Now that the house is pretty much done...

...I've been spending my free time at the craft table again. My mom asked me to make a book full of cards for her good friend as a birthday present and I had a blast putting it all together. I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of the actual book but I did photograph the cards. I made 20 cards total and here are my favourites:

New year in the new house

I know, I know, I've been ignoring the blog lately. You can blame the holiday season, my new job and general laziness for that. But better late than never, here are some before and after shots.

Bathroom Before


Bathroom After


View from front door - Before


View from front door - After


Kitchen Before (1)


Kitchen After (1)


Kitchen Before (2)


Kitchen After (2)


And last but not least, here's a pic of the lovely Tinga watching the action on the street. Notice the bum leg - so cute. She's actually perched atop two of my re-upholstery projects - both projects done using Amy Butler fabric.

Perhaps I've gotten too comfortable....

Now that all of the big things are completed (excluding next year's outdoor projects), it's been pretty easy to ignore the rest of the small things that need to be done. I thought that compiling a to-do list might help so I've typed up one big long one to be posted on the fridge.....on that to do list is "find fridge magnets". I've even got a handy deadline of December's house warming party.

The good news is that we are now enjoying a working stove and the furnace is blasting. There's a bit of duct work to be done still but our home is much warmer already.

I should probably also add "post before and after shots on blog". Perhaps that can wait til after the party though....why spoil the surprise?

We are this much closer to having heat and the ability to cook!

Enbridge hooked up the gas line for us on Thursday!!!
They even put down new grass where they dug it up.



Now we just have to get someone to come in and hook it up inside....we also need a new furnace. Speaking of furnaces, the fellas came by to lug the HEAVY old one out to the backyard today. They also took the big old oil tank out.



We're getting there! I'm off to paint.

Our Kitchen!

The kitchen is fast becoming one of my favourite rooms in the house. Maybe it's because it's just so brand new....or maybe it's because it's just so different from what it was before...who cares really? It's awesome!

I'll put up the true before and after photos soon but for now, here are some kitchen sneak peeks:

How can I knit when I have a house to unpack?

Got the knobs and pulls for the kitchen cupboards today! This (and returning a toilet seat) is what I did with my day today. I was baffled that someone out there thought little pieces of metal should cost so much....but I'm tired of chipping my nails while trying to pry the doors open, so we bought them anyways. The kitchen, by the way, looks phenomenal. I refuse to post any photos until it is completely done though. I like the drama of a good "before" and "after". In the meantime, you can enjoy the anticipation.

In more introspective news:
I'm realizing that life as of late has looked alot like a to-do list. Not cool. Even though we keep crossing items off, the list keeps getting longer! When do I get time to craft? The colder weather has me itching for my knitting needles. I'll just have to embrace the to-do list but be sure to add "knit the perfect beret" to it.

Enbrige Update

So if you've been anywhere near me for the least two weeks, you know that I've been cursing Enbrige like there is no tomorrow. Our house is cold. We cannot cook. Had we not initially been misinformed by Enbridge about when to apply, we wouldn't be in this mess and we wouldn't have to wear multiple layers at all times.

Thankfully, Kate's mom passed along a contact for someone at Enbridge and after waiting (not so patiently) for someone...anyone over there to return my phone messages, I sent him an email. Don't worry, it was very professional and I used big words. He evidently passed the email along and I actually spoke to a real live person there today!

The goods:
Because we were misinformed about how long the process takes, they will rush our application. This means we are now looking at a 2 week time frame instead of a 6 week one. And to top it all off, the woman I spoke with was just lovely!

So we will still be cold for another two weeks....but at least we now know that heat is on the horizon :)