FAQ

 1. I heard that Stuart came back from Canada and just up and announced that he and Jonell were going to move to Canada without consulting her! Is that true?

No, Jonell picked Stuart up from after a trip to Alberta last summer and he told her that they had been invited to live for free in a house on his brother's sprawling property in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Jonell mulled it over on the drive home and thought it sounded like a worthy adventure. She has been itching to move on from Cloverdale for some time.

This is the property that Stuart's brother recently acquired:

Old link to rental property It used to be rented out on Airbnb, Vrbo, etc so there are still lingering links with outdated photos showing art and furnishings that are no longer there.

Jonell and I will not be in the giant log house but in a detached 'caretaker's cottage' which is 5 times the size of the Tumbleweed Tiny House that we have been living in these past 9 years.

2. When are you leaving?

Stuart is driving his cat up on May 28, spending 2.5 weeks to get him settled, leaving him in the care of friends and family and flying back on June 17 to get packed up, load a U-haul and drive up a second time. The trip involves at least 24 hours of solid driving and generally takes 3 full days with 2 nights in a hotel.

Mr Wilder, aka Pepper

3. Where are you going to be?

Way out in the country about a 40 minute drive from Cochrane, Alberta.

4. Will you be anywhere near Toronto?

No, here is a list of notable cities and distances from our abode:

Calgary, Alberta            78 km (48 miles)

Vancouver, BC               958 km (595 miles)

Santa Rosa, CA              2,055 km (1,277 miles) 

Santa Cruz, CA               2,196 km (1,365 miles) 

Toronto, Ontario              3,322 km (2,064 miles)

Montreal, Quebec            3,607 km (2,241 miles)

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia    4,923 km (3,059 miles)

(Location of iconic Canadian series Trailer Park Boys)

Saint John's, Newfoundland    6,209 km (3,858 miles)

Newfoundland is the furthest east territory in North America and has its own time zone which is 30 minutes later than Atlantic Time! When it is 5:00 in New York it is 5:30 in Newfoundland.

5. What is poutine?

Poutine is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. You are probably either salivating or retching at this point. Here is the wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine

6. Why are you moving to Canada?

Short answer: Beautiful location, free rent, free utilities, free health care, close to Stuart's family and friends and Jonell is a big fan of winter and snow. We also thought we would be getting away from wildfire country but if you have been paying attention to the news from up North you know that's not true! Don't worry - those catastrophic fires in Alberta right now (mid May 2023) are hundreds of miles from our future home.

7. How do I subscribe to get email notifications about updates on your blog?

Unfortunately Blogger stopped supporting notification widgets so, if you want to be notified when we post stuff, send me your email using the contact thingie on the right-hand side of the blog and I will maintain a mailing list. Depending on your browser, you might have to click on the hamburger in the upper right corner to invoke the contact widget.

Fun Facts About Canada:

Official Name: Canada
Form of Government: Federal parliamentary state
Capital: Ottawa
Population: 36,307,820
Official Language: English, French
Money: Canadian dollar
Area: 9,970,610 square kilometres

Length of border with USA: 8,891 km (5,525 miles) counting Alaska/Canada border

Length of country from north to south: 4,600 km (2,858 miles)

About 70 percent of Canada's population resides within 125 mi of the northern U.S. border and a whopping 72% live below the 49th parallel! That's almost entirely within the province of Ontario.

The southern tip of Ontario is farther south than Portland, Oregon.

Here is a link to an article about Canada that I think many will find surprising and enlightening. 

Canada has polymer based bills (plastic is hard to forge and doesn't mind going through the washing machine) and there are no $1 or $2 dollar bills. There are $1 and $2 coins that can make your pocket or purse weigh considerably if you get a lot of change. Fortunately Canada stopped minting pennies 10 years ago. 

The person gracing the ten dollar bill is Viola Desmond, a civil and women's rights activist. She's like Canada's Rosa Parks. Read her story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_Desmond?wprov=sfla1

The $1 coin, on the right, is universally called a 'looney' (the bird is a loon!) and the $2 coin on the left is universally called a 'twoonie'. That's just how it is. 

Jonell in nearby town of Canmore