the box of quilt blocks to the next meeting of the Lorneville United Church Women

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(UCW). As she laid out the blocks in front of the UCW members, many of the women were able to say, “My mother made that,” or “That’s my great-grandmother.” Because of remarriages, her own daughter can point to the names of several grandmothers and great-grandmothers on the blocks.

After suggesting they finally make the friendship quilt for which these blocks were intended, Arleen purchased material that “really looked old” and put the quilt onto a frame in her house. Over the winter, every woman with a connection to the quilt came over and hand stitched “their” block. You can just imagine the conversations as they remembered the woman – their beloved family member – who first held the quilt block in her hands and stitched her own name as she thought about her friend Bessie living so far away in Boston.

In June of 2012, Lorneville United Church held a special service to commemorate the completed friendship quilt, and its remarkable 79-year journey from Lorneville to Boston to Guysborough and finally, home again to Lorneville.

Arleen brought her mother’s sewing table to the church to be used as the altar for that special service, a gesture recognizing the sacredness of the domestic arts practiced by rural women for centuries.

At the end of August, the friendship quilt won first prize at the Cumberland County Exhibition in Oxford, as well as the Special Prize for its uniqueness. The quilt now hangs in Lorneville United Church, alongside a plaque commemorating the original sisterhood of the travelling quilt blocks.

Arleen reads from the plaque, “One can just imagine the excitement when all these ladies got together to work on their surprise gift for Bessie.” The same excitement their descendants felt as they finally fulfilled the destiny of that long-ago gift of friendship.

The North Shore

one beam at a time

BY CRYSTAL MURRAY PHOTOS BY TODD LOCKHART, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

Out of the chaos comes the comfort of home.

Shauna and Andrew are lining up the to do list for the finishing touches, including kitchen counters in their new energy efficient timber frame.

PART III Passive/Progressive building in Pictou County Part Three of our series following the build of an energy-efficient timber frame home

A

ndrew Parsons and Shauna Heighton try to tread lightly on the earth. Together they have been mindful of making an impact in their fields of work and community but making conscious decisions to lessen their impact on the environment. When one of those decisions was to change their postal code it opened up a world of opportunity to build a home that really captures their ideals. From the sketches they made sitting at the kitchen table in their century-old home in Scotsburn three years ago to standing around the kitchen island in their new home at Melmerby Beach under the canopy of timbers felled from their old backyard. The couple are just starting to bring the scope of their project into focus after a year that, to them, seemed to go by in a blur.

Despite the feelings of living in the chaos of building, a temporary move and several months living in their travel trailer with two teenage daughters and a dog, there has been a systematic model beyond the usual foundation wall-and-roof approach to most builds.

The sweat equity of building ones home on their own is enough to separate the chaff from the wheat. Then layer on the precision and craftsmanship that is the hallmark of timber frame construction while

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ah! Fall 2018 - 34

INSIDE STORY

South facing windows for the master suite and common living space amp up the solar gain.

incorporating the modern technologies that maximize energy efficiency and you have yourself a real project.

Before Andrew’s carpenter pencil hit the papers to begin working on the design of the house the couple knew that their ultimate goal was to build a structure that would very quickly reduce their carbon footprint. This would be no easy feat considering construction is one of the biggest offenders when it comes to green house gas emissions. As an Industrial Arts teacher Andrew naturally adopted an academic approach and took several courses in the U.S. to learn about passive house and timber frame design. The knowledge enabled Andrew to take on the bulk of the design and labour and significantly scale back on the overall costs. While they are still wrapping up a few of the more aesthetic aspects on the build they feel confident that they have achieved what they have set out do and this fall the family will be moving into their 3,600-square-foot home that someone recently joked, “will be able to be heated with a candle.”

Ultimately, that’s the goal of a passive house. If you situate your house so that it takes advantage of the sun in the winter and shade in the summer, use proper insulation products and techniques, eliminating as many air leaks from the house as possible, make sure that there are no thermal bridges (pathways for the heat to escape from your dwelling), double and in some case triple pane windows you really should have very little need to draw energy from the grid. In fact, proponents of passive house design will say that a certified passive house will use 90% less energy that the average home uses and the other 10 % will come from your own body heat, appliances and the sun.

Last winter when the winds of the Northumberland Strait whipped through the trusses and unfinished walls you would never have guessed that the house they have built could be as airtight as it is today.

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Scotia, a home of this size with a good rating would have 2.5 air exchanges per hour. I was hoping to get to 1.0 but we got to 0.45 which actually exceeds the air tightness of a passive house but we did this without spending a lot on exotic materials and we really didn’t do anything to unusual,” says Andrew.

Approaching the house as a system Andrew wanted to create a co-dependent relationship between design, insulation and mechanical operations. It took a while for them to decide where the dwelling should rest on the little knoll overlooking the back bay of Melmerby Beach. The direction of the sun changes with the seasons, they wanted to ensure that they maximized the solar gain in the winter without too much compromise to their view. This meant many site visits for an entire year before the build to make sure that they got it right. The walls of the house were also framed with 2x8 timbers creating a deep cavity for extra insulation. In his research, Andrew discovered a product made from waste rock that is produced by melting the rock and spinning it in to fibres. The result is an insulating material that Andrew says has excellent thermal properties but is also a buffer

Fan Club! After all of the work that Andrew dedicated to the building of his house Shauna jokes that his ceiling fan installed in the highest reaches of the living room ceiling might be one of his favourite things!

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for temperature fluctuations. It is an inorganic material that cannot promote the growth of moulds with the added benefits of noise reduction and fire protection. Their home was one of the first in Nova Scotia to use the Roxul brand. From there, the exterior of the house was wrapped in a layer of foam, the roof construction allowed for three layers and every joint and seam was taped.

“When you are producing a really energy efficient envelope for the entire house you want to make sure that you have very few penetrations in the structure where you can let heat leak contributing to that carbon foot print,” says Andrew. Where penetrations to the structure were required for services Andrew made the openings as small as possible and ensured that they were well sealed.

Heating water for home dwellers is one of the biggest draws on energy. To help mitigate the energy requirements for water heating Andrew installed drain water recovery systems that will take the heat out of the kitchen and main bathroom shower waste water and preheat the water that then goes into the boiler. This means that it will require less energy to bring the water in the boiler up to temperature. The makers of the Drain Water Recovery system and homeowners using the system purport that installation drain water recovery in a new or existing home can result in significant savings.

Thinking of the house as a system and as a living entity means that it’s going to need to breath. All houses have different degrees of ventilation. The tighter the house the more you are going to have to manage the moisture level. Older homes, traditionally less energy efficient and less airtight provide their own ventilation and moisture balance. Newer and tighter builds need a system to maintain the proper moisture balance. Andrew and Shauna chose an Energy Recovery Ventilation system that will not only keep the moisture balance when there is more cold, dry air in the winter (very important when you live in a house made from timbers) but remove the moisture in hot, humid weather. The systems are also calibrated so when air passes each other in the ventilation system they do not mix but there is a heat transfer that keeps the air temperature at an optimal level of comfort.

When all of these elements have been achieved most homeowners appreciate a few metrics to demonstrate how the systems will perform. Shauna and Andrew had several performance tests by Efficiency Nova Scotia and the Home Energy Rating System (HERS). While the structure is not a certified passive house by incorporating some of the fundamental principals of passive house design Andrew and Shauna could boast, if they were inclined that way, that they have an energy efficient home that is 55% Better Than Code for a house built in our climate zone. The Better Than Code rating was established in Ontario and is slowly making its way east (at the time of print one other home in Nova Scotia had a HERS rating and is a bench mark for home builders who want to advance beyond current energy efficiency programs to take the next step to sustainability. In addition to the percentage of

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INSIDE STORY

increased efficiency the program also offers builders and homeowners a home energy rating known as the HERS index. It’s likely the only test that Andrew and Shauna have taken in their lifetime where they were happy to see a low score. With a HERS index of 36 their house has been entered in the 2018 Cross Border Builder Challenge that celebrates excellence in energy-efficient home building.

Andrew and Shauna were introduced to this new measurement in the building world by Andrew’s cousins John Godden. John, who spends a part of his summer in Chance Harbour, Pictou County, is the founder of the Ontario-based firm Clearsphere that puts the Better Than Code stamp on new builds as well as consulting and constructing custom, eco-friendly, ultra energyefficient homes incorporating the latest green technologies and products.

Andrew and Shauna’s home will not be completely isolated from the use of energy generated by fossil fuels. They decided to heat their radiant floors with propane, although a fossil fuel, it releases 45% less CO2 emmissions than if they were using coal to produce electricity. “By utilizing LED lighting and Energy Star appliances and relying on propane to fuel as many of our appiances as possible, we have reduced the electrical needs of our house,” says Andrew.

Typically, a house of this size would have a 200-400 amp capacity and currently the house is comforatbly running on just 70 amps.

“We also have made room in our mechanical to incorporate more solar energy as those technologies become more affordable,” says Shauna.

Passive energy applications can be incorporated into the most modern building designs and in the largest of cities. Shauna and Andrew have a home that relates to the environment with a clear view of the natural world that surrounds them, held up by the storied timbers that came from the woods in Scotsburn Pictou County and leaves little behind other than a breath of fresh air when it comes to rethinking about the ways we can build our homes.

Watch for updates on the Parson-Heighton family timber frame build on our website athomeonthenorthshore and on Facebook and Instagram and for part four of our four season story.

A driftwood whale enjoys the view from the great room. While passive house design typically calls for triple glazed windows, the family went to great lengths to improve other efficiency aspects of their home and installed double glazed windows and have achieved just as an impressive energy rating.

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INSIDE STORY

discovery

Shores of

ARISAIG PROVINCIAL PARK STORY AND PHOTOS BY SALLY O’NEILL

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T

his rock beach on the Northumberland Shore is a significant Nova Scotia geological site and offers a glimpse into life on Earth 450 million years ago.

The cliffs at Arisaig are rich in the fossils of ancient sea creatures, shells, and plants.

Inside the park entrance you will find vehicle parking, a picnic area and toilet facilities. A kiosk overlooking the cliffs offers seating and a peaceful view of Arisaig Harbour, where you can see a charming replica of the original 1898 lighthouse. Interpretive panels within the kiosk detail the geological history of the site and identify the diverse fossils you might find on the beach. A onemile loop trail winds through the wooded park.

Fossils can most easily be found to the west of Arisaig Provincial Park. Hike the trails to the cliff edge, and climb down the path to the beach. Along the shore, you’ll find a waterfall and stream. Depending on the water levels, you may need boots or bare feet to cross the stream, but it is well worth the effort. The sedimentary layers here are thinner and contain abundant fossils. It is important to be aware that all fossils are the protected property of the Province of Nova Scotia, and cannot be removed from the site without a permit. However, in this age of mobile technology, a photo is easier to take, and much lighter to carry.

Strongly folded stone layers lie exposed along the shoreline and cliff face. Geologically, the area is particularly interesting as it contains rocks from the late Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian periods, a historic time span of 448-401 million years. The rocks are also a mix of volcanic types, as well as sedimentary siltstone and sandstone, including some beautiful granites and multicoloured conglomerates.

These are actively eroding cliffs, so exercise caution.

You will hear loose stones tumbling down as you walk by. Stay back from cliffs and overhangs. Watch your tide times, and do not get caught against a cliff at rising tide. There are some interesting eroded cliffs and caves to look at, and a wonderful long beach to explore. Be careful, and enjoy this unique and beautiful area.

Our children have grown up on this beach, discovering shells, coloured sea glass, stones and fossils. In fact, we have never had a visit to Arisaig without finding fossils of some description. It is also an excellent spot for skipping stones. The waves are gentle, and the sedimentary rock separates into flat shapes perfect for hours of skimming over the blue water.

GETTING THERE Arisaig Provincial Park is located at 5704 Highway 245, Antigonish, NS

Antigonish

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The North Shore

INSIDE STORY

EXPLORING ARISAIG...

Sedimentary bedding (visible layers) can be seen

Fossilized remains of mollusc and trilobite.

along the cliff face and beach.

Sunset reflects in silver pools along a rocky outcrop close to shore.

ADMISSION* • Adult $5 • Family $16 • Children (5 and under) FREE *Includes admission to the McCulloch Heritage Centre

902-485-4563 The North Shore

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Geologist Mick O’Neill enjoys the view of Arisaig Wharf and Lighthouse.

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ON THE TABLE

jellies a jewel of a dessert STORY AND PHOTOS BY LINDSAY CAMERON WILSON

I

was supposed to be watching a family history powerpoint presentation. All the cousins, uncles, aunts and in-laws were there, eyes were forward, focussed. Except mine. My eyes were drifting upwards. High up on the top shelf of the book case, above the television screen and rows of books, sat a few antiques passed down to my mother-in-law: old German beer steins, a mini blue and white china casserole, a doll’s chest of drawers, and best of all, a ceramic jelly mould*.

I first discovered ‘English Jellies’ when I worked in a cookbook store in London. In the dessert section of the cookbooks - the new ones and the old - were fresh fruit jelly recipes, from black current to rhubarb, raspberry to gooseberry. These jellies were set in intricate ceramic moulds, from spiky castle-like designs to simple, Scandinavian curves. Sometimes berries were left suspended inside the jellies like jewel-toned edible dragonflies in amber, sparkling in the late afternoon sun. I was transfixed.

This was not fluorescent 20th century Americana designed for children’s birthday parties or boozy stagette shots; this was serious, pre-Jell-O beauty.

I held it together until after the presentation, then I scaled the bookshelf. The mould was sitting there, like a small upside down bundt cake tin, bone coloured and beautifully aged.

The words SHELLY ENGLAND were stamped on the side. The outside was smooth, but the inside looked like a French Gothic cathedral. I couldn’t imagine how anything could unmould from those sharp, dramatic edges, but who was I to question this ageold dessert?

Since the shelf scaling I’ve played with many versions of jelly: raspberry, blackberry, even a green-tea with hints of hibiscus.

But my favourite is on the opposite page: haskap, flavoured with fresh thyme. My boys say it’s too grown-up for them. I say it’s about time we adults re-claimed this refreshing jewel of a dessert, especially at Thanksgiving, where rich colours reign.

Swish it in your mouth, swirl it around, do what you will. The important thing is to enjoy jelly again, for the first time.

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Haskap Jelly with Fresh Thyme Recipe is based on a 500 ml (2 cup) Jelly mould. Recipe can be doubled.

Grease mould with a thin layer of vegetable oil and chill mould until ready to use.

2 cups (500ml) water ½ cup sugar 2 cups fresh or frozen haskap berries**

2 sprigs fresh thyme juice of 1 lemon 2 sachets gelatin

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 ½ cups of the water and sugar and stir until sugar has dissolved. Add berries and thyme, bring to the boil then turn down to a gentle simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to break down the berries. Strain berries and thyme through a sieve, reserving liquid in bowl below. Whisk juice of a lemon into the liquid then top up the mixture with water until you have 2 cups (500ml) total, then slowly whisk in gelatin. Pour liquid into chilled jelly mould, leave to cool on the counter for a bit, then place in the refrigerator to set. This usually takes 4 hours, but is best left overnight.

*Mould or Mold? After some confusion and arguments with spell check, I’ve learned that in American English the word MOULD does not exist while in England, MOLD does not exist.

Both are used in respective countries to describe a fungus growing on organic matter, or a form in which to shape something.

We Canadians are always caught somewhere in the middle. I still don’t know how to spell it.

To unmould the jelly, dip the mould into a bowl of hot water (if using a metal mould this will take just a second or two, if using ceramic, as long as 30 seconds). Carefully loosen the edges of the jelly with a knife, then place a serving plate over the surface of the mould and invert jelly onto the plate.

If suction doesn’t break, try dipping the mould into hot water again, or gently loosen the edges of the jelly with a knife, making sure not to cut into the design, if possible.

Serve as it is, alongside turkey, or as a dessert with a dollop of cream, créme fraîche or thick yogurt. **Substitute haskaps for blackberries or blueberries

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HEALTHY AT HOME

Beet

IT!

BY TRACY STUART

MEDALING WITH MY FOOD Tracy is an Olympic medalist and has a Chef’s Diploma from the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts.

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T

en years ago I was living a dream. I had made it to the pinnacle of my athletic career and I was racing for a medal at the Olympic games in Beijing. On August 17th, 2008 that dream became a reality as I watched the Canada flag rise and felt the weight of my shiny Olympic medal around my neck. The moment was surreal and the memories are still very vivid in my mind. In this milestone anniversary year, I often reflect back to that time in my life and reminisce about what it takes to make a champion.

When I speak of feats of athletic prowess, of course everyone knows there are hours of training and hard work that go into those elite performances. We’ve heard all athletics talk about the mental game, the laser focus and the sacrifice that is required to create a champion. You can also imagine the other elements like the power of having a good night sleep. These are the elements of sport that is common knowledge, however there is the more secretive side in the realm of sport science where the exercise physiologists are in a constant quest to find an edge.

Testing in the human performance lab was commonplace on our team, but the results and trials were not shared with other countries, in hopes of finding something special.

Often our performance enhancing supplements were extremely scientific by name and nature, for example, beta alanine, creatinine, branch chain amino acids (BCAA’s) and the like. So, you can imagine my surprise when our exercise physiologist showed up at the lake one training session with beetroot juice; who knew that something so simple (that we could pronounce), that could be picked in our own back yard could have such an astounding affect on athletic performance! Simplistically put, beetroot juice contains nitric oxide, which opens up the blood vessels (vasodilation) increasing blood flow and feeding more oxygen to working muscles.

As it turns out the beet is quite an impressive root vegetable that is bursting with health benefits. I found an evidence based article online that outlines the beets benefits in a concise way; I was awed by the evidence! healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-beets As a tribute to the ten year anniversary of my Olympic medal, this harvest I would like pay tribute to the beet!

The beet will always have a place in my garden and I will continue to celebrate it as a nutritional powerhouse.

There are so many ways that you can dress up this crimson beauty, but my favourite is raw (in the warmer months) and roasted (in the colder months). The crunch and the sweet bursts in every bite make my mouth water as I imagine a roasted beet salad. Here is one of my favourite recipes from the Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon. It’s a salad that is sure to bring delight in every bite.

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Roasted Beet Salad with Hazelnuts, Thyme and Balsamic reduction 5 to 6 medium beets, trimmed ½ cup (125ml) hazelnuts, toasted 3 to 4 Tbsp (45 to 60 ml) Balsamic reduction 1 Tbsp (15ml) roasted hazelnut oil or extra virgin olive oil 6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme

Serves 3 Prep time: 20 to 25 mins Cook time: 1 hour to 1 hour 30 mins 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

2. Wrap each beet individually in a piece of foil and place them on a baking sheet. Roast the beets for 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the size of the beets, until the fork easily slides into the largest beet. Let cool for about 20 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

3. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C).

Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the skins have darkened and are almost falling off. Place the nuts on a damp dish towel and rub vigorously until most of the skins fall off. Discard the skins and roughly chop the hazelnuts. Set aside.

4. Carefully unwrap the beets and trim the ends.

Under cold running water, push the beet skins off with your fingers. Discard the skins.

5. Thinly slice the beets into 1 8 "-thick (3-mm) rounds and arrange seven to 12 beet slices on each of three plates. Sprinkle a handful of toasted hazelnuts on top of each plate of beets. Add a drizzle of balsamic reduction and a drizzle of oil.

Scatter the leaves from 1 to 2 sprigs of thyme all over the beets on each plate and serve.

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HEALTHY AT HOME

LOVE YA MAN

The North Shore

BY DEELLE HINES

S

elf-care is buzz talk in the modern women’s circle, with many opportunities to try self-care practices that positively impact their lives. For men, however, the concept of whole self-wellness seems slower to take hold. Media and society reinforce the stereotype that men’s power and prowess lie strongly in their physical strength, so it’s no wonder that men’s self-care often only involves an exercise or diet routine.

It’s time for men to start attending to their holistic needs and develop self-care practices that benefit their mental, social, spiritual and emotional health, as well as their physical wellness.

Dr. Aaron Smith is a local family physician and population health expert who expressed his belief in the importance of men’s self-care. He noted that men can struggle with societal beliefs about masculinity that prevent them from focusing on their whole self-health, but strongly advises men and society to think differently about this important topic.

“Men in our society live shorter lives and are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.” He cautions, “Until we effectively engage men to attend to their own health, our communities will continue to be less healthy than they otherwise would be.”

To shift our thinking about men’s selfcare, Dr. Smith encourages us to consider two major themes.

First, men must attend to their physical well-being and, to do so, they should develop an exercise routine and maintain a relationship with their healthcare provider. By developing this relationship early, men and health care professionals can consider how to best promote physical well-being through preventative measures rather than waiting until health has already deteriorated.

As a healthcare professional, Dr. Smith considers preventative care to be of the

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utmost importance and gets excited when patients talk to him about healthy eating, exercise and disease prevention. “Those encounters are the most professionally satisfying ones in my medical practice.”

The second self-care theme Dr. Smith considers is mental, social, spiritual and emotional health and strongly encourages men to cultivate this aspect by embracing relationships, developing social connectedness, contributing to their communities, and getting in touch with their need for inner happiness.

To highlight this point, Dr. Smith mentioned he attended a talk recently about resiliency and happiness. “The speaker challenged me to think about my personal well-being as a balanced stack of rocks. Just as you always start to balance rocks with the biggest most important ones at the bottom, then add the smaller ones later, we have to balance our lives by prioritizing the things that bring us the most joy and happiness first, then build upon that stable foundation to accomplish the things we want to in our professional and personal lives. Without careful nurturing and gardening of this stable base, the other things start to tip and fall off.”

Dr. Smith discussed his own self-care practices and recognizes that it can be difficult to put yourself first in the face of personal and professional challenges.

“Unfortunately, as time demands or stress grows, sometimes the first thing I fool myself into letting go of are these other more holistic health producing factors.

I have to constantly remind myself that, especially when times are stressful and busy, I should be embracing these aspects of healthy living, not cutting them out.”

Dr. Smith considers his self-care practices to be a work in progress but prioritizes his relationships, exercise routines, and community involvement. At times of stress, when he is tempted to pour himself into work and deadline demands, he has

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recognized the value of turning to his family for fun, silliness, and relaxation.

He has discovered that stressful times are exactly when he needs to attend to the things in life that make him happy.

Jim Pomeroy, CEO of the Pictou County YMCA, echoes Dr. Smith’s belief in the importance of self-care for men.

He recognizes that men have difficulty prioritizing their whole self-health, but believes that men must make time to attend to their wellness, not only for themselves but for the benefit of their friends, family, and communities as well.

He advises “self-care is making time for yourself to ensure you are able to be there for others.”

“Until we effectively engage men to attend to their own health, our communities will continue to be less healthy than they otherwise would be.”

— Dr. Aaron Smith

To develop and maintain a self-care routine that will positively impact your life, Jim recommends taking the following questions into consideration: 1. What makes you feel rested, re-energized, and happy?

2. When and how can I intentionally schedule my self-care in?

3. Should I do this on my own or who can I invite to join?

Upon reflection, Jim sees that connecting with nature to calm down and destress, volunteering his time in the community, training on his bicycle, and expressing himself through music are what truly makes him happy. “Creating something from nothing is pretty awesome and it’s always a great way to release what’s on your mind.”

Jim recognizes that the routine that works for him could differ from what is best for other men and advises that it’s important to focus on one’s individual interests. The YMCA offers a wide variety of activities and classes that suit the need, interests, and abilities of any man seeking to better themselves through self-care.

While Jim strongly believes in the benefits of self-care, he cautions that trying to make too many drastic changes can be counterproductive. “Be gradual in what you do, because if you try to do too much at once, it’s easier to give up. If you are gradual, it’s easier to want to add more on.”

While Jim and Dr. Smith are seeing more men seeking preventative and mental wellness strategies, Cindy from the White Lotus in downtown New Glasgow is also seeing a difference in her clientele – more men seeking wellness products and services. “Men are taking yoga, practicing meditation, using singing bowls and buying products that will help calm their busy minds.”

Cindy also notices men following women’s suit and focusing on their skin and hair health. More men are buying supplements and products to look and feel youthful and healthy. Cindy is excited that men are delving into this aspect of self-care because “when we look our best, confidence follows.”

Though there are many improvements yet to be made in men’s self-care practices, the whole self-wellness community is starting to recognize that a shift in thinking is taking place, which bodes well for the future of men’s wellness.

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HEALTHY AT HOME

butterfly

The How low thyroid function creates chaos in your body

BY CRYSTAL MURRAY

C

urrent research estimates state that one in five women will be affected with Hashimoto’s or another thyroid disorder at some point in their lives. That’s a lot of women out there dragging themselves through their day, frustrated that their favourite jeans no longer fit but hiding their new found girth with an extra sweater because of a constant chill. They are also backed up (you know what I mean) and can’t buy enough moisturizer to sooth those flaky dry shins.

Hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid issue. It happens when the thyroid, that butterfly-shaped gland at the base of your neck just below your Adam’s Apple, stops producing enough hormones to keep all of those chemical reactions in your body in check. The result is a domino of unpleasant and life-altering symptoms.

The function of the thyroid gland is to take iodine, found in many foods, and convert it into thyroid hormones most commonly referred to as T4 and T3. Thyroid cells are the only cells in the body that can absorb iodine. When iodine enters the

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body it combines with these cells and the amino acid tyrosine to make the T4 and T3 hormones. These hormones are then released into the blood stream where they control metabolism.

While the symptoms of low thyroid function that are not limited to fatigue, weight gain, cold sensitivity and dry skin are troublesome, undiagnosed thyroid issues can be a dangerous health issue. According to the Thyroid Foundation of Canada, cardiac disease, lupus, reproductive difficulties, diabetes and arthritis as well as numerous other health issues are associated with a poor functioning thyroid gland.

Naturopathic Doctor Amy Punke from New Glasgow says that as many as 50 percent of the one in 10 Canadians with thyroid issues are undiagnosed.

“I tend to see this in my practice; about only half of the patients are already diagnosed and are taking medication.

Unfortunately, many patients still present with low thyroid symptoms despite taking medication and having normal blood work” says Dr. Punke.

From her office in Truro, Naturopathic Doctor Stephanie Millet, says that there are a number of factors that can lead to hypothyroidism and when symptoms of the disease become evident it is very important to seek medical intervention.

She says the most common cause of hypothyroidism is autoimmune response where the immune system produces antibodies that attack the thyroid tissue. This is also known as Hashimoto’s Disease. But Dr. Millet says that the condition can also be triggered by issues with the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland causing interruptions between the signals from the brain to the thyroid. She also cites nutritional deficiencies and overload of stress on the adrenal glands that deplete healthy thyroid function.

While most people diagnosed with hypothyroidism are prescribed a synthetic hormone to regain normal thyroid function, Dr. Millet believes that there

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effect are naturopathic modalities than can help to strengthen the body and be supportive to overall health including hormonal function. She suggests working in collaboration with your medical and naturopathic practitioners for individualized care.

“In Naturopathic Medicine we look at each patient holistically, “says Dr. Millet. “Long-term use of medicine like Synthroid is often required when there is a physiological reason but we also look at the outside influences from other endocrine issues or if the adrenal system is chronically stressed.

In my experience some cases of thyroid concerns can be managed through a naturopathic approach where we find a different route to the symptoms.”

Dr. Amy Punke says she see patients with some form of thyroid issue in her practice every day and although it is not as common as in the female population men can have similar clinical presentations but getting to the root cause is important to address. “This requires an individualized approach and often included stress reduction, healing intestinal hyperpermeability (also known as leaky gut) following an autoimmune protocol, correcting nutrient deficiencies and/or clearing heavy metals from the system.”

Nutrition is key to overall health regardless of the clinical diagnosis of any disease. Hippocrates said it best, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” However when it comes to preventing and managing the physiological affect of hypothyroidism there does not appear to be any evidence-based approach to disease control by nutrition alone. However, Dr. Punke believes that nutrition and mindfulness can play a huge role in prevention of thyroid issues.

“Some of my favourite ways to treat thyroid health is actually though diet and stress reduction. By working with nutrition you can make sure that you have adequate amounts of iodine, selenium, zinc, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 in your diet which are essential to thyroid function. While there are certain nutrients essential to thyroid health, there are also some foods that can harm your thyroid gland. Gluten containing grains such as wheat barely and rye have been shown to worsen thyroid function in some people.”

Dr. Punke adds that mindfulness practices have been shown to lower our stress hormone cortisol. While cortisol can be helpful in small doses and on a short-term basis, many of us have far too much cortisol floating around which can interfere with thyroid function.

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There are differing opinions on whether foods high in goitrogens like soy, broccoli, peanuts, strawberries, and kale should be avoided by individuals with hypothyroidism. Goitrogens are compounds that are believed make it more difficult for the thyroid gland to create its hormones. However, these are also nutrient-dense foods.

Unless there is an adverse reaction to consuming these foods health practitioners will recommend that they maintain a place in your diet.

“I recommend an antinflammatory diet and eliminating gluten containing grains. An anti-inflammatory diet focuses on eating whole foods, avoiding processed foods that are high in sugar and including healthy fats such as raw nuts, seeds, coconut oil and avocados. I also recommend foods that are rich in probiotics such as fermented kefir, sauerkraut and kombucha.

– Dr. Amy Punke Naturopathic Doctor New Glasgow

The North Shore

Pretty Pumpkins that plump up faster than you can say Happy Hallowe’en!

DIY

BY LORI BYRNE PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

Nothing says fall like earth tones and rich textures and these fun little pumpkins incorporate both!

These little beauties don’t take much time to make but will last for years to come. If you save your pumpkin stems off your pumpkins and let them dry, you can use them the following year. And if not, collect a few small pieces of driftwood to use or sticks from the yard.

 Supplies: Velvet Pumpkin stems, driftwood or sticks Stuffing Needle and quilting thread Scissors Hot glue Chalk or pencil Something round to trace (about 10-14” across)

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Directions: Step 1. Gather supplies to be sure you have everything you need.

Step 2. Trace your circle onto the back of the velvet.

Step 3. Cut out your circles with sharp scissors.

Step 4. Using a long running stitch, stitch around the outside of your circles.

Step 5. Pull the threads to gather it. Pull as tight as you can but leave an opening and then stuff it with stuffing.

Step 6. Pull the strings tight and knot them off.

Do some stitching back and forth to close the hole over even more.

Step 7. Hot glue the stem in place.

Step 8. Decorate your home with your pretty Velvet Pumpkins.

Alternate ideas – play with different fabrics, maybe a plaid, or cable-knit sweater. Think outside the fall colour palette and make some in colours that coordinate with your home.

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make the season bright Our holiday shopping guide is back in At Home’s winter issue...

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AT HOME

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GIFT

GUIDE

T W E N T Y - E I G H T E E N

SCOTLAND THERE SHE GOES!!!!

WOMEN’S DEPARTURES!!

In 2009 Travel Our Way began leading women’s trips to NYC. To date we have lead a Caribbean cruise, seven weekend getaways to Manhattan, an adventure to the Emerald Isle and in a few weeks we depart for Paris. And 2020 is already in the planning stages.

FROM

$4,849 CAD PER DOUBLE OCCUPANCY

May 31, 2019 - June 10, 2019 Glasgow - Isle of Sky - Inverness St. Andrews - Edinburgh All transportation, guides, accomadations, sightseeing, most meals, and tax (tips and insurance additional)

11 days |

15 meals

Direct flights from Halifax Visiting Ullapool, location of a Ship Hector museum AND locations from the Outlander series Tour Manager | Air-conditioned coach with WiFi | Local guides

NEW GLASGOW (902) 752-7900

ANTIGONISH

(902) 863-9430

www.travelourway.com Sign up for your free weekly eTravel email travel@travelourway.com

South Group Vacation packages: Limited rooms available at prices indicated and are subject to availability & change without notice. Savings reflected in advertised price for departure dates listed above. Prices shown are per person based on double occupancy. Prices will vary with departure date you select and airfare & hotel availability at time of booking. Tax is included. Flights are operated by Air Transat. Europe packages: Connector flight From Halifax to Toronto arranged by Travel Our Way. Connector airfares vary based on departure date. Prices shown are per person, based on double occupancy in lead room category, unless otherwise stated. Taxes and fees are included. Flights from Toronto are via Air Transat. Limited seats available at prices indicated from Toronto: 5 per departure. Space and Prices are subject to availability at time of booking and subject to change without prior notice. For full descriptions and terms and conditions, contact your Travel professional. Transat is a division of Transat Tours Canada Inc., and is registered as a travel wholesaler in Ontario (Reg #50009486) with offices at 191 The West Mall, Suite 800, Etobicoke, ON M9C 5K8.

Carla MacKay

Terri Lee Arbuckle

Here’s why you should travel with us: • Have you always wanted to travel but are nervous to go it alone?

• You don’t have anyone to travel with?

• Your partner doesn’t want to travel but encourages you to go ahead.

(LOL. See above two points) • Do you want to meet new people?

• Is this a trip you want to check off your bucket list?

• Do you like to laugh? We do lots of that!

Contact us to lock in your seat for Scotland

Even if you do not have a roommate, contact us we can make your Scotland dream trip a reality.

LOOK AT THE FUN WE’VE HAD...