Happy Anniversary!

One year ago today, we arrived in this part of the world to take up our new life. Because we wouldn't have possession of our home for two days, we took up temporary residence at a nearby Holiday Inn. Zephyr was getting to be an old pro at motel living by that time -- her biggest source of angst every night was which queen size bed she would sleep on.

That being said, she hadn't been entirely happy since seeing the only home she could remember dismantled before her eyes. We hired a local moving company in Calgary, owned by a man named "Archie". Archie came well recommended, but I couldn't help having second thoughts when I first saw him. He looked like a pirate -- bent, grizzled, and probably blind in one eye ( I didn't inquire). He sounded a bit like a pirate too. I mean, he didn't say: "Ar harh matey!" or anything like that, but he spoke in a bit of a garble, and I often found myself nodding and smiling at him like some demented doll, having had no idea what it was he had just said, and not quite sure which eye was looking at me.....

For all my misgivings, Archie lived up to his reputation, and our belongings arrived safely and on time at the other end.

Zephyr proved to be an admirable travelling companion. She either slept, or quietly looked out the window. She and I drove in the SUV: I in the the driver's seat and Zeph in the very back, a space she had all to herself. Ian drove the truck. Among his travelling companions were the most valuable of our cases of wine, which we had amassed over the previous three years as members of a wine club. The outside temperature was a cause for concern to us, both for Zeph and the wine. Luckily it wasn't too hot that July.


My son had compiled three discs of music for me, and I listened to them pretty much constantly for the whole trip. Whenever I play them now I'm reminded of the magical feeling I had throughout the journey: I was finally escaping a place that had held me for 30 years. A place that, while great in many ways, had never, ever felt like home to me. It was, truly, like bustin' out of prison (not that I've ever been in prison, but you know, you can imagine....)

Quick aside: This country is amazing. Beautiful. Everyone should drive it once. I've done the bulk of it twice now and I hope I never have to do it again. It's very, very big.







Really, really, really big.....







So we arrived at our final destination tired yet keyed up. The move, which had begun months before with the first emptying of a closet, wasn't over yet.

Tomorrow: First night in the new home, or "Is that a cat in our bedroom?"