When life happens ...

Almost a year has passed since I last blogged.
Tee hee , this sounds like an apology I made in Grade Eight to my dear diary, some things never change !
This time the excuse isn't quite so flimsy and has style and substance.
In May 2008, I decided to take my capital and invest it into property and not the stock market.
In retrospect , a very good move.
My crew and I bought a large derelict house and property in a high end neighbourhood.
It has and is still under renovation and is a constant financial sacrifice.

We have since May 2008,

Sent off 80 tonnes of construction and landscape waste to be recycled and or trashed.
Redeveloped the property for proper water flow, I personally dug twenty metres of"big O" around my pool and other areas to divert water from flowing into the house.
Chopped down forty trees and bushes.
Planted twenty trees and bushes,
Replaced the roof
Built four decks,
Placed river rock around the perimeter of the pool , built retaining walls, planted bamboo, five bedding areas, and built a burm feature in the front yard.
Turned the backyard into a grass free area, complete with pea gravel paths and several different living areas. Think california chic meets muskoka.
Shovelled dolmite into my front bedding areas , and had a a visit from the bomb squad thanks to some shock cord and blast cap left in by the blasting company. No explosion ( the cord and cap were taken away by the boys in blue and blown up elsewhere )and no apology from the company that sold us the two tonnes of dolomite. No thumbs up to GRAND RIVER STONE.
We tore down walls, cleaned out mold, installed new windows and doors,rebuilt rooms,installed new kitchen,tile,laminate and lived for months with only the bare essentials.
We are now point where we have two bathrooms to go, casing, baseboard and paint. It has been a slow process but the house is finally coming together.

I have learned to demolish drywall,sand,paint ( a fence nothing fancy but it's a start)and perform every labourer job under the sun.
I also discovered that I love working outdoors and get a certain elation from taking a landscape design on paper to reality.

We as a collective unit have also learned how to live without the basics albeit for a short time and have also had the opportunity to get to know one another a little better.
When we decided to take this plunge, we had to give up a few luxuries, eating out and cable television to be exact.
Giving up cable has been one of the best moves I have ever taken as a parent.
More to come ... promise.