Closing Date and other assorted flitting

There's a reason this blog is called Just Flitting.

So - we finally got the mortgage sorted out - in fact, we ended up with mortgages and $$ coming up the ying yang.

At one point, our lawyer called and asked which we were actually planning to use, as they were getting extras showing up in their office - in one case, even one that we didn't know we had. We had talked to the guy about it, but hadn't heard anything back before the lawyer called. So that was all good.

But then we got hung up by the lawyer representing the seller who decided he didn't like the earlier closing date we had agreed on - and not only that, he couldn't be bothered to respond to any of the letters my lawyer kept sending him because of course, I was calling their office to ask what the hell was going on.

That too got sorted out - and at this point, we're a go for 9:30 a.m. to meet with our lawyer, cough up our $$, and then the house will officially be ours.

The plan is to come home, pick up the mutt and his blankie, and head down there later in the day - got some errands to run and packing to do and ~stuff~ .... but then we should be good to go. I've got everything all organized at that end - hydro, gas, all that fun stuff. Phone & Internet get installed on Tuesday; TV on Thursday. We will need to do something about a bed pretty quickly - there are a few old couches left behind but you couldn't pay me to sleep on those - ick! Most of them are to be tossed - there's one that we might hang on to ...depending on how well it cleans up.

I'm rolling right along with school/work stuff - handed in major research paper last week, and also the archive material I had to get done up for the digitization project (theirs, not mine). Today I've been scanning scads of material for mine - that's due by the end of the month so need to get cracking on it. I also received the book that I've been proofreading back for a final proof - finished that earlier today. Yay me! This was my second time through it - not too many things to catch, but some. Tomorrow I'll drop it in to the author's office and he's going to give it a look, then the files can be annotated and fired back to the copyeditor in India. (I'll do that when he's done; won't take long).

Was asked to take on another research assistant position in addition to the archives one, and am up to date on that one too - need to get more files for both RA positions before I can do any more work on them. It's a good place to be - although it would be even better if we'd got things sorted out so that I was actually getting PAID for my work already. Got to go back in and sign more papers before that can happen. *sigh* I detest hoopjumping - especially when the hoops are set 250km away from where I live and I can't drive myself yet. Even though the doc wrote the letter to give me my licence back, MTO is not inclined to actually DO anything about that yet :(

So the only thing outstanding, really, is the new house - which needs a major cleaning and painting, some outside work, furnishing - oh yeah, and we need four tenants too. And the digital archives project that I'm doing for the EMiC course in editing that I did earlier this summer. That is well underway - really, could have it done today, if it weren't for the fact that I'm so stinking HOT I can't see straight - and for the one section that I have yet to write on my editing theory and practices. It's so much easier to just DO what you think is right - having to actually explain it - and how it fits into various editing theories - that's a whole lot harder! Well worth doing, I'm sure - but I wish I'd written it up while we were still AT the course; I had a lot more theory still in my brain then. I have, as my mom would say, slept since then; it's all gone.

Both my kids are working now. Jess has taken on more responsibility and more hours at the day care she works at, and Tamara finally got a job!!!! It's only temporary at this point - she's working at a college bookstore - but I am hopeful that good things will come of it. And if nothing else, hopefully she'll be liking that pay cheque thing enough to be extra motivated to find another one when she's done.

What else is new & exciting? Oh yeah... we finally got our new bathroom (almost) done - it looks SO much better now. And now Ross is panelling the entire living room and my office which is kind of a pain - a BIG pain - because he's making me move all of my books out of his way and that is a monster job. I'm sure I'll be thrilled when he gets past the 2 bookshelves on my right and wants to move my desks and stuff too ... and then there are 2 more bookshelves - one which is huge and covers the entire wall which will all have to be cleared off and moved too. Yuck.

The panelling looks great though - except now I don't like the blinds we have any more - they are bamboo and they look dumb with the pine panelling. Seriously!

Read more...

Working Outside

I've pretty much made my deck my new office this week.... got everything set up just right - my laptop is on its stand on a chair in front of my chair; a table to the right for the mouse and my ashtray and drink (I'm drinking a lot of flavoured water these days) and another chair to the left has my stack of books and so on...

Scrooge spends most of the day out here with me, either lying on the deck, or wandering out to the other deck to sunbathe. There are hummingbirds too, that come to the feeder on and off all day, often sitting on the clothesline between dips into the feeder.

It would be nice to have the summer off and not have so many papers to write and so much work to do - but since THAT isn't happening, this is about the next best thing.

Read more...

Sulking

Ross was here for the weekend ....we spent Friday night at the house I'm staying at (single bed; not so comfortable when it's hot & muggy out but oh well) and then yesterday we went to visit a friend of his' cottage about an hour from here. It was very nice - even though we have our own waterfront, one tends to take that for granted ....I very much enjoyed just sitting out by the lake watching the chipmunks and loons and other assorted critters.

We came home today and after unloading my groceries and so on, went for a walk downtown - looking at student housing, mostly. Or at streets that would do if we could find a place on 'em. Me, I'd really rather buy - I hate to think of paying so much money to rent (for up to 4 years) and having to put up with other people's dumb rules. But Ross is leaning toward renting, at least so far.

Anyway .... we were going to sit outside on a restaurant patio and have something to eat, although neither of us was all that hungry, but shortly after we sat down the sky opened and that was the end of that plan. Decided to forego food and just head back. When we got here, Ross treated the house and tree for carpenter ants - they have a LOT of carpenter ants here - and then he left.

Which is, of course, why I'm sulking - I really hate that he left without me. I WANT TO GO HOME TOO!

Will still have tons of stuff to do once I get there ...but I will definitely be thrilled to get back to my own stuff. Only 5 more sleeps. *sigh*

And then I will get to stay home for 2 months and then I will have to come back to Peterborough.

And THAT, of course, is why I'm really sulking. As much as I want to do the phd thing...and as excited as I am about doing it here in Canadian Studies @ Trent - this whole moving/residency requirement thing is not working for me at all.

Maybe Ross was right and I should have applied further afield so that we would HAVE to just move - splitting our time between places just sucks - especially when one is home and one really isn't. And of course the WORST is when he doesn't come with me. I HATE it when we are apart. I like lots of time to myself - but not THIS much!

Read more...

Tay Township Trail ~Improvements~

I think that soon I am going to have to move my daily walk to the morning - it is just too hot to walk the Tay Township trail between my house and the post office any more. It really is too bad - the town took it over and have made a total hash of the whole thing.

Used to be that we walked the trail - hubby more than me - and there was shade. Not ALL the way - but most of it was lined with trees on both sides. It was gravel then - now they've paved it, cut down most of the trees that used to line it - which provided shade and made for a much more pleasant walk, as well. I would always prefer to look at trees - and birds - and other assorted critters - than at people's trailer homes and houses. I can't imagine that anyone wouldn't!

Not only that, but we used to be able to use the trail year round - now, since they've ~improved~ it, it is no longer usable in the winter. Because they used such a craptastic grade of pavement, they kicked the snowmobile clubs off of it, so there is nothing to pack the snow - which means that the only reasonable way one could use it is with snowshoes.

This season they've added a little park - picnic tables and a few benches - right where there USED to be a whole bunch of beautiful mature trees that would have - - - could have --- provided a lovely shady area for a park. Now it is all cleared - no shade whatsoever. If they had any sense at all they'd have left the damn trees - or now, since it's too late for that, at least put up a gazebo so that it would offer some relief from the sun. No such luck, of course.

*sigh* gotta love such ~improvements~

Read more...