How I See It

Four Things

The move went well..I now realise I could be a guest on the show Hoarders. Yikes I have a lot of stuff...so I am editing as I unpack..realizing that our old house had a LOT of storage..and this new house..not so much.

So during a break in the unpacking I checking in on some of my fav bloggie friends and Lydia from Understand Blue (I'll never understand it unless it's denim) posted a fun little list thing so I thought I would play along...I'd love you to play too...just leave a link to your list in the comment section...

1. Four shows that you watch:

• Parenthood
• Craig Ferguson
• Criminal Minds
• CSI - Vegas and NY ONLY!!!

2. Four things you are passionate about:

• Family
• Travel
• My dog
• Food and wine and friends

3. Four words/phrases you say a lot:

• Shut Up!!!
• LOL
• Coffee or Tea?
• I love you

4. Four things you've learned from the past:

• When people show you their true colours the FIRST time...believe them
• Family is everything
• Listen to my inner voice
• Laugh

5. Four places you would like to go:

• Antarctica
• Italy
• The North West Territories
• Bali

6. Four things you did yesterday:

• Unpack boxes
• Built two Ikea sofas..the hardest part is getting the cushions into the covers
• Took the dog for a walk in the new neighbourhood...it's really nice
• Moved all out banking out here to the burbs

7. Four things you are looking forward to:

• The last box being unpacked
• SU Regional meeting next month
• The house being in order (see #1)
• Not feeling exhausted

8. Four things you love about winter:

• Fresh snow
• Crisp air
• Fire places
• That our dog is not over heating

So what can you share with me? Would love to hear it!

Tomorrow I got back to work..next weekend I set up my stamp room again..and then I can get my craft on!! I miss my stamps and paper.

 

Come back soon..I may be able to share some pics of the new house soon LOL

Sue

Again??

Yesterday the first wave of packing was done...they moved like white lightening and befre you knew it our house transformed into a sea of boxes. They worked so hard..I think if I had not stayed out of their way I would now be residing in a cardboard box!

So after they left I went online to chitchat with my friend a little. One of my friends is moving into a new place also..and mentioned how she would be looking forward to gardening. I laughingly replied that I was looking forward to NOT gardening and shared this photo of our new back yard

LOL..not a lot of weeding there. Then she asked what my current garden looked like and I sent this photo:

and then the tears started to flow again. It's all so stupid. I am excited to leave this home and start off again building a 'home' in our beautiful new house. Yet I looked at the picture of the garden in the Summer and I sobbed. We have had amazing parties and gatherings in this garden and it is a little bit of magic here in the city. I'm going to have to work hard on the pots for the new patio!!!

I am sure there will be more tears as the move happens. Sad ones and happy ones. Saying goodbye to the neighbours is the hardest part of all. We have been blessed with the very best.

 

A Favourite Salad

 I love to eat this salad in restaurants but I think it's better at home because you can put all the good stuff on it that you want! You have to start with a FRESH buffalo Mozzarella...pricey but worth ever penny trust me on that!

This is what I like to put in my version

Naturally the best time of the year to make this is when you have fresh garden grown tomatoes and basil!

Slice them all up except the basil and arrange on a cute plate, top with good virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. Now take the basil leaves and roll them together gently like a cigar and slice them very thin and sprinkle LOADS over the salad. Crusty bread and you are ready to dine!

Cheers!

Unexpected emotions

I am sitting in Sydney as I type. On Monday I got ready for work as usual and packed my bags, computer, camera etc..gave the dog a treat and Rich and I headed to the car to drive me to the airport. I was ahead of him, it was dark and as I waited by the car I looked back at our little home of 22 years and suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks. This was my last trip to work from my home, my next flight I will be going to the airport from the new house. Suddenly my eyes welled up and I struggled not to cry (no time to reapply makeup LOL). Sadness engulfed me as I thought about the coming move. Not total sadness...I am excited about the new house and the new adventures we will have together as we get our new nest organized and comfy. What I had not really given much thought to was how much I would miss our little place there in the basement of my in-law's home. Where we poured so much love into the garden, the redecorating and renovating of the apartment. The love/hate I felt for our below ground level home by the end of the Winter when I craved sunshine desperately. Our miniscule kitchen from which we fed crowds

We have laughed so much in this house..it is a house full of love and laughter and good times with good friends and family. It's a pain-in-the-butt old house that always needed some thing fixed and every fix begat another step in the maintenance list! (Hubby won't miss that part for sure)

Strangely, I will truly miss you little house... my husband will be leaving his childhood home behind, you have been a wonderful home to all of us. I hope the new family will love you just as much as we loved you. It will be hard to close the door for the last time.

It's coming together slowly

The style for the new house that is. It is turning into a very eclectic house with a mix of styles that I am hoping I can pull together!

I love the recent Industrial look that has become popular but I don't want too much of it in the house. We bought this piece, it's not a great photo, but I think you get the feel. The wood is beautifully textured and aged.

I can't wait to see it in the new house...I think it will fit right in!

Today we drove out to Chilliwack to pick out another piece..it is also industrial and has to be refinished..I'll share that with you when we get it. Meanwhile it was a stunningly beautiful day and I managed to snap this photo as we crossed the river on the way home

I think the car window was a little dirty!! OOPS!

The best news is my sister came home from the hospital and is doing well. The doctor's told her if she had waited another two days she could have died. She definitely had a wake up call to her health and needs to take care of herself more. She is going to come and visit when we are in the new house and we are going to work on some life changes. I'll be her drill sargent!! We both need to start moving and get healthier.

Thanks for dropping by, Sue

1/1/11

New year, new start, new adventures.

I have had a few different blogs over the years. My stamping blog has been my most consistent, I have done a 356 blog, a photography blog and started a travel blog for a trip to Turkey just last year. I have been kind of all over the place with no cohesion to bring all my interests together. So this year my goal is to bring all those interests together in one place under different tabs. Just one problem, I have no idea how to create tabs on a blog lol! So this is going to be a learning journey. I have to find out how to make this blog what I want it to be or find someone who does. I'd like to try my own hand at it, so bear with me and maybe we will all learn something!

This year is starting out with so much going on already and we are only 21 hours into it...

We are moving into our new home in two weeks after 22 years living here with my Father-in-Law. My eldest son and his wife are also moving into their first home in two weeks. My mum is in hospital in Ireland, my sister is in hospital in Ontario, my Father-in-Law is in full care with Alzheimer's here in Vancouver. So many changes, so much to worry about, so much to look forward to. Probably like most of your lives...good, bad, scary, happy stuff always mixing and mingling.

I hope to share my love of crafting, photography, cooking, decorating and travel. Won't you join me on my little adventure?

The first month may be a little sporadic as we move into our new home and my goal is that by Feburary 1st we will be settled in and ready to blog seriously!

So if you are new here let me tell you a little about myself.

I am Irish by birth, moving to Canada when I was 22 years old. I am a flight attendant with an international airline. I have been flying for 31 years and still think it is the best job in the world. I am also a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and love that job too. I have a wonderful husband of 22 years, two amazing step-sons married to two amazing young ladies. Our family is rounded out with our furbaby Cara..the daughter we never had! You may see her referred to as Boo (Cara > Caraboo> Boo)

For now I wish you all a really wonderful New Year and hope all your dreams and goals are fulfilled in 2011. It's going to be an amazing year!

 

Thanks for visiting, Sue