we found Framboise Manor online in june of 2009 - we bought it - site unseen in august of 2009. the real estate agent went to the Manor and took us some very detailed pictures of what we were buying and it wasn't pretty - you can see the detailed pics in this post. really - go see the pics if you want a really good laugh! we bought it anyway.
and then we took a four day trip, 1,600 kms away to see our Manor for real. first we stopped at the beach in my hometown, the beach i always swam at. my hometown is jambaloney's father's hometown as well. interesting, eh?
here he is on the reef. gorgeous!
and here's me...a little chunkier then.
we stayed in the city for a day and a half to fill out all of the paperwork and then drove an hour and a half to finally see the Manor with our own eyes.
woohoo! the Framboise Community Centre where we attend most of our functions now.
we noticed that the local Masonic Supper was being held that evening. of course we went!
as we had already been told about the horrific driveway, we left the car parked at the bottom of it. i think you can understand why!
and there it was in all of it's glory!!!! FRAMBOISE MANOR!
oh dear. really if you want to see just how awful the place looked - go and read this post of pics that the real estate agent sent us.
but we had a beautiful beach!
my man was loving it!
we really love our beach!
i eventually fulfilled my dream of being a mermaid at that beach!
we both love swimming in the ocean!
this was our very first visitor at the Manor.
although we were only at the beach for 2 days, we met incredible friends - and one of them just happened to be a heavy equipment operator. we showed him the overgrown Manor and no way to get to the river and he said "no problem" - he'd take care of it!
and built us a road to the river!
we put up our old house for sale in october 2010 and the first people through the door wanted it, at full asking price but they wanted it by december 2.
we didn't want to fly with our rescue cats so jambaloney bought us a 1980 chevy vandura. it's why we put the name ending "dura" on all of our vehicles. check out this baby.
and if you want to see the inside of that gorgeous girl - go here. yep, we piled some of our belongings in vandura, 2 cats, a compost toilet and started driving at 6pm in the dark and it had just started snowing. we stopped in quebec to get some sleep but jambaloney had somehow broken the newly-installed thermostat so instead of sleeping we just piled the cats on the fold out horrible bed with a ton of blankets and shivered until we couldn't stand it and then started driving again - to get the heat!
as we were nearing cape breton island, the ghost snow started. sheets of snow that looked like ghosts. it was awful and the wind was blowing like mad. and poor jambaloney with 2 months driving experience. he white-knuckled it the whole way but there were 30 other cars behind us for most of the way and they were thankful for our beast of a truck taking most of the beating off of them!
and the Manor looked like this when we got here.
yep - and a 275 foot driveway that needed to be shoveled! jambaloney went into our favourite town of port hawkesbury and got us truckdura. truckdura did us good.
truckdura has a new job now - helping haul gas down at the fourchu wharf.
nostalgia, eh? we have been here since december 2010 and although we have to put up with a lot of crappy stuff, don't even get jambaloney started on the wiring and plumbing in this house that he has had to fix, did i mention black flies from june to end-august, deer flies and horse flies from july to end-august, most of the floors had to be re-enforced, walls that were never properly insulated and a whole pile of other stuff?!?!?!?
but we wouldn't trade the Manor for anything! well, my buddy Ed made us an offer on a swap which we might take him up on when he gets the kitchen remodeled - bahahahahah! naw we wouldn't trade this for the world!
i'm going to have to learn how to record with my phone. one of the things that both of us stop and say to each other several times a day is that we can't believe how quiet it is here. it's so quiet. except for tons of birds chirping and cheeping, bluejays sqwaking "chipmunk-chipmunk" (i swear that's what they say!), squirrels screeching and stealing all of the bird food, the breezy sound of the wind in the trees, and on the best days we can hear the ocean roar.
this nostalgic post is for anyone who wants to leave the city, the noise, the traffic, the pollution - the everything that can keep you stressed 24/7. if you have a dream of getting away from it all - do it. find a way to do it.
and don't set your sights on 100 acres of pristine land with orchards and gardens already in place. look for a bit of land with a bit of a fixer-upper and do it. who knows what you will be able to find...and yes, i am talking to all of you, but mostly to Rain and Sol.
and really if you need a good belly laugh - go and look at the pics of what the Manor was when we bought it - you'll thank me for such a good laugh!
We bought our land before we married, as an investment with plans to subdivide it. Instead, we got married, built ourselves a house and have been here more than 30 years, making it better with each passing year. My husband just said the other day that he wouldn't sell this land for any amount of money. It's our personal paradise. So I can understand how you feel about Framboise Manor!
ReplyDeletethere are some parts of your house, that remind me of the house we bought. we also bought ours sight unseen. We were told it needed some work...
ReplyDeleteLOL. the sad thing is they are building like crazy around me. when we moved here, there was nothing but fields by me. In the last year, they seem to be building non stop. I love the water, I am glad you have beautiful views of the water.
Kymber and Jam, you have done wonders with the place. I have just looked at the posts from the links. Wow. And I love the van!!!!! someone over here would pay mega bucks for that. THey couldnt afford to put petrol in it. but some one would still buy it.
ReplyDeleteI just dont think we have enough money to get land. or at least not land that touches the house. it would have to be somewhere else. we are open to all options. heck I have even said lets flip some more houses. but there comes a time when you have to say, enough of the flips. lets live somewhere. We actually had a weekend 2 weeks ago. The house is finished, I push mowed the lawn. there was nothing to paint. No nail gun going off. No oiling of floors to be done and we just kind of sat there for the afternoon in the garden chairs. I then got up, jet washed the cars, weeded the already weeded veggie beds. you get the picture. we didnt know what to do with ourselves.
I don't think my wife would let me swap if I get the kitchen built to her specs! I really have enjoyed following your story over the years!
ReplyDeleteOh you crazy kids! But what a little piece of Paradise you and jam drove up to. It was so much fun to see the 'before'!
ReplyDeleteHi Kymber :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice post you did. I love Van DURA!!! Alex and I will be looking for a large piece of land, hopefully with a water body, but if not, deep in the forest. We do need an established building because we don't have the means to build, so we'll be looking for a fixer upper. Slow and steady is our plan. Our main priorities are location away from society, gardening possibilities and a building to call home!
Your "before" photos aren't that bad! Well, except your front stairs lol...I would have been sold with the ducky shower curtain lol...you guys made it your home so who cares how it looks right? That's how I feel. As long as it's cozy and functional, I'll be very happy!
The Vandura is fabulous (and yes, I am old enough to remember when those were all the rage). Sounds like a fabulous, fitting adventure indeed.
ReplyDeleteThe quite - that is what we notice as well when we are home at The Ranch. Last night, nothing but birds and a lone cowbell on a cow.
I've been reading through your posts to get caught up and realized that I didn't know your story about finding your place. Fascinating! You two have been quite brave and have done a fabulous job with it!
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