Victoria got their dump of snow last night. It wasn’t all that much, less than 6 inches, but it was way more dry than we normally get. Sox had to rearrange some of her plans because the Malahat was a mess. The plan was to drop Sprout off at Gramma’s on her way to Vancouver.

Instead Sprout spent the day with me, and Sox took the Swartz Bay ferry over, then drove across Vancouver to get to West Van.

I needed to get out to do some Christmas shopping but I was a little hesitant until I got a road report from Sox. Everything seemed to be fine, so I bundled Sprout up and we headed out in the truck. I am cautious when I drive in the snow. I’ve been involved in an accident before and it put a healthy respect for bad conditions into me.

Yet Victorians live up to the stereotypes of bad snow drivers. As I was cresting a hill close to my home there was a truck stopped in the middle of the road so the driver could talk to a friend. I had to inch past him through the snowplow dregs. Nice.

I saw lots of people driving faster than I think they should have been, and relying on ABS in snowy conditions generally isn’t good driving either. Many people were trying to stop like they do in wet roads, and that just doesn’t work.

I got to my destination just fine, but I saw more on the way home. On Hillside I saw a car almost take out someone shoveling their driveway. I saw the car trying to change lanes, but I think they might have turned the wheel too quickly. Their tires were not pointing the same direction as their travel. At the last moment the tires bit and they car narrowly missed hitting the man.

Not less than a 100 yards later a car went off the road and struck a telephone pole. This happend in front of me and the three other cars in front of me. I was the only one who stopped, and I had my son in the truck with me. The people in the car got out, and I could see the airbags had deployed. They looked a little shaken, but appeared alright. I asked them a few questions, and noticed the driver was holding his wrist so I tried to persuade him to get it checked out. I had no cellphone to offer, but they had one and were planning to call a tow truck. I don’t know why they went off the road, but that got me thinking. I bid them well and had to get back to the truck.

Then, to put things in perspective, as I was getting close to home I saw a man and his son standing at the side of the road, and a little white dog running down the middle of the road towards me. I slowed down then stopped when the dog got really close. I didn’t know where he was so I got out to check on him. He ran back toward the two people who crouched down to try and coax him in. The dog kept running past them and continued down the street.

I learned that the dog was not theirs and that it’s owners had been following the dog in their car for a long time. I guess the dog ducked around them and was now lost. The people I saw tried to help, and so did I, but the dog got away. Last time I saw it, it was heading down Old Esquimalt Road. I hope the dog found a nice warm place to sleep tonight, and that it gets reunited with its family soon.

After the decorating was done, I headed out to do some Christmas shopping. Striking out I came home and plopped in front of the TV for a bit.

I suddenly remembered that we hadn’t filled the tree stand with water. It was close to 10:30 so I went and filled a 2 litre bottle and dumped it in. As I was checking the height of the water, disaster struck.

I saw a puddle form from underneath the stand and start to get bigger. Immediately I knew that the stand had cracked and that all the water was draining out. I ran downstairs to grab some dog towel to sop up the mess, but of course they are still in a box somewhere. I managed to find two quickly and ran back upstairs.

My commotion roused Sue from bed, and she gave me a hand cleaning up the mess. Wow, 2 litres of water makes a very large puddle that can flow very quickly. Luckily it hadn’t reached any boxes, furniture, or pictures. We then tried to figure out how we could submerge the tree, or the stand. We decided that there wasn’t anything we could do at that time of night and headed to bed.

It was too bad we hadn’t filled the tree stand before I went out, but it was a good thing the crack wasn’t a slow leak and that I saw it right away. Crisis averted though, I bought a new tree stand the next day.

I headed in to work early this morning. My goal was to be able to leave early so I could get home at a decent time so we could do some more Christmas decorating.

This was the first year that either of our kids was old enough to help out with these things. I wanted to make sure we would have enough time for everything, so I got to work just after 7, meaning I was able to leave at 4.

As soon as I arrived home, Sprout greeted me at the door, and we got started. I brought the tree in, then spent the next 45 minutes getting it vertical and secured in the stand. We took a break for dinner, but I think Sprout was too excited to eat. He had two or three pieces of bread.

When everyone was done eating we tidied a little, then started unpacking the tree decorations and showed Sprout how to put them on the tree. He did a few, but was having difficulty. He was happy transporting the decorations from myself to mum and we would put them on the tree.

When it was all done, we were all proud of our tree. It is feeling a lot more Christmas-y now. Add on that the possibility of snow tonight, and I am really feeling the Christmas spirit.

We moved a little over two weeks ago and something about that weekend keeps rattling around in my mind.

Moving was stressful, tiring, and a lot of work, but it was extremely satisfying. I worked my butt off all weekend long. I moved boxes, directed people, cleaned floors, swept, cleaned carpets, and even did some minor yard work. My hands felt pretty wrecked by the end of the weekend, and the rest of my body didn’t fare much better either. Cuts, scrapes, bruises, strains, and aches. Thankfully I didn’t do anything to my back.

Being able to see the accomplishment was pretty cool. Friday afternoon we were still packing boxes, Sunday afternoon the house was completely empty, and completely cleaned.

The flipside to working so hard was that for the whole weekend and a few days afterward I was constantly hungry. I felt like I was eating all the time yet still felt hungry.

I am trying to update some of my addresses now that I have moved. Telus Mobility has a site for managing your account, but I couldn’t find a place to edit my address. I can see my address details. I decided to look for help.

From telus mobility’s “How Do I” site I clicked on Address Change:

Address Change

When should I inform TELUS Mobility of my new address?
As soon as you know your new address, you should let us know. We’ll ensure your invoices and any communication from us will be sent to the correct address. Remember, you can only change your address after your first bill cycle is complete. If you need to change the address sooner, please contact us.

Can I change my address to a non-Canadian address?
No, TELUS Mobility’s Self Serve application only accepts Canadian addresses.

Why should I enter my e-mail address?
We can quickly update you on our latest promotions, contract/renewal offers, and network and service enhancements. We want to make sure you get the most out of your experience with TELUS Mobility.

Wow, that was so unhelpful. Thanks a lot Telus.

My newest gadget:

Yes, that is a remote control, and it is for the outside Christmas lights. Yes I love it. Sometimes it is the simple things that make me happy.

A new morning routine is in the works. A little over a week ago we moved. I’m pretty excited about the new place but there is still a ton of work to be done.

The move itself was pretty smooth, but that was a weekend full of back breaking manual labour. Friday night we had some friends over for dinner and beer, then we shlepped boxes to the new place. Saturday was an all out move fest. The movers came and grabbed as much stuff as they could then emptied their truck at the new place. Meanwhile our cleaning lady did her magic at the old place, but we had a limit on her time. Then I started the final clean of the rest of the house. The sunroom and basement needed a lot of attention, and so did the carpets throughout. When all was said and done the place looked almost like it did when we moved in.

The next day the enormity of the move hit us. Boxes everywhere. Looking around the house I began to feeli like maybe it was too small. As furniture got place I started seeing quick and striking differences. Very quickly the house felt like it was big enough. Now that we have been here a week, I know that it was just the clutter everywhere that made the house feel tiny.

One of the things about the house that we loved was the lack of carpeting. Hardwood throughout, and nice, old hardwood at that. Of course, hardwood doesn’t damp the sound, and our dog has long claws. And likes to get up at 6 am. And our new yard isn’t fenced.

So far the new morning routine involves one of us (usually me since I am awake) jumping out of bed at the first Yoshi noise. Then he eats, and gets a quick pee in the yard by himself. Then we take him on leash around the block so he can work out number 2. Of course it is still cold and dark out, and I would much rather be laying in my nice warm bed.

The house is awesome though. Much quieter neighbourhood, still close to all the same amenities, and so far, great neighbours. The second night we were in the house our neighbours to one side came by and welcomed us to the hood and brought a lovely tin of home made chocolate chip cookies. 🙂 A very nice welcome indeed.