so what have I (we) been up to this week?

It's not all catching up on The Bachelor and American Idol these days, you know.  There's been some real stuff done.

I've mentioned previously that we sold the condo.  That sale closed last Thursday, the new owners took possession last Friday.  And prior to that, Conrad and Van had gone up to close up the condo, get rid of the things we no longer needed/wanted, and oversee the pick-up of things to be shipped to the United States.  On Tuesday, those things arrived.

No, there isn't a lot.  We didn't need the Vancouver furniture, nor did we want the expense of transporting it across the border to us to have to deal with.  We gave it all away (save for a few things we sold to the new owners).  But we did want a fine carpet that we'd had for a number of years.  And we did want all the artwork that we had on the walls before the staging of the condo.  And we did want the Russel Wright ware that I had been collecting and we had been using.  And lo!  Those things arrived with us on Tuesday afternoon.

I'd taken Tuesday off work to be available for the delivery, and then I unpacked the Russel Wright.  Happily, it all made it just fine (which wasn't the case for every piece the guys had packed back with them in their suitcases).  All of it now has a home on the shelving in the dining room, and I think it looks pretty good there. 

Over time, I may add a bit more.  We shall see.

The artwork still sits in the living room.  When Conrad gets home tomorrow, we'll shift it around, and I think it will make for an interesting weekend project if we swap out some of what we have and move it to storage, making room for the pieces from Vancouver that we haven't been able to enjoy for a handful of years.  The carpet will go for a cleaning, a badly needed cleaning.  And then I have plans for it to be unfurled and used in the bedroom.

Ah, but that's not all that happened on Tuesday.  I can only claim to have helped a small bit with the other big project underway.  Van came over to work on our potted plants.  And by work on them, I mean get rid of most of them.  It was badly needed.  Here's the truth:  Conrad and I are indifferent plant parents, and we have never properly cared for the collection of succulents that were getting more and more unruly (and probably potbound) over the years.  We've badly wanted to do something about it, and Van came to the rescue.  You see, he takes care of all the pots and planters on his deck, planning and changing things out as needed.  So there he was on Tuesday afternoon, ridding us of the fire stick that was once so nice and now was ragged.  And the jades that had become spindly.  And more.  He left one pot untouched. 

Once the several lawn trash bags were carted away, we had a barren-looking front and back to the condo.

We trust in him, though, and what he's thinking for sprucing the place up in the days ahead.

Busy times, then, and getting some things accomplished, which always feels good.  And that, friends, is in part what has been going on this past week.