Occasional musings from a Left-coast Canadian ExPat in Oxford.
I’ve always wondered what it’s like for people who take trips “home” for the holidays. When they live somewhere either away from family or the place they’re from, and make their way back to that place at Christmas time. Now I know. And it’s simultaneously very nice and very strange. First of all, I have … Continue reading Home for the Holidays
This past Sunday we spent an afternoon on an English Canal Boat. And I kindof fell in love, a little bit. I spent much of my youth RV (rather than tent) camping, and this is basically camping, but with less woods, more waterways. We all know that the essence of camping is alternating relaxing, adventure, … Continue reading On a Boat
After six long months (for reasons entirely of our own doing), our wee family is finally intact again – we’ve got our dog back! Moving your pet internationally is not for the faint of heart, or the thin of wallet! Oy. The dog’s new nickname is Million Dollar Baby. Even with the elimination of quarantine … Continue reading Dog Days
You remember the Switch of Mystery from earlier this week, right? I believe I have solved the mystery. And hopefully figured out everything I need to know about operating the heat and hot water here in the process. The Switch appears to determine whether the central heating is on. BUT! It is, of course, not … Continue reading Let me count the ways
One of the biggest little differences I’ve noticed about living in the UK is the plugs and switches. Specifically the switches. Everything that could have a switch, does. Of course lights are obviously controlled by switches. But they’re far from the only ones. All the plugs must also be switched on before the power is … Continue reading Plugged in, Switched on
One of the things we were most looking forward to doing after our move was some weekend adventuring around the UK and Europe – we kicked that off with a small trip to North Devon last weekend. The drive out was a bit shambolic – the M5 turns into a parking lot most high-season Saturdays … Continue reading Weekend Adventure: North Devon
First, let’s clear something up – it’s not the wrong side of the road. In fact, some would adamantly state it’s the correct side, and the other 70% of the world is wrong! But it is the other side of the road, and driving on it is the least confusing part of this whole process, … Continue reading Baby, you can drive my car
And I raise you two weeks (at least?) with no furniture. We picked up the keys to our new place on the 1st of August, and are awfully excited to move in! The same day we also spoke to our shipping company and heard our container was (finally!) packed and leaving that day. It should … Continue reading I see your minimalism
We’ve been here a week – a week! Half a Fortnight! I don’t know what I really expected we’d have gotten done in that time, but I think we’ve done pretty well so far. Especially considering getting anything done with a jetlagged toddler in tow is 196.3% more difficult than it would normally be. So … Continue reading Half a Fortnight
We made it! After a harrowing week of getting our condo packed up, trying (and failing) to pare down our ridiculous pile of suitcases, and saying our goodbyes, we made it to the airport for our flight. The trip itself was fairly uneventful, though Isaac decided he’d had quite enough of the sitting still, thank … Continue reading Landed
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks, but things are finally coming together for this move. About damn time, since we leave in a week! With an underwhelming amount of fanfare (read: none) we received settlement visas for Isaac and I. It seems like something that warrants a bigger fuss made than an automated email notification … Continue reading We’re on our Way
One of the things I had to decide when planning this move is what on earth to do about a cell phone. In a first-world problem of the highest degree, I am unwilling to go without an iPhone. Credit history doesn’t carry over to the UK from Canada, so getting one on a plan there … Continue reading Freedom!
Ok, I’m not so much screaming inside my mind, but since last week there has been a little voice in the back of my head. It sounds something like this: panicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanic panicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanic panicpanicpanic…..breathe…..panicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanic panicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanicpanic. Last week we applied for the UK Settlement Visas for Isaac and me. On the surface, I feel like we fit … Continue reading Vis-AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH