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Hello family & friends!  It’s been quite a while since we last wrote.  We hope you all are doing well (as well as can be expected after these long months).  We last wrote when completing Trip #7 on October 17, 2020.  

Because of COVID, we spent these months like most people, indoors.  Mask-wearing became so ordinary, we didn’t even notice we were wearing them when we did leave the house.  To this day (May 4), we have not eaten out at a restaurant since early March 2020, just doing take-out or delivery.  We haven’t seen any of our friends or family.  We rarely go to a store.  Amazon has become our best friend.  And so far, we haven’t gotten sick. 

The COVID vaccinations were initially stressful, also.  First, in December I wasn’t sure if it was safe and had the vaccine been rushed through without adequate testing, but it didn’t matter then because there were no shots available for months anyway.  While people living in the bigger cities were getting the shots easily, outlying places had no availability.  I didn’t have to decide whether to rush out and try to get vaccinated.  Then we finally got the vaccine in this area, but we weren’t eligible.  Then when we were eligible, all openings for the shots were already taken.  Well, it’s true that you always want what you cannot have, because then, I decided I really wanted to be vaccinated, LOL.  We both have now had both shots (Moderna), survived the side effects after the second shot, and it’s been a wonderful feeling not worrying so much.  It is freeing! 

Like everyone else, we just about went nuts around election time and beyond with the political and racial unrest.  January 6^th shocked us, and we’ve been frightened by what we’ve seen and heard.  It has truly been a time we want to forget, but never will.  Things do seem to be getting better in many ways though.  Everyone please stay safe and please be kind to others.    

We spent the winter here in NY.  We had lots of snow, and it was very beautiful. This spring, also, has been beautiful with the almost fluorescent colors as the new growth emerges.       

It was good to be home and to get some things done that had been scheduled before we left.  The end of October we had a new paved driveway put in, a paved trailer pad for the RV, and a paved pathway from the driveway to the front door.  It was all previously gravel/dirt.  No more muddy potholes.  We love it.  It was a nice contrast to the fall colors last year, and in the winter it was much easier to plow us out.

We met again with the NY contractors and made the final decisions for the remodel here.  We had to make decisions on the colors we wanted for the siding and trim, the garage doors, etc.  We ordered a cabinet to be custom built for the master bedroom to replace the old chest of drawers and give us more storage space.  We had to decide on materials and colors for front and back doors, and deckings.  Since the demand and prices of building materials and wood have gone up tremendously, there were shortages and back orders of supplies. 

The remodel finally began 8 weeks ago.  If you haven’t already been through it, there is no way to describe the noise & disruption of living in your home during a major renovation, particularly during the removal of old siding and the replacement with new siding.  But it was almost finished last week with the insulation of the attic and the installation of the railings on the rear deck.  We still have some electrical work to be completed and the installation of the glass doors for the shower in the master bathroom.  These item should be completed within two weeks. Our new garage doors will be installed this Wednesday, just in time because one of the doors is barely working.  The remainder of the work is being done by Rob, and he’s done lots of it already.  As a reward, he now has a new Man-Shed for all his tools and equipment. Once the renovation is completely done, we’ll share some before & after pictures, but here’s a few from mid-reno.

My left knee is doing very well.  The knee replacement was worth it, although I don’t want to do it again unless I have to.  The right knee is also a problem, but I won’t rush into surgery unless it gets as bad as the other one did.  I had cataract surgery in November (right eye) and December (left eye).  No problems there.  And once it was done, I could not believe how bright and beautiful everything was!  Rob is doing well, thank goodness.

The kitties are great, at least NOW they are.  During the renovations around the house, they were very stressed out.  I mentioned the noise and disruption earlier.  It was terrible, and Rob & I knew what was going on and what to expect.  We really felt bad for them; they didn’t understand.  They became very jumpy at the slightest noise & weren’t eating or sleeping well.  Now that the worst of it is over, and it’s not going on 5 or 6 days a week, they are returning to normal.

When we got home last fall, we continued to plan for the cottage-build in Maine, continually making changes to the plans, and eagerly awaiting the time when Chris, our Maine general contractor, would be ready to discuss it with us in early 2021.  At that time, we planned to finalize the plans, get the final estimate of costs along with the time frame of the build, and sign the contract.

Recently, after months of going back and forth with Chris, several times making large changes to the plans and virtually starting over, we found that we just couldn’t get the price down low enough to be comfortable with the cost of the build.  Our contractor was wonderful, and he acknowledged that there wasn’t any way that he could bring the costs down any lower with the continual increase of the prices for wood and materials bringing up his costs 30%.  The plans for the cottage have been set aside.  We will definitely use Chris in the future if and when prices go back down enough for us to afford the project.  It is strange and silly; a house is not a person; it is a thing.  Yet we felt like we were mourning the loss of a loved one.  We hope we can still make it work someday.  Meanwhile, what can we do?  Maybe plan a trip in the RV?  Grin.  

On May 20 we are packing up the girls and heading north, east, then west.  We’ll be spending four months taking a leisurely trip back to some favorite places, taking some time on our land in Maine, and visiting some new places.  We really wanted to go back to Newfoundland, but Canada is still not letting foreigners in.  Instead we’ll go through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York, making a loop back to end up at our land.  We will spend some time visiting the 1000 Islands region of New York across from Canada along the Saint Lawrence River, and with a stopover in Niagara Falls.  We will wave at Canada as we go by.   

We’ll start up the Blog again, and you’re invited to come along.  Talk to you in a couple of weeks!

Vicki & Rob; Gracie, Pixie, Luna, & Java