Back West!!

 We took our time and spent a bit of it relaxing and seeing the country.  The original plan was for us to stay at a few Harvest Host locations to save a few dollars....but it did not work out that way.

Our first night was at the Big Axe Brewery. Needless to say after a few very yummy beers and a winning 2 tee shirts at trivia night we spent more than what a RV Park would have cost but it was fun.

After that were a few nights at farms, a Casino and one home garden spot that changed our minds about the Harvest Host idea.  We damn near cooked to death with temperatures in the RV of 38c.

This was our favorite farm at Le Chou et la Fleur.  Even the Kitties loved it!

A wonderful little brewery in Quebec called Microbrasserie Des Haldes.

We hit smoke from the fires in the central Ontario and pretty much followed it into the Crows Nest Pass when the rain came in and cleared sky's into BC.

Central Ontario. 

BC. Border, rainy and cool.  Look mom no smoke.

We did have our trials and tribulations though.  At one spot in Ontario I was heavily chewed upon by no see-ums.  WIFI was a big challenge as well.  Although most RV Parks say they have WIFI, they really don't!!

Both legs.... drove me crazy for a few days.

We even found a few amazing things along the way like this giant caterpillar.  It was almost as long as Tyler's hand.  About 4" long and as thick as his thumb.

Cecropia Silk Moth Caterpillar.

So all in all we have had a great journey across most of our country and am now in Cranbrook for the night and Creston tomorrow.  Back to Cranbrook in a few days for a few much needed RV repairs (our slide-out crapped out).  Looking forward to seeing friends and family and having a bit of time to think about the next adventure.  

Hope you are all having as much fun as I am.

 

After almost 3 years we are on the road again.

 It has been lovely staying at Rockwood Campground in Saint John, NB for the past 2 months.

Lilly's on the Lake.

Being able to get familiar with our new Minni Winni named Bella has been awesome.  All the quirks and burps that come with living a small home sorted out and close to Canadian Tire too!

Mom getting a helping hand  from Carl.

One thing about it is it takes about an hour to totally clean the place.  Then about 5 min to have a cluttered mess again.  I am surprised that we cant find one outside photo of the RV. Have to take a few on the road to post next time.

Rockwood Park has been wonderful. Lots of wild life, room for the kitties to explore and mouse hunt.  It has also given us time to say bye to all our new found friends.

We have also been able to enjoy the many trails in the park.  And now that it is warming up maybe a little swimming as well.  But I had better get out the swimsuit soon as we leave for the big adventure across Canada and home to B.C. next week!!

We did not take the chicken way even though it was
slow and steep.  We were on foot at least.

Both Tyler and I are looking forward to being on the road again and checking out new spots.  Drop us a comment if you think we should be adding anything else on out journey west.

The House is coming along beautifuly

You can really see the difference that the power washer has made and replacing a few window trims and windows.

Thought I would just do a bunch of photos today so you can see all the hard work and the prize at the end.

And he's even smiling

Tyler up on the scaffolding with the power washer.

Look at the new attic window.  We had fun making it from a resin pour.

It has been so wet with all the fog that picking a sunny moment is important.

Sure looks nice with the 3 windows updated and looking fresh.

Kitties loving the new big space.

Roofers and Bathrooms

Well the roofers came and are still here.  It has been 2 weeks of banging and shingles and nails.

Tony on the roof.

They have been doing a awesome job on a hard to do roof .  That and the rain and having to re sheave the roof it is slowly getting done.

Great shot of the before and after new shingles.

We ended up having to put 43 sheets of plywood as the existing roof was starting to dry rot and we unsure whether or not it was safe enough for them to be climbing on.  They looked great from inside the attic but were powdery on the outside.  Better safe than sorry.

lots of discussion about what needed to go where and how it was to be done.

Sure looks nice.

In the mean time Tyler and I have been putzing around not being able to do much outside. Important to stay out of the roofers way........ raining shingles.  The other day we started on the upstairs bathroom.

Old musty wallpaper and wainscot. 

It was time to take it all down and start from scratch.  Going to take lots of prep work to be able to paint and tile though.

Needs new drywall.

Much of the original dry wall will need to be replaced as the paper on the outside of the plaster is pealing off.  That is what happens to old houses that are left for 6 years without heat or love.  Condensation builds between layers and everything comes apart.

A little color to the day.

It is amazing how much larger the room looks once the wainscot has been removed.  How much better the bathrooms smells as well.

Tyler hard at work...worried about his plumbers but. LMAO

Everything comes apart.

Now comes the fun part.  Fixing holes, replacing drywall and ripping out the mystery no water shower. 

The mystery no water shower.

Looks so much bigger

And of course the kitties had to get into the thick of things.

Sam helping with the wall paper removal.

The out side

We have been busy cleaning up the yard and a little test on the siding of the house to see how it would sand and clean up.

First I have to show you a photo of our neighbors yard.  A iconic picture of a fishing way of life.

I loved the contrast of the beautiful cherry tree in full bloom with all the colorful floats pilled underneath. The floats were only there for a few hours before being put away until next season.  The end of lobster season had arrived.

Tyler mowed the lawn and we managed to plant 2 purple rhododendrons in the front yard.  Along with 2 urns on the mudroom steps.  They look great and makes the place finally look like someone lives here.

A little bit of color added

They will look beautiful when filled out

The cats keep an eye on us while we work out side and are so funny following us from window to window making sure we don't go to far.

Carl and Sam making sure we haven't traveled to far.

I'm pretty happy with how well the shingles on the house are sanding up.  After doing a little test on the back of the house I discovered that they were still in pretty good shape and I don't think we will have to replace many of them.  Mostly on the bottom 2 rows.  They seem to be the worst.

My scraping test on the back of the house.

I had to laugh yesterday though...... I had cleaned out a bit more of the RV (getting it ready to sell) and had just been placing the items and baskets on the stairs to take up next trip to the top.  Sam discovered the bags of cat nip in one of the baskets and was in his glory by the time I discovered him.  lol.  He even drooled all over the floor trying to open the small bags.

Very happy kitty.

We ordered a roll of fabric so I could make drapes so last week for a few days I made curtains for the upstairs bedrooms and drapes for the downstairs living room.  We wanted something that blocked out the glare for watching tv or playing video games but that was not dark.  I think this fabric was a great idea.  Simple tab curtains that are about 6" above the heaters.

They should go with just about anything.

And check out the new chairs we ordered for the sitting room.  Perfect for morning coffee watching the ocean fog roll by.

Our new peacock chairs.