Week 5 (or so)

The house is coming along well... We have a new foundation poured and re-framed a number of sections. The big news these days though is that I'm getting married at the end of the week (November 27th) which is extremely exciting.

Jon

Week 3

Construction on the "lot" is coming along.

My time estimates may have been a bit optimistic. I may not have accounted for having a full time job at this time as well, which severely limits my available time to work on the place. There is only a bit of shingling left before we can start working on the foundation and siding.

(Photos: Views from the roof of the building, a shot from my car as I was heading home one evening, Shingling... a lot of angles...)

The Lot

Holly and I purchased a nice little piece of land a couple weeks ago. It's located right off the Northumberland Straight in the Canoe Cove/Argyle Shore area. There is a bit of an old house on the lot that we are working on fixing up. As you can well tell from the photos, there is a lot of fixing up to do, but we do see potential. The sunsets I see there almost every evening as I'm doing work on the place are incredible. (Photos: Looking down at the straight from the building, The beach down along the shore, The waterfront side of the building, Josh working on a new set of trusses for the front section of the building)

Old Photos

I was going through some old slides from my childhood the other day and trying to scan them to digital.
Overall I was not impressed how they turned out. Very discolored and a lot of marks/ scratches.

(Banff, chewing my blankie, copying my big brother, lobster time, working on the farm, cross country)

PEI

It's been great to have the opportunity to spend some time on the Island this summer. It has been around 10 years since I have spent the summer here at home. Summers are great!

The Block

Planting

Other than a few snow days the planting this year has been going well. One thing I am noticing more and more over the years is that I'm not as young as I once was out here. I remember back in my early years when I was planting with eighth year vets and wondering how and why they were still out here. Well at least now I know. Thankfully somehow over the years I have yet to injure myself. It seems all to common for planters to have tendinitis, blisters, bad cuts/sores, twisted ankles, bad backs, bummed knees....

Good 'ol Days

One other think I have noticed out here planting this year is people falling into the good 'ol days mindset. Just remembering the best land, best cooks, best crew bosses, best pilots, best prices and so on and wishing those days were now. In reality things do change, it simply is a part of life. Thankfully it keeps life new and exciting. Even if the change is not wanted at the moment. Well in another 5 days planting will be only in the good 'ol days in my books... well if I get a job at least...

Treeplanting

Another season has come yet again... Thankfully I only plan on being out here until the end of the month before I head home to continue my full time employment search. The first two weeks out here have been somewhat typical for a planting season. Some sun, some snow, some rain and lots of COLD... I just moved to my tent from a motel yesterday which of course meant it had to snow overnight... only another 10 days of planting and I'm done.

PEI

After upwards of 60,000 km of travel Holly and I have made it back to our Island. We both had an incredible journey and wish that more people would have the opportunity to do a journey such as this. For me reality is starting to settle in... I need to put together a resume and start begging for work... We would like to thank you all for your support and prayers as we have been off traveling. We truly have appreciated it all.

Jon

Europe

Holly and I have been making a quick pass through Europe the past few days. Trying to make the most of the little time we have left. From Frankfurt we made our way south to Salzburg where we were able to quickly check out the city. Following that we made it to Venice for a day of exploring this unique spot. After an overnight train last night we spent today in Rome checking out the sights. Tomorrow we fly from Milano back to London then fly home from there the next morning.

Qatar

Holly and I have now completed our Africa portion of our trip. It's hard to believe how time moves along. Although it feels like we have been gone a long while, it is also hard to believe that our trip is already coming to a close. At the moment we are on a layover in the Doha airport in Qatar on our way to Frankfurt, Germany. From there we plan on spending a few days training around Europe before making our journey home. It's too bad our time is quickly running out.

Holly and Jon