A day of Discovery in the Eastern Townships

Finally, the weekend came. It was time to discover my surroundings and understand the lay of the land.

First, it was critical to check on the process of the  land. Are trees really getting cleared or is Gilles just running for 8 hours at a time? Lots of questions to be answered. Luckily, he had been busy beavering away and lots was going on. The driveway/ road up to the house is nearly ready as is the area where the house will be built. There is still a few big trees that are near the end of their life and they will come down soon as well.


The next big thing is to make some adjustments to the house plans. based on the city bylaws, the house should be at least 24 feet wide. The original plan was only 20 feet. So, Gilles is now busy making the necessary adjustments and making sure it all fits properly and looks good.  He will resubmit the plans by Monday and hopefully the approval process will go through quickly.

Maple, Birch & Ash

Gilles was a bit concerned because the changes in dimensions meant that the look would change dramatically. After playing around with the width and length, he has found a good dimension (24 X 32) that seems to have quite a few benefits. Mostly, the square footage will be slightly larger but will not require any additional building materials. Also, there will be one less window on the downstairs and the upstairs which means a few savings as well.



After the work site inspection, Tia Toyita and I went to have lunch in Magog. There were millions of motorcycles. It was quite bizarre actually. There was tons of people and it was the happening place in the Eastern Townships today.

Then, we went off to visit Bleu Lavande. It was incredibly beautiful to see so much lavender. The fragrance as we arrived was overwhelming.  We strolled through the lavender fields and took our time to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. Then, we went and got a fresh squeezed lavender lemonade. I had never had anything quite like that. It was very refreshing and lovely. We picked up a few items in the gift shop:  a lavender plant, lander sachets, lavender chapstick, and even  a vinaigrette aux fines herbes et à la lavande.

On the way home, I noticed a sign for chocolate covered blueberries. We stopped and got some for dessert. They were fresh and delicious. I don't know why they don't do that  in Vancouver where the blueberries are plentiful. Luckily, we are now in the land of chocolate blueberries and all is well.

Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring and thankful for the beautiful day of today! For more pics from today, check out the link.