The new neighbourhood

So, I'm all moved in. Pictures will follow soon. We've been here since the beginning of the month. The first weekend I moved all the stuff in with the help of two hired hands, and then headed to Vancouver to meet some online friends for the weekend. Had an amazing time and was happy to find that my long-time online friends were just as cool and interesting in person as they are in writing. I feel so fortunate to know such great women.

I stopped off at Ikea before heading back to the island and picked up a whole bunch of furniture since I'd ditched a whole ton of crappy student furniture when I left the old place and wanted a few things that actually looked good together. So, I hauled all that out (have the bruises all over my body to prove it) and put every piece together that night. Except for the chairs that go with the new dining room table. The next day I battled the Ikea instructions and put together one chair. I tried on following evenings to put together the others. So far, I've managed one more. The other two are slowly driving me insane. I have all the same kinds of pieces I had for the other chairs, and they're all the same size. I have my Alan Keys lined up, nuts and bolts and washers, etc, but they still won't work! It is so completely frustrating. Seriously, I feel like I'm dealing with a Rubix Cube here. I feel like sending Ikea a bill for the stay in the mad house I'm confident I'll wind up in as a result of these stupid chairs.

Fortunately my mom has the kid for the night because he's got some grandparent's event thing at his school tomorrow, so he's bringing her to class. I remembered I had some of BC's finest hidden away, so I had a few deep breaths and then went for a walk.

And that is what I needed to do. I felt immediately calm and happy and yet at the same time excited--hopeful. I feel like I'm living in the right place. This neighbourhood feels like the kind of place I want to be in. My son seems pretty happy so far and is adjusting well to the new space--he's discovered the joy of riding his scooter down the hill along narrow sidewalks--I chase after him shouting, "Watch that lady! Don't cross the streets! Wait for me!" It's a small nieghbourhood, but busy and bustling, and then there are quiet little side streets full of grand old Victorian houses with stained glass windows and chairs on the porches, craftsman bungalows with fairy lights on their decks, wildly colourful slightly rundown houses with toys in the yard, or small groups of people playing guitars on their decks or driveways with guys fixing their engines or painting. You know these are streets where people feel safe and have their friends and families near, but they've learned to ignore the occasional noisy party from next door or the occasional waft of marijuana outside their windows.

And the flowers! Everywhere, and trees and stars overhead, and scents that tickle your nose and change with every step--cherry blossoms, lavender, freesia, lemon, salt water, tar, oil, pot, roses--and the food! As you walk down the hill, first you smell that soapy herbal smell from the Natural Foods Store and then that starchy smell as you pass the laundromat, and then baked bread and rich spicy smells from the Ethiopian place, followed by that hunger-inducing spicy slightly greasy smell from the Thai cafe behind you, and grass and pine and beer and suncreen and coffee--lots of coffee.

The population here is diverse--young families, dogs dragging owners behind them, sports fans (a world cup party tonight in the fake British pub on the corner where my friend D tends bar), cats curled up in bookstore windows, hippies, hipsters, old couples, musicians, bikers, university students....lots of people sitting outside the cafes and people selling jewelry (and probably a few other things) outside the park. Everyone smiles or says hi around here. I lived in this neighbourhood a couple blocks up about 11 or 12 years ago with a series of insane roommates before I got one (Hi Carol!) who turned out to be a perfect roommate and a great friend. I have a lot of happy memories in this neighbourhood, and I am so excited about the prospect of making more.

For a long time I've had the urge to leave Victoria. I spent my twenties moving from town to town, province to province, and managed the occasional jaunt overseas. I am not good at staying in one place. I get depressed when I think of how much of the world I still haven't seen. I know I'll see a lot of it one day, but I've felt stuck here for some time now and it's been tough. Right now, though, I really can't think of any place I'd rather be, except in that dreamy, "Oh I'd like to be in the South of France eating grapes and bread and drinking wine and making love to an artist," kind of way.

I finally tracked down a copy of Nina Simone's The Blues on cd today. I've had it on tape since it came out in 91, but the tape has been played to the point of abuse. So I returned from my walk and sat back and closed my eyes and listened to the best Nina compilation EVER. I'm serious--I think I own 7 or 8 of her albums now, and listened to any other I could get my hands on, but The Blues is a perfect, perfect album.

Anyways, I'm happy. I've got Nina, I've got the neighbourhood, and the Ikea chairs can wait a few more days.