Change in Plans

Here's What We're Doing Now

It was a great vision - a once in a lifetime adventure, driving across Canada and living in a motor home.

the beautiful Kettle River, in October

However, the time frame we had originally given ourselves was to sell our home in spring of 2022, then buy ourselves a used motor home that was reliable and comfortable then set out across this great country of ours in May or June - no later than mid August.

Best laid plans and all that; we sold in July, but the date for the new buyer to take possession was September 1, which made for a huge delay in setting out. 

We got off the mountain in a borrowed RV, got to Grand Forks, the town that has been our home for twenty years, and came to a grinding halt. The stress and worry of our move had caught up to us.

After a melt down a 3am one night, we made the momentous decision to stop here in town for the winter - now to find a place to rent!  The rental market is so bad here right now after several years of bad floods that there are very few places to rent. 

The municipality has undergone a huge transformation since 2018, when the Kettle River over topped its banks and flooded some of the original old buildings right in the city center, as well as a huge part of Ruckle, an area where smaller older homes took the brunt of the flooding. 

We were lucky enough to be chosen out of several potential tenants to take possession of a tiny home, an old farmhouse, right on the river. 

The landlord lives in the adjacent larger house, and there's a break in the rent if we look after the sheep, two dogs, and a small flock of chickens, as required.

We've done this type of 'barn sitting' before, where the pay is a few dozen fresh eggs.  This time, reduction in the rent will be the recompense for the infrequent feeding of chickens and sheep, and the bonus is the company of the two dogs, both border collies.

By April 2023, we are planning to be again on the road, heading east. Until then, we'll perch here and gather our wits.

In hindsight, this change in plans offered us the opportunity to gather our wits about us, declutter yet more stuff, and figure out what was really important to take.

My daughters received boxes of precious Cammidge pottery and other pieces of important heritage like grand dads tool chest and another oak box that my Dad made for me when I was seven years old. Bittersweet, but they are now in the custody and care of the next generation.



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