Posted on by raisingriblets

Blessings in Disguise

I knew we were really lucky to live through our renovation at my dad’s place. I lived through a renovation, during high school, in this same home, and it was messy and inconvenient. So, when my dad said sure we could stay here during the renovation, I felt a sense of relief.

We were supposed to be in our house by now but because of unforeseen circumstances and having to rejig a few things, we were delayed.  Who would have thought that this would be a blessing in disguise. 

While I love our new home, the yard needs a lot of TLC and, honestly, a month of being home with the kids might have been a challenge there. Entertaining them in a barren backyard. However, being at my dad’s has been full of wonder and exploration.

I would be lying if I said this whole quarantine and virus hasn’t kept me up at night, not to mention our family suffered a great tragedy of losing a loved one way too soon during this time (not to Corona), but a few things have brought me great comfort. 

One being my husband and his time in the Marine Corps.  He was born for moments like this. He has been prepared for the worst since touring countries that literally saw their daily life change over night. This kind of stuff doesn’t make him nervous because he is always prepared and has a plan, and that is the greatest comfort. 

Another thing we have under our belt is that my parents have always taught us how to do things ‘old school’, from gardening to canning to bee-keeping, and with the uncertainty of the days to come, this makes things a little easier. We’ve baked with my mom and learned to bake bread with my aunt and the smells coming out of the kitchen are ones to remember. 

But this 21 acre property that my immigrant grandparents bought by scraping dollars together has offered my kids some of the best memories these past few weeks. From exploring the neighbouring golf course my grandfather once owned to filling buckets with estranged golf balls, climbing sand traps, sliding down them in our boots and wading through the golf course ponds. We’ve started our garden, killed time teaching the kids to chip golf balls, and collected so many worms. Getting messy and muddy at the farm has proven to be one of the biggest blessings.

Posted on by raisingriblets

Two Tours and a Renovation

People told us, if the two of you make it through renovations you will make it to your death beds lol. We’ve made it through two deployments and now a renovation and guess what? I still love him! My hubby and I can argue about some pretty silly stuff, but I have to say he usually trusts my opinion whole heartedly, which made this renovation a breeze.

Our weirdest set back came down to a strange notice about the septic tank from 1996. It was in some violation of a code that doesn’t even exist anymore. While I am still trying to navigate this topic, and have spoken to numerous people who are supposed to know what to do with it, each person is as perplexed on the issue as the next person. Septic companies have said that the tank functions perfectly, and nobody can figure out what the heck this regulation from 25 years ago was all about, but hey, whatever. I’ll continue to pursue the issue. It’s what I do best, annoy people until I have answers (I’ve literally made a living out of this).

I’ve been the kind of person who pretty much knows what they want without a lot of thinking on any matter. I think I planned my wedding in a week because decisions aren’t hard for me. I knew the look I was trying to achieve and that made things a world easier. This renovation was really no different.

I have ordered something from almost every supplier in the YQG area and many have gotten used to me trailing in with a one year old on my hip. He has been to window shops, flooring stores and gets excited when we pull up to Lowe’s in anticipation of the car carts. I’ve learned about drywall, return air supply, gas lines, furnaces, installation and water heaters.

I’ve been racking my brain about the easiest way to share the experience, and I’ve concluded breaking the reno down, room by room, for ya is easiest, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Tile and hardwood this week. We’re getting close to a finished product. Check out our hardwood from the Flooring Store International in Lakeshore. To see more of this floor called “Military Hickory” check out my IG stories @raising_riblets.