Winter Storm Hits!

Where's the road ... or the water??

Well, they said it was coming … and they weren’t kidding!!  There was talk all over town of the big storm that was going to hit PEI. 

I was getting my hair cut yesterday and the hot topic of the day was the weather.  They were saying that it was going to be the biggest storm they have had in years!  Then I went to the hardware store and they were talking about it too.  I thought I better get some extra milk in case I couldn’t make it out for a few days, and everyone was talking about weather in the grocery store as well.  I started to get a little worried!  This was going to happen!!

There was a big range as to how much snow they predicted we were going to get.  Some said 25 cm and others were saying up to 40 cm, it all depended on who you talked to.  Along with the snow we were to expect high winds as well.  It was hard for me to imagine all of this, as we had a beautiful day with the sun shining and clear blue skies.  With what everyone was saying, in just a few hours all of this was going to change … big time!

Last night I went to bed around midnight.  I let Bailey out for his final piddle for the night and I checked for falling snow.  Nothing!  I was starting to think that this big storm everyone had talked about was going to miss us completely.  I felt quite alright with those thoughts and headed to bed.

This morning I awoke to what sounded like little pebbles hitting the window.  I got up and looked out the window only to find a blinding snow storm!  There was so much snow flying around that I couldn’t even see the road in front of the house!  White out conditions took on a whole new meaning to me.  At times we couldn’t see the house next door.  The wind was so strong that at one point Ron clocked the wind at 81 kms on his weather station!  It was wild.  I started to hear the voices of my family and friends who had asked me “why do you want to move to PEI?  The winters are horrible!” start to ring in my head.  Looking outside I saw a pure white canvas that used to be my beautiful view and I had to ask myself … why DID I move out here?

Bailey got up and sauntered over to the front door to be let out for his morning piddle.  We put his coat on and sent him out to do his business.  He stood on the porch for a few seconds with the wind and snow blowing in his face and thought to himself “no way … I can hold it! Let me back in … NOW!”  I let him back in but knew he had to go and try again.  As luck would have it, we had just received a parcel from my cousin earlier in the week.  She had knitted all of us scarves for the winter, including Bailey.  We wrapped the scarf around Bailey’s head and made sure his ears were covered from the wind.  Then we sent him out with strict orders to do his business.  Worked like a charm.  He went out … did his thing … then raced back to the front door faster than lightening!

Throughout the day the wind howled and the snow flew around, creating 4 and 5 ft snow drifts around the property.  I thought for sure that it would let up at some point during the day, but no, it has continued and will continue, according to the weather man, until at least tomorrow.  I wonder what I will wake up to tomorrow?

The news reports on the radio had everything in PEI shut down for the day.  All the restaurants, grocery stores, businesses and even the liquor stores were shut.  The police were telling people not to be on the roads because it was not safe due to white out conditions.  It was like they put a big closed sign on PEI. 

But for those who are concerned for our safety, let me put your minds at ease.  We have plenty of food and water in the house and if our power goes out, as many areas have, we have a full tank of propane to heat the fireplace and keep us warm.  So we will be fine.

This is my first East Coast winter storm.  I have never experienced anything like this before.  It’s been a little scary to hear the wind blow as hard as it has, as well as a little exciting.  But as we like to say … this is just another adventure for us! J

All bundled up and ready to go out

What happened to our beautiful view?

I guess this is winter on the East Coast!!



Went to go out the side door ... but it was blocked.



Snow blew so hard it got stuck in the windows

Yes ... this is winter!!

This is what you called being "Snowed In"?



If you can't go out in this weather ... then bake cookies!



Chilly Drive in PEI

The last couple of days we have had some pretty strange weather.  For the past couple of weeks we have had snow storms, ice storms, and wind storms galore.  Temperatures have been freezing cold up to -31C.  But the last couple of days, things have changed.  Temperatures rose to +14C and with the high winds it melted all the snow that we have had.  Unfortunately it only lasted for one day before the temperatures dropped down to below zero again.

The skies have been a gorgeous blue for the past couple of days so we thought we would go and take a short tour of the island to see if the snow had melted everywhere else.  We took a couple of roads we had not driven on before as well as those we were familiar with.  We found that the snow had melted and the grass was looking as it did in the late fall.  However the rivers and ocean did look different from the fall.  They were covered with ice! 

Our beautiful view that I talk about quite often is called Long River.  As we left our driveway we had to stop and start taking pictures right away.  Long River had frozen over but there was a patch of water running freely through the ice.  There were several ducks swimming in the water.  Quite often while sitting in the hot tub at night, we could hear the ducks quacking.  I knew they were out there, but I didn’t realize just how many there were!

We continued on our afternoon drive and saw a side road that looked like it would lead to water so we took it.  It was a dirt road but it was so frozen that it felt solid.  There was a little inlet of water that had frozen over and there were some people skating on it.  It looked like they were having fun.  As we carried on we came across a row of summer homes.  They were right on the ocean.  As we looked out over the water we could see that the ice had formed in the distance.  Some of the ice had broken free and had floated to the shore line.  I had never seen rivers and oceans freeze before.  I found this very interesting and glad that we had a nice warm house to come home to. 

It was such a beautiful day today I just had to share it with you.  The temperature was a bit chilly at -18C but we didn’t mind.  Being out in the sunshine, driving around the island to see things I’ve never seen before, just made it another adventure for us.  And we all know how much we love adventures!  J

So these are the ducks we hear sitting in the hot tub at night!

Good thing the ducks have a little water to swim in!

Most of the river is frozen over

Long River

Having a meeting in the middle of the inlet?

The ocean is frozen in the distance

Hard for me to imagine an ocean freezing over

Looking through the summer homes at the ocean

Nobody lives here in the winter

Summer homes with quite a view!

Ice has broken free and floated to shore

Beuatiful day for a drive

Ice along the shore line

Skaters on a frozen inlet

Looks like they are having fun!

Malpeque Oyster Barn  ... closed for the winter

Frozen Bay in Malpeque

Weather In PEI

Our View January 31, 2013

When we decided to move to PEI, the first thing on everyone’s mind was “Why do you want to move to PEI? … the winters are horrible!”  I think people were concerned for me as I have never experienced a Winter in the East … and as anyone who has experienced a Winter in the East and in BC they will be the first to say … they are different!

When Winter started to set in, back in November, temperatures were dropping below zero.  I mean REALLY dropping below zero!  But what made it worse was the wind!  We have wind gusts that get so high that they have to close the Confederation Bridge.  Of course the more wind that blows the colder the temperature drops.  Lately in January we have had temperatures that are -21C but with the wind chill it’s feels like -31C.  Back in BC if the temperature dropped to +3C we thought THAT was cold!  So getting used to this weather has been quite an adjustment.

This past week we have had temperatures ranging from -6C to -24C.  Bailey got a new winter coat a couple of weeks ago to help him deal with the different temperatures from BC.  He doesn’t have fur like other dogs, he is a Maltese and has hair so he feels the cold much more than the other dogs. Needless to say, when he goes out to do his business he doesn’t dawdle.  It’s … let me out … let me in … NOW!! 

This morning, however, we awoke to some surprising weather!  It had been very windy overnight and had warmed up as well.  The snow had melted over night and we were seeing green grass that had gone missing for the past 3 months. The temperature this morning is a beautiful +14C!!  In the last 10 minutes we have had tremendous winds, sunshine and rain but the warm temperatures felt really good.

As excited as I was to see that it had warmed up, alas it was not going to be staying for long.  I have just heard on the radio that the temperatures are going to be falling again tonight back down -15C and … you guessed it … snow!  But Saturday is supposed to be back to sunshine and -11C … but then Sunday brings more snow!

So I must go and enjoy today for I hear I won’t be seeing another warm day like today until about April!  The weather here is a lot different from weather in BC.  Even though the Winter’s are more severe, I am still glad that I am here to experience it.  We wanted to experience all the seasons that PEI have to offer.  In the past we have only had the chance to experience Summer … which is beautiful.  Now we have experienced the Fall and now Winter.  All that’s left is the Spring … and I am definitely looking forward to that!

The little duck pond is still frozen

Not much snow is left in the front yard

The snow in the back yard has almost disappeared

How could you not love this view?

At the end of a storm comes a rainbow.  This photo was taken from the front porch of our house.

Déjà Vu? or Was This Meant To Be?

Kensington PEI 2005

Have you ever wondered why things look so familiar?  Or wonder why things happen or how did you end up in a certain place?  These questions have been on my mind lately and I think I have finally come up with an answer.

I was looking over some old photographs from our previous trips to PEI.  Our first trip to PEI was back in 2005.  We had just bought our first motor home, nothing fancy, but it had all the comforts of home.  During my summer break from school, we decided to head across Canada to PEI.  I had never driven across Canada before and had heard it’s a trip that one must take during their life time.  We enjoyed it so much that we decided to make the trip several more times over the years.

As I was saying … I was looking over old photos from our very first trip to PEI.  I wanted to see if things had changed over the years from the first time we were here to what it looks like now.  I was amazed to see the photo that is posted at the top of this blog.  It is a photo of Kensington in 2005.  I remember taking this photo.  We had just posted some postcards at the Post Office behind us (not in the photo).  I remember thinking that this was a really cute town.  Ron and I joked about how maybe we would move here one day!  Never in a million years did I think we would seriously move to PEI, let alone Kensington!  If you look at the photo you will see the Bank of Nova Scotia and right in front of that is our blue and white Motor Home!  We were surprised to see that we had taken a photo 7 years ago of the town we now live in!  Was this Déjà Vu?

It started me thinking about things.  In January 2012, we were shopping in Chilliwack and I came across a Christmas sale display of ceramic houses, that I collect, and they were dirt cheap.  I managed to pick up a Post Office and another house called “The Kensington House”.  I remember making the comment that maybe we will settle in Kensington when we move to PEI … and then quickly laughed about it.  Little did I know, that this would be what would happen!

Ron and I both retired from our jobs, said good bye to family and friends and headed to PEI to find our retirement home.  Then as most of you know, we put in an offer on a house but that fell through at the last moment.  I thought that we would have to wait until next year to continue our search for our retirement home.  But as luck would have it, 3 weeks later we would find a house that was much better suited for what we were looking for.  When our furniture arrived, I was amazed at how our furniture fit the décor of this house!  The china cabinet and kitchen table went perfectly in the kitchen matching the kitchen cabinets.  The wooden bench we have had for the past 10 years matched the wood in the living room perfectly!  It was like we had bought the furniture to match THIS house!  Was this a coincidence or was it meant to be?

After going through all the photos from our trips to PEI in the past, I have come up with the following conclusion.  

We fell in love with PEI during our first visit to the island. We have been to PEI 5 times since 2005.  We have made PEI our final destination more times than any other vacation destination in our Motor Home.  The first house fell through, and although disappointed, decided that it was just not the house we were supposed to buy. We managed to buy a house that we both fell in love with and our furniture matched the décor perfectly.  A year ago I bought a ceramic house called “The Kensington House” and now we have found photos of our Motor Home parked in Kensington taken 7 years ago.  Taking all these factors into consideration, we have decided that moving to PEI and buying this house … was just meant to be!  J

Our first moho trip to PEI

Bike Ride in PEI



Checking to see if I'm coming



Red Cliffs in Cavendish



North Rustico



Shops in North Rustico

The sand and dirt are so red in PEI!

Making a House Our Home

Our View of the Sunrise

From the time we moved into our new home on November 1^st, we have been busy trying to settle in and call it our home. 

For the first month, we had no furniture.  Actually to be more accurate, we had some furniture we borrowed from our motor home like the kitchen table (which we used to put our computer on), a couple of lawn chairs so we could watch TV, and of course we borrowed the mattress so we had something to sleep on.  We knew that all of this would be temporary until our things arrived from BC at the end of the month.  It was like camping indoors, but it didn’t quite feel like our place.

On November 30^th our furniture arrived.  Yeah!  The movers were excellent.  Every box they brought into the house they checked with me first to see where I wanted it to go.  I had clearly marked the rooms as to what they were so if I said “Office” they knew to go to the room marked “Office”.  It went very smoothly.  When the movers left, we were left with piles of boxes in every room.  The thought of unpacking all of them was overwhelming.

The month of December was spent opening up boxes and trying to figure out where we wanted to put things.  We had down sized quite a bit going from a large 5 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom plus Office home.  If we didn’t know where to put something, it went back in the box to worry about later.  But first … we had to put up the Christmas decorations!  After all, Christmas was fast approaching and traditionally our Christmas decorations went up on December 1^st.  I was falling behind!  We found all our Christmas decorations and managed to decorate the house in time for Christmas and it looked great.  But it felt strange not having the kids or family and friends at Christmas so by Boxing Day we took it all down. 

After taking down the Christmas tree and all the decorations finally we were able to arrange the furniture the way we wanted it.  We love the house we bought, but it just didn’t feel quite like it was our home.  I couldn’t put my finger on it as it was just a feeling I had.  But something was just not right. 

We continued to open up boxes as we entered into the month of January.  We were surprised at what we would find in some of them.  Most of the boxes had been unpacked and put away, but now we were going through the “I don’t know what to do with this” boxes, along with the odd box we thought we knew what was in them but just hadn’t opened it yet.   We had made a list of the things in the boxes, but every once in a while we found something that wasn’t on the list.  Eventually all the boxes were opened but still, the house just didn’t feel like a home yet.

Then yesterday, Ron said let’s see where you want to hang this picture.  It was a large painting that was presented to Ron when he retired from the Army.  We decided to hang it over the sofa in the living room.  It looked nice there.  Then we brought out another picture, then another.  Before we knew it, we had filled the walls with our paintings, photos, and nick nacks.  As we hung the last large picture frame over the TV we sat back and looked around.  Now this place looks like OUR HOME! 

The feeling that something was missing was true.  Our personal touches, our familiar photos and mementos had not been taken out of the boxes and placed on the walls.  This is what makes this our home.  It took us a while to finally get it arranged and organized the way we wanted it, but it is finally a place that we can call Our Home!

Our Living Room

My Dad will always have a place in our home.

Perfect Spot for Our Wedding Picture

Ron's Sailing Blocks & Knots

To the Man Cave

Feeling like a home.

Bailey likes this place

Kitchen with my new Fridge

I'll never get tired of the view.  It's just beautiful!