Little Bunkie on the Coast

Our fireplace has been working at full blast all day long and every day to keep our little place warm. As we learned in science class many years ago: heat rises. The issue with heat rising from the fireplace is precisely that it goes straight up to the ceiling, and then through a thin layer of wood panels and shingles -- so, it really isn't keeping our house warm after all...no matter how many logs of dry wood we throw in there.

But, fear not...Michiel had already planned to pick up some pink, fluffy insulation and a great, efficient blowing machine to blow all that fluffiness into the ceiling.

For some days before we started this project, we both dreaded the potential mess this could create. Michiel was thorough and meticulous in stapling the plastic cover carefully onto the rafters, thus creating a space between the plastic and wood panels for the insulation to stay. However, imagining cotton candy-like things floating down like snowflakes and landing on every square inch of clean surface inside our house (that we already struggle to keep clean) was not a motivating thought. But, we braved it through. We knew the pay off was coming after having done the "dirty" work.

That morning was sunny (blue skies but no clouds) and quite brisk -- deciding where the hose of the blowing machine was going to enter the house was a challenge. We had to keep our house warm, so feeding it through the wide open front door just wasn't going to cut it. The best place we thought was going to have to be through a gap as small a size as possible. So, we decided to use the sliding front window just over our stove. We stuffed the gap with a free duvet blanket we scored at the local Salvation Army Store. Truthfully, the blanket belonged to our dog -- she kindly lent it to us. ;)

At the end, we did have a few flurries (and occasionally some explosions...due to me not waiting for his signal to flick the switch on). The majority of the flurries landed on the countertop by the sink (as you can see in the picture).

Another productive week to be thankful for. We are cautiously anticipating coastal winter storms -- as we've been told by many kind locals that this is a reoccurring thing in this beautiful province. We have food stocked away and our generator is sitting in its box ready to make a scene at the drop of a hat.

We hope you are keeping warm and healthy during these cooler months. The new thick, pink blanket hanging above my head is giving me a sense of warmth and security. I hope your warm blanket is doing the same for you. Good night and sweet dreams, dear friends and family.

We are ecstatic to announce that our family officially moved into our little house on October 5th! It was just too cold to be spending the nights outside in a tent. Mother nature decided for us when it was finally time to cozy ourselves on our new turquoise IKEA couch...inside our new home.

The flickering orange and yellow flames danced energetically behind the iron black box -- its warmth radiating through the crystal glass, reaching the tips of our toes. The hard work of making a hole through the roof in order to slide a long, silver chimney pipe down to the woodstove was worth the effort. Alas, the long awaited moment of calling this place our home has come. This place *feels* like home.

Our family huddles into one bedroom every night to slumber. Two queen sized beds spread across the majority of the room with pillows and numerous blankets sprawled atop the beds. It is our new sleeping arrangement -- the kids are thrilled to be so close in proximity to their parents.

Having all members of the family sleep in one room is generally very energy efficient when it comes to cold weather. Our little box heater in our room turns on ever so often -- definitely more often during the cooler nights. But, something had to be done about the large, gaping hole in the exterior wall above the bedroom. Covering the large opening became a priority, even though there were many other urgent projects to be done in preparation for the cold winter days.

Thankfully, Michiel had calculated and planned all the materials he needed ahead of time to finish that wall. He spent a full day and a half gathering those materials and installing them. He seemed to have sped through the whole process because by the time I took my first glance at the walls, he had already finished seventy percent of the work. The Lord was gracious to him for giving him two warm, sunny days to work -- and we are so thankful!

The first decorative piece hung in our house is the "laundry" sign adorning the top of the tall door. During the first few weeks of moving here, we had carefully planned where all the appliances were to be placed. With seven hundred feet to work with and not many rooms to play with, the most logical place to have the stackable laundry and drying machine was in the open kitchen, next to the large fridge. We also had to consider the location of the plumbing system and its proximity to the appliances.

We have light in the house! The first set of lights to be used in our new home is the rectangular hanging lights over our dining table. Michiel was eager to start a puzzle on the table immediately after the installment. There's no better way of marking this milestone by inviting a large colourful puzzle under the radiance of these lights. And even better, our daughter was glad he kept his promise -- spending that time with her and her hard earned surprise. ;)

As we kept busy catching up with the must-dos on our house. As the leaves on the trees change colours day by day. As the sea breeze blow cold wind against our cheeks. As we come to the realization that our sailing excursions are quickly coming to a halt. We decided to sneak in two more trips with the whole family...including Miku, our dog.

Then comes today, when it is time to have our boat hauled out of the waters, and have it live on land amongst other sailing and fishing boats. A whole shipyard full of them. Tall and handsome -- as you gaze at them from the ground up.

Our house, though not complete in its renovations, has been in move-in condition for nearly a month. Our boat, taking a rest from the hard winds and choppy waves of the salty waters, is now taking a break for six months.

We hope you have enjoyed this update. We hope you are staying warm and finding rest between the busy-ness of this season. Live day by day and count your blessings.

Have a good evening and sweet, warm dreams to you, dear friends and family. 🌜🌠

I am long overdue for another update on our house renovations adventure. It has been a few weeks of busy-ness on the home front, as the cooler, fall temperatures have permanently moved in -- and we are still sleeping in our tent... yikes! We are grateful for our furnace to keep us toasty-warm overnight -- it kicks in more often these nights.

The wonderful news is that Michiel's parents, also known to the kids as Opa and Oma, came for a ten day visit from Ontario. We were so delighted to see them again! The greeting of big, bear hugs and familiar smiles brought warmth and a feel of "home" to us. It truly is a blessing to know these feelings.

One of the biggest project yet to be completed is our kitchen. We had extra help this week as Carpenter Opa stepped up to the plate, next to his son, to tackle this very important project. The talented father and son made remarkable progress.

The IKEA countertops have been cut to size and customized to fit the shape of our open concept living room/kitchen home. Michiel also built the cabinets from scratch. He included a large corner pantry -- sitting on the countertop.

As I turned on the stove for the first time last week -- an appliance I haven't used since we renovated our previous, Ontario house, I am made aware of just how long ago I've made a proper meal inside four insulated walls: about four months! It was a glorious experience to say the least. What wonderful cooking aids we have at our disposal. We often take for granted the comfort and luxury such appliances bring us. Adventuring in Nova Scotia may have taught me to be content with both "camping cooking" as well has "luxury -- in-house cooking". Do I have a preference? My answer: neither? I'd be content with not cooking. ;)

It has been about 2 weeks since we've started using our washer and dryer. Another big milestone for our family. The endless cycles of doing "catch up laundry" began. Thankfully, my beloved mother in law (Oma to the kids) had made it her priority to wash and dry laundry most days of her visit with us. I am grateful for such kind and helpful in-laws. :)

We moved our dining table and chairs into the house today. It felt freeing to sit at a proper table, and in proper seats, for a proper meal. It seems as though we've made leaps in moving and getting settled into our new, unfinished home.

The latest kid entertainment activity includes a spectacular 15ft trampoline. Our kids were overjoyed to bounce and holler within the confines of this circular contraption. It was a day of endless laughter, giggles and shouts of joy. Just as how each day should be, when you are on a family adventure such as the one we are currently on!

Good night, dear friends and family. We hope you dream of many sweet adventures tonight!

This picture shows a work-in-progress all the while, it shows work-completed. A snapshot of reality in our day to day life while living in a construction zone. Some weeks, it feels as though we are crawling at turtle speed and this week has kind of been one of those weeks.

The vanity is completely usable now. The faucet has been installed along with the unique-looking sink bowl sitting atop the new IKEA countertop we recently purchased. The cabinet doors have been customized and installed. We feel privileged to be able to wash our hands in the bathroom (as opposed to having to walk back to the tent to do it).

As the bathroom project progresses smoothly, the clock for getting this home move-in ready is ticking. We are becoming more aware of the cold weather lurking just around the corner. Our tent should only be our home -- at the latest -- till before the first snow fall.

We are getting ready for family to visit this upcoming week, which means that our focus this weekend has shifted away from house renovations. Today's highlights include cleaning up our yard and setting up a camp trailer for our family's stay (thank you very much to our new friends who are lending us the trailer❤). We are excited to see our family. The kids are very much looking forward to it!

We hope you have a wonderful evening, dear friends and family. Enjoy the cooler weather. It is sweater season! Good night and sweet dreams to all.

The last four days have been a blurr for our family as we made our way into Halifax to collect our new-to-us sailboat. After a number of attempts to secure a babysitter, find a delivery captain, and line up a potential date to set sail, we have finally settled on Michiel going with the captain (and I stay home with the kids) this past Monday. The trip took twenty-seven hours in total -- overnight sailing from Halifax to Shelburne and maintaining a fifteen mile distance to land at all times. The weather could not have been more perfect. Though, there was a lot of sailing into the wind "tacking" (which, I believe to be more work...), the overall experience was good. There were some short-lived, sprinkles of rain over night, and at some point during their trip the wind died down significantly -- they were moving at 1.5 knots/hour. With the use of both the sails and the motor, the duo was able to manoeuvre the boat from Point A to Point B without much trouble.

The kids were sad to say goodbye to their papa on shore as they gazed tearfully at the disappearing boat (moving ever so slightly on the open harbour). They made sure that papa heard their booming shouts of "bye papa!" repeatedly, each time with more intensity. The sobering feeling of papa's absence became more of a reality when I announced it was time to head back to our van for the 2.5 hours drive home. Tears streamed down their hot cheeks. Even rubbing their eyes with their sleeves were futile attempts to dry the tears. After I agreed to their plea to shout bye to their papa one last time (...ten more times), they reluctantly waddled from the large boulders of where they stood, to the oversized white van -- inside, our highly energetic yet affectionate Miku stood with her paws against the window, ready to pounce-lick any family member within a one meter distance from her reach.

Of course, the kids all verbalized their grief of missing papa. It just isn't the same without papa around. Even though they know full well that they will see papa again the following day. The absence of a loved one even for a moment can seem infinitely long...especially for younger kids who have not yet grasped the concept of time.

Since we have not found a babysitter, the kids voluntold me to occupy such a role -- for the next twenty-seven hours until the parent sailing on the boat returned. The job description required dyed blue hair...tied back into pony tails, lots of craft making, and a change of attire -- very casual... teenager-like casual. I kindly turned down their offer multiple times: I assured them that my experience as a mother of four, for over ten years would make me more than a fine babysitter. Then, I bribed them with a movie of their choice, a large mug of minty hot chocolate, and a midnight snack of instant noodles (literally, we had this at 11:30 pm). My hard work of mothering my four without their papa around has paid off! They were tuckered out even before they slurped their last noodle from their bowl.

We all slept together in random, unmade beds in the tent. Our glamping tent hummed with the furnace turned on all night long. It was cozy inside. There were no tears. Just tiredness and sleepiness. The day came and went like a blink of an eye.

Before we knew it, it was morning. A new day. The day when we would meet papa at the yacht club. We were hoping to arrive and catch him on the boat cruising in. And that we sure did. Both papa and the captain arrived safe and sound. A little more tired than usual (exhausted really), but healthy and happy.

There were shouts of "hi papa!"...repeatedly and at high volume. We were all so happy to have him home again!

We hope you are enjoying your week, dear friends and family. Even though we are loving it here, we do miss our friends and family from home. Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing!

Good night and sweet dreams!

Over the past few days, we've seen the ceiling change in appearance. It now has a new layer of baffles! It's one of the many new words in the world of construction I am learning about. I watched Michiel methodically staple them to the ceiling. The next step would be to build a gap between where the baffles are to where the new ceiling height will be. Next comes the insulation which will be blown into the gap. Maybe I make this sound more complicated than it needs to be. 😆 What I do know, is that the end goal of this process is to keep us warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

I am thrilled to announce that the hot shower in our new bathroom is absolutely glorious! There is nothing quite like showering inside the four walls of our new home. As summer is coming to an end, so is taking a shower outside -- behind our camping trailer, enclosed by makeshift plastic curtains and a palet for a floor. Michiel has done a great job getting our house move-in ready. Our target date is end of September...which, as I am counting down the days, am realizing how quickly that date is sneaking up on us.

The bathroom vanity, though still unfinished (Michiel only just came up with the design this morning), will be completely customized to the needs of our family of six, and to the dimensions of the bathroom. We discussed the storage spaces that we'd like to have, then tried our best to incorporate them into the design. The design has to be sleek and functional, without neglecting certain qualities that make the bathroom look and feel too impersonal. A challenge we love to undertake!

We are surely making progress day by day. Each tackled mini project brings us closer to getting our house ready for us to move in. Our family is anticipating settling in...even though we know the house won't be completely renovated by the time we are moved in.

We do know that this adventure is a dream come true. We still have to pinch ourselves once in awhile to make sure that this is all real. And it is. :)

Good night and sweet dreams to our dear friends and family.

A sunny morning greeted us when we awoke, even though the early hours are now darker than it used to be last week. The last few days of rain and cloudy skies have made us a little stir crazy at home. Thankfully, we have working vehicles that have not failed us yet -- to transport us to the local library for our book fix and for uninterrupted, online internet gaming.

Our latest projects have transformed this little former convenient store/greasy burger joint into a lovely and cozy family home. We are very happy with the choice of flooring we bought (on sale a few weeks ago). There was a large gaping hole in the floor that had to be covered up. Michiel went down to finish off some plumbing work before permanently sealing the opening with wood and new flooring.

Since we have yet to locate our front floor mat (that is stored away somewhere), Michiel laid down the black metal piece that used to sit under the woodstove.

The shower hardware has just been installed today. The hot water has been connected to the shower as well, which calls for a mandatory celebration. YAY!

If you look closely at the wall tiles, you'll see that there are darker spots... especially close to the grout. Michiel's discovered that black grout is definitely more difficult to work with on near white coloured tiles. So, if you decide to use this colour on light coloured tiles, be prepared to spend endless hours scrubbing the excess grout away.

We found new shower curtains at a bargain store. We thought the patterns and colours worked well for the design of the bathroom.

The kids and Michiel had a lightsaber fight in the dark. The colourful glow and swishing sounds of the swords animated the quiet, hollow evening. The hysterical laughs filled the night air. Having to end this semi-spontaneous occasion brought expected tears to the kids...who've been drawn too deep into the quest of teaming up, in hopes of beating papa at his challenge.

A heart-warming birthday card, thoughtfully created by my second oldest daughter, lit up an otherwise rainy and bleak day. I see her emotions in the strokes applied to each sketch -- from the weight placed on the tip of her pencil to the fading trails as her pencil lifted from the page. It is a blessing to notice these endearing details.

The negative updates I have are: a red and purple wrist on one of our kids -- an injury inflicted by our misjudging puppy; and a vintage couch that was reserved for me to pick up -- except picked up by someone else -- without the owner's knowledge.

We are happy to share our adventure updates with you. We hope you are seeing a bit of what we are seeing through these posts and pictures throughout the week.

We hope you have a wonderful evening, dear friends and family.

We've been eagerly anticipating ownership of our 35 foot sailboat this weekend (yes, we have purchased this big dream of a water vessel!). As we are almost completely new to this sailing business (Michiel spent many summer days boating with his family as a young boy when he was still living in Holland; and I, took sailing lessons at a summer camp when I was 14 years old), we are more than thrilled to start yet another adventure -- this time on the water!

Over the past month, Michiel and I have been meticulously planning our excursion from Halifax to Shelburne. These two locations mark the place where the boat is currently docked and where it will temporarily make its home. The logistics of finding an available babysitter for four kids for the duration of two days (overnight) while intentionally setting the sailing departure date (dependant on the patterns of the whimsical wind forecast by the Atlantic Coast) has been anything but enjoyable.

As it turns out, the two logistical points were not in agreement, thus another date will need to be set (in pencil...not in pen... ;) ). So, for now we will have to be patient and wait.

Our family's evenings are preoccupied by cuddles on the couch infront of a new forty inch TV -- inside our tent. The humming of the furnace prevailed, especially during strong gusts of southerly winds -- courtesy of the most recent hurricane. These evenings of family relaxing-intensives help calm our minds and prepare us for a night of uninterrupted sleep.

The dishes have an unbreakable habit of piling up on our mini couterspace inside the tent. The sink can fit roughly four small bowls, two cups and maybe one small lunch plate. We have learned to respect the maximum amount of dishes and cutlery the sink will allow, because otherwise, the sink will lash back at us when the faucet turns on: an unsightly episode of overflowing water; and consequently -- an hour of wiping and drying.

The bathroom project continues to advance day by day. Grouting and sealing the wall and floor tiles bring us ten steps closer to having the bathtub ready for our sing-songingly, water loving "four". This will be another milestone for our house renovations journey.

Never missing a beat on the exploring front, we daily hop into our van to go for a light stroll in town, or to the nearby beach to inhale the salty breeze.

Next week's tasks will be to lay down the grey floors in the house, and to plug in our stove and dishwasher. I may be able to start cooking on a proper stove again! Lots to look forward to.

We hope you have a wonderful rest of your day, dear friends and family.

Since we've moved here, the summer temperatures have been very comfortable; cool and foggy in the mornings, but warm and sunny in the afternoons. I believe we've experienced the first (and hopefully the only) heat wave of the summer, last week. Thankfully, it's been tolerable as long as we stayed in the shade and kept our water intake higher than usual. I can honestly say that the high temperatures we experience here are nothing like what we experience in Ontario. It would be wonderful though, to have a heat pump installed so that we can make use of the air conditioning option during these scorching, summer days (and heating option for the cold winter days). It is certainly on our list of appliances to purchase.

The renovations are steady, but a little slower than the previous weeks. Our family has been taking advantage of the short, summer season to explore and enjoy all the splendour this province has to offer. We've not been disappointed one bit. I was told it is necessary to take breaks and enjoy our surroundings, because we are all in need of change to our routine to destress.

One of such breaks took us back to Shelburne by the waters at a public outdoor theater. The kids, enthralled by the huge boulders arranged to make steps/seats, parked themselves in view of the great entertainer (their oldest sister).

A trip into Shelburne necessitates a stop at Welkum Park once again. "The Soda Beach" earned its nickname given by Lorelai, due to its somewhat opaque-brown waters which, according to the kids -- reminded them of carbonated beverages (which we seldom drink).

Michiel's mission this week is to install the tiles in the bathroom and have the room ready for the purpose of bathing the kids. Even though we have an outdoor shower equipped with a full tank of hot water (and it replenishes itself with hot water at the end of every use...thanks to the propane tank that is conveniently attached to the water holder).

But, luxury camping with four kids for two months straight has its shortcomings. We miss hearing the kids splash in the tub while sing-songly entertaining their Lego characters; My Little Pony figurines; and random plastic things they find in their overflowing stash of well-loved toys. These are simple things in life we enjoy, but have been underappreciated during busy seasons in life.

The fireplace is now furnished with concrete stones (bought at an extremely reasonable price in the clearance section at Kent). We are quite pleased with the "look".

The weekend wrapped up with an amazing witness to the baptism of five individuals, made new in the ultimate and final sacrifice of none other than their new Lord and Saviour -- Jesus Christ. Though the bleakness of this strange world we live in can be unbearable even at the best of times; there is a light that shines brighter -- reaching into the deepest depths of obscurity.

The kids celebrated this joyous occasion by challenging one another to a few rounds of potato sack racing. It truly is a rewarding experience for every competitor, as crossing the finish line means receiving a few Rocket, Kit-Kat and Aero candies.

We hope you are doing well and enjoying these updates.

Have a wonderful night. Sleep well and sweet dreams, dear friends and family!

A few days ago, I tried posting my update late in the evening, but I see that it hadn't gone through. So, here it is... a few days late. Enjoy! :)

I realized, after rummaging through all the pictures I had taken, that I hadn't included any of the ones of Michiel and I learning to sail. Our instructor, who also happens to be the owner of the boat (yes, we are double blessed with learning to sail on the boat we are purchasing), captured several pictures of our attempts at docking the boat, as well as several others of us at the helm (wheel) and handling the sails.

The first day of lesson was a fog heavy, mucky and grey kind of day. The fog was so thick that it was barely possible for us to look past the rows of docked sailboats, across to the open waters. It was deemed unsafe to sail. So, we stayed in the cockpit while our instructor showed us where the engine was located, how to use the compost toilet (I never knew that mixing peat moss with excreted, solid substances was an efficient method to compost), how to turn on the radar, where the electrical lines were hidden throughout the boat, etc. We had already thoroughly looked through the cockpit a few weeks beforehand, so the inside felt familiar. But, this time we were given more specific details of what the equipments were and how to operate them. The boat wasn't rocking too much, so I didn't get sea sick. I was told that one can eventually get used to the motion of the rocking... we shall see about that ;).

In preparation for the following day's lesson, our instructor taught us how to prepare the sails. There were so many "sheets" (which newbies to sailing -- like us, would call "ropes") drawn around the boom. If I had to describe what a boom was, I'd describe it as the long, horizontal piece that runs parallel to the boat. This piece swings from side to side, depending on where the wind is coming from when the sail catches the wind.

Our second day's lesson involved "touch and go's". Michiel and I would take turns at the helm and at the bow (front end of the boat). One of us would be steering the boat to a mooring ball while the other would stand near the edge of the bow, ready with our long stick to hook onto the rope attached to the ball. I remembered having to stretch far out in order to reach the ball. There was a small amount of stress involved as we had to be careful not to go too far, as to drive over the rope and thus run the risk of getting the rope ravelled in the rudder. I'm hopeful that this stress will dissipate as we become more comfortable aboard and more confident in our abilities to manoevre this 35 foot vessel.

After a morning of learning how to dock and moor our boat, our instructor introduced us to using the beautiful blue and green coloured sail -- known as the spinnaker. This larger sail (in comparison to the main one) catches more wind during a less than breezy day. We were moving at a brisk pace -- in the three to four knots per hour range. At one point, perhaps because we moved farther out onto open waters, the wind picked up a few knots. We decided to take the spinnaker down and pull the main sail up, and make our way back to shore.

The third and final day of lessons was perhaps the best day of all the days there. Michiel and I came to the conclusion that we feel more comfortable with our abilities. We were able to use and practice all that was taught to us the previous two days.

The kids had a blast at our friends -- Emily and John 's place. The days were filled with board games, crafts and walks to pick berries. The evenings were filled with laughter and more fun, as the whole house danced to retro music (we felt old hearing the many "hits" we remembered from our high school times). All in all, the kids loved the attention they were getting from Emily and John, as well as the attention they were giving to E and J's beloved, sweet dog Albert!

A million thanks to our friends for giving their time, and pouring their hearts into caring for our kids while we took lessons 1.5 hours away each day.

On our way home, we had the displeasure of discovering a broken piece in our camper trailer's axle. While only a mere ten minutes from arriving home, Michiel looked into his side view mirror to find black smoke; and when he stepped out of the van, he smelt a horrible burnt rubber stench. Fortunately, we happened to stop at a property that had two driveways. The owner was kind enough to allow us to park our trailer on one of his driveways. We hired a tow truck the next morning to retrieve our temporary home.

Coming home later than the expected time of arrival is a common theme in the life of our family. Since we had left many of our essential cooking needs in the tent, come dinner time (late dinner time), we stuck to the easy, quick, "pour hot water into a cup of dried, instant noodles" kind of dinner. It was delicious, even without us being famished, but it was truly more delicious because we were all, both tired and famished!

We are thankful for our adventures, including the mishaps along the way. Because it is those mishaps that make us realize just how blessed we are to have each other and to experience the highs and lows of adventuring together, as a family. :)

We will fill you in on more renovations progress in the following days. We are chugging along. Michiel is doing a great job. If you haven't already messaged him to let him know...I'm sure it would brighten his day to hear from you.

Have a wonderful slumber, dear friends and family!