Whoever said retirement was a time to slow down and take it easy never met me, or my long list of goals.
I was raised by two do-it-yourself parents. Mum grew up in a tiny fishing village on an island. Self-sufficiency was as much a part of her life as dried salt cod. Dad was raised on a small farm on the north shore of Nova Scotia. “Make do” and “fix it yourself” were as deeply ingrained as his love of fresh oysters from the bay. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that if something needs doing or fixing, I’ll give it a try.
Where does this month’s topic of favourite firsts come into play? Well, let me tell you.
When we had our dream home built, I lobbied to leave a few projects undone – hubby and I were free labour, and it would be fun! Right, sweetie?!?
So we built our first garden shed – and we’re still married. It’s now been roofed and painted to match the house but I neglected to take a photo and I’m not at home right now, so…
Since the shed was soooo much fun we next tackled our first sundeck. We’d helped with other deck constructions but had no help with this one (aside from Son1 and d-i-l affixing a few planks). Mogget loves to race from one end to the other. I feel safe in saying we won’t be building another sundeck.
Scaling back from the monster shed, we next had a go at our first chicken coop. (Full disclosure, we had previously built a modified chicken tractor but it was not a permanent structure, was about one quarter the size, and unlike our new coop, could not serve as an Airbnb for an adventurous soul.) We’ll finish the interior in the next couple months so to be ready for our laying hens. Is this the last chicken coop we ever build? Only time will tell.
Lest you think all my recent firsts were manual labour related, I also touched the Mediterranean Sea for the first time while visiting a friend in Cyprus. I can confidently say my first trip to Cyprus will not be my last. And – Cyprus was my favourite first.
Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. She spends her days writing spicy contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and historical romance. When not torturing her heroes and heroines, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious. She lives in Nova Scotia with her patient husband and two spoiled cats.
Guess who’s moving in next door?
Nicole Bennett is used to bad luck—it’s kind of a family curse. She’s spent the past year stitching her life back together after losing her dream job. Well, it paid the rent. Now stuck working at her family’s grocery store while wrangling a demoralized dad and a spoiled-brat sister, the last thing she needs is for the man who wrecked her life to move in next door, even if it is for only three weeks. So what if he’s sexier than sin and makes her believe in fairy tale endings?
Ross Calvert’s life in the fast lane crashed when he lost his job and fiancée. All he’s got to show for years of hard work are a sleek sports car and a closet full of designer suits – minus the closet. Determined to salvage his relationship with his best friend, he trades in the corporate life for a brief stint as a caregiver. The decision was simple—until he discovers the tempting vixen he wronged lives next door. Maybe she’s what he needs to reboot his life.
What starts off as a no-strings fling soon veers into making promises that might be impossible to keep.
If you enjoy steamy, small town romance with laughter and snappy dialogue, don’t miss the first book in this exciting new series. Buy If I Didn’t Care and escape to MacLeod’s Cove today!
7 comments:
Love this, Luanna. As a friend who has been "virtually" by your side through building projects...well enough said about being first and hopefully last on such projects. By the way, I loved this book! Can't wait for second one. I am one who touched the Mediterranean as a child, but would love a second chance.
Oh my Luanna, you do come by your "do it yourself" projects naturally. I'm looking out my window at my back decks. The first double 8X10 I build myself 40+ years ago. Their last reincarnation was done by a custom decking company. If I looked out my front yard, I'd see the landscape I've worked on (plants, river rocked areas) I also put together (those wheelbarrows of river rock are Heavy!). It is undergoing yet another metamorphosis - used to be grass, then and then and then and now? now it will be minimalist with crushed rock, accent boulder and Oregon Grape/rosemary on either end of the parking strip. No more river rock either. I much admire your projects but do understand that Cyprus will be on your favourite seconds list.
Your projects turned out wonderful! It always feels good to accomplish a project by yourself. At least I think so. Thanks for sharing the pictures! Good luck on getting back to Cyprus!
Your story sounds fun!
Fun post, Luanna. It's funny how those "We can build that" comments turn into huge projects. Hope you get back to Cyprus soon!
We built a brick patio, a large deck and a large chicken coop (and years ago, a pigeon coop.) Not enthused about doing any of those again, although they all ultimately turned out well.
Fun post, and I enjoyed the pictures, too.
Sarah, you left out the alpaca palace (or did you have llamas, I always forget which). Chicken coop? Chicken Taj Mahal is a better description. I'd put your building projects up against Luanna's any day.
Wow! I am definitely impressed with those DIY efforts. As Judith said, you are surely genetically as well as nurtured into being self-sufficient from your parents.
My own DIY physical efforts are limited to painting, easy floor installation, and some gardening which may include an occasional stone path. And even those, I do quite slowly these days. I am not a natural visual learner and have difficulty with spatial representation so most carpentry, plumbing, or large scale projects are out without someone saying to me: "Hammer this nail here, or cut that pipe there." In other words, I'm a good gopher for those projects but not the planner or builder.
As to the travel part as firsts, I could do that all day. I have never touched the Mediterranean and would love to do that a long with a long bucket list of water and land excursions. I truly believe that having regular firsts--whether close to home or far away--is the way to keep learning and stay young at heart.
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