Friday, April 4, 2014

The Winter Move




We are now a permanent resident of Prince Edward Island. We moved the end of March solely because my husband started a new job last September and felt business would be slow enough in March that he could take a week off to move. Now March can be a time when you feel spring in the air or winter is going out like a lion and giving us one last blast after another...you guessed it, this year on the island, Mother Nature had a few storms left over..

Last Monday when we left Ontario, it was sunny, mild and a gorgeous ten degrees. We enjoyed nice weather all through Ontario, Quebec and even New Brunswick. It did start turning colder in New Brunswick and the wind picked up but it was about an hour from the Confederation Bridge that the weather really started to turn. We were driving in a truck, pulling a 12 ft. U-Haul trailer as the moving truck we had hired couldn't hold all our belongings..as it was we left many things behind. A neighbour and my brother-in-law kindly offered to store some of our belongings until such time as they come out to visit us..

The weather was such that we didn't feel the island was welcoming us with open arms, it was very windy driving over the bridge and once across, blowing snow was drifting across the road, making the driving harder. Several days before we left, the island was bombarded by a blizzard, followed by freezing rain and more snow..the closer we got to our destination, the worse the roads became, many just a glare of ice. We traveled slowly and carefully, arriving safely and also adding more time to the long, two day trip. But what a relief to arrive with only one mishap, getting stuck with the truck and trailer in our in-laws laneway..

We finally just unhitched the truck from the trailer and left it at the end of the laneway overnight. Wednesday we unloaded the truck and trailer at our new residence which we purchased four years ago. I'd love to be able to say all the renovations are done inside the house but that wouldn't be the case. Although 3 rooms upstairs are completely finished, the upstairs bathroom and hallway are only partially done.

The living-room is now painted but the dining room isn't. Nor is the downstairs bathroom completed. We purchased a new refrigerator and stove but we have yet to order our kitchen cupboards. I think it's safe to say we will be living in a mess of mass confusion for awhile. To add to this scenario is a couple of days of mild weather, melting snow and a wet, muddy yard. Spring is a time of year when unpaved laneways are a quagmire of soft, red island mud where many a vehicle can get stuck and needs pulling out..thankfully my hubby's brother owns a tractor and  we may need use of it!

Today is Friday and the moving truck is coming today with three or four men to unload it. I will be standing somewhere in the house, hopefully guiding all the boxes and furniture to the designated rooms. I woke up at 4 a.m., trying to visualize all our furniture and boxes so I could be prepared for the ten a.m. arrival of our belongings. I couldn't get back to sleep, so decided to write this blog.

Hubby is sleeping well thankfully, he goes to bed each night exhausted with many aches and pains. We both do. But each morning we wake up, eat a hearty breakfast and do it all over again. This move would be so much nicer if it was summer and we could just sit boxes and furniture out on the lawn and organize things at a slower pace. But with a wet, snowy and muddy yard, that is not an option.

Life will be crazy for the next little while, something I wish I could wake up from and say: "thank heavens, it was only a dream!"..but this is our reality for many months to come, as we work to finish the renovations and sort out as everyone likes to tell me "too much stuff!" Even the movers were heard to say: "you have a lot of stuff"..I guess a big part of setting up our new household will be parting with as many things as possible..I hear they have a 70 mile long yard sale here every fall, so instead of going from house to house looking, I'll be selling..or just giving things away..

In order to keep some sanity I'm trying to visualize spring approaching, albeit at a much slower pace than I desire. I'm thinking of the 30 tulip bulbs I planted last fall and the blossoms opening on our apple trees. I'm anticipating shopping for more plants at the garden centres and taking breaks under our dear willow tree, that was much damaged in this past ice storm. We had many white birch snapped off also. There will be a lot to spring clean-up this year but as in the past four years, we don't have to leave for Ontario after hubby's 3 weeks holidays. We are now in our forever home, caretakers of 35 acres of land and trees.

Truth be told, once the nice weather arrives, you won't catch me inside unpacking the next twenty or thirty boxes, I'll be outside gardening or relaxing under our willow. I may have to unpack my granddaughters toys though as I expect her parents to visit this summer. A great excuse for a day at the beach, maybe many days at the beach, maybe the whole summer at the beach!

3 comments:

  1. Sorry your dear willow was damaged but new branches will replace those that broke off. I've never seen any of my apple or lilac trees in bloom yet, I'm looking forward to that. I'm glad your rooms "seem bigger" now, it's funny how that happens. I just put in a large area rug in my living room and it seems much bigger now. Get that spare bedroom ready for me too!

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  2. Glad you and Hubby made the trip safely. The roads have been horrible and the high winds with blowing snow. Yuck.
    I'm sure you must be so happy to finally call P.E.I. your home.
    Your live may be crazy for awhile as you mentioned, but try to enjoy Spring as all your tree's start to bloom and the birds sing
    You may even find some new flowers growing you never new you had..
    Take care.

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  3. Lannie, sorry I'm only getting this to you now. Glad to hear the move went okay despite the horrific weather. What an introduction to the island! hopefully your house is feeling a little more put together these days, although I suspect you may be outside digging away. I know I've gotten out as much as possible in the last couple weeks. What a treat to finally get into the garden again. Anyway, big welcome to the island to you and Jim. Hopefully we'll have a hot summer to make up for that frigid introduction.

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