first impressions
Blogger's photo thing isn't working. I'll try to post those picture tomorrow. Meanwhile, some first impressions.
The house is great. It's both bigger and nicer than I remembered. But what turns great to amazingly brilliant is this neighborhood.
Last night, after we walked through the house and looked at the yard, we leashed up the dogs and walked down to the Lake. That is, we walked a few steps down our road to the Lake. Our street literally ends at Lake Ontario. We walked along the waterfront bike trail, and we were just knocked out. There is pristine landscaping, and fat geese waddling by, and waves crashing, and an expanse of water and sky, and it is just too beautiful to be steps away from where I live. I can't get over it. I feel so fortunate.
After unpacking the van, we walked in the other direction, to Port Credit's main drag, and were again just bowled over. The town is exactly as I remembered it: a town. A real town. We're in easy walking distance of lots of shops, including both a big wine store and a health food store. All needs catered to.
Here's an amazing coincidence. On our very first trip to Toronto - when we came in to look at apartments, see a couple of ball games and talk to people about work - we were driving in on the QEW when we realized we were hungry, and didn't want to wait til we found our hotel to eat. I saw a highway sign that said Port Credit and we pulled in.
We had lunch in an Irish pub, and looked at this adorable little town, and I got the (mistaken) impression that the near suburbs of Toronto were all adorable little towns. Only later, after driving around the Mississauga sprawl, did we understand how unusual Port Credit is. Ever since then, I've wanted to live there. Here.
That pub where we had lunch is around the corner from where we now live - literally around the corner. Do you love that or what?
I am very, very happy.
I'm also overwhelmed with how much there is to do, which is typically for me. I'm trying to bite off manageable bits, and stay focused on the present, which is how I've approached this journey from the day it began, some eighteen months ago.
* * * *
There was one minor disappointment that has caused us some inconvenience. We thought our landlord had the house painted, but he did not. A few rooms, where some walls were repaired, were painted, but in several rooms the walls are really dingy. After some discussion, we realized we should paint before the rest of our things arrive.
The movers are due on Friday morning, and tomorrow morning, Allan has to go somewhere to clear the rest of our stuff through customs. That doesn't leave us much time.
Today, after a morning lakefront walk (heaven!), we unpacked what we have with us while we waited for the Rogers to arrive. The cable guy was on time, and competent. Hey, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. TV, internet and phone: all systems are go.
Next we did the grocery shopping, and guess what, it's like being in another country. Things are different. That was cool.
Then we went off in search of paint supplies. Our lives are a little more complicated because Buster can't be left alone for more than a couple of hours - because of Prednisone side effects, he has to pee so frequently. (That includes all night. We take turns.) On Monday in New York, we were driving around in the minivan doing errands, and every two hours we'd have to drive back home, run Buster outside, then continue to the next errand. That's part of what made the day so long. We'll be reducing his Pred dosage soon, so the side effects should ease up, but right now, it's a complication to negotiate. So doing the grocery shopping and buying paint took a while.
We also had to extend the minivan rental: buying a car and getting auto insurance is taking a back seat to painting. This is an unexpected expense, but that's exactly why we saved a lot more money than we technically needed. I expect unexpected expenses galore.
As soon as I post this, we'll put the Red Sox game on high volume and start taping the baseboards. Not what I expected to be doing tonight, but we'll be glad we bothered.
Listen you guys, thanks for reading, thanks for thinking of us, thanks for caring. Community is a wonderful thing.
The house is great. It's both bigger and nicer than I remembered. But what turns great to amazingly brilliant is this neighborhood.
Last night, after we walked through the house and looked at the yard, we leashed up the dogs and walked down to the Lake. That is, we walked a few steps down our road to the Lake. Our street literally ends at Lake Ontario. We walked along the waterfront bike trail, and we were just knocked out. There is pristine landscaping, and fat geese waddling by, and waves crashing, and an expanse of water and sky, and it is just too beautiful to be steps away from where I live. I can't get over it. I feel so fortunate.
After unpacking the van, we walked in the other direction, to Port Credit's main drag, and were again just bowled over. The town is exactly as I remembered it: a town. A real town. We're in easy walking distance of lots of shops, including both a big wine store and a health food store. All needs catered to.
Here's an amazing coincidence. On our very first trip to Toronto - when we came in to look at apartments, see a couple of ball games and talk to people about work - we were driving in on the QEW when we realized we were hungry, and didn't want to wait til we found our hotel to eat. I saw a highway sign that said Port Credit and we pulled in.
We had lunch in an Irish pub, and looked at this adorable little town, and I got the (mistaken) impression that the near suburbs of Toronto were all adorable little towns. Only later, after driving around the Mississauga sprawl, did we understand how unusual Port Credit is. Ever since then, I've wanted to live there. Here.
That pub where we had lunch is around the corner from where we now live - literally around the corner. Do you love that or what?
I am very, very happy.
I'm also overwhelmed with how much there is to do, which is typically for me. I'm trying to bite off manageable bits, and stay focused on the present, which is how I've approached this journey from the day it began, some eighteen months ago.
* * * *
There was one minor disappointment that has caused us some inconvenience. We thought our landlord had the house painted, but he did not. A few rooms, where some walls were repaired, were painted, but in several rooms the walls are really dingy. After some discussion, we realized we should paint before the rest of our things arrive.
The movers are due on Friday morning, and tomorrow morning, Allan has to go somewhere to clear the rest of our stuff through customs. That doesn't leave us much time.
Today, after a morning lakefront walk (heaven!), we unpacked what we have with us while we waited for the Rogers to arrive. The cable guy was on time, and competent. Hey, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. TV, internet and phone: all systems are go.
Next we did the grocery shopping, and guess what, it's like being in another country. Things are different. That was cool.
Then we went off in search of paint supplies. Our lives are a little more complicated because Buster can't be left alone for more than a couple of hours - because of Prednisone side effects, he has to pee so frequently. (That includes all night. We take turns.) On Monday in New York, we were driving around in the minivan doing errands, and every two hours we'd have to drive back home, run Buster outside, then continue to the next errand. That's part of what made the day so long. We'll be reducing his Pred dosage soon, so the side effects should ease up, but right now, it's a complication to negotiate. So doing the grocery shopping and buying paint took a while.
We also had to extend the minivan rental: buying a car and getting auto insurance is taking a back seat to painting. This is an unexpected expense, but that's exactly why we saved a lot more money than we technically needed. I expect unexpected expenses galore.
As soon as I post this, we'll put the Red Sox game on high volume and start taping the baseboards. Not what I expected to be doing tonight, but we'll be glad we bothered.
Listen you guys, thanks for reading, thanks for thinking of us, thanks for caring. Community is a wonderful thing.
Comments
Post a Comment