Our Hobbit Window.

When we went to put in new 10 foot

windows at our new centre, there was

a slight problem in our team break room.

The same window was to go in this spot

but when the contractors took off the

drywall, there was a very unexpected

beam in the way. A steel beam! So that

meant no window. However, we asked

if there was anyway we could still have

some light, so they came up with this

great plan to create a "Hobbit window"

for us and it's been quite the hit. Love!

💗 Chy 💗

Blogtober: Day 15.

The two tiles that will soon be installed in our new

little kitchen at our new little centre. Can't wait for

all these finishing touches to be completed. We all

are working hard to get it done. And soon it will be!

~ Chy

Construction Underway.

Our construction on our new space has started. The

crew had to cut up the concrete floor for the new

plumbing and that was a huge job. But it's now done.

Soon the walls will go up, the ceiling will come down

and we'll paint once the doors and trim are in. Then

it will be the washrooms and the kitchen, flooring

and a big clean. Hope to be open before the end of

the Summer. Fingers crossed we can get there on time!

~ Chy

 

Construction.

The community based hospice I've worked at the for

the last 16 years is finally moving in to the next phase

by adding in residential suites. Our old building came

down last Summer and now we're under construction.

On the left is 2 windows on the main floor showing

2 of the 12 hospice suites. And the upper window on

the upper floor is one of my counselling rooms. Not

sure if the board windows are broken or just covered. 

The front of hospice. It will have a large covered

veranda and new landscaping. My feet before I went

over the threshold. As the longest employee, this was

a huge moment for me but I managed to not cry!

On the left, the nursing station on the main floor. And

on the right, a small shot of my huge kids classroom.

On the left, my other classroom for teens. So big! The

parents will meet in the day program room so we are

well equipped for larger numbers. On the right is one

of the suites for those who will move in to die on site. 

One of my counselling rooms on the left. I love the

sloped ceiling. The larger counselling room for families.

I asked for this particular office because it looks out

over the court yard. And faces south. I love to have

sun in my office. But there's a bit of a hitch to my

little dream. The height of all the spaces in the new

space is 9 feet tall. As you can see, the window in my

office is quite high to the ceiling. One of my staff

took a pic but I don't have it here to show how short

I am compared to the window. For perspective, I am

5 feet tall. And my eyes line up with the very bottom

of the window frame. Which means, without a step

stool, I can't see out! You can see by the picture on

the right that the roof line also inhibits any sight line.

I won't be able to actually see the courtyard. I may

have to change my mind as visually seeing outside

is super important to me. Looking up at a window

vs. looking out will make me feel like I'm in a cell!

Two more options. The first on the left has 2 windows.

But it looks out oh the back alley and over the garage

of the church next door. Brighter but the view is not

as nice as other spots. So my other choice would be

this one on the right that has a sweet window and then

a tiny sloped ceiling. I would have my other counsellors

on my team next door instead of across the hallway.

The only downside is that it faces North and truly love

to grow many plants in my office. I'll need to find out

if I can successfully grow lush plants with muted sun.

So here's my question of the day: would you choose

the tall windows, the 2 windows or the sweet window?

I am excited to finally have this new building. But

help me decide! I look forward to your responses ....

~ Chy

Next House ....

I started a file for storing pictures when

I come across ideas for the next house.

Love this kitchen window looking out

over the garden. We won't be building

for a few more years yet, but I'm sure it

will take that long to find this window.

~ Chy

Deck Decisions.

We've finally figured out how we want

to add a deck to our back porch. It's

been a long haul trying to make sense

of what we have and what could be.

Working with our contractor, we've

come up with a very simple 12' x 16'

deck that will be just 2' off the ground,

connecting the porch to the ground. In

our potting shed is the Pergola bought

last year during a great Costco sale. It

will attach to just under the top of the

porch and our contractor will construct

3 boxes to support the 3 columns of

the Pergola. Next year, if our budget

allows, we may then add 2 additions

on either side of the simple deck to

expand the space even more. I can't

wait to see all this come together.

Art Studio Progress.

 In between other obligations over the

weekend and some illnesses creeping 

through our home, we managed to 

squeeze in Art Studio construction.

The painting is now complete, the cabinets

are all put together and now the placement.

We discovered after we put the first cabinet

together that the measurements we were so

careful to gather for the designer were very

accurate. But she did not factor in the feet

that hold up the cabinets. If we had installed

those, our cabinets would have come right up

to the bottom of the windows, not giving

any space for the countertop depth. We did

end up figuring out a way to create "boxes"

to hold the cabinets, which in the end if

much more sturdy. Took more time and a 

ton of extra measuring but so worth the time.

Now we are busy placing the items in the

units that are for our art projects. Next, our

contractor will come and install the counters

and then the flooring, trim and two more of

the lights to hang. At that point, we'll do more

of a true reveal. Almost there, so very close.

A Miracle!

At our old house, the upper hall had a railing

that had to come down to get the new tub upstairs.

Unfortunately, that meant it would have to go back up 

but we honestly couldn't find anyone to do this task.

But our construction crew set to work on it on

Thursday and look at it today! Back together,

sturdier than ever and now it just needs a nice

coat of paint. So impressed with this miracle!!

What Would You Do?

Our front hall in the new house is going to be such

a treat. It's spacious & open, light & airy. I'm truly

looking forward to welcoming guests into our home

when they arrive. A place for greetings & sweet hugs.

We have one dilemma though. How do you decorate

a wall that is almost 18 feet in height? We put in a

window at the top so it's bright but the wall space

has got me a bit perplexed. What to do, what to do!

Do we hang a large, colorful picture up there? Or a

beautiful, handmade quilt? A shelf? Or do we leave it

alone & let the expanse speak for itself? I'm not an

interior designer, just a mama who wants to make

great choices when it comes to decorating this new

house to highlight all the unique features our great

builder has included in the structure. A dilemma!

Do you have any suggestions for us for this spot?

What would you do if it was your new home?

More Choices.

This is a long weekend here in sunny Alberta. We

have spent most of our weekend painting & packing,

plumbing the new sink for the kids bathroom &

purging more items that we no longer need. Lots of

work but all good stuff! Our little guy is away on a

visit with his dad, daughters are off to a movie & dh

is now at his hockey game. What am I doing? Well,

I'm surrounded by boxes that are packed, ready to go

down to our storage room until we move, boxes that

are packed, ready to go to the charity shop & empty

boxes, waiting for their contents. Cozy on the couch,

I'm trying to decide which railings to choose before

our builder asks for our decision later this week.

We have a couple of spots where railings need to be

installed, including the staircase going upstairs. I

love this as we gave it a nice twist at the bottom,

& the railings will add a lot of character here.

Just a short run at the top of the stairs.

You'll see both sets at different angles.

The "Juliet" balcony will also have

a run that will match the curve design.

Love this space. Can't wait to see it

all finished with the railings in place.

Now back to the choices.

So many to choose from.

Doors. Doors. Doors.

Went to visit the house on the weekend & discovered

the interior doors had been delivered. It was so great

to see how pretty they are. Install started on Monday.

The doors leaning against the nook window are for

the main floor & upstairs. The doors leaning on the

wall & window in the Great Room on the right side

& against the nook wall on the left are for the 

basement apartment. All will be painted white.

The door for our Linen Room.

Mr. B. exploring his auntie's closet.

Bathroom door leaning against the wall.

The hallway doesn't seem as dark now.

And that's the door story for today!

A Decision.

Isn't this a great art studio? It's not my space

but a picture I found that shows a well used

environment, with a window on the outside

world. There are four windows in our studio

& once construction is complete, I truly hope

we will achieve this light & airy feeling inside.

I'm now half way through my "sabbatical" leave

from work, using my time to pack, purge & paint

in preparation for our big move out to the country.

Many decisions have been made over the last 8

months & this week, I made one more. As an

eclectic artist, my process of creativity is unique

& my space will reflect this. One day, I want to

be a true full time artist. As much as I love my job

because I can use my energetic creativity, it is a 

time consuming process that doesn't always leave

blocks of time for my personal art each day. I

get frustrated that I can spend days working on

something that needs my brain power & energy

to complete the project. My decision is just this:

my studio will be my sanctuary, a place to create,

a place to reflect, a place to energize, a place to

unwind. Beginning with small increments of

time, with an eventual goal of full time work. We 

aren't sure until we've lived out in the country for 

a while if our projected expenses will be bang on 

or out of bounds. For now, we need my income 

but once we can determine our actual & final 

budget, then we can make plans to bring me home 

to be the artist I am, the artist I need to be.

Part of this decision was choosing a name for the art

studio, which I did finalize today. I have to register

it, so until that legal process is done, I don't want to

write it here, just in case I can't use it. But I love it &

an internet search didn't show any users. Fingers

crossed that I can use it formally, soon!!

And not to be outdone .... here's Louis ....

Louis the VIII that is!

For the Great Room on the main floor.

Can you envision stockings at Christmas? It's

going to look very festive.

My boys!!

Meet Michael ....

 .... Michaelangelo, that is!

Our mantels for the master bedroom. Believe it or

not, we got such an awesome deal on this baby, sent

all the way from New York, that we would have paid

way more for simple wood mantels! Love the stone.

Sorry for the boxes underneath. These are heavy &

we wanted to protect the wood floors. We took each

out to make sure there were no cracks or flaws. All

are now packed up, ready for our builder to install.

Loving Michael!!

They're here!!

Our mantels, that is. They arrived today, 

just as the snow started falling gently from

the sky. The delivery guys were so great,

even trying their best to set the boxes neatly

in our living room. I tipped them & then

eagerly started to unpack the wrapping so

we could gaze at the pieces that in a few

short weeks will be installed to create

two lovely & very different mantels, on

two different fireplaces, in two different

spaces in our home. We have a fireplace

in the house we are in now but it's a wood

burning unit & we haven't technically

used it in years. Now, with the switch of

a button, we'll be able to have a fire at

any time, during any season, when we wish.

Tomorrow we'll unwrap more of the 

packing materials but for tonight, we are 

content to go to sleep knowing these

special boxes arrived safely, all the way

from New York, across the border &

then they made the trek across our

vast country. One more trip from

our suburban home out to the forest!

How was your day?

Any new snow to report?

We have a Roof!

Hi everyone!

 

We have a roof! Well, almost a roof! The beginnings of the top of the house have begun. The crew started with the end that includes the garage, which houses our Art Studio. You can see the rafters below. The lower right picture shows the opening where the gabled window will go on the back of the house, with another at the front. 

 

Our little guy is becoming a "country kid" more and more. He loves picking up rocks to stuff in his pockets and searching for little frogs. The house fascinates him but I think the huge space to explore is his favorite.



 

Different perspectives of the rafters. There is actually another level that goes up even higher to make the peak. In the lower right picture, the piece resting against the tree will be the end wall for the Art Studio. Once it's in place, they will cut out two windows. 





Our builder helping my mom into the house. She and her beau J were so excited to drive out today to see the house. The last time she saw it was well before we had designed the house, so she was surprised to see so much of the house up already! B had a great time "yelling" into the basement and was a bit shocked when he suddenly got a very loud "reply", courtesy of our builder, D!

 

 

Our original driveway, which we may keep to make the new driveway into a circular drive. The next picture is our builder and my dh walking away from the house. 

 

 

The next time we see the house, the roof should be finished, the windows will be in and the exterior doors installed. From that point, we'll come out to visit as the interior finishing begins. Now comes some of our big decisions like cabinets, flooring, paint, lighting and exterior colors. Lots of fun!!

 

How was your long weekend?

Was it a long weekend in your region?



New House Update!

Hi everyone!

It's supposed to rain for the next two days, so we zipped out to the woods tonight to take a peek at our new house. We've haven't been out since they put the decking down about a week ago and knew they were going to start framing soon. 

The security camera our builder has on site to see who comes and goes when he's not there. Beautiful, sun filled evening, with blooms and wildlife all around.

Coming up and around our driveway, we hoped to see some lumber and maybe a wall or two. Did we ever get the best surprise!! We have walls! Big walls! And window openings! And doors!

The front of the house in the upper left pic, then the back of the house. Top right pic (left to right) shows our laundry eating nook window, which will have a window seat from wall to wall in it, then our laundry room window and the long, short window is above the "lockers" in our mudroom going out to the garage.

Upper left pic is the turret windows. Front of the house in the rest of  the pics. Our dining room is on the left side, then the front hallway and then the living room on the right. The small window in the bottom pics will be an oval in the two story entry. 

Helping Mr. B. up in to his house for the very first time! He's so excited to have a new house!!

Upper left pic shows the french door out to the covered deck, then the next pic on the right is the big window in the family room. Lower left pic is another view, showing the turret in the back and then Mr. B. showing the kitchen to his left and the laundry room on his right. He's a great tour guide!

Where my favorite oval window will go. Archway into the dining room. Window looking out to the front garden. And looking out that same window towards the living room windows.

My guy, so proud, in his new house. Dd and grandson in the kitchen. The big opening in the bottom left corner pic is our front door. And the windows on the right are in the dining room. 

Daughters mapping out the family room and kitchen. Door looking out the back. Big window in the eating nook facing the back garden. And the door leading from the garage into the house. 

The upper left pic shows our drive out to the lane. Upper right is the window opening for the "lockers". Bottom left shows the entrance into the basement. And my lovely laundry room window. Love the view!

Family room and turret in the upper left pic. Kitchen and butler's pantry in the upper right pic. My guy and me, excited to be standing in our new front hall, complete with a coat closet, something we currently don't have in this house. Mr. B. being lifted down to investigate more of the outside. 

The entrance down to the lower level in the upper left. Walking outside the garage in the lower right. Lots to explore, so much to love!!

So that's the progress on the new house. We won't venture out this weekend as it will be too muddy after the rain. But can't wait for the following week to see the progress. We may have a second floor by then. Then windows and our roof. It seems to be moving quick now, especially with all our good weather. Fingers crossed this pace continues so we can move in before the snow comes. And then I plan to take a break from work and settle in, hang pictures and make our new home warm and cozy.