LIVE FROM OTTAWA!

Long time, no blog!  I promise to update the "construction" blog with Brian's input once I return to Nova Scotia, as the new windows in the living and dining room look fantastic and give a real feeling of progress.

I lived in Ottawa for a decade, between 1981-91, and am lucky enough to have a dear friend that lives in Ottawa from those days.   Carrie and I are well known for our ability to (this will be a surprise!) TALK...our topics range from husbands, books, ideas for teaching, hobbies and children.  Our eldest children were together a lot as kids, and we are thrilled that they are now friends again. Carrie and  I went out for lunch at the Two Monkey's

twomonkeyscoffeeandteahouse.com

and then to Value Village and Dollorama to search for supplies for my upcoming Summer Art Workshops being held later this summer in Annapolis Royal (see details below!).  There was a tremendous rain storm with accompanying thunder and lightning.  "The Boy" and Emily kindly picked me up from Carrie's to take me to their lovely condo in West Wellington.  I met Marley and MammaSita, their two cats and we enjoyed a delicious meal of veggie tacos and "the boy's" salad.  We watched a very funny British show called "The Idiot Abroad" before the weary traveller went to bed. 

The Boy's Salad:

Baby spinach, lettuce, mini-cucumbers, tomotoes chopped and cherry tomatoes, acacado, sliced red pepper.

Dressing:  2 cloves of garlic - crushed, the juice from a whole lemon, 1 TBSP of white wine vinegar and 1 TBSP of bsalmic vinegar, enough olive oil to coat the leaves,  shake of salt, and chopped fresh mint leaves.  Mix all up and toss onto the vegetables...FANTASTIC!

 The next day included a visit to the local library (am speed reading a great book on collage techniques), and my first ever pedicure.  I don't know what I enjoyed the most, having my feet in a warm whirlpool foot bath or the chair with the back massage action.  The result of a half hour pummeling on the strongest power of my upper back means that I don't have any neck pain at all, and I have teal blue toenails as well!  A great lunch at Sushi Umi...I discovered that I love yam when it is presented tempura style, the shrimp were wonderful as well.  We enjoyed a visit with "the boy's" family, and then went to an interesting play at the Ottawa Fringe Fesitval.  I enjoyed howling at the moon! 

http://www.fullyfringed.ca/?p=569

In front of "Maman" by Bourgeois at the Gallery

Sunday started with Marley trying to make a nest in my suitcase, which was a bit noisy with all the shopping bags in there...followed by a yummy fruit yogurt parfait, and a visit to the National Gallery.

Emily looking glamourous at the Gallery!

This delightful "Dancing Bear" statue was in the Jeanne D'Arc courtyard

We finished the day with a Wii Rock Band session (I am truly a drummer at heart!) and then I beat Emily at bowling and we knocked each other out at boxing!  Back to NS tomorrow...loved the visit, but miss my river views and lack of humidity! 

De-Construction and apple blossoms!

The essential cable has been found, so this will be a pictorial blog more than a text blog (thank heaven's for that, I sense you thinking, that woman doesn't 'alf go on!)  The weather is warmer, sunnier and less rainy, so that is a great improvement!


Marmalade exploring one of the ancient apple trees

 

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Wooden pegs hold these beams together in the kitchen

Marcia and Brian, the wrecking crew!



There will be walls and windows here in the kitchen, hopefully before snow flies!

 


The lathe and plaster ceiling has been ripped down and is now on the floor of the living room.  The large plywood rectangle shows the location of the large front window,  the only one we lost during the house lift.  A replacement has been ordered.

 

View through the room we're using as a kitchen...the bottles were found during the digging up of the basement.  The apple trees have lots of bees and hummingbirds visiting them.



Trapped in the corner of the kitchen, surrounded by boxes!!!

STILL NO PICTURES....now need to unearth the essential, missing cable!

Hats off to Green's Removals on the UK side, and Thompson's here on the Canadian side - wonderfully pleasant and efficient movers!  It took just under a month for our stuff to arrive, and we are glad of the long room (about 30 feet long) to put boxes in that won't be unpacked until the house is done.

Brian has been hard at work taking down the walls and ceilings of both the kitchen and the living room.  We are choosing windows for those rooms now, and hope to have a huge picture window in the kitchen, as the view from the river is wonderful.  Many thanks to Marcia, our dear cousin who loves deconstruction and was the other member of the work crew.  English relatives assumed Brian's helper was male, and due to the crackly Skype line, thought the name was Mike.  So, that is now Marcia's nickname!

The beams in the ceiling of the kitchen are wonderful, 9 inches square and 25 feet long, going the length of the house.  The adze marks are visible, and we hope to keep them exposed when the ceiling is redone.  The boards on the walls are huge, the widest one measures 23 inches. 

Next step is replacing rotten wall shingles outside with clapboard, and there are a few boards that need replacing as well.  Then the new windows will go in.

We need to think about heating systems...a wood burner is a must, but do we go for oil/electric???  We are researching it, but any suggestions comments would be appreciated!

Went for a lovely walk up the logging road into the forest yesterday, and the big puddles are full of little tadpoles, with racoon and deer footprints at the muddy margins.  The mountain is starting to have a green haze as the leaves bud.  The Canadian geese are returning to the river as the warmer weather approaches, and we have seen turkey vultures cruising above the fields looking for prey.

6 Blankets are not enough....

SORRY...no pictures as Brian didn't bring an essential cable with him. 
WARNING...this is a long blog...but there's lots to tell!


Greetings from nippy Nova Scotia!  We are enviously hearing about 25 degree temperatures in England, with wading pools out and barbeques at work!  It is about 5 degrees in the house right now, I am tucked under blankets with Marmalade acting as a hot water bottle in the bed (thanks for that great, much in demand hot water bottle, Nicky!) and Jasper acting as a foot warmer.  Electric blankets are the key to a cozy night's sleep, bless the inventor.  We are layered up in clothes and physically active during the day, so that isn't a worry. 


Now...to start at the beginning.  Marmalade yelled all the way from Colchester to Heathrow.  Then she had a rather large bowel movement in her carrier as we entered the terminal.  We had emergency supplies to cope with this, but one piece escaped the cage, hit the floor and rolled by a very startled lady before I could retrieve it.  We were in hysterics!


My flight was great, Marmalade survived the flight in the hold, and were greeted by darling Steph who had made a welcome sign and was a sight for sore eyes!  We went to the nearby hotel where Marmalade made herself at home and we ordered in food, talked and slept until it was time to pick Brian and Jasper up.  Brian had a little trouble with customs and paperwork.  The situation was probably not improved by him commenting that they had training issues!  It was great to see him when he finally came through.  Brian knew that Steph wanted to stay longer, so he booked another room in the hotel and crashed out.  I think the clothes and makeup strewn surfaces, cat litter tray and cat food bowls in our room put him off!


Next day, we dropped Steph off at Colby (suburb of Dartmouth where her Dad and family live) and then went to the Valley.  Marmalade went to sleep, so the trip was peaceful and we installed the cats at the old house, before beating a hasty retreat from the cold and dirt to my Aunt Marg and Uncle Bill's home up the road. 


This is where photos are needed...so I will just briefly describe and get photos up when we get container goods and find cable.  The land around the house has greatly increased, but it is dirt, not lawn at the moment.  The removal of the huge corner chimney in the living room/kitchen has really opened up the space. 


We spent a week working at the house during the day and doing errands to get necessary documents and a car.  We now have a 2003 Ford Focus silver station (estate) wagon (I had my heart set on a red PT cruiser, but practicality won out.), driver's licenses, a doctor, a dentist, Bri now has a social insurance number, house insurance, phone, internet, roof shingles replaced, and I created a kitchen area and unpacked dishes, etc. that were already here (remember that this house has been used as a summer place for decades by my family) while Brian took off the kitchen walls.


Wow...there was a tree growing in the wall at one point, they used cardboard to insulate at another area, wonderful hand made nails in the huge beams, and adze marks on the wood.  Some of the beams still have the bark on, and the most amazing thing is that one of the boards is 23 inches wide, from the first growth forest here in 1760. 


We have moved into the house full time, and it is great to be here.  We have been to St. Luke's
http://parishofannapolis.com/?page_id=8
where we were made very welcome and met several English people who have moved here.  One lady grew up a block away from where Brian lived in London! 
Brian has been to a meeting of the Order of Good Cheer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Good_Cheer
which is the oldest social group in Canada, but for men only!!!  To counteract this outrage, some of the women went out for dinner and then played scrabble.  I am thinking of naming this group the Order of Even Better Cheer.


I am going to Acadia University to help Steph move back to Dartmouth for the summer early next week
http://www2.acadiau.ca/index.php
and am then going to Halifax (just across the Halifax Harbour by bridge from Dartmouth) to pick up Brian who will have sorted out the paperwork for our container which has arrived from England!  We were so surprised, as it only left the UK on the 5th of April.  A lot of stuff will be stored in the attic/basement here until the house is ready for it.

So, we await spring, the daffodills aren't out yet, nor are tree leaves, but the sun is warm and the river is sparkling.  The walk into the woods via the logging road is beautiful and the coyote howls at night make you glad to be inside! 

Last English blog post...

This will be my last post before arriving in Nova Scotia.  Thanks to everyone here in England for their kind wishes, cards, presents and farewell-events.

I so much enjoyed and appreciated the teacher gathering on Saturday evening - thanks to Nic and her wonderful hospitality, the 7 of us talked/laughed and discussed (as teachers love to do!) until the wee hours.

Thanks to Kim for the overnight stay, delicious breakfast and fun beading class.  I am looking forward to showing Steph and Em how to do the bead work we learnt. 

Brian's family gathered yesterday, and it was great to see everyone and say "farewell".  We really appreciate the gift and photos. 

Now that we have a house full of boxes and wrapped furniture (the bed has been packed up, but we have a mattress on the floor for the next few nights). 

So, the Valley House awaits us!  Aunt Marg and Uncle Bill are sorting out the phone connection later this week, I wonder if the house has ever had a phone?  Certainly not while we've owned it. 

Internet (essential for Skype) will be going in once we're there. 

I am a bit concerned about how the cats will cope on the flight, but it's either worry or not take them, so I will hope for the best.

We leave this weekend, different flights due to airplane cat regulations.  Steph will be at the airport to meet me...what a lovely treat to have her there.  She is excellent with animals, so will help in getting Marmsie and I to the hotel.  Brian arrives the next day, so I will leave Marms and Steph at the hotel, and meet him and Jasper. 

It's all go!  I will be in touch once we have internet.

Adieu, England!

Today, Brian and I were honoured and delighted to attend a wonderful party put on by friends at the Colne Valley Heritage Railway.  Brian has volunteered there for 25 years, and been the General Manager there for the past 5 years.  I had never seen steam locomotives before moving here, and really enjoyed doing face painting on special days at the railway.


If you are interested in watching a professional video of the railway made by Film Studies students at the Colchester Institute, please click on this link,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrC4HiM7FRA


Fantastic food by Jean, and a wonderful cake by Sally were served and enjoyed amidst visits and chatting.  

The cake shows the CVR represented by a figure of Thomas the Tank Engine and the English flag.  Across the "ocean" is the Valley House, and a flag of Nova Scotia.


We leave in under a month, and it is a bittersweet time as we meet up with friends for farewells.  It is exciting, as well...so a mixture of emotions! 

7 Weeks left in the UK!

The house in Colchester is rented, lists are being made and ticked off as items are completed, and we are beginning to say "adieu" to friends and family.  The moving people arrive in early April to pack and load a 20x20 foot container with our edited stuff that will be shipped across the Atlantic, arriving in a few weeks.



Once the school term ends on April 8, we leave with the cats.  Due to airline legalities, the plane size we are travelling on only has room for one animal per flight.  So we travel on two consecutive days, each with a cat.  I will have to practice a nonchalant look to use when Marmalade's screams of distress at being caged up echo up from the baggage area in the plane.  It will make a change from listening to the yells of young children on the flight!



Blog entries will become more relevant to construction with lots of photos once we arrive in NS.  I will be looking for a teaching position, while Brian acts as construction worker and site boss.  We are hoping for a warm, early spring...but until that arrives we will be renting heaters and wearing layers.  Brian has arranged for a phone to be installed, and we are so pleased that we can also get a wireless internet connection.  Many thanks to Aunt Marg and Uncle Bill who will go and rendez-vous with the phone guys.