Hello, my sweet, wonderful friends! How are each of you as February wraps up? It's hard to believe that more than a month has whipped past since my last blog post here (for which I really cannot thank you all enough for your incredibly caring, supportive comments on). And - at the risk of veering into broken record territory - though this site remains very much on hiatus, I simply had to share some excellent news here with all of you.
As many of you know, Tony and I have been searching, ceaselessly, high and low for the past two months trying to find longer term housing (as our current digs were only temporary - especially since the lovely homeowners may convert it to an AirBnb soon and major renos on both floors have been underway for the last two months, whilst we were living here, to make the house even lovelier and more contemporary looking).
To say that this was one of the hardest and most stressful tasks of our entire lives would not be a stretch. The housing (especially rental) market around these parts is abysmal at best and laughable at worst. Think staggering high prices (even for shared accommodations; which was not something we were looking for at all), tons of competition for the few places that surface, homes that were/are often in deplorable condition, and a serious shortage of properties that accept pets.
Around the clock throughout all of January and very nearly the entire month of February, we searched, contacted listings, viewed homes, applied, and continually expanded our search radius as far as nine hours away from Penticton. With each passing day, our stress level rose and our already taxed nerves grew more frayed.
In the end though, mercifully, we didn't have to go anywhere near that far afield. As February started to draw to a close, we were elated and beyond thankful to have been approved and selected by the owners of a beautiful two-story home in the nearby community of Okanagan Falls and couldn't say "yes" quickly enough to their rentership offer.
This house was our favourite of all those we saw and the one we most hoped to be selected for. It checks off our major needs (including having a fenced backyard for our dog, Annie, to utilize), is in a safe, quiet neighbourhood, and is owned by really nice people who live right here in the Southern Okanagan, too.
Our new little community, Okanagan Falls (aka, OK Falls), is a spot that has appeared here in some of my outfit shoots over the years (such as this one from 2013), and which I've always enjoyed spending time in.
We're both delighted to be so close (just twenty minutes away) to Penticton (where we were living at the time of the fire) still and moreover to have a great new roof over our heads. As well as, we hope and pray, the ability to finally stop feeling like we're in a state of topsy-turvy flux and uncertainty (regarding housing) after what happened to us last October.
{Our boxes are packed, we've got a small team of friends and family to help, and tomorrow we'll be hopping from one side of Skaha Lake to the other when we move into our terrific new abode in Okanagan Falls. I truly cannon wait! Mid-century moving day photo image source.}
I've had to move houses really quickly a few other times in my life, but less than a week to pack, switch over services (utilities, internet, etc), get a new PO box, and scads of related things is definitely a new record for the fastest I've ever changed homes and we've not had a moment to even stop and catch our breath since signing our new lease.
I'm certainly not complaining though - far from it! This house (I don't have a photo of it yet, but will try to post one on my social media in the near future) is just perfect for us and we can't begin to convey how incredibly grateful we are for it (just as we were to have our temporary home in Kaleden over the winter months).
It is my sincere hope that once we're settled in and unpacked, I can finally allow myself some time to properly rest, recoup, recover, grieve (further), and get a better handle on where my health, life and very future itself are at this stage.
On the exact same day that we signed our new lease, our old house (the one that was destroyed by the fire) was finally demolished (they'd needed milder temps in order to safely do so). Some might see that simply as a coincidence, but to me it much more than just that and stands as the absolute perfect symbol of one chapter in our lives ending and another beginning.
None of knows what the future holds in store for us, but quite literally tomorrow, I know that we'll be moving into our new house and - even though my health is in shambles right now and I've rarely been more exhausted on every level than I presently am - I simply can't stop smiling and thinking positive thoughts about the life that we'll create and live in Okanagan Falls.
