The move is complete. We are now officially Townies, at least by the standards of Alberta, in that we live on the very edge of town where the sidewalk ends and the vast, sweepy nothingness of the rest of the North American continental plate begins. I am glad to report that with the help of indispensable friends the move went rather well. We broke less than the professional movers who got us to Alberta in the first place or, to put it another way, nothing at all. The house is now a mess but it is our mess and that is grand indeed.
The mess left behind by the previous owners is another matter altogether.
The place needs some attention, which the previous owners were unwilling or unable to provide. Things like new flooring and a kitchen counter top and a colour scheme from post-1995. But that is all very easy to remedy and, in fact, why we chose the place. Renovations keep the marriage strong. Once they are completed. And the bleeding stops.
Further, when the previous owners, henceforth to be referred to as the Filthingtons, vacated the grounds they left behind a number of items that have entertained, puzzled and in one instance downright appalled us. The engraved cane left hanging in the front closet is a fun mystery we happily will never solve. The cheese spreader and Pampered Chef stoneware scrapers excavated from behind the stove were on the mundane side, as was the little pottery ashtray from Mexico, delightfully decorated with a flamingo in a bikini. The metal sign in the garage which reads "Caution: Live Bombs Inside, Risk of Serious Bodily Harm, You May Die" is getting framed and hung on the bathroom door. And the greasy digest of dirty stories left in upstairs bathroom was removed with double gloved hands and thrown hastily in the trash.
The detritus of others lives can often paint quite a picture. Anyone poking through my house will deduce right away that I love Husband, books, my camera, chocolate chip cookies, almost knitting stuff, and science fiction. I believe my new home was once owned by a world traveling foodie/explosives expert who smoked like a chimney, walked with a limp and had incredibly hairy palms.
