Eating at the airport upon arrival
We arrived in Japan last night (May 17 in Japan, May 16 in Canada). Sean, Makiko, and Julian were waiting for us. Marilyn and I were a bit tired and everyone was hungry so we ate at the airport. Yes, that’s a Subway but they have some interesting Japanese preferred items.
We are heading to Hiroshima tonight (Friday in Japan, Thursday in Canada) and then on to some other sites and Sean’s hockey game on Saturday. I’ll be writing a blog while we are here but first I wanted to tell you about our last week or so in Hanley, SK
Ed's Homestead
Ever since we arrived in SK, I’ve thought about building a ‘bunkie’ on Section 10 about 15 km outside Hanley. This is the section of land Ed and Marg still own after selling off the rest of their farm. It is Ed’s homestead where he was born and raised. There are three old structures on the property and I wanted to make something out of the wood.
My ‘plan’ got Ed thinking about building a log cabin and he investigated getting the logs from a place in Prince Albert. However, while we were all thinking about our various ideas, a house came up for sale in Hanley.
House for sale
This two bedroom home with a bathroom, kitchen and livingroom looked interesting and Ed put an offer in on it. After the offer was accepted, it had to be moved before May 25th so Marilyn got in touch with a few ‘building’ movers and we hired Sawitsky Movers. The owner is a young guy named Ryan who took over the business from his father Dennis. His crew of 3 men turned out to be a group of very nice young guys, all with interests beyond their moving jobs. Gabby drives chuck wagons and works with native children and Mike is a potter and artist.
Jacking up the house
It’s quite common for buildings and homes to be moved in Saskatchewan. Historically, whole towns have been moved. These guys had all the latest equipment including hydraulic jacks, bobcats, and big trucks.
Turns out the house had some rot at the end of the floor joists so once it got lifted onto the truck and moved to Section 10, Marilyn and I nailed new end pieces onto each joist. It was a bit of a rush job before the guys lowered the house but we managed.
A few shingles also blew off the roof (these guys drive pretty fast considering they are hauling a house) and I also had to patch the hole where the brick chimney had been removed.
Moving down the highway
We still have to put skirting around the foundation, build some steps into the house, and do some work inside, but it was a pretty cool way to get an ‘instant home’ on Section 10. Our intention has always been to have it as a bit of a ‘cabin/retreat’. We also ordered some trees to act as a wind break since it is always windy in Saskatchewan and especially out on the open field.
Home on the Range
We are going to look into either solar and/or wind power and maybe some propane for a fridge and stove and lights. Ed is going to have a dugout made for water (and maybe even swimming). Should be a fun place to have people out to stay once it is all fixed up. The views from all sides is really lovely and once we get lots of trees planted, it will look quite nice. Meanwhile, I’m still planning to take apart some of the old buildings and make something to complement the house. We might also build a porch on the front. Yep……this is as close to being a farmer as I’ll ever get
Unless of course you count my garden………
Bob's garden
When we moved to Hanley, the whole back yard was tilled but I planted grass on half of it and kept the rest as our raspberry patch and vegetable garden. I got almost all of it planted just before we left for Japan. Meanwhile, Marilyn has taken a chunk of our back yard to make a flower garden. She has moved a lot of rocks and planted a lot of flowers since this picture (below) was taken so it should look pretty nice when we get back.
Marilyn's flower garden
So, as you can see, we’re keeping pretty busy. Marilyn also helped organize a ‘Variety Night’ last weekend which brought a huge crowd and earned $1500 for the community hall. ”
Hanley Kitchen Band
Shades of our days in Hawkestone.”
Hanley Dance School performers
