Moving Right Along

This is day 5 of the renovations. There sure has been alot accomplished in 5 days, these men are like carpenter ants that have gotten into the caffeine! So far the house has been stripped of the clap board siding, all but six of the twenty one windows have been installed and the house has been wrapped in that fancy Home Hardware paper.
Today is the day I've been waiting for...the sunroom is being removed and an open verandah will take it's place!
Once the exterior walls and windows came down they had to put beams in to hold the roof up. Hold 'er steady Howie!! Next the interior walls are stripped...let's see what's underneath that canvas paper...

Oh look....there was once a window on this wall. Apparently the sunroom was an add on way back when. See the pretty flowery wallpaper era 60's or maybe 70's?

The old hardwood floor had to be removed as well because of termite damage and rot...of course! Nothing suprises me at this point...just have to grin and bear it.

This is the end result for today. Plywood was put down on the floor, then a layer of rubber membrane to make it leak proof and then a second layer of plywood on top. The beam then received some decorative molding compliments of the boss, Jeff Cooke whom agrees with me when I say "It's all about the details". This team of men are awesome in that no corners will be cut, nothing covered up and hidden away. Tomorrow some more windows will go in and the deck will get some stain. Looking good guys!

June 21, 2010 Renovations Begin

Day one of the renovations began today. This is a before shot of the front part of the house with the sunroom on the end.This is the end of day one on this part of the house. All the clapboard was removed and paper stapled in place over top of the boards. Here is the back of the house getting stripped and a new window being installed upstairs. Part of the deck had to be cut out in order to get at the base of the house. Lesson for the day: Never attach a deck directly to the house!This is a before shot on day 2 of the opposite end of the house where we usually park our car and what we have been using as our main entrance.
Now it has been stripped and we are finding that under every original window and doorway the wood underneath is rotted and having to be replaced. This is why we wanted to strip off all the wood siding so that we weren't covering up more problems. Best to get if fixed and over with.


More rot found on the bottom of the house between the front sets of bay windows. So basically, that's it for the first two days. Five men sure do get a lot done and make a huge mess! Oh well, it has to get worse before it gets better and it will be done before we know it. I can't wait to go away this weekend and return to see how much more they've gotten done. It rained today so not as much progress..hopefully the weather will be nice the rest of the week.

Let's Get Busy

This summer is gearing up to be very exciting and no doubt very busy. Work on the outside of the house begins this week...new siding, windows and roof. We are also hoping to re-do the upstairs bathroom and with any luck at all a new deck as the old one has definitely seen better days.

I'm heading back to Ontario on June 25th to celebrate my mom's 75th birthday. We are having dinner on the Grand River Dinner Boat Cruise on the Sunday night...can't wait, should be a great time with my siblings. If not, at least there will be access to throw them overboard if they can't get along...hahaha!! Just kidding, I'm sure everyone will be on their best behaviours for mom's sake!

The weekend after I return is a big deal here in Charlotte County, NB. There is an Atlantic Motorcade coming to the area...over 5000 motorcycles are expected along with people out and about to see them. I really don't want to think how busy the bakery is going to be but we will get through it and it's great for the economy in this area. I might even have the chance to rent out a couple of rooms!

Last week I had my sister Catharine and her friend Judy here for a visit. What a great time we had...seen alot, ate alot and laughed ALOT! I should mention that the penguin Judy is holding belongs to her friend. His name is Petey and he likes to travel around and have his picture taken.



It's always sad to see my visitors leave but all good things must come to an end. We are expecting more visitors throughout the summer so still lots to look forward to.

I've been down to New River Beach collecting treasures, a few of which I finally sat down and painted on. I think they will make nice souveniers for people visiting the area. The reviews have been positive so far.

Tucker is growing by leaps and bounds and is now bigger than Madison. They are quite the pair and hilarious to just sit and watch. Seems all they do is play and sleep which is so nice for Maddie...she used to just sleep all the time. Yesterday they were playing tug of war with an old sock and all of a sudden Tucker flopped down on his side and just layed there with the sock still in his mouth and his eyes were closed. Maddie was still playing and started dragging him around the floor. After a few minutes Tucker leapt up and pounced on her and then the fight was on for the sock again! Wish I had my camera handy to have gotten that on video!

Both Lyndon and I are excited to be having his sister, Karen moving down here with us sometime this summer. Still waiting on a date but I know she is as anxious as we are...good things come to those who wait, right? I'm sure once she adjusts to the slower pace here she is going to love it...beautiful scenery, friendly little town..and did I mention a bakery that is only a 3 minute walk away? I hear the bread is out of this world!! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today...don't be afraid to leave comments..I love to hear from you!

Another Beautiful Road Trip

It's hard to believe that May 2-4 (24th) weekend is here again. It doesn't seem like a year has gone by since that hair raising drive through the Cabot Trail...I guess time really does fly when you are having fun.

The weather was even better this year than last for a nice drive so Lyndon and I packed up the dogs, Maddie and Tucker and headed out Sunday afternoon around 2:30 pm. I've been wanting to make the drive up to Miramichi so this was to be the destination of the day.

Tucker wasn't too impressed with the car ride to start with but eventually settled down to sleep on the blanket in the back seat. A couple hours into the drive we stopped to let the dogs out to do their business and get a drink of water. Maddie, being a more seasoned traveller took only a small drink, enough to wet her whistle, while Tucker gulped down as much as he could before the dish was taken away. It wasn't long after we started driving again that the water he drank along with his breakfast made a big mess on the blanket! We pulled off on a dirt road where there was fresh water running out of a culvert in the ditch and Lyndon washed off the blanket...none to impressed with the job I might add.

After taking an unexpected scenic route we finally arrived in Miramichi around 6:30 pm. Of course it would be my luck that there was a huge bridge to cross...not my favorite thing to do...but I managed it without a panic attack.

One thing I have noticed out here is that there are many cemetaries overlooking the water. How very peaceful they are and very suitable for the area.

We found a place called French Fort Cove where we had a nice walk in the woods and the dogs got a bit of exercise too.


I should have looked up Miramichi online before our adventure because I found some things on their website that I would have been interested in going to, such as "The Kitchen Party" but there is always next time.


As the sun started to set we decided it was time to head back home, taking a different route than the one we took to get there. Instead of going back to Moncton we headed to Fredricton then back to highway 3...only saw two deer and two police cars the entire trip.

Home safe and sound at 12:30 am ready for bed.

Another Mouth to Feed

I know...just what we need!! A few days after the fire Lyndon's friend Shawn showed him the new puppy they had. There is still one left if you want one, he told Lyndon. So, Lyndon came home and told me about this puppy and that he wanted to call and see if there was still one left...it's father is a black lab and the mother is a shepherd/lab cross. I really didn't want a big dog, I wanted another little dog if we were going to have another one but tell me this...how do you say no to someone who's face got torched and yet they haven't complained once???? I figure I am lucky that a free dog is all he wanted because I probably would have said yes to anything Lyndon asked for with him looking so pitiful!

So the call was made and off we went to see the "Pity Puppy". Of course once you see it you're going to take it. He was just so darn cute and lonely...all his brothers and sisters were gone. The man handed me the little black ball of fur and he immediately nuzzled into my neck and whimpered...."take me home...pleeeeeease!" Well, that's how we got the new dog who during his first night inside a house curled up tucked inbetween our two pillows to sleep on the bed, peed on my hand during the night and somehow still managed to worm his way into our hearts.

Welcome home Tucker Marshall

FIRE!!

Sunday, April 25th, 2010...suppertime. Lyndon had just taken the ham steak off the barbeque and came inside to put a pot of veggies on the stove to cook. Having turned them on, he resumed playing his game on the computer while we waited the few minutes it would take for them to boil. Within just a few minutes I heard a POP!!! I looked up from the computer towards the kitchen where the sound came from and through the window in the door leading to the kitchen I could see and orange glow. "There's a fire!!" I yelled and we both jumped into action. Lyndon was the first to reach the door and upon opening it the flames leapt from the pot which was on the back burner (a pot with less than 1/4 inch of grease had been left sitting there) and caught him on the side of the face. He rushed through the kitchen, grabbed the fire extinguisher and within less than a minute from the time I yelled, the fire in the pot was out. Flames were still licking away up inside the range hood and after Lyndon removed the pot of grease he quickly extinguished that fire as well. In all the commotion Maddie had run out into the street and was barking feverishly...a car stopped and a nice man got out to see if we needed help as he saw Maddie and then noticed the smoke billowing out the open door. Everything seemed to be under control so they went on their way.

Inside we started to clean up and figure out what the heck had happened and what we were supposed to do next. We concluded that the back burner where the pot of grease was sitting had gotten turned on instead of the front burner with the veggies (something that happens to everyone). I called our neighbour Sandy and he came right over. I then called Brandon McGee our real estate agent/insurance man and he too said.."I'm on my way." Meanwhile, Lyndon had gone upstairs and I heard water running up there. My first thought was that the fire had gone up through the wall so I called up the stairs to see what was going on. He assured me it was ok, he just got a little burn. Next thing I know, he comes downstairs, hands me a towel and says..wet this down. I did this and then turned to hand it to him and saw the burn on his face and neck. I don't know how he managed to stay so calm and collected...I thought I was going to throw up!! He wrapped the towel around his head and Sandy told me to take him to the hospital..he would stay here and mind the house and watch Maddie. After making a quick call to the medical clinic to be sure it was open and there would be someone there to see him we were off.

It was a scarey drive to Black's Harbour as Lyndon had the seat back and was laying there shivering. I was afraid he was going to go into shock so I sped up, not too fast though as I knew the last thing we needed was to be in a car accident. Lyndon looked at me and asked, "why are you driving so fast? I think you are in worse shape than I am!" He was probably right but I checked my speed and was still within the limit even though to me it felt like we were crawling.

The nurse that had answered my call earlier and told me that the doctor would be gone but a nurse would be there to see Lyndon greeted us and also informed us that the doctor had stayed as well to tend to him. Whew, what a relief! Before too long they had him bandaged up and looking very much like Osama BinLaddin and when I went in to see him, Lyndon was cracking jokes with the attending....everything just seemed so surreal to me! After receiving a shot of Demerol, a doctor's note for his work and a few tylenol 3's to go, we were on our way back home.


Brandon had been in and taken pictures for insurance and had then left to head down to Black's to meet us at the hospital. We had just missed him apparently and a few minutes later he also returned to the house. He assured us we would be taken care of through insurance and that someone would call us in the morning. He also offered us a hotel for the night but we chose to stay home with Maddie.

The next day the insurance adjuster came and gave us all the information we needed. He was fabulous as was everyone else that helped us through this.

So now, almost a week later, Lyndon is healing up nicely, we have our new stove, we are gradually getting everything washed from all the smoke, now it's mostly just the upstairs to finish. Once all the cleaning is done we have to paint every ceiling in the house as well as the whole kitchen. Tomorrow I plan on spending most of the day at the laundromat washing up all the bedding I had just done as well as most of our clothes. It's astounding at how much damage and extra work is caused by a fire that lasted less than one minute. We were soooo lucky that we were here when it started, I can't imagine how much worse it would have been if we had been sitting on the deck or even anywhere else in the house and had not heard that pop!

Thanks to Lyndon for remembering we had a fire extinguisher (this hadn't even crossed my mind), to Sandy and Lise our awesome neighbours who are always there for us and to Brandon McGee and Stanley Insurance who continue to take very good care of us.

Sometimes Life's a Beach!

Around 6am every morning at work I head to the dumpster with a load of garbage and this particular morning there was a light mist over the water. I couldn't resist going back in for my camera to take a couple shots but unfortunately as nice as the pictures are, they still don't do justice to the serenity of that early morning. I especially love the reflections in the water.

What a beautiful day today after a horrendous thunderstorm last night. I worked through the night baking bread and making some apple cinnamon dog bones then came home for a shower and a nap looking forward to a trip down to the beach this afternoon.

It's always a nice walk on New River Beach and usually desserted but today it just happened that there was a bus of kids from Ontario unloading as we pulled up to the parking lot. I figured there wouldn't be much chance of finding treasures with so many people combing the sand however we did end up with 15 sand dollars, a couple nice clam shells and Lyndon came away with a new pet...Mister Crab.

Maddie enjoyed the freedom of running the beach without a leash and some of the kids had fun playing with her as she chased them around in cirlces. I'm pretty sure she is going to sleep well tonight!

Good Friday Was A Little Sappy

I forgot to post my Easter weekend excursion, so here it is.

Good Friday was a beautiful, sunny day here in St. George...the perfect day for a walk in the woods. My good friend Elsie and her husband Donnie had never been to a sugar bush so we were happy that they decided to come along with us.

Duffries Maples is a small maple syrup operation near Kings Landing, about and hour and a half away from here.

The sugar shanty in the bush was newly built and the smell of fresh sawdust hung sweetly in the air when we got out of the car. The owners were really nice, very friendly and down home type people. We sampled some maple butter and got the low down on how their operation runs. The actual sugar bush was down the lane and across the road, right on the banks of the St. John river.

Donnie proceeded to check out the buckets and Elsie had her first taste of fresh sap...didn't think there was much flavor to it, just like sweet water. There in the bush we found two Adirondack chairs positioned with a perfect view of the serene river flowing by. Lyndon, coming off a nightshift with only an hours sleep, couldn't resist taking a few minutes to relax. The chairs had an obvious cup holder on the arm and I think Lyndon was disappointed that coffee wasn't served in the bush too!

After our stroll through the woods we headed back to the car and made our way to the nearest restaurant for a delicious lunch.

Lots of fresh air taken in and plenty of laughs along the way made for a quieter ride home. What a nice way to start the Easter weekend.

Ain't Life Great?!

I was thinking today about making some changes in my life....again...seems I do that a lot doesn't it? This time though, it's about making changes in my way of thinking. There has been so much drama going on in the background, things I worry about but have no control over and yet, I do have control over how I deal with it.
We all have people in our lives that think we are awesome, that appreciate the gifts we bring as individuals to the table of life and would sing our praises to those who question our integrity. We also have people in our lives or who have passed through our travels that don't believe in us, fear our awesomeness and are jealous of our abilities to overcome the odds and follow our dreams.
I believe I am here, in this place, at this moment in time for a reason. Life has brought me here on the journey to fulfil my dreams and I have been allowing the sourness of others to seep in and try to tarnish my path. I remind myself that just because they are not on the same path as me does not mean they are on the wrong path, just a different one.
My whole life I seem to have wanted to take the road less travelled and have never found it to be a lonely road...just less crowded. I see so much potential in my surroundings and feel in my bones that this is the place...my time is here and now and I need to make it count. The realization struck me today after a few conversations with some very good friends that my problem has been my perspective. I thought my dream was clear and concrete and I wanted it all at once. Life is not like that. It's the baby steps I take towards the goal that are really the dream I think. Sure I want to someday have a bed and breakfast but reality says that can't happen over night. In the meantime, though, I can open myself and our home up to visitors and enjoy their company. I can continue to work, save money to invest in our future here and I can bask in the knowledge that I have a job I love where I am appreciated. I have great people in my life that believe in me and my abilities and best of all I am at peace and truly believe it when I say...."Ain't life great!"

Sunday, March 28th was cool and overcast but I was itching to get out of the house and try out my new camera. Being without one since Christmas time has been like missing a limb in some ways. I headed out of town towards St. Stephen and took the turn to St. Andrew's. Since I was out and about by myself I was a little leary on going down roads I hadn't been on before...always afraid they will be a dead end and I won't have a place to turn around but that wasn't the case this time. The road I took was a dead end but had the nicest house at the end of it with this eagle's nest sitting on top of the hydro pole as well. The road runs along the Digdequash river and the house sits right on the banks. Beautiful spot.

I turned around and headed back towards St. George and took another detour to the left of the highway this time to see what was back in the sticks heading in this direction. A nice little waterfall in the Digdequash caught my eye so I pulled over to snap a few pictures. I really need to find someone in the area to go with me on these excursions that knows the woods and how to get down close to these spots...looked like a beautiful place for a picnic! So I continued on down the road happy to see that there were houses along the road so I didn't feel like I was heading into Deliverance country...the road twisted and turned, up and down hills and presented the odd pothole but it was a peaceful drive all in all. Soon I found my way to a road that pointed me back towards St. George and I was on my way home again.

Back in town I noticed the mist coming up from the gorge and the ice frozen to the surrounding trees and bushes so I wheeled into the Blueberry store parking lot and crossed the road to take a few more pictures. Moments like these make me feel like I am still just a tourist here but I can't seem to help myself. I love taking the pictures to share with my friends back in Ontario and also with my new friends here. It suprises me to find out that many of the locals don't venture off the beaten path so I feel it's my duty to let them know what's going on too...hahaha!!

So, that's it for today. The beautiful weather we had enjoyed the past few weeks has left us now and it's turned cold and overcast but I guess it's to be expected this time of year.

Fresh Starts

Don't you just love the longer days spring brings. More hours of sunshine and just an overall feeling of freshness in the air motivates us to take on those tasks we put off through the long winter months.


Today I am busy stripping beds and getting the guest bedrooms ready for friends and family I hope will be visiting this summer. The woodpile that didn't get brought into the house for winter is now being put away into the basement for next year, slowly but surely and the cleaning of the closets will begin soon as well.


Spring has sprung at the bakery as well. Sugar cookies and bunny cakes to celebrate the season and Easter holidays are brightening the shelves with their pretty purple, yellow, pink and green colours.


My first grandchild, Kingston, was born on March 18th, another new beginning this year. Although the circumstances around this blessed event are strained at this time I find peace in knowing that my blood and hopefully the best of my spirit have found a home in this new life. It's nice to know that you don't have to hold someone's hand to hold them in your heart.

Happy Spring!

A Mother's Prayer for her Daughter

May she always believe in herself...know that she is a gift to her mother and that her happiness is paramount. May her heart be open to those that seek her love but protected from those who do not appreciate all that she is.



If she is hurting, may the hurt lead to revelations of an inner strength she never knew she had. Give me strength and wisdom as a mother and woman to realize that I can't always make the hurt go away but can always be her soft place to fall when she needs me the most.



Let my advice be simple and true...help me not to be selfish or judgemental when she is making difficult choices. Let me be reminded that I have also made choices that no one else understood and whether they were the right choices or not I have learned from them and she will too.

I pray for my daughter that she will smile more often than she cries, that she loves stronger than she hates and that she forgives her mother for wanting to carry her burdens, for wanting to do physical harm to anyone that dares to deem insignificant the gift I cherish so dearly.

May the sun always shine warmly on her path, though clouds may appear, let it only be for a moment in time until she smiles again.

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

Another great holiday spent visiting so many of my friends. Here are just a few of the many people I got to connect with again. Some people are missing because my camera broke part way through my travels, others are not posted because I value my life! Unfortunately I wasn't able to see everyone that I wanted to but it doesn't seem to matter how long I stay there just isn't enough time and energy. How lucky am I to have that many friends!!! Pictured here from top left to right are:

Debbie, Shaun, Julie, Russell, Amy, Jake, Andrea, Tim, Sally, Sherrise

Not only do I have lots of friends but I just have to say I have the best looking ones too!!!

There are lots of people I need to thank as well. Thanks, Karen, for being there for me Christmas Eve to pick me up at the airport and also for being my date on New Year's Eve. I can't help but wonder if you have any lasting marks from the ping pong ball? Thanks to Kristie for the awesome Christmas dinner and also for taking me back to the airport. Thank you Brooke for taking time out of your busy life to have a sleep over with your old mom and for hanging out with me while I went visiting even though it meant the possiblity of having the youth sucked out of you! A huge thanks to my mom and dad for putting up with me for two whole weeks and letting me bomb around in the truck. I'm glad we got in a few games of marbles even though Dad won because he CHEATS!!! Just kidding...it was great. I was happy to meet up with Dave, Sonja, Michelle and Tammy for coffee too. Glad we are keeping in touch! Thanks to Bill and Brenda for inviting me to your New Year's party...lots of laughs! Thanks to Julien for inviting me to your hockey games...glad I got to spend time with you and your mom. Thank you Tim for breakfast at Angels Diner and for loaning me the book, I look forward to reading it as soon as I locate my glasses. It was great to see friends at Kelsey's again, thanks to Susan, Sherri, Julien, Amy, Shane, Kristie, Brooke, Melanie, Rob, Cindy, Mary Ann, and Rory.

My Friends from HBBS 2010

Left to right from the top

Brad, Jo-Anne, Lisa, Blain, Amanda, Mary, Ewelina

Unable to attend: Keith, Jodie, Linda, Alexis

It's always great to get together for lunch each time I return to Ontario with my friends from Hamilton Brant Behaviour Services. Working with such a great group of people is one of the few things I do miss. Brad (aka Willie...self applied nickname) and Blain never fail to supply stories that keep me in stitches throughout the meal and always made work fun. I'm not sure what Brad's aversion to Mary's hat is but I think it's stylin' and suits her perfectly! Best wishes in your upcoming nuptuals Mary and I hope you make it down for a visit on your honeymoon..can't beat the rates! Ewelina still looks like she walked off the cover of Vogue and my mentor Jo-Anne hasn't changed either...still has that smile that lights up the room! I'm also happy to say that Lisa and I keep in touch through gossip central (Facebook) from time to time and think it's hilarious that she still manages to lock herself out of the office on occasion! Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to work with Amanda as she joined the group after I moved but it was great to see her again too and she seems to fit in perfect...loved the digs about Brad's food noises...LOL! I have a neice that does that and it drives my dad crazy!

I'm happy that I stopped in at the office before lunch and had the chance to see Keith...BEST BOSS EVER!!!! ... to have a quick chat with Jodi, and a hug from Linda as well.

Remember that our door is always open and Lyndon and I would love for any of you to come visit. By the way, Lyndon suggests that should you ever need to hire another receptionist Keith should put "must know how to bake" as the number one prerequisite for the position and "will train for the office work" Hahaha!!!

Thanks again everyone for that awesome lunch and best wishes to all of you for the new year! Keep laughing!

First Snow Dec. 6, 2009

I guess it was bound to happen, after all this is December in Canada but I must admit I was hoping it would wait until late Christmas Eve. Waking up early and looking outside to see everything draped in white for the first time of the year is a kind of magical moment though. It brought back childhood memories of making snowmen and angels, building forts and tobogganing...but only for a few minutes. Then it sets in that driving is going to be more hazardous, shovelling needs to be done, the heating bill is going to take a jump, and the arthirits will no doubt flare up.

Days like this, in my mind, ache for Christmas cookies baking in the oven, a pot of homemade soup simmering on top of the stove, Christmas music playing and a steaming cup of cocoa in my hand. Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and what most of us probably needed boost our motivation to do that baking and shopping we've been putting off. It's also a good day to write out and post those Christmas cards I bought last month and have been wondering if I am ever going to send them.

I booked my flight home for a two week holiday with my family and friends from December 24th - January 8th. My parents home in Hagersville will be my homebase for the duration of my stay so if any of my friends and family have the time, I hope we can get together for coffee and visits. I'm really looking forward to it and am making a promise to myself to see as many people as I can without wearing myself out so much driving all over the place that I need days off when I get back to recouperate. Hopefully there will be no snow Christmas Eve to delay or cancel my flight, would hate to spend Christmas in the Moncton airport!

Guess that's my update for today...better get those Holiday cards off the shelf and start writing. Happy Snow Day to all!!

November brought with it a nice suprise...a visit from my friends Christy and Taylor Patterson. With every visitor this year came beautiful weather and this visit was not to be an acception. The sun shone every day giving us plenty of opportunities in the 3 days to venture out to some of my favorite spots.

Large clam shells and sand dollars were treasures found at New River Beach and sea urchins were picked up on our visit to Deer Island.

It was so nice to catch up with my friends and I'm so happy they made the trip here and back to Brantford safe and sound. I'm sure they will return to discover more hidden gems here in Charlotte County.