A Year of Trailsedge
One year ago I owned two homes. Mom and dad were here and we were busy boxing
stuff up from one house and driving them over to the other.
Hard to believe it’s been a year. I guess the mark of a good home is that it
feels like you’ve always been there. I
enjoyed the old spot. I have good
memories of it and, had I stayed in it, I’m sure I’d be happy and comfortable
to this day… though possibly I’d have rented out a storage locker somewhere as
that place was beginning to bust at the seams.
There were lots of good memories in that old place. Parents visits… lugging bags up over the
stairs and having that comfy moment when they’d reach the top of the stairs to
the main level and drop their bags and just sort of mill about for a few
seconds. It was like taking a breath of
home and the visit could officially get under way at that point.
The view out the back… watching sunsets and thunder storms
along the western horizon. Ironically,
that horizon is where I now live. Not
that you can see one place from the other… but the trees of that horizon are
the same ones I go walking in today.
And there was the pond.
Just a hop, skip and jump out the front door and the pond was there for
walking. It grew up quite a bit in the
eight years I was there. Going from a
frog pond with bushes to a real wetland with mature bushes and young
trees. The frogs remained, though in
reduced numbers. But all sorts of birds
and wildlife moved in. A beaver took up
residence for a short time and, in my last summer there, five herons lived
around the pond.
Today, I have new, immature ponds much like that previous
one. I saw a beaver in there for a
little while as well and, only a month ago, spotted my first mink.
But the woods add much to the new location. Where I had neighbours across the street from
my old place, here I have trees. Winter
weather brings out a red squirrel… hopping along the fallen branches and even
bounding across the street to explore my front step, as well as my neighbour’s
car.
Rabbits, geese, ducks, fox, herons, deer, and even a pair of
moose have all shown up around my new location.
Within five minutes of the decision to get up off my sofa
and go outside, I’m in the middle of a mature forest, listening to squirrels
chirp at me in anger or startling snakes along the forest floor.
And the house has all I need. Where my old place contained a living room
complete with TV… my new place has the living room separate from the TV (which has
taken residence in the basement).
So now when guests arrive, TV can be watched by some while
others sit and chat in the living room.
Laundry can be done as I sleep now. Something that could rarely happen in the old
place… as the washer and dryer were on the other side of my bedroom wall. Today there’s an entire floor separating the
two.
And baths in a soaker tub are much more luxurious than those
few attempted in the coffin like tubs of the old.
A garage is a wonderful tool to help one through the
winter. In the old place, I had to walk
around the building to reach my car as it sat frozen in the elements. Today, the car sits in a room to itself. Free of ice and frost. If only work had a parking garage too, I
could almost get through the entire winter never leaving my car outside.
There are a few things that I’d change if I could. My hot water isn’t quite hot enough out of
the taps. I never touch the cold water
when taking showers or having baths or even when washing a few dishes in the
sink. I wouldn’t ask for much more. But an extra five degrees would make a world
of difference.
And the biggest issue is the cell service. That is to say, there is none. Minto told me a new tower should be built
within a year. That year has gone by and
things remain the same.
It’s an odd thing. In
the woods across the street, my cell service is fine. But in the house, it’s horrid.
On the top floor, I can sometimes get three bars of
service. But those three bars can drop
to “no service” in an instant. The first
floor ranges from no bars to two. The
basement, where the TV holds my attention on many an evening, the range is “no
service” to one bar.
I had actually planned to rid myself of a landline when I
moved. But such plans have been
forgotten for now.
But overall, things are good in the new spot. It’s to a point where, when trying to figure
things to put on my one year inspection list, I’m at a loss. I haven’t even noticed a nail pop.
So from a home point of view, it’s been a very good
year. With all the comforts I could ask
for and a bit of forest out the door full of trails and paths… enough to get
away from it all for an hour at a time.
Only one thing feels incomplete. If only I could figure something to put on
that year end inspection list.
SUNDAY…
--- Day shift is quiet.
Ball after work… we lose… fall league has been not the most fun of
times.
MONDAY…
--- Work is fairly normal.
Lunch with Shannon and, after work, some catching up on TV.
TUESDAY…
--- Kind of busy night.
At it steady until around 1:00… then tailed off.
--- Warm today. Got
to 17 they say… a record. Was around 11
or 12 when I went for my afternoon walk.
Nice stuff.
WEDNESDAY…
--- Alone on nights.
Kind of nice to do every now and then.
Quiet and on your own schedule.
THURSDAY…
--- Do a walk… watch some TV… be lazy. Tired and Jetlagged feel due to shift.
--- NHL is a train wreck that has to be watched. Just blow it up already. Children fighting with ego maniacs all being
covered by brainwashed media who have to take it all seriously simply because
they’re getting paid to.
FRIDAY…
--- Fairly quiet morning.
Trying to figure out my one year home inspection form. Really, not much needs doing in the
house. So it may be a short form.
--- Groceries… walk… some TV and playing with the iPad.
SATURDAY…
--- A visit from Paula and Eddie has turned into an alone
day in the house. Weather isn’t great
for anything. Rain to snow and back
again several times. No visitors and no
going out for anything.
