A wee update-still looking for a new home :-)

A wee update for those of you who may be checking. We still haven't bought a house but continue to look. i still don't want to post too much in here about the dodgy dealings we have experienced so you can look forward to hearing all about it at some point in the future. Hopefully the near future :-)

We keep changing our minds about what 'fits' best for our future home which is part of the problem. The ongoing resistance of realtors, who don't want to show you property without you signing up to give them commission, is mind-boggling. You'd think that the 2.5% they get from selling the house would be enough without them needing to get another 2.5% for helping you to buy it...but alas, no. We are very lucky to have found a gem of a reltor who has been hugely brilliant with advice and help, so that is a very silver lining.

I had a wee wobbly to myself this week which likely was in part due to all the indecision on property but having now recovered, I feel positive again that we will get the perfect home when the time is right.

We had a giggle (and had the girls thinking we were bonkers) when we saw that a house 3 doors up from our old home was up for sale and we voiced out loud that we should just buy it :-) The dollar has been strong against the pound so swapping our money back would actually be profitable but...I don't think so.

Our furniture has still not arrived from Scotland which is a bonus because we have nowhere to put it. Unfortunately, I sent my Bach and Reiki certificates with the furniture so I don't have proof of my qualifications...oh dear. That wasn't well enough thought out. They were in frames so I just packed them with the rest of the pictures.

Weather wise-we just had a lovely big snowfall. It's the first 'real' one we have had and I loved shovelling it yesterday. No snowman yet...maybe tomorrow.

Jen is doing lots of child-minding and enjoying it. She gets lots of great feedback and word is spreading about her being really great so her original mum is getting a wee bit worried that Jen will be too busy to do last minute slots. Ah the joys of juggling motherhood.

Alison had a great time at conference last weekend with only a couple of mishaps. The worst one was that her brand new 100ml bottle of Viva la Juicy fell from the stopper on removal from its box and smashed in half on the marble vanity in her hotel room. The teeny silver lining on it was that her room smelled beautiful all weekend. I have complained to the company about the design because she couldn't have removed it from the box any other way. Perhaps they will offer a free replacement-fingers crossed.

She won a gold medal for her all-round performances, which was great and she got some really good feedback plus made some new friends. Now she has to negotiate and communicate and we shall see if she ends up with an agency to represent her acting.

I am meeting up with a group of women tomorrow morning who I have never met before. Finally I feel ready to make some connections and this is a group of 'Happy, Healthy Business women' who's aim is to help and support each other so I am hopeful that they will be lovely. I have also contacted someone about creating a meditation circle so I am definitely coming out of my long hibernation.

Okay dokay-must close.

Hope everyone is doing great and, if not-get in touch :-)

Much Love,

Lxxxx

Putting in our first house-offer :-)

Happy Valentines Day everyone and I hope that Love is with you whether or not it's part of a romantic relationship.

Apologies for the lack of photos in here. I need tuition on the new phone which Bill and I have been sharing-will try...soon.

We had our coldest day for 20 years yesterday which is surprising because this winter has been so much milder than last years. The Basketball 'Big Guns' are in town and the Americans will be now convinced of the fridid Canadian winter steriotype-lol. They will certainly be feeling the cold. I walked along to the fruit store yesterday and almost turned around because I had brain freeze within a couple of minutes but I soldiered on, pulling my hat down and my collar up and I survived. The walk back was easier because the wind was behind me...Brr -24 feeling like -33 is not pleasant, even when the sky is blue and the sun is shining.

Yesterday was the day that we put in our first offer on a possible new home. It's not the big beautiful property that I posted on FB but it is one that we went to see in Oct but decided was too expensive. It is now back on the market (after sale falling through) and we are offering a lower price with our fingers crossed. It's got a store-front with good floor-space and a basement which I could teach in plus a beautiful 3 (huge) bedroom house above. We have a fabulous Realtor who seems to know exactly what T's to cross so we will see. Perhaps by the next time I post, we will be home/business owners :-)

Everyone is good, over here.

Alison is busy with school, work and socially but she seems to be keeping up with it all. She has kept up her grades and we still have an 'honor student' living with us-lol.

Jen has been doing babysitting for a 20 month old girl who she loves and, even though it's not regular hours, it's been a decent amount. She's thinking of signing up for more.

Andrew is just about finished his visit to edinburgh and we'll pick him up on Tuesday afternoon. I think he'll be tired but also that it's been a great trip and worth any tiredness.

Bill does little bits and bobs to help our 'building-boss) but is still not able to work due to our laxness at getting him a work-visa...THIS WEEK, BILL-let's get the application in !

And me? Well, I have a client next weekend but life's quiet. Janice, who owns the shop hurt her ankle and wasn't in the shop so I haven't gone up there like I planned to. Maybe this week she'll be around and I shall go up and see if I can't come up with a plan...but, if we get this new place, I will have to begin concentrating on that. All fun and games.

My writing has taken a back seat but I do plan to restart.

I have done pretty well on my detox. I didn't have wine for a couple of weeks and had my first caffeine in a couple of weeks, yesterday. Have I felt better?-not so much but after the first days headaches, I haven't felt any worse either :-) Need to add in exercise next.

It's Family Day tomorrow, here in Ontario which is a PH given by the government a few years back for families to spend the day together. Mmm???

Oh and fuel is down to 82c=40p....cheap as chips.

Anyhoo, Happy Sunday and have a great week...or two...or three,

Lxxx

Happy 2106 Folks.

I know that I must have posted something in here since November so WHERE is it?

Happy 2016 folks and apologies for those of you who have been peeking in here regularly to see what I am up to.

I suppose I should begin with Edinburgh in December-a busy time of planning/leading mindfulness classes and bed-hopping between friends and family. I have to admit to being ready to come back to Toronto with eight days left. I just woke up that morning and thought-I'm ready to go home now...much to Bill's relief, I think :-)

God love the man, he lets me plod away at things that I tell him are meant for me to do. How do I know that.

Questioning myself has been a bit of a theme for the beginning of 2016 but I am getting the belief-system back on line. It can be really hard to flounder, with lack of direction, focus and motivation. Now, seeing as I help people with this all the time, you'd think that I'd simply take the correct remedies and fix the problem. Mmm? Sometimes I get lost and, with no real support system here...yet...I allow the days to pass by with little progress towards the life that I know I can make here for myself and my family.

Funny, this old life-not in a ha ha way but in a peculiar way that I accept for what it is.

Right, getting off track with news.

We are still renting on Lakeshore Blvd and still love the apartment although we will be in soapy bubble when the furniture from Scotland arrives. I think we may just manage to squeeze it all in but we may look like a furniture store for a while :-)

We are looking at various options for our new home. Some of you may have seen the 'Beauty' that I put on FB that I hope we go see this coming week. It's in a wee place called 'Tiny' and I love that as much as everything else about it. The realtor hasn't got back to me-likely because I told her we didn't want an Agent. They make an absolute fortune here. 2.5% of purchase price goes to the sellers agent and 2.5% to the buyers agent. For a few hours work, in our case so we are trying to bypass the system but the ranks pull together and most realtors won't work with you unless you have an agent. Perhaps Bills new job could be an independant co-ordinator for those who don't agree with the monopoly on real estate :-) I know that some realtors probably work really long and hard for some clients but they ought to have different rates for different services, in my mumble opinion. Rant over.

Back to housing.

We can see pros in having a Condo which usually has a gym/pool/media-room/party room etc but you have to pay a monthly fee so it's a bit like having a wee mortgage on a non-mortgaged property. If the maintanance fee includes utilities then it's not too bad a deal. We have not scored Condo purchase off our list as having 5 gym memberships would be expensive so it's good to factor that in.

A townhouse (tall and skinny and attached on one or both sides-sometimes known as a row-house) can be freehold (no maintanance) or condo fees which are much lower than a condo but that's because you don't get the pool/gym etc and it only covers snow/garbage removal and window cleaning/garden. These are an affordable option but we are not convinced. They are usually pretty new and shiny inside but often in not such a great location.

A house-obviously our best choice-is hugely expensive in Toronto itself. There is a chance that we will find a decent sized one that we can afford but they are few and far between and much sought after. One benefit of having an agent is that they can find them quickly and do the closing quickly-something to ponder.

Moving out of Toronto is probably my favourite option because of the kind of property we could have. There is so many lovely homes just waiting to be bought...if we go a couple of hours out. It's not ideal for Ali with school but there are ways around it and we shall see.

My latest idea was when I found a sprawling property that we could run retreats from, on a lake. BEAUTIFUL and a wonderful opportunity but I just have to get a business plan drawn up for Bill to let him see it could work.

So, housing still an ongoing issue.

Bill is still doing little bits and pieces around our building to help out, Nicole.

Me, I have set up a room at my friend Janices shop and have my first client booked in for Feb. We need to do a bit of a 'drive' to see if we can get some folk in but it's lovely to spend time with her as she's on the same wavelength and full of wonderful advice on nutrition.

For my first time ever, I have decided to DETOX, as in actually use some stuff to help. Nutritional stuff, not crazy no food stuff and I am actually quite looking forward to Monday because I begin it then, for a couple of weeks and we shall see how I am at the end of it.

I have been drinking a lot of wine and I know that it's just time to rest everything. Those of you who know me well, know that at this point, I usually give up drinking altogether for a few years but this time, I am going to do this detox and see what happens from there. I have been aiming for no relationship with my wine rather than me trying to control it and so this is a wee tester to see if we can agree to have a get-together ocassionally when I feel like it rather than it being wine-time most nights.

Our weather has been so very different from last winter. It's gone down to -12 but that's been very bearable. Plus we have the car-we got a lovely Ford escape last Oct-which makes shopping and Ali getting to school/home from work so much warmer.

I have been loudly complaining about the lack of snow especially when I see the photos of Scotland getting lots. I think I may have to take a drive North or South to find some before the winter is over.

The apartment is very warm and we rarely have our heating on. The girls especially are finding their room too warm at night despite no heat on and their window wide open. Bizarre after the cold house last winter for which we were paying heating. Heating is included in this places rent and we are not using any-lol. Go figure.

Bill and I are booked for an Edinburgh visit in April/May but I will be there a week longer than him. I will be teaching a couple of Bach courses and a couple of workshops and of course, trying to fit in some Reiki for folk who'd like some.

Andrew is currently in the UK after a couple of weeks in Europe and he'll be back here in a couple of weeks.

Jen continues to write and she's also just got another wee babysitting job which begins in a couple of weeks.

Alison has just sat her mid-terms and seems happy with how they went. She goes to Conference at the end of Feb and will hopefully land a lovely agent who will get her some acting work. All very exciting.

Well, I better stop because it's been a long one.

Will try to get the girls to send me some picks to upload soon.

Lxx

Life is good...and busy. Lxx

Oh deary me, where does the time go? A few lines to help out those of you who have 'lost my thread'. I am halfway through my 8 weeks in Edinburgh, doing a mindfulness/meditation pilot in a couple of high schools. Whilst I am mostly LOVING it, I have been putting a lot of pressure on myself to 'get-it-right' and not to 'disappoint' but have (with the help of a wee Reiki session and some bach Remedies this week) decided that I am indeed working from my heart to give these youngsters a good base of awareness-knowledge to use for life. Ah, that feels better :-)

I am really loving living with Ger and we're not getting up to too much mischief (we are too busy, tired...and old) but we do have a nightly giggle with her ipad, trying to identify photos of various things before we head to bed. Laughter is such a lovely night-time routine and I am very grateful to be spending this time with such a wonderful women and her Irish guffawing.

I have recovered (as has Sandras car) from the breakdown and subsequent lack of transport. I loved getting the train to Larbert last week despite the 5am start. I drove there yesterday and had time for coffee and meditation when I got there. I do like to be sharp, you know.

I still haven't started on the pile of stuff that lies beneath Gers beautiful home. It looks like a junk room just now but it's supposed to be so much more....without all my stuff in there. It is on my list, Bill...honest.

I have been seeing some lovely people for Reiki (for myself and for them) and also have been SO blesed to be able to help some broken hearts to heal through my Bach. I do so love what I do and am always grateful to be around when anyone is in need of emotional support...so don't be shy folks. You know I am 'safe' and a good 'greet' heals a multitude of ills.

And on that note, I am heading to Ocean Terminal to do a wee bit shopping and meet an old friend for a blether. I know not, what time I shall return and nobody cares. A definite bonus to living alone (or with a very busy friend)

Love to all and I shall try to put another line or two in here....soon.

Lxx

Not editing this so forgive mistakes.

Happy Friday Folks and Happy October-did I write anything in here this month?
Big news-our home is cleared and clean and waiting for its new owners to love it when they take the keys today. It's been a hell of a week.
I wondered if we might get a bit emotional but we were too busy to feel much of anything except tired :-)
We worked till 2.30 am on the day of departure (Tues) and it's just as well that I am going back to Edinburgh again because there is a mountain of stuff at a friends house just waiting for me to lovingly get rid of. Ger has been fantastic both with her cleaning help and her kindness in storing stuff at hers till I finish the Mindfulness pilot project in Edinburgh. My thanks go out to my wee sis, my niece and Vivien for helping me clean, to Susan for offering and to the wonderful Howies next door plus my father-in-law for their support in clearing the junk.
The Mindfulness project and the fact that I'll be in Edinburgh for 9 weeks till Christmas Eve may be news to some of you.
I had put in my proposal to be part of the project before Mountcastle sold and Bill was soooo happy to have me home for the 8 week pilot but it is now role reversal and he'll be with the kids in Toronto and I will be alone in Edinburgh. Go figure.
All for a reason, me thinks and it's a good job I believe that. I do think that I am meant to be involved in the project and that it will open more doors for my own work.
Ger has kindly given me a bed (a whole room as luckily Rosanne is travelling) and I am very grateful for her generous heart. Sandra, Lorraine and my wee Sis have also opened up their homes for me to stay when I want to give Ger a break from me. I am so blessed to have such kindness surrounding me. We sold our car but between Ger, Sandra and my wonderful father-in-law, I will have a car pretty much any time I need one.
I plan to be busy so if anyone in the Edinburgh area would like a Reiki session or a Bach consult just let me know. I will be teaching Bach Level 1 on Wednesday evenings, so let me know if you are interested in learning and if you just happen to be thinking about learning Reiki or Mindfulness-perhaps reading this is a sign :-)
There will also be a small workshop on Nov 28th that some of you may like to add into your busy Christmas schedules. It will be a lovely day spent with other women in mindfulness. It will include meditations, music and some creativity. It will run from 10am till 4pm and cost £30. Remedies will be available (as always) to choose a mix to help you to be 'Calm for Christmas'

My contact details are a bit sketchy except via FB or my bach email. If you need me you will find me folks.
The girls more than coped without us parents and it bodes well for the scenario of buying our new home outside of Toronto and leaving Alison in the apartment till she finishes school. Wow-did I just write that?

If I can go back to the 'hell of a week' it seems like communication and time have been the two big issues. Lots of little annoying stuff coupled with bigger stuff have meant that my mindfulness and trust have been s  t  r  e  t   c   h   e   d to the limit on occasion and almost past it yesterday when we were informed that a necessary form needed to close the house sale, had still not arrived in Glasgow. YIKES. Hopefully by the time I post this, it will have arrived because otherwise I have to potentially set someone speeding to Glasgow with a second form.
If I go back to last weekend and my realisation that my prediction for having the house cleared and cleaned was a tad optimistic, that's when things began to feel pressured.
It was always going to get done but I had no clue that we'd go to the wire. Sleeping on a duvet for a couple of hours and then having to deliver yet more stuff to Gers before we flew out on Tuesday was never in my plan of action....but we did it. The airport side of things was a bit of a joke on the way back. Between the having our water that we'd bought in Edinburgh, for the long leg of the journey, taken off us in London because we had to go through a second British security point was ludicrous as we didn't go anywhere to have done anything to it. Trying to buy some more, from a machine which first of all told us exact change...after we inserted a £2 coin, took the next £1.70 we fed it, returning our £2 as 5 pences and then refused to give us the bottle of water which dropped down inside the machine made us even shorter fused about Heathrow airport and we boarded our flight with no water. Bonus was that we had a spare seat and we both managed to get some decent shut eye and I just asked for extra water on the plane.
Our car purchase has been fun and games also with some miscommunication but by the end of today, we ought to be driving our Ford Escape around. we had to swap licences to Canadian ones and for Bill and I it went smoothly although I stood in a queue outside for an hour and inside for 2 but hey ho. Jen unfortunately has only been given an intermediate licence (apparently because she's been driving for less than two years) which means that she may have to sit a test if she wants a full licence. If we had hind site or one of us had been with her to ask the questions, we may have kept her British one for another six months to get her full licence. Our 'Super' Nicole did battle with them on the phone yesterday (Bill and I were out) and she plans to take Jen up there to fight her case today-lol. Great to have such passionate allies.
My hairdo yesterday was also a miscommunication where I was booked in for a double apt which I thought was cut/colour but which turned out to be colour plus highlights which cost me double what I usually pay for a colour....groan. But my hair is lovely.....a bit long, but lovely.
What else? Oh I better stop here and post this.
Fantastic news is that the form landed on the lawyers desk at noon-yippppeeee and phew. I sent her a wholly inappropriate 'Samantha, I could Kiss you' reply but that's how I felt.
Signing off with huge hugs to all,
Lxxx

Happy Thursday one and all from beautiful hot and sunny Toronto. I wrote this next wee bit on Sunday but then didn't get around to posting it.

I am sitting in Dundas Square which is probably Torontos (very small) equivelant of Times Square. The boys have been at the ball game and the girls are shopping so I came down here after spending three hours helping JR with clearing/packing up her business/home. The smell of burgers here, is going round my heart but the Pumpkin-Spice-Latte will have to suffice till we go for (a hopefully early) dinner. My fingers are crossed for the Five Guys five minutes away because it's been a while and we do love their burgers.
It's also been a big while since I posted in here-apologies to anyone who's been checking regularly, perhaps desperately seeking some news as proof of my continued existence-tee hee.
Life is Great. Simple as that. Having Bill here makes it seem like holiday-time but I suspect that even once he moves here, it will still feel like this. It did for the seven years I lived here before despite the fact I worked full time. Strange how things works but it's true.
Bill loves our new location and we have had a few sunny walks along Lakeshore and around the surrounding streets, in search of our perfect next home. He thinks our apartment is pretty decent too so I think I deserve a pat on the back for finding such a great place. He laughs at my telling folks that I have a 'Lake-View' but secretly I'm sure he's impressed-tee hee. We discovered that the apartment block across the street has a pool. Perhaps I chose the wrong block? Nah-this is exactly where we are meant to be.
Well, the gang will be here imminently so I will close till later. If I knew how, I could post this-mmmmm?

And so it is now Thursday and we are still having sunshine and we are still walking the area. We have been to see a couple of homes and have another couple to see, There is no rush, unless we find the perfect place because we have a years lease on the apartment.

Alison has settled into school and work and she is (quite rightly) feeling a bit tired and a bit fed up that she's the only one doing 'anything' All of this will need to change though because mouths will need to be fed so we can't stay in total holiday mode for good. Unless, of course, we move to the 'boonies' and buy a log cabin and grow our own food. Not too far removed from my ideal life folks.

Andrew continues to work with downtown Adidas and play rugby for Toronto Scottish. They missed winning the league, narrowly due to losing the game that Bill and I went to see last Saturday. We rented a car to get up there (it's in the middle of nowhere with no transit) and as we parked the car, the heavens emptied tons of rain and we decided to repark the car, facing the pitch and stayed inside it for most of the game. Occassionally we ventured out but the rain would increase again and back into the Ford Escape we went. A lovely car by the way and it would seem that Bills brother Ali has just bought a new one-well jel.

Jen is quietly going about life at the mo' but she is helping out our 'Super' with a wee bit childcare for her 9 year old son. She's taken him to choir and Kumon today and she thinks he's very cute so it will be good for both of them I think. I will help out a wee bit too as Nicole has a lot of juggling to do and the building keeps her way too busy. I'm booked to do the piano-lesson-run, next week and I am looking forward to getting to know Jack.

Baseball is huge just now as the Blue Jays (only Canadian team) are almost certain to make the play-offs this year. If they win the World Series, it'll be the first time since 1993. They won in 1992 as well and Bill and I took Andrew to a couple of the games, as a tiny baby, before we headed home to Edinburgh to live. The stadium is full, for the games and it feels like we've been transported back 23 years when we are standing in that atmosphere.

Bill has tickets for post-season games-they will be like gold-dust for anyone who didn't think ahead the way that he did. He buys a flexpack of tickets which gives him second dibs (behind season-pass holders) on tickets and so we were able to get some.

Yippeeeee.

Okay, I better posst this or it won't get done. Nearly dinner-time.

Much love to all,
Lx


 

3 Girls and 3 Suitcases.......soon to be 3 Girls and 3 Suitcases and Bill :-)

Especially For Chrissie :-)

3 Girls and 3 Suitcases.......soon to be 3 Girls and 3 Suitcases and Bill :-)

Need I say more? Cat is instantly out of the bag-no point beating around the preverbial bush when I have kept you all waiting for news.
Our house in Edinburgh is SOLD and Bill will be living with us from late October-yippeeee.
Whilst we are really looking forward to him joining us (and also having a wee vacation with us from next Wednesday) we know that it will significantly change the dynamics around here-yikes.
Us girls have kind of gotten into a girlie routine and having Mr Denham join us will be an adjustment of some proportion. The Beech remedy will likely be put to good use for us all to be tolerant and understanding of each other as we settle into our new home together. That's the great thing, a new home is just being formed and it's not like we are in the same place as we 'bonded' last year. Each new home brings new adventures to enjoy (or not so much) and I am sooooo looking forward to seeing what this coming year will bring into our lives.
Boxes and cases are all unpacked...for now and we are very lucky to have found such a beautiful, spacious, bright, airy and beautiful apartment which has a lake-view (all be it from between the two apartment blocks across the road and through the current leaves on a big tree in our grounds) This mornings meditation brought to my attention the fact that when I ask for Peace in the Heavens, I can see the sky. When I ask for peace in the Oceans, I can see the Lake and when I ask for Peace in the Earth, I can see the grass. How wonderful to feel and see those connections.
Oops, my spiritual side is obviously suffering from lack of expression-oops again.
So, I will keep this short and sweet and hope to add to it soon, with pictures of the new place. I am helping a friend pack up boxes and get her home/shop ready for a moving sale this weekend. I seem to be in 'moving-mode' for now as I plab to help our 'Super'', who is indeed super, with moving into new apt in building and I will be nipping home to help Bill with final clearance of stuff in 322. If any of you know of anything in my hoose that you'd like to have-make Mr D an offer-tee hee. We will be transporting a chunk of it here but he's already started selling off electricals and beds.
Anyhoo, I am expected elsewhere imminently.
Much Love to all, as ever.
Lxxxxx
Photo is of my Lake-view. The wee hangers are being used to put a daily word or two out to the world. Todays word reads 'Smile' x