|
|
A Love Letter,
From the desk of Marsha Amanova
July 2022
|
|
|
|
|
Hello! How was your July? I hope you're finding lots of fun, and just enough sun!
|
We were so busy that the month has flown by, and I'm really grateful to have the excuse (writing this letter!) to sit and consider everything from the past few weeks.
|
If you recall from my last letter, Aldon's daughter had just arrived in Canada for a quick (too quick!) visit. The first in 3 years! It was incredible. Ava is 15 now and we had a blast getting to know each other again. We spent the 10 days like a trio of teenage besties, going everywhere and doing everything together. We had a lot of fun.
|
|
We celebrated July 1 at home in Pugwash at the annual "Gathering of the Clans" (which had also been cancelled the past 2 years due to COVID). There was a parade, pipe & drums and highland dancing competitions, and then live music in the afternoon and evening. The day ended with spectacular fireworks that we could enjoy from our back yard.
|
|
|
|
We spent a lot of time close to home. Our only Nova Scotia excursion was a day trip to the Fundy shore for some Five Islands fried clams and a visit to That Dutchman's Cheese Farm to make friends with (i.e. feed and pet) the goats and donkeys and pigs (and buy cheese, of course). We also got in a trip to Bulk Barn, a bit of a tradition when Ava visits Canada.
|
|
|
|
|
|
While it was a short visit, it was awesome and had an amazing ending. For simplicity and since she was travelling alone, we wanted to get Ava on a direct flight home to the US, so we took a road trip to Montreal! We drove to Quebec City the first day, spent the evening wandering around Old Quebec in the drizzling rain and then onward to Montreal. We had dinner with a friend of mine from Edmonton (Hi, V!) on our first night, and then we spent the entire second day on foot, wandering around Montreal. We ate, we shopped (great thrift stores in Montreal!!) we walked and walked. Sadly, the next morning we had to say our tearful goodbyes and get our girl on her flight. After waiting a couple of hours at the airport to be sure she got in the air, Aldon drove all the way home (about 12 hours)!
|
|
As you can imagine, after that 10 day adventure Aldon and I were both exhausted (and sad).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My mom's garden has started to pop, and this year I was determined to do something with the garlic scapes. I made a boatload of what I'm calling green garlic spread - I just put the scapes through the food processor with olive oil and a bit of salt. It's been great in salad dressing, with mayo/hummus on a burger and mixed with butter for garlic toast. I froze most of it in Tbsp blobs to use the rest of the year. I also pickled some - still waiting for them to be ready!
|
|
The sour cherry tree produced really well again this year and mom used her fancy new steam juicer to make cherry juice. It turned out really well, but I might be even more excited by the cherry leather I made from the spent cherry flesh. Mom strained out the pits, and I just added a little honey to the pulp and it dried up deliciously. It absolutely delights me to be able to make yummy treats from so-called "scraps."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We didn't play a lot of music this month, but we're still practising and working on some new songs for our two gigs in August. My parents had friends visit from Texas, and he plays bass, so we had a Two +1 (+1) situation that was a lot of fun.
|
|
The Airbnb is booked all summer and it's still going really well. We got our "Superhost" status at the end of June! I'm a bit surprised no one has booked up September yet. It's always busy July and August but I like autumn in Nova Scotia best. It's still really warm, but the nights are cool enough to sleep well and it's a bit quieter. Of course, we will be in Edmonton this year for a big chunk of it! We're starting to get excited about our trip back.
|
|
|
|
|
Wishing you beautiful days, restful nights and lots of LOVE. I'll be coming to you next month from Alberta!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You're receiving this email because at some point you signed up for my e-mail list.
If this was a mistake or you’ve changed your mind, you can easily unsubscribe by clicking the link at the bottom of my emails. No hard feelings, I promise!
|
|
|
|
|
 Â  Â  Â  Â
|
|
|
|
|
|
