It's been a year?

I can't believe how fast time has gone by!  Our 1 yr anniversary of living in Montreal passed us by, back in August! I haven't kept up with this blog nearly as much as I wanted but time seems to get away from me, especially lately. We moved, had company come to town and went on a fabulous vacation all within three weeks of each other in August/Sept. Talk about cutting a steak with the wrong side of the blade! I do not recommend any of that to happen all at once! It was hectic, bordering on madness but in the end it all worked out.

Spring, Summer and Fall, have all come and gone and now Winter is here. There have been a couple of days when it snowed and actually decided to "stick" around until it warmed back up, melting the evidence. I made sure to take pictures for those doubters, who, when looking at our weather and it says it's 40 degrees, I can show them the proof.

We still enjoy living here, even though it's turned colder lately and we know Winter really hasn't arrived. We're planning on going to Igloofest again this next year. Of course, we're going to freeze our asses off, but it was so much fun last year, we can't resist going again. Here we are at last years Igloofest with our friend Dooma:

We continue to meet some really great people here, forging lasting friendships and even though we don't see one another often, when we all do get together, it's guaranteed to be a fun filled, hilarious event!

After our condo sat empty for a while, we decided the time had come for us to find a renter. I took a trip  to Austin for a month at the beginning of March, and completely cleaned it out, getting it ready. What a pain in my ass that was. I got terribly sick, but still managed to get it all done. I am grateful my Mother and Father-in-law were there to help!  I sold all of our indoor and outdoor furniture we left behind and gave A LOT of stuff to Goodwill(believe me, when I say the words "a lot"). The rest went into a 10x10 storage. The place was rented within a week, which we're thankful for! Location, location, location!

My niece, her husband and their two little ones flew here from Houston, for a visit in April, arriving on my birthday! What a great present that was! The end of March, into early April, is still pretty chilly, however, the weather couldn't have been more perfect for their visit! We were on the go everyday for a week and had the best time!  We even visited a Sugar Shack, which was something fun for the kids and different for us!

http://www.quebecregion.com/en/what-to-do/ideas/sugar-shacks

Hubs and I made another trip back to Austin in June, for a friends wedding. It was already full on summer mode, when we landed in Texas. Being away for a while, you tend to forget exactly how hot it gets! Hubs was happy because he got to drive his car and put the top down. Me on the other hand, not so much. We were, after all, going to a wedding but surprisingly, just a few strands of hair were out of place and with the AC vents blowing on me, I stayed cool!  That was a fun night!

Those were the  shortest four days we had, but we managed to visit many of our friends during that time. We also got to celebrate our other friends' wedding, who were married last December! Good times plus great friends equal awesome, forever memories!

We decided to move to a different part of Montreal. Where we are now, is called The Plateau. I call it Restaurant City and think it should be renamed and a new postal code given. There are many great places to eat in this city, but everyone says the same thing: "You live around the best places to eat in Montreal." Hmm. Good thing we don't eat out much!

We had a hectic few weeks; Our cat had some teeth pulled; we had company for two weeks; we moved and 2 days after that, we went to Europe. Whirlwind isn't the correct word for that! In the end, it all worked out. I will say though, I have a new favorite place: Cannes, France. It's now the place I want to go to on vacation. I fell in love with Cannes and hope to go back next summer!

I have also made it my mission to lose weight and so far, so good!  I'm down 35lbs since June and feel better about myself and have more energy. I haven't yet reached my goal but I'm determined to by May or June of next year!

Now, Christmas is once again, upon us. This time, we're going to celebrate with family and friends in Texas. From the looks of it, when we leave, we'll be wearing all of our heavy winter gear and will have to pack for summer temps in Texas!

Stay tuned for a couple of more blogs after this one!

Winter is over.....or is it?

Since my last blog, the weather has been akin to raging waves on the sea, comparable to being a passenger on the SS Minnow, being tossed up, down and around.

We had days where we packed up and stored the winter coats, scarves, hats and gloves; then a few weeks later, we're getting it all out again.

We had a few bitterly cold days, where the blustery wind would blow right through to our core, no matter how many layers or how bundled up we were; where it looked as though it were snowing up instead of down. There were days when there wasn't a cloud in the sky and even with the sun, that huge sphere of hot gas, blaring upon our faces, it didn't warm us. 

We've also had days when we walked the city without the need of a jacket, where a slight, warm breeze sweeping between the buildings, wrapping around us, giving a glimpse of what's to come and soon we would have the weather we were accustomed to. 

What we didn't have, was a lot of snow.  The locals seemed surprised and disappointed at the "less than normal" winter. We've heard some say it was the warmest winter in 100 years; others have said 20. Regardless the time span, it was not the brutal, agonizing winter we were expecting or even prepared for.  It was cold, or rather, colder than what we are used to.  I also wouldn't go as far to say we were disappointed.

I was hoping it would have been more like taking off a band-aid....just rip it off and get it over with, the pain won't last long. Fortunately for us, Mother Nature controls which boo-boo's she puts band-aids on, and this winter wasn't one of them.  We may not fare so well next winter!

Maybe we brought some of the Texas heat with us; maybe we didn't. Whatever the reason, we're glad the "winter welcome wagon" lost a wheel, which slowed it's pace.

However, unlike the SS Minnow, we didn't take a 3 hour tour; we didn't end up on an uncharted, warm tropical island, and there aren't five other people with us to help ease the transition.

There's only the two of us.  That is enough to keep warm, when it's so very cold outside.  When Summer comes and it's hot, that's what my trusty hand held, portable misting fan is for.

We have our "stuff"!

Hallway Entrance

Clearing customs for our household items was quick, easy and painless.  The only thing they really wanted to know was, if we had any guns, knives, pepper spray (which I think is illegal?), explosives, plants, any type of soil, fruits and food.  I told them what food we brought and well, you already saw on my FB post how that conversation went!

Kitchen/Hallway

To the right are some "before" pictures. I'll post the "after" pictures, next time!

The delivery went about as smooth as possible. The movers were very nice and professional.  They put together our new couch(which is much smaller than the one we left behind) and Bill's new computer desk - all for the price of a cheap lunch!  Then they unpacked and put things in the rooms they were supposed to go in, all while I plugged in each section of my Christmas Tree(yeah, I brought it!)to make sure it worked, which it did!  After I tested it all, the movers even re-packed it back in its storage bag - which is a major pain!

Kitchen

There was only one casualty, and that was a 16x20 picture frame and the glass shattered. The frame thankfully, was still intact!  I was/am very pleased with this moving company, as we had a horrible experience with another company from way back, when we moved home to Texas from San Francisco!  I would definitely recommend them to anyone!

Living Room

Now, the hard part begins; where to put all of this "stuff".  We were very careful in our decisions of what to bring, as we knew the apartments here are much smaller than our condo in Austin.  We only brought about 1/3 of our things and are struggling where to put it.  Even though we have a corner unit, the apartment is not square; it has many strange, odd, angles.  One word of advice; if you are going to rent a place here "sight unseen", the pictures on the website are not what you will get...unless of course, you are getting the penthouse apartment!  We did tour this property when we were here in June, but we really don't remember it being this small.  Another lesson learned!

One thing we know to be a very true statement is; Ikea will soon become our best friend.  I'm sure they will love us for life after all of the things we are going to have to buy there, to store our "stuff" here!

We are paying extra for a parking space in the garage, and let me tell you...it's a challenge to get the car in the space.  I'll blog about that next time!

Here is a video I took of the end of a 'Flash Mob' ballet performance we saw from our balcony.  The La Joute Fountain below our unit is a gathering point for things like this.

Stay tuned next week, for more adventures!

Tropical Storm in Montreal...are you kidding me?

Today, it has been raining all day. Now, before you get yourselves all in a twist about the weather we are having here, know this; if Hurricane Irene wouldn't have hit the East Coast, we wouldn't be getting rain today, which I know most of you so desperately need!

After it caused mayhem along the coast, it seemed to turn Northwest and Montreal obviously, was part of the tour date. We are on the outer bands of the storm, but at times, we've had high winds and sideways rain.  We can't believe we moved from Texas, all the way up here, only to be getting remnants of a hurricane, turned tropical storm. Who knew?!

Yesterday, we went to the Jean Talon Market, which is much bigger than the Atwater Market.  There are SO many vendors, and you won't break the bank buying veggies and fruits.  Next time, we'll either take the Metro or get there early - as parking was a nightmare!

This next week will be a busy one. Bill starts work tomorrow and I'll be busy trying to navigate getting us set up with electricity, cable, clearing customs for our household goods and arranging delivery.  With any luck, we'll have our things delivered  this Thursday and I can start the process of making our new place, a home.

I still have to arrange the car inspection so we can get our car registered, and get Canadian car insurance.  We haven't changed over our cell phones either.  That is on Bill's to do list!

More later!

Atwater Market

Today we visited the Atwater Market. We were told it was about a half mile walk from our temporary house, but it turned into a 2 mile trek. However, the walk was well worth it as the market was full of fresh fruits and vegetables.

All of the produce is outside, while the breads, wines, cheeses and meats are inside the market. There are 5-6 butchers who feature different kinds of meats, chicken, duck, sausages and other assorted proteins.

After our long walk we were pretty hungry, so we ended up splitting a very delicious puff pastry stuffed with a chocolate mousse and then drizzled with chocolate.

Here are some shots from the outdoor part of the market, showing off some of the great stuff for sale.

We've heard that the Jean Talon Market has even more great stuff. We will be sure to venture there next week!

 

"Houston, The Money's have landed!"

Finally, after four very long days, two very stressed out cats, and two very exhausted humans, we arrived on Friday afternoon.   We got the keys to our temp housing, and started to "set up camp".  It's a nice place, but the more we're here,the more we're glad it's only temporary.  Things are either broken, or don't work how they should. I am keeping track of everything, just in case they try to charge us!

View from our new apartment

We both feel as though we have jetlag, without ever stepping foot on a plane.  It's only an hour time difference, but I am guessing the stress of the past few weeks, has finally caught up with us. We've rested up a lot this weekend, as we have a busy week ahead of us.  Lots more paper work to fill out, forms to sign, things to do, places to go and people to see.

We did venture out today and went to Costco!  Yeah, that's right, they have 3, count 'em, 3 Costco's here!  I hate Wal*mart (they are here also) and I was very happy to find one of my favorite stores close by.

We did hit a bumpy road on our adventure to Costco - it seems in Canada they don't take Visa Debit Cards at Costco, like they do in the US.  We had to scramble around and try to find an ATM machine (and get it to work in English) while our stuff was at the checkout line.

Thankfully we got our money and our Costco goodies!

Packed and Loaded!

The movers arrived Thursday, packed ,loaded and took off with our things.  I am a little nervous, as the semi couldn't make it down our street (cars park on both sides of the street) nor could it fit in the complex.  They had to load everything on to one truck and then transfer it to the "big" truck.  To me, that's a recipe for disaster and loss!  I spoke with the driver as he was leaving on Friday and said he'll be in Montreal by Tuesday.  Once there, he will take it to a warehouse, where it will sit for an undisclosed amount of time.  We've heard it could take a few days to a few weeks to clear customs.

Now the hard part starts; me packing what will be going in the car, so it will all fit and still have room for us and the cats! 

I almost forgot a very important part of this puzzle...calling the US Customs, to inform them we will be exporting our car out of the US and into Canada.  We have to email them 72 hours before we plan to cross the border; take the endless amount of documents we have and the car, for them to approve. Where we have to cross the border, there's only one point of entry, in that area, we are allowed to take the car for this. The recording stated this fact about 4 times and the customs agent I spoke with, also told me this, about 4 times!    That's a whole other issue to deal with, but sounds pretty painless....I hope!  This info was not in any of the books I read, or in any of the info they sent to us.  Once again, found it looking through the Canadian Customs website.

We are hoping the temporary housing is all set in place, just waiting on our arrival.  We'll be there until our place is ready, the 1st week of September. 

Off to pack...

Here are pictures of our Thule cargo box.  Thanks to Carolyn and Jesse for helping with the install!

Starting the move from Texas to Canada!

We have reached the final week before the movers get here to pack us up and off to Montreal! We are very excited to be starting this new adventure in our lives. 

1950 Miles from Austin to Montreal!

We have been thinking about this prospective move since December, when the company approached my husband about working there. The actual moving process started in May, so this gives you an idea of about how long it will take from when the job offer is accepted and the paper work begins, to when the Visa will come through.  We were told 3 months and that's what it turned out to be!

You can check current Visa wait times here.

There are several books about moving to Canada and they will be helpful, but I strongly suggest doing a lot of your own research, especially if you move to Quebec!  They have their own rules and regulations the rest of Canada doesn't have. You will be tired of reading by the time it's all over, but it will be worth it and hopefully, give you some peace of mind.  Be prepared to fill out lots of paper work.

Since our move is job related, once the Visa came through, we had hit the ground running - they wanted us up there ASAP

Some things I've found out through trial and error.

If you plan to take your car and are on a temporary work visa, according to the Canadian Gov website, you will not have to pay the import tax and duty on the car.  If your car still carries a lien (through your bank or credit union), you will have to bring a letter from them saying it's ok to bring the car into Canada, a copy of the title, and a letter saying it is ok to register the car there.  We found out that you must register your car within 6 months after arrival.  You will also have to do a driver's license exchange within this same time frame.

This info was not in any book or website I read.  I had to read through page after page on the Canadian website to find it.  Then I called them to double check.  You will have to call the US Customs 72 hours before arrival to let them know when and where you are crossing the border.

Also, make sure to have the all the required paper work you'll need to cross the border before you leave for your move.  Pack it so it is easily available when you reach the customs check point.  I made a nice package in a bright colored folder!

One other thing that there isn't much info about.  Apparently, whatever you bring in the country, you must also leave with when you return to the US.  We are not completely sure of what happens if something breaks!  I've read we would have to document the date and take a photo and attach it to the inventory list you originally brought in when you crossed the border.

Stay tuned for more!