Going back to Canada

We can’t afford it but we have booked another Canada trip anyway. It’s coming out of our “One Account” which is one of those bank accounts where all your finances are bundled together, so your savings if you have any is counted off your mortgage. Effectively we are overdrawn to the tune of our mortgage plus any extra we add. We can keep spending right up to the value of our home. If we were more financially frugal we would be able to pay off the house sooner. Hyeahright. Heck we are only spending our home equity (gulp). I will find a way to pay it off, even if it means selling my body (to medical science).

I was gutted that we had to cancel going to Northern Voice because I am just too busy right now. It got me down that we were not going. Knowing we will be now just a little later makes up for it. Flights are booked, we are going just before Easter.

Rather than Calgary to Vancouver like originally planned this one will be Winnipeg to Calgary. Visiting family over in Gimli then flying on to see more family plus look at schools and houses in Calgary. (Clare is looking at houses outside of our price range by a few thousand dollars right now but at least she is looking, got to keep everyone enthusiastic!).

Amazingly on this trip we have also managed to get my parents on board, my Mum is terrified of flying and is also conflicted about going back to live in Canada. My Aunty in Manitoba is threatening to keep my Mum with her and not let her fly back. Should be an interesting fight.

The last time my parents were in Calgary was ten years ago, man has it changed since then even though it is only really a short time. A lot has happened in those ten years for us too. That trip was to celebrate my Dads retirement (he of course got a new job almost immediately) and to visit my Grannie and her husband who both passed shortly after. Clare and I got married a year later, I went from working in education to the private sector and our little treasure/monster was born a year after that. Looking back it was a pivotal trip. Our vacation to Calgary in 1997 was the year I decided I wanted to be Canadian again.

Last time we were over we narrowed our ideal locations down to Tuscany or possibly McKenzie Towne. Preferably the former, it looks perfect, especially as there is a school right in there, but the prices might be out of our range. Maybe fortune will turn in our favour and I might earn something from Performancing or one of my other projects to pay for it. You never know.

There is also a good chance I might get us into even more debt by visiting the fine camera store. I came away with my 70-300mm lens on our previous visit. This one might be even more ridiculous.

Main thing for me though will be to suck down some mountain air. The top of Sulphur Mountain is my happy place.