Announcing: We Made It To Magnificent Nova Scotia!

June 13th, 2021

Day six of quarantine.

We made it to Halifax, nestled on the south coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. 37,986,346,987 miles from Houston in Texas and a decade in the car.

In actual fact, it took us a little over five days: 15 states, one international border and two provinces. And for the most part, we all stayed friends!

Overnight in Washington DC

We timed the drive so that we could stop for an afternoon in Washington DC and visit the Spy Museum. All of the children (and adults too!) took full advantage of the time out of the car.

We got some of our wiggles out while we ran riot around the exhibits, pretending to be famous, but undercover, spies.
Codes, ciphers and mysteries were everywhere and there was so much to learn about and figure out.

I didn’t know that Mata Hari was a spy during the First World War to earn more money while her stage career was less lucrative! Did you?
The museum caters to individuals and groups, young and old. We all had fun, though at five years old, our youngest was probably a little young and missed out on some of the tasks because she can’t read yet. She enjoyed the activities she could do though.
There was so much to do at the museum, we could have spent much longer than our allotted two hours. The children have already made plans to go back!

Across The Border

The officers at the Canadian Border could not have been more helpful. They got us on our way as quickly as they could and we were soon motoring safely through New Brunswick and into Nova Scotia.
Canadian protocols have us quarantining for 14 days so we didn’t stop on our way to Halifax – sightseeing will come later!
The scenery we did see though…..absolutely STUNNING!! I’m really looking forward to exploring this beautiful province.

We have had two very patient women help us through two rounds of Covid-19 PCR tests so far. CVS and Switch Health have their systems so well oiled that even some nervous little people and minor tantrums were not enough to fluster them! Quick swabs and it was all over.

But you’re here for the knitting.

Show Us Your WIPs Then…

A five day road trip probably has you expecting a basket-full of finished objects. In reality, the scenery was very distracting….! Add a day and a half of procrastinating against having to fix a mistake I couldn’t find and some incorrect maths calculations. As a result, the huge bag of yarn and projects I smuggled into the car for the trip remains almost completely untouched.

On day 2, I cast on some fabulous Madeline Tosh Tosh Merino DK in the colourway “Caffeinated Glory” and started the “V Back Tee DK” by Jamie Hoffman of Knitosophy. I’ve had my eye on this pattern for a while.

The DK version will knit up quickly in one colour and I’m excited to add this to my wardrobe as I start to collect some warmer pieces again. While I was hoping to have it finished before we crossed the border, the Nova Scotian weather is proving to be pleasantly warm. I definitely don’t need the layers for the moment.

What Now?

So the next eleven days of quarantine will be spent looking for schools and houses. We’ll get started on touring the province as soon as it is safe to do so.
And yarn shops. I need to find those too.
(Who am I trying to kid? You all know I know exactly where they are already!)

I sit here on the private back deck of our Airbnb (quarantine safe, of course), listening to the trees talking in the breeze, in harmony with the birdsong and distant city noises. I’m struck by how much I missed being outside while we were in Houston. It was too humid by half, and too many mosquitoes desperate to feast on my Scottish blood. My mind swirls with colour pairings and texture ideas as I watch the dancing foliage. Patterns, I need to write patterns for the samples I have waiting, so I can get on with all these new projects.

For now, in this temporary accommodation and time in limbo, this will be my happy place. And I’m going to make it count.

I might even get a bit of a knitter’s tan!

Is the weather warming up where you are?
Do you have plans for the summer?
Let me know in the comments section – I’d love to hear from you!