First stage of move complete!

The first stage of our two part move is now complete, and despite the first snow fall of the season, it really could not have gone more smoothly.
From the “it could have been worse” file:
a) it wasn’t raining (snow is better than rain when you are moving)
b) it wasn’t below zero
c) it wasn’t above 30 (really, no danger in that, but it is worth mentioning)
BIG thanks to Kathleen’s friend Sarah, and her brother Adam for helping with the packing and unpacking of the truck, and to Kathleen’s Mom for cooking up the meanest pot of chili, and the worlds finest coleslaw for the post move meal. We are also very thankful to the church for giving us one of their big storage rooms, which miraculously held ALL of Kathleen’s material belongings, allowing room in John’s apartment to walk around, and space available to pack up his belongings. We can only hope that the weather begins to improve, as since Saturday, it has snowed another seven centemetres and temperatures have dropped quite significantly.
Only two days to go before we take possession, then 4 days of painting and prep for the move (including the delivery of FOUR new appliances!) and then next Sunday afternoon is the big move.

Memories of University Place Apartments

So tomorrow, we'll be moving me (Kathleen) out of my little apartment. I was sitting on the floor in my living room the other day thinking about all the wonderful memories I have from living in that apartment complex - sharing so much good living with Sarah through the two years we lived together, weekly TV watching at Susie and Nate's, doing their dishes when they weren't home, making fun of the old paint colours in the other apartments, and on goes the list. While I'm looking forward to moving on, away from the affectionate couple upstairs, the WOOHOOing from the street late at night on Fridays and Saturdays, and the heavy traffic between my apartment and John's, I'll certainly look back on my time there with fondness.

I'll especially miss Peter, the jack rabbit who lives under the back stairs. :)

Two Weeks Out!!

Well, two weeks from today, we'll be packing up our rental truck and moving into the new house. As it stands now, the schedule for the next two weeks is as follows:
28th - Move Kathleen out of her apt; move her stuff to John's
1st - Take Possession (yay!), prep for painting
2nd, 3rd, 4th - Paint like crazy people.
5th - Move everything from the church apartment into the new house.

So far, we've moved some bills over, ordered our new cable, internet and phone package (with a new phone number too!!) and today, we bought our new appliances!! A new dishwasher, stove, washer and dryer will be delivered to the new house on November 3rd. We had a great time at Trail Appliances today, and benefitted greatly from their annual Customer Appreciation Sale.

Kathleen's apartment is almost all packed up, and we've started on John's. I think that we're single-handedly stocking the church's rummage sale, which, fortunately, takes place in a week. Our goal of getting rid of all the things we don't need or use is assisted greatly by having the sale to take things to.

The next couple of weeks are going to be a little bit stressful, but now we are starting to be able to feel the finish line, which is an exciting prospect.

Follow up to the Kitten's Adventure

After Delilah had her water-logged adventure, Sarah was very keen that her baby be clean and dry and happy in no time. After Sarah gave the kitten a thorough bath, the two of them settled down for a cuddle. We captured the moment on film.

A CATastrophe

As John was sitting in the living room this morning, catching up on some email replies, and sorting out a to do list before he leaves this evening on a weekend choir retreat, Delilah (the kitten) comes waltzing (or squishing) into the room, soaking wet from feet to face. Behind her is a trail of water leading out of the room. A short walk along the trail led to the source, the open toilet seat, with a pool of water on all sides.

We’re pretty sure a lesson was learned today. Don’t drink out of the toilet when you have perfectly good water bowls around the apartment.

Confirming once again that cats are really not too bright.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving morning brings peace and quiet in the little apartment under the church. The sun is quietly revealing the beginnings of a beautiful day, Sarah and Delilah are (less quietly) wreaking havoc in the living room and the TV is churning out evidence of yet another St. Louis division series win. As far as mornings go (distant sound of cat jumping into bathtub), this one is pretty good.

Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving to all friends and family, near and far!

PS Kitten vs. venetian blind, Round 53, is a clear victory for the blinds.

DJ Chosen

One more thing off the list!! We have met with a rep. from Paradise DJ here in Edmonton and have decided to hire them for our reception dance. We really liked what the rep. had to say about being an elegant and professional DJ service, which went a long way to assuaging our fears about having a creepy DJ that was going to make our guests uncomfortable. It should be fun to work with the DJ over the next year on song selection for the evening.

With the DJ in place, discussions with a harpist for the cocktail and dinner hour underway, and decisions on hymns and service music almost final, we're feeling pretty good about the overall musical feeling of the day!