So we were told the movers would be here this morning but barely believed it until the movers called saying they’d be here by 9am.? 9am came and went but shortly thereafter, three guys from a moving company come rambling up our road.? Turns out, the semi couldn’t make the turn at the bottom of the road.? (As an aside, should you ever come to visit us, you will understand why!!)? There is another way in but they weren’t keen on trying that either as they weren’t sure they’d be able to get back out again.? What to do, what to do?!?!? Suddenly, after about an hour of hmming and hahing, one of them says if only we could get a cube van, they could unload theirs onto that one and ferry the stuff up the hill.? Thank heavens for 1-800 numbers.? I’m on the phone to UHaul and I’ve got a truck booked by the time I’ve hoofed it up the hill to our house.? Dash across the bridge with one of the movers, pick up the truck and dash back through oodles of construction (thank you stimulus spending).? So the guys start loading while John and I figure out what to do with the girls while all this is going on.? Convince Bronwyn to go watch a movie on the laptop while Rilla and I duck out for groceries (as at this point, all the the fridge contains is grapes, oranges and some New Waterford pizza).? By the time Rilla and I return (while narrowly missing running over a cat in the process – KEEP YOUR CATS INDOORS PEOPLE!!!), the movers are hauling our stuff in off the UHaul.? As I’m trying to make sense of the kitchen and the ever increasing number of boxes arriving in the kitchen, John announces that the house next door has two little girls, 6 years old and? 8 years old, who are wondering if there are any kids moving in.? HALLELUJAH!!!!!? So off go the girls for the afternoon to play with the neighbours whose parents come from Pictou County and Port Hawkesbury.? John and I ducked over a few times during the afternoon make sure the girls weren’t wearing out their welcome and were continually told that the four of them keeping themselves entertained was mutually beneficial!? Oh will wonders never cease?!?

So here it is almost 9pm.? The movers were done by about 5:30.? We brought the UHaul back (having to go the long way as the bridge that was half closed before is now fully closed).? We rewarded the girls for leaving us alone by taking them to a McDonalds with a playplace.? They are now asleep IN THEIR OWN BEDS and John and I are going to sit down and watch a movie on the computer.? Painters and tv/phone/internet installers come on Tuesday, the rest of our stuff (only a patio table and Barbie’s dream house) come Wednesday and we should be all settled in by the end of the week.? Did I mention the house is perfect?? I’m sure we’ll find a flaw or two eventually but I doubt we could have done any better if we had actually seen the place before we signed a lease.? Oh yeah, did I mention that the neighbour girls also go to the same school AND daycare as the girls??? Yup, we’re pretty content right now.? Tired, oh so tired, but content!

Hello all and good evening from Halifax!

If anyone is still reading this blog, God bless you!!? You have an amazing amount of patience and optimism – you must be a Leafs fan!? The blog is one of many things that has fallen by the way side over the last year.? Other things like sleeping, relaxing, reading are on our list but we are hoping that our move back to the Maritimes might mean a slighly less hectic lifestyle and more quality time for all of us.

As I write this, I am sitting on the front porch of our new place.? I think everyone should choose their house as blindly as we did.? It doesn’t really have a backyard.? That’s the only bad thing we can say about it.? The house is going to suit us perfectly and the landlord seems quite nice.? We have been told that our furniture and all the other personal belongings that couldn’t fit into our Kia Soul should be arriving tomorrow morning.? I’m very hopeful that this is more than just something the mover said to comfort the overly-emotional lady he had at the phone.? Even if it doesn’t arrive until Monday, we’ll be fine.? We have electricity, two air mattresses, stolen wi-fi and we’re together!? What else matters?? (I should take this moment to give a shoutout to the friends and family that have hosted us while we were homeless – Mom, Mom and Dad Serroul, Jamie and Lori – THANKS!!!!)

I’ve been at work for two weeks already.? I think I will like it there.? I actually got to do something useful today and it felt really good.? I’m surrounded by Islanders of all kinds – Cape Bretoners, Newfs, etc.? It’s really nice to hear the back home accents again.? I’m also enjoying being called dear and honey by customer service staff wherever I go.? I am definitely in the right part of the country again.

John and the girls have two more weeks of vacation.? The girls met a couple of neighbourhood kids this evening and saw that Halifax has Dominos Pizza so I think they finally believe that everything will be ok here.? I’m hoping to take them down to the waterfront to see Theodore Tugboat (I get to watch him from my cubicle every day!!) and maybe a few of the last buskers.

Anyway, that’s the way our world looks from the front porch at 8:19 on our first Friday as a Haligonian family.? All the nervousness and apprehension of the last month is slowly starting to slip away.? I think a beer or a glass of wine would probably make it disappear completely but that’ll have to wait until we have glasses.? And beer.