Well today we are in Fort Saint John so just a quick post in the form of a question...
Is it Ft St John or Fort St John or FSJ or do I have to say Fort Saint John every time???
(man is it flat here, and colder... did I mention colder?)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
A Difficult Day
Tomorrow morning hubby and I are flying up to Fort St John in the morning - and by morning I mean the plane is supposed to leave at 6am. Damn early. I was quite excited about this as it will be the first get-a-way we have had together for a very long time... Not to mention the fact that I am anxious to find a house so that we can get on with things and move already! Our house here sold before it went on the market (whew) but so far we have put in some offers on a house up north but we haven't gotten anywhere!
However, today as my friends were saying goodbye and wishing us good-luck up north - it really hit home and felt like we were REALLY saying good-bye... so all day I have been kind of sad, looking around at everything like it is the last time I will see it.
I am going to miss the ladies that I have become friends with, here in Ladysmith. They are so very fun and interesting and easy to be with - they have promised to take me dancing before we move, I hope we get the chance.
Taking my kids on the ferry to my in-laws house was also hard... as much as the ferry can suck (big time) it can also be a beautiful trip, which it was today... It was a gorgeous day, beautiful blue skies, and about 12 degrees... the water was smooth as glass... it is too beautiful for words... although no dolphin sightings today!
And then there is the Lagoon... I love the Lagoon. Ever since we first moved here and my daughter insisted that it was the Magoon, even to the point where she would spell it out, with an "M". Most days driving over the Lagoon we see a seal and a wide variety of birds, or else it is low tide and the Lagoon beach/mud pit stretches way out. We even put our little boat in at the Lagoon a few times and had to go under the bridge to go for the boat ride... sigh.
Well this post isn't making much sense or flowing very well, but that is too bad because I don't feel up to it today. But tomorrow is a new day and hopefully we will find a house that we like and will enjoy our weekend away... I think it is time to get on with things and move on, because the longer we stay here the harder it is getting...
However, today as my friends were saying goodbye and wishing us good-luck up north - it really hit home and felt like we were REALLY saying good-bye... so all day I have been kind of sad, looking around at everything like it is the last time I will see it.
I am going to miss the ladies that I have become friends with, here in Ladysmith. They are so very fun and interesting and easy to be with - they have promised to take me dancing before we move, I hope we get the chance.
Taking my kids on the ferry to my in-laws house was also hard... as much as the ferry can suck (big time) it can also be a beautiful trip, which it was today... It was a gorgeous day, beautiful blue skies, and about 12 degrees... the water was smooth as glass... it is too beautiful for words... although no dolphin sightings today!
And then there is the Lagoon... I love the Lagoon. Ever since we first moved here and my daughter insisted that it was the Magoon, even to the point where she would spell it out, with an "M". Most days driving over the Lagoon we see a seal and a wide variety of birds, or else it is low tide and the Lagoon beach/mud pit stretches way out. We even put our little boat in at the Lagoon a few times and had to go under the bridge to go for the boat ride... sigh.
Well this post isn't making much sense or flowing very well, but that is too bad because I don't feel up to it today. But tomorrow is a new day and hopefully we will find a house that we like and will enjoy our weekend away... I think it is time to get on with things and move on, because the longer we stay here the harder it is getting...
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Pros & Cons
Our house in Ladysmith There are so many reasons why I don't want to go, but honestly they are all basically the same reason - I am going to miss what I have... but there are also a lot of very compelling reasons why I DO want to go.
Cons:
- I am going to miss my sisters so very much
- My friends and family are here not there
- The beach
- LaFF (Ladysmith Family and Friends)
- My house
- My six year old in a class with 16 kids
- Everything is a short drive away here and up there it seems everything is at least an hour away... although perhaps I won't need to make that drive as Ft St John seems to have everything we would need
Pros:
- It is an exciting new adventure
- Skating outside
- Snow, actual snow! As opposed to slush...
- They have a toboggan hill in the middle of town
- A LOT less rain and a lot more sun
- There are a lot of kids up there. Here we live on a road that never had any kids except ours until recently...
- Michael's brother and family live there
- The security of a job that is not in the forest industry and the money that it pays:)
- It sounds like there will be a lot more opportunities for me and my career when I go back to work
- Michael will get a six day weekend every week (4 on 6 off)
- The travelling that we plan to do
There are a lot more reasons that I can think of for each category but basically it boils down to the fact that as much as I love and am going to miss my life in Ladysmith, Fort Saint John is an exciting and potentially wonderful next chapter in our life... and that is what I am going to focus on for the next few months.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Coast to North
All my life I have lived on the West Coast of Canada. Not just the west coast, but the southern west coast. Squamish, Vancouver, and in recent years on Vancouver Island in Duncan, Crofton and Ladysmith... ahh Ladysmith, how I love you!
Well, circumstances change, the forest industry dissolves in front of my eyes and here we are three years after I swore I would never move again, moving. Moving from this town that I have grown to love more than anywhere else I have lived. Moving from the place where my children have grown into the little people that they are. Moving from the place where my one sister moved to be near me and the other sister moved nearby on Saltspring Island.
To say that I didn't want to move would be an understatement. Neither hubby or I wanted to move... we tried to think of all sorts of different options that may potentially keep us here... but they were all temporary and financially - less. And through all those brainstorming sessions there was this whisper from the cold and distant north "come to us, we will have you", "come up north and find a job that will last as long as you want it too", "come up north and make money, lots of money". I must honestly say that the last one was the most tempting for me, but the job security was that one that did it for hubby.
Poor hubby has been having the doom of not just his workplace but also the entire industry, hanging over his head, weighing on him for a few years now, but everytime he asked about moving I would say "NO!" The guy listened to me, as long as he could, but eventually even I couldn't say "no" anymore...
So the decision was made and the job (the very good job) was found and this coastal girl is soon going to be northern girl. A good friend of mine suggested starting a blog about the move and the life up north as a way of letting all the lovely people of Ladysmith and all the other folks too, keep track of me and my family...
So people, the adventure is beginning and as nervous and uncertain as I was about it before, I am actually kind of excited about it now. There are part of it that still make me nervous; but there are more parts that make me excited and I hope that I will be able to experience and love the North as much as people assure me that I will!
Well, circumstances change, the forest industry dissolves in front of my eyes and here we are three years after I swore I would never move again, moving. Moving from this town that I have grown to love more than anywhere else I have lived. Moving from the place where my children have grown into the little people that they are. Moving from the place where my one sister moved to be near me and the other sister moved nearby on Saltspring Island.
To say that I didn't want to move would be an understatement. Neither hubby or I wanted to move... we tried to think of all sorts of different options that may potentially keep us here... but they were all temporary and financially - less. And through all those brainstorming sessions there was this whisper from the cold and distant north "come to us, we will have you", "come up north and find a job that will last as long as you want it too", "come up north and make money, lots of money". I must honestly say that the last one was the most tempting for me, but the job security was that one that did it for hubby.
Poor hubby has been having the doom of not just his workplace but also the entire industry, hanging over his head, weighing on him for a few years now, but everytime he asked about moving I would say "NO!" The guy listened to me, as long as he could, but eventually even I couldn't say "no" anymore...
So the decision was made and the job (the very good job) was found and this coastal girl is soon going to be northern girl. A good friend of mine suggested starting a blog about the move and the life up north as a way of letting all the lovely people of Ladysmith and all the other folks too, keep track of me and my family...
So people, the adventure is beginning and as nervous and uncertain as I was about it before, I am actually kind of excited about it now. There are part of it that still make me nervous; but there are more parts that make me excited and I hope that I will be able to experience and love the North as much as people assure me that I will!
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