That's right, I've bought my very own place and Murphy and I have a home to call our own! This update is largely about the condo, with Murphy acting as a little spokes model in the pictures. For those of you who've been over to visit this is probably all going to be repetition.

Above we have me getting my keys from John Stanger, my real estate agent, on the 1st of September. He found a great little place for Murphy and me in Lynn Valley, an area of North Vancouver about 10 minutes by car from where my parents live. We're just a few minutes by foot from a shopping centre, where I can buy groceries, clothes, books, housewares, sushi...just about anything I need. The library is just around the corner, and we're surrounded by trails, streams and ponds. The Lynn Canyon Park with its suspension bridge is a half hour walk or less than a 5 minute drive. The condo is a 2 bedroom 1 bath, 769 square feet in total, on the ground floor of a 4 story building with 60 suites, but you'd never know it from how quiet this place is. We have our own entrance from the street complete with a grassy yard and a fence. All in all it's pretty much perfect!

But before we moved we had to pack. I started packing in mid August, knowing that I'd have to work a lot in the weeks leading up to the move (I'd, totally by chance, scheduled my vacation for the middle of September, back in the spring). Murphy, being the curious sort he is, had to get into everything. He curled up on top of curtains:

But his favourite stuff was the bags and bags of stuffed animals. As most of you either know or can guess from the way that Murphy is spoiled, my sister and I weren't kids who wanted for any toys. So by the time I was in my teens I had more than 80 stuffed animals and dolls. Well most of them have just been packed up in boxes in my parents' basement for the last decade. This move provided the perfect opportunity to go through them and donate the vast majority to charity. But Murphy had other ideas:

He thought he'd just hit the mother load! He poked his little head in those bags and retrieved toy after toy after toy.

He pulled out stuffed elephants, bunnies, birds, rhinos, trolls, bears, dolls and more. To your left we have a doll named Esther - though why I remember her name I have no idea. My mother could probably tell you who gave her to me, though I no longer remember. That's what happens when you are given 80 dolls/stuffies in a 15 year period! Well Murphy hauled her out and started pawing at her. He seemed a little spooked by her, actually. Definitely not one of his favourites. But it didn't stop him from going back to pull out more toys. He went through several bags, in fact. I figured all of these toys were being given away anyway, why not let Murphy pick out a few for himself?

Below we have him pulling out a little chick-in-an-egg toy that had been an Easter gift back about 15 years ago:

Notice that Esther the troll has been left by the bottom left of the bag. The chick he liked better, and took into the family room. Note the hallway and room behind Murphy, littered with a trail of toys that he'd decided were to be his. Below we have Murphy with the treasures he'd taken:

With a keen eye, in a few of the following photos, you'll notice a couple that feature a little purple dragon. That's Figment, a Disney character that Murphy found in one of the cast off bags, and is now one of his favourites, continuing his trend towards favouring human toys over doggie ones.

On to the big move!

Below we have a few pictures from Murphy's first visit to the condo. I took possession on the 1st of September but didn't move in until the 10th to give us (me and my parents) time to do a whole lot of work on the place. On the first day my mother started cleaning while my father and I worked on prepping the walls for new paint. That afternoon I brought Murphy over to take a look around:

On the left we have Murphy peering through a gap in the fence into the neighbour's yard. Notice the thin wire lattice fencing - my mother found it at Canadian Tire earlier in the summer. The issue with the wooden fence was that it wasn't complete - it just ran around the outside of the condos. Each individual condo's yard was separated by those bushes you see above Murphy, which he could easily force his way through. Plus there were some areas of the wooden fence where Murphy might have been able to squeeze through. So we installed this lattice fencing all around the yard in front of the bushes, making the yard inescapable. My father also installed a spring on the fence's gate for extra peace of mind.

On the right, we have Murphy posing at one end of our yard under a big tree. I have no idea what sort of trees we have, but they seem to be both evergreens and deciduous trees. You can just barely make out the wire fencing behind Murphy - it's really very inconspicuous. At this point Murphy was pretty unsure about this new place, but it was the first time he'd ever had a yard of his own, as at my parents' place we had a giant fenced patio, but not a fenced grassy area.

Here's Murphy peeking out of the condo into the yard. Notice the patches of dirt within the grass..can you guess that the previous owners had a couple of large dogs? I've been training Murphy to go just in one corner of the yard to let all that grass grow back in, but even now, over 2 months later, there are still big patches of mud (now that it's been raining so much during fall). I'm thinking I might have to just accept it and lay down new sod. But how cool is it that Murphy (and I) have a window seat? As you'll see in the upcoming photos right now it just has Murphy's bed on it, but high on my list of things to get for the condo is a long soft cushion for that built in bench. Below is a shot of the window seat from the inside:

It's quite long (over 80 inches) and 24 inches deep, so I haven't been able to find an off the shelf cushion to fit. I'm going to have to get a custom sewn one...at a custom price, I'm sure! In the above photo also note the wall on the left - a dark blue, while the rest of the walls were white. Not only were the walls white, but they were downright grainy and dusty. So they had to be sanded, washed, and the dark ones primed, before I could paint. Also note the boards on the window seat to Murphy's left. Those were the testers featuring a couple of the paints I thought might be nice in the main room, which includes a joint living room/dining room/kitchen. And speaking of painting:

Here we have my mom working with a roller while my father works on the fireplace. My father actually did all the cutting in on the walls while my mother and I did most of the rolling...for the first coat at least, then my dad did a lot of the second coat. My parents did an insane amount of work on my condo - cleaning, painting, tiling, organizing, gardening, wiring...the list goes on and on. My father would even leave his office to put in several hours at the condo while I was at work!

Notice the colours above the fireplace, that's right it's 4 more to choose from! I had a hell of a time picking just the right shade. I wanted something light, neutral and warm. The irony is that when I finally picked one it turned out to not be the shade I'd tested! Someone must have made a mistake when filling up the little reusable tester jars I'd bought. But I'd gone back and forth so many times to that damn paint store, and had come home with $90 worth of paint, so I figured *screw it!* and just painted with what I'd gotten. It turned out just right though. You can also see the entertainment unit and couch I'd bought, and that's a new dining room table in the foreground with the tools on it. More on those later. Now, let's focus on that fireplace my father is slaving over there!

Here's Murphy posed in front of the finished product. When I bought the condo the fireplace was just a black box with 4 small tiles above it, topped with an asymmetrical wooden shelf. I'd seen a fireplace I liked in a design magazine, and before moving in had discussed with my father how I could go about replicating it. So I bought a mantle, which we painted white. I also bought 2 inch mosaic tiles meshed together into 12 inch square units. They're tumbled marble, but when you only need like 7 square feet of tile marble isn't crazy expensive - $121. Obviously, I also bought grout, adhesive, and sealant. Then I passed it all over to my dad and had him whip me up a pretty fireplace and mantle! I've got to say he did a great job. I then spray painted the silver vents black with barbecue paint, and painted on the sealant, and it was done! All for under $600. Now I have to get a nice mirror or piece of art to hang above it, which is proving a little challenging. I also might buy glass doors for it, as Murphy was quite entranced by the flames when he first saw the fire is going. But now he's just gotten used to it and doesn't pay it much attention. You can also see the finished wall colour, though it looks a little yellower in this photo than it appears in real life.

Next up we have moving day! Below we have everyone who offered to pitch in, in fact without me even asking any of them: from the left to right we have my mom, then my sister Allison, her husband Jason, Trevor, the husband of my friend Wendy, who is in the foreground, and behind her my dad. All of them just told me they were helping - Allie and Jason came up for the weekend, while Trevor insisted that they "get me back" for helping them with their wedding in May. With everyone's help we got the moving truck loaded, driven to the new place, unloaded and returned in under 3 hours.

And on top of helping with the move Wendy and Trevor also got me a DVD player, a $100 gift certificate for Linens 'N Things and a giant jar of chocolate! And to top it off Wendy was about 14 weeks pregnant during the move, and feeling horrifically nauseous. But at least I have an avenue to "get them back" for helping me with the move...

Now onto the finished product! Below we have the living room as seen from the dining room:

Above you can see the entertainment unit and couch much better than in the previous photos. I bought them both at Gerber's Home Furnishings. In fact the entertainment unit is a customized version of a computer armoire my mom found at the store while I was finalizing the sale of the couch. It was impossible to find an entertainment unit that would fit in that space yet still be wide enough to accommodate my new TV. So Gerber's took down the dimensions of all the stuff I had to go into the unit and had the manufacturer build me the unit to fit. And at $400 less than the armoire originally cost as doors on the unit wouldn't fit within the room!

And now the dining room and kitchen as seen from the living room:

The dining set was something my mom found while I was finalizing the sale of the entertainment unit at Gerber's! I'm telling you my mother *loved* doing all the shopping for the condo with me, as she was paying for none of it! It was all "Oh Meg, look at this!" and "Oh Meg, did you see this?" and "Meg, this would fit perfectly...". She had a ball spending my money, though she was invaluable with her knowledge of furniture - her father was a furniture salesman his whole life. In fact she saved me over a thousand dollars by finding that dining room set, which was a less expensive version of one I'd liked at Jordan's. My mom, sister and I found the chandelier at The Lighting Warehouse in Richmond, for under $100, and the shades are from Sears, and cost about $6 each. And those place mats are just some of the things I bought with Wendy and Trevor's Linen's 'N Things gift certificate.

The kitchen needed very little work, we just painted one little wall that's an extension of the dining room wall. The appliances are all stainless steel, as this unit had been the show unit when the place was built back in 2000. In all the apartments I'd lived in in Montreal and Kamloops, none had had a dishwasher, so it feels like quite the luxury.

And off the kitchen we have this little storage room to your left. It has my in suite laundry, my pantry, Murphy's food storage and bowls, plus storage. It's a tight fit but we're small creatures, Murphy and I, so it works just fine. Again, I'd never had in suite laundry before, and even at my parents' the laundry room was down a couple flights of stairs, so I adore this set up.

Off the living room are two bedrooms. First up here is the smaller, second, bedroom, which I'm using as a little office:

I bought the bookcases, but the secretary the computer is on was a piece the previous owners' of my parents' house had left behind back in 1997. It was pink, over black, over green. I'd refinished it back nearly a year ago, in the hopes of using it in a place when I bought one, while my parents had the glass repaired for me as a 30th birthday gift. I think I'm going to move it into the dining room to use to display some of my grandfather's china, and buy a real desk - it's just too small to use as a desk. On the right we have my little old couch, recovered with a slip cover. It folds out, so visitors have a place to crash. The frames feature a couple of English Cocker Spaniel prints from the 1930's that I bought on ebay several years ago. They're hung too high, I'm still meaning to lower them. Murphy used to love that couch, sleeping on it at night a lot of the time recently...until we moved. Now he seems to prefer the floor in that room.

Here we have Murphy lounging in the master bedroom. Those two walls you can see are, well, the green you see, while the other two are white. For now I'm just leaving them as they are since it all fits with my duvet cover, but eventually I'll redo the whole thing. The night tables were made by my great grandfather - I've had them since I was a baby, as I've had the lamps, which were originally my mother's when she was a kid. I just replaced the shades and resprayed the bases. Notice who Murphy is snuggled up with there - it's Patches, who is still his very favourite toy.

Above you can see the edge of a door on the left of the photo - that's the walk through closet that leads to the "semi en suite" bathroom. Below, on the left, you can see Murphy posing in the closet, with the bathroom in the back ground. In the photo to the right you can see one side of the closet, with its built in organizers:

So walking through the closet you get to the bathroom, which you can also get to from a door off the hallway next to the kitchen:

Notice the chandelier in the reflection of the mirror to sort of orient yourself to where the other door in the bathroom comes out. It's actually quite a long bathroom, with lots of counter space to the right of the sink. The counter space is broken up in the pictures so you can't get a sense of its length, but it works perfectly as a little table to sit Murphy on while I brush his teeth.

Above you see the other end of the bathroom, with a nice deep tub. Well, nice for me to bathe in, but not great for bathing Murphy! See how it has built in glass doors on a track? And the position of the toilet to the left side of the tub? Well all that combines to make bathing Murphy downright painful. You have to perch on the toilet and bend over, without resting your arms on the edge of the tub as the tracks dig right into your flesh! This is basically the only thing I really dislike about the condo. Personally the glass is great for me, way more hygienic than a shower curtain, and easier to clean, but I'd never thought that it would create a barrier to bathing a dog.

But other than the tub Murphy and I are really enjoying this new place. Murphy's settled right in, as you can see from the following photos. First we have Murphy lounging on the new couch:

For some reason my friends keep asking me if Murphy is allowed on the couch, which I find hysterical. The dog has his own website, do you really think I wouldn't allow him on the couch? Finding the right couch took some work as it had to be comfy, the sort of over stuffed look I like, in a light colour, but it also had to be durable enough to withstand Murphy's paws. It couldn't be so light that his dark fur showed, while it also couldn't be so dark that his light fur showed. This couch ended up being just right, with just enough shading gradations that you have to look very closely to see that it's covered with Murphy fur! I special ordered in those pillows you see from Country Furniture. Murphy is quite convinced they are just very small dog beds, and can often be found using them as a pillow, or perched directly on top of them, curled up into a little ball. The lamp to the left was the only really crazy purchase I made for the place, at $400. I'd seen it in a magazine, and had seen various versions in various stores. But this one was my favourite. But I couldn't justify paying that kind of money on a lamp...until I was asked to work an overtime shift. 12 hours of overtime take home pay is almost exactly what that lamp cost me, so I bought it on my way to work that very night! Murphy, obviously, is a bigger fan of the $30 pillows.

Murphy's other favourite spot to perch is on the window seat. For now I've put his bed up there, but will soon have it done up with a proper cushion. Murphy loves this spot, sometimes he doesn't even lie on his bed, he just curls up next to it to peer out the window. People walk by, buses pass, even fire trucks don't bother him - he just loves to watch them all.

All in all Murphy and I are very happy here. It's great being just a short walk from everything - I just throw Murphy's leash on and out we go to pick up the paper or return library books. There are still several projects left to be done - art for the walls, curtains, the window seat, but for now it's come together quite nicely.

Email me!

Meghan

Here's the link to the next update: December 2005
Here's the link to the previous update: July 2005

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