Week 3 - New Home!
Well, you will all be delighted to hear that we have moved into the house on Gore Street and are settling in well. The house is a lovely old limestone townhouse on three floors with a very small yard at the back. On the ground floor there is an open plan living/dining room and a kitchen (also small) and the utilities are in the basement (a bit dodgy, but however!). On the second floor there are two large bedrooms and a nice bathroom with an old claw-foot bath (the house reminds us of Laurelville!) and on the top floor again two large bedrooms and a bathroom and a roomy landing where the girls have a double futon couch - this is their "chill out area" - and we're hoping to get a t.v. up there for them too. The great thing about this house is its location - it is walking distance to Ellie's school (25 mins) Patrick's school (15 mins) the library (5 mins) Paddy's office (30 mins) and very importantly downtown (10 mins). So we can walk pretty much everywhere from here. There is a real walking/running/cycling culture here - that's how most people get around which is great to see. The streets are full of people out and about and I suppose the locals like to do as much as possible while the weather is still so nice (its been 20+ every day since we came). We did have rain one day but only for about 15 mins!
The Kids are settling in to their new schools. Patrick even ran for class representative!! he wrote his speech and practised it over and over (we all knew it off by heart!) and he stood up there in front of the class and said it for everyone. He didn't get elected but wasn't he brave?? Ellen is getting on well too in RND high school and has made some friends which is great. Laura has been looking at the winter semester courses at Queens which all start after Christmas. She has a lot of time on here hands tho, during the day so she did up her resume and dropped it into any shops that are hiring at the moment. One shop called her for interview yesterday, then after a good in depth interview they gave her a trial on the shop floor and then offered her a full time job!! She is delighted but the only snag may be that although she has applied for her work permit, she doesn't actually have one yet so they are going to call her today to say if she can start right away or if she has to wait til the permit arrives.
Paddy is enjoying getting stuck in to his new role in the CYA. They are a friendly bunch and the offices are very nicely situated at the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour so its so far, so good. He starts his travels this week with a trip up to Ottawa and over the next couple of months he will be visiting Toronto, Nova Scotia and a week at the International Federation's conference in Korea!!
I'm keeping busy with setting up the house - it came with furniture but none of the extras e.g. bedding/towels/kitchen equipment/bins/pots and pans etc. etc. it's funny to be shopping for all this stuff again that was just "there" at home!! Even the most basic supplies like salt and pepper, herbs and spices for cooking, a can opener - the stuff you take for granted at home, have had to be got. Thankfully though, during our first week in Kingston, a colleague of Paddy's (Marty) invited our family over to his home for dinner. It was lovely!! apart from being a much needed home-cooked meal (best ever brownies!) it also meant I met up with Beth, Marty's wife, who kindly took me under her wing and brought me shopping to all the right places for the stuff we needed. I'm telling you, the amount of choice for everything here is crazy!! Anyway, Beth pointed me in the right direction and we are now almost sorted. We've also had a couple of cups of coffee along the way and its been really nice having a friend too!! I've also cooked my first few meals here and haven't either blown up the kitchen (well half a kitchen - it's not fully installed yet) or poisened the family so its all good.........
Today is Arthur Guinness day and Paddy and I are planning to pay a visit at 17.59pm to a local Irish Bar called The Toucan to raise a glass and toast you all in Ireland!! so 'Cheers' everyone!! Tomorrow the kids have no school and we are going to head to Sinead and Chris's cottage on Lake Huron for the weekend. We're all really excited about that and can't wait to spend some time with the Bonthron's!!! yippee!!!
Thats it for now folks - more updates next week.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Week 2 - "have ye no home to go to??"
So we went to Ottawa - it is a really beautiful city and the government buildings are amazing! We were all well impressed (except Ellie whose reaction was similar to when she saw the Grand Canyon "It's a big canyon - get over it") . We enjoyed a walk around by the canal locks and took in the all the sights, it's well worth a visit.
Changed the rental car and I drove for the first time over here - driving on the right wasn't that bad - the cars and roads are both very good and the GPS is a great help, so no probs so far.
The main item occupying our time is of course the house hunting. We have seen a number of properties and have narrowed it down to two - one really cute one opposite the lake, with a nice garden but a drive out of town. The other which came up as a result of our putting a "wanted" ad in the local paper - the Whig Standard - which is a townhouse, right in the heart of Kingston a block up from the waterfront and walking distance from pretty much everything and this is the one we're leaning towards. It is owned by a lady who is about to go off on active duty to Afghanistan for 6-9 months so we think we will take it for an initial 6 months and see how we get on. It is a lovely old 3 storey building with fine big bedrooms and lots of character. On the downside the kitchen needs replacing and there is only one other open living/dining room and a tiny yard, but we have decided to go with that old saying "location, location, location" and see if we can make it work for us. It's currently unfurnished so if we can come to an agreement on that, then we're on.
Good news - We have the house!! we met with Susan the owner again and she is happy that we rent it from her. She is going to replace the kitchen straight away and furnish it for us so we're all delighted. We've told her that if she even gets the beds in we will move in right away and put up with any inconvenience while the kitchen goes in just so we can get out of the motel as soon as poss - hopefully before the weekend. This also means that Ellie can stay in the school she is in and maybe Patrick too but we have to check that out. Happy Days!!!
So we went to Ottawa - it is a really beautiful city and the government buildings are amazing! We were all well impressed (except Ellie whose reaction was similar to when she saw the Grand Canyon "It's a big canyon - get over it") . We enjoyed a walk around by the canal locks and took in the all the sights, it's well worth a visit.
Changed the rental car and I drove for the first time over here - driving on the right wasn't that bad - the cars and roads are both very good and the GPS is a great help, so no probs so far.
The main item occupying our time is of course the house hunting. We have seen a number of properties and have narrowed it down to two - one really cute one opposite the lake, with a nice garden but a drive out of town. The other which came up as a result of our putting a "wanted" ad in the local paper - the Whig Standard - which is a townhouse, right in the heart of Kingston a block up from the waterfront and walking distance from pretty much everything and this is the one we're leaning towards. It is owned by a lady who is about to go off on active duty to Afghanistan for 6-9 months so we think we will take it for an initial 6 months and see how we get on. It is a lovely old 3 storey building with fine big bedrooms and lots of character. On the downside the kitchen needs replacing and there is only one other open living/dining room and a tiny yard, but we have decided to go with that old saying "location, location, location" and see if we can make it work for us. It's currently unfurnished so if we can come to an agreement on that, then we're on.
Good news - We have the house!! we met with Susan the owner again and she is happy that we rent it from her. She is going to replace the kitchen straight away and furnish it for us so we're all delighted. We've told her that if she even gets the beds in we will move in right away and put up with any inconvenience while the kitchen goes in just so we can get out of the motel as soon as poss - hopefully before the weekend. This also means that Ellie can stay in the school she is in and maybe Patrick too but we have to check that out. Happy Days!!!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
ok - week one in Kingston
Arrived at Greenacres Motel and checked into "self contained 2 bed apartment" which sounds good, but turned out to be Fritzel style basement, dark with low ceilings, claustrophobic and one bathroom with no window. Entrance was via a hidden door where two buildings connected and when you opened the door, there was a flight of steps down to the basement - get the picture?? It was ok for a few days but luckily we were able to move then into two inter-connecting rooms upstairs which also gave us two bathrooms, more space and it was much brighter with nice high ceilings, more space etc - so much better all round.
First tasks were to sort out banking and communications (our Irish mobiles not suitable). The banking was straight forward enough but the phones were another story!! They were very reluctant to give more than one phone to us (eventually got two) apparently living in a motel on the outskirts of town is not good for your credit rating!! Anyway, got that sorted and with the addition of a ready to go phone, we are all back in the land of telecommunications.
The search for housing has proved somewhat of a challenge. The fantastic house that we were so excited about fell through.......... having contacted us and said that their deal wasn't going ahead and agreed we could have the place (we viewed it twice on Friday) and having gone to Chez Piggy (yes Aedeen, it is a really nice place - one to bring all our visitors to!) when we got home they phoned to say that original deal was going ahead after all so no house - sorry!!! Needless to say we were all gutted, mainly cos we thought we had a home from next Monday but also cos it was such a nice one in perfect location etc. We had also gone ahead on Friday afternoon and enrolled Patrick in the local school 5 mins walk from house due to start on Monday. We had the school tour and met the teachers and everything. Now we're in the position that we may have to take him out as we are not in that area at all and they are quite strict about all that. We'll have a chat with them on Monday morning and see if they will let him stay at least until we get somewhere defo to live. BUMMER!!!
So its back to the drawing board - we have a couple of places that are of interest but its very hard to get a place that ticks all the boxes...... anyway, we've no choice but to keep looking, can't live in a motel forever - we may have to become trailer park trash after all!!! Meanwhile Paddy starts work on Tuesday and i will have to continue the search with Laura - and i will have to start driving from today - YIKES!!! look out Kingston!
Meanwhile Ellie started school yesterday! we had an appointment set up before we left with the school principal for 10 o'clock on Thursday and i'm not joking you by 11.30 am we'd had the meeting, Ellie was kitted out with her full uniform, had all her books, met the guidance counsellor to work out her personal timetable and was all set to rock and roll on Friday morning!! Now that's what i call efficient!!
Yesterday we took a drive (as part of our house search) to a place called Ganonoque on the St. Lawrence River, in the Thousand Island district - here's a bit of trivia for you - it's where thousand island dressing comes from! It's a beautiful place and we all enjoyed lunch by the waterside and a walk, ice cream included of course - not quite Teddy's but very good all the same. It was nice to relax for a bit and did us all good.
Laura met up with a friend of her cousin's last night, a girl who is on a year's erasmus in Kingston so it was great for her to get an introduction to the student social scene, particularly with this week being freshers week (or frosh week as its called here).
Today we go up to Ottawa to return our first rental and replace it with a smaller one so I'll let you know how that goes.
Arrived at Greenacres Motel and checked into "self contained 2 bed apartment" which sounds good, but turned out to be Fritzel style basement, dark with low ceilings, claustrophobic and one bathroom with no window. Entrance was via a hidden door where two buildings connected and when you opened the door, there was a flight of steps down to the basement - get the picture?? It was ok for a few days but luckily we were able to move then into two inter-connecting rooms upstairs which also gave us two bathrooms, more space and it was much brighter with nice high ceilings, more space etc - so much better all round.
First tasks were to sort out banking and communications (our Irish mobiles not suitable). The banking was straight forward enough but the phones were another story!! They were very reluctant to give more than one phone to us (eventually got two) apparently living in a motel on the outskirts of town is not good for your credit rating!! Anyway, got that sorted and with the addition of a ready to go phone, we are all back in the land of telecommunications.
The search for housing has proved somewhat of a challenge. The fantastic house that we were so excited about fell through.......... having contacted us and said that their deal wasn't going ahead and agreed we could have the place (we viewed it twice on Friday) and having gone to Chez Piggy (yes Aedeen, it is a really nice place - one to bring all our visitors to!) when we got home they phoned to say that original deal was going ahead after all so no house - sorry!!! Needless to say we were all gutted, mainly cos we thought we had a home from next Monday but also cos it was such a nice one in perfect location etc. We had also gone ahead on Friday afternoon and enrolled Patrick in the local school 5 mins walk from house due to start on Monday. We had the school tour and met the teachers and everything. Now we're in the position that we may have to take him out as we are not in that area at all and they are quite strict about all that. We'll have a chat with them on Monday morning and see if they will let him stay at least until we get somewhere defo to live. BUMMER!!!
So its back to the drawing board - we have a couple of places that are of interest but its very hard to get a place that ticks all the boxes...... anyway, we've no choice but to keep looking, can't live in a motel forever - we may have to become trailer park trash after all!!! Meanwhile Paddy starts work on Tuesday and i will have to continue the search with Laura - and i will have to start driving from today - YIKES!!! look out Kingston!
Meanwhile Ellie started school yesterday! we had an appointment set up before we left with the school principal for 10 o'clock on Thursday and i'm not joking you by 11.30 am we'd had the meeting, Ellie was kitted out with her full uniform, had all her books, met the guidance counsellor to work out her personal timetable and was all set to rock and roll on Friday morning!! Now that's what i call efficient!!
Yesterday we took a drive (as part of our house search) to a place called Ganonoque on the St. Lawrence River, in the Thousand Island district - here's a bit of trivia for you - it's where thousand island dressing comes from! It's a beautiful place and we all enjoyed lunch by the waterside and a walk, ice cream included of course - not quite Teddy's but very good all the same. It was nice to relax for a bit and did us all good.
Laura met up with a friend of her cousin's last night, a girl who is on a year's erasmus in Kingston so it was great for her to get an introduction to the student social scene, particularly with this week being freshers week (or frosh week as its called here).
Today we go up to Ottawa to return our first rental and replace it with a smaller one so I'll let you know how that goes.
Monday, September 7, 2009
We're Here
Monday 7th September 2009 - Labour Day
Gettin up after the party was tough, but we all managed to get out in time for the taxi, even if we had to dump some excess baggage in Tarbert's on the way!
We had to balance the weight between suitcases to accomodate Delta's wishes but other than that the flight to New York was uneventful, particularly for Laura and Ellen who slept most of the way. BTW if you are a movie fan - don't fly with Delta - we had seen them all before.
JFK was grand too - until we tried to depart the - gate when it was discovered that the stewardess (only one on this tiny plane) was out of hours and we had to wait on the tarmac for an hour for a replacement. This delay added to the processing time for work permits and visas meant we didin't get to the hotel until 1900 (2400 Irish).
Sinead, Chris and family met us there and we had a quick dinner with them before collapsing into bed.
This morning Paddy hired a 7 seater (known as a minivan over here) for our trip to Kingston. Roisin is having coffee/breakfast with Sinead and the girls while Chris, Paddy, Patrick, Robin and Ben are swimming in the pool. We'll be leaving shortly for our first view of Kingston!
Gettin up after the party was tough, but we all managed to get out in time for the taxi, even if we had to dump some excess baggage in Tarbert's on the way!
We had to balance the weight between suitcases to accomodate Delta's wishes but other than that the flight to New York was uneventful, particularly for Laura and Ellen who slept most of the way. BTW if you are a movie fan - don't fly with Delta - we had seen them all before.
JFK was grand too - until we tried to depart the - gate when it was discovered that the stewardess (only one on this tiny plane) was out of hours and we had to wait on the tarmac for an hour for a replacement. This delay added to the processing time for work permits and visas meant we didin't get to the hotel until 1900 (2400 Irish).
Sinead, Chris and family met us there and we had a quick dinner with them before collapsing into bed.
This morning Paddy hired a 7 seater (known as a minivan over here) for our trip to Kingston. Roisin is having coffee/breakfast with Sinead and the girls while Chris, Paddy, Patrick, Robin and Ben are swimming in the pool. We'll be leaving shortly for our first view of Kingston!
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