Movin' On - Just about there!

We are close to the final details. Finally, we will have a home.
A townhouse on a short avenue and tiny street in downtown Parksville.
It took us 3 months to do this. But we think we've made the right decision.
Our "pros" and "cons" lists kept coming back to this place - over and over again the pros were longer than any other place we considered. We ignored the signals for several weeks. One day the realtor who looks after these units said "Did you say you needed a place to rent for a while? One of the units here is available".
So we ended up moving into this tiny street. We've been here for a month. And we like it.
So we're buying the unit at the end - Number 8.
There are only 14 townhouses and we will be living in Number 8. No one has lived in Number 8 before.
So after "Movin' On" for all these weeks - we've finally stopped. and we'll be "Movin' In".
I don't know what I'm going to talk about now.

Movin' On - AGM 2009

"4 Spades".
"Going for game! Good for you!"
We play out on the deck from late afternoon until the sun sets. The weather is quite astonishing for September. "We've had nothing like this all summer long, and now that the Park is closing down, it's coming to us a little late" they tell us.
Playing bridge is a big part of our day, and to be able to play it outdoors in the sunshine surrounded by lush forest and chattering birds - it's great.
There's 4 of us. We've been meeting every year for a long time. We call it the "AGM". Our Mom used to be part of the group until she died. Then we stretched out a bit - New York, Boston, even Costa Rica one year.
"You're so lucky to be such good friends" folks say. "Four sisters! What could be better!"
We love to talk - start with the first cup of coffee and continue non-stop until bed-time. An article the other day said that sisters are inclined to repeat the same conversations quite cheerfully, never tiring of the story line. But we wade in on everything. Why the Anglican church in Canada is struggling - should we still be in Afghanistan? " OPRAH had him on her show and I was impressed" and "has anyone ever seen Tiger Woods' wife?"
The big weekend Crossword puzzle doesn't have a chance with this crowd. Other golf course foursomes wonder what we had for lunch. Ladies wear shops are instant fashion shows. And have you ever bought a large bottle of Scotch and a box of red wine in the Hardware store on main street?
We talk about our kids and our grandchildren, our husbands, and our diets. Books we've read, friends we've met, emergencies we've lived through, and the latest episode of "Coronation Street".
The weather is so warm we have to buy more shirts and shorts. We even do the lake cruise and tease the good looking captain of the ship.
The days spin away too quickly. We talk about what we'll do for 2010 - about getting old and still wanting to dance the night away.
We hug each other and wave goodbye.
"See you next year!"

Movin' On -"living over Subway"

We were in the middle of Saskatchewan at nightfall. Went through little town after little town.
"What kind of bad planning is this?" we say to each other.
One motel in each little town. Sometimes not even a sandwich available. And worse still - no Internet!!!!!!
"Let's try one more town" he says "if there's nothing, we're in trouble".
The lights from far away are hopeful. "Hey, there's a billboard for a Subway! Maybe this will work".
It does. We slowly drive the little main street. There's a motel! And after just a half block, there it is! A Subway!
The lights are brightly shining. No one in the place, but as we approach, we see 2 young girls through the front window with their jaunty Subway hats. We're happy cats.
Her name is "Molly" and she's just as sweet as you would expect - red hair and all.
She's perfectly okay with our "little of this and little of that" order. "And 2 of those cookies".
As we're paying, he asks her "How's that motel down the street?"
"Okay, I guess. I haven't been there that much. It's not as good as our room upstairs."
"You've got a room upstairs? What do you mean?"
"Just turn to the left outside the door - turn to the right and it's upstairs."
Two queen size beds in a huge room, a big big bathroom with tub and shower - wow, we're sold.
Back downstairs she says "I have to call my boss. He'll give me the rate, and the details."
The rate is great! The credit card goes through and in minutes, we're in this gorgeous "room above 'Subway' in the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan".
And the Internet? Right there! Fast, strong, and connected.
When you're "on the road" you appreciate the small unexpected mercies of travel.

(Jann Arden's first album was called "Living under June". She was in a rented basement owned by a girl name June)

Movin' On - Beer on sale

We usually lunch at a golf course. It's quiet. It's on a golf course. We like the environment.
When the weather is lousy - we look elsewhere.
On "resort road" we find a good pub. In fact one day they were selling everything at half price. All the beer and all the "appies" (appetizers) at half price.
"Oh yes, every Wednesday we sell everything here in the pub at half price".
The other day we can't find a golf course that isn't booked so I say "Hey, it's Wednesday! Let's go for lunch!"
Things are pretty quiet at first. We get a good table, the US Open is on the TV, we order the beer and "appies" - 2 orders of the expensive prawns.
People suddenly start pouring into this little pub! Chairs moving around. People talking tennis. People waving "Hey Bob, over here! we'll find a chair!" Seems every time I look away from my tennis game, another 2 couples are walking in.
The kitchen appears every once in a while with "watch it - it's hot! dishes" but none of them are ours.
It happens again. "Who ordered the chicken wings? Okay sir, here's the first, we've bringing the second order right away".
We're not happy.
"Yes sir - very sorry - what was your order? Mussels? They're on their way".
"No, we ordered the prawns".
"Ah yes, right away, sir".
People are looking for a place to sit, new girls are appearing to wait on the tables, "frantic" is not too strong a word.
The kitchen arrives with our food. Shrimp and mussels. We don't say a word. We are happy. The chicken wings table even cheers when we get our food. And it's good. We love the mussels especially, and we're glad they made a mistake.
"The beer is free" she says, "I'm sorry for the long wait".
The bill was $8 !!!!!

Movin' On - scrambled eggs

I was reading over some old mail. Came across a letter I sent to a friend. "We're looking at real estate in Sydney because we've decided we want to live here".
So much for "decisions".
It's Sunday afternoon in Parksville. Just finished a delicious late breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast.
He made the scrambled eggs. I've noticed that he's also started making the coffee. His coffee needed a lot of work, but he's been persistent and now his coffee tastes good.
His scrambled eggs were momentous, though! I'm thinking seriously of encouraging his kitchen exploits. I think he's got a cooking gene that's just starting to kick in.
Anyway - as I said - we're in Parksville. We're staying in a rented townhouse - very comfortable. It's on a little street with young green trees growing just as high as the 4 streetlights. Maybe 14 units here. Quite small.
It's so close to the downtown of Parksville that it could be considered "down town". 10 minute walk to the ocean beach. 4 minutes to the local pub - and the hair salon - and the little dress shop - and our bank.
Our realtor lives 2 doors down. He's renting while selling the units here (also going through some sort of personal adjustment), working his other properties, and running a business in Alberta with a partner. We were able to get this rental because of him. He put us in touch with the owner in Edmonton.
A month ago we drove by here on a Saturday afternoon and noticed the "Show Suite" sign. We got the tour, liked what we saw even back then - and he's been helping us ever since.
The interesting thing about this place is that there is an empty one just like it next door!
Although this would be the most unlikely choice - we're thinking about it.
The other day a friend said something that resonated. "So what if you make a mistake? Sell the place and move on! This is not the end of the world".

Movin' On - back to the search

Whew! A busy week on the road. Great to see family and friends, and the old hometown.
But it takes energy and dedication.
It's seems easy to chat and laugh and enjoy the glass of wine. But it comes with a cost. We move more slowly than we used to and we have to push ourselves on to the next destination.
Lots of fun showing off the new car. To go from driving a beat-up over-sized SUV to this small, sleek black-on-black beauty is a big rush. Lots of sun so the top is down and we drive like this for hours and hours. Satellite radio too, so there's lots of music and talk. Amazingly it's easy to hear all this stuff no matter the traffic noise. A guy in a truck stops in the lane beside us in a downtown B.C. town "Hey, great wheels! This model is so new it's the first time I've seen it. Thinking of getting one. How do you like it?" GPS still hasn't been used in the proper way. Haven't had time to study it, but the mapping itself is fun to use, we spend a lot of discussion on it - even take out the book!!!!!
We take different and longer routes - see huge and stunning rivers and lakes we've never seen before. This is a country of great beauty and wonder. How often do we appreciate this land of ours? How often do we appreciate our freedom - the miracle of living here?
We have to get back to the business of finding a new home here. But we need to play too, so we find a golf course that is happy to see us. The walking and walking and walking feels wonderful.
On the way home, another son calls to say they're coming to see our new digs and check out the new car!
"We'll have a barbeque!"