I took possession of my new (old) house in Garden Bay on Jan 16.  Went up for the day with my Realtor to pick up the keys and inspect the premises. Had to return to the city to attend a strata council meeting. The car was full with windsurfing gear so the move has begun.

While in town I starting thinking about using the house in the interim while waiting to sell the apartment.  The house has three bedrooms: one for me, one for the TV, and the last for guests.  As I did not have any guest bedroom furniture, I went shopping at Ikea and drove back to the house on Jan 23 for a first sleep-over.

Here are the contents of two boxes, laid out in I hoped a useful manner.  It’s been quite a while since I last took an Ikea challenge.  One must pay attention to all the little details in the pictures as the instructions contain no words.  Note iPod speakers top left and hear the jazz.  It took a few hours but it was fun.

So now there are two places to sleep.  There is space for another single bed and a couple of chest of drawers in the same style so back to Ikea I’ll go before the next visit.  The red Afghan carpet in my apartment entrance will fit nicely in this room.

When I bought the apartment I did not buy furniture at Ikea.  I had banquettes custom made for the spaces.  While at the house I measured each room so that I could figure out how to redeploy my apartment furniture.  I am happy to report that it will all work out well with a few minor adjustments.

One not so minor adjustment is that I will need to remove a small pantry room in the kitchen in order to fit my dining banquette.  This planning exercise has really highlighted just how large the apartment rooms are.  So the house TODO list was officially started.

After setting up the beds I drove down the hill to the Garden Bay Pub for dinner.  A creature of habit I usually try the burger when I first visit a restaurant.  The burger was excellent and the beer was good, although a bit expensive compared to my local in town.  There were a total of seven people there including staff.  I declared myself new to the area and names were exchanged.  It will be easy to know and be known by people in small town Pender Harbour.

I returned to Vancouver the next day as I miss the comforts of home, my piano in particular and I am going piano shopping on Monday. Back in the big city I cannot help but compare and contrast the two locations.  It was pitch black up there and the stars were blazingly beautiful (no streetlights).  Looking out the window I saw my large dormant garden versus the density of the West End.  I will miss some things for sure; for example, the Stanley Park seawall, the natural light in my apartment, and access to shopping and services.

It is completely clear and sunny this morning in Vancouver.  It has not snowed in over a week at Whistler and spring is coming fast.  I just saw the red glint from a hummingbird outside.  Mind you it is only 1C at the moment.