Sunday, May 27, 2007

NEWS FLASH..........

For those of you who might not know the news... Tim and I are moving back to the mainland.

We never know what direction life is going to take us. Our time here in the Comox Valley has been the most amazing. We have enjoyed the experience of living in a small town and all that comes with it. We have also learned more about ourselves and each other which is always good.

But now the journey of life takes us back to the city, to our kids and families. So please stick with us as we start on this new adventure which we will share with you on these pages.

I might have to give it a new name though - what do you think.. Any ideas....

Sherry

Monday, April 23, 2007

Deer, Deer, everywhere... we must keep them out..

Tim's has been working for quite a few weekends now on deer proofing our half acre. We happen to live in deer central and if we want flowers of any kind we need to put up a very tall fence.

Tim originally built the fence in the back thinking we weren't going to try to keep the deer out of the back yard - the purpose was to keep the dog in.. Well, after weeks of thinking about it we decided instead of splitting the yard in half we would build up the back fence so that the back and one side would be deer proof.

This was taken when they first cleared our lot. The deer were here before we were.


Some pictures of the deck and pergola in progress.... The roof isn't finished yet. Tim has one more cross beam to put up and then another sheet of lattice and then the fiberglass goes on top to keep the rain out. Having a solid cover on this pergola will be great. Once we get an outside heater we will be able to sit outside in the evening and really enjoy the outdoors.

The next few pictures are the beginnings of my garden.. The deer did find the garden since this picture was taken and have munched on a few plants... bring on the fence....
Don't you just love the color this time of year. Cheers me up everyday when I walk around the corner.

The garden beds will be rustic looking to go with the property. The next few pictures show the great fence Tim has been building. It is 7 feet high... Tim the tool man standing in front of his masterpiece. ha ha






Sunday, April 22, 2007

New Blinds for Kitchen

About a month ago - when the sun started to come out on occasion I realized that I had a bit of a problem in the kitchen.

The window over the sink is 8 feet long and 4 feet high. The sun of course has circled around over the winter which means by the afternoon it is shining directly into that kitchen window. And let me tell you - a heck of a lot of sun can shine through a window that big. It is blinding and it shines in the window till it sets at night.

So a decision had to be made - not only was I blinded while I was making dinner but I know that it will be very hot in the summer with no coverings.

I was so unsure what to get to cover the window - so when the lady came out to the house to measure she made the suggestion to get these ones. I was so so happy with the decision.

Thought I would give you a few more views... lol

Life is good in the Comox Valley. It is really so beautiful here. I am finally starting to feel settled and like it is home here. I have made quite a few new friends which helps.

The deer are really starting to come out now after hiding all winter. Tim is busy busy trying to get the deer fence so I can have a garden.. What a good husband he is. I appreciate him so much.


Thursday, April 19, 2007

Tim's Den and new Chair

Hey everyone... I am sorry I am not very consistent with the posts these days. I keep thinking everyday that I need to put something new up and then the day just gets away on me.

These first pictures are of the wall that has the "BIG SCREEN". This is what makes this the man room. Well, the television and the sound together. It is a perfect place to sit and flick channels.. Isn't that what every man does

We ordered a new chair for the den (The Man Room) lol. We only had sitting which made it difficult if we had company to watch a movie. We were so pleased with the new chair because it has all the colors in it that are in the area rug.

We didn't have the rug with us so we really were just hoping we had made the right decision as we ordered the chair to be made and picked the fabric we thought would work the best.

Check out those colors... Did we do good or what! haha. I love the warm colours.

This last picture gives you a look at the sitting arrangement in the room.

And of course the nice woodsy look out the windows is so very pleasant.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Stewie Livingroom...

Hey everyone - long time no post.. My shoulder has been acting up again which makes sitting at the computer not too much fun.

A few people have commented about not seeing more of the house so I thought I would post some pics of the living room tonite.

This first picture shows the fireplace on - it is a gas fireplace but instead of logs in it - it has pieces of coal. Makes it look quite old fashioned. We like it very much.

The sign above the mantel says "Keep it Simple". I bought it this summer and decided it was going to be our new motto on the island. Every morning when I come downstairs and turn the corner into the living room I get a smile on my face.

All my work to find those green tiles really paid off. And the way the builder build the whole fireplace surround it makes the fireplace look much taller which is another feature that reminds me of older homes. It really just draws you in.

This picture shows you most of the fireplace wall - with the little windows on each side and the shelves. You can see some of our furniture here. I was so worried when we ordered the couch that the color wouldn't be right - and when it was delivered I was so pleased. It fits just perfect. The chair on the left side is really nice but it takes bad pictures. It looks purple but really it is a shade of brown but the fabric just looks purple in pictures for some reason.

Here is a picture of our big recliners - this style was very popular in the bungalow houses - they were called Morris Chairs. They frames of the original ones were all oak and lovely but very expensive to have made or buy now. They are chocolate brown leather. Pretty comfortable too.

This picture is looking thru the middle of the dining room at the french doors leading to Tim's den (the man room). hahaha
This picture shows the wall opposite the fireplace and looking into the front entrance.

Happy Easter to everyone. Will try to post sooner next time.


Sunday, March 25, 2007

Happy Birthday LiL Kate....

Hey girl - I know we had dinner to celebrate your birthday together - but thought I would be post a little picture and wish you a very Happy Birthday today.



Hope you had a great day with your family and friends. Love "The Stewy's"

Friday, March 23, 2007

Wow... check out this new feature...

Hi everyone. I was just reading about a new feature in Blogger. They have worked together with Picasa Web Albums so that every picture I post of my blog gets put into a photo album at Picasa. This means you can go to my photo album their to see all of my pictures in one album without reading all the individual posts.

They only have the pictures that have been posted since December but they are saying that the goal is to get all of the pictures that I have posted to the blog since the beginning.

I have added a link on the right side of blog so you can go there anytime.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

Now that we are settling into the Comox Valley I have decided to have a theme dinner every month. This month of course was St. Patrick's Day.

We invited our good friends and old landlords Bill and Dororthy over for our first theme dinner. Here are some pictures from our night.


As you can see we have green appetizers - all the veges are green, green dip and green olives.


Our dinnertable all set to go. Green green green

Even typed up an Irish Blessing for the table.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

A walk back in time...

Awhile ago I talked about doing a post on some of the houses that our family has lived in over the years. Tonite I thought I would take a walk back in time.

When we got married we lived for about 6 months in an apartment building in Burnaby but after we found out we were going to have our first baby we decided to move into a bigger place. This duplex is in Newton (Surrey) and was Brad's first home. We lived on the left hand side and back then there was only a carport (no garage). My first 'Mother's Day' when Brad still in the hospital Tim and I went to a plant nursery and bought a few little shrubs for the front garden. I can't tell if they are still the same ones or not. Brad's room was the front bedroom upstairs (the window you see). Brad actually lived a few blocks from here a year or so ago.

When Brad was 2 years old we bought our first house. It was so exciting and we were so young. I drove around last summer and finally found the right street - check out the trees. It is actually quite a pretty street now with the trees so grown up. That is our house right at the end of the street.

The house looks pretty good up close considering it is almost 30 years old and didn't cost us very much money. We had a really nice backyard with some big trees for shade and some privacy. There was a half cul-de-sac at the end of the road and it turned right as you came to our house.

This next house is the saddest for me. This was a really nice house in a nice neighbourhood but no one has ever really taken care of the yard. Makes me kind of sad. Katie was born shortly after we moved in this house. And 5 years later the kid came along. Yes, that would be our baby TJ - I know, I know - he is all grown up now.

Looks kind of sad don't you think.. The row of trees along the right side are huge and should have been trimmed down and the front has no flower gardens to speak of.. sad sad sad. We built the garage in when we lived there because we need another bedroom when TJ came along. Brad had the bedroom right in the front of the garage.

This next house was probably the whole families favourite. We spent 15 years in this house.. we had some good times here.

Look at that nice green grass and all the flowers.. This picture was taken when the house was up for sale as you can see by the sign in the front. I think we all still miss this house in some ways.

Everyone should be so lucky to get to live in as great a family neighbourhood as this house was in. To live there all those years and have that stability of friends and schools was just such a blessing to us all.




History Continued...

But all good things usually come to an end. The kids were all finished school and I really felt that our 4 bedroom home was calling out for a young family to come and live in it. So we put it up for sale and that era in our lives came to an end.

The next house was something else. We bought it for an investment - it was a beautiful home inside (2 years old) but the outside was the saddest thing you ever saw. We wanted to redo the whole yard to make it as spectacular as the inside of the house was. The people who had built this place put all their money on the inside - which meant there wasn't anything left for doing the landscaping.

The front steps weren't even painted. We did get that much done and also Tim worked and worked on the back yard. The people in the neighbourhood would walk by on weekend while he was working and tell him how beautiful it looked.

These pictures were taken when we first moved in. The house had 4 porches on it. It really was something else. As beautiful as it was I never really felt like it was me so I wasn't sad when we sold it and moved. The big disappointment was that we never got the whole yard finished. Tim was well on his way to making it a very special yard.

Here are a few pictures taken when it was in process..

So now we have a new project.. We can hardly wait till the weather changes and we can get out in the yard. We will do this one as a team.. I don't do the building part but I am definitely going to be involved with all the yard work.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

More pics from 'Family Week'

Our visit with all the kids was awesome. I have a few more pictures I wanted to post from the family reunion week. Chelsey was the master chef one night and her - oh so able assistant was none other than "The Kid". Needless to say the two younguns did a great job. Dinner was great.

Brad made dessert that nite also.. I don't have a picture of the dessert which is really too bad as it was absolutely delicious.

A picture of him and Kate.. oh my they are all growed up.

Chelsey brought a very special gift with her.. She painted a sign for me so that all will know when the enter "SHER'S BUNKIE'. I LOVE IT......

We found just the right spot for the sign.

Just so you all know.. Chelsey cut the wood out herself and painted everything on it - including the heart. We think she should go into business. Thanks Chelsey (I love it)

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Snow in March... spring where are you?

Hi everyone. So I woke up this morning, the first day of March to snow. I took it pretty well actually - but the fact that the sun was shining beautifully all day did help quite a bit.

I took these pictures looking out of the windows in the bunkie.. I don't think I had ever shown you guys how long our driveway/lane is. This lane comes right down into our backyard and so that is why the garage doors face the back of the house and not the front.. I love not having to look at those big doors consuming your view when you look at the house from the front. It is a little long to shovel when the snow comes though.... These pictures were actually taken yesterday.

This one is taken from the window above the garage doors. You can see where Tim parks his truck. The fence isn't finished yet but it's coming.

This one is taken looking out the side window right into the back yard.

I took Jessie out for a walk this afternoon. That would be our 4th day in a row. I realized today that I am going to have to stop taking her on my big walks - it just takes too much out of her. I guess this means I have to go on two walks - a long one and a short one with the dog.

I am feeling bad tonite because she hasn't had supper and she is just curled up on the couch on top of the pillows and she is tuckered right out.

Poor girl... I feel so bad.