Serroul Corner

We’re in!

Carol — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:02:29 +0000

So we were told the movers would be here this morning but barely believed it until the movers called saying they’d be here by 9am. 9am came and went but shortly thereafter, three guys from a moving company come rambling up our road. Turns out, the semi couldn’t make the turn at the bottom of the road. (As an aside, should you ever come to visit us, you will understand why!!) There is another way in but they weren’t keen on trying that either as they weren’t sure they’d be able to get back out again. What to do, what to do?!?! Suddenly, after about an hour of hmming and hahing, one of them says if only we could get a cube van, they could unload theirs onto that one and ferry the stuff up the hill. Thank heavens for 1-800 numbers. I’m on the phone to UHaul and I’ve got a truck booked by the time I’ve hoofed it up the hill to our house. Dash across the bridge with one of the movers, pick up the truck and dash back through oodles of construction (thank you stimulus spending). So the guys start loading while John and I figure out what to do with the girls while all this is going on. Convince Bronwyn to go watch a movie on the laptop while Rilla and I duck out for groceries (as at this point, all the the fridge contains is grapes, oranges and some New Waterford pizza). By the time Rilla and I return (while narrowly missing running over a cat in the process - KEEP YOUR CATS INDOORS PEOPLE!!!), the movers are hauling our stuff in off the UHaul. As I’m trying to make sense of the kitchen and the ever increasing number of boxes arriving in the kitchen, John announces that the house next door has two little girls, 6 years old and 8 years old, who are wondering if there are any kids moving in. HALLELUJAH!!!!! So off go the girls for the afternoon to play with the neighbours whose parents come from Pictou County and Port Hawkesbury. John and I ducked over a few times during the afternoon make sure the girls weren’t wearing out their welcome and were continually told that the four of them keeping themselves entertained was mutually beneficial! Oh will wonders never cease?!

So here it is almost 9pm. The movers were done by about 5:30. We brought the UHaul back (having to go the long way as the bridge that was half closed before is now fully closed). We rewarded the girls for leaving us alone by taking them to a McDonalds with a playplace. They are now asleep IN THEIR OWN BEDS and John and I are going to sit down and watch a movie on the computer. Painters and tv/phone/internet installers come on Tuesday, the rest of our stuff (only a patio table and Barbie’s dream house) come Wednesday and we should be all settled in by the end of the week. Did I mention the house is perfect? I’m sure we’ll find a flaw or two eventually but I doubt we could have done any better if we had actually seen the place before we signed a lease. Oh yeah, did I mention that the neighbour girls also go to the same school AND daycare as the girls?? Yup, we’re pretty content right now. Tired, oh so tired, but content!

Serroul Corner - East Coast Version

Carol — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 23:21:53 +0000

Hello all and good evening from Halifax!

If anyone is still reading this blog, God bless you!! You have an amazing amount of patience and optimism - you must be a Leafs fan! The blog is one of many things that has fallen by the way side over the last year. Other things like sleeping, relaxing, reading are on our list but we are hoping that our move back to the Maritimes might mean a slighly less hectic lifestyle and more quality time for all of us.

As I write this, I am sitting on the front porch of our new place. I think everyone should choose their house as blindly as we did. It doesn’t really have a backyard. That’s the only bad thing we can say about it. The house is going to suit us perfectly and the landlord seems quite nice. We have been told that our furniture and all the other personal belongings that couldn’t fit into our Kia Soul should be arriving tomorrow morning. I’m very hopeful that this is more than just something the mover said to comfort the overly-emotional lady he had at the phone. Even if it doesn’t arrive until Monday, we’ll be fine. We have electricity, two air mattresses, stolen wi-fi and we’re together! What else matters? (I should take this moment to give a shoutout to the friends and family that have hosted us while we were homeless - Mom, Mom and Dad Serroul, Jamie and Lori - THANKS!!!!)

I’ve been at work for two weeks already. I think I will like it there. I actually got to do something useful today and it felt really good. I’m surrounded by Islanders of all kinds - Cape Bretoners, Newfs, etc. It’s really nice to hear the back home accents again. I’m also enjoying being called dear and honey by customer service staff wherever I go. I am definitely in the right part of the country again.

John and the girls have two more weeks of vacation. The girls met a couple of neighbourhood kids this evening and saw that Halifax has Dominos Pizza so I think they finally believe that everything will be ok here. I’m hoping to take them down to the waterfront to see Theodore Tugboat (I get to watch him from my cubicle every day!!) and maybe a few of the last buskers.

Anyway, that’s the way our world looks from the front porch at 8:19 on our first Friday as a Haligonian family. All the nervousness and apprehension of the last month is slowly starting to slip away. I think a beer or a glass of wine would probably make it disappear completely but that’ll have to wait until we have glasses. And beer.

So that was 2009…

Carol — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:24:53 +0000

I just looked back and I posted only twice in 2009. For those of you that still check out the site from time to time, thanks for your persistence. Today it shall pay off with a sneak peak at the next new artist on the scene. She’s a bright young girl who’s got a lot of potential to hit it big. Take a few minutes to enjoy her first music video.

Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas!!

And then it was September

Carol — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:15:09 +0000

Bronwyn’s first day of Grade 1 went well. I was informed that I purchased the wrong size pencil case but other than that, all disasters were avoided. She also moved up to the school age room at the daycare which was very exciting for her. Rilla has started at the school daycare fulltime now. She barely acknowledged my leaving on the first day so she has settled in fine. Both girls have been pretty tired by supper time but hopefully, the new routine will smooth itself out. Tomorrow will mine and John’s 10th anniversary. I can’t believe 10 years has flown by so quickly but here we are - half a country away from home with two kids in school. That didn’t happen overnight

Anyway, first day pics will show soon. I’ll also be making a photoshow for Rilla’s first day of school. Stay tuned.

Yes. We know. We suck.

Carol — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:31:56 +0000

So with Twitter, Facebook and all the other forms of communication we have, Serroul Corner has been a little neglected. For any of you that still drop by here from time to time, thanks for your perseverance!! I’m going to put a little more effort into the blog as it’s both a great way to share our news and good therapy for me

Life is good but busy, as usual. John and the girls are enjoying their summer off. Bronwyn goes to daycare occasionally to give her a break from Rilla and Rilla went to her new daycare for the first time last week. The two girls will be at the same daycare again (insert Hallelujah chorus here) in September. I think they’ll both thrive. Bronwyn had a great year this past year and Rilla is so ready for school!! It’s hard to believe she’s going into Kindergarten already but she is. She’ll be one of the youngest in her class but she’s got a great teacher so we’re not too worried. As I put together a slideshow for Bronwyn’s first day, keep your eyes peeled for one for Rilla.

Our vacation home was great. The girls are turning into great travellers and the weather was wonderful. As always, it was great to see our family. Someday we’ll come home for good but not yet…

Anyway, a short post is better than no post at all. I’ll update our pics once I get them organized.

October already

Carol — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 01:37:57 +0000

Well, I know that September happened because it’s October but boy did it go fast!!

We have been very busy (do I start every post that way) as of late. September is always a crazy month for us but this September seemed even more so. John is back at school and it’s been a good start to the year. My work is very busy as every project we have seems to rely on three others that are also in progress. They are all coming together but it is definitely making for busy days. Bronwyn is now going to the in-school daycare at her school. The staff seem fantastic and she is always having fun when we get there to pick her up. The surest sign that it’s the right fit for her is that we haven’t gotten a single call home yet! Yay Bronwyn!! She’s also settling in well in Senior Kindergarten. She’s in French Immersion and seems to be picking it up pretty well. You should definitely hear her roll her Rs. She and I have also joined Sparks, the pre-Brownies age group in Girl Guides. The group she wanted to join needed another leader in order to have room for her so I’m in too. Just call me “Silver”!! Rilla is back at Sara’s. She’s hit that lovely three-year-old stage that makes the terrible twos seem like a day at the beach. We’re surviving it though, even if our daycare provider’s books aren’t (sorry Sara - we’re working on it!). Uncle Darrin is living here in Ottawa for a year so we’ve been having lots of fun including him in our activities. So far, we’ve taken him to the fair, Sens FanFest, the butterfly exhibit, the grocery store… He also seems to like playing Wii with the girlies. It’s nice to have family around for a change!

So it’s mid-October and this month hasn’t really slowed down from October. Since the end of August, we’ve been patiently awaiting the arrival of our newest member. Ocean (see photos) joined our little clan about a week ago and is settling in nicely. He’s pretty well-behaved for a puppy and only occasionally needs to be corrected after fishing underwear out of the laundry basket. He’s a pretty social little puppy and loves to meet any living creature we come across on our walks. It’s not making for the rigorous exercise I was hoping for but we’ve finally met some of our neighbours after living here for 3 years. This past week, we had the pleasure of Auntie Shauna visiting us (and Uncle Darrin too I suppose). My wonderful sister and brother-in-law even took the girls for a sleepover so John and I could have a night (and more importantly a morning) alone. If either one of you are reading this, have we said thank you enough??!! Thanks for the break - it was great!

So anyway, the Red Sox are playing game 4 tonight, there are 4 more things on my to-do-list and it’s 9:35. Time to bid you all good night and head off to dreamland. Until the next time…

Harvest Time

Carol — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:57:31 +0000

So the Serrouls went apple picking today. The rain stopped just as we arrived and stayed away long enough to pick a basket of apples and enjoy a walk around Merrickville. The orchard we went to was Kilmarnock Orchard which is about halfway between Smiths Falls and Merrickville. The staff were very nice and the apples were plentiful. We picked McIntosh apples today and they made a lovely pie (my first!!). After the pickin’ was finished, we ducked into The Goose and Gridiron for some of the best fries we’ve found up here and then did a little shopping at the Christmas shop. It was a lovely day for the most part. The girls are a little tired after their first full week at school/daycare and are not being their most precious so they were put to bed early tonight. Hopefully, they will wake up pleasant and so will we! Apple picking pictures will be posted as soon as we find the cable for the camera. In the meantime, nitey-nite!

Yay pictures!!

Carol — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:15:24 +0000

So, not being able to upload pictures has been an issue that has made blogging no fun for a while. I’ve tried a number of different software packages and finally found one that works. YAY!!

If you click on the photos tab up at the top of the page, it will now take you to our photo albums. It’s going to take a while to upload all the pictures we want up there but at least it’s progress.

We hope any of you still reading the blog are well and we promise to make an effort to post a little more often now that we can visually annotate our adventures.

Yippee!!

Carol — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:23:31 +0000

I’d actually write a post but I can’t ’cause we’re going out!! We have an honest-to-goodness babysitter coming to the house!! WHOOPEE!!

I think perhaps John and I need to go out a little more often…

Our Canadian Idol

Carol — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:12:56 +0000

Here’s a little something for those of you musically inclined. What she lacks in tune, she makes up for in heart

“Peace Like A River”