Four Months In

We've been in the new house for four months now, and my mental well being has skyrocketed. Living in a small construction zone of a house was incredibly draining - I dreaded going home. But things are so much better now, although we still have the old house hanging over our heads (it's almost finished!). There's not much point to this post, I just wanted to jot down some observations.

1. Quiet country living is a thing of the past.

The new house sits on a fairly busy road - a two lane rural highway, which just happens to be part of the route between Toronto and Wasaga Beach & Collingwood (major tourist destinations for those not familiar with Ontario). Our setting and the surrounding property is beautiful, but it's loud here. Louder than when I lived in town back in BC, and so much louder than the bumpy dirt side road that our old house was plopped down on.

2. Wildlife diversity has plummeted.

At our old house, we were located pretty close to a well renowned wetland and swamp. We heard and saw coyotes often, and the number of different species of birds was awesome...and we were lucky to see some pretty rare ones. At the new house, we have crows, starlings, mourning doves, and barn swallows. All of these species of birds have adapted very well to living in places well populated with people, and they aren't very interesting. Except for the barn swallows. They're kind of funny when defending their hatchlings. They may or may not have dive bombed the dog some days when she did her business out in the yard.

3. Having more space feels amazing.

I don't even care that it's more upkeep and it takes longer to do anything - having a bigger house is liberating. And because this house isn't a constant project in progress, it's so much easier to keep reasonably clean and organized. And closets - we have five. Compared to the two we had in the last house, it's like winning the lottery. And with two living rooms, THERE'S SO MUCH ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES!

4.The animals are so much happier here.

Meowzer hasn't had a single incidence of her idiopathic cystitis since we moved. I was really worried about moving into a fully carpeted place with her...but so far, so good. Tassy rolls around on the carpet like a lunatic, which makes more frequent vaccuuming necessary, but oh well. She also likes that I can throw her ball from my chair in the evenings and it doesn't hit a wall after 5 feet.

5. There is so. much. opportunity.

This is a place we can grow into, not grow out of. I'm not sure what all of this opportunity looks like yet, but I like the possibilities.