Bit of an update

Well, my posts lately have been a little lackluster, but I'm not going to apologize. It's just the way things have been. You know, busy...

House: Things with the house have hit a bit of a plateau. I think we actually burnt ourselves a bit there with all the work we were doing. We haven't done much in a couple weeks, and honestly, I think that's OK.

Today the roofers were supposed to put a good effort into making our flat roof not so flat anymore, but alas, they screwed up and now they can't start until Monday. Let's just say that I'm VERY HAPPY that we happened to come home today at lunch and notice that things were not going as they were supposed to. I can't wait until I no longer panic about rain. That'll be a nice treat.

We've spoken with some contractors about insulating our house via foam or cellulose insulation, blown through holes in the walls. Currently we have no insulation and for a house in Canada, this is a bit of a problem. So anyhow, we have a rough idea of what the insulation will cost, and I am quite happy that the government of Canada is quite supportive of this kind of endeavor. A friend of ours did their place a few years ago and had approximately 80% of the cost covered. Sweet! So anyhow, we have a bit of work to do and a bit of cash to shell out. Fortunately we would have done this work anyway, and it's simply a bonus to get a refund!

My favorite part about all this? Once the insulation is done with, we can FINALLY paint the walls. Other than the bathroom, the house is in the same state as it was when we moved in; only the wallpaper has been removed. It's a tiny bit ghetto chic. Ha, hardly, but I can't wait to paint!

On the positive side, our garden is coming up nicely. We have chosen to leave everything alone this year so that we can see what comes up. So far we have: tulips, daffodils, lilies, one rose, Solomon's seal, lily-of-the-valley, peonies, bunch of different hostas, irises, hollyhocks (far too many if you ask me), etc. On the food side we have rhubarb (WOOHOO! Can't wait to eat it!), a currant bush (I think) and mint. It really is a nice bunch of gardens. It'll be great to put our own mark on it next year. I think I'll add some delphiniums, more irises and more peonies. It'll be great. Plus, we intend to turn the piece of grass in our front yard into garden, as our neighbours have done. It'll look so much better. The grass is crap anyway and I think it would be hard to mow with our new push mower.

So essentially, although we haven't done much since we moved in, the house still dominates our time. Strange. I guess it's something we'll have to get used to!

Moving on!

Work: Work is going OK, but I recently took on a whole new responsibility. It's fine, but adding a bunch more work. Plus we have a big project that's about to get going and that's going to add a whole other layer of craziness. Good times. Enough about work. Work's work.

THE CLEANSE!: Things are going fine. I'm still quite hungry, but tomorrow is the last day, so I'll be done soon enough! I have lost 5lbs since Sunday though. That's a nice side effect... a good start on the 15 lbs I want to lose by Christmas. Sure I'll gain some of the 5 back, but it's motivation.

Summer plans: Well, the summer is going to be ultra busy. Thom and I decided to finally do a 5 day canoe trip in Algonquin (for the unaware, Algonquin is a sizeable park - click Map to see the boundary) that we've been planning for years. It includes two shuttles across Lake Opeongo and 5km portage on the last day. Fabulous! Actually, I'm looking very forward to it. After the hiking trips we've taken the past two summers, a wee 5km portage doesn't frighten me. I'll probably eat my words, but right now I'm confident.

We will also be spending a few weekends at the cottage. In fact, we're going for Victoria Day weekend next week. It'll be buggy, but great. It's nice to have everything so "close" again.

And, after waiting in line last weekend, we will be going to a music festival with some friends. I'm looking very forward to it. It's always a good time and this year we have some company!

My goals: I haven't made much headway on these. I really need to get cracking. My next workshop with everyone is during the first week of June. I should probably have something to say about it.

I can't think of anything else to write. I'm sure there is plenty left unsaid, but this is already a longish post.