Almost there

Two and a half days to departure, and yet we waste time. Mr. D*S and Panda are watching Hanna, and I am "tidying up" the remains of my office. The kitchen has yet to be packed, the house is distressingly dirty, and we're not sure everything will fit into the U-pods that sit in the driveway. But it's happening. Tomorrow we go to the lawyers to sign the papers, two days later U-Haul picks up the pods and we pick up the cheque. We'll spend that last night at my brother's and start our cross-country trek the next day, Friday. Mr. D*S will drive the VW van and I will drive the VW Golf. Panda and Moxie will take turns with each. Mox needs Gravol, so she'll be a quiet companion. Panda will keep me entertained, I'm sure.
You know how everyone asks "Are you excited?" Um, no. I feel numb actually. So much yet to do. Ask me again when we reach the Sault.

Piano, 2001 to 2012

The Yamaha U3 makes a big, serious sound that can be intimidating when you're six. Luckily, Leila had her purple kitty ears and tail to protect her.






Our dear piano, that gave us so much pleasure through the years, is now officially the property of a nice mom from Brantford. When we get settled in Vancouver, there will be another piano but it will be very hard not to cry when the movers come to take our Yamaha U3 away for good.

Bye-bye Little Big House

Doesn't look very big from the front:

But from the side, it's massive:

The backyard is small but quiet and private:

Living/Dining Room:

The deep charcoal grey on the bottom cabinets was an idea I'd been lobbying for for years, but just got done in March. I think it helps the dark grout on the tiling and floor make more sense:



Our first DIY project:
Panda lives here:

Mr. & Mrs. D*S dream of Gabriola Island here:

I'm still working on my favourite room:

Naturally, when we moved here four years ago, we had high hopes. Things didn't go as planned, but we hung in. The house gave us a lot of pleasure and I discovered that I loved decorating. However, if you can't make enough money to support those expensive decorating dream, it's time to face reality and get outa here.

We put the house on the market late last month, and it sold within a week. I thought I'd put up a few of the real estate photos for friends who haven't seen the Little Big House.

Closing is June 28th. We're shipping the furniture off in pods, and travelling/camping with both cars. Look for us between the 10th and the 15th of July.

Let's Promise

Art by Dear Panda!

A Surprise Visit and an Anime Trio

On her way to Anime North last May, the beautiful Miss Haruhi Suzimaya stopped in for a brief visit. She had arranged to meet friends from all over at the convention, so she didn't have time for more than a quick photo in the garden before her chauffeur whisked her off into the city.

You should check out her series, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimaya, here:

but be warned that since this is technically Shounen, there is the occasional juvenile reference to breasts. Other than that, funny and totally fascinating.

For charm and innocence, I love Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. Absolutely beautiful and family friendly.

You can watch the series here. New episodes come out on Mondays.

Finally, we have Puella Magi Madoka Magica, an extremely dark Sailor Moon-type show. Nobody combines cute and dark quite like the Japanese.

The episodes are available here.

Have fun!

My Favourite Room

At first we didn't quite know what to do with the family room. Having more than one "sitting" room was completely new to both of us and we couldn't afford to fully furnish the living room, let alone another 260 square feet. So the family room housed a couple of old recliners handed down from my parents and mainly served as a pass-through on the way to the backyard.

Finally we got tired of trying to watch TV in the living room. Although it's a pleasant and bright room, the glare of the afternoon and evening sun from the picture window made it completely unsuitable for TV watching. But before we could move into the family room, we had to tackle was the ugly fireplace.

Don't get me wrong; I love exposed brick—if it's great brick. This wasn't. A small windfall from my Mom went toward the TV, Ikea couch and rug. The recliners sold on craigslist to a sweet woman who was making a man cave for her husband for Father's Day. They netted enough to buy 2 wicker chairs, again from Ikea. Then, out of the blue, my cousin Dennis called to ask if I would be interested in a dresser and rocking chair that belonged to our grandparents. I had such a fascination for that dresser when I was a little girl, so of course we drove right over to pick the pieces up. That spurred us on to pull some of our art out of storage in the basement and actually hang it on the walls.

Last, I was forced to finish up the curtains I had started last year. Luckily, they were stalled in the last stages and within a few days I had them finished and hung. Decorating a room is job that never ends, I suspect, but I love, love, love the results so far:

Mr. D*S insisted on that big-ass TV, nothing else would do. He got such an amazing deal on it. Since I had my way totally with everything else in this room, it was only fair that he chose the television. Since we have no cable, it's mostly used for watching DVDs.

I'm dreaming of pale gray canvas/linen slipcovers for the chaise and ottoman, as well as some colourful pillows for both the chaise and couch. That's my next sewing project. I wouldn't mind painting the bookcase a lighter colour as well. (And, hmmm, refinish the floors, do something with that light fixture... the list goes on and on.) In the meantime, I like to sit here with my coffee on the tray I picked up yesterday, knowing I've foiled the plans of the poodle who thinks she's a person.

Fearful Dreams

Man, this guy is great! Thanks to the wonderful Mental Multivitamin for posting this.

What a Little Paint Can Do

All it took was paint, a new curtain panel and rod, a few new towels, a candle, dollar store picture frames and an Ikea track light. Under $150 for everything.

Before—cringe-worthy, right? This is what it looked like before we moved in and for three (!) years after.

The new toilet was added last spring, along with another on the top floor. Hallelujah, we were finally able to retire the plunger to the basement. Home Despot was having a sale and the county was offering a generous rebate on water efficient toilets.
When the carmel colour went on the walls, I thought, Oh no, but the curtain over the shower pulled it all together in the end.

I Bet You're Doing This Right Now...

Via: Medical Billing and Coding
I put my computer up on a Rubbermaid storage box so that I'm not only forced to stand, but to actively consider just how much time I want to spend in front of the screen. Which is not too much right now. An added impetus has been watching my 22-year-old niece deal with Deep Vein Thrombosis. As a Graphic Design student at Humber, she spend many too many hours in front of the computer working on her portfolio. We are lucky to still have her sweet presence in our lives.

So get up and stretch, look out the window, or better yet, go outside and get some fresh air! Hug your babies and take them for a walk! That what I'm trying to do.

Gift

I am so in love with the pale celedon of this Sophie Conran jug that Panda gave me for my birthday. Such a clever Panda.

Last Week in the Sunshine...

Ever since then it's been pouring with rain. But you can see my Siberian Iris, Heuchera, Bleeding Heart and Serviceberry tree all going strong all around us. Heaven is a garden, for sure.

April Foolish

The cardinals start getting noisy in April:

But a week later this happens:

When I was a kid, my father's favourite April Fool's joke was to wake us up with cries of, "Oh look, it snowed last night!" We'd fall for it every time. Now I have to admit that it is possible.

Meanwhile, Mox keeps guard at the front window, ready for any emergency.

This reminds Panda of the simple dog at Hyperbole-and-a-Half, but I don't think Mox is quite that foolish.

Not About a Dog

We are so spoiled in this family: now we each have our own office. After school hours, I have the schoolroom all to myself, Panda has taken over the little 3rd bedroom upstairs, and now Mr. D*S has his own handy space right off the driveway and garage. It's actually what I refer to as the "first basement" room. When we bought the house this is what it looked like. (The boxes and furniture belong to the previous owners of the house.)In this first photo, you can see that the stairs were open and you can see right into the lower basement level.
There is a nice big window, but some nonsensical framing that only went half-way up the wall. The floor was bare cement with scraps of carpet over it. Typical unfinished basement.

Mr. D*S and our friend Peter have just spent the last 4 or 5 weeks putting in a subfloor, framing, insulating, drywalling, etc. Like all renos, it took more time and money than planned, but what a great addition to our useable living space. And now they have replaced the doors to the garage and driveway, a much warmer and safer space as well.
Can you tell that the ceiling is green? And that lovely light on the floor is from the window in the new door to the driveway.
If only it could stay so calm, but we do have to use this room:

Mr. D*S finally has a room of his own to service his sound equipment, play guitar and spread out a little, and he's learned quite a bit about renos in the process. Which is a good thing, because I have designs on the guest bathroom.

The Tick Magnet

NOTE: Three months of hard work paid off, and the problem is solved. Hallelujah!

I must admit: I missed the signs. When I caught sight of fresh, thick blood dripping from Moxie's ear that January morning, I should have checked her out thoroughly. I simply mopped it up and thought, Oh well, she must have caught it on something. Long floppy ears are vulnerable to all sorts of things.


Three days later, while petting her, I discovered a little lump in her fur and thinking it was the beginning of a mat, I pulled it out with my fingernails. Yikes, that's no mat! Not only was it a disgusting tick, it had been attached for a while and had left a bloody hole in her skin. Within days I had extracted more than 30 of the little beasts from her coat. They ranged in size from tiny black sesame seeds to fat grey sunflower seeds. Panicking, I applied an old dose of Advantix to her coat that I had from 2 years ago, and started checking out the subject on the internet. Ticks in winter? Where did they come from? Did they hibernate and spring up in that little thaw we had a few weeks ago? Meanwhile, the Advantix did not seem to be doing the trick. Moxie’s skin was a minefield of fresh ticks and swollen crusty scabs.

Finally, I hauled Mox off to the vet with a baggie full of the wriggling fiends. It only took a minute for the vet to examine them and announce the bad news: these were Brown Dog Ticks, the only tick that likes to over-winter in your house. They were probably the offspring of the ticks she had picked up in August on a trip up north—the ones we "successfully" treated, or so we thought. The Advantix wouldn't be much help until we had the house fumigated. With diligence, we could expect to be rid of them within 3 to 6 months.

Since then, Rentokil has made two visits, and I have become an expert Tick Picker with an estimated count of over 150 of the devils. They favour her ears and between her toes, but they can be found anywhere there's fur. Every morning she sits quietly on her grooming table, while I give her a finger massage with a pair of tweezers and a baggie at the ready. Now that we've sprayed twice I've found fewer large adults, but the little ones are easily missed and get more time to grow into fat monsters.

We've all found them in the carpet:

And they're not above jumping on people when they can't find a furry mammal.

Brown Dog Tick infestations are rare and not easy to get a handle on. The engorged female adult can lay up to 5,000 eggs, but more commonly around 1,500. Hiding under your baseboards and behind your window molding, they can go without a blood meal for as long as 18 months. An aggressive approach with chemical spraying (Permethrin, the same chemical used to combat head lice and scabies) is our only choice. This means pulling furniture away from the wall, picking everything small up off the floor, and leaving the house (with Moxie, of course) for 6 hours. It's no picnic.

Dare I say, We’re winning? I’ve found about 6 ticks in the last week, a huge improvement. In the meantime, if you have a strong stomach, check them out online.

Best Christmas Song Ever

Deeping Slogs

German Word of the Week: Zottelig

Nee Shitteru? (Revised)

Oooo, such an intersection of weird and cute, no? You really should check out the many other Mameshiba on YouTube. And how about these guys:

After a long, hard day battling the Imperfect Subjunctive and dividing Polynomials, a homeschooled girl's gotta relax, right?

Like all good international adoptive parents, Mr. D*S and I tried our best to encourage in Panda an interest and pride in her Chinese heritage. We joined the local Families with Children from China group and attended festivals and culture camp. The New Year’s Dragon dance terrified her, and she was relieved when a peanut allergy finally put an end to that. She bravely endured seven years of Mandarin lessons but plainly detested it. Like most kids, Panda was more interested in developing the culture of Panda. So her recent enthusiasm for all things Asian has come as a delightful surprise, even if it is mostly pop culture. She’ll find her own Panda way, I’m sure.

First Vegetables

I've grown and picked culinary herbs for years now, and last year we grew our own tomatoes and salad greens for the first time. But this beautiful bunch of chard is the very first vegetable I've ever harvested. I got such a kick out of gathering this bunch in! The leaves and stems were cooked up into a risotto with lentils—and there's leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Yum.

Summer Survival

Running this house feels like sailing a boat these days. Instead of trimming sails, we run around opening and closing windows, drawing curtains, directing fans and consulting the weather report and thermometer. We have a very large house with 5 stories, going from chilly in the basement to sweltering on the top floor. For the last two summers, we've managed to avoid putting on the air conditioning more than five times total. Until now—the heat wave of 2010. Everyday for the last two weeks, CBC reports not just the expected highs, but the "humidex." As in, the thermometer will reach 30 today, but it'll feel like 43 with the humidex. Ugh. The A/C has been humming pretty well the whole time.

On the other hand, my body feels like an ancient car. A certain amount of maintenance is imperative: stretching, strengthening, icing, heating. Limiting walks and bumping up and down the many, many stairs on my bottom. Rattling, creaking and popping from joints. I need to spend over an hour a day doing my exercises for knees, back and shoulders. Do I actually do this every day? Well, most days I'm a good girl. I have very little choice.

I leave you with a photo of the back yard during one of the frequent rain storms that never manage to cool anything down, just intensify the humidity. In other words, the humidity is at 100%, rather than our normal 80%.

And it's not doing much for the ping pong table either.