Jrock and I have been keeping busy, dreaming and plotting and scheming about our new house.  Finally, we get to move this weekend!  I think we’re getting a little addicted to renovating… J said “never again!” after the last 1916 house, but here we are with a 1940 “new to us” home to tranform. 

Just a few things, really: new windows, AC installed, new doors, tile in the kitchen and bath, kitchen remodel, ductwork put in for a lundry upstairs, painting every room, replacing all the light fixtures, reglazing the bathtubs, and spiffing up the fireplace.  The difference is that this time we are farming out quite a bit of the work, and, of course, doing everything with kids in mind.  Wish us luck with the move! 

Oh, and by the way… we rented just a moving truck – NO MOVERS – and certainly NOT from Two Small Men With Big Hearts this time.  We decided not to replicate the horror of last time.

Jrock and I were recently reflecting that this really was a good move for us, to the sunny Okanagan: more time together, a more active and healthier lifestyle, lots to do and see, many family visits, challenging work for him, warmer weather for my knockily bones… plus our ”family” just loves it!

They have our stuff.

This only reason I haven’t been screaming bloody murder on the phone day in and day out.  We are held hostage by the fact that the moving company has all our worldly possessions.

The dispatcher in Surrey is a gem -
“Your stuff is in Winnipeg?  Well, I had no idea.”  As if!  HE’s the one who sent them there. 
“It should arrive in 3-4 days.”  How about a couple of weeks?!? 
“Oh, it looks like Jun 2nd now…”  June 7th and counting…
“Oh, they’ll be heading straight home from Winnipeg.”  Actually, we found out from the national headquarters that they are going through Calgary and then Fort McMurray first!

And the best nugget yet: They movers called us, (all choked because they want to be at home with their wives and they’ve been on this never-ending trip) and told me that the dispatcher told them to just dump our stuff in storage in Winnipeg or Calgary to make room for other people’s belongings… and then they’d eventually send someone else to pick it up.  Are you kidding me???? Luckily, the movers refused on ethical grounds… so the cross country trip continues.

Being without our stuff for 2 weeks is having some financial repercussions as well as being a major pain in the butt.

• I can’t work because they have our computer.
• We have to eat out at least once or twice a day because there are only so many things you can prepare with no pots or dishes.
• There’s nothing to do at our house except go for walks, sit on the dog beds, read, and fill out our adoption homework.  This is good for the most-part… but sometimes we can’t stand it and we go out to the movies and spend money in other ways to relieve our sanity.
• We have to buy all these things we stockpiled, such as meds before we went off our medical plan.

I tell you, these people better be giving us a SERIOUS discount… or else I think we’ll have to take them to small claims court or something. We are so peeved, because we can’t seem to do anything.  But in the meanwhile, for heaven’s sake…

Don’t move with “Two Small Men with Big Hearts” out of Surrey!!!!

Well the moving has not been going as planned, but Nicky and I are enjoying the Okanagan.  Our moving company was supposed to arrive on May 24, but did not show up until May 28th.  In the meantime, Nicky and I had to go to Kelowna with the dogs and cats to move the food and for her to catch a flight.  Luckily, we had my parents at the house when the movers arrived (late) to supervise the loading of goods.  Unfortunately, our treadmill was not loaded as it needed to be taken apart in order to take it down the stairs and the movers had neither the time nor patience to take it apart.  My father would have taken it apart but he did not have the tools to do so.  Fortunately, I have strong friends back home who will hopefully help him take it downstairs and over to my parents before we can pick it up.  (Thanks again, guys)

We learned at this time that the movers would NOT be going directly to BC, but instead would be going to Manitoba to pick up a load and then moving our stuff.  They would not be arriving to BC until June 5th or after.  This left Nicky and I stranded in Kelowna with two dog beds, an air mattress, camping pots and utensils, and a large amount of wine. 

We have managed to do OK in the meantime and we purchased a new bed to sleep on.  Unfortunately, our air conditioning had not been installed in the rental and we hit a heat wave (30 -35 C) for four days straight.  This left us and our animals withering and wilting in the house, but today it has cooled!!!  Tomorrow our air conditioning will be installed for the next bout of Okanagan summer.

The delay of the movers has left us frustrated and left the house empty.  Nicky contacted the head office in Surrey and has got the run around from the manager.  “I wasn’t aware the load was going to Manitoba??”  and  “They should arrive no later than June 2nd”  were some of the lines he fed us.  Nicky talked to the office in Edmonton and they claimed the manager was a “real rotter” and definitely the bad apple in the company.  He has told us there will be some financial compensation, but we have not been informed of the total.  If it is not sufficient, we are prepared to take them to small claims court to wring out a proper amount!

Obviously, the blog has been silent in the meantime as our computer is in Manitoba.  (That has been our catch phrase….”We would, but it’s in Manitoba”)  We are currently at UBCO library cathing up on e-mail etc.

We have filled the void  of the house by reading, walking the dogs, shopping, and catching up on rest.  The animals have settled in nicely and when it is not too warm we can hear our cat Haatim running and rattling the doors.  Hamish and Maggie are starting to adjust to the hum of the cars on the street in front of our house and are becoming a little more civilized.

We have met and visited with my new employers and they were kind enough to lend us some chairs.  I start work tomorrow at the new job and I am excited and a little anxious, but I’m sure everything will feel more comfortable within a few weeks.

On the adoption front, we met with the adoption agency in downtown Kelowna and placed a payment with them.  We have been placed with a social worker and have begun some new paperwork important for the home study.  Our first visit with the social worker will be next Monday on my day off.  It will have to be downtown rather than our house because it will either be still empty (I hope not!!) or it will be very disorganized with the recently moved boxes.  We’ll keep you updated, at any rate.

So we’re off on Saturday, and today the computer gets packed.  So you won’t hear from us in probably a week…

There are lots of things we will miss about our home in this little town in Alberta. 

First, we’ll miss our friends… my dear friend SH who has been my colleague and confidant.  Our best neighbors ever! S & R.  We’ve been so lucky to have such great friends just over the fence.  And all our other friends who have made this town a great place to live…

We’ll miss being close to J’s family.  Now we take it for granted, especially because Jrock stays at his mom’s house to frequently.  But we will definitely miss have such easy, every day contact with them.

We’ll miss our house.  We’ll miss the pond in the backyard, the frogs, the birds, and the rivervalley just blocks from our front door.  I guess we’ll miss the life we have built here.

But as I said to J the other night, I guess our home is where we are, and the dogs and cats are.  “And where our kids are,” he added.  Very true.

Life is like riding a bicycle.  To keep your balance you must keep moving.  ~Albert Einstein

So my mom-in-law and I flew over to Kelowna last weekend for a couple of job interviews.  I’m getting sick of not finding the right job – I’ve turned down 3 because of low pay and 1 because the lady who would be my boss was “cruel and unusual.”  I really want to find something fun, challenge and decent paying so I can help pay the mortgage!

I really want one of these two new positions  – so I hope I get offered it. No news yet.

The weekend itself, though, was pretty fun.  Mom-in-law went to the spa with me for the first time.  In fact, she got here nails done for the first time ever.  Boy, was she tickled. We did some other fun stuff, like going to a goat’s cheese artisan (very stinky and very good, perched up on the rocky ledge of a mountain!) and doing some wine tastings. Mom-in-law doesn’t get out to do much, so I think she really enjoyed herself and also familiarized herself with our new location.   

The new house is nice and clean… We must of done a good job soundproofing our basement in Vermilion, though, because you can hear EVERY WORD from the basement at the new house.  Hopefully some carpets will dim the noise until we sell our old place and build or buy.

It was great to get back home, but not so nice to see the snow.  Yes, Dad, I’m becoming a softy.  The milder weather will suit me just fine!

Nicky

Funny how I’m always so composed, and usually excited about change.  Our move to Sunnyside (no, that’s not the real place;-) ) has got me clenching my jaw at night.

One relief is that we’ve found a place to live.  The owner says it’ll be sodded and airconditioned before we move.  (Hope to heck it will be, since this pale-skinned girl sweats in +24c. and burns in a picture window.) I’ve always hated the though of living in a vinyl-clad house in a homogeneous subdivision, but the fact that our abode will be new, clean and has a fireplace is a real bonus.  It’s also out of town north of Kelowna, where we might eventually want to build, so it’s a good opportunity to live out in the sticks and try it on for size.

The fact that Jrock has a good job is also a bonus.  His contract arrived today and I felt a little less Atlas-y. I think he’s going to learn so much at this place – he’ll be just an amazing *anonymous profession* after working there and honing his skills.

We’ll see if Jrock has anything to say about the move and my unusual stress in a later epiode.  For now, wish us luck selling our house!

Nicky