The Mountain House

We have embarked on a new and exciting…yet stressful journey; we are building a house! For a long time now we have been searching for the perfect home but nothing ever seems to fit our criteria. We wanted something with some land where our boys could roam and have countless adventures, something that was close by but did not have a neighbor’s house built too close to ours and of course space for a garage where my husband can spend hours tinkering on his COUNTLESS projects.

Last year we thought we found the perfect spot. It had 6 acres, was a post and beam home and was in the woods. It seemed perfect, we fell in love and made an offer to purchase. Once we went back with a friend to do a home inspection the list of repairs and things wrong with the house grew very long and we had to withdraw our offer. Needless to say I was crushed. We kept discussing how we could make it work but in the end we knew that we had made the right decision. We were starting to grow frustrated as we thought we would never find something. Our current home has been great to us, we have been here for nearly 11 years but it’s an older 2 bedroom home and it is no longer working for our little family.

My husband being the researcher that he is found a beautiful piece of land that he thought maybe, just maybe the owners would be interested in selling. He is much braver than I and decided to pick up the phone and call these complete strangers…’the worst they can say is no.’ Much to our surprise they said yes! After months of back and forth talks we finally signed the deed in August and we were the proud new owners of 36 acres on the top of a mountain with the most amazing view….hence the name ‘The Mountain House’

                                   

So far this past summer and fall we (mostly my husband and friends) have spent countless hours clearing and preparing the lot. We decided to start the build of with a garage, something my husband has been longing to have since I have known him. Our plan being put up a garage so we can have a place to store stuff and clean up our current home in preparation to sell and also a place for him to work on things over the winter. Slowly but surely it is all coming together.

House construction will start in the spring. So we have the winter to nail down a house plan and decide what we want. This is the stressful part for me…I have never been very good at making decisions, (luckily he is) and can’t wrap my head around choosing every last detail but at the same time I am so excited to have something that is exactly what we want.

I know there are going to be some stressful days ahead, building a new home, going back to work after my year of maternity leave and raising two young boys is definitely going to be a challenge but in the end I know it will all pay off. Every step of the way is going to be a learning experience and a memory in the making. Our biggest dream is to give our boys a sense of adventure, to enjoy what we have created for them and to show them that if you are persistent your dreams can come true. 

Cottage Country

Last summer one of our greatest dreams came true; we became cottage owners!

My husband and I often talked about where we would like to build/buy a cottage. We would see things in stores and say ‘hey, that would look great in a cottage’ and even plan weekends away at our fantasized cabin in the woods. We always thought it would be something in the far off future.

Then one day opportunity came knocking at our door, literally. Friends of ours were thinking about selling their family cottage and we thought ‘this is our chance!’ We had spent many fishing weekends with them there over the past ten years and even got engaged on the lake. So we felt that it was meant to be.

The first few weekends spent at our new cottage seemed to be a dream. I would often look out the window while doing the dishes and think that someone would pull into the yard and wonder what the heck we were doing there. It took a little while for me to relax and enjoy what was finally ours.

We spent most of our first summer working on what needed to be fixed, (my husband single handily fixed the foundation…my hero) cleaning, taking down old curtains, washing windows and making it our own. Every weekend was like a mini vacation even if we were doing work.

Breakfasts were cooked on our beautiful old Findlay stove, bacon and eggs have never tasted better!

Days were spent working, swimming and hanging out with friends or family who would come to visit.

Most evenings after putting the little one to bed my husband would venture out fishing, while I would sit on the screened- in-porch (missing a few screens)   that over hangs the water, sipping on a glass of wine and enjoying a good book. It feels like our own little paradise.

We spent our last weekend of the season hunting for a Christmas tree and closing up for the winter. We were sad to say goodbye but looking forward to the next cottage season.

This year we were very eager to get back to our home away from home. There was far less work that needed to be done this year, but we still had big plans for the place. Cleaning up the grounds, gardening, fixing the screens in the porch, tearing up the old floor tiles…the list keeps growing. But no matter how much work lay in store for us on the weekends we never seemed to mind. There was never much of a rush or timeline just another weekend tinkering away at the cottage.

Since this year I was back at work I could no longer spend the day packing up the truck to have it ready for Friday nights. So most Thursday evenings after the wee man was in bed we would run around organizing food, clothes and the essentials we needed for the weekend. Every weekend we would think that we wouldn’t need as much stuff since I started leaving bedding, towels and some essentials at the cottage but some how we would still manage to pack the truck to the gills.

Fridays after work we would rush home, feed the little one dinner, change him into his pj’s and hit the road. Most times we would make it in time for bed time, (if he hadn't already fallen asleep in the truck) so we would tuck him in for the night unpack the truck and then…relax. It was so funny how we would just feel lighter and more at ease. Just being away from it all. One of the greatest parts of our little paradise is we don’t have electricity or cell phone service so every weekend we get to unplug ourselves from the world and enjoy our surroundings and each other.

As our 2014 cottage season comes to an end what I am truly grateful for is what this cottage has done and will continue to do for my growing family. With our busy everyday lives we often rush through our days just to get through the motions.

During my evenings at the cottage I often reflect and think ‘we will never get these days back’. So taking the time and enjoying every moment and creating memories has had a big impact on our lives. I feel like we have become happier people, come closer as a family and find ourselves able to enjoy the little things in life; whether that be a Saturday morning snuggle, catching a fish on the lake or finding a blueberry patch …life doesn't get much sweeter than this.

Swiss Chard

This year was the first time that I grew Swiss chard; when we were drawing up our garden map we decided that we would grow kale and/or chard. With map and list in hand I arrived at the garden centre and came across the beautifully coloured stocks and decided that it would be fun to grow. So I bought a whole flat of it; which was a little over zealous seeing as I had never even tried the stuff. It was one of first things I got to harvest and although it is not my new favourite vegetable it can be quite yummy. 

It is not something I really enjoy eating on it's own but I have concocted several different recipes to incorporate our colourful veggie into our diet. It started off on pizza, then moved into an orzo salad (picture above right) and ended up in my biggest masterpiece yet...stromboli! (pictured below). I found a few recipes on Pinterest but most recipes called for spinach so I had to do a bit of tinkering with the recipe to make it work. And her you have my stromboli, which was a HUGE hit. 

Stromboli

1 pkg of frozen bread dough (I made my own in bread maker)

1/2 cup Pesto Sauce

2 cups Swiss chard chopped

2 cups Cooked Shredded Chicken

2 cups Shredded Mozzarella (or any cheese you have in the fridge)

1/2 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

1 tsp. Garlic Salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

Thaw bread according to package. I make my own in the bread maker using a pizza dough recipe.

Roll out dough into a rectangle about the size of a cookie sheet

Spread Pesto all over leaving a 1 inch space from edge

Sprinkle 1/4 cup Parmesan on top of pesto. Sprinkle Mozzarella the layer of spinach, last your shredded Chicken, you can also add things like chopped tomatoes.

Now roll up like a jelly roll , starting at the long end and roll all the way so it makes a long tube.

Place on cookie sheet, with seam  on the bottom.  Tuck ends under.

Brush with egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan and Garlic Salt.

Cut 3 or 4 slits along the top to vent

Let it rise for about 30 minutes then bake @350 until golden brown, 20-30 minutes.

The Garden

A few years back we decided to put in a garden. My hubby spent endless hours adding new soil and compost, seeding and planting. Most of the garden was overgrown by weeds (which was supposed to be my job) and what crops weren't over taken simply grew tall and never produced any vegetables...all except beans. We ate A LOT of beans.

So it took a few years to convince my hubby to put in another garden. We started from scratch this time and changed the location. We built a box, added soil, put up a fence around it, planted and seeded. So far we have had great success. Our crops include; peas, beans (both yellow and green), pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, Swiss chard, lettuce, onions, carrots, radishes, herbs (basil, parsley and oregano) and squash.

Presently I am on maternity leave so I get baby's nap time to work on and harvest the garden and have been loving every minute. It has been so satisfying putting dinner on the table with produce from the garden or mashing up baby food from things we have grown. Hopefully I will be able to find the time for it again next year, but for now it's off to the garden for me.

The Rock

About 8 years ago my boyfriend and I decided that it would be a great idea to pack up his little Honda Civic hatch back full of camping gear and head out east for 10 days. We drove through New Brunswick, visiting the Bay of Fundy and headed out to Nova Scotia to see the bright lights of Halifax and tour around the Cabot Trail. Everyday was a new adventure and a new campsite. We hiked various trails, went deep sea fishing and got to see the beauty that is the east coast of Canada. We vowed that someday we would be back.

So after almost 8 years, a couple wedding bands and a baby on the way later; my husband and I decided that it was high time we packed up the car again and headed back east and explore the vast province of Newfoundland. This time around we gave ourselves 2 weeks for our whirlwind tour.

Our first day on the road was a slow one. It seemed like we hit every construction zone on the highways as well as rush hour traffic in both Montreal (lunch time) and Quebec City (dinner time). It felt as though we were getting no where fast. We spent our first night at a little campsite called Riverside Camp Ground just outside of Edmundston, New Brunswick. The couple running the it gave us the ‘best site in the house’ that was right by the beach, which we discovered in the morning was a small rocky beach that lead to an even less impressive shallow river running by.

  

Our next day of driving was far more successful; we left Edmundston and headed out in hopes of making it to Inverness, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island. 850 km later we were setting up camp at the same site we had almost eight years ago. To finish the day off we (as in my husband, who cooked every meal) cooked an amazing lobster dinner, played a few hands of cribbage and called it a night.

                                         

The next morning we were up bright and early to pack up the car and head off to North Sydney to catch the ferry to Newfoundland.  We arrived with ample time and with not much to do in North Sydney we walked along the shore line skipping stones (which I successfully did for the first time ever!) and inhaled the sea salted air. We prepared ourselves some lunch and snacks for the long ferry ride across. Finally it was time to board the ferry. It was hard to believe how many cars and tractor trailers they could cram into one boat. So it was farewell to Nova Scotia as we slowly watched the cliffs disappear into the horizon. 5 hours later we were watching Newfoundland come into view and what a view it was!

                                       

We drove off the ferry through Port-aux-Basque and were instantly in awe of the beautiful mountains and seascape. We spent out first night at a B&B in the little town of Codroy, where a wonderful man name Gerald welcomed us with opened arms. The next morning after a good night’s sleep and a great home cooked breakfast we were off to see the wonders of Gros Morne National Park.

                                       

The drive to the park was spectacular with great views of countless lakes, rivers and beautiful hillsides. Around lunch time we stopped in Corner Brook to get something to eat and checked out Marble Mountain ski resort where they had an impressive zip line across a gorge. We decided that we would pass on the zip line since I was pregnant and that seemed like a very good excuse, not to mention that it looked terrifying.
                                                      

We arrived in Gros Morne and decided that we would stay at Berry Hill campsite for 3 nights so we could explore the wonders of the national park. After setting up camp we decided to do our first hike; we packed up or water bottles and camera (in hopes of seeing a moose) and headed down the 6km trail to Baker Brook Falls. The water falls were most impressive, but then we needed to walk the 6km back to our campsite. Hiking was much easier 8 years ago when I wasn’t carrying the extra load of a baby, but it was well worth the hike.

                                         

Our three days in Gros Morne were spent hiking various trails and seeing the famous sites. On one of our adventures we decided to visit the Tablelands; which is a mountain of flat-topped rock that is usually found only deep in the earth’s mantle. The colouring of the stone is yellowy and varies so much from the rest of the landscape within Newfoundland. Instead of taking the gently sloped trail that wraps around the base of the Tablelands we decided to hike up the side. While carefully watching my steps (especially since it started to pour rain) I wasn't paying much attention to the landscape until I caught up to where my husband was waiting for me. We stood there in the rain (luckily we had our rain coats) discussing if we should continue on or turn around when a movement on the other side of a noisy waterfall caught my eye. It was a moose! And not just any moose but a huge bull moose; just going about his business eating shrubs. I was so excited that I could barely form the words; I just tapped my husband’s shoulder and pointed. We were both so excited and quickly whipped out the camera. We had both seen moose before but never this big and this close. We must have taken a hundred photos of the amazing beast as we walked down the side of the mountain parallel to the moose’s path with only a stream separating us.

                                        

Our last day in Gros Morne we decided to spoil ourselves and splurge on a boat tour of Western Brook Pond; we always have a hard time justifying the expense but in the end one of us throws our arms up and says something along the lines of ‘when is the next time we are going to be in Newfoundland?’ So out comes the credit card and next thing we know we are in line for our boat tour. Once on the boat and heading out into the fjord we have no regrets about the money we just spent. It has to be one of nature’s greatest beauties and we are in total awe of the spectacular glacier-carved fjord. Just when we thought it couldn't get any more breathtaking we would round another corner and there would be a waterfall cascading some 2000 feet down the cliff side and disappearing into a magical mist before it would hit the pond. A definite must see while in Newfoundland.

             

Our last few days were spent driving across the province different mapped out destinations. We made our way up to St. Anthony’s where we visited L’Anse aux Meadows national historic site and toured around the reconstructed huts where the Vikings lived over a thousand years ago. Headed out to St. John’s where we hike around Signal Hill, visited Jellybean Row and made our way out to Cape Spear to stand on Canada’s most easterly point. While in St. John’s we camped in Pippy Park which was suggested by one of the Parks Canada staff members. It definitely was not one of our best campsites that we have chosen and we were very happy to pack up after our two day stay. 

  

                                                               

To finish off our Newfoundland adventure we decided to take one more boat tour in hopes of seeing whales and puffins. There is a story behind these puffins. For years I have wanted to see a puffin, it had started to be come and obsession. They are just such a cute bird and look like a hybrid of a penguin and a toucan. Some years ago we were in the Gaspe on another one of our famous road trips; where they had pictures of puffins on some of their tourist brochures and I decided then that I really wanted to see one. Well it turns out they are a very seasonal bird and they are rarely ever in Gaspe, so when we were planning our Newfoundland trip I declared that I MUST see a puffin.                                          

Once out on the boat and taking in the beautiful site of the ocean and seascape I became more excited with the thought of spotting one. And suddenly there they were! Not one, but hundreds of them. I was so excited I couldn't even take pictures and handed the camera to my husband. I nearly jumped up and down with excitement over these little birds, while my husband merely laughed at me and snapped pictures of them. Unfortunately we were too late in the season to see any whales but we did spot a sun fish which looked like a shark that somebody flattened.

                                            

Our adventure was coming to a close so we needed to make our way back to Port-aux-Basque to catch our ferry home. Along the way we had one final stay in Gros Morne at the Lomond camp site. It was a beautiful site and we had stayed there earlier in the trip but this time it wasn’t raining and we were one of the only campers there. We had a quiet evening, chatted with fellow campers and talked about our adventures and had the privilege of seeing the Northern Lights, a great way to end our trip. After making our way back to Port-aux-Basque we ended up with one more night on The Rock due to some lousy weather and winds of up to 100 km an hour, we would head out in the morning.

                                           

So it was another successful road trip under our belts and it was a little bitter sweet. With baby on the way it would probably be the last (for a while) road trip we would do just the two of us but we were heading home to get ready to travel down a whole new road of adventure.

                                             

Coffee Break

Holland; Wooden Shoes and Windmills

Along with most people I had always pictured Holland to be full of people walking around in wooden shoes, woman in long dress and bonnets, tulips every where and men working in windmills. Being from Canada I should know better than to stereotype seeing as I don’t live in an igloo or ride a dogsled to get to work.

The scenery flying into Holland was similar to Ireland, patch work fields of greens and gold, but the rolling hills were replaced by complete flatness and canals. Our mood was definitely different flying into Holland seeing as our last night in Ireland made our early morning departure a little rough (to say the least). But it was on to the next leg of our journey and we were excited despite the pounding headaches.

Upon arriving at the Eindhoven airport we realized we had absolutely no real plan. We knew that we eventually wanted to make it to the towns of Barneveld and Voorthuizen (where we would visit family) but had never really thought about how we would get there. After grabbing some maps and a few directions at the information booth (I was surprised to find out how many people spoke English) we headed outside the busy airport to wait for our second source of transportation; the bus.

The bus promptly brought us to the train station where we were to take 4 trains to get us to the town of Barneveld. After switching trains and navigating through the stations and platforms and only taking one wrong train (turning our 4 train journey into 5) we finally arrived at our destination. Now all we needed was to find a place to stay.

Wandering around town we located a little tourism shop where we bought a few maps and had a wonderful lady give us directions to the closest Bed and Breakfast where we decided we would spend the night. After agreeing on a price and paying for the night we were escorted to our room. What lay behind the door was a bit alarming, but after getting up at 4:00am, catching our flight, taking a bus and 5 trains I was ready to lay my head down just about anywhere, even in a pink and purple room I dubbed ‘Arabian Nights’.

Bicycles are Holland’s main source of transportation; there are around 16 million bicycles in the country, just about 1 for every inhabitant. So after planes, train and automobiles we decided it was high time to rent a bicycle. I loved biking through all the little towns, I just felt like waving at everyone. Bikes had their own lanes and all traffic (whether car or pedestrian) would yield to their right of way. And if you happened to step in front of a bike without looking; you would receive a sharp ding from the bell and some words (that I am sure were swear words) muttered at you. We spent a day biking (around 20 km each way) to a little town called Otterlo and through the Hoge Veluwe National Park where we sat and had lunch (cheese and fresh bread we bought that morning at the market) and visited the Kröller-Müller Museum to see the Van Gogh exhibit. Needless to say after so many hours spent on a bike my poor little behind did not want to see another for a very long time.

My husband’s family are originally from Holland so we have spent countless hours listening to his Oma (Dutch for grandmother) recount stories of living in Holland and surviving the war. Whether it was biking to town to get medicine for her brothers and being shot at or jumping from a train with her husband so he wouldn’t go back to the German work camp; her bravery and strength always amazes my husband and I, no matter how many times we have heard the story. With some family still living there we had a wonderful opportunity to be able to stay with some cousins and the privilege of getting to know them.

Every evening we were feed a wonderful meal with endless drinks and chatter about Holland and Canada, family and friends, life and politics. And everyday we were left to explore the towns and the country side. On her days off our hostess would bring us sightseeing; to see a windmill, buy some wooden shoes for our little niece, eat raw herring (not as bad as it sounds) and my favourite; visit a dairy and sample cheese.

With Holland so vast with history we could not leave without learning a little more about the Second World War. It was a difficult decision but we decided that it was important for us to visit one of the many (too many) Nazi work camps that had occupied Holland; Camp Vught. It was a very sombre experience and most of the 2 hour visit was spent in silence and disbelief. We had been aware of the many horrors that occurred during that time but it was so eyrie to walk through where the occupants had slept, ate and died. (I have no pictures to share of this part of the trip; it just didn’t feel right to take any)

After spending nearly a week, biking around the country side, learning our history and getting to know family, our time was almost up. We had a day and a half left and we had decided to spend it in the famous city of Amsterdam. So after saying our goodbyes (and fighting back tears) we hopped on yet another train, waved goodbye and were on our way. Once we settled into our hotel and locked away our valuables (we heard way too many stories of being pick pocketed) we headed out on the town to see what we could see. Of course our first stop was a café along one of the canals to sit and have a Heineken and watch the people go by. Amsterdam definitely had a different pace and mix of people then the rest of Holland. We spent our evening walking through the winding streets, stopping at cafes to have a glass of wine or two (not the other things that were offered on the menus) and wandering through the Red Light District to catch a glimpse of what everyone talks about.

Our last day in Holland was spent walking through the Anne Frank Museum where we got to see where the family lived in hiding from the Nazi’s; hard to believe this all happened only 67 years ago (which really isn’t all that long when you think about it). After leaving the museum we decided our last and final adventure in Holland would be too spend the afternoon taking a canal tour. Amsterdam has more than 100 kilometres of canals, so it seemed like something we needed to do to complete our experience. It was fun to see the city from the water and it was amazing to watch the captain navigate and turn around in the narrow canals.

So the sun was setting on our final day; our week had once again flown by and it would soon be time to pack up our things and climb aboard our plane to meet our friends in Spain for the last leg of our tour. With absolutely no plans or expectations when flying into the country we were leaving with so much more than we came for. We had experienced history, travelled the countryside and got to know my husbands family. We were sad to leave, it almost felt like we were leaving home.