moving, DIY and new cars

Sorry to all of you who are following our blog that we haven't kept it regularly updated we must try harder!
Last Sunday we went with Jen to Hanwell Community Church, we met lots of lovely people and got a number of invites to go for coffee which we haven't had time to accept yet.
We then went to Yoho again for an afternoon of parties! David & the boys were invited to a diaper party, this is for the dad -to-be Shawn where all the blokes turn up with diapers then they BBQ and go water skiing or tubing on the lake. I was invited to the baby shower party for Kara the mum-to-be. All the girlies play silly games, give useful prezzies and eat loads of yummy food. Both parties were good fun and ended with rides in the speed boat.
We went to pick up our new car on Monday, what a palava! The bloke who advised us on insurance told us to transfer to a Canadian license, so we did on the Friday but they took our British ones away as a matter of public security!!!!! Well when we went to get insurance they needed to see the back of the UK paper license for our driving history- we went back to the other office and found a nice man who still had Friday's papers in a pile and kindly photocopied them for us...phew. When we got the car home we noticed the motor vehicle inspection had run out...hmmm....illegal to drive. After lots of calls the garage agreed to pay for the inspection at a local garage....must add we still haven't seen the money yet.
David has been shadowing Shane the guy he's taking over from for a couple of days this week....all I can say is he's learn't alot!
Rich & Jen got the keys for their new farmhouse on Monday so most of the week has been spent moving and doing DIY. They plan to move in when it's finished. David is fitting a banister (alot of houses in Canada just have open stairs) and I'm wallpapering. Jen's parents call it 'Jen of Green Gables' !
Isaac & Josh started work this week, they are getting minimum wage $8.50 for working on a local farm weeding between strawberries and cranberries. It's hot so they've bought big rimmed hats and take lots of water to drink. Isaac actually enjoys the work and Josh spends his time calculating how much he's earn't!
David is starting work officially next week after all this training so needed a vehicle and kit. We went to Nackawic (looks 5mins away on a map) a 45 min drive away and bought a Mazda Tribute, this involved driving twice to Nackawic in one afternoon to sort out bankers cheque, transfering log book and insurance. He now looks the part with ladders attached to the top.
Jon, Miranda & Julia (Jen's brother & Family) have been here on holiday this week so we've attended 2 family do's in their honour. It took 2 parties because Jon missed his flight and arrived after we'd finished the first party!
So it finally seems like we're getting sorted except for a house. We love the farm we looked round last Saturday so we've been looking into mortgages this week and hit a problem. Newcomers need a 25-35% mortgage! David is self employed so his wage won't count until he's got 2 year accounts! We were very despondant when Larry came to see us and told us of a new entrant farm scheme to promote farming in New Brunswick. We've looked into it and found that we are eligible to apply but need to submit a business plan. This is a government scheme so will take some time to process. In the meanwhile we can't live here for much longer as the kids start school soon and Kevin & Dianne are moving back in mid Sept. So I've been frantically trying to find a rental property in the school catchment area. this has involved me putting up posters in local stores, advertising on kijiji, word of mouth and emailing our realtor to see if any of the properties which are for sale are vacant and could be let! The mayor, Winston, has a house which he's doing up but says it won't be ready for a month, so that could be a possibility. As a last resort I emailed the couple whos farm we'd like to buy to let them know our situation and ask if renting was an option. I got an email back today to say even though they'd had lots of interest in the farm they felt we had the intentions to return it to a working farm and so they we willing to meet to discuss options over coffee next week!!!!!!! yippeeeee please pray this would be positive. Rent to own is very popular in Canada where you can put a down payment and rent each month until you own it or until you are eligible for a mortgage for the remainder.
We are going to try another church tomorrow called 'The Meeting Place' which meets in town, we've met some people who go so we're looking forward to it.
Will post pictures next time.