I called my parents this afternoon and was surprised to see them in semi-darkness amid the November gloom that had settled on Thetis Island. I shouldn't have been surprised, because that's what November can be like in BC! We have had such lovely weather here that it was a bit of a surprise. I was in a t-shirt on the porch and the sun was warm warm warm... it was amazing! I rode my bike to work twice this past week, and Steve and I both find ourselves thinking that each beautiful day will likely be the last really nice fall day before it starts getting cold. A neighbour was telling me that it's going to snow next week so one of these warm days really will be the last one!
We are in the home stretch of life at the rental house, and things are moving along at home. Flooring was going in this week, there were some kitchen cabinets in, and the bathroom upstairs is being tiled; we picked out baseboards this morning and are finalizing the countertops tomorrow - things are happening! The only thing that is not happening (yet) is the addition. It has long been demolished, but nothing has happened with it's reconstruction, unfortunately. I think that the focus is getting us back in the house, and with limited time to do that, all efforts and attention are focused on getting everything ready to have us move in by/before December 1st. I can't believe it's almost DECEMBER! Sheesh. Here are some photos of recent progress:
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| No more kitchen door! |
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| It's like it was never there! Same kitchen door spot. |
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| upstairs bathroom progress |
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| kitchen cabinets are going in! |
We are in full swing of school and fall activities, and the weekdays (especially) are busy. Hendrik is playing volleyball for his school team and has been having a good time. I'm coaching the girl's team at my school and it's also been fun - the girls have improved so much AND we won our very first game last week!! Incredible. Hendrik's also playing club volleyball (which means two evening practices a week), and Alana does soccer on Thursday nights with some of her friends, with me as her coach. She's also doing Sunday morning volleyball with me and that's been fun too! Jordan tags along to some of the activities and pals around with other siblings, some of which he's become friends with. I'm hoping I don't miss the next swimming sign-up so he can get going with something (and by that time school volleyball will be over!). Steve is still trying to fit in some trips to Hamilton to help out at McMaster, but with all of the kid's sports it has definitely been a challenge. Work has been good for me, though with the CUPE strike here in Ontario I'm hoping that they can negotiate a fair deal so that we can get back to school and the regular routine on the double. Teachers were encouraged to work from home today and the kids were home, so it felt a bit like the mid-pandemic online learning model... I'd rather be in-person! And so would they, I think. School is going well for all of the kids too; they like their teachers and their classes and are generally happy to go to school (though Hendrik might say otherwise).
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Halloween 2022 was another smashing success. Despite the rain, everyone trick or treated for a few hours (Jordan didn't last quite that long) and came home with more candy than anyone could eat. I always love seeing the kids dump out their bags and ogle over the variety, volume and, of course, the full-sized bars. It rained on Halloween, which meant an earlier return home which was perfect for a Monday night. Tuesday wasn't as much of a struggle as I thought it would be, but that's probably because of the earlier night (phew!).
That's all I've got for now. Happy November!
