Déménager Encore:

Yes it is official! We are moved in.

It seems eons since I last posted. Moving and a lack of internet have been obstacles to both writing and posting anything. The soonest we will have internet or phone now is Dec 15^th. Originally it was supposed to take ten days for the technician to come and setup the line (i.e., Dec 13^th), but then we read the fine print and it stated that it takes 48 hours after your line has been opened for the connection to actually be made. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this will happen without hassle and as quickly as possible. Thank goodness we have smart cell phones that let us stay in touch by email and allow for some internet access.  It is really interesting to discover how internet dependent we are for everything from entertainment and communication, to price comparing. Regardless, this post has been made possible by Keith and his connection at work.

My day of hauling luggage, furniture and kitchen paraphernalia was efficiently broken up with bouts of window washing and kitchen scouring. It only rained a bit and by the time Keith got home I only needed help with our table/desk and one of the bikes which is more awkward than anything. In the evening, our Ikea furniture was delivered on time and we were surrounded by boxes and boxes and more boxes. Keith got to work right away putting our bed together, while I continued with the cleaning.

Thursday I got up with millions of plans and a list of things to do as long as my arm. Instead, most of my morning was spent organizing and readjusting shelves in the kitchen. Midway through the morning, overwhelmed by my lack of progress on my list and freaked out by a call from my banker which asked me to come in later in the day, I broke down. Yes the “Scottish Heart Attack” hit. I knew it would only be a matter of time, but spending money and I have never been chums, and with the amount we have had to spend to get setup our lives here, I am surprised I haven’t freaked out sooner. It turned out that my banker simply wanted us to switch saving accounts so that we make more interest and I had a nice talk with him about vacations, but on the moving/setting up front the day was a bust. We spent most of the evening buying a washing machine. Not only did it take us forever to make a decision, but then the transaction rang through the cash register for one hundred euros less than it cost! Sounds great, but they caught on, which resulted in us having to sit and wait while the store figured it all out. Needless to say we didn’t get home until after nine o’clock, tired and frustrated, and still surrounded by a mountain of boxes.

After a good night’s sleep under our warm and fluffy new duvet, things started to improve. I was able to set up all of the living room furniture, as well as some other pieces for the bedroom and office on Friday. I must say I just love our new couch. It is completely comfortable, and what a fantastic colour. It is a huge improvement on the love seat we had in Kingston which not only had lost much of its cushion, but did not allow you to lie down without twisting yourself into the foetal position or elevating your legs so that they would flop over the arm of the loveseat and eventually loose circulation. The day was capped off with a trip to the pub with some of Keith’s colleagues where I have discovered my drink for the coming holidays, Leffe Ruby! It is quite sweet compared to the beers I usually drink, but it is a bright red and hence fits with my new décor in the living room and with the Christmas season.

Saturday morning our washing machine was supposed to be delivered. While Keith waited and continued to set up furniture, I went grocery shopping. By the time I came back no washing machine had been delivered and Keith was hungry and cold. The weather has been unusually cold here, going down to freezing at night. I know I shouldn’t complain, you are all probably sick of shovelling snow and scrapping frost from your cars. The thing is it is fine if you are outside and dressed for the weather, but the French have no concept of heating or insulation. I have noticed this at my French class, which I always exit with a chill, and Keith’s lab seems to have no temperature regulation at all.  As I have mentioned before, two of our radiators are not working and we have thin single paned windows that span the entire west wall of our apartment. Add to this marble tiles and we are now in a battle royale to warm up our apartment. This has resulted in us completely closing off the rooms that have no heat, shutting up our shutters to hope that a single slat of wood will act as some form of insulation, and breaking down and buying a small heating fan to heat up the air a bit more and circulate warmer air from the radiators.

Things did warm up a ton with the little fan and Sunday was a much more relaxing day. Church was way easier to understand now that we actually have a proper missal. Plus now that we are in Advent the themes of the homilies are a bit easier to catch. Our church is also limited in the heating department. The only heaters it has are gas ones that are mounted on the walls. They look like heaters you would see to keep patios warm at restaurants. They are interesting to watch turn on because they are gas powered and you can see them sparking until the spark catches the gas. Then woosh, the whole thing lights and starts to glow orange. We are still unsure as to what happens when it doesn’t catch right away. Is there an automatic turn off for the gas?

While I have been writing, our washing machine has actually been delivered and installed (free of charge)! Things are starting to come together. I have been a bit manic about organizing and re-organizing things so that we are optimizing space and accessibility. Keith and I were discussing that we will really not truly start living in Marseille until after all of this house stuff is done. Most of our time seems to be spent shopping and price comparing these days. We are hoping that we only have two more Ikea trips left and that most of the odds and ends will be done by mid-December. The apartment will continue to look a bit Spartan for a while but decorations will take a bit more time to pull together and our bank cards need a bit of break for a while. Once things are a bit more “finished” I will post more pictures.