She's done! SHE'S DONE!

It has been a long while since I posted an update. Life has been busy, but more importantly, Gilles did not want any sneak previews. So, today with much pride and admiration for Gilles and all his handiwork, I get to do the big reveal.

All of the siding is now fully completed as is the porches in the front and back of the house. The planters are in and the plants are blooming. Now all that is left is to enjoy our surroundings and give thanks to how lucky we have been.

So, far, we have enjoyed breakfast on the porch, a few dinners, and quite a few naps. It is so peaceful and charming to sit and listen to the crickets in the evening and the birds in the morning. Nothing like coming home from work and sitting on the porch with a nice glass of wine to make you realize that the dream has come true. Porches which were traditional features of all houses became obsolete with the advent of central air conditioning. Too bad because they really are like an outside living room, very enjoyable. Now, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

For more pics and to be able to see larger versions, click on the link to my flickr page!

Where's the Beef?? and Basement Progress

The other day a friend posted a lovely picture of a cow in England. When she stated how much she loved the site of a cow in a  pasture just chewing away on the food, I could not help but agree with her. Every day on my way home I see countless cows scattered a long the countryside. It is peaceful and serene to just see them hang out.

Tomorrow, we have a friend coming over for dinner. I have been planning on serving organic steaks from my favorite local winery/beef purveyor. I called yesterday from work and was told to come today for better selection. I eagerly left the office and hurried down to Vignoble Bressee and stocked up on both wine and beef.

After picking up a few steaks for tomorrow and some for the freezer, I stumbled upon more cows in the field. Having my camera close by, I stopped the car along the roadside and began taking a few pictures. Now, the irony of being thrilled with my beef purchase and eager to take pictures of my future meal does not escape me, but I couldn't resist. Each time I would start to walk away, they would walk closer to me. They were curious and eager to know what I was doing.

The neat thing about this area is the seasons are well pronounced. All winter the fields were white and full of snow. As the snow began to melt, the grass started to make an appearance. Then, came the cows. Little by little more of the fields had cows grazing. This fall, I will watch them retreat and go back indoors to guard against the harsh winter climate, but for now, I can continue to enjoy their peaceful sight.

Oh, I guess you might be wondering how the house is progressing. The latest progress is the basement. Gilles has lacked a bit of motivation since the weather has been so nice. He has found lots of excuses to procrastinate such as building a wood shed (very cute and charming), creating a running trail on our 5 acres. Finally, though, with my sister's upcoming family visit, he got his booty in gear . It is looking great. Now, he is just working on painting the closet doors and it will be perfect. The best part of it all is that we now have a tidy place to store all of our stuff. Previously it was all on the 2nd floor  taking up room and looking cluttered.

Sorry, I have not written much lately. I will try to update stuff more frequently. Summer here is busy. The days are long so we try to cram more in one day. I hope you are all enjoying a fabulous summer with limited mosquito bites ;-)

Country Life sure if different

Well, this post was supposed to be about the house, about the progress and about the great visit we had with my dad. So much has been going on and there is so much to catch up on, but it will have to wait.

Instead, I feel compelled to write about country life in Spring. It seems so different than anything I have ever experienced. Quite frankly, life around here changes by the day. Once the snow melted, the green shoots of grass started appearing, then the wildflowers. First there were white wildflowers, then yellow and now vibrant pink. The cows and horses are regularly out grazing in the fields. It all seems so peaceful, so tame so lovely.

Then, there is the encounters with wildlife in our immediate surroundings:

• Just last week, we had a hummingbird come into the house. I tease Gilles that the hummingbird was coming to get his own food since he was dragging his feet in putting up the bird feeder. Gilles managed to get him out unharmed. He also managed to put up the bird feeders. Morning and night, we are greeted at our kitchen window to the little visitors.
• A few weeks ago, a woodpecker decided to start feasting on our unfinished wood siding. As if there were not enough trees on our 5 acres, he had to choose the house to nibble on. It did not last long since Gilles has been busy painting the siding.
• Today, on my way home from work, I took the picturesque backroads. I was happily enjoying the countryside when I had to swerve to avoid a beaver strutting its stuff on the road. Can there be anymore sign that I am in Canada. I am sure there is a joke in the somewhere, "The was a beaver crossing the road...."
• Last night, we were outside admiring the house when all of a sudden Chulita starting going nuts. Not too far in the woods, we could hear a barking type sound. We are almost certain it was a fox. In any case it was a bit spooky. Although not as freaky as the sound of a pack of coyotes in the distance that we usually hear in the evening.

The most curious encounter with an animal by far has to be the strange episode this evening. As I was barbecuing, Chulita noticed a little frog / toad. She wanted to play with him and started jumping around. The frog tried to get away and then played dead. I tried to get Chulita to leave it alone, but as stubborn as she is, she insisted on having her way. As I approached her, she did not want me to take the frog away from her. So, in a spilt second that felt like slow motion, she popped the frog in her mouth. The frog wiggled a bit inside. Chulita looked a bit frightened and unsure of what to do next. I approached her to get her to spit it out, but fearing I might tale her fun away from her, she swallowed it in one big gulp! YUCK! YIKES! It was utterly disgusting. Not sure how this episode will end and when the frog will come out one end or the other. In the meantime, I am thoroughly disgusted. 

Anyway, I kept thinking about the old lady who swallowed a fly. I thought it should be adapted to Chulita:


There was a crazy mutt who swallowed a fly...
I dunno why she swallowed that fly,
Perhaps she'll die.


There was a crazy mutt who swallowed a frog,
That wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the frog to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly -
Perhaps she'll die.




I will write again soon. This last month and a bit has been a bit overwhelming, but I promise to get back on the bandwagon with more updates, pics and anecdotes.

I'm in love!!!

View from the Kitchen

Tomorrow is Easter which is a great time to celebrate spring and new beginnings. In the religious sense, it is a time to celebrate the resurrection. Tonight, Gilles family is coming over and we will be celebrating our own new beginning. Our new house is finally livable and absolutely beautiful. There are still some finishing touches, the basement and the exterior to finish. Overall, we are extremely satisfied with all the hard work and labour that Gilles has put into making our dream become a reality. Thank you as well to Steve, Sara, Marc, Papi and all those who helped physically or with words of encouragement.

View of the kitchen from the living room

We have been living in the house for a little over a week. It is hard to describe the feelings and emotions that we are experiencing. There is a mix of joy and peacefulness with our surroundings.  I have never had so much fun cooking and cleaning.  That feeling may pass, but for now,  it is great to have this feeling!

Entrance with coat racks

In just a few hours, the Barbeau clan will be here. We will be drinking and eating and having a great time. They too are part of our dream. The reason we moved was to be closer to family. We built our house with the dream that it would be a great place to all get together. Tonight, that is what we will celebrate. We are still awaiting the dining table that will be large enough to accommodate us all. Until then, we will make do with what we have.

Bedroom

Reading Corner

Craft / Work room

To see more pics, click on the link. By clicking on the link, you can also make the pictures larger. or view them as a slideshow.

Spring is a time for Maple Syrup and Finishing Touches

Maple Trees - tapped for their syrup at the Catholic Cemetery in Sutton

So much has been going on here in Sutton. March is really a great time here in Sutton. As the days get warmer and the nights remain cold, the trees get tapped for their bountiful syrup. All along the roadside, the trees have buckets hanging from them to gather the sap. This year, we have had our own excitement to contend with. We are very close to being able to move in which means a part from purchasing more cans of fresh maple syrup, we haven't had time to think of much else.

Now for the cool stuff: the house!!

• The Kitchen: The cabinets are in. The countertops are in and the sink is in place. All we are missing now is running water. It is a slight detail, but we have been able to manage without reasonably well. Since last Monday, most of our meals are at the new house. I have been using up our plentiful supply of homemade frozen meals and a little creativity. It is like luxurious camping. We bring home the dishes to wash, but otherwise it feels like a functioning kitchen

White quartz countertops

•  The downstairs bathroom: Gilles finally installed the sink in the bathroom. The space is a bit limited so we call it the Boeing 747 bathroom - Please do not tamper with the smoke alarm devices ;-) Actually, the bathroom is not that small, but due to the doorway location, we had to get a bit clever on  the sink we chose.

•  Visitors: We have also been very lucky to have some West Coast visitors. While Chulita is always happy to see lots of our visitors. This one had to be by far the best. Eshan, one of her best buddies, got to run around like mad outside in the snow with her. She was quite tired the next day. Eshan enjoyed his visit and loved learning all about raclette. I think Thomas and Neeta will either have to get him a dog or a raclette set ;-)

• Bedroom Lights: Gilles has been busy installing our lights and other fixtures. It is looking great. Tonight, we finished putting the bed together. Now all we need are the slats and the mattress. Last Friday, we had a sleepover on a blowup mattress. It was so exciting!! We were barely able to sleep.

All in all, there is so much to say, but so little time and lots of satisfied exhaustion. Once we are officially moved in, I hope to have the time to write a bit more. While everything is beautiful, what surprises me most is about realizing our dream is how peaceful and satisfying it can be. So much serenity in the woods with the chickadees welcoming us in the morning and the coyotes howling before bedtime.

Stay tuned for more....

On capote!!

Yes, the best expression that I have found to express how I am felling right now is the quebecois expression: "on capote!" Basically, it can be translated as "I am so excited that I am freaking out!"

The reason for this Quebecois state of being is the installation of our new kitchen cabinets and bathroom linen closet and  vanity. For starters, it looks magnificent. It is even more beautiful than in my dreams. It also marks a key turning point in the whole construction.

Bathroom linen closet

Bathroom vanity, tub and linen closet

laundry hamper integrated in the linen closet

 Now, down to the kitchen. I promised Gilles, I would supply him all the Maple syrup he would ever want. So far it has fueled the construction of our dream home and there is no need for that to stop now. We have begun to have cold nights and warm days which means that the maple sap is flowing. At work today, a client said "ça coule" which literally means, "it flows". So, to celebrate, I bought Gilles some of the best and freshest maple syrup to help us achieve the finishing touches. Below is just a sample of some  of the special treat.....

Enjoy the pictures below to get a full sense of the kitchen. Tomorrow, they will come measure for the quartz countertops. Next week, the electrician will come and finalize his stuff. Then, the plumber will do the same. Before you know, we will be moving in. So much excitement, it is hard to contain ourselves....

Maple syrup cans

Kitchen view

View from the kitchen to the living room

View of all the drawers in the kitchen

View of the island and the kitchen

2 fools admiring the view after a hard day's work

More on  the maple syrup

View of the pantry

Living and dining room

Trash and recycling fully integrated

Girly Girl Stuff

Yesterday, we had a bout of some real nasty weather. So, I took advantage of some indoor time to have a sewing extravaganza. I finished a dress that I had worked on recently and I whipped up a couple of skirts since Sofia laments her lack of twirly skirts that were left behind in Egypt.

I hope they all fit. Sofia seems to be growing as fast as weeds. Now, off to finish some cool corduroys for Lucas.

Sutton Lovebirds Dress

Sutton Lovebirds Dress - derrière

Twirly Sassy skirt - Time to go Dancing

An artist's skirt to suit Sofia's artistic talents

Flying High as a Kite

Yesterday, the weather was miserable. We had a mix of snow, freezing rain, slush and lots of wind. I had a few errands to run, but quickly realized it was not worth the risk of driving in such conditions. I spent lots of productive time sewing for Lucas and Sofia ( I will post pics later).

Anyways, I woke up today to a brilliant sunshine! I was so excited and energized. I went to run some errands in Cowansville and then got even more excited when I bought a waffle maker. It may sound silly, but I have always wanted one. Now with a big kitchen, I thought I could splurge and get one. So, I carried on with my errands, picked up lunch and went off to the construction site.

Once I arrived, my excitement only grew as I arrived. Gilles has progressed quite nicely on the basement.  Below, you can see the closet doors that we have put along the South wall. We will have lots of storage and it will look pretty as well

Basement closet doors

Appliance Delivery: If I wasn't already excited enough, the appliances got delivered minus the microwave which will come at a later date. We were a bit concerned that the delivery truck would not be able to make it up the hill, but with a little help from Gilles, the delivery guy, and ice pick and a shovel, all was well.

The appliances are more beautiful than I remember them. I can't wait to start using them. My cooking experience is about to soar to great new heights. Now, all I need are the kitchen cabinets (March 15) and the kitchen counters.

Gilles and 1 of the delivery guys had to break up the ice and snow with a pick and shovel

Finally the big truck made it up the driveway

The only way to get the fridge in was to unpack it outside

No using a dolly for these strong men

Can't wait to use this cool oven

Can't wait to use this dishwasher. No more hand washing for me

 Chulita updates:

Chulita has recently realized she can walk on snow since it is packed down quite a bit. She thinks she is the bees' knees. She supervised the delivery high on her snowbank. She is now busy exploring the land high above and loving every minute