I have always liked things to be just so. Organized. Clean. And properly positioned. Everything tight. Some there are no doubt who would call it obsessiveness. Cloying preoccupation with meaningless detail. Getting one’s world just so. Hmph!

It is however a privilege which is the product not only of one’s personal (and presumably controllable) environment but also of the interfering world surrounding it. Getting things just so involves the management and performance of exterior needs as well, things like medical stuff.  Or dental. Or automotive. Or, as in my case, surgical. Things that have to be done on time.  And somewhere else. Things outside one’s den (and often beyond one’s control). The unpredictable and the unimaginable. And the waiting.

Our current lodgings are to my uninhibited liking. Although I’ve lived in Almonte for almost half a century, I have not been entirely immovable. We’ve lived on both sides of the river (which conveniently goes through the middle of town) and in a total of 4 different places (2 houses and 2 apartments).

There is always a view of some description for any property. In an urban setting a residential view is most commonly relatively restricted. Our new apartment does the trick each morning. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows we are greeted by a broad and spacious view of fields and a flowing river. We’re on the second floor, facing northeast. There is the sense of height overlooking the spectacle of unvarnished acreage. When sitting on the balcony we regularly have the benefit of the cool north wind which on a hot day at this current exposure (before the trees grow tall) is a welcome interruption.

The apartment is naturally the centre of my latest focus to fill in the blanks. There are endless alignments to be determined and repeated in order to get the finest perspective. How everything works.  Where everything is.  Making things comfortable. And utilitarian. Hoping never having to move again!

The menu of things to do never stops.  It helps to get them out of the way. Not that any of them have been other than mandatory. But the element of adjustment has not been lost in the latest process. I consider it a huge success that we have accomplished the transition. Perceptibly our roots are already deepening. It is a change easily accepted.  Even as I drove out of the garage to my meeting at the nearby hospital this morning, I directly drove along the river and parkland towards the old town hall. A settling view such as that is nonpareil!