New and Unique

My eyes are wide open absorbing the uniqueness of Nova Scotia. Maybe not the uniqueness, maybe only the differences from southern Ontario and therefore unique to me. 

Although I am aware there are deer in Ontario, I personally have rarely seen any. In the first two weeks I have seen 15 deer between peoples front lawns, crossing the road in front of me and on the mud flats at low tide.

Our first cottage is directly on the ocean so we have had the good fortune to see fisherman bringing in their haul. I thought at first the fisherman went out every morning, but as I now understand they go out with the tides, so a work day begins and ends with the tides, not the time.

One of our real estate agents told us the good news that there are no cockroaches in Nova Scotia. But there also are no longer any bats in Nova Scotia living out of captivity.

The weather is intriguing. We have had rain, sun, 18 degree days, 30 degree days, fog, mist, everyday seems like its own independent entity. It doesn’t matter what came before, today will do what today wants to do. It also varies so drastically from place to place. Inland Main Street Yarmouth was a humid, sticky 35 degrees. Fifteen minutes away at Cape Forchu lighthouse it was a chilly 21, foggy, windy and I wanted a sweater!

Like any other part of the country there is a fair share of road kill. However in Ontario I saw mostly racoons, in Nova Scotia 25% of all roadkill is porcupines. I have yet to discover how the vehicle's tires make out  after hitting a porcupine!

Cyclists are everywhere! I am not sure but Nova Scotia must be on some cycling bucket list due the landscape being so hilly. Not my bucket list - it is much to challenging for me. But the uniqueness to this - is they ride on the highway! I was so startled the first time I encountered a cyclist ahead of me and thought they must have just gotten on by mistake, they must be looking for the first exit. But then I saw more and more and realized it is ?ok? to cycle on the highway!!

Speaking of highways...the highways are divided into accessed and restricted access areas. At an accessed portion you are travelling down Highway 101 going 100 kilometres an hour and there is a car at a stop sign perpendicular to you waiting to turn onto the highway! The laughable part is, there is so little traffic on the highway that this is totally reasonable that they can turn onto the highway from a dead stop and accelerate to highway speed without causing any interruption in traffic!

Bugs!! There is a lovely array of large, huge and bigger bugs to contend with on a daily basis. At times I felt like I was in a scene out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie with the bugs swarming and hitting the truck as we ran and ducked and dove in. Zoe is not so thrilled with this aspect of Nova Scotia. She has encountered a few monster spiders not to her liking but she has become quite good at an effective swatting technique that she employs with deadly accuracy.

First Impressions

Crossing the border into Nova Scotia, the adrenaline and excitement kicked in. I was tired from driving for 20 hours over 2 days but suddenly I felt refreshed and happy. 

I started to look for those things I had come here for. I saw trees and water. I did not see traffic. In fact I started to count cars and for the majority of the time there were no more than 6 other cars on the same visible stretch of highway at the same time! There may be a correlation between the number of cars on the road and the lack of gas stations? When my low gas light came on I was advised the closest station was a half hour drive away. I put aside my panic, waited for morning and drove out with 40 kilometres of gas to spare – phew. I believe I will be filling up every half tank from now on! 

I have seen moose crossing signs – but no live moose yet - which is maybe a good thing! I have seen 2 muskrats (maybe – I’m kind of guessing here) they were small cat sized with a flattish tail, brown fur, reminded me of a beaver. Any thoughts? A golden finch sang good morning to me. We saw crabs, clams and hermit crabs during our walk along the beach. We also saw, for my  first time ever, an eagle in its nest along the side of road. So far, I am loving the wildlife!

The weather is very different from what we left behind in Southern Ontario. It is a beautiful 21-24 degrees, no humidity. Down to a chilly 10-14 at night. Beautiful for being outside during the day and sleeping at night!

Upon arrival that first afternoon it was recommended that we walk out at low tide and see the red cliffs. While I have spent time at the ocean in Massachusetts, Florida and Myrtle Beach, I have never experienced low tides like at the Bay of Fundy! We walked out onto the mud flats (which is what remains when the water flows out at low tide) through left-behind sea life, over rocky out croppings and were amazed by the Red Cliffs. They are quite spectacular and completely unviewable at high tide! It was a wonderful first introduction to the natural beauty of our new home.

On The Road

Zoe and I had an incredible pile of things we wanted to take with us in the truck for this first exploration stage of our new life. This pile could have filled an entire storage unit on its own. With great surprise-we got it all to fit in my fabulous Chevrolet Colorado!!

I had set a limit of 12 hours on the road this first day. We almost made it through Toronto traffic without getting stuck with the work commuters. We were only delayed about half an hour with slow downs. Then I put my head down and tried to put on the kilometres. We stopped for gas just before the Quebec border and were very glad we did as it was 146.9/litre once we crossed the border. Driving through Montreal and its suburbs was very similar to a drive through Toronto. It was not stopped traffic, but very slow. At 4 o’clock we realized we could make it to the New Brunswick border but that would mean being in the car for 14 hours. We decided to go for it. I was still feeling okay, not too tired, and we had loads of snacks to keep us going thanks to  patients at Dr. Hennig’s Optometry office. 

The last few hours of driving was so beautiful. Seeing the farm land, the trees, the St. Lawrence river, a calm excitement came over us that we were on the right track.

Family friends had recommended Edmundston New Brunswick as a good place to stop…so here we are. 

We pulled in at 8:30pm and felt really good about that, until we looked at the hotel clock and realized we had crossed into Atlantic Daylight time zone and it was actually 9:30pm. I felt so much more tired suddenly!!! 

A bowl of soup, some quick messages to friends and family on our progress and safety, and off to bed. 

Wrapping Up

June 19^th, 2018 I received a text image from Sarah Digweed showing a sold sign out front of my house!! After much perseverance and faith an offer was presented from a buyer who loves the history and uniqueness of this house as much as I do. And not a moment too soon. I was under great stress thinking I would be leaving Ontario with my house still on the market. So…thank you Sarah!! 

Two storage units later and lots of muscle from Zoe, my son Brandon, and myself and we had those units filled. (No one needs to know the last load went in 10 hours before we were leaving!! Come on, I only had two months to pack.) Alright, I am a procrastinator who ran around like a crazy woman for the two days before leaving.

These last two weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster.

We moved my son out of our house making sure he was settled and didn’t need anything before I left. Saying goodbye to patients and friends at Dr. Hennig’s office was very emotional. I had worked there for thirteen years and will truly miss the kind and generous people I have met. Dr. Hennig said goodbye with a “Toodles Shannon” dinner party including barbequed pizza! My last day of work, saying goodbye to my co-workers, was tear filled. Sandi has been my support for so long. I just love her. Laura, who I have not worked with as long, also brought me to tears with her hugs. The night before I left, I had to say goodbye to my son. I am still crying over that one. And finally the morning we left I had to say goodbye to my mom and dad. They have stood behind me in every decision I have ever made and this was no different. They wished I would stay in Beamsville to be near them, but still, they hugged me, kissed me, wished me well and said goodbye.

On the other side of that emotional rollercoaster, I was getting so excited to start this new life! Zoe and I kept throwing ideas out of how we may earn an income in Nova Scotia, about the house we wanted to buy, about the renovations we wanted to see happen, about the animals we want on our new property. Having such an open book is so exciting and I can’t wait to begin to put all the pieces together!

Finally the day arrived. Wednesday July 11^th at 6:18am we were in our truck leaving Beamsville feeling sad, terrified but soooo excited! It felt unreal. After all the planning and talking we were finally doing. I still look at my present in disbelief at what I am doing. Did I really quit an amazing job? Did I really sell an amazing house that I love? Did I really just drive away from my friends and family? But I keep looking forward and yes, the future does look exciting.

And So It Begins...

In March I started looking at real estate to ensure there were options out East that intrigued me; in April I told my family my plans and then I gave my notice at work. No going back now…I was determined to make this happen. 

This step was very conflicting. I knew it was the right choice for us but we were getting a fair amount of negative reaction. My parents of course did not want me to go. A number of people I mentioned it to looked at me like I was crazy. It came to the point where I would come home and share with Zoe the story of every person who loved the idea and was so excited for us, or called us brave, or said they were jealous just to keep us on track and excited. I needed to focus on the positive encouragement. My son Brandon, told me to ignore the negative people. If it was my dream, I had to go after it. My brother came to my rescue and reminded our parents that I am not a person to make off the cuff decisions. With something this major, he knew I would have thought it through and he knew my mind would not be changed. Slowly the most important people in my life started to come around and show not only their support but they also started looking at real estate with us!

It was not easy sailing. The three most stressful things were:

1.   My son. He didn’t want to move with me. I had to come to terms with leaving my 20 year old baby to live on his own. It was so hard, but I realized it was time the day he asked me to make him a grilled cheese. I commented how worried I was about him living alone if he couldn’t even make a grilled cheese. His answer was “I could, but why bother…you will.”  Things came together quite well on his front. He had a fantastic job that he loved-check- his step mother agreed to have him move in with her but live independently (pay rent, groceries, cook, do laundry)-check-. He got a car-check and he was starting to get excited about living independently-check.

2.   I lived in Beamsville, Ontario. Everyone knows every house sells in Beamsville…except mine apparently. Thirty days later I had had one offer fall through and no other action…I WAS STRESSED!!! But I had given notice at my job and was determined to follow this path so I had to just carry on and hope everything would work out. I had a fantastic realtor (who also happens to be my cousin – thanks Sarah Digweed at Coldwell Banker love ya!!) and I had to have faith in the process and have faith that someone else would love my house as much as I did.

3.   And finally, it was very stressful to be leaving my mom and dad. They have been my biggest support throughout my entire life and I feel so selfish leaving them. I love them very much and am going to miss them terribly. I keep reminding myself that with technology and transportation, our large world has become small enough that I can talk to them (phone) or see them (skype) everyday. They are also just a short plane ride away and I can be at their door whenever they need me (or whenever I need them as the case may be!!)

My Family Top left to bottom right:
Jen(sister-in-law), Bill(brother), Andrew(nephew), Brian(nephew), Brandon(son), Zoe(daughter)
Laura(niece), Sandy(mom), Bill(dad), Shannon(me)

So as difficult as the choice has been – I have made it…Maritimes here we come!!

The Dream I Forgot

Remember those dreams you had for your future when you were younger? 

The dream job? Dream house? Dream travel? Dream adventure?

I had forgotten them as well.

By my early twenties I wanted a farm. But I had to finish school. Then I had to get settled in a career (which took 13 years to find). By then I had the husband and house and two kids and they were all more important than my dreams. Be real-we needed money and stability, not fantasy and adventure. I was an adult with responsibility. But maybe someday……

A separation, fixing up two 
houses, a great paying job (thank you Dr. Hennig Optometrist), a supportive family, growing with teenagers, drama, anxiety, depression, and school took up all the minutes in my day. I forgot myself and my dreams.

Even with all the support and a fantastic job (that I loved), I could never get financially ahead enough reach out for that dream which now also included doing a big home renovation/flip.

Christmas of 2017 I was listening to a story about someone who had moved to New Brunswick, bought a run down house with lots of acreage and has been fixing it up. Stories about the “well”, the wood burning furnace, the bears walking across the back yard and my brother looked at me and voiced what I was feeling…”that sounds like something you would love Shannon!”. He was right and that started the wheels turning.

My plan would involve breaking up my family, (taking my 16 year old daughter, but not my 20 year old son) quitting a job I loved with people I respected and considered friends (Sandi-I miss you already!!). Selling my home, moving two provinces away (or three when we started to consider Nova Scotia as well) from all I knew. 

But I would be working a farm, renovating a house, and finding the peace that had very much been missing from my life. And doing it all with my best friend and daughter Zoe.

I had never been to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. I had lived in Newfoundland for 3.5 months over 25 years ago and loved the calm, friendly, slower pace.  I would be taking such a huge leap of faith that this was where I would achieve my dream!!

But I knew moving out East I could live mortgage free and work toward my goal of living off a productive farm. I could purchase an inexpensive, run down home to renovate, and I would be fulfilling that lifetime dream; realizing, even if I failed, I had tried. And there was the very real possibility I could fail, but then what? I move back to Ontario, rent an apartment, get a job, and carry on!

I had to try.