Flight of the Condor

And now for the great news!

With a bit of hustle, some good luck and the planets aligning, my folks and I have been successful in finding a new house to rent. Some of you are aware that we got our feet wet in the Toronto housing market, got approved and then proceeded to bid on some sweet homes. In the end we found ourselves surrounded by piranhas and charlatans, involved in bidding wars for houses worth less than the asking price, and in some cases needing major renovations.

We mutually decided that it was not the right time to buy and didn't want to risk being mortgage poor. Most of what we saw was not suitable or overly hyped/priced. Considering too that Mom is going to school in Jan 2010 and Dad is trying to climb the career ladder and make more $$$, we have put the buying plan on hold. We'll keep our eyes on the market but as one Realtor put it, the housing market in Toronto is obscene.

So onward and upward....

Our new house is situated in an emerging 'hood called the Danforth 'pocket'. Minutes to my Daycare and the TTC

The house is a semi, with a partially finished basement for storage only, three bedrooms, bath, living and dining room. The house also has a modest fenced in yard with real grass, and an enclosed 'mud' room off the kitchen. It's really the same basic layout as the home we are in now.

The best part is that it's super quiet. After spending a year on the extremely busy Coxwell ave, Dad is looking forward to a good nights sleep with out a 24hr TTC bus to disturb him. The map image shows this huge TTC yard but it isn't a noise or visual distraction.

The other great news is that there is a nice park with b-ball nets and a playground just down from the house. Did I mention my Daycare is within walking distance give or take 5-8mins? These points alone make this house invaluable. It may be a tad more pricey and is lacking laundry facilities but the convenience factor is huge. Plus we get to stay near all our friends!

We move in October 3rd and are looking for volunteers to help out.

Anyway, I suppose I should get going and start packing. We'll post pics of the move and of the house as it starts to really happen.

Jonah :)

P.S. - Cousin Yasmine had burned us a disc of photos but the disc was empty. Sadly, we don't have pics to post of her visit yet. Hang tight.

First, the not so good news...

Hello Friends, Family and Followers of J : D Blog,

I'm sad to report that we recently got news that our landlady is moving back into her home. As of October 31st, we will be leaving the comforts of 638 Coxwell for a new dwelling, hopefully in East York where we currently reside. We have enjoyed our year in this lovely house and have no regrets. We are confident that we'll find an even better place for all our stuff. We'll keep you posted and look forward to having some better news to share with you soon.

Also, in October we will be welcoming Ruth and Harry back to Canada for three weeks and promise to share our adventures with you as they happen.

But due to the current nature of our hectic schedule, Dad or I will not be posting to the blog as much. However, we promise to get ready a bunch of pictures from Yasmine's visit in August which we'll post this coming week.

We do hope to have our situation resolved by October so that we can get packing.
Keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer to the housing deities for us .

Take care,

Jonah :)

'IF' by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all people doubt you but make allowance for their doubting too; if you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk to wise.

If you can dream-and not make dreams your master; If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, and stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools.

 

If you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch-an-toss, and lose, and start again at your beginnings and never breathe a word of loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, and so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them: "Hold On!"

 

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue or walk with kings-nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distant run, YOURS is the earth and everything that's in it, and which is more-you'll be a man, my son!

 

Rudyard Kipling

The Pinery Camping Trip 2009: Part 3

On the last day of the trip, we pulled out the stops and packed in as much activity as we could!



Lucy paddled...




Jules and Joe also paddled.

Then we rented some bikes...

...and hit the trails!

Joe and Jonah sat in this cool trailer called a Skoot...

...but the excitement was too overwhelming.

So they got bored waiting for everything to be packed up and tried to take off in the SUV.

Daddy D :)

Family Portrait: Pinery 2009

Pinery Camping Trip 2009: Part Two

The Pinery is such as nice place to take your friends or family.

Joe and I loved exploring the sand dunes and playing on the beach...

Here we are doing our best 'Charlie's Angels' Pose

The view was spectacular!

And then we found this old abandoned surf board...

The sunset was beyond words!

...time to head back to camp. 

The Pinery Camping Trip 2009

On the first week of August, three grown adults and two toddler-wilda-beasts attempted to do the impossible. They stuffed themselves and enough provisions for a month into a rented KIA Sportage and set forth on a road trip to Grand Band, Ontario, Canada's surf capitol. Armed with a two day pass they made there way to Pinery provincial park known for it's amazing sand dunes and beautiful vista on the mighty shores of Lake Huron.

It took nearly three hours to drive to Grand Bend from Toronto and Dad got lost at one point. Google Maps are not always accurate!

The picture was taken after sitting in the car for three hours. We practiced catching flies in our mouths on the nearby dune ;)

Lucky for us the weather was dry and hot and remained that way for the entire trip.

It had taken us much longer to get their than we had expected but we were all safe and sound. The whole point was that we made it. Mom was awesome at organizing and making sure we had the right provisions. Jules was amazing at keeping us kids entertained in the car and Dad was the master driver.

So we quickly set up camp and tried not to be two tents about things...

You couldn't tell from this lovely picture above but at one point while setting up her shelter, Jules nearly had a tent pole take out her eye! Her quick reflexes saved the day and she walked away with only a small scratch.

Once things settled down, Joe and I chilled out in the tent reading Ben 10 Comics while the parents set up the food and the rest of the gear. An amazing thing happened. Silence. Waves. What we came for was solace.

What we got was crazy trampoline performers on the inflatable mattress!

Of course the parents were not too happy about all this mischief. It was certainly a challenge to keep the peace and general order. We even had an anonymous camper leave a note at our site basically telling us to keep our voices down. The, "shouting" and "screaming at the kids " was apparently disturbing our neighbors.

We were a bit surprised by the note. It certainly was a quiet camp site but we had a big sized lot. I guess we were all just having fun, isn't that what camping is about?

A voice is liable to get raised. When a tree falls when your camping, everybody hears. The irony of having so much outdoor space yet having to talk with our 'inside' voices was not lost on us. It became our little joke.

Anyway, after dinner just as the sun was setting we built a glorious fire and had hot chocolate.

To be continued....