Hello
I have been planning on getting together some sort of email newsletter, pictures etc. to send out to family and friends for a couple of months now. As you know it hasn't happened. My apologies to all who haven't heard from us since we left the sunny province of  Manitoba. Instead I will attempt to start and update a blog, perhaps even weekly..........

First let me start by thanking everyone who helped us out with the beginning of this grand adventure.  We were kind of in a holding pattern after we put our house up for sale. Not really knowing when or if it would sell so unable to make decisions and move ahead in many ways, yet at the same time tied to the process with showings and keeping the place clean, tidy and ready to show at a moments notice.  Let it be known though that the family who did buy the house were the ones who showed up one afternoon unannounced and we let them in to our, at the time messy, dishes in the sink, chaos. So Thank You to all of you who came and packed and cleaned and bought our garage sale items and just hung out and hugged us all goodbye. We couldn't have done it without you.  And we couldn't have possibly made it to say goodbye to all of you as much as we would have like to.

So.....now here we are.

Settlin' in to the lovely Slocan Valley.  We had an amazingly hot end of August and well into September as Bro-in-law Murray can attest to.  Murray was our first visitor. He helped us find the local swimming holes in the refreshing Slocan river.

This is the river but not a swimming spot. There are many spots along the river with sandy silty banks and beaches. Even a few spots with sand bars you can swim out to. This spot has a structure (logs) to make hidey holes for fish. The local river conservation groups are trying to increase the trout numbers in the river and have been quite successful to date.

The kids are all settled into school. It was a bit of a decision as the schooling options here are plentiful and varied. We decided to first try out the local public school as we had heard great things from the locals. The kids are enjoying it there. I am a PAC member and have been getting to know the staff and many involved parents. Nik is at a high school down the valley. He is enjoying himself there, has quickly made friends and is involved in the excellent music program.

 Winlaw Elementary School yard

The end of October brought us Halloween which is quite the community event. We attended two large bonfires and fireworks displays. One on the weekend at the community hall and one in Slocan City (not really a city but a small village) on Halloween eve. The kids had a lot of fun.

Now it is November.....we have just got winter tires on the car in the nick of time. The snow is on the mountains and has reached down a few times to let us know that winter is on its way. You can actually be fined for not having tires on your car after October 1st bearing this symbol. Not sure how well enforced that is.

The house is coming along. We finally have hydro, the plumbing has passed inspection, the heating system is almost ready, the wiring is halfway done. Soon we will be ready for insulation.

On the sunny warm days we switch gears and work on the exterior siding. We have opted this time around for cement/fiber board siding. Most people around here side with wood. We decide to try this product as there is no maintenance. Our house is going to be Countrylane Red.

I'm not sure when the house will be ready to live in. The original plan was Christmas.....not sure how on schedule we are...I'm sure Terr has a better idea. But some of the work to come will depend on other peoples schedules as well....drywallers and insulators.

Well that's a generalized update. In our weekly updates we should be able to get more personal and immediate.

Peace and Blessings.