On Wednesday of this week we packed the car and headed north on 91 through Vermont to the Canadian border after a 31 month absence. We prepared for our border crossing by getting the ArriveCan app and registering our passports and our vaccine certificates plus our destination and approximate time we planned to spend here. It was a breeze. We handed in our passports and were asked two or three simple questions and that was it. We were in Canada. To say it has been an adjustment is an understatement. There are so many changes in our little village that others have seen happen over the past two and half years, to us it is something close to a time warp. Some things are just the same and others are very different. There is a new bridge in town, a new business, a huge senior living apartment building in the center of town that really does overshadow everything else around it but it is not unattractive, a business that has gone out-of-business sadly and more improvements going on on the ones that survived.
Our house is pretty much the same as it was when we left it. However, no one mentioned that our flag was left on the flag pole this whole time and it was in tatters. A new one has been ordered and should be here on Monday. You would have thought someone would have at least taken it down. Many items were not in the same place we kept them but easily fixed. The basic furniture was fine, it was mostly the kitchen things. John made short order of the cupboards and threw out things that weren’t of any use anymore and moved everything back to where he remembered them to be. I did the silverware drawers. It will take us quite a bit longer to put things the way we want them. I stripped all the beds and spent two days washing and folding all the sheets to get them the way I wanted them. There are six beds in this house and they all need to be made up again. The house was relatively tidy but not very clean. I imagine that the dust bunnies had a field day when the house was empty.
We got to watch the last of the ice go out of the lake which was very special for me. You can just see a little bit of it on the far side of the lake. I walked down to the end of the lake and watched it literally go down the river. The geese are back and they are very annoyed at Wyke and Bean who tend to be outside and quite curious about them. The lake is beautiful. We are so pleased to be here.
Update on Jenny Lane
Jenny Lane was very quiet this week. The only thing that was done was the grout in the bathroom tile. The next trip Chris will polish the tile which will make it shine. There is still some grout residue on the surface. It looks good but we are anxious to see a bit more progress. It sure would be nice to have that bathroom back to a working one after four months. We did get a notice saying that a few pieces of the cabinetry and counter top has come in but we aren’t sure which piece is which. Probably best to wait till everything is in and have it all delivered at once. This time last year we were anxiously awaiting the cabinets for the kitchen. Oh patience – a virtue!
Walking in Canada
One of the true joys of my life up here is walking in the hills. I wasn’t sure I would be up for the climb after so long walking on pretty much flat trails in New Hampshire. No problem. I did a great hike with my brother the day after we got here. It was glorious weather, almost hot. We walked up the big hill and then into the woods that are behind our house. My cousins have put some trails in for horseback riding and ATV riding and just plain walking. We are lucky enough to be able to enjoy those trails too. Lots of changes in the woods too as some logging has been done in the last couple of years. No cooking this week but maybe next week.
