Saturday, June 4, 2016

Life in Penticton

We arrived in Penticton on Wednesday, April 13th, 2016. We had been here many times before, visiting family, but never for more than a few days. Now, it is our new home.
Our daughter picked us up at the airport and drove us to our apartment. We'd seen the apartment before, but my husband didn't remember it at all. I had a vague idea of its layout, but it was still a bit of a mystery. Our youngest son had purchased the apartment several years before, with the idea of living in it weekdays to avoid commuting from their out-of-town home. It didn't work for them like that, mostly something to do with the dogs. So, they used it for occasional guests, and more recently rented it to their daughter while she studied and worked in town. However, when we told them we were selling our Vancouver house, suddenly this apartment became available. So now we rent it from our son.
Emily had no problem with the idea of returning to her parents' home while she continued her job and studies.
So, here we are. We downsized from a 3-story house to an apartment roughly the same square footage as the basement in the Vancouver house. We've now been here a little more than seven weeks, and still have boxes to unpack and things to find places for. It's a challenge but we couldn't be happier.
As for my writing, there's a wonderful place called Cowork, a place where I rent a desk for 8 days a month, 9am to 5pm., with free Tuesday afternoons. It's wonderful. Quiet. No one bothers me. Just me and my computer for hours and hours. I've finished the 100 pages the agent asked for, and am about 50 odd pages into the second half of the book. I want to finish it all before I send the requested pages to the agent. I want to be able to send her the whole thing immediately if she should ask for it. I can only hope.
Cowork is a bit of a distance from the apartment, but I walk to and from most days, about 45 minutes each way. There is a bus that can take me most of the way if I'm feeling lazy. And I have used that a few times, going. But I always walk home. No--once I caught the bus and took it the long way, just for the ride.
Buses run only once an hour, so it's catch it now or wait an hour or walk. So I usually walk.Gives me lots of time to think and prepare for what I'll write when I get in front of the computer.