CLAFC – Creativity, Learning, Adventure, Freedom & Cessation

We said goodbye to Big Sky country, and headed our little caravan on car and motorcycle east. Neither of us are great long-distance drivers, but by swapping 1/2 way through each day, we usually put in seven to eight hours of moving time — something we could not do on the way back.

What with both of us driving full time, and my sore and aching everything, we settled into a pattern of driving about five to six hours per day. So roughly this meant our journey took at least 25% longer than normal. Other than the added motel costs though, it was a more pleasant way to do the drive. It meant we could get off the big highways, and we arrived each day with enough daylight for us (OK, for Ann) to get a nice walk in before supper.

The drive across the Prairies was a lot more interesting, especially for me on the bike. Even flatlands are more fun when viewed from atop two wheels. But getting off the Trans-Canada also meant we moved at a slower pace, and passed through a lot of small towns. Our main target though, was to get to Ben & Sherilyn’s new place in southern Manitoba.

Ben & Sherilyn are friends from back in our Sandy Beach days in Thunder Bay. They were neighbours, and Ben & I were brothers-in-arms during our fight with the City when they were kicking us all out. Happily, the two first moved to a rural place near Kakabeka Falls (east of Thunder Bay), where they graciously stored our trailer and junk for years. Now they’ve moved to a wonderful place near Saint Malo, in southern Manitoba.

Over the years we’ve stayed in touch, and tried to drop in on our trans-Canada treks. We’ve watched their amazing girls — first Olivia and then Molly — grow from wee nuthin’s to the big girls they are today. So it was really great to reconnect once again, and to see their new amazing place.

Sadly, we decided to stay only one night so we could press on to Ottawa. Hopefully next time we can plan a more extended stay. We headed east again, with one more overnight stop in the cheapest place we could find (the prices are INSANE around Kenora to Dryden!). A quick lunch stop at the Time Zone sign, and then we were back into the bosom of our long-time friends: Paul & Julie.

Never ones to laze around, the two were busy at their camp, which is south of Thunder Bay, right on the shore of Lake Superior. In fact, it’s not far south from where we once lived on Sandy Beach Rd. Similar viewscape, although even more beautiful.

Julie & Paul have owned the property for many years now, but have finally decided to build a real house. We arrived just in time to help them assemble a little bunky (for us, and others) , and then to watch the well guys arrive to drill for water. Pretty amazing.

Part of the big plan for this season’s travels was to pick up my motorcycle (Check √), but also to get Ann’s sea kayak. P & J have been graciously storing it at their camp ever since we left Thunder Bay in 2015. Now that we once again live in a kayaking Shangri-La, Ann was determined to get it back to Ramea. So we did, and now our little car looks even funnier.

Although the drive had gone really well, my bike developed a wobble a few days into the journey. Since we were going to stop in Thunder Bay for a bit, I checked in with my old motorcycle shop: Excalibur. They were always excellent in the past, and happily they have carried on the tradition. Despite being very busy, they got me in quickly, diagnosed the issue, ordered parts, and had me all fixed up within a few days. So very impressed!

It was really wonderful spending the few days with Julie & Paul. We talked, discussed, swapped stories, saw lots of pictures, and ate well. We even had a tour of their daughter’s (Coralie) new home. Ann got in a couple of swims at her old Thunder Bay pool, and I plunked away on the ukulele for a bit, and researched new motorcycle helmets. But as always in this life, the goodbyes came too soon, and we headed off to our next friend-stop near Rossport.

Cathie & Joe greeted us warmly, which I really appreciated since I somewhat froze on the drive down the highway. Temps got to 8ºC, with a fair amount of wind and a little rain. Good thing it was only about 2 hrs on the road.

But while the greeting from J&C was warm, the greeting little Piper-dog gave us was over-the-top, through-the-roof, AMAZING. She barked and whined with pure joy. She was running and bouncing off the couches. It was the best greeting ever. We were both left laughing with the sheer pleasure of it all — too bad we didn’t get it on video.

We spent a lovely few days relaxing with our Selim friends. As usual, we ate well, drank a bit too well, stayed up late telling tales, and generally had a wonderful time. We even helped with dog walks, and a few chores around the house and garden. Plus, we got to crash the birthday party of their friend’s nephew — a lovely fellow who we’ve had the pleasure of meeting a few times.

As always, the time to leave came too soon. We said our goodbyes once again, and carried on towards Ottawa. Normally this would mean one more stop, but we had to stretch it out to two to accommodate all the driving we both had to do. Plus, my sore back/shoulders/butt still can’t take more than about 6 hours of bike riding.

We stopped in The Sault , and then in North Bay . We got in our semi-annual poutine feed at a chip shack in Cobden before finally arriving in Ottawa . The ride was generally good, although I did have to come back from mild hypothermia once I got to our little motel in Sault Ste. Marie. And coming into Ottawa we had some rain, but otherwise the ride was good — and fun!

Mom and Kathy are both doing OK. Mom is adjusting to her new life, tethered to an O2 machine. And Kathy is learning how to sleep. The little condo feels even smaller with all the oxygen paraphernalia, but it’s really wonderful to be back. Hopefully we can help out a bit while here.

We still plan to head off to Ramea in early July. One slight hiccup is that there’s no additional room on the big boat, so I might not be able to bring my motorcycle across. Our good friend Chester has kindly agreed to store my little bike at his place in Nova Scotia if I can’t get it on the ferry. We’ll see…

And I did end up buying a new helmet. This shell is much better than the old one — and pricier! But I think it will be good.

LS2 Advant X

As Gordon Lightfoot sings: Alberta bound, Alberta bound. It’s good to be Alberta bound. And so it was for us as we said our goodbyes to Piper and family, and headed for Wild Rose Country, or as the right-wing nut-bars now say, the land of Strong and Free. The drive was pleasantly uneventful, although it’s always a bit sad to pass from Shield country into the great flatlands of the Prairies.

We arrived in Cow Town to warm greetings from Donna & Sam, and moved into ‘our room’ in their beautiful home on the hill. Although we try and stay connected via phone and Facetime, it’s always better to have actual face time with family and friends. So it was great being back. And even better, we soon received a visit from the newest member of the western clan: Oliver

Thanks to niece Cailan, we’ve been meeting with Oli via Facetime over the first year of his life. So he seemed to take to us fairly quickly. Who wouldn’t with (Great) Aunty-Ann working her magic:

A couple of days later we got another wave of super-cuteness with the visit of (Great) nieces Olivia and her little sister Zoe. These two little bundles of energy spend a lot of time with Baba & Granddad. We were happy to share in the fun.

And speaking of fun, we got invited to little Oli’s first birthday. It was a big event held down at the lake, with friends and family from both Cailan and Stew’s clans all getting together. It was great to reconnect with so many, and to get to know new folks that are all somehow interconnected.

A big part of the western journey this year involved getting our motorcycles road-ready. The plan is/was to drive one bike and car back to Newfoundland this year. Then, rinse and repeat next year. My bike was to be this year’s effort, so we rushed off to the Crook farm where our bikes have been stored, and where we were going to farm-sit for Kevin & Barb (more on this later). The plan was to get it back to Calgary, and then turn it over to The Old Motorcycle Shop for a thorough going-over.

We drove down and checked in with Barb & Kevin. Then we went to the barn, got greeted by Jasper the Donkey, and pulled the very dusty cover off my bike. The battery was a bit low, but after a quick charge, my trusty Majesty fired up almost immediately. Other than the tires being low, it seemed perfect. So, we got it back to Donna & Sam’s cabin, which is at nearby Beauvais Lake. Waited out a day of rain, then I drove it back to Calgary — NO PROBLEMS!

We spent a couple more days hanging out in Calgary, including getting a dinner and tour of Monique & Phil’s new house, then we drove back down to Pincher Creek area, to officially begin our farm-sit with Kevin, Barb, and their menagerie of critters: Rozi & Bronco the dogs, Jasper the donkey, and Kitty the kitty.

Kevin & Barb live on the farm where Ann’s mother grew up. June’s youngest brother Bill took over the farm, and lived there with his wife Edna. Kevin is one of three kids. He and his wife Barb finally retired back to the farm, but built their own amazing place on a plateau above the original family house. It is a stunning house and an incredible view of the rolling prairies, with the mountains on the not-so-distant horizon.

We spent a few days with Kevin & Barb, learning all we needed to know to manage the space, and the critters. Then they headed off on their west coast adventure, and we were left in charge of it all. The two dogs are the sweetest pups ever. And oh-so sensitive. Rozi in particular is so connected that we feared she would have a hard time. But after a day she seemed to accept us. And of course, Bronco was a gentle sweetheart the whole time.

One of the joys of farm life is the routine demanded by the critters. It was pretty relaxed in this case, with simple morning dog treats (and medications), followed by a walk down to the barn to deliver treats and meds to the two four-legged folks who lived there. Best of all, nearly every morning we were greeted by Kitty, and most especially Jasper:

One great joy of our time on this farm was the mornings, where we would sit outside on the side porch, and watch all the swallows and wrens, and other various birds. We’d drink our coffee, with the dogs lying close by , and listen to all the singing birds. It was delightful.

Other than all the flity tweety birds, there were plenty of hawky-things, a great horned owl, a fox, a skunk (on camera), and even a grizzly bear which ran past the house about 100 metres away from where we were sitting — inside, thankfully. I also got to play with the fancy tractor/lawn mower. I’m a workin’ man!

One of the special treats of our stay on the farm was connecting with Aunt Edna. She and Uncle Bill lived on the farm most of their lives. Edna is just about to turn 100, so has recently moved into a care home in Pincher Creek. Her body may be failing, but she’s still sharp as whip. Ann spent a lot of time visiting, and I dropped in a few times. It was really nice reconnecting with her.

In addition to our normal daily farm duties of checking in on Jasper, and keeping the dogs happy, we also were charged with monitoring the water systems on two separate small groups of cows. In one area there were ten, which became 11, big bulls from a neighbour’s herd. In addition, there were three cows in a different field. We would drive the Ranger, which is like a big ATV, down to do our checks. It was fun, and the dogs always ran along with us.

One day Peggy and Phil decided to make a day-trip of coming to visit. We spent time walking, hanging with the dogs, and visiting Jasper and Kitty. But first we went off to Waterton National Park, and wondered around the townsite. Really fun…

Barb & Kevin returned home, and we had to say our goodbyes to all the special four-legged friends. We had a really wonderful time on the farm, and look forward to returning again next year when we do this all again, and pick up Ann’s motorcycle from the barn. Maybe we can convince K&B to take another vacation 😉.

We made our way back to Calgary, to spend the last few days visiting almost all the western family. We got to have more Oli, and Liv & Zoe-Zoe time. And we got to see Cailan & Stew’s new (to us) home. One of the last days was spent at Peggy’s place, where we had more Oli time, and Marc made us gourmet pizzas for lunch. Very yummy…

We were in Alberta for just over a month, and the entire time the weather was mostly warm and dry. But on the very day we planned to begin our trek east, a prolonged spring rain storm hit the province. We had to delay our departure by two days. This gave us more family time, which was nice, but I was itching to get going. We have many km to drive, many friends to see, and mom’s health has taken a bit of dip, so I’m wanting to get back to Ottawa sooner, rather than later.

Despite this, I’m looking forward to being back on the motorcycle, and doing the nearly 7,000 km drive all the way home to Ramea. We’ll take our time, and I might let Ann drive my bike a little bit — if she proves herself worthy 😉.

From our Chatham farm, we pointed the bow north, heading for our friends’ place on the shore of Lake Superior. We usually stop in at Cathie & Joe’s place near Rossport as part of our east-west sojourns. But this time was to be a special visit, because we were going to house and dog sit for them. Oh, yes, they have a dog… the cutest dog ever:

Weather down south had moved well past winter, and was nicely settled into spring. But as we headed north, we caught up with the cold and snow. Our plans were to stop in Sudbury first, so we could visit with our sailing friends Tom, Clarissa & Chia (kitty). Unfortunately, weather forced us to pull in early in Parry Sound. The threatened snows stayed away, but it poured heavily. Naturally, Ann-the-kid had to go stomping around in the rain. And of course, she didn’t have a raincoat, so had to use my coat and my hat.

The delay in Parry Sound meant we only had one night to spend in Sudbury with Chia… and Clarissa & Tom 😉. But they were gracious hosts as always, and it was wonderful to catch up on their winter adventures, and learn about their plans for the sailing summer. It’s sad that we won’t be joining them on the water, but we can still sail vicariously with them.

Sudbury was still heavy with snow, and it only got heavier as we carried on north. Sault Ste. Marie was our next overnight stop, and it was thick with the white stuff. By the time we pulled into Joe & Cathie’s place near Rossport, we were well back into winter.

We arrived a couple of days ahead of Cathie & Joe’s departure. They were headed to the west coast to carry on the great travelling adventures they’ve been having with Cathie’s brother Duncan and sister Margaret. And we were more than happy to assist by looking after their amazing home and too-cute doggie.

Our days were spent gazing at the beauty of Lake Superior, revelling in the wonderful space that is their house, and entertaining, and being entertained by, Piper the pup (who is actually about four years old now).

There were lots of dog walks , cuddles and play time . And we treated ourselves to great meals using Joe & Cathie’s wonderfully-equipped kitchen (they have everything a cook could need). Piper even got into the action when I was playing my video game. She’d come and sit beside me , watching the screen. And in some of the frenetic Spiderman battles, she’d run up to the TV and start chasing and batting-at, the action .

When we first arrived winter was still in full grip of the area, but from day-1 the snows started melting, and the sun shone through. We barely saw a flurry come down the whole time, and watched as the deep snow banks drained away. The ice on Lake Superior in front of their house stretched to the horizon when we first arrived. People were ice fishing a 1/2 km out from shore. But within two days, the ice had broken up, and was quickly melting away. Soon we had open water, and dry ground. The transition was amazingly swift.

By the end of our stay we were walking on ground and gravel, and sitting out on the front deck, enjoying the beautiful spring weather.

The day finally came when Cathie & Joe arrived back from their travels. Although Piper liked us, she absolutely adores her real parents.

We spent a couple more days with C, J & P. We heard about their wonderful travels up the Sunshine Coast, then over to Ucluelet, and finally in the big city of Vancouver. But we eventually had to pack our bags to carry on our journey west. It’s always a little sad to say goodbye, but we’ll be passing through again in a few months, as we head back to our home in Newfoundland. Even so, little Piper seemed forlorn.

I’m sure the brochure said something like: “Avoid winter. Come farmsit in Southwestern Ontario.” Well… just a few days after Jane&Phil made their getaway, winter decided to test our Canadian bona fides by taking a dump all over us.

And then it did it again

and again

and again!

We had so much snow that, in the span of two weeks, we had to call in the plowing cavalry three times.

The horses were unimpressed

And the dogs (and dog-master) had to bundle up just to go outside . All except Roni, the cold-weather husky, who wondered what all the fuss was about.

So yes, just like the rest of Canada, we got a heavy dose of winter, even though we were at the same latitude as northern California. But it’s hard to complain. Everyone else got it worse, including our new little home of Ramea, which saw hurricane after hurricane blow through. Austin, the person looking after our house, said he had to shovel three feet of snow off our bridge (deck leading to the front door). Normally Ramea gets a few cm of snow, at the most. So I can’t complain.

Despite the weather, we easily settled back into our routines, with Ann as head of the dog pack , and me as chief pooper-scooper out in the barn . This year the barn work, specifically dealing with our little Princeling named Noah , turned out to be pretty easy. Other than the four specially-prepared and unique daily feedings, he was easy to manage. But Ann’s pack was another story… Let’s just say, Ann got to know the vet rather well.

The second day into our stay we took poor little shivering Oliver into the vet to check out a growth on his leg . Everyone was pretty sure it was a benign fatty lump, but Jane wanted to make sure, so off to the vet we went. Ollie is a nervous wreck at the best of times. He is constantly quaking, shaking and shivering, so getting him to the vet is a pitifully painful event. But he managed, and was given a clean bill of health — at least with regard to the growth.

A few weeks after this benign event, Ollie again gave us cause for concern when Ann discovered blood and puss on the couch. He had matted blood around his butt, so once again it was off to the vet. Turns out little Ollie had a ruptured anal gland (eww 🤢🤮). It wasn’t too serious, but he had to be prevented from licking for a week, so was forced to wear a stylish inflatable ascot to prevent him reaching his butt. Needless to say, he was even shakier than normal that week, but he recovered fine.

All was quiet on the vet front for over a month, and then we get this text message from Ann. She’s on a walk with Roni, but had been gone longer than normal:

“So. First of all Roni is fine, but there was an incident with another dog…”

Roni met another dog on the walk. They seemed to be getting along fine, and at the encouragement of the other owner, Ann let them approach. All was well until Roni decided to show the other dog who was boss, and mounted him. This resulted in a quick chomp from the offended dog, and the results were thus:

It was all pretty traumatic — for Ann. She quickly recovered the chunk of ear, stopped the bleeding as much as possible, and rushed Roni to the vet. An immediate bandage was applied, but the main surgery and stitching had to happen the next day. Off to the vet again… The bandage was supposed to come off the following day, but despite Ann’s best efforts, it couldn’t be done, so… off to the vet again.

Roni was not happy. She didn’t care about the ear, but she hated wearing the awful cone. It all ended as well as could be, and now she has a more distinctive look.

Meanwhile, back on the farm… all was well with barn and house duties. We got into a pretty regular routine with the quadruple horse feedings, plus the sundry duties that included hay and food hauling, water bucket management, and of course kitty care. The barn cats, Sid & Stella, took to us right away. What a life they have; food and treats delivered daily, heated nest, a beautiful barn, and all the cuddles they want.

Turns out that Sid & Stella weren’t the only small critters enjoying the good life out in the barn. There’s definitely one other cat call Reg who lives there. I’ve only caught fleeting glances of him as he dashed for the ladder, but you could hear him thumping around upstairs at times. And we think there might be more cats hanging around.

But in addition, there’s also an opossum that they call Oppie, short for Oppenheimer. Twice I caught him chowing down on the cat food. He’s pretty cute, and the cats don’t seem to mind sharing.

Time slipped away. Ann got into a serious swimming pattern, going religiously every second day. And I brought the same fervour to my great passion: beer! Red Barn Brewery is nearby, and makes some of the finest IPAs and porters I’ve had the pleasure of tasting. They kept my right arm well-exercised, lifting pint after pint. Luckily, all the poop-scooping helped work off some calories.

Our days were dictated by horse and dog schedules, which is a lovely way to spend a winter. And it never feels like work when all the critters are so interesting, and so cute.

Sadly, our time came to an end, and we had to say our goodbyes once again to the whole crew. Before doing so we spent a day or so hanging out with our lovely home owners, Phil & Jane, who have really become good friends. We wished everyone a fond farewell, which was made all the more easy since we know we’ll be back again the following winter (and probably the winter after that!).

We managed to squeeze in one last visit with good friend Mark at his condo in Ottawa, where he hosted dinner for Mom & Sis, as well as us. We then hit the road for our first of four house/farm-sits, this one being in a rural area just north of Grand Bend, ON.

This was the second time we’ve house-sat for Kerry & Ed, and their sweet kitty Jake . Their house is located on the shore of Lake Huron . But despite the sometimes howling winds of the Lake, their house is warm and cozy. Plus, it’s architecturally interesting, as it includes an original log home, which was later extended. The square-log cabin area houses the kitchen, and dining area, while the extension includes bedrooms, a large living room, and plenty of space for all of Kerry’s many looms. Yes, Kerry is a weaver-extraordinaire.

The timing for this house-sit turned out to be perfect in many ways. It allowed us to celebrate An‘s birthday (her 6Erd … you try writing with frozen blueberries while sick with the flu!) , as well as Christmas and New Years. But there was an unplanned-for benefit in that we both ended up catching the flu. Ann felt it coming on the driving day down to Grand Bend, so was sick for the first week or so. I succumbed to the virus after about four days, so we were both coughing and oozing for a while.

Luckily, other than a little light snow shovelling, the main duties at this house were to keep a certain kitty happy. Being sick, both of us were sitting around even more than normal, which seemed to suite Jake just fine. He got lots of cuddle time.

Our time at Kerry & Ed’s place was relaxing, and very easy. Winter remained fairly dormant, and cat duties amounted to feeding, cuddling and door openings. Even the latter was limited because it turns out that Jake is a real Wuss-Puss when it comes to cold, or snow, or wind, or rain, or… just about any weather. He would stick his nose out the door, and if anything except warm wind touched his whiskers, he’d turn around, and go back to bed.

After about a month we said our goodbyes to Kerry, Ed and Jake, and headed off to our next place near Chatham. This is a small farm which we’ve been to twice before. Unlike Jake’s place, this one is a little busier. It includes horses, dogs, cats, as well as barns and outbuildings. There’s a small tractor for keeping a fairly large driveway, and general area, clear of snow. So, there’s a lot more to keep us busy.

We arrived to warm greetings from owners Jane & Phil, and were soon reacquainting ourselves with all the animals.

Our first few days on the farm were spent getting reconnected with all the critters, and re-learning the routines. Most of the animals have some sort of ‘special need’, which makes it a bit more challenging. The dogs and horses all have their own traumatic stories, and all require special attention. Tilly is a tripod who lost a leg in a car accident in Lebanon. She only fully trusts a few people, luckily one is Ann. Roni was found wondering after the Beirut explosion of 2020. She eventually found her permanent home with Jane & Phil. And Ollie was apparently abused as a youngster. He was passed around, but has found a safe home on the farm for many years. He remains “twittery”, and is often shaking and kinda goofy.

Buttercup, or “Butt-Butt”, is a blind pony. She was born eyeless, but gets around amazingly well. Nothing stops her. Noah, the miniature horse, came out of an abusive situation. Over the years he’s had health issues, resulting in poor eating. He was finally diagnosed with an irritable bowl and now requires a well-controlled, and somewhat complex diet.

This delicate little funny boy is now back to being his full bratty self, which is wonderful. The only downside is that this means constant small feedings throughout the day for the Little Princeling. But he’s well worth it.

Speaking of weather, we’ve had a hat full of it since Jane & Phil left. We arrived to green grass, but were soon dealing with snow, and cold, and lots of wind. With little to act as a wind-break, the snow really blows around, creating large dense drifts across the driveway. I have use of a small tractor for clearing snow, but we’ve had to call in the neighbour Ryan three times in the first few weeks. Thankfully, he has a serious tractor, and is “the best kind” … he’d do well as a Newfoundlander 😁.

After a few weeks we settled in well. We have our routines, with Ann being leader of the dog pack, and me focusing on the barn animals. The kitties love me… mostly because I give them lots of treats. And Noah has taken to nibbling on my hands, and was even exploring my beard with his lips. I end up smelling like horse, but it’s all fun.

An amazing thing happened on the way to the future; We sold our boat.

After our first sale fell through at the last minute, we figured we’d remain boat owners for some time. Then, somewhat out of the blue, another offer came in, and this one was real. But that’s getting ahead of this story. Using the oft-used Republic of Doyle foil, you’ve got the preview, so now we go: “three months earlier…”

They say small-town life is supposed to be slow, easy and relaxing. And I’m sure it will be… eventually. But for us, this past summer has been a rockin’ rollercoaster of near-constant activity. We’re not really living up to our mantra: Why go fast, when you can go slow.

Our new house is great, but needs a lot of TLC; repairs, improvements, cleaning. But all work and no play makes Ann grumpy, so we also squeeze in a couple more paddling sessions with our new Ramea kayak gang (maybe we should get patches, like motorcycle gangs🛵😂).

We also played host to more sailing friends, Kathryn and Harald who visited us for the day. These two senior kids had temporarily traded sailing life for a Newfoundland car adventure. They were exploring Newfoundland by road, and just like with their sailing, they were going everywhere. They had camped at nearby Sandbanks Provincial Park on the Big island near Burgeo, so were able to came across on the Gallipoli to spend the day exploring Ramea. It was great to see them again.

Shortly after saying our goodbyes to Harald and Kathryn, we got the rather cryptic, and slightly suspicious message via one of the sales sites we had Pachina Mia listed on. It was one of those: “Is your boat still for sale? If so, I’m ready to make a cash deal now.” This is the typical approach of scammers, and I responded as I would to a scammer. But it turned out to be better than legit.

We went back and forth, and eventually got Steve on the phone. After a bit more back-and-forth, he made a formal offer, which we happily accepted. So, the deal was struck. Pachina Mia had a new owner, and we found ourselves boatless for the first time in over 20 years. Emotions run the gamut: Happy, sad, strange, exciting, confusing, but … good… I think 🤔.

We struck the verbal deal, then packed up Li’l’ Black and headed off on our long-planned big journey to “Town*” Our friends Cathie & Joe, along with Cathie’s siblings Duncan and Margaret, were on one of their amazing group trips, this time to St. John’s. They had invited us to join them. It’s an 11-hr journey from Ramea, which is too far for us in one day. But luckily we still had a boat located about 1/2 way, in Lewisporte. So we stopped in on Pachina Mia to sleep, say hi to a few marina friends, and began the final cleanup of the boat.

* “Town” is St. John’s, and the surrounding cities.

We planned to meet up with Joe & Cathie and the sibs at their BnB at the mouth of The Narrows. This is the entrance to St. John’s stunning natural harbour. The BnB used to be the lighthouse keeper’s house, so offered a breathtaking view of the city, the waters, as well as Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, which is directly opposite, on the other side of the narrow entrance.

But before we connected with Cathie & Joe, we spent a couple of days with sailing friends Tammy & Roy, who live near St. John’s in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, on a pond (lake) in a beautifully rustic home. We arrived in the afternoon, and spent a relaxing couple of days at their stunning refuge. We’re used to meeting at the Lewisporte Marina, so it was nice to connect over more than just boats.

We eventually headed into Town [after visiting The Rooms ^{(Ann’s edit)},] and found our way up the winding and tiny road along the south side of St. John’s Harbour, all the way to historic Fort Amherst. There we met up with the gang, got caught up with everyone, and had a quick tour of the old lighthouse keeper’s house, which we had the privilege of staying in for the next few days.

After Before ^{(Ann’s edit)} reconnecting with everyone, and catching up on everyone’s recent adventures, we headed off on a tour of The Rooms, a famous and quite stunning provincial museum/art gallery. The facility is spectacular in its architecture, and its displays. We spent many hours going through just a few of their exhibits. And then stopped for lunch in the upper café, which has an amazing view of the harbour and city.

We spent the next few days hanging out with the gang, swapping many stories, and touring various aspects of the city of St. John’s. This included places like the historic Signal Hill area, Quidi Vidi, and a number of yummy restaurants. It was a great way to be reintroduced to ‘Town’.

Seeing Cathie & Joe, Duncan and Margaret, was wonderful. But a highlight, and something I’d been fretting about, was meeting some of my extended family. Mee ol’ Fadder came from St. John’s. He had a large family (good Catholics), so I have many dozens, perhaps hundreds, of direct cousins in the area. I figure I’m related to 1/2 the Avalon. Unfortunately, I’ve had almost zero contact with the family, so it was with some trepidation that I agreed to meet.

And what better place to meet than O’Reilly’s Pub, of course.

O’Reilly’s is one of the major pubs on the famous George Street, and is owned by my equally famous first cousin, Brenda O’Reilly. She’s an incredibly accomplished business person, well known in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and beyond, for her business acumen, and enthusiasm for all things Newfoundland. I knew she was a lovely person, but she, and the whole O’Reilly clan, exceeded all my hopes and expectations.

Everyone rolled out the red carpet. Brenda inviting me and Ann, and generously extended the invite to Joe & Cathie, Duncan, Margaret, along with our sailing friends Paula & Craig, With all the support, I certainly felt safe to meet the extended family.

And what a night it was. O’Reilly’s is the quintessential Irish pub. There’s almost always live music going, and the ambiance is perfectly pubby. Of course, there is great food and beer on tap, brewed by YellowBelly, which is a craft brewery owned by Brenda. But the highlight was meeting all the family.

There were so many cousins, and so many stories. They were all very interested to hear about their uncle — my father. And I learned a few things about him as well, getting the view from their perspective. It was a Large Night with all the cousins; a truly memorable evening. I look forward to making my way back there soon.

The next morning happened slowly — and quietly. But after a bit more coffee than normal, we eventually got rolling. Our travelling friends still had many days to go in St. John’s, but Ann and I had to pack up and start the journey back home. We said our goodbyes, and headed off once again.

Happily, instead of heading directly back to Lewisporte, we only had to drive a short distance to Paula & Craig’s place in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s. They are part of our sailing fraternity. But more than that, they are both incredibly sweet people who will remain good friends, even though we are no longer sailors.

We spent a relaxing afternoon and evening at their lovely rural home. It’s surrounded by forest, and has incredible bird life. Their home is warm and inviting, and comes complete with a proper bar. Craig is an engineer by profession, but what he really loves to do is make fancy drinks in his own bar. He treated us to a few fancy and yummy drinks while we tackled all of life’s mysteries.

After another relaxing morning with Craig and Paula, we headed off towards Lewisporte. But we had one more visit to make before getting back to our boat. Duncan & Renée live a couple of hours out of Town, in the rural area of Hodges Cove. Their place is on a terrace above the cove, overlooking the Atlantic. It’s stunning. Duncan was off on another great adventure, but Renée greeted us warmly, and gave us a tour of their home, and amazing garden.

After a couple of hours we had to head off once again, heading for our boat… one last time .

We arrived in Lewisporte later in the day, and spent the next couple of days sorting, cleaning, and generally getting Pachina Mia ready for her new owner. It was a melancholy time. On the one hand, it was wonderful that we had successfully sold her. Even more importantly, it felt good knowing that she was going to folks who already loved her, and could take care of her — perhaps better that we can right now.

But on the other hand, this was the end of a major chapter in our lives. We’ve been living this sailing and cruising lifestyle for a quarter-century. Pachina Mia had been our only home for over a decade. A door was closing. Happy, but sad.

The drive back to Ramea was already familiar. The Burgeo road , waiting at the dock , the ferry ride home . It all felt… right.

We got back home, and settled in for a couple more months of “life in paradise.” The weather remained generally good; warm and dry — perhaps nicer than “normal,” but maybe this is the new normal. We spent some time volunteering on the boardwalk brigade, and even installed our own new boards. We got out kayaking a few more times, and even spent a wonderful couple of days hosting yet another of our wonderful sailing friends. In this case, Clarissa & Tom, and their incredibly cute cat: Chia.

The weather that had been so wonderful for so long, started to take on a slightly harsher edge as we moved into mid-October. Temperatures trended down, winds trended up, and RDF: Rain, Drizzle, Fog returned as more of the daily norm. We still managed to get in a few more kayak days, I enjoyed more of my home brew beer, and we even made our first full turkey supper. It was turkey, turkey, turkey, turkey for a couple weeks because we also enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving meal with allll the trimmings (and more) at Dave and Jan’s place (new Ramea friends).

Our final few weeks in paradise passed quickly. We managed a few more repairs and upgrades, like fixing the crawl-space door, and building more side tables. A final special treat was to play host to Paula & Craig. It was great to spend more time with them, and was especially wonderful to reciprocate their lovely hospitality from earlier. We spent three days showing off the sights and sounds of our little island home. Paula seemed quite smitten with the place; so much so that she might consider teaching here. Craig definitely… enjoyed the visit.

With our departure day rapidly approaching we were glued to the weather charts. Our little island had been battered with storm after storm after storm. Both the little ferry and the big one were experiencing days of cancellations due to weather. But we managed to thread the weather needle, and picked up both the Gallipoli (to the big island) and then the Blue Puttees (to “Canada”).

It was hard leaving our new little island home. It especially felt sad knowing it would be seven or eight months before we would return. Parting was indeed such sweet sorrow. But being back on the road brings its own kind of joy and excitment. If only we could avoid being stuck at the bottom of the boat, down in the bilge of the Big Ferry.

The ferry crossing went smoothly, and we rolled off, heading first for our friends Chet & Margie who live near Truro, NS. We spent a relaxing couple of days with them and their cats, and then made the final push towards Ottawa, stopping for one night at our little motel in Cabano, QC.

It’s always wonderful to get back to Ottawa, and spend time with Mom & Sis, and Hammi. We spent the next few weeks checking in with our various medical practitioners. Ann had a special surprise when our GP made an endoscopy (colonoscopy/gastroscopy) referral. Not fun… but it all went well, with no issues noted.

In addition to doing a few odd jobs at my sister’s place, including a couple of plumbing repairs, we did some early celebrating of a certain December birthday girl.

Soon we head off on our first of four house/farm sits for the coming cold season. Our first stop is near Grand Bend, at a lovely rural home on the shores of Lake Huron. It will be great to reconnect with homeowners Ed & Kerry, and especially their feisty kitty: Jake.

We settled into our new island life. In many ways, it’s similar to life on our sailboat, but with slightly less concern for storms — slightly. The storms that buffet our little ship at sea are still keenly felt in our new little house. Our rhythms are also dictated by boats, or in our case, one specific boat: Gallipoli. Our town’s main ferry is much more than just another boat. It is our lifeline, and physical link, to the rest of the world. And we have a front-row seat to its comings & goings, right from our living room window.

With regard to the new house, work continues, both inside and out, depending on the weather. Spring and early summer weather in Ramea tends to be a bit soggy, with some version of fog, drizzle, mist or rain as the default. But it just makes you appreciate the sunny days even more. Temperatures are very moderate as well. They’ve moved slowly up the scale, with the hottest days hitting around 25ºC. It can be humid though, so it feels warmer — until the wind starts to blow, which it usually does.

House outfitting moved along well. With Donna as our Facebook hound, combined with our own efforts locally, we managed to find most of what we need in the ‘used’ market. But a list remained, so we made a pilgrimage to the Big City of Corner Brook, and spent five days praying to the consumer gods of Canadian Tire, Walmart, Kent, Dollar Store, and Staples. The result was a full car, and an even bigger load that had to be delivered later by truck.

While in Corner Brook we spent three nights at a cute BnB, which made the whole event less of a torment and more like a mini-holiday. The highlight though was spending time with Corner Brook sailing friends, Paula & Byron. They regaled us with their Bahamian cruising adventures, and the plans for the future. And we talked Ramea plans, and boat selling (more on this later).

With our consumer itch well scratched, we got back home and spent the next couple of weeks fixing things, and playing with our new stuff. Ann had to get back to her gardening duties , and I was keen to set up my new BBQ . We also attended a big Town Meeting to discuss the proposed National Marine Conservation Area, and how the big fish farm companies were fighting to kill the plan. I did some babbling: .

But mainly we were preparing for our first house guest of the season: Mark from Ottawa. He also has a boat (for sale @ https://www.helplink.com/Kashmir/). Although his boat was staying on the hard this season, he had work plans, and one major showing to a prospective buyer. But more importantly, he was coming to visit us in Ramea, and help with a few of the ongoing projects.

Mark arrived on time, having survived both ferry rides, and the treacherous Burgeo highway. We settled into Ramea life, that involved a relaxed schedule of visits with neighbours, boardwalk strolls, meals overlooking the harbour, and the occasional spurt of hard work. There was even a birthday that got celebrated.

After a couple of weeks of island life we decided to make the hop over to nearby community of Grey River. This little outport village is on the main island, slightly NE of Ramea. It is mainly serviced by the passenger ferry Marine Voyager, but Thursdays, and some Tuesdays, the Gallipoli makes a double run from Ramea. It’s possible to get the early morning ferry out, and then ride the last one back. We made a day of it.

If Ramea is small, then Grey River is tiny. With about 80 people (so they claimed… kinda doubt it’s even that big), Grey River really does feel like the end of the world. It makes Ramea feel like a metropolis. The village has no roads, just ATV trails. But there’s still a school, and a little store, which we visited right away to buy bug dope. The blackflies were rather nasty right away!

We spent the day doing a few hikes (Ann & Mark did more than I). This included a climb up to their local graveyard, and then down the coast past an old mine shaft. The bulk of the day was spent lounging by the water.

Back to Ramea for a couple more weeks of relaxed work and fun times, and then we packed our bags and boarded the little ferry, heading for Lewisporte. Mark had boat work and a sales showing, and we thought we were meeting our buyer — the one who had committed to buying Pachina Mia nearly one year ago. Unfortunately, with less than 10 days to spare, our buyer backed out of the deal. But since we had already booked BnBs, and Mark was committed to going, we decided to to carry on.

Our boat sale had always seemed somewhat unbelievable. Our buyer sought us out, and offered a more-than-fair price. But she never seemed to appreciate the logistics of the sale, and all the complications of a foreign purchase. The final straw for her was a sudden family crisis, but we suspect that was just the needed excuse to back out. Ah well…

It was unfortunate for us, as we had hoped the sale would make our new Ramea life more financially comfortable. But on the bright side, we still own a lovely boat. She’s officially for sale, if you know anyone who wants a good ol’ boat, pass this on.

Being back at the Lewisporte marina, and hanging around the boats, brought that life all rushing back. While we were there we reconnected with a number of wonderful boating friends, had many great meals with people hanging around, and even had an impromptu Newfoundland “kitchen party” night. Eric led us on guitar, and I brought up the distant rear on ukulele.

We spent two lovely weeks hanging around the boats. Mark was highly productive, and Ann and I got into a few projects. She even tackled our long-ignored engine, by cleaning some of the accumulated rust. We also decided to work on the stuck seacock valve that gave us such grief last season. It was seriously siezed, but I finally got the thing disassembled, and removed for the major work at home.

Note to self; don’t forget to reinstall it before launch, otherwise glug, glug, glug…

Because we had expected to hand over the keys to Pachina Mia, we thought we were going to be without a bed in Lewisporte, so we had booked a couple of BnBs. Mark paid for most of it — as usual, we couldn’t do it without him. But I was especially appreciative of having our little cabins. It was a great place for me to work on the sales websites, and hide from the heat wave that hit the area while we were there.

Another thing we couldn’t have done without Mark’s help is get our new roof installed — at least not as quickly and easily. As an architect, he was able to take incredibly accurate measurements, which we were able to provide to our Corner Brook roofer. With this, he was able to custom order all the metal ahead of time, and arrive ready to do the job.

In fact, the schedule for the roof suddenly got bumped up by a few days when our roofer announced he was coming early. We said our hasty goodbyes to Pachina Mia, and to Mark, and raced back to Ramea so we could be on hand to get the much-needed roof work done.

The drive home turned out to be a good one. Not only did we avoid most of the potholes on the Burgeo Road, but we were treated to close-ups of moose and caribou , as well as puffins and dolphins from the ferry (no pics of those).

Roofers arrived the following day. It took them about 8 hours to do the job, but because of ferry schedules, meant they had to spend one night on our little island. The job got done, and we now have a sealed roof!

Summer weather here on Ramea is nearly perfect for me. It rarely gets above 25ºC, with only the occasional muggy day. Mostly the temps have been in the upper teens to low 20s. And there’s usually a breeze to keep the moisture down. An added bonus is that the island has almost no bitey bugs; few mosquitoes and blackflies, and no ticks (so far). It really is the perfect place to live — in the summer  😎.

The great weather has meant we finally got our kayaks out, and have been exploring the nearby waters that make up the Ramea Islands.

Other than getting the roof done, Ann and I have been busy with other house projects. There’s been a lot of deck and bridge work. Mark got us moving with efforts to sand and stain/protect the exposed wood. Ann’s carried on with this, while I’ve been busy replacing boards and building out small new areas. I finished drywalling and then building new shelving in our mud room closet, which really expands our storage space. And we’ve done a little electrical work — with more to come 😬.

We recently played foster-parents to Farley, when owners and fellow sailors Steve & De went back to Lewisporte to do some work on their boat. It was fun having a big critter hanging around with us. And of course, it meant Ann did even more walking than normal — every day out on the trails. This left me to do focus on my own passion: beer (making):

These were also the days of our annual Rock Island Music Festival. This is basically the village’s main celebration of the year. The place actually felt busy, and crowded, with so many visitors coming. The event itself was fun, but the music was too loud for my old ears, so I listened from afar (you could hear it from our house). Ann spent more time there, volunteering at the Community Garden fundraising table.

We’re still settling into this new life here in Ramea. It will take some time to figure out our new rhythms, but it is all feeling pretty wonderful. We’ve been doing more kayaking with new friends, and are now planning for our big trip to “Town”, which means St. John’s. We’re meeting up with Cathie and Joe, along with Cathie’s two siblings. Should be fun.

The weather in southern Ontario turned warm and dry, so we spent our final days enjoying the deck, and hanging with the animals. When Phil & Jane returned home we spent a lovely extra day with them, hearing about their travels, and telling them more about the months we spent at their place. Most of the chat was about the wonderful animals, including the then-ailing Noah.

We said our goodbyes, knowing that we would see everyone again in about a year, and headed off towards the warm cocoon of Ottawa, and Mom&Sis. We spent the next few weeks milling around, doing a bit of home repair work, and seeing to a few medical appointments. This included long overdue eyeglasses for me (Mike). And when Ann saw how beautiful mine were, she became jealous and got new ones as well.

While in Ottawa we celebrated a couple of early birthdays; Mom’s by going to a nearby favourite restaurant of hers, and mine by getting my favourite gift of all: BEER!

During our time in Ottawa one really big event did happen. Niece Cailan became a mom!

Both mom and little Oliver are doing well . As is grandma Peggy .

With all the medical boxes finally checked off, we loaded our life back into Lil’Black and headed for the east coast. We made one overnight stop at our new favourite place in Cabano, QC , before arriving at Chet & Margie’s place near Truro, NS. There we spent a couple of nights, telling tall tales, and relaxing at their lovely place in the country.

After a few days we headed for Cape Breton via the Canso Causeway. The Strait of Canso separates Cape Breton from mainland Nova Scotia. The wind sometimes funnels down through the strait, making the short causeway run a bit adventurous at times:

With time to kill before our overnight ferry ride we decided (Ann decided, I agreed) to drive the famous Cabot Trail. We’d done it decades earlier, and my memory was of lots of traffic, and plenty of tourist-trap stops. But it wasn’t any of that this time. It was stunning, and beautiful, and being in the off-season, was not crowded at all. I’m very glad we did it.

The big ferry crossing went easy and smooth. Due to bad weather, ours was the first ferry to be running after a few cancellations, so instead of getting the new boat, we ended up on one of the older vessels. This turned out to be a good thing because the new boat, Ala’suinu, doesn’t offer reserved seating — the kind we usually book. Instead, it has a new class of berths called “passenger pods.” Unfortunately, we were unable to book one, but when we got switched to the older Blue Puttees we quickly snatched a reserved seat.

We landed back in Newfoundland and headed off on the TCH (Trans-Canada Highway), as we always do. It felt a bit odd though. Instead of heading to Corner Brook, and then on to Lewisporte, as we’ve done so many times now, we instead took the turn down the Burgeo highway, heading for the ferry crossing to our new home of Ramea.

It’s an hour and 15 minutes from Burgeo to Ramea via the stout little ferry called Gallipoli. As we rounded into the Ramean islands we headed up the harbour channel, and got the first sight of our new house that we are trying to call home. She was still standing!

Since arriving back in Ramea we’ve been busy with the house. Luckily, we arrived back just before the Town’s annual free spring clean up period. We filled our street side garbage pickup zone three times , all with the remains of previous lives lived in our house. Since then, we’ve been repairing and cleaning. I’ve focused on a few outdoor projects, like deck repair, fixing our bridge (the walkway into the house), and a little plumbing . Ann’s been busy inside cleaning everything (windows, floors, walls, etc.).

We’ve also been roped into community service projects. My volunteer time has been spent creating the Town’s new website: Ramea.ca, while Ann has joined the Community Garden Cabal. She’s part owner of one of the six raised bed boxes, and has been hard at it planning the plot, organizing the seeds, and lugging soil around.

We (meaning, mostly Ann) has been very busy tracking down furniture and other house essentials. Our house came well-equipped with appliances, including lots of small ones. But what it completely lacked were bigger items like beds, chairs, tables, and a washing machine. This last item was a clear priority, and with Donna on the job, we quickly found one.

The whole ‘buying things’ experience has been — an experience. We’ve been looking for good used items, and Facebook has become the default marketplace for all this stuff. Donna, the consummate bargain hunter, has been our Facebook bloodhound, scouring the digital used bins for the best available deals. She already found us the washer, and (hopefully) a kitchen microwave stand, and a whole lot more.

The challenge, for us, is just getting the stuff to Ramea. Luckily, the guy who delivers food to the general stores here also does pickups. He’ll pick up large items anywhere from Deer Lake to Burgeo, stick it on the truck, and deliver it right to your door. And as usual, the price is crazy-cheap.

In addition to Facebook, we’ve been gifted a lot of great stuff from people here in Ramea. Our friends have given us a dinner table & chairs, two rocking chairs, a bed and some lamps. And our ad on the local Ramea Broadcasting Channel news scroll has netted us a nice coffee and side tables, plus a lovely couch, love seat and single cushy chair. So we’re getting there.

One of the amazing things about our new little island home is the geography, the terrain, and of course the ever-present ocean views. There’s a lovely boardwalk that circumnavigates the whole island. In lieu of swimming, Ann has been making a point of doing the whole 7km trail almost every day. She’s even got a little group that often goes walking with her; our neighbour David, who also beacons from Ontario, and De, who is the fellow sailor that seduced us into this whole Ramea thing. Mainly though, Ann just likes to steal De’s dog Farley.

I’ve done a little walking, but mostly I do what I do best: drink beer on the deck.

For now, we’re focused on continuing to repair and upgrade our little island home. Donna is still on the hunt for more household items. With her on the job, I know we’ll have all we need very soon. But aside from the house things, we’re still trying to solve our roof problem. One way or another, we’re going to have a new roof before we leave here.

After a lovely and relaxing couple of weeks at the house on the St. Lawrence, we said goodbye to Brenda, Dave, Rebekka, and the two sweet kitties: Nash&Ville, and headed back to Ottawa.

We only had a few days to spend with Mom and Kathy, but we made the most of it by fitting in as much birthday abuse as we could. My baby sister had just turned 50!!! We missed the actual day, but shared our love in the kindest and most understated way.

After extinguishing the blazing flames from all those birthday candles, we headed off to our main winter home down in south western Ontario, at a small farm near Chatham. This marks our second sit at Jane & Phil’s place, so it felt a bit like a homecoming as we drove up to the house.

We were welcomed with big smiles, dog howls, and brays from the horses. The cats … they just ignored us, as you’d expect. Yes, Phil & Jane’s farm is a busy place, but all the people are amazing and the animals are so sweet — they all have their own unique personalities, which you just gotta love.

We arrived a day early to get reacquainted with all the critters, and learn the winter routines. We were first here the previous spring when it was warm, and not snowy. This time it would be a winter sit, so we needed to learn how to manage in the colder weather. We also wanted time so the animals could get comfortable with us once again. Most of them are easy going, but Tilly is quite wary, especially of men, and Noah is delicate and fussy. He’s a bit like a pre-teen brat who talks a big talk, but really needs a lot of gentle care.

As it turns out, Tilly took to Ann after about 24 hrs, and Noah seemed OK with me. It’s a good thing, because Noah was/is suffering from health problems. It’s a bit of a mystery. He’s been eating poorly, and has lost a lot of weight. By the time of our arrival he seemed to have turned the corner, but was still too skinny. Our task was to keep him eating, and moving in the right health direction. This basically meant administering daily meds (two to three a day, orally), and getting as much food into him as he would take. It also involved weekly vet visits in the later part of our stay. He didn’t like the needle, but under the guidance of his doctor, Shayla, we managed fine.

Our days largely revolved around the animals. Ann led the dog pack, while I tended to most of the barn animal duties. As Jane & Phil described it, Ann became the dog whisperer and I the zoo keeper. It worked well, although a week into our stay Ann, and then I, came down with a cold. It was never debilitating, but lingered for weeks in the case of Ann. I got it later and kicked it sooner, but it even took me a couple of weeks to fully recover. Through it all we were able to keep everyone happy, basically just keeping up with the dog walks, and the pooper-scooping.

When we first arrived at our southwestern farm the weather was quite nice; warm and dry. But winter soon found us, with temperatures plummeting and snows building. This made barn yard work, and dog walking tougher, but on the plus side, it gave me an excuse to run the little tractor.

Ann had been looking forward to lots of swim days at the nearby pool in Blenheim, but the persistent cold drowned her plans. She lost over a month to the bug, only getting back to it in the last few weeks of our stay. This left her feeling rather sluggish. But the constant barn and horse work had the opposite effect for me. I’m feeling farmer-John fit, which is kinda opposite of where we usually end up over the winter.

Days on the farm kinda meld, one to the other. There’s a routine that the animals demand, so we settled into our patterns. The winter has been a bit colder, and perhaps snowier, than is normal for this area. These cold, snowy days were interspersed with the occasional rain/freezing rain period. At times, the driveway and fields turned to a skating rink!

But the place really is lovely, and whenever the sun came out, the birds would start singing and the horses and doggies would start romping. And even when it was cold and snowy, the house is so cozy. In other words, it’s a wonderful place to spend the winter.

It’s hard to believe, but our time here is almost at an end. The two months have flown past, and it’s sad to think we must leave soon. That’s one aspect of this life which is difficult — the leaving. But at least we know we’ll be back. We’ve already agreed to farm sit here next winter, so it will only be a temporary “goodbye” when we bid farewell in about a week.

We said goodbye to our little island (off the Island) house on the hill, braved the little Ramea ferry, drove the scary Burgeo road, and made it to the Big Ferry that would take us back to Canada. Our first stop in what was to be a 9,000 km sojourn across the country (and back again), was Truro, NS. Here we visited friends Chet & Margie, who had also moved into a new house with a great back yard. Always great to see them both, along with all their kitties.

After Truro, we made it to Ottawa where Ann did some hair-styling , before Mom & Kathy headed off to Sault Ste. Marie for a fall-colours train trip, and a much-needed little vacation for Sis. We stayed to look after the aging Ham-cat , and do a few repairs to the condo . Hammi is 18 now, so nearing the end, but he’s still doing his thing, and still cute as ever .

Our fall schedule was pretty tight, with a relatively narrow window to get out west, do a house-sit in Medicine Hat, spend some time in Calgary, and then get back to Ontario for our Christmas house-sit near Ottawa. On our way west we spent a night with Lewisporte sailing friends Tom & Clarissa at their Sudbury home. It was odd to see them as landlubbers, but their kindness and sweetness was the same, as was their incredibly cat-like cat, Chia.

After Sudbury we spent a few days in Selim. Visiting our good friends Cathie, Joe and Piper, feels like coming home. It’s a place where we can be completely comfortable, and even somewhat helpful. Plus, Piper is soooo cute!

Continuing on our whirl-wind journey, we managed to spend a few days with grand old sailing friends Paul & Julie of Thunder Bay. They were preparing their own continuing Bahamian adventure on their new boat based in Florida. And of course, we had to stop in to see Ben, Sherilyn, and their sweet but rapidly growing girls, Olivia & Molly.

As I say, it was all too fast. But we’re so blessed to have such good friends everywhere we go. The time with all of them is precious, which always makes it feel too short 😢.

Before arriving at our house in Medicine Hat, we visited Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park , and passed by, and through, a massive migration of snow geese. Pretty incredible.

Arriving in Medicine Hat, we got reaquainted with our lovely home owners, Gail & Pat, along with their two sweet kitties Sasha & Allie , along with their two more … boisterous little dogs, Zoe & Bailey . Although we’ve house-sat here twice prior, this was the first time with the dogs. They are both very cute, and Zoe (Zoe-Zoe) is the sweetest ever. Bailey is more like … a fine stinky cheese; it takes some time to appreciate and understand her.

Our days were filled with daily walks, a bit of snow shovelling, and basic relaxing. Pat & Gail’s house is very comfortable and easy to be at. The location close to the South Saskatchewan River is lovely, but it is the critters that make it fun indeed.

One of the big reasons we came back out to Medicine Hat was so Ann could attend her year-delayed Bruce Springsteen concert in Calgary. She abandoned me for three days to go to the musical extravaganza, which was apparently amazing. Peggy & Phil went with her, since they are the brave ones.

Ann came home to a a Zoe-Zoe greeting:

Our time in Medicine Hat came to an end all too soon, and we said goodbye to the cute critters. Hopefully we’ll see them all again someday — yes, even Bailey. We then headed up to Calgary for a short visit with the growing western family, with the addition of the human Zoe-Zoe, our second grand-niece thanks to Monique and Phil.

The visit, like everything during this western trip, was too short. We did manage to get in quite a few pool games. I created a website for our new little Town of Ramea , and my love turned 62!

With the days ticking by, we found a weather window and pushed off the Calgary docks, heading for Ottawa once again. Unfortunately the gathering storms meant we had to leave on Ann’s birthday, which is why we had to celebrate a day earlier. It was a good choice though, because we ended up with storms to the aft of us, and storms just ahead, while we sailed on through in a the relative calmness of the eye of the hullabaloo.

We pulled into Selim, being greeted by happily barking Piper, smiling Joe & Cathie, and jackfrost nipping at our tire tracks. The next morning our car was covered with snow, as was everything else. We spent much of the afternoon clearing the driveway, the big tarp shed, and various paths around the yard. I’m sure getting handy with snow-blowers!

We spent a few days, refugin’ with our friends, but with an eye on the calendar, and the weather, we said our goodbyes, and pushed off again towards Ottawa. We had a quick stop in Sudbury to see Tom & Clarrissa again, and other than one idiot truck driver who almost ran us off the road, the rest of the trip to Ottawa was uneventful.

It’s always nice to come back “home” to Mom & Hammi , and that old sister as well, who turns 50! this year. We wanted to get her something special, so all pitched in to buy the newest, baddest X-Box game console. And because we were going to be away for her actual birthday day, we gave it to her a bit early.

Of course, December is the birthday month, and another aging one is Colleen. We had a lovely meal out at a local restaurant — one that suites everyone, including Connor’s need for PIZZA! Colleen was pleased with her new sweater (picked out by Ann). Unfortunately mom was still too sick to come out.

The days were short in Ottawa this time. We had to be at our Iroquois house by the 18th. This will be the second time we’ve sat for Brenda & Dave. They are both incredibly kind and warm, which is perfectly matched by lovely and cosy home, as well as their very cute kittes: Ville & Nash … Nash-Ville.

We were thrilled to come back to Dave & Brenda’s place, in part because it is both lovely, and very close Ottawa. We wanted to host Christmas dinner for Mom & Sis. Hammi the ageing cat can’t be left alone for long, so they were only able to come down overnight, but it was a great meal, which kinda capped off the wonderful time we had in the little house on the St. Lawrence River.

Our days at Iroquois were fairly short. We plan to head back up to Ottawa for less than a week, and then head down to near Chatham were we will return to the small farm we looked after in the spring. This will be our longest house (farm) sit for the season, and best of all, comes with three wonderful dogs, two small horses, and at least two (possibly three) barn cats. Jane & Phil are rescue-animal people, so all their critters have their own special stories. But we love them all, and are really looking forward to returning.