light snow, mild, temps minus 3
A beautiful, gentle day here...in contrast to what those of you along the east coast have last night and today. My God - 18 inches in places. Some places more. New York city getting a foot and a half. It must have been absolute chaos.
Our day was very quiet. I went off to be Pina-ed. She's our neighbour and runs an exercise class in Sutton which Michael and I have started taking again. After a 5 year hiatus. Have you noticed that some days, when exercising, it's not terribly difficult and other days you can barely lift your legs? I had the latter today. Torture. Pinatized. I might need therapy. Again.
But wow, does it feel good when you stop.
Popped into the grocery store (resisted the chips and gummis) then home just in time to meet Kirk. He and Jane are helping us design the renovation. We have a solarium at the end of our kitchen which was never the best quality and has not improved with age. So now it's like having an open window in our kitchen. And when it's minus 34 as it was Monday, that is not a good thing.
So we've decided to re-do it, and the kitchen. So Kirk came by to discuss it, and then our contractor came and we all walked around discussing options.
Now, I'm not extravagant. Mostly because I hate being in debt. If we can't pay it off quickly, it doesn't happen. So the poor contractor kept having to re-adjust the ideas to try to fit our budget. But my theory is that anyone can do a great house if you have a million dollars. The creativity comes in trying to achieve something beautiful and useful on a modest budget.
that's what we're trying to achieve. We'll see how I feel when the cardboard kitchen cabinets arrive, and the sod floor.
then in the afternoon we got caught up on bits and pieces - wrote the February newsletter for instance - and replied to emails.
Hope those of you along the east coast are safe and have managed to dig out. We're thinking of you.
8 comments:
We had only about six inches here outside of Washington (I think)--it was so heavy and wet that I had to go out and whack the lower branches of our dogwood tree to knock off the snow before it could break the branches. We lost a lot of pine tree branches but those are hardier trees. 16 hours without power meant no heat. My husband took 5-1/2 hours to get home (this drive normally takes about an hour through Washington DC to the Maryland suburbs). It was unusual but I think we survived pretty well. But no question: we do not do winter well here.
Dear Louise, Thank you, once again, for thinking of others. You are such a dear, thoughtful lady-bless you!
Wonderful description of your "budget" kitchen cabinets. Will be very interesting to see what you do decide upon. There was an interesting article in the Detroit Free Press a little while ago, describing a couple's kitchen re-do on an Ikea cabinets budget. They splurged on stunning tile work, lighting, and cabinet door handles, all of which (to me) is a marvelous compromise!
Hugs.
Very wise to stay as energy efficient as you can. We did our kitchen mostly ourselves, except for building the cabinets and installing them, and the plumbing, flooring and drywalling. Cooked in the basement for six months, but survived. And every day since it's been worth it. Good luck!
Fabulous, fabulous photo at the top of your blog. So beautiful.
Hello Louise, Lots of snow on our eastern shores, some places with more snow than others, mostly a freezing rain event in Nova Scotia. Evening news showed lots of pics of drivers off the road (none hurt!). I'd rather go 2 days without power than travel the roads during a storm. Too stressful. Good luck with your project. It's a biggie!
Hi all,
Love your comments! And so feel for you all digging out. I remember being on the verge of tears at times holding a shovel and staring at my car, snowed in, and then plowed in, on the montreal streets. It seemed impossible!
And yes - we're heading to Ikea with Kirk next week. Marvelous suggestion. It really is a matter of making choices...where to go high, where to go more budget.
Love hearing your stories.
So interesting to read of large snowfalls when we are expecting 40°C here in Adelaide tomorrow!
We are also doing a kitchen renovation - there are so many choices! And it's hard to compare when each company is different. Good luck!
19 inches here in New York! I'm so glad I don't have to shovel it (the joys of apartment living).
In fact, we've had MORE snow (56 inches total and more on the way) than a friend in Winnipeg (and they're groaning under the stuff).
I love the "budget" kitchen description!
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