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?"