Drudgemaster Chronicles...

Well, I'm all moved in (but not, of course, all unpacked).
Just ran out the door for some staple groceries - parmesano reggiano, extra virgin olive oil (love that oxymoron) some Worchestershire Sauce (Wooster sauce) and something else i'm having trouble recalling...oh, yeah, coconut oil, in the 'creme' form, which I use to tart up my oatmeal, along with some bluebrries, once or twice a week for brekkie (helpful household hint-buy it at the grocery store instead of the 'health' food store- half the price, 'healthier' for yer budget, kids!)...and I also voted (Canadian Federal Election)....
So trying to fit a two-bedroom, crowded apartment into a much smaller one bed with a bit of a closet/den type space...being a bit of a hoarder, it has very recently come to my attention that I need to have a yard sale, and fast!
Glad to be here, though, and if any of you feel like it, Google "Chemainus, BC, Canada" and have a look at our main claim to fame...go ahead, it's painless and kinda cool..we have busloads of tourists driving through looking at 'em all the time..what, you say?
Aha! like I said, Google "Chemainus" and discover for yourself...
Meantime, while you are distracted with all that, I'll sneak away and try and create order out of the chaos that is my new home...wish me luck.

..I've Found a New Place to Dwell..

Finally, I'm in packin' and leavin' mode..
Found a wonderful new place to live, on level ground so won't have so much trouble carrying stuff up and down stairs, walking the equivalent of a block with heavy laundry, and back and forth several times a day with my Market set-up on Saturdays...hooray!!
Now I need to stop all that second-handing, junking and garage-sailing for awhile and start planning one of my own..I probably have an entire roomful of stuff I could easily live without right now, and I have to figure out how to 'get tough' with myself..
May not be a TV reality show-worthy hoarder, but my 'stuff' increases exponentially with the amount of room I have, and since my new place, at least inside, is somewhat smaller, have to get rid of lots of great stuff...well, thought it was great stuff at the time!
Have to figure out what to do with all my crafting stuff in my new place..I could use one of those people who stop by and show you great ideas for storage- of course, it would have to be Oprah paying for it, too...
So all of you who blog about your wonderful finds at estate sales, flea markets, and yard and garage sales, too. spare a kind thought for me..I'll have to live vicariously through you until I'm settled in my new place..wonder if I will have to go through withdrawal symptoms... :(

Got Those Basement Suite Blues...Again...

For my US readers, who may not quite 'get' what basement suite means-it's as common here as an attic apartment might be in the States..
Because it rains lots here, all houses are built tall, so that if Noah suddenly shows up again, there will hopefully be something left that is dry and salvageable..
Of course, this leaves big ol' basements, and many homeowners turn them into suites, or apartments to rent out as 'mortgage helpers'..
That's were I come in..
I hate apartment buildings, having to put up with the repulsive stench of stale cigarette smoke from everyone else's apartments, and wafting in open windows when they are out on their balconies, listening to everyone else's awful, loud conversations and fighting, kids wailing, drunks howling, the unpleasant stench of trapped cooking odours garbage trucks right outside your bedroom window scaring the stuffing out of you at 7 in the morning...but- no pets, no way, no how..and no gardening, as well as your life being at the mercy of a landlady/lord whose personal tics might be less than desirable...is he availing him/herself of a passkey when you are out, even though it's totally illegal? Etc....And all this in a very nice apartment building! On the plus side, of course,there is my glorious ocean and island view, which (almost) makes the rest worthwhile...
So I am looking, so far in vain, for a nice little cabin, cottage or basement suite, and considering the prices currently charged for rent on this Island, there are, apparently, a surplus of lottery winners who rent and don't buy...because they are the only ones who could handle most rents here.
*Sigh* Please, wish me luck as I really need to be on the ground floor, and feel grounded, again..

The Great Canadian Sell-Off.....or, gettin rid of some stuff..

Since I really want to move farther down-Island, and will probably never find a place as large as the one I'm in, I decided to stop my pack-rat ways, gather up that which I know other pack-rats crave, and do my first flea market in close to 35 years...yep, it's been that long .. since I sold at one, not bought at one..an outdoor one, that is..
I have sold at indoor type collectible sales, etc. But this is gonna be an old Fashioned Garage Sale (as they ar calling it, strangely, no garages involved), an adjunct to the annual "Show and Shine" here in Ladysmith, where the only main street is shut down to traffic and lots of people show up, from all over Vancouver Island and the Mainland, as well as (I've heard) people from the States, probably Washington...
And no, I am not buying anything (unless of coure, it's practically free, something I can't possibly live without, etc!)
I'm also going alone, so that is really the best strategy to keep me from wandering around, looking for bargains..
If I end up cheating and buying anything, I'll share next week!
To all of you garage sailing this weekend, good luck, and if you are in the neighborhood, well c'mon, down!

So Long, Vancouver

A friend, a creative sort of person (beautiful woodwork, photography) just e-mailed me recently to ask how I was doing on the Island. Funny, I had not thought til that e-mail to compare...
I am doing well, in a funny sort of way. My lungs seem to be releasing alot of stuff lately-living in a no traffic versus a high traffic location might have something to do with it-fresh sea air must be shocking to my poor abused lungs-but now they seem to be fighting back-not struggling to do their job, but to rid themselves of all that city smog. When you already have asthma, that can only be a good thing.
Of course, now that I'm here and not 'employed', I have the time and leisure to be more creative, and so I am. Also signing up for craft fairs left, right and center-time to center myself and realize that too much is just that-nothing exceeds like excess.
What do I miss, if anything? The ethnic food mostly, Vancouver has such an abundance of great, inexpensive places to eat that it seems like I'm really deprived here-on the other hand, Ladysmith has possibly the best pizza I've ever had, so...
We all adapt, and the pros so far completely outweigh the cons.
If you ever decide to run away to a lush Island , you could do worse than this one.