Closets R Us

The front hall closet used to be huge but half of it needed to house the new duct work that was installed last spring for the new furnace. So this ugly metal duct was the first thing you saw as soon as you came in the front door. None of our guests mentioned this hideous feature, though, for which I am grateful. We pondered the possibilities of putting in a shallow closet to hold the mop or the vacuum hose or something similar, but it would only be about an inch and a half deep ... not very usable space! Peter put on his toolbelt and started building. He framed in the duct side so it'll look like hallway, and built a small closet for coats and shoes. It's almost finished!

It's almost finished, yes, but the motocross track needs tending to and a friend of a friend has loaned us a Bobcat for a few days. Is there anything more fun than boys digging in the dirt with motorized toys?!?! Stay tuned for the finished closet ...

How Far We've Come in the Kitchen Department

Here's a classic Before and After shot of the kitchen. We borrowed the sink and faucet ideas from friends who recently re-did their kitchen (which looks hip & hot & fantastic); the sink is double with a large deep left basin and a shallow smaller right one that comes with this cute & cool drain tray. The tap set is tall and looks a bit like a tulip. Practical and fun!

Finally the peninsula has an overhang for the kids to sit at on our new stools and eat some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and share their deepest fears and secrets with their June Cleaver-esque mom. Well, the cookies are probable. Don't hold your breath for the rest.

We're still deciding on backsplash tile and light fixture. I think it's a bit of an improvement over the original, don't you agree?

Yikes! This was one alarmingly hideous kitchen, and looking at this photo I can practically feel that film of 15 year old grease under my fingertips. Shudder.

Counterfitting

WOOOHOOO!!!! We have a countertop in the kitchen. After a fair amount of confusion with the ever-confused RONA, receiving a damaged piece was a near-miss. Sadly, though, the counter meant for the opposite side around the stove was a foot short. Sigh. Why am I surprised? I'll just look at this side for the next while because it looks so fabulous.And look at our young plumber. With excellent guidance the sink was installed and works so well. It almost makes me want to wash the dishes!

Where Is Indiana Jones??

Unlike the adventurous Mr. Indiana Jones, Scooby doesn't seem to have a fear of snakes at all. In our backyard there lives a huge garter snake that is about 30 inches long and slithers around the back porch. I mowed the lawn and disturbed Monsieur Serpent and Scooby was surprisingly intrigued, chasing him all over the yard.

I bet Indiana wishes he had Scooby's fearlessness!

Do You Like My Hat?

For the past few days both kids have been away: J was at a friend's cottage and S was with his grandparents. It hasn't been an uneventful few days, though, because Scooby ingested something awful that came out again from both ends with amazing force, I went for a job interview for which I'm pretty sure the successful candidates are already selected, and the planning for a certain couple's upcoming 50th wedding anniversay is well underway. So when J picked up some supplies and put them on his head, I laughed and laughed. He looked positively Seussian. I really missed him!

ps. what is my awesome husband doing in the background? Could he possibly be measuring the NEW countertop for installation?? Hold on to your hats for an upcoming post ...

Deer in the Woods

Early in the morning a few days ago we spotted a visitor in the trees to the west in front of our house. It was a silent and still morning and the sun had just come up. The deer looked to be young and seemed to be looking right at us, not moving a muscle. We ran for the camera and zipped off heaps of pictures during which the deer cooperatively remained still. We've never seen a deer this close to the house before! Very exciting!

Scooby, in his morning search for the perfect blade of grass on which to relieve himself, scampered so close to the deer that I thought for sure he'd scare the poor thing away. But Scoob seemed to not notice the animal and ran on past.

On closer inspection, this deer had a curious seam across its withers and its gaze was woody and absent. And it only had one front leg ... and only one hind leg. And it was riddled with bullet holes. And made of styrofoam. Hmm. It appears that we have been the victims of a cruel hoax. Who the perpetrators are we do not yet know, but INTERPOL is working on it.

In the meantime, he remains in the front trees, and greets me with his wooden stare every morning. I think he needs a name ... any ideas?

A Camper's Paradise

I love it all: the tent, hot tea in the morning, itchy mosquito bites, the frantic rush to put up a tarp in the rain, meeting camp site neighbours, swimming at the rocks, canoeing in the sunshine, biking through the mud, hearing the call of loons, hammock naps, sunburnt shoulders, poptarts and jujubes ... really, it does not get any better. Why do the days fly by so much more quickly when you're on vacation?

Girl's Night Out

Last weekend was a long overdue weekend away with some girl friends, at a gorgeous lake house deep in the woods. Relaxing on the dock drinking coffee, laughing our heads off in the paddle boat, enjoying each other's company. It was a lovely welcome weekend!

Art Gallery

I am such a proud mom! These abstract works were done by my son and I absolutely love them. So much so that I had them framed and hung in the art gallery. Well, really, it's the living room.

A Saturday in July

My apologies for neglecting this blog! I've been taking a course and this pic below gives you a taste of what I've been looking at for the past couple of weeks. The course is choc-a-block full of quality stuff that's really applicable and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

My better half has been working like a demon, though, and still has found time to install new fans in the kid's bedrooms (same fan) which have remote controls and nice bright lights and whir along brilliantly keeping the heat wave at bay. It's hard to find ceiling fans that don't look hideous, are the right size, don't sound like the Concorde landing on your roof and are in a reasonable price range.

Also, the mirror for the upstairs bathroom was ordered, picked up and installed ... and it looks MAGNIFICENT! The only drawback is that I have a full view of myself as I exit the shower which is a bit of a fright first thing in the morning.