Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Why Hello There! AKA: Part I- The Move

It's been over two months! Which, I think, is the longest I've ever gone without posting! Bad blogger! Bad!

Okay, a few reasons. I lost the internet for well over a month so I wasn't able to blog and it kinda moved me out of a blogging frame of mind.

As well? I've been super duper busy! Report cards, moving, fat cat, roommates, family, 52 job applications, voting, planning trips to NY- it was a crazy time!

So my return will be featured in three parts I've decided. The Move. Making Stuff. All Good Stuff. Even though now the move is old news, I'll start there.

THE MOVE

Letseehere... it's crazy but I have totally forgotten about my old place. It's so odd how quickly that happened. I think I categorized my apartment in my brain in something other than 'home'. It was like a home, but it wasn't there, you know? It wasn't until I moved into my new place and just felt this total stillness here and was like 'well holy crap- this is a home.' I didn't realized I was missing that but now, I don't know, but I don't miss my old place at all. Well, the dishwasher sometimes, but that's it. Maybe it's because this place has a yard (small, but a yard nevertheless), it has two bedrooms, it looks out into a street full of children and cyclists, not an alley, I have family really, really, really close by, or maybe that I actually have to do dishes, but regardless, it feels like home and I love my new home.

The kitties were essential in the move. Lala hid a lot.
Spike would situate himself in places he shouldn't be and would scratch me if I tried to move him. He went a little psychotic the last bit before the move. Not crazy like before when he was a kitten, but just more excited and happy. He loved the boxes. It was like he couldn't decide where to sleep next! A box currently being packed, a pile of fresh laundry, on top of the books someone is trying to sort, oh the possibilities!
Of course I'm allowed on the stove. I'm allowed anywhere.

The move was crazy in that I didn't pack until the 28th. I got Frog Boxes and they arrived on Saturday, I moved on Wednesday. I did a tonne of purging and throwing out and giving away. I donated about ten pairs of shoes, four bags of clothing, fourty or so odd books, and probably five big boxes of other items. I also gave away a big bag of acrylic or other unloved yarn. It was a good thing.
My living room all packed up.
The rest of the boxes in the kitchen. In the afternoon the sun would hit the boxes and then the kitties were like lizards on a sunny road.

The move was all good. So glad I got movers. Never ever ever will I move without movers. Ever. It was hilarious. They got there and were very happy with the organization and all that (I had a lot of help to be that organized) and the movers were all smiles until they lifted the boxes. Then they realized I'm a reader. Then they didn't like me as much. We didn't make the boxes unbearable, we delegated all the books out (yes you can delegate books-sheesh) to different boxes, but still, I have a lot of books.

Anyhoo, besides having to drive back once to get all the groceries and Spike's insulin that I left in the fridge (thanks Ju), it was a very successful move. And because of the Frog Boxes, it meant I had to be unpacked by the following Saturday. I actually emptied the boxes by Friday, and then Sunday had a housewarming that went really well. My place is still coming together slowly. I'm looking for a small table and little stools for the kitchen window, I need more things on the walls, I'm still moving things around, but it's all coming together nicely. And I'm getting use to spiders. And by getting use to spiders I mean I don't scream as loudly as I use to when I see them.

So a tour. Hm... well, these pictures are a little dated now but it's all the same idea.

Here's the front half of the living room. Imagine less chairs now.
It's funny how the loveseat and the two mini bookshelves worked perfectly in that space. Crazy!

The other half of the living room. My bedroom is on the left (no photos- it's messy) and the other door is the spare room (no pictures- it's my roommate's room now). The kitchen is further down.
Oh, I wanted to include this picture of the scratching post. It was broken during the move and my awesome BIL constructed this out of the pieces, which I think is even better than the original.
The kitchen is boring but here is a cute photo of Spike modeling it for you. He's just figuring out where his food is kept and how he can dig it out (I've had to move his food three times and last night I put it in the front hallway closet that he can't reach so he tipped over the garbage twice last night).
Still good counter space and lots of storage. Gas stove. It's cute. I have a little window that I have a herb garden outside of which just means I need to learn how to cook with fresh herbs.
The bathroom is super tiny but makes up for that fact by having a huge bathtub. Here is Spike modeling again. See how tiny he looks?!? I love that tub!

So that's the new place. It's pretty rad. Slowly making it my own still. I've had so much help moving here. My sister, BIL, and a very good friend of the family all helped me move and helped me organize where things should go. My BIL put so much together for me that I couldn't have done on my own. My Mom helped me figure out effective storage and gave me a lot of cleaning tips. And now, my kick-ass roommate is helping out a lot. She is a good friend from high school and is going to UBC for a sememster so hey, it all works out.

I love decorating. I have a lot of my Bangladeshi and Papau New Guinea art up.
An unfortunately fuzzy photo, but my local Okanagan art has also gone up.
And could these birds be any cuter?
They'll be in the front hallway when I purchase the proper screws for them.

And yes, how do the cats feel about the new place?
There are two cats in the above photo.
They're making do somehow.