The worst has happened - I haven't had a computer for the last week - and there is a chance, a more than slim chance that I might be without a computer for another week or so....the horror, the horror....
It isn't that moving has been so horrible, or that I don't have any time to blog- I have no computer. My hard drive broke (no problem says Dell, we will send you another one)......but when the hard drive arrived and we tried to unscrew the screws to replace the hard drive, one screw won't budge......(no problem says Dell, just send in the whole laptop and we will fix in 8 to 10 days)...... Have you ever SEEN me without computer access? It isn't a pretty sight......
Tomorrow a miracle could happen in computer world, but I am afraid to jinx it....but if you see me posting tomorrow night with photos and updates and my Giveaway - you will know that the world is turning as it should and I will be in computer heaven.
All is well here - I have lots of things for the Giveaway and I will be posting as soon as I can ........ In the meantime, I do recommend that you see Barney's Version - Paul Giamatti is great and the movie does a great job showing Montreal and Canada as seen by Mordecai Richler. I have also loved The King's Speech and The Social Network ..... and no, I am not going to see Black Swan - I just don't think it is my thing.....
Come back soon for more Giveaways.....help me get rid of my stuff!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Surfacing....barely surfacing...
After 21 years in one place, I guess I had forgotten how complicated it is to move and after 21 years of accumulating stuff, I guess I had forgotten how complicated it would be to move. Our move to the rented apartment and the move of stuff to storage happened on Saturday. The phone company made a mistake and we had no phone or internet (despite having made sure that change would be seamless) - and it took a few days to get our television service changed. So it has been days since we have been hooked up to the world. Then, just as the wireless internet was installed, my laptop chose to self-destruct. Dell has promised me a new hard drive will arrive by early next week, but until then I won't really feel connected. Next week, once I have my computer running, I will continue with new installments of "Giveaway - Help me Get Rid of My Earthly Possessions". Lots of stuff coming up!
The good news is that we find our new apartment to be comfortable and convenient. We are on ground level with a garden and deck - and we are close to our old neighbourhood. It is a strange feeling to have no control over our surroundings - the kitchen and bathrooms in the apartment are vintage 1970...but there is nothing we can do about it. On the other hand, when the drapery cord broke the other day, I just called the manager to come and fix it - presto - like magic - we didn't have to do or pay anything!
We are definitely suffering from moving fatigue. I can't imagine packing up and moving in the next few months - hmmmmm.....this will be interesting.....
The good news is that we find our new apartment to be comfortable and convenient. We are on ground level with a garden and deck - and we are close to our old neighbourhood. It is a strange feeling to have no control over our surroundings - the kitchen and bathrooms in the apartment are vintage 1970...but there is nothing we can do about it. On the other hand, when the drapery cord broke the other day, I just called the manager to come and fix it - presto - like magic - we didn't have to do or pay anything!
We are definitely suffering from moving fatigue. I can't imagine packing up and moving in the next few months - hmmmmm.....this will be interesting.....
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Day Eight Giveaway.....Free DVDs of the Office
Yesterday I posted a photo of our dining room. Here is what the dining room looks like today.....filled with boxes and bins and crates. And it isn't the only room in the house that looks like that. We are almost finished packing up everything - and a good thing that is, given that we move bright and early on Saturday morning.
I have to tell you how much I love these packing labels. My friend Leslie passed these on to me after her recent move - and I think they are a great creation:
Once a box is packed, just slap one of these mamas onto the box.....Let's hope these things work and that the boxes are delivered by the movers into the right rooms.
Today's giveaway is something completely different. I am sharing DVDs from my favourite show - The Office - Season 1 and Season 3.
The DVDs can be yours if you want them - just post in the Comments and I will send them to you in the mail. I am going to keep the first giveaway offerings open for a few more days. You are welcome to ask for more than one item - if there are more than one person wanting an item, I will draw names.
I have to tell you how much I love these packing labels. My friend Leslie passed these on to me after her recent move - and I think they are a great creation:
Once a box is packed, just slap one of these mamas onto the box.....Let's hope these things work and that the boxes are delivered by the movers into the right rooms.
Today's giveaway is something completely different. I am sharing DVDs from my favourite show - The Office - Season 1 and Season 3.
The DVDs can be yours if you want them - just post in the Comments and I will send them to you in the mail. I am going to keep the first giveaway offerings open for a few more days. You are welcome to ask for more than one item - if there are more than one person wanting an item, I will draw names.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Day Seven Giveaway.....
Yesterday an old trivia friend from Buffalo mentioned in the comments about the accumulation of "found" items in our home. I think the first time she visited my home she was shocked to hear about the "stolen" Grecian columns in my dining room. You can see one of the columns in this picture:
When I first bought this house, I sought out cheap decorating and renovating solutions - there was no Craigslist 20 years ago.....so the Salvation Army,Value Village, garage sales and......resourcefulness and larceny....were the only ways to add character to my house. When an old charming house across the street was slated for demolition, my junking friend Lorna and I went and removed the Grecian columns from the front porch (under the cover of darkness).... With brazen gall we carried both plaster columns across to my house and decided they would look perfect in my dining room. Theft? perhaps..... But as the house was demolished the next morning, I like to consider that I gave these beautiful columns a loving reprieve. I should mention that the columns have been very happy in my house all these years......
Along the way, I picked up other treasures that we have enjoyed - and now that I am selling the house, I have needed to sell and give away lots of this loot. The big items are flying out of the house thanks to Craigslist - it warms this old junker's heart to see that furniture and accessories will be again recycled and reused.
For today's giveaway - a tribute to my junking friend Lorna - who actually climbed INTO a dumpster and retrieved this treasure. This enamel coffee pot (8 3/4 inches high) has been used frequently over the last 20 years stuffed with daisies, garden roses, wild flowers or hydrangea blossoms. If you want it, let me know in the comments and I will send it to you - a dumpster treasure.
When I first bought this house, I sought out cheap decorating and renovating solutions - there was no Craigslist 20 years ago.....so the Salvation Army,Value Village, garage sales and......resourcefulness and larceny....were the only ways to add character to my house. When an old charming house across the street was slated for demolition, my junking friend Lorna and I went and removed the Grecian columns from the front porch (under the cover of darkness).... With brazen gall we carried both plaster columns across to my house and decided they would look perfect in my dining room. Theft? perhaps..... But as the house was demolished the next morning, I like to consider that I gave these beautiful columns a loving reprieve. I should mention that the columns have been very happy in my house all these years......
Along the way, I picked up other treasures that we have enjoyed - and now that I am selling the house, I have needed to sell and give away lots of this loot. The big items are flying out of the house thanks to Craigslist - it warms this old junker's heart to see that furniture and accessories will be again recycled and reused.
For today's giveaway - a tribute to my junking friend Lorna - who actually climbed INTO a dumpster and retrieved this treasure. This enamel coffee pot (8 3/4 inches high) has been used frequently over the last 20 years stuffed with daisies, garden roses, wild flowers or hydrangea blossoms. If you want it, let me know in the comments and I will send it to you - a dumpster treasure.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Day Six Giveaway......
I won't bore you with more packing news - because there is really no news - just packing. Today I started to worry that we may have rented too small an apartment - so if I can get a bigger apartment tomorrow we will leap at the opportunity.
I want to tell you about my giveaway.....When I bought this house over 20 years ago, I made a decision to decorate it frugally - using recycled items. I shopped at the Salvation Army and Value Village - looking for interesting things that needed a new home. Along the way I picked up all kinds of items .... and now 20 years later, it is time to pare down my belongings.....
For today's giveaway......here are some salt and pepper shakers from Germany. I don't know why I bought them many years ago - they are quite happy little girls - in good condition. If you would like them, leave a comment - and I will send them to the lucky winner. Free..........salt and pepper shakers....
This and all my photos are taken with my Blackberry.....I know the quality is bad, but I couldn't find a camera in all the boxes if I tried!
I want to tell you about my giveaway.....When I bought this house over 20 years ago, I made a decision to decorate it frugally - using recycled items. I shopped at the Salvation Army and Value Village - looking for interesting things that needed a new home. Along the way I picked up all kinds of items .... and now 20 years later, it is time to pare down my belongings.....
For today's giveaway......here are some salt and pepper shakers from Germany. I don't know why I bought them many years ago - they are quite happy little girls - in good condition. If you would like them, leave a comment - and I will send them to the lucky winner. Free..........salt and pepper shakers....
This and all my photos are taken with my Blackberry.....I know the quality is bad, but I couldn't find a camera in all the boxes if I tried!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Day Five Giveaway......
Six more sleeps and we will be moving out of the house. Six more days to pack and make decisions about what to take, what to store and what to donate. Tomorrow my older meaner sister leaves....what a terrific help she has been. Yesterday she unplugged our small chest freezer and chipped away the ice. Luckily we had been pretty diligent about consuming stuff from the freezer (and not adding to it in the last few months), so everything fit into our upstairs fridge freezer ready to be moved. We aren't taking the freezer to the apartment and I will miss it.....I have had one for over 25 years. We are thinking of storing it, so that we can use it if we have room in our new home. Here are things I usually stored in the freezer: enchiladas (Miguel would make at least 5 trays of enchiladas each time he made them - handy for visitors and special dinners), frozen strawberries and blueberries (for smoothies all year round), soups and stews (made in the slow cooker and stored for future use) and cupcakes (ready to be frosted when friends dropped in)..... I miss the freezer already.....
So....for today's giveaway we have another little folk art offering. A wooden fish. He is rather a happy little fish, don't you think?
If you would like this fish, just leave a comment (please don't email me - just comment here so that I can give the items away in accordance with my self-made rules). If you are the lucky winner, I will mail it to you (promise!). How easy is that?
So....for today's giveaway we have another little folk art offering. A wooden fish. He is rather a happy little fish, don't you think?
If you would like this fish, just leave a comment (please don't email me - just comment here so that I can give the items away in accordance with my self-made rules). If you are the lucky winner, I will mail it to you (promise!). How easy is that?
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Day Four Giveaway
What is there to say about moving? It is a lot of work...... and after over 20 years of staying in one place, I can understand why a person decides to just stay put. We don't move until the 15th of the month, and so I want to keep dishes, food and daily needs (bathroom stuff, our bed, underwear) untouched until a day before - so there will be a flurry a few days before to get things done.
We also realized that there was stuff that will needed to be "retired". BC Hydro just came to pick up our basement fridge (that has kept beer and wine cold for over 20 years). BC Hydro has a recycling program for old inefficient fridges that are in working condition - they take the fridge away for free and then send me $30. I consider that a WIN. Beds are a different matter. I have decided to store 2 queen sized fairly new beds.....and we are taking a single trundle bed with us to the apartment. That left us with a very old weary single mattress and boxspring. The City of Vancouver now charges $20 for each mattress and boxspring that is taken to the landfill. Plus, we would have to hire someone to transport the bed to the landfill. We did discover that there is a now a mattress recycling company in Vancouver - for $78 dollars both the mattress and boxspring were picked up today and will be made into a new bed (and will not take up space in landfill). I consider that a part BUMMER ($78) and a part WIN (yeah, recycling).
Of course, there are some treasures that NEED to be shared and so I present to you the Day Four Giveaway. This is a stainless steel pitcher that was used by my parents in those Mad-Men-glory-days of martinis and cigarettes.
The pitcher (decanter?) has a red knob and handle (probably red lucite?) - I think it is very sophisticated.....so that is why it has to go - sophistication ain't us!
If you want it, leave a comment and I will mail it to you for free. Seriously....
We also realized that there was stuff that will needed to be "retired". BC Hydro just came to pick up our basement fridge (that has kept beer and wine cold for over 20 years). BC Hydro has a recycling program for old inefficient fridges that are in working condition - they take the fridge away for free and then send me $30. I consider that a WIN. Beds are a different matter. I have decided to store 2 queen sized fairly new beds.....and we are taking a single trundle bed with us to the apartment. That left us with a very old weary single mattress and boxspring. The City of Vancouver now charges $20 for each mattress and boxspring that is taken to the landfill. Plus, we would have to hire someone to transport the bed to the landfill. We did discover that there is a now a mattress recycling company in Vancouver - for $78 dollars both the mattress and boxspring were picked up today and will be made into a new bed (and will not take up space in landfill). I consider that a part BUMMER ($78) and a part WIN (yeah, recycling).
Of course, there are some treasures that NEED to be shared and so I present to you the Day Four Giveaway. This is a stainless steel pitcher that was used by my parents in those Mad-Men-glory-days of martinis and cigarettes.
The pitcher (decanter?) has a red knob and handle (probably red lucite?) - I think it is very sophisticated.....so that is why it has to go - sophistication ain't us!
If you want it, leave a comment and I will mail it to you for free. Seriously....
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