And then, there was heat

Thursday was a big day for the construction project.  The big event involved the installation of the wood stove. This means that now, Gilles will be able to feel the gentle warmth of the stove while he works indoors. Although it has been quite cold for my standards, the real winter has not quite started. As it gets colder and colder, Gilles will be thrilled to have some heat to keep him going as it gets colder.

Additionally, the excavator came to dig the trenches to lay down the electricity and the plumbing underground. In just a few days, Gilles will also have the luxury on indoor electricity in both the house and the shed. The running water will also be available, but we will need to install a sink, a toilet or something to use the water. I guess that part will have to wait.

The land looked a bit like a disaster area, but the excavator assured me it would all get put back together in no time at all.

The electrical panel installed and functional

In the meantime, Gilles has been busy working on the insulation. First, he has been putting fiber glass wool in between the studs. Then, he puts an EPS foam which serves as insulation. More importantly it serves the role of a thermal break. Afterward there will be a vapor barrier.
Phew, listen to me. Sounds like I know what I am talking about. Ha, ha, ha! Anyways, the house is going to be super well insulated and in a few weeks, we will be thrilled to have so much insulation.

Siding - 1 wall down, 3 to go

It has been a few days since I got a chance to visit our house. Gilles' mom, Ghislaine came for an unexpected but very welcome visit yesterday and is staying for the weekend. So, today, we went for a visit to the house and brought Gilles lunch. The changes are more subtle now but no less significant than when the walls were going up.
The biggest changes that I noticed were

• The siding on the east side is completely finished. (See picture on left). It will eventually get stained / painted white. For now, it is absolutely stunning. It is a true labor of love to nail each piece of wood clapboard to the wall. Each nail goes in by hand. There is absolutely no use of a nail gun on this siding. It involves a lot of going up and down and cutting the boards to just the right length. Kudos to Gilles on a wall well done!!

• The insulation is  going up. I will have to do a blog post just on the insulation to do it justice. In a nutshell, it will be a very well insulated house. The first part of the insulation is in throughout the house minus a few spots that are not fully sealed (like around the second story windows for example)

• The wood stove - On Thursday, we will be getting the wood stove installed. So, for now, Gilles has started to prepare the floor where it will go. It will be sitting on reinforced flooring covered by grey slate tiles. The tiles are not quite in place yet, but they have been sealed and are ready assume position.

• The wood siding that was piled up outside of the house is now safely stowed in the shed or in another out of the way place. This upcoming week, they are coming to dig the trenches to lay the electrical and plumbing to go into the house. Gilles was very busy today moving all of that wood. Tonight, he was incredibly tired and rightly so.

We had a good time giving Ghislaine a tour of he place. She is ready to  move in. Although we did remind her she hadn't been officially invited ;-) We also had lunch in the downstairs soon to be kitchen. It was definitely cold, but it was nice to have the patio doors and front door closed to keep the wind and cold out. We also had a small heater which was effective if you were really close to it. All in all, things are progressing quite nicely. I wish we could live there now, but I will have to be patient.

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The key to happiness

Two days ago, Gilles handed me the key to our new house. It did not seem to matter that the door was not even in place or that the house is not even near livable. Yet, it was so exciting. It feels like it is becoming more and more of a reality.

Today, I went to the constriction site for the afternoon. I spent a good deal of time tidying up the place. Lots of saw dust and window packaging. It is now clean and tidy until Gilles gets working on more stuff and messing things up. Gilles spent most of his time sealing the doors and windows so we can stay nice and warm throughout the window.

We are really looking forward to the next few days since the forecast shows that it will be sunny and relatively warm. Lots to get done. Gilles is hoping to get a bit more work on the siding, finish up the windows. I will spend the next few days on administrative household things including getting winter tires on the GTI, finishing my resume in french and trying to fit in a little quilting.

Tuesday was quite productive. I spent the day with Sara and Ghislaine looking for appliances and checking out Ikea's kitchen cabinet options.  The good news is that we now know which appliances we want. We will officially order them on Friday. I wanted to make sure that Gilles had a say in the matter. The price was excellent! I am so excited to be getting such nice appliances with such a nice kitchen. A real dream come true.

For more pics check out the link

Even the shed has a roof now

The night the lights went out in Sutton

The statue of Jesus at the Catholic church in Sutton

Last night the lights went out in Sutton. I can't remember the last time that we had an electricity outage due to weather. I guess living in a condo in Vancouver can do that to you. Growing up in New Orleans makes me feel like you have to have some sort of spectaular storm for the lights to go out: throw in some thunder and lightening and you are set for a blackout. Yesterday was different. It was a yucky day with tons of freezing rain, sleet and rain. The trees started to get weighted down by the ice accumulating. In the evening, we were just chilling. Gilles was working on the kitchen design and I was translating my resumé while the wood stove had a good fire going. All of a sudden with no warning, the lights went out. The whole neighbourhood was dark. Not a sound, not a peep, nothing. So, we sat by the fire for a short time. After a while, we figured we might as well go to sleep and enjoy the peacefulness of the silence that surrounded us. A few hours later, the tv was blaring and the lights came on. I did what any woman in her right mind would do with a husband that sleeps with earplugs. I nudged Gilles awake and told him the tv was on. I wish the story could be more spectacular, but alas that is as good as it gets.
Good night to all and may our Jesus staylit with his lightbulb halo!

Food that nourishes the soul...soothes, strengthens and reinvigorates

Papi's Paella

My dad has been visiting for a little over 2 weeks. I missed the first week with my trip to Vancouver. Since my return, I  have been fortunate enough to spend a lot more time with him. The main purpose of his visit was to help Gilles at the construction site. Due to the timing of things he has not had to be out there as much this last week. So, lucky for us he has spent his time cooking gourmet meals: paella, red lentil soup, cornish hens and so much more. The last time I was so lucky was in January 09 when I went for a visit while I was unemployed. Ok, I am starting to think it is not a coincidence that he is here and cooking such yummy food.
I remember then how wonderful it felt to be taken care of, to be nourished not only with food, but also with love. In 09 after 3 weeks of such gourmet delights, I was ready to take on the world. I quickly got a job and remember that time fondly. Now, just as I did then,  I feel re-energized and once again ready to take on the job hunt. I don't know what Sutton and the surrounding area has in store for me, but I am eager to find out and explore my options. I am confident that before long I will be employed and wishing I had more time for my crafts. In case my optimism and enthusiasm waivers, I can always heat up some of Papi's great meals that are in the freezer.
Thank you Papito for always supporting me. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for all your cooking. Thank you for giving me a vacation from doing the dishes. Thank you for being you and loving me no matter what.
On November 14, Papito will turn 80 years young. Tonight we will celebrate with Gilles' sisters family! I am excited that he is healthy, active and in great shape. There is certainly lots to celebrate! I am thankful we live closer now so that we can see each other more frequently.

How long does it take put put up a roof?

Notice that half of the roof has the metal roof on

Everyone keeps asking if the roof is up. Now, most of you city dwellers don't really have any idea of what it takes to put a metal roof on a house. Let's face it, I keep asking why it is not finished yet. Well, apparently there is a lot more involved then just nailing a bit of metal to some plywood. For example, you have to put a membrane to protect the house from moisture and rain. Once the membrane goes on you have to be really careful because it can be very slippery. There was almost a nasty accident, but thankfully the guy involved was tethered to the roof. Phew! Once that is done, the metal needs to be cut and bent on one end so that the wind doesn't rip it off in one swoop. Then, it needs to be cut just right. Also, they had to cut around and install the chimney for the wood stove. That took quite a bit of work. You also need a dash of good weather. Today was a gorgeaous sunny day, but it won't last. The roof is supposed to be done by Friday but the forecast does not look good for Thursday and Friday.

Today, I took lunch to Gilles and Papito. They were happy to see me but Gilles through a fit because I picked up some patio chairs that a neighbour was getting rid of. I thought it would be great to have a place to sit other than our 2 camping chairs. And, hey, it was free. After he flipped out, we had a great lunch, put them back in the car and replaced them at the neighbours trash. Oh, well, so much for getting a free deal.

On another note, it was great to see that Gilles had worked on some siding on the East side of the house. The wood clapboard is quite spectacular. I can already envision it all over.

Stay tuned for future updates:

• Windows get delivered tomorrow
• Wood stove is coming soon
• Papito is making paella tomorrow

Basically, life is feeling pretty good in Sutton. Things are slowing down. I had a great night at curling. My team won and I got a luck bulls eye even though Bob took it out. It is nice to have a feeling of belonging. My curling team is great. They have been in this neck of the woods for quite some time. I even started to translate my resumé which is a step in the right direction.