{"id":1178,"date":"2021-10-29T16:54:57","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T23:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/?p=1178"},"modified":"2021-10-29T16:56:52","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T23:56:52","slug":"cramming-my-creativity-into-a-corner-of-the-couch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/cramming-my-creativity-into-a-corner-of-the-couch\/","title":{"rendered":"Cramming my creativity into a corner of the couch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To add a bit of background, we made a snap decision in April 2021 that we were going to pull up roots from Calgary, Alberta and drop them in Vancouver, British Columbia. With the world pivoting to a mainly online society in order to avoid COVID, the pandemic allowed us to not only move to a place we’ve always wanted, but to keep our jobs at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the span of Spring Break 2021, we scouted locations in the greater Vancouver area, chose our desired location, and put our first deposit on what would eventually be our new home. Housing in this area of Canada is nuts–not only is it twice the price of Calgary, but there is a negative supply of housing. Anything available often goes through bidding wars, wait lists, and lotteries just to get the chance to make an offer. We lucked out in that literally hours before we were to hop on our flight back to Calgary we managed to secure a new build and lay down a deposit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our new abode would be ready early summer 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Someplace amongst all that construction is where we will live. Eventually.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As circumstances would have it, we needed to move before then. So in July, we secured a rental, packed a moving truck, crammed into the hybrid, and hauled bum to the west coast. We knew things would be tight, space-wise, for about 9 months, but I didn’t expect this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We went from a modest estate home in Calgary at just under 3,000 sq ft . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
A hike above the coul\u00e9e in the old ‘hood. One of those is our old home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 to a 900 sq ft apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Three storage units later, we were still swimming in boxes, and this was after we sold a good majority of our furniture and Goodwill-ed much of our belongings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somewhere in our apartment, I had to find room for my creativity–my writing and my crafts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we were packing, I allowed myself one craft for the apartment. That would be my diamond painting. Supplies could live in a box, the painting could take up an IKEA table, and a cutting mat would allow me to cover the painting and use the table for other purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Is the addition of a candle to a table full of chaos considered zen?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The couch (one of the only pieces of furniture we kept) became my home office\/writing space. A plastic container from Daiso became my desk\/office supply\/coffee caddy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I edit my 4th book, portions of the novel live in various corners of the apartment. I have repurposed a wine box as a hard copy storage\/bedside table. The TV stand holds my current editing binder. The copier lives in a corner, hidden under boxes, grocery bags, and the occasional snack bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mochi has claimed one corner of the couch as her own, even though her enormous dog bed and favourite stuffy are literally steps away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Does the clutter drive me nuts? A little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does the lack of space make me crazy? Surprisingly not so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I miss having a quiet space alone where I could be with my thoughts. And it did take me several months to get back into the groove of writing on a regular basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even though the apartment is our in-between for the moment, the surroundings are starting to feel like home. Daily walkies to the river are something to look forward to. The colours remind me of my childhood home in Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We’re counting down the months until summer. Then we can move into your permanent home on the mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe I’ll see a bear, too (hopefully from the safety of my balcony as I enjoy my morning coffee).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The new view, under construction.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For now, I will watch the squirrels bury their acorns (and drive Mochi crazy), and dream of an office table or even a kitchen island where I may write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Rissa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To add a bit of background, we made a snap decision in April 2021 that we were going to pull up roots from Calgary, Alberta and drop them in Vancouver, British Columbia. With the world pivoting to a mainly online society in order to avoid COVID, the pandemic allowed us to not only move to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[115,110,3],"tags":[116,111],"class_list":["post-1178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autumn","category-british-columbia","category-day-to-day","tag-fall","tag-moving","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6odz9-j0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1166,"url":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/autumn-on-the-west-coast\/","url_meta":{"origin":1178,"position":0},"title":"Autumn on the West Coast","author":"Rissa Renae","date":"October 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"As you may know from a previous post, we packed up the family in July and moved from the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains to settle in the foothills of the North Shore Mountain range--aka the greater Vancouver area. 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