July Change

I was excited to be saving change this month for my RRSP snowflake goal.

Alas, it was not to be.

The change went towards paying for my vehicle repair.

This month I had:

• 1 roll of toonies - $50
• 1 roll of loonies - $25
• 1 roll of quarters - $10
• 1 roll of dimes - $5
• 1 roll of nickels - $2

for a grand total of $92

Off for my first infusion

So after my last colonoscopy it was decided that we needed to up our game med-wise. We did the steroids. We did the asacol. We did the...whatever level the drugs were that I couldn't handle the side effects of.

The next level are biological treatments. The standard Remicade and Humira are off my list as they are known to bring on MS symptoms. We didn't want to take the risk of that.

There is a newer biological on the market called Entyvio. It just finished it's clinical trial and was brought on the market in May of this year.

It is not covered under my drug plan. The drug company works with a provider and it looks like they will cover the costs of the meds. I never asked how much the drug was. I should do that.

I had to send in financials to prove our household income was at a level that we would be covered.

So off I go to the city. An hour and a half away.  There are only 2 places in SK where the infusions are given. I am told it lasts 30 min. In comparison, the Remicade one was a 3 hour procedure I am told ( at least for the first time)

I get to have my favourite- an IV.   Fingers crossed the side effects are minimal and I have no reactions. Oh, and that it works!!

Phone Bill Credit

Hey it came through!

I was wondering if the credit would be there or if I would have to go through another round of phone calls.

My phone bill is usually just under $95. Almost $12 more including tax for the long distance calls to my doctor. I really hate that I have to go through a ton of automation before I actually get the direct line. Her assistant rarely answers.

At any rate, I am thankful for the credit! very thankful.

Quandry

Certainty: the dollar is going to keep dropping for several months

Certainty: we need US$ for another year of DS in college in the US

Do I ....
a) Max out my LOC to it's ceiling of $15 000 (another $8000) and then convert it to US dollars. Then pay the interest each month.
b) Ask for an increase in my ceiling of my LOC  and do a)
c) Convert the $3000 Canadian I have saved now and cross my fingers and hope.

Not going to college this year is not an option. The  partial scholarship won't hold.

Tuition, books etc total for Semester 1 is unsure right now. Since sophomores are living offcampus, DS tells me they just up the coverage of the tuition etc under the scholarship to balance out what they would have paid last year with him on campus. I won't know what that number is until mid Sept.  Housing then would be our cost.

If I took a or b, I would halt the 'saving' for college and put that money each month towards paying off the LOC.

There goes the vehicle

DS2 phoned from his camp last night.

A massive hail and wind storm went through last night. They had a group of little Scouters out and got them to safety just in time. So much damage done up there though. Trees uprooted. Tarps and tents torn. Windows smashed. And vehicles.

DS's vehicle is  badly damaged, as were many of the other leaders' vehicles. Windshield. Roof. Hood. Side panels.  Everyone is fine, but we now begin the journey of how much damage his car has.

The earliest we could get into the claim center is Aug 4. Tons of storms last night. Kerrobert, SK, I am thinking of you.

It will either be fixable and I will pay the deductible and it will take time for all the body work to get done, or it will be written off. If that is the case, we will get paid out a sum and then we have to decide if we want to buy it buy to fix or if we begin the hunt for a new vehicle.  If we are looking for a new vehicle, then I will be out a few thousand, as the payout for a write off is never as high as the cost of a new to him, safe vehicle.

But everyone is fine so I will take it as it comes. Annoys me though after all the money we put into this darn vehicle to get fixed over the winter. lol

Vehicle repairs

For awhile now my vehicle has been making some odd noises in the front end. Crunching noises I called them. Like something was almost broke in two.

I took it to the repair shop last Friday and I was right. There was a problem with the suspension in the front; sway bar, bearings etc.

They had the parts in stock so I settled in at the dealership to get  the vehicle fixed.

This SUV has been pretty darn good repair-wise. I bought it new in 2009. Since then I have replaced the tires and had oil changes and that is pretty much it.

Repairs cost $599.85.  Labour was over half of it.

Unexpected costs, but it sure is nice to not hear that sound when I drive it.

I am syphoning $ from different budget lines to get this paid off before the end of July, as I will NOT have a balance on my CC.

I know I should have a budget line for vehicle repairs. I should have a lot of budget lines for different things.

A one shot snowflake

I hadn't really paid attention to the ads on tv for the UCCB... universal child care benefit...for Canadian parents out there.  My kids are both graduated and I guess I tuned it out.

It wasn't until I read Eboo's page this morning that it registered in my head there might be something for moi.

This is a new program for parents with kids under 18 that is not based on income, which is  a relief.

Since DS2 only turned 18 in April, I received $60 x 4 months for him.

I wish they had had this when my kids were younger. Sure could have would have come in handy.

But I happily took my $240 to the bank today and tucked it into the boys' college funds.

A nice surprise for a Monday.

A cleaning weekend

(Not really a financial post unless you count the money spent on clothes that never got worn)

 

 

What prompted this?

Well Sask Energy was coming to install a new piece to our gas meter in the basement that let's them do auto reads without having to come into the house. Let's hope they don't catch fire like the infamous Sask Power ones last year!!

The access to this is a storage area with tubs and boxes and luggage and piles of clothes. Obviously it all had to be cleared out so the guy could access it.

A good chunk of it was DH's so he had to be involved in the process. DH has serious issues getting rid of things.  I tried to make it as low pressure as possible. I just said, let's just make piles: work, winter, good condition, rough condition etc.  So we started with that.

Then he was able to see the quantity all piled up on the recroom floor. He tossed 2 big garbage bags full of clothes that were past their prime. Another bag full went into the donate pile. He had far too many Scout camp t shirts from when they went to various camps across Canada. Those he couldn't get rid of but he was willing to put them in  a tub where they didn't take up day to day space, but they were still there.

Then he could see "wow I have 11 pairs of grey sweats. do I really need them all?"  and more purging began. He did really well, for him and I did praise him for that.

Myself? I had two big tubs of clothes that used to fit when I was lighter. I paired it down to 3/4 of one tub and disposed of/donated the rest.

I wish the Diabetes truck was coming by this week instead of next week, so I could get rid of these bags, just waiting. But maybe I can find more things to get rid of before then.

We have too much luggage. We had four sets of three, for a trip we went on in 2006. Since then, the boys each have new luggage from aunties/grandparents they got for their Europe trip/grad. So we can get rid of two of the other sets. I have posted them on a local buy and sell page. They are in good shape. No bites so far. If no one takes them by the time the Diabetes truck comes, I will send them off.

Definition of Sadness

1 Canadian dollar equals

 

77 cents USD

 

I will be the first to admit that I understand only so much of how our dollar exchange goes up and down. I read. Honest I do :-)

 

All I know is that one of my daily routines is to check where the dollar is at, and this rate makes me sad.

 

At the start of August, 2014 when I was getting DS1 ready to go down to the States, the rate was 91 cents. I should have borrowed on my line of credit to get a ton. How naïve I was.

 

A quick scan of the last year history shows that today is the lowest it's been since I started paying attention regularly.

 

Here's hoping it gets back up a little higher before he leaves for school. I have tuition money to convert and Semester 1 $.

 

 

unpacking

Don't tell anyone, but I am one of those people who silently (ok and on here) complains about this boiling hot weather when I know that 40 below is coming back again to the prairies in the not too distant future.

I really just don't do well in heat like this. Part of it is my weight. Part of it is my skin that threatens to burst into flames at these temps. Part of it is just ' my body doesn't like heat'.

I dream of AC :-)

Speaking of AC, I sure miss my old classroom for that. I could go in and crank that puppy up and just .......shiver.  I have zero temp control in my new room and right now the system is shut off for the summer. I get it. It's summer. Why spend $$ when  not really anyone is there. I sure notice the dif between the first floor and the second floor, where I am.

So speaking of my new class, my belongings were moved to the new building last week.  Not to my room though as those floors were being waxed and drying.

On Saturday, I convinced DH to drive me over and we could see if the floors were done. Check. My belongings were the first moved though so they were in the back corner behind the other teachers' belongings. Didn't take long to make a path though. DH very kindly, and unexpectedly, helped me me all the boxes and furniture to my new room so that I could unpack at my leisure.

I spent a couple hours there Mon and again on Tuesday, slowly unpacking a few boxes and figuring out where everything would live in the room. It is taking while but that's ok. I enjoy the puttering. I am dripping sweat in the 80 C room, but I do enjoy the puttering.

I realized just how big this building is. There could be hundreds of people in my new school in a dif part of the building and I would never, ever know.

 I promise I won't be like that kid in the Magic Schoolbus Videos who prefaces everything with 'at my last school...'

I need a chair. I had to leave my nice chair behind when I left and I have nothing right now. Not sure if there is a storeroom somewhere here where I can 'shop' for things. I hit the office supply store and discovered that the chair I had been sitting on was $250. $250!! and that was a cheap chair! Some of those chairs are upwards of $500!  wow. I need one that is reasonably comfortable. I prefer one with no arms. and I need one with a hydraulic that is strong (bigger person  here).

I  don't have a bookshelf in my new room. I really don't have the floor space for one, and no one looks at books on the bottom shelves if they have to squat. Solution...I have a counter on one side of my room. A 3 shelf bookcase would put all the books at eye level!

 I found this one at Walmart.

 

$15.99 at the Walmart USA site

 

I paid $29.99 here in Canada. Plus tax :-)

DH helped assemble one last night. One more to go.  I can't wait to see how many of the boxes of my books it holds.

I unpacked about 10 boxes on Monday and another 20 yesterday.  I know I will have to want to rearrange things on the shelves behind my desk as I continue to unpack.

Home

Well it's over and done with.

First..here is the view from my hotel window:

This is the University Bridge in Saskatoon. Across on the left is the hospital and the under construction Children's hospital.

IV -  I am kidnapping this nurse and taking her with me wherever I go. She did the IV on the inside of the elbow and I felt nothing. nothing! not even the little poke. She didn't do anything...no warming cloths, no numbing gel. Just skill.

Procedure. no pain or discomfort, but I was awake. I am guessing she was fairly generous with the drugs.

I was insanely sick to my stomach on the way home. After 20 min I had DH pull over and I laid down in the back seat. Being horizontal helped a great deal.

Results. Not good but not the worst.

We need to step up the drugs. The two I had spoken about...Remicade and Humira...are out. Apparently if you have MS and symptoms haven't developed yet, these drugs have been known to bring those symptoms on, fast. Since my sister has MS, she didn't want to take that risk.

She gave me the name of a new drug that is out of the clinical trial phase and was released in May for general use. I need to research it AND see if my drug plan covers it.

I need to get started ASAP so that I have the summer to 'see how it feels' after each IV infusion. I so want to be in remission.

I came home and slept and then moved to the couch and watched the Rider game slept.

Thank you so much to all those who commented with ideas and suggestions and good wishes. It really helped.

Costs:

Hotel $159
 Prep drink: $25
Juice, ginger ale, water $15
Cab: Hotel had a shuttle that went to the airport.
Fuel Costs Thurs: $48
Fuel Costs Fri: $60 (DH wanted to drive his truck, not my SUV)
Parking Costs Fri: $4.50

Total costs for this: $311.50

Bottoms up!

Very bad pun. and perhaps TMI to follow.

I am writing to you from my hotel room in the city.

I am alone.

I am nervous.

I am STARVING!

Last Friday I got the ominous envelope in my mail. Colonoscopy time!

I suppose having only a week's notice is better than knowing for a month or two. Less time to dread it.

I am nervous because the last time I had mine (Dec 2012), I learned that sedation in this hospital meant CONSCIOUS sedation (awake for the procedure with the video feed a foot from your face) as opposed to asleep sedation like I had the first time where I went night night.

Not knowing what conscious sedation really meant was a bit of a shock and I admit to crying in front of my specialist and her 14 year old (ok probably 24) intern/resident.

I feel more informed this time.

After the IV fiasco earlier this year (the bruising and sore hand lasted a month and they never got the IV in.  I am really anxious about the IV this time.  I know to ask for the O2 through the nasal hook up thingie as I had a bit of  a panic attack when they tried to smother me provide O2 through the face mask. I know I will be incredibly nauseous after the procedure and to ask for something ahead of time.

The cost is....pardon the pun....a pain in the ass.

A hotel room is required because the prep drink from hell they make you take requires a bathroom immediately close by. Driving 90 min is just not going to work.  Hotels are expensive! And all I am doing is watching TV and running to the bathroom, and then hopefully sleeping.

I can't drive. Sedative prohibits it, so I can't drive myself down.  DH did. Fuel costs.

DH can't get all of tomorrow off work, so he had to drive home, work tomorrow morning, then drive back to get me. More fuel costs.

Since I am at the hotel alone I will have to take a cab in the morning to the hospital. No clue what that will cost. Haven't taken a cab in years. Added to that, the bridge which connects directly to where the hospital is, is under construction, so the cab will have to take a longer route.

DH will have to pay for parking when he arrives tomorrow afternoon. My how parking costs here! If there is even a spot available (They are under construction so at least half the parking spaces are out of commission).

I will have some answers tomorrow. How bad is my colon?  What is our next step for medication? She was talking Remicade or Humira since the steroids aren't getting me fully into remission.

So this is definitely unplanned, unfun, but necessary expenses.  I could think of better ways to spend my cash.

My expenses last time were $280.99. Click here for the whole sordid story.

This time:
Hotel (right now quoted at $159 plus tax and 'hospitality fees'. That is with the hospital discount.)
Prep drink: $25
Juice, ginger ale, water $15
Cab: TBA
Fuel Costs Thurs: $48
Fuel Costs Fri:
Parking Costs Fri:

Curious - For those outside of Canada.....what is the approximate cost of having a colonoscopy?

Helping DS2 save for college

Our traditional summer student jobs go from May 1 to end of August here in our neck of the woods. That's when the Uni kids are done and home and ready to work. The gov't jobs and municipal jobs gets snatched up then.

DS1 didn't get home until the end of the first week of June. Tougher to find jobs at this point that are above minimum wage.  Min wage is currently $10.20 here in SK. For those interested, here is a link of Min wage across Canada (as of June 1/15)

The night he came home, a buddy of his popped over to welcome him home.  Somewhere during their catch up time, DS asked him if he could think of anyone hiring at this point for a job. The buddy said there might be one at his work, and to get his resume there the next day. Grunt work, sweeping and loading/unloading grain cars, but good money, relatively speaking...$17 an hour

DS got the job. Thank you buddy!

He gets paid every two weeks. He was pretty frugal ( I think) with his money while he was down in the States, but he was spending a lot since he got home. Mama decided he needed help tucking money away.

We ( the royal we) decided that he wanted to have $1000 in his account when he left. We did this last year and that gave him money when he came home at Christmas, and some to survive  when he gets home in June, before a theoretical paycheck.  Then he needed to save $ for college.

So we are leaving enough in his account to pay for two weeks of expenses....Gas...gym fees...his ball hockey group he is in...hockey in the city once a week etc. He has to stay in shape or they will send him home in Sept. The rest I am transferring into my savings account and holding for him.

He didn't put up a fuss about it, so that means he trusts me to see the bigger picture. woo hoo!

Just in: picked up the mail and found that DS1 is now receiving the GST rebate check. I haven't had one of these in forever. Kinda forget they exist. He gets $128 x 4 over the next year.  That will help him add to his savings.

Good karma

Since DS2 was accepted into his program, we have been casually looking for places for him to live in his new city.  It's not a housing area we are familiar with so it took some learning to figure out where the boundaries are for 'good side/bad side' of town.

Rent is expensive there. There is no on campus housing unless you are low income or single parent with dependents.  A friend of DS1's is there and they searched forever and ended up with a teeny, old apartment for $800 a month.  That's a pile of cash.

At one point I had even considered buying a condo for him. If I am going to pay $800 to $1000 for a place I might as well build some equity. There wasn't anything available on the safe side of town that wasn't super big or super expensive so that went out the window.

We had a good lead when a family we know mentioned that they still have a 2 bedroom house in the city and that their younger son would be living there while he went to school. Cost would be $500 a month, which is a heck of a lot better than $800..or more. DS2 knows this young man from a few years ago, so it wouldn't be living with a total stranger. We called them last weekend and learned that their son is on a waiting list for school right now. Not actually accepted. That meant that they wouldn't know if he would be living there for awhile...maybe late Aug or early Sept. They weren't willing to give DS the spot until they knew. So that was out.

Here is where the good karma comes into play.

Sister 3's mother and father in law live here in town. Father in law passed away just after Christmas. He was in his 90s. Mother in law is late 70s or early 80s.   Sister's brother in law was looking for someone to shovel her drive and sidewalks since none of their family live in town anymore.  DS2 stepped up and took care of it from Jan to end of April. Sister's brother in law was very grateful.

Here's where family dynamics get hard to follow. Sister's brother in law's mother in law lives in DS2's new city. She rents out a basement suite. The brother in law recommended DS2 as a good kid who stepped up to help someone who wasn't family.  We called this lady a few days ago and she said he could have it if he wanted. We were quoted $500 from the brother in law. 

DH drove up and picked up DS from his camp and they drove in to meet this lady. She is 75. They had to wait a bit for her as she was busy at the High School  helping the Forest Fire evacuees. She loved DS on sight.

The suite is old. Not smelly old but décor old. It comes furnished. There is a new flatscreen TV. She is buying a new bed for DS after her current renter moves out, as the bed is getting old. She gave it to us for $325 a month, utilities included (just not wifi)

DS2 was excited. It's not fancy, but neither is he.  and $325 is an amazing deal.

I paid more for one room in a basement suite when I went to college and that was in 1989.

Good karma.

Has to be.

(now to find $325 a month in my budget)

Where the money stands

as of July 6th, 2015

Debt
Mortgage - $20 393.67
**Total Debt - $20 393.67


Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $7100
RESP - $16 600
RRSP - $10 186 
Summer 2015 - $1000
Back to School - $500
Plates - $1100 (goal met)

Happily, I took the $2000 I had saved up for TSFA and went to the bank to do the paperwork to move it.  I have tons more contribution room....just not ton of funds to contribute.

Some of the grad $ was not used and so I redirected it towards my mini goal.

Mini Goal met

On Fri June 5 I set myself a new mini goal of snowflaking an extra $490 before July 25th.

Thanks to a successful snowflaking plus rolling a bit of leftover grad money, I have done so.  I now have the estimated $1100 needed for DS2's vehicle plates (insurance). I believe it comes due in October.

What this means is that the regular budget money I had set aside from the end of July payday, can now be directed towards Christmas 2015. I can meet this next savings goal by the end of September.

Yeah snowflakes!!

PS: I put a window up at the top of the page to keep me focused on my July goals. My progress is recorded there.

Looking out for yourself

You really are the only one who cares about what you buy, what you pay for and the service you get.

I keep trying to teach my children that, and I keep relearning that lesson myself.

We have long had problems with our internet provider about constant, strong signal in the house. I have had them come out to explore and change modems and everything else in between.  Reality is that there is something blocking signal in my old, tiny, 850 square foot house.  Tons of lead and asbestos, no doubt.  The other providers I have spoken with have said that while they would love my business, it doesn't sound like it is a provider issue, but an interference issue.

Anyways, a friend of mine who is a line man for our provider, gave me a login to check my signal strength (between 1 and 10). The couple times he checked it, it was at a 3, and things were a bit better when he boosted it to a 7.

I tried the log in on Saturday but couldn't figure out what 'password' I was needing as it wasn't my wifi password.

So I called. I got the usual..have you tried this, have you tried that, and ended up with a very surly man telling me that it is an interference problem and there is nothing the provider can do. He suggested finding a person who can come in to locate the interference on a structural level ($$$$).

I was getting quiet, which meant I was annoyed, when he said, "Have you considered upgrading the high speed plan you are on. I see you have many devices trying to use 5 Mbps".

My response " We did upgrade back in 2012...Jan or Feb to the next level up, and it did nothing."

(Now why do I know Jan or Feb 2012??? Well it was when I had my last bad bout of colitis and I was home a lot and had time for a someone to come to my house between the hours of 8 AM and 4 PM, because I was actually home. A quick look at my blog tells me I did it in Feb. Thank you blog, for that documentation!)

I hear some clicking and hear a 'Hmm"

Well this is odd, says he, It says that you upgraded from the classic plan to the plus plan back in 2012, and you being charged for that, but  your line actually reads that you are on the classic plan.

So the request to upgrade went in, got as far as being added to my account, but NEVER made it to the actual line.

All this time I have been on 1.5 Mbps and paying $10 extra a month for 5 Mbsp.

He immediately changed it to the plan I thought I was on. I asked him to be sure he made note of what he just discovered and what he did in my file. He then transferred me to billing.

I explained what happened to the new person and I hear her clicking through my file. No, she says, you asked for the upgrade in 2012 and you HAVE the upgrade.

No, says I, the gentleman just said....and he just did....

We did this a couple times back and forth with her being adamant I was wrong.

Look, I say, do you seriously think I would just make up these random dates and details. I don't even know what Mbps stands for! He said he would make a note in my file.

One more click and I hear 'OH!"

Thank god I had him make the note and that he actually did it (because I have experienced this in the past where they don't actually make the note.

So I am due for a credit. She has to talk to her manager about it as it is larger than $100.

After a few minutes on hold, I learn that my credit is $440. $10 a month plus tax for 3+ years.

Wow!

So assuming that they actually credit me properly, it should show up on my next bill. That would mean that my phone/internet bill will be free to me until December. $95  a month for internet and the landline my husband refuses to give up.

I will be happy to take that $95 a month and apply it to some other savings goal or college fees or my college LOC.

It was a long 45 minute phone call with very unexpected results.

Lesson: Know what you are paying for and if you actually are getting what you pay for.

Lesson: Document EVERYTHING

Happy Blogoversary to me

Seven years ago I took the leap and put my thoughts and worries and learnings into writing and started posting here.  I am surprised as the next guy that I have not only kept up the blog, but kept up the jars and the budget and the money learning. And boy am I glad that I did.

Here are my Letterman Top 10 things I am grateful for, because of this blog:

#10 - momentum - Some months I blog less, and some I blog more, but keeping up with the month to month data, especially 'where the money stands', really helps me keep my focus

#9 - reader comments - I have been very fortunate to have supportive readers or readers that give me something that makes me think or explore deeper.

#8 - history - I love seeing how far I have come in my learning about how to better take care of my money. Always more to learn, but I have come a long ways.

#7 - organization - having this helps me keep things organized in my mind, in my papers and in my accounts.

#6 - flexibility - I understand better now that budgets are meant to be flexible...fluid.  They have to be, as life is never stagnant

#5 - the high - I get from paying off a debt or meeting a savings goal. It's quite powerful. and addicting.

#4 - evolution - I love how the blog has evolved as I have over the years.

#3 - confidence - whenever I get the 'I can't do it' blues, I can read back on here and know that I hit many moments where I felt that way, and got through it.

#2 - documentation. I can go back and find out dates and details of something, if I blogged about it. You will see how this helped me today, in my next post.

and the #1 reason I am glad I started this blog is....

all of you. I have learned so much from connecting with you and reading your blogs (sometimes as a lurker). What a wonderful community it can be for those to find people who are similar to me, and people who are quite different than me.

Money on me

I took a bit of time to spoil myself today, and take care of something that was long overdue.

I got my hair permed today. I know, you're thinking, perm??? who gets those these days besides my great aunt Tilda? Well, now you know two people.

I have been getting perms for most of my life. I have ridiculously thin hair that goes flat flat flat and won't hold curl from a curling iron. I look terrible with flat unbodied hair.

I remember getting a 'Tony' perm when I was young in my mom's kitchen. My older sister did it.  The curling rods used to be kept in one of those purple velvet Crown Royal bags :-)

I remember how tight those curling rods were and the smell of the solution.

I go to the salon now.

I went today and realized it had been a year since my last perm. What was more frightening was that it had been a year since I had my hair cut, to the best of my recollection.  Yikes.

I save a bit of money each month to go towards salon visits, because I know how costly they can be.

I was surprised, when I went to pay. I seem to recall that my bill last time was over $100 before tip.

Today, with a perm, a hair cut and some product to take care of this dry brittle (from the steroids) hair, it was $80 (before tip).  I wonder if their prices have dropped for perms.

Onwards to unflat hair :-)

July Goals

You know me....have to have a goal list or a to do list as a push to move forwards. 

Here goes:

• 25 large garbage bags of stuff out of my house ( trash, recycle, donate)
• 46.5 KM walked or an ave of 1.5 km a day. I am still weak physically and need to get my energy levels up
• 25 books donated to our library
• 2 books read for school
• 7 pounds lost
• use my jars for my variable expenses
• my new room unpacked and organized
• find DS2 a place to live in college town
• snowflake $490 to meet mini goal

Canada Day was a good start. DS2 left for his camp (sad mom). DS1 was off work and his girlfriend came in by noon to spend the day and night. They went for lunch together.

DH and I started on the garage. It always becomes a dumping ground for everything. DS2's camp stuff. DS1's hockey stuff. All my stuff that was not going to my new room, or the materials I wanted to be able to look at, at home. Just a big mess.

We got the remainder of the bottles sorted and put in my car to take into the recycle depot today. All the newspapers and empty boxes were taken to the paper recycle bin. We went  through the shoe shelves, which had really spread all over the floors below them and purged. DH is incredibly unwilling to get rid of things even if he doesn't use them. Ex - ugly, orange sneakers he bought when we went to Europe in 2006, that he has never worn. Won't let them go. Five pairs of summer sandals that I have never seen him wear, but they all  have to stay. My stuff.....he was ready to toss left and right. 

When we were done we had floor space in the one car garage (that won't fit my vehicle). It was very exciting. Our garbage was full of things that couldn't be recycled or donated. I borrowed space in my parents' bin as well, since they never fill theirs up.  

We just have too much stuff!

I also let go of my collection of FRIENDS series. all 10. It was very important to me at one point that I have them all and I paid far too much for them. I really had no desire to put them on  a buy and sell site, though I could have gotten $ for them. I tried a couple people to see if they would give them a home, but they had them. I remembered that DS's girlfriend's sister (convoluted chain here lol) enjoyed the show so we texted her and she was excited to have them. Score! Off to the car they went to get them immediately out of my house.

We had a nice BBQ last night of souvlaki kebobs, roasted potatoes and asparagus. The daughter likes them and wanted to try bbq'ing them.

The evening ended with Canada Day fireworks.

Total garbage bags (or their equivalent) removed from my house...7. Ahhhh that feels good.

Endings and beginnings

Well it's an empty room. I leave the room as I entered it all those years ago....well almost. The big shelving unit at the back came with me, but stays. The lockers on the right came with me too, but they will stay (and eventually get recycled as they are in rough shape)

I arrived yesterday morning around 7:30 and packed the remaining 20 or so boxes. The caretakers and I moved all my stuff out to the hall to await the movers. The new resident of the school came and dropped some stuff off (that you can see on the counters and shelves at the back).

I stood here from the doorway for several long minutes. There was a lot of living in this room. A lot of learning. SO much laughter. I knew every nook and cranny of this room (and the school). Every sound. I grew as a teacher, a colleague, and a person. The hours I spent here...nights...weekends.

There was a few tears and then I made myself leave. It really don't feel quite real yet.

I headed over to my new school and got my keys. My new room is empty. There was a LOT of shuffling of teachers around as people were bumped from room to room. They worked hard and I appreciate it.  My new room is a lot smaller, and I do not have control of my own heat and AC. My hot flashes will miss that. My new room windows do not open. I will miss that too.  Now I just have to wait for the cleaning staff over there to do their summer cleaning, and for the movers to take my stuff over, and then the unpacking begins.

When I moved into the above room I spent a LOT of my summer there, unpacking, settling in...getting comfortable in my new dwelling. I expect to do a fair bit of that too.  That will have to wait for a week or two I am told.

So for a week or two, I have summer. Time to rest..to let the vibrating in my head stop.

After I was off work I went for lunch with a friend (whom I used to work with before, and will, now, again). She treated. I hit the library for  a few books and I went to the recycling depot to take bottles in. I now have $30 to add to my mini goal. Woo hoo!

I came home to an odd feeling of no pressure and nothing to do. Don't get me wrong. My house is  a disaster...there is lots to do.

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DS2 and I worked on thank you card for his two academic awards from Grad. $500 total. He graduated with a bilingual diploma with High Honours. I am very proud of him. We had mass in the morning, then the awards in the afternoon.  We went for supper as a family along with my parents, my aunt and uncle, my three sisters, 3 cousins and his scout leader and his wife. (I had saved for this :-) 

This pic is almost a duplicate of DS1's grad hat toss, except that DS1's class did balloons too. They threw their hats before we even  got out there so I stole this pic from one of his teachers.

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Last night we had a fire around our little fire pit. It seems a bit sacriligeous given the incredible number of forest fires in the north right now, but it is  a family ritual. Just the four of us, and the two cats. It was our last night as a family of four all at home.

 DS2 left this morning for his scout camp. He will be home now and again during the summer, but won't really even be home to stay, again. I now have both my boys on rented time with me. I was glad it was dark. I cried a little bit. DS1 sensed it and turned to his brother, "She's doing it isn't she?"  DS2, "Of course she is. Are you new?" They laughed together.

(The are you new is a joke between the three of us meaning 'are you new to the family?' ....did you expect otherwise?)

And so the day begins (albeit at 11:15 as I type this)  and so does summer.

As I sit here sipping my coffee, in my housecoat. Time to plan for the summer.