'Deer Feeder' No More

We regularly have deer feeding from our bird feeder and I guess that Syd has been trying, for a long time, to figure out a solution to this issue. We have gone through about 100 pounds of bird seed since Christmas and I was sending the dogs out 2 or 3 times in an evening to chase away the deer. One night I was up at 1:30AM looking for a drink of water and saw 3 deer feeding away at the 'bird feeder'.

Anyway last week I called from work to say hi and Syd said that he was building a fence around the bird feeder to keep the deer away. I visioned a 'fence' around the whole thing. Well here is a picture of what he built. The birds have come back to the feeder and we haven't seen a deer since! I think it is brilliant! And the birds LOVE it. The only problem is that our cat Ollie will NOT like it this spring when he finds out that he can no longer get into the feeder himself....

Taj MaShop

Syd's Dream shop has come true. It is 32 X 40, has in floor heat, room for Russ to work on cars but is mainly a woodworking shop for Syd to produce his many one-of-a-kind treasures.
It took a lot of work to get this one all put together. Getting a plumber was the most difficult but he got some of it done by a plumber and most of it done by himself. He is now in the process of finishing the inside drywall and getting it ready to be painted so that he can officially move in.
We couldn't hook it up to our septic field so he had a holding tank put in and will have it cleaned out every year. This way he can have a washroom and a cleanup sink in the shop. We installed an RV hook up so that our friends can bring their motor homes and trailers and hook up when they come to visit.
It is constructed with cement filled Styrofoam blocks which make the walls 12 inches thick. This provides an R50 value in the walls and hopefully will keep the heating bill down in the future. Syd put in lots of windows to improve natural light. It is a very nice shop and one that he will enjoy for many years to come.
Next year we will landscape around it, add some flowers and a sidewalk of sorts and hopefully relax and enjoy the summer a lot more than we did this year.

DIFFERENCES

I have officially been in Rocky for a year now now and thought that I would tell you abou the differences

Lets start with the obvious!

Demographics
The Metro Vancouver area has a population of 2.1 million people and the population of Rocky Mountain House (Rocky) and area has a population of 6,972 and including the County of Clearwater rural approximately 20 thousand people.

Metro Vancouver is ethnically diverse with 52% of its residents having a language other than English as their first language. Rocky is mainly Caucasian with a few visible minorities in their midst as well as the native Indian bands, O’Chiese (504 people), Sunchild (598) and Big Horn (192) bands to the West of Rocky Mountain House.

Geographical Location - Weather

Vancouver is located on the Pacific Ocean and boasts a very moderate climate with little snow, a lot of rain and no extreme weather. It is arguable one of the most beautiful cities in the world surrounded by mountains and oceans. It is located at sea level. Boating, skiing, hiking, running, and any sport that can be performed on mountain or sea are practiced in the area. It is said that you can be on the ski slopes in the morning and sailing in the afternoon in Vancouver and they are right.

Rocky is located just east of the Rocky Mountains and is 3200 feet in altitude. It is
located near many fresh water lakes, Crimson Lake, Twin Lakes and Cow Lake and the North Saskatchewan River runs through the town. Rocky experiences a full range of weather conditions from +35 degrees to -35 degrees Celsius. The weather is tempered by proximity to the Rocky Mountains and winter is broken by Chinook winds. “The reference to a wind or weather system, simply "a Chinook", originally meaning a warming wind from the ocean into the interior regions of the Pacific Northwest (the Chinook people lived near the ocean, along the lower Columbia River).” (Wikipedia)

Rocky is located in a beautiful part of the country and is noted to be the ‘Gateway to Adventure’. Rocky is located at the eastern point of the back country of Alberta backing onto some of the most popular camping and hiking areas in the province. Lakes, rivers, trail riding, canoeing, boating, sailing, ski-doing, snowshoeing, skiing, ice-fishing, fishing are some of the activities that people in this area participate in.

Both locations are very beautiful in their own way and we have come to love Rocky in the same way that we loved Vancouver.

Vancouver

• High humidity
• Moderate temperatures – lots of rain
• Gardeners dream – anything will grow there
• Sea Level
• Wide variety of restaurants – world class food and service
• Unlimited ethnic food diversity
• We ate out a lot☺
• More cars and SUV’s are driven than trucks. Honda and Toyota are very common
• People get married later in life…. Like late 20’s or early 30’s
• Education a priority for future advancement and high-income potential
• Many more large companies and therefore more employees VS self-employed. High competition and therefore higher expectations.
• Outdoor lifestyle with people very interested in being fit and active. Couch potatoes can be found
• Winter activities include skiing, snowboarding and sledding (2.5 hours to Whistler-Blackcomb) .5 hours – 1 hour to North Shore Mountains – Grouse, Cypress and Seymour Mountains
• Critters that frequented our Tsawwassen backyard included raccoons and large black squirrels and crows
• Gas is not cheap in Vancouver – 107.5 per litre
• Fruit and vegetable stands plentiful with excellent choice, quality and prices
• We had a lovely neighborhood pub, ‘The Rose and Crown’, that we loved to frequent in Tsawwassen
• My women friends in Vancouver are very talented with very good jobs in business, health care and technology. I am very impressed with their accomplishments and their drive and ambition.
• My commute in Vancouver took me 1 hour to an hour and fifteen minutes each way. On the very BEST day it took 45 minutes. Don’t even ask what it took on a snow day!
• Debt in Vancouver consists of your house and a couple of cars… probably some credit cards thrown in.
• Car insurance – In Tsawwassen we insured a 2001 Ford F150 for $1500/year and a 2002 Honda Accord for $1800 /year – (with the 40% safe driver discount)
• In Tsawwassen we were driven to earn and succeed more.

Rocky Mountain House

• Dry humidity (some of our furniture cracked after we moved)
• I use LOTS of moisturizer. We need a humidifier in the house
• Hot and cold extremes
• -35 degrees in the winter and +35 degrees in the summer. Chinook winds moderate winter. It can be -35 on Monday and +15 on Thursday.
• Gardening is a nightmare, as it has been known to snow in every month of the year. We had below zero temperatures on June 30 this year and August 31 in 2008 (froze the potatoes and the flowers).
• 3200 feet above sea level, which affects a lot of things including cooking times for food!
• Smaller choice of restaurants and quality. All of the regular fast food places, lots of hamburgers and steaks, a couple of Chinese food, one Italian Seafood (very good and very expensive) and a Taco Del Mar. We eat at home a lot! NO SUSHI RESTAURANT ☹
• More pick up trucks than cars and Chevrolet and Ford are VERY popular. Honda considered to be an ‘import’ and unpatriotic!
• People marry very young… like right out of high school
• Education doesn’t seem as important. Many young men do not finish high school as they can earn very high incomes in the oil and gas field. Men are mostly in trades. High-income earners in trades! And in oil fields! Women have diplomas and degrees but many work as bookkeepers for their husbands or in clerical positions in town. Higher paying careers for women in this town are in health care and education as well as social services. Husbands make piles of money contracting to the oil companies. Rocky has 400 independent Welders (used to be 800)
• Very entrepreneurial spirit in Rocky Mountain House. Many people are self-employed and contract out to the oil and gas industry.
• Outdoor lifestyle with people very interested in being fit and active. Couch potatoes can be found
• Winter activities include skiing, snowboarding (2.5 hours from Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper) snowmobiling, snowshoeing, X-country skiing, ice fishing (just like the movie grumpy old men)
• Critters that frequent our Rocky backyard include lots of deer, coyote, skunk, small brown squirrels and LOTS of birds.
• Gas is cheap in Rocky – currently at 93.9 a litre
• Fruit and vegetables available in grocery stores only. Choice and quality marginal.. grow your own! We have seen some magnificent gardens in and around town. Remember that gardening is a nightmare but very satisfying when you do get it right!
• Having trouble finding a nice neighbourhood pub that we can go to. The closest one that we like is in Red Deer! An 89 klm drive however we are told that the Royal Canadian Legion in town has a terrific steak dinner on Friday nights… we should try it out.
• The women I have met in Rocky are very different but no less accomplished. They have jobs, raise children, cook, bake, sew, can, chase cows, do the bookkeeping for the farm, plant gardens, drive tractors, hay, pick rocks and run the swather and bale hay! Yikes!
• My commute in Rocky takes 8-10 minutes. On a snow day it might take 12 minutes
• Same debt in Rocky Mountain House consists of a house, acreage or quarter section (160 acres) plus a couple of trucks, a holiday trailer, a quad or two and a couple of snowmobiles.
• In Rocky we insure a 2006 Toyota Tundra AND a 2002 Honda Accord for $1540/year
• In Alberta politics are the Conservative Party… no one else matters…
• In Rocky we have been more laid back and relaxed than any other time in our lives…

The Tide Turns

It has been awhile since I wrote in my blog. Our Tsawwassen house sold in January and completed in March. It went for a lot less than we had originally anticipated however we are in better shape than others and at least the bleeding is stopped. We are glad to be out of the situation and getting on with the rest of our lives.

One chapter over and another begins…

All is going well in Rocky Mountain House. We have been making the changes in our house that is making it our ‘home’ and Syd has been working on building his new workshop.

Winter was not nearly as bad as we had anticipated however it lasted longer than we would have liked. I suppose that as soon as the novelty of ‘snow’ wears off we will not be so enamored of the seasons. We plan on spacing out our Mexico visits so that we can break up the winter a little better in the future.

I am thoroughly enjoying my job at ATB Financial. It is a great company to work for and staff at the Rocky branch are a tremendous group of people who work hard and are passionate about their community. I am meeting a lot of the business people who ‘make Rocky tick’ and learning about the economic engine that supports the town and surrounding area.

Syd gave a couple of Wood Turning courses in the winter and has registered for a table at the Christmas Arts and Crafts fair here at the end of November. So he needs to get his workshop completed so he can create some inventory!

So all is going well and life is settling into a new routine in our new home.

Introducing 'Shooter'

Meet 'Shooter' our new dog. She is a 3 and half year old Tennessee Bloodhound.

She has the sweetest nature and is very good with the cats.... and they have finally accepted and gotten used to her.

I am afraid that she has entered into even my heart... I was the one who didn't want another dog!

Shooter is sure a great friend and company for Syd during the day. She loves to chase deer, squirrels and take care of her yard. She can run like the wind and has a very powerful 'nose'! She is an unbelievable tracker and heads down the 'cut' and checks out what 'critters' have been visiting the neighbourhood.

We love her!

Winter in Rocky

Well winter has really arrived and so far it hasn't been too bad. Of course we were in Cabo San Lucas for the worst of it, so that has been good.

It started snowing on December 12th and about 1 and half feet of the stuff came down. The temperature dropped to -35 and it was cold. The best part of it was that we were sitting on a beach in Cabo San Lucas through the worst of it.

We returned to a winter wonderland. The snow here is very different from Vancouver snow. Here it is light and fluffy, but you still need a plow to move it and the driveway is far to long to shovel by hand. Our neighbour across the road plowed our driveway for us while we were away so at least we were able to get into the yard. We have found that the people here really help each other. We were blessed with awesome neighbours in Tsawwassen so it is very heartening to see that we have great neighbours here too.

Syd picked up a second hand quad (atv) with a snow blade attached so he can plow the driveway himself now. Also keeping it running should be a full time occupation for him. Russ bought a snowmobile last week so we now have two new toys to play with.

I have been out a few times down the 'cut' to the south west of our property (in the picture) for a walk/hike. It is just beautiful out there when the sun is shining, peaceful, quiet and so close to nature. A few of our neighbours take their snowmobiles down there... you can see the tracks...

Well there is still lots of winter to come and I am sure that it will not be idyllic, so will keep you posted with the harsher aspects that I am sure will be coming our way.

The Sun Shines Bright

Over my western Canadian home...

It is a beautiful sunny day. Syd and I just returned from a walk/hike into the backcountry behind our property. The marsh is frozen over now so we can get across it and check out the countryside behind us. It is quite a lovely. We came across a lot of deer droppings and also met our next door neighbour out walking his pyrenees dog.

We have had a couple of good news items to celebrate lately. The property manager rented the suite in the house so we have a bit on income coming from there now. Also having someone in the house will make the insurance company happy.

Also I was able to find a job. Rocky is a small town and there aren't many jobs for women (other than health care and teaching) that pay very much. Most are clerical positions. Business here is related to the oil and gas industry and most of the jobs are too. There is lots of demand for welders, heavy duty mechanics and anyone knowledgeable in this industry. Many of the men work out of town in the 'field' and their wives and kids live here.

My new job is at ATB Financial (Alberta Treasury Branch Financial - is a bank owned and operated by the Alberta Provincial Government) as an Account Manager. I start on December 1. This will help us in a couple of ways. It will help with the finances and will help us meet people in town.

We now should be in a position to weather the current economic storm that is blowing over the globe.

Birdfeeder and the Deer

If you look closely, you can see the deer under Syd's bird feeder looking at us with those big sweet eyes. Look even closer at the second picture and you will see him licking the seeds off of the tray of the feeder. He has 2 other friends as well......

These pictures were taken this morning at about 8:00 AM.

Have I told you about Alberta Drilling Rigs

Two weeks ago on, October 24th, we (Russ, Miranda, Syd, Ina (Syd's sister from Beasejour, Manitoba) and her husband Gib) all headed into Red Deer to have dinner and watch the Vancouver Giants play the Red Deer Rebels.

We were able to visit with Russ's school friend Pete Toigo (Dad Ron owns the Giants). It was great visiting with him and the Giants won the game... Red Deer fans were very hospitable even when we cheered the visiting team.

Shirley ran into her old Red Deer College friend Gary Stafford and had a good visit with him and then we all headed home to Rocky after the game. A good time was had by all!

When we got home, we noticed loud noises from behind and west of our property. It was 'damned' noisy. Well it turns out that a drilling rig had moved in to the west of the house during the day and had begun drilling for natural gas. The rig was about 150 meters west of the house behind the trees. They operate 7 X 24. Boy were we ever shocked and a tad dismayed. We had no idea what would happen next.

But all is well that ends well. A little research with the locals and we found out that the drilling lasts anywhere from days to about a maximum of three weeks. This one was there for 2 weeks. All is quiet again! :) Russ checked it out for us on Saturday and said that all that was left of the rig and equipment was a 3" pipe with a black cap. It had a florescent orange square spray painted around it. The area had all been cleared away and cleaned up.

The folks that will hook the well up to the pipeline came by this morning to tell us that the 'service rig' would arrive later in the week. They would be there for approximately 1 week and they only operated during daylight hours.......

To all of our Vancouver friends:
Note the clear blue sky. Oh and the sun is shining in it......

Syd Leaves for Rocky

Our beautiful new property and home in Rocky promises to be a retirement retreat that we will enjoy for many years to come. We have 3.7 acres backing onto back country and crown land. We are close to the North Saskatchewan River, Crimson and Twin Lakes and half an hour from many other lakes. We are a 45 minute drive from Red Deer where we will be able to find anything that we will need. And BEST of all we are minutes from our son Russ and his gal Miranda. We love it!

Our house in Tsawwassen was listed and put on the market on May 30th.

Syd left for Rocky Mountain House on June 5th. We needed someone to go there and get that house settled and taken care of.

I stayed in Tsawwassen to take care of our home their while we waited for it to sell.

It was the first time in our over 27 years of marriage that Syd and I had been separated for more than a few weeks at a time. It was very hard on both of us.

Syd arrived in Rocky to a garage filled to the rafters with his tools and all of the 'extra' stuff that had been sent to Rocky. He borrowed a bed from Russ and Miranda and used my sewing table as a kitchen table. It was good thing the previous owners had left a couple of lawn chairs because we forgot to send chairs for him.....

The first task was to buy a ride em lawn mower. There is about 3 acres of grass to cut in Rocky! Of course, Russ went along to help pick it out!

Syd was busy and started to lose weight. He had a lot to do to keep up the yard, sort out and put away all of the 'stuff' that had already been shipped. (27,000 pounds)

The Economy Turns

On May the 5th, the movers arrived in Tsawwassen to pack up the extra 'stuff' so that we could stage the house and put it on the market. Mostly it would be Syd's workshop, tools and wood.

Syd had sold his business and the new owner would move all of the business assets and inventory out of the house. We were almost there.

We had interviewed 3 Realtors and were ready to list the house.

BUT things were changing in the marketplace.

BC Hydro was upgrading a transmission line that wound its way through Tsawwassen and had been strongly protested by residents along the right way. A tremendous amount of negative publicity about the power lines was generated in the press by the group Tsawwassen Residents Against Overhead Power Lines (Trahvol). This caused a lot of negative publicity about Tsawwassen .

Gas prices went up and all of a sudden, people were looking very closely about buying property where they would have to commute. The costs of commuting had almost doubled over night.

People were talking about housing prices having reached their peak... and were about to crash. I heard of many people who had sold and were waiting until 2009 to buy their next home.

I was getting nervous..... was our house going to sell in this marketplace?

How the Move to Alberta All Started

One night in February of 2008, I was driving home at 10:30 pm from Electronic Arts, Burnaby where I worked. The day had started at 9:00 am and I was thinking about life... I had a 45 minute commute so I had time... and thought that maybe I should go along with my husband's desire to retire.

He was ready to retire and I was still chasing a dream... and I loved working. But... time was pressing and the next ten years would be the best retirement years for him.

I was working as a Development Director on the NCAA Football 09 for PSP and Wii platforms. I had been assigned to the project when a vacancy occurred and we needed to finish the game by early May in order to meet the Street Date. We had a very short project cycle, the team was already burnt out and the road ahead was guaranteed to be major OT.

So what was I waiting for?

I got home after Syd had gone to bed and the next morning I announced that yes we should just do it.

We were ready. We had been working on the house for the past couple of years, getting it ready to sell. We loved our Tsawwassen home. We had a beautiful rancher on a third of an acre. Our backyard was completely private and backed onto a park.

Our only child Russ had settled in Rocky Mountain House AB almost 3 years ago. He had met a great gal, Miranda and we new that it was a very serious relationship and that they would be staying in the area. So after a lot of serious thought and discussion we felt that Rocky would be the place that we would retire.

In March we headed to Rocky, found a property, put in an offer and had ourselves a retirement home. We took possession on May 1, 2008.