Tuomo writes: In case anybody's been wondering, the reason why there haven't been any postings is simply because we don't have computer access in our new home yet and the computer is in the old appartment. In addition, I spent most of my last week at home (with no access to the Internet) waiting for all kinds of people to come do their installing business. Here's a quick summary:
The walls in our living room and bedroom are now painted, as planned (thanks Dennis!)
The blinds installer (finally!) showed up yesterday (Saturday) instead of Thursday
The security/central vac people, who were supposed to come on Friday, won't be coming until next Friday (grumble)
Needless to say, it's been Dave who's been coordinating all this and believe me - he's been quite upset with the way some people do not call when there are delays...
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
The Big Move - It's OVER!!!
Tuomo writes: I can't emphasise how happy I am now that the bulk of the Big Move is over. We focused on moving our furniture, boxes, and other bulky stuff so that we we able to sleep in our new home this past Saturday.
Saturday was the furniture day. Dave went to pick up the U-Haul at 9:30 while I cleared the ways for the furniture to move. Unfortunately, Jay's mom/Angies grandmother had fallen ill the night before, and Joy had to take her to the hospital. Consequently Tuukka, who was supposed to come over around 10 to help us move, had to stay home and keep an eye on Mika, who wasn't feeling that well either... At the same time, somebody had to be over at the new house to let the furniture delivery guys in as well as the phone line inspector, i.e. Angie, who in her true troopeer fashion ended spending almost the whole day all by herself playing Sudoku and eating leftover pizza.
Until Tuukka could come give us a hand, Dave and I started moving things to the van. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that it wasn't fun. Our bed, yet another IKEA purchase, fit down the staircase but didn't fit through the opening at the end, and then it wouldn't fit back upstairs. As a result we had to unassemble it upside down! Tuukka was able to join us right about at the right time when we wanted to move the couch, the futon (we had moved the matress earlier), and the Estonian armoire. Despite my fears of not being able to move the armoire in particular, it wasn't as problematic getting it down as it had been getting it upstairs. Still, a plethora of appropriate expletives, both in Finnish and English, were used...
Needless to say, moving the things out into the new house went in inverse proportion of time. Most of the furniture went downstairs anyway, so we had gravity working for us! Later on while re-assembling our bed, I managed to drop one of the sides on my right big toe, which turned almost instantaneously flourescent (!) green and hurt like hell...
Tuukka was gracious enough to invite us over later that night for a sauna and some beer. Man were we physically exhausted by the time it was time to go to bed!
On Sunday morning, i.e. after our first night in our new home, it was time for the boxes and other bulky stuff that would be easier to move in a van than in a car. My boxes of books, which had been a bitch to move in July, were just as much a bitch to move - except now it was cold and raining... Once again, the amount of time it took to load the truck was in inverse proportion to what it took to unload!
Later on, once the van had been returned, the Official Release of the Felines took place. Yes, Teddy and Ellie were put in their cages and taken over to their new home where Tuukka videotaped how they explored their new living quarters; hopefully I can post this soon on our blog! This event was also the first time that Mika saw live cats; he was so cute when, all excited and scared at the same time, he clung onto his mommy's leg. As predicted, Ellie was more adventurous and under no time whatsoever had explored all three floors whereas once Teddy had discovered a safe space (in this case a mattress leaning against a wall in a bedroom) settled down and wouldn't budge until much later. I guess the presence of "strangers" in a strange place in conjunction with a child ("Do they come in that size too?!") made him feel particularly insecure.
So come Sunday night, we were like "Never more!" The kitties are happy and so are mommy and daddy... :-)
Saturday was the furniture day. Dave went to pick up the U-Haul at 9:30 while I cleared the ways for the furniture to move. Unfortunately, Jay's mom/Angies grandmother had fallen ill the night before, and Joy had to take her to the hospital. Consequently Tuukka, who was supposed to come over around 10 to help us move, had to stay home and keep an eye on Mika, who wasn't feeling that well either... At the same time, somebody had to be over at the new house to let the furniture delivery guys in as well as the phone line inspector, i.e. Angie, who in her true troopeer fashion ended spending almost the whole day all by herself playing Sudoku and eating leftover pizza.
Until Tuukka could come give us a hand, Dave and I started moving things to the van. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that it wasn't fun. Our bed, yet another IKEA purchase, fit down the staircase but didn't fit through the opening at the end, and then it wouldn't fit back upstairs. As a result we had to unassemble it upside down! Tuukka was able to join us right about at the right time when we wanted to move the couch, the futon (we had moved the matress earlier), and the Estonian armoire. Despite my fears of not being able to move the armoire in particular, it wasn't as problematic getting it down as it had been getting it upstairs. Still, a plethora of appropriate expletives, both in Finnish and English, were used...
Needless to say, moving the things out into the new house went in inverse proportion of time. Most of the furniture went downstairs anyway, so we had gravity working for us! Later on while re-assembling our bed, I managed to drop one of the sides on my right big toe, which turned almost instantaneously flourescent (!) green and hurt like hell...
Tuukka was gracious enough to invite us over later that night for a sauna and some beer. Man were we physically exhausted by the time it was time to go to bed!
On Sunday morning, i.e. after our first night in our new home, it was time for the boxes and other bulky stuff that would be easier to move in a van than in a car. My boxes of books, which had been a bitch to move in July, were just as much a bitch to move - except now it was cold and raining... Once again, the amount of time it took to load the truck was in inverse proportion to what it took to unload!
Later on, once the van had been returned, the Official Release of the Felines took place. Yes, Teddy and Ellie were put in their cages and taken over to their new home where Tuukka videotaped how they explored their new living quarters; hopefully I can post this soon on our blog! This event was also the first time that Mika saw live cats; he was so cute when, all excited and scared at the same time, he clung onto his mommy's leg. As predicted, Ellie was more adventurous and under no time whatsoever had explored all three floors whereas once Teddy had discovered a safe space (in this case a mattress leaning against a wall in a bedroom) settled down and wouldn't budge until much later. I guess the presence of "strangers" in a strange place in conjunction with a child ("Do they come in that size too?!") made him feel particularly insecure.
So come Sunday night, we were like "Never more!" The kitties are happy and so are mommy and daddy... :-)
Friday, January 4, 2008
The Big Move - Day Three
Tuomo writes: What a waste of time! I attended an orientation/introduction fair for new Kwanteln employees, and all I can say is it was a waste of time. The overview of policies could have been interesting, but it all boiled down to "read our website, and call us if you have any questions." Even the session on labour union was a disappointment. The person who was in charge of it was unable to attend, so a substitute was called in; unfortunately this happened at the last moment, and the session was all about, "Sorry, I don't have material for you, but you can read all about your rights on the website. Oh and if you're interested in becoming a shop steward, let us know."
The afternoon consisted of power shopping at IKEA. We came home with a Klubbo TV table, a Galant office desk for Dave, and two Konsistent shelf units for my office. Needless to say, we also got some storing material and more clothes hangers for the walk-in closet, so the excitement of moving to the new house just keeps on increasing!
I'm feeling quite tired after two coolers that we had with Angie; even the pizza we had for dinner didn't wake me up. Consequently, once again I'm going straight to bed after this...
Tomorrow's then the Actual Big Move, or the day when bigger furniture gets moved over. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I know for sure that by the end of the day I'll be aching all over the body, and my knees will be killing me. But then we'll be able to sleep in our new house for the first time too... Oooohh the excitement!
The afternoon consisted of power shopping at IKEA. We came home with a Klubbo TV table, a Galant office desk for Dave, and two Konsistent shelf units for my office. Needless to say, we also got some storing material and more clothes hangers for the walk-in closet, so the excitement of moving to the new house just keeps on increasing!
I'm feeling quite tired after two coolers that we had with Angie; even the pizza we had for dinner didn't wake me up. Consequently, once again I'm going straight to bed after this...
Tomorrow's then the Actual Big Move, or the day when bigger furniture gets moved over. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I know for sure that by the end of the day I'll be aching all over the body, and my knees will be killing me. But then we'll be able to sleep in our new house for the first time too... Oooohh the excitement!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Big Move - Day Two
Tuomo writes: As I'm writing this at bed, I feel we didn't do as much as I had anticipated... but then why do I feel so exhausted?!
So today we were expecting several things to be achieved. First, the blinds dude. For fear of missing him we rushed over to the new house first thing in the morning. Admittedly, he never said exactly at what time in the morning he'd show up other than early. When by 11 we had still not hear a peep from him, Dave gave the company a call - only to find out that he hadn't made any commitment to coming over; I don't quite understand what happened other than he hadn't notified his supervisor (?) of any arrangements with us. Dave decided that we'd have the blinds dude come over once all items on our order are ready, i.e. next Thursday.
Which is also the day the painters are coming over to paint the main floor (Acapulco Aqua) and the bed room (Westover Hills).
The central air vac and alarm dude also came over today (on time!) and did a good job at selling us a product we feel happy about. With "good job" I mean he wasn't pushy or didn't demerit the lower end product or services, unlike the dude at Sony Story we had to deal with later in the day. We've been thinking about getting a flat-screen TV, so after CostCo we swung by the Sony Store to see what they had to offer. Our salers person was this Polish (?) dude who, once he had figured out what we wanted, kept on pointing out that we didn't want to apy any attention to the lower end products because of the lower pixel-count - or something. In all honesty, neither Dave nor I saw anything seriously bad with the less expensive TVs, and in the end, we were even more baffled about what to get when we left the store. I mean - if the less expensive TVs are so bad then why are they even being sold at Sony Store?!?
So far the day had had quite a negative vibe to it. The last straw was when we returned to Dave's car after a cup of coffee at Starbucks, some d-bag had let their shopping cart roll into Dave's rear door on the passenger side. As a result Dave's all upset and wishing we'd never stopped for that cup of coffee... or parked where he had... or... so much for a flat-screen TV :-(
On a more positive note: we finally discovered a half-way decent Chinese restaurant in Langley: Chan's off 88th Ave. Tuukka had helped me move some stuff from the old house to the new one (he's such a good sport!), so when Angie joined us at the new house and we all agreed we wanted something to eat, we initially wanted to go to Ricky's. Well, Ricky's off 88th Ave. was closed, but we saw that Chan's was open, so we thought we'd give it a shot. The spring rolls were fabulous, and the main courses were absolutely delish' ("Special Chicken Dish," ginger fried beef, and fried pork rice). We're definitely going back, and we are willing to recommend it as a quality choice for Chinese food in Langley.
When we got home, the cats greeted us at the door. They seemed to be saying, "We don't know what's happening, but if you put us back in a cage and then on a plane, we're going to bite your balls off!"
Tomorrow is going to be another fun day (groan...): I have to go to Kwantlen/Surrey for an info session for newbies (comme moi), after which we're off to yet another shopping frenzy at IKEA. And then on Saturday is the Big Big Move Day...!
Will there be an end to the fun?! :-)
So today we were expecting several things to be achieved. First, the blinds dude. For fear of missing him we rushed over to the new house first thing in the morning. Admittedly, he never said exactly at what time in the morning he'd show up other than early. When by 11 we had still not hear a peep from him, Dave gave the company a call - only to find out that he hadn't made any commitment to coming over; I don't quite understand what happened other than he hadn't notified his supervisor (?) of any arrangements with us. Dave decided that we'd have the blinds dude come over once all items on our order are ready, i.e. next Thursday.
Which is also the day the painters are coming over to paint the main floor (Acapulco Aqua) and the bed room (Westover Hills).
The central air vac and alarm dude also came over today (on time!) and did a good job at selling us a product we feel happy about. With "good job" I mean he wasn't pushy or didn't demerit the lower end product or services, unlike the dude at Sony Story we had to deal with later in the day. We've been thinking about getting a flat-screen TV, so after CostCo we swung by the Sony Store to see what they had to offer. Our salers person was this Polish (?) dude who, once he had figured out what we wanted, kept on pointing out that we didn't want to apy any attention to the lower end products because of the lower pixel-count - or something. In all honesty, neither Dave nor I saw anything seriously bad with the less expensive TVs, and in the end, we were even more baffled about what to get when we left the store. I mean - if the less expensive TVs are so bad then why are they even being sold at Sony Store?!?
So far the day had had quite a negative vibe to it. The last straw was when we returned to Dave's car after a cup of coffee at Starbucks, some d-bag had let their shopping cart roll into Dave's rear door on the passenger side. As a result Dave's all upset and wishing we'd never stopped for that cup of coffee... or parked where he had... or... so much for a flat-screen TV :-(
On a more positive note: we finally discovered a half-way decent Chinese restaurant in Langley: Chan's off 88th Ave. Tuukka had helped me move some stuff from the old house to the new one (he's such a good sport!), so when Angie joined us at the new house and we all agreed we wanted something to eat, we initially wanted to go to Ricky's. Well, Ricky's off 88th Ave. was closed, but we saw that Chan's was open, so we thought we'd give it a shot. The spring rolls were fabulous, and the main courses were absolutely delish' ("Special Chicken Dish," ginger fried beef, and fried pork rice). We're definitely going back, and we are willing to recommend it as a quality choice for Chinese food in Langley.
When we got home, the cats greeted us at the door. They seemed to be saying, "We don't know what's happening, but if you put us back in a cage and then on a plane, we're going to bite your balls off!"
Tomorrow is going to be another fun day (groan...): I have to go to Kwantlen/Surrey for an info session for newbies (comme moi), after which we're off to yet another shopping frenzy at IKEA. And then on Saturday is the Big Big Move Day...!
Will there be an end to the fun?! :-)
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
New Year's Resolutions
Tuomo writes: It's that time of the year again: to make decisions that will amost invariably fail by the end of the month! Last year my new year's resolution was to look like an underwear model by beach season. And what happened? I'm fatter than ever before!!!
At any rate, thanks to the CCLS course and the move to a new home, I feel more confident than ever that my resolutions should be able to survive at least till the end of February. To add further accountability, I will make them public; this way I hope for support and guiding if I'm lead astray:
At any rate, thanks to the CCLS course and the move to a new home, I feel more confident than ever that my resolutions should be able to survive at least till the end of February. To add further accountability, I will make them public; this way I hope for support and guiding if I'm lead astray:
- lose weight (30-40 lbs) by joining Weight Watchers (for the 5th time - groan!)
- learn to use a sewing machine and learn to quilt
- enroll in a language class - for the first time since the mid-90s if I may add - Chinese, Japanese or Punjabi
- set plenty of time aside for crossstitching
- set time aside for yoga or even sign up for a yoga class
- volunteer at the local ASPC
- keep in touch with my friends by e-mail, by phone, by Skyping or by visiting them
- make an effort to get to make new friends
- continue working on my blog!
So if you perceive me not pursuing these goals, slap me up the head! :-)
The Big Move Has Begun
Tuomo writes: We're back home - which we both agree has started to mean Langley - from our trip to Rhode Island. Everything went well and we had a lot of fun though I personally have a bone to pick with United, Air Canada, and Vancouver International Airport, but more on that later...
More importantly: The Big Move to our new home has begun! We did get the keys to our brand new home before the holidays, but with so many things to take care of we deliberately postponed everything till January. We're renting till the end of the month anyway, so what's the rush... We decided to start with possibly the most challenging part fo moving: the kitchen.
It has felt wonderful to see kitchen utensils and gadgets that I haven't used let alone seen since the end of June when everything got stowed away in the container that delivered all our stuff to Canada. Now almost everything has found their place in the new kitchen - and there's still plenty of room (for now at least!). And unlike in our rent apartment, there's lots of surface area to cook and prepare food, yayyy!!! It'll be so much easier to get started on our self-imposed campaign Canada Equals Health now that we have access to a kitchen that enourages healthy decisions about meals.
Tomorrow is the day when the blinds will finally be put up. This was supposed to have taken place before the holidays, but the guy in charge got caught in his schedule, so he had to reschedule. To add insult to injury, a part of our order had been omitted in the fax, so our bedroom blinds won't be put up until... later.
We've also had some problems with the garage door, but that was supposed to have been taken care of today (we forgot to follow up after dinner).
All in all, this feel exciting. Hopefully by Sunday night we'll be sleeping in the new house too!
More importantly: The Big Move to our new home has begun! We did get the keys to our brand new home before the holidays, but with so many things to take care of we deliberately postponed everything till January. We're renting till the end of the month anyway, so what's the rush... We decided to start with possibly the most challenging part fo moving: the kitchen.
It has felt wonderful to see kitchen utensils and gadgets that I haven't used let alone seen since the end of June when everything got stowed away in the container that delivered all our stuff to Canada. Now almost everything has found their place in the new kitchen - and there's still plenty of room (for now at least!). And unlike in our rent apartment, there's lots of surface area to cook and prepare food, yayyy!!! It'll be so much easier to get started on our self-imposed campaign Canada Equals Health now that we have access to a kitchen that enourages healthy decisions about meals.
Tomorrow is the day when the blinds will finally be put up. This was supposed to have taken place before the holidays, but the guy in charge got caught in his schedule, so he had to reschedule. To add insult to injury, a part of our order had been omitted in the fax, so our bedroom blinds won't be put up until... later.
We've also had some problems with the garage door, but that was supposed to have been taken care of today (we forgot to follow up after dinner).
All in all, this feel exciting. Hopefully by Sunday night we'll be sleeping in the new house too!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Onnellista uutta vuotta - Happy New Year - Bonne Année - Gott nytt år
Tuomo writes: Happy new year 2008: Physical, mental, and spiritual health to all and everyone!
And here's the obvious clip to celebrate the new year by ABBA:
And here's the obvious clip to celebrate the new year by ABBA:
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