Blue Monday.

For someone who is usually pretty up on notable days or events, I woke up today, having no idea that it is "Blue Monday." Did you know it was? Not sure how I missed this day but here we are, part way through, feeling a bit down, cold but hopeful the day will turn itself around. I know for a fact that I'm feeling cold and gloomy because I woke up with a cold. In my head! Ugh. But at least it was my day off and I have enough things I can do while lounging on the couch, with the fireplace on, watching taped episodes of "Days of our Lives" while I recuperate. I have my new David's Tea by my side, a warmed in the dryer cozy blanket and beautiful scenery outside that is making me glad for this unexpected day inside. It's mighty cold outside today!

So Blue Monday, what does it mean? Devised as a way to see when travelers will book sunny holidays, it has been in place since 2005. Usually falling on the third Monday of the month, it is a time when the sun is low, Christmas is officially done and the bills start to come through the post box. I know my gloominess has nothing to do with the sun, though it is missing today, because we live in a shorter period of sunlight from October to December. Then the sun begins to stay out longer and longer each day, leading up to the Happiest Day, which is usually around the third week in June, also known as Summer Solstice. I know my mood is gloomy today because of my cold and lack of sleep last night. But for those those that are suffering today, I hope they reach out for support, find some light in the dark and comfort with others. Never fun to have a down day. 

Hope your Blue Monday is going okay.

What are you doing on this day to keep happy?

Dollhouse Update: Shutters.

The dollhouse I'm working on came

with white shutters that had blue lines

painted on them. No lovely architectural

details at all. And I'm THE detail guy!

It was bugging me that they wouldn't

look authentic but my budget is limited,

so buying new ones is out when I have so

many other things to buy right now.

Then I remembered the big dollhouse,

tucked away in the attic, had a ton of

black shutters that look totally authentic.

So I pulled those off and got to work.

Mixed up some colors of paint and

started covering the black with green.

Here they are! Brighter and so much more

in touch with reality. Next step is to sand 

them a bit then install each one. I took

out the nails so I could reuse them again.

After the shutters are on, I'm going to do

one more coat of white paint inside and the

wallpapering will begin. The driveway is glued

down. Now we just need some green grass!

Are you working on any fun projects this year?

Empty Cup.

But a few minutes later,

it was full of champagne!

We were so lucky today to

have the Grey Cup at my work.

One of our staff members is

married to one of the football

players. So he brought the cup

in today and we got to play!!

How was your day?

Falling into bed ....

I'm so tired I'm not even sure I'll hit the bed!! We had a lovely time off during the Christmas Season. Just over two whole weeks. It was heavenly. No phone calls. No emails. No deadlines. No meetings. Nothing at all! Bliss!!

Now we're back to work and life is busy again. A good busy, but still busy. Today, I'm feeling pretty tired as I've been working hard on my extensive "to do" list. Making headway and getting it all done. But it's a lot of work and it's starting to take it's toll. Monday is usually my day off work but that didn't mean it was a day to lay around. Here's what I accomplished today, on my day off:

* Two loads of laundry that normally get done on
the weekend but the washer and dryer
were too busy then.

* Dropped my daughter off for her work day at our centre
and popped in to answer emails and check voice mails.

* Stopped at the hardware store to pick up furnace filters, 

vent filters and a special tool for working on the dollhouse.

* Met two contractors at our income property to 

receive quotes on some work to be done.

* Took off the remainder of the old baseboards, 

door and window trim. Did some sanding.

* Painted one coat on the master bedroom 

and one of the children's bedrooms.

* Moved some donations items to the central 

spot in the house for easier pick up.

* Estimated the amount of paint still 

needed to finish up this big job.

* Stopped at the store for groceries and scored 

an awesome deal on my hair conditioner.

* Stopped at another store and scored an awesome 

deal on my hair color that washes out in time.

* Stopped at the library to pick up a dvd 

and a book on hold that had come in.

* Popped back in to my centre to meet a family 

and converse with my staff on their lunch hour.

* Drove home, stopping to pick up the mail.

* Made a quick lunch and spread out 

my paper work to complete. 

* Afternoon of crunching numbers, making appointments,
filling in the blanks, sending out and responding
to emails and FB posts.

* Dh made dinner, so I did the dishes and 

wiped down the cupboards and counters. 

* Took some time out to cut then glue the driveway for the 

dollhouse. Watched a couple of YouTube videos on 

how to make a wood floor with Popsicle sticks.

* Dyed my hair after a good wash 

and then drying with the blow dryer.

* Cleaned out my work bag, organized receipts 

and gathered my work for tomorrow. 

* Wrote a post for my blog .... oh, that's this task right now!!

How was your day?

Did you have a long "to do" list today?

Pony Boy.

Our little guy recently had his first riding lesson

at the equine centre down the road from our house. 

He loved the kittens in the barn.

And making new friends!

Choosing his horse.

Leading it to the barn.

Feeding carrots.

And a quick brush before a ride. He's following in

his mama's footsteps as she is an avid rider. Love!

Becoming Landlords.

For years, whenever we talked about building our new home, our conversation always included selling our previous home in order to finance the build. As we got closer to this dream, we realized we really didn't want to have to move twice and we also knew with two pups, it would be hard to find a rental house to accomodate us. Because our previous home was paid off, we had enough equity to create a really nice financing plan. The ideal outcome would be that we would live in our previous home while building, putting it up for sale just a month or so before we would move to the new house. At that time, we would then pay off the building financial plan and then put a small mortgage into place for the new house. All was going really well, until we were about half way through the process and the economy in our oil rich province tanked. Yes, we were hit with an unexpected recession. Both my dh and I are fortunate to work in careers that have not been impacted by the decline in the economy. However, it did create a diversion to our original plan. As house prices have dropped, we had to make a very difficult decision: do we sell our previous house at a lower rate or do we hang on to it and become landlords and rent it out? I'm sure by my title today that you've guessed which path we chose. Yes, we are becoming landlords! The benefit to this plan that we hadn't originally factored into the big picture is that our oldest daughter has approached us and asked if she could buy the house in a few years, once she's down university and has paid down her student loan. As we were always sad about selling our long term, beloved home, our kids childhood abode, it was such a gift to learn that with our daughter's offer, the house will "stay in the family"!! Things could change but for now, we've committed ourselves to this new path. And the work on our previous home began this past week. We placed on ad on a local forum for rental properties and dug out the painting tools. This week, I tackled taking down the baseboards, window and door trim, patching holes, sanding, prepping and finally, painting. Here's the progress on our new income property so far:

Our youngest daughter's room is quite bright with light

but the walls looked very dark with this shade of purple.

Before painting, it was almost depressing

it was so dark. Couldn't wait to paint this!

What a difference even just the first coat of

light cream has made on the walls.

Just the first coat.

Light and bright! This coming week, I'll do the second 

coat on her old bedroom and our master bedroom. 

Then I have two more bedrooms, the hallways, the front foyer and the dining room. Lots to do! Our contractor will come in the following week to redo the trim work through the house and create a new pantry for the kitchen. Then we have to contract a carpet layer to come in to lay carpet on the stairs and trim out the floors. The last item will be having someone come in and do a big clean so the new family can move in to a fresh, clean and newly painted home. We've got our fingers crossed we find just the right family who will love this home as much as we loved it! Wish us good luck. We're truly going to need the support!!

Frosty Wednesday.

Back to work today after almost 2 weeks off. It's

not too chilly, just very frosty, so I have my heater

on keeping me extra toasty warm while I gaze

out my office window at the white landscape. 

How's your little corner of the world today?

Frosty, foggy, chilly or sunny, clear & warm?

Sunny New Years.

Our warm winter continued again today with

a sunny, almost spring day. Even the bit of

snow we have was melting off our roof! I

caught the sun peeking through the trees.

How was your first day of 2016?

Was your weather warm or chilly?