Listing of the week

I was hoping for sunshine today, and it did eventually happen in the afternoon. One last chance to get a picture of our award. Open house today, and we straightened up and cleared out. Gotta clean that front sidewalk.....



The dogs are all excited to go for a ride in the car. The first time they were a bit too excited, but after 2 or three times, they have gotten used to the idea.



The open house went extremely well. Apparently, a lot of people stayed a long time and really liked our house. Our agent said it was one of the busiest that she has had. Here's hoping for an offer soon.....

Ack!! What day is it and where am I????

I know I said I would try to blog more regularly. The trip to Canada was hectic. We went non-stop for 4 days, driving around either looking at houses or touring areas to help us decide where we would like to live. We saw bankers and insurance brokers, drank lots of Tim Horton's coffee or tea, and looked over house listings at night in our hotel room. 5 days seemed more like 3 weeks, but we accomplished a lot. At least now we know where we would probably like to live.

Here we are on Sunday after touring and house shopping. I look happy despite the day old clothes and no makeup. By the way, my luggage did not arrive until around 12 pm that day. They said the weather was too bad to drive out to Waterloo. How in the world did we, as major rookies, manage to do so???



And a little hotel room weirdness. This is the most shallow tub in the world.



Just kidding. It is still very weird though don't you think? You still have to pull up the tab to make the shower head work.



As I look through all the pictures that we took (mostly James) it is really hard to tell which house was which or where. We saw so many that looked similar, it is hard to remember which inside goes with what outside. There are a few that stood out though, like a beautiful kitchen or a lovely back yard. Unfortunately when the pictures transferred to the computer from the camera they did not go into original order, so that is the problem.

We came across Agnes street at some point, and also Lourdes street, but did not get a picture of it. For those who don't know, those are both our Mom's names.



In the first house we visited we came across furniture that matches some of the furniture that we have. It could be a sign! Alas, it ended up not being a neighborhood we would choose to live in. There was also an attractive back yard in another home in the same area, and you can get an idea of the snow we were experiencing.



This is what anyone would like to see out their back door.....



This is NOT!



I really don't want to see into my neighbor's family room every time I look out my window. It seems that this is pretty standard though, and due to government restrictions on further "urban sprawl" lots are small and homes that back onto "green space" are at a premium. More money means bigger lots with more choice of green space. I will miss my beautiful home here. The neighborhoods do not even compare!

I guess you are inside more than you are outside in Canada, so the inside is probably more important.... so here are some highlight of the insides... No particular order, just some beautiful rooms that stuck in our minds.









And then there was this house. Great view standing on the front stoop.



Weirdness within.

This is the foyer. Yes, that is faux wood grain made with paint. You will notice it throughout the pictures. It looks swirly in some, but it is not your monitor, it's the walls!



This is also the foyer. Looking forward into the kitchen. On the right of this picture, sticking out of the wall is a stone hand. Yes, A HAND. I am not sure what it is for. Perhaps to hold your keys. Perhaps to help you balance as you take off your snow covered boots when you come in. I don't know. James thought it was cool. I just thought it was WEIRD. On the kitchen wall, near the ceiling, in the center of the picture you will see this white cluster of objects in the corner where the cabinets meet the wall. These are ceramic roses. 3D CERAMIC ROSES. Need I say more?



The kitchen. Swirly-ness is faux finish. Ceramic scrolly thingies in the window. Way to ruin what could have been a nice kitchen.



Then there is the dead animal at the foot of the bed. Road kill accessories do not appeal to me!
The furniture is somewhat appealing, and reminds me of Texas, but that is about the only thing that is redeeming. Funny, I knew EXACTLY what house this was when I saw the pictures, and EXACTLY what pictures were included in the group. Memorable, yes. Sellable, no. Well, maybe sellable to someone. Just not me. I wonder how long this gem will be on the market?



The faux paint extended to the outside of the house, including the garage door which was made to look like wood, with more swirly-ness in the trim around the door. Can you tell what I think of that by the look on my face? That is Deborah our Realtor. I didn't tell her she would be in my blog, but I hope she won't mind.



I will close with some pretty snowy pictures. Interestingly enough, we were never really cold while we were there....

We're here.

It seems more like 2 days ago, and not 14 hours ago. It all started out fine. James had us upgraded to first class (reward coupons), and it was sizing up to be an enjoyable trip. We innocently log on to the travel agent website to double check the departing terminal and gate, and lo and behold it appears we have been booked for 2 different flights this morning! James calls, and it turns out that our original flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems, and our new flight leaves about 30 minutes later and has a connection in NY at La Guardia. Wonderful. To top it all off, we are now on standby for first class, and probably will not sit next to each other. Well, maybe not too bad.... hehe. So off we go to the airport...



We had breakfast at the airport Chili's. We talked to Jordan.



We waited. I knit. Jason's girlfriend Lindsey may have a scarf by the time I get home.



We were lucky, and got first class at the last minute, although we did not sit together. James was 3 rows behind me, both of us at the window, so no chance of anyone stepping up to give up their aisle seat so we could sit next to each other. Oh well. Not so bad, I am thinking, until he started talking. Him. The guy sitting next to me. I have my winter Vogue knitting in my lap, my knitting at my feet. My ipod headphones are attached and ready for the ok from the flight attendant to turn on my digital equipment. Damn. He starts talking and does not stop. I think he likes to hear himself. He is from west Fort Worth. He is some kind of consultant in the shipping business. As in boats. Really big ones with chemical and probably dangerous cargos. Interesting, but I would rather be knitting. I keep staring at the girl on the cover of my Vogue knitting magazine thinking that I would really like to know what yarn they used to make the scarf she is wearing............. I don't hear James talking, and I find out later that he slept through 3/4ths of the flight. Lucky bastard. Sleeping would have been better than listening.

New York looked dismal in the snowy, smog ridden weather. The snow on the ground looked brown and grayish, ugly in the overcast light. I hope it looks better in the sun. How depressing.
Sorry, no pictures of that...

We only made our next flight with 10 minutes to spare.









I got our paperwork together to go through immigration.....




Then I knit some more. It was a smooth flight, basically up, then down. Small jet. Funny pilot. Nobody talking. Perfect.





Ha... that would have been a good place to end this post eh? :-) Nope. the night did not end there. We make it through customs with no problems. At the baggage claim they conveniently have a currency exchange booth. Stupid pictures of me exchanging American green money for pretty Canadian money. 100 US = 107.53 or so Canadian. Dang. I hope it gets better in my favor before we come up permanently.






We wait at the luggage carousel. James' bag comes around and we wait some more. We wait even more. People come and go. All but one or two of the bags are left, but mine is not one of them. The belt that feeds the bags onto the carousel stops. This is not good.....

My luggage missed the flight from NY. A perky and extremely polite agent tells us that my bag will arrive at 10 pm and they will deliver it to the hotel tonight. Ok. I can deal.

We retrieve our car rental and head out for KW (Kitchener/Waterloo). The snow is blowing and the rule seems to be that you drive on the clear tracks on the road...regardless that it may be right in the middle of two lanes. The drive that is normally, on a snow free day, only 1 hour turns into 2. It was not too bad, but a little harrowing when you could hear and feel the tires slide around on the snow. We made it to the hotel, though, and after a good dinner and a pomegranate martini for me, James is now snoring on the couch in our suite. Yes. Suite.












Ok that's it for now. I am sleepy, and can barely hold my eyes open. More tomorrow. Oh, and my luggage never made it. They are saying tomorrow morning around 6 am. I hope so.

Where is yours?

What? Last post December 5th? ;-)

Blogging with purpose ("The Move" the first of many)

I will try to keep this going from this point on.... POD pictures to come maybe later today. I will need to work on writing more and not just posting pictures, but you will have to take what you get!

Down the hall........



Whats left of the packing boxes for now.....


The office/craft room


The newly painted bathroom!


OMIGOD a clean closet.......


and more............


and more.............


Master suite. Here's my TV.


The dining room. Nothing changed here.


The great room.


Disregard the newspapers on the floor.


Better?