Its been a long time and alot has happened..

Well - it feels wierd but I am sitting in the Bunkie surrounded by boxes. What a mess. Our power keeps going out which just adds to the frustration.

To bring you up-to-date Tim and I moved 2 weeks ago this past Saturday.. It seems like a lifetime has passed by since then. The day we moved was the day the snow started to fall. It was a winter wonderland to say the least. Our actual moving into the new house went quite well - the snow started to fall in the afternoon but it was much better than rain on all the furniture and boxes.

Our power went out the first nite and by the next morning we were buried in snow. We had left lots of stuff at the cottage and the plan was to go out there the next day (Sunday) and clean up and get the rest of the stuff. There is no way we were going to get way out to farm country that morning so I spend the day trying to unpack and Tim shovelled our huge long driveway.

Monday I stayed home all day unpacking and waiting for Telus to show up. The area our house is in is a 'DEAD CELL ZONE'. The only place the cell works is if I put my face up against the window in the Bunkie and stand still. I just knew Telus wasn't going to make it and sure enough they didn't. Oh, but the Shaw Man - my friend showed up - right day and time.

We still haven't gotten out to the cottage - all our food is in the fridge. All our clothes still hanging in the closet. Life is a challenge.

Tuesday morning - Tim got up and got ready for work and went downstairs and turned on the kitchen taps - 'NO WATER' - yep the kitchen pipes were frozen. So he phoned the builder and phoned work and said he wouldn't be in for awhile.

In the meantime I am waiting all day again for Telus to show up. In the afternoon on Tuesday - November 28th - Tim phoned and left a message on my cell asking me to call him at work. His parents were moving that day and at some point during the move his dad collapsed and was taken to the hospital.

We are very sad to say that Tim's dad passed away that day.

In Loving Memory of Robert J. Stewart...

STEWART _ Robert J. (Bob) Bob was born in Hamilton, Ontario on October 26, 1925 and passed away in Langley, British Columbia on November 28, 2006. He is deeply missed by his wife Noreen Stewart (Latimer), sons Paul (Ruth), Tim (Sherry) and daughters Sandra (Ian) and Barbara (Bill) and eight grandchildren.

Bob grew up and attended school in Hamilton, Ontario he then joined the RCAF in 1943 training as an Air Gunner then serving overseas in India attached to the RAF. After furthering his education and working he re-entered the RCAF in 1953 and served in many locations in Canada until retiring in 1971 at the rank of Sqdr Leader.

Bob then worked for Public Works Canada until his retirement in 1987. A Wake celebrating Bob's life was held on December 3, 2006 with family and close friends in attendance. Bob's remains will be interred at Avondale Cemetery in Stratford, Ontario. Bob's wishes were for any donations to be made to the Parkinson's Society of Canada.

Published in the Vancouver Sun from 12/4/2006 - 12/5/2006.

It's Finished....

Well - I promised a last picture blitz before all the boxes and furniture go in and make it all a mess. It is such a shame to do that in some ways. There are lots of pics here so make sure you see them all.

SO HEAR GOES

This first picture is of the back entrance way.

This next one shows the door leading to the breezeway which leads to the garage and the "Bunkie".This next picture is of the coat room which is off of the back entranceway.. Tim already has a jacket hanging on the hook there. We will have to build some shoe shelves along the bottom at some point.

The water closet comes next.. hahaha and it is about the size of a very small closet... but it serves the purpose.

This picture is taken from the kitchen looking down the hall towards the back entrance.


Now we move onto the kitchen.. This picture is taken from the diningroom looking into the kitchen - it's not a great picture because of the flash in the window but it does give you a feel for the kitchen as a whole. Stove is on the right and fridge on left.

The fridge and dishwasher have not been hooked up yet. Bummer - I still have no dishwasher. The plastic is still on both appliances (white plastic on dishwasher and blue on the fridge).

The opposite side of kitchen is next - I have taken pictures of the tray before so I didn't do it again tonite. Everyone makes comments on the tray over the stove.. They love it. I am so happy that worked out..

This is taken from the kitchen looking into the diningroom. Again I have the flash showing up in the french doors.. A good photographer I am not. But I do love this room.

Tim's den is next. There will be a new TV in that middle spot by Tuesday.

I just love this view in the next one. It is just spectacular. Can't wait to see it with furniture. Then we will be able to put the light fixture down to it's proper height. Don't you just love the hardwood floor too. It is just so pretty.

The livingroom is so awesome.. With the fireplace going it is warm and inviting. The new furniture is coming on Tuesday.. Hummm wonder how it is all going to look.

I am looking forward to entertaining many of you in this room. Can't wait for you to come and visit. Next in the front entranceway. Aren't those stained glass transom windows awesome.. They are much prettier in real life.

More of front entrance and looking up the stairs in the next two pics. How do you like the diamond shapes in the front and back entrance tile floor?

This is your first view of the railings all finished and stained. They look great.

This one below is taken from the first landing on the stairs looking up towards our bedroom door and a linen closet. So what do you think of the carpet? The builder said tonite that he really didn't like it at first but now he loves it. It is very soft to walk on. Oh - and the entranceways have heated floors.. So you just want to stand on them and warm your feet.

Our master bedroom is last... wow so many pictures tonite. I won't be hooked up to the internet until Monday sometime. So this will have to hold you for a few days. haha. This is a nook thingy in our bedroom - it has pot lights up inside of it. Not sure what is going to go in there yet.

The next one is looking at our bathroom door and looking out into the hall. We had hardwood in our bedroom in the last house and we just loved it so we put it in here too.

First look of repainted bathroom.. It is much better - I can totally live with this. Here you can see our shower with the rain head and the other diverter head for washing the shower. Got that idea from our friends the zoobs.

My tub..... ohhhh I can hardly wait to try it out - that will be tomorrow nite for sure.

Last one is different view of the bath.. We have to buy our own mirrors - so have a few that are just leaning up against the wall for now.. I am not sure if I am going to paint them another color or leave them the way they are.

Weekend projects..

Hey everyone.. It's getting close - so close. I will be at the house tomorrow waiting for the cable guy so I will take all sorts of pictures before the furniture and boxes get moved in and its a mess. This was taken when Kate and Chris were here - I am painting the 15 steps to the Bunkie.

Yes, these steps will keep me in shape for sure. There is what they call a breezeway going from the back entranceway to the garage and also up the stairs to the bunkie. It's just a small square room that attaches the garage to the house.

The city of Comox made us attach the garage to the house if we were going to make the garage two stories high. I don't like walking from garage with groceries etc. in the rain - so it's all good. I really didn't want that seperate garage thing right from the beginning.

You can just see the corner of the door going to the garage on the right of the stairs. This is my awesome son-in-law Chris painting the ceiling in the breezeway. While he was painting Katie was working in the kitchen and taking these pictures.

Because this area was initially going to unfinished and not attached to the house it was up to us to either pay extra to have the builder finish it or Tim and I do it.. I guess you can figure out what we decided to do. lol

Tomorrow will be my last post for a few days because of the move. I will be packin up the computer late tomorrow nite but will try to put up a bunch of new pics of the empty but finished house.

New Area Rugs and gifts of the day...

Hi everyone.. Moving day is just around the corner. I will be packing my computer up on Friday morning and will not likely get it hooked up again until Sunday - It is going to be such a busy weekend. I am definitely feeling my age these days as moving is such a huge undertaking and we just went thru it 6 months ago and here we go again.

With it being so close to Christmas and all that us ladies like to do to prepare for Christmas - the whole thing is just a little overwhelming.. But I guess I just take it one day at a time.

This is the carpet for Tim's den. The color on the walls matches really well with the carpet. How do you like the oak floor. It's finally revealed. I have never really been fond of natural oak floor but this floor has different colors and grades of oak which gives it all the interest with different shades etc. The picture below gives you a closer look at the carpet. The green takes on almost a silvery green shade in certain lights.. It's very pretty.

This next picture is a closeup of the diningroom carpet. This one is my favourite. I love them all but there is definitely something about this carpet that I have fallen in love with.

The last pictures are of the livingroom carpet. This is a beautiful carpet. The background is warm chocolate brown. These carpets were designed by Kathy Ireland - she used to be a model and now is into home decor. The colors and design are quite different from any other carpets we looked at.

This next pic is a closeup of this carpet. The carpets all have similar colors and although they look quite different from each other they all flow together really well.

The wall colors were chosen from looking at the carpets. Oh man - the floor looks so great. So nice to see it again. It has been covered up since it was finished. The builder had the fireplace going on the weekend. It looks so great. Can't wait to sit and read by the fire. How cool is that.

Kate bought me a gift of the day on the weekend when we went shopping. Does that girl have an eye. This gift could go anywhere in the house and look great. I love it.

And a final picture is a close up of my gift of the day. The colours are all so perfect and birds were a theme that was in art etc. in the era the house is designed after.

Sher's Bunkie Revealed....

Well - finally all of our hard work is done on the Bunkie. I thought I would share these pictures tonite. We took one of our two oval rugs over to the house to see how they were going to look on the floor. This part of the room facing the back will be my TV area.

This picture below is a close up so you could see the groves that Grandpa Don and Tim cut into the plywood and also see the job I did antiquing the floor after we painted 3 coats of the main color on the floor.

We are pretty happy with how it turned out. It is going to be a nice place to hang out.

Katie and Chris were such a great help this past weekend. It was so nice that they got to see the house almost done. Chris and Tim worked outside most of Saturday and wow - what a difference it makes having another man doing that work with Tim. They moved gravel and raked etc. etc. Had to get that all day for final inspection.

Kate and I had a successful time shopping. We picked up most of the bathroom mirrors (still workin on one). That girl of mine is a great shopper. If you want something done just ask Kate. We also were successful in finding one of the two outfits I need to go to Victoria the Thursday after we move. We have two fancy work evenings to go to and we are staying at the Empress Hotel.. .lucky us...

This side of the room will be my sewing and crafts area.. yahoo.. can't wait to get started on some projects. And the opposite side of the room will be the computer/office area. The picture below is the front end and where you come up the stairs.

It was alot of work but it really was worth it. Tim and I are pretty pleased because it was such a team effort. We just have to put the baseboards on and a wood top on the half wall coming up the stairs. I am still working on the stairs going up to the Bunkie.. Will show you pictures of those in a day or two.

On Sunday we all worked at the house. Kate lined most of my kitchen cupboards with liner paper for me. Chris painted the ceiling in the breezeway to the garage (2 coats). And Tim did general cleanup while I started painting the steps to the Bunkie. It was a family affair. We cut our day short to come home and watch the Grey Cup. Kate and Chris took off their sweatshirts to reveal 'BRIGHT ORANGE T-SHIRTS' that said Lamourstewski and their favourite player number on the back. We laughed - the kids had been to the semi final game the week before so they were all prepared to be good fans.

The kids took our puppy dog Jessie to stay with my folks for two weeks while we move. We miss her already. It was so wierd to get up and not have someone to take care of and think about today. I will miss her terribly but I know it's best for her to not be here during the move etc.

Moving in 7 Days....

Hello everyone - well we had my mom and dad as you know last weekend and this weekend Kate and Chris are here visiting.

Tim and I have worked so hard the last month every weekend hours and hours until we were so exhausted we could hardly move. First it was outside work and the last few weeks we have been workin on the "Sher's Bunkie" (room above the garage.

I think Tim and I are feeling a little anxious with things coming so close and the house really not looking like it will be ready - although I keep telling myself it will be. I was really hoping that all the work would be done and it would just be the builder doing tiny little last minute things at this point but it's not like that at all.

It is going to be a push right down to the wire I think. The wrong fridge was ordered and delivered to the house - so that is in process of being changed... we are still waiting on some of the light fixtures to arrive...

We did get those ugly bathrooms repainted - thank goodness. I think at this point I may wait till you can see the hardwood floor and it gets all cleaned up before I put up any more pictures...

One of the things that feels especially wierd to me right now is that Tim and I don't have family or our friends with us to enjoy moving into the new house. It will just be the two of us - don't you think that is wierd... I mean when we moved to Murrayville we had the Zoobs from Kelowna and our kids etc. etc. It was a full and busy day and such fun.

Does make me miss you all thinking about that. It makes me think about that Name/Word that my friend Laurel suggested - "Mizpah is an emotional bond between people who are separated." We have Mizpah with you all.

Tim saw 3 deer in our backyard the other evening - a mom and baby and another one. I am really looking forward to watching them up close on a regular basis...

Light fixtures & doors - too much dust

I took some pictures today of a few more light fixtures.. It is very dusty again in the house and when there is lots of dust I get white circles on the pictures.. so please excuse those. This is a pictures of the lights over the kitchen island. CAN YOU SEE THE DUST. oh my I can hardly wait till it get all cleaned up - it drives me crazy.

They are going up slowly but surely.. The kitchen is just one big pile of dust. Thursday the appliances will be delivered and on Friday they will be hooked up.. maybe it will be cleaned up by then.. Kind of hopin Katie and I can line all the cupboards with shelf liner this weekend. It would be a fun job to do together.

As you can see we now have our diningroom fixture up.. they have pulled it up and wired it so no one bangs there head on it right now. The lantern on the wall below has what looks like metal bars that makes those two squares at the top of the lantern. Actually when you turn the light on you realize that it is dark brown clear glass just like the light above has in it. And the lighter glass is called amber glass and it is also in the light above. So I think it ended up being a good match.

They seem to give off a really nice warm light. Can't wait to have some nice dinners in this room. The french doors are leaning against the doorway - the builder was hanging doors today when I was there.

This is a picture of the spot light shining on the area above the mantel... This area is screaming out for a nice picture - but that will have to wait for now..

New Name Suggestion...

I received a new name suggestion today.. I am going to enter it onto to the Name the Homestead page.. I like it....

"MIZPAH" - Legend and History

MIZPAH goes back thousands of years, symbolizing a sanctuary and place of hopeful anticipation, a place where seemingly impossible may happen as of divine intervention or an inspiration.

"MIZPAH" - Sharing a Dream

So the meaning of MIZPAH – ‘hopeful anticipation’ – is as relevant today as it has ever been. Perhaps even more so. Its philosophy has once again found a place in modern culture and values.
Mizpah is a timeless spiritual symbol of hope, love and peace that people are increasingly finding comforting and share with those who are dear to them. Thanks to the tireless work of Helena Lind, people across the world are discovering the relevance and support of Mizpah in their lives.

http://www.barefootsworld.net/mizpah.html

The Holy Scriptures tell us that Jacob and Laban were granted the wisdom to tolerate each other peacefully - as a symbol of trust they erected a monument and named it MIZPAH.

The Meaning of MIZPAH is hopeful expectation. In the course of the centuries MIZPAH matured into a universal expression of solidarity and human values, reminding us that hope and positive perception can help to overcome all obstacles and reach any goal.

Later, with this in mind, the popular MIZPAH talismans were created - often decorated with the English quote of Jacob’s and Laban’s words in the book of Genesis, Ch. 31 : MIZPAH - the Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another.MIZPAH stands for the triumph of emotional belief over distance, time and circumstances, and as a reminder of the everlasting presence of humane values and - that someone really cares.

This is a very interesting idea... definitely one to consider...

Picked new bathroom colour today...

Well - I just went to the paint store and asked for help and Bingo - we have a new bathroom color.. I think I may possibly like it so much that if I ever want to change the colour in any other area in the house this colour just may work... So - we shall see.

Tim and Grandpa Don worked all weekend on the Bunkie floor and it is going to look unbelievable.. They did such a great job. Tim worked very very hard - Thank you so much honey - I really do appreciate it. And Grandpa Don - thanks for all you help this weekend too. The floor has been filled and filled which Tim and I worked on all weeked.. Sanded and primed and filled again and sanded again. Yesterday they worked a long day cutting grooves into the plywood to make it look like plank flooring and it DOES. Today Tim did lots of prep work and then painted the floor the first coat of color.

Tomorrow I will paint the second coat and the next day it gets antiqued. Then if we really like how it looks we will put a coat of clearcoat on top to protect our work.

Mom and I had a good time every afternoon going out for girls time. Window shopped alot but just really enjoyed each others company etc.

Here are some pictures I took last week - we broke a temperature record 17 degrees it was one day.. I went for a walk on the river walkway in town.

The bridge in the background is the 5th Street Bridge. It was such a beautiful day. This is the Puntledge River. We have two bridges that go over this river the 17th Street and the 5th Street.

I just love the Comox Valley. It is so awesome hear. Can't wait to move into the new house and feel like we are really starting our new life.