Moving Day Mayhem

On Saturday we drove to Guelph to help our son move from one house to another. He was moving from a six bedroom house shared with five other students to an almost new three bedroom townhouse he will share with two friends. In almost every way his new place will be better.

We loaded up our Santa Fe with a few essentials from home - new bed linens and pillows, dishes and glasses bought on Kijiji, Costco-size oatmeal (breakfast staple), olive oil and steel-toed shoes (needed for his new job). We also bought a double mattress and box-spring on Kijiji and booked a U-Haul trailer in Guelph so we could pick up the mattress and move the rest of his stuff more efficiently. My husband bought a trailer hitch. We were organized. This was to be an easy move.

We made good time arriving in Guelph ~11 a.m. Our son was ready to go. We packed a few more things in the car and drove to the new place with our first load. We were scheduled to pick up the trailer at noon for six hours. At the house, we made a list of things we needed from the nearby Jysk and Dollarama - dish soap, garbage can, toilet brush, shower curtain and bath mat. With our shopping done, we headed out to get the trailer.

That's when the trouble started. It was a busy student area with lots of students moving. Traffic was slow and the road to U-Haul was closed. We took a detour finally reaching the U-Haul place by 1 p.m., an hour behind schedule. My husband hooked the trailer to our hitch, but couldn't connect the wires to operate the lights. We needed a special adapter. Not a problem, Canadian Tire should carry it.

Canadian Tire did not carry it. Hyundai did not carry it. Houghton trailers did not carry it, but while we were there, Hyundai called and said they might have a solution. They had an adapter another customer had ordered for their 2012 Santa Fe. Unfortunately, our 2010 Santa Fe requires a slightly different adapter. In the end, we had to cancel the trailer rental. My husband thought we might be able to tie the mattress to the roof of our Santa Fe. The mattress we had purchased was in Solstice (student housing) just two miles from our son's new house.

When we arrived, the parking lot at Solstice was crowded with U-Haul trucks, trailers and vans. It was total Moving Day Mayhem for students and parents. We managed to find a parking spot. I stayed with the vehicle while my husband and son went to get the mattress from a second floor unit. I chatted with one of the other parents waiting for his son and friends to bring stuff down to the large truck he had rented. There was only one elevator, so he had been waiting a long time. I asked if he would be willing to deliver our mattress for $20. He agreed, refusing any money. We were grateful for his help.

Once the mattress was delivered, we picked up one more vehicle load, then I stayed at the new house and set up the bedroom while my husband and son made multiple trips back and forth. It took another three hours to move everything.

By then it was 6 p.m. and we were starving. We decided to eat at Fionn MacCool's. It was delicious. After dinner, we shopped for groceries then dropped off our son and headed home to London. Our son's roommate also picked up groceries with his Mom. They should eat well this week.

Our son is happy with his new room. The box spring and mattress look fine on the floor. The grey bed linens tone down the pinkish mauve walls. His desk fits in the corner. He has a big closet and private bathroom with a separate shower and Jacuzzi tub. The shower curtain he chose was cheap yet looks terrific. 

He feels guilty getting the largest room in the house, but it's a nice change from the small room he had last time and a bargain at only $25 more than his friend's pay per month. He's not happy with the purple and black sheer curtains, so I'll pick up neutral curtains from Costco and bring them in two weeks when we visit. 

 

 

Another friend will be moving in this week. Internet is scheduled to be hooked up soon. I think they will enjoy living here. Utilities are extra and it costs a bit more with only three people sharing, but the main issue involves a relative lack of bus service. There is a bus stop out front. Unfortunately nobody thought to check the schedule before committing.

The bus runs during school until 10:30 p.m. In the summer, there is no bus. The next closest bus stop is at the University about 4 km away. At least they have bikes and their jobs are within 5 km. If it's a problem, they can always move again next year. 

In the meantime, we plan to get an adapter for our Santa Fe so we can tow a trailer and minimize Moving Day Mayhem.

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Crochet-Free Week

This week I decided to take a break from crochet. I am happy with my latest projects, but four critters in four weeks including posts and patterns is rather a lot of time spent sitting. Besides the weather has finally improved, it's perfect for biking and spending time outside. 

This week, I rode my bike to work every day except Monday. You can read all about my commute here. I have a really great route and love making exercise a practical part of my day.

This week, it was warm and sunny. The nice weather prompted me to wipe off our patio furniture, pull out a couple cushions and sit outside with my husband after work sipping wine, relaxing and enjoying the almost-like-summer feeling. Only one more month, before we open the pool and fill our pots with plants. Don't you just love summer?

This week, tulips (a gift from my In-Laws) blossomed into gorgeous red and yellow blooms adding a welcome burst of colour to our windowsill.

This week, we loaded our Santa Fe with an oak pedestal table and leaf, two chairs, corner desk and bean bag chair. Luckily everything fit for the trip to Guelph on Saturday.

Our son will be living in this house with five other students for his second year at University. His official move-in date is May 1st, but his landlord allows furniture to move in early. The house is a back split and much bigger than it looks from the front. 

The table and chairs look great in the kitchen. The toilet and 'fire-safety' steps behind the table will be moving to the basement bedroom and bathroom. The boxed wood flooring is also destined for the basement. The landlord is doing a super job with renovations. There are six bedrooms, three full washrooms and a large kitchen and living room. Our son looks happy already. 

This week was a Crochet-Free Week. I did not crochet at all, but I did sort through my stash. I still have a lot of yarn for making toys - all sorts of various colours in both DK and worsted weights. 

 

I also have mixture of chunky, fluffy yarns. Fluffy yarn is challenging to use, but I do like the look of toys made with it. With my yarn sorted and organized, I'm finally ready to decide on my next project.

It'll be another critter for sure. I like cats, so maybe a fluffy cat would be nice. What do you think? Should I make a cat? 

Upon reflection, our Maggie thinks that would be 'purrr-fect'. As always, I will be sure to share photos and possibly a pattern when I finish.

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Mothers' Day Weekend

This was a perfect weekend to celebrate Mothers' Day. With such warm and sunny weather, I asked my SO (Significant Other) to take some garden shots on Saturday. Our magnolia tree is in full bloom and beautiful. Who doesn't love magnolias?

We have flowers blooming along the back wall of our house as well. I love the white Flox. It's such a pretty tiny flower. 

I also love this purple Pasque Flower. It's so intricate and colourful with lacy green leaves. 

Our garden is relatively small but I thoroughly enjoy the few flowers and herbs we grow. I say "we" but really I mean my SO. My gardening enthusiasm ends with the enjoying part. It's my SO who takes care of planting and maintenance. 

He was extra busy planting pots and cleaning the pool this weekend. He added some green by planting basil and removed other green by adding five 10 L jugs of chlorine to the pool over the past few days. The pool looks quite inviting although much too cold for me.

"We" also planted sage and parsley (no photo) and our garden is already full of tarragon, oregano, mint and chives. I love using fresh herbs from our garden all summer long.

On Sunday to celebrate Mothers' Day, we gave my Mom a bouquet of white roses, crochet dish cloths and a card. My favourite pattern for crochet dish cloths can be found here. I like to add a single crochet border to this pattern to give a clean finished look.

In my recent clutter clearing efforts, I found this card from 1972 made when I was almost 9 years old. I thought the verse was funny so I wrote an updated version and gave it to my Mom along with the original. 

Clutter clearing trick - scan paper items so you no longer have to keep the original. You'll save the memory without the clutter. I plan to do more of that to cut down on stored photos and various keepsakes.

I took my Mom to Starbuck's in Byron where we enjoyed cappuccino on the patio then spent some time chatting in my parents' back garden before heading over to my In-Law's for lunch. Lunch was delicious and it was great to get everybody together again. Our son who recently got a part-time job was working but we did manage to save him some apple pie.

After lunch my SO and I had massages booked for 3:00 and 4:30 p.m. which was exactly what we both needed. Me for my shoulder injury and my SO from doing so much extra work around the garden and pool. 

With the timing of massages and extra jobs to be done at home, we missed our son's first soccer game of the season.  Luckily our parents went and our son was happy to report a win which was very exciting and a great start to his season.

My SO also planted Tuberous Begonias in a pot which sits in the corner of our patio. We loved these flowers last year as they were full of blooms all summer long and into the fall. We also love the ambiance provided by colourful light sticks in this pot all year round.

Sitting outside enjoying a glass of wine at the end of the day. A weekend full of simple pleasures.

Then to top it off, our son finally took the time to check his email and discovered he has been accepted at both Carlton University and University of Guelph in Computer Sciences. He had already been accepted at Brock University back in February. Now he has a decision to make. How great is that? He is looking forward to the next step after high school but also thoroughly enjoying himself right now.

I'm so excited for him and looking forward to the inevitable changes this year. I wonder what it will be like to have him out of the house in September? I wonder if I will finally be able to sleep through the night? The house is going to be so quiet. I haven't decided if that is a good thing or bad thing but I'm leaning towards good.

I hope you all enjoyed your Mothers' Day weekend including the ups and downs and everything in between because that is what life is like with kids or without.