"Any idiot can handle a crisis - it's this day-to-day living that wears you out."(Anton Chekhov - Playwright 1860-1904)And what a whirlwind it has been. We have, since the week before Father's Day, accepted a job in the Kootenays, bought a house, sold our house, toilet-trained Maya, secured movers, started sorting and, sadly, started saying our goodbyes. We are all very excited about the move and the great things that await us in Trail, but this past few weeks have been hectic, to describe them gently.
Let's start with the good...Our house sold with one showing in two days. WOOHOO!! We spent a lovely Father's Day at the aquarium where Jordan
finally had the summer butterflies land on her. In fact, she had spent the better part of the ride there lamenting the fact that they
never land on her. How is it, incidentally, that a four-year-old can draw out the "never" to sound exactly like a teenager??? Maya was thrilled to share in this as well...see for yourself...
Maya decided that weekend that she was through with diapers (see earlier entry about her "helping" me with that!). She is dry through the night and everything, so I am rather impressed given the fact that things have been quite chaotic and she's only 27 months old. Mind you, her tiny little bottom barely fits even size 2 undies, so it is a challenge just keeping her covered! The realtor, the house inspector and the buyers were all greeted by a naked tush coming down the stairs proclaiming, "Me pee, mom!" The joys :)
My good friend from Japan, Mitsuko, and her granddaughter came to stay with us from the 29th of June through the 7th of July. What a great treat since I hadn't seen her since our wedding 6 years ago. Upon their arrival, however, the real craziness began. Got a minute? Ten? Fasten your seatbelt...
The day prior to their arrival, I locked us out of the house, but had absentmindedly left the kitchen window open, so Jordan got her first experience at burglary. They also got pancakes for supper, as the freezer holding all the meat was behind locked doors in the storage room outside. Keys at girlfriend's...strike one.
On the way to the airport, the car started to sputter. This didn't bode well for a relaxed trip there or back, but we made it home after nearly missing our friends at the arrivals counter (note the potty training in full swing...time spent in public toilets is unbelievable!). Moments after I thought we should head out for a walk before I started dinner, we heard a terrific bang and rushing water. When I got upstairs, I discovered that the pipe under our ensuite sink had let go and the shutoff handle was seized. By the time I got the water to the whole house shut off, Mitsuko was yelling up to tell me that the water was coming out downstairs. Super. House sold. Inspection done. Giant flood. Mike, the saint, came home and got everything reattached, but not before I had to explain to our excessively polite, private, demure houseguests that, although they had been on the plane for nearly 12 hours, there was no flushing about to happen, but they were welcome to close the lid or use the neighbour's. Yeah, that was received REALLY well...but politely!! Strike two.
The next day, it was apparent that the car had to visit the mechanic. I went with Maya in the afternoon for what would be maybe an hour. Well, we got home about 3 hours later after phoning Mitsuko and trying to explain how to turn on the oven and get the roast in. About 10 that night, I figured I should make a sponge cake for Canada Day. You know the kind - 6 eggs, whites beaten stiffly, don't bang the door or it will fall...really simple. Yep. All was good until I licked the spatula and discovered that I had made the cake with baking soda rather than baking powder. Despite Mike's suggestion that I just cook it and hope nobody notices, it went down the sink.
Canada Day started really well with a pancake breakfast at our neighbour's and a trip to the Salmon Festival with a mere 75,000 of our closest friends. Mom & Dad came to visit, so we hustled back home to have a bbq with them. Everyone was catching up and having a jolly time when Jordan wanted to show Grandma the "Classic Red" nailpolish I had painted her nails with for the holiday ("It was a bit gloppy, though."). Grandma gave it a good ol' shake while discussing the merits of the little lead ball that is usually found in nail polish and the lid flung off glopping not only Grandma's white shirt, but the arm of the sofa with classic red. Mitsuko and Arisa looked on in horror (but politely) while a bottle and a half of nail polish remover was employed to get the stain out. Strike three? Are we still counting??
Sunday went slightly better with the day spent at the park and then at the local Japanese temple for the annual Bon-Odori festival. Mitsuko sewed Jordan a beautiful new yukata and hemmed her old one for Maya, so they could both take part.
We went and spent a night at Whistler Monday the 3rd and, although one was carsick on the way up and the other had a "leak out" on the way back, we had a delightful time. Needless to say, the carseats are both fresh and clean and ready to head to Trail in exactly two weeks from tomorrow. YIKES!!
The rest of the visit was spent mostly without incident, and we are happy to be back to a normal routine (whatever that is!). It was great having them here, though, as we got to do some sightseeing that we likely wouldn't have made time for otherwise. I am very curious to know what kind of impression was made on our younger guest. They wanted to experience "real Canadian life" and I think they got more than they bargained for!
Now we are downt to the crunch, so to speak. We are having the movers pack for us, so that alleviates a bit of the pressure, but there is still a crazy amount of sorting to be done. Cries of, "You're such a packrat!" are ringing through the house and the girls feel like it's Christmas time with so many boxes full of goodies to open and explore.
Postings will be short and fairly sparse I would imagine, but I will update everyone with new contact details in an email.
Send happy smooth moving vibes our way!
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