As of this afternoon, we are officially homeless. John has been working at the restaurant for three weeks. Today, he was let go, no reason given.
I'm not in Gibsons at the moment. I'm in Abbotsford visiting family. John called me at about 5:30 p.m. with the news. To say it's a shock is an understatement. We have a home lined up; we were in the process of renting a truck to move the rest of our things down. Now, we're at loose ends. Neither of us now has a job. What comes next?
I'm not sure what will happen now. John will be packing up the trailer tomorrow and driving up to Abbotsford, either tomorrow or Saturday. From there, we will be sitting down and discussing our options. I'll try to stay in touch, but I really can't say when I'll be able to blog next.
Keep us in your thoughts... please.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Monday, November 05, 2007
News from the Sunshine Coast
It's coming up on a week since we arrived here in Gibsons. So far, we've seen the wet side of things (ah, yes, I DO remember the rain...... *sigh*) and we've seen glorious sunshine. Today is one of the sunny days. It's really nice out and I'm inside waiting for a couple of phone calls. Not to worry, though, I have every intention of getting out there some time today and doing a little more exploring.
I must admit that I do love being near the water. It's very soothing and calming. And I've had the need for calming over the last couple of days. I have a lot of me time right now and it's something I'll need to get used to again. I'll be very happy once I have my own computer and internet hookup back up and running. Right now, I'm posting from our hosts' home. Brad & Kristi are having to go through what John and I went through about a year ago... remember the saga of John's eyes? Well, Brad's going through it right now, and from the sound of things, it's not going as smoothly as John's did. They're in Vancouver right now (Brad's been there since Friday) and he's undergoing laser surgery again. In the interim, I'm taking full advantage of the warmth here in their house. The trailer is out of propane and it's rather chilly in there. And while I'm in the house, I'm taking full advantage, as well, of Kristi's laptop.
I've been doing a lot of knitting over the last few days, but still haven't taken any pictures. I will. I've been working on a scarf mostly, although yesterday I cast on for the Icelandic Shawl (via Knitting Daily.. it's a members only download) but I'll be frogging it later this morning. I got lost and I think my stitch count is out. There is no way I'm going to sit down and count 368 stitches on a circular needle just to make sure.
I'll be picking up the VLT scarf again today, hopefully getting it finished or, at least nearly, finished. I'm thinking it needs another 12" or so until I start the final section. I'll try to take some pictures today.
Speaking of pictures, allow me to share a picture I took last week on one of my walks.
Oh, the news part... we've found a place to live. Unfortunately, we can't move in until December 1, but we have a home. That makes the fifth wheel acceptable as temporary lodging... as long as we keep ourselves supplied with propane.
To all of you who welcomed us to the coast through your comments, thank you. You have no idea how much it was appreciated. I didn't feel quite so alone in this whole thing. Siew, I'm looking forward to meeting you soon. We don't have our own telephone yet, but once I get the cell phone up and running, I'll call you for sure!
Ok, that's a long enough post for one day. Knitting pictures tomorrow??
I must admit that I do love being near the water. It's very soothing and calming. And I've had the need for calming over the last couple of days. I have a lot of me time right now and it's something I'll need to get used to again. I'll be very happy once I have my own computer and internet hookup back up and running. Right now, I'm posting from our hosts' home. Brad & Kristi are having to go through what John and I went through about a year ago... remember the saga of John's eyes? Well, Brad's going through it right now, and from the sound of things, it's not going as smoothly as John's did. They're in Vancouver right now (Brad's been there since Friday) and he's undergoing laser surgery again. In the interim, I'm taking full advantage of the warmth here in their house. The trailer is out of propane and it's rather chilly in there. And while I'm in the house, I'm taking full advantage, as well, of Kristi's laptop.
I've been doing a lot of knitting over the last few days, but still haven't taken any pictures. I will. I've been working on a scarf mostly, although yesterday I cast on for the Icelandic Shawl (via Knitting Daily.. it's a members only download) but I'll be frogging it later this morning. I got lost and I think my stitch count is out. There is no way I'm going to sit down and count 368 stitches on a circular needle just to make sure.
I'll be picking up the VLT scarf again today, hopefully getting it finished or, at least nearly, finished. I'm thinking it needs another 12" or so until I start the final section. I'll try to take some pictures today.
Speaking of pictures, allow me to share a picture I took last week on one of my walks.
Oh, the news part... we've found a place to live. Unfortunately, we can't move in until December 1, but we have a home. That makes the fifth wheel acceptable as temporary lodging... as long as we keep ourselves supplied with propane.
To all of you who welcomed us to the coast through your comments, thank you. You have no idea how much it was appreciated. I didn't feel quite so alone in this whole thing. Siew, I'm looking forward to meeting you soon. We don't have our own telephone yet, but once I get the cell phone up and running, I'll call you for sure!
Ok, that's a long enough post for one day. Knitting pictures tomorrow??
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Update...We're Here!
We are in Gibsons! We left Kelowna on Monday, a little later than expected, around 2:30 p.m. There were a few last minute things that needed to be put into storage, then the car needed packing and a few more things needed to be put into storage. Yes, the car was LOADED! Even the rooftop carrier was packed to the gills. We were a little worried about how full the car was, but it behaved very well.
We chose not to take the most direct route to the coast (the Coquihalla Highway) because of some of the hills and the possibility of snow in the higher elevations. Instead, we took the Hope Princeton Highway and pulled in to my mother's driveway at about 8:00 p.m. That night, after a quick supper of steak that needed to be eaten, we stopped in to see my son and my newest grandson, Jonathan. The following morning, we visited my youngest daughter and her two kids and then stopped in at my older daughter's workplace to chat with her for a few minutes. That done, we continued on to Vancouver, where we enjoyed lunch with John's dad and 3 of his former golfing buddies. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time! What a lively bunch of men, all of them 70+.
Once we'd finished lunch, we visited with John's dad for an hour or so and then headed to the ferry, where we managed to catch the 3:30 ferry, arriving in Gibsons shortly after 4 p.m. Right now, we're staying in a friend's fifth wheel. It's comfortable, so it will do for now. We're actively looking for a place to live, but if we can't move into something right away, the trailer will do nicely in the interim.
John started working at the restaurant today and I'm looking after business stuff in the restaurant office (our business, not restaurant business). Cara has graciously allowed me to use the computer here for anything I need it for.
As for knitting, I had absolutely no inclination to knit on the trip down. The only time I picked up the needles was on the ferry, where I met two women who were knitting to pass the time. I struck up a conversation and later joined them for the last part of the 40 minute ferry ride. Since then, though, I've been working on a Malabrigo lace scarf (from Victorian Lace Today). When I can, I'll post pictures. I don't have the camera with me today and I'd have to figure out how to download pictures from my camera on to someone else's computer (well, to one of my memory sticks...wouldn't want to clutter up someone else's computer with my pictures, would I?).
Ok, this wasn't such a quick update. At least, you know that we've made it here safely. And, so far, the scenery!! Oh my.... I will post pictures, I promise! And now, I'm off to explore some more.
We chose not to take the most direct route to the coast (the Coquihalla Highway) because of some of the hills and the possibility of snow in the higher elevations. Instead, we took the Hope Princeton Highway and pulled in to my mother's driveway at about 8:00 p.m. That night, after a quick supper of steak that needed to be eaten, we stopped in to see my son and my newest grandson, Jonathan. The following morning, we visited my youngest daughter and her two kids and then stopped in at my older daughter's workplace to chat with her for a few minutes. That done, we continued on to Vancouver, where we enjoyed lunch with John's dad and 3 of his former golfing buddies. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time! What a lively bunch of men, all of them 70+.
Once we'd finished lunch, we visited with John's dad for an hour or so and then headed to the ferry, where we managed to catch the 3:30 ferry, arriving in Gibsons shortly after 4 p.m. Right now, we're staying in a friend's fifth wheel. It's comfortable, so it will do for now. We're actively looking for a place to live, but if we can't move into something right away, the trailer will do nicely in the interim.
John started working at the restaurant today and I'm looking after business stuff in the restaurant office (our business, not restaurant business). Cara has graciously allowed me to use the computer here for anything I need it for.
As for knitting, I had absolutely no inclination to knit on the trip down. The only time I picked up the needles was on the ferry, where I met two women who were knitting to pass the time. I struck up a conversation and later joined them for the last part of the 40 minute ferry ride. Since then, though, I've been working on a Malabrigo lace scarf (from Victorian Lace Today). When I can, I'll post pictures. I don't have the camera with me today and I'd have to figure out how to download pictures from my camera on to someone else's computer (well, to one of my memory sticks...wouldn't want to clutter up someone else's computer with my pictures, would I?).
Ok, this wasn't such a quick update. At least, you know that we've made it here safely. And, so far, the scenery!! Oh my.... I will post pictures, I promise! And now, I'm off to explore some more.
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