1 - The Grapevine

3 The Grapevine
September 19 - October 3, 2013
FURRY FEATURE
While hiking around Cape Chignecto, I came across what can only
be described as trail magic. At the bottom of the eight-switchback
hill into Mill Brook, someone (who knows who?) left two
still-cold beers in the middle of the trail for
whomever might be in need of
such a delight.
Thank you, whoever you are.
They tasted oh, so good, unbelievably
good. After hiking a grueling 46 K,
nothing could be as wonderful as a sweet,
cold, delicious beer. Hikers treating hikers
with thoughtful acts, no wonder I like
hiking so much.
Etienne Randonnee
jackson
Feature Pet: JACKSON
Jackson is a two-year-old neutered male tabby. He is white
with a very dark tail. Jackson was a stray in Wolfville, with
a leg injury which has since been attended to. Very unique
colouring on this guy!
Update on BOOTS: Still Available
Boots is a female black-andwhite
cat who is about two
years old. She was found in the
Wolfville area. Boots has now
been tested, spayed and vaccinated
and is ready to find her
new home.
Wolfville Animal Hospital, 12-112 Front St., Wolfville 902 542 3422
wolfvilleanimalhospital@ns.aliantzinc.ca
Random Act of Kindness is Brought to you by: Daniels’ Flower Shop Ltd. 40 Water St, Windsor
798-5337 www.danielsflowershop.net
Stories from Valley musicians compiled by Mike Aubé
Calling all Valley performers and songwriters! I'm looking for your gig stories and
stories-behind-the-song. If you have something to share, mail them, along with a
high-resolution photo, to mike@mikeaube.com. This week's installment is from Donna
Holmes, Host of “Open Mike & Donna” Tuesday nights at TAN Coffee, Wolfville.
Writing a song is hard, except when it’s easy. Easy
songs occur to me about once per decade; the
difficult ones, about once a year. In other words, my
repertoire needed a boost. So last November I decided
to write 30 poems in 30 days. About 50% of what I
wrote that month was crap, and a good portion of the
remaining poems decided they liked being poetry rather
than songs and that was that. This left me with two new
songs. I was thrilled - I had just doubled my usual output!
They’re both about winter –
that happens when you write in
November. I haven’t been able
to perform them for a while.
People get upset when you sing
songs called “Wintertime” in
August. The weather’s finally getting cooler again. Come by TAN
Café this Tuesday and I’ll play them for you. Then you can play,
and tell me the story behind your song.
The final push is on for building a hospice
and palliative care centre in the
Annapolis Valley. That’s why the Valley’s
automobile dealerships have rallied to launch
the “REV UP for Hospice” campaign!
The campaign runs from Sept 2 to Dec 31.
Participating dealerships from Windsor to
Middleton have committed to a matching-gift
program that aims to raise $80,000, all for the
hospice and palliative care centre slated to be
built at Valley Regional Hospital. The Hospice
and Palliative Care Centre at Valley Regional
Hospital is the final project to be funded by the
“Our Community Our Health” campaign.
Compiled by Mike Aube
www.mikeaube.com
ANNAPOLIS VALLEY CAR DEALERS ANNOUNCE
“REV UP FOR HOSPICE” CAMPAIGN
The centre will support patients and families as
they deal with life-limiting illness.
The money raised during the “REV Up for
Hospice” campaign will be counted towards an
ambitious $8 million goal. Over $7.3 million
has been raised, already funding several improvements
at Valley Regional Hospital.
Participating dealers include Best Toyota, Cornwallis
Chevrolet, Connell Motors, Bruce Auto
Group, Kentville Chrysler, Kentville Mazda,
Kentville Nissan, Valley Ford, Valley Volkswagen,
Forbes Kia and Pothier Motors.
www.ourcommunityourhealth.ca
LILA HOPE SIMPSON: WRITING WITH A VIEW
If you could walk away from your life and begin
anew, where would you “. . . go? Lila Hope-Simpson What would has a gift for you making do?
the mundane, exceptional.”
Would you plan ahead, or would it be spontaneous?
—A. K. Henderson, author of Lilacs in the Snow.
Lila Hope-Simpson’s novel Stepping Out explores these
questions as the protagonist, Lydia Starr, makes her
way from small-town Nova Scotia to Montreal to start
afresh. But of course, before she can truly find peace
and fulfillment, she discovers
that running away is not
the answer. First she must go
back and face the adversities
that drove her away in
the first
place.
Although this is Hope-Simpson’s
first adult novel,
she is no newcomer to the world of writing. Her
award-winning children’s book
Fiddles: Journey of an
Acadian Mouse (Nimbus 2012). Beautifully illustrated
by well-known local artist Doretta Groenendyk, it tells
the story of the expulsion of the Acadians from Grand
Pré through the eyes of a family of mice who ISBN 978-1-927003-26-8 live in the
Dubois household.
As a long-time columnist for The Kings County Advertiser
& Register, Hope-Simpson wrote the Positive Parenting
columns, focusing on parents and families. These columns and stories were published into
a compilation entitled The Clothesline Collection. Topics range from date rape to toilet training,
vegan meals to child care. A portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the IWK
Health Centre Foundation.
These topics came easily for Hope-Simpson, who has a background in Early Childhood Education
and is currently the Director of the Home & Heart Family Day Care Agency, which oversees
approved child-care homes from Hantsport to Middleton. When she’s not working or writing
up a storm, Hope-Simpson can be found walking her dogs, Chester & Bruno, planning her
next trip, sharing coffee with a friend at a local café, rug-hooking, or enjoying the view of the
Valley from the back deck of her Newtonville home, built by her husband, artist-blacksmith Ian
Hope-Simpson.
Books are available at Box of Delights and other Valley stores or by ordering directly from lila@
hope-simpson.com- Don’t forget to LIKE her ‘Lila Hope-Simpson, Author’ facebook page.