Gaye's Muzings September 2007

September 29, 2007

Happy Birthday Momma, wherever you are.  Oh, how I do miss you and wish I could take you with me where I go and I could see your beautiful blue eyes as they watched.

I haven’t written in too many days but I have been terribly uninspired.  I am still coming down from the beauty that my being drank as we were in Newfoundland .  Life has been bland except for the season premier of Grey’s Anatomy.  It just feels that way because I was on such a high.

We had such a nice time in Shipshewana , Indiana with our sweet friends, Leslie and WC.  We always have a lot of laughs and we do eat well together.  Amish food several times and one night of Mexican food made my palate very happy.  We haven’t even taken any pictures so there is nothing to upload to the web page of our current travels  I am still closing my eyes and living our past three months.  We are in Iowa now and had to stop as the wind has been ripping all day and has been doing bad things like making strange noises so we have had to stop several times to make sure we weren’t disintegrating as we went along the interstate.  First we had to stop and disassemble the front dash as there was a noise that was driving us crazy.  We only found one loose screw but at least that has stopped for now.  One time the wind hit our slide topper just right and it unrolled so we had to put the flashers on and go slowly to the first off ramp we came to.  We put out the slide and Chet had to get the wrinkles out of the material so we could pull the slide in and go on our way.  We don’t know what else was happening but it sounded like the fiberglass was flapping in the wind when the truckers went by.  We checked it out and the best we could figure is the mud flap was hitting the tire with the wind and the extra wind when the truckers passed us.  I WON’T drive in this kind of wind.  Let’s see; wind, rain, construction zones, big cities, night driving, and I am sure there are a few more restrictions so you see I don’t drive too often!!!!  Poor Chet has sore arms from hanging onto the wheel today.  We were going to wait and see if it dies down so we could make some more miles tonight but judging by the way my hair is blowing I don’t think it has slowed down at all.  I can tell I haven’t typed in a while as I’m back to 4,000 mistakes already.

I have been knitting furiously as I am determined to have blankets made to go on all of the beds and all of the furniture in our new house.  It is fun watching the blankets morph as I work.  I told Chet to remind me what a process it has been fringing one I just finished.  I am on day 2 and haven’t even finished one side.

My sister has been in and out of the hospital for the past three weeks so my brother is flying to LA to see her next weekend.  It would be nice if my boys could see him.  Maybe….

One blessing is that a very good friend just found her 35 year old son she gave up for adoption.  She has three grandchildren and is beside herself with joy.  Another whom I love as my family was just told her youngest child is autistic.  He did pick his parents as they couldn’t be more loving if they tried.  My heart goes out to them.

Have a good evening and thank you for listening…….

September 24, 2007

Besides traveling through 4 states yesterday, which we call a 4- state day, it was one of those days.  I’m sure you have had them too.  We spent the night at one of our favorites…Flying J.   For those of you who don’t RV…..it is a truck stop that caters to RV’s too.  There are all of the conveniences of home; special RV islands for fuel water, a dump site, air, window washers with long handles and propane, which most often is on the wrong side of the vehicle so the maneuvering to get to it is more than fun particularly when the whole station is full of people.  It is great as one can shower with impunity, until the hot water runs out, and then dumping facilities are right there. 

Chet was commenting how much gray water we had and we figured 2 showers each and a rather large mishap with our new coffee maker almost filled our 50 gallon tank.  We bought one that grinds the beans and then makes the coffee.  I think I have touched upon my coffee bean experience in a prior muze but if you don’t know we left Palm Springs with 2 cases of 3lb. bags of Jose’s vanilla nut decaffeinated beans.  I think we only have about 4 bags left but you have to understand that we bought them last January.  Palm Springs is the only Costco we have ever seen the decaffeinated beans which goes along with the demographics of the area.  I, fitting into that demographic now, have to have my decaffeinated Jose’s beans……enough, enough.  Chet, the coffee maker, did something which we couldn’t figure out and our pot of coffee and ground beans spilled over and ran all over the counter, into the drawers, all over the “don’t touch me” kitchen towels, and onto the floor almost making it to my brand new kitchen rugs that I bought while on my shopping frenzy.  We had a lot of cleaning to do.  As the day transpired, I decided to freeze my iced tea so we could put the jug away.  I was putting it into ziplock bags and the button I was pushing on the tap some how came undone and tea was pouring out from the top and the bottom of the spout as I was holding a filling bag with the other hand.  It managed to go all over the other side of the countertop and soaked into 3 more towels.  There were 2 more incidents of major spills but I will save you the details.

I managed to drive 95 miles yesterday which was a lot better than the 40 of the day before.  I actually drove through Cleveland but make sure I only go through cities on Sundays.  Driving this beast is not something I enjoy.  Back in my younger years I would have pretended that I was driving an 18 wheeler and would have felt so cool.  Now all it does is interfere with my knitting and give me a stomach ache.

We are going to hook up with our dear friends, Leslie and WC today in Amish country in Indiana .  We will probably spend a couple of days and then decide which way we are going to Albuquerque .

On to a more coordinated day than yesterday.

September 20, 2007

I love my country, I do……there just may be a few things I don’t agree with but my muzings are not a format for politics, race or religion.  It may be a place for me to assuage the ferocity of my temper which can turn in a nanosecond.  This may be revealing more than I need to as I am sure you all know I must be a perfectly even-tempered person at all times! 

I already had an opening this morning but three more have popped up so I have to figure out which one to start with.  I will be back in a few as I have to go buy orange juice and a few more things so we can have breakfast…… maybe, just maybe by then I will silence the fuming in my sweet natured brain.  I say that, as I have said I was going to bring back the behavior I experienced in Newfoundland, and realize it has to begin with me.  I realize now that I forgot to ask one very important question while I was there, though…..what do they do when they get angry.

It has turned into an all day affair so I am just getting back to this at 6:30 p.m.  I did my shopping and smiled and greeted many people.  It made me walk out of the store with a smile on my face.

We are in New Hampshire and on the way to Vermont tomorrow for a very important reason.  We collect refrigerator magnets and needed one from these two states.  It is really nice to be able to plan our way according to whatever whim we might have; earth-shattering or not!

When we woke this morning there were cars parked directly in front of us in the parking lot where we stayed.  It was impossible to move forward so I had to slowly guide Chet backwards as the hitch used for the tow car is soft and made only for going forward.  I was already composing notes to put on all of the cars as I was trying to figure out why, when there was a huge parking lot, did anyone have to park directly in front of us.  I remembered my promise to myself that I was going to act like I was treated for the past 3 months in Newfoundland .  We then had to go buy diesel across the street as we didn’t have enough to run the generator and wanted to make breakfast.  We pulled into the station, all 57 feet of us and were trying to see where the diesel pumps were so we were immediately honked at.  I zipped my lip once again.  Chet was pumping gas and a man came up to compliment us on our home on wheels.  All was well and the conversation regarding the Canadian dollar came up and how it will become difficult if the prices in  Canada don’t get adjusted.  His ending comment was “what do you expect, they have universal health care”.  Hmmm, what a unique thought.  I paid the gas bill and almost couldn’t lift the receipt as there were so many numbers on it.  I am back and I love my freedom to have my own ideas.

Last night we went to Costco and we felt like we were in pig heaven after a very successful shopping trip, as New Hampshire is a no sales tax state as is Oregon .  That’s all I needed to hear, oh my, what fun after paying 14 ½ % on EVERYTHING in Canada .  After out hot dog I dropped Chet off at the motor home and I went on a shopping frenzy.  Linens’n Things, Michael’s and Bed, Bath & Beyond all in 2 hours.  I did a lot of damage and it was an absolute pleasure.  They were closing out my favorite towels at Linens’n  Things so I managed to redecorate the motorhome and get all my towels and rugs for my new house.   We got those bags that you suck the air out of to package all of the things we have to carry until next April but it was too good of a sale not to get them.  We went back today to get some more and to make some color changes.  We left our rugs, and cooking appliances at the house so we could get new ones.  It is Christmas in September.  We hung out at Border’s and had a coffee and got a few books.  It was a nice day and the lady at the towel store told me I was a lovely lady.  See it’s working.  I am an honorary Newfie!!!!  They taught good lessons that I am going to work hard at practicing as it is high energy in this country and I am a high energy person.

I say all of this in a self- mocking way as I don’t like to have to make amends to people and don’t like to go to bed needing to say I’m sorry to anyone.  Those of you who know me well, know of what I call my “movie theater behavior”.  I don’t get into altercations in the theaters anymore.  My sweet friend, Nancy, said she couldn’t leave me alone for 5 minutes before I was having words with someone.  Chuckle!

We are watching tv for the first time in three months.  It’s funny as we actually turned it off last night.  That will probably only last until next week as all of my favorite shows start their new season then.  I am off to the shower now……

May you all have a wonderful day and find something that makes you very, very happy. 

September 19, 2007

We are zooming down TCH 2 in New Brunswick and it is 3:15 p.m.  I say zooming because we are not faced with the potholes and bumps of Newfoundland roads.  It is strange as we are back on the mainland and I can already feel the beginnings of the tension we are used to living with.  We stopped for a sandwich and a trucker pulled right in front of us, perpendicular, no less, so we couldn’t move.  We just sat and ate but it is the type of thing that invariably happens not in Newfoundland .  The stirrings of the big cities, the traffic and oh how I miss the feeling of no tension that we experienced for 3 months and 3 days.

We caught the ferry last night and had a perfectly flat crossing.  I slept for about 3 ½ hours and fortunately Chet slept more as he has been driving all day and is just now starting to wind down.  We are about 100 miles from the border so we will be in the states tonight.

The scenery has definitely changed; trees regular size, ponds that are nice but not comparable to the ones we have seen since June.  Large farms dot the countryside and there are the normal stores etc. at the off ramps.

I must keep reminding myself that I was going to bring back with me as much of the demeanor of the Newfie’s that I could remember; politeness, kindness, friendliness, openness, graciousness for a few examples.  Twillingate seems a million light years away.  Boy did I have a phenomenal dream.  I have to pinch myself to make sure it was real.  We have a little model of the house on the dashboard so we can look at it and feel all warm inside.

It’s later now and we are in the USofA.  We were in a long line of trucks at the border and had visions of spending a looooooooooong time in line.  The trucker behind us told us to go where the cars go through so we moved a long way forward and an officer told us to go to the bus lane.  We did and all they did was look at me, take Chet inside to run our passports and told us to have a nice day.  No checking kitty papers, no questions about anything except did we buy any cat food in Canada .  All went stellar. 

We have already changed back to our old phone plan and we have TV.  YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The internet dish is working but not at top signal so Chet will get that straightened out when he is at the rally in Tucson .  We couldn’t ask for a better afternoon.

We miss our house.

Love 

September 18, 2007

We took Twilly for his shots this morning and the poor little guy is feeling punk.  He does have his Aunt Freddie to sleep with and stay nice and warm.  Freddie is doing okay….not great.  I think he is winding down.  Sad face!!!!!!!!!

We were supposed to leave the island tomorrow at 11: 30 in the morning but they called to tell us that the particular ferry we had picked was leaving at 8 a.m.  If few get there today we may leave at 11:45 tonight but it is the smallest of the three sooooooooooooo  we will see.  We chose the largest ferry for tomorrow.  I don’t suppose it matters as it probably won’t sink. 

 Did my usual leaving /separating thing and slept the whole time we rode yesterday.  I don’t feel much better today.  Sleep seems to assuage the pain I feel when I have to exit.  Thank goodness Chet likes to drive.

It is strange as Twillingate seems like a very long time ago; almost like a dream.  We both have that feeling but I think it is some kind of a defense mechanism.  Not much to say today as my heart is heavy as I already miss my new friends.

Love to you all and Carol, I hope you are feeling better.

September 17, 2007

I don’t know how to begin….we’re on the road again!  We left Twillingate at 3 this afternoon to go to our insurance agent and sign some papers and then to the town where the vet is so we can get Twilly his rabies shot tomorrow.  Without it we may not get him into the states with us.  Waiting for him to be old enough gave us an extra week at the house, too.

We had to winterize the house and put up the storm doors, take down the gates, put all of the goodies in the yard into the stable and on and on.  We have been working about 12 hours a day for several days and are blotto right now.  We dug the stream from the pond to the culvert and will make it larger next year.  It was blowing so hard the 2 days it took to finish the stream cleaning out that I lost my balance twice. 

I hugged the corner of the house goodbye before we left and my eyes were wet as we left Twillingate.  There were lots of emotions about not wanting to leave and also getting back on the road and off to the balloon festival on the 5th of Oct.  I will celebrate my son Jon’s birthday there on that day.  Unfortunately he won’t be there but we will be with him in heart and spirit.

We never even got through all of the things on the first floor so should have quite a time next year when we have all of our things there, too.  I feel like a little girl with a life-sized doll house.  I never had one and always wanted one so here it is.  I can spend the rest of my days playing in my doll house.  Chet is working on some more pictures for you to see and we hope to get this posted tomorrow.

He got his new modem for the satellite dish and guess what…it still doesn’t work.  He was so disappointed.  I imagine there will be several more hours on the phone.  It was blowing so hard for a few days that he couldn’t put the dish up anyhow.

Well, as if the house and the fish market weren’t enough.  We bought another building.  It is the old Society of Fishermen’s Hall that was moved onto its’ present location in 1869.  We drove by it every day and said too bad it didn’t have a view of the water.  It is 1800 square feet and beautiful inside.  We went to a garage sale there and our mouths fell open.  It has no posts or beams and is held together with 3 steel rods.  There is a stage and a view of the water.  As we remodel out kitchen we will move it over to the hall and rearrange the 2 bathrooms.  It is right in the center of town and will be beautiful when it is finished over the next 2 summers.  There is a grant with it for outside work that will match us dollar for dollar for $10,000.00.  That will cover the painting and shoring up of the timbers under it as it needs to have some concrete support for it to meet their minimal code.  We’re talking about a town that just digs up the bottom of the bay when they want more land.  It is fascinating to watch and we saw several places widened while we were there.  We are very excited about this treasure, too.  It will be Chet’s playhouse!!!!

Life is sweet and we are so happy.

We look forward to seeing all of your sweet faces; friends and family.

We catch the ferry off the island on Wednesday and will look over our shoulders wistfully as we continue our adventures before returning at the end of April.

I will miss the gentleness of the loving people we have experienced for the past three months and look forward to their smiling faces next year.

September 13, 2007

Will they or won’t they?  The ongoing saga of our sleeping situation.  Seeing we brought all of our bed pillows into the house and 2 teddy bears, yesterday, we thought it was a done deal.  I guess the pillows on the couch worked just fine last night as we are still in the motorhome this morning.  I realized this would be a perfect time to wash the extra blankets so they will come off the bed and go into the house today.  The only thing left would be sweat clothes and socks.  Oh, I do have 4 serape’s now.  No, no, no, tonight will be the night.  We got home late and it was too much trouble to move the cats and all of their paraphernalia.  What a great excuse, right????????? 

It blew so hard last night that we had to pull in the big slide a 6 this morning.  The wind is coming from the opposite direction today as there are white caps in the harbor and all of my little hanging fairies are dancing with the rhythm of the rocking motorhome.

We had lunch with Bernie and his friend and now ours, Cindy, at the Tea Cozy yesterday as Wednesday is cod au gratin day.  Joyce, the owner, and Jackie her niece, are the sweetest people.  They make the experience of eating a meal a very special occasion.  Everyone ordered cake with butterscotch filling and about 3 inches of whipped cream on top.  I smiled and respectfully declined.  A few minutes later out walks Jackie with a slice of splenda partridgeberry pie, all nice and warm for me.  Those are the kind of things people do here.  They’re just plain kind and polite.  What a concept….a whole island full of kind, gracious, polite people.  What has life come to!!!!!!!

Chet has been waiting for a new modem for his internet dish and we have embarked upon another where is the package saga….  Evidently they have been here twice but we owe some duty and you would think a note would have been left.  The driver was even at Jim’s yesterday and asked where Gaye Flyer lived.  It’s funny…you sneeze and the whole town says ‘bless you.  Cal and Josie, the owners of our favorite hang out are going to get the package for us today and give them the money we owe.  They have been so generous with their time and hospitality.  They own the Harbour View restaurant just up the road from us.  It feels so comfortable to go there…just like going into the living room.

 

Jim, Linda and their son Caleb came by yesterday to see the house.  They are lovely, genuine people.  I feel like I have made some friends that have been in my life for a very long time.  He is leaving next week for the arctic to work…..can you just imagine; the Arctic ?  We’re going to Albuquerque and he is going to the Arctic .  I would love to go there just to see it.

We have some errands and then back to stream digging.  We are connecting it to the culvert that heads to the ocean.  We were clearing the stream bed yesterday and I ended up in the dreaded thistles.  We finally went to the pharmacy last night and the pharmacist said cool water would help and not to bother spending any money on things that wouldn’t work.  After alcohol, bactine, sarna lotion, and water I am still just plain gutting it out today.  At least my fingers stopped hurting and it is just my leg.

More later as I have some more news to share……………. 

September 12, 2007

Now there is something very strange about this picture…It is howling and pouring outside and there are puddles everywhere.  I am watching the flowers in the back yard bend in the wind as is the tall grass in the field behind the stable.  I am also watching the water in the harbor, we are warm, dry and sad that we have to leave on Monday. What is strange is we are in the motorhome.  We made the bed in the house yesterday; all comfy and pretty with our blankets from our bed in the motorhome.  I guess the cincher was we failed to take our pillows into the house.  We came back last evening from Randy and Tracy’s after a lovely afternoon of seeing where they live and the land where he is building a new house.  They took us on a drive around all of the little harbors in their neck of the woods.  Needless to say we were once again struck dumb.  Their son, Matthew is leaving in January to go to school in Australia .  He has been playing the bass guitar for 4 years and could he make some exquisite music; playing quite differently than we had ever seen fingers move across the strings.  Tia, their daughter is a real sweet one.  I’m getting a little off track…we had to dig out blankets we use when Brett comes to travel with us and we giggled and snuggled down for a warm and toasty night’s sleep; not in the house.  Today the pillows are moving into the house along with the cats and the potty box….I think.

On with our day.

We miss you all and can feel the stirrings of our leaving here on Monday.  Off to Albuquerque to the balloon festival and the arrival of Brett to spend a couple of weeks with us.     

September 11, 2007

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRETT

WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Momma & Chet

September 10, 2007

It’s been 6 years since I had gall bladder surgery….I was my doctor’s record.  They stopped counting at 150 stones.  I remember writing him a note on my stomach to take good care of me and bring me back to my husband and children.  He got a kick out of the note; said that was a first.  It seemed to be a totally logical thing to do.  What does this have to do with Twillingate….just memories.  9/10 one day before my son Brett’s birthday which became a very infamous day.

Today started out to be one of those days that you feel you are walking in mud; getting nowhere.  We ran some errands after having to go for coffee to use wifi as we went to the library last night and the router must have been messed up so no posting until today.

We got back to the house and worked outside; Chet planted 2 rosebushes in the front of the house and we worked on getting the little stream to connect to the heart-shaped pond we dug.  It was fun when we broke through and the water started to trickle in.  Chet slid and landed on his rear and was covered in mud.  It was cold out….maybe 53 but we have had 4 or 5 days without rain.  I think that will end tomorrow though.  Chet was so cute, he put the garden hose in the stream so it would fill the little pond faster and we sat and watched and watched and watched and I saw a hole under one of the rocks that the water was pouring through out of the stream as fast as it was going in.  I have no way of knowing where exactly it was going but it was going away!  We plugged it with dirt and rocks and I sat and pushed grass into it.  It finally started filling up the pond but was getting dark and we were cold and exhausted so we will see if there is any water left in the morning.  It was pretty funny.

We got nothing done to the house today but figure it really doesn’t matter as there is no race.  I wonder if we will sleep in there before next time we come.

I called the electrician today and he said he would stop by before we leave…I guess that is the way appointments are taken care of here.  I have been trying to get a question answered regarding our insurance since last Tuesday.  Maybe tomorrow.  So, so tired now.

Tomorrow we have to go and dispose of some ashes that were so graciously left for us.  Greg is a little eccentric but I feel I can do without them and find something else for an incense burner.  We will take them up to the cemetery at the top of the road near the hospital.  There is only one grave in it and we were told that it was staked off by a family that didn’t want any church affiliation.   Oh well.

Goodnight and remember you cannot find peace by avoiding life!

Random thoughts.

September 9, 2007

The last time I can remember being rendered speechless was when Chet asked me “to spend the rest of my life with him”.

We got the keys to our new home on Wednesday as scheduled.  We went in and were literally walking in circles absorbing the scope of what had just happened.  I was speechless and overwhelmed with a feeling of the most amazing good fortune.  We couldn’t even begin to absorb the beauty of the house and the contents which were far beyond the articles listed in the sale of the property.  We wandered around touching, feeling, looking and were totally awestruck.  It was too much to take in so we had to leave and go and have lunch.  After a respite from total overload we returned to the house and settled in to the massive task of sorting and discovering the treasures that are ours.

The first thing we did was to turn the furniture in the living room around to face the bay window so we would have a clear view of the harbor and the mouth of the Atlantic .  We also turned the two person sleigh around to look out the front doors to the harbor.

What can I say!!!!!!!!!!  We have spent every moment going through drawers, cabinets, the pantry, shelves, sorting and discovering.  There are many things I am boxing up for a garage sale next spring as I will bring my treasures from storage in Portland to add to the collection here.   We are so exhausted at the end of the day that we haven’t even slept in the house yet.  It is also hard to leave our little home on wheels as it sure is cozy in here.  We have to keep reminding ourselves that we have been in here for 3 years and in the camper for 1.  Making the transition to the magnitude of this home is not such an easy thing to do.  We finally moved a bed downstairs to the turret room which will be our bedroom.  Maybe tomorrow night we will sleep in the house. 

Freddie has taken quite a while to start turning the corner to getting his health back and we haven’t wanted to stress him.  Yesterday was the first time he went outside in 2 weeks.  Tonight he went over to Chet for a Freddie pat.  Twilly is running around like a typical crazy kitten.  We let him out yesterday and he had a great time bouncing all over the place.  He does know where his home is and runs to the steps every so often to check in to see that he is safe.

I have wanted to write but haven’t wanted to take the time away from my most amazing treasure hunt. 

Our friends, Randy and Tracy and their daughter Tia, came over the first day we had the house and came back for a visit today and took us to dinner.  He is a fabulous artist and they are really special people.  He has offered to keep watch over the house while we are not here.

We started our heart shape pond the other day and Chet found a perfectly shaped heart rock while digging.  I was working on the connection to the stream and fell in a hole and landed on my bottom so decided to quit digging.  Chet planted a birch tree outside the bathroom to be and we will plant 2 roses tomorrow. 

Last night we were invited over to the neighbors who are from Tennessee and just bought their house.  They are on the harbor side of the street and their patio is built amongst a huge rock.  It is very special.  They had some of the local musicians over for a kitchen party which consisted of a lot of music and singing.  It was a very sweet evening and it is nice to have neighbors from the states.  They were here for 2 days when they became hooked after feeling the same magic we felt.  We got to bed around 2:30 this morning.

We want to get this posted tonight so I will stop for now.  Just know we feel like the luckiest people in the world.  We sit on the front porch and people come by and look at us instead of us looking at them.  We have been told that we own the most beautiful and famous house around the area.

We are blessed.

We don’t want to leave but we will be back next April waiting for you to come and visit.

September 3, 2007

We were invited to our friend Bernie’s Saturday evening for dessert and to meet some of the local folks.  It was a lovely time and fun to learn more about our new “home”.  He is a delight and a wonderful resource.

It is interesting to hear all of the dialects here.  Some of the Newfies comment on how they have trouble understanding what other Newfies are saying.  There are many times I only catch every third word.  Chet does a lot better than I do.

We went to a garage sale earlier in the day and got to share some more with our new neighbors.  Chet gave our card to Jim, whose sale it was.  We saw him yesterday and he gave me a very old knit blanket that I will cherish.  He said he had looked at our web page and had seen the things that I made and he wanted to give the blanket to me as he knew I would have an appreciation for it.  It wasn’t one of the things that were for sale.  When he mentioned that he had looked at the web page he said he’d hoped we didn’t mind.  This is the gentleness and humility we find in the people we meet here.

Greg has left many things over and above what was to be included in the sale of the house.  I find it so touching as he sees me staring wide-eyed as a child who has for the first time seen something very special and fascinating.  Today we get to go back and look again in the stable and garage.  We followed the path of the stream where it goes underground and plan on opening it up so we can see it.  The ground is soft and spongy to walk on.  I have to find a pair of rubber boots with flowers on them when we get back to the states.  Oh, for Nordstrom’s shoe departmentJ

It is time for breakfast so I will finish later after we see where we are led to today.

It is 8:50 p.m. and we just got back from a hike.  It is starting to get dark earlier so we have to go in earlier.  The sunset was beautiful. 

After breakfast we went back to Little Harbor Cove and tried to get out to Jones point but it was too mushy and we didn’t want to get stuck.  We went back to the natural arch took pictures and picked two bowls of wild blueberries.  They grow very low to the ground so it was like stoop labor until I was smart enough to get our stool out of the car so I could sit down.  I got an upside-down headache which took a couple of hours to go away.  The wind was blowing pretty hard which made for a refreshing afternoon.  The blueberries were right against the car when I opened the door so I stepped out to start picking.  There was a pile of old grass clippings so I put my left foot on that and my right one amongst the bushes.  Mind you, we off-roaded to the spot and there were only two summer cabins nearby amongst the rocks and the bushes.  There wasn’t a lawn anywhere so why would there be any grass clippings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Mrs. City girl discovered that large biting ants have to build nests up as they cannot dig into the rock or live in the water in the bogs.  Needless to say, I started screaming for Chet to once again rescue me as the ants were covering my Ugg’s and on their way up my leg and down my boot.  Fortunately, all I had to do was sit back in the car and he pulled off my boot while we swatted ants off my leg.  I survived the ordeal with only two bites and the knowledge that there aren’t any gardeners that dump grass in the blueberry fields and bogs.  One more lesson for the city girl.

We went by the house and sat in the stable and chatted with Greg and I did a little poking around looking with great pleasure at many more old things like the ones I have collected for so many years.  All of my treasures will fit right in.  There is even a feral momma cat that lives on the property an evidently drops a litter in the spring sooooo I will have some fun doing some searching next year.

Tonight, tomorrow night and then our first night in the house.  The old Ashbourne house will be ours. 

You could probably google Ashbourne Twillingate and possibly come up with some information, 

Try it!    

September 2, 2007

Here it is September and in 3 days we will have our home in Newfoundland .

It rained and howled yesterday.  We pulled the slides in and moved a little farther back from the edge of the harbor.  It was strange to see the fishing boats taking off to go several hundred miles out to sea to fish for crab.  The people here are a hearty lot.  Many of the men are gone a lot of the time fishing, working in the oil fields in Alberta , and working in the Arctic .  They come home every month and a half or so to visit and then off again.  It leaves the society heavily run by women. 

We woke to a sparkling day.  We went to the lighthouse and to stop and take some pictures along the way.  There is one little red shed on a little dock that we have been waiting to have the right light to do it justice.  Here they call the sheds stores for storage and the little docks stages and their houses their premises.  Chet was out of the car and I was sitting and watching the water lap up against the rocks.  I never felt more at home, in all of my life, at that moment.

We came back to the motorhome and had breakfast and then got ready to go and visit our home.  It was amazing and is more beautiful than we remembered.  It is paradise here.  After a few hours of looking at things in the house and following the stream on the property we left to go for a walk.

We went up the hill to the hospital that is above our home and walked around a path they have built around a pond.  We started up a rock road for a while and met one of our neighbors who was out walking.  They don’t walk here, they zoom.  On the way back to the pond we saw people in the bushes picking wild blueberries.  As we rounded the pond there was a tiny roped off section for wading and swimming.  I saw Lilli and Jack playing in the water.  Oh how I dream of them being here.

We took a drive to find a particular cove but couldn’t, so we went to Little Harbor.  Need I say, one more time, what these harbors are like; little stages and stores, dory’s, homes and old, old buildings.  We found an off road ride to Little Harbor Cove and as we got out there we passed 3 houses that had the most beautiful settings.   We followed the road to the natural Arch which was breath taking.  We were sorry we didn’t have our camera but it will give us a reason to return tomorrow.  We picked blueberries, raspberries and partridge berries.  We will take a bowl with us tomorrow.  We will also take the other part of the V in the road and check out Jone’s cove.  The meadow and the shoreline were amazing.

Home to make dinner and jot my thoughts.  We got out of the car and found we had our cameras with us the whole time. Oh well...

My life has ripened to perfection; there is a peace and safety that I so rarely feel. Wife, mother, grandmother…..and now this.  My eyes were wet when we walked through the house and then, again when we descended to the shore at Little Harbor Cove.  We feel we have found perfection.  Our God is good to us.

Freddie finally seems to be feeling better.  I’m not ready for him to go yet.  He is my pal.

Please come and partake and have your own experience of the land.  Maybe you will feel some of the experiences we have had.  The island has so much to share…….

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2007
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August
2007
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