I am told by my better half that I am stressing myself out over this move. I agree, I think I have been a little silly over thinking this move and over analyzing every detail over and over again. I have always been highly organized but this time I am over doing it.
It does not help that our landlord in Ottawa has decided to sell the condo we live in and is showing it while we are still living here and paying full rent. I resent that and maybe I could have put my foot down and said no. There is just over a month left before moving day so not much more time and any visit by a prospective buyer last all of 10 minutes no more. We have only had 3 in 14 days, so not much of a big deal, but it is annoying nonetheless.

Province House (Legislature) Charlottetown
Also part of this move, we have been thinking of our Friends in Ottawa, I say our Friends with a Capital F because we have known these people for 40 years or almost. So we go back a long time with them and many may feel we are abandoning them, we are not, we are simply moving to another Province and it is not that far, really not. We will not forget them, unless we were ingrates, and too much water has passed under that bridge for us to forget them once in PEI. We only hope they will not forget us.
As I said yesterday at my formal farewell to the National Gallery Party for Volunteers where the Director and senior management made a point of thanking me for my contribution, I was honoured and moved by their words. We chose in our Sunset years (what can you call them) a higher quality of life and doing something we wanted to do for a long time which is to live by the Sea. I also want to be able to see the Universe at night without all the light pollution we enjoy here. It is quite an amazing spectacle it makes you realize how big it is and how small we are lost in the vast space. So for my remaining 25 years this is what I want to do. I say this with a grain of salt since no one knows how long one has.

European Gallery at the NGC
The quality of life in PEI is high, the people have an old World charm about them, it is a small place and everyone knows everybody, families have been established for a long time, (17th century), the food is very good, with excellent restaurants and resorts, chefs with a solid reputation, the Farmer’s Market is the real thing, there is also a new wine industry growing, the beef, seafood and award winning cheeses, beaches are spectacular according to Condé Nast, the best in North America. There is a charm to the Island all it’s own. The weather is heavily influenced by Atlantic currents, the Gulf Stream and winds from the North and the East, meaning one is never sure what you will get during a single day. It is certainly not as cold as Central Canada which competes with Siberia in terms of cold days, I will take -5 any day over -35C. The vibrant Art scene all year round, the numerous Festivals, etc. As Sarah Palin would say, I can see Europe from my kitchen window, actually we see New Brunswick and the Straits of Northumberland but you get my point, we are only 4 hours away. We are also on Atlantic time which means one hour ahead of Central Canada.
We are now set and all I have to do is simply take a deep breath and all will unfold as it should.
