A Simple Life In Canada - How To Guide Part 1

This is Part One of a Multi-part Guide.
Please check back tomorrow for the next installment. And thanks Dad for giving me a great reminder to write about things that might be useful to people. Here's photo of my dad taken on a nice hazy summers day last year. He's the best!

What does that mean to you, living the simple life? Does it evoke memories from your childhood of picking peas in your grandparents garden and chasing fireflies or frogs on warm summer evenings? Do you think of the Amish people with their wonderful farming and craft filled communities devoid of cars? Or is it something much closer to home for you, as close as growing herbs and lettuce in your garden? Because we're all individuals and at different points on the path of life we all see and experience things in ways totally unique to us. And that doesn't change if you decide to abandon the modern day rat-race and head for the country. Even out here in Nova Scotia you won't find 2 farmers who do things exactly alike. Some like chickens, some like vegetables, and some just farm trees.

My point is this; before you can even begin to make plans to move towards a simple life you need to assess what that means to you. You need to have at least a goal to work towards and then you'll be able to put the other necessary steps in order. What exactly do you want out of life? I find that the simple steps for this are as follows:

Have a Goal. It's okay if this evolves and changes over time.
     *Why do you want this?
     *How will it benefit you?
     *What steps do you need to take?
     *Can you afford it?

Decide how long you'll take to achieve your goal.
     Sometimes our dreams are tempered by the fact that we need to put a roof over our heads and food in our bellies while we're working towards something better. And that generally means for Canadians that we have to work at a paid job and work on our own projects in our personal hours. It's the trade off of hours available for work vs. a need to get paid. Sure, we'd all like endless time for our own projects but the reality is that most of us can't do that. We need at least a small income.

Make a Plan.
     Having something written down that shows the logical steps will help you to organize the work that's necessary. Just as a builder needs a set of blueprints and an understanding of the progression of a build (permits before walls,walls before plumbing etc.) so we need a plan that allows us to make the most efficient use of our resources. It helps you avoid some of the pitfalls by considering what could go wrong and making plans accordingly. Plans shouldn't be written in stone but they should provide a framework for you to build upon.

Do a realistic Budget.
     Sure we can all make our budget look good on paper, but saying you'll only spend $200 on groceries and eat lots of pasta and then actually doing it are 2 very different things. Maybe you hate pasta but didn't think it would be so bad. Who knows. I'm simply suggesting that you take into account that things may change in price, medical bills might happen, the car may break down. Be realistic and plan for some emergency funds to be set aside if you at all can.

And Last But Not Least ...




Get To Work!
     Nobody is going to feel as passionately about your goal as you do. It's your baby. You're the one with all the hopes and dreams so it's up to you to take the leap into the unknown and be adventurous! Learn new skills, try things you've never done before, make new friends and invest yourself in your project. When you can commit yourself to something it's more likely to be finished and finished well. It's not going to be easy for the most part but it will definitely be worth it.


Periodically, whether it's once a week or once a year, you need to sit down and go over the written plans and goals you have. See how you're doing and if there's anything you want to change or add. Take a look at how much you've accomplished and be honest with yourself about how you're doing. This is a good time to modify your goals and then start off re-energized and re-focused. If things haven't gone as planned figure out why and take steps to get back on track. Maybe you need to go in a different direction or get some help from a professional. Maybe you simply need more time. As the saying goes 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. The point of having goals and projects is to improve your life in some way. Otherwise why would we do them? And anything that's worth having is worth the effort to get it, even if it takes longer than you planned on. If you're getting discouraged then break down your goal into smaller goals and keep track as you accomplish things so that you can see yourself making progress.

Just remember this... every pyramid was built one block at a time.

Good luck with your goals for 2014 and beyond. Check back tomorrow for more information about starting a simple life in Canada.

Our Gardens- Week 1. Nothing but dirt.

That's how a garden starts out...dirt. All the hours of tilling, raking, weeding, tilling and raking again and not much to show for it. Of course it's lovely to walk across it and sink in 4 inches to the cool moist fluffy soil below, but seeds have got to get planted! So here's a few pics of our garden as of today, June 15th 2012. Planted are potatoes, Provider green beans, Spanish Onions, Wisconsin pickling cukes, tomatoes, zucchini, Paris Island Cos (romaine lettuce), Detroit beets in the same row as french breakfast radishes (you pull out the radishes in 20 days and make room for the beets to grow, works well for carrot rows too), Laxton's progress peas and I think that's it so far. I'd have to check my map. Yes, I have to make a map so I remember planting dates and where everything is. While I'm planting I say to myself "Oh I'll remember that I planted beans here" and then I always forget. So having a map is good. It allows me to see what's going to be done where and to plan for fall plantings. But despite all the work the only things in the garden showing signs of growth are the chicks. It's taken a lot of work to get it all tilled but the planting of main crops should be finished this weekend. Then the greenhouse can be planted and the fun begins! Our first harvest of lettuces and radishes will be in 3 weeks and will be quickly followed by peas, beets and beans. I'll leave some row space for later plantings of all of these so that I get a continuous harvest but I did plant 2- 50ft rows of peas and beans just so that I could harvest lots at once for freezing.

At our home garden we've got smaller quantities of celery, lettuce, greens, peas, peppers, beans, corn and tomatoes growing. It's nice to walk outside and have fresh veggies and herbs for the table so I'll make sure I plant some new things each week. The 4 Jubilee (yellow) tomatoes I planted in manure by the garden shed are doing really well and are getting taller so I'm expecting good things from them. And the same for the small patio tomatoes that are in pots on my deck. The first flower clusters are out and if the bees do their magic we should get a good crop of tomatoes from them too. The biggest concern with them is keeping them watered as the small pots dry out easily. Sort of like the garden, it takes a lot of water to get it deeply watered. The main garden has soaker hose as seen in the pics and the home garden so far has overhead sprinklers. We'll see how that works as the garden grows.

I must say though that the petunias I grew have turned out to be fantastic so far! Definitely will try to keep seed and see if I can repeat them again next year.

The pics in this post are from top to bottom:

1. Our Main Garden with the soaker hoses along the rows.
2 & 3. Chris's bottom half and the meat birds, now 3 weeks old, enjoying some sunshine and a snack in their chicken yard.
4. The hen houses alongside the gardens(don't worry, we skipped planting potatoes right outside their door) are open for ventilation.
5. Some lettuces in the home garden.
6. Petunias on the front door step.

In pic 4. you'll notice that the hen houses have the sides open. The dryer the hen houses stay the healthier they are, so we open the side panels during good weather. They only need cleaning once a month because the hens are mostly outside and so the litter stays dry. You can see inside the hen house in the picture and it is still clean and fluffy after 2 weeks of use. We use wood shavings for the litter on the floor. To keep out the rain they are covered with a tarp and during the winter we'll be cleaning them out weekly to maintain a dry and healthy environment. I'm considering using peat for bedding too, it'll make great compost! We use diatomaceous earth in their litter and in their dust baths to prevent lice. The hens and Wyandottes go off into the woods for the day and return on their own at night. The meat chicks though are confined to an outdoor pen 25 feet by 25 feet with shade and grass. And if you're a chicken person you'll have noticed one buff orpington chicken with the meat birds. She's out chicken that got sick and is there to have a warmer and safer recuperation with higher protein feed and lots of fresh water.

Well that's the report on the garden for now. Hopefully it'll be looking a lot more green in the next few weeks with veggies and not weeds. Wish us luck! And yes...I remembered the sun screen today :)

Patiently Waiting

Hi there! Just in case you wonder what's up with us...the answer is nothing. Well that's not entirely true. We're still finding ourselves super busy which is typical of Spring in the country. For us it's a little different though because we're living in town right now, buying land in the country, and gardening and raising chickens wherever we can. Yes, we're farmers without a farm. But hopefully all of that is about to change!

I'm trying to not get overly excited for a few reasons. Firstly, both Steve and I have been disappointed before and don't want to get our hopes up only to later have them dashed. Secondly, we know that once the buying process is done, the real work begins. Right now it's just paperwork, sketches and plans on paper, research and inspections. As soon as that's all done the actual physical labour begins with fencing and building some small but sturdy barns. And a home for us of course, but that's going to take more time and money so we have to stick to our plan and do things in their proper order, not rush things.

That's one of the greatest things about this 'build your own farm' we're doing. We get to put exactly what we want where we want. Want a tack room in the barn? I can do that! Need a small space to brood chicks? I can do that too. Hate having a formal dining room but want a pantry and a cold storage? Done! We'll get to build a practical house for us that's also energy efficient and will hopefully save us a lot of money in utility bills over the course of our lives and will be a blessing to our children when they inherit it. Steve's got 10 more years before retirement is an option so by then we should have everything running smoothly, most of the kids out of the house, and be self-sufficient. Maybe that seems like a long time to some of you, but trust me, even the best laid plans have a way of evolving over time and taking longer than you think. We're basically working on the next 6 months, the next 18 months, and the next 3 years when planning. Since most outdoor work will happen in the Summer and Fall it makes sense to plan building activities then. Of course that doesn't mean the winters are idle. That's a good time for fixing fences, storing firewood and building materials for the upcoming season and getting permits arranged.

So we're patiently waiting for the lawyers to do their thing and draw up papers for us to sign. Shouldn't be long now.

Speaking of not long...Nicole's new book is available for pre-order on Amazon and Indigo so I'm eagerly awaiting The Ultimate Guide to Permaculture. Oh crumbs Helga...I still owe you a book!

This weekend is also the time to break out the tiller and get the gardens dug over ready for planting. The temperature averages are creeping up now so we're getting closer to being able to start some cool season crops like peas, leeks and leafy greens. Our 4 new layers will be here next Friday so we need a coop built for them too, a nice little portable one we can wheel around and eventually move out to the other farm. We're going to use the chickens as weeders and bug removers as we prepare the beds for planting and before we let them roam free during the day. We already know there's at least one local fox so we need to have a good predator proof set up before we even think about leaving the chickens out there overnight. Steve's working on an idea to have a coop door that closes automatically and opens automatically...I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, thanks very much for your kind thoughts and prayers on our behalf. We feel very blessed to have you as friends, to have each other, and to have this opportunity to finally build a place of our very own. I can't wait to invite you over for a house warming party!

Happy Friday!

Yes I'm happy. My beloved husband comes home today! I know I'm sappy...I miss him after 1 day and by the end of the week I really really want him home. I know there are plenty of people who do this all the time, spend the week days away from their families, my father included. And I know that military wives sometimes won't see their husbands for months on end. I have the greatest respect for them because it's a hard thing, especially if you have children. But it's just a temporary phase in our lives and we'll appreciate each other more when we're together I think. Do you think it's true that you appreciate something more if you have to really work for it? What about appreciating a beautiful sunrise or the smile on a child's face? I guess it all comes down to what we find important. What we take the time to enjoy and where we find beauty are very personal things but if we slow life down and have the time, we can find beauty in many different places. So when making life altering changes such as moving across the country or even from one country to another, it's really important to understand the things that are important to you. It helps you to understand the sacrifices of leaving things behind and helps you plan for the future. When my parents moved to Canada in 1988 we had no family here, only one uncle who had moved here years before and never been heard from again..last name Purnell. Anyone know of him? In southern Alberta perhaps? Anyways, there are some things that we hold dear and other things that we can learn to live without. Lots of the material possessions can be left behind, some family keepsakes have to be kept, photographs kept or digitized, livestock re-homed, grown children left to fully unfurl their wings, and family relationships that will change due to long separation. Staying in touch has never been easier, from phone calls to video calls using skype, talking to our loved ones does not mean writing letters that may or may not get delivered. When the pioneers moved out west or from Europe to Canada the only real way to stay in contact was through letters and eventually the telegraph but that wasn't cheap and so it wasn't unusual to go for long stretches without hearing a single word. Sometimes only a letter announcing the safe arrival of a new baby or the wedding of a daughter, the really big important events. Now we can call to announce that the baby tried her first solid food or that they got a good report card. Or maybe we call for no real reason at all. That's good too.

Today I'm appreciating the simple pleasures in life. My family whom I love, a working vehicle, food on the pantry shelves, dry firewood, health, friends who love us, and the beauty and peace that comes from living in Canada.

We're On The Front Page!

Steve asked me yesterday what you all thought about us making the front page of novascotialife.com It's the main gov't site to attract immigrants and tourists alike. I said I didn't mention it to anyone and so to make Steve happy I'm letting you know. We're on the front page at the bottom...just a little excerpt from a post I made a while ago. The site is good for learning about life in Nova Scotia from festivals to getting work and programs available.

I'm trying to get the books and things caught up today. Doesn't that sound like fun? Oh Joy! **I hate paperwork** But on the plus side maybe we can collect some money that's owed to us. And we have to update our Wills. When's the last time you did yours? Do you even have one? Do you know how much of a hassle it is for your family if you don't have one? I'd encourage you to do a will. Even something simple is better than nothing at all and you can find forms for free online.

We got the ownership transferred on the van...$150 later we now 'officially' own it. It's about $12 to transfer the ownership and the rest is 15% tax on the purchase price. And yes...we did declare the correct amount even though the owner left it blank and told us we could pay less tax if we declared less. But that is dishonest so we told the truth about how much we paid.

The next step in the process is to get insurance (I'm waiting for a call back with a quote) and once we have insurance we can go get plates and registration which is $203 for 2 years...so I'll never complain about ICBC again! I'm hoping the insurance is fairly inexpensive. Ok I heard back and it's $686 for the year for pleasure use only, we can pay monthly $57.17 but need to pay 2 months upfront and get our drivers abstracts from BC first. So maybe it's a good idea to bring one with you if you move here. Once you move your license is good for 90 days before you must switch to Nova Scotia.

We're driving to Wallace on the North Shore about 3 1/2 hours away on Saturday to pick up an organ from a local church. They got a new one and are looking for a home for the old faithful one they've got...so Merry Christmas Steve, you're getting an organ! Plus a lovely cross province trip with your wife! Doesn't that sound like a fun thing to do on your birthday?

Gotta run and get back to work.

Elizabeth

Weird and Wonderful Nova Scotia Quirks

Here is a list of different things that we've noticed about our new home so far and we'll keep adding to it as we go. Not all the differences are bad or good...it's just a different way of doing things and after all, these people have been here a long time!

There is a slight accent. It's a very very soft newfie with regular English words.

People honk at out of province plates as a way of being friendly. This kind of threw me at first but now I don't notice.

Banks are open really terrible old fashioned hours. Here in the valley it's 10-4 Monday to Friday. I think there may be some later hours open till 6 and a TD in New Minas open 12-4 on Saturdays but I still have to confirm that. No 8-8 banking and certainly no Sunday banking. It's a bit of a pain if you work 8-5 because it means the bank is basically never open. There is Money Mart though if you don't mind paying 3%. DO NOT USE the Cash Store. They wanted to charge us nearly $50 in fees to cash 2 cheques and at Moneymart it came to about $15. Still, having your pay direct deposited is a good idea if you can.

Roads are lumpy. Seriously lumpy. You see a sign telling you that there are bumps ahead and wonder exactly which ones they're talking about. Not all roads are bad, just some areas are much worse than others. The main highways are pretty good. Worst roads in Canada from our drive across though...Ontario.

Street signs tell you the roads that come off the one you're on but not the name of the one you're on so it's easy to get lost if you're a newcommer. I think the hwy's guys just assume that you turned onto this road so you must have seen a sign at some point and know where you are. Well, house and street signage is hit and miss so we're constantly getting turned around. Also, they sign intersections in small signs and often right at the intersection, not before, so if you don't know that's your turn you blow past it and have to turn around and come back again. And the street signs and maps don't always agree. It could be signed Bridge Street when you map says Hwy 10. I don't know if having a GPS would help but we have been around long enough now to have a good idea of where things are so we don't even really notice anymore.

School buses here for the kids are free. Woo Hoo!

Kings County, while closer to the cities and having good shopping, is very much a paper pushers delight. They have regulations for everything. I'm not kidding, the SPCA came by yesterday to give me a hand out about our dog. Her house must be 6x8 feet with a hallway and sleeping area, doors 11x13, insulated...... she must be walked twice per day for 20 minutes, given 20 feet of tether and not allowed outside for more than 16 hours at one time.... good grief! Do they think we have no common sense. It turns out that even though she sleeps inside, if she is out for 20 minutes she needs a dog house.
The county rules for building, zoning, permits, and other home building things are tight and well defined in Kings County. In contrast, Annapolis county is much looser and there are properties with no zoning at all. Depending on what you want to do with your property and how close to the city you want to be this choice of counties really can be a deciding factor. Property taxes also vary greatly, being perhaps 4 times larger in the HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality) than in other areas. I'd estimate that depending on your home, land size and zoning, an average property bill in rural areas will cost you $500-$600 per year whereas it will cost you $1200 in a town or village (because water and sewer are provided) and maybe $2000 in HRM. That's very subjective though so do please check it out.

On the subject of signs, they sometimes tell you the next town instead of the final destination of that road, so have a map with you.

Sales tax is 15% here and provincial income tax is higher than other provinces. But if you have children they get free dental under 10 years old and your Child Tax Credits have a provincial bonus. All in all we'll come out ahead by a couple of hundred dollars a year on our taxes.

Gas is cheaper than Montreal and northern Ontario but about the same as Vancouver Island. Not really that cheap. But not as bad as Europe.

Milk is super expensive in the Maritimes. From the moment you enter New Brunswick the milk quotas start and you'll be paying on average $7 for a 4 litre jug. Or bags if you prefer . Remember those milk bags from the 70's and 80's...they still have them here in Nova Scotia. You can usually find milk in plastic jugs too but they're not transparent like in BC. 2 litre jugs will cost you about $4.35. So be warned.

Meat is relatively expensive here but fair quality as supermarkets go. Buying from a local farmer is definitely the way to go as it's better and cheaper. Some butchers locally also are good value for money.

There are lots of small farm markets and stands in towns and villages all over the valley. Most are great. But we went to Evans and found it was really not nice so I'd recommend avoiding it. Otherwise these little markets are great for seasonal produce.

Health care is of course free and you can call to request forms to register in Nova Scotia. There are no provincial premiums so that saves us $108 per month over BC. Your previous provinces health care covers you for 3 months after you move here.

Heating your house is done by wood, electric, furnace oil or a combination. Natural gas is still relatively rare. Oil tanks must be replaced every 10 years and firewood is about $200 per cord delivered for hardwood or $100 if you cut it yourself.

High speed internet is really slow in the country and smaller towns. But in the city there is fibre optic and it's slowly making it's way out to other areas. We're keeping our fingers crossed. It costs about the same as other places in Canada and you can bundle you tv and phone together.

Cell coverage is actually not bad all things considered and you have a good range of companies to choose from.

If you're touring around you'll see the occasional "Look-Off" that we discovered is a scenic view or Look-Out.

There are some unusual regional recipes. My friend Pam gave me an awesome book of them and the history that goes with them. I'll have to go find it and share some with you. The book is lovely and very interesting. Now where did I put that.....??

The road surfaces can be red or black/grey. Sometimes both on the same road.

Libraries are all interconnected so you can order a book that's at another branch, very nice.

You don't buy school supplies for Elementary kids, just pay the school a fee of about $40, for us anyways. And Kindergarten is called Primary in NS.

There's some confusion regarding dinner/lunch and supper/dinner and I haven't figured that one out yet.

Most roads do not have embedded cats eyes or reflectors.

There are graveyards EVERYWHERE! Little 6 person family plots to full churchyards right on the main road. It's really quite different from a city where the cemetery is hidden behind trees and bushes and has flat stones. Here most of the stones are upright, looking more like olde England. Some properties come with their own cemeteries too. At least they make for quiet neighbours.

Fences. There aren't any. About 90% of yards do not have a boundary fence. Our back yard and those of our 4 adjoining neighbours just blend together into one large space. Looks nice, but I wonder about the practicality. Maybe neighbours don't worry about property rights so much here. I'm not sure. Either way I'm going to build a run for the dog so she has an enclosed place to go.