Al Zylstra

Well, it has been a long time since I did this. Putting pen to paper – as it were. So much has happened since I last recorded anything on my blog.

Since I last wrote, we have been in our home for almost 5 years.  Nykie, our beloved fur baby crossed the Rainbow Bridge,

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him and how much he was loved and how much he loved us.

Alex has had major health issues – thankfully all are under control now but, it has been a long slog to get him through the myriad of health issues.  But, my husband, if nothing else, is a fighter (as some of you well know).

Back in April, 2014, he came down ill with Infectious Gastro-Enteritis.  It took almost 6 months of visits to the ER and to various medical specialists to actually diagnose what happened to him.  We spent the next three and a half years fighting to get him well.  We have almost succeeded. The downside, though, was the aftermath of all the fighting with the medical system and the various governmental entities.

Alex found he was unable to work due to the various afflictions he was now burdened with.  I won’t go into details as that is his story to tell, not mine.  Suffice to say, he struggled valiantly to regain some semblance of a normal life.

My husband is one of the most resilient men I have ever met.

I, myself, had my own health issues – no nothing major (thank goodness).  I had a bout of kidney stones in 2013 which laid me out for almost two weeks.  In 2014, I had a bout of bronchitis – another week and a bit of being sicker than I have been in decades.  As a result of Alex’s diligence and persistence,  I was able to finally secure a health practitioner – the next best thing to a doctor.  She was able to successfully treat my hight blood pressure and prostate issues – hello drugs for the rest of my life, but, thanks to those drugs, it should be considerably longer than without them.

On to other stuff now:

Since writing last, I have come back to IRIS the Visual Group.  I could not be happier.  When I left IRIS back in 2009, it was to follow a new path.  One that was, supposedly, going to fulfill my  every need – financially speaking.  I was promised a bed of roses by a former friend and other than being subjected to a bunch of pricks, the prophecy did not come to fruition.

After struggling with (she who shall not be named) for 3 years, I was able to get away from her and her toxic life and began to rebuild my own.  I was able to find gainful employment.  I struggled to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up – apparently, being a firetruck is not a suitable or realistic goal to achieve.

I was able to transition from Volunteer at the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society into a part time office manager / race registrar gig.  That was a wonderful opportunity to put my administrative skills to use.

I was then able to secure a part time gig at Earth Options Pet Products – a company that I am still with today.  This was the brand of dog food that Nykie was on for the last 8 years of his life.  The quality of the product line is unsurpassed in animal nutrition values.

I then created a trifecta of work by going to work for one of my oldest and dearest friends – Elaine.  Elaine purchased a small consignment shop back in 2012 and was looking for someone to help out occasionally with some general sales duties and to help organize her paperwork.  That shop is East Side ReRides now located just off Main Street in Vancouver.  Working here and for her has been a true joy.  I am able to stretch my selling skills and work with some of the most interesting people ever.

Fast forward to 2014 – IRIS the Visual Group suffered a tremendous loss in the untimely death of their President – Dr. Francis Jean.  I contacted my amazing friend (friend doesn’t begin to cover my relationship with her), Debbi to express my condolences.  We spoke at great length about Dr. Jean’s legacy and the future of IRIS.  It was shortly after that conversation that Debbi offered me a new opportunity back in the IRIS family.

I jumped at the opportunity to work with Debbi again.  We have worked together at 4 different organizations over the years and we have always worked well together.  That is an understatement.  We ROCK when we work together.  We have been working on IRIS’ Corporate Eyecare Benefits Program and have turned it from a small little benefits program into a Juggernaut with sales in the multi-millions of dollars annually.

I have come full circle and couldn’t be happier.

So, that has everyone almost caught up with what has been going on until 2017.

2017 has been an amazing year for Alex and I.  We have been in our home almost 5 years and it couldn’t be better.  Yes, we have had a few challenges.  We have had two separate floods but thanks to insurance and great restoration services, we were able to replace all the floors in our home.

The furnace died in 2015 – the end result of that was a new furnace and very strained relations with my family – some irreparably harmed, others are slowly coming back to where they should be.

The hot water tank turned into a rust generator – again another major expense to replace, but, glad it is done.  I was getting covered in so much brownish water from the old tank, I was coming out of the shower looking very tanned.

We have increased our menagerie.  We have two adorable rabbits – Caramel and Patches.  A couple of beautiful does who reside in a massive hutch Alex built for them back in 2014.

We have two budgies – Lucky and Tiny.  Lucky came to us as a result of being caught by Nykie back in 2013.  Tiny joined him about 6 months after that.

3 aquariums and one pond rounded out the crew.  That is until Nykie left us.

Alex was lost without his furry buddy.  Thankfully, Alex found Phantom and Beau through a rescue foundation – Furever Free Dog Rescue.  Our two boys were rescued from the streets of Tijuana, Mexico and came to us back in March of 2016.  Our lives have been forever changed as a result.

We have been to the Maritimes in 2016 – an adventure one I will never forget or repeat.  Suffice to say, I am no longer the apple of some of Alex’s family members. A story for another time.

Alex’s BFF, Angela has moved back to the Maritimes and so now we actually have a reason to consider going back there.  The next trip there will be under completely different circumstances and on our terms – not anyone else’s.

2017 also found some great financial rewards for Alex and myself.  With some serious saving as well as Alex FINALLY getting his long term disability income, we found ourselves DEBT-FREE – other than our mortgage and car payment.  The weight of the world is off our shoulders now.

So, next year – EUROPE!  I have been promising Alex a trip to the Netherlands since we got married and next year, we will be able to afford it.

Then a trip to Costa Rica – a whole new adventure awaits us there.  We are looking at moving there when I retire, but, first a trip there to see if it is feasible.

This year, I had a number of trips to Edmonton to visit my mom.  She is struggling with dementia and it is definitely taking a toll on her (and by virtue of proximity – my siblings and their spouses).  I expect to be doing a number of those again in 2018.  But, it is an opportunity to keep my mom connected to the here and now.  Something, I am very grateful for. Her 91st birthday is in February and I am hoping to take Alex with me to go and visit her then.

We also had a camping trip to Edmonton in August and got to hang out with one of my best friends, Pat.  He is an amazing man who has put up with my shenanigans for almost 40 years now.  How he does it, I will never know.  I suspect it is due to drinking….

We were able to take the dogs with us and Pat was able to see how wonderful they were.

I have also just come off a very successful run in the theatre world.  I have been a stage manager for a number of organizations for the past 10 years.  This is a labour of love for me, but, all things must come to an end.  Sadly, I am going to be on a sabbatical from the theatre for at least 18 months.  Stage Managing is brutal and takes a lot of work and time and effort and all three plus working full time have taken their toll.  So, my last show is my LAST show (for 2018 – I did promise my director – Alison Schamberger that I would be back and I can NEVER say “no” to that woman.  She is one of the most amazing directors I have ever had the privilege to work with)

2018 is shaping up to be a great year for us and I hope to write more (and hopefully better).

 

 

 

 

Well, folks:  Here is the end result of many, many, many hours of work put in by Alex, myself and a couple of neighbours.  I cannot believe the transformation of our home.  I am also relieved that is (for the most part) done…..

Enjoy

 

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom – Nykie’s sleep area which he ALWAYS messes up…..

Dining Room – new floor.  I love it.

I have shown this shot numerous times, but, I am still astounded at how good the built in hutch looks.

New Pantries just off the kitchen to replace the built in pantry we took out….

Guest room / office / sewing centre.  This room had probably one of the best transformations considering we weren’t even goint to work on this room….

Our dining room hutch which is now my Stephen King collection display and Alex’s Craft centre….

Note, the re-upholstered work chair.  Alex did that in like 2 hours…. Sheesh!

Guest Bathroom.  New floors, new paint, new design, new everything…..

Guest bathroom… New Mirror, new lamps

New Kitchen Flooring….

 

New workstation where the old pantry was…. So clean and neat…. Plus, now I can actually work on a computer when Alex is on the other one… Hooray!

New expansive laundry room with additional storage…. Who doesn’t need more storage????

The hero of the day…. my amazing husband surveying the living room…. One of our next projects…. New floors… But, will wait until spring… In the meantime, he has, however, re-upholstered all the furniture in this room….

I got to decorate the tree this year…. Not bad, if I do say so myself….

The rabbits – who up until a month ago LOVED each other…. Now, they hate each other.  *sigh*

Lucky and the fishes…

The last of the decorations… for this year.  Alex and I have big plans for next year…. *shudder*

 

 

Well, here it is. Almost the end of 2013 and I am just about ready for it to be over…. Not really.  It has been a pretty amazing year with all of its ups and downs.  Fortunately, it has been more ups than downs…. Whew!

We bought a house!  HUGE UP!

 

Nykie is doing great after his health scares in early 2013.  HUGE UP!

Got laid off in May.  Kinda down but, in retrospect… a MASSIVE UP. No photo to insert but, just picture me doing my happy dance…. I am free of the stress, frustration, worry and anger that that job created.  Plus, to be rid of my boss (and former friend) is equally exhilarating….

Got a new job!  MASSIVELY HUGE UP!

I am working for a non-profit.  The International Dragon Boat Society…. Hooray!  It is an amazing opportunity for me.  Money is okay, but, the educational experience is going to be huge.  I am also working a few stage managing gigs which are actually paying me!  Gotta love that.

We have some new additions.  Another UP!  We have adopted two rabbits and a budgie…..

Alex is doing great.  He loves being able to stay home and work on the house, yard and making a real home for us.  His talents continue to impress and amaze me.  He, with the help of one of our good friends, Cam installed all new flooring in the house.  He has repainted the majority of the rooms.  Redesigned and refinished all our furniture.  The man truly inspires me….

We will be spending Christmas here (and why wouldn’t we???).  We hope to have a houseful of guest including Angela & Roy, Bonnie and some new additions this year.

I will be posting more regularly in the new year… it is probably the only New Year’s Resolution I can actually keep….

All the best from Alex, myself, Nykie, the rabbits and the bird…..

 

Well, the renovations are almost done.  We have a little tweaking here and there, but, for the most part, Alex and I have just about completed the renovations.  It is hard to believe that a short 7 weeks ago, we were in the middle of a flooded kitchen….

Thanks to our insurance company and the restoration company, the cleanup with quick and efficient.  We decided to tackle the restoration ourselves because we didn’t like the timeframe that was being put forward by the restoration company.  So, away we went to End of the Roll and King of Floors.  I think we scored big time at both locations.  We found excellent flooring at stupendous prices.

So, following are pictures from when we first got our home, to after we moved in to the completed restoration.  Enjoy!

Dining Room

After we moved in

Post Renovations

Kitchen

Post Reno

Laundry Room

Guest Bathroom

Guest Bedroom / Office

 

 

Master Bedroom

 

After Renovations

 

I hope you enjoy.  I will be making a Christmas post soon.

 

 

Well, here it is almost All Hallows Eve and I figured now was as good a time as any to start writing.  I have been working on a couple of different angles for my latest blog, but, I couldn’t decide between A) My bout of Kidney Stones and how that has really been an annoying pain in my side – literally or B)  Our escapades with the appliance store where we bought our washer and dryer.

Hmmm, what to blog about first?  What to do?  What to do?  So, I did the only logical thing I could – I tossed a coin.  And, the appliance debacle won!!!!

So, sit right back and make yourself a cup of tea, coffee or whatever your poison is…. I can wait……

It all began on a sunny Saturday.  October 5th to be precise.  We started the day off by doing some light housework and then some erranding.  Alex set some clothes in the washer and set it for “heavy duty” (apparently, I am a bit of a slob….).  The washer ran for about 35 minutes when it hit the final spin.  Upon attaining full velocity in the spin cycle, our washer (who I have decided to name “Regan” after Linda Blair’s character in “The Exorcist”, decided it wasn’t happy spinning and would rather rinse the clothes… again….  So, it began a rinse cycle and then upon reaching the spin cycle….. reset itself and began another rinse cycle….   Eventually, I caught on to what was happening.  It only took 5 cycles for me to grasp the situation. *sigh*.  Apparently, I am a bit of a dolt and somewhat slow these days….

So, I turned Regan off and pulled all the sopping wet clothes out and wrung them out.  I then put them in the dryer and waited.  I told Alex of the problem when he got home and he promptly got on the phone to the appliance store where we purchased Regan and, well, let’s just call the dryer “Rush” after Rush Limbaugh (he does spin marvelously and is certainly full of hot air).  The appliance company was semi-sympathetic and offered to send out a repairman on the following Thursday as they only had one repairman who could come out to Surrey,  *sigh*.  So, we waited.

On the Thursday, a gentleman showed up who spent the next 3 1/2 HOURS trying to make sense of what was going on with Regan.  Not only did he not have a clue as to what the problem was, he couldn’t speak a word of English and spent the entire time reading the manual and talking to a translator on the phone.  After puttering around for 3.5 hours, he told Alex that the machine was working and he set it to run through a cycle and everything should be fine.  By this point, Nykie needed to do his business, so Alex took him for his afternoon constitutional.

When Alex came back after about 30 minutes, he walked into the kitchen and stepped in about 1 1/2 inches of water!  There was water everywhere.  Alex ran into the laundry room and after a quick assessment discovered that the dolt of a repairman forgot to hook up the drain hose and Regan was still not fixed!  So, for 30 minutes or longer, water was pouring onto the floor of our home.

Alex called the appliance store who, after he finished telling them what happened was promptly asked by the person on the other end, “What do you expect us to do about it?”  SERIOUSLY?????  Well, rightfully so, Alex lost it on them.  He hung up on them and immediately called our insurance company.  They were so quick!  They sent a restoration company out that very afternoon and the clean up started….. They brought in huge fans, dehumidifiers and a variety of other equipment.

The next day, the restoration company was back and began to inspect the damage.

Now, I don’t know if you know about manufactured homes, but, rarely do they use standard building materials like 2 x 4’s, sheetrock, and the like.  Nope, they use wood paneling and thinner studs.  Wood paneling, when wet, swells and bows but, never, ever returns back to it’s original shape after drying.  Not only that, but, you cannot patch wood paneling as you will ALWAYS see the patch.  So, the laundry room, hallway between the kitchen and laundry room, the guest bathroom and part of our dining room all have paneling which is water logged up to about a foot off the floor.  All the floors in those rooms were soaked.  The wall behind the bathtub in the guest bathroom is soaked. The wall behind the toilet is soaked.  AUGH!!!

Below are some of the pictures of the restoration process…. It makes me sad to see our beautiful home in disarray, but, I am also happy that it is going to better than ever…. I just hope that we can survive the mess.

The Laundry Room

The temporary home of Regan and Rush along with our dining room table and chairs….

One of the areas that needs to be cleared….

The hallway between the kitchen and the laundry room.  Note that the lino still needs to be pulled up from the kitchen…..

Another view of the hallway along with one of the biggest dehumidifiers known to man…

All the stuff from our pantry and laundry room needed to go somewhere…. *sigh*.  So, we get to look at it in the living room.  Hooray!

And yet more stuff…..

So, needless to say, Alex is somewhat forlorn.  But, he has been amazing through this whole process.  He has been in communication with the insurance company, the restoration company, the appliance company, the manufacturer of the appliances, the Better Business Bureau and has been calm, cool and collected throughout.  I am so proud of him…..

We have been reassured by the restoration company that all will be well and that it will get worse before it gets better.  The turnaround time is approximately 3 – 4 weeks.  Here’s hoping it is done before Christmas……  Because I have absolutely no desire to have Christmas Dinner with Regan and Rush!!!  Would you???

Wow!  Has it been since April that I posted last?  Sheesh, my how time flies when life gets in the way….  A number of updates since April.

Chronilogically, I guess we need to start with May!  May proved to be a month of upheavals in our life.  Not that I am complaining.  I survived it to write about it, so it can’t be all bad, right?

1)  I got laid off from my job.  Not a bad thing at all.  Frankly, I was tired of working for the lab.  The layoff resulted in the end of a friendship, too.  I treasured that friendship (dripping sarcasm)…. So glad I buried it (pity I couldn’t do the same with the person involved) ….  Enough said about that.  I do not wish that person any ill will but, am overjoyed that I don’t have to deal with the drama, lies, deceit, treachery, and petulance any more.  Alex, is equally thrilled to have them out of our lives.

2)  The end of our car…  Yes, two weeks after my layoff,  our beloved Kia Sportage died.  The engine block cracked and breathed its last gasp on the east end of the Port Mann Bridge.  Fortunately, it had enough ooomph left in it to make it off the bridge.  Otherwise, it would have resulted in a hefty fine.  So, here it is at my mechanics’ waiting for the final resting place.  Gonna miss the beast, but, in retrospect, I am saving $130  month in insurance, $150+ / month in fuel, and who knows how much in maintenance.   So, that in itself is a good thing.

But, I am still missing it.  Now, to start putting money aside for another vehicle.  Fortunately, we are not in a real fired up hurry for a vehicle because we have great friends who either let us borrow their vehicle or they come to visit us and take us erranding.

3)  The homestead.  Well, as luck would have it, we have been very fortunate in having  a great growing season.  There has been so many plants, flowers, veggies that Alex has grown successfully that we won’t be needing to buy a number of items for months to come.  Alex planted 3 vegetable gardens…. We have grown corn, tomatoes, beans, peas, carrots, beets, radishes, potatoes, squash, cucumbers, strawberries, and blueberries.  We have been so successful that we are looking at building a greenhouse in the fall so we can continue to harvest other items such as herbs, peppers, and the like.  We have been able to secure a whole bunch of windows, wood and supplies to begin construction soon. Will keep you posted on the status of that.

Just one of three gardens…. My husband has the GREENEST thumb!!!

4) June showers…..  Nykie update.  Nykie continues to astound me and Alex.  His health is holding steady.  He seems happy, he eats twice a day, manages to keep moving and is generally a happy 15 1/2 year old dog.  Every day is a blessing to have him around.  The only issues that we have had with him recently were that he appears to be losing his hearing (sigh).  No more yelling at him ‘cuz he just can’t tell…. Then there is his grooming.  Boy, you would think that a dog that just loves to prance around would want to look his best…. Nope, not Nykie.  He fought us tooth and nail to NOT be groomed.  So much trauma that I gave up and hired a professional dog groomer to come in and do him.  Welcome to Aussie Mobile Pet Grooming!!!  What a great concept!  We phoned in, made an appointment for Nykie.  They came to the door, talked with Alex and myself for about 20 minutes before she even touched him.  Once, we got the muzzle on him, he settled in and had the full meal deal:  Brushing, Bathing, Nail Trimming, Ear Cleaning, De-Matting and so much more.  If you are ever looking for a great pet groomer – http://www.aussiepetmobile.ca/  is the way to go…..

His lordship after checking out the geraniums…. Or his impression of Bozo the clown.  You decide…

5)  New family additions…. So, if anyone ever asks you what kind of dog mades the best bird dog…. tell them, NYKIE.  In three weeks he caught a budgie and a cockatiel. 

Meet Lucky, the Budgie.  We kept him.  The Cockatiel went to the pet store.  Never liked Cockatiels and Lucky DEFINITELY didn’t.  You can see from the picture that he was not happy about having this interloper…

Finally, meet Caramel and Patches.  The newest additions to the household…. These two guys are going to be living with us for a while, it would seem.

6) Mom’s visit.  Mom had been jonesing to come to Vancouver for a while now and with the assistance of my brothers and sister, we were finally able to accommodate her.  So, at the end of July, Mom came to visit.  Her visit was entertaining to say the least.  She still manages to get around quite well and was fun to have out…. for the week.  I have always been in awe of my mother.  She manages to keep herself busy by swimming 6 days a week and has a variety of hobbies that include her latest craze:  Making beaded purses….

these babies are hand made from scratch.  They are beaded and lined.  And she is selling them for $50 / each…. Good deal, right?  If you want one, let me know…. I have all the ones shown in the pic.

Here she is with a few friends from the park just hanging out drinking wine…..

Well, that should keep you going for a while.  So much more to tell:  my infamous bouts with Kidney Stones, the surgery, the recovery (ick) and finding things to keep me amused….  Details to follow.

I do promise to try and write more sooner rather than later… Here’s hoping that I can keep that promise….

Well, here it is, April 2 and I survived Easter.  4 days of merriment and adventure…. *sigh*

Where to begin?  Well, the beginning is as good a place as any, I guess.  

Thursday, I left work at my usual time and headed home.  Alex and I had discussed Easter and what we were going to be doing.  It was decided that we would have a few friends over. Roy was going to come over from Victoria on Saturday, Bonnie was going to come over on Sunday and Sunday Morning, I would pick Angela up from the airport.  She was going to be coming home from a 10 day trip back east.  

Alex mentioned to some of our new neighbours that we were having a bit of a barbecue and then next thing we knew, they were coming over, too!  Not that we minded, though.  (as a side note, we seem to have great neighbours all around the park).

Since we had all these people coming over, we figured we had best get our deck finished off.  That meant more $$$$$.  We decided that we should go and get some furniture for our deck.  So, after dinner, we hopped in the car to go over to Canadian Tire.  The second that I put the key in the ignition, I knew we were in TROUBLE.  The battery was dead!  Dead like Lindsay Lohan’s acting career.  In other words, majorly dead.

AUGH!!!

So, on the phone to the local cab company.  Took a cab off to the Canadian Tire to fetch a new battery.  $130 and 30 minute laters, I was home and struggling to put the new battery in.  Unfortunately, Canadian Tire didn’t have the battery for my year of vehicle.  I found one that was for a Kia two years older than mine.  Needless to say, it didn’t quite fit, but, Alex and I jostled and swore at it and ‘lo and behold!  It fit.  Sort of….

I tentatively put the key in the ignition, said a silent prayer (to whom, I am not sure) and turn the key. It fired up like there was nothing wrong!  Hooray!  Now the truly annoying part started.  When the battery died, I lost all the pre-sets on my radio…. 

 But, I digress.  Off to Canadian Tire (again) we went.  We found the conversation set we were looking for. It was the last one in stock!  Good fortune!

 

Then, off to Wal-Mart we sped.  There we found our dining set.  Again, the last one in stock.

 

The Umbrella is in our backyard to provide much needed shade for Nykie.  

We left them in the boxes as it was so late on Thursday, there was no way I was going to get them assembled in a timely manner.  So, off to bed we went.

Good Friday arrived far too soon.  Alex, Nykie and I piled into the car nice and early and headed off to our condo.  We needed to do a clean up on the place before we gave the keys back to our landlords.  Our friend, Bonnie, showed up at the condo about 10:30 and the three of us began cleaning, touching up, washing, scrubbing, vacuuming and general maintenance in earnest.

By 4:00 pm, we were exhausted.  I had forgotten how big our condo was and it hadn’t had such a cleaning in a couple of years.  But, it was beginning to look cleaner than when we first moved in.  Other than some mishaps with some paint, we were almost done.

We left around 6, drove Bonnie home and went back to our house where we grabbed a quick bite to eat.  I then tackled the furniture.  When they say, “Some Assembly Required.:, what they really mean is “We are going to provide you with instructions in Swahili, diagrams that most computer programmers would scratch their heads at and pictures that look NOTHING like the finished product.”

I started to put together the living room furniture and discovered that I was missing one package of screws.  AUGH!  So, back into the box, everything went and I hauled it back to Canadian Tire.  Once there, I struggled to get the box into the store where the Store Manager greeted me warmly and within 10 minutes, I was out of there with another set. *sigh*.  Someone liked me that night.

You can see the end result above.  Kudos to Scott Road Canadian Tire for their amazing customer service.

Once they were assembled, I tackled the dining room set.  Fortunately, the chairs were already assembled and it was just the table that needed to be put together.  10 minutes later, the set was up.  (again, see above). The very next day, Alex was sitting in one of the chairs, pulled it closer to the table and broke one of the arms…. I almost started to cry.

Back to Walmart with the broken chair.  Fortunately, the Seasonal Manager was understanding and kind and decided that it would be easier to swap a chair than to replace the whole set.  Whew!

Nykie loves the umbrella in the back.  It provides him with some much needed shade.

Once the furniture was up, it was Alex’s turn.  He set out candles, decorations, pillows and made the whole deck nice and inviting.  I sat out there with my computer tablet until almost 11:30 basking in the joy that we had a cool outdoor space.

When we finally went to bed, it was close to 1 am….. We got up the next morning bright and early and started off, again.  First a trip to the grocery store for some items we forgot.  Found the “No Frills” on Fraser Highway.  Great store!  Great prices!

I finished off the grocery shopping in time to run home, drop everything and head out the door to collect Angela from the airport.  I got to the airport just before her flight arrived.  She looked tired but so happy to be back on the West Coast.  She was home!

We then went and picked up Bonnie and her daughter.  Bonnie’s car was giving her grief.  She needed new tires and was afraid to drive it.  I concurred and so agreed to pick her and Sarah up.  We then went home where Alex was waiting patiently for us to arrive.

On the way to our place, we found out that Roy chose not to come over.  So, that meant one less person to feed.  

That being said, Alex, being an East Coaster, likes to cook for small armies.  We had two chickens, ribs, a massive bowl of potato salad, another massive bowl of cole slaw, a blueberry crumble, a coconut cream pie and a variety of munchies.  I haven’t seen that much food in one place in ages.  It was like he was prepping for the end times!

Dinner began at 5:30 and we must have eaten for about 2 hours before we finally gave up.  I then spent the next hour washing dishes, finding bowls to put all the leftovers in, de-crudding the barbecue and making sure that all our guest had their whims attended to. Our neighbours left around 7:30, I drove Bonnie and Sarah back to Bonnies place around the same time.

I got home around 9:00 and walked in to find both Alex and Angela glued to the TV.  Their newest Guilty Pleasure?  TLC’s Myrtle Beach Manor.  Apparently, it is a reality show about a Mobile Home Park!  Was the cosmos trying to tell me something?  Gawd, I hope not!

Monday couldn’t come fast enough for me.  We went to bed at around midnight.  Got up the next morning and took Angela to the Ferry.  Got home to have Alex waiting for me to take him back to Home Depot.  I swear that Home Depot is going to be his second home….

Spent another $120 there.  More plants, more lawn stuff and more dirt….. We are going to have a veritable jungle when he is done…. But, at least we will eat well.  He has been getting tomatoes, potatoes, beets, carrots, radishes, blueberries, strawberries and a host of herbs all ready to plant.

Sure hope he runs out of space to put things.  Thus endeth my Easter Weekend.  

There are, a ton of small mishaps that occurred on this weekend but, I have successfully managed to block them….

Suffice to say, my weekend was a hectic one and I look forward to going back to work to rest up from my weekend.

 

As promised, I have finally found a few minutes to take some “after” pictures.  

Enjoy

Al

Master Bedroom

 

Master Bathroom

 

Dining room

 

Dining Room

 

Dining room

 

Kitchen

 

Living room

 

Living room

 

Living room

 

Living room

 

Front door area

 

Living room

 

Give my husband some gardening tools and watch him go.  Yesterday morning, this whole front area was filled with brush, shrubbery, plants and the like.  

 

Another view of the work in progress.  I fully anticipate this to be completed in a matter of days. He is in his element here….

 

You can see he has started digging up part of the backyard for a vegetable patch….

 

A bit of a mess on the deck, but, you can see the size of it.  It is gonna be great for entertaining….

 

Well, it is done!  After 6 weeks of ferrying boxes, pictures, clothes, bedding, aquariums, books, movies, music, plants (so many freakin’ plants!!!), we reached the end of the road on Saturday, March 23.  The big stuff came over.  What a day that was!

I reserved a 2 ton truck from Budget Rent a Car on Kingsway in Vancouver.  I did it online because that seemed to be the simplest way to accomplish the move.  On Friday afternoon, I picked up our good friend, Roy from the Ferry Terminal.  He came over to help with the move.  His lovely wife, Angela came over on Thursday.  Unfortunately, her trip over was to catch a ride to the airport.  She had to fly back to Halifax for her mom’s funeral.  Very sad for Angela.  Alex and I did what we could to make her brief visit here quiet and relaxing.

Back to the move…. Saturday morning, Roy and I got up early and headed out the door to pick up the rental truck.  In the meantime, Telus showed up at the house to install TV, Internet and Phone.  That made Alex a happy camper.  He got to stay behind and supervise. The Telus installer showed up around 9:00 am and would be staying there for almost 6 hours!  Those of you who complain about Telus… STOP IT!  We had amazing service.  This man crawled under our house 4 times, removed all the old cabling, set up all new systems, upgraded our modem and was generally amazing!  Kudos for Telus!!!

While this was going on, Roy and I headed over to Budget to pick up the truck, where would also meet up two more able bodied friends, Dwayne and Tina.  When we go there, I showed the counter person my reservation and she started the paperwork.  She asked me for my driver’s license and credit card.  Out came the credit card and my TEMPORARY license ( I renwed it with a change of address on the Friday before).  *sigh*  A word of warning:  DO NOT EVER RENEW YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE IF YOU NEED TO RENT A VEHICLE THE NEXT DAY!!!  

The counter person refused to let me have the vehicle because I didn’t have picture ID.  *sigh*, so, back to Surrey, I went to collect my passport.  

90 Minutes later, we were on our way…..  We got to the condo at around 11:30 instead of 10:00 am which is what I was shooting for.  AUGH!  Our friend, Bonnie was waiting oh, so patiently for us.  We got right to work.  We surveyed the remains of our lives in that condo and determined that everything was gonna go over the balcony.  A joy having a balcony only 3 feet off the ground.  It made our move so much easier. 

The sofas, armoires, chairs and the like went over the balcony.  The freezer and a few other items went down the elevator.  Amazingly enough, we finished in about 90 minutes.  Whew!  Then began the convoy.  We had three vehicles and only one person who knew where we were going.  Me!  So, in the truck,  I went with Dwayne, while Bonnie followed in her car and Tina and Roy followed in mine.  

Of course, we had to stop for gas…. Qu’elle Surprise!  So, that made it even more challenging.  But, we managed.  After about 45 minutes, we slowly pulled into the drive.  Another friend, Mona was there to greet us with two helpers: her daughter, Mallory and Mallory’s boyfriend, Rowan.  Excellent!  More slave labour…

But, first:  FOOD!  Mona was amazing and whipped up a great lunch for us.  So, we ate, rested and after 30 minutes, we started the unloading process.  Again, it went so quickly.  We had everything unloaded in an hour.  

Dwayne and Tina left just after and returned the truck for me.  A huge thanks to them for their help and being kind enough to return the truck…..

Mona, Mallory and Rowan left shortly after.  Many thanks to them for their assistance, too.  They were amazing.

Roy, Bonnie, Alex and I began in earnest to put the rest of the stuff away.  We worked late into the night to put stuff away and by 9:30, we were done.  Roy rewired all of our electronics and got the tv’s, computer and various media devices working.  So, we sat back and watched 1 movie:  The Mummy Returns…. and by midnight, we were ready for bed.

I slept the sleep of the dead… well, for about 6 hours… then Nykie decided it was time for us to get up…. We had a great breakfast and at around 11:00, Bonnie and Roy left to go home.  That left me, Alex and Nykie to bask in our new home.  Which we did.  

Pics to follow soon.  Alex did an amazing job getting our home ready.  I will be thanking him for some time to come…..

 

Hello all:  Well, we are that much closer to being moved in.  Every day I haul at least one load of boxes to the house.  By doing this, we will have a relatively (I HOPE!) easy move on the 23rd.  We have got our frineds, Angela, Roy, Bonnie, Dwayne, and Tina all helping.  Whew!

Angela and Roy are coming from Victoria on Friday, the 22nd and will be staying overnight at the house.  Good thing we got our new bed coming this week.  Roy and I will head over to the apartment on Friday night and get everything ready for the big move.  Dwayne, Tina and Bonnie will be meeting us at the apartment on Saturday morning.

Alex and Angela will stay at the house and wait for Telus to arrive to set up our internet, cable, and TV. That may be the easier job but, since there is so much cabling lying around, I somehow doubt that it will be easy….  My biggest fear about moving the services is that I have over 80 hours of TV that I have PVR’d and I am scared that I will lose it all…. AUGH!!! NO, I haven’t seen a single episode of Falling Skies and I will be seriously choked if it disappears on me.

Back to the move.  What we have left at the apartment is the sectional sofa, sofa table, freezer, armoire, 3 dressers, Alex’s sewing desk, the computer desk, computer, two tv’s, sideboard, barbecue, 3 shelving units, 2 dining room chairs and one easy chair.  Hopefully, it will all go in one shot and with little or no trouble.  I am worried about the sectional.  It has a queen sized sofa bed in it.  *shudder*.  I recall the difficulty we had moving it into the apartment.  

I think that we are going to toss it over the balcony.  Don’t laugh!  Our balcony is 4 feet off the ground.  So, to save energy, frustration and grunting, over the balcony it will go….

So, back to the house.  Alex has been working tirelessly to get the place ready.  Every day I come there and I am literally blown away by the progress he has made.  Walls are all painted, floors are clean, kitchen is completely organized, the dining room is set up, shelves are in their place, plants are getting situated and so many tiny details that make it look like a home are done.  I couldn’t be prouder of him.

I took a ton of pictures but, of course, I left the camera at the apartment.  *sigh*.  Will post them all in the next day or so.

Al