Take this example.  I’ve been holding onto a few old calendars that I really liked, and thought were too nice to throw away.  When we moved into our basement suite almost a year ago (before this house), D discovered these old calendars, and tried to convince me to toss them.  I told him that I had an art project planned (I actually had no idea what I was going to do with them, but didn’t. want. to. throw. them. out.)  So I kept them, and packed them up for yet another move a few months ago (to our new house!).  Now, being in a house, and having a lot more empty wall space to fill, I got to trying to think of creative ways to fill that space.  We have some hand me down art, and some beautiful original pieces from the many talented artists in both our families (thanks E, G, and T!), but we still had lots of empty walls.  And finally it dawned on me!  A fantastic use of those carefully preserved calendars that I’ve been saving for years!  And so, last weekend we bought some cheap frames from JYSK, popped in some calendar art, and ta da!

I was really happy with how they turned out – they look like real art, and way more expensive than they really were ($12.99/frame).  I still have a lot of empty wall space though, so if anyone has any cheap and creative ideas for filling it, please share!

In the spirit of blog action day, I am going to stray a bit from my intended blog topic, and reveal a little bit about what it is that I do every day when I’m not painting cabinets or building fences.  I am…(cue drumroll)…an Idle Free Ambassador.  And what, might you ask, does and idle free ambassador do?  Well, I tell people to turn off their engines!  Ha!  Actually, I do lots of other stuff, including research and providing education and awareness about air quality, climate change, and vehicle emissions.  So every single day I’m actually doing work to help protect our earth and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Today was a special day though, because today I gave my very first presentation to a classroom full of twelve year olds.

Why is this such a big deal?  Well, because kids really are the future – they are the ones who will have to grow up and deal with the problems being created today, and they are the ones with the power to change our course.  Today it was great to talk to twenty-seven kids who were receptive and enthusiastic, and that definitely gives me hope.

And while we’re on the topic, just in case you’re wondering what type of impact idling has on climate change, here are a few facts:

• Just 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the engine
• For every litre of gasoline used, 2.4 kg of carbon dioxide are produced
• If every driver in Canada reduced idling by just 3 minutes a day, it would be equivalent to taking 320,000 cars off the road!

Food for thought.

Climate change is the biggest environmental issue facing our planet today, and threatens the sustainability of life as we know it for future generations.  By standing together in support of finding solutions, spreading the word about ways of reducing our environmental footprint, and motivating our political leaders to address this vital issue, we can play a role in encouraging dialogue and promoting a more sustainable way of thinking and living.

As it says on the Blog Action Day website:

“…the blogosphere has the unique opportunity to mobilize millions of people around expressing support for finding a sustainable solution to the climate crisis.”

You can help!  Just click here to register, and on October 15, write a post relating to climate change on your blog, in the context of whatever it is you like to write about.  So, for example, I’ll be talking about some of the eco-friendly changes we’ve made to our house so far, and other renovations we have planned to help reduce our carbon footprint, save money, and live more sustainably.

First, up went the fence posts.  Three were installed using big spikes, which screw into the post and then go down about two feet into the garden to hold the posts in place.  The post with the important job of holding up the gate was cemented into the ground, using a quick set cement.  Then, cedar lattice was cut to size and framed in using two-by-fours on the outer frame, and one-by-ones to hold the lattice in place.  The same process was repeated on the section to the right side of the path.  Once the two lattice frames were installed, the next step was to build a gate.  And here is where my highly instructive play-by-play comes to an end, because I was banished from the area while the extremely technical process of gate-building was going on.  

Luckily, it turned out that all my worrying was for naught, since we ended up with a lovely fence that didn’t destroy the path and side garden at all (although Juno has happily taken on that task herself).  Below, the finished product:

Now, Juno can be safe and secure in her yard.  Although, they say that huskies can be escape artists, and it’s true!  You can’t see it in the photo above, but there existed a tiny gap between the stairs and the left fence post, where the vines come through, and the little bugger managed to squeeze herself through it  last week.  Luckily, she didn’t go far, and we’ve since blocked off the hole.

So, what do you think of our new fence?  Any exciting fence building stories of your own?  Feel free to share.

Well, as you might imagine, we have been super busy around here.  The summer has flown by in an absolute blur, and we’re now officially nearly a week into autumn.  The leaves are changing, the flowers are shriveling up, and the kids are back in school (not our kids though! - the only kids we’ve got are of the furry variety!).

And speaking of said furry children, we have a new addition to our family – one that has been keeping me so busy that I have no time for important things like updating this blog…or sleeping…or showering…(just kidding about those last two…sort of).  Her name is Juno, or Junebug, as we often fondly call her – our new siberian husky puppy.  We picked her up at the beginning of September, and she is now twelve weeks old (tomorrow), and growing like a weed (four pounds in one week!).

Junebug!

Now, it would be remiss of me to post about our new puppy, while leaving  out my two very favourite fur boys (and those who know me are probably shocked that no photos of these two have yet made it onto the blog…).  So,  without further ado, I present Alfred and Finnigan!

We managed to have the floor installed by Thursday (July 30th – right before our move!), and on Friday, D took the day off work and his brothers helped him move most of the big stuff over while I was at work.  As they moved furniture, we had a carpenter working around them to get the baseboards installed.  And after I got home, we spent the rest of Friday night and most of Saturday finishing moving, cleaning our old place, and unpacking a few essentials.

Now, I didn’t take any photos during our move, and I haven’t yet taken many of the house since we’ve moved in (we still have lots of organizing to do, and hanging of pictures and so on), but I did in fact take many pictures during the fun process of cabinet painting and carpet tearing up….here are a few teasers, with a post devoted to the kitchen cabinet painting process coming soon…

Our Living Room BEFORE (taken during our house viewing)

Our living room...sans carpet

A view from the opposite direction...and a sneaky glimpse into the kitchen

We officially took possession of the house on July 16th, but we were lucky enough to get the keys to the house a full week before that!  The previous homeowner was heading off early, and kindly left us a set of keys so that we could check up on the house.  That first night, after she had left, we had a picnic in our very own backyard.  We then went on a patio furniture shopping spree over the weekend, purchasing a table with two matching chairs, two lawn chairs, a little side table upon which to place our icy margaritas while lounging (that is, if we ever get a chance to lounge), and cushions for all the seating.

The last two weeks have been an absolute blur of painting, packing, tearing up carpet, ripping off baseboards, and trying to remember to feed ourselves (and the cats!).  We’ve been busy busy busy, and we’re now on the final push to finish the projects that we’ve started and get packed for the big move.  Our fingers are crossed that when we begin to move the furniture over on Friday, we won’t be moving onto bare plywood floors (actually, sexy green underlay).  The kitchen has undergone a major transformation, and I anticipate that the living room and bedroom will be pretty amazing as well once we have a floor!  Pictures to come soon!

As I mentioned in previous posts, we’re still planning on painting the cabinets.  We also hope to get that dishwasher installed sooner than later.  For anyone wondering, we didn’t end up buying the Kenmore during the sale…we figured we should wait until we have access to the house so we can measure and make sure it fits. 

Another fairly imminent project is our plan to install laminate flooring throughout much of the main floor.  And this has been the source of some contention between us.  We both agree about putting in the flooring, but disagree on which rooms to put it in, and exactly what type of laminate to get.  D favours this easy install flooring from Windsor Plywood (manufactured by Kaindl), and while I like the idea of the easy click, I’m not happy with the colour choices, and won’t rest until I find the perfect (in an aesthetic sense) floor.  I figure, what’s the point in spending all this time and money on a floor we (I) don’t love?

Speaking of dishwashers, here is the one we are thinking of getting:

It’s currently on sale (but only until Sunday!) which is a plus, and as far as dishwashers go, it seems like a happy medium.  It’s not a fancy stainless steel interior, or expensive brand name, like this Bosch that we would love to get, but it seems like a decent buy, plus, our fridge and stove are Kenmore also, so at least it’ll match!

As for the cabinets, while we’ve decided to hold off on tearing anything apart, we are still planning on doing some painting.  I think a nice fresh coat of white paint and some new hardware will do wonders for updating our little old kitchen.  Besides, if we really mess up, we can always tear the cabinets out later…(ha!)

Tip #1: Know what you’re looking for.  Searching for a house can be completely overwhelming, and if you don’t know what you want, it is easy to be swayed by a beautifully decorated home that is not actually a good fit for your lifestyle.  Having a good sense of what you are looking for (lots of space, potential to add value, turn-key, etc) can help you sort through it all.  Talk together about what is most important, and what can be compromised on.  D and I spent hours (and hours, and hours…) talking together about what we wanted in a house.

Tip #2: Look past the small stuff.  As long as you don’t mind putting in a little bit of elbow grease, many things that often put buyers off (dated light fixtures, ugly wall paper, paint colours) can actually be changed quite easily and inexpensively.  And remember, their furniture and belongings will be gone, so look at the house itself, not how it is decorated!

Tip #3: It’s what’s underneath that counts.  This relates to the previous point, in that paint and other aesthetics are not a big deal.  What you want to look for is a house with good bones.  If your home is structurally sound and in good shape, then you can focus your time and effort (and money!) on the fun stuff, rather than on expensive repairs!  We were lucky to find a home that has been really well-maintained, with great bones, but lots of room for putting our own touch on things and adding value.  It’s a blank slate!

Tip #4: Think about your future plans.  The house you buy will depend not only on where you are now, but where you are going.  When looking at houses, you should think about how long you plan on staying in the house, and how your life may change during that time.  If you plan on having children and want to stay put, you will want to factor that in, in terms of the size of the house, number of bedrooms, etc.  If you plan on moving in two years, you will want to think about resale, and plan your purchase and your renovations accordingly.

Tip #5: Location, location, location.  The one thing you cannot change about your house is its location.  You’ll want to familiarize yourself with the neighbourhood and make sure its a place you can be happy.  Talk to neighbours and others in the community about the area, and visit at various times on different days.  We actually ended up buying a house on the very same street that we were already living on, so we knew and liked the area already.

Tip #6: Inspect it!  You will definitely definitely want to hire a reputable inspector to check out your home before you finalize the purchase.  Make your offer conditional upon conducting and approving a home inspection, so that if it does turn up a host of expensive problems, you can always back out of the deal.  You can also bargain with the seller to see if they will take on the repairs before you move in (which is an even better idea than reducing the price accordingly, in case the repairs turn out to be more expensive than first thought).  And completing a successful home inspection is very reassuring…you can also learn helpful tips about maintenance and so on from your inspector.

And finally…

Tip #7: Go for it!  Sure, it pays to take your time and make sure you know what you want, but once you do find that perfect house, make an offer!  If you over-analyze too much (often my problem), you’ll never make a decision.  And you don’t want to end up losing the house because someone beat you to the punch.