A very good place to start

Dear Mrs Verma,

As you might have heard through the grapevine (where does that expression come from, anyway? Grape vines don't gossip, do they?), six months and three days ago, I quit my job. Ten days after that, I moved to Toronto, leaving behind a successful ... ok, fun ... oh all right, interesting job (yes Mrs Verma, I know I bitched and moaned about it all the time, but at least some of my colleagues did make it somewhat bearable to go to work every day. MAY I CARRY ON without you interrupting again thank you very much!), a ton of friends, my immigration status, and the general fantasticness of The Big Smoke to follow my husband and his new job to a city neither of us had ever visited before.

By the way, is it still PC to say husband, or should I be saying partner? I'd like to go with patidev for now actually, coz that's what I learnt from all those movies in the 80s and 90s, didn't I? 

Anyhow, as I was saying, it has been 6 months here, and I know you have been dying to know how I'm doing, isn't it, Mrs Verma, you catty thing!? Well, I'm nothing if not sharey (what's the word for one who is open to sharing? Is it open? Or is sharey correct?), so I've decided to keep you abreast of things as often as I can. I do expect a letter back every now and then, of course - I don't have very many people I speak to here, you see.

I'm going to be able to keep you entertained for a while, I think. I have been meaning to start writing ever since I got here, and have quite a few things to share. But I really must go for now. It's a rare warm day in the middle of winter (well, 2 degrees and sunny is still warmer than minus 10 and snowing), and I feel like going for a walk. Plus that can only help me lose some weight ... the fat cow that I've become.

More later! Love to Bittu.

Yours,

GG