Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
On Maritime Hospitality, (better than trades' help)...
...our first house guests arrived on Friday, and in their best interest...they brought their own house! A smart move...in fact, we would have liked to move into it as well!
This is our son-in-law, Rick's parents, Lachman & Verne from Guelph who are doing a month long tour of the eastern seaboard and what a great way to travel!
After giving them a tour of our new digs, with all the customary explanations, pictures and drawings to ensure our vision of its potential is clearly communicated, we sat outside for a glass of wine waiting for our lobsters to arrive. It's the last day of lobster fishing for this area and a local fisherman delivered five 2-pounders directly to us from his boat! I doubt they get much fresher than that!
Do these people look happy?!
Saturday, we took them on a guided tour of...
...the West Quaco Lighthouse...
... St Martins (that doesn't take long!)...
...drove the Fundy Trail...
...and lunched in the local restaurant. Then Jim & I had to get ready to go to St John for a family (and extended family) house party...and if you've been following the blog, you are already aware of what time consuming process that entails!
And a party it was! great food and fun guests...
...and ...lots of laughs
Margaret & Kevin
do these guys look happy!?
...even Quincy (that's the dog) enjoyed the evening!
Sunday was a typical Maritime day...rain, fog, "mist" (a.k.a. more rain) and the occasional downpour.
Jim was anxious to start taking wallpaper off the walls of the hall upstairs and I was anxious to see the Kingsbrae Gardens in St Andrews (Jim was not). So having Lachman and Verne, two avid gardeners to hang out with...we set off ...my first time driving any further than downtown St Martins. And needless to say, it wasn't busy at the gardens!
Check out their website (on the right)...if you like gardening...it is well known as one of the top ten gardens in Canada.
Some of the highlights are in the previous slideshow, and these are the resident Alpacas that have just been sheared...how cute are these? (gotta get me one!)
Still no progress on the reno...seems our social calendar is doing better than the house renovations! Lots of promises for trades to show up this week...hmmmmm....perhaps?
This is our son-in-law, Rick's parents, Lachman & Verne from Guelph who are doing a month long tour of the eastern seaboard and what a great way to travel!
After giving them a tour of our new digs, with all the customary explanations, pictures and drawings to ensure our vision of its potential is clearly communicated, we sat outside for a glass of wine waiting for our lobsters to arrive. It's the last day of lobster fishing for this area and a local fisherman delivered five 2-pounders directly to us from his boat! I doubt they get much fresher than that!
Do these people look happy?!
Saturday, we took them on a guided tour of...
...the West Quaco Lighthouse...
... St Martins (that doesn't take long!)...
...drove the Fundy Trail...
...and lunched in the local restaurant. Then Jim & I had to get ready to go to St John for a family (and extended family) house party...and if you've been following the blog, you are already aware of what time consuming process that entails!
And a party it was! great food and fun guests...
...and ...lots of laughs
Margaret & Kevin
do these guys look happy!?
...even Quincy (that's the dog) enjoyed the evening!
Sunday was a typical Maritime day...rain, fog, "mist" (a.k.a. more rain) and the occasional downpour.
Jim was anxious to start taking wallpaper off the walls of the hall upstairs and I was anxious to see the Kingsbrae Gardens in St Andrews (Jim was not). So having Lachman and Verne, two avid gardeners to hang out with...we set off ...my first time driving any further than downtown St Martins. And needless to say, it wasn't busy at the gardens!
Check out their website (on the right)...if you like gardening...it is well known as one of the top ten gardens in Canada.
Some of the highlights are in the previous slideshow, and these are the resident Alpacas that have just been sheared...how cute are these? (gotta get me one!)
Still no progress on the reno...seems our social calendar is doing better than the house renovations! Lots of promises for trades to show up this week...hmmmmm....perhaps?
Friday, June 27, 2008
The Week In Review...
...not much. The roofers came on Tuesday afternoon to complete the second half of the summer kitchen, but with on/off rain they have put off doing the house until there is a 3 or 4 day stretch so they can start and finish it all. The pitch is very steep and the slightest dampness can cause havoc for the decking and compromise the roofers' safety (important to Elmer the Safety Elephant, one of Jim's alter egos).
So Jim kept his "down time" in check (no one to supervise!) with the odd activity: he replaced one door in the summer kitchen with one with a window, now matching the other (symmetry is very important to 'Jerome' the decorator- Jim's other alter ego) and it now fits snug to the threshold thus reducing the insect population in the house (important to me).
Does this man look like he's having fun?...
As for me, I collect flowers, create arrangements and take pictures...someone has to ensure the documentary is recorded!
Flowers are moved room to room as there are few horizontal surfaces...less dusting required, I guess...
In the bathroom...
...to the stairs...
...to the "war room!
The one accomplishment for the week...John Morrison the talented heavy equipment man came by (as promised) with a load of "pit gravel" (literally the stuff they dig out of ditches) to use as the first layer for the parking area. The "real" gravel is $400.00/load...and he estimates we'll need at least four loads! Should of seen the look on the banker's face then!
Moving the gravel into place...
...and supervisor (favourite alter ego!) on hand
And as for our life of chaos...note to self...when packing for a move, list everything inside on the outside of each box! ... to quote the famous philosopher, Steve Martin..."Chaos in the midst of chaos isn't funny, but chaos in the midst of order is." How we long for some semblance of order!
So Jim kept his "down time" in check (no one to supervise!) with the odd activity: he replaced one door in the summer kitchen with one with a window, now matching the other (symmetry is very important to 'Jerome' the decorator- Jim's other alter ego) and it now fits snug to the threshold thus reducing the insect population in the house (important to me).
Does this man look like he's having fun?...
As for me, I collect flowers, create arrangements and take pictures...someone has to ensure the documentary is recorded!
Flowers are moved room to room as there are few horizontal surfaces...less dusting required, I guess...
In the bathroom...
...to the stairs...
...to the "war room!
The one accomplishment for the week...John Morrison the talented heavy equipment man came by (as promised) with a load of "pit gravel" (literally the stuff they dig out of ditches) to use as the first layer for the parking area. The "real" gravel is $400.00/load...and he estimates we'll need at least four loads! Should of seen the look on the banker's face then!
Moving the gravel into place...
...and supervisor (favourite alter ego!) on hand
And as for our life of chaos...note to self...when packing for a move, list everything inside on the outside of each box! ... to quote the famous philosopher, Steve Martin..."Chaos in the midst of chaos isn't funny, but chaos in the midst of order is." How we long for some semblance of order!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Jim's First Auction...
...we took last weekend for R & R and Sunday thought we'd drop in on an antique auction in Quispamsis (not sure where all the unique names originate). Jim has never been to an auction before and though not an all-day, frenzied, outside-in-all-weather kind of farm auction it was a good stepping stone to the "real" thing. There was lots of stuff, mostly furniture (mixed with reproductions) and though the prices were good, it was more of a recon mission to establish what we thought should (and should NOT) go in the house. 'Jerome' (remember the decorator?) often rears his artistic head and tries to bully me (HA!) into particular and often peculiar design and furnishing styles! Needless to say we didn't buy anything, but did determine this is going to take a looooong time to find common ground!
And we did meet some dealers who gave us their name etc. in Hampton to drop in and see what they have on hand or coming in.
And after dinner a walk to see Misty and pick some lupins...
I left the wild iris for future transplanting! (But they grow in abundance in almost every ditch)
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Why Jim Does NOT Get To Take Pictures...
...and I do all the photography! The 21st was Corrine's 90th birthday, and we thought a nice tour of the Fundy Trail and dinner at our local "chee-chee" Country Inn would be a nice treat. Besides, she had not been out to see our "estate" as yet. The entire day was foggy until she, her sister Eleanor and nephew Sean arrived, which by then the day had turned warm and sunny. Following a peruse of the 4 walls and 4 acres (more or less) they set off with Jim to the Trail. I had given Jim a lesson on the new "point-and-shoot" camera (very simple operation) and asked him to take lots of pics of the event as I was going to meet them at the inn later. The following is the entire photo shoot of the group and tour...
Fortunately, the camera was returned to me and the day did not go by without some pictures of this momentous day!
Corrine toasts her day with ginger ale
Sean and Jim (not drinking!)
Corrine with her melody of seafood
Jim just enjoys ANY food!
Sean and Eleanor (note Sean's "mini" pork chop!)
The St Martins Country Inn (great decorating ideas here!)
And...we finally stayed up long enough to see a sunset in our backyard! (9:30!) Not the grandeur of Ipperwash, but nice.
Re-roofing began on Friday as did the arrival of the dumpster. Half of the summer kitchen was completed with a promise to return Saturday (no), Sunday (probably not) but definitely on Monday? These are the 2 sons of Dougie Dean (Dougie Jr and Greg) and both are getting married next month, so were obliged to attend their "showers" on the weekend?!
Jim and I busied ourselves with removing all the old carpeting we had piled up for the last month and the entire contents of the summer kitchen (walls, ceiling & chimney) and loading it into the dumpster - BIG job, and we barely fell into bed on Friday night before we fell asleep. Renovating is a young person's job!
Down to the old white-washed boards...
...and the remaining rubble to move out...aaarrrggghhh!!!!
Fortunately, the camera was returned to me and the day did not go by without some pictures of this momentous day!
Corrine toasts her day with ginger ale
Sean and Jim (not drinking!)
Corrine with her melody of seafood
Jim just enjoys ANY food!
Sean and Eleanor (note Sean's "mini" pork chop!)
The St Martins Country Inn (great decorating ideas here!)
And...we finally stayed up long enough to see a sunset in our backyard! (9:30!) Not the grandeur of Ipperwash, but nice.
Re-roofing began on Friday as did the arrival of the dumpster. Half of the summer kitchen was completed with a promise to return Saturday (no), Sunday (probably not) but definitely on Monday? These are the 2 sons of Dougie Dean (Dougie Jr and Greg) and both are getting married next month, so were obliged to attend their "showers" on the weekend?!
Jim and I busied ourselves with removing all the old carpeting we had piled up for the last month and the entire contents of the summer kitchen (walls, ceiling & chimney) and loading it into the dumpster - BIG job, and we barely fell into bed on Friday night before we fell asleep. Renovating is a young person's job!
Down to the old white-washed boards...
...and the remaining rubble to move out...aaarrrggghhh!!!!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Angels of Irving Decended...
...on Monday, bright and early appearing up the drive through the morning mist. Hallelujah!
Ah, but there is only so much that can be accomplished in only one day...take out the old oil tank, hot water heater and furnace. Then put in the new oil tank...but it doesn't fit? But the salesman measured the doorway...oops! but not the angle of the stairway. Hummm...guess it's gonna have to sit outside against the house! NOT! So, our three miracle workers decided that taking off all the "trim" might give enough room...and it was so.
This picture was taken seconds before that hose "popped" out of the tank and completely soaked the assistant (sorry no name) with furnace oil! Jim was obviously falling down on his supervision duties!
...more attention to supervising to avoid further problems...
...a little to the right, boys...
...fire in the hole!
And this folks, is what $5k+ gets ya. Good of them to co-ordinate the colour scheme of the furnace and tank!...we thought that back wall would be nice for the bar area of the rec-room?!
Then NB power came to install the hot water tank and it too was done.
So that was the extent of the two day's duties, after all it took an entire week to create the world...right?
In the evening, if we're not on our "last legs" and toooo tired, we take Bijou for a stroll into the village. Actually it has more to do with Jim going for an ice cream cone. On the way there is a small farm with a beautiful Appaloosa horse, Misty and her side kick "goat". Misty was severely abused in her last home and our realtor Garry's mom took her in and has been nursing her back to health, both mentally and physically. When we go past I bring her a carrot or apple and she will sometimes come to the fence when I call to her.
She has limited sight in her right eye (the result of being dragged behind a tractor) and her legs are weak from fractures during that last episode with her abuser. So now she lives the good life as a big pet. Amazing how some are so cruel and others to kind.
Along the way, I like to explore the roadside for wild herbs and flowers. There are strawberries, lupins, lilacs, iris and buttercups! There is an upside to all the coastal mist and moisture!
Bouquet of flowers from the roadside!
Every other Thursday is garbage day. And because we live in St Martins North (a boundary line 2 houses away) we do not have to adhere to the 3-bag limit imposed on the residents of plain ol' St Martins...so Jim waits for the boys with the garbage truck...
...to explain this...
...and to let them know it is not our refuse, and this is the end of it...total tally: 9 dump trucks and over 50 bags at the road, and 1 dumpster to go this week of roofing! (note- the duck is not real, nor is it going to the dump!)
Today, Friday we are expecting the arrival of Dougie and the dumpster to start the roofing phase! (another Hallelujah!) so Jim began on the deomolition of the summer kitchen...and no, still does his work in business casual!...
but he does have a denim shirt!
So stay tuned for more progress!...
Ah, but there is only so much that can be accomplished in only one day...take out the old oil tank, hot water heater and furnace. Then put in the new oil tank...but it doesn't fit? But the salesman measured the doorway...oops! but not the angle of the stairway. Hummm...guess it's gonna have to sit outside against the house! NOT! So, our three miracle workers decided that taking off all the "trim" might give enough room...and it was so.
This picture was taken seconds before that hose "popped" out of the tank and completely soaked the assistant (sorry no name) with furnace oil! Jim was obviously falling down on his supervision duties!
...more attention to supervising to avoid further problems...
...a little to the right, boys...
...fire in the hole!
And this folks, is what $5k+ gets ya. Good of them to co-ordinate the colour scheme of the furnace and tank!...we thought that back wall would be nice for the bar area of the rec-room?!
Then NB power came to install the hot water tank and it too was done.
So that was the extent of the two day's duties, after all it took an entire week to create the world...right?
In the evening, if we're not on our "last legs" and toooo tired, we take Bijou for a stroll into the village. Actually it has more to do with Jim going for an ice cream cone. On the way there is a small farm with a beautiful Appaloosa horse, Misty and her side kick "goat". Misty was severely abused in her last home and our realtor Garry's mom took her in and has been nursing her back to health, both mentally and physically. When we go past I bring her a carrot or apple and she will sometimes come to the fence when I call to her.
She has limited sight in her right eye (the result of being dragged behind a tractor) and her legs are weak from fractures during that last episode with her abuser. So now she lives the good life as a big pet. Amazing how some are so cruel and others to kind.
Along the way, I like to explore the roadside for wild herbs and flowers. There are strawberries, lupins, lilacs, iris and buttercups! There is an upside to all the coastal mist and moisture!
Bouquet of flowers from the roadside!
Every other Thursday is garbage day. And because we live in St Martins North (a boundary line 2 houses away) we do not have to adhere to the 3-bag limit imposed on the residents of plain ol' St Martins...so Jim waits for the boys with the garbage truck...
...to explain this...
...and to let them know it is not our refuse, and this is the end of it...total tally: 9 dump trucks and over 50 bags at the road, and 1 dumpster to go this week of roofing! (note- the duck is not real, nor is it going to the dump!)
Today, Friday we are expecting the arrival of Dougie and the dumpster to start the roofing phase! (another Hallelujah!) so Jim began on the deomolition of the summer kitchen...and no, still does his work in business casual!...
but he does have a denim shirt!
So stay tuned for more progress!...
Sunday, June 15, 2008
On Gettin' Citified for a Night Out...
Corrine and Elenor
Saturday night was an invitation to Jim's cousin's home in Saint John to partake in celebrating his aunt's (Corrine's sister) 95th birthday! (so young, there is definitely something to youth in this province!)
Now, in past this would be a simple exercise in a quick shower, press an outfit and splash on some mascara. But now this procedure is a full day event, trying to cover and mask multiple scrapes, bug bites, and bruises caused by three weeks of cutting brush, removing garbage and using hammers, crowbars and sledgehammers. There was also the scramble of trying to find "city" clothes safely stored away in a barn full to the rafters of un-marked boxes...the ironing board is still MIA.
When we left Ontario, I kept back a few of what I thought were the necessary survival tools for our first few months here...this did not include a Venus razor (the Bic disposals are not female leg-friendly), manicure/pedicure equipment or mascara. And Micky's store, though good for the occasional items, is still a general store...not a Shopper's Drug Mart.
Then there is the issue of our indoor plumbing and water works. When we bought the house, we were informed that it was not a well, but village water, tested regularly and treated. This feature was a great deal for Jim (the consummate fretter over E-coli and other bacteria that may have an end result of flesh eating disease or spontaneous internal combustion). What we weren't told, is it is actually four old wells up the road that was initially developed as one well by a pig farmer in the village wanting to ensure a constant supply of water for his livestock. From there it grew to others tapping into the line that went by their properties. Repairs and testing are done by the locals and treatment is the occasional chlorine shocking. But the best feature is - it's a gravity fed system, meaning the speed and volume of flow is determined by the slope of the system from the wells to our taps. So translated, this means taking a shower is akin to walking in a light summer rain, and further translated...it takes about 20 minutes to get soaked!
There is another drawback to this system as well, the kitchen tap (a one-handle job) won't stay on as the pressure is to low for it - that tap thinks there's no water coming out! And one load of laundry takes about an hour, which by that time, I've forgotten I was doing laundry!
But, not to be discouraged, a few queries to the plumber and he assures me it can be remedied for about $900.00 (can't you just hear Jim now?) with the installation of a pump and "bladder" in the basement...cheaper than drilling a well...but still going to have 'eau de pool' water!
By 3:00 we were both scrubbed and shiny again and off to the big smoke (literally) of Saint John. It was a wonderful party and good to be in a home with furniture, walls, kitchen cupboards and good indoor plumbing!
Thanks to Carmel and an authentic maritime salmon meal and hospitality...oh yeah and to Kevin for ?... oh yeah! opening the beer and making coffee!
Jim regaling his new/old house woes (the other Jim behind thinks he's funny)
Carmel directing the process in the kitchen...
...and Kevin...tending bar?
Sean, singing for his supper!
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