Evolution of a Home

Slowly, layer by layer, we try to make our home the beautiful haven we imagine. Patience is essential. For 20 long years, I struggled to reconcile my vision of domestic bliss with the reality of too little space and money, and a difficult landlord. Now we certainly have the space, the house belongs to us, but bliss must stick to a budget. Compromise is called for, but you will never again see me buy something because it’s cheap and I need something right now!

The dining room chandelier is a Home Depot knock-off of one we saw in a fancy shop. The bowl is a very treasured part of my new dishes, Sophie Conran for Portmeiron. (In my wildest domestic fantasies, I am a Sophie Conran-type of girl.) They were relatively cheap, but much better quality than our old discoloured set from Ikea. The stripes were painted by Mr. D*S, with two shades of grey and a coating of gloss on the darker shade. Did you know that high gloss shows every little flaw in a wall? Luckily, I'm getting very good at ignoring that sort of thing. The mirrors were, in part, a gift from Panda, and we're still searching for some smaller mirrors to fill out the wall. No hurry.

Home Sweet Home

June 29, Ontario

We're still camping, but now it's in our own home. We arrived Thursday night, the 26th, after nine days travel. The family welcomes us with such generosity and I'm overwhelmed by happiness and gratitude. The garden is now like a jungle,

and now that the house is empty, I notice so many little annoying details of shoddy workmanship that I have to consciously direct my mind from seeking them out and spoiling the whole effect. Because really, this is the perfect house for us. Only four minutes drive from my sister's and mom's house, and a five minute walk from a park and a conservation area. The park leads into a municipal trail that is 14.5 km. long. It takes us to the library in 20 minutes, and we can bike from one end of the city to the other if we like. We're 2 minutes from a major highway that will take us into the city in 30 minutes (if the traffic co-operates), yet we're in a quiet 30-year-old subdivision, close to shopping. The house is huge. After 19 years of always being near enough to carry on a conversation with someone at the other end of the apartment, we're constantly losing each other in here. And my knees, after 9 days of sitting in the van, are protesting the number of stairs in a big back-split like this. 26 steps from my bedroom to the laundry room. 16 stairs just to get from the car to the kitchen.

Dan the mover arrived yesterday morning with our stuff and we spent 4 hours trying in vain to check off all the boxes and items from Dan's master list. I think we've got it all, but only time will tell. In the meantime, we're still using our camping gear and and wandering around the house in a daze, full of ideas, and dreams for the future, trying to take it all in. This is going to be a big adjustment for us all.

The search for a home is over!

After almost 4 weeks of traipsing through a wide variety of houses, we've finally found our new home in Ontario. It's a 5-level backsplit, with 4 bedrooms, 2 bath, air conditioning, fireplace, full basement and single garage. Quite a departure from the little 2-bedroom apartment we've spent the last 19 years in.

I think I was so overwhelmed by the huge size and great condition of the interior of the house that I didn't see the yard very clearly until I got home and showed the pictures to Mr. D*S. So this is what we'll be working on this summer: trying to make something out of this space before we tackle anything else.


Good grief, it makes you wonder, what were these people thinking? Or did they just sit under their grape arbour and shut out the rest of the yard?

Any design ideas, any advice, gratefully accepted. We may yet save up our pennies and get professional help, because this is truly way beyond a novice gardener's scope. The drainage seems quite crucial, with the way the yard slopes up at the back, and slants down at the sides to direct water away from the house. As is common in Southern Ontario, the soil is dense clay. It actually looks like very little has been done since the builder laid some sod over the clay 30 years ago.

I so want to be able to enjoy my little back yard. After all these years in one of the most beautiful city neighbourhoods in Vancouver--or the country for that matter--we want to make a green oasis for ourselves in this deeply suburban community. Vancouver nights are quite cool, so I'm looking forward to being able to sit outside late into the evening again.

A Sure Sign of Procrastination

When the bookkeeping is piling up, what do I choose to do with my time?

Here is a sample of what I'm doing today: No Knead Bread, whole wheat and walnut version. I thought you'd like to see it before I nibble those scrumptious walnuts off the top.