No Fixed Address

This would be a good time to get my name printed in the newspaper, I have always wanted to see: "Mike Somerville of no fixed address..."

Today is possession day, and as of today we are no longer homeowners. We did see a couple of properties today, in really beautiful neighbourhoods. Close to the church and with good schools.

So to celebrate, we took the kids to the Royal Ontario Museum in downtown Toronto. Even with half of it closed off for renovations it is huge! Much bigger than I remember as a kid.

Nice place, saw the batcave (no batmobile), the mummies and the dinosaurs (though I think they should take better care of their pets).

Drove by the CN tower, the Air Canada Centre and the stadium formerly known as Skydome. Also drove past our exit in Oakville almost to Burlington. How could I miss the Ford plant where our exit is?

This is all city, everywhere we go, even to Niagara Falls. Once we get used to it, everywhere else will seem like a small town.

I'm Dreaming of a Wet Christmas

Rain...

It rained on Christmas Day in Niagara Falls.

Well I guess I need to recap... we were picked up last Wednesday by Saundra's brother Peter and were then re-united with our dog, Spirit who was very happy to see us.

We then made the trek to Niagara Falls where we will spend Christmas, and I practically shivered the whole way. You see, it was really cold, about -3 or -4 and very, very damp. The kind of damp cold that goes right through you, saps any warmth from your body and leaves you wondering why -35 in Edmonton felt warmer than this.

It did warm up to a balmy +4 but still no sun. Went to the falls on Christmas night (in the rain) and got a call from my sister, Nancy in Orlando where it is really warm and I am shivering. Oh and I found out that the cold prairie city we left is basking in +9 and sunshine... and I am shivering. Somehow the shivering has go to stop.

We had a blast all week, hanging with Pete and Manue and the kids, Lauren, Daniel and Jordan.

And sleeping.

It seemed like every time I sat down I fell asleep, except for mealtimes, of course (makes me feel rather like old Bilbo Baggins at Rivendell).

Saundra's parents came from Montreal and our nephew Bryant drove out from Oshawa today. We leave for Oakville tomorrow, hopefully to get our van and to look for a place to live.

Today Is A Very Moving Day

Moving Truck packed











Empty house.















Good-bye, Edmonton!











Update: December 22, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Been too busy to update through all that has happened.
- Business suddenly picks up on moving day... Can't keep up.
- Thanks to Sharon Reiner for taking us to the airport.
- Met old friends, Steve and Patti Hertzog at the airport who were also on their way to Toronto. Interestingly, they were the ones who put us.up at their home when we first moved to Edmonton 14 years ago.
- A dealyed flight arriving in Toronto after 1:00 AM.
- Thanks to my cousin Steve who picked us up and put us up for the night. Got to bed at 2:30 AM.

A Non-Expected Party

We were on our way to church this morning and took a detour to drop off a hockey stick belonging to Andrew's friend, Adam. On arriving at the house, Andrew was asked to get some things he left there previously and walked striaght into a trap, or a surprise party put on by about 30 of his friends.

They had been planning it all week and raised funds to buy pizza and gifts. Even teachers donated to the cause. 10 hours later he came home exhausted but happy.

Both our girls spent the afternoon at their respective surprise parties, and finshed with singing in the Christmas concert at Millwoods Pentecostal Assembly.

It was a great day!


Until.....


we realized that we were not ready for the packers to come on Monday. Not nearly ready...

- take down the Christmas tree
- pack up the ornaments
- unpack the fine china and lay it out for the professionals
- look after a mortgage application that was just faxed in
- pack my own things for flying out
- put 5 years worth of photographs into safer packaging
- and I am still going and going

Our last chance to say farewell

Fort a Christmas party it was pretty short on refreshments and long on goodbyes, thanks for coming:

Bob & Jan, Rob & Rena, Bonnie, Todd & Judith, Dave, Les & Ingrid, Susan and Matt

Thanks to all who called and emailed, sorry if we had to hang up too soon.

we love you, we will miss you


P.S. you can still call me at 780-995-4220 for a few weeks if you missed calling

SOLD!

We finally have the "sold" sign on our lawn, which is a very good thing.

A very good thing because we already sold the car, shipped the dog, the movers have picked up the van, and we have otherwise committed ourselves to moving on December 20th.

Not sure what we would have done if the sale fell through, but I would have less hair than I have now.

This is fast, fun, exciting, but very stressful. Good things are happening all the time. Our good friends, EJ and Janet have lent us their car for the weekend, now we can go get food.

Flying Squirrels For Company

The dog is away! But she really didn't want to go.

Last night I booked the last remaining flight for a dog before the pet embargo, which meant that I had to take her to the airport by 5:30 this morning.

She knew something was up because she usually likes to go for rides and does not complain. Maybe she thought she was going to the breeder's again (they did not get along at all but she sure was obedient afterwards).

As soon as I got to Westjet Cargo she started to howl, I could hear her out in the warehouse through two sets of doors. But I was assured that she was not alone, she would have a shipment flying squirrels to keep her company. Or drive her insane - or maybe that has already happened.

Next item - the van goes this afternoon.

What to do?

This is all going too fast for me.

First - We have to ship the van on Thursday, so no vehicle for a few days. That will make it really hard for me to get to the pub for happy hour.

Second - The airlines have a 3 week checked luggage pet embargo (or blackout - it means we can't take the dog) starting on the weekend. If the dog can fit into a case for a puppy (8" high) we can take her in the cabin , but airlines don't let us bring dangerous things like shoehorns that we will need to pry her out of there, nor can we afford the vets bills for limb re-attachment. Which means we may have to actually send to dog on ahead of us. Maybe she can handle rotating on the carousel for 3 days... I don't know. I should try to find someone we know who can pick her up and look after her.

Third - We don't have time to say goodbye to everyone.
So we are inviting people we know to come to our house between 5:00 and 9:00 PM on Saturday December 17th for our final farewell.

Hope you can come.

Goodbye To An Old Friend

I just sold the blue car.

Back in the summer of 1995, when Cherith was a baby, we sold the old Mustang and bought ourselves a peppy little 5 speed 1991 Eagle Summit (also called a Colt or Mitsubishi Mirage). It cost us only $5500 and was worth every penny.

Still going strong at 301,000 km. It had its quirks but was still a pleasure to drive.

Sold it to a nice young guy who occasionally attends the Sunday night services at Millwoods, he needed a winter car. I guess it is... I was able to start it fine in -28C. Like any good used car dealer, I stand behind this car (except when it is running, nor will I drive behind it unless I want to choke on the huge plume of smoke).

I just went to trade in the plate, and I feel a little ripped off. I renewed the license 6 weeks ago for $73 (plus $9) and for the privilege of bringing the plate back I had to pay them $9 again. The actual refund of $45 will come in the mail - as if I am going to see that money anytime soon. What I actually paid to license the car would have worked out to $400 per year. Only in Canada.

I'll be home for Christmas

Back in January we decided as a family that we would love to go to east for Christmas to spend with Saundra's family (my parents are in Arizona for the winter which would be nice too).

We just booked the movers for Monday, December 19th. We are actually moving... and fast! Almost too fast.

I had imagined a move where we would have 2 months to bring closure... a long, drawn out goodbye to everyone who was a part of our lives.

Now we hardly have time for coffee with anyone.

After 2 Weeks... An Offer!

Just had our first offer on the home and we accepted!

The amount is less than we asked for but more than any realtor though we would get. And it is for immediate possession - which, this time of year means December 30th at the earliest.

So all we need to wait for is the inspection on Wednesday and it will be a firm and binding sale!!