We finally moved out of the hotel Monday morning and moved in full-time to our house.

Spent most of Monday doing odds and sods round the house. Cooked my first meal using the new oven – not an overall success, but I’ll get there!

On Tuesday we both received our driving licences and PR cards and I got my SIN card (hubby had already got his). So quite a momentous day!

Had to visit Starbucks to get on the internet for hubby’s business until ours is fitted on Friday.

Wednesday – more shopping. Got a few things we had forgotten such as breadmaker, chip fryer etc. Also managed at last to get some bedroom furniture that didn’t resemble the 1950’s! So now both our master bedroom and the guest room are fully kitted out.

On Wednesday night we had just had dinner and I was watching TV, hubby was in the shower when the electricity flickered several times, then went altogether. We looked out of the window and could see some lightening in the distance.

We figured that if we waited a short whilst it would come back on, but no! Over the next few hours we experienced one of the worst storms we have ever been in. Because our house is quite rural and woods surround us, we were a little concerned to say the least. We could see torrential rain and storm like winds whipping round the house. Thunder was regular and loud and the lightening relentless. It was both fascinating and frightening.

Eventually we went to bed as the battery on the torch was running low and expected the power to restore overnight. When we got up about 6am the next morning, still no power, which means no water as we have a well. We could see a house down the road from us had lights on, but assumed they had a generator. I phoned Hydro One our electric company and was told the outage in the area had been reported, but took or details anyway.

Several hours later, a Hydro One truck pulled up to the house and hubby went out to speak with the guy. Apparently about half a million people were without power (that’s a lot over here). He said that he though he knew where the local problem was and could fix it. About an hour later we finally had electricity again – 13.5 hours later!

On Thursday evening we watched the news and saw reports of the storm, which seemed to cover huge areas of Southern Ontario and Quebec. Some places had been devastated by it and a couple of tornadoes had been reported. It seams that in reality we actually got off quite lightly!

Friday, another Starbucks trip and a little bit of shopping, mainly grocery. Then went back to the house to await the internet installation.

Because we are miles from anywhere we have to have either wireless or satellite internet. Of the two wireless is much cheaper, but the chap originally thought we wouldn’t be able to get it, but when he visited he said because we were quite high up if we had a 40ft lower at the back of the house we would be able to get it. So he built the tower, which doesn’t look nearly as bad as it sounds, however because our house is built on bedrock, he could only drill the tower a few inches into the ground. This meant that he would not climb it to align the receiver until it was more secure. This means he has to order some brackets.

So after waiting three weeks for internet, we have to wait a little longer. More Starbuck visits (in fact I am here as I write!)

We have had our house three weeks, and have been without water for three days and electricity/water for 13.5 hours – Welcome to Canada!

We have lost count of the times we have taken things to the till only to have the speech about extended warranty. When we refuse, they look at us as if we have grown horns – how can we possibly not want a warranty? Once we have refused they seem to turn hostile on us, well they certainly are not as friendly anyway. It is almost as if everyone else in Canada takes out a warranty and we are the only ones who don’t.

Since my last writings we have not done anything special, just more shopping, more decorating, more flat-pack assembly and more ironing!

Our pool is finally looking like we could actually safely swim in it, so the book and the shocking seemed to work. Had the water tested at a local pool place today and pretty much everything is fine. They suggested we shock again and then everything will right itself.

Yesterday our satellite TV was installed, so we now have hundreds of channels showing crap and loads of ads. Had to buy a new lead to get the best from the HDTV and the picture is much better now. There is definitely a big difference between normal TV and High Definition.

Tomorrow we are finally leaving the hotel and moving into the house full-time. We were waiting for the internet to be installed as hubby needs it for his business, but the guy cannot install till Friday and we are sick of waiting. So we are moving in without the internet and will make daily trips to Starbucks to check emails etc. Hubby has decided to take a few days off work so we can explore the area a little better and go on a few trips. So I probably won’t be able to update this blog again until after Friday.

Talking of Friday, this will mark our first month in Canada. So far we are very happy here although we have not felt like proper residents having not actually lived in our house. Hopefully by Friday it will feel real and we will become more settled.

Till Friday…..

Getting concerned about the pool, as although I am adding the stuff I am advised to do on various websites I have visited it is starting to get cloudy. Although we did have a lot of rain this morning, so this may have caused it. I am going to get a book tomorrow and get all this pool business sorted once and for all.

Monday

This morning we went hunting for a tractor mower. Chris originally didn’t want to buy one and only use a good petrol mower but we have so much land that if he does that he will be mowing for hours. It seems you need to spend a minimum of $1,500 to get a decent one that will not fall apart. Still not sure which to buy so will do some research before committing.

We also went to Service Canada to register our business this morning. We were expecting this to be a troublesome task, but it was very quick and easy. You can register everything yourself on their computers. It asks a series of questions and then prints out all the info for you including your business certificate. Cost $60. So far everything we have done via the Government has been very quick and simple. Shame the same cannot be said for the actual immigration process!

We also went to pick up a fire permit so we can burn some of our rubbish. Yes, you need a permit ($15) in order to have a bonfire in your own garden. You can get a permit for a one-of fire ($5) or buy an annual one. Even then, you have to phone the fire station to notify them of your intention to have a fire, when and what you are burning! It seems you need a permit for lots of things here.

We also found out that there is no actual garbage pick-up here. You can take your rubbish to the local garbage dump and get charged $2 per bag of rubbish dumped. There is a guy who picks stuff up for you if you call him and he charges the $2 per bag plus a dollar for the service. Most rubbish however can be recycled and we are supposed to put everything in a blue box for collection. Other items such as cardboard, bags etc can also be left – this service is free.

Got our first Canadian post today – exciting! We actually had something other than crap in our mailbox. You think you have junk mail in the UK – you haven’t seen anything till you get to Canada. Every shop and service provider within 50 miles puts a mailer in your box!

Also, it occurred to us today, that we never spent any money yesterday. This is the first day since landing we can say that!

Our guest bed is being delivered tomorrow – yes on a Sunday! House is finally starting to look like a home, not ours yet, but once we start to live in it full-time, hopefully it will feel like home.

Yesterday for a change we went shopping. Got loads of bits and pieces that you don’t realise you need until you go to use them.

Also got a new iron and ironing board. I tried to suggest we didn’t need these and we should perhaps go for the crumpled look but hubby didn’t go for it.

Went back to the house to put everything away and then went out for dinner.

Whilst we were out we popped into a bed shop to see if they had a bed for our guest room. Came away with new bed and headboard!

Summary: More money spent, more shopping done, another restaurant meal.

Friday

Went to the house early and had our first meal there – toast.

Got the washing machine going washing the new bedding ready for our bed delivery this afternoon.

Sorted all the office furniture today and now have an equipped working office (except for the internet). Also had our phone line switched on by Bell, so no longer relying on our cell phone

At about 1.30 our bed turned up and two guys spent half an hour building the frame and putting the bed together. Looks really good and having a huge king bed will be a real luxury, especially for hubby who is 6’ 2” tall and like the extra leg room.

Tried out my new iron & board with the new sheets. Bed looks great with our new luxury bedding. Just need some extra furniture – yes more such as drawers etc.

Set up the TV this afternoon and all the surround sound stuff. Put a DVD in to see how it sounded and ended up watching the whole film.

After this we went out for dinner and went back to the hotel – not for much longer we hope!

We went to Kingston to do some shopping – yes more. We ended up visiting several shops and spending thousands. We bought bedding, cutlery, crockery, tables, lamps, in fact you name it, we got it.

Our truck was loaded by the time we returned to the house and there is still more to be delivered.

Wednesday

Went over to the house first thing because we were expecting the delivery of our sofas, freezer, TV, dining table, chairs and home cinema set.

We were told we would be phoned in the morning to say when our delivery would arrive. We never got al call, but they turned up with everything except the freezer, which hadn’t arrived in stock. We have to phone tomorrow to check when it will be delivered.

When they had gone we set about placing the furniture where we think we want it. Trouble is the house is so big, we have so many options it is hard to choose. Also, the TV we ordered is 52” and when it was in the shop I thought it would be too big. When we actually got it in the room, it looks a lot smaller, although I think it is the right size for the room, any bigger would look too much. In the UK our 32” TV looked huge!

After getting all the furniture in place, hubby painted the master bedroom whilst I cleaned all the windows and did a few loads of washing. I also opened up all the stuff we bought yesterday. Washed all the crockery, cutlery, saucepans etc.

I also tried to fathom out how to look after our pool. Never having had one before it is all beyond me. I had looked on the internet, but still have no real idea on how to look after it properly. We have tons of chemicals and stuff left by the previous owner, so I will have to get an idiots guide to looking after a pool from Chapters!

After all this we had both had enough so went back to the hotel to freshen up, then went out to Swiss Chalet for dinner.

After this we popped over to Staples to take a look at office furniture and ended up spending loads more and buying two desks, cabinet, fax machine, chairs and odds and sods.

One day we will not spend anything!

Sunday:

We bought loads of bottled water so that we could go to the house and do some cleaning.

Hubby set about doing some DIY bits that he wanted to complete before the furniture came and before we start painting etc. So he did that whilst I started cleaning the kitchen. How do people get so much crap in their fridge and freezer, particularly hair? I cannot believe how much hair I got out the bottom of the freezer – the mind boggles (the stomach churns). So lots of cleaning later we now have a clean fridge and oven and loads of clean kitchen drawers.

We also have telephone points in the places we need them and satellite cables in the rooms we need them, ready for installation. Hubby also got rid of a loads of bits from the garden that had been left behind.

Monday:

We got a call first thing from the pump man who said he would meet us at the house in half an hour. Sure enough he arrived promptly and took a look at the mechanical bits in the basement. He suspected the problem was in the well, so went outside. We watched him take up loads of pipe from the well and then fish out various contraptions.

For about half an hour he fiddled with bits and pieces and then came back to say he had fixed everything. Apparently the connections to the pump had rotted and this had led to the pump falling off and sitting in the bottom of the well doing nothing.

We suspect that this happened before we moved in and possibly before the other family moved out. Although they did not get their house till Friday, they actually moved out on Wednesday, which makes us believe that they lost water then and moved out.

The fix only cost $122 which we though was great, so if we get it back off them then great, if not, we won’t sweat too much.

Once this had been fixed we set off in the van to Toronto to collect our goods to follow.

We had a good drive out and only hit traffic once in the Toronto area, but nothing too bad. Got to the company who had our stuff and went in to see what we had to do. The woman there gave us some paperwork and a map. We had to take the paperwork to Customs and get the shipment released, then come back to collect it.

So, back in the truck and following the map we found the customs place quite easily. When we went in we were second in the queue and only had to wait about five minutes before being seen. A woman checked the paperwork, took copies of my passport and driving licence and it was all stamped and completed. Took a max of five minutes – brilliant.

Next back to the shipping company and handed in the stamped paperwork. We were then told to go round the corner and back up to the loading door and our stuff would be bought to us. We had to pay $240 in costs.

I went into the loading bay to give our paperwork to the guy to collect the stuff and he looked me up and down and then asked what car I had. I said a pick-up, he grunted and zipped off on his forklift and then came back with some of our boxes, dumped them at the doors, got the others and left us to it.

Poor hubby then had to load the truck up and arrange everything in a way that we would not loose anything on the way back. When everything was strapped in ok we set off back home.

Got to the house and unloaded everything. By then we had had enough, so went back to the hotel to shower and change then went out for some dinner, got back and collapsed!

Whilst we were in the mall, we decided to order our new phone line from Bell. Well, we had heard all sorts of things about Bell on the forum, but after all our experiences so far in Canada, this was the worst.

Everything we have ordered or brought so far has been sold to us with the utmost courtesy and been overall a pleasant experience, even down to ordering our SIN cards. Bell was another matter.

First you have to take a numbered ticket when you enter the shop, just like being at the Tesco cheese counter. You wait or them to shout your number and then the fun begins.

We explained that we needed a phone number for our new house and she asked for three types of ID. I gave her my passport, temp Ontario driving licence and credit card. She then said she would have to type everything in the computer to see how much deposit we needed to pay. After several minutes and a couple of questions later, she said we needed to pay $200 deposit. We asked why so much, she said because the computer said so! We asked what happened to this deposit and she said we keep it till we know you pay. You can claim it back after a year if you have paid on time.

Not happy, but what the hell, I told her to take the money from my credit card. She said they didn’t accept credit cards. So I said we would pay in cash and wait for it, they don’t take cash. Who, in God’s name doesn’t take cash? She said we had to get a money order and bring it in.

Not knowing what a money order was, we asked and she said “you get it from the post office and bring it back to us and we fill it in” So, now all was crystal clear!!!!

We then asked how much the phone would cost. She said it depended on what service we wanted. Well, we knew that so asked what services they offer, she said she would go through them when we came back with the money order as there was quite a few.

So, off we went to the post office and very easily obtained a money order, which we now know is similar to Postal Orders we get in the UK. The man at the post office told me how to fill it in and was most helpful.

Back to Bell. Saw a different assistant who slightly more pleasant, but still had the Little Britain “computer says no” attitude. Had to show all ID again and wait for ages for the paperwork to be completed. Eventually she got to the service we wanted. We were given a choice of voicemail and/or caller ID. Wow, what extensive choices.

Eventually we were given a contract to sign and a form with our new phone number on. Trouble was the phone number may be changed, they cannot promise that the one they gave us today will be the one we end up with. So, logically I am thinking why bother to give us a number at all, why not just wait till it is competed?

We asked when the number would be available and she said they could not fit us in till next Friday. Hubby asked if someone would therefore visit. She said no, they activate it remotely. One has to ask the question as to why you have to wait a week for someone to flick a switch.

After this delightful experience, we were notified that we could collect our house keys, by now it was 3pm. We went to the lawyers and had a chat with the British secretary there and had a laugh about Bell.

Then it was off to our new house. Had a wonder round and reacquainted ourselves with the place. I was surprised that generally the house had been left quite grubby. The fridge had not been cleaned out, nor had the oven or washer & dryer. The floors had not been washed either. Also, although they had kept the front garden reasonably tidy, the back was very unkept. Perhaps we are expecting too much, but when we left our house in he UK, we cleaned it from top to bottom, weeded the garden, cut the grass and generally left it in very good order. Also, because the sale is likely to take a few more weeks, we have arranged for a neighbour to come and keep the gardens tidy until the sale goes through. I suppose we are the stupid ones.

All was going great with then house until we turned the tap on in the kitchen. It poured for a few seconds, then stopped. Hubby guessed that the water had been turned off, but when he checked, he could not find anything to indicate this. Everything else in the house was working, including the air con, which we were very grateful for. Try as we might, we could not get the water to work.

So we headed back to the hotel to get contact our realtor and ask her to contact the vendor to ask where the water stop tap was. She could not get hold of them straight away, but after a couple of hours she came back to say they had not turned off the water. However, they suspected that there may have been an interruption in electricity supply which may have turned the pump off. We were given instruction on how to turn this back on.

We had planned to do this tomorrow, but hubby had itchy feet, so off we went back to the house. We followed the instructions, but still no water. The lever we had been told to move, didn’t seem to do very much. However on one occasion, we did get water for about a minute, then it turned itself off gain. Every time the lever got switched to on, it almost immediately turned itself back off again. Eventually we gave up and came back to the hotel. We will have another look tomorrow, but may have to call out the pump man to take a look.

Oh, the fun of owning a new home!

We have now arranged to collect them on Monday, as by this time will have possession of our house so we can take them straight there.

A big sign of relief all round. We just hoe everything is in good condition when we collect. The amount of stress the baggage company caused us yesterday was totally unacceptable. Also, their couldn’t care less attitude really annoyed us.

After this we had to take our new Ontario driving licences to our insurance broker, so he could have copies on file. It was pouring of rain today, exactly as it had been on Monday when we saw him last. He and his secretary blamed us for bringing bad weather with us and asked us not to visit again! They thought it was really funny.

After this errand, we drove over to Prince Edward County to see our realtor who sold us the house. We parked our new truck outside and walked in and both of them went into minor hysterics at seeing us. There were hugs all round and lots of catching up. They really are lovely people and we hope to keep in touch with them both for a long time to come. They have invited us out for dinner once we are settled in our house. Obviously this sort of hospitality and friendship would happen with estate agents in the UK too…NOT!!!!!

After this we drove across the island to Picton where there is another furniture store, but we didn’t find anything we liked.

Next back to Quinte Mall and spend the next two hours in Sears. We sat on every sofa, laid on every bed and opened a lot of freezers!

We have now found a really nice and comfy mattress and a great sleigh bed (when in Canada) and have ordered them. They should be delivered in a week or so.

Now at least we will have something to sleep on once we leave the hotel in just over two weeks, just have to find everything else now!

So far, so good.

This morning we had received an email from our shippers, Excess Baggage (EB) to say our goods to follow had arrived and to contact Air Canada (AC) on a certain number to arrange collection. Great we thought.

I phoned the number given, but was informed it was “out of service”

Then I had to phone EB in the UK to ask for the correct number. I got a new number.

Phoned new number and told the man who answered that I wanted to arrange collection of my shipment. He asked for the waybill no which I gave him. He said, “You have already collected these boxes”, “No I haven’t” I replied.

He checked the number and it related to a shipment of 24 boxes weighing 889kg for a company based in Toronto and the boxes had been collected the previous day. Our shipment was 15 boxes weighing 440 kg!

He gave me a web address to input the waybill no into to show that it was incorrect – it was! I thanked the AC guy and said I would check with EB again.

So, another phone call to the UK and spoke to a guy at EB and explained the problem. He said that the waybill number was correct; I said it couldn’t be because when I called AC, they said and proved that it belonged to a completely different shipment. He said he would need to check with their shippers and would come back to me in a couple of minutes.

Twenty minutes later, no call, so phoned them once again. Spoke to a woman who said that the guy I had been speaking to was on the phone dealing with my query and would call me back soon.

Half an hour later, still no call, so phoned again. The guy I had been dealing with answered the phone and said he had been trying to phone me (yeah right). He said the waybill number was definitely correct.

At this point I was starting to loose my rag and hubby was going bananas. I explained again that something was wrong because when I called AC with that number they had it tracked to a completely different consignment. SO WHERE WAS MY BAGGAGE????

Again, he said that the number was correct and that was all he could do. Now I really did loose my temper and asked how I was supposed to collect baggage from Toronto with a number not belonging to my goods and with him obviously not giving a toss about the problem. I demanded to speak to his manager – was put on hold.

I was on hold for 10 minutes and eventually got another woman on the phone. I explained that I had been on and off the phone to various parties for the last 75 minutes and that I wasn’t prepared to wait any longer on the phone and that they should sort out the problem and leave a message on our hotel answer phone and back this up with an email. She said she would and I ended the call.

Now I was so stressed, I had a thumping headache and we still had loads of things to do.

We jumped into our new truck and went to a couple of furniture shops and looked at sofas etc. We then set off for Kingston as we had to pick up our cards and cheques from the bank and also register for health cards and SIN.

Went to HSBC bank and met woman who had our cheques waiting, however she did not have our temporary debit cards which we need in order to use the cheques! After some debate she said she would try and get them issued. More stress! Eventually we got the cards and was on our way. Our real ones will be sent to us once we have our house.

Then went over the road to the Service Canada place to get SIN numbers. Handed in our paperwork and ID etc and she completed the forms and said that our SIN cards would follow in 6-8 weeks. We explained that hubby was self employed and needed to be able to work. She said she would rush his through and that if we popped in on Thursday she would issue him number (the card would still take 6 weeks). Got receipts and left. No problems for once.

Next we went to the place to register for our health cards. Again we were seen pretty quickly handed in the paperwork and ID. Guy completed the forms, took our pictures and samples of signatures and gave us receipts. Another very easy process. The card will be delivered in about three months as in Ontario the health card does not click in until after three months.

After this we drove back to Belleville and had dinner, then returned to the hotel.

First thing we did was check the phone for messages – none! So out comes my laptop and hey presto an email from EB. It says that we need to call some woman in Toronto tomorrow. Will just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Sorry to waffle, but aagggghhhhhhh!