My blog

A little bit about me and a lot about the things we do.

Thursday 8 February 2024

It’s Here

It’s only 8:30 and I have already crawled into bed.  Ron and I have spent this week getting ready for what is about to happen.  We have signed papers to sell our house and had a zoom meeting to docusign to purchase one.  We have cancelled utilities in Alberta and arranged for hookups in Ontario.  We have our suitcases packed and hopefully they are hidden enough from the real packers AND tomorrow it begins.  The packers will arrive and get to work while we sit and watch.

I think we will have the weekend to live amongst boxes and they will return on Monday to finish it up.  Tuesday, our house will be loaded into a transport.  That thought always blows my mind.  How can it fit?  I then find out that actually three household items are going to be in one truck and transported to Ontario.

So, good night from me.  It seem to take along time but now we are here.



Thursday 25 January 2024

One Last Time

The time is getting closer and closer to our move date. Every time we do something now, we wonder is that the last time before we move?

Yesterday, we headed to Waterton with our snowshoes, wood, lunch and games.  The drive down was beautiful.  It was a gorgeous day and the mountains looked spectacular with their winter coats.  We drove down the Akimina Parkway.  There were very few cars and the big horn sheep were enjoying the quiet road.

We were stopped a couple of times going in and they did not seem at all concerned that we wanted to get somewhere.

We parked at the road closure and put our snowshoes on.  There was a nice path through the “woods” that we took.



 A fire from a number of years ago has left mostly blackened trees or stumps but new growth is taking over. This could definitely be a good sermon illustration.

It was almost theee kilometres to Cameron Lake.  The temperature was very mild and, for the most part, we were sheltered from the wind.

We arrived at the lake and could hear laughing somewhere but no sign of anyone.  It’s quite different in the summer when the place is crawling with people.  We had a little rest in the shelter before starting back on the road.

Painting on the window

The snow was good for snowshoeing but so much less than other years.  We have to keep going higher in the mountains to find the white stuff.

Once we got back to the truck, we headed down to the village.  The sheep had moved to the side of the road.  


There was one guy that wasn’t sure if we should be passing and he kept us waiting while he strolled down the middle of the road.  We aren’t going to have this happen in Ontario.

We found a little warming hut and Ron started a fire.  I made our lunch and some hot drinks.  


We played a few games of Rook before packing up.  Ron was the big winner!

We burned up all of our wood because we are assuming that that was our last time for an afternoon fire in Waterton.  

19 days until our move day!



Saturday 20 January 2024

Steps To Moving

 One month from today we will take possession of our new home. It certainly is a process.  Our final move is courtesy of the RCMP which means we do everything according to their schedule which is okay when they cover the bulk of the costs. So let’s, step back and see how we got here.

August - we listed our house.  Over the next three months, we had a good number of showings but no offers.  As the three month contract approached, we decided to take the house off the market and wait until spring.  

November - The week before the agreement was to expire, we got the offer. We went to Ontario and shopped hard for a house but nothing firm was completed in the first seven days.  That first week was paid by the RCMP and after that we were on our own.

December - After three long weeks, over 30 houses and our third offer, we found the house we wanted to retire in.  We flew back to Alberta, decorated for Christmas, and had Stephen and Kylie come to celebrate.

January - we undecorated and left all the Christmas bins and boxes in the middle of the recroom floor.  Ron has been busy with talking to lawyers, finding insurance, getting tv and internet disconnected and connected, dealing with the propane company and the hot water heater situation.  I have worked on finances, giving dates for disconnects and making sure that we have hydro when we get to Tamworth. 

Our minds are constantly thinking about what we need to do next and going over lists of what we need to remember.  It will all happen but sometimes we need to just get out and clear our mind and that is what we did yesterday.  




So what else needs to be done:

  • Clean out the storage area in the house
  • Pull down all of the items from the shelves at the top of the garage
  • Clean the appliances when we are done using them (the mini fridge and freezer are already empty)
  • Continue to organize by putting things together so they will be packed and unpacked together 
  • Go to Lethbridge to sign things at the lawyers and pick up the summer tires that have been stored at Honda
  • Do a mail forward at the post office
We have also been doing all of our last appointments.  We had a dentist appointment and a massage. I have booked blood work, a doctor’s appointment and a hair appointment and we both have one more massage appointment.

Looking ahead:  
  • February 9 & 12 - packing the house
  • February 13 - load day and start our drive

Monday 15 January 2024

Counting Down

One month from today our house closes in Pincher Creek.  We will no longer be homeowners in Alberta and will actually be homeless for 5 days.  It will be through those days that we travel to Ontario.  Our bank account will look good for a little while.

In the meantime, we continue to enjoy the area.  The weather has been bitterly cold and kept us close to home.  Today, the temperature rose a bit and we headed to the pass. Ron headed up the hill and I went towards the lake…no drastic inclines.



It was still cold but we were dressed for it.  I had been hesitant about going but the views, as always, didn’t disappoint.  




After I made it to the lake, I turned around and headed back towards the truck.  I put my skis away and grabbed my snowshoes and headed up the hill.  Once I was at the top, I met up with Ron.


We headed back down the hill.  He was able to go much faster but I always feel safer going down the hill on snowshoes.
Another gorgeous day in the mountains.  People say we will miss the mountains and that is true!

Saturday 13 January 2024

One Month

One month from today our western life will come to an end.  The movers will be loading our truck on February 13th and we will be spending Valentine’s Day somewhere on the road. 

Abby has always identified me as Nanny out west….I guess we will still be a little west of their home.

In the meantime, we are hibernating.  It’s been a very cold week!

It got down to feeling like -54 Celsius last night!

Wednesday 10 January 2024

Snow, Fire and Ice

Last night our weather changed.  Snow arrived and it continues to drop white stuff from the sky. It is supposed to continue to snow throughout the night and into tomorrow.

Last night, we went out to drop off something at a friend’s house.  As we looked ahead, the sky was black.  I glanced down the hill and saw a huge fire.  My heart sank as I thought about someone going through this horrific event.  We continued on our way, only to be beside a business that was totally inflamed.  


Yikes, two fires in our small town blocks apart equaled arson.  It is sad and scary.  Facebook was quick to advise that the culprit was in custody.  The Mounties always get their man!

As the fires raged, the whole town lost internet and tv services.  It’s a small inconvenience for us but much more terrible for the victims who lost their home and business.  The emergency crews worked hard to contain the fires and kept it from spreading to other buildings.  After the immediate danger of the fire was done, the techs took over and the town just got back their services.

After weeks of mild weather and very little snow, it looks like winter has arrived.  With the temperature dropping we were thankful that we didn’t lose power and only had to deal with loss of internet and tv.



We know that the area needs snow for moisture and we hope that a lot comes throughout January and then we are praying for a very dry, non-stormy February to do this move thing.  Who moves in February??  I guess, we do.

30 days until pack day!

Sunday 7 January 2024

Happy New Year

As the calendar switched to 2024, so did our minds take a turn.  Reality has set in.  WE ARE MOVING!  It’s the waiting that is the hardest. Even though the RCMP hire packers, there are still a lot of things to think about.  Ron has been busy on the phone and iPad organizing things.  We have dismantled some equipment and still have others to do.  I took down the Christmas decorations and all the bins are in the middle of the floor downstairs.  For the next five weeks, we will live with clutter and organized chaos.  We are excited about the move but have all those familiar feelings.  We have enjoyed our time in Pincher Creek.  We love the mountains, the hikes, snowshoeing and cross country skiing.  I don’t even like to think about saying goodbye to the friends here. 

On Wednesday, we drove to Calgary to have a visit with our nephew and his family.  This has been another great thing about living in Alberta.  We were able to reconnect with Dustin and Katie and their adult kids. It was a great dinner and a nice time.  I will miss this but am trying to encourage them to come for an Ontario visit.

On Thursday, a family that we adopted, came for a visit.  Japhia brought soup and I made pie.  We played games and enjoyed lots of laughs. Once again, we did our best to sell Ontario so that they would come for a visit.

Yesterday, we drove to Waterton.


 We did a little walk around the village.  It was cool and windy but still so pretty.  


Sarah told us that we are going to miss the park and yes, she is right.

It started to snow when we were going to bed last night and this morning our world has turned white.


The countdown is on…5 weeks and two days and the moving truck will be pulling out with us not too far behind.