Jun 30, 2018 | Flotsam
Finally! a post about R.E.D. Not about RED by the Sea. Not about beaches, pretty scenery or gardens or guests. Just R.E.D. This is after all a blog called sailingred.com isn’t it?
Yes our lives have changed considerably since moving to the east coast. Our past life basically revolved around boating during spring/summer and part of fall with the rest of the year holed up in our little condo planning our next adventure and dreaming about being back on the boat the following year. Even our social life was primarily boat-centred.
Here, living in the country, our lives have become much more diversified. Yes, there is yard work needed but we have inherited lovely three-season perennial gardens which are pretty much self-sustaining from the previous owner. We enjoy a thriving social life thanks to wonderful neighbours.
…but hey! I said this post is all about R.E.D. didn’t I?
Off-Season Parking
We’ve created the perfect place for her during the winter months with space for Francois’ Crow’s Nest and extra parking for guests (you can read all about that heavy machinery and stuff by clicking here)
Anti-fouling
After a very quick ‘putting to bed’ last fall she really needed a good cleaning inside and out but that’s all done now with her usual two coats of wax and belly painted with a new layer of anti-fouling.
Hubbards Cove. Photo cred. Marinas.com
Her new home during boating season is a well protected cove just six minutes from RED by the Sea and quick access to St Margaret’s Bay and beyond (more about how we almost didn’t launch this year here).
Boat Ramp
The ramp access at the marina makes it super easy to launch with more than enough water depth even at low tide.
Service Dock
Most of the rigging was done at home first so that once we arrived we just needed to fix the lines and step the mast.
Back ‘Yard’ View
Our finger is located on the inside with port docking (yay! my favourite orientation) with an awesome view off the bow of another little ten-boat marina across the cove.
The Boat Yard
The yard is small but well maintained by a volunteer base and at the top of the road is the best little cafe serving fresh pastries and breakfast paninnis.
As I mentioned above, our boating lives have changed and it feels really good. No longer do we have to drive forever in nasty traffic to spend time with her. Six minutes and we’re there. It feels like our lives are in better balance. Time at home. Time with friends. Time to enjoy visitors. Time to explore. Time on the water whenever we choose. There are still at least two big adventures in the planning and this year we’ll be venturing out beyond St. Margaret’s Bay with new charts in hand and can’t wait to sail along the coast this fall (Nova Scotia’s very best season) to catch all the changing colours.
It feels so good to be back on the water. To feel the movement of the sea under R.E.D.’s belly. To move our bodies in ways that have been dormant for the past few months. To watch as all the boat bruises appear after a day of frisky sailing. To breath in the salt air and smell the sea. There’s nothing quite like it in the whole wide world.
Good to be Back
Nov 12, 2017 | Flotsam
To say we are a little overwhelmed these days would be an understatement but it’s an electric energizing kind of feeling. Trying to strike a balance of the ‘want to do’s’ with the ‘have to do’s’ with all of the ‘would rather do’s’ has kept us hopping since moving in.
Fall weather temperatures although still very mild, have been dropping so tending to R.E.D. especially running antifreeze through her veins is essential before the deep cold sets in. And oh the stuff in the galley! At the beginning of the season, if you remember, we were supposed to have been preparing for a three-month cruise of Lake Huron so I, in my usual Galley Kat over kill mode, provisioned for a three month trip. Now I’ve been faced with moving all that stuff back to the house. How many bottles of sauces and mustards can one fit in a tiny kitchen? I’m finding out. It will all get used up eventually but for an instant or three I was longing for all that storage in the Montreal kitchen.
Our Land Galley
So now the main tasks are complete on the boat. Igloo frame and winter coat secured. Lines flushed and food things removed. Poor R.E.D. will need a good cleaning in the spring but at least she’s winter-ready.
Winter R.E.D.
Now we are caught with wanting to do some yard work but needing to unpack boxes. The weather has been so great that if we wait for a crappy day nothing will get done inside.
The Fire Pit
So each day there is a little inside…a little outside. The previous owner was a real gardener and we want to make sure that we take care of pruning and cutting and thinning out properly. Identifying what plant is what is a big mystery for now but we’ll learn as we go. I’ve discovered little treasures of lemon thyme and lots of lavender some of which I’ve brought in to dry for the winter months. Can’t wait to see what other edibles emerge in a few months.
Edibles
Another challenge for us is learning to properly recycle here. There are very specific rules not seen before in Montreal. And then there is caring for the septic system. My city condo garburator has been replaced with a compost bin. No bits of food or coffee grounds or grease down the drain and no chemicals. There are bags for paper waste and bags for plastic and special garbage bags for non-recyclable items and rules about disposing of yard debris and how many bags of each can be left for collection and when collection is scheduled for our area. It makes me sad to think of all the trees that sacrificed themselves for this one move. It’s embarassing all the paper and cardboard needed just for us but at least there is a good system in place to give it all a new life.
In the midst of all of this is what Francois refers to administrative things like changing our car and driver’s registration to make us Nova Scotia legal. We have a grace period of 90 days so there isn’t a great rush but it does have to be taken care of. And with winter approaching those snow tires have to be installed and at the same time why not have the mandatory safety inspection done which we’ll need when registration is changed over?
See what I mean? There’s a lot to do.
I’ve never had a move that’s taken this long to unpack either. Yes, I know, it’s only been a few days but usually I can have the boxes gone within a couple of days. Downing-sizing takes a lot more care. If you remember the previous posts about the car loads of things we got rid of before leaving Montreal, well it wasn’t nearly enough. 24’ x 26’ gives me exactly 624 square feet of fitting in on the main floor. Same for the upstairs rooms.
The Wooden Hill
The basement is another issue because when we can’t find space in the main living areas it all goes down to ‘the cave’ and at the moment it’s a navigational mine field.
Land Mine
Francois had tackled that job really well so at least there is room to manoeuvre and good news, he’s found space for his tools.
His Tools
We’ve struck a reasonable balance I think. Just enough to make the Kat feel calm in her new home. There have been moments though when I felt like hiding under the bed or curling up fetal-like in my window seat.
Kat Seat
Moments when a few boxes were unpacked and contents put away all neat and tidy then we’d turn around and open another few boxes and it was like a moving box explosion… paper and cardboard all over the place again…as if it would never end.
Our guest room is painted and invitation ready. Being such a tiny room we opted for multi-functional. A single bed that transforms to a very generous double and also acts as a sitting area for TV watching. But who has time for TV-watching anyway?
Guest Room
We may have to live out of wardrobe boxes for a while in our bedroom though. Old houses and small closets go hand in hand and gables with all those slanted ceilings are going to make furnishing a challenge but our bed is a lovely solid cozy santuary when our busy days are done.
Living Room with a View
All the boxes are out of the main living area and our art has been hung so we can have moments of pretending we’re finished. Those shelves will be arranged and rearranged over and over until the Kat is satisfied and then rearranged once again for good measure. There is still so much editing to do though. We’re sticking with the concept that if we need more storage for your stuff then we have too much stuff.
Shelves Rearranged a Dozen Times
This may seem like a whole litany of complaining and grumbling but when we think of what could have been we are so very thankful to be here is this wonderful charming little cottage by the sea. We could have found a fixer upper…and we looked at a few. Imagine having to do all this in the midst of renovating when the very worst thing that’s needed here is maybe a fresh coat of paint….maybe.
Because we sold our dining room furniture (didn’t have room for it anyway) we kept our small cocktail table and a couple of bar stools. Not terribly practical but for now it works for the two of us. At the end of each day we sit here and watch the sunset over the ocean and think how very lucky we are to be here.
I asked Francois if he thinks he’ll ever get tired of this.
His answer: Never!
Never is a very very long time.
Oct 31, 2017 | Flotsam
Here we are, the 31 day of October 2017…our official move in day.
So much has gone on in the past six months. Condo sold. A whole lot of down-sizing, selling and donating. The total of our posessions packed into an 8’x8’x16’ POD container. A car, a boat and minimal furnishings are now in Canada’s east coast all ready for a new life by the sea. It seems as though we’ve been in limbo for far too long and it will be so sweet to finally be settled.
RED by the SEA, our 87 year old home is now ours, fully and legally. We have spent the last three nights cocooned in a sort of camping way with a borrowed blow-up mattress and not a whole lot else. Our four cups, plates and bowls are here, ENA our coffee maker and a few pieces of cutlery are here….and wine…we have lots of wine. The essentials.
Glamping
In spite of our spartan existance we have been able to function quite nicely. Galley Kat always rises to the occasion at meal time although I realized I hadn’t packed either a decent knife or scissors and no pots or pans. But our R.E.D. is well equipped with enough galley gear so we brought her to her new home all nicely parked and ready to be wrapped in her winter coat.
My daughter treated us to pizza and salad our first night which we gobbled up sitting on our deck steps. I pulled off a rather tasty stew our second night after foraging in the boat for supplies (recipe link here if you are interested). Still no chairs or table but when you’re this much in house love it doesn’t really matter.
As of the writing of this post, one bedroom – the guest room – has been painted because it’s the one room that will be fully furnished. The rest will come as time allows.
We’re getting to know our neighbours gradually. Fred from up the road stopped by to welcome us to the area. He called us ‘white walkers’…a sort of reference to white haired retirees…I think. Or maybe he really does think we’re zombies. He says Gabe a few houses away has a couple of little kids so he’s going to let him know they can come here for Halloween treats. Marcus dropped off a large bag of his apples…MacIntosh he says…and he also smokes mackeral which he sells…and wood which he sells…and why is your place so empty he asks? He’s visited us twice in just 2 days so I expect he’ll be back again to make sure we eventually have a place to sit down.
Marcus’ MacIntoch’s
This is country life for sure. The curious are circling but it’s a comforting feeling having local eyes, ears and so much information close by.
So today is THE move in day when all the planning and waiting will be over and is it ever going to be a jam packed crazy busy day! Four deliveries are scheduled and all we know is that somewhere between 10:00 and 6:00 it will all come together. We’re kind of getting used to effortless and seemless so why would today be any different? Our closing was just ‘sign here, here’s your keys’. Agent, lawyer, banker and insurance broker did all the work splendidly. Post office, same thing. ‘Here’s your new key and Frank your delivery guy will leave an extra key in the box for you tomorrow…your place is the one with the driveway to the shore road?…my mother lives just two doors down…welcome to Hubbards!’ Smiles and friendly folks at every turn.
Far too excited for my own good, I was wide awake at dawn. Too much noise going on in my head to sleep. ‘Chop chop’ Francois! Rise and shine! We have a large day ahead of us. Two coffees to jump start the synapses. We are ready! To add some muscle to the big event we’ve enlisted the help of our son-in-law because we all know most of my strength is on the inside. I’ll be ready with an abundance of opinions though to keep things moving along and enough pizza and beer to fuel the heavy lifters.
Our POD container: 10:30 arrival and unloaded in 1-1/2 hours.
Our mattress: delivered at 1:00
Our water system: arived at 2:00 and was finished in 2 hours
…and finally the bed delivered at 3:00..piece by piece
….and it’s Halloween so I left a little note for the trick and treaters to help themselves as we would be very busy unpacking. What a day! Feeling moderately overwhelmed but we can see it all coming together.
