The Bath Tub is in!!

When I arrived home on Wednesday, I heard a banging (drilling sound) coming from the house. When I went down to investigate, it was the plumber. He was there installing the bathtub as well as the plumbing needed for the vanity sink etc. The top one is an obvious photo and the one of the bottom is shot from the bedroom through the closet into the bathroom and into the utility room where the washer and dryer are. I was telling one of my coworkers - silly how little things like getting a bathtub gets me all excited and happy. It was similar watching my house take form from the cement foundation to 4 walls and roof.

Happy Birthday Amanda and Peter!!

On Sunday we celebrate Amanda and Peter's birthdays. Above is Amanda's (37) and below is Peter's (25). For me, it was the first time in some time to be in the same place with all the family. How times flies when you are having fun at the beach, don't you agree guys? I have always thought how neat to have the oldest and youngest in the family to share the same birth date. It was a wonderful meal and a great time just sharing and laughing too. Wishing you a great year ahead Amanda and Peter - I know you will have many cherished memories with your family and with your friends too. (BTW - the cakes were very yummy too!)

The framing is done!!!!

I am standing in the open rec room area - at the end of this picture is the first bedroom. It is approximately the same size as the master suite upstairs (the basement bedroom is directly underneath it). That little bit of white on the left is the washing machine, so that door will be leading into the laundry/utility room. Behind the washing machine is the bathroom (will be considered a full bath as it will have a bathtub, vanity and toilet). The area on the right of the photo is where I could possibly put a second bedroom. At the moment, I decided to just add this interior wall so all I would have to do is add a wall that would house the door and the closet when I decide to make it a second bedroom.

Possibly the second bedroom. I am so glad I decided to add that interior wall. This area will be where my scrapbooking, computer and treadmill will be housed.

The Utility/Laundry Room (see the treadmill?)

Storage area. I will have all the space under the stairs for storage. It will be accessed by two closet bi-folding doors. It seems everything is coming together. The plumbing is to be started next week with the electrical the following week. The biggest job is the drywalling as it is the WHOLE basement including the ceiling (only minus the small laundry room). I wil be getting potlights for my lighting of the main rec room area and normal fixtures in the two rooms and bathroom. It is going to be neat to find at the end of each day what new thing will be completed in the basment. I will do my best to keep you updated with photos of the progress.

It was the night before the renos!

After spending the last 2 weekends, packing and moving Jessica's, my dad's and my stuff from the basement to upstairs of the house, the basement of the house was clean and ready for the beginning of my basement renovations. I am so excited about having these renos completed - I get to use the WHOLE house or rent out the two upstair bedrooms and the only time I would have to go upstairs is to enjoy the deck or use the kitchen. And the only time the renters would have to come downstairs is to use the laundry facilities. Think that is a pretty good set-up. I have big windows downstairs so for those who haven't been by the house, the basement definitely doesn't have that "basement feeling to it". The two items I couldn't move upstairs was the Christmas tree (under the stairs) and the treadmill (in the laundry room).

Jessica moved into her new place last Sunday, so her things are not at the house anymore. Her place has some great views of the city - she is on the 14th floor of her building. So with my dad's and my belongings, I have had to move it to three parts of the house. The above photo is the second room (this is where Jessica slept for the past year).

This is the living room! I have enough space on the sectional for me to seat down and thank goodness for remote controls - I couldn't get to the TV to channels or put in a DVD.

Here is the kitchen - these are mostly my scrapbooking supplies. I do have to get that organized as I am going to a Ladies Craft and Fellowship retreat in September. I am so excited with the completed basement, I will have my little section of the rec room to set up my scrapbooking supplies. It has been a coons age since I have actually worked on my albums. I still haven't scrapbooked my 2001 Cancun Trip, my 2005 European trip or the two trips this year (Rockies and my visit with my mom). There are of course my Christmas gift ideas that involve scrapbooking.

Pampering for us Gals

Between my vacation to Thunder Bay and the James (Amanda, Amy, and Sara) gals to Ocean City last month, I thought we should have a gals night before the kids head back to school. Being it is Amanda's birthday next week, I thought it would cool to start our evening with some pampering - we met up at Hot Nails to have a manicure and pedicure this past Friday night. So glad that Char was able to join us as well. I think it is something we definitely should do in the future. It was fun to get beautified.

After our pampering we headed back to my house for dinner. I getting into using the slow cooker lately (make a pretty good beef stew now). For dinner I tried out a new recipe - Dijon Mustard Pork Chops (they were boneless of course). We ended the evening with a game of Double 12 Dominos - went the whole 9 yards - from double 12s to double zeros. Amy was the big winner!!! In the morning, Amanda made fresh banana muffins along with cut watermelon finished off with tea. We had breakfast while watching "Clean Sweep". Then Amy and Amanda helped with moving some of the dressers between rooms.

Thank you gals for a great time together - it always is. Will have to "baptize" the basement when it is completed. Since the big dining room table will be going downstairs, it will sit 10, so there is plenty of room, if we want to do a games night with all the siblings in the future.

Another Moving Day...

As you know, my roommate Jessica moved out into her own place that she is sharing with another teacher from TB. Jess arrived Sunday afternoon from summer vacation, but it was also moving out/in day for her too. Yesterday morning, I packed her car and my car with as many rubber totes and smaller boxes as I could. Then my friends Sara & John brought his van and we loaded it up with the bed, dresser and some of the bigger boxes. Between the three vehicles we were able to bring majority of her things in one shot. Only a microwave stand and a rubber tote left to bring over. Her move was so much easier than mine into my first apt here - they had trolleys so we were able to load so much more per trip. It was so smooth and within an hour we had her moved in and bed put together again. Her fun comes now unpacking!!!

John and I headed back to my place to meet up with Sara and the kids. John, myself and even Sierra and Ethan helped bringing things that were in the basement up to either the living room or the second bedroom. The basement is definitely looking sparce but that is good as the framing for the basement renos begins on Wednesday/Thursday. I am so excited for it all to start. Hard to believe that I should have a complete basement by Thanksgiving!!! Still have a few more items to bring upstairs before the reno starts but they are light weight.

I am just so blessed to have great friends like Sara and John to help me out like this. Plus having a newer home, having friends like John (handy man and carpenter) and Garron (handy man and painter) is great too. There are always little things that I can do around the house - the guys have already been pre-warned about future projects that I might have for them for my house. I will keep you posted with the reno developments.

Friendship Gardens

The Friendship Gardens is found in the south side of Thunder Bay. This park was created to show all the different ethnic communities within Thunder Bay residences. Here are some photos I took.



In the forefront is Scottish (my hertiage) and the in distance is Chinese. Now if you know your dates at the end of January these two cultures have special days of celebration near each other. The Scots celebrate Robbie Burns Birthday and the Chinese celebrate their New Year. In a modern twist, I remember once they had one city party celebrating both cultures!! Chinese food with the ceremony cutting of the haggis!

Germany

Poland (as a kid I remember climbing to the top and then lay sideways and roll down the hill)

Holland/Netherlands

Terry Fox

Terry Fox Momument was recently chosen as one of 7 Thunder Bay wonders, but Terry Fox is also a Canadian hero. A true inspiration for all, from every walk of life too. Despite losing his leg to cancer (osteogenic sarcoma), he perserved and sought out a challenge to raise money to beat this deadly disease of cancer. He started his Marathon of Hope by starting from St. John's Newfoundland by dipping his artificial foot in the Atlantic Ocean with his goal of dipping that foot then in the Pacific Ocean. His Marathon of Hope not only brought attention to cancer research, but it also provided unity across all the provinces and territories as we cheered him on. Unfortunately, just outside of Thunder Bay he was forced to stopped and we later found that his cancer had come back into his lungs. Terry Fox lost his battle to cancer on June 28, 1981, but his inspiration of running across Canada continues to this day every September when cities/towns around the world participate in the Terry Fox Run which raises money for cancer research. For my family, Terry Fox impacted us as on July 1, 1987, my sister Kathryn was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma in her upper humerus bone. She later lost her left arm to the disease. Just like Terry, Kathryn saw passed her disability and accomplished many things such as represented Canada in 1992 for the Summer ParOlympic Games in Barcelona Spain in Swimming - backstroke was her speciality. Isn't it amazing how a regular person like you and I can have such an impact on one's life, be it a family member, friend or a total stranger? The Terry Fox Momument is located just east of Thunder Bay off of the TransCanada Hwy.

Ouimet Canyon

Ouimet Canyon - found east of Thunder Bay in the township of Dorion

Can you see a person's face?

On the same road leading to Ouimet Canyon, you will see a sign for Eagle Canyon. What's so big about Eagle Canyon? To cross the canyon you will walk across Canada's longest suspension bridge (600 feet anchor to anchor) beating the previous bridge by 200 feet. The distance from the lowest part of the canyon to the bridge is 150 feet. So if you have a bit a fear of heights - there is the challenge for you. It was pouring rain the day my mom and I went so I never went to see the bridge.

To dry off after getting trenched from the rain, we went Karen's Kountry Kitchen on the turn off to Sibley Provincial Park. It is a cute cafe that serves great quiches. I had a fresh lemon sprincter drink. It was refreshing. A little hide-a-way off the beaten path from the TransCanada.

Cathy's Garden Flowers

My mom's next door neighbour, Cathy has beautiful backyard garden. The afternoon I arrived in TB, my mom showed off some of the flowers from Cathy's garden. I love the vine crawling flower and of course the lillies. They seem to thrive in TB, a few of my friends have lillies in their gardens too. I didn't know they come in so many different colours. Will have to see if they can grow as well in Calgary. I will have to ask Cathy what the bottom flower is - the contrast of colours are so neat and the tones I like. Think that would be nice against my backyard fence.

My Mom's Flowers

The flowers in the vase were sent to my mom from her brother. They later called - it was great talking with you Uncle Alan and Aunt Dee. The flowers are beautiful - they are still in bloom (talked with mom yesterday July 30!)

The last three photos are flowers from my mom's gardens in the backyard. I have always amazed how great the Tiger Lilies turn out. Now that you are retired mom, you will get to spend more time enjoying your gardens in the backyard.