Working hard........

Lest anyone think I am just lazing around, I want to let you know that I have brought the immigration forms with me and will be working on them as diligently as possible between swimming in the Bay of Fundy, sleeping in, gardening, and sitting on the deck watching the sun set while sipping from a glass of homemade red wine.

Post Script

This is St John, New Brunswick which sits on the wide and beautiful St John River which flows into Maine creating the St John River Valley in Aroostook County, Maine. It is 418 miles long. In fact it is the second longest river in the US. The longest river is my completely, bar none, favourite river, The Susquehana River which flows through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. If you are driving south on 95 toward Baltimore, you will cross the Susquehana when you go over the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge. The Susquehana is 444 miles long. [Millard E. Tydings was a long time political figure in Maryland politics.]

Breezing through customs...........

Reporting in from St John, New Brunswick: Wiley Coyotte and I skimmed across the border. No car checks, no putting my name through the computer, no unkind custom's agent. The whole experience took less than 5 minutes. Woo! Hoo! Tomorrow the Princess of Acadia Ferry. Later..............

Wiley and I will remain steadfast.....

As I prepare to cross into Canada tomorrow with a fully loaded car, I am mindful of the challenges this will present.

Beautiful and peaceful Hampton

As noted in Monday's blog, the lighthouse is located behind our house. This is a view from the wharf.

Latitude and longitude of Hampton, Nova Scotia is as follows:

Constant Latitude is 44 degrees 54.1 minutes North;

Line of Longitude is 65 degrees 21.2 minutes West.

There are differences for latitude and longitude in terms of their north/south east/west directions. Sometimes latitude is east/west and longitude is north/south. As I become familiar with the differences I will include the why of it.

In the meantime, the suitcase is being packed, the car is being loaded, tyres [British spelling; a tip of my New York Yankee's hat to my love's heritage as well as how Canadians spell tire] have been checked for air, all fluids are at the correct levels, maps at the ready, passport, and I have loonies & toonies. Canadian one dollar coin, no bills, is called a loonie for the Loon on one side of the coin and the Queen on the other side. The 2 dollar coin is called a toonie. One would imagine 2 loons on the coin with the Queen on the other side. Wrong. The 2 dollar coin has a polar bear and her cub on one side and the Queen on the other side. The 2 dollar coin is called a toonie because it is a 2 dollar coin. Get it?

Beautiful Nova Scotia, New Scotland

Leaving Thursday for Hampton, Nova Scotia via the Princess of Acadia ferry from St John, New Brunswick. The journey takes 3 hours as the ferry essays through the Bay of Fundy docking at Digby, Nova Scotia. The trip from Digby to Hampton is a little over an hour by car. I will be in Hampton for a month with the object of my love.

The lighthouse was purchased by the Hampton community, population approximately 398, for one cent CDN. It is one of Hampton's tourist attractions. Behind the lighthouse is the beautiful Bay of Fundy. The lighthouse is around the corner from our house. Volunteer guides relay its history as well as showing them the spectacular view of the Bay which has the highest tides in the world. Our shift will be later this month.

Moving forward.

I am happy to report that in spite of the blistering heat today [99 degrees or 38 Celsius] I completed the 3 page Application for Permanent Resident Status!

In case you are interested here are the formulae for converting

1- Fahrenheit to Celsius: F=9/5C+32 and

2- Celsius to Fahrenheit: C=5/9(F-32)

As you can see I am still looking for the white out.

[I apologise for the poor quality of the photos on the right and left]

In an effort to remain serene I have been using Bach Remedies [photo on the left] to attain and then maintain my equilibrium as I attempt to fill out the form on the right. This form is labeled: How to Obtain A Police Certificate. United States of America. It is an FBI form. When I discovered that, I immediately squirted [10 squirts] Rescue Remedy sublingual. Rescue Remedy is a combination of clematis vitabla, impatiens glandulifera, & heliantheum nummlarim. Rescue Remedy is specifically made to help reduce stress. Unfortunately, the FBI site was not clear and I could not find the form I needed. So I will forward this task to my sister, Mary. The link by the way is FBI Indentification Record Request. Actually you need to google the link and in a flash you will be directed to the FBI website. And I am happy to report that I am still serene. The next form I will attempt is called: In-Canada Application for Permanent Resident Status, Schedule 1. Background/declaration. It is 3 pages long. Updates to follow.

The Fourth of July 2010

Today is the Fourth of July 2010.

Since 1775 until the present, American deaths have added up to 1,342,529+/-. [This includes 2976 deaths from the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States.] There are no exact numbers for the dead from all of the wars, insurgencies, conflicts in which America has engaged both internally and externally. And what have we learned along the way? It would appear nothing because we have lost 1,342,529 lives.

Martin Luther King said: "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of.....war that the bright daybreak of peace.....can never become a reality."