From the category archives:

Life, the Universe and Everything

It’s been four days – is it time to call in The Unsellables yet?

1 September 2010 Life, the Universe and Everything

This whole house-selling thing? Is way too much work. Way, way too much work. I haven’t been this tired since there was a newborn in the house. I’d thought that getting the place up to standard would be the hard part, and that simply keeping it clean for the showings would be challenging but not [...]

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The great decluttering movement of 2010

30 August 2010 Life, the Universe and Everything

When we found the house in Manotick, we hadn’t been seriously looking for a place, and we had entertained only the briefest thoughts about selling our place. Mostly, the thoughts were along the lines of, “Man, if we were ever to have to sell this place, we’d have a crapload of work to do.” To [...]

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Our house, is a very very very fine house!

26 August 2010 Life, the Universe and Everything

It’s official!! Conditions have been waived and agreements have been signed — come hell or high water, we’re moving to Manotick a little more than 60 days from today!! Wanna see the new house? It’s beee-yooo-ti-ful! It’s a three-plus-two bedroom bungalow that was built in 1968, and it sits on about a half-acre of land [...]

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BuySellDeclutterUpdatePaintRenovate

23 August 2010 Life, the Universe and Everything

Phew, it’s been a crazy week. How crazy? I haven’t taken a picture in more than a week. Can you imagine? Truth be told, I’m not actually sure where my Nikon is right now. I think I saw it last on top of an empty bookshelf that belongs in the dining room but is propped [...]

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The great house adventure phase two – preparations

17 August 2010 Life, the Universe and Everything

In today’s episode of The Great House Adventure, our heroine is drunk on sleep deprivation from lying awake nights listening to rampaging thunderstorms and wondering if she’s not leading the family off a cliff with her home-buying impulses. Despite the sleep deprivation, I’m determined to stay relatively zen about this whole experience. It *will* all [...]

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On househunting (part one of many)

13 August 2010 Life in Ottawa

Those of you who follow me on twitter have already been privy to the angst, but I think I’ve exceeded the satisfaction that 140 characters worth of hand-wringing can afford me. So, we’ve officially started looking for a new home. Okay, I’ve officially started looking for a new home. Beloved watches the endeavour in the [...]

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The one with the earwigs

26 July 2010 Life, the Universe and Everything

I don’t know about where you live, but in my end of town it has been a crazy summer for earwigs. I have never seen so many of them! And while I am pretty much okay with the usual infestations of ants and even spiders — earwigs? *shudder* I’ve taken to banging my morning paper [...]

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The great escape

12 June 2010 Life, the Universe and Everything

It is a few minutes after six on Friday morning. I’ve just finished pouring myself my first cup of coffee of the day, and put said coffee on the side table in preparation for my favourite morning ritual — coffee and the morning paper. I open the front door, breathe deeply of the fresh early-summer [...]

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In the garden of benign neglect

9 June 2010 Life, the Universe and Everything

Did you ever read Stephen King’s Pet Semetary, where dead things mysteriously come back to life? Yeah, my garden is like that. When we moved in back in 2003, there were two trees — really, barely more than saplings — in the back yard. Not long after, one of them reverted to upright stick status [...]

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Sorting, organizing, backing things up

30 May 2010 Life, the Universe and Everything

I‘ve spent the best part of this afternoon getting my digital life in order. In fact, I’m dashing this off while the computer works hard in the background. Blog back-up, then reorganizing and backing up five years’ worth of photos. I just filled a 125 GB drive, and I’m not done yet — no room [...]

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