Refugee Dinner

This week is zone conferences and we'll be traveling over much of our mission with President and Sister Pratt, so this is a short post. We're excited about the opportunity to meet all the missionaries.

Last weekend we attended a dinner that was a fundraiser for Syrian refugees put on by a local Baptist church with a lot of support from our ward. The Canadian government will sponsor a certain number of refugees, but also allows groups in the community to sponsor a family as well if they raise enough money. They figure it costs approximately $27,000CD for a family of 4 for a year. That's setting them up in an apartment with furniture, clothes, and food and helping them adjust and find a job. The fundraiser group sold over 200 tickets to the dinner and turned people away. They served typical Syrian food--pita bread with hummus dip for an appetizer; tangy chicken, rice, and a type of tossed salad, all much spicier and with different flavors than what we're used to; and a cake with very flavorful orange drizzle. The portions were generous, and we wondered if each person at the dinner was given more than most of the refugees typically would eat in a day.

As part of the program, they gave us 3 Syrian proverbs and asked us what we thought they meant. Can you guess?

God gives almonds to those with no teeth.

The camel limped with a split lip.

The son of a duck is a floater. 

There was also a silent auction. Most, if not all, the items for it were gathered by a sister in our ward. We bought a painting of a lighthouse in the Halifax Harbor (painted by the member's sister-in-law) and a nice potted plant.

Already hanging on our wall

Sister Holbrook really likes that the Canadian have their Thanksgiving celebration on the second Monday in October. We got an early start on decorating for Christmas and don't feel like we were ungrateful! Christmas is her favorite season, but she always waits until after Thanksgiving to start decorating. In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you on Thursday.

P.S. Roughly, the translations are

Sometimes the Lord gives blessings to those who don't need them, 

A bad workman blames his tools

Like father, like son

Remembrance Day

A couple of weeks ago we started seeing people with fuzzy red paper poppies on their lapels. We were told it was for Remembrance Day on November 11. The closer it got to Remembrance Day, the more poppies we saw. Many stores had a table manned by volunteers who were "giving" them away for a donation, the Royal Canadian Legion (we think).

Flag at half mast before the services

Last Wednesday we were able to attend a Remembrance Day Service. We chose to go to one in a nearby small town rather than fight the crowds and traffic in Dartmouth or Halifax. Thousands of these services went on in big cities and small communities across Canada. The woman who told us about this particular one said she wasn't sure exactly when it started, but sometime before 11:00ish, so we got there plenty early, about 10:15. There was a memorial with a cross in front of a small school, so we knew we were in the right place. We were glad we'd brought our Siberian coats because it was held outside. The temperatures had dropped overnight into the 40s and it was cooler than the weather we'd had lately, and with some wind and humidity, it was kind of cold. People slowly trickled up. By the time the program started, there were 400 or so people there for this "small" service.

Our first Mountie sighting, one male, one female
If you look carefully at the people in the background, you'll notice
many red dots, even on their coats

Just before 11:00 they started the program with "O Canada" (it would probably be a good idea for us to learn the words to that while we're here) and interspersed through the program we sang a few hymns. The program continued with prayers, a bugler, a long moment of silence, raising and lowering the flag, more bugle, scripture readings, then the "laying of the wreaths." It was refreshing to see that they weren't afraid to mix religion into it. A reverend or some other type of religious leader from the community led the services--this wasn't a parochial school and this wasn't sponsored by the school either. 

We think there were approximately 40 groups to put wreaths on the monument by the cross--various military, RCMPs, civic (Lion's, Knights of Columbus), local businesses, and many individuals in memory of a grand or great-grandparent or other relative. They were each announced and someone solemnly walked up from the school doors at the back of the lot to the monument at the front and set the wreath down, often saluting, before the next person was announced. They were very careful in placing the wreaths not to overlap, so they spread out  beyond the base of the cross monument. It was amazing and very touching how so many small children were quiet throughout.

One of the cub scout troops in the background of an
officer of some sort saluting the flag

The Laying of the Wreaths

He's wearing his poppy on his cap

Another cub scout troop with younger scouts

After the announced wreaths were laid, they said anyone else with wreaths could go up. A couple of cub scout groups had made paper wreaths and laid theirs down. All the wreaths had poppies on them. The names of fallen soldiers from WWI and WWII (we assumed they were people from that town) were then read with a general thank you given to others who had served or are serving. After a final prayer, we were invited inside for refreshments. Everyone headed first for the monument, took the poppies off their lapels and stuck them in the wreaths--those are the smaller poppies you can see on some of the wreaths.

It was great that we could take some time off to see the great reverence given to their soldiers. All businesses and most retail, except restaurants, closed for the holiday. The parking lot at Walmart was eerily empty. The mall by our apartment likewise. Our office that afternoon was very quiet.

We found out the reason for the poppies is the poem In Flanders Fields from WWI

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, tho poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

                                   --Liet. Col. John McCrae

That night Sister Holbrook went to a member's home to get a haircut. (All beauty salons were closed that day.) After, the stylist flatironed her hair. Straight hair is something she's never experienced. Elder Holbrook did NOT like it. After she washed it, his only comment was, "That's the hair I fell in love with." And all these years she thought he'd fallen in love with all of her, not just her curly hair.

The weather here has been so nice for mid-November. This morning when we walked out to the car, Sister Holbrook had on a sweater and Elder Holbrook just had his suit coat on. During the day we had sporadic wild snow flurries interspersed by bright sunshine and the wind kicked up this afternoon. We froze on the way home and put off some errands until we are wearing warmer coats.

Our Apartment

     We have a very nice apartment. Every time we leave or return home, we go down a lane Elder Holbrook calls the Batcave, because it reminds him of the entrance to the Wayne Manor in the old Batman movie, like this, except there isn't a rock that moves out of the way and we don't have Alfred to clean for us. And Elder Holbrook isn't that crazy of a driver. Our Batcave entrance looks more like this:

     Because it's on a hill, our apartment building is three floors in front, two in back. The tenants on the second and third floors use the parking lot on the backside, through the Batcave entrance. Since our apartment is on the second level, we walk straight in. Our apartment is on the front side, overlooking the lower parking lot. The only time we use the stairs is to get mail or do laundry, which are both on the first floor.

Our building as seen from the Batcave parking lot

     The laundry room has two nice washers and dryers, but we try to do loads as seldom as possible, since it costs 2.50 (Can. $) to wash and dry a load. Makes us appreciate our own washer and dryer back at home in a new way. One day Sister Holbrook was talking with the wife of another senior couple in the mission. They have a washer and dryer in their unit. The other sister said she missed her dishwasher and didn't care about the washer and dryer. Sister Holbrook said she missed her washer and dryer and didn't care about the dishwasher. They both preferred the thing they didn't have. And life goes on anyway. We'll both get through our missions and not suffer too much for lack of anything (except seeing our grandkids regularly--that's where Skype and FaceTime come in).

For Halloween someone decorated the corner of the parking lot

     We almost have what one of our missionaries in Russia called a magic kitchen. He bragged that he could sit at the table and without moving, could grab a pan from the cupboard, fill it with water in the sink, put it on the stove and when the water boiled, take eggs from the fridge and cook them, all without taking a step. Our kitchen isn't quite that small and we have a dining room table rather than a table in the kitchen, but it comes close. It only takes three or four steps to get from the kitchen door to the sink. And yet it suits us quite nicely. We have a fridge, stove/oven, dishwasher, and a few cupboards and drawers, everything we need. Besides, the smaller it

Trash, recyclables, organics

is, the less work to keep it clean, right? We're learning to buy more often and in smaller amounts since we don't have as much freezer space as we're used to.

Canadians are into recycling. We're still learning how to sort all our trash, because some things we'd think to sort one way are done a different way here. For example, pizza boxes and empty toilet paper rolls go into the organic bin with things like banana peels, not with paper. These are the bins in the hallway at the office. Ours at home are, well, let's say a little less organized. :~) When Elder Holbrook takes out the garbage, he has to put it in the appropriate bins in the parking lot. They also have a bin for corrugated cardboard most places.

     Tomorrow is Veterans Day in the US. Here we will celebrate Remembrance Day. Same idea, but it's a bigger deal here. Most businesses are closed--even Costco! There will be Remembrance Celebrations all over. That will probably be our post next week. In the meantime, thank you to all who have served their country, whether they gave their life in that service or not.

We are loving it here. Fall is a gorgeous time to be in Nova Scotia. We feel so blessed to be able to serve another mission.

Peggy's Cove

Saturday we decided it was time for us to do a little sightseeing. We'd heard so much about Peggy's Cove that it was at the top of the list. We found there’s a good reason so many people recommend it.

There's a lot of water around Halifax and the neighboring cities, both fresh water lakes and the ocean. The hour or so drive to Peggy's Cove was delightful, punctuated by water sparkling between the trees along winding roads along countless bays and inlets, some lingering fall colors, many graveyards (some by quaint churches, some not), gently bouncing boats, small islands (think of a size that would accommodate 5-6 trees) with docks and slides and are the kind of things kids dream of for summer fun.

The town of Peggy's Cove was settled around 200 years ago by 6 families, and many of their descendants still live there. It is still an active fishing village. Beautiful setting. Harsh environment. Strong people.

The wind made things a little chilly, but with a few layers we stayed warm.

Unfortunately, the lighthouse isn't open to the public. Situated atop a high rocky outcropping, it's not very tall and is one we could have easily climbed! 

Our first visit to a Canadian lighthouse

The lighthouse from a distance

Periodically some big waves came crashing in while we were walking around on the walks, and splashed up the rocks below the lighthouse. 

There were a lot of tourists enjoying the view, not surprising for a Saturday, except the tourist season is supposedly over. The Visitor's Centre is closed for the season, even on weekends. While we were there reading some informational plaques, cars were constantly stopping. People would get out, try the locked doors, read the small notice saying they were closed, and drive off again. By constantly, I mean it was probably about 2 cars every 5 minutes. someone forgot to tell the tourists the season is over!

The route to Peggy's Cove from Halifax goes along either side of the peninsula. To return home we could have backtracked but decided to take a route a few minutes longer and saw even more beauty. Unfortunately, you can enjoy the pictures, but it's the "you had to be there to get it" kind of scenery that went on and on and on.

Our first Canadian lobster meal

In the Visitor's Centre parking lot we noticed the car next to us had Colorado plates. The man told us about about a lobster restaurant he'd heard about, Ryer's, that was supposed to be excellent. We decided to try it out. "Restaurant" is a bit of a misnomer for the hole in the wall we found, but the people running it were delightful, and the lobster we shared was delicious. For 15 minutes while our lobster was cooking, the owners told us all about lobsters and how lobster traps work. For example, a one pound lobster is about 5-7 years old, and smaller lobsters can crawl out of the trap but ones that are a good size for eating can't fit through the gap at the bottom of the cage. 

We ate at one of the brightly painted picnic tables in the parking lot. When we were through, we looked around the corner of the building and saw a little patio with covered seating (we were glad we'd had the warmth of the sun while we ate) with a view out over the water, so we we hung around a little longer and enjoyed that.

We saw lobster traps like this almost everywhere we turned

Interesting church architecture

We are SO blessed by all the beauty in this world, both man-made like the church above and natural from God!