Setting off fire alarms and other good things.

I set off the fire alarm in the new house. It's sort of good because I was beginning to wonder if they actually worked. In the old house a steamy shower or toast for breakfast would set the buggers off. This time it was a smoky cauldron of incense. The previous owners had a security system installed so besides the piercing alarm sound a voice says "Fire, fire! There is smoke in the house!" It scared the hell out of me :)

Besides setting off alarms I've been stripping wall paper, unpacking, cleaning and doing dishes and laundry. It's still slow going but at least it's going...

I have been crafting too. I just can't show most of what I've been doing just yet. Here is something I can show though... just finished it this morning.



Totally inspired by Phizzy's Altered Jigsaw Puzzle.

It was a lot a lot harder than I expected. Those curves and funny spaces make for a difficult canvas. It was also a pain to trim the excess paper in those curves and bumps. So happy I chose a puzzle with larger pieces. I'm glad I did it though and might even do another one with a theme.

Interested in making your own? Here's the link to the craftster Altered Puzzle-along

WWE and crafting madness

We're heading back to the big city for a quick visit. D has one last soccer game and a pizza party tomorrow so we're making the drive and doing some visiting before school starts up (is summer over already?).

This morning the kiddo and I made an entry way for his wrestlers. He's mental for wrestling... it's non-stop wrestling all day every day so I figured I'd lure him to the crafty darkside with a little wwe. It was also a nice way to use up one of the many, many moving boxes that is littering my house. We're also going to try to make them a backstage gym area once this baby is complete.



That's my action figure entering the ring. My dear son bought me Triple H for my b-day this year. I asked for a book.

Pay it forward brother...

People are different out here. Don't get me wrong, one of the things I liked about the big city we moved from was the people. For the most part people in our old home town were pretty nice... out here it's a whole different ball game.

Last week it took the Mr. three evenings to mow our lawn. We quickly realized that we'd need to get ourselves a lawn tractor. Off to town we went and bought a shiny red chopper... that wouldn't fit in the trailer. Ug! After only a minute or two a fella in a pick-up truck kindly offered his assistance. His kiddo sat in the truck and didn't complain about the wait. He made small talk and was kind as can be. When we said our thanks he said "Pay it forward brother..." and drove off.



Today we got a huge box of fresh veggies from the Thai workers who work in the vineyard. Lettuce, eggplants, onions, corn, melon, cucumbers. Just look at the beautiful veggies they gave us...







They've also been kind enough to give us some fresh eggs from the chickens they keep. Every time the Mr. tries to give them a few bucks for the goodies they refuse it.

I've had iced tea at my neighbours house, been to a pig roast hosted by near strangers and met many lovely, genuinely friendly people all over the county. It's sort of sad that all this goodwill is kinda difficult to get used to.

Ah well.

In other news...

- we saw a woodpecker eating the termites in one of our apple trees
- a ground hog was snooping around our back lawn this evening
- I've actually done a fair bit of crafting today
- made a batch of peanut butter cookies
- I checked the pork, spinach and fennel terrine I made 2 days ago and it didn't cook! What a pisser!

I found my brushes!

I was getting a little worried. Two weeks and no sign of my paint brushes or glue. I hit the jackpot last night however, and found a box marked "Art Supplies" hiding in our guest room. I managed to get a tiny little start on two projects before bed.

The office is starting to come together but it's taking ages and I have no idea where everything should go. Hey, at least I can see the floor (or parts of it) now.



Went to check out Big D's new school today. They are terribly nice there and it seems like a nice place to learn. One fairly cool thing is that they have a courtyard in the centre of the school. How neat is that?

One last newsworthy tidbit... D has not one, but two loose teeth! The tooth fairy should be making her way to our house pretty soon. I'm planning on capturing her and keeping her in a jar until she tells me what she does with all those damned teeth.

More treasures

Over the past few days we've made a bit of head way in our office/library/crafty space. That's a pretty big deal considering the amount of books we've got to deal with. There's still a pile of stuff sitting in the middle of the room and a few boxes waiting to be sorted in the hallway but I think I'll be well on my way to crafting very soon. If I can only find my brushes and glue....



Here's my stash of crafting books and specialty papers. That old green file on the right holds the old photos I've collected over the past few years. Not quite organized just yet but it's getting there.



I mentioned that D and I found a bunch of old bottles buried in our back garden last week. Today we found some more broken glass as well as two more intact bottles. That wasn't the only treasure I found today though. Take a look at this...



For the life of me I don't remember buying this but it's a discard from our old public library so I must have grabbed it... or the Mr. did and forgot to mention it to me. The projects range from a snake made out of rolled up foil balls to a more elaborate doll tea service and palace with guards. Who knew foil could be so much fun?

Holy crap we've moved!

It certainly has been a crazy few months but we are finally in our new home and very slowly getting settled. There are boxes everywhere and the place is a disaster but it is quickly becoming home.

There are a few things that we did not expect: the leaky drain in the kitchen, the sweltering heat in the upper floor, the crazy loud airplanes that occasionally pass by. I think that we can deal with all of it because there are so many nice things about being here. Just get a load out of the view from my office window...



It's been nice to spend more time with the Big D also. Last week we went on a treasure hunt in our back garden to dig up some old bottles we saw. Most of them were smashed to bits but there were a few survivors.



Pretty neat eh?

It's been a hell of a move. Seriously, it's been all sorts of awful in so many ways. But I'm thanking the gods that it's pretty much over and I can get back to life.

Withdrawals

It seems like ages since I've done any crafting and it's starting to get to me. I'm on the verge of getting the shakes and must be careful not to go near any crafty supplies or else I will lose my mind and start eating glue. "It will all be over soon" I keep telling myself. In no time at all I will be able to crack open my boxes of dear, sweet, crafty goodness and get to the painting and pasting once more.

To tide me over I've signed up for two craftster swaps. The Birds, Birds, Birds and the Jar of Whimsies Rnd. 6 swaps.

I'm not really nutty for birds but I do think that there is an awful lot of cute birdy stuff around at the mo'. Aesthetically I think that crows, ravens and wee songbirds are loveliness. In real life (and perhaps not so pretty) I like seeing cranes fly, baring witness to humming birds fight over nectar and watching penguins swim.

I'm off to the new house tomorrow to sign some papers and show it off to my mum. I'm excited. The big move is on Monday... and I still have packing to do. Can't wait to be up and running again very soon!

P.S. This is a great video...

We've got a lot of stuff...

Everywhere I turn there are boxes. Lots and lots of boxes.

Between the wine stash, the books, the cooking gear, and all that regular stuff that fills a house, there is an overwhelming amount of things to pack. We're living in a cardboard jungle at the mo'. Some people have said "Oh, you'll have to get rid of your (fill in the item here)" when we mentioned our long haul. Well... the winemaker is determined to keep his cellar intact and I will not willfully give up my stash of crafting goods. We are both in love with our crazy number of books so that is out of the question. How in the world are we going to move everything?

I'm still not sure. Ug.

In crafty news... all of my goods are packed and I am going through serious withdrawal. I've signed up for a bird swap on craftster and plan on crafting like a crazy lady once my boxed goodies are unpacked. Hurrah!

Something else I want to get my crafty little hands busy on are these...



How wonderful are these?!? Made by the insanely talented Phizzychick over at craftster.org this wee town is made up of teeny houses. The square front of each house measures only 1 inch square! LOVE them and totally stealing the idea to make own village.

Here's the project link http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=313936.0

The countdown continues

It was a crazy day today. Thunderstorms brought buckets of rain that flooded the streets of the East end of Hamilton. Just blocks from our house basements were underwater and streets impassable. I feel for those friends and neighbours who've been affected by the rains... for some this is not the first round of flooding they've dealt with.

We're packing like mad. There's only 14 days left till moving day. The Mr. is starting to panic about the logistics of everything and the sheer amount of stuff we have to move. I'm totally excited and think that the packing is going fairly well although I do keep thinking about all the unpacking with each box I tape shut.

As a gal who has lived in a rather large city for the last 20 years moving to the sticks is a big change. While laying with the kiddo, trying to get him to sleep, I thought about the noise and wondered for just a minute if I'd miss it. Will I miss the sirens, the motorcycles, the busy street traffic and the noisy bar across the way? Not a chance!

I wonder if the scene in my mind will come close to what the reality will be once we move. Will this city gal be pleased as punch to stay home and make pie and craft? Or will I quickly feel the need for a big dirty city and start up a cult or hooker ring in my new home town? Hey, there's a great sushi place about 20 minutes away from the new house... I'm sure I'll survive.

The light at the end of the crazy tunnel

Here she is, the reason that my sanity is almost still intact, our new home!



Knowing that we'll be moving into this lovely place (which I still can't believe) is keeping me motivated. I keep thinking that all the stress, all of the headaches, the lost sleep, and hard work is for a purpose and will be worth it in the end. Heck, I can even deal with the loss of all my books and crafty supplies (all packed up in moving boxes) for a while if it means living in my dreamy home.

I am totally stitching a "Home Sweet Home" thingy for this place :) *sigh*

Wheee! What a roller coaster ride!

So I've been missing. I still will be for a month or so, but it's all good and I think I can share a bit of what's been going on.

Here's a mini-rundown of the past two and a half months...

We've dealt with job loss, gained employment, gone to a gazillion birthday parties, prepped our house for sale, decluttered, painted ceilings and walls, cleaned our fingers to the bone, we've battled a nasty flu, gone to swim lessons, soccer practice, soccer games, cooked, done laundry, worked full time, done grocery shopping, made curtains, steam cleaned carpets, sold our house, shopped for houses, bought a house (just a couple of things before it's official!), slept (a tiny bit), and loads of other stuff that is escaping me at the mo' as well as trying to make sure our kiddo is a-ok while he only has one frazzled parent at home and the other is away working.

We've been busy. So busy that much of our 'outside' life has gone completely neglected.

I'll be back in the latter half of August to share the fruits of all this madness. For anyone who has emailed me, I'm sorry you've been put on hold, I'm especially sorry if I've worried anyone, but I will get back to you once our move is complete. As much as I'd like to do it all, I can't. Something had to give before I lost my mind. I've been on the verge of a panic attack for the last month but things are finally slowing down and I'm starting to catch my breath.

Once again, I'm sorry to those of you that have emailed and haven't had a reply. Please just hold on a little while longer and I will get to you as soon as I can! I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your patience and understanding.