First Guest, More Pics

Good morning faithful readers, I am trying to type quietly while Paul sleeps on... we're both just bagged at the end of every day. A lot of it I think is just the newness of it all, and I know for me the peace and quiet is most conducive to long, sound sleeps.

This week we had our first overnight guest (although our first official visit was from Becca and Dean last week). My sister Caroline (or Cookie, a nickname that still sticks almost 50 years on) stayed over Sunday/Monday, and she took some terrific photos:

This is one of my favourite quilts, draped over an ancient wagon out by the garden shed.

And here's our tractor! Paul will blog more about this, I suspect. It works, has new tires, and came with four attachments-- one is a snow plow we'll try on the driveway this winter.

Speaking of farm machines, here I am mowing our grass. That morning Paul and I had done some bee maintenance, and silly me wore only one layer of socks... my right ankle is swollen and painful from three stings, and so only my flipflops fit right now (in case any of you safety geeks out there were horrified). The mower was borrowed from Becca and Dean and Ange and Gord at Crooked Horn Farm (www.crookedhornfarm.ca). It rained cats and dogs so I didn't get much done-- hopefully today. One just has to be a wee bit careful heading toward the river bank...

Here's my sister, looking lovely against the 80's pink feature wall...

Caroline lives just 1.5 hours away, at Jewel Lake Resort near Grand Forks and Greenwood. She and bro-in-law Jim Harrison (look him up, hockey fans) bought the resort two years ago and its a wonderful place-- '60's style, cozy cabins on the lake, lots of camping, hiking, fishing. Here's the link: http://www.jewellakeresort.com/.

Cat update: Cassius is now staying around the house during the day, especially since Paul showed him how to get up into the 'attic' of the banya (this cat loves high spaces). I called him for dinner yesterday and he came trotting right in, and spent the night inside again as well. I think we're sorted out cat-wise.

 It will be very sad for me to leave tomorrow, but I must get some prep done before my Uvic teaching starts Tuesday (*gack*). I will miss this place already, it doesn't take long to get inside you.

What About the Cat? And random pics

Ok, the cat. On Friday, which as you recall began on such a fine note, we were finally able to coax Cassius out of his hidey place in the closet. He was still very nervous, but also seemed interested in exploring a bit. In the afternoon, Paul and I left him at the front door of the house and headed out to the workshop to sort through stuff.

That was the last time we saw him for almost two days. By Friday night, we were frantic. We called around the property and shook kitty treats, and walked up and down our road, to no avail. The next morning, still no cat, so we headed down to the river (which is large and lovely) and beat through bushes calling and calling. Paul spent almost two hours after that going round to neighbours with jars of honey and asking if they'd seen a small black cat. Nothing (except lots of friendly, helpful neighbours with stories of coyotes and disappearing cats!).

We went to bed that night feeling incredibly sad. The loss of our kitty cast a pall on what was otherwise a perfect experience. I woke in the night worrying about him, so I decided to see if I could 'tune in' to where he was. I had a strong feeling he was close by, but otherwise I had no idea. We had searched every shed and every tree.

This morning, Paul climbed the ladder to the attic one more time to shine the flashlight around and have a look. And there he was. He brought him downstairs, and wouldn't you know, after eating and drinking, he headed straight back up. Paul snapped this pic of him climbing the ladder-- something I would never have thought a cat could do:

Paul didn't think he could get through the trap door, which he'd shut, but as you can see...

He had to grab him again and bring him downstairs, and the upstairs hall door is now shut.

Yesterday he gave us another scare-- was gone from 5:30am until 9:30 last night. Paul says that cat will be the death of him.

 Ok, more pictures of our lovely home:                 

View of the mighty Columbia

Hazelnuts line the driveway...

                                                       Raspberries and garden bed...

Pears...

Apple... there are also peaches, and an old apricot that Patsy, our tenant (more about Patsy later), thinks is the last of its kind. She and I have been digging the apricot saplings and potting them for planting next year. There is lots of room for more fruit trees. Paul and I want to plant a fig.

This is the 'banya', or bathhouse, built at the same time as the main house. There are benches inside and you can see where the stove once was. I can just imagine the people here going for a good steam at the end of a day of hard, outdoor labour, then running down to the river for a plunge (that's my vision, anyway). Its a great garden shed.

Arriving, Part II

The next morning was our first in our new home. We woke up early, dressed and headed outside to a beautiful sunny day. Holding hands, we walked around the whole three acres and looked at every tree and bush and into all the sheds. At one point, when I turned to look back at the house from the meadow, with the hills above it, I burst into tears of pure joy and gratitude. We ate cherries fresh off the tree (two kinds, sweet and sour), looked at the baby peaches, pears, and apples, and picked raspberries. Paul found two matching four-leaf clovers. It was terribly, wonderfully romantic.

But soon, second moving van arrived and unloaded-- most of it directly into the 1600sq.ft. workshop so we don't have to move too much stuff out of the house once renovations begin.

                                                             Our stuff:

Empty truck, happy moving men.

And just in the nick of time, too. A terrific thunderstorm came through just after they left, with torrents of rain. I absolutely love and can't get enough of looking at the wide open sky around us. Being able to see big weather is awesome.

That's the old chicken coop behind Paul, which is now a garden shed and nesting place for wasps. The Ford tractor is parked beside it.

Shortly after the moving van left-- and pretty much in the middle of the storm, architect Steve and structural engineer Don arrived, with intern Julie. We walked them through the house and all around it, talking about our wish list. It turns out the house "has good bones." I like them, they seemed to focus on the integrity of the house, going local as much as possible (e.g., there are two electric dams upriver from us, so that's a greener source of energy), and working within our limited budget. Paul is all gung-ho to start ripping and tearing.

A Dramatic Arrival

After a blessedly uneventful 10 hours of driving, Becca and I arrived just behind Paul and the bees. It was a gorgeous evening-- what photographers and movie directors call 'magic hour.' Our realtor, Rand, was there, snapping photos of Paul-- already in his bee suit! Hmmm... didn't take long to see that a renegade bunch had escaped and were clustered on the outside of the larger of the two hives. I stepped out of the car and suited up.

After some heaving and hoving, they were in their new home, safe and sound.

One van arrived later and unloaded. I stayed at the house and Paul drove Becca and her U-Haul of stuff home to Winlaw. I knew he'd stayed to help her and her hubby Dean unload (he's just like that) when he didn't get home until past midnight. Then he headed out to the beeyard to secure the two hives, as we'd heard from the neighbour that two bear cubs were sighted on our back porch just the day before. Yikes. Long day for all of us, but Paul especially.

Here we are on the doorstep of our new home!

The cat, meanwhile, still had the same glum look on his face 16 hours previously when we'd stuffed him into the cat carrier. He was cowering on the top shelf in a bedroom closet, and wouldn't come down to eat or drink. But more about him later...

The Journey Begins...

Hello dear and patient readers, my apologies for being so absent lately-- last night I wrote a long, witty blog under the influence of an excellent G&T, but alas it refused to post (the blog, that is-- the G&T posted very nicely thanks). Too many photos, I think, so this attempt will be slightly less picturesque.

What a week! We did our last packing Tuesday, having been informed that the movers were not arriving Wednesday afternoon as we understood, but 9am sharp. We wouldn't have made it without the help of Steve L. (never a better friend there was), who packed and swept and heaved and hoed all day long. After dark, Steve helped Paul and I load the two hives of bees, tucked and strapped, into the back of the pickup truck.

The next morning, the two moving vans arrived-- barely enough for all our worldly possessions. The barbecue was almost left behind, but the moving men, being men, realized the importance of this particular culinary appliance, and so they strapped it to the back of one truck. Quite frankly, their winks and chuckles over the legitimacy of the strategy left me a little nervous, but I wisely ignored it.

They left that night, and we followed on the 8am ferry Wednesday morning. The whole convoy consisted of: two moving vans, one towing Paul's '72 LeMans on a car trailer; Paul in the pickup with the bees, towing a U-Haul with my daughter Becca's furniture. Becca had been living in our basement suite for the winter while doing a masters degree, and timed things to move home to the Slocan Valley (1/2 hour away from our new place) at the same time as our move. Finally, Becca and I followed in my car with our cat Cassius, who will feature in a later post...

Here's a pic of Paul and Becca with the bees, on the ferry:

Stay tuned...

Plan Bee...

Paul's challenge: how to transport 30,000 bees 700km...

Heeeere girls, come to papa!












Ok, that didn't work-- on to Plan Bee!


Joking aside, it's going to be quite the feat. Paul has to get up in the wee hours of the morning we leave (two days hence, ack!) before the bees start flying, and seal them into the hive WHILE allowing for adequate ventilation for the trip. Then he'll load them onto the dolly and heave them into the back of the pickup. Here's hoping the two queens like road trips.

Anyone wanna help, come 'round to 2123 Chambers St. at 5am Wednesday.

Sweet Goodbyes

Well, it has been a week of goodbyes and fare-thee-wells, that's for sure. The psychology department at Uvic hosted a wonderful, warm going away party for Paul on Wednesday. Lots of happy-sad tears and laughter recalling stories from his 20(!!) years there.


Then Saturday, we hosted a 'house cooling' party, which was tons of fun. Here are a few pics.

Paul and I with our friend Kirsty, who came all the way from Vangroovy! Paul went to highschool with Kirsty's older sister Andrea, who was also there with her daughter Rowan.

Bonnie and Moira sitting amid the moving boxes.

 It was a lovely, warm day so the party flowed indoors and out.









Last night was also open house at my private practice office, Wellspring Counselling, downtown Victoria. I'll be staying connected with my business partner, friend, and colleague, Indrus Piche, who started Wellspring with me exactly one year ago this week. I will continue to help Indrus (from afar) manage the office and support the growth of the Wellspring community. I'll miss all the wonderful counsellors and psychologists there-- but, of course you all know that our secret plan is to renovate our farm house and turn it into a combined living and workshop/retreat space where friends and colleagues can visit, do some professional stuff, and relax. Think fly fishing, fresh local food, yoga, meditation, honey bees-- and a little psychotherapy thrown in for good measure. But then with all that, who would need it?