Because of the impressive progress made by Kyle and his dad over the long weekend, we were able to take the weekend for ourselves and drive up to the Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park for our first camping of the year. There is always more to get done at 212, but I am so glad for the escape from the grind of work and renovations. We hiked in on Friday night, then spent all of Saturday snacking on camp food, swimming, and just enjoying the peace of being outdoors and away from the rush of the everyday. Setting aside time to recharge and look after yourself is important, especially when working on a lengthy and stressful project that could easily consume all of your waking hours. That said, while this post is NOT about the progress of the house, it is about self-care and the benefits of having a "slow down" weekend every once in a while. Driving back on Sunday, Kyle predicted that the drywall will likely be up when we go camping next. How strange it is to measure trips and time by the stages of the house!
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First off, as promised at the end of my last blog post, I will share with you the surprise progress that was made at 212 last weekend: On top of finishing the first floor layout for the kitchen and foyer, Kyle and his dad also put down all new plywood upstairs! So exciting! Now, to this week's post... In honour of the queen that our house style was named after (not to mention the fact that this holiday is all thanks to her), this blog post is going to be about Queen Victoria. Weirdly enough, this is a holiday that is celebrated in Canada, but not England. Queen Victoria took reign when she was only eighteen and not only inherited a country, but the British colonies, which include British North America. Victoria Day became an official holiday after Queen V's death in the early 1900s, and has always involved fireworks, picnics, and copious amounts of drinking. While we are now fairly separate from England, that we still celebrate this woman's birthday is a testament to her impact historically on our country and culture, and our desire to preserve old traditions. Personally, I am grateful for the extra day of weekend :). Here are some interesting facts about Queen V: 1) Despite her young age when first taking the throne, Victoria was pretty smart and encouraged Canada to become more independent of America in terms of trade. She is one politician that we can thank for keeping us a separate country from the States. 2) Queen Victoria was an advocate for children and was responsible for many child labour laws. 3) Victoria was also a feminist of her time; she was the breadwinner of her household, she ran a country, and defied traditional marriage etiquette by proposing to her husband. 4) While visiting Canada, Queen Victoria decided that Ottawa would be the capital city of Canada. At the time, the city was nothing special, but she saw its potential in its trade via waterways. Our house goal for the long weekend?! Get enough accomplished with this extra day so that we can take next weekend off and go camping. Fingers crossed! This house process has been a slow one and we are almost reaching our one year mark. However, as the weather warms up and ice-cream shops re-open for the summer, things are starting to speed up. May is a month of transformations; it is the time when flowers and trees begin to bloom and everything comes to life again. Our house is no exception to this season of change, and every week it undergoes another phase of the renovation.
A quote by Maya Angelou acts as a wise reminder in this renovation process: "We delight in the transformation of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." In regards to our house transformation, while the most exciting stage will be the butterfly (the house completion), we still need to delight in the cocoon. So, as it becomes more and more like the house Kyle and I want it to be, I will continue to take pictures and document all of the mess and grit along the way. Kyle and his dad have been very busy over at the house this week and I am going over later tonight to see the latest changes. The anticipation is nearly killing me, as Kyle insisted on waiting until tonight to go look. In his excitement, he almost showed me last night and this morning. Both times were tempting, but I decided to wait for the greater reveal later on (expect a full report on this reveal in next week's post :)). Until then, check out our pretty flowers. It amazes me how resilient something so delicate-looking can be, lying patiently under the frozen earth until spring. As with any holiday-related weekend, we hosted many tours through 212 for family and friends. While I am always a little nervous to see the reactions of others as they take in our renovations, it is nice to share this process with the people who we know will be a part of our lives in the house once it's done.
My brother took his tour on Friday night, Kyle's grandma and aunt walked through this morning, and my sisters and Ryan came after Mother's Day lunch. My lesson of the day is to have more faith in the house, and that everything will come together. Instead of letting my mind drift to that place of what ifs, I need to step back, take a breath, and know that the finished product is coming. Worrying won't give us more time in the day or week to get things done faster, nor will it make the renovation a positive experience to think back on. So this Mother's Day weekend, I will end with happy reflections of the memories I've already made with my family at the house (namely a certain Dirty Dancing lift attempt on the front lawn, :P), and know that many more are coming, and soon. This week involved working on the first floor, dump runs, and lumber pick ups. Last night, Kyle and I also had our first BBQ at 212!
We cleared off the patio and set up the barbecue and patio set that we collected at the end of last summer. It was probably a combination of first-bbq-excitement and hunger, but the burgers were the perfect amount of juiciness and flavour. I cannot wait for a summer season of barbecuing. While the inside kitchen is without counters and appliances, the outdoor kitchen is equipped with exactly what we need when the weather is nice. Another positive of the last two weeks is that we have our new set of windows. They will keep the house insulated and energy efficient. The old windows could have been left, but from a long-term financial stand-point, having proper windows will cut way back on our heating bill. I am learning that thinking about longevity and future benefits is important when making choices in home renos. Happy May! Hope that you too were able to enjoy the outdoors this weekend :). |
About MeKyle and I just became new homeowners. The house we purchased is not what one would classify as "move in ready"; in fact, it is quite the opposite. Built at the turn of the 20th century, our Victorian style house is both beautiful and terrifying in its ancient status and will be a project in renovation. This is a documentation of our triumphs and lessons learned, as we deconstruct and reconstruct this house. The end result? A space that we can proudly say we created. Archives
December 2016
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