So I owe everyone who was following me in my personal blog…..a huge
apology……I have been absent for so long you must have forgotten who I
am and what I am writing about…..well the good news is I am back and
this will be a letter packed full.
My last entry was in May 2014 and a lot has happened so……..
A year + 2 weeks later in review or memory or thoughts however you want
to call it, I am going to share with you what we have been up to the
last year. Its so hard to believe that its been one whole year plus a
couple weeks and really we have accomplished so much and i am so proud
of us and all we have done.
So lets take a trip down memory lane…….
November 13, 2014, we finished packing the u-haul loaded the mini van
with the dog and cats and we started on a new adventure, one that we had
no idea would be so fulfilling and with so many unknown things we
stepped out in faith trusted God 100% and allowed Him to lead us in the
next chapter of our lives.
We always get asked why PEI…..well first off …this is where God has
lead us…imagine going somewhere to live and start a new life that you
have never really been before, have no family and don’t know anyone
except the real estate agent that helped you buy your house in a
neighborhood you have never lived in and in the middle of farming
country……This is where God lead us to. He guided every step and
every mile and every new friend and neighbor that we have met… second
off….we had enough of the crazy day in and day out rat race. We
wanted more out of life and were looking for the happiness that comes
from having less possessions and things that lead you to a lifetime of
debt living pay cheque to pay cheque and actually to being with each
other, having a more simplistic life enjoying the simple pleasures of
smelling fresh farm air, seeing the veggies growing in our garden,
watchoing the chickens coo and cluck and chase bugs…..taking a deep
breath of fresh air looking around and realizing that this is an awesome
life:)
So we arrived on the island on November 14th after 10pm settled into the
motel room that would be our home for the next couple of weeks and
settled in for a well deserved sleep:)
The next day Friday November 15th we went over to the house to meet
Patty to do our final house inspection then over to the bank and then
the lawyers office to sign the papers and officially take full possesion
of our old island home.
We stood outside the house with keys in hand and started a new life here
in PEI:) We met Carl from Thompson well and discussed the best place
to drill our new well and they were then set to drill on monday…so we
went to Canadian Tire got a bunch of supplies and started to clean up
the house….once i was satisfied the floors and windows were clean to
our liking we started to unload the u-haul truck ……that took two
days but we did it…
and I think that Murdoch is going to absolutely love his new home…….he has so much yard to play and run around in:)
and of course the farmer across from us owns the land around our
property and his horse pasture is right behind the house and we have met
with James and Jill’s approval…..they kep a good watch on us as we
moved in. As well Orville came across in his blue tractor and I think
was checking us out too!
I couldn’t help but stop take a few deep breaths look at the view and
shake my head and say to myself “wow we live here”. We own our very
first country farm house and I absolutely love it.
So its monday and Thompson Well is here its so exciting to watch….
So while stuff was happening on the outside we worked on the inside we
put in a temporary bathroom painted the kitchen cabinets and started to
unpack some boxes …..trying to set up a temporary living set-up
It took us about week and half to two weeks until we actually checked
out of the motel and moved into our old island home and it wasn’t to
soon as it started to snow the Wednesday after the well was completed
and the worst winter in 50 years set in….
It was so beautiful but we were in for winter blizzards that I had never
experienced before and by the time the last bad storm pushed through I
wasn’t really sure why I was here…..that one was so bad i was
scared…. I had never felt the wind so strong and powerful…..after a
few hours in the dark…thank God for our wood stove it was clean up
time again and i was trully wishing for spring to finally come…..but
in the meantime I did embrace the season and built a few snowmen….and
we played in the snow:)
We spent our very first Christmas away from family, but we skyped so it didn’t feel so far away….
In January we started the demo on the upper floor and so began the
journey of restoring this old island home. We removed a lot of old,
rotted, damaged walls and ceilings etc but what a beautiful start to
what is going to be a beautiful home. Sometimes I think about how far
we have gotten and that I wish we were further along but in a way I am
glad we don’t rush through either…..on our walks with the dog down on
the trail I find that Russ and I talk a lot about what we hope to see in
the reno’s and what we hope for in this journey. Its funny, I know
that maybe not everyone will understand this but some of you will….but
we get a lot of inspiration, dreams and ideas from God and we recognize
as it happens and we chat about that often….He gives us the desires
of our hearts when it is his timing and plan for our lives. a few weeks
ago after work one day we were down on the trail talking about one of
our dreams…a tree lot, for firewood and as we were talking about it we
mused about how cool it would be to set up a tiny house cabin and
trails and a few other dreams too. We both stopped and Rusty
said…….do you remember when we would walk the dog in Oshawa we would
go through the forest and talk about how cool it would be to have
trails to walk on with the dog on our own land and have a retreat away
from the hustle and bustle……and here we are realizing that it is
within our grasps to purchase a wooded lot and have those dreams as well
as make a living from it:) So its so cool that we are here seeing the
dreams become reality.
So we finally had all the snow melt and in june…..quiet a few weeks
behind schedule the house was up in the air and our new foundation was
going into place and the new roof too! now we can finally start working
on the inside…..but we did not have a lot of time before we had to
make our way to Ontario for a special wedding. But of course while we
were in limbo with the house we started our garden…..did some fishing
had a few really good jigs dinners and enjoyed a new most stress less
life and what a task it was to put in the garden but we did it and we
have reaped a lot from it which of course still blows my mind:)
The following book Letters from the Manse was my inspiration to do
this letter blog, especially since our home once was a manse to the
church at the bottom of the hill:)
So we got the house in as good of shape as we could and we left for
Ontario…a well deserved break away and visit with family and close
friends…..
Zuly and Marco it was such a nice visit….it was so nice to catch up
and I hope that you are able to come and visit us here on the island:)
The wedding……and pre-wedding celebrations…..
The drive back to our old island home for a family visit……
We had a great visit with family and are looking forward to our next visit:)
So this city girl turn country girl has 6 absolutely beautiful laying
hens…….Dorothy, Blanch, Sophia, Rose, Georgia and Henrietta:) that
have an awesome recycled chicken coop that we built and should start
laying egg soon…..next year i hope to have some more
chickens…..heritage breeds and maybe work on some other animals and
maybe a beehive…time will tell….
It is fall going into the beginning of winter and we are working at new
jobs….working on projects around the house ……getting new loads of
firewood and settling into our new old island home. I am looking
forward to new experiences and seeing the plan of God unfolding in our
lives and we hope that we can inspire other couples, friends and family
to embrace a new life one that is more satisfying, self-sufficient if
they dare but back to the basics….I am looking forward to having less
material things but more life……
if there is anything i can say is let the inner kid out no matter your
age…..embrace some change…..say I love you to that special one and
dare to take a step of faith and see what God will have you do.
I will try very hard to be more regular with the letters so that you
don’t have to wait and guess what we are up too….love you all
hope that you have enjoyed a bit of a year in memory and review:)
Muddy Boots, Old Houses and The Farm 
