If you are not familiar with Twitter, the subject of this post is what is called a hashtag. Twitter users can make anything they want into a hashtag which makes searching easier. If you search on Twitter for #purgemode, you'll see a bunch of tweets from me and a few from my friend Candice, also known as @felyn on Twitter. She lives in Port aux Basques, NL, and is a lighthouse radio operator. I don't recall how we found each other but I'm sure the friendship has lasted over a year. She is a scream to follow, and I think he is a younger, more adventerous and (dare I say) affluent version of me. The whereabouts of her pants are a frequent topic of conversation.
O gosh, I digressed even before I got into this post!
Today another round of stuff left the house. I didn't take pictures this time, mostly because the stuff that was going has little sentimental value. Except for a few of the houseplants. Dang. There were a few houseplants that had stories, like the kalanchoe that Dave & Charlene gave me for my birthday (was it last year? The year before?). We really liked Phil, the philodendron. We were sad to see him go, and have decided we will get a new Phil as soon as we can. There were the pepper plants that Toni gave me last year are presently bearing their second round of red peppers. Well, I might get a photo of these plants before I leave this place. But it all went to a good home: Kat & Kirsten.
Over the years, my friends Toni & the Skipper have given me tons of things. When I moved in with Dan, they were moving and getting new furniture, etc, so I got a lot of hand-me-downs from them:
1988 Toyota Tercel
fabulous spice rack that the Skipper built himself
hide-a-bed
table
foot stool
leather stuffed recliner
towels
table & chair set
and I'm sure there is more I'm missing but I'm tired & can't think just now. But basically they outfitted me with a houseful and means of transportation.
When they gave us the Tercel, I was only a few months into my relationship with Dan (though were had been engaged already). We weren't entirely sure what we'd do with the car, but we agreed to take it. It was a good thing too, because on the way back from our first big trip together, to Alberta to visit my sister, the van's tranmission went. We drove the Tercel all winter until Dan could fix the van.
The van. For those of you who know the van, this is a sad story. We have to let it go. It was badly injured on our honeymoon in the fall of 2009, and even though Dan could and wanted to repair it, he was short one TIG welder to be able to do it. He had spent three months of evenings and weekends making the van into a super camping vehicle, and now we have to say goodbye. It's terribly sad, for Dan's parents bought it new in 1986; Dan learned to drive in this van. And it's so much fun to drive! But in its current state, it would never make it across the border. We grieve.
I am loving this purging process, though. I've been wanting to do it for a while, needed only a reason. This is the best possible reason: moving across the border. I have figured out that I can fit 18 Rubbermaid bins into the back of the F150, make it 16 if I get a big kennel for Sam from Kat & Kirsten. I have started mapping out how many bins of each type of thing I'll take. At the moment, clothes take up two. So does yarn. I think I allotted two to the kitchen. One for outerwear. Two for bedding. Not sure what I'll take in the way of books, but my plan there is to store them in the basement at the Stately (Dan's parents house in Victoria), clearly marked, with lists of what is in them. Box 1 will have a list of titles, so on the other end when I want a particular book, I can ask to have Box 7 shipped please.
But I'm tired from all the excitement, from working, and then somehow yesterday I hurt my back. I must have twisted the wrong way or turned or something, but it feels like I've been punched just under my shoulder blade. It's not really bad, but enough to make me want to not lift anything heavy for the next couple of days. Dan leaves in a week and I won't see him for at least two months (unless I manage to get a job with an employer who will sponsor me a work visa - then I'll be there much sooner), so I'm trying to keep my game face on.
In the mean time, I continue in #purgemode
O gosh, I digressed even before I got into this post!
Today another round of stuff left the house. I didn't take pictures this time, mostly because the stuff that was going has little sentimental value. Except for a few of the houseplants. Dang. There were a few houseplants that had stories, like the kalanchoe that Dave & Charlene gave me for my birthday (was it last year? The year before?). We really liked Phil, the philodendron. We were sad to see him go, and have decided we will get a new Phil as soon as we can. There were the pepper plants that Toni gave me last year are presently bearing their second round of red peppers. Well, I might get a photo of these plants before I leave this place. But it all went to a good home: Kat & Kirsten.
Over the years, my friends Toni & the Skipper have given me tons of things. When I moved in with Dan, they were moving and getting new furniture, etc, so I got a lot of hand-me-downs from them:
1988 Toyota Tercel
fabulous spice rack that the Skipper built himself
hide-a-bed
table
foot stool
leather stuffed recliner
towels
table & chair set
and I'm sure there is more I'm missing but I'm tired & can't think just now. But basically they outfitted me with a houseful and means of transportation.
When they gave us the Tercel, I was only a few months into my relationship with Dan (though were had been engaged already). We weren't entirely sure what we'd do with the car, but we agreed to take it. It was a good thing too, because on the way back from our first big trip together, to Alberta to visit my sister, the van's tranmission went. We drove the Tercel all winter until Dan could fix the van.
The van. For those of you who know the van, this is a sad story. We have to let it go. It was badly injured on our honeymoon in the fall of 2009, and even though Dan could and wanted to repair it, he was short one TIG welder to be able to do it. He had spent three months of evenings and weekends making the van into a super camping vehicle, and now we have to say goodbye. It's terribly sad, for Dan's parents bought it new in 1986; Dan learned to drive in this van. And it's so much fun to drive! But in its current state, it would never make it across the border. We grieve.
I am loving this purging process, though. I've been wanting to do it for a while, needed only a reason. This is the best possible reason: moving across the border. I have figured out that I can fit 18 Rubbermaid bins into the back of the F150, make it 16 if I get a big kennel for Sam from Kat & Kirsten. I have started mapping out how many bins of each type of thing I'll take. At the moment, clothes take up two. So does yarn. I think I allotted two to the kitchen. One for outerwear. Two for bedding. Not sure what I'll take in the way of books, but my plan there is to store them in the basement at the Stately (Dan's parents house in Victoria), clearly marked, with lists of what is in them. Box 1 will have a list of titles, so on the other end when I want a particular book, I can ask to have Box 7 shipped please.
But I'm tired from all the excitement, from working, and then somehow yesterday I hurt my back. I must have twisted the wrong way or turned or something, but it feels like I've been punched just under my shoulder blade. It's not really bad, but enough to make me want to not lift anything heavy for the next couple of days. Dan leaves in a week and I won't see him for at least two months (unless I manage to get a job with an employer who will sponsor me a work visa - then I'll be there much sooner), so I'm trying to keep my game face on.
In the mean time, I continue in #purgemode
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