NursesNotes

Well the last box has been unpacked and the cardboard relegated to the recycle center. We are settling in to our neighborhood well. I have gone walking with a couple of the gals in the neighborhood and gone over for coffee a few times. We have started exploring and are really impressed by the natural beauty all around us. There are some stores open on Sunday here,such as corner stores and drug stores and a few tourist type shops,  but overall it is against the law to shop on Sunday here! We thought our neighbors were kidding us when they told us that.

Nope, you are not allowed to shop on Sunday here!! how quaint is that? I wonder if I will get used to it. In the mean time we have been looking  for a new church home. On Sunday we are going to attend an Anglican cathedral downtown that reminds me a little of the church we attended in Hartford.

We just got back from a wonderful day near the ocean. We went to Peggy's Cove and enjoyed the big waves and some Nova Scotia scenery.

We went with  people from MrNurse's work place and I enjoyed meeting some of the members of his team here.

Then we all went to a seafood restaurant and I stuffed myself with clams, chips , shrimp, scallops. Ummmumm! It was so good,but now I'm going to  have to go lie down! We ate about 4 hours ago, and I'm still full!!

Peggy's Cove is awesome. Very beautiful and the rocks and waves are majestic.There's a memorial for the Swissair plane that crashed there in 1998.Very moving.

Gotto lie down now, folks, all the fresh sea air is more than I can take!

Thinking about the folks in the path of the hurricane. God Bless.

BRENTWOOD, N.H. -- Emergency workers helped a New Hampshire man out of a difficult situation over the weekend after a friend apparently locked a padlock around his testicles.

According to the Portsmouth Herald, police reported that the 39-year-old man was intoxicated when they arrived at the scene on July 30 at about 3:40 a.m. The man, who was not identified, told them that he had the padlock around his testicles for two weeks.

The man said that a friend put the lock on while he was drunk and passed out. When he woke up, the friend was gone.

"Never in my 13 years have I seen anything like this," Cpl. H.D. Wood told the Herald.

The man told police that he tried to remove the lock with a hacksaw because the key had broken off in the lock.

He was taken to Exeter Hospital, where a locksmith removed the padlock. He was treated and released, and the hospital said he had no lasting injury.

Police said that they did not know the motive for the incident.

Sort of puts new meaning on taking away your friends keys when he's drunk.....

I'm finally getting most of the stuff put away. We had  our BBQ with the neighbors. About 20 of them came, with loads of kids and I think most everyone had a good time. I met a couple of gals ,from a few houses down, who walk together and they invited me to join them. I met another gal from down the street who is a nurse practitioner at the same facility I have applied to. She said she will try to expedite my application. With two kids who have finished college, one in second year, one looking at college in 2 years and two more behind her, it's going to be imperative that I work.

I have been busy getting Canadianized by my awesome next door neighbor, Carla. She has introduced me to the Canadian custom of having coffee from Tim Hortons, every day. A large double-double is just what the nurse ordered to kick start your day! ( that's a large coffee with double sweet, double cream) Apparently Tim Hortons is starting to open up in the USA,so be on the look out for it. It's like a working guys Starbucks!!
The kids are all ready to start school, we went out for the supplies on the list provided by their new schools. They are looking forward to getting to school and starting to make new friends. Although there are a lot of kids in this neighborhood, because we are close to the schools, it's a nice desirable area. A fair amount of diversity is apparent, amongst the neighbors, too, so we are not the token mixed race couple in the 'hood!!

Well, the Nurse Family has MOVED!! And, yes folks, it was a moving experience! We got a three day head start on our actual moving date as the houses all closed at the same time and we were ready to go.
After all the last minute flurry of decluttering and junk removal, the packers and movers arrived and over a two day period got us packed, loaded and on the road!
We left early in the morning and took the "Cat" from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth in Nova Scotia. this is a high speed catarmaran boat/ferry. It's huge.
It took about three hours to travel across, and was very comfortable. It had nice lounges, restaurants, casino games  etc. The kids got to go up on the bridge to see where they "drive" the thing. I just sat with a good book and tried to relax. I'm pretty tired.
We got to our new house in Halifax about 4 hours after we got to Yarmouth. It's very beautiful here in Nova Scotia. Lots of little farm areas, small  towns and beautiful ocean views,practically the whole way to Halifax. Halifax is the capital city in Nova Scotia. It's not a really large city, compared to what we are used to, but it seemed nice and clean and quiet. Then the first night we were here, there was a double murder not too far from where we live! All the neighbors were talking about it, apparently it's not too common at all here. Our new neighbors are so nice. They came over to welcome us to the neighborhood and brought some cookies. After the moving van left they invited us over for a BBQ. We're going to have our Nurse family BBQ next weekend and have invited all the neighbors. The kids made invites and took them around to all the houses within a five house  on either side and across the street area. If everyone comes it will be up to 50 ppl! Maybe no one will come, although the new neighbors say it is a "fun" neighborhood. The kids are meeting kids their ages and are enjoying doing so. They still have their old friends in Hartford on MSN chat etc, so aren't too lonely, yet. I'm faced with a mountain of unpacking to do,and finding places for all the stuff we could not live without, in a much less capacious home!
The weather has been very warm, but with a nice ocean feel to it! We went to the harbor area and saw all kinds of street performers there. It's an annual street festival called the "Buskers" People come from all over the world to perform and &nb sp;spectators  throw money in their hats! Saw some terrific talent there though. We strolled all around, saw some pretty shops and went into a big hotel that has a casino beside it. We sat down at a street cafe and had a beer. It was good too! Apparently the Canadian beers are more potent than ours ever were! I felt it with one beer! Woo, Canada!
All in all it's been a hectic past week. School starts here on Sept. 6, and I'll be looking for my paper work to allow me to return to work soon after that!
Right now, I want to sleep! For the past two days I've been getting things like drivers licences etc. organized.
Plus, getting the cable vision in and the computer hooked up!
I mean, first things first, right? :)

The basement is all cleared out. How did we manage THAT? A lot of stuff was cleared out, sent to charity, to the dump or sold in the yard sale we had. I can't believe that people would pay me money to take my old crap away! Oh well, one man's junk.... and all that. I have finished my job. A lot of sadness and mixed feelings over that one, I can tell you. We are on a bit of an adventure now. Two weeks to moving day, then we drive to Maine and travel to NS on a cataramaran, It's called the "Cat", surprising, isn't it! The kids are excited, it goes pretty fast and we will be in NS within a few hours of leaving. Then it is about a 4 hour drive to our new home.
The next area to pack up is the living room. We have a moving service packing and doing the move, so I have been mostly supervisiong the job. Kids are at camp this week, so I can throw out stuff without the ubiquitous  screams of "MOM!!! I NEED that"

Overall it's been a fairly smooth course of events. MrNurse has been commuting back and forth. Once we get possession of the house next week, he can take a load of stuff the next trip. I'll make sure that the essentials are in place in the new place so we can at least make coffee when we get there.
By the time the movers arrive, it will be just the really big stuff to move. I have been busy and finished up my college course and can continue it via distance once I move. I have the school transcripts for the kids, and my nursing credentials have been sent so I can register in my new home. I hope to be able to work, we are still working out the visa stuff.

I'll update more, as I have time, and until the computer gets packed up!

ttfn!