Happy One Year Anniversary, Framboise Manor!

...well, we are few days late. our one year anniversary here at the Manor was actually on December 4! oh well - we are always a few days or weeks late for everything around here! so we will celebrate our anniversary today with many trips to the hottub, building a frame on our porch so that we can enclose it (wait until you see what we have been up to - it's awesome and so redneck it will make MDR blush!), putting fresh sheets on our huge bed (still need to share our home-made bed with tons of storage underneath), reading our books and a nap.

there will also be much gazing at the beautiful Framboise sky.

if you get the chance at some point today - raise a glass for us. coffee, juice, tea, soda, bourbon or scotch will all work well. we can't believe that we have been here a year already - it has been an awesome adventure and we look forward to the coming adventures!

Happy Anniversary Framboise Manor!

maybe jumped the gun a little...

oh man! the shaking, rattling and rolling...and raining began again about a half hour after i posted my last message. by 11:30pm - the power was out again! dang nabbit! but as the power had been on for several hours and the fridge, freezer, sump-pump, etc. were all fine - we weren't too worried. however, when we called NS Power and they told us that the power wouldn't be back on until 2pm today (it is 12pm right now) - jambaloney went out and got the generator set up, brought up our kerosene heater and lamps, i quickly grabbed some food out of the fridge and we set up the hotplate. we were going to wait and see how long the power would really be out before worrying about the fridge/freezer.

so there we were huddled together on the couch with blankets wearing 3 layers of clothes, talking and laughing together in the middle of the night. he had a rhum and coke, i had a glass of red wine. and then we started talking about all of our preparations for the storm and how we could handle them better next time.

jambaloney has several different sized Ryobi battery-powered flashlights and several batteries which we always keep charged. we keep a drawer filled with emergency candles, lighters and matches. we have a triple-tap RV generator extension cord that we can plug any 120v appliance into, if need be. we have our hotplate for cooking, as well as our propane bbq - the bbq also has a single burner that can be used for cooking. we always have 4 18l jugs of water on hand...and with 2 Berkey Filtration Systems and two rainbarrels - water is never an issue. we have a 2300btu kerosene heater and two oil lamps - although i don't like the kerosene heater nor the oil lamps - both put out an amazing amount of heat very quickly. last but not least - we have about 15 different places that we can go to between our two villages in the event of the power outage lasting longer than just a few days. Fourchu is on a different grid line than our town so if it came down to it we could go there, or people there could come here. and if it ever got really bad - we have friends in several other places on the island - some about an hour away - some almost 2 hours away.

some things that we thought of and talked about to better prepare us were mostly related to food. as we knew about the weather bomb ahead of time, and when a storm hits its hard not to notice - one of the things that we will do in the future is take 2-3 days worth of food out of the refrigerator and put that food in a cooler down in the basement. as well, we will be sure to put frozen freezer packs in the fridge and freezer before a storm for just in case measures. yesterday and last night all i wanted was fresh veggies because we could not open the fridge/freezer - isn't that always the way? we always keep a bowl of fruit on top of the fridge so we had fruit but of course - i wanted what i couldn't have! we have tons of canned food and whatnot but it just wasn't what i wanted.

another thing that we thought of was when we think we can potentially lose power, jack the heat up in every room so that the ambient heat lasts longer. we certainly didn't freeze or anything but we were chilled and that is not fun. the ambient heat of the house lasted for several hours last night but started to cool quickly by early morning. that's when we got our blankets out and cuddled - cuddling helps!

we always have seasonal BOBs in the house and a large bin in the back of the truck that stores additional stuff like extra coats and mitts, socks, blankets, first aid kit, food, candles, etc - the usual stuff. if it came right down to it - we could have gone out in the truck and started it and gotten warm. and there is always the Vandura (we really need to stop using it as a shed!). when not full of crap - the Vandura has it's own propane furnace and stove, as well as a sink, a fridge and a composting toilet. it is currently filled with crap but also contains blankets, food, first aid kit, etc.

all in all - the storm wasn't too bad. Craig and Stephen joked about the winds not being as bad as in hurricane country, but they were the worst winds we have experienced so far! add to that that we are right on top of a hill, with a 1000ft road for the wind to come barreling up and belt this little cottage and we sure are glad that we don't live in hurricane country!

anyway - we stayed up all night because neither of us could sleep, talked, laughed, joked, had some serious discussions, checked back with NS Power several times and did the dance of the sugar plum faeries when the power came back on at 7:42am. the crying started at 7:44am when the power went back out again! i called NS Power and the automated message said that power had been restored to our area. i transferred to a live person and as they called up our address, they could see that our power had not been restored. they said that in their best estimate we would get our power back at 2pm today. again, true to form, our power was back on at 9:45am.

back in the city, we had solar-powered hot water and rarely pulled from the city's water. we have planned since we got here to get a full solar/wind-powered set up here. we have planned to implement the first stage of that set-up this spring. there is a company here in cape breton that does free estimates and has several different payment options. being that we are on a cleared hill, we get beautiful sun most days but always have wind. we are looking very much forward to getting a full solar/wind set-up and will provide all of the details as it happens.

then we won't have to worry about power outages ever again!

shake, rattle and roll

and that's what we've been doing ...all day! we experienced a serious weather-bomb today - as did all of the Atlantic provinces. these were the worst winds we have ever experienced - we got gusts up to 100km (60m) for several hours - it really felt like hurricane country and i don't even know what hurricane country feels like!!!

we lost our power at about 1pm...called in to Nova Scotia Power and made a report...called back for an update about 15 mins later and were told that the power should be back on by 6:30pm. and true to form, we had our power back at about 5:15. we really hope that someone at Nova Scotia Power reads this blog, as we would like to give them a big shout out! Thanks Nova Scotia Power!

the Manor shook, rattled and rolled all afternoon, all while being pelted with sheets of rain. we climbed on the couch with flashlights and read our books - we needed flashlights as it was very overcast and gray. then we went for a nap.

anyway - we had just put in a chicken casserole at 20 to 1pm and hoped that by leaving it in the oven until 2 that it might have cooked. no go! so it was sandwiches all day! since the power is back - we have another chicken casserole in the oven - we can't wait to sink our teeth into this one!

it rained a lot as well but the basement didn't flood and the sump pump is now going at a full-tilt boogie. i will try to make my rounds to everyone's blogs this evening and if not, then definitely tomorrow. i hope that everyone is well.

because all is well that ends well!

a different kind of hellhole - a trench!

jambaloney here!

our basement (which you don't get the privilege of viewing until later ;-) leaks like a sieve. part of the problem is the fact that the concrete foundation is crap and part of he problem is the ground around the manor slopes TOWARDS the basement. in addition, the ground here is very dense, full of rocks and hard packed. so all of the water that can get into the basement, does. oh yeah, it's a moist climate we have here, and lots of rain!!!

we have a sump pump that does it's job well. last winter the pipe outside froze when the cold weather hit, i woke up one morning and the poor pump was grinding away, but not moving any water, so i bought a flexible hose to replace it and would go down to the basement every night, unattach the hose from the pump, blow the water out of the hose and unplug the sump pump...i know, i know... not a great use of time or nerves.

when my step-dad ted was here in june, i was relaying my woes to him and telling him that i hated relying on the sump pump because when the power goes out, it's usually crap weather so the basement fills with water, up to a foot + at times. i hate power outages, i am constantly checking the basement. our generator is hooked up now so i am not so worried, but is is a pain all round.

he suggested that i could dig down below the footing of the foundation and run a 3" pvc drain pipe out to drop off at the front where our driveway is. this would provide permanent, passive drainage.

unsupervised one morning, ted started the task at hand. we had a busy summer/fall so i never got back to it... now i am getting back to it. a couple of weeks ago i went out to start again, you can see the beginnings in the pic below.



ted dug down about 2 1/2 feet. my plan is to get a drainage trench dug to his level before the ground freezes for good, i should have until Jan 01. here are the tools: rock rake from my grandmother's, trenching tool that ted brought the head for with him in his visit, small shovel, pick, large shovel

i first ran a line about halfway and then began to go further, about 3 " deep:


here is another view. the hose on the left is the sump pump hose that i lengthened for the summer (previous owner left TONS of flexible pvc behind), the one on the right is our gray water outflow (which i also lengthened, it used to spill into the front yard and smelled terrific after several days of dishes, now it goes to the ditch on the road)


here they are going downhill past my first pass:



and finally down the slope of the hill at the front:



this is our driveway, you can see that the hill is pretty steep:



i went out one more day to make another pass, then it snowed 10 inches. after a couple of warm days a melting, i went back at 'er last week.


the drag about this project is the trench will be over 50' long - here is a better view:


looking down our driveway, the end of the trench will be the red circle:


back to work, fist step, pickaxe about a 10 foot swath, 3" deep:


next, use the trenching tool to gather it all up in a pile:


this tool is awesome, like an indestructible ice cream scoop with a handle. ted got it at Lee Vally Tools :


i dig the loose dirt out with the big shovel and move on down the line:



by now i have realized that the trench needs to be a bit wider than the large shovel for this to work properly, so the trench needs to be wider, it's nice and straight though!!




back at the ranch, the hoses come out of the foundation in one hot mess (that blanket is insulation, when i get this all working properly, i am going to build up the soil around the foundation, for now, it's ghetto):


i at LEAST, diverted the sump hose into the trench to get it running downhill, no more blowing out the hose this year!!!


i disconnected some of the gray water hose and put it into the trench too, when i am not working on the trench, running water will help me along:


here is a different view of the diverted hoses:

and here is a view of the overall progress so far:


not bad, but a long way to go, both out and down. this is heavy work! at least by the time the ground is frozen, all water will run downhill and no more freezing. next year i will complete the trench and install a permanent pipe that will drain the basement without a sump pump forever. stay tuned for updates!!!

cheers!

People, Food and Bookcovers or Something - an insightful, inspiring post by my friend Humble Wife

*i have the permission of the author to put up this post*

my friend, Jennifer, Humble Wife, from Double Nickel Farm, has been there almost right from the beginning when we made the switch to try and live simpler lives and become more self-sufficient. her blog was a great find for us and we learned so much from her, her family and the way that they live their lives. she leaves inspiring, uplifting, funny and wisdom-filled comments on all of the blogs she visits. she has been a beacon of light for me during several dark times - some of which she knows about, some of which she doesn't.

i would like for all of you to visit her blog. specifically, this post called "People, Food and Bookcovers or Something" - she hits on so many levels of so many things that i keep re-reading it because every time i read it, different ideas pop into my head. she writes like that all of the time. and shares her life and her family with her readers. she has insight and wisdom - and if you do read her post - please take the time to check out her archives - she has been blogging for many years!

if you are interested in reading what an intelligent, Christian, homesteading, homeschooling and wonderful helpmate/wife is willing to share about trying to be a good wife and mother while living a simple, self-sufficient life - you will love her blog. and even if you are not interested in all of that - please read this one post. as jambaloney says - she uses pre-conceived notions of vegetables in order to describe how people become boxed into stereotypes.

i really loved this post. i hope that you will check it out.

thanks Jennifer! for everything!

the bathroom that Jimmy and Barb built

remember the gawd-awful bathroom at the Manor? if not - here's a few pics to refresh your memories....the vanity:



to the left of the vanity (our bathroom is L-shaped) - remember those duck curtains?



the shower, held up by construction tape and the jiggling shower head:



well, our friends Jimmy and Barb, their son, some of Jimmy and Barb's friends and some of their son's friends all had a really fun time ripping that entire bathroom out and rebuilding it from scratch - NOT!

but they did rebuild it for us so that when we got to the Manor we had a nice bathroom. and we really appreciated all of their hard work. Jimmy said that he must have pulled out 9 million nails - and i believe it to be true as every single job that we have done around here first involves pulling out 9 million nails!!! Jimmy et al ripped out all of the walls and after rebuilding the walls, put in a brand new vanity, sink, toilet and tub/shower insert. they also put down a new floor for us and replaced the bathroom window. we added an over the toilet stand and built shelving along the back wall. here is the Framboise Manor bathroom as it is today:



vanity has been moved to a more functional location, i.e., NOT under the window. and did you notice the beautiful new window?

here is the new toilet and over the toilet cabinet....notice the new floor?



the curtain on the right-side of the bathroom has a cubby hole behind it with storage for towels/linen, etc.

here is the new shower/tub insert with new shower head - no red construction tape!!!



this pic is of the vanity taken from the opposite side of the room:



and here is the additional shelving that jambaloney and i built:



it's a wonderful thing to have a completed room in this house. the only thing left to do here is to paint the vanity a darker brown to match all of the rest of the dark brown. we love the vanity as is, but were unable to find an over the toilet cabinet in that shade of light-ish brown. so we will paint it and it will all come together quite nicely, i think.

anyway - our tastes are simple and i know that there are much fancier bathrooms out there - but we love the bathroom that Jimmy and Barb built!

(Edited to add: i will be around to everyone's blogs this afternoon. i haven't been on the computer much in the past few days - but don't worry - i will catch up on all of the backposts that i have missed!)

a "SciFiChick kinda' Thanksgiving Dinner"

oh man...i was sooo looking forward to yesterday. that's when we celebrated American Thanksgiving Day. as we had missed Canadian Thanksgiving Day - we were thrilled to be able to celebrate yesterday!

jambaloney had gone into town a few days prior to pick up whatever we didn't already have. and i planned out our traditional menu. our day started off pretty gloriously, slept in a little, all the snow was melting, and we drank our coffee and tea in the hottub.

what started out as a glorious day very quickly turned into a "SciFiChick kinda' Thanksgiving Dinner"! oh SciFi - i had good intentions too! wrong!

our menu was simple and one that we have been making for years! with great success!

turkey, stuffing, gravey, mashed potatoes, honeyed carrots, maple syrup turnip mash, brussel sprouts with bacon, and ginger/pear cranberry sauce. although it may seem like a lot of complicated items, with proper preparation and timing - i can do this menu in my sleep!!!

have a look at our 2009 Thanksgiving Dinner (we didn't do Thanksgiving Dinner in 2010 as that's when we were showing our house for sale):




that's my famous stuffing - this stuff is so full of flavour and goodness and the croutons are home-made! next up - my now Cape Breton famous ginger-pear-cranberry sauce.



look at this beautiful turkey-drippings gravey!



and here is the spread that we put on that year for just ourselves. and yes - those are edible nasturtiums decorating the bowls.



honestly - i have made this Dinner so many times and have never screwed it up! but i guess the gods conspired against me yesterday or something! or, i guess SciFiChick and i really are sisters from another mother! because she royally messed up her dinner yesterday as did jambaloney and i. and after reading her post about messing it all up, and laughing, not at her but with her, and seeing how honest she was about screwing up their first Thanksgiving - i had to come here and be brutally honest, too. oh ya - we royally messed up our favourite holiday and our first Thanksgiving dinner here at the Manor in grand style.

first up - the stuffing. i was sure that we still had wild rice. we made several prep run purchases when we first got here and one of those preps was a 5lb bag of wild rice. i guess we ate it all up since then and haven't gotten around to replacing it. and what i thought was a container of wild rice turned out to be korean sticky rice - which is not so good for stuffing. no prob - we'll just leave the rice out! i normally use dried cranberries in the stuffing but because we have so many fresh ones, i tried using fresh ones in the stuffing - not a good idea! they made the hard-as-rock-homemade-croutons, that normally retain their texture, a big mushy blob! adding very healthy hemp-seed hearts, in place of wild rice, just contributed to the mushiness! woops - forgot to pick up celery (the celery that we grew this summer was a total bust)! all in all the stuffing just sucked! and we wasted those delicious giblets when we could have made giblet soup - arghghghgh!

moving right along - we thought that using frozen brussel sprouts would work just like fresh ones. wrong again. i steamed those babies for only a minute or two and they came out soggy as crap. oh well - they will firm up when i fry them in bacon grease. nadda chance. those were crap too!

because we have such a tiny stove we had to pull out our hotplate. and cooked the bacon on it. or tried. the bacon just went watery and we ended up adding additional bacon grease, from our stash, to it. the hotplate took forever to heat up, but when it finally did - it went into overdrive. we went from cooking bacon for almost a half hour to it burning our honeyed carrots in minutes. so both of those were dismal failures as well!

at this point we have dirtied every pot and pan in the house - jambaloney is washing pots and pans in the sink AND in the bathtub (look - ya gotta get creative when you live in the middle of nowhere and don't have any counterspace!) - and that's when we realized we couldn't bake the potatoes - because the turkey was in the oven - so we would have to boil them. and because we had planned on baking them - we dug up russet browns. they are great for baking first and then mashing - they are delicious! but they suck when steamed. but at this point we were going for broke to just try and finish and have a nice meal. but they came out like soggy, whipped with too much cream, potatoes.

the turnip was steamed for almost 45 minutes before i said enough is enough and pulled it out to mash. into hard little chunks. not even the butter, maple syrup or cream could save it. it tasted good but what was supposed to be a nice mash turned into nice, maple-syrup coated little hard balls of turnip. oh man!

the gravey....well....the drippings just didn't seem strong enough. or turkey enough. so i took one of those packets of turkey gravey and added it to the drippings. suddenly it became very dark brown - not unappetizing looking - just very dark brown. something was wrong. i took the packet out of the garbage and realized i had added a packet of ROAST gravey....oh someone kill me now!

on the plus side the turkey came out beautifully moist and browned and delicious! so that is our saving grace - we can still cook a turkey!

all throughout this mess of a dinner - jambaloney kept saying "it's okay babe, we'll enjoy it anyway". he has a way of doing that and keeping me calm when i want to climb the walls.

so after cooking all day (from about 10am until 5pm) - and we had to cook all day in batches as our stove and oven are sooo small, and although our stove has 4 elements, you can only use 2 at a time - unless you are using smurf pots. and there is no counter space in the kitchen - we had dishes everywhere for the whole day and were taking turns keeping the dishes being washed and dried and used again - well, after all of that - we took the time to lay out a spread and have our dinner at our dining room table.

here's a pic of the spread (nice and blurry eh?):



and here's a pic of the dining room table:



we set up our plates and sat down to what was not a very enjoyable meal. jambaloney kept saying, "oh the brussel sprouts aren't that soggy" or "well - the turkey is really good"...and then we just laughed and talked and gave thanks for all of the things we are happy for...and picked at the stuff we liked best - for me, the turkey, the potatoes (i'll eat any kind of potatoes!) and the roast/turkey gravey. for jambaloney - it was the turkey, the cranberry sauce and the turnip mash. both of us stayed away from the burned carrots and the soggy brussel sprouts.

afterwords, we gathered up the last of the dishes and got 'em all washed and sorted. then we took our glass of wine and did what any self-respecting cooks would do when they royally screwed up a meal - we got in the hottub!

all is well that ends well. and we did spend two days remembering and sharing all of the things that we were/are thankful for on our first Thanksgiving Day at Framboise Manor. we had lots of things to be thankful for. but not that dinner!

we pray that next year will be less SciFiChick and more Gordon Ramsay. no offense Sci!

(make sure to go and read her post! it's hilarious!)