Happy Birthday!

Satan is a Penguin!!

While surfing the internet the other day, I came across this article that claims Satan is a penguin!! Interesting read! Funny thing was, all the "experts" thought Hell was hot!

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=367718

Uncle Eric

Happy Birthday, Nadine!

Our (future) Living Quarters

This is our Dining/Livingroom. The Diningroom will be located at the far end of the room in this picture. You'll note the lovely wood wainscoting around the whole room - that will either be painted a light colour, or a dark brown (our professional painter advisor tells us that because the carpet is light and the top will be light, it won't make the room look darker or smaller. The top will be painted a cream with a brown tint. (As will the entry way on the right of the picture - that's real deal ugly wood paneling. Ick.)This is the livingroom end of the room. We're not sure if we'll be painting all the wood above the fireplace yet, or what colour it will be done if we do it.
Looking down the stairs into the rest of our living area. Straight ahead is our (small) bedroom. (And looking at Rachel. You can't see it very well, but she's got a very cute baby belly growing.)
Our tiny kitchen. There wasn't much use in turning around and taking another picture, because that's really all that's there. That's the kitchen. We think we're more than willing to give up cupboard space to put in a dishwasher, though - once there's dishes on the counter, there's no room to cook anything!
This is Brian's office / laundry room. I'm not exactly sure how he's going to make it all work, but I have faith in him.

(Almost) Our New House!

This week, Brian and I put an offer in on a lovely semi-detached house on Cranbrook Dr (just inside the corner of Garth and Stonechurch). Our (very low) offer was countered with another price, which we decided was still in our range. We've signed off on the offer and it has been sent to our mortgage broker to be officially approved by the lenders - when they approve it, it'll be sent back for a final signing (which will then involve mom, since she has graciously accepted the position of a co-signer for me). Then we pay the lawer fees to see if there are any lays against the land, and then we pay the land transfer tax and the PST and pay the current owners the land tax that they've already paid for the whole year, and then, after all of that paying out money, on July 15th, Brian and I will be home owners! If you want to come and see our house and get a tour of the whole thing, you'll have to come between the 15th and the middle/end of August - we're hoping to rent half of it out in August or September. Unfortunately for me, we're going to be renting the pretty half of the house out - the upstairs. All of the pictures below are of the upstairs. It's a four-level back split, so when you come in the door you walk straight into the (recently redone) kitchen. At the end of the kitchen is a door to the downstairs apartment, but if you go left you'll be in the diningroom/livingroom. To your right is the four steps to the upstairs, where there are three bedrooms and a four piece bathroom. If you head around the back of the property through the gate into the back yard, there's a door to the downstairs apartment - when you head downstairs, you'll head straight into the rec room, or what will be our very large livingroom/diningroom/most things room, with a gas fireplace. This room has not be retouched in about 15 years, so if you come between July 15 and 25, bring along a paintbrush, because I'm repainting it (or rather, Kenny is repainting and choosing colours and I'm helping)! go down a few more steps, and there's a tiny kitchen to the left (we'll have to do dishes everyday, with that kitchen!) and through the kitchen is the laundry room, workshop, and storage area. Across the hall from the kitchen is the bathroom, which is actually larger than our current bathroom. And at the end of the hall is our bedroom - no windows, so it'll be hard (for me) to wake up in the morning! And that's about it! There are no photos of the downstairs apartment, so this is all upstairs. Eventually, we'll move upstairs and rent out the downstairs, and then hopefully we'll come to the point where we can kick out the downstairs renters and occupy the whole place! :)
I'm looking forward to:
Having laundry facilities in my own apartment!
Having a back yard where we can have dinner in the summer!
Having a back yard where I can hang laundry out to dry in the summer and fall!!
Having a gas fireplace!
Eventually moving upstairs into the really nice part of the house with a dishwasher!
Getting a dog!

Our house ends between the two front windows - the first is ours, the second is the neighbour's livingroom.

You can see the front door just to the left - there's an entryway there for shoes, etc. The floor in the kitchen is either a different (darker) hardwood or a laminate, I can't remember.

A breakfast island! On the other side of that fake brick wall lives the appliances that come with the place - the stove (electric, boo), microwave (that lives overtop of the stove) and fridge. All appliances are pretty new.

Breakfast nook! (And more cupboard space!) I thin that this island is moveable.

The livingroom, with original hardwood floor. We asked them to throw that huge mirror into the deal, and they said yes. Brian really likes that mirror - there's one like it at Ikea ($250) that he's been drooling over for the past two years...

Diningroom end of the livingroom.

Three bedrooms upstairs - two straight ahead, one to the right. Bathroom is to the left. That door with the windows is what separates the upstairs from the downstairs. Brian and Nick want to take out the door and drywall it in for the timebeing, while we're not occupying the whole house, in order to keep the noise travel to a minimum.

The bathroom. I like it. Again, a laminate floor in this room.

Isn't that an awesome faucet? I love it!

Snow Day...

I'd just like to say that I have my third snow day so far this winter. I love it! Unfortunately, I'm wide awake as I was supposed to go to school this morning for 7am, so by the time Richard called at 6:15am I had already showered and eaten breakfast.... Oh well!

Our New House...!

So...we're moving again! Into Exeter, a block away from the library, 2 blocks from the Early Years Centre. We have a garage, and a small driveway (yay!).
It's the rectory of the Exeter Anglican church (you can see the steeple of the chaple in the middle picture, just over the garage roof). The Warden for the church is the vice principal of the Virtual High School I mark assignments for, and I asked her a few months ago that, since the rectory is empty, would they consider renting it. She just got back to me last week, and the rent would be lower that what we are paying now...!
It's another temporary place, as we still want to move to Stratford, but for the next half year or so, it'll be nice for Sarah to live in town while I'm gone.

Yet another... and a consolidated List for Jenn

1. Mexican Train Dominos
2. Flinch
3. Digital Picture Frame for my office
4. Creative Memories Square Punch (large) (you can contact Shalena Neven at sneven@redeemer.ca to order it)
5. A donation towards my Epicure Selections start up fee
6. crochet hooks, knitting needles and pretty yarn! (and a roll of that thin, white cotton (yarn?) stuff that people use to make doilies. I have a plan.)
7. An electronic, handheld Jeopardy! game.
8. Any Wii game that sounds or looks like fun.

More to Marya's

-several fitted sheets for the crib/playpen (3 maybe?)

Another to add to Jenn's List

7) An electronic, handheld Jeopardy! game.

Addendum to Jenn's list

6) crochet hooks, knitting needles and pretty yarn! (and a roll of that thin, white cotton (yarn?) stuff that people use to make doilies. I have a plan.)

Barenaked for the Holidays

Has anyone seen our "Barenaked for the Holidays" CD?? It was probably last Christmas that we left it at someone else's house .... if it is at one of your houses.

Thanks

The Renkemas of Orono

More for Marya's list

Christmas CDs by the Cambridge Singers (with John Rutter): "Christmas Star" or "Christmas Night, Carols of the Nativity".

Game - Apples to Apples

We Are Living in a Material World & I Am a Material Girl

Sorry for the delay! Marya reminded me yesterday that I must post a covet-list.

Things I covet include:

• Jawbone Eearpiece (if you're a good eBayer you might get it inside the price range)
• Prison Break on DVD (could be found on eBay or local classified ads)
• a low-profile lightweight knife (less than 2" blade) for my keychain example #1 example #2
• Delicious Library (this is Mac software that lets me inventory books / CDs / DVDs)
• Stainless Steel Cordless Electric Kettle
• An electric blanket or heated mattress pad (Queen Size)

I've already bought Steve his present, and it was on the First of December. I'm really proud of myself. I've honestly never bought a christmas present before the 20th of December. Until now. Wow.

Happy shopping, everyone.

MOM's List

Hello all!
I guess that it's my turn to post a list of wishes.

For now:

a stainless steel composting bucket from Lee Valley
a CD of really good choral music
an offer to organize my pictures ( I will pay for all supplies needed for that!)

That's it for now. Perhaps more to come later!

Sarah's Christmas Wants.

Creative Memories circle cutting templates (set of 4) ( I already have the oval) Most Creative Memory consultants have these on stock. Steve knows a consultant in Stratford.

Aluminum water bottle. These are only sold at Health Food Stores.

Pink blown glass polka-dotted glass tree (at Canadian Tire)

Stephen's Christmas List

Jayne Cobb's hat (or a suitable replica)(from the short-lived, but excellent TV show, Firefly)

- a decent quality thumb piano
-Video Hound Movie Retriever (2005 or later)
-CDs
--"They Might Be Giants" (the name of the band) Flood (the name of the album)
--Trans-Siberian Orchestra
--Orchestral Game Concert IV
--- MIESKUORO HUUTAJAT (Men's Choir Shouters) (hard to find, but it'd be great to have...) Link to mp3 of their rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, and a video on YouTube
That's all for now. More to come, I'm sure.

An addition to Jenn's List:

5) A donation towards my Epicure Selections start up fee

Eric Christmas List - pay attention Steve = )

Hello all! Making use of the mother-in-law's internet to post my Christmas list:

1) The Simpsons Movie DVD (comes out December 18th) prefer full-screen, but any screen, as long as it is mine, is fine.

2) a new no-drip caulking gun - mine is all gunked up with caulk

3) CD - Kutless - "Hearts of the Innocent" - I have all Kutless' other CDs, but not this one.

4) USB Memory Stick - the bigger, the better (size does matter). Ours are on the fritz and follows of our blog are getting upset.

Jenn's Christmas List

1. Mexican Train Dominos
2. Flinch
3. Digital Picture Frame for my office
4. Creative Memories Square Punch (large) (you can contact Shalena Neven at sneven@redeemer.ca to order it)