Countdown to Christmas...Gramma time!

So the last two weekends we have had Gramma's come to visit. First the Mother in Law for almost 4 days and then my mom for a little over 48 hours. Of course neither gramma got much sleep, once the kids realized that gramma was sleeping over it was WOO HOO! Of course both gramma's snore a little (ok maybe a lot) and the kids had to comment, but I know it runs in the family so one day I'll do the same to my grandkids.

While Gramma Ellen was here Athena and I managed to sneak out to the ballet. It was our first mommy daughter night since the move and Athena was pretty excited. Now she wants to be a Candy Cane like with the tights and everything. She liked getting dressed up so we made gramma take a picture.

The next day was pretty busy, we went into Nanaimo to check out the harbour. Gramma treated us to lunch. Kids had a blast. Totally wore them out though. Of course gramma couldn't believe that Athena will seek out her brother whenever he sleeps, just to hold his hand. Needless to say after he fell asleep in the shower, she wasn't far behind.

Weather wasn't too bad for either gramma. We were able to take them out and about to see the land around the house. There was a trip to the bakery for Gramma Ellen (gotta get one of those fabulous cinnamon buns) and a couple of trips to the beach for Gramma Sharon. The weather was nicer the next weekend for Gramma Sharon so we found a great little beach 5 minutes from the house. It's all rock (no sand) but it's weathered smooth so in the summer you could get some good sunbathing in if you wanted.

 Athena wanted to dig in the sand as was disappointed when there wasn't any.

We  headed down to Transfer beach on our way to take Gramma Sharon to the airport. (Didn't realize the bakery is closed on Sunday's so a cinnamon bun is promised to be delivered when we head back to Calgary in January.) The weather wasn't too bad so the kids had fun looking for seashells (and a couple of photos with Gramma).

Pat's finally getting a day off here and there. Time to get moving on the projects around the house. Too many quail in the house means we really need to get their new home outside finished. Had to build the dog a place to pee since I was getting tired of wandering about looking for deposits. Only dog I know that hates getting rained on while going to the bathroom. Good use of an old tarp though. Hopefully it's not too tempting for the kids to play in.

The reason we moved was...

Pat created an opportunity for us to try a new life on the coast. He brought his work home with him one day for some extra training (the bird not Pat).

Goose had a lot to say about the experience. Between the noise of the kids, the dogs and the cats (who eyed him with great suspicion) he hollered to no end.

Eventually he got used to his surroundings (which was what Pat was trying to accomplish). I tried to pet him once but I'm not as comfortable with them as Pat is. Eventually I'll get the hang of it, but for now I'll leave it to the experienced one of the house.

And the animal menagerie grows...

So I new it was going to happen, we planned to expand our small flock of quail and we finally had a good hatching this week. We started with 30 eggs, quite a few were infertile, a few stopped early on and a few just never made it out of the egg.

 

But of the 13 that hatched we have 11 healthy little ones. 4 yellow and 7 brown. They are the cutest little things and they make the sweetest noises.  Their first day out of the incubator and they didn't do a whole lot. Small, still somewhat damp but drying off.

The next morning they were all huddled together in a little fluffy pile. I couldn't resist taking more pictures of them while I worked.

This evening they were really raring to go. Pecking and chirping, climbing all over each other.

This is my company while I work.

Hardly any snow on the island...yeah right

So we thought we'd left snow behind, but of course, it followed us. At least it's not as cold as Calgary is right now. We can play, build snowmen and just revel in the beauty of it all.

Pat wasn't so happy about having to shovel off the car before work though. It was at least 5-6 inches of snow.




 

Of course, at least he was nice enough to dig my van out for me.


The cows were unimpressed, they've been hanging around near the house, probably thinking we're going to feed them. Tough luck though, cause that isn't going to happen.

So in the spirit of the seaon, we made gingerbread men!! Kids did the decorating. If you notice, some of the men are perfectly symmetrical in their candy placement. Those are Ronan's cookies. He was very particular on which candies he used.

It's been three weeks...

since moving to the island. Lots of rainy weather but at least not too cold. House is slowly shaping up as the boxes slowly disappear. Yesterday the kids convinced me it was time to put the Christmas tree up. Hopefully I'll have it decorated before Christmas actually comes.

The yard is progressing slower than I'd hoped. We still don't have a fence and we are waiting for power to come to the shed so we can get chickens. The picture on the right is the future chicken coop. Eventually the space between the buildings will be the chicken run.



 Last week we discovered a doggy ball hidden in the grass underneath this tree (it's in front of the red horse trailer). A real treasure for Timber, now that she has the cone off she can actually dig it out from whatever she looses it under.

The novelty of the cows in the yard starts to wear off when you step off your front stoop into a large fresh cow patty. I hung my wind chime I got from 10 Thousand Villages. At least it's starting to look like home.

I guess the way everyone gets rid of their yard debris is generally by burning it. We have at least 4 or 5 giant piles of yard debris that the landlord has been creating or was created by the last owners. This pile is what is slowly growing with the clearing for the fence. I shudder to think of the flames it could throw, but considering that it's pretty wet, it will probably just smoke a lot.

So hopefully we'll see some progress soon. I miss having a yard to play in.

You know you're living on a farm when...

you look out your front window to see cows.

At least 5 or 6 Angus cattle strolled through the yard sampling the vegetation before heading off to the house next door.

One quick look back to make sure we knew they were there.

And then they were gone.

I found the camera cord!!!

So a brief update to life here on the island. I've discovered my new favorite footwear.

 

It's much easier to keep my feet clean this way.

The dog finally had her first fun in the yard on Monday, needless to say, it earned her the cone of shame. She's adjusting to it now though, although she still manages to catch it on the furniture. She caught herself on the corner of an old truck topper that was laying in the yard. We're going to have to do a sweep of the area once the fence is up before we let her loose again, I can't hear another vet bill.

She seems to be healing well though.

I'm really starting to enjoy mornings, especially when this is what I see when I look out my kitchen window and see this...

Once I find my Christmas lights I should decorate the tree in the backyard...

Well perhaps I should start with something a little smaller.

The kids are really liking the place too, Ronan has to finish most days in the bath though, "Mucky, mucky, mucky" is his favorite thing to say outside.

Well, that's all for now, at least for this morning. Errands to run and boxes to unpack.

We made it!!!!

It's been a crazy 4 days. Friday we madly packed the van and at the time thought it would all fit. By Saturday noon we knew it was a lost cause. Everything outdoor was left behind (we're going to have to make another trip) 2days of driving and we made it to the new house. Only a few tantrums and meltdowns.

House doesn't look too bad, some things were better than I thought. Not quite as ready as I hoped. I still feel like I'm breathing dust. Needs a good clean. One cupboard needs repair and the yard is still full of junk. Lots of possibilities though.

I'd take pictures but I don't know where the batteries are for the camera. Every hour or so the phrase "we left that  behind" comes up. Needless to say a trip to the store will be in order for tomorrow. Ronan and I still have coughs, mine goes away for a little while after I've had a glass of wine, looks like I know what I need right now.

One more day until I head back to Calgary for my doll convention, so much to do!!!

And the count is on...

So we'll be on the road in 36 hours. Is the house completely packed? No. Will everything fit in the van? Probably not. Are the kids and I leaving anyways? Yup.

So on goes the plan. The kids and I will head out Saturday with the MIL with an arrival at the homestead in the evening Sunday. Hopefully Pat will be there already with the furniture, but it will depend if we have the truck loaded. Anyone want to help?

Dinner at the Rouge in Calgary

This will just be a short post, but I just wanted to put a shout out there that dinner tonight at the Rouge was amazing. We had the Chef's special which was a 6 course meal and we added on the standard wine pairings. And oh my goodness it was soo tasty!!!. If you haven't been yet and you don't feel the need to have giant platefuls of substandard food put in front of you then this is the place. And the service was fabulous too, you got the attention you needed without having someone hover over you the whole time.

Rouge Restaurant in Calgary

One week to go, a cold, a sore tooth...and snow?

So we've got one week left to get everything together. Ronan has decided that he can survive on 7 hours of sleep a night, Pat's got tooth trouble and I've got a cold and looking outside this morning, it's trying to snow. The kids are running around the house screaming "azerio", don't know what that means, but they are pretty happy. I've been searching for the self-packing button on the house but I haven't found it yet. Perhaps I just need a strong cup of coffee.

Moving is a pain, moving cross country, bigger pain

So I started this blog, mostly just for friends and family to be updated with our latest going's on, but eventually to track our progress to become more self-sufficiant. Eventually I'd like for us to be able to produce most of our own food (although I'm not prepared any time soon to start grinding flour). I've never been much of a writer, but I'm going to do my best. I'll try to post lots of pictures of our progress as things move along. Although now that I think about it, I should probably stop borrowing Athena's camera and replace my own.

It's the middle of October and we're halfway packed. We've lined up a place to live, our cable/internet/phone hookup is scheduled and we've reserved a moving van. Today I find out that I can't just move the car insurance, but that I have to cancel ALL of our insurance and re-set it up under BC insurance, just what I needed to hear.

It's enough that we have to move 2 adults, 2 children, 2 cats, 1 dog, 1 finch, 8 or so quail, 9 chickens, and a few geckos 1200 km. Then we have 2 days before I fly back to cowtown so that I can connect to my fly to pittsburgh for a 3 day doll convention (woo hoo!) and then fly back to Nanaimo in order to be back in time for Pat to start work on the 1st. Talk about crazy.

10 days and counting. At least I've got a fabulous friends wedding to attend next weekend. It should be a blast!!!