There are a few boxes left in the basement and we still lack curtains but in a lot of ways, it feels like we never left Halifax.  It just feels like home.  As Hurricane Igor sends some wicked wind our way, we’re nestled into our little place as if we’ve been here for a year, not a month.  The girls are starting up their Fall activities.  Rilla wanted to do drama (who’s shocked?) and Rilla liked everything so she’s in a singing/dancing/entertaining class.  I can’t imagine she’ll be successful

Anyway, all is well here.  We are waiting for season premieres, a visit from Nanny, and a stubborn baby boy who won’t come out.  We’ll update you on the progress of each next time.

It’s been almost a month since we got the keys to our place here and started settling in as a family.  It certainly hasn’t been easy but I think John would agree that it’s all been worth it.  The house is just about perfect for us.  It would be nice if the backyard was a little bigger but as that’s our only complaint, we’re not complaining.  The neighbourhood is nice, the neighbours are great and now that the boxes are almost all unpacked, it feels like home.  Granny and Grampy were up to visit for a few days until Earl sent them fleeing for safety.  Nanny is coming up in a another week for some quality time.  It’s great to be back in Nova Scotia!!

John and I have commented a few times on the differences between living in Ottawa and being back here.  First off, people are just more polite here.  Almost everyone holds the door for you and says thank you if you do the same for them.  People let you out into traffic instead of jamming up on the bumper of the car in front of them.  The bus drivers not only say hello, they make conversation with you.  They even give you enough time to get off the bus when it’s crowded (which it hardly ever is).  No one seems to be in a big rush because in general, no one is.  Our neighbours have volunteered helpful information and for that matter, we’ve met more of our neighbours in the month we’ve been here than in 5 years of living at our old place.  I don’t want to sound like we hated Ottawa because we didn’t (at least not most days).  It’s just that we are both very convinced that we are where we were meant to be.

As for the girls, they’ve mentioned friends and places from Ottawa a few times but they seem to be pretty happy to be here in Halifax too.  They’ve both met lots of kids at school and if they aren’t over playing with the girls next door, you can guarantee that all four of them are causing trouble in our rec room.  They were all snuggled up on the couch tonight enjoying “Marmaduke” and they’ll be at it again in the morning, no later than 10am would be my guess.  We’ve taken them to Peggy’s Cove, whale watching, apple picking and hurricane hunting.  The girls absolutely loved the wild waves and wind (watched from a safe distance of course).  They may have been born in Ontario but they have Maritime blood in their veins.  Who knows what adventures we’ll get up to this weekend?

John and I are both pretty happy with our jobs.  Whereas we were the only Capers in the bunch at our old schools, we seem to be a little more surrounded by them now.  That makes leaving behind the awesome colleagues we had a little easier.  Of course if any of our colleagues wanted to come east, we’d be happy to hook them up.  I get a bonus when I bring someone into the company so come on down to Nova Scotia.  We’ve even got a futon you can crash on

Now that the John and the girls are in school, we’re back to routine which is nice as well.  The summer is always fun but a regular bedtime is good too  The girls are asleep now and John and I are going to enjoy a movie and a snuggle, two of our favourite things.  I hope you’re having a wonderful Friday night too!!

ps.  There are probably a bunch more pictures lurking on our other cameras but I’ve uploaded a few photos to satisfy those of you who have been asking for them.  Once we’ve done our tidying up in the morning, we’ll take a few pictures of the house so you can visit us virtually if you can’t do so in person.

This was supposed to be a quick post to give everyone an update.  Two hours and a software upgrade later, it’s time for bed.  I promise to put an update on the site tomorrow.   In the meantime, all is well.