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.