The Ogre and I are fortunate enough to be renting a lovely little three bedroom townhome with a “finished” basement space. It’s not a large home, but there is just the two of us and the cat (can’t EVER forget the cat!).
The basement has become our “everything” space. Computers, tv, a crafting area for me next to the area I store my tools and supplies – we do it all in this room. Continue reading
I’ve been looking around my home in the last few days and I’ve come to a startling conclusion. Are you ready for the confession? Continue reading
I’m a Registered Insurance Broker by profession. During busy season, which this is, I deal with many, many people and documents each and every work day. There are times I simply get “peopled out” and long for quiet, alone time.
Today, I am thankful for solitude in all it’s forms. The 10 minutes it takes me to walk to work when my muscles and the weather co-operate. The hour long lunch times I use to run to Salvation Army, the Dollarama, Canadian Tire or Winners – not to shop, but to walk the aisles and fill my eyes.
I’m thankful for the hour or so I have before I go to work… either catching up on email, reading blogs or just communing with the kitty while I enjoy my coffee.
I’m thankful for the rare times when the Ogre goes to bed first and I am the only creature awake in the house… and even for the times when I can’t sleep, and sit alone in the darkness looking outside at the night.
There’s something so rejuvenating about time spent alone. I don’t meditate, and frequently fill that alone time with “busy work”. Still, every now and then, I’m smart enough to realize what a gift being alone can be and just savor the moment.
Alone time is where my batteries really recharge, where my creativity has it’s roots and where my soul calms itself and knows that all is well with my world.
Today, I give thanks for that – and honor it.
How about you? What are you thankful for?
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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have. I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).
Thanks for stopping by.
With the exception of the mulching (which I ran out of!), the back yard is now finished. Well… It’s ALMOST finished. I wouldn’t mind putting in a few more plants. The mulching needs completing and, of course, I’d like to decorate the space a little more thoroughly.
I’m really pleased with this space, though. It’s been a lot of work (those concrete pavers are HEAVY!), and I think it’s going to be well worth it.
Here’s what it started as…
It’s not a large space. But it still took some SERIOUS work to get it to look like this…
I’m really looking forward to sitting out here with a cup of coffee or a glass of sweet tea!
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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have. I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).
Thanks for stopping by.
I spent the majority of the Victoria Day Weekend getting my back yard into some semblance of shape. There will be photos, of course, but that’s not what this post is about!
As you’ll see in the reveal, my backyard is a really simple and basic space. A small patio, some plantings and very little else. It will need ornamentation beyond the growing things.
Suzy from Worthington Court has a wonderful article about creating a wonderful outdoor space. As time goes by, and I have less to do in the house, I’ll be using a few of her pointers.
Ellen from Ellen’s Creative Passage replaced her torn umbrella with a drop cloth. Here’s the result!
Meredith from Wait Til Your Father Gets Home created a planter a whimsical, fun planter. I think something like this is going to look terrific somewhere in my back yard!
Shelley from Sew and Dipity has a wonderful walkthrough on how to get your garden ready for planting. I maybe should have read this last one BEFORE I got into the back yard! Ah, well… I’ll know for next year!
I’m hoping to be able to show off my back yard/patio later in the week! Stay tuned.
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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have. I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).
Thanks for stopping by.
For the first time in ages, I woke up early on a weekend morning! At 7:30, I scrubbed the sleep from my eyes and poured my first coffee. The nicest thing about being up was being able to catch up on my blog and email reading before I headed outside to till the planting areas.
When I purchased 15 bags of dirt, I honestly thought I had purchased a bit too much.
I was wrong. Sooooo wrong. Continue reading
Saturday began with a nice, long, sleep in! I guess I needed to catch up on myself before I got to the things I really wanted to do!
Since I had slept in and missed part of the morning, I decided to have a coffee of two in leisure… which I did.
Finally, I got to the outside. During the hottest part of the day, of all times. What was I thinking? Continue reading
This is one of the major long weekends here in Canada. For most of the country, it’s time to work on our gardens, now that the chance of overnight frost is over. It’s also time to freshen our homes and just plain get outside to enjoy the weather.
The forecast for us this weekend is splendid! Warm days, with cooler nights and lots and lots of sunshine. The perfect late spring/early summer sort of weather.
My weekend plans are simple – do as much as I can on Saturday and Sunday and save Monday for recovery!
Friday night will see me working on indoor projects, but I’m hoping to get to bed fairly early so I can get my Saturday started early. These projects include filling holes in the guest room walls, painting some velvet (no card-playing dogs or Elvis!), and creating some art for the guest room.
I’m hoping to get to my back yard early on Saturday morning. Although the Ogre has offered his assistance, I’d really like to give getting it done myself a try. I’ve got a 10′X 10′ patio to place – which means lots of raking and leveling of dirt. It’s really the only thing I want to get done on Saturday, so I’m going to pace myself and take the time to do a good job.
If I have enough stamina once the patio is in, I’ll also do a bit of earth turning and work in the earth I purchased.
Saturday will most likely end with a nice hot bath!
On Sunday, I’m hoping to get my planting done. I’ve got some seedlings in my kitchen window and some seed packets and roots in my basement. Getting those things to their new homes and praying that they survive the journey will be a fun and interesting experience!
I’m hoping that Sunday evening sees me looking out my patio door at a mostly finished space! Patio stones down, furniture in place, plants settling comfortably in and getting ready to thrive.
How about you? What are your weekend plans? Any big projects? Any little projects? I’d love to hear what you’re going to be up to!
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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have. I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).
Thanks for stopping by!
We don’t own this townhouse. We rent.
The upside? Someone else is responsible for maintenance. The downside? It doesn’t BELONG to us.
However, we have a super cool landlord – who owns a renovation company. Which means that I can make a request for things like paint and supplies, and it’s all good – and delivered promptly! It also means that we can paint, remove carpeting, and generally change the framework of OUR home as we choose.
When I finish a room, I email the landlord before and after shots… just so he can see where it was and where we plan to take it.
Really? Blessed. Because it could be so very, very different.
I can’t rip out a wall, but I can repaint it. I can’t re-do a bathroom, but I can have new fixtures. After living in rentals managed by large companies, where every hole in the wall, no matter how small, is forbidden, it feels like freedom.
I can’t remember where I saw the quote “the HOME is ours, only the HOUSE is rented”. Nonetheless, it rings true for us right now. We rent this space, but it is becoming our HOME. And that, my friends, is a blessing in itself.
A place to be, a place to create, a place to dream.
Blessed, I tell you. Truly, richly, blessed.
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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have. I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).
Thanks for stopping by.
