September 18 to September 23 Move in Day!

 Wow, it sure didn't take me long to get so far behind. We have been on a whirlwind and I will take you through some of it as quickly as I can to get up to date.

Sept 18th Saturday Day 51 and 5 days left til we get to move in the house. Went to a couple of yard sales and found some enamel pieces, a key holder and some random stuff. But the best part was going to an antique mall in Sussex and I bought a vintage loveseat and small chaise for what will someday be my "she shed". Yeah when you see the pictures below, you will most likely give me the deer in the headlights look. It doesn't suit everyone's taste but I love it! My she shed will be named The Oasis and decorated in a Bohemian theme, very rich in reds, orange, pink, and gold.

The rest of the day I made some creative art tags and a pocket card for a journal. Tom went for a walk with the dogs and we made supper and then spent the evening hanging out with the other campers. It was our last weekend and we wanted to see everyone before we left. A little bit sad...

September 18th is a special day for us, Tom and I met on this day 41 years ago. Holy Toledo!

Sunday September 19th, I blogged all day long! And I haven't been back until today. I do make notes each day and try to take a few pictures, it is just to try and sit down and write.

Monday Sept 20th, only 3 more days....Tom went out on a new hiking trail and I made more art creations and now have given myself an art challenge to complete over the next few month. 100 art tags using a 100 page note pad I purchased as the base back of each tag. If I am able to complete this challenge, it will be quite the achievement.

We have set up our New Brunswick hydro account. Yay, the lights will be on when we get there, starting to feel a little more real.

Sept 21, Tuesday Day 54 in the camper. We met with the lawyer today to sign up the papers and finalize the deal. We are too antsy to just call it a day so headed to St John. Yep its Tuesday, senior discount at Value Village, score! Then headed to Home Depot to buy a fridge and stove. I like white, not black, not stainless steel. Just plain old white. And if that isn't plain enough for you, I also don't like glass top stoves. Yep, call me old fashion, but I love me an element stove. Those will not get to the house til near the end of October.

September 22nd, Wednesday. This is our last sleep in Camp Animal Land. While I am sad to be leaving, I am not sad to get out of the camper. We will come back to Animal Land next year, just not with 4 cats, 2 dogs and 55 days. Today we got the house insurance, dropped off the bank draft for the payment of the house and spent the rest of the day packing up stuff we didn't need in preparation for the big move out. It was going to be a very long night.

September 23rd Day 56 and the big move in! Because our beds are in the storage container coming the next day, we are still spending one more night in the camper for a total of 56 days. That is 8 weeks! Yep not getting back in that thing for awhile.

We met up with our realtor Stephanie at 9am to do the final walkabout. Things sure look different when the house is empty. Once we approved, it is a call to the lawyer and then we wait until we receive confirmation before we can actually say we own a house. It took til around noon. 

When we first got there, we brought the truck with the pets and I had the car with the cargo trailer. So Tom had to make 2 more trips back to camp to retrieve the camper and a huge collection of stuff we had been gathering since we got to camp. I cleaned the fridge and when Tom came with the camper I unloaded most of the perishable foods while he went back for the 3rd trip. OMGosh, by then the day was over and we made supper and went to bed. We were exhausted. Our cats spent the night in the house, totally confused and the dogs slept outside by the camper. Yep, Highway barked alot.

Now we are finally home! We are officially "New Brunswickers"

This is our house, note the set of French doors up at the top right. This is actually our main level and we will be adding a balconey deck on the front of the house. The French doors on the lower level is actually a walk out basement that will host my studio and a family TV room. Also note the house is built into the base of a hill, so everything we do outside requires going up or down.

Welcome to 2034 Route 124 Hatfield Point NB  If you search the address, you will find a video that shows you the whole house and property. (Note it may not stay up for long)

 Back yard parking for now.

Bonus! we have a pool, not going to use this year but I know we will enjoy next year!

Our realtor Stephanie Wilkins gave us this Welcome sign, we luv it! Thank-you Stephanie, it looks awesome!

Part of the front yard, we have 2 huge weeping willows, many maples and at least a dozen apple trees from full size down to crab apple. OMgosh, to my friends, Heidi and Jimmy, can you guys vision the pies that will get made! Someone better come help me next fall!

My vintage finds for the She Shed!

Art Creations in the camper

The last day before packing up

My 100 page note book for making the backs of tags in my 100 tag challenge.

Empty living room and dining room. Yes the walls and the floors are all getting painted. No brown curtains for me, but I can use that fabric for some creative ideas I have. Brown floors are way too shiny for me.

Basement is unfinished waiting for my studio. There is the hutch I bought back when we were still in camp. Sort of part of the reason Tom had to make the 3rd trip to get all of our stuff. But hey! for the record, I was not the only one buying stuff and hoarding in camp.

Stay tuned! I am on a roll!

September 10th to 17th Friday to Friday Day 50 Count Down 6

 Okay, while this is a quick way to get caught up, I will also add that blog posting things are starting to sound the same. The countdown gets smaller and the days in the camper get higher. We are feeling the cabin fever and so are the pets. I will not deny this was probably the toughest week (8 days) for all of us in this journey.

Spats, bickering and extreme eggshell moments. It is not easy. So I have decided that it is best to highlight a few good moments and include some pictures and put these days behind us as fast as I can. 

Tom went hiking with Highway to The Bluff a trail outside of Sussex. He took some great photos, I will share below. They both had a good time. I had more creative time.

Alot of the time to break up the long days we shop in Sussex, partly because we don't have room in the fridge and we worry about spoilage. Salads freeze so easily in our little fridge.

The farmers market has been fun to visit every Friday. We buy bread, fruit, corn, and recently a rhubarb pie and some maple fudge. We buy from the same lady each week. (you know what I am like) Everything is delicious, but I am sure my pies are better, it has just been along time since I made pie. I had eaten one piece of the delicious fudge and the next morning found the rest of it unwrapped and crushed into unrecognizable bits, yeah I know which cat is responsible, I am just glad "she" didn't eat the fudge. Even though it was in bits I was able to gather it all up and I know it was for the most part all there.

A few thrift shop finds including some fake pears and cute cards with envelopes.

We went back to Saint John and traced our steps and found the camper keys at the Thai restaurant, Yay!

More salmon and Sushi for great suppers in camp. Can't see us getting tired of this anytime soon.

We took a morning tour of St. Andrews and St Stephen and ended up in St George for a fish and chip lunch. Bought 2 washboards at an Antique store in St Andrews, Only open til mid October but will for sure visit again in the spring if not sooner.

Since it was Friday again we went to the Farmers market to pick up bread and an apple pie. But our "little princess" seems to love food things wrapped in plastic. She either walked, rolled, or sat on the pie. It was still edible, the bag wasn't broken or clawed in anyway, just crushed and blended. See photo. Note to us: All food in bags must go in the cupboard or fridge.

We drove to the marsh trails beside the house, I took a few pictures while Tom walked the dogs. I can't wait until fall. I really do want to walk on the trails with Tom and the dogs but I don't have any footwear suitable for the terrain until we get the container. Not exactly good for barefoot with sandals. 

We are glad to put this week behind us. my next posts will be hopefully a little more interesting.

here are a few pics and notes.

Squashed Apple Pie

Fake pears and note cards with envelopes, thrift shop finds

 

 

 

 

St Andrews Antique finds

Belleisle Creek Marsh trails

Art Tag creations

September 8th and 9th Wednesday and Thursday Day 41 & 42 Count Down 14 & 13

Yes, another double day. Really trying to get caught up.

Wednesday I was all day on the internet blogging and Tom went to Sussex for a few things.

leftover chicken for supper (totally done with KFC)

Camp fire again tonight, and dog walking with Tom late at night ( not enough exercise for me today.) 

Thursday: less than 2 weeks to go!

I want to thank everyone for reading the blog. We love all the comments and support. You will never know just how much this has meant to us both. 

We went back to Saint John this morning to go to Costco to renew our membership. Tom bought a garden hose (on sale) for the new house (wow now that's exciting isn't it LOL) We looked at appliances at Costco and went to Home Depot the $store and stopped for Thai food for lunch. We could smell it from the parking lot and nothing else was going to beat that. Way too much food, so we will have leftovers tonight.

When we got back to camp, Tom realized that he had lost the camper keys somewhere in the day but where? We searched all over camp including where we took the garbage in the morning but no keys. Luckily we had a spare set in my purse.

While I have written about this next part in the past on FB I have new methods to share for my pounded pork cutlets. 

Pounded pork cutlets are made by slicing pork loin very thin and pounding it with the meat tenderizer until it is 2 or 3 times the size as the original piece. Then breaded and cooked in gravy. But what do you do if you don't have a meat tenderizer in the camper?

My camper method:

Slice into thin pieces, then aggressively pierce all over on both sides using 2 forks in hand. Be sure to have a small soup can on hand and wash the top of the can (ridge side) very clean and dry. Use can to again aggressively pound the pork on both sides. It works amazing and saves having to buy another tool for the camper. 

This recipe and method is the best tension relief and therapy for those testy days and the end results in a fabulous dinner. With enough leftovers for 2 days.

Here are some pics of the view from the Costco on a hill in Saint John. Its like a free ride just going up the hill. Even this view is beautiful. Pictures don't do justice. 

Then a few pics of my new pork tenderizing methods LOL it was the highlight of my day!

September 6th & 7th Monday Tuesday Day 39 & 40 Countdown 16 and 15

 Ok even I am getting a little bored and so these 2 days are combined.

Monday Laundry day in Sussex and rain rain rain.

I posted on the blog when I was able to get a connection but it was off and on all day long. Camp was quieter than usual, many had gone home for the week. Supper was leftovers. Tom ate 2 cookies. he never eats cookies unless they are made by my friend Heidi. 

That was Monday in recap.

Tuesday was a fun day! First Tom went for a haircut in Sussex, he was starting to look like a hippy LOL kidding.

Then we decided to go to Saint John. Tom hadn't been to the Refit store so I took him in to look at wooden chairs. Not to buy anything just look. We are excited to know that there are lots of options for great stuff to repurpose for our home, its exactly what we like to do.

Even though we weren't buying, I found a wooden hutch. vintage 1970's not antique. Top part has small shelves on each side with a beveled diamond glass window door in the middle and the bottom part has 2 drawers and 2 doors. OMGosh, I have to have this. If I don't buy it now it will be gone by the next day or sooner. We talked to the staff about buying and storing but they don't have room to hold it for 3 weeks. I was sick to my stomach as we left the store. We went on to a few other places and then Value Village. (after all, it was Tuesday) I found another Sari and a silk scarf and even a cool velvet picture for Tom's Cabin. But I was still haunted by that shelf.

I got back in the truck after VV and Tom just said we can pick it up and bring to camp and cover with a tarp til we get in the house. 

Can you say with me "Tom the Tarp Rope Man to the Rescue!!!!!"

Tom brought me and the dogs back to camp and then went back to pick up the shelf. I am so excited to have that for my studio. It will get painted white wash and distressed. I'm picturing jars of buttons and dodads on display. 

Though we do try, it wasn't until the shelf was wrapped and roped that we remembered to take pictures, sorry all you are getting is the wrapped up pictures. It will be more fun to unveil as a future post anyway....

It was a beautiful cool sunny day, and while Tom was gone picking up the shelf, I sat outside, mostly to keep Highway from separation barking but it gave me undivided attention to take the Sari apart seam by seam. I didn't waste any of the fabric, many times the bead work is inside the seams and can be useful bits for my journals and bead making.

We had KFC for supper (we never learn) and a campfire at night until almost 11pm.

took a few pics of our drive to Saint John

September 5th Sunday Day 38 Countdown 17

 Went to Sussex this morning to the Dollar Store to pick up a few little things we needed.

Came back to camp and had a lazy day again watching a couple movies and I worked on some art tags.

I have given myself a new mini challenge. I bought this TO DO lined paper notepad with 100 pages and my plan is to use the entire notepad for making tags. The tags start with the lined paper as the back of the tag and then I build upon that to create my designs. I'm not planning to finish all 100 while in camp but I do plan to continue until it is finished and what a great collection of tags I will have for upcoming journals. 

While some of you will look at these tags and not understand or care, LOL I do have some arty friends that will drool and may consider the same challenge for themselves. My pictures below will show both front and back of the tags I made so you get a general idea. While these tags look finished, they will still be subject to some machine stitching and adding some embellishments when I can get settled in the house and use my real supplies. It is a labour of love and makes me happy!

Supper tonight was fish and chips from the camp restaurant. We ordered 1 order and 1 piece extra of fish. More than enough and leftovers too!

Watched an old movie Double Jeopardy.  We've seen it a couple times but I like it so convinced Tom to watch it again. It's a girl power thing right? 

Some pics of my 2 tags 98 more to make!

September 4th Saturday Day 37 Countdown 18

 We went looking for a few garage sales in Sussex today and the only thing we bought was a plastic tub for new larger littler box for the cats. We have no shortage of poopers, sorry if this is too crude.

With little success in the garage sales we decided to go to St Martins. Our starting point was from Rothesay outside of Saint John. There are 2 main roads into St Martins, so choosing the further one meant that we could drive out the other way and end up back near Sussex again. What we didn't realize is that once we are in our home we can do the same thing and it is almost a perfect loop back to the house. This will be an awesome drive for anyone that comes to visit us. But bring some Gravol if you get a little queasy, the roads are crazy fun (LOL I say "Baaaa" (like a sheep) a lot when it gets a little crazy) and the scenery is magnificent!

It truly was magnificent! The drive, the ocean views, and of course, stopping for lunch. Today was the first time trying mussels. We both had a small bowl of seafood chowder and shared a big basket of mussels. Ohhhh I will have many cravings for these in the future.

I should mention that on our way to Rothesay, we stopped in a little town called Bloomfield because we saw a sign for a garage sale. We didn't find the sale but took pictures of the covered bridge (under construction) and the single lane bridge that we crossed over. Covered bridges are everywhere in this province, so beautiful and nice to see that they are up-kept.

Back at camp was leftover chicken, noodles and 0 salad. The salad froze in the fridge. I think we had too much stuff in there.

Another party in camp tonight, we didn't stay very late, we were exhausted from a busy day. Thank-you Fabian and Susan for your hospitality. (holey toledo!!! I used the washroom in their camper and it is almost as big as our entire camper LOL)

Here are a few pics from Bloomfield bridges and yummy lunch.