Take me, home country road!

to the place where I belong (for now anyway)....

Days to do! Precisely 5 nights to go!

Anywhoo, we are back in the city of Toronto after our final weekender!

Hello again!

Sigh.

I'm ready to go home now please!

My bed is calling me and we have a plan, finally!

After a long discussion over the weekend, we've made a decision NOT to move at this time! Let it be written in stone that for once we are in agreement! I believe we both got the colly wobbles! My spidey senses were going mad at night, so I decided to listen for once! My friends, if your intuition says no, go with that!

Ladies and gents, I think we have finally grown up and the days of flying by the seat of our pants are done!

Maybe the French farce taught us something after all?

Don't count on it lovelies, I always reserve the right to change my mind!

So, it would seem we are staying put at the cranky farmhouse for now and by doing so, we realise we need to put a little work in to her, to make it all feel more like home.

We've absolutely sat on the fence since moving in last July and never quite settled. Mainly, it's because the space doesn't fit us but it's time we did something about it, without breaking the bank eh!

Our reasons for staying?

We'd more than double our rent moving!

That would be silly right?

Moving costs more than you'd think! Surely we would have been 'Hundredairs' by now if we hadn't moved 10 million times in 37 years?

Moving now, would be ten steps back and only one step forward!

We only moved 14 months ago!

I'm so over moving petals!

Moving now would also put paid to any hopes of buying the forever home down the line. The piggy bank appears to have a hole in its bottom this last decade, stupid thing, but no point making it worse!

The 'proposed move' was to also to satisfy my need for my floral studio, but I still feel very strongly, that investing in any new business is mad in this financial climate!

Maybe those wobbly financial brakes have finally locked in place, I don't know but once burnt and all that!

Folks, I do think my floral journey is already at an end! I know that was quicker than the speed of light eh! I still enjoy floral design but I believe it's hard to make any decent money from it!

I was never going to go down the shop route anyway!

I also have no desire to be tied to a retail or back to back summer weddings. Instead, I wanted to build a floral school, which I think I would have loved BUT that would mean not having the freedom I have now, to travel often with my husband! I'm just not ready to give that up!

Also the estate that wanted us to rent their home, sat on our proposal for over a month or more, before deciding we'd be the perfect lunatics to rent it! By then we'd lost the window to get moved! We now can't really fit their time scales!

I realise I had said we'd stay clear of these estates because they still play games, despite the changes in the rental laws lately and we will from here on!

They always want a bidding war!

Just hearing 'you've won the house' made me spit feathers!

Yuck.

I think my country house days are truly over! Yeah!

Lastly, I'm not convinced that we won't end up back in Canada one day! I mean, Canada is where his work is and probably always will be!

Could it all be wishful thinking?

Maybe!

We also have to admit to still struggling with the issue of inbuilt wanderlust! We always say we are done but then the itchy feet thing starts again, we are restless souls. I don't know what the cure is but we are not ready to receive it, that much is clear!

This trip has both reminded us both just how much we like little adventures and how much we still love the thought of a life in Canada!

Whilst this Toronto trip has been predominately a work trip, we have loved exploring at the weekend with varying success rates! If we've learnt anything, it's to forget travelling in the high summer, especially avoiding the resorts because of family holiday holidays and or wedding hell!

Lesson well and truly learnt!

Our first (this trip) Muskoka lake resort experience was a disaster because of hotel noise. We went three nights without sleep! Despite the lovely lake swimming and canoeing, our stay was completely ruined by partying parents and unruly children from Essex! We came away truly frazzled and utterly exhausted!

That was not the plan at all!

Our second stay was in a beautiful pool house Airbnb in Fergus, central Wellington and it lived up to the hype! It was a little expensive but TOTALLY worth it and we were so relaxed we struggled to leave!

Love, love, loved the Scottish vibe to the area and I've realised lately, that I don't need parental permission to embrace my heritage!

I am Scottish born.

Maybe I will make up a flag, find a piece of prairie and settle down, claiming it as mine, all mine eh! Or maybe I've grown up watching too much Little House on the Prairie! Probably! Did you know theres a new 2026 version out!

Finally, we've just returned from The Hockley Valley Resort, Mono and it's been a stay of two halves! The first night was a disaster from the get go! Our room was awfully tatty and directly beside both the lift and the stairs. We had a feeling it wouldn't go well as soon a we turned the key in the lock, as there were several wedding parties loitering in the corridor.

We were so right!

We enjoyed the pool and bar restaurant but also didn't! The service was more than just a bit lacking, saved only by the chap in charge, Mike! Thank you Mike!

The first nights sleep started well enough and we were dead to the world within seconds of hitting the pillows, until that was, the chaos started at precisely 1.45 am and ended at 4 am. ish. Yawn!

The next morning we both agreed, we'd just check out and go back to the city apartment! No fighting with the management! However, the hotel persuaded us not to leave and to give them another chance! We did and they pulled it out of the bag bless em! We moved rooms and were upgraded to a fancy duplex thing! More importantly it was super quiet! They also went halves on the food and drink that night which was more than we expected!

Things do go wrong in the world of hospitality, of course they do! It's how the disasters are put right that matters! They did good!

However, both resorts need better allergy labelling especially for buffets. I felt they both played lip service to Gluten Free! No choice really! I didn't have a dessert at all whilst exploring and haven't here in the city either!

Still, I have been very blessed by the super market choices and eating out in the city savoury wise. It's so easy to make a GF dessert it really upsets me! I sat there watching my hubby eat a massive brownie with ice cream, whilst I had a part dessert which once doctored was a weak lime cream and strawberries! Also, it wasn't very nice!

The GF bread the Hockley Resort used, was so bad, I left it everytime!

Still, him and I have really enjoyed our little out of the city adventures and we even bought new trainers to walk some of those lovely nature trails. The best bit was getting out of the noisy city and exploring areas we haven't previously been to, other than Muskoka, even whilst living here for a year in 2019!

Ontario is stunning!

It's hard to think I arrived here with chicken pox!

If you remember I was so ill for weeks before we flew out! It all makes sense now and I'm now back to 100% energy, long may it last!

Canada is vast and we'd love to explore some more, we will soon but real life beckons, those dogs need us home and we need to crack on with various projects!

Life goes on!

Meanwhile, Facebook has informed me that my uncle has gained his angel wings and my niece is pregnant again!

My close family utterly appall me these days! I'm very happy playing the black sheep, dead to them once member of the family, if it means I don't have to abide by their ridiculous terms and conditions! Information must feel like a weapon to them these day, silly arses! My mum would turn in her grave if she knew! It's just one more reason for me to stay in my lane and live my life well I suppose!

Fox Trott Oscar eh!

I'm happy to be the bad girl in their made up story!

I'd like to say grief made them a bit cracked but from experience they've always been like that! Fancy me having a different opinion to them or indeed daring to live my life my way or live abroad with my husband and family!

The audacity eh!

Tut, tut!

It's all smoke and mirrors and I guess when they are proven right and or perfect, then I may consider them good enough for me!

Maybe!

Until then.......whatever!

Be good or let me know when to bail you out of prison eh!

Love and gumption

D x