Love and hate

What I hate
Moving.

Not having a dishwasher yet. (The resident dishwasher to date is named Isabella.)

Bell Canada. Disconnected at old residence 8 am Monday. Technician arrives to install new service at new address 5 pm Tuesday. Dial tone achieved, but realize after technician has gone that the phone number associated to the line belongs to somebody else. Spend Wednesday explaining to dozens of callers (who gets that many phone calls?!?) that I know nothing about the person to whom the phone number actually belongs. Wait at home all day for technician to arrive sometime between 8 am and 6 pm. Sometime during the afternoon, the line goes dead (fortunately after I'd placed a few long-distance calls). Thursday, have furious and lengthy conversations with customer service reps and repairmen as they explain certain policies and I tell them regardless of their freaking policies my bloody phoneline still doesn't work, depleting my cell phone account in the process (which I have trouble refilling, because in obtaining a mortgage all credit cards were cancelled but one, and that one hasn't yet been modified to include my name). Was promised that a technician would arrive between 1 pm and 6 pm and told somebody must be home. Placed call to customer service at 5:55 pm, as no technician had arrived. Was assured technician would arrive first thing Friday morning, between 8 and 10 am. Still waiting. (But I feel a little better about it now.)

What I love
Coffee. As I make it, espresso with milk over ice in a tall, skinny glass. I think in some circles that's an iced latte.

How Helena hugs so tightly now, and coos, "Mon amie Mama."

How I can plop a bowl of strawberries and cream in front of her and there's such appreciation in her eyes, as if I'd spent hours slaving over a hot stove. "C'est délicieux."

How when climbing the stairs (which turn), she monitors my progress and insists I follow her lead to use the best hand grips, as if we were scaling Mount Everest.

That the terrace is nearing completion and they're planting shrubbery. Shrubbery!

Today is the first day of the rest of our life
Today, Helena is two and a half years old. A very happy unbirthday to you!

Today (assuming I don't have to wait at home for a phone technician), we finally clean the old residence and clear out the final contents from the hall closet, and say good-bye.

Today we close that chapter of our life and start building our home.