OH BOY!!

I drove out to my house today. I didn't have any clear plan or intention in mind, I just thought I'd pull up and take a look, and maybe a peek at the back yard. As luck would have it, Rachel and Leo(the owners) were home and saw my car pull up. They kindly invited me in.

Well, I must say they have done a very good job at emptying out the house considering how jam packed full it was. Looking at it sans furniture, shelving etc. my first thought was "Oh boy!!". Now, was it a good oh-boy like "oh boy, now the fun starts!", or was it a not so good oh-boy like "oh boy, what were you thinking woman!!". Quite honestly? A bit of both.

What a monumental, colossal task I have taken on! Of course on the plus side, there is no agenda. I have all the time in the world, but my goodness.......

On the plus side, the living room is a lot larger than I thought. On the minus side the dining room is a lot smaller. There is probably no wall surface or ceiling in that house that doesn't need repair and painting. The hall and kitchen floors will need some definite attention. None of this is news to me, but somehow standing there in the sunshine in an empty (well, almost empty) house I suddenly felt very overwhelmed and very, very small. This is not a little weekend reno, this is a major investment of time and hopefully with my bargain hunting abilities as little cash as possible. I am going to do as much (hopefully all) of the work without having to use professionals so I will only have to pay for materials.

I think it is just the reality of it all finally sinking in. It isn't a faraway fantasy any more, it is a brick and mortar reality. This is going to be HARD work. I have been working all my life and I have never been afraid of hard work but a little tiny part of me has a little tiny seed of doubt that is whispering in my ear "You'll never do it. You've bitten off way more than you can chew this time." Of course that just makes me even more stubbornly determined to succeed!  This is going to be the biggest, hardest thing I have ever done, but it is going to be fantastic by the time I am through.

I can't think of any room in that house that doesn't need some major work, but just imagine when it is all finished. Just imagine sitting in my back porch when it is all repaired and not falling down. Just imagine walking on a floor that you tiled yourself, looking at walls that you repaired and painted yourself. This house is going to become an extension of me. It is going to house my heart and soul and I am going to make it beautiful. One day (probably twenty years from now  ) when it is all complete (is a house ever complete?), I will sit back and sip my coffee and feel very proud. I think it will have much more meaning than if you just handed out some cash and had some stranger come and do it for you. Let's see if I still feel that way six months from now!!

The back yard is a jewel in the rough. There is a crabapple tree, two pear trees and a mulberry tree. Grape vines surround a gazebo. Patio stones surround a rock garden. It feels peaceful and calm and I envision many a quiet morning sitting outside reading and drinking a cup of tea. It is like a little secret paradise back there.

All in all I am glad I went over today. I was fretting over what it might look like. I was afraid that once I saw it again I would hate it. Rachel has kindly left a box with all the instruction booklets for the appliances and maps of the area. She even included some pizza delivery flyers! I am sure I will be using those during the weeks to come until the kitchen is brought up to steam! This is truly going to be an adventure!

Got a birthday card from my parents today......

I have spent the morning packing 14 large boxes of records (yes, the round thingies that go on a machine and play music!  ) and books. My arms and back are aching, I am hot and ready to take a break before I head to work (!). I am going to include in this entry my favourite poem for the simple reason that it makes me happy every time I read it!

Enjoy! And if you ever get the chance, try travelling those lesser used roads. You never know what you might find!

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

AAArrrggh!       

There, that feels better. I just had to get that out of my system.   Why is it with this move I keep feeling that I am going one step forward two steps backwards!?

Two Words Designed To Make misslill Cross:  Bell Telephone!!

Why is it that the company that basically runs most of the phones in this country cannot manage their own system. Every time I call them and manage to get past their cyber bouncer/announcer "Emily", they cut me off in the middle of my transaction.

I called today to inform them that I am moving. Got halfway through the process and boom - cut off. Call back, repeat all the same information and 1/2 hour later finish transferring my service - but with a BIG catch.

Here I am, living in an old rental apartment. I have a phone jack in my kitchen, in my living room and in my two bedrooms. No problem. In the 2000 square foot house that I have just purchased, what do I get? 1 jack. That's 1 jack. If I should happen to want a phone upstairs, or downstairs or someplace other than where my 1jack is located, it will cost me 79 dollars per jack to install! They are only activating 1jack and I don't even know where it is. This seems rather unreasonable to me! At this point I feel like I should just withdraw whatever money is left in my account and toss it off the balcony!   No, I'd better not do that, I'll need it to pay for my PHONE JACKS! (damn phone company). I'll just have to use my cel phone more and the land line less.

Bell then had the audacity to ask me about my tv and internet service. Good thing they couldn't actually see the steam emitting from my ears as I told them I would prefer to stay with rogers because if I went with Sympatico I'd have to have more than 1 Jack!! Besides, Rogers actually comes to see you and puts THEIR jacks wherever you want them. They even hook up your equipment for you.

Speaking of Rogers, I must say I always have great service dealing with them. They have great patience when dealing with my technical problems and are always prompt in fixing a problem. They have talked me through many computer woes and got me up and running again.

Since Rogers is coming to the house on Wednesday between 2 and 5 I will have to get my TV and computer there on Tuesday. That will mean no internet after I disconnect and pack it up for the move on Sunday until Wednesday night.

I signed the last of the one million pieces of paper on Wednesday at the lawyers office. I also handed over the largest cheque I have ever written. It was stuffy and somber and very.......legal. I find that kind of thing very intimidating and scary. It suddenly made it all very real and imminent. For a brief moment I wanted to jump up and say "wait a minute, it's all been a mistake, I've changed my mind!!". But.....the moment passed. Sometimes when I am sitting in those deeply SERIOUS places doing deeply SERIOUS things I wonder what would happen if I did something odd and completely incongrous to the situation. Would they keep on droning on in their monotonous-monotone, barely glancing up from the mountain of papers? Or would they be knocked out of their complacent little socks? I'll never know, cause I'm just not the type to do it, just to think about it!!

I still have a mountain and a half of things to pack, and really this blog entry is my effort at procrastination in the extreme. Work has been particularly busy and difficult, which means I don't sleep as well when I get home at midnight, which means I am tired when I try to get up at 730am.

I am excited though, it isn't all "POOR MISS LILL". I am happy to be moving from this apartment. I am happy to be moving to what I hope will become "my home". I am looking forward to the adventure of renovation and the peace of locking my door at night and sitting in front of my fireplace. (Yes, I know it will be summer but too bad!!). I look forward to cooking in my own kitchen, bbq'ing in the back yard. I look forward to waking up in a morning and feeling safe and secure. I look forward to this newest chapter in my exciting life!!

Something Nifty!

I admit to being a shameless internet thief!! I saw this and thought it was very interesting. Stretch your creative muscles and give it a try!

http://www.zefrank.com/scribbler/ 

"Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, the harvest can be either flowers or weeds."

author unknown

It's official...............

I am literally drowning in boxes. Just getting from the couch to the kitchen is a major escapade. To get to the dining room is like being on safari!! At least the final countdown is now on.

Tippet Richardson delivered 100 standard size china crates and boxes. I will put my little boxes inside in order to speed up the moving process. The little boxes will be easier for me to handle once at the house - i'll be able to unpack them gradually at my leisure.

The old hound says in a couple of months I'll be laughing about all this. (actually I'm laughing about it now really  ). I now remember how I lost weight during the last move - lugging those boxes around is hard work!! Put that together with running up and down the stairs and I shall be svelte for summer in no time!!

Easter Island Comes To Oshawa?? More Bunnies and Micromovements Continue....

For a brief moment I considered this fellow for my front garden!!

a very brief moment!! He is kind of neat and rather imposing.

I am progressing, but still have so much to do. I did manage to line up and get my car license sticker yesterday. Very inconvenient of my birthday to fall in the middle of all this chaos! I also picked up a certified cheque to deliver to the lawyer on Wednesday for my downpayment. Ouch!! That's the biggest cheque I have ever written!! It's for a good cause though.

Still have to deal with the phone and cable company. Still have lots of packing to do. Tippet Richardson are bringing my boxes and packing material and tape today. I hope (!!) to be packed by next week so I can spend all my time at the house.

Excitement is building now. I feel like I'm on the brink of a big adventure. At least the sun is shining and the snow has gone. I think I would have died if that weather from last weekend happened on my moving day!

Rabbits seem to be a recurring theme in my life lately. At work we have adopted two very cute bunnies called Sunny and Brook. (my hospital is called Sunnybrook!) We are hoping they will help to relax the patients. I find them very soothing myself, despite the fact that I have to feed them and clean out their cage. We have made a rotation list for those willing to chip in and help care for them. So far two of us have signed up. Way to go OnMyWay2Paradise!!

Extreme Power Shopping, Thingies and A Winter Storm In Spring

It is April, spring has sprung, but on Saturday morning it looked like the middle of February! Snow in the form of big fluffy flakes were madly whirling, but that didn't deter Sheila and myself from our long awaited shopping trek! Intrepid Sheila even arrived by bus bearing an ironing board that she is kindly donating to me!

We started at 9am and finished at 6pm. If the stores hadn't closed we'd probably have kept going! Not too many people have that kind of shopping stamina so it's great to find that kind of partner. I liken it to big game hunting. It's the competition, the thrill of the chase, the finding of that one perfect thing. We found a few perfect things over the course of our day.

One change of plan was the Proctor and Gamble warehouse sale. I had received a special "invitation" for a pre-sale peek. Apparantly so did most of Toronto! The line up, outside in the driving snow was miles long. I love to shop, but not to stand in line, even if it means saving a few dollars on Tide!! We ditched Pand G and headed to our favourite shops. Winners - we made it to two of them, Home Sense - two again, Bombay Company, Sears Home, Linen's and Things and my favourite little metaphysical shop called Odyssey.

The universe was smiling at us because the treasures kept popping up. Sheila found a great bathtub-spa set up for a remarkable price. I found a pair of cheerful yellow vases for my new kitchen. Olive spoons, strange metal bars to remove cooking odours from your hands, mirrors, all manner of objets d'art.

The piece de resistance for me was at the Bombay Company. (by the way, we had a ball in the kids section of this store - it's full of fun and funky things that any inner child would love!). I found and fell in love with a wine cabinet. A classic piece that will never go out of style. I couldn't let a deal like that go by so I ordered it, assured that it won't come in until after I move.

We also came across alot of "thingies". You know, items that look interesting but you have no idea what they are or what you would do with them. Some thingies are just too eclectic for even my taste! Here are some pictures of "thingies" that defied definition.

what can they be?

We looked at many different styles of furniture, this is one look that I decided against!!

We even found a metal sculpture version of "the old hound"!!

All in all it was a fantastic day. Relaxing and fun and full of suprises! Thanks Sheila! we must do it again soon!

April Fools Day.....

Was a quiet one for me. Nobody played any tricks, including myself. I did send some April Fool's E Cards though, the most notable being to Sheila1 since I managed to send it to a hotmail account that doesn't exist. I guess that makes me the fool......

I went to look at furniture....again.....sigh......

I checked out The Brick, Sears Home and Leons. I love the prices at Leons, but they just didn't have what I am looking for. Sears is the closest, but I am still not 100% sure, therefore I will wait. It's fun wandering around visualizing rooms even if I don't care for the styles.

As I walked around Leon's I heard a voice say in a questioning way "misslill?". (yes, some people do actually call me misslill, they have done so for over twenty years). It was a lady I worked with over twenty years ago at Riverdale Hospital. I am always amazed when people recognize me, I suppose because I don't consider myself that memorable.

I would like to know what part of the universe is in charge of reuniting long lost folk precisely at the moment when you (or in this case I) look most like a bag lady! When I go furniture shopping I make sure I wear my oldest jeans and baggiest T shirt and comfiest old sneakers so I can measure and look under and generally crawl all around the sofas and chairs. It never fails that if I've had my hair done and am dressed to the nine's I don't see a single solitary soul!! Anyhow, it was nice to see her. She hadn't changed very much in appearance and was always a lovely, kind, gentle soul. Nice to have seen you again Carmen!!

I also popped into the animal shelter. There is a very nice one in Scarborough. While I was there I met a very nice lady named Audrey. We talked for quite a while about this and that ....and the other thing. She comes every week to drop off her newspapers for them to use (a very good idea, I hadn't thought of that) and to see the animals.

There were lots of rabbits and rats, 2 finches and quite a few cats. Only three dogs, a collie, a boxer and a pit bull. Rather sad about the pit bull, he had been surrendered because the landlord where the owner lives would no longer allow that breed. Here in Toronto there is alot of controversy about that breed and the number of attacks on children caused by them. I personally do not care for them as a breed and would never have one as a pet. I'm more of a mutt lover myself! (and of course old hounds! )

There was a lovely gray/blue 4 year old declawed lady that caught my eye, but I held myself back. They are all so loveable, and look at you with those big soft eyes........

Work was lively (don't forget, I have to work after all these daytime jaunts). Spring seems to be seeping into everybody's bones. Mary and Rhonda and Yvonne made corned beef and cabbage for supper with fresh bread. The patients and the nurses ate well!! It was delicious.

Rhonda was looking forward to this weekend and we teased her mercilessly about it. She is almost 8 months pregnant and going for a spa getaway with a girlfriend. When she booked it they only had "romantic getaway packages" with fireplace rooms etc. We kidded her that everyone would think they were lesbians and that they would know for sure she was the girl because of her "condition".   I hope she has a great time. She is expecting her 3rd boy in May.