Good Ol' Canada Post!

My daughter is very lucky and has gifts sent to her from friends and family on birthdays and Christmas.
She always writes her thank you letters eventually - perhaps not as quickly as I'd like her to, but this year I had a secret weapon.
Every 1st January, Canada Post increases their postal rates, at least they always have since we came here. This year for some reason I ended up with too many international stamps at $2.50 each and knowing the price increase was imminent, I asked my daughter to write all her letters before the deadline of 1st January.





She dutifully wrote them all and kindly let me address the envelopes, stick on the stamps, air mail stickers and return address labels.
Yesterday we proudly walked in to the post office with our batch of 2015 priced letters only to be told that there was to be a price freeze in 2016 and it was to remain the same! My daughter's face was a picture as I meekly apologised! How was I to know?
Anyway, she now has the rest of her holiday to enjoy herself as she continues to unpack a million boxes of keepsakes and junk and no long has to worry about her thank you letters! I bet next year she'll check on-line first before she puts pen to paper on Boxing Day....

How to De-Clutter in 10 Easy Steps

You may be familiar with those hoarding programmes on television where we sit back and watch someone else's misery and hopefully watch their recovery too. How many of us sit there and gloat thinking we are polar opposites of that unfortunate person?
Well I always thought that. I don't hoard. I'm not minimalist either. I just don't like to run out of things so I like to have a supply of stuff we regularly use.
That's my excuse anyway.

We moved from UK some years ago and I sorted through boxes in the attic then. Ok, so some of the things I wanted to keep may seem a bit obscure, but I bought every national newspaper the day Princess Diana died and kept them in a box. I'm not sure why, but I still have them all. Other stuff like a Royal Doulton dinner service that has been used perhaps 4 times in 20 years - that takes up at least 5 boxes. When my daughter was at nursery school in UK, there were a few outbreaks of nits, so in anticipation, I bought a Boots electronic nit comb - it's still in the box, unused.


My point is that we paid a company to come to our house and pack all this unused stuff carefully into boxes. This unused stuff was then shipped, at great expense across the Atlantic. This unused stuff was then unpacked in our new home where it has sat, still unused for 6 years.
Stupidly, I then packed it all up again and we have just driven hundreds of miles with it across the country, packed it into a heated storage unit, unloaded it in to our garage a month later and now I'm mulling over whether or not to keep it!

I have set aside a section of our basement for garage sale stuff. I'm very enthusiastic about it and intend to get the whole street on board to ensure maximum footfall.
Some stuff just isn't saleable though. How about all those masterpieces my daughter painted when she was 3 years old? How could I be so heartless and throw those out? I know the experts say take photos of your treasured possessions. Do you know how many boxes I have of photo albums? Literally over 30 and they each weigh a ton!


So my advice to you is this;


Step 1 - You've got to be in the right frame of mind to de-clutter. If you don't feel like purging, then try it tomorrow.


Step 2 - Start with one box, or one room and one corner of that room. Think small and you'll achieve more than if you try and tackle too much at once.


Step 3 - Toss, keep, sell or donate? If you know you'll use it in the next year, keep it. If it's broken or outdated (like VHS videos or worse, Betamax) toss it out. If you can sell it, box it up for a garage sale, car boot sale or advertise it online or in the paper. If none of the above apply, donate it.


Step 4 - Get rid of duplicates. If your best deluxe stapler should misfire, then new ones really don't cost a lot. You don't need a back-up!


Step 5 - Do you keep unread magazines or worse, ones you have read? Get rid of them straight away! I have boxes of DIY Handyman that I would need if we still lived in a fixer upper. We don't, so they're going.


Step 6 - Think about the energy it takes to keep all this stuff dust-free. If you love nick-nacks and don't mind dusting them every week, then keep them. Don't hang on to them as it looks bare without them. Space is good!


Step 7 - Do you think, 'but great aunt Maud gave me that', feeling guilty as she died long ago? Well she won't mind if you decide to sell or donate it. She'll be grateful you loved it for as long as you did and respect your decision to move on. Do you need those old pieces to remember your loved one? Does a piece of china really bring back hundreds of fond memories? If not, get rid.


Step 8 - If decision-making really isn't your strong point and you can't part with anything, look at 3 or 4 items and decide to get rid of one. If you do this on a regular basis, then after a year you may be on your way to living clutter-free.


Step 9 - Are you ever planning on moving house? If so, you might as well save yourself a ton of money and get rid of anything you have stashed in your shed, attic or basement. The cost of packing it, storing it and moving it prove that it makes financial sense to sell it now.


Step 10 - If you are, shall we say, a senior citizen. I know it can be a comfort to have all things familiar around you. How about that cute little doll your grandchild made from a cardboard toilet-roll, wool and scraps of material? You don't need a keepsake to think fondly of your family/friends do you? Pick up the phone and talk to them or grab the photo album and take a trip down memory lane (assuming you haven't thrown out all your photos!)

What's a Family Christmas without Some Chaos?

Well it's over for another year, I'm sad because this year we didn't have the big build-up to Christmas the way we usually do. We moved in to our new home 10 days before Christmas - I make that sound like an seamless, easy task. The truth is that we loaded at least a million boxes from the storage unit into a rented van, drove them 2 miles and dumped them into our garage. Then we repeated this procedure until the storage unit was empty and the garage was full.


No logistical expert could have foreseen the biting cold wind we had to endure, the numb fingers and toes and the empty stomach feeling you get when you realise you've forgotten to eat all day.
Still, we did it! Anyway amidst the 6' high piles of boxes lurked our Christmas decorations, tree, wreath, lights etc.


Normally we would have everything up and lit by the beginning of December but by the time we unearthed the majority of the boxes, it was the 22nd!
Undeterred, we found one set of lights and strung them on to the well-travelled tree and my daughter did the rest. It looked beautiful regardless of the rush to get it ready.





The big day went well, I put the turkey in the oven at 8am and spoke to family across the world via Facetime in between peeling veggies and making bread sauce.
Everything was going great until it was time to serve up. A stray glass of 7Up launched itself across the table causing a panic to mop it up before it wrecked the new floor. We ate the meal and thoroughly enjoyed it (apart from the parsnips ending up rather burnt). I then realised my mobile phone wasn't charging though it was plugged in, the charger suddenly decided to die on me. An hour or so later I could hear a weird clicking noise coming from the basement. No, it wasn't a squirrel, it was worse than that - it was the hot water tank! Easy fix, switch it off....


I then decided I could iron a few curtains upstairs before bedtime as they were hung in haste and looked like they'd just fallen out of the packaging - well they had! In fact when I brought them home, I had no idea where my iron was hiding in the garage box jungle. By bedtime I was aching and tired but happy and content that nothing worse had gone wrong on Christmas Day!


Although we were given the names and numbers of emergency call-out electricians etc. when we moved in, I just didn't have the heart to ring anyone on Christmas Day and drag them away from their family. Today, I have switched the water tank back on and will ring someone to come and hopefully fix it. Mind you, they would probably have been grateful for yesterday's call-out fee?


Happy Boxing Day and may it go smoother than yesterday.....

Beware Clicking the 'Book' Button

Well amidst the chaos of choosing which mobile phone company, cable company, internet provider, home phone etc, I have found a spare 10 minutes to tell you about our road trip over here.

We didn't sleep well the night before the move. My back had seized up and my shoulders were up by my ears causing a migraine. My husband tutted a lot and kept shaking his head as he glanced over the never ending sealed boxes I kept packing and placing near the back door!

Somehow we squeezed and squashed as much into the van as possible - sadly, we ordered the smaller of the 2 large vans so I had to make a quick call and collect the largest trailer they had in stock  -  an 8' x 10' and even that wasn't big enough! My neighbour kindly offered part of her garage for us to store non-essential items in like our bicycles, ladders etc.
We did leave quite a lot of things behind too. Nothing too precious though, just tatty garden furniture that we'd had for years and some shelving that we didn't have time to take apart.





I do love road trips. I prefer ones that allow me more preparation and time. We didn't have this luxury on the day of the move though. I would normally make a picnic with freshly baked quiche, sandwiches, crisps and fruit. We decided to buy food from wherever we had to stop - the old joke about garage sandwiches is still valid after all these years, an egg sandwich I bravely bought in the middle of nowhere looked like someone had trodden on it and though I have no idea what they put in it, I could taste it for hours after - talk about value for money!
The drive was really fun. My daughter opted to travel with me for a couple of reasons - we enjoy the same modern pop music and don't mind each other singing our hearts out. She decided against travelling with my husband who finds enjoyment listening to football and cricket matches.


The road across Canada does not have the most interesting terrain. In fact, I felt like I was in a movie with the same backdrop being cranked alongside our car. We drove for hours and hours and hours. We had to stay one night and decided to pick a hotel with a restaurant so we could relax and enjoy a glass of wine after all the travelling. I dumbly clicked the 'Book' button on my phone and the room was paid for in full with no cancellation refund.....
The hotel was in a capital city and as we pulled in to the car park I hoped the trailer and cars would all still be there in the morning. It looked rough but as I'd booked this dump, I cheerfully smiled at my family as they both looked disappointedly at where we'd stopped.
We booked in to reception and asked where the restaurant was. It was attached to the hotel, a very mediocre family diner that served endless coffee, pop, water, but no alcohol. The hotel employee happily pointed to the door nearby telling us there was a licensed bar but our daughter would have to wait outside. As he spoke a rough-looking character stumbled out of the door and staggered through the main door of the hotel - nice.
I opened the door to our room with caution. It looked ok on the photos... the carpet near the door was noticeably darker than the rest and I could only walk in slowly as I unstuck my feet from the carpet - not nice. There was a distinct lack of power outlets in the room too though some clever person came up with the idea of screwing an extension cord to the wall, ingenious but probably illegal.









The food was barely edible, the pop was watered down and the other clientele were playing a family game of cards, whilst shouting at each other very loudly.
Thankfully our vehicles were intact the next day and we carried on with our adventure.


 The scenery carried on and on and on.....


Eventually we arrived at our destination and I was so thankful that the weather had remained dry and sunny for the 2 days. Normally at that time of year, it would be snowing and blowing across the highway.
The following day we unloaded everything in to a storage unit and again the weather was dry. We had finally moved!
Our new home won't be ready until next week and I have booked all the service providers, furniture delivery etc for the few days after we move in. I'm just wondering how efficient they will all be and how high my blood pressure can rise to..... now where did I put those migraine tablets?

How to Change your Cell Number and Stay Sane!

Well long time, no hear! So sorry but we have finally moved Provinces and I will talk about that in more detail later this week.
Anyway, one of the priorities when moving Provinces is to obtain a new number for your cell (mobile) phone.
In Canada, the 'phone numbers are symbolic of the area in which you live, pretty similar to UK. The difference here is that we have long distance charges too and if you have a number from a different Province, then every time someone rings you, they are charged the long distance rate which can be quite expensive. Also, everyone assumes your number starts with *** and if it doesn't it involves a lot of crossing out when completing forms etc.
Anyway, today I thought I'd pluck up the courage and summon the energy to ring the Call Centre for my cell phone - Rogers....
After the first 10 minutes, I regretted my decision. I wondered if the Roger's Call Centre was affiliated in any way with the Santander Call Centre - in Asia....
The woman was very sweet but clearly didn't understand exactly what I wanted. She had trouble with my accent and I with hers.
Fortuitously, after 10 minutes of not getting very far, they had a power cut and our call was terminated. I thought she'd ring back so I waited and waited. Finally I gave up and called again.
I make this sound a simple task when in actual fact, it involved pressing a variety of numbers to the voice commands to be told there was a 30 minute wait to speak to a 'Live Person' is that opposed to a dead one? Anyway I had to give my number, again and my name and press '1' if I wanted them to call me back....
When I was called back, this time it was from a man at the Call Centre - in Asia. He appeared to be more competent and I went through the story, again and he grasped it. Or did he? It was like a time bomb ticking when he told me my new number and said he was going to disconnect my old one.... you guessed it, just as I was about to remind him that I was talking on that number he was going to pull the plug on, the line went dead - again.
Undeterred, I rang a third time, slightly less polite and slightly more impatient. I was thrilled to hear the sound of the woman on the line - from Ontario.
Straight away she grasped my problem, confirmed the new number in case we were cut off and within 30 more minutes I finally had achieved what I set out to do - hurray!
Sadly, they were out of stock with my daughter's choice of phone, so we need to go to the local store tomorrow. I'm quietly confident that the visit will just take a few minutes, my husband is not convinced and seems to think he should have booked the day off! We'll see...

Don't Forget to Text Me!

Well with one week left to go before the big move, we are starting to say farewell to friends and acquaintances for the last time.
Yesterday after school, my daughter had her leaving party for 14 friends. It was great. They 'Glo-bowled' for an hour, ate pizza to loud music, took selfies by the dozen, did a group rendition of the cup song, laughed, danced and had a blast. They gave cards, cash and vouchers and her 'bestie' framed a collage of photos for her - it was beautiful.
Are we being really cruel, snatching her away from all these great kids she's known for half her life? Are we expecting too much when we drive her halfway across Canada and dump her in to a new school where she knows no-one? She's just as excited as us but understandably nervous too.
That's where her maturity and outlook on life will serve her well. She's mature for her age and I know she will flourish anywhere, it might just take time.
Today we pack some more, sort and plan. Tonight our next door neighbours come for a roast beef supper with all the trimmings. They have been so kind to us, we'll really miss them. We have ample beer and wine to keep them quenched as we talk about the past 6 years and reminisce.





I'm not a great one for keeping in touch, especially with some people. Having moved around a lot, I find it pointless to keep in touch with those I never plan on seeing again e.g. old school friends, neighbours whose names I hardly knew, some random person I met in a supermarket who's a friend of a friend. So when I bid my farewells this week and people ask if I'm on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, I'll just tell them I'm not, but I'll let them know my new number, (or perhaps not) and smile sweetly as they shout, 'Don't forget to text me!'

SANTANDER? I GIVE UP!!

Well, following on from the Santander fiasco, I mailed their form back to them yesterday advising them of my new address - sorted!
Or rather not sorted... today I received an e-mail from their Customer (dis)Service Department verifying that if I wanted to change my address abroad, then I had to complete their form - I chuckled to myself thinking I was way ahead of them - then return it in the mail to the address shown below - check, yep I did all that ha ha! Then to my horror, I read further and they also requested a copy of my passport - what?! Why had the inept Glaswegian at their Call Centre - in Scotland - not mentioned this to me? Or perhaps she had but I couldn't understand her?... No I am sure I would have heard it.
Today was put aside for packing, but now I have to print off their stupid form AGAIN, fill it out AGAIN, address an envelope AGAIN, pay another $2.50 and mail it off with another 9 mile round trip. Oh and don't forget the copy of the passport!
I feel a headache and another complaint coming on.....

Santander - Give Me Strength!!!

Ok, normally I'm a fairly laid back person and I merrily wait in line at check-outs or listen patiently to the canned music whilst on hold to Call Centres.


Not this morning though..... I bank with Santander in UK. I won't even begin to tell you about the fun and games I had with them when we moved here nearly 6 years ago. Ok, then I will, make yourself a cup of tea and sit back...





I had 2 accounts with Santander and decided to close one of them a few days before we left England. At the airport on the day we left, I thought I'd treat myself to some duty free perfume. Strangely, my debit card wouldn't work. I tried and tried and was getting more frustrated as my husband told me we were about to board the plane. I had to leave the perfume behind and as I lurked at the back of the boarding gate line, I quickly rang Santander's Call Centre - in Asia...


What I could glean from the 'Agent' was that the dumb cashier in my branch had closed the wrong account. Of course, I had destroyed the card for the account that had no money in and should have been closed. The card I had to the mistakenly closed account had everything we owned in it, equity from the house, salaries, you name it, it was in there, locked away, never to be spent.


Fortunately my husband was able to buy us some goodies on board with his card from his bank so we didn't starve. Plan B would have been to ask my young daughter for a loan from her Noddy purse.


I forget how many ridiculously expensive phone calls I made from my husband's English mobile phone to Santander's Call Centre - in Asia - once we landed in Canada.









After a few weeks and some mind-boggling security questions from their Fraud Office, I was allowed access to our money again. Oh yes and they graciously put £25 in to my account for the inconvenience.


Today I tried to notify said Bank of our new address on-line. Not possible if it's from a foreign country to another foreign country. Not even possible via their secure e-mails only accessible via their secure log-in to the secure on-line banking. Not possible either to print off their stupid 'Change of Details' form that when I clicked it, took me straight to a page that stated 'Error - Page Not Found'!


Eventually I rang their Call Centre - in Scotland and spoke to a girl who was less easy to understand than the Asian Call Centre agent. However, after 6.5 minutes, she agreed to e-mail me the form.


Now all I have to do is print the form off, complete the form by hand, address an envelope, stick on a $2.50  stamp, drive a 9 mile round trip to the Canada Post mail box, wait at least a week for it to get there (some hope) and then have it processed.


Easy isn't it? As I'll explain to my daughter later, that's how we used to do it before computers were invented.....

Happy Birthday to Him!!!

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. Now you know the sort of person that always says they don't want anything for their birthday and that they don't want a fuss, well that's him.
As he sat up in bed though with a steaming hot cup of tea, a pile of cards to open and hastily (and badly) wrapped presents, you could tell he was loving it!


What is it about being married that you breathe a silent sigh of relief as every other card opened is from your side of the family and that they remembered? Sadly I can't lay claim on that feeling totally, but I'm not here to name names. Sadly, living in Canada with a haphazard postal delivery service, especially to us country folk tends to mean that not all mail gets to us on time. In fact I consider ourselves very lucky if we get it at all!





Numerous items have mysteriously disappeared over the years, never to be seen or heard of again. A Permanent Resident Card, for example, never showed up. You can imagine the problems I had proving that and obtaining a new one. Packages from our loved ones abroad, just disappeared in to the black hole without a trace.


Anyway, I digress. I bit my tongue as my husband sat and watched soccer all morning, then the Grand Prix in the afternoon (a duplicate of the day before). I was silent and smiling instead of screaming telling him we had a house to pack up in under 2 weeks! I was polite and loving as I cobbled together lunch and was slightly surprised when he agreed to help clear out the sheds. 'One job less to do',  I thought as the rain drizzled on us in the cold autumn wind.


Our clocks went back an hour at the weekend too, so instead of laboriously changing them all, I simply took out the batteries and packed them away, ready for our move.


At the moment our house looks like a bomb has hit it from a great height. Every room has a pile of boxes adorning the wall. I know it will all come together in the end and I enjoy picking away in different rooms to give me variety as I work.


Today I emptied the kitchen dresser in to 3 boxes, another good job done. I booked the heated storage unit in our new town and modified our removal truck order. I've advised 4 companies of our new address and made a host of phone calls too. In 12 days we say goodbye to this home and make our way across the Prairies to our new one. I have sorted paperwork and spoken to family via phone and e-mail.


Later today, I am selling some of our unwanted items to make more space and more cash. I so look forward to a feeling of a new 'clutterless' house and have filled 2 more bags for the charity shop.


I have more lists than I know what to do with and feel if I don't write things down, I will remember them after we have long left this place and are at a point of no return!


I would love to fast forward 12 days now and be on our merry way with no worries in my swimming head. But would I really? I am savouring each day as I wander around the house, yard and woods talking to the birds, squirrels and chipmunks. We saw a deer grazing on the acorns last week and I hoped he would not come back after we'd left. I intend to leave a plentiful supply of seed for the birds and the chipmunks as I bid them farewell. I want to make the most of our last 2 weeks, enjoy the house we've loved so much and grown in. I'm reminded of the Steve Martin movie, Father of the Bride II where his family are moving and they mope around taking photographs of everything before they leave.


Not me, it would upset me more to look back at them knowing I'd taken them the day before we left. I'd rather just keep it all in my head as a fond memory. One day when my memory fails, then it won't be a problem any more will it? Now where did I put my lists......?

Hallowe'en - Sick or Sweet?

Last night was the night we used to dread in England but love here in Canada. I think the folk in North America embrace the concept and really push the boat out.
In England, people are more blackmailed in to handing out goodies at the doorstep for fear of what 'trick' might be played on them if they were to pretend they were not home.
Last night, we dropped our daughter at a friend's house so they could go trick or treating together around the town.





You may remember that my daughter's friend drew the trump card and dressed as Alice in Wonderland whilst my daughter was the Cheshire Cat, even so, she looked beautiful.
For around 3 hours they trekked around the houses with optimistically large bags for the candy and it was well worth the trip.
She came home with 2 large bags full of goodies and some rather funny stories.
One lady told them they couldn't have any candy until they'd both eaten an apple on her doorstep. This my daughter dutifully did and I did not dare to ask whether the woman was dressed as a witch and the apple was rosy red on one side as in Snow White!
They also called on a house where the local dentist lived. No candy there, just a new toothbrush each. Yes, I understand that he's trying to save their teeth from cavities, but what a cheapskate! A piece of fruit too might have been sweeter?
Anyway, my husband and I laughed away as we drove around looking at the costumes. Some people spend a fortune every year on new outfits, décor for the house inside and out, not to mention the treats for the children.
I've learnt that once you give out good stuff, word gets round and you can expect a constant trail to your door. Apparently on Facebook, people were posting locations in the town where ghouls and zombies might jump out at you as you walked up the path to their house.
It was all great fun. Here, if you don't want to participate or want to go out for the night, simply switch your lights out. Folk understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea. In England, we used to be afraid if we didn't answer the door in case our car was egged or covered in flour.
I was so impressed by the beautifully decorated bags handed out by some people, they clearly enjoy the whole event. Good for them I say!
It took me back to when I shared a house many years ago with 2 lads I worked with who ate us out of house and home. Of course when the first knock of the night was heard, they hid and left me to answer the door. I told the hopeful, costumed children to wait a moment and ran in to the kitchen. The only thing left that was vaguely edible in the house were some rather stale mushroom vol au vents my Mother had made me the week before and had been forgotten about. I grabbed the tin and offered the contents to the smiling children. They both peered in to the pathetic tin, looked at each other, made their excuses and left.





I could quite understand their rationale and am still grateful to this day that they weren't carrying any eggs or flour!

"Take Part in our Survey, with a Chance to Win..."

Do you like surveys? I do, or at least I did until recently. I vainly thought my opinion actually mattered to these corporate giants and that my voice may one day be heard and acted upon.
What a stupid notion.
I can't remember what happened but the other day as I was completing a survey for 'LemonTreeOpinion' on behalf of Sears Canada the penny dropped. It was an 'AHA' moment.
I have signed up to various surveys in the past, Boston Pizza, Sears Canada, Canadian Tire and Ipsos Surveys who actually reward you in vouchers.
I chose to do these as I really thought they wanted my opinion. How wrong could I be?
I don't think I'm the only one who now realises that all they are doing is advertising their company, products and services. Perhaps you realised a long time ago and forgot to tell me?
They are very clever at bringing you onboard. They lure you in with a promise of entering your name in a free draw once a month for a chance to win some useless product they can't shift or a gift token that no-one ever wins - have you ever checked the past winners' names to see if they're real people?
My nature is to complain over poor service and praise for good. That's what I expected to be able to do in these surveys - not so.

Sears Canada is a struggling department store, with redundancies and stores closing nationwide, so they need to do something to try to survive. Their 'survey' asks questions about where I like to shop and how often. Fair enough. Then it launches in to the 'rank the following in to the most important to least important'. This is where the stupidity starts. Forgive my memory if it's a bit sketchy but their 'ranking' questions go something like this,
How important is it for you to....

• Be greeted by a friendly face (of a person about to lose their job)
• Buy high quality, long lasting, fashionable clothing (for a ridiculously high price)
• Have the option of home delivery (instead of you lugging the large appliance home on the roof of your Fiat 500)
• Be able to locate a convenient store in your home town (possibly empty now with cut backs)

You get the drift. Basically they are just telling you how great they are and why you should shop with them and not Walmart.

The same applies to Boston Pizza. I like to tell them on surveys that I do not use their Sports Bar, their chicken wing special nights whilst watching the game, nor do I go there to eat in a party of more than 3 (my husband, daughter and I). No, I have no desire to try their latest invention of a pizza burger, or a burger pizza, a poutine-flavoured ice cream or spicy hot, flame grilled chicken feet (poetic licence).


In fact I've become so cynical now that I've unsubscribed from all their stupid surveys. To me a survey is the ability to tell them what's good and what's bad with their product/service. Not to listen to their back door advertising.

So goodbye Canadian Tire with your 4 season, lifetime warranty, buy 1 get 3 free, slip resistant tyres.
Goodbye Sears with your outdated stores, visible lack of assistants to assist and overpriced goods. Goodbye Boston Pizza who think they're being innovative with their menu when in fact a chef tripping on acid could come up with more delicious delicacies.


I'm through with your surveys! Unless of course you can tempt me back with a money off coupon, a free desert or some CT money........?

October New Year's Resolution?

We continually see on the television that every year the average family throws out hundreds of dollars worth of food. I have always smugly shook my head in disbelief, 'Not me!' I would whisper under my breath - that is until yesterday....
This week I have been packing away the kitchen cupboard contents in to boxes ready for our impending move. I thought I'd do a double whammy as my daughter's school has a food drive today and I could donate any non perishable, in date, unopened items we won't use.
I chuckled to myself that I would not be finding much for the school and would buy a few items for them whilst shopping. Not so.
The first cupboard was a breeze, a few hundred Tupperware containers holding a host of surprise items; the half eaten packet of Ryvita circa 2013 when I decided it was time to shed a few pounds, some sticky marshmallows my daughter had tried last Christmas and didn't like, some healthy veggie crackers I bought to balance the nutritional value of my daughter's lunch bag - they were like eating cardboard, the list goes on.

I ended up with 4 carrier bags of discarded food and 3 bags for the food drive.
I wouldn't even hazard a guess at how much the discarded food had cost me, but now I know how the Government arrive at those figures.
Yes, I'm ashamed about the wasted food. Not only could it have fed a hungry family for a couple of days, but it could have saved me a ton of money too.
So, I will continue to eat my yoghurts a few days past their sell by dates, peel the not so pretty outer layers off the lettuce and eat the middle instead of throwing the lot on the compost heap. I'll take Jamie Oliver's advice and make the stale bread into breadcrumbs instead of giving it to the birds and buying breadcrumbs from the store. I vow to use the over-ripe fruit in home-made smoothies instead of consigning it to the compost heap too.

This is a photo from the internet, not my fridge!

Even with those 4 bags of throw outs, I still feel smug. I'm thrilled that my cupboards are almost empty now, there's less to pack up and we donated plenty to needy families.
Lesson learned. In future, I will not hoard half a bag of raisins in case I make more chutney next year, I will try to decipher 'sell-by' dates in stores before I buy (not an easy task in Canada), if my daughter nags me for the latest cracker, cookie, healthy option, I will make her eat them all instead of her giving up on the first mouthful.
Wow, this is my first New Year's resolution - and it's still only October!

House Hunting 101

Well, sincerest apologies for the hiatus, but we have been ridiculously busy. Last week we travelled across the Prairies for 14 hours in the car to find a new home - and we found one!
It wasn't a simple, straightforward task however.
We had a realtor, a very nice lady who arranged all the appointments for the houses we wanted to view. On arriving at her office we were optimistic, happy and enthusiastic, but then she told us that 2 of the houses had offers on them. One of which was my absolute favourite! From then on, I had to adjust my thinking and give every house a chance. That's when my headache started.
We were driven from the office to each house and viewed 7 in an afternoon. They varied in quality, curb appeal, cleanliness and price.
Luckily I can walk in to an ex-rental or a repossession, masterfully block off my sense of smell and see potential. My husband not so much and my daughter not at all!
Having watched a million tv shows on renovations, home makeovers, DIY shows etc, I consider myself something of an expert. I would probably award myself a Home Inspector's qualification if I could. There I was, knocking and tapping at rotting door posts, pulling out the furnace filters, opening the ovens then wishing I hadn't!
I have a dislike of stained oak which ends up an orange colour. I don't want to offend any readers who love it, but I do like wood to look as natural as possible. If natural isn't possible, then stain it dark brown or paint it white.



We walked in to some homes with the orange stained oak window trim, door trim, doors, fire surround, kitchen cabinets, baseboards, floors it was all too much for me, my thumping head and my painful shoulder to imagine the sanding, staining or painting that lay in store. We would look at houses on corner lots and were told that the whole pavement surrounding the house, front and side would have to be cleared of snow within 24 hours of snowfall. I looked sadly at tiny patches of 'low maintenance luxury high end turf' in back yards only to discover it was 'Astroturf'. Could I really relax on the sunny deck that was higher than the fences and gave me a bird's-eye view of the road and neighbours (and them of me)?
By the end of the day, my head was swimming. I would have to settle for second best. I had a niggling feeling that our dream house was out there somewhere, still undiscovered.
The following day my aunt took us to a brand new building site. I'd seen them on-line and they were over our budget. She urged us to just have a look and we did.
The larger show-home had various financial incentives making it affordable and as I walked in, I could almost hear the 'Hallelujah Chorus' playing in my head. I looked around in awe, the house was gorgeous, no it was better than gorgeous. Were we really worthy enough to live in such luxury?
We walked to the master suite, then the walk in closet.

This isn't the actual closet, but it gives you an idea!

 
"Memo to self, burn every item of scruffs before we move in".
I pointed out that the fire surround and creamy grey granite countertops would all be extras. The sales guy replied that they were standard - the day was getting better and better.
As I wandered around the house with a stupid grin on my face, I knew this was the house.
My husband needed some persuading as he liked another home and thought they might accept a lower offer. Yes it was lovely too, but did I want my daughter sleeping in the basement?
With some gentle female persuasion from my daughter and I, he agreed and we signed there and then.
Today is packing, sorting, disposing and donating day - but that's tomorrow's Blog....