Almost done!

It has been a busy time with the move; painting, unpacking and settling in to our new home.  While managing these tasks, there is little to blog about.  One can only show and tell so much.I can say this though, upon Jeanette's return from a 10 day trip to Alberta, she loved the colour scheme. Yeah!!!!

Our week has been filled with appointments, preparing tax stuff for our accountant, and putting the finishing touches in the house.  It's all good.

 

The weather girl called for a sunny day before another wet and cloudy system comes through the coastal area so we  chose to take advantage of the sun and take a motorcycle ride in the countryside for some fresh air.

I finished painting the last room....and cleaned things up.

A good friend dropped by to have a look at the new place and for lunch.

After Sue left, Jeanette and I geared up and left on our three hour motorcycle ride.  It was a pleasant afternoon with temperatures hovering between 50 and 55 degrees.

We avoided all four lane roads and freeways in favour of the country roads.

We are blessed with so many choices for riding.  We can ride all over the greater Vancouver area and - with some exceptions - can avoid the freeways and major arterial roads.

Numerous hobby farms in our area.

....and humongous estate homes too.

Another of the dozen or so huge country homes we saw in our travels.

Very nice back roads in and around south Langley, BC.

We didn't have a destination in mind when we left our home but, as is usually the case, we were drawn to the mighty Fraser River. 

This switchback road will lead us to the Fraser River.

We're on the south side of the Fraser River but this CN train is blocking our view.  That's commerce at work. 

It must have been the time of day because there was a lot of long train transport activity.  We waited for three different trains during our ride.  No complaints.  I love watching trains roll by.  It conjures images of the goods they transport and their final destinations.

With so much train traffic, Jeanette got off the motorcycle and took photos.  I just watched them all roll by.

When we able to get across the lanes towards the Fraser River, we were met with these wonderful views.

We loafed around the dock for 15-20 minutes, simply enjoying the views.  From here we took a brief ride to a tributary of the river where these boating enthusiasts were also taking advantage of a wonderful Friday afternoon.

We are in the town of Fort Langley, British Columbia's first capital city before moving to New Westminster and then to Victoria, on Vancouver Island.

Kwantlen First Nations Reserve on the north side of this tributary.

Coming or going?  Not sure!

Whether for practice or pleasure, these rowers were burning the calories.

No more train traffic.

So with the mid afternoon trans Provincial trains en route, it was a seamless, non stop ride, back towards home.  By riding the country roads we completely avoided all the typical end of the week traffic snarls and grid lock.

We had one stop to make along the way back home.  We stopped here for a couple of electrical switch plates that were missing in the new home.

This grocery and hardware store is mere minutes from our south Langley home.

This photo doesn't do justice to its size.  We took out a membership shortly after moving here.  With rare exceptions, this store has almost everything we need.

So back home we rode.....and called it a day.

Our front driveway.

Thanks for dropping by.

Things are looking colourful

Colour change....from boring builder beige!!!

Followers of this blog will recall our recent move to our new home and of our decision to paint the entire house before we unpack.  Well, that task is better than 85% complete.  Other than the bathrooms, Jeanette's sewing room and one bedroom, I managed to paint the rest of the house while Jeanette has been away in Alberta.  She will have been away for 10 days when she returns.  This house will not look at all like it did when she left.

Open staircase leading to the loft.

Jeanette flies back home tomorrow, from Edmonton, and the new paint scheme will be her first look.  She was not consulted on the colours so we'll gauge her reactions as she visits each room.  Painter's choice, right???

Wonder if Jeanette will like this colour scheme?

It is possible that Jeanette will check the blog and if so, it could trigger a telephone call with requests for colour change.  You think?  Seriously though, I think she will like this.  Hey, she can always take paint to brush and start over, right?

Navy blue accent is quite striking.

Ceramic tiles will replace this existing kitchen floor, in the months ahead.

Front entrance.

I'm sure looking forward to seeing the sun in the coming days.  We have not seen any sun since I started painting and it would sure be nice to see the effect of this effort with sun shining through the house.  We have had a lot of rain and cloudy days since our return from the desert.

Just got rid of the boxes in the loft.  Still sorting our how the office will be configured.  It's all subject to change.  Once that's accomplished, the numerous wall hangings will be placed.  Still a bit messy here...but not for long.

Well, I'll let you know what Jeanette thinks of these improvements.  More on that in a future blog.

Thanks for dropping by.

Busy with paint, paint and more paint.....needing a golf break!!!

Finally a bit of sun following days and days of grey and drizzle.

Well, the sun finally came out.   What a relief following what seemed to be record rains these past several days.  Not a bad thing, in my view - because it made for painting the interior of our new home so much easier.  Sunny days make for outdoor desires.  Rain and cloud makes for indoor work.  It has been a relentless effort to get the painting done.  It's coming along nicely.  No photos of worth yet but that will soon appear on the blog.

So with the weather girl forecasting sun for the weekend - Sunday being the better of the two - I organized our regular foursome for a round of golf @ King's Links Golf  by the sea.  

This is a challenging course but fun to play.  If the wind picks up this course plays like a Scottish golf course.  If it's just a breeze, then it plays more to our level.  Either way, a day on the links is better than any day in an office (or painting, for that matter).

http://www.kingslinks.ca/index1.php

Not a whole lot more to report at this time.  Simply been busy with painting this home....and bringing order to each room as the paint dries.

More photos and banter in the coming days.

Thanks for dropping by.

Mt. Baker; Unpacking; Stealing a ride on a sunny afternoon!

Close up view of Mt. Baker, WA - taken from our upstairs window.

Working to settle into our new home, we have been keeping busy with unpacking.  It's all going well. 

I have been busy building my workshop in the garage.  It's better than 90% completed.

Jeanette is moving wall pictures around to get the right fit and location.

We have decided to paint the entire house.  That process started yesterday.  The prep work is well underway and the kitchen will be the first room to have a colour change.

Applying painter's tape.

It was so beautiful on Wednesday afternoon - with temperatures hovering near 15 degrees Celsius - so we chose to skip out and take advantage of a two hour motorcycle ride.

View of Mt. Baker taken from a horse farm near our new home.

The motorcycle had not been ridden since our last major ride to Borrego Springs, CA.

Ready to go. First ride from the new home.

We headed north toward the mighty Fraser River.  Below is some of the scenery along the way.  Just love the gentle switchback roads leading to the river.  The beauty of this area is the endless roads with twists and turns - in all directions.

Golden Ears Provincial Park - So beautiful with the recent snow.

Typical roads all around us.

Gentle and heavily forested switchbacks.

It may be hard for some to imagine this but the weather here this past Wednesday was better than in Palm Springs, CA.

Eastern View.  We rode up to the end of a really small Government of Canada dock on the Fraser River, BC.  If one doesn't know where this dock is, one could not easily find it.  It is really well hidden.  We love to take riding breaks here.

Northern View.  Golden Ears Provincial Park fronted by a cedar shingle mill along the north shore of the Fraser River.

Golden Ears radiating in the late afternoon sun.

We hung around the dock and took in the scenery.  The fish boats sat still.  No sign of any fishing activities. All was quiet and peaceful.

Jeanette is enjoying a well deserved break from moving houses.

Western View.  The stillness of the Fraser River made for a picture post card.

Following a good break looking around the area, we headed eastward, along the river, towards Abbotsford, BC.  Below are a few photos Jeanette took along the way.

Stunning!

Farmland.

Heading back home on the back roads.  THANKS FOR DROPPING IN.