2020: known as the year of the COVID
Well well... 2020 has been quite the year so far! 🤯
TIMELINE:
- At the end of 2019 we bought a condo for my parents to live in because we learned we were returning to Moscow for our final posting and we did not want to keep the house, nor did we want to return to it when Craig retired.
- Next we sold our Cyd Street house (to Wayne Rostad see picture below), completed all the pre-screening requirements for the posting and applied for our Russian visas
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Wayne Rostad - Photo from 2008 - Famous Canadian from his "On the Road Again" TV show and his folk songs
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- February 26th we moved back to Moscow
- March 11th a global pandemic was declared
- Shortly thereafter, the Canadian Embassy to Russia was evacuated - only personnel deemed "essential" stayed, the rest of us had to return to Canada! Unfortunately for us as a couple, Craig was deemed "essential" (along with the rest of the DR (Defence Relations) staff ). This meant we would be separated and we had no idea when we'd be together again. We booked my return ticket for a month later... that was optimistic! 😉
- March 24th I left for Canada
- August 9th I was finally able to return...138 days later. At first I was expecting to get back by the end of April and I made the most of my 2-week quarantine in the SOHO Lisgar in downtown Ottawa. It`s a residence hotel and was much nicer than a regular hotel room because it is a 1-bedroom condo with a kitchen and washer & dryer so it felt homey.
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| The Soho Lisgar - downtown Ottawa. This is an internet photo, but is basically what my unit looked like including the nice view, but minus the nice flowers |
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So I settled in, not realizing how long I`d be on my own in Canada. When my return date of April 30th came and went I moved to the suburbs; to Kanata Lakes Residences where I felt more at home (location wise) with more space and lots of green areas to walk and cycle. A special shout out to my cousin Lana for loaning me her bicycle... it was a real pleasure to have and a great way to start my day. Thank you Lana! 🥰🚴
If you're able to play the video above it is a small part of the trail that brought joy to my day
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| Bike path that I enjoyed SO much during my time in Ottawa |
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This was my little home away from home in Kanata Lakes Residences
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While I was downtown I enjoyed walking along the canal and by Parliament Hill. It was April in the pictures below and it was quite chilly, but that was about to change... I think we had one of THE hottest summers on record! 🌞😰
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The Rideau Canal Ottawa Locks: The Rideau Canal features 47 locks with 24 lock stations (pictured above are locks 1 through 8 of the Ottawa Locks - in use since 1832 and still operated by hand)
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The Fairmont Chateau Laurier (on left opened in June 1912). Many famous politicians, dignitaries and celebrities have stayed here including Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, US President Hoover, and Shirley Temple. In 2017 it joined Historic Hotels Worldwide
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For some reason seeing a Canada goose made me smile! 😊
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Lovely view of Parliament Hill from the walking path behind it
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One of the gates to Parliament Hill
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I was very fortunate to have these ladies to chat with nearly every week during this time of social distancing. It wasn't the same as getting together in person, but it was the next best thing! Thank you "Ruski Girls" 💗 June 14th - 21st
One of the highlights of my time spent in Ottawa was a reconnaissance trip to Southern Ontario with Francine to see if Craig & I might like to retire there after the Moscow posting
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Southern Ontario area we're considering retiring to. Somewhere between Amherstburg - Harrow - Kingsville
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The Grove Hotel, Kingsville, Ontario - owner Jennifer Flynn - both the boutique hotel and Jennifer were incredible! Loved it!
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Livin' the small-town life; sitting on the porch in our rocking chairs.
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The Grove Hotel front desk - the perfect, quirky place for our stay and a very good location too!
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This was the brew pub attached to The Grove Hotel - we actually could look down into this from our hotel room!
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Our Butterfly Room
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The cute little front room of the hotel where Francine & I ate many meals and drank many glasses of wine together. 🍷🍷
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The day after we arrived (7 hour drive from Ottawa) we explored and found ourselves eating Indian food just outside of Windsor. Lovely spot, lovely day with Francine. That's the bridge to Detroit, USA
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Nice spot near where we ate our lunch just outside of Windsor
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Amherstburg waterfront area - very lovely and well kept. After touring all the towns (Leamington, Ruthven, Kingsville, Colchester, Harrow, Essex, Amherstburg, Lasalle & some of Windsor) both Francine & I felt Amherstburg was the best fit.
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Amherstburg waterfront
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Fort Malden - Amherstburg - formerly known as Fort Amherstburg is a defence fortification built in 1795 by Britain in order to ensure the security of British North America against threat of an American invasion. It's most known for its military application during the War of 1812. ☮
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Amherstburg again... by the water (Lake Erie... or is it the Detroit River at that point? I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's the Detroit River at Amherstburg)
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 | This is a cute little waterfront area in Kingsville that I walked to from the hotel |
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in the area I met with 3 builders. Walter from Noah Homes was the clear
favorite for me and we even put a no-money-down hold on lot 20 in a
to-be-built subdivision in Harrow.
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This is the area where we've reserved a lot... not sure if it'll happen or not, but for now we have our names on lot #20 from plans show in pictures above
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This is an example of one of the Noah Homes - a style we like and may one day build 🤞
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This is an ideal layout for the main living area - absolutely LOVE this with the huge island, the open concept and all the big windows and built-ins (on either side of a fireplace).
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Viewpointe Winery that Francine & I visited (off Hwy #20) |
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Our cruise friends Gillian & Andrew in Amherstburg. They had Francine & I over for "Windsor pizza" night
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Walk around Dow's Lake area with Tracie (we met during Russian language training - she is supposed to be living in Delhi, India with her DA husband Mike - hopefully they'll be back together soon)
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Hike near Chelsea, Quebec with Maggie & Kiki
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Meanwhile, back in Moscow a little fun was had on a Canada Day call pairing the beardsie twins in a screenshot
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| Craig & Dave - beardsie twins on Canada Day |
