Family On The French Side

Since we are moving so far away, Doug and I have been trying to visit our families and friends before we are gone. This week I went to a baby shower for my French-speaking second cousin. It was wonderful to be in my aunt's house again, with all of the wonderful art, hospitality and scrumtiouse rice that  remember from my childhood.

My aunt looked the same, as did most of my ageless relatives. A lot of that side of the family are vegetarians and very natural in their lifestyles, which I am sure contributes to their youth. The fun part was finally getting to meet some of the relatives I don't remember or have only "met" on facebook and seeing the wonderful blend of Island elders blending down into the mixed younger generation Canadians.

It was encouraging to see the older women from my Grandfather's side of the family that are from Trinidad. They were beautiful women who have aged gracefully and were as chatty and down to earth as the 20 and 30 somethings that were at the gathering. One of them lives in Calgary and I am hoping to meet up with her there when we get settled out west.

With a month left, I am excited to see who else we will get to see before we leave. It is interesting to see how deep our roots are here, but with scatterings of family members out west, perhaps deep roots will be established in Alberta as well.

Highway 12

Since announcing our departure we have received many invitations to go visit friends and family before we leave, however there was one large event scheduled months and months ago that we both have been very excited for. July finally brought us to the month of our brother-in-law's surprise 40th and our nephew's 15th birthday party in Orillia.

For years when we have been on our way to Orillia or North Bay, we have passed an interesting Antique Shop on the right hand side of Highway 12 and have been meaning to stop in and look around. On this drive up Doug made the time to stop so I could get a chance to explore it before we leave for Edmonton.

They had some chickens who liked to escape into the antiques area so I snapped a few pictures of them as well. I would have liked to buy a few items but, as we are moving, I took pictures instead. Hopefully I will find some nifty antique shops in and around Edmonton when we get there.

We spent a lot of the weekend in the water, thanks to some great weather, and spent some memorable time with friends. Not only did we take home some great pictures, thanks to mom lending us her awesome camera for the weekend, but after a little shopping, Doug and I came home Monday morning two video games and two novels richer.

Welcome

 

Mmmmm.... Edmonton the green city!

So right now we are selling off our furniture. We will be buying new items when we hit Edmonton, as it's not worth it to cart it across the country. We had a nice couple buy our bar fridge off of Kijiji and when they came to pick it up and noticed our house packed up they came for a walk around and picked out a few more things they wanted. I am happy that the TV sold, but I am not looking forward to watching my movies on Doug's TV in his computer room. There is more furniture to be sold and a lot more discomfort to endure before September when we leave.

We have been so excited about the move to Edmonton. I am hoping to do something active in the community to help us get acquainted with different areas and new people. I have a few social clubs in mind, but I will see what my friends on that side are into, if anything, before I decide. I have a work colleague who is relocating around the same time and is looking at moving to the South Edmonton area. Another friend who lives there says south and central aren't bad so, although I wouldn't mind being south to be close to my colleague, central has a lot of the amenities Doug and I are looking for.

For now I am keeping an open mind and looking for any apartments in a neighbourhood deemed "good" that have, no carpet, in suite laundry, and enough sunlight. I would prefer an apartment building with a pool and gym facility, and a balcony. Doug is far more open minded! Keep your eye out for us.