Here we are all packed & secured down for our 16 hour trip to the east coast. This will be the first trip for Bill's new truck & my new car. We both went with a more gas friendly car as the price of gas is not going to go down any, in our lifetime! And Bill made an enclosed box for the trailer, inside it would hold 5 full sized plastic bins & whatever else that would fit above them! It would also stop any stones from hitting my car. Did I mention that my husband is handsome & handy!! Life is good. :-)
At 2am Bill, Nicholas, Boris the Boston Terrier, Tommy the 15 yr old cat, Bose the 16 yr old cat, & myself, were on our way. We were detoured off the 401 whilst still on the outskirts of London! There was a huge fire at a dairy farm & the smoke made it impossible to drive through on the 401, east or west! The glow of the fire, even after 4 hours of burning, lit the area up in a warm orange/reddish glow. Oh my what a start to the trip! I remember telling Bill, as we started on the ramp to the 401 Hwy., that his truck didn't have the new smell in it, it smelt like pipe tobacco!! I could smell the fire but couldn't yet see it!
By daybreak everyone was hungry...I had a berry yogourt at Tim Horton's.
And Boris finished it, he like his owner is so food driven!! lol
The back of the truck had so much room! Boris's wicker bed fits on the floor, so much space in this new truck!
The trip continued & the weather was beautiful, making the drive in Bill's new spacious truck a real treat. It seemed so much more quieter than the 350 diesel, that we had used for the last 5 years, & smoother too...
Until we hit a place after Grand Falls - New Brunswick, called Plaster Rock!! Oh my what a trying time on all the suspensions of the vehicles! My car had a new system of tire tiedowns this trip. The bounce made them release so many times, that we were losing time with all the stopping to re attach or check. So we hauled the car off the trailer & Nick drove the car behind us for 4 hours, till we made it to our destination.
The weather remained gorgeous, which was good as the yardwork needed to be done & Nick & Bill were right on it. My job would be more inside with the vacuuming of many cluster flies, yuk! I covered all the furnishing with my new neighbours moving wraps, excellent as everything was protected & didn't need dusting from the winter/spring season change. I just needed to fold the wraps & bag them for next fall.
Nick worked the push gas mower, after riding the mower & rake over the interior lawn.
While Bill drove around the edges that Nick had not done due to his uneasiness of having the lawnmower on an angle. I'm with you Nick! I use the gas push mower for that!
Bill enjoys living on the edge...as he works the edge! lol
Boris follows his pet, Nick...until he starts up that loud mower. He's out of there!
You can see the neighbours yellow dandelions, there were thousands on our lawn before mowing them down!
The laneway is now full of dandelions, way too many to take the boiling water to. I'm going to look for the dandelion physical remover & make it my job to remove them in a one week period.
Now Eel River is neatened up...
On to Hardewicke, to do the same.
You can see the woods are now in bud & the grass is green & lush here too!
Nick whipper snips around the new garden from last year, the stones come to life again as the grass is whipped out of sight!
My laundry moves freely in the breeze, I love my clothesline & use it as often as I can. We now have swallows living in the owl on top of the clothes pole!
The cottage has truly come to life!
A new install...
Bill & Nick removed the old stove as it was not a certified one & the insurance company were not happy with that. So off to Elmira Stove Works we went this winter & found this beauty!
It's an Osborn & boy is it cozy when the logs are heated up. The other night it really came in handy as the night dipped down to 4C. The cottage sure has a warmth to it now!
Another install...
This unit was installed in our century home in London back in 1996, when the kitchen was remodeled. When the dining area went from diningroom to lounge, I had Bill remove & store it...till now.
With no upper cupboards in the cottage kitchen, these lower ones would play a key role of storage in the kitchen. It has also become the appliance holder for those larger pieces too!
Plaster Rock's bumpy ride also played havoc on the granite counter top! Grrrrr, the counter top was but back together with Gorilla Glue & now has its battle scares to bare & be seen...it really could've been a whole lot worse.
As with judging a quilt...the 6 foot distance away, to take in the view works! It looks great & the function for years to come, will be great too!
Too much winter...Surprise!!
With all the snow that the east coast had, we had snow in our attic from the vent! It melted during the thaw & look at the growth that was left on the ceiling!!
My canopy bed frame was only inches from the water collection on the ceiling! If it would have leaked & it did NOT! I would have had the water all over my mattress!! Lucky or what?!!
I think that the two coats of latex, Origins Benjamin Moore paint from Canadian Tire, helped seal in the water as it pooled in the ceiling!
Bill removed the growth from the ceiling successfully! Now with some mudding & sanding & painting, it will be as good as new!
The basements were my main concern as the spring flooding was plentiful in New Brunswick. The new tiling system & eves-troughs must have really helped as the sub-pump was left out for the winter freeze & wasn't reinstalled till now. The basement had some damp areas around the subpump but no water made its way in!!
The wee cottage in Eel River didn't have water depth, just a mucky floor & the lawn was able to be mowed without the water floating through the grass.
We were spared but many were not this spring, some had their finished basements flooded & they'd lived there for over 40 years! Luck has been on our side this spring!
A big thank you to Bill & Nicholas for getting me & my 'Creature Comforts' out to the eastcoast safely.
Well thank you for stopping by & from now till late fall it will be my cottage adventures!
Enjoy our time together, as I take many pictures of this beautiful part of Canada. I just love the Maritime life & all its beauty!
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