And Now I Live in Canada

The past month has been a crazy and exciting one for me. My husband unexpectedly got a job at a bakery on Vancouver Island and within the space of a couple of weeks, we packed everything up and moved to Canada! We've been contemplating the move to BC for some time, so it was definitely a pleasant surprise. Once we had a signed job offer in hand, all we had to do was to go to the border with that letter and a few other documents, and pay for our work permits. We did that ahead of time to avoid any hassles while we had the moving truck on a ferry, and getting back into Canada later was no trouble at all. I hardly had time to contemplate what I was getting into before we were waving goodbye to Seattle.

Sailing away from Seattle and the USA

During the few weeks that we were prepping to go, we actually visited Vancouver Island twice by taking the Victoria Clipper, a lovely walk-on only ferry that I expect I'll get to know quite well as I travel between Vancouver Island and Seattle.

The view from the Victoria Clipper

Being on a boat, it's fascinating to see the water and sky transform so quickly from bright and serene to foggy and mysterious.

Mid-voyage fog

And back again.

And then a rainbow

When we actually moved here, we took our U Haul on the Anacordes ferry to Sydney, which is basically Victoria. I was the driver and had some nerves about getting a big truck onto and off of a ferry, but it was simple - all I had to do was follow directions. Arriving at our new home, this is the view that greeted us.

The view from our yard

Since we got here we've done all the usual things you have to do when you move to a new country - get a bank account, apply for health care, get Canadian ID's - but we've also gotten some time to ride our bikes (our only mode of transportation besides our feet) around our neighborhood, walk on the beach and in the forest, and collect lots and lots of blackberries. It's been brilliantly sunny since we got here, and the rest of September looks to be similar. It's beautiful, but almost too bright, and I'm looking forward to autumn weather so I can wear wool more. You know what I'm talking about.

Delicious blackberries - I love eating wild food

In the meantime I'm working on designs for some magazines and for independent publishing. I've got a collection in collaboration with Malabrigo coming out next month. Stay tuned.

A sneak peak at an upcoming collection