Canadian House Arrest

I miss my Philo guy! My messy room, Canadian peanut butter (everything here is Kraft),

My basement apartment- note the shovel, guess it gets used quite a bit

So I'm not really on house arrest, it just feels that way. I arrived in Toronto on Tuesday and since I flew, I shipped a few boxes of my stuff up. According to FedEx tracking they were supposed to arrive Wednesday, so I stayed in the apartment all day waiting and they did not come. (if you are not at home to receive packages here, they will not drop them off) So I waited on Thursday and 3 of the 4 arrived in the afternoon and currently it is 1 PM on Friday and I am waiting for the final one which is scheduled to be dropped off today. This has sort of sucked because I am an eager beaver to go 'splorin in my new hood.
That said, I have had my evenings to go out and get stuff. Another sucky thing is that I do not have a car and have been making my treks to neighboring stores by foot, filling up my backpack and reusable bags, and lugging it all home. Those adventures and my crappy mattress have caused for an achy, breaky back. It is also annoying because there are some big things I need to purchase and I guess I will just need to hire delivery. As you can see from the pics of my bedroom I am in need of a dresser and a desk. I have seen a lot of great listings on Craigslist but no delivery.
Canada is just weird. I didn't expect so many different things because Toronto is just so close to the US. Going grocery shopping takes me forever because the brands are so different, yet the same, and dairy and meat is much more expensive.
Toronto is really progressive. Under our kitchen sink we have a trash can for garbage, a box for recyclables, and an organic waste which is a bin for all food particles (kind of like compost but takes much more than just raw stuff). Also, at all stores you are charged a nickle per plastic bag if you didn't bring your own.
I am also needing to set up my Canadian bank account which I am not looking forward to. My roommate explained to me how different Canadian banking is from the US. For instance, EVERY time you use your own bank's ATM you are charged $1.50. EVERY time you use your debit/credit card you are charged $.65. Talk about pricey.
So other than being limited on leaving my apartment during the day, I am doing OK in this pricey/weird place. I am really, really missing my Josh and we have been video Skyping at least twice a day. He sent me up with one of his undershirts that he wore the night before I left and it is all the more difficult when I am going through my clothing and get a whiff of his cologne/deodorant.
On the praise report side: Whit is flying in today! He will only be here through Sunday night, but boy oh boy am I happy to see my old flaming sidekick!
So if you remember, keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Adjusting is difficult.
Love my girls
Kari