Category: Personal
-
We visited Jasper National Park
We haven’t travelled much – other than where we’ve had to travel for work – since arriving in Canada more than a year ago. It’s understandable. We’ve had to move houses (three times), get settled into our new house and CF needed to get settled in her new job. After a year of extremely hard… Read more
-
A year in Canada
It feels like we left SA for our new home only a few months ago. This Saturday, however, saw us mark a full year in our new home in Canada. Read more
-
IKEA? I seeya.
Last week was a week where I didn’t have much to say. So instead of putting out any old blog post, I simply decided to say nothing. This week, however, was more interesting. We took a break away from home, and visited friends of ours in Edmonton for an extra long weekend. Truthfully, we both… Read more
-
Food costs in northern Alberta
It’s one of the first questions I get when South Africans hear I live in Canada now, : “What does food cost? Is it more expensive than SA?”. And it’s quickly followed by “do they have decent meat?” Beef and venison The third question is the easiest of the three to answer. Alberta has great… Read more
-
Conversations
Some weeks I’m better at writing blog posts than others. This week is an other week, it seems. Although I’ve got a list of things I can and would like to write about, I find myself here, at 9pm on a Sunday evening, writing the blog post for tomorrow morning and it feels like pulling… Read more
-
Time to get on my bike and work
Amidst ongoing house renovations, the writers installed a mid-century modern dining set and successfully repaired the shower’s drywall. They also began priming walls, acknowledging the effort despite not having ideal furnishings yet. Elsewhere, a new Trek Roscoe 7 mountain bike promises outdoor adventures, accompanied by indoor training plans once compatible parts are secured. Read more
-
We survived
This week, we successfully moved into our new home amidst a chaos of boxes and the stress of our cats adjusting. While ambitious painting plans weren’t fully realized, we painted several key areas and made numerous repairs. We thank our community for their support and assistance in our smooth move, although plumbing and further painting… Read more
-
Pain-t – new house reno
During moving week, we rushed the inspection of our new home amidst busy schedules. We’re replacing problematic Polybutylene piping and re-caulking baseboards, delaying the painting process. Despite an overwhelming amount of prep work, including learning to repair drywall, we managed to buy a dining set and partially clean before starting painting three days behind schedule,… Read more
-
It’s DI-Buy time – why I’m replacing my woodworking tools
During COVID, I began woodworking, motivated by the satisfaction of building tangible items and learning useful DIY skills. Read more
-
We bought our first house – in rural Canada
A couple happily residing in rural Canada shares their journey of buying a house as new immigrants, detailing the financial hurdles and the steep learning curve faced in understanding the real estate market. Despite a tough housing crisis, stringent bank requirements, and a scarcity of rural listings, they navigated the complexity of mortgage approval and… Read more