Tuesday, June 30, 2009

June Out

The blog ended up being pretty quiet in the latter half of June. I meant to blog about several things, but they've now been forgotten. I finished up at Alberta Opera, got a passport, and decompressed from a single room dorm life to taking over the whole house.

The move was completed over about a week without any fistfights, deliberate bloodshed, or divorces. There were raised voices and snide comments. The only casualties I can recall were three small clay bowls I made last year. I did also lose my sofa bed which was infested by mice while in storage, but it's not a huge tragedy (we left all unwanted or unneeded furniture in the alley and it was gone within hours). We're not entirely settled, but all of the big stuff is done. Our former bedroom, out of which we lived every aspect of our lives except cooking, is now a dedicated games room. Video games, board games, card games. It's where we keep our DVDs, as well. The basement rec room, formerly the kids' room, is now the office/den/library. I'm set up at a large U-shaped desk in the corner and there are five bookcases stacked to the rafters, with two other tall bookcases and four small ones waiting for us to get around to them. I've wanted a room full of books for a very long time.

I'm really happy with the upstairs. That was always Dan and Darlene's space but we've managed to make it our own. We still have their sofa and coffee table/side table set, but David found some nice furniture on clearance to fill out the rest of the living room. A chaise lounge, two-thirds of a sectional sofa, and an ottoman. The kitchen isn't entirely mine, but it's getting there. I finally got to get out my lovely set of dishes I bought last year. I bought a new set of pots and pans at 60% off a couple weeks ago, and found all of my favorite cooking utensils in storage. I still need to clean out the fridge, pantry, and spice cupboard. (There are spice jars in that cupboard that Darlene bought before they moved to the city a decade ago!) David and I have a bedroom that is just a bedroom, and the kids each have their own bedroom for the first time since the younger one was born. They're really loving having their own spaces with their own toys and doors they can close. And a full-sized bathroom, with counter space and drawers!

There is still a lot of small stuff to do and some boxes to sort through, but it's getting very close to done. Thalia has ranged from stressed to delighted with the changes to explore. We managed to arrange the living room so she still has her favorite hiding spot available to her. She doesn't like to come into our bedroom when the air conditioner is on and she's really unsure about the ceiling fan. I think she's adjusted well overall.

My passport came right on schedule, so I'll be going to California for a few days in the next couple weeks. It's very exciting and overwhelming. I've never traveled very much or very far from home. David is afraid I'll like it so much that I won't come back, or that I'll get murdered by gangs. I'll be in a rural-ish suburb rather than south central LA, so I'm not too worried about gangs.

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