~ A blog for the citizens of Durham Region and others to enjoy, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Ajax,Whitby, Pickering, Clarington. This blog is about Food, Life, Culture
Halifax and its neighbouring towns have history and a lot of heart. Explore Nova Scotia, Canada’s ocean playground, with visits to some of its best-loved tourist attractions.
A rich history, the wonders of the ocean, a first-class culinary scene, and friendly people: you name it, Nova Scotia’s got it. If you’re planning a trip to the East Coast, you’ll find no shortage of fun things to do and beautiful places to see. Here are just seven reasons to visit Nova Scotia.
Things to do in Halifax 1. Halifax Maritime Museum of the Atlantic – Learn about the effects of World II on Halifax with incredible model ships and aircraft that’ll take you back in time. Don’t miss the Titanic exhibit where you can see relics from the "unsinkable ship," including an intact medicine cabinet and pieces of the Titanic’s great staircase. You’ll also see an authentic deck chair from the ill-fated ship and you can sit in a replica for a photo op.
2. Art Gallery of Nova Scotia – A look into The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia permanent collection gives you a good summary of Halifax life and is a nice way to get to know the city. From folk artist Maud Lewis’s eclectic home to kids workshops that nurture the youngest budding artists, The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia offers plenty of pleasing ways to spend a few hours as you peruse their extensive and impressive collections.
3. Alexander Keith’s Brewery Tour – Step back in time to 1863 when brew master Alexander Keith was busy crafting his much-loved ale. Actors dressed in period costumes guide you through Mr. Keith’s story, explain how to make beer and take you to the Stag’s Head Tavern where adults can enjoy two beer samplings and live music. You’ll end this tour with a new appreciation for Alexander Keith’s beer and his life’s work as a local politician, a businessman, a philanthropist and a quality-conscious brew master.
4. Pier 21 – For hundreds of thousands of immigrants who made Canada their new home, Pier 21 is where they took their first steps on Canadian soil. For the half a million Canadian troops who journeyed to Europe in World War II, Pier 21 was the last Canadian sight they saw before going off to battle. Today, Pier 21 is an immigration museum on Halifax’s harbour where you can stop by for interesting exhibits that reveal stories of the million people who passed through the pier.
5. Harbour Hopper Tour – See Citadel Hill, Pier 21, huge ships from the Canadian Navy fleet and more on this fun and kid-friendly tour which starts on land, plunges into the Halifax harbour and crawls back onto land via an amphibious vehicle. You can expect to holler out "Ribbit! Ribbit!" to locals and at other Harbour Hopper touring vehicles (the kids love it!) but you can also expect to hear some interesting facts about local landmarks. The story of the Halifax explosion — the greatest human-made tragedy, second in devastation only to the atomic bomb — takes on an eerie realness as you drift over the same waters where two ships collided, sparking a massive explosion on Dec. 6, 1917. On a lighter note, you just might catch sight of a seal as it bobs its head out of the water.
Nova Scotia towns worth seeing 6. Peggy’s Cove – No trip to Nova Scotia is complete without a visit to a lighthouse and Peggy’s Point Lighthouse certainly has a way with the visitors. The popular tourist attraction draws more than 750,000 visitors a year, even though it lives in a town with only 50 permanent residents: Peggy’s Cove. Built in 1914, the lighthouse is unstaffed today and it’s used as a post office but its beacon still illuminates the Atlantic Ocean, warning ships of dangerous rocky shores ahead.
7. Lunenburg – Shuck some scallops, eat at a waterfront restaurant and stop in at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenburg, an enchanting fishing village where The Bluenose II docks when she’s not on tour. Lunenburg boasts a picturesque waterfront with several restaurants housed in historic properties overlooking a sparkling Lunenburg Bay. Just 92 km southwest from Halifax, make time for a pleasant drive to this wonderful community, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Halifax and its neighbouring towns are rich with interesting stories, architectural charm, raw beauty and friendly people. With so much to see and do, find out for yourself why Nova Scotia is one of Canada’s greatest treasures. Get more ideas for planning your perfect trip to Nova Scotia at destination halifax.com or novascotia.com.
The Royal Wedding between Kate and William wasn’t that beautiful? I am assuming that many people around the world was watching on Friday, April 29th. Kate looked wonderful, the ceremony was warm, calm and interesting but very nice. I think Kate has a nice personality though, calm, reserved not easily rattled, nice inner strength. Kate along with many people around the world probably share something’s in common. “What do Kate and I share?” Her middle name “Elizabeth” and her zodiac sign is “Capricorn” just like me. Speaking from a Capricorn perspective, many people feel she looks like she won’t be able to handle her new role, but Capricorns are a strong bunch, Capricorns tend to be survivors though. She will do fine she has a quiet inner strength that will get her through the rough times. Capricorns take marriages seriously though and will work hard at it, I could see her striving to make it a success. Many people are asking “will the marriage last?” My answer to that is they will make the most of what they have and if it doesn’t last, God doesn’t punish us because our marriages doesn’t last forever, people punish us. God doesn’t work like that. God wants all of us to be happy, so if it doesn’t last, then life goes on and God usually opens another door for all of us, if we only believe. I wish them both good luck.
So, no, I did not wake up at 5 am. to watch the wedding, oh, my gosh! I needed my sleep. I just watched the re-runs of the wedding. One reporter said something important during the coverage of the wedding which is, “don’t marry someone you don’t love because the marriage will lead to failure.” That is common sense, that is so true. Kate and William relationship started out as a strong friendship then grew into a strong bond over the years and that’s good, so they are off to a great start.
Marriages are such that you want to be in love with the person your going to potentially spend the rest of your life with. So yes, been in love with each other makes the relationship the marriage much stronger and more solid. Yes, this is a quote from the bible:
Matthew 7:21-29
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”
A woman always knows her own heart though. Personally speaking, once my heart is open to someone, I usually stay true to what I am feeling as well as, who I open my heart to. So, basically what the bible is saying is that, if you are not in love with the person your marrying then it’s just like building a house on sand, it won’t last because there is no love, no foundation to hold it up. Just like a house built on sand would fall apart, a relationship without love would deteriorate and fall apart in a short amount of time. So, true the bible, so true.
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“When it is time for us to grow we get restless. When it is time for us to move forward we get tense. When the time comes for us to let go of the things we know are holding us back, all hell break loose.” -Iyanla Vanzant
I really love the above quote from author Iyanla Vanzant. It made me smile. Actually, it made me laugh a bit. Why?” It is so true what she says. I have lived through a time like this before, so I know what she is talking about. People in general never like change especially the kind that is sudden and unexpected and the kind that is uncomfortable or painful. Yes, all hell pardon the pun, eventually break loose when we need to let go of something or someone in our lives. Often times it can go both ways. Either you need to let go on an emotional level or on a physical level where you need to let go of someone. We become tense, and we usually start to resist the change, because it makes us feel uncomfortable. I have been in this very same position only just over a year ago. The change was painful but it was necessary. What I know from past experience is that the more you resist the change or lets just say, “the inevitable.” It becomes even more painful for us if we continue to hold on to something, whether it’s a situation or a person that does not serve our best interest.
We know in our heart of hearts what the outcome is going to be and if it means that we will have to end something or come to a conclusion about something, then you will always find it uncomfortable to do so. Based on past experience my best advice is to walk through the change. In other words, if you find yourself in a situation where you know what the conclusion is going to be anyway, even if it’s painful then don’t resist, just walk through the change and accept it. Knowing full well, that there will be something better or greater on the other side. For most of us who decide to accept the change, we often find that life starts to get a little easier and our burden becomes lighter.
According to author Iyanla Vanzant, unfortunately, we sometimes misunderstand what we are feeling and use it as a reason to stay where we are. Nothing she says, forces us to move faster than pain. With all due respect to Iyanla, sometimes though people are in pain and they refuse to change the situation they are in, either out of fear or hopelessness which is not a good thing anyway. When we feel pain especially on an emotional level yes, it usually forces us to move because we can’t take the pain. When we hurt on a physical level we tend to find pain relief by taking our favourite “pain medication,” just so we can stop the pain. However, on an emotional level any pain we feel can ONLY be relieved if we decide that, “ the situation we are in no longer serves us a valid purpose and it would be to our detriment to continue on the same course.”
Often times one of the main reasons we resist change it’s because we feel we have let ourselves down. Or, we feel like we have failed at something important to us. A more positive way to look at it, is that, you have now come to realize what it is you truly want and desire out of life, and what can make your life fulfilling. This sudden realization cannot now be categorize as failure but instead be seen as a positive step in the right direction. A direction in which you can now do all the right things to make your life more fulfilling.
Sometimes we will find we come into a situation where someone refuses to compromise or change unless they have the upper- hand, especially during a disagreement. Usually when someone refuses to compromise or make any kind of change or concession, this general happens around people who are considered extremely controlling. People with this kind of persona you will find usually can’t or won’t take no for an answer. They know in their heart of heart that they need to change or come to an agreement but they refuse to make any concessions.
Basically, what they do is they try to not only have control over a matter but they also try to steal your happiness. In other words, “I am not happy, and you will not be happy either unless a decision or change is in my favor.” Once again I speak from experience because I have had this sort of situation in my life before, and it never feels good when someone decide that they are unwilling to make a concession or compromise. Sometimes you will find you come up against people who causes what I call, “Major Opposition” to our plans, dreams or desires, because they refuse to come to an agreement. Opposition to our plans can come from many sources but the most common is either from friends, family members, or opposition from a partner you are in a relationship with. I have had to endure this situation before and it never, ever feels good. It makes you feel tense, frustrated, stressed, and just overwhelmed by the situation. Basically when someone doesn’t want to compromise or make a concession, they are saying, “I do not value you as a person, I am more important than you, and you don’t deserve to be happy, I am the one who should have my way, not you.”
See, when you get into a situation where you decide no one can be happy if your not happy, you are now willingly setting up “Roadblocks” in your own life path, which ends up hurting you more than anything else. The question I usually pose in this situation is to ask the person who is creating roadblocks in your life, “If the tables were turn and they were in your position wouldn’t they want you to compromise or come to an agreement so they could be happy?” Or “Would you stand in their way and block them from moving forward if it were them in the same situation?” I don’t believe that when someone become “Dogmatic” so to speak, where they try to control people or situations that they appear appealing to anyone.
On a personal note, I would never want to stand in the way of someone’s happiness. My spiritual practice in life is to, “Bless the person on their way, and to never stand in anyone’s way no matter how upset I am.” We are all responsible for our own actions and when we try to force others to do what we want, the end result is usually failure. You don’t win in the end, because the way you win now have a bad taste in your mouth, so to speak. The question now is, “at what cost do we try to get our way and not compromise or come to an agreement?” If at the end of day you will be hurting someone or many people in the process then the cost of winning just so you can say, “I had the last word, and I will not compromise” it’s not worth the trouble in the end.
Instead what you need to do when situations like these occur in your own life is to, take what I called “the higher road.” Taking the higher road is not about been weak, but it is about been able to say to oneself that “I am mature enough, to know what is right even though it hurts to make the change, at the end of the day, it’s the right thing to do.” This I have done in my own life before and it is usually in our best interest to take the higher road. “Doing the right thing is never easy to do, but often times you will find that it is necessary to do the right thing.” Your Intuition your gut feeling will usually tell you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. In my own life, I am legally separated from a marriage of seventeen years, I would like to live somewhere else, but I have to do what’s right for me and my wonderful kids. What is right is that the safety of my children overrides everything else, they come first right now, not me. “It’s not easy for me to do the right thing but it is necessary.” In other words, sometimes you will find it is best in life to:
“take the path of least resistance.”
Making someone else’s life miserable, unhappy or unfulfilling because you are unhappy about whatever changes you need to make in your life is always counterproductive to you, and it inhibits you from really living an authentic life. Remember this if you can, “you will not find happiness in life if you don’t allow others the freedom to be happy.”
So, Iyanla says, when we are in pain we must do something to make ourselves feel better. And, if the old remedy does not work, we must try something new. Too many times we have cut ourselves down to fit into the situation. Fixing ourselves to stay where we are is the very source of our pain. If we allow ourselves to live with a constant, dull ache, it means we are not getting the message. But you can be sure all dull aches eventually turn into throbbing pain. That is now our sign that it is time to accept the change, to move on and resist placing restrictions on others.
When You Need to Understand Your Purpose and Your Future
Dear Lord, I am so grateful that You will do more in my life than I can even imagine. Your Word says that what You have for me is "exceedingly abundantly" above all that I can ask or think. This is amazing to me, Lord, because I can think of and ask for a great deal. With great anticipation I look forward to all You have ahead for me in my future. Help me to not get in the way of anything You want to do in me and through me.
To Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
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Featured Musician this Week: “Martina Mcbride”
Martina McBride (born Martina Mariea Schiff ) is 44 yrs.old and was born in Sharon, Kansas City. She is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range. McBride has been married to sound engineer John McBride, for 21 yrs. The couple has three daughters. http://martinamcbride.com/
Love Martina and this beautiful country music song I dedicate to someone who is close to my heart and who I believe have the biggest bright eyes I have ever seen…..
Keith Lionel Urban43 yrs.old is a New Zealand born, Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Brisbane having moved to Caboolture, Australia at an early age.
Keith Urban is one of my favourite Country music artist, Love, Love this song—And I dedicate this song to someone very close to my heart—Enjoy!
Matthew-Aaron Dusk is 32 yrs.old and was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian jazz musician / vocalist. He currently has two certified gold albums: "Two Shots" and "Good News" http://www.mattdusk.com/
This song is beautiful it’s a love song heard it play on the television yesterday, it’s a great song —Enjoy!
Celine Dion born Céline Marie Claudette Dion, is 43 yrs.old is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. On Saturday, October 23, 2010, at 11:11 and 11:12am respectively, at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, Dion, gave birth to two healthy fraternal twin boys. http://www.celinedion.com/
I love Céline and this is a beautiful song–“Enjoy!”
Faith Hill (born Audrey Faith Perry) is 43 yrs.old and is an American country singer. She was adopted as an infant and raised by a couple in the nearby town of Star 25 miles outside Jackson, Mississippi.Her adoptive parents reared their two biological sons along with Hill in a devout Christian environment She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated 8 number-one singles and 3 number-one albums on the U.S. Country charts. http://www.faithhill.com/timeline.php
I dedicate this wonderful country music song to someone very special to me—where ever they are right now this song is for them. Great song by Faith.
Pick up a copy of the Farm Fresh brochure (PDF) and start your day with a stop at one of the many roadside farm markets for some fresh fruits and vegetables to snack on throughout the day. Why not drop into one of the local ‘Pick-your-own’ apple or berry farms and select some sweet and juicy fruit to savour while on your journey.
Continue with a visit to Archibald Orchards & Estate Winery in north Bowmanville. Sample the various fruit wines, stroll the gift shop or even take in a round of golf at Cider House Golf Course, a short course with beautiful orchard terrain.
Journey five minutes north on Liberty Street and you’ll find Tyrone Mills, one of Ontario’s oldest operating water-powered mills, still employing methods and machinery from the last century to produce lumber and apple cider. Fresh apple cider and cider doughnuts are available September to June.
Just a few doors away, relax in the shade of 1849 Tyrone United Church & Foundation Garden where you can experience six gardens arranged in the foundation of the former Carriage House. Travel 20 minutes down the scenic Winchester Road and stop for lunch in the Village of Brooklin where you will find a choice of menus in the tea houses, gourmet restaurants and other dining establishments.
A quick 15 minute trip up Hwy 7/12 will bring you to Ocala Orchards Farm Winery where the winery itself is housed within a renovated 100 year old, board and beam dairy barn. Ocala Winery also produces a variety of non-alcoholic sparkling juices for your enjoyment. Stop for some shopping in Victorian Downtown Port Perry, home to many unique shops and boutiques. Relax at a sidewalk café and enjoy a refreshing break.
Picture courtesy of “
and interesting but very nice. I think Kate has a nice personality though, calm, reserved not easily rattled, nice inner strength. Kate along with many people around the world probably share something’s in common. “What do Kate and I share?” Her middle name “Elizabeth” and her zodiac sign is “Capricorn” just like me. Speaking from a Capricorn perspective, many people feel she looks like she won’t be able to handle her new role, but Capricorns are a strong bunch, Capricorns tend to be survivors though. She will do fine she has a quiet inner strength that will get her through the rough times. Capricorns take marriages seriously though and will work hard at it, I could see her striving to make it a success. Many people are asking “will the marriage last?” My answer to that is they will make the most of what they have and if it doesn’t last, God doesn’t punish us because our marriages doesn’t last forever, people punish us. God doesn’t work like that. God wants all of us to be happy, so if it doesn’t last, then life goes on and God usually opens another door for all of us, if we only believe. I wish them both good luck.
Schiff ) is 44 yrs.old and was born in Sharon, Kansas City. She is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range. McBride has been married to sound engineer John McBride, for 21 yrs. The couple has three daughters. 
Keith Lionel Urban 43 yrs.old is a New Zealand born, Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Brisbane having moved to 
Matthew-Aaron Dusk is 32 yrs.old and was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian jazz musician / vocalist. He currently has two certified gold albums: "Two Shots" and "Good News" 
Marie Claudette Dion, is 43 yrs.old is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. On Saturday, October 23, 2010, at 11:11 and 11:12am respectively, at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, Dion, gave birth to two healthy fraternal twin boys. 
Faith Hill (born Audrey Faith Perry) is 43 yrs.old and is an American country singer. She was adopted as an infant and raised by a couple in the nearby town of Star 25 miles outside Jackson, Mississippi. Her adoptive parents reared their two biological sons along with Hill in a devout 
