100 Countries!

This week I was pleased to see that I hit the 100 country visit of this blog! The latest visitor was from Cyprus - welcome! Thanks for everyone who has dropped by or stumbled upon this rather modest meanderings of our life here in the Eastern Townships of La belle Province! Look at the sidebar at the right to see where you are all from...I find it rather interesting only one person from China has seen this blog. For the country with the largest population in the world that is rather perplexing...In the meantime I will be updating our busy construction accomplishments this past week so come back and check it out! gws

October Days

As moose hunting comes to a close in this region for the year deer hunting begins and except for the occasional distant shot things are pretty peaceful up here on the mountain. It is trying really hard to feel like an Indian summer, one day cold, one day warm and the next into the high 60s with more than the usual amount of rain but the forecast looks good and we are happy not to see any white stuff yet! The birds are still around by the zillions it appears and we saw our first red cardinal this week. The warm weather may have brought them in - in fact it was 22 degrees yesterday afternoon when I had my outdoors shower! Don't know how much longer I'll be doing that! Meanwhile Marie and I are slowly making sense of heating and electrical systems and doing our best to keep everything to code. We have our hot water heater working and our backup genny tested and ready to go, two cords of wood under the deck for the BIS fireplace - and I finally installed the new lockset in the front door. We had over two tons of ceramic tile delivered this past week for the mezzanine and main floor and we have picked out all the plumbing accessories for the bath, two showers and three sinks. Now we await for another delivery of the siding next week - hopefully this time it will be the colour we actually ordered - and our appliances which we bought in Montreal when we were last there. It won't be long before we are ready to move up to the house, but first we have to winterize the cabin and maybe start looking for my snowshoes! gws

First real fire in the house!

feathered friends at the cabin birdfeeder

Generac ready to rock, hooked up to the propane tank

It's a Boy for Lara and Jesse!

On Saturday the 13th Marie and I, Phil, Fer and Amy, and Christina and Patrick drove out to Point Claire to the 3D ultrasound clinic ( UC Baby) yesterday to meet Lara and Jesse and to share in Lara's ultrasound. We were all thrilled to see a perfect little boy kicking and thoroughly enjoying himself at the attention he was getting! Due date is sometime in February and I'm betting it's a Valentine grandson for me! gws

Yeah! A cousin for me to play with!

I know this place!

Happy sisters

2012 Thanksgiving Weekend

 This past Friday Phil, Fernanda and Amy arrived to help us celebrate Thanksgiving Day. (For sure in Canada we have a lot to be thankful for and what we have here in this beautiful country we want to keep just as it is. I just hate those who have not contributed to our society or those who plan to come here to take advantage of our health care, above average standard of living and do not respect our freedom to practice any religion without fear of reprisals or worse. Go away.) It was a typical fall day here in NDB and we hoped the kids would enjoy the colour of the hills even in the rain! Marie had booked them into the same place Lyn and Dad had stayed in last month, just five minutes away. Fer brought a turkey which she cooked with all the trimmings and wow - what a delicious bird it was! While they were here Phil helped us set up the radiant floor manifolds and pumps and did some plumbing of the basement shower. I had inadvertently drilled into the PEX below (for the radiant flooring) when I was trying to reposition the drain for the shower and we had to break away a bit of the 4 inch concrete to make the repairs. I re-pressurized the system and the pressure held overnight so I think it is as good as new. But what a sinking feeling I had when I saw what I had done! Phil also did a walk around to see what we had accomplished (not much, it seems) the past month, checking on the electrical runs and boxes with a very professional eye. We passed I think with maybe a B- grade! After they left for the city we spent the next three days running the PEX for the radiant floor system. That is a story in itself and will wait for the next post! Till then, peace   gws

Our Retirement Home Part Seventeen (Repairing the Road)

After hundreds of trucks, both large and small, as well as very large ones at times coming and going up and down from the entrance on Maxime over 600 feet to the house, it was time to have our driveway repaired for the last time. The major construction is complete and it was way past the time for repairs on our poor road. We had nine truckloads of gravel dumped, spread and compacted to ensure a smooth surface that should withstand any normal traffic up the road. Except for a few more deliveries this year - the Maibec siding and some appliances - we shouldn't have any more heavy trucks trying to come up... Fall arrived with a passion this year with a riot of colour after a dry, warm summer and hopefully will last until November. But up here, at our elevation, we always are prepared for the unexpected! And now we eagerly wait for the arrival of Phil, Fer, and Amy for the Thanksgiving (Columbus Day) weekend! gws

Me unloading hay around the septic tank and field to prevent erosion

Preparing the site for the Generac

Miss John Deere 2012

Bringing in scaffolding for the exterior siding

View of tractor leveling the road  from the front porch

me walking down our new driveway