Packing and Moving

We're in the process of settling down in the new house. Moving was quite an experience. Between one guy smelling of alcohol, one smelling of cigarettes, one 60 year old with earphones on, and one who couldn't speak English - we managed to get almost everything moved. Only problem was - we weren't quite ready for them. I figured that in the three hours they move boxes to the truck, I'll have enough time to pack the bedroom stuff (clothes, bathrooms). In the usual twist of events, the movers decided to start with the bedroom!

My husband's solution - lay out a bedsheet on the floor, and throw all the clothes on it. Then when they tilted the closets and suggested that we dust the top off, my husband decided it was a smart idea to dust it all off on the clothes that were laying on the floor. I could have killed him!

After three hours of loading boxes and furniture on two trucks, we drove off to the new house. One of the closets we have needed some extra care, because the movers alerted us that there's a 15% chance it won't make it. I wasn't overly worried about it and told them to go ahead and take it. It came off the truck fine, they made it around the corner perfect, they put it down on the floor in our bedroom just the way I wanted, and then my husband says, "we need to shift it an inch to the left" as he grabs it with both his arms, and kicks the bottom part in order to move it to the left. Sure enough, that's when it breaks! Not knowing whether to laugh or cry I berated him - "you couldn't wait for someone ELSE to do it?!?!"

My coworker told me two days before the move that I should probably put up the bed first, put the bedsheets on, because I'll be relieved by the end of the day that I have the bed made. I told her it's a brilliant idea. Only problem was ...my husband.

The movers finished offloading all the boxes and furniture, and just as they left with the truck, my husband looks at me and says, "Ummm...I forgot the wrench and mattress pump in the other house!" I swear to dog, killing my husband has gone through my mind a dozen times that day.

So off we take our dog in the car, drive back an hour, to pick up the wrench and pump and head back. By the time the bed was made it was midnight. The following day was even more exhausting as we drove back to the old house to finish packing all the clothes we left on the floor, and miscelleanous items. To be exact - 30 boxes worth!

Positive outcome - we threw away 25 large bags of trash from this move. And we have a car load of stuff to give to charity. So that's good news.

Then by sheer fate, the day after we moved - a snow storm hit us. So today I couldn't go to work. I tried. I really did. My car made it as far as twenty yards from the house, before I had to call my husband to get back home and pull me back into the driveway. Darn Hybrids! They're so freaking light that they have no traction whatsoever.

We're slowly getting to know the neighbourhood and the places to eat. I LOVE this place!!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! And MP - thanks for calling to wish me a Happy Valentine's. You made my day, "sweetheart"!

Into the Unknown

Tomorrow is Moving Day! I've decided to take the day off today so I can finish packing, because right now we're no where near ready. I'm excited about the move, but a bit anxious about it, too. There's a lot of things we need to do around the house construction-wise to make it look the way we want, and we'll be living in temporary setup until we sell our current house.

At least this will reduce my commute from 70 minutes to 10 minutes, so I'll have an extra two hours a day to figure it out.

Our dog is already stressed by seeing us packing for the past couple of weeks. He thinks we're going to leave him behind. I think he's going to be really traumatized when he realises his parents are splitting.

Yup, my husband and I decided to split.

I take the dog to the new house, and my husband gets one sofa and a blanket to stay in the old house. Until he freaking finishes fixing the house so we can sell it! I'm taking away the computer, TV, and books. I'm considering taking away his credit cards, too, so he doesn't find other ways to entertain himself. But hopefully, as long as I keep the dog hostage it will be an incentive for him to finish the house.

This will also give me the opprotunity to set up the new house the way that I want to.

Beit Halochem

The drawings I've uploaded in the past couple of months, were drawn by my father as part of his participation in an art class given at Beit Halochem, Haifa. The exhibit with his paintings has come to a close, and with it a letter has arrived at my parents' house. The letter notified my dad that three of his paintings have been selected to represent the Haifa center in a nationwide art exhibit that will be presented in the Tel Aviv center of Bet Halochem.

The drawing above is comprised of photos interlayed within the drawing. You'll notice our favourite painter - Dali, proudly displayed, and in the background is the Haifa center of Beit Halochem.

Beit Halochem takes care of all of Israel's disabled veterans. I can't say enough good things about it. I contribute to them regularly. Read their website to understand what they do (warning: some of the images of wounded soldiers are a bit graphic).

Happy Birthday to me

The drawing above is sort of a "collaboration" between my dad and I. This was his birthday present for me a year ago, for my birthday. After my mom found my old drawings, he gathered them into one painting.

In continuation to my post below, I bring to you my collection of cat drawings.

When I was 13 years old I spent an entire year drawing cats. Miniature drawings of cats. All the drawings you see above are on small pieces of paper ranging from two square inches to four by two inches. I'd go outside in the neighbourhood and observe cats, as I tried to catch them in a drawing before they moved.

My art teacher challenged me to draw them in different styles. I was obssessed with drawing cats for that entire year, and my teacher encouraged me. He'd enter the class and tell everyone, "Today we are going to draw this bottle I brought from home..." then he'd turn to me and say, "And YOU can draw what you want!" Everyone hated me for this special treatment. I loved this teacher. He was old and close to retirement, and he was one of two teachers that I absolutely adored because of the strength they gave to my self-esteem.

I've been fortunate enough to have visited my art teacher last year and admire his latest works of art as he was turning blind. I'll post them some other day. My parents actually own two of his paintings.

Cats are the easiest animal to draw. They sit still for hours. I miss that year. I miss the imagination I had as a young child.

I don't want to grow up!

Collections

My dad has multiple hobbies, various collections, lot of material things. I'm a lot like my dad. My brother on the other hand is the opposite - he can't understand what we find in material things. I tried to explain it to him, but I know it's uselss. He comes from the camp of - if it takes space - throw it!

One of the nicest collections my dad has is of turtles. No one knows how he started it, and it's only been ten years he's been at it. But he has a substantial collection now that I love looking at. Turtles are house pets in Israel. Like cats. When I say house pets, it's not like in the US, where they are inside the house. The cats and turtles are outside - all the time. But they typically remain close to one house, since the owners of the house will feed them regularly. They are free to roam where they wish. No one is holding on to them. No collar. No leash. You'd see dogs with a collar, but not on a leash.

Israel is well known for being very pet friendly. What I mean is - pets are allowed to roam around outside the houses without leashes. The way animals SHOULD be! Of course it means you need to learn fairly quickly how to sidestep road blocks and land-mines, but for the pleasure of seeing animals - most people tolerate it.

When we have severe hot weather the radio and tv stations call out on everyone to remember to place a bowl of water outside for the pets. So even if you don't own one, you may put a bowl out so the dogs and cats don't die of dehydration.

The pet I missed the most in Israel is actually not the dog, nor the cat, nor the turtle - but the porcupine. I grew up chasing porcupines in our yard. They are the cutest of the bunch. I used to love to pick them up. You have to know how to do it. You learn to smooth your hand in the right direction so you don't get stabbed. They had the most adorable face.

Today I read some very sad news, that apparently the Israeli hedgehog was growing extinct. It's a darn shame! I mean, com'n - isn't this the cutest thing?

Meanwhile, the turtles seem to be multiplying in my brother's yard, where every vacation there are another three added to the yard.

I'm surprised they live so well together with the cats, but apparently, the cats are just annoyed with the turtles when they eat their food. Otherwise, they're just curious about these odd hard shelled creatures, which apparently don't get scared when pounced on.

Celebrating a special week

This week felt like an entire month. We signed the settlement on the new house on Wednesday and so far we have over a dozen boxes and all our paintings sitting in the new house waiting for the official move date.

The settlement signing ceremony was painless and even a pleasure to go through. The sellers turned out to be a wonderful couple, and we clicked right away. After the signing, we all decided to go out and celebrate at a local bar/restuarant and had a fantastic time! So fantastic that my husband even said to them that he wished they didn't have to move away. We also extended an invitation for them to come stay at their home/our home whenever they come up to visit.

In the evening we decided to go out and celebrate again. We thought about going to McDonald's since we can no longer afford anything expensive, but at the last minute changed our minds. The first restaurant we wanted to go to, was closed for business, so I came up with a suggestion of another restaurant we've never been to. The experience there was horrendous. The menu was poor in selection, the steak wasn't done properly (TWICE), and the overall experience was bad. This was definitely an appropriate ending to our living in this city - "yet another reason to move!"

The day after we signed the settlement I submitted my resume to another company, and two days later I applied for a federal job. If anything comes out of these applications I'd be shocked, considering I had too much going on all at once and my mind wasn't on putting 100% of it into my future.

Meanwhile, the packing activities at the house are becoming more painfull as we realise we no longer have available space to put more boxes. It's tough as is to walk around the house.

I did succeed in copying several VHS tapes to my computer (and later to a DVD), so I'm very proud of myself for it. That ought to save a huge amount of space (two shelves worth of VHS tapes we can throw away now).

I found some treasures hidden in my piles of junk, and started an e-bay account. Sold my first item and shipped it yesterday. Even earned $25 above the low bid amount I put on it. The alternative was to throw it to the trash. So I'm glad that went so well. Now if only I could sell all the books I put out for sale. I could actually gain quite a bit out of this business venture.

This morning I found a $100 bill hidden well into piles and piles of junk I was in the midst of throwing away. I am so glad I actually go through each piece of paper before trashing it. But for the sake of luck, I'm not going to use this bill and will hide it in another place where it'll be a surprise next time I move.

Now, if only I could find out how to my black ink cartridges, since I seem to have five of those, but none of the color cartridges. I could really use a colour cartridge right about now as I try to print the change of address postcards.