Oh do come in....

We recieved some photos of the inside of our house today (thanks Keith!) , how exciting!
This one shows the staircase going up from the living room. This is the room with the vaulted ceiling... see! Where the pile of windows are is roughly where our fireplce will eventually go and the doorway on the far left leads to the hallway, den and front door. You can just see the den window on the left. The other photos are going on the gallery but it just looks like lots of wood framing really, still it's exciting to us!

Neil's back! Medicals done!

Neil returned from his Italian adventure on Sunday but it's been all go since then so he hasn't had time to update the blog. I thought I'd post a few pics from his Cervinia trip just in case he never gets around to it. Check out the gallery for some more.
In other news......we did our medicals today! Had to have chest x-rays first at a different clinic, these were delayed meaning we ended up having to sprint over to Harley Street to get there in time to be prodded and poked and questioned. After all the trauma of the morning we decided to go to Covent Garden for lunch and a Moosehead lager in The Maple Leaf Pub....eeeerrr,yes.....that is where Neil made friends with this bear.

Like clockwork!

We received our medical request today exactly as per our calculations! WooooHooooooo!

Waiting.....and waiting....

Still waiting for medical requests from Canada House, heard last night that Jon whose also a PNP applicant with the EPS recieved his passport requests yesterday so he's on the home straight now and can book his flight out to Edmonton. Comparing our timelines he's been about a month ahead of us in his application for permanent residence which means we should get our med requests right about NOW!

I can't wait for Neil to get back from Italy. He arrives home on sunday. It sounds as if he's had the best time in Cervinia, it's been snowing at night and bright sunshine in the day and he reckons his snowboarding abilities have tripled!! I tried to tell him that we just had bad conditions in Whistler and Jasper and that they could both be just as good as Italy but I think he's got he idea in his head now that Cervinia can't be beaten. We'll see about that!

In our latest update from Beaumont Jo said that our windows are in. The windows that were put in a while back were the wrong ones so I'll be pleased to see how it looks now.

Katarina and Paulo on the move

So Kate (my banana loaf telepathy sister) and Paul have been thinking of moving out of Canterbury for a while now and have just found a lovely little house in Upnor, a two minute walk from my Mums house ( and our temporary home). It is tiny but beautiful. A little Georgian terrace in the cobbled High Street that runs down to the river called the Boat House. We went over to see it today, it was Kate's second viewing. The sun came out just as we reached the top of the high street and as we walked down towards the house smoke drifted from a nearby chimney and the smell of woodsmoke seemed to fill the air. Honestly it's like going back in time, the High Street is narrow and cobbled and it stops abruptly where the river cuts its path so no one ever drives down there. The houses are mix of Victorian and Georgian cottages, whitewashed or clapperboard with sash windows and uneven roofs. Inside, the Boat house has a woodburning stove and wide old wooden floorboards. Upstairs are two tiny bedrooms, the biggest has a delicate little cast iron fire place and a large sash window. As we walked into the room the sunlight was streaming through the glass and gave the room a really mellow glow. I had to leave before the others so that I could get ready for work but as I walked back to my Mums down the footpath through the trees and past the castle walls I thought about how I've always taken for granted the beautiful old buildings and pretty little villages that are dotted all around here. I 've only just begun to think about how I'll really miss all that in Canada.

Canterbury Cathedral for Jo

Here is a photo I came across of Canterbury Cathedral,I'm posting it here as it reminded me of conversation we had with Jo in Beaumont, so... da-daaah! Canterbury Cathedral at it's finest!

Bored and lonely

crazy dog

Since Neil's been swooshing around the Italian Alps in perfect powder and sunshine I've either been at work or sitting in front of the computer with Doog getting slightly more envious of Neil every minute. In my boredom I decided there aren't enough pictures of Doog on this blog so I decided to post a few more. I've deliberately chosen these pictures as he doesn't look as crazy as usual.

Neil goes skiing again!

Today Neil went to Italy. He's off to Cervinia for a week skiing. He's gone with Gordon, his stepdad, and his brothers Dale, Andrew and Philip and they've arrived to record snow. I'm seriously jealous! Never mind, Neil needs the practise so he can keep up with me next time!

Hello to Kelly and Mandy

Just wanted to say hello to Kelly and Mandy who live on the other side of the show home over in Beaumont. Thank you for leaving a comment and introducing yourselves. Glad to hear that you are enjoying your new home, it looks beautiful. We're looking forward to meeting you both when we come over. With luck we'll be there by the beginning of August.

Banana Loaf Telepathy

I have never baked a Banana loaf before. My sister has never baked a Banana Loaf before. As children we never ate Banana Loaf. I can safely say that I'm 99% certain that neither one of us has ever eaten Banana loaf, EVER! Now, given our apparent disassociation with banana loaves, not to mention my usually total disassociation with cooking in general, isn't it odd that on the same day, in two different towns, miles apart both of us decided we wanted to go out and buy a loaf tin for the single and same aim of baking a banana loaf? Twighlight zone or...... a simple case of sisterly banana loaf telepathy?

Photos from Jo

I'm sure everyone's bored senseless with seeing endless pictures of our unfinished house so Jo has kindly sent us some pictures of the two Orca show homes. Gives you a bit more of an idea of how the finished article will look.

Our house (I think it looks really good from this angle!) and the current show home.
This is currently the show home but soon Jo will be moving to the red house up the street.

This is the new show home. Not finished just yet though. Nice colour eh!

The Red House

More pictures from Beaumont (thanks to Keith and Mary and to Jo), the house is really coming along nicely now and looks amazing! The porch roof is on at the front which makes a real difference and from the back the joists for the roof over the living room are all in place. This room will eventually have a vaulted ceiling with an open staircase. As you can probably tell we're getting pretty excited now and can't wait to see the finished house!

This is not our house, its the new Orca show home just up the street from ours but this is the colour that our house will be once it is complete, nice eh?

Hello everybody!

This is doog by the way, posing as usual.

It seems that people are actually reading this blog. This comes as a bit of a surprise to us having set up the blog so that we could keep family updated with our move to Canada. Really just thought that a few people we know would have a look now and then. Well as you can see we received a comment from a fellow blogger in New Zealand, hi Kelvin! You couldn't really get any further away than that! Then the next thing we know we are getting an email from our friend Jo at Orca homes (hi Jo!) telling us that the new owner of the Orca spec house out in Beaumont found our blog too. Hi-de-ho neighbour! If you visit again please leave a comment and don't forget to check out our picture gallery for more photos of the house etc. The link is up on the right.

Roof!

front

Back



And we have lift-off! Sheesh!




Check the gallery for more...

LEAVE A COMMENT

I decided to add this post for anyone who wishes to leave a comment. At the bottom of each post is a comment button, if you press this button a comment can be left, this is automatically emailed to us. So go ahead leave a comment! I would like to hear from the people who view this Blog.

Fat pigs and glumness

Wee Piggy's at Ulster Folk Museum

Today and yesterday I've been feeling a little glum, the feeling's been hanging over me like a damp towel and I don't even know why. Perhaps it's because I've eaten so much food recently that I actually did burst (refering to Tuesday's trouser splitting incident) and I feel like a big, fat piggy! Or it could be that our month of holiday's has finally come to an end, oh actually thats just me, I forgot that Neils got another trip to go yet, off to Italy skiing next week, lucky so and so! Well, there's only one thing for it, I have packed my bag and am forcing myself into the gym after work tomorrow wether I like it or not. Also in an attempt to cheer myself up I've been going through our photos from the Northern Ireland trip and have posted a few more on our picture gallery, go on, have a wee peek!

Land of the Giants

This past weekend Neil and I traveled to Northern Ireland with the Savages (that's their name I'm not being rude). It was a really amazing place and we had a truly action-packed weekend. We visited the Giant's causeway, Tollymore Forest, Belfast, The Ulster Folk Museum, Portoferry, Bushmills etc, etc. We ate so much food that my trousers actually split yesterday at work! Hhhmmm...Ulster Fry! Actually I particularly enjoyed champ, an Ulster specialty consisting of creamed mash potato and scallions, really good served with steak and Guinness pie, yum! The scenery was beautiful as you can see from the pics ( check out our gallery) and the Savages families made us feel most at home.

CANADA HOUSE

I thought I would post a little information about hand-delivering your file to Canada house.

If you decide to deliver it by hand you should consider these points before setting off.

1) You will not be able to park without the Metropolitan Police officer or London’s finest traffic wardens hovering around you.

2) When you finally fight the Law off and cut the clamp off your car, you will have to join a large queue, which stretches all the way down the street, unless you are in a police officers uniform, that helps. I forgot my uniform this day, What a Shame

3) When you finally arrive through the doors and into the foyer, you are faced with a fed up, hot, frustrated person on the other side of a very thick piece of glass, who seems to just grunt.

4) If you thought you would be able to speak with someone, than this is where you discover that the trip was a waste of time, and posting it would be have saved a trip and have been far better.

Alberta wants us!

On Saturday morning we received a big brown envelope from the Alberta government. We are now officially Alberta provincial nominees! This morning Neil hand delivered our application for permanent residence to Canada House in London complete with bright orange PNP stickers on the envelope and front page. Now we wait for acknowledgement of receipt followed by Medical requests. Neil is in touch with the first guy to have been on the EPS Alberta provincial nominee scheme, he sent his application to Canada House on 20th January and has already completed his meds so it sounds like it's going to be quicker than we'd thought.

Click on the link on the right called OUR PICTURE GALLERY, I just added some more holiday snaps.

Latest house pictures

Here are the latest pictures from Beaumont. As you can see we now have a roof, albeit in the back garden. It's due to be crane lifted into place on Wednesday, this is a big developement and we can't wait to see how it'll look. Jo from Orca Homes tells us that the show home ( blue house next door to our's) is now under offer so we'll have some neibours soon. Orca Homes now have a website, www.orcahomes.ca , there aren't too many photos but you see that they build really beautiful homes, if you're interested in looking at the plans our's is called The Bastille and yes we do know it's named after a prison.

Finally...a new post!

Well, at last I've found a moment to write something about our trip to Canada. We've been back a week today and I've either been at work fighting to stay awake or in bed fighting to go to sleep. I don't know if it is a proven fact that jet-lag is worse after a Monarch flight but it feels that way to me! Jasper was beautiful and the mountains were breathtaking. We saw all kinds of wildlife including Moose, elk and bighorn sheep. We didn't have all that much snow but we had a great time on the mountain anyway. Neil's snowboarding is coming on very well and he'll soon be better than me, much to my annoyance! Oh well, it was nice to have the advantage while it lasted. We skated on a lake in true canadian style and drank plenty of Moosehead Ale in front of the crackling fire back at the lodge. In Beaumont our house is coming along nicely, we have two floors! It was great for me to finally meet Keith, Mary and family and to see all the places that I'd seen on Neil's video taken back in the summer.
On a more reflective note, it was a strange experience going to Canada not just for holiday but with a real possibility of the place becoming our adoptive home. I have to say it created a strange atmosphere and made the whole situation more real. Up until now it's almost felt like we were pretending. We both felt glad of these feelings as it can be all too easy to get caught up in idealistic and, dare I say, unrealistic day-dreams of how your new life will turn out. We still want to go more than ever and we're still excited about all the possibilties and new experiences this opportunity is going to bring us, but.... these feelings are already edged with a wierd emptiness that is inevitabley going to stay with us for quite a long time after our arrival and maybe even forever? You can't imagine just how much you take for granted. Aside from the obvious things such as ALL YOUR FAMILY! Things like winding roads, little cars, wet air and hickley-pickledy green, grassy fields divided by hedges. All this familiarity that seems so unexciting while you're living amoungst it is what makes a place home. Without it, it's easy to feel lost. This said, I firmly believe that everybody should step out of their fish bowl and experience new things at some point in their lives. It can be scary but will open your eyes to things that may otherwise have passed you by. Personally, I don't think it helps to compare one place to another, I'm not going because I feel Canada is better than England, I just feel that I will learn more about other people, places and perhaps even more about myself if I give life a go in a new place.

HAVE A LOOK AT THE LINK ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN THAT SAYS
PICTURE GALLERY!

WE ARE BACK!

Hello, well we are back from our holiday in Canada.
OK well DON'T fly Monarch! Unless you have NO legs. ZOOM airlines has the exact same plane and on that plane, the seats are as follows. 2 on the right 3 in the middle and 2 on the left. This is not to bad, leg room is at a minimum but bearable. Monarch.....Oh my god, this pathetic airline has three seats on the left three in the middle and thee on the right! They have basically packed as many people in as they could. Nine hours of this was not good. Not to mention the large man in front of me who yanked his seat back into the recline position causing me to loose all circulation in my legs. Deep vein Thrombosis, Hell yeah! I had to unfold out of my seat every five minutes before I became paralyzed for good. Well that is my winge over. I will let Sophie fill you in on Canada Life as she is much better explaining things. Bye

Long night before Holiday

It is 0120 and I have decided to ride out the evening and stay up until 0600. That's the time we leave for Gatwick Airport, I think it is better staying awake before a long journey on a plane. The reason behind this is that I know I will sleep for at least half an hour between films and feeding. I did think of a good idea. I am going to make a large sticker I can stick to my forehead to say "WAKE ME FOR FOOD" This way I can sleep in peace and not worry that I will miss the chicken or beef!
I am ready to go, Snowboards packed, Ipods all charged and loaded with relaxing music for sleep and Rock music to get motivated! Shizzel.... I have also packed more or less my whole wadrobe, closet, cupboard, why? I haven't a clue. OK I will leave you with a picture of the actual plane we are going on and also for JAMES benefit a map of where we are going, because he thinks Canada is America! Yes I know he is an Idiot......

DAY BEFORE CANADA TRIP

Today we made a trip to London, and sophie got her first ride in a police car with sirens and everything! In fact we had our very own police taxi service as James DENNIS my chum picked us up and dropped us off whenever we yelled TAXI! Very good service.

We managed to pick up some dollar aswell good swap NOT! exchange rate not so good at the moment however internet browsing and the right company paid off. Picked it up from a dodgy London backstreet. Better than high street banks anyway.

We have received more pictures today from the other side of the pond, they have FINALLY begun framing our house so who knows we may have someting to look at, even though it will probably resemble a B and Q shed. Take a look.

Late night writing

7th January 2006
Sophie wote this late at night.

Before I continue, this post was carried accross from our other website www.neilandsophie.piczo.com

I've been meaning to say hello to the mystery guestbook signer who left our "first proper guestbook signing", hello! Lovely that you found us and good luck with your Canadian adventure. I know what it's like to sit for hours scouring the internet for any scrap of information from someone else who's going through the move to Canada. Well, firstly let me apologise for the this site being so basic, I honestly didn't expect anyone I didn't know to be interested. Secondly I thought you might be interested in some of the sites that have now become part of my daily routine (I have become obsessed, sorry). By far the best site I can recommend is www.britishexpats.com. There you will find a couple of really good discussion forums about Canada. One is for Immigration issues and the other is about Canadian culture and lifestyle and both are updated regularly by people in the process of immigrating and by those whove already made the move. I've found that the forums can give you a real insight into the process of immigrating and how people actually ajust to their new lives in Canada (good points and bad). www.MLS.ca is another site that will have you gluded to your computer for hours. It lists every house for sale pretty much everywhere in Canada and is a great way of seeing exactly what you can get for your money (lots of photos, just what I like to see). Another useful site is www.escapemate.co.uk on this site you'll find a downloadable magazine called MUCHMOR which is aimed at brits moving to Canada. You can subscribe online and it seems to be monthly although there have only been two issues so far. Both have been full of useful info and ads. Anyway to you my mystery guestbook signer friend and anyone else who has visited I hope this proves to be useful, let us know how you get on. Happy browsing!

Christmas 2005, New Year 2006!

Happy New year!
Bit late with that as it's now 6th January 2006. One year ago today we were wandering around Whistler village and it was Neil's first ever day waking up in Canada. Today's house news.....they have moved some earth. I'm guessing this means they have flattened the big pile seen clearly in the pics below. According to Keith they start framing on Wednesday. By the time we get there on the 26th there might even be a roof, exciting eh?! Meanwhile, here are a few photos taken over Christmas. Enjoy.

SANTA!
Physco Reindeer!!

WE HAVE WALLS!!!

Friday 23rd December 2005,Sophie wrote this mid-evening. Christmas eve eve and My Mummy's birthday.
First and foremost Happy bithday to my lovely mummy!! Hip hip Hooray!!! We had a lovely lunch at a very cute little pub called the Angel in Addington and it was absolutely delicious.We are now oficially moved in with my mum. Despite having made untold trips to the tip and having sold a substantial amount of furniture and other belongings we have managed to stuff her house full to the brim and the garage is practcally overflowing. At first I thought she'd like this new found "cosiness" considering her house was really empty and characterless before. Now though I'm not so sure, having to dodge the dog poo on trips to the garage to collect her dry laundry and having all edible things eaten(including christmas presents she hasn't even seen) by either Neil or Doog means life together is proving to be a little less harmonious than expected.Oh well, she'll miss us more when we've gone to Canada!
Things are progressing on the Canadian front. Neil received THE LETTER from Edmonton Police. It was a little more brief than we'd expected but he has since phoned them and they assured him that his forms are being completed for the provincial nomination so we should receive further instructions on what we are to do shortly. They want him to start in August. In Beaumont Keith and family are very kindly keeping us posted on the progress of the house and it seems we have a basement!! Actual concrete walls with window holes! Hurrah!

OUR HOUSE UK!

12th December 2005
Thought Its about time you had a picture of our house here in the uk...... the only thing is, well see for yourself





Only joking, fortunately we don't live in Hemel Hempstead. Mind you it would probably have been easier to burn it down than pack it all up ourselves, hhhmmm.Well, this is the old house. It has been a good home for the last couple of years, lovely house, river views, nice park opposite. It just wasn't in Canada. Oh well.

The Street

THIS IS OUR STREET IN CANADA, Nice eh? Sound Canadian Already......
You know what, My advice to anyone wishing to move house is DONT. This has to be the most stressful thing I have ever done. Not only do we need to move house, we have to move to another house with some stuff, with the rest we need to Bin, get rid of, give away or sell!, then when this is done get a flight to Canada. Put all belongings that we have left in a suitcase and go. When we finally arrive stressed and bothered we need to buy all the stuff we put in the Bin, got rid of, gave away and sold! sensible.

About to pour the basement, how exciting!

10th December 2005
Hello, Well I have good news. Another batch of pictures from Canada, Taken by my little cousin, JAMES. We have Walls! Woooow, Looks like a house finally.Well today I am sick, I have a sore throat and feel terrible, I even called in sick to work. Not good really. The last bit of news is I HAVE BEEN FORMALLY ACCEPTED INTO THE EDMONTON POLICE SERVICE. I have only been waiting since August to find that out! Its all getting very real now and I will post some pictures of our house here in the UK. What a weird feeling, My house is empty!