Quick Update

So there were some people I did not get to say goodbye to after all, thanks to us renting the car a day earlier and having to return it Thursday morning. It was a bit sad that I didn't get to say goodbye to some people who are important to me, but I suppose Thursday needed to see us a lot closer to ready to leave anyway.

After a mad rush at the house last night, Doug and I left at 9:00am with Mitsy. Both of us sleep deprived, and poor little Mitsy devoid of food and water for our travels, we headed toward Pearson Airport with Glenn and my mom. I did not want to leave that early, as our flight was at noon, but as it turned out we just made it (after my very first completely embarrassing boarding call!).

Our little Mitsy Moo-Moo was such a trouper! She whined all the way to the airport, but stayed quietly tucked up in her bag without incident. As the plane descended her breathing increased dramatically, but after about an hour in the air, she was a seasoned traveler. Oddly enough, upon our arrival to Edmonton Airport I was the only one uncomfortable, as the pressure caused some pain in my ears that didn't end for several hours post landing! Doug and Mitsy were unphased.

This flight was one for our memory books as this is, not Doug's first flight, but his first to the west coast! He and I are very excited to arrive and are in the process of planning out our apartment viewings for tomorrow.

Please be patient with us as we settle in and find our place. We may not be as socially active until we are properly settled in, but we will do our best to keep you posted on how we are and what it's like in our new home, Edmonton.

The Grand Good Bye!

So saying good bye to my friends and family proved harder than I thought. The people I know seem to be spread out all over the place. Everyone works hard and has a full life and can't always make it happen.

Fortunately, I was still able to see my father, who I haven't seen in a year at least! My brother came down from Northbay along with my cousins I have not seen in a while. It was great to see them and hear how they have been and what was new in their lives.

The 24th was my last day of work and I enjoyed the well wishes of my co workers and bosses, along with a slew of complements that inflated my ego enough to last me a few months! The 24th was also the day Doug and I drove up to see more family and friends. Stopping in Orillia to see Darren and Carrie and their kids before pressing on to Espanola for Doug's mom's 65th birthday bash!

Driving up was fun and beautiful! There is so much mountainous rock there, and his parents live up a steep "mountain" that has a winding road up to their house on the lake. It was a great opportunity to see his sisters and brother-in-laws, nieces, nephews, Uncle Bill, and some family friends. It's sad to think of how old the kids will be when we see them next, but we enjoyed their company. The day was hot and beautiful! And after spending the night, we went to a folk festival in Massey the next day to watch Uncle Bill's band play.

On our way back we stopped in North Bay to Visit my brother's family and see my new baby niece! It was nice to stop and chat with Mellissah and play with my little nephew.
Then we stopped in Gravenhurst to see the mother of one of Doug's childhood friends. It was nice to finally meet her and her family and listen to some of Doug's antics.

Now that we are back, I have a few of my friends I would like to see before I go, some of which just can't make it. I hope to see my cousin today though, as well as take some friends out to dinner in celebration of their marriage.

Time will soon tell us who we will get to see from who we won't, but right now our focus has to be in clearing out the last of our things from this house, and finding our new home in Edmonton.

Update

I know I've taken a long time to update you guys, but there has been a lot going on.

Trying to find renters turned out to be a bit of a drama. We were recommended to a family we didn't like and had to fight them off. Found the perfect Saturday night double date couple, but they found another place. Then we found a sweet lady and her boys, but they fell off the face of the planet, only to resurface expecting a lease after we found our current tenants.

We are happy that the constant house showings are now at an end, as there were up to five in one day and they took place all week long! But we are also happy to have found this family because they are very handy, down to earth and responsible. They have several children who are adult, well-mannered and personable. And best of all, they love our house almost as much as we do!

I was able to get my transfer at last! I will be relocating to the Southern location meaning that I get to look for an apartment in the beautiful and quiet South Side! My co worker who is also relocating has an apartment on the south side, so it should be fun!

I had to leave the travel plans to the last minute because we were waiting to get the lease signed, but now that everyone is in place, I have been able to book our flight and hotel. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I did score getting us a cheap room at a southern hotel that allows pets! Total score considering the $8 a day difference in pricing I got for a pet friendly room!

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.