Moving Day

Last Sunday (April 30th), we drove to Guelph to help with our son's fourth annual Moving Day. Keys for their new place were to be available for pick up after 12 p.m. We arrived just after 11:30 a.m.  

The moving crew this year included three young men (our son and his roommates) and two sets of parents including us. For vehicles they had a pickup truck (borrowed), a van, our Santa Fe and our son's hatchback. 

We were pleasantly surprised to see packing was well underway when we arrived. Box springs were already loaded and ready to go. 

We filled the bins and boxes we had brought then helped load up the van and the hatchback before making our first trip over to their new place.

I rode with our son and his dog. Ajax sat in his bed, but seemed a little unsettled with all the chaos of Moving Day.

"Smile boys." OK never mind ... not a lot of enthusiasm for Mom taking photos on Moving Day.

I took one photo of the kitchen then set to work carrying things upstairs and downstairs as directed. Mostly I kept Ajax company while everybody else made multiple trips back and forth. Moves involving three strong young men are so much easier ... they do all the heavy lifting.

It took all afternoon to move everything. They were lucky with the weather. The rain held off until after the last boxes were unloaded. By then, everybody was hungry. We met at Fionn MacCool's for a yummy dinner before heading for home, leaving the boys to set up their bedrooms and finish unpacking.

Although I didn't take more pictures of their new place, I will tell you it is a three bedroom townhouse condo with a three piece bathroom upstairs, a two piece downstairs, a fenced patio out back and an unfinished basement with laundry and plenty of storage. The whole place has been freshly renovated - new carpet, linoleum, kitchen cabinets, appliances, bathroom fixtures, paint - everything is shiny and new. 

Their new place is slightly smaller than their last place, but the central location with better bus service more than makes up for that. Besides one less bathroom to clean is probably a good thing. They were missing curtain rods on the newly patched and painted walls, but my son tells me they have already installed rods on all but the kitchen window.

My son shared a couple photos taken at their new place. They look happy.

With Moving Day done, we wish them all another great year in Guelph.  

You can read about last year's move here if you missed it.

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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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Moving On

Yesterday was "Move into Residence" day for our son. It's a big day in our family and for many, many families across the country. I won't try to estimate the number of students leaving home to attend University but I will say it must be a LoT. 

Our son is going to the University of Guelph only 2 hours from London which still seems a long way when he's never lived away from home. I've been looking forward to this day with mixed emotions for months now. I am happy he is looking forward to Moving On and enjoying the relative independence offered by University life. But there is a small part of me that can't help but worry because he is our 'baby' and I will miss him. 

I love his energy, enthusiasm and good humour. He makes me laugh and is fun to have around. On the other hand, he is a teenage boy. He is messy and up all hours making noise and disrupting my sleep. 

I used to sleep through the night before becoming a Mom some 24 years ago. I wake up at the slightest unusual sound in the house. It must be a 'Mom' thing because my husband isn't bothered until I wake him to complain. I fall asleep again easily enough unless I realize it's late and our son isn't home, then I worry. 

Our outside doors all make different noises which I can't help but hear when he's coming and going at odd hours. Plus our kitchen is below our bedroom, so I often wake up to the sound of late night snack prep.

My sleep has been disrupted now for a Very Long Time. I must say I'm looking forward to sleeping through the night. The only problem is better sleep comes at a a price. Our house will be quiet ALL the time.

I also plan to start cleaning this weekend. Our son is a typical teen and rather messy at home. As quickly as I clean, he makes another snack or tracks in dirt on his shoes or leaves his clothes in a trail behind him. 

Although I love a clean and organized house, I wonder if the house might seem too empty without him? I wonder if I'll miss his mess just a little?

I worried all week that he hadn't done much to get organized but I went ahead and did his laundry while he was out having fun with friends Friday night. I put cases in the hallway for him to pack and placed all his new single bedding in the large laundry bag. I figured he could finish packing in the morning before we left.

I was surprised to wake up at 2 a.m. to find his bags packed and ready to go. Of course when I got up at 6 a.m. to feed the cat, let the dog out and put another load in the dryer I noticed the drying rack was empty which prompted me to go through his bags. I didn't think his clothes could have possibly been dry in such a short time. I found one pair of track pants which were still damp. 

Overall I was super impressed with his packing. My messy kid folded everything perfectly and made efficient use of space in all his cases. In the morning, he refolded and repacked the towels I had put out for him. Here is the car all packed up including a little fridge which will be handy for their water, juice and snacks.

Here I am in his new room on campus. This is his bed and desk. The fridge fits between the two beds doubling as a night table. He has to buy an extension cord to plug it in. We offered to do it but he insisted he could manage. I think he just wanted us to Move On so he could start his exciting new life on campus.

He is in a triple room with a third bed through a door to the right. It's quite a spacious separate room. He and his friend requested to room together so they will be sharing this space and their roommate will get the more private space.

Our son insisted on unpacking everything himself. He and his friend have this big walk-in closet at the foot of their beds. Who knew he would be so fussy about his space.

Moving in took a mere 45 minutes even with a long line of slow moving traffic. Since we were hungry and our son was anxious for us to leave, my husband and I went to Borealis Grille and Bar for a delicious dinner.  

We even had cocktails to celebrate a successful day. Our dinner really was amazing. 

After dinner, we decided to return to the University to walk around. My husband and son had taken a campus tour in July but it was all new to me. When we arrived, we saw our son participating in group activities so we did what any respectful parents would do, hid in the bushes and took a photo from afar. He looked like he was having a great time which helped put my mind at ease. 

My husband showed me the new lecture halls built a few years ago. They really are very nice. I couldn't resist sitting and imagining what it would be like to be a student here.

This was taken outside the lecture halls. Also very nice.

The Bull Ring Coffee Pub looks really cool from the outside  but it closes early this week so I could not see inside.

I liked the view between these buildings. It leads to a large park and green space.

 This is the walkway through the park ... very pretty.

I think students did a good job painting this cannon in the school colours - red, yellow and black. Funnily enough our son was not impressed when I offered to crochet an afghan in these colours for his room. I was just joking with him... honest.

New students are wandering around in large groups all over campus. I also noticed the odd parent wandering around looking a bit bewildered and out of place just like us.

We headed back towards the residence our son and his friend moved into. I enjoyed our little campus tour.

We looked but didn't see our son again before we left. I'm not too worried, there are lots of new students away from home for the first time and they all seem to be having fun.

That's their room to the left of the open emergency exit. Their windows are at ground level and open to let in a bit of a breeze. They can see out but the mesh makes it impossible to see in - I checked. 

With our campus tour done, we headed back to London to pick up our dog from my parents, have a drink and fill them in on our day. 

Our son is growing up and Moving On. 

I am so happy he is happy, yet sad he is gone.

I will do what Moms do best. I will Carry On.

* * * * *

Well I better get ready. Did I mention we have a party to attend? It's a 50th Birthday for a friend. Cleaning can wait. Let's have some fun.

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