Lisa's Blog

The moving truck took our stuff away yesterday. It went really smoothly. I didn't want to mention it earlier, but it was very much in doubt that they were going to take the 10 large panels that make up our chain link outdoor dog kennels. It is against their regulations. I tried so hard not to jinx it so we just didn't talk about it - and how we were going to get them out to Nova Scotia - my panels were $650 new, and the 4 panel one easily goes for $400 new - not something we want to re-purchase!

Jeff and I exchanged a quick happy glance at each other when we saw the first two panels being walked up the ramp into the truck. WOO HOOOO. But then we watched as they walked them back down and sat them beside the storage facility wall. And there they rested for hours. Finally they were loaded last. What a relief!

Today we cleaned the house and took a laundry basket load of hazardous waste into the depot (free disposal). It was all paint and fuels and other things we had kept out of the garbage until we had a safe place to dispose of them. Beats carting them to Nova Scotia for disposal!

Tomorrow morning we have to dump my old fridge and stove at the landfill here where they have a program to accept appliances for free (plus a charge for the freon in the fridge). They are only open Saturdays and Wednesdays so we have to wait until tomorrow. After that we can load up the truck and do our last bits of cleaning before we go.

We have a pre-closing inspection of the house on Monday at 10am. The real estate agent will let us into the house and we'll check to make sure everything we requested as part of the purchase is still there (ie. appliances) and that everything is still in order before the lawyer's appointment at 12:30.

The moving truck driver sounded like there was a possibility he wasn't going to be there on Tuesday - it might be Wednesday! I hope not, because we'll be sleeping on a hard floor on Monday night and it would be awfully nice to not have to do that for two nights.

We don't know where we're staying on Saturday or Sunday night. We'll see how far we get. We have lots of time to play with and since we don't have to be in Antigonish until 10am we don't have to get all the way there on Sunday night.

Our phone is already disconnected here. Thankfully the cable and cable internet are still working. My cell will be on over the weekend if you need to reach us, but don't ask me the number, I have no idea what it is. Our new number should be in operation on Monday.

Here's hoping for a good drive and very little cat puke and poop!

To Trudy:
You said you read my blog, so hopefully you read this
We are trying to send you a thank-you card, but we are running into dead ends tracking down a mailing address for you!
Could you please email me your mailing address? lverkley@gmail.com

Nova Scotia seems to be much more environmentally aware that here in Ontario.

While we were out there, we noticed there were just no old beaters on the road. In fact there were just no old vehicles at all on the road. Everything was newer than 10 years with the majority seeming to be less than 5 years old.

We did a little investigating and found out that in Nova Scotia you have to get your vehicle inspected EVERY year. It seems like what we have here for a safety inspection when we want to sell a vehicle. For a small fee, you have to get your vehicle inspected, including the tires removed for a brake inspection. If it doesn't pass, you have ten days only to repair the problem or you are off the road!

Now we've looked up information for our county and the garbage handling is very different than here.

We will only be allowed to put out garbage in clear bags. That way they can be sure you aren't throwing out something you aren't allowed to. You can have one small bag inside that is white to hide your bathroom waste or anything else private you want to hide. No organic material is allowed to be thrown out in your garbage. You have to compost in your yard. Then you can put out two blue bags. One for your cans and bottles and containers and things. And the other one is for paper products like your newspapers, magazines, and cardboard. Then you have a green cart. That is where you put the organics that you shouldn't compose in your yard - like meat and bones and cooking oil and also non-recyclable paper like dirty paper towels, wax paper, pizza boxes, fast food wrappers. You can't put these in a plastic bag inside your cart, you have to line it with newspaper or something organically decompostable (not even those new so-called decomposing garbage bags). I'm sure this will all be a big pain in the ass to get used to, but I can see why. I didn't realize that the problem with all the organic material going to the landfills is that this is what causes the leachate that pollutes the water and soil around landfills. The organic material they collect goes to a separate composing facility and not the landfill. They estimate that 1/3 of regular garbage is organic and could be composted.

I was just out walking Monty around the yard before dark and I noticed a big dark thing on the front yard. It was a big pile of bear poop!

The landlord happened to drive in just then and he didn't believe me at first until I showed him. He said the guy across the road and down one shot one just recently. I don't know if it was because it was a nuisance or because the season is open on hunting them right now.

I wonder if I was sitting right here at the computer when the bear walked by and I didn't even notice.

Okay for all of you asking if I'm still alive.... I am!

We've been busy!

We were home for a week. My family threw a wedding shower for us at our annual family picnic! It was very nice of them and we got some incredible gifts! I will photograph them in a week or two! There are photos from that day going up on Verkley.com - http://verkley.com/wp-content/plugins/fgallery/fim_photos.php?album=verkley-family-picnic-2007

Our Verkley family always has our family get together in August for Grandma's birthday. This was the first picnic without her and without Grandpa. Grandma passed away last fall, and Grandpa has Alzheimer's and lives in a care facility. I was sad not to give them a big hug, but imagine my surprise when I open a card for us at the shower from my Grandma and Grandpa! It was their treasured cuckoo clock! My aunt and uncle who had inherited it decided to pass it along to Jeff and I! It is a family treasure and I am excited to hear and see it in our new home way out east in Nova Scotia. (I only cried two or three times)

While we were home, we also helped Mom redecorate her bedroom - turn garden room - back into a spare bedroom. We also met with the officiant for our wedding, selected Jeff's tux, visited with my Grandma Stock, booked some decorations for our wedding, and visited with Jeff's parents who also come to the Verkley picnic to meet my family.

Now we're in our final week before we move. Here is the schedule:

Tuesday August 21 : Jeff's last day at work
Wednesday August 22 : Finish taking the rest of our stuff to the storage facility
Thursday August 23 : The movers will pull their truck up to the storage facility and up all our earthly possessions.
Friday August 24 : Last day to clean up the house we're renting.
Saturday August 25th : Pack up the truck with 2 dogs, cat, fish, house plants, chemicals that the movers won't take, a blanket or two, a few days of clothes, and us and start our drive east.
Sunday August 26th : Continue to drive east.
Monday August 27th : Meet with the lawyer and get possession of our new house, time unknown.
Tuesday August 28th : Movers arrive to unload the truck. The Bell Expressview installer should also arrive in the afternoon to hook up the satellite for TV.
Wednesday August 29th : The movers return to empty and unpack the boxes (we aren't allowed to do it for insurance reasons)
Thursday August 30th : Relax.