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OH CANADA!  Why Everyone Should Explore The Great White North A beautiful synopsis of Canada from sea to sea to sea.

[memoriesofnovascotia]

Our Love Affair with 5-Gallon Buckets

Our Love Affair with 5-Gallon Buckets

I have shared repeatedly that Dad never met a five-gallon pail he did not want to take home. I am convinced that more uses for them appeared to him in visions as he slept. Restaurants all along the South Shore saved their empty cooking oil buckets for him.

Originally, Dad started his cabbage plants in 5-gallon buckets to protect them from the slugs. Unfortunately, he lost his first crop because…

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Hookers in Blockhouse? No Way!

Hookers in Blockhouse? No Way!

The good news is this has been a perfect summer for those who love sunshine and heat. The bad news is our Nova Scotia well, along with many others, is dry. I don’t want to put out a suitcase full of money to drill a well yet. I am hoping it is just a blip and not a trend and we will have lots of water next summer.

I have enjoyed numerous beautiful Nova Scotia summers, but one in particular stands…

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What's Next? Driverless Cars?

What’s Next? Driverless Cars?

I’m so old I can remember when students covered their textbooks with clean brown paper to prevent damage.

Most students used brown paper, but not me. I pride myself on being a divergent thinker. I decided to dress up mine with …………….aluminum foil. By noon, the foil had ripped and the teacher was so exasperated with the noise, she made me remove it.  I returned the next day with boring brown…

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Melda Roache Clark Unleashed...

Melda Roache Clark Unleashed…

Dr. Lee Berk and Dr. Stanley Tan at the Loma Linda University in California  have researched the benefits of laughter and found amazing results.  Read on!

1. Laughing lowers blood pressure

People who lower their blood pressure, even those who start at normal levels, will reduce their risk of strokes and heart attacks. So grab the Saturday paper, flip to the funny pages and enjoy your laughter…

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If I Only had a .....Barrel!

If I Only had a …..Barrel!

Water is in short supply this summer at my family home in Nova Scotia. This is rarity because we grew up with lots of fog and rain, and a generous water supply. Hopefully this year is only a blip and not a new normal. Ponds and wells are drying up in record numbers. The pond below has never gone dry in recent history. Admittedly,we are guilty of wasting water on a grand scale.

We shower at least…

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Lessons I Learned from my Grandchildren

Lessons I Learned from my Grandchildren

I am blessed beyond measure. I have a loving husband, two beautiful children, their spouses, four adorable grandchildren, one grand-doggy and one grand-kitty. My heart is bursting with love for my little family. I have recently returned from time spent with my daughter and her children at “Nanny’s other House” near Lockeport, Nova Scotia.

Grandparenting is light years different, dare I say…

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When Will the Fat Lady Sing?

When Will the Fat Lady Sing?

During the 1973 baseball season when the Mets were in last place, Yogi Berra reportedly made that famous remark,”It ain’t over till it’s over.” His team was down but not out. As it turned out, it wasn’t over for the Mets. They went on to win the division title.

Someone else said, “The opera ain’t over until the fat lady sings.”This may have referred to Brunnhilde in Richard Wagner’s extremely…

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"D"for Ditch

“D”for Ditch

As that great philosopher, Jed Clampett, used to say, “Hot diggity dog!”

The school was abuzz with excitement. Everybody was talking about it. Drivers’ Ed. was coming to Lockeport Regional High School! I enrolled immediately, certain it would be a breeze.

After all, how hard could it be to drive a car?What’s the worst thing that could happen?

You should never ask that question because as my Uncle…

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Race for the Toilet

Race for the Toilet

I began my blog in November 2014. I advertised it as mostly funny stories to put a smile on your face. And we have done a lot of laughing and snorting. After posts about depression and a brush with death, I made a deliberate effort to deliver some humour this week. When you read this loony story, you may conclude that I have deep-seated psychological issues. Of course, we approach humour as…

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A Day Late and a Dollar Short...

A Day Late and a Dollar Short…

You may have been wondering why you didn’t receive my blog post today. I do have a reason. I have been busy storytelling and speaking. A few nights ago the Lockeport Mental Health Society invited me to share my entire (or most of it) mental health journey with them. It turned out to be an extraordinary evening for me. In the past, I have shared  A Broken Mind and A Stigma Free Zonewith you.…

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Confessions of a 4th Grade Teacher

Confessions of a 4th Grade Teacher

Eons ago, in the spring of 1983, I read an ad placed in the Peterborough Examiner by the Peterborough Christian School Society. The group was seeking applications for one “possible” opening.

It didn’t sound particularly hopeful, but it could not hurt to apply.

I prepared a glowing résumé of my skills, abilities, experience and education. If I remember correctly, it was typewritten but the cover…

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A Close Call

Whoa! Stop! Help me, Lord! Those were some of the first words that left my lips on Tuesday morning.

In my little world, a typical day begins with a visit to a local restaurant to sip coffee with a group of friends. After an hour or two of raucous laughter, breakfast, and three large cups of coffee, I feel prepared to face another adventurous day in West Head. For a while, it appeared that I was…

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Eulogy for a Grandfather

Eulogy for a Grandfather

Our father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Eugene Ross Roache, was a character, to say the least. Adjectives such as unique, eccentric, and one-in-thirty-million, barely scratch the surface of who he was. His mind’s eye was always spinning. There were never enough hours in a day to accomplish all he wanted to do.

After seventy years as a fisherman, Dad called it quits and moved on to more…

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No More Sou'westers and Oil Clothes

No More Sou’westers and Oil Clothes

On May 16, 2016, the world lost a treasure, a man larger than life itself — my uncle, Herman Roache, at the grand old age of 101 years 9 months 10 days.

Born on August 6, 1914, near the end of West Head (Lockeport), Herman Ellsworth Roache was the second child and son of Leonard and Ada Townsend Roache.

Herman’s siblings were:

Edwin (October 6, 1913-April 14, 1986)

Edith (August 03,…

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That was the End of That – Or so I Thought

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That was the End of That - Or so I Thought

That was the End of That – Or so I Thought

I would admit it in front of the Queen of England and her boorish, ill-mannered husband. I am a shameless and devoted fan of sappy, romantic, movies.

My idea of a perfect weekend is curling up in my La-Z-Boy chair, wearing my favourite jammies, wrapped up in my blankie, eating a big ol’ bag of barbecue chips, with a four-litre jug of ice water with a few squeezes of lime beside me.  And one other…

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