Snow, Rain and Sun

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first Christmas away from family was a bit sad but there was no way we could have made it back.  This winter has been exceptional not only in Ontario but also in the Maritimes.  We've been quite lucky in that most of the ice storms have been around us here in Liscomb leaving us quite unscathed.  The Halifax area seems to get hit quite badly as well as the whole south/west coast.  I suppose it is the funnel effect coming from the Atlantic Ocean through the Bay of Fundy and across to PEI.  We're certainly lucky though.  In saying this we did have one night with exceptionally high winds.....stronger winds than we have ever experienced....we were thankful that we are in a sheltered bay...I can only imagine what it must have been like on the open ocean.

 

Heating the house has been a challenge especially with the freezing temperatures we've had.  The new furnace we installed back in July turned out to be too small for the house......fortunately Irving, the company we purchased from, worked with us to resolve the issues.....we haven't got their bill yet, scary thought, but they are sharing the cost with us.  The fellow we bought from only lived here in the summers and changed some of the heat ducts into cold air returns...oh great, no wonder we had no heat...that on top of a furnace that was too small for the house.

 

 

Everything takes time down here and patience is something you either have or you will have to learn.....we ordered a wood insert for the open fireplace but it took forever before it was installed.  We ended up having to send him a picture of the roof just to prove there was no snow on it before he would come and install it.



We understood though considering the pitch of our roof and the ice and snow everyone else had.  Considering that only an hour away roofs were covered in 8 to 10 inches of ice and snow it was no wonder he was doubting us.  The steep pitch of our roof and the winds off the ocean were to our advantage or we would still be without our woodstove.  Now that it is installed we get lots of exercise lugging wood from the woodpile into the house....  Speaking of the woodpiles....one of the double piles blew over in one of the windstorms...then we got rain and freezing temperatures so I had to wait for warmer weather just to get it restacked....working on my muscles..LOL, at least that is what I am telling myself.

 

 

The front door had so much cold air coming in around it that we finally duct taped all around the door just to block the wind.  It only took 6 weeks to get our new door from Antigonish.....patience I say, oh yes I am learning patience... LOL...Irvine, our handiman, installed it yesterday.  Naïve little me thought the old door would just be removed and the new one put in it's place....WRONG....the siding came off, the shutters came off, the trim came off, the door came off, the saw came out and part of the door frame came off...YIKES...it took all day but finally the new door was installed, the trim went on, the shutters went on and the siding went on and we have a new front door that is air tight and beautiful...YES, we are making progress!

Christmas Eve was magical.  The snow started falling early in the day and just didn't stop.  We went to the candlelight service at the little church across our valley and when it was over and we left the church we walked out into a winter wonderland.

But if we thought Christmas Eve was beautiful how would we ever describe Christmas Day.....it is said a picture is worth a thousand words.....here are a few thousand....

 

Well the time finally came when I just had to have my hair cut....the terror of it!  I've had the same hairdresser for probably 35 years.  Now I am in Nova Scotia and there is no way I can wait until May to get a haircut so off to Sherbrooke I go and make an appointment.  Got in the next day which is a treat.....what a wonderful surprise when Rhonda (my new hairdresser) had finished and I still looked like me....lol....I have to tell you, I really was terrified....gosh it only cost $20 as well.  Before I left, Rhonda told me the fish man was outside...HUH??  Outside were two fishermen with their catch of haddock in the back of a pickup truck and there was a growing lineup of locals waiting to purchase...so I got straight in the lineup.  I bought 5 pounds of fresh haddock for $30, a bargain from my viewpoint.  When I got home I made fishcakes for the first time and set aside enough haddock for fish and chips that night and froze the rest in 1 pound bags....OMG...the fish and chips were amazing....but then how fresh can you get fish back in Ontario, certainly not like down here.  I found out there is another fisherman who sometimes has halibut for sale...YUP, I put my name on that list.

I've got quite a bit on my bucket list.  This afternoon I am going to my first quilting meeting...yup, I've always wanted to know how to quilt.  I'm sure it will be added to all the other "Jack of all trades - Master of none" list of my accomplishments but who cares, I'm having fun.  Just perhaps I will be able to quilt a "keeper". 

Gosh, did I tell you that I have no idea how I ever had time for work back in Ontario....

 

 

 



House purchased and closed

So my great plans of a blog haven't exactly started off too well since it seems I have been posting these in the wrong order....if you're confused reading them don't worry it's not you..LOL  So, finally noticing what I've done, here is the beginning....hope you are not as confused as I am.

Greetings from Liscomb July 8, 2013

 

 

It has been so hot here we had to buy a couple of air conditioners....Nova Scotia Power is going to love us. The blackflies are wicked right now. I have so many bites on my face I look like I have a disease LOL....been cutting the field back on the new John Deere tractor to get them farther from the house. Everyone here has a different solution against the bugs from Vicks vapor rub to Listerine Original...the Vicks actually did seem to help against the blackflies. Tomorrow I am using big Bertha and wearing the blackfly jacket. Michael is afraid of her but I'm more in hatred of the flies so am prepared to tackle her to get the tall grass cut back. Bertha is supposed to cut down small trees so I'd best be careful with her. I cleared a large area with the tractor down by the ocean and took two muskoka chairs down. It's a lovely place to sit especially when it is windy to keep the bugs away. Plan on making a patio area there with a fire bowl.....lots of plans. Set up the hammock under a stand of trees down by the ocean and had my first siesta yesterday afternoon. There was a lovely breeze which kept the bugs at bay. The bed and sofa and Mikey's chair arrived Friday. It's nice to sleep in a bed and not an air mattress.....and super great to sit on a sofa instead of a lawn chair...all the comforts of home now and we are loving it.

Spent the day in Antigonish and New Glasgow yesterday looking for things....ceiling fans, small sink vanity for the downstairs bathroom, curtains...couldn't find anything....the shopping is terrible here. Seems you have to order everything in so we are doing as the locals. We went to Home Hardware site on the internet and searched for white blinds for the family room windows, wrote down the codes and will head into Sherbrooke this afternoon to have them order them for us. They get shipped to the little store in town and then we pick them up from there......


Wishing now that I had brought our cheeses with us. All you can get in town is Kraft cheddar...oh to have a slab of Asiago and a block of blue right now! The things you take for granted.


In clearing back the tall grass we've discovered a large stand of wild roses that are ready to bloom. It's going to be a beautiful sight once they all come into bloom. The property is covered with them.


It's starting to rain and it's much cooler today..hurray. Michael's been out in the barn, his pride and joy. He can't wait to get everything out of it to see what we have in there. One thing we did see is a large trunk that belonged to the original owner. We could make out her name on the end. It is buried under a lot of stuff so we can't open it to see if there is anything in it. Once we get the grass cut back from the barn we will spend a day clearing it out.

 

 

Been painting the trim in the small bathroom and now waiting for it to dry before I put up the mini blinds. I feel a lazy afternoon coming:)

Sweater weather and snow

Greetings from Liscomb Nov 18, 2013 email

 We've had sweater weather and snow, it changes day to day but you can tell winter is around the corner.  We've been getting all the outdoor work done, you know...caulking, putting summer furniture away, wrapping up the hot tub...no time to set it up and get it working now, putting up Christmas lights.  Michael is going to put lights on one of the large pine trees out front.  It will be beautiful to look at through the family room window and I can't wait to see it lit up.

 

 

 

The driveway was being graveled today, at least half of it.  Things move at a different pace down here, one of the fellows was going deer hunting so could only work half the day.....the rest of the driveway has to wait until he comes back.  Trying to find a fireplace company to install a wood insert is proving to be a challenge....seems no one wants to come to the "country" or if they will they want to charge a small fortune for their traveling time.  Michael has a call into 3 other fellows so here's hoping we find someone soon.  Michael's young helper has been a great help to us especially moving things to the barn and up into the loft.  His dad was doing the larger jobs for us but has slipped a disc and is out of commission.  He is waiting for surgery and the waiting list is a year or two.....terrible that he has to wait so long.  We will have to find someone to replace him since we still have those jobs that we can't do ourselves.  This is certainly an adventure.

 

 

The boxes are slowly being unpacked, finding somewhere to put everything is the challenge.  Now that we've done the outside work, Michael will start putting the sub flooring down in the living room and then we can place the furniture in that room.  We haven't chosen the flooring yet so will live with subfloor while we finish some of the other work.  We love the house.  It is the perfect size and has a wonderful feel to it.  It will be absolutely charming when we are done with it.  

 

 

Our appliances are set up now and the old ones that came with the house have all gone to someone who could really use them.  

 

 

This Friday is the Sherbrooke Village Christmas tree lighting.  Everyone meets on Main street and they give you a candle, then everyone walks down the street to the tree where the tree is lit...not sure what happens to our candles then but there will be fireworks and music.  It should be really neat and a great chance for us to meet more people here.  The next two weekends have lots of activities at the Village including a turkey dinner prepared by a famous local chef.  The Christmas house tour is happening as well so there is lots to do in the next little while.

 

 

We went into Halifax yesterday specifically to meet with a local artist.  We have commissioned a painting.  We gave her several pictures of our place, the views and the dogs and she is going to paint a picture in Nova Scotia folk art style that represents our place.  We are excited about this and so is she.  It will really be unique and something we will cherish for the rest of our lives.  The Halifax market was wonderful, not too large but featuring lots of local artisans and their wares.  We had the most amazing chili cornish pasty for lunch.  Downtown Halifax was pretty neat and we are looking forward to another trip and a day of wandering the streets and discovering some great shops.....since I haven't been able to find gram flour for my Indian treats in Antigonish or New Glasgow, I'm looking forward to finding some ethnic food stores in Halifax.

 

 

We are having fun discovering new places.  There is a real calmness and beauty here and we can feel ourselves settling in to a new life.  

 

Lots of excitement

December 3, 2013

 

 

We are doing good.  Had a storm door installed on family room today.  Tomorrow the new kitchen window is going in.  Ordered the hardwood flooring for the kitchen, livingroom and front hall as well as a new front door.  All that should be here in a couple of weeks and we will install it after Christmas.  I am removing the existing tile on the fireplace hearth tomorrow and Thursday Michael and his helper are installing the new tile.  The fireplace insert should be here next week.  Still haven't even started to unpack the basement so perhaps next week we will tackle that.  We have shelving to put together then Michael can put everything away.  There's quite a bit down there that can go out to the barn so once I get all that stacked then our little helper will move it all for us to the barn.  Every day we do something. 

 

A storm is coming in tonight with a lot of rain and high winds.  We've had snow but our little place seems to miss most of it.  We were up in Cape Breton Sunday visiting our artist friend, Katherine, and came back in snow that was not forecast so it was a long, slow drive home.  It was great to see her and she really appreciated that we made the trip.  This was the weekend in Sydney for the sale at the Craft Design Centre.

 

We are discovering the little restaurants in the area.  We have a coffee bistro in town that is wonderful.  The owners are friendly and it seems to be the gathering place...great coffee as well.  The locals have welcomed us with open arms.  We never know when someone will drop in.  Last week a couple dropped in with a fruit basket which was really nice.  Two weekends ago was the start of the Christmas in Sherbrooke event.  We went for the tree lighting on the Friday night and it looked like everyone was out for it.   After the tree was lit we were given candles and the procession went down main to the Village (you can Google Sherbrooke Village).  We stopped at the Bistro for coffee and then went to the Village where all the buildings were decorated and lit up.  It was a wonderful event with music and fireworks .  The Christmas at the Village is over the 2 weekends with crafts, wagon rides, craft shows, turkey dinners, ham dinners and all kinds of other things.  This weekend is the  Christmas house tours, Christmas tea served by the men (didn't want to miss that one), craft and bake sale, walk of trees at one of the churches and the memory tree at our church across our valley.  There was an old fashioned candlelight carol service at one of the little churches Sunday night but we were not back in time for it.  Christmas Eve there is a carol service at our little church which we will attend.  So as you can see this is a very busy little community.

 

 

 

 

 

I put garland and white lights along the railings out front today.  We needed to light it up since it is so dark outside.  Our neighbour at the end of our driveway called to tell us it was wonderful to see lights down here.  They are in their 80s and said they've never seen lights this time of year from the house.  They were quite overwhelmed and actually took down a tree on their property so they could see the lights more easily from their place..LOL..welcome to Nova Scotia.  We got the sign up at the end of the driveway...the one I had made in Toronto.  It looks great and the locals love it. 

 
 

A buck crossed the property this morning and he was beautiful.  He had a rack and Michael said he was probably about 4 years old....sure glad he escaped the hunters and hope he sticks around.  Sprocket spotted him so with all his barking I doubt the deer will come very close to the house. 








 

 

 

 




 

The pheasants are around, 2 males and a few females.  They come for the birdseed.  The males are beautiful.









Cooked salmon and scallops for dinner tonight and they were wonderful...guess being fresh from the ocean makes a difference.

 

So everything is good down here in the Maritimes....

Winter mode

Based on an email sent before Christmas....

Stocked up on EVERYTHING...our freezer now  is quite full and the cupboards are overflowing so we could possibly last til spring.  

Michael and Irvine got the generator working so it will run the furnace, fridge, freezer, well pump and a few lights if and when we lose our power.  The ductwork fellow was here a couple of days ago checking out all the ductwork and Michael has been back and forth with the head honcho at Irving's about the furnace.  The previous owner screwed all the ductwork up.  Since he wasn't here in the winter, he changed a lot of the hot air ducts into cold...what a mess.  It is going to be corrected and Irving is installing a larger furnace for us.  We are still waiting for the wood insert which won't be installed now until after Christmas.  Living down here is truly and exercise in patience...something I have little of but am learning..lol. Despite everything we really love it down here.  The people have been amazing, the community is very active, the house is becoming home and cozy and we love the property and having the trails to walk the dogs.