(Forgive me, Phil Collins)

Monday was a holiday here, and the last day of my vacation. (Let me just say – I’m SOOOO glad I took a week off for the move. Not having to worry about work made going back and forth repeatedly so much easier). With it coming to and end, I really wanted to get the studio in order.

After a good sleep-in, and a late breakfast, I opened the door.

This is what I faced.

Yikes!

The day of the big move, it was so hot, and our workers were working so hard, that I told them not to worry too much about boxes that said Valerie’s office vs. Valerie’s studio. As long as the boxes made it upstairs, I’d sort them out later. As a result, there were more things in there than should be.

I started pulling boxes and things into the bedroom across the hall, just so I could get in the room and start to sort things out. One of those things was Peno’s old nap basket…

Burton immediately took up residence and settled in to watch the show.

Bit by bit, boxes started to disappear and the room started to shape up to what I had envisioned when we first looked at the house.

Burton eventually moved to a more active “helping” role.

By supper time, the room had gone from a sea of cardboard to this…

As you may recall, in the townhouse, all of this (with the exception of the grey table) was in one small room (about half the size of this one) along with my library (two large Ikea Billy Bookcases), and my office. (Now my office and library are in a separate room – I’ll share that another day as it’s not quite unpacked.)

In the townhouse, my office desk doubled as my cutting station. Now I have this HUGE table for cutting, as well as storing my current project boxes. (It’s our old yarn dyeing table). Notice those bins underneath? They hold all my yardage, and I bought them specifically to go under the table. They have wheels, making them easy to pull out when needed. I had lamented that I hadn’t bought a fourth, but it’s a good thing I didn’t – three is all that will fit between the legs.

Above the table, at some point, I will hang a small design wall. I was hoping I’d have space for a floor-to-ceiling one, but it was not to be. Still – it will be enough for partial layouts and baby quilts. My bed is in the room directly across the hall, so for larger quilts, I can still make use of that.

Beside the table is my fabric collection – all sorted and organized! Doing all that pre-sorting and labelling before the move really made a big difference.

Adjacent to that is good ol’ Miriam and my handy dandy little ironing station. Curtains for the window she’s sitting under will be one of the first things I make on her. O

Beside Miriam is the “knitting corner!”. At the townhouse this was all tucked away in the closet (and could be hard to get at, at times. It’s all in ziploc baggies because we had a moth problem at the townhouse. The two totes and the cardboard box house yarn that wouldn’t fit on the shelves (though one is scrap sock yarn for another sock yarn blanket – or six). I’ve got to get knitting to make some space for the overflow!

Beside the knittin corner (and not pictured) is a HUGE closet. Right now it’s got all our Holiday decorations, and a few boxes of things I have to go through and decide what to donate and what to keep (I ran out of time to do that pre-move). Eventually, there will be more storage space in there.

But I fell SOOOOOOO much better now that it’s mostly in order. There’s some small things to file away, and as I finish unpacking the office, I’m sure I’ll come across studio items.

But the big work is done… and as soon as life slows down a bit – I can get back to the crafts I really love!

After returning from the laundromat on Saturday, I decided to try and tidy up the sun porch so I could set up my table and chairs out there and actually enjoy it at some point.

Burton, who has pretty much acclimatized to the new house, was right at the door when I decided to go out, so I invited him to come along.

He explored every inch of the porch he could reach. While he was nosing about, I opened the door to the fenced area.

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Like Relic, he was cautious at first.

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Unlike Relic, he wasn’t at all concerned about being fenced in. I think he was probably just happy to be leach and harness free.

He made himself right at home!

On Saturday, I was feeling a little run down. I think the move was finally catching up with me. As a result, not much got done (at least by me – Dave was still going gangbusters).

I did managed to get some laundry done.

As you may recall, we still don’t have a washer. Luckily, we are two blocks away from a laundromat. I could walk there if I wanted. Since I had three loads to do, I drove this time. The place was empty, so I was able to get all three loads done at the same time. Even though it was empty, I kept my mask on just in case anyone came in. (I’m fully vaccinated, but the Delta variant is threatening a fourth wave here, and the government hasn’t lifted the indoor mask mandate yet – vaccinated or not).

I brought my book and got a little reading done. And 30 minutes later, all my laundry was clean. Dave hooked up the dryer on Friday, so I brought it all home to dry.

My dresses can’t go in the dryer or they will shrink. At the townhouse, I had lines strung up in the basement. Here, we plan to put in a clothesline outside… but right now it’s pretty low on our big list of priorities.

Luckily, I didn’t toss the rack we used to use for drying yarn.

(If you look closely in the upper right side, you’ll see a little black mass in the catio – That’s our Burton! More on that tomorrow)

It was a lovely, warm breezy day and they dried in no time! I love having the space to do this!

… Relic was laying on the bed looking depressed.

Well, I’m happy to say, he’s settling in. He’s still a little on edge, and still spends most of his time in the bed, but he comes down the stairs on his own several times a day to explore. And in the evenings, he comes down to sit and watch TV with Dave and I.

Mid-week one evening, he made his way out to the kitchen while I was out there, so I decided to see if he’d be interested in exploring the catio. I have to clean up and organize the sunporch (it’s currently being used as a staging area for stuff as we get things unpacked), so the cat door is still locked, but I opened the door to the porch for him in invitation.

He was cautious at first, but I think he could smell the fresh air. He didn’t hesitate on the door-step too long.

As soon as I opened the door to the fenced area, he was out and down those stairs!

All my garden plants are still in the centre, so he did a couple circles around them looking for a way out of the fence.

When he realized there was no obvious openings, he started pulling at the fence, and trying to get his nose under it. It’s staked in the ground with heavy-duty kinked stakes every six or so inches. And the bottom 2 feet are a combo of heavy-duty wire livestock fence, and the lighter mesh fence. His efforts were pretty much useless.

After a big, sad yowl, he came and sat down beside me near the steps.

… and he seemed content to sit there and watch the world go by for a while (a little red house finch came and perched on the gate for a little bit.)

When I got up to water my house plants on the sunporch, he stayed in the grass and chilled. By the time I was done watering, he decided he was ready to come inside again.

He hasn’t asked to go out again yet, but I expect once I get the porch cleaned up and start spending time out there, my little buddy will be right out there with me.

I know you are all interested in how things at the house are coming along… but what you REALLY want is…

…. PUPPIES!!!!!!

After finishing up at the townhouse on Thursday (and yes, we are absolutely finished – no more driving back and forth!!!!), I did do a quick stop by Mom and Dad’s. I had to wait for a prescription to be filled (we haven’t switched pharmacies yet), and that just seemed like a good place to wait!

Jem and her babies are doing fantastic. They are all gaining weight and Mom has already secured homes for four of them (all three yellows and one black). Jem herself is finally settling down and letting them be handled more, making it much easier for Mom and Dad.

These pictures are of them at five days old. You can see by Mom’s hands how small they are. Today they officially one week old. Mom says they will be going to their new homes at eight weeks.

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Their nesting box is in a dimly lit corner of the diningroom. That, coupled with the fact that they are wiggly little things makes them hard to photograph well. Especially the black ones.

In another week, their eyes and ears will start to open, and will get much more mobile. Right now they just kind of squirm around on their bellies or sides until they get where they want to be.

You can see a short video I took of the pups nursing here.

And just so you know… not EVERYONE is thrilled with the new housemates.

Poor Winnie is missing her playtime with Jem. But only seven more weeks… it’s gonna go fast!

“Hey… this place has A LOT more views!!!!!

Oh… at least I’d hoped there would be. My plan was to get moved in, then immediately run to the studio, crack open a box of yarn, and start a new pair! I have a particular yarn and pair in mind too!

But you know what they say about best laid plans.

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that I’ve not had much time to do much of anything, let alone knit.

I’m back at the townhouse AGAIN today. We just couldn’t fit everything left in Dory – sometimes I think she’s a lot bigger than she really is. But three window a/c units and a 40 gallon fish tank pretty much filled her. I still have to pick up the fish tank stand, a few odds and ends, and give all the floors a once over so the unit is left in decent condition.

I may even swing up to Mom’s and spend a little time with those adorable burrito pups. I’ll try and get some pictures for you.

And then maybe, by the weekend, I can make a dent in this…

And finally dive into a new pair of socks!

Yesterday I mentioned that Mom didn’t help out with the move. She was busy elsewhere.

Something has been happening in the background that I haven’t told you about. Several weeks back, Jem had a “date” with a Labrador up the street named Hank.

And as a result, our little Jem was pregnant (don’t worry, it was a planned pregnancy). Breeding Jem is something Dad has had planned since he brought her home.

When I booked the moving truck and told Dad the date, the first thing he said was “That’s the day my puppies are due! I might not be able to help.”

Of course, we all know babies are rarely born on their due date, so I wasn’t too concerned. And we could manage without his help if we had to.

Well… the day before we moved, I asked Mom how Jem was doing, and she said she was pretty sure she was getting ready to give birth. I checked in before I went to bed that night, and there was still nothing.

But… when I went to pick my brother up from Mom and Dad’s on moving day…

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There was a pile of fuzzy, squealing little burritos! Jem started giving birth in the wee hours and kept Mom (and Rowan and Jenn who came to help with the move) up all night as they kept watch over her.

Dad did help us move (he’d gotten some sleep, unlike Mom), and while we were moving, Jem produced a couple more!

All tolled, there are nine! (Three yellow, six black). And two girls, with seven boys).

Jem is a very proud mama. As soon as I sat down infront of her nesting box – she picked one up and plopped it in front of me, as if to say “Look what I made!”

I’ll keep you all posted with pictures as they get bigger (and cuter!)

I know all of you are waiting on tenterhooks to hear how the move went….

First… let me say… if you can avoid moving in July… avoid it! I’m pretty sure we ended up with the most humid day of the year on Saturday. They say it was only 23 C, (73 F) but it was so humid, it felt absolutely disgusting.

The crew for the day was myself and Dave (of course), my brother and sister-in-law Jenn, neice Rowan, my brother’s best friend Shawn, and Dad (Mom stayed home – I’ll explain why tomorrow). I neglected to take any pictures… but boy were they a fantastic crew.

Due to a last minute change from U-Haul, we had to pick up the truck from three towns over, instead of 15 minutes away. It added an extra hour and a half to a very early morning (I’m not very happy with U-Haul’s service, let me tell you), but we had the truck loaded and were on the road by noon.

As you know, it’s a two-hour drive to the new house, so we started unloading around 2. But by 4:30, the truck was empty, and the house was full.

My best friend Samantha texted me that evening to see how everything was going… this was the picture I sent her.

I was hoping to be able to put a good dent in all those boxes on Sunday, but unfortunately, I didn’t rent a big enough truck.

So…. Sunday it was back to the townhouse. Dad met us there with his truck and trailer, and between that and my little Dory, we managed to get almost all of the rest.

There are a few small things left, as well as our fish tank (the fish are at the new house, in another tank, don’t worry). As you read this, Dave and I will be back there, grabbing the last of our stuff and giving the place a good clean.

I did take yesterday off from driving though – I needed a break from those two hour runs!

Instead I focused on unpacking. The kitchen is basically in order. I’ll probably rearrange some stuff in the cupboards as we get settled – but can I just say…. HOLY CUPBOARD SPACE! The kitchen in the townhouse a tiny little corner kitchen – Maybe 80 sq. feet at most… this one is around 200!

In addition to the kitchen, we have a temporary sitting/tv area set up in the upper part of the livingroom (I still have mudding to do on the drywall in the lower part), and the bedroom is mostly together (though some of my clothes are still in boxes.) I expect by the end of the weekend we’ll be 90% unpacked.

But I know what you REALLY want to know….

HOW DID THE CATS MAKE OUT????

The short answers… as good as cats can be expected to do during a big move.

Before anyone came in the house and started opening doors, I put all three in Dave’s old studio (which was already empty) with their food, water, litter box and some blankets. The door was shut and no one was allowed to open it, so we didn’t have to worry about anyone getting spooked and bolting.

When it was time to go, I loaded them into their carriers. Burton is a sweetie and he just sauntered right in. Rupert freezes when I put him in the carrier, and then has a little scardey cat spaz as soon as the door is shut. It’s impossible to get Relic in a carrier without first covering his head (I usually wrap him in a towel or pillow case.)

The drive wasn’t too bad. There was a lot of crying from all three when I first loaded them in, but they settled down pretty quick. Burton and Relic would start up again whenever the truck slowed, but then they’d quiet after a few minutes.

When I got to the house, I took all the carriers into the upstairs bathroom and shut the door. I made sure they had more food, water, and litter, opened the carriers, and then left to help unload the moving truck.

I had to go drop off the moving truck with my brother, so it was Dave who let them free from the bathroom when we were done. He said Rupert and Burton came right out and were cautiously exploring the upstairs (only my office, the bathroom and the main bedroom are currently open to them). For all Relic hated being put in the carrier, he decided there was no way he was coming out now!

When I got home, Burton was lounging on the floor mat in the bathroom, and the other two…

I’m pretty sure Rupert was in there trying to comfort Relic, because he came out several times on his own over the next hour. Relic still refused. Eventually, I took the top half off the carrier. Relic gave me a dirty look and ran down and cowered at the end of the hallway.

I got the bedroom set up, covered the bed in familiar smelling blankets, and brought him to it. Aaaaaand that’s pretty much where he’s stayed since Saturday night.

Oh… he just looks soooo sad! And really – I spent all that money and time so HE would have a safe outdoor space (the other two are fine with being indoor only) and now he won’t even come down the stairs!!!!!

What a guy!

Rupert has done some exploring on the main floor – just not when we can see him. He’s doing it at night when we are sleeping. I wake up and his dusty little paw prints are all over the dark fabric of the futon (we’re on subfloors at the moment so everything is dusty).

As I was typing this, he did poke his head down the stairs and watch me for a bit.

But he ran back up when Dave got up to get something from the kitchen.

Now Burton… he’s handled it best of all of them. He’s still spending most of his time upstairs, but Sunday night he came down, explored a little and the reclaimed his favourite spot on the back of the couch.

His favourite things so far though…

Is the upstairs bathroom sink. Nine times out of 10, that’s where I’ll find him if I go looking. I’m not sure why. It’s not because it’s cool… we have an a/c unit in the bedroom window, and it’s WAY frostier in there than the bathroom.

The only reason I can see…

Is that it’s a room with a view.

I mentioned that our big tank is still at the townhouse. Eventually, it will be set up in the lower part of the living room. But since that’s not done yet, we don’t want to set it up somewhere then have to move it. So a week before we moved, Dave set up this temporary tank on the counter in the upstairs bathroom (we have two bathrooms, so it won’t be in our way here).

Burton has always enjoyed watching the fish when they were in the big tank, but he’s never been able to get this close! He’s going to be so upset when we move them!

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But for now he’s pretty darn happy.

We are supposed to get some cooler weather this weekend, so I’ll introduce them all to the catio then.

Happy Monday. Yes, we are all settled into the new house now, and tomorrow I’ll tell you all about it… but first I have to show off this FO.

I know… ANOTHER FO… and right in the middle of the move.

I definitely wasn’t planning on this one, but you will recall that our washing machine crapped out, so I’ve been doing laundry up at Mom’s. Last week, I wanted to do a couple more loads so we weren’t moving a whole bunch of dirty laundry.

And you might remember that I finished my last pair of socks… so I didn’t have anything to do while I was waiting for my laundry to wash and dry. I was going to raid Mom’s stash and start a new pair… but then I recalled that I still had this top sitting there, just waiting to become a quilt.

It’s just a little one (37″ x 42″) so it didn’t take very long. I had the whole thing quilted and bound before I was done my last load of laundry.

I love this pattern. And all these little space dudes…

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That’s just too cute!

And check out the flannel I got for the back…

Who knew robots could be so adorable?

It felt so good to be back at the quilting machine again. I can’t wait to get my new studio set up!

In the meantime – this one is available in the shop now.