(Insert Yurty Title Here)

Well, I have been out of commission for a number of weeks now and my life has been just nuts.  I don't have a lot of time right now and I'm sure reading pages long blogs on 'my' life is no ones idea of a good time!  So, just because I'm such a nice person I am going to summarize it!

The Yurt is finished!  It looks amazing!  I could not have done it without the help of my lovely guy Barry.  I'll post pictures at the end of the blog (of the Yurt, not Barry).  there are a few finishing touches yet to be done, but the overall concept is just a light and airy and beautiful space!  Its peaceful and just as I'd dreamed it to be!

Major issues include:

1. Refinancing to get a 'real' mortgage on this property with a 'Yurt'.  This is not as easy as one might think because so far in Canada... no one has ever mortgaged a property with a yurt yet :-).  I am holding out lots and lots of hope that my favorite bank in the world is going to perform a ground breaking feat of being the first institution to do this... with me.  I am so blessed and so exceeding proud of this bank for even going this far to look deeper into this with me and question the powers that be not matter the outcome... they has done good!

At times through this refinancing process I have felt at rock bottom and even 'hung out to dry'  and betrayed by some parties.  It has been really difficult to not wallow and remain hopeless and bitter.  It has provided an excellent opportunity for major TRUST IN GOD... because in all my earthly human-ness... I cannot see how on earth any of this is going to work out.

God, please help!  I can't do this!

2.  Getting insurance on a Yurt.  Yeah!  You try to convince an insurance company to insure a giant tent?  Granted its far more secure than a 'mini-home' they would normally insure seeing as its fire-retardant, mildew resistant, wind/hurricane proof, snow proof, with better warranties than most new homes... but HEY one major undertaking at a time.

Also, we have Alpaca's!  They are right there in my back yard finally.  In one weekend Barry threw up a beautiful barn and paddocks for them and still managed to smile at the end of that weekend!

And in addition to having our lovely ladies here I am pleased to announce the birth of our first Cria (baby Alpaca) "Rexy" (the man-child named him that... he names everything Rexy.  Might as well let him get it out of his system, but this is the last thing he names that!).

Rexy is special as he was born with a facial deformity we suspect to be 'wry face'.  It has been heartbreaking at times as we watched him struggle for every breath.  We waited for the first week to see if 'nature would take its course', but nature seems to think Rexy is better off with us (thank you God).  We aren't sure yet what kinds of challenges we are looking at with Rexy in the future, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.  Right now we know we are looking at 'grazing' difficulties, but for now he nurses like a pro!  His dental plate and his bottom teeth aren't even close to lining up.  He's cute and sweet and I pick him up daily for a snuggle... an action I'm sure he hasn't learned to appreciate... or ever will hehe.

(I didn't feel like erasing and rewriting what I wrote last night about Rexy.  Right now I don't think I have the heart to recapture the sweetness of the experience of having him in our lives.  Our dear baby Rexy died around 7 am this morning.  It came as a bit of a shock to me seeing as he was doing SO well walking, running, nursing and gaining weight like a pro.  He didn't seem to be having as many issues with breathing as he did in the first week and I even caught him working at pulling at some grass.  I am so sad to lose him, but the most heartbreaking part is watching his poor momma so frantic and worried and confused why her little boy wasn't getting up and why we took him away.  I loved him and he is missed.  Our first baby had such struggles and obstacles to face, but more than just being our first baby Alpaca born into our herd he has a special place in my heart.)

 Hes so darling with his little tongue hangin out of his mouth... took me 15 minutes of following them around to finally get this shot where he wasn't head first at the milk bar.

Barry and his dad building the girls new home.

Looks like a fly right?  Try horse fly and about the side of a quarter!

Hallway to the back bedroom... it needs some work, but its comin along.   I look forward to the day we have a bathroom doooooooor!

Hot day at the Yurt.  This is about the ONLY time you will ever catch Liv laying down voluntarily.

Upstairs and its new carpetting.  It is so lovely and cozy esp with the carpet now.  I am gaining a new appreciation for carpeting.

My favorite stuffed animal.  Its a pill bug or whatever.  I realize he is the ugliest thing in the world... but I like em!

Kids Room

I love my living room and my sectional sofa... most fantasticest couch in the world!

Llama named Hershey!  She is one of our new additions to the herd.

Clea.  The herd guardian for the boys at my mothers house!

Casey.  My mothers baby who is staying with us for the summer while she runs her Bed and Breakfast (Miss Ellys Place)

George the resident stud.  Took me a good 5 minutes of negotiating with him for him to let me take a picture of his face...

Elfie my most favorite girl.

Gracie our white girl.

Danny our gelded male who lives with the girls.  He waited his entire life to get his shot with the ladies and show them what he's made of.  He's finally in Alpaca heaven surrounded by the ladies and they lopped off his nads ... if thats not cruel on so many levels then I don't know what is.

Tess, for my Tess.  Shes yawning not screaming... altho shes a fiesty one!

Does It Yurt When I Do This?

I think I wait too long between blogging and then end up with too much to say and it gets too long... and lets be honest here... no one really wants to read a long blog. I forget most of the events that transpire anyway. *sigh* oh if only I had more self-discipline and focus... yyyyyyyyyyyeah that'll happen!

Well, it feels like things at the property and Yurt are at a standstill... still. I am STILL waiting on my driveway to get fixed so that they can bring the well drill in and run hydro.

Mom and I are so far past being done with living together. As SOON as hydro and water are hooked up we are going to live at the yurt and finish the walls and flooring and fixtures while there. It will be like camping... in a really really REALLY big... tent.

I do have updated photos! My lovely builder guys kindly swept up and cleaned up the majority of the rubbish on the floors and the wood stove is installed completely and looks lovely. The windows are in! I am probably going to need STAIRS leading up to the patio to the front door... although I'm quite sure the lack of stairs might deter J.W.'s? *smile*

Oh AND I 'heard' from a friend at the University in town that my Yurt has been the topic of discussion at their engineering conference there. I am always amazed at how fast news travels and my best laid plans of putting it way back in the forest among the trees hidden from view... EVERYONE knows about it anyway. The eastern side of Kings County I get... but news has traveled far and fast to Charlottetown. I was half tickled by the news that my 'nifty' home is such a hit and source of interest to people here and the rest of me embarrassed that I or my projects are the topic of any discussion.

ON WITH THE PHOTOS! Wooo!

Do the windows seem a little bit high to anyone else?

Not to brag about my Daddy or anything, but I am blessed and my needs are so met (and beyond that most of the time). I try to never let my flesh underestimate God's power... but I am never not WOW'd by what He does!

I had the task presented to me, of finding a new vehicle for our family (since our last one was a lil banged up last month). At first I was terribly upset by the news that I would have to give up my Saturn and adjust to something new, but once I started looking I started to envision what i needed, like, more room, more seating, 4x4, tow package... and at a price I could afford!

FOUND IT!

I had to make a pro's and con's list of a compact vehicle compared to something larger like this. The con list for this size vehicle was only the gas consumption part of it. However, that thought was terrifying! What if I can't afford to drive it at all... lot of good that will do! After all, I was coming from driving this super economical Saturn SUV that supposedly had this amazing MPG rating. I prayed tonnes about it and researched it and mulled it over intensely trying to figure out if this would be God's will for us... esp since a compact SUV or other compact car does not seem to fit in our life in any way. Finally I just felt to JUMP IN and do it... and you know what I found out...

PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING! Turns out my Saturn wasn't all that great on gas! All this time I have been so tickled with a truck that I thought was being all efficient and such and it wasn't that much better than a v6 trailblazer! This is AWESOME good news to me because I am not much worse off in the fuel funding department as I truly feared I might be AND we have a truck that meets our needs, exceeds our expectations, and opens up new doors and opportunities to us... thank you God!

I have had to make a hard decision this last week to let one of my dogs go. Its too much having two puppies at the same time. I love them both so dearly and choosing between them has been heartbreaking at best. I realize, however, that neither of them are getting the loving and training they need together and that by splitting them up and finding one another loving home will give them both a fighting chance. They both have sooooooo much potential and its just being wasted.

Again, I prayed about this and posted her ad online and the next day we found the right home and they are coming all the way from Nova Scotia for her in two weeks! I could tell right away through emails that they are the right home and family for her and the funny part is that the ad is still listed and we have have ZILCH for calls or interest since... haha!

Okay so now onto the simple, delightful things! All the plants that I seeded are growing WAY FASTER than I anticipated. They are actually growing way faster than they even should be that I don't even know that I'll be able to get them in the ground before they decide to die in their little cups! I am so excited about having a veggie garden this year... so here is hoping they survive in seeder flats until they can get into the ground!

The plants are easily twice this size now!!!

These interesting ice formations were as a result of me leaving the hose running all night and it has a leaky washer... or something (I say that like I know something about something). With the temps well below 0 we were having and the steady light spray from the backed up faucet these cool bobbles of water on grass formed. the first picture is about 4 or 5 feet long just to give you an idea of how big the ice bobbles actually are. It was just fascinating to see!

My mothers dear, dear, sweet orange tabby... hes such a pain in the neck! I have been trying to get some sewing projects accomplished and hes determined that ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN! As I set out to do some patchwork/quilting, I lay out the pattern on the floor to check colours and see if it 'works'... Like so...

Then I turn my back for two seconds and the little turd comes along and...

Turns out hes stalking me while I work, lying in wait under furniture.  He waits for a moment that I am not looking and dives paws and head first into the fabric squares and then tears off down to the other end of the house... he has done this with three HUGE quilting projects... so now I take detailed photos of the layout so I don't have to have it laid out long... because it wont survive!

AbsoYurtly Amazing!

I fear the day I run out of 'Yurt' titles... truly fear it.

We have two baby boxer puppies.

They are adorable. NUTS, but... sweet. I often times try to imagine what its like being in a dogs head. However, I lose all ability to relate when I watch the brown one running around on the back deck with a dried out crispy dog turd in her mouth while occasionally flinging it about, then pouncing on it before it 'gets away'. This is only made worse by the white one (Abbigale) following the brown one (Olivia) around licking clean her behind. OM NOM NOM NOM! I'm not entirely sure why I'm bringing this up, except for the fact that I have had the joy of observing this... so I'm taking you down with me :-).

Get on with it right? Okay!

I was awakened yesterday afternoon from my lovely cat nap (busy morning) by a phone call from my insurance adjuster... *sigh*. I was informed that my truck is being written off. The damage was so extensive and severe from the accident (See March's post)the repairs were only 'estimated' to start at 13 thousand dollars... and thats at first glance. I know its just a vehicle, but it was heartbreaking to learn I was losing yet another important part of my life. The funny thing was that it never occurred to me that the vehicle wouldn't be repairable!

(hmmmmmmmmmmm... wonder where the bumper is...)

(FOUND IT!)

So I went and cleaned it out yesterday afternoon and said my teary-eyed-goodbyes.

As much as my human nature wants to sulk and pout about this and think 'why me?' or dwell on how much this whole thing sucks, I am instantly reminded of how much worse things could have been... soooooooooooooooooooooooo much wooooooooooooorse... and no matter what...

God is still God... and God is still good!

MY YURT HAS WINDOWS!!! wooo! Its been a long haul getting to this point and the project is still far from over... however... I can see the bottom of my bank account so I wish things would hurry up so I could stop hemorrhaging money and start focusing on recovering from this.

Again, my spirit is reminded of how BLESSED I am to have the opportunity to embark on such a wild and amazing journey! Thank you Lord for not allowing me to fall into my own stupidity of complaining and not seeing this for the true blessing it is! Even for the moment that we may be stretched and might even make me wriggle a little... I have no doubt that God does and will provide and that we can DO THIS... because, afterall, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13)

Annnnnnnnyways! I am contemplating going up to the property today to take pictures to share with yall of the fully installed wood stove and the 4 new glass windows that my brilliant builder and his team somehow figured out how to install. I'll pretend I didn't see Cliffy knick the top cover with his razor blade while cutting the side cover for the window opening haha! Hey, I might even think about locking the building up now that all the trades have been in and done. Apparently there are tonnes of people who catch wind of this project and stop by to 'check it out' which I totally don't mind... but its odd to think there are people up there in my house when I'm not around... so far... no damage.

I have been informed that the Yurt and I are the talk of the town up that way. I don't know that I'll ever get use to being the 'talk of the town'... but its probably not going to stop me from carrying on with my dreams and ideas and I have realized that from the first moment of landing on this island... I've pretty much been the topic of discussion... good and bad, non stop and it ain' gonna change anytime soon.

...just wait till I get the Alpacas up there... haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaha...

So now all we are waiting for is the driveway to be fixed... I have been told a definite-maybe for next week by my dear, sweet, excavator-guy Darcy Garrett (Overdrive Carriers Inc). Everything hinges on this driveway!!! No pressure or anything Darcy O:-D. Maritime electric has made it clear its not going to take its trucks down the driveway to bring in power with the condition of the mud and goo (I can't blame em) and even IF we can get a day permit for the well drill to be transported (weight restrictions are in effect right now)... they couldn't get into the driveway and ever hope to get their drill back out... hehe... it would be kinda funny to watch how fast and deep it would sink. So we are at a standstill and hugely over budget... and that is ooooooookay because now I am powerless to wiggle my way out of this or finagle some kind of solution... its all up to God!

In the meantime... I'm just going to be tickled about my new stove and having glass windows that OPEN wooo!