A new Year and new Beginnings - I had a nice vacation catching up on appointments - Forced Rest and Niagara Falls

Well, today is the 6th of January and it is the last day I will have my Christmas decorations lit up. I have my small tree by my desk lit up right now. My house is full of decorations. Part of me wishes I could extend this and the other part says enough already you need more space. So tomorrow I shall start putting everything away in my free time. Plastic boxes are waiting for another descent. I spent much of my holiday catching up with delayed appointments. I found another physio therapist connected to the University of Toronto with their own physician and gym which my other lacked. My other physio therapist left to buy an affordable house and he simply could not be replaced. I can now drive to my family's home needing to stop twice there and once upon returning with difficulty, after a good nights sleep. I am progressing, though slowly. Now let me tell you what happened. I share so it doesn't happen to you and because that is what I do on my blog. This is about moving. As you know, I am always checking out homes in Niagara because simply put that is where I always planned to retire, though retirement is less relevant than it used to be. I did choose this line of work because while I have a well functioning brain, I can always work. Anyhow, what was keeping me intact was Mr Attitude. I still miss the little Testosterone. I am always looking on line at property in Niagara and have been for years waiting for the little guy to go to heaven. I saw a real nice condo with an indoor pool and all the works. It also had a back deck facing a wooded area (my delight). However, there were pet restrictions and I decided I didn't want to be told what I can and cannot do or have in my home. Pet restrictions is a deal breaker no matter how nice everything else is. Almost everyone I know has pets and I want them to visit with their pets because they are part of the family. I saw a house I really liked but it costs more than I would be willing to pay and it is right across the street from a cemetary. "Well, you wouldn't have to worry about nosey neighbours," sibling informed me. I didn't respond that there was a fire pit on the premises and after my demise, I could be cremated and buried late at night across the street which would be very cost effective. Don't get me wrong, I love the house and imagined myself swinging in the porch while reading books. Being only three miles from the Falls and a park resting next to the cemetery maybe I could get used to the serenity. However, this is something I want to grow old into and it has two floors and would I have difficulty climbing when I am a hundred? You know for the longest time the tax part of the description was 1000. and recently it changed to 2000. I think if I was taking that to heart, I would have to verify with the city because I don't quite believe it. It is a huge piece of property. The deal breaker: it has a hot tub on the main floor which they broadly announce with a fireplace and washroom. I would rather have a bedroom or office on the main floor with washroom and no hot tub. Sibling reminds me that I can tell them to have that moved out, but then it would be more difficult to negotiate the price. I don't want to pay their asking price. So, that is a write off at the moment. If price comes down, then I can say get rid of the hot tub so I can use it for what the main floor would be used for - me. I am not against a hot tub. I like them, but for my taste, it belongs outside in the backyard beside the pool. No, it does not have a pool. But, there has been a nice brick bungalo with a good sized garage a nice house, and what captured my heart - a private backyard beside a wooded pathway. All nature to be seen through large windows capturing the beasts that roam. Love that. I noticed it sold last year and when it came back to the market I thought it was my chance. I contacted the realestate agent and my brain started to work full time. I planned to go to Niagara in a few weeks look at the house and I was quite prepared to buy it, following an inspection and of course my affairs here. I knew the central air is old, but so is mine. I know their furnace is, mine has been replaced. She said the roof was 5 years old and that is good, but of course I would want to have everything verified. That an existing house inspection done just a year ago wasn't readily available to me was a yellow flag, but then I could do my own at an additonal cost. I don't expect perfection, but I want to know what I am up against. That there are huge windows everywhere can be costly to replace if there are leaks. I had it all planned. The agent told me it was "quiet" and yes that was why I was attracted to it. Peace and quiet except for the howling of the wolves (ok, I just made that up). I thought that perhaps I should retire and focus on my writing after a year or so. I also thought of timing. Toronto is a buying market at the moment and I prefer multiple biddings depending on who is profiting. My books- I sell at opportunities I have in Toronto. I belong to the Writers of Canada and Sisters of Mystery Writers (which include men of course). I would have to return to Toronto for my social networks, or would I? I was right down to planning what I would throw out, take with me and believe it or not how I would decorate my new home. It went from scary to exciting. I even knew where I would go for high tea in the few days I had planned to go there along with finding a lawyer there etc......My brain was just going. I even decided what would go into the garage - my Christmas decorations. Then my sibling sends me something and it is a newspaper article. The mansion next door which I can see from my home, but which shares there property on all sides except the front is going to be demolished for a new affordable development. I read the article. My heart is pounding with unbelief. My paradise - lost, gone, to develpment. There will be noise galore, so much for the agent ensuring me it will be "quiet" and even worse than the noise (how can I work with the noise?) will be the lack of privacy - no more, just me and my squirrels and birds. I have more privacy now in my backyard with my trees than I would have moving there. So I forward the article to the agent with my regrets. Guess what? She knew. What did I learn from this? I will only use an agent from Niagara (this one wasn't), another flag for me, and I know whom that will be. She is award winning and I hope that includes honesty. I had actually planned to spend more than I would have liked to stay where I could see a show which didn't seem to really exist since an American partner bought it from our government along with previous deals. It also had all these additional costs included in the price and I wondered if that was why it doubled. It has gotten me to think about stuff as well. Maybe I should buy a condo here by the waterfront and a trailer in Niagara? Maybe I should wait to see what else shows up at Toronto Island and spend cold winters South at a pssible, 11th province, if Trump would like to join us. We still have better health care, so Americans would prosper. I can work anywhere as long as I have my computer. There are so many options and it is all good, because you see, I am in no rush. I just need another dream affordable home. Now Niagara Falls, you know I love you. I just need to be on high alert for full disclosure. What do you think? "Sibling, lunch or supper is on me at any place you like. You saved me lots of money." Oh and if I do go to Niagara, I now want a garage, nature, and nice verandah with that swing and why not a pool? I need nature and not developments.