Where We Live

I think I'll never get used to it being so cold in September. Last week, it was close to 30 degrees. Today, the high temperature was 5. And it was windy. So windy. And I'm not sure why Vancouver gets such a reputation as a rainy city--it's been raining here for three days straight (only 37 to go until we officially get to "biblical proportions"), and the rain is heavy. And cold. In Vancouver, it's misty rain--here, it pelts down on you like so many icy arrows.

Enough complaining? Sorry. My accompaniment to today's blogging is the pitiful sound of Theo wailing away in the background. It gets me in a complaining mood.

Today's post is going to be all about where we live. I have a confession to make: we live in a trailer. Actually, I prefer the term "modular home", but that's really just splitting hairs, isn't it? Now, before you mock me for living in said trailer, I'll ask you if you've ever actually been in one. No, not the kind that dot the landscape in redneck corner, USA, but a respectable modular home. Ever? No? Then don't judge me, man! It's actually quite nice inside--very cozy. You wouldn't know it's a mobile home from looking at it. And it's got an addition built on it (which, I suppose, puts the lie to the term "mobile"), which increases its space substantially.

Anyway, it was built in the 70's, and much of the decor still reflects that era. The current owners, a missionary couple who are off to Peru, have started to renovate, and have done a spectacular job of it, really. The renovated part (the front half) is quite modern-looking. The back of the trailer is quite 70's-looking. It's quite an interesting juxtaposition (sweet, a huge word that makes me look smart)--it's like a before and after shot on a decorating show. Anyway, here are some photos:

Our backyard is quite spacious. This one is taken from the corner of the backyard looking back toward the house (that's a shed on the right)...

The living room and spare bedroom are quite nice (there's an office, but it's tough to get a good picture of due to layout)...

And then we get into the 70's portion of the house, starting with the kitchen. You can see where the painting of the walls stopped...

This is where Theo sleeps (or where we wish he would just fall asleep already)...

And this is the master bedroom...

Here's the most 70's thing--the bathroom wallpaper! Yes, we do shower here daily; no, we have experienced no harmful side-effects...

All-in-all, however, it's a great little set-up--don't get me wrong. It's one of those situations where we're just so lucky to have a place to live at all. We tend to look gift horses in the mouth quite frequently (you decide whether that "we" describes just our family or society in general), and we're not about to do that here. The layout is fantastic, the neighbourhood is great, our landlords and property manager bend over backwards for us--it's all really quite amazing, and we're lucky to be here.

So do you want to hear a story or two? If not, bye-bye. If so, read on. We've been making it a point to take forays into the Alberta countryside whenever possible. We've explored south to Airdrie (SuperStore and Wal-Mart!), west to Olds (a bigger town than Three Hills, but not huge--we ate at a Smitty's restaurant there; the menu was expansive and I think every item was just swimming in a lake of fryer oil. Reminds me of "The Emperor's New Groove" when Yzma asks, "Is there anything on this menu that isn't swimming in gravy?!" Good movie. Oh wait, I'm still in a bracket), and just today we went north to Red Deer.

Now, I'm sure Red Deer is a very nice city (even though their junior hockey team sucks). For instance, there's a Starbucks there, which was actually the reason for our going there. But man, what a hassle. The area of town we were going to was basically all just big-box malls. Picture the Langley Bypass times three, all within the same area. It was chaos. And I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks that BC drivers are the worst in Canada needs to spend some time in Alberta. Maybe I've just adapted to BC driving patterns and I need to get used to a whole new type of bad driver. Or this could be an objective measure of poor driving.

The thing is that it seems that the same car-driving paradigm is taken into the shopping experience as well. I've never been afraid for my life in a Wal-Mart before, but there's a first time for everything, I suppose. Someone in the way? That's what your big metal cart is for! Huzzah!

Ah well, at the end of it all, the Starbucks tasted extra good (especially when we know we have to drive almost an hour to have one), and we headed home. It's amazing how quickly we've adapted to rural life. Just going into "the big city" was enough to give me a tension headache. And coming back to the more civilized pace of Three Hills was refreshing.

Speaking of refreshing, Theo's stopped crying. What a lovely way to end an evening. Next post, I'll have a few scenic shots to put up, but I'll also have some more small-town stories to tell that'll make you wish you lived here. Seriously. Zucchini loaf is involved. Thanks for coming by, and I'll see you next time.