I never wrote about it

Living in an old house, (ours is from 1903) can be very exciting. And it can be exciting in a good way and a bad way. Good is that older homes offer a special character which cannot be found in a new house. It can offer a lot of history connected to local events, which is nice to research further. The “bad” side is that older homes have higher maintenance costs, they need repairs, paint and have often higher heating costs, as insulation is not easy to add, without destroying much of the historic looks. I once wrote about the old hotels on Campobello, the Tyn-y-Mae and the Tyn-y-Coed. They were built in the early 1880s but were soon abandoned as tourism declined around 1905. After that time the hotels remained standing but soon fell into disrepair. Those buildings were huge wooden structures as it was common many places in those days. One day a fire ravaged one of the old buildings destroying it badly. Shortly after WWII both buildings were removed, the building materials being “recycled” into private homes across Campobello Island. Two old hotels on Campobello After we had purchased our house we had to renovate the old building as it had been standing empty for 3 years. So we happened to have a close look at everything which seemed of historic value. Surprise #1: Our bedroom doors bar the markings of screw holes where the room numbers to the guestrooms had been. Indeed on one door we can read a 6 of a two-digit number. Surprise #2: Our stairway to the upper floor came from one of the hotels. The elaborate railings were not common in plain houses at the time. Surprise #3: A stained glass window in the hallway is also from the hotels. Surprise #4: All door and window trim came from the hotels as well. The very same trim can actually be seen in the addition to the 1897-built FDR-Cottage. So unknowingly, we had purchased a  treasure trove of an old house, which caused us to show care and renovate cautiously. Now to the downside: Our roof has been leaking along the edge of the dormer. An earlier attempt to fix it by putting some tar along the edge of the dormer did not do the expected good. So today I had the ladder up on the roof again. Armed with a spray can of construction foam I sprayed the gluey stuff into the upper most corner where I couldn’t get to last time. Also, I found a spot between two shingles where someone long ago had applied tar which now was cracked open.        I put a new glop of tar atop and hoped the best. The ladder remains on the roof for now as it is forecasted to rain a lot tomorrow, so we can put it to the test. While I was clambering around on the roof I saw Bea out on the lawn with the NIKON. And then family called from Germany. They were on SKYPE and of course, they could admire me being up there. This new technology doesn’t stop to amaze me. When I was down again I could say hello to my Dad. He has had a lot of pain in his leg lately where a piece of a WWII grenade has been sitting for 68 years. He is now walking with a cane. I can’t believe that Dad is living all alone in his big house. How I would like to be there with him keeping him company… Thanks for coming over again!

After three Days of Rain… and the Wasps are migrating

I was getting close to develop cabin fever. It rained and rained and rained for three days. In between there was thick fog so we couldn’t see our neighbours. But then today….YAHOO! SUNSHINE SUNSHINE SUNSHINE out of the bluest of all skies, An incredible change invigorating to the degree that it started me on some work on the house again. See, we still haven’t finished that new entry we built last year. Studs were still exposed, some spots weren’t insulated yet and the vapour barrier wasn’t mounted yet. I did all that this morning. After lunch and cleaning up the workspace it was past 2pm. I loaded Bea and Molly into the Convertible and off we went to Herring Cove Beach. You had to look at the calendar to believe we really had October 2, cause the temperature and the glorious sunshine made us think we still had the middle of July or August. It was a full return of summer and I just wished I had gone out in shorts. Bea took off her shoes and even tested the water in the surf zone, but as can be expected it had cooled off quite a bit and she didn’t think it was comfortable. Walking along the beach one can find a lot of different stuff. Unfortunately we didn’t have the camera with us, otherwise you could have seen the red plastic pail I found and hurled out into the water. It landed upright and since the wind blew from land it was sailing way out on the bay of Fundy. Because of the red colour we could see it for a long time. There was more we found: 1 buoy, a rare looking stick with a knot on it, and finally a huge heap of red nylon rope, which of course was entangled into a similar huge heap of blue and thicker nylon rope. The red rope was brand new and I just couldn’t pass up the chance to get myself engaged in unfurling this heap. It took me about 30 minutes to separate the two ropes. The red one turned out to be at least a 1200ft. long. ( I haven’t measured it) It will come into good use when we will fix up our house roof one day. Did I mention that we have a wasp net under the house siding? Yep, they’ve been there all summer. Reason why we tolerated them is that they weren’t showing any sign of aggression.  However since we are getting more and more into the cooler nights the wasps found it time to move farther into the wall. While looking for a warmer spot they migrated so far until they found that little peekabo hole over the baseboard behind our bed. When Bea found them in tens and twenties in our bedroom they had crossed the border, and yesterday I  started chemical warfare against the colony. The spray can produces a yet stream of up to 20 feet so one can stand in a secure distance. By applying it early before daylight it is even more safe. I used it outdoors against their entry hole. The result was a diminished traffic pattern on the outside and an increased migration up the inside of the wall and out of that little peekabo hole behind our bed. As of this afternoon over thirty wasps were found and exterminated in the bedroom. Beyond our bedroom window out on the porch roof a heap of dead wasps has accumulated. With an average population of about 8000 individuals in a nest there is no end in sight yet. I am considering to use that spray can again… Watch out buggers!

Our Beloved Pets

It is a fact that most Rv’ers are taking their pets with them when they travel. It would be quite unusual if we would leave our animal family members at home. And since we can all relate to this I have decided to put out a warning about a certain pet treat we have read and heard about on the internet. The pet treat, dried chicken meat, is originating from China and contains poisonous contaminants which will cause a sudden diarrhea and can cause death of your dog by destroying your dogs kidneys. Hundreds of dogs in the U.S. and Canada have either died or gotten very sick, some with remaining problems. Molly’s problems have always occurred when her food contains pieces of chewy bits. For reference this is the actual link to the info on CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2012/09/fighting-for-fido.html Boomer 2005 Molly has had diarrhea a few times after eating dog food with chicken. Those were not even treats, as we normally don’t buy special treats for her. Some times it was so bad that her droppings were stained red. Whenever that happened we have removed her food and given her Peptobismol. The food in question has then either been returned to the store or been discarded. We now look for buying a food with lamb+rice. It is a fact that even brand names we have thought to be connected to quality dog food have manufactured contaminated food. Contaminated Food scandals have mostly originated in China. It is a terrible thing to loose a pet because of you unknowingly poisoned it. Let this warning go to your heart and lets all move away from doubtful qualities. Read the contents list on the package. If you have any doubt, leave it on the shelf. Lawmakers haven’t done anything to get that dangerous dog food off the shelf. Many times it is the cheap food which is most dangerous. Also be aware of that Wally-Mart is importing most of its merchandise from --- China. Let our pets stay healthy! Thanks for taking the time to read the CBC-link!

The Caledonian Sky was visiting Campobello Island

It is certainly not a huge ship, but nevertheless it was a great thing for the Island when the “Caledonian Sky” was making headway towards the new 400sqft. floating dock of the Roosevelt Park today. Of course she had to anchor outside about half a mile from shore, but the island tender brought 110 British Cruise guests ashore. We shuttled them up to the cottage where they all milled about. And after taking “The Tea with Eleanor”, they were ready to get onboard for a hopefully nice dinner and a the usual evening entertainment. The ship is on a voyage along the coast and will be continuing southward to Washington DC.   Unfortunately they experienced technical trouble under ways when the generator wasn’t working right. Everybody had to be taken off the ship and flown to Halifax where they had to be accommodated. After a speedy repair the ship went to Lunenburg,NS where the passengers went onboard again. While we were waiting for the arrival of the ship, Bea went around the area and took pictures. It was another beautiful day and the British tourists seemed to be extremely happy.  If you wonder about the price tag of this 14-day cruise: It is CAD15,000/person. Bon Voyage!                                                                                 The tender boat                                                                                                                                     Freighter at Eastport

Thanks for stopping by!