4th annual Pennybrook Festival report

What a weekend!

I have been one of the core organizers of the Pennybrook Festival every year since it began, but this is the first year that I was living at Pennybrook Farm during the festival. In past years I have sometimes tented and sometimes gone home to my then-house. How much more awesome was it to have my own Tiny Home right on the festival grounds? Much more awesome – to have my own comfy bed right here and to have no reason to leave all weekend, because although the Festival is technically only on Saturday, our home overflowed with music for the entire weekend.

Friday was the biggest set up day. A number of friends came by to help erect the tents while Charlie put the roof on the stage that Jude had built through the week. As dark fell, the banjos came out. #BANJOY! We had two fine pickers here: Darren Arsenault and a wandering minstrel who goes by the name of Railroad Ty. Jude joined them on mandolin and each of them switched to guitar on occasion. It was a fine night of songs.

I'm really bad about not taking photos during events.
I prefer to be right in the experience instead of watching it from behind my camera.
So, the last Pennybrook photo I took was of the stage on Friday night.
And I didn't take another one until the one at the end of this post:
a photo of the site this morning, now that it's all over.

Festival Day on Saturday dawned grey and overcast, threatening rain. The weather here is so changeable that we decided to take no notice. We proceeded to finish the last preparations – we hung our new black curtains (donated by my stepdad – THANKS!) around the stage and set out more chairs. By noon, the sun was in full force and we had a perfect day for the festival, sunny and warm with a cool breeze. A fair few mosquitoes, but we survived the bites!

The line-up was truly stellar. Jude has a gift for booking great musicians who are also really nice people. Everyone who came and performed added to the fun. And so did the audience. It was a joy to see everybody get along. We used my Wholehearted House as the green room and it was a very fun for me to provide food and drinks and a warm welcome to the musicians. I loved having so many friendly and talented hearts in my home throughout the day! I also invited everyone in the audience to feel welcome to poke their heads in to have a look at my home if they were curious. Many people came and expressed their interest in and appreciation for my sweet little home.

In terms of the music, I think my favourite act of the day was Lucas Reeves and the Lunar Skyline. Lucas has a simply phenomenal voice and his three-piece band brought a very danceable up-tick to the day's tempo. But 15-year-old Liam Potter also blew us all away and surprise substitutes Sahara Jane and Dant Lee (who filled in for all but two of the songs of flu-stricken Erika Kulnys' set) were an unexpected treat. Everyone was brilliant – those are just my personal highlights.

The potluck supper was a smash success again this year: Spatchcocked BBQ chicken, beans, salads, chili and much more (om nom nom).

The music didn't stop with the end of the scheduled musicians. The party moved to the bonfire and the music opened up to musicians and audience members alike. Some late-comers arrived with guitars and smiles and hugs. The party went late (I must admit I staggered off to bed long before it was over, but I could still hear the music from my home until I fell asleep).

Sunday dawned sunny. I made some bacon-cheddar scones to share and our friend and neighbour Kerriann (who is our coffee guru at the West Dublin Market) made coffee and hash browns for everybody. I had nice chats with my fellow early-risers.

I was feeling wiped out on Sunday. It has been a very busy summer for me and the past couple of weeks had been emotionally exhausting as well (for reasons I won't get into here). I did a little work collecting recyclables, particularly wanting to get the glass bottles up off the ground. I did a survey of broken cups and glasses – that's one way to downsize possessions – volunteer the breakable things to be used at a folk festival! I washed several dishpans full of dishes and retrieved my silverware from the pool that had been used for the potluck.

I spent the rest of Sunday lying in my chaise lounge and napping in bed. I felt so happy and relieved to have the pressure of helping with the festival off my shoulders. The music continued with an all-day jam that went electric in the afternoon. I drove a stranded festival goer home and picked up a little more booze on the way back. That evening, Kerriann came back after work and we had a little visit in my house. We were joined by more and more folks – I think at the peak I had 8 people in my tiny home, shooting the breeze and drinking whiskey. It was so much fun! It felt like exactly the warming that my house has been needing.

The evening was soft and gentle and at the end, three dear friends and I were sitting on my deck singing a Capella gospel songs and glorying in a beautiful summer night. That was my favourite moment of Pennybrook 2014. Warm arms around me, warm hearts with me, warm voices weaving harmonies. Perfect.

It was back to work for me yesterday – I had a client meeting in Wolfville and files to wrap up for another client. We got the rented gear returned to Long and McQuade in New Minas. There is still clean-up to do, but I am officially on a semi-vacation. No more pressure, no more stress and a break from heavy responsibilities.

I'm going to enjoy this little pause. My next big task will be winterizing Wholehearted House (I had many conversations about how to do this with various festival-goers). I expect that will be my next blog post, too.

Preparing for the Fourth Annual Pennybrook Festival

August 23, 2014 is just four and a half days away. That's the date of the Pennybrook Festival which is held on the land I share with my buddies Jude and Charlie.

 

Needless to say, we are busy. The field has been bush-hogged and raked, the stage is getting built, inconveniently-placed firewood is getting moved, an external tap has been put in so people will be able to get water and the driveway has been trimmed out for better visibility.  Neighbours, family and friends have been stopping by to lend a hand whenever they have spare time. 

I'm excited for this year's festival. Jude has programmed a great line up of music, as always, and the weather forecast looks decent. (We scoff at isolated showers). And this year there will be VIP seating on the deck of the Tiny Home (and a chance to look around inside my house if you'd like to).

Our potluck supper last year was such a great success that we are repeating it this year. And as far as breakfast goes, you can stop in at the West Dublin Market on the way here and get a snazzy gourmet breakfast from the guest brunch chefs there.

We're hoping lots of people will come join us this year. We've had shale put on the entire driveway this year, so it will be easier to get up the hill, but please drive slowly and watch for oncoming traffic. Bring yer kids and grandkids, bring your dogs, your neighbours, your friends, your folding chairs. We promise you lots of good music and fun times!

Ready for my Tiny Open House

Today, I open my house up to anyone who would like to see it. I've put a fair bit of work into getting Wholehearted House ready for this day.

She still has a ways to, but she's looking really good to my eyes. The snacks and drinks are ready. I hope lots of people are able to come help celebrate the home I'm making.

Short-cut to NYC

(It's taken me a while to get this post posted and I know some folks have been waiting curiously! Sorry for the delay; I've been insanely busy.)

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Via the Yarmouth–Portland Ferry, of course.

Airy Ferry Selfie

Earlier this summer, I took the Yarmouth–Portland Ferry (NovaStar Cruises, ooh-là-là) to go down to New York City for a couple of days.

A number of friends asked me to post my ferry impressions and here they are:

Great things about the ferry:

1. Remember being able to travel with a full tube of toothpaste? Don't you long for that freedom again? There is no restriction on gels or liquids when you travel on a boat. Go ahead and bring a big container of well water from your home to consume during the trip. Enjoy.
2. It's big – you can walk around and even go outside for as long as you want. I can't think of any other mode of transport that let's you do that and it's a definite bonus.
3.  You can get a cabin & escape into your own little world. Bring a lover. Knock yourselves out.
4. If you walk on, it's pretty cheap. And there is lots of train service on the other side, so you don't need your car down there. Leave your car in Yarmouth (just a few bucks a day at the Yarmouth Aiport and a $10 shuttle ride to and from the ferry).
5. It's slow. I love the feeling of actually being in the process of going somewhere for a long time. I used to take the Via train between Toronto and Halifax (back when it used to be cheap to get a couchette during the winter). Taking a long time to get somewhere gives me time to get ready  for my destination and gives me time to absorb the experience on the way home.
6. It's unplugged. There is no cell phone service on the on the ocean and I didn't even bother to ask how much they charge to log in to the satellite wi-fi. Also, there is nowhere to charge your phone, so conserving the battery is a plan. If you're like me and have a hard time getting the Internet out of your life, this is a great way to unplug and spend time writing (a blog post, perhaps), connecting with a friend or lover (see #3 above) or just staring off into space and chilling out. 
7. The staff are (mostly) friendly, and when they are not friendly they are definitely polite and professional. Also, if you live in Nova Scotia (outside HRM) and the homogeneity gets you down sometimes, you'll enjoy being back in the normality (at least to a former Torontonian) of the multi-cultural staff.
8. It's pretty quiet and empty. Hopefully, that will change, but in July of it's maiden year, the boat was far from congested. 

Not so great things about the ferry:

1. There will be children. Of course, this is a family-friendly means of conveyance. They were pretty well behaved, but there were a lot of them. Seek refuge in the casino bar. (For those of my friends who have children, I bet you and your kids will love this aspect of the trip. Friendships will be formed, I'm sure. There is a little play area and kiddie movies playing in one corner of the ship).
2. The ship runs on Eastern Time.This means that supper will start an hour later than you might like & same thing goes for breakfast. If you're like me, you might get hangry. Bring snacks (I did, but not enough).
3. There is nowhere to charge your phone/tablet/laptop. Even though you probably won't want to pay for internet access, you might want to play games, type off-line, etc. Or even have enough charge to make a phone call when you get to the other side. Why is there nowhere to charge your phone? Because the ship was built in another jurisdiction and they haven't converted the outlets to the North American standard. I was sure I took a photo of the outlets to show you but I can't find it now – if you're worried, call the booking office and I'm sure they can tell you what adaptor you need. Or, bring a solar charger.
4. The food is tasty, but pretty indigestible. I had lunch on the way down and breakfast on the way back at the boat's buffet restaurant. The food was edible, even tasty (mmmm, cauliflower gratin) but didn't sit so easily in my tummy. You might want to bring your own meals, especially if you have food sensitivities. 
5.  If you're an early riser like me, the ship will be closed when you wake up. I slept until about 4 am on the way back to NS. Nothing was open when I got up – not the casino, the duty-free or the café place. Nowhere to get a drink, a snack or entertainment. 

A few tips:

•  Although it says the ferry departs Portland, ME at 9pm, they want you to be there by 7pm (and we boarded around 8pm) (If you're leaving your car in Yarmouth, like I did, the shuttle will get you there on time).
• Not that I think anyone reading this would ever dream of trying to transport illicit substances across the border, but be forewarned that the sniffer dogs were very much in evidence in Maine. So don't try to bring drugs or dynamite home as souvenirs. 
• Bring earplugs, especially if you don't like the sound of droning engines.
• Dress in layers – the climate control on the ship is a bit erratic – although maybe those were hot flashes. Anyway, layers never hurt. 
• If you want to sleep well, splurge on a cabin.
• If you walk on, have patience. There is a long walk on and off the boat and they load and unload the cars first.
• Watch your step – I wiped out on the wet deck leaving the boat and bruised a knee. 

My funniest experience on the boat happened on the way back. As it's an overnight trip, I reserved a recliner seat – similar to an airplane seat with extra leg room, these are not particularly comfortable for sleeping but are a good place to read or to drop your stuff and use as a "home base" on the boat. On the way back to Yarmouth, I sat in my recliner seat for the first part of the trip, reading a book. During the first hour of the journey, every family taking the trip came up to the recliner lounge as part of their exploration of the ship. Almost every single group commented on the sign saying that the lounge was off-limits for people without reserved recliner seats – and they all came through anyway, parents explaining to their kids that this was where the people sat whose parents hadn't thoughfully provided cabins for their comfort. Then they would see me (I was the only passenger in that section of the recliner cabin) and make some comment about how it was quite nice really. It happened over and over again, at least a dozen times. Hilarious!

And by the way, I had an awesome time in New York. I LOVE it there!

Oh, so THAT's what my dishes look like!

I moved three and half years ago from Toronto to West Dublin, NS and I moved into the house of a friend with a fully-stocked kitchen. So, he asked me to leave my kitchen stuff packed, and apart from a few vital things (like my left-handed utensils), I did.

Then, when I moved a few months ago, I left a couple of boxes behind at the old place. I was tired, the car was full and I asked if I could just leave them for another day. I finally got them yesterday. 

In one of those boxes I found my Toronto dishes:

I quite like them. They are like brand new dishes because I couldn't remember what they looked like. 

You see, I hadn't had them for very long before I left Toronto. I only bought them because I was having a dinner party one day and while cooking realized that I didn't actually have four plates to serve supper on - so I ran down to Spadina and College on my bike and got these.

It's good to get reacquainted. Now, I need to make space in my house and my life for Tiny Dinner Parties.