Sunday, June 24, 2018

where we're at, the quick version


We closed on our home of ten years on the last day of May and drove immediately into the city to spend the next seven nights with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who kindly opened their home to us. On the eighth night, we packed up our minimal belongings and spent our first night in our rental townhome with our sleeping bags and air bed and only a few comforts of home and four big boxes of pantry stuff I stored at a generous friend's house. So we ate our supper sitting on the bare floor and then headed outside to explore our new neighborhood. 











Our new-to-us town is built along a shallow but wide river that bears the name of a famous river in the States. Wikipedia and local history are not clear on how the river came to be named this, but is it clear that the two rivers are not connected in anyway. 
Saturday was moving day which took Shane, his brother and Seth two truckloads to empty the tightly packed storage units we had been filling since late March. By Saturday night, Shane had beds assembled for all of us, except for Seth whose bed slats were temporarily misplaced. With various trips to the grocery store, the storehouses of food and household goods were replenished and we hosted our first guests the following weekend.
Our rental townhome is owned by the builder who is building our new home just up the street. And we are the first tenants to live in it, so everything is brand new and clean. The first tentative closing date for our home is set for the end of October.
We walk up every night after dinner to see what progress has been made both to our home and all the neighbors'. We have met several of the new home owners including the house seen in this photo, but we have not met any of the residents from the existing homes behind the lots. I'm sure they will be glad for all the construction work to be done and for the neighborhood to be complete, just like us!








Our kitty, Flossy, turned one year old while we were staying the city and she was staying with a friend. On Sunday after moving day, the girls and I went and picked her up and brought her home to see what she would think. After exploring the house, she climbed up onto the window ledge in the living room and was content with her perch. The townhome layout is similar to our new home and the low window ledges are perfect for cats and humans alike to see out easily.

























We also hosted our close friends for a birthday celebration for Seth, enjoyed the paddle boards with the brother and sister-in-law, checked out the community garden plots and visited all the parks and conservation areas for the first time.  Now we have a week here at home to get into summer morning routines before we head to my parents' in Pennsylvania for family vacation.