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Movin' On Up...
Ken Relocates to a Little City and Smaller Apartment that hold Big Promise

It's said that moving is one of life's most stressful situations for even the strongest of individuals, so it's only natural that someone as neurotic as I tend to be would be a mess at the mere thought of leaving one home and relocating to a new one.  There were many reasons I was reluctant to move. I had lived at my cozy apartment on Roehampton Avenue for over 17 years and still loved the place. But a major increase in rent followed by the sudden loss of my job left me with little choice. Like it or not, I would have to find somewhere less costly to call home.

The search for a new abode was far from pleasant. Oh there were plenty of apartments out there, but each one came with a snag. It was either too small or too expensive. They didn't allow pets, or there was no balcony or access to outdoors whatsoever. Just when I had all but given up, Rob made a bold move, asking his mother's landlord if he had any apartments available. As it turned out a unit would be vacant by the end of July, which just happened to be when I had to be out of my old place. Following a phone conversation with the landlord I was accepted as a new tenant.  Talk about a major relief. Now if I could just get through the tasks of packing and moving without totally losing my mind, I'd be alright.

I spent the next month tossing out stuff I really didn't need, meticulously packing boxes and labelling each of them, while counting how many sleeps until moving day...the day I dreaded the most...and one that came and went with no problems at all.

I had a ton of people to help get things from point A to point B including my buddy Doug and his son Andrew, my brother-in-laws Ken and Don, niece Erin, nephew Patrick, family friend Bob and joining up with us at the Welland end of the move, Rob, his brother Rodney, sister Patti, niece Joanna, nephew Deryk, mother Merry and cousin Travis. The whole process took only a few short hours and I made sure there was plenty of cold beverages and hot pizza for my much appreciated moving team.

At last after months of worrying, packing and worrying some more, I was now in my new place surrounded by box upon box of my belongings just begging to find a new home. With a flair for design and decorating, it took little time for me to make my new surroundings feel like mine. The video clip featured below with attest to that.

Going from a modern highrise to a smaller 3 story building does take some getting used to. Some things are similiar, some things are not. Some are better, others not so much. I'm once again on the 3rd floor and in apartment 18. I have a one bedroom unit with a balcony, but no storage room. There's no elevator and I've given up my cushy covered parking spot. The view from my balcony is that of a large parking lot as opposed to the trees, birds, squirrels and butterflies I was accustomed to. I only have to go down one floor to get to the laundry room, which is accessible 24 hours and costs less than Roehampton Place.

Sadly I'm no longer in the same building as my little sister, but do have my marvelous "mother-in-law" Merry under the same roof and get to see Rob much more now that we both live in the same city again.  And although I miss St Catharines a lot, I've discovered Welland is a nice place and the fact I'm paying almost $200 less a month in rent makes it even nicer.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped in one way or another, be it using your muscle, your money or your words of encouragement. I'm grateful to have each and every one of you in my life and that's something a few extra miles will never take away.

Parking Lot..."You Ugly!"

You may have noticed in the video above, what appears to be stained glass windows in the living room of my new place. Those windows are actually my balcony doors and when the drapes were open I had a lovely view of a big ugly parking lot, heavy traffic and a street light. This is a huge difference from the trees, singing birds and other small critters that I had grown accustomed to seeing from my balcony, when I lived on Roehampton Ave.

I knew there would be sacrifices when I downsized, but I had no idea how depressing looking out at that parking lot would be until I was all settled in to my new home. Realizing that I am quite capable of being depressed without adding a dreary view, I went searching online for something to hide it. The stained glass is actually 4 panels of a window decal from a company called Artscape. The panels adhere using static and can easily be removed and reused.  The description for the window decals said it blocks harmful UV rays while still allowing in light and they are ideal for hiding an undesirable view.  As soon as I read that I was sold and headed to Home Depot the very next day.

As it turns out my sister Kim was also in the market for window decals and also went to the same store, on the same day, for the same product .. gee great minds really do think alike...LOL!

Miss You Much!

The view of the trees and wildlife aren't the only things I miss about my old apartment. I really miss  having a shopping mall within walking distance. I miss the most amazing superintendent named Vivian and her lovable sidekick Judy [pictured here when I said my goodbyes to them]. They kept the building in ship shape, not always an easy task when you have over 100 units to watch over.

But most of all I miss with all my heart and soul having my little sister, her hubby and her son living only a few floors away. We shared so many good times (and good food) over the years and it will take a long time to get used to not having them so close by.

Jane and Graham did join me recently for a sleepover at my new place and it was nice to create one of my first new memories here, hopefully one of many as the days go by and East Main Street in Welland becomes more and more like home  : )