Blog £2 From Kingsville to Essex

 

I am so fond of this lighthouse in Kingsville. I want to give it a good home and take it back up north with me as a souvenir. It is like the town has discarded it. There is no sign telling of its history or provenance. Just put to the side. Is this historic ageism? 

The ferry that takes people and their vehicles to Pelee Island. It seems to only run when I'm not here. There has to be another way to get to the island as I believe some folks live there year round. I'll have to get the scoop on that.

Zehrs, Kingsville. Yes, I exercised today. I went grocery shopping!!!! I'm so impressed with this store and the products it sells. Living in the north I didn't realize that there are at least 6 varieties of Perrier and fresh fruits that I've never seen before. Some of which I have discovered are a one and only time eating experience.

One of the true joys of traveling is finding locations such as this. Love the signage. Love how the concept works.

And, love being able to share these times with grandbaby Tehya. She dropped off the cash, empty egg cartons and picked up the fresh supply. I love the concept of buying locally and being trusted to pay what is owed. I bet if you were hungry this farmer would give you eggs. It is that kind of place. 

It snowed and snowed and snowed. We sat hunkered down inside and waited for it to stop as we would at home. Finally time to clear the walk way from the back door to the car and clean off the car. Ray shoveled the walkways and my job was to clear off the car. I opened the gate, turned to Ray and said, '' Hold onto the dog.'' and whoosh the dog was through the gate down the driveway and out onto the sidewalk. Now, this is a country dog who knows nothing about roads, cars etc. Ray demands, ''Clear off the car!!!'' Max loves the car and will come for an open door on anyone's vehicle!!! I attack the car with scraper and broom to realize that under this fluffy stuff is a thick layer of ice. This is going to take an hour to clear. Meanwhile Ray is out on the street following the dog who is having the best run he has had in awhile. He bounds back at Ray and runs right past him in the other direction again and again. Finally a young woman in her early 20s stops her car and asks Ray if he wants help. She probably thought that was better than driving past a guy about to have a cardiac arrest in front of her eyes. She gets out of her car and calls, ''Here puppy puppy!!! and in seconds has the dog collar in her hands. Saved!!! I hate to admit but a few days later we had the same experience and again it was a woman neighbour who came to the rescue. Such a good place to live this Essex!!!!

The Essex House. In January, I found a cottage on the shore of Lake Erie to rent for the month of March. I chatted with the owner and we struck a deal. A couple of days later he called me on my cell phone, yes I actually have one!!!!, and asked if I would be interested in staying in the house above for two weeks at the beginning of February to evaluate what it needed to become an airbnb rental. He bought the property last year and no one had lived in it since. Well, this sounded interesting. Sure, let's do this!!! For the last week and a half we have lived in this grand home. I have made long lists of needs and have met with the delightful owners to give reports. Items needed have arrived within hours and it has been a lot of fun.

This is the main entrance. There is a set of doors coming in from the street and then this set of doors. It is like a fancy schmancy mud room. I bet it has never seen mud!!! To the left is the dining room and to the right is the living room. The dog does not come with the house.

Behind you are the stairs going upstairs. The house sleeps 12 comfortably. There is a third floor attic with 6 beds and lots of room. The door straight a head leads into the kitchen with another kitchen door off to the right through the dining room. 

Living Room. We use the gas fireplace every night. The windows on the upper left are leaded panes. There is a small sitting room off to the left where the wee record player is and Ray has been given the job of buying records which leads up to antique stores and second hand stores which pleases me!!!

The kitchen is a delight to work in. Right behind the island is the built in fridge. Compact and highly functional. A Bosch dishwasher of course!!!

It isn't what it is who you know. Yesterday the landlord dropped in to fix something and brought us tomatoes fresh from the vine. I'm not sure what he does exactly and I always think it is fun to wait until someone tells me. I just know he has resources. Lots and lots of resources. Is there a farming mafia??? I buy these tomatoes all the time at home. The on the vine kind. The green is never this green and the red is never this red. When I asked why they looked so different he explained that my at home tomatoes were old. Oh no!!!! Delicious. I'm not a huge tomato fan but I'm sure enjoying these. Wonder what else may appear over the next 7 and a half weeks.

Master bedroom. It took awhile to figure out how to get up into this bed but I have a good technique now. Through the door straight a head is the master bathroom with a jacuzzi tub!!!

I was thrilled to have a jacuzzi in this house. It is the thing I miss most from home when we are away for the winter. First morning here, I put in the bubble bath, fill it to the rim and climb in. It is quite different from my home model. For one thing, your feet are higher than your sitting down part. For another there are all of these little buttons that emit a gush of water when you turn it on and finally the big issue.....when I laid back it was such and incline that my feet came up and me head went down. I normally do not have any fear of water but for a split second, as long as it took to yell to Ray for help, I thought of drowning!!!!! OMG!!!! And to add to the panic, I couldn't figure out how to drain the water!!!! When Ray arrived all I could do was to beg him to keep my head above water as I tried to flip over and stand up. What an experience!!!! The second foray into the tub went better but it isn't my happy place..... There is also a bidet in the bathroom. You know the fixture that you kept wine cold in and washed your socks in when you traveled in Europe for the summer like I did in my early 20s.

Finally, there is this lovely porch off of the master bedroom which I'm sure is lovely when not covered in snow.

That's it for this week. Stay safe. How long will be saying that? Be happy. It is always a choice. See you next week from the lake house. It has 3 bedrooms and we would be happy to have you come for a visit!!!