I believe I neglected to write about this, though I did sob about it on Facebook. About a month, maybe a month and a half ago, we found a place to live. It was cute! It was the end unit in a row of three townhouses in a little townhouse community. It had a shared backyard but a private deck, a community swimming pool (heated even! With lifeguards and lessons!), nice space, and a cool kitchen. I spoke a few times to the owner and she and I really hit it off immediately. She really liked me and the way I described how our family is moving out to Halifax, and she also liked George’s cousin a lot when he went to check it out.

On the Friday she told me it was ours if we wanted it and when I said an emphatic yes she sent me the application and told me that she’d get the lease to me in a day or so. We paid the security deposit and I was so motivated to pack, picturing where all our stuff would go in our new home.

On the Saturday I found out that she actually co-owned the place with a family member who had given it over to new tenants on the Thursday; the lease was signed, they had the keys, and they had scheduled a set-up with all the utilities. We were once again without a home. (Yes, we got the deposit back immediately.) I was really down. I mean REALLY down. I don’t take elation followed by instant disappointment well.

Anyway. A couple of weeks ago we did actually sign a lease on a new place. George’s cousin saw it and said it was great and that we’d be very happy with it. I liked what I saw of the pictures on the Kijiji listing, though they weren’t great shots, leaving me wondering just how big or small each room was, and there were no exterior shots nor were there any pictures of the kitchen, dining area, or the two bathrooms. Still, we trusted his judgment and grabbed it.

It’s in a great location with a bus I can take downtown for work, and there are several conveniences nearby in the form of grocery stores, Tim Hortons, and the NSLC (it will take time for me to get used to the fact that you can’t buy beer at the corner store but must instead go to the liquor store!).

Then his cousin went last night to pay the security deposit and next month’s rent. That was one thing I immediately liked about our new landlord – that should have been paid upon signing the lease but he wanted to repaint the place first and refused to accept any money until he had completed that job satisfactorily. That’s a huge step up from this place where they don’t give a crap about things like missing screens, leaky taps, or “minor inconveniences” like mold.

While he was there he was able to get pictures of all the rooms and suffice it to say I am ecstatic after seeing them. I had also gotten some great exterior shots earlier in the week from a friend who lives out that way (hi Patricia!), and I’m just in love with this house.

Unlike the townhouse it’s a semi-detached house and we have our own private yard. The yard isn’t big but it’s quite nice with a deck off the dining room, a patio down on the ground with a gazebo, a big shed, some nice plants, a fence, and even a spot for a wee garden. The kitchen is the only unfortunate part in that it’s still a galley kitchen like what we have in the current apartment BUT it’s bigger than this one with more counter space. The counters, tiles, and cupboards are much nicer, there’s a double sink which is something I’ve always wanted, and we have an actual pantry. For years we had to sacrifice two kitchen cupboards as a makeshift pantry, so that makes me happy. All that’s missing is a window over the sink (and, well, a dishwasher, but I’ve never had one anyway so it’s not a huge deal), but I’ll just hand a nice ocean picture there and use that as my “window” instead!

It’s such a relief to have a home. The kids are excited to each have their own room and I’m excited about that too since I’m tired of hearing them bicker in one room together! George has space for a music room and we will be able to have both a living room AND a family room. I’m thrilled!

If you’re my friend on Facebook you’ve already seen the pictures but if not, I also have them uploaded here. (In the close-up of the front those aren’t graffiti marks, that’s just me using Photoshop to hide our street number!)

I’m very happy and can’t wait to get set up!

Whew. I can’t believe I haven’t updated since May 20th. Honestly. I had really kind of wanted to document the whole process of preparing to move to Halifax a little more clearly because I like being able to look back on things and read about stuff I might have forgotten with time. The truth is, I’ve just been so busy, especially the past couple of weeks. By the time I get done with my day the only thing I can do at my computer is read everyone else’s blog posts. I have been updating on Facebook but although it has an ease that beats out blogging, there’s no archive system; I can’t think to myself, “hmm, what was I doing on June 10th?” and easily find it six months from now.

Thus, although I haven’t posted about moving regularly, let me catch you up on the chaos.

Oh yes, chaos. This blog isn’t called “Chaos Theory” for nothing! These pictures demonstrate exactly what it’s like to live in our apartment right now. We’re surrounded by towers of cardboard boxes (still color coded and numbered with an accompanying spreadsheet detailing what’s in each one, I’m amazed I’ve stuck with being organized this long). Getting through our living room is getting more and more difficult but at least it’s not for much longer.

And yes, I *love* that the kids keep putting their stuff randomly on top of boxes as though they’re tables. Sheesh. Anyway, it’s just nuts in here and with all the boxes piling up around me I’m thinking that despite the fact that I’ve read about the Zombie Apocalypse and am now currently reading about the Robot Uprising, the truth is the cardboard boxes are going to gain intelligence and kill us all in our sleep.

Man, I need to get this move over with. Only 17 more days as of today.

However it hasn’t all been super serious. I went to the school one day to hang out while the kids all did a Jump Rope For Heart Health event. Everyone was outside in the school yard skipping and running around and it was just a blast on a nice sunny day. I even managed to jump in, skip ten times, and jump out without falling down or losing bladder control, so go me. Like my friend said though, skipping was easier when we were younger and didn’t have any boobs yet.

You’re welcome.

I also went on a field trip. I wasn’t needed for Hayley’s class trip to a museum (too bad, since I had never been there), but I went with the grade four classes when they went to a different museum and then went on a walking tour of Old Montreal. It was really cold especially being so close to the Old Port but I’d rather walk in the cold than the humidity so it was fine. I loved it and took some pictures though I haven’t had a chance to process them yet. I’ll post them eventually. I was gone all day and had such a great time, and learned things too. I also learned that girls in grade four are now very emotionally dramatic and hormonal in ways we weren’t back when I was that age and it kind of scared me. Yikes!

Last weekend we had an impromptu BBQ with friends and that’s really my favorite kind of weekend day and evening – the one where you had no plans and suddenly you were packing your bathing suit and heading over to eat BBQ pork tenderloin with people you love, especially when they’re the people you’re going to miss very soon. The kids swam pretty much all day because they are insane and had no understanding that the water was COLD.

Meanwhile the three moms cleared away the dishes after supper, parked the kids inside to play, left the dads on supervision, and we took our wine across the street to the hot tub. I thought I would set up my camera for a timer shot of the three of us but my gorillapod was too low and in our rush to get into place before it snapped we kind of slipped and slid all over the place, ending with the most hilarious photo I’ve taken in ages.

And no, we didn’t spill our wine.

Finally, even though it was a weeknight, on Wednesday I went out to supper at my favorite local restaurant, Table 51, with the members of the PPO. They’re another group of people I will miss tremendously after we move, they’re all amazing.

(Why yes, we are a bunch of really hot moms, and bless the poor lone dad who is brave enough to come to meetings and deal with all the estrogen.)

I ate way too much. We split appetizers so I ate a “croquette” (potato, cheese, and bacon rolled into a ball and deep fried, then dipped in jalapeno mayo sauce), a bunch of homemade chips and crackers with hummus and guacamole (my favorite), a “mini mac” which is an itty bitty facsimile of a Big Mac (it tastes just like it, minus the accompanying nausea you get at Mickey D’s), and a bit of braised beef poutine (made with fingerling potatoes instead of fries, lots of curd cheese, and a rich wine gravy, oh mah GOD). That was really more than enough but I still ordered a veggie burger (made with lentils, oatmeal, and brown rice and served on a bun with tomatoes, red onion, dressing, cheese, and arugula, delicious!) with fries. I only managed half the burger before I nearly died so I ate the rest for lunch. The two glasses of Pinot Noir were wonderful too.

Mini Mac:

Veggie Burger:

Other than that it’s been all about packing, taking breaks to read voraciously on my Kindle (more about that in another entry as this one is long enough now!), and occasionally doing strange things with my body all in the name of yoga.

There is so much I’m going to miss but part of me is just really eager to get to Halifax so I can decompress just a wee bit!