Two weeks...already?

Arriving.

Well, that went quickly, it appears we have been here for two weeks now...

Strangely, and it gets us every time, we feel like we've always been here. It's hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago we were living thousands of miles away in a completely different life - a different world altogether.

We liked that world, that world had friends every which way we turned, family at arms length, familiarity that allowed the day to day - the minute to minute - to pass without conscious thought, hours into days, days into weeks into months - all without effort, something we took for granted.

We like this world too. It is such a different world, every minute - quite literally every minute - we're learning new things. How to get here, how to get there, how to drive this car - how to speak the lingo thus avoiding those blank looks, how to operate the 'washer' the ATM machine the petrol (sorry, gas) pump, how you buy bread, rice, coffee... how to put one foot in front of the other, Canadian style. It's fun and exhausting, all at the same time. No friends at arms reach, no family 'popping in', but we do love it for so many different reasons, we're still at the 'pinching' stage...

So where at we at, as we speak?

Well, we didn't take those three weeks so generously offered to us by dear Kelowna friends to stay at their home while we furnished ours. We moved in after two days, sleeping on mattresses on the floor, towels at the windows, we love the 'feel' of this place, we wanted to make it ours as soon as possible.

Day by day (hour by hour for the most part) spaces in our house slowly filled, following axhauting shopping sprees that started as fun and whose novelty expired very quickly. Andy clutches his heart while I settle the bill...

Room by room new furniture filled the gaps, the spaces, pictures (lovingly brought from England) have found homes in new frames on new walls. Toys have been bought and found homes among the well travelled toys, merged within new bedrooms with enough UK memorabilia, photos, cards, letters, presents to remind us where we came from, that there is life outside Kelowna, and people in that life who care... we are all consumed.

My BC driving career was bump-started (quite literally!) with the purchase of my dream car. The proud owner of my Chrysler Grand Voyager (or Dodge Grand-Caravan in Canadian) somehow doesn't mean the same thing... I now brave the stop streets and filter lanes with their lights flashing freneticly for me to turn left (..or is it right?) Everyone is so patient, my waves of alien apology to unsuspecting road users for my sudden braking or lane overlaps are met with beaming smiles and waves, hat tipping and offers of assistance. I'm reminded of the time I drove up to Wandsworth and realised (in plenty of time) that I needed to be in a different lane. What followed made me quite literally fear for my life as, clearly, needing to change lane was a hanging offence amongst the London drivers. The language and gesticulation was angry and blue (despite a young Tom in the car) and really devastatingly upsetting for a village chick like me. No such worries here.

So, here I sit, listening to CBC rather than BBC (still no TV, Internet or phone) the Dimbleby lectures beaming through the house, kids asleep and Andy ventured to his first Kelowna badminton, yes really. Nothing new here then!

Work has streamed in, the kids starting school before the end of the week, car bought furniture bought, suitcases [finally] all unpacked today. We've had snow, ice, glorious fall days, we've had big grey turmultuous clouds but are yet to experience the 'gloomy' Kelowna we were told to expect - maybe the next update will be somewhat less 'sunny'.

Still, we love our home, our life, we love our new neighbours, our 'old' Kelowna friendships have reached a new depth and we do, really, feel at home here. Life is good.

To quote a great friend's leaving gift to us "no dream is ever too big", we're truly 'living that dream'.

Come back again soon & we love to hear your comments :)