Monday, December 23, 2013

Maggie and I are on the move again

As most of you know, I am currently living with my sister after my husbands sudden death in July. I have loved being able to see my sister everyday and spend time with her. But it is time for Maggie and I to have a place of our own. It was a struggle to find a place that gave me everything I wanted in my new price range. Brian and I had been looking at homes in the country with land. But with it just  me and Maggie now, and our budget has changed drastically . And in my new budget I had a hard time finding something. I fell in love with this house the minute I stepped inside, it just felt like home.
My agent thought the house needed too much work
But I could see beyond the outdated décor and knew this was the one






The house reminds me of an old red brick school house
 

The home is going to need a lot of work, the previous owners were in their 80's and the décor has not been updated in many many years. I am going to work on it a bit at a time and hope to post my upgrades as I go.




This is going to be my new workshop
 
no trudging through the snow to work in a freezing garage anymore woohoo 

 
I am also very excited that I have a room to paint in now. Living at my sisters I had no where to paint and it has been driving me nuts. The renovations are going to be a lot of work, so I hope I can make time to paint.
 
 
I hope to post all of my renovations as I go and let you know how I am making out.
I am going to be looking at many ways to save money and how to decorate on a very low budget.
so any ideas you have to help me will be greatly appreciated.
 
 
 
 
My sister says the décor reminds her of a museum lol
The gold carpet has to go
 
 
 
And here is my gorgeous bedroom, should I put a rope around the doorway and have tours come through
The green carpet and yellow roses have to go before I sleep in there YUK 
 
 
 
 
Maggie wanted me to show you, her favorite part of the house, her big back yard
 
 
 
I take possession next month and I am so excited
These pics are from the fall and we have tons of snow right now
So it is going to be a cold move, but I can't wait to get my stuff out of storage and
start working on the house to make it our home
 
 
I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, please be safe and enjoy
your time with your loved ones
This will be our first Christmas without Brian
and we miss him very much
Never take for granted the time you have with your loved ones
Life can change so very fast
 
 
 
 
Merry Christmas
hugs
 

 
 
Tobey and Maggie

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Almost lost my little girl

Most of you that have read my blog know who Maggie is, she is my lil English bulldog. She is my sidekick and we are together 24/7. Other women accessorize with jewelry or purses, I have a bulldog attached to me. Bulldogs have lots of health problems and Maggie has sure had her share. She has been having a problem with her right knee, giving out on her. The vet suspected the muscle was torn and we booked her surgery to repair it. The surgery went fine and they called me to come get her.
Just before I got there Maggie started breathing very rapidly and her heart rate shot up. By the time I got there she was in full distress. The next few hours were terrifying and I almost lost her. I asked everyone to pray for her and I prayed to Brian to watch over her and save her. After everything I have been through these past few months I could not lose Maggie too.

The doctors sedated her and put her on oxygen, she had a bit of fluid on her lungs so she was given meds for that too. She had to transported to a 24 hour care hospital, so my brother in law drove and I stayed with Maggie. They kept her there and I stayed until she was stable, and she finally pulled through. She is home now and recovering from a very horrible ordeal. I am playing nurse and spoiling her with lots of love and affection.



Here she is with my sister checking her breathing and heart after she came home.
Mommy is being a worry wart. You can see her stitches and where they had to shave her, poor baby
 
 
Here she is getting some well deserved rest. She is eating a drinking and seems to her cute little self. So I think she is going to be ok. Going to take a few weeks for the leg to heal
 
 
In the meantime, I am still house searching and still looking for a place to paint. I did have the opportunity to paint for a store here in town. But after weighing all the pros and cons I decided it was not the right fit for me.
I have picked up a few gorgeous pieces that I can't wait to paint once I do get a place.
I miss painting so much, and it is so hard to just sit here day after day.
 
 
 
Here are two of the pieces I have picked up
Currently all I could do was add them to the storage locker
 
 
Can't wait to paint them
 
 
I bought this from the same lady that had the drop down desk above
I am thinking that I might have to keep this one they way it is
What do you think? Would you paint it?
 
 
 Maggie will be keeping me busy for the next few weeks.
I am really hoping the perfect house comes along, I don't even care if it has a garage anymore
I would be happy even if it just had an extra room I could paint in
 
 
I hope everyone is doing good, and that life is treating you well
hope to start posting on a regular basis now
 
 
 
and my precious lil girl
Maggie
 
 
 
Maggie on her 6th birthday
November 17 2013
My lil princess
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Friday, October 18, 2013

Home and Healing in Ontario

Well Maggie and I are finally back in Ontario after a very long cross country trip. Making a car trip across Ontario is long enough, but doing it with a full car load of house stuff and a bulldog is not fun. I should not complain, Maggie was very good. But after driving all day and Maggie sleeping by the time I pulled off the road at night and checked into the motel I was bagged and Maggie wanted to play.
 
Packing up the house was also not fun, and dealing with the movers was a nightmare. None of my stuff was damaged but their price doubled once the truck was loaded and weighed. This was an added expense I did not expect and I am still mad about what I had to pay. Two Men with Big Hearts became Two Men with NO HEART real fast.
 
Here are a few pics I would like to share with you



 
Maggie was not happy that I was throwing out her favorite chair to sleep on
but that ugly chair was not coming with me
I promised her a new one but she was having a hard time letting go, as you can see
 
 
 
 
My house was a maze of boxes and bins for about a month
 
 
 
Moving is not fun and once I get my own place I am never moving again
 
 
 
I have never moved long distance with a mover before, and two days before they arrived they informed me that everything had to be boxed, all mirrors, pictures lamps etc
I was totally overwhelmed but my good friend Colleen came over and helped me to box up 12 mirror boxes and two wardrobe boxes
thank thank you Colleen
Mirror and nick nack addictions are not fun when you have to move
 
 
Here are all of my treasured belongings packed onto the moving truck
this my friends is why everything has to be boxed
so it can all be stuffed into the truck
God help me
 
 
Being a hoarder does not help with moving either
in case your counting, there were 32 plastic totes lol
what is in them, who knows
I was very organized the first couple of days
then exhaustion hit and half of the bins aren't marked and they are a mish mash of everything
I can't find anything in the storage locker
 
 
 
Maggie was not sure if she wanted these guys taking all of our stuff
I should have followed her keen animal instinct
if your dog does not like people, you should not trust them either
they turned out to be heartless crooks
 
 
Here is a pic of Maggie in the car, poor thing the car was so packed
She won't even look at me for the picture, she says, I hate you, I hate this car
And I don't want to hear we are going to Aunt Karen's anymore you have been saying that for two days, where the hell does she live ?
 
 
Here she is a little happier, at Motel 6 with her own bed and a new bone to play with
Travelling isn't so bad now she says
 
 
Yep I love Motel 6 lets just stay here for a while zzzzzzzzz
 
 
It was the perfect time of year to drive through Northern Ontario
the colours were amazing
 
 
Wasaga Beach huh, well this is not so bad after all she says
 
 
And after some minor adjustments to our new home
(Like Maggie knowing which door to head too to go outside)
Maggie and I are getting settled in at my sisters
And I am taking some time to relax and recover from the events of the past few months
And try to figure out where our lives go from here
It is so nice to be around my family my children and grandchildren
I miss all of my friends in Kamloops, but they know I love them all
And they knew how much I needed to be around family
 
And I am going to get my creative juices flowing again soon
I need to paint, it is food for my soul
And eventually I will get my own home and Maggie and I will begin our new lives
But for now we are healing and spending time with our loved ones
 
I have missed all of you and I hope you will stay with me
I have no idea what life has in store for me
But I hope you will come along with me
I know all of you felt my pain and your kind words
helped me through my darkest hours
 
My followers and fellow bloggers are very much like family
and I count you among my blessings
I hope to be posting on a regular basis now
And also hope to have some new projects to show you as well
I hope this post finds all of you happy and healthy
look forward to hearing from all of you
 
 
 
 
 
 
And lil Miss Maggie
who is getting ready for Halloween
doesn't she look like she is into it lol
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Harley Davidson Heartache

Harley Davidson of Canada

I had to respond to a letter I received from you yesterday because it upset me so much. I know its probably a computer generated letter but none the less it upset me.

In July my husband took ill and was in the hospital. I called Harley Davidson to find out about disability insurance and no one would talk to me because my name was not on the bike. they were quite rude to me in fact. I had to hire a lawyer to go to the hospital and have my husband sign power of attorney forms. I then faxed copies to Harley Davidson and I was told you would get back to me in 24 hours. No one got back to me and I ended up going to the dealership. It was there that I was informed that although we did take out disability insurance and life insurance on the bike, it was not for the whole term of the loan. I have never heard of this, who insures a loan for half the term.
They informed me that the disability and life insurance had expired 3 months prior. I tried to talk to someone at Harley Davidson but no one was willing to help me.
As my husband laid dying in the hospital I lied and assured him that everything was fine. He took comfort in the fact that I would still enjoy his bike. He was confident that he had the bike insured and took comfort in knowing that if something happened to him, I could continue to enjoy riding.
I did not have the heart to tell him, that I would have to sell his beloved Black Pearl as he called it.

On July 22 my husband died at the age of 56 from undiagnosed cancer. On top of my heartache and all that I had to do to bury my husband and my best friend. I also had to find a buyer for the bike because I was informed that because the insurance had expired 3 months prior that I was responsible for the loan. In the beginning no one would even talk to me, now they informed me that I owed $12,000 dollars to Harley Davidson.
 
It broke my heart to sell the bike and it would have broke my husbands heart to know that Harley Davidson is so hard up for money that they could not honour a life insurance contract that should have been for the whole contract and not 24 months. It was heart breaking selling that bike and seeing all of his hard work and care just go out of the driveway. And now here I am with nothing to remember him by. I will be living on his pension now and my riding gear will be sitting here gathering dust. My husbands dream of leaving me his bike is gone. I broke down seeing that bike go out of the driveway and I am furious that Harley Davidson could treat me like that. And force me to sell something that was so dear to my husband. On rainy days he would kiss me goodbye as he left for work and then kiss his bike, and say I will see you tomorrow when the sun is shining. He loved his Harley it was his baby. He named it the black pearl.

Then I get this letter and it just a slap in the face after everything that has just happened.

The letter says,

Brian Fraser
 

We're very pleased to let you know your account with Harley Davidson Financial Services Canada Inc is not paid in full. Congratulations .
We've appreciated having you as a customer, and we look forward to serving you again in the future.
Please call us at 1 800 364- 2292 if you have any questions. Once again, it has been our pleasure to have you as a customer.

And this is the part that hurt the most, you addressed the letter to my late husband.

All of this has sickened me, we have been customers of Harley Davidson for years, first with our Sportster and then with the Classic, and we have been in hundreds of Harley Davidson stores across Canada and the United States, buying all kinds of part and accessories and clothing. My husbands closet has hundreds of shirts from dealerships in all parts of the US and Canada.

But after the way I was treated during all of this, I will never step foot in one of your stores or dealerships again. I never thought in a million years that Harley Davidson would treat their customers like this. I hope your big corporation enjoys my $12,000 dollars I am sure you needed it more than I did. Because a widow who wanted to hang onto her husbands most precious possession was not important too you.

Sincerely

Tobey McCool Fraser
 
 
Brian on the day he picked up his bike, you can just see the pride and the love
 
 
 
 
Picking up his new bike, he was so excited
 
 
 
Maggie guarding Daddy's new bike

 
This pic is one of favorites and the photo we used for his memorial cards

 
I love this pic of Brian
 
 
 
Travelling British Columbia on the black pearl
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
My hubby the rebel
 

 
 

Saturday, August 3, 2013

My world has been turned upside down



On July 22 2013 my whole world turned upside down. The sun was still shining, the birds were still chirping, people were still going about their business but my world had come to an abrupt stop.
My partner, my soul mate and my best friend was taken from me.






I am still in shock and can not believe this has happened. His clothes are still in the closet and his shoes are waiting for him by the door. His motorcycle waits for him as does his truck. And with every door slam or knock on the door our lil bulldog Maggie gets excited thinking Daddy is home.
The thought of him never walking through the door or coming home still makes my heart hurt so bad.





I still do not know what took Brian from us, he took sick a month ago. He was seen twice in emergency and sent home. On July 8 I contacted a specialist and begged her to meet us at the emergency, she had him admitted. The numerous testing started immediately, but no one could give us a definite answer as to what was wrong. I spent everyday with him and accompanied him to all cat scans, xrays and watched him endure numerous blood test. I heard many guesses as to what it might be, but no one could give me a definite answer as to what was wrong with him.

And although Brian was a strong man, whatever was attacking his organs was too strong for him to fight. And he lost his battle July 22 2013.
 I am still waiting for the autopsy report to come back to know what took him from me.





I have been on auto pilot these last 3 weeks, planning a service and dealing with piles of paper work for vehicles and insurance. Because all our family is in Ontario, I took Brian home to our families to mourn. I made arrangements with a funeral home here and in Ontario. And I was able to be on every flight with Brian.

We had a service in Sudbury and I arranged for Brian to go for one last ride, with the help of Boothill Hearse. Brian has rode motorcycles most of his life and I wanted him to go out in style. After his service we took him for one last ride with 60 motorcycles following his hearse. It was a beautiful service and he is mourned by many. Brian was a very loved man and his family and friends feel a tremendous loss as I do. I am having Brian cremated and will be burying his ashes in the spring in Port Dover Ontario. It is where we met and where he wanted to be buried.
I just did not think I would be doing this so soon









http://www.northernlife.ca/news/lifestyle/2013/07/31-fraser-motorcycle-hearse-sudbury.aspx




I am back in British Columbia now and will be selling vehicles and furniture and down sizing for my move back to Ontario. Our plans for the future died with Brian, there will be no house in the country with his man cave. There will be no more bike rides in the country. All of this makes me very sad and makes me feel very very lost. I have no idea what the future holds for me. As I said I am still in shock and the wind has been taken out of my sails. I have lost the only man I ever truly loved.

I want to say to all of you, if you have the opportunity to travel please do it, and if you can retire do that as well. Check all of your vehicles to make sure your disability and life insurance is in tact.
Discuss funeral arrangements and what their wishes are.

 Spend time with your loved ones and treasure the time you have together.
Life can change drastically so very very fast.
If your man is like mine and fights you on going to the doctor for check ups
drag him there and make him have regular check ups

My husband was only 56 years old and he was taken from me too early.
 He had a lot more life to live
He and I were robbed of many years we should have had








I miss him terribly and feel like someone has cut my heart out.

Maggie and I are feeling very lost and very heart broken

 
Rest in peace my dear
I hope Heaven has Harleys

Brian James Fraser
Sept 13 1956 to July 22 2013
 
 I will love you forever my dear with all of my heart and soul
Thank you for showing me the world
and for loving me unconditionally
you were my everything
xo love xo
Tobey
and of course
your little Maggie girl


 


Friday, July 5, 2013

My first Subway Dresser

Well I am sort of back, I am still packing and house hunting and we are still in the process of moving to Ontario. But after 2 very stressful and heart breaking months, I decided I needed to get back into the garage. It felt great to get my creative juices flowing again. I have really missed painting and creating. I have missed blogging and I have definitely missed all of you.

I bought this dresser a few months ago, and I knew what I wanted to do to it the minute I saw it.

Here she is the way I found her, in great shape with good bones. The wood grain is gorgeous and the drawers look like this dresser was never used.







I have seen subway dressers on Pinterest and I knew I wanted to give it a try. I really liked the New York subway dressers so that is the theme I wanted to go with.






I used vinyl stickers and painted over them.  So when I removed them the wood grain from the dresser would show through. The handles are the original handles that were on the dresser, I thought they were very unique. They were brass, so I painted the back plate with chalkboard paint and the front with antique bronze paint.



 
The dresser is painted in Anne Sloan French Linen and I love how the wood grain shows through in the lettering
 
 
 


And here she is all stunning and gorgeous. Don't you just love it when something turns out exactly how you imagined it would.

I loved being in the garage again, painting and creating. I have really missed it and hope to have time to do a few more projects before we move.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe happy summer. I have missed you all very much





Maggie is loving the summer weather and having fun in her swimming pool