Catching up

I can hardly believe how quickly time is flying. We're already this far into February and I've not updated about life!

School is going well.
It's given me opportunities that I could not have imagined before, and new ways of looking at the world. This year, between our move, our build, change of lifestyle and going back to school I've learned a lot about myself and how I react to, deal with and cope with change. To be cliche, it's been very character building. Pretty soon we're going to have to build another outbuilding just to house my big character!
:)

The weather is still quite cold, and we have tremendously deep snowpiles on the property. I wish the photos had turned out, but about 2 weeks ago I came home from school to find that the boys had built inukshuks out of snow (s'nukshuks) all the way down the driveway - it was like coming home to a cheering crowd. They were so pleased! Their most recent project has been building snow caves and caverns in the big, deep piles. Our sweetheart neighbour gave the boys each smaller versions of real snow shovels, and they've been digging up a storm ever since.

I wouldn't mind if they were motivated to dig out the path to the outhouse now and then.....sigh.

The house is progressing - I'm writing this from what will become DH and my room, once all is done.

Yes, we have wifi. No, we have no indoor plumbing.

We have priorities, you see!

As of tomorrow, we'll have a functioning shower. I won't go into the saga of how the shower got built...considering it's square footage, it's got more story than it deserves. Our plumber is coming tomorrow to put in the faucet and shower head, the sink and toilet in this bathroom. While this sounds sooooo promising, I'm learning not to do the happy dance until everything is actually in place and functioning - LIKE OUR WASHER AND DRYER!


We installed them last night after the tilers left, and I've not let them sit idle for long since then.

In the time since August that we've been living here, I've been doing my laundry nearby in Castlegar, at a lovely laundromat called "Soap 'n' Suds". It's been my connection to clean clothes for the family, and my connection to the internet.
It would normally take me at least 3 hours to do my laundry there, not including the 20 minute drive either way.
I can not tell you how extatic I am to be able to fold my underwear in the privacy of my own home!

We had our kitchen cabinets built through Rona. I designed the kitchen( so anything that goes wrong is my fault). So far, things seem to be going into place without toooooo many adjustments for size....
I love the cabinets. I can't wait to get in there and tile that countertop and backsplash.

Our main floor is concrete, with in-floor heating. It was a bit of a gamble for us to go with this heat, but - let me tell you - it's so worth it! There is nothing like taking off your shoes and having a warm floor underneath your tootsies, even when it's -20 outside.

We had our concrete floors stained, and at right is a picture of the compass that we had etched into the floor. Once the sealant is completely cured (another week or so) I'll grout all the scribed lines with a black grout, then reseal the floor. Right now, the floor is just dirty as all hell with all of us and the tradespeople traipsing in and out all the time.

The photo on the right is of the entryway when I came in this evening. Yep. I'll be resealing the floor before we move any furniture in!
On the left is a photo of our hallway (looking back toward the entry). Although the floor is a bit dirty, it gives a good idea of what we had done and what the colours are.

The whole main floor has a jade green 8" border stained into the floor around a nice coffee brown. We were a little worried that the green was going to come out turquoise, but it came out exactly the colour we had hoped.

We have a long way to go yet before we are moved in, but each day brings us a step closer. DH and I were saying last night how it always seems like everything happens at once - but really, without all the preparation, things would not come together at all.

Each convenience is such a gift. One of our family traditions is to say what we are thankful for when we sit down to a meal together. It's been really wonderful to hear our boys' excitement as we move toward this goal as a family, and how they appreciate all the little things that so many of us take for granted in this culture.

Tonight I'm thankful for the challenges and successes that have come my way over the past 9 months, for my family being around me and nearby...
and for clean laundry.

:)
Lisa