We took this for you Andy - it was so cute.

Romantic Gophers - who knew??

Let's Go-pher Some Laughs!!

Let's get our hair done!

Let's go to the Ball Game!!

We are safe with Sgt. Gopher of the RCMP and his dog protecting us!!

The Gopher Summer Olympics!!!

Gophers Laura and Amanda

When Amanda and I arrived at the Gopher museum a group of tourists were there ahead of us. For the $2 admission (kids under 13 are only .50 cents), you are able to see these displays of gophers dressed up in themes. It was adorable and you are able to take photos. At the exit was on those posters where you stick your head in it - we decided to have fun and play the tacky tourist - a little taste of rural Alberta. Amanda and I had a hoot - after seeing the gophers we went to the local Torrington Tavern and had a pizza for lunch (the pizza was quite good).

Welcome to Torrington, Alberta

Saturday afternoon, Amanda and I took a drive just outside of Three Hills, AB and ended up in a small town of Torrington - home of the Gopher museum. It is a beautiful drive long the side roads to Torrington - the fields are flowering with their Canola plants. A beautiful yellow flower mixed with the greens of the fields. We had the sun shining - so how could you complain.

The window is in!!

Well, today it was the littlier things that were accomplished on the garage. The corner and base trimming along with the window installation. Next week the electrical should be getting completed and then the open trench will be closed up. I will be purchasing motion sensors for the outside lights. A nice safety feature for those winter days when the sun goes down near supper time.

The Roof is on!!!

It is like Christmas Day - something new is put on the garage everytime I get home from work this week. Yesterday it was the frame of the garage - today is the roof and putting in of the door. Wonder what tomorrow will bring?? I saw the shingles for the roof lying by the garage - so I wonder if that is the next step. I know with the electrical trench dug that the electrical connections will be made soon. Then the city inspectors have to come and make sure everything is okay, then the trench can be plowed over. Gather from there it would be the siding. I am not doing installation or drywall at this point (that is extra $$$). I can always do that later plus with friends in the trade field I am sure they can help me with what I will need to do that all.

View from the deck

There is the electrical trench on the left of the garage.

Here are a few photos from the deck so you can see what the back end of the garage will look like. As you can see, Scott (the contractor) has aligned the door with the steps to my deck. Since I purchased the garage when I did - I was given an upgrade in the size of the window for the garage. As you can tell - it is a good standard size window!! The bottom photo can give you a better idea of how much space I actually will have for a backyard - basically not much. Thinking low maintenance etc - that is behind my reasoning of a floor patio/deck and possibly a rock garden idea. I think that will be next year's project. Having a home built from the ground up, I am seeing that the next couple of year's following there are other bigger projects that need to get done too. I am excited to have a place for my car and outside gardening tools as well.

Anyone would like to vacation in Calgary next summer and help with landscaping?????

Garage frame is up!!!

Well after solving some electrical problems (my breaker had popped off so that is why the guys couldn't put up the frame on Saturday and I wasn't told until Monday), I came home tonight to see the frame work for the garage. Here are some views of it from across the alley way. One of the guys who was there supervising the trench for the electrical connection, mentioned that it is deceiving just seeing the parking pad. Now that I see a frame, it is actually a good size garage (20x20).

Day 3 - wow!!

There is my door!!

This is the wood and ceiling trusses (think that is the lingo)

Arrived home today to see that the curb is put in. The left side of the curb will be put in tomorrow - along with the framing - how exciting this is. It is like seeing the different stages of my house being built just 2 short years ago. Scott, my contractor said that the framing of the garage could be put in as early as tomorrow too. It's like a kid at Christmas - each day will be like opening a present!!

The cement is poured!!!

My roommates Jessica and Kayla mentioned that the cement is poured already (oh yeah - the guys were cute too! Darn I was at work!! (HAHA)) So here are different views of the garage. This was day 2 of the garage build - excited but sure is happening fast.

Have you been "Googled"??

The new search engine to find people on the internet is Facebook. So here is a question for you, do you know if anyone has "Googled" you to reconnect with you? Let me tell you it is wierd and cool all at the same time. Well I have been googled twice this month and then receiving a wonderful surprise when I read my comments from my blog site. Earlier this month, a guy I had met in Cancun remembered I had a blog site and tried googling me to see if he would get any hits. Sure enough my blog site address popped up. Last night same thing happened. It took me a second or so to put a face to a name - voila!! It was Lisa childhood friend who lived across the street from me - I had lost contact with her - I don't know maybe 15-20 years - she wondered where I was and she googled me and found my blog site.

Okay, here is the kicker. A week before either of these surprise comments left on my blog site I had wondered how they were. I had just started doing remote coding and I was coding for a hospital in Chatham - well that is where Andrew lives. It has been nice catching up with all his goingons too. A couple of weeks ago, a family friend was marrying Lisa's former boyfriend. So you wonder - where is she now? Freaky eh? It's a cool freaky I will say though.

So now my interest is peaked so I googled myself - "Laura Rutherford Thunder Bay" - can't believe this - out of 12, 200 results my blog site was 3rd!!! The funny thing is the #1 web result out of the 12, 200 was from Richard Pepper - who I know from my Dorion Bible Camp days. His entry with my name was explaining his time in Calgary to celebrate Andy's 60th birthday (see 2 entries down done on Sunday June 15, 2008). Richard made mention me - the 8th James kid. I am sorry I find this so funny - the wonders of the internet and all that you can find.

First look at the garage build

Yes I am doing another renovation!! Now that the inside of the house is basically completed, this summer was to tackle the backyard. Listening to my coworker last summer explaining about putting in her garage I knew some things involved. One being a trench will be needed to connect the electrical. So being my backyard is dirt - figured it would be the best time to do the garage before starting anything in the way of landscaping. I am getting a 20x20 garage built - perfect for me - it is considered a two car garage which should be an added investment in the future sale of the house. The only other garage on my alley is a single garage nearer to the street.

A hop skip and a jump to the garage. Loving the lot size of new developments in Calgary - they are smaller as most of the land is taken up with the build of your home and in my case a garage too. Being realistic, practical and be of low maintanance - I have decided that I am not putting grass in the backyard (that green stuff you see now is called weeds!!). Next summer I will put a flat patio and maybe a rock garden of sorts. The other landscaping job would be the sides of the house and the front flower bed. The houses are close on either side so the thought is to put stepping stones and those white rocks to add to the curb appeal and all. Okay - I admit I watch those reno shows on HGTV like Mike Holmes or A&E's Sell this House!!