About Me

August 31, 2014

Announcing our newest ....

 .... the safe and healthy arrival of a new grandbaby!


It's a boy, tiny and sweet.


Cuddly and precious.


Living on the coast, we only have pictures.
But I think you'll agree he is worth a brag!


Introducing Anakin!


Weighing in at a hefty 1 kg,
Anakin is the younger brother of Chewbacca.


As much as we love our fur grandbabies,
the fact they outnumber our human grandbabies
needs further discussion with our kids soon!

Fur grandbabies: Tessie, Floyd, Lola, BoSox, 
Chewbacca and now Anakin.

Human grandbabies: Beckett and Lua.

That's 6 to 2. 

I'm just saying!

But hey, we're still proud and will take 
our grandbabies in what ever form they arrive in.

Do you have grandbabies?
Are they fur or human?

Our Forest.

Hi everyone!

When we were looking for our land 14 years ago, it was really important to us that was a least a few trees here and there. We were very lucky to find this property with a lovely forested perimeter and strands of mini forests dotted all over. Coming in along the curved drive, our front will face the one part that has the fewest trees. We'll probably plant some nice firs to fill in the gaps but for now, this will be a lovely landscape to gaze at as we sit on our veranda.


Garage side, with the front veranda facing northwest.


A bit of a jut where we hope to put 
a nice little bench or a fountain.


The curved driveway out to the lane.


Facing southeast, the backside of the drive.


Peeking through the brush, I love the density.


And the colors are slowly turning amber.

Do you enjoy walking through forests?
Do you live near one in your community?

The Backside!

Hi everyone!

I wasn't sure that the back of our new house would be very interesting, after spending so much time working on the front profile. But now that we can see the house up close and personal, I'm beginning to really love the backside. It's not the boring facade I thought it originally would be. Now I truly love it!


The turret side ....


.... and the backside.

Pretty!!

And now, the Roof!

Hi everyone!

When we drove out to the country tonight, we discovered that the roofing has begun. This is another great step as it will help the house become weather proofed. Our dry, warm summer has been very helpful for the progress on the house and it's weird that we've had very little rain. Yet, there is no drought. It's as if the good weather is because of our house build! Everyone keeps shaking their head that we've not had any bad weather at all this summer. Usually, we're hiding out in the basement with tornado warnings or watching the streets and creeks fill with water after a scary torrential summer storm. 

This year? 

Nothing!

But we're not complaining because the weather is to our benefit. Shhhh, don't tell anyone!!


The windows are cut out in the studio now.


The beginning of the shingling process.


Roofing materials on the 
upper deck and on the ground.


We chose a dark grey, 
with bits of light grey in the mix.

Next Sunday, when we return, 
the roof should be all done.

And that's the progress today!

Locked Up!

Hi everyone!

A house update tonight. We're not at the "lock up" stage, which means now no one can get into the house at any time, other than the crew with the key. This makes me sleep better at night, even though our house is out in the country and hidden in the trees. I like that no one can just walk through the house anytime they like just because it's open to the world. It's still our house, our property, our domain, even if we don't live there yet. I'm sure our neighbors have walked around inside more than we have. But I put that thought out of my head and now that it's all locked up, I don't even need to think about that one! 


Ordering our front door this week.
For now, a boarded up entrance!


The french door that will go out to the covered deck.


The garage door going out to the back yard.


The door going in to the house.

So happy to be at the "lock up" stage.

If you've built a house, 
what stage did you like the best?

Last August Flowers.

Hi everyone!

Another beautiful and warm summer day was enjoyed by our family. This long weekend has been busy and I'm truly looking forward to having some "down" time tomorrow. Since Friday, we have worked in the garden, painted walls, packed boxes, moved excess furniture to our new storage unit, purged items no longer used and then donated to our local charity shop, organized then cleaned the preschool for Tuesday, shopped for the preschool, shopped for our home and shopped for my closet. More about that later!


We went out to "visit" the new house tonight but before we left for our country drive, I snapped a few pics of the last of our August flowers. Some are starting to fade, others have floated away in the cool breeze but these ones are hanging on and blooming steadily. Love the colors that they exhibit.


My favorite blue blossoms.


Vibrant pink.


Light pink, the shade I love!

More news to share in a bit. 

How you spend your last Sunday in August?

August 29, 2014

Warm and Cozy!

Hi everyone!

I'm sure you're now experiencing what we've had the last little bit. Beautiful sunny days, followed by early evenings, with dark descending before 9 p.m. Cool air, almost a crisp feel to it and lots of neighbors are now starting to burn leaves and dead foliage. I love fall, truly, my favorite season but this year, it seems to be coming so fast. which makes we worried that we'll have an early winter. Or maybe it just feels earlier because I want it to wait a while. Moving in the ice, sleet and swirling snow does not appeal to us at all!


Fall colors.


Can you feel the chill in the air?
The warmth in candles, softly lit?

What is your fall looking like?

August 28, 2014

Look who arrived!!

Hi everyone!

No new house talk today. No long winded updates. No collages of pictures. I promise! Instead, I'll show you who arrived in our mailbox today. All the way across the sea from the U.K., here's Chester the Racoon!


Chester is a favorite in our preschool classroom. The star of the popular book "The Kissing Hand", he's been a great comfort for little ones who are not quite ready to be separated from mom or dad. Chester's mom kisses his hand, so he can feel the love when she's not with him. Hence the sweet red heart on his left hand. We use Chester a lot a the beginning of the school year but from day one, we've had a bit of a rag tag of stuffed racoons that had a red foamy heart shape glued on. I was so excited to find the real Chester one day while searching for something else on the net. It took most of the summer to arrive from across the sea but the wait was worth the time. There is a whole series of Chester stories but this one has always been, hands down, our favorite.


Can't wait for the 1st day on Tuesday!

Have you ever read "The Kissing Hand?"

August 25, 2014

Bathroom Chatter!

Hi everyone!

More decisions are on our plate this week. Last night, we finalized the roof selection (twilight grey) with our builder and today he is sourcing out the siding quotes as we have 2 different options: vinyl or hardie plank. We know the latter is more expensive but we don't know at this point by how much and he didn't either, so we wait for a number from him before we decide. Right now, in terms of color, we're stuck on either a dark sage green, a heritage blue or a butter yellow. That one is taking some time and many great debates! Our trim will be white, the roof dark grey, the shutters black, the front door black, the windows white and the stone grey/black. If only we could figure out the siding color! We're almost done picking out the flooring and the wood trim work going inside as well as outside the house is pretty easy to select now.

Today, it's time to talk about the bathroom. Bathroom chatter, shall we say? Our plan calls for a bathtub, tucked under the window, with a lovely arch above the unit. A row or two of ceramic tiles to match the floor, kind of like what you see below. To the left of the tub will be a one unit shower for two, acrylic, with ceramic tile at the top and a glass door. We were worried it would be too dark, even with a pot light, so our builder found another solution and we're waiting for a quote.


This unit is all one piece and the 2 sides of the shower would be ceramic tile all the way to the ceiling, with glass on the front and the side that separates the tub from the shower. The tub would then have ceramic tile like the one above. A bit more "spa like" than the first option, which means it will be a bit more costly than the first. We have a new bathroom that is all tile and really like the look and the "spa like" feel that we currently enjoy. But this would be an upgrade, so a cost we need to consider.


It would look like this. A bit lighter as we have a nice big window above the tub. But the shower wouldn't be so dark. I like it but still not my favorite.


Here's what we've talked about many times over the years. A claw foot tub! We would still have the separate shower, like in the first option. I'm quite willing to suck up my concern about the shower being dark if I can have this baby. We would get a credit for the original tub and then we could buy this unit. Fits in our budget nicely. The only change is we'd need more ceramic tile to go up the walls so there is adequate coverage of tiling for water drips. But so worth the extra dollars to have our bathroom look more authentic to the Victorian style. 


So that's my bathroom chatter for the day. Hopefully, we'll have some numbers to work with later so we can make these decisions quickly. Then it's on to cabinets and paint colors. It's all coming together. Now we just need fall to hold off for a while so the build can be done and we can move before the snow flies!

Have you ever moved in 
the winter months with snow? 

August 24, 2014

This boy ....

.... is so excited to finally have a bedroom window!


But he was slightly confused that there will be 
no more rock throwing into the basement!!

August 22, 2014

Ready for more?

Hi everyone!

Are you ready for more news on our little house? We ventured out yesterday to see how the installation of the windows was coming. And discovered they were all in, except the basement windows, which will go in this weekend. Here's the latest pictures:


The turret is now secure.


Back of the house.


Peeking from the inside.


My favorite windows are the ovals.

Yes, windows excite me! I truly can't wait to gaze out at the natural landscape of our tiny piece of paradise through these beautiful panes of glass. 

Have a great weekend!
We're packing, purging and painting ....

August 21, 2014

A Bittersweet Birthday.

Hi everyone!

Today, the 21st of August, is a bittersweet day for our family. It is the day, 16 years ago, in 1998, that we said hello and then just as quickly, goodbye to our tiniest baby. Sweet Ciara~Rose was a small bundle of love, given to us for a brief moment but the impact her very short life had on our family and our vast community continues to grow, after all these years. 


We miss her every day and long to hold her again. My personal daily steps are in loving memory of Ciara~Rose. I hope she is as proud of us as we are of her. Holding her in our hearts today, as we remember her tiny toes, her beautiful eyes and her curly hair. 

"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
as long as I'm living,
my baby you'll be"

~ Author Robert Munsch, 
written in memory of his 2 stillborn babies ....

August 20, 2014

Now we wait!

Hi everyone!

A couple of weeks ago, we were still trying to figure out which front door we wanted to go with for the new house. After talking with the sales lady at one builders store and doing a ton of research on Pinterest and viewing doors online with different companies, we came down to one style that we both love and keep coming back to. And here it is: 


The winner!

Now there is just one problem. Our lovely sales lady forgot to tell us she's be away on a holiday this week, so we have to wait until next week for a price and a time frame for delivery. Hoping it's still in our budget ~ when she showed us this craftsman style originally, we both recall her saying that it was, so fingers crossed until we get the quote! Waiting is going to be so hard, now that we've made our final decision. 

Did you make any big decisions this week?

August 18, 2014

Our 30th Wedding Anniversary Gift!

Hi everyone!

Well, we made it to 30 Years of Wedded Bliss! There are times where we've wondered how we'd survive but here we are, healthy, whole and happy. You may have guessed by now that our gift to each other is the new house. Not a fancy new car, or a diamond bracelet, or a tropical holiday. Yup, a house! Not very romantic, especially for this special occasion. But it's ours and it's finally a real dream come true. 


We had a quiet day, a scrumptious dinner in and then we ventured out to the country to see the newest progress on the house today. Here's what we found:


The turret is done!


It proved to be a challenge for our crew.


But they figured out all the angles.


So many nooks and crannies!


The roof over the covered deck is started.


And the beginnings of the front veranda too!


Detail on the exterior doors for the garage.

So much fun to see what's happening. Not sure why there is a rope hanging from the veranda frame. We'll have to ask our builder when we see him this week. I love our meetings. He keeps us in the loop and has the patience of a saint while we ask so many questions. And he has a great sense of humor!

Do you like our anniversary picture! Not professional but a true moment in our life today. The stickers we're sporting? Our daughters brought home a lovely anniversary cake with a card that held these stickers that we had to wear all night. They say "I'm the Boss around here" on mine and on dh's" "I'm the Boss, when she's not around!" Yup, they know us well. 

How was your day today?

August 17, 2014

Construction Blooms!

Hi everyone!

Look what we found the other day:


Right in the middle of construction ....


.... life blooming!!

Sweet. Love the wild nature of our land.