To Be at Home

I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.

~ Maya Angelou

Thank you all for your many wishes of good luck, good energy, crossed fingers, prayers and positive vibes about my house selling quickly and for a good price. They worked!

It was on the market for the fifth day when two bids came in. We took the second one which offered exactly what we'd asked, with no need to secure financing and a quicker closing date (November 12) than the first one. Three days later, their offer was firm when an inspection of my home revealed nothing of deterring concern.

It was important to me that the new owners fit in well with our neighbourhood. We're a close-knit group as many of you may remember from my posts about our planned street parties, impromptu barbecues and New Year's Eve get togethers. We're much more than neighbours - we're friends, and the proof is in how despite several of us having moved through the years, we maintain our friendship and party together. My real estate agent, Janette lived on our street a few years back and she continues to be a regular part of the group events.

Once the offer was signed and accepted, we chatted extensively and I feel quite certain that this couple will soon be a regular part of the gang. They're warm (we hugged to seal the deal), friendly, interesting and they love animals (jokingly suggesting that my Skitty might be thrown in with the house) and are nature lovers (looking forward to walking around the very pond that inspired a huge part of my love for photography).

Welcome to the best neighbourhood on the planet, Christine and Aaron. You will be coming home.

And I'll be going home. If our new neighbours are half as wonderful as the ones I leave behind, we will be truly blessed.

Most of the work I have left to do is legal stuff, make phone calls to cancel utilities, advise businesses of my change of address - oh and pack up the rest of my stuff to move. My 14 year-old cats are not going to be happy about such a long trip (about three and a half hours) and they'll deeply miss my son, Alex. And he'll miss them terribly as they've been in his life since he was nine. Of course he will visit us and the cats will have Benny to keep them crazy entertained. Alex will be in search of his own apartment but still has his Dad's place to stay at if he needs to for a while.

I'm glad that this part of the process is done and that I'll be moving in to our new place before true winter settles in. Now, we'll just have to endure the rest of the renovations that have been taking place there since the summer. I guess I'll tell you more about that when I see it for myself.

This weekend, I'll head up to be with Frank for a little while before I get down to the business of moving. It will be nice to spend some alone time together and to enjoy the last of what autumn has to offer. We'll probably select some fixtures, flooring and cabinets for the new addition while I'm there. Maybe it won't be too long after that until our place is fully liveable.

For now, I'll leave you with a few random photos taken during the late summer and early autumn. I hope you enjoy them.


Just before the Labour Day weekend in early September, my son Jeffrey came in for a bit of business and a two week visit. We spent one day visiting my sister, Andrea who lives in Port Dover, Ontario - on the northern shore of Lake Erie. This was the view of the pier and lighthouse as seen from our beachside restaurant table.





Autumn leaves, lit by a small shaft of sunlight, early one morning.





This was snapped on my way across the city of Toronto early one evening. Every now and then the setting sun would illuminate the tracks.






This was the view I saw on my way to town from my new place. It was still early in the autumn but the leaves had long begun turning.





I've written about this heroic tree before here (third photo down) and here (third from last image). There's nothing left but its trunk now, and yet it still provides shelter for insects, which become food for the birds. There were several wasps going in and out of it's hollows on this sunny day.





Framed in between the wires, a small flock of geese make their way along the path cut out by the Credit River in Mississauga. We were on our way home from the South Side Shuffle. I'll have some more photos of that event for you coming up next.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadians and to everyone else. I have very much for which to be thankful and I count your wonderful presence in my life among them.