Thursday, July 2, 2009
How fast things change!
It's been a crazy few days ..
On Monday we received word from our Landlord in Ottawa that we could get out of our lease early and save thousands of dollars - one catch - you have 1 day to pack, move out and clean the house. Can you do it?
Oh yeah! - since we were in Windsor visiting my family at the time, my father and I headed back to Ottawa at about 5pm. We arrived at around 1:30am. My mother in law Krista arrived from her Toronto visit shortly before us. Leslie stayed with the kids and my mom in Windsor, that way Leslie could continue working.
The next morning we picked up a 26ft U-Haul truck (a piece of junk, but hey we gave them about 2 minutes notice, so we were lucky to have a truck at all) and headed back to the house to pack up, load up and clean.
Even after 2 huge yard sales, we still had way way way more stuff than I could have ever expected and the going was very slow. Thank goodness for our neighbour Steve Kirk who helped us well into the night and in the rain, without him, we'd still be there.
By Midnight, we had emptied the house and only had items left in the garage. Since the new tenants (mosquitos) had taken control of the house, we stayed at the Days Inn in Bell's Corners for the night and finished up the loading in the AM. By lunch time the truck was full (and I mean REALLY full) and we were headed back to Windsor. We'll be staying with my family for the 4 weeks until our reload and caravan to BC.
Thanks again to our wonderful neighbours the Kirk family. We hadn't known them very long, but were amazed at how generous and helpful they were. You guys always have a place to stay in BC. Come by anytime.
Now that we have a better perspective on just how much stuff we still have (and how much we aren't willing to part with) we've changed our game plan for the move. Krista will still tow her 4x8 ft trailer up, Leslie will drive our minivan with our 4x8 utility trailer (with kayak mods completed) and I will rent a 17ft U-Haul truck for the rest of the stuff. My parents will ride with us and after a nice vacation in BC, they'll take the train back to Windsor. I have to say I'm jealous, I hear the train ride through the Rockies is absolutely fantastic.
Well, it's time to unload the truck (and then sort, eliminate and repack our stuff into a reasonable amount).
Thanks to my father Yvon and Krista for nearly killing themselves doing the banzai move. They shouldn't have to do that at their age, but we really appreciate the help.
On Monday we received word from our Landlord in Ottawa that we could get out of our lease early and save thousands of dollars - one catch - you have 1 day to pack, move out and clean the house. Can you do it?
Oh yeah! - since we were in Windsor visiting my family at the time, my father and I headed back to Ottawa at about 5pm. We arrived at around 1:30am. My mother in law Krista arrived from her Toronto visit shortly before us. Leslie stayed with the kids and my mom in Windsor, that way Leslie could continue working.
The next morning we picked up a 26ft U-Haul truck (a piece of junk, but hey we gave them about 2 minutes notice, so we were lucky to have a truck at all) and headed back to the house to pack up, load up and clean.
Even after 2 huge yard sales, we still had way way way more stuff than I could have ever expected and the going was very slow. Thank goodness for our neighbour Steve Kirk who helped us well into the night and in the rain, without him, we'd still be there.
By Midnight, we had emptied the house and only had items left in the garage. Since the new tenants (mosquitos) had taken control of the house, we stayed at the Days Inn in Bell's Corners for the night and finished up the loading in the AM. By lunch time the truck was full (and I mean REALLY full) and we were headed back to Windsor. We'll be staying with my family for the 4 weeks until our reload and caravan to BC.
Thanks again to our wonderful neighbours the Kirk family. We hadn't known them very long, but were amazed at how generous and helpful they were. You guys always have a place to stay in BC. Come by anytime.
Now that we have a better perspective on just how much stuff we still have (and how much we aren't willing to part with) we've changed our game plan for the move. Krista will still tow her 4x8 ft trailer up, Leslie will drive our minivan with our 4x8 utility trailer (with kayak mods completed) and I will rent a 17ft U-Haul truck for the rest of the stuff. My parents will ride with us and after a nice vacation in BC, they'll take the train back to Windsor. I have to say I'm jealous, I hear the train ride through the Rockies is absolutely fantastic.
Well, it's time to unload the truck (and then sort, eliminate and repack our stuff into a reasonable amount).
Thanks to my father Yvon and Krista for nearly killing themselves doing the banzai move. They shouldn't have to do that at their age, but we really appreciate the help.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Back in Windsor/Essex County
We enjoyed our first day back in Windsor/Essex County, ON by heading out to the Erie Ramblers Motorcycle club to watch my sister Nancy's boys compete in motocross races. We had great weather and the boys did great. Afterwards, we picked up some Chinese food and enjoyed a nice meal at my parents place while Michael entertained us with a couple of "accidents" - empty a cup of sweet and sour sauce all over the table cloth and then for an encore, empty the container of glue all over the bed comforter while trying to "make Grandma a present". Good intentions though.
Everyone's tired and dusty from the day at the track, so it'll be soap up in the bath tub and hit the hay early tonight. Tomorrow we'll work on the trailer.
Everyone's tired and dusty from the day at the track, so it'll be soap up in the bath tub and hit the hay early tonight. Tomorrow we'll work on the trailer.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
We're back in Windsor, ON today visiting with family. We had a great time during our mid-way stop in the Hamilton area visiting with Ian, Sabine and their beautiful baby girl Sarah. Thanks to them for lunch and great company, we'll surely miss them when we head off to BC.
We'll spend a week here in the Windsor area visiting with friends and family and making a few "mods" to the trailer for the big caravan to Bowen.
We'll spend a week here in the Windsor area visiting with friends and family and making a few "mods" to the trailer for the big caravan to Bowen.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Happy 10th Anniversary to my beautiful wife Leslie. We're enjoying a wonderful dinner sans enfants at the Rideau Ritz restaurant in Ottawa tonight.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Last day of School !!
Today is Caroline's last day of school - she's very excited about summer vacation. She'll get to see all of her friends again one last time at her Cosmic Adventures birthday party in July.
Currently hot and humid in Ottawa - expected to reach 40C with humidity today. HOT!
Can't wait for Bowen weather.
Currently hot and humid in Ottawa - expected to reach 40C with humidity today. HOT!
Can't wait for Bowen weather.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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