Changing my Attitude

Historically, this time of year always makes me very sad: I am back at school no longer with the leisure time to enjoy sights as the Bayfield sunset pictured above, the weather gets colder (and much rainier for some reason this year - and no, I'm not sure if that is a real word or not but it's just the right word so live with it!), I get a lot grumpier (oh, you didn't notice??), I have to do the major switch of clothing - put away all the beautiful, brightly-coloured summery attire and haul out all the black and grey clothing (yuck yuck yuck - and no I'm not laughing), the trips to the trailer start to dwindle to nothing and my thoughts turn to scraping icy windshields and the like.

However, this year I've noticed that the doom and the gloom are less doomier and gloomier. Instead of dwelling on "what was" I am thinking of the renovations I want to make to my new abode in PEI. How much further should I extend the kitchen and the mudroom - 8 feet?  12 feet?  more?? And the new barn I want to build - where should it be placed - to the left of the house or to the right? Should I include a guest room in it as was suggested by my friend Troy the other day? And I wonder how the 34 little spruce seedlings that Michael transplanted from the forest are doing? Are they thriving - I know they've been getting lots of rain.

Yesterday, while at the trailer, a relative of our neighbour's came by to view the trailer (I have it up for sale though not trying very hard to sell it) and once again I was faced with the dilemma of either selling it and using the money to pay down my line of credit or keeping it so I can enjoy it during the spring and fall (summers I will be in PEI). 

The thought of selling it doesn't leave me quite as panic-stricken as before. Although greatly attached to the trailer (it's where I regained my senses after my marriage fell apart and where I came to understand what is truly important in life -FREEDOM NOT STUFF) I know I have my feet placed firmly under me and can take my life's lessons with me wherever I am.  It's not the trailer I need now - it's living a meaningful life - in the classroom, in the condo, in my neighbourhood, in my family, with my friends and in PEI.

So if it comes to that - I feel confident I can live the "trailer life" without the trailer.

House #2 - near Montague, PEI

The second house we looked at was definitely at the top of my list. It was within walking distance of Panmure Island which has a beautiful beach - though a lot of jellyfish in the water the day we were there.

The landscaping at this house was really well done, and there was an old barn and a shed which while picturesque had no electricity. The house had character (a plus for me), nice wooden beams and hardwood floors but was much smaller than it appeared on the net. The kitchen was so small that the fridge was in the living area as shown by the photo above. That was NOT to my liking at all.

Other problems with this home - the basement was only accessible from outside and the first step was a doozy, about 3 feet down. With the electrical box in the basement, and using fuses rather than breakers, I really couldn't see myself managing that trip down into the depths very often. There was one bathroom on the main floor (needed some work) and two bedrooms upstairs, a master and one other that you got to by walking through the master. And what I thought was a wood stove turned out to be an oil stove connected to an outside oil tank. Wanting to heat only with wood this was a problem. Oh, and no closet space to speak of.

Also the property was arranged in a strange way - the field tiles for the septic system were on a neighbouring lot so we would have to buy both lots and wouldn't be able to build on the second lot or sever it unless we wanted to dig up the septic and change its location, nah - too much work and expense.

So while we loved the location of this home, its ample and beautiful property, the quaint barn and shed and the wood floors and beams in the house that just wasn't enough to compensate for the other issues.

We DID really like the town of Montague and ate dinner and surfed the net at an old converted bank building called Sir Isaac's Restaurant and Mr. Gabe's Pub. I had the fishcakes and they were incredibly tasty. And when we stopped at a garage about a weird noise our car was making they looked after us quickly and with NO CHARGE! Try getting that deal around here - not!

So to sum things up - we would definitely visit this side of the island again we wouldn't be putting an offer on this our second home.