I Have Arrived, I Am Home

      It's hard to believe it's been a little over two months since I last wrote anything. Life is finally getting back to normal and I've had such an urge to get back here. When I'm not writing I always feel sort of disjointed, not quite complete. But I have arrived, I am home.

     Summer was such a blur. The move, the family reunion, the fishing trip and all the other mundane things that have to be done regardless of what's happening. But we made it and we came out on our feet. A few things got left along the sidelines because of time restraints. My writing, daily exercise, and contact with the outside world. Autumn has arrived and life is slowing down once again and I feel that I'm finally able to breathe again. I'm pretty sure I've been holding my breath for the last three months.

     The new house is starting to come together and soon this little house will become a home. It's already quite comfortable but it's not decorated yet so it doesn't have that homey feel about it. I still have a few boxes to unpack but all in all, it's getting there. I fell in love with this little place because it was so bright and cheerful so we've decided to go with bamboo blinds rather than the traditional drapes. There are no pictures up on the walls yet and the four large boxes of baskets I've collected over the years are still standing in the corner of the hallway but I will get to them…..soon. Once the house is decorated the way I like it, some of those baskets will be donated to the church for their weekly yard sale. I won't be keeping anything that doesn't have a useful function.

     We've spent quite a bit of time learning to function in our new kitchen. We decided to forgo a conventional kitchen stove and have gone with small appliances instead. Michael is adapting well and is actually starting to look for recipes that use what we have. The Breville Toaster/Convection oven will be our biggest challenge.

I actually did a roast pork dinner with oven roasted potatoes and steamed corn on the cob last Sunday. A total cost of $0.17 in hydro. I'll take that. It's a whole new learning curve in cooking for both of us but the savings is incredible so far.

     As much as I miss our little house in the country this move is going to benefit both of us. Less time traveling, more money in our pockets, and more time doing the things we love. I guess sometimes you just have to sit down and look at the bigger picture and figure out what's beneficial to your way of life. Elliot Lake is a small city of 11,000 but we are smack dab in the middle of the bush. I can walk out my door and go in any direction and in 15 minutes I can be sitting beside a lake.

     The journey for Mike and I has lasted a little over 28 years now. We've lived all over the place and we've ended up exactly where we started. We've come full circle. I'm assuming this is where we're supposed to be. It's time to settle down and plant some roots.