Settling in

Have you ever met someone you really didn’t like right from the start but then they do something totally out of character that forces you to change your opinion of them? You assume that because they’ve always been miserable in the past, that’s how they’ll always be?

I’ve said a lot of nasty things about November. I truly believed the world would be a better place without Novembers in it. I owe November an apology. I mean, I’ve seen the forecast and I know you’ll be back to your miserable old self tomorrow, but it was sure nice while it lasted.

The fact that our first ten days in Brighton were accompanied by summer-like weather certainly helped ease the transition. It also gave us a chance to meet more of our neighbours…Daisy, Molly, Piper, Sasha, Barney, Kylie, Zephyr…and their 2-legged owners. Juno loves running off-leash every morning and playing in the creek with her bestie Daisy, so she seems happy with the move.

We’re happy with it too. We love being able to walk into town and the friendly small-town vibe – like seeing a cooler of locally-produced honey on someone’s front lawn with an honesty box beside it. We buy eggs and butter at a local farm where you walk in, pick up what you need, and leave your money in the jar.

We’re pleased that our neighbourhood has a mix of young families and older folks, but Brighton has become a popular destination for retirees so the population is definitely skewed to the grey-haired end of the spectrum. We were sitting outside the coffee shop the other day when a half dozen bikers pulled up wearing their Harley Davidson leathers. They picked up a few coffees and then stood outside bantering about what route to take. It was entertaining to hear them talk about which routes offered easy bathroom access. One of them joked, “Do men over 50 wear boxers or briefs? …Depends!” Geriatric humour.

Ray’s gone to Georgetown to visit his mom this weekend. Sadly his step-brother, who’d been ill for quite a while, passed away earlier this week. Although there won’t be a funeral due to COVID, it’s nice that Ray can head down for a visit more easily now (a 2-hour drive rather than a 5-hour drive).

At the same time, my sister came here to spend a few days with me and Juno. Juno LOVES Auntie Karen and I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that she brings toys and treats every time she visits. She’s gone out horseback riding for a couple of hours (Karen, not Juno) and I couldn’t figure out where Juno had disappeared to as she’s normally a velcro dog. Found her.

Ray was the one who thought it would be good for my sister and I to live closer together, but I don’t know if he realized that a core element of our time together is convincing each other to eat things we shouldn’t eat. And we’re both easily swayed. That’s not such a bad thing when we only see each other during sister weekends every few months, but – just so we’re clear – if I start packing on the pounds, it was Ray’s idea to move us closer together.

Brighton is part of apple country so we’re already thinking that a fall Applefest will replace our spring Maplefest. So far, in the two weeks we’ve lived here, we’ve made apple sauce, apple cider, apple butter and apple scones. We’d have made apple crisp or apple pie as well except my sister stops at the Big Apple or the local farmer’s market on her way here and brings us pies and crisps (you see the challenges I’m facing here).