Animals, Country Living and Movin' to the big small town of Kingston

I fancy myself a city girl but now that I have moved to the country I'm not sure that I am. Who doesn't have the fantasy of living outside the city with a sprawling house, white picket fence, (or in my case every picket is a different colour of pastel), maybe a perpetual infant baby goat, an herb garden with the smell of lavender and the sound of songbirds, geese and loons in the air?  

When my life was in limbo, Brother Tom in Belleville said I could stay in his house since he had just moved out. I would squat there until I bought a house in the Quinte area to start up again as Spoiled Rotten B&B. As well, my wonderful friend Deb invited me, without hesitation (first warning sign lol) to live with her while I was in transit between houses and rentals- that's  2 1/2 months living with another human being (for the first time in 10 years) and her 800 pets, with me not particularly liking animals.  This is the saga of what transpired at my "3 year" stay at my saviour's place in Bourget, a sleepy hamlet of now 12 people. 

Moments after I moved  to the country, my family and Deb rented an RV to  tour around western Ontario, the Manitoulin Island.  My body was not in great shape for this trip.  I had pushed it so hard on the last few days of the move, let's be

 honest, the the last month, I was crippled up like an old lady checking out the chiropractor every chance I got. I sure hope this isn't what I can expect for the future, having  just turned 60.

 I did put my body through way too much in way too short a time and the pain has lasted for half a year.

Hanging the mask out to dry- 2020!

Living in the country was an adjustment to this citified senior.  I love to hang my clothes on the line but before you can get them dry, we have to put them in a machine that is fed by a well 

that may or may not have sulfur or heavy duty salt or just agent orange oozing  from it to possibly permanently stain everything. And then when you do hang it on the line the farmers conspired that day to fertilize their fields.  What is the protocol  for this?  Do I now go to the effort of taking it all down before everything smells like poop? I don't know. I'm from the big city.  Now what is that smell?!

The place I lived at had one very large dog and 2 cats, including one white very lovable cat who would wake me up daily very early if I didn't close my door. One day, I woke up and it was licking my 

 face and so cute.

  I started to smile until I realized it was the big  smelly dog French kissing me. Ewww!! What is that smell?!

This dog is another situation. I think his name is Cujo although they may have called him Raven. He's old, he looks sad but it doesn't stop him from wanting to pick up this broken volleyball in his wet mouth covered in slime, both the ball and dog, and then wants me to take it from him to throw it in a loco game of fetch. When I go to take it from him to throw it, he won't let go and he won't listen to my command "down" or "drop it" or "let go damnit, come on you big jerk" and that really pisses me off because he listens to the 12 year old . Most of the time though he just stares at me with big sad eyes begging me to pay attention. That will be etched in my memory for life. One time I took a picture of the white cat in repose and realized the dog was in the photo, outside staring in, all hurt because I was petting the cat.  Ok that will be etched in my mind forever too.

I grew up thinking animals were expendable.  We never got attached and they always died suddenly, often on the highway or down the back with the odd shotgun or BB gun freak accident, on a regular basis.  The deep back was more like the Bermuda Triangle for unloved pets but here on Deb's hobby farm, I actually learned to like them.  My biggest shocker came at the horse stables.  We watched the first day and rode the 2nd day.  I fell in love with the horse.  It was so gentle that I finally understood my mothers love of them. A million thank yous to Shannon.  

The last couple weeks were very trying on me because I didn't know how to just relax and do nothing. I started going for walks at night; something I haven't done in years.  On these walks I'd see fields and farmer's crops and the fields were so still. I half  expected a werewolf to come out of them at dark but it never does. Oh there's always that possibility; the same possibility that I went on numerous walks. Mind your own business. 

On a warm summer day, we walked two km to the apple orchard and pick a small bushel of my favourite apples -Honeycrisp. The gentleman was a delight and kept trying to get me to try different apples and convinced me that they were better than Honeycrisp. Finally he gave up, sighed and  said okay, row 17 which is where I found the saddest bunch of apples I've ever seen. They didn't even taste good, so bitter. No wonder he wanted to talk me out of it. And then I find out my roommate doesn't eat apples so the apples slowly rotted- what a shame. I would love to core them with my 2 machines and make apple crisp but of course the corers are all packed away in another black hole. 

Country living provides sketchy Wi-fi at best and many of my calls dropped. When I sat outside up front, in the only spot I consistently got good phone Wi-Fi and privacy from the dogs and cats listening in, I kept getting dive bombed by the Asian ladybirds. There were millions of them out there all over the front porch and in the back yard and they ate me alive.

The hot summer days were especially difficult for me, before I started painting everything.  Deb had done some very drastic renovations to her house this year but she never ceased to amaze me how she would drywall, paint, use the leaf blower, hammer drill, winterize, re-mount all the freshly cut trim, use the riding lawn mower, load the house with firewood and use the wood cutter. She was unstoppable.  It had been a strange year for both of us.

 I had lots of time to think about all the changes in my life.  Running the B&B, 

I'd had absolutely no time for a social life.  Now that I was retired and had time for a social life, I found myself in middle of nowhere and with only one drinking hole, in the middle of a pandemic and I continued to ask myself, what had I done?

The finale to 2020, a year of pandemonium, was CRA came up with a loophole to recover all the money they gave out to entrepreneurs and now I owe $10,000 in retirement.  The queen and I are not amused- ok, maybe she is a little because she will probably get a cut.  Many businesses will go belly up.  Most young people have not put aside the taxes so they will owe beyond their means and probably declare bankruptcy. I am nervous for 2021.

A few months ago we started looking for houses in Kingston and it was a dismal search. The 1st one was a new development with no trees no grass and the real estate agent did not show up. I swore I would never live in a place like that. The place we ended up with is a new development with no trees and no grass. The area was levelled of trees and greenery so that millions of 

townhouses could invade and yesterday, I noticed deer behind my fence near a shrub. Friends heard coyotes at night behind the houses opposite us.  They have no where to go.  Maybe my animal loving daughter will take them all to live with her in the basement.

 There are so many adjustments to a new move in a new development.  Until we find where we packed them, there are no curtains on any of the windows including the bathroom ones so we are living in a fishbowl.  Because I got up before the sun I ran my soaker tub which I have missed dearly and found out what "hot water on demand" means. It takes a long while to get hot water. And if you're in the tub and you want to top up the hot water you are going to get cold water for a very long while. That is a new adjustment for me. I ran the soaker tub in the dark and started a guided meditation, my 1st in many months and it was heavenly.  

  

There are no locks on the bedroom doors so I will have to find them in storage. There is no grass in the backyard until next year; mud as far as the eye can see.  

There are no gutters until spring so every time it rains, as you go outside you get wet.  

It was nice to re-acquaint myself with all my old favorite everything that had been in storage for many many months even if half of it went back in storage in the garage waiting for their permanent home next year. With over 300 boxes, all placed in the wrong locations of the new place, and I think 260 of them each contain at least 2 pillows, 3 towels, a quilt, 200 wash cloths and every towel you have ever seen in your life. OMG I have no idea where to put everything. I just opened a box that had 7 bathrobes. I don't even know what to do with that, it's so hilarious. The house is a total disaster and yet so full of promise. 

When you do something with the right intention the universe opens up many new paths for you. My meditation was about surrendering control. I think I've done that because all I have planned is a move and unpacking. That's as far as I've gotten. Will I get a job, no idea. Not even sure I can immerse myself in the culture here.

We take so much for granted. Now when I wash my hair the well salt did not turn my hair into straw- suweeeet!. Oh what a joy it is to get a glass of
water from the tap and drink it. I guess I'm a city girl at heart. I am just not one of those country people who look out over the fields and sigh happily but I am eternally grateful for one of them.  

Final rant - got to get them all out before 2021.  It's loud outside  but the rumbling is not just the trucks building homes or the airport that we moved beside but rather it is the ever running, (at least 6 times a day starting at 4am), Via Rail train that rumbles the land. This is going to be one hell of a great year LMAO. I'm signing out of 2020.  Had enough.  Buh bye and here's to the future- 2021!