a renovation, with neighbour-handyman Mike, Chris and I all swinging the sledge
hammer prying with the crowbar and carrying out mounds of rubbish for the dump. The
removal of the wall made an immense difference to the space as we anticipated the new
open-plan kitchen complete. Our local ReStore picks up cabinets and counter tops.
before the 'Floor Pros' (Tom Sinnet and the boys) arrived to install our new hardwood
over a six day period. As luck would have it, Home Depot arrived with our flooring
at the same time that ReStore was collecting the cabinets but everything worked out.
One day the electrician spent a couple of hours changing wires and planning for the
new lighting and switches.
This moth hatched from somewhere under the old floor I think.
watched the birds at the feeders and our regular rabbit visitor "Brian" crunch his daily
carrot and munch ends of lettuce. With a regular pattern of thawing and freezing, a
variety of icicles and snowdrifts changed their forms daily as we anticipated Spring's
arrival. Visits to the shores of Lake Huron in Bayfield and Goderich provide surprising
ice formations to watch. Also in Bayfield, a temporary bridge has been under
construction since the fall. It will be used to take traffic across the water while the
current bridge is dismantled and rebuilt. Part of the short trip to Bayfield that we take
weekly involves reporting back on how far across the bridge has stretched. Who says
small town life is boring?
The brown hillock beside the dock is actually a mound of ice and snow.
Cross-hatched cloud.
gifted a trampoline a few days before so that became Finn's wonderful surprise.
He had his first birthday party with a few buddies at the local park and was thrilled
with the "Paw Patrol" cake that Dani made for him.
We managed to throw together a romantic dinner on February 14 even though
our kitchen supplies and dishes were in a disheveled array in my studio, piled on the
living room furniture and shoved randomly into empty spaces everywhere. Many people
around the world with cards, flowers and chocolate. Some people balk at the idea of a
specific date to Celebrate Love insisting that it should be done each and every day. This
year that sentiment became more poignant when news of a nasty virus began making
headlines. Thousands of people would not have the chance to tell their loved ones how
much they meant in their lives but even worse, many were unable to say goodbye.
Covid-19 had arrived and taken the world by surprise.
One last blast of winter closed local roads due to high winds and drifting snow. Once
that melted away, I began the arduous process of raking the yards of the millions of pine
needles and excess of broken branches after our extremely windy winter. I pace the
process to stay pain-free and enjoy working outside foreseeing the greenery of Spring
to showcase the gardens. I had a few projects on the go, puzzles, reupolstering the dining
room chairs, painting a small barn quilt for our shed and starting a few seedlings indoors.
I built a couple of fires in the back yard fire pit to burn the scrap wood. Flames and their
crackling melodies can be so mesmerizing and meditative.
before
One issue with our kitchen design and limited space was the positioning of the fridge.
It has to be situated at the side of the kitchen and the fridge we owned was too large and
stuck out too far uncomfortably and aesthetically. So we sold the fridge to our friends
and bought a smaller one. Luckily we have a small freezer to use as a back up for bulk
cooking and purchasing. Mike, Jeff and Chris moved out the old fridge and Home Depot
moved in the new one.
Chris saw a Neurosurgeon on the advice of his Surgeon in Mississauga in March.
Although his leg has healed about sixty percent, he is now experiencing jolts from
his nerves along his leg when he lies down to sleep. The only way to stop the issue
is to get up and walk around. Needless to say, he has been losing a lot of sleep.
The doctor scheduled more MRI's to look at the leg and the brain and assess
the situation.
On our way home, we met friends Diane and Stan and loaded Lacey, their lovely
Labradoodle, into our truck. We "dog-sat" Lacey for ten days and it was fun having
a dog around if only for a short time. (Remember her Marilyn?) Of course we still
miss our Dixie tremendously.
Near Grand Bend there are some marshes where thousands of Tundra Swans land
for a week or so after their flight from their winter stay on Chesapeake Bay,
Maryland before their migration to breeding grounds along The Arctic Atlantic
Coastline. We finally got down to see them this year. Watching hundreds of white
swans juxtaposed against a grey and brown tranquil background was very thrilling!
Heading home, we spotted a huge Eagle's nest off the highway we went to see it up
close. We will return during nesting season.
Over a matter of weeks and days, now hours, our world shelters and waits to
see what will happen with the worldwide pandemic, COVID-19. The toilet
paper wars have ended, for now. Creative people are making images and
videos to comfort, to entertain, to give hope and to spread love. We are all
asked to live aware of our surroundings, respect our neighbours, help where
we can and see the value in each day.
Funny, isn't that what we are always supposed to do?
image credit: Steller Facebook Group
An Aside: When I first began blogging our RV trips Travels with CC and Dixie
ccanddixie.blogspot.com, I did it for two main reasons. Of most importance, I wanted
to stay connected to family and friends and keep them updated on where we were and
what we were doing. Secondly, I believed that blogging would be a good form of travel
diary to record dates, places and experiences.
I suppose it took three years for me to realize that the number one reason I blogged was
because I love writing. I also enjoy photography and a travel blog combines both those
passions for me. It dawned on me when I continued to receive emails asking us our
whereabouts and travel details that most of my friends and family never read the blogs!
It took a bit of time tripping over my ego to realize that I was blogging for me and it
ultimately did not matter who read them.
Since I began my "personal blog" I take my coffee with milk" caronwrites.blogspot.com
I have published 36 blogs on random subjects. A number of friends and family have sent
me their remarks and I admit it feels good to have positive feedback. The computer keeps
a number tally so that I can see how many people have read my posts. Interestingly, some
of the older ones have been looked at by only one or two people and one has had no
viewers at all.
It is easy to pull up Older Posts if you are interested.