Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Moving out of Tuscarora....
Wow, what a big job moving house is! I know its one of those things that they list in the top ten stress-inducing life events, and despite all of our arrangements going as smoothly as I think they could have gone, it was still a big task. I think we won't be taking that one on for another wee while.
So, just as a quick refresher, the arrangements were:
- packers come to Tuscarora on 22nd June - pack up all our stuff.
- movers come to Tuscarora on 23rd June - put packed stuff into big lorry.
- movers drive big lorry to somewhere for the weekend.
- P and J clean like demons in Tuscarora over the weekend.
- rental agency representative inspects Tuscarora on 26th June.
- P and J drive two vehicles (Jeep and Honda) to Edmonton.
- P and J pick up keys to new house and clean new house like demons.
- movers bring Calgary stuff on 28th June.
- P and J decide where to put the stuff.
- movers bring Carrick stuff on 4th July.
- P and J decide where to put the stuff....
So, that all seems very straightforward, doesn't it?
Of course, when you send all your furntiture off in a big lorry, you need some gear to survive over the weekend. Well, here is the survival kit...
Needless to say, a certain person could't survive the weekend without the all important mac, and here it is, complete with mouse mat depicting various scenes of one of the most famous nights in Northern Ireland football history. For the uninitiated, that would be the 7th September 2005 when Healy scored against England in the 74th minute at Windsor Park (we also own a fridge magnet lest we forget - thanks, Roy!!).
Anyway, we're kind of getting off topic here. The other elements of the weekend survival kit are the blow up bed (complete with stuffed animals)...
and two camp chairs and a little TV so we don't miss a minute of the all important 2006 FIFA World Cup...
Everything else was dismantled and the house descended into chaos just before the packing crew came. Here's the back bedroom...
And here's the kitchen...
Funnily enough, things seemed so much better after the packers had been and done their thing. Everything was expertly boxed, including the contents of the wardrobes, which just go into tall boxes with hanging rails. The big chest of drawers was moved 'as is', desptie my fears that our construction of the Ikea drawers would result in pants and socks cascading everywhere as the thing fell apart (it didn't!).
Even the living room started to look better (if a bit minimalist) when it was boxed up...
So, the men came on Friday and loaded everything into a very large orange lorry...
And off they went. I don't actually know where they went with all our stuff, but they went.
That evening, we were invited out to Rouge, a very nice restaurant in Calgary, by J's boss. Just before we set off, we had the most horrendous hailstorm that we've seen for a while, and the street was white in seconds of it starting. This is a pile of ice pellets just under a drainpipe next door.
Fortunately, it seemed to clear and we set off to the south side of downtown, thinking we were in plenty of time. However, we managed to drive back into the hail, and this is what 9th Avenue (SW) looked like as we were trying to drive along - unfortunately the air/ventilation system on the Jeep isn't as efficient as it might be, so its a bit steamed up... but at one stage, the road was so white that you could't see the lane markings. People with nice cars were pulling in under +15 walkways in an effort to protect their car paintwork, but we ploughed on (actually managing to get our paintwork even more dinged than it was already).
Anyway, we made it and had a lovely meal with some of the surgical staff and the fellows who were leaving.
Next morning, the work started in earnest. J brushed the basement vigorously enough to raise a dust cloud...
And I brushed outside ....
And the Roomba brushed in the bonus room...
And we all worked and worked until the whole place was just like a new pin....
That all worked out beautifully, and by the time the inspection came round on Monday morning, we got full marks and our full deposit back - yo!
So about 9am, we were free to drive the two vehicles to Edmonton. You've seen the Honda in the last blog, all loaded up with potatoes, and here is J's vehicle, also with a couple of potatoes...
Hhhmmm... the more observant of you will notice that this car is white - not red... and indeed, it isn't a Jeep is it? No, its actually a Ford Freestar... what's going on here?
Well, the Jeep had a little problem on the Friday before we were due to move. We'd had the radiator replaced about a month ago in order to fix a persistent (but small) leak of engine coolant. The leak wasn't terrible, but it did require constant monitoring of the coolant level, and it did result in a stain on the garage floor. However, the coolant fill ups were getting a little more regular, so we bit the bullet and got the radiator replaced. All was fine and well, until Friday night when puddles of coolant started to appear on the garage floor, and when the car was running, there was a persistent drip.
We hmmmed and hahed, and next morning, we had an even bigger puddle on the floor. J phoned the garage guy, who luckily enough was at work on Saturday morning, and we got three different possibilities:
1. leaking radiator hose - cheap and quick to fix
2. busted water pump - not cheap and quick to fix, but do-able
3. busted cylinder head gasket - car is toast....
It turned out that the old radiator with the hole meant that the whole coolant system was running at a lower pressure than normal. So when we got a hole-less radiator, the system starting operaing at normal pressure, which was just too much for the ageing water pump to bear. Therefore, the car had to stay in Calgary to get a new water pump, and we had to rent a vehicle to get out remaining stuff to Edmonton.
J then had to return to Calgary, and drive the repaired Jeep back up the road. Unfortunately, the poor auld Jeep turns out not to have a functioning air conditioning system, and unfortunately, the drive back took place on one of the hottest days of the year so far, and unfortuntately, poor J was rather stewed when he got back - it might just be time to start thinking about getting a new car.....
Bye Bye Mountains and Tuscarora....
So, just as a quick refresher, the arrangements were:
- packers come to Tuscarora on 22nd June - pack up all our stuff.
- movers come to Tuscarora on 23rd June - put packed stuff into big lorry.
- movers drive big lorry to somewhere for the weekend.
- P and J clean like demons in Tuscarora over the weekend.
- rental agency representative inspects Tuscarora on 26th June.
- P and J drive two vehicles (Jeep and Honda) to Edmonton.
- P and J pick up keys to new house and clean new house like demons.
- movers bring Calgary stuff on 28th June.
- P and J decide where to put the stuff.
- movers bring Carrick stuff on 4th July.
- P and J decide where to put the stuff....
So, that all seems very straightforward, doesn't it?
Of course, when you send all your furntiture off in a big lorry, you need some gear to survive over the weekend. Well, here is the survival kit...
Needless to say, a certain person could't survive the weekend without the all important mac, and here it is, complete with mouse mat depicting various scenes of one of the most famous nights in Northern Ireland football history. For the uninitiated, that would be the 7th September 2005 when Healy scored against England in the 74th minute at Windsor Park (we also own a fridge magnet lest we forget - thanks, Roy!!).
Anyway, we're kind of getting off topic here. The other elements of the weekend survival kit are the blow up bed (complete with stuffed animals)...
and two camp chairs and a little TV so we don't miss a minute of the all important 2006 FIFA World Cup...
Everything else was dismantled and the house descended into chaos just before the packing crew came. Here's the back bedroom...
And here's the kitchen...
Funnily enough, things seemed so much better after the packers had been and done their thing. Everything was expertly boxed, including the contents of the wardrobes, which just go into tall boxes with hanging rails. The big chest of drawers was moved 'as is', desptie my fears that our construction of the Ikea drawers would result in pants and socks cascading everywhere as the thing fell apart (it didn't!).
Even the living room started to look better (if a bit minimalist) when it was boxed up...
So, the men came on Friday and loaded everything into a very large orange lorry...
And off they went. I don't actually know where they went with all our stuff, but they went.
That evening, we were invited out to Rouge, a very nice restaurant in Calgary, by J's boss. Just before we set off, we had the most horrendous hailstorm that we've seen for a while, and the street was white in seconds of it starting. This is a pile of ice pellets just under a drainpipe next door.
Fortunately, it seemed to clear and we set off to the south side of downtown, thinking we were in plenty of time. However, we managed to drive back into the hail, and this is what 9th Avenue (SW) looked like as we were trying to drive along - unfortunately the air/ventilation system on the Jeep isn't as efficient as it might be, so its a bit steamed up... but at one stage, the road was so white that you could't see the lane markings. People with nice cars were pulling in under +15 walkways in an effort to protect their car paintwork, but we ploughed on (actually managing to get our paintwork even more dinged than it was already).
Anyway, we made it and had a lovely meal with some of the surgical staff and the fellows who were leaving.
Next morning, the work started in earnest. J brushed the basement vigorously enough to raise a dust cloud...
And I brushed outside ....
And the Roomba brushed in the bonus room...
And we all worked and worked until the whole place was just like a new pin....
That all worked out beautifully, and by the time the inspection came round on Monday morning, we got full marks and our full deposit back - yo!
So about 9am, we were free to drive the two vehicles to Edmonton. You've seen the Honda in the last blog, all loaded up with potatoes, and here is J's vehicle, also with a couple of potatoes...
Hhhmmm... the more observant of you will notice that this car is white - not red... and indeed, it isn't a Jeep is it? No, its actually a Ford Freestar... what's going on here?
Well, the Jeep had a little problem on the Friday before we were due to move. We'd had the radiator replaced about a month ago in order to fix a persistent (but small) leak of engine coolant. The leak wasn't terrible, but it did require constant monitoring of the coolant level, and it did result in a stain on the garage floor. However, the coolant fill ups were getting a little more regular, so we bit the bullet and got the radiator replaced. All was fine and well, until Friday night when puddles of coolant started to appear on the garage floor, and when the car was running, there was a persistent drip.
We hmmmed and hahed, and next morning, we had an even bigger puddle on the floor. J phoned the garage guy, who luckily enough was at work on Saturday morning, and we got three different possibilities:
1. leaking radiator hose - cheap and quick to fix
2. busted water pump - not cheap and quick to fix, but do-able
3. busted cylinder head gasket - car is toast....
It turned out that the old radiator with the hole meant that the whole coolant system was running at a lower pressure than normal. So when we got a hole-less radiator, the system starting operaing at normal pressure, which was just too much for the ageing water pump to bear. Therefore, the car had to stay in Calgary to get a new water pump, and we had to rent a vehicle to get out remaining stuff to Edmonton.
J then had to return to Calgary, and drive the repaired Jeep back up the road. Unfortunately, the poor auld Jeep turns out not to have a functioning air conditioning system, and unfortunately, the drive back took place on one of the hottest days of the year so far, and unfortuntately, poor J was rather stewed when he got back - it might just be time to start thinking about getting a new car.....
Bye Bye Mountains and Tuscarora....
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