Tofino!

It has been quite a month.  A little more than a month, but it has seemed both long and short.  I got back from holidays in Alberta at the beginning of August, and it has been almost nonstop since then.

When I was in Alberta I was talking to the Bishop about what church  I would be going to next.  Several options he suggested didn't work out, so  I finally told him what I thought, which was that I wanted to go to Tofino.  Long story short - they were in the middle of accepting applications, but agreed to take me on for six months, and if it works out, I'll stay on, and if it doesn't, I'll move on.  It's good for both of us - Tofino is a really remote town, so I may not be able to hack the winters here.  Of course, I think they got the better edge, as I will always err on the side of getting a paycheck.

Anyway, by the time all that was sorted out, it was the second week of August, and suddenly I had to find a moving company, pack, and do all the bits and pieces of moving.  The good news was that I wasn't working, so I had lots of time.  I did a bit every day, and had actually begun packing in June, so it worked out OK.  The moving company was a tremendous pain though, the move was really expensive (though the church paid for it), and after I had booked the move they told me that they don't deliver the furniture the same day when it's a really remote location.  And since I was moving right before the long weekend, it wouldn't be til sometime the next week.  I was furious, but since it was just over a week before the move day, didn't have time to hire anyone else.  So I had to try and think about everything I would need for a week or so, and then try to fit all that into the car, along with the cat.

Tofino is beautiful, a really lovely town.  I'm living in a brand new, just built, house that the church owns, right beside the church building.  It's very nice - I'll post pictures later.  Laminate floors, lots of windows, a dishwasher, a spare room, a washer and dryer.  The view out the living room windows is of the inlet - water and trees and mountains.

The first week here was pretty uncomfortable.  Sleeping on an air mattress is one thing when one is camping, but another when one is supposed to be at home.  All I had to sit on was two old lawn chairs, one of which broke half way through the week.  My only table was the cat carrier!  I had everything I needed really, but it wasn't very fun.  Jeff came up for the long weekend, which was really nice.  He kept introducing me to people, since he's much friendlier than I am.

But today everything changed!  My furniture finally arrived!  Last week they had told me it would be here on Monday, so I had to be very polite and very firm and get it delivered earlier.  The company pulled through for me, but I still wouldn't use them again, or not without a firm delivery date agreed to beforehand.  I'm so happy now though - I have soft chairs, the internet, a mattress...wonderful.  I'm going to for a walk on the beach in a few minutes, because that's the sort of thing you can do easily in Tofino.

One more story, which I already shared on facebook:  the guy who lives across the alley grew up in Alhambra (near Rocky), and when we were talking about Rocky, I asked him if he remembered the garage.  Turns out his dad used to work there sometimes in the winters when the farm was slow!  Very neat to find someone who would have known Grandpa and the garage.