moved

It feels like it's been a very long time since I have sat down to write something and I guess that's because it has been a really long time.  Over 2 months now that I actually look at it.

Since mid-December, we've been busy getting ready to move, doing some renovations, moving and then doing more renovations.  It's been exciting and exhausting.  So exhausting in fact that we both got good and sick last week.  Our extra-long family day weekend was spent trying to keep warm / keep our noses from running / keep our stomachs from doing weird things, etc.

Not fun.

Until late January, I'd managed to get through the fall and winter without getting sick. Odd for me but I liked it.

Two days before we were scheduled to move (moving day was Monday, January 21), I came down with the flu.  I was shocked that this happened because I'd actually had a flu shot this year (I don't normally).  Fortunately, because I had the shot I suspect, the flu didn't stick around too long.  It did knock me out of commission for moving day though, which also happened to be US Inauguration Day so, while Mark was supervising the movers and freezing his butt off (of course our moving day was one of the coldest days of the winter at that point), I was at my mum & dad's house, watching the festivities in a nice warm house while the dogs were groomed and had a day at doggie daycare.

Poor Mark.  He was just exhausted.  I had done a lot of the packing but he did most of the heavy lifting and was in charge of things like installing new floors (in this kitchen and the kitchen at what I now call "the rental house"), figuring out plumbing problems (new house), and making sure that the rental house was ready for our tenants.  

How we didn't get sick then I'll never know.  Last week though, we both kind of hit the wall and our immune systems gave in and we both felt crappy all weekend.

I wish I had a bunch of fabulous before and after photos to post of the new house but unfortunately, the things we have had to do to the place aren't fun or sexy.  On the morning after we took possession, I spent $1000 on locksmiths, replacing the locks and repairing the doors on the house.  They were beyond messed up and I have no idea how the previous owner was able to use them.  We've also spent $1500 on plumbing repairs.  Again, not sure how a person can live without a properly draining, leaking, kitchen sink/faucet but I guess you can.  We've replaced the fixture, the traps, had the dishwasher properly installed and done some other repairs that Mark coordinated. 

Now that the plumbing is done (you have no idea how much I love not doing dishes in a bucket!), we're going to get some quotes on electrical work. We want to replace the panel and have new light switches installed in the main part of the house.  It's got some funky 12 volt relay system which is annoying and part of it doesn't work at all.  Until that is all done though, we can't do any painting (because there will be drywall to repair).  We'll also need to look into a couple of replacement windows but they may have to wait a while.

Slowly though, we're unpacking and getting settled in.  I can tell that the dogs are totally grooved into the new place and they love their gigantic backyard. 

The first few days we were here, I was pretty angry about the condition of the house.  The kitchen was filthy, just gross.  Thank goodness my mother very kindly helped me (I say helped but she did most of it, I was coming down with the flu) clean the cabinets out.  They were absolutely disgusting.  I was in shock by the amount of dirt we found in the cabinets.  That's right dirt, soil, dry mud.  Gross.  One should never have to clean dirt out of cupboards or hoover sand out of utensil drawers.  Personally, even if I lived like that, I would never want anyone to know and would NEVER leave a house in a state like that.  Be a pig in a privat but why leave that mess behind for someone else to see.

Yuck.

Fortunately, with each day that passes, my anger fades and this feels more like our home.  We're really happy here.  Once I can paint and get new window coverings up, I'll feel even better.  In the meantime, we're just taking it one day at a time.

fires and tigers

One of the things I hate most about this time of the year is the increase in the number of house fires you hear about. Most of them seem to be caused by faulty or overused space heaters. I have been shocked at the number of fires I've read about this week and saddened by the number of people who have been killed in them. While my heart goes out to the members of families who have lost loved ones and possessions, not to mention their homes, I'm always shocked by the number who do not have any kind of tenant's insurance, particularly in apartments and attached housing. A fire in your unit could damage another unit and if you're responsible for the fire, you'd be responsible for damages in some cases. I know that for some folks, it might be a financial stretch but the cost of having to replace all of your household items would be more expensive if you were to have a fire.

On another note, the WWF was able to capture this video of Sumatra tigers. It saddens me that there are so few of them left on the planet and soon, they may be gone.

foot and grate

foot and grate
Originally uploaded by Julep67

A shiny new dollar store opened up near our house recently. Last night I had to get some greeting cards so we stopped in there on our way home. It's so nice and new. The shelves are packed with awesome bargains and it's very handy to our house. so nice!

Potentially not so nice is the markings I noticed on our way home. It appeared that someone from the city (or a bored kid) spray-painted white squares around the sewer grates on our street. Not sure if that means they are going to build them up (they are all pretty sunken gross pot holes) or if they are just pointing out that they're there. I think that folks in the automotive suspension business in Kingston are doing well these days.

Our city can muse about building new track and field facilities and 50m swimming pools until the cows come home. What Kingston needs, more than anything, is new roads, infrastructure baby. Of course, what's practical and what happens are never usually the same thing so I bitch in vain. At least it temporarily makes me feel better I suppose.

got hope?

Is is just me or does the sun seem to be shining a little brighter this morning? I really think it's not just me. The world just feels like a better place to be today.

We did not stay up until 11 p.m. last night to see the polls close on the west coast. With both of us still feeling lousy, we pushed it staying up until 10 p.m. When we turned the tv off, I think the EV Count was at 200 Obama, 50-something McShame. We knew it was over at that point, that we could rest easy knowing that things would be okay in the morning, no matter what happened in Florida. This morning, we watched the countdown to 11 p.m. and the speeches (we'd left the DVR on MSNBC when we went to bed). It was a great moment for our neighbours to the south and for the rest of the world. I have to say that we both became pretty emotional watching it all unfold.

The hard work can start now, to rebuild the U.S. Hopefully, change can happen here too. I was really disappointed, although not entirely surprised, by our own election results last month. I feel that a lot of it was caused by voter apathy. Hopefully, when our next election rolls around, Canadians will be inspired by the efforts of our neighbours and will actually go out and vote. It's easy to do here in Canada, everyone can do it if they want to. Unfortunately, I don't think enough folks wanted to this year and we're stuck with another Harper government.

It's time for us to pull our collective head out of our ass. Goodness knows if it can happen in the States, it can happen here.