Wedding Shadowboxes

I finally finished my wedding shadowboxes! I have literally had these on the go for over two years. I originally bought the shadowboxes on clearance at Michaels. They were the kind with the two panes of glass, for pressing flowers or butterflies or whatever, and they were on clearance. I don't think Michaels carries that type any more! And they were black! I didn't like the black, it showed too many marks and fingerprints, and just looked cheap to me. But it took me a long time to decide what exactly to do with them. When we were living in Vancouver, I had them full of stuff from our wedding, but wasn't happy with how they were looking so I wasn't ready to "put them together" so to speak. Also, I hadn't figured out what to do with the glass - should I keep it between panes of glass, or should I try something different? And then I was really stumped. I had no idea what to do with them or how to make it work. I wasn't even sure what to use to attach everything to the inside.

And then we moved to Niagara Falls. I packed them up, wrapped in paper, with all the little mementos stuffed inside. There was WAY too much stuff in each of them, and some of it was just silly, like a bar of soap from our resort in Mexico! And then they sat here for nearly two years. But in the meantime, I got my current job and have trained in custom framing, so now I know all sorts of little tricks for dressing them up!

First of all, I decided to spray paint the frames a gloss white. I did this in the garage on a windy day and didn't have great results, but it's not too noticable I don't think.

I finally decided to scrap the idea of sandwiching the items between glass. I didn't want to see my wall behind them. So I bought a sheet of foam board (on sale for $2 I think) and cut two pieces the size of my frame (8 x 10). Foam board can be annoying to cut, let me know if you want to know how best to do that. At this point, I also checked to make sure my foam board fit, and had to trim it a bit in a few places.

I lined the inside edges of the frame and one side of the foam board with scrapbook paper. The scrapbook paper is acid free, so it won't damage any of the pictures or anything. Obviously all of the objects themselves aren't acid free, and items like the flower will decompose, but at least I know the paper won't contribute to it or make it worse. I used an adhesive dot roller and zots to attach the paper to the inside edges and to the foam board.

Then I layed everything out on the scrapbook paper lined foamboard and decided on what to keep, what to scrap, and how to lay it all out. This is obviously the most important step and for me, was the most time consuming.

Once I had it all figured out, I used the zots and the dot roller to attach everything where I wanted it. Then I layed out the shells and other items on the inside edges of the shadowbox, and used zots to keep them there. Very carefully I slid the foamboard into place in the back of the frame. Because of the size of it, and the snug fit, I'm not too worried about keeping it in place, but there are little things to hold it in place, as with other frames.

I may still buff up the edges and make it look a little more worn (as the paint is a bit rough looking in some places, and sparse in others). And, I may put some craft paper over the back, just to seal it up and prevent dust from getting in. But neither of those are in my immediate to-do list.

Anyways, it is SUCH a relief to finally get this project finished after thinking about it for so long!! Do you have any projects "on-the-go" for multiple years, or something that's hanging around because you just can't decide what to do with it??

Burton

We've been talking about getting a cat for years, but I have been really hesitant. I'm allergic to some cats; they stuff me up, make me sneeze, and make my eyes red and itchy. They're an added responsibility I wasn't sure I wanted. Having to figure out what to do with the cat when we go away, disciplining a kitten - teaching it not to eat plants and jump on the counters. Cats sometimes bite, scratch, and get into things they shouldn't. Their litter boxes smell, they scratch the furniture, they throw up. If it's an outside cat it'll scare away all the birds or eat them, or worse still, leave them dead on the doorstep for us! And what if the cat doesn't like us, or doesn't like me?! Have you ever lived with a miserable cat? Not pleasant. I can remember having to jump over the last four stairs to go downstairs to my bedroom when we had a cat that I don't think liked people, or at least he didn't like me. Every time I walked past him he'd attack my ankles, hissing, teeth and claws at the ready..

But Ian is a cat person. So we got oursevles a kitten.

It was the best darn decision we've made yet.

I'm gonna get it...

Sitting pretty.

I'd like to get up there please..

When you rub my belly, I simply melt..

Sooo very sleepy...

Where'd that cursor go?

Darn paparazzi, I'm trying to sleep here!

Please stop taking my photo.

What? You weren't using it.

Jackets go in closets, not on the back of couches!

You mean this isn't a kitty tanning bed?

Well hallo, what's your name??

Turning 30

As my 31st birthday approached, I was thinking about how I got so "okay" with being 30...

18th Birthday

By the time I hit my mid-twenties, I was dreading the big 3-0. Every year became like a countdown to "the end" or something, like a ticking time bomb. I was feeling disappointed and frustrated with my life. I had always thought that by the time I was 30 I would be settled down, have a great career, a husband, children, and have everything pretty much figured out, you know?

But in those last five years of my twenties, I started realizing that my life really isn't like my parents' and grandparents' were. We are living in different times. And those people that I thought seemed to have everything figured out by 30? I started taking a really good look at their lives, and realized they didn't really have anything figured out either, and weren't any better off than me! What they did have, I wasn't ready for yet, or maybe didn't want at all!

30th Birthday

By the time my 30th birthday arrived, I was actually really looking forward to my thirties. I hadn't figured life out in my twenties so I'm looking forward to exploring it more in my thirties! And I've realized that life is what I make it. The only timeline I'm on is my own, the pressures I put on myself are exactly that - put on myself by me, and I've chosen to remove them. I have the rest of my life to "figure things out." What fun would life be if I really had it all worked out by 30?! The peace I've found in this realization has left me way more relaxed and able to just enjoy the ride!!! So enjoy your ride, thirty's not so bad!!!

Happiness

I've talked a bit about what I'm thankful for, and what I've done in my life. Lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what makes me happy.

Things that make me happy:

• Ian, of course!
• My mom
• My sister
• good friends (Lyn, Brit, Cindy, to name a few!)
• baking cookies or muffins
• eating cookies or muffins
• running
• facials
• laughing
• wine
• good books
• tea
• sweaters
• blankets
• scarves
• sunshine
• autumn
• hiking, especially in autumn
• summer
• the smell of rain
• the smell of winter
• sunshine on a snowy winter day
• the beach - sand, water, sun
• being crafty and creative - painting, drawing, writing, etc...
• my wedding scrapbook - working on it and enjoying it now that it's finished
• a very special secret project I'm working on
• being appreciated
• helping people
• babies, of nearly any variety (who can resist a puppy face?)
• hugs
• children - most of them anyways..
• sunrise. I used to love watching the sunrise from my classroom window; it would send long golden streaks of light across the chalkboard. Not sure why this was so beautiful to me, but it was such a moment of peace before a busy day...
• Christmas trees
• music
• dancing
• being productive
• watching the birds

What makes you happy?

Library Book Sale

This past weekend we stopped by the local library book sale. I wasn't really planning on going (I wanted to go, but last summer we stocked up on three banana boxes of used books at a local book store that was closing. Each box was only $10 and you could pile them pretty much as high as you wanted, as long as you could still carry it out.) Anyways, point being, I still haven't even gotten close to finishing all of those books. But when the local library sent out their notice last week that they were having a book sale, my initial reaction was "YIPPEE! Let's go!!!" And then I remembered about all the books I have yet to read and thought, well it won't kill me not to go. But as it so happened, Ian wanted to sign a book out of the library on Sunday, and the only branch that was open was the branch that was hosting the book sale! So I said "Oh SURE we can go to the library right when you pick me up from work! I don't mind at all! Oh, and do you mind if I just pop into the book sale for a minute..?"

Ha! Less than an hour later we had completely overfilled our library bag (the Sunday special was "fill a library bag for $6." We filled it, no problem!)

Here are our treasures! I got a good stack of fiction (the first, tallest stack), one of which I think I actually might already have, and two of which I couldn't remember if I'd read or not. The middle stack is Ian's stack of wine and beer brewing finds. The third stack is a variety of non-fiction finds, including two painting books, a home repair book, a kitchen design book, an interior decorating book, two cook books, and another special find I'll talk more about in a minute.

Actually, I cheated a bit there on the fiction stack. The top three are technically non-fiction, although there seems to be some debate as to how much is actually real. They are three books by Emily Carr (the painter), considered to be autobiographical, but read much like a story. I've already finished one of them (Pause by Emily Carr) and I LOVED it! I couldn't put it down! It's stories from her time at a TB Sanatorium, "the San", in England (she was sent there to rest, not because she had TB) and her descriptions of the nurses, the doctors, the patients, the scenery, are so vivid. It was one of those books that plays like a film in your mind. It also includes a variety of sketches, one of which I swear has my dad's name on it! Weird!! I think it would make a very interesting movie, but the end was a bit sad actually. Actually, much of it was a bit sad. How could it not be, set in TB sanatorium? The other two books by her include "The Heart of  Peacock" and "The Book of Small." I absolutely love her paintings, I had no idea she was a writer too. I should pay closer attention. 

This is Ian's collection of wine and beer books. There's also a book about honey in there, but I included it in his brewing pile because he's interested in honey because he wants to make mead. Brewing then.

This next one was a pretty exciting find. Ian and I both like "ethnic" foods, for lack of a better word. We love trying food from different countries and have really enjoyed making them at home ourselves. We've made Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Polish, Italian, middle Eastern, Greek, Scandinavian, etc.! So I thought we could have some fun with this "Round-The-World Cookbook." It wasn't until we got it home and I took a closer look that I realized it included travel comments for each included country, and if you can see the tiny blue print in the top right corner it says "recipes gathered by Pan American Airways from 81 countries they serve". Now I'm seriously excited! I've been loving the new series "Pan Am", and of course "Mad Men" when I've been able to catch it. We're thinking we may pick a country each month and try at least one recipe from that country every week. That might make a fun blog, too!

This last one might be the neatest, because it looks like it could have the most value of any of them. Used, they start at about $10 (and up to $50) on Amazon, which is kinda neat because we didn't pay that much for the whole bag of books. Maybe I'll consider selling it when I've read through it. A number of months ago I started making some fascinator type hair pins, and was wondering about hat-making, or millinery. I figured it can't be that hard, depending on what kind of hat you were making.. So when I saw this book, I flipped through the pages and it actually looks pretty good, so I thought I'd bring it home and take a closer look. I love hats! As far as I'm concerned, hats and gloves should make a major come-back.

Here are a few samples from within the book. They're pretty cute, particularly if you use updated material. I'll keep you posted if I try my hand at any of them!

Have you ever been to a library book sale, or similar? What are your favourite used book finds?

Have you been to Powell's City of Books in Portland? If you love books and you haven't been there yet, you're seriously missing out! It's like book-lovers Mecca! Of course they have a website (here), but visiting the bookstore is like visiting book paradise, I'm telling you. It goes on forever, filling the whole block and apparently several buildings! You go in one room, thinking that's it, but when you get to the other side you realize there's a door into another room; or you go around a corner and there's some weird staircase up to another level. It's a fantastic place, and I could easily spend a whole day there!

My List

I was reading The Pioneer Woman this morning, and she has a list of things she's never done. And I thought "How interesting! My list would be very long! I wonder how many things I've actually 'checked off" my list.." So I sat down on OneNote, my go-to place for jotting down thoughts, lists, and organizing ideas, etc., and I started writting my list of "things I've never done." I know I've written a list of things I want to do before I die, and I was trying to think of things that were on that list. Now I'm not sure if my priorities have changed, or if I've done so many of the things I wanted to do, but my list didn't end up being very long! Of the things I've never done, several of them are rather broad (like visiting England, France, Ireland, Australia, etc.), and renovating a house (beyond the paint and repairs we've been tackling in our current house). The travelling is one that I'm sure I'll be working on for the rest of my life, and I'm okay with that! I'd also like to go on a train trip, and a hot air balloon ride (although I'll have to work up the nerve for that one!) Of all of them, the most meaningful thing I haven't done yet is have children. I'd like to work a bit more on the travelling and the renovating before I start on the baby chapter of life. But at 30, I am aware that my time is a bit more limited now than it was at 20. Hopefully within a few years I'll be ready for that.

But I think the most important thing I realized is all of the things I have done! When I couldn't think of anything else to add to the list of things I've never done, I started writting a list of things I have done in my 30 years! Had you asked me an hour ago, I would have said I haven't done much; I've spent much of the last 30 years "waiting for my real life to begin." But in retrospect, thinking of the things I'd like to do in my life, I've got a darn good start, and I've been incredibly lucky.

I have:

Danced in the rain, truely. I soaked it all in.

Faced my fear of heights: Looked "over the edge" countless times with my husband holding my hand, been up the CN tower, the Seattle Space Needle, the Skylon Tower, the Minolta Tower, been on the SkyWheel, and been over the Capilano Suspension bridge.

(Me "enjoying" the view from the CN Tower, circa 2000?)

Seen Niagara Falls

Been to Disney Land

Sewed clothes for myself

Went to University, and graduated, twice

(BA graduation 2004, with my brother and sister)

Drank wine with my Grandmother

Swam in a pool, a river, a lake, and an ocean

Made sand castles

Baked and cooked up a storm!

Been to Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland)

(Kissed a troll in Oslo)

Ate reindeer (not sure if I should brag about that, but really it's the same as caribou, right?) 

Been snorkeling

Been scuba diving (in a pool)

Run a 5KM race

Been to Ottawa (This wouldn't have actually been on my list at all, until I did it and LOVED Ottawa!)

Been on a road trip to California, twice, down the coast of course 

 (Taken a picture with my honey on the pier in Santa Barbara at sunset)

Lived in a small town, two small cities, and a big city (Vancouver)

Knit a scarf

Painted a picture and hung it on my wall (I have four on display now and several "in the works")

Moved 'away from home'

Driven from BC to Ontario

(Taken a tourist snapshot with the Moose in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan!)

Taught elementary school

Been a Brownie leader

Met the man of my dreams (corny, I know, but so true!)

Bought a car

Got married in Mexico, on the beach

 (Kissin' in the sand on the beach, post ceremony)

Bought a house

Researched my family tree

Worked in a framing department (several months ago I actually said to Ian that I would like to learn framing, and in some weird twist of fate, I found the opportunity presented itself when I least expected it!)

Cooked turkey dinner for my family

Started a home-based business

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it has given me a real appreciation for what I've had, and for what I have now. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves how lucky we are, and today I realized how truely blessed I have been. I have a very long list of things I've done, and even more important is the list of people I have had in my life! I was blessed with an amazing family, an incredible husband, and phenomenal friends. It's funny how much the other stuff doesn't matter when you think about what does.

A modest update

I nearly cut my finger off at the beginning of July. I had a splint on for nearly 10 weeks. I can no longer bend that finger. I don't know what that means for the future of said finger.

I started working at a large and well known craft store part-time.

Ian will be starting a new job in 2 weeks, nearly an hour away. It's actually almost his old job. It's for the same company he worked for in Vancouver, doing basically the same thing, just in a new place. It's the job he dreamed of doing for years. It's one of the reasons we moved here. It just took a lot longer than expected to pan out.

We will now be buying a second vehicle. As Ian will be working so far away, I won't be able to drive him to work on days I want to use the car, and the transit system here really isn't that good. Also, on days he stays at work late, I don't want to get stuck at work, particularly in the winter.

I will also be expanding my job search to the school district in the city Ian will be working in, and also, the next district over. Best case scenario, I find work out that way too and we either rent this house out, or sell it, and move there.

I enjoy writing, and I enjoy sharing my projects, so I would like my blog to continue. However, I don't want the focus of my blog to be on the struggles and negative aspects of life - so if I can't find the positive side of something, or the humour in it, it is probably best left for a "diary", rather than a public post like this. So that will be my goal for the future of the blog. Please feel free to send me an ol' comment "kick in the pants" to remind me not to focus on the negative. Not that I won't mention things that aren't happy (like almost losing a finger), I'll just try not to focus on them more than once in a while!

BNOTP Scavenger Hunt

Forgive my hiatus. I may be back more frequently, but I will refrain from posting daily.

In the meantime, I'm here to spread the word about a very fun scavenger hunt! If I had sponsors, I would do this myself; what a fun idea! It took me less than an hour to find all 18 of the items on the Between Naps on the Porch scavenger hunt. If you find all of the items, there are two possible prizes up for grabs! The first is your blog button or ad on the BNOTP sidebar for the month of September (and from what I've seen that's going to mean lots of hits on your site, which could mean big business for you!) The second part of the prize is a $25 gift certificate good towards the BNOTP sponsor of your choice! Now, if you don't have a blog button or ad, or those things just don't matter to you, you can choose a $50 gift certicate instead of the above two prizes.

Now, I haven't been doing a lot of shopping lately, and I'm sure missing it! There are a zillion (yes, a zillion I'm sure is not an overestimate at all!) things I'd still like to buy for our house, so even $50 wouldn't go far and it would be soooo hard to choose! But I'm sure I'd come up with something I can't live without!

And if you haven't been to the BNOTP blog before, do check it out. It's one of my daily favourites!

100th Post!!!

Wow! The big 1-0-0! This is my 100th post on MovingHolm! I think it's as good a time as any for a bit of reflection, which I seem to be doing a lot of these days (who am I kidding? I'm always doing this!)

Where have the past 100 posts seen me?

It was around the end of April, just over a year ago, that we started seriously discussing the option of moving, like the actual logistics involved. We were debating the pros and cons. I was wondering about my own motivations in wanting to move. I published my first post with these thoughts in my head. The first posts were all very much about moving, and packing, and saying goodbye. Saying goodbye to B.C., to Vancouver, and to all our friends and family. Looking back I can see quite clearly how apprehensive I was, but at the time, besides allowing myself to vent it in those posts, I tried to deny it. People kept telling me I'd hate it in Ontario. People kept telling me not to go. But it really was something I had to do, and something we had to experience for ourselves. Hindsight is always 20/20, my Mom always says.

Then there was the "big trip", the move itself. It seems too obvious to note that our lives changed remarkably on that trip. Of course they did. It was the transition from being there, to being here. I feel like I didn't notice it at the time, but somewhere along the way I lost who I used to be, and became this new person. It may not be all that profound, but I feel like a very different person now, nearly a year later. It may just be the house, the lack of work, the time spent reflecting, and being so far away from so many people I love, but I'm not the same person. I don't see myself in the same light, and it started on that trip.

Then we arrived in Niagara Falls, enjoyed the first several weeks as a sort of vacation, and then got onto the job hunt. Ian, of course, found something right away. I still haven't found what I'm looking for I guess. We also started appartment hunting, and going to open houses, "just for fun." Then someone suggested we see about a mortgage, even though I wasn't working and Ian was just starting a new job. So we did. We figured it wouldn't hurt to try, and they could maybe give us some direction about what we need to do to get a mortgage sooner rather than later. And then the unthinkable happened. We were approved!

So then began the house hunting. We were lucky, we found our house very quickly and knew it was the one right away. We won a bidding war, not with the highest bid, but with the best overall deal I guess. And we moved in at the end of October!

Since then, my blog has focused mainly on the house, settling in here, and looking for work. Sadly, there hasn't been much progress on any of this.

The house is coming along, but with the lack of work also comes a lack of money, so house projects are on the backburner while we pay for groceries, the mortgage, and utility bills much higher than what we were used to.

In the meantime, I've been keeping myself busy with a number of hobbies. I figured if I have time to do them, and enjoy them, I should. Sadly, they are affected by the money issue also, but I'm trying to work with what I've got. I've done a bit of cooking and baking, a bit of sewing, a bit of painting, a bit of drawing, a bit of scrapbooking, and a bit of writing. It's funny though, I feel a bit like the retiree who looks forward to retiring so they can pursue their interests, only to find out they're really not very good at them! But I do still enjoy it anyways, so I guess that's something.

I've also been researching my family tree recently and I've had a lot of fun doing that. I just got an email from a relative in Sweden, with some information about a branch of the tree that I was having difficulties finding information on!

So, where do we go from here?

Well, we're going to start with a haircut. It's been a long time coming. This is before. Please excuse the slightly blurry mirror selfie, and here's another half cut-off shot of a hairstyle I'd been trying lately.

And here's the brand new me! What do you think? It was an inexpensive haircut, but it sure made me miss my two favourite hair dressers of all time!

And now, to celebrate my 100th posts, I have some questions for you:

Who are you, why are you reading this blog, and what would you like to see in the future?

Leave a comment here, letting me know what you think. In addition, I'd be really interested to know what you've liked reading about, and what you'd like to see less of! And to thank you for your honest comments and your continued support, I'd like to send you a thank-you card! Like a real one, in the mail! So if you leave your email address, I'll email you to get your home address (if I don't already have it), and then I'll send you a thank you card! For real!!!

Cheers to 100 more!

Finishing what I've started

The fact that I have no projects to post about means that I need to finish something. I've got numerous projects started, but haven't finished a darn thing. Maybe today will be the day! Or maybe today I'll start another! HA!

Instead I'll tell you about the most awesome weekend we had! It's a bit of a play-by-play! Sorry if it's incredibly boring!

Friday, when Ian got home from work, we relaxed on our porch with margaritas! Margaritas always make a good start to the weekend, and our porch is turning into a nightly routine! After dinner we went for a drive and then came home and went for a nearly 5KM walk around our neighbourhood. I love how late it stays light now! It doesn't get dark until 9PM! This is my favourite time of year I think!

Saturday morning I had dreams of going for a bike ride, but Ian cut the lawn and bundled up the huge pile of branches we had collected from all the recent wind storms. I went out and washed our bikes off, and then the car. Ian pumped up the bike tires, we loaded them up onto the car, and headed off to buy Ian a new bike helmet. We headed off down the parkway to find a good place to park, but on route Ian realized that he hadn't actually reattached his breaks to his tire, so we needed to make a detour home again and pick up an allen key. It was just one of those days that you want to do something but it seems to take forever to get to it! Finally we made it to the parkway, unloaded our bikes, and enjoyed an 11KM ride along the river, amidst dozens and dozens of other bikers! It was an excellent ride, considering we haven't been on a bike ride together for nearly two and a half years, Ian says! Our last bike ride together was at Xel-Ha in the Mayan Riviera, December of 2008! Then we pulled our picnic blanket out of the car and ate our apples in the shade, over looking the river. It was bliss!

That evening we went with Ian's friend Ben to a live drawing session at a local art gallery. Ian doesn't draw at all so he wasn't too sure about going, but I was really interested to go! Not that I draw much, but I do like to play with it from time to time. I have had absolutely no formal training and probably have no idea what I'm doing at all, but it's relaxing (when I actually feel like doing it) and I thought a live session would be really neat!! Yes, there was a model, and yes she was naked, and yes we sat there and drew her for three hours as she changed poses. No, it wasn't weird at all. Ian says that at first he was like, "Whoa! There's a naked girl!" but after a few minutes it just became about the drawing. You really get into it, and at first she changes poses quite quickly (after just a minute!) so you have to draw what you can as quickly as you can. I found it really helpful because you're not concentrating on your mistakes, you're just getting it down and getting onto the next one. The guy who was hosting the event was really great too, and offered to give Ian and I both some pointers if we were interested. Of course we took him up on his offer and both found it really helpful! I was really amazed with how well Ian did, in particular! All of the people there were very friendly too. I was afraid that everyone would be really snobby or cliquey, but they weren't at all and they were all very welcoming! Anyways, we both really enjoyed ourselves and I think I'd like to go again this weekend!

On Sunday and Monday we were forecast to have thunderstorms, but they didn't really materialize! We had a bit of rain early Sunday afternoon, but by the late afternoon it was gorgeous and clear! Ian and I watched the Canucks game on Sunday afternoon, and then went out for a 5.5KM hike before we came home to have a very late dinner (I think it was about 8:30 by the time we ate!) At about 9 o'clock, the cul de sac behind our house set off fireworks, lasting about half an hour, so it was pretty cool for us to enjoy our own free fireworks show right out our back door! And following that, I got a phone call from my Grandma's brother, with some more information for my family tree! It was lovely talking to him and his wife, I'm not sure I've ever met them, so it was really special to get to know them a little. He also got for me the email address of a relative in Sweden who will apparently be able to give me some more information for my tree, like where my Great Great Grandparents were married, and their proper names (apparently my Great Great Grandfather changed his name when he came to Canada so I've had a very difficult time tracking them back to Norway!)

On Monday morning we spent a lot of time working on the tiling project in the bathroom. Yes, it's turned from a grouting project into a tiling project. 32 of the tiles have fallen off the wall, or been loose enough that Ian has knocked them off the wall. So we had to scrape adhesive off the plasterboard, and off the tiles, as well as all the remaining grout off of the tiles that have fallen off. And since they've come off the wall, I decided to get serious about cleaning the mold off of them. The caulking around the tub was three layers thick, and the bottom layer was completely moldy. The second layer wasn't much better. So all of the tiles at the bottom of the wall had a layer of mold along their bottom edge, which was rough and jagged from being cut. So I got out the bleach and Ian's old toothbrush and scrubbed it all off. We also chipped a bit of the bottom of the plasterboard off, to get off the bit of mold that was still on it. I then used the toothbrush and bleach to clean the lip of the tub, under the plasterboard. It took us a couple of hours, but I'm pretty confident that we are now ready to re-tile and re-grout it!! So hopefully I can share this project within the next couple of days!

Then we went to Ian's parents for lunch, and lunch dessert. Ian's mom made some fantastic burgers will blue cheese, and then a peanut butter and chocolate cheese cake, using ricotta rather than cream cheese. It was delicious! When we came home, Ian cut the lawn again and got the few spots he had skipped because they were too wet, and then we finished up our work in the bathroom. I worked a bit on my family tree stuff, and Ian watched some videos on home brewing. We had another late dinner and we sat out on the porch together and enjoyed the evening!

It may sound pretty boring to you, and I apologize if you made it this far through the post and are now disappointed! But it was honestly the nicest weekend we've had in.. well I don't even know how long! It was like a staycation, except that we got some stuff done around the house too, without spending the whole weekend working on the house (which I really didn't want to do!)

Aaah. So now, I feel rested and positive, and am ready to get on with the week and back to job-hunting!

Musings of a Caffeine Addict

Forgive me for I drank two cups of a coffee this morning and have just enjoyed a mug of Chocolate Rocket tea, from David's Tea (yum!) Top that off with a great conversation with a much loved and greatly missed friend, and I'm feeling curiously elated, despite the fact that it is raining outside, yet again.

But I am sitting outside. Yes, outside, on my laptop, in the rain. On my porch. Screened in and completely sheltered. You know, a screened-in porch had never even made my "must have" list: in fact, I had never even fathomed placing it on my "would like to have" list, you know, the list with the soaker tub. I actually don't even think I had considered that such a thing existed. It's not that I didn't know it existed, I just... had never really been in one I guess! Shocking? Maybe. But we just don't have these out West! Anyways, considering I never even considered wanting one, now that I have one I don't know if I'll ever be able to go back to plain old "outside." Now, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Our porch has only been opened up and used in the last few weeks. But I love it!! I've eatten lunch out here. I've written blogs out here, currenly surrounded by the sounds of falling rain, cars on wet roads, cooing doves, and crackling grackles. Last Friday, Ian and I sat out here with a glass of wine after he got home from work. And we sat out here all evening. I went and got the guitar at some point, and Ian played the guitar out here until at least 9PM. It was absolutely lovely. And now, today, it's warm out, but raining. And I'm still enjoying the sounds of the outdoors and the fresh air, and the smell of lilacs! Lilacs!!! I just painted my toe nails out here. What a perfect place to do that, so that the house doesn't smell like nail polish when Ian gets home, because I know he really hates that smell. And I can't smell it either, because I can smell the beautiful, fresh, lilacs! And now I'm sitting with my feet up, my toe nails drying, and typing on my computer. Even though it rains! *sigh* This might be heaven. Aaah, and now the sun! The sun shine has finally broken through the clouds and stopped the rain in it's tracks!

Back to the part about the conversation with the good friend. Do you have friends like that, when you talk to them you just feel refreshed? It started raining again outside, towards the end of my conversation, and yet, when I got off the phone I thought "what a glorious day!" When things aren't going your way, or unfortunate events occur, having a good friend to talk to makes everything seem.. well.. alright. Especially after the tears last night, I'm not sure exactly where they came from, except that I'm feeling pretty alone these days (as I do most days I guess.) But I feel so completely blessed right now to think that I have such a person in my life, even though she's so far away.

Another thought has occured to me in my caffeine-induced state. Time spent at home. I've been "at home", ie. not working, for nearly 11 months now, although within that time we moved across the country, and I have worked three temporary jobs, but never longer than 3 weeks at a time. So I've finally figured out why weekends always seemed to pass so quickly. Its because time spent away from work must pass at a different rate than time spent at work. I am home, pretty much all day, every day these days, and it boggles my mind how I can get so little done some days! When we were painting, I feel like that's all I did. I breathed, ate and slept painting. Now I must say, I got a heck of a lot done, but I got pretty tired of working on the house all the time. It's like, that was my day job, then Ian would come home from work and we'd just keep at it. We got a lot done, yes, but it's all I've done, and on the days he didn't come home and get to work on something, it felt like I was fixing this house up all by myself. Obviously the time I've spent on it greatly outnumbers the time he's spent on it. And that's no fault of his, one of us has to work! Actually, both of us has to work, but that's another story and one that doesn't seem to be going my way. Anyways, point is, I've become pretty unmotivated with it all, and haven't done a whole lot. In the past few weeks I've done quite a bit of work on my family tree, and quite a bit of work on my wedding scrapbook. But I haven't done any sewing. I haven't done a whole lot of cleaning. In fact, it's nearly 3:30 and I haven't even done the dishes today. So what do I do with my time? I have no idea! That's the thing, I'm thinking there must be some sort of time-warp at home, where time passes at a different rate than it does at work. Previously, at work, I'd get an amazing amount accomplished in a day. Maybe it's just that there are more distractions here. But even if I count the distractions as work, it never comes close to adding up. Maybe it's the time spent writing a blog, browsing blogs, checking email, and checking facebook, that are preventing me from getting anything done. Maybe it's just that I simply don't feel like doing much of anything. I feel like finding a job. I desperately feel like finding a job. But I'm not sure where else to look. So I check job postings, send out my resume, check job postings, re-write my cover letter, send my resume, and repeat... And I pretty much do that off and on all day. Someone once told me if you want to find a full-time job, you have to work full-time to do it. Maybe that's where my head is at. But after 11 months, I certainly do feel like I must not be trying hard enough.

Soo I think those are enough ramblings for one Friday afternoon. Sorry about this!

Goldfinch

When we first moved into the house last fall, we were visited a few times by some goldfinches, but then we didn't see them again all winter. Now, that might be because I've heard they loose their pretty yellow colour in the winter, but I'm pretty sure, judging by their size and markings, that they just weren't around. Mostly we had our cardinals, bluejays, doves, and a ton of sparrows. Then, a couple of weeks ago, Ian's Mom mentioned that she saw them again in her backyard. She gets a ton of them and has a special feeder for them that they can hang upside down on while they eat, which I take it, is what they like to do. Then a week or so ago, Ian said he saw one in our backyard, but of course I missed it. Then, finally, last week while I was working on my scrapbook, I saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of my eye. I'm getting good at this now, so I grabbed Ian's camera on my way to the other window. And guess who I saw! Usually I see the goldfinches together, in a little group, but this guy was all on his own. I'm not sure what that means, but I hope we see some more! Maybe we'll have to get another feeder for them...

Cutting the Dead Wood Out

Hey, weird!!! This is the missing post from last week, and I just found it in my drafts!! Which is even extra funny because I'm sure I looked there to see if I forgot to actually publish a post! But now, here it is!! Did I not post it?? Was it just drifting around in cyber-space for days and days, lost, lonely, wondering how to get home?? Well no harm done, here it is!

There comes a time in your life when you realize that you need to cut the dead wood out. It doesn't make sense to trim the hedges, when they're full of dead wood on the inside. Eventually you'll just trim them down to one big, dead bush. Now I don't want that to happen.

This was the hedge in front of our house last September, when we first looked at the house. Notice the big dead spot on the left side. That big dead spot extends deep inside, and all the way across. The dead needles and branches were several inches thick in places.

So finally, last week, I got out the clippers and showed the hedge who's boss. Notice the big bald spot now on the left side, and the unruly, shaggy bits everywhere else.

Here's a close-up of the new bald spot.

Looking at the hedge from the side, you can see how little is actually left of it. I pulled out a heaping wheel barrow full of dead needles and branches. Honestly, I couldn't believe how much dead material was in there choking it up. 

This was a favourite hiding place for the swallows around our house and when you walked up to the front door you could see the whole thing shaking as they all panicked and darted through the insides before they took to the skies (or actually just flew over to the next bushes), but they haven't seemed to return to it since I destroyed their cover. I even found this old hive in there. Glad it's cleaned out now, and if the wasps, or bees, or whatever they were, try to nest in there again we'll be able to see it, and take necessary action. Previously, we never would have been able to see it, so it would have been hard to know what to do about it!

Unfortunately for me, the hedge fought back. I ended up with scratches and a rash up to my elbows on both arms, even though I was wearing a long sleeve sweatshirt and gardening gloves. Also ended up with a rash on my knees from kneeling in the dead needles, even with jeans on! Due to my white, pasty arms and freckles, I couldn't really get a clear picture of the rash on my arms, but here's a glimpse at my knee.

That was only about a week ago, so it still remains to be seen if the hedge will survive my onslaught. I tried not cut out any live branches, but I did a lot of pulling and tugging of them, trying to get in to the dead ones. If it does survive, I'll have to tuck some of the long, scrawny, and slightly pathetic branches into the dead spots and hope that they help to fill it in. I'm actually sort of hoping it will just die and I can cut the whole thing out and plant flowers there instead, and the only reason I didn't do that is that flowers for the garden are not in the current budget of bare necessities. I think it would be a lovely spot for some flowers, though!

However, I am a bit concerned that once we get rid of all the water absorbing hedges and shrubs out front, we may have problems with water in the basement or seeping through the walls. There is evidence of water coming through the block foundation at some point, but we haven't witnessed anything since we've been here. Mrs. S. says it happened 10 years or so ago, and then never again. We'll see. In the meantime, we'll leave the hedges until we can afford to plant something somewhat substantial in their places, and not tempt fate.

Nesting

Not me. Him. Or her I guess!

I was working on my wedding scrapbook the other day when I noticed this squirrel in one of the Linden trees out back, hanging upside down from a very thin and wobbling branch, stripping the bark off of another nearby branch. She was working very, very fast, her tail twitchy like crazy, and then scrambling back up the branch. I figured she'd be back in a few minutes, but she was back almost immediately. I wondered if she had dropped the bark. She moved down another branch and stripped a small branch full of fresh leaves off, still moving super quickly. I was struggling to get a picture of her, she was moving so fast. As soon as I could see her through the leves, she'd be gone again.

Boy was I surprised to see this in the branches of the Linden tree! The branches that were completely bare only a month ago, barren of even a single bud! Used as a climbing apparatus for squirrels, and a perch for the birds, we'd never seen a nest in it! Now suddenly, BAM, a huge nest! (Bam! Hahaha I'm sure that's not quite how it went..) She must have made that very quickly.

I opened the back door to get a better picture, and that's when she spotted me. And she sat very very very still. The twitching tail had stopped, and we just stared at eachother. I think I took at least five pictures in which she didn't move a muscle. What a good subject, posing for her portrait. Or giving me a death stare. I'm not sure which.  

Yes, then I left her alone.