Fraserwood Funny Farm

One day in the early summer of '07 Wicked asked if I would ever consider moving to Manitoba. No need to ask why - Wicked left his home province in the early '80s to plunder the Alberta oil patch and make himself a fortune. He never saw much of that fortune, but we met & married & we have two great kids, so some might say he did get rich.  All this time later he had a hankering to move back close to his family; and so my reply was, "I guess I'd move if we found the right place." Little did I know, the exact right place was just sitting patiently waiting for us to arrive.

We decided to check out Manitoba real estate around the Stonewall/Gimli area and found ourselves spending quite a lot of time searching the internet for a place that could accomodate our family and our growing band of horses.

Early in the search we placed a call to Wicked's uncle who had owned a realty office at one time. Through that first call we met Ted, who as it turned out had been partners with Uncle Dave at one time.  Let me tell you, it is not easy to buy a new home from 2 provinces away, but Ted was patient as he answered our many calls. He personally went to visit each of the farms & acreages and advised us which ones would work for us and which would not; and we couldn't have done all that legwork ourselves.

Finally we had a good list of places and planned to head out on a Friday for the weekend; that gave us only 2 days to see places and at the last minute Friday we had called Ted to ask him to add one more place to his list. We almost didn't call  because we worried we were already being a pain in the keester! We figured we would just be getting a feel for the local market on this first trip; we didn't expect to strike gold the first time out... but darned if we didn't!

After looking at about 5 places we had only seen a couple that we liked. It was getting late in the afternoon as we pulled into the lane at what would be our last stop of the day. It was one of the most well-kept, lovely places we'd ever seen anywhere! The whole quarter is edged with thick trees - you can't see anything much of the place from the road. Fraserwood Farm is like a beautiful oasis tucked snuggly into the woods, like a secret known only by a chosen few. Right away we both knew that we had found our new HOME ! And that is how we found Fraserwood Farm - or, The Funny Farm, as we now call it.

Fast forward to Spring of '08 when our AB hacienda goes up for sale... When we contracted to buy The Funny Farm in '07, it was exciting to look forward to moving onto such a little paradise! We started to pack things away and the kids began to absorb the idea slowly.

But until it came time to list our home, little did we know how very emotional it would be to part with the beautiful house we had built from scratch in Wildrose country. Now the old homestead is home to a young couple with a toddler and, while we know in time that this will become a cherished home for them, it was still hard to let go.

Wicked has transfered to a new job site; still the same job for the same outfit but he leaves behind respected mentors, trusted partners, and a lot of true-blue buddies who we hope will one day visit. After all, The Funny Farm is close to world class golf courses!!

Linderella leaves behind her closest friends, the kids that she has gone to school with since kindergarden, her coaches & sports teamates, and Spike, her first tender young love.  

Lute is 18 and lives on his own back in sunny Alberta. When he left I told him this, "You were born with infinite potential, and God has given you all the gifts, tools, and talents you will need to live a wonderful life. Now it's up to you to make the life you want, go out & live it."

LeHa (or "Waterworks" as the family calls her) leaves behind the best job she's ever had or ever will have, precious Uncle Wally & Aunt Rosie, her folks in southern AB, and treasured friends who will be so sadly missed and who can never be replaced in her heart. After all, how many times in life do you find the kind of kindred spirit who, when you puke on their lawn, doesn't cluck over the mess but only worries about how much booze you just wasted & if you're ready for a refill? You know who you are (M)! I luv ya!

       If you really feel the need, you can reach out and touch me.    

Or send an E-mail...

You know, whatever floats your boat.