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Photo credit: Portraits by Johanna
Let me begin by making it clear that I (Anne) am a fair-weather runner in every sense of the word! However, one of our favourite family traditions takes place on the long weekend in May each year- The Bluenose Marathon in Halifax. This year was our sixth year attending, and fifth participating as a family.
Six years ago, when he was eight, Evan joined the running club at his school and got to go on a bus from Truro to Halifax to participate in the Youth Run portion of the marathon. He was hooked and so were we. D’Arcy had been a runner when we were first married and the boys were babies, but like many of us do with exercise, put it to the side when life got busy with other commitments. So when Evan announced he wanted to start running, and then Alex wanted to join him, we did what crazy parents do and joined them. Once I got started, I realized it wasn’t so bad and once you get through the first kilometre or two, it actually starts to feel good. (As long as where you’re running is flat.) I still will make any excuse not to go, but it’s a healthy, free activity that we can do together as a family.
This year, as I was registering us in February to take advantage of the early-bird registration rate (makes a BIG difference for a family of six) I registered D’Arcy first, and in doing so didn’t realize until after-the-fact that it automatically defaulted to the full marathon registration rather than the 10km race I was supposed to sign him up for! After I assured him that I had not recently taken out a new life insurance policy on him, he decided that he might as well train for the half-marathon. It’s been on his bucket list for awhile, and since he’s going to have a milestone birthday this year (ahem) he took it very seriously.
We left for Halifax directly after school on Friday. D’Arcy’s brother & his wife were away biking in Cape Breton this weekend so had offered us their house for the weekend. We can’t thank them enough! It was wonderful that we had comfortable sleeping arrangements and a full kitchen to use for meals, which are always tricky when traveling with food allergies. We picked up our race-kits at the Expo, got some groceries, then got settled in, making our plans and arrangements for the weekend.
Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, but cold. We entered into the mass of people at the Halifax Metro Centre to make sure the kids knew where to meet if they got separated. (We learned that lesson the hard way a few years ago!) We left the boys in charge of the girls at the start line, and D’Arcy & I went up the course to find a spot to cheer them on.
The Bluenose Youth Run is the largest youth run in Canada. This year there were over 4,000 participants! It was extra special for the girls to run the race for the first time with their brothers – holding hands throughout the entire 4.2km course! 
The energy and excitement is hard to imagine if you haven’t experienced it! I had worried that Sarah especially wouldn’t have a good time (did I mention it was bitterly cold?) and wouldn’t want to participate again, but even she had a huge smile each time we saw her!
The McRunners speed through the city
I think Alex was the motivator for the group!
Nearing the finish – love that Sarah’s sweater is now open to show her bib and Evan is wearing Olivia’s sweater around his waist!
The McRunners, together to the finish!
After the race, we got ourselves together, packed up some food and went out to Mike & Emily’s to help with their boys and make them some supper. (For those who are new here, our niece Emily just had major surgery to remove tumors from her spine and neck.) It turned out that Emily wasn’t having a very good day, and was in the city having a procedure, so it turned out to be good timing that we were able to be there that particular day. We spent the afternoon with Mike and the boys: playing racing games, walking in the woods, and getting some laundry caught up.
Uncle Darce and Seamus were a team!
Phinn gets ready to take us to “The Pit”.
A fun way to spend the afternoon.
Mike & D’Arcy discuss marathons, boats, and renewable energy.
Fun for the cousins!
Olivia gets a lift from cousin Mike.
A springtime walk, home through the woods. We only lost three of the city-kids for a short period of time…
Warming up together by the fire when we got back to the house.
Sarah makes a new friend.
For supper we had veggie pasta, Caesar salad, and a lemon pie so D’Arcy could “carb up”. Emily and her grandfather arrived home just in time to join us, but she was in a lot of pain. After supper, we quickly got some food into the freezer, did the dishes, and left them so they could all get to bed. (And so could we!)
We were up bright & early on Sunday morning to get ready for our big day! I don’t think D’Arcy or I slept particularly well, but as my running partner, Kim, told me – “as long as you rested your legs, you’ll be fine”! Evan & Alex were running the 5k which left right after the marathon runners, so we went up to the start line to watch. We met up with D’Arcy’s sister Erin, and nephew Ryan, who were also both running the half-marathon. We watched the boys start, then said good-bye to the half-marathon runners and went to the Metro Centre where the girls were going to wait to meet the boys. Because it was so cold, the girls were happy to watch the finish on the big screen inside.
Evan & Alex ran a good race, although Evan’s shoelace came untied and he ran the rest of the race with it like that rather than stopping to tie it. They had mixed reviews on their times. They both wanted to come in under 25 minutes, but Evan’s chip time was 0:25:29.5 and Alex’s was 0:26:33.1. Personally, I’d be happy to be able to run 5km at a 5 minute pace… When they finished, they came in to the Metro Centre to look after the girls while D’Arcy & I ran. Their race had started at 8:10, D’Arcy’s at 8:45, and mine at 9:00. It gave us lots of time to switch off.
I was running 10km with my childhood friend, Kim. Let’s just say that our training has included one walk together, and three runs separately – all spring! There may or may not have been some wine involved in our training as well. (It’s a carb, right?!) The most I’d run at once this year was 5k. I wasn’t quite sure how the run would go, and we hoped to finish in about an hour and ten minutes. We had a ball running together when I wasn’t panting for breath! We had already made a pact ahead of time to walk up the hills – there are some doozies on the course! I loved all the signs, the cheers, the kids who lined the course high-fiving and blowing bubbles, and the bands – yes, live bands – who were playing on different parts of the course. As we headed over the bridge, runners from the marathon, and then the first 10k runners started coming in the opposite direction. We yelled and cheered for each of them as they passed us. It was a great way to take my mind off the burning in my legs and my lungs! In the end, we finished with a time of 1:09:05.5. Kim’s time was two seconds faster than mine because she started to sprint at the end. Not bad for a couple of 40 year olds… 
Our goal for next year is to train and come in around an hour. Totally doable…
We met up with the kids who had been great while we were gone and started watching for D’Arcy to cross the finish. He and Erin completed their race with a time of 2:02:55. D’Arcy had hoped to finish in two hours. Our nephew Ryan? His time was 1:40:42. Show-off.
Waiting for the gun to start the Full Marathon
D’Arcy & our nephew Ryan discuss who will be faster than whom. Maybe Ryan could have piggybacked D’Arcy for part of it…
Kim & Anne, ready to run 10km together.
D’Arcy and his sister Erin with their half-marathon finisher medals. Thank you Erin for all your support and for coaching D’Arcy through it!
The McRunners, happy to be finished!
Our yearly photo with Myles – another part of the tradition!
We had to take one more to make sure Aunt Erin was in the photo too!
After the race, we took the girls to Woozles Bookstore - a favourite – which Sarah reported was the best part of the weekend. We went back to Brian & Morag’s to do the laundry, change the beds, and pack up. A friend of ours had died, and the memorial service was being webcast, so we took the time to watch. Although we couldn’t get back to town in time to attend in person, it was wonderful to be able to be part of it from away. Olivia wasn’t feeling well and had developed a fever, so we stayed away from the new baby we wanted to go see and from any other people we wanted to visit. We got home in time to have some Chinese food for supper (since Olivia wasn’t eating anyway), then hung out quietly together until we all went to bed early.
Our tourist season starts in earnest today, and we have rooms booked every night this week. D’Arcy was up early to mow the lawn before the rain starts, and Alex has a full day of dress-rehearsal before his school’s production of “Annie” this coming weekend. Our lives tend to be busy, so I am happy that six years ago Evan suggested we start running and I reluctantly agreed to join him. Even though I can no longer keep up with my teenagers, it’s still an activity we can all do together as a family, and the short respite for us during the May long weekend keeps us refreshed for the season ahead!
As I’ve mentioned before, I enjoy being involved in the Nova Scotian tourism industry as a whole. I was on the board of the Nova Scotia Bed & Breakfast Association (NSBBA) from 2005-2011, the board of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia (TIANS) fom 2008-2012, and am still the NSBBA representative on the Nova Scotia Tourism Human Resource Council (NSTHRC). Wow that’s a lot of acronyms…
Because of these affiliations, I’m often lucky enough to be invited to differet industry events. My favourite event of the year (and there are some wonderful events) is the NSTHRC Recognition of Excellence CertificationDinner each May. This year, the 18th annual, was held on Wednesday night at Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax. I love it because members of the industry get together to celebrate those front-line staff and properties who have received national certification creditentials during the past year. Last year, I received professional certification as a Tourism Trainer.
The beautiful table settings.
Nova Scotia is unique in that as a province, we have the highest number of certified tourism professionals in Canada! In fact, our tourism department is committed to ensuring that 100% of our Provincial Visitor Information Centre employees are certified.
This year, I had the distint pleasure of cheering for three of my former NSCC Tourism Management students, Theresa, Heather and Jeff, as they received their national certifications as a Heritage Interpreter. I’m so proud of all three of them and so happy I could be there to share in their special moment! Congratulations to all three of you!
If you’re in the Truro area, you can meet these three tourism professionals at the Glooscap Heritage Centre and perhaps one of them will give you a tour! Tell them Anne sent you…
Jeff, Theresa, Anne & Heather – an NSCC Tourism Management reunion!
*Thank you! Thank you! Thank You! To all of you who took the time to vote for Belgravia as “Best Bed & Breakfast” we thank you! Voting has now closed and we will find out how we did at the Truro and Colchester Chamber’s Best of Colchester Awards on June 13th. We’ll keep you posted on how it all turns out!
Winning the “Best B&B” award in 2011 at the Best of Colchester awards
There are only two days of voting left in the Truro & Colchester Chamber’s “Best of Colchester” awards. (Voting ends Wednesday, May 15th.) We have been fortunate to have won this award for the past three years in a row. I hate to sound greedy, but we’d really love to keep the streak going…
In order to do this, we need your votes – it doesn’t take long and you don’t need to register. You just need to click on the link to the Truro Colchester Chamber of Commerce and type “Belgravia“ as Best Bed & Breakfast. You can do this up to five times per IP address (computer or device). You do not need to vote in each category, but if you’ve been in the area and enjoyed a certain restaurant, shop, or other business, please take a moment and vote for them as well!
We strive to be the best at what we do, offering clean, comfortable, up-to-date accommodations, and abundant fresh, local, healthy food at breakfast. We pride ourselves on providing authentic maritime hospitality and recognize that we have tough competition! Thank you for your votes – it really means so much to us!
Please Vote Belgravia for Best Bed & Breakfast in the 2013 Best of Colchester
Belgravia Bed & Breakfast Website
We’re just ramping up for our 11th tourist season here at The Belgravia Bed & Breakfast and our children have obviously learned a thing or two growing up in this environment.
“Waking me up” to take my order.
The flowers were all picked from our own yard.
Did any other moms out there have to fill out a guest feedback form for their breakfast in bed?
I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast-in-bed of fruit, yogurt, granola, toast, and coffee – at the cost of five hugs. I especially loved the service and added touches. I rated them a 15 – I’ll definitely be back!!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Breakfast by request this morning? French toast with fruit and “Acadian Maple” pure maple syrup, made on D’Arcy’s porridge bread. This is a recipe we discovered years ago in our “Taste of Nova Scotia” cookbook and D’Arcy makes it at least once each week, usually twice. Described as, “a wonderfully fragrant, soft brown bread”, it gets rave reviews by all. We often make this bread for the kids’ teachers as thank-you gifts, and one teacher in particular has come to the house offering to pay D’Arcy to make it for him! For the record, I like it best when it’s still warm from the oven and slathered with butter and molasses!
Recipe by Taste of Nova Scotia:
Porridge:
Bread:
In a saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil; add rolled oats and bring back to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and set porridge aside. In a small mixing bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water; add yeast and let rise until foamy. In a large mixing bowl, blend together porridge, brown sugar, oil and molasses. To porridge mixture, add yeast mixture, stirring to combine. Add flour 1 cup at a time, stirring to blend well, and continue to add flour until dough starts to come clean from the sides of the bowl but is not dry. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and somewhat elastic. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size. (60 – 90 minutes).
Punch dough down and divide into six equal pieces. Shape into loaves and place two loves each into three greased 10 – x 6-inch double bread pans. Cover and set aside to rise in a warm draft-free place until double in size, approximately one hour. Bake in a preheated 325*F oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until loaves are golden brown. Makes three double loaves.
** If you are so inclined, we’ve been nominated as Best Bed & Breakfast in the Truro & Colchester Chamber’s 2013 “Best of Colchester” awards. Voting takes place until May 15th. We’d be so grateful if you’d click on the website and vote for “Belgravia” as “Best B&B” up to five times per IP address. You do not need to register, nor do you need to vote in every category. Thank you in advance!
**Update on Emily, Saturday, May 11th, 2013: Emily’s surgery went very well, and she was out of the OR in less time than anticipated. The surgeon was able to remove the tumor from her spine, and also removed a newly found tumor closer to her neck while in there. She is in a fair amount of discomfort (or should I be honest and say “pain” – eh Em?) as was to be expected. She’ll be in hospital for a week before returning home for six weeks of limited activity, then a three month recovery process. Thank you to all for your prayers and/or positive thoughts! Her whole extended family appreciates it!
It turns out that May is an “awareness” month for many different causes. We’ve recently been having conversations with our kids about how we choose the charities we support. We have causes we support because of family members or friends who been affected by different illnesses: The Canadian Cancer Society, The Nova Scotia Heart & Stroke Foundation, The Canadian Diabetes Association, the IWK Heath Centre Founation, and the Colchester Hospital Foundation.
May is Anaphylaxis Awareness month which we are obviously passionate about, Lupis awareness month, and Duchenne Muscular Distrophy awareness month. It is also an awareness month for something you may not have heard of: Neurofibromatosis. It’s a genetic condition with three subtypes, NF1, NF2, and Schwannomatosis. All three types of NF are genetic disorders involving the growth of tumors along the nerves.
This is the face of Neurofibromatosis – the Schwannomatosis variety – our beautiful niece, Emily: (Well, she’s married to our nephew… semantics.)
The happy couple at their wedding in 2007.
This is a new diagnosis for Emily. Just before Christmas she discovered a small lump in her back which grew rapidly. She has had two surgeries to remove tumors since then: one in her back, and one in her pelvis. Today, she will undergo a third surgery which is the most dangerous and invasive surgery so far; she has a tumor on her spine. I have asked (and been granted) her permission to share her story to help her raise awareness.
Today, she will have a spinal laminectomy. They’ll be cutting through six layers of muscle, moving ribs and blood vessels, and removing a section of her spine to get the tumor out. Without getting into great detail, the risks of leaving the tumor in far outweigh the significant risks of the surgery. She has a long road of recovery ahead (at least three months), especially as the mom of two very special preschool boys.
The thing is, with this condition, the tumors will continually grow and she is facing a lifetime of surgeries.
As a result of her new diagnosis (and tremor caused by the tumor), Emily has had to leave her job as a server at their local up-scale diner. Mike & Emily live in a house that they built “off the grid”, and she has recently created a new line of all-natural skin care lotions and creams. Her business is called “Simply Gorgeous” and is aptly named! (She sent me some samples.)
If you would like to follow Emily’s journey with Schwannomatosis, recovery from today’s surgery, and growth of her new business, she has given me permission to share the link to her blog: Swimminhill. She’ll be in hospital for at least a week, so updates may take awhile.
I realize this isn’t the normal bed & breakfast kind of blog post, but I thought it was important to help Emily in her quest to raise awareness, and hopefully eventually – a cure. For Emily, and for her family.
Happy Mama and her boys, the day before surgery.
I took Olivia to her yearly allergy appointment yesterday. For anyone who follows along this blog regularly, you know that our daughter Olivia has life-threatening (anaphylaxis) allergies to peanuts, treenuts, eggs, and soy. She has outgrown allergies and intolerances to dairy, cinnamon, avacado, banana, and most fruit. There were times over the years when we weren’t sure what was causing her reactions and questioned shellfish, wheat, and even the possibility of exercise-induced anaphylaxis.
Luckily, as she’s been growing, she’s outgrown most of her allergies and we are left with a short, but dangerous, (and probably permanent) list. Olivia has had reactions and ended up in the hospital when our B&B guests have been eating nuts in their rooms. As a result, we became a “peanut and treenut free accommodation” – the first in Nova Scotia!
What was initially overwhelming, has become just the way we live. We’re all very good at reading labels and she is mature enough to understand that she cannot always eat what those around her are eating. She always asks “Is this safe for me” before trying something new. Our family and friends are supportive and conscientious to ensure she stays safe. Luckily, D’Arcy & I love to cook and bake so we always have safe treats on hand!
Throughout her testing over the years (we received her official diagnosis when she was ten months old) the hope was that she would outgrow as many of her allergies as possible. Because her numbers are so high, and because of the type of allergies she has, she will probably have to navigate her peanut, egg, and soy allergies for life. Based on the results from last year’s blood-work, her doctor tested her skin yesterday for tree-nuts* and egg, to see how they were progressing. Much to our amazement and surprise, her tree-nut pokes (with the exception of cashew) came back negative!
Olivia shows off her poke tests. The doctor ground up actual nuts (rather than the serum they normally use – makes it even more accurate) which was then put onto her skin. They take a tiny needle and poke the mixture so it enters her skin. If a hive appears, the test is positive; no reaction means negative. You can see the hive for egg and cashew on the top left. The hive on the bottom right is the histamine control.
So what does this mean? Although the blood and skin tests are now negative, it is too dangerous for her to just start eating nuts. If the tests are false negatives, she could go into anaphylaxis as soon she ingests them. Olivia is scheduled for an “almond challenge” under medical supervision in June. We chose almonds to test first because they will open up the most options for her: skin creams, cereals, almond butter, almond milk, etc. We’ll continue with challenges throughout the summer until she has passed them all.
To be clear, even if she passes, she still won’t be able to eat nuts in a restaurant or at a party due to the risk of cross-contamination with peanuts, but she’ll be able to eat them in a controlled environment and we’ll be able to eat them around her!
She was slightly put-out that her allergist decided she could wait until next year to have more blood-work done. I asked him if he’d ever met a child who was disappointed that she did NOT get to have bloodwork? (No.) Turned out she wanted the finger puppet they give the kids at the lab at the IWK Health Centre after their needles are over. Weird kid. We went to Woozles book store instead and got a treat there.
I still can’t quite believe it! Rest assured, we are still committed to being a peanut and tree-nut free property, knowing the peace of mind it brings to our guests with food allergies.
Olivia surrounded by bubbles being blown outside a candy shop in Halifax. Happy her appointment was over.
* Peanuts and treenuts are not the same thing. Peanuts are a legume and grow in the ground. Treenuts grow on trees and include nuts such as almonds, pecans, cashews, walnuts, brazil nuts, macademia nuts, pistachios, and hazlenuts.
