Tuesday April 30th, 2024

 

Today was another stressful day at work and I just can’t seem to get over my feeling of being overwhelmed. The whole ride home I felt exhausted and mentally drained.  

 

Being at home brings such a sense of peace. The older we, Geoff and I, get the less we want to leave it and go to work everyday. As I sit here typing these words and contemplating about how much the simple things in life make me happy, the frogs in the neighbour’s pond are conducting a symphony of croaks, trills, and chirps, their unique love song that is best heard in the spring. This is my favourite part of the day!

 

Geoff is upstairs watching what he thinks will be the final Leafs game of the season (as it turns out it’s not but soon will be). I prefer to be in our cozy outdoor room enjoying a warm fire and listening to nature. When the house sells this will be what I miss the most. Now that I’m on the topic……

 

Earlier this evening, just as the hockey game got under way, our agent called and asked if someone from his office could show our house tomorrow. We haven’t even listed it yet but it would appear that things are starting to happen. There are a few projects that we wanted to complete before it goes on the market but we don’t want to miss out on a potential buyer!  We shall see how it goes. Fingers crossed.🤞 

Sunday May 5th, 2024

 

Well a lot has happened since my last post.

 

One day after work this week I went and had a visit with my parents. I needed to tell them what we were planning as it was weighing heavily on my heart and mind. When I told them the news they were surprised and very happy for us, my mom actually cried and of course I started. They were happy tears she said. You see, they too had lived the lifestyle that we were now hoping to begin. They sold their home and moved into a motor home, spending the winters in the southern United States and summers in Niagara Falls. My mom said their only regret was not starting when they were younger so that they could have done it for longer. I love my parents and their blessing means the world to me.

 

After telling my parents I knew I had to talk to my sister and brother-in-law. This too had been a weight that I have been carrying and my parents, as much as I adore them, are not good at keeping secrets, so I knew I had to talk to them right away. They live in Toronto so my only option (so that I could see their reaction) was to video chat with them. After a couple of technical issues, Geoff and I finally shared our news and they too were happy and supportive of our decision. We agreed that between the four of us we would be able to be there for our parents should something happen. The relief I felt that night allowed me to have one of the best sleeps in a long time.

 

The next day I knew it was time to let the partners of my firm know. I am the office manager for one of the largest firms in Northern Ontario, with six lawyers and four clerks, one of which will soon be passing the bar and hopefully staying on as our seventh lawyer. Our firm handles mostly criminal law and we do a large number of trials. We also handle family law, civil, wills and estates, corporate law and are expanding into the real estate market. To say my job is stressful is an understatement. The daily, weekly and monthly demands are endless. The expectations to perform at the highest level with perfection is what keeps me up at night. 

I shared my news with our newest partner Dan, who is also the managing partner, shortly after lunch. His response was “That’s interesting” and thanks for letting me know. I think I caught him off guard and knew he needed time to process it. I requested that he not say anything until I had a chance to speak with the big boss. Andrew and I have known each other since the 5th grade, having lost touch for many years and meeting up again in 2008 when I started at our local courthouse as a family law clerk. Then in November of 2022 I accepted the position of office manager. 

I waited until the end of the day Friday to call Andrew and asked him if he had time to talk as friends. Again I think my news caught him off guard but he said he understood my reasons and thanked me for letting him know well in advance. I agreed to stay on until the house sells and help with training their new manager. It went better than expected but I don’t really know for sure. All I know is that my sense of relief lifted a great amount of weight from my shoulders. The house isn’t sold, heck it’s not even listed yet but I knew I had to get this done. Was it too soon to tell them? Will our house sell? Did I make a mistake? Only time will tell, but my instincts are saying “You made the right decision”.

 

Showings

 

The first “showing” went well, the couple liked our home, but for them, the bedrooms were too small. The real estate agent that showed our home did say that our anticipated market price was accurate. Geoff and I took this as a positive and confirmation that we are on the right track.

 

Yesterday we had another showing so while that was happening we headed into town to pick up paint, flooring and a new light for the spare bedroom to start our projects. This showing went far better! The couple really like our home and are having our real estate agent go to their current house to look at listing it. We could possibly see an offer soon!

 

Today, a friend and former colleague is coming over with his wife and two kids to look at the house. A few years ago I had a staff meeting here, with about 10 coworkers and a couple of supervisors, and he fell in love with it. He said if we ever decided to sell to tell him because he wants the house. So I texted him that we were selling. We shall see what happens.

New Shoes

Sunday, May 12, 2024 Mother’s Day  

 

Geoff and I have had a very busy week. Our summer pool league started on Tuesday and we played quite well! We also started the home improvements that our real estate agent recommended we do. The closet ceiling has been painted as well as the walls, and Geoff installed the baseboards and crown moulding. He did a great job but still somehow managed to get paint all over his sweatshirt! 

Next he worked on installing the flooring in the bedroom downstairs and I continued to paint The entranceway needed painting, baseboards needed touching up, as well as some of the walls. What started as a simple touch up (on a wall in the kitchen )ended up in four coats because I couldn’t get the paint to match! Every time I looked at the wall all I could see were the three little dots where I had touched it up. What a chore that was. Once the flooring was done I painted an accent wall, Geoff repainted the trim and we then put the bedroom back together. 

For the better part of Saturday night I didn’t think we would get it finished. Geoff, while taking Zoey out to do her “business “ slipped on the stairs again, 5 in total, and landed on his back on the edge of the bottom step. I was inside wiping Whiskey’s feet when I heard the crash and his yelling. I swear he is going to give me a heart attack. I ran outside and found him lying at the bottom of the stairs with Zoey not knowing what to do. I actually got angry with him, to which I apologised later. He had just taken Whiskey out and told himself that he needed to be careful because the stairs were wet and then completely forgot when he took Zoey out. 🙈 When he came in I actually took his shoes and threw them in the garbage.

I guess it’s time to meet the girls. Whiskey (our sheepadoodle) is the one on the left and Zoey (our white lab) is on the right. 

 

Showing Update

So far the showings have not been successful. My friend and former colleague’s wife, really liked our home but felt it was too small, as they still have two teenagers living at home and I would tend to agree with her. Our home is really only set up for two adults and one child at the most.

The couple that our agent showed the house to last Saturday also decided it was too small although they too loved it. I really thought we would get an offer from them. Oh well, we can’t get discouraged yet because the house is still not on the market.

 

But that is about to change.

Today at noon our agent came for us to sign the paperwork, and his photographer came to work his magic with his camera. Pictures are done, the paperwork is signed and the house will be on the market on Tuesday. We should be sent a link to our listing on Monday and I am excited to see the pictures. An open house is scheduled for Saturday and after a week they allow offers and then we get to review them and if we like any of them we could have our house sold. Our agent said that we will likely have a very busy week with showings so I hope he is right! Fingers crossed that it sells quickly. It’s funny, because less than a month ago this was not even a thought in our minds but now that we have decided to sell everything and buy a motor home, we just want to start our adventure! 

The rest of the day we spent picking up a few groceries then picking up my parents, and barbecuing steaks for Mother’s Day. We had a wonderful visit with my mom and dad, and also had a video chat with my sister and her husband. After dinner while we were cleaning up and chatting I told my mom and dad about Geoff’s falling down the stairs and that I threw his “tread less” shoes out. Much to my surprise Geoff says “ what she doesn’t know is that I went into the garbage when she wasn’t looking and pulled them out! I think it’s time he bought some new shoes.

Sunday May 19th, 2024

 

We are 7 showings down so far for the week, with two more scheduled for this weekend and our open house according to the agent that ran it for us was “incredible”. 

Yesterday morning we had a showing at 9:00 am and the open house started at 10:00 am, which means we had to be out of the house by 8:45 at the latest. Without any set plan ,we headed out with Whiskey. Zoey has been staying with our good friends Janet and Joe. They said it’s to help us keep the house clean (she loses fur constantly) but I really think it’s because they just want to have a dog to keep them company! 

We decided that maybe it’s time we started looking at a few motor homes so off we went. The first two locations we went to were closed and didn’t really have anything we were looking for. The third one was open but again, had nothing we were looking for. We still had loads of time to kill so we decided to take a drive around Lake Nipissing. (https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=lake%20nipissing&tbm=&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5)

It was a beautiful day for a drive and it brought us back to our camping days. On rainy camp days we would head out in the car exploring back roads that we have never been down before. We have discovered some incredible scenery along the way and yesterday was no exception. Besides the various views of lake Nipissing we saw a deer, a black bear and a variety of birds including a wild turkey. 

While out, Geoff contacted a gentleman that had a c-class listed on Kijiji, said he would be available if we wanted to see it so we plugged his address into the GPS and drove on. I am not sure how or why it took us on the route it did but let’s just say if we had of been in a car we likely would be stranded on Rye Road right now. To call it a road is being generous because for the better part it was nothing more than a trail and not maintained. There were pot holes, deep ruts and rocks that would easily take out an oil pan on a car, and the brakes on my side of  our suv did not work at all! 😉

 

Eventually we made it to our location and waited outside for the owner to come out to show us the motor home. If you have never experienced northern Ontario at this time of year, in the bush, consider yourself lucky. The second we got out of the vehicle the black flies and mosquitoes could have carried us away! It seemed like it took him forever to come out and he couldn’t get the RV door open quickly enough. As it turned out we realised that it would be too small for us and the girls.  I left Geoff outside to talk about engines and such and I ran to the vehicle to wait for him. Our hunt for the right home for us might take a while!

 

Today we will do some more work around the house, enjoy the sunny day, and have my mom and dad over for a barbecue. Tomorrow we have another showing in the morning. Likely the last one because Tuesday is offer day. If anyone wants to make an offer on our house they only have the one day to do it, then on Wednesday we review the offers (if any) and if we like one we accept it. If not, then the process starts all over again. Ugh, I really hope we don’t have to do that! Tomorrow we are also going to look at another motor home. This one is a Class A and bigger than we were thinking about but it’s just down the road and we don’t want to leave any stones unturned!  We shall see.

 

Anticipation

 

It’s Tuesday, May 21st, 2024 and it’s offer day. The anticipation of waiting to see if we will get offers, even just one is getting to me. From the moment my eyes opened it’s all I’ve been able to think about. This is likely going to be a very long day.

 

As expected, the day was long. As Geoff and I drove back into town to play pool, our real estate agent called us to give us an update on the offer(s) that have come in. The fact that he said offers was such a relief. We have sold houses in the past. You list your house and hope to get a couple of people to look at it and after a month you are disappointed and discouraged because nothing is happening. The market is not like that anymore. You list your house, agents get potential buyers out to view it and then a week later they have one day to make an offer and the offer gets registered. At 6:00 pm the window is closed.  John was expecting one more offer to come in and said he would call us back at 6:00 to present the offers.

 

Much to our surprise the first offer was more than we could have hoped for. It came in well above our asking price with zero conditions. A dream offer and a very easy decision to make! The second offer was also above asking price and the couple even wrote a letter to us. We would have accepted that offer if the other one had not been so amazing! I was so happy I started crying, the joy was overwhelming. Listed and sold in a week, I never would have thought that was possible but I guess it is.

 

The closing date is July 11th. It’s time to swing into high gear. Next step it to find our new home on wheels!

 

Saturday May 25th, 2024

 

Today we took a road trip south to a couple of RV dealerships around Orillia. If money was no object we would have driven home with one but we are on a budget, somewhere in the 50k range and it needs to be used. There is not much out there especially big enough for the two of us and the girls. It was a disappointing day and it poured rain pretty much the whole time we were on the road. Whiskey was stressed the whole day as well. She is used to being in the car, she goes to work with Geoff everyday and we live in the country which makes our commute about 15 minutes into town, and she has never had a problem. This trip she spent the whole time panting and just wouldn’t settle. Zoe on the other hand being a typical lab, just settled in for the day.

 

Wednesday May 29th, 2024

 

Geoff is our motorhome RV researcher. He spends hours on Kijiji, Auto Trader and Facebook Marketplace looking for our new home. To say he has looked at a thousand different RVs would not be an exaggeration.  If he sees something he likes he reads reviews on it, reads about them on forums and ensures that he knows as much as possible.

 

He has not wanted to go look at anything he has seen until now. As I am typing this blog, we are actually on the road, driving 5 hours one way to check out a 40 foot motorhome in Cornwall. It’s above our price range not to mention being 5 hours away but Geoff is excited about this one. A Monaco Windsor 40PST 2004 that according to the pictures the owner sent is in mint condition.  I believe he sent at least 30 pictures of every single section of this RV, inside and out! Let’s hope it doesn’t disappoint.

 

We arrived in Cornwall around noon.  Having never been there before we were surprised at how beautiful the area was. The couple that own the motorhome live on the Saint Lawrence River and the views are amazing. Jim and Marlene, the owners, were extremely hospitable and two hours flew by. I had a tour of the inside of the motorhome then spent the rest of the time chatting with Marlene, touring their home and outdoor space along the river. She had lots of information to share about their travels, her artwork, and their next chapter! Geoff stayed outside with Jim and inspected the RV in great detail. Unfortunately there was not enough time to take it out for a test drive as we needed to get back on the road. 

I am pretty sure that Geoff had decided before we even left home that this was the motorhome he wanted. The decision was pretty easy once we got there. So we are very happy to say that we are now the proud owners of a Monarch Windsor 40PST. It was/is above our budget but worth it. 

Our drive home was not nearly as enjoyable as our drive there. It took an hour and a half to get from one end of Ottawa to the other, traffic was bumper to bumper for no apparent reason other than sheer volume. I truly think we are spoiled living in a smaller community, and not having to deal with that volume of traffic everyday.  As the drive wore on we headed straight into the lowering sun and made it home around 9:00 pm, 14 hours after we first left this morning!

 

Friday, June 7, 2024

 

Tonight we met up with my sister Louise, her husband Brian and our mom and dad. Louise and Brian are in town to help his sister and since we don’t get to spend much time together as a family, we all went out for dinner. We had to make it an early dinner as Geoff and I needed to continue organising and preparing for our garage sale tomorrow. It was so nice to be together even if it was a short visit and it flew by so quickly.

After we said our goodbyes, we headed home to get ready for tomorrow. If you are reading this and thinking about doing the same thing as Geoff and I, this will be one of the hardest things to do; pricing your possessions that you have collected as a couple for 30 years; trying to decide what you can keep; and knowing that some of your most treasured items you will not be able to bring with you. I am emotional just typing this and have been emotional all night. Thank goodness for our amazing friends Tabitha and Ralph, without them we would not have been able to get through it. Tabitha helped immensely with pricing everything without an emotional attachment and had a more realistic view of what we could sell things for. While I spent the better part of the evening crying she remained calm and focused and we managed to get through it.

 

Saturday, June 8, 2024

 

Garage Sale Day. We woke up to a cloudy, overcast, dreary day. Not conducive for a successful sale. Tabitha arrived bright and early and brought us breakfast. We did a few last minute pricing of kitchen items and then waited for people to come. Surprisingly enough, people actually waited until 8:30. We started the sale at 8:30 knowing people would show up at 8:00 but perhaps the weather held them off. 

Considering the weather, I think the sale went well. All of our patio furniture sold, our spare bedroom furniture, my kayak 😢 (unfortunately we can’t take it with us), and lots of small stuff that we honestly didn’t think we would sell. Unfortunately we still have way too much stuff and will need a second garage sale. Hopefully I won’t be as emotional the second time around. If I could skip this part all together I would. 

I really do need to take a moment to thank our friends. Tabitha stayed all day to help with the sale. Our other good friends, Janet and Joe, took our dogs on Friday night and kept them all day today and Janet stayed outside with Geoff in the damp, cold garage to assist him with the sale, brought us coin and small bills (which we didn’t even think about), and directed people into the house. We would not have been able to do this without them. We are truly grateful and consider ourselves fortunate to have them in our lives.

 

Sunday, June 16th - Father’s Day

 

it’s 7:00 am and I cannot sleep any longer so I am up, have made a coffee and I am sitting out in our screened in room. I want to enjoy it for as long as I can. Sunday mornings are quiet, with only the sound of the birds. With retirement only a week away I will be able to enjoy this daily, at least for a few weeks, instead of just on weekends. As I type this a hummingbird has arrived at my hanging basket just outside the door.

We have a busy week ahead of us. Monday night our spare bedroom set is being picked up, Tuesday the people who bought our home come for an inspection (the first of two), our coach is also going in for certification, and we play pool Tuesday night.  Thursday is my retirement lunch at work and then right after that we will head home to await the arrival of our new home (video to follow). I can’t wait to see it pull into our driveway! One step closer……..

To all fathers out there I wish you a wonderful day and to my dad, I love you! ❤️

 

Thursday, July 11th, 2024 - Closing Day - Thursday August 1st, 2024

 

It’s 9:30 on a beautiful summer’s night in northern Ontario! As the sun continues to set to a soft orange glow I am sitting in the passenger seat of our coach enjoying the quiet and watching the mosquitoes dance on the other side of the screen. Today has been a big day for us. Geoff and I are debt free and officially nomads.

The stress from the past three weeks has been overwhelming. Downsizing and selling personal items that we have collected together over the last 30 years at times brought me to tears. Tears over the simplest things, like selling the mixer that Geoff’s parents bought me for Christmas one year, seeing the bed that Geoff made us go out the door, and his dad’s racing helmet being held under a stranger’s arm.

The emotional ties we put on certain objects, is not just about the objects themselves but the memories that are connected to them. I think that’s why letting them go is so hard. It feels as though you are also letting go of the memories too. 

The elephant box that my sister and brother-in-law gave me, the chair that has been in my family since I was a little girl, the painting of our first dog Mocha that I did one year for Geoff, and the clock that sat on my grandparent’s mantle at their cottage. Although it’s stuff, it is stuff that is near and dear to my heart. Only some of these can come with us and the rest are being entrusted to good friends until we settle again somewhere.

When we first started talking about doing this, I never thought this part of the process would be so difficult. Everyday we thought we wouldn’t get through it. We lost sleep thinking about what we had to do the next day, and the day after that and at night we were exhausted. But as I sit here tonight I can say that we did make it through with tears, laughter and lots of love! 

We didn’t retire with loads of money and are far from rich, at least as far as our cash flow goes, but we are very rich in our friendships and family. We have been very fortunate and blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives. To Janet and Joe and their generosity in allowing us to park on their property until we hit the road (an entire month), for watching our girls so we could visit with my sister and brother-in-law, for helping us get the coach before the house closed and for opening their home to us. I don’t know if they realise just how much they mean to us. To Ralph and Tabitha who have been with us every step of the way, assisting with garage sales, holding a goodbye party at their home with our “pool family”, and for always being there for us. We cannot thank them enough. (The picture below was taken the night of our retirement/goodbye party by our friend Chris using his drone.)  To Lise and Marshall for taking time out of their always busy schedule to help with the final garage sale. I know you think you didn’t help much but just being there was all we needed. To my parents and Louise and Brian, thank you for supporting us on our next adventure, without your love and support we would not have been able to do this.  We love you all so very much! ❤️❤️

 

The next step will likely be the most difficult, saying goodbye …………..

 

Wednesday July 31, 2024

 

It’s hard to believe that we have been retired for over a month now, the days seem to meld together with a calming sense of peace that I never thought would be possible. Our days have been filled with getting our new home road worthy, helping our friends with things around their home, and simply enjoying summer, the way one does as a child, carefree! It doesn’t hurt when your amazing friends live on a lake either. Geoff has been studying to take his air brake test which is required before we can head out. It is a two part test, written and practical. The practical is going to be a bit of a challenge as we will need to pack up the coach and bring it to the test centre. We were fortunate enough to have a friend park it for us at Janet and Joe’s back on July 10th but Geoff thinks he can do it on his own now! I will be sure to share this adventure lol. I think it’s going to be interesting to say the least. 

If while reading this, you think that you would like to do the same, I would share that you need to be prepared for a lot of hard work and to be emotionally challenged. If you would like to ask us questions or comment on our blog please send an email to info@365sunsets.net.   We would be happy to help, share information or just listen.