What I'm up to...

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Another Farewell is looming!

It's been more than a month since we said "farewell" to our little farm; our few cows, Zama and Bjorn and the house we've called home for the last three years.  We headed West to visit family and friends, spend Christmas and ring in the New Year.  We had a beautiful December out here on the coast.  I have no pictures at the moment so I apologize but let's suffice to say that I have never seen so much sunshine in December in all the years that I lived here!  Of course one year blends into the next but I'm pretty sure it's usually a lot more wet!  The kids and I did a few hikes, spent time at the beach and enjoyed our reunion with our dog Indi who came to live out here with my brother and his girlfriend back in September.  It's funny remembering how much I missed her after we left her behind and our place felt so empty without her and yet once we were back out here on the Island with her I found I missed Zama and Bjorn even more than I'd missed Indi! 

And now our next leg of the journey is almost upon us!  I am sending off all our visa application paperwork tomorrow, Dexter is going in for his pre-travel vet check on Monday and my husband K is looking in to our plane tickets this weekend.  He would like us on a plane no later than the 18th of January.  That's 12 days from now!  Ack!  All this preparation and suddenly it's here!  Where did the time go?  Stay tuned!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Farewell...for now

I had intended to get a 'Farewell Picture' before we drove out of town but that never happened.  Packing up and cleaning the house was an enormous job not to mention; stressful, emotional and downright stomachache inducing.  The moving truck came last Sunday and I watched as they loaded the contents of our house up and took it away.  It's amazing to think that your entire life fits into a 10X20 storage unit.  Monday, I cleaned like a crazy person and went on cleaning well into Tuesday.  About a hundred trips to the thrift store later and a hundred more to the dump and we were left with an empty house(and a bit of an empty heart.)  So it's Farewell for now but hopefully not forever.  We are on to the next chapter in our lives; the chapter that will more than likely be titled 'Adventures in China.'  Stay tuned, there will be a blog and I'm sure I will have many MANY things to blog about!  Think chicken feet, farmer's markets and a Starbucks on Jin Li Street! 

Farewell...for now!

Conversations with a 4 year old

On one of our many trips back from town today(this one was the trip back from picking up Dexter from the vet) I was telling the kids that we had to get up early on Sunday morning to go to Calgary to pick up Daddy.

F:  But what if we're still sleeping?
Me:  I will wake you up, don't worry.
S:  You won't have to wake me up because I sleep with my eyes open.

Funny guy.

Quote of the Day

I've been working my way through all these bathrooms.  I'm down to 11 days until the movers get here and I still have an unfinished bathroom.  This evening, after spending most of my day in town running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I finished getting all the cement board up in the shower so the tile can be done.  My hands are swollen from using the olfa knife and I think I have fiberglass splinters pretty much everywhere...

I emailed my husband K(who is in China at the moment) a picture of the finished board job in the shower and his comment is my quote of the day!

'You sure are good at renovations.  Are you sure you have had enough?  I am at Starbucks do you want anything?'

If one was to dig a hole for one's husband, how deep would you say it should be?  ;)

See ya Uncle!

I put the rest of my birds up on kijiji to try to sell them off and a nice guy from Edmonton called about my free roosters.  When he phoned he asked if he could bring me some 'Marble Slab Creamery' ice cream to repay the favor of me giving him all my roosters for free.  Who can say no to ice cream?  Certainly not me!  So I caught them and he tied their feet together and bundled them into his car.  I caught Uncle rooster last and the kids said good bye to their nemesis.  They no longer have to run for their lives when they see him coming.  I think it would be fair to assume that the kids won't miss him one little bit!

(This is an old picture, I didn't have a newer one but he was much more handsome than this.  Not that his good looks made him a nice rooster or anything!)

Animal Withdrawl

As my time is quickly winding down here, I have been slowly watching my animals leaving for new homes.  Most people wouldn't think that saying goodbye to a cow or a rooster would be hard but it really is.  It breaks my heart! 

Last weekend I said goodbye to Sir Loin. 

And Cornelius.  Of all my birds, this guy was my favorite.  He and most of his ladies went to a friend's farm along with my black Indian Runner ducks.

This weekend Sugar and Pepper will be making their way to a new farm near Wetaskiwin where their new people hope to turn Sugar into their milking cow.

Chocolate, Vanilla and their calves Smokie and Burger are staying here for the winter which I'm happy about.  I didn't really want to get rid of them anyway even if I'm not going to be here to enjoy them.  I have a few more chickens to re-home and a trio of ducks but that's it.  At least I'll have pictures to look back on and remember the days of Living the Country Life ;)