A day of Discovery in the Eastern Townships

Finally, the weekend came. It was time to discover my surroundings and understand the lay of the land.

First, it was critical to check on the process of the  land. Are trees really getting cleared or is Gilles just running for 8 hours at a time? Lots of questions to be answered. Luckily, he had been busy beavering away and lots was going on. The driveway/ road up to the house is nearly ready as is the area where the house will be built. There is still a few big trees that are near the end of their life and they will come down soon as well.


The next big thing is to make some adjustments to the house plans. based on the city bylaws, the house should be at least 24 feet wide. The original plan was only 20 feet. So, Gilles is now busy making the necessary adjustments and making sure it all fits properly and looks good.  He will resubmit the plans by Monday and hopefully the approval process will go through quickly.

Maple, Birch & Ash

Gilles was a bit concerned because the changes in dimensions meant that the look would change dramatically. After playing around with the width and length, he has found a good dimension (24 X 32) that seems to have quite a few benefits. Mostly, the square footage will be slightly larger but will not require any additional building materials. Also, there will be one less window on the downstairs and the upstairs which means a few savings as well.



After the work site inspection, Tia Toyita and I went to have lunch in Magog. There were millions of motorcycles. It was quite bizarre actually. There was tons of people and it was the happening place in the Eastern Townships today.

Then, we went off to visit Bleu Lavande. It was incredibly beautiful to see so much lavender. The fragrance as we arrived was overwhelming.  We strolled through the lavender fields and took our time to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. Then, we went and got a fresh squeezed lavender lemonade. I had never had anything quite like that. It was very refreshing and lovely. We picked up a few items in the gift shop:  a lavender plant, lander sachets, lavender chapstick, and even  a vinaigrette aux fines herbes et à la lavande.

On the way home, I noticed a sign for chocolate covered blueberries. We stopped and got some for dessert. They were fresh and delicious. I don't know why they don't do that  in Vancouver where the blueberries are plentiful. Luckily, we are now in the land of chocolate blueberries and all is well.

Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring and thankful for the beautiful day of today! For more pics from today, check out the link.

Hair Cut in the Country

Gilles' mommy cutting his hair

With the heat out here, it is no wonder Gilles wants to keep his hair short. So, he took advantage of his mom being here on the weekend to get a buzz cut.
There is not much more too say about that. draw your own conclusions...

Home Site Inspection

Site of our future home

I have been working at home for 3 full days now and Gilles has been on the land for 3 days. I thought it was best to go out and inspect the work on the land. The curiosity was just killing me.
So, I loaded up Chulita in the car and off we went. I want to surprise him but walking in the forest presents a bit of a problem with all the leaves and twigs crackling beneath my feet. When I got up to where he was, he was working hard to delineate where our land began and our neighbour's ended. Chulita was so excited to hear his voice that she quickly ran up to see him.
He gave us a tour of what he had been doing.

Lots of firewood for the coming years

It is looking good, but there is still lots to do.

On Monday, we had the percolator test done for the septic tank. Apparently it went very well and many people would be envious of the type of soil on our land. Hopefully, it will be as good for gardening as it is for other more unpleasant stuff.
We will submit the findings to the city along with a few modifications of the house plans by the end of the week. Hopefully, we will get the building permit in a week or so and then we can get moving.  It is a beautiful site. We'll have a great view of the mountains in the distance. The fall foliage is going to be extraordinary. I just can't wait to try to capture the autumnal colors.

Even Chulita helps with the wood chopping

Chulita is enjoying her life in the country. She loves going to the land and being free. Heck, she loves being off leash in our neighbourhood. She often goes out exploring. We worry she will go too far or run into some kind of trouble. Most of the time though, she comes right back to her bed to relax after her adventures. Her usual look involves grass or a twig sticking out of her fur usually on her head. She is truly right at home. For example, there is a lovely summer rain right now and she does not want to come in. It is as if she wants to savor the moment and get dirty. News flash: Bath time will come quick for that dirty rascal tonight.

Our Land

Yesterday, was a bit frustrating with some administrative stuff from the move. You can't imagine how annoyingly frustrating it is to change your drivers license, get the internet, cable and tv set up. When you see the beauty of the land and the region, you know that it is all worth the minor headaches of today. Soon our dreams will be a reality.

For more pics from today check out my facebook page.

Road Trip Day 2-5

Well, it has been a little while since I have given any updates. It feels like so much has happened. With long days on the road and no internet when we got to Sutton, it has been a bit hard to update the blog.
The road was bright, hot and long. We had some long days out there, but were very lucky for a smooth journey.
 Trip highlights:

• Wall Drugs: No trip across the country is complete without a visit to Wall Drugs in South Dakota. Typically Western, you can buy anything imaginable. We stopped for breakfast and had some decadent doughnuts. Chulita was definitely jealous.  Chulita and I also got to check out a chuck wagon and explore what life was like in the Old West.

• Corning, New York 

We took sometime to check out Corning. We had a grand time walking in and out the little antique shops. It was our first real taste of being on the East Coast and feeling that goes along with it. We got quite excited knowing we were so close. We had a great NY style pizza and were back on the road 

Road Trip Day 1 - Missoula Bound

Luckily, we all took turns at the wheel. Chulita got the rather straight portions of I-90 while Gilles took on the Snoqualmie Pass and the Pass from Idaho into Montana. It was a pretty smooth ride overall. A bit frustrating at the border since we were eager to get going. The road is filled with big RVs and campers and lots of big 18 wheelers.

The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. It brought back many memories of cross country trips and ohter great road tips when we did not quite make it to the other coast. We stopped for dinner at our usual spot in Wallace Idaho for pizza. IT not only hit the spot but we had fun reminiscing of all 5 previous visits in the past 15 years.


Reminising seemed to be the word of the day. 15 years ago in June we moved to Vancouver driving all the way from New Orleans in a Honda Civic and whatever fit. So much changes in 15 years. We are driving back in a similar size car but all of our stuff is in a big ole truck. We may have to downsize as it is a bit crazy thinking about all of our stuff.

Anyways, that is all for now. Off to bed to get some shut eye and be ready to go all the way to Rapid City, South Dakota

For a few more pics check out my facebook album

4 more sleeps

The heat has finally arrived in Vancouver and I better get used to it. I am starting to get pretty excited about packing up the car on Sunday morning and hitting the wide open road.

Our itinerary should be as follows:

• Sunday July 11 - Missoula, Montana 982 km
• Monday July 12 - Rapid City, South Dakota 1,063 km
• Tuesday July 13 - Madison, Wisconsin 1,243 km
• Wednesday, July 14  - Erie, Pennsylvania 928 km
• Thursday, July 15 - Woodstock, Vermonnt 758 km
• Saturday, July 17, Gilles will be running the Vermont 100
• Monday, July 19, We head North to Sutton, Quebec 243 km

The wide open road beckons..... So much excitement very hard to contain it and get through the next few days....

A heavy heart and a lump in my throat

Well, today was Chulita and our last Wagawalk. We go every Sunday morning on a walk with all of her buddies. I think the record of number of dogs is 15 on the Wagawalk. I am not sure how many there were today, but the usual suspects were there for sure minus a few that slept in.

Chulita and her gang had a blast. We went to McDonald Beach near the airport. It is a nice walk with lots of fun at the beach in the middle of the walk.
 

Surprisingly, on the walk back to the cars, I started to feel teary eyed and had a lump in my throat. I was thinking of all the great times we had on our walks and how this was more than just a dog walk.  What an interesting, eclectic group of dogs and people. All so different and from so many different backgrounds. Yet, each so interesting and fun to be around. I am thankful I have met each of you and hope to stay in touch as our travels take us back East.

I know for sure that Chulita would love to have any and all of her Wagababa friends come visit her in Quebec.



 A few of her best furry friends:

• Toby, Zeus, Miel
• Clay, Bronco
• Fern and Lola, see you in Halifax :)
• Hugo, who came and got dirty with Chulita
• Zoey, Chulita's favorite buddy on Sunday mornings when we go to Starbucks
• Linda and Cocoa despite the fact that they overslept and did not come say goodbye
• Baxter, despite the fact that he is not always as eager to play
• Maximus
• Junior
• Ronin
• and many many more

More Wagawalk Pictures 

So, the goodbyes are coming to an end, just a few more and then it will be all about the big Road Trip.

A Time for Goodbyes

Ça commence... It has started... Ya empieza....
Well, on Tuesday, the movers came and took all of our stuff. After arriving an hour late and having a few hiccups with the elevator, the stuff finally made it onto the truck. Hopefully, it will all go well and we will get it in a few weeks in Sutton. We are now staying with our friends, the Machrays, in North Vancouver. I am quite thankful to have them and the sweet gestures such as having dinner waiting of us on the day of the big move and rearranging the front room to make our stay more comfortable. We are quite lucky to be here.
Anyways, the goodbye parties/ dinners have begun. Last night we went to see friends on the West side and had a blast. Chulita entertained their son, Eshan and it seems like he has good chances of get his own puppy soon. C'mon Thomas and Neeta take the plunge.
Tonight, we went to a BBQ with our friends at Wagababa. Chulita had a blast playing with all her buddies. She was so surprised to see so many dogs in one place. Needless to say, she is now very tired, but practically sleeping with a big smile. Helen and Holly, the two owners of the shop are great!

They had a lovely gift basket for Chulita and Holly is going to make her a new furry bead collar. We even got to pick the colours. It was great to see everyone that we have become friends with and who have become part of our everyday routine for the past 7 months. Thanks everyone!

For more pics from the BBQ go to my facebook album.

It is great to see all of our good friends during the wonderful dinners. We will go to Quebec with a heavy belly from all the food but also with heavy hearts leaving such good people behind. We have more dinners and meet-ups with friends. It is not always easy but we would not change it for the world. We are looking forward to keeping in touch with everyone and have become quite fluent in the world and language of skype over the years. So, if you are on skype, look us up. We'll be hanging out on-line in our neck of the woods.

Just a few more days... We hit the road on July 11 and that is when the real adventure begins.