HGTV without the crew

This week I feel like I am living one of the home improvement shows, but without the crew.

We got to the shore on Sat. last week to a huge mess in the farmhouse. The two front rooms were sheet rocked over the winter and all the random furniture and junk that was in the rooms was now strewn all over the other rooms. There was also a solid coating on every surface of plaster dust. Let the work begin.

Move the patio furniture outside, put all tools and wood and nails and paint in the basement, distribute furniture to another temporary home, take down plastic dust barrier (or attempt at dust barrier, can't imagine what it would have looked like without the plastic....), take sheets off all furniture (a stroke of genius at the last minute last summer, so glad we did that), sweep floors, mop floors, clean every surface in the house, sweep again and mop again. Sit down and take a breath, when does that work crew arrive anyway?

Before arriving we went to Home Depot to get more supplies, and a trip to Wal Mart to buy things like paper towel holders, salt and pepper shakers, towel racks, you get the picture. Mahoney farmhouse economic stimulus package at work.

Progress report-

Upstairs- bedroom has a real bed with box spring, an area rug (to cover the plywood floor), curtains to block the early morning sun, a dresser and a closet full of new hangers.

Bathroom has almost been completed....mirror above vanity, door!, curtain to cover the window at night so I don't feel so exposed to the people driving by on the road, still needs two light fixtures and trim on the window and baseboards.

Downstairs-

Hung light fixtures in dining room and back entrance.

Primed all new walls and ceilings. Painted front entrance hallway and wall behind fireplace.

Sanded and verathaned floor in dining room. Looks so much better!

Basically organized and started to feel like we live here. Which we have been doing since Sunday. Nice place for sure!

Lest I forget the outside....TJ got his huge garden plowed so he will be planting all sorts of produce tomorrow. The yard looks great and I can't wait to see my lilies and peonies in bloom when I get back in July.

But this would have been so much easier if the work crew had showed up. I am wiped out, I will need a vacation to recover from my vacation.

Here are a few pictures of the work in progress!

Front foyer and living room and dining room with new walls.

Saying Goodbye

Sometimes it is hard to say goodbye. Sunday a week ago, we had to say goodbye to our dog Lucy. She was 15 years old. Last November she got very sick and we kind of expected that she might not make it then. The vet was a little concerned and said with her age that she might not make it much longer. Well, she surprised us all. I have said that Lucy was the dog with 9 lives. Our vet was surprised that she had such a miraculous surge after that last setback. We had decided then, that the next time Lucy crashed we would not take extrordinary measures to bring her back. She had an inoperable tumor on her foot and it was bound to get infected again and then it might be time to say goodbye.

Sunday morning TJ got up and said Lucy would not get up from her bed. She did not eat, which is her reason for being most of the time, and could not go out to the bathroom. TJ brought her out and she walked around a bit and then just went and layed down in the flower bed. She could not lift her head. So sad....to see the life just leave her. We brought her inside and gave her some of the pain medicine we had from the last time she was sick, just to ease her pain a bit. We went to church and I'm sure both of us were praying for the same thing. Help us to decide the right thing to do. It is so hard to make that decision. I always said I just wanted "to know" when the time comes. I think it was today.

We brought Lucy to the emergency vet clinic and filled out the required paperwork and then went into a lovely room to say goodbye. The room was actually very nice, a sofa, an aquarium, a couple of chairs, low lights and nice music. Lucy just laid on the floor on a blanket. I swear I saw tears come from her eyes. She was just so sad and pathetic. TJ and I cried and pet her and said our goodbyes. The vet came in and after looking at her for a while reassured us that we were doing the right thing by putting a good friend out of her misery.

Lucy was as good a dog as they come. She had such a wonderful disposition. She was loyal, well behaved, gentle and always happy for anything she was given. I think of her 15 years ago as a puppy coming into our family and how TJ worked so diligently to train her and how happy the kids were to have a dog! She just loved to hunt and loved running on the sandbars in Nova Scotia, in her day. She had her share of adventures too. She swallowed a prism from a toy and almost died very young. She got lost regularly in the country in Georgia. She was lost in Houston for a day and a half and almost died then too. Lucy did have a way of wandering away and just following her nose. Lately, she took a lot of naps and it was hard for her to breathe and hard for her to go up or down stairs. She was always up for a walk though, even as old and slow as she was, she was like a pup when we walked her, just happy to be outside.

Ironically, Saturday night at dinner with friends we were talking about the movie Marley and Me. I said it was so true and a very accurate picture of how it is at the end. I told everyone that when Lucy's time comes I hope it is very obvious. Well, be careful what you wish for....I had no idea that the next morning that sign would be there for us to see. And it was obvious.

Goodbye Lucy, good dog.

In Living Color

I have decided that spring is God's reward to us for surviving the winter! For months the trees have been bare, the grass has been brown and nature has been asleep. Yesterday I was riding my bike, yes it was warm enough to go bike riding, and just had to marvel at the beautiful colors all around me. It is like the city has just taken a deep breath and burst into life.

Spring was always beautiful in Georgia with the dogwoods, azaleas, daffodils and forsythia, and Texas had beautiful azaleas in spring too. But it still wasn't the stark contrast from winter that it is up here. After months of brutal freezing weather and dreary days the beginning of spring is even more of a contrast. You just can't believe how amazing it is to drive around and see the yellow forsythia stand out like a bright light all around. It really is like God's reward for surviving the winter. "You made it and now you get to revel in all these splendid colors!" Bring it on!

Enjoy life, in living color!

Weighing In

Did you know that people lose weight the same way in the U.S. and Canada? I do. I work for "a popular weight loss program" and have worked for that company is the U.S. and in Canada. One thing that is consistent in my life is that fact that when I go into the meeting room, it's all the same.

I like my job. I get to meet a lot of different people who are all struggling with the same thing. These people are usually at the point where they are ready to change. It is often inspiring to see people go on this journey and to share in their success. I take very little responsibility for their success, they have done the hard part. I was just there to "weigh them in" and talk to, inform and motivate them, my favorite part!

Lately, I have witnessed many successes. Success is contagious. I have had many members lose over 25 lbs. in a 12 or 20 week session and go on to reach their ultimate goals. I love seeing their commitment and their confidence grow as they become the person they used to be or the person they always wanted to be but never thought they could be as far as weight is concerned. This does something to their attitude too. When you get control of how and what you eat you also get control of other things in your life. Anyway, it is nice to be surrounded by good positive people who are committed to losing weight. Plus, we sure do have fun at our meetings!

A fun positive environment, celebrations every week, looking and feeling better every week and we all have a common goal and want to be there. What more could you ask for?

Pedestrians

It is supposed to go up to 20C tomorrow! Spring is definitely in the air, which means the pedestrians are out! During my recent trip to Houston I made a few observations. The weather was perfect and if it were that temperature around here the sidewalks would be full of pedestrians. In Houston the only people out walking were heading to their cars. No one walks in Houston if they don't have to, my friend Valerie said everyone would think they were homeless if they walked somewhere. So true.

Well, people walk here. I am always shocked to see the number of pedestrians out even on cold snowy days. People just walk here. Now that the weather is getting nicer there are even more people outside and walking. I haven't really decided if people walk more up here because they are just happy to have nice weather and really appreciate it or if they walk because they want to. I am leaning towards the want to because they walk even when it is freezing. Mass transit helps too, you can take the bus or the train and then have to walk to your final destination. But then again, I see people walking everywhere! I must say, I missed seeing people outside walking when I was in Houston, I have gotten very used to seeing people out and about.

One more thing about the pedestrians. I have actually gotten used to watching out for people crossing the street in crosswalks while I am driving. When we first came here I was so used to not having to wait to turn or to even look to see if someone was crossing the street. Those poor people I have almost run over....I am now much more conscious of the crosswalks. They actually get used here....and sometimes even by me! I love it!

Hello Grammy

Daniel turned a year old on Sunday! Apparently he loves phones (I'm sure this is due to the fact that his mother also loves the phone and is on it often) so Rachel said he got 3 phones for gifts. Here he is calling someone, I can only hope it is me! How cute! We will be spending Easter with them and it will be fun to see Daniel walking and playing in person and not on video on the internet. The last time we saw him was at Christmas and he has changed so much since then.

Looking forward to Easter, seeing family and the promise of spring. Really, it is going to get here eventually.....as I look out at what I hope is the LAST snow of this season!

Isn't it Ironic?

I was in Houston last week and had to laugh out loud when I opened the newspaper and this was the headline.

The article is not talking about policemen either. After my post on guns in Texas I found this a bit ironic. The article goes on to explain that the legislation is trying to allow people to have guns in their personal vehicles as long as the vehicle is locked. Yikes!


I don't know if spring can be ironic but if "poignantly contrary" describes irony then the spring in Texas is just that to the spring in Toronto.
Exhibit A and B

Spring in Toronto, March 29, 2009

hey, there are buds on that tree!

Spring in Houston, March 27, 2009

Aside from the stark contrast between spring up here and spring down there, my visit was a great one. I just loved visiting friends and relatives. At one point while I was driving about 75mph on the freeway I had a thought that I could easily slip right back into my life in Houston. Yup, except for the weather ( and mildew, frizzy hair and profuse sweating it produces) it isn't such a bad place. I think the fact that I have friends and relatives there may have something to do with it.

OH, fashion alert. Boy do I miss summer clothes! Boy do I miss wearing fun colors and sandals! Is this because it is the end of winter and I'm just plain tired of dark clothes or is it a north/south thing? Everyone down there is dressed in bright colors it seems and the clothes are so much more fun. I did do my share of economic stimulating. Now I am going to vow to bring color to Canada. I am going to push the season and wear all that yellow, turquoise and pink that I got "down south".

That's all the news that is fit to print today. Waiting for inspiration....