At a week and a half, it feels like we've been here much longer already. By now I've hit a point were I am finally able to head off in the car without looking at a map every single time, I've signed up for my first customer loyalty card program at the neighbourhood Sobey's, I picked up a library card yesterday, and we're also making friends by now, having been over to dinner with one set of friends last week and spending an evening this week getting to know some new UofR friends while borrowing their unused camp furniture (and trying to resist their emphatic suggestions to "Take anything you need - PLEASE!") Our days have fallen into a comfortable routine.
Since we're all sleeping on the floor in the same room, it's pretty much a given that we're all up at the same time - usually just before 7 (though we do stir at bit earlier at 6 when the first planes of the day go by overhead...just a little detail the property management company failed to mention). The Dear Sweet Husband takes responsibility for Abner in the morning while I've been going out for either a run or a bike ride until 8. Once I get back, TDSH hops on his bike and takes his 10 minute (!) ride to the university and Abner sits with me while I eat my breakkie (which is so much more enjoyable now that that we have a table and chairs to sit at - we had been using small appliance boxes).
Abner's main responsibility in the mornings is to get herself dressed while I'm in the shower. Usually this goes quite well, however, after this morning's shower, I got an extra surprise in the form of 13 photos she'd managed to take of our nearly empty livingroom which she was eager to show me while I dripped on the tea towel bathmat. The girl has an eye for baseboard heaters and white walls, I tell ya!
Abner and I have a tenuous agreement that we will stay put reading in the apartment until Momma is done her coffee. She would much rather be outside. Back home, this likely would have turned into a time when I'd turn the TV on to keep Abner entertained (read as quiet) while I sipped away. I've been pleasantly surprised at how she's gradually learning to entertain herself for longer and longer stretches without much coaxing from me. Today she even coloured which is a rare occurrance for her. I am proud of myself for not missing the TV as much as I thought I would.
Our main activities in the morning usually involve either a playground or our local library. The library is very close to us and has fantastic programs and entertainers for kids...a little too fantastic as we discovered this morning when we tried to go see The Bubble Man and were turned away at the door along with 30 or so other families. Oh, the tears! Thankfully, we were able to make like Bubble Man groupies and follow him to his afternoon gig and were the first in line for his 2 o'clock show.
Our afternoons consist of lunch at home and a nap. Oh, what a luxury to take a nap every afternoon! I know you're all probably jealous, but I could get used to this! Yesterday we hit up a couple of garage sales after nap, but usually it's just off to the playground again or reading until TDSH gets home at 4:30 or so. Regarding the garage sale thing...does anyone else think it's odd for people to host garage sales in the middle of the week?
I've been taking on dinners each night and it feels oh so good to be able to cook at home again. We invested in a set of stainless steel pots for a whopping $17 just so we could stop eating out. I choose not to think about how or where those pots were made so cheaply and instead am grateful that they allow me to cook for my family. It was getting a bit out of hand there for a while - I think it had been an entire month since I last prepared a meal at home.
TDSH usually takes Abner off for a bike ride after dinner and I head off to the Starbucks to check out what's happening in the world each evening. When I get back, Abner is asleep and TDSH and I read either in the kitchen or in the hallway (the only rooms with light fixtures) until we hit the hay. I have read more books these past two weeks than I have in the past two or three years. Just finished Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and couldn't recommend it more (ya know, if you're looking for an 841-page summer read).
Tis time to wrap up this evening's online adventure and head back to the indoor campsite for the night. I hope you've enjoyed tonight's installment of Milkybeer's Prairie Adventure. Good night.
Friday, 15 July 2011
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Early observations
Well, it's been nearly a week since we arrived in Regina. Most of these first days have been spent looking for long-term housing and then for a place we could crash for the rest of the month. Little did we realize when we came out here, but the rental scene is really tight . So many trades folk and others coming to the city for work and many of them are forced to stay at hotels for weeks and months on end because there are so few places to rent.
We feel lucky, grateful and relieved to have found an awesome home and only mildly put out that we can't move in until August. Thankfully, the property management company we're renting the house from is kindly letting us stay in a vacant one-bedroom apartment in pretty much the same neighbourhood as our house. Did I mention the apartment is unfurnished? And, yes, our stuff is still on a moving truck somewhere between Burnaby and Regina at the moment.
We spent the first night in our temporary home camped out in the kitchen because the carpets had just been steam cleaned earlier that day. Beyond our air mattresses, sleeping bags, some books and some toys we didn't really have much else with us. A quick trip to the local Sally Anne and we are now kitted out with dishes and some pots and pans but not much else. We've been using a toaster oven box as a kitchen table and cart our pillows with us from room to room to use as chairs whenever we want to read somewhere. It will have to do until August.
With no TV, Internet (I'm writing this at the local Starbucks) or much else in the apartment we've been plowing through the few books we'd bought for the road. We hit some garage sales today to pick up some new books for Abner, and I'm hoping the library will let us borrow some books even though we technically don't really have an address yet. Otherwise, this is going to be an expensive month just in books alone! The only other entertainment we have is to stand at the kitchen window watching the richardson ground squirrels dig out their homes in front of our windows. We've taken to calling that window the Animal Planet window.
Now that we're somewhat settled though, I've been able to step back and take more notice of our new home. As lovely as it is, I'm struck by a few particular observations that I wanted to share with you:
Observation #1
These people are fanatical about the Roughriders. Seriously. Vancouver, if you thought we got all excited about the Canucks for, say, game 7 of the playoffs, I am here to tell you that that was a mild ripple of excitement compared to a regular season game for the Riders. I can't even begin to tell you of some of the more eccentric Rider memorabilia I've seen around town. I think there must be some kind of city bylaw requiring residents to own at least one thing in Rider green. Thanks to my BCIT peeps, I arrived fully equipped with my very own Riders hat! Whew. I blend in.
Observation #2
No curbside recycling. What is this? The nineties? I trust we'll be able to find some local depot that we can take our own recycling eventually but for now, everything is going in the garbage. Can't tell you how wrong it feels.
Observation #3
Regina has never heard of road maintenance. The potholes are truly epic here.
Observation #4
I mentioned it in my last post, but it's worth repeating....Regina is mosquito heaven. Any day that I get less than three new bites is a good day.
Observation #5
There doesn't seem to be much of a crafty scene here. This kind of makes me sad. I will continue to dig around and see if I can uncover a hidden underworld of secret crafters, but for now, all I can find are the granny knitters who occupy a handful of stalls at the local farmer's market.
Observation #6
Holy crow there are a lot of smokers in this town. We've been told they only banned smoking in public buildings two years ago! This is going to take some getting used to.
Observation #7
Getting around town is ridiculously easy. Rush hour? Try rush minute. I've been dropping off and picking up The Dear Sweet Husband every day at work all the way across town. How long does it take me? Four minutes. Four minutes people! Awesome.
Observation #8
There is a distinct lack of coffee shops in this town. The only Starbucks in town are the mini ones inside Safeways and a single full-service location inside the Chapters store. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but even I am having a hard time adjusting to this one. There were at least six within walking distance of our apartment in Burnaby.
It may sound like I'm a bit down on Regina, but that's not at all the case. I am loving it here and so is the rest of the Milkybeer family. The architecture is stunning, the trees are incredible, and the people are so friendly. I am looking forward to this year's adventure more than ever.
We feel lucky, grateful and relieved to have found an awesome home and only mildly put out that we can't move in until August. Thankfully, the property management company we're renting the house from is kindly letting us stay in a vacant one-bedroom apartment in pretty much the same neighbourhood as our house. Did I mention the apartment is unfurnished? And, yes, our stuff is still on a moving truck somewhere between Burnaby and Regina at the moment.
We spent the first night in our temporary home camped out in the kitchen because the carpets had just been steam cleaned earlier that day. Beyond our air mattresses, sleeping bags, some books and some toys we didn't really have much else with us. A quick trip to the local Sally Anne and we are now kitted out with dishes and some pots and pans but not much else. We've been using a toaster oven box as a kitchen table and cart our pillows with us from room to room to use as chairs whenever we want to read somewhere. It will have to do until August.
With no TV, Internet (I'm writing this at the local Starbucks) or much else in the apartment we've been plowing through the few books we'd bought for the road. We hit some garage sales today to pick up some new books for Abner, and I'm hoping the library will let us borrow some books even though we technically don't really have an address yet. Otherwise, this is going to be an expensive month just in books alone! The only other entertainment we have is to stand at the kitchen window watching the richardson ground squirrels dig out their homes in front of our windows. We've taken to calling that window the Animal Planet window.
Now that we're somewhat settled though, I've been able to step back and take more notice of our new home. As lovely as it is, I'm struck by a few particular observations that I wanted to share with you:
Observation #1
These people are fanatical about the Roughriders. Seriously. Vancouver, if you thought we got all excited about the Canucks for, say, game 7 of the playoffs, I am here to tell you that that was a mild ripple of excitement compared to a regular season game for the Riders. I can't even begin to tell you of some of the more eccentric Rider memorabilia I've seen around town. I think there must be some kind of city bylaw requiring residents to own at least one thing in Rider green. Thanks to my BCIT peeps, I arrived fully equipped with my very own Riders hat! Whew. I blend in.
Observation #2
No curbside recycling. What is this? The nineties? I trust we'll be able to find some local depot that we can take our own recycling eventually but for now, everything is going in the garbage. Can't tell you how wrong it feels.
Observation #3
Regina has never heard of road maintenance. The potholes are truly epic here.
Observation #4
I mentioned it in my last post, but it's worth repeating....Regina is mosquito heaven. Any day that I get less than three new bites is a good day.
Observation #5
There doesn't seem to be much of a crafty scene here. This kind of makes me sad. I will continue to dig around and see if I can uncover a hidden underworld of secret crafters, but for now, all I can find are the granny knitters who occupy a handful of stalls at the local farmer's market.
Observation #6
Holy crow there are a lot of smokers in this town. We've been told they only banned smoking in public buildings two years ago! This is going to take some getting used to.
Observation #7
Getting around town is ridiculously easy. Rush hour? Try rush minute. I've been dropping off and picking up The Dear Sweet Husband every day at work all the way across town. How long does it take me? Four minutes. Four minutes people! Awesome.
Observation #8
There is a distinct lack of coffee shops in this town. The only Starbucks in town are the mini ones inside Safeways and a single full-service location inside the Chapters store. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but even I am having a hard time adjusting to this one. There were at least six within walking distance of our apartment in Burnaby.
It may sound like I'm a bit down on Regina, but that's not at all the case. I am loving it here and so is the rest of the Milkybeer family. The architecture is stunning, the trees are incredible, and the people are so friendly. I am looking forward to this year's adventure more than ever.
Labels:
Prairie adventure
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Greetings from Regina
Well folks, we made it safe and sound to Regina - the city that rhymes with fun. Since arriving, I've been trying to think of an entertaining way to tell the story of our trip. So far, the best idea I've come up with is to share some of the highlights and some stats about our move and the drive. Ummm stats are entertaining, aren't they? No? Just me? Oh well. Suck it up and read on.
Distance travelled = 1700 km
Biggest surprise = Abner gets carsick. Who knew? Poor thing started puking just 2 hours into the whole drive. I tossed her potty at her hoping she'd keep it contained...she just threw it back at me and made a mess of her carseat. All the books, games, toys and distractions we'd packed had to stay packed up for the rest of the trip. She did an incredible job doing nothing but staring out the window for the remainder of the trip. All I can say is thank goodness for books on CD...I highly recommend Junie B. Jones in case you're looking for a little something to listen to on your next trip. I am also thankful for aunts who have washing machines so we didn't have to smell vomit for the entire rest of the way!
Gas fill ups = 4
Hotels visited = 3 (so far)
Best Abner quote = Runaway lanes? What? Lanes can't run! They don't have any legs!
Detours = 2 (the first around a mud slide near Chilliwack, the second just west of Regina)
Strangest town = Swift Current. We drove through that entire town and there isn't a single playground to be had! We had to blow up a beach ball just so Abner would have something to play with while we took a break from the road.
Number of movers with head injuries = 1 (he fell off the truck during loading)
Coffee stops = 3
Biggest excitement = Following a van with a wobbly rear tire for several km waiting for the inevitable. When it did happen, the tire bounced into oncoming traffic (didn't hit anyone) and a flying bolt took out a fog light on our car. Could have been soooooo much worse. So bizarre watching that loose tire for so long and just having to wait for it to fly off and hope for the best when it did.
Washroom stops = 9 (in my defence, it was a VERY long drive)
3 pm on day 2 = point at which we remembered how to use cruise control
Number of boxes packed = 101 (all labelled with numbers on 2 sides and contents documented on a worksheet, of course!)
Stupidest roadside sighting = Distance marker signs on the prairies. Do they really think I need a sign to tell me a town is coming up in 1 km? I could see the town from 10 km out for Pete's sake!
Distance from which we first saw Regina = 30 km
Weight of possessions in our moving truck = 5400 lb
Mosquito bites so far = 30 (none on The Dear Sweet Husband, 3 on Abner, and the rest on me)
That pretty much sums up the drive and our move so far. I really must say the drive went better than I ever could have hoped. Abner enjoyed herself for the most part, weather was good, scenery was beautiful, and Regina is a lovely city. We've been at hotels these first few nights and just found ourselves a home this afternoon. We don't get to move in right away, so the rest of July should be interesting to say the least!
Distance travelled = 1700 km
Biggest surprise = Abner gets carsick. Who knew? Poor thing started puking just 2 hours into the whole drive. I tossed her potty at her hoping she'd keep it contained...she just threw it back at me and made a mess of her carseat. All the books, games, toys and distractions we'd packed had to stay packed up for the rest of the trip. She did an incredible job doing nothing but staring out the window for the remainder of the trip. All I can say is thank goodness for books on CD...I highly recommend Junie B. Jones in case you're looking for a little something to listen to on your next trip. I am also thankful for aunts who have washing machines so we didn't have to smell vomit for the entire rest of the way!
Gas fill ups = 4
Hotels visited = 3 (so far)
Best Abner quote = Runaway lanes? What? Lanes can't run! They don't have any legs!
Detours = 2 (the first around a mud slide near Chilliwack, the second just west of Regina)
Strangest town = Swift Current. We drove through that entire town and there isn't a single playground to be had! We had to blow up a beach ball just so Abner would have something to play with while we took a break from the road.
Number of movers with head injuries = 1 (he fell off the truck during loading)
Coffee stops = 3
Biggest excitement = Following a van with a wobbly rear tire for several km waiting for the inevitable. When it did happen, the tire bounced into oncoming traffic (didn't hit anyone) and a flying bolt took out a fog light on our car. Could have been soooooo much worse. So bizarre watching that loose tire for so long and just having to wait for it to fly off and hope for the best when it did.
Washroom stops = 9 (in my defence, it was a VERY long drive)
3 pm on day 2 = point at which we remembered how to use cruise control
Number of boxes packed = 101 (all labelled with numbers on 2 sides and contents documented on a worksheet, of course!)
Stupidest roadside sighting = Distance marker signs on the prairies. Do they really think I need a sign to tell me a town is coming up in 1 km? I could see the town from 10 km out for Pete's sake!
Distance from which we first saw Regina = 30 km
Weight of possessions in our moving truck = 5400 lb
Mosquito bites so far = 30 (none on The Dear Sweet Husband, 3 on Abner, and the rest on me)
That pretty much sums up the drive and our move so far. I really must say the drive went better than I ever could have hoped. Abner enjoyed herself for the most part, weather was good, scenery was beautiful, and Regina is a lovely city. We've been at hotels these first few nights and just found ourselves a home this afternoon. We don't get to move in right away, so the rest of July should be interesting to say the least!
Labels:
milestones,
miscellany
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