We moved from Austria to Canada and now have a very different life! We're finishing our house, we are trying to provide as much for ourselves as we can, and we homeschool. It is all an adventure!
We've not been online because we've been in THE BUSH. Yup, that's the place where there isn't running water, electricity or mobile phone coverage...but there are huge whispering pine trees, the soft sound of water lapping on the shore of the lake, the lonely but brilliant call of the local loons and the annoying buzz of the ever-present mosquito! We have a little piece of land on a little lake, down one dirt road after another, and there we have a cabin, a bbq made of stones, a fire pit and the building site of our future cottage.
Our site on arrival- it needed some clearing.
The first week was marked by rain and cooler temperatures, and absolutely no fish were caught. We brightened things up with a trip to MEC in Ottawa and a lovely Sunday at church in Westport. It was wonderful to see friends again, and to have them visit us on Monday out in the woods. Canada began to feel a bit less foreign then! As the weather brightened in the second week the kids (and I) began to enjoy it all a bit more. Jonathan and Rebecca had a competition to see who had the most mosquito bites- with Rebecca accusing Jonathan of intentionally letting himself be bitten in order to win- he denies that. But the mosquitoes were better that week and we could eat and play without hassle.
Grandma and Grandpa visiting
Thanks to Mum and Dad for the delicious ribs!
The Famous Five with.....who can guess?
Rebecca had some trouble with burning marshmallows.
S'mores!!!! Yum!!!
When we had guests Dominik and the guys felled a couple of big trees which were potential threats to our new cabin, and the kids had a load of fun then exploring the fallen trees- climbing along the trunks and in amongst the branches. Dominik cut up and peeled some cedar logs for building use and made a shelter for those logs. Then some of the neighbouring cottagers were up and the kids had a chance to play with their kids. There are only four cottages on our part of the lake so it is almost always quiet. The best parts of the day, I thought, were the early mornings before the kids were up and when the lake was smooth and calm and all was peaceful, and then at night the stars came out above the towering pines. The kids found that amazing. The joy of having an outhouse instead of an indoor toilet is that you have a chance to pause and stargaze before running back into the cabin!
Screened in!
Dominik and the kids built a tree house!
Yeah Daddy :-)
There ARE fish in the lake!
Our Canadian Breakfast!
Chill out, Josiah!
Josiah liked chainsawing
There are deer and beaver and racoons, squirrels and loads of chipmunks in our woods. Probably bears and wolves too, but we didn't see any of those. The kids were excited to learn about them all- including the mosquitoes (their wings beat 600 times per second to make that annoying sound)- from our nature book. We had a great time in the woods and, although we are sad to leave, we are really enjoying this time now with Grandma and Grandpa and are looking forward to the next leg of our trip!
It"s been another day of jet lag, shopping and getting ready to go camping on our little piece of land in the Lanark Highlands! The day started well with a lovely breakfast for all of us at Tim Horton's. We watched the sun rise as we walked down to fetch our bagels and tea :-). As we sat in the restaurant, relaxing, we noticed more and more the number of rusted out cars and trucks driving through. They would never be considered road-worthy in Europe! But we know that things are different here. I started to realise just how long I've been away. It has been four years and I have become much more used to European ways, or have forgotten the reality of life here, in those years. Yesterday morning I noticed it when I realised that I haven't driven an automatic in four years! That was an easy adjustment but being in a poorly-insulated wooden house with five children with jet-lag is not so easy. Especially when we're trying to keep them from waking up Grandma and Grandpa! The whole house shakes when anyone even walks across the living room floor upstairs! Can you imagine it when the washing maschine is on the spin cycle?
Then we have the debacle of the missing Visa card. I tried to get a new card as we thought we had left the new one in Austria. It turns out that the new card never did arrive and was returned in the post to Visa who promptly cancelled our account! Well, the problem is being worked on. After 25 years of good credit I refuse to be dismissed so easily. Then came the problem of trying to apply for a fishing license. As Dominik is not a Canadian and not a resident of Canada it just confuses the poor staff who have NO IDEA and they sent him away to another office. That office was just as bad. So, working on that issue too!
On the bright bright side....we now have 14 litres of Mountain Dew ready to be consumed whilst we are camping, and bacon and eggs lined up for some breakfasts. Finally some nice, thick, juicy bacon! But first we will start with barbequed ribs for lunch. Yum. I shall try not to gain 10 kg while we're here! Elena needed some running shoes and now has some Princess shoes which light up almost as much as her face when she's stamping about in them! The children have also become pretty good fishermen- in the yard practicing their casts. We will soon see how they do with real fish in real water!
We will be out in the woods for the next two weeks, camping on our little piece of land in the Lanark Highlands. I can't wait to see what Dominik and Severin have accomplished building in the last couple of years. But consequently, we will be next posting when we are back in civilisation (i.e. somewhere with an internet connection). We won't even have mobile service there so, internet is a definite bust! We will maybe have more for you on the weekend! Thanks for reading! :-)
Und fur Tanja in Klaus...und alle Deutsch sprachige Freunde! Ich probiere ein bisschen auf Deutsch zu schreiben! Es tut mir leid- es wird schrecklich! Also... Alles geht's gut hier...aber es ist so kommisch! Es ist nicht mehr mein Heimat. Viele sachen sind so fremd...und wie die Leute reden und so...dass ist auch Kommisch. Es ist ein bisschen unangenehm fur mich. Und bei meine Eltern zu sein. Dass ist auch manchmal anstrenend. Aber die Kinder sind glucklich...und Dominik auch- ausser von ein wirklich schlechtes Haarschnitt. Wieder ein Person mit keine ahnung! Wir freuen uns auf Camping fahren...morgen vormittag geht's los. Bald werden wir wieden schreiben. Liebe Grusse auf alle zuhause!
Ohhhhhh JET LAG! But we've arrived. The drive straight through to the Airport was uneventful. We amazingly got all of our baggage checked- even if we were asked if we were selling car seats (why else would we have 5?). Then we got to enjoy the luxuries of Air France. Wow. After years of flying Air Transat and Ryanair it was so lovely to have friendly service and food that we didn't have to pay extra for. We had to run a bit in Paris to make our connection but it was great. The best thing was that They fed the children first and then, while the kids were happily finishing their meals and watching their personal televisions, they served the adults- a hot meal with red wine and port included. :-) We had a bassinnette for Josiah and he slept for most of the flight. That was great except then he wasn't ready to sleep at night in Brockville. The other kids had hardly or hadn't slept on the plane and so they slept well and woke up at a normal time this morning. I, Cathy, however, went to bed at 0230 and got up again at 0400 with Josiah. Tomorrow I hope to upload the photos of Josiah with I at Tim Horton's at 0430. We drove around for a while and let the others sleep. We survived a visit to church and then had a great lunch at Swiss Chalet (thanks Mum and Dad!). The rest of our day was spent practicing fishing in the yard- casting really. Now, since almost 7pm they are all asleep, and now Dominik is and so should I be. We will get better at this blogging and keep you all better updates! Good Night!
A
Monday, August 11, 2014
Almost Ready to Start!!!!
The count-down timer on our tablet tells me today that we have only 5 days left before we fly! This induces both feelings of excitement and slight anxiety. The house needs to be brought under control and we really need to pack! Having just finished the Ten English Days (TED) at the Schloss and just this hour said a final 'good-bye' to the English team I should now be free to get into high gear and sort everything out. 'Should' is the key word there. I think I'll have a nap first. Then, after Dominik returns with Dan from setting up the race track for a village youth day, we can get the kids snow gear out and have them try everything on. At least that bag will be packed today. Packing is a slight challenge as we will fly in the summer and then have summer, autumn and then Canadian winter weather. On the bright side, there are loads of second-hand shops to buy from when we've forgotten something. :-)
How is homeschool going? We started before TED but I think we'll have a holiday this week. Instead we can just read.....ahhhh......
Right, that's just an update. More exciting things will come once we get going! :-)
