Monday, December 27, 2010

on moving...

Oh, don't worry Dad - I'm not talking about moving homes!

We've been here exactly five years and three days. Wow! That is the longest I've ever lived anywhere. This is my fortieth home. Yep, you heard me right. My fortieth. Yikes.

But that's not what I'm talking about. Or maybe I am - I'm talking about moving my office back into the room where it was when we built this home. Felix is moving upstairs to step-son's old room as he has decided to stay at his mom's for his last year before school. Actually Felix moved up there yesterday giving, indeed, another reason to call Dec. 26th Boxing Day! I wanted it done as much as possible yesterday as this week is going to be plenty busy and yesterday we only had to read new books and eat turkey sandwiches - hurrah!
So we moved stuff out of his new room to throw away or put in storage - yes there was lego involved - there is always lego in my life - I don't believe I've ever lived lego-free since I was twenty. We moved his stuff upstairs and cleaned out his old room, my old office- on the main floor. We didn't need to move beds or chests of drawers but we did move his desk as we threw out the ramshackle one my step-son had up there. I got all asthmatic but I'm fine now. When I went to bed last night I slept for 12 hours. Man, I was beat. I had hilarious and gorgeous dreams though. I dreamt that I went for a winter dip in the ocean wearing my mother's old ball gown. Very Fellini of me!
Today, after I spend some time fooling around on line with ya all, I'm going to take my computer upstairs and then clean and move my desk. We have to take it out the back door down here, up the hill and in the front door if we don't want to take it apart. And we don't.
I'll move some of the books and junk up there too but I'm going to try and keep it a bit more tamed than it was. Then we'll keep the bed in there for visitors or people who need to sleep because their husbands snore their damn heads off. Just saying.
It hasn't been bad sharing this space - I've gotten a fair bit of work done but it will be good to be able to close the door and work when I want to. And moving is good. I can say that with some experience behind my words. It is good because it causes you to evaluate the junk you keep when you have to hoick it to a new country, province, city, block or even just upstairs. I know it'll be good for me to look at the projects I've got planned for the new year (thanks tartlette!) and see how my work space can best accomplish that.
Oh and I'll be able to go back to practising my accordion! Behind closed doors for now.

16 comments:

Elspeth Futcher said...

I think I'm finally lego-free, after more than 2 decades. Maybe. If I find more skulking in corners of the basement, I won't be surprised. Ah, there's nothing like the sweet stab of agony from stepping onto lego with your bare feet.

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Lego-free! Why would you want to be lego free? All legos in my house are mine, mine I say. I love my legos.
Seriously, I find them relaxing.
Best in the New Year, Jan, in your "new" surroundings.

Anonymous said...

Jan - I agree with Mary - Legos are great!! Your thoughts about moving your office are quite similar to mine about some changes we've been making in our home lately. We've moved some things around in the dining and living rooms, and we had painters come and do us an accent wall. It's amazing, isn't it, how just a few little changes can make a place seem new. When you move things, though, I think you move memories, too, and that always leads (well, for me, anyway) to nostalgia (or the opposite for things I'm not happy to remember).

Jan Morrison said...

Hi Elspeth, Mary and Margot! this is the first missive from back in the old office. Hurrah! The sweet patootie just hooked me up. I still have lots to move - files, books etc...but I'm soooooooooo happy. For the last four months everytime I had to find something I thought it was in this room - because this was where I kept my bazillion projects and all their assorted tools. I have also just located a daybed to go where this was downstairs - yippeee!
As to lego - hmmm...I remember a friend of mine who absent-mindedly or not vacuumed up some lego while her husband stared on aghast. It led to a wild fight. Don't get me wrong - I love lego. I am just SICK of being responsible for the kind that belongs to grown-ups or near grown-ups - the kind you can't throw away or that'll be the subject that gets discussed forever in therapy. Believe me when I tell you I KNOW this. ha.

Carol Kilgore said...

40! You have me beat. My total, so far, is 26. Plus or minus a couple, as I might have lost count when the dogs barked at the postman.

Jan Morrison said...

hi Carol - yep, I know the feeling - I was thinking of writing them down and I may do so...but later. If I did it by area then it would be easier to count.
As in
Alberta - 2 (Medicine Hat, Edmonton)
Manitoba- 1 (Rivers)
Colorado - 1 (Colorado Springs)
British Columbia - 1 (Zeballos)
Ontario:
Osgoode - 1
Merivale Park - 1
Ottawa - 9
Oakville - 1

Nova Scotia -
Duncan's Cove - 3
Chester Basin - 2
Chester - 7
Halifax - 9
Prospect Bay - 2
Whew! - I was right...

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

When I repainted my office, I moved a lot of stuff - and threw out some junk. It was very therapeutic!

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

And I thought I moved a lot! Hope you get settled into your new old office space quickly so the creative juices can flow freely.

Jemi Fraser said...

Wow - do I feel like a homebody! I've only lived in 4 different homes...and they're all in the same city! :)

Unknown said...

That's such an amazing photo of you with your dog. My son wants to learn to play the accordion. Hope you have a great room-move.
CD

Helen Ginger said...

At least once a year my office gets cleaned. Whenever we have guests or my daughter comes home, like on Christmas, I move everything upstairs and we fold out the couch, add a mattress, and it becomes the guest room.

Love the accordion! I am proud to say I took two lessons when I wad very young. Woo-woo!

Talli Roland said...

You play the accordian? Fantastic! Hope the moving went well!

Talli Roland said...

You play the accordian? Fantastic! Hope the moving went well!

RosieC said...

I'm a mover, too. I was disappointed when I sound myself living some place more than 5 years. Granted, it was only 6 that I was there, and that's the longest I've ever lived anywhere. And now we're in our 6th years in this town (well, but it's our second apartment, so I guess it's 5), and I can't wait to move. It's house 13, too--maybe that's why we have a mold problem...

Good luck with the moving. It'll be nice to get your office back. And enjoy your accordion time :)

Patricia Stoltey said...

The photo with you dog watching you practice the accordion is priceless. Made me smile (and sort of wish I had a dog).

Glynis said...

So you have a snoring husband too. I end up on the sofa in the living room. We have a guest bedroom but the cats aren't allowed in there so if I went in there and closed the door, they'd be scratching at it forever.

I share my computer space with my husband. Sometimes I like it. Sometimes I don't.

Happy New Year, Jan!