I'M BACK!!!!!!

YUP it feels good like being home.
So as most of you who know me know I just moved. It was the move from HELL!!!! AND I am not joking or making it worse than it really was. I was not given the key to my place until late Friday afternoon on May 30. It is too much for me to even go into the moving hassles and since I am now here and happy I am putting it in the past for now.

AND if it wasn't enough that it was the move from HELL the mail forwarding was also a hassle. Despite filling out the form May 12 for my move and paying $69.30 for a year of forwarding to begin on May 29 when I had originally hoped to get the keys the form was NEVER processed. Finally after putting in a claim since my mail was still going to the old address and the mailbox door wasn't even secure on June 6 it was processed while speaking to customer service on the phone who called me. Imagine they were able to process in right then and there, no two weeks needed!!!! Not thirty minutes after speaking with customer service at Canada Post remember who phoned me and told me she was holding my mail in her hands and I would get it next week the phone rang and it was the buzzer from at my old apt as the caretaker never changed it. Who was it? It was Canada Post with a package for me. I told him I was not living there and to drop it off at the postal outlet and I would pick it up later. He said not to go until tomorrow (Sat). As of the next Tuesday it was still not there. It was delivered the next day (Wed) along with a package that was addressed to my new place. I actually received a call yesterday from Canada Post about that same package. They had no idea what it was and even thought the other package I received was addressed to my new place that is which package they thought was missing????? Why on earth would the postman deliver to my old address a package addressed to my new place. AND if that isn't enough this past Friday the postman came to my old place with another package for me which means the caretaker still hasn't changed the buzz code. This past Saturday at 3AM someone rang from downstairs in the building to get in. The buzz code rings my phone. I guess the caretaker isn't interested in fixing it as she lost her job caretaking as of the end of this month. She lost it after she was reported for yelling at me for cleaning the floors prior to my closing up the apt . It wasn't bad enought she was yelling at me but she was doing it in front of the head maintenance man for the management company. She kept saying I didn't need to wash and wax the hardwood floors as they were only going to be repairing the apt and then she would be cleaning it again. BUT you and I know that if I didn't clean it that would go on the record when I left which would affect my security deposit. They still cheated me on my check and I had to call them on it. So I am expecting another check from them. My security deposit is needed so I can get a washing machine which is the only appliance my unit doesn't come with.

Here are some photos of the what I had to move and that doesn't even count what was in my locker on the fourth floor of the walk-up I lived in. This is the photo of one of the stacks of boxes in the LR that is larger than when I first posted it. My kitchen is to the right.
AND here is view of a different area of the LR with lots of stuff packed for the move. This room I used as my LR was actually the dining room.
This is in the bedroom. Those bags contain fabric. Thee must have been 12 or 13 of these bags and a few others in purple.I have since sorted and would you believe am donating the equivalent of two bags to a local thrift shop and one smaller normal size black garbage bag filled with scraps and a few larger pieces to a place that will use them. It was hard to give them away even when I know I will never use those fabrics. Most were polyesters.

Here is another view of the bedroom showing more stuff for sewing and some of the boxes are filled with books and magazines. The table is an old dining room table I use to sew on. This is the bedroom but I used it for my sewing room. I used the "front" room as my bedroom. It had pocket doors and I could close the room off if I chose but I didn't since I lived alone. My computer was also in the room I used as my bedroom.
This is the hallway you go through when you enter my apt. You can see the door which will lead to the apt hallway and the outside of my apt. It too was eventually packed with boxes. I can't seem to find any of the bags and totes I used for shopping that were hanging on those hooks where my jean jacket is shown. I also can't find my scale????????
These are just some of the boxes lining that hallway. Notice those great boxes. I got most of my boxes from the liquor store a few blocks from where I lived. They were small and sturdy.
This was the kitchen. I left the shade I decoupaged. I painted the walls and also you can see the green counter which I painted the same color as the lower part of the wall. The management company wouldn't fix the counters which were in such an awful shape it was shameful. That dresser you see is now in my bedroom and my new "other/second" TV I received from my friend Pat who was getting rid of ALL her stuff gave me. Now some of my clothes are in it. In the apt I had plastic containers in it.
I do have some photos of what it looked like when I moved my stuff in my new place BUT, alas, I have to find the camera cord to download those photos. I know I saw it somewhere but I just can't remember where so those will come later.

I have been on the waiting list for four years to move into my new place but here are some of the reasons I didn't want to stay in the apt any longer. These two photos show three years of mold in the bathroom I was unable to get the apt management company to fix. They fixed it the first time until the ceiling caved in but this time they kept giving me excuses from the repairman was fired and he took the work bill to they have to get permission. The last excuse they repeated over and over again.
Here is another reason. This happened last year when once again the guy upstairs left his rad HALF ON and HALF OFF. You can't do that. It has to be ALL ON or ALL OFF. I had to call the management company as the caretaker came up and told me other apt were worse saying what do you want me to do about it. When I got her to go upstairs she told me no one was home and she put a note on the door. I in turn should put a pail under the leak. Even calling the management company no one came out to even look at the ceiling and that is in over a year. What are the other reasons. There are many.

There is the time I had to have the other room where my sewing is in, the actual bedroom, repaired as the guy upstairs had his rad half on and half off. The repair person came finally after three cancellations only to stand at my apt door and tell me he didn't want to do it now, didn't have time and didn't want to get stuck in the snow and ice in the parking lot or in the street and he didn't want to cart the ladder and his tools up to the apt. I guess I had my choice of which reason I wanted to use. LOL I told him just do it for all of the 1o or so minutes it would take him and I wasn't responsible for his truck getting stuck anywhere as I only was renting in the building. Grumbling he repaired the ceiling and the wall but then told me he had no intention of coming back and finishing the job which I gather meant sanding and painting. He never returned to finish the job.

The windows don't stay in the window well with the continual shifting of the building.

That is the type of workers this management company uses. When they put in new cupboards as the old ones were falling off the wall, the new ones literally fell off and onto my head. I lost a lot of pretty stuff stored in baskets on top of the new cupboards not to mention the sore head I had. I am sure I ended up with a concussion and probably should have gone to the hospital to have myself checked. I waited over a week and finally called the management company to find out when they intended to put the cupboards back up. They never asked if I was hurt. Turns out the caretaker told them only the cupboard doors came off so there was no rush to do that. Even when I told them it was the cupboards that fell off and hit me they still didn't even ask if I was hurt. Anyway the new carpenter who came out to put the cupboards back up told me the reason the cupboards fell out of the wall was b/c they weren't put in the STUDS. He also fixed the one that was still up. Turns out this guy does work for one of my Avon customers. AND since he has been working for the management company when she hires him she has to tell him don't do the work as if he was working for the other people do it properly.

Of course, I could mention the carpet on the stairs which was badly torn. It was so bad you could catch your heel if you were wearing heels and fall and break your neck but the owner who doesn't live in the city refuses to replace it.
Of course another of the main reasons for leaving was I wasn't able to sew in my sewing room, morning, afternoon or evening as it distubed the caretaker below.

Now that I am gone they are actually doing some repair work in the apt. If they maintained the building and the apt the place would be so lovely. Only it would take a lot of money.


So now I am in my lovely new place and very very happy.

Knitting Goodness

Just before I moved I received a a lovely swap package from Allison my weluvknitting partner. We will be sending each other four packages over the year. As much as I would love to show off what I received without the camera cord it will have to wait.

I also received a most lovely package from my book or yarn swap partner is the sockamaniac group but again all I can do is say Thank-you Laura and photos will be put on the blog when the camera cord shows itself.


I can put in photos of the shawl I made for my friend Provi. It was originally a Christmas swap gift but we decided we would send our gifts out later. It took a while for me to complete and I did this past April. Provi has also received it . I did get an email that she liked it and hope to hear from her again. What did I get? HMMMMMMM It was wonderful. Here is a photo of Shelagh modeling it.
Here are a couple of close up of the pattern.

And here is the edging of the shawl. I know this photo is dark but you can see the beads glittering on the edge in this photo better than the next I think. I put beads on the cast on row, the first row, the last row, and the cast off row.


AND to complete the shawl I included this shawl pin.
Solara enjoyed Provi's shawl also. These were taken while I was blocking it.

So what am I knitting now or am I knitting with all that is going on? Of course, I am doing some knitting. I missed a couple of knitting get togethers due to the move but I am still playing with those pointy sticks and believe me I was tempted to use them for more than knitting a few times.

I am knitting the Clapotis Shawl. I am using up some stash. It is ages old. it is AnnyBlatt's NewsAnny. It is grey with gold and silver 50% silk and 50% viscose - rayon. I have finished the second set of dropped stitches. I only hope I have enough yarn to complete it. I have way more than called for but the yarn is a ww and I am using a larger needle. Add to that I knit loose. Wish me luck I have enough.

I was almost finished with my Harvest sock when I looked at it and found the cables weren't in the same directions as the completed sock and that the cables on the sock I was working on weren't all going in the same direction. So you know what that means. That is correct a swim in the frog pond with my fins on. BUT is done and I will restart it again soon. I am determined!!!!!!!! to get it finished correctly.

Yes I joined SP 12 and am sorry I didn't get my second question up and will do better with the next.

Congratulations to my hostess Robyn who had a baby boy this past week. Love him up good as you know how fast they grow.

I have already figured out what some of my next post will contain. BUT for now I am going to go back to work in this 2nd bedroom I use as my computer, sewing, craft, book and knitting store room and then head off to knitting at Mona's.