The Journey Continues

There are two titles I could have used for this post, the second one being " the moving saga continues"..the above picture was taken last February when driving across the Confederation Bridge..I like to think of it as a stairway to heaven..It is such a gorgeous bridge which takes us to our favorite place, Prince Edward Island. It's a bit of a different story when you leave the island, there is a toll to pay and it seems to increase quite often.

In the not too distant future we will be crossing that bridge with a large moving van with all our earthly possessions. All those possessions that I have been scrambling around packing. It feels like I've packed a hundred boxes with a hundred yet to go. Hubby Jim reminds me to  mark them well which I started out doing. Now all I want to do is see the end of it all, throw it into a box and close the lid! Who cares what's inside! I think I'm whining!

Jim is enjoying his new job on the island and it was 5 weeks last Saturday since he left our home here with a trailer full of boxes. He works steadily night after night at the house accomplishing quite a lot in my mind. The great news is that soon I will be joining him for the winter. His brother and wife who Jim lives with are going to Ottawa in November to visit their son and family. Then they will drive another four hours to visit me..they will load up the back of their truck with as many boxes as possible and take me back to the island with them for the winter. At this point I will list our house for sale. (Did I say I'm getting so excited to see hubby again!)

Our neighbours next door who always look after our house while we are away have volunteered to  keep our laneway clean of snow during the winter.  They take such good care of my plants also. Which is another huge dilemma for me. Our real estate agent wants all the horizontal surfaces cleared off except for perhaps one item..so what happens to my four violets? Violets will not bloom if they are not beside another violet. Two of them are blooming right now, a purple and a deep rose.

I have a huge jade plant beside my Christmas cactus which I imagine will start having white buds soon. It's gorgeous when in full bloom..If I leave the plants where they are, my neighbour does a wonderful job of watering them. I've never lost a plant under her care. If I move them to another girl friend's house they may not survive. When I mentioned her keeping some of them for me, she looked at me with horror.."I kill plants you know!"  So that option is out. Perhaps my step-daughter would take the Christmas cactus and enjoy it for the winter. My granddaughter could water it, she'd enjoy that.

Another problem has been solved. Jim has always done all the painting here which means I haven't painted a room for over twenty years. Another friend volunteered her husband to paint one room for me and he has agreed to do it this week. I am so grateful for all the help I get. My step-daughter comes nearly every weekend and moves boxes out into a shed for me plus started cleaning up her dad's workshop. Another bonus to her helping me is I get to play with my granddaughter for a few hours. I found my granddaughter at almost 3 yrs.old is perfect at packing books in boxes, even helped me carry them upstairs. Then she wants to help tape the box, that is a little more interesting.

It's becoming clearer day by day we have too much STUFF! This move may cure my desire for shopping except for food. The funny thing is my youngest sister is packing, renovating and preparing to move to Prince Edward Island around the same time as us. So we can sympathize with each other over all the hard work and messes this creates. Can't wait until the move is over, the boxes are unpacked and life is back to normal. Whatever normal might be.

Jim and I will be living 3 provinces away from most of our family. We will be just a walk away from his brother and wife. Jim's niece and her family live in Nova Scotia so often take the ferry over to the island. We will be a 2 hour drive away from my youngest sister, but an 18 hour drive away from other family members and friends. Flying is quicker so hopefully relatives and friends will fly into Moncton, NB or Charlottetown to take up residence for awhile in our spare room. There will be many adjustments to make I'm sure but gardening is gardening wherever I'll be. It's my joy and solace even when pulling out weeds. Jim will have his workshop like he has here and every afternoon we'll meet under our beautiful willow tree, share a cold drink and ask: "well, how's your day going so far?"

The Bittersweet Separation

It will be three weeks tomorrow that my husband Jim left for Prince Edward Island without me to start a new job. He is really enjoying living with his brother and wife plus using any extra time he has to work on our retirement home. Since he works full-time five days a week plus Saturday mornings, his free time is limited for house renos. He does manage to work a couple of hours most nights after work or go up early in the mornings. He was able to scrape all the window sills and repaint them.

Once the weather turns colder or there are rainy days, he works inside on the drywall. He thinks he will soon be ready to use primer on several of the upstairs rooms. I sure wish I could be out there  working along beside him. He sends me lots of pictures, some of the gorgeous sunsets seen out our  kitchen window.

So far I am managing on my own. Well I'm not entirely on my own as friends and family have pitched in to do what they can. Girlfriends often take me downtown to find empty boxes for packing and after we take care of all our numerous errands we find a nice place for lunch. My daughter calls encouraging me when I most need it and my son came last weekend with a friend. We moved all the packed boxes out into a back shed, plus many smaller pieces of furniture. They brought the couch from downstairs up and put it out at the road for free..A young man came along Sunday and got himself a great bargain, it's the best couch for having a nap on..My husband said he would miss it.

The big quandary is still when to list the house. It would be early spring before my husband could get time to drive up to rent a moving truck for the big exodus. Jim's son called me Monday to tell me he would be willing to fly in from British Columbia to help us move..also my brother-in-law just around the corner has offered to help..I'm keeping my fingers crossed the house will sell quickly.

I've had help with the lawn cutting, wish it would stop growing! We've just enjoyed a week with temperatures in the mid twenties, so the grass is going to need cutting at least once more. I've been weeding, trimming perennials, closing up the vegetable garden and collecting so many large leaf bags of yard waste. It is so fortunate that my neighbour takes his grass clippings to the town dump and takes all my garden waste too..his wife is good to bring me boxes for packing every week.

The daytime hours pass very quickly, I often forget to eat or drink, then wonder why I'm so thirsty! When my son was here he made sure I kept drinking water. I'm not used to cooking for one person, so lunch is never an issue but try harder to take a break and have some supper. Now the house is mostly decluttered and it's looking ready for showing, I've started to calm down (somewhat)..

I'm going out for supper tonight with a friend, another girlfriend is coming up Saturday to spend the night so we can take a cruise on a steamship Sunday. It's a great way to view the fall colors which are so beautiful now. We are supposed to get a lot of rain on Saturday and even more on Sunday which might bring down a lot of the leaves. Whatever happens, it will be a relaxing day.

After each job that gets done here, I see six more that need doing but as long as the weather holds I will keep plugging away. The inside of the house had to be my priority but since it's looking good, I can now concentrate more on the back yard. One of these days I have to tackle hubbies workshop, now that will be a new experience. It's not a place I went into often.

It came to mind last night that we will be able to enjoy our property three years earlier.  I realized one day I will look back on all these challenges I face here with a big smile. I survived it all, probably grew stronger as a person and it will feel like a dream..today I almost forgot it was Friday so must get the garbage and blue boxes out to the curb. My day dreams were over for the day!
There is a good chance I'll be joining hubby for the winter so looking forward to that. It can't come soon enough. Well off to pack some more boxes and maybe my suitcase too!

Surprises, Excitement and Uncertainty..

This photo was taken the second week of September this year. My hubby and I spent 6 weeks in Prince Edward Island renovating the inside of our farmhouse..nearly all the electrical got done and there is very little drywall left to do..hubby works so hard, he had no problem getting to sleep.

Before we left for home we had time to give the front of my garden shed one coat of white stain and I painted the doors and windows red. Since the little building has two doors, I'm contemplating using the left end of building for gardening tools etc., adding a wall and making sleeping quarters on the other end..it would take a lot of thought how best to accomplish this as the building has to be lifted to put a new foundation down..

I got the idea because my brother who is an artist can see himself staying in there.. this summer we dug in hydro wire close to the big barn, so one day the little shed will have electricity..there are great little chemical toilets now, plus we have installed hot and cold water taps outside on the back of the house..once we close in 3 sides around the taps, privacy is assured...

The surprise in my post comes from arriving home on a Wednesday and hubby getting a phone call on Friday that he has a job on the island...so I must quickly pack up all his clothes again, making sure he has his winter clothes and boots. He decides to leave Saturday morning so the rush was on. We are both excited tinged with a bittersweet feeling. I will now be living here alone, packing up our belongings, then calling a real estate agent to sell out house. Is October a good month to list or should we wait until the spring, another big decision.

That's where the uncertainty comes in, how I'll manage all the work here myself,  when to list, what might need changing or fixing etc. My husband always cut the lawn here, so one of my firsts this week was cutting our lawn..another first putting the Blue Boxes and garbage out Friday morning. It didn't take long to realize all the little and big things that were done for me week after week. Perhaps I was spoiled! The gardens, flower and vegetable used to be my domain but hubby even started participating more in the vegetable garden. He always did all the heavy lifting too.

I've started packing a lot of boxes, taking the ones I can manage outside and stacking them on top of a shelf in our carport while on a step ladder....so far I'm able to take out quite a few smaller boxes, but many are too heavy to lift..Thankfully my brother-in-law lives about a block away and is doing what he can to help. He takes me on errands and drops bags off for me at the Salvation Army store. I do not drive..this never really bothered me until now. But I can walk to stores near here and also downtown, been doing it for years..many friends have stepped up, offering their help which I really appreciate.

I've never stayed alone for more than two or three days at a time so more uncertainty as to how I will handle perhaps months of being on my own. Especially during the winter months. Another test. I realize "one day at a time" has to be my motto..Lots of people are alone and manage very well, so I'll be learning how to do new things and if I don't know how to do something will ask the neighbours..the neighbours on both sides of me are terrific, in fact the one couple look after out house when we are on the island.

Every night after dear hubby gets off  work at his new job, he goes right to the farmhouse to work. He is getting all the window sills painted and said they look great. He sends me beautiful pictures of the sunsets or sunrise. We are only an email or phone call away. We had a five year plan to move out there permanently and now it will happen two years earlier. That is so exciting, a great Birthday, Anniversary and Christmas present all rolled into one! My youngest sister is moving out to the island next year also, we are both thrilled to be seeing our dreams coming true.

On our property is a beautiful, amazing willow tree. That is where we relax for a cold drink or our lunch. Sometimes we just sit there and view our lovely property. There I feel so relaxed and calm. I have to be patient now, not knowing for sure what month the big move will take place.  The future holds much promise, spending our retirement together, just down the road from my hubby's brother and wife, also having a sister at the other end of the island....that's priceless.

Work and Play in Prince Edward Island

We are part way through our fourth week on the island of  P.E.I. We have been working very hard on the renovations of our farmhouse here but it hasn't been all hard work, we have taken the odd day off to play. My husband takes fewer days off than I do as he wants to accomplish so much on the inside of our farmhouse we are making liveable for our retirement home. There are some jobs I can help with and others I can't. Like doing any electrical work. So on those days I might go beachcombing or shopping in Charlottetown even just drive around sightseeing.

We were so fortunate a few weeks ago when my husband's niece and nephew were also here on the island with their families. The men of the families gave a whole day to help my husband with wiring in the house and so much was accomplished. His nephew even lowered the brand new kitchen window which had been installed so I could see our back yard better, being of short stature, I appreciated that very much.

When I first arrived I looked at my two large flowerbeds and all I saw were weeds that were waist high. So for the first two weeks off and on, all I did was dig up weeds. The ground here when not wet is very hard so it was quite the experience. The gardens look great now and hubby helped me dig up a third one, where we put my favorite arbour from home, plus the plants I brought with me this trip. He also helped me make a stone path through the arbour and now I can't wait to bring down more plants for all my flowerbeds. I did buy a few perennials this trip but as I have so many at home plus they need thinning out, I try and dig up quite a few each trip. What I've planted so far seem to be thriving.

On hubby's birthday this week he and I made a trail through our large woods, cutting down branches and hanging old buoys I found on several beaches here for trail markers. I need to paint them red or yellow at some point but even now they will help me find my way back out of the woods should I venture in by myself. It's so beautiful in there, so peaceful and calm. I need to find a book now to help me identify island plants and trees in the woods.

My husband's brother installed an above ground pool this year at their home where we are staying so we have enjoyed swimming many nights after a hard day's work. Sitting around the pool is a great relief after working with dusty drywall or digging in mulch around my gardens. We are nearing the end of our stay here, it will soon be time to leave, such a bittersweet time. We have enjoyed meeting people here plus had an enjoyable visit with my sister and hubby who are also moving here at the other end of the island from us.

We are hoping next year when we return to once more work on the house we can perhaps even sleep there as we have running water now, an older refrigerator that was left in the house, table and chairs etc. We would need to cook most of our meals on a b.b.q. outside which would be fun and we also have an outside shower. It wouldn't take hubby long to build a shower stall around that. Sounds like a great adventure just like all the other adventures we are having here. As the inside of the house takes shape and we soon prepare to leave our dear island for another year, we leave with precious memories, of all we and many, many other people have helped us to accomplish.

Over the coming long winter we will plan even more work projects, making lists of what we need to buy, what rooms need a few finishing touches, perhaps we will even be able to start painting bedrooms. Some days I can't believe how much hard work is involved in restoring an old farmhouse, then other days I can't believe how much has been done. One day it will be finished, ready for us to move in and welcome friends, family and neighbours to our beloved island home.

Plants Moving Out East to P.E.I.

One of my very favorite flowers in my front and back flowerbeds is the old fashioned hollyhock..I love the white ones out front this year..on the other side of our walkway a pink one is blooming and out back is a yellow one..the only trouble I have with them is that the groundhog family likes them too, eating them that is. He or his family eat the tender leaves so I feel very fortunate this year he left them alone for the most part. I took many photos of them especially close ups of a single bloom as I hope to paint a nice watercolor someday of all my hollyhocks..

We are heading out to Prince Edward Island in about a week and I have tagged some plants around the yard for my hubby to dig up and take with us. I have a 3 day holiday starting Tuesday with three friends I attended High School with so won't be here when hubby starts the digging. As he thought he might forget all I wanted dug up he told me to tag them with some yellow plastic tape. Now that will work fine if he walks all around the yard and finds all the taped plants..we have had several talks about what to dig up so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I have tons of plants that could be dug up but there are some considerations to think of..we are still undertaking our renovations out East so we are not living out there permanently. We spend many weeks out there working hard on the interior of the house but the yard work like cutting the lawn most of the summer and snow shoveling in the winter is left to hubby's brother who lives just down the road. It would be remiss of me to dig up a lot of new flowerbeds as my brother-in-law would have to manoeuvre his big lawn tractor or smaller riding lawn mowers all around these new beds..hubby says he gets dizzy sometimes trying to cut grass around all my flowerbeds here in town..

But I feel if I dig up a nice straight flower bed up near the front ditch out East and just plant day lilies and iris in it for now, it won't interfere with the lawn cutting. I already have two large flower beds that were dug up out there last year but they are so large they are easy to mow around. I would dearly love to take buckets and buckets full of plants this trip but must be content with the few plants that I've marked. Rome wasn't built in a day. It just seems though I can save a ton of money by dividing my plants here, rather than buying new ones out East.

I have many, many hostas some of which have been moved out already. Those I can tuck under trees here and there, so as not to interfere with the lawn mowing..another consideration I have to think of is how big our new decks will be that we built later on so can't plant near the house as yet. I could perhaps plant some perennials out near my little barn but it has to be painted yet, so they might get trampled. I guess I'm being impatient and just want to do it NOW!

We are pulling a trailer just packed full of boxes, small pieces of furniture we don't need here, my bike, Jim's tools he wants to take and some of my gardening tools. Also we will be packing up the back of our truck with many boxes, many holding light fixtures that were given to us. How come my house doesn't look any different? You would think with all we are taking the house would look emptier but alas, it still holds way too much. We've certainly added many toys this past year for our dear 2 1/2 yr. old granddaughter. They are getting much use, especially the dolls, toy stroller and high chair.

There is so much to think of when going away for a month, lawn to be cut, garden watered, mail collected, indoor plants to be watered. Thankfully we have the best neighbours ever..one neighbour is looking after the lawn and garden and our other neighbour and her husband look after the inside and our mail..they are so great to send us regular emails that all is well with the house and we keep them updated on all our news too. Right now my husband is helping one neighbour with her front lawn. She dug the whole lawn up with a rotor tiller and is laying new sod. We all help each other.

I sure hope my plants travel well and we can keep them alive. The ones my step-son dug up last year and I planted last May are thriving I've been told so can't wait to se them. I'm sure they will also be surrounded by weeds so I'll have my work cut out for awhile. Hubby will be doing wiring on the main floor of the house and then start the drywalling. The upstairs is nearly finished, I may be able to start painting our bedroom this trip. It's lots of hard work but exciting to see more work completed on our retirement home. Imagine the day I look outside my windows and see my hollyhocks blooming and waving in the East Coast breezes...

Life Happens While You Are Making Plans

Plans we make can turn out well or fall apart at the seams. I decided that a family reunion would be just the ticket to introduce our new-found cousin Abby whom my brother and I reconnected with last year to my other two sisters. We aren't a huge family, there are five siblings but trying to juggle a date that everyone can attend proved difficult as usual.

My husband and I could hold a reunion almost any weekend all summer but it wasn't that easy for the rest of the family. My youngest sister Jane showing off her nice leg in the above photo is a teacher and once school is over heads to her vacation home in Prince Edward Island. So that meant having a reunion in June. That shouldn't be too difficult except my brother Gord and his wife Pat said the only weekend they had free in June, was the 22nd. Add to that my cousin's son was getting married June 30th it was iffy if she would want to come the weekend before his wedding. My other brother Kim emailed me that he was flying to Ireland for a month (lucky duck) and wasn't returning until.....you guessed it....June 22nd. So he certainly would not be able to attend.

Kim usually makes every other reunion, so hopefully if we hold a big reunion and birthday bash next year for some really special birthdays he will be able to attend. I hurriedly emailed everyone involved and cousin Abby said let's go for it! Knowing Gord could attend on the 22nd of June with his wife, I waited on Jane to say yes..all was well with her but a week later she said her partner could not attend as he had to head out to P.E.I. early for a job. Well that was disappointing but we'll forge ahead.

The next spoke in the wheel was several days later when my brother's wife had an upset with her elderly mother who ended up in the hospital. Now I really was in a tizzy, did I email everyone and cancel the get-together until the fall or keep on with it and a smaller group. I knew in the fall the weather would still be nice but cooler but also Jane who teaches would be extra busy getting herself and her class-room ready. Plus what guarantee did I have that everyone could juggle their schedules to come all at the same time.

Hubby and I decided to go ahead as we had laid in extra food, the freezer was full and I had spent many days (weeks) doing a huge spring cleaning even rearranged furniture etc., to make my guests as comfortable as possible. Abby would have the spare room, Jane would use the couch downstairs and my other sister Dale would put up my brother. Now if the weather co-operates all would be well..

I was so hoping we could eat outside in the gazebo and my husband brought home an extra awning from work in case of rain. Hubby spent a lot of time sanding wooden lawn chairs, repainting them, repainting my metal patio set bright red, along with painting my window boxes matching red. I planted them with bright, cheerful flowers and they didn't disappoint. My large flowering hanging baskets out front full of pansies smiled away, even the peonies were at their best.

I find when having company now that I'm older, I need to be very prepared ahead of time. All the food that will fit into the refrig. I like to have ready before people step through the door..how nice to be able to visit along with everyone else instead of being tied to the kitchen. Being a bit of a fearful cook, not good at "flying by the seat of my pants' where preparing meals are concerned, I had it all in order when the first guests started arriving Friday. Reunions usually start Friday and people leave Sunday. The weather did co-operate, hubby and brother Gord did go in the pool, we ladies like it a bit warmer so we did a little shopping instead.

All in all the weekend was a great success even though we were small in numbers. We missed our sister-in-law very much, also our brother Kim and Jane's partner. Next year there are several "big" birthdays, one being mine..I want a huge celebration and my hubby warned me already he doesn't want me lifting a finger. Perhaps it will mean traveling down to where my two brothers and sister live but I have a feeling it will end up being here again so perhaps we can eat out for a few meals. This just seems like the best place for celebrations, a big yard, large deck, gazebo and small blue pool that we put up each May.

We can make all the plans we can think of, cross the t's, dot the i's and hope for the best. But life happens while we are making plans, it just keeps moving on. People plan trips, people get sick, or our children or grandchildren might need us suddenly. So we must tread lightly, whisper softly as we make our plans, keeping our fingers crossed that one day out of 365 might work for five siblings and their families to all come together and celebrate US...

In the above picture cousin Abby is in a dress, then we three sisters, Jane, myself and Dale. We laughed, we ate, we shopped, we looked at photo albums, we talked of the past and best of all we reconnected with one another, looking forward eagerly to our next shared family get-together. Perhaps we will be a small group again but I'm secretly hoping for a huge, big bang-up affair because soon two of us are moving out of province. Now that will really take some planning!!

Learning My Gardening Mistakes the HARD Way

Today was a sunny June day but with a very cool wind. We have been getting quite a bit of rain so I thought I'd pull some weeds..I found they came out easily. I keep all my plastic bags that I buy Triple Mix, Top Soil and Container Mix in, then put my weeds in them..every week or so hubby takes all the bags to the town dump..some weeks I fill a lot of bags..

I try and have a plan as I get distracted very easily. If I leave the spot I'm working on and see weeds somewhere else, off I go and might not get back to my original spot..it's getting worse as I get older and hubby often teases me about keeping on track. I eventually get everything done I want to do but it's certainly not in a straight line from A to B...

I started working around our fish pond this afternoon and as Iooked to the left or right in our lawn I saw weeds that needed pulling..well they aren't actually weeds but these plants don't belong in our lawn. Both these offenders are mistakes I made in my early gardening days which are still following me..

One of my friends once said she hated forget-me-nots..she felt they were just an unwanted weed. I tended to disagree with her, both hubby and I loved the tiny blue flowers in the spring..so as the few I  had spread, I'd thin them out and transplant them in some flower beds as a border. Then I found some white ones and cherished them so spread them about also..now for the past 6 or 7 years I've been digging them out of the lawn each summer! I think they are still lovely but they will never stay where they are put and are very prolific..

As I dug up an overabundance of violets that grew at one end of the fish pond I thought of how much I love the three shades of violets I grow outside, deep purple, white and a deep rose..but then agonized over what a nuisance they are..talk about producing rapidly and they too are all over the lawn. Even when most weeds pull out easily in damp soil, violets have a good sized bulb and root which nearly always has to be dug out..so I was very aggressive in removing at least half of them around the pond..in reality I should really remove them all. But they are so lovely in the spring.

Another spring plant that doubles and triples itself is the iris. I am a huge fan of iris so just dig up and split them over time, adding them to different flower beds around the yard. I can see they need splitting badly again but my neighbour's daughter who has started gardening with a vengence will take any extra plants I have. She lives out in the country and each year just keeps adding to her gardens. She told me one day she wants her gardens to look like mine...mine took twelve years or more to get where they are now..I know she looks forward to how my plants are so thick, it's hard to see the weeds! But there comes a point when some thinning out is required. Mulching helps to hide a lot of gardening sins also..

I've decided this year I'm not such a big fan of annuals as I used to be. Some summers are so hot I'm constantly trying to remember where they all are so I can water them 2 or 3 times a day..I have so many different perennials now that something is nearly always blooming so I didn't put annuals in two planters I usually hang over the front deck railings. Maybe I'm just getting plain lazy. I never thought I'd ever say this but maybe I have too many flowerbeds. Perhaps rethinking the back yard is in order, turning some areas back into lawn.

I've found with my 2 year old granddaughter coming most weekends throughout the summer that no gardening gets done. I'd much rather play with her anyways..  So that leaves five week days but with housework and friends inviting me out for a coffee or going uptown to do errands, I don't always get to spend as much time as I need outdoors gardening. It is a real joy for me to garden, I don't regret a minute spent in my gardens..now all the weeds in my lawn that is another story...

I told hubby today in areas we just reseeded in our lawn that the weeds are very thick..and I believe the weeds are coming from the top soil we buy. Sometimes we see a sale on top soil for a dollar a bag and I've decided it's no deal after all..I'm trying to convince hubby that where we planted the new grass seed is where the weeds are the thickest..so no more cheap soil, it's the more expensive triple mix from now on..

I asked one of my neighbours if she knew what the new weed was I was fining in my lawn and hers...she had no idea but said at least it's green! At one time we had the greatest, thickest green lawn, I was so proud of it..but year after year with the moles doing their thing over the winter, the grubs and the hot, dry summers, it's getting harder and harder to repair...our neighbour is trying hard to repair his lawn too and after buying a whole truck load of triple mix and working so hard for days to repair  and reseed it,  said this is his last year to do it..too much work, next year if need be he will buy sod..sounds like a great idea to me too..

I love my two sand cherry bushes but they don't like our harsh winters..I dug one up last year and two more will have to be dug up this summer..another gardening mistake. But that is how we gardeners learn by testing limits and also doing the tried and true thing. Each year brings mistakes but also many glorious victories. After all it's gives me so much pleasure to hear hubby say: " I'm going outside for awhile to wander around and survey the estate!"