A great day...in more ways than one!

Well!  Firstly we went for a jog again this morning!  Can you believe it? Third day running (pardon the pun).  After breakfast I settled to put the finishing touches to a draft column piece for the local paper, printed it off along with a list of proposed ideas for future pieces and a photograph.  Lovely Man, in the meantime, disappeared to his 'office' (a desk in the basement) to work on his application for registration with the College of Nursing in Ontario.  By about 11.30 we were both done.  The sun was shining and there was  no wind so we decided to take a coffee and sit in the yard.  Just in case, Lovely Man took a bucket of peanuts with him.  After a few minutes a little chipmunk appeared at our feet, obviously bought out by the warm sunshine for one last foraging expedition.  As if this wasn't exciting enough as we sat and watched him hop across the yard toward the back fence something scrambled up on the other side of the deck.  Looking down we were overjoyed to see Stumpy.  Immediately he jumped up onto our lap and then the table, gently taking nuts from us and allowing us to stroke him.  It was as if he'd never been away!  What's more we were pleased to see that his tail was looking much healthier and seemed to have grown back a little.  He was a little nervous when the first chipmunk came back and quickly scampered off, coming back only when the first disappeared again with his hoard.

Later today I had a meeting with the Editor and owner of the local paper and they took me on as a freelance writer.  I get my own little 'column', think we're going to call it "Brits Abroad" or " Life Across the Pond"  it's undecided yet!  I also get the opportunity to report on local events when one of the other reporters can't do it.  It doesn't pay big bucks but it's a start and will build up my confidence as a writer.  So all in all a very good day....in more ways than one!

Oh and finally a newsflash...Lovely Man is becoming a true Canadian and growing a 'goatie'!  And do you know... it's actually kinda cute...I like it!

Well!...Would you believe it.....

This morning Lovely Man and I were up at 8.30 - AGAIN!  And what's more we went out and did the jogging/power walking thing - AGAIN!  Well how about that?  It was distinctly chillier this morning but still pleasant and this time we didn't collapse in a heap on the bed when we got back!

We actually got a bit more done today.  A work bench was constructed for the workshop.  More pictures, in fact all the pictures, were hung.  Malcolm the moose has found his spot in the family room flanked on either side by a wood carved portrait of one of his relatives and a photograph of our local black bear!  I have made my own little art gallery on the stairway and displayed all Lovely Man's Army & Naval momentos in the family room and dining area.

The Fall is certainly well underway.  The trees at the back are turning quite golden now. The chipmunks are rarely seen, I quite miss them but they'll be back in Spring.  

Yesterday evening we had a double rainbow arched over the street.  It was the biggest, brightest rainbow I have ever seen.  It seemed so close too I felt that I could almost reach out and touch it!

 And just to round off a perfect day our neighbour, Jim, came across with some homemade cabbage rolls for us.  They were absolutely yummy, and saved me from having to cook too.  I have already searched out a recipe and will be experimenting in the very near future.  Once tried and tested I will post the recipe on here. Talking of cooking, you remember I made strawberry and raspberry jam?  Well recently I had a bash at grape jelly which was really good too.  My next project has to be Christmas Chutney though or Lovely Man will go into a sulk.

Oh My Oh My...where do the days go?

Yes where indeed!  Six days later and we are still sorting and putting up pictures!  There are still bookcases to be built, walls to paint, curtains to sew.  This morning we got up at 8.30 a.m.  Lovely Man decided we are getting very fat and unfit so suggested a jog before breakfast.  It was a beautiful sunny morning so we donned our sweat pants and rugby shirts, grabbed a water bottle each and set off.  We did the Power Walk for 3 minutes, jog for 1 minute thing.  Did a whole two blocks!  Phew!  Had a healthy breakfast of grapefruit and two small slices of wholemeal toast.  Then it all fell apart.  David went back to bed proclaiming he was 'exhausted', I had a leisurely shower!  Next thing I know it's nearly noon and we have done absolutely nothing!  How on earth I ever found time to go to work, cook, clean, paint, sew AND go to a yoga class and a dance class is totally beyond me.  Oh well time to start supper, guess those jobs will still be there tomorrow!

And so the unpacking and sorting continues.....

Can you believe that it has taken most of the day to put away the CD's, DVD's and hang a dozen or so pictures?  No?  Well it has! I am actually very proud of both of us.  I'm proud of Lovely Man for his patience and expertise in the technical department and proud of myself for stepping back and letting him get on with it.  As most of you will know I can be a bit 'gung ho' with these little DIY projects!  I have to say for me to step back a wait patiently while he measured, scratched his head, re-measured and mumbled took ENORMOUS restraint!  Now the lounge, at least, is fairly straight. Apart from the curtains that is.  The basement, however, is still a bit of a disaster area.  Never mind tomorrow is another day.  It is very cold and damp here today, bit like being in the UK really!  All being well we'll make a start on the basement tomorrow.  I've got so many little things to do craftwise so I really need some space to work. 

It's nice to be home

Well what a lovely day!  In more ways than one.  Firstly the sun shone ALL day!  Secondly I managed to get the house tidy at last...well nearly... the basement is still in need of a little work.  We got up around 8 a.m. and, after a quick breakfast, set to.  For the best part of the day it felt like we were just taking things from one room to another and nothing seemed to be getting straight at all.  By three p.m. I was starting to flag a bit.  But the sun was shining and we decided to take all the soggy boxes and paper that we no longer needed to the landfill.  As we drove through town and out onto the road which leads into the bush, the landfill and beyond it felt so good to be here.  To be home.  We both commented that we felt so lucky to have such wilderness right on our doorstep.  The picture below is that road and it goes on for some 100 km plus with no houses, no gas stations and no highway, just wilderness.

Upon arrival at the landfill the usual visitors were there...well actually just one visitor today.  He just sat patiently in the sunshine waiting for us to go and the attendant with his big digger to leave so that he could have an afternoon snack in peace!

On the way back we stopped off at the local store and bought a CD rack, a DVD rack, some storage boxes for the closet and a shelf for the pantry.  Once home we spent a leisurely 20 minutes or so with a much needed coffee out on the deck.  After that we seemed to just whisk through the rest of the sorting out!  So far the bathroom is finished.  The main bedroom is finished apart from staining the chest of drawers and night stands to match the bed.  The second bedroom which is also to be a chill out room is tidy and just needs some big cushions and maybe a large wooden dresser.

All in all, we are feeling quite pleased with ourselves today!

The bathroom

Our Room

Chill Out Room

Tomorrow I plan to put up all our pictures and hopefully the new curtains for the lounge window.  Next on the list is the kitchen chairs which need to be re-upholstered with some lovely cream fabric I picked up a thrift shop for $1!  I just LOVE thrift shops!  I have accumulated two large boxes of brand new fabric remnants, all bought for a few $'s here.  And I have plans for ALL of it!  some for myself and some projects which I hope to sell. 

Home at last!

Well after a long 14 hour drive we are home!  It's sort of like christmas eve.  The parcels are piled high in the trailer on the drive (aka Santa's sleigh) and we are too sleepy to open them. So we will go to bed with that feeling of excitement and anticipation like when we were kids dying to open the presents under the tree in the morning!

The drive itself was pretty uneventful, we didn't take any wrong turns, the trailer didn't break again and neither did the car!  I did make one fateful error tho.  I made a comment that the weather was being kind to us, bright, dry and not too hot.  Twenty minutes later we were driving at 40 kph, windscreen wipers at full tilt dodging great big thunder bolts!  It dried up about half an hour later and I figured we were in the clear.  No such luck.  It started again in the Soo (Saulte St. Marie) and belted down for the next four hours.  Finally as we turned on to the home stretch of highway 614 it stopped raining, infact it hadn't rained there at all the road was completely dry.  5 km on and the Ontario Highways Improvement scheme was forging ahead with it's latest improvement which left us less that impressed.  The next 25 km resembled an old logging road complete with potholes.  It was worse than when we left two weeks ago.  Exasperated I grumbled to Lovely Man "If anything is going to finish off the Royal Doulton Tea set this will."

But for now I'm off to my bed. I did manage to locate the bag with our duvet and new bed covers so we're nice a snug, the temperature having dropped a little lately!  Tomorrow is another day, and I just can't wait to get all our things out and make the house a little more like home.

It's been a while...

since the last post.  It seems like a lot has happened and yet nothing much at the same time!  Well we traveled down south some 675 miles.   We left at 4 a.m.  well...actually we eventually left at about 4.20 a.m. on account of Lovely Man getting into a bit of a lather with the bear proof garbage dumpster!  At this time of year we keep any waste food that is likely to attract bears in the freezer till garbage day.  As we were going to be away for two whole weeks Lovely Man decided we should put all our garbage in the bear proof dumpster on the way out of town.  The dumpsters are like skips, but covered, and are located on the outskirts of the town.  They are bear proof and, as it turned out, Lovely Man proof too.  He spent a good twenty minutes in the glare of the headlights from our car fiddling about with the wretched thing before returning to said car, with garbage, cursing under his breath!

Less than half way here the car started to sound and smell a little odd.  We stopped several times but could find nothing wrong, the smell and noise would subside and so we concluded there wasn't much wrong.  We arrived at 6.30 p.m.   On Thursday we went to Mississauga to collect our things from the shipping warehouse.  When we got back the trailer was sagging badly.  The next day a new tow hitch needed to be fitted. The following Monday we went shopping.  The serpentine belt on the car engine snapped due the fact a pully had seized.  We were towed to our mechanic who diagnosed the problem, ordered parts and the next day returned the car to us.  The following day a visit to the bank.  On our return the same belt broke AGAIN.  another trip to our friendly mechanic.  It turns out the new pully was faulty which caused the belt to break again.

Just to add insult to injury we found some pretty battered boxes and indeed some broken items.  I reported these to the shipping company immediately along with photos.  I got a very apologetic email and a promise of an investigation.  No surprises when I tell you we have heard nothing since!
Anyhow we have our much missed belongings now.  We are currently trying to organise the boxes so that we can fit everything in.  The car is fixed.  All being well we will make the journey back up north on Tuesday.

Oh...and the garbage?  Well that came all the way down with us in the trunk and was duly put out for the garbage men of Maryhill!  We must have the most well traveled rubbish in the country!