1 year ago
25 June 2008
California Wedding Bells
I don't know how long this link may be active, but I wanted to share this story of a colleague of mine, Kelly, and his partner, Tom, who were married in California recently. Nice story and some great snapshots. Go here!
24 June 2008
Hooray!
What a day! Eight years ago today we had our commitment ceremony in Minneapolis. Today we "celebrated" by going out to the lot in Douglas, NB and - finally - seeing this:
Yesterday it looked like this:
I can't tell you what a relief it was to see work begin!
We also met one of our immediate neighbors. He was very nice and, as always seems to be the case, didn't miss a beat when we introduced ourselves and our son. Cool. And, he and his wife have two girls, 2 and 6 years old. There are apparently a lot of kids on the street. Yea!
Then, after coming back downtown, we walked over to Service New Brunswick and got our drivers' licences. From there we strolled to the library and got our library cards. Then, we went and signed up for a cell phone family plan. Also, this morning I had called the guy who issues dog licences. He dropped by the house around 5 pm with his receipt book and jangle of tags. one more thing off the to-do list! Woo-hoo! I'd call this a successful day by any measure!
We also faxed the recall clearance letter and received a response in the same day. Now we can deal with the car inspection.
Onward and upward!
Yesterday it looked like this:
I can't tell you what a relief it was to see work begin!
We also met one of our immediate neighbors. He was very nice and, as always seems to be the case, didn't miss a beat when we introduced ourselves and our son. Cool. And, he and his wife have two girls, 2 and 6 years old. There are apparently a lot of kids on the street. Yea!
Then, after coming back downtown, we walked over to Service New Brunswick and got our drivers' licences. From there we strolled to the library and got our library cards. Then, we went and signed up for a cell phone family plan. Also, this morning I had called the guy who issues dog licences. He dropped by the house around 5 pm with his receipt book and jangle of tags. one more thing off the to-do list! Woo-hoo! I'd call this a successful day by any measure!
We also faxed the recall clearance letter and received a response in the same day. Now we can deal with the car inspection.
Onward and upward!
23 June 2008
Getting Settled
Well, we arrived a week ago this afternoon. I thought I'd try to take a few minutes to post an update. We are slowly getting settled in our temporary quarters, no small feat. It's a very small "cottage" that you can actually see here. It just struck me that I'm sitting here, posting with a wireless connection, in a home built over 100 years before I was born. Wow.
After getting the truck unloaded and returned to Maine, we tried to take care of a few things like applying for Medicare, visiting the bank, etc. We've joined the Co-Op, made a few visits to Canadian Tire, etc. We're going to let 7YO collect the Canadian Tire money and return bottles for the deposits. We received an email from RIV saying that they cannot locate recall information or some such so I think we're going to have to fax them the recall clearance letter. Tomorrow we should get our drivers' licences as we're supposed to do so within 10 days. I definitely think that the car is going to prove the biggest hassle of all.
As for the build, they were supposed to start clearing the lot today. Alas, it's now going to be tomorrow. The good news is that we can stay in these quarters as long as needed. It's costing us a pretty penny, but at least we won't be out on the street. I will feel a lot better when I see some actual movements up on the hill.
P and 7YO went to a local lake beach for a swim this afternoon. Me? As I write this I, again, have ice on my knee. There is a pool just a couple of blocks away, but it won't open until later this month.
A little more about our location - we are two blocks from the Farmers' Market, I think that's my favorite thing in Fredericton! We were there Saturday morning and bought eggs, lettuce, cheese, Montreal bagels, kettle corn... Once we're really settled in we will buy most of our meat and fish there, too. We're about two blocks, in another direction, from the river and walking/biking trail. P has been taking our lab-spaniel mix for a nice walk over the St. John each morning. Here is someone's site with a few great photos. 77YO was able to walk to church on Sunday and the library on Monday. We are really in an absolutely perfect location for our first summer and with a visitor who will not be driving when she's here.
Well, dinner is almost ready so I'll sign off. I'm really glad we're here, but I'll feel a bit more settled, I think, when my knee is better and the house is really started!
After getting the truck unloaded and returned to Maine, we tried to take care of a few things like applying for Medicare, visiting the bank, etc. We've joined the Co-Op, made a few visits to Canadian Tire, etc. We're going to let 7YO collect the Canadian Tire money and return bottles for the deposits. We received an email from RIV saying that they cannot locate recall information or some such so I think we're going to have to fax them the recall clearance letter. Tomorrow we should get our drivers' licences as we're supposed to do so within 10 days. I definitely think that the car is going to prove the biggest hassle of all.
As for the build, they were supposed to start clearing the lot today. Alas, it's now going to be tomorrow. The good news is that we can stay in these quarters as long as needed. It's costing us a pretty penny, but at least we won't be out on the street. I will feel a lot better when I see some actual movements up on the hill.
P and 7YO went to a local lake beach for a swim this afternoon. Me? As I write this I, again, have ice on my knee. There is a pool just a couple of blocks away, but it won't open until later this month.
A little more about our location - we are two blocks from the Farmers' Market, I think that's my favorite thing in Fredericton! We were there Saturday morning and bought eggs, lettuce, cheese, Montreal bagels, kettle corn... Once we're really settled in we will buy most of our meat and fish there, too. We're about two blocks, in another direction, from the river and walking/biking trail. P has been taking our lab-spaniel mix for a nice walk over the St. John each morning. Here is someone's site with a few great photos. 77YO was able to walk to church on Sunday and the library on Monday. We are really in an absolutely perfect location for our first summer and with a visitor who will not be driving when she's here.
Well, dinner is almost ready so I'll sign off. I'm really glad we're here, but I'll feel a bit more settled, I think, when my knee is better and the house is really started!
17 June 2008
MN to NB
I've been wanting to post an update, but have been absolutely swamped - literally and figuratively!
We started loading the truck on Wednesday evening, 6/11. Six friends helped and, except for their inclination to play "let's see how fast we can throw everything on the truck," it went fine. We couldn't have done it without them. But, we still spent twelve hours on Thursday, 6/12, packing the truck and cleaning the house. We ended up pulling out of Saint Paul at 5:30 pm.
We should have made it to Madison, WI, where we had a reservation, in about 4 hours. But, near Baraboo, WI we were in a single lane of traffic, literally stopped on I-90. It took us an hour to go four miles. Turned out that the right hand lane, farther up, was under water. It was bizarre to drive by with water on the middle lines in the interstate! So, we got to Exit 135 around 10:30 or so, in the rain, and stopped at the hotel. When we got up the next morning, I-90 was closed from Exit 135 north. So, if we had stopped a bit to the north, as we had once planned, we wouldn't have been able to continue south on the interstate. And, if we had left on Friday, same thing. But, we were headed south, so all was well. Well, so to speak. Rain, rain, and more rain. Here's a story about the closures.
On Friday morning, 6/13, we headed toward Chicago, but stopped in Elgin, IL to meet an old friend for breakfast. I was driving with 22' rental truck with my mother (77YO) while P drove our '98 Honda Civic with 7YO and our lab-spaniel mix. She was behind us a ways, but when she didn't show up I got concerned. Thank goodness for cell phones. She had missed the exit and was on her way to Schaumburg. They turned around and made it back to the restaurant where we had breakfast before continuing on our way. We arrived in Cleveland, OH around 9 pm where we were meeting another old friend and her fairly new husband for dinner. This would all have been uneventful... and faster - were it not for the torrential rains. Ugh! And I don't know who designed the highway in Cleveland, but... weird. There was a 90 degree turn with instructions for, I think, 35 mph in the middle of the interstate. But, we made it, had dinner, and traveled another 45 minutes to our hotel in Conneaut, OH, on the OH/PA border.
On Saturday, 6/14, we traveled through the Southern Tier of NY, visiting Wellsville. P has distant relatives there that she had never heard of, let alone met, so we planned a lunch visit. That was good because there were kids there and 7YO got to run around for a couple of hours. We then made a stop in Hornell, NY as I wanted to photograph the headstones of my great, great grandparents and great-grandparents. Alas, I couldn't locate them, there was no caretaker available, and I did my knees a grave injustice. The pun was not intended - I just noticed it on review. But, hey, I'm leaving it! On to Albany where we spent the night in the very worst Super 8 I've ever visited. Yuck! Oh, and in case you wondering, yes, it was still raining on and off.
On Sunday, 6/15, we took off for the greater Boston area, Newton to be specific. We were going to lunch with another old friend, her partner, and their 8 year old twins. Fortunately as I exited Route 9, with the intention of turning left on Chestnut Street I noticed the sign: 11' 8". Yikes! The truck requires 12'1" of clearance. Whew! After a minor detour we made it. 7YO was able to play with the boys and their Wii, their nerf dart gun, and otherwise have a blast. And, yes, our friend realized that 7YO had just played with his first, to our knowledge, "gun." Oh, well. From there we drove to Freeport, ME. After a short dinner and a quick visit to LL Bean - where 77YO bought more long sleeved shirts for the weather of an Atlantic Canada summer - we turned in, ready for the last day's drive. And, yes, there was still rain.
On Monday, 6/16, we slept in and took our time preparing for our departure. We stopped in Houlton, ME to fill up and then headed toward Customs. First, US Customs for the export of our vehicle. No problem. They had the materials we had sent via FedEx and the fact that P's last name on the title is not her current name wasn't an issue. Then, over the Canadian Customs. Again, no problem. The whole thing took about an hour, but some of that was the fact that there were four of us, a dog, and two vehicles. We were in!
We made a brief stop at the New Brunswick Visitor/Information Center, picked up some tourism literature for 77YO, got 7YO a Sprite, and headed toward Fredericton. And, yes, it was still raining. I thought we might make it the whole way, but having downed an entire Sprite, we had to make one more stop for 7YO.
We arrived in Fredericton around 5 pm. The fabulous fellow from whom we are renting for the summer had prepared a supper of ham, scalloped potatoes, and fiddleheads. After supper - it was overcast, but not raining! - we took my mother by our lot and showed her 7YO's school. Then, it was time for bed.
This morning we unloaded the truck into our storage space. Rather, our realtor, her husband, the fellow from whom we are renting, and his son unloaded the truck. We helped, but they were miracle workers. Compensated, but miracle workers nonetheless. We were drenched. Once we got everything into the space or in the car to bring back to the house, we picked up 7YO and 77YO and went to get lunch and run errands. And, yes, it was still raining.
I've been writing this with my legs up, both knees wrapped in ice. My shoulder is trashed. But, we're almost done. Tomorrow we have to return the truck to Maine. 7YO and 77YO are going to hang out here so that will be nice. P and I might even be able to have a quiet lunch in Bangor before heading back. After that it will be a matter of dealing with the car, the builder, etc. and hoping for a sunny day! I really can't believe we're finally here.
Oh, and P has an interview in July. She's one of two people they're bringing in to interview for a position that is basically her dream job. She's going to be beyond bummed if she doesn't get it, but we just keep saying that if that's the case it's meant to be.
Sorry for not being able to post from the road - they would have been more interesting - but the rain really slowed us down and days became much longer than they should have been. But, we're here!
We started loading the truck on Wednesday evening, 6/11. Six friends helped and, except for their inclination to play "let's see how fast we can throw everything on the truck," it went fine. We couldn't have done it without them. But, we still spent twelve hours on Thursday, 6/12, packing the truck and cleaning the house. We ended up pulling out of Saint Paul at 5:30 pm.
We should have made it to Madison, WI, where we had a reservation, in about 4 hours. But, near Baraboo, WI we were in a single lane of traffic, literally stopped on I-90. It took us an hour to go four miles. Turned out that the right hand lane, farther up, was under water. It was bizarre to drive by with water on the middle lines in the interstate! So, we got to Exit 135 around 10:30 or so, in the rain, and stopped at the hotel. When we got up the next morning, I-90 was closed from Exit 135 north. So, if we had stopped a bit to the north, as we had once planned, we wouldn't have been able to continue south on the interstate. And, if we had left on Friday, same thing. But, we were headed south, so all was well. Well, so to speak. Rain, rain, and more rain. Here's a story about the closures.
On Friday morning, 6/13, we headed toward Chicago, but stopped in Elgin, IL to meet an old friend for breakfast. I was driving with 22' rental truck with my mother (77YO) while P drove our '98 Honda Civic with 7YO and our lab-spaniel mix. She was behind us a ways, but when she didn't show up I got concerned. Thank goodness for cell phones. She had missed the exit and was on her way to Schaumburg. They turned around and made it back to the restaurant where we had breakfast before continuing on our way. We arrived in Cleveland, OH around 9 pm where we were meeting another old friend and her fairly new husband for dinner. This would all have been uneventful... and faster - were it not for the torrential rains. Ugh! And I don't know who designed the highway in Cleveland, but... weird. There was a 90 degree turn with instructions for, I think, 35 mph in the middle of the interstate. But, we made it, had dinner, and traveled another 45 minutes to our hotel in Conneaut, OH, on the OH/PA border.
On Saturday, 6/14, we traveled through the Southern Tier of NY, visiting Wellsville. P has distant relatives there that she had never heard of, let alone met, so we planned a lunch visit. That was good because there were kids there and 7YO got to run around for a couple of hours. We then made a stop in Hornell, NY as I wanted to photograph the headstones of my great, great grandparents and great-grandparents. Alas, I couldn't locate them, there was no caretaker available, and I did my knees a grave injustice. The pun was not intended - I just noticed it on review. But, hey, I'm leaving it! On to Albany where we spent the night in the very worst Super 8 I've ever visited. Yuck! Oh, and in case you wondering, yes, it was still raining on and off.
On Sunday, 6/15, we took off for the greater Boston area, Newton to be specific. We were going to lunch with another old friend, her partner, and their 8 year old twins. Fortunately as I exited Route 9, with the intention of turning left on Chestnut Street I noticed the sign: 11' 8". Yikes! The truck requires 12'1" of clearance. Whew! After a minor detour we made it. 7YO was able to play with the boys and their Wii, their nerf dart gun, and otherwise have a blast. And, yes, our friend realized that 7YO had just played with his first, to our knowledge, "gun." Oh, well. From there we drove to Freeport, ME. After a short dinner and a quick visit to LL Bean - where 77YO bought more long sleeved shirts for the weather of an Atlantic Canada summer - we turned in, ready for the last day's drive. And, yes, there was still rain.
On Monday, 6/16, we slept in and took our time preparing for our departure. We stopped in Houlton, ME to fill up and then headed toward Customs. First, US Customs for the export of our vehicle. No problem. They had the materials we had sent via FedEx and the fact that P's last name on the title is not her current name wasn't an issue. Then, over the Canadian Customs. Again, no problem. The whole thing took about an hour, but some of that was the fact that there were four of us, a dog, and two vehicles. We were in!
We made a brief stop at the New Brunswick Visitor/Information Center, picked up some tourism literature for 77YO, got 7YO a Sprite, and headed toward Fredericton. And, yes, it was still raining. I thought we might make it the whole way, but having downed an entire Sprite, we had to make one more stop for 7YO.
We arrived in Fredericton around 5 pm. The fabulous fellow from whom we are renting for the summer had prepared a supper of ham, scalloped potatoes, and fiddleheads. After supper - it was overcast, but not raining! - we took my mother by our lot and showed her 7YO's school. Then, it was time for bed.
This morning we unloaded the truck into our storage space. Rather, our realtor, her husband, the fellow from whom we are renting, and his son unloaded the truck. We helped, but they were miracle workers. Compensated, but miracle workers nonetheless. We were drenched. Once we got everything into the space or in the car to bring back to the house, we picked up 7YO and 77YO and went to get lunch and run errands. And, yes, it was still raining.
I've been writing this with my legs up, both knees wrapped in ice. My shoulder is trashed. But, we're almost done. Tomorrow we have to return the truck to Maine. 7YO and 77YO are going to hang out here so that will be nice. P and I might even be able to have a quiet lunch in Bangor before heading back. After that it will be a matter of dealing with the car, the builder, etc. and hoping for a sunny day! I really can't believe we're finally here.
Oh, and P has an interview in July. She's one of two people they're bringing in to interview for a position that is basically her dream job. She's going to be beyond bummed if she doesn't get it, but we just keep saying that if that's the case it's meant to be.
Sorry for not being able to post from the road - they would have been more interesting - but the rain really slowed us down and days became much longer than they should have been. But, we're here!
14 June 2008
All is well...
Just a quick note to say that we're fine. Hope to post details soon. In brief - rain, rain, and more rain. But, we're doing okay. On to New York... thanks for the good thoughts that I know are with us on this (grueling) trek!
10 June 2008
ETD 36 hours+
I can't believe I haven't had time to post. Chalk it up to packing, head/chest cold, packing, bum knees, packing, house guest, packing, house guest's Great Dane, packing, house guest's small dog, packing, mom's arrival, packing, bum shoulder, packing... You get the idea. I've tried to glance at others' blogs, but no time to actually think so that I can write.
We're scheduled to pick up the truck tomorrow afternoon and load some tomorrow evening, some Thursday morning, and drive just four hours Thursday afternoon/evening to get on the road. Looking around I don't know how it will happen. I know that it will, but I'm not sure how. I can barely walk up or down stairs. That has really slowed things down.
Oh, well. I'm hoping to post from the road. I should have more time then than I've had here!
We're scheduled to pick up the truck tomorrow afternoon and load some tomorrow evening, some Thursday morning, and drive just four hours Thursday afternoon/evening to get on the road. Looking around I don't know how it will happen. I know that it will, but I'm not sure how. I can barely walk up or down stairs. That has really slowed things down.
Oh, well. I'm hoping to post from the road. I should have more time then than I've had here!
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