Two months on, and BC booms. Our little adventure continues to surprise us daily, and there are plenty of ups and downs.
Today, 20 June, we bought our new house but will move in gradually over the week in order to decorate a bit before actually sleeping there. The new neighbours are keen to see us and have organised a leaving party for Dawn, the outgoing, and have asked for us, the incoming to join in tomorrow evening!! Good sign anyway.
However, moving over to the other side of North Vancouver is tinged with sadness. The area is nice and has more nearby than where we are renting, and has more rapid access to the highway.
Lynn Creek (runs at the back of our house)
But Rudi has had a wonderful time at school, has made lots of friends, and moving means he shall have to change school. He is sad, his teachers are sad, even his principal is sad!! However, it is crazy to stay, as he will also make friends closer to home, and I do not want to have to drive 30 minutes each day to and from school. Rudi can also walk home thru Hastings Creek, a mini-rain forest walk back to the house. That he can grin and bear……
Apart from school trips to a roller coaster park, and sailing round Horseshoe bay, he has been in the local newspaper, and thoroughly enjoyed school. He will now go to Ross Road, and whilst there is no reason to believe that he won’t enjoy life there, it is a bit more scruffy and less welcoming on first impressions. See this forthcoming autumn’s blog for an update.
Lynn Canyon Suspension bidge (a stone throw away from our house)
Kes, on the other hand, will feel it less. He took part in a show with his class last week, but has not yet really made too many friends, and at the next house has lots of kids his age in the street. Having said that, he has made a girlfriend, Kailey, next door that he’ll miss.
The house moving is still a nightmare, whether in Toulouse, London, Alps, or wherever. And despite Tonnetje’s vaunted efforts to buy a ‘finished’ house, so ours requires masses of work done. Not just the roof, outside paint job, drainage in the garden, new fences, but inside we have decided to put down and all new wooden floor (quite cheap here), and having decided to sell our old bed, have had to buy three new ones and a dining table. As these are lifetime purchases, so we like to take our time, and that we don’t have.
Tonnetje is frantically getting quotes in for painting the entire house inside, and we have not even begun to talk about the new kitchen appliances (no drastic need, but it will come!)
I have purchased a nice new Kona mountain bike – Kona are world renowned and originate from Vancouver area. Interestingly enough, the World Champion rides Kona and rides for Les Gets. But then, maybe, I am not so amazing…………….
And the business goes on. Poor weather has ruined the June results, so we have to hope for good weather in July and August. There are plenty of problems there, but bit by bit they reduce, and hopefully by the end of the year, it will be all going well.
