been a while

Well, it's been a while since I posted, and it's been a while since I've given you a "moving in" update. You'd think, "gee, well, they've been in Winnipeg since mid to late July, it should be done by now, right?" Well, it turns out that 3 months isn't quite as much time as we need...the house still needs some fixes and we need to get cracking on putting block heaters in our cars. Winter is coming! However, we're plugging along and every day things get a little more organized in our lives.

First, I'll point out that the professor spent nearly all day in the 3rd floor bathroom. He was doing plumbing fixes, and they appear to have worked. (fingers crossed!) This bathroom is functional, but, as seen from the doorway, it is small and under the eaves. The sink is to the left of the door. The toilet is to the right. The bathroom cabinet is now attached. The toilet appears not to cycle endlessly now. The clawfoot bathtub is now tilted properly so it drains and the bath tap seems to work better. This is a major achievement and I wish I could pay him what a plumber might earn for all this!

Several people have asked us what things look like now that the first floor of the house is set up. Well, here's the dining room, complete with weekend newspapers. We've definitely settled in here!

Our piano was badly damaged in the move to Winnipeg. (Things get damaged when you move, it's a fact of life. Buy moving insurance!) The front legs were broken off and there were some big scratches on it. It was a mess...and my parents bought this piano when I was six, it was important that it be fixed. It took months for the moving company to settle the claim. Then a very competent furniture restorer fixed it for us. It will be tuned in December, I've already set that up.
This photo is shot at about the doorway of our livingroom, the piano, bench, Canadian Production Wheel and other stuff is to the right of the doorway. About the 2 lone boxes under the bench--one is labelled "Knick knacks" and we obviously don't need that stuff urgently! The other box has sheet music in it and I need to figure out where that will go.

To the left of the doorway, we've set up the rest of the living room. The coffee table has about 4 different knitting projects on it; I've got a bit of startitis. (The fifth project is in my office.) Statistics? One is a commisssioned design, two are other people's patterns, and two are sock designs in varying stages of first sock completion. Schacht spinning wheel is in that left corner there, and Harry the dog was just passing through. The fireplace is not currently usable, but fixing that is on the "longterm" list. You can't see all the bookshelves in the living room in these photos, but rest assured, for the most part, they are now full of books.

From the living room, you can walk into the kitchen, which is fully in operation at this point. We had a guest over for dinner Friday night, and all went very smoothly. I made homemade challah, a beef tagine/stew with potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, ras el-hanout spice and a bit of fruit chutney and soy sauce to give it kick. Then a big salad and homemade chocolate raspberry mousse for dessert.

I left all the clutter in place--those who have been our houses in other places can recognize our stuff. :) Click on any of the photos to make them bigger! (I think I hid all the really messy bits...at least, I hope so.)


The kitchen leads back into the dining room. Note Harry the dog, modelling the kitchen for you. His food bowl is near there and it is getting close to dinner time. Dogs think if they can just get you into the right room, dinner magically happens... Harry, I promise, it will happen soon!

Thanks for coming on a tour of our first floor! Welcome!

Last night, we had only a few trick or treaters, although Halloween appears to be a big holiday here. The professor answered the door to a crowd of 10 at once (every kid on our block) with their parents. The neighbor parents came along and said thank you to us for moving in.

It's so nice to be welcomed home!