I still hate it here

I wanted to go to the gym, can't find my car keys.

I still hate it here: I have no social life, no family, no friends. Sure I have a reasonable job. I get along well with my colleagues, I live close to work. But that is it.

I miss my famlily, my kids and their kids, my friends, the life I had before the move.

I can never find anything I am looking for, as it was probably lost in the move, or put away in some spot where I have no idea to look.

I try to look at the bright side, but right now I don't really see any bright side.

love passwords!

Of course I keep forgetting them, so I keep having to reset them.

mfft! pfft! bleeech!

Ottawa is beautiful today, nice, sunny, warm, smell of autmun leaves and bumble bees.

So I am here doing laundry, folding clothes, sorting and storing

Getting supper organized in the slow-cooker.

A bit of sewing too.

Such an interesting life I lead.

Baby

My beautiful grand-daughter was born almost a month ago. Of course, if I still lived in Winnipeg, I would have been there to help Sof with the boys, and with the baby. And I would have seen and spent a lot of time with Bella by now. (Another reason I do not like Ottawa).

So here I am, missing them all, and not able to go for a while yet, as I have used up all my holiday time last May to go to West Africa. I have to wait until next year. But will plan this better I hope. Try to get in on the long week-ends and spend a few days with them, at least 2 times a year. Still not enough.

Mais, on fait ce qu'on peut...

Lazy Monday Morning

Or not.

Woke up around 8:45 and first things first, got dressed and went out to check the car. Weird buzzing noises, then nothing. Tried the ignition again, and this time it started. This is not good. We really do not have any cash for car repairs at the moment, and who knows how much it will cost?

Can back inside, made coffee and toast, and a couple of cookies...

Worked on those tiny little pants for Bella, and took down the living room curtains to shorten them a bit. I thought they were fine, but O. is worried that once we start heating the place, because they fall right in font of the heater, they might melt or worse, catch fire. He is always so worried about everything. Or suspicious, or doubtful. Some might say precautious, but I find him a bit negative. However, just in case, I am shortening the curtains. A lot of work too, as they are are sheer lacy fabric and very soft and do not hold their shape too well.

* * * *

Well, that 's done. And they don't look too bad either. Only took a total of 2 hours. I think I might add a sheer magenta as an under layer, just to add a bit of colour. We'll see later.

Now to get lunch ready. Those toasts really did not do anything for me.

September, woah!

Yesterday on facebook, someone said my sister should write a blog of her "new adventures" in the land of icebergs and cod. Well not exactly in those words, but...

so I thought I should get back to mine. We've been here a little over a year, with a lot of ups and downs, and moving 4 times. Crazy! At least now, I think we found our spot, and I for one am not willing to move again, for a least three years. We have moved into a cozy 2 bedroom appartment, so close to my work that I can walk everyday, and steps away from the bus stop for O.

We now actually have furniture, a comfy little loveseat and 2 chairs, dining room ensemble, maple, very classy looking, so at last the living-dining area looks homey. The kitchen is a small but efficient size,our room is fairy large, and the other room, which for the moment we are using as office, is a decent size. We will probably set up a single bed in there at some point.

We have a balcony at least, as we of course do not have a backyard. However, our downstairs neighbours are smokers, and smoke rises... so I don't sit out there as much as I would like to, because of the smell. But there will be a lot of plants growing there next spring time and I will try to have it nice looking. Maybe the neighbours will move...

I finally managed to get my serger working again. With help from youtube on how to thread it, and the instructions manual, and my imagination and determination, it took a couple of hours, but I eventually got it running. So, I made some pillow cases, with really nice fabric that I had kicking around for a while. And cute little bottoms for Bella.

Today I adjust the curtains, as they are a bit too long, and I am not sure how the heating works in this place. The last thing I need is for the curtains to ignite...

house issues

Last week end I went to visit the friend who had made us such a generous offer last month, and who had seemed to recant. Sitting sipping coffee, talking about our next move.

She explained her "not really sure when it will happen wedding". A mariage of convenience for both parties it seems. As it is not my story, I will keep it at that. But her offer is still valid. I told her we had to be sure that if we do move our stuff and our bodies there, she will not be selling the house before the end of June. Or at least, the possession date should be at the end of June or early July, so we can get organized. That seemd to work for her.

In the meantime our landlord has started showing the house, and the couple who came today are very interested. They even left a deposit. So we will probably find out Monday if this goes or not. Still, it means we would be stuck with rent payments until May 1, as the move out date would be May 31. Well, it's better that July 1. So now, it's wait and see.

I will be happy when this is all over. The stress is not healthy. I will be happy when Honey's job is confirmed. I will be happy when we finally settled down in our own appartment, with a one year lease, and hopefully a lease that we will renew for the next 3-4 years. I am very tired of moving.

Sometimes

I feel like I am in a Monty Python sketch, that never ends.


Gotta laugh.

Just like in a bad movie, got our income tax done at Joe's Fly by Night Taxes and Dry Cleaning

We had an appointment for noon, yesterday, but I had to call to change it to 4pm. The girl on the phone insists that we come in at 3:30, cause they close at 5 and to do a "Couple" it takes over an hour.

So we are there dutifully a bit before 3:30 and wait. We prefer being a bit early, than late. So at 3:45 we are still waiting... Oh sorry, she will be just a few more moments. At 4PM we are still waiting. Both tired and getting grumpy. Oh she won't be much longer now.

We left.

Went next door, ia a rather seedy looking place, I think it was an office, cause there were a couple of desks there and some ratty looking plastic chairs, kinda like a walk-in clinic look... Right next door to the Cash Store on ch. de Montreal, en face du Jean Coutu, for those who know... Nobody in there but us chickens, and the accountant. Ousmane, bless his little heart, asks for a price and negociated down to something affordable (probably their usual price). We hand over all our papers. In the meantime, a few people walk in intermittently, and I am starting to feel claustrophobic, and very aware that we have no privacy. Some of those people are a bit smelly too (cigarette breath and clothes - at least I prefer to think that's all it was).

After about 30 minutes, he hands over our papers and says, ok, you will be getting this back, and you will be getting that back. I put the student fees on yours (me) and blablabla. He had gotten everything mixed up, put half of my stuff on Ousmane's return and some of Ousmane's on mine. I looked at it, and said that I didn't think it was right, so he looked at it again, oops, yup, I just need to change this, and this...And redid it 3 times. Ça inspire la confiance. Yeah, I really would trust this guy with my life.

Finally he finished. I looked it over, it seemd to make sense, the right expenses with the right person and we are getting a bit back. Paid the guy and left very quickly. I would not even be able to tell you how many people were in there when we left, or describe even one of them. Not a good spy or police witness on this one.

I thought that because of the move, the being unemployed, the being a student, the changing of jobs, it would be very complicated, and an accountant would be able to figure it out faster and better than us...

Oh, and apparently, we make too much money to claim our renting fees...

However, with my tax return, I am investing in a "Calculate your own taxes" program. If this guy could do it, I certainly can do it too. Probably better and faster, And with no stinky people sitting too close to me.

News Flash

I had not had much time to write here, and then, a few things have happened in the last few days/weeks, that I have posted on FB, but decided they might fit in better here.

Maybe I sound like I am complaining, or depressed... But this is our reality right now.

We are going to move again, and yes I am a bit depressed about that. A friend of ours had convinced us that once we give our notice, we could stay with her for a few months. It took a very long time to convince us, we were sure that it would not work out. So we give our notice, and now, for her own reasons, this is not going to work out. So that is the part of plan B that is not happening anymore. Why did she wait for us to give notice, before suddenly having a lifestyle change in her situation. And beleive me this is a kind of change that usually one does not decide overnight. At least, I wouldn't.

So here we are, getting ready to pack again.

At least, looks like spring is on the way.

Maybe moving again

The owner got us here under false pretenses. We are renting the main floor and second floor, with washer/dryer in basement, along with the 2nd bathroom. We were told that she wanted to keep the "office" in the basement for her own personal use. Then, in Feb. she tells us she will be renting it, or if we want to keep the whole house, the rent will goe up by about $400. So we decided that when the lease was up on June 30, we would leave.



Plan B was, if she gave us even only 2 weeks notice in April we could leave by May 1. Anyway, another part of plan B is no longer applicable, but the 2 weeks notice still is. So until April 15, we won't know for sure if we are moving or not, and where we are moving, or not. And those 2 weeks may end up being very short notice to find a good spot. So now, we are kind of hoping that she does not find anyone until June 30 or later, as the official two months notice is already given for being out of here on July 1. We can't really come back and say, we changed our minds, we now want to stay till June 30. She already thinks I'm crazy because,when I call her, the dryer is not working, but when she comes to fix it, it is working. But now that it has been "fixed" it is still not working. And I am certainly not calling her again.



I am so fed up of moving. We are thinking of selling all our wordly pssessions, except for the cushions, bed, tv and computer (and of course the pots & pans) and moving into a tiny bachelor appartment somewhere and sign a 10 yr lease. Thank God for nephews who have already offered their help. Guys as soon as we know what is happening, we will let you know.



I can't say that I actually like Ottawa.

Look ahead

Went for a job interview this morning. It went well, and it is the same work I was doing in Winnipeg, so my insurance background will be helpful. They emailed the agency after our meeting, saying I was great... So, should I be expecting good news soon? The only drawbacks - there are 2 - is no benefits, and no holidays. It is a 12 month contract right now. Although things sometimes change very quickly.

I can live with no benefits, for now, and there is nothing to say I can't look for something else later. But no holidays... We are planning to go "back" home in May of June. However I will cross that bridge when I get there. This job is close to home, the pay is acceptable, the work is ok. And I have not had the confirmation yet that I am the chosen one. If it's mine, then it will be. If not, another one is just around the corner.

Ça avance

J'ai un rendez-vous demain matin à 10h00!

Qui vivra verra

Reçu un appel tard hier après-midi de l'agence qui m'avait trouvé l'autre boulot: ils ont quelque chose à me proposer. Ça ressemble beaucoup à ce que je faisais à Winnipeg, c'est beaucoup plus proche de notre maison et ça commence un peu plus tard dans la journée. Hum, c'est très intéressant. L'agence doit envoyer mon cv à la compagnie et celle-ci leur dira si elle veut me rencontrer ou non. Je devrais avoir une réponse à cela d'ici la fin de l'après-midi. Entre-temps je ne suis pas très découragée, en fait pas du tout découragée. Les choses tomberont en place au bon moment. (Et puis, j'aime bien être à la maison comme ça, dommage que je doive retourner au travail.)

Expect the unexpected

I sure didn't.

I thought I had an almost perfect job, been going to work for the last month. Getting up at 6, arriving early, learning as much as I could, as it was very complex, and maybe I am just too much of a perfectionist.

Friday morning, they called me in the office, and said...blablabla, thank you very much, good-bye. Oh well, I'd rather find out after one month than 3 or 5 months, while still on probation, but very settled into the job. So here I am, back to job-hunting again. I actually would prefer to not find anything until after Christmas, at this point. And the good thing is I did get a whole new wardrobe out of this experience. And I met interesting people and did something that was completely foreign to my past experiences.

So now I go back to the gym too. Yes! Will be going this afternoon. My arm and shoulder are feeling better, too, after not working out for almost 5 months. I guess maybe my body needed that rest to recuperate. (And I'll aks them if they are looking for employees, who knows? I may find myself a part-time job at the gym.)

So off I go...

This and that...

I put a whole bunch of stuff in the crockpot, and we should have a yummy supper tonight. My crockpot version of "le bouilli", beef, onions, carrots, potatoes, rutabagas... It seems I have been doing a lot of cooking in the last few days, last night I was complaining that all I have been doing lately is cooking. Oh well, as of next week, I won't be spending much time in the kitchen anymore.

I have also been doing a bit of sewing. That also is something I won't have much time for later on. So enjoying my free time for the next few days. I know it won't be easy getting up very early in the morning ad NOT going back to bed, but hoping on a bus to get my b*tt to work. Interesting. I am looking forward to learning new things, meeting new people, and facing new challenges.

I saw another house 2 days ago, thought maybe we could move out of here - our tiny little abode, but finally, after re-evaluating our budget, decided that we are better off staying here for another few months,until we know exactly what to expect. Try to save a bit, pay off the debts a bit too. And really it's not that bad here. Cozy. Not much storage. But it's home. For now.

Finally figured out how to upload to the ipod. It turns out I had an older version of itunes which didn't recognize the ipod. So I've been uploading a lot of our favorite cds, but whne I'm doing that, of course, I am not doing anything else. So... housework awaits for me in dark corners and leaps up from behind bedroom doors... and makes me wish I had a maid. Haha, that'll be the day!




Daughter got the little surprise I sent her in the mail yesterday. Glad she liked it. The cutest little winter hat, (not quite this colour) I'm sure they have some kind of name for that style, but can't think of it now. You'll get your socks at Christmas, dear, as usual... :)