Alex, sunny !!
May 3, 2012 , Halifax

Our house is starting to look,
and feel,
pretty DARN empty.

Living room and dining room are just, well,
empty rooms and quite bare.
Which is a good thing.
Except for the piles.
Piles going here and piles going there.
Piles going everywhere.

Our things are selling in a timely manner.
All things considering.
Which is an even better thing.
Sell some stuff here, sell some stuff there.
Selling stuff everywhere !

Our posessions are starting to dwindle.
Which is kind of a funny thing.
Dwindle here, dwindle there,
Dwindle everywhere.

It's nice to meet the folks who are buying what was once our stuff,
but has now become their stuff.
And helping them pack it away into respective cars and trucks.
And watch it all drive away. Down the street.
But all with a smile, as we know this brings us closer to our goals.
And nice to know that everything is going to a good home.
But still feels kind of funny.
Funny here, funny there,
Funny everywhere.

And then you pick up a memento. A photo.
A lock of baby's hair. A set of first teeth lost.
The first letter my kids wrote to Santa.
Memories of times long gone,
but not forgotten.
And it feels sort of sad.
A tear here, a tear there.
A few tears everywhere.

Which leads to hugs. A hug here, a hug there.
Lots of hugs everywhere.

So between the piling and the selling and the dwindling and the hugging and the crying, we're having a fun ole time !!

CAPTION : Dave and I making plans @ Rainbow Haven Beach

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Alex, kind of drizzly
April 23, 2012 , East River Marine

...finally helped me today, some 40 (and a few) odd years later.

One of our tasks over the weekend was to get at the storage spaces in our master cabin, underneath our mattress. So first job was to haul out the mattresses and vacum them and then undo and move this convoluted mess of a plastic gridlock system that came with the boat when we bought her last year.

Then it was a simple matter to wipe down the wood, lift up the hatches, and contort oursleves upside down and head first to see what was in there. We'd had a peek in there last year and had bleached everything out then, so this time it was just to gage a better idea of space for storage and well, the good news is that not only was it still as clean as we'd left it but much bigger than when we remember it ?? Bonus.

However i'm sure that since ALL our life's belongings are soon going to have to fit in a 40 foot space, it will probably appear to be much smaller than we remember it next time we look at it.

Then the FROLIcking fun started...

...trying to reassemble this FROLI SYSTEM. Thank goodness for puzzle time way back when in elementary school, as i'm sure that all that time spent putting puzzles together, certainly helped me figure this mess out. Patience is a virtue right ?

According to some research on the web, this FROLI System is a modular sleep system that is supposedly a great foundation for any mattress, allowing air to flow beneath to eliminate moisture and mildew issues. it also adapts to your body shape and movements (for when one is frolicking i'm assuming?). It even boasts that these "highly flexible elements offer excellent comfort and suspension for an orthopedically correct night's sleep" and you can adjust the firmness (and height ?) to your personal preference.

I didn't know we could do that so will have to check this out next time we're back there. And I suppose that time will tell as to whether this system delivers what it boasts.

CAPTION: All clicked into place and looking forward to some FROLI-licking good times !!

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Alex, TGIF type of sunny !!
April 20, 2012 , Halifax

Say what ?

It's now official, our house has sold. With Dave's son moved out, Dave and I are now truly "empty-nesters". The dinghy is repaired and back, ready to hit the water. The misc odds and sods of boxes and bags are starting to move. Closets and drawers are getting empty(er), garbage bags are filling up, money is coming in and money is going out. A see-saw balancing act.

And here I am saying it's been a quiet type of week ?? What is that, the calm before the storm ??

But I suppose it's all in the little things, n'est ce pas ? We're pacing ourselves. Doing a little bit of everything every day. From green power juices in the morning (thanks Hunny for cleaning the juicer) to power walking in the afternoons. Gourmet homemade meal one night to pizza and wings (go SENS go !!) the next night.

And in between there's work, work and work. From work with a paycheque (for me) to retirement work (for Dave). From the dreary daily chores of cleaning house and doing laundry to the not-so-dreary daily task of picking up every single piece of item you own and wondering what to do with it. From taking pictures (my camera is now officially busted !) to taking measurements (was that inches or cm's ?) and hoping our "junk" becomes someone else's treasure. And in between there's fun, fun and more fun. Dinners with family, and dinners with friends, evenings spent cuddling watching movies while we still have cable (NETFLIX has been axed), keeping up with blogs and designing our boat cards.

And so we are cha-cha-cha-ing along, keeping our sense of humour in check, our love strong and nurturing ourselves (body, mind and soul) with wonderful thoughts and things. And I prefer to say no, it's not the calm before the storm. It's about having made certain choices and envisioned a new way of living our life that has us now happily dancing along and making it happen.

CAPTION : Beer Bottle Racing at SYC. All lined up and ready to move on.

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Alex, warm and sunny
April 16, 2012 , Halifax

BEFORE there was just a simple idea: that of travelling.
And then I met Dave and he introduced me to travelling via boat.

BEFORE, there was no boat.
And then we sold Dave's boat, and bought a new one that was ocean-travel-worthy and capable of us doing the above with ease and comfort. .

BEFORE there was a house and furniture and STUFF.
And now we find ourselves with a SOLD sign on the house, getting rid of furniture, and seriously needing to downsize on the Stuff.

We spent most (if not all) of this weekend on Banyan getting the boatwork started. Lugging stuff to the boat and and prepping and cleaning the insides so that when the shrinkwrap cover comes off, we can attack the outsides... especially the Before and After shot of the aft cabin... my oh my. We really are figuring that, especially gas prices being what they are, the sooner we get her back to Halifax Harbour, the better.

My darling (21 year old) son came with us to East River Marine if nothing else to get away from city life and recoup from his gruelling final week of university. He watched us work for a while and then meandered off, camera in hand. I thought nothing of it, until about 3 hours later, when we were getting ready to pack up and leave and he was nowhere to be found. Found my cellphone and his text simply read "OMG I think I'm lost". He had been happily plodding along on the Chester Connector Trail, one foot in front of the other enjoying the beautiful sunny skies and well... we found him a mere 8 km's away, sipping a smoothie at Tim's where we immediately told him he was grounded. LOL.

BEFORE is where we are coming from.
AFTER is what we are headed to.
In betweeen are the Fun Times.

Comments [3]

Alex, windy and cool
April 12, 2012 , Dartmouth

Last few weeks we were bubbling with excitement to get away, perfect timing what with the long Easter weekend, so looking forward to time off, and time away, and time with each other, my hunny and I.

Also, being with family that I only see once a year (if that), is always heart warming - reconnecting, sharing, having fun ! It's never long enough, though, and damn it was way too hard to leave. However, it's admittedly also good to come back "home", to get back into our own routines. Which makes me wonder about the whole concept of home and routines when one steps out of the box as we are planning to do... what will be our new routine on our new home?

So, i've always maintained that Thoughts (do indeed) become Things. The Universe seems to agree as well.

Perfect case in point. Dave spent the better part of the last two weeks, nattering, that "watch" while we are away, there will be a viewing, and an offer", and we'll be away from home, and have to deal with all of it long distance, and sure enough, as we were driving up to Quebec City, didn't we get a phone call that a viewing had taken place. The next day (while said nattering person was stuffing his face with poutine), interested potential buyer was walking through our house a second time. Second viewings are pretty much a sure sign that an offer is on its way. And sure enough, one arrived that very evening.

And then the flurry of emails in cyberspace ensued... and we followed through with a counter offer, which had us scrambling to the nearest Business Depot Fax machine in the allowable time limit. Back and Forth it went for the next couple of days until both parties were reasonably satisfied, which had us once again scrambling for the nearest Business Depot fax machine, which just happened to be closed as it was Easter Sunday. Strangely enough, this potential buyer is from Quebec. It probably would've been cheaper for us to drive over and hand deliver the paperwork to him then to fax the pages long distance. However the fact of the matter is one seems to pay a hefty price in order to have others to do some simple forwarding of messages, it's always imperative to double check your crossed t's and dot your i's yo'self. HAH.

So house inspection was done yesterday and we have just been informed that there's nothing to be addressed. Thank The Universe for that one. Funny what 24 hours of worry can do to you when you learn that there was nothing to worry about in the first place. Funny how we build mountains sometimes out of molehills. And now there's yet another 24 hour time period before the final signatures can happen and we can place a SOLD sign on top of the FOR SALE SIGN, YAY.

And voila. As always, glad that you tuned in :)

CAPTION: A rather deserted looking marina, such is the time of year, in Quebec City.

Comments [1]

Alex, cool-ish
April 8, 2012 , Québec City

Aren't migratory birds wonderfully smart creatures? Perhaps they do know best? Twice a year they get up and go, pointing their beaks and sniffing the air for warmer climates, what a life!!

But then I feel a sense of understanding, as Dave and I are prepping, and will soon be pointing our lovely Banyan towards warmer climates as well.

And so we were in Québec City over the long Easter weekend, eating too many Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Ashton poutines, Chocolate Mousse with Pear Birthday cakes... and found oursevles craving a bit of adventure (or might that be much needed-exercise)?

The Canada Snow Goose (Geese?) fly from the Great White North down to the Atlantic Seaside, and then in March reverse direction and come back. One of their stomping grounds during this migration is at Cap Tourmente, approx half hour drive East of Quebec City.

Cap Tourmente (so named by Samuel de Champlain because in his words the slightest bit of wind in the area creates big waves) is a National Wildlife Area, home to many km's of hiking trails, flora, fauna, birds and wildlife. The wetlands are also home to the bullrush plant, a favourite food of the Snow Goose (Geese). Well fed Goose are happy Geese ?

We didn't get too far in as the grounds were closed and we had other plans for the day, however, that being said, it was a good thing they were closed, as I wasn't too keen on paying an admission fee, for something as natural as migrating birds found in nature. We did venture a ways in and took a peek at the grounds, saw a beautiful woodpecker having his feed of suet.. pictures, as always, can be found on Banyan's FB site.

So back into the car we go and another drive up and up and over the mountain, through blizzard conditions (seriously ??), and back down again into the sun and the lovely community of Baie St-Paul. This area is considered to be an artist's paradise, as evidenced by the many statues of famous artist busts, and the many art galleries and beautiful scenery everywhere the eye can see. We enjoyed a late afternoon snack of gelato (maple for Dave, mango for me, cherry for Ben, and chocolate sundaes and vanilla twists for my sister and nephew).

A short walk through town and most of the art galleries, boutiques and craft shops were open... one of them selling, notably donkey milk soaps. We never did find the shop that sold white wine made of tomatoes. A local speciality apparently.

Another short drive away we stopped at the edge of the Baie where there was a spectacular horizon of ''Snow Goose White'', and a painter immortalizing the moment on canvas. We also stumbled upon the home of Habitat 07 (an ecologically built house that uses the idea of energy sustainability). It too was closed, and if it had been open, would have incurred an admission fee.

Instead we found ourselves peeping through the windows, free of charge.

The drive home took us back up the mountain, back through blizzarding and blowing snow, arriving at home just in time to prep some good ole Fondue Chinoise. Yumm !

And so, just for a day, we too migrated, flocking to the areas that interested us, staying if only for a moment or two, feeding and snacking as the mood overtook us and then flying away leaving only the memories of a perfect day to stay within our minds and our hearts.

CAPTION: the Snow Goose at Baie St-Paul.

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