On a rough day ....

.... chocolate and white cupcakes are heavenly!

All that's missing is the wine!!

Well we finally, after 14 years of dreaming, planning, worrying, fussing, scheming and saving, signed our formal contract on Thursday, March 20th, 2014 to build our new home out in the country. A custom home that we got to design and should meet our needs, while including a dedicated space for our adult daughter and grandson to continue to live with us while she is in school full time for the next 4 years. Currently, they live in our basement in one big open space. In the new house, she'll have 3/4 of the lower level, with a family room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. Our grandson will finally have his own bedroom and place to play. We'll have the upper two levels that we'll share with our youngest daughter. Pure bliss and heaven and worth the long wait!

Our move in date will be November 1st, 2014 but our builder gave us that date as the latest. His goal is to get us in mid October, if not earlier. It feels so far away but he tell us it will go incredibly fast. For now, we'll be very busy painting, purging and packing, while he builds our new haven. Can't wait to have Christmas in our new home in the woods! 

Have you ever built a new house?

Any tips to share?

Spring? Winter?

 Today is the last day of Winter.

And we woke up to a blizzard!!

After weeks of sun, dry road, snow melting ....

.... it was a bit of a shock to peek outside.

Blustery winds all day have made staying inside

more appealing. I'm writing, baking, soaking in a

hot tub and listening to the wind howl.

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring. 

I wonder if it will appear?!

A Skinny Pig!!

Meet Ginger!

She's the newest addition to our preschool. 

A 6 month old Skinny Pig.

A hairless guinea pig, with small tufts on her snout.

Sweet, cuddly and fun to play with!

Have you ever seen a Skinny Pig?

The stories it could tell!

Having a lazy Sunday morning but we're off in a while, to meet a perfect stranger, in a parking lot, to do an exchange of cash, for one of these:

I've been coveting one for a while now, seeing them pop up on kijiji, at the antique mall and online, but always several hundreds dollars and not always with the wheels or often with a piece broken. I joined a local antique group last week on Facebook and within minutes, an add popped up that intrigued me. The very item above, intact and wheels that turn. It needs a bit of cleaning up, I'm told and I'd love to give it a quick stain but so excited that it sounds like and looks like it's in fine condition. For the budget~friendly price of $40, I certainly can't complain if there's a scratch or three!

Anytime we find an item for our home that is vintage, I often think about who might have used it. What they were thinking as they worked away. What their life was like. How many children they had. Where they lived. What they did for a job or for fun. I always wish for a way to find out about a piece but sometimes, many owners have loved it before us, so we can't always get the history. 

If only this piece could talk, what stories it could tell!!

Our Little Guy.

Home sick today, again, with a high fever.

So sad to see him not well. 

Thankful for a flexible job so I can be here.

Holding his little hand while he sleeps.

Hoping for a quick end to his pain.

Off to the children's hospital soon.

International Women's Day.

Namaste.

First Stick!

He did it!

He learned to skate all by himself.

The reward?

His first hockey stick. 

Custom cut to his height. 

Congratulations B!

We're proud you met your goal!!