Edmonton welcomed spring this year with a wicked snowstorm.... one thing about it: it is pretty... I am so happy we are not planning on experiencing a Canadian winter next year!
Raevynn catching snowflakes on her nose this morning at 8:30 am (March 21, 2013)
And again, in the same spot, this afternoon at 2:30 pm (March 21,2013)!
Yep, it's spring in Edmonton!
Last night I went to bed thinking "We barely celebrated equinox this year... " but I realize while we didn't celebrate in the traditional, typical mode of celebrating a significant date. We did celebrate and observe the day in a less typical manner.
The kids put out baskets with gifts for the spring fairy, who in turn left them all kinds of sweets and treats. They definitely enjoyed that!
Usually we have a big feast with our household and family, and ring in the arrival of spring with gusto, feasting and merriment. We sit around with our cherished ones and talk about our hopes for the up coming season and what we hope to grow in this turn of the year... both on the physical- garden level and on the spirit level. I did miss our traditional celebration to some degree.
We managed to have brunch on Sunday though, with nearly everyone home... that never happens even with the most careful planning! We often have Sunday brunch, but most of the time half of the crew is working. This Sunday just kind of fell into place, by itself;
Amber and Kyle were here, Amanda, Danae and Tijana had the day off, Cody and Emily were home, even our room-mates Noah and Dennis were home... (although Noah drifted in after ) the only ones missing were Christa, Rob and the boys. I will definitely miss having big dinners with Amber and Kyle, and Christa and her family while we are gone on the road. I try not to think too much about that. Hopefully more Sunday brunches will just fall together!
This one was '!wow! incredible!' I think I will take that as our "Equinox celebration" and be happy :) (it was a much more spring-like day on Sunday anyway!
Renovations are moving along smoothly and mostly on schedule for our target 'ready to list' date. Spring is about growth, and as the season warms up the earth wakes from the winter slumber and growth is everywhere. Our preparations for our family travels are very similar. Over the winter we planned, we sorted and researched; now that spring is here, there has been a flurry of activity in the house as we ready the house for our upcoming adventures, I think we are also readying our spirits and our minds for the drastic upcoming change in our environment and our accustomed style of living.
The Bamboo flooring on the main floor is finished now, we are still working on the loft and the stairs. We are waiting on delivery of stair nosing, so while we wait are working in the laundry room and bathroom on the main floor.
This is the new Bamboo floors going in; Bamboo is Eco-responsible, sustainable, beautiful and extremely durable. I will definitely install this product in future homes.
In the midst of doing the living room and dining room floor it was Tijana's 18th birthday! (omg! how did that happen!!) We set up the dining room for her birthday dinner on March 5, it wasn't finished yet but we still made a nice dinner setting and the family sat down for a delicious meal.
The loft getting ready for bamboo floor installation, we will put down subfloor and then put in the bamboo.
New tile in the front entry, hallway, main floor bathroom and into the laundry room. It's beautiful! Our tile guy, Marco, is amazing, quick work with fantastic results!
Laundry room: ready for cabinet installation and paint. We stacked the washer and dryer - If I would have realized HOW MUCH easier it would make switching loads over I would have done this years ago!! There will be a laundry sink and base cabinet installed on the left, an upper cabinet, a counter top for folding and an open shelf between the cabinet and the washer/dryer.
The bathroom is a bit stalled at the moment as we are awaiting delivery of the vessel sink that will go on top the antique dresser we found for the vanity.
We were given a beautiful dresser, but it didn't fit, so I used it in the girls' room and we bought this one from Ibon. I can not wait to see it installed!
Also, the shower door way still needs to be widened (it is halfway through demolition in this photo) and we need to decide if we are replacing ALL the tile in it or just the entrance way. Marco will be back the 2nd week of April to do the shower, the kitchen back splash and the floors in the upstairs bathrooms.
Spring has arrived in our home and we are busy planting the seeds that will grow into a more beautiful home, that will sell quickly for a good price and enable us to launch into our new adventures of family travel!
There are days when our ambitious renovation schedule seems impossible, and other days when it feels doable and smooth. We are taking one day at a time and appreciate each accomplishment as it is reached! Did I mention our schedule is ...ambitious ?! it might be more like insane... but it is a schedule nonetheless
Oh!! We finally bought our .com - our new home on the web will be byourverynature.com and as soon as I have a half a moment to set it up it will be the place to go for everything to do with our trip, blogs, photos, etc. It will also have a section dedicated to Anime and Science fiction conventions, and cosplay!
