Keira-anne.com

At Highland Secondary School, Mrs. Bourchier was easily one of the most well-liked teachers. In 10th grade, my classmates and I secretly crossed our fingers that her name would be on our schedules for Science 10. I was one of the lucky ones. Science was never a subject that I cared much for, but Mrs. B held my interest.

Because we live on the Juan de Fuca fault, the unit on earthquakes had everyone talking. One day in class, Mrs. B stated “if The Big One ever occurred, because of the plate structure, Vancouver Island would likely slip underneath the Mainland.”

Diagram: Natural Resources Canada

Okay, maybe that’s not exactly what she said, but it’s all my ears heard.

Fast forward a decade or more and I’ve come to experience a few tiny tremblers in my adult life, none of which were as scary as I expected. Northern Vancouver Island has been the epicentre for quake activity in recent weeks, activity that’s rattled many Island residents.

The latest earthquake struck late Sunday with a magnitude of 4.3 [source]. Though we’ve all been taught that The Big One is inevitable, the optimist in me would like to believe that all these little shakers are, one by one, relieving some of the pressure (though I’m quite sure that’s not actually true).

Either way, here are some facts to help you hang on to your sanity…

• The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) records and locates an average of 4,000 earthquakes in Canada each year – that averages out to 11 per day!
• About 1,000 of those Canadian earthquakes are recorded in the GSC’s Sidney office on southern Vancouver Island.
• Vancouver Island will not sink in the event of an earthquake. It is located on the North American plate
• No confirmed casualty has ever been directly related to a Canadian earthquake, nor has any building actually ever collapsed.

[source]

The last month of my life has felt like nothing short of chaos, but I’ve relished every moment of it. The days have been filled with my day job, filling boxes, making appointments, planning my schedule almost to the minute, taking care of administrative tasks and still managing to find time for myself. This is, in fact, the first time in almost two weeks that I’ve even logged into my blog dashboard. In busy times in my life, my blog is usually my first casualty.

Last week I moved from 434 square feet in the high reaches of downtown Vancouver to a renovated 1930s bungalow on the city’s Westside with a loving man that amazes me in new ways every single day. A new chapter in my life begins, right down to the white picket fence (that will need much TLC and a good coat of paint come spring).

I’ve been awake for more than an hour, the first somewhat quiet day without much obligation in longer than I can remember. Warm slippers are on my feet, a cup of coffee steams on my desk and Jordy is happily dozing in my lap. We have been in the new home for almost a week; however, last night was Jordy’s first. Like anything in his challenging life, it’s proven to be an adjustment, but within hours he was sleeping in front of the fireplace. I have no doubt he’ll be just fine. Animals are far more resilient than we give them credit for.

Just yesterday I returned from a whirlwind trip to the Comox Valley to retrieve my furry friend. I also managed to sneak in another visit to my favourite pumpkin patch with my niece, a visit with an incredible friend (who just got married and is expecting her first bebe) as well as a turkey dinner for my Cancun-bound mother and the rest of my family. It’s all in a day’s work.

Staying with my mom since the end of August, Jordy and I have been apart for over a month. That time, however, allowed me to cross off all 101 items on my to-do list without stressing him out. Apart from packing up my old apartment and scrubbing it from top to bottom for the new poor, unfortunate soul to habitate that studio, September was a huge time of transition. Half of the time I was at my apartment, the other half I was in Kitsilano with J. To this day I’m still living out of a suitcase until we purchase a new dresser next week.

What makes moving so aggravating at the best of times is the number of “little things” that need to get done – like carpet cleaning. I won’t bore you with the details, but $175 later and a stain that doubled in size, I ended up forking over an additional $250 from my damage deposit.

Then there is also the process of getting accounts transferred over, the back pain from moving furniture that no man or woman should be able to lift, and trying to coordinate when one can actually move into their new home. (Which, until a day or two before it happened, we didn’t even know when we’d be able to.) On top of all of that, J and I were desperately trying to find an ideal tenant for the basement suite, a task that proved to be a greater endeavour than I ever imagined.

Photo: interpunct on Flickr

Finding a tenant is a lot like dating. The interest is out there to be found, but when it comes to showing your goods only to be turned down again and again, it can start to become a very personal process. J and I put our heads together and decided that the right person was more important than top dollar, so we dropped the price and re-listed. My inbox was then flooded with dozens and dozens of incredible candidates. A day later and tonight we have a wonderful woman and her big fuzzy dog coming to sign the rental agreement. I can’t begin to tell you what a relief that is!

Having the extra cash on hand will allow us to finally feel comfortable making purchases and begin the transformation of making this into our home. I’ll stop short of a Clockwork-inspired illumination at the front of our pathway, but a trip to Home Depot is at the top of our list.

Photo: marie-II on Flickr

For years I’ve been utterly obsessed with HGTV and all the real estate and design shows it features. I dream of creamy paint and luxe fabrics and accessories with lustre. Until now, I always felt like the places I lived came with an expiration date. I never put art up on the walls or made any sort of investment in my surroundings. And now? Now I’ve got a vision of a master bedroom with more “wow!” factor than I thought I could dream up and an open concept living and dining room that any beach bungalow would be insanely jealous of.

An hour of typing later and Jordy’s now stirring in my lap, my coffee has gone cold and the shower is calling my name. Truth be told, this morning’s trip to Home Depot has me as giddy and excited as a kid heading to Disneyland. I can’t wait to cover up the baby blue monstrosity that is our house’s walls. Though, as much as I love design and home-making, I also very much need to write. Except this time, I promise I won’t disappear for so long…