FSBO. Large country home in BC, Canada.

My sister's selling her huge country home with an organic blueberry patch.

My sister and her hubby are selling their huge home on their own. Our paternal Grandmother called it their 'Department store-sized home". Together, they built it in 1983. Everything about it is huge, the forest around them, the acerage, the blueberry patch. Their home has 1334 square feet on each of the two main floors, not counting the full sized basement. I think the heavy timbers keep the air there deliciously clean. Their water comes from a 185 foot deep well that yields 15 gallons per minute. They have a water filter where the water first enters their home, the result is the most delicious water I've ever tasted.

Years ago, when my brother-in-law painted the outside, he painted directly onto the Cedar siding. His reasoning was he wouldn't need to do it again. Many five-gallon sized paint cans quickly disappeared into the wood until it was layered and thick. Well, he was smart. They raised their three kids up there. Now they're all grown up, off on their own, living their own lives. My brother in law put down heated tiles in the lower bathroom floor. It's wonderful to walk barefoot on the warm tiles. I like going in there just to feel the heat on my bare feet.

When it's time to get together, my sister will call me, "We're having our family supper at the end of the month, mark your calendar." From where I live it's a 45 minute drive from the city into the country to get there for our birthday, holiday or 'just get-together' suppers. I get up their long driveway. Park my car. As walk up the front porch to the front door, the comforting smell of the wood stove fills the air, loading me up with re-memories of our coastal village childhood. I get inside and stand beside the the wood stove to take in the crackling sound, their home is filled with cozy warmth. From the huge entry level floor I leave the stove to climb the wide stairs to the gi-normous living room. Sometimes when I arrive there's already a whole housefull of other folks besides family and it just never feels crowded. In between rounds of visiting, everyone bursts into loud happy laughter. My sister bustles about in last minute supper preparation, announcing that supper will be ready in half an hour. I stay in the kitchen with my sister, helping her to fill the table with her blessing of food. After her announcement, we all get back to the fun business of visiting, catching up on each other's news and daily haps. Folks flow in and out of the different rooms, chatting each other up real good. Some folks sip on wine, the rest of us drink herbal tea, the smell of good food cooking fills every nook and cranny.

When there's lots of folks for supper, the huge built-in kitchen nook is filled with hungry friends, so is the jolly-green-giant sized dining room table and sometimes even the 600 sq ft patio is full of friends. It sure reminds me of our childhood home, our Mother used to have our aunties, uncles and our cousins sit down to sup with us in her own huge kitchen. Most times there were up to 20 family members at our supper table.

I'm remembering the past 10 summertimes when I've helped my sister to pick her organic blueberries. It's a bustle of activity. We get into our berrypicking clothes, spray each other with mosquito spray, put on our sun hats and go out picking for the day. Sometimes other folks will come to pick and we get to visit with them, calling across the blueberry bushes. Where do you live? What are you planning to do with your berries? After some hours, we ask each other if our 5 gallon buckets are full yet. And, they usually are. In the late evening we quit, everyone else goes to their own homes and we go back to the house. We weigh and clean our berries, putting them into cardboard boxes ready for delivery to the different folks who have ordered. Then we deliver them to friends in nearby towns, stopping long enough to visit.

When we're all done for the day, we always make plans to pick even more berries the next day. It's funny that my sister doesn't eat blueberries! Doesn't even like them. Me, I eat myself silly the whole time, getting my fill while picking. All the days that I help her pick, my lips and tongue stay a deep blueberry color.

When the house sells, it will be another chapter in our lives for all of us who have spent hours visiting and eating together. They plan to build another home, smaller this time, still on the same acreage but farther back. They'll keep 9 of their heavily timbered acres in our coastal rain forest. Here's the particulars:

1.8 HECTARES with Farm Status; 1.5 acres organic blueberries; Home built in 1983; 2668 sq ft living space of large rooms; 200 A 240/110V wiring; 185 ft Well yields 15 gallons/minute; electric and wood heat. Their phone:604 826-1615. Owner Email to:maxvolney @ look.ca.