A couple of weekends ago, we spent an hour or so cleaning our rental house — sweeping, vacuuming, wiping down counters and tables, changing the linens, straightening up, and all that sort of thing. And it struck me that that’s not the sort of thing you usually do in a vacation home. Sure, you might do laundry if you’re in one place for a bit, especially if you like to pack light and rewear your clothes, and you might absolutely strip a bed when you check out of an AirBNB or VRBO, but you’re not going to do ALL of that.
And that felt like another little piece of the puzzle that is our new home locking into place.
A couple of other milestones we hit recently — Zoe, Kaylee, Doyce and I all have gotten haircuts, and while, yes, that involved finding three different salons and stylists, we all are very happy with the results! We found a great new vet for Doc, as well as a groomer where he can get his nails done. I got my first Canadian infusion of my psoriatic arthritis medicine, and while I still need to figure out general health care, and officially get on the BC MSP (medical service plan — yay for socialized medicine!), I can kick that can down the road for a bit longer.
We have our Canadian bank accounts and favorite grocery stores, a preferred local Tim Horton’s, and a solid 5K route that Doyce and the kids hit on the regular. I found a fantastic off leash park for Doc, and some great spots for paddleboarding. We’ve signed up for rewards programs at a bunch of Canadian stores (Michaels, Sav-On-Foods, DSW, Canadian Tire), or figured out where its the same program across borders (Homesense is Homegoods, aka the TJ/TK Maxx family).
And I seem to have found a new barn for horseback riding lessons. Yay! I’m participating in their barn show this weekend.
And next week, the kids finally get to meet their school counselor and (hopefully) get their class schedules and tour the new school. And I’m going to my first meeting of the Nanaimo Newcomers Club, where I hope to meet even more of our people. Wish us luck!
