On my bus route, there is a 'grand' old house with a large yard that is for sale. I was curious and looked it up online - it's going for $300,000. Gotta love Gatineau - in Ottawa it'd be at LEAST $600,000...
Anyway, on my way through the hundreds of listings to find this house, I saw many very nice houses - and started to feel depressed. ;) That's why I don't 'window shop' for anything. If I can't have it, I get sad. Anyway, I started to think of things that I liked about those houses, and wondered if there were ways that I could achieve the same feel in our own home. I came up with a surprising list of things we can do to really make it look snazzy. Each room needs some small thing, such as: Downstairs:- Dog room: needs a railing (right now the stairs into it from the basement are 'open';- Rec Room: needs shelving, a coffee table, a proper tv stand and perhaps cream coloured tightly woven carpet, along with a fresh coat of 'cream' and a dark navy/green colour on the walls, plus a new light (the one we have is horrible - it's MADE to look filthy);- Bathroom: Well, it needs a new tub, but we're not getting into that, so a nice new shower head, light fixture and maybe have the shelving put up on the wall (instead of resting on the back of the toilet);- Office: Paint the walls the deep tan and burgundy we picked out and hang the burgundy shelving we have for our books - new blinds would be nice too;- Spare bedroom: Add a futon, put the smaller tv stand in the corner with the tv and dvd player, put weights, yoga stuff and exercise videos in there with some pretty plants and voila!;
Upstairs:- Front entryway: tile the floor, remove carpet from stairs and refinish the wood, new solid wood front door (wide one) with french type windows;- Living room: hang up pictures that are currently leaning on the wall and perhaps paint a cool picture to go above the couch on the long wall. Buy some wooden venetians for the bay window (for the winter time especially!);- Dining Room/Kitchen: Ceramic tile on the floor, new counter tops, knock out wall between dining/kitchen and replace with an island, recessed pot lights over the sink (new faucet), those cute lights on the long stems over the island, cupboards with glass fronts on upper cabinets, French-style 'terrace' door leading onto deck;- Bedroom: (simple!) Shutter style closet doors (white);- Floor throughout: refinish the hardwood a medium warm tone;
Not all of it is expensive, you can find a lot on usedottawa and kijiji nowadays (I've already contacted a few people who are selling odds and ends after renos). So we'll see. I know it'll be a long process (I'm thinking hopefully over the next five years we'll tackle most of it), but I'm hoping that with time, patience, and a little imagination we can create a charming, inviting space to live and entertain in. :)

This past weekend was an interesting one, and in many ways, restful (which I needed). Physically, I was constantly working on one thing or another, but mentally, I clocked out and and just enjoyed my days and nights. I spent Saturday afternoon in the backyard with Tigger, cleaning out and organizing the shed (Luc surprised us part-way through with icecream cones which was very sweet as it was EXTREMELY hot out!!) Then Saturday evening, we went on a date, which we haven't done in a looong time. We drove down by the marina in Aylmer and decided to try out a little bistro with a patio (though we ended up sitting inside as it was too full). The atmosphere was very calm and 'artsy', the music was good, and the service, for the most part was good. I had the grilled tuna steak with dill sauce (not as good as when Luc makes it, I have to say), and Luc had a big steak topped with risotto cheese (which is very 'aromatic' - to say the least). ;) Anyway, after we finished up there, we headed into the New Edinburg neighbourhood in Ottawa, to attend the Lumiere Festival. It was very cool. Here are some pictures:

It was just as I imagined it to be, pathways lit with glowing paper lanterns, paper maché sculptures, and crowded with people of every age. There were musicians, dancers, fire show people, people on stilts (they scare me), and women dressed as fairies who would flit around through the bushes, with candles in their hands, stopping every so often to do some sort of choreographed 'candle-dance' which was interesting (I have to admit, I wanted to be one - they were so beautiful in their white gowns and big white fluttery wings!! Totally engaged my 'dressup' side! :) )
Anyway, once we'd done the rounds, we met up with some friends for a drink at a pub in the market area, and then headed home. Sunday was more of the same - I ran errands, cleaned up the office (it's starting to look like a very spacious, inviting office and painting room). :) We still need to take down the baby wall-border and paint it, but for now it looks a million times better just having had the boxes unpacked or stored in the closet, and a tropical tree added (sale at Zellers, woohoo!).
I got Waverly's latest newsletter today (School of the Seasons) and, as always, enjoyed reading it immensely. Everything she talks about always has an odd way of coinciding with something going on in my life. Even simple things like, a few weeks back, I was sitting waiting for the bus, when a huge (the biggest I've ever seen) black crow swooped down and stood beside me. He was absolutely beautiful (and thankfully didn't 'squawk' at me). Watching him, I realized how interesting those birds are, and I did a little research on them the next day. They're highly intellegent birds, and they have some 'endearing' qualities too like their love for shiny objects (I can understand totally, ha ha). Anyway, so last night I was walking along the side of the soccer field near my place with Tigger, and a big black crow was picking cheese off a McDonalds wrapper on the ground. I expected him to fly away (Tigger has a fascination with birds and I'm always afraid he'll catch one in his mouth like my Dad's dog used to do). Anyway, he didn't fly away until he'd neatly torn the corner of paper off that contained the cheese he wanted, and then he picked it up and flew it into the field where he landed and continued to pick at the cheese. Quite remarkable if you think about it. So back to Waverly, she mentioned crows (and her love of them) in her newsletter, and recommended the following book, which she is currently reading: Song of the Crow by Layne Maheu, Unbridled Press 2006
Maybe I'll give it a try when I'm done my Irish ghost stories book. ;)

Another thing she discussed was how the seasons are divided in our calendar and how many people choose to mark the seasons themselves (in order to align them more closely with what is actually happening outside). I find that our seasons in Canada are actually pretty well marked, but I did notice things like, in February, Waverly (who lives in Washingon) was talking about walking through the neighbourhood which was filled with spring flowers and warm spring breezes while I was huddled in my back office with the space heater on, counting the days until the snow would melt, which wasn't for another two months. Anyway, she mentioned in her newsletter, that long ago, they used to say that August 2 (around Lammas) was the first day of Autumn. She divides Autumn into two parts, 'early Autumn' which is August 2 - September 22, and 'late Autumn' which is September 23rd to the end of October. I like that. Last night I had a wonderful sleep, thanks to the cool, crisp late-summer air that was coming in through the windows (a welcome relief from the steam-bath we've been living in the last couple of weeks). And today it's a high of +24, which is beautiful - I feel energized, and look forward to my evening stroll, instead of dreading it (it's not as fun in +35). So I'm going to (quietly) recognize this as early Autumn, the start to the Harvest season, and that makes me happy - sunshiny, golden days are ahead, it's my fave time of year, and I'm so glad it's here!! :)
S

Frost... Snowy sunset, crunch and plumes of steam as our breath hangs on the air. The snow is painted blues, pinks and golds, our shadows scattered and distorted along the tops of drifts, as we push onward against the cold, looking forward to a nice hot cup of tea... That's where I wish I was, in some ways. I love the summer, with its bright, sunshiney days and sprays of flowers along the pretty banks of the river, but I also do look forward to the spice and excitement of Fall, followed by the glorious silence of winter when the world stops racing, time slows down a bit, and those endless job lists that were plaguing us all summer go to sleep... We wake in the dark, work away all day in the warmth of artificial lights, and when we emerge, bundled in soft woolen mitts and scarves, coats meeting the tops of our tall boots, the sun is setting again, and the twinkle and glitter of holiday lights wink their joy down at us from the frozen tree tops. After a hot, comforting supper, it's dark and calm as I wash up the dishes and tidy the kitchen. Then bundling back up in 'long-johns' and heavy boots, Tigger and I will set out into the dark, where snowflakes swirl down around the street lamps and the ice sparkles like crystal, reflecting those heavily adorned lawns with their giant 'bonhommes' and christmas light reindeer. Then I often spend my evenings in candlelight with some good music - Norah Jones, Hayley Sales (this year), Annie Lennox or KT Tunstall... There, in my softly lit living room, I while away the hours quietly working on small projects I had no time for in the summer when the demands of inside and out were constantly tugging at me from every direction... Sounds darn good huh? I won't mention the biting cold that whips through your clothing and sinks into your bones, or the fact that sunlight becomes a scarce resource that most of us who are stuck inside rarely get a chance to feel on our skin... Or that winter and this darkness lasts about 6 months of the year, those months that seem to drag on forever. But right about now, it's looking VERY enticing. :)

Can you tell I'm tired?