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This is an update through to Monday 25th
April. As I'm sure
many of you know there are lots of things to do when you move into a new
house. In my case it's just a touch more complicated in that it will take
some time to get my stuff over from Scotland. Not sure what the delay is
over there as I notified them a week ago that the move was complete and
please get shipping. It appears they now need to get me a new quote
from the one they gave me for Wallaceburg which I don't really understand
as Chatham is around 30 miles nearer. So will need to chivvy them up and
see what is holding them up as they quote 6 - 8 weeks as it is for
delivery.
I have now visited the
house twice since purchasing it and all is set in motion and moving
forward to my eventual moving in on 9th May. I've of course had to
change my addresses on my various cards. I've visited the local
branch of the Scotia Bank to transfer my accounts to them from Toronto.
I've got lost many a time
in Chatham but am slowly starting to find my way around. In fact I
find that I'm located in not a bad spot at all in that I have two large
grocery chain stores within a couple of blocks of the house as well as my
bank, a beer store and an LCBO where you get the hard liquor. I've even
figured out the easy way to get to the house off the 401 from Toronto and
also the way to get up to Wallaceburg where I've got most of my furniture
from.
On this trip going down on
Sunday afternoon 24th we had a fall of snow and the house was freezing
when I arrived (the house at Port Crewe where I stay overnight).
Far too cold to go outside to take photos!
This is the Kitchen at Port Crewe with the old
built in cupboards
And a couple of interesting paintings on show
On the Monday I headed up
for my final visit to Tom & Al's the Furniture folk that I got most of my
stuff from and here are some pics of their establishment...
And no this didn't get me
any extra discount but after all they did throw in a very nice pedestal
table for me :-)
Now while I have lots of
cutlery, dishes, etc. coming from Scotland I realised I don't have
anything here in Canada so am now a proud owner of 2 plates, 2 bowls, 4
knives, 4 forks, 4 spoons, a salt and pepper set, 2 glasses, 3 pots, 1
kettle, 1 toaster, 1 deep fat fryer, 1 set of kitchen knives, 3 duvet
covers and sheets, 1 washing brush, 3 towels, 3 dish towels, 1 frying pan,
1 rubbish bin. I have bought a fridge, cooker, 3 beds, 2 lamps, 1
microwave, 1 small table, 1 recliner chair, 1 Telephone system, 1 30"
Digital TV, 1 DVD player, and 1 13" Digital TV. Some of the funny
numbers are to do with special offers in Wal-Mart :-) I also picked up a
wireless router in preparation for getting my Internet service. The last
owners left behind a washing machine and dryer so will just use that for
the time being as they both work. They also left behind a large chest
freezer but alas it doesn't work. I may need to get a small chest
freezer but will see how I get on with the fridge freezer before I make up
my mind on that.
The main furniture and
appliances will arrive on the afternoon of the 9th when I get down there.
The next step after taking delivery and getting everything installed will
be to head to the store to get food, toilet rolls, kitchen towels, washing
up liquid, washing powder, etc. etc.
On the 10th I take delivery
of my high speed Internet and Cable TV service. And after that I am at
least pretty well set. I have also arranged to get new blinds for
the windows and curtains where needed. They are also going to sand and
poly something or other the floor boards. Did I mention that the
house used to be owned by Nuns? There are a couple of very nice
stained glass windows and the floor boards are really well laid out with a
stylish design.
As to all the work being
done in the house. Today was meant to be the final one for doing all
the electrics and getting a couple of ceiling fans installed. All the
basement plumbing has been done, converting to copper piping. Most of the
main floor has now got its first coat of paint. The kitchen cupboard
doors have all been removed for painting and new handles. The extract fan
for the bathroom has been installed but in the process we noted that the
ceiling is rather weak and so we're going to do some extra work on that.
We're also putting in a new floor into the bathroom and a new toilet.
The overall aim is to
complete all the inside work by the time I get down there on the 9th.
After that it will be onto the external work of getting gutters replaced
and some roof work done, pruning trees, and having some painting done.
I still need to get details
of the garbage system they use in Chatham. Of course in Scotland we
had the "Wheely Bins" into which you just dumped all your rubbish. Here in
Canada most provinces, including Ontario, have re-cycling systems so food
goes into one box, plastic into an other, cans into another and goodness
knows what else. In houses I've visited they have a big list taped to the
fridge or wall so they can refer to it. So.. looks like I need to
get that list and then figure out if I need to purchase garbage bins or if
the town supplies them.
In the meantime I seem to
have managed to gather all the information I need for my immigration
application. I will be having lunch with Larry on Wednesday in Toronto and
will be checking with him as to a couple of things and then I figure it's
down to pulling it all together and getting it into the system.
I have also got myself some
business cards with my new Chatham address on them. I'm told I will
need to get my mobile phone number changed to the local Chatham area code
from my current Toronto one so figure I'd better get that done before
completing the forms. While I do have a standard phone number I've been
unable to verify if it works but have left the phones down at the house
and they are going to check things for me.
Seems all the work is
proceeding within budget so that's good news at least :-)
I was a touch concerned
about having visitors with me only having one chair. I was given
some advice as to buying a garden furniture set and tonight I saw a table,
umbrella and 6 chairs for only $239.00 which looked to be good quality.
The idea is to buy this and use the chairs inside until everything arrives
from Scotland and then just put the chairs out on my two porches. I
figured that was an excellent idea so when I get down to Chatham will see
what offers are available.
Will need to get a settee
and a couple more arm chairs but really want all my stuff to arrive before
making a decision about this.
One thing that did cause a
problem was that I had an incorrect postcode for the house. I had to place
it on a form when changing my SIN Card address and it didn't recognise it.
So.. it was off to the postcode web site where I verified it was indeed
incorrect. I only mention this as it is not something I thought of
doing when I purchased the house.
The Scotia Bank were also
very helpful in getting my account changed from the Toronto branch to
their branch. I just needed to give them my card and they brought up
all my details. They filled in the appropriate form and I just needed to
sign that. They are also ordering up a couple of check books for me with
my new address. The customer support person gave me her card and told me
to phone her if I had any queries so very helpful all round.
Think that about brings me
up to date again so the adventure continues :-) |
