One Down about Thirteen to Go

The floors are finished and are just gorgeous. They are so perfectly smooth and even that they look like laminate. LIKE LAMINATE? you say? Well, only at first glance. Then the wood speaks for itself.

I shot out of bed this morning after the golf course alarm went off at 6:30 a.m.. That is what I call  the kid who drives the tractor pulling the metal trailer full of aluminum rakes. He clatters past our back fence at 80 miles an hour with all the rakes jumping up and bouncing as he drives over tree routes and rabbit holes. If I tried chasing to slow him down, he wouldn't know, he has his cell phone to his ear.

Free stuff

3 sided gas fireplace
KitchenAid dishwasher
china cabinet
shower door

Pansy Faces

I think this is the happiest pansy.Some of the others look too agressive and mean spirited, others look vacuous.

Look who's in the Garden

Look who is peeking out from under the leaves.

I braved the onslaught of mosquitos to check the crops. The strawberries are Eversweet.

The grass is swampy from all the rain, I am sure there are some plants who would have appreciated more sand in the soil, like the grape. Grapes don't like wet feet, ergo the reason they grow on south slopes. I may dig it up and pour some sand in its bed. I don't think I will get far with it this year, unless we have a long hot dry spell.
The rain has been relentless, and huge black clouds are always circling the city at dinner time. So that puts the kibosh on BBQ's, because if rain isn't annoying enough, then the mosquitos come out to feast on us. But the upside is that they bring the song birds.

Our Dear friend Dave McMurdo passed away

from the Globe and Mail ;


DAVID L. MCMURDO It is with great sadness that the family of David L. McMurdo announces his passing June 13, 2011 suddenly at his home in Eden Mills at the age of 67. Dave was an excellent teacher, a talented musician and bandleader. He wore his heart on his sleeve inspiring many with his unique charm, quick wit and passion for jazz. Dave was a one-of-a-kind, loved and respected by many. He was larger than life. Dave will be lovingly remembered always by his wife, Donna and daughters, Candice (Bill) and Emily (Gordon) and grandchildren, Sarah, Jack and Ashley. He will also be fondly remembered by his extended family, many friends, fellow musicians and students whom his life energy has touched over his 30+ years of teaching. A celebration of Dave's life will be held on July 4th, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at The Rex Hotel in Toronto. In memory of Dave, donations to The Mohawk College Dave McMurdo Memorial Award would be appreciated by the family. To make a gift go to http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/ development and click on Make a Gift. Where has the time all gone to Haven't done half the things we want to Oh well, We'll catch up some other time...

Dave was the best man at our wedding. A long time very dear friend. We will miss him.

A wander around my Garden and my House

Obviously this is my backyard. I planted it in a frenzy last fall, just minutes before a huge snow storm that hung around for 6 months. I didn't really know the flower bed well at that time and I stuffed 200 tulip bulbs into it. ..er I mean rabbit salad. The legamorphs munched happily under the snow and were fed well. Come spring all that came up were a few tulips and some daffodils. The rabbits were probably sitting on those bulbs as their bottoms got bigger and bigger from all the tasty delicacies. I planted a number of small bulbs but I'll be damned if I can remember what they are...maybe snow drops? Anyway they were quickly mowed down by the rabbits.
The birds and squirrels decimated the bird seed block and spread it all around. That is the mess under the schubert cherry tree. As you travel down the flower bed you will notice some prolific growth and other that is not. The previous garden was dug up, moved and planted by our contractors while I was away. I really had no input as to where things went. Most of the bed is very recent and just needs some recovery time.
They sure haven't suffered froom too much sun.
Anyway I am pleased with what has come up and I enjoy my swing and there I spent an idle 5 minutes this spring, swatting mozzies and spilling my drink all over my book.

I am reading Bill Bryson's "At Home". There is so much I didn't know about my house and why it is the way it is....a good read. If you learn nothing else from my blog, read this book.

The Wood is in!!! Yippee!!

As you can see the cupboard 'carcases' are in and the hardwood floor is laid. The flooring guy Dean thinks this is the finest wood he has ever seen. We agree. Since it is a site finished project we chose rift and quarter sawn white oak. This wood gives a very fine grain and when it is rift and quarter sawn some of the 'jewel' like qualities of the wood appear. This gets woodworkers excited. I like the look of it and each board is 3 and 3.4 inches wide. This floor will feel like walking on a sheet of glass. We are so impressed with Jack our carpenter who is building and installing our kitchen. He is meticulous and everything is perfectly square. The drawers are perfection.
The painter is next and we haven't even chosen a colour yet.
Funny how the one thing that is most changeable in a renovation project is also the one thing that gives a person the most anxiety. We chose a colour and within hours we hate our choice. Off to the next colour that we are sure would be just perfect reflecting both the light and our personalities and within minutes we are off that too. Of what to do? Bryan chooses colours by the creative names that the paint 'desiginers' give it.  Like moose hide or long beach or warm biscuits,and depending upon whether or not he is hungry or needs a holiday on the coast, his choices vary.
Jack is installing our new railings and I can't wait to see how they look. We have chosen a dark stain and wrought iron spinkles in an arts and crafts style. At least I think that is what it is called.
So many more choices to make and stuff to shop for. Today I did 6 CMAs for our lender client and I reached the saturation point for which one human can tolerate the pounding of wood installation, compressors and sanders and sawns and vacuums, phones ringing and rain pounding and trying to do laundry and hang it ourside because the dryer is in need of a belt and I haven't got around to that yet. and try and stay on this ridiculous diet that I volunteered to go on with my jaxxercise buddies. So with all this going on I am also hungry.
Oh it could be worse, I could be living in a war zone....oh yeah what is the difference again?

the garden is growing at an astonishing speed but the thing that you should notice is that there is NO snow. That's right everything is green. But that is not to say that there will be no snow in the near future...this is Calgary afterall. We could have no garden by noon if a hail storm comes along. You see those golfers in the background? They are women and therefore find no need to show their strength to fellow players by taking a great testosterone whack at the ball on the tee and tear off some of my siding or lop off a tree. The men do that on the week end. The amateurs.