Thursday Thirteen

1. It's still cold. Will Spring ever come?
2. I've been busy. Culling, cleaning and organizing. We are interviewing Real Estate Agents this week and hope to have a "For Sale" sign on this old house in a couple of months.
3. My hope is that the house will be sold in a couple of weeks (keeping everything neat, tidy and dust free is going to be a challenge) with a possession date of August 31.
4. People ask me what our plans are after we sell this house. Uh...no plans. We may be "of no fixed address" for a while but we will not be homeless.
5. The housing market is hot here in Winnipeg but our house is unique in a number of ways. That may make it harder to sell.
6. I am feeling quite a lot of anxiety about all of this. Now that the time has finally come, I worry, constantly. Will it sell by the summer (I surely hope so), can we keep it neat and tidy enough for showings (our international students keep their bedrooms in good condition but don't seem to care about cleanliness in toilets and showers), will we get enough money for it (to pay off the mortgage and have enough left for something nice)?
7. Emotionally, I am ready to leave this place. I will miss it. There are many happy memories here but I'm ready to move on.
8. My laptop is still out of commission. That's why I haven't been posting lately. The LCD display is cracked and needs replacing. Dell, which claims to have great customer service (NOT!) has informed me that it will cost $400.00-500.00 to repair. I know that the replacement part can be purchased on ebay for less than $150.00. What gives?
9. I will NOT purchase a Dell computer again.
10. The desktop computer is now upstairs in the TV room and is not as available as the laptop. I need to share it with everyone else in the family.
11. Kristen has not yet heard about "Ottatown" but we are optimistic that she will be accepted and will be in South Africa by this time next year.
12. Had a seriously clogged bathtub drain last week that resulted in a $400.00 plumbing bill and a new and unneccesary hole in the bathroom ceiling. I won't go into all the details. There are some things about this old house I will not miss.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I'm looking forward to.

1. Christmas eve with my children.
2. Christmas day with the extended family.
3. The 2 days and nights we'll be spending at Pinewood Lodge.
4. Our open house on December 30.
5. Singing Christmas carols.
6. Learning to cross country ski. Wes and I start our lessons in January.
7. The birth of my niece and her husband's baby.
8. A huge dumping of snow. It's not in the forcast but I can hope, can't I?
9. Skating at the Forks. All I have to do is find my skates. Has anyone seen my skates?
10. A visit from John and Tena after the baby is born. I know they're not coming to see me but I'm hoping they'll be able to tear themselves away from their little grandson for a while.
11. Wes' week off, between Christmas and New Year's.
12. Playing my newly tuned piano.
13. The book "The Dissident Daughter" that I ordered 2 weeks ago and still hasn't come.

Thursday Thirteen

1. The rain has finally stopped and the sun is shining. Thank goodness for that.
2. Went to the funeral of a woman yesterday who should have had another 30 years to live if you believe the statistics. There were a lot of people there, including members of "The Gospel Choir," 2 of whom sang a solo. I would have loved to see the whole choir do a number.
3. CJ's grandpa's grave was near to his mom's. And there, on Grandpa's grave marker was the name of his wife, her date of birth and a space for her death. I wonder what she thinks about when she sees that.
4. Kristen tells me that the funeral home limo is pretty sweet.
5. When I die, I want live music at my funeral. And hymns. I want "Abide With Me" to be sung. No canned music for me.
6. There also has to be good food for afterwards, like wraps and fruit and hummus and black bean dip. Maybe Ira's Deli or some similar place could do the catering. Is it okay to have Jews cater a Christian wedding?
7. I have never stood at a graveside ceremony where I thought that the weather was great. It always seems to be raining, or freezing or like yesterday, windy.
8. Advice to those of you who never want your picture taken: Please, let people take your picture, even though you don't like it. That way, there'll be photos for them to look at when your time comes.
9. More advice: Take care of yourself. Exercise. Eat healthy. Enjoy life. Laugh.
10. I didn't know CJ's mom but several people commented on the fact that she would say "Mercy!" when the situation warranted it.
11. When people think they "have to be strong" when someone near to them has died, what exactly does that mean?
12. I hope CJ and his dad will continue to allow people to help them out and support them once everyone leaves.
13. For me, there is much comfort in the fact that I believe there is life after death. I don't really know what that will look like but it makes death seem less final.