We arrived the first day of September.
It is now the last day.
We have "stuck it out" for one whole month.
Hind sight says we should have kept a daily diary of what we did each day.
Maybe it's not too late to start.......
I suggested it a couple days ago and was voted down. Enough to do already, don't need something more added to the list, everyone complained. I thought that sounded true enough. But then again...we'll start to forget how long it's been since......or when did.......happen?
And some days I think I need it to help me see that stuff did get done, because some days it doesn't feel like we got anywhere.
Some days it seems I spend more time in the tiny kitchen cooking than in the house working.
But I guess someone has to feed the troops, affordably.
And someone still has to keep the clothes clean.
Sure there may be a house needing a complete over-haul, but dishes still need washing after every meal. Especially when there are only four plates!
I do delegate.
And then some days have headaches and that awkward dance where the moves are two stepsforward and then three steps back.
Recover and then repeat. Until you start to wonder why you got out of bed that morning?!
Always glad to get through those days with everyone intact.
But although today was "one of those days" two neat things came from the bumbling dance moves....we met and exchanged phone numbers with another home schooling mom, who says she has a fourteen year old daughter who likes to knit, crochet, LOVES animals and since they live on a farm, raises chickens.
Hummmmm......that doesn't sound like I took a miss-step there to me!
Then when I asked about a church we want to check out but can't connect with anyone to get hours and the building has no sign, she sent me to talk to "Chris, in the lumber section at the Home Hardware, he is very involved at that church"
This is how it went.
I and my side-kick enter said lumber building.
Fellow leaves desk and as he walks towards me and The Youngest, I say. "I am looking for Chris"
He says "Well, you are looking at him"
Cool! I introduce myself and my youngest (he's probably thinking, Why?)
Then say I was sent here by the librarian, who says you are involved at the Such and Such Church.
BLANK look staring back at us.
"Ahhh, that's not me" he finally says.
I laugh. And ask, "Well, any other Chris work here?"
"Not except the store owner, whose name is Chris, but he isn't here right now"
I start to thank him when he asks me "Which church again?"
I repeat it.
"Where is that? he wonders.
I tumble out the best possible description of roads I've only driven for four weeks, about a location I have only driven past once, wondering how it is that he doesn't already know since the sign is visible when you drive out of the village.
"Just a minute" he says.
Goes to back room, we hear chatting.
Chris comes back, logs onto the computer, says he has a number for us.
Brings up a name of a customer, writes down both and passes me the paper.
"This fellow, he runs that church, he'll be able to answer your questions"
"Thanks, says I, you were a helpful "Chris" after all!!"
He grins, "You're welcome!"
And this, Ladies and Gentlemen, is what it means to live in a village! You may as "the newbie" have some strange dance steps, but everyone is so neighbourly, they kinda just step in and do the awkward dance with ya.
Even though I knew it shouldn't be burned in our stove this winter. (It had only been cut a week before arrival) it was still an exciting event to have this pull up our driveway.
I mean it may be green wood, but it's now OUR green wood ;)
Goodness if only the boys were a tad younger, how they would have enjoyed this day!
We were told burning green wood is fine! You just need lots of dry kindling to get it going. I went and stacked up all the little bits of leftovers that "John Smith" left. And although I was impressed by the size of the pile when I was done, I think in the greater scheme of months of winter and being snowed in for days etc, it's not going to be enough. So The Youngest and I went rummaging in the woods for some sticks and stuff and plan on doing that again to add to our kindling pile.
BUT the "sprinkles" arrived too. I knew they would.
Thanks to the Forester Neighbours on the East side....
We have a load of drier wood coming next week.
West neighbour who is a mill owner is going to be getting us dry, slab ends for kindling.
There are three outbuildings on the property.
They all had junk left in them but one of them was in worse shape then the house.
Have a look see.
We took a few days to get through it all. Couldn't do all that nastiness in one day!
There were a few "keepers" but most of it was bagged for the dump.
And a great BIG pile of it is waiting for hazardous waste day. :(
We've already had a couple offers on some of the bottles. But they were one of the reasons why I wanted the place. I have plans for those....but more on that another time :)
There was at least one of us who was hoping to find treasure, or at the very least a treasure map!!
Instead we mostly witnessed first hand what a slothful approach to life will do.
A very sobering lesson. But a valuable one just the same.
And a valuable lesson learned is a treasure right there!
Been thinking about blogging soon about small town living. Not that living in one for three weeks has made me any kind of expert or anything....
But thankfully I didn't publish that blog while still living in ignorance!!
As of this moment Google says there are 2,037 souls living in Tatamagouche.
(I wonder if that is an updated figure? since as of Sept 6th the population went up by four!)
When we need to go to the grocery store or laundry-mat etc we drive fifteen minutes and say "We are going to town". At least that's where I thought I was going.
When we need a Wal-Mart or Lumber-Store we go to the city, Truro, which has a population of 12,059 and is about 45 minutes away.
Then the other day a friend said he was going to the "city for supplies" and the way in which he said it made me think he was going further than Truro.
I asked for clarification. Which city would that be?
Halifax.
Halifax has a population of 390,095, according to Google, and is currently one hour and forty-two minutes away from our home with a toll along the way. Or we could take the toll-free way and spend five minutes longer driving
I had to ask. Is Truro a city?
Apparently the answer is "No, Truro is a town".
Saying "I am going to town" infers that you are about to embark on a 45 minute drive and if a neighbour knows they might ask you to pick something up at Wal-Mart for them.
Oh.
So if Truro is a "town" then Tatamagouche is a ......?
We said it at the same time. Village.
Ok. I will have to re-train the brain. haha
Things I have noticed about living in a village. Or in our case, living near one.
There is no street light. It is truly a "Don't blink or you will miss it" place. If you do blink you won't be in any danger of running a red light at least.
There is one thing that prevents you from missing out on the lovely down-village section and that is instead of driving ten kilometers over the speed limit like they do in all the rest of Canada, they drive ten under. I kid you not. It's taking some getting used to.
The laundry-mat owner lives in the same building. I think it's a pretty cute and very practical set-up. Working from home really. When you buzz at the window for loonies and toonies you see the beautiful quilt on her bed.
The church is still the tallest building in town, And no stores are open on Sunday.
If you happen to mention that you just moved to Tatamagouche the same two questions are asked. Every.Time.
"Oh yeah, where?" And when you say "Tatamagouche Road, we bought John Smith's * place", never fail, they all know John. And they know many things about him too. Usually they will fill you in on one or two of those tid-bits as well.
We have heard enough about John Smith that The Youngest declared the other day "I know why our neighbours are so welcoming and helpful! We AREN'T John!!!. (a neighbour confirmed that by pretty much saying the same thing a day or two later)
Second question that EVERYBODY asks. Is of course an easy one, and completely expected. "Where did you move from?"
And. Never. Fail. They know someone who lives in Ontario. Or has lived in Ontario. Or is planning on living in Ontario. And sometimes I even hear about friends and family that live in other provinces.
Thankfully I have yet to be asked if I know any of said friends and family members. haha
And as further proof that I have now joined village life....when a neighbour stopped by while my Nova Scotia-born niece was here, I introduced her and her little daughter to my new neighbour.
But we are not uncultured!
We have standards.....we bow (a little wee bit) to the status quo.
Here we are...... all decorated for Fall :)
Funny story behind this pumpkin.
The Youngest wants one every year. This year it seemed an un-necessary splurge at $4-5 each.
Then at Wal-Mart I see a bucket full of orange globes for only $2.77!! Sweet!
I tell the Gal she can pick one out.
As we are putting the "chosen one" into the buggy, a helpful older fella, leans towards us and whispers conspiratorially, "Don't buy your pumpkin here! They are on sale for $4.99 at SaveMore!"
This blog is for Paul, if he's following along that is. Paul was a neighbour three doors down in Penetang. When we were saying our good-byes and he and his wife were wishing us well, I told them I would be blogging the experience. He asked if I would record it as it was, or sugar-coat it.
I guess I try to be a fairly positive person. Look for the best. Seek out the blessings. I share, not to make it seem that my life is sugar-coated, but show my thankfulness of "heavenly sprinkles".
Life is a lot of pain and sorrow. If you don't personally have problems (at this moment), you know someone who does. Or a lot of someones. I have been calling life's little joys and pleasures, "sprinkles". It's like heaven can't come down and take away all our problems, but there is a sifter between here and there and sprinkles of heaven get shaken down to lighten up the dark moments.
Add some joy and grace to the hard stuff.
Bring warmth to the cold.
Brush the silver-lining onto the back of that cloud.
But when you are cold and tired, and look ahead to more coldness and tiredness...it's easy for the odd negative feeling to slip in. Shivers and numb fingers make it harder to spot the sprinkles.
There was a little snapping and short-sounding comments in our tiny home this morning. And that's the truth.
It's getting cold. Like three degrees Celsius cold.
We are thinking more about heat then we ever have.
Last night we ran out of propane for the second time.
Not a surprise.
The two big tanks, which came with the trailer, lasted us a little over two weeks. They emptied on Friday.
Tried to find a place to fill them yesterday, even though we aren't sure if they can be filled, can't find a date on them anywhere, but they certainly look older then 10 years....
You'd think in a land of trailers, mobile homes, cottages and tourists you'd not have to go far before you were tripping over a propane re-fill center.
Not so.
There was no filling the tanks yesterday. But we were able to hook up our BBQ propane tank to tide us over. It got us through the night. Kept us warm at least.
But there will be a very slim chance of filling them today.
We also live in a land where everything is closed on Sundays.
OK. You ready for the sprinkles I found?
I'm not that frozen that I couldn't find them :)
That little propane tank lasted until morning. We were comfortable all night. Stumbling around in the dark to find a solution, or laying freezing in bed until morning light would have been far worse for sure!
It also helped that for some reason (I think it was prompting from above) yesterday I decided to remake all the beds with flannel and wool blankets. It was a mini-miracle that I could even find them in the piles of belongings stacked in the barn.
On a whim (or was it?!) I bought a space heater on one of our many trips to the hardware store. I bought it in t-shirt and flip-flop weather. But it's big enough to keep the trailer warm. And in the early morning of dawn, with the night's rain all cleared away, I was able to go get it out of the house and plug it in to keep the trailer warm.
Electricity. Talk about a whole jar of sprinkles right there!! and the fact that Geoff was successful in getting the trailer connected safely to the house. IF you haven't thanked God for hydro in the last couple days, take a moment right now to say "Thanks!!"
Hot plates. You know the kind you plug in. We have one which sits quite nicely on top of the propane stove and even has TWO burners. And it, like the space heater, uses (see above blessing) electricity!! We aren't going to do without tea and warm meals.
The slow cooker (that was on sale no less) that I bought days after we arrived. And it, like the items above, uses.....you can figure it out ;) We are having roast of beef tonight. Not sounding too hard up are we!?!
My Columbia Fall coat I got for $8 at "Thingz"!! (one of four thrift stores in our small town). Even in "storage" I couldn't have found such a perfect "this-time-of-year-coat" cause I didn't have one.
Now about the green wood.
We are having a load of it dropped off this morning.
Green wood burns 30% less efficiently then dry.
You'd think in a land of trees, timber and several trucks daily rumbling by our house completely filled with logs, that you would be able to find dry wood to buy wouldn't you?
We haven't....yet.
So, I'll be looking for the sprinkles that'll come with the green wood.
For sure green wood is better than NO wood|!! Especially when you have no secondary source of heating like ourselves....yet.....
While I am waiting for the "wet" wood to arrive, I think I will go rummage around in the barn some more. Layers of t-shirts and socks with the flip-flops isn't quite cutting it. (haha, we haven't done that yet, we've had sweaters and fleece lined crocks). But the time has come to bring out the winter clothes.
Oh, and Paul, if you are reading this....
Tatamagouche means "Where the waters meet"..... or best they can tell.
And may you all find "heaven's sprinkles" in whatever place you find yourself today.
When I pictured "old farm house" I knew I would be dealing with insects and bugs.
Both dead and alive.
Just this morning I had to hang up from a phone conversation cause I could see a spider, a living one, the size of a quarter and couldn't reach it to do anything about it.
In just two weeks I have vacuumed up scads of lady-bugs, wiped away wads of webs, disposed of quite a few dead June-bugs and killed some silver fish and other creepers.
So far the mouse-traps are four for four, and although Geoff sets AND empties them I think I will get to the point where I may be able to do that too. Either way I am able to have a look see and tell if there is some "little job" for Geoff to do.
BUT when Geoff spotted this uninvited "squatter" living in our space and pointed it out sitting on the TOP basement step, like he was just waiting to be let into the warmer kitchen.....
Well I confess, not only was I not prepared to see such a creature in my house but I also got a little nauseous!!
Sorry for the not-very-clear-picture, but I was the photographer and it was all I could do not to drop the camera. Good job Geoff was near-by, poor camera might not have survived that photo-shoot!! Passed it to him as soon as I was done and did a little, squealing, freak-out right there in my partly renovated country kitchen.
When I "signed up" for farm living I was willing and ready for many things.
Poop, of monumental proportions.
Rejected lambs being warmed by the wood stove.
Mucky treks out to the barn in the rain to tend to animals.
Freezing trips out the the barn for water and feed times.
Bugs of countless amounts in the garden.
Fighting off deer, squirrel, coons, skunks etc etc to keep my garden produce for people consumption.
BUT!!!!
I was not signing up for
dark,
slimy,
slithery
monsters
living in my basement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, indeed I was not!
Guess this city-turned-town-newly-turned-country-girl has some toughing up to do!!
Not so for, The Youngest, she scooped up that "cute little, whatever endearing word she used for it", and carried it off out-side, probably named it as she went and apologizing that her mother was making it move out-doors so soon before winter. haha
At least I have some good helpers to assist me in my toughing up process!!
But now I know there is a very good reason why I have only been in the basement once since moving here!! :)
We have Internet at the farm! Yay! And a phone number too! It's Internet phone (best deal out there) and at the moment we can only use one or the other.....since we need a gadget to connect both, and another do-dad to give us WiFi....just the same....
RE- Connection!!
But I fear one thing. Less blogging might happen here than happened when I lived in a trailer at the S.S.I.L's
She had a comfy couch and warm house for me to blog in!
I lived in a small trailer where meals were served on paper plates.
And mostly there wasn't a massive fixer-upper calling my name and all names in the family too!
Here's our office/electronic center.
Not so cozy looking eh?
Well, I will try to blog when I can....I have several subjects or stories in the works...so they will happen......just not sure when.
Now if only we could jerry-rig the trailer to get the Internet out there!!! At the moment it's a pile more comfy out there then this construction zone!!
Years ago I read a poem about a shipwrecked sailor, it was comical and I always remembered it.
The sailor's dilemma was not knowing what to do first. He had so many things needing doing and many times in order to do one, he had to make or do something to start or complete a task.
I can relate to the old feller. haha
Being that this is the day of the internet, I was able to find it so you could enjoy it too. :)
It is written by A.A. Milne. Which I didn't know until now.
The Old Sailor (AA Milne)
The Old Sailor
There was once an old sailor my grandfather knew Who had so many things which he wanted to do That, whenever he thought it was time to begin, He couldn’t because of the state he was in.
He was shipwrecked, and lived on a island for weeks, And he wanted a hat, and he wanted some breeks; And he wanted some nets, or a line and some hooks For the turtles and things which you read of in books.
And, thinking of this, he remembered a thing Which he wanted (for water) and that was a spring; And he thought that to talk to he’d look for, and keep (If he found it) a goat, or some chickens and sheep.
Then, because of the weather, he wanted a hut With a door (to come in by) which opened and shut (With a jerk, which was useful if snakes were about), And a very strong lock to keep savages out.
He began on the fish-hooks, and when he’d begun He decided he couldn’t because of the sun. So he knew what he ought to begin with, and that Was to find, or to make, a large sun-stopping hat.
He was making the hat with some leaves from a tree, When he thought, “I’m as hot as a body can be, And I’ve nothing to take for my terrible thirst; So I’ll look for a spring, and I’ll look for it first.”
Then he thought as he started, “Oh, dear and oh, dear! I’ll be lonely tomorrow with nobody here!” So he made in his note-book a couple of notes: “I must first find some chickens” and “No, I mean goats.”
He had just seen a goat (which he knew by the shape) When he thought, “But I must have a boat for escape. But a boat means a sail, which means needles and thread; So I’d better sit down and make needles instead.”
He began on a needle, but thought as he worked, That, if this was an island where savages lurked, Sitting safe in his hut he’d have nothing to fear, Whereas now they might suddenly breathe in his ear!
So he thought of his hut … and he thought of his boat, And his hat and his breeks, and his chickens and goat, And the hooks (for his food) and the spring (for his thirst) … But he never could think which he ought to do first.
And so in the end he did nothing at all, But basked on the shingle wrapped up in a shawl. And I think it was dreadful the way he behaved – He did nothing but bask until he was saved!
There'll be no basking in Tatamagouche I can tell ya. But we do take little breaks now and then. :) It feels like such a slow go, but neighbours, who also restored a hundred year old house, stopped in and they think we are doing amazingly well. Phew.
It's become a habit of mine to write down, in a book, things I am thankful for.
I think it has helped me look at everything, even unpleasant times and situations, and look for a reason or two to be thankful.
Thought I would share some blessings, by way of pictures, that God has gifted me with in the two weeks we have lived in Nova Scotia.
O.K. Here I go countin'!!
This guy right here!
It was mostly my idea (at first) to do this crazy thing. Sell out and move to an old house and farm. And since being here, at times my enthusiasm (and mostly energy) has lagged and Geoff has been the one saying "We can do it!!"
In the first few days, getting the smell out of the house was our first priority!!
(There is only so much you can "experience" with pictures) :)
When The Youngest and I needed a break, we would take it out here.
Called it "Our Happy Place". Loveliest breeze and no mosquitoes to be seen!
You can use something your whole life and not realize it's a blessing. Never looked at a shovel as anything more than a tool before. But life changed and with no working bathroom in the house our "facilities" are pretty primitive. I am thankful for a shovel!!
Note: The Youngest thinks the word "facility" is a too generous a title for........a bucket in a closet.
A clothes-line just outside the kitchen door for drying rags. We have lots of rags!!
The skies here are incredible!! Loving the blue, white and green!
This was a gift from my mom.
Not sure how we would manage without this little "home away from home".
Thanks, Mom. xo
This wooden box was one of many pieces of "junk" in one of the out-buildings. Just so happens it was the exact thing we needed for an extra step up to the trailer steps. God is in the details.
Again, how many times have you seen vinegar as a blessing?! Used it all the time, and never gave it a thought. Then while buying another spray bottle to help speed up wall-paper removing, the Dollar Store fellow suggested adding vinegar as it helps loosens the glue. By George, I think he is right! Cool.Two rooms de-papered, three more to go!!
Told the family that I was going to do a blessing blog. The Youngest took a picture of this for me. Another gift from my mom about 20 years ago. I think one of my favorite sentences is......
"Time to put the kettle on".
Tea time is really the best time of the day, isn't it?! Especially at the end of a long day, when nothing more is needed except resting. The funny thing about evenings now that we are working hard against the "clock"....in one way evenings get here too fast! Didn't get enough done! But on the other hand when the work is so physically demanding, evenings can't get here soon enough!!
Isn't this picture beautiful? Man-Son took it :) It blessed me...I want to enlarge and hang it somewhere!
If the spinning wheel is restore-able and we can find a teacher, The Youngest and I would like to learn to use it. Until then it will be the key decorative point in the area The Youngest has claimed for herself. A loft in the smallest out-building. Hopefully goats will use the lower level, eventually. Although we have so much scrub and alders need clearing/eating that Geoff, after a walk into our wooded area, said....
7:00 a.m. and this is my view to the east. Beautiful.
This is my view to the west. Note to self....Don't look west!! :)
This is the "across the road" view. South side.
Our pond is over there.
Evening is coming view. Barn on the west side.
Kitchen sink view. Not really the kitchen at the moment, but the cleaning (and shaving) center.
Gotta load something in the van view. Joys of dirt road livin'!!!
Just finished hanging the clothes view.
That surprise got a scream out of me!! (and a laugh from everyone else) I was busy trying not to notice the pile of garbage my clean clothes were hanging over. I wasn't expecting a body-less face!!
And a series of views of the kitchen wall. First we peeled off layers of wall paper, only to decide that the plaster was in rough enough shape to warrant new dry-wall. Glad we made that decision. No insulation at the top!!! That's gonna change for sure. :)
the old lathe
Where's the insulation? All settled to the bottom half.
The added "pink stuff" will help keep some heat in this winter.
Maybe these need replacing to help with heat loss as well eh?
The saga continues one day, one room (or part of room) at a time!
