Write it down

Before the New Year arrives I have a few areas in the house that I want better organized, although it is silly to think that one day can create such a cleansing divide it truly does for me.  In one of the paper stacks that needs to be dealt with I came across a book where I wrote out our Must Haves and Nice to Haves when looking for a new house in Calgary.  In writing out the list we were up against a few challenges, including not knowing the city, needing a house that was wheelchair accessible or could accommodate one, and be within our price range.  Here was what was on our list.

Must Haves

1. 3 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms, 1 large one for the girls
2. No more than 15 minute drive to Reilly’s school
3. Good school for London
4. >1200 square feet
5. No immediate highway (noise)
6. No L or curved staircase
7. At least a single car garage
8. Not on a busy street, such as Leslie, Bayview, Bathurst equivalent

Nice to Haves

1. Neighborhood with young families
2. 4th bedroom in the basement
3. Large Bungalow
4. Excellent school nearby for London
5. 30-40 minute commute to downtown
6. Near a park
7. Near pathways/Outdoor stuff – ice rink
8. Double car garage
9. Only 1 lift in the house

Actual house characteristics:

1. 3 bedrooms main floor
2. 5km to Reilly and London’s school – both are great
3. 1200 square feet
4. Bungalow and straight staircase to the basement
5. Double car garage
6. Not on a busy street
7. Lots of young families (under 4) on the street
8. 4th bedroom in the basement
9. Large Bungalow – we have successfully had 15 people over for a sit-down dinner
10. 17 minute bus ride commute to downtown
11. Park is 2 minutes away along with an outdoor ice rink

I would have to say in looking back on this list we pretty much got what we wanted given what we penned to paper.  Of course we had to make compromises in making this move, overall square footage, closet space, master bedroom en-suite, etc but I have to say this is the first house that really feels comfortable.

So comfortable that London and the previous house owner’s eldest daughter have become school BFF’s (they ended up in the same Spanish bilingual class) and I have become good friends with the mom.  On one level it is weird that we have forged these bonds but at the same time it doesn’t surprise me given that they were in this house for 11 years and we fell in love with it just the same. It certainly has been put to the test over the holidays as we host and entertain family and it just shows you that you don’t need a massive house when you have a very functional layout.

This past year has been full of challenges, especially since we have arrived in Calgary but looking at this list is a good reminder that when we envision something you want, it can be made possible.

 

Last day of vacation

Today is Labour Day and although our world as we knew it changed significantly with the move to Calgary at the beginning of August, the real change starts tomorrow as the girls go back to school <Insert happy dance here>.

For the last month the weather has been amazing, every time we looked at the forecast it said Sunny. We learned quite quickly that when it did say there is a chance of thunderstorms, it really was just a small chance. Whereas back in our home town, when it said it was going to rain or storm, it did 99.9% of the time.  We can certainly attest that Calgary does boast consistent sunshine and endless blue skies.  We also love the fact how it dips down overnight, last night it was to dip down to 8 degrees C, and then it is go up to 30 degrees C.

As a result of the great weather, it has been hard to worry about completely organizing the house and instead have been enjoying the outdoors whenever we can.  We are taking full advantage of the Glenmore Reservoir and Bow River path system, either going to each location at least once a week for either a run, walk or bike ride.  And we haven’t even scratched the surface with all the hiking we can do in the area and other trail systems. We definitely feel like we have won the lottery on this front.

For some reason though we both feel up to this point we are just vacationing and any day we will be reunited with all our friends and the old schedule we are familiar and comfortable with but obviously that is not true. The real change of what we have done will sink in tomorrow as the girls go off to school.

Although I will gladly give up my Entertainment Director hat there are some things I will miss about our time together, such as the days we could lazily sleep in without any regard for the time, THIS NEVER HAPPENED BACK HOME – EVER, the trips to the park, morning hot tub soaks,  watching London connect with the little boy from next door, recent outings with my sister and her two little ones, and not worrying about the state of the house to the extent I did before. In some ways it was a very good experience in letting go and being in the present but it was certainly not without its challenges, unfortunately the Rett Syndrome Factor reared its ugly head often.

So once the girls get settled this week, I will switch gears and focus on creating the least stressful routine in the morning for all, start booking new appointments for Reilly to deal with the many issues we are facing, finish up organizing the house, and trying desperately to set realistic expectations for me each week.

This is the happy dance song I will be dancing to today:

Last week in our home town

I totally underestimated how busy I/we would be in the final week leading up to our move date and Adventure Trip.   There were so many little things that needed to be packed up in the final days that I found myself cursing on whether I could have done more in advance but knew that I was just being hard on myself.  The challenge is that not only were we planning a move but a move that involved going across the country, plus preparing for a two week Adventure trip to get out there.

Of course things couldn’t go smoothly in these final few days and our water heater stopped working two weeks before closing. This is the same water heater that stopped working back in January of this year and sank $400 on getting the main part replaced.  We could have moved to a rental unit for approx. $15/month but we thought what else could go wrong, well there is one other part that can go wrong, that is what!  To make a long story short, we spoke to our Buyer’s Real Estate agent and explained the situation and strongly recommended that they allow us to put in a rental unit for it would be in their long term best interest (most people have rentals in our area).  We also said we would pay one years worth of rental costs. This offer was declined and our last offer was $800 cash and nope they wanted a owned unit and if that meant we had to buy a new one so be it.  So when the repair man came one week before closing I asked him to bring a new unit but first he had to do his best to fix our existing one.  In the end he replaced the gas valve and sheepishly relayed that the cost would be $660. I was thrilled and don’t think he has ever had a happier client in his life paying that much money. Little did he know $660 was better than $1200+.  Technically this fixed unit should last for quite some time but we thought that the first time we dropped a good chunk of cash and we couldn’t help but shake our heads at the lack of cooperation of the new home owners when they would have been ahead in the long run. Oh well.

In the final week we wanted to say a special good-bye to so many people but it wasn’t possible.  I am not sure how we could have done it differently unless we grew more arms and legs to get through our long list of to do’s.   All I can say is thank goodness for technology for it will certainly help bridge the physical divide that has now been created 😦

Our move date was schedule for Friday, July 12th.  Mike spent a considerable amount of time reviewing different moving options and in the end selected one of the big three names out there.  Although we are paying for our own move as opposed to having a company pay for it, we felt we couldn’t afford to go with a smaller outfit who doesn’t have the same published track record.  So far no regrets with this decision.

Within an hour though of the Movers being at our house swiftly organizing our stuff into a container, Mike realizes he doesn’t know where his wallet is.  He back tracked over the previous evenings outings to no avail and we scoured what was still unpacked in the house and nothing.  So here we are Friday mid morning and Mike has lost his wallet and we are supposed to start our Adventure trip Sunday morning that requires him to have a Driver’s License, thank goodness I already put all our passports aside in a special case, otherwise, we would have had to change our plans.  With time ticking away, he promptly phones all the CC companies to cancel his cards and heads to get a temporary Drivers License.   Needless to say Mike was quite frustrated not knowing what happened to it and I am hoping that one of us just mistakenly packed it.  So in about one week’s time we should know what happened to the mysterious wallet.

 

 

How one decision influences things

Our original plan regarding our move to Calgary was to sell our house, pack up everything, send it off with the movers and for us to take an extended trip out west at which point we would either look to purchase a home or rent one.   If we had gone with this plan we wouldn’t have been able to move to Calgary at that time due to the recent flooding for it is hard to believe that now there were would be any properties, rental or purchase, available or ones we could afford. It is fascinating how one decision can change your whole life.

It was actually my parents who influenced me to get on a plane to go look for a place back in April. They were worried that waiting until we got out there would be too stressful, but it is not like we didn’t have a place to crash for a couple of months if needed, as I have my sister out there.  Who knows maybe they had a sixth sense that something was to happen that would have made it difficult.  They are not known to have these special powers but I am not going to question anything now.

So back in early May I went out for a week to look for a place and ended up buying a house that has not been affected by the flood due to its location in the city. Although it is inner city, it is not near any water and is on flat ground.  The current owners are fixing up a house right now and thank goodness they should not be affected as well. If this house was in one of the many areas I don’t know what we would have done, probably would have had no choice but to back out of the deal.

I have delayed writing about Calgary for I felt that it wasn’t my story to write about so soon. I wasn’t the one in immediate crisis or hardship mode and for me to express concern about my future house and other long term implications would only be selfish given that we have a roof over our head and all the amenities of a comfortable life. Having said that I have been following the coverage like no tomorrow and I am just floored at what has happened in areas that I only became recently familiar with. When I did the Jugo 10k race, I ran through many of the areas that were hit hard and honestly can’t imagine what the city must be going through.  Down below is just one image of an intersection before and after the flood, incredible.

I absolutely love to read and hear about the amazing stories of neighborhood teamwork and the generosity of so many people within the city and from other parts of Canada volunteering their time or resources to help those in Calgary during this clean-up time.   As much as none of us likes to experience such devastation, sometimes the aftermath can bring this crazy human race a little closer than would otherwise be possible.

There is no question we will experience some challenges once we arrive for we do need to figure out how to make the place accessible and I can’t imagine the process right now to get a permit, materials to build things, and a contractor.  Again in the grand scheme of things this is nothing and we are not letting our mind worry about any of these details that we can’t control right now. They will work themselves out over time and hopefully everyone will be receptive to a little creativity come September should we not have everything in place to support Reilly getting onto the bus in her wheelchair.

Before the flood
By Leslie Young

Same intersection, after the flood. By Lesley Young.

Home Ownership

There is no question that we have gone outside our comfort zone with the recent purchase of our new house in Calgary.  In some ways I think our budget was not realistic for a city,  let alone one that is growing at the rate that Calgary is, and in the end I honestly think we made the right move on this particular house. A house that will allow us to thrive on a day to day basis due to the layout and accessibility within and also the location.

Here are some location perks:

• 5 minute walk to a permanent outdoor hockey rink (summer it is used for ball hockey) perfect for all of us, particularly London
• there is a school across the street (not one that London can go to though) that has an amazing play facility
• 35 minute bus ride to downtown or 15 minute drive
• 5 km away from Reilly’s school
• 3.5 km away from my sister
• 5 km away from a great resevoir full of pathways/lake and other outdoor amenities
• 2 km away from trendy Marada Loop
• 8 minute walk from public 9 hole golf course, tennis courts and another playground

LOL – yes I could still be justifying the premium we paid for this house but it is a fun exercise neverthless, especially since my other half wasn’t with me and is going on blind faith that it was a good decision.

Here is our new baby, not the best picture but the best I can do without looking I was stalking the place.

 

As you can see we will need to address some accessibility points. So many bungalows had stairs leading up to the front door like this and/or stairs once you got into the foyer. There is a deck off the back with also stairs to contend with but these things can be overcome with a little patience, time and money.   Of course we can take as much time as we want to but ideally we would want to have something in place for when Reilly starts school on Sept 3rd; otherwise, I have no idea how to get her and the wheelchair out of the house. There is a garage at the back but I doubt the bus would go down an alley way especially in the winter.

Although our new house has a great functional layout there is definitely going to be huge adjustment for us going from a 2 story, 2000 square foot home plus a developed basement to a 1200 square foot bungalow with basement.  Gone are the big bedrooms with ample closets.  I have already done a considerable purging  job as I have started to pack our stuff but I think I am going to need to do a lot more once I truly see how little extra storage space we will have once we get in.  I am okay with this but it will just take time adjusting our habits.

A new chapter in our life is about to begin

Our house finally sold after being on the market for just over 2 months.  It wasn’t the easiest time for a few different reasons and consequently had us questioning whether we were making a mistake by selling the house and moving to Calgary. In the end it sold and the only thing left for us to do is plan for the next chapter of our life! Look out wild west, here we come.

Vibrational Dissonance

Our house has been on the market for 7 weeks now with very little action.  Unknowingly and on the recommendation of our agent we listed the house originally at a price that ended up being too high but we quickly adjusted and then adjusted again.   Our house is now listed $35,000 CDN  lower than the original list price (we relisted last week to start the Days on Market (DOM) counter again) and I just phoned our agent to drop it another $15k as our last kick at the can.  The market is doing quite well in our community and most homes that are priced correctly are selling within a couple of weeks if not sooner

In my mind (and my husband’s), I don’t think the price has been the real issue but rather some unique features that exist within our home and the marketing that has been done so far.   First off we have a 4 bedroom/2 story home that is about 2100/2200 square feet plus a developed basement.  We bought the house 5 years ago and have put a lot of upgrades into it but we bought the home because it had a seamlessly integrated elevator that was built into the home that goes to every floor. It is perfect if you have any mobility issues and we have also used it for groceries, laundry and moving stuff between floors.  We also have a few door frames that have been widened to accommodate the width of an adult wheelchair and a complete wheelchair accessible bathroom – roll in shower. The good thing about all of these extra features it that they are blended so nicely that nothing screams disability.  Unfortunately the market that truly appreciates these features haven’t really come forward.

Although our house is listed as accessible on the MLS ad, I believe that most people don’t do this type of search for really how many homes have an elevator out there? I know no other is our community. So most people who have mobility issues would be looking at a 1 story, most likely Bungalow and not a 2-story. I am not sure how you get around this but we are at our wits end for we honestly didn’t think we would have this trouble selling the house.

It brings me to the concept that we attract into our experience those things with which we are in vibrational resonance. So the lack of closure on the house – does that mean we are in dissonance with the whole selling of the house?  We have been mentally committed to moving to Calgary for months now and have been doing everything one could imagine doing towards this end goal. Sometimes I have started to question whether I am unconsciously sabotaging this goal in a way I don’t know about or we wonder if maybe the Universe has another plan for us and is saying ‘I haven’t brought a buyer because you guys really should stay where you are’. It is very confusing.

Bob Doyle mentions in his book Follow your Passion, Find your Power that not everything about the Law of Attraction is based in the consciousness, in other words, it does not necessarily mean that consciously we are preventing a sale from happening and that there is some complex vibrational frequency at work that is causing the lack of action on the house.  Since I am not the most patient person I wish the Universe could give us a much clearer message on which way the wind blows on this huge life decision we were trying to make. If we are supposed to stay put there is no question we will embrace where we are at and make the best of it but it is hard to continue to plant roots and plan for the future somewhere else.  Help Universe?

How to add a lake to your backyard

Every Wednesday I leave work early so I can get home to greet Reilly off the bus. Her PSW arrives a few minutes afterwards and from that point on I can resume work.  Yesterday when I opened the door I heard this loud odd sound coming from what I thought was the furnace.  At the back of the house is our dining room and kitchen and when I stood over the dining room heating grate all I could hear was this loud rattling push of air. I went down to the furnace room and again could hear a rattle.

I looked at the service log and noticed that my husband didn’t bring anyone in the fall to do the annual service and cursed that if we had to bring someone in that it wouldn’t be under warranty. So I phoned him and told him that there is a strange sound coming from the furnace and asked whether I should phone the furnace company (after expressing my annoyance it wasn’t maintained this year) and he said no, he would take a look at it when he got home.  My husband is not a furnace guy – what the heck could he do that I couldn’t do right now? Anyways after a heated exchange of wills, he said it was up to me when I promptly turned the tables back to him saying this is his area of maintenance so he could choose what to do.

I go upstairs frustrated and partially worried that there might be something serious with the furnace but tried to assure myself that we have a carbon dioxide monitoring device (2x) and it is probably something stupid that can easily be fixed. I try to sit down and relax for the remaining 10 minutes before Reilly’s bus arrives, when the door bell rang. Puzzled I slowly go over and answer it when I see it is my 90+year old neighbor looking a little ghastly. I was worried that she was very ill and needed me to phone the ambulance or something, selfishly a thought went through my brain saying that is all I need right now.  I asked whether she was okay and she replied “not really, so I will keep my distance”.  That comment provided some relief and confusion at the same time.

She then proceeded to say in her brittle voice “your tap is running in the backyard”.

“My tap!?” I exclaimed, “what, you must be mistaken?.”

She said “she tried  to come over before but no one was home”.

So quickly I went to the back of the house out the kitchen door to see a 3 feet radius of water coming out of our outdoor tap, which is just on the other side of the wall to the dining room heating grate. So the noise I was hearing was not the furnace but the deluge of water coming out of a broken tap onto our deck, pooling at the side of the house underneath the deck and creating a LAKE in the backyard.

Of course I panicked and cursed and then cursed some more as I foolishly tried to plug the hole with my finger. I ran for the phone, started to dial my father-in-law for he is Mr. McGyver and thought it would take him too long to get over to our place. Then I wondered if the outdoor tap was shut off for the winter. So I dial my husband at work, did I mention that he is going through some intense quarter end stuff and is already stressed to the brim after putting in 12+hour days? Anyways I start to yell to him that the tap is spewing water outside and WHERE  is the shut off valve in the house?  For he looks after this stuff not I.

Of course he is confused and doesn’t answer with what I am looking for and instead wants more details. I yell “JUST TELL ME WHERE THE SHUT OFF VALVE IS”! I may have thrown in the f-bomb, probably, very likely.  Of course he says something stupid in my opinion implying that I am the one that needs to calm down. Maybe so but there is a friggin’ lake in the backyard, it is Winter, who knows what internal damage might have been created by this BECAUSE he didn’t do his job and shut it off before the winter season and he wants to understand the entire situation first.

After a few tense words he provided sufficient direction as to what ceiling tile to uncover in the basement laundry room. Twist, twist, twist and slowly the loud noise of destruction was losing its steam until you heard complete silence.  Pause.

Up the stairs I go to assess our lake and much to my relief I can’t see any damage at all, except for a high water bill coming in one months time.  I am not sure if that would have been the case if it wasn’t my day to come home early and we had a mild day of 3 degrees celsius. Today it is -6 degrees celsius, so who knows what would have happened.  It appears though that the water tap pipe expanded and blew off one end of a cap. Not sure why it didn’t happen earlier in the season given that we have just gone through a mild patch of weather.  As a result of this mild streak by the time my husband got home the lake was no longer there and all the water drained into the ground below. I wish I could have taken a picture but our camera battery just ‘died’ yesterday and I didn’t have time to recharge it.

Here is to a quieter day.