Write 31 Days - Move

I did a quick exercise and wrote down all the homes I've lived in and was shocked that it had been so many. I have moved 18 times in my life. Currently, that means I'm in my 19th home!
That's a LOT of packing and unpacking. Some, true, were only for a few months, but they were moves, nonetheless.

I started in Calgary, where I was born and we lived in one home on a farm there until moving to Victoria when I was 6 years old. I never thought I'd get over moving away from my friends, from our farm, or from the prairies in general. However, I quickly became a very West Coast girl and love Victoria!

My dad built three of the houses we lived in once in Victoria. In between houses, my family rented or stayed in guest suites for a short time. So the moves sure added up.

I don't mind moving, and I should be good at it now, but I hate the packing! Unpacking is like Christmas, you find surprise items in each box and search out a new place to put them. Packing is like Spring cleaning, only on a worse scale because of the time pressure and all the under-layer of things you find after packing up all the essentials. Yuck!

Moving was always a part of my life. It wasn't a big deal, in fact it felt sort of fun to search out the next place and make it our own. (I'm certain my parents would disagree!) Sure, it would have been fabulous to have stayed in one great house my entire life, but we always made it an adventure. Setting up house in a new place always felt like a new start, a fresh beginning where anything was possible. My parents always took care of us when we had to move and anytime I had to move as an adult God always seemed to take care of helping me find the perfect place, even when the pressure was on and time was running out.

I'll never dread moving because I can make anyplace "home".

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My House...company worthy! Yay!

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, here it is!
My home!
Tidied. Cleaned. Unpacked. Decorated...and all cozy....Ooozy boo!
The pictures are not too snazzy, just quick ones last night from my phone. Apparently the flash wasn't on so they are a bit grainy and dark, but you get the idea.

Here is the fireplace and bookshelf.
To the right you go through the french door to get to the kitchen.
Bedroom is to the left.

Here is the living room.
It looks kinda squishy with a couch and a loveseat, but offers lots of seating for all my guests!!

My boudoir, with Sophie curled up on the bed.

More photos to come!!
And hey, anyone want to come over? Play some cards or watch a movie or some episodes of Friends or The Office?? What's that I hear? Party at Kir Kir's?? SURE!!

I am moved!!

Yes, everyone, rejoice with me! I have now moved into my new home! Yay!
(I still have some cleaning to do at the old place, but I'm not thinking about that until Saturday.)
Yes, I am in my new digs and even though I am surrounded by piles of boxes and I can't find anything yet, I am happy!
My place is so very cute! Stained glass window accents, little nooks and cute little windows in unexpected corners, a wonderful big stone fireplace with a huge wooden mantle, quite a bit of closet space (and I'll need it all!), gardens all around my windows, one block from the ocean, wonderful neighborhood to walk in.....wow! I can't believe it! Plus my landlord upstairs is super nice! I mentioned maybe installing another electrical outlet for my computer, since there are very few outlets and none near my desk, he did it right away yesterday!! Wow!
It has only been a two days but so far Sophie and I have enjoyed lovely walks to see the sun setting or rising. All the houses in the area are ready to burst with flower blooms. Ahhh, so excited!!
I will take some photos when my house does not look like it got hit over the head by a packing fairy. Boxes and paper and boxes, oh my!!

On a side note, I just wanted to say that I really love reading all your blogs (all you friends, near and far). I love hearing about your kids or your projects or your thoughts about who is lame, your movie recommendations and your clothing or hair experiments....all of it!
I love reading it all! Keep it up!!




PS - This is me...on my...uh...cell phone...yeah, it's new. Ask Meg, she knows!!

My Barbie Dream House

Yes, my new home looks a lot like a Barbie Dream House, which as a child I never had. I always played with a homemade doll house that some nice person made for my older sister. Sure that doll house was wonderful, but in the back of my little girl mind I always wanted to play with the big pink houses that were displayed on commercials and toy flyers.
So now I have my pink house! Ha! It's so cool!It will be so easy to tell people if they are coming over, "Which house is it? Why, it's the big pink house."
Have I said how excited I am?!? Well I am!!!

Home Sweet HOME!!!

First of all - isn't the snow lovely?? I Looove snow! Even though it is a bit maddening and sometimes hard to drive in and get around, I love the cold, brisk air and how bright the snow makes everything!
Now on to the big news...

Well thank you everyone who has been looking and praying and hoping for me to find a new place to live because it paid off!!! I found a new HOME!!! YAY!! A new home without rats!! Yay to no rats!!!
Anyway, after weeks of talking to everyone I knew, checking out a few suites, calling around and constantly searching online classifieds, I finally found the new home of my dreams!! I went to check out this 1 bedroom, ground-level suite with my parents for support and their professional opinions, and even before we saw the house I knew I wanted to live in that particular neighborhood! It is ONE block from the ocean and a beach, a few blocks from shopping, a lovely residential neighbourhood full of wonderful heritage homes and beautifully gardened properties and yards!!
THEN we saw the suite.
It was so charming and cute! I'd have my own gate into the yard, lots of street parking (non-regulated) and a small but nice patio area.
The kitchen is yellow and white with excellent paint, tile and moldings, a good sized kitchen and a small, but cute and clean modern bathroom.
The living room has a working fireplace and is painted yellow with one wall a terracotta colour. It is a nice size and will fit my furniture (after selling a few pieces).
The bedroom is also a good size with two closets, though not too deep, they will be adequate for what I need to store. I even have my own washer and dryer that look fairly new!!
The best part is the landlord doesn't mind me having my dog!! YAY for Sophie and her good behaviour when I brought her to meet them!!
I'll post some photos below, but keep in mind that is NOT my furniture....(lovely isn't it? eesh!)
As soon as I move in, I'll take some photos of me and Sophie in our new home.
If anyone has any spare boxes or packing paper, I would much appreciate as many as possible. I'm already packing up a storm with a little help from some wonderful friends!
Kitchen, there is room on the left for either a small table or maybe just some shelving since I don't really use my table and chairs very often. The bathroom is behind and to the right. Nice white and teal tiles and paint.

And through a glass French door is the living room. All carpeted and I can burn the presto logs until they put in a gas insert, which may be soon.





Another shot of the living room, lots of space and nice bright windows.








The bedroom is way bigger than this photos makes it look.






Oh and PS - I am doubly glad I have to move out of this house because guess what little critter I found scratching around in my BEDROOM!!!!???? ANOTHER RAT!!! Sophie and I chased it out and I hope we catching him so I don't have to feel all creep-ified every night when I turn out the lights. AND I had a mini flood in the basement a week ago when a drain clogged up and gave me an inch or two of water flowing through the downstairs. I saved most of my boxes and nothing was really damaged. My precious dad came over even though he had a rotten cold and helped me (well really, he did it) shop-vac up the water and mop up. (He also fixed my car - what a guy!!!)