Ottawa, Halifax, Home, Halifax, School

It's been a fast and furious couple of days. On Friday morning I left my wonderful friends Christina and James and headed back to the beautiful East Coast.

Friday morning I was picked up by the one and only Boyfriend, who long story short, tricked me and attacked me with a behind-hug and I screamed/swore so loud I tainted small children around me.

Ryan helped me move into the apartment and I fell in love with the apartment. It's beautiful AND kitteh friendly!

On Saturday I help Beth move out of residence. I got to see my momma, little sissa, big sissa, papa, and KITTEHS all in one day!

Sunday was a flurry of Easter, mom's birthday, cottage, little cousins, big cousins, and all my grandparents. And I got to see Mal and Seth, my favourite couple in the world!!

Monday morning 5am is french toast time apparently. Dad and I bonded over fried bread, corn syrup, and nutella.

Now, momma and I are en route back to the big H for another semester of schooling. Wish me luck.

The End :3 

Rural Nova Scotians vs. Haligonians

I’ve spent a few years in Halifax now, so I think I can make a few comparisons. Even though these are from my own experiences, feel free to share your own.

PS, I know these are stereotypes, and I don’t really care. They’re all basically true no matter what your specific situation may say. This is for the masses.

Rural Nova Scotians are known for being relaxed, easy going, and  they don’t take like too seriously. City folks are a little faster paced, abrasive, maybe a little ruder. But, if you mess with someone from a rural area you will get your ass kicked by everyone and their grandmother, and a city person will just let it roll off their shoulders.

When someone knocks on a rural door we’re going to assume that you’re a stranger and we’ll think it’s pretty odd if we actually know you. When someone knocks on a city door it’s probably their grandparents, who called ahead, and you were aware they were coming hours in advance.

Boyfriend made fun of me for not knocking when we were out visiting my friends and such and I said, “That’s not true, I knock almost everywhere I go now!” He said “Yeah, only because you try the doorknob first.”

Rural dwellers will also think it’s odd if you ask them for something from your fridge. We’re not your maid, get it yourself. If you open a city fridge it’s almost like you’re invading their privacy and their deepest secrets. Also, rural fridges are full. City fridges are not.
Rural Nova Scotians love food, there is absolutely no denying that. Almost every function revolves around food. But they only love the food they grew up with; fish, rabbit, duck, deer, potatoes, carrots, stew, etc. City people are more open to different cultures, different food, and of course more things in moderation.

When someone moves in the country they have all the necessary equipment: trucks, furniture (from every member of your family) and free labour including painting and decorating. When someone moves in the city you need: a u-Haul, a trip to the furniture store, and about 4 days to do it all yourself.

Also, you never know your neighbour in the city but in a small town you know everyone’s business and they know yours. I asked Boyfriend if I could bring a batch of cookies to my neighbours and he said I could but then I’d be the weird girl trying to poison everyone. My nanny came home to unmarked wrapped meat in a plastic bag on her door handle and she had it for supper that night. It turned out to be deer. She lived.

*Update: Boyfriend says that in suburban areas of Dartmouth they’ll have block parties and bbq’s and your neighbours don’t care if you run across their lawn or play street hockey in front of their house.

When someone wants to go to university from the country it’s a big effing deal, and you should probably get praised and asked about it every time you go home. They probably won’t make it all the way and they’ll end up on the water anyway but it’s the thought that counts. When someone goes to university in the city it’s the next natural step in life and they go on to do wonderful things.

We went to my sisters university graduation (I won’t name which but it’s not hard to figure out) and she was the only one from her high school class to graduate on time. The only one. We triple check and she went to two high schools. That’s pretty sad.

Rural Nova Scotians are willing to drive an hour or more just to visit friends, go to a party, go to a movie, go shopping etc. And they never walk anywhere. It’s normal to see a car with 300,000 clicks or more. For city people it pains them to drive 10 clicks out of their way, and if they can walk there they will. And when the odometer runs over 100,000 clicks it’s the end of the world.

When someone from the country tries to tell someone where they live they’ll probably say something like “Yeah when you see the store on your left slow down, you’ll go over a hill and there a log pile on your right and it’s the long driveway after that.” Side note: this is actually how I tell people to get to my house. When someone from the city tells someone where they live they’ll give street names, house numbers, unit numbers, apartment numbers, buzzer numbers, and whatever else super specific directions they’ll need.

Rural Nova Scotians have their own unique slang. You’ll often year sentences like, “Who’s boy am ya? Who’s your dad? Let’s go get a big mug up at the fish shack. I need a Dan’s mug up! Let’s take a tour and have a yarn in my new wag. Yeap like the fella said. Ain’t no way son! Com’on LIKE! Eh? Hiyi! Das say son. I could go on all day but I won’t. The most common slang you’ll here in the city is ebonics. This isn’t offensive, I looked it up.

Rural women typically like “Hungry Men” (see Jade Malone’s full definition http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Hungry%20Man&defid=5714458). And Haligonians love a variety of rural, city, foreign, and the like.

A truck is a thing of pride in rural Nova Scotia and we can and will make fun of your low riding city cars when they can’t make it up our driveways without bottoming out. That being said, city people can make fun of us for filling up a $150 tank and it only lasting us a few days.

Well that’s all I can think of for now, but feel free to comment and leave your own! I’ll probably update it as this blog progresses.
The End :3
 
 
 

Animal Family Tree

The Nickerson Family Animal, and Other Special Occurances, Timeline

Dinner time is a family affair :3 From back to front: Smudgie, Figaro, Cooper

1985 – Joel & Christine get married, Sandy (dog) born 1980, Little Tee (cat) died same year

1986 - Dusty (cat)

1987 – Vanessa is born

1988

1989

1990 – Joelle is born, Sandy died

1991- Frisky (cat), Dusty is missing in action

1992 – Beth is born, Spot (dog)

1993- Mittens (cat), Pepper (cat)

1994

1995 – Babe (dog) Frisky died, Spot died

1996

1997

1998

1999 – Muffin Sugar Frosting (cat) Chloe (cat), Pepper is missing in action

Muffin :3

2000 – Peaches (hamster)

2001

2002 – Gizmo (cat) died the same year, Mischief (cat) died the same year, Peaches died

2003 – Figaro (c) (d. 2010), Jimmy (rabbit), Cotton Ball (rabbit), Chloe is missing in action

Me and my baby Figaro! <3

2004- Mittens died, Jimmy & Cotton Ball died

2005 

2006 – Martha (cat) died the same year, Bear (cat) , Hank (cat) 2007 , Fluffy (cat) died the same year, Smudgie (cat), Babe died

Smudgie likes: bags, baskets, sinks 

dislikes: cuddles, every other animal except Muffin

2007- Hank died

2008- Bear is missing in action

2009 – Cooper the Trooper aka Fatty, Faggot, etc. (cat), Cleo (dog)  

Fatty and Cleo were besties from the start 

2010 – Duke (dog), Special Agent Jack Bauer aka Willow (cat), Norge aka Pussy Willow (cat), Duchene (cat) missing in action, Wolfgang aka Patty (cat) outside cat

                                          Duke!                     Baby kitties Norge, Wolfgang, Duchenne          

Beautiful Willow aka Mama aka SAJB

2011- Duke died, Current count: Muffin, Cooper, Willow, Pussy Willow, Smudgie, Patty is an outside cat (half wild), Cleo (with Vanessa)

That's a grand total of 21 cats and 5 dogs!

Almost every animal we’ve had we’ve either gotten from the SPCA, the streets, or from neighbours who could no longer afford their animal, or their animal got unexpectedly pregnant. The only animal we’ve had that was pregnant was Martha, but she came to us in the late stages of her pregnancy.

We always get our animals fixed, we always encourage people to fix their animals, and we do not encourage animal breeders, puppy mills, etc.

Side note: We’ve had various fish, one Siamese fighting fish, Coral, I had for 3 years, but you don’t really form attachments to fish when you have a literal farm around your ankles. Also, the more we grow up the more animals we seem rescue.

PLEASE spay and neuter your animals. Rescue homeless animals adopt from the SPCA and the humane society. Stray animals are good animals, if they’re not wild, not dangerous, and just a little dirty, they only need some love and they’ll be the best pet you’ve ever had (example: every pet we’ve had!). 

 The eff? 

Lobsters, Dinosaurs, and Aliens, Oh My!

The fossil record of clawed lobsters extends back at least to the Valanginian Age of the Cretaceous.  That means lobsters were homies with dinosaurs!  

Lobsters are invertebrates, with a hard protective exoskeleton. Like most arthropods, lobsters must molt in order to grow, which leaves them vulnerable. During the molting process, several species change color.

This color DOES NOT include bright red. Lobsters turn red after they are boiled, hence why pop culture and the media portrays them as red. Because they’re ignorant and they’ve never packed lobsters at 2am on Boxing Day.

Lobsters can be black, brown, purple, green, grey, orange, and even bright blue!

Why does a lobster turn red when cooked?

The red pigment is the most stable component of the coloring in a lobster shell. The greens and browns which darken the shell in a live lobster are destroyed by cooking.

If you think lobsters are red when they are in the wild and alive you sir are a cotton headed ninny muggins and will be treated as such.

Lobsters, like snails and spiders, have blue blood due to the presence of haemocyanin contains copper. Also, lobsters are very snobbish like societal Blue Bloods and have many servants within their household which they do not treat nicely at all.  

A male lobster is called a cock and a female a hen or chicken.

Berried females carry thousands of eggs attached to their swimmerets. Depending on water temperatures, the eggs will remain attached for about a year on average.  Only .1% of the eggs will make it over six weeks after being dropped.

If a lobster happens to lose a limb in a fight (lobsters have turf wars!), something bigger was trying to eat it, or it amputates a limb in fear of being killed, it was grow whatever limb it loses back, much like a lizard’s tail.

Recent research suggests that lobsters may not slow down, weaken, or lose fertility with age. In fact, older lobsters are more fertile than younger lobsters. It has been argued that lobsters may exhibit negligible senescence and some scientists have claimed that they could effectively live indefinitely, barring injury, disease, capture, etc.

 “Imma chill with dino’s then kick it with post apocalyptic aliens k?”

According to the Guinness World Records, the largest lobster was caught in Nova Scotia, Canada, and weighed 20.15 kilograms (44.4 lb

I’m more interested in looking at the diver meOW!

Lobsters are omnivores, and typically eat live prey such as fish, molluscs, other crustaceans, worms, and some plant life. They scavenge if necessary, and may resort to cannibalism in captivity.  

Because of their scavenging nature lobsters are known as the cockroaches of the sea

In early times lobsters were known as “poor mans food” and only after lobster was popularized it was a constant source of shame to bring a lobster sandwich to work or school.

Now, lobster sandwiches with mayo and onion on toasted bread are a coveted home food! Along with lobster chowder, lobster dip, lobster omelette, and a recipe I’m almost certain my family made up called “crabbies” which were originally made with crab meat but of course we changed it to lobster.

The most common lobster fishing vessel is the Cape Islander! A Cape Island style fishing boat is a single keeled flat bottom at the stern and more rounded towards the bow. It originated on Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia about 1905. (Various online sources cite years 1905, 1906, and 1907.

The design is most commonly credited to Ephraim Atkinson of Clark's Harbour, Nova Scotia. The other claim to the boat's design is an accomplished boat-builder from Clark's Harbour, William A. Kenney, who is said to have constructed the first Cape Islander entirely from wood in 1905.

This boat can now be seen in use all over coastal Nova Scotia, North America, and the world.

So love your lobster, ever though they will crush your hand into oblivion, stink up your house for eternity when you boil them, your dad needs his special knife just to shuck them (yes, shuck), and they generally don’t even taste that good without being made into something else. Enjoy.

The End :3

Sources

Content: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobster
Alien: http://www.crtoys.ca/images/neca_avpr_alien.jpg
Lobster: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2009/01/13/lobster.jpg
Dinosaur:http://www.zmescience.com/wpcontent/uploads/2008/08/papo_velociraptor_dinosaur_toys.jpg
Cadbury : http://content7.flixster.com/photo/11/29/97/11299749_gal.jpg
Cooked lobster: http://www.canada-seafood.com/images/Lobster.jpg
Pregnant lobster: http://njscuba.net/zzz_uw/riggy_lobster_berries.jpg
Elf : http://www.google.ca/images?hl=en&safe=active&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=elf+raccoon&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=
Lobster close up: http://usa.stockfood.com/images-pictures/Close%20Up%20of%20Live%20Maine%20Lobster%20Face-689137.jpg
Lobster under ocean: http://www.bb-films.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/lobster.jpg
Dinosaur: http://herdingcats.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341ca4d953ef0128760c9125970c-800wi
Large lobster: http://www.diveplanet.co.nz/myimages/milo_1.jpg
Hannibal lobster: http://lobstertube.info/lobsterDM0811_468x521.jpg
Hannibal Lecter: http://www.celeb-soundboards.com/thumbs/hannibal-lecter.jpg
Lobster sandwich : http://www.nypost.com/pagesixmag/issues/20080622/images/food/exclusivedishes/4.jpg
Cape islander: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:YarmouthNS_FishingBoats.jpg
Content: My magnificent random fact remembering mind

The World Game

I’m not sure where this game came from, and if anyone else has ever played it but didn’t learn it from us please let me know. I am very curious as to where this came from, or if we just made it up. Who knows?
 
This game is best played on the sand bar but we have definitely played it in our dirt driveway.
 
Step 1) Make a gigantic circle in the ground with a stick (try to be as even as possible and don’t make a weird egg)
 
Step 2) Divide the circle into however many participants you have. Try to be fair and don’t give your little sister the smallest bit.
 
Step 3) Name your piece with a country that starts with the same letter as your name. I was always Japan, Jamaica, or Jordan, Vanessa was Venezuela, and Beth was Bermuda or Bahamas.
 
Step 4) Find a softish object that you can still throw without it being caught in the wind. A flip flop works nicely.
 
Step 5) Whoever made the circle goes first. They take the flip flop, edge towards the end of their “country” scream a country and then throw the flip flop onto their land. Ex. If I made the circle I would take the flip flop and yell “Bahamas!” Then throw it on their land.
a) The flip flop must land on their land.
b) Fake outs are accepted.
c) You generally want to throw it to whoever is furthest away from you.
 
Step 6) As soon as you hear a country called you run as fast as you can away from that country.
 
Step 7) Whoever it was thrown at has to run to the flip flop as quickly as they can and yell freeze!
a) Everyone must stop exactly as they are.
 
Step 8) The person holding the flip flop assesses who is around, chooses who is closest, walks to the edge of their land, and then tosses the flip flop at them.
a) You cannot walk off your land.
b) Whoever is being thrown at can duck or move their body whatever way they can without moving their feet.
 
Step 9) If the person is hit whoever threw the flip flop can now steal land from this person. If the person is not hit, the one being thrown at gets to steal land from the thrower. Stealing land is tricky and the rules are debated almost every time.
a) To steal land you have to use one finger on one hand to swipe a usually semi circular shape piece of land from the others land.
b) You cannot lift your feet while swiping land.
c) You can only use one hand.
d) When your piece is taken you erase the old line dividing your land and now this piece is yours to stand on.
 
Step 10)  Whoever was thrown at now has the flip flop and repeats step 1 through 9.
 
Step 11) You lose this game when all of your land is taken, and you win the game when you have conquered the entire world. I cannot remember a single instance where someone has taken over the world.
a) Usually the tide comes in and destroys your world.
b) You get tired of the game after the first person gets out.
c) There are so many other things to do on the beach.
 
Anyways, we had a tonne of fun playing this game and I hope other people played it too! It’s a cute classic kid beach game.
 
Update: According to Jared people play it in PEI, so we probably didn’t make it up.
Update 2: I guess Aunt Wanda found it in a book of outside games for kids! Thanks Tash :)